Dec 17

Today’s News 17th December 2024

  • Give Me Liberty, Not Pronouns
    Give Me Liberty, Not Pronouns

    Authored by Kenin Spivak via RealClearPolitics,

    It’s time to defrock the word police.

    The election, polls, and anecdotal evidence confirm that Americans want to end the obnoxious recitation of pronouns – “Latinx,” “birthing persons,” and other entries in the radical left lexicon – except in eulogies for progressive virtue signaling.

    In a March Gallup poll of more than 12 million adults, 4.4% identified as bisexual, 0.9% as transgender, and 0.1% as pansexual. In exit polls this year of more than 110,000 voters conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, just 1% identified as “nonbinary,” a subset of the Gallup categories. Some of these individuals, most often nonbinaries, dominate use of non-standard pronouns such as “they,” “zir” and “hir.”

    If 100% of bisexuals, transgenders, and pansexuals used non-standard pronouns (they do not) and all are offended if the remaining 94.6% of us do not publicly proclaim our pronouns in our signature cards and profiles (also untrue), then the pronoun kerfuffle risks offending 5.4% of Americans. From 10 to 20 times more Americans are offended by this babble. According to a Pew study published in June, nearly 56% of registered voters are uncomfortable with someone using the pronouns “they” or “them,” rather than “he” or “she.” Most of the 53% of Americans who consider religion to be “very important” in their lives likely agree.

    Even in Canada, where polls show greater support for gender fluidity, a survey of 3,016 adults from the Angus-Reid Institute found that 66% opposed (36% strongly) and just 22% supported (6% strongly) that “everyone should put their pronouns in their social media profiles/emails.” Media savvy squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deleted her pronouns from her X profile.

    The core question is not whether those who choose non-standard pronouns, other than “they,” should be dissuaded from doing so, but whether we must all subjugate ourselves to pronoun activists by beclowning our signature cards and profiles to confirm that we are adhering to at least 2,000 years of gender identification, and whether we must adopt idiosyncratic pronouns when describing others.

    At the least, no one should use the pronoun “they.” The use of “they” to describe an individual is grammatically incorrect in nearly all circumstances. It is narcissistic and pompous. When discussing multiple people and also using “they” as a pronoun for one or more of them, the result is indecipherable. (Try to understand the sentence I just wrote if the word “them” could mean both more than one individual, and one or more specific individuals.)

    More than a few times I have had the following conversation with a professional whose firm uses pronouns in its signature cards. Me: Does anyone in the firm use pronouns other than him or her? Partner: “No” (or, rarely, “a few”). Me: Why then do you do this, since it must be off-putting to many more people than the number who like it? Partner: Some variation of, “We only care about the feelings of the few.”

    This goes even further when people are penalized for refusing to participate in this farce. Being LGBTQ may be protected by law or common decency, but the Constitution unambiguously protects free speech and the exercise of religion. It does not protect an individual’s right to force others to refer to him or her as a “they.” At least 10 states have passed legislation to ensure that teachers, staff, and students aren’t required to use students’ pronouns or names if they don’t align with the student’s sex at birth.

    Nothing, of course, is more absurd that the misogynistic “birthing person,” or that a nominee for the Supreme Court can’t define “woman.”

    U.S. passport applicants now may select any gender, or an “X” gender, as may residents of 16 states on birth certificates, and at least 25 states and the District of Columbia on drivers’ licenses and other identification, defeating the purpose of identification.

    French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish assign gender to most nouns. Hence, Americans from South America refer to themselves as “Latino,” “Latina,” or just “Hispanic.” The same misogynistic pathology that causes progressives to insist there are more than two immutable sexes, erase women, and put biological males in girls’ sports, drives them to the despised slur “Latinx.”

    A 2021 poll of 800 registered voters of Latin American descent for Bendixen and Amandi International, a Democratic firm, found that only 2% described themselves as Latinx, and 40% found the term offensive. A Pew survey in September found that only 4% of Hispanics use it, 51% have never heard of it, and 75% of those who have, oppose it. In October, a study conducted by professors from Georgetown and Harvard found that the use of Latinx by Democrats was increasing Hispanic support for Donald Trump and other Republicans.

    The progressive lexicon is based on tenuous connections (“grandfathered” is racist), wordy (“people experiencing homelessness” for “homeless”), kooky (“assigned female at birth” for “girl”) and offends vast number of Americans, including women and members of minority groups whom the progressives claim to be supporting.

    According to Future Forward, Kamala Harris’ lead PAC, variants of Trump’s campaign advertisement about her support for taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgery for transgenders with the tagline “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.” shifted the race 2.7% in Trump’s favor.

    Trump’s success among most demographic groups, and exit and post-election polling (see here, here, here, and here) tell us that Americans don’t want to be told by the radical left what to think or how to speak about social issues. It is time to put pronouns, Latinx, and other progressive terminology in the waste basket.

    Kenin M. Spivak is founder and chairman of SMI Group LLC, an international consulting firm and investment bank. He is the author of fiction and non-fiction books and a frequent speaker and contributor to media, including The American Mind, National Review, the National Association of Scholars, television, radio, and podcasts.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 23:25

  • Russia, Germany, Turkey Condemn Israeli Land Grab In Syria
    Russia, Germany, Turkey Condemn Israeli Land Grab In Syria

    “Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom and settle in it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, confirming reports that Israel will expand its settler population there.

    Netanyahu has now declare the Golan to belong to Israel ‘forever’ in the wake of the fall of the Assad, and Israel is expected to double the amount of settlers living there. “Multiple Middle Eastern nations and Israel’s ally Germany on Monday denounced Israel’s decision to double the Israeli settler population in the illegally occupied Syrian territory,” Al Jazeera writes.

    Via AFP

    At this point Israeli tanks are positioned a mere couple dozen miles from the capital of Damascus, and Israel has established a forward base on the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon.

    Russia has been among those countries strongly warning Israel not to expand its hold on Syrian territory. The Golan was first taken by Israel in 1967 and it was annexed in 1981.

    Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Monday issued the following strong words telling Israel to stop exploiting the situation:

    “I would like to warn certain ‘hotheads’ in West Jerusalem against being intoxicated by opportunities,” Ryabkov said, stressing that “the annexation of the Golan Heights, which many are talking about now, is absolutely unacceptable.” 

    Turkey too has said something similar. “This decision is a new stage in Israel’s goal of expanding its borders through occupation. This step by Israel is a source of grave concern, taken together with Israel’s entry into the area of separation, in violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement, its advance into adjacent areas and airstrikes in Syria,” its foreign ministry said.

    Al Jazeera further notes the following countries’ statements:

    • Qatar rebuked the scheme as a “new episode in a series of Israeli aggressions on Syrian territories”.
    • Jordan called it a “blatant violation of international law”.
    • Turkiye denounced the move as a bid by Israel to “expand its borders”.
    • Saudi Arabia slammed “continued sabotage of Syria’s chances of restoring its security and stability”.
    • Egypt condemned the plans as “a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

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    Despite many acknowledging that Turkish intelligence was behind the rapid Hayat Tahrir al-Sham takeover of the country, Israel has by and large been a big ‘winner’ on a geostrategic level from Assad’s ousting. 

    But it’s ironic and hypocritical that Turkey would do any condemning of annexing Syrian land here… given Turkey has long occupied northern Syria, and its troops have now moved into the environs of Aleppo while supporting its proxies there.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 23:00

  • Astaxanthin – The Ultimate Anti-Inflammatory And Anti-Aging Nutrient
    Astaxanthin – The Ultimate Anti-Inflammatory And Anti-Aging Nutrient

    Authored by Derek Henry, Holistic Health Coach for Healing the Body,

    At the root of every disease process is inflammation, a first defence process used by the body in order to try and heal itself. The problem is that when your body is in that state chronically it creates an overactive immune system, which brings crippling pain with it. This compromises your ability to do anything, which includes living a normal and productive life. So what do you do if you want to heal inflammation naturally? You consider astaxanthin.

    robynmac/iStock

    Astaxanthin 101

    Astaxanthin (asta-zan-thin) is a deep red coloured phytonutrient synthesized by microalgae called Haematococcus, and is also known as the “King of Carotenoids”. It’s grown in fresh water using sophisticated techniques that encourage the algae to grow its own powerful medicines protecting it from oxidation, UV radiation and other environmental stressors.

    Astaxanthin is actually what gives salmon their reddish colour and allows them to perform heroic feats like swimming upstream against the current and leaping up waterfalls.

    When it is harvested from the algae and concentrated into a tiny liquid capsule it becomes the most powerful antioxidant known in the natural world, with research showing that it is 550 times the antioxidant power of vitamin E! These antioxidants slow down the ageing process and protect us from free radicals that can cause DNA damage, nerve cell damage, and accelerated ageing of our internal organs.

    Astaxanthin for Inflammation

    Inflammation is a first response defence and healing mechanism that becomes active before our immune system does. It is an extremely complex system and in general causes redness, swelling, heat, and pain. These effects occur due to a wide spectrum of inflammation mediators that are released after a detected injury or attack. Some of the mediators are known as prostaglandins, tumor necrosis factors, interleukins, and nitric oxide.

    Some of the strongest pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories limit the production of prostaglandins and therefore ease swelling and pain. However, these drugs can cause side effects as it is very unnatural and unbalanced for the body to deal with extreme suppression of one single mediator, without affecting the balance of the others.

    Alternatively, naturally occurring anti-inflammatory foods will ease inflammation by gently inhibiting several mediators, including prostaglandins, to calm the system as a whole.

    Even though astaxanthin is not as powerful as leading pharmaceutical anti-inflamamtories, it is found to be one of the strongest ones in nature. Several double blind, placebo controlled animal and clinical trials shows that astaxanthin naturally inhibits many of the known inflammation mediators, which eases inflammation and pain without the side effects.

    Authors Note: I personally used astaxanthin in a period where I dealt with debilitating inflammation, and had no desire to use pharmaceutical drugs. I can accurately state that it extinguished 80-90% of my systemic inflammation.

    Other Benefits of Astaxanthin

    The best part of astaxanthin is that the healing benefits don’t stop at pain management due to inflammation. However, since it is such a strong anti-inflammatory it also deals effectively with a number of other health issues, including:

    • Reduces joint pain
    • Reduces the risk of cancer and proliferation of breast cancer tumour cells
    • Protects brain from dementia and other brain related disorders
    • Reduces damage to your DNA by up to 40%
    • Reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics
    • Improves fertility
    • Promotes cardiovascular health
    • Reduces or eliminates carpal tunnel syndrome
    • Boosts immune system
    • Protects against infections
    • Prevents asthma by normalizing histamine levels
    • Protects body from highly oxidative foods
    • Increases endurance, muscle recovery, and workout performance
    • Protects kidneys from damage due to high blood sugar
    • Protects eyes and reduces cataracts
    • Prevents UV damage to eyes and skin (works as an internal sunscreen)

    Since astaxanthin is fat soluble (unlike most antioxidants) it gets carried by fat molecules directly to your muscles, tissues, and organs where it is needed most, like your brain, breast tissue, prostate tissue, skeletal muscles, and retina. This way it prevents oxidation right at the site of stress or potential oxidation.

    Read the rest here…

    Check out Derek Henry here.

    And snag some Astaxanthin here:

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 22:45

  • 2 Men Arrested After Drone Operates 'Dangerously Close' To Boston's Airport, Police Say
    2 Men Arrested After Drone Operates ‘Dangerously Close’ To Boston’s Airport, Police Say

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

    Two people were arrested on Saturday evening near Boston’s Logan Airport for what was described as a “hazardous drone operation,” police said, coming amid widespread reports of drones flying over the New Jersey region.

    A Spirit airlines flight takes off from Boston’s Logan Airport on Jan. 9, 2023. Brian Snyder/Reuters

    At around 10 p.m. Saturday, Boston police officers arrested 42-year-old Robert Duffy and 32-year-old Jeremy Folcik, both of Massachusetts, according to a news release issued Sunday.

    “The arrests were made on Long Island, part of the Boston Harbor Islands, following a hazardous drone operation near Logan Airport’s airspace,” police said. “Both suspects face charges of trespassing, with additional fines or charges potentially forthcoming.”

    It’s not clear if the Logan Airport incident was related to drone sightings in recent weeks near New Jersey and New York City.

    A Boston officer detected a drone “operating dangerously close to Logan International Airport” before finding the location of the unmanned aerial vehicle, police said. Police officials then coordinated with state police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and other federal agencies.

    Members of the local Boston Police unit found three people in the Long Island Health Campus, which has been decommissioned.

    “Upon attempting to make contact, the suspects fled on foot. Two of the three individuals were apprehended and identified as Duffy and Folcik. During the investigation, a drone was discovered inside a backpack carried by Duffy,” the news release said.

    The other individual was not located or named in the news release. Officials said he is suspected to have fled in a “small vessel,” according to the news release.

    Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights started last month over New Jersey, raising concerns among residents and officials. Part of the worry stems from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and over Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, located in the state.

    Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use and are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be certified by the FAA.

    On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he is urging the federal government to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify them.

    “I’m pushing for answers amid these drone sightings. I’m calling for [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas] to deploy special drone-detection tech across NY and NJ,” Schumer wrote on social platform X. “And I’m working to pass a bill in the Senate to give local law enforcement more tools for drone detection.”

    The New York Democrat is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to immediately deploy special technology that identifies and tracks drones back to their landing spots, according to his office.

    “There’s a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News Sunday. “The answer ‘We don’t know’ is not a good enough answer.”

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday said federal officials were sending a drone detection system to the state.

    “This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” Hochul said in a statement. The governor did not immediately provide additional details, including where the system will be deployed.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 22:35

  • West Ready To Court Terror Leader Jolani If Russian Military Pushed Out Of Syria
    West Ready To Court Terror Leader Jolani If Russian Military Pushed Out Of Syria

    We reported earlier that Russia is in contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus over the future fate of the two Russian military bases on Syria’s coast. The Tartous Naval Base remains Russia’s only Mediterranean military port. And alongside Khmeimim Air Base, these are the only two major Russian military outposts outside of the former Soviet Union.

    As expected, the West is pressuring the jihadist group under Abu Mohammed al-Jolani to ensure Russia’s military is booted from the country. What’s more is that European countries are using the question of Syria’s continued economic isolation as leverage.

    The newly installed Syrian leader Al-Julani

    And the West is also dangling the terror designation in front of HTS. “Some European nations are considering making the expulsion of Russia’s military from Syria a precondition for lifting restrictions against the Islamist group now in control of most of the country, according to people familiar with the matter,” The Straits Times reports.

    The report comes as the Biden White House is also mulling the matter of whether to drop its formal terror designation against HTS, which began years ago as Al-Nusra Front, or Syrian al-Qaeda. 

    The West seems to be saying that if HTS merely does what it wants, all can be ‘forgiven’. Per the same report:

    A debate is also underway about whether to make the delivery of longer-term aid to the war-ravaged nation conditional on Moscow vacating its two Syrian bases, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive material. The talks are ongoing and a joint final decision has yet to be taken, they said. 

    The conferring between countries is a sign of broader international support for the position taken by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, who said it would be “too early” to lift European Union sanctions against Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, which ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a little over a week ago. 

    “We really would like to condition that on an inclusive political transition,” Veldkamp also said. The West has been urging HTS to respect ethnic and religious minorities, given that it has been known to massacre and persecute Alawites, Christians, Druze, Shia, or anyone who is not an extremist Sunni.

    The Dutch foreign minister emphasized, “I think it’s also important to look at conditionality regarding the Russian military bases in Syria.” He’s emphatic that “We want the Russians out.”

    The West is turning a blind eye to the ground reality that Syria will go from quasi-secular state under Baath rule to rapid hardline Islamization…

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    Thus it appears the West is lining up to court the terrorists in Damascus… or as we described earlier this is all about putting lipstick on a pig – at the end of which Jolani and HTS will be sold to the European and Americans as a “moderate”. And for Europe, this arrangement will also help deal a blow to Russia related to the Ukraine war.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 22:10

  • The U.S. Must Fortify Itself Against Future Mineral Export Bans
    The U.S. Must Fortify Itself Against Future Mineral Export Bans

    Authored by Gregory Wischer, Morgan Bazilian & Jahara Matisek via RealClearDefense,

    Last week, China imposed export bans on antimony, gallium, and germanium—all of which are listed on China’s dual-use export control list. Other minerals on the list and, thus, at risk of future bans include aluminum, magnesium, and zinc, among others. Beyond their economic importance, many of these minerals have military applications. For example, tungsten superalloys are used in military turbines and armor-piercing munitions, while bismuth is used in ammunition and alloys for defense.

    With many minerals, the U.S. government can increase domestic mining, processing, and recycling to help mitigate future supply cutoffs from China. Of course, building and expanding domestic capacity will take time, significant capital, and appropriate government policies, but it can be done.

    However, for some minerals—such as bismuth and tungsten—the United States simply lacks the mineral reserves, scrap, and substitutes to fill supply gaps from a Chinese export ban. For instance, China supplied over 60 percent of America’s bismuth consumption from 2019 to 2022, and the United States has not produced bismuth since 1997. The U.S. National Defense Stockpile also has no inventory of bismuth.

    For such minerals, the U.S. government—in addition to seeking to boost domestic production—should both increase inventories in the National Defense Stockpile and sign right-of-first refusal (ROFR) offtake agreements with existing overseas mineral producers. Such steps will help buttress the United States against future export bans.

    With stockpiling, the U.S. government should acquire minerals from domestic producers when possible but prioritize acquiring supply wherever it is available including from China. For instance, with both bismuth and tungsten, China is far and away the world’s largest producer: it produces 80 percent of the world’s bismuth and 81 percent of its tungsten.

    The second policy is signing ROFR offtake agreements with existing overseas mineral producers for their uncontracted production. In ROFR agreements, the U.S. government would have the first right—but not the obligation—to purchase a certain volume of mineral production before it is offered to other buyers.

    To secure ROFR offtake agreements, the U.S. government could invest in overseas mineral projects or expansions. Already, the U.S. government has invested (through an intermediary) in two overseas mineral projects: a nickel-cobalt mine in Brazil and a rare earth processing project in South Africa.

    While ROFR offtake agreements are common with prospective mineral producers, the timeline for commissioning new production is lengthy and often jeopardized by technical (e.g., ramp-up issues) and jurisdictional (e.g., regulations) risks. Moreover, ROFR offtake agreements for future mineral production cannot supply minerals if China imposes export bans with immediate effect. Having ROFR offtake agreements for existing production could immediately help fill supply gaps caused by adversarial export bans.

    The U.S. government should prioritize signing ROFR offtake agreements with firms operating in allied and partner countries, such as Australia, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. The U.S. government should also prioritize inking agreements in countries least likely to face disruptions from a possible U.S.-China conflict in the western Pacific.

    For example, Australia and Austria produce about the same volume of tungsten, yet because shipping across the Atlantic Ocean would be more secure than shipping across the Pacific Ocean in a U.S.-China conflict, the U.S. government should first prioritize agreements for tungsten with Austria over Australia. In other cases, avoiding the western Pacific is not possible. For instance, Japan and South Korea are highly exposed to a U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan, but they are the only major bismuth producers that are U.S. allies.

    Demonstrating tungsten’s importance for the U.S. military, U.S. tungsten imports spiked during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, and U.S. imports would likely spike again in a potential conflict against China. The U.S. government would be well-served in pre-emptively securing these imports and similarly important war minerals through ROFR offtake agreements.

    Controlling the overseas supply of these military minerals can have direct combat implications, too. The Tungsten Institute writes, “Before World War II was started, Germany had bought up virtually the entire world supply of off-grade tungsten ore.” This tungsten proved critical in Germany’s nearly successful North Africa campaign: German tanks used armor-piercing munitions with tungsten carbide cores with dangerous effects against British tanks.

    China’s recent mineral export ban is yet another wake-up call for the U.S. government to reduce America’s reliance on China for critical minerals. For many minerals, the United States can indeed rely on domestic resources to offset future mineral cutoffs from China, but for other minerals, it cannot—it must depend on foreign actors. In such cases, the U.S. government should preemptively stockpile and sign ROFR offtake agreements with overseas mineral producers. These proactive steps will help fortify the United States against future mineral export bans.

    Gregory Wischer is a fellow at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines.

    Morgan Bazilian is the director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines.

    Lt Col Jahara “Franky” Matisek is a military professor in the National Security Affairs department at the U.S. Naval War College and fellow at the Payne Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed in this article are his own.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 21:45

  • Two Homeland Security Agents Sold Drugs Previously Seized As Evidence For Up To $300,000
    Two Homeland Security Agents Sold Drugs Previously Seized As Evidence For Up To $300,000

    It’s another one of those “do as I say, not as a do” examples that continue to emerge during President Biden’s administration…

    This time, it was two Homeland Security agents in Utah, who allegedly sold seized drugs through an informant, earning up to $300,000 per to court documents and according to Yahoo Finance.

    According to an FBI affidavit, the agents sold “bath salts” to the informant weekly from spring to December, with each ounce sold for $5,000 and resold at a higher price.

    The informant, recruited by federal agents while in prison, was initially tasked with legitimate controlled buys. However, the affidavit claims the agents also pressured him into illegal drug sales.

    Yahoo reported that Homeland Security Agent David Cole was arrested in Salt Lake City on Friday and charged in federal court with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. During a Monday hearing, a judge ordered him detained. If convicted, Cole faces a potential prison sentence of 10 years or more.

    Court documents also implicate a second agent, identified as “Person A,” in selling drugs to the informant, though it’s unclear if charges will follow. Cole’s attorney, Alexander Ramos, declined to comment on the allegations, citing ongoing case review.

    Ramos commented: “Dave has many years of service to his community as an outstanding agent with HSI and holds a great reputation among the federal law enforcement community.”

    Searches of the agents’ homes, vehicles, phones, and workspaces uncovered over $67,000 in cash, suspected bath salts, and other evidence, according to the affidavit.

    FBI Special Agent Tristan Hall commented: “Based on an average of one or two drug buys per week, involving 25 grams of bath salts and the amount of $5,000 each buy, it is estimated that Cole and Person A have profited approximately $150,000 to $300,000 in illegal proceeds.”

    The investigation began after the informant’s attorney reported that two Homeland Security agents had coerced him into illegal activities, the report says. 

    The informant, cooperating with the FBI for money and personal safety, alleged the agents sold him drugs seized as evidence, meeting in public locations like Panera Bread and Shake Shack. Details were confirmed through surveillance, and while the agents’ credentials were suspended, they remain employed.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 21:20

  • Trump Says Assad's Ouster In Syria Was An 'Unfriendly Takeover' By Turkey
    Trump Says Assad’s Ouster In Syria Was An ‘Unfriendly Takeover’ By Turkey

    In a wide-ranging question and answer session from the press, President-elect Donald Trump speculated over what was behind the collapse of Syria and the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

    He said the jihadist rebel victory in Syria was really an ‘unfriendly takeover’ by Turkey. The explanation he gave at first generated headlines which made it appear he was condemning and lashing out at Turkish action; however, the full comments were a bit more sympathetic and deferential to Erdogan and to Turkey.

    Getty Images

    In the comments he hailed Turkey’s regional role as a major power and his personal ties with President Erdogan.

    “Turkey is a major force, by the way, and Erdogan is somebody I got along with great but he has a major military force. And he has not been worn out with war,” Trump told reporters at the briefing held at Mar-a-Lago estate. “He’s built a very strong, powerful army” – he said in reference to Erdogan.

    “[Erdogan] is a very smart guy and very tough, but Turkey did an unfriendly takeover without a lot of lives being lost. I can say that Assad was a butcher here what he did to children.”

    Trump also explained that “Turkey is the one behind it” and stressed “They wanted it for 1000s of years, and he got it, and those people that went in are controlled by Turkey, and that’s okay. It’s another way to but no, I don’t think that.”

    He said that while “nobody knows” the future of post-Assad Syria, he still thinks “Turkey is going to hold the key to” the nation. “Actually, I don’t think you’ve heard that from anybody else, but I’ve been pretty good at predicting,” Trump followed with, but without saying whether he will eventually pull US forces out of Syria.

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    The presence of US forces in Deir Ezzor and Hasakeh regions has frequently outraged Turkey, especially given US troops are training and arming Syrian Kurdish YGP forces (which form the core of the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF). But Ankara views this group as but an extension of the outlawed PKK.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 20:30

  • Unidentified Drones In America's Skies? Smells Like A False Flag…
    Unidentified Drones In America’s Skies? Smells Like A False Flag…

    Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

    The term “False Flag” gets thrown around rather haphazardly these days and it’s important to recognize that a real false flag requires a particular end result – The public blaming the wrong culprit for an event that someone else (usually our own government) perpetrated. When it comes to the increasing fervor over major drone activity across the US, I have very little doubt that what we are witnessing is a false flag scenario.

    First, let’s outline what has happened so far: Drone sightings have exploded across the country involving a wide variety of devices – but the incidents that concern me the most are those involving the SUV-sized UAVs in places like New Jersey. The sightings have been happening for months. US government agencies including the FBI, DHS and national security officials claim they have no idea who is behind this activity, even though drones have been seen operating over highly protected areas like US military bases.

    There’s a lot of information to be gleaned here if you know what you’re looking for. I have written extensively about drones and drone warfare in my survival newsletter over the years, primarily on new developments in the technology and ways for civilians to defeat that technology. However, I have also written on how civilians can use drones for their own self defense.

    I know enough about tracking technology to say with relative certainly that officials are lying about the drones over New Jersey, and probably about most of the covert drone activity in other parts of the country. They know who is controlling these drones, and it’s most likely our own government.  What we are witnessing is some form of false flag in progress.

    First and foremost, drones can indeed be tracked rather easily depending on where they fly. Remote signals going back to the operator can be tracked with the right equipment. The stronger the remote signal the easier it is to find the operator. In New Jersey, for example, US Air Force Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst partnered with AeroDefense, a local business specializing in tracking technology and drone detection, to produce a system to track drones across the installation as well as pinpoint perpetrators who fly them. They started this program back in 2020.

    Drone company DJI, which controls around 90% of the consumer drone market, has their own proprietary drone tracking technology that can be purchased by governments and various agencies. There’s likely dozens more companies out there right now producing similar products to the DJI tracking tech.

    Under new FAA regulations instituted this year, all drones operating in US air space (except very small drones) are required to carry a Remote ID module which broadcasts operator information and location. Most drones now have Remote ID integrated into their software and removing it can be a pain. For example, DJI drones are basically no longer used by Ukrainian forces because the built-in Remote ID gives away their positions. They now build most of their drones from scratch.

    There are ways around drone tracking (to a point). Remote ID spoofing devices can be built and programmed for as little as $20. These broadcasting modules can create the illusion of dozens of drones in the sky with false operator data included.  Anyone trying to use Remote ID tracking to find you will have no idea which drones are real and which are fake.

    Drone signal repeaters (which function much like ham radio repeaters) are not uncommon and are used in Ukraine by both sides to help confuse tracking attempts. Signal repeaters and antennas are easy to hide, and pinpointing an exact location is difficult. In Ukraine, trackers would simply find a general area where the antenna or operator might be and then hit it with artillery. If they only hit a repeater, then the operator is out about $200 and that’s it.

    The Russians use drones connected to long spools of fiber optic cable which allows them to send the devices into areas protecting by jamming.  The direct connection also keeps the operators from being tracked.

    Then there are drones with AI software which bypass a lot of tracking tools. If the drone is controlling itself then there’s no operator signal to trace. The drone might be broadcasting a video signal but that’s not going to give up the location of the people who deployed the drone.

    Most of these techniques would never be used by common civilians or even small terror groups (AI flight software in particular would only be used by governments). On top of that, access to large drones or car-sized drones is very rare for civilians and requires extensive permits. The cost of such devices is prohibitive (tens-of-thousands or hundreds-of-thousands of dollars depending on the drone).

    My point is, there is no way civilian operators or small terror groups are behind the majority of these events. The level of sophistication involved here requires military or government agency oversight. Beyond that, there aren’t enough  countermeasures in the world to prevent tracking over sensitive government locations.  The US military and DHS have extensive means to track down drones (especially large drones) flying in close proximity to bases and protected sites.

    Triangulation would not be hard given the drone operators would have to fly through the middle of multiple detection equipped facilities. And, even if the drones are AI operated, large drones are not very fast or nimble. They could be followed without much trouble by helicopters or other drones.

    Lack of public knowledge on this issue is being exploited by government officials and the media. I have seen multiple agency representatives claim that there’s “not enough restrictions in place” to keep the threat of domestic drones in check. I have also seen government reps claim these drones are being operated by a foreign enemy like Iran.  Recently, at least two men were arrested for flying a small drone too close to an airport in Long Island – Federal agencies and the media have tried to link these men to the covert drone sighting across the country when it’s likely they have nothing to do with the situation.

    Misinformation like this suggests an attempt to pin the drone activity on civilian sources, or, a foreign adversary working with civilian sources. 

    In other words, they are preparing the ground for one of two outcomes:

    1. More aggressive restrictions on civilian drones, or,

    2. a drone attack that is blamed on a foreign government.

    The size of the drones is what worries me most. If the goal of a foreign government was to monitor sensitive sites and collect information, they wouldn’t use car-sized drones. Large drones would be too easy to trace.  They would use small mid-range drones outfitted with thermal that fit in a backpack.

    But, our own government could fly fleets of large drones over cites and military bases with impunity.  If our government wanted to, say, blow up a sacrificial military facility, damage a nuclear power plant or hit a civilian center, car-sized drones would be very useful because they are designed to carry considerable weight.  Drones like those sighted over New Jersey could carry 500-1000 pounds of ordnance (maybe more). A swarm of these drones could cause total havoc in a heavily populated area.

    I worry about this outcome because the Biden Administration and the globalist establishment have been very active in the past several months trying to create as many ignition points for world war as they possibly can before Donald Trump takes office in January. A false flag at this time makes perfect sense.

    My second theory is based on the strange comments by defense officials linking the activity to lack of restrictions on the civilian drone market.  As noted, there is NO WAY civilians are flying car-sized drones in US airspace over protected sites without being followed.  The drones are too expensive, too big to move around without people noticing and that kind of operation requires insider knowledge of DoD and DHS tracking methods.

    Some have speculated that there may be an agenda to get legislation (like a new Patriot Act) passed in the near future. 

    I believe this may be a ploy to get traction on legislation restricting or banning civilian ownership of drones. Some people might be skeptical about that idea, but consider for a moment how useful drones are to a potential populist rebellion…

    For over a century, governments and national armies have had a monopoly on aerial surveillance and the ability to engage enemies from the sky.  With the invention of drones many patriots and survivalists have viewed the technology as the biggest threat to future attempts at rebellion against the establishment. The devices are cheap to produce, can operate in forests and urban environments and even small drones can carry enough explosives to maim or possibly kill with precision.

    In the past, smaller forces using asymmetric tactics could still gain the upper hand against governments, even when fighting an advanced military with air superiority.  Drones are now treated as the end game for insurgencies.  But the truth is quite the opposite; drones are the end game for standard armies and a huge advantage for asymmetric rebellions.  Drones are the biggest game changer in warfare for civilians since the invention of the repeating rifle.

    We have seen the face of combat change dramatically in the war in Ukraine as drones become increasingly vital for both sides. Medium-sized drones have disrupted typical maneuver warfare tactics using high explosives to disable armored columns. Small drones allow operators to monitor the battlefield from the sky for miles and make discreet troop movements impossible.

    Drones can be easily used by civilians for the same purposes. For the first time ever, patriots have access to the air for surveillance and defense. I would not be surprised to see governments fabricate reasons why the technology “needs to be banned” – They will try to sell the American people on the idea that drones are a danger to public safety, even if that requires bankrolling a terror attack to frighten people into compliance.

    In either case – A trigger for WWIII or a test case for banning the civilian drone market, the establishment gains an advantage.  As far as I can tell, no one else benefits from these drone incidents.  All signs point to a false flag.  If this reality is exposed widely enough, I expect that the government will finally admit that they were behind the drone flights, but only as an effort to “protect the public” from an insidious threat that they could not tell us about beforehand.

    *  *  *

    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
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 20:05

  • "Deeply Conflicted" Judge Rules Trump Doesn't Have Immunity In New York 'Hush Money' Case
    “Deeply Conflicted” Judge Rules Trump Doesn’t Have Immunity In New York ‘Hush Money’ Case

    President-elect Donald Trump does not have immunity in the so-called “hush money” case in New York, Judge Juan Merchan ruled in a decision on Dec. 16.

    The conduct described by the 34 felony counts of which Trump was convicted earlier this year is related “entirely to unofficial conduct entitled to no immunity protections,” Merchan wrote.

    As Joseph Lord reports for The Epoch Times, the decision, coming in the wake of Trump’s sweeping victory in the 2024 presidential election, is tied to a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year that reaffirmed the longstanding precedent that official presidential conduct enjoys “presumptive immunity” from criminal prosecution.

    The Supreme Court’s decision forced Merchan to determine whether the charges were presumptively immune under the law.

    Trump’s attorneys contended that New York prosecutors introduced evidence during his seven-week trial that was protected by the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity doctrine.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) urged the judge to reject Trump’s arguments, arguing that no evidence placed before the jury was protected, and even if it was, it paled in comparison to “other overwhelming evidence of defendant’s guilt.”

    Merchan agreed, finding that none of the challenged evidence was protected.

    Even if immunity did extend to the evidence in question, Merchan wrote he “would still find that the People’s use of these acts as evidence of the decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch, a conclusion amply supported by non-motive-related evidence.”

    The Hill reports that Trump has separately argued that his White House victory compels the dismissal of the jury’s verdict and the case in its entirety.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) has pushed back, instead laying out alternatives like freezing the proceedings during Trump’s term.

    The judge has yet to rule on that matter.

    “Today’s decision by deeply conflicted, acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA Witch Hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s decision on immunity, and other longstanding jurisprudence,” Steven Cheung, Trump’s spokesperson and incoming White House communications director, said in a statement.

    In a separate letter, Merchan revealed that Trump also sent a Dec. 3 letter alleging juror misconduct. The judge provided sparse details but indicated the issue would be made public with redactions.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 19:43

  • The Life-Affirming Vitality Of Raw Milk
    The Life-Affirming Vitality Of Raw Milk

    Authored by Matthew Gasda via RealClearBooks,

    I’ve been drinking raw milk for almost 15 years, ever since I made a sudden switch from veganism while visiting my sister in Europe. At the time, she was living in Germany and getting raw milk from a local farmer. I remember mocking her, interrogating her, feigning disgust—performing disgust—which I thought was justified by science and ethics. Then, in an instant, it hit me: I was the one being disgusting (rejecting local, traditional, healthy food while scouring German supermarkets for synthetic vegan snacks imported from around the globe).

    When I got back to New York City, where I lived then and still live now, I found a raw milk co-op, which I still use today. The driver, who I won’t name because it’s illegal to sell raw milk in New York, has become my friend. The milk comes from the Amish. Over these 15 years, I’ve only been to the doctor once, for a routine physical. I’ve had no major health problems or depression. My friends say I look young; I feel young. I play sports every weekend. I play fast for my age. I feel better, much stronger, than when I was much younger, and vegan.

    Thus, the animus behind the Amish vote turning out for Trump, linked to events like the federal raid on Amos Miller’s farm and the confiscation of his raw dairy, didn’t surprise me. The Amish are representative figures for a particular kind of social and subject position. Their traditional practices and resistance to modernization make them perfect symbols for a broader cultural revolt against technocratic authority.

    While not a national headline, the Fed’s raid on Miller went viral on X, and for me, it exemplified how progressive health culture—once about choice and care—has become indistinguishable from federal overreach. The message sent by the state health officials and NGO activists is clear: no one should drink milk or slaughter animals on their own or seek non-pharmacologically mediated health. We should drink oat milk, pea protein smoothies, and eat fake meat. Pharmaceuticals should be the first and last line against illness.

    For some, the meme-ification of raw milk (and related products like beef tallow) is just a sideshow to what is increasingly, clearly, a small “r” anti-bureaucrat populist political revolt. However, I think the raw milk meme, the signifier, encapsulates something very deep about that revolution: Americans want the level of healthiness the Amish have, and are increasingly willing, like the Amish, to push back against health norms dictated by bureaucrats, Big Agra, and Big Pharma.

    “Taste classifies, and it classifies the classifier,” the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu wisely asserts. Case in point: fake milks, which have long symbolized “progress”  and liberal orthodoxy, environmental sensitivity, and supposed better health and living. Progressive food hygiene reflects a broader cultivation of neuroticism—a puritanical morbidity that’s ultimately about self-denial. It’s not just that Amish foods, rooted in centuries of tradition, are safe. It’s that they taste good—rich, fatty, nutritious. Foods like raw milk, pastured eggs, and raw meat excite the senses, nourish the body, and make modern life, with its endless laptop work, socializing, and algorithmic dating, feel worthwhile.

    Drinking raw milk is part of a larger desire to reconnect to the body, to natural reality, to traditions, to the earth. Raw milk symbolizes nature, locality, and the uncommodified. It stands against a scientistic (not scientific) mindset that insists on interventions like pasteurization—treating food in a way that might make it marginally safer but also destroys part of its essence, its taste. Pasteurization is a metaphor for the progressive mentality: a relentless pursuit of safety at all costs, even if it makes life blander and less vital.

    Raw milk, tallow, and the broader “MAHA” movement reject this safetyism. They defy the smug, know-it-all attitudes of the Axios, Ezra Klein class, who can’t fathom why anyone would choose non-optimized, non-expert-approved practices. For years, I’ve had friends (who are often demonstrably, obviously, very physically unwell) tell me I’m endangering myself by drinking raw milk. They’ve called it disgusting, weird, even subversive. These same types were shocked when I didn’t wear a mask or get a vaccine, and they’re just as shocked that I didn’t vote for Kamala.

    This ahistorical obsession with safety and control—what’s “normal”—isn’t just conditioned by corporate food interests; it’s embedded in a complex web of power relations that shape our very understanding of health and risk. The modern food safety regime—which has been internalized by cable-news watching, unthinking ‘libs’ as normal—demands not just compliance, but cultish devotion to the status quo systems (like the food and medical systems)—a devotion which entails a denial of our sensory experience and a rejection of accumulated wisdom. It’s a form of what Bourdieu calls “symbolic violence,” whereby what for thousands of years was considered a normal act (drinking unprocessed milk), becomes redefined by a dominant, in this case, technocratic culture as dangerous or regressive.

    Our technocratic, medicalized, scientistic life-system insists we feel “right” rather than feel alive, and that symbols matter more than the signals of the body itself. Drinking raw milk, therefore, has a kind of sacramental quality, just in the sense that it shocks those who practice the rituals of liberal hygiene and right-living; it inverts hygiene practices and is actually about making food holy again.

    We’re asked to sacrifice tradition for regulation, vitality for standardization, embodied wisdom for bureaucratic protocols. We’re trading the full-bodied experience of life—with all its subtle flavors, risks, and rewards—for a thin gruel of safetyism and industrial efficiency. Raw milk memes, and the Amish voting turnout, and MAHA isn’t just about dairy or tallow or seed oils; it’s about refusing a certain kind of bargain where useful unofficial forms of knowledge and experience are discarded and mocked.

    Progressivism, both as a politics and a lifestyle, has the high burden of proving that the future is always better than the past; I think many are finding that there’s no reason to accept that burden. Sometimes the past, backed by thousands of years of fine-tuning, is just better than the future.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 19:15

  • Assad Breaks Silence From Moscow, Denies 'Planned' Syria Departure
    Assad Breaks Silence From Moscow, Denies ‘Planned’ Syria Departure

    Syria’s toppled leader Bashar al-Assad has made a statement for the first time since fleeing Syria after jihadist groups led by US-designated terror organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over the country and the army peeled away without a fight.

    The statement was posted Monday to the Syrian Presidency’s Telegram account; however, it can’t be independently verified that he personally made the statement. Assad is with his family in Moscow, where they have received asylum from the Russian government.

    The posted letter describes that Syria’s collapse was the result of terrorism and that his leaving was not planned. He said he was evacuated to Russia from the Khmeimim airbase on the Syrian coast. This happened the evening of December 8, and the letter further describes that the base was coming under drone attacks and the security situation deteriorating. He suggested he wanted to stay and fight.

    Via Associated Press

    “My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed. On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday 8th December 2024,” the statement said.

    “With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8th December. This took place a day after the fall of Damascus, following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions,” the statement continued.

    “At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party. The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught,” it added.

    But the statement does say that as state institutions collapsed that his position as president of the country quickly became “void of purpose” as by then Syria was overrun by “terrorists”.

    “When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose, rendering its occupation meaningless,” Assad added.

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    Assad’s precise whereabouts or the timeline of events of his exit had been unknown for days even after he was in Moscow. It appears many of this top officials, including his brother Maher, had fled either across the Iraq border or to Dubai. For example, Assad’s top media advisor Bouthaina Shaaban was spotted in Dubai’s airport.

    Western media sources are currently alleging that in recent years Assad had $250 million in cash flown from Syria to Russia. The media is presenting this as him having looted the country’s central bank, but the airlifts took place a number of years ago:

    The Financial Times (FT) said that it had uncovered records showing that Assad’s regime flew two tonnes of banknotes into Moscow between 2018 and 2019 to be deposited at Russian banks. Newsweek has contacted the Russian foreign ministry for comment.

    The FT says that Syria’s central bank airlifted $250 million in cash to Russia at a time when Assad was indebted to Moscow and the Middle Eastern country was desperately short of foreign currency.

    Likely this was also done to bypass Western sanctions, and given Russia has long been a hub of Assad family finances. 

    Meanwhile, Reuters reported last week that “The vaults in Syria’s central bank were left unscathed by looters in the turmoil that briefly engulfed the capital Damascus after the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad, a senior business leader and three other sources told Reuters.” According to more breaking developments:

    • SYRIA RETAINS NEARLY 26 TONS OF GOLD RESERVES INSIDE CENTRAL BANK VAULT – SOURCES
    • SYRIA’S CENTRAL BANK HAS ROUGHLY $200 MLN IN U.S. DOLLAR RESERVES IN VAULTS – SOURCES
    • SYRIA’S GOLD RESERVES WORTH $2.2 BLN AT CURRENT MARKET PRICES – REUTERS CALCULATIONS

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    Bassel Hamawi, head of the Damascus Chambers of Commerce, said that “The most important point is that the amounts in the central bank are still as they were, there is no infringement on the central bank and the money in the central bank has been handed over to the new government” – despite other smaller cash stores at the bank having been stolen.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 18:50

  • Autonomous AI Poses Existential Threat – And It's Almost Here: Former Google CEO
    Autonomous AI Poses Existential Threat – And It’s Almost Here: Former Google CEO

    Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) is coming—and that it could pose an existential threat to humanity.

    Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 21, 2011. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    “We’re soon going to be able to have computers running on their own, deciding what they want to do,” Schmidt, who has long raised alarm about both the dangers and the benefits AI poses to humanity, said during a Dec. 15 appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”

    “That’s a dangerous point: When the system can self improve, we need to seriously think about unplugging it,” Schmidt said.

    Schmidt is far from the first tech leader to raise these concerns.

    The rise of consumer AI products like ChatGPT has been unprecedented in the past two years, with major improvements to the language-based model. Other AI models have become increasingly adept at creating visual art, photographs, and full-length videos that are nearly indistinguishable from reality in many cases.

    For some, the technology calls to mind the “Terminator” series, which centers on a dystopian future where AI takes over the planet, leading to apocalyptic results.

    For all the fears that ChatGPT and similar platforms have raised, consumer AI services available today still fall into a category experts would consider “dumb AI.” These AI are trained on a massive set of data, but lack consciousness, sentience, or the ability to behave autonomously.

    Schmidt and other experts are not particularly worried about these systems.

    Rather, they’re concerned about more advanced AI, known in the tech world as “artificial general intelligence” (AGI), describing far more complex AI systems that could have sentience and, by extension, could develop conscious motives independent from and potentially dangerous to human interests.

    Schmidt said no such systems exist today yet, and we’re rapidly moving toward a new, in-between type of AI: one lacking the sentience that would define an AGI, and still able to act autonomously in fields like research and weaponry.

    “I’ve done this for 50 years. I’ve never seen innovation at this scale,” Schmidt said of the rapid developments in AI complexity.

    Schmidt said that more developed AI would have many benefits to humanity—and could have just as many “bad things like weapons and cyber attacks.”

    The Challenge

    The challenge, Schmidt said, is multifaceted.

    At a core level, he repeated a common sentiment among tech leaders: if autonomous AGI-like systems are inevitable, it will require massive cooperation among both corporate interests and governments internationally to avoid potentially devastating consequences.

    That’s easier said than done. AI provides U.S. competitors like China, Russia, and Iran with a potential leg-up over the United States that would be difficult to achieve otherwise.

    Within the tech industry as well, there’s currently massive competition among major corporations—Google, Microsoft, and others—to outcompete rivals, a situation that raises inherent risks of improper security protocols for dealing with a rogue AI, Schmidt said.

    “The competition is so fierce, there’s a concern that one of the companies will decide to omit the [safety] steps and then somehow release something that really does some harm,” Schmidt said. Such harms would only become evident after the fact, he said.

    The challenge is greater on the international stage, where adversarial nations are likely to see the new technology as revolutionary for their efforts to challenge U.S. global hegemony and expand their own influence.

    “The Chinese are clever, and they understand the power of a new kind of intelligence for their industrial might, their military might, and their surveillance system,” Schmidt said.

    That’s a bit of a catch-22 for U.S. leaders in the field, who find themselves forced to balance existential concerns for humanity with the potential for the United States to fall behind its adversaries, which could be catastrophic to global stability.

    In the worst case, such systems could be used to engineer crippling biological and nuclear weapons, particularly by terror groups like ISIS.

    For this reason, Schmidt said, it’s absolutely crucial that the United States continue to innovate in the field, and ultimately maintain technological dominance over China and other adversarial states and groups.

    Industry Leaders Demand Regulation

    Regulation of the field remains insufficient, Schmidt said. But he expects that governments’ focus on enhancing safeguards around the tech will accelerate dramatically in the coming years.

    Asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos if governments were doing enough to regulate it, Schmidt replied, “Not yet, but they will, because they’ll have to.”

    Despite some initial interest in the field—hearings, legislative proposals, and other initiatives—emerging during the current 118th Congress, this session seems to be on track to end without any major legislation related to AI.

    President-elect Donald Trump, for his part, has warned of the vast risks posed by AI, saying during an appearance on Logan Paul’s “Impaulsive” podcast that it’s “really powerful stuff.”

    He also spoke of the need to maintain competitiveness with adversaries.

    “It brings with it difficulty, but we have to be at the forefront,” Trump said. “It’s going to happen, and if it’s going to happen, we have to take the lead over China. China’s the primary threat.”

    Schmidt’s takes on both the benefits and the challenges of the technology aligns with other industry reactions.

    In June 2024, OpenAI and Google employees signed a letter warning of “serious risks” posed by AI, and calling for greater government oversight of the field.

    Elon Musk has put forward similar warnings, saying that Google is seeking to create a “digital God” through its DeepMind AI program.

    In August, these concerns intensified after it was discovered that an AI took autonomous action to avoid being shut down—raising fears that humanity is already losing control over its creation as governments remain inactive.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 18:25

  • South Korean President Skips Summons Amid Political Crisis, Faces Arrest Risk
    South Korean President Skips Summons Amid Political Crisis, Faces Arrest Risk

    South Korea’s Constitutional Court began reviewing President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment on Saturday, following a National Assembly vote that led to it. Yoon was scheduled for questioning on Sunday as part of a prosecutors’ office investigation, but he has not responded. Meanwhile, the leader of his party, who had supported the impeachment, has resigned.

    NBC News reports the prosecutors’ office asked Yoon to appear for questioning on Sunday as part of an investigation over his failed attempt to declare emergency martial law earlier this month. Prosecutors will issue another summons for the president. 

    On Saturday, the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon, with 204 lawmakers in the 300-member house in favor of the motion and 85 against. Eight votes were declared invalid, while three lawmakers abstained from voting.

    Source: Bloomberg 

    The vote comes a little more than a week after Yoon survived an impeachment vote, capping multi-week political turmoil in the country that borders North Korea. This follows Yoon’s declaration of the briefest martial law in South Korean history on December 3, lasting only a few hours, after accusing the opposition party of engaging in ‘anti-state activities.’

    Recall, Yoon said: “I will not give up. I will do my best for our country.” And this could be why he failed to appear for questioning on Sunday.

    “If Yoon continues to defy requests for questioning in the two inquiries, investigators could ask a court to issue a warrant for his arrest,” NBC noted. 

    Under South Korea’s Constitution, Yoon’s impeachment has allowed Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to become interim leader.

    Political instability in South Korea led to the resignation of Han Dong Hoon, the leader of Yoon’s People Power Party, on Monday morning. 

    Han said he does “not regret supporting the impeachment” because the president’s use of martial law was wrong. 

    “Defending illegal martial law is a betrayal of the country, the people, the conservative spirit, and the achievements of our party that achieved industrialization and democratization,” Han emphasized. 

    Given that the Constitutional Court will now decide whether to reinstate or remove Yoon, Goldman’s Goohoon Kwon and Andrew Tilton provided clients with the possible transition scenarios. That process could take up to six months.

    Here’s what comes next: 

    Newsquawk’s latest headlines on the ongoing political turmoil: 

    • South Korean MPs have successfully voted to impeach President Yoon in their second attempt, amid backlash following his brief move to impose martial law, according to BBC. Yoon was suspended from official duties at 19:24 local time on Saturday while PM Han is to continue as acting president, according to Yonhap.

    • South Korea’s acting president Han vowed to leave no vacuum in state affairs, build a solid security posture, and ensure the cabinet works hard to maintain trust with the US, Japan, and other partners. He also pledged efforts to operate financial and forex markets smoothly, according to Yonhap. Acting President Han said the country will maintain preparedness to prevent North Korea from stirring up provocations, secure national interests ahead of the new US administration, and prioritise national security above all else, according to News1 and Yonhap.

    • South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said the party has decided not to proceed with the impeachment of acting , according to Reuters.

    • Bank of Korea stated it is necessary to respond more actively to the economic impact compared with past impeachment periods, given heightened challenges in external conditions. It also said it will use all available policy instruments, in conjunction with the government, to respond to and avert escalation of volatility in financial and forex markets, according to Reuters.

    • South Korea’s Finance Minister said the government will continue to swiftly deploy market-stabilising measures as needed, seek more support measures for vulnerable sectors, and actively communicate with parliament to keep the economy stable. The minister also confirmed that the bi-annual economic policy plan will be announced before the end of the year, according to Reuters.

    • South Korea’s financial regulator said it will expand market-stabilising funds if needed to boost liquidity in bond and short-term money markets and expects financial markets to stabilise as recent political events are temporary shocks, according to Reuters.

    Also, the Goldman analysts warned of another scenario that could unfold: “… muddling through in a political gridlock.” 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 18:00

  • Key Figures From "Thank You Dr. Fauci" Lead The Quest For COVID-19 Accountability
    Key Figures From “Thank You Dr. Fauci” Lead The Quest For COVID-19 Accountability

    The documentary Thank You Dr. Fauci has emerged as a prescient roadmap for understanding the COVID-19 pandemic, its origins, and the political and scientific decisions that shaped the world’s response. If you haven’t already, please watch and share this groundbreaking work.

    With recent talk of a preemptive pardon for Fauci, the film – and those featured in it, is set to take center stage in what we hope begins a phase of accountability.

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    Directed by progressive filmmaker Jenner Furst, Thank You Dr. Fauci brings together an extraordinary cast of whistleblowers, investigators, and scientists who were early voices in questioning the narratives surrounding the pandemic. As the Trump administration prepares to take office, with figures like Senator Rand Paul leading investigations into COVID-19 origins, the documentary stands as a bold call for transparency, justice, and reform.

    The film carefully curates a mix of insiders, investigators, and progressive activists who have shaped the COVID-19 discourse. Their inclusion not only provides a thorough examination of the pandemic but also underscores the film’s broader message about systemic failures and the need for reform.

    Dr. Richard Ebright: The Voice Against Risky Research

    Ebright, a molecular biologist and professor at Rutgers University, plays a crucial role in Thank You Dr. Fauci as one of the most prominent critics of gain-of-function research and its potential role in the COVID-19 pandemic.

    For years, Ebright has been a leading voice in the scientific community warning of the dangers posed by experiments that enhance the transmissibility or pathogenicity of viruses. His expertise and willingness to challenge public health orthodoxy make him a pivotal figure in the film’s narrative of accountability and reform.

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    Dr. Jay Bhattacharya: From Lockdown Critic to Key Voice in the Trump Administration

    Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor of medicine and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, emerges in Thank You Dr. Fauci as one of the most prominent critics of lockdowns and restrictive COVID-19 policies. Known for advocating “focused protection” instead of broad lockdowns, Bhattacharya has consistently argued that public health measures disproportionately harmed the poor, children, and vulnerable populations while failing to adequately address the spread of the virus. His inclusion in the film underscores the growing debate over the societal and economic costs of pandemic policies.

    Bhattacharya has been appointed by President-elect Donald Trump as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This role places him at the helm of one of the most powerful health agencies in the world, giving him the opportunity to reshape how the government approaches public health and pandemic preparedness.

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    Dr. Bryce Nickels and Dr. Justin Kinney: Scientists Leading the Push for Biosafety Reform

    Dr. Bryce Nickels, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University, and Dr. Justin Kinney, a quantitative biologist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, feature prominently in Thank You Dr. Fauci as advocates for greater accountability and reform in scientific research. Both scientists have been vocal critics of gain-of-function research, arguing that the lack of oversight and transparency in this field contributed to the conditions that may have led to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The pair are working to have bullshit Fauci-commissioned scientific papers retracted.

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    Dr. Marty Makary – early Fauci Skeptic picked by Trump to lead the FDA

    Kenny Holston/The New York Times

    In Thank You, Dr. Fauci, Makary notes how he became a Fauci skeptic “during the Ebola epidemic,” after Fauci “transferred a nurse in Dallas with Ebola to the NIH clinical center in Washington DC, and then Dr. Fauci puts on an astronaut suit and walks in with a photographer for a photo opportunity.”

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    “The media parroted whatever Fauci and the CDC fed them, just as they did when government leaders told them there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, parroting whatever the government told them without asking any questions,” Makary told the House Select Subcommittee on the Covid Pandemic on May 11, 2023.

    Makary has been picked by President-elect Donald Trump as the next commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Should he be confirmed, he will report to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – should Kennedy also be confirmed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

    David Asher – former State Department Investigator

    David Asher, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and bioweapons expert, led the U.S. State Department’s investigation into the origins of COVID-19 during the Trump administration. His inquiry focused on the possibility that the virus originated from a laboratory incident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China.

    Asher’s investigation examined the WIV’s research activities, including gain-of-function experiments that enhance a virus’s transmissibility or virulence. He raised concerns about the safety protocols at the WIV and the potential for an accidental release of the virus. Asher also highlighted the Chinese government’s lack of transparency and cooperation in investigating the pandemic’s origins.

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    Andrew Huff – at the center of EcoHealth

    Dr. Andrew Huff is a whistleblower who worked for EcoHealth Alliance who we’ve covered multiple times over the past few years. According to Huff, a former VP at EcoHealth – his former employer helped the Wuhan lab put together the “best existing methods to engineer bat coronaviruses to attack other species” for many years.

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    “China knew from day one that this was a genetically engineered agent. The US government is to blame for the transfer of dangerous biotechnology to the Chinese,” Huff wrote in his book, The Truth About Wuhan.”

    Charles Rixey and Lt. Col. Joseph Murphy: The Whistleblowers

    The film gives significant attention to Charles Rixey of the DRASTIC research group and Lt. Col. Joseph Murphy, both of whom uncovered critical evidence supporting the lab-leak hypothesis. Their work reveals how government agencies and scientific organizations may have suppressed key information about the pandemic’s origins. The inclusion of leaked documents, coupled with their firsthand accounts, adds weight to the film’s argument that a full reckoning of the pandemic’s roots is overdue.

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    Adam Andrzejewski: RIP

    A crusader for government transparency, Andrzejewski – founder of OpenTheBooks.com filed several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests which revealed Fauci’s exorbitant $450,000 per year salary and several other damning details related to the pandemic. Andrzejewski passed away unexpectedly in August at the age of 55 right before he was set to testify against Fauci.

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    Dr. Robert Redfield: A Key Figure in the COVID-19 Accountability Movement

    Dr. Robert Redfield, the former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), emerges as a critical voice in Thank You Dr. Fauci – noting how he was shut out of Fauci’s conclave of pandemic advisors despite his position.

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    The Trump Administration and a New Era of Accountability

    As Thank You, Dr. Fauci gains traction, the Trump administration’s return to power positions figures like Senator Rand Paul to lead investigations into COVID-19’s origins and alleged coverups. Paul, a vocal critic of Fauci, has promised to subpoena records and hold hearings into gain-of-function research and the suppression of the lab-leak theory.

    The documentary becomes particularly relevant in this context, as many of the individuals featured are expected to play active roles in shaping these inquiries. The film’s message aligns with the incoming administration’s focus on challenging the so-called “Deep State” and holding public health officials accountable.

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    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 17:40

  • Santa, Please Bring Me A War For Christmas
    Santa, Please Bring Me A War For Christmas

    Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

    “Understand this deeply – you nearly lost your country and your freedom to a deranged, totalitarian-leaning enemy of our nation’s soul and destiny. Take this personally.”

    – Mel K

    So, you expected “Joe Biden” to serve up a neat little Christmas-time World War Three, lobbing ATACMS into Russia and all, but instead, surprise surprise, you got The War of the Worlds: mysterious drones hovering on-high over the endless muffler shops, manicure parlors, mafia palazzos, and mosques of New Jersey.

    But there seems to be more to this than, say, the stunt that Orson Welles pulled in 1938, scaring a few rubes over the radio.

    This ain’t no foolin’ around.

    It’s been going on for weeks.

    And not just in New Jersey. But around New York City, up the Hudson River Valley above Stewart Airport, over in Massachusetts, down in Pennsylvania, and out in Ohio in the vicinity of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton Ohio.

    Howls of “WTF” echo all over the cable news channels. The US government — that is, the twilighting “Joe Biden” admin — plays dumb.

    Alejandro Mayorkas, our unimpeachably frank Homeland Security chief told ABC-News on Sunday “that there’s no question that drones are being sighted.” I’m sure that told you a lot. He went on to explain that the FAA changed its rules last year allowing drones to fly at night. Are we to suppose that avid US drone-owners waited until the very last month of this year to start flying their pet aircraft after dark? Pentagon spox John Kirby, added helpfully at a news conference that federal investigators had been “unable to corroborate reports of any unauthorized drones above New Jersey.”

    (Translation: DARPA and other Pentagon ops are too busy figuring out new ways to surveil and kill you to bother with these drone swarms.)

    Theories abound and multiply.

    One is that these are US Govt drones seeking signals of radioactivity emanating from a nuclear bomb supposedly purloined out of Ukraine’s old Soviet arsenal — and possibly stashed in a shipping container or some-such other hidey-hole along our east coast. It’s a good story. It’s rumored that some-60 Uke nukes from that era have gone missing in the decades since. Of course, the theoretical owner of such a device would have to be pretty dumb to not stash his nuke in a lead-shielded casket to prevent detection. In the meantime, what else can be said or done? Standing by on that mushroom cloud. . . .

    Blogger / Author and former White House stenographer (2002 – 2018) Mike McCormick had a neat theory: that shipping interests were testing drone deliveries of imported goods from offshore in an attempt to work-around the longshoreman’s union contract negotiations currently underway.

    The union has been fighting against automation that would eliminate the good-paying jobs of 85,000 dock-workers.

    Any takers on that one?

    Of course, it’s difficult to swallow the govt’s statements that, basically, they dunno nuffins ‘bout no drones. There are enough of them flying over enough varied terrain that surely the USAF could find a way to shoot one down over a cow pasture in, say, Orange County, New York. I’m frankly a little surprised that some enterprising civilian marksman hasn’t popped off a few 7mm Remington mag loads into the hovering lights. At least they haven’t said it’s Santa Claus testing a new high-tech delivery system that would put his old-timey sleigh-and-reindeer out of business.

    The theory I lean toward is the notion that “Joe Biden” (meaning the DC blob) is desperately seeking some way to obstruct or fend-off the January 20th inauguration of Mr. Trump. Because, well, to put it bluntly, a whole lot of blobistas are worried about going to jail when the likes of Kash Patel, John Ratcliffe, Tulsi-G, and Pam Bondi get their mitts on the levers of power and start opening up the files. They’ve got thirty-five days to. . . to do something! (Somebody, please do something!!!)

    There was a lot of chatter all year long about a coming space alien emergency. I know, sounds preposterous, and even more so when you consider that the military arm of the blob would be so dumb as to try to pass off drones as alien spacecrafts — like something out of a 1950s horror movie when the “special effects” had to be done with puppets and balsa-wood models flying on wires. Maybe it’s actually come to that in this super dumbed-down age. (Are you aware that the main diminishing return of our magical computer tech is that it’s made our society an order-of-magnitude dumber across the board? Well, it has.)

    The situation remains fluid, with ongoing investigations and public discourse about the implications and origins of these drone activities.

    The FBI is on-the-case (so never fear!) along with Mr. Mayorkas and his outfit, and maybe even the US military.

    Chill.

    They got this — as Hollywood loves to say. Go shopping. Have a goshdarn eggnog. Shut up.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 17:40

  • West Pushing Russia Beyond 'Red Line' While Building Up Troops In Europe: Putin
    West Pushing Russia Beyond ‘Red Line’ While Building Up Troops In Europe: Putin

    The month of December has already witnessed several waves of US-supplied long-range ATACMS target inside Russian territory. Many have been intercepted, but others have struck Russian bases.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday addressed a meeting of his defense ministry wherein he warned that the Western allies are pushing Russia beyond a red line. He stressed that this means Moscow is pushed into a situation in which it must retaliate.

    He began the comments by accusing the US of seeking “to weaken our country and inflict a strategic defeat”  by continuing “to pump a de facto illegitimate ruling regime in Kiev with weapons and money, sending mercenaries and military advisers, thereby encouraging further escalation of the conflict.”

    Putin continued, according an English translation in state media, “They push us to the red line… we begin to respond, and then they frighten their population.” He said that Washington authorities in this way use “simple tactics” to keep the American population in fear, allowing escalation of threats to continue.

    According to another translation by Reuters:

    The Russian president said: “They [Western leaders] are simply scaring their own population that we are going to attack someone there using the pretext of the mythical Russian threat.

    “The tactic is very simple: they push us to ‘a red line’, from which we can not retreat, we start to respond and then they immediately scare their population – in the old days it was with the Soviet threat and now it’s with the Russian threat.”

    He not only warned that Russia and other independent nations are facing West-sponsored “hybrid wars” – but that NATO is increasing its force posture in Europe near Russia’s borders.

    “The number of American service members in Europe has already exceeded 100,000 troops,“ he said, also noting that Washington’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region has increased too.

    Putin in the comments further hinted that though Moscow currently abides by the INF Treaty, even after Washington pulled out, all self-imposed restrictions could immediately be lifted should the US begin deploying its medium and short-range missile systems in violation of the now defunct treaty.

    “If the United States begins to deploy such systems, then all our voluntary restrictions will be lifted,” he warned. “The relocation and deployment of these missile systems in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region is already being practiced.”

    President-Elect Donald Trump on Monday said that he could immediately reverse the Biden admin’s policy of allowing Kiev to hit Russia with US missiles. He has vowed to rapidly de-escalate and negotiate toward peace.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 17:20

  • Biden Lied About Everything: Philly Fed Finds All Jobs "Created" In Q2 Were Fake
    Biden Lied About Everything: Philly Fed Finds All Jobs “Created” In Q2 Were Fake

    Back in August, many were surprised by the accuracy of our forecast, when we predicted that in its annual revision, the Biden Bureau of Labor Statistics would revise jobs for the April 2023-March 2024 period by “up to 1 million”, something which we said would mean that all job report “beats” recorded in the past year will have been misses and the US labor market is in far worse shape than the admin would admit.

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    The final results, as everyone knows by now, was a shocking 818K revision lower, just as the Philadelphia Fed had predicted 6 months prior, in March, when it calculated correctly that the Biden Department of Goalseeking Propaganda had overstated payrolls by “at least 800,000.”

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    The answer ended up 818,000 for the 12 month period ended March 31 (or about 68,000 per month) and the implied sharp deterioration to the job market was the main scapegoat used by the Fed to launch its easing cycle with a jumbo 50bps rate cut (now that “suddenly” the economic golden age pushed by the Biden propaganda regime, and trillions in debt, had just collapsed).

    We mention all of this up because on Friday, the Philly Fed served up its latest shocker: not only did the Biden admin lie again, but the collapse in the labor market that had been covered up for much of the past year and was only exposed with the annual benchmark revision, extended into the second quarter.

    “Estimates by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia indicate that the employment changes from March through June 2024 were significantly different” – read lower – “in 27 states compared with preliminary state estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Current Employment Statistics (CES)”, the Philly Fed said on December 12.

    “According to the early benchmark (EB) estimates conducted by the Phily Fed, employment was lower in 25 states, higher in two states, and lesser changes in the remaining 23 states and the District of Columbia.”

    Translation: 23 states unchanged, 1 revised higher…  and 25 lower. The breakdown is shown below.

    Maybe someone can calculate what the odds of that distribution occurring naturally are, but here is our guess: virtually nil. Which is why would make such a loud stink every month after the Biden BLS revised jobs data lower month after month after month. The whole point was to make the labor market appear stronger than it was, then to gradually revised it all away. And now the Philadelphia Fed confirms – again – that we were right all along.

    And so, after it first revised the 12 months ending March 31 by 818K, the downgrads extended into the second quarter of 2024, when the Philadelphia Fed early benchmark estimates showed that instead of the 1.1% gain shown initially by the BLS, payroll jobs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia were actually down 0.1%!

    By state, the regional Fed bank estimates that largest revision of employment for the nine-month period ended in June will come from California, where it sees a downward revision of 172,700 jobs. Payrolls in Texas may be revised down by 112,100. An extended forecast by the BLS to the third quarter show further declines as well.

    And while we don’t yet know the specifics of the revisions – those will be revealed on Feb 7, 2025 when the final numbers are published – at the national level, we do know that all the jobs reportedly “created” in the second quarter, were actually fake, there were no net jobs created at all, and in fact, the US lost jobs in Q2!

    Translation: in his latest attempt to create an impression of economic growth, Biden lied about everything, again.

    Source: Philly Fed

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 17:00

  • VDH: Are The Years Of Madness Ending?
    VDH: Are The Years Of Madness Ending?

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

    Never in U.S. history has a president-elect been welcomed as the real president before his January 20 inauguration.

    And never has the incumbent president so willingly surrendered his last two months in office and all but abdicated—to the relief of his nation and the rest of the world.

    One reason so many are welcoming Trump’s return is the universally desperate hope that his election spelled an end to a collective madness at home and its ripples abroad during the last four years. And why not?

    Nations overseas had never quite witnessed anything like the lethal August 2021 American flight from Afghanistan.

    That utter humiliation and impotence of the U.S. military likely signaled to Russia there would be no consequences if it invaded Ukraine—and it did; to Iran that it could now unleash Hamas and Hezbollah on Israel—and it did; and to China that it could daily threaten Taiwan and send a spy balloon across the United States with impunity—and it did.

    The result was the current global chaos perhaps not seen since the late 1930s when a confused United States was similarly a bystander to the rise of bellicose regimes and wars. The Biden administration shrugged that the Red Sea, the Black Sea, the South China Sea, the Straits of Hormuz, and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea all became dangerous to the U.S. Navy and unsafe to world shipping.

    A disparate group of nuclear and near-nuclear powers—Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran—are either at war with Western allies or threatening war with them. Their confidence was predicated on the assumption that the U.S. after 2020 was engaged in a Maoist-like cultural revolution that warred on its own security, energy, military, universities, and social unity—and would continue with a second Biden term.

    The Biden-era cultural revolution has done great damage to the United States. The U.S. border was systematically and deliberately destroyed to allow some 10-12 million illegal entrants to pour into the U.S. without legality or background checks. Never has an outgoing administration spitefully sold taxpayer-purchased border wall material for pennies on the dollar—rather than see it used for the purposes for which it was purchased.

    Never had the U.S. experienced such an immigrant surge. And never had more than 50 million, and over 15 percent of the resident American population been foreign-born.

    Why did Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas erase the border? What madness and hate drove them to dismantle federal immigration law? Was it sheer nihilism? Or a desperate but calculated effort to alter American demography for political purposes?

    For four years, the public, elected officials, and pundits have all warned that Joe Biden was dangerously cognitively challenged and indeed completely unfit to fulfill the duties of the presidency.

    A long-suffering nation winced as Biden slurred his words, spoke in unintelligible sound bites, stood frozen and mute, screamed at and libeled half the country, tripped, fell, wandered aimlessly, became bewildered, and more or less proved a global embarrassment. All knew Biden was not able to run the country; yet none knew exactly who was actually in charge of America in his stead. The Obamas? Leftists like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, the Squad, Jill Biden, and the Biden staff?

    Our allies worried that the usually resilient American president was now all but demented. Our enemies enjoyed these leaderless years of opportunity. And the left serially misled the public that the decrepit Biden, whom they feared in private was senile, was “dynamic,” “energic,” and “fit as a fiddle.”

    Never has a president so deserved to be removed by the 25th Amendment or through impeachment and conviction. And never has even his inner circle finally but silently agreed as they left office, the very enablers who had done their political best to mask his dementia for four long years.

    Never has the justice system, from local to state to national jurisdictions, so systematically and coordinately, sought to bankrupt, render inert, and jail an ex-president and current presidential candidate.

    Rarely have the FBI, the CIA, the IRS, the Department of Justice, and the Pentagon become weaponized and so flagrantly and with impunity broken the law, abandoned their mission statements, and served political agendas rather than the American people. Not since the J. Edgar Hoover era has the FBI hierarchy serially lied under oath, stonewalled Congress, forged a court affidavit, or partnered with the media to suppress the news. Has the FBI ever raided an ex-president’s home, spied on parents at school board meetings, monitored Catholics, or tried to terrify and harass pro-life activists?

    Never has a presidential family so brazenly profited by selling its influence to foreign interests. Never has it used the powers of the FBI and DOJ to cover up its crimes and to ensure the family filial bagman would be for years exempted by the DOJ and later pardoned by the president himself, the father of the family miscreant and privy to the family syndicate’s illegal activities.

    Seldom has a president and his administration sought to fuel a veritable cultural revolution to change the fabric of the nation by institutionalizing a third, transexual gender, violating civil rights law, and systematically admitting, hiring, and promoting Americans on the basis of their race and gender.

    Never since the Civil War era had local and state insurrectionist governments established 600 nullification zones, in which they vowed to break federal law and consider it null and void within their jurisdictions. Never have rioters looted, burned, killed, assaulted, and occupied large swaths of cities for over 120 days, and largely with impunity.

    Never had the U.S. Treasury borrowed so much money so quickly and owed $37 in national debt—and been so intent on borrowing continuously nearly $2 trillion a year in annual deficits.

    Never has a political party sought to systematically violate long-standing traditions, customs, and often the law itself to destroy a political opponent: hiring a foreign national to spread smears among the media and bureaucracies, impeaching a president twice, trying an ex-president in the Senate, seeking to remove a presidential candidate from 16 state ballots, using five different judicial jurisdictions to try an ex-president, and serially so defaming a candidate and ex-president as a dictator, fascist, and Nazi to create a climate that encouraged two near-miss assassination attempts on him.

    In sum, for the last four years, the world has watched aghast as the United States lost its collective mind and became a radical Jacobin revolutionary society.

    So why is there not a sense of almost ecstatic relief, not just among conservatives but even among Democrats, that the years of darkness and madness are ending?

    The global public believes that the United States will again become lawful, have a secure border, return as a beacon of free-market economics, protect its allies, deter its enemies, win over its neutrals, return to the rule of law, restore the professionalism and prestige of its government agencies, check predatory nations abroad with a new deterrent military, and prepare to lead the world in energy production, exploration of space, and scientific and technology development.

    Summed up, the welcomed counterrevolution is one of restoration—to dream again that nothing is impossible, and the dreary age of stasis, envy, cynicism, and nihilism is ending, replaced again by a world without limits. No one knows quite what is ahead, but all know that it is at least better already than the current nightmare.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 16:20

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Dec 16

Today’s News 16th December 2024

  • The Democratic Party Changed While We Stayed In Place
    The Democratic Party Changed While We Stayed In Place

    Authored by Josh Stylman via The Brownstone Institute,

    Let me start by saying I loathe politics. I’ve always been drawn to liberal ideas—individual freedom, protecting the vulnerable, questioning authority, and the fundamental belief that consenting adults should be free to live their lives however they choose as long as they’re not harming others. These aren’t political positions to me; they’re basic human principles. But the game of politics itself repulses me. What I’m about to share isn’t about politics; it’s about our shared reality and how we’ve lost touch with it.

    The Mindvirus

    What’s truly mind-numbing to me is how people don’t see what’s happening right in front of them. The media has devolved into nothing more than a propaganda mouthpiece for the establishment, programming people to react rather than think. I’ve experienced this firsthand: When I drew historical comparisons between vaccine mandates and 1933 Germany’s early authoritarian policies, I was instantly labeled an extremist and cancelled by my NYC community. Yet now, these same people casually call everyone at Trump’s MSG rally Nazis. The irony would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.

    My Liberal Foundation

    I still believe deeply in core liberal principles:

    • Genuine free speech, not the controlled corporate version we see today
    • Standing against establishment overreach
    • Opposing unchecked corporate power
    • Fighting against unnecessary wars
    • Complete bodily autonomy – your body, your choice, in ALL contexts
    • Defending individual rights consistently, not selectively

    These aren’t just political positions—they’re principles about human dignity and freedom.

    The Democratic Party’s Transformation

    The Democratic Party’s drift from these values didn’t happen overnight. Many of us, exhausted by Bush’s brutal wars, lies about weapons of mass destruction, and the Patriot Act’s assault on civil liberties, invested our hopes in Obama’s promise of change. But instead of the transformation we sought, we got what felt like Bush’s third and fourth terms.

    Under Obama, we watched as corporate influence grew stronger, not weaker. The Snowden revelations exposed massive surveillance programs. The housing crisis devastated ordinary Americans while Wall Street got bailouts. Rather than challenging institutional power, the Democratic establishment became increasingly entangled with it.

    The betrayal of liberal values became even clearer with Bernie Sanders. Like Trump, Bernie tapped into something real—a deep frustration with a system that had left ordinary Americans behind. Both men, from vastly different perspectives, recognized that working people were suffering while elites prospered. But the Democratic establishment couldn’t allow an actual progressive challenger. They used every trick in the book—from media manipulation to primary shenanigans—to block him from the nomination. Most disappointing was watching Bernie himself bend the knee to the same establishment he had railed against, leaving millions of supporters feeling betrayed and politically homeless.

    When Hillary Clinton emerged as the nominee, we were told rejecting her meant rejecting women’s leadership. But we weren’t rejecting female leadership—we were rejecting warmongering and corporate cronyism. What we needed was a leader embodying the feminine divine: qualities of compassion, understanding, nurturing wisdom, and the ability to truly listen. Instead, we got another hawk in the corporate establishment’s pocket. And when that failed, they doubled down on cynical identity politics with Harris.

    Today, the situation relating to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. perfectly exemplifies how far the party has fallen. Here was a lifelong Democrat, a member of the party’s most popular family, who wanted to challenge these corrupting influences—and they wouldn’t even let him on the debate stage. I firmly believe that had they given him the opportunity, he could have united the country and beaten Trump.

    But that reveals the truth: this was never about beating Trump. It was about ensuring they maintained control by installing another establishment stooge who wouldn’t challenge their power structure. His departure from the party isn’t just about one candidate; it’s the culmination of a long betrayal of liberal principles.

    The Politics of Distraction vs. Real Issues

    Take abortion rights. This is an incredibly nuanced issue with deeply held convictions on all sides. I’ve spoken with several constitutional lawyers who’ve explained that overturning Roe was legally sound—not a political decision but a constitutional one about federal versus state authority. That makes it even more telling that Democrats, when they had a supermajority, chose not to codify these protections into federal law. Instead, they’ve kept this issue unresolved, using it as a reliable tool to drive voter turnout every four years.

    While abortion access matters deeply to many Americans, we’re facing multiple crises that threaten the very foundation of our republic: inflation is crushing working families while Wall Street posts record profits; government surveillance of citizens has reached dystopian levels; and our regulatory agencies—the FDA and CDC—have been completely captured by corporate interests, approving one toxic product after another while our children are being poisoned by processed foods, environmental toxins, and experimental drugs.

    The climate crisis (or what some see as deliberate geoengineering) threatens our very survival. Our border is in complete chaos—while we send billions to foreign conflicts most Americans barely understand. All this while our own infrastructure crumbles and our nation grows more divided than ever.

    The hypocrisy around women’s rights is particularly telling. The same party that claims to champion women’s bodily autonomy pushed for mandatory experimental medical interventions, despite documented evidence of mRNA vaccines affecting women’s reproductive cycles and fertility. These effects were known from early trials, yet raising concerns got you labeled as “anti-science.” Meanwhile, they’ve insisted that biological males have access to women’s spaces—including locker rooms, bathrooms, and sports competitions—prioritizing fashionable ideologies over women’s safety and fair competition.

    The Democrats permanently lost any moral authority on bodily autonomy the moment they advocated for mandatory medical procedures—yet they continue to lecture us about it without a hint of self-awareness. Liberal principles aren’t a Chinese menu where you get to pick and choose which freedoms matter.

    Take Kamala Harris—she literally campaigned on “My body, my choice” while simultaneously mandating experimental Covid shots for her own campaign staff. You can’t claim to champion bodily autonomy in one breath and deny it in the next based on political convenience. Either you believe in individual liberty and bodily autonomy, or you don’t. There’s no à la carte option when it comes to fundamental human rights.

    The Corporate-State Fusion

    What we’re seeing today aligns disturbingly well with Mussolini’s definition of fascism: the merger of state and corporate power. Look at Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum promoting “stakeholder capitalism,” where corporations and governments form partnerships to control various aspects of society. The WEF’s corporate membership reads like a who’s who of Democratic Party megadonors: BlackRock, which donated millions to Biden’s campaign while pushing ESG policies that benefit their bottom line; Pfizer, which poured over $10 million into Democratic coffers while securing massive government contracts; Google and Meta, which not only donate heavily but actively suppress information challenging Democratic narratives.

    This isn’t a coincidence; it’s coordination. These same companies shape policy that enriches them: BlackRock advises on financial policy while managing government assets, Pfizer helps write drug approval guidelines while selling mandatory vaccines, and Big Tech collaborates with federal agencies to control information flow. We saw this play out in real time: from day one of the Biden administration, they created backdoor channels into social media companies to censor Americans’ speech about Covid, the 2020 election, and other sensitive topics.

    This isn’t a theory—it’s documented fact. Every major policy decision seems to benefit these corporate partners: vaccine mandates, digital currency initiatives, censorship programs, climate policies—all funneling money and power to the same corporations that fund the Democratic machine. When corporations and government work together to control information and behavior, that’s precisely the corporate-state fusion that classical liberals once fought against. The Democratic Party has become the party of corporate fascism while claiming to fight against it.

    The Democratic Facade

    The current administration embodies everything wrong with our system. Look at Kamala Harris—she dropped out of the 2020 presidential race before any primary, polling below 1%. Biden then selected her solely because he limited his pool to black women—not because of her qualifications, but because of identity politics. Her record as Senator was abysmal—she sponsored zero significant legislation and missed 84% of votes during her brief tenure. Then as Vice President, her role as border czar has been an unprecedented disaster—one the administration now tries to pretend never happened.

    And here’s the ultimate irony: this is the party screaming loudest about “threats to democracy,” yet they literally installed Harris as their candidate when nobody voted for her—she dropped out before a single primary vote was cast due to dismal polling. They wouldn’t even let their own members participate in primary debates. They’re lecturing us about democracy while actively suppressing democratic processes within their own party. When they say “democracy is on the ballot,” what they really mean is their controlled version of democracy where they pick the candidates and we’re supposed to fall in line.

    Nobody voted for her, and honestly, nobody really likes her—they just hate Trump more. They could prop up a steaming pile of manure as a candidate, and people would vote for it just to vote against Trump. But here’s the real question: If Trump is truly the democracy-ending threat they claim, why didn’t democracy end during his first term? And if Harris is the solution to our problems, why hasn’t she fixed anything while in office?

    The Trump Enigma

    My view on Trump has evolved, though not in the way many might expect. I didn’t vote for him in 2016 or 2020. Growing up in this region, I knew him only as a second-generation real estate developer—Woody Guthrie had written those critical lyrics about his father, “Old Man Trump.” At the time, I thought Donald was just another entitled heir who happened to opportunistically tap into something real. 

    But there’s so much more to this story. His connections to secret societies and the occult run surprisingly deep. His Trump Tower penthouse is essentially a Masonic temple, designed as a replica of Versailles with deliberate esoteric symbolism throughout. His mentor was a 33° Scottish Rite, and Roy Cohn’—master of blackmail and dark arts—shaped his early career. Most intriguingly, his uncle John Trump was the MIT scientist tasked with reviewing Nikola Tesla’s papers after his death—papers that allegedly contained world-changing technologies, from free energy to more exotic possibilities. I don’t know what it all means, but there’s clearly more to this story than the “orange man bad” narrative we’re fed.

    At this point, I see only three possibilities:

    1. He’s playing his part in a grand political wrestling match (WWF style)
    2. He’s a dueling bad guy (genuinely a thorn in the establishment’s side)
    3. He’s actually the hero of this story (which would be the most hilarious plot twist imaginable from the vantage point of someone like me)

    The Path Forward

    Candidly, I don’t know and at this point, any of these seem plausible. What I do know is what the blue team represents—their actions have made that crystal clear. But Trump remains a bit of a mystery to me. I have a hard time believing any politician could be our savior—real change has always come from the bottom up, not the top down. But something interesting happened that gave me a glimmer of hope: RFK, Jr. jumping on board.

    The RFK, Jr. situation is fascinating. Here’s a Kennedy—essentially Democratic royalty—teaming up with Trump after being shut out by his own party. This isn’t just any political alliance. RFK, Jr.’s deep understanding of the administrative state, from public health institutions to regulatory agencies, combined with his proven track record of exposing corporate capture and fighting pharmaceutical corruption, makes this particularly intriguing. Maybe, just maybe, this alliance could protect our children from harmful policies and unnecessary wars?

    I struggle with what comes next because I understand the gravity of our situation. Our republic is incredibly fragile—more fragile than most people realize. The Founders knew this, warning us about the difficulty of maintaining a democratic republic. But I refuse to give up on dialogue, even when it feels hopeless. If people don’t see what’s happening by now—the censorship, the mandates, the war-mongering, what appears to be intentional schismogenesis (I wrote about this idea here)—will they ever?

    The powers that profit from our division; they’ve mastered the art of keeping us fighting each other so we don’t look up to see who’s really pulling the strings. These aren’t just political issues—they’re existential challenges that require reasonable people to discuss complex solutions. Your neighbor who voted differently isn’t your enemy—they likely want many of the same things you do: safety, prosperity, freedom, and a better future for their children. They might just have different ideas about how to get there.

    I know this is heavy stuff. You might disagree with everything I’ve said, and that’s okay. What’s not okay is letting these disagreements destroy our relationships and communities. The choice isn’t just about who we vote for—it’s about how we treat each other, how we discuss our differences, and whether we can find common ground in our shared humanity.

    The way forward isn’t through hatred or fear. It’s through understanding, open dialogue, and most importantly, love. We might be living through the death throes of the American experiment, or we might be witnessing its rebirth. Either way, we’re in this together, and our strength lies in our ability to work through these challenges as a community, as neighbors, and as friends. Let’s choose wisdom over reaction, understanding over judgment, and love over fear. Our future depends on it.

    Republished from the author’s Substack

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 23:20

  • Federal Officials Will Deploy High-Tech System To New York After Drones Shut Down Airport, Governor Says
    Federal Officials Will Deploy High-Tech System To New York After Drones Shut Down Airport, Governor Says

    By Jack Phillips of The Epoch Times

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the federal government will send a “a state-of-the-art drone detection system” to her state after a number of drone sightings across New York and New Jersey in recent days.

    While she did not elaborate on the system that will be deployed, it “will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” she said in a statement on the morning of Dec. 15.

    “I am grateful for the support, but we need more. Congress must pass a law that will give us the power to deal directly with the drones,” the governor wrote on social media platform X around the same time. She urged Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act that will give states “the authority and resources required to respond to circumstances like we face today.”

    It’s not clear whether the federal government sent a similar system to New Jersey, where most of the drone sightings have occurred, or in other states. Over the weekend, swarms of drones were spotted in other states along the East Coast, including Maryland.

    On Dec. 14, Hochul said that a drone sighting shut down Stewart International Airport, a small airport located in Orange County within the Hudson Valley.

    “Last night, the runways at Stewart Airfield were shut down for approximately one hour due to drone activity in the airspace,” the governor said in a statement. “This has gone too far.”

    Hochul then called on the federal government to provide assistance in dealing with the unmanned vehicles, adding that federal rules make it difficult for the state to deal with drones.

    “Extending these powers to New York State and our peers is essential,” the governor also said. “Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people.”

    Federal officials in the past week have stressed that there is no evidence the drones pose a security or public safety threat to the United States, while also asserting the drones are not being operated by a foreign adversary such as Iran or China.

    On the morning of Dec. 15, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas suggested in an ABC News interview that the drones also were not flying around sensitive military sites.

    Despite the assurances from federal officials, multiple elected officials have called on the government to shoot the drones down.

    “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge,” President-elect Donald Trump wrote on social media over the weekend. “I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down.”

    Continue reading at The Epoch Times

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 22:10

  • Suspicious OpenAI Whistleblower Death Ruled Suicide
    Suspicious OpenAI Whistleblower Death Ruled Suicide

    The November death of former OpenAI researcher-turned-whistleblower, 26-year-old Suchir Balaji was ruled a suicide, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

    According to the medical examiner, there was no foul play in Balaji’s Nov. 26 death in his San Francisco apartment.

    Balaji had publicly accused OpenAI of violating US copyright law with ChatGPT. According to the NY Times;

    He came to the conclusion that OpenAI’s use of copyrighted data violated the law and that technologies like ChatGPT were damaging the internet.

    In August, he left OpenAI because he no longer wanted to contribute to technologies that he believed would bring society more harm than benefit.

    “If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company,” he said during a recent series of interviews with The New York Times.

    The Times named Balaji a person with “unique and relevant documents” that the outlet would use in their ongoing litigation with OpenAI – which claims that the company, and its partner Microsoft, are using the world of reporters and editors without permission.

    In an October post to X, Balaji wrote: “I was at OpenAI for nearly 4 years and worked on ChatGPT for the last 1.5 of them. I initially didn’t know much about copyright, fair use, etc. but became curious after seeing all the lawsuits filed against GenAI companies. When I tried to understand the issue better, I eventually came to the conclusion that fair use seems like a pretty implausible defense for a lot of generative AI products, for the basic reason that they can create substitutes that compete with the data they’re trained on. I’ve written up the more detailed reasons for why I believe this in my post. Obviously, I’m not a lawyer, but I still feel like it’s important for even non-lawyers to understand the law — both the letter of it, and also why it’s actually there in the first place.”

    He then made a lengthy post on his personal blog outlining why he thinks OpenAI violates Fair Use. Four weeks later he was dead.

    Balaji, who grew up in Cupertino, California, studied computer science at UC Berkeley – telling the Times that he wanted to use AI to help society.

    “I thought we could invent some kind of scientist that could help solve them,” he told the outlet.

    But in 2022, after two years with OpenAI, Balaji grew concerned over the data he was assigned to gather for the company’s GPT-4 program, which was trained on virtually the entire internet. He told the Times that this violated US “fair use” laws.

    “Microsoft and OpenAI simply take the work product of reporters, journalists, editorial writers, editors and others who contribute to the work of local newspapers — all without any regard for the efforts, much less the legal rights, of those who create and publish the news on which local communities rely,” the Times said in its lawsuit.

    OpenAI has refuted the claims, saying all of its work is covered under fair use.

    “We see immense potential for AI tools like ChatGPT to deepen publishers’ relationships with readers and enhance the news experience,” the company said.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 21:35

  • Cold Shoulder: Democrats Ignore Tulsi Gabbard's Request To Meet
    Cold Shoulder: Democrats Ignore Tulsi Gabbard’s Request To Meet

    Authored by Phillip Wegmann via American Greatness,

    The return of Tulsi Gabbard to Capitol Hill began with breakfast in the Senate dining room courtesy of Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, followed by back-to-back meetings with other Republicans, all of whom were happy to welcome the former Hawaii Democrat and discuss her nomination to lead the U.S. intelligence community.

    But members of her old political party, including one-time House colleagues, largely ignored her. It’s still early in the process, but Gabbard has been unable to schedule a single meeting with Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

    Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, outgoing chairman of the committee, has not responded to her requests for a meeting, according to a source directly familiar with Gabbard’s efforts. Others have replied to her outreach but remain hesitant about putting anything on the books. At least one Democrat scheduled a sit-down this week only to abruptly cancel.

    The cold shoulder comes nearly a month after President-elect Donald Trump picked Gabbard to be his director of national intelligence, two years after she quit a Democratic Party that she called “an elitist cabal of warmongers,” and immediately after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.

    Gabbard met with the now-deposed dictator twice in 2017 while on a “fact-finding mission” to the war-torn country. These meetings proved to be an impediment when she ran for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2020.

    “What do you say to Democratic voters who watched you go over there, and what do you say to military members who have been deployed repeatedly in Syria, pushing back against Assad?” Kasie Hunt asked two years later during an MSNBC interview.

    Gabbard replied that U.S. troops deployed there “without understanding what the clear mission or objective is.”

    Gabbard added that Assad was “not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States.” Hillary Clinton promptly accused Gabbard, then a major in the Hawaii National Guard, of being a “Russian asset.”

    The Republicans who will control the Senate next year do not see the meeting with Assad eight years ago as disqualifying or insurmountable. Despite the suggestion of Democrats such as Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who recently worried that Gabbard “couldn’t pass a background check,” Republicans point out that as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Gabbard already has a top-secret security clearance. More than 250 military veterans co-signed a letter published Monday endorsing her as “a warrior whose vote cannot be bought.”

    Trump remains unbothered by the meeting with Assad. Asked by NBC News if the meeting “compromises her,” the president-elect all but rolled his eyes. “I met with Putin,” he said of the Russian president now sheltering the Syrian dictator. “I met with President Xi of China. I met with Kim Jong-un twice. Does that mean that I can’t be president?”

    Nonetheless, Gabbard will be grilled about her Syria meeting. Defense hawks, Republicans and Democrats alike, are expected to press her for details in committee and challenge her foreign policy views that some have described as “isolationist.” Allies of the president-elect prefer the term “America First.” And it is increasingly the new orthodoxy among a GOP base wary and weary of overseas entanglements.

    There is some evidence that skepticism of a muscular foreign policy has gained traction among younger Democrats and independents in the last four or five years. When Hillary Clinton questioned Gabbard’s logic and loyalty, Gabbard punched back. In a series of tweets, she called the former secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee “the queen of warmongers” and “personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party.”

    Upstart presidential candidate Andrew Yang took Gabbard’s side. “Tulsi Gabbard deserves much more respect and thanks than this,” Yang tweeted. “She literally just got back from serving our country abroad.”

    As Gabbard made the rounds Monday, the nominee mostly ignored shouted questions from reporters. The only public statement Gabbard made was a reiteration of the Trump policy announced over the weekend that the U.S. would stay out of Syria.

    “My own views and experiences have been shaped by my multiple deployments and seeing firsthand the cost of war and the threat of Islamist terrorism,” Gabbard said.

    “It’s one of the many reasons why I appreciate President Trump’s leadership and his election where he is fully committed, as he has said over and over, to bringing about an end to wars, demonstrating peace through strength, and putting the national security interests and the safety, security, and freedom of the American people, first and foremost.”

    Gabbard would oversee a vast intelligence apparatus if confirmed, a role of tremendous influence and significant authority over presidential intel briefings and issues of declassification. Sympatico with Trump, she has already earned support from very different corners of the GOP. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a skeptic of foreign intervention, endorsed her last month as did the much more hawkish South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who previously served in the same Army reserve unit with the nominee.

    She still holds out hope for Democratic support. The Senate Intelligence Committee, which prides itself on bipartisanship, unanimously advanced the nomination of Avril Haines, President Biden’s director of national intelligence, before the Senate confirmed her 84-10.

    But Gabbard isn’t starting from scratch. She knows at least one member of the committee already. New York Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, who now sits on the intel committee, once campaigned on behalf of Gabbard and called the then-little-known Hawaii politician “a rising star.”

    Republicans now lay claim to the lapsed Democrat, and the president-elect sees in Gabbard an opportunity to cement the political “realignment” that he heralded after winning the election.

    While Trump locked down the Republican faithful, he won the election by expanding his base to include what his longtime pollster John McLaughlin calls “disaffected Democrats.” These voters jumped ship, like Gabbard, and became MAGA converts, also like Gabbard. The question as Trump begins his second term, and as Republicans look to the next election without him atop the ticket, is whether the GOP can keep them.

    “Right now, these Trump voters, the Republican Party is just renting them,” McLaughlin told RealClearPolitics. Putting an ex-Democrat like Gabbard in a Republican cabinet, he said, would go a long way toward making those voters “permanent.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 21:00

  • Trump Considers Privatizing US Postal Service That Lost $9.5 Billion In FY2024
    Trump Considers Privatizing US Postal Service That Lost $9.5 Billion In FY2024

    Donald Trump is fired up about finally giving the money-losing US Postal Service its long-overdue shove into the private sector, according to three sources who talked to the Washington Post. 

    Trump is said to have discussed the idea with Howard Lutnick, who’s co-chairing his transition team and who’s been tapped to serve as Commerce secretary in the new administration. He also held a meeting with various transition officials to exchange thoughts on privatization of the huge organization. Separately, the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has held its own discussions about drastic action. 

    After watching generation after generation pour taxpayer dollars into the rolling dumpster fire that is the USPS, Trump wants to finally make it someone else’s problem (KJAS.com via Beech Grove Fire Department)

    Last month, USPS disclosed that it posted a net loss of $9.5 billion for the 2024 fiscal year — a loss that was 46% worse than the service’s $6.5 billion deficit in 2023. The plunge came alongside a slight uptick in revenue enabled by the latest annual increase in postage rates, pursuant to the 2021 Delivering for America plan. That program was supposed to help the perennially-profitless behemoth “achieve financial sustainability and service excellence.” The service also has a crummy balance sheet, with nearly $80 billion in liabilities. 

    The USPS “profit” in 2022 was a mirage resulting from the repeal of a requirement to prepay future retiree health benefits, and the cancellation of past-due prefunding obligations (chart via Washington Post)

    After reviewing the numbers, Trump stated his opinion that the Postal Service shouldn’t be subsidized by the government, the Post’s sources said. Casey Mulligan, a University of Chicago economics professor who served on Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, tells the Post it’s time for a major change:  

    “The government is slow, slow, slow — decades slow on adopting new ways of doing things, and there’s a lot of [other] carrier services that became legal in the ’70s that are doing things so much better with increased volumes and reduced costs. We didn’t finish the job in the first term, but we should finish it now.”

    USPS recorded a 40.7% year-over-year decline in priority mail volume during the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year

    The Postal Service is politically powerful — starting with its raw headcount: While you may not guess it given the long lines that typify a visit to a post office, USPS has a staggering 650,000 employees, who become  very active whenever privatization gains momentum. It’s also popular among Americans — 72% view it favorably, compared just 21% who view it unfavorably, according to a 2024 Pew Research poll. 

    Meanwhile, though a belief in small government is supposedly a GOP cornerstone, the postal service is particularly valued by people living in rural, Republican districts. Earlier this month, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley angrily confronted Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over a plan to save costs by slowing delivery for some mail, something that would affect rural areas more than urban ones. “I hate this plan and I’m going to do everything I can to kill it,” said Hawley in a Senate hearing.   

    USPS workers held a preemptive Pittsburgh protest in 2018 to ward off a potential privatization move by Trump’s first administration (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

    In addition to having GOP control of the Senate and the House in the next legislature, Trump is positioned to fill three vacancies on the Postal Service’s 11-member board. (Biden has submitted nominees, but you can expect the Senate to ignore them through Jan 20.) Of the incumbents, three are Republicans, with two of them appointed by Trump in his first term. 

    Even if privatization doesn’t happen, Trump’s mere threat of pursuing it could help drive changes to the organization. As the Lexington Institute‘s Paul Steilder tells the Post… 

    “At the end of the day, the Postal Service is going to need money, it’s going to need assistance, or it’s going to have to come up with some radical, draconian measures to break even in the near term. That gives both the White House and Congress an awful lot of power and an awful lot of leeway here.”

    Sound good on paper…but, as evidenced by the “profit”-and-loss chart above, Congress has long shown a lack of urgency about seeing the USPS “break even in the near term.” Even with a president who’s fired about it — for now — we’re not convinced it will be any different this time. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 20:25

  • This Week's Fed Meeting Is Barely On The Radar Screen
    This Week’s Fed Meeting Is Barely On The Radar Screen

    By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

    It is unusual to say that I don’t really care that much about the FOMC meeting, but I don’t. Everything seems incredibly well telegraphed coming into this meeting.

    • Markets are pricing in a 93% chance of a 25 bp cut. We will get it.
    • Markets are pricing in an 87% chance of no cut in January. We won’t get a cut.

    The Fed tends not to deviate that much from market expectations, and the next two meetings appear pretty cut and dry right now, without some unforeseen large data (or geopolitical) surprises.

    The hawkish sentiment expected is appropriate:

    • The only real weakness in the jobs data recently has been in the often (and rightfully) maligned Household Survey. The margin for error in the Establishment Survey is big enough to drive a truck through it, and the Household Survey margin for error would let you drive a tanker ship (while blindfolded in rough seas) through it. The two surveys often deviate, significantly and over extended periods of time, but if we get any “normalization” we should see unemployment rates decrease in the coming months.
    • Inflation is proving to be sticky. As companies purchase inventory ahead of potential tariffs, we will see inflation remain sticky. Many investors and business owners are seeing the surge in NFIB Small Business Optimism (as one concrete example) and we are likely to see people prepare for that growth, which should keep prices elevated.
    • Seasonality. We have argued that the seasonal adjustments have been off for two main reasons:
      • Shifting demographics. Basically, any upward adjustment for construction in the winter to account for Northeast slowdowns is erroneous now that the bulk of construction has shifted away from that region.
      • Including COVID-era data. The timing of COVID lockdowns and re-openings has been included in the data and tends to create adjustments that overstate the strength of the economy in the winter and understate it in the summer.
    • So seasonal adjustments should contribute to (artificially) higher inflation and jobs data in the coming months. It won’t be as impactful as last year, or the year before, but it will be a factor and will “manufacture” or “create” data that keeps the Fed on the sidelines.

    Even the Neutral Rate seems to have settled into around 3.75% towards the end of 2025, which is hard to argue with (I think it should be 4%, but that would be quibbling since we had the move from 2.875% over the past few months). Nothing the Fed says at this presser is likely to move the needle on the neutral rate, since I think they had every intention of getting the market to price it higher, and they have been successful.

    Drones are the 1st Thing I Search For (mostly on X and news sources, not the skies)

    Drones, especially the ones that have been over New Jersey for weeks (but are apparently being seen elsewhere), have become fascinating. Even President-elect Trump tweeted about them (though I’d be shocked if he hasn’t been briefed, or at least had the opportunity to be briefed).

    It is fascinating and makes me think a lot about Twilight Zone episodes (just in time for hopefully some Twilight Zone marathons during the holidays).

    Academy’s Geopolitical Intelligence Group has been discussing them, but so far, nothing conclusive is emerging, which again adds to the “Twilight Zone nature” of this drone phenomenon.

    As we get info that can be shared (and we have a high degree of faith in its accuracy), I’m sure we will send out a SITREP, but in the meantime, everyone is left speculating. However, while the rough consensus is that these are almost certainly ours, we aren’t really sure why the details aren’t being released (especially when there is so much curiosity).

    Some Trump 1.5 Pleasant “Surprises”

    Two things struck me as very interesting in the past week. I would say “out of character,” but they aren’t really out of character once you think about them.

    Inviting Xi to the inauguration. Given all the rhetoric about China, unfair practices, tariffs, etc., it was easy to be surprised by this invitation. But that’s only because “we” forgot to account for how much Trump believes he can influence people in personal meetings. It is very interesting, though in the back of my mind, this time seems “different.” According to a few of our GIG members, he feels strongly that Xi failed to live up to promises on the purchases of certain agricultural products.

    Getting rid of Daylight-Saving Time. I don’t think it was a campaign promise, but who doesn’t agree with the idea of keeping it lighter later in the day? Let’s remember not to forget that Trump wants people to like him, so why wouldn’t he embrace something that very few people would seem to disagree with (and I really can’t think of the reasons to disagree with this).
    In the meantime, while President Biden is still the president and making headlines of his own, it is pretty clear that wherever possible, people have moved on to positioning themselves for the new Trump administration. Hence our use of the term – “Trump 1.5.”

    I still expect some “chaos” as Trump thrives (or believes he thrives) in chaotic environments and things seem to be a little too complacent right now.

    How High Can Yields Go?

    While I don’t care that much about this week’s FOMC, I do care a lot about where longer dated yields are headed.

    • I haven’t liked how the moves to higher yields have generally been unidirectional (if that is a word). Despite all the positive messaging from DOGE, there is renewed concern about the path of the deficit.
    • I did enjoy Treasury Secretary Yellen expressing “regret” that they didn’t do more to contain the deficit, since it wasn’t very apparent that any time was spent on trying to control the deficit. Until the voters make it clear that the deficit scares them (and I don’t really think that was part of the message that voters sent at this election), both sides will continue to spend, because it generally helps them.
    • If we are correct on inflation, jobs, and seasonal effects, there are some more problems out there for the rates market. We thought 4.4% and higher in the aftermath of the election was overdone and highly susceptible to a short squeeze. I don’t see that right now (and we haven’t seen it since it was at 4.2%). If anything, while we have been steadfast that the risk of a gap higher of 50 bps is far more likely than a similar gap to lower yields, we must take our range up to the 4.4% to 4.6% area on 10s.

    Bearish the longer end of the yield curve (10s through 30s), though we will see how the market responds here to what seems like resistance.

    Refine Baby Refine

    While guest hosting on Bloomberg TV Tuesday morning (link), I was able to ask Ellen Wald (an energy expert) about not just “drill baby drill,” but also about refining (starts at the 36:25 mark).

    Her response fit perfectly into a couple of our themes:

    • We need to not just focus on the extraction of commodities, but also on the processing!
      • She did say that “Refine Baby Refine” would be a more important goal for the U.S. (citing that under 20% of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve can be refined in the United States).
    • Challenging NIMBY (not in my backyard) and reviewing regulations that were put in place when we were the sole superpower (economically and militarily) and the world seemed to be on course for further globalization, rather than deglobalization with a series of hot wars!

    I think that betting on infrastructure and anything critical that we are required to extract from the earth (and process), especially in areas of importance to the nation’s ability to be independent of foreign suppliers, will do very well in the coming year. Yes, the stock market is all about a handful of stocks again, but we think that this thesis will be our biggest recommendation to start the new year.

    Crypto

    We spent time on this in last weekend’s The Genius of Mariah Carey, but I think I have underestimated how much higher this can all go.

    • The donations were so big and so one-sided that they definitely contributed significantly to the win. That is unlikely to be ignored. The wealth being created in the crypto space allows for even bigger donations going forward. I had thought about that, but was convinced by one of our advisory board members that I was heavily underestimating the power that this donation base currently provides to the administration. It does seem a bit like a Twilight Zone episode, but it is a convincing argument (and the administration is filled with crypto advocates).
    • Trump can control it. We’ve argued that Trump likes things that he can “control” and if his goal is to have it go higher (and that appears to be his goal) then he certainly can do a lot to make it go higher. He can probably do a lot more to move the price of Bitcoin significantly (in a direction of his choosing) than he can with the dollar! While I think over time he won’t have that connection, I’m probably wrong that the timing is any time soon.

    Not sure I can make myself buy up here. Virtually every historical use case has failed, except that now the “limited supply” theme seems to be helping it rise. I have to admit, the “digital gold” rebranding is also interesting as advocates beg big governments to adopt it as a reserve asset.

    Maybe I can convince myself to add some ETH to the portfolio? Logically I struggle with the value proposition, but this market has always been about flow and adoption, and it seems to be on their side right now.

    Bottom Line

    The FOMC will be boring, but that won’t stop 10-year yields from rising further.

    Stocks have had almost no breadth, we’ve seen some valuations hit extreme levels, and we just had the Nasdaq 100 rebalancing announced, etc., but it is difficult to fight especially when a major player in the chip industry can still surprise the market to the point that it had a record setting rise (for them) which was big enough to drag that entire sector of the market higher. As a contrarian, it is difficult to judge sentiment and positioning when so many people seem checked out, so keep looking for some trading ranges, and wait for a real “consensus” type of trade as we near the new year. I think (officially) the Santa rally starts this week.

    I will “refine” the “refine baby refine” viewpoint as I do think that could be the best risk/reward theme out there, if we can identify it properly.

    Credit, boring. I cannot say that I like it here and now, but spreads still seem unlikely to do much. I will stick to my argument that I do NOT like credit on an all-in yield basis, and investors should still be reducing their yield exposure, while corporations should take advantage of the ongoing window to issue more!

    Crypto, feels like another pump and dump, but this pump seems like it could have a lot more legs to it.

    Have a great week, and we can only hope that we find out what all these drones are up to sooner rather than later as, to quote Rod Serling: “So, if you’re ever feeling like you’ve entered a strange new world, just remember, you might have crossed into….the Twilight Zone.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 19:50

  • Bird Or Drone? Mystery Behind What Struck AAL Flight 1722 During Departure From NYC
    Bird Or Drone? Mystery Behind What Struck AAL Flight 1722 During Departure From NYC

    An American Airlines flight departing from LaGuardia and bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, was forced to make an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Thursday night after what authorities described as a “bird strike” that caused an engine fire. However, given the ongoing mystery of drone sightings in the New Jersey-New York City airspace, one can’t help but wonder…

    American Airlines flight AAL1722 departed LaGuardia on Thursday night en route to Charlotte and suffered what authorities said was a bird strike on departure. A spokesperson for the airline said none of the 190 passengers or six crew members were hurt during the incident. 

    According to NBC New York, the plane landed without incident at JFK minutes later. 

    A verified video of the incident from a passenger’s smartphone shows the moment an object was sucked into one of the plane’s jet engines. 

    NBC New York cited a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration that explained the object was, in fact, a “bird.” 

    However, not everyone was convinced. 

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

    Meteorologist John Basham wrote on X, “Freeze Frames Appear To Show A POSSIBLE DRONE, Not A Bird.” 

    Hmm.

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

    “Looks Too Big To Be A Bird. I’d Love For @AmericanAir To Post Images Of The Damage To The Engine. If There Was A Bird Strike, I’d Expect To See Biological Remnants,” Basham pointed out.

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    Thursday night’s incident comes amid exploding mass hysteria surrounding drone sightings in the area. Some speculate the drones may be part of the government’s nuclear drone sniffer taskforce, while others suggest it could be a psyop.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 19:15

  • Abu Mohammad al-Julani: Putting Lipstick On A Pig
    Abu Mohammad al-Julani: Putting Lipstick On A Pig

    Via The Cradle

    Just in time for the Al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) lightning conquest of Syria, a western PR campaign was launched to rebrand the terror group’s leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani. 

    The BBC assured their readers that Julani, now commonly referred to as Ahmed al-Sharaa – which is his real name – had “reinvented himself,” while the Telegraph insisted that the former deputy to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is now “diversity friendly.”

    On December 6, just days before entering the capital Damascus, Julani sat down with CNN journalist Jomana Karadsheh for an exclusive interview to explain his past.

    “Julani says he has gone through episodes of transformation through the years,” CNN wrote, after he assured Karadsheh “no one has the right to eliminate” Syria’s Alawites, Christians, and Druze.”

    But why was Julani so eager to convince the American public that he had no plans to exterminate Syria’s religious minorities? This question looms larger when recalling the massacre of 190 Alawites in Latakia on August 4, 2013, and the taking of hundreds more as captives. 

    Back then, militants from HTS (then the Nusra Front), ISIS, and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) attacked 10 villages, slaughtering civilians in ways documented by Human Rights Watch: gunshot wounds, stabbings, decapitations, and charred remains. “Some corpses were found in a state of complete charring, and others had their feet tied,” the report stated.

    Another useful US asset 

    Fast forward to recent years, and Julani’s “transformation” seems less about repentance and more about utility. Despite HTS remaining on the US terror list – and an American bounty of $10 million reserved for Julani himself – former US special envoy to Syria, James Jeffrey, described the group as a strategic “asset” for US operations in Syria. 

    Under the guise of countering extremism, Washington pursued a dual strategy: enforcing crushing economic sanctions on Syria – of the sort that killed 500,000 Iraqi children in the 1990s –  while ensuring its wheat-abundant and oil-rich regions remain under US control. 

    Ambassador Jeffrey admitted to PBS in March 2021 that Julani’s HTS was the “least bad option of the various options on Idlib, and Idlib is one of the most important places in Syria, which is one of the most important places right now in the Middle East.”

    But how did Julani ascend to power in Idlib? His Nusra Front spearheaded the 2015 conquest under the banner of Jaish al-Fatah (the Army of Conquest), a coalition that combined Nusra suicide bombers with Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters equipped with CIA-supplied TOW missiles. Foreign Policy hailed the campaign’s swift progress, crediting this synergy of jihadists and western arms.

    Years later, US official Brett McGurk would label Idlib “the largest Al-Qaeda safe haven since 9/11.” Yet, the crucial role of US weapons and strategic aid in this outcome went unmentioned. 

    Assistance from Tel Aviv and Brussels too 

    This assistance extended beyond arms: the Financial Times (FT) reported that in response, EU foreign ministers “lifted an oil embargo against Syria to allow rebels to sell crude to fund their operation.” 

    While the FSA claimed control of the oil fields, activists openly acknowledged that the Nusra Front was the true beneficiary, trucking barrels to Turkiye for refining or export to Europe. The arrangement netted Nusra millions before ISIS seized the fields a year later.

    Academic and Syria expert Joshua Landis noted the importance of controlling the oil fields, explaining that “Whoever gets their hands on the oil, water, and agriculture holds Sunni Syria by the throat” and that “the logical conclusion from this craziness is that Europe will be funding Al-Qaeda.”

    Behind the scenes, western and regional powers facilitated Julani’s ascent. Israeli airstrikes supported Nusra during clashes with Syrian forces, while outgoing Israeli Army Chief Gadi Eisenkot admitted to supplying “light weapons” to rebel groups – essentially acknowledging what the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) had been reporting for years to “discredit the rebels as stooges of the Zionists.”

    Previous reports in the Wall Street Journal showed that Israel had for years provided humanitarian and medical aid to “rebels” in southern Syria, including by bringing Nusra fighters across the border into Israel for treatment. 

    In an interview with The American Conservative in border village Beit Jinn, militants revealed that Israel had been paying salaries – to the tune of $200,000 per month – for the entire year before HTS troops were expelled from the area by the SAA and fled to Idlib.

    Meanwhile, the US oversaw a “cataract of weaponry” to Syria’s opposition, as described by the New York Times. Though publicly earmarked for the FSA, these arms frequently ended up in Nusra’s hands.

    Julani’s meteoric rise began years earlier, seeded by his ties to Al-Qaeda in Iraq and its Jordanian leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The latter, whose activities conveniently justified the US invasion of Iraq, operated with tacit US acknowledgment. 

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    Julani followed a similar trajectory, emerging as a key player in the Nusra Front, which conducted bombings in Damascus and other cities in 2011 and 2012, with attacks initially misattributed to the Syrian government.

    A salafist principality

    Why did the EU choose to “fund Al-Qaeda” by dropping oil sanctions? Why did the US provide a “cataract of weaponry” to Nusra?

    An August 2012 Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report revealed that the US and its regional allies supported the establishment of a “Salafist principality” in eastern Syria and western Iraq as part of the effort to depose president Bashar al-Assad and divide the country.

    The DIA report said a radical religious mini-state exactly of the sort later established by ISIS as its “caliphate” was the US goal, even while admitting that the so-called Syrian revolution seeking to topple Assad’s government was being driven by “Salafists, the Muslim Brotherhood, and al-Qaeda.”

    The seeds of the Salafist principality were planted when late ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi dispatched Julani to Syria in August 2011 – at that time, Baghdadi’s group was known as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).

    Prominent Lebanese journalist Radwan Mortada, who was embedded with Al-Qaeda fighters from Lebanon in Syria, met Julani in the central Syrian city of Homs at this time. Mortada informs The Cradle that Julani was being hosted by the Farouq Brigades, an FSA faction based in the city.

    Contrary to media reports, Farouq commanders insisted the group was not comprised of defectors from the Syrian army. Instead, they said Farouq was a sectarian Salafist group that included fighters who had fought for Zarqawi’s Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) after the 2003 US invasion. 

    A few months later, Julani and his fighters secretly entered the war against the Syrian government by carrying out multiple terror attacks. In Damascus on December 23, 2011, Julani sent suicide bombers to target the General Security Directorate in Damascus, killing 44, including civilians and security personnel.

    Two weeks later, on 6 January 2012, Julani sent another suicide bomber to detonate explosives near a bus in the Midan district of Damascus, killing some 26 people.

    The establishment of the “Support Front for the People of the Levant,” or the Nusra Front, was revealed after a videotape was provided to journalist Mortada showing Julani and other masked men announcing the group’s existence and claiming responsibility for the attacks, which opposition activists had blamed on the Syrian government itself.

    The great prison release

    Julani’s rise, however, was facilitated years earlier. In what has been dubbed the “Great Prison Release of 2009,” the US military freed 5,700 high-security detainees from Bucca Prison in Iraq. Among these was Julani, alongside future ISIS leaders like Baghdadi. Craig Whiteside of the US Naval War College described Camp Bucca as “America’s Jihadi University,” emphasizing the role of these releases in revitalizing the Islamic State of Iraq – which had been nearly defeated by Sunni tribal uprisings.

    “The United States is often unjustly blamed for many things that are wrong in this world, but the revitalization of ISIL [ISIS] and its incubation in our own Camp Bucca is something that Americans truly own,” Whiteside wrote. 

    “The Iraqi government has many enemies, and the United States helped put many of them out on the street in 2009. Why?” Whiteside wondered, not realizing they would be sent to Syria as part of the US’s covert war to topple Bashar al-Assad.

    More alarming today is the prospect of HTS releasing thousands of ISIS fighters from US–Kurdish prisons in Syria’s north to expand their ranks. It wouldn’t be the first time. This past July, American-backed Kurds released around 1,500 ISIS prisoners from detention camps, which the US military describes as an ISIS “army in waiting.”

    The question of who Abu Mohammad al-Julani is – his motivations, ideologies, and transformations – is ultimately less important than what he represents. Over the past two decades, one fact remains consistent: Julani is a tool of US and Israeli strategy.

    From his early days in Iraq to his rise as the leader of the Nusra Front and later HTS, Julani has played a pivotal role in advancing the geopolitical interests of his benefactors. Whether branded a terrorist or a “blazer-wearing” moderate, his actions have consistently served as a means to destabilize Syria and the wider West Asian region. 

    Julani’s “reinvention” is no more than a veneer designed to mask the enduring reality of his role: a strategic asset in a game where ideology is secondary to power.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 18:40

  • Jordan Peterson Flees "Totalitarian Hellhole" Canada For U.S. Due To Censorship, Taxes
    Jordan Peterson Flees “Totalitarian Hellhole” Canada For U.S. Due To Censorship, Taxes

    There were a number of celebrities claiming they’d move to Canada if President Trump was re-elected, but now there’s one Canadian who’s doing the opposite.

    World famous psychologist Jordan Peterson has said Canada is turning into a “totalitarian hellhole” by suppressing free speech and has fled Canada as a result, according to the New York Post.

    In a recent episode of his daughter’s podcast, Peterson revealed he moved to the U.S. due to Canada’s contentious Bill C-63 and his dispute with the College of Psychologists of Ontario.

    Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, seeks to curb hate speech by holding social media platforms accountable for reducing harmful content.

    Peterson said: “The issue with the College of Psychologists is very annoying, to say the least, and the new legislation that the liberals are attempting to push through, Bill C-63, we’d all be living in a totalitarian hellhole if it passes.”

    The New York Post writes that the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association warned the bill could lead to wrongful convictions, while others criticized it for allowing complaints based on mere “fear” of a hate crime. In response, the Canadian government recently decided to split the bill into two parts, separating free speech concerns from child protection measures.

    Meanwhile, Jordan Peterson, facing criticism for his views on transgenderism, racism, and COVID-19, remains at odds with the College of Psychologists of Ontario. The college threatened to revoke his license unless he completes social media re-education training—a decision upheld by Canada’s Supreme Court in August after Peterson’s appeal was dismissed.

    Peterson also cited Canada’s high cost of living under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a factor in his decision to leave.

    “The tax situation is out of hand,” he concluded. “The government in Canada at the federal level is incompetent beyond belief, and it’s become uncomfortable for me in my neighborhood in Toronto.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 18:05

  • Israel To Deploy Remote Automated Weapons In West Bank For First Time
    Israel To Deploy Remote Automated Weapons In West Bank For First Time

    Via Middle East Eye

    The Israeli military is preparing to deploy remotely controlled automated weapons across occupied West Bank checkpoints to target Palestinians, according to a report by the Israeli Army Radio on Sunday.

    The system, named “Roeh-Yoreh” (“See-Fires”), is an advanced weaponry structure developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It includes a tower with sophisticated surveillance equipment and a remote-controlled lethal fire mechanism. 

    AFP: Israeli soldier looks out from a watch tower at the Qalandia checkpoint between the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

    Since its introduction into the Israeli military arsenal in 2008, the system has been exclusively used in Gaza, where it was deployed along the security fence to target Palestinians approaching the barrier. 

    According to Army Radio, the move to use the system in the West Bank comes despite its limited effectiveness in repelling the Hamas-led October 7 attacks out of Gaza. 

    In the early hours of the assault, Hamas used drones to hit the tower-mounted weapons, disabling them with ease and allowing fighters to cross the boundary into Israel. 

    The Israeli military plans to deploy dozens of Roeh-Yoreh systems in strategic locations across the West Bank, including settlement entrances and key control points, according to the report.

    The goal, it added, was to prevent armed attacks and infiltrations into illegal Israeli settlements. The manufacturing of these systems for the West Bank has already begun. 

    Initially, they will be installed at high-risk locations by the Israeli military, with plans to expand deployment to additional sites.

    According to the report, the 636 Reconnaissance Unit of the West Bank Division will operate the systems, amid rising Israeli concerns about growing security threats in the territory. 

    Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, which have been constructed since they were captured by Israel in the 1967 war. Under international law, settlement construction in an occupied territory is illegal.

    Remote weapons system at Gaza fence. Some of these reportedly failed during the Oct.7 terror attack by Hamas.

    Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October last year, violence by the army and settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has skyrocketed. 

    At least 800 Palestinians from the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the war began, with around 6,500 more wounded, according to Palestinian health officials. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 17:30

  • Police In China Test Indestructible Ball Shaped Robot That Can "Identify And Chase Suspects"
    Police In China Test Indestructible Ball Shaped Robot That Can “Identify And Chase Suspects”

    Move over, BB-8: police in China are now testing a ball-shaped robot that “can identify and chase suspects” for the first time. 

    The spherical police robot in Wenzhou, China, features cameras, flashing lights, and a self-stabilizing design, according to the South China Morning Post. Equipped with tools like tear gas, it supports law enforcement and “cannot be smashed”.

    Authorities say it is also “resilient in hostile environments.”

    Developed by Zhejiang University’s College of Control Science and Engineering, the 125kg spherical robot addresses challenges faced by wheeled and legged robots. According to Associate Professor Wang You, it can reach a top speed of 35km/h in just 2.5 seconds, Wenzhou Daily reported.

    Wang You said: “This robot can cope with dangers such as falling or being beaten, and can perform tactical actions such as enemy identification, tracking and capture after modular modification.”

    “Because it can complete tasks in hostile environments, it can make up for the deficiencies of [Wenzhou police] drones and robot dogs,” Wang added. 

    The SCMP writes that the spherical robot remains functional even under attack, navigating crowds and harsh environments with ease. Equipped with speakers, net guns, and tear-gas sprayers, it enhances patrol efficiency and crisis response.

    The robot is part of China’s push for hi-tech innovation in policing. In March, the Ministries of Public Security and Industry issued a call for robot applications in areas like patrols, border defense, and evidence collection.

    Examples of robot use will be showcased later for promotion in future initiatives. This week, Chengdu police deployed robots in commercial areas to prevent mob violence. In a simulated fight, a robot flashed lights, announced, “Win the fight, go to jail; lose the fight, go to the hospital,” and alerted nearby officers via text.

    What could go wrong?

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 16:55

  • Pelosi Recovering After Hip Surgery In Europe
    Pelosi Recovering After Hip Surgery In Europe

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

    Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) underwent hip replacement surgery in Europe on Dec. 14, according to her spokesperson, who said the California Democrat is well on her way to recovery.

    “Earlier this morning, Speaker Emerita Pelosi underwent a successful hip replacement and is well on the mend,” Pelosi’s spokesman Ian Krager said in a statement Saturday morning.

    The spokesman conveyed Pelosi’s gratitude to U.S. military staff at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany and to medical staff at Hospital Kirchberg in Luxembourg for their “excellent care and kindness.” LRMC is the largest American military hospital outside the United States, while Hospital Kirchberg is a civilian hospital providing a range of medical services. It’s not clear at which facility Pelosi was operated on.

    “Speaker Pelosi is enjoying the overwhelming outpouring of prayers and well wishes and is ever determined to ensure access to quality health care for all Americans,” the spokesperson added.

    A day prior, Krager announced that Pelosi sustained an injury while on an official engagement as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation in Luxembourg and had to be hospitalized. He did not provide any further details about the injury but noted that Pelosi was receiving “excellent treatment” and “continues to work.”

    Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who joined the trip, shared on social media that he was “praying for a speedy recovery” for Pelosi. A group photo taken Friday at the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg showed the two lawmakers holding hands.

    “I’m disappointed Speaker Emerita Pelosi won’t be able to join the rest of our delegation’s events this weekend as I know how much she looked forward to honoring our veterans. But she is strong, and I am confident she will be back on her feet in no time,” McCaul wrote.

    McCaul is leading the congressional delegation. Participants plan to take part in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in both Luxembourg and Belgium, along with veterans and their families, active duty service members, government and military officials, and foreign dignitaries.

    Over a career spanning seven presidential administrations, Pelosi has been a prominent figure in Washington. She first served as House speaker from 2007 to 2011 and again in 2019 after Democrats regained control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections.

    In November, Pelosi secured reelection in California’s 11th Congressional District, which includes most of San Francisco. The victory marked Pelosi’s 20th term in the House of Representatives. She stepped down as House speaker in 2023 but continues to serve in the chamber.

    Pelosi also played a pivotal role in passing President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure bill in 2022.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 16:20

  • Dramatic Video Shows Black Sea Storm Splitting Russian Oil Tanker In Half
    Dramatic Video Shows Black Sea Storm Splitting Russian Oil Tanker In Half

    Two Russian oil tankers sustained severe damage in heavy seas in the Kerch Strait, a strait in Eastern Europe that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov.

    The Telegraph reports that the Volgoneft-212 tanker and Volgoneft-239 were damaged near Moscow-annexed Crimea, with one of the vessels breaking apart, killing at least one sailor, and causing an oil spill.

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    Additional reporting from the Telegraph:

    Russian investigators opened two criminal cases to look into possible “safety violations” after at least one person was killed when the 136-metre Volgoneft 212 tanker, with 15 people on board, split in half with its bow sinking, footage published by state media showed, with waves washing over its deck.

    The Russian-flagged vessel, built in 1969, was damaged and had run aground, officials said.

    “There was a spill of petroleum products,” said Russia’s water transport agency, Rosmorrechflot.

    A second Russian-flagged ship, the 132-metre Volgoneft 239, was drifting after sustaining damage, the emergency ministry said. It has a crew of 14 people and was built in 1973.

    Both tankers have a loading capacity of about 4,200 tonnes oil products.

    “Two Russian tankers carrying fuel oil — Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 — are sinking in the Kerch Strait,” Belarusian media outlet NEXTA wrote on X. 

    This is an unverified video. 

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    On Sunday, President Vladimir Putin ordered Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev to lead a rescue mission for the sailors on board the two tankers and mitigate the fuel spill. This directive was conveyed via the Kremlin’s Telegram channel.

    Ukraine has previously deployed kamikaze stealth boats in the area to attack Russian military vessels. However, Kyiv has not commented on the current situation in the strait.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 15:45

  • "Falling Off A Cliff": This Chart Proves That We Are In A Major Economic Downturn Right Now
    “Falling Off A Cliff”: This Chart Proves That We Are In A Major Economic Downturn Right Now

    Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

    The number of job openings in the United States has been “falling off a cliff”, and that is a major red flag.  

    The last four years have been an economic nightmare for most Americans, and that is one of the primary reasons why Donald Trump won the election.  But as we approach 2025, things are starting to get frighteningly bad.  When the number of job openings in the U.S. drops by 2 million or more, that normally signals that we are either in a recession or that one is about to happen.  Well, as you can see from this chart that was posted by Bravos Research on Twitter, we are witnessing a collapse in job openings that is absolutely unprecedented…

    I was floored when I saw that chart.

    I knew that job openings were falling, but I didn’t know that things had gotten this bad.

    Not too long ago, there were about 12 million job openings in the United States.  Unfortunately, here in the second half of 2024 that figure has fallen below 8 million…

    There were an estimated 7.4 million unfilled jobs on the last day of September, a drop from August’s revised tally of 7.86 million openings, according to new data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The largest drop-offs in openings were in industries that have driven much of the job growth in recent years: health care and social assistance, and government, according to the report.

    Meanwhile, major employers continue to shed workers all over the nation.

    For example, the U.S. lost a total of 78,000 manufacturing jobs during a recent three month period…

    The manufacturing sector continued to shed jobs in October, bringing its tally of job losses to 78,000 over the past three months.

    The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday released its jobs report for October, which found that the manufacturing sector lost 46,000 jobs last month, according to the agency’s preliminary analysis.

    That followed a loss of 6,000 jobs in September, which is also a preliminary figure, as well as a decline of 26,000 jobs in August.

    Every day, there are more layoff announcements in the news, and the number of people filing initial claims for unemployment benefits increased much more than experts were projecting last week…

    The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time jumped significantly last week (from 225k to 242k – well above expectations of 220k) – the highest since the first week of October.

    On an un-adjusted basis, claims exploded higher (highest since January)…

    Throughout the second half of this year, I have been arguing that the U.S. economy is rapidly heading in the wrong direction.

    Now we have even more confirmation that this is indeed happening.

    Once we get past the holiday season, retailers are going to be dropping like flies.

    According to the Daily Mail, it appears that Party City could soon be forced to declare bankruptcy…

    A major party and craft retailer with 850 stores across the nation is considering filing for bankruptcy.

    Party City has been faced with the possibility of mass closures just a little over a year after the company surfaced from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

    The celebration retailer, known for selling balloons and essential party supplies, is currently behind on rent at some of its locations, people close to the matter told Bloomberg.

    And it is being reported that 670 Family Dollar stores have already been shut down…

    Discount behemoth Dollar Tree has shuttered 670 of its underperforming Family Dollar stores so far, about two-thirds of the nearly 1,000 it plans to close, as it considers whether to sell or spin off the struggling chain.

    The Chesapeake, Virginia-based retailer provided an update on its portfolio optimization efforts when it reported is fiscal third-quarter earnings. Dollar Tree officials also said they were still reviewing options for Family Dollar, with no set deadline or timeline to complete that process.

    Overall, thousands upon thousands of retail stores in the U.S. have been shuttered in 2024, and thousands upon thousands will be shuttered in 2025.

    In many areas of the country, the landscape is absolutely littered with once thriving businesses that have now been boarded up.

    More than a decade ago, I warned that we were headed for a future when impoverished areas of the U.S. would be filled with boarded up businesses and abandoned buildings.

    Now we are there.

    On top of everything else, inflation is starting to surge once again, and one recent survey discovered that about a third of all U.S. households have been forced to cut back spending just to keep the lights on…

    With the cost of things like food and housing still straining people’s budgets, many U.S. households over the past year have found themselves having to pare their spending on basic necessities just to keep the lights on at home.

    That’s according to a recent Lending Tree study which analyzed U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data from Aug. 20, 2024 to Sep. 16, 2024 to find the percentage of Americans 18 and older that had cut back on necessary expenses to pay their energy bill, kept their home at an unsafe or unhealthy temperature, or was unable to pay the full amount on an energy bill at least once over the preceding 12 months.

    The study found that more than 34% of respondents said they have had to cut back or skip spending on certain necessary expenses at least once over the past year in order to pay their energy bill.

    As I discussed the other day, prior to the election most Americans believed that we were already in a recession.

    Since the election, conditions have only gotten worse.

    Many are hoping that our economic momentum can be reversed once the new administration takes over.

    We should all be hoping that is true.

    But right now we are on a freight train that is steamrolling in the wrong direction, and that is not good news at all.

    *  *  *

    Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 15:10

  • CNN "Discovers" Syrian Prisoner Left Behind In Gulag – Skeptics Claim Incident Was Staged
    CNN “Discovers” Syrian Prisoner Left Behind In Gulag – Skeptics Claim Incident Was Staged

    Has the establishment media lost their touch when it comes to theatrical propaganda, or is the public becoming more savvy?  CNN’s reputation for accuracy has been extensively damaged over the past several years; their vitriol over Donald Trump and their defense of fraudulent pandemic narratives are often cited as likely contributors to their embarrassing audience losses.  It has gotten to the point where people don’t trust anything the outlet does anymore.

    A recent broadcast by CNN’s chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, has come under fire this week from skeptics who claim the outlet “staged” a dramatic encounter with a lone Assad prisoner trapped in a gulag in Damascus who was allegedly kept in a dark cell for years and did not realize the regime had fallen.

    The prisoner, who is found laying under a blanket but looking well dressed, well fed and well groomed, thanks the reporter profusely for saving him, then proceeds to walk outside into the bright daylight without any need to adjust his eyes after his long imprisonment in darkness.

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    “In nearly twenty years as a journalist, this was one of the most extraordinary moments I have witnessed,” Ward wrote on her X page.

    It is fair to say that the interaction comes off as scripted.  If so, this does not necessarily mean that CNN or Clarissa Ward was aware of the strange nature of the prisoner or his story.  They may very well have believed that the man was a real prisoner trapped in a cell without windows and tortured until Assad was deposed.          

    In a June 2021 interview with CBS News, Clarissa Ward, openly expressed her fascination with the Syrian “revolution” and her admiration for anti-government “rebels.”  “Yeah, I mean, you know, I will cop to the fact that I think I crossed the line in Syria. I became so emotionally involved, and I was crushed by the US response and the US policy,” she admitted to host Michael Morell, advocating for more aggressive “regime change” measures beyond the imposition of crippling sanctions.

    CNN was the first Western media to interview Mohammed Al-Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a militant group backed by the US and Israel.  The Biden Administration is currently discussing the possibility of removing the HTS terrorist designation.  The US media has invested a considerable amount of positive spin for the Syrian insurgents, and videos like CNN’s report from the prison in Damascus are likely to become commonplace over the next few months. 

    Image management was one of the biggest failures of western intelligence agencies after their initial support for rebel groups in Syria, with many of the same fighters ultimately forming the ISIS terror network and engaging in genocidal activities.  Media reports painted the insurgents as pure patriots ready to die for freedom, until videos began to surface of their horrific actions against minority groups including Syrian Christians.  The question is, why is the establishment so desperate for the public to have a positive opinion of these rebels?        

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 14:35

  • Is Google's Willow Processor A Threat To Bitcoin?
    Is Google’s Willow Processor A Threat To Bitcoin?

    Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

    Just a couple of days ago I wrote a piece reminding readers that, despite looking at bitcoin more favorably the last year or so, it still remains an unprecedented and opaque area of markets where risk could rear its head quickly, unexpectedly, and before chaos in broader equity and bond markets.

    Collectively worth about $3 trillion now, cryptocurrency is like catnip for risk takers right now, I wrote. Then, I looked at the question of quantum computing:

    I’ve also often raised the question of what comes next after SHA-256 hash functions and whether or not Bitcoin will be safe amidst the jump to quantum computing.

    The prevailing sentiment has always been that to protect the Bitcoin network, miners and those invested in developing the network will have to stay on the forefront of technological change and encryption capabilities to ensure the network doesn’t lose a beat as the world of microprocessing advances. The ‘bull case’ thoughts about this risk, at least according to Michael Saylor the last time I talked to him, was that if you had the power to crack SHA-256 encryption right now, there would be much bigger potential targets to go after than the Bitcoin network, seeing as how the very same encryption ensures the integrity of almost all major, consequential defense, military, and government computer networks worldwide.

    Saylor makes a valid point, but as Bitcoin’s market cap grows, so does the incentive to hack or compromise its network. With a $1.8 trillion bounty effectively on the line, the temptation for bad actors increases. Fortunately, Bitcoin’s network is built with significant redundancy and safeguards, but the true risks, especially from quantum computing, will only become clear as technology advances.

    And in my original case for being less skeptical on bitcoin, out in Spring of this year, I made note of the quantum computing risk I have always mentioned when discussing bitcoin. I wrote:

    It’s like the potential impact of quantum computing—I’ve heard both sides of that case and have pretty much acquiesced to the position that it’s a bridge we will have to cross when we get to it.

    Finally, back in 2021, in a debate between Peter Schiff and (now indicted) Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, quantum computing was asked and answered in the same fashion, with the prevailing sentiment being ‘we’ll get to it when we get to it’:

    When talking about quantum computing, Mashinsky admits that bitcoin is going to have to be modified over the next decade as quantum computing advances. No one knows what those advancements or changes will look like and who is to say whether the bitcoin you buy today will adhere to the same rules and same mathematical certainties it will after such a modification is made.

    Well, to make a long story short, we’re going to have to ‘get to it’ a hell of a lot faster than most people may have thought. That’s because this week, Google introduced its new quantum processor, Willow.

    Even for not being a semiconductor nerd, I know the chip marks a groundbreaking leap in quantum computing. It is capable of solving problems in under five minutes that would take traditional supercomputers trillions of years, Willow addresses one of quantum computing’s major hurdles—reducing errors as systems scale.

    This advancement positions Google as a leader in the quantum field, even as some experts believe commercial uses are still years away, likely around 2030. But needless to say, the announcement has perked up the ears of many, including the cryptocurrency community.

    Protos wrote about two ways Google’s new chip and Bitcoin this week. They write the new chip has sparked fears it could pose a serious threat to Bitcoin’s security in two key ways: overtaking Bitcoin’s mining network and targeting Satoshi Nakamoto’s dormant coins.

    The piece argues that Willow’s breakthrough capabilities allow it to solve problems in minutes that would take supercomputers trillions of years — and that such power could hypothetically outpace Bitcoin’s global mining network, which secures transactions by solving complex cryptographic puzzles.

    If Willow could perform this work faster and cheaper than the network, it might seize control of Bitcoin’s blockchain, enabling it to reorder, censor, or even double-spend transactions.

    The second potential threat involves Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, who owns over 1 million BTC stored using an older cryptographic format (P2PK) that exposes public keys on the blockchain. A quantum computer could exploit this vulnerability by brute-forcing private keys, potentially unlocking Nakamoto’s holdings. Modern Bitcoin addresses are more quantum-resistant, as they hide public keys until transactions are initiated, reducing the risk of exposure.

    🔥 50% OFF FOR LIFE: Using this coupon entitles you to 50% off an annual subscription to Fringe Finance for life: Get 50% off forever

    It’s now officially a race, with Coinspeaker noting that the Bitcoin community is actively researching quantum-resistant solutions to safeguard against future advancements in quantum technology.

    And while Bitcoin may ultimately come out on top when all is said and done this time, it’s these types of unprecedented risks and uncertainties that, to me, continue to make gold the granddaddy of all stores of value and safety.

    Bitcoin trades like a risk asset because it will face countless new tests like this that gold has already endured over the past 5,000 years. One by one, Bitcoin will need to ‘pass’ each of these tests if it aims to maintain value over anywhere near the time horizon gold has achieved.

    If nothing else, the announcement of Willow and the ensuing discussion should serve as a wake-up call to the dormant nervous systems of Bitcoin holders and maximalists. They must remember that while Bitcoin has passed every test over the past 15 years, there will undoubtedly be more bumps in the road along its adoption curve.

    I continue to own some Bitcoin but still firmly believe that gold remains the ultimate store of value and the best way to preserve wealth when opting out of the fiat money system.

    QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author.

    This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 14:00

  • Georgia's New President, An Ex-Soccer Player, Solidifies Anti-EU Leadership
    Georgia’s New President, An Ex-Soccer Player, Solidifies Anti-EU Leadership

    The Republic of Georgia has a new president, and he is a former professional footballer for Manchester City: 53-year old Mikheil Kavelashvili of Georgian Dream party.

    He emerged victorious on Saturday, but was the only candidate, after 224 out of 225 members of Georgia’s electoral college voted him in. This is after the country’s main opposition groups declared a boycott of parliament, claiming the October elections which saw the Dream Party sweep were rigged.

    Mikheil Kavelashvili, via APA

    Large pro-EU protests have since been a mainstay in the capital of Tbilisi. “According to the results provided by the secretary general [of the Central Election Commission/CEC], Mikhail Kavelashvili has been elected president,” CEC Chairman Giorgi Kalandarishvili announced this weekend.

    Kavelashvili’s inauguration is set for December 29, and that too is likely to be heavily protested, amid police deploying riot control methods against larger and larger crowds all this month.

    Western media describes him as “far right” and a hardline critic of the West, as well as ‘conspiratorial’ given he has in the recent past claimed that Western interests are seeking to drive Georgia into conflict with Russia.

    Who is Mikheil Kavelashvili?

    One European source provides the following brief backgrounder…

    It has been an unlikely path to the presidency for Kavelashvili, who emerged from Dinamo Tblisi’s youth system as a promising young footballer in 1989. He went on to build a successful career as a striker, becoming a regular for his local team before moving to Russian side Spartak Vladikavkaz in 1995.

    He then joined English side Manchester City for two seasons before playing for several different Swiss Super League teams and retiring in 2006. During his playing career, he amassed 46 appearances for the Georgian national team and scored nine goals.

    Just 10 years after his retirement from the football world, he was elected to Georgia’s parliament in 2016 on the Georgian Dream ticket. In 2022, he co-founded the People’s Power political movement, which was allied with Georgian Dream and became known for its strong anti-western rhetoric.

    Mikheil Kavelashvili, right, in 2007.The Press Service of the Georgian Parliament.

    He has been criticized for lack of governing credentials, despite having previously been an MP. More from EuroNews:

    Kavelashvili has often been mocked by the opposition in Georgia for lacking higher education. On the day of his election as president, protesters outside the parliament building brought their own university diplomas, while others kicked around footballs.

    Kavelashvili was one of the authors of a controversial law requiring organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.

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    The dividing lines for Georgia’s current crisis, which has seen the Dream Party solidify complete control of the government – but with unrest in the streets – is much like Ukraine’s political divide in 2014. But let’s hope the situation doesn’t turn to open conflict involving the US or Russia, which is something officials in Tbilisi have long been worried about.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 13:25

  • US In 'Direct Contact' With Designated Terror Group HTS, Blinken Admits
    US In ‘Direct Contact’ With Designated Terror Group HTS, Blinken Admits

    The US has made “direct contact” with the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) under Abu Mohammad al-Jolani which now holds Damascus and most major Syrian cities in the wake of Assad’s fall.

    “We’ve been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said following talks with Arab diplomats in Aqaba, Jordan.

    This is the first official acknowledgement that the Biden administration is interacting with HTS, which has long been an officially US-designated terror organization, as it originated as Syrian al-Qaeda. Jolani also was once the personal envoy of ISIS terror leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

    NBC News has underscored, “The U.S. designates HTS a terrorist organization, making it legally impossible to work with the group, but contact underscores ongoing efforts to change that designation as the U.S. and its allies look to support Syria’s transition from Assad rule.”

    A statement from Blinken’s meetings in Aqaba and signed by representatives of the US, EU, Turkey and several Arab countries called for a “a more hopeful, secure and peaceful future”. It urged the protection of women and all ethnic and religious minorities, and for the preventing of “the reemergence of all terrorist groups.”

    Also, Jordan’s foreign minister stressed that regional powers don’t want to see post-Assad Syria “descend into chaos”. Given that it remains formally listed as a terror group, HTS was not represented in the Jordan meeting.

    The EU has also listed HTS as a terror group. Jolani still has a $10 million bounty on his head. Ironically he has been seen openly at well-known areas of Damascus, and the US could target him if it wanted to – but is clearly not.

    “As we see Syria move in that direction and, in a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process, take these steps, we in turn will look at various sanctions and other measures that we’ve taken and respond in kind,” Blinken said from Aqaba.

    Blinken affirmed the US position on Syria has been “communicated” to the new HTS leaders. Ironically, this comes after years of the US refusing to engage diplomatically with Bashar al-Assad, who was a secular ruler.

    The US had shuttered its embassy and severed relations going all the way back to 2012. Since then there have been minimal back-channel efforts to communicate with Assad officials.

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    Meanwhile, there have been reports that the Biden White House, with a mere weeks to go until Trump enters office, could actually remove HTS’ terror designation. This despite its long documented links to both Al Qaeda and Islamic State in the not too distant past.

    Washington has since 2011 pursued regime change against Assad, and though Syria emerged victorious by the early 2020s, the Army and country appeared demoralized after years of US-imposed strangling sanctions, and with US troops occupying the country’s oil and gas fields in the northeast.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 12:15

  • 20 (Or So) Obvious Questions About January 6
    20 (Or So) Obvious Questions About January 6

    Authored by Jack Cashill via American Thinker,

    Even before Donald Trump ascends to the presidency on January 20, his appointees should ask themselves the questions that follow — all of them simple and straightforward.  With Christopher Wray stepping down from the FBI directorship, they will have a much better chance of getting straight answers quickly.

    Trump’s team should then share those answers widely.  This information will make President Trump’s pardon of more than 1,500 Americans much more comprehensible to the American public and much less controversial.

    –Although now the FBI admits to having 26 confidential human sources in the crowd on January 6, how many total “assets” did the FBI and other entities plant, and what roles did they play?

    –Was Ray Epps working for an entity? And if so, under what terms?

    –Who planted the pipe bombs outside the DNC and near the RNC headquarters?

    –Who instructed Kamala Harris to conceal the fact that she was at the DNC when the bomb was found and why?

    –Why did Harris allow hundreds of J6ers to be prosecuted for threatening her designated space at the Capitol when she wasn’t at the Capitol?

    –Who were the “two law enforcement officials” who told the New York Times that “pro-Trump rioters” fatally struck Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick with a fire extinguisher, inflicting “a bloody gash in his head”?

    –Who orchestrated the 100-day-plus suppression of Sicknick’s autopsy report?

    –If Sicknick was not murdered, as the DOJ finally conceded, why did a federal judge give Julian Khater an 80-month prison sentence for spritzing Sicknick with an over-the-counter pepper spray?

    –Has there been an official inquiry into the subsequent suicide deaths of four USCP officers, and if not, why has the DOJ routinely blamed the J6ers for causing those deaths?

    –Why was there no crime scene investigation in the likely homicide of Rosanne Boyland?

    –Who chose to ignore the obvious video evidence of Boyland being suffocated as a result of a police action and to falsely blame her death on an amphetamine overdose?

    –Who suppressed the Boyland autopsy report for 90 days and stonewalled her family at every turn?

    –Why was Lila Morris, the Metropolitan P.D. officer caught on video repeatedly bashing the unconscious Boyland over the head with a tree branch, not even disciplined?

    –Why was Metropolitan P.D. lieutenant Jason Bagshaw promoted despite having been caught on video bashing the defenseless Victoria White bloody?

    –Why did the DOJ not interview the eyewitnesses to the shooting death of Ashli Babbitt?

    –Why did the USCP coddle and promote Babbitt’s killer, Michael Byrd, despite a shooting that, according to use-of-force expert Stan Kephart, “violated not only the law but his oath”?

    –Who ordered the “shock and awe” raids on the homes of hundreds of non-violent protesters and why?

    –Why has the so-called “Scaffold Commander” not been arrested despite multiple clear images of his face?

    –Why has the man who constructed the mock gallows on the Capitol grounds not been arrested despite multiple clear images of his face?

    –Why did the USCP allow the gallows to stand unmolested on Capitol grounds for more than four hours before the crowds gathered?

    –Why was Emanuel Jackson quickly set free despite having been caught on video swinging a baseball bat at police officers over a two-hour period?

    –If there was no insurrection, as the DOJ conceded, why were the sentences given to the J6ers so much more severe than the $30–50 fines given to the protesters who physically obstructed the Kavanaugh hearings?

    These are the simple questions, the ones off the top.  I am sure readers will think of others I may have overlooked.  To be sure, more probing questions need to be asked about the January 6 Select Committee report as well as the charging documents for the J6ers.

    Having read through much of this material, I am impressed by how casually — and routinely — our elected officials and federal jurists distort the facts to protect the party line.  In short, they lie, and some have done so under oath.

    I am impressed, too, by the shamelessness of a DOJ that can boast of its success rate in securing convictions, knowing that the accused were allowed no change of venue and faced juries pulled from a pool 95 percent anti-Trump.  This needs to change.

    More questions need to be asked as well about the security failures at all levels on January 6.  In his otherwise worthy book, Government Gangsters, Kash Patel more or less exonerates the Pentagon.  He should not have.  Incompetence explains much of what went wrong on January 6, but so does treason.

    Nearly 1,600 American citizens were arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights on January 6, and roughly half of them have been incarcerated.  Save for the insurrectionists among them — if there were any — the rest deserve not just commutation of their sentences, but a full pardon.  Many may deserve compensation.  And all deserve the truth.

    To learn more, see Jack Cashill’s newest book, Ashli: The Untold Story of the Women of January 6.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/15/2024 – 11:40

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Dec 15

Today’s News 15th December 2024

  • Online Shopping: Charting The Holiday Surge
    Online Shopping: Charting The Holiday Surge

    In the fourth quarter of 2023, online shopping was a record-breaking 17% of all retail sales. Put another way, one out of every six dollars was spent online.

    This graphic from Visual Capitalist’s Jenna Ross, in partnership with BGO, highlights the spike in ecommerce that occurs every year during the holiday season.

    The Growing Popularity of Online Shopping

    Over the last 15 years, the percentage of money consumers are spending online has more than tripled. The most online shopping always occurs in the fourth quarter due to Black Friday and holiday spending.

    In the table below, we show online shopping as a percentage of total retail sales over time.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Data accessed November 19, 2024.

    With people stretched for time during the busy holiday season, many opt for quick online orders and home deliveries. 

    Beyond convenience, deals also draw people to their screens. For instance, Amazon’s October Prime Day and Cyber Monday both offer deals catered to online shoppers. In 2024, Cyber Monday drew over 64 million U.S. shoppers—nearly three times higher than the 23 million people who shopped in stores.

    To handle the increase in online shopping orders, U.S. retailers will need to have a plan for storing their products and transporting them to customers.

    The Logistics of Online Orders

    Free and fast shipping are top priorities for online shoppers. Nearly 40% would abandon a retailer with high shipping costs, while 32% would stop buying because of late deliveries. These high expectations, and the increase in ecommerce, is driving demand for real estate that can process online orders.

    BGO’s industrial warehouse and logistics properties are strategically located to help reduce expenses and transport goods to consumers more quickly. During the busy holiday period, these properties run at full efficiency to meet the surging demand.

    Learn what’s moving markets in BGO’s The Chief Economist newsletter.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 22:45

  • Possible Foreign Policy Shifts In The New Administration
    Possible Foreign Policy Shifts In The New Administration

    Authored by Christian Milord via The Epoch Times,

    With an incoming administration that will be installed on Jan. 20, 2025, will there be shifts in America’s foreign policies for the next four years that could affect the security of California and the other states?

    It’s likely that some of the positions in the Biden administration will be maintained, but President-elect Donald Trump’s stamp on future policies could reflect stances taken during his first term. How will Trump, 47th president, compare with Trump, 45th president?

    Trump, similar to Teddy Roosevelt, will likely often speak softly and carry a big stick. He will get along with our adversaries to gain leverage but will also inform authoritarian leaders in no uncertain terms that aggressions against America and its global partners will not stand.

    During Trump’s first term, China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia were limited to routine saber-rattling on the world stage. However, during President Joe Biden’s tenure, China’s bullying became more overt, Iran greenlighted the invasion of Israel, Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time, and North Korea launched more test missiles than ever and sent troops to Ukraine. These brazen activities will be difficult to halt, but Trump has indicated he will strive to mitigate them.

    First, Trump will enhance border security to a much greater degree than the prior administration. He might have to cut off funding to sanctuary cities and states that oppose his deportation plan for criminals. In addition, it shouldn’t take the threat of tariffs against Canada and Mexico for those two nations to carry out the legwork to secure their sides of the border with the United States.

    Trump will also likely persuade Panama to shutter the Darien Gap, a lawless migration hub. The Department of Homeland Security also urgently needs more Border Patrol agents, and the border wall with Mexico must be completed to maintain an orderly immigration process. Moreover, additional immigration judges will be required to expedite the process of immigration for genuine asylum cases and legal immigration cases.

    Border security is a critical part of the overall national security strategy in order to vet immigrants and prevent criminal gangs and terrorists from entering the country. Many of these criminals are involved in arms, drugs, and human trafficking that are devastating to vulnerable minors, while our social services are stretched to the breaking point.

    Unlawful immigrants who seek to game the system and take advantage of tax-funded social services should be turned back at the border. If an immigrant breaks the initial law of entering the country illegally, what is to stop them from circumventing other laws in an attempt to take shortcuts to permanent residency?

    Next, Trump will continue to support Israel and Ukraine in their fight against tyranny to a certain extent, but he will also work to bring the hostile parties together to negotiate for cease-fires or a cessation of conflict. Moscow promised Kyiv in the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 that if Ukraine’s nuclear weapons were turned over to Russia, there would be no invasion. Ukraine complied, but Vladimir Putin broke the pact and invaded twice. That is why any treaties with Russia must be assessed with a trust-but-verify posture.

    Trump will likely sign off on greater sanctions against Iranian and Russian assets in order to wind down the wars and curtail the flow of weapons to nefarious actors within reach of the combat zones. He will concur with Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas must never again govern in the Gaza Strip. Trump might also apply leverage to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to persuade him to withdraw his troops from the Russian battle-space adjacent to Ukraine.

    Third, America’s national security could be enhanced if Trump shores up our freedom-loving global partners and also reaches out to developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

    This cultural and commercial outreach can provide a counterweight to China’s malign activities in those continents. The European Union could also contribute to Europe’s’ security and stability abroad.

    Fourth, Trump will likely adopt foreign policy that utilizes both the carrot and stick of diplomacy and military power.

    Building a strong military force can actually mitigate the need to apply armed power as it projects peace through strength, according to President Ronald Reagan. It is highly critical that our armed forces stay ahead of the curve vis a vis our adversaries in the spheres of training and weapons platforms.

    Fifth, hopefully Trump will allow Congress to appropriate adequate resources to the armed forces in order to maintain capability, capacity, and readiness to deter China’s potential blockade or invasion of Taiwan. It would take an entire book to catalog the atrocities carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on a daily basis as it conducts unrestricted warfare against its own people and the West. Trump ought to approach the CCP and its predatory practices from the perspective of cold, hard reality.

    Any trade with China should involve reciprocity, and if China doubles down on trade barriers, tariffs can be imposed. If Beijing wants to enter foreign markets, buy land, and set up shop, then it should allow Western companies to do the same in China. Moreover, the United States ought to decouple from any Chinese goods or services that adversely affect national security.

    Finally, Trump will pursue an America First agenda in foreign policy by using both arm-twisting and horse-trading. He will place the interests of the U.S. above the demands of other nations in order to advance free markets, liberty, peace, and an accepted rules-based order.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 22:10

  • American Citizen Flown Out Of Syria By US Military 
    American Citizen Flown Out Of Syria By US Military 

    An American man has been flown out of Syria by the US military from an undisclosed location, after he was handed over by Syria’s new governing authorities, HTS.

    The US citizen has been identified as Travis Timmerman, who had been held in a Syrian prison since his arrest under the Assad government seven months ago. Several international reports said he had walked into Syria from Lebanon, presumably with no visa and not utilizing a customs or proper border checkpoint. 

    Via NBC

    AP and Reuters confirmed Friday Timmerman was handed over to “the American side” and flown out of Syria. Timmerman is from Missouri, but was last seen in Hungary but his family hadn’t heard from him since. 

    He said he had entered Syria on a spiritual “pilgrimage” and it appears his arrest resulted from entering Syria by illegal means and without an issued visa. Americans and Westerners have frequently traveled in Syria, even over the last few years, but they have gotten valid visas typically from the Syrian Embassy in Beirut, or at the border of entry.

    He has described in Western media interviews that he was treated well in prison, and he is in good health. BBC describes of the past days:

    On Monday, a day after rebels took control of Damascus and toppled Assad, Mr Timmerman said two men armed with a hammer broke open his prison door. It was “busted down, it woke me up”, he said.

    “I thought the guards were still there, so I thought the warfare could have been more active than it ended up being… Once we got out, there was no resistance, there was no real fighting.”

    The 30-year-old said he left prison with a large group of people and had been attempting to make his way to Jordan.

    Since Assad’s fall people have clamored to break open prison doors and set all prisoners free. Currently there’s a search for American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012 after embedding with anti-Assad militants.

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    Despite his being in an area with al-Qaeda jihadists and armed gangs at the time, the US government has always blamed the Assad side for his disappearance, which Damascus always vehemently denied. The search across the country is still on for any clues of what might have happened to him.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 21:35

  • ADHD Or Something Else? One In 4 Adults Are Self-Diagnosing
    ADHD Or Something Else? One In 4 Adults Are Self-Diagnosing

    Authored by Amy Denny via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Imagine being the school band director and waking up at 1 a.m. on the day of a big parade to realize that you never booked the school bus to transport your students.

    PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    For Lisa Burden, this experience was more than a nightmare. It was a wake-up call to her own shortcomings. While exceptionally bright and creative, she also had to contend with another side of herself. She’d struggled since childhood with challenges like being able to keep track of things and being told she talked too much.

    “There were responsibilities that I would just forget to do. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to do them,” she told The Epoch Times. “I came to a point when I had to admit I could not keep it all in my head. I’ll have a thought, and then I don’t know when I’ll have that thought again.”

    While attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that can undermine a person’s ability to navigate our modern age, in some ways, it is more helpful to think of it as a mismatch of mental abilities. ADHD involves symptoms of inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity, among others.

    People with ADHD have brains that think differently in a world that’s become more sedentary and rigid. Experts say seeing ADHD through a new lens can help adults strengthen their thinking, improve their relationships, and accentuate their strengths.

    Maybe It Is ADHD

    About 15.5 million—or 6 percent—of American adults have been diagnosed with ADHD. About half were diagnosed as adults, with one-third of those diagnosed receiving treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    To be diagnosed with ADHD as a child, one needs to have six symptoms involving inattentiveness, hyperactivity, or impulsivity. An adult diagnosis requires five.

    Those symptoms include the following:

    • Trouble paying attention or being easily distracted
    • Being disorganized
    • Procrastinating
    • Inability to plan or organize
    • Difficulty recalling daily tasks
    • Losing things frequently
    • Being extremely talkative or frequently interrupting
    • Trouble multitasking or focusing on larger projects
    • Finding it hard to follow instructions or finish projects
    • Inability to sit still for lengthy periods
    • Fidgeting
    • The need to be constantly moving
    • Prioritizing immediate rewards over future rewards

    There are a few other criteria, too, including symptoms that have been around since before age 12, with clear evidence that they are severe, frequent, and persistent enough to cause problems in at least two areas of life, such as at work, school, church, or home.

    Finally, hormonal and mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, or a psychotic disorder, must be ruled out. However, there is no definitive diagnostic tool, such as bloodwork or brain scans, for ADHD.

    Beyond Stereotypes

    Experts understand ADHD better than they did two decades ago. The stigma is lifting, and awareness is growing, according to Marcy M. Caldwell, a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment and assessment of adult ADHD.

    She told The Epoch Times that social media has given voice to people who are describing their experiences with ADHD and raising it as a possibility for many people who might not have considered it previously.

    For a number of years, ADHD was stereotypically considered a disorder associated with young boys. That, particularly, left a lot of girls undiagnosed in childhood who went on to be diagnosed as adults.

    However, professionals are beginning to better understand that symptoms can vary depending on race, sex, and age, Caldwell said. They are also noting that children often don’t outgrow ADHD, as was previously believed in most cases. Rather, she said symptoms relapse and remit throughout life depending on other circumstances.

    “In that waxing and waning, the symptoms can come up again around major life events,” Caldwell said. “In normal life, the major events come up at different times. But in 2020, we were all hit with a major life event, so there was a big upsurge in diagnosis that happened after COVID as everyone was adjusting to very new circumstances.”

    Pillars of Brain Health

    Caldwell described the ADHD brain as working as an off-on light switch, whereas a neurotypical brain can adjust lighting with a dimmer switch. That is, for those with ADHD, the light switch is either on—hyperfocusing, usually with enjoyable tasks—or off for tasks that aren’t as pleasurable.

    It takes far more energy, she said, for someone with ADHD to use their brain like a dimmer switch, though it can be done. That energy can come from the following foundational health pillars:

    • Sleep
    • Exercise
    • Nutrition
    • Medication
    • Meditation
    • Connection

    “Those are six really hard things, and there’s a lot involved with them. You don’t have to do all of them,” she said.

    However, on a day when you don’t get much sleep, you can try one of the others to boost your brain energy, typically exercise, according to Caldwell.

    IQ Biologix supplements and a ketogenic diet will also go a long way…

    Movement as Fuel

    Any exercise is great for boosting energy, though specific exercises may be more tolerable to different brain states, said Caldwell. Rowing, running, and walking are helpful for those who are inattentive. Meanwhile, sports like soccer or karate—during which you must respond to a constantly changing environment—are good for those struggling with hyperactivity and impulsivity.

    The problem, Caldwell added, is that most people try to change how their brains work so they can function in the world rather than changing the world for how their brains work. That means if you need to move more, as many with ADHD do, consider using a standing or treadmill desk, take frequent breaks, and exercise before work to build up energy stores.

    “A lot of people start out with more ability to regulate their tasks and attention, and as the day goes on, they have less capacity to do that,” she said. “Save things that aren’t as taxing for later in the day.”

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 21:00

  • Assad's Fall Is A Major Blow To Russia
    Assad’s Fall Is A Major Blow To Russia

    Authored by Andrew Latham via RealClearWorld,

    Russia’s 2015 military intervention in Syria was a bold assertion of its great power ambitions, rescuing Bashar al-Assad’s regime and projecting influence in the Middle East. However, recent rebel advances and Assad’s sudden deposal threaten to isolate Russia’s Khmeimim airbase and Tartus naval facility, undermining both the practical and symbolic foundations of Moscow’s global power status.

    The fall of Assad promises to be a major blow to Russia, which is already bogged down in Ukraine. Its ramifications are likely to be felt across Moscow’s foreign policy, which could soon face some stark and unenviable choices.

    The Russian presence in Syria is central to the Kremlin’s broader strategy of force projection. Its Mediterranean bases allow Moscow to sustain military operations in the Levant, North Africa, and beyond, countering U.S. influence. With the key city of Homs having fallen to the rebels, supply routes to Khmeimim and Tartus have been severed, forcing reliance on vulnerable air and sea routes. This will weaken Russia’s operational readiness and its ability to influence events in neighboring theaters, including Africa.

    Khmeimim also serves as a logistical hub for Russian private military contractors (PMCs) like the Wagner Group, active in Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic. These contractors are central to Moscow’s efforts to expand its influence in Africa, providing security and securing lucrative economic deals. With Khmeimim isolated, sustaining these operations would become costly and inefficient, reducing Moscow’s ability to achieve its geopolitical objectives on the continent.

    The isolation of Khmeimim and Tartus will severely constrain Russia’s ability to sustain military operations in Syria and beyond, undermining its ability to conduct airstrikes, reconnaissance, and rapid-response missions. PMCs, reliant on robust logistics, will face disruptions, emboldening opposition forces and exposing the fragility of Russia’s African partnerships. These setbacks will ripple through Moscow’s strategic calculations, undercutting its influence and economic goals.

    The symbolic consequences of a rebel victory will be even more damaging. Moscow has portrayed its intervention in Syria as a demonstration of its reliability as an ally and its ability to uphold the sovereignty of client states. The loss in Syria will puncture this narrative, exposing the limits of Russian power and credibility. Regional actors, including Iran, Turkey, and the Gulf states, will recalibrate their perceptions of Moscow’s influence, while African partners might pivot toward more reliable alternatives such as China or the West.

    Domestically, the repercussions of a diminished role in Syria will be significant. President Vladimir Putin has marketed the Syrian intervention as a triumph of Russian statecraft, portraying it as a cornerstone of Russia’s resurgence on the global stage. While critics of Russia’s foreign interventions have questioned their costs for years, the fall of Assad could amplify these doubts in ways the prolonged conflict in Ukraine has not. Syria’s collapse would symbolize a failure of Russia’s ability to safeguard allied regimes, striking at the narrative of strategic competence that Putin has worked to project. Public perceptions of Russian strength, carefully curated through state-controlled media, could falter, creating broader political vulnerabilities. Moreover, Syria has served as a testing ground for Russian weapons systems, and reduced visibility in the region would weaken their appeal to buyers, further diminishing Russia’s geopolitical leverage and economic gains from arms exports. The rebel victory in Syria will resonate globally. For the United States and its allies, it will validate strategies to contain Russian influence and embolden further countermeasures. NATO could leverage Russia’s difficulties to underscore the limitations of its global reach, while China might accelerate efforts to dominate regions like Central Asia and Africa, further sidelining Moscow in regions where it traditionally competes.

    Russia now faces a stark choice: escalate its military commitment to protect its strategic interests, such as its naval facility in Tartus and airbase in Khmeimim, or accept a diminished role in the region. Escalation would aim to preserve these assets and reassert influence but risks clashes with other regional powers and would strain resources already stretched by commitments in Ukraine and Africa. Retrenchment, however, would signal a devastating blow to Russia’s credibility as a reliable guarantor of allied regimes worldwide, sending a clear message to its partners in Africa, the Middle East, and beyond that Moscow cannot be counted on to defend its allies in times of crisis. This erosion of trust would undermine Russia’s broader global strategy and invite further challenges to its influence elsewhere.

    Already there is evidence Russian warships have left Tartus, raising questions about Russia’s commitment to its Syrian bases. As Russia navigates this crisis, it must confront the limits of its resources and the fragility of its aspirations. Great power status requires not just military might but strategic resilience. The outcome of the Syrian conflict will shape the future of Russia’s role in the evolving international order. For Moscow, the stakes could not be higher.

    Andrew Latham is Professor of Political Science at Macalester College and a Non-Resident Fellow at Defense Priorities.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 20:15

  • Video Games Have Become Rife With DEI And Some Fans Aren’t Buying It
    Video Games Have Become Rife With DEI And Some Fans Aren’t Buying It

    Authored by Stacy Robinson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    BioWare, developer of the wildly popular Mass Effect and Dragon Age video game series, is at the center of a new battle.

    Following the failed launch of two costly triple-A titles, the studio was banking on a win. Its latest offering is the fourth title in the Dragon Age series; the last was released 10 years ago.

    Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock

    Initial reactions to trailers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard were decidedly negative. Longtime fans of the series criticized the softer, stylized art of the new game, comparing it to a Disney-Pixar movie.

    But after BioWare invited a group of streamers and critics to a private, hands-on demo of the game, hope was rekindled. Those who had experienced Veilguard firsthand were generally positive, and encouraged fans of the series to wait for the full release.

    Days before its release, clips of Veilguard were leaked, revealing that the game was rife with transgender ideology and messaging based on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

    One scene showed a character doing pushups as penance for forgetting to use “they/them” pronouns, and then lecturing about how a simple apology was not enough for the crime of “misgendering.”

    Another scene, in a high fantasy setting with dragons and elves, showed a character revealing to her parents that she identified as nonbinary.

    The game’s character customization system does not allow for the creation of curvy female characters but it does allow players to add mastectomy scars.

    Laura Kate Dale, “queer representation critic and consultant” and author of “Gender Euphoria,” posted on social media platform X about having worked on the project.

    Corinne Busche, Veilguard’s game director, is also transgender. Busche told co-workers that the goal for the Dragon Age team at BioWare is to use games to create a safe space for the LGBT community.

    “It’s such a rare thing for marginalized communities to have representation where we feel proud and powerful in how we are depicted. It’s so deeply meaningful for so many,” Busche said in a developer interview on BioWare’s website.

    While it is true that previous Dragon Age titles featured LGBT characters—and allowed players to romance same sex characters in-game—Veilguard’s approach seems to have struck a different chord this time.

    Visitors play the Dragon Age video game by American video game company, Electronic Arts, during a preview of the Paris Games Week on Oct. 22, 2024. Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images

    Critics’ Reviews

    While some fans were still scratching their heads at the leaked clips, early critic reviews for Veilguard were mostly positive.

    The game received the thumbs-up from Eurogamer, Game Rant, and GamingBible—all of whom awarded it a perfect 100 out of 100. Even Finger Guns, which gave it a lower-end score of 60, called it “a solid, albeit, unspectacular RPG experience.”

    IGN—notorious for giving scores of seven—gave Veilguard a nine out of 10. [ZH: lol]

    That review was received differently when it was revealed the critic identifies as transgender; IGN released an alternate, less positive review shortly thereafter.

    Some critics were more tepid in their response.

    Games journalist Skillup gave the game a “cannot recommend” evaluation. He didn’t mention the progressive content and instead referred to the game’s “silly and childish” tone, and lack of narrative subtlety.

    “This game cannot surface any ideas without just saying them aloud,” he said.

    “Every interaction sounds like HR is in the room.”

    He—and others—also criticized the “hollow and repetitive” gameplay loop. “Zero variety in mission design,” he noted. He said he eventually lowered the game’s difficulty settings, just so he could rush through it more quickly.

    The disparity between professional critic reviews and those by consumers is stark: Metacritic shows the game’s audience score is 3.8 out of 10 for Playstation users; the score for PC users is 2.5.

    Video game enthusiasts play the latest released games at the Eurogamer Expo in London on Sept. 26, 2013. Oli Scarff/Getty Images

    Costly Business

    Triple-A game development is a risky, expensive business. Games can cost hundreds of millions and take years to develop; one failure may drive a studio out of business.

    Official sales numbers for Veilguard have not been released—a common practice unless a game does very well—but speculation abounds. It is unlikely the real numbers will be known before EA’s earnings call in February

    One way of gauging sales is to look at the number of concurrent players on STEAM, the world’s largest digital PC video game marketplace. Veilguard reached a maximum of just over 89,000 players on Nov. 3.

    By comparison, Farming Simulator 25 peaked at more than 135,000 concurrent players.

    Veilguard is reported to have sold more than a million copies—not a great result for a triple-A title that may have cost between $80 million and $200 million to develop.

    By contrast, Game Science’s recent release Black Myth: Wukong sold 18 million copies within its first two weeks.

    And while Veilguard was given positive reviews by gaming media, Wukong’s development team was accused of sexism, fat-shaming, and homophobia just ahead of the release.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 19:50

  • Saudi 2034 Selection Raises Eyebrows As Global Footprint Of FIFA World Cup Grows
    Saudi 2034 Selection Raises Eyebrows As Global Footprint Of FIFA World Cup Grows

    As expected, FIFA confirmed this week that Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the 2030 World Cup.

    In addition, in view of the centenary of the first World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930, there will also be a ceremony in the country’s capital Montevideo, as well as three opening matches being played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.

    The 2030 World Cup will therefore have an unprecedented format, as it will be held in six countries and on three continents (Africa, Europe and South America). Until now, the World Cup has never been held in more than two countries or on different continents. In 2002, South Korea and Japan held it jointly, while in 2026 it will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

    Despite FIFA president Gianni Infantino hailing how “In a divided world, FIFA and football are coming together,” the plans have come in for some initial harsh criticism – mainly for the effect the geographical spread will have on the tournament’s carbon footprint.

    Concerns have also been raised that, due to a change in hemispheres, some teams will end up having to play the competition in two different meteorological seasons.

    As Statista’s Felix Richter shows in the infographic below, since 1930, the FIFA Men’s World Cup has been held every four years, with only two interruptions caused by the Second World War, in 1942 and 1946.

    Infographic: The Growing Global Footprint of the FIFA World Cup | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    The 2034 World Cup will be hosted by Saudi Arabia, a decision that drew its fair share of criticism as well.

    By making sure that only federations from Asia and Oceania could bid for the 2034 World Cup and setting a deadline too tight to meet for other applicants, FIFA effectively fast-tracked Saudi Arabia’s hosting ambitions, shortly before announcing a multi-year global partnership with Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant.

    In its official “Bid Evaluation Report”, FIFA largely swatted human rights concerns aside, giving the Saudi bid an overall score of 4.2 out of 5 – the highest score ever awarded.

    According to the report, the inclusion of human rights within the criteria for evaluating bids is “about making decisions based on evidence of how effectively bidders intend to address human rights risks connected with a tournament. It is not about peremptorily excluding countries based on their general human rights context”.

    Reacting to the report, Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Labour Rights and Sport, said:

    “As expected, FIFA’s evaluation of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid is an astonishing whitewash of the country’s atrocious human rights record. There are no meaningful commitments that will prevent workers from being exploited, residents from being evicted or activists from being arrested.”

    As Statista’s chart shows, Saudi Arabia’s “general human rights context” is in fact sub-optimal, as the country routinely ranks near the bottom of international indices on governance and human rights.

    Infographic: Saudi Arabia: World Cup Host With a Questionable Reputation | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    So, evidently, the same sport that pride-fully pushes a strong LGBTQ+ agenda seems more than willing to put all that aside when it comes to money, giving World Cups to the explicitly homophobic sharia law theo-monarchy of Saudi Arabia.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 19:15

  • 'Gladiator II' Is A MAGA Metaphor
    ‘Gladiator II’ Is A MAGA Metaphor

    Authored by Richard Porter via RealClearPolitics,

    Hollywood sequels rarely achieve the magic of the original, but “Gladiator II” comes close.  Except for the familiar populist framework of a lone man taking on “the system” against all odds, the echoes to the original are sufficiently distant that the new movie feels fresh and original. 

    Plus, it turns out that Ridley Scott’s blockbuster is a timely, if unwitting, metaphor for Donald Trump’s own sequel, which is off to a better start than his original. This time he won the popular vote and his transition is smoother, most recently featuring Trump’s triumphant trip to Paris, Kash Patel’s appointment to lead the FBI, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s obeisant visit to Mar-a-Lago.  

    This is what Trump’s “revenge” looks like. Compared to a Gladiator-inspired populist revolt, it’s both genteel and more satisfying: What red-blooded American viewer doesn’t enjoy seeing Trump arm-wrestling with Macron again and making a nanny-state bully like Trudeau heel, or seeing him appoint bold populists like Patel, Bobby Kennedy Jr., and Tulsi Gabbard to lead, and turn upside down, politicized government agencies that sought to do him in?

    Ancient Rome has always been both an inspiration and a cautionary tale for America’s leaders. George Washington modeled on Cincinnatus by relinquishing his military power to enhance civilian government, and he frequently quoted the Roman senator Cato, who sacrificed his life in support of the Roman Republic. The Founders chose an eagle as our national symbol – the symbol of the Roman god Jupiter used to represent Roman power. Both John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams idolized the Roman orator Cicero. More ominously, Abraham Lincoln’s stage-actor assassin John Wilkes Booth played the role of Mark Antony in an 1864 New York City performance of “Julius Caesar,” with his brother Edwin playing Brutus. And as he leapt from the president’s box in Ford’s Theater, Booth shouted “Sic semper tyrannis,” the words attributed to Brutus as he killed Ceasar.

    Over the course of our nation’s history, comparisons between the United States and ancient Rome have focused on the fall of the latter as a caution for the former. The comparisons range from financial mismanagement to far-flung and over-extended military commitments.

    So, Roman lessons for the U.S. are nothing new. Ridley Scott, who produced and directed “Gladiator II,” drew parallels between his movie and contemporary American politics in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, but – this is fun! – he’s spectacularly wrong about both. 

    Scott told the Hollywood Reporter that he modeled the heavy in Gladiator II – a creepy, Machiavellian opportunist whom Denzel Washington brings to life – on Donald Trump. “He evolved into a very rich merchant selling shit to the Roman armies – food, oil, wine, cloth, weapons, everything,” Scott said. “He maybe had a million men spread around Europe. So he was a billionaire at the time, so why wouldn’t he [have ambitions toward the throne]? ‘Why not me?’ He’s also a gangster – very close to Trump. A clever gangster. He creates chaos and from chaos he can evolve.”

    Is anyone surprised that a Hollywood liberal misses the point about Trump in his own movie? Ridley Scott has it precisely backwards: The Trump parallel is not the scheming creature of the Roman political swamp, but the hero, a prince who would not bow to those who sought to crush and kill him. It’s Trump’s rivals, scheming, duplicitous power seekers seeking to whip up hate, who are whispering in the ear of a non-compos mentis leader.

    And what ultimately drove the young prince to become the populist leader of Rome? As he approaches the inevitable climatic death match, the Gladiator himself reprises the core idea from the first film: “The dream that was Rome.” It’s a fragile dream of a Republic that will only be achieved by taking back power from corrupt, weak leaders and scheming politicians.

    The gladiator’s speech about Rome applies to contemporary America. It’s about recapturing the American Dream and refreshing government of, by, and for the forgotten people – instead of the powerful – the very ideas that bring cheers to a Trump rally.

    With that in mind, consider the words ascribed to Marcus Aurelius – words that the film’s hero and villain both quote: “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury” or “The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.”

    Trump’s many enemies, the folks whipping up fear that he will use government power to go after political enemies as the Democrats did to him, misunderstand MAGA “revenge,” as Trump made clear again during his long Sunday interview with Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.” Government institutions that have been infused with politics and corrupted away from their purpose are not reformed by changing the politics, but by purging the politics. 

    Trump’s revenge is to be different, to empower allies to reveal and reform corruption, and to reduce the power of government over the people instead of expanding it.

    Nothing will crush his haters more than being a great president. “I’m really looking to make our country successful,” Trump told Kristen Welker. “I’m not looking to go back into the past. I’m looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success. If we can make our success â?? this country successful, that would be my greatest, that would be such a great achievement. Bring it back.”

    Trump’s 2024 victory against all the forces arrayed against him is just the opening act of his sequel. Now the fun really begins. Someday, Hollywood will understand what most Americans already see: Donald Trump is a gladiator for the dream that is America.

    Richard Porter is a lawyer in Chicago and a former policy advisor to President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 18:40

  • Trump Says He'll Kill Daylight Saving Time, But Maybe He Really Wants It To Be Permanent
    Trump Says He’ll Kill Daylight Saving Time, But Maybe He Really Wants It To Be Permanent

    President-elect Trump on Friday said he and fellow Republicans would make a full effort to liberate Americans from daylight saving time and its twice-yearly clock adjustments — which take a human toll that ranges from annoyance to death.

    “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” wrote Trump in posts to his own TruthSocial platform as well as X. 

    While his statement was welcome news to many people across the political spectrum, it prompted immediate confusion about what exactly he was proposing. There are two approaches to ending those aggravating clock adjustments on the second Sunday in March and first Sunday in November:

    • Eliminating daylight saving time, which would mean year-round “standard time” 
    • Making daylight saving time permanent 

    Many people who detest the changing of the clocks casually call for “doing away with daylight saving time,” not appreciating that, taken literally, it would mean their summers would have earlier sunrises and sunsets. It’s not clear if Trump unintentionally fell into using that language, or if he really wants to see permanent standard time — which is already the state of affairs in Arizona and Hawaii.  

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

    Like so many of the nation’s ills, daylight saving time sprang from the warfare state: It was first introduced during World War I with the goal of conserving fuel. Woodrow Wilson’s interventionist idiocy unjustly killed 115,516 American service members, and daylight saving time keeps on taking lives on the home front. Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that around 30 traffic-accident fatalities a year may result from the disruption in sleep rhythms, while another study found a 3% daily spike in total mortality in the week after the spring clock adjustment.   

    Permanent daylight saving time is appealing to people who want to enjoy more daylight when they leave work. It also has the support of retailers, restaurants, recreation leagues and other organizations that do better with more light at day’s end. Criminals may oppose it: Research has found that dangerous crime increases 7% when daylight saving time ends each fall.  

    That’s not to say permanent daylight saving time is a no-brainer. That option comes at the price of many more Americans in northern states waking up to darkness at 8am and even later during the winter months. “A lot of people prefer to have that daylight at the end of the day instead,” University of Pennsylvania clinical psychology professor Philip Gehrman told the New York Times. “But those mornings are going to get dark.” Those dark mornings are cited as a potential safety risk to children waiting at bus stops and walking to schools.  

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    Meanwhile, many sleep experts say permanent standard time is the healthier option for the human body. “If you get too much light too late in the evening, it disrupts your sleep, and we are essentially creating a months-long environment in which we are actually receiving light at a time that is later in the day than is optimal for our health,” public health professor Dr. Adam Spira of Johns Hopkins told CNN.  

    A 2021 AP-NORC poll found that only 25% of Americans want to keep flipping the clocks back and forth, while 43% said they wanted standard time all year, and 32% said daylight saving time should be  made permanent. It’s likely many respondents would change their stances — in both directions — if they had a deeper understanding of each option’s implications.

    In November, Trump wing-men Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — who are heading up his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — both hinted that they’d like to see an end to the clock changes. Trump’s son, Don Jr, immediately chimed in, saying, “Leave it daylight saving time always.” 

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    In 2022, a bill to make daylight saving time permanent passed the Senate via unanimous consent, but hit a brick wall in the House. That “Sunshine Protection Act” was introduced by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who’s been nominated to serve as Trump’s Secretary of State.   

    It’s a topic many people are passionate about, which is why it’s a shame Trump didn’t throw it into this year’s presidential election mix. In the wake of his announced opposition to the clock changes, social media lit up with people sharing their own views on the topic: 

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 18:05

  • Peter Schiff Exclusive: This Economy Is "On Borrowed Time"
    Peter Schiff Exclusive: This Economy Is “On Borrowed Time”

    Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

    I was happy to welcome my friend Peter Schiff back on to Fringe Finance this past week, where I was able to get his take on a couple of the items I wrote about on the blog last week – most importantly, whether or not he thinks markets will crash up (hyperinflation) or down (deflationary depression).

    Schiff and I also talked about his perspectives on markets, government policies, and the future of Bitcoin and gold. I also asked Schiff about his miscalculations, primarily underestimating the length of time it would take for economic reckoning and on bitcoin.

    Speaking from his residence in Puerto Rico, Schiff painted a dire picture of the U.S. economy, marked by excessive debt, misguided monetary policies, and misplaced optimism.

    Schiff’s outlook on the markets remains grim. “The market is already very expensive,” he observed, highlighting that “the optimism factored in is misplaced.” He warned of an impending reckoning, exacerbated by years of deficit spending and inflationary policies: “We have a $36.2 trillion debt that’ll soon reach $40 trillion. This is unsustainable.”

    “The market is already very expensive. It’s hard to see parabolic upside when optimism is misplaced. The markets are expecting good things to happen that aren’t going to happen.” – Peter Schiff

    On whether markets are set to “crash up or crash down,” Schiff remarked, “Higher inflation is baked in, but that’s not good for the dollar. The markets are wrong to think it is.” His skepticism extends to the Federal Reserve, which he accused of sacrificing long-term economic health for short-term stability: “The Fed is a one-trick pony. Its solution to every problem is to inflate, mask the problem, and hope it goes away.”

    🔥 50% OFF FOR LIFE: Using this coupon entitles you to 50% off an annual subscription to Fringe Finance for life: Get 50% off forever

    Schiff remains an unwavering advocate for gold, dismissing Bitcoin as a speculative bubble. He criticized Bitcoin’s lack of utility, stating, “It’s not digital gold; it’s not digital anything.” Contrasting it with gold, Schiff argued, “Gold has intrinsic value and has been a store of wealth for millennia. Bitcoin has failed to be money for 15 years.”

    Taking aim at Michael Saylor’s proposal for the U.S. government to sell its gold reserves to buy Bitcoin, Schiff called it “a horrible idea” and dismissed Saylor’s comments as “self-serving.” He continued, “Bitcoin is not a reserve asset; it’s a speculative tool that has concentrated risk.”

    Schiff also lambasted the speculative frenzy surrounding Bitcoin ETFs and institutional purchases: “Bitcoin ETFs and MicroStrategy have cornered 8% of Bitcoin’s total supply. That’s a bubble waiting to burst.”

    “Bitcoin ETFs and MicroStrategy have already cornered 8% of Bitcoin’s supply. That’s concentration risk in a speculative bubble,” Schiff said. “Michael Saylor’s proposal for the U.S. to sell its gold for Bitcoin is not just a bad idea—it’s delusional. It’s putting all your eggs in one highly speculative basket.”

    Schiff highlighted the worsening state of the U.S. economy: “People are working harder for less real income, drowning in debt, and paying 25% interest on credit cards. This is the reality behind the so-called recovery.” He lambasted the bipartisan reluctance to address deficits: “Trump promised to cut deficits but signed every debt-busting bill put on his desk. Nothing will change under his leadership.”

    We also discussed:

    • Market outlook: Speculation on whether markets will experience an inflationary rise or deflationary crash
    • Federal Reserve policies: Predictions about the Fed’s actions concerning inflation and interest rates
    • Inflation expectations: Discussion about how inflation impacts the economy and the U.S. dollar
    • Government deficits: Criticism of rising budget and trade deficits under various administrations.
    • Trump’s economic policies: Evaluation of Trump’s promises versus the reality of government spending and deficits
    • Impact of tax cuts: Debate over whether tax cuts would stimulate the economy or worsen the deficit
    • Military and welfare spending: Criticism of increases in military and welfare spending despite calls for fiscal restraint.
    • Gold and currency: The comparative value of gold versus the U.S. dollar and other assets.
    • Bitcoin and cryptocurrency: Analysis of Bitcoin’s perceived value, speculative nature, and potential risks.
    • Comparative risk of assets: Comparison between speculative investment in Bitcoin and traditional markets.
    • Historical trends in gold ETFs: Analysis of gold’s stability and its market dynamics versus Bitcoin.
    • Government intervention in Bitcoin: Concerns over potential government involvement in Bitcoin markets
    • Critique of modern monetary theory (MMT): Dismissal of MMT as a sustainable economic approach
    • Economic bubbles and malinvestment: Concerns over the allocation of capital into unproductive sectors
    • Debt servicing crisis: Warnings about rising interest payments on national debt
    • Future economic predictions: Forecasts of a potential dollar crisis or significant inflationary period

    You can watch the entire hourlong interview here. 

    QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author.

    This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 17:30

  • ABC To Pay Trump $15 Million For Defamation, Issue Apology
    ABC To Pay Trump $15 Million For Defamation, Issue Apology

    ABC News and star anchor George Stephanopoulos have reached a settlement with Donald Trump for $15 million, after Stephanopoulos asserted that Trump was found “liable for rape” in a civil case while interviewing Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) last March.

    After the network played a clip of Mace discussing being a victim of rape, Stephanopoulos asked: “How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?”

    “You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape,” the host continued, referring to the case brought by Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll.

    During his contentious discussion with Mace, Stephanopoulos repeated the claim 10 times despite the fact that a jury only found Trump liable for “sexual abuse” – which under New York law is distinctly different from rape.

    After the federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse, but not rape, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in a later ruling that just because Carroll failed to prove rape “within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’”

    …

    The settlement was publicly filed on Saturday, revealing that the two parties have come to an agreement and avoided a costly trial. According to the settlement, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past.” Additionally, the network will pay $1 million in Trump’s attorney fees. -Fox News

    After Trump sued for defamation, Stephanopoulos was a pissy little midget – telling CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert that he wouldn’t be “cowed out of doing my job because of a threat,” Fox notes further.

    “Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s in fact what did happen. We filed a motion to dismiss.”

    The settlement came after U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid recently ordered Trump and Stephanopoulos to attend an in-person deposition hearing next week ahead of the Dec. 24 deadline for the defendants to file a motion for summary judgment, in order to avoid a trial.

    In his lawsuit against Stephanopoulos and ABC, Trump was represented by Florida attorneys Alejandro Brito and Richard Klugh, who also represent the president-elect in his legal case against CNN. The settlement with ABC was filed in the Southern District of Florida Federal Court where both parties signed and agreed to the terms. -Fox News

    The settlement is the latest in a string of legal victories for Trump – ranging from the dismissal of his 2020 election fraud lawsuit, to his classifieds records case. Trump was also granted a request to file a motion to dismiss in his New York ‘Stormy Daniels’ case.

    Trump is separately suing CBS News for $10 billion in damages over “deceptive conduct.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 16:55

  • Natural Gas – Not Nuclear – Is the Key To Powering North America's Future
    Natural Gas – Not Nuclear – Is the Key To Powering North America’s Future

    Authored by Gwyn Morgan via The Epoch Times,

    After decades on the outs with environmentalists and regulators, nuclear power is being heralded as a key component for a “net zero” future of clean, reliable energy. Its promise is likely to fall short, however, due to some hard realities.

    As North America grapples with the challenge of providing secure, affordable, and sustainable energy amidst soaring electricity demand, it is time to accept this fact: Natural gas remains the most practical solution for powering our grid and economy.

    Nuclear power’s limitations are rooted in its costs, risks, and delays. Even under ideal circumstances, building or restarting a nuclear facility is arduous. Consider Microsoft’s much-publicized plan to restart the long-dormant Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. This project is lauded as proof of an incipient “nuclear revival,” but despite leveraging existing infrastructure it will cost US$1.6 billion and take four years to bring online.

    This is not a unique case. Across North America, nuclear energy projects face monumental lead times. The new generation of small modular reactors (SMRs), often touted as a game-changer, is still largely theoretical. In Canada—Alberta in particular—discussions around SMRs have been ongoing for years, with no concrete progress. The most optimistic projections estimate the first SMR in Western Canada might be operational by 2034.

    The reality is that nuclear energy cannot scale quickly enough to meet urgent electricity needs. Canada’s power grid is already strained, and electricity demand is set to grow significantly, driven by electric vehicles and enormous data centres for AI applications. Nuclear power, even if expanded aggressively, cannot fill the gap within the necessary time frames.

    Natural gas, by contrast, is abundant, flexible, low-risk—and highly affordable. It accounts for 40 percent of U.S. electricity generation and plays a critical role in Canada’s energy mix. Unlike nuclear, natural gas infrastructure can be built rapidly, ensuring that new capacity comes online when it’s needed—not decades later. Gas-fired plants are cost-effective and capable of providing consistent, large-scale power while being capable of rapid starts and shut-downs, making them suitable for meeting both base-load and “peaking” power demands.

    Climate-related concerns surrounding natural gas need to be put in perspective. Natural gas is the lowest-emission fossil fuel and produces less than half the carbon dioxide of coal per unit of energy output. It is also highly adaptable, supporting renewable energy integration by compensating for the intermittency of wind and solar power.

    Nuclear energy advocates frequently highlight its zero-emission credentials, yet they overlook its immense challenges, not just the front-end problems of high cost and long lead times, but ongoing waste disposal and future decommissioning.

    Natural gas, by comparison, presents fewer risks. Its production and distribution systems are well-established, and North America is uniquely positioned to benefit from the vast reserves underlying all three countries on the continent. Despite low prices and ever-increasing regulatory obstacles, Canada’s natural gas production has been setting new records. Streamlining regulatory processes and expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity would help revive Canada’s battered economy, with plenty of natural gas left over to help meet growing domestic electricity needs.

    Critics argue that investing in natural gas is at odds with the “energy transition” to a glorious net zero future, but this oversimplifies the related challenges and ignores hard realities. By reducing reliance on dirtier fuels like coal, natural gas can help lower a country’s greenhouse gas emissions while providing the reliability needed to support economic growth and renewable energy integration.

    Europe’s energy crisis following the recent reduction of Russian gas imports underscores natural gas’s vital role in maintaining reliable electricity supplies. As nations like Germany still phase out nuclear power due to the sheer blind ideology of their left-wing parties, they’re growing more dependent on natural gas to keep the lights (mostly) on and the factories (partially) humming.

    Europe is already a destination for LNG exported from the U.S. Gulf Coast, and American LNG exports will soon resume growth under the incoming Trump administration. Canada has the resources and know-how to similarly scale up its LNG exports; all we need is a supportive federal government.

    For all its theoretical benefits, nuclear power remains impractical for meeting immediate and medium-term energy demands. Its high costs, lengthy timelines, and significant remaining public opposition make it unlikely to serve as North America’s energy backbone.

    Natural gas, on the other hand, is affordable, scalable, and reliable. It is the fuel that powers industries, keeps homes warm and provides the stability our electricity grid needs—whether or not we ever transition to “net zero.” By prioritizing investment in natural gas infrastructure and expanding its use, we can meet today’s energy challenges head-on while laying the groundwork for tomorrow’s innovations.

    *  *  *

    The original, full-length version of this article was recently published in C2C Journal.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 16:20

  • We Are Not Looking For A Fight With Israel: HTS Leader Jolani 
    We Are Not Looking For A Fight With Israel: HTS Leader Jolani 

    Israel has already conducted at least 300 major strikes on Syria since Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over Damascus and much of the country, with President Assad having fled to Moscow, where’s he’s been given asylum.

    Israeli warplanes have been able to launch attacks with impunity, having decimated airbases, missile storehouses, and even chemical weapons facilities. Israel has finally degraded and destroyed what was once among the most feared anti-air defense system and network in the region (which is why previously Israeli warplanes only launched attacks on Syria from over Lebanese airspace). 

    Throughout this past week, HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani (who is now reverting to his birth name of Ahmad al-Sharaa) remained noticeably silent on the non-stop Israeli attacks which have kept all of Damascus awake at night and involved low flying Israeli warplanes.

    AFP/Getty Images

    But on Saturday Jolani is seeking to give Israel ‘assurances’ – also as IDF tanks and troops have crossed into Syria and have expanded occupation of more parts of the south. He said his new government has “no intention of confronting Israel.”

    “We are not looking to engage in a conflict with Israel and cannot bear such a battle,” Jolani continued, and further pointed out he’s not looking for war with Iran either.

    He signaled intent for “no hostilities with the Iranian people” but also called Assad’s ouster “a victory over the dangerous Iranian project in the region.”

    He said Syrian state “should not be governed with a revolutionary mindset, and we need laws and institutions [to this end]” – as he pledges to bring stability and has said he won’t let his forces embark on revenge killings.

    There have been reports of Sunni Islamist militants targeting Alawite villages in the Latakia or possibly central Syrian countryside, but thus far no evidence of attacks on ethno-religions minorities in Damascus or major cities have emerged.

    The Druze community, which is an Islamic offshoot in the south and considered heretical by hardline Sunnis, is deeply fearful and some tribes near Golan are actually seeking Israeli production. The Druze leadership doesn’t trust the jihadists of HTS and are actually petitioning Israel to annex their villages:

    In a video posted to X on Friday that features captions in English, a Hader resident claiming to be a representative of the Druze people, an esoteric ethnoreligious group, urged a large crowd to consider what their future will be like. The village is located within the buffer zone between Israel and Syria, which IDF troops entered last week.

    “If we have to choose, we will choose the lesser evil,” he said. “And even if it’s considered evil to ask to be annexed to the [Israeli] Golan, it’s a much lesser evil than the evil coming our way,” the man added, apparently referring to the HTS, which was formerly known as the Al Nusra front – an offshoot of Al Qaeda in Syria.

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    The man warned, clearly in reference to the armed jihadist factions now all over Syria: “That evil might take our women, might take our daughters, they might take our houses.”

    Israel has meanwhile signaled it plans to keep its military presence in southern Syria, and will maintain a forward operating base on the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 15:45

  • Sigh… Gen Z Interns Are Still Tweeting About Project 2025 From Biden's X Account
    Sigh… Gen Z Interns Are Still Tweeting About Project 2025 From Biden’s X Account

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    President Trump won the election over a month ago. Yet ‘Joe Biden’ sent out a post on X Friday saying that he’s “praying” Trump will not implement “Project 2025”.

    They just can’t stop with this nonsense.

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    They don’t know what else to do with themselves.

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    They’re like Wall-E the garbage droid that keeps collecting garbage for eternity after humanity has left Earth for a different planet.

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    Speaking of garbage…

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    The post doesn’t even make sense.

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    Why would anyone listen to the Biden Administration about what constitutes sound economic policy?

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    Ebenezer Scrooge says what?

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    *  *  *

    Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 15:10

  • "Watch Credit Spreads" For Crash Signals – Insights From Pento & Roberts On 2025 Positioning
    “Watch Credit Spreads” For Crash Signals – Insights From Pento & Roberts On 2025 Positioning

    Are markets headed for a cliff? Most analysts flipped bullish following the Trump win with promises of peace, lower taxes, and business-friendly regulation. But one strategist, Michael Pento, is calling for a major crash as severe as 50% off the S&P.

    Friday night concluded another ZeroHedge live-premium debate with Pento, founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies, and Chief Investment Strategist at RIA Advisors Lance Roberts. 

    Expertly moderated by Real Vision’s Ash Bennington, we’ve compiled key moments below but encourage all readers to listen to the full debate (linked at the bottom).

    Credit Spreads Canary

    Unlike the stock market, driven by sentiment and speculation, credit markets are “fundamentally based” on assessing inflation, credit risk, and returns — according to Roberts.

    He points out that these spreads have historically served as a “good early warning indicator” of bear markets. Roberts concedes Pento’s thesis about the precarious state of the market and even admits, “we’re going to crash” (but strongly advises against all-cash and shorting, explained later).

    “If there’s anything you’re going to watch to tell you a crash is going to come, watch credit spreads.”

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    Fed Is Finished

    Pento argues that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to intervene aggressively in the event of another economic crash due to significant changes since pre-COVID conditions. He challenges the assumption that “the Fed’s got your back” by pointing to current constraints that make a return to policies like zero interest rates (ZIRP) and quantitative easing (QE) less feasible.

    Pento: “It’s a little sophomoric to say, ‘well, the Feds got your back. Well, the Fed’s just going to print money.’” 

    “Look at what happened in 2020. The Fed’s balance sheet went from $4 trillion to $9 trillion from 2020 to 2022… the reason why the Fed is going to be loathe and reticent and reluctant to do that again, is because we had inflation in this country for the first time really since 1981. And if you measure inflation the way they did pre-Boskin in 1996, inflation was really about 20%.”

    “Inflation has already wiped out the bottom four quintiles of the middle class.”

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    Even if the Fed tries to put up a fight, says Pento, there’s no guarantee that they can save markets. Japan has thrown the kitchen sink at its markets to levels well beyond the American central bank but to no avail:

    “Japan has zero percent interest rates. The Bank of Japan owns every JGB that’s ever issued. They own half of the ETF market, and their market is below where it was 35 years ago.”

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    Harmful Doomer Predictions 

    Roberts blasts doomsday predictions for causing massive losses for retail investors, encouraging them to remain permanently out of markets while the S&P climbs to new highs. 

    “If you’re going to say a crash is coming… it’s got to have a specific timeframe.” 

    He highlights the market’s resilience during events like the 2020 shutdown. “If there was ever a reason the market should be down 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, it should have been that event.” Though Roberts concedes that the federal government kept stocks afloat with stimulus checks, debt forgiveness, zero interest rates, and $120 billion in monthly quantitative easing.

    Overall, he strongly discourages investors against crash predicting because current conditions, fueled by liquidity and support, may sustain the rally longer than expected. “They might be surprised how long this can last because of what’s still fueling the underlying market.”

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    To hear Pento’s entire case for the 50% crash and his full discussion with Roberts that went for over an hour, you must sign up for the ZeroHedge Premium or Professional tiers. Pro subs additionally gain access to institutional research from the major banks to help you gain an edge when trading. Also tune in this Tuesday evening for a debate between Jonathan Turley and GW Professor Dave Karpf on free speech and Elon’s acquisition of Twitter, moderated by Gene Epstein of the SoHo Forum.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 14:35

  • "We're Kinda Worried…" – Judicial Watch Helps Unearth 911 Call Made By Trump Shooter's Dad
    “We’re Kinda Worried…” – Judicial Watch Helps Unearth 911 Call Made By Trump Shooter’s Dad

    Authored by Ken Silva via Headline USA,

    Thanks to the help of the non-profit transparency group Judicial Watch, Headline USA has obtained a recording of the 911 call Thomas Crooks’s father made on the day his son allegedly tried assassinating Donald Trump during his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

    Allegheny County—where Crooks lived with his parents, Matthew and Mary Crooks—provided the call to Headline USA on Friday after a four-month legal process.

    The call lasts roughly 2 minutes before abruptly ending. Matthew Crooks initially called Allegheny County 911 dispatch, which transferred him to the Bethel Park Police Department.

    “Hi, yes. Uh, my name is Matthew Crooks. I was calling in regards to my son, Thomas. Uh, he belongs to the Clairton Sportsman Club in Clairton, and I don’t have the number for Jefferson Police on hand. The reason I’m calling is he left the house here at about a quarter to two this afternoon, and we’ve gotten no contact from him, no text messages, nothing’s been returned, and he’s not home yet,” Matthew said.

    “That’s totally not like him. So we’re kind of worried, not really sure what we should do.”

    The recording ended after Matthew confirmed his son was 20 years old. Headline USA is filing an appeal in an attempt to obtain the rest of the recording—if it exists.

    Obtaining the 2-minute recording was a lengthy process in the first place.

    After requesting the call on Aug. 12, Bethel Park Police denied disclosure nine days later— citing Section 708(b)(18) of the RTKL, which exempts 911 recordings from public disclosure.

    However, the exact same RTKL paragraph cited by Bethel Police also states that law enforcement can release 911 recordings that are in the public interest.

    Headline USA appealed accordingly, but an appeals officer ruled that he didn’t have the power to force disclosure. Only a police department or a court has the power to force disclosure of 911 calls, the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records ruled in October. The Office of Open Records made a similar ruling that same month in an appeal filed by NBC News, which also sought the call.

    That’s where Judicial Watch came in. The non-profit watchdog agreed to take on this publication’s case, filing a lawsuit in late October in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas to force Bethel Park Police to disclose the 911 call.

    “Disclosing the 911 recording would further aid the public’s interest in completing a timeline of events surrounding the attempted assignation of President Trump on July 13, 2024,” attorney J. Chadwick Schnee argued on behalf of Judicial Watch and Headline USA—asking the court to reverse the appeal office’s decision and to deem the 911 recording to be in the public interest.

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    However, a judge never had the chance to rule on Judicial Watch’s lawsuit. Last week, ABC News published a story about the call, reporting that it obtained the 911 call via a Right to Know Law request—the same method by which both Headline USA and NBC had requested it. Though Headline USA’s request was with Bethel Park Police, NBC had tried obtaining the recording via Allegheny County—and the county fought NBC all the way to appeal, and won.

    It’s not clear why Allegheny County disclosed the call to ABC after denying it to NBC—and successfully arguing in October that it wasn’t in the public interest. However, Allegheny County only disclosed the call after Judicial Watch filed its lawsuit.

    ABC did reveal that the call was made at 10:56 p.m., which settles conflicting reports of whether the father called before or after his son shot at Trump at 6:11 p.m.—grazing Trump’s ear, killing a firefighter, and seriously wounding two others before dying from law enforcement’s return fire.

    The timing of the call wasn’t included in the response Headline USA received.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 14:00

  • Fury Erupts As Biden Commutes Sentence Of Infamous 'Kids-For-Cash' Judge
    Fury Erupts As Biden Commutes Sentence Of Infamous ‘Kids-For-Cash’ Judge

    Earlier this week, President Biden broke the record for the largest one-day act of clemency, dishing out 39 pardons and commuting 1,499 sentences. Now, as journalists and citizens begin sifting through that massive pile, some troubling discoveries are coming to light — perhaps none more disturbing than Biden’s commutation of a sentence given to a Pennsylvania judge convicted of railroading children to prison in exchange for $2.1 million in kickbacks from the private prison’s operator to himself and Judge Mark Ciaverella.    

    In a truly sinister scandal that came to be known by the nickname “Kids-for-Cash,” Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan pled guilty to racketeering charges and was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. By some estimates, the scheme affected more than 2,500 juveniles. In many cases, the minors were provided no defense counsel, and the crooked judges creatively applied laws in order to lengthen sentences. In a case handled by Ciaverella, a 15-year-old girl who created a MySpace page to mock her school’s assistant principal had a 90-second, no-lawyer trial, and was sentenced to three months in confinement.

    Former Luzerne County PA Judge Michael Conahan pleaded guilty to handing out lengthy juvenile sentences in return for millions of dollars in kickbacks  (via The Citizen’s Voice) 

    Sandy Fonzo is among those who are outraged by Biden’s commutation of Conahan’s sentence. Her son, a star wrestler with college scholarship prospects, was sentenced to confinement for his senior year on a minor drug paraphernalia charge. He emerged depressed and angry, and would late commit suicide. “I am shocked and I am hurt,” said Fonzo. “Conahan‘s actions destroyed families, including mine, and my son‘s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power.”

    Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was among those rushing to condemn Biden’s move. “I do feel strongly that President Biden got it absolutely wrong and created a lot of pain here in northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Shapiro at a Friday event — held, believe it or not, on “Biden Street” — in the president’s first hometown, Scranton. “[Conahan] deserves to be behind bars, not walking as a free man.”

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    Amid the uproar, a Biden administration official told Politico that the specifics of Conahan’s situation weren’t taken into account; instead, the commutations were dished out en masse to anyone who fit a general set of criteria. (Is that supposed to make it sound better?) As Politico explains, “those commutations were extended to people on Covid-related home confinement after federal authorities verified that their offenses were nonviolent and not a sex offense or terrorism related.”

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    Those sloppy parameters left plenty of room for serious evil-doers — like Conahan and who knows how many else — to be set free.  As GOP Pennsylvania state Sen. Lisa Baker asked, “Where does ruining the lives of vulnerable kids in order to enrich oneself warrant a presidential commutation?”

    The firestorm comes two weeks after Biden issued a blanket pardon of his son Hunter for any federal crimes he “has committed or may have committed or participated in” between Jan. 1, 2014 and Dec. 1, 2024. Coming after promises that he would not issue such a pardon, the move received condemnation from Republicans and Democrat alike, and an AP-NORC poll found only two out of ten Americans approve it. 

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    “I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities,” said Biden in a statement issued alongside last week’s pardons and commutations.

    There’s a great, sickening irony in Biden shortening the sentence of a man who unjustly lengthened the sentences of others — out of pure greed. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 13:25

  • Trump Appoints Former Fox Anchor Kari Lake To Lead Voice Of America
    Trump Appoints Former Fox Anchor Kari Lake To Lead Voice Of America

    Authored by Melanie Sun via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    President-elect Donald Trump has named former Fox 10 Phoenix news anchor Kari Lake to lead the federally funded international broadcasting network Voice of America (VOA).

    Kari Lake speaks at the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority conference at Hilton in Washington on June 24, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

    “I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America,” Trump said in a number of announcements for positions in his administration on Dec. 11.

    “She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World fairly and accurately, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media.”

    VOA was founded on Feb. 1, 1942, with a non-American audience in mind, to share the “policies of the United States clearly and effectively.” At the time, its goal was to combat Nazi propaganda.

    Lake ran in both the 2024 U.S. Senate election and Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial election, with her Democratic competitors named winners in both races.

    “I am honored that President Trump has asked me to lead the Voice of America,” Lake said in a post on social media platform X shortly after being named.

    “VOANews is a vital international media outlet dedicated to advancing the interests of the United States by engaging directly with people across the globe and promoting democracy and truth,” she said of the network that has an audience of 326 million people across 48 languages.

    “Under my leadership, the VOA will excel in its mission: chronicling America’s achievements worldwide,” she said. “I can’t wait to get started.”

    Other Appointments

    Also on the night of Dec. 11, Trump nominated Michael J. Rigas as deputy secretary of state for management and resources. The position requires confirmation by the Senate.

    “Michael will bring accountability to the State Department as he did Government wide, when he served in my First Term as the Deputy and Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management, and the Acting Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget,” Trump said of the Harvard alumnus.

    “Mike is a conservative warrior who knows how Government works, and will help Make America Great Again!”

    Trump also named Daniel J. Newlin as his administration’s ambassador to Colombia.

    An entrepreneur and former lawman, Newlin dedicated a 28-year career to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando, where he investigated major crimes, including armed robbery, gang violence, human trafficking, and illegal gun and narcotics trafficking.

    “With his Law Enforcement expertise enabling him to navigate complex international issues, and his business insights fostering economic partnerships, Newlin stands as a powerful advocate for U.S. interests, and a Champion for strengthening ties, and making a difference in the World. Dan will do a great job!” Trump said.

    The president-elect also named philanthropist and physician Dr. Peter Lamelas as ambassador to Argentina and Leandro Rizzuto Jr., as ambassador to the Organization of American States.

    Lamelas, a refugee from communist Cuba, is known for creating the largest urgent care health care company in Florida. He was previously chosen by Trump to serve on the Department of Justice’s Medal of Valor Review Board to recognize first responders.

    Rizzuto, son of chairman and co-founder of the Conair Corporation Leandro Rizzuto, formerly served as U.S. consul general to Bermuda in the first Trump administration.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 12:50

  • NJ Drone 'Invasion' Just In Time For Congress To Reauthorize Orwellian Law
    NJ Drone ‘Invasion’ Just In Time For Congress To Reauthorize Orwellian Law

    A series of drone sightings over New Jersey that began in mid-November has left residents and lawmakers spooked about the possibility of foreign adversaries breaching US airspace with drone swarms. While officials have attempted to reassure the public, some lawmakers have stoked fear, leading to widespread panic on social media, with people interpreting anything moving in the night sky as a potential drone (even commercial jets and stars). 

    Source: Fox News

    Days ago, the FBI and the US Homeland Security Department released a statement indicating, “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.” 

    “Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft,” the federal agencies said. 

    White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said many of the purported drone sightings are commercial jets with no evidence of a national security or public safety threat. 

    If actual ‘truck-sized’ drones (some say Iranian origin) were flying in some of the world’s most restricted airspace, let’s use common sense—the Pentagon would have scrambled F-22s and F-35s on the East Coast almost immediately. Since that hasn’t happened (as far as we know), we can’t help but be suspicious about the whole drone situation. Additionally, no private satellite data shows that Iranian drone carriers are parked off the coast; in fact, these vessels are located 7,500 miles away.

    Let’s take a step back and review some of Elon Musk’s tweets on X:

    • Sept. 30: “Drone swarm battles are coming that will boggle the mind” 

    • Sept. 29: “Epic drone wars coming” 

    • Jan. 5, 2023: “The Drone Wars are already a big deal, but we ain’t seen nothing yet …” 

    What did Elon know ahead of time?

    Even President-elect Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform: “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge? I don (sic) think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shot (sic) them down!!! DJT.” 

    Fox News reporter Bill Melugin asked Musk on X his thoughts on the situation… “Alien spaceships controlled by Iran obv,” Musk replied.

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    No actual drones have been recovered, and footage on X frequently features amateur videos mistaking drones for commercial aircraft. Furthermore, as far as we know, the FAA has not closed large sections of airspace or diverted planes. While we are not dismissing the possibility of foreign adversary-operated drones breaching heavily restricted airspace, we are pointing out the extraordinary hype on social media (with no substance), which has caused widespread panic with some users on X calling this a “psyop.” 

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    Let’s say some of these drone sightings were real. Then, maybe… 

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    X user mcm_ct_usa makes the point the purported drone sightings could be a “psyop against you to manipulate Congress into passing the new H.R.8610 (Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act of 2024) which will include appropriations and enhanced government powers to control you, and they’re even going so far as to use it to push for acts of war against other countries.” 

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    It’s coincidental that last week, a Homeland Security joint subcommittee held a hearing on H.R.8610, the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. This bill would renew and reform counter-UAS legal authorities and strengthen the FAA’s oversight powers of drones.

    “The reason we need legal authority is that without it, use of the most effective types of drone detection and counter-drone technologies could violate criminal laws, including those that prohibit destroying or disabling aircraft in flight and intercepting signals and communications,” said Brad Wiegmann, the DOJ’s deputy assistant attorney general for national security.

    With current drone-countering authorities set to expire on Dec. 20, the sudden surge in purported drone sightings and the accompanying MSM and social media panic might make a bit more sense—as an effort to push for the reauthorization of Orwellian drone laws.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/14/2024 – 12:15

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Dec 14

Today’s News 14th December 2024

  • Global South's Energy Rebellion At COP29 Signals A New Future
    Global South’s Energy Rebellion At COP29 Signals A New Future

    Authored by Vijay Jayaraj via RealClearWire,

    The climate movement’s annual showpiece, the United Nation’s Conference of Parties (COP), held this year in Baku, Azerbaijan, has been exposed to an unprecedented level of disinterest—even dissent—from developing nations.

    Leaders of some of the world’s most resource-rich, economically aspiring countries have opted to sit this one out, sending only low-level delegates, if any. This is the latest signal of a growing resistance to an anti-fossil fuel “gospel” advanced by the United Nations.

    Last year’s COP28 in the Middle East, where oil wealth underpins entire economies, forced the climate community to confront its contradictions. Today, COP29 in central Asia continues this reckoning and presages the demise of an unscientific and anti-developmental policy framework wrecking global economies.

    Host of COP29 Educates Climate Woke Delegates

    The tone of COP29 itself is a marked departure from prior gatherings. In Azerbaijan, where oil and gas production are integral to the national economy, the summit’s host, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, called fossil fuels “a gift from God,” lauding their contribution to global prosperity and stability.

    Fossil fuels have moved from being a taboo “elephant in the room” to a subject of open discussion at COPs. The leaders of countries in Africa and Latin America are freely questioning the premise of banning their use of fossil fuels while much of the developed world continues to consume record amounts of coal, oil and natural gas. The notion that high-income nations can dictate the energy agenda is seen as a remnant of a power structure that primarily serves the interests of the world’s most privileged.

    The International Energy Agency projects that developing countries will see substantial growth in energy demand over the next decade, an expansion that cannot be met by renewables. Leaders in these regions understand that hydrocarbons are critical to achieving their development goals.

    Unprecedented Pullout From COP Conference and Resistance From Global South

    In a surprising move, Argentina’s newly elected president, Javier Gerardo Milei, withdrew his country’s 80-person delegation from Baku less than a third of the way into this year’s 11-day COP. He cited the need for pragmatic energy policies that encourage development rather than stymie it.

    For Milei, whose presidential campaign was based on a pro-business, anti-bureaucracy platform, the message is clear: Policy must serve the economic needs of his country first. Argentina’s ongoing energy crisis, its untapped shale gas reserves and a crippling economic situation demand a level-headed approach that prioritizes national interests over global climate ideals that are both batty and corrupt.

    Milei’s political philosophy resonates with a growing number of leaders in the Global South who view economic growth as paramount and recognize that access to energy is fundamental to achieving it.

    Argentina’s departure from COP29 is a turning point that should serve as a wake-up call to the U.N. and its allies. The time for one-size-fits-all mandates is over. The rigid orthodoxy of fossil fuel divestment pushed by the U.N. and wealthy nations is losing ground, challenged by leaders who refuse to sacrifice their national interests to a destructive agenda.

    For much of the Global South, the idea of an immediate energy transition remains, at best, aspirational and, at worst, profoundly out of touch. The reality is that fossil fuels still power 80 percent of global energy consumption. This isn’t just an inconvenient truth; it’s an inescapable basis of modern civilization that developing nations understand viscerally.

    As the COP29 circus concludes in Baku, the world is seeing the crumbling of the long-held illusion that a global transition to green energyis feasible, much less fair and desirable. Developing nations are proclaiming that they will not be deprived of necessary energy sources by nations that continue to feast on the very fossil fuels they frown upon. The disconnect between rhetoric and reality is stark, and developing countries are calling attention to it.

    Fossil fuels are not a relic of the past; for many countries, they are the key to a prosperous future—truly “a gift from God.”

     

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 23:25

  • Russian Forces Positioned To Take Key City Of Pokrovsk As Ukrainian Manpower Falters
    Russian Forces Positioned To Take Key City Of Pokrovsk As Ukrainian Manpower Falters

    The key logistical hub of Ukraine’s eastern front, Pokrovsk has been under steady contention for the past three months. Russian forces have spent the better part of that time pushing westward to flank just south of the city.  They have now taken Kurakhove and cut off supply routes coming from Pokrovsk to a large portion of the front line.  Some reports indicate that Ukrainian troops trying to leave Kurakhove may be cut off.  The slow motion flanking maneuver has set the stage for Pokrovsk to be enveloped from the south.  

    Since the beginning of the war the area has been the primary staging ground for resupply of Ukrainian troops across the east.  After Pokrovsk is cut off or taken, it is expected that Russia will then be able to gain significant ground across the entire front and move closer to controlling all of Donetsk.  

    Losses for Ukraine have been stacking up in 2024 and lack of manpower has been the overarching theme.  Though numerous western officials and think-tanks (including The Institute For The Study of War) claim that Russian gains have been paid for with “massive casualties”, they’ve provided no concrete proof so far to support their stats.  The “Russian meat grinder” narrative is beginning to sound like a coping mechanism or propaganda as it becomes clear that Russia is gaining troop strength instead of losing momentum.

    (There has been similar propaganda surrounding mass casualties of North Korean troops in Kursk – There are still no verified reports or video footage of actual DPRK troops in combat against Ukraine.  Rumors abound, like the “Ghost of Kyiv”)

    What we do know is that Ukraine is desperate for new soldiers to refresh their defensive lines.  NATO leaders and the Biden White House have been putting pressure on Vladimir Zelensky to draft men from the 18-25 age bracket; a move Zelensky has avoided to prevent the complete loss of a generation.  The average age of conscripts is now well over 40 years old.  

    This may be why Joe Biden recently gave the green light for Ukraine to use long range missiles (ATACMs and Storm Shadows) within Russian territory.  Every time Ukraine faces a strategic failure, NATO offers up new weaponry as a public distraction.  They said Abrams tanks would be a game changer for Ukraine, then they said the F-16s would be a game changer.  Now they claim the long range strikes using smart weapons will be a game changer.

    Most military analysts agree that these weapons have had little effect on the course of the war.   

    Russia’s typical methodology for dealing with urban centers has been to surround and then bombard with artillery and FABs until the majority of buildings and defenses are rubble.  A renowned Ukrainian military officer, Serhii Filimonov, commander of the Da Vinci Wolves battalion of the 59th Motorised Brigade, described Pokrovsk’s defense as a “disaster”.  Senior officers are placing “unrealistic” demands on units and are unfamiliar with circumstances on the front line, Filimonov wrote on his Telegram channel this week.   

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 23:00

  • Amazon To Donate $1 Million to Trump's Inauguration Fund, Live Stream On Prime Video
    Amazon To Donate $1 Million to Trump’s Inauguration Fund, Live Stream On Prime Video

    Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Amazon said Thursday it will donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund and an additional $1 million in-kind donation by live-streaming the historical event on Prime Video.

    Jeff Bezos speaks during an Action on Forests and Land Use event on day three of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 2, 2021. Chris Jackson/Getty Images

    Amazon’s announcement, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, coincided with news that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, also contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.

    The move marks a shift for tech leaders who appear to want to improve the previously rocky relations with Trump, who will take office next month.

    Trump has previously criticized the Amazon- and Jeff Bezos-owned The Washington Post over political coverage. Bezos has publicly condemned some of Trump’s rhetoric and accused him of bias in a 2019 lawsuit over a $10 billion Pentagon contract.

    Bezos has recently softened his stance, expressing optimism about Trump’s second term and endorsing proposed regulatory reforms while at a business summit last week.

    Bezos and Trump are set to meet next week, potentially marking a turning point in their relationship.

    Amazon’s donation and live-streaming offer, as well as Meta’s donation, signal a strategic effort to improve relations with Trump and his incoming administration after years of tension.

    Trump’s relationship with Meta was strained by the suspension of his Facebook and Instagram accounts in January 2021, following the breach of the Capitol. The company attributed the deplatforming to what they said was Trump’s “praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6.”

    The company restored his accounts in early 2023 and announced stiffer penalties for public figures who repeatedly violate its policies “in ways that incite or celebrate ongoing violent events or civil unrest.”

    This heightened scrutiny was later revoked on July 12, one day before the attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

    Zuckerberg expressed praise for Trump following his brush with death, and called him.

    “Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most bad-[expletive] things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Zuckerberg told Bloomberg days after the shooting.

    Trump’s stance on Zuckerberg has also softened since the call, he revealed on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast. Trump said during the interview that he appreciated the tech leader’s call and praised him for “staying out of the election.”

    This was a reference to the $400 million Zuckerberg and his wife donated $400 million to election offices around the country during the 2020 elections, with 90 percent directed toward Democrat-leaning counties in key swing states.

    In recent months, Zuckerberg has publicly supported some of Trump’s economic plans.

    Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, has said Zuckerberg wants to support and assist the president-elect in implementing national reforms. The donation marks a turning point in the billionaires’ previously rocky relationship.

    The Associated Press and Samantha Flom contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 22:35

  • Court Denies TikTok Request To Delay US Ban Set For Jan 19
    Court Denies TikTok Request To Delay US Ban Set For Jan 19

    By Catherine Yang of The Epoch Times

    A federal appeals court on Dec. 13 denied TikTok’s request to delay the Jan. 19, 2025, deadline for it to cut ties with the Chinese communist regime, shortly after the app filed its final argument for a delay.

    In an unsigned, expedited order, the three-judge panel denied the request and found there was no precedent for granting this type of request.

    TikTok, its parent company ByteDance, and a group of TikTok users had challenged the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) that went into effect in April, arguing the law was unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. PAFACA forbids apps that operate in the United States from being owned by a foreign adversary. ByteDance argues that it is effectively a ban because the Chinese regime will not allow the sale of TikTok and its proprietary algorithm.

    The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week denied the petitioners’ challenge, finding the law did not violate the First Amendment. The Justice Department, representing the government, argued that the law targeted ownership of an entity by a foreign adversary, not content on the app.

    When President Joe Biden signed the law in April, it started a 270-day countdown for ByteDance to either divest of TikTok by Jan. 19, 2025, or cease operations in the United States.

    TikTok then requested the court pause the countdown while it seeks appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court. The DOJ had opposed the delay, arguing three branches of government had already affirmed that TikTok presented a national security risk.

    “The petitioners have not identified any case in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has enjoined the Act from going into effect while review is sought in the Supreme Court,” the order reads.

    The judges found that TikTok and the petitioners relied on First Amendment arguments that the court had already rejected in order to make their case for an extension.

    “As to those claims, this court has already unanimously concluded the Act satisfies the requirements of the First Amendment under heightened scrutiny,” the order reads.

    TikTok may ask the Supreme Court to issue an emergency injunction, effectively stopping the countdown, while the high court considers its petition. There is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will take any case.

    In its emergency request for relief, TikTok said delaying enforcement of the law would “simply create breathing room for the Supreme Court to conduct an orderly review and for the incoming Administration to evaluate this matter—before one of this country’s most important speech platforms is shuttered.”

    The platform said that a temporary shutdown would “have devastating effects on TikTok Inc.’s business” while halting the law would “impose no material harm on the Government.”

    A separate filing showed TikTok creators declaring that the law would cause them harm. For example, Brian Firebaugh, a cattle rancher who has the “cattleguy” account on TikTok, told the D.C. circuit court that he earns most of his income through selling ranch products promoted on the platform.

    “Not only would a TikTok ban quickly dismantle my business and my family’s way of life, it would also immediately eliminate the most effective tool for me to communicate with and support the agricultural community in Texas,” he said.

    DOJ’s response said that TikTok and others were downplaying national security concerns.

    “TikTok’s continued operation in the United States under its current ownership poses substantial harms to national security by virtue of TikTok’s data-collection practices and the covert intelligence and surveillance efforts of the Chinese government,” DOJ’s response read.

    Continue reading at Epoch Times

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 22:15

  • Trump Slams Long-Range Missile Strikes On Russia
    Trump Slams Long-Range Missile Strikes On Russia

    Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

    President-elect Donald Trump has said that he “vehemently” disagrees with the US supporting long-range missile strikes inside Russian territory, which President Biden authorized last month.

    “I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that?” Trump said in an interview with Time Magazine for an issue that named him Person of the Year.

    Getty Images

    “We’re just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done,” Trump added.

    Biden took the step to support Ukrainian strikes on Russia using US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles even after Moscow made clear it would risk a nuclear escalation.

    Russia responded to Ukraine’s initial ATACMS and Storm Shadow strikes by firing a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile known as the Oreshnik.

    Ukrainian forces fired more ATACMS into Russia this week, and the Russian Defense Ministry has vowed there will be another response:

    “This attack by Western long-range weapons won’t be left unanswered, and corresponding measures will be taken,” the ministry said.

    Trump campaigned on ending the proxy war in Ukraine but has not articulated how exactly he plans to do that. He was asked in the Time interview if he would “abandon” Ukraine and responded:

    “I want to reach an agreement, and the only way you’re going to reach an agreement is not to abandon. You understand what that means, right?”

    The president-elect stressed in the interview that he was concerned with the death toll in the conflict, saying it was much higher than what’s been reported. He said the “numbers of dead young soldiers lying on fields all over the place are staggering. It’s crazy what’s taking place.”

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 21:45

  • Moody's Cuts France In Surprise Downgrade Amid Mounting Political Chaos
    Moody’s Cuts France In Surprise Downgrade Amid Mounting Political Chaos

    Two weeks ago, at the end of November, when many were expecting Moody’s to downgrade France’s Aa2 rating (after it was put on negative outlook in October), the rating agency chickened out as there was still hope that Macron might salvage some of the political chaos engulfing Europe’s second biggest economy, and well aware that telling the truth in Europe is very costly. Alas, after Marine Le Pen toppled Barnier’s government in a dispute over deficit reduction one week ago, Moody’s no longer could pretend that France is anything but a flaming dumpster fire of a political circus, and late after the Friday close, in a downgrade that came outside of Moody’s regular review schedule for France, Moody’s cut its rating of the euro area’s second biggest economy to Aa3 from Aa2, three levels below the maximum rating, and with a “stable outlook”, for now. Moody’s was the last holdout: France has already been cut to equivalent levels by Fitch and S&P.

    The downgrade comes hours after President Emmanuel Macron named on Friday veteran centrist politician and early ally Francois Bayrou as his fourth prime minister this year. His predecessor Michel Barnier failed to pass a 2025 budget and was toppled earlier this month by left and right-wing lawmakers opposed to his 60 billion euro belt-tightening push that he had hoped would rein in France’s spiraling fiscal deficit.

    The political crisis forced the outgoing government to propose emergency legislation this week to temporarily roll over 2024 spending limits and tax thresholds into next year until a more permanent 2025 budget can be passed.

    The decision “reflects our view that the country’s public finances will be substantially weakened over the coming years,” Moody’s said in a statement. “Looking ahead, there is now very low probability that the next government will sustainably reduce the size of fiscal deficits beyond next year.”

    “As a result, we forecast that France’s public finances will be materially weaker over the next three years compared to our October 2024 baseline scenario,” it added.

    Barnier had intended to cut the budget deficit next year to 5% of economic output from 6.1% this year with a 60 billion euro package of spending cuts and tax hikes. But a majority of lawmakers were opposed to much of the belt-tightening drive and voted a no confidence measure against Barnier’s government, bringing it down.

    Bayrou, who has long warned about France’s weak public finances, said on Friday shortly after taking office that he faced a “Himalaya” of a challenge reining in the deficit.

    Outgoing Finance Minister Antoine Armand said the downgrade reflects the recent parliamentary developments and uncertainty around the budget. “The nomination of Francois Bayrou as prime minister and the reaffirmed will to reduce the deficit will provide an explicit response,” Armand said in a social media post.

    The government’s collapse and the scrapping of France’s 2025 budget added to months of political upheaval that has already hammered business confidence, with the country’s economic outlook steadily deteriorating.

    Barnier’s budget foresaw significant belt tightening by historical standards to bring the deficit to 5% of economic output from 6.1% this year. The next government will likely have to pare back those ambitions in order to get support from some of the lawmakers who toppled Barnier, but economists say the final outcome may even be no improvement. Plans to repair public finances were already derailed this year by poor tax revenues as consumer spending and corporate profits disappointed.

    The political crisis put French stocks and debt under pressure, pushing the risk premium on French government bonds at one point to their highest level over 12 years, with the yield on French bonds surpassing that of Greece.

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    Ironically, back during the peak European sovereign debt crisis, it was France that was among the countries that came to Greece’s rescue. Alas, nobody in Europe is big enough to rescue France. Expect the EURUSD to tumble when trading reopens on Monday, on its way to parity with the dollar.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 21:39

  • California Docs, Hospitals Sued For Rushing 12-Year-Old Into Gender Transition
    California Docs, Hospitals Sued For Rushing 12-Year-Old Into Gender Transition

    A 20-year-old woman has filed suit against California hospitals and doctors, saying they rushed to conclude she suffered from gender dysphoria and then “fast-tracked [her] onto the conveyor belt of irreversibly damaging” medical interventions that included puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and a double-mastectomy at age 14.  

    According to the complaint filed in Los Angeles, Kaya Clementine Breen says she was sexually abused as a young child and that, around age 11 or 12, “began struggling with the thought of developing into a woman and began to believe that life would be easier if she were a boy.” When she shared those feelings with a school counselor, the counselor told Breen that she must be transgender, and then called her parents to push the same assumption as a fact. 

    Kaya Clementine Breen says she was irreversibly damaged by doctors and others who hastily commenced “gender-affirming” care on her at age 12 

    Breen’s parents sought out “experts” at the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, including Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, one of the world’s most vocal advocates for the gender-transitioning of children. “At her very first visit, after mere minutes, Dr. Olson-Kennedy diagnosed Clementine with gender dysphoria and recommended surgical implantation of puberty blockers,” according to the complaint, which also alleges that Olson-Kennedy neglected to perform a mental-health assessment or inquire about past trauma or abuse. 

    Echoing a grievance that commonly surfaces in the gender-transition realm, the complaint alleges Olson-Kennedy told Breen’s parents that their daughter would “commit suicide if she did not begin taking testosterone…At that time, Clementine had never had any thoughts of suicide, and she certainly had never expressed anything along those lines to Dr Olson-Kennedy.” According to The Economist, Olson-Kennedy’s own notes made no mention of suicidal ideation. Ironically, it was only after enduring transition procedures and “therapies” that Breen would later attempt suicide as her mental health declined and she contended with extreme depression and anger. 

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    The fateful Dec. 27, 2016 consultation with Olson-Kennedy led to years of drastic medical alterations of Breen’s body. These included puberty-blockers at age 12, cross-sex hormones starting from age 13 through 19 and a “gender-affirming” double-mastectomy at just 14 years old. She was also “urged” to have a hysterectomy at age 17, though it’s unclear from the complaint if she did so. The mastectomy surgeon is among the many defendants, and is accused of his own negligence in carrying out the drastic procedure, having only met Breen for about 30 minutes on the very morning of the life-altering surgery.  

    Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy is accused of baselessly telling Breen’s parents their daughter would commit suicide if she didn’t commence a gender transition at age 12

    It was only via mental health care that she started receiving near the end of high school that Breen eventually concluded she was not “trans” after all. She stopped identifying as a male named “Finn,” and has begun de-transitioning — to the extent it’s possible. Summarizing Breen’s experience as “a despicable, failed medical experiment and a knowing, deliberate, and gross breach of the standard of care,” the complaint lays out a long and disturbing list of enduring harms:

    She has suffered physically, socially, neurologically, and psychologically. Her voice has permanently deepened. Her female body did not develop, and she has a very masculine body structure. Her fertility is almost certainly destroyed from the combination of years on puberty blockers and testosterone.

    And even if she could conceive and deliver a child, she would not be able to breastfeed because her healthy breasts were removed when she was only 14. And she has to seethe scars from that unnecessary surgery every day. She has experienced vaginal atrophy, and her sex life has been materially impacted. She is also at risk for bone-related problems later in life.

    Breen’s experience closely matches the picture Megyn Kelly painted in her searing indictment of “gender-affirming care” during her October appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher”: 

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    Olson-Kennedy came under fire earlier this year when she admitted to withholding the findings of her team’s research, which found puberty blockers did not result in mental health improvements for children, telling the New York Times, “I do not want our work to be weaponized. It has to be exactly on point, clear and concise. And that takes time.” Earlier this year, a British study concluded that a great many children who think they may be transgender have mental health issues that spring from abuse or difficult family situations.  

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 21:20

  • Yes, It Was A Landslide
    Yes, It Was A Landslide

    Authored by J.T.Young via American Greatness,

    Having lost the election, demoralized Democrats now argue their defeat wasn’t a landslide. Nice try. Their reaction is more than knee-jerk petulance; instead, it arises from fears of permanence. With Trump gaining momentum, even before his inauguration, Democrats rightfully fear that they could fare even worse in 2028 and beyond.

    Before the election, the Democrats’ presidential complaint was the Electoral College. Certain they would win the popular vote, Tim Walz, speaking in October, voiced what other Democrats thought: “I think all of us know the electoral college needs to go.” On the night of November 5, their concern changed. Now Democrat apologists (CNN, NYT, LAT, and more) are all arguing to diminish Trump’s victory—and thereby his momentum.

    While Democrats and their supporters’ need is understandable, Trump’s landslide gets bigger the more it is scrutinized.

    Even on the surface, its particulars are impressive. Trump was the Republicans’ first presidential candidate to beat a Democrat in the popular vote in 20 years. He won more popular votes than any Republican presidential candidate in history. He won each of the contest’s seven swing states—and he came close to flipping several (NJ, VA, NM, NH, and MN) seemingly solid blue states. And he won the electoral vote 312-226.

    Conversely, compared to Biden in 2020, Democrats’ popular vote percentage dropped in 50 of 51 states and the District of Columbia, going up only in Utah by a scant 0.2 percentage points.

    Big as Trump’s win was on the surface, closer examination shows it was bigger still.

    Trump’s victory came despite finishing behind Harris by over four million votes in California and New York combined and despite these states combining for 84 electoral votes. Dismissing the result in these two states, Trump won by five percentage points in the other 48 states and 312 to 142 in electoral votes. Take away the results of Massachusetts and Washington, and Trump won by almost seven percentage points in the popular vote and 312-121 in the electoral vote.

    Basically, apart from the coasts, Trump won overwhelmingly: where 80 percent of the presidential electoral votes are, Trump won three-quarters of them.

    Next, put these impressive numbers into the context of their occurrence.

    Trump amassed these numbers while being enormously outraised and outspent. Harris had hundreds of millions more to fuel her campaign than Trump did. And she had to only focus on the seven swing states that everyone knew were the fulcrum of the contest. Yet, Trump still swept all seven—something that neither he nor Biden had been able to do in 2016 and 2020.

    Trump also rang up his numbers despite eight years of unrelenting negativity from the establishment media. For almost a decade, there has been nothing approaching balanced coverage: regardless of his opponent—Hillary, Biden, and Harris—each received a strong establishment media tailwind. Yet despite this, Trump increased his general election popular vote percentage each time.

    And that establishment media bias was never stronger than in the aftermath of Biden’s withdrawal.

    For over 100 days, the establishment media gave Harris a pass: on press conferences, on interviews, on evading questions, on softball venues when she did appear, on often not answering questions in even these friendly confines, and on nonsensical responses when she did speak.

    And Trump won despite having almost the entirety of America’s self-styled elite opposing him.

    In academia, in Hollywood, in music, in sports, the coolest of the cool and the biggest of the big were overwhelmingly and vocally against him. Not surprisingly, in the face of all this opposition, Trump’s favorability rating was below Harris’s.

    Yet, Trump still racked up his impressive numbers.

    Despite every conceivable disadvantage, Trump beat not one, but two Democrat nominees to win the presidency. Outright – not only in electoral votes but by almost 2.5 million votes.

    That is the definition of a landslide.

    Of late, Americans have suffered a surfeit of Democrats and their apologists saying something isn’t true when it patently is—that Joe Biden was capable of being president, that the Democrat elite wasn’t deposing Joe Biden when they drove him from the ticket, that Kamala Harris was his qualified replacement, that Joe Biden wouldn’t pardon Hunter. The list is endless; it stretches back in time and extends uninterrupted into it. But nowhere is Democrat denial greater than in their attempt to deny Trump’s November presidential landslide.

    Their reason is as obvious as the truth they are seeking to deny. They fear its repetition.

    They worry that Republicans will continue Trump’s conservative populism, and they know that next time 2024’s overwhelming advantages will be gone. Bad as November’s landslide was, the ones Democrats potentially face going forward could be far worse.

    *  *  *

    J.T. Young is the author of the new book, Unprecedented Assault: How Big Government Unleashed America’s Socialist Left, from RealClear Publishing, and has over three decades of experience working in Congress, the Department of Treasury, and OMB, and representing a Fortune 20 company.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 20:55

  • Israel Sees 'Opportunity' For Attacking Iran Nuke Sites With Syria Knocked Out
    Israel Sees ‘Opportunity’ For Attacking Iran Nuke Sites With Syria Knocked Out

    With Syria burning and no longer a threat, Israel’s military said it is currently conducting preparations for “potential strikes” on Iranian nuclear facilities.

    Its air force has already been carrying out literally hundreds of raids on Syrian Army bases in the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow. Israel has complete domination of Syria’s skies, and given that Assad’s anti-air defense missile systems are no longer an issue, this would make it much easier to strike the Islamic Republic of Iran.

    According to a Thursday report in The Times of Israel, the IDF “believes that following the weakening of Iranian proxy groups in the Middle East and the dramatic fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, there is an opportunity to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, military officials said Thursday.”

    “The Israeli Air Force has therefore continued to increase its readiness and preparations for such potential strikes in Iran,” the report states.

    “The IDF also believes that Iran — isolated after the fall of the Assad regime and the weakening of its main proxy group Hezbollah in Lebanon — may push ahead further with its nuclear program and develop a bomb as it scrambles to replace its deterrence,” it adds.

    Iran has long maintained it develops only peaceful nuclear energy, and there’s little doubt that after the dramatic events unfolding in Syria, and with Hezbollah top leadership largely decimated, Tehran finds itself on a back foot. 

    Some Israeli and Western officials believe that all of this will make Iranian leaders more desperate to ensure they have a final and ultimate defense against any threats (as in rapidly developing a nuke).

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have said in a new statement, “The Syrian air defense array is one of the strongest in the Middle East and the blow caused to it is a significant achievement for the Air Force’s superiority in the region.”

    Any potential preemptive Israeli attack directly on Iran would however unleash more immense anti-Netanyahu controversy in Israel, at a moment he’s already under fire by hostage victims’ families for his handling of Gaza.

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    Israel and Hezbollah just achieved a long hoped-for ceasefire in Lebanon, and any attacks on Iran could also open up that front again, at a moment Israel is trying for the safe return of its citizens to northern towns and settlements, which the ceasefire is aimed to achieve. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 20:30

  • Biden's Education Dept Spent Over $1 Billion On DEI Grants; Report
    Biden’s Education Dept Spent Over $1 Billion On DEI Grants; Report

    Authored by Eric Lendrum via American Greatness,

    A new report claims that the Biden Administration’s Department of Education has spent over $1 billion on grants that force the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda in hiring practices, programming, and mental health training in public schools.

    According to Fox News, the report from the watchdog group Parents Defending Education (PDE) claims that this DEI spending has been ongoing since 2021. PDE researchers found a total of 229 such grants across 42 states, plus Washington D.C., during the roughly four-year time period.

    With the spending broken down along specific criteria, nearly $490 million was spent for grants that demanded more racial bias in hiring practices, while $343 million was spent on general DEI programs, and another $170 million was spent on mandating DEI-based mental health training. This amounts to just over $1 billion, at approximately $1,002,522,304.

    This spending “incorporates both awarded (committed) and disbursed dollars, as most of the grant money is distributed [a] period of several years,” the report reads.

    One of the researchers who worked on the report, Rhyen Staley, said it was likely that the report does not even account for every single grant that may be considered pro-DEI, as the report narrowed down their search to a handful of criteria. This led to the researchers ignoring many other grants that they determined to be simply using “buzzwords” rather than actively promoting DEI.

    “The only people or groups to benefit from the enormous amount of grant funding are the universities, administrators, and DEI consultants, at the expense of children’s education,” said Staley.

    “This needs to change by placing children’s learning at the forefront of education, instead of prioritizing race-based policies and DEI.”

    A statement was issued by PDE Senior Advisor Michele Exner, declaring that “over one billion dollars [have been] squandered on progressive pet projects all while American students’ academic performance continues to plummet. Under Secretary [Miguel] Cardona, this organization has been a complete farce that has failed families and students time and time again.”

    “This will be the legacy of the Biden administration’s Department of Education,” Exner added.

    “Families are fed up and are excited for January when we will have new leadership in the nation’s capital who will focus on getting this toxic and divisive waste out of our education system.”

    The Department of Education has long been a target of conservative scrutiny, with many advocating for the abolition of the department altogether, as it has failed to improve average test scores or education quality across the nation. President-elect Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail that he would eliminate the department, a sentiment that was echoed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the leaders of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 20:05

  • "FSD, Robotaxi, & Optimus": Deutsche Bank Highlights Top Takeaways From Tesla Meeting
    “FSD, Robotaxi, & Optimus”: Deutsche Bank Highlights Top Takeaways From Tesla Meeting

    Tesla shares continue to trade at record highs to close the week, regaining popularity as investors focus on full self-driving, robotaxi, new lost-coast models, and Optimus robots.

    The stock has delivered a stunning performance year-to-date, surging 70% and commanding a $1.3 trillion market capitalization.

    Meanwhile, Elon Musk commented on X this week that Bill Gates’ Tesla short could potentially “bankrupt” the billionaire. 

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    Heading into 2025, a team of analysts from Deutsche Bank hosted an investor meeting with Tesla’s head of investor relations, Travis Axelrod, to explore the key drivers behind the stock’s performance.

    “The majority of focus was naturally around FSD, robotaxi, and Optimus but we also covered the status of new models in 2025 and puts/takes regarding margin,” DB’s Edison Yu and Winnie Dong wrote in a note to clients. 

    They summarized the key takeaways in the conversation with Axelrod:

    New models and 2025 volume growth

    • The new Tesla model (we refer to as “Model Q”) should launch in 1H25 and will be priced <$30k including subsidies (i.e., $37,499 if US EV tax credit goes away).

    • Additionally in the 2H, there will be other new vehicles released that are intended to augment Tesla’s TAM. We suspect one model will be a 3-row longer wheelbase Model Y variant in China.

    • All these new models will be built on existing lines. Management once again highlighted volume growth of 20-30% in 2025; the rationale behind this growth range is based on ability to maximize existing capacity utilization.

    • Operationally, Tesla commented that hitting the high end of the range would be contingent on essentially flawless execution and is confident that the China supply chain can scale up fairly quickly while it may be harder in N. America.

    • Tesla’s plan for the Mexico plant will continue to hinge upon geo-political dynamics and the tariff situation under the new Trump Administration.

    Puts and takes for 2025 margins

    • Tesla explained that 2025 will be a year of product launches, and whenever that happens, there will be disruption to profitability as it will be in the early days of building a product and have more inefficient fixed cost absorption.

    • But this could be offset by a lower cost of goods sold from the more affordable products.

    • 2025 margins will also hinge upon where ASP lands based on the demand curve.

    • The main goal is to focus on growing volume and garnering incremental gross profit (as opposed to targeting a certain gross margin %), delivering

    Robotaxi operations

    • Still expects to launch robotaxi services in CA and TX next year using existing vehicles (3/Y), generating paid rides.

    • In terms of the UI, the company plans to use an internally developed ridehail app and control the “value chain.”

    • Tesla believes it would be reasonable to assume some type of teleoperator would be needed at least initially for safety/redundancy purposes.

    • Tesla views regulation as the biggest headwind to broad deployment of robotaxi, which the company hopes will be adjusted at the federal level through updating of rules at NHTSA.

    • Management intends to start off entirely with the company-owned fleet and eventually dynamically adjust supply based on customer demand/ traffic patterns.

    Cybercab development

    • Unboxed manufacturing should result in ~$20-30k COGS per vehicle, at run rate, a number which isn’t possible under current, traditional manufacturing processes.

    • CyberCab, when production starts in 2026, will be the first product to use unboxed manufacturing with the expectation that any products released subsequently will also use unboxed processes.

    • At full run rate production, the company expects to build a CyberCab for less than $30k.

    • As the CyberCab rollout occurs in 2026, the company will need to make investments across its service/cleaning and charging apparatus (e.g., install wireless charging) with TX and CA likely the first states to see a rollout given proximity to manufacturing facilities and headquarters.

    FSD progress

    • V13 has just been rolled out to early access users, and typically takes about 2-3 weeks to roll out to the broader audience if no issues are found.

    • This version should demonstrate 3-5x performance improvement vs. v12.5 from a miles between critical intervention perspective (1 every ~10k miles).

    • Management continues to target launch of an unsupervised version of FSD between Q2 and Q3 of next year, coinciding with start of robotaxi operations. This could be some iteration of v13.x depending on level of progress. Important to note that FSD can be unsupervised even if it doesn’t surpass human level safety threshold early on as long as Tesla feels comfortable taking on the risk/liability.

    • In general, the large improvement seen over the past year can be attributed to the increase in training compute, from 20k to ~90k GPUs in the span of 10 months. Tesla can now train dozens of end-to-end models in a few weeks vs. only one, enabling much faster iteration/improvement.

    • In terms of FSD attach rate, Tesla commented that it has seen an increase after the V12 release to N. America (>20%) vs. in April this year, and another jump during the 10/10 event. Adoption rate should continue to increase as Tesla increasingly fine-tunes its marketing strategy to offer more free trials.

    Competition in autonomous driving

    • Management doesn’t see any true competition in the US/Europe from a cost/scale perspective.

    • For pure play robotaxi efforts like Waymo and Cruise, Tesla believes they’re essentially using more sensors (e.g., lidar) to compensate for deficiencies in the rules-based software (almost as a buffer).

    • Unlike Tesla with a massive fleet of customers to generate a large amount of data, Waymo is reliant on a very small fleet that cannot generate enough data to effectively train large E2E models.

    • Separately, Waymo also does not have proper scale/vertical integration in making cars and associated parts, forcing them to partner with an OEM. As such, even if Waymo switches to E2E approach, it would likely still be at a cost/scale advantage considering the largest cost in Tesla’s view is the D&A.

    • In respect to China, Tesla does observe more entities taking a similar approach (E2E vision-only architecture). Its own commercial efforts are still in motion, working on getting approval from the local government to take data out of the country to improve performance of its E2E models, still aiming for 1Q25 roll-out. Chinese competitors appear to be quickly pivoting toward using E2E model for perception but path planning is still mainly using rules-based.

    • For Europe, the regulations around autonomous driving makes it a challenging backdrop, given the driver has to approve the automatic response of the vehicle, which would defeat the purpose of self-driving functionality.

    • Looking farther out, the 3rd gen Dojo chip which is expected to launch in 2028 will be another big enabler because the 1st gen cannot compete on cost/performance vs. Nvidia and 2nd gen (in 2026) still can’t compete on performance (should be at cost parity though). At that point, the economics around training compute become much more favorable.

    Evolution of Optimus

    • The objective remains to have >1k humanoid robots deployed internally in factories and then selling to external customers in 2026. Performance will be limited to fairly basic material handling tasks for industrial environments as opposed to home lifestyle which would happen much later on.

    • From a development perspective, the “intelligence” of Optimus will continue to improve and should at some point mirror the rapid improvement seen in FSD over the past year. Currently, Optimus is being trained by data sets generated through teleoperation and videos of itself performing tasks paired with motor/actuator data to essentially map out framework that can align with human movement. Ultimately, after the compatibility is fully mapped out, Optimus should be able to train/learn by watching videos of humans performing tasks in a “DIY” type of manner, similar to how FSD learns from humans driving.

    • In terms of manufacturing, the aspirational target is getting the BoM down to ~$30k. The engineering team is still iterating and there will likely be changes depending on what parts need to be re-engineered to reduce cost as opposed to scale volume components.

    • When selling to customers, the strategy could either be to sell the HW+SW together or lease out the robot. Tesla is confident that the economics could be very favorable in replacing human labor especially in the US.

    Other considerations

    • Megapack demand remains very strong with the company standing by its expectations for more than 100% growth this year, implying ~27 GWh of production. Next year, the new Shanghai factory will come online and the US could potentially provide up to ~40 GWh.

    • The company believes that the recent court ruling rejecting Musk’s pay package was wrong and will be appealing the decision, though there is no timeline on its response.

    Based on their conversation, the analysts raised their price target on Tesla from $295 to $370. Here is their explanation: 

    We raise our price target from $295 to $370, mainly assigning greater value to Tesla’s autonomy efforts. Specifically, we refine our valuation framework to include FSD sales (both one-time and subscription), robotaxi operations, and OEM licensing fees into the “Robotaxi” bucket whereas previously we included FSD in the “Auto” line. Moreover, given our belief the new US administration can streamline federal regulations around deployment of robotaxi, we increase our robotaxi forecasts and use a higher 20x EV/Revenue multiple on 2035E sales of > $40bn (vs. prior 15x) akin to leading E2E AI peers. We also assume some type of service to be deployed overseas in that time frame. Other elements of our valuation are essentially unchanged except we lower our Energy multiple from 25x EV/ EBITDA to 20x given de-rating seen recently by comparable companies.

    The summarized key takeaways from DB analysts offer valuable insights into the company as 2024 winds down and the new year approaches. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 19:40

  • Trump's Treasury Pick Sees A "Global Economic Reordering"
    Trump’s Treasury Pick Sees A “Global Economic Reordering”

    Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com,

    President Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has stated that he believes the world is on the cusp of a “global economic reordering”. And he would “like to be a part of it”.

    He has hinted at the need for a new international agreement on the level of the famous Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944. Bretton Woods, of course, established the world monetary order over 8 decades ago.

    It sounds like Bessent is thinking big. He will certainly need to, given the challenges the Trump administration will face over the next four years. Trump will come into office at a key moment in American history, and his administration’s decisions will echo over the coming decades.

    The world order is indeed shifting, and if America is to thrive going forward, major changes will be required. “Economic surgery”, as Bessent refers to it.

    Bessent has a deep understanding of international trade and finance. Along with George Soros, he famously profited from “breaking” the Bank of England while betting against the pound in 1992.

    He also worked closely with Stanley Druckenmiller, one of the greatest investors of all time. Bessent eventually ran his own hedge fund and is a self-made multi-billionaire. He represents a substantial upgrade from the more academic Janet Yellen.

    This man has a deep Rolodex and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to trade and finance.

    Interestingly, Bessent is a major gold bull:

    “I think we’re in a long-term bull market in Gold. We’re seeing reserve accumulation by central banks. I follow it closely. It’s my biggest position.”

    A gold enthusiast as U.S. Treasury Secretary? Interesting. Ironically, gold fell more than 3% when Trump announced his appointment, apparently due to Bessent’s hawkish budgetary credentials.

    Trump’s pick for Treasury is an advocate of cutting government spending and deficits. During the Biden administration he offered fierce denunciation of economic policies. And he was a strong critic of the Green New Scam, stating that the Biden administration has “repeatedly stretched its legal authorities to direct resources towards favored areas of the economy, often in direct contravention of statute.”

    3-3-3 and China

    Bessent has proposed the 3-3-3 economic plan for America, consisting of:

    • 3% annual real growth

    • 3% deficit-to-GDP max

    • 3 million additional barrels of oil per day

    These goals offer a nice start. If Trump can pull off all three, we’ll be well on our way to long-term sustainability.

    Internationally, Bessent sees China as America’s prime competition. He believes the yuan is undervalued and that this is distorting the world economy by favoring Chinese exports. He says Chinese citizens save too much, and don’t consume enough, which is true.

    A cornerstone of Bessent’s approach will be aggressive trade policies. Tariffs, and perhaps more importantly, the threat of tariffs. Threats can go a long way, as long as they’re prepared to back them up.

    Tough trade policy will be key to dealing with growing worldwide economic imbalances.

    Trump’s economic team believes strongly that higher tax rates are not the way forward. Bessent has stated that lower tax rates can actually create higher tax revenue through increased growth. Overall, his views on growth are encouraging:

    “I decided to come out from behind my desk because I do believe in this election, there’s a big choice and we are going to decide whether we are going to grow our way out of this debt burden.

    I think we can through deregulation, energy, independence and dominance in the US and a growth mindset. We can get back to growth. I feel very strongly that this is the last chance to grow our way out of this.”

    This is correct. It is our last chance to change course on the economic Titanic. We’re headed for an iceberg and strong international trade policy and faster growth are the only ways to avoid it.

    Of course, as Treasury Secretary there’s only so much Bessent can do. But he should act as a positive influence on Trump in terms of policy. It’s a prestigious position, and even with limited policy tools, he should be able to make his influence felt.

    So far Trump’s economic team is shaping up to be a disruptive and powerful force. We’ll be monitoring this situation closely. Stay tuned.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 19:15

  • Russia Launches Massive Attack On Ukrainian "Critical Fuel & Energy Infrastructure"
    Russia Launches Massive Attack On Ukrainian “Critical Fuel & Energy Infrastructure”

    Russia launched a massive drone and missile strike against Ukraine on Friday in retaliation for Kyiv’s recent use of the US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) against a Russian military base.

    ABC News quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said Russia launched 93 missiles and nearly 200 drones targeting the country’s energy infrastructure. This was one of the largest bombardments against Ukraine’s energy sector since the invasion began almost three years ago.

    Zelenskyy said Ukrainian defense forces intercepted 81 missiles, including 11 cruise missiles shot down by Western-supplied General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets.

    He accused Russia of continuing to “terrorize millions of people” with these reckless assaults, renewing his request to the international community for intervention and more support for Ukraine.

    “A strong reaction from the world is needed: a massive strike – a massive reaction. This is the only way to stop terror,” Zelenskyy said.

    Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry published a statement on its official Telegram channel, claiming that the retaliatory strike hit all intended targets:

    “In response to the use of American long-range weapons, Russia’s Armed Forces launched a massive strike with high-precision long-range air- and sea-based weapons and UAVs on critical fuel and energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine that support the operation of the military-industrial complex.”

    On Wednesday, Ukraine fired six ATACMS at a Russian airfield inside the country’s sovereign territory. Russia claimed after the attack that all missiles were intercepted.

    Reports on X indicate that Ukraine’s state-run energy company, Ukrenergo, warned that up to 50% of residential customers could be without power after today’s attack.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 18:55

  • Why The Popularity Of BNPL?
    Why The Popularity Of BNPL?

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

    I’ve become a fan of TubiTV. It’s obvious why it is growing in popularity as a streaming service. There is no login and everything is instantly available. The movies and shows stream one after another so that you can have it on for hours, just like television in the old days. And it costs nothing at all. It pays for itself with advertising, and the ads are oddly welcome because they are not the usual ones you see on network television.

    Many great old movies are there and plenty of shows too. Tired of woke? This is a service for you. Most movies before 2000 are actually reliably free of that nonsense. I always check this site before paying for content on other venues. It also allows me to observe what kinds of things are being advertised to those who are either unwilling to pay for streaming or lack the financial means. That alone is instructive.

    Major advertisers for this service are the financial apps classified as BNPL, or “buy now, pay later” services. There are so many of them now that it is hard to keep up. The ads feature someone at the store with a large tab. The person notes that there is not enough money in the bank account to cover the costs. The idea is that you download an app, link it to your bank account, and then get an instant cash advance.

    Maybe such services would be popular anytime, but I suspect more so now that real income has fallen in these inflationary times. There are signs of hope on the horizon that the economy will improve in the future. Wall Street certainly thinks so, and retail spending seems to be recovering, but these ads tell a different story. They reveal just how much suffering there is out there right now, how many people truly do not have enough in the bank to pay basic costs.

    On the one hand, this is very sad. On the other hand, these services are valuable and somewhat brilliant.

    I’m not joining the chorus of commentators who are calling for them to be regulated or abolished. They exploit no one. They serve plenty of people. To be sure, they do cost money. What is the interest they charge? That’s a complicated question because mostly they are fee-based, like an ATM. The fees can be quite high in accord with the going rate, so anywhere from 7 percent to 20 percent.

    One way or another, these companies are going to be paid back and then some. There is no such thing as a free lunch or free groceries. The bill is going to be paid by someone.

    Thinking of how these services work helps us understand something about the loan contract of medieval origins. They represent an exchange of people with capital in the form of money and people without capital in the form of money who need to consume something. When the first loan contract came along and families like the Medicis got rich, there was something of a moral panic in Europe. How can people make so much money merely by moving money around? It seemed strange.

    Every religious tradition has something different to say. The Christians (both Protestants and Catholics) mostly condemned the charging of interest as “usury,” while Islam carved out a number of exceptions. The Second Lateran Council (1139) and Third Lateran Council (1179) both denied Christian burials for usurers. Indeed, the Catholic church did not fully liberalize on the topic until the 19th century.

    Judaism did not condemn interest, reasoning that it was a perfectly justifiable exchange between people with excess and those without. It is for this reason that Jews developed a reputation as the money lenders: Other religions could not come up with morally sophisticated justifications for the practice. Islam still retains its strictness, although with exceptions.

    What is the basis of the charging of interest? It is relatively simple: Goods obtained now are more expensive than the same goods purchased later. It is called “time preference” in the economics literature, but you see it every day in regular pricing habits. It’s conventional that a flight purchased for two weeks from now is going to be cheaper than a flight leaving tomorrow.

    It always pays to plan ahead. This is why people who forgo consumption today in favor of saving earn interest while people who live on revolving credit cards are paying more than 20 percent for the privilege. They are simply involved in an exchange: high time preference trading with low time preferences. Interest also covers other factors, such as the risk of not being paid back or the risk, in the case of business loans, that the enterprise will not be profitable.

    Regardless, the free market has proven to be brilliantly adept at managing the exchange between the present and the future and pricing it in a rational way. You want those groceries now but don’t have the money to buy them? You can get a cash advance—at a price that you agree to pay. There is nothing sketchy about this: It is a deal struck by parties based on voluntary decision-making.

    The interest rate itself merely reflects the pricing of time relative to available resources. Like any other price, it can fluctuate based on underlying realities. When society is full of savers, more resources become available for lending, and the interest rate is going to be pushed down. When society is full of high time preferences with more borrowers than savers, the interest rate is going to rise.

    There is no role in any of this for the Federal Reserve to intervene to drive interest rates up or down. The belief that the Fed can and should do this is based on nothing but mythology. If the Fed acts to drive rates lower than what the market would be, it is creating a distortion, what F.A. Hayek cleverly called “forced savings” because it signals the existence of resources that are not really there. That leads to a distortion in product structures such as we saw for the decades after 2000 and especially after 2008.

    Such distortions achieve nothing for overall economic growth. They only end up fueling the boom/bust cycle. This is just another application of the general principle that government has no resources of its own that it does not take from the people. An artificially low rate of interest ends up creating new money and credit that funds unsustainable investments that result in inflation, as our present experience proves.

    Thus do these BNPL programs end up creating loan markets of a different form. They are especially valuable among a class of borrowers who cannot gain access to credit cards. These days, getting a credit card is no easy task for some people, which is why debit cards have become more common than ever. Still, people need credit from time to time, and the markets have been brilliant in figuring out ways to make this possible.

    I’m generally favorable to many of the Trump administration’s proposed economic policies, but this idea of capping interest rates on credit cards is not a good one. It will result in higher user fees elsewhere or end up denying credit to people who otherwise would have it, thus giving the BNPL industry a boost.

    One thing it simply will not do is lower borrowing costs.

    Interest rate caps are no different from any other price control: They end up creating market distortions with unsustainable surpluses and shortages.

    What credit markets need is to be left alone. This goes for the Fed’s interventions, attempts to regulate credit card rates, or proposed regulations of the BNPL industry. They are operating just fine on their own. Hey, it’s not my cup of tea, but it’s good that they are there for people who need them. It so happens that people like me who are too cheap to buy movies without ads also happen to be the same demographic cohort to come up short for grocery money from time to time. It makes perfect sense.

    *  *  *

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

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 18:25

  • Trump Team Weighing Options For Preemptive Airstrikes On Iran's Nuclear Program
    Trump Team Weighing Options For Preemptive Airstrikes On Iran’s Nuclear Program

    Just days after the rapid collapse of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, and now with Israeli warplanes having complete domination over Syria’s skies for the first time in modern history, the priorities of US and Israeli officials in the region have drastically changed.

    Both US and Israeli leaders are now mulling the possibility of striking Iran’s nuclear program, amid several reports in recent weeks saying the Islamic Republic is expanding its program and enriching more nuclear-grade material. Tehran is now much more on the defensive, and could be more desperate to achieve nuclear weapons.

    A significant Friday report in The Wall Street Journal says that “President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options for stopping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon, including the possibility of preventive airstrikes, a move that would break with the longstanding policy of containing Tehran with diplomacy and sanctions.”

    “Trump has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent calls that he is concerned about an Iranian nuclear breakout on his watch, two people familiar with their conversations said, signaling he is looking for proposals to prevent that outcome,” the report continues.

    “The president-elect wants plans that stop short of igniting a new war, particularly one that could pull in the U.S. military, as strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities have the potential put the U.S. and Iran on a collision course.”

    Currently the United States still has some 1,000 troops occupying northeast Syria, and they have come under internecine attacks by Iran-backed militias over the recent years. In any broader US-Iran war, these troops would be sitting ducks for attack via Tehran’s proxies in the region.

    Trump in his first administration tried but failed to bring the troops home, but deeper entanglement in striking Iran could surely draw these troops into a broader conflict. The Pentagon would in that case likely expand its deployed forces in the region as well.

    “Iran has enough highly enriched uranium alone to build four nuclear bombs, making it the only nonnuclear-weapon country to be producing 60% near-weapons-grade fissile material,” WSJ has noted further. “It would take just a few days to convert that stockpile into weapons-grade nuclear fuel.”

    Iran has long maintained it develops only peaceful nuclear energy, and there’s little doubt that after the dramatic events unfolding in Syria, and with Hezbollah top leadership largely decimated, Tehran finds itself on a back foot. 

    Some Israeli and Western officials believe that all of this will make Iranian leaders more desperate to ensure they have a final and ultimate defense against any threats (as in rapidly developing a nuke).

    But if Trump were to authorize strikes on Iranian facilities, this would also obviously violate his frequent vows to his voters to not start new wars in the Middle East. The reality is that even ‘limited’ strikes still constitute an act of war. The potential for runaway escalation involving the US, Iran, and Israel would be a much bigger likelihood. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 18:00

  • The Historic Failure Of The Biden Administration
    The Historic Failure Of The Biden Administration

    Authored by James Fanell and Bradley Thayer via American Greatness,

    Whether American presidents are successes or failures is measured by their major foreign and domestic actions. That has been the historical standard by which they are weighed and which defines their legacy. Some presidents are outstanding in every respect. Washington defined the American presidency. Lincoln saved the Union and kept foreign powers, most importantly Great Britain, from intervening to aid the South. Most presidents are heavily mixed; Buchanan employed the Army to suppress the Mormon Rebellion, but his monumental failure was that he did not act to stop the Civil War. Lyndon Johnson’s failure in Vietnam defined his presidency. Richard Nixon had many successes in foreign policy, but Watergate was his demise. Jimmy Carter failed abroad and at home.

    With just over 40 days left, Americans are nearing the end of the Biden administration, and so it is fitting to provide an assessment of it and to place it in historical context.

    By any metric from American history and by any objective standard used to measure his predecessors in the White House, the Biden administration has been a catastrophic failure for the American people. Were that it was otherwise. An old man suffering from the horrors of dementia is a tragedy. Biden is not only a dementia patient but also President of the United States. It is clear that now he is more dementia victim than he is president. He cannot stay awake at international meetings and other fora, and he seems to willingly accept the deliberate snubs. Accordingly, as hard as it is to acknowledge, given that he is the President of the United States, world leaders, and Americans know that he has no business being in the nation’s highest office. This impacts all Americans and U.S. national security, and it is important to recognize facts that impact national security as they are, rather than as we would desire them to be.

    In the years to come, the fiasco of the Biden administration will be explained by multiple factors. We may certainly anticipate that presidential historians will argue that his dementia was debilitating and precluded him from effective leadership, or that his presidency was just a Potemkin Village. Others may assess that Barack Hussein Obama was actually in control through his direct intervention and via surrogates like Susan Rice—who overreached in pushing a radical Marxist agenda. At this point, no matter the causes, it is essential to document the Biden administration’s failures and to learn from them as a cautionary tale about the disastrous impacts of the worst president in American history. Of course, we note that his greatest catastrophes may be yet to come.

    In domestic policy, Biden destroyed the economy, inflation returned with a vengeance, and America’s borders were opened intentionally. This caused a flood of illegal immigration. Immigration took an unprecedented turn, even an unimaginable one; the U.S. government entered the business of importing people, some 12 to 15 million, and thereby funded the cartels and other criminals and criminal organizations. The true numbers will not be known until Trump comes into office and reveals how this happened and the true impact and parameters of the problem. Another domestic failure has been the massive increase in the federal deficit—one that impacts every American, as well as our national security posture. Likewise, energy security was compromised, and America’s energy independence was lost. These domestic disasters reveal the spirit of the American people was targeted deliberately—in order to usher in a new world order based on the tenets of collectivism and top-down control rather than the principles of individualism, freedom, and liberty.

    In the realm of foreign policy, the Biden Administration will be remembered for their disastrous and deadly retreat from Afghanistan to the benign neglect of checking the People’s Republic of China (PRC) across the Indo-Pacific. By failing to deter the Russian invasion of Ukraine and by laboring to simultaneously sustain and escalate the war, rather than pressuring both sides to end the conflict, Biden will be held responsible for the deaths and displacement of many millions. Even the recent collapse of governments in Germany and France can be laid at Biden’s doorstep due to his waffling approach to great power politics and NATO’s ineptitude. The Middle East went from stability to war as Israel fights against multiple threats in the wake of the horrific terror attacks on October 7, 2023. In the Indo-Pacific, Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), treated Biden as a supplicant. In no small part because Xi knew that Joe Biden’s administration was compromised via millions from the PRC that flowed in and enriched the Biden family’s coffers. Xi instructed Biden on how to behave, and the Biden administration went along with it when it mattered, such as not laboring to overthrow the CCP at a time of great peril for it.

    The opportunity cost of the Biden administration was massive. Their actions precluded other strategic choices, priorities, and paths that the U.S. might have taken. For example, the strategic airfield in Bagram, Afghanistan would not have been lost to Chinese influence and occupation. The war in Ukraine might have been deterred, and millions alive and billions of dollars saved for American citizens being hit by deadly hurricanes in North Carolina or fires in Maui. Moreover, America’s arsenal of stockpiled weapons would not have been depleted.

    Likewise, the CCP would be on the run through a concerted and consistent whole-of-government agenda to roll back the PRC’s advances in their declared “People’s War” against the U.S. Fundamentally, Biden was the return to and the last of the post-Cold War presidents—Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama—those who could do anything they wanted in the domestic and international realms because they were living off the capital their predecessors had accumulated—a strong and prosperous America. In his first term, Trump was different and labored mightily to change course. Now America faces genuine peril at home and abroad.

    The warnings from the Biden administration are myriad. However, at root, the lesson is how could it have been otherwise when a vile and loathsome individual intent on enriching himself be permitted to be used as a puppet by Obama and the CCP? Biden neither has the merit nor the mettle to be president. He is a vessel filled with personal ambition but does not possess the acumen or virtue to realize his ambition. It had to be given to him by Obama. His legacy is a grotesque one: he proved the “Peter Principle” wrong—that you actually can rise far beyond your level of incompetence. He did his best to destroy the country. He leaves for his successor a dangerous world and an economy in an equally precarious position. Thankfully, Trump and his administration will be up for such a massive task.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 17:40

  • Sen. Rand Paul Urges Immediate US Withdrawal From Syria Amid Failed State & 'ISIS 2.0' Fears
    Sen. Rand Paul Urges Immediate US Withdrawal From Syria Amid Failed State & ‘ISIS 2.0’ Fears

    US Senator Rand Paul has called for the immediate withdrawal of American forces from Syria in a statement on X earlier this week, with just over a month ago before the Trump administration enters the White House.

    President-elect Trump and his team will have a lot of major and key decisions to make on conflict zones in various parts of the globe. Syria will be a crucial focus, given it is now essentially a failed state and is poised to further become a terrorist hotbed, and given US-designated terror group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham now controls Damascus and much of the country.

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    “Bring our troops home! The war pits Islamists against socialist Kurds against Iranian proxies. Not our fight. 900 US troops scattered about Syria are a target, not a deterrent,” Sen. Paul posted on X in reference to the ongoing ‘mini-civil war’ still raging in Deir Ezzor area and the north.

    While the Pentagon recently claimed there are no plans to expand the US military presence in northeast Syria, there’s no hint of bringing any troops home either.

    US forces are there propping up the Syrian Kurds (SDF/YPG), who also control Syria’s oil and gas fields, but the US proxies are now locked in a battle for survival with the larger and better armed Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA). The SDF has just been kicked out of Manbij, and fighting is still happening.

    These US proxies are now bogged down enough to have to give up any pretense at a ‘counter-ISIS’ mission, which is the “official” reason the Pentagon is supposed to be there in the first place.

    All of this is a huge flaming mess to say the least, and Trump will inherit it from day one, including the likelihood of a greatly resurgent ISIS, which can now have free reign in many parts of Syria…

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    Pentagon chief spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder has meanwhile confirmed US forces have come under sporadic attack amid the chaos, and that there have been a few troop injureis: “As you know, those numbers can fluctuate. I’m not aware of any other injuries at this time,” the said.

    “Again, we’ll not hesitate to take appropriate action and protect our forces if they are threatened,” he added. Days ago, as the shock of the HTS advance against Assad forces was happening elsewhere in Syria, the US launched major airstrikes against alleged ISIS locations across the east of Syria.

    Meanwhile… Rand Paul is RIGHT:

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    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 17:20

  • FBI, DHS Say "No Evidence" New Jersey Drones Pose National Security Threat
    FBI, DHS Say “No Evidence” New Jersey Drones Pose National Security Threat

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

    The FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to reports about drone sightings over the New Jersey area in the past several weeks, a phenomena that has raised alarm among local elected officials.

    In a statement to The Epoch Times on Thursday evening, the FBI and DHS said the agencies “have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”

    “The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings,” the statement reads.

    Their statement did not go into more detail about the sightings in recent days. Several state and U.S. lawmakers in both New Jersey and New York have called on the federal government to release more information or take action regarding the drone sightings.

    In several interviews this week, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) warned that the drones may be Iranian in origin, which was denied by a Pentagon spokeswoman. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that the drones do not pose a national security risk to the United States.

    On Thursday, Van Drew disputed the Pentagon’s statement about Iran being unconnected to the drone sightings, doubling down on his previous claim. He said “high-level” anonymous U.S. officials provided him with that information, which is why he is going public with it.

    That same day, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) sent a joint letter to DHS, the FBI, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to brief them on drone activity over New Jersey and New York.

    “The potential safety and security risks posed by these drones in civilian areas is especially pertinent considering recent drone incursions at sensitive military sites in and outside of the continental United States over the past year,” they warned.

    Separately, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told reporters that the drones should be “shot down, if necessary” and that the United States “should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases.”

    “The lack of information is absolutely unacceptable,” the senator said Thursday.

    In their statement Thursday, FBI and DHS also cautioned that there have been “cases of mistaken identity” and that the drones might be “manned aircraft or facilities.”

    In the meantime, DHS and the FBI are supporting New Jersey state and local law enforcement with detection capabilities “but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection.”

    “To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully,” they said.

    “There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.”

    The FBI and DHS asserted that the two agencies “take seriously” any threats that could be posed by drones but stressed that officials “have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage” so far.

    “While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey,” the agencies said, “the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities.”

    Reports of drone sightings over the Garden State began in November, Van Drew and other New Jersey officials have said.

    In early 2023, a high-altitude balloon that originated from China flew hundreds of miles across North America, passing near sensitive military sites, U.S. officials said at the time.

    The U.S. Air Force ultimately shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina in early February of that year.

    Multiple other balloon sightings were reported since then, with the U.S. military shooting down a balloon over Lake Huron near Michigan in February 2023.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 17:00

  • New Study Links Ozempic To Vision Loss, Confirms Harvard Research
    New Study Links Ozempic To Vision Loss, Confirms Harvard Research

    Another study has been published suggesting that patients taking semaglutide—the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster drug Ozempic—may face a higher risk of developing a rare eye condition that can lead to blindness. 

    “The glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) semaglutide has quickly become a key treatment for managing type 2 diabetes and obesity. Recent findings have raised concern about a potential association between semaglutide use and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION),” according to a new Danish–Norwegian study, backing up similar results from a Harvard University study published in July. 

    Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, occurs when blood flow to the optic nerve is blocked, causing sudden vision loss. 

    Bloomberg first reported the results on Friday afternoon. The findings were initially published on Wednesday on medRxiv, an online platform for sharing research.

    The results indicate that a type 2 diabetes patient taking Ozempic for two decades would have a .3% to .5% chance of developing NAION. 

    “The vision loss is usually irreversible and there is no treatment. Given the serious nature of this potential adverse effect of semaglutide, we leveraged the nationwide Danish and Norwegian health registries to further investigate this association,” according to authors from the University of Southern Denmark, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and the University of Copenhagen.

    The authors emphasized: “Given the well-established effects of semaglutide in managing both diabetes and obesity, it is crucial to weigh the potential risk of NAION against the substantial therapeutic benefits of semaglutide. While the association observed for the use of semaglutide in type 2 diabetes represents a two-fold or higher relative risk increase…” 

    The Nordic study comes months after Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts Eye and Ear found the rising risk of Ozempic patients developing NAION. 

    In Copenhagen, Novo shares slid as much as 5.4%. Since peaking in June at 1,000 Krone, shares have entered a bear market (-26%). 

    Using Goldman’s index of companies with high exposure to GLP-1s, the Trump dump pressured the index lower from nearly 40% gains on the year in late summer to hovering around 14% on Friday, while companies at risk from GLP-1s have steadily gained on the year, 13%.

    In addition to the risk of vision loss, Ozempic and Wegovy users can also develop “Ozempic Face” after rapid body fat loss. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/13/2024 – 16:40

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Dec 13

Today’s News 13th December 2024

  • Provoked: The Long Train Of Abuses That Culminated In The Ukraine War
    Provoked: The Long Train Of Abuses That Culminated In The Ukraine War

    Authored by Carus Michaelangelo via The Mises Institute,

    [Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine, by Scott Horton, The Libertarian Institute, 2024; 690 pp.]

    “A fox knows many things, but a hedgehog knows one big thing.” Scott Horton is the liberty movement’s foreign policy hedgehog, endeavoring to convince the American public of one essential truth: the folly of war. But within that sphere, Horton is a fox, weaving an encyclopedic knowledge of various conflicts into an elaborate and convincing tapestry that indicts elites, intellectuals, the military-industrial complex, and—with characteristic vitriol—neoconservatives in pushing the US toward unnecessary wars.

    Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine, fits this mold to a tee—not because Horton contorts facts to a preconceived narrative. Rather, because it is often the same people pushing conflict after conflict who, unsurprisingly, resort to the same, well-worn playbook. Horton’s tome is riveting, from beginning to end. Here, I will focus on the early post-Cold War years, since this part of the story is oft-neglected in contemporary debates about the origins of the Ukraine war.

    With the closing of the Cold War, and the USSR dissolving, the US faced a crisis of success: what use is the NATO military alliance without the Soviet enemy to align against? More broadly, what grand strategy should the US adopt now that containing communism was obsolete? For neoconservatives, whose answer post-Cold War was benevolent global hegemony, the solution was to adapt NATO. NATO must gradually absorb more European nations, while leaving Russia out in the cold—contained and encircled, in an even worse position than during the Cold War. NATO must expand its mission to keep European peace and expand Western democracy, or wither on the vine.

    From George H.W. Bush to today, the record meticulously compiled by Horton demonstrates that US and other Western leaders communicated to Russia leaders and officials that NATO would not expand east—and could even allow for Russian membership in NATO. Various efforts like the Partnership for Peace and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe were promoted to foster this impression that Russia would be included in European affairs, alliances, and institutions, rather than these structures aligning against them. All the while, these same US and Western leaders took virtually the opposite positions internally, with the result that the US willfully misled the Russians. The exact internal and external postures waxed and waned over the years, but this ultimate pattern held firm. This was even though, all along, Russian officials warned about how they and the Russian people would react to NATO advancing east. What we see is, in terms with which Americans are well-familiar, “a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object.”

    It began with George H.W. Bush, who promised Mikhail Gorbachev, after the fall of the Berlin Wall as the Soviet Union careened towards collapse, that the US would not take advantage of the situation. This was also reflected in a NATO resolution on June 7, 1991. Bush and his advisors promised that NATO would not expand if the Soviet Union would withdraw and allow German reunification. The 1990 settlement would only specify that the US would not put troops in East Germany, a nuance which Russia hawks have exploited to argue there was no promise not to expand NATO. But this does not fly. Horton asks the rhetorical question: what sense would it make for the Soviet Union to extract a promise not to put troops in East Germany, if the US had a free hand to bring the rest of Eastern Europe into a military alliance? This agreement only makes sense on a backdrop of agreeing not to expand NATO.

    The sins of the Clinton years were legion. In the early 90s, the US sent economists from the Harvard Institute of International Development to Russia to enact what came to be called a “shock therapy” economic policy. It was so badly designed and had such poor outcomes that many Russian thought it must be deliberate. Unsurprisingly, this did not dispose ordinary Russians to view the West favorably. Throughout the decade, Clinton and his advisors duplicitously offered Russia promises that a “Partnership for Peace” process would be pursued rather than NATO expansion—and that NATO would lose its military character—all the while planning to expand NATO.

    The Clinton administration was heavily involved in the Balkans wars of Bosnia and Kosovo, which present strong cases against “humanitarian” intervention. The result of Bosnia was that NATO proved itself capable of fulfilling a new mission, while the US solidified itself at the head of European affairs, each of which were necessary for subsequent NATO expansion. Kosovo further solidified NATO’s new role on the continent—even intervening in civil wars—while the bombing campaign against Serbia convinced Russians that the US was an aggressive, ruthless great power, who would violate international rules when it suited them. The US engaged in this aggressive war, in violation of the UN Charter, without approval of the UN Security Council (on which Russia sat). So much for the liberal rules-based international order. The US’s frequent remaking of the rules was a frequent complaint of Russia, including during the Iraq War.

    Moreover, when Russia went to war with break-away Chechnya, Clinton’s CIA and US allies supported Chechen rebels and separatist mujahideen fighters fighting on Chechnya’s side against the Russians, with the goal to disrupt an existing Russian oil pipeline running through Chechnya. This, too, Putin cited when invading Ukraine. (If this were all not bad enough, Horton shows how the Clinton administration supported the bin Ladenite terrorists in the Balkans wars and in Chechnya. Indeed, more than half of the September 11 hijackers were involved in these wars in the Balkans and Chechnya—often both.)

    Putin’s rise was itself a consequence of the Clintonian interventions in the 1990s: from the “shock therapy” economic policy, to helping Yeltsin get reelected in 1996, to Kosovo and Chechnya. As Horton points out, ironically, Putin invoked the Kosovo precedent of intervening in a civil war to “protect” an ethnic minority to justify invading Ukraine. In one stunning example from the Kosovo war, Horton recounted how the Clinton administration ordered the bombing of a Serbian TV station. These actions still influence Putin’s thoughts about the West today. Putin’s strike on a TV tower in Kiev in February 2022 likely called back to that conflict.

    The NATO-Russia Founding Act of May 1997 was another milestone in US duplicity toward Russia. It assured that NATO would not deploy nuclear weapons or “substantial” troops to new NATO nations’ territories. Importantly, the Clinton administration misled Russia into thinking the Founding Act would give Russia a genuine role in NATO deliberations—although it would not have a say within the NATO alliance itself—when, in the words of Clinton advisor Strobe Talbott, the US’s view was that “all we’re really promising them is monthly meetings.”

    Throughout Clinton’s term, the Clinton administration fed Russia the lie that claimed NATO’s mission was becoming political, rather than military, so agreeing not to expand NATO would be admitting that NATO’s mission was to contain Russia. He even said he would leave open the possibility of Russia entering NATO. But Horton shows they had no intention to do any of this. To make matters worse, in July 1997 NATO and Ukraine signed an agreement that would provide for training Ukraine’s military and improve their interoperability with NATO, and in August 1997 planned a military exercise involving several former Warsaw Pact states and Soviet republics to simulate US military intervention in an ethnic conflict in Crimea.

    No, this was not all. The US tried to cut out Russia from Caspian Basin oil by refusing to run a pipeline from Azerbaijan through Russia, pushing it to a Western route through Turkey instead. The US also backed the GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) grouping to “speed European integration and exclude Russia influence from the South Caucasus,” according to Horton, which Russia strongly opposed, calling it an “Axis of Evil” in 2005. The Clinton administration also violated Bush and Gorbachev’s Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe in 1999, incredulously claiming that the “permanent US military bases in Bulgaria and Romania” were actually just temporary.

    The close of the Clinton years began a wave of “color revolutions” in Russia’s backyard. The key thing about these “revolutions” is that they are heavily funded and supported by foreign governments or NGOs, such as George Soros’ groups. Rather than directly or covertly overthrow an existing regime, these organizations operate “above board,” meaning they avoid specifically endorsing candidates—since that would be illegal—and instead fund and assist groups that promote more generic, non-partisan efforts like “democracy.” In context, of course, their activities are geared to “benefit . . . a favored candidate or party.” A favorite tactic is using “parallel vote tabulation” or exit polls, which are used to dispute official election results. The dispute typically spills over into street demonstrations with the goal of ousting the ostensible victor.

    The “revolutions” began in Serbia in 2000 with the ousting of Clinton’s bête noire Slobodan Milošević. As Horton sardonically comments, this culminated in the “sacking and burning of the [Serbian] parliament building in what would surely be called a violent insurrection by American Democrats if they had not been behind it.” Numerous other states would be targeted for color revolutions by the US and its Soros-backed NGO allies over the next decades.

    Incredibly, this only begins to scratch the surface of these early, post-Cold War provocations toward Russia that Horton documents, let alone the follies and misdeeds that occurred during the George W. Bush presidency and thereafter. Horton has persuasively made the case that the US provoked Russia over the course of three decades, knowing that Russia would respond with hostility toward NATO expansion. Yet, with reckless abandon, US leaders and officials pushed on, achieving their wildest dreams of NATO expansion and setting their sights on what was always their crown jewel—Ukraine. It did not have to be this way, and it still does not. But time is ticking. Defying expectations, President Biden manages to reach new heights of absurdity in his escalatory policy toward Russia, ticking off a box on Zelensky’s deadly five-point “peace” plan. The war cannot end soon enough.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 23:25

  • UnitedHealthcare CEO Assassination Could Spark "Next Wave" Of "Occupy Wall Street 2.0," Warns Security Expert
    UnitedHealthcare CEO Assassination Could Spark “Next Wave” Of “Occupy Wall Street 2.0,” Warns Security Expert

    In an interview, QUX Technologies CEO Keith Hanson told Fox News that the death of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO could ignite the “next wave” of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

    “It’s the Occupy Wall Street 2.0 at this point where you have the original wave of the ‘everybody gets a trophy’ generation was hitting the real world and suddenly realizing that everybody from their teachers to their professors at college had pretty much lied to them about the way that the real world works,” Hanson said.

    The law enforcement trainer continued: “And now I’m starting to see an uptick in the resentment and the vitriol towards corporations and to corporate CEOs. And I guess it would make sense that this is kind of the next wave. I mean, this is basically the proletariat rising against the bourgeois class and taking what’s theirs. And it’s concerning.”

    In New York City, posters featuring UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s portrait marked with a red X appeared around town, alongside “wanted” images of other top healthcare CEOs.

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    In Seattle, a construction sign read: “One less CEO, Many more to go.” 

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    Hanson disclosed that following the assassination of CEO Brian Thompson last week, allegedly by 26-year-old Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione, corporate America has been ramping up private security amid fears of copycat attacks.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 23:00

  • Escobar: Syria's Post-Mortem – Terror, Occupation, And Palestine
    Escobar: Syria’s Post-Mortem – Terror, Occupation, And Palestine

    Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Cradle,

    The short headline defining the abrupt, swift end of Syria as we knew it would be: Eretz Israel meets new-Ottomanism. The subtitle? A win-win for the west, and a lethal blow against the Axis of Resistance.

    But to quote still-pervasive American pop culture, perhaps the owls are not what they seem.

    Let’s start with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s surrender. Qatari diplomats, off the record, maintain that Assad tried to negotiate a transfer of power with the armed opposition that had launched a major military offensive in the days prior, starting with Aleppo, then swiftly headed southward toward Hama, Homs, aiming for Damascus. That’s what was discussed in detail between Russia, Iran, and Turkiye behind closed doors in Doha this past weekend, during the last sigh of the moribund “Astana process” to demilitarize Syria.

    The transfer of power negotiation failed. Hence, Assad was offered asylum by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. That explains why both Iran and Russia instantly changed the terminology while still in Doha, and began to refer to the “legitimate opposition” in a bid to distinguish non-militant reformists from the armed extremists cutting a swathe across the state.  

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov – his body language telling everything about his anger – literally said, “Assad must negotiate with the legitimate opposition, which is on the UN list.” 

    Very important: Lavrov did not mean Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Salafi-jihadi, or Rent-a-Jihadi mob financed by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) with weapons funded by Qatar, and fully supported by NATO and Tel Aviv. 

    What happened after the funeral in Doha was quite murky, suggesting a western intel remote-controlled coup, developing as fast as lightning, complete with reports of domestic betrayals. 

    The original Astana idea was to keep Damascus safe and to have Ankara manage HTS. Yet Assad had already committed a serious strategic blunder, believing in lofty promises by NATO messaged through his newfound Arab leader friends in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.    

    To his own astonishment, according to Syrian and regional officials, Assad finally realized how fragile his own position was, having turned down military assistance from his stalwart regional allies, Iran and Hezbollah, believing that his new Arab allies might keep him safe.

    The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) was in shambles after 13 years of war and ruthless US sanctions. Logistics were prey to deplorable corruption. The rot was systemic. But importantly, while many were prepared to fight the foreign-backed terror groups once again, insiders say Assad never fully deployed his army to counterattack the onslaught.

    Tehran and Moscow tried everything – up to the last minute. In fact, Assad was already in deep trouble since his visit to Moscow on 29 November that reaped no tangible results. The Damascus establishment thus regarded Russia’s insistence that Assad must abandon his previous red lines on negotiating a political settlement as a de facto signal pointing to the end. 

    Turkiye: ‘we have nothing to do with it’

    Apart from doing nothing to prevent the increasing atrophy and collapse of the SAA, Assad did nothing to rein in Israel, which has been bombing Syria non-stop for years. 

    Until the very last moment, Tehran was willing to help: two brigades were ready to get into Syria, but it would take at least two weeks to deploy them.      

    The Fars News Agency explained the mechanism in detail – from the Syrian leadership’s inexorable lack of motivation to fight the terror brigades to Assad ignoring serious warnings from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei since June, all the way to two months ago, with other Iranian officials warning that HTS and its foreign backers were preparing a blitzkrieg. According to the Iranians: 

    “After Aleppo fell, it became clear that Assad had no real intentions of staying in power, so we started to engage in diplomatic talks with the opposition, and arranged the safe exit of our troops from Syria. If the SAA does not fight, neither will we risk our soldiers’ lives. Russia and the UAE had managed to convince him to step down, so there was nothing we could do.”

    There’s no Russian confirmation that they convinced Assad to step down: one just needs to interpret that failed meeting in Moscow on 29 November. Yet, significantly, there is confirmation, before that, about Turkiye knowing everything about the HTS offensive as far back as six months ago. 

    Ankara’s version is predictably murky: HTS told them about it, and asked them not to intervene. Additionally, the Turkish Foreign Ministry spun that President-Caliph Recep Tayyip Erdogan tried to warn Assad (no word from Damascus on that). Ankara, on the record, via Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, firmly denies orchestrating or approving the Rent-a-Jihadi offensive. They may regret this yet, with everyone from Washington to Tel Aviv jumping in to take credit for the fall of Damascus.

    Only the NATO propaganda machine believes this version – as HTS has been for years completely supported not only by Turkiye, but also, covertly, by Israel, which was outed for paying salaries to the extremists during the Syrian war, and famously helped rehabilitate Al-Qaeda fighters injured in battle. 

    All that leads to the predominant scenario of a carefully calculated CIA/MI6/Mossad controlled demolition, complete with a non-stop weaponizing flow, Ukrainian training of takfiris on the use of FPV kamikaze drones, and Samsonites full of cash bribing high-ranking Syrian officials. 

    New Great Game reloaded

    The Syrian collapse may be a classic case of “extending Russia” – and also Iran, when it comes to the all-crucial land bridge that connects it with its allies in the Mediterranean (the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance movements). Not to mention sending a message to China, which, for all its lofty “community of a shared future” rhetoric, had done absolutely nothing to help in the reconstruction of Syria. 

    On the geo-energy level, now there are no more obstacles to the resolution of an epic Pipelineistan saga – and one of the key reasons for the war on Syria, as I analyzed it nine years ago: building the Qatar–Turkiye gas pipeline through Syrian territory to provide Europe with an alternative to Russian gas. Assad had rejected that project, after which Doha helped fund the Syrian war to depose him.

    There’s no evidence that key Persian Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and UAE will gleefully accept Qatar’s geoeconomic stardom if the pipeline is built. For starters, it needs to run through Saudi territory, and Riyadh may no longer be open to that. 

    This burning question connects to a pile-up of other questions, including, with the Syrian gateway all but gone: how will Hezbollah receive weapons supplies in the future, and how will the Arab world react to Turkiye trying to go full Neo-Ottoman?   

    Then there’s the thorny case of BRICS partner-state Turkiye directly clashing with top BRICS members Russia, China, and Iran. Ankara’s new turn may even end up causing it to be rejected by BRICS, and not granted a favorable trade status by China. 

    While a case can certainly be made that losing Syria may be devastating for Russia and the Global Majority, hold those horses – for now. In the event of losing the port of Tartous that the USSR-Russia has run since 1971, alongside the Hmeimim air base – and thus being ousted from the Eastern Mediterranean – Moscow would have replacing options, with different degrees of feasibility. 

    We have Algeria (a BRICS partner), Egypt (a BRICS member), and Libya. Even the Persian Gulf: that, incidentally, could become part of the Russia–Iran comprehensive strategic partnership, to be officially signed on 25 January in Moscow by Putin and his Iranian counterpart President Masoud Pezeshkian. 

    It’s extremely naïve to assume that Moscow was caught by surprise by the staging of an alleged Kursk 2.0. As if all Russian intel assets – bases, satellites, ground intel – would not have scrutinized a bunch of Salafi-Jihadis for months assembling an army of tens of thousands in Greater Idlib, complete with a tank division.   
    So it’s quite plausible that what’s being played is classic Russia, combined with Persian guile. It didn’t take long for Tehran and Moscow to do the math on what they would lose – especially in terms of human resources – by falling into the trap of supporting an already enfeebled Assad in yet another bloody, protracted ground war.  Still, Tehran offered military support, and Moscow, air support, and negotiations scenarios till the very end.

    Now, the whole Syrian tragedy – including a possible Caliphate of all-Sham led by reformed, minority-hugging jihadist Abu Mohammad al-Julani – falls into the full managing responsibility of the NATO/Tel Aviv/Ankara combo. 

    They are simply not prepared to navigate the ultra-complex tribal, clannish, embedded in corruption Syrian matrix – not to mention the magma of 37 terror outfits only kept together, so far, by the tiny glue of ousting Assad. This volcano will certainly explode in their collective faces, potentially in the form of horrendous internal battles that may last at least a few years.   

    Syria’s northeast and east are already, instantly, mired in total anarchy, with a multitude of local tribes bent on keeping their mafioso schemes at all costs, refusing to be controlled by a US–Kurd Rojava composite that is largely communist and secular. Some of these tribes are already getting cozy with the Turk-supported Salafi-jihadis. Other Arab tribes had this year joined forces with Damascus against both the extremists and Kurdish secessionists.    

    Western Syria may also be anarchy territory, as in Idlib: bloody rivalry between terror and bandit networks, between clans, tribes, ethnic groups, and religious groups regimented by Assad, the panorama even more complex than in Libya under former President Muammar al-Gaddafi. 

    As for the Head-Choppers’ supply lines, they will inevitably be stretched – and then it will be easy to cut them off, not only by Iran, for instance, but also by the NATO wing via Turkiye/Israel when they turn against the Caliphate, as they invariably may if the latter’s abuses become too media-apparent.   
    No one is able to foresee what will happen to the carcass of Assad-dynasty Syria. Millions of refugees may return, especially from Turkiye, which Washington has for years tried to prevent to protect its “Kurdification” project in the north – but at the same time, millions will flee, terrified by the prospect of a new Caliphate and a renewed civil war.

    Is there a possible ray of light amongst such gloom? The leader of the transition government will be Mohammad al-Bashir, who was, until recently, the prime minister of the so-called Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in HTS-ruled Idlib. An electrical engineer by training, Bashir added a further degree to his education in 2021: Sharia and law.

    Losing Syria should not mean losing Palestine 

    The Global Majority may be mourning what, on the surface, looks like a nearly lethal blow against the Axis of Resistance. Yet there’s no way Russia, Iran, Iraq – and even thunderously silent China – will let a NATO-Israel-Turkiye-backed Salafi-jihadi proxy army prevail. Unlike the collective west, they are smarter, tougher, infinitely more patient, and consider the contours of the Big Picture ahead. It’s too early; sooner or later they will start rollin’ to prevent western-backed jihadism from spilling into Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow.  

    Russian foreign intel agency Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (SVR) now has to be monitoring 24/7 what will be the next destination of the large cross-Heartland Salafi-jihadi brigade in Syria, overwhelmingly Uzbeks, Uighurs, Tajiks, and a sprinkle of Chechens. There’s no question they will be used to “extend” (US Think Tankland terminology) not only Central Asia but the Russian Federation. 
    Meanwhile, Israel will be overstretched in the Golan. The Americans will temporarily feel safe and secure around the oil fields from which they will keep stealing Syrian oil. These are two ideal latitudes for the start of what would be the first concerted BRICS retaliation against those who are unleashing the First BRICS War.  

    Then there’s the ultimate tragedy: Palestine. A massive plot twist took place right inside the venerable Umayyad mosque in Damascus. The NATO-Israeli-Turk Head-Chopping Army is now promising the Palestinians they are coming to liberate Gaza and Jerusalem. 

    Yet until this past Sunday, it was all “We love Israel.” The MC of this PR op – designed to fool the Muslim world and the Global Majority – is none other than the Caliph of al-Sham himself, Julani.

    As it stands, the new regime in Damascus will be, for all practical purposes, backed by those who support and engineer Eretz Israel and the genocide of Palestine. It’s already out in the open, coming from Israeli cabinet officials themselves: Tel Aviv ideally would love to expel the population of Gaza and the West Bank to Syria, though Jordan is their preferred destination.

    This is the battle to focus on from now on. The late Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah was adamant when he insisted on the deeper meaning of losing Syria: “Palestine would be lost.” More than ever, it’s up to a Global Resistance not to allow it. 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 22:35

  • Gold & The Evil Cycles Of War And Economic Destruction
    Gold & The Evil Cycles Of War And Economic Destruction

    Authored by Egon von Greyerz via vongreyerz.gold,

    As we approach what usually should be a blissful holiday period, the treacherous path the world is now on does not bode well for 2025 and beyond.

    Two global crises will dominate the world for at least several years and possibly decades.

    FINANCIAL CRISIS

    The crisis I have been discussing and writing about for many years is the end of the current monetary era, especially in the West. The exponential growth of debt, which we have experienced since 1971 when Nixon closed the gold window, is reaching an uber-exponential phase in the current century with runaway deficits and debt. 

    The likely course of events is unlimited money printing to counter an uncontrollable debt crisis. This leads to monetary debasement, high inflation or hyperinflation, which eventually turns into a deflationary collapse of the financial system and depression. 

    THERE CAN BE NO CLEARER SIGN OF THE END OF AN ECONOMIC ERA THAN WHEN THE RESERVE CURRENCY DECLINES BY 99%.  

    A possible alternative would be that the financial system implodes before the money printing has taken effect, with a subsequent deflationary implosion. This would mean a period without functioning banks and money. 

    As this is the way every monetary system has ended in history, without fail, anyone questioning this inevitable outcome will be entirely wrong. It is only a question of when, not if. 

    As the Austrian economist von Mises said:

    As always in history, an economic crisis always goes hand in hand with political or geopolitical turmoil. 

    When a country spends money it doesn’t have, starting a war is the most convenient way of creating new paper money, which, of course, has ZERO intrinsic value. 

    Expanding credit or printing money does not create economic value, but buys time.

    Money printing also buys votes. Reelection is the primary objective of any government in a democratic system.

    Consecutive US governments have increased US Federal debt almost every year since the early 1930s. 

    The current deficit is over $2 trillion, and tax revenue is only $5 trillion. With over $7 trillion in federal spending, the US government needs to borrow another 40% on top ($2T) to make ends meet.

    I created the graph below in November 2016, when Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States. I forecast that 8 years later (whoever was president), the debt that Trump inherited ($20 trillion) would be $40 trillion in early 2025. I based the forecast on a simple extrapolation. Since 1981, US debt has, on average, doubled every 8 years. Well, the debt will probably not reach $40T by 20 January 2025, but still, it went up by $16T rather than the $20T that I forecast. 

    More importantly, as the graph below shows, debt has increased 44X since 1981, but tax revenue has only increased 6X to $4.9T.  

    Can anyone explain how this debt will be repaid? The standard reply is that governments don’t need to repay their debt. 

    Well, let me again cite history, which is such a useful empirical tool. 

    Throughout history, a country which has not repaid its debts has, without fail, always defaulted, and the currency has gone to ZERO. 

    No one must believe that it will be different this time!

    A monetary crisis at the end of a major cycle leads to economic collapse, poverty and misery. 

    However, this current financial cycle is already developing in parallel with a geopolitical crisis of a magnitude and scale that could be greater than those of WWI and WWII. 

    GEOPOLITICAL CRISIS 

    The financial and geopolitical conflicts are clearly linked. As in many armed conflicts, the US has been involved since WWII, although the country is not directly threatened.

    This has been the case in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Ukraine. 

    Most of these wars are about fear of losing the US hegemony. The US government subscribes to the 1904 Mackinder theory that whoever controls the Heartland controls the world. The Heartland is the area of Eastern Europe stretching to the Yangtze River in the east and the Himalayas in the south. This area has massive natural resources. 

    Syria probably just fell to opposition groups backed by Turkey in an attack supported by the US military. Interestingly, the latest conflict started the same day as the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Clearly, it’s not a coincidence. 

    So Turkey, which for a while has ridden two horses, a Russian and an American, has now taken the US side. 

    Turkey is a NATO member and also a prospective BRICS member, among others, Russia, China, Iran and India. 

    With Turkey now on the US side and against Russia, we see the first military conflict between the West and BRICS.  

    Nobody knows if Syria will regroup again with Assad in Moscow and the soldiers deserting the army. For the Russia – Iran axis, Syria is strategically critical. But Russia cannot win that war with just air power and most probably does not want to divert resources from Ukraine. 

    Thus, we now have yet another crisis in the Middle East, a situation with dire consequences for the area and the world.

    So we are likely to see continued war in Syria, with anarchy and the rise of more jihadist groups. 

    As Thanassis Cambanis, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, said: “In the best case scenario, Syria’s factions will struggle for primacy through contained local battles. At the other extreme, the collapse will spur a renewed period of total warfare in which factions target civilians.”

    So, it is likely that more Syrian people will be homeless and migrate to Europe and the US. As we know, no Western country has the capacity to take care of these people, so again, another humanitarian catastrophe has hit the world. 

    Losing access to Syria and the Mediterranean has weakened Iran, which will look for other options. The danger has always been that Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, which would lock in 24% of global oil. The US could not stop this. It would lead to oil prices at least doubling or more and a major global depression. 

    The UAE (United Arab Emirates), which includes Dubai, is right by the Strait of Hormuz. 

    Personally, I have always been surprised that so many people move to and invest in Dubai, given the major geopolitical risk that this area carries.

    The world is in a severe war cycle, which, at best, will include insoluble and intractable wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe with both the US and Russia involved. And at worst, a nuclear war.

    I was always of the opinion that the Ukrainian conflict is a war Russia is very unlikely to lose. And neither the US nor European NATO troops have sufficient resources to win a war with boots on the ground. 

    Russian missiles are currently superior, but anything can happen in a nuclear conflict.

    In a nuclear war, there is no winner, and that could be the end of the world, so it is not worth speculating about the outcome of such a war.

    THE TRIUMPH OF DEATH

    Peter Bruegel painted the “Triumph of Death” in 1562. 

    Currently, the world, and especially the West, is on a path to geopolitical and economic destruction.

    No one knows how this will end. Even if it takes years, the world is unlikely to be the same once these two cycles have run their course. 

    I have already stated that the end of the current economic cycle will be devastating for the world but bearable relative to the worst outcome of the war cycle. 

    I had a hope that Trump would settle the Ukrainian situation if the US Neocons didn’t manage to escalate it severely before January 20. 

    However, the Middle East conflict, with Iran involved, makes the situation much more complex, even with Trump’s best intentions. 

    I always believe in finding solutions, but it is hard to be optimistic when the two Cycles of Evil prevail so strongly. 

    At least anyone who has savings should take action to protect these against the coming implosion of financial assets. 

    MARKETS

    Stocks in the US are massively overvalued. 

    The Buffett Indicator, US Stocks to GDP, is at 208%, an all-time high.

    Just a normal correction would be a 50% to 75% fall.

    The Price Earnings Ratio of Nasdaq stocks is 49X. 

    A decline of at least 80%, like in the early 2000s, is likely. 

    Obviously, bubbles can always grow bigger before they implode. 

    However, the risk of a market collapse sometime in the next few months is extremely high.

    Inflation will rise rapidly, as will interest rates, driven by money printing. 

    The US 10-year treasury will greatly exceed 10%, as in the 1970s. 

    WEALTH PRESERVATION 

    Finally, gold will continue to reflect the destruction of the dollar and most currencies. 

    Gold in US dollars is up 10X in this century. It is likely to rise by multiples from here as money dies. I explain why in this article: THE CASE FOR GOLD IS INCONTROVERTIBLE.

    Gold must be held in physical form and outside the financial system with direct access to your gold. And preferably in a safe jurisdiction outside your country of residence. 

    Finally, especially in periods of crisis, helping others and having a close circle of family and friends is more important than all the gold in the world. 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 21:45

  • A New Chapter Of The Bible Was Found Hidden Inside 1,750-Year-Old Text
    A New Chapter Of The Bible Was Found Hidden Inside 1,750-Year-Old Text

    Via The Mind Unleashed,

    Hidden for centuries, a forgotten chapter of the Bible has emerged from the shadows of history. Researchers, armed with ultraviolet light and meticulous scholarship, have uncovered a 1,750-year-old text that offers a fresh glimpse into the evolving nature of scripture. This find isn’t just a historical curiosity; it’s a profound insight into how faith and tradition were shaped in early Christianity.

    Preserved in an ancient Syriac manuscript, the chapter challenges long-held assumptions about biblical texts and their seemingly static nature. With its subtle variations and expanded narrative, this rediscovery raises compelling questions: What does this mean for the modern understanding of faith? And how many more hidden chapters might still be waiting to be found?

    Unearthing a Lost Piece of Biblical History

    In a groundbreaking intersection of technology and ancient history, scholars have uncovered a hidden chapter of the Bible within a 1,750-year-old Syriac manuscript preserved in the Vatican Library. Using ultraviolet (UV) light, researchers revealed traces of erased writing—a palimpsest—buried beneath layers of overwritten text. This painstaking process illuminated an earlier version of scripture, lost to time but now reintroduced to the world.

    The manuscript, part of the Syriac translations of the Bible, is more than just a relic. It represents a key moment in Christianity’s history, when scribes worked tirelessly to preserve scripture under challenging conditions. Early Christians relied on Syriac texts to disseminate their teachings across cultural and linguistic boundaries, making this find a window into their lived experiences.

    What makes this discovery especially remarkable is its collaborative nature. Historians, linguists, and scientists pooled their expertise to decode the faded script, each stroke of ink offering clues to a story untold for nearly two millennia. This isn’t just a triumph for biblical studies; it’s a testament to the enduring power of curiosity and innovation to uncover humanity’s shared past.

    The Hidden Chapter: What We Know So Far

    The newly unveiled chapter offers an expanded version of Matthew 12, a passage where Jesus and his disciples are criticized for picking grain on the Sabbath. In this version, subtle textual variations bring fresh theological nuances to light, emphasizing compassion and mercy over rigid observance of religious laws. While the core message aligns with established teachings, these differences hint at the dynamic and adaptive nature of early Christian scripture.

    Written in ancient Syriac, one of the earliest languages used to transmit biblical texts, the chapter provides a rare glimpse into Christianity’s early cultural diversity. Syriac was instrumental in spreading scripture beyond its Jewish origins, tailoring messages to resonate with varied linguistic and cultural communities. This adaptation reflects the pragmatic approach of early Christians, who shaped their sacred texts to meet the needs of a rapidly growing faith.

    What’s particularly striking is the role of early scribes. Far from being passive transcribers, they actively engaged with the material, reinterpreting and preserving it in ways that reflected their own spiritual and societal realities. This hidden chapter, with its emphasis on mercy, reveals a faith not rigidly bound to dogma but alive with reinterpretation and evolution—a window into the beliefs and priorities of communities navigating the complexities of their time.

    The Technology That Unveiled the Forgotten Chapter

    It’s hard to believe that something written almost 2,000 years ago could still be hiding in plain sight. But that’s exactly what happened here. Using ultraviolet light, researchers managed to reveal a forgotten chapter of the Bible, hidden beneath layers of overwritten text on an ancient manuscript. It’s like uncovering a secret message written centuries ago, invisible to the naked eye but waiting to be found.

    The process wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Think about it—this manuscript is old, fragile, and irreplaceable. Every move had to be precise, every scan done with the utmost care. Months of work went into piecing together faint traces of erased ink, with experts from all over—historians, linguists, scientists—working side by side. It’s amazing to think that this discovery wouldn’t have been possible even a few decades ago. The tools they used, like UV imaging, are giving us new ways to see the past in ways we never thought possible.

    But here’s what really gets you thinking—what else is out there? If something as groundbreaking as a hidden chapter of the Bible can be uncovered, what other secrets might still be lying in wait? This is more than a cool tech story; it’s a reminder that history always has more to give, as long as we keep asking the right questions.

    A Manuscript’s Journey Through Time

    Think about this for a second: early Christians lived in a world where their beliefs could literally get them killed. Their sacred texts weren’t just important—they were lifelines, hidden and protected at all costs. That’s the world this 1,750-year-old Syriac manuscript comes from. Imagine scribes painstakingly copying and preserving these words, knowing the risks they faced if they were caught.

    Back then, parchment wasn’t exactly easy to come by. It was expensive, rare, and, honestly, every bit as valuable as the words written on it. To make the most of it, scribes would scrape off old texts and reuse the material—creating what we now call palimpsests. It’s kind of wild to think that their recycling efforts accidentally preserved traces of history that they probably thought were gone for good.

    Here’s another fascinating detail: this manuscript is written in Syriac. It’s one of the earliest languages used to spread Christianity and shows how the faith started to move beyond its Jewish roots. Syriac wasn’t just a language—it was a tool that helped Christianity adapt and grow, reaching new communities and cultures. That’s what makes this discovery so powerful. It’s not just about words on a page; it’s about the lengths people went to protect and share their beliefs.

    And now, centuries later, we’re uncovering their story. You can almost picture the hands that wrote and rewrote this text, working in secret, determined to pass on what they believed mattered most. It’s a humbling reminder of just how much history can hide beneath the surface—literally—and how much these ancient voices still have to say.

    What Scholars Are Saying: A New Lens on Scripture

    This hidden chapter of the Bible has sparked lively debates among scholars. Many see it as a fascinating window into how early Christian communities understood and adapted scripture. The chapter’s emphasis on mercy over strict adherence to religious laws aligns with Jesus’ teachings but adds a fresh perspective to familiar passages. This nuance suggests early Christians may have tailored scripture to address the unique challenges of their time.

    At the heart of the debate is the question of why this chapter was erased. Some scholars suggest it might have been excluded as church leaders worked to formalize the biblical canon, streamlining texts to unify doctrine. Others argue that its omission could simply reflect the practical realities of the time, with scribes overwriting older texts due to the scarcity of parchment. Whatever the reason, the discovery underscores the dynamic and evolving nature of early Christianity.

    Ultimately, this find is about more than one chapter. It’s a reminder that the Bible, far from being a static document, was shaped over centuries by human hands and decisions. For scholars and believers alike, the chapter offers a chance to reexamine the past while raising new questions about the stories still waiting to be uncovered.

    Hidden Truths, Endless Possibilities

    The discovery of this hidden Bible chapter is more than a historical footnote—it’s a vivid reminder of how much the past still has to teach us. From the resilience of early Christian communities to the evolving nature of scripture itself, this find opens a window into a world where faith and history were deeply intertwined. It also shows how modern technology can breathe life into ancient artifacts, revealing secrets thought lost to time.

    But this is likely just the beginning. Who knows what other forgotten chapters, erased writings, or hidden narratives are still waiting to be uncovered? Each discovery invites us to ask new questions, challenge old assumptions, and deepen our understanding of the stories that have shaped human history. Whether it’s faith, curiosity, or a little of both driving the search, one thing is certain—history still has plenty of mysteries left to share.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 20:05

  • Marc Andreessen Gives Insider Peek At DOGE Decisions, Helping Trump Pick The Next Administration
    Marc Andreessen Gives Insider Peek At DOGE Decisions, Helping Trump Pick The Next Administration

    Billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen gave a wide-ranging interview to Free Press’s Bari Weiss, confirming his involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and sharing behind-the-scenes insights on working with President-elect Donald Trump. Andreessen discussed his role in assisting Trump with assembling the next administration and provided a glimpse into what it’s like to spend time with the incoming commander-in-chief. During the two-hour conversation, Andreessen also revisited his experience with Biden administration officials, claiming the government expressed the orwellian desire to take “complete control” over AI development in the United States. 

    “I’m an unpaid volunteer,” Andreessen said when asked by Weiss about his reported involvement. A recent report from The Washington Post revealed that Andreessen, along with fellow Silicon Valley titans Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, is contributing to the ambitious program. Andreessen outlined DOGE’s two chief objectives: slashing spending and reducing regulations.

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    “There’s basically two big parts to it,” Andreessen explained. “One is they’re going to do a top-to-bottom review of government spending, and they’re going to cut as much cost as they possibly can. They have a whole theory and strategy on that.”

    “In conjunction with that and related to it, they’re going to do the same thing for regulations,” the billionaire continued. “They’re going to do a top-to-bottom review of the regulatory—what they call the regulatory state or the administrative state.”

    “The connective tissue there, that they don’t talk about in public, is actually quite important. A lot of the reaction of the Doge from institutional Washington is like, well, that’s impossible, you can’t do that; there are all these laws, statutes, and regulations,” he added.

    Andreessen, along with his A16z co-founder Ben Horowitz, endorsed Trump during the final stretch of the 2024 election. Since Trump’s victory, Andreessen revealed to Weiss that he has spent a great day of time at Mar-a-Lago and the Palm Beach area, assisting the 47th leader of the free world with assembling his administration.

    While Andreessen said he has spent “maybe half [his] time” at Mar-a-Lago since the election, he is quick to clarify his position:

    “I’m not claiming to be in the middle of all the decision-making, but I’ve been trying to help in as many ways as I can,” the tech titan told Weiss. Andreessen explained that his contributions focus on areas where his expertise aligns with Trump’s agenda, including tech policy, business, and economic development. “When I talk about these things, it’s around, as I said, tech policy, business, economics, and then, you know, the health of the country, the success of the country,” he noted.

    Andreessen shared his observations of Trump’s warm personal approach, highlighting qualities that he believes are often overlooked by his Democrat critics.

    “Everybody says this who meets with him, but he’s an incredible host,” Andreessen remarked. “For however people think, whatever, he’s an incredible host. He runs his own private worlds.”

    What stood out most to Andreessen was Trump’s ability to connect with people from all walks of life.

    “He treats everybody the same and talks to everybody,” Andreessen said. “He will happily talk to distinguished visitors about who the Vice President should be, and then he’ll ask the caddy.”

    Reflecting on his involvement in the transition process, Andreessen noted the exceptional caliber of candidates he encountered. “The caliber of a lot of the people that I’ve met has been very high,” he said, adding that recent appointments, particularly at the next level down in staff positions, have included “very impressive people.”

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    Addressing concerns about whether qualified individuals might hesitate to join a Trump administration due to the controversies surrounding his previous term, Andreessen said he has observed the opposite trend: “I think the flow of qualified people from outside the system now is actually much stronger.”

    Yet another mainstream media narrative busted.

    Addressing also reiterated that his support for Trump stemmed from a series of “horrifying” meeting in which Biden officials expressed plans to control AI.

    “They said, look, AI is a technology basically that the government is going to completely control,” Andreessen revealed. The officials explicitly discouraged the idea of entrepreneurial ventures in AI, stating, “Don’t start, don’t do AI startups… it’s not something that we’re going to allow to happen.”

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    According to the billionaire, the officials conveyed that AI innovation would be concentrated among “two or three big companies… working closely with the government,” with startups effectively barred from the space. “We’re going to basically wrap them in a government cocoon, protect them from competition, control them, and dictate what they do,” Andreessen paraphrased, highlighting the stark divergence from the open-market approach that has historically driven tech innovation.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 19:40

  • Operators Of LAX Restaurants Face A $30 Hourly Wage
    Operators Of LAX Restaurants Face A $30 Hourly Wage

    By Peter Romeo of Restaurant Business,

    The City Council of Los Angeles is scheduled to consider a proposal on Dec. 11 to raise the minimum wage for workers employed in the restaurants at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to $30 an hour.

    The initiative slated for consideration calls for increasing the minimum wage to $25 an hour no later than six months after traffic in the airport resumes the levels of 2019, or before air travel dropped precipitously because of the pandemic. That threshold is expected to be reached possibly this year, meaning the increase would come in 2025.

    The minimum would then rise by $1 every July until the pay floor reaches $30 an hour.

    The minimum permissible wage for the workers is currently $19.25.

    Hotel employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement hammered out with the city during the first quarter of 2024 would also be eligible for the raises. The trigger for those workers would be hitting the occupancy rate enjoyed by city hotels in the pre-pandemic days of 2019.

    Workers in several dozen hotels would be affected.

    The Airport Restaurant & Retail Association, a trade group for airport concessionaires, called the proposal “a bridge too far.” It noted that the proposed increases would amount to a 56% wage hike over a four-year period for the eligible employees.

    According to the association, the wages of airport-restaurant employees have been soaring. The lift is coming in part because of the additional challenges someone working in an airport restaurant is forced to address. For instance, their trip to work can easily take 45 minutes because they have to traverse the airport and contend with security screenings. Someone working in a streetside facility may need only 10 minutes to get to the job, the group stressed.

    In addition, nearly 70% of airport concession workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

    The proposal to be considered by the City Council is the result of what labor authorities called segmental bargaining, or negotiating a labor contract across a group of employees doing similar work across a multitude of employers.

    Segmental bargaining came to the restaurant industry in April with the creation of the Fast Food Council, a nine-person panel empowered by the state to set wages for fast-food employees who work for a restaurant with at least 59 sister branches nationwide. The council consists of four workers’ representatives and four employers, with a neutral government worker wielding a ninth and potentially tie-breaking vote.

    Simultaneous with the creation of the council, the minimum wage for covered fast-food workers rose to $20 an hour on April 1, from a previous floor of $16.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 19:15

  • "Polar Vortex" Is Upon Us: Arctic Outbreaks To Round Out December
    “Polar Vortex” Is Upon Us: Arctic Outbreaks To Round Out December

    It’s almost that time of year when a polar vortex split occurs, displacing cold Arctic air from the Earth’s North Pole into Canada and spilling into the Lower 48. 

    Data from Bloomberg shows that mentions of “polar vortex” in corporate media typically begin to surge in late December or the first half of January, signaling that the countdown has begun. 

    On Wednesday, private weather forecaster BAMWX pushed out new weather models on X, showing confidence is growing for a polar vortex split to occur for the Lower 48. 

    “The stage is set for Arctic outbreaks to round out December and kick start the new year!” BAMWX wrote on X. 

    BAMWX said, “More favorable trends for stronger cold fronts in week 2. I don’t see any signs of a consistent torch in the eastern US. Ensembles cannot resolve the +TNH & +PNA pattern right now making them consistently too warm late week 2.” 

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    Michael Clark, chief meteorologist for BAMWX, was confident about the incoming polar vortex.

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    Clark also sees a more active precipitation pattern for the eastern half of the US. 

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    “The persistence in the PNA and the TPV (500mb tropospheric polar vortex location is the reason we believe the storms can easily pull down the Arctic air behind them,” BAMWX said. 

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    The eastern half of the US appears to be setting up for a cold Christmas. 

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    And possibly a white one…

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    “Both GFS and ECMWF AI model data hinting at a bigger storm threat ~22nd of Dec,” BAMWX wrote in a forecast.

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    Here’s more from Clark in a video titled “Stage set for ARCTIC OUTBREAKS to start 2025” … 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 18:50

  • Trump Says RFK Jr. Will Study Possible Link Between Childhood Vaccines And Autism As HHS Secretary
    Trump Says RFK Jr. Will Study Possible Link Between Childhood Vaccines And Autism As HHS Secretary

    Authored by Jeff Louderbeck via The Epoch Times,

    President-elect Donald Trump said on Dec. 8 that he will give Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the freedom to investigate the potential link between vaccines and autism if the latter gains Senate confirmation to become Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

    Kennedy has said for years that autism is likely tied to childhood vaccines.

    He was nominated to serve as HHS secretary by Trump last month and has promised sweeping changes to agencies under the HHS, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

    The NIH supports and funds research into autism, as well as potential new vaccines.

    Kennedy told The Epoch Times in September that he would revamp the NIH to focus on the causes of autism, autoimmune diseases, and neurodevelopment diseases instead of developing drugs and serving as an incubator for pharmaceutical products.

    In the Dec. 8 interview with Meet The Press, Trump noted that autism cases have increased in recent decades. When asked if Kennedy would explore the issue, Trump said he is “open to anything.”

    “When you look at some of the problems, when you look at what’s going on with disease and sickness in our country, something’s wrong,” Trump said.

    “I think somebody has to find out. If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it.”

    CDC information shows that around one in 36 American children today has an autism diagnosis, compared to one in 150 in the year 2000.

    Fighting chronic disease, improving children’s health, and addressing corporate influence on government agencies were vital parts of Kennedy’s campaign platform when he ran for president as a Democrat and then as an independent.

    Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and backed Trump in August. He told The Epoch Times that it was a “heart-wrenching decision” and a necessary step toward achieving his mission of saving Americans from the chronic disease epidemic.

    Under the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, Kennedy intends to curtail what he calls the chronic disease epidemic by addressing the so-called “corporate capture” of federal health agencies and removing toxic chemicals from the nation’s food supply, among other objectives.

    Leading to announcing his presidential bid in April 2023, Kennedy was chairman of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit organization devoted to removing toxic exposures that harm children and promoting vaccine safety.

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to reporters at the media filing center and spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center ahead of the presidential debate between Republican nominee former President Donald J. Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia on Sept. 10, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

    He co-founded the World Mercury Project in 2016 with the intent to remove neurotoxic mercury in fish, medical products, dental amalgams, and vaccines; and make sound science the driver of public policy, according to the Children’s Health Defense website.

    The World Mercury Project became Children’s Health Defense in 2018. The organization’s four pillars include advocacy, education, litigation, and science.

    On Dec. 4, Kennedy submitted his letter of resignation from CHD.

    “One of my most important priorities is to have the agencies I oversee provide better access to minority scientific and public policy views,” he wrote.

    “I promise you and the members of CHD to bring a new openness and inclusion to the health and science part of the government, both in receiving input from the public and all stakeholders, and disseminating information and the data collected by these agencies.”

    Several Republicans have praised Trump’s move to nominate Kennedy as HHS secretary.

    Some critics opposed the nomination because they considered Kennedy to be anti-vaccine or anti-science—characterizations that Kennedy has said are not true.

    Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) called Kennedy a conspiracy theorist and said that “he will destroy our public health infrastructure and our vaccine distribution systems.”

    Peter G. Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said in a statement that the center “opposes this nomination“ and that ”nominating an anti-vaxxer like Kennedy to HHS is like putting a Flat Earther at the head of NASA.”

    Kennedy has consistently said that he isn’t against vaccines and that he advocates vaccine safety and informed consent.

    For parents and vaccine safety advocates like MaryJo Perry and Scott Shoemaker, extensively studying potential links between childhood vaccines and autism is long overdue.

    “I don’t understand the hysteria over his plan to thoroughly study the issue and finally settle it,” said Perry, who is president of Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights. “Why would anyone be afraid of knowing the truth?”

    Shoemaker’s son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 15 months, and he said he reversed the condition by removing toxic metal poisoning.

    “Shouldn’t we as parents want to know whether or not what we are allowing to go into our children’s bodies is safe?” said Shoemaker, who is president of Health Freedom Ohio.

    A video documenting the changes that he posted in 2019 was removed by Facebook, he told The Epoch Times.

    “My son had an MMR shot. He was in bed for two weeks when he got home. At the time, I wasn’t concerned because the doctor said before the shot that some kids have problems with it and they might feel sick,” Shoemaker said.

    “He was different after the shot. He didn’t talk or look us in the eye. It was hard to get his attention. I experienced what most parents of vaccine-injured children experience from medical professionals. We are gaslit and told they don’t know what caused the autism, but it’s not the vaccines that caused the problem.”

    Signed by President Ronald Reagan, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) of 1986 eliminated potential liability of vaccine manufacturers because of vaccine injury claims. Perry and Shoemaker would like to see pharmaceutical companies held liable if their products injure recipients. They also hope that, under Kennedy, the CDC’s vaccine schedule is addressed.

    According to Children’s Health Defense, there has not been a double-blind placebo-controlled safety study on infant vaccines.

    “That needs to happen,” Perry told The Epoch Times. “There is no liability and no accountability for pharmaceutical companies. That needs to change.”

    Perry said that she believes no vaccine should be mandated.

    “If it’s good and safe, parents will use it. You won’t have to coerce parents if it’s good and safe,” she said.

    Shoemaker agrees.

    “The bottom line is we want the truth. We want safe products for our kids. We don’t want big pharma to just say vaccines are safe and effective and they can’t show non-partisan studies,” he said.

    “We’re told by government agencies that the science is settled, but that is contrary to the purpose of science—to test, retest, study, and evolve.”

    Shoemaker said Kennedy is the right person to bring the changes parents like him would like to see.

    “He is not tied to big pharma. He just wants the truth and he is someone who is not afraid to do what is needed to get to the truth,” Shoemaker said.

    Kennedy will face confirmation hearings with the Senate Finance Committee, which is scheduled to be led by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). The full Senate will vote on his nomination if he is approved by that panel.

    Kennedy said he believes little will change until the influence of giant or private corporations on the FDA, the CDC, and the Department of Agriculture is addressed.

    During an interview with The Epoch Times last year, he explained his stance.

    “I’ve never been anti-vaccine. People should have choice, and that choice should be informed by the best information possible,“ he said. ”I’m going to ensure that there are science-based safety studies available and people can make their own assessments about whether a vaccine is good for them.”

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 18:25

  • World's Largest Asset Manager Suggests Up To 2% Is "Reasonable" Bitcoin Portfolio Allocation
    World’s Largest Asset Manager Suggests Up To 2% Is “Reasonable” Bitcoin Portfolio Allocation

    The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, said a portfolio allocation of up to 2% is “reasonable” for investors who wish to hold Bitcoin, in their latest Investment Perspectives report.

    They begin the report by noting that “bitcoin cannot be compared to traditional assets,” but from a portfolio construction perspective, Samara Cohen (CIO of ETFs) and her team suggest that the so-called “Magnificent 7” group of mega-cap tech stocks is a useful starting point.

    “Those stocks represent single portfolio holdings that account for a comparatively large share of portfolio risk as with bitcoin.

    In a traditional portfolio with a mix of 60% stocks and 40% bonds, those seven stocks each account for, on average, about the same share of overall portfolio risk as a 1-2% allocation to bitcoin.

    We think that’s a reasonable range for a bitcoin exposure.”

    As with gold, bitcoin can be driven by sentiment, narratives and momentum – both up and down.

    Why not more, they ask (and answer):

    “Going beyond that would sharply increase bitcoin’s share of the overall portfolio risk.”

    With approximately $11.5 trillion in assets under management (and manager of the largest spot BTC ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which holds net assets of nearly $54 billion), they are worth listening to.

    According to BlackRock, investors “need to think about Bitcoin’s expected returns in a different way: it has no underlying cash flows for estimating future returns. What matters: the extent of adoption.”

    “Bitcoin may also provide a more diversified source of return,” BlackRock said, adding:

    “We see no intrinsic reason why Bitcoin should be correlated with major risk assets over the long term given its value is driven by such distinct drivers.”

    Longer term, BTC “could potentially also become less risky – but at that point it might no longer have a structural catalyst for further sizable price increases,” the report said.

    Instead, “investors may prefer to use it tactically to hedge against specific risks, similar to gold.”

    Launched in January, spot BTC ETFs emerged as 2024’s most popular investment vehicles, breaking $100 billion in net assets in November. 

    As CoinTelegraph reports, these surging inflows from institutional investors could cause “demand shocks” in 2025, driving up BTC’s spot price, according to a Dec. 12 report by Sygnum Bank.

    “Our analysis shows how even relatively modest allocations from this segment can fundamentally alter the crypto asset ecosystem,” Sygnum said.

    The report, dubbed ‘Sizing Bitcoin in portfolios’, was released by BlackRock Investment Institute on Dec. 12.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 18:00

  • 'USA' Chants Roar As Trump Rings NYSE Bell After Being Named TIME 'Person Of The Year'
    ‘USA’ Chants Roar As Trump Rings NYSE Bell After Being Named TIME ‘Person Of The Year’

    Donald Trump has been crowned TIME magazine’s Person of the Year after reclaiming the presidency, marking him as only the second U.S. president in history to serve non-consecutive terms. The announcement came on Thursday, placing Trump at the pinnacle of a contentious list of global influencers.

    “Trump’s political rebirth is unparalleled in American history,” TIME wrote in an announcement, after speaking with the President-elect ahead of the announcement.

    Trump dubbed his campaign “72 Days of Fury” after a term that Trump himself coined. This win sets Trump apart as a political figure of singular historical significance, having first held the title in 2016 when he initially seized the presidency from Hillary Clinton.

    Trump’s political rebirth is unparalleled in American history. His first term ended in disgrace, with his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results culminating in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was shunned by most party officials when he announced his candidacy in late 2022 amid multiple criminal investigations. Little more than a year later, Trump cleared the Republican field, clinching one of the fastest contested presidential primaries in history. -TIME

    The competition for this year’s title was fierce, with Trump edging out other high-profile names such as Vice President Kamala Harris, his tech mogul supporter Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. Notably, Musk was the magazine’s pick back in 2021.

    Reflecting on his tumultuous path to victory, Trump’s year included overcoming significant challenges: a stark clearing of the GOP field, a conviction in a New York courtroom, and surviving not one, but two assassination attempts.

    The campaign saw surprising alliances, including consolidations of support from unexpected quarters such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk, alongside a dramatic shift in the Democratic nomination.

    According to TIME, Trump’s win gave him the “political capital to address the sources of American discontent at home and abroad” Trump himself suggested a bold agenda, including plans to pardon Jan. 6 political prisoners.

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

    “It’s going to start in the first hour … maybe the first nine minutes,” Trump told the outlet.

    The Person of the Year title, a tradition since 1927, is not necessarily a mark of honor but rather a recognition of influence. TIME has historically selected presidents during their election victories, with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris jointly receiving the nod in 2020, and other repeat honorees including Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

    Trump’s victory lap included ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, where chants of “USA’ broke out…

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    Trump is the first president to ring the bell since Ronald Reagan.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 17:44

  • The Evaporation Of The Obama Mystique
    The Evaporation Of The Obama Mystique

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

    Barack Obama had long been rumored as the catalyst for the 2020 Biden nomination—and thereafter played the whispering puppeteer behind the subsequent lost Biden administration years.

    As such he and his coterie proved the virtual architects of the Biden administration, one of the most unpopular and failed presidencies in American history.

    Recall earlier that after a flailing candidate Joe Biden lost the first three 2020 primaries and caucuses, his inert campaign was headed nowhere.

    Barack Obama and fellow Democratic insiders abruptly engineered the withdrawal of his rival 2020 presidential candidates: hard left but likely sure-loser candidates, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg.

    The Obamas ignored or withheld from the public their own firsthand knowledge that Biden was suffering from signs of dementia.

    Instead, they found Biden’s cognitive decline and his former concocted reputation as workingman’s Joe useful as a veneer for a veritable Obama third-term, “phone it in” administration. Or as wistful Obama once conditioned his dream of a third term—”If I could make an arrangement where I had a stand-in, a front man or front woman, and they had an earpiece in.”

    The Obamaites then got their wish for four years of enacted hard-left directives that they could only have dreamed of while in actual power.

    But their radical menu since 2021 had divided and nearly wrecked the nation—hyperinflation, 12 million illegal aliens, a ruined border, spiraling crime, a shattered foreign policy of appeasement, the popular backlash against DEI/Woke/trans chauvinism, partisan lawfare, and weaponization of the government.

    And the ruling radicalism beneath the Biden facade eventually cost the Democrats nearly everything—the presidency, the House, and the Senate.

    An inert Biden is departing office with a 36 percent favorability rating in a recent Emerson poll. His Democratic nominee replacement, losing presidential candidate Vice President Harris, also has virtually vacated her office with 40 days left of her tenure.

    Failed candidate Harris has been roundly faulted by staffers and donors for blowing through some $2 billion in assorted 2024 campaign money.

    She ended up doing worse against Trump than Biden himself had in 2020.

    Many Democrats believe that they might have done just as well had Biden stayed on the ticket even in his vastly diminished state.

    The Obamas were further blasted for nullifying the wishes of 14 million primary voters by forcing Biden off the ticket—ironically in the same backroom, anti-democratic manner they had cleared the way for him in 2020.

    Obama emerged from his comfortable retirement to hit the 2024 campaign trail, schooling the country that President-emeritus Donald Trump was a dictator, a fascist, a tyrant, and, of course, a “racist.”

    The more Trump polled even with, or ahead of, Kamala Harris, the more an exasperated and ignored Obama talked down to supposedly low-information voters.

    But by the time Harris lost the election, voters had tuned out a nagging and patronizing Obama—and his stale, now-dated hope-and-changey boilerplate speeches.

    What Obama did not mention, but what the voters knew, was that the border was more secure under Trump than during either the Obama or Biden tenure.

    Vladimir Putin invaded countries during the Obama and Biden administrations but stayed put on Trump’s watch.

    Barack Obama’s bizarre vision of a new Middle East had sought to empower Iran as a supposed counterweight against moderate Arab nations and our ally Israel.

    Years ago, Obama invited the Russians into Syria, empowered dictatorial Syria, berated Israel nonstop, and all but ignored the terrorist violence of Iran’s surrogate terrorists of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

    But after October 7, Israel retaliated to the mass slaughter of Jewish civilians with all-out war against Hamas and Hezbollah—rendering these once feared terrorists nearly impotent.

    In an exchange of air attacks with Iran, Israel showed the world that Iran was as militarily weak as its chanting and threats were tiresome and shrill.

    Iran is now tottering on the brink, as its terrorist appendages—including most recently the Assad dynasty—are melting away.

    Israel and the moderate Arab regimes are in ascendance, as the entire crazy Obama-envisioned Middle East agenda melts away.

    The 2024 anemic Democratic campaign and the Trump electoral college and popular vote victories—combined with record defections of Hispanic and African-American voters from the Democratic Party to Trump—proved a resounding rejection of the Obama legacy and his surrogates’ left-wing visions.

    Yet after the people spoke in the election, the more Obama whined that democracy itself had failed him. Voters, he remonstrated, who disagreed with him were written off as racist and sexist.

    Obama again harped that constituents did not know what was good for them.

    And then, the disappointed former community organizer suddenly disappeared—pondering to which of his own four mansions his private jet would fly him home to commiserate.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 17:40

  • Conspiracy Fact: IG Report Confirms FBI Had Dozens Of Informants In Jan 6 Crowd
    Conspiracy Fact: IG Report Confirms FBI Had Dozens Of Informants In Jan 6 Crowd

    Just in time for the Trump pardons, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz revealed on Thursday that there were 26 ‘confidential human sources’ (CHSs) in Washington DC on Jan. 6, 2021.

    While the presence of FBI informants on J6 was known, the exact number had never been confirmed.

    And because they were CHS’s and not badge-carrying Agent Smiths, Politico decided to run with this piece of absolute propaganda.

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    Of note, CHS’s have contributed to the prosecution of members of the Proud Boys and other people who were present on J6. According to Horowitz’s report, all but three of the informants were in there “in connection with” the protest and other events that took place that day.

    Four of the informants entered the Capitol, while 13 other entered restricted Capitol grounds despite not being authorized to do so.

    As the Epoch Times notes further,

    Of the 26 sources who went to Washington in connection with the protest and other events, two were tasked to report on subjects whom the FBI had learned were traveling to the nation’s capital for the events. A third informant had been tasked with reporting on people traveling to Washington for the events after notifying a handling agent about planned travel to Washington.

    The other 23 informants had not been tasked by the FBI with traveling to Washington. Thirteen of this subset informed their handling agent in advance of the trips, while the other 10 did not. None of the 23 were found to have engaged in illegal activity.

    Some lawmakers noted that none of the informants who entered the Capitol or the restricted grounds have been prosecuted.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which has charged more than 1,500 people with crimes related to the breach, told the inspector general that the office “generally has not charged those individuals whose only crime on January 6, 2021 was to enter the restricted grounds surrounding the Capitol … and we have treated the CHSs consistent with this approach.”

    The inspector general’s investigation was launched in 2021, but paused in 2022 to avoid conflict with ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions. The probe resumed in 2023. By then, the inspector general’s office knew that multiple reports had been released on Jan. 6, and endeavored to focus on an area that it felt “has not yet been thoroughly reviewed by other entities.”

    Other Findings

    Horowitz said that the review found the FBI took significant and appropriate steps leading up to Jan. 6 to prepare for its role that day, which was a supporting capacity.

    The preparation included trying to identify known domestic terror subjects who planned to travel to Washington for the certification of electoral votes.

    After the Capitol was breached, the FBI was able to deploy agents to help clear the building and help the U.S. Capitol Police secure the perimeter.

    “We found that the FBI effectively carried out its tactical support function on January 6,” the report stated.

    The inspector general’s office also concluded that the FBI should have canvassed field offices for intelligence from the confidential informants before Jan. 6. Such an action would have helped both the FBI and other agencies prepare for the day, the inspector general said. The report quoted Paul Abbate, the FBI’s deputy director at the time, as saying the lack of a canvass was a “basic step that was missed.”

    In a letter dated Dec. 11, the FBI told the inspector general’s office that it disagrees with “certain of the factual assertions in the report regarding the manner of specific steps, and the scope of the canvass undertaken by the FBI in advance of January 6.”

    The agency agreed with the recommendation that the FBI look into the processes and procedures it uses to prepare for events that could involve domestic security issues.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 17:20

  • Russia Dodged A Bullet By Wisely Choosing Not To Ally With The Now-Defeated Resistance Axis
    Russia Dodged A Bullet By Wisely Choosing Not To Ally With The Now-Defeated Resistance Axis

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

    Putin made the right choice, which was always driven by his rational calculation of what was in Russia’s objective interests as a state, not due to “Zionist influence” like some in the Alt-Media Community now ridiculously claim to defame him after being mad that he didn’t lift a finger to save the Resistance.

    The Iranian-led Resistance Axis has been defeated by Israel. Hamas’ terrorist attack on 7 October 2023 prompted Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinians in Gaza, which set into motion a series of conflicts that expanded to Lebanon and Syria. Israel has also bombed Yemen and Iran. Hamas’ and Hezbollah’s leaderships were destroyed, leading to a ceasefire in Lebanon, while the Assad government was just overthrown by a Turkish-backed terrorist blitz that severed Iran’s military logistics to Hezbollah.

    These outcomes were already surprising enough for those who believed the late Nasrallah’s claim that “Israel is weaker than a spider web”, but many were shocked that they occurred without Russia lifting a finger to save the Resistance, with whom they thought that it had allied against Israel long ago. That second-mentioned false notion will go down in infamy as one of the most successful psy-ops ever conducted against the Alt-Media Community (AMC), and ironically enough, by its own top influencers.

    It was explained in early October “Why False Perceptions About Russian Policy Towards Israel Continue To Proliferate”, which readers should review for more detail, but which can be summarized as top AMC influencers telling their audience what they thought they wanted to hear for self-interested reasons. These include generating clout, pushing their ideology, and/or soliciting donations from well-intentioned but naïve members of their audience depending on the personality involved.

    The preceding analysis also lists five related ones about Russian policy towards Israel since the start of the West Asian Wars, including this one “Clarifying Lavrov’s Comparison Of The Latest Israeli-Hamas War To Russia’s Special Operation”, which itself links to several dozen others. All of them also reference this May 2018 report about “President Putin On Israel: Quotes From The Kremlin Website (2000-2018)”. All of these materials rely on official and authoritative Russian sources to arrive at their conclusions.

    They prove that Putin is a proud lifelong philo-Semite who never shared the Resistance’s unifying anti-Zionist ideology, instead always expressing very deep respect for Jews and the State of Israel. Accordingly, as the final decisionmaker on Russian foreign policy, he tasked his diplomats with balancing between Israel and the Resistance. To that end, Russia never took either’s side and always remained neutral in their disputes, including the West Asian Wars.

    The most that he ever personally did was condemn Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinians, but always in the same breath as condemning Hamas’ infamous terrorist attack on 7 October 2023. As for Russia, the most that it ever did was repeat the same rhetoric and occasionally condemn Israel’s strikes against the IRGC and Hezbollah in Syria, which Russia never interfered with. Not once did it try to deter or intercept them, retaliate afterwards, or give Syria the capabilities and authorization to do so either.

    This was due to the deconfliction mechanism that Putin and Bibi agreed to in late September 2015 shortly before the Syrian operation. It was never confirmed for obvious diplomatic reasons, but these actions (or rather lack thereof) suggested that Putin believed that Iran’s anti-Israeli activities Syria posed a legitimate threat to Israel. For that reason, Russia always stood aside whenever Israel bombed Iran there, but Russia still sometimes complained due to Israel’s attacks formally violating international law.

    It’s an objectively existing and easily verifiable fact that Russia’s opposition to Israel’s regional activities, be they in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, or Iran, always remained strictly confined to the political realm of official statements. Not once did Russia ever threaten to unilaterally sanction Israel, let alone even remotely hint at military action against it as punishment. Russia won’t even symbolically designate Israel as an “unfriendly state”, though that’s because it doesn’t abide by US sanctions and won’t arm Ukraine.

    Therein lies another fact that most in the AMC were either unaware of or in denial about and it’s that Israel isn’t the US’ puppet otherwise it would have already done those two things long ago. It’s beyond the scope of the present piece to explain this, as well as why the Biden Administration has tried to destabilize and overthrow Bibi, but this analysis here dives into the details and cites related articles. The point is that Russian-Israeli ties remain cordial and these two are far from the foes that some thought.

    It therefore never made sense to imagine that Putin, who considers himself to be the consummate pragmatist, would burn the bridge that he personally invested nearly a quarter-century of his time building with Bibi between their two nations. After all, Putin boasted in 2019 that “Russians and Israelis have ties of family and friendship. This is a true common family; I can say this without exaggeration. Almost 2 million Russian speakers live in Israel. We consider Israel a Russian-speaking country.”

    He was speaking before the Keren Heyesod Foundation, one of the world’s oldest Zionist lobbying organizations, during its annual conference in Moscow that year. Whenever members of the AMC were confronted with these “politically inconvenient” facts from official and authoritative sources such as the Kremlin’s own website, they spun a “5D chess master plan” conspiracy theory alleging that he was just “psyching out the Zionists”. Top influencers also aggressively “canceled” anyone who brought this up.

    The end result was that these false perceptions of Russian-Israeli relations as well as Putin’s own views towards this subject continued to proliferate unchallenged through the AMC, thus leading to the impression that they were secretly allied with Iran due to their allegedly shared anti-Zionist ideals. This notion became a matter of dogma for many in the AMC and correspondingly turned into an axiom of International Relations for them. Anyone who claimed otherwise was smeared as a “Zionist”.

    It’s now known after Russia didn’t lift a finger to save the Resistance that they were never actually allies. Some of those that still can’t accept that they’ve been lied to by trusted AMC influencers who duped them for self-interested reasons (clout, ideology, and/or soliciting donations) now speculate that Russia “betrayed” the Resistance and “sold out to the Zionists” even though Russia was never on either’s side. If they don’t soon shake off their cognitive dissonance, they’ll detach themselves further from reality.

    In retrospect, Russia dodged a bullet by wisely choosing not to ally with the now-defeated Resistance Axis since it would have needlessly ruined its relations with Israel, the undisputable victor of the West Asian Wars.

    Putin made the right choice, which was always driven by his rational calculation of what was in Russia’s objective interests as a state, not due to “Zionist influence” like some in the AMC now ridiculously claim to defame him after being mad that he didn’t lift a finger to save the Resistance.

    The takeaways from this are several: 1) Putin and his representatives don’t play “5D chess”, they always say what they truly mean; 2) Russia isn’t anti-Israel nor anti-Zionist, but it also isn’t anti-Iran nor anti-Resistance either; 3) the AMC is full of charlatans who, for self-interested reasons, tell their audience whatever they think they want to hear; 4) their audience should thus hold them to account for lying about Russian-Israeli and Russian-Resistance relations; 5) and the AMC requires urgent reform.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 17:00

  • South Korean Defense Chief Sent Drones To Pyongyang To Spark Retaliation, Justify Martial Law: Lawmakers
    South Korean Defense Chief Sent Drones To Pyongyang To Spark Retaliation, Justify Martial Law: Lawmakers

    Former South Korean former defense chief Kim Yong-hyun ordered a swarm of drones to North Korea’s capital with hopes of provoking an attack that could be used to justify a declaration of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korean legislators have alleged. Meanwhile, ahead of an expected weekend impeachment vote, Yoon used an address to the nation to promise that he would fight “until the very last minute” against being removed from power.  

    Kim was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in aiding Yoon’s attempt to impose military rule, suspend civil liberties and remove checks and balances — and attempted suicide shortly after midnight on Wednesday. Previous reports pointed to Kim’s deployment of troops to prevent lawmakers from convening after Yoon’s shocking Dec. 3 declaration of martial law. If true, the sensational new allegation from Park Beom-kye of the opposition Democratic Party suggests an entirely different layer of dangerous complicity.     

    Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has been accused of sending drones to North Korea’s capital to provoke a response that could be used to justify a martial law declaration

    “The Defense Counterintelligence Command, where former commander Yeo In-hyung – a junior to Kim at the same high school – was posted, appears to have planned [the drone deployment],” said Park in remarks in the parliament on Monday, according to The Telegraph. Citing a “credible military source,” he later told reporters that the “drone operation appears to have been part of a larger plan, potentially tied to preparations for the martial law decree.”

    In October, the North Korean government said it had detected multiple South Korean drones that were sent to Pyongyang to shower the capital city with propaganda leaflets. North Korea published a photo of what appears to be a drone that had crashed into a group of trees. At that time and again this week, the South Korean government declined to confirm or deny the accusation. 

    This October photo of a crashed drone was released by the North Korean government, which said it was sent from South Korea 

    Park’s suggestion that Kim and Yoon may have conspired to provoke a North Korean military response — with an accompanying risk of the loss of South Korean lives — adds an explosive new dimension to the country’s ongoing political crisis that followed the declaration of martial law.  

    In April, Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) was routed in elections that saw the Democratic Party take over the country’s assembly by a significant margin. In the ensuing months, mounting tensions took various forms, including an impasse over the 2025 budget and Democrats’ attempt to impeach top prosecutors.  On Dec. 3, Yoon stunned South Korea and the international community with a late-night declaration of martial law. In his announcement, Yoon railed against “shameless pro-North-Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens…I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country.”

    Soldiers and police immediately surrounded the National Assembly, but 190 of the 300 members of parliament managed to unanimously vote to annul the martial law declaration. Yoon retracted it and apologized, but the repercussions have continued to unfold since then. Defense chief Kim resigned upon being charged, was taken into custody on Tuesday and attempted to kill himself hours later. The country’s top two law enforcement officers have also been arrested, and police have made multiple attempts to search Yoon’s office.  

    Protesters at South Korea’s National Assembly demand Yoon’s resignation (Han Myung-Gu/EPA via Al-Jazeera)

    An impeachment vote last weekend failed in the face of a boycott by the ruling People Power Party (PPP), but the Democratic Party has announced it will move for impeachment again on Saturday, and some PPP members are now voicing their support. 

    On Thursday, Yoon returned to the kind of fiery rhetoric he used in his martial law announcement, calling the Democratic Party “a monster” composed of  “anti-state forces.”

    “I will fight to the end to prevent the forces and criminal groups that have been responsible for paralyzing the country’s government and disrupting the nation’s constitutional order from threatening the future of the Republic of Korea…The opposition is now doing a sword dance of chaos, claiming that the declaration of martial law constitutes to an act of rebellion. But was it really?”

    Yoon portrayed his martial law move as a legitimate use of government authority which should be exempt from the investigations that have been directed at it. He also claimed soldiers and police were sent to the parliament to keep order, not to thwart legislators.  

    According to Associated Press, opposition parties control 192 of the National Assembly’s 300 seats. With impeachment requiring a two-thirds majority, that means pro-impeachment forces will need to win over eight members of Yoon’s PPP. Significantly, PPP chairman Han Dong-hun has called for members to send Yoon packing. Yoon’s fiery Thursday speech has helped stir discord in his party. When Han told a party meeeting that Yoon’s remarks “a confession of rebellion,” he received angry jeers from Yoon backers, who told him to be quiet.   

    Polymarket speculators are convinced Yoon will leave office within the next few months. The “yes” contract on a departure before April 1 is going for 80¢. Bettors are less convinced that he’ll be out by year-end, with the “yes” on that version priced at only 12¢.  

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 16:40

  • Chicago Mayor Proposes 11 Tax- And Fee-Hikes As Part Of 2025 Budget
    Chicago Mayor Proposes 11 Tax- And Fee-Hikes As Part Of 2025 Budget

    By Dylan Sharkey of Illinois Policy

    Chicago is on the verge of adding $233.9 million in new tax hikes as part of the city’s $17.3 billion budget for 2025, if aldermen pass Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposals.

    Johnson’s tax increases include hikes in property taxes, personal property leases, the city shopping bag tax and the tax on streaming services. Hikes are hitting vehicles with more speed cameras, parking taxes and rideshare fees.

    These have already passed the City Council Finance Committee, meaning it could pass the full council by the end of the week. The bulk of the tax hikes will come from:

    • $68.5 million: Property tax hike, down from Johnson’s original $300 million ask which was met with a unanimous “no” vote by the city council.
    • $128.1 million: Hiking personal property lease tax, including on cloud computing, to 11% from 9%.
    • $12.9 million: Increasing the amusement tax on streaming and tickets to live events to 10.25% from 9%.
    • $11.4 million: Increase number of speed cameras in the city.
    • $5.1 million: Raising paper and plastic, single-use shopping bag tax by 3 cents to 10 cents total.
    • $7.9 million: Other fees and taxes, including on parking and rideshares.

    Find your city council member and tell them Chicago taxes are already too high. The new budget is due by the end of the year, so they could vote on the hikes in a matter of days.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 16:20

  • Al Sharpton Pocketed $1M In Bonuses From Nonprofit Tied To Kamala Scandal
    Al Sharpton Pocketed $1M In Bonuses From Nonprofit Tied To Kamala Scandal

    Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA,

    MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton is yet again facing new criticism amid a report that revealed he awarded himself nearly $1 million in bonuses through his tax-exempt nonprofit, the National Action Network (NAN). 

    According to Fox News, Sharpton reported several compensation bonuses within his nonprofit that at times exceeded his base salary as evident in the non-profit’s tax filings. 

    In 2016, he paid himself $437,355 for “bonus & incentive compensation,” far more than his annual salary of $250,000. This practice seemingly began in 2014 when he granted himself $64,000. 

    In 2018, Sharpton received a bonus of $159,596, in addition to his $324,000 salary for that year. He also listed $563,352 in “other reportable compensation” that same year. 

    In 2021, he awarded himself a $278,503 bonus on top of his $348,174 salary, which amounted to 80 percent of his base pay. Over just seven years, Sharpton pocketed $940,053 in so-called compensation and bonuses. 

    It is not immediately clear whether such bonus practices are typical in other nonprofits. It is also unclear how often the IRS scrutinizes these generous bonuses. 

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    Sharpton did not immediately respond to requests for comments from Fox News. However, this is not the first time Sharpton’s financial affairs have come under scrutiny.

    In November, Sharpton came under fire after his non-profit accepted a $500,000 donation from Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign ahead of a soft interview he conducted with her. 

    These donations, which came in the form of two $250,000 donations, were made in September and October and only became public after Harris lost the 2024 election to President-elect Donald Trump. 

    The Washington Free Beacon reported that the Harris donation to Sharpton’s non-profits blindsided MSNBC. “MSNBC was unaware of the donations made to the National Action Network,” a spokesperson told the Free Beacon. 

    An unnamed current MSNBC employee rebuked Sharpton’s acceptance of the donations, calling the affairs “another level of nonsense” and straight up “weird.” 

    “Harris could have given Al Sharpton an interview, and it would have gone the same way. But what are you paying for? … There’s no way that this can’t seem weird,” the employee added. “Everybody knows who Al Sharpton is … but this feels like a bridge too far. A big bridge too far … This is not landing well. This has a bit of a dirty feel to it … These things happen and they don’t bounce around MSNBC all that much. Like people just don’t care.” 

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    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 15:45

  • Canadian Dollar Tumbles After Turdeau (sic) Reportedly Weighs Export Tax On Uranium, Oil
    Canadian Dollar Tumbles After Turdeau (sic) Reportedly Weighs Export Tax On Uranium, Oil

    In a cute show of strength, Canada has flexed its tiny muscles for a second day in a row and in what it believes is an attempt to intimidate the Trump admin, has threatened to cut off its biggest customer from the one thing that keeps Canada’s economy running (hint: it’s not illegal aliens or illicit Chinese real estate funs): exports.

    According to Bloomberg, Canada is examining the use of export taxes on major commodities it exports to its largest trading partner – the United States – including uranium, oil and potash, to retaliate if incoming president Trump carries out his threat to impose broad tariffs.

    Today’s threat comes one day after Ontario premier Doug Ford (brother to infamous, and now deceased, Toronto mayor Rob Ford) also flexed what little muscles he has under that copious shell, and suggested that the province would cut off electricity exports to the US over Trump’s tariff threat (which amounts to some 14 million MWh, or enough to power to large data centers).

    Citing officials familiar with the discussions inside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, Bloomberg reports that export levies would be a last resort for Canada. Retaliatory tariffs against US-made goods, and export controls on certain Canadian products, would be more likely to come first.

    But commodity export taxes, which would drive up costs for US consumers, farmers and businesses, would be a real option if Trump decides to start a full-scale trade war, said the Bloomberg sources.

    The government of Turdeau, who recently hobnobbed with Trump at Mar-A-Lago exuding a self-indulgent smarminess found only among fanatical supporters of Fidel Castro, may also propose giving itself expanded powers over export controls as part of a scheduled update on the country’s fiscal and economic situation to be released on Monday. But since Turdeau’s government is already socialist, will anyone know the difference.

    Even though the US is essentially self-sufficient, Canada remains the largest external supplier of oil to the US as some refineries depend on buying cheaper Canadian heavy crude and have few alternatives to it (all that would be required to make Canadian oil imports redundant, is a few billion in refinery capex spending). As a result, the US Midwest may be hit by higher costs. Fuel makers in the region rely on Canada for almost half of the crude they turn into gasoline and diesel. Of course, if Canada doesn’t export its oil, its economy which is far less diversified, will be hit far harder if it were to voluntarily exclude its largest trading partner.

    Canadian uranium is also the biggest foreign source of fuel for US nuclear power plants, and potash from the country’s western provinces is a huge source of fertilizer for American farms. Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense has prudently been investing in Canadian projects to secure sources of cobalt and graphite and reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.

    For those reasons, analysts have said they expect Trump will exempt commodities from his threat to place 25% levies on goods from Mexico and Canada, and focus instead on using tariffs against their manufacturing industries. In Canada’s case, that includes the auto manufacturing, aerospace and aluminum sectors, which are centered in Ontario and Quebec, where about 60% of Canadians live.

    It’s unclear if that would change things: Turdeau’s government (sic) would have no choice but to respond if Trump simply exempted energy while hitting all other Canadian products, said Bloomberg sources, adding that’s a scenario that could prompt the use of export taxes by Canada.

    But for the prime minister, going down this path would cause serious political divisions within Canada. Oil, uranium and potash production are concentrated in the western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Those provinces are the strongest voter base for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and their provincial governments are staunch right-wing opponents of Trudeau.

    In short, while Turdeau may retaliate in a Trump trade war, such an action will likely be his last.

    “It’s a terrible idea,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said when asked about the possible use of export taxes.

    “I don’t support tariffs on Canadian goods and I don’t support tariffs on US goods because all it does is make life more expensive,” Smith said. “Instead, we’re taking a diplomatic approach and we’re meeting with our allies in the US.”

    Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said export taxes “are the wrong approach and Saskatchewan will vehemently oppose the federal government imposing export taxes on our potash, uranium or oil.”

    The market, however, does not have patience to see how all this plays out, and sent the loonie to a two year low, with the USDCAD surging to 1.420, the highest since the April 2020 depths of the covid crash.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 15:23

  • Understanding The Anger Over Healthcare In One Picture
    Understanding The Anger Over Healthcare In One Picture

    Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

    Healthcare costs have soared. Obamacare failed to live up to its promises. And my lead image dramatically understates the problems with costs…

    Data from the BLS, chart by Mish

    Changes Since 1983

    • CPI: 208 percent
    • Medical Care Services: 505 percent
    • Hospital Services: 975 percent
    • Medical Care Commodities: 308 Percent

    Changes Since Obamacare Started

    • CPI: 41.28 percent
    • Medical Care Services: 77.98 percent
    • Hospital Services: 77.98 percent
    • Medical Care Commodities: 29.94 percent

    Understanding BLS Calculations

    The numbers look bad but they are much worse than they look because of the way the BLS calculates the CPI.

    On all CPI calculations, the BLS only counts costs directly paid by consumers.

    To the extent corporations and Medicare are obscuring more of the costs, the CPI numbers are understated.

    Health Insurance Coverage 2023

    • Employment-based insurance: 54.5% of the population
    • Medicare and Medicaid: 18.8% of the population
    • Direct-purchase coverage: 9.9% of the population
    • TRICARE (Active Military Service): 2.4% of the population
    • VA and CHAMPVA coverage: 1.0% of the population 

    The above is an AI-generated response. It totals 86.6 percent.

    Census. Gov says that in 2022, 92.1 percent of people, or 304.0 million, had health insurance at some point in the year.

    Those in various Medicare plans have seen smaller increases than those buying insurance for themselves.

    And the cost of direct pay is outrageous. Large corporations can get better deals than smaller ones.

    The BLS averages this all in to arrive at the numbers posted in the chart. Heaven help anyone paying for their own insurance who gets cancer or other serious needs.

    Rolling the Dice

    Obamacare penalizes young and healthy for the benefit of those older and with conditions.

    Young adults not working for a company that provides health care benefits frequently opt out. No one can blame them.

    ObamaCare Con

    The Wall Street Journal discusses the ObamaCare Con

    Progressives are at last acknowledging that ObamaCare is a failure. They aren’t doing so explicitly, of course, but their social-media screeds against insurers, triggered by last week’s murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, suggest as much. “We’ve gotten to a point where healthcare is so inaccessible and unaffordable, people are justified in their frustrations,” CBS News medical contributor Céline Gounder said during a Friday segment on the roasting of health insurers.

    Remember Barack Obama’s promise that if you like your health plan and doctor, you could keep them? Sorry. How about his claim that people with pre-existing conditions would be protected? Also not true. The biggest howler, however, was that healthcare would become more affordable.

    Grant Democrats this: The law has advanced their political goal of expanding government control over insurers, in return for lavishing Americans with subsidies to buy overpriced, lousy products. (One might observe that Democrats are driving a similar Faustian bargain to induce automakers to produce more electric vehicles.)

    One problem is that simply having insurance doesn’t change people’s behavior. It does, however, cause them to use more care. This is a particular problem in Medicaid, since beneficiaries often rush to the emergency room for nonemergencies because they don’t have deductibles or co-pays.

    Another problem: The nearly 100 million Americans on Medicaid or tightly regulated and generously subsidized exchange plans struggle to find doctors to treat them. Physician access for Medicaid patients has long been limited owing to the program’s low reimbursement rates.

    It has gotten worse since ObamaCare expanded eligibility, as states have tried to hold down Medicaid costs by reducing reimbursements. A 2019 study found that patients were only half as likely to get an appointment with a doctor compared with privately insured patients before the law passed. Post-ObamaCare, they were less than one-third as likely. Medicaid is insurance in name only.

    Patients with exchange plans hardly fare better. Affordable Care Act plan networks include on average only 40% of local physicians and 21% of those employed by hospitals. Patients must pay significantly more out of pocket to see out-of-network doctors. If you find a doctor in network, there’s no guarantee he’ll continue to be. Insurers are narrowing coverage to keep down costs.

    They are also hiking deductibles, which this year averaged $5,241 for a typical plan. That’s up from $2,425 in 2014. Although subsidies reduce how much people with ObamaCare plans pay toward their premiums, they are stuck paying out of pocket until they hit their deductible.

    Most healthy young people never do. That means their insurance is worthless except in the event of a catastrophic emergency, which was the gist of recent rants against insurers. Perhaps they should take up their grievances with Mr. Obama, since his law’s mandates and regulations are to blame.

    ObamaCare requires plans to cover myriad government-determined “essential benefits” regardless of whether people need them. It also prohibits insurers from charging higher premiums based on a patient’s health-risk factors and limits their ability to do so for older people. The young and healthy are thus required to subsidize their elders, while taxpayers are required to subsidize everyone on the exchanges.

    The WSJ noted “states have tried to hold down Medicaid costs by reducing reimbursements.”

    Everyone else pays more because if it. Wait times and the struggle to find a doctor who takes Medicaid are not factored into the CPI at all.

    ‘This Is A Warning’: Warren, Sanders Address Sympathy For UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing

    The Huffington Post reports ‘This Is A Warning’: Warren, Sanders Address Sympathy For UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing

    Two of the biggest critics of the U.S. health care system condemned the assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson while calling out “vile” insurance company practices aimed at maximizing profits.

    “The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told HuffPost in an interview on Tuesday when asked about the cold response to Thompson’s death, which included celebratory posts on social media.

    “Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far,” Warren added. “This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change, lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the health care to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone.”

    After drawing some criticism for her remarks, Warren clarified her comments in a statement provided to HuffPost on Wednesday.

    “Violence is never the answer. Period,” the senator said. “I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.”

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called Thompson’s killing “outrageous” and “unacceptable” before similarly criticizing insurance company practices.

    “I think what the outpouring of anger at the health care industry tells us is that millions of people understand that health care is a human right and that you cannot have people in the insurance industry rejecting needed health care for people while they make billions of dollars in profit,” Sanders said.

    Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) also criticized “vile” social media posts for celebrating an “assh*le that’s going to die in prison.”

    “If you gun someone down that you don’t happen to agree with their views or the business that they’re in, hey, you know, I’m next, they’re next,” he added. “And people want to celebrate it. It’s twisted.”

    It’s Twisted

    Government meddling is one of the reasons healthcare is so expensive.

    Obamacare failed across the board. And it did so by creating big pools of those who overpay and underpay.

    Let’s not mince words. People who smoke ought to pay more for healthcare because they are a higher risk. Those who are grossly overweight ought to pay more as well.

    Medicaid encourages emergency visits by paying primary care doctors so little that the doctors refuse new patients.

    To avoid lawsuits, doctors perform more tests than necessary. Fraud is rampant. Paperwork is excessive.

    “Medicare for All” would enhance problems in all of the above.

    No Skin in the Game

    Customers who have already reached their max out of pocket deductibles have no skin in the game. And that’s a huge problem.

    According to Medicare.Gov “No Medicare drug plan may have a deductible more than $505 in 2023. Some Medicare drug plans don’t have a deductible. In some plans that do have a deductible, drugs on some tiers are covered before the deductible.”

    Once deductibles are reached, sometimes in one month, consumers have no incentive to shop around.

    Other customers, unaware of cost differentials, fill prescriptions on the basis of convenience, that being the nearest pharmacy.

    Denver Health at “Critical Point” as 8,000 Migrants Make 20,000 Emergency Visits

    January 24, 2024: Denver Health at “Critical Point” as 8,000 Migrants Make 20,000 Emergency Visits

    The Denver hospital system is turning away local residents because it is flooded with migrant visits.

    Medicaid Expansion Was Supposed to Pay for Itself, Instead Hospitals Are Closing

    March 9, 2024: Medicaid Expansion Was Supposed to Pay for Itself, Instead Hospitals Are Closing

    10 states did not fall for the Medicaid expansion trap under Obamacare. The rest are suffering. Private payers (you, one way or another) make up the loss.

    Medicaid does not pay enough to cover hospitals’ costs, meaning hospitals need to make up for the shortfall by charging private payers more.

    This was one of the easiest “I Told You So” advance predictions in history.

    Best of all, we have a decade of data to prove it thanks to ten states that resisted the trap.

    Hospitals Turn to Pay In Advance, In Full

    May 9, 2024: Hospitals Turn to Pay In Advance, In Full

    If you are in the hospital emergency room, and that’s where most people without insurance go, then you get treated. Otherwise, many hospitals are turning to pay in advance for services.

    Nonpayment a Huge Problem

    It’s interesting to note that hospitals want payment in advance for births. Most illegals just walk in and never pay for anything.

    Nonpayment is one of the reasons costs are soaring for everyone who does pay.

    Obama claimed Medicaid expansion would pay for itself.

    Whenever you hear that claim please run. Free government handouts are never free and most often backfire completely.

    As long as we are going to have Medicare, and no politician will ever get rid of it, It would behoove Medicare and insurers to require the cheapest cost alternative on all drugs. That would force competition and eliminate fraudulent collusion.

    US consumers are subsidizing the rest of the world. I would put an end to that by allowing drug imports.

    The Right to Die

    It’s an uncomfortable topic, where demagoguery about “death squads” abounds, but we need to have a talk about the right to die and how much money we spend prolonging a terminal patient’s life, in massive pain, for a few weeks or months.

    I have made my wishes known. I do not want to be kept alive by heroic means if the quality of my life is expected to be grim. That’s a personal decision.

    At the national level, we must face this very uncomfortable question: Should we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars keeping someone alive whose life expectancy is 3 months? 6 months? a year?

    I say no to all for those without insurance, and no for me personally, regardless.

    Also, hospitals should be free to turn away those without insurance. We need tort reform to cut down legal expenses.

    When consumers have no skin in the game or not enough skin in the game, no one other than the insurers are interested in reducing costs.

    That is the fundamental problem with US healthcare. Senators Warren and Sanders proposals would make everything worse.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/12/2024 – 15:05

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Dec 12

Today’s News 12th December 2024

  • When Rights Become Privileges: Is The Constitution Becoming Optional?
    When Rights Become Privileges: Is The Constitution Becoming Optional?

    Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

    “Rights aren’t rights if someone can take them away. They’re privileges. That’s all we’ve ever had in this country is a ‘Bill of Temporary Privileges.’ And if you read the news, even badly, you know that the list gets shorter and shorter.”

    – George Carlin

    Disguising its power grabs in the self-righteous fervor of national security, the Deep State has mastered the art of the bait-and-switch.

    It works like this: first, the government foments fear about some crisis or threat to national security, then they capitalize on it by seizing greater power and using those powers against the American people.

    We’ve seen this play out over and over again.

    The government used its so-called War on Terror to transform itself into a police state.

    Then the police state used its War on COVID-19 to claim lockdown powers.

    All indications are that the government’s promised War on Illegal Immigration will be yet another sleight of hand that allows the powers-that-be to engage in greater power grabs while weakening the Constitution.

    Therein lies the danger of the government’s growing addiction to power.

    Whatever dangerous practices you allow the government to carry out now—whether it’s in the name of national security or protecting America’s borders or making America healthy again—inevitably, these same practices can and will be used against you when the government decides to set its sights on you.

    The slippery slope that starts with illegal immigration has all the makings of a thinly veiled plot to empower the government to become the arbiter of who is deserving of rights and who isn’t.

    That quickly, we could find ourselves navigating a world in which the rights enshrined in the Constitution for all persons living in the United States are transformed into privileges enjoyed only by those whom the government chooses to recognize as legitimate.

    By persuading the public that non-citizens, particularly illegal immigrants, do not enjoy the same inalienable rights as law-abiding citizens (a fact refuted by the Constitution and every credible legal scholar in the country), the Deep State is leading us down a road in which all rights are transitory.

    This is how you establish a hierarchy of rights, contingent on whether you belong to a favored political class.

    Be warned.

    At such a time as the government is emboldened to flip that switch and appoint itself the ultimate authority on which protected class of individuals gets to enjoy the rights enshrined within the Constitution, the dividing line will not be between legal citizens and illegal immigrants.

    It will not even be between Republicans and Democrats.

    Rather, the purpose of that line of demarcation will be to distinguish the compliant, obedient, subservient vassal of the American police state (the so-called Loyalists) from everyone else.

    We’re almost at that point now.

    This is how tyranny rises and freedom falls.

    Here are some of the inherent dangers in allowing the government to become the arbiter of who is deserving of rights:

    It leads to the erosion of universal rights. The Bill of Rights was designed to protect the fundamental rights of all persons within the United States, regardless of their citizenship status, race, religion, or any other factor. When the government starts making distinctions about who is entitled to these rights, it undermines the universality that makes them so powerful. This creates a slippery slope where rights become privileges, subject to the whims of those in power.

    It gives rise to authoritarianism. History is replete with examples of governments that consolidated power by first stripping away the rights of marginalized groups. Once the principle of universal rights is breached, it becomes easier to target other groups deemed “undesirable” or “unworthy.” This paves the way for authoritarianism, where the government dictates who enjoys freedom and who does not.

    It creates a two-tiered society. A hierarchy of rights inevitably leads to a two-tiered society, where some individuals enjoy full protection under the law while others are relegated to second-class status. This fosters resentment, division, and social unrest. It also creates a vulnerable population that can be easily exploited and abused.

    It undermines the rule of law. The rule of law is a fundamental principle of a just society. It means that everyone is subject to the same laws and that no one is above the law. When the government selectively applies the law based on arbitrary criteria, it undermines the rule of law and erodes trust in the legal system.

    It chills free speech and dissent, i.e., the right to criticize the government. When people fear that their rights are contingent on their political views or social status, they are less likely to speak out against injustice or challenge the government. This chilling effect on dissent stifles free speech and creates a climate of fear and conformity.

    It contributes to the loss of moral authority. A nation that claims to champion liberty and justice for all loses its moral authority when it denies those principles to certain groups within its borders. This undermines its standing in the world and diminishes its ability to promote human rights abroad.

    Remember, the erosion of inalienable rights often starts subtly, with the government chipping away at the edges of those rights for specific groups.

    The pattern is subtle at first, with government officials exploiting fear and prejudice in order to target groups that are already marginalized or perceived as “outsiders.” Incrementally, the net is cast wider and wider, so that by the time the injustice is widespread enough to inspire outrage in the greater populace, it’s too late to resist.

    Historic examples abound of how the government has manufactured a blatantly unjust hierarchy of rights in order to diminish certain segments of society. These run the gamut from slavery and the persecution of Native Americans to the Japanese internment camps and segregation.

    More recently, we’ve seen this tactic deployed in order to justify policies that run afoul of the Constitution, ranging from immigration policies and mass surveillance programs to SWAT team raids, voting rights, and the erosion of due process.

    Clearly, Martin Niemöller’s warning about the widening net that ensnares us all, a warning issued in response to the threat posed by Nazi Germany’s fascist regime, still applies.

    “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

    This is how the slippery slope to all-out persecution starts.

    It doesn’t help that growing numbers of American citizens barely know their rights. Consider that only 5% of the U.S. adults surveyed could correctly name all five rights in the First Amendment, 20% could not correctly name any, and less than one in 10 Americans know they have a right to petition the government.

    Such civic illiteracy lays the groundwork for all manner of tyrannies to follow. After all, how can you defend your rights if you don’t know what those rights are?

    Then again, civic illiteracy among government officials, who are entrusted with upholding and protecting the Constitution, doesn’t appear to be much better.

    It was ten years ago on December 15, National Bill of Rights Day, that the U.S. Supreme Court in its 8-1 ruling in Heien v. State of North Carolina gave police in America one more ready excuse to routinely violate the laws of the land, this time under the guise of ignorance.

    The Heien case, which started with an improper traffic stop based on a police officer’s ignorance of the law and ended with an unlawful search, seizure and arrest, was supposed to ensure that ignorance of the law did not become a ready excuse for government officials to routinely violate the law.

    It failed to do so.

    In failing to enforce the Constitution, the Court gave police the go-ahead to justify a laundry list of misconduct, from police shootings of unarmed citizens to SWAT team raids, roadside strip searches, and the tasering of vulnerable individuals with paltry excuses such as “they looked suspicious” and “she wouldn’t obey our orders.”

    Ignorance of the law has become an all-too-convenient cover for all manner of abuses by government officials who should know better.

    I’m not sure which is worse: government officials who know nothing about the laws they have sworn to uphold, support and defend, or a constitutionally illiterate citizenry so clueless about their rights that they don’t even know when those rights are being violated.

    This much I do know, however: for anyone to advocate terminating or suspending the Constitution is tantamount to a declaration of war against the founding principles of our representative government and the rule of law.

    If there is one point on which there should be no political parsing, no legal jockeying, and no disagreement, it is this.

    Then again, as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, one could well make the case that the Constitution has already been terminated after years on life support, given the extent to which the safeguards enshrined in the Bill of Rights—adopted 233 years ago as a means of protecting the people against government overreach and abuse—have been steadily chipped away at, undermined, eroded, whittled down, and generally discarded with the support of Congress, the White House, and the courts.

    History provides chilling examples of how quickly rights can vanish, even in a nation such as ours founded on the principles of freedom. As George Carlin astutely observed:

    “If you think you do have rights, next time you’re at the computer, get on the internet, go to Wikipedia. When you get to Wikipedia, in the search field for Wikipedia, I want you to type in ‘Japanese Americans 1942’ and you’ll find out all about your precious … rights. In 1942, there were 110,000 Japanese American citizens in good standing, law-abiding people, who were thrown into internment camps simply because their parents were born in the wrong country. That’s all they did wrong. They had no right to a lawyer, no right to a fair trial, no right to a jury of their peers, no right to due process of any kind. The only right they had: ‘right this way’ into the internment camps. Just when these American citizens needed their rights the most, their government took them away. And rights aren’t rights if someone can take them away.”

    Remember you were warned, folks.

    At the point that rights become privileges, then the Constitution and the government’s adherence to the rule of law will become optional.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 23:25

  • Damascus Airport To Open In 'Next Few Days' But Israel Still Controls Skies
    Damascus Airport To Open In ‘Next Few Days’ But Israel Still Controls Skies

    The government of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus on Wednesday said that it expects Damascus International Airport to reopen within days, which would be a surprising and unexpected development.

    It had been closed since the dramatic events of HTS-led forces entering the capital, and Assad and his top officials fleeing the country. The airport’s director Anis Fallouh said it will reopen “in the next few days” – according to the AFP.

    Via AFP

    “God willing, the airport will reopen as quickly as possible because we are going to work flat out,” Fallouh said. “We can quickly resume flights through Syrian airspace.”

    For now, however, it seems unrealistic that any flights will land or take off from the airport given that Israeli warplanes have been bombing the country non-stop for at least 72 hours. This has included the targeting of at least 350 Syrian Army sites, as well as facilities for the production of chemical weapons.

    With Israeli warplanes roaming the skies, commercial flight travel over Syria remains highly dangerous. There’s also the fact that the various al-Qaeda factions now in control of Syria have gained access to at least some of Syria’s remnant anti-aircraft missile arsenal, such as MANPADS.

    There have also long-been NATO-supplied shoulder-fired missiles all around Syria, supplied to the ‘rebels’. Below appears to be evidence of this…

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

    Only Cham Wings, a private Syrian airline and Syrian Air, the country’s national airline, had been continuing to operate up to the dramatic events of the last ten days. 

    But Al Jazeera has noted of the status of these defunct airlines, “Aircraft maintenance official Samer Radi said there were currently 12 aircraft on the ground, one of which had been stripped of its equipment by looters during the takeover by opposition forces.”

    It’s unclear whether these carriers will be reestablished, or a timeline for potential operations. At this moment the country and population are also starved of fuel, after days ago an Iranian tanker en route to Syria turned around as it became clear the Assad government was in collapse.

    Before the war, British Airways and Emirates had frequent flights to and from Damascus. But immense hurdles remain in what is still basically a war zone and questions over the fact that a US-designated terror organization is now running the show in Damascus.

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    “So far, the operations of Syrian Air have been extremely restricted,” explained one industry analyst. “Everybody would want to reopen flights into Damascus, which obviously is a significant destination for the Gulf.”

    “Airlines will have to individually go and do a damage assessment, a liability assessment and a review of what’s happened, what’s workable, what’s permissible, as well as what’s functioning and what is not,” the analyst continued.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 23:00

  • Trouble Tax: We All Pay A Time Price For Bureaucratic Dysfunction
    Trouble Tax: We All Pay A Time Price For Bureaucratic Dysfunction

    Authored by Michael Munger via the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER),

    Adam Smith said it all, in “Wealth of Nations”: “The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it.”

    Now, we might interpret “toil” as the cost, or money price, of the thing, and “trouble” as the transaction cost, or inconvenience of the purchase. Then an increase in either the money price, or an increase in trouble, are both cost increases. Demand curves slope downward, so people are better off if the price, or the “trouble,” are reduced. They are substitutes, for citizens.

    The problem is that these two costs are not seen as substitutes for bureaucracies, not at all. The result is that citizens are constantly paying substantial, and easily avoidable, “taxes” in the form of trouble, just so bureaucracies can save money.

    It is easy to think of examples.

    You are trying to enter the country, after a trip abroad. There are only two stations open at the passport control barrier, and hundreds of people in line. Now, the government could easily hire more passport agents, but that would cost money. Instead, a terrible “trouble tax” is imposed, as people have to wait in line for more than two hours just to have a bureaucrat spend 30 seconds looking at a passport and waving you through. (This happened to me in Charlotte this year: there were literally two agents working. We were told “there is a shortage,” as if that were an explanation for indifference to citizens’ needs). Other places, including Dulles Airport in Virginia, may even be worse!

    Each of the hundreds of people in line, many of whom missed their connection, would happily have paid $10, or $20 (I would have paid $50!) to have a ten-minute line instead of two hours.

    The extra thousands in revenue would easily have paid an hour’s salary and benefits for five more bureaucrats to process passports.

    This is a “government failure,” because the outcome is Pareto inferior—the new bureaucrats would be better off being paid, and the customers would have been happy to pay.

    Yet the transaction fails to take place, resulting in what economists call “deadweight loss.”

    This kind of failure is epidemic in our current system of government, and it’s getting worse fast.

    A friend who has young children recently recounted his experience getting “school supplies” (an experience parents all over the United States can identify with). Parents were given a specific, mandatory list of items: the pencils needed to be of a certain type, the notebooks had to have specific dimensions. No single store had every particular item required, so my friend had to go to multiple stores to buy just a few items at a time.

    The parents of all 30 kids in the class each had to go on this tiresome search and purchase quest, spending hours that they would have paid to avoid. Why doesn’t the school buy these items, of the correct type and in bulk, and then distribute them on the first day of class?

    The diligent school-shopper wrote in an email: “Sure, this would cost money. But they could send me a bill! Or raise my taxes by whatever amount that offsets the cost. It would surely be socially efficient to allow a procurement specialist to take care of this, rather than outsourcing it to hundreds of families” in the whole school.

    Look: the money cost is the same, either way: the parents are paying for the supplies. Either they pay directly, to the retail store, or they pay taxes which fund purchase of the supplies. (Actually, since having the school buy in bulk is cheaper, the tax cost would be less, but let’s ignore that, and call it even).

    The explanation is obvious, and it illustrates why the use of bureaucracy as a means of provision of services is so inefficient, and frustrating: the burden of the costs is different for the government, and the citizens! Citizens pay both the money price (from their toil to earn cash), and the trouble (time waiting in line, driving around, filling out forms) of acquiring the needed permission or service. But the bureaucracy only counts the money cost, because they only care about their “budget.” That doesn’t make them bad people, but they are drawn that way, because all the incentives are to save on budgets.

    In many areas of government, this has led to a doom loop: tax cuts reduce funding, funding reduces service, and lack of service imposes a very large “trouble tax” on citizens. Citizens would love to pay more taxes to avoid the trouble, but that option is not available because government is not a competitive system where a competitor can enter and offer better service for a lower total (toil plus trouble) cost.

    In North Carolina, my home state, the “need to hire more workers” problem is particularly egregious at the Department of Motor Vehicles drivers’ license stations. The General Assembly is proud of its tax cuts, and the “savings” on the DMV budget. The Governor has responded by refusing to use what money is available to hire new inspectors and clerks. As a result, the average wait time for a driver’s license is four to six hours, if it is possible to get one at all.

    Of course, it is illegal to drive, and impossible to fly, without a valid “Real ID” driver’s license, so citizens have no choice but to pay the trouble tax. This kind of government failure, driven by the fact that employees of the state focus on money, but care nothing for the time of citizens, is a product of bureaucracy and monopoly power. There is no reason to make the system more convenient or more efficient, because there is no profit incentive, no payoff to providing good service.

    We are all forced, essentially at gunpoint, to line up and accept whatever “service” the state deigns to provide.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 22:35

  • Daniel Penny Speaks After Acquittal, May Sue Manhattan DA For 'Malicious Prosecution'
    Daniel Penny Speaks After Acquittal, May Sue Manhattan DA For ‘Malicious Prosecution’

    Daniel Penny has made his first public comments after being acquitted on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the May 2023 death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway.

    Speaking with Fox News, Penny said he had put himself in a “very vulnerable position,” during the encounter, but felt compelled to act.

    Penny, 26, a four-year Marine veteran, said that while he’s “not a confrontational person,” Neely was “threatening to kill people.”

    The case took a significant turn when New York Supreme Court Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed a second-degree manslaughter charge against Penny after a jury deliberation that lasted four days without reaching a unanimous verdict. Subsequently, a Manhattan jury acquitted Penny of criminally negligent homicide.

    Throughout the trial, Penny’s defense argued that their client did not intend to kill Neely but was acting in self-defense. They portrayed Neely as a former street performer whose aggressive outburst on the train frightened other passengers. Witnesses testified that Neely had been loudly declaring his hunger and indifference to returning to prison.

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    The medical examiner’s conclusion that Neely died from “compression of neck” was a key point in the trial, with Penny’s defense challenging this finding. It was also noted that Neely had synthetic marijuana in his system at the time of the incident and had a history of assaultive behavior in subway stations.

    The aftermath of the trial saw Penny reflecting on the severe criticism he has faced, expressing no desire for praise, merely justifying his actions as necessary to prevent potential harm to other passengers. He criticized city officials for their policies, which he implied contributed to the circumstances leading to the fatal encounter, though he refrained from naming anyone specifically. “I’ll take a million court appearances and people calling me names and people hating me, just to keep one of those people from getting hurt or killed,” Penny told Fox.

    He also told the network that he and his lawyers are considering suing Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg for malicious prosecution.

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    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg responded to the acquittal by affirming that the prosecution had diligently “followed the facts and the evidence from beginning to end.”

    This case has left New Yorkers and people nationwide deeply divided, bringing to the forefront issues concerning homelessness, mental health, and the responsibilities of individuals and authorities in maintaining public safety. The national debate continues as communities grapple with these complex challenges.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 22:10

  • What's (State-Funded) Russian Media Saying About Syria's Regime Change?
    What’s (State-Funded) Russian Media Saying About Syria’s Regime Change?

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

    Publicly financed Russian media’s reaction to Syria’s regime change is a lot different than most could have expected after they earlier warned that this could lead to an unprecedented terrorist crisis.

    Those concerns were warranted since Turkish-backed Harat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is designated as a terrorist group and was originally part of Al Qaeda. Nevertheless, these outlets’ reactions have been surprisingly calm, thus suggesting a desire to play everything by ear for the sake of retaining Russian influence there.

    RT published two very thought-provoking op-eds since the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) epic collapse and Assad’s cowardly flight from Damascus that are worth reviewing in this context. The first is by Murad Sadygzade, who’s President of the Middle East Studies Center and Visiting Lecturer at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, and answers the question of “Why did Syria fall so fast and what happens next?” He began by drawing attention to foreign meddling but then dove into domestic details.

    This approach is noteworthy since it had hitherto been very rare for publicly financed Russian media to talk about the Assad Government’s many shortcomings, but Sadygzade candidly addressed them:

    “A key turning point came when Assad lost the support of even those who had stood by him for years. Economic hardships, sanctions, and a growing sense of hopelessness led many to believe that change was inevitable, even if it came at the cost of destruction. The strategic mistake of the ruling elite – betting on a military solution to the conflict while ignoring political dialogue, both domestically and internationally – ultimately left Assad vulnerable to determined and well-organized adversaries.”

    The second RT op-ed is a republication of an article by Gazeta.ru political analyst Vitaly Ryumshin under the title “Assad’s collapse was coming – everyone just looked away”. Here are the highlights:

    “Assad’s Syria had been rotting from within for years. The country was locked in a perpetual humanitarian and economic crisis, with 90% of Syrians living in poverty and widespread malnutrition. Desperate families took out loans just to buy food but couldn’t pay them back. Power outages crippled even Damascus, sometimes leaving the capital dark for 20 hours a day. Electricity prices soared by up to 585% in the spring of 2024 alone, pushing an already destitute population deeper into despair.

    The Assad government offered no solutions – only mounting repression. Under crushing sanctions, Damascus couldn’t secure foreign loans, and with its oil fields under US-Kurdish control, there was nothing left to trade. Even Syria’s illicit drug trade, once a lifeline, couldn’t plug the gaping holes in state finances. Profits disappeared into the pockets of warlords and traffickers, not the state treasury.

    Meanwhile, Assad’s underpaid, demoralized army, bled dry by years of civil war, continued to disintegrate. For a time, Iranian proxies like Hezbollah propped up his forces, but by 2024, they’d shifted their attention to fighting Israel. Attempts to draw Russia further into Syria’s quagmire fell flat. Moscow, busy elsewhere, had no interest in bailing Assad out.”

    Ryumshin also twice referred to the Assad Government as a “regime” in back-to-back sentences, writing that “In the south and southeast, dormant rebel cells rose up, striking a final blow against Assad’s hollowed-out regime. On Sunday, opposition forces stormed Damascus from several directions. Bashar al-Assad, whose regime withstood over a decade of civil war, finally fell from power.” It’s a stunning change in RT’s editorial policy that they didn’t replace that previously taboo word before republishing.

    Perhaps they listened to what their senior correspondent and veteran Syrian War journalist Murad Gazdiev told them in an interview, where he concluded that “Assad’s govt fell due to corruption, lack of organization, and motivation”. He has a decade worth of experience covering this conflict so his post-mortem on Assad’s Government should be taken very seriously. Publicly financed TASS also editorialized the word “regime” into a headline about Syria on Tuesday in a related visible change of policy.

    The day prior, they described HTS’ chief as an “armed opposition leader” without referencing the US’ $10 million bounty on his head for terrorist-related crimes or even his connection to such groups. TASS also reported how “Syrian Embassy operating as usual under new flag”, which implies Moscow’s tacit (key qualifier) acceptance of this regime change in the sense of continuing to recognize those Syrian diplomats as official representatives of the new ruling arrangement who are allowed to keep working.

    Their press review of Vedomosti’s article about the future of Russia’s military bases in Syria adds context to why that tacit acceptance appears to have been made. Ibragim Ibragimov, a researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told them that “I don’t exclude that a new format of military-technical cooperation will appear soon and that Russian military instructors will play a role in establishing a new Syrian army.” That would be an intriguing turn of events.

    It might not be as far-fetched as some think provided that there’s political will and the right conditions to make it work, the latter of which would require the non-terrorist anti-government opposition (NTAGO) to separate itself from terrorist-designated groups and figures. Moreover, such groups and figures would have to prove that they’ve changed their ways, just like the Taliban have sought to do since returning to power in mid-2021 to regain Russia’s trust and try to have restrictions on cooperation with them lifted.

    To that end, meaningful progress on implementing UNSC Resolution 2254 from December 2015 would go a long way, which Assad refused to do for reasons beyond the scope of this analysis. The Russian-written draft constitution that was unveiled during the first Astana Summit in January 2017 could also be revived to serve as a model for the constitutional reform that this resolution obligates Syria to undertake. Assad had unofficially rubbished it due to the concessions that he was asked to make.

    Judging by what the head of the Syrian armed opposition delegation to the Astana talks told Sputnik and the president of the Syrian Negotiation Commission told RT, these two internationally recognized NTAGO platforms want to retain positive relations with Russia. That could explain why the leader of the new interim Syrian government, Mohammed al-Bashir, was described by TASS as someone who “joined anti-government armed units supported by foreign funding” instead of the previously typical foreign proxy.

    Reflecting on publicly financed Russian media’s reports about Syria’s regime change, it therefore appears as though the Kremlin signaled to those outlets within its “sphere of influence” to withhold publishing worst-case scenario forecasts for now while their country’s diplomats try to avert an even worse crisis. The worst might still be yet to come, but it hasn’t yet unfolded and might still be prevented, hence the importance of them remaining calm and reciprocating the new ruling arrangement’s positive messages.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 21:45

  • Eric Trump: My Father Wants To Make U.S. The World's 'Crypto Capital'
    Eric Trump: My Father Wants To Make U.S. The World’s ‘Crypto Capital’

    Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, discussed President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for the crypto industry, emphasizing his father’s vision for the U.S. to become the “crypto capital of the world” during an interview with CNBC. 

    ERIC TRUMP: I’ve been in crypto for a long time and so is my father, and I think he realizes that every country in the world is embracing it. People are running—look at where we are right now in Abu Dhabi. They’re putting billions of dollars into crypto, into digital technologies. If we don’t do it as America, we’re going to be left behind. He wants to make America the crypto capital of the world. He’s been very, very clear with that, and I applaud that.

    Listen, right now, if you live in America and want to get a home loan, it takes you 90 days. How the hell does it take 90 days to get a home loan? By then, the house is already sold. Your dream is gone. There’s zero chance you’re getting it. There is nothing on blockchain that can’t be done better, faster, and substantially cheaper—not pushing paper. The banking system we have around the world, the modern banking system, is antiquated. It’s antiquated, and it’s just a matter of time before crypto not only catches up but really leaps ahead.

    We’re incredibly excited on a lot of fronts, and I think America will be the crypto capital of the world. I fully support it, my father fully supports it, and our family fully embraces it. We believe in DeFi.  We believe that’s the way of the future. America better lead the way; otherwise, we’re going to leave a lot behind.

    DAN MURPHY: All of this also comes back to regulation as well, and one thing your father has spoken about is incorporating new legislation, even deregulation, in the crypto space to really accelerate and move this forward. What does that look like?

    ERIC TRUMP: It’s transparent, that’s what it is. The people in the crypto industry are frustrated that no one’s ever put together a sensible plan as to how to regulate an industry. They’re fine with regulation, but they just want guidelines, and they’ve said that. The problem is, you see so many companies have been so unfairly treated—so many lawsuits, hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, people attacked, companies attacked—and they’re just saying, “Just give us the rules of the road, and we’ll obey them.”

    And by the way, if you give us the rules of the road, chances are the rest of the world will follow. So I think sensible regulation makes a lot of sense. A lot of people think the crypto industry doesn’t want regulation, but that’s actually not true. They just want sensible regulation—regulation that they can follow, regulation that’s crystal clear, that’s black and white.

    They don’t want to see people like Gensler, who was absolutely a disaster for crypto. He did everything he could to try and stifle innovation. He would do so, and those people have all been cleared out. I think they will put together good regulation. I think we will have a clear roadmap, and hopefully, the rest of the world follows that. Hopefully, we can lead by example because that’s what we should do as Americans. Hopefully, we truly are the crypto superpower of the world.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 21:20

  • The Lithium Glut Could Persist Until 2027
    The Lithium Glut Could Persist Until 2027

    Authored by Tsvetana Parskova via OilPrice.com,

    • Lithium prices have dropped sharply, prompting production curtailments in Australia and China but not in Africa, where Chinese-owned mines maintain output.

    • The global lithium market remains oversupplied, with UBS forecasting imbalances until at least 2027 despite recent production cuts.

    • China’s strategic focus on EVs and low-cost lithium ensures continued mining, while a potential restocking phase could eventually boost prices.

    This year’s plunge in lithium prices has forced curtailments in production in China and Western Australia as lithium miners look to limit losses and reduce the oversupply hanging over the market and prices. 

    However, the lithium glut has not gone away and the market could remain oversupplied until 2027, analysts say. 

    One of the reasons for a persistent glut could be the fact that while producers in Australia and, to some extent, in China, are curtailing output and delaying project ramp-ups, lithium mines in Africa owned by Chinese battery makers are not reducing supply. 

    The mines, especially those in Zimbabwe, continue to operate as Chinese battery makers continue mining operations to have low-cost lithium supply and maintain market share, industry insiders and analysts have told Reuters. 

    As a result, the market will continue to be oversupplied for the next two years, and not find balance until 2027, according to UBS. 

    The bank still expects lithium supply to have increased by 25% this year and to rise by 15% next year, according to its estimates cited by Reuters.

    The supply boost is expected despite the recent curtailments at lithium mines in Australia.

    Global lithium miners have moved to curtail production and shrink their workforce—at least until market conditions improve.

    Last month, Australian miner Mineral Resources said it was shutting down its Bald Hill lithium mine amid a crash in lithium prices in another project curtailment in the industry.

    The low lithium prices have hit other producers and projects, too.

    Australia’s Liontown Resources said it would reduce production from its Kathleen Valley lithium project, “to prioritise higher margin ore at reduced costs to adapt to the low-price lithium environment.”

    Pilbara Minerals has also announced a suspension of a lithium processing plant in Western Australia.

    The world’s largest lithium producer, North Carolina-based Albemarle, booked a net loss of $1.1 billion for the third quarter amid lower pricing in the lithium value chain.

    As part of measures to reduce costs and operations, Albemarle will be reducing its global workforce by an expected 6-7% and is slashing its 2025 capital expenditures by around 50% versus 2024 to an anticipated range of $800 million to $900 million.

    The reduction in some Chinese lithium supply is being replaced by output in Africa, which is serving the growing Chinese market, Albemarle’s chief commercial officer, Eric Norris, said on the company’s Q3 earnings call last month.

    “It is a fragmented market. It is a market with significant Chinese presence today. And it’s a market where you have a lot of young companies whose sole reason for existing is to raise a lithium project,” Norris said, commenting on why more supply hasn’t been curtailed.

    It could take longer for this market to rebalance, he added. 

    Many mines supplying Chinese battery makers wouldn’t close amid the price plunge because they are integrated into downstream supply chains, analysts told Reuters.  

    EV manufacturing and sales is a strategic priority for China’s government, which would like to have cheap lithium supply flowing.  

    And China’s electric vehicle sales are surging. November marked the fifth consecutive month in which battery electric vehicles and plug-in vehicles outsold gasoline passenger cars.

    China’s most recent rebound in demand has pushed local lithium prices higher. But the fundamentals of the global lithium market haven’t changed much—supply continues to outpace demand, setting the stage for at least another year of oversupply and depressed prices, analysts say.

    However, an expected phase of restocking of processed lithium for batteries could rebalance the market faster, according to Will Adams, head of base metals research at Fastmarkets, a commodity price reporting agency.

    “We’re probably going to be stepping in and out of deficits for a while, but as the deficits get closer, look out for the restocking phase as that can really give prices a boost,” Adams said on a recent webinar on the global outlook for the battery raw materials market in 2025. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 20:55

  • Russians Urged To Avoid US Travel On Fears Of Arrest Or Being 'Lured' By CIA
    Russians Urged To Avoid US Travel On Fears Of Arrest Or Being ‘Lured’ By CIA

    In yet another diplomatic tit-for-tat move as relations with Washington spiral, Russia has warned its citizens to avoid all travel to the United States, saying they could face arrest.

    Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova laid out in a briefing Wednesday that “Traveling to the United States privately or on official business is fraught with serious risks.”

    Via Associated Press

    While it at first sounds like Moscow is doing a bit of trolling here, the Kremlin seems genuinely concerned over individual Russians being contacted or “lured” by US intelligence operatives.

    Zakharova continued, “In this regard, we urge [Russians] to avoid non-emergency travel to the U.S. and its allied satellite states, including primarily Canada and, with a few exceptions, EU countries, for these upcoming holidays and in the future.”

    While the message raised the possibility of potential prosecution from US authorities, she also emphasized the following:

    “Our compatriots have long been hunted in the direct sense of the word by U.S. intelligence services,” she said.

    And more:

    Russians already in the U.S. should avoid situations where they could become “victims of provocations” and face arrest under the pretext of violating local laws. 

    “If the attention shown to Russian citizens by Americans is becoming suspicious and intrusive, it may make sense to cut off these contacts and reconsider travel plans,” she said.

    Interestingly, orchestrating ‘provocations’ is precisely what the State Department has long accused Russia of doing with Americans traveling in Russia, with the most famous recent case being the imprisonment of Brittney Griner (later released in a prison swap with Victor Bout).

    The US Embassy in Moscow has in turned warned all US citizens that arbitrary detention could come if they travel through Russia. This has tensions have sourced between the two countries since the Feb. 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 20:30

  • DHS Announces New Rule To Allow Noncitizen Workers To Keep Jobs Longer While Awaiting Renewals
    DHS Announces New Rule To Allow Noncitizen Workers To Keep Jobs Longer While Awaiting Renewals

    Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times,

    The Department of Homeland Security this week announced a new rule making it easier and more reliable for certain noncitizen workers to keep their jobs while waiting for their work permit renewals to be processed.

    Starting Jan. 13, eligible applicants who file for their employment authorization documents (EADs) on time will automatically have their work authorization extended for up to 540 days, nearly three times longer than the previous 180-day maximum.

    The change will retroactively apply to applications filed on or after May 4, 2022, the agency said.

    DHS said the need for the rule change is “clear” as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency in charge of processing these requests, “received and processed a record number of EAD applications this year.”

    This permanent change is expected to help workers avoid forced job breaks caused by processing delays and give employers more certainty when planning their staffing needs, DHS said in announcing the changes on Dec. 10.

    Federal officials say this decision is a direct response to business communities that have called for more efficient ways to keep valued employees on the job.

    “Increasing the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents will help eliminate red tape that burdens employers, ensure hundreds of thousands of individuals eligible for employment can continue to contribute to our communities, and further strengthen our nation’s robust economy,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

    For many applicants, navigating the work permit renewal process can be challenging, DHS said.

    Lengthy waits sometimes force employers to temporarily lose trained staff while applications wind through the system. USCIS has taken steps to reduce wait times to address this, the announcement said.

    “USCIS is committed to reducing unnecessary barriers and burdens in the immigration system to support our nation’s economy,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou.

    “This final rule will help U.S. employers better retain their workers and help prevent workers with timely-filed EAD renewal applications from experiencing lapses in their employment authorization and employment authorization documentation through no fault of their own.”

    DHS said the new rule will ensure a more stable employment environment for everyone involved.

    The move is part of a broader push to streamline the immigration system and bolster the nation’s economy, DHS said.

    Other efforts to cut processing times include extending validity periods from two to five years in some cases, improving how refugee permits are handled, and offering easier online filing options, the agency said.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 20:05

  • Exxon Plans Large Nat Gas Plants To Supply Electricity To Data Centers
    Exxon Plans Large Nat Gas Plants To Supply Electricity To Data Centers

    It isn’t just nuclear projects getting in on the “selling power to data centers” trend – now oil supermajor Exxon is joining the trend. 

    In fact, Exxon is planning a large natural gas-powered plant to supply electricity directly to data centers, incorporating technology to capture over 90% of its carbon emissions, according to the New York Times.

    This would be Exxon’s first power plant not dedicated to its own operations. Carbon capture systems remain rare and costly, despite federal subsidies, limiting their broader adoption.

    CEO Darren Woods said this week: “There are very few opportunities in the short term to power those data centers and do it in a way that at the same time minimizes, if not completely eliminates, the emissions.”

    Exxon exec Dan Ammann added: “We’re being driven by the market demand here. It’s low carbon, it’s available on an accelerated timeline and it avoids all the grid interconnection challenges.”

    Tech giants are increasingly willing to pay extra for reliable clean energy, including nuclear power. Here are Zero Hedge we spent most of 2024 documenting numerous tech giants like Google, Meta and Microsoft all inking deals with nuclear power generators to secure data center power in the future.

    The New York Times adds that Exxon, having secured land and engaged potential customers, plans to launch its gas-powered plant within five years—faster than building new nuclear reactors.

    Uniquely, the plant would operate off-grid, avoiding lengthy grid connection delays. This move highlights how the growth of data centers and AI is transforming the energy sector, pushing Exxon into a business it once avoided.

    Chevron could be next, too. Its CEO Mike Wirth predicts off-grid power projects will become more common, and Exxon is exploring similar ventures, aiming to launch a gas-powered plant with carbon capture technology.

    Exxon plans to spend $30 billion over six years on emission reduction and alternative energy while expanding oil and gas production. The company sees growing electricity demand from data centers as an opportunity to enter the power business, leveraging its expertise in carbon management and pipeline networks.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 19:40

  • The Wild World Of Democratic Ethics: Defeated Representative Accused Of Gaetz Leak
    The Wild World Of Democratic Ethics: Defeated Representative Accused Of Gaetz Leak

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    “You must be wary of those seeking to use their influence and their expertise to wrongful ends.”

    Those words were spoken at the George Washington Law School commencement ceremony two years ago by the recently defeated Rep. Susan Wild (D., Pa.).

    This week, the words took on a new meaning after Wild was accused of leaking information from the House Ethics Committee. Wild embodies a party that is in an ethical and political free fall this month.

     If news reports are accurate, Wild appears to have given our students a curious ethical lesson in how not to be a lawyer or legislator.

    Wild was fighting to release the report of the investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.).

    When Gaetz decided to withdraw from Congress, the report was not released. That is when details from the committee were leaked to the media, and the press reported that “two sources said Wild ultimately acknowledged to the panel that she had leaked information.”

    Keep in mind that this is the House Ethics Committee, and she is a member. She is also a member of Congress who took an oath as part of the panel’s rules that “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will not disclose, to any person or entity outside the Committee on Ethics, any information received in the course of my service with the Committee, except as authorized by the Committee or in accordance with its rules.”

    Wild herself has not publicly confirmed or denied the alleged leaking of the information.

    If the reports are true, Wild knowingly violated an oath that she took not to release information from the Ethics Committee because she was unhappy with losing votes on the release of information.

    Her office seems to have shrugged off media inquiries.

    As in the past controversy, Wild has avoided public comment on the report that she was the leaker.

    This controversy speaks to more than one unethical former representative. This month, we have seen Democrats line up to support one of the most unethical and abusive uses of presidential pardon power in history. President Biden not only pardoned his son but pardoned him for any crimes over a decade, including some that many felt implicated President Biden himself.

    The President issued the pardon after repeatedly lying to the public when he was a candidate that he would never do so. In the previous election, Biden lied to the public about not having met Hunter Biden’s clients or having knowledge of his dealings in the influence-peddling scandal.

    Biden’s lack of ethics surprised no one. However, even today, the support that he received from Democratic leaders over the pardon has been shocking. Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate majority whip, even called it a “labor of love.”

    Indeed, much of the corruption in Washington is a labor of love, from nepotism to influence peddling to corrupt pardons. Indeed, faced with overwhelming opposition of the public to the Biden pardon, Democratic members look like the comical choreography of “Prisoners of Love” from the movie The Producers. (“Oh, you can lock us up and lose the key; But hearts in love are always free!”).

    The distorted view of ethics in the Democratic Party was vividly on display during an embarrassing moment recently at the White House when Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that a poll showed “64% of the American people agree with the pardon — 64% of the American people. So, we get a sense of where the American people are on this.”

    That poll actually showed the majority of Americans opposed the pardon.

    Yet, it was 64 percent of Democrats who favored a president giving his own son a pardon.

    It is all about the ends rather than the means in today’s politics of rage.

    The 2022 words of Wild were particularly poignant because they were used as part of a false attack made by Wild at my own school. In a speech to the law students on living an ethical life as a lawyer, Wild accused me of testifying falsely in the Trump impeachment that only criminal acts are impeachable after saying the opposite in my testimony in the Clinton impeachment.

    The only problem is that Wild’s statement was demonstrably and undeniably false. I testified in both the Clinton and Trump impeachments that an impeachable offense need not be an actual crime.  Ironically, Wild’s own Democratic colleagues and later the House managers in the Senate Trump trial repeatedly cited my testimony on that very point.

    None of this matters in the Wild world of Democratic ethics. It is very simple. Whatever Democrats are attempting cannot be “wrongful ends.” More importantly, it is the ends, not the means, that are the measure of ethics. Since they are only fighting for what is right, the ends justify the means from cleansing ballots of Republicans (including Trump) to supporting a massive censorship system to ignoring court decisions to count invalid votes.

    It is the same sense of ethics that led someone at the Supreme Court to leak a draft of the Dobbs decision.

    Even though the leak shattered court ethical rules and traditions, the leaker was lionized by many on the left.

    For years, the “by any means necessary” wing has dominated the Democratic Party. Ironically, the collapsing of the party’s credibility with the public has left little to show beyond a litany of unethical means used to achieve unrealized ends.

    *  *  *

    Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 19:15

  • South Korea's Top Cops Arrested, Ex-Defense Chief Tries Suicide As Failed Martial Law Bid Rocks Country
    South Korea’s Top Cops Arrested, Ex-Defense Chief Tries Suicide As Failed Martial Law Bid Rocks Country

    South Korea continues to be rocked by aftershocks in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s aborted declaration of marital law. In a trio of jarring new developments, the country’s top two law enforcement officers have been arrested, the former defense chief attempted suicide in detention, and police raided the president’s office — all while a second impeachment vote looms this weekend with greater prospects for success.  

    Late on Tuesday, police arrested South Korea’s former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who resigned on Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest for his alleged role in aiding Yoon’s martial law attempt. He then tried killing himself shortly after midnight in a detention center bathroom. His attempt was thwarted by a “control room staff member,” according to a report from the commissioner general of the Korea Correctional Service, and he’s said to be under close monitoring and in good health.

    South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (left) with then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun — who resigned Thursday, was arrested Tuesday, and attempted suicide Wednesday (Yonhap/DPA)

    The first to be arrested over the constitutional crisis, Kim faces charges of “engaging in critical duties during an insurrection” and “abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights.” A guilty verdict on the insurrection charge would expose Kim to a maximum penalty of death by hanging. While his method of suicide-attempt hasn’t been disclosed, it seems Kim wanted to skip the proceedings and administer his own form of justice.

    Wednesday also brought word that South Korea’s two senior-most law enforcement officers have been arrested on insurrection charges. National Police Commissioner Cho Ji-ho and Seoul metropolitan police chief Kim Bong-sik are behind bars at Seoul’s Namdaemun police station, according to the South China Morning Post.

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    The two top cops are in hot water for deploying police to impede lawmakers who were trying to make their way into the parliament building to counteract Yoon’s martial law declaration. Then-Defense Minister Kim deployed soldiers to the same location. On Tuesday, Kim issued a statement taking responsibility for his actions and seeking to shield subordinates from consequences for their actions:

    “All responsibility for this situation lies solely with me. My subordinates were simply faithful in following my orders and the missions that were given to them. I ask for leniency for them.” 

    On Monday, the Justice Ministry banned Yoon from traveling overseas, at the request of police, prosecutors, and an anti-corruption agency. As the investigation intensified, President Yoon’s office was raided by police on Wednesday, as they sought evidence relating to his attempted imposition of martial law and the accompanying suspension of civil liberties and governmental checks and balances. 

    The office search, which has been reported by local media but not yet confirmed by police or the president’s office as this is written, flies in the face of previous assurances by observers that the presidential security service would thwart any such raid. They’d pointed to a law barring the search of areas that hold state secrets without the consent of those responsible for such spaces.   

    After the martial law declaration, police buses blocked the main entrance to the South Korean Parliament 

    The rolling crisis began on Dec. 3, when Yoon stunned South Korea and the international community with a late-night declaration of martial law, which he claimed was necessary to “rebuild and protect” the country, and prevent it from “falling into the depths of national ruin.” The move came after an impasse over the country’s 2025 budget, and the attempted impeachment of three top prosecutors. In his announcement, Yoon railed against “shameless pro-North-Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens…I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country.”

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    As soldiers and police surrounded the National Assembly, the South Korean parliament’s speaker used his YouTube channel to summon legislators. All 190 who heeded the call voted to repeal the martial law declaration. Six hours after his shocking announcement, Yoon apologized for the move and retracted it, saying he’d acted out of “desperation.” 

    An impeachment vote last weekend failed in the face of a boycott by the ruling People Power Party (PPP), but the Democratic Party (DP) has announced it will move for impeachment again on Saturday, and some PPP members are now voicing their support. Success requires a two-thirds majority of the 300-member assembly. DP leader Lee Jae-myung voiced confidence:  “The impeachment train has left the platform. There is going to be no way to stop it,” 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 18:50

  • Judge Strikes Part Of Federal Law, Making It Easier To Remove 'Powerful' Judges
    Judge Strikes Part Of Federal Law, Making It Easier To Remove ‘Powerful’ Judges

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

    Some judges can be removed at will, rather than for cause, a federal judge said in a new Dec. 10 ruling as he also removed a layer of protection for the judges.

    The Department of Labor in Washington on Aug. 6, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

    National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) administrative law judges have been protected in a complex scheme that requires the board to petition a different agency, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, to remove the judges. Even if the protection board agrees, the NLRB can only act if “good cause” for removal is found.

    Adding to the “byzantine process,” members of both boards can only be removed themselves for certain reasons, such as neglect of duty, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden wrote in the new decision.

    The U.S. Constitution gives the president executive power, which includes, according to Congress and court rulings, the power to remove subordinates. The exceptions are for inferior officers and some boards.

    In 2010, U.S. Supreme Court justices said that a scheme protecting Public Company Accounting Oversight Board officers was unconstitutional because it placed the president two layers away from removal. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which appointed the members, could only remove the members for good cause. SEC commissioners themselves could only be fired by the president for neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, or inefficiency.

    “In short, two protective layers was one too many,” McFadden said. “So too here.”

    The protection NLRB judges have “could result in federal officers pursuing unordained and perhaps unwise paths, with the only fear of reprisal shrouded in a maze of red tape,” the judge said. “Such attenuation from accountability was precisely what the Framers warned against when they rebuffed calls to fashion a plural executive.”

    The NLRB said in court filings that the administrative law judges have less power than Public Company Accounting Oversight Board officers and that they are more easily removed than the officers. McFadden said the judges are “powerful actors in the Executive Branch” because they can manage cases without oversight, including granting applications for subpoenas, and that the easier removal does not change the multilayer removal scheme.

    The Supreme Court ruling “was clear in its admonition: Officers of the United States cannot be insulated from the removal power by two or more levels of decisionmakers who themselves enjoy job protection,” the judge said. “To find otherwise would poison the soil of Article II and choke off accountability to the President. The removal restrictions are unconstitutional.”

    The Supreme Court has not weighed in on the matter. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has found SEC administrative law judges, which had similar protections to NLRB judges, were unconstitutionally protected. Three other circuit courts have found administrative law judge protections to be constitutional.

    In two of those rulings, the courts “placed too much weight on the adjudicatory ‘functions’” of the judges, ignoring how the judges “were nonetheless exerting executive power, case by case,” McFadden said. The third ruling was reversed by the Supreme Court, on other grounds.

    “That is a tenuous reed to sustain the NLRB’s position,” he said.

    In a two-page order, McFadden said that NLRB judges can now be removed by the board itself, without input from the Merit Systems Protection Board.

    The ruling came in a case brought by VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 7 Inc., which does business as Saint Vincent Hospital.

    A spokeswoman for the NLRB declined to comment. A lawyer for the hospital, which is in Massachusetts, did not return an inquiry.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 18:25

  • Government Spending Shock: US Budget Deficit Soars In Worst Start To Year On Record
    Government Spending Shock: US Budget Deficit Soars In Worst Start To Year On Record

    We thought last month’s US budget deficit was bad. Boy, were we wrong.

    It is only fitting that the twilight days of the Biden admin would exhibit more of the same fakeness that defined not only all of the past four years, but certainly the fakeness of that Kamala Harris presidential campaign which had a billion dollars a month ago and ended up in failure, broke… and millions in debt. We are talking, of course, about the relentless debt-funded spree that somehow became synonymous with economic success in the US.

    According to the latest Treasury data released today, in November – the second month of fiscal 2025 – the US spent a massive $584.2 billion, a 14% increase from the prior year, and a record for the month of November. For those who remember out outrage from a month ago, will also remember that the latest deficit number follows what was also a record government outlay for the month of October.

    On a trailing 6 month moving average basis, to smooth out outliers months, the spending hit $586 billion, effectively at an all time high with just the record spending spree during covid pushing government spending higher.

    The surge in spending was driven primarily by higher spending on health, defense and Social Security, but mostly a huge $50BN spike on Medicare outlays!

    The long-term chart of government spending shows what we all know: DOGE or not DOGE, there is no stopping this train.

    The surge in spending was far greater than the much more modest increase in tax revenues: in November, the US government collected $301.8 billion in taxes, up 9.8% from the $274.8 billion last November. As shown in the next chart, while spending continued to grow exponentially, tax receipts have flatlined, and the 6 month average in October was just $380 billion, the same as three years ago!

    To be sure, there were some calendar effects in play. Recall that last month we said that October 2023’s tax receipts were unusually higher due to deferred tax receipts that were received that month from companies and individuals affected by disasters including wildfires in California. Taking that into account, the October budget deficit would have been 22% higher (and would offset the freak September surplus which we are convinced was staged to make the last month of fiscal 2024 look abnormally good for the Biden admin). And since some of this calendar effect also nets in November, to avoid the calendar shifts across months we combined the first two months of fiscal 2025.  What we got was this shocker of a chart: 

    It shows that in October and November, the US deficit exploded to a staggering $624.2 billion, and even though this included several calendar adjustments – which explains the freak September surplus which as we said was due to calendar effects – the November deficit of $367 billion was $14 billion more than consensus estimates of $353 billion. Worse, combining October and November we find that not only was the combined number of $624 billion some 64% higher than the corresponding period one year ago, but it was also the highest deficit on record for the first two-months of the year (and that includes the spending insanity during the covid crisis).

    Putting the deficit in context, the budget deficit in October and November – the first two months of fiscal 2025 – are now officially the worst start a year for the US Treasury on record.

    Taking a closer look at what has been the most terrifying trend in the US income statement for some time now, the Treasury’s debt-servicing costs rose once again in November. Gross interest costs totaled $87 billion, up $7 billion from $80 billion in the same month a year before.

    And if the November print seems low by recent standards, just wait one month: the December gross interest payment will be an absolute shocker as that’s when the bulk of interest payments take place. For December, expect a number north of $150 billion in interest alone!

    And while we wait, this is what a chart of LTM spending across the main categories looks like. Yes, gross interest spending is not only the second largest outlay for the US government, just shy of $1.2 trillion, it’s also the highest it has ever been, and will continue rising, especially if/when the Fed ends its easing cycle prematurely due to rising prices sparking the next meltup…. in US interest payment.

    The good news is that for now (certainly until the December explosion), the surge in US interest payments has been delayed. That’s because the weighted average interest rate for total outstanding debt at the end of November was 3.36%, at roughly 15-year highs, but down slightly from the month before, the third monthly decline.

    However, don’t expect this decline in interest spending to persist because even though the Fed has cut rates twice since September, this has been more than offset by the surge in debt which at last check was now $36.2 trillion, up half a trillion from a month ago, and unless Elon’s Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE) manages to somehow slash trillions in both spending and interest, this is what US debt will look like for the next few years, guaranteeing that interest on said debt will very soon become the single largest spending category for the US government.

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    For those who were still unsure if buying votes has a cost associated with it, now you know.

    The mindblowing figures illustrate the monumental challenge for Trump and all those promising to rein in US debt, which has exploded to 120% of GDP after four years of Biden’s “drunken-sailor” spending ways. The last hope for the US is that Trump has tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to look at ways to cut spending. Alas, these figures show that the bulk of the outlays are in areas that are bound to be a politically explosive to address, in other words any cuts even remotely close to the $2 trillion suggested by Vivek would lead to a full-blown deep state revolt… and government cataclysm.

    It’s also why attempts to reroute the US from its inevitable collision with the iceberg of fiscal devastation will likewise end in ruin.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 18:00

  • There Is No Right To A Minimum Wage
    There Is No Right To A Minimum Wage

    Authored by Soham Patil via The Mises Institute,

    One of the most popular economic fallacies of our time is the belief that the absence of a minimum wage would lead to limitless exploitation of employees in the economy. Minimum wage legislation prevents employees from being hired at pay rates below the mandated amount. Proponents of minimum wage laws claim that not having a minimum wage would lead to employees being paid very little for the amount of work they do. They also claim that everyone ought to be entitled to some standard of living and that minimum wages are instrumental in ensuring better conditions for everyone. Ultimately, arguments for minimum wage laws do not stand up to scrutiny.

    The most important reason to oppose minimum wage laws is that they violate freedom of association and freedom of contract. It prevents two willing and able parties from coming to a voluntary contractual agreement if the wages are below the legally-mandated minimum. While minimum wage limits are often relatively low, their imposition entails that legislators believe some wages are too low and that they must take measures to prevent work being done for “exploitative wages.” Naturally, this means that some jobs will cease to exist since jobs that pay below the legally-mandated amount will no longer be worthwhile for the firms. As a result, minimum wage laws necessarily destroy some jobs in the economy.

    Arguments for minimum wages rest on economic fallacies.

    One of the most popular ones is that minimum wage laws prevent exploitation by setting a standard limit under which firms cannot go. A key, but mistaken, assumption in this line of thought is that without minimum wages firms would simply drive wage rates lower and lower and employees would have no choice other than to accept whatever they are given. This ignores the fact that all agreements require at least two consenting parties.

    Hardly anyone would agree to work a job which pays nothing or pays a disproportionately low amount for the amount of effort and skill required.

    Employees set the floor in negotiations as they would not work for too low an amount while firms set the ceiling as they wouldn’t pay exorbitant amounts which would cause them to be unprofitable. If the lack of minimum wage legislation allows firms to drive wage rates low, we must ask ourselves why certain jobs that pay much more than the minimum wage exist. Clearly there must be other factors that impact wages which would invalidate the talking point of limitless exploitation.

    Employees also do not have the right to a minimum wage. Their work is only as valuable as what they can fetch on the free market. I might believe that the work I can do is worth a thousand dollars an hour, but if no firm is willing to offer me that much money, I don’t have an entitlement to it. The same is true at any wage rate, even the minimum wage rate. Many seem not to grasp this fact as advocates for a minimum wage often state that no work is worth lower than the minimum wage amount. This ignores the nature of work and that work itself does not have intrinsic value.

    While minimum wage laws fail to deliver on their benefits, their consequences are more potent. Since minimum wage laws destroy some jobs, there exists a percentage of the workforce which would have had employment in the absence of these laws. Businesses are also forced to operate either on higher costs or with a lower workforce which either raises costs for consumers or leads to lower productivity. While the advocates of minimum wage legislation believe they operate from a higher ground of morality, their policies only hurt the ones whom they wish to help the most.

    Repealing these laws can only lead to a better economy.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 17:40

  • FBI Director Chris Wray Resigns
    FBI Director Chris Wray Resigns

    Before President-elect Donald Trump could say “You’re Fired!” – FBI Director Christopher Wray has resigned, and will leave his post at the end of President Joe Biden’s term.

    Wray’s decision comes weeks after Trump nominated Kash Patel as his replacement. Patel, a fierce critic of the FBI, has said he would seek to shrink the agency’s power, close its Washington headquarters, fire its top ranks, and prosecute corrupt agents.

    While Wray’s departure was always in the cards, the move comes two days after Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote an 11-page letter to Wray asking him to step down, accusing him of mismanagement and “failure to take control of the FBI.”

    “These failures are serious enough and their pattern widespread enough to have shattered my confidence in your leadership and the confidence and hope many others in Congress placed in you,” wrote Grassley.

    As the Epoch Times notes further, in November 2022, Grassley published FBI documents showing that higher-ranking officials were sometimes penalized less severely than subordinates.

    Wray had addressed this disparity, saying in a Bureau-wide email on Dec. 11, 2020, that the agency “has zero tolerance for any form of sexual harassment or sexual misconduct.”

    On March 4, 2022, FBI Deputy Director Abbate warned all FBI employees: “Regardless of your rank and title, every one of us has the responsibility to treat everyone with dignity, respect, and professionalism. … Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.”

    Grassley also mentioned in his letter his inquiry about the vetting of refugees from Afghanistan through the Operation Allies Welcome program. In February 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that the Department of Homeland Security had not cross-checked these evacuees against data from the Department of Defense.

    As a result, 50 individuals who had been flagged as “potentially significant security concerns” by the National Ground Intelligence Center were allowed into the United States.

    Requests to the FBI for further information were ignored, Grassley said.

    Wray said “in a classified multi-agency briefing to congressional staff” that he was unsure of the location of other refugees who might pose a threat, Grassley wrote.

    “I can’t sit here right now and tell you that we know where all are located at any given time,” Grassley quoted Wray as saying.

    He pointed out that one potential terror threat had been foiled when the FBI arrested Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi on Oct. 7 of this year. Tawhedi was allegedly planning a terror attack to disrupt the U.S. election on Nov. 5.

    Grassley also accused Wray and the FBI of exercising a double standard by refusing to investigate President Joe Biden’s or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information.

    President-elect Donald Trump appointed Wray in 2017 after firing the previous director, James Comey. In a recent interview with “Meet the Press,” Trump expressed displeasure over Wray’s performance.

    “He invaded my home,” Trump said, referring to the 2022 FBI raid on his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.

    Trump also cited Wray’s initial claim that his ear was struck by shrapnel instead of an assassin’s bullet, and waning public respect for the FBI as an institution.

    “I can’t say I’m thrilled,” he said.

    The president-elect has already named Kash Patel the new FBI director, indicating that Wray’s time at the post is nearly over. However, Grassley wants Wray and Abbate to step down sooner.

    “For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives,” the letter says.

    The agency told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement: “The FBI has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding to Congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people.

    “Director Wray and Deputy Director Abbate have taken strong actions toward achieving accountability in the areas mentioned in the letter and remain committed to sharing information about the continuously evolving threat environment facing our nation and the extraordinary work of the FBI.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 17:33

  • 'Simply Robbery': Moscow To Retaliate After US Hands Ukraine $20BN Utilizing Russian Assets
    ‘Simply Robbery’: Moscow To Retaliate After US Hands Ukraine $20BN Utilizing Russian Assets

    Russia on Wednesday blasted the US disbursing a $20 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets as “theft” and “simply robbery” while vowing that retaliation will soon come.

    On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced it disbursed the $20 billion loan for Ukraine, to eventually be paid back using interest earned on frozen Russian Central Bank assets, which has been a controversial plan long in preparation.

    AFP/Getty Images

    Washington said it issued the funds as part of the bigger total $50 billion loan being provided by the Group of Seven (G7) nations.

    Russia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday further said the move “will not go answered”. It warned that it has “sufficient capacity and leverage to retaliate by seizing Western assets under its jurisdiction”.

    In announcing the major action, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had described the following:

    “These funds — paid for by the windfall proceeds earned from Russia’s own immobilized assets — will provide Ukraine a critical infusion of support as it defends its country against an unprovoked war of aggression.”

    “The $50 billion collectively being provided by the G7 through this initiative will help ensure Ukraine has the resources it needs to sustain emergency services, hospitals, and other foundations of its brave resistance,” she added.

    This is all part of Biden and NATO allies’ efforts to ‘Trump proof’ future aid and support to Ukraine for years to come. Trump is expected to ‘probably’ reduce US defense aid to Ukraine. Trump officials have warned that Kiev would see funding greatly reduced or even pulled if it is unwilling to engage Moscow seriously at the negotiating table.

    A key rationale of Trump’s team in making the case for a necessary and quick winding down of the war is that the West must avoid nuclear confrontation or a WW3 scenario with Russia at all costs.

    War-weary populations across Europe and the West are also in favor of peace, all recent polling shows, and Trump has been given a clear mandate by US voters to seek a diplomatic end to the war.

    Zelensky has in response said: “What is needed are concrete, strong actions that will force him [Putin] to peace, not persuasion and attempts at appeasement, which he sees as a sign of weakness and uses to his advantage.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 17:20

  • Trump Nominates Harmeet Dhillon To DOJ's Civil Rights Division
    Trump Nominates Harmeet Dhillon To DOJ’s Civil Rights Division

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

    President-elect Donald Trump named attorney Harmeet Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice in a post on Truth Social on Dec. 9.

    Harmeet Dhillon, an adviser to former President Donald Trump who is also a Republican delegate in California, attends the 2023 CAGOP convention of Anaheim, Calif., on Sept. 29, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

    “Throughout her career, Harmeet has stood up consistently to protect our cherished Civil Liberties, including taking on Big Tech for censoring our Free Speech, representing Christians who were prevented from praying together during COVID, and suing corporations who use woke policies to discriminate against their workers,” Trump said.

    “In her new role at the DOJ, Harmeet will be a tireless defender of our Constitutional Rights, and will enforce our Civil Rights and Election Laws fairly and firmly. Congratulations, Harmeet!”

    The Department of Justice will be headed by U.S. Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi, pending confirmation by the Senate.

    Dhillon has clerked in the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

    The Dartmouth College and University of Virginia Law School graduate, who is a member of the Sikh religious community, thanked Trump for the nomination and her family for their support.

    In a post on X, she said she is “extremely honored by President Trump’s nomination to assist with our nation’s civil rights agenda.”

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    “It has been my dream to be able to serve our great country, and I am so excited to be part of an incredible team of lawyers led by Pam Bondi. I cannot wait to get to work!” she wrote.

    Dhillon’s appointment happened after Trump named another partner in her law firm, Dhillon Law Group, to a key position.

    On Dec. 4, he announced he was selecting David Warrington as his White House counsel. Warrington replaced Trump’s previous pick for the position, William McGinley, who was moved into the role of counsel for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) commission.

    Dhillon, a Republican National Committeewoman for California, previously contested then-Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel for that post. McDaniel, who ultimately won, stepped down earlier this year. Former North Carolina Republican Party Chair Michael Whatley received Trump’s endorsement and stepped into the role. Trump recently endorsed Whatley’s continuation as committee chair.

    Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dhillon filed numerous lawsuits challenging California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s measures, including his mask order.

    Trump Names General Counsel of the OMB

    In another post, Trump also announced that he was appointing Mark Paoletta to return to serve in the second Trump administration as General Counsel of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

    “Mark will work closely with our DOGE team to cut the size of our bloated Government bureaucracy, and root out wasteful and anti-American spending,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

    Paoletta, a partner at the Law Firm, Schaerr Jaffe, and a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America, was part of the first Trump administration and an ally in advancing Trump’s American First agenda. Alongside then-OMB Director Russ Vought, who has also been asked by Trump to head the OMB again, Paoletta arranged federal funding to build Trump’s border wall facing Mexico.

    “Mark is a conservative warrior who knows the ‘ins and outs’ of Government – He will help us, Make America Great Again!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

    The president-elect also endorsed K.C. Crosbie for the next co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

    The position became open after Lara Trump announced on Dec. 8 that she would be stepping down and was considering a possible Senate appointment in the incoming administration as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has been named by Trump to be the next secretary of state.

    Crosbie previously served as the RNC’s treasurer and the national committeewoman representing Kentucky.

    “KC has been with me from the very beginning, helping real Republicans get elected across the Country, and would be a tremendous Co-Chair of the RNC! KC will work on continuing to ensure a highly functioning, fiscally responsible, and effective RNC that makes Election Integrity a highest priority,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 17:00

  • San Diego Sheriff 'Will Not' Comply With New 'Super Sanctuary' Protections For Illegals
    San Diego Sheriff ‘Will Not’ Comply With New ‘Super Sanctuary’ Protections For Illegals

    The San Diego County Sheriff’s office is refusing to comply with the County Board of Supervisors’ vote to turn the county into a “super” sanctuary by preventing local law enforcement from complying with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

    San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez

    With the return of Trump to the White House, the board on Tuesday approved the measure in a 3-1 vote, prohibiting the use of its resources to help ICE, and limiting the use of its jails, county buildings and personnel in assisting federal immigration enforcement agents.

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    “San Diego County has always been a place where communities are valued, not divided and as a County Supervisor, I’m committed to leading a local government that promotes unity, equity, and justice for all, while upholding the law,” said County Chairwoman Nora Vargas, adding “We will not allow our local resources to be used for actions that separate families, harm community trust, or divert critical local resources away from addressing our most pressing challenges. Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and our County will not be a tool for policies that hurt our residents.”

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    Not So Fast

    In response, the San Diego County Sheriff says they will ignore the Board’s resolution.

    “The Sheriff’s Office will not change its practices based on the Board resolution and policy that was passed at today’s meeting,” adding that “The Board of Supervisors does not set policy for the Sheriff’s Office.

    “The Sheriff as an independently elected official, sets the policy for the Sheriff’s Office. California law prohibits the Board of Supervisors from interfering with the independent, constitutionally and statutorily designated investigative functions of the Sheriff.”

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    Vargas doesn’t know what to do!

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/11/2024 – 16:40

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Dec 11

Today’s News 11th December 2024

  • East Vs. West: A Global Dollar Dump Is Inevitable And The US Must Prepare
    East Vs. West: A Global Dollar Dump Is Inevitable And The US Must Prepare

    Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

    In October of 2024, Russia hosted the annual BRICS Summit in the city of Kazan with the intent to show unity among developing nations and general eastern interests. The Kremlin, a target of severe NATO sanctions since the start of the war in Ukraine, has been effective in solidifying economic guarantees from BRICS partners and circumventing western economic controls.

    Despite being removed from the SWIFT banking network and being cut off from a large percentage of global trade, Russia has continued to garner solid export revenues. We certainly aren’t seeing the total collapse of the Russian economy that so many media “experts” predicted.  The reason? Russia is resource rich and in an inflationary environment countries that are heavy in commodities sold at lower prices are always sought after. The BRICS event this year was a reminder that the west’s financial influence is in decline.

    At that same meeting, Putin called for an alternative international payment system and passed around a mock-up of what he called a BRICS “bank note”. The paper note was purely symbolic, but it’s presence at the summit started an uproar within the establishment media. Pundits were quick to “fact check” the story and declare that this was not a real unified currency announcement. As far as I know, no one said it was. What we did say, however, is that a real multilateral currency system cutting out the dollar is MUCH CLOSER than most people realize.

    Putin flashed that banknote around because this is something the BRICS have been working on for well over a decade. Those cynics that think such a thing is impossible are living in denial, or, they have an agenda to peddle.

    Donald Trump in particular seems to understand quite well that the BRICS currency concept is not a bluff or a joke. In a recent social media post, Trump threatened to increase tariffs for any nation that tries to diminish or replace the dollar’s world reserve status (the dollar is the premier currency used in the vast majority of international transactions). Putin responded with a warning that Trump’s efforts to reinforce the dollar would backfire.

    Overall, Putin is right. Any move to force the dollar onto developing nations as a reserve currency will only result in them dumping it faster. Tariffs act as leverage for short term adjustments to trade imbalances, but they aren’t going to be effective in preventing other countries from using alternative currencies.

    The problem with the dollar reserve system is its foundation. Officially established with the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 as we neared the end of WWII, the unspoken deal underlying the dollar was that the US would get the economic benefits of reserve status, but in exchange America would be required to carry the bulk of military defense obligations for allies around the globe.

    Five years later in 1949 NATO would be founded, the dollar was made the common currency denominator for all members and the US would end up paying 60% or more of all funding for the alliance for decades to come. The economic trade off was established – The US dollar gets the advantages of reserve status and the rest of the western world gets military protection from the US.

    However, as far as eastern nations and the BRICS are concerned today, NATO is not an ally. There’s no agreement or unspoken doctrine which convinces the developing nations to maintain the dollar’s reserve status; only precarious import/export arrangements that can fall apart quickly if conflict arises.

    And let’s be honest, the sparks of wider conflict are everywhere. At my current count, there are at least three regional proxy wars going on simultaneously that have the potential to kick off WWIII – Ukraine, Israel and Syria. Then there’s Taiwan, North Korea, and Georgia (Eastern Europe); regions that are constantly on the verge of going hot.

    On top of that, there’s the steady decline of Western Europe, with Germany and France now in governmental limbo, not to mention the UK turning into an Orwellian police state. Americans are so insulated from the global crisis that’s unfolding that I worry millions will be caught completely off guard when it finally arrives on our doorstep.

    To be sure, the US has its share of instability. The stagflation crisis is in its third year (officially) and prices don’t look like they will be coming down on most necessities any time soon. The illegal immigration crisis is about to come to a crescendo and we’re all waiting to see if the Trump Administration follows through on his promise of mass deportations. Then there’s the incredible debt crisis – Our government has added $6 trillion to the national debt in the past two years alone. We are creating over $1 trillion in new debt every 3-4 months and our debt to GDP ratio is 124%. This is unsustainable.

    That said, we haven’t experienced any catastrophic economic disruptions yet. The loss of the dollar’s reserve status would bring historically devastating consequences, at least in the short term, and that’s only if our country devises a plan to weather the storm.

    Conflicts between east and west are only going to grow given the existing conditions, and the calls for a dollar alternative are going to continue. There’s not much Trump can do about that. We also have to keep in mind that there are globalist institutions like the IMF and BIS that are, as I write this, getting ready to introduce CBDCs and cashless systems that would limit the dollar’s global influence by default.

    When globalists pontificated endlessly about a “Great Reset” during the pandemic era, what they were talking about was primarily an economic reset and a currency reset. Klaus Schwab of the WEF stated ‘Now is the time for a great reset of capitalism’, and this event was supposed to precede a global shift into a cashless system.

    There can’t be a global currency reset without the dollar being demoted. There can’t be a reset without a reversal of the old Bretton Woods system. They know it, and they aren’t going to warn the rest of the public about the consequences.

    Everything is working against the dollar right now, and there’s a lot of people out there that question if it’s even worth saving. The Federal Reserve has been the source of considerable corruption within our government and I have often referred to central bankers as economic suicide bombers. But, the dollar is all we have until a tangible safety net can be established.

    Instead of focusing on trying to intimidate the BRICS into sticking with the dollar, Trump should be drafting a plan to backstop our currency system with hard commodities to prevent greater inflation and ensuring that the US has the capacity to manufacture all our necessities domestically.

    There is a chance this could be done under Trump; there was zero chance it would have been done under Kamala Harris. So, at least there’s hope.

    At bottom, it’s impossible to keep the dollar in a position of global dominance when every element of geopolitics is working against it and the very globalist organizations that helped create the Bretton Woods system are now trying to dismantle it. It’s time to localize, build redundancies and get ready for the greater crisis at hand., because one way or another difficult changes are coming.

    *  *  *

    The foundation of our economy has endured decades of debt, inflation, and financial mismanagement. And nothing can reverse this damage. Which is why protecting your 401(k) or IRA has never been more essential. With a physical Gold IRA, you can secure your savings with a tangible asset that stands the test of time. Want to find out more? Click here to get your FREE info kit on Gold IRAs from Birch Gold Group and discover how a Gold IRA can be your financial safe haven.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 23:25

  • Here's The Best Time To Buy A Christmas Tree
    Here’s The Best Time To Buy A Christmas Tree

    Website Finder.com cited data from the National Christmas Tree Association showing that 43% of American households are expected to purchase a real tree this holiday season, with the average tree costing around $79.31—around $4 more than in 2023.

    2020 marked a critical point in which artificial tree sales surpassed real tree sales for the first time. 

    Separately, data from point-of-sale company Square shows that Christmas tree prices typically peak and are most expensive immediately after Black Friday and during the first half of December. Square noted that 50% deals occur in the days leading up to Christmas. 

    Square Research Lead Ara Kharazian wrote in a note: “The cheapest time to buy a Christmas tree is right before Christmas. The best time is whichever day maximizes joy in your household.”

    Over the past decade, Christmas tree supplies have been squeezed by a supplier bust originating back to the Global Financial Crisis, compounded by continued adverse weather conditions in the country’s top tree-growing regions.

    “The root of the tight supply issue goes back to 2008 when an oversupply led growers to scale back planting,” Jill Sidebottom, a National Christmas Tree Association spokesperson, told CBS MoneyWatch.

    Sidebottom added that adverse weather conditions, including the 2021 heat dome that destroyed trees across the Pacific Northwest, have exacerbated supply constraints in recent years.

    Meanwhile, PNC Bank’s annual Christmas Price Index, which calculates the cost of “True Love’s” gifts from the classic holiday carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, rose by 5.4% compared to last year.

    Data from Bankrate shows persistent inflation and high interest rates are expected to weigh on low/mid-tier consumers this holiday season. According to the financial services company, about one-third of holiday shoppers plan to spend less this year than last year.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 23:00

  • "They Will Take Away Your Kids" – Fascism Is Already In Place In The US
    “They Will Take Away Your Kids” – Fascism Is Already In Place In The US

    Authored by Dr Gerry Brady via Boom Finance & Economic substack,

    “Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power.”

    – Benito Mussolini, Fascist Dictator of Italy for 26 Years

    Marc Andreessen speaks with Joe Rogan – [warning – disturbing in the extreme] – the US government under Biden was planning total control — they can and will de-bank you!

    Marc Andreessen is an American businessman and Silicon Valley stalwart. He is the co-author of Mosaic, the first widely used web browser with a graphical user interface (GUI). He co-founded Netscape and the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He is clearly one of the Fathers of the Internet. In 2012, Andreessen was named in the Times 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

    Last week, he was interviewed by Joe Rogan and revealed some startling facts of life in present day USA. He essentially revealed that America is already in the grip of Fascist ideology, The US Government seeks Total Control in partnership with a US Corporatocracy. They also seek total control of Artificial Intelligence and Technology companies. It would be foolish to ignore what he had to say.

    Marc Andreessen explained the secret de-banking of 30 technology company founders and anyone who dared to oppose the Biden Government politically. After being a lifelong supporter of the Democrat Party, he switched to being a supporter of Donald Trump after attending some meetings with unnamed US Government officials. “I ATTENDED ALARMING MEETINGS WITH THE US GOVERNMENT” — “THEY SEEK FULL GOVERNMENT CONTROL”

    In the interview, he deals with the subject of de-banking (the closing of bank accounts). BOOM’s transcripts of the video excerpts here are paraphrased as far as possible. It is sometimes hard to hear (exactly) every word he says in the recording. Andreessen is also speaking conversationally. Thus, to paraphrase what he said:

    Andreessen on Government Control of AI (Artificial Intelligence): 

    “The AI thing was very alarming. We had meetings in the Spring that are the most alarming meetings I have ever been in where they were taking us through their plans”. “Basically – full government, full government control. There will be a small number of large companies controlled by the Government. They told us not to launch Start-ups. Don’t even bother. There is no way for those to succeed.” “They said this is already over. It’s going to be two or three companies, and we’re just going to. We’re going to. We’re going to control them. And that’s that.”

    Rogan asks: 

    “When you leave a meeting like that, what do you go and do?” 

    Andreessen replies: 

    “You go and endorse Donald Trump” 

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    “THEY CAN AND WILL DE-BANK YOU” – 30 TECH FOUNDERS DE-BANKED. 

    Andreessen:

    “30 Founders of tech companies have been de-banked in the last 4 years. It’s been a big recurring pattern.” ……

    “There is no due process, no written record, there are no rules, there is no court, there is no decision process, there is no appeal.”

    “Who do you go to to get your bank account back?” 

    “This is one of the reasons why I ended up supporting Trump”. 

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    THEY WILL TAKE AWAY YOUR KIDS.

    In another section of the interview, Andreessen says the Government will take your kids if you oppose them. This is chilling. 

    “Step one was they take away your driver’s license. Step two is they take away your insurance, and step three is to take away your kids. Right. And so, like, that was their version of this. And that was a very specific take away your kids. That was the threat at the end to the truckers at the Canada trucker strike.”

    GOVERNMENT WORKERS STAY AT HOME

    Andreessen: 

    After Covid,“most Federal workers never came back to work. They work from home. They still collect full Washington DC salaries. A very large percentage, like half. In one union agreement, workers only have to be in the office one day a month”.

     “Under the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), they have already announced – you can work from home but not for the Federal Government” 

    MOUSE WIGGLERS.

    Andreessen: 

    “Do you know about Mouse Wigglers? – They are physical devices that hold your mouse and they intermittently wiggle it” 

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    CHINESE DRONES.

    Andreessen: 

    “The Chinese own the Drone market. 90% of US military and police drones are. Chinese-made. That is a very bad idea. Each drone has the potential to be a weapon—or a spy platform.” 

    Rogan: 

    “That sounds like a terrible security risk.” 

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    GOVERNMENT CONTROL OVER YOUR FOOD. 

    Andreessen: 

    “The Government directly put itself into the food system, specifically (in regard to) High Fructose Corn Syrup. There are 450 US Government Agencies, one is the US DA (the US Department of Agriculture) which does the Food Pyramid which is upside-down. They promoted High Fructose Corn Syrup (as opposed to Sugar) which was a poisonous decision.” 

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    SILICON VALLEY SPLIT IN TWO. 

    Andreessen: 

    “I have always been a Democrat. However … there are now two kinds of dinner parties in Silicon Valley. There’s one where everyone there believes every thing in the New York Times on that day. I am no longer invited to those. Then there’s the other kind”. 

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    CONTROL THROUGH BIASED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE — MOST AI IS PROGRAMMED IN A POLITICAL DIRECTION. 

    In regard to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Andreessen describes how the US Government is seeking to have a rigid control on AI. And he describes how (most) AI has been developed with a political bias. 

    Andreessen: In describing how Artificial Intelligence is (mostly) politically biased, he explains how the Artificial Intelligence Program called Gemini (by Google) responded to a request for an image of a Nazi.

    “According to Gemini (Google AI), Hitler had an excellent DEI Policy. In reality, he did not and it is important to understand that. But Gemini happily threw up Black Nazis.”

    “They programmed AI to be biased, in a political direction. The LLMs (Large Language Models) are politically biased – 9 out of 10 of them. There’s a handful that aren’t. The Government plans a censorship regime on Artificial Intelligence just as it did on social media. If you thought social media censorship was bad, AI control will be 1000x worse. It’s going to be the control layer for everything: Your kids’ education, your loans, your front door. Does your house open?” 

    “If that happens, we are in for a very bad future”.

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    THE FULL INTERVIEW: Readers can watch the full podcast on Youtube:

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 22:35

  • US Life Expectancy Ranking Will Drop To 66th by 2050, Study Says
    US Life Expectancy Ranking Will Drop To 66th by 2050, Study Says

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

    The United States is set to fall in worldwide life expectancy ranking by mid-century, with widespread obesity adversely affecting people’s health, according to a recent study.

    File photo of an obese person. Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images

    The peer-reviewed study, published in The Lancet on Dec. 7, forecasted the life expectancy for Americans between 2022 and 2050 after taking into account the effect of more than 350 diseases and injuries.

    Study authors said overall life expectancy is projected to increase from 78.3 years in 2022 to 79.9 years in 2035, and to 80.4 years in 2050. The study said the increase “is forecasted to be modest compared with that in other countries around the world.”

    As a result, the United States’ global rank in terms of life expectancy is projected to decline from 49 in 2022 to 66 in 2050 among 204 nations and territories. In addition, ranking in terms of health-adjusted life expectancy, which estimates the average number of years a person lives in good health, is projected to fall from 80 to 108.

    Despite the slight increase in life expectancy, health improvements are expected to slow down in the nation as a result of obesity issues, according to professor Christopher J.L. Murray, co-senior author of the study and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

    Rising obesity rates are a “serious risk factor to many chronic diseases and forecasted to leap to levels never before seen,” he said a Dec. 5 statement from the institute.

    “The rise in obesity and overweight rates in the U.S., with IHME forecasting over 260 million people affected by 2050, signals a public health crisis of unimaginable scale,” he added.

    Researchers estimated that if authorities succeed in eliminating risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar by 2050, the United States will succeed in preventing the deaths of 12.4 million people.

    Life expectancy ranking of American females is forecast to drop from 51 in 2022 to 74 in 2050. For men, the ranking is expected to fall from 51 to 65.

    “These lower rankings put the U.S. below nearly all high-income and some middle-income countries,” the institute said.

    Researchers pointed out that the findings “highlight the alarming trajectory of health challenges in the USA, which, if left unaddressed, could lead to a reversal of the health progress made over the past three decades for some US states and a decline in global health standing for all states.”

    Between 1990 and 2021, mortality rates for several leading causes of death, such as stroke, cancer, and ischemic heart disease, declined nationwide, which caused life expectancy to improve during those three decades.

    The study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

    Chronic Obesity

    The study’s categorization of excess weight as a key risk factor to good health comes as the United States is facing an obesity crisis.

    More than two in five American adults are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates that more than 100 million Americans are obese and more than 22 million have severe obesity.

    Obesity rates have skyrocketed over the past decades, jumping from 30.5 percent in 1999–2000 to nearly 42 percent during 2017–2020, with rates of severe obesity almost doubling.

    “Many adults with obesity have other serious chronic diseases. For example, 58 percent of U.S. adults with obesity have high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease. Also, approximately 23 percent of U.S. adults with obesity have diabetes,” the agency says.

    During a hearing in December 2023, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) highlighted the issue of obesity among children, pointing out the link between having excess weight and getting diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

    The senator called for banning the advertising of junk food targeting children, saying that such a move could aid in reducing obesity rates among kids.

    “For decades, we have allowed large corporations in the food and beverage industry to entice children to eat foods loaded with sugar, salt, and saturated fat,“ he said. ”This situation has led to an addiction crisis, with ultra-processed foods being as addictive as alcohol and cigarettes.”

    In August, former President Donald Trump, now the president-elect, said that he plans on setting up a panel of experts to investigate the reasons for surging childhood health issues, including obesity.

    In a video from September, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, said chemicals in the soil and ultra-processed foods as contributing factors to the country’s obesity situation.

    The United States’ food supply is “loaded with high fructose corn syrup and seed oils and hundreds of artificial additives and flavors and processed carbohydrates that don’t exist in nature and that are banned in other countries,” Kennedy said.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 21:45

  • US Cattle Crisis Worsens As Nation's Herd Size Continues Alarming Side Into Abyss
    US Cattle Crisis Worsens As Nation’s Herd Size Continues Alarming Side Into Abyss

    America’s beef cow inventory has steadily declined over the last half-decade, reaching 64-year lows and signaling a deepening crisis across the cattle industry. As the cattle crisis worsens, consumers should brace for higher ground beef prices.

    The shrinking beef supply has pushed the nation’s herd size to its smallest level since 1961. With severe droughts, high interest rates, costly feed prices, sliding farm income, surging farm debt, and a shifting consumer preference toward cheaper chicken, struggling ranchers have been culling heifers, preventing any meaningful recovery in the number of calves necessary to expand the nation’s herds.

    As Bloomberg reports, the nation’s cattle crisis is set to worsen with new pressures: first, President-elect Trump’s anticipated tariff war 2.0, which is expected to tighten domestic beef supplies, and second, immigration reform.

    “All of the things he is talking about have potentially negative consequences more so than anything positive,” Derrell Peel, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University, told Bloomberg, adding, “Our fate’s pretty well determined in the cattle industry in the U.S. for the next two to four years” – and it’s not looking good.”

    In February, the United States Department of Agriculture projected that the cattle herd could begin rebuilding by 2025. However, that timeline has since shifted to 2027. The reason is primarily because of high interest rates and poor pasture conditions in the Midwest. 

    “Even as the beef industry has experienced periods of growth over the past decades, the animal count has dropped almost 40% since a peak in 1975. During the current downcycle, which started in 2020, the herd has been shrinking at the fastest pace since the big farm crisis of the 1980s,” Bloomberg noted.

    If Trump introduces new tariffs, it could disrupt the flow of imported beef, further tightening domestic supplies. However, as Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA—a group representing cow-calf producers nationwide—explained, this move will drive up beef prices while encouraging investment in rebuilding the nation’s cattle herd. 

    Bullard said, “Tariffs will provide our industry an opportunity to invest in expansion and to begin rebuilding the herd that has been shrinking at an alarming rate,” adding, “Over the long term, consumers are going to be better served because we will no longer have such a dependency on imported products.”

    America’s beef supply relies heavily on small producers raising calves, but with herd levels at half-century lows—combined with new factors like tariffs and immigration reform that could drive prices even higher—consumers need to recognize that food inflation will likely remain sticky through the decade’s end.

    Earlier this year, Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King told the BMO Global Farm to Market Conference that he wasn’t even sure when the nation’s collapsing herd size would reverse.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 21:20

  • NASA Finds Underground 'City' Hidden 100 Feet Below Icy Surface
    NASA Finds Underground ‘City’ Hidden 100 Feet Below Icy Surface

    Via The Mind Unleashed,

    In the vast, icy expanses of Greenland, a place more synonymous with desolate, arctic landscapes than with the shadows of human history, NASA scientists have stumbled upon an extraordinary anomaly. Buried beneath a hundred feet of ice lies a remnant of a bygone era, originally hidden from the world above and shrouded in Cold War secrecy.

    What was initially just another radar scan over the frosty tundra turned into a discovery of an underground “city,” a relic of geopolitical strategies from a tension-filled past. This isn’t a tale of ancient civilizations, but rather a hidden chapter of recent history, now frozen in time, waiting to be uncovered. What secrets does this icy fortress hold?

    The Discovery of Camp Century

    In a groundbreaking exploration, NASA’s radar technology unveiled an extraordinary find beneath Greenland’s ice—a secret Cold War base known as Camp Century or “the city under the ice.” This discovery, made in April 2024 during a flight testing new radar equipment, revealed intricate underground structures that have not been seen so vividly until now.

    While NASA scientists were testing the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) mounted on a Gulfstream III aircraft, they captured a surprising image. Alex Gardner, a cryospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, noted, “We were looking for the bed of the ice and out pops Camp Century. We didn’t know what it was at first.”​ This advanced radar system is not your typical radar; it’s designed to give a more dimensional view of what lies beneath the ice by not only looking downward but also to the sides.

    The UAVSAR technology has proven pivotal in this discovery. It allowed the team to see the underground city in unprecedented detail, mapping out the camp’s layout against historical blueprints and revealing structures that conventional radar had missed. This novel imaging technique represents a significant leap in ice-penetrating radar technology, offering new ways to understand the geological and environmental history of icy regions​.

    Photo from NASA Earth Observatory

    The rediscovery of Camp Century is not just a historical curiosity but also provides crucial data for understanding ice sheet dynamics and the potential environmental impact of the materials left behind. As the climate changes, the ice sheets’ response is a vital area of study, with UAVSAR contributing to predictions about sea levels and ice stability​.

    History of Camp Century

    Camp Century, famously known as the “City Under the Ice,” was initially presented to the public as a pioneering Arctic research station. However, its true purpose was far more clandestine. Established in 1959 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, this secretive base was part of “Project Iceworm,” intended to test the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles from beneath Greenland’s vast ice sheet directly against the Soviet Union.

    On the surface, Camp Century featured accommodations and amenities that supported scientific research and the daily needs of its inhabitants, including laboratories, a library, and living quarters. This facade supported its cover story as a hub for polar research, where significant scientific firsts occurred, such as drilling the first ice cores to provide data on the Earth’s past climate​.

    Beneath its scientific guise, the camp’s primary objective was far more militaristic. The U.S. planned to create a network of tunnels capable of housing and launching “Iceman” ballistic missiles. These facilities were meant to be part of a broader strategy to ensure the U.S. could respond to Soviet actions during the Cold War. The project was ambitious, aiming to house up to 600 nuclear missiles under the guise of Arctic scientific endeavors​.

    The base was constructed deep within the ice, with tunnels extending over several miles. Despite the innovative approach to Cold War military strategy, the project faced insurmountable challenges. The ice’s dynamic nature caused structural instabilities within the tunnels, leading to frequent maintenance issues and eventual abandonment of the missile plan. The shifting ice also posed significant risks to the structural integrity of the facility, leading to its decommission in 1967​.

    In the decades following its closure, concerns have grown over the environmental impact of the waste left behind, including low-level radioactive waste from the camp’s nuclear reactor. Studies suggest that as the climate warms and the ice melts, these contaminants could be released into the environment, posing new risks to the ecosystem​.

    Technological and Engineering Features of Camp Century

    The construction of Camp Century was a remarkable feat of engineering, designed to test the feasibility of establishing military facilities under the harsh conditions of the Greenland Ice Cap. This project was not only ambitious but also showcased a range of innovative construction techniques that have informed cold region engineering practices to this day.

    Camp Century was constructed using a “cut-and-cover” method where trenches were dug into the ice and then covered with arched steel structures. This method was crucial in creating the protective tunnels that formed the main structure of the base. The entire facility was then insulated to protect against the extreme cold and to ensure that the heat generated within the base did not cause the surrounding ice to melt​.

    To support its designation as a self-sustaining underground city, Camp Century included living quarters, a kitchen, a hospital, and even a movie theater, all powered by a groundbreaking portable nuclear reactor, the PM-2A. This reactor was a critical component of the base, providing a reliable power source in an environment where traditional fuel supplies would be logistically challenging to maintain​.

    The base’s design and construction required innovative solutions to numerous challenges, such as the structural integrity of buildings under ice and the management of thermal effects caused by the heat generated within the base. These innovations have left a lasting impact on polar construction techniques and have been studied for their potential applications in other remote and harsh environments​.

    Moreover, the data and experience gained from the construction and operation of Camp Century have been invaluable in the development of future designs for ice-cap camps. This project demonstrated that subsurface ice-cap camps are both feasible and practical, and that nuclear power can significantly reduce the logistical burdens of supporting isolated, remote military facilities​.

    Secrets Uncovered

    The unveiling of Camp Century’s true purpose marked a significant chapter in Cold War history. For years, the world believed that Camp Century was solely a scientific research station focusing on Arctic studies and ice core sampling. In reality, it was a cover for a highly classified military operation known as Project Iceworm.

    Initially portrayed as a peaceful research facility, Camp Century was publicly celebrated as a model of polar innovation and technological achievement. The facility was featured in documentaries and news articles, praising its advanced infrastructure and the potential scientific advancements it could bring​.

    The truth about Camp Century came to light in 1997 when the Danish Parliament published documents revealing that the base was intended to serve as an underground launch site for nuclear missiles targeted at the Soviet Union. This disclosure came as a shock to the international community, especially since Denmark had been assured that the operations at Camp Century were purely scientific​.

    This revelation not only strained U.S.-Danish relations but also raised significant ethical and legal questions about the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Greenland. The Danish government expressed deep concerns, as they had not consented to the militarization of their territory, which they were led to believe was being used for benign scientific purposes.

    The declassification of Project Iceworm’s objectives prompted a broader discussion about the environmental impact of the military base, particularly concerning the nuclear reactor used to power the camp. Concerns were raised about the potential release of radioactive materials stored under the ice, which could emerge due to the accelerating ice melt caused by global warming​.

    Camp Century’s Effect on the Environment

    The thawing of Greenland’s ice sheet is poised to reveal the remnants of Camp Century, including hazardous materials such as low-level radioactive waste and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are known carcinogens. This potential exposure is a significant environmental threat, as the melting ice could release these contaminants into the surrounding ecosystem and beyond​.

    As the ice melts, estimated projections suggest that by as early as 2090, the base could become exposed, unveiling not only the physical structure but also the environmental hazards contained within. This includes an estimated 9,200 tons of physical materials, 53,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and other toxic wastes such as PCBs, which have long-term persistence in the environment and can bioaccumulate in wildlife and humans​.

    The exposure of these contaminants poses not only environmental risks but also political and diplomatic challenges. The cleanup and management of this waste will require coordinated international efforts, potentially straining relationships between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland. The situation underscores the broader impacts of climate change, where thawing ice is not just a physical change but a catalyst for emerging political conflicts over accountability and environmental stewardship​.

    Echoes from the Ice: Reflecting on Camp Century’s Legacy

    The rediscovery and impending exposure of Camp Century not only unearths a relic of the Cold War but also reminds us of the lasting environmental impacts of human endeavors. This hidden base, once a symbol of military ingenuity, now poses significant environmental risks as the consequences of its hazardous wastes are set to re-emerge due to the warming climate. The challenges ahead are not only technical or environmental but also deeply political, involving negotiations and responsibilities that span across nations and generations.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 20:55

  • ​​​​​​​Bean Mania: Arabica Coffee Hits New High, Cocoa Jumps To 7-Month High
    ​​​​​​​Bean Mania: Arabica Coffee Hits New High, Cocoa Jumps To 7-Month High

    Cash-strapped US consumers should be deeply concerned about rising food inflation. It’s ‘stickier’ than ever as coffee and cocoa prices surge.

    Arabica coffee futures in New York hit a record high on Tuesday, driven by ongoing fears of a global supply crunch. Prices surged nearly 5% during the session, reaching their highest level in data dating back to 1972. At that time, coffee prices soared due to the disastrous Black Frost, which devastated Brazilian yields.

    “Concerns over Brazil’s 2025-26 arabica crop grew this week,” said Steve Pollard, an analyst at Marex Group, as quoted by Bloomberg.

    Pollard added, “Recent crop tours point to production in the mid-30 million bags,” which would result in yet another supply shortfall.

    Major agricultural trader Volcafe Ltd. recently slashed Brazil’s arabica production outlook due to severe drought conditions. The trader projected that South America would produce just 34.4 million bags of arabica coffee in the next growing season, down 11 million bags from the prior September estimate, according to Bloomberg.

    Volcafe also forecasted a global coffee production shortfall of 8.5 million bags for the 2025-26 season, marking the fifth consecutive year of deficits.

    “We are currently experiencing a strong fundamental phase in the coffee market, which we expect to sustain the elevated price levels,” said Viktoria Kuszak, a research associate at Sucden Financial.

    In the cocoa market, the most active contract in New York jumped to the highest level in seven months over West Africa’s dismal production outlook, yet another crop experiencing dwindling global supplies.

    The most-active cocoa contract has jumped 58% to $10,500 per metric ton since late October, the highest since June. This comes as adverse weather dents supplies from top growers in Ivory Coast and Ghana.

    “The outlook for the mid-crops have deteriorated in the past weeks,” said Steve Wateridge, head of research at TRS by Expana, adding, “The weather conditions in next three months will determine whether we see further deterioration.”

    Broad food price trends via the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Food Price Index, which tracks international prices of a basket of globally traded foods, show that prices have alarmingly re-accelerated this year. 

    Back to the cocoa market: The new surge in bean prices certainly sits well with famed commodity trader Pierre Andurand’s bullish thesis earlier this year about worsening global supplies.

    The big takeaway is that food inflation is very sticky despite the government saying otherwise.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 20:30

  • New York City Mayor Adams Working To Bypass City Council On Sanctuary City Law
    New York City Mayor Adams Working To Bypass City Council On Sanctuary City Law

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he is working to bypass the New York City Council to change the city’s sanctuary city law ahead of a meeting with the incoming Trump administration’s border czar.

    CBS News host Marcia Kramer asked Adams, a Democrat, about his pending meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, over illegal immigration in the city.

    Adams stated that he wants criminal illegal aliens deported first, adding that he may try to bypass the City Council-passed sanctuary law, which in part bars the city’s police department from telling federal immigration officials about criminals’ immigration status.

    “The City Council made it clear they don’t want to change that,” Adams told Kramer on Dec. 8, according to a transcript released by the mayor’s office.

    “They stated they’re not willing to change the sanctuary city law. I think they’re wrong. I have my teams looking at my power as executive orders.”

    He then said that he has “to protect the people of this city” and suggested that he may have “the power to do so.”

    “Prior to the election, even when I communicated to the president and his team, the current president, I stated over and over again we have to deal with the small number of violent offenders who are making their way into our country,” Adams said in the interview.

    “In particular, it’s a very dangerous Venezuelan gang. It is not the overwhelming number of migrants and asylum seekers. And many of these gang members are preying on migrants and asylum seekers also.”

    However, Adams said that because the City Council “made it clear” that it isn’t changing the sanctuary city law to allow cooperation with federal immigration officials, he is now going to “plan B” and looking at his options and powers as mayor.

    “I told the corporation counsel, give me what are my options,” the mayor said in the Dec. 8 interview.

    “As I stated almost a year ago, I want to look at those who are committing serious violent felonies in our city. And I want to know what are my powers.”

    The mayor earlier this year said he wanted the city’s immigration law changed, and he reiterated his stance after Trump’s win in November. He had publicly supported the sanctuary city designation during his mayoral campaign, writing on social media platform Twitter (now X) in October 2021 that New York City would “remain a sanctuary city” if he won.

    Homan and Adams are scheduled to meet in the coming days, the mayor said earlier this month.

    “I want to hear the actual plan, and how are we going to operationalize the plan,” Adams told MSNBC on Dec. 5, reiterating that he wants to target illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes in the city.

    Homan, a former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has issued multiple warnings to sanctuary cities ahead of Trump’s inauguration next month.

    In November, Homan suggested that Denver Mayor Mike Johnston could face criminal charges following Johnston’s remarks to a local media outlet that he would direct police to block federal immigration officials from apprehending illegal aliens.

    In multiple interviews, Homan has said that Trump wants to focus on deporting criminal illegal immigrants first but has also said that any unauthorized individual residing in the United States could face deportation.

    Over the weekend, Trump told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” that he may deport families with mixed immigration statuses to avoid separating children from their parents and vowed that he will move to end birthright citizenship.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 20:05

  • "Parasites Simply Had It Coming": Luigi Mangione's Manifesto Published Online By Journalist
    “Parasites Simply Had It Coming”: Luigi Mangione’s Manifesto Published Online By Journalist

    Update (1952ET):

    Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein released what appears to be Luigi Mangione’s manifesto.

    Klippenstein wrote on his website:

    “I’ve obtained a copy of suspected killer Luigi Mangione’s manifesto — the real one, not the forgery circulating online. Major media outlets are also in possession of the document but have refused to publish it and not even articulated a reason why. My queries to The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and NBC to explain their rationale for withholding the manifesto, while gladly quoting from it selectively, have not been answered.”

    Here’s the full manifesto shared by the journalist:

    “To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it. My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.”

    NBC News’ Ben Goggin commented on the manifesto published by Klippenstein: “Seeing many fake manifestos being published — the one published by Ken matches what NBC has reported here as real.” 

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    Klippenstein noted. 

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    Frank Figliuzzi, former assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, told NBC’s “TODAY” that murder suspect Mangione fits the profile of an ‘activist killer’… 

    *   *   *

    The 26-year-old Ivy League school graduate, Luigi Mangione, charged in the murder of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson, will fight extradition to New York City.

    “My client will not waive extradition today,” Manginone’s lawyer said, quoted by Fox News.  

    Mangione was denied bail on Monday and will remain at the State Correctional Institution—Huntingdon, Pennsylvania—until proper paperwork is filed.

    Mangione’s extradition challenge has kicked off the process requiring a warrant issued by the New York governor’s office to allow him to be transported to the state, where he would then be arraigned at the criminal courthouse in lower Manhattan. 

    Ahead of the extradition proceeding at the Blair County Courthouse in Pennsylvania, Mangione yelled to reporters: “It is completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people.” 

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    “The New York Police Department and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is seeking the Defendant’s extradition pursuant to this Warrant of Arrest,” an extradition filing obtained by Fox News said. 

    The criminal complaint against Mangione in New York has yet to be made public. In New York, criminal complaints remain closed until a defendant is arraigned. 

    NYC prosecutors charged Mangione with murder late Monday night, according to court records. He was slapped with criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a forged instrument, and criminal possession of a firearm suppressor in the horrific killing of Thompson nearly one week ago outside a Midtown Manhattan Hilton hotel. 

    Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told Fox News: “The complaint itself remains sealed.” 

    “Thompson’s killing captivated the public, with some corners of the internet deeming Mangione a quasi-folk hero for striking a blow against the insurance industry,” the Wall Street Journal noted. 

    Mangione was arrested on Monday at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Investigators are still piecing together Mangione’s connection to UnitedHealth. 

    Former schoolmates at the private Gilman School in Baltimore told The New York Times that Mangione’s family had reached out to them this year, saying they had been trying to contact their son for several months following his back surgery.

    The banner photo on Mangione’s X account features an X-ray image of what appears to be a person’s back following a spinal fusion procedure.

    The Daily Mail reported, “Mangione had suffered after a back condition called spondylolisthesis was worsened by a surfing accident,” adding that he was “believed to have had back surgery sometime in 2023 but is feared to have suffered continued complications afterward.” 

    The San Francisco Standard reported that Mangione’s mother reported him missing to the San Francisco Police Department on November 18. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 19:52

  • Taliban & Hamas 'Congratulate' Syrian People & Julani After Assad Fall
    Taliban & Hamas ‘Congratulate’ Syrian People & Julani After Assad Fall

    The hardline and extremist Islamic groups Hamas and the Taliban have been among the first regional entities to offer congratulations to the Islamist-led ‘rebels’ and the Syrian people after the overthrow of the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

    Afghanistan’s Taliban government announced the following on Sunday soon after al-Qaeda spinoff Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) gained control of the presidential palace and government ministries and state media stations in Damascus:

    “We express hope that the process of power transition be carried out in a manner aligned with the aspirations of the Syrian people, paving path for the establishment of an independent and service-oriented Islamic government,” a foreign ministry statement said, calling for Syria to be able to “move forward free from external interference”.

    AFP/Getty Images

    Hamas in Gaza had a similar message, praising the Syrian people for achieving their “aspirations for freedom and justice” after the Syrian Army collapsed and Assad fled the country.

    In Hamas’ first public statement on the Syria crisis, the group said: “We stand strongly with the great people of Syria […] and respect the will, the independence and the political choices of the people of Syria.”

    Hamas further expressed hope that post-Assad Syria will continue “its historical and pivotal role in supporting the Palestinian people.”

    The head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziad Al-Nakhala, also issued a congratulations, offering similar words. All of the aforementioned groups are considered terrorists by Washington and many governments around the world.

    But in the case of HTS which now rules Damascus and much of the major cities in Syria, Washington and London are reportedly mulling whether to drop the formal terror listing.

    The Israeli government has issued a warning to HTS and the jihadist factions in Damascus, saying that they will go the way of Assad if they threaten Israel. IDF tanks are meanwhile just about 25km to the south of Damascus, after moving in the country ostensibly to secure a ‘buffer zone’.

    The groups now in control of Syria have an ideology no different than the Taliban’s, and in many cases are even more extreme…

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    The head of HTS and new ruler of Damascus, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, had in his ‘victory’ speech from Umayyad Mosque praised the “heroic mujahideen”. Julani said, “Today, Syria is purified, thanks to God almighty… Thanks to God almighty, then thanks to the heroic mujahideen.” 

    He and his fighters have long been on record as seeking to establish an ‘Islamic State’ and governance based on Sharia law. The Assad government had represented the last secular state in the Middle East, belonging to the Baath party.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 19:40

  • China's Oil Demand Could Peak In 2025
    China’s Oil Demand Could Peak In 2025

    By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

    Oil demand in China, the world’s top crude importer, could peak as early as next year as the penetration of electric vehicles and LNG trucks is accelerating, state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said on Tuesday.

    At this time last year, CNPC expected a peak in oil demand coming to China by 2030.

    Now, after a year of EVs and LNG-fueled trucks displacing some gasoline and diesel demand, respectively, the peak in China’s oil demand may occur five years earlier, in 2025, according to a report by CNPC economists carried by Bloomberg.

    China’s oil demand growth has been slowing down due to weaker economic performance and a shift to electric vehicles and LNG-fueled trucks, oil industry executives said at the APPEC conference in Singapore in September.

    Although some of the weakness is attributable to weaker economic performance, the shift toward EVs and LNG trucks is removing some road fuel demand permanently, analysts say.

    China’s shift toward EVs will bring about domestic gasoline demand peaking either this year or next, according to Vitol Group’s CEO Russell Hardy.

    “Gasoline is likely to peak this year or next year in China — not because nobody’s moving, but simply because the fleet is slowly changing towards electric vehicles,” the top executive of the world’s largest independent oil trader told Bloomberg in an interview in September.

    Earlier this year, Vitol pushed back its expected timeline for global peak oil demand beyond 2030. Hardy said in February that a slower pace of the energy transition would push peak oil demand beyond 2030.

    Nevertheless, Vitol sees weakening Chinese gasoline demand growth and diesel demand due to the electrification of transport and greater use of LNG for fueling trucks.

    The rise of electric vehicles and the growing use of LNG in trucking have combined with slower-than-expected economic growth and activity to dent China’s oil demand growth and undermine earlier forecasts of global oil demand this year.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 19:15

  • Americans Are Driving Their Older Cars Into The Ground
    Americans Are Driving Their Older Cars Into The Ground

    Americans, hit by inflation, higher interest rates, and supply-chain issues, are buying fewer new vehicles. The four-year average for annual sales is now 15.5 million, down from 17.7 million pre-pandemic, per the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

    The slowdown in new car sales might seem like good news for auto repair and parts companies, as older vehicles typically need more maintenance. Cars between four and eleven years old are in the “sweet spot” for repairs, yet signs show many Americans are cutting back on maintenance spending, according to the Wall Street Journal.

    In May, tire retailer Monro reported a sharp decline in same-store sales, citing low- to middle-income consumers opting for cheaper, off-brand tires due to a glut of imports. Spending on services like brakes and shocks dropped even more.

    Similarly, in September, Genuine Parts, owner of Napa auto-supply stores, experienced its worst single-day stock drop in decades, as retail sales fell significantly. CEO William Stengel blamed a “cautious end consumer deferring certain service and maintenance-related purchases.”

    The Journal wrote that Valvoline also reported weaker-than-expected sales recently, with its shares falling 9%. CEO Lori Flees noted that competitors, like tire service centers, were offering discounted oil changes to attract traffic, as many consumers delayed core services.

    Carfax data shows 30% of vehicles in the U.S. are overdue for tire rotation and 19% for an oil change. This penny-pinching is widespread, with lower-income households trading down to cheaper options across industries. However, skimping on car maintenance could backfire.

    A no-name tire costing $149.99 for a Ford Explorer comes with a 40,000-mile warranty, while a Goodyear option priced at $254 offers a 60,000-mile warranty and better safety.

    The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index is up 36% over five years, meaning maintenance investments now have a greater payoff. Still, iconic brands like Goodyear, which saw an 8.3% drop in tire sales in the Americas last quarter, face pressure from cheap imports that are gaining market share.

    However, while motorists might trade down on parts, they still need local services—an advantage foreign manufacturers can’t replicate.

    The rise in EV sales, which require less maintenance, could impact auto parts stores and quick-lube chains, but it’s too recent to explain the current dip in spending, the report says. 

    Pandemic-related shifts, like remote work and fewer miles driven since 2020, have also played a role, though driving levels have recently returned to 2019 norms.

    Maintenance spending should stabilize as wear-and-tear returns to normal, even if the economy weakens. Historically, during downturns like the 2007-2009 recession, auto-parts retailers outperformed, with the three most retail-focused chains beating the S&P 500 by an average of 55 percentage points.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 18:50

  • Landlords Increasingly Faced With Squatters, Sometimes With Deadly Consequences
    Landlords Increasingly Faced With Squatters, Sometimes With Deadly Consequences

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

    A property manager in Phoenix says that dealing with itinerant “squatters” is one of the least pleasant parts of the real estate business.

    Sometimes, you can’t control what happens, Calvin Favata with Your Holdings told The Epoch Times.

    Rashaad Johnson, 29, had been renting a Your Holdings unit in South Phoenix for about two months and never had any trouble. But he was a “nice guy” who sometimes let squatters who lived in the vacant house across the street use his bathroom shower, Favata said.

    A squatter removes belongings from an apartment as Maricopa County constables serve an eviction order in Phoenix, Ariz., on Sept. 30, 2020. John Moore/Getty Images

    Favata said the shower situation soon “got out of hand,” and the company had to stop it.

    “We even put padlocks and deadbolt [locks] on the bathroom doors so they couldn’t use it,” Favata said.

    On Oct. 14, one of the squatters asked Johnson to use the shower, but when he refused, the man dressed in body armor allegedly told Johnson he was going to get his gun.

    The man returned and killed Johnson, as well as wounding another tenant, a 32-year-old woman who was with him.

    Phoenix police charged Refugio Jimenez, 49, with first-degree murder and burglary, including misconduct involving body armor, felony drug possession, and other crimes.

    Favata said that Johnson’s senseless death was apparently “over a shower.”

    “Since then, I’ve been here every day. We’ve got cameras back up,” Favata told The Epoch Times as he picked up tools from the back of his company truck outside the residence.

    He said squatters have always been an issue and it’s hard to get rid of them. The situation has gotten worse in the Phoenix area in recent months.

    (Top) Phoenix property manager Calvin Favata stands in front of the residence where one of his tenants was allegedly shot to death by a suspected squatter on Oct. 14, 2024. (Bottom) The house across the street where six alleged squatters were staying, on Nov. 2, 2024. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

    “It’s pretty much any house you see that’s vacant. I thought it would be pretty much here and there,” Favata said.

    “The one [property] we just bought, I had to do all the electrical and plumbing. They took all the copper out of the house.”

    ‘Snowbirds’ Targeted

    Scott Blake is the constable for the Hassayampa District, one of the largest districts in Arizona’s Maricopa County. The district includes Phoenix.

    Blake, like Favata, said he has seen more squatters in recent months. The situation appears driven by increasing homelessness, rent costs, and the snowbird phenomenon.

    In the summer, thousands of snowbirds will leave their Arizona property for milder climates and return in the winter. Some seasonal residents return to find a total stranger living in their home and refusing to leave.

    “There is a group of people in society that wants to live for as little as possible. If they can live for free, they do,” Blake said.

    “It’s more frequent than it ever was. I see it once a week now. A lot of times, when the squatter is confronted by law enforcement, they will leave. It’s very rare that it goes as far as me.”

    Blake said that the shooting in Phoenix shows what can happen when a landlord or tenant confronts an alleged squatter.

    Recent incidents in other states have put the issue in the spotlight.

    A man looks to get a view of an abandoned mansion covered in graffiti in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sept. 20, 2024. Neighbors said the house has been a refuge for squatters coming and going for over two years. Robyn Beck/ AFP/AFP via Getty Images

    Two suspected squatters were arrested in March for allegedly killing an apartment resident in New York City and stuffing her body inside a duffel bag in Pennsylvania, according to news reports.

    In October, Los Angeles police said that a homeowner in Van Nuys was attacked by a suspected squatter. The homeowner managed to pin down the trespasser when officers arrived.

    Another alleged squatter was arrested in May for first and second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of two men hired to clean a house, local media reported.

    Blake said that getting rid of a squatter is an often complicated matter, and each state has its version of “squatters rights.”

    According to turbotenant.com, squatters in Arizona can make landlords’ lives extremely difficult once they’ve settled into a property.

    “Even more anxiety-inducing, if a squatter stays on a property long enough and meets specific requirements, they might eventually be able to claim it as their own through a legal process called adverse possession,” the website stated.

    A Notice to Vacate is issued to squatters to leave the property within a certain period to begin the eviction process under Arizona law. The next step is to file an eviction lawsuit in court to remove squatters.

    Blake said that the entire process can take up to 21 days.

    “In Arizona, we are blessed with one of the fastest eviction procedures in the United States,” he said. “In some states like California, the process can take as long as a year.”

    An ‘Invasion’ of Squatters

    The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) reports that squatters have become a significant problem in California and across the United States.

    “Thousands of properties across America are being invaded by squatters, who move in and live rent-free causing major damage, or in worse cases, injury or death to property owners—and there’s really no expedient, easy legal way for property owners or the police to remove them,” according to the organization’s website.

    A newly erected fence blocks the front of a vacant home that Moms 4 Housing activists occupied during a monthslong protest, which ended in a court ordered eviction, in Oakland, Calif., on Jan. 28, 2020. Philip Pacheco/AFP via Getty Images

    The group said the internet and dark forums have become a clearinghouse for advice on how to break into someone else’s home and “establish a right to be there.”

    Blake said that, in some cases, a squatter may produce a fake lease to show police, who then treat squatting as a civil matter.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 18:25

  • Here's How Manhattan DA Plans To Keep Trump Case Alive
    Here’s How Manhattan DA Plans To Keep Trump Case Alive

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg – who had a Biden DOJ plant in his legal case against former President Donald Trump – is trying to ensure his hush money case doesn’t vanish into thin air as Trump prepares for his return to the White House.

    According to court filings revealed Tuesday, Bragg’s office is fiercely opposed to dismissing the case outright but is open to pausing proceedings while Trump serves his second term as president.

    The 82-page legal brief, prosecutors’ most detailed argument yet, stops short of recommending an explicit course of action but outlines several ways to keep the case alive. Among them: delaying sentencing until after Trump leaves office in 2029 or freezing the case while leaving the jury’s guilty verdict intact, The Hill reports.

    “The extreme remedy of dismissing the indictment and vacating the jury verdict is not warranted in light of multiple alternative accommodations that would fully address the concerns raised by presidential immunity,” wrote Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy.

    The filing comes as Trump, now president-elect, wages a legal battle to quash the 34 felony charges stemming from hush money payments to an adult film star. Trump’s lawyers claim his status as president-elect grants him immunity and demands immediate dismissal.

    Prosecutors, however, aren’t buying it. They argue that immunity doesn’t apply until Trump is inaugurated, meaning the case could theoretically proceed to sentencing before January 20, 2025 — a prospect Trump has vowed to fight tooth and nail.

    Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, will now decide the case’s fate, with a ruling expected any day.

    A Legal Tightrope

    The DA’s office acknowledged the complications of prosecuting a sitting president but stopped short of saying the case should be completely shelved.

    Trump was convicted by a Manhattan Jury ‘of his peers’ on 34 counts of falsifying business records, however his reelection to the highest office in the land has put a damper on prosecutors’ plans.

    Sentencing was initially scheduled for last month, only to be postponed indefinitely by Judge Merchan, making it increasingly unlikely Trump will face punishment anytime soon.

    That would leave open the possibility that Trump could still proceed to sentencing in 2029, after he leaves office.

    Alternatively, state prosecutors said the judge could terminate the case without tossing Trump’s conviction, noting a jury verdict removed the presumption of innocence, he was never sentenced and his conviction was “neither affirmed nor reversed” on appeal because of presidential immunity. -The Hill

    Trump’s legal team is crying foul, claiming the prosecution disrupts his transition efforts and his ability to govern effectively. “Wrongly continuing proceedings in this failed lawfare case disrupts President Trump’s transition efforts and his preparations to wield the full Article II executive power authorized by the Constitution pursuant to the overwhelming national mandate granted to him by the American people on November 5, 2024,” Trump’s attorneys fumed in a recent filing.

    Prosecutors hit back, accusing Trump of using delay tactics to muddy the waters. “Having filed those motions to dismiss and then sought repeated adjournments of sentencing to permit their determination by this Court, it is particularly brazen for defendant to argue that the Supremacy Clause bars the Court from taking any action on the motions defendant himself filed,” Conroy wrote.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 18:00

  • Hurricane Helene Recovery In North Carolina Town Fueled By Devoted Locals
    Hurricane Helene Recovery In North Carolina Town Fueled By Devoted Locals

    Authored by Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Nestled in the mountains of Yancey County in western North Carolina, Burnsville looks like a town that might feature in a Norman Rockwell painting or a Hallmark Christmas movie.

    NuWray Hotel owners Amanda Keith, and her husband James Keith, provided meals to residents and volunteers in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Burnsville, N.C., on Nov. 30 ,2024. Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times

    Even before Thanksgiving, the town square was decorated for Christmas. Antique shops, cafes, and coffee houses dot Main Street, bustling with activity. On the surface, it appears to be a typical holiday season, but all is not as it seems. Two months after Hurricane Helene struck the region, Burnsville and Yancey County are still on a long path to recovery.

    Crystal Capps, a real estate agent whose family has lived in Yancey County for several generations, said immediate and long-term assistance is essential for ensuring locals’ safety and enabling them to remain in the region.

    “There is a sense of urgency. Winter weather is here. People are tough in these mountains, but it’s cold— too cold for people to be sleeping in tents and in their cars,” Capps told The Epoch Times. “I saw houses floating down the river when Helene hit. I’ll never forget that. For those who survived but are displaced, they need help.”

    Capps is one of several Burnsville natives, including many friends from Mountain Heritage High School, who serve on the board of the Appalachian Disaster Coalition.

    “We have a lot of work to do, but we have hope, and we are doing all we can to give hope to people who are struggling,” she said.

    Bradley Honeycutt was born and raised in Yancey County. His parents live on a 48-acre mountainside property and have cattle and horses.

    Honeycutt helped start the Appalachian Disaster Coalition just days after the storm. He was born and raised here and graduated in 2006 from Mountain Heritage High School.

    Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane. It left a swath of destruction throughout the Southeast extending to western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

    Raging floodwaters and landslides from Hurricane Helene reached western North Carolina on Sept. 27, devastating urban and rural communities and severely damaging roads, homes, and power sources.

    Just before Helene hit, storms drenched Asheville and surrounding western North Carolina towns when a weather front stalled over the Appalachian Mountains. Some areas received more than a foot of rain, saturating the land before Helene arrived.

    Some roads remain only partially repaired in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Yancey County, N.C., on Nov. 30, 2024. Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times

    Hundreds of roads were blocked or completely washed away, requiring rescue crews to reach victims by mule, horseback, and on foot. Search and rescue efforts, and delivery of supplies, were challenging because many residents who live on a mountainside only have one way in and one way out.

    Honeycutt heard about what was happening in western North Carolina on the news. He tried to reach his parents all day on Sept. 27.

    Finally, a cousin connected a Starlink terminal to a generator, enabling internet access, and contacted him through Facebook Messenger, he told The Epoch Times.

    “It’s really bad,” he was told. “We don’t know what the rest of the county looks like, and we have not heard from your mom and dad,” his cousin said.

    Honeycutt booked a flight to Charlotte and arrived at his parents’ property on Sept. 28.

    “They weren’t there when I got to the house. I knew they were safe because the generators were running and the lights were on. When they pulled into the driveway, we hugged and talked for around an hour. Then I said, ‘I gotta go and see what I can do.’” he said.

    Honeycutt contacted friends who had experience with search and rescue after disasters. They traveled to Yancey County to help.

    Friends in Dallas, where he is finishing a degree in architecture and design with the intent to return to Burnsville and open a business, established social media accounts under the name “Bradley Loves Burnsville.”

    The accounts gained followers, and Honeycutt outlined the area’s immediate needs to them.

    “We needed propane. We needed gas. Before we knew it, a tanker with 11,000 gallons of gas arrived. Necessities and other items like generators started coming in. It was chaos,” Honeycutt said. “There was no outside communication since cell phones didn’t work. No water. No power. It was dark, and we were on our own.”

    Recognizing immediate and long-term needs for temporary and permanent housing, and trauma therapy, Honeycutt established an incorporated nonprofit called Appalachian Disaster Coalition.

    The current priority is getting displaced residents into campers and temporary homes, Honeycutt said. The group has partnered with other nonprofits to expand their capabilities. Eventually, they plan to build 30 three-bedroom, two-bath, single-family homes for locals in Yancey County.

    Appalachian Disaster Coalition and other independent groups are important in ensuring the town isn’t forgotten, Honeycutt said.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 17:40

  • GM To Wind Down Cruise Robotaxi Operations
    GM To Wind Down Cruise Robotaxi Operations

    General Motors is winding down its Cruise robotaxi division, according to a new report from Bloomberg. 

    GM’s exit from the market leaves Google’s Waymo and Tesla as the two main names in autonomous driving. The division “proved costly and full of reputational pitfalls” for General Motors, the report said.

    GM and Cruise will merge technical teams to focus on autonomous tech for future GM vehicles, halting robotaxi development due to high costs and stiff competition, the company announced Tuesday.

    This marks a significant shift after Cruise weathered industry challenges and resumed operations following a high-profile incident last year.

    The Bloomberg report said that GM’s retreat from the robotaxi business reshapes its ambitions. CEO Mary Barra’s vision of transforming GM into a tech-driven company with $50 billion from Cruise now seems distant. The move aligns GM with its core car-making focus, abandoning mobility-as-a-service goals.

    This shift comes as Waymo expands and Tesla targets a 2026 robotaxi launch. Cruise had resumed operations with safety drivers in Dallas and Houston and planned California testing before the pivot.

    The DOJ and SEC were among multiple agencies probing GM Cruise after a collision with a pedestrian last October. 

    Following the incident, California revoked Cruise’s permits, citing the company’s lack of transparency. A review by law firm Quinn Emanuel cleared Cruise executives of intentional deception but criticized their leadership and confrontational attitude towards regulators. The victim survived the accident.

    Recall back in December 2023 we noted that Cruise was slashing 24% of its workforce as part of a restructuring. The autonomous driving unit at the time said it would lay off 900 of its 3,800 employees, most of whom were in the commercial operations and related corporate functions.

    Exemplifying the difficulties of autonomy, the news came on the same day it was reported that Tesla was sued by the family of a deceased driver who lost his life during an accident where a car was purportedly operating on ‘Autopilot’. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 17:20

  • Kroger-Albertsons Merger Blocked By Court In Latest Anti-M&A Farce By Biden Admin
    Kroger-Albertsons Merger Blocked By Court In Latest Anti-M&A Farce By Biden Admin

    The Biden administration, desperate to make an impact somewhere, anywhere, in its final, dying days, has struck again.

    Just around the time we learned that Biden was set to finally kill the Nippon Steel of US steel, we learned that a federal judge had also blocked supermarket giant Kroger from acquiring Albertsons, siding with that anti-M&A puppet of various outgoing socialist interests, Lina Khan, who said the $20 billion supermarket merger would erode competition and raise prices for consumers, when in reality it will only lead to more supermarket failures, fewer jobs and even higher prices for consumers.

    U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson agreed with the Federal Trade Commission’s argument that Kroger would become the dominant player in traditional supermarkets if allowed to add nearly 2,000 stores by taking over Albertsons, its smaller rival. Nelson rejected the companies’ counterargument that selling 579 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers would replace the lost competition.

    “Evidence shows that defendants engage in substantial head-to-head competition and the proposed merger would remove that competition,” Nelson wrote in the ruling, clearly unaware that grocers have a less than 1% profit margin, or that a similar ruling blocked the Jetblue-Spirit merger less than a year ago, culminating with Spirit’s bankruptcy, mass layoffs and even higher prices for those carriers who remained.

    The decision is a significant milestone for the FTC under the Biden administration, whose chair Lina Khan has waged legal battles to stop megadeals rather than accept companies’ proposed fixes to address competition concerns.

    For the companies, the decision is a major blow to a deal that executives have said is critical for competing against bigger retail powers like Walmart and Amazon. Attorneys for Kroger and Albertsons have previously said they would likely abandon the deal if the judge sided with the FTC.

    An FTC spokesman said the ruling “protects competition in the grocery market, which will prevent prices from rising even more.”

    As the WSJ reports, Kroger and Albertsons had both spent hundreds of millions of dollars on lawyers, bankers and other advisers since they announced the deal in October 2022, according to securities filings. If the deal is called off, Kroger has to pay Albertsons a $600 million breakup fee.

    Kroger is the biggest traditional U.S. supermarket operator by sales, representing about 9% of the grocery market, while Albertsons is the second-largest supermarket with 5% of American grocery sales. Both companies have been surpassed by megaretailer Walmart, which for decades has been the country’s biggest seller of groceries, and Costco’s grocery sales have nearly caught up to Kroger’s.

    The deal with Albertsons would have nearly doubled Kroger’s total store count, exceeding the scale of Walmart’s 3,500 supercenters. Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s longtime chief executive, had pledged to eventually invest $1 billion annually in lowering prices at the acquired Albertsons stores, where he said prices typically run 10% to 12% above a Kroger store.

    But FTC attorneys argued the deal would only give Kroger a reason to increase prices by removing a competitor. The FTC said the merger would result in excessive concentration of supermarket ownership in over 1,900 local markets across the country, far more than what the companies acknowledged.

    Kroger and Albertsons compete head to head for consumers in many markets, especially on the West Coast and in states such as Colorado and the city of Chicago.

    Nelson’s order granting the FTC a preliminary injunction doesn’t immediately kill the deal. The FTC and the parties could continue to litigate a separate case testing the legality of the merger in the agency’s in-house court. A trial before an FTC administrative law judge is scheduled for no sooner than Dec. 18.

    Kroger shares closed 5.1% higher, while Albertsons stock dropped 2.7%.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 16:40

  • Opposition To Woke Progressivism Energizes Trump Coalition
    Opposition To Woke Progressivism Energizes Trump Coalition

    Authored by Peter Berkowitz via RealClearPolitics,

    In January, Republicans will gain undivided control of the federal government’s political branches. Yet President-elect Donald Trump’s comfortable 312-226 electoral-college victory over Vice President Kamala Harris and his narrow margin in the popular vote – 49.9% to 48.4% – do not constitute a landslide. Considering also Republicans’ razor-thin House majority and several vulnerable seats the 53-47 Republican Senate majority must defend in 2026, it is early to speak of a national political realignment. Whether the GOP expands and establishes firmly the impressive multi-racial and multi-ethnic working-class coalition that Trump built over the last nine years turns on the coalition’s composition and the forces that unified it around the most unlikely of two-term presidents.

    In 2024, Trump enjoyed stunning, nearly across-the-board improvements over his 2020 performance. The president-elect increased his numbers in 2,764 of America’s 3,112 counties – including those that tend Democratic – while all 50 states shifted right. Trump achieved “unprecedented” levels of support for a Republican presidential candidate among black, Latino, and Asian peoples. Although female voters went 53% to 46% to Harris, Trump bettered his results with women. And, in a mid-November CBS news poll, 57% of adults in the United States under 30 were happy or satisfied with Trump’s victory and 58% of those 30-44 years of age. Harris surpassed President Joe Biden’s 2020 results only among white, college-educated voters.

    Several factors propelled citizens of different groups to vote for Trump. As Fareed Zakaria observes, Trump “celebrated risk-taking and spoke the language of disruption and radical reform,” which attracted men, entrepreneurs, and technologists. Moreover, the GOP nominee faced a weak opponent who, until three months before the election, conspired with her party and the press to pretend that the unpopular president was as sharp as ever. The perception that Biden presided over lawless migration, high inflation, and indulgence of crime fomented discontent, especially among the working class. In addition, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs and transgender activism, which flourished under the Biden administration, angered Trump voters. DEI impelled the federal bureaucracy, big business, major media, and universities to disparage merit as a bigoted standard and to provide preferential treatment to non-Jewish and non-Asian minorities and women. Transgender activism denied the public relevance of biological differences between men and women.

    Many Trump voters view the Democratic Party as “woke.” So do some Trump critics, prominent among them New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who maintained shortly after the election that “woke is broke.” The term originally emerged in the 1940s among African Americans who described as woke those acquiring awareness of injustice in society. In today’s national conversation about politics woke refers to fashionable progressive opinions about society, morality, and politics contrived in universities and spread by elites to government, corporations, the mainstream media, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley.

    Woke progressivism is not a fixed creed or settled doctrine but embraces a mix of recognizable and interrelated attitudes, ideas, and goals. Typically, woke progressives maintain that society is divided into oppressors and oppressed. They equate virtue with victimhood. They teach that white supremacy and male supremacy gave birth to the United States and that systemic racism and sexism permeate America’s unwritten norms, founding principles, and basic political institutions. They insist that social justice requires government and private organizations to discriminate against white men to ensure that the minorities and women whom they oppress acquire positions of wealth, status, and power at least equal to their proportion in society. They reject civility, toleration, and colorblindness as hopelessly compromised by their association with America’s corrupt constitutional heritage. And they despise dissent from their axioms and aims, which they interpret as dispositive evidence of dissenters’ racism and sexism.

    Woke progressivism promotes the social, political, and economic attainment of minorities with privileged status on the hierarchy of grievance – especially those already moving in elite circles. And it advances careers of highly credentialed white people by signaling their rectitude to fellow initiates while giving the pleasure of lording their moral refinement over the clueless rabble.

    Yet woke progressivism’s appeal is limited. It is an ideology that is poorly designed to win over white men or, for that matter, their wives, mothers, and daughters who in many cases take umbrage at the vilification of their husbands, sons, and fathers. It also rankles men and women of all races and ethnicities who believe that America, for all its shortcomings, remains a land of hope and opportunity. And it appears illiberal and antidemocratic to the inspiring diversity of persons who hold that inherent human dignity requires equal respect for the rights of all. The combination of vilified white men, the females who love them, and nonwhite citizens who feel gratitude for American freedom and opportunity seems to embrace a majority of citizens.

    In “Academe’s Divorce From Reality,” recently published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, William Deresiewicz indicates that Trump voters rightly associated woke progressivism with the Biden administration. An essayist, scholar, and longtime critic of universities’ betrayal of liberal education, Deresiewicz argues that the election represented a referendum on “the politics of the academy.” That politics converges with woke progressivism. “Its ideas, its assumptions, its opinions and positions – as expressed in official statements, embodied in policies and practices, established in centers and offices, and espoused and taught by large and leading portions of the professoriate – have been rejected,” he maintains.

    “Over the last 10 years or so” – as Americans’ confidence in higher education plummeted – “a cultural revolution has been imposed on this country from the top down,” according to Deresiewicz. “Its ideas originated in the academy, and it’s been carried out of the academy by elite-educated activists and journalists and academics.”

    Overlapping in many respects with Biden-administration sympathies and objectives, this university-driven cultural revolution aims at “decriminalization or nonprosecution of property and drug crimes and, ultimately, the abolition of police and prisons; open borders, effectively if not explicitly; the suppression of speech that is judged to be harmful to disadvantaged groups; ‘affirmative’ care for gender-dysphoric youth (puberty blockers followed by cross-sex hormones followed, in some cases, by mastectomies) and the inclusion of natal males in girls’ and women’s sports; and the replacement of equality by equity – of equal opportunity for individuals by equal outcomes for designated demographic groups – as the goal of social policy.”

    The university-driven cultural revolution anathematizes fundamental institutions and rejects nature, “insist[ing] that the state is evil, that the nuclear family is evil, that something called ‘whiteness’ is evil, that the sex binary, which is core to human biology, is a social construct.”

    It mobilizes the federal government, higher education, and the private sector to establish and manage “the DEI regimes, the training and minders and guidelines, that have blighted American workplaces, including academic ones.”

    It commandeers language to compel obedience to its dictates, “promulgat[ing] an ever-shifting array of rebarbative neologisms whose purpose often seems to be no more than its own enforcement: POC (now BIPOC), AAPI (now AANHPI), LGBTQ (now LGBTQIA2S+), ‘pregnant people,’ ‘menstruators,’ ‘front hole,’ ‘chest feeding,’ and, yes, ‘Latinx.’”

    And it seeks not merely acquiescence to its policies but solemn allegiance – outward and inward – to its imperatives: “It is joyless, vengeful, and tyrannical. It is purist and totalistic. It demands affirmative, continuous, and enthusiastic consent.”

    A recent report of the Network Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers University, “INSTRUCTING ANIMOSITY: How DEI Pedagogy Produces the Hostile Attribution Bias,” lends social-science support to the observation that woke progressivism, contrary to its promise to advance social justice, fosters distrust and enmity among citizens. For example, researchers asked one group to read representative statements contending that America is rife with systemic racism and the other to read nonpolitical materials. Researchers then presented to both groups a hypothetical involving a college applicant who, following an interview, is denied admission. While the hypothetical mentioned neither the applicant’s nor the interviewer’s race, those who read the DEI materials were significantly more likely to see bigotry at play.

    NCRI researchers’ several studies consistently found that “ideas and rhetoric foundational to many DEI trainings,” contrary to DEI claims, neither “foster pluralistic inclusiveness” nor “increase empathy and understanding.” Rather, “[a]cross all groupings, instead of reducing bias, they engendered a hostile attribution bias…amplifying perceptions of prejudicial hostility where none was present, and punitive responses to the imaginary prejudice” (footnote omitted).

    The NCRI findings reinforce common sense. If, in the spirit of woke progressivism, elite universities teach that American institutions are hateful, students will learn to despise their country and scorn the patriots among their fellow citizens. If elite universities teach that Americans are either oppressors or oppressed, the best and the brightest will view politics as war and education as propaganda. If elite universities teach that group identity takes precedence over the dignity of the person, graduates will regard themselves as duty bound to trample over individual rights in pursuit of social justice.

    And if our elite universities – and the graduates they annually launch into the world – keep it up, they will increase the Trump coalition’s chances of landslide election victories and enhance the prospects of a national political realignment built around working-class men and women joined by individuals of all colors and classes who cherish freedom and democracy in America.

    Peter Berkowitz is the Tad and Dianne Taube senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. From 2019 to 2021, he served as director of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. State Department. His writings are posted at PeterBerkowitz.com and he can be followed on X @BerkowitzPeter.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 16:20

  • Elon Musk: "We Should Unwind" The NGO Industry
    Elon Musk: “We Should Unwind” The NGO Industry

    Non-governmental organizations receiving taxpayer dollars are under scrutiny for misusing funds in shady operations. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, set to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have announced plans to investigate how taxpayer funds are funneled into NGOs. 

    Let’s begin with an exchange between Musk and Ramaswamy on X one week ago…

    “We need to scrutinize U.S. government funding of “non-government organizations.” It’s an oxymoron that represents a waste of taxpayer dollars, but the real problem runs deeper: Americans deserve transparency on opaque foreign aid & nonprofit groups abetting our own border crisis,” Ramaswamy said, while quoting another X user who explained how Victoria Nuland, appointed to the Board of Directors of the National Endowment, funded overseas NGOs involved in questionable activities in Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria.

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    Musk agreed, commenting, “Absolutely.”

    With such vague and expansive authority, some of these NGOs effectively act as agents of the government, often pursuing politically motivated agendas such as promoting woke propaganda, engaging in censorship, supporting endless foreign wars, and even supporting the migrant invasion into the US. 

    On Tuesday morning, Musk scrutinized the NGO industry once again. He said, “We should unwind this IMO,” referring to one X user who posted how the NGO industry’s total assets over the last two decades exploded. 

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

    Whoa. 

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

    And this. 

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    Marc Andreessen, the billionaire investor and co-founder of the influential Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, told Joe Rogan during a recent interview how the “government outsources to these NGOs the things it’s not legally allowed to do …. such as censorship.” 

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    Americans are realizing that these mysterious NGOs serve as workarounds for the federal government that encounter constitutional limitations or fear of political backlash.

    DOGE appears to be the entity that will end this NGO madness. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/10/2024 – 15:45

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Dec 10

Today’s News 10th December 2024

  • Here's What Has To Happen To Prevent Post-Assad Syria From Collapsing
    Here’s What Has To Happen To Prevent Post-Assad Syria From Collapsing

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

    The epic collapse of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) over the past ten days and Assad’s cowardly flight from Damascus early Sunday morning herald the dawn of a new Syria.

    The most immediate risk is that the entire country collapses just like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya before it.

    That could create a black hole of instability from which innumerable global terrorist threats could emerge. Here’s what has to happen to prevent post-Assad Syria from experiencing that dark future:

    1. The Army & The Security Services Must Remain Intact

    The three preceding cases of state collapse were characterized by the army and the security services dissolving shortly after their foreign-backed regime change plots succeeded. In Syria’s case, the SAA still exists as an institution even though it’s on the retreat to who knows where, perhaps to the Alawite-majority coast. It’s therefore imperative that it doesn’t fall apart and cooperates with the non-terrorist anti-government opposition (NTAGO) to ensure that everything doesn’t spiral out of control.

    2. Political Reform Must Begin Without Delay

    Lavrov repeatedly emphasized during his interview at Saturday’s Doha Forum that that the Syrian government and the NTAGO must immediately implement UNSC Resolution 2254 from late 2015, which calls for drastic political reforms such as a new constitution and UN-supervised elections. It was Assad’s refusal to compromise with the NTAGO that ultimately led to this disaster. Prime Minister Jalali will reportedly serve as caretaker leader during the political transition, however, which is a positive sign.

    3. The Russian-Written Draft Constitution Must Be Revived

    It was assessed late last month that one of “The Five Reasons Why Syria Was Caught By Surprise” is because Assad rejected the Russian-written draft constitution from January 2017’s first Astana Summit, which was constructively critiqued in detail here at the time. With him out of the way, the multiple concessions that this document called for Damascus to make might finally become a reality, and they might even be taken further than its authors initially envisaged given the new circumstances.

    4. The Alawite & Kurdish Minorities Must Be Protected

    The Alawite coast remains outside the control of Turkish-backed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorists for now as does the US-backed Kurdish-controlled northeast, both minorities of which must be protected from the jihadists. To that end, the aforesaid document could lay the basis for broad Bosnian-like federalized autonomy that could result in the coast falling under Russia’s “sphere of influence”, as could the northeast if Trump withdraws US forces from there like RFJ Jr. claimed that he plans to do.

    5. The Interim Government Must Maintain Russia’s Bases

    And finally, Russia can help the interim Syrian government fight against terrorists just like it helped Assad do from 2015 onward, so they must allow it to maintain its bases for that purpose. Their withdrawal would leave the Syrian state defenseless and the Alawite-majority coast at HTS’ mercy. In fact, since Russia’s intervention in Syria was driven by anti-terrorist motives, it might refuse to withdraw on national security pretexts and possibly midwife an independent coastal state to legitimize its continued presence.

    Post-Assad Syria is on the brink of all-out collapse that could turn it into the world’s largest hotbed of terrorism if this process isn’t soon averted.

    The most effective way to prevent this from happening is following the five pieces of advice from this analysis.

    Anything less would greatly raise the chances of the worst-case scenario transpiring, but even in that event, Russia could still mitigate some of the damage if it continues bombing terrorists in Syria and supports the creation of an independent coastal state.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 23:25

  • Where Corruption Is Or Isn't Seen As A Top Concern
    Where Corruption Is Or Isn’t Seen As A Top Concern

    International Anti-Corruption Day is observed annually on December 9 to raise awareness about the harmful effects of corruption and to promote efforts to combat it.

    Introduced by the United Nations in 2003 following the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the day emphasizes the global nature of the problem, which erodes public trust, exacerbates inequality and undermines development.

    While corruptions is in fact a global issue, Statista’s Felix Richter shows in the chart below the degree to which people perceive it to be a problem varies greatly across countries. According to Ipsos’ What Worries the World survey, 26 percent of respondents from 29 countries named financial and political corruption as one of the three most pressing issues in their country in November 2024, trailing only crime/violence, inflation, poverty/inequality and unemployment as one of the top five concerns on people’s minds.

    Infographic: Where Corruption Is or Isn't Seen as a Top Concern | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Indonesia and Hungary topped the ranking, with 52 percent of respondents naming corruption as a top 3 worry ahead of Peru (47 percent and South Africa (46 percent).

    This year’s campaign for International Anti-Corruption Day serves as a call to action to build a culture of integrity for younger generations.

    “While young people are significantly affected by corruption, they also have the potential to become powerful agents of change in the fight for a future rooted in integrity,” the campaign website says.

    “Young people must demand accountability and actively participate in anti-corruption efforts.”

    At the other end of the scale, respondents from the Netherlands, Germany and France were most likely not to see corruption as a top 3 issue in their country at 7, 9 and 10 percent of respondents, respectively.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 23:00

  • Policy Blunders – Why The Great Depression Lasted So Long
    Policy Blunders – Why The Great Depression Lasted So Long

    Authored by Jonathan Miltimore via the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER),

    Discover more about the policies that shaped a decade of hardship… and the lessons they hold for today…

    In 1940, Victor Records released the Dust Bowl Ballads, an album of songs written and performed by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. In two volumes and a dozen songs, the folk legend sang about the droughts that plagued North America in waves beginning in 1934 and ending in 1940.

    “On the 14th day of April of 1935, There struck the worst of dust storms that ever filled the sky. You could see that dust storm comin’, the cloud looked deathlike black, And through our mighty nation, it left a dreadful track. From Oklahoma City to the Arizona line, Dakota and Nebraska to the lazy Rio Grande, It fell across our city like a curtain of black rolled down. We thought it was our judgment, we thought it was our doom.”

    The lyrics of these tunes—those above come from “The Great Dust Storm Disaster”—reveal the psychological impact the Dust Bowl had on Americans, in no small part because it corresponded with another historical event: the Great Depression.

    In her new explainer “The Economic Consequences of Populism,” historian Amity Shlaes points out that as the Great Depression dragged on, more and more Americans began to feel as if God had abandoned America. At the pulpit, pastors compared Americans to Job and to the Hebrews in the Book of Exodus confronted by locusts and plagues.

    Shlaes touches on why so Americans felt as they did, noting that throughout the 1930s joblessness remained above 10 percent, while the stock market saw a 90 percent drop from its 1929 high, a peak it would not reach again until the 1950s.

    As Americans endured extended economic plight, many came to believe they were experiencing the wrath of God.

    One needn’t be a religious skeptic to doubt that Americans’ suffering was biblical retribution.

    Today we know that even the Dust Bowl was a man-made ecological disaster, triggered by government wheat subsidies that encouraged unsustainable plowing under of erosion-resistant native plants.

    And historians and economists have written extensively about what triggered the Great Depression: chief among them a lack of liquidity and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act that restricted free trade.

    Shlaes points out that far less attention has been paid to the question that should follow.

    “What about the years that followed?

    Why did recovery not return after five years, or after seven?

    It is not, after all, a deflation shock, however sharp, that converted the initial depression, lower case, into a Great Depression, with capital letters.

    It was the duration that made the Depression great.

    Whether monetarist or Keynesian, economists respond to commonsense queries about the later years with a single line:

    ‘That is complicated.’ It is as if a sign has been placed over the period to intimidate the curious: ‘Here Be Dragons.’”

    A decade of misery Americans experienced did not stem from an angry God. A careful reading of the facts of the period suggests they stemmed from bad economic policies, ones initially passed by President Hoover that grew worse under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

    In a highly readable Explainer, Shlaes illustrates the economic mistakes of the Great Depression – which famously included government slaughtering and burying 6.5 million pigs to keep prices high while millions of Americans were going hungry – were even more nonsensical than you realized.

    Discover more about the policies that shaped a decade of hardship—and the lessons they hold for today.

    In her explainer “The Economic Consequences of Populism,” historian Amity Shlaes delves into the Great Depression’s blundering economic policies, illuminating how misguided decisions led to prolonged suffering.

    Yet a final thought, especially relevant now, involves the cost of politicizing economics. Any of us can understand that politicians must back silly or profoundly perverse policies to win an election. Many advocates of free markets will vote for candidates who emphasize anti-market concessions during campaign season, consoling themselves with the fact that the same campaigners, in a kind of aside, occasionally pay lip service to the power of markets. The voter, sometimes naively, hopes that once secure in office, the politicians will deliver the free-market policy. Sometimes, they do.

    What is truly insidious however is when politicians advertise those subpar policies, from tariffs to, say, child credits or make-work jobs, as optimal economics, a guarantee of prosperity. For then, at least for a while, voters believe them. That is what happened in the 1930s. In such cases, the public, like the long-suffering 1930s electorate, becomes complicit in its own deception and disappointment.

    In short, there is a price for placing faith in political leaders as one would in a church, a price for which voters are also responsible. “Have we found our happy valley?” Roosevelt asked when he called for a political license to continue his experimentation from on high in 1936. By reelecting him, even those many voters who did not have New Deal jobs agreed to continue to travel behind Roosevelt in his quest, and to tolerate policy that, at some level, they knew could not deliver. The consequence of this complicity was that second term of Depression.

    The Americans who succumbed to political lures and failed to wind down, halt, block, or attenuate the New Deal were our great grandparents, or at the very least, our forerunners. Americans today owe it to them to forgive that error – and remember it. After all, they and we are one people.

    It is possible therefore to extend the sage Anderson’s point.

    The Great Depression did not endure because God struck America. It endured because our leaders played God. And because we let them.

    Read her fascinating full analysis here: “The Economic Consequences of Populism”

    *  *  *

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

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 22:35

  • NY AG Limits 'Ghost Guns' At Buyback After Exploitation By 3D Printing Community
    NY AG Limits ‘Ghost Guns’ At Buyback After Exploitation By 3D Printing Community

    On X, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a new gun buyback event on Long Island for Saturday. The post was heavily ratio’d, with the usual X users in the reply section bashing the progressive politician and arguing how ineffective gun buybacks are at reducing crime. Meanwhile, it seems like James’ office has learned from previous gun buybacks how not to be exploited by the 3D-printed community.  

    “On Saturday, December 14, we’re hosting a gun buyback event in Bohemia at the True North Community Church from 10AM-1PM,” James’ post read, adding, “No ID is needed, and no questions will be asked.” 

    However, in small italicized font, James’ office wrote:

    “Anyone bringing homemade or 3D-printed guns will be paid a total of $25, regardless of how many are turned in.” 

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    The reason: In 2022, New York’s attorney general had to revise the rules surrounding gun buybacks after an unidentified man from West Virginia exploited a loophole at an event in Utica, New York.

    The man reportedly earned $21,000 in gift cards after turning in 60 printed auto sears, which likely cost him $50 in plastic filament. That’s a heck of a return. 

    “Are you guys going to get scammed by the ppl bringing in those cheap 3d printed guns? It was like an unlimited money glitch for them,” one X user asked James. 

    Someone found another “unlimited money glitch” … 

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    The 3D printer community has woken up to “unlimited money glitch” over the years:

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    James’ office appears to have learned from past mistakes. 

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    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 22:10

  • With Trump's Victory, America's Long National Nightmare Is Over
    With Trump’s Victory, America’s Long National Nightmare Is Over

    Authored by David Keltz via American Greatness,

    “My fellow Americans, our long, national nightmare is over,” the soon-to-be President, Gerald R. Ford, declared on August 9, 1974, upon taking the Oath of Office – following President Nixon’s resignation in the aftermath of Watergate.

    Those nine words could not be more appropriate to describe what President Donald J. Trump’s victory means for the United States and the world.

    On January 20, 2025, our long national nightmare will indeed be over.

    We will no longer have a president in serious cognitive decline—bordering on senility—who was never in charge of running the country and allowed his puppet masters to turn the greatest nation in the world into a Bernie Sandersesque socialist hellscape with our borders thrown wide open, our energy supply vastly diminished, our tax dollars spent on Ukraine and Green New Deal boondoggles, our once mighty military wokeified and weakened with recruitments dropping like flies (thanks Lloyd Austin)—our once mighty arsenal of aircraft and ships depleted—and our Justice Department corrupted and weaponized against the left’s political opponents.

    On January 20, 2025, we will no longer have a president who enters his REM cycle soon after sundown while our enemies in Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea plot their next destructive moves—knowing full well that the Ivy League morons in charge of our national security (Blinken & Sullivan) won’t do a damn thing in the way of deterrence.

    The stumbling, feet-shuffling, how-do-I-exit-the-stage, gibberish-speaking Manchurian president, who is somehow worth millions, despite working in government for half a century, will be replaced by a man who built luxury skyscrapers and golf courses all over the world and already presided over one of the most successful terms any president has ever had.

    On January 20, 2025, we will no longer have a vice president who is as dumb as a doorknob and as incompetent as the New York Giants offense—but would otherwise make a fine president of the giggle club.

    Replacing Mrs. Cackles in the second highest office in the land will be another successful businessman and well-respected senator who actually did grow up in poverty and showed us all his intellect, his charm, his cool demeanor, and sound judgment—during his masterful debate performance against one of the creepiest and phoniest individuals ever to seek the vice presidency.

    On January 20, 2025, our adversaries will once again fear us and will be put on notice, should they fail to comply with the world’s greatest superpower—as Trump brilliantly laid out on Truth Social this week:

    “Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire world, in the Middle East—but it’s all talk and no action! Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied history of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”

    In other words, “F*** with us and find out.”

    That is the kind of leadership that has desperately been lacking on the world stage for the past four years.

    January 20, 2025, will also begin the start of a great U.S. economic boom and a cultural revival that has already begun.

    Since Trump’s victory, the stock market has been soaring, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average recently closing at record highs and the value of Bitcoin surpassing $100,000.

    Small businesses and large corporations will no longer be kneecapped by ridiculous regulations and excessive taxes and will not be penalized if, God forbid, they fail to show how woke they are.

    In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Walmart, Starbucks, Boeing, and other corporations are already dismantling their DEI programs and will stop promoting anything having to do with “racial equity” or “LGBTQ.”

    As the great economist Milton Friedman once said, “There is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game.”

    And thankfully, the era of woke sports also appears to be dead. Instead of athletes kneeling for the National Anthem, now NFL and college football players do the famous Trump YMCA dance after scoring a touchdown—or after defeating an opponent in the UFC ring.

    These are all positive developments.

    But some things will unfortunately remain the same.

    Hollywood will continue to make anti-white, anti-male, and anti-Christian films that routinely mock middle America. They are free to do so, but their box-office numbers will likely suffer.

    And the leftist media will continue its crusade against conservatives and spew its regular anti-Trump derangement pieces—full of falsehoods and unverified sources that bear little or no resemblance to reality.

    But the good news is, very few people take The New York Times or The Washington Post seriously anymore—with Gallup reporting that just 31 percent of Americans have confidence in the media to fairly and accurately report the news—a new all-time low.

    Thanks to Elon Musk, free speech is no longer an antiquated relic controlled by left-wing tyrants—X is where the masses go to get their news now.

    And thanks to President Trump, there is a renewed sense of pride and love for the country.

    The stars and stripes are back in vogue.

    On January 20, 2025, our long national nightmare will finally be over—unburdened by what has been.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 21:45

  • Sleep Problems Could Be Key Driver Of Chronic Pain, New Study Finds
    Sleep Problems Could Be Key Driver Of Chronic Pain, New Study Finds

    While many believe that pain merely disrupts sleep, research at the UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences is challenging this notion by revealing that poor sleep may play a critical role in the onset and worsening of chronic pain.​

    “It’s the biggest unresolved health issue of our time,” David Klyne, a scientist at The University of Queensland in Australia (UQ), said in a press release.

    Klyne’s work shows that up to 90 percent of people with chronic pain also struggle with sleep problems, underscoring how vital sleep is to managing and potentially preventing ongoing discomfort.

    Chronic pain is a debilitating condition for millions around the globe.

    However, new insights suggest that the relationship between pain and sleep may be more complex than previously thought. ​

    As George Citroner writes at The Epoch Times, Klyne wants to change how health care professionals treat patients with ongoing pain.

    He has found that inadequate sleep can lead to chronic pain rather than being solely a consequence of it.

    According to the study, up to 90 percent of people with chronic pain also battle sleep problems, underscoring the crucial role that sleep plays in the experience of pain.

    Expert Opinions on Sleep-Pain Connection

    Between 67 and 88 percent of people with chronic pain experience sleep disruption and insomnia, and approximately 50 percent of people with insomnia report chronic pain, Dr. William Caldwell, medical director of the Center for Pain Management at Stony Brook Medicine, told The Epoch Times.

    Caldwell advocates for a greater emphasis on treating both pain and sleep issues, as substantial evidence links chronic pain with poor sleep quality.

    “In my practice, I specifically ask if a patient’s pain leads to altered sleep behaviors,” Caldwell said.

    “If sleep is altered, a specific focus is made to improve nocturnal pain symptoms that will hopefully lead to more healthy sleep patterns,” he added.

    Klyne’s previous research has indicated a strong correlation between sleep and recovery from pain. For example, people recovering from injuries may heal more rapidly with better sleep.

    Lack of sleep may put extra strain on the nervous and immune systems, making pain worse and potentially leading to chronic conditions.

    IQ Ultra Joint Flex is a comprehensive supplement that supports joint health and mobility. This powerful formula combines Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Quercetin, and MSM to alleviate joint pain, maintain connective tissue integrity, provide antioxidant support, and enhance cartilage synthesis.

    Need for Urgent Attention

    Worldwide, chronic pain causes more disability than cancer and heart disease combined. Sleep has been overlooked as a treatment for pain, according to Klyne, who said he hopes his research will change.

    His team is recruiting participants for clinical trials, targeting people 18 and older who have experienced back pain for at least two days within two weeks.

    Klyne and his team plan to explore how sleep affects pain by having participants wear devices that track sleep patterns and collecting blood and saliva samples to study hormonal and immune responses. “Previous research has focused on understanding the development of new acute or chronic back pain, but this study will look at the far more common experience of fluctuating symptoms in people who live with the condition,” Klein said in a statement.

    The research will examine how the nervous and immune systems respond to both restorative and disrupted sleep. Participants will be awakened at varying times during the night, allowing researchers to gather comprehensive data on how different sleep stages impact recovery and pain levels.

    “This will allow us to examine the most detailed and important information ever collected for this population outside of a laboratory and minimize disruption to participant’s day-to-day activities,” he added.

    This research also ties into Klyne’s broader work exploring how lifestyle factors influence pain, which could prove essential in developing effective treatments.

    Implications for Chronic Pain Treatment

    If Klyne’s findings are confirmed, they could lead to changes in how chronic pain is treated, emphasizing sleep therapy alongside traditional pain management methods.

    IQ Sleep Formula, an all-natural supplement designed to help you unwind and enjoy deep, restful sleep. Packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and a powerful proprietary blend of herbs and amino acids, this formula promotes relaxation, supports your body’s natural sleep cycle, and helps you wake up feeling refreshed and revitalized.

    Recognizing sleep as a critical aspect of treatment might also help prevent the transition from acute pain to potentially debilitating chronic pain.

    Patients who struggle with chronic pain and believe their sleep may be affecting their condition should discuss their concerns with their physician, Caldwell said.

    “If chronic pain is altering sleep, it needs to be addressed directly,” he added.

    “We know that chronic pain and poor sleep are linked, but there are also clear correlations between altered sleep and general overall health.”

    A treatment plan focusing on modalities to address chronic pain and sleep “needs to be developed between the patient and physician,” Caldwell noted.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 21:20

  • HTS Extremists Appoint New Prime Minister Of Syria
    HTS Extremists Appoint New Prime Minister Of Syria

    Via The Cradle

    Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former Al-Qaeda affiliate that has just assumed control over Syria, has appointed Mohammad Bashir as the head of a new Syrian transitional authority. Bashir was the prime minister of the HTS-led Salvation Government, which was formed in 2017 and ruled Syria’s northern province of Idlib – where HTS was based before the massive Turkish-backed assault against Syria that began late last month. 

    According to reports on Monday, Bashir has been chosen as the new prime minister of Syria, and is coordinating with outgoing Syrian premier Mohammad al-Jalali, who announced on Sunday that he is ready for a “smooth transition” and will cooperate with “any leadership chosen by the Syrian people.”

    Source: Facebook/@syrianministrymedia

    HTS – formerly known as Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front – has been implicated in numerous atrocities, including kidnapping, public executions, indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas, and other war crimes. 

    In 2016, the Nusra Front was rebranded and expanded into Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, a coalition of armed factions with support from Qatar. The following year, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham became HTS in another Qatari-sponsored rebranding initiative aimed at legitimizing the group. 

    HTS has been a proscribed terrorist organization by the UN, US, UK, and EU. Despite a large US bounty on the head of HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the extremist leader sat with CNN for an interview last week. 

    Officials in Washington are considering removing HTS from the US terror list, The Washington Post reported on 9 December. “US officials are in contact with all the groups involved in fighting in Syria, including the main group that ousted Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was once affiliated with Al-Qaeda and remains on a US terrorist list,” the newspaper wrote. 

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    A US official told the outlet that the US government has not ruled out removing the terror designation from HTS to enable deeper US contact and cooperation with the group.

    “We have to be smart … and also very mindful and pragmatic about the realities on the ground,” the official said.

    Another US official said the White House is in the process of conducting a “real-time assessment” about HTS, which took control of Damascus on Saturday after a lightning two-week offensive launched from its stronghold in Syria’s northwest Idlib governorate. 

    Meanwhile Syrian embassies around the world are hoisting a new flag:

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    The UK government is also considering removing HTS from the list of banned terrorist groups.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 20:55

  • Understanding The Implications Of The CME's New 1oz Gold Futures
    Understanding The Implications Of The CME’s New 1oz Gold Futures

    By Jesse Colombo of The Bubble Bubble Report

    CME Group Inc., the parent company of COMEX, the leading U.S. exchange for gold and silver futures, will introduce a one-ounce gold futures contract in January. This move comes in response to soaring demand from retail investors, spurred by gold’s record-breaking rally this year from $2,000 to $2,630—a respectable 32% gain. Smaller-sized gold products have grown increasingly popular among retail investors seeking exposure to precious metals and greater diversification in their portfolios.

    Jin Hennig, CME’s Global Head of Metals, described the one-ounce gold contract as “a great way to lower the barrier to entry in our market.” She also noted, “Our clientele is also getting younger. That’s a lot more doable.”

    The one-ounce gold futures contract is set to launch on January 13, 2025, pending regulatory approval. This new offering complements CME’s existing retail-focused products, including 10-ounce micro gold and 1,000-ounce micro silver futures, which represent smaller fractions of the standard benchmark contracts. According to CME, these micro contracts have been among the fastest-growing products in their metals derivatives lineup, achieving record trading volumes this year.

    CME anticipates strong demand for the new contract from retail investors in Asia, where gold is deeply ingrained in the culture as both a store of value and a hedge against economic uncertainties. Hennig emphasized that the contract provides “a meaningful way” for individual traders in the region to “manage their own wealth creations.”

    While the introduction of this new futures product is intriguing and reflects growing interest in precious metals and financial innovation—something I wholeheartedly support as a proponent of free markets—I do have some concerns. Chief among them is the fact that this is a cash-settled futures contract rather than a physically-settled one. This means that upon expiration of the futures contract, traders cannot take physical delivery of a 1-ounce bullion bar or coin, which is a drawback for those seeking tangible ownership of gold.

    This also implies that these contracts are unlikely to be backstopped (even unofficially) by actual physical gold, making them yet another form of “paper” gold in a market already saturated with such instruments that include futures, options, forwards, swaps, CFDs, and exchange-traded funds. Currently, it is estimated that there are an astonishing 133 ounces of paper gold for every ounce of physical gold, as illustrated in the chart below. This imbalance poses several concerns, chief among them the heightened risk of a future run on physical gold. Such a scenario could see the price of scarce physical gold soar while the value of paper gold plummets, creating a significant market shock.

    Paper gold—especially when it vastly exceeds the supply of actual physical gold—undermines some of the core advantages of owning physical gold, such as its simplicity, and its freedom from counterparty and default risk. This concept is well illustrated by Exter’s Pyramid, where rare physical gold (not paper gold) occupies the base of the inverted pyramid as the most secure and reliable form of collateral. In contrast, paper gold falls into the far riskier and more abundant derivatives category near the top of the pyramid. This starkly contrasts with physical gold’s role as the ultimate foundation of financial stability at the bottom of the pyramid.

    Another significant concern is that the proliferation of paper gold products tends to divert and diminish demand that would otherwise flow into physical bullion. Many analysts argue this is a key factor keeping gold prices lower than they might otherwise be. While the new 1-ounce futures contract makes gold more accessible to investors with moderate means—allowing them to control the equivalent of a $2,700 ounce of gold with only a few hundred dollars in margin—it raises concerns. This easier access may further shift demand away from physical bullion, which represents the true, tangible market for gold.

    Bob Coleman, founder of Idaho Armored Vaults, highlighted that a 1-ounce gold futures contract could have been an excellent innovation if it were physically settled. Such a product would have helped reduce spreads and transaction costs in the physical bullion market while enhancing market transparency and liquidity. However, Coleman lamented that CME Group opted to make this contract cash-settled instead, missing an opportunity to provide these benefits:

    Vince Lanci, publisher of the GoldFix newsletter, humorously suggested in a post on X that CME Group’s new 1-ounce gold futures contract could drive down premiums on small gold bullion products. While this development would benefit consumers, it would also erode bullion dealers’ profit margins.

    The introduction of CME Group’s 1-ounce gold futures contract seeks to address growing retail investor demand and expand access to the gold market, but it also underscores critical challenges tied to the dominance and proliferation of “paper” gold. With its cash-settled structure and lack of physical backing, the new contract raises concerns about transparency, reduced demand for physical bullion, and the broader stability of the gold market. While it lowers barriers for younger and global retail investors, its potential to divert interest from physical gold risks deepening the disconnect between paper and physical markets. As the market evolves, balancing financial innovation with the enduring value of tangible, secure, and stable assets like physical gold is crucial.

    If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to this newsletter.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 20:30

  • VDH: Biden's Paranoid Pardons & The Morass Of Leftists Morality
    VDH: Biden’s Paranoid Pardons & The Morass Of Leftists Morality

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson,

    Pardoner-in-Chief

    Joe Biden has now established two precedents in presidential history.

    First, he “pardoned” his own son Hunter.

    No prior president has ever tried that shameless act, which is an affront to the entire hallowed notion of “equality under the law.”.

    Second, he did so in a way that no president has rarely, if ever, pardoned anyone.

    Hunter, a convicted federal felon awaiting sentencing, was gifted by his father a blanket exemption from federal prosecution over the entire past decade (2014-2024).

    Biden thus exempted Hunter from a series of much-discussed past criminal activities and provided further pardons for any federal criminal exposure occurring over the last ten years—yet to turn up.

    Given the Biden suppression of the justice system and the media’s complicity in hiding the Biden family’s criminality, it is quite possible that in the next few years, disinterested prosecutors might finally expose Hunter Biden’s long-suppressed, sordid career. And that could mean possible criminal exposure for three generations of Bidens.

    Third, in the remaining waning 40 days of his now nonperforming presidency, Biden threatens to establish yet another presidential precedent. He contemplates issuing pardons to a variety of controversial cronies, bureaucrats, and officers—even though none of them have yet been indicted or even are under federal investigation.

    Worse, Biden completed his shameless trifecta by breaking his serial pledge, voiced at least six times, and most prominently as a 2024 campaign plug, unequivocally not to pardon Hunter Biden.

    That performance-art braggadocio was serially greeted—by design—with glee in the media.

    On spec, the vow supposedly contrasted Biden’s “reverence for the rule of law” with a purportedly legally insubordinate Trump.

    Biden would put the law above family. Trump, in contrast, was supposedly chronically questioning the morality, fairness, and legality of his own five criminal and civil indictments over the campaign cycle—some of them (i.e., Bragg, Smith, Willis) demonstrably with the full knowledge of, if not coordinated by, the Biden White House.

    The Biden Family’s Known Unknowns

    Yet, why would Biden go out with such brazen, precedent-setting pardons when his own administration, Department of Justice, and the obsequious media for nearly four years have all bragged that the left is the party of principled democracy (e.g., “democracy is on the ballot”), forced into an existential fight against a supposedly “dictator,” “fascist,” and “Hitlerian” Donald Trump?

    Obviously, Hunter Biden might have faced some jail time for deliberate and callous federal tax evasion of millions of dollars of income. Such a conviction would certainly earn the average American incarceration and a crippling fine.

    The Biden family’s plea that Hunter was “addicted” is a pathetic excuse.

    The president expects the American people to believe his lie that a supposedly temporarily non compos mentis Hunter was too drug-addled to remember to pay his taxes but clear enough to shake down millions of dollars in largess for generations of the Biden family syndicate.

    We are told no one is ever jailed for feloniously lying on a federal affidavit to buy a handgun, and thus Hunter is a victim of a right-wing witch hunt.

    That too is another absurd assertion when the Biden Department of Justice oversaw the prosecution. And it only fulfilled its proper nonpartisan role when an intervening federal judge nullified an unprecedented DOJ sweetheart tax evasion deal, one designed specifically for the presidential son.

    Plenty of average Joes also go to jail for knowingly committing federal perjury or deliberately and fraudulently completing a required federal background check.

    But the real agenda behind the Hunter pardon, and possible future Biden family pardons to come, involved the current president of the United States.

    Hunter’s ten-year window of exemption dates back to the last two years of Joe Biden’s vice presidency, when his sloppy shakedowns of foreign governments even bothered an embarrassed Obama administration.

    By pardoning Hunter, and de facto other Bidens to come, Joe believes that there will be no subpoenaed witness who can testify about the source of the family’s some $20 million grift: where the money came from, what it was for, where it went, and whether anyone fully paid federal and state income taxes on these foreign cash infusions.

    In fairness to Joe, he has legitimate worries.

    The sheer audacity of the Biden operation was evident—as, for example, when Joe boasted publicly that he got a special Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, fired for looking too closely into corruption involving Hunter Biden—by withholding U.S. congressionally approved aid.

    (Note well: Donald Trump was impeached and tried in the Senate for merely suspending but eventually sending aid to Ukraine, out of legitimate worry that the Bidens had once unduly leveraged taxpayer money to have ensured their then steady revenue streams from Ukraine.)

    Proof of the Bidens’ shake-down success was apparent in the lavish lifestyles of Joe and Hunter, otherwise inexplicable in light of Joe’s federal salary or any legal or consulting expertise evident in Hunter’s mostly grimy and grubby career.

    Canary-bird Hunter?

    But more worrisome might be the thought of an unplugged, unpardoned, and underappreciated Hunter.

    As an ordinary citizen facing jail time after January 20, 2025, Hunter would be either one relapse, one plea bargain, or one fit of resentment away from turning state’s evidence to avoid years in federal prison—by disclosing the various roles of an apparently insufficiently appreciative Biden family.

    Hunter certainly was capable of flipping.

    In his laptop texts and email logs, he often voiced resentment of his father, variously and cynically dubbed “the Big Guy” and recipient of “ten percent”—monikers not usually associated with filial affection.

    The gist of Hunter’s referents was that Joe got his utility bills paid and was subsidized by Hunter, who in return felt he was privately underappreciated and overcharged by the supposedly legit members of the family as their wayward and embarrassing, though hard-working, bagman.

    That pique was no fiction.

    Hunter’s plea-bargaining attorneys once threatened to call President Joe Biden into court to testify on Hunter’s behalf. The veiled subtext was a threat to put the president on record in a federal trial as vouching for his son and thus likely denying when cross-examined by the judge whether Joe himself had ever received foreign cash (i.e., Joe’s checks labeled as “loan repayments” or seen as “gifts” or undisclosed but routed through Hunter or a Biden sibling).

    What was Hunter’s brief career as a straw-snorting “artist” about in the earlier days of the Biden presidency—if not to bring down to earth the haughty first couple?

    Why would the profligate son, now under global scrutiny, seemingly shake down would-be quid pro quo Biden donors to buy his teenaged, paint-by-the-numbers “art”—sometimes painted by blowing paint via a straw, as perhaps a not-so-subtle reminder to the family of his earlier snorting antics?

    Joe Biden was only two months into his presidency when Hunter published his tell-all book. It graphically recalled his drug- and sex-filled escapades and was met with great fanfare by obsequious liberal critics who noted his supposed “raw” honesty. Yet if a son will seduce his own deceased brother’s widow and mother of his own nephew and niece, and then cajole her to indulge in his own addictive crack cocaine use, then he has demonstrated that family fealty is a mere abstraction if not a bad joke.

    Pardoning such a miscreant for ten years of yet uncovered misadventures is a veritable insurance policy that Hunter—who knows all the Biden family business secrets—would not plea-bargain away his family’s so-far successful avoidance of criminal accountability.

    Just the Latest Assault on Democracy

    How do we locate this latest assault on democracy in the left’s wider narrative that Biden and company ‘saved’ democracy from a tyrannical Donald Trump?

    The answer is not difficult.

    This unprecedented pardon is not aberrant. It is characteristic of the left’s recent contempt for the rule of law. And it is consistent with its own brazen violation of constitutional customs and norms that it so often projects onto its opponents.

    The left’s warped modus operandi, remember, is to brand Trump such a menace that his intellectual and moral superiors are entitled to trample on any law or custom necessary to eliminate such an existential ‘threat to democracy.’

    So, at the end of the Biden presidency, what is the Biden-Obama-era “democracy dies in darkness” legacy?

    Just ponder the following questions.

    Who soiled the FBI and the DOJ to fabricate Russian collusion to undermine a 2016 oppositional presidential opponent?

    Who hired a has-been British spy to fabricate a smear dossier and leak it to the media to destroy a candidate?

    Who rounded up “51 intelligence authorities” to lie on the eve of an election about the authenticity of Hunter’s laptop, then already verified and in the possession of the FBI?

    Who tasked the FBI to partner with social media to censure and suppress verified news stories about the laptop’s authenticity deemed incriminating to the Biden campaign?

    Who impeached a president over a phone call as soon as it recaptured the House of Representatives?

    Who envisioned removing a major-party candidate from sixteen state ballots to undermine the election of an opponent?

    Who orchestrated a SWAT raid on the home of an ex-president and presidential candidate over an ongoing archival dispute concerning the proper storage of presidential papers?

    Who coordinated the lawfare to empower a special counsel to indict Donald Trump, to consult with a partisan Georgia prosecutor to indict Donald Trump, and to dispatch a federal prosecutor to join a local Manhattan prosecutor to indict Donald Trump, previously on the staff of yet another New York state attorney general who indicted Donald Trump?

    Who advocated packing the Supreme Court?

    Who sought to end the Electoral College?

    Who wanted to create two new blue states to win four new senators?

    Who wanted to demolish the filibuster—depending on whether it held a Senate majority?

    Who radically changed American balloting, rendering, in most states, the historic Election Day to a mere construct of as little as 30 percent of the electorate voting?

    Pardons as Incrimination

    The final irony?

    Biden may well pardon a variety of cronies who will not be indicted by the Trump Department of Justice, but who, by acceptance of such exemption, will remind the American people of their culpability if not criminality.

    Anthony Fauci likely lied under oath about his role in subsidizing illicit and undeniable gain-of-function virology research in communist China.

    Gen. Mark Milley clearly violated his oath of office as an advisor to the president by improperly breaking, and inserting himself into, the chain of command by ordering theater and unit commanders first to report directly to himself in supposed existential crises rather than to the Secretary of Defense.

    Most Americans would deem it actionable for a chairman of the Joint Chiefs to stealthily contact his Chinese communist, People’s Liberation Army counterpart in order to warn him about the supposedly unstable nature of his own president and commander-in-chief and thus to assure the Chinese that American officers would nullify any presidential directives that they themselves diagnosed as improper.

    What did intelligence and investigative bureaucratic grandees John Brennan, James Clapper, and Andrew McCabe—all current media-paid consultants—all have in common? They admittedly lied either under congressional oath or to federal investigators and did so with complete exemption.

    The list of the culpable could be expanded.

    But it will not be Donald Trump—who refused to investigate, much less seek to indict, Hillary Clinton for destroying federally subpoenaed communications and devices—who will remind the American people of what past zealots did to their nation.

    Instead, it may be Joe Biden himself and any who accept his envisioned self-incriminating pardons.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 20:05

  • Americans Agree That Money Has Too Much Power In Congress
    Americans Agree That Money Has Too Much Power In Congress

    The line between lobbying, political donations and corruption is perilously thin.

    While the former is sometimes referred to as “bribery in a suit” by critics, the key difference between the two is that lobbying is legal, while bribery as a form of corruption is not. While both practices are seeking influence, bribery is actually buying it while lobbying is merely trying to sway lawmakers’ opinions in the desired direction – at least officially.

    Critics argue that lobbying, especially in the form of large-scale campaign donations, be it from individuals, organizations or interest groups, often implies an element of quid-pro-quo that borders on corruption. “We supported you and now we expect you to do the same for us,” is the understanding behind such transactions, with the absence of any guarantees making sure that no legal lines are crossed.

    While there’s not much that Americans from both sides of the political aisle agree on, there is a broad consensus that money buys too much influence in Washington these days.

    As Statista’s Fleix Richter details below, according to a Pew Research survey from 2023, 80 percent of U.S. adults think that large campaign donors have too much influence on the decisions made by members of congress, while 73 percent say the same of lobbyists and special interest groups.

    At the same time, 70 percent of respondents agree that the people have too little influence on what their representatives in Congress decide.

    Infographic: Americans Agree That Money Has Too Much Power in Congress | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    As a consequence, 72 percent of the 8,000+ people surveyed, regardless of their political views, agree that there should be limits on the amount of money that individuals or organizations can contribute to political campaigns.

    Last week, federal filings revealed that Elon Musk had spent over a quarter of a billion dollars in this year’s presidential election to help Donald Trump win back the presidency.

    Musk, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, now heads the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, in the latest and perhaps greatest example of how money buys influence in Washington DC.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 19:40

  • Jay-Z Denies Raping 13-Year-Old In Civil Lawsuit
    Jay-Z Denies Raping 13-Year-Old In Civil Lawsuit

    Authored by Melanie Sun via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    American rapper Jay-Z, 55, denied sexual assault accusations on Dec. 8 after his name was added to a civil lawsuit alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs for allegedly drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl more than two decades ago.

    U.S. rapper Jay-Z arrives for Sony’s premiere of “The Book of Clarence” at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan. 5, 2024. MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

    The lawsuit, amended on Dec. 8 and viewed by The Epoch Times, lists Jay-Z by his legal name, Shawn Corey Carter, alongside Combs, who was criminally charged in September with racketeering, sex trafficking, and other offenses.

    The case was first filed in October in the Southern District of New York, naming Combs as the only defendant.

    According to the updated complaint, the plaintiff, identified only as “Jane Doe,” alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by both men at an after-party following an MTV Video Music Awards night in 2000.

    Carter responded to the claims Sunday night, saying in a statement that the plaintiff’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, had sent him a letter demanding a settlement. The rapper accused Buzbee of trying to force him to settle given “the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny.”

    The rapper said he would not pay anything and would “expose” what he said were fraudulent claims to the public in court.

    “These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?” Carter said.

    “These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”

    Buzbee responded on the social media platform X on Sunday to Carter’s comments, saying that since he sent the letter on behalf of his client, Carter has “filed his frivolous case under a pseudonym” and “tried to bully and harass” him and the plaintiff.

    Buzbee was sued in November by California-based law firm Quinn Emanuel for alleged extortion and threats of “publicizing false information for financial gain” that targeted “high profile individuals.”

    Carter hasn’t publicly commented on his alleged lawsuit against Buzbee as of publication time, and it is unclear if Buzbee’s post regarding Carter was referring to the Quinn Emanuel suit.

    Buzbee said that while Carter claims the lawsuit is after his money, the plaintiff hadn’t asked Carter for money in the settlement offer.

    “What he fails to say in his recent statement is my firm sent his lawyer a demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim and that victim never demanded a penny from him. Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation,” the lawyer posted on X.

    Buzbee said that Jay-Z’s response to the settlement has not intimidated his client but “had the opposite impact.”

    “She is emboldened. I’m very proud of her resolve,” he wrote.

    Buzbee said he would comment no further on the allegations and the case. “[W]e will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court, not in the media,” he said.

    Lawyers for Combs told media outlets that the multiple claims filed by Buzbee against their client in recent months are “designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them.”

    “Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process,” they said in a statement. “In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor.”

    Combs was arrested in September for the sex trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty. He is currently being held in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center without bail. His trial is scheduled for May 5.

    The Epoch Times has contacted attorneys for Carter, Combs, and Doe for comment.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 19:15

  • Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Challenge To Race-Based Admission Policy By Elite Boston Schools
    Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Challenge To Race-Based Admission Policy By Elite Boston Schools

    The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Dec. 9 that it won’t consider whether three Boston public schools violated the Constitution with a purported racial diversity policy that admitted students based on their zip codes.

    Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in Washington

    As Matthew Vadum reports for The Epoch Times, the new decision was made after the court’s landmark ruling in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. Harvard struck down the use of racially discriminatory admissions policies at U.S. colleges. After that ruling, schools began using supposedly racial-neutral admission policies such as geography to attempt to make student bodies more diverse.

    Two conservative justices – Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas – dissented from the court’s decision not to grant the petition in Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence v. The School Committee for the City of Boston.

    Represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, the Boston Parent Coalition filed its petition on April 17.

    The school committee changed its admission criteria for its competitive “exam schools” effective from the 2021–22 school year, replacing the usual standardized test with a quota based on applicants’ zip codes “that reserved seats for students with the highest [grade point average] in each Boston neighborhood.”

    Although “the number of seats allocated to each neighborhood was based on the neighborhood’s population of school-aged children,” school officials “spoke openly of their intent to racially balance the Exam Schools at the expense of Asian American and white students,” the petition said.

    A federal district court dismissed the lawsuit in 2021. In 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the ruling, finding that even though the zip code-based quota “was chosen precisely to alter racial demographics,” it did not violate students’ equal protection rights.

    Alito said in his dissent, which was joined by Thomas, that the new ruling is the court’s second refusal “to correct a glaring constitutional error that threatens to perpetuate race-based affirmative action in defiance of [the] Students for Fair Admissions [decision].”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 18:50

  • Has Nuclear Energy Finally Overcome The Chernobyl Disaster?
    Has Nuclear Energy Finally Overcome The Chernobyl Disaster?

    Authored by Felicity Bradstock via OilPrice.com,

    • Accidents like Chornobyl and Fukushima have damaged the public perception of nuclear power, leading to decreased investment and development.

    • Nuclear power is a low-carbon energy source with a proven track record of safety and reliability.

    • Despite past challenges, there is a growing global interest in nuclear power as a key component of a sustainable energy future.

    Three major nuclear events throughout the history of nuclear power production have tainted the image of the clean energy source, according to recent reports and years of public opinion polls. The events at Chornobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island swayed public opinion against nuclear power in many areas of the world for several decades, encouraging governments worldwide to move away from the clean energy source in favor of continued fossil fuel use.

    Today’s energy mix could look extremely different if these events had not occurred, or greater efforts had been taken to raise public awareness over nuclear safety.

    According to a recent report published by a think tank from the ex-U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair – Tony Blair Institute (TBI), the nuclear power industry could have had a significant impact on global carbon emissions had it continued to grow at the same pace as before the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster.

    It predicted that carbon emissions would be around 6 percent lower today if a different narrative of nuclear energy had been established following the Chornobyl disaster, rather than one that spurred “unfounded public concern”.

    The Chornobyl nuclear power station was located in Pryp’yat, 10 miles northwest of the city of Chornobyl and 65 miles north of Kyiv. It consisted of four reactors, each with a 1 GW capacity. The disaster happened on April 25–26, 1986, when workers shut down the reactor’s power-regulating system and its emergency safety systems and withdrew most of the control rods from its core while it ran at 7 percent power. A combination of human errors led to several explosions triggering a large fireball that blew off the heavy steel and concrete lid of the reactor, which resulted in a partial meltdown of the core. This led large quantities of radioactive material to go into the atmosphere and spread for miles around.

    Around 30,000 inhabitants were evacuated from Pryp’yat and a cover-up took place by the Soviet Union. However, Swedish monitoring stations reported abnormally high levels of wind-transported radioactivity, which led authorities to admit there had been an accident. The attempted cover-up and delayed information about the event led to an international outcry over the dangers of radioactive waste. The heat and the radioactivity leaking from the reactor core started to be contained in May, and the highly radioactive reactor core was later enclosed in a concrete-and-steel sarcophagus. Reports on the number of deaths associated with both the disaster and the lingering radioactivity in the region vary widely.

    The TBI report found that over 400 reactors commenced operations in the three decades before Chornobyl, but fewer than 200 had been commissioned in the almost three decades since. The report stated, “The result is that nuclear energy has never become the ubiquitous power source many had projected, with countries instead turning towards alternatives such as coal and gas.” It suggests that two other major nuclear incidents – Fukushima and Three Mile Island – also harmed the public perception of nuclear power.

    Nevertheless, the TBI predicts the world will see a “new nuclear age” in the coming years, as environmentalists and governments worldwide double down on their commitment to nuclear power as part of a green energy transition. Nuclear energy has been providing abundant clean power to countries worldwide for around 70 years. Unlike most renewable energy sources, nuclear energy can be produced 24 hours a day, rain or shine, providing a stable flow of clean power to the grid. Some new-generation power plants are now capable of operating for up to 80 years, which is far longer than gas- or coal-fired power stations, as well as many renewable installations.

    In addition, a multitude of studies over several decades show that fossil fuels are overwhelmingly more harmful to health and the environment than nuclear power. Experts think that air pollution from fossil fuels is responsible for around 7 million deaths a year, while nuclear energy carries a similar level of risk to wind power, which is around 350 times safer than coal. Per terawatt-hour of energy production, coal is thought to cause 24.6 deaths, oil 18.4 deaths, natural gas 2.8 deaths and nuclear energy 0.07 deaths.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency says that nuclear power plants are among “the safest and most secure facilities in the world.” They must adhere to strict international safety standards and both training and best practices have become stricter and more internationally standardized in recent decades. Further, nuclear waste storage facilities are highly protected against earthquakes, tornadoes, and other potential disasters.

    The lead author of the report Tone Langengen stated, “A new nuclear age is beginning. But whether it continues will depend entirely on whether leaders are willing to move past false alarm and ideology, making judgment based upon fact-based assessment of risk.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 18:25

  • Mobile Dominates America's Favorite Gaming Platforms
    Mobile Dominates America’s Favorite Gaming Platforms

    People engage in gaming through a variety of formats, from consoles to mobile devices, driven by factors like convenience, cost, and immersive experiences.

    This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, visualizes the share of U.S. consumers that reported gaming on a specific device within the past month, using data from a Circana online survey of 5,100 active U.S. gamers conducted in May through June 2024.

    The categories of gaming devices are as follows:

    • Mobile: iPhone, Android smartphone, iPad, and other smartphone or tablet devices

    • Computer: Desktop, laptop, Steam Deck, or other portable PC devices

    • Console: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Xbox One X, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Wii

    • Other: Virtual reality (VR) headsets, plug-and-play devices, child-oriented devices

    Which Gaming Devices Do Americans Use The Most?

    Below, we show the share of U.S. consumers ages two and up that played on a qualifying device within the previous month of Circana’s survey.

    About 71% of U.S. consumers played some form of video game in the month prior to Circana’s survey, with mobile gaming being the largest platform with 65% of U.S. consumers gaming on a mobile device in 2024.

    Over half of gamers’ weekly playtime takes place on their phones, according to Circana. The main draw is convenience, as players already have their devices with them, along with the low cost and easy accessibility of mobile games.

    PC and console gaming are almost evenly tied, with 36% and 35% of respondents gaming on these platforms respectively.

    When looking these formats’ market shares, console gaming held a slight lead over PC gaming with 57% of the 2023 market share, or $53.1 billion revenue compared to PC’s $40.4 billion.

    The “Other” gaming category grew by 2% since 2022 due to increased adoption of virtual reality (VR) gaming. VR usage and ownership among U.S. teens is on the rise, with weekly VR use increasing from 10% to 13% and headset ownership growing from 31% to 33% over the past six months, according to a survey by Piper.

    Gaming preferences are also dependent on generation. Younger generations like Gen Alpha, Gen Z, and Millennials tend to play on PCs or console more often than older generations, according to Newzoo.

    In terms of gaming genres, older generations like Gen X and Boomers tend to gravitate towards puzzle games, usually played on mobile devices.

    To learn more about the video game industry, check out this graphic that visualizes console launch prices, adjusted for inflation.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 18:00

  • "This Is Not The Time For Balance": LA Times Columnist Resigns In Protest… Over Balanced Commentary
    “This Is Not The Time For Balance”: LA Times Columnist Resigns In Protest… Over Balanced Commentary

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    When now President-Elect Donald Trump was convicted, the thrill-kill atmosphere around the courthouse and the country was explosive, but no one was more ecstatic than liberal columnist and former prosecutor Harry Litman.

    The then L.A. Times columnist told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace that it was a “majestic day” and “a day to celebrate.”

    A lawfare advocate, Litman excitedly laid out how Trump could be barred from office, declaring that the raid in Mar-a-Lago was the “whole enchilada” in ending Trump’s political career.

    Now, Litman has resigned from the L.A. Times because the owner wants more diversity of opinion in the newspaper.

    Litman went on MSNBC to declare that “this is not a time for balance.”

    Those seven words sum up much of what has destroyed American media with millions turning away from the echo chamber created by the Washington Post, L.A. Times, and other publications.

    Litman is not alone. Many liberals are dispensing with the pretense of declaring opposing views “disinformation” and are now openly fighting to preserve ideological echo chambers and media silos.

    In my new book, The Indispensable Right,  I write about the decline of newspapers as part of the “advocacy journalism” movement. Opinion pages became little more than screeds for the left, including legal commentators who have been consistently wrong and misleading on merits of challenges or cases.

    Last year, Washington Post publisher and CEO William Lewis delivered a truth bomb in the middle of the newsroom by telling the staff, “Let’s not sugarcoat it…We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. Right? I can’t sugarcoat it anymore.”

    Litman has been one of the most unabashed lawfare warriors.

    Even when the Justice Department was seeking to dismiss the Flynn case, Lipman wrote an L.A. Times column advising Judge Emmet Sullivan how to “make trouble” for the administration.

    Litman admitted there is “very little leeway to reject the government’s decisions to dismiss charges” but encouraged Sullivan to “accomplish what Congress, multiple inspectors general, and a majority of the electorate have not been able to do — hold the president and his allies accountable for their contemptuous disregard for the rule of law.”

    On MSNBC’s Deadline: White House, Litman declared to Nicolle Wallace that Trump’s victory is “an absolute five-alarm fire.”

    He called the effort to restore a diversity of viewpoints as little more than an attempt “to curry favor with Trump.” He then added:

    “And I just think this is not a time for balance when you have someone who’s not telling the truth on the other side. And it’s a deep responsibility. And instead, I think they cowered and are worried about their personal holdings and just being threatened by Trump. And that’s a really shameful capitulation, I think. So, I just felt I couldn’t be a part of it and had to resign.”

    It was a telling moment. Litman appeared on a network that has lost half of its viewership and is fighting for its existence in an effort by NBCUniversal to unload it.

    Readers are fleeing to new media after papers like the L.A. Times and the Washington Post literally wrote off half of the country.

    Yet, these figures would rather lose their jobs and media platforms than their bias.

    *  *  *

    Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 17:40

  • China Blocking Drone Supplies Crucial To Ukraine As US Trade Conflict Escalates
    China Blocking Drone Supplies Crucial To Ukraine As US Trade Conflict Escalates

    As part of its ongoing campaign to hit back at US punitive trade actions and sanctions, China is pushing new and extended export restrictions which negatively impacts Ukraine and its war effort.

    Drone warfare has long been heavily relied upon by the Ukraine armed forces, but Beijing is now restricting key components vital in the production of unmanned vehicles, Bloomberg reports Monday.

    AFP/Getty Images

    “Manufacturers in China recently began limiting sales to the US and Europe of key components used to build unmanned aerial vehicles, according to multiple people with knowledge of the developments, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information,” the report says.

    “The moves are a prelude to broader export restrictions on drone parts that western officials expect Beijing to enforce in the new year, the people said,” it continues. “Those rules could take the form of license approvals based on the intended use of the components or softer requirements for Chinese companies to notify the government of their shipment plans, according to one of the people.”

    Sources further described that “Chinese producers of motors, batteries and flight controllers have capped the quantities they deliver or stopped shipments altogether” as part of the ratcheting Beijing-Washington tit-for-tat conflict on trade policy.

    This comes in the context of recent months of Chinese retaliatory sanctions targeting US firms which supply the Pentagon. Increasingly these firms are seeing access to vital Chinese-produced components.

    Russia is able to sit back and benefit from these US-China tensions, after it has been subject of literally hundreds of drone attacks out of Ukraine over the past nearly three years of war.

    Ukrainian drones have been quite effective in damaging in some instances oil and energy depots in Russia, naval assets in Sevastopol, as well as airbases in various parts of Russia.

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    There have even been reports that Ukrainian drones were in the hands of the Syrian jihadist insurgents which just took over Syria. Increasingly sophisticated small drones were used over the past months against the Syrian Army, helping to erode its effectiveness and morale, and this contributed to its collapse. 

    But without Chinese parts, the West’s drone arsenal could suffer temporary production pauses, and be set back to a degree.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 17:20

  • Why Trump Must End Capital Gains Tax On Bitcoin
    Why Trump Must End Capital Gains Tax On Bitcoin

    Authored by Mark Mason via BitcoinMagazine.com,

    In a world where digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of global finance, the United States stands at a crossroads.

    The Trump administration has repeatedly emphasized its dedication to making everyday Americans more prosperous. From pledging to restore economic strength on the campaign trail to appointing forward-thinking advisors, the White House seems poised to usher in a new era of financial freedom. But if President Trump truly wants to supercharge wealth creation for average citizens—and establish the U.S. as the world’s leading “Bitcoin Superpower”—his administration must embrace a bold, transformative policy: eliminate capital gains taxes on Bitcoin.

    This global map shows how various countries tax (or don’t tax) Bitcoin after one year. Many green jurisdictions, including those in parts of Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia, have chosen to exempt long-term Bitcoin holdings from capital gains tax.

    The Winds of Change: Lessons from Abroad

    The Czech Republic recently made headlines when its Parliament overwhelmingly voted to exempt capital gains from Bitcoin and other crypto-asset sales from personal income tax—provided they’re held for more than three years and meet certain income thresholds. This is not an isolated event. Countries like Switzerland, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, El Salvador, Hong Kong, and parts of the Caribbean have long recognized that zero or minimal capital gains taxation on Bitcoin can help spur adoption, financial innovation, and consumer confidence.

    As John F. Kennedy famously said, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” If we apply that logic to economic growth through Bitcoin, the tide is global—and it’s rising fast. In a sea awash with global liquidity and debt, America’s economic ship must navigate these digital currents. These nations’ policy choices—and their citizens’ increasing prosperity—send a powerful signal: The U.S. can and should leverage Bitcoin as a tool for growth, not burden it with outdated taxation models.

    Trump’s Own Words: A Path to Prosperity

    President Trump himself has indicated a willingness to rethink Bitcoin taxation. “They have them paying tax on crypto, and I don’t think that’s right,” he said in a recent interview, echoing the frustrations of millions of Americans who find it absurd to pay capital gains taxes after using Bitcoin to purchase something as small as a cup of coffee. “Bitcoin is money, and you have to pay capital gains tax if you use it to buy a coffee?” he asked rhetorically, highlighting how current laws discourage everyday transactions. He added, “Maybe we get rid of taxes on crypto and replace it with tariffs.”

    This sentiment isn’t just rhetorical flourish. Trump, who spoke at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville, proclaimed his vision for America to become the world’s “Bitcoin Superpower.” He’s also pledged to “Make Bitcoin in America,” turning the U.S. into a leading hub of Bitcoin innovation. Moreover, he appointed former PayPal Chief Operating Officer David Sacks as his ‘White House A.I. & Crypto Czar’ on December 5—a move widely seen as a step toward implementing forward-looking crypto policies.

    The BITCOIN Act of 2024: A Strategic Reserve for the People

    The U.S. has already taken monumental steps in this direction. The BITCOIN Act of 2024 mandates that all Bitcoin held by any federal agency be transferred to the Treasury to be held in a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Over five years, the Treasury must purchase one million Bitcoins, holding them in trust for the United States. This government-level accumulation shows a long-term vision for incorporating Bitcoin into national financial strategy. But why stop there? Eliminating capital gains tax on Bitcoin would create a positive feedback loop between national policy and personal prosperity. As the federal government invests and holds Bitcoin, private citizens could do the same without facing punitive tax obligations.

    Serving the Everyday American

    For everyday Americans, the cost of living and the sting of inflation were focal points of President Trump’s reelection campaign. Traditional strategies—interest rate manipulations, quantitative easing—often amount to rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship when confronted with truly systemic economic challenges. Bitcoin offers a life raft—dare we say, a digital Noah’s Ark—for Americans trying to preserve and grow their wealth against the erosive forces of inflation. Removing capital gains taxes on Bitcoin would allow citizens to transact, invest, and save in a stable, finite asset without the drain of federal taxes on every incremental gain.

    The ripple effect here is clear: More people adopting Bitcoin as a store of value and medium of exchange means stronger demand, which could further buttress the U.S. Treasury’s strategic holdings. It’s a virtuous cycle, a positive feedback loop. As Bitcoin’s value grows, so does the nation’s wealth base—helping pay down national debt, bolstering the dollar’s hegemony in global trade, and genuinely making Americans richer and more secure.

    Why America Needs Bitcoin

    Bitcoin is no longer a niche experiment reserved for a small band of enthusiasts. It has evolved into a mainstream, urgent priority for everyday Americans—especially the rising generation that will shape our nation’s future economy. This is not some ideological plea; it’s a practical, data-backed reality. According to the Stand With Crypto Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to transparent blockchain policies, more than 52 million Americans now own some form of cryptocurrency. Nearly nine in ten Americans believe the financial system needs updating, and 45% say they would not support candidates who stand in the way of crypto innovation. These numbers represent a sweeping, cross-partisan groundswell: Stand With Crypto’s research shows that 18% of Republicans, 22% of Democrats, and 22% of Independents hold crypto. This cuts through the usual tribal politics and points to a fundamental truth—Bitcoin is now a national policy talking point, not a side note on a fringe agenda.

    The demand for America to lead is clear. 53% of Americans want crypto companies to be U.S.-based, ensuring that technological innovation and the wealth it generates remain on home soil. Among Fortune 500 executives, 73% prefer U.S.-based partners for their crypto and Web3 initiatives, signaling a corporate desire to keep America at the forefront of global financial progress.

    Failing to act now risks a replay of past mistakes. America once led the world in advanced manufacturing, yet today 92% of the most sophisticated semiconductor production sits in Taiwan and South Korea. We cannot afford to cede the future financial landscape to other regions. Bitcoin isn’t just another investment class; it is the digital backbone of a rapidly evolving monetary system. If the U.S. wants to preserve its economic hegemony, maintain innovation leadership, and ensure everyday Americans have access to a stable, growth-oriented financial future, it must embrace Bitcoin wholeheartedly. In doing so, the nation can secure its place as the global Bitcoin superpower—uplifting our citizens, strengthening our economic base, and safeguarding our strategic interests in the 21st-century digital economy.

    America, Charting the Course

    By aligning with global best practices and enacting forward-thinking policies, the U.S. can position itself as a beacon of financial liberty and technical innovation. Eliminating capital gains tax on Bitcoin would signal to investors, entrepreneurs, and everyday citizens that America is serious about leading in the 21st century’s digital economy. It’s not just about being “Bitcoin-friendly”; it’s about ensuring that average Americans have the tools they need to navigate turbulent economic waters.

    The complexity and inefficiency of taxing every digital transaction is an unnecessary burden on innovation and everyday life. Americans deserve better—they deserve the freedom to transact in a digital world without punitive oversight.

    In essence, this is America’s chance to do what it has always done best: innovate, adapt, and lead. Removing capital gains taxes on Bitcoin wouldn’t just fulfill a campaign promise; it would set the stage for long-term prosperity, empower citizens to secure their financial futures, and cement the United States as the world’s foremost Bitcoin champion. A rising tide, indeed, lifts all boats—and what better vessel to embark upon than a Bitcoin Ark, captained by a visionary administration determined to truly Make America Great Again?

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 17:00

  • Israel Striking Bases & Equipment Across Syria, Including Assad’s Chemical Weapons Sites
    Israel Striking Bases & Equipment Across Syria, Including Assad’s Chemical Weapons Sites

    Israeli warplanes in the last several hours have been conducting major airstrikes against facilities across Syria, just 48 hours after the Assad government’s fall and the entrance of Al-Qaeda linked militant factions into Damascus.

    “At least two explosions heard in Damascus have taken place in the area of Barzeh, north of Damascus, where the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Centre has an office,” several eyewitnesses have told Reuters.

    Social media image from the fresh Israeli evening attacks on Syria.

    “The SSRC has been sanctioned and previously struck for its links to chemical weapons production under toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,” the report continues. It is a location that Israel first struck all the way back in 2013, and has hit on several occasions since then.

    Sensitive military facilities formerly belonging to the Syrian Army and now defunct Assad defense ministry have also been destroyed by Israeli attacks across the south of Syria on Monday.

    A weapons warehouse near the Damascus international airport, which has ceased operations, has also been hit. Massive strikes have been reported on Latakia port as well, which giant fireballs lighting up the night sky.

    Amid the chaos of the HTS takeover of the country over the last week, and before any type of new government can coalesce in Damascus, it appears Israel is preemptively taking out all military technology and heavy weaponry before anyone else can access it. 

    An Israeli broadcast correspondent from Kann writes that “An Israeli source tells me: Israel’s goal is to destroy everything from Assad’s army that could fall into the hands of the rebels – from tanks to missiles. We are destroying the equipment of the Assad army.”

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    Israel has also expanded its penetration into historic Syrian territory in the south:

    After fighting wars on multiple fronts for months, Israel is now concerned that unrest in Syria could spill over into its territory. Israel also views the end of the Assad regime as a chance to disrupt Iran’s ability to smuggle weapons through Syria to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

    The Israeli military over the weekend began seizing control of a demilitarized buffer zone in Syria created as part of a 1974 ceasefire between the countries. It said the move was temporary and meant to secure its border.

    But the incursion sparked condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire and possibly exploiting the chaos in Syria for a land grab.

    Indeed ‘exploiting’ the situation for a land grab is precisely what the game plan has likely been from the start, as both Israel and Turkey are the big winners in the Syria crisis, and with Assad gone (having been given asylum in Moscow). The Israeli attacks began even as HTS was making its way toward Damascus from Aleppo and Homs.

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    According to more details of what’s been hit in the ongoing Israeli attacks:

    New Israeli airstrikes are reported in Syria, targeting an airbase near the capital Damascus.

    Al Jazeera reports that the Qabr Essit Airport, used by the ousted Assad regime’s army for helicopters, was hit in the strikes. The airbase is located south of Damascus, close to the town of Aqraba.

    Some reports are saying that as many as 100 sites have been struck in the last 12-24 hours, but more is likely to be confirmed when the dust settles. Israel sources are saying 250 or more strikes. Jets and aerial equipment, and runways at bases are being obliterated.

    Part of Israel’s aim also seems to be preventing pro-Iranian entities from ever popping up again in Syria, and to finally and definitively dismantle Hezbollah and Shia militias’ arms networks.

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    Sunni hardline factions are also a feared element, given they could eventually turn the same weapons against Israel, and in the Golan Heights area, and as Israeli troops continue invading the south for a so-called buffer zone.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 16:40

  • Daniel Penny & The Twilight Of The Race Hustle
    Daniel Penny & The Twilight Of The Race Hustle

    Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

    “There is nothing more fake than when the libs pretend to have an emotional outpouring over some dead loser they didn’t give a f**k about while they were living.”

    – Aimee Terese

    Were you thinking of Daniel Penny this weekend? A year and a half ago, the US marine veteran, age 26, subdued one Jordan Neely, 30, a homeless schizophrenic with a record of 42 arrests who was menacing riders on a New York City subway car. Neely was, at the time, a fugitive on an arrest warrant for felony assault on a sixty-seven-year-old woman. Penny applied a choke hold after Neely declared he was of a mind to kill somebody on the train. Neely was still alive when the cops came, but they declined to give him CPR because he was filthy and an apparent drug-user, and they feared getting AIDS or hepatitis from giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. . . so Neely died there in the subway.

    Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg indicted Penny for manslaughter in the second degree and secondarily for criminally negligent homicide. His trial has been going on all month. On Friday, the jury reported its inability to reach a verdict on the manslaughter charge. Instead of declaring a mistrial, Judge Maxwell T. Wiley dismissed the primary charge and directed the jury to continue deliberations this week on the secondary negligent homicide charge, a procedurally dubious action.

    Everybody knows that the trial is an absurd injustice, but that has been the temper of our society for many years now in the age of the Woke Jacobins.

    Unlike the original Jacobins of 1794 in Paris, who were ultra-extreme idealists, our Woke Jacobins are extreme cynics, imagining only the worst about the project of civilization. Hence, their alt-project to de-civilize the rest of us.

    It has been a long game of pretend.

    At the center of it is the race hustle – a hustle being the attempt to get something for nothing – in this sense, seeking respect and approbation for people engaged in uncivilized behavior.

    It kicked off in 2012 when one Trayvon Martin, 17, got shot while bashing the head of a neighborhood watch coordinator, George Zimmerman, against the pavement in Sanford, Florida. The news media dishonestly portrayed Martin as a skittle-munching child when police reported him as six-feet-tall. Zimmerman, five-foot-eight, was eventually acquitted of all charges on grounds of self-defense. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was born.

    Next up in 2014 was Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Missouri. After robbing a convenience store, Brown was stopped on the street by Police Officer Darren Wilson. According to Wilson’s account, Brown reached into his patrol car trying to seize his gun. Brown’s DNA was later found on Wilson’s gun, and Brown’s blood was detected on the car’s door, suggesting a struggle. Following the incident, riots, arson, and looting broke out in Ferguson for days after. A local grand jury declined to indict Officer Wilson, and he was eventually exonerated of civil rights violations when investigated by the US Department of Justice. The case amplified the Black Lives Matter (movement.

    Other incidents followed in 2014: one Eric Garner, 43, was stopped in Staten Island for selling individual cigarettes on the street. Garner resisted arrest and was put in a choke hold. He repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe,” before dying of an asthma attack. In November, same year, Tamir Rice, 12, was brandishing a toy gun that looked like a real firearm in a Cleveland, Ohio, park, when police trainee Timothy Loehmann responded to a 911 call and shot the boy. A Cuyahoga County grand jury declined to indict Loehmann. The city of Cleveland settled $6-million with the Rice family in a wrongful death suit.

    In May, 2020, George Floyd, 46, a released felon, resisted arrest after trying to pass a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill in Minneapolis. Officer Derek Chauvin eventually subdued Floyd with a restraint, knee-on-back, recommended by the city police department’s training guide. Floyd died at the scene with 11 ng/mL of fentanyl, 19 ng/mL of methamphetamine, and cannabinoids detected in his blood at autopsy, plus heart disease and hypertension. Officer Chauvin was convicted on several counts of murder and manslaughter and three other officers at the scene also went to jail on lesser charges. Riots, arson, looting, and murder ensued in Minneapolis and many other American cities. Statues of George Floyd were erected around the country and the city of Minneapolis settled a wrongful death suit for $27-million with the Floyd family.

    There were other incidents around the country in this period involving black suspects killed by police and a narrative spread — with help from the news media — that innocent black citizens were being exterminated in great numbers by police.

    The truth was a statistically tiny number of black men killed by police, and always either in commission of a crime or violently resisting arrest. The hustle is that they should be excused for all that, even venerated and celebrated with statues, tributes, and payouts. Why everybody else goes along with it has been an abiding cultural mystery of our time. It probably just boils down to cowardice. In fact, cowardice doubled because we are too cowardly to even admit that we are cowards.

    One signal result of all this has been the increasing reluctance of police to stop criminal behavior, which, of course, leads to ever more bad behavior.

    Add to that new modes of law enforcement that make it difficult to hold violent criminals in custody — no cash bail, down-charging, catch-and-release. This has been the mode in New York under state AG Letitia James and Manhattan DA Bragg.

    It was the decision out of Bragg’s office to keep Jordan Neely on the street despite the danger he posed to the public, as denoted in his arrest record. Daniel Penny stepped in where law enforcement failed. Jordan Neely was not dehumanized by the system. He dehumanized himself and his death was the result of his own recklessness. He wasn’t anyone else’s victim. He doesn’t deserve a statue. The father who abandoned him does not deserve a multi-million-dollar payout from New York taxpayers.

    I’ll be surprised if the jury returns with a guilty verdict against Daniel Penny on the secondary charge of negligent homicide. That charge is just as unreasonable and dishonest as the primary charge was, and, anyway, a conviction will likely get thrown out on appeal due to the procedural mistakes of Judge Wiley.

    [ZH: The jury has acquitted Penny of the lesser charge in the hours since this note was written.]

    The Penny case, I’m sure you realize, is not the only bit of professional mischief that Alvin Bragg has engaged in.

    A case might be made that he has systematically tried to deprive non-black citizens of their civil rights.

    The Department of Justice in a new administration ought to contemplate prosecuting him for it.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/09/2024 – 16:20

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Dec 09

Today’s News 9th December 2024

  • Escobar: The Syria Tragedy & The New Omni-War
    Escobar: The Syria Tragedy & The New Omni-War

    Authored by Pepe Escobar,

    Until recently, a serious geopolitical working hypothesis was that West Asia and Ukraine were two vectors of the standard Hegemon modus operandi, which is to incite and unleash Forever Wars. Now both wars are united in an Omni-War.

    A coalition of Straussian neo-cons in the US, hardcore revisionist Zionists in Tel Aviv and Ukrainian neo-nazi shades of grey is now betting on a Final Confrontation – with several overtones ranging from expanding lebensraum to provoking the Apocalypse.

    What stands in their way is essentially two of the top BRICS: Russia and Iran.

    China, self-protected by their collective lofty dream of “community of a shared future for mankind”, warily watches on the sidelines, as they know that at the end of the road, the true “existential” war by the Hegemon will be against them.

    Meanwhile, Russia and Iran need to mobilize for Totalen Krieg. Because that’s what the enemy is launching.

    Undermining BRICS and the INSTC

    The total destabilisation of Syria, with heavy CIA-MI6 input, now proceeding in real time, is a carefully engineered gambit to undermine BRICS and beyond.

    It proceeds in parallel to Pashinyan removing Armenia from the CSTO – based on a US promise to support Yerevan in a possible new clash with Baku; India being encouraged to ramp up a weapons race with Pakistan; and across-the-board intimidation of Iran.

    So this is also a war to destabilize the International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), of which the three major protagonists are BRICS members Russia, Iran and India.

    As it stands, the INSTC is totally geopolitical risk-free. As a top BRICS corridor-in-the-making, it carries the potential to become even more effective than several of China’s cross-Heartland corridors of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

    The INSTC would be a key lifeline for a great deal of the global economy in case of a direct confrontation between the US/Israel combo and Iran – with the possible shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz leading to the collapse of a multi-quadrillion pile of financial derivatives, economically imploding the collective West.

    Turkiye under Erdogan, as usual, is playing a double game. Rhetorically, Ankara stands by a genocide-free and sovereign Palestine. In practice, the Turkiye supports and funds a motley crew of Greater Idlibistan jihadis – trained by Ukrainian Neo-nazis in drone warfare and with weapons financed by Qatar – who have just marched on and conquered Aleppo, Hama, and possibly beyond.

    If this army of mercenaries were real followers of Islam, they would be marching in defense of Palestine.

    At the same time, the real picture inside the corridors of power in Tehran is extremely murky. There are factions favoring getting closer to the West, which clearly would have ramifications for the Axis of Resistance’s ability to fight Tel Aviv.

    On Lebanon, Syria never wavered. History explains why: from the point of view of Damascus, Lebanon historically remains a governorate, so Damascus is responsible for the security of Beirut.

    And that’s one of Tel Aviv’s key motives to propel the current Salafi-jihadi offensive on Syria – after smashing virtually every communication corridor between Syria and Lebanon. What Tel Aviv could not accomplish on the ground – a victory over Hezbollah in southern Lebanon – has been replaced by isolating Hezbollah from the Axis of Resistance.

    When in Doubt, Re-Read Xenophon

    Wars in West Asia are a complex mix of national, sectarian, tribal and religious vectors. In a sense, they are endless wars; controllable to an extent, but then back again.

    The Russian strategy in Syria seemed to be very precise. As it was impossible to normalize a completely fragmented nation, Moscow opted to free the Syria that really matters – the capital, the most important cities, and the Eastern Mediterranean coast – from the Salafi-jihadi mobs.

    The problem is that freezing the war in 2020, with direct implication by Russia, Iran and (reluctantly) Turkiye, did not solve the “moderate rebel” problem. Now they’re back – in full force, supported by a vast Rent-a-Jihadi mob, with NATOstan Intel behind them.

    Some things never change.

    2012. Jake Sullivan, then an aide to Hillary Clinton: “AQ [al-Qaeda*] is on our side in Syria.”

    2021. James Jeffrey, special envoy to Syria under Trump (2018-2020): “HTS [Hayat Tahrir al-Sham*] is an asset to the US’s strategy in Idlib.”

    There could not be better timing for the revival of the HTS “asset”. HTS if filling an enormous void; beware when that happens in West Asia. Russia is fully concentrated on Ukraine. Hezbollah suffered heavily from Tel Aviv’s bombings and serial killing. Tehran is fully concentrated on how to deal with Trump 2.0.

    History always teaches us. Syria is now a West Asian Anabasis. Xenophon – a soldier and writer – tell us how, in the 4th century B.C., an “expedition” (“anabasis”, in Ancient Greek) of 10,000 Greek mercenaries were engaged by Cyrus the Younger against his brother Artaxerxes II, King of Persia, from Armenia to the Black Sea. The expedition miserably failed – and the painful return journey was endless.

    2,400 years later, we see governments, armies and mercenaries still plunging into the endless West Asia wars – and extracting themselves now is even more insoluble.

    Syria now is tired, attritted, with the SAA becoming complacent with the long freeze of the war since 2020. All that coupled with the vicious starvation siege unleashed by the US Caesar Act, and the impossibility to start rebuilding the nation with the help of at least 8 million citizens who fled the endless war.

    Over these past 4 years, problems piled up. There were endless breaches of the Astana process and Israel bombed Syria almost daily with impunity.

    China was basically immobile. Beijing simply did not invest in the rebuilding of Syria.

    Perspective is sobering. Even Russia – which is a de facto Resistance icon in itself, even if not formally part of the West Asian Axis of Resistance – has taken nearly three years of hard slog in its fight with Ukraine.

    Only a cohesive, consolidated Axis of Resistance – after getting rid of countless 5thcolumnists working inside – would have a chance against being picked off one by one by the same consolidated enemy, over and over again.

    Sometimes it feels like the BRICS – particularly China – haven’t learned anything from Bandung in 1955, and how the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) was neutralized.

    You can’t beat a pitiless hegemonic hydra with flower power.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 23:20

  • Rand Paul Warns Musk & Ramaswamy About The Swamp's Upcoming DOGE Dodge
    Rand Paul Warns Musk & Ramaswamy About The Swamp’s Upcoming DOGE Dodge

    Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) warned Department of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-heads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy that Senate Republicans are moving to allow the Department of Defense, which has failed seven audits in a row, to exceed its spending limits. The Kentucky Republican highlighted the issue this week on Fox News’s ‘The Ingraham Angle.’

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

    LAURA INGRAHAM: I know you have been constantly focused on this, and you have been with Vivek this week. What ideas have you given him because he is looking to you for ideas, other than, of course, as we were saying, getting the federal workers.

    SEN. RAND PAUL: One of my favorite examples of federal workers not showing up is from a few years ago. We had an assistant to the head of the EPA, and he told his boss that he also worked for the CIA. He said he would be gone for six months at a time. Finally, during a government shutdown, someone said, “Hey, Mr. Smith, we understand this guy works for you. We haven’t seen him in six months.” They replied, “Who?” They had never heard of the guy.

    The man completely made up a story about working for the CIA, and for nearly a decade, millions of dollars were paid to him while he didn’t show up. He’d be lounging around saying, “I’m on a secret mission to the Middle East, can’t talk.” That kind of stuff runs rampant throughout government.

    People say you can’t balance a budget by making people go back to work, but you certainly can start. When Elon Musk told Twitter employees to go back to work, a third of them quit—they weren’t used to working. Then, when he told them they’d have to do overtime, another third quit. You can get rid of a lot of people, and that saves a lot of money.

    There are many rules that protect federal workers, but some of these need to change, and we need to outsource certain things. I had it out with the Postmaster General the other day. Two years ago, the Postal Service lost $6.5 billion. Last year, they lost $9.5 billion. The only way to fix this is to implement better rules that require accountability. You can’t keep hiring more government employees. You have to make them nongovernmental employees.

    LAURA INGRAHAM: How difficult is that process? Everybody knows that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are both brilliant individuals. They are extremely capable—obviously, Elon is the richest person in the world. Washington, however, is its own beast. As smart as they are, getting stuff done will be a challenge. A lot will rest with you in Congress.

    SEN. RAND PAUL: One of the big things Elon did with SpaceX to reduce costs was to move away from cost-plus contracts to competitive contracts. I think that can be done by the executive branch. They can lay off people, downsize, and switch to competitive contracts. Is that going to balance the budget? Not alone.

    I’m for getting rid of all this waste. When the federal and state governments cut welfare, aid, and food stamps, the states need to take on more responsibility. Because the Federal Reserve and our debt are financing the federal portion, states will have to become more fiscally responsible. They’ll either need to raise taxes to fund benefits or be more conservative about who qualifies.

    To be clear, I’m for looking at entitlements, waste—everything—because it’s such an enormous problem. If you put the military off the table and entitlements off the table, you’re left with only 16% of the budget. Even if you eliminate that, you don’t get anywhere close to balancing the budget. So, while I’m for eliminating waste, I’m also for reviewing all spending.

    LAURA INGRAHAM: The Pentagon, which I mentioned, has so much waste and so many duplicative initiatives inside the Defense Department. They fail the audits year after year. Have you been on top of this? Republicans, frankly, have been rubber-stamping the Pentagon budget for decades. That has to change.

    SEN. RAND PAUL: It’s worse than that, Laura. Right now, the first budget reconciliation that the Republicans are proposing is to bust the Pentagon caps. We have military spending caps, but spending is still going upwards. All the old guardrails in the Senate—you know who they are—are going to bust the military caps with their first budget reconciliation. Same as the first budget.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 22:45

  • Your Ultimate Guide To Gift-Giving Etiquette
    Your Ultimate Guide To Gift-Giving Etiquette

    Authored by Randy Tatano via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    It’s the most wonderful time of the year—unless you have no idea what to buy someone, you receive an absolute disaster of a gift, or someone gives you a present when you haven’t bought them anything.

    Don’t let the stress of gift-giving undermine the true spirit of the holidays. CSA-Printstock/Getty Images

    Fear not, for there is help for those who find the whole concept of shopping and gift exchanging stressful. We asked three experts in etiquette (yes, that still exists) to help take the anxiety out of the process.

    Finding the Elusive Perfect Gift

    Your rich aunt doesn’t need anything, your best friend never wants anything, and you have no idea what your favorite coworker does for fun. You’re clueless as to what to buy these people. Turns out, you simply need to put on your thinking cap or ask a question or two.

    “It’s just about paying attention to the people in your life, being really thoughtful, and thinking from their shoes,” said Jennifer L. Scott, bestselling author of the “Madame Chic” series on etiquette and manners. “What would they really like to receive?”

    If there’s someone on your gift list you don’t know that well, talk to someone close to that person to get some ideas.

    “It’s such a great strategy to ask people who know them better than you do. The people closer to them will be able to help you,” Scott said.

    Diane Gottsman, who runs The Protocol School of Texas, suggests even asking the recipients themselves.

    “There’s absolutely nothing wrong within your own family or within your own friend group saying, ‘Hey, listen, what do you need? What would you like? What would light up your life?’” she said. ”You have to think about each person if you really want to do it right. You’re fine-tuning it for that individual.”

    Bethany Friske, founder of Doors of Success School of Etiquette, agrees that being thoughtful requires what the word implies: some thought. Know enough about the person on your list.

    “You want to be aware of the person’s personality and not give them something that they would never, ever use just because it’s something that you like,” she said. If you don’t know someone well, she recommends against giving a gift that is super personal, such as jewelry or home decor.

    “I love to give something that the person didn’t know they needed or wouldn’t spend on themselves, yet I know the person well enough [to know] that they would love it—filling a need that they didn’t know they had,” she added. For example, her mother had a Christmas figurine set from her own mother, from the 1950s, with a broken piece. Her sister found and gifted her a replacement. “My mom was overjoyed and completely blessed by the thought of this gift!”

    Friske also suggests keeping a record of your gifts so you don’t end up giving someone the same present twice, especially if someone’s been on your gift list for years. She keeps a gift-giving journal.

    “You can go back and find out what you gave to the person, and even how much you spent,” she said.

    And if all else fails, cash or gift cards get Gottsman’s stamp of approval. But again, she suggests putting some thought into it to make it look like an actual present.

    “It’s the presentation that counts,” she said. Don’t just stick it in a plain envelope; put it in a pretty card or a beautifully wrapped box.

    “Cash is king, because when you give a beautiful holiday card to someone and insert cash, that gives them the freedom to buy whatever they would like,” she added. Just make sure any gift cards are for stores or restaurants the recipient actually likes.

    Scott says cash is a great gift for young people: “Cash gifts for older children are always appreciated.”

    For younger kids, she adds that classic toys that will last a long time are always a good idea.

    “I think it’s nice for children to give them timeless, high-quality things, rather than toys that are going to break down,” she said. A little girl who receives a beautiful dollhouse might keep it forever as a reminder of her best childhood memories, and eventually might pass it down to her own daughter.

    Remember that a beautiful package is often the one that’s opened first, so make sure your gifts stand out. Thankfully, someone figured out that most guys can’t do a decent job wrapping a box or tying a pretty bow. So whoever came up with the idea of the colorful gift bag, every man thanks you.

    Professional Gifts Should Be Professional

    If you have coworkers or clients on your Christmas list, remember, it’s business. Gottman says you shouldn’t get too personal with gifts, like perfume or a massage.

    “You want to keep it professional,“ she said. ”Maybe tickets to a theater, or to a game that you know they like. Something generic, but nice. Something thoughtful.”

    Scott suggests if you have a lot of coworkers, you might want to give them all the same thing. “Generic but nice” works here, too.

    “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a big ticket item,” she said. “Maybe bake cookies for all of them and wrap them up in pretty packages. Homemade cookies—who wouldn’t want to receive that?”

    Significant Gifts for Your Significant Other

    Your current significant other might be your soulmate—or might not. Too early to tell? You want a gift that’s thoughtful without possibly scaring the other person away. Gottsman suggests something “lighthearted and kind,” such as a dinner at that person’s favorite restaurant.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 22:10

  • Introducing The New ZeroHedge Store!
    Introducing The New ZeroHedge Store!

    Since launching ZeroHedge in 2009, our mission has been to cut through the bullshit and provide you with an authentic, unfiltered platform for news and conversation from all over the world. Having earned your trust over the past 15 years, curating the world’s incessant newsflow – while battling the censorship industrial complex through subscriptions and partnerships – we have decided to create our own store to showcase the best products and services to help you avoid “buying shit you don’t need”.

    Here’s what you can find:

    Supplements

    We’re proud to carry a full line of supplements from IQ Biologix, including nootropics, protein, creatine, colostrum, sleep aids, weight loss, coffee and much more. Enjoy 5% off for 2 of the same item, or 10% off for three or more – plus subscribe & save an additional 10%.

    Coffee

    In addition to IQ Biologix infused Smart Blend, check out our new ZeroHedge coffee! Organic and GMO-free, we’ve got both medium and dark roast. Discounts of up to 10% for multiple bags, and another 10% for Subscribe & Save.

    Preparedness

    After searching long and hard, we’ve found two excellent brands of emergency food – Prepper All Naturals, which offers upscale, clean, hormone-free beef, and ReadyWise, a longtime player in the emergency food business.

    We’ve also got water filters, go-bags, generators & more!

    SiPhox Blood Testing

    IQ Biologix has partnered with SiPhox Health for the ultimate at-home blood testing suite. Buy one, or subscribe to track your health throughout the year – then log into the IQ / SiPhox dashboard to monitor your results. You can also upgrade your kit for specific needs – including a hormone panel, a metabolic panel, and a thyroid panel.

    Anza Knives

    Made in Santee, California, Anza hand-made knives start life as heavy-duty high carbon steel files, which are meticulously crafted into masterpieces that fit well in the hand and have never let us down.

    ZeroHedge Multitool

    Solid in the hand, the ZeroHedge multitool is perfect for any situation. Includes pliers, knife, saw, screwdrivers, wire cutter, bottle opener and more.

    ZeroHedge Gear

    How could we possibly launch a store without gear? Check out our waxed-canvas hats, shirts, sweatshirts, tumblers, water bottle, and more!

    Whether you’re looking to optimize your health, ensure you’re ready for whatever comes next, or express your unique worldview, our store is your one-stop destination.

    Dive in, gear up, and embrace a lifestyle of readiness, resilience, and individuality with ZeroHedge. And thank you for your support!

    International shipping available soon…

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 21:40

  • The Neocons Have Created A Vacuum So Big Not Even Trump Would Want To Fill It
    The Neocons Have Created A Vacuum So Big Not Even Trump Would Want To Fill It

    By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management

    Something weird happened in South Korea. No one really cared, nor understood. It might have been an attempted coup, led by the incumbent President, which isn’t how such things tend to roll.

    “I am deeply sorry and sincerely apologize to the citizens who must have been greatly shocked,” said Yoon in a national address, following his perplexing own goal. Clown show.

    The French government fell apart. Circus Incognitus.

    German politics is not really any more stable.

    The UK is a mess too.

    Although perhaps not quite as Cirque du Soleil as Syria, where some group of Sunni rebels may finally overthrow Assad. The dictator cannot stand without aggressive support from both the Ayatollah who has his own domestic issues, and Putin who is rather preoccupied with taking ground in Ukraine ahead of January 20th.

    What comes next, no one knows. Especially not the Neocons, who juggled one too many bad guys in recent decades and lost the support of America’s voters for at least a generation.

    Which leaves a vacuum so big that not even Trump would want to fill it.

    Bitcoin topped $100,000. The price is determined by buyers and sellers in humanity’s first truly 24x7x365 global market. No central bank or government stands behind the asset, which has grown to have a $2trln market cap.

    Bitcoin is just code of course, and as such was utterly unaware of this week’s acrobatics. It simply runs, uninterrupted, uncaring, unconcerned about anything.

    Which in an increasingly unstable world, on the precipice of a historic economic and geopolitical reordering, is a large part of its appeal.

    Trump nominated a new SEC Chairman. And added a new Crypto/AI Tsar, with a mission to bring sensible market-friendly regulation to these emerging industries. Providing America’s dominant entrepreneurs with the clarity needed to build yet another generation of innovative and disruptive businesses.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 21:00

  • Watch: Firearms Collector Believes UnitedHealthcare CEO's Killer Didn't Use Welrod Pistol
    Watch: Firearms Collector Believes UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Killer Didn’t Use Welrod Pistol

    There has been a lot of speculation that the gunman who murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan Hilton hotel last week was a professional killer who used a British bolt-action, magazine-fed suppressed pistol known as a “Welrod,” or possibly a modern-day Welrod-variant known as the Brügger & Thomet (B&T) VP9 pistol.

    Firearms expert David Katz, a former DEA firearms instructor who is now the CEO of Global Security, told Fox News that the killer might have used Welrod and/or a “modernized version of a World War II pistol.” 

    Welrod

    “The operation that he does with his hands is consistent with the operation of that weapon,” Katz said, noting that he “immediately moved to rack the slide manually with his left hand” after he fired.

    B&T VP9

    Multiple law enforcement sources also told Fox News that they believe the killer used a Welrod pistol. 

    “I’d bet my pension that this is the weapon that was used on the United CEO. It’s very, very quiet and requires manual cycling after each round is fired. Top choice by pros for up-close, quiet work,” the source said.

    However, firearms collector and expert Texas Gun Vault shared his opinion on the firearm used in the murder of the CEO, stating that he does not believe it was a Welrod or any variant thereof. 

    “Well based off the footage that we saw of the assassination … the assassin kept his right hand on the pistol grip and manipulated the gun with his left. So that’s not the typical way that you would run a Welrod,” the gun collector and expert said around the 10:30 minute mark. 

    He said the “way the gun looks in profile … does not look like a Welrod … and I know lot of people were hoping and wishing it was because it’s a cool design and it’s the gun if he was some type of super secret assassin or something of that nature,” adding, “Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the case and the actual answer is much more mundane: What do I think it was. I believe it was a typical semi-automatic pistol with a silencer.”

    To save readers time, we started the video at the 10:30 mark.

    Listen for about five minutes as the gun collector provides insightful commentary on what he believes the firearm used and explains how those unspent 9mm bullets with messages ended up at the crime scene.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 20:25

  • 2025 – Do Economic Indicators Support Bullish Outlooks?
    2025 – Do Economic Indicators Support Bullish Outlooks?

    Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

    Everybody Is Very Bullish

    Last week, we discussed how speculation and leverage have returned in earnest to the market as investors rush to take on increasing levels of risk. With markets rising steadily all year, it is unsurprising to witness investors lulled into an elevated sense of complacency. Stocks, bitcoin, leveraged investments, and meme stocks are all surging higher, which is certainly reminiscent of the “madness” we witnessed following the Covid lockdowns. I posted the following chart on “X” Friday morning for reference.

    Of course, speculation and sentiment drive markets higher, and investors currently have little concern about a correction. Markets are overbought and detached from short-term moving averages. Furthermore, one of the near-term risks to more bullish investors is the combination of high stock valuations and the necessity of portfolio rebalancing, which could impact market stability. Using 2023 data, it is estimated that mutual funds in the United States hold approximately $19.6 trillion in assets, while exchange-traded funds (ETFs) manage about $8.1 trillion, suggesting a substantial number of portfolios containing combinations of stocks and bonds.

    Portfolio Rebalancing Risk

    With the year-end approaching, portfolio managers need to rebalance their holdings due to tax considerations, distributions, and annual reporting. For example, as of this writing, the S&P 500 is currently up about 28% year-to-date, while investment-grade bonds (as measured by iShares US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) are up 3.2%. That differential in performance would cause a 60/40 stock/bond allocation to shift to a 65/35 allocation. To rebalance that portfolio back to 60/40, portfolio managers must reduce equity exposure by 5% and increase bond exposure by 5%.

    Depending on the magnitude of the rebalancing process, it could exert downward pressure on risk assets, leading to a short-term market correction or consolidation. Some of that rebalancing has already been in process, but we suspect there is more to go, particularly given the rather extreme reading of the stock-to-bond ratio.

    Historically, the stock/bond ratio remained range bound between roughly 1:1 to 2.5:1. Today, that ratio has skyrocketed since the flood of liquidity following the pandemic as money chased risk assets over safety. At a ratio of 6.5:1, we suspect that, at some point, a reversion will take place. In the short term, given the outsized performance of stocks versus bonds in 2024, there is likely an unappreciated risk that portfolio rebalancing by managers could add a layer of selling pressure over the next couple of weeks.

    However, repeating what we wrote last week, we expect any correction to be short-lived.

    “If you are underweight equities, consider minor pullbacks and consolidations to add exposure as needed to bring portfolios to target weights. Pullbacks will likely be shallow, but being ready to deploy capital will be beneficial. Once we pass the inauguration, we can assess what policies will likely be enacted and adjust portfolios accordingly.”

    While there is no reason to be bearish, this does not mean you should abandon risk management. Such is particularly the case as we head into 2025, which could suggest a less optimistic outcome.

    2025 Earnings Forecasts Are Very Bullish

    Last week, we discussed the surge in speculation and leverage in the market. As discussed in that article, even though valuations are elevated, such is because sentiment drives valuations in the short term. As we head into 2025, Wall Street is very optimistic about earnings growth, leading investors to pay up for higher valuations. Such is also the case with consumers whose confidence in higher stock prices over the next 12 months has surged to record levels.

    According to S&P Global, earnings are expected to grow by 19.87% in 2025 from $209.83 to $251.53 per share. As discussed, such is well above the long-term earnings growth trend from 1900 to the present. Still, such exuberance is unsurprising during strongly trending bull markets in an attempt to justify higher valuations. The problem is that such exuberant forecasts rarely come to fruition. For example, in March 2023, S&P Global predicted that 2024 earnings would grow by 13% for the year. In reality, earnings grew by just 9% despite the market rising nearly 28%.

    As shown, current estimates are well elevated above the running linear trend line from 2014, while actual earnings growth remains close to it. This suggests that we will likely see a decline in estimates for 2025 to roughly $225/share, equating to earnings growth of roughly 7%. Of course, the linear trend of earnings growth is a function of economic growth and an important consideration for investors betting on elevated returns in the New Year.

    Earnings Can’t Outgrow The Economy

    Crucially, earnings cannot outgrow the economy over the long term as earnings are derived from economic activity. Given that GDP measures the total value of goods and services produced within a country, it is a reliable gauge of overall activity. A growing GDP indicates increased economic activity, typically driving higher corporate earnings due to increased consumer spending and business investment. Conversely, a contracting GDP suggests an economic slowdown, often dampening corporate profits.

    The data supports this concept. Historically, GDP growth has closely correlated with corporate earnings growth. Data from the Federal Reserve shows that, since 1948, a 1% increase in real GDP growth has translated to roughly a 6% increase in S&P 500 earnings on average. This relationship underscores why GDP is a cornerstone for assessing earnings trends. We can also see this visually.

    “Since 1947, earnings per share have grown at 7.7% annually, while the economy expanded by 6.40% annually. That close relationship in growth rates should be logical, particularly given the significant role that consumer spending has in the GDP equation.” – Market Forecasts Are Very Bullish

    A better way to visualize this data is to look at the correlation between the annual change in earnings growth and inflation-adjusted GDP. There are periods when earnings deviate from underlying economic activity. However, those periods are due to pre- or post-recession earnings fluctuations. Currently, economic and earnings growth are very close to the long-term correlation.

    However, as we discussed previously, there is also a high correlation between the market and the corporate profits to GDP ratio. As is the case currently, markets can detach from underlying economic realities due to momentum and psychology for brief periods. However, those deviations are unsustainable in the long term, and corporate profitability, as discussed, is derived from underlying economic activity.

    I will write an article soon covering the importance of a handful of economic indicators on earnings. However, I want to discuss two today: the ISM Manufacturing Index and the Chicago Fed National Activity Index.

    ISM Manufacturing Index

    The ISM Manufacturing Index is a widely followed leading indicator of economic activity in the manufacturing sector. It surveys purchasing managers on critical metrics like new orders, production levels, and employment.

    • A reading above 50 signals expansion, which tends to support earnings growth.
    • A reading below 50 suggests contraction, often foreshadowing economic weakness and declining corporate profits.

    As of late 2024, the ISM Manufacturing Index has been consistently below 50, marking a manufacturing recession. This data aligns with declining new orders and softer demand, raising concerns about corporate earnings resilience in 2025. However, while manufacturing only accounts for about 20% of U.S. GDP, it has an outsized influence that extends across supply chains, amplifying the impact on broader economic activity.

    Corporate earnings growth, which correlates with economic indicators like the ISM Manufacturing index, suggests some caution about the more optimistic 2025 Wall Street estimates. However, even if we include the services side of the index, which comprises the bulk of economic growth, and weigh it accordingly, we see that the stock market has far outpaced underlying economic activity. Historically, such outsized returns have not been sustainable as earnings growth fails to meet expectations.

    However, one of the better economic indicators to pay attention to is the Chicago Fed National Activity Index, which is a broad measure of the economy but does not receive much attention.

    Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)

    The CFNAI aggregates 85 monthly economic indicators from four categories:

    1. Production and income.
    2. Employment, unemployment, and hours worked.
    3. Personal consumption and housing.
    4. Sales, orders, and inventories.

    A CFNAI reading above zero indicates above-trend economic growth, while below zero suggests below-trend growth. In October 2024, the CFNAI registered at -0.15, reflecting subdued economic activity. Prolonged readings in negative territory often signal a rising risk of recession. Notably, the employment measure suggests that the annual rate of change in employment will continue to decline, industrial production will slow, and personal consumption will moderate lower.

    The CFNAI’s broad scope provides a nuanced view of how various economic forces combine to affect corporate earnings. With production and employment metrics deteriorating, the outlook for robust earnings in 2025 appears increasingly strained. As shown, a high but volatile historical correlation exists between the CFNAI and corporate earnings.

    Risks In 2025

    Still, investors should note that analysts’ outlook for 2025 is exceptionally optimistic compared to what is likely to be the actual outcome. This is because, as discussed in “Market Forecasts Are Very Bullish,” there are numerous headwinds facing markets next year.

    “The problem with current forward estimates is that several factors must exist to sustain historically high earnings growth and record corporate profitability.”

    1. Economic growth must remain more robust than the average 20-year growth rate.

    2. Wage and labor growth must reverse (weaken) to sustain historically elevated profit margins.

    3. Both interest rates and inflation need to decline to support consumer spending.

    4. Trump’s planned tariffs will increase costs on some products and may not be fully offset by replacement and substitution.

    5. Reductions in Government spending, debt issuance, and the deficit subtract from corporate profitability (Kalecki Profit Equation).

    6. Slower economic growth in China, Europe, and Japan reduces demand for U.S. exports, slowing economic growth.

    7. The Federal Reserve maintaining higher interest rates and continuing to reduce its balance sheet will reduce market liquidity.

    You get the idea. While analysts are currently very optimistic about economic and earnings growth going into 2025, there are risks to those forecasts. Such is particularly true when examining current economic data’s relative strength and trend. Subdued manufacturing activity, slowing GDP growth, and cautious consumer behavior all point to an economic environment less supportive of aggressive earnings growth. As such, investors must carefully navigate the disconnect between high Wall Street expectations and softening economic conditions.

    If these headwinds persist, corporate earnings may grow slower or contract slightly compared to Wall Street’s current projections. For investors, this scenario could mean lower returns from equities, particularly in high-growth sectors more sensitive to earnings disappointments.

    How We Are Trading It

    Heading into year-end, there is little need to be overly cautious. The bullish trend remains intact, corporate buybacks continue, and investment managers must be “fully dressed” by New Year’s Eve for annual reporting.

    However, even with the market in a seasonally strong period of the year, there is always the possibility of something “going wrong.” As such, continue to follow the rules as needed to maintain a manageable level of volatility.

    1. Tighten up stop-loss levels to current support levels for each position.
    2. Hedge portfolios against major market declines.
    3. Take profits in positions that have been big winners
    4. Sell laggards and losers
    5. Raise cash and rebalance portfolios to target weightings.

    Notice, nothing in there says “sell everything and go to cash.”

    The trick to navigating markets in 2025 is not trying to “time” the market to sell exactly at the top. That is impossible. Successful long-term management is understanding when “enough is enough” and being willing to take profits and protect your gains. For many stocks currently, that is the situation we are in.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 19:50

  • Lead In Gasoline May Have Caused Over 150 Million Excess Cases Of Mental Health Disorders, New Study Shows
    Lead In Gasoline May Have Caused Over 150 Million Excess Cases Of Mental Health Disorders, New Study Shows

    A new study reported on this week says that lead in gasoline could be tied to “over 150 million excess cases of mental health disorders”, including anxiety, depression and ADHD, according to NBC News.

    A new study estimates that childhood exposure to leaded gasoline caused 151 million excess psychiatric disorders in the U.S. over the past 75 years. Despite its ban in 1996, lead’s lingering impact on mental health was traced through childhood blood lead levels from 1940 to 2015.

    Lead was added to gasoline to enhance engine performance, but its use surged post-WWII until catalytic converters, required in the 1970s, highlighted its drawbacks. Despite early awareness of its dangers, federal efforts to reduce lead exposure lagged for years.

    The NBC News report says that researchers from Duke, Florida State, and the Medical University of South Carolina found that lead exposure reduced impulse control and increased neuroticism, with the strongest effects in those born between 1966 and 1986.

    Generation Xers born from 1966 to 1970, during peak leaded gasoline use, faced the highest burden of lead-related mental health issues.

    Aaron Reuben, a co-author of the study and a postdoctoral scholar in neuropsychology at Duke and the Medical University of South Carolina, commented: “Studies like ours today add more evidence that removing lead from our environment and not putting it there in the first place has more benefits than we previously understood.”

    He said of the new research that it “doesn’t create new information about whether lead causes harm, nor do we say this is a study that proves causation — we’re really just taking existing evidence and applying it to the whole U.S. population.”

    “We’re not at all concerned that we have in any way overestimated the harm,” he continued. 

    “We don’t often get to see a lot of studies that look at environmental, or toxin-related, potential associated risks with the development of elevated rates of mental health problems in populations. The research shed some light on the profound and lasting impact of environmental factors,” added Dr. Lisa Fortuna, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Children, Adolescents and Their Families.

    “It does not mean that people are, I would say, stuck with a mental illness. It doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily going to have a higher risk. It’s really an issue of, ‘Here’s what’s happened at a population level.’”

    A previous study by Reuben and colleagues found that leaded gasoline exposure lowered the IQ of about half the U.S. population, costing 824 million IQ points. The new research highlights that those born around 1940 and 2015 had the lowest lead exposure and related mental illnesses, NBC reported.

    Although banned in gasoline, lead persists in sources like old paint, outdated water lines, some imported toys, and soil. The CDC states there is no safe level of lead exposure, which is particularly harmful to children under 6, affecting brain development, learning, and the nervous and reproductive systems.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 19:15

  • Democrats Look Like "A Bunch Of Thieves & Crooks" – Martin Armstrong Warns "This Is Now A War With The Deep State"
    Democrats Look Like “A Bunch Of Thieves & Crooks” – Martin Armstrong Warns “This Is Now A War With The Deep State”

    Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

    Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong is back with some important new predictions. 

    But first, long before the 2024 Election, Armstrong’s Socrates computer correctly predicted a Trump landslide.  Armstrong also predicted the GOP would win the House and the Senate while the Lying Legacy Media (LLM) were telling us all how popular Kamala Harris was and how she would take it all in 2024.  Armstrong said Kamala’s real approval rating was around 10% (not 50%), and the Dems and the LLM knew it but lied anyway.  Armstrong’s Socrates computer program also predicted Joe Biden would pardon his son Hunter, even though Biden, the Dems and the LLM repeatedly told us there would be no pardon of Hunter.

    This is where it get’s interesting.  Armstrong says, “You have to understand, it wasn’t for Hunter…”

    “Yes, my computer (Socrates) was showing Biden would pardon Hunter, and it was basically showing the collapse in the rule of law, and this is what this is about now…

    All the corruption started in 2014 in Ukraine…

    By pardoning Hunter all the way back to 2014, it means he can be compelled to testify.  How much money did you get out of Ukraine?  Where did it go?  Did it go to the Big Guy?

    …Hunter can’t be prosecuted, so he can’t claim the 5th Amendment.  He could be thrown in prison for contempt of court for refusing to testify.”

    Armstrong was held in prison for a record seven years for contempt of court.  Armstrong says the law says the sentence should only have lasted 18 months.  Still, Hunter could be thrown in jail.  Armstrong says Joe will pardon many more, such as those involved in the J-6 prosecutions like Liz Cheney or people like Anthony Fauci, overseer of the CV19 bioweapon vax.  Armstrong says,

    “The computer has been showing, and we published these reports at our November 2024 conference, that this is most likely the final nail in the coffin for the Democrat Party…

    The pardons will have a real detrimental impact on the Democrat Party.  It’s going to basically make the Democrat party look like a bunch of thieves and crooks… The Democrat Party is going extinct.”

    When asked if we are still going to war with Russia, Armstrong said, “I hate to say this, but yes, and the (Socrates) computer is never wrong.” 

    Armstrong fears dirty tricks, such as a false flag in Europe, that could get it going and blame the Russians for something they did not do.  They want to do this before Trump takes office. 

    Armstrong says he is still recommending a big food supply, gold and cash. 

    He is also predicting that government wants to do away with paper money and do all digital so they can track everything.  Will this work?  Armstrong says no, but they are going to try anyway.

    Armstrong says even though Trump is looking good here before he’s sworn in, he’s going to have a tough four years.  Armstrong says,

    “What I have heard is that they are planning on a major protest for his inauguration.  They want to make it so bad that he has to call out the National Guard, and then they will say, see, he’s a dictator.  I am concerned.  I do not see four years of bliss in the Trump Administration. 

    The computer says from 2026 on, it does not look good, particularly going into 2027 and 2028. 

    This may be our last election…This is a war now with the Deep State.  They are not going to take this lightly…

    They are going to try to obstruct Trump anyway they can…

    You are taking the trough away from all the pigs, and they are not going to have anything to eat.  They are going to fight for their very lives.”

    There is much more in the 1-hour and 9-minute interview.”

    Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with Martin Armstrong where he gives his analysis on Trump winning and Biden pardoning everyone for 12.7.24.

    To Donate to USAWatchdog.com Click Here

    There is free information, analysis and articles on ArmstrongEconomics.com.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 18:40

  • Sony And Honda Set To Debut Collaborative EV Despite Trump Administration's Political Headwinds
    Sony And Honda Set To Debut Collaborative EV Despite Trump Administration’s Political Headwinds

    Sony and Honda may have picked the worst possible time to break new EV ground with President Trump at the helm. But the companies will try nonetheless, with Nikkei Asia this past week reporting that the companies are preparing for a “tough debut” under a Trump administration.

    They had been working together for two and a half years to collaborate on an EV project. 

    Now, Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) will unveil a prototype of its electric sedan, the Afeela, at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nikkei Asia said. Market watchers are eager to see if Afeela’s software-driven approach can thrive in the competitive U.S. EV market, though analysts warn the timing may be unfavorable.

    Izumi Kawanishi, president and chief operating officer of SHM said: “The hardware, or car body, is pretty much complete. We’ll be working on the software until the last minute.”

    President-elect Donald Trump is expected to cut EV subsidies, potentially reducing electric vehicle sales by nearly 30%, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research study. Automakers also face challenges from his proposed tariff hikes, which could increase costs.

    SHM’s Afeela, blending Sony’s tech expertise with Honda’s automotive strengths, aims to compete in this tough market by prioritizing software and entertainment. The prototype, featuring 45 cameras and sensors, AI-driven features, and updateable software, emphasizes self-parking and driver-assistance tools. Entertainment-focused elements include panoramic screens, noise-canceling audio, and rear-seat displays.

    The Nikkei Asia report said experts believe Afeela’s success hinges on its software, not hardware, and aligns with consumer preferences for connected services, navigation, and advanced driver-assistance systems.

    Jin Tang of Mizuho Bank notes that software-defined vehicles are judged on electrification and digital integration, where Sony’s technologies should excel, but improvements in AI and autonomous driving may come gradually. Dunne emphasizes intuitive automotive software, stating, “Most automakers out there don’t get it right,” but believes Sony could be “several steps ahead” in this area.

    SHM’s 50 billion yen venture aims to benefit both parent companies—Sony expanding its sensor business and Honda improving tech-focused car development. Competing against Tesla, which holds half the U.S. EV market, SHM will face challenges, with a realistic sales goal of 30,000–40,000 units annually, especially if subsidies are reduced.

    Priced around $50,000, the Afeela targets affluent buyers, emphasizing advanced features like entertainment and augmented reality, developed with Epic Games. Analyst Nakanishi predicts SHM will thrive as autonomous driving grows, leveraging its entertainment expertise.

    Kawanishi views the launch as “the starting line,” focusing on software-driven updates to redefine the car ownership experience.

    Kawanishi concluded: “All businesses have ups and downs, so we won’t live and die by it. If we think about the environment, EVs will spread, and sooner or later, that’s the way the world will go.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 18:05

  • Former Secret Service Agent Warns Trump Likely To Be Attacked Before Inauguration
    Former Secret Service Agent Warns Trump Likely To Be Attacked Before Inauguration

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    Former Secret Service agent Richard Staropoli warned Thursday that Donald Trump could be targeted in an attack before he is inaugurated as president, and that the Secret Service may not be able to prevent it.

    During a FOX News interview, Staropoli suggested Trump could face a threat “of a much bigger magnitude” than the two assassination attempts earlier in the year.

    Staropoli said that he is “not highly confident at all,” that Trump can be kept safe, noting “The Secret Service that you see out there today is not the Secret Service of yesteryear.”

    “Somewhere along the line they’ve completely dropped the ball,” he continued, adding “That testimony that you saw today was purely a smokescreen to cover up the shortcomings of a politically compromised agency.”

    Staropoli was referring to testimony in the House by Acting Director Ronald Rowe and other Secret Service officials before the task force investigating the first assassination attempt on Trump in July.

    “It should never have gotten to that point,” Starapoli urged, adding “This whole talk about all these drones and these UAVs, hey, that’s all great, but you need to get back to the basics. What made the Secret Service great was its ability to put human intelligence, manpower on the streets and effectively secure the environment to make it safe for the president of the United States. I don’t see that here.”

    “As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’d be alone in saying that I certainly can see something happening between now and inauguration day,” Staropoli warned.

    He added, “it’s not going to be some 20-year-old kid on the roof of a building that’s allowed to get within 100 yards. It’s going to be something of a much bigger magnitude and I don’t think the Secret Service is anywhere equipped to handle that situation.”

    Watch:

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

    During the House testimony, Rowe got into an extremely heated exchange with Republican Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas over Rowe’s attendance at a 9/11 memorial event.

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

    The full exchange, before the screaming began, is here:

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

    Back in July, Fallon tore into then Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, telling her that “it is a miracle president Trump wasn’t killed,” and that she should be immediately fired and sent “back to guarding Doritos.”

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

    *  *  *

    Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 17:30

  • US Bombs 75 ISIS Targets Across Syria After Assad Overthrown
    US Bombs 75 ISIS Targets Across Syria After Assad Overthrown

    US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Sunday that US forces have conducted multiple dozens of major airstrikes targeting ISIS camps and their terror camps across central Syria. 

    CENTCOM stated on X, “The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS, in order to prevent the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria.”

    B-52 Stratofortress, file image

    “The operation struck over 75 targets using multiple U.S. Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s.”

    “Battle damage assessments are underway, and there are no indications of civilian casualties,” CENTCOM continued.

    Especially given the presence of B-52s in the operation, this was clearly a large-scale op. But it begs an important question: Washington chooses now to very belatedly go after ISIS?

    One wonders why they weren’t targeted in the past, whether months ago or years ago. There hasn’t been a US operation of this scale going back perhaps a half-decade at least.

    A theory? Perhaps now that it’s ‘mission accomplished’ with the Assad government overthrown, and with Damascus in the hands of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham jihadists, ISIS is no longer needed to ‘pressure’ Assad and Russian forces. The Pentagon is now much belatedly dealing with the Daesh terrorists.

    Recall the Obama era in Syria and the West-Gulf allies fueling the rise of ISIS with tons and tons of weaponry passed around to the Islamist insurgents which made up the mainstay of anti-Assad ‘opposition’…

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

    On Sunday President Joe Biden finally addressed the rapidly moving events in Syria, and with Assad having fled to Moscow, where he was given asylum. “At long last, the Assad regime has fallen,” Biden said. “This regime brutalized, tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians.” And more:

    At the same time, it’s “also a moment of risk and uncertainty,” Biden added, saying that the U.S. would “support Syria’s neighbors, including Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel, should any threat arise.”

    “This is a moment of considerable risk and uncertainty,” Biden said. “But I also believe this is the best opportunity in generations for Syrians to forge their own future free of opposition.”

    The day prior, a White House national security statement sought to emphasize that the United States “has nothing to do with this offensive, which is led by Hay’at Tahir al-Sham (HTS), a designated terrorist organization.”

    Biden in the Sunday address at one point alluded to the obvious on the minds of many, and as Syrian Christians flee toward the coast:

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

    Meanwhile, over in Turkey…

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

    Currently, reports of looting have emerged from the Syrian capital, but there is a certain ‘fog of war’ along with many uncertainties. It’s also anything but certain what Syria will look like a week from now, months from now, or years from now.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 16:55

  • California Reaffirms An Open Arms Invitation To Illegal Immigrants
    California Reaffirms An Open Arms Invitation To Illegal Immigrants

    Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

    Protests based on the “California Values ​​Act” which limits state cooperation with federal immigration authorities are underway…

    Hundreds of people demonstrated around the California Capitol on Monday to urge the Legislature to try to stop Trump’s mass deportation plans. They carried banners that said “Not one cent for mass deportation” and “MAGA out of California.”

    Deportation Resistance

    Gateway Hispanic reports States Resist Trump’s Mass Deportation Plans: California, New York, Maryland and Colorado Push Back

    In response to former President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans, states like California and New York have been vocal in their opposition, asserting their authority to protect immigrant communities from federal enforcement.

    California has long been at the forefront of this resistance. Under Senator Alex Padilla and Governor Gavin Newsom, the state has emphasized its commitment to shielding immigrants, particularly through Senate Bill 54, the “California Values ​​Act,” which limits state and local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

    Federal Clash

    The conflict has raised significant questions about the balance of power between federal and state governments. Trump’s mass deportation agenda, which seeks to ramp up enforcement, clashes with the policies of these states that prioritize immigrant welfare. California and New York argue that they should have the discretion to create policies that reflect their values ​​of inclusion and protection for all residents, including undocumented immigrants.

    California and New York can argue all they want, but Federal law trumps state law on this issue.

    Eagle Pass, Texas Revisited

    On January 12, 2024, I discussed Texas National Guard Seizes Eagle Pass Park to Stop Illegal Immigration

    Over the objection of the Eagle Pass mayor, governor Abbott seized a public park that borders the Rio Grande river.

    Governor Abbott placed 29 miles of razor wire only to have the Biden administration remove the wire.

    On January 22, I commented Texas Showdown, Supreme Court Lets Feds Cut Abbott’s Razor Wire

    In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden Administration. Federal authorities will cut the razor wire and open the illegal immigration floodgates.

    But in an appeals ruling on November 28, a US appeals court ruled Texas has right to build razor wire along border at Eagle Pass.

    This seems more than a bit bizarre that an appeals court apparently overrules the Supreme Court.

    But it appears Texas tried again with a new angle based on safeguarding property as opposed to setting immigration policy.

    CBS Austin reports U.S. appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire along border at Eagle Pass.

    In its official ruling, the court says Texas is entitled to a preliminary injunction because the state is seeking only to safeguard its property — not “regulate” Border Patrol.

    The ruling also affirms Texas’ right to build wired fences for immigration enforcement.

    Be Careful of What You Wish

    The first part of the ruling above is narrow and seems correct. The second paragraph screams nonsense.

    More accurately, it was nonsense when the Federal government disagreed.

    Immigration policy belongs at the federal level. We do not want California, Illinois, or New York setting their own immigration policies. I thought so under Biden, and I do so now. Unlike others, I am consistent.

    Texas has no more right to set immigration policy than California. However, Texas should be able to safeguard its property.

    The distinction is important.

    Of course, I was blasted by hypocrites who wanted Texas to set immigration policy but now don’t want California to do the same.

    The Texas Tribune comments:

    “It was shocking to me that the federal government would go out of their way to cut razor wire to allow illegals to cross when we’re just trying to protect our own land,” Paxton said during a Wednesday evening appearance on Newsmax. “This wasn’t their land. This was our land, our private property. It had nothing due to the federal government. So this is a good win for Texas, a good win for the country, that this court recognized our ability to protect our land.”

    A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Should I Just Kiss My Illegal Immigrant Husband Goodbye?

    That’s the question the Wall Street Journal asks today in its post Migrants Prepare for Mass Deportation

    Immigrants without legal status or in mixed-status families are avoiding going out in public, scrambling to apply for asylum and attending legal workshops ahead of Donald Trump’s return to power, fearful they will be swept up in the president-elect’s promised mass-deportation campaign.

    “There is a lot of fear, a lot of concern,” said Lizeth Chacón, director of Workers Defense Project, in Texas. “There’s so much our community needs to plan for.”

    Yvonne Sanchez, a stay-at-home mother in the Milwaukee suburbs, has started taking steps to prepare her five children should authorities arrest her husband, who is a Mexican immigrant in the country illegally and the family’s sole breadwinner.

    Her husband has worked in the U.S. for nearly three decades, since he was 16 years old. Although Sanchez is a U.S. citizen, and the couple has been married for 13 years, she can’t sponsor her husband for a green card—which would grant him permanent U.S. residency—because he crossed into the country illegally. That would make him particularly vulnerable in a mass-deportation effort.

    Sanchez wondered recently, “should I just kiss my husband goodbye? How far is this going to go?”

    “I’m advising folks, make sure your affairs are in order,” said Lily Axelrod, an immigration attorney in Memphis, Tenn. “If you have kids, make sure their guardianship and custody situations are in order if, in the worst-case scenario, you are detained.”

    Roughly 860,000 immigrants are living in the U.S. with a form of deportation protection called Temporary Protected Status, granted to people whose countries are deemed too dangerous to return to. Trump has vowed not to renew those protections—granted to people from countries including Venezuela, Haiti and Honduras. The first set of protections, which covers 239,000 migrants from El Salvador who have lived in the U.S. since 2001, is due to expire in March.

    Hundreds of thousands more have entered the country under the Biden administration with explicit permission, granted a form of temporary status called humanitarian parole. Trump has promised to take their protections away, too.

    Kateryna Kyrylova came to the U.S. under Biden’s humanitarian program after fleeing the Russian siege of her home city of Mariupol, Ukraine, where a bomb killed her grandmother, her only living relative, and another leveled her apartment building. After searching in an online forum, Kyrylova found a retired military couple in San Antonio, willing to financially sponsor her.

    “I understand that he wants this illegal immigration to stop—it’s a huge problem for the country,” Kyrylova said. “I just want him to give me a chance to stay and live my life.”

    Things That Make Sense

    • Deporting everyone on the ICE list charged with violent crimes regardless of other circumstances

    • Deporting recent arrivals with no job and no sponsorship

    • Deporting Venezuelan gang members

    Things That Make No Sense

    • Deporting spouses of US citizens

    • Deporting parents of US citizens

    • Deporting people who have been here for years, are employed, and are leading productive lives

    • Deporting people, especially Afghans who risked their lives aiding the US for years in holding off the Taliban and who would immediately be killed upon return

    • Deporting people without understanding the economic impacts

    Deport Them All Foolishness

    Deport them all is both economically stupid and morally unjust.

    People who propose such policies are economic illiterates. Most of them just parrot whatever Trump says without question.

    But, if Trump wants to unleash a massive round of inflation by creating work shortages, all he has to do is listen to alleged mandates “deport them all”.

    October 1: What Would Trump’s Mass Deportation of Immigrants Cost?

    The Middle Ground

    We need sensible immigration policy. Mass deportation of 10 to 15 million immigrants (or even 6 million) is not sensible.

    It’s a dirty, not-so-secret, fact that red state and blue state alike depend on migrant labor for crops and construction projects.

    However, an open border is not the answer either. We can do without the crime and shelter costs that uncontrolled immigration bring. Flying Haitians (or anyone else) here is beyond ridiculous and begging for problems.

    I suggest we deport criminals, have a reasonable amnesty program for hard working immigrants who have been here for years, and mostly close the border using the military if necessary.

    Future immigration should be based on our genuine needs.

    October 18: How Difficult Would it Be For Trump to Deport Millions of Immigrants?

    Trump’s Pledge

    “As soon as I take the oath of office, I will terminate every open border policy of the Biden administration and begin the largest deportation operation in American history.”

    Trumpian Bravado vs Reality

    Fortunately, despite his harsh rhetoric, Trump seems to understand some of the economic arguments.

    On November 11, the Wall Street Journal commented on Trump’s Mass Deportation Promise

    He has a mandate on the border and to deport criminals. But more than that could get ugly fast.

    In short order, Mr. Trump will move to reinstate the border policies of his first term, such as Remain in Mexico, which seemed to work. Under that deal, migrants claiming asylum in the U.S. were sent back to Mexico while their cases were pending, which might take months or more. The idea was to break the incentives to game the system. Given the backlog of asylum cases, letting migrants into the U.S. while they wait is an enticement to come.

    The political rub may be Mr. Trump’s campaign promise to conduct “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.” How it goes depends on what Mr. Trump means. Speaking Monday on Fox News, Mr. Homan said the priority will be “public-safety threats and national-security threats,” as well as migrants who “had due process” and “their federal judge said ‘you must go home,’ and they didn’t.”

    Good to hear, and add what Mr. Homan told “60 Minutes” last month. “It’s not going to be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said. “It’s not going to be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

    Instead he said Mr. Trump’s plan would involve “targeted arrests,” and eventually “worksite enforcement operations.” If officers making an arrest also find an undocumented grandma in the house, will they detain her? “It depends,” Mr. Homan said. “Let the judge decide.”

    Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers, including Mr. Miller, have talked about mass deportation in sweeping terms. But enforcement priorities are up to the President, and Mr. Trump has suggested he isn’t interested in illegal grandmothers.

    When he visited the Journal recently, we asked about aliens who have been here for years, who might have U.S. citizen spouses and children. His response was that he wanted to help them.

    “We have a lot of good people in this country, and we have to do something about it,” Mr. Trump said. “This has been going on for a long time. It’s a complicated subject.” He declined to specify whom he’d deport: “I don’t want to go too much into clarification, because the nicer I become, the more people that come over illegally.” Yet after stringent talk about deterrence, he ended with nuance: “There are some human questions that get in the way of being perfect, and we have to have the heart, too.”

    Trump “We Have to Have the Heart, Too”

    I 100 percent endorse that statement vs “deport them all” economic foolishness.

    At the same time, I reject statements from California, Illinois, New York, and Colorado governors who think they can override federal law.

    There is an easy middle ground that makes economic and moral sense.

    Mish Five-Point Proposal

    1. Seal the border

    2. Reinstitute remain in Mexico

    3. Deport the criminals, gang members, and those on ICE lists, defining criminal as something other than being here illegally

    4. Help those who risk their lives assisting US policy in places like Afghanistan

    5. Work out a sensible policy on case-by-case immigration

    The New Home for Hispanics is the Republican Party

    My proposal is based in part on  The Dignity Act , a bipartisan bill sponsored Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida).

    For discussion, please see The New Home for Hispanics is the Republican Party

    Click above to see an interview of Florida rep. Maria Salazar on Hispanics, Trump, and deportations.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 16:20

  • RFK Jr. Effect: "Rotation Out Of Healthcare Stocks Shows No Signs Of Abating"
    RFK Jr. Effect: “Rotation Out Of Healthcare Stocks Shows No Signs Of Abating”

    Shares in vaccine makers and healthcare firms tumbled after Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services last month. Weeks later, Goldman analysts on Friday told clients that the “post-election theme of rotating out of the healthcare sector still shows no signs of abating.”

    The team of analysts led by Asad Haider pointed out that the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) year-to-date performance relative to the S&P 500 is now tracking toward the worst in three decades. 

    “With sentiment so despondent across so many segments of HC, we are fielding increasing inbounds on what it will take to reverse the generalist bleed,” Haider said. 

    According to the team of analysts, here’s what needs to happen to stop the hemorrhaging in healthcare stocks:

    “Outside of a few narrow segments where there still seems to be some generalist appetite on optimism on the fundamental outlook and/or execution (LLY, parts of MedTech, Distributors, link), this is tough to know — though at the highest level, what seems needed for a broad sector recovery is likely some combination of:

    1. A macro shock (this week’s inline payrolls number and above expectations UMich consumer sentiment index reading, link, are arguably not helpful for the marginal $$ into HC, outside of tactical risk-on expressions in segments like the XBI);

    2. Policy clarity (where it remains to be seen what the “clearing-event” will be, given the wide range of debates around potential outcomes); and

    3. Positive earnings revisions (which are still lacking across broad swaths of HC; link, and seem particularly important). Barring these, the bar for a sustained sector rebound is likely to remain elevated (valuation and dividend yields are not really resonating as primary reason to dip into the sector) and hedge-fund driven volatility (link) seems likely to continue.” 

    Timeline of events that triggered selling pressure across healthcare stocks…

    The industry’s performance relative to the S&P 500 year-to-date is some of the worst in three decades. 

    Here are the subsectors getting hammered the most. 

    Three decades of critical events affecting healthcare valuations.

    President-elect Donald Trump joined NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Trump provided more insights into what RFK Jr. will do once he gets into HHS. 

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

    Should the dip in beaten-down healthcare stocks be bought, or does a further clearing event need to occur first? Even Goldman analysts were not entirely sure.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 15:45

  • December Is A Tough Month In Which To Turn Bearish
    December Is A Tough Month In Which To Turn Bearish

    By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

    Hey Mate, The Genius of Mariah Carey, and More

    Having just returned from London where we watched consensus for a “Santa” rally grow, it seemed like a good time to discuss a couple of things:

    • Things we didn’t know we needed, but apparently, we did.
    • Biggest differences between our London and U.S. geopolitical/macro meetings.

    We will address positioning, consensus, and I daresay, overbought conditions early in the week, as we recover from jet lag, but for today, these “concepts” are top of mind.

    The Genius of Mariah Carey

    Who knew that the world desperately needed a new Christmas song? Apparently Mariah Carey did when she released “All I Want For Christmas Is You” back in 1994 (I have to admit, I didn’t realize that it had been around for so long). This song now appears at or near the top of every single holiday playlist, and according to AI (which I believe in this case), it has generated more income for her than anything else she has written.

    So what else is there in terms of things that we didn’t think we needed, but maybe we do? Let’s start with BITCOIN.

    Bitcoin broke $100,000 last week. Despite a plunge of 10% in a matter of minutes (wild ride), it managed to reclaim $100k and is trading right around that level as we write this T-Report. I’m highly confident that by the time you read this report it will be somewhere between $90k and $110k (which is a pretty wide range, almost laughable, yet the sort of range we all are forced to accept when we get the monthly jobs data foisted on us – see A Tale of Two Reports).

    The move in Bitcoin is largely understandable (so far) and I wouldn’t fight it, yet. President-elect Trump and his crypto entourage (entourage feels more appropriate than administration when looking at crypto) are clearly going to provide more clarity (and ease of access) around crypto than it was getting of late (despite approvals of “spot” ETFs, etc.). His team has a lot of people really fixated on crypto and it certainly seems as though that community put a lot of money into the election (however, not for the first time as SBF, in particular, seemed to have been a major contributor during the prior election).

    There is chatter about the U.S. holding on to the Bitcoin it already has (mostly captured, “shockingly,” through raids on criminals). Typically, the U.S. sells these holdings over time, but there is a big push for the government to hold them. That at least makes some sense to me, as behavior around “free” or “found” money tends to be different than money that is earned (one main explanation for all the luxury stores in Vegas).

    There is a loud and vocal group (everything about crypto tends to be loud and vocal) that wants the government to buy Bitcoin. Effectively issue debt and buy Bitcoin. The assumption (or presumption, or just wild fantasy) is that the increased value of Bitcoin down the road will pay off that debt. You could argue that it is being done on a personal level and maybe even on a corporate level, so why not at the government level? I completely disagree with this concept.

    • The future price of any asset, let alone one with a lot of digital ones and zeroes, is not certain – despite what the crypto hype will currently tell you. I’d much rather have seen the U.S. buy stocks years ago. They at least have a long track record of working over time and generally supporting the U.S. economy. I don’t see this with crypto (despite Bitcoin having had an incredibly strong annual and decade-long performance). The fact that I’m even compelled to write this opening sentence is bizarre, but it seems necessary (or maybe I just spent too much time on Twitter while on the road). Even the complete rug pull of the HAWK “meme coin” has done little to shake the conviction of many that crypto and the meme coins are the easiest path to becoming rich (going forward).
    • Despite Trump sending a “you are welcome” congratulatory social media post to the crypto community when bitcoin crossed $100k for the first time, I find it difficult to believe his love affair with crypto will last. He likes “control” and by definition no one controls crypto. However, the reality is different – from just a few holders owning a disproportionately large portion of Bitcoin, to influencers who seem to be allowed to say and do anything to pump the price, it remains the wild west. My first “rule of crypto” remains true – that there are no rules in crypto. The love affair is still in the early stages, and Trump does have loyalty to those who helped fund his campaign, but I don’t see this as a lasting relationship, especially as he will likely get a lot of pressure from the National Security element of D.C. to be cautious on helping crypto too much.

    But, for now, it is apparently something that many didn’t think we needed, but maybe we do? I can’t believe it will last, but it is out there and something to discuss at holiday parties!

    Speaking of things that I don’t think we need, but apparently we do, just look at MSTX! I do not like the concept of single stock ETFs. Leveraged single stock ETFs, where the returns are path dependent (daily rebalancing requires, at the close, selling on down days and buying on up days to rebalance for the next day). That is a drag over time. But here we are. MSTX has a market cap of $2 billion with an expense ratio of 1.29%! It was only launched in August. So, less than 6 months into its existence, the Defiance Daily Target 2X is on a run rate to generate $25 million per annum! The “beauty” of MSTX, is that it is well known (and quite simple) to run a leveraged ETF and things like NVDL have provided a path for regulatory clearance documentation. NVDL is another single stock ETF, with $6 billion of AUM and a 1.06% expense ratio – on a run rate of over $60 million per annum, at the 1-year mark. Who would have thought that you could create $25 million or more, just by leveraging up a widely held, easily tradable, stock? Not me, but there it is.

    While I’m not sure that any of these things point to a “bubble” mentality, I think they start to fit the narrative, especially with the rise of leveraged single stock ETFs, and their story will come up in our positioning and consensus report.

    Maybe we all need to think like Mariah and even if others don’t see the need, to go ahead and put it out there?

    London

    Let’s start this section with a holiday song, too. I knew, as we were going down into the tube station and the GIG members we were with questioned the choice of “Fairytale of New York” (a song played by a busker in hopes of making money), that we had a lot of interesting things to discuss! He literally recognized the Pogues in about 3 beats.

    But I digress (kind of) and there are a few key takeaways that came up that are worth mentioning.

    • Russia and Ukraine. Consensus even amongst our Geopolitical Intelligence Group members including General (ret.) Sir Nick Parker, who ran security for the London Olympics and Admiral (ret.) Sir George Zambellas, who was also the First Sea Lord, was that the road to peace is far less likely than “we” (the Americans) think. A big part of this, or really the main reason for this, is that Europe is much more afraid of giving anything to Putin than the U.S. seems to be. The immediate extrapolation is that giving Putin anything will lead to him coming back, in very short order, to take more. While the companies and banks we deal with in the U.S. have operations in the region, we don’t often talk to the people directly supervising those areas on or near the borders of countries that Putin could go after next. I’m still digesting the conversation, as a more pessimistic view on the outcome is interesting and plausible, but I’m still in the camp that we see some sort of deal reached. I also think that the “U.S.” narrative on how it could play out helped the conversations, but this was definitely a discussion where the differences were acute.
      • The conclusion, if we are correct and there can be a deal early in the Trump administration, is that the companies who are prepared to move quickly and aggressively back into the region have a lot to gain, as many are very nervous.
      • Poland is front and center in terms of places to invest. Not just now, but certainly on the back of any peace deal, as they will be an integral part of NATO’s strategy going forward and the nation has really shone during the war! I’m not sure how to invest in Poland, but hands down they have been a “winner” during the conflict and are likely to be an even bigger winner if a deal is reached.
    • Finding things to like about Trump. As discussed in An Amazing Country, we came across regional differences (and differences by industry) regarding how people were viewing the future. We’ve already pointed out this chart – CONsumer CONfidence by party, where “shockingly” (maybe I spent too much time in the U.K. and am letting my sarcasm take over more than usual) Republicans now have a better outlook on the economy than Democrats.

    So, we see some of the concern about President-elect Trump here, but it was more pronounced in Europe.

    • When we discuss the possibility that M&A activity will “normalize” under Trump (the FTC won’t waste ammunition on every single case, especially on cases where it is clear from the start that they won’t win), people get genuinely interested. For anyone in banking, a return to a healthy and readily understandable M&A framework will be good for business. It gives corporations a lot more avenues for growth. That argument just didn’t seem to garner the excitement in the U.K. as it does here. Maybe, because much of the business will be in the U.S. and in many cases we weren’t talking to those who would benefit most directly from that business, it was a contrast that is making me think.
    • Is the separation of the U.S. and Europe likely? Is there a rift that is widening? I don’t know, and I don’t think so, but I’m certainly thinking more about it. Without a doubt, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has tightened the ties within NATO, at least from a military perspective. But from an economic standpoint, are the relationships fraying? Is the U.S. big enough to “go it alone” versus China? Can Europe “fight” China? Should it? I think so, but that isn’t the vibe there. In recent years, whether it was the European Debt Crisis or Brexit – Germany (and to a large degree France) were pillars of strength for the EU. The German economy was a juggernaut and both countries remained committed to policies that the EU had embraced wholeheartedly (like immigration). The German economy is struggling (basing an economy on cheap energy from a country like Russia and relying on sales into a country like China “might” not have been the best strategy) and politically the environment is changing in both countries.
    • Everyone is curious about the D.O.G.E. and what can be accomplished. In response to my “over/under” comment on how long the Trump/Musk relationship will last, one client had a great story. They were at a wedding, where unbeknownst (wow, I did spend too much time in London) to the couple, people were making side bets on whether they would last a year (they didn’t).

    A lot to unpack.

    Should U.S. stocks be trading at much higher multiples than European stocks? I don’t know and that is especially true given how global many of the companies are, but as much of a contrarian as I am, I’m not sure I’m ready to bet on mean reversion next year. I probably should, and maybe it was just a “vibe” while there, but I didn’t walk away thinking I need to pound the table on European stocks. That could change (and positioning and consensus is so set up for a contrarian), but it isn’t top of mind.

    Top of Mind

    Trump likes “chaos.” He likes his starting positions in negotiations to be “extreme.” Since consensus has now accepted his current positions as “normal,” look for him to ratchet up his rhetoric to reset the negotiation starting points even further away.

    Bottom Line

    I do not like Treasury yields here. Friday’s reaction to jobs was too optimistic for cuts and I expect that yields will push higher in the coming weeks. Not much higher (4.4% on 10s would be a buying opportunity), but the squeeze and the overly pessimistic views on inflation prospects have been largely taken out of the market.

    Doing more work on the positioning of risk assets, and if crypto and leveraged single stock ETFs are any indication, I’m not going to like my conclusion on what is next for risky assets (even in the sectors that I’ve liked). I was a bit surprised that the S&P 500 is up “only” 1.6% in the past 30 days. With last week’s gain of just under 1% and all the hype and daily “all time high” headlines, I would have thought it was up a lot more than that for the past 30 days (the Nasdaq 100 was up 3.3% last week, but only 3% in the past 30 days).

    Maybe, since my work is likely to make me bearish, I’m delaying the work because December is a tough month in which to turn bearish. Seasonality tends to be real and powerful. It also tends to be a month where trends are followed rather than broken, which again points to strength.

    One thing that was reinforced both in Europe, but also by the headlines out of South Korea and Syria, is that the world remains volatile and we are in a “weird” position where President-elect Trump seems to be dominating the headlines, but President Biden remains in charge, and specifically is the Commander-in-Chief, which just seems weird to many who are used to very quick turnarounds post- elections.

    Looking forward to another interesting week and our annual holiday party, which has grown a lot since I joined the firm, but still includes each of the branches singing their respective songs! The Marines are at a distinct advantage, given their number and how cool any song that starts with “From the Halls of Montezuma” has to be.

    For what it is worth, I’m still voting for the Waitresses – “Christmas Wrapping,” as my favorite holiday song.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 15:10

  • Biden 'Worst President' In Modern History; Devastating New Poll Finds
    Biden ‘Worst President’ In Modern History; Devastating New Poll Finds

    Voters have delivered a devastating verdict on Joe Biden’s time in office, branding him the worst president in almost 50 years.

    The poll results are extremely interesting because they partially reflect America’s profound partisan divide (Reagan and Obama had the same favorables, but Obama’s unfavorables were higher).

    Meanwhile, Donald Trump had the third highest favorables but his unfavorables were second only to Biden’s, dropping him in the rankings.

    The one thing, though, is that, of the 1006 registered voters polled, everyone thought Biden was totally awful.

    Some 44 percent placed him as one of the worst two, while only 14 percent placed him in the top two, giving him a net score of 30 points underwater.

    That was worse than Nixon, who came out with negative 25, and Donald Trump, with negative 15.

    James Johnson, cofounder of J.L. Partners which conducted the poll, called it a ‘diabolical’ result for Biden.

    “There’s always a recency bias and as Joe Biden is the incumbent, he starts off at a disadvantage there,” he said. 

    “But regardless of that, these numbers are worse than I expected.”

    As Andrea Widburg writes at AmericanThinker, while time softened Nixon’s reputation, especially when it became clear that Mark Felt became Deep Throat, not out of principle, but out of pique because Nixon didn’t appoint him as the new FBI head, time will not burnish Biden’s presidency.

    This will be especially true if the RINOs get out of the way and let Trump have the most spectacularly successful presidency in American history. Trump’s roaring economy, foreign policy successes, and sovereign border, along with the fact that his presidency will see at least some return to cultural normalcy, will make Joe Biden’s tenure look even worse.

    The thing about Biden’s presidency is that he wasn’t a victim of circumstances.

    Even Carter could be said to have been a victim of the Iranian Revolution, although it’s hard to imagine anyone handling it worse than he did.

    Biden is unique in that he deliberately created the circumstances that made his presidency so disastrous. It was his affirmative, proudly touted policies that drove inflation, opened the border, and led to so much American weakness on the world stage that two potential “WWIII starting points” erupted. It was his values, his weaknesses, his corruption, and his senility that got moved events.

    I sincerely hope that history is incredibly cruel to Biden. He will have left the White House 50 years after setting his sights on it, but I want his legacy to be tarnished in his own mind. Anyone who has wreaked such terrible havoc on this once proud nation deserves to be horribly aware of the disdain in which his countrymen hold him.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 14:35

  • "Sharp Polar Blast" & Eastern Tracking Storm Could Bring More Lake-Effect Snow For Northeast
    “Sharp Polar Blast” & Eastern Tracking Storm Could Bring More Lake-Effect Snow For Northeast

    A short blast of polar air next week, combined with a storm expected to track into the eastern part of the country, could bring wet, windy, and snowy weather conditions. 

    Meteorologists at the Weather Channel laid out what to expect next week:

    • M​onday – Monday Night: An initial wave of moisture along this frontal system’s warm front will wring out mostly nuisance rainfall in a bulk of the East as northern New England and northern New York see snowfall.

    • T​uesday – Tuesday Night: The Interstate 95 corridor should stay dry, but interior areas will see rain as a wave of low pressure on the cold front approaches.

    • W​ednesday – Wednesday Night: The heaviest rain from this setup will unfold ahead of the cold front during this time along the Northeast coast, and it could be accompanied gusty winds. Colder air arriving behind the system might change rain to a brief period of snow in interior areas as lake-effect snow develops in the Great Lakes snowbelts.

    Weather Channel senior meteorologist Chris Dolce provided more details about the upcoming storm:

    • M​uch of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast could see at least an inch of rainfall from this setup. Parts of New York tri-state area and New England might see up to 3 inches. S​nowfall will precede the heavy rain in northern New England, so that’s why the map below doesn’t show rain in those areas yet.

    • W​hile some accumulating snow could impact interior areas of the Northeast as colder air arrives Wednesday and Wednesday night, the heaviest totals will be from lake-effect snow. Some Great Lakes snowbelts could pick up 6 to 12 inches of snow Wednesday through Thursday.

    Dolce also provided a five-day rain and snow forecast for the eastern part of the country. 

    Separately, meteorologist Ryan Kane provided his forecast for next week’s storm:

    The meteorologist for the Baltimore-Washington metro area, Tony Pann, at WBAL News, shows the possibility of a snow event for the interior Mid-Alantic (DC might be in for some of the white stuff ((sorry, Hunter Biden, not that white stuff)) and Northeast. 

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

    More from Kane:

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

    A retired Weather Channel and NWS climate expert provided his forecast for next week. 

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

    Meteorologist Ben Noll noted, “In the US, a short but sharp polar blast looms later this week.” 

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

    Data from Bloomberg shows the latest cold spell will dissipate across the Lower 48 into warmer conditions through the first half of the week. However, temps are set to slide back into chilly conditions by the second half of the week. 

    Are you dreaming of a white Christmas?

    But, not so fast…

    Demand for firewood surges…

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

    What happened to Greta’s global warming?

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 13:25

  • House Overwhelmingly Passes 'Crucial Communism Teaching Act'
    House Overwhelmingly Passes ‘Crucial Communism Teaching Act’

    Authored by Stacey Robinson via The Epoch Times,

    The House on Dec. 6 passed the Crucial Communism Teaching Act with a vote of 327–62. The bill, introduced by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) and cosponsored by 33 members of the House, seeks to address a gap in the education system related to the history of communism.

    “Communism is one of the most destructive political ideologies the world has ever seen,” Rep. Salazar said when reintroducing the bill earlier this year.

    “The Crucial Communism Teaching Act is important because our youth must remember the crimes of the communists, including those inflicted upon my constituents and their families in Florida’s 27th district.”

    She first introduced the bill in September 2021, but it was not brought up for a vote at that time.

    Specifically, the bill seeks to educate American students that “communism has led to the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims worldwide,” and that “1,500,000,000 people still suffer under communism.”

    Ahead of the vote, Rep. Danny Burgess (R-Fla.) warned that many youth have been taught to see communism as something desirable, noting that a recent report indicated “half of GenZ students were unaware that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is responsible for more deaths than Nazi Germany.”

    He also said that more than a quarter of Generation Z students view communism favorably and that 20 percent think that it is a better system than capitalism.

    The curriculum will be developed by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, an entity created by a unanimous vote of Congress in 1993 under President Bill Clinton.

    “American students deserve to know the truth: communism is not a promise for a more equitable future—it is a brutal ideology that runs counter to democracy and the very principles our nation was founded upon,” said Ken Pope, CEO of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

    The legislation mandates that the new educational program will discuss “certain political ideologies, including communism and totalitarianism, that conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy that are essential to the founding of the United States.”

    It also makes space for an oral historical series called “Portraits in Patriotism,” which will feature stories from survivors of communist regimes. The bill’s authors said they wanted the survivors to describe the contrast between life under those political systems and life in the United States.

    During a floor debate ahead of its passage, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said the bill was “narrowly tailored” and did not address more important issues such as “achievement gaps” and affordable education.

    Scott also said the bill “skirts around key historical lessons,” because it did not mention fascism directly, or teach about the House Un-American Activities Committee.

    That initiative, associated with former Sen. Joseph McCarthy, sought to stamp out communism in the United States in the mid-20th century but has come to be viewed by many as too heavy-handed in its approach.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 12:50

  • Watch: Trump To Pardon J6ers, End 'Birthright Citizenship' On Day One
    Watch: Trump To Pardon J6ers, End ‘Birthright Citizenship’ On Day One

    President-elect Donald Trump said he’s going to pardon Jan. 6 defendants on his first day in office, telling “Meet the Press” that “These people are living in hell.”

    “I’m going to be acting very quickly … First day,” Trump told NBC‘s Kristen Welker. “They’ve been in there for years, and they’re in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open,” Trump said, adding that he’s going to look at “individual cases.”

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

    The Biden DOJ has hunted down and charged over 1,500 people with crimes connected to the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, NPR reports.

    In 2023, Trump said he was inclined to “pardon many of them,” adding “I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, got out of control. I would say it will be a large portion of them and it would be early on.”

    Trump also told Welker that members of the House Jan. 6 committee “should go to jail.”

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsTrump also said he would end birthright citizenship. While addressing so-called “Dreamers” – those children of illegals who are granted automatic citizenship, Trump said “We’re the only country that has it. We’re going to end that because it’s ridiculous.“

    KRISTEN WELKER: You promised to end birthright citizenship on day one.

    PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Correct.

    Watch the full interview below:

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/08/2024 – 12:15

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Today’s News 8th December 2024

  • From Marcus Aurelius To Omar Little: A Man's Code Is Vital
    From Marcus Aurelius To Omar Little: A Man’s Code Is Vital

    Authored by Josh Stylman via The Brownstone Institute,

    With Thanksgiving weekend still fresh in our memory, my gratitude centers not on the usual holiday platitudes, but on something that has become increasingly precious in our artificial age: authentic relationships – both family and lifelong friends – that deepen rather than fracture under pressure. What binds these relationships, I’ve come to realize, isn’t shared opinions or circumstances, but a shared code – an unwavering commitment to principles that transcends the shifting sands of politics and social pressure. I’m particularly grateful for my inner circle – friends I’ve known since elementary school and family members whose bonds have only strengthened through the crucible of recent years.

    Like many others who spoke out against Covid tyranny, I watched what I thought were solid relationships dissolve in real time. As the owner of a local brewery and coach of my kids’ sports teams, I had been deeply embedded in my community – a “man about town” whose friendship and counsel others actively sought. Yet suddenly, the same people who had eagerly engaged with me would scurry when they saw me coming down the street. Professional networks and neighborhood connections evaporated at the mere questioning of prevailing narratives. They reacted this way because I broke orthodoxy, choosing to stand for liberal values – the very principles they claimed to champion – by rejecting arbitrary mandates and restrictions.

    In this moment of testing, the difference between those who lived by a consistent code and those who simply followed social currents became starkly clear. Yet in retrospect, this winnowing feels more like clarification than loss. As surface-level relationships fell away, my core relationships – decades-long friendships and family bonds – not only endured but deepened. These trials revealed which bonds were authentic and which were merely situational.

    The friendships that remained, anchored in genuine principles rather than social convenience, proved themselves infinitely more valuable than the broader network of fair-weather friends I lost.

    What strikes me most about these enduring friendships is how they’ve defied the typical narrative of relationships destroyed by political divisions. As Marcus Aurelius observed, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Despite taking opposite sides of the dialectic on political and cultural issues over the decades, we found ourselves united in opposition to the constitutional transgressions and rising tyranny of the past few years – the lockdowns, mandates, and systematic erosion of basic rights. This unity emerged not from political alignment but from a shared code: a commitment to first principles that transcends partisan divisions.

    In these contemplative moments, I’ve found myself returning to Aurelius’s Meditations – a book I hadn’t opened since college until Joe Rogan and Marc Andreessen’s excellent conversation inspired me to revisit it. Aurelius understood that a personal code – a set of unwavering principles – was essential for navigating a world of chaos and uncertainty. The connection feels particularly apt – like my own friend group, Rogan’s platform exemplifies a code of authentic discourse in our age.

    Critics, particularly on the political left, often talk about needing their “own Joe Rogan,” missing entirely what makes his show work: its genuine authenticity. Despite being historically left-leaning himself, Rogan’s willingness to engage in real-time thinking with guests across the ideological spectrum and across a broad variety of topics, his commitment to open inquiry and truth-seeking, has paradoxically led to his estrangement from traditional liberal circles – much like many of us who’ve found ourselves branded as apostates for maintaining consistent principles.

    This commitment to a code of authentic discourse explains why organizations like Brownstone Institute – despite being routinely smeared as “far right” – have become a crucial platform for independent scholars, policy experts, and truth-seekers. I witnessed this firsthand at a recent Brownstone event, where, unlike most institutions that enforce ideological conformity, diverse thinkers engaged in genuine exploration of ideas without fear of orthodoxy enforcement. When attendees were asked if they considered themselves political liberals ten years ago, nearly 80% raised their hands.

    These are individuals who, like my friends and me, still embrace core liberal values – free speech, open inquiry, rational debate – yet find themselves branded as right-wing or conspiracy theorists merely for questioning prevailing narratives.

    What unites this diverse community is their shared recognition that the reality being presented to us is largely manufactured, as explored in “The Information Factory,” and their commitment to maintaining authentic discourse in an age of enforced consensus.

    In The Wire, Omar Little, a complex character who lived by his own moral code while operating outside conventional society, famously declared, “A man got to have a code.” Though a stick-up man targeting drug dealers, Omar’s rigid adherence to his principles – never harming civilians, never lying, never breaking his word – made him more honorable than many supposedly “legitimate” characters. His unwavering dedication to these principles – even as a gangster operating outside society’s laws – resonates deeply with my experience.

    Like Rogan’s commitment to open dialogue, like Brownstone’s dedication to free inquiry, like RFK Jr.’s determination to expose how pharmaceutical and agricultural interests have corrupted our public institutions: these exemplars of authentic truth-seeking mirror what I’ve found in my own circle. My friends and I may have different political views, but we share a code: a commitment to truth over comfort, to principle over party, to authentic discourse over social approval. This shared foundation has proven more valuable than any superficial agreement could be.

    In these times of manufactured consensus and social control, the importance of this authentic foundation becomes even clearer. The 2012 Smith-Mundt Modernization Act, which made it legal to propagandize American citizens, merely formalized what many had long suspected. It represented the ultimate betrayal of the government’s code with its citizens – the explicit permission to manipulate rather than inform. As anyone not under the spell has come to realize – we’ve all been thoroughly “Smith-Mundt’ed.” This legal framework helps explain much of what we’ve witnessed in recent years, particularly during the pandemic – when those who proclaimed themselves champions of social justice supported policies that created new forms of segregation and devastated the very communities they claimed to protect.

    This disconnect becomes even more apparent in the realm of charitable giving and social causes, where “virtue laundering” has become endemic. The absence of a genuine moral code is nowhere more evident than in our largest charitable institutions. While many charitable organizations do crucial work at the local level, there’s an unmistakable trend among large NGOs toward what a friend aptly calls the “philanthropath class.”

    Consider the Clinton Foundation’s activities in Haiti, where millions in earthquake relief funds resulted in industrial parks that displaced farmers and housing projects that never materialized. Or examine the BLM Global Network Foundation, which purchased luxury properties while local chapters reported receiving minimal support. Even major environmental NGOs often partner with the world’s biggest polluters, creating an illusion of progress while fundamental problems persist.

    This pattern reveals a deeper truth about the professional charitable class – many of these institutions have become purely extractive, profiting from and even amplifying the very issues they purport to solve. At the top, a professional philanthropic class collects fancy titles in their bios and flashes photos from charity galas while avoiding any genuine engagement with the problems they claim to address. Social media has democratized this performance, allowing everyone to participate in virtue theater – from black squares and Ukrainian flag avatars to awareness ribbons and cause-supporting emojis – creating an illusion of activism without the substance of real action or understanding. It’s a system entirely devoid of the moral code that once guided charitable work – the direct connection between benefactor and beneficiary, the genuine commitment to positive change rather than personal aggrandizement.

    The power of a genuine code becomes most evident in contrast with these hollow institutions. While organizations and social networks fracture under pressure, I’m fortunate that my closest friendships and family bonds have only grown stronger. We’ve had fierce debates over the years, but our shared commitment to fundamental principles – to having a code – has allowed us to navigate even the most turbulent waters together. When the pandemic response threatened basic constitutional rights, when social pressure demanded conformity over conscience, these relationships proved their worth not despite our differences, but because of them.

    As we navigate these complex times, the path forward emerges with striking clarity. From Marcus Aurelius to Omar Little, the lesson remains the same: a man gotta have a code. The crisis of authenticity in our discourse, the chasm between proclaimed and lived values, and the failure of global virtue-signaling all point to the same solution: a return to genuine relationships and local engagement. Our strongest bonds – those real relationships that have weathered recent storms – remind us that true virtue manifests in daily choices and personal costs, not in digital badges or distant donations.

    This Thanksgiving, I found myself grateful not for the easy comforts of conformity but for those in my life who demonstrate real virtue – the kind that comes with personal cost and requires genuine conviction. The answer lies not in grand gestures or viral posts, but in the quiet dignity of living according to our principles, engaging with our immediate communities, and maintaining the courage to think independently. As both the emperor-philosopher and the fictional street warrior understood, what matters isn’t the grandeur of our station but the integrity of our code.

    Returning one final time to Meditations, I’m reminded of Aurelius’s timeless challenge: “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 23:20

  • How Populations Have Changed In Asia Since 1990
    How Populations Have Changed In Asia Since 1990

    Since 1990, the world population has grown by 3 billion people. And half of those births occurred in Asia.

    But which countries have seen the most (relative) growth, and have any declined? 

    Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao maps out the changes in population for every Asian country between 1990 and 2023.

    Data was sourced from the UN’s World Population Prospects 2024, and all figures are rounded.

    Ranked: Asian Countries by Population Change (1990–2023)

    The Middle East has seen the largest relative population growth in Asia, in some cases up 3-6x as seen in Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia.

    Rank Country % Change
    (1990–2023)    		 2023 Population
    (Thousands)
    1 🇶🇦 Qatar 537 2,979
    2 🇦🇪 UAE 398 10,642
    3 🇦🇫 Afghanistan 224 41,455
    4 🇯🇴 Jordan 200 11,439
    5 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 191 33,264
    6 🇧🇭 Bahrain 188 1,570
    7 🇾🇪 Yemen 184 39,391
    8 🇰🇼 Kuwait 161 4,839
    9 🇴🇲 Oman 156 5,049
    10 🇮🇶 Iraq 140 45,074
    11 🇵🇸 Palestine 137 5,409
    12 🇰🇭 Cambodia 127 17,424
    13 🇲🇻 Maldives 123 526
    14 🇵🇰 Pakistan 102 247,504
    15 🇮🇱 Israel 94 9,256
    16 🇲🇾 Malaysia 90 35,126
    17 🇲🇴 Macao 89 714
    18 🇸🇬 Singapore 85 5,789
    19 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan 85 7,364
    20 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 81 10,390
    21 🇵🇭 Philippines 78 114,891
    22 🇧🇳 Brunei 75 459
    23 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste 74 1,384
    24 🇱🇦 Laos 70 7,665
    25 🇸🇾 Syria 67 23,595
    26 🇨🇾 Cyprus 65 1,345
    27 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan 64 35,652
    28 🇮🇳 India 62 1,438,070
    29 🇱🇧 Lebanon 59 5,773
    30 🇹🇷 Türkiye 54 87,271
    31 🇲🇳 Mongolia 52 3,432
    32 🇮🇷 Iran 50 90,609
    33 🇮🇩 Indonesia 50 281,190
    34 🇻🇳 Vietnam 50 100,352
    35 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan 49 7,074
    36 🇧🇩 Bangladesh 49 171,467
    37 🇳🇵 Nepal 48 29,695
    38 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan 41 10,318
    39 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 38 22,972
    40 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 35 7,443
    41 🇲🇲 Myanmar 33 54,134
    42 🇹🇭 Thailand 31 71,702
    43 🇧🇹 Bhutan 31 786
    44 🇰🇵 North Korea 24 26,418
    45 🇨🇳 China 24 1,422,585
    46 🇰🇷 South Korea 18 51,749
    47 🇹🇼 Taiwan 15 23,317
    48 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 14 20,330
    49 🇯🇵 Japan 2 124,371
    50 🇦🇲 Armenia -19 2,943
    51 🇬🇪 Georgia -30 3,807

    On the whole, nearly all Asian countries have added significantly to their people in the last three decades, including some of the world’s most populous countries: India (+62%), China (+24%), Indonesia (+50%), and Pakistan (+102%).

    Only two transcontinental countries—Armenia and Georgia—have seen population declines. War is a primary reason for both, leading to economic repercussions, in turn fuelling an exodus of people.

    Chasing Demographic Dividends

    This explosion in people has also fueled Asia’s economic growth, particularly in China and India, from surging demand for goods and services.

    In fact, Asia now has the highest share of world GDP (36%), eclipsing North America (31%) by five percentage points.

    At the same time, many parts of the continent are still struggling with food insecurity, poverty, and civil strife. And for many of its advanced economies, the demographic dividend is ending. As birth rates fall, and the population ages, social security nets may not be able to keep up with increasing demands.

    Wondering what this map looks like for other regions in the world? Check out Mapped: Population Change in the Americas (1990–2023) for a similar breakdown.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 22:45

  • Preparing For The Unexpected: The Bug-Out Bag
    Preparing For The Unexpected: The Bug-Out Bag

    Authored by Emma Suttie D.Ac, AP via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    It’s the middle of the night. You wake from a deep sleep and smell smoke. When you come to, you see flames in the next room and realize your house is on fire.

    This is just one of many scenarios that can happen—at any time—to anyone. You may need to act in an instant, and having a bug-out bag prepared can help you mitigate the challenges emergencies present and ensure you have what you need to survive during—and after—the emergency.

    Bug-Out Bags Defined

    Bug-out bags go by many different names:

    • Go bag
    • 72-hour bag
    • Evacuation bag
    • Disaster survival kit
    • Emergency kit

    These kits equip you with essential tools and supplies to handle a variety of emergencies and disasters. Backpacks are typically used for portability, which becomes crucial if you need to evacuate your home quickly or travel long distances on foot.

    Creek Stewart is a survival expert, instructor, and author who incorporates practical survival skills, resilience, and personal growth in his teaching. In a previous interview with The Epoch Times, he spoke about emergency preparedness.

    Stewart, author of “Build the Perfect Bug-Out Bag,” said he’s learned from survival that the darkest times can provide our greatest resources—physical and psychological.

    “All the good resources in life that build character and integrity and resilience, they’re all found in the worst places of life. God uses hard times to build character and integrity, and those are built in the dark times and tested on the mountain peaks,” he added.

    Your bug-out bag should not be too heavy to carry long distances during an emergency. For example, if your car breaks down, or you need to flee on foot because of a forest fire or other natural disaster.

    Preparing in advance allows you the time to decide what you’ll need to survive in various worst-case scenarios. Without this preparation, you could be scrambling to gather supplies as a storm approaches or during an emergency—when you’re likely to be stressed and overwhelmed.

    Stewart says there’s no need to make it complicated, and having a bug-out bag tucked away can give you peace of mind.

    “It doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars—it can be really simple, and you get to touch on a lot of different elements of survival,” he said.

    A well-thought-out bug-out bag can mean the difference between being afraid and overwhelmed and calm and collected—enabling you to better handle the challenges ahead.

    Example Situations

    Having one bag packed with essentials and ready to go is crucial in a wide variety of situations. Some examples include:

    • An evacuation is ordered due to a coming storm—you grab your bag and leave quickly.
    • You wake up to a house fire or a wildfire headed your way.
    • A robber breaks into your house, and you need to get out fast.
    • A family member is critically injured in an accident, and you need to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
    • A natural disaster forces you from your home, and you and your family spend weeks in a shelter.
    • Your city is attacked by bombing or a bioweapon.
    • A dam breaks near your community, and you need to leave before your home floods.
    • One of your children falls out of a tree in your yard, and you grab your bag (which contains medical supplies) to help them.
    • Riots break out near your home, and you want to leave to avoid potential problems.

    Contents

    Although it may initially seem overwhelming when planning what you may need in an emergency, Stewart says there are five main categories to consider when putting together your bug-out bag:

    1. Shelter
    2. Water
    3. Fire
    4. Food
    5. First-aid

    Don’t forget supplies for your pets.

    Resources such as Ready.gov and the American Red Cross have lists of supplies to include in your emergency preparedness kit. Some examples are:

    • Water (one gallon per person per day)
    • Non-perishable food (several days worth)
    • Flashlight and extra batteries
    • Battery-powered or hand-crank radio
    • First-aid-kit
    • Lighters, matches, and candles kept in containers or resealable bags to keep them dry
    • Medications (at least a 7-day supply)
    • Whistle (to signal for help)
    • Multi-purpose tool, wrench, pliers (to turn off utilities if needed)
    • Tarps or plastic sheeting, scissors, and duct tape (for shelter)
    • Personal sanitation/hygiene items (wet wipes, toilet paper, pads/tampons, garbage bags, plastic ties)
    • Can opener
    • Cell phones and chargers
    • Maps
    • Copies of important documents like driver’s licenses, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies, and medical records/medication lists, sealed in a waterproof, resealable bag (in case of rain or flooding)
    • Blankets
    • A clean change of clothing, including an outer layer, like a rain jacket (in winter, have gloves, hat, scarf, and heavy socks)
    • Comfortable running shoes or hiking boots (as you may need to walk long distances)

    Stewart recommends additional items in his book “Disaster Survival 101” that include:

    • Backpacking tent big enough for everyone in your household
    • Sleeping bags and sleeping pads
    • Rain gear/poncho
    • Emergency survival blanket (these are pocket-sized)
    • Camping water filter
    • 1-liter metal canteen filled with fresh drinking water
    • 1–2 collapsible plastic water containers
    • Sillcock key (for accessing commercial water spigots)
    • Ferrocerium rod fire starter, disposable lighter, fire tinder
    • Open-and-eat meals (tuna packs, Spam, power bars, beef jerky, and dried snacks)
    • Small camp stove
    • Utensils and serving bowls
    • Bar of soap in a resealable bag
    • Toothbrush and toothpaste
    • Fixed-blade knife
    • Small folding saw
    • Rechargeable headlamp
    • Personal firearms, pepper spray for self-defense
    • Permanent marker
    • Duct tape
    • Entertainment items like a deck of cards or portable games, which are great for kids

    Each capable adult should have a bug-out bag, and some of the above items don’t need to be included for each person (for example, you only need one tent). Children should only carry lightweight essentials.

    Because you don’t know where you will be when an emergency strikes, it is advisable to have bug-out bags in different locations, like home, work, and in your car.

    Bug-out bags should be reviewed every few months to ensure foods haven’t expired and to swap out clothing for the appropriate season. Stewart suggests taking your fully loaded bag and hiking for several miles to ensure it’s comfortable and not too heavy.

    According to The Prepared, a highly regarded resource for practical survival skills, the optimal weight of your bag is about 20 percent of your body weight or 45 pounds (whichever is less) if you don’t exercise regularly. Those who are physically fit can go up to 30 percent of their body weight (or 60 pounds, whichever is less).

    Personal Safety

    Self-defense is also something to think about when planning your bug-out bag. Stewart says that crime spikes are inevitable during natural disasters and that looting and home invasions are common. Self-defense items are a personal choice, with multiple options—both lethal and non-lethal. These include, but are not limited to:

    • Firearms
    • Pepper spray
    • Tasers (shoots two metal prongs into attackers’ skin to deliver an electric charge)
    • Stun guns (require direct contact and deliver a high-voltage shock)

    Know your state’s gun laws and licensing requirements when considering self-defense options. States also have laws and regulations regarding tasers and stun guns. Additionally, consider that weapons in untrained hands can be more dangerous to the user than the intended target.

    If you include firearms, take a training course (or several), have the relevant paperwork, and know the laws in your state for carrying and using firearms. Stewart advises adding a self-defense tool you are comfortable with to your emergency preparedness plan. This measure enhances your safety and your family’s security in a crisis.

    Some self-defense options for your bug out bag. Courtesy of Creek Stewart

    Common Mistakes

    There is much to think about when preparing for an emergency, and there are common mistakes people make when packing their bug-out bags—which can be costly in an emergency. Some examples, according to The Prepared, are:

    • Making bags too heavy—Be sure to test your bag with all its contents to ensure you can carry it comfortably.
    • Forgetting water—remember, you can only survive three days without it.
    • Not testing your gear—An emergency is not the time you want to be figuring out how to use your camping stove or water filter, so test your gear beforehand.
    • Packing contents for specific scenarios—It’s important to pack for a variety of potential disasters.
    • Having too many of one type of item—Have a well-rounded bag of items for more resiliency, for instance, don’t pack more weapons than food.
    • Overlooking your feet—You may have to do a lot of walking with a heavy pack in a worst-case scenario, so comfortable shoes and a few pairs of socks are critical.
    • Buying cheap gear—It’s better to buy fewer quality items that you can depend on rather than cheap gear that could fail in an emergency.
    • Taking things out of your bag to use when camping or hiking—Keep your bug-out bag intact at all times. Borrowing from it for other events could compromise your bag and, ultimately, your resilience in an emergency.

    Final Thoughts

    Planning for emergencies and worst-case scenarios can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Preparing in advance allows you the time to think logically and make thoughtful decisions—before a crisis hits. In the middle of an emergency, when chaos reigns and clear thinking is difficult, having a plan in place can make all the difference.

    Go through any supplies you already have on hand for your bug-out bag, and keep it simple. Anything you can do preemptively will increase your resilience.

    Communicate with those in your household about what you would do in an emergency, know the location of your bug-out bags, and where you would meet if you got separated and had to leave your home.

    The time and effort you invest in planning and building your bug-out bag will pay dividends in an emergency—and could even save your life. As Stewart said in a Ted Talk, when it comes to sudden and unexpected survival scenarios, it’s not a matter of if they happen but when.

    Resources

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 22:10

  • Damascus Has Fallen: Assad Has Reportedly Left The Capital
    Damascus Has Fallen: Assad Has Reportedly Left The Capital

    Update(2200ET): Damascus has fallen. Unverified reports say President Assad and top officials have fled to Dubai or elsewhere but the situation overnight is fluid and anything but clear in terms of the location of top leadership. They may be in Latakia on the coast, or headed there. What is clear, however, is that the jihadists have entered the heart of the capital.

    This brings to an end the last secular and Baathist state in the Middle East, and 50+ years of Assad family rule. Journalist Danny Makki, who is currently in Damascus, observes:

    Literally Syrian military/security around Damascus just fled, ran away, changed into civilian clothes escaped, there was no battle for Damascus, it was abandoned and by tommorow it will be all under opposition control.

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

    And Al Jazeera reports:

    Videos from the Syrian capital, verified by Al Jazeera, appears to show soldiers leaving the city. The sound of gunfire could also be heard.

    The footage was taken moments before opposition forces claimed entering Damascus. There’s been no confirmation or denial from government forces.

    “Syrian rebel sources tell Al Jazeera Arabic that government forces have withdrawn from the Defence Ministry headquarters in Damascus,” the report further indicates. State TV channels are in the hands of the anti-Assad factions.

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

    Damascus International Airport:

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

    Abandoned tanks and equipment in the middle of central intersections…

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

    Widespread rumors begin…

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    * * * 

    There are widespread reports that jihadist forces under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and which are backed by Turkey have entered key districts of Homs in central Syria, and other convoys have already reached the outskirts of Damascus.

    Very little fighting has actually taken place, with the Syrian Army peeling back from position after position, and with heavy equipment including tanks seen being transported to the capital or in other instances to the coast. ZeroHedge’s contacts in Damascus strongly suggest a transition of power deal has already been made.

    External discussions are centered in Doha, and some premature and unverified reports have claimed President Bashar al-Assad has already flown out of the country; however, Syrian state SANA on Saturday sought to refute these reports, saying he is still in Damascus.

    Iranian advisers and IRGC officers have departed Damascus. This also partly explains why Syrian national forces have not put up much of a fight.

    Unverified social media reports further say that anti-Assad forces have essentially been able to walk into suburban or countryside areas of the capital with no resistance. Again, what points to the likely reality of a secret deal which allows Assad’s safe exit and that of his top officials is the fact that all of this is happening without much bloodshed.

    Below is the latest on the jihadist convoy locations according to The Guardian:

    Syrian insurgents have reached the suburbs of Damascus, opposition activists and a rebel commander said on Saturday, as a rapidly moving offensive in which they have taken over some of Syria’s largest cities continued.

    Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were active in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya.

    He said opposition fighters were also marching from eastern Syria towards the Damascus suburb of Harasta.

    Hassan Abdul-Ghani, an insurgent commander, posted on Telegram that opposition forces had started to encircle Damascus in the “final stage” of their offensive. He said fighters were heading from southern Syria towards Damascus.

    Map: The collapse of Syria over the last 10 days

    Whatever happens next, it is becoming clear that the Baathist Syrian state under the Assad family, which goes back to 1970 when Hafez Assad first emerged in power, will never be the same again – and is coming to a fast end.

    Many Christian, Alawite, and Sunni ruling families in the capital area are fleeing to the Lebanese border, not waiting around to take their chances under Taliban-style rule, despite dubious claims that HTS plans to respect ‘diversity’ and pluralism.

    Footage from a key suburbs outside the capital [note: cannot be independently verified]…

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    Contradictory reporting over Assad’s whereabouts and political transition plans:

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

    Regional war correspondent Elijah Magnier observes, “It looks like what will remain of the old Syria will be limited to Homs, for now, and on longer term Latakia – Tartous only. Lebanon should think about defended its borders. People in Damascus should think of their future in the next 24-48 hours.”

    The latest from the Syrian presidency’s office:

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

    Meanwhile the Syrian Interior Minister Major General Al-Rahmon vows that “there is a very strong security cordon on the outskirts of Damascus and no one can break it.”

    Military commanders are still vowing to fight, and to mount a ‘fortress Damascus’ defense as the insurgent armies outside the capital are vowing to besiege it.

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

    developing…

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 22:00

  • Introducing The New ZeroHedge Store!
    Introducing The New ZeroHedge Store!

    Since launching ZeroHedge in 2009, our mission has been to cut through the bullshit and provide you with an authentic, unfiltered platform for news and conversation from all over the world. Having earned your trust over the past 15 years, curating the world’s incessant newsflow – while battling the censorship industrial complex through subscriptions and partnerships – we have decided to create our own store to showcase the best products and services to help you avoid “buying shit you don’t need”.

    Here’s what you can find:

    Supplements

    We’re proud to carry a full line of supplements from IQ Biologix, including nootropics, protein, creatine, colostrum, sleep aids, weight loss, coffee and much more. Enjoy 5% off for 2 of the same item, or 10% off for three or more – plus subscribe & save an additional 10%.

    Coffee

    In addition to IQ Biologix infused Smart Blend, check out our new ZeroHedge coffee! Organic and GMO-free, we’ve got both medium and dark roast. Discounts of up to 10% for multiple bags, and another 10% for Subscribe & Save.

    Preparedness

    After searching long and hard, we’ve found two excellent brands of emergency food – Prepper All Naturals, which offers upscale, clean, hormone-free beef, and ReadyWise, a longtime player in the emergency food business.

    We’ve also got water filters, go-bags, generators & more!

    SiPhox Blood Testing

    IQ Biologix has partnered with SiPhox Health for the ultimate at-home blood testing suite. Buy one, or subscribe to track your health throughout the year – then log into the IQ / SiPhox dashboard to monitor your results. You can also upgrade your kit for specific needs – including a hormone panel, a metabolic panel, and a thyroid panel.

    Anza Knives

    Made in Santee, California, Anza hand-made knives start life as heavy-duty high carbon steel files, which are meticulously crafted into masterpieces that fit well in the hand and have never let us down.

    ZeroHedge Multitool

    Solid in the hand, the ZeroHedge multitool is perfect for any situation. Includes pliers, knife, saw, screwdrivers, wire cutter, bottle opener and more.

    ZeroHedge Gear

    How could we possibly launch a store without gear? Check out our waxed-canvas hats, shirts, sweatshirts, tumblers, water bottle, and more!

    Whether you’re looking to optimize your health, ensure you’re ready for whatever comes next, or express your unique worldview, our store is your one-stop destination.

    Dive in, gear up, and embrace a lifestyle of readiness, resilience, and individuality with ZeroHedge. And thank you for your support!

    International shipping available soon…

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 21:40

  • Asia-Pacific Struggling To Regain Tourism Momentum
    Asia-Pacific Struggling To Regain Tourism Momentum

    Data from the UN Tourism dashboard shows that 1.3 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded worldwide for 2023, roughly 160 million short of 2019 levels.

    Tourism receipts, however, surpassed pre-pandemic levels by around $40 million. This potentially traces back to price increases rather than increased tourist activity.

    As Statista’s Florian Zandt details below, with 707 million international arrivals, Europe remained the region with the highest tourist volume this past year. While some world regions have already surpassed their 2019 levels, one area in particular hasn’t regained momentum.

    Infographic: Asia-Pacific Struggling to Regain Tourism Momentum | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    African countries are short 2.6 million of the 69 million international arrivals recorded in 2019, while the Americas are behind 19 million inbound tourists.

    The Middle East surpassed its 2019 levels by 22 million, which underlines the importance of airports like Dubai International Airport and Hamad International Airport as travel hubs and the attractiveness of the Arabian Peninsula as a tourism destination.

    Asia and the Pacific is only at 65 percent of the 2019 figure for international arrivals, which translates to 237 million for 2023.

    Looking at total passenger throughput, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recorded 4.4 billion scheduled passengers across 36 million flights for 2023, slightly below 2019 levels, in their most recent factsheet.

    By 2025, the combined revenues of all IATA members are expected to cross the one trillion dollar threshold, while passenger levels are estimated to rise above five billion.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 21:35

  • The Hunt For The Best Christmas Tree Ever
    The Hunt For The Best Christmas Tree Ever

    Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Americans will buy at least 25 million fresh-cut Christmas trees this year but the best one of them—the pinnacle in pine perfection—is the 8-foot Fraser Fir from Laurel Springs, North Carolina, that sold for $145 about 12:30 p.m. Nov. 30 on a church lawn in Lakeland, Florida.

    A “sold” Christmas tree is seen at Tree Riders NYC in front of St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery in New York City on Dec. 14, 2023. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    So decreed yule arborists Mason Hayes, 14, and his brother, Jackson, 11—the specialists who found their perfect Christmas tree after an hour of foraging through Booger Mountain’s trees at Ardella Baptist Church on a sunny Saturday in central Florida.

    “It has to be fat—no gaps at the top or the bottom,” Mason said, rejecting one tree after another.

    “It has to be skinny and have no gaps anywhere,” Jackson said, tugging gently on branches to assess tree needle quality.

    Following her sons in the shifting sun-speckled shade of live oaks, Amy Hayes could only wait until the experts agreed on what tree would exude Christmas cheer through their living room windows for all the world to see.

    When they found it—a fat and skinny fir without gaps but with tenaciously anchored needles—they agreed it was “The One.”

    At $145, it’s expensive, Amy said, but The One is worth it.

    “We’ve been coming here for five, six years,” she said, noting she believes Booger Mountain’s trees are better quality than those sold in parking lots by Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and grocery chains.

    Booger’s trees “last longer, smell better,” Amy said. “And I like to support local small business when I can.”

    That’s small business with a big ‘B,’ according to the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA), which projects 100,000 seasonal workers will sell between 25 million and 30 million trees for a cumulative $1.38 billion in the United States during the 2024 holiday season.

    When including artificial trees, wreaths, lighting, and other accessories, the 2024 Christmas tree market projections top $5.6 billion, according to Market Research Pulse and the American Christmas Tree Association (ACTA), which primarily represents artificial tree retailers.

    Mason Hayes, 14, and his brother, Jackson, 11, ferret through a forest of fresh-cut firs from North Carolina for the perfect Christmas tree at Booger Mountain Christmas Trees at Ardella Baptist Church, in Lakeland, Fla., on Nov. 30, 2024. John Haughey/The Epoch Times

    NCTA spokesperson Jill Sidebottom said 2024 is shaping up “like a pretty normal season” with a healthy tree crop ready for trimming.

    “The 2024 harvest across the country, in different places … there are issues,” she told The Epoch Times. “It was very wet in the spring and it was a dry summer in the Northeast. That affected [trees] in Pennsylvania and Maine. In North Carolina, we had this storm and a lot of young trees died. But for the most part, the taller trees were not damaged.”

    North Carolina is second only to Oregon in Christmas tree production, according to the NCTA, followed by Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Washington.

    NCTA, which represents about 15,000 tree farms, 38 state and regional associations, and more than 4,000 businesses, selected a North Carolina Fraser Fir from a farm damaged by Hurricane Helene as the “national tree” for the White House, Sidebottom said.

    “The great news is [North Carolina] trees came through, in most cases, in really great shape,” Real Christmas Tree Board Executive Director Marsha Gray told The Epoch Times.

    “Several farms in low-lying areas did receive a lot of damage,” she said. “The majority are grown on the sides of mountains so the water was below them. [Growers] had some issues and concerns with infrastructure” but roads and railways recovered rapidly.

    The Real Christmas Tree Board, which represents the industry before the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), surveys growers nationwide every September to forecast supply for the coming season.

    “They gave us a very positive response,” Gray said, noting that these growers sell two-thirds of Christmas trees bought across the United States. “The quality was good, no concerns with shipping, and 60 percent said they did not plan to raise wholesale prices this year.

    “We are ready,” she added, “and we are excited.”

    Growing Christmas trees are seen in high water from flooding of the New River in Ashe County, N.C., on Sept. 27, 2024. Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

    Industry in Transition

    The biggest issue with the 2024 holiday season is the calendar, Sidebottom said. “The oddest thing about this season is Thanksgiving is so late this year. A lot more places opened the weekend before Thanksgiving.”

    The future of the industry faces potential disruption from tariffs if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with proposed levies on imported goods, including from Canada, which produces nearly 30 percent of Christmas trees sold in the United States, and from the same corporate pressures that are driving independents and family-run farms out of the agriculture industry.

    “Oh gosh, I have no idea” how tariffs could affect tree prices next year, Sidebottom said. “We have a group from Canada that is part of our association and are represented on the [USDA] board. They’ve been shipping trees since the 1950s.”

    Gray said the board is “not allowed to comment on public policy” but noted that Trump’s tariffs are on growers’ minds. “We’re all going to watch and see what happens,” she said.

    Rocco Malanga, owner of Cedar Grove Christmas Trees, a South Florida tree wholesale distributor and retailer, had no such reservations.

    “We fully support President Trump’s proposal to shift toward a tariff-based economic system, which we believe will be transformative for the Christmas tree industry and countless other sectors,” he told The Epoch Times.

    For years, he said, Canadian imports benefitted from the weaker Canadian dollar, allowing them to undercut U.S.-grown trees in price.

    “A tariff on imported Christmas trees would help level the playing field, redirecting demand toward American growers and empowering local farms and businesses,” Malanga said.

    Cedar Grove Christmas Trees has longstanding relationships with growers in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, who have “faced some of their toughest years recently” and would benefit from Trump’s tariffs, he predicted.

    It will likely take more than tariffs for independent, family-owned growers to survive in a market increasingly dominated by corporations.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 21:00

  • IRS Expands Its Armed Wing To Highest Level In Nearly A Decade
    IRS Expands Its Armed Wing To Highest Level In Nearly A Decade

    The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) division, the armed enforcement wing of the IRS tasked with combating financial crimes, has expanded its workforce by nearly 11 percent, bringing staffing levels to their highest in nearly a decade and boosting the division’s conviction rate to 90 percent, according to the IRS-CI’s latest annual report.

    As Tom Ozimek reports, via The Epoch Times, the fiscal year 2024 report, released on Dec. 5, outlines a year of intensified enforcement for the IRS-CI, which serves as the tax agency’s law enforcement branch that focuses on tax violations that cross into criminal territory.

    The report shows that the division achieved several firsts over the past year, including the first sentencing for syndicated conservation easement schemes, the first cryptocurrency tax fraud indictment, and a record-setting financial settlement with Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, for anti-money laundering violations.

    IRS-CI special agents, who are authorized to carry guns and use lethal force, now number 2,290 after a hiring spree added 146 employees to its ranks over the fiscal year. The division’s overall workforce expansion is the largest in nearly a decade, bringing total headcount to 3,474 employees. Between 2010 and 2020, the division’s staffing numbers fell from 4,017 to 2,858.

    IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco said in the report that the demands on the division’s workforce have increased as “criminals utilize new venues, revise their techniques, and use emerging technologies to facilitate financial crimes.”

    A turnaround in hiring in recent years across both the criminal investigations unit and the IRS more broadly has been fueled by the $80 billion funding boost under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, around $20 billion of which was later clawed back. Roughly $46 billion of the funding boost was designated for enforcement, a contentious part of the package that drew opposition from some Republican lawmakers, who argued it could lead to increased tax audits on lower- and middle-income Americans.

    According to the fiscal year 2024 report, the IRS-CI launched 2,667 criminal investigations, leading to 1,571 convictions. The division raised its conviction rate from 88.4 percent in the 2023 fiscal year to 90 percent in 2024, which ended Sept. 30.

    The division also uncovered $9.1 billion in fraud from tax and financial crimes, obtained $1.7 billion in court-ordered restitution, and seized approximately $1.2 billion in criminal assets.

    The IRS-CI also expanded its international footprint by launching a new attaché post in Nassau, Bahamas, and a cyber attaché post in Singapore.

    Ficco said in the report that the division’s focus heading into 2025 is to leverage its expanded resources and expertise to pursue financial crimes and protect the integrity of the U.S. tax system.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 20:25

  • "Next Few Weeks": FDA On Verge Of Possible Toxic Red Dye Ban Across America's Food Supply Chain 
    “Next Few Weeks”: FDA On Verge Of Possible Toxic Red Dye Ban Across America’s Food Supply Chain 

    The Food and Drug Administration is considering a potential ban on a carcinogenic food dye derived from petroleum, commonly found in beverages, snacks, cereals, and candies, according to NBC News.

    On Thursday, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones stated at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing that his agency will finalize the decision to eliminate food dye FD&C Red No. 3, known as Red 3, from America’s food supply chain. 

    “So, (In) Red 3, we have a petition in front of us to revoke the authorization for it, and we are hopeful that within the next few weeks, we will be acting on that petition, and a decision should be forthcoming,” Jones said. 

    The FDA has stated that it has reviewed the safety of Red 3 in snacks, beverages, candy, and other foods – multiple times since its initial approval in 1969. However, the current petition calls for the additive to be reviewed again. 

    Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville stated: “Let me say this: Red 3 has been known to cause cancer in cosmetics, but we still allow it to be put in our food. . . I don’t understand that.”

    According to Food Safety News, Connecticut Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro and 22 Congress members asked the FDA to ban Red Dye No. 3. 

    “A ban on Red 3 is not only statutorily required, but it is also feasible – alternatives are widely available,” the lawmakers wrote, adding, “Thirty-four years of inaction is far too long. We are calling on the FDA to use its regulatory authority to ban Red 3 from our nation’s food supply before the end of this Congress.”

    The letter noted that the carcinogenicity of Red 3 is very clear. The National Toxicology Program, the European Commission’s Scientific Committee for Food, and the World Health Organization have all stated that petroleum-based food dye causes cancer in animals. Even California has said Red 3 causes neurobehavioral issues in children. 

    Now that President-elect Donald J. Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services – his ability to rid the food supply chain of toxic dyes and highly processed food could soon become a reality.

    Recall RFK Jr. spotlighted food manufacturer Kellogg’s Fruitloops cereal for children, which has “18 or 19 ingredients” in the US formula but only “2 or 3” ingredients in Canada. 

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

    Americans are just now realizing that mega-corporations have been selling them poisonous foods containing petroleum-based dyes and other harmful additives, contributing to the obesity crisis and early death. 

    Our readers know our stance on the urgent need to eliminate toxic processed foods from diets and return to basics by sourcing from small mom-and-pop farms. Better yet, liberate yourself and become ungovernable by taking control of your food supply chain by reviving a small farm. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 19:15

  • Paul Krugman Rides Into The Sunset
    Paul Krugman Rides Into The Sunset

    Authored by William Andersen via The Mises Institute,

    After spending 25 years as a columnist for the New York Times, Paul Krugman is finally retiring from that position – 25 years too late, if one wishes to be honest. It is hard to measure the influence he had from that perch, but his columns surely were the deciding factor in his winning the Nobel in economics in 2008 after eight years of lambasting the George W. Bush administration.

    [ZH: Yes, we know that isn’t a picture of Krugman, but it always makes us laugh…]

    (His Nobel Prize was given, ostensibly, for “his work in economic geography and in identifying international trade patterns,” but one should have no doubt that, without having the power and influence of the New York Times behind him, it is doubtful that the Nobel Committee would even have known of his existence. I weighed in on the Nobel selection in a column in Forbes, hastily-written during a short break between classes I was teaching at Frostburg State University.)

    Not surprisingly, the response from his peers is hagiographic. Kathleen Kingsbury, quoting from Krugman’s first column, declares:

    That lede and the column were signature Krugman: The authoritative voice. The lively writing. The direct style. The clear hand guiding readers through a thicket of policy, data and trade-offs. The big ideas — in that column, they were about the First Global Economy and the Second Global Economy and how the interplay of political and economic questions would shape life worldwide in the 21st century. In little time, Paul became an essential read in Opinion, helping countless readers become more fluent in and mindful of how trade, taxes, technology, the markets, labor and capital intersected with political leadership, ideology and partisanship to shape the lives of people across America and the world.

    Indeed, Krugman has been influential, but his influence hasn’t been a good thing. He is a disciple of John Maynard Keynes and has played an important role in legitimizing the application of Keynesian schemes by governments to “stimulate” their economies. Those governments were unsuccessful, Krugman claimed, because they had failed to inflate their economies enough to break out of the Keynesian “liquidity trap,” an imaginary state of affairs that Murray N. Rothbard fully debunked.

    Krugman even resorted to fantasy in his quest to fight the mighty “liquidity trap,” claiming that if the US were to prepare for a never-to-come alien invasion, the burst of government spending would revitalize the economy. That nonsense alone should have discredited him as a serious economist, but instead cemented his status as the great advocate for the Keynesian trope that government spending is the key to economic prosperity.

    To his credit, Krugman did condemn the tariffs proposed by President-elect Donald Trump, but the truth is that he never has truly understood economics from the praxeological vantage point, nor has he ever been interested in seeing economics in that way. An economy, to Krugman, is a series of aggregates—consisting of homogeneous labor, natural resources, and capital—all to be manipulated by government agencies and central banks. The idea that demand springs from what we produce in a market economy was anathema to Krugman, who hated that economic doctrine so much that he referred to Jean-Baptiste Say as a “cockroach.”

    Given Krugman’s inability to understand the basics of economic logic, perhaps it isn’t surprising that he made the wild prediction: “By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s.” Someone who cannot understand how production of goods drives demand for other goods most likely isn’t going to comprehend how improving pathways for information will also improve commerce.

    Krugman was just as uncharitable to the Austrians as he was toward Say—although he never really understood Austrian economics and, to be honest, was happy to remain in blissful ignorance. He referred to the Austrian Business Cycle Theory wrongly as “The Hangover Theory,” turning a well-developed theory that meticulously explains the processes of booms and busts and reducing it to a morality play. He wrote:

    A few weeks ago, a journalist devoted a substantial part of a profile of yours truly to my failure to pay due attention to the “Austrian theory” of the business cycle—a theory that I regard as being about as worthy of serious study as the phlogiston theory of fire. Oh well. But the incident set me thinking—not so much about that particular theory as about the general worldview behind it. Call it the overinvestment theory of recessions, or “liquidationism,” or just call it the “hangover theory.” It is the idea that slumps are the price we pay for booms, that the suffering the economy experiences during a recession is a necessary punishment for the excesses of the previous expansion.

    The hangover theory is perversely seductive—not because it offers an easy way out, but because it doesn’t. It turns the wiggles on our charts into a morality play, a tale of hubris and downfall. And it offers adherents the special pleasure of dispensing painful advice with a clear conscience, secure in the belief that they are not heartless but merely practicing tough love. Powerful as these seductions may be, they must be resisted—for the hangover theory is disastrously wrongheaded. Recessions are not necessary consequences of booms. They can and should be fought, not with austerity but with liberality—with policies that encourage people to spend more, not less.

    In other words, government spending on wars was just as economically useful as spending money on new capital and research that increases crop yields because, after all, someone is spending money. To Krugman, an economy is a purely circular thing in which we produce something to put on the shelves and spending is the process by which we remove the goods from the shelves so we can produce something else to put on the shelves—and so on.

    It is not surprising that regime-minded elites worshiped his every declaration. Governments were not spending too much money; they were spending too little! Those who print money hand-over-fist, who intervene in the markets to direct resources to politically-favored winners are the real public benefactors. Those who question the wisdom of untrammeled government spending are the true enemies of the people.

    At a Southern Economic Association meeting in 2004, I asked Krugman if he was endorsing the 70 percent tax rates that existed before 1981. “No,” he replied emphatically, “Those rates were insane!” When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for the return of 70 percent marginal rates in 2019, Krugman said he believed those rates were “reasonable.” No doubt, he would attribute that change of heart to personal “growth” or just an evolutionary change in his thinking.

    In truth, believing in an all-powerful state that can, in Keynes’ own words, turn “stones into bread” through the magic of spending and creation of new credit does not require personal growth or maturity. Instead, it reflects a mind that prefers fantasy over reality, lies over truth. Paul Krugman can retire peacefully, knowing that he has sanitized the use of raw state power in place of mutually-beneficial exchange that characterizes the marketplace.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 18:40

  • USDA Orders Raw Milk Testing Under Guise Of Bird Flu Amid War On Small Farms
    USDA Orders Raw Milk Testing Under Guise Of Bird Flu Amid War On Small Farms

    Nationwide demand for raw milk has never been higher, as out-of-control bureaucrats in their ivory towers in Washington, DC, exploit bird flu outbreaks in dairy herds to financially crush small farms while ensuring that large-scale farms owned by mega corporations, which produce questionable/unhealthy food (hence America’s obesity crisis), remain in control of the nation’s food supply chain. 

    The latest overreach in the war on raw milk comes as the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) ordered dairy farmers to work with the federal agency to test for bird flu (H5N1). 

    On Friday, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack wrote in a statement, “This new milk testing strategy will build on those steps to date and will provide a roadmap for states to protect the health of their dairy herds.” 

    “Among many outcomes, this will give farmers and farmworkers better confidence in the safety of their animals and ability to protect themselves, and it will put us on a path to quickly controlling and stopping the virus’ spread nationwide,” Vilsack said. 

    The new testing mandate gives the federal government yet another foothold in controlling the nation’s milk supply and moves one step closer to banning raw milk, all under the guise of combating “bird flu.”

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

    The federal government’s war on raw milk, small farms, and the Amish is nothing new. However, it has escalated under the Biden-Harris regime as big gov’t raced to put mom-and-pop farms out of business. It’s all about federal agency capture (at the USDA and many other agencies) by the processed foods industrial complex, which views small farms as a competition threat. 

    With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearings to lead the Department of Health and Human Services next month, his views on ‘Making America Healthy Again‘ through clean food have put the processed food industrial complex and big pharma on notice. 

    Headlines featuring ‘raw milk’ surged in corporate media after bird flu cases were detected at dairy farms earlier this year. However, following former President Trump’s victory and the strong probability of RFK Jr. leading HHS, anti-raw milk rhetoric in corporate media exploded in just the last few weeks. Maybe the headlines are surging on bird flu cases – yet we believe this is more tied to the processed food industrial complex being absolutely terrified of Kennedy.

    In addition to the soaring raw milk demand, Americans are waking up to the disturbing reality of how poisonous the nation’s food supply chain has become. People are turning to small farms, including the Amish, for cleaner ag products—a move that has infuriated the bureaucrats and their friends in the processed food industrial complex. 

    The federal government’s all-out war on small farms is pure insanity. However, the motive is not complex to understand when DC bureaucrats and their billionaire friends want to take over the nation’s food supply chain.

    Reject the processed food industrial complex. Source your food locally, start a victory garden, buy a chicken coop, get honey bees, and if you’re really up for the challenge… buy cattle. Become ungovernable – and that starts by controlling your own food supply chain – not DC bureaucrats and their billionaire friends who want to eliminate cow farts with experimental vaccines. 

    Also, isn’t it odd that DC bureaucrats did not push clean food trends and exercise to fix America’s health crisis? Instead, DC elites resorted to their friends in pharma, pushing GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic. After all, exercise doesn’t make the DC swamp and pharma money; every GLP-1 injection and kickbacks do.  

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 18:05

  • The Miserable Cost Of An Open Border
    The Miserable Cost Of An Open Border

    Authored by Seth Barron via RealClearPolitics,

    The Biden-Harris experiment in dissolving the U.S. border has wrought massive changes to American society, most of which will not be understood for years, if not decades. Since 2021, U.S. border officials have had at least 10 million “encounters” with migrants, many of whom were allowed to enter the country. There is no telling how many more aliens entered the country without encountering enforcement agents. The population of the United States may have increased by as much as 15 million people in just a few years.

    This massive flow of humanity crosses multiple national borders, involves every mode of transportation, accounts for billions of dollars paid in fees to smugglers, and describes a fantastically complex economy of suffering and hope. In an effort to get a handle on this human tide, noted muckraker James O’Keefe – known for his hidden camera “gotcha” interviews with abortionists, media executives, progressive nonprofit executives, and other degenerate types – traces the migrant onrush from its source, and seeks to trace the machinery of profit and influence that is conducting it from great removes.

    “Line In The Sand,” the resulting documentary, is a remarkable and humane exposition, revealing perspectives and images American audiences have mostly been prevented from seeing. O’Keefe and his intrepid team begin on the U.S. side of the Mexican border, where we witness migrants crossing the border through holes that their guides have cut in a fence that serves as a target as much as a barrier. Infrared cameras show dozens of illegal aliens streaming toward “pick-up” vehicles on the U.S. side while smugglers – presumably cartel members – a few feet away taunt O’Keefe and his group. “What if I were to run up to them right now, what would happen?” O’Keefe asks his guide. “I would highly advise you against that,” he is told, in a classic understatement.

    The fact that coyotes and other human traffickers are paid to assist northbound migrants with their passage is no scandal; we all know what their motivations are and why they are doing what they do. But O’Keefe documents multiple examples of U.S. Border Patrol agents standing idly by while illegal aliens cross, virtually under their noses. “Why aren’t you doing anything?” he asks. “Have a good day, guys,” a border agent desultorily responds before driving off in the general direction of the episode. Later, a migrant stands in front of a Border Patrol truck, clearly trying to alert the agents of his intention to surrender, but is studiously ignored until O’Keefe and his team call their attention to him.

    There is a kind of sad comedy in the operations of U.S. border security, and O’Keefe is not unsympathetic to the absurd position that border agents have been put in. Trained to defend the national border and to serve as the first line of defense of American soil, these agents have been recommissioned as a perverse Welcome Wagon for illegal aliens, charged with making their undocumented and uninvited entrance to the United States as commodious as possible.

    Looking to get deeper into the heart of this migratory avalanche, O’Keefe went deep into Mexico, to the city of Irapuato, about 150 miles northwest of Mexico City. Irapuato is a popular railway junction where thousands of migrants climb aboard “La Bestia,” or “The Beast,” a cargo train that chugs northward toward the United States. In the film’s most remarkable footage, O’Keefe and his team join with migrants, mostly from South and Central America, to ride The Beast, also known as “el Tren del Muerto,” or the Train of Death. O’Keefe talks to the migrants without condescension, asking them their destinations and what they plan to do when they get there, and their concerns about the perilous nature of the journey. We see the film crew race to jump on a moving train and clamber on top to sit in a pile of coal; O’Keefe is shocked at how truly dangerous this small element of the trip is and sympathizes with the migrants’ difficult choices. These scenes are among the film’s most affecting, along with the crew’s random encounter with a little girl who had just crossed the border after journeying from Guatemala by herself. There is a human dimension to illegal immigration, and O’Keefe does not ignore it. 

    However, there is also an impersonal dimension to this massive population transfer, and O’Keefe determinedly aims to uncover it – to put a face to the institutions and administrators that benefit from the rough injection of millions of people into American society. From government agents to bus companies to nonprofit resettlement groups to private contractors running huge, walled compounds housing thousands of children, O’Keefe doggedly tries to penetrate the mechanics of a system that resolutely hides itself behind a screen of silence, usually in the name of “safety” and “privacy.”

    Some of the film’s more comical moments pertain to these segments, such as when the team follows some just-arrived Chinese migrants in San Diego to an employment agency, where other Chinese aliens, already in the country for several months, complain that it’s much harder to live in the United States than they had imagined. O’Keefe tries to sniff out a connection between the owner of the agency and more powerful actors, but it emerges that there really isn’t much going on; in fact, the owner asks O’Keefe if he knows of a way to apply for government grants.

    Elsewhere, O’Keefe tries to get information about the operations of several huge residential centers for unaccompanied minors and tries to spin their refusal to give him access to the centers or submit to interviews as evidence of the existence of vast, government-funded child sex trafficking networks. But it seems more likely, though no less troubling, that the open borders policy of the last four years has created a tremendous humanitarian crisis of alien children roaming the continent by themselves, and the government is probably trying to keep them from becoming prey to sex traffickers while they sort out where to send them. Though O’Keefe does not uncover a salacious network of child predators, his vigorous pursuit of the truth does reveal the existence of a large, shadowy, government-funded, and lucrative system of child “welfare.”

    So, “Line In The Sand” is correct in the larger sense that billions of dollars are being spent managing this human flow, and many people are getting rich off of it. The last thing these parasitical administrators of the nonprofit industrial complex want is for the border to close. O’Keefe does a great job of capturing in real time the corruption of a local New York City nonprofit called La Jornada, whose leader, Pedro Rodriguez, evidently perpetrates fraud, demanding fees for services that the city provides for free. O’Keefe also sends a Spanish-speaking reporter undercover into the Roosevelt Hotel, New York City’s main processing center for newly-arrived migrants, which offers him free housing, medical care, and even airplane tickets, even though the reporter explains that he has no identification of any sort. How, O’Keefe asks, in our post 9/11 security-obsessed era, are we to make sense of a system that admits millions of unvetted foreigners into the country, and then offers to fly them anywhere they care to go?

    “Line In The Sand” is rough in parts, but intentionally so. Its subject is so sprawling and tangled that a neat and clean representation would be a lie. Even with a nine-figure budget – which this film assuredly did not have – a documentary about the border and the 30 million-footed human swarm that has crossed it would be messy and incomplete. But James O’Keefe and his small team have done something remarkable. They have taken on the decade’s biggest story, given it form, and preserved the humanity of its subjects. It is worth watching.

    Seth Barron is a writer in New York and author of the forthcoming “Weaponized from Humanix.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 17:30

  • Gaetz, Hegseth, Gabbard, Then RFK Jr: Megyn Kelly Warns 'Deep State Is Coming For Them All'
    Gaetz, Hegseth, Gabbard, Then RFK Jr: Megyn Kelly Warns ‘Deep State Is Coming For Them All’

    As Pete Hegseth – president-elect Trump’s pick for SecDef – runs the gauntlet of the nomination process, amid a cornucopia of media amplified unsubstantiated accusations against him, Sirius XM host Megyn Kelly has warned that the political establishment, both Democrats and Republicans, are attempting to derail Trump’s second term before it has even begun by targeting his cabinet picks.

    As Steve Watson writes at Modernity.news, Kelly pointed to Pete Hegseth, who who is fighting to stay in the running for Secretary of Defense amid a cornucopia of media amplified unsubstantiated accusations against him. 

    Kelly warned that if Hegseth falls like Matt Gaetz did, then RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and anyone else Trump picks will likely be next.

    “If you don’t think they’re going to do this to RFK Jr., you haven’t been paying attention,” Kelly urged.

    “I realize that Pete has his belly exposed. He has not led a perfect life, and there’s plenty if you want to start attacking his character in terms of his marital history and so on,” Kelly noted. 

    “But as he said to me yesterday, he found around 20, I think it was 18 or so, he found his two J’s: his wife, Jen and Jesus, and started changing his life in a profound way,” she further explained.

    The host continued, “Let’s say they get Pete’s scalp like they got Matt Gates’s scalp, Bobby Kennedy’s history makes Pete look like the consummate Boy Scout. He looks like he’s ready to enter the priesthood.”

    “He’s a lot older, with a lot more of a checkered past… It’s not going to be pretty at all. So we are really at a crossroads here about whether we are going to sacrifice these nominees because of checkered personal pasts or not. It’s not going to get easier after Pete,” Kelly emphasized.

    But, as Gery Berntsen writes at American Greatness, when Pete Hegseth is confirmed as Secretary of Defense, he will be a forceful agent of change for the betterment of the United States of America.

    The abridged version of a famous Machiavelli quote, “Nothing is more difficult or dangerous than to attempt to change the order of things,” is in full view as we watch the process of confirming President Trump’s Secretary of Defense. When Pete Hegseth is confirmed as Secretary of Defense, he will be a forceful agent of change for the betterment of the United States of America.

    President-elect Trump’s nominee, retired Army National Guard Major and Fox News host Peter Hegseth, is receiving considerable fire amid allegations of misconduct while CEO of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA).

    I am writing this article because I was one of the founding members of CVA. I am an Air Force veteran and retired senior operations officer and chief of station in the Central Intelligence Agency. While at the CIA, I held major field command positions and was a senior manager in the CIA’s Counter-Terrorism Center (CTC). I led the CIA’s largest paramilitary element on the ground during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, seizing Kabul, initiating the battle of Tora Bora, and leading teams around the globe in several dangerous crises. I worked hand in glove with the most important elements of the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and the FBI to secure and safeguard American interests. Based on 30 years of this experience and my personal knowledge of Pete Hegseth, I have no doubt that he will excel as Secretary of Defense.

    CVA Backstory

    Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) was created by a small group of veterans and one non-veteran who had all worked together in the failed 2008 presidential campaign of Senator John McCain. In 2011, a member of that team contacted me and told me he had funding to create a nationwide veterans organization focused on addressing veteran needs, educating the public, and building support for those ideas.

    CVA was created as a 501(c)(3), and I was asked to be its first CEO. I did not accept the position, as it would have required me to relocate to the Washington, D.C., area and I had just bought a home in Florida. I was also busy managing a security company in Afghanistan. I was then asked whether I would agree to become the Southeast Coordinator for CVA and work under Pete Hegseth. He was twenty years my junior but had served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and GITMO.

    I read some articles by Hegseth, had seen him interviewed on television, and went to Washington, D.C., to meet him and the team. He was humble, direct, and smart. It was clear to me that he was policy-driven and capable, though only in his mid-30s. He was familiar with my published work and that of many others involved in counterterrorism and the war against Islamic radicalism. And critically, in our earliest discussions, he made it clear that he understood that taking care of our veterans’ medical needs was paramount.

    He made healthcare the immediate focus of CVA. His vision matched the core values of the organization. While I was focusing on building out a solid ground game, Pete was challenging VA shortcomings, holding their feet to the fire on behalf of American veterans. As a concerned veteran, I was impressed.

    Pete recruited other veterans like me who had significant national security backgrounds to build out the national organization. This was the very thing required of his position. He met with policymakers and funding sources who could move our organization forward.

    We held dozens of events together over several years. We drank coffee by the gallon, but I never witnessed any performance impaired by alcohol. In fact, he handled a situation well that involved an employee who did have an alcohol-related incident. That man had a drinking problem and had made a pass at a female coordinator under his supervision. As I addressed the situation, I called Pete. After I described what happened, Pete was decisive. He asked me to place the employee in rehab, reassign him, and counsel him against ever doing that sort of thing again. We placed a letter in the employee’s personnel file and protected the female employee’s privacy and interests. This demonstrates Pete’s decisiveness, concern, and responsibility for CVA and its personnel. These decisions were made in a single day.

    Senators interested in the moral compass of CVA should consult other senior managers from the organization. I will provide any interested senator with the names and contact information of people who conducted dozens of events and worked closely with Pete Hegseth for several years.

    One policy issue addressed by Hegseth garnering much attention is his stated opposition to women in combat. Looking to the Afghan conflict ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ as a recent example, women made up approximately 10 percent of the force on the ground. They are in theatre and add great value as pilots, medical personnel, and intelligence personnel. Their work is high quality, but using them in combat arms needs to be addressed honestly.

    The reality is very few men are capable of serving in a line infantry and combat arms-oriented unit. The demands on soldiers and Marines in terms of strength and physical endurance are beyond what civilians can comprehend. In college football or NFL practice, participants arrive fresh, work out for three to five hours, then take a shower and go home and sleep. In a line infantry element, significant and exhausting physical efforts go on day after day, hour after hour, with almost no sleep. Soldiers and Marines may be in battle for extended periods of time fighting for their very lives. There surely are a minuscule number of women in the country with the ability and desire to serve in the arduous conditions of battle; however, this number is so small that it makes writing policy on the matter difficult. Pete Hegseth’s view on the matter is formed by recent deployments. It better represents reality than the current Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, the SecDef who helped surrender Afghanistan disgracefully and needlessly to an untrained and unorganized gang. Pete Hegseth would never have allowed such a surrender.

    In 2016, I endorsed candidate Donald J. Trump. I was the fourth and final speaker before Sarasota County GOP Chairman Joseph Grutters would present candidate Trump at his first Florida rally at the Sun Dome in Tampa. Endorsing Trump created a conflict with the 501(c)(3) status of CVA, so I resigned in order to campaign freely for Trump.

    I have held senior positions in the national security apparatus during times of combat and crisis. I have seen what is required of an effective leader, and I know Pete Hegseth will be an effective leader. Though not seeking employment, I would have no hesitation serving under Pete Hegseth if he were the Secretary of Defense. He has sound judgment on policy, management, and national security priorities. When making policy, he will remember the lessons of Armed Forces veterans who recently served in combat zones. Members of the U.S. Senate, I recommend you vote to confirm him.

    Trump reaffirmed support for Hegseth Thursday, issuing a statement defending him.

    “Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe. He was a great student – Princeton/Harvard educated – with a Military state of mind,” Trump said.

    “He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!” the president-elect further urged.

    Hegseth has committed to staying in contention as the defense secretary.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 16:55

  • EPA Ends Shortcut Approvals For So-Called 'Forever Chemicals'
    EPA Ends Shortcut Approvals For So-Called ‘Forever Chemicals’

    Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated regulations on Dec. 3 that will prevent PFAS, often referred to as forever chemicals, from being fast-tracked for approval through an exemption process.

    Equipment used to test for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS, in drinking water at Trident Laboratories in Holland, Mich., on June 18, 2018. Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press via AP

    PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a family of forever chemicals used in a variety of products, are known to resist breaking down and therefore persist in the environment. They have also been linked to serious health problems.

    The new rule ends the eligibility of PFAS for the Low Volume Exemptions process, which allowed certain chemicals to bypass the full review if they were to be produced in limited quantities. This exemption rule has historically applied to more than 600 PFAS compounds.

    The updated rules are designed to ensure that PFAS undergo a comprehensive safety review before they can be manufactured. According to the EPA, this change is designed to protect public health and the environment by subjecting PFAS to the agency’s full risk assessment process.

    Senior EPA official Michael Freedhoff said in a statement that the agency’s review of new chemicals should encourage innovation while ensuring safety before new chemicals “enter commerce.”

    “Today, we’ve modernized our chemical reviews and continued to protect people from unsafe new PFAS,” said Freedhoff, the EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

    PFAS are used in a wide range of products, from cookware to firefighting foam. They have also been linked to health problems, including some cancers, kidney issues, and reduced fertility. PFAS have accumulated in the environment and in human and animal tissue, sparking widespread concern.

    Under the updated rule, manufacturers must provide detailed information about a chemical’s uses, exposure potential, and health effects before approval.

    The rule also expands the EPA’s oversight of chemicals classified as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic, ensuring stricter controls for substances that pose significant risks.

    The changes are part of broader efforts by the EPA to strengthen its chemical review process following the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act. These amendments require the agency to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment for new chemicals before they can enter the market.

    The rule will take effect 30 days after its official publication in the Federal Register.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 16:20

  • China Is The World's Manufacturing Superpower
    China Is The World’s Manufacturing Superpower

    According to data published by the United Nations Statistics Division, China accounted for 31 percent of global manufacturing output in 2022.

    As Statista’s Felix Richter shows in the chart below, that puts the country almost 15 percentage points ahead of second-placed United States, which used to have the world’s largest manufacturing sector until China overtook it in 2010.

    Infographic: China Is the World's Manufacturing Superpower | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    With total value added by the Chinese manufacturing sector amounting to more than $5 trillion in 2022, manufacturing accounted for nearly 30 percent of the country’s total economic output.

    The U.S. economy is much less reliant on manufacturing these days: in 2022, the manufacturing sector accounted for just over 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

    China’s global manufacturing dominance is so large that the value added in its manufacturing sector roughly matches the combined output of the next seven largest manufacturing countries in the world.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 15:45

  • Now What? A GOP Governing Agenda
    Now What? A GOP Governing Agenda

    Authored by Guy Ciarrocchi via RealClearPennsylvania,

    Trump returns to the White House. The GOP has majorities in the Senate and House. Now what?

    It’s time to make America great again. To fix what “they” broke. To flip the narrative, so that government works for us – not the other way around. Yet, where to begin?

    Inflation. Cleaning-up the Justice Department – including directives targeting parents attending school board meetings, “pro-lifers,” and Catholics who like Latin Mass. The hostages held by Hamas, and Israel’s fight with Hamas and other terror groups. Men playing women’s sports. The Ukrainian-Russian war. Securing the border and doing something about our many million illegal immigrants. Closing down the failed Department of Education. Unleashing American energy – oil, natural gas, and nuclear. Holding higher education accountable. Protecting American farmland from the Chinese. Dealing with the insanity of the United Nations. Rebuilding our military and refocusing it on national security. Stopping “climate crisis” madness. Making America healthy. Fighting anti-Semitism. Combating violent crime in our cities.

    The Biden/Harris administration and its counterparts in many cities and states leave behind a mess. They have misused and abused the powers of government.

    For those more focused on governing than campaigning, the bigger thrill is not Election Night celebrations but undoing harmful policies and enacting good ones. Now the heavy lifting starts.

    A smart, effective roadmap has to be a marriage of MAGA and conservative political priorities with “kitchen-table” issues. In short, prioritize the legislative agenda around the coalition that helped Republicans win Pennsylvania and other swing states.

    With a narrow House majority and the inevitable Chuck Schumer-led filibusters in the Senate, this kind of focus will be critical to pushing issues over the finish line. Plus, these policies – and the legislators supporting them – must withstand the inevitable resistance from special interests and the legacy media, many already beginning their assault against the Trump agenda. All the more reason to maintain the diverse but fragile coalition that prevailed on November 5.

    Trying to do everything at once, however, will drain resources and confuse the public, leaving Republicans vulnerable to obstruction from Democrats and their allies. Unifying priorities, effective messages, and well-executed legislative plans are essential to making progress and improving the lives of Americans. Success will offer opportunities to grow public support – and to accomplish even more. And yes, to win future elections, too.

    What unites MAGA, conservative Republicans, first-time voters in rural Pennsylvania, and black and Hispanic voters in Philadelphia, Reading, and elsewhere who supported Trump for the first time? The “kitchen-table issues” that the GOP talked about. The practical things that matter to those of us focused on reality, rather than trying to advance an ideology or seek “revenge.”

    Priority one must be fighting inflation – making life more affordable. As Ronald Reagan explained: “Inflation is the cruelest tax.” It eats away at every paycheck, every week, every day.

    This will take time, but the reversal begins with a few vital steps. Start by clawing back the unspent billions allocated for the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (how Orwellian a name!).

    Next, the United States must be energy-independent. This lowers the cost of everything. Permits for drilling must be approved so that American oil and natural gas can be unleashed to lower prices, raise our quality of life, and improve national security. Additionally, the holds on oil and gas leases must be lifted. Lastly, we should allow Pennsylvanians – and our friends in Ohio and West Virginia – to sell liquified natural gas to our European allies. We will make money and create jobs, while helping Germany, France, Poland and others get out from under Vladimir Putin’s thumb.

    Be prepared to implement as many of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s DOGE recommendations as possible. We must not only stop the growth and reduce the power of the federal government; we must also eliminate wasteful spending, regulations, and even whole agencies that make it harder for businesses to operate.

    Next, secure our borders and address the illegal immigration crisis. Most of these people are being entirely subsidized by taxpayers. Start with the known criminals, then move on to those who have no jobs or host family here. We need to restore our borders and respect for the law – and stop encouraging people to sneak in, live for free, and falsely claim “amnesty.”

    Next, peace. Work to get our hostages home and to stabilize the firefights around the world that drain our resources, divert our energies, and pull American service members into wars. Support Israel in its effort to rescue the hostages and eliminate terrorists, their masterminds, and their funders. Work to bring the Ukraine-Russia war to an end.

    Make life more affordable and strengthen our economy. Secure our border and protect Americans and those respecting the rule of law. Strengthen our resolve with allies, support our military, and build peace through strength.

    These are the goals and promises that unified the Trump coalition and won the election. From here, they can move on to other worthy and important goals – everything from school choice to tax reform, from the mess at the UN to protecting American farmland and rooting out the waste and inefficiencies of our bureaucracies and agencies.

    But first, focus on kitchen-table issues that unite voters. Show voters that you’ve listened. Prove that you share their priorities. Gain their trust, grow the cause, and go on from there. It’s an approach that makes sense not just politically but more importantly, for the good of the nation. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 15:10

  • 'Not Our Fight!': Trump Weighs In On Syria's Unraveling 
    ‘Not Our Fight!’: Trump Weighs In On Syria’s Unraveling 

    President-elect Donald Trump has weighed in on the rapid-moving events in Syria, where jihadist groups backed by Turkey are entering the outside environs of the capital of Damascus. The embattled President Bashar al-Assad still appears to be in residence, but his future is far from certain.

    “Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, have totally taken over numerous cities, in a highly coordinated offensive, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, obviously preparing to make a very big move toward taking out Assad,” he began the statement on Truth Social.

    Trump emphasized that Washington should stay completely out, calling the situation a “mess” and that it is “not our fight”. He posted the same message on X.

    Via CNN

    It alludes to Russia’s inability to continue protecting Syria, given it is bogged down in the nearly three year long Ukraine war, while also blasting former President Obama’s past Syria policies and that he laid down ‘red lines’. 

    Below is the full statement:

    Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years. This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND, and all hell broke out, with Russia stepping in. But now they are, like possibly Assad himself, being forced out, and it may actually be the best thing that can happen to them. There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid.

    Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”

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    It must be remembered that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group backed by NATO member Turkey and leading this anti-Assad onslaught, is a US-designated terror organization.

    A big question is: what comes next? While HTS has morphed from Syrian Al-Qaeda, it is trying to present to the West a softer image, claiming that it will protect minorities including Christians. However, its recent past clearly demonstrates that it rules territories under its control with Taliban-style force and brutality.

    Much of the nation’s population until now has stuck with Assad given the alternative is Somalia-style fracturing and rule by competing jihadist warlords. One thing is for sure: Trump will inherent dealing with an absolute tragic mess in Syria, the heartland of the Middle East, upon his opening days in office.

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

    Currently, US forces still occupy one-third of Syria, in the oil and gas areas of the northeast. During Trump’s first term he expressed an effort to “bring the troops home” but it’s widely reported he was stymied by his generals and national security officials

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 14:35

  • Did The Secret Service Chief Perjure Himself After Screaming Match?
    Did The Secret Service Chief Perjure Himself After Screaming Match?

    Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClearPolitics,

    After a screaming match between acting Secret Service Director Ron Rowe and Texas Rep. Pat Fallon erupted at a Thursday House hearing on the attempted assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump, new details are emerging about the circumstances that sparked the outburst.

    Several Secret Service sources question whether Rowe has perjured himself during the explosive exchange.

    The face-off occurred during the final meeting of the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Trump when Fallon produced a photo of Rowe standing behind President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at a 9/11 memorial event in New York City in September. Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance appeared on the right side of the photo.

    The congressman, a Texas Republican, pressed Rowe on why he had positioned himself behind Biden when normal Secret Service protocol would place the most senior member of the president’s detail in that position to provide the best protection to the president. The event took place on Sept. 11, just days before the second assassination attempt against Trump at one of the president-elect’s golf courses in Florida.

    At the time, the outcome of the election was still unknown, and Rowe was trying to prove that he could quickly rehabilitate the agency’s image after the cataclysmic failures during the July 13 Butler rally that nearly led to Trump’s assassination and did result in the death of Corey Comperatore, a retired local fireman.

    Fallon accused Rowe of endangering Biden’s and Harris’ lives by taking their top two agents out of position because he “wanted to be visible because you were auditioning for the job.”

    Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas promoted Rowe from deputy director to interim chief of the agency in the wake of the Butler rally. The previous director, Kimberly Cheatle, had resigned after disastrous testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

    Rowe responded swiftly and angrily to Fallon’s line of questions.

    “Congressman, what you’re seeing is the [Special Agent in Charge of the Detail] out of the picture’s view,” Rowe said. “And that is a day where we remember the more than 3,000 people that died on 9/11,” Rowe added. “I actually responded to Ground Zero. I was there going through the ashes of the World Trade Center. I was there at Fresh Kills,” Rowe added, referencing a Staten Island landfill where debris was taken.

    Fallon quickly interjected: “I’m not asking you that.”

    “I was there, congressman!” Rowe bellowed while pointing aggressively at Fallon before accusing him of acting like a “bully” and politicizing 9/11.

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    Rowe was already on edge from Fallon’s pointed questioning just minutes before. The congressman asked Rowe whether he knew that Trump was facing a threat from a foreign actor while the Secret Service advance team was preparing for the Butler rally, a likely reference to assassination plots by Iran against Trump’s life. If he did know, the congressman asked why he didn’t intervene to provide a counter-surveillance unit or a full Counter Assault Team, top Secret Service security assets, in addition to the counter snipers the agency provided These additional assets, Fallon asserted, could have prevented the assassination attempt from taking place.

    An eyewitness to the 9/11 memorial this year tells RealClearPolitics that Rowe’s decision to take the place of the top two agents in charge of the president’s and vice president’s detail spurred resentment among the ranks. The source said there were toe marks placed on the ground with every attendee’s name and title. Rowe’s original toe mark was three rows back.

    Instead of simply standing where he was designated, Rowe disregarded the arrangement and placed himself behind Biden and Harris. The leaders of those details then had to squeeze in so they could be within arm’s reach of the president and vice president if they faced any threats. The source also noted that Rowe’s wife, a longtime Secret Service employee, was the photographer for the event that day and was snapping “a ton of action shots of Ron standing in his place of prominence.”

    During Thursday’s testy shouting match, Fallon demanded to know whether Rowe had a gun and radio on him during the ceremony, an apparent reference to whether he was operational and equipped to respond to a threat against Biden’s or Harris’ lives if any arose.

    Rowe retorted that he did have a radio and a gun on him at the ceremony and insisted that the protective mission was not compromised by his decision to move to a more prominent position. The Secret Service press office provided a lengthy explanation of his Secret Service roles in New York City after the 9/11 attacks but didn’t respond to a follow-up question from RealClearPolitics on whether he stood by those remarks about having a gun and radio on him during the ceremony.  

    Rank-and-file agents were incensed over Rowe’s screaming match and said they doubted the acting director’s testimony that he had a radio during the 9/11 ceremony this year because he wasn’t wearing an earpiece to hear the intelligence chatter on a radio. They also said top Secret Service officials usually do not wear earpieces or ballistic missile vests to ceremonies like the one on 9/11 because they spend most of their time meeting with other officials, not monitoring radio traffic for threats.

    After the blow-up went viral on social media, the Secret Service provided a statement clarifying Rowe’s work in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

    “Acting Director Ronald Rowe volunteered to support the U.S. Secret Service’s official response efforts in New York following 9/11,” Guglielmi said in a statement. “He was a part of the second response rotation, which occurred in mid-October 2001. As part of his duties, he worked to support recovery efforts at both Fresh Kills Landfill and Ground Zero.”

    “Acting Director Rowe joined the U.S. Secret Service in 1999 and was working as a shift agent assigned to protect a visiting foreign dignitary in Washington, D.C. on the day of the 9/11 attacks,” Guglielmi added.

    “In reference to your questions about the 9/11 memorial, all detail personnel were present and had complete access to their protectees during the memorial,” he concluded.

    While most of the hearing recycled previous revelations about the agency’s failures during the Butler rally, Rep. Mark Green, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, also expressed outrage in expletive-laced questions over how the agency missed such obvious security vulnerabilities.

    Green said the agency’s conduct during the July shooting seemed “lackadaisical” and slammed the agents in charge of the Butler rally, whom he said showed up to the event and “didn’t give a shit.”

    The Tennessee Republican who previously served as an Army doctor argued that the Secret Service has a “command-climate” problem. “There was apathy and complacency, period, and that’s your mission,” Green told Rowe.

    Rowe provided a vague response to Green’s concerns.

    “So, we are reorganizing, reimagining the organization that includes making sure that we are developing leadership programs,” he said.

    In his opening statement, Rowe said he spent the months since the assassination items focused on implementing reforms to ensure that the failures at Butler never happen again.

    “I have reflected extensively on the agency’s substandard performance during the advance for the Butler rally,” he said. “It has been my singular focus to bring much-needed reform to the Secret Service, to be an agent of change, to challenge previous assumptions – [to ensure that] the brave men and women of the Secret Service have the resources, leadership, and assets that they need to be successful in carrying out our protective mission.”

    Addressing criticism that the agents involved in the poor planning for and execution of the Butler rally, have not been held accountable, Rowe expressed frustration with the length of time it takes to provide “accountability” for the failures.

    “Let me be clear: There will be accountability, and that accountability is occurring,” he said. “It is an extensive review that requires time to ensure due process and the pace of this process, quite frankly, it does frustrate me, but it is essential that we recognize the gravity of our failure.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 14:00

  • "When That Turns… You Buy Them All" – Key Insights From Oil Strategist Bulls & Bears
    “When That Turns… You Buy Them All” – Key Insights From Oil Strategist Bulls & Bears

    Where is oil headed? Most analysts flipped bearish following the Trump win with promises to “drill baby drill”. But how will tariffs factor in? Sanctions? War? Friday night concluded ZeroHedge’s first live-premium debate with energy analysts Josh Young of Bison Interests (The Bull) and Paul Sankey of Sankey Research (The Bear) who answered these questions and more.

    Expertly moderated by “The Macro Tourist” Kevin Muir, we’ve compiled key moments below but encourage all readers to listen to the full debate (linked at the bottom).

    The Bear Case:

    As Mr. Sankey notes, “US refiners are running at very high levels of absolute throughput… but absolute levels of barrels going through the refineries seem to be really crushing margins.” In essence, the challenge of high volumes but low profitability, especially during seasonal downturns. 

    He adds, “it’s seasonally absolutely normal for this to be a very bad time of year because obviously people are not driving to the beach,” pointing to the predictable lull in demand. Global overcapacity, particularly China’s modernized refining sector and the retirement of inefficient “teapot refineries,” complicates the balance between capacity and demand. Sankey underscores that “the US hasn’t built a new refinery since the seventies,” highlighting the long-term decline in domestic refining capacity.

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    Sankey goes on to argue that while demand is important, “the pricing principle is productivity of supply.” When oil productivity falls, prices rise. In the 60s and 70s, “OPEC cutting supply… productivity fell and the price rocketed.” When non-OPEC supply increased in the 80s and 90s, productivity rose, and prices fell. In the 2000s, China’s demand surged, but “you weren’t getting a supply response, and the price rose.”

    From 2012 onwards, U.S. oil productivity improvements put pressure on prices, as the U.S. added 10-13 million barrels per day of supply. Sankey points out that this “has been the problem for OPEC” as U.S. output has “eaten their lunch.” The crucial turning point will be when U.S. productivity declines: “When the U.S. productivity begins to roll over… we’re looking for it.” Sankey predicts that in two to three years, U.S. production will begin to struggle, which could shift his outlook: “When that turns to decline, then you buy them all.” 

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    The Bull Case:

    On the other side, Chinese demand remains strong, says Mr. Young who challenges a notion put forth by Sankey that we are likely to hit peak global demand. Young emphasizing that despite the growth of electric vehicles (EVs) and LNG-powered trucks, “they still represent the minority of vehicles that are produced in China and sold.” Gasoline-powered vehicles continue to increase, and diesel remains dominant in China’s truck fleet. Clear and ongoing demand for traditional fuels.

    On Chinese refinery capacity, Young suggests that it reflects “revealed preferences” rather than just environmental initiatives. “I struggle to come up with a bearish oil narrative for China growing their refinery capacity significantly in the last few years.” 

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    Compounding strong demand is weak supply, particularly in nat gas, says Young. 

    “We’re starting to see core gas producers come in and pay pretty high prices for assets that are nearly fully developed.” Young reveals that liquored-up energy investment bankers confided in him earlier this week about their concerns of limited inventory, sharing that they “are close to out of these core inventory places.”

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    Dark Horse Event To Change The Thesis

    Muir closed by asking Young and Sankey what could change their oil outlooks. Young stated, “If there isn’t some sort of catastrophic tariff on China and there’s further stimulus in China, but Chinese demand materially disappoints and goes negative in 2025, I think that would make a very uncomfortable situation for an oil bull.”

    Sankey focused on supply, emphasizing its outsized impact over the demand side of the price equation. He specifically noted the impact of U.S. shale production. U.S. shale has added 10-13 million barrels per day and if this productivity declines in the next two to three years, Sankey said, his bearish view will shift.

    In short, the bulls should keep an eye out for weakness in Chinese demand. Bears should watch for declining U.S. shale production.

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    To hear the full Bull and Bear discussion that went for over an hour, you must sign up for ZeroHedge Premium or Professional tiers. Pro subs additionally gain access to institutional research from the major banks to help you gain an edge when trading. Sign up before next Friday evening when Michael Pento and Lance Roberts debate as Pento calls for a 50%+ market crash while Roberts remains long S&P, exclusively for paid ZH subs.
     

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/07/2024 – 13:25

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