• Shocking Headline Of The Day: Germany To Re-Introduce Slavery
  Shocking Headline Of The Day: Germany To Re-Introduce Slavery

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  Young Germans will have to choose between the Bundeswehr (military service) and unpaid social service work. Libertarians to a person, will call this slavery, because that is what it is.

  

  Germany to Re-Introduce Slavery

  Please consider the Eurointelligence headline story Germany to Re-Introduce Slavery

  The headline might be bordering on the hysterical, but the big idea in German politics right now is to re-introduce the general draft. This is not happening because Germany expects to be at war. It is not about the military at all. Under the plans, young people, male and female, can choose between the Bundeswehr or a year of forced labour in the social services, essentially uncompensated.

  The main reason we see is that their fiscal rules have depleted them with the resources to fund the Bundeswehr and critical social services like old-age care. For example, there is a big row going on right now within the coalition currently between Boris Pistorius, the defence minister, and Christian Lindner, over Pistorius’ demands for another €6bn for the Bundeswehr. The discussions on the reintroduction of the draft are at an early stage. They won’t affect the current budget dispute. But it could go some way to fix the Bundeswehr’s budget issues.

  The SPD leader Lars Klingbeil sugar-coated the idea as giving young people an opportunity to serve the state at one point in their lives. Another underlying assumption is that young people are infinitely stupid. German high school goes until the age of 19. This is higher than elsewhere because German children do not start school until they are 6. With a year of enforced military or social services, they won’t start their studies or apprenticeship until they are 20. A Bachelor’s degree takes three, but this is usually not sufficient. So they will be 24 or 25 when they hit the labour market. This puts them at a distinct disadvantage to young people elsewhere.

  We expect mass emigration as a result. Young Ukrainian men who try to escape the draft often do so at the risk of their lives. Romanian police have discovered bodies of young Ukrainians trying to swim through the Tisa river into Romania. Young Germans won’t have to swim through the Rhine. They can just go anywhere within the Schengen area, and study where they like. For a country that is facing structural labour shortages, the re-introduction of the draft is about the worst policy decision imaginable. The smart people will leave.

  The political support is strengthening. The FDP has called for it. The SPD is also now in favour. The CDU says it is open to a discussion. The AfD will naturally support it. The Greens and the Left Party are opposed, but that won’t be enough to stop it.

  Not an “Opportunity”

  What’s being proposed is not an opportunity. It’s a mandate for servitude.

  I don’t know if it would pass, but Eurointelligence knows more about the internals of German politics than anyone else, so I expect forced servitude is on a train for passage at the moment.

  Mass emigration would undoubtedly be the result. Who wants to give up four years of their life taking care of immigrants, elderly, or preparing for war?

  And the more you prepare for war, the more like it is. Vietnam would not have happened without a draft. Mass protests finally ended it.

  Liberty at Stake

  I replied to a reader moments ago, about unalienable Rights, before I saw the Eurointelligence story.

  In response to Hospitals Turn to Pay In Advance, In Full a reader said there was a “right” to healthcare.

  I responded there was no such right.

  From the Declaration of Independence “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

  I love the wording “unalienable” and “self-evident”. No one can take those rights away.

  I oppose the draft and support anyone anywhere, especially Ukrainians, who decides is is their unalienable right to “liberty” and “pursuit of happiness”, no matter what the government of Ukraine says and does.

  Vivek Ramaswamy

  I seriously cannot understand why many alleged Libertarians support Vivek Ramaswamy.

  For example, Vivek Ramaswamy, the youngest GOP presidential candidate, wants civics tests for young voters 18 to 24

  Though he’s campaigning as the “young” candidate, Ramaswamy would like to make it a little harder for the nation’s youngest voters to cast a ballot. 

  He’s proposing a constitutional amendment that would require citizens 18 to 24 to pass a civics test in order to vote — the same one immigrants take to become naturalized U.S. citizens. Under his proposal, young Americans could, as an alternative, perform six months of military or first-responder service. But if none of these requirements are met, they would have to wait until they turn 25 before they could vote in their first election.

  The Ramaswamy campaign emphasized that this isn’t a plan to raise the voting age because younger voters would still be able to participate if they met the requirements. But Ramaswamy has previously used language that explicitly stated he would try to raise the voting age. 

  “People like Vivek Ramaswamy who are using their age as an element to try and stand out to Gen-Z, they’re very obviously wolves in sheep’s clothing,” said Lucas Robinson, a young voter from Texas. “People our age can really see through people like that.”

  Savanah Now comments “It’s worth noting that Politico reported this year that even Ramaswamy’s own campaign staff didn’t like the idea. The Washington Post reports that younger conservatives don’t like it.”

  Of course, younger voters don’t like it. And if Trump was dumb enough to pick Vivek as his running mate, it could easily cost Trump the election.

  From Vivek2024.Com “The United States faces a 25% recruitment deficit in the military and just 16% of Gen Z say they’re proud to be American. The absence of national pride is a serious threat to our Republic’s survival. At a time when young Americans are taught to celebrate their differences, Civic Duty Voting – and in particular the service path – creates a sense of shared purpose and experience. Serving your nation, knowing something about your nation, or at least living in your nation for a short time as an adult isn’t too much to ask. Our lost civic pride won’t reappear automatically. Reviving it will require boldness.”

  If that does not sound like support for a draft, what does?

  Flashback to the 60s

  Also consider Vivek Ramaswamy wants young voters to pass a civics test. These Americans call it a flashback to the 1960s.

  Today, some Black Americans say Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s proposal to implement a civics test for voters ages 18 to 24 gives them flashbacks to the hurdles.

  Though the 15th amendment guaranteed the right for Black men to vote, some Southern states passed literacy test requirements and offered exemptions for white people after the Civil War, Olga Koulisis, assistant professor of history at Murray State University, explained.

  Vivek Could Not Pass His Own Civics Test

  AP News comments: Nikki Haley promises to send American special forces into Mexico. Vivek Ramaswamy has accused Mexico’s leader of treating drug cartels as his “sugar daddy” and says that if he is elected president, “there will be a new daddy in town.”

  Politico quotes Vivek: Using military force on cartels without Mexico’s permission “would not be the preferred option, but we would absolutely be willing to do it,” entrepreneur and conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy said in an interview.

  Bombing Mexico to stop the drug trade, a clear act of war. It’s not the preferred method, but’s that’s OK, he would do it anyway.

  Vivek could not pass his own civics test on who gets to declare war. Notably, his position is close to that of Nikki Haley.

  Vivek, Not a Libertarian

  Vivek is no Libertarian. He’s a charlatan who all along had a single mission, running for Vice President.

  A draft, or forced servitude by any means, is in direct conflict with the unalienable right to liberty. Thus, anyone who says they believe in unalienable rights but supports a draft under any circumstances either does not understand the word unalienable or is a liar,

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/13/2024 – 02:00

• RFK Jr. Unleashed: Biden's Israel "Bait And Switch", COVID Censorship, And Backing Treasuries With Gold And Bitcoin
  RFK Jr. Unleashed: Biden’s Israel “Bait And Switch”, COVID Censorship, And Backing Treasuries With Gold And Bitcoin

  Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

  This weekend I had the pleasure of sitting down with independent 2024 Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for an hourlong interview.

  Our interview started with me asking Mr. Kennedy why, if you don’t follow the mainstream media narrative, you are automatically painted in a vile and unfavorable light. He told me: “I think a lot of it is driven by, or fortified at least, by financial interests. Upton Sinclair made this very, very useful statement that it’s almost impossible to persuade a man of a fact if the existence of that fact will diminish his salary.”

  “And we know that the media is dependent on the people that I’ve been suing and critical of for many, many years: the military-industrial complex, the pharmaceutical industry, big oil and coal, the carbon incumbents and big polluters, processed food companies like Kellogg’s, and the people who are poisoning a generation of American kids,” he continued.

  “People who challenge that narrative are outsiders. They become heretics. You cannot debate a heretic; you have to burn them down at the stake. You have to punish them.”

  He continued, talking about pushback from the Covid era: “And I think the way that I look at this, a lot of what I experienced, what a lot of dissenters experienced during COVID or during the McCarthy era or other parts of our history, or, you know, you can see this in countries all around the world, is that dissenters have to be silenced.”

  ---

  Listen to the full hourlong exclusive interview here.

  ---

  “And, you know, one of the ways you do that is through character assassination by applying pejoratives to them that marginalize them. Pejoratives like ‘anti-vaxxer,’ ‘conspiracy theorist,’ ‘anti-science,’ ‘quack’—all of these pejoratives that have been applied to me—it’s a way of silencing me so that nobody has to listen to me because I’m a lunatic, I’m a crazy person,” he told me.

  Explaining further, he said: “And really, what I do, what they call ‘conspiracy theories,’ is me saying, ‘Well, wait a minute. Are you sure these COVID vaccines are going to prevent transmission?’ Which I said in, you know, March of 2020 or May of 2020. And I was saying that because I was looking at the monkey studies, and in the monkeys, they did not prevent transmission.”

  “And yet, Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates and, you know, all of the panjandrums of the medical cartel were up there saying, ‘Do what you’re told. You’re protecting grandma. Protect society. If you take it, it will not spread. You cannot spread it to others.’ And I was looking at the monkey study and saying, ‘There is nothing in these studies that indicate that’s true.’ But when I raised it, that became a conspiracy theory,” he told me.

  He added: “When I suggested that glyphosate, which is the active ingredient of Roundup, was carcinogenic, that was a conspiracy theory — until we won a $2.2 billion jury verdict.”

  

  Mr. Kennedy continued, explaining that the mainstream media drove the narrative during Covid: “We heard from the outset of COVID, repeated again and again on CNN and all the other networks, MSNBC, that you have to trust the experts. Don’t do research yourself. Shut off your capacity for critical thinking. People who go and actually do their own research on the Internet are contemptible, you know, for this.”

  Then he explained why this logic simply doesn’t make sense: “And it was such a weird thing because that ‘trusting the experts’ is not a thing. It’s certainly not a feature of democracy. It’s not a feature of science. It’s the opposite of science. In science, you’re supposed to question everything. In democracy, you’re supposed to question authority. It is a feature of totalitarian governments, and it is a feature of religion.”

  When I asked Mr. Kennedy how we can more fairly assess and debate issues in the future, instead of having to wait for the official narratives to fail — as just happened with Chris Cuomo and ivermectin, as well as the pulling of the AstraZeneca vaccine off of the market — he told me: “We need to raise our children, we need to educate our public to sniff out that bias. And, you know, bias can be financial conflicts of interest, but there are all kinds of biases. There are biases that come from being raised in certain areas, raised in certain neighborhoods, members of certain clubs, and just, you know, the bias that we all have.”

  ---

  🔥 65% off today only: Readers can take 65% off a full year subscription – a discount they can keep for life – by using this link: Zero Hedge 65

  ---

  Kennedy summed it up: “If we’re really going to live fulfilling lives and lives of enlightenment, we have to undergo a process of self-questioning, of self-examination to eliminate biases.

  “And as a country, as a democracy, if we’re going to fulfill our destiny as the world’s exemplary nation, we need to be educating our citizens to have that practice about government institutions.”

  I then asked for Mr. Kennedy’s response to Joe Biden’s recent decision to withhold aid from Israel. He told me: “I think Israel’s war is a moral war. They’ve been attacked for 16 years by Hamas. And then, on October 7th, in this, you know, extraordinarily brutal invasion, every nation has a right to self-defense. And, you know, self-defense means destroying Hamas.”

  “It’s not Israel’s fault that Hamas uses civilian shields. Any other country, any nation faced with this kind of onslaught from a militarily superior nation, would give up and surrender to save their civilian population. Why is Hamas not doing that?” he added.

  “Hamas has no negotiating position. It says that the only concession that Israel could make is the annihilation of the Jewish state. And it actually has, in its charter and in all of its public statements, said that any negotiation with Israel is a violation of Islamic law, except as a ruse.”

  Mr. Kennedy continued, explaining that Israel has “no choice” but to destroy Hamas: “So people are out there demanding a ceasefire, but there have been five ceasefires, and every ceasefire Hamas has used to regroup, to rearm, to hoist the banner, and then to do another surprise attack. Well, I don’t see that Israel has any choice but to destroy Hamas.”

  Speaking about the collateral damage of the war, he commented: “Of course, it’s horrible. The civilian deaths are horrifying to all of us. But look, if you have a bank robbery and one of the robbers takes a hostage, is holding a hostage in his arms as a shield and firing at the police, and the police fire back and the hostage by mistake is killed, you don’t blame the police. The law and public opinion blame the bank robber. And the same thing is true in Gaza. Hamas is victimizing the Palestinian people. It’s pursuing an agenda by Iran, and the Palestinian people are suffering. Gaza should be one of the, you know, it should be a Mecca of economic development.”

  Responding directly to President Biden withholding aid, he commented: “President Biden pulled a kind of bait-and-switch, and I think the longer they prolong the war—and U.S. policy, President Biden’s policy, has, I think, prolonged the war and amplified the human suffering. I think the best thing for Palestine, for Gaza, is if the war ends quickly, which means the elimination of Hamas as quickly as possible and with as little civilian casualties as possible.”

  “And, you know, President Biden went to Congress with a $23 billion aid package, and now he’s not, on that pretense that he was going to get weapons, allowing the purchase of weapons by Israel.”

  Putting the conflict in context, Mr. Kennedy told me: “It’s weird that people say that the only country that shouldn’t be doing this is the one Jewish state. And by the way, there are much bloodier battles with much higher civilian casualties going on right now. In Yemen, I think 300,000 kids have been killed. In Syria, the Uighurs in China, there are conflicts happening all over the world right now, and nobody talks about them, and nobody cares. In the Congo, a million people have already died, and nobody talks about it.”

  “The only thing people want to talk about is when Jews start defending themselves, and there’s something very disturbing about that.”

  When I asked Mr. Kennedy how he plans on managing the country’s budget, given all of our foreign aid, and how he plans on protecting the sanctity of our country’s economy and the U.S. dollar, he explained: “You know, we need to cut our military budget probably in half. We need to cut chronic disease in our country, which is our biggest expense. That’s $4.3 trillion a year. We need to cut waste in government, and there are ways we can do that now that AI can actually help us do in ways we’ve never been able to before.”

  “I’m going to use all of those tools, but we also need to understand that we need to make investments in America’s future and grow our economy. You can’t just cut your way out of inflation. We need to create new industries, we need to reindustrialize our economy, and we need to make our economy larger so that the budget deficits become proportionately smaller.”

  “But, you know, we need to start by making the cuts, and that needs to happen very, very quickly.”

  When I asked him about sound money and possibly returning to a gold standard, he told me: “One of the issues that we’re toying with now is a Treasury bill that is based at least partially—maybe starting at one percent and increasing it—on a hard currency. On base currencies, like maybe a basket of currencies that include platinum, gold, silver, and Bitcoin. You know, my uncle tried to do something like this just before he died with the silver certificate and the gold certificate, to give Americans a hedge against inflation.

  “And there are lots of ways we can do that. We’re talking about making, for example, Bitcoin available and stopping the war against Bitcoin so that middle-class people, working-class people who want to hedge against inflation can do that. They don’t have to rely on fiat currency.”

  “And that will insert a discipline into the printing of money. If Americans have a choice, it will inject a discipline into the printing of money that we do not have right now.”

  You can listen to the full hour long interview audio at this link.

  

  QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. 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. These positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice. 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. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 23:30

• CFTC Aims To Ban Derivatives Based On Elections, Athletic Competitions And Awards Contests
  CFTC Aims To Ban Derivatives Based On Elections, Athletic Competitions And Awards Contests

  Previously enjoyed betting on the outcome of an event, like a Presidential election? The CFTC wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

  According to the Wall Street Journal, the regulator is now targeting “derivatives contracts based on political elections, athletic competitions and awards contests” to try and draw more prominent lines between investing and gambling. 

  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed a regulation to oversee event contracts, a rapidly growing market where investors bet on event outcomes, the report said. 

  The proposed regulation won’t affect sports betting through traditional sportsbooks regulated by state commissions or popular online platforms like DraftKings. Nor will it impact offshore platforms like Betfair, which currently allows U.S. election bets.

  The proposal, approved 3-2 along party lines, will undergo public review before a final vote in the coming months. Democratic commissioners emphasized the potential threat to election integrity posed by political event contracts, particularly with a Biden-Trump rematch looming.

  Christy Goldsmith Romero, a Democratic commissioner, said: “Never before has the sanctity of elections been so critical or so under threat. The CFTC should not allow products in our markets with an unacceptable risk of unchecked abuse and manipulation that could threaten the sanctity of elections, thereby threatening democracy and national security.”

  

  Yet the proposal was called “grossly overbroad” by Summer Mersinger, a Republican commissioner, the report noted. 

  One company that offers “yes” or “no” betting questions has been Kalshi. Event contracts, though small compared to stocks or futures, have grown rapidly since Kalshi launched in 2021. Recent Kalshi contracts included wagers on whether “Oppenheimer” would win Best Picture and if Columbia University’s president would be ousted. 

  CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam, a Democrat supporting the proposal, noted that more event contracts were listed in 2021 than in the previous 15 years combined. 

  The CFTC has previously blocked U.S. trading platforms from launching political betting markets. Last year, it prevented Kalshi from offering contracts based on which party controls Congress, prompting Kalshi to sue the agency in November over the rejection.

  “We look forward to continuing to engage with our regulators and Congress, as we have always done, to ensure that our customers can participate in legitimate trading with legitimate use cases on a legitimate, regulated exchange and not on offshore and illegal markets where there is no customer protection or market integrity,”  Mansour told WSJ. 

  CFTC regulations established after the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act prohibit event contracts involving terrorism, assassination, war, gaming, or illegal activities, but the lack of a clear definition of “gaming” led to disputes over whether it applies to sports and political contracts, prompting Friday’s proposal to explicitly ban wagers on elections, sports, or awards contests.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 23:00

• The New York Times Denounces Cancel Culture… After Fueling Cancel Culture For Years
  The New York Times Denounces Cancel Culture… After Fueling Cancel Culture For Years

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  For those of us who have criticized the cancel culture in higher education for years, the attacks and shunning have been unrelenting. The media has played a role in that culture and none more prominently than the New York Times. Recently, however, the mob came for liberal professors and media who have remained silent for years as conservatives and others were targeted on campus.

  Suddenly, there is a new interest in free speech and academic freedom, including by the Times editors who blamed cancel culture for the recent demonstrations and disruptions on campus.

  

  Until good liberals were targeted on campus, cancel culture was treated as free speech. It did not matter that preventing others from speaking or being heard is the very antithesis of free speech.

  The New York Times reached true infamy in the controversy over publishing Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R., Ark.) op-ed where he argued for the possible use of national guard to quell violent riots around the White House.

  It was one of the lowest points in the history of modern American journalism. Cotton was calling for the use of the troops to restore order in Washington after days of rioting around the White House.  While Congress would “call in the troops” six months later to quell the rioting at the Capitol on January 6th, New York Times reporters and columnists called the column historically inaccurate and politically inciteful.

  Reporters insisted that Cotton was even endangering them by suggesting the use of troops and insisted that the newspaper cannot feature people who advocate political violence. One year later, the New York Times published a column by an academic who had previously declared that there is nothing wrong with murdering conservatives and Republicans.

  Later, former editors came forward to denounce the cancel culture at the Times and the censorship of opposing views.

  At the same time, the Times has embraced “advocacy journalism.” Former New York Times writer (and now Howard University Journalism Professor) Nikole Hannah-Jones is a leading voice for advocacy journalism. Indeed, Hannah-Jones has declared “all journalism is activism.”

  Now, however, liberal professors and writers are being targeted. After years of turning a blind eye to conservative and libertarian figures being purged from faculties or canceled in events, the Times is alarmed that

  …students and other demonstrators disrupting college campuses this spring are being taught the wrong lesson — for as admirable as it can be to stand up for your beliefs, there are no guarantees that doing so will be without consequence.

  What is most striking is how the editors chastise administrators for lacking the courage that they have not shown for years in standing up to their cultural warriors:

  For several years, many university leaders have failed to act as their students and faculty have shown ever greater readiness to block an expanding range of views that they deem wrong or beyond the pale. Some scholars report that this has had a chilling effect on their work, making them less willing to participate in the academy or in the wider world of public discourse. The price of pushing boundaries, particularly with more conservative ideas, has become higher and higher…

  It has not gone unnoticed — on campuses but also by members of Congress and by the public writ large — that many of those who are now demanding the right to protest have previously sought to curtail the speech of those whom they declared hateful.

  It is certainly good to see the “Old Gray Lady” have second thoughts about cancel culture. However, she might want to look inwardly before casting more cultural stones.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 22:30

• Coffee Is Anti-Aging, Linked To Prevention Of Dementia And Sarcopenia: Study
  Coffee Is Anti-Aging, Linked To Prevention Of Dementia And Sarcopenia: Study

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

  Enjoying a cup of joe can offer more than just a pick-me-up: It has been shown to have numerous health benefits, especially for older people. Research has found that the natural molecule in coffee, trigonelline, can help improve sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) and maintain muscle function during aging.

  

  Muscle mass and function gradually decline as we age, potentially leading to sarcopenia. This can hinder mobility and even result in dependence and disability. The hallmarks of sarcopenia include a decline in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels and mitochondrial dysfunction.

  Recent Research

  A study published in Nature Metabolism in March found that trigonelline is a precursor to NAD+. Increasing the therapeutic dose of trigonelline can raise the levels of NAD+ in the cells of sarcopenia patients. Supplementing trigonelline also enhanced mitochondrial activity, NAD+ levels, and muscle function in aged mice. Furthermore, long-term supplementation of trigonelline significantly increased grip strength in the forelimbs of aged mice.

  However, the study also pointed out that sarcopenia is a multifactorial disease, and trigonelline cannot reverse all its causes. It must be combined with other nutrients that help maintain muscle, such as protein, vitamin D, or omega-3 fatty acids.

  Nutrition and physical activity are important for older people to maintain healthy muscles. Assistant professor Vincenzo Sorrentino from the Health Longevity Translational Research Program at the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, who participated in the study, stated in a press release that this research on trigonelline has increased the potential for achieving healthy longevity and addressing age-related diseases.

  Trigonelline is found in plant-based foods such as coffee beans and fenugreek seeds.

  A study involving 1,781 older Korean men indicated that coffee consumption was associated with a reduced risk of sarcopenia. Compared to those who drank less than one cup of coffee per day, individuals who drank at least three cups of coffee per day had a significantly lower probability of developing sarcopenia. However, the risk reduction was less pronounced among those who consumed one or two cups of coffee daily.

  Understanding the Benefits and Drawbacks of Coffee Consumption

  Many people drink coffee without considering its health benefits or risks. However, debates about coffee have been ongoing for a long time.

  Coffee is a complex mixture containing approximately 1,000 chemicals. Human reactions to coffee or caffeine vary, and the effects can vary significantly depending on the amount consumed.

  One study found that drinking three to five cups of coffee per day in midlife was associated with a 65 percent lower risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease in old age. Another study found that compared to light coffee drinkers (one to two cups per day), heavy coffee drinkers (more than six cups per day), non-coffee drinkers, and those who drank decaffeinated coffee had higher odds of developing dementia.

  A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2020 showed that consuming three to five cups of coffee daily was associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases. However, considering that excessive caffeine intake may have some adverse effects, it is recommended that adults who are not pregnant or breastfeeding limit their daily caffeine intake to 400 milligrams, while pregnant and breastfeeding women should limit their daily caffeine intake to 200 milligrams. Additionally, research has found that very high caffeine intake (more than 1,000 milligrams per week) is a risk factor for anxiety and depression.

  Due to the differences in coffee bean varieties and extraction methods, the caffeine content can vary significantly. Therefore, when consuming coffee daily, checking the actual caffeine content listed on the product packaging is recommended.

  It is also important to note that many commercially available coffees are often mixed with heavy cream and flavored syrups, which can add extra calories, sugar, and saturated fat, diminishing the health benefits of black coffee.

  Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte

  Johns Hopkins Medicine shared an easy-to-make and healthy coffee recipe on its website:

  Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brewed coffee
  • ½ cup canned plain pumpkin
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or ½ teaspoon each of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 ice cubes

  Preparation: Blend all ingredients for a seasonally-inspired beverage. Adding pumpkin helps increase fiber intake, which is beneficial for gut health.

  Note: It is advisable to use as little sugar as possible. If you must add a sweetener, consider using a small amount of pure maple syrup.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 21:30

• Seattle Could Shutter 20 Elementary Schools Due To Budget Constraints
  Seattle Could Shutter 20 Elementary Schools Due To Budget Constraints

  When happens when your city pisses away all of your tax revenue on trying to feed, shelter and coddle activists and homeless people? You wind up having to make budget cuts. And, in Seattle, those cuts could be coming in the form of closing up to 20 elementary schools. 

  The district’s budget deficit has reached more than $100 million, according to new reporting from MYNorthwest. 

  And Superintendent Brent Jones’ proposal for ‘Well-Resourced Schools’ might lead to the shutdown of over a quarter of the district’s 73 elementary schools, the report says. 

  According to the Seattle Public Schools, 29 of these schools have fewer than 300 students each, and are considered under-enrolled. The district warns that keeping these schools open may necessitate cuts or the elimination of preschool programs, a reduction in core staff, larger class sizes, and fewer curriculum offerings.

  The plan has been met with considerable opposition from both parents and teachers, who expressed their concerns at Wednesday’s meeting.

  

  Ben Gitenstein, a parent of a student in the SPS district commented: “It’s not 20 schools, it’s 20 communities. All the kids who thought they knew who their next year’s teacher would be. All the local mom-and-pop stores that sell ice cream to the kids after school, they’re all going to be seriously impacted.”

  He continued: “Closing neighborhood schools is really bad for neighborhoods and it’s really bad for all of us because, at the end of the day, the real problem here is enrollment.”

  Superintendent Brent Jones commented: “We’re trying to make sure we’re focused on the students’ experience and not just a building.”

  The report concluded stating that, at the meeting, Jones reflected on his own experiences as a student within SPS, noting that he attended four different elementary schools. He described each transition as a positive experience.

  School closures, under his plan, would not take place until the 2025-2026 school year at the earliest. He is scheduled to present an initial recommendation at a school board meeting on June 10.

  Good luck with that.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 21:00

• Newsom Forced To Slash California Budget, Blames Crippling Deficit On "Rain Bombs" And Tax Shortfalls
  Newsom Forced To Slash California Budget, Blames Crippling Deficit On “Rain Bombs” And Tax Shortfalls

  In the course of two years, California has turned a $100 billion surplus into a $73 billion deficit, forcing governor Gavin Newson (D) to propose painful (token) spending cuts on Friday while announcing his revised state budget.

  

  When asked how the state was able to achieve such a monumental fail, Newsom – who claims the deficit is actually $27.6 billion (to which even AP called him out) – blamed a reduction in taxes from capital gains income, which surged in 2021 amid a raging stock market and plummeted in 2022. Then, in 2023, the state ‘continued to collect less tax revenue than projected’ due to capital loss carryovers. He also blamed “unexpected rain bombs” – which caused the IRS to extend the tax filing deadline for most California taxpayers in 2023 following severe winter storms. When those taxes were eventually collected, they were 22% below expectations, according to the Governor’s office.

  Watch:

  According to AP, Newsom will cut $6.7 billion set aside for doctors who treat Medicaid patients, cut off healthcare to 14,000 disabled migrants in their home, saving $94.7 million, and slashed $550 million that was headed towards state schools in order to build new facilities.

  Republican State Senator Brian Dahle called the cuts a “hollow gesture, at best,” adding “The governor’s national ambitions have triggered a massive exodus of people and businesses creating an enormous revenue shortfall of personal and corporate income taxes.”

  “You can’t have a good government without a strong private sector. Plain and simple, people are being priced out of California from bad policies and mismanagement,” Dahle continued.

  In total, Newsom is proposing $32.8 billion in cuts over two years – including an 8% cut to state operations, which he says will shore things up.

  Of course, we know that’s bullshit.

  Refreshing your memory from early April, Mike Shedlock gave a sobering view into reality;

  *  *  *

  The City Journal founder Ed Ring comments on the Golden State Budget Fantasy

  While finalizing the upcoming fiscal year’s state budget back in May 2022, California governor Gavin Newsom boasted of an extraordinary projected surplus: $97 billion. The governor immediately collaborated with an enthusiastic state legislature to spend it all. Of course, new spending on new programs and benefits tends to become permanent.

  This has happened repeatedly in California. Between fiscal year 2012–13 and fiscal year 2022–23 (the year with the projected $97 billion surplus), per capita general-fund spending doubled, from just over $3,000 per resident to just under $6,000. (All figures are in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars.)

  The State Office of Legislative Analyst’s latest report projects a $73 billion dollar deficit for the next fiscal year. It won’t be easy to paper over this debt, but the state may use its opaque accounting system to hide the ball.

  California’s general-fund budgets are reported on a cash basis. The state’s balance sheet, however, uses “accrual-based accounting.” Without getting too far into the weeds, this is an apples v. oranges situation. Instead of the algebraic perfection of private-sector income statements, balance sheets, and cash flows, government accounting provides no easy way to reconcile what you see on the budget.

  Some watchdogs, however, have succeeded in cracking the code. John Moorlach, one of the only certified public accountants to serve in the California State Senate, just published a review of the state’s fiscal health, focusing on the balance sheet. According to Moorlach, California’s balance sheet is in trouble.

  Moorlach declared in a March California Insider interview that the state “now has the largest unrestricted net deficit in the US: $222 Billion.” In plain English, Moorlach is saying that California’s state government accounts have liabilities that exceed assets by $222 billion. No matter how creative Newsom and his financial wizards may be, someday that money will have to be paid.

  A remedy that California has turned to over the years and will undoubtedly turn to now is to accumulate additional long-term debt. Emulating the federal government, but lacking its dollar-printing ability, California’s state and local governments and agencies have racked up over a trillion dollars in debt, primarily in bonds and unfunded pension liabilities. These liabilities, too, must be paid. Since that’s all but impossible, the liabilities must be serviced with payments that, just as at the federal level, will eat up more and more of the operating budgets.

  How Much Is California in Debt?

  The above link says over a trillion. That’s being very generous to California. Click on it to discover … California State and Local Liabilities exceed $1.6 Trillion.

  California’s total state and local government debt now stands at almost $1.6 trillion, or about half the state’s GDP.

  That isn’t an alarming ratio when compared to the national debt, which has now soared to 128 percent of U.S. GDP with no end in sight. But Californians carry this $1.6 trillion state and local debt ($40,000 per capita) in addition to their share of the national debt (about $90,000 per capita).

  That article was from February of 2022. I suspect the liabilities are now close to $2 trillion.

  Cost of Running a McDonalds Jumps $250,000 in CA

  On February 4, I noted the Cost of Running a McDonalds Jumps $250,000 in CA Due to Minimum Wage Hikes.

  A blowback is underway.

  California Restaurants Cut Jobs

  On March 26, I commented California Restaurants Cut Jobs as Fast-Food Wages Set to Rise

  Proposition 103 Backfires

  Citing wildfire risk, State Farm will not renew policies on 30,000 homes and 42,000 business in California.

  

  Also on March 26, I commented Proposition 103 Backfires, State Farm to Cancel 72,000 California Policies

  Blame the state, not insurers.

  Congratulations to NY, IL, LA, and CA for Losing the Most Population

  

  People in California, increasingly getting sick of the state’s progressive madness, are voting with their feet.

  For discussion, please see Congratulations to NY, IL, LA, and CA for Losing the Most Population

  Absolute Basis Losers

  • New York: -631,104

  • California: -573,019

  • Illinois: -263,780

  California Leads the Nation in Unemployment

  The BLS metro shows unemployment rates were up in 218 of 389 metro areas. Nonfarm employment only rose in 59 areas.

  

  On March 15, I noted Unemployment Rates Rose in 218 of the 389 Metropolitan Areas

  Unsurprisingly, California has the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 5.7 percent vs. 4.1 percent nationally.

  A Booming Economy?

  California has massive problems although the stock market is at a record high and the economy is allegedly booming. The next recession will hit California exceptionally hard, and it’s not too far off. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 20:00

• Kansas Democrat Governor Vetoes Bill Restricting Foreign Ownership Of Land Near Military Bases
  Kansas Democrat Governor Vetoes Bill Restricting Foreign Ownership Of Land Near Military Bases

  Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a bill on Friday that aimed to prevent companies of China and other “foreign adversaries” from acquiring real property near military installations in the state.

  

  Senate Bill 172 aims to block individuals or companies from “countries of concern” from owning any interest in land located within a 100-mile radius of a military installation in Kansas.

  Under the bill, any foreign principal that owns or acquires any interest in real property in Kansas would be required to file registration with the attorney general and divest of the property.

  The Democratic governor has vetoed the proposed legislation, saying that the bill contains provisions that are “overly broad” and “not narrowly tailored” to protect the state from foreign adversaries.

  “While I agree that it is important for our state to implement stronger protections against foreign adversaries, this legislation contains multiple provisions that are likely unconstitutional and cause unintended consequences,” Ms. Kelly said in a statement.

  “Additionally, the retroactive nature of this legislation raises further serious constitutional concerns,” she added.

  Ms. Kelly said the legislature should consider proposals that protect Kansas from “bad actors” without affecting the state’s legitimate business relationships with potential trading partners and small businesses.

  “I am not willing to sign a bill that has the potential to hurt the state’s future prosperity and economic development,” the governor stated.

  According to a report by Kansas State University, foreign investors from China own a single acre of privately held agricultural land in the state. China is among the countries listed as U.S. foreign adversaries.

  As of 2021, China ranked as the third-largest export market for Kansas, trailing behind Mexico and Canada, according to a Kansas Export Statistics Executive Summary.

  Republicans Voice Disappointment

  Kansas Republicans have criticized Ms. Kelly’s decision to veto the bill. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, Majority Leader Chris Croft, and Speaker Pro Tempore Blake Carpenter issued a joint statement saying that the governor is putting military installations in Kansas at risk.

  “Foreign adversaries, such as China, have made their intentions toward the U.S. and our democracy abundantly clear,” Mr. Hawkins said in the statement.

  “It’s shameful that our governor has chosen not to take those threats seriously, leaving Kansas’ critical infrastructure and military installments exposed,” he added.

  Mr. Croft described the governor’s veto as “beyond disappointing,” saying that it leaves the state’s military bases and other critical infrastructure “wide open for adversarial foreign governments.”

  “The assets of this state are too important for us to sit on our hands and wait until it’s too late,” he stated. “This bill was carefully designed with input from everyone who wanted a say on how we should move forward.”

  Mr. Carpenter said he remains committed to protecting the military installations in Kansas and “ensuring that the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign adversaries do not compromise Kansas’s safety.”

  Similar Legislation in Other States

  Similar legislation has been introduced in several states, including Georgia, Iowa, Utah, and Oklahoma. The South Carolina Senate passed a bill in March that will partly ban companies or citizens of foreign adversaries from acquiring real property in the state.

  Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition aimed at ending discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, has condemned the measure and said it could stoke “xenophobia” among Asian American communities.

  “These land ban laws label our communities as untrustworthy, blame them for the actions of another country’s government, and stoke the flames of racism, xenophobia, and hate,” Cynthia Choi, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, said in a statement after Georgia’s passage of the bill.

  As of December 2021, China accounted for 383,935 acres of the 40 million acres of U.S. agricultural land owned by foreign investors, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

  While the acreage under Chinese ownership is slightly less than 1 percent of all foreign-held agricultural land, it represents a nearly 30-fold leap from 13,720 acres in 2010, according to a U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission report.

  Caden Pearson contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 19:30

• Ukraine Warns Against Questioning Zelensky's Legitimacy Due To Wartime Suspension Of Elections
  Ukraine Warns Against Questioning Zelensky’s Legitimacy Due To Wartime Suspension Of Elections

  The end of Volodymyr Zelensky’s five year term as president of Ukraine is set to end by the close of May, at least according to what was stipulated upon his getting elected, however, the government has made it clear there will be no new election.

  Officials have cited martial law due to the Russian invasion to say that after his five-year term ends on May 21, there won’t be a new election until after martial law and wartime regulations are lifted.

  

  Ukraine’s Minister of Justice, Denys Malyuska, confirmed this in a fresh weekend interview with BBC News Ukraine. “The president’s powers endure until the election of his successor. However, certain provisions of the Constitution are open to interpretation, inviting speculation or conspiracy theories,” Malyuska said when asked about ongoing speculation over what happens after May 21st.

  He explained, “There may be considerable debate and criticism, particularly considering that the Constitution’s framers may not have fully anticipated the possibility of Ukraine being embroiled in a large-scale conflict, leading to some provisions being inadequately formulated.”

  When asked about appealing to a Constitutional Court in order to seek clarification, Malyuska said that it is ill-timed. Or in essence he said it won’t happen and warned against such an effort.

  “Such an appeal would imply legitimate questions and doubts, warranting resolution by the Constitutional Court. Given the country’s communication and security challenges, openly questioning the president’s legitimacy would be a grave error.”

  “Therefore, I see no merit in approaching the Constitutional Court presently. Perhaps, in the future, under different circumstances, it could be considered, but not at this juncture,” Malyuska followed with.

  Meanwhile, at a moment that Russia’s new cross-border Kharkiv offensive is in full swing, President Zelensky is telling the nation not to panic:

  Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on his people not to panic amid Russia’s ongoing advance in the Kharkiv region that’s jeopardizing a local city.

  Ukrainians should trust in their army defending the country’s northeastern border area and not “yield to emotions” despite the fierce fight there and the “extremely difficult” situation on the outskirts of Vovchansk, Zelenskiy said in his regular evening statement on Sunday.

  “The advance in the Kharkiv region aims to stretch our forces and undermine their morale and motivation,” Zelensky said. “Defense battles have never been simple, and they become even more challenging when an enemy manages to instill fear.”

  There are reports that Russian forces have been rapidly advancing in the north this weekend…

  #BREAKING Russia is unexpectedly opening a new front in northern Ukraine – Sky News

  The Russian army has taken control of Strelche, Krasnoe, Pilna, and Borisovka in the Kharkiv region. pic.twitter.com/2DEMYUWbuk

  — Russian Market (@runews) May 10, 2024

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

  Russia is said to be seeking to create a 10km deep ‘buffer zone’ inside Ukrainian territory in order to better deter against cross-border mortar and drone attacks on the Belgorod region. According to the latest Sunday headlines:

  • RUSSIA CLAIMS CAPTURE OF MULTIPLE VILLAGES IN KHARKIV REGION, INCLUDING VOVCHANSK, PROMPTING MASS EVACUATIONS – SOURCES
  • UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ZELENSKIY URGES CALM AMIDST RUSSIAN ADVANCES IN KHARKIV, EMPHASIZING TRUST IN THE ARMY’S DEFENSE EFFORTS – SOURCES
  • DESPITE REPORTS OF RUSSIAN GAINS, UKRAINIAN FORCES RESIST AND ATTEMPT COUNTER-ATTACKS IN THE REGION – SOURCES
  • FOCUS OF RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE APPEARS TO BE ESTABLISHING A BUFFER ZONE RATHER THAN DIRECT ASSAULT ON KHARKIV CITY, ACCORDING TO ANALYSTS – SOURCES
  • UKRAINIAN FORCES RESIST AND ATTEMPT COUNTER-ATTACKS IN THE REGION

  Scores of Russian civilians have been killed and wounded over the last several months by such shelling. Moscow has warned it will punish Ukraine for such attacks directly on Russian territory.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 19:00

• Blame Canada? Justin Trudeau Creates Blueprint For Dystopia In Horrific Speech Bill
  Blame Canada? Justin Trudeau Creates Blueprint For Dystopia In Horrific Speech Bill

  Authored by Matt Taibbi via Racket News,

  On February 21st, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a press conference in Edmonton, announcing his government’s decision to introduce the Online Harms Act, or Bill C-63. It was described in Canadian media as a “bill to protect kids” that would stop the “exploitation of children,” and Trudeau’s curt speech focused solely on minors. The scarf-clad PM angrily dismissed criticisms the bill might have a broader focus.

  “I look forward to putting forward that Online Harms bill, which people will see is very, very specifically focused on protecting kids, and not on censoring the Internet,” he said sharply. “I think everyone, wherever they are in the political spectrum, can agree that protecting kids is something governments should be focused on doing.”

  Soon after, on February 26th, Trudeau’s government introduced the bill. Canada’s stable of retreating, credulous on-air personalities announced its rollout like the arrival of penicillin. “Tonight, Web of Harm,” gushed CTV’s Omar Sachedina. “Tackling online dangers and safeguarding children… The long-awaited framework for protecting the vulnerable…”

  There was little initial uproar. What could be wrong with increasing child safety, or “protecting the vulnerable”?

  Then people read the bill.

  “If you look at the purpose of this law, it’s actually quite noble and most lawyers would agree with it,” says Canadian attorney Dan Freiheit. “Online safety, protecting children’s physical and mental health.” But the actual text?

  “It’s wild,” Freheit says.

  Trudeau was lying when he said C-63 was “very, very specifically focused on correcting kids.” The purview of the Online Harms Act extends far beyond speech, reimagining society as a mandated social engineering project, creating transformational new procedures that would:

  • enlist Canada’s citizens in an ambitious social monitoring system, with rewards of up to $20,000 for anonymous “informants” of hateful behavior, with the guilty paying penalties up to $50,000, creating a self-funded national spying system;

  • introduce extraordinary criminal penalties, including life in prison not just for existing crimes like “advocating genocide,” but for any “offence motivated by hatred,” in theory any non-criminal offense, as tiny as littering, committed with hateful intent;

  • punish Minority Report pre-crime, where if an informant convinces a judge you “will commit” a hate offense, you can be jailed up to a year, put under house arrest, have firearms seized, or be forced into drug/alcohol testing, all for things you haven’t done;

  • penalize past statements. The law gets around prohibitions against “retroactive” punishment by calling the offense “continuous communication” of hate, i.e. the crime is your failure to take down bad speech;

  • force corporate Internet platforms to remove “harmful content” virtually on demand (within 24 hours in some cases), the hammer being fines of “up to 6% of… gross global revenue.”

  Things you’re saying, things you’ve already said, things an administrative judge thinks you might say, all barred, with neighbors deputized as enforcers? Good times. Leave it to Trudeau, a frequent trailblazer in new forms of illiberalism in the digital age, to come up with this quantum leap downward on the rights front. C-63 is a Frankenstein’s Monster combining the worst censorship ideas already deployed by supposed ally government-in-laws like Europe’s Digital Services Act, Australia’s updated Australian Communications and Media Authority Act (ACMA), and Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order Act, which saw 7,152 complaints in its first week when the law took effect last month.

  Trudeau’s creation is a turbo-charged social surveillance law aimed first at forcing big platforms like Facebook and Twitter to “self-police,” but secondarily targeting individuals and doling out civil and criminal penalties for speech and thought on a scale not seen anywhere. What constitutes hateful conduct? While the bill newly defines hate speech as “likely to foment detestation or vilification” of Canada’s growing list of protected groups and individuals, Canadian lawyers interviewed were generally unsure of what the standard might look like in practice.

  “It’s impossible to know what exactly it’s going to mean,” says Bruce Pardy, Executive Director of Rights Probe. “So you’re going to have to rely upon the court in a criminal prosecution, or the human rights tribunal in a human rights proceeding, to put their own interpretation on that, and figure out where the line is.”

  Despite being split on how serious the immediate impact might be (“We’re not looking at prisons full of people doing life for misgendering” said one), most attorneys seemed to agree C-63 will be a game-changer if passed, aimed beyond speech at the very concept of individual rights, chipping away at ideas like the presumption of innocence and the right to face one’s accuser, and using traditionally dubious tools like ex post facto laws.

  On one level, it’s not surprising, given Canada’s historically diffident attitude toward rights — the first section in the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ironically introduced when Trudeau’s father Pierre was Prime Minister, is essentially a giant loophole — but this Prime Minister appears determined to swap out Canada’s reputation for brotherhood, humor, and generosity for a new one based on rigidity and collective paranoia.

  

  There’s a long backstory of important recent laws and Supreme Court cases that helped push Canada down a path toward C-63, but this bill still stands apart as a unique problem, and only a few domestic media outlets have been willing or able to criticize it. One of those is Rebel News, whose founder Ezra Levant says Canadians could really use America’s help in sounding the alarm. “Canadians need to fight for our own freedom, but the Canadian political and media establishment are obsessed by what U.S. journalists and politicians have to say about us,” Levant says. “So any attention Americans can bring to this civil liberties bonfire really makes a difference. Frankly, we need your help.”

  How bad is C-63? See for yourself, in a tour through its key sections:

  The biggest headline-grabber in C-63 involves new provisions for life imprisonment for speech offenses. There are really two. “Advocating genocide” is already a crime in Canada, but C-63 boosts its maximum penalty from five years to life. “Life sentences for sending out some words. That’s heavy,” Canada’s former Supreme Court Chief Justice, Beverley McLachlin, told journalist Edward Greenspon.

  Andrea MacLean of the Calgary-based JSS Barristers is among the lawyers who don’t necessarily foresee an avalanche of life sentences for speech offenses, but does worry the draconian life sentence provisions might have serious downstream effects.

  “They might encourage people to take plea deals they wouldn’t otherwise take,” MacLean says.

  

  As bad as the “sending out some words” portion is, a more frightening provision prescribes potential life sentences for any “offence motivated by hatred.” This is a difficult concept, but what the law proscribes is any violation of any “Act of Parliament,” no matter how minor, combined with hateful motivation. One example given was crumpling up an anti-gay flier and throwing it out the window in a national park, which would combine a federal littering prohibition with hate speech. Another attorney suggested this could refer to something like denial of restaurant service, and marveled that “this takes civil offenses and makes them into crimes.”

  I heard conflicting takes on this section, and it’s worth noting that Justice Minister Arif Virani has repeatedly described this “offence motivated by hatred” section as hateful intent mixed with a “criminal” offense like theft, assault, or murder. But the text reads like a parody of the American “hate crime enhancement” idea:

  

  The “prior restraint” portion of C-63 describes the process by which a person can be punished preemptively if an informant convinces a judge that either a “hate propaganda offence” or the aforementioned “offence motivated by hatred” has a “reasonable” chance of occurring:

  

  This clause might particularly affect a high-profile person like J.K. Rowling who’s already declared an intention to keep saying things deemed offensive to Canadians, who in 2017 passed a law (C-16) forbidding “gender identity” discrimination. Pardy, who described the 2017 measure as a “weaponization of human rights law,” says C-63 is like that act “on steroids.” This pre-crime provision includes a long list of potential punishments, ranging from house arrest, scheduled exit and entry from the home, ankle monitoring, and seizure of firearms. MacLean pointed out that this guts Canada’s Section 11 guarantee of presumption of innocence unless guilt is proven “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Again, a “reasonable” chance the crime will occur is sufficient to justify detention…

  Subscribers to Racket can read the rest here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 18:25

• Israeli Attacks Intensify Across Gaza, Rafah Civilians Have Nowhere To Go
  Israeli Attacks Intensify Across Gaza, Rafah Civilians Have Nowhere To Go

  Via Middle East Eye

  Israeli tanks have moved into eastern Jabalia in northern Gaza following a night of intense bombardment, which has killed some 19 Palestinians and flattened residential blocks, according to health officials.

  Israeli fire targeted ambulances near the camp’s Unrwa clinic, Wafa news agency is reporting. The Israeli army said that the latest incursion on the camp was to prevent Hamas from “rehabilitating military capabilities” there.

  

  In other areas of Gaza, Israeli air strikes reportedly killed some 27 Palestinians overnight. In Rafah, 18 Palestinians were killed in air strikes,  including several children, according to Wafa.

  Wafa is also reporting that the continuing air strikes have killed dozens more in the past few hours, with 12 bodies arriving at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza.

  The director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Sam Rose, has warned that Palestinians in Rafah are being instructed to evacuate to a nearby “expanded humanitarian area” which is already overcrowded and lacking in essential services.

  In an interview with BBC news, Sam Rose explained that al-Mawasi is “essentially sand dunes on the Mediterranean coast that are crowded with hundreds of thousands of people” who have already been displaced.

  “There is no water network, there is no infrastructure, sewage, sanitation,” he said.

  .@BarakRavid @axios sources suggest the Israelis are going to try to salami-slice Rafah to avoid crossing Biden’s “red line”: https://t.co/ND4EgQ4McI

  — Sam Heller | سام هيلر (@AbuJamajem) May 10, 2024

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

  Here are some of the latest updates:

  • The Israeli military has intensified attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, with 27 Palestinians killed overnight, including several children in southern Rafah.

  • Israeli forces “carpet-bombed” Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing and wounding several Palestinians, Wafa news agency is reporting. Residential houses and evacuation centres have been flattened. The death toll is currently unknown.

  • In the West Bank, Israeli forces have raided the Arroub refugee camp near Hebron on Sunday, Wafa is reporting.

  • UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed calls for an “immediate ceasefire”.

  • UN agencies have warned that food supplies for distribution in southern Gaza will run out today.

  • Unrwa estimates that 300,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah in the last week, emphasising that displaced people have “nowhere safe to go”.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 17:15

• Watch: Pelosi Dismantled In Real Time In Masterclass On Populism
  Watch: Pelosi Dismantled In Real Time In Masterclass On Populism

  Two weeks ago, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was thoroughly savaged during a debate at Oxford University over the question of whether populism is a “threat to democracy.” In case you missed it, read on as it’s making the rounds. If you have 14 minutes to spare, jump right in:

  Opening the case for the left was Rachel Haddad, Secretary of the Oxford Union. She argued that populist leaders like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage pose a threat to democracy, and are not a “new generation of geniuses” who can find simple solutions to longstanding, complex problems.

  Pelosi closed the debate for the proposition, defining populism as an “ethno-nationalist populism, generated by an ethnic negativity to immigrants, people who are different from them and the rest” (so, ‘they’re racists!’).

  Speaking against the motion were Union committee members Sultan Kokhar (Chair of Consultative Committee) and Oscar Whittle (Director of Research), as well as former Mumford & Sons lead guitarist, Winston Marshall – now a podcaster for The Spectator – who got into an exchange with Pelosi during parts of his speech.

  Marshall started out by saying:

  “Words have a tendency to change meaning when I was a boy, “woman” meant “someone who didn’t have a cock.”

  Populism has become a word used synonymously with “racists.” We’ve heard “ethno-nationalist,” with “bigot,” with “hillbilly,” “redneck,” with “deplorables.”

  Elites use it to show their contempt for ordinary people.”

  He then noted that Barack Obama, while still president, tried to frame he and Bernie Sanders as actual populists vs. Donald Trump, who ‘doesn’t care about working people.’

  But then, “If you watch Obama’s speeches after that point, more and more recently, he uses the word “populist” interchangeably with “strong man,” with “authoritarian.” The word changes meaning, it becomes a negative, a pejorative, a slur.”

  “To me, populism is not a dirty word. Since the 2008 crash and specifically the trillion-dollar Wall Street bailout, we are in the populist age, and for good reason. The elites have failed,” Marshall continued.

  He then got into it with Pelosi after drawing a parallel between January 6th and June 2020, saying: “I’m sure Congresswoman Pelosi will agree that the entire month of June 2020, when the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon was under siege, and under insurrection by radical progressives, those too were dark days for America.”

  To which Pelosi shot back, “You are not. There is no equivalence there,” adding “It is not like what happened on January 6, which was an insurrection incited by the president of the United States.”

  Read on for Marshall’s complete masterclass in populism (transcript courtesy of RealClear Politics).

  My point, though is that all political movements are susceptible to violence, and indeed insurrection. And if we were arguing that fascism was a threat to democracy, I’d be on that side of the House.

  Indeed, the current populist age is a movement against fascism. I’ve got quite a lot to get through.

  Populism as you know, is the politics of the ordinary people against an elite, populism is not a threat to democracy. Populism is democracy, and why else have universal suffrage, if not to keep elites in check?

  Ladies and gentlemen, given the success of Trump, and more recently, Javier Milei taking a chainsaw to the state behemoth of Argentina’s bureaucratic monster, you’d be mistaken for thinking this was a right-wing populist age, but that would be ignoring Occupy Wall Street. That would be ignoring Jeremy Corbyn’s “for the many, not the few,” that would be ignoring Bernie against the billionaires, RFK Jr. against Big Pharma, and more recently, George Galloway against his better judgment. Now all of them, including Galloway, recognize genuine concerns of ordinary people being otherwise ignored by the establishment.

  I’m actually rather surprised that our esteemed opposition, Congressman Pelosi, is on that side of the motion. I thought the left was supposed to be anti-elite. I thought the left was supposed to be anti-establishment today, particularly in America, the globalist left have become the establishment. I suppose for Miss Pelosi to have taken this side of the motion, she’d be arguing herself out of a job.

  But it’s here in Britain, where right and left populists united for the supreme act of democracy, Brexit. Polls have showed the number one reason people voted for Brexit was sovereignty, for more democracy.

  What was the response of the Brussels elite? They did everything in their power to undermine the Democratic will of the British people and the Westminster elite were just as disgraceful. As we’ve heard, David Cameron called the voters “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists.” The liberal Democrats did everything they could to overturn a democratic vote. Keir Starmer campaigned for a second referendum. Elites would have had us voting and voting and voting until we voted their way. Indeed, that’s what happened in Ireland and in Denmark.

  Let’s look at some of the other populist movements. The Hong Konger populist revolt is literally called the Pro-Democracy Movement. In the Farmer revolts from the Netherlands to Germany, France, Greece, to Sri Lanka, farmers are taking their tractors to the road to protest ESG policy that’s floated down to us from those all-knowing, infallible elites of Davos. The trucker movement in Canada became anti-elitist when petty tyrant Prime Minister Justin Trudeau froze their bank accounts, not the behavior of a democratic head of state. The Gilets Jaunes France, ULEZ in London, working people protesting policy that hurt them. And how are they treated? They’re called conspiracy theorists. They’re called far-right, by the mayor as well.

  Ladies and gentlemen, populism is the voice of the voiceless. The real threat to democracy is from the elites. Now don’t get me wrong, we need elites. If President Biden has shown us anything, we need someone to run the countries. When the president has severe dementia, it is not just America that crumbles, the whole world burns.

  But let’s examine the elites. European corporations spend over €1 billion a year lobbying Brussels, U.S. corporations spend over $2 billion a year lobbying in DC, and two-thirds of Congress receive funding from pharmaceutical companies. Pfizer alone spent $11 million in 2021. They made over $10 billion in profit. No wonder then that 66% of Americans think the is rigged against them for the rich and the powerful.

  And by the way, we used to have a word for when big business and big government were in cahoots. And I think any students here of early 20th-century Italian history will know what I’m talking about.

  What about Big Tech? Throughout the pandemic, Biden’s team, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security colluded with Big Tech in censoring dissenting voices. Not kooky conspiracy theorists, people like Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the Stanford epidemiologist, people like Harvard scientist Martin Kulldorf, people spreading true information, not misinformation, true information at odds with the government narrative.

  Need I remind you, democracy without free speech is not democracy.

  This was a direct breach by the way of the First Amendment. Before COVID, Intelligence services colluded with Big Tech to have Trump suspended off Twitter. Yes, the same platform which hosted the Taliban and Ayatollah “Death To Israel” Khomeini. They thought the president crossed the line when he tweeted on Jan 6 quote, “Remain peaceful. No violence! Respect the law and our great men and women in blue.” That’s a quote.

  You may be thinking now that Trump is a populist. You are right. He didn’t accept the 2020 elections and he should have. So should Hillary in 2016. So should Brussels, and so should Westminster in 2016. And so too should Congresswoman Pelosi, instead of saying the 2016 election was quote, “hijacked.”

  PELOSI: That doesn’t mean we don’t accept the results, though!

  WINSTON MARSHALL: What about the mainstream media? Let me read you some mainstream media headlines. The New Yorker the day before the 2016 election, “The Case Against Democracy.” The Washington Post, the day after the election, “The Problem With Our Government Is Democracy.” The LA Times, June 2017, “The British Election Is A Reminder Of The Perils Of Too Much Democracy.” Vox, June 2017, “Two eminent political scientists say the problem with democracy is voters.” New York Times, June 2017, “The Problem With Participatory Democracy Is The Participants.”

  Mainstream media elites are part of a class who don’t just disdain populism, they disdain the people. If the Democrats had put half their energy into delivering for the people, Trump wouldn’t even have a chance in 2024. He shouldn’t, he shouldn’t have a chance. You’ve had power for four years. From the fabricated Steele dossier, to trying to take him off the ballot in both Maine and Colorado, the Democrats are the anti-Democrat party. All we need now is the Republicans to come out as the pro-Monarchist party.

  Ladies and gentlemen, populism is not a threat to democracy, but I’ll tell you what is. It is elites ordering social media to censor political opponents. It’s police shutting down dissenters, be it anti-monarchists in this country or gender-critical voices here, or last week in Brussels, the National Conservative Movement.

  I’ll tell you what is a threat to democracy. It’s Brussels, DC, Westminster, the mainstream media, big tech, big Pharma, corporate collusion and the Davos cronies. The threat to democracy comes from those who write off ordinary people as “deplorable.” The threat to democracy comes from those who smear working people as “racists.” The threat to democracy comes from those who write off working people as “populists.”

  And I’ll say one last thing. This populist age can be brought to an end at the snap of a finger. All that needs to be done is for elites to start listening to, respecting, and God forbid, working for ordinary people. Thank you.

  And of course, being Oxford, the Union voted for ‘populism bad’ – with 177 members voting for the motion, and 68 voting against. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 16:40

• Climate "Reparations" Numbers Are Rigged
  Climate “Reparations” Numbers Are Rigged

  Authored by Paul Mueller via the American Institute for Economic Research,

  Nobel Prize–winning economist Esther Duflo thinks rich countries should pay poor countries $500 billion in compensation each year for climate-change damages. It is our “moral debt.” She proposes an international 2-percent wealth tax on the ultra-rich and an increase in the global minimum corporate tax rate to fund this $500 billion transfer. 

  

  You and I may be shocked by such a suggestion but don’t worry: “It’s really necessary. And it’s reasonable. It’s not that hard.” Only someone in an elite, progressive bubble could say something like that. Let’s check her reasoning.

  Duflo claims that climate change creates costs, specifically through “excess” deaths due to excessive heat. Poorer countries from the global south near the equator will see more days of extreme heat, and so will see a disproportionate increase in excess deaths. 

  Other economists translated those deaths into an externality cost of $37 per ton of CO2. Multiply that by the roughly fourteen billion tons of CO2 emitted by the US and Europe and voila, wealthy countries generate $500 billion in externality costs per year.

  She proposes paying for this by increasing the global minimum corporate tax rate from 15 percent to 18 percent and introducing an international 2-percent wealth tax on the ultra-rich, which she defines as the 3000 richest billionaires. We can’t go into the many problems and obstacles to such funding mechanisms here — suffice it to say such ideas will be nearly impossible to implement.

  But Duflo’s back-of-the-envelope calculations, besides missing the bigger picture, are so speculative as to require playing make-believe. Let’s play along for a moment to see why. We’ll start by reverse-engineering her $500 billion number into a measure of harm.

  Regulatory agencies and insurance companies use the concepts of “statistical value of life” or the “statistical value of a life-year” to do cost-benefit analysis on risk and the monetary value of life. These concepts are slippery, however, and calculated in a variety of ways with a wide range of estimates. 

  To keep things simple, let’s assume that the value of one life-year is $200,000. The $500 billion number proposed by Duflo suggests that the cost imposed by wealthy countries burning fossil fuels is the loss of roughly 2.5 million life-year” in poor countries per year.

  That sounds like a staggering number!

  But what about the benefits that have accrued to developing countries from activities that generate CO2 emissions? Important advances in medicine, such as antibiotics and vaccines, were developed in modern industrialized countries. So, too, were refrigeration, cars, the internet, smart phones, radar; modern agricultural methods with herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers; improvements in plumbing, building materials, manufacturing, and much more. “Polluting” activities in industrialized countries improved nutrition and safety around the world. These advances, and many others, significantly increased people’s life expectancies — especially in poor countries.

  Surely the value of these improvements should weight the opposite side of the scale from the expected harm of climate change — especially since the crusade against fossil fuels and carbon emissions will assuredly slow economic growth and innovation. Let’s consider the case of India for a moment.

  Life expectancy in India has basically doubled from about 35 years in 1950 to about 70 years in 2024. If you consider that India has just over a billion people living in it, modern technology developed by rich CO2-emitting countries has added 35 billion life-years in India alone. 

  Translating life-years back into dollars, 35 billion life-years times $200,000 per life-year means that the benefits from greater life expectancy in India over the past 75 years is the equivalent of $7 quadrillion dollars — or in annualized terms, an annual benefit of about $93 trillion dollars. In other words, the benefits to India alone are over a hundred times larger than Duflo’s estimate of costs!

  Nor is India cherry-picked. China has a similar story with life expectancy rising from 43.45 years to 77.64 years. Similar improvements in life expectancy occur across the global south. 

  In Africa: 

  • Mali (26.35 years to 60.86 years)
  • Chad (35.28 years to 55.44 years)
  • Libya (35.28 years to 73.59 years)
  • Kenya (41.05 years to 67.70 years)
  • Democratic Republic of Congo (38.15 years to 61.86 years)
  • Tanzania (39.86 years to 66.67 years)
  • Sudan (43.02 years to 66.30 years). 

  In South America: 

  • Panama (55.19 years to 79.27 years)
  • Nicaragua (40.44 years to 75.43 years)
  • Colombia (49.48 years to 78.04 years). 

  In southeast Asia: 

  • Indonesia (39.77 years to 72.50 years)
  • Malaysia (52.80 years to 76.79 years)
  • Vietnam (51.24 years to 75.91 years).

  Of course, one could argue that developed industrial countries are not solely responsible for increases in life expectancy around the world. But one could just as easily say the same about whether developed industrial countries are solely responsible for global CO2 emissions, climate change, or harm to people in the global south due to hotter weather. Connecting these two issues makes perfect philosophical sense, because the production of CO2 has historically been directly associated with increases in economic growth; which in turn is necessary for all the developments increasing longevity around the world.

  Even if we massage the assumptions in Duflo’s favor, the results remain favorable to industrialization. Suppose western technology and industrial activities contribute 50 percent to improvements in life expectancy. That’s still a $46 trillion annualized benefit to India. Reduce the value of a statistical life-year to $100,000 — that’s still a $23 trillion/year benefit from industrialization in the west. Exclude India from the analysis and cut the population we focus on down to 500 million people — that’s still over $12 trillion/year in benefits. Reduce the improvement in life-expectancy by six years — that still leaves about $10 trillion/year in benefits.

  So, even after making tons of assumptions to reduce their size, the estimated benefits of industrialization are still about twenty times larger than Duflo’s estimate of its costs. 

  Worrying about hypothetical, indirect costs of CO2 emissions when it comes to human well-being is like scrounging for pennies while ignoring $100 bills lying on the sidewalk. Actually, it is worse than that. It is like lighting $100 bills on fire to help you search a dark alley for some pocket change of human welfare.

  Economic development, driven largely by Adam Smith’s dictum “peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice” which includes strong private property rights and limited government intervention, has improved human living standards in unprecedented ways over the past 300 years. These remarkable improvements in human welfare are not limited to wealthy, developed economies but are enjoyed around the world. 

  Duflo talks about the (external) costs of industrialization on certain countries without considering the truly massive (external) benefits of industrialization to those same countries.

  If anything, with a proper accounting, developing countries owe rich countries gratitude for the benefits they have received from industrialization and the corresponding CO2 emissions.

  Paul Mueller is a Senior Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He received his PhD in economics from George Mason University. Previously, Dr. Mueller taught at The King’s College in New York City.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 16:05

• Citadel Ken Griffin Rises Up Against Left's "Cultural Revolution," Says Time To Embrace "Western Values"
  Citadel Ken Griffin Rises Up Against Left’s “Cultural Revolution,” Says Time To Embrace “Western Values”

  The woke takeover of America’s higher education system, transforming classrooms into woke indoctrination camps, has been on full display over the last several years. More recently, the pro-Palestinian protests on campuses have been a shocking eye-opener for many, which only reveal America’s future leaders are being transformed into toxic, leftist creatures, used as ‘useful idiots’ by leftist-funded non-governmental organizations (funded by you know who), in a sinister plan masqueraded underneath social justice movements to start an actual revolution, destroy capitalism, and ultimately, conquer America. 

  If you don’t believe us, we’ve got some news that might change your mind.

  Late last month, one very outspoken speaker at a pro-Palestinian campus protest said the quiet part out loud:

   “There’s only one solution, intifada revolution. We must have a revolution so we can have a socialist reconstruction of the USA.” 

  An extremist on the mic says: “There’s only one solution, intifada revolution. We must have a revolution so we can have a socialist reconstruction of the USA.”

  This isn’t just about Israel/Palestine. It’s an attempt of the Marxist takeover of America. Our colleges have become… pic.twitter.com/2IEqRyuorB

  — A Man Of Memes (@RickyDoggin) April 30, 2024

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

  The question law-abiding Americans need to ask is why leftist radicals in the Biden administration, who quite honestly hate America, allow toxic woke ideologies to flow through the education system, promoting hate and violence at colleges and universities. 

  Entire education curriculums have been infected with Marxist teachings, and purple-haired folks who are confused about their gender are infecting the vulnerable minds of youngsters with woke ideologies such as diversity, equity and inclusion, and queer theory. 

  With some calling for the federal government to intervene and save the republic from this chaos, the most unlikely heroes of our time are the billionaires, such as Elon Musk, Bill Ackman, and Ken Griffin, who are stepping up to the plate to defend Old Glory and the nation. 

  Musk is on X, awakening the world’s population to various forms of Marxism, pushed by dark money-funded NGOs, which is spreading across governments and society like stage four cancer. On the other hand, Ackman and Griffin have denounced woke Ivy League schools, such as Harvard, in very public ways. 

  The latest is Griffin, who founded the $63 billion hedge fund Citadel. In an interview Saturday, Griffin told the Financial Times that Harvard needs to embrace “Western values.” The school’s major donor said the campus crisis is a byproduct of a “cultural revolution.” 

  

  He said the US had “lost sight of education as the means of pursuing truth and acquiring knowledge” over the past decade.

  “The narrative on some of our college campuses has devolved to the level that the system is rigged and unfair, and that America is plagued by systemic racism and systemic injustice,” he noted.

  Griffin continued, “What you’re seeing now is the end-product of this cultural revolution in American education playing out on American campuses, in particular, using the paradigm of the oppressor and the oppressed.” 

  “The protests on college campuses are almost like performative art, and we’re not actually helping Palestinians or Israelis with these surreal protests,” the billionaire said, adding that in previous humanitarian crises, Americans would focus on practical aid. 

  As we’ve pointed out, the campus riots have nothing to do with helping the poor Palestinians. Similarly, adjacent pro-Palestinian protests, shutting critical infrastructure, such as highways, bridges, and airport terminals nationwide, have zero to do with helping these folks and everything to do with collapsing America. 

  The woke cult has been activated and unleashed in the US, as its objective is to scream racism over and over until communism is installed. If that’s the solution to their alleged problems – well – this should be a wakeup call – that communism has yet to work in the world – killing more than 100 million people and counting. 

  Here’s Morgan Freeman on ending racism:

  Morgan Freeman on ending racism: pic.twitter.com/Jw6lEymC8D

  — The Rabbit Hole (@TheRabbitHole84) April 23, 2024

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

  FT asked Griffin on how to fix Harvard, and his response: 

   “Harvard should put front and centre [that it] stands for meritocracy in America and will educate the next generation of leaders in American business, government, healthcare, and the philanthropic community. Harvard will embrace our Western values that have built one of the greatest nations in the world, foster those values with students, and ask them to manifest these values throughout the rest of their life.”

  The billionaire added: “Freedom of speech does not give you the right to storm a building or vandalize it. That’s not freedom of speech. That’s just anarchy.”

  So again, the unlikely heroes of our time are an elite class of billionaires; they’re strapping on their combat shoes in this culture war and are signaling enough is enough. 

  Perhaps it’s time to upload antivirus woke software in America’s schools, not just higher education but the entire damn system in a major overhaul – we suspect the Trump admin team will do that. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 15:30

• Putin Unveils Dramatic Reshuffling Of Closest Advisors: Shoigu Out As Defense Minister
  Putin Unveils Dramatic Reshuffling Of Closest Advisors: Shoigu Out As Defense Minister

  Russian state media is confirming a huge breaking development that President Putin has removed his longtime Defense Minister and personal friend Sergei Shoigu as defense chief, who has overseen the Ukraine war since its beginning in Feb. 2022. He will now serve as head of the nation’s security council.

  “Sergei Shoigu is likely to lose the post of Minister of Defense of Russia to acting First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov,” English-language RT is reporting. “His candidacy was proposed by President Vladimir Putin, the Federation Council announced on Sunday.”

  

  Putin has also reportedly dismissed Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, according to Interfax.

  This appears in order to shuffle Shoigu into that position. Putin has now appointed Shoigu as new Secretary of the Russian Security Council. Likely Patrushev is also being moved to another position too.

  Wow, indeed. Looks like Putin is pushing out his long-time Defense Minister and Siberian forest hiking partner Sergei Shoigu. https://t.co/XUYoKmR1UO

  — Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 12, 2024

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

  The proposed candidate for new defense chief, Belousov, has a background in Russia’s central bank and economics and finance…

  Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov as candidate for Defense Minister, Tass reports https://t.co/jLuFF5g6b8

  — Bloomberg (@business) May 12, 2024

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

  Below is some background on Belousov and his last two decades of government experience, though specific military decision-making or army experience on a strategic level appears to be absent, interestingly:

  2000‒2006: General Director, Centre for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting.

  2000‒2006: External adviser to the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

  2006‒2008: Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Deputy Minister of Economic Development.

  2008‒2012: Director, Government Department of Economy and Finance.

  2012‒2013: Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

  2013‒2020: Presidential Aide.

  21 January 2020: First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, appointed by executive order of the President of Russia.

  Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov addressed this lack of military experience as follows in a late Sunday press briefing:

  Explaining Shoigu’s replacement with a non-military official, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “natural” for Putin to decide that a civilian official to head the Defense Ministry.

  “The Defense Ministry must be absolutely open to innovation, to introduce advanced ideas and to create conditions for economic competitiveness — that’s why the president chose the candidacy of Andrei Removich Belousov,” Peskov told reporters.

  According to more details of Putin’s big reshuffling via RT:

  Senators are scheduled to engage in consultations regarding the nominees put forth by the president during committee sessions on May 13 and during a Federation Council meeting on May 14, as announced by the upper house of the Russian parliament.

  No further alterations have been made to the roster of candidates Putin has submitted for cabinet positions. His nominations include Vladimir Kolokoltsev for the position of interior minister, Alexander Kurenkov for minister of emergency situations, Sergey Lavrov for foreign minister, and Konstantin Chuichenko for justice minister.

  Denis Manturov, who served as deputy prime minister and head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade during Putin’s last term in office, has been nominated for the position of first deputy prime minister.

  Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, says the Kremlin wanted to appoint an economic official to run the defense ministry after Russia’s security budget ballooned to 6.6 per cent of gross domestic product.

  “This demands special attention,” he told reporters.

  — max seddon (@maxseddon) May 12, 2024

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

  And TASS has this further confirmation and backgrounder on Belousov (machine translation)…

  “Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed the candidacy of Andrei Belousov for the post of Minister of Defense, which was previously held by Sergei Shoigu. This is stated in a message on the Telegram channel of the Federation Council. In the previous government, Belousov worked as first deputy prime minister.”

  “65-year-old Belousov at various times held the positions of assistant to the head of state Vladimir Putin on economic issues, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, director of the Department of Economics and Finance of the Government of the Russian Federation, general director of the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting, and worked at the Russian Academy in 1981-2006 Sciences (until 1991 – USSR Academy of Sciences). From April 30 to May 19, 2020, during Mishustin’s hospitalization with coronavirus infection, Belousov served as acting head of the Cabinet.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 14:44

• US Is Offering Israel A Strange Incentive To Hold Off Rafah Offensive
  US Is Offering Israel A Strange Incentive To Hold Off Rafah Offensive

  Over the weekend The Washington Post has reported a strange incentive and quid pro quo that the US is offering Israel if it agrees to hold off on the Rafah offensive. 

  The Biden administration is ready to hand over to Israel “sensitive intelligence” on the whereabouts of top Hamas leaders. The Washington Post cited four unnamed sources as saying the US “is offering Israel valuable assistance if it holds back, including sensitive intelligence to help the Israeli military pinpoint the location of Hamas leaders and find the group’s hidden tunnels.”

  The ‘offer’ is bizarre and somewhat unprecedented given one would think that Washington’s aim alongside Israel would be to dismantle a designated terror organization and ultimately bring down its top leadership. 

  But instead this is apparently being dangled like a carrot. Washington is holding out hopes that a ceasefire deal can be accomplished with Qatari and Egyptian mediation, but that still appears to be going nowhere. A full-scale Rafah assault is likely to put an end to Hamas-Israel talks, at least for the near future.

  

  According to more of the ‘incentives’ for Israel to abandon its Rafah ground offensive: “American officials have also offered to help provide thousands of shelters so Israel can build tent cities — and to help with the construction of delivery systems for food, water and medicine — so that Palestinians evacuated from Rafah can have a habitable place to live, said the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to disclose secret diplomatic talks,” WaPo writes.

  “President Biden and his senior aides have been making such offers over the last several weeks in hopes they will persuade Israel to conduct a more limited and targeted operation in the southern Gaza city,” the report continues.

  Separately, public comments made by White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby during a Thursday briefing appeared to confirm the Post’s reporting.

  Kirby had said, “We could also, in fact, help them target the leaders, including [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, which we are, frankly, doing with the Israelis on an ongoing basis.”

  Part of the White House’s plan is to first get the bulk of Rafah civilians—which have been widely reported to be at over one million Palestinians—safely removed and evacuated before major fighting begins. But the main question echoed by almost all is: where will they go?

  “The aid community generally is very skeptical there’s any safe way to relocate people out of Rafah,” Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, was quoted in The Washington Post as saying.

  People in Rafah sending me photos of the new evacuation orders from Israeli military for Al-Shaboura, Al-Geneina and Khirbet Al-Adas. “Everyone in these areas is risking their lives and the lives of their family members. For your safety – we ask you to evacuate immediately” pic.twitter.com/39B9f7VUq4

  — Bel Trew (@Beltrew) May 11, 2024

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

  It of course remains unknown the degree to which US intelligence actually has more info on Hamas leaders’ whereabouts compared to Israeli intelligence.

  Presumably such intel would come through intercepted communications, or perhaps even a human source that had infiltrated Hamas. However, it’s highly doubtful the US has its own intelligence officers on the ground – other than possibly those working alongside IDF forces.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 14:20

• Alvin Bragg's Office Deleted Phone Call Records Of Michael Cohen And Stormy Daniels' Lawyer
  Alvin Bragg’s Office Deleted Phone Call Records Of Michael Cohen And Stormy Daniels’ Lawyer

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

  

  A paralegal from Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg’s office testified on Friday during former President Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial that some phone call records between Michael Cohen and Stephanie Clifford’s (a.k.a. Stormy Daniels) lawyer were deleted, raising questions about evidentiary integrity.

  In a bid to challenge some of the evidence being put forward in President Trump’s business records falsification trial in Manhattan, Trump attorney Emil Bove asked paralegal Jaden Jarmel-Schneider in court on May 10 about roughly three pages worth of records that the attorney claimed Mr. Bragg’s office had deleted.

  Mr. Jarmel-Schneider confirmed some deletions. He acknowledged that some phone call records from 2018 between Mr. Cohen and Keith Davidson (Ms. Clifford’s lawyer) had been deleted, along with some records of conversations between Ms. Clifford’s manager Gina Rodriguez and then-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard about Ms. Clifford’s claim that she had an affair with President Trump.

  The Trump attorney alleged that the deletions were “significant,” prompting Mr. Jarmel-Schneider to dispute that characterization, though he acknowledged that some of the records had indeed been deleted.

  Prosecutors have submitted the call records into evidence in a bid to bolster their case that the alleged affair—which President Trump has denied—took place and that the former president falsified business records to conceal payments allegedly made to Ms. Clifford to stay silent.

  President Trump has denied any wrongdoing and maintains the case is a politically motivated bid to undermine his 2024 presidential campaign.

  The fact that prosecutors submitted the call records into evidence but didn’t tell the Trump defense team that some of them had been deleted raises questions about the integrity of the proceedings, according to Trump attorneys, and others.

  “Insanity! How on earth is this not a felony committed by Bragg and his minions? It sure would be if team Trump did it,” the former president’s eldest son, Don Trump Jr., said in a post on X.

  Insanity! How on earth is this not a felony committed by Bragg and his minions? It sure would be if team Trump did it.

  I’d love if we had actual journalists that would report on this ongoing travesty.

  Sadly, proper journalism is dead. They’re just scribes for the regime. https://t.co/vQkLDk3t1T

  — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 10, 2024

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

  Mr. Trump Jr. was presumably referring to the fact that evidence tampering is a class E felony in the state of New York.

  Mr. Bragg’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the deleted records.

  The development comes at the tail end of an intense week that saw President Trump subjected to gag order sanctions, two failed attempts by the defense team to have a mistrial declared, and Ms. Clifford taking the stand.

  Mr. Cohen is expected to take the stand next week.

  Trial End in Sight

  After four weeks in court, prosecutors signaled that the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president will be coming to an end.

  Jurors will soon have to decide whether prosecutors have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump was involved in falsifying business records as part of a scheme to influence the 2016 election.

  President Trump was charged by Mr. Bragg with 34 counts of falsifying business records. Typically, this is a misdemeanor charge, but in this case prosecutors allege the records were falsified to cover up a scheme to influence the 2016 election and therefore amounts to a felony.

  A number of legal experts have challenged the way Mr. Bragg elevated the misdemeanor into a felony. This includes retired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who argued that Mr. Bragg was operating on an invalid legal premise because he invoked federal statutes over which New York has no jurisdiction.

  Mr. Dershowitz also recently said that he believes that Mr. Bragg’s office has violated voters’ rights with the Trump prosecution, with the legal scholar arguing that the case amounts to a criminal conspiracy to influence elections.

  Prosecuting attorney Joshua Steinglass said Friday that prosecutors plan to call just two more witnesses and that it’s “entirely possible” that the prosecution will rest its case at the end of next week.

  Mr. Cohen, [a total liar] who is set to testify next week, made the original claims that led to the case. Specifically, the allegation of falsified business records pertains to 11 checks Mr. Cohen received and their corresponding invoices and vouchers.

  The defense team says that Mr. Cohen was paid attorney’s fees, while prosecutors allege that the legal expense categorization of the payments was fraudulent in order to cover up that they were meant to buy Ms. Clifford’s silence about the alleged affair.

  Ms. Clifford testified over the course of two days, with attorneys and the judge expressing some frustration that she frequently responded to questions with commentary that did not directly answer the question.

  Defense attorneys moved for a mistrial, arguing that her statements were “extremely prejudicial” and would improperly influence the jury.

  The judge denied that motion.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 13:45

• Goldman Asks: "Might This Be A Monetary Juncture Akin To 1995 Or 2011" 
  Goldman Asks: “Might This Be A Monetary Juncture Akin To 1995 Or 2011” 

  In a client note on Friday, Goldman’s Mark Wilson commented on the money supply (M2) growth, which has noticeably turned upward following the most significant crash since the Great Depression. He questions if this is an inflection point in a “monetary juncture akin to 1995 or 2011.” 

  “Although we may be 12 months past the inflection in M2, the historic analog of that chart does pose the interesting macro question of might this indeed be a monetary juncture akin to 1995 or 2011,” Wilson wrote. 

  M2% Y-o-Y chart via Wilson’s note:

  

  As a reminder, the complete disinflation trend followed the M2 growth slump and really should’ve fallen faster if deficit spending wasn’t so out of control. The latest CPI bounce comes after the money supply bottomed about one year ago and, of course, rising deficits, with the federal government spending $1 trillion every 100 days. 

  

  On a separate note, Tressis chief economist Daniel Lacalle recently pointed out, “The massive deficit means more taxes, more inflation, and lower growth in the future,” adding, “Deficits are not a tool for growth; they are tools for stagnation.” 

  Ahead of next week’s April CPI print, we outlined to pro-subs on Friday that traders should expect a “downside surprise” as the lagging OER “crashes” and catches up with real-time metrics. 

  And now comes the April CPI “downside surprise” as OER crashes down to catch up with real time metricshttps://t.co/yRwuFen2e4

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 1, 2024

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

  However, we’ll leave you with this from Dohmen Capital Research: “The Fed is being forced to step on the accelerator to enable the financing of the record deficits at the US Treasury. They know that is inflationary, but they have no alternative.” 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 13:10

• The Davos Class Is Desperate
  The Davos Class Is Desperate

  Authored by Marty Bent via bombthrower.com,

  One of Davos’ favorite front men, Yuval Noah Harari, joined the BIS Innovation Summit earlier this week to spread some laughable anti-bitcoin propaganda.

  “The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust.” – Satoshi Nakamotopic.twitter.com/EsB4PBdQ0D

  — Marty Bent (@MartyBent) May 10, 2024

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

  During his chat, Harari opined that “as a historian” he does not like bitcoin because it is a “currency based on distrust”. Here’s exactly what he said:

  When I look at bitcoin as a historian I don’t like it because this is a money built on distrust. The central idea of bitcoin is basically electronic gold, that we don’t trust the banks, the governments so we don’t want to give them the ability to create as much money as they like. So we create this bitcoin. It’s a currency of distrust.

  I do think that the future belongs to electronic money, but what we’ve seen over the last centuries is that it is actually a good idea to give banks and governments the ability to create more and more money in order to build more trust within society. So, I’m not sure what money would look like in 20 years or 30 years, but I hope that it would be a currency of greater trust and not a currency of distrust. -Yuval Noah Harari, famed Malthusian Nihilist and mediocre author

  Wow. This is what we in the psy-op world like to call “gaslighting”. It’s a tactic used to make someone believe something that is totally false and most likely never happened is actually true. When it comes to Harari’s specific comments on the history of humanity he is attempting to gaslight people into believing that giving governments and central banks the ability to “create more and more money in order to build trust within society” has actually happened. Nothing could be further from the truth and one only needs the ability to pick their head up from their phone, look around at the state of the world and recall four years of history to refute this objectively insane point of view.

  Do you all remember when a majority of the world’s governments banded together to shut down the global economy while flooding the global economy with TRILLIONS of dollars of liquidity? I think we can all agree that this was most likely the most extreme example of central planning on the political and monetary fronts that the world has ever seen. If we are to follow Harari’s logic that this level of coordination and central control over the monetary system, one would have to be able to look out at the world right now and confidently say that collective trust in governments and banking institutions by the people is at an all time high.

  Clearly, this is not the case. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Trust in political and financial institutions is as low as it has ever been. The Common Man is suffering under the weight of price inflation and is beginning to question the validity of government spending programs. Particularly here in the US. The geopolitical landscape is shifting toward a multi-polar world as large governments are finding it impossible to trust each other. This increasing distrust is being driven by the fact that some governments used their “trusted” control over the international monetary system to freeze the assets of a sovereign nation. We don’t even have to mention the bail out of the banks during the Great Financial Crisis, the forever wars in the Middle East, or the silencing of the whistleblowers who tried to make people aware that their governments cannot be trusted. Harari is either completely disconnected from reality or being completely disingenuous. I have a feeling it’s most likely the latter.

  This particular line of thinking shouldn’t be surprising coming from Harari and the fact that he said this at a digital summit thrown by the Bank for International Settlements should be even less surprising. The BIS is the top borg bank that would like to cattle herd the world into a digital panopticon that runs on a CBDC that can be granularly controlled by “trusted banks and governments”. Bitcoin is, quite literally, the biggest threat to their existence because it enables individuals to opt-out of a system dependent on trusting central planners.

  Trying to tap into people’s emotions by framing the discussion of “electronic money” myopically and attempting to reduce the decision making process to a knee jerk reaction based on the connotation of the juxtaposition of “distrust v. trust” is truly some lowest denominator argumentation. One would have to truly believe that most people are not only dumb, but extremely dumb.

  “Distrust in government bad. Trust in government good. Therefore, government controlling money good.” Caveman shit.

  Luckily for us, no one is buying Harari’s BS and Satoshi Nakamoto designed bitcoin in a way that allows us to break free from the madness of trusting governments and central banks. As he pointed out in February of 2009, the history of currencies is littered with breaches of trust by governments and central banks. Trusting these entities with the power to issue currency has proven to be catastrophic for whole societies. Trust needs to be completely removed from the process by leveraging a system that cannot be controlled by any individual, group, company or government and that is what bitcoin brings to the world. Individuals shouldn’t have to trust anyone but themselves to know what’s going on with their money. “Don’t trust, verify” is the ethos that bitcoin embodies and empowers individuals with. It’s a beautiful thing and it scares the ever living shit out of the Harari’s of the world.

  The Davos class is desperate and scared, as is evidenced by the nonsensical assertion put forth by Harari earlier this week. This should encourage you. Lean in. They know their losing the narrative battle.

  We’re going to win.

  *  *  *

  Follow Marty Bent on Twitter and subscribe via Tftc.io.

  The CBDC Survival Guide will give you the tools and the knowledge to navigate coming era of Monetary Apartheid. Bombthrower subscribers will get free when it drops (and The Crypto Capitalist Manifesto while you wait), sign up today.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/12/2024 – 12:35

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Here's Why Russia Is Making A Fresh Push Into Ukraine's Kharkov Region
  Here’s Why Russia Is Making A Fresh Push Into Ukraine’s Kharkov Region

  By Andrew Korybko of the Korybko substack

  

  The five objectives that are enumerated in this piece encapsulate what Russia nowadays aims to achieve after over two years of intense proxy warfare with NATO.

  Zelensky claimed on Friday that Russia’s long-awaited offensive had finally begun following its fresh push into Kharkov Region from which it tactically pulled back in September 2022. This precedes him likely clinging to power on legally dubious pretexts once his term expires on 21 May and aligns with the Ukrainian Intelligence Committee’s prediction of political-military troubles heading into his summer.

  Here are the five objectives that Russia arguably aims to achieve in view of the conflict’s larger context:

  1. Create The Conditions For Russia To Control The Entirety Of Its New Regions

  Russia’s increasingly frequent gains in Donbass over the past month speak to how serious Ukraine’s conscription and logistical crises have become, thus enabling Moscow to push them to the breaking point by opening up a new front at this precise moment in time. This is meant to facilitate a military breakthrough for expelling Ukrainian forces from the entirety of Russia’s new regions, with any collapse of the front lines consequently paving the way for achieving additional military-political goals.

  2. Coerce Ukraine Into Demilitarizing All Of Its Rump Regions East Of The Dnieper

  Russia is unlikely to make territorial claims to Ukraine’s rump regions east of the Dnieper due to the high cost of sustainably securing, rebuilding, and integrating them, which is why it’ll probably instead demand their demilitarization as a buffer zone in exchange for letting Kiev retain political control. Any areas that it captures throughout the course of this reportedly launched campaign could be handed back upon that happening in a variation of the alleged compromises contained in spring 2022’s draft treaty.  

  3. Deter NATO From Crossing The Dnieper If Member States’ Forces Conventionally Intervene

  Russia doesn’t want NATO conventionally intervening in this conflict, but if member states like France and/or Poland unilaterally do so in the event that the front lines collapse, then Moscow hopes that its newly announced tactical nuclear weapons exercises will deter them from crossing the Dnieper. In connection with that, India and/or the Vatican could convey Russia’s red line to NATO, while Russia could restrain itself from chasing fleeing troops to and over the river so as to not worsen the security dilemma.

  4. Influence Ukraine’s Possibly Impending US-Backed Regime Change Process

  The Kremlin won’t negotiate with Zelensky, Poroshenko, or any of the other Ukrainian figures that were just placed on its Interior Ministry’s wanted list since it regards them as illegitimate so the US couldn’t freeze the conflict without someone else in power. Russia’s foreign intelligence service recently reported that the US is already exploring possible replacements to Zelensky, and Moscow naturally wants to influence this process in order to filter out figures who it knows wouldn’t abide by any peace agreement.

  5. End The Conflict In A Way That Ensures Russia’s Core Security Interests In The New Reality

  Russia’s maximalist goals of demilitarizing Ukraine, denazifying it, and restoring that country’s constitutional neutrality are unlikely to be achieved in full given the new reality of NATO preparing for a conventional intervention up to the Dnieper in order to avoid a strategic defeat in this proxy war. Considering that, Russia must resort to creative military-diplomatic means for ensuring its core security interests, though that requires an information campaign for tempering its supporters’ expectations.  

  ———-

  As argued above, Russia’s fresh push into Kharkov Region is intended to end this conflict by year’s end in the best-case scenario, though that of course can’t be taken for granted given the fog of war and innumerable variables that the public isn’t privy to. Nevertheless, the five objectives that were enumerated in this piece encapsulate what it nowadays aims to achieve after over two years of intense proxy warfare with NATO, which might lead to some observers recalibrating their analyses.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 23:50

• The Latent Fascism Of Today’s Anti-Fascists
  The Latent Fascism Of Today’s Anti-Fascists

  Authored by Aaron Kheriaty via the Brownstone Institute,

  

  “Nothing can have as its destination anything other than its origin. The contrary idea, the idea of progress, is poison.” –Simone Weil

  The terms “fascist” and “fascism” are continuously bandied about today. But those who use these words most seem to understand them least, such that many of today’s self-styled anti-fascists paradoxically take on the central features of fascism to an extraordinary degree.

  We can see contemporary fascist tendencies manifesting on both ends of the political spectrum — not only among white supremacists but also in the character types described by Eugene Rivers as “trust fund Becky with the good hair revolutionary communist” or “white boy Carl the anarchist from the Upper East Side who is a junior at Sarah Lawrence.”

  Fascism is obviously worth opposing, but to be truly anti-fascist requires an understanding of how this ideology manifests in history and what the word actually designates. Already by the end of World War II, George Orwell noted that the term “fascist” was used so indiscriminately that it had become degraded to the level of a swearword synonymous with “bully.”

  Contrary to popular belief, fascism does not represent counterrevolutionary or reactionary opposition to progressive ideas in the name of tradition. Many thinkers advanced this mistaken interpretation during the postwar period, including, among others, Umberto Eco’s list of “Ur-Fascist” features published in the New York Review of Books in 1995, Theodore Adorno’s concept of the “authoritarian personality” described in his influential 1950 book of that title, Wilhelm Reich (1946) and Eric Fromm’s (1973) psychoanalytic interpretations of repressive systems, and Antonio Gramsci’s (1929) widely accepted myth that fascism was a counterrevolutionary movement of the “petit bourgeois.”

  The common mistake of all these interpretations involves generalizing the idea of fascism to include any movement that is either authoritarian or inclined to defend the past. This interpretation stems from an axiological faith (that is precisely the right word) in the value of modernity in the wake of the French Revolution.

  Modernity is taken to be an inevitable and irreversible process of secularization and human progress, in which the question of transcendence — whether broadly Platonic or Christian — has entirely vanished, and in which novelty is synonymous with positivity. Progress rests upon the ongoing expansion of technology and individual autonomy. Everything, including knowledge, becomes a tool to pursue affluence, comfort, and well-being.

  According to this faith in modernity, to be good is to embrace the progressive direction of history; to be evil is to resist it. Since fascism is clearly evil, it cannot be a development of modernity itself but must be “reactionary.” On this view fascism includes all those who fear worldly progress, have a psychological need for a strong social order to protect them, venerate and idealize a past historical moment, and so endow a leader with immense power to instantiate this.

  “According to this interpretation,” Augusto Del Noce wrote, “Fascism is a sin against the progressive movement of history;” indeed, “every sin boils down to a sin against the direction of history.”

  This characterization of fascism is almost entirely mistaken and misses its central features. Giovanni Gentile, the Italian “philosopher of fascism” and Benito Mussolini’s ghostwriter, penned an early book on the philosophy of Karl Marx. Gentile attempted to extract from Marxism the dialectic core of revolutionary socialism while rejecting Marxist materialism. As the authentic interpreter of Marxist thought, Lenin naturally rejected this heretical move, reaffirming the unbreakable unity between radical materialism and revolutionary action.

  Like Gentile, Mussolini himself spoke of “what is alive and what is dead in Marx” in his speech on May 1, 1911. He affirmed Marx’s core revolutionary doctrine — the liberation of man through the replacement of religion by politics — even while he rejected Marxist utopianism, which was the aspect of Marxism that made it a kind of secular religion. In fascism, the revolutionary spirit separated from materialism becomes a mystique of action for its own sake.

  Scholars of fascism have noted both a “mysterious proximity and distance between Mussolini and Lenin.” In the 1920s Mussolini was constantly glancing in the rearview mirror at Lenin as a rival revolutionary in a kind of mimetic dance. In his will to dominate, Mussolini spontaneously identified himself with the Fatherland and with his own people; however, there was no trace in this of any tradition that he affirmed and defended.

  In its origins and aims fascism is thus not so much a reactionary-traditionalist phenomenon, but a secondary and degenerative development of Marxist revolutionary thought. It represents a stage in the modern process of political secularization that started with Lenin. This claim may occasion controversy, but a philosophical and historical examination of fascism reveals it to be accurate.

  We easily miss these features if we focus exclusively on the obvious political opposition between fascism and communism during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. The fact that their philosophies share common genealogical roots and revolutionary ideals means neither that Lenin was a fascist (he was not) nor that fascism and communism are the same thing (they are not and fought to the death to prove it). Keep in mind, however, that an enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend.

  Fascism understands itself to be a revolutionary and progressive manifestation of power. As in communism, fascism replaces traditional religious principles with a secular religion in which the future — rather than an idealized past or meta-historical ideals — becomes an idol. Politics replaces religion in the quest to liberate humankind. Contrary to popular characterizations, fascism makes no attempt to preserve a heritage of traditional values against the advance of progress (one only has to look at fascist architecture for confirmation of this). Instead, it proceeds as the unfolding in history of a wholly novel and unprecedented power.

  Nazism was not so much an extreme form of fascism but the mirror image inversion of communism (the revolution in reverse). It added to fascism’s features its own origin myth, which necessarily had to reach back to pre-history. Its odious blood-and-soil socialist nationalism inverted Marxist universalism, but likewise resulted in the most extreme expression of colonialism. As with fascism and communism, Nazism was always ahistorical and entirely uninterested in preserving anything meaningful from the past.

  Rather than looking back to history or to trans-historical values, fascism strains forward and advances by means of a “creative destruction” that feels entitled to overturn everything standing in its way. Action for its own sake takes on a particular aura and mystique. The fascist unflinchingly appropriates and commandeers various sources of energy — whether human, cultural, religious, or technical — to remake and transform reality. As this ideology presses its advance, it makes no attempt to conform to any higher truth or moral order. Reality is simply that which must be overcome.

  Like the postwar interpreters of fascism mentioned above, many today mistakenly believe that fascism is grounded in strong metaphysical truth claims — that fascist authoritarian personalities somehow believe they possess a monopoly on the truth. On the contrary, as Mussolini himself explained with absolute clarity, fascism is entirely grounded in relativism:

  If relativism signifies contempt for fixed categories and for those who claim to be the bearers of objective immortal truth, then there is nothing more relativistic than fascist attitudes and activity. From the fact that all ideologies are of equal value, we fascists conclude that we have the right to create our own ideology and to enforce it with all the energy of which we are capable.

  The horrors of World War II were misdiagnosed by the postwar intellectuals’ mistaken interpretation of fascism and Nazism: these ideologies, and the bloodbath they unleashed, represented not the failure of the European tradition but the crisis of modernity — the outcome of the age of secularization.

  What are the ethical consequences of fascism? Once value is attributed to pure action, other people cease to be ends in themselves and become mere instruments, or obstacles, to the fascist political program. The logic of the fascist’s “creative” activism leads him to deny other people’s personhood and individuality, to reduce persons to mere objects. Once individuals are instrumentalized, it no longer makes sense to speak of moral duties towards them. Others are either useful and deployed or they are useless and discarded.

  This accounts for the extraordinary narcissism and solipsism characteristic of fascist leaders and functionaries: anyone who embraces this ideology acts as though he is the only person who really exists. The fascist lacks any sense of the purpose of law, or any reverence for a binding moral order. He embraces instead his own raw will to power: laws and other social institutions are mere tools deployed in the service of this power. Because the fascist’s action requires no ultimate end, and conforms to no transcendent ethical norm or spiritual authority, various tactics can be embraced or discarded at whim — propaganda, violence, coercion, desecration, erasure, etc.

  Although fascists fancy themselves creative, their actions can only destroy. Taboos are torn down indiscriminately and at will. Symbols rich with meaning — moral, historical, religious, cultural — are ripped from their context and weaponized. The past is nothing but an ideological tool or cipher: one can rummage around in history for useful images or slogans to deploy in service of expansive power; but wherever it is not useful for this purpose, history is discarded, defaced, toppled, or simply ignored as though it never existed.

  What are fascism’s stated ideals — what is it supposedly for? By design, this is never made entirely clear, except to say that novelty for its own sake assumes a positive value. If anything is held sacred it is violence. As in Marxism, the word “revolution” takes on an almost magical, mystical significance. But as I explained in Part II of this series, the ideology of total revolution only ends up strengthening the present order and the stronghold of the elites, by burning away those residual elements of tradition that make possible a moral critique of this order.

  The result is nihilism. Fascism celebrates an optimistic (but empty) cult of victory through force. In a reactionary backlash, neo-fascist “anti-fascists” mirror this spirit by a pessimistic passion for the defeated. In both cases, the same spirit of negation prevails.

  With this description in mind, we can understand why the word “fascism” logically boomerangs back on many of today’s self-styled anti-fascists. The practical upshot for our culture wars is not merely that the cure might be worse than the disease, but that the most radical “cure” in this case just is the disease. The danger is that a thinly veiled fascism — marching mendaciously under an anti-fascist banner — will overtake and absorb legitimate attempts to cure our ills, including ethically valid attempts to cure the cancer of racism or address other societal injustices.

  The same faith in modernity that led to mistaken interpretations of fascism after World War II also forces contemporary history and politics into unhelpful categories. If we question this axiological faith in the idea of modernity, we can establish a clearer view of 20th-century ideologies and their current manifestations. This entails neither automatically identifying the modernist or progressive view as anti-fascist, nor equating all forms of traditionalism (at least potentially) with fascism.

  In fact, the distinction between traditionalists (if I must use this unsatisfying term) and progressives is apparent in the different ways they oppose fascism. By tradition I don’t mean reverence for a static repository of fixed forms or a desire to return to an idealized period of the past; rather, I refer to the etymological meaning of that which we “hand on” (tradere) and thereby make new. A culture that has nothing of value to bequeath is a culture that has already perished. This understanding of tradition leads to a critique of modernity’s premise of inevitable progress — a groundless myth we should discard precisely to avoid repeating the horrors of the 20th century.

  This critique of modernity, and the rejection of ethics as “the direction of history,” leads to other insights regarding our present crisis. Rather than the standard left-right, liberal-conservative, progressive-reactionary categories of interpretation, we can see instead that the real political divide today is between perfectists and anti-perfectists. The former believe in the possibility of complete liberation of humanity through politics, whereas the latter regard this as a perennial error grounded in a denial of inherent human limitations. The acceptance of such limitations is elegantly expressed in Solzhenitsyn’s insight that the line between good and evil passes first neither through classes, nor nations, nor political parties, but right through the center of every human heart.

  We are all aware of the horrifying consequences that follow when fascism slides, as it readily does, into totalitarianism. But consider that the defining feature of all totalitarianisms is not concentration camps or secret police or constant surveillance — though these are all bad enough. The common feature, as Del Noce pointed out, is the denial of the universality of reason. With this denial, all truth claims are interpreted as historically or materially determined, and thus, as ideology. This leads to the assertion that there is no rationality as such — only bourgeois reason and proletariat reason, or Jewish reason and Aryan reason, or black reason and white reason, or progressive reason and reactionary reason, and so forth.

  One’s rational arguments are then taken to be mere mystifications or justifications and are summarily dismissed: “You think such-and-such only because you are [fill in the blank with various markers of identity, class, nationality, race, political persuasion, etc.].” This marks the death of dialogue and reasoned debate. It also accounts for the literally “loopy” closed-loop epistemology of contemporary social justice advocates of the critical theory school: anyone who denies being a [fill-in-the-blank epithet] only further confirms that the label applies, so one’s only option is to accept the label. Heads-I-win; tails-you-lose.

  In such a society there can be no shared deliberation rooted in our participation in a higher Logos (word, reason, plan, order) that transcends each individual. As happened historically with all forms of fascism, culture — the realm of ideas and shared ideals — is absorbed into politics, and politics becomes total war. From within this framework, one can no longer admit any conception of legitimate authority, in the enriching etymological sense of “to make grow,” where we also derive the word “author.” All authority is instead conflated with power, and power is nothing but brute force.

  Since persuasion through shared reasoning and deliberation is pointless, lying becomes the norm. Language is not capable of revealing truth, which compels assent without negating our freedom. Instead, words are mere symbols to be manipulated. A fascist does not attempt to persuade his interlocutor, he merely overpowers him — using words when these serve to silence the enemy or deploying other means when words will not do the trick.

  This is always how things begin, and as the internal logic unfolds, the rest of the totalitarian apparatus inevitably follows. Once we grasp fascism’s deep roots and central features, one essential consequence becomes clear. Anti-fascist efforts can succeed only by starting from the premise of a universal shared rationality. Authentic anti-fascism will therefore always seek to employ nonviolent means of persuasion, appealing to evidence and to the conscience of one’s interlocutor. The problem is not just that other methods of opposing fascism will be pragmatically ineffective, but that they will unwittingly but inevitably come to resemble the enemy they claim to oppose.

  We can look to Simone Weil as an authentic and exemplary anti-fascist figure. Weil always wanted to be on the side of the oppressed. She lived this conviction with exceptional single-mindedness and purity. As she relentlessly pursued the idea of justice inscribed in the human heart, she passed through a revolutionary phase, followed by a gnostic phase, before she finally rediscovered the Platonic tradition — the perennial philosophy of our shared participation in the Logos — with its universal criterion of truth and the primacy of the good. She arrived here precisely through her anti-fascist commitments, which entailed a rebellion against every delusional deification of man. Weil emerged from the modern world and its contradictions the way a prisoner emerges from Plato’s cave.

  After volunteering to fight with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, Weil broke with the illusory anti-fascism of Marxist revolutionary thought. Recognizing that, in the end, “evil produces only evil and good produces only good,” and “the future is made of the same stuff as the present,” she discovered a more enduring anti-fascist position. This led her to call the destruction of the past “perhaps the greatest of all crimes.”

  In her last book, written a few months before she died in 1943, Weil elaborated on the limits of both fascist vitalism and Marxist materialism: “Either we must perceive at work in the universe, alongside force, a principle of a different kind, or else we must recognize force as being the unique and sovereign ruler over human relations also.”

  Weil was thoroughly secular prior to her philosophical conversion and her subsequent mystical experiences: her rediscovery of classical philosophy occurred not through any sort of traditionalism, but by living the ethical question of justice with full intellectual honesty and total personal commitment. In pursuing this question to the end, she came to see that human self-redemption — fascism’s ideal — is actually an idol. Those who want to be truly anti-fascist would do well to explore Weil’s writings. I will give her the last word, which contains the seeds of the way out of our crisis. In one of her last essays, she offers us not a counsel of facile optimism, but a beautiful thought about our unconquerable receptivity to grace:

  At the bottom of the heart of every human being, from earliest infancy until the tomb, there is something that goes on indomitably expecting, in the teeth of all experience of crimes committed, suffered, and witnessed, that good and not evil will be done to him. It is this above all that is sacred in every human being.

  Republished from The Simone Weil Center

  Aaron Kheriaty, Senior Brownstone Institute Counselor, is a Scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, DC. He is a former Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California at Irvine School of Medicine, where he was the director of Medical Ethics.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 23:10

• Chicago Mayor Wants $1 Billion More For Schools Even Though 43% Of Teachers Are Chronically Absent
  Chicago Mayor Wants $1 Billion More For Schools Even Though 43% Of Teachers Are Chronically Absent

  By Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner of Wirepoints

  Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson recently traveled to Springfield with a big wish list of stuff he wants from state lawmakers. Among them, $1 billion in extra funding for Chicago Public Schools.

  We have a host of reasons why his demand should be categorically rejected. Among them, CPS already spends $29,000 per student, Chicago teachers are already among the nation’s highest paid in big cities and the Chicago Teachers Union refuses to close the many empty, failing schools across the district. Not to mention that both CPS and CTU refuse to hold themselves accountable to students. Just 20% of minority CPS children can read at grade level and in math it’s even worse.

  Now add to that the growing rate of teachers simply not showing up to school. The U.S. Department of Education’s definition of chronic teacher absenteeism is 10 or more absences in a school year.

  In CPS, the share of teachers who are chronically absent has jumped to 43% from 28% just seven years ago. The jump can’t be blamed on the pandemic, as the rate of absenteeism was rising (from 28% to 36%) even before covid hit.

  

  Teacher attendance has a heavy impact on student outcomes. From the Illinois State Board of Education’s Report Card:

  “Teacher attendance is a “leading indicator” of student achievement, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Teachers with regular attendance provide continuity of instruction and attention to individual students. The National Bureau of Economic Research has shown that when teachers are absent for 10 days or more, student outcomes decrease significantly.”

  Instead of asking for more money, Mayor Johnson should make sure his CTU brethren are actually in the classroom. He should then set dramatically higher reading and math proficiency targets that both he and teachers are held accountable for. 

  And then the mayor should make those targets public.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 22:30

• Your Tax Dollars At Work: In Two Years, $7.5 Billion Has Produced Just 7 EV Charging Stations
  Your Tax Dollars At Work: In Two Years, $7.5 Billion Has Produced Just 7 EV Charging Stations

  When people gripe about paying taxes and the government being a poor the absolute worst possible capital allocation, this is what they are talking about: $7.5 billion in investments for electric vehicles has – in two years – produced just 7 charging stations across four states. 

  The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by Biden in November 2021, allocated $7.5 billion for EV charging, the Washington Post writes. Of this amount, $5 billion went to states as “formula funding” for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program to establish a network of fast chargers along major highways.

  Today, there’s seven chargers with a total of just 38 parking spots. And, come on: when the Post is calling it out, you know the results have been horrible. 

  The Post added that with the Biden administration’s new emissions rules requiring more electric and hybrid vehicles, the slow pace of charging infrastructure development could hinder the transition to electric cars. Twelve additional states have awarded contracts for charging station construction, while 17 states have yet to issue proposals.

  Alexander Laska, deputy director for transportation and innovation at the center-left think tank Third Way, told The Post: “I think a lot of people who are watching this are getting concerned about the timeline.”

  

  The slow rollout of new EV chargers is partly due to higher standards compared to previous fast chargers. The U.S. has nearly 10,000 fast charging stations, including over 2,000 reliable Tesla Superchargers, but non-Tesla chargers often suffer from poor performance.

  New Biden administration rules require chargers to be 97% operational, offer 150kW power, and be within one mile of highways. These standards are crucial but slow down progress due to complex rules, permitting challenges, and power demands. The NEVI program aims to boost fast charging capacity by 50% to reduce “range anxiety,” but states must first build the chargers.

  Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) and Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) wrote to the Biden Administration last month: “We have significant concerns that under your efforts American taxpayer dollars are being woefully mismanaged.”

  “State transportation agencies are the recipients of the money. Nearly all of them had no experience deploying electric vehicle charging stations before this law was enacted,” Nick Nigro, founder of Atlas Public Policy added.

  The Federal Highway Administration responded: “We are building a national EV charging network from scratch, and we want to get it right. After developing program guidance and partnering with states to guide implementation plans, we are hitting our stride as states move quickly to bring NEVI stations online.”

  “More Americans are buying EVs every day — with EV sales rising faster than traditional gas-powered cars — as the President’s Investing in America agenda makes EVs more affordable, helps Americans save money when driving, and makes EV charging accessible and convenient,” a White House spokesperson added.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 21:50

• The Proof Of Censorship Is…Censored
  The Proof Of Censorship Is…Censored

  Authored by Jeffrey A. Tucker via the Brownstone Institute,

  

  It’s not been a good week for the Censorship Industrial Complex. 

  The machine has been built and put into action over nearly a decade but largely in secret. Its way of doing business has been via surreptitious contacts with media and tech companies, intelligence carve-outs in “fact-checking” organizations, payoffs, and various other clever strategies, all directed toward boosting some sources of information and suppressing others. The goal has always been to advance regime narratives and curate the public mind. 

  And yet, based on its operations and insofar as we can tell, it had every intention of remaining secret. This is for a reason. A systematic effort by government to bully private sector companies into a particular narrative while suppressing dissent contradicts American law and tradition. It also violates human rights as understood since the Enlightenment. It was a consensus, until very recently, that free speech was essential to the functioning of the good society. 

  Four years ago, many of us suspected censorship was going on, that the throttling and banning was not merely a mistake or the result of zealous employees stepping out of line. Three years ago, the proof started to arrive. Two years ago, it became a flood. With the Twitter files from a year ago, we had all the proof we needed that the censorship was systematic, directed, and highly effective. But even then, we only knew a fraction of it. 

  Thanks to discovery from court cases, FOIA requests, whistleblowers, Congressional inquiries thanks to the very narrow Republican control, and some industrial upheavals such as what happened at Twitter, we are overwhelmed with tens of thousands of pages all pointing to the same reality. 

  The censors developed a belief at the highest levels of control in government that it was their job to govern what information the American people would and would not see, regardless of the truth. The actions became truly tribal: our side favors banning gatherings, closing schools, says the Hunter Biden laptop is a fake, favors masking, mass vaccination, and mail-in voting, and denies the import of voter fraud and vaccine injury, whereas their side takes the opposite approach. 

  It was a war over information, undertaken in total disregard for the First Amendment, as if it doesn’t even exist. Moreover, the operation was not only political. It clearly involved intelligence agencies that were already hip deep in the “all-of-society” pandemic response. 

  “All of Society” means all, including the information you receive and are allowed to distribute. 

  A vast swath of unelected bureaucrats took it upon themselves to manage all knowledge flows in the age of the Internet, with the ambition to turn the main source of news and sharing into a giant American version of Pravda. All of this occurred right under our noses – and is still going on today. 

  Indeed, censorship is a full-on industry now, with hundreds and thousands of cut-outs, universities, media companies, government agencies, and even young people in school studying to be disinformation specialists, and bragging about it on social media. We are just one step away from a New York Times article – as follow-ups to their recent praise of the Deep State and also government surveillance – with a headline like “The Good Society Needs Censors.”

  Incredibly, the censorship is so pervasive now that it is not even reported. All these revelations should have been front page news. But so captured is the news media today that there are very few outlets that even bother to report the fullness of the problem. 

  Not receiving nearly enough attention is the new report from the Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government of the US House of Representatives. 

  Running nearly 1,000 pages including documentation (however many pages are purposely blank), we have here an overwhelming amount of evidence of a systematic, aggressive, and deeply entrenched effort on the part of the federal government, including the Biden White House and many agencies including the World Health Organization, to tear out the guts of the Internet and social media culture and replace them with propaganda. 

  Among the well-documented facts are that the White House directly intervened in Amazon’s own marketing methods to deprecate books that raised doubts about the Covid vaccine and all vaccines. Amazon responded reluctantly but did what it could to satisfy the censors. All these companies – Google, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon – became acquiescent to Biden administration priorities, even to the point of running algorithmic changes by the White House before implementation. 

  When YouTube announced that it would take down any content that contradicted the World Health Organization, it was because the White House instructed them to do so. 

  

  As for Amazon, which is like every publisher in wanting full freedom to distribute, they faced intense pressure from government.

  

  These are just a few of thousands of pieces of evidence of routine interference from government against social media companies, either directly or through various government-funded cut-outs, all designed to enforce a certain way of thinking on the American public. 

  What’s amazing is that this industry was allowed to metastasize to such an extent over 4-8 years or so, with no legal oversight and very little knowledge on the part of the public. It’s as if there is no such thing as the First Amendment. It’s a dead letter. Even now, the Supreme Court seems confused, based on our reading of the oral arguments over this whole case (Murthy v. Missouri). 

  One gets the sense when reading through all this correspondence that the companies were more than a bit rattled by the pressure. They must have wondered a few things: 1) is this normal? 2) do we really have to go along? 3) what happens to us if we just say no?

  Probably every corner grocery store in any neighborhood run by a crime syndicate in history has asked these questions. The best answer is to do what you can in order to make them go away. This is precisely what they did time after time. After a while, the protocol probably begins to feel normal and no one asks anymore the basic questions: is this right? Is this freedom? Is this legal? Is this just the way things go in the US?

  No matter how many high officials were involved, how many in the C-suites of big companies participated, however many editors and technicians of the best credentials played along, there can be no question that what took place was an absolute violation of speech rights that very likely exceeds anything we’ve seen in US history. 

  Keep in mind that we only know what we know, and that is severely truncated by the force of the machinery. We can safely assume that the truth actually is far worse than we know. And further consider that this censorship is keeping us from knowing the full story about the suppression of dissidents, whether medical, scientific, political, or otherwise. 

  There might be millions in many professions who are suffering right now, in silence. Or think of the vaccine-injured or those who have lost loved ones who were forced to get the shot. There are no headlines. There are no investigations. There is almost no public attention at all. Most of the venues that we once thought would police such outrages have been compromised. 

  To top it off, the censors are still not backing down. If you sense a lessening of the grip for now, there is every reason to believe it is temporary. This industry wants the entire Internet as we once conceived of it completely shut down. That’s the goal.

  At this point, the best means of defeating this plan is widespread public outrage. That is made more difficult because the censorship itself is being censored. 

  This is why this report from the US House of Representatives needs to be widely shared so long as doing so is possible. It could be that such reports in the future will themselves be censored. It could also be the last such report you will ever see before the curtain falls on freedom completely. 

  Jeffrey Tucker is Founder, Author, and President at Brownstone Institute. He is also Senior Economics Columnist for Epoch Times, author of 10 books, including Life After Lockdown, and many thousands of articles in the scholarly and popular press. He speaks widely on topics of economics, technology, social philosophy, and culture.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 21:10

• Chevy Forced To Ditch Its Long-Running Malibu Model As Forced Transition To EVs Continues
  Chevy Forced To Ditch Its Long-Running Malibu Model As Forced Transition To EVs Continues

  One of Chevy’s longest running vehicle models has now fallen at the hands of the company’s transition to EVs. The Chevy Malibu will be no longer, according to a new report from Car and Driver. 

  The Chevy Malibu, one of the longest-running and most successful vehicles in history, is being discontinued again. Chevrolet informed Car and Driver that production will end in November 2024 as the automaker invests $390 million in its Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas.

  Car and Driver reports that GM will also pause production of the Cadillac XT4 in January to retool for the Ultium-based Bolt EV. Production will resume in late 2025, with the XT4 and Bolt EV sharing an assembly line.

  Despite Chevy’s shift towards crossovers and SUVs, the Malibu remained a steady presence, with over 10 million units sold across nine generations. However, its discontinuation comes as a surprise given GM’s recent EV challenges, including missing the goal of selling 400,000 EVs by mid-2024 and reintroducing plug-in hybrids to North America.

  “We’ve been somewhat lukewarm toward the Malibu in recent years, but we’ll certainly lament the passing of such a longstanding nameplate. Who knows? Maybe GM will revive it as an EV in another 15 years,” Car and Driver wrote. 

  

  Meanwhile just days ago we published an article highlighting how Ford’s $120,000 loss per vehicle makes it fairly clear that California (and the nation’s) EVs goals are unreachable. 

  On April 24, Ford reported it lost $132,000 for each of its 10,000 electric vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2024, according to CNN. The sales were down 20 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and would “drag down earnings for the company overall.”

  The Epoch Times notes that the losses include “hundreds of millions being spent on research and development of the next generation of EVs for Ford. Those investments are years away from paying off.” Ford is the only major carmaker breaking out EV numbers by themselves. But other marques likely suffer similar losses.

  Californians bought 1.78 million new vehicles in 2023, reported the California New Car Dealers Association. Multiply that number by $132,000 and you get $235 billion. That would bankrupt every car manufacturer, meaning they just would pull out of selling anything in the state.

  The California government would have to set up socialist, government-owned companies to make the cars, like the infamous Yugo. Dubbed “the worst car in history,” it was sold in America in the 1980s and was made by the communist Yugoslav government just before the country itself broke up in 1991.

  And compared to that…the not-especially-wonderful-looking Malibu wouldn’t look that bad…

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 20:30

• The Land Of The Setting Sun: The Currency Crisis Of Japan Has Just Started
  The Land Of The Setting Sun: The Currency Crisis Of Japan Has Just Started

  By Tuomas Malinen of The MT Malinen substack

  On Tuesday, we shortly commented the flash crash and the (assisted) recovery of the Japanese Yen between Friday and Monday, 26-29 April, on the GnS Economic’s Deprcon Outlook. In this entry, I will detail the reasons behind the crash, which go way back in history starting from the post-WWII growth model of the Japanese economy, leading to the the financial crash of early 1990s. They imply that the currency crisis of Japan is far from over.

  Boom and bust

  The Japanese economy was devastated in the Second World War, which created a need for a major reconstruction effort. Japanese also switched their model of governance to democracy, which laid the foundation for a stable society supportive of investments. The economic boom after WWII was fueled by financial regulation that kept the nominal interest rate below inflation and successful economic reforms that supported, e.g., neutral recruiting of labor and education. The mandarins at the Ministry of Finance issued ceiling on interest rates of both lending and deposit rates, which led to a notable investment boom. Export sector grew fast with the composition of the exports changing from toys and textiles to bicycles and motorcycles and further to steel, automobiles and electronics over the decades.

  Japanese government began to deregulate the financial sector in the early 1980’s, following a global trend. Also, in the mid-1980’s, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) tried to aggressively limit the appreciation of yen (because it decreased country’s trade surplus), by cutting interest rates. These led to a rapid growth in the supplies of money and credit. A financial boom ensued.

  The credit expansion led to notable gains in the real estate and stock markets, where bubbles grew to massive sizes. By the late 1980’s, the price index for residential real estate in the six largest Japanese cities had 58-folded from 1955. During the 1980’s alone, the price of real estate increased by a factor of six. At the peak, the value of Japanese real estate was double of that in the US. According to the chatter at the time, the market value of land under the Imperial Palace in Tokyo was greater than the market value of all real estate in California. The Nikkei stock market index rose 40000 percent from early 1949 till late 1989, with massive increase during the 1980’s. In the late 1980’s, the market value of Japanese equities was twice the market value of US equities.

  The real estate and stock market booms were highly connected. A substantial portion of firms listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange were real estate companies, which held considerable positions in property of major cities. Construction activity surged due to the combination of booming real estate prices and financial deregulation. Banks held large volumes of real estate and stocks, whose increasing value led to appreciation of banking stocks. Borrowers were usually required to pledge real estate as collateral, which meant that increase in the value of the real estate increased the value of the collateral enabling banks to increase their loan portfolio and grow in size. Also industrial firms bought real estate as the profit it produced was many times higher than that of, e.g., producing steel and automobiles. There was a ‘perpetual motion machine’ of ever-increasing prices and financial wealth, until suddenly there was not.

  In the mid-1989, the BoJ started to rise interest rates, with the obvious effort to prick the asset bubbles. It succeeded. The stock market peaked at the last trading day in 1989, and fell over 38 percent in 1990. It bottomed out in Spring 2003 after falling close to 80 percent from the peak (Nikkei actually broke its previous record, set on December 29, 1989, on February 22 this year). The fall in real estate prices was slower, but extensive. For example, commercial real estate fell close to one-tenth of its peak value. Because the collateral of the banking sector was tightly connected to real estate, its value collapsed. Many industrial firms suffered crippling losses from their investments in the real estate.

  The collapse of stock markets and real estate wiped out a large chunk of capital of banks, which in collaboration with the declining value of bank collateral, hurdled the banking sector into insolvency. Credit creation collapsed and the economy tumbled. A financial crisis set in.

  The bailout

  After the crash of the real estate sector, majority of the large Japanese banks remained bankrupt for most of the 1990’s. It was a tradition in Japan to socialize the losses of the banking sector, and regulatory authorities were reluctant to close banks considered bankrupt.

  While the BoJ was somewhat slow to respond to the crisis, it started to lower its target interest rate in 1991, which eventually reached zero in early 1999. When the crisis intensified, the BoJ started to act as lender of last resort, the main task of a central bank in a crisis, but it also bailed out several financial institutions. This was mostly done by providing funds to different bodies, including the Housing Loan Administration assuming bad loans from the off-balance sheet, or jusen, companies banks had created to provide mortgages and the New Financial Stablization Fund, which provided capital both to banks and private financial institutions. This was very exceptional as central banks do usually provide only liquidity, not capital, to banks not to mention to private financial companies.

  Facing a public anger over bank bailouts in the early stages of the crisis, the government allowed, and in some cases even encouraged, banks to extend loans to ailing businesses. Government, e.g., allowed for accounting gimmicks which, with the lacking transparency, enabled banks to downplay their loan losses and overstate their capital.

  These measures saved the financial sector, but at a heavy cost. Because the banking sector was not restructured, bank lending collapsed and was diverted towards ailing unprofitable companies. The reason for this was simple: banks tried to avoid further losses from bankruptcies.

  After the implosion of the asset bubbles, the domestic non-traded goods sector held the largest share of unprofitable companies. While bank lending to exporting (trading goods) sector diminished in the 1990’s, bank lending to the non-traded good sector actually increased. Thus, Japanese banks kept extending lines of credit to unprofitable firms to avoid losses that would have occurred if the firms would have gone bust. This zombified the Japanese economy.

  So, while government policies were effective in restoring some trust to financial sector, they let the “zombie” banks to linger. They were kept standing without recapitalization or clearing their books. Subsidies from the government and ‘zombie-lending’ from banks kept unprofitable firms operating, but also blocked creation of new firms, because when banks use their diminished lending capacity to support ailing companies, the funding for risky new enterprises dries up. The old unprofitable firms also tie private capital, which could otherwise be used to support the creation of new businesses. This leads to a vicious loop of depressed innovation, falling production and diminishing profits. As a result, the Japanese economy stagnated. Moreover, these policies led to misallocation of credit on a massive scale, fall in the investment rate, and a prolonged slump in productivity.

  

  The drag

  When the private sector becomes infested with so called zombie companies, which are able to stand only with the help of easy credit, it becomes a serious drag to the economy. This is clearly visible in the growth of the Total Factor Productivity of Japan.

  

  The figure above presents the three-year moving average of the growth of the TFP. We can see a rather clear collapse in the growth rate of the TFP of Japan from around 1992 lasting till 2012. In 2018, the TFP growth fell negative again, and spiked in 2023. The U.S. series provides a reference point.

  You can think of the TFP as a your productivity at work. If your productivity increases, you (usually) earn more income, which makes you able increase your livings standards and, e.g. to pay back your loans. However, if your productivity stagnates, or even starts to fall, you earn less income, which starts to eat into your living standards, unless you support it (artificially) through borrowing. Moreover, if a considerable share of this borrowing does not go into productive investments, which would increase your productivity and thus income stream in the future, you just go deeper into debt with your ability pay it back hindered. This is exactly what happened to Japan. Because her productivity fell for a very long time, the only way to keep the living standards and the economy afloat was through massive government borrowing and monetary stimulus (low interest rates). Due to this, the ability of the Japanese government to pay back its debt has diminished as the economy has now grown, while the debt pile has grown to a monstrous size.

  The problem Japan currently faces can thus be depicted as follows:

  

  After the crisis of early 1990’s, the leaders of Japan decided not to let the economy to crash, because of e.g. cultural issues. In Japan, bankruptcies are considered highly shameful often leading to suicides. While the bailout of the Japanese economy was understandable culturally, the fact is that the restructuring of the Japanese economy after the financial crisis was an utter failure. Another country which experienced a financial crash at the same time, but recovered quite remarkably, is Finland.

  Currency crisis

  Currency and debt crises tend to be deeply intertwined. This is because the foreign exchange value of a currency reflects the trust of international investors and businesses on the keeper of the currency, i.e. the government of a country.

  Essentially, a currency crisis or a crash is an “attack” on the exchange value of the currency in the markets. If the foreign exchange (FX) rate is fixed or pegged, this attack will test central banks (the monetary authority) commitment to the peg. The current view is that the timing of the attacks is not predictable (forecastable). If the FX-rate is fixed or pegged, market participants expect the policy of monetary authorities will be inconsistent with the peg and they will try to force authorities to abandon the peg, thus validating their expectations.

  What matters for speculators are the internal economic conditions with respect to external conditions set for the currency (like stable FX-rate) . If these are incompatible in some meaningful way, like when the government has an unsustainable debt burden, monetary authorities face a trade-off between external and domestic goals for the exchange rate. In these circumstances, random shocks in the foreign exchange markets, called sunspots, can trigger an attack on the external value of the currency. This means that, when internal economic conditions are deteriorating, due to e.g. an unsustainable sovereign debt load, random events or shocks, can break the trust of investors leading them to sell the currency in the exchange markets causing the (external) value of the currency to drop suddenly or even to crash.

  If a country holds a large external debt pile, a crashing currency will naturally increase its (foreign-currency) value threatening to create a wave of defaults. This applies to private entities, as well as to local and central governments. A currency crash is often expected to lead to interest rate rises by the monetary authority to defend the FX-rate of the currency. However, if the government holds a large amount of debt, higher interest rates can easily succumb the government under interest payments, which will eventually lead to a sovereign default. Rising interest rates would thus lead to further deterioration of trust by investors in the currency of a highly indebted government. This is why the Bank of Japan is trapped. If it would start to raise rates, the debt service burden of the Japanese government would rapidly become unsurmountable.

  Conclusions

  The bailout of the Japanese economy in early 1990s, which caused the slump in productivity leading to the very high indebtedness of the Japanese government, is the main culprit behind the ‘flash crash’ of the Japanese Yen. On April 26, it seems, a ‘sunspot’ triggered the selling. The response of the monetary authority, i.e., the BoJ, was to start to defend the yen at USDJPY pair of 160. Its intervention (buying of yen) pushed the pair to under 153 on May 3, where it has started to creep back up.

  As the underlying problems of the Japanese economy have not gone anywhere, the attack on the yen in the markets is likely to continue and escalate, again, at some point. The question is, what is the breaking point in the USDJPY pair after which investors start to flee? Moreover, we should remember that monetary authorities have their limits, while markets don’t. Thus, it is very likely that the currency crisis of Japan has but just started. See my other post for analysis on its implications.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 19:50

• Watch: Northern Israel Is Literally On Fire After Hezbollah Attacks
  Watch: Northern Israel Is Literally On Fire After Hezbollah Attacks

  Starting Friday night into Saturday a series of surreal images and videos have circulated widely showing that whole swathes of northern Israel are literally on fire.

  The fires were largely in open field areas, but were very extensive given they were the result of about 35 rockets being fired from Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, targeting the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, which suffered damage.

  ⚡️Hezb-Allah missiles burning the occupied town of Kiryat Shmona pic.twitter.com/fgDMrDPL0A

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) May 10, 2024

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

  Brushfires erupted, but there were some direct hits on homes and buildings as well. “The city reported significant damage to property and infrastructure, with dozens of homes and vehicles affected,” Ynet news reports.

  At least ten fire crews from the area of Galilee and Golan responded, and worked to extinguish at least two expansive fires which were in open fields.

  

  Since conflict erupted along the Israel-Lebanese border in the wake of the Hamas Oct.7 terror attack, rocket salvos from Hezbollah have been almost daily, but these appear to be the most extensive wildfires which have resulted to date.

  Israeli authorities have confirmed and filmed the fires which were at their height in the Friday overnight and Saturday early morning hours.

  ⚡️Hezbollah has brought hell to Kiryat Shmona… Massive fires erupted from Katyusha rockets…. are still ongoing. pic.twitter.com/ijnyFWFaOS

  — Warfare Analysis (@warfareanalysis) May 10, 2024

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

  Hezbollah, which is a close ally of Iran, issued a statement confirming its fighters launched “a salvo of Katyusha rockets” at Israel’s north “in response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks on… civilians, most recently in Tayr Harfa.”

  Footage shows large fire burning in Kiryat Shmona, following Hezbollah’s rocket barrage. pic.twitter.com/dXVykITlaX

  — Arya – آریا 🇮🇷 (@AryJeay) May 10, 2024

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

  Tens of thousands of Israeli residents have fled their homes after months of constant rocket barrages.

  Israel has also on a weekly and daily basis responded with large strikes on areas of southern Lebanon, including on villages and towns.

  “Kiryat Shmona” settlement once again on fire from Hezb-Allah 35+ rocket barrage pic.twitter.com/C1axkCmrom

  — julia m.k. (@bintmachgara) May 10, 2024

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

  Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services North District issued a statement saying, “The firefighters are working tirelessly to contain the flames along the residential line, while fire alarms continuously sound in the area.”

  “The combination of weather conditions and heavy barrages has led to multiple fire sites—a scenario we were prepared for and responded to with reinforced efforts,” Commander Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner Yair Elkayam,” it continued.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 19:10

• "It Simply Does Not Make Any Sense": Judge Trashes Election Lawsuit By The Elias Law Firm
  “It Simply Does Not Make Any Sense”: Judge Trashes Election Lawsuit By The Elias Law Firm

  Authored by Jonathan Turley via jonathanturley.org,

  

  The firm of former Clinton campaign general counsel Marc Elias has lost another election case in a spectacular fashion. The Chief Judge of the Western District of Wisconsin, James Peterson (an Obama appointee), did not just reject but ridiculed the Elias Law Group challenge to a witness requirement for absentee voting. Elias have been previously sanctioned in court and accused of lying in the Steele dossier scandal by journalists and others.

  U.S. District Judge James Peterson ruled against the lawsuit brought by the Elias Law Group, arguing that the witness requirement violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Civil Rights Act of 1964.

  The state statute under § 6.87(2) describes what the witness must certify. The statute first sets forth in two sentences what the voter must certify on the ballot envelope. The first requirement concerns the voter certifying that he or she meets the requirements for voting generally and for voting absentee in Wisconsin.

  The second requirement is certification that the voter followed the process for preparing the absentee ballot. These are the called the “first voter certification” and the “witness certification.”

  The witness certification refers to a witness certifying “all of the above,” which is obviously referring to the language on preparing the absentee ballot.

  Elias argued that it requires certification of everything that preceded it on the details of the voter’s record etc.

  In the court’s opinion, Judge Peterson expresses disbelief at the lunacy of the Elias argument, writing:

  “Normally, the court would begin by searching for other textual clues in the statute. But in this case, the most obvious problem with plaintiffs’ interpretation is that it simply does not make any sense.”

  The court then notes that:

  “Under plaintiffs’ interpretation, every witness would have to determine the voter’s age, residence, citizenship, criminal history, whether the voter is unable or unwilling to vote in person, whether the voter has voted at another location or is planning to do so, whether the voter is capable of understanding the objective of the voting process, whether the voter is under a guardianship, and, if so, whether a court has determined that the voter is competent. See Wis. Stat. §§ 6.02 and 6.03. Many witnesses would be unable to independently verify much of the required information. The statute allows any adult U.S. citizen to serve as a witness, suggesting that a wide variety of people should be able to do the job…It makes no sense to interpret § 6.87 in a way that would make compliance virtually impossible.

  If plaintiffs’ interpretation were correct, it would mean that countless absentee ballots over decades were invalid because the witness certified that the voter was qualified to vote and met the other requirements in the first voter certification, even though the witness had no basis for such a certification.”

  However, it gets even wackier. They argued that a simple witness requirement constituted a type of illegal vouching under the Voting Rights Act. This is a reference to the Jim Crow era when a registered voter had to vouch for a new voter, a system meant to prevent African Americans from voting.

  The case adds to a long litany of losses and controversies for Elias. That record includes allegations of lying to reporters and subverting voters.

  Elias featured prominently in the filings of Special Counsel John Durham. It was Elias who made the key funding available to Fusion GPS, which in turn enlisted Steele to produce his now discredited dossier on Trump and his campaign.

  During the campaign, reporters did ask about the possible connection to the campaign, but Clinton campaign officials denied any involvement. Weeks after the election, journalists discovered that the Clinton campaign hid payments for the Steele dossier as “legal fees” among the $5.6 million paid to Perkins Coie.

  New York Times reporter Ken Vogel said at the time that Elias denied involvement in the anti-Trump dossier. When Vogel tried to report the story, he said, Elias “pushed back vigorously, saying ‘You (or your sources) are wrong.’” Times reporter Maggie Haberman declared, “Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year.”

  It was not just reporters who asked the Clinton campaign about its role in the Steele dossier. John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, was questioned by Congress and denied categorically any contractual agreement with Fusion GPS. Sitting beside him was Elias, who reportedly said nothing to correct the misleading information given to Congress.

  The Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee were ultimately sanctioned by the FEC over the handling of the funding of the dossier through his prior firm.

  The Democratic National Committee reportedly later cut ties with Elias.

  Elias has been sanctioned in past litigation. Yet, other democrats have continued to hire Elias despite his checkered past. Elias unsuccessfully led efforts to challenge Democratic losses.  Elias also was the subject of intense criticism after a tweet that some have called inherently racist.

  Elias was back in the news in another major defeat in Maryland. He filed in support of an abusive gerrymandering of the election districts that a court found violated not only violated Maryland law but the state constitution’s equal protection, free speech and free elections clauses. The court found that the map pushed by Elias “subverts the will of those governed.”

  Elias has been accused of making millions from gerrymandering and challenging election victories by Republicans (while condemning such actions by Republicans as “anti-Democratic”). His work for New York redistricting that was ridiculed as not only ignoring the express will of the voters to end such gerrymandering while effectively negating the votes of Republican voters.

  Recently, Elias’ name popped up again in the scandal involving David Hogg and accounting irregularities. Hogg is accused of raising millions to support liberal candidates but allegedly spending only $263,000 on such candidates while paying $83,000 to the Elias law firm.

  Previously, when allegations of self-dealing and accounting improprieties were raised with regard to Black Lives Matter, the group’s attorney, Elias, immediately stood out for many. Elias resigned from his “key role” with BLM as the scandal exploded.

  It is not known if the Elias Law Group will appeal this stinging rebuke or cut its losses.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 18:30

• Suspect In Bronx 'Rope And Rape' Arrested
  Suspect In Bronx ‘Rope And Rape’ Arrested

  A man who was caught on camera in a horrific rape in the Bronx has been arrested.

  

  Kassan Parks, 39, was arrested Saturday and charged with walking up behind a 45-year-old victim at 3 a.m. May 1, lassoing her with a bent from behind, dragging her unconscious body between two cars, and raping her, the NY Post reports.

  According to the NYPD, Parks pulled the victim to the ground, “causing her to lose consciousness.”

  “The male then dragged the victim between two cars and sexually assaulted her,” before fleeing the scene.

  Parks has been charged with first-degree rape, assault, strangulation, sex abuse, public lewdness and harassment.

  🚨BREAKING UPDATE: Police identified Kashaan Parks, 39 for choking a woman with a belt and ráping her between two cars in the Bronx.

  Parks has five prior arrests.

  A video emerged from the Bronx showing residents capturing Parks.

  What should be his punishment? https://t.co/zBmurcWmNz pic.twitter.com/Ii1zqXUedt

  — I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) May 10, 2024

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

  On Thursday, the Post reported that the victim had stopped cooperating with the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit. She was brought to a NYC hospital and is in stable condition.

  A total of 511 rapes have been reported throughout New York City as of May 5, which is in-line with 2023 figures YTD.

  Sadly, one has to wonder if he’ll even be prosecuted given where the crime occurred.

  What’s the point of searching for him since the NY “no crime” DA will release him the next day https://t.co/92Zid6nN86

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 11, 2024

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

   

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 17:50

• Gaza Truce Talks 'Back To Square One'
  Gaza Truce Talks ‘Back To Square One’

  For several months running there have been a seeming myriad of sometimes contradictory headlines saying a Hamas-Israel truce is “close,” or “nearing the finish line” or else “stalled” or also “progressing”… Friday saw truce talks come full circle with the following Hamas statement cited in Reuters:

  The Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Friday efforts to agree to a ceasefire for the Gaza Strip were back at square one after Israel effectively rejected a proposal by international mediators.

  

  The representatives of both sides for the ‘indirect’ talks in Cairo (and which are also mediated by Qatar) have gone home with nothing substantive having been advanced.

  Israeli media also confirms the talks “appeared to break up with no discernable progress, as the terror group said it had no intention of budging from a proposal already rejected by Israel.”

  “A senior Israeli official said the Israeli team had also left after handing mediators a list of its reservations about the Hamas proposal,” the report continues.

  Earlier in the week Hamas issued a statement saying, “The ball is now completely in the hands of the occupation.” So indeed neither side is backing away from their demands, and the stalemate has ensued.

  A key point of contention has been Hamas’ demand that Israel’s military withdraw from the Gaza Strip in full and on a permanent basis in order to receive hostages back, while Israel has interpreted this to mean a mere temporary pause in fighting and removal of some forces.

  Currently, Israel appears to be moving forward with the Rafah operation, and has the eastern part of the city surrounded. A main road dividing the eastern and western halves of the city has been captured by IDF tanks.

  The UN has warned that humanitarian aid workers cannot access the surrounded part of the city. Rafah currently is home to some 1.3 million displaced persons, and aid workers fear that a massacre will result if there’s a full ground operation.

  In Refah today.
  From the camera of journalist Hani Aburezeq. Rafah city, where 1 million Palestinians live. More than 300 thousand people left Rafah. The rest are getting ready to leave. Where they will go and how they will continue their lives is uncertain. pic.twitter.com/rv0AKDB3O9

  — Gaza Notifications (@gazanotice) May 11, 2024

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

  But the Netanyahu government has never backed off from its insistence that Hamas can only be finished off if the IDF goes into Gaza to take out the final brigades and commanders. 

  Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been seen pouring out of Rafah, but it’s unclear where they will ultimately go. Egyptian security forces have had a heavy presence on the other side of the border, fearing that the Rafah crossing could be overrun. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 16:30

• Average Credit Card Debt In US Now Soaring Past $6,500
  Average Credit Card Debt In US Now Soaring Past $6,500

  Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  A just-released report from Scholaroo indicates that the U.S. national average for credit card debt has escalated to $6,555, with New Jersey residents leading the nation with an average debt of $8,155 per credit card. Scholaroo, a national firm matching college students with potential scholarships, surveyed more than 2,000 people across the United States during the final quarter of 2023.

  Coming in at a close second is Connecticut, with an average debt of $8,011 per credit card, followed by Maryland, New York, and Alaska—all with average credit card debts of more than $7,600 per card. Rounding out the top 10 states are Colorado, California, Massachusetts, Florida, and Hawaii, all with average credit card debts in excess of $7,400.

  “New Jersey residents’ debt surpasses the national average by 24 percent, while Mississippi has the lowest average credit card debt, with debtors owing just $5,186—20 percent less than the national average,” the report states.

  Kentucky and Indiana also fell on the lower side, with an average of $5,295.

  

  Bruce McClary, senior vice president of membership and media relations for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), told The Epoch Times that amount of debt is not surprising as many people are forced to use their credit cards just to stay afloat. “Things are so much more expensive than they were three years ago,” he said. “The runaway inflation is affecting grocery prices, and we’ve seen a roller-coaster ride for gasoline prices. Many people don’t have the money in their budgets for these added expenses and so they’re using credit cards and making minimum payments each month.”

  Based in Washington, the NFCC was founded in 1998 as a nonprofit credit-counseling source for people who need help in managing their debts. Its recently released Harris poll also surveyed 2,000 adults nationwide and found similar outstanding debt values. But the overall results were even more surprising: Nearly 32 percent of Americans are just getting by financially, while 62 percent fear that government instability will hurt their finances in the next 12 months.

  “The biggest concern is that if people continue to carry that much debt from month to month, making only the minimum payments required, it could take years to pay it off, and they’ll find it extremely difficult to save any money,” Mr. McClary said.

  The Harris poll also indicated that 31 percent of Americans don’t pay all their bills on time and that only 42 percent have a budget and keep track of spending. Almost 40 percent of those surveyed are concerned that the money they have or will save won’t last.

  The poll found that the most affected groups are people who are single, rent instead of own, are parents of children under 18, and have incomes of $50,000 or less.

  “Today’s higher rents may also be responsible for this credit card debt situation,” Mr. McClary said. “Most are paying way more than the recommended percent of their income toward rent, so now they’re faced with managing the rest of their expenses like groceries, utilities, gas, medical bills, and more. They’re finding they have to rely on the credit cards to help make ends meet.”

  As a result, many have already been priced out of the ever-skyrocketing housing market.

  “Ten years ago, Seattle was one of those cities considered to be affordable, but there’s been such a tremendous increase in rents there that many people are no longer able to afford buying or even renting there,” Mr. McClary said.

  The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) Consumer Advice Department recommends that those having difficulty making even the minimum monthly credit card payments first talk with the company to ask for its help.

  “Your goal is to work out a modified payment plan that lowers your payments to a level you can manage,” the FTC’s website states. “Creditors may be willing to negotiate with you even after they write your debt off as a loss, as you will still owe that debt.”

  The NFCC also provides renegotiation services with credit card companies to reduce the monthly interest rates, which can sometimes be as high as 20 percent.

  “What we try to do is help people regain control of their unmanageable debt by looking at their income and financial obligations and work out a livable budget,” Mr. McClary said. “It’s like a tire finally getting some traction after spinning in the mud for so long.”

  

  There seems to be no slowdown in Americans’ love of credit cards. According to the Scholaroo report, last year, almost 45.5 percent of the U.S. population opened at least one new credit card account, resulting in some 542.6 million new accounts by the end of 2023. While more than 50 percent of Americans prefer using debit cards for their day-to-day expenses, credit cards stand as the second most favored choice, with 36 percent of the population using them for their daily transactions.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 15:50

• First F-16s To Arrive In Ukraine 'Within Weeks' From West, But Will It Matter?
  First F-16s To Arrive In Ukraine ‘Within Weeks’ From West, But Will It Matter?

  A high-ranking UK military source has told London’s daily Evening Standard newspaper that F-16 fighters will be delivered by the Western allies to Ukraine “within weeks”. 

  The official indicated that the aircraft are due to arrive by June, or at least July at the latest. The US previously authorized NATO countries to supply the US-made fighters to Kiev, at a moment Russia still controls the skies and has been degrading the country’s energy infrastructure via frequent attacks. Zelensky previously called the decision by the Biden administration “a breakthrough”. 

  Even small NATO states like Denmark are reportedly involved in handing over a few of its F-16s. Others in the program include the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium. Some of the planes are currently reported to be at a training facility in Romania, as efforts to prepare Ukrainian pilots for aerial combat in the Western fighters appear in their final phases.

  

  The Dutch especially are playing a big part, having committed to delivering a total of 24 F-16s for Ukraine’s armed forces.

  But a big question remains at a moment it’s been widely acknowledged that Ukraine is losing the conflict: will the US-made fighter jets make an actual difference at this late stage where Moscow is clearly dominant? The Evening Standard bluntly admits the following:

  But US officials have privately said the jets will not be a game changer when they eventually arrive after months of training, given the strength of the Russian air force and its defense systems.

  So essentially, aircraft worth multiple tens of millions of dollars each are being primed to get shot down in what will likely prove a major humiliation for the West. 

  Putin has already vowed that his forces will prioritize taking out Western-supplied fighter jets. In March, the Russian leader said during an address to pilots, “We will destroy their warplanes just as we destroy their tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers.”

  Significantly, he warned at the time that even bases in Western countries could be targeted if Ukraine flies sorties from them. “Of course, if they are used from airfields of third countries, they become a legitimate target for us, wherever they are located,” Putin had said.

  Beginning last summer the Kremlin began highlighting that F-16 fighter jets are capable of carrying tactical nukes which are in select NATO countries’ possession. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for example at that time explained, “Moscow can’t ignore the nuclear capability of US-designed F-16 fighter jets that may be supplied to Ukraine by its Western backers. He went so far as to say that it will be seen as a threat from the West “in the nuclear domain.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 15:10

• They Went Woke: Oscars Facing Liquidity Crisis, Launch $500 Million Fundraising Drive As Viewers Flee
  They Went Woke: Oscars Facing Liquidity Crisis, Launch $500 Million Fundraising Drive As Viewers Flee

  Given that Ricky Gervais has been the only good thing about the Oscars in years, if not decades…

  …the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has launched a $500 million fundraising initiative in an effort to offset the Oscars dramatic drop in viewership – which went from nearly 44 million in 2014, to just 19.5 million in the latest ceremony, according to Statista.

  Bill Kramer, the Academy’s Chief Executive, revealed in an interview with the Financial Times that the organization has already raised about $100 million, with contributions from high-profile donors like billionaire Leonard Blavatnik. The campaign is further bolstered by sponsorship agreements with renowned luxury brands, including the Dorchester Collection.

  The timing of this fundraising drive is crucial as the Academy’s current broadcasting agreement with ABC, a Walt Disney-owned network, is set to expire in 2028, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Oscars. Negotiations for renewal are expected to commence shortly, with Kramer describing the existing deal as “very healthy” and lauding the partnership with Disney as “amazing.” However, the shift towards streaming and the upheavals in the television and film industry have prompted the Academy to pursue what Kramer calls a “revenue diversification campaign.”

  “No healthy company or organization should rely on one source of support to a degree that could cause concern if that support decreases,” he told the outlet.

  The move comes amid broader financial struggles within the non-profit arts sector. Notable institutions like the Metropolitan Opera in New York have had to draw emergency funds from endowments due to cash shortfalls, and the Sundance Film Festival has faced significant challenges recovering post-Covid-19 disruptions.

  

  Going forward, the Academy is trying to position itself to appeal to a broader, more international donor base, reflecting a shift in its audience and membership demographics. Approximately 30 percent of its membership now resides outside the U.S., a significant increase from a decade ago.

  As the Academy seeks to broaden its appeal and financial stability, the success of this global fundraising campaign could be pivotal. With the film industry and its audiences undergoing radical transformations, these efforts might not only reshape the Academy’s financial landscape but also its cultural footprint on a global scale – with the campaign set to be launched in Rome on Friday.

  Good luck. As Gervais put it best in 2020:

  No one cares about movies anymore. No one goes to cinema, no one really watches network TV. Everyone is watching Netflix. This show should just be me coming out, going, “Well done Netflix. You win everything. Good night.” But no, we got to drag it out for three hours…

  …Seriously, most films are awful. Lazy. Remakes, sequels. I’ve heard a rumor there might be a sequel to Sophie’s Choice. I mean, that would just be Meryl just going, “Well, it’s gotta be this one then.” All the best actors have jumped to Netflix, HBO. And the actors who just do Hollywood movies now do fantasy-adventure nonsense. They wear masks and capes and really tight costumes. Their job isn’t acting anymore. It’s going to the gym twice a day and taking steroids, really. Have we got an award for most ripped junky? No point, we’d know who’d win that.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 14:50

• James Carville Rages At Trump’s Success: "It's Going The Wrong Way, It's Not Working!"
  James Carville Rages At Trump’s Success: “It’s Going The Wrong Way, It’s Not Working!”

  Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via modernity.news,

  

  Veteran political strategist James Carville says “Trump’s more ahead than he’s ever been” as he urged Democrats to try something different because everything they do is “not working.”

  Trump’s more ahead than he’s ever been,” said Carville, lamenting how fewer Americans than ever are concerned about what happened on January 6.

  “It’s going the wrong way. It’s not working. Everything we’re that throwing is spaghetti at a wall, and none of it is sticking, me included,” said Carville.

  “We gotta try to think of something different. Because what we’re doing is really, really not working,” he emphasized.

  James Carville is frustrated that Trump is ‘more ahead than he’s ever been’, and that Democrat tactics are ‘not working’:
  “It’s going the wrong way. It’s not working.Everything we’re that throwing is spaghetti at a wall, and none of it is sticking, me included.
  We gotta try to… pic.twitter.com/OAMsDA37Ng

  — Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) May 10, 2024

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

  The former lead strategist in Bill Clinton’s winning 1992 Presidential campaign expressed frustration at his own inability to effect the outcome, lamenting, “The opinion I’ve come to is that I don’t matter.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You can prepare and you can be on TV, you can write pieces, you can have a YouTube channel, you can have a podcast and nothing, nothing!” Carville complained.

  MSNBC talking heads expressed similar frustration that Americans are no longer buying their hysterical narratives when they were dumbfounded by a new PBS Newshour/NPR/Marist poll that found more Americans believe Joe Biden is a threat to Democracy than Donald Trump.

  The sentiment that Trump is on course to win and there’s little Democrats can do about it now they’ve chosen to run a borderline dementia patient in Joe Biden is widely shared.

  Back in January, top pollster Frank Lunzt said he thought Trump was “done” after January 6 and impeachment but can now barely bring himself to admit that Trump is likely to win the presidency.

  Former CNN host Chris Cuomo also recently said Trump will win the election and that he’s never seen as much energy behind a candidate, even more so than Obama in 2008.

  “You know this guy’s gonna win by the way, this guy’s gonna win,” said Cuomo.

  James Carville is frustrated that Trump is ‘more ahead than he’s ever been’, and that Democrat tactics are ‘not working’:
  “It’s going the wrong way. It’s not working.Everything we’re that throwing is spaghetti at a wall, and none of it is sticking, me included.
  We gotta try to… pic.twitter.com/OAMsDA37Ng

  — Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) May 10, 2024

  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
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 14:30

• McDonald's Admits Consumers Are Broke With Planned Reintroduction Of $5 Meal Deal
  McDonald’s Admits Consumers Are Broke With Planned Reintroduction Of $5 Meal Deal

   Gen-Zers, millennials, and baby boomers have something in common: Many of them can no longer afford a Big Mac combo meal at McDonald’s following three years of ‘McFlation,’ which has sent the price of some combo meals as high as $18. 

  This was at a rest stop, but these McDonald’s prices are nuts right??? pic.twitter.com/0qq8Ima3ZA

  — Sam Learner (@sam_learner) July 18, 2023

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

  These prices at McDonald’s sure looks like the dollar is in crash mode $18 for a Big Mac meal this use to be $5 in 2008 pic.twitter.com/5rpcrNtaul

  — Golden Coast (Cassandra) (@GregCrennan) February 20, 2024

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

  18 bucks for a big mac meal soon? The fuck? I get chinese buffet 11.95 all you can lunch special. yea, good luck with that! Could get 2 big mac deal 6 bucks, and a dollar for soda 3 yrs ago. pic.twitter.com/H9g9HMHvmt

  — WappiesZijnSlimmerDanJij🇺🇲🇳🇱🇧🇪 (@RedneckDutch) February 12, 2024

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

  🍔🍟 $18 for a Big Mac meal? That’s bad for America, says @ghoshworld.

  Here’s why https://t.co/NaeSPYiYir pic.twitter.com/G2RagTyhIL

  — Bloomberg Opinion (@opinion) February 27, 2024

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

  The primary appeal of fast-food burgers (even though the food is terrible for your health) is cheap and fast. However, 3.5 years of disastrous Bidenomics (enabled by Fed chair Powell) has sparked an inflation shitstorm that continues to spread through the economy like stage-four cancer, with low-consumers under severe pressure – this was even acknowledged by McDonald’s in its latest earnings report.

  Now, McDonald’s could re-launch $5 combo meal deals, according to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the upcoming promotion. This could include a McChicken or a McDouble, fries, and a drink. 

  The potential new offering comes as Goldman analysts warned that low-income consumers are in rough shape and pulling back spending amid mounting stagflation threats. 

  “With >75% of the US consumer universe having reported Q1 results, we see indications that the US consumer is proving more stretched than previously anticipated as inflation combined with a bit of softening in the macro (lower payrolls & an uptick in unemployment in April), elevated gas prices & high interest rates continue to eat into spending power & consumer confidence,” Goldman analysts headed by Bonnie Herzog wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. 

  

  Herzog’s commentary on McDonald’s earnings report is a very ominous sign about the faltering economy: 

  • McDonald’s (MCD, CS) – US QSR industry comparable traffic was negative in Q1 and mgmt expects it to remain negative for the full year. Separately, mgmt noted that while the pressure may be more pronounced on the low-income consumer, all income cohorts are seeking value.

  McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said on the company’s earnings call on April 30 that he’s “laser-focused” on bringing back affordability for low-income consumers. 

  Here’s how meal deal will work, according to Bloomberg’s source:

  At McDonald’s, franchisees pay into an advertising fund and get to weigh in on major marketing campaigns, including promotions such as the viral Grimace Shake. A prior attempt to get operators — who run about 95% of US stores — to endorse the $5 meal initiative failed earlier this year, the person said. Some operators were concerned about losing money on the roughly four-week promotion, particularly in states such as California, where the minimum wage for fast-food workers jumped 25% to $20 an hour earlier this year. McDonald’s has said that franchisee cash flows are up about 50% since 2018 and are still on the rise, though an independent group representing operators has raised concerns about the cost of labor and investments to freshen up stores.

  To sweeten the deal, McDonald’s enlisted money from Coca- Cola Co. that could help cushion a potential profitability hit for franchisees, the person familiar said. The size of the beverage company’s contribution hasn’t been decided, and the burger chain wasn’t expected to put up funds. Coca-Cola, which often contributes to customers’ marketing programs, declined to comment.

  The big takeaway is that McDonald’s $5 meal deal is a direct response to Bidenomics’ failure, which has sent many low-income consumers into a dangerous financial mess of insurmountable credit card debt and drained personal savings. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 13:50

• Over 124 Pounds Of Cocaine And Fentanyl Seized In El Paso In 1 Week
  Over 124 Pounds Of Cocaine And Fentanyl Seized In El Paso In 1 Week

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

  

  U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in the El Paso region seized more than 124 pounds of fentanyl and cocaine last week in four separate incidents, amid criticism of lax border policies.

  On April 30, officers working at the Bridge of the Americas seized cocaine totaling 42.5 pounds, according to a May 3 press release from the CBP.  The drugs were found to be concealed inside a Hyundai Elantra vehicle allegedly driven by a 48-year-old American citizen. “The seizure was made when CBP officers monitoring the Low Energy Portal inspection system spotted anomalies in the appearance of the vehicle and advised primary CBP officers,” the release noted.

  “A canine sweep of the car was positive and a Z-Portal (X-ray) scan of the car also revealed anomalies. CBP officers removed 18 cocaine-filled bundles from the rocker panels of the car.”

  On May 1, CBP officers at the El Paso Ysleta Port of Entry captured 11.2 pounds of fentanyl that were concealed in a Seat Ibiza vehicle. The drugs were allegedly being transported by a 26-year-old Mexican national. CBP seized the fentanyl during an enforcement operation.

  The vehicle in question was selected for a secondary exam, following which bundles of fentanyl were discovered in the central console area. In total, 15 packages were removed from the compartment, according to CBP.

  Last week, two more cocaine seizures were made by El Paso CBP officers totaling 70.8 pounds. The arrested individuals were handed over to federal authorities.

  “The drugs seized by our CBP workforce will not cause harm in the communities we share,” Hector A. Mancha, CBP El Paso’s director of field operations, said. “We are hard at work every day utilizing multiple tools to identify and stop those who attempt to circumvent our inspection process.”

  The CBP’s drug seizures come as former President Donald Trump blamed the Biden administration’s open border policies for fueling fatal drug overdoses in the United States.

  “This is country-changing, it’s country-threatening, and it’s country-wrecking,” he said during an event last month. “They have wrecked our country. But I stand before you today to declare that Joe Biden’s border bloodbath … it’s going to end on the day that I take office.”

  On his campaign website, President Trump said he marshaled the full power of government during his administration to prevent the inflow of drugs into the country, driving down drug overdose deaths for the first time in three decades.

  The former president “will impose a total naval embargo on cartels, order the Department of Defense to inflict maximum damage on cartel leadership and operations, designate cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and choke off their access to the global financial system,” the Trump campaign said.

  “President Trump will get the full cooperation of neighboring governments to dismantle the cartels, or else expose every bribe and kickback that allows these criminal networks to preserve their brutal reign. He will ask Congress to ensure that drug smugglers and traffickers can receive the Death Penalty.”

  The Biden administration said it was taking steps to counter the drug issue. In February, two senior administration officials said the United States and Mexico will boost data sharing to curb the inflow of synthetic drugs into America.

  The agreements are part of a wide effort “to facilitate action against criminal organizations that traffic people, guns, and illicit drugs, including fentanyl into our communities.”

  In a factsheet released last November, the White House said, ”The U.S. government, alongside our partners, will continue our efforts to prevent the production and trafficking of illicit synthetic drugs through multiple efforts, including the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, which has brought together over 100 countries to collectively address the scourge of fentanyl.”

  Fentanyl, China

  The fentanyl crisis facing the United States is problematic since it is not solely a drug issue but a geopolitical concern as well. Much of the fentanyl entering the United States comes from China. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) attributes 97 percent of illicit fentanyl coming into the United States to entities operating in China.

  In April, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party published a report detailing how China is fueling the fentanyl crisis in the United States.

  China “directly subsidizes the manufacturing and export of illicit fentanyl materials and other synthetic narcotics through tax rebates,” it said. Beijing even gave “monetary grants and awards to companies openly trafficking” such drugs.

  “There are even examples of some of these companies enjoying site visits from provincial PRC (People’s Republic of China) government officials who complimented them for their impact on the provincial economy.”

  A review of seven Chinese e-commerce sites found more than 31,000 instances of Chinese firms selling illicit chemicals. China censors content about domestic drug sales “but leaves export-focused narcotics content untouched.”

  “The fentanyl crisis has helped CCP-tied Chinese organized criminal groups become the world’s premier money launderers, enriched the PRC’s chemical industry, and had a devastating impact on Americans.”

  According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), synthetic opioids like fentanyl are the primary driver of overdose deaths in the United States.

  Most of the illicit fentanyl in the United States is manufactured in Mexico from precursors bought from China, highlighting the importance of having full control over the border.

  In an interview with The Epoch Times last year, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that Mexican cartels “have 100 percent operational control over our southern border.”

  This month, Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wrote a letter to President Biden asking him to use his executive authority to shut down the southern border to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants and drugs.

  “To fight the drug smugglers and the individuals deliberately avoiding Border Patrol detection, you should prohibit Border Patrol agents from performing non-mission humanitarian duties so they can do their jobs,” said the senator.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 13:10

• Watch: Bill Maher Upends Stormy Daniels' Testimony With 2018 Footage
  Watch: Bill Maher Upends Stormy Daniels’ Testimony With 2018 Footage

  Comedian Bill Maher just used footage from a 2018 interview with Stormy Daniels to reveal that she completely contradicted her own testimony in the Trump ‘hush-money’ trial last week.

  

  After laying out how the Democrats have fumbled the ball on virtually every case against Trump, Maher turned his attention to Daniels, who he called a “bad witness.”

  “Because, let me show you a little video. This is when I had Stormy on in 2018, and first I asked her why she had sex with Trump… listen to that, and then listen to what she says after that.”

  Maher, in 2018, asked her: “Why did you fuck Donald Trump?” saying moments later “but you say it’s not a ‘me-too’ case,” referring to the flood of rape accusations against various men in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

  To which Daniels replies: “It is not a ‘me-too’ case. I mean I wasn’t assaulted, I wasn’t attacked or raped or coerced or blackmailed. They tried to shove me in the ‘me-too’ box as part of their own agenda, and first of all I didn’t want to be part of that because it’s not the truth and I’m not a victim in that regard.”

  Maher then contrasts that statement with Daniels’ testimony last week, saying “she’s talking about he was ‘bigger and blocking the way,’ – it’s all the me-too buzzwords.

  During her testimony last week, Daniels claimed “There was an imbalance of power, for sure. He was bigger and blocking the way, but I was not threatened either verbally or physically,” she said, also claiming that she ‘blacked out.’

  “She said there was an imbalance of power, for sure. My hands were shaking so hard. She said she blacked out. Blacked out? She’s a porn star. You really think she blacked out? A porn star is used to having sex with people she does not know. That’s the job. It’s kinda like ‘stormy, Bob, Bob, stormy, fuck!’ So I just think she’s not a good witness.”

  Watch:

  Bombshell from Bill Maher as he uses previous footage from his own show to reveal how Stormy Daniels contradicted her testimony:
  “Let me show you a little video: This is when I had Stormy on in 2018.
  Maher: Why did you fuck Donald Trump?
  Daniels: “I have no idea. It is not a me… pic.twitter.com/8PgGUv1K3O

  — Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) May 11, 2024

  As an aside, comedian and commentator @EricAbbenante of immunetothesystem.com has been on fire with great X threads of late. You may want to give him a follow.

  Stormy Daniels denied everything in 2018. She’s taken every position , as usual:https://t.co/1ZV7SfwWSQ

  — Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) May 11, 2024

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 12:30

• U.S. Representative Introduces Bill To End Federal Taxation On Gold And Silver
  U.S. Representative Introduces Bill To End Federal Taxation On Gold And Silver

  Via Money Metals,

  

  U.S. Representative Alex Mooney (R-WV) has re-introduced sound money legislation to remove all federal income taxation from gold and silver coins and bullion.

  The Monetary Metals Tax Neutrality Act (H.R. 8279) backed by the Sound Money Defense League, Money Metals Exchange, and free-market activists – would clarify that the sale or exchange of precious metals bullion and coins are not to be included in capital gains, losses, or any other type of federal income calculation. Gold and silver would be treated as a non-entity for tax purposes, putting it on par with the U.S. dollar.

  Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Randy Weber (R-TX) joined as original cosponsors.

  “My view, which is backed up by language in the U.S. Constitution, is that gold and silver coins are money and are legal tender,” Rep. Mooney said.

  “If they’re indeed U.S. money, it seems there should be no taxes on them at all. So, why are we taxing these coins as collectibles?”

  Acting unilaterally, Internal Revenue Service bureaucrats have placed gold and silver in the same “collectibles” category as artwork, Beanie Babies, and baseball cards – a classification that subjects the monetary metals to a discriminatorily high long-term capital gains tax rate of 28%.

  Sound money activists have long pointed out it is inappropriate to apply any federal income tax, regardless of the rate, against the only kind of money named in the U.S. Constitution. And the IRS has never defended how its position squares up with current law.

  Furthermore, the U.S. Mint continuously mints coins of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium and gives each of these coins a legal tender value denominated in U.S. dollars. This formal status as U.S. money further underscores the peculiarity of the IRS’s tax treatment.

  A tax-neutral measure, the Monetary Metals Tax Neutrality Act states that “no gain or loss shall be recognized on the sale or exchange of (1) gold, silver, platinum, or palladium minted and issued by the Secretary at any time or (2), refined gold or silver bullion, coins, bars, rounds, or ingots which are valued primarily based on their metal content and not their form.”

  Under current IRS policy, a taxpayer who sells his precious metals may end up with a capital “gain” in terms of Federal Reserve Notes and must pay federal income taxes on this “gain.”

  But the capital “gain” is not necessarily a real gain. It is often a nominal gain that simply results from the inflation created by the Federal Reserve and the attendant decline in the Federal Reserve Note dollar’s purchasing power.

  Under Rep. Mooney’s bill, precious metals gains and losses would not be included in any calculations of a taxpayer’s federal taxable income.

  “U.S. inflation is not caused by CEOs of grocery stores or by outside world leaders, it is caused by the Federal Reserve and federal policy,” said Jp Cortez, executive director of the Sound Money Defense League. “The federal government has a responsibility to remove disincentives for people seeking alternatives to the Federal Reserve note dollar to protect their savings.”

  “The IRS does not let taxpayers deduct the staggering capital losses they suffer when holding Federal Reserve notes over time,” said Stefan Gleason, president of Money Metals Exchange, the U.S. company named Best Overall Precious Metals Dealer by Investopedia.com. “So it’s grossly unfair for the IRS to assess a capital gains tax when citizens hold gold and silver to protect them from the Fed’s policy of currency debasement.”

  The Monetary Metals Tax Neutrality Act aligns with a broader national trend. With most states having already eliminated sales tax on the purchase of precious metals, state legislatures are increasingly introducing and approving measures to eliminate state income taxation of gold and silver.

  Alabama and Nebraska each passed their version of this policy this year. Arizona, Arkansas, and Utah approved similar measures in recent years. And Iowa, Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas also considered income tax exemptions in 2024, with several approving the bill across multiple committees and chambers.

  The text of the H.R. 8279 can be found here and additional information on its current status is located here.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 11:50

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Israel & US Fume As UN Votes To Elevate Palestine's Status
  Israel & US Fume As UN Votes To Elevate Palestine’s Status

  There were fireworks at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday as Israel tried to fight back against a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member.

  The assembly adopted a new resolution which puts the ‘State of Palestine’ on the pathway to future full membership in a vote of 143 to 9, with the US and Israel on the ‘no’ side. The resolution recognizes Palestine as “qualified to join” and the resolution text was described as essentially a global survey on the open question of full membership. 

  The move formally recommends to the UN Security Council that it “reconsider the matter favorably.” Since 2012 Palestine has been a non-member observer state. But now the General Assembly “determines that the State of Palestine…should therefore be admitted to membership” and it “recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter favorably,” according to the resolution text.

  A few extra procedural rights were also granted by Friday’s vote: “The General Assembly resolution adopted on Friday does give the Palestinians some additional rights and privileges from September 2024 — like a seat among the UN members in the assembly hall — but they will not be granted a vote in the body,” Times of Israel writes.

  Israel is of course fuming, and the below spectacle played out before the UN General Assembly, complete with an interesting prop…

  Watch: Israeli ambassador to the UN @giladerdan1 used a paper shredder to shred the UN charter on the podium of the UN general assembly ahead of a vote that will give new privileges to the Palestinians at the UN pic.twitter.com/mWQ85c8uwK

  — Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 10, 2024

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

  Foreign Minister Israel Katz also chimed in, describing the upgrade in status of Palestinians in the UN a “prize for Hamas” in a statement released by his office.

  “The absurd decision taken today at the UN General Assembly highlights the structural bias of the UN and the reasons why, under the leadership of UN Secretary-General [Antonio] Guterres, it has turned itself into an irrelevant institution,” Katz said.

  US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield agreed that it was unnecessary and does nothing to advance peace:

  “Since the attacks of October 7, President Biden has been clear that sustainable peace in the region can only be achieved through a two-state solution, with Israel’s security guaranteed, where Israelis and Palestinians can one day live side by side with equal measures of freedom and dignity. It remains the US view that unilateral measures at the UN and on the ground will not advance this goal. The General Assembly resolution being debated today is no exception and so the United States will be voting “no” and encourages other Member States to do the same,” the US mission said.

  “Efforts to advance this resolution do not change the reality that the Palestinian Authority does not currently meet the criteria for UN membership under the UN Charter,” she added.

  In Europe, Spain and Ireland are the latest countries which are set to bestow recognition on a Palestinian state in a controversial move. The US has very consistently voted no when such efforts are presented at the UN and at the Security Council.

  Below is a breakdown of Friday’s UNGA vote…

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/11/2024 – 02:00

• Ohio Postal Worker Hit 100MPH In Mail Van While Racing Mustang
  Ohio Postal Worker Hit 100MPH In Mail Van While Racing Mustang

  “Is there a reason you’re going over 100?” is something most people thought they’d never heard anyone asking of a United States Postal Service van.

  “I didn’t realize I was going that fast,” the postal worker replied. 

  Body camera footage captures a traffic stop in Ohio where a deputy pulled over a U.S. Postal Service mail van for speeding at over 100 mph in a 60 mph zone. The incident occurred just before 2 p.m. on April 21 on Route 20, west of Fremont, according to KKTV.

  According to the traffic report, the van had no plates, and the driver appeared to be racing a Ford Mustang.

  

  In the body camera video, the deputy states, “Yeah. I mean, that Mustang took off. He caught my attention, and then you blew by him, and I was pacing you at like 105.”

  Court records identified the driver as 28-year-old Drew Brown, who told officials she worked for the Fremont post office.

  The KKTV report noted that Brown waived the case, paid a $50 fine for the traffic violation, and received a verbal warning for racing.

  The Post Office commented: “Drew Brown is an employee. It is under investigation and as a matter of policy, we are unable to comment further on a specific individual personnel matter.”

  You can watch the bodycam footage of the stop here. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 23:35

• Common Laxatives Linked To Serious Behavioral Issues In Children, Warn Experts
  Common Laxatives Linked To Serious Behavioral Issues In Children, Warn Experts

  Authored by Sheramy Tsai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  Bradley Koehler resembled any four-year-old, always on the move and eager to explore the world around him. Healthy and well-adjusted, he began having episodes of bed-wetting, despite being successfully potty-trained.

  Alarmed by this regression, his parents sought medical advice. Doctors found that Bradley was suffering from constipation. The retained stool was exerting pressure on his bladder, inadvertently resulting in the nighttime incidents. His medical team prescribed daily doses of Miralax to alleviate the condition.

  Over the next few years, shifts in Bradley’s behavior alarmed his parents. At soccer practice, he began to lash out, his small legs delivering kicks to his peers in bursts of unprovoked aggression. School assignments, which previously captured his interest, were now met with outright defiance—papers crumpled and thrown on the classroom floor. His parents were concerned but chalked his behavior up to him just “being a boy.”

  During this time, his struggles with bowel movements continued. At the age of eight, Bradley began having seizures leading to a diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy. Bradley’s distress escalated to saying he “wanted to die,” attempting to leap from the family’s deck and grabbing for kitchen knives. In response, his family turned to UW Madison Children’s Hospital for psychiatric support.

  “In third grade, the wheels really began falling off the bus,” Bradley’s father, Mike Koehler, shared with The Epoch Times. His parents, teachers, administrators, and behavioral interventionists came together to address Bradley’s worsening behavior, which had deteriorated to the point that he required more support than a traditional classroom could offer.

  

  The Laxative Connection

  It was during a hospital visit in 2015 with Bradley, then aged 9, that a breakthrough came in an unexpected form. A family friend mentioned an article from the New York Times to Mr. Koehler, highlighting concerns over MiraLAX. This prompted Bradley’s parents to consider the possibility that the laxative could be responsible for their son’s significant shifts in behavior and health. “It was like a lightbulb went off,” Mr. Koehler remarked. Their growing suspicions found resonance with numerous other families who reported similar issues following their children’s use of the laxative.

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allocated nearly a million dollars to investigate the potential adverse effects of MiraLAX on children despite the drug not being approved for those under 17. A decade later, this research, assigned to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), remains incomplete.

  

  The Epoch Times attempted to contact Dr. Robert Heuckeroth, lead researcher and Dr. Matthew Hodgson, vice president of research compliance and regulatory affairs, for updates and insights on MiraLAX and childhood constipation. The reply came only from Emily DiTomo, director of public relations, who stated, “Neither Bob nor Matthew is available to speak with you for your article.” When probed further, Ms. DiTomo stated, “Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia does not have any information to share.”

  Meanwhile, families like Bradley’s, potentially affected by the adverse effects of a widely used treatment, have been left to resolve the problem themselves.

  The Constipation Crisis in Children

  Nearly one in 10 children worldwide suffer from constipation, contributing to 3 percent of U.S. pediatric clinic visits—a number that escalates to 25 percent in pediatric gastroenterology clinics.

  “Functional constipation is common in childhood and is associated with geographical location, lifestyle factors, and stressful life events,” notes research published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

  Lisa Santo Domingo, director of the Pediatric Multidisciplinary Chronic Constipation Clinic at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, suggests the reported figures for constipation in children are too low. “Some parents may underreport or dismiss mild or intermittent symptoms, leading to an underestimation of prevalence rates,” she explained to The Epoch Times in an email. She added that trends indicate an increasing prevalence of constipation among children in recent years.

  

  Treating constipation is not cheap. Children with constipation incur increased annual medical costs of $3.9 billion, according to The Journal of Pediatrics. Health care expenses for children with constipation are threefold higher compared to those without, and one out of four children carry this issue into adulthood.

  Practitioners diagnose constipation using the Rome IV criteria, identifying symptoms such as infrequent bowel movements, hard stools, and fecal incontinence. Factors contributing to this condition range from diets rich in processed foods and low in fiber, sedentary habits, toilet training methods, anxiety, medications, and conditions like obesity and irritable bowel syndrome.

  Constipation’s toll goes beyond physical pain, deeply affecting psychological health. Research indicates that children dealing with constipation report a lower quality of life than their peers, encountering greater challenges in relationships and academics and heightened levels of anxiety and depression.

  “Children experiencing constipation may feel embarrassed, frustrated, or anxious about their symptoms, especially if they result in accidents or social stigma,” Ms. Santo Domingo said. “Persistent symptoms may lead to absenteeism, decreased academic performance, and social withdrawal.”

  MiraLAX: Doctor Preferred

  Physicians often treat constipated children with laxatives. Their preferred choice is polyethylene glycol (PEG 3350), or MiraLAX, despite the drug not being approved for those under 17. Praised for its effectiveness, safety, and user-friendly format, MiraLAX powder dissolves in water or other drinks. It pulls water into the intestines to ease bowel movements. PEG 3350 is also present in several other laxatives and bowel preps, including GaviLAX, GlycoLax, ClearLax, and GoLytely, to name a few.

  

  According to Ms. Santo Domingo, “MiraLAX is commonly used as a first-line or adjunctive treatment for constipation in children and is generally considered safe and effective when used appropriately.” She highlighted its effectiveness for a spectrum of issues, from mild to moderate constipation to stool leakage, stressing its vital role in treatment and prevention for affected children.

  In an email to The Epoch Times, a representative from Bayer, the company behind MiraLAX, shared the laxative’s journey from its initial introduction as a prescription medication in February 1999 to its FDA approval for over-the-counter sales in 2006, specifically for “adults and children 17 years and older for up to 7 days unless otherwise directed by a doctor.”

  Despite official recommendations, Bayer references “many independent clinical studies” that affirm PEG 3350’s safety in younger patients, bolstering their support for its pediatric use.

  Doctors commonly prescribe MiraLAX off-label for children, supported by organizations such as the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. “In clinical practice … it is common for pediatric gastroenterologists to prescribe PEG 3350 for chronic use and there have been no reports of serious, long-term side effects in the medical literature,” they write.

  

  According to a search by The Epoch Times of the FDA’s Adverse Events Reporting System, around 39,715 adverse reactions to PEG 3350 have been logged, including 2,607 cases involving children under 18. Experts caution that this may be the tip of the iceberg, suggesting widespread underreporting.

  Bayer reassures patients and practitioners, stating, “As part of Bayer’s ongoing commitment to consumer well-being, we regularly track, analyze, and report all adverse event data related to the use of the product.” This vigilance, they argue, reinforces the “continued safe use of MiraLAX.”

  “Before recommending MiraLAX or any laxative therapy, we conduct a thorough evaluation,” explains Ms. Santo Domingo. “We also provide education and guidance to parents and caregivers on the appropriate use.”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 23:05

• Visualizing How Americans Feel About Various Federal Agencies
  Visualizing How Americans Feel About Various Federal Agencies

  With the 2024 election season heating up, which should translate translate to our elected officials paying close attention to voter preferences, Americans have mixed feelings about various parts of the government.

  

  To that end, Visual Capitalist‘s Pallavi Rao and Sam Parker have taken the results of a recent opinion poll conducted by the Pew Research Center between March 13-19, in which 10,701 adults were asked whether they felt favorably or unfavorably towards 16 different federal agencies?

  More via Visual Capitalist:

  Americans Love the Park Service, Are Divided Over the IRS

  Broadly speaking, 14 of the 16 federal government agencies garnered more favorable responses than unfavorable ones.

  Of them, the Parks Service, Postal Service, and NASA all had the approval of more than 70% of the respondents.

  Only the Department of Education and the IRS earned more unfavorable responses, and between them, only the IRS had a majority (51%) of unfavorable responses.

  There are some caveats to remember with this data. Firstly, tax collection is a less-friendly activity than say, maintaining picturesque parks. Secondly, the survey was conducted a month before taxes were typically due, a peak time for experiencing filing woes.

  Nevertheless, the IRS has come under fire in recent years. As per a New York Times article in 2019, eight years of budget cuts have stymied the agency’s ability to scrutinize tax filings from wealthier and more sophisticated filers.

  At the same time poorer Americans are facing increasing audits on wage subsidies available to low income workers. According to a Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse report, this subset of filers was audited five-and-a-half more times the average American.

  See below:

  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 22:35

• Hospitals Turn To Pay In Advance, In Full
  Hospitals Turn To Pay In Advance, In Full

  By Mish Shedlock of MishTalk

  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.

  

  Please Pay in Advance

  The Wall Street Journal reports Hospitals Are Refusing to Do Surgeries Unless You Pay in Full First

  For years, hospitals and surgery centers waited to perform procedures before sending bills to patients. That often left them chasing after patients for payment, repeatedly sending invoices and enlisting debt collectors.

  Now, more hospitals and surgery centers are demanding patients pay in advance.

  Advance billing helps the facilities avoid hounding patients to settle up. Yet it is distressing patients who must come up with thousands of dollars while struggling with serious conditions.

  Those who can’t come up with the sums have been forced to put off procedures. Some who paid up discovered later they were overcharged, then had to fight for refunds.

  Among the procedures that hospitals and surgery centers are seeking prepayments for are knee replacements, CT scans and births.

  Federal law requires hospitals to take care of people in an emergency. Hospitals say they don’t turn away patients who need medical care urgently for lack of prepayment.

  They are seeking advance payment for nonemergencies, they say, because chasing unpaid bills is challenging and costly. Roughly half the debt hospitals wrote off last year was owed by patients with insurance, the Kodiak analysis found.

  Finding money for treatment is a challenge for many American households. Half of adults say they can’t afford to spend more than $500 on medical care should they be suddenly sick or injured, a survey by health policy nonprofit KFF found. They would need to borrow.

  No Skin in the Game

  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. Medicare for all is not the answer. When consumers have no skin in the game, no one is interested in reducing costs.

  Pets Treated Better Than Humans

  Much money is wasted on keeping people alive who have less than a year to live.

  We treat our pets in pain better than we treat humans. I just went through that myself. Our 15-year-old dog lost his eyesight due to ruptured eyes and was running into walls. He was in pain and could not see.

  The total bill for that crying experience was only $232.

  Right to Die

  If what happened to our dog happened to me, I would want to go. Someone else might not.

  But for those who cannot pay for services and don’t have insurance, I suggest they should be given painkillers only, or select a right to die.

  We need to prioritize. And the only way for that to happen is for people to have some skin in the game.

  Something Wrong Somewhere

  Something is wrong somewhere when half of adults do not have $500 dollars to any emergency (auto repairs, medical, and home repairs).

  Inflation is certainly a problem. Thank Biden, the Fed, and Congress (both parties) for that.

  Ridiculous regulations are part of the cost. Medical malpractice insurance and lawsuits are a problem.

  The minute someone tries to discuss these things, the Right starts screaming about “death squads”.

  With millions of aging boomers, this problem is only going to get worse.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 22:05

• Only Half Of Adults Say They Could Afford Their Childhood Home Today
  Only Half Of Adults Say They Could Afford Their Childhood Home Today

  There’s an old saying that you can never go home again, yet nearly half of all adults would do just that… if they could only afford it.

  A survey from Zillow had found that 44% of Americans would buy their childhood home if cost were not an issue, yet only half of all adults say they could afford it at today’s prices. An even larger share of millennials and Gen Z adults would buy their childhood home today. It suggests that the nostalgia craze that has swept pop culture, social media, fashion and marketing has reached housing.  

  

  “It appears younger generations aren’t just nostalgic for low-rise jeans and Barbie, but for a simpler time in their lives when home was a place of comfort and safety,” said Manny Garcia, a senior population scientist at Zillow who conducted this research. “They may associate positive memories with their childhood home, having lived there without the burdens of rent, mortgage payments, maintenance, insurance or other housing hurdles. Today, a comparable home can feel out of reach, especially for younger adults who aspire to buy, but face steep affordability challenges.” 

  Children of the 1980s and 1990s are the most likely to say they would buy their childhood home today — 62% and 55% respectively. Yet almost half of those born in the ’80s (47%) and nearly two-thirds of those born in the ’90s (62%) say they couldn’t afford it at today’s prices.

  Those would-be buyers now need to earn a six-figure income to afford the typical U.S. home. Younger generations may long for the housing market of their youth when prices were lower, but their parents likely faced similar, if not worse, affordability challenges in the early 1980s. In 1981, mortgage rates soared above 18%, taking the typical monthly mortgage payment amount up to 55% of a median income at the time. Today, a new mover’s mortgage burden represents nearly 40% of a typical income — still well beyond the 30% threshold considered affordable.  

  Buyers today have easier access to affordability resources. Home shoppers can see down payment assistance programs they may be eligible for on for-sale listings on Zillow. They can tap into online affordability tools to better understand how much they can comfortably spend on a home, and then shop for homes by monthly payment, instead of by purchase price. 

  While many adults aspire to buy their childhood home today, they likely envisioned a very different dream home in childhood. The largest shares of adults say that, as a child, their dream home included a pool (77%) and/or a home theater (73%). Today, 72% of adults would still include a pool, and 76% would include a home theater in their current dream home, suggesting some dreams never die.

  When reality sets in, practical features prevail. A vast majority of adults now dream of a home with air conditioning (89%), a walk-in closet (89%) and a laundry room (85%). However, that inner child lives within a significant share of adults, who still want a bowling alley (43%), a frozen yogurt or soft serve machine (34%), and a soda vending machine (24%) in their present-day dream home.  

  Not all generations grew up pining for the same dream home features. Elevators reveal the largest generational divide: 58% of those born in the ’90s say their childhood selves dreamed of having a lift in their home versus only 21% of those born in the ’50s and earlier. There is an almost equally large 35-point gap for Jacuzzis and hot tubs. Conversely, 38% of children of the ’50s and earlier dreamed of a home with a white picket fence in their childhood, while only 21% of those born in the ’90s say the same.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 21:35

• Is The End Near? Victor Davis Hanson Ponders Threat Of Annihilation
  Is The End Near? Victor Davis Hanson Ponders Threat Of Annihilation

  Authored by Rob Bluey via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  Victor Davis Hanson is well known for his intelligent commentary and astute analysis of current events. But for his latest book, he tackles a topic related to his work on military history. It’s called “The End of Everything: How Wars Descend Into Annihilation.”

  Mr. Hanson studied four historical examples of wartime extinction that he features in the book. Then he applies those lessons to contemporary society to examine our own vulnerabilities. The book is on sale now, and Mr. Hanson spoke with The Daily Signal to share his observations along with some advice about what’s at stake for the United States in the short term.

  Listen to the full interview on “The Daily Signal Podcast” or read the transcript—edited for length and clarity—below.

  Rob Bluey: Could you share with our listeners your motivation for doing this book?

  Victor Davis Hanson: I’ve written a lot of books on military history and I’ve come across cases where the defeated didn’t just become occupied or surrender unconditionally or have change of governments or suffer grievous losses, but they were completely wiped out.

  And by that, I mean it wasn’t just their physical space, their populations—of course, in the ancient world, they enslaved anybody they didn’t kill—but their language, their culture, their civilization, their religion disappeared within a generation. So, for today, we don’t know much about Punic culture in North Africa or the Aztecs in Mexico.

  It didn’t happen frequently, but what were the conditions under which it occurred? And then, I have a long epilogue trying to speculate if that could still happen given that the agents of annihilation—nuclear, bio, chemical, AI (artificial intelligence)—are much easier to use than muscular labor of the past.

  Mr. Bluey: In what ways are we today vulnerable to the threat of extinction?

  Mr. Hanson: I tried to look at a pattern—if there was a pattern. In all these cases, these societies did not realize they were in decline. They did not realize that, in the past, when they had wars, there were usually negotiations between the victor and the defeated, they had no idea who Cortés was, who Scipio was, who Mehmed II was, or Alexander, that these were killers, and they were different sorts than they had encountered before.

  They also had this kind of naive egocentric idea that allies would come to their rescue—the Spartans will come and save us, the Venetians will come to Constantinople, the Macedonians will attack the Romans from the rear. And they didn’t really understand that all allies are self-interested.

  And then, finally, they didn’t understand that these killers, the destroyers, were not like Genghis Khan or Tamerlane, they were men of education. Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. Scipio Aemilianus had Polybius at his side, the great Roman historian, when he destroyed the city. Mehmed had the largest library in the Islamic world. Cortés was a man of letters.

  So they didn’t realize that they had thought deeply about how to destroy. They didn’t just come in, kill, rape women, and leave. They really had an existential plan to erase these cities.

  And when you look at today, there’s the same idea that no one would ever do that, it couldn’t happen here, this is in the past.

  So I went through in the epilogue and looked at all the threats of extinction that we have seen in, say, the last 15 years. I was shocked.

  It wasn’t just Kim Jong Un saying that he wanted to wipe out South Korea, and he would, but it was people like [Turkish President] Recep Erdogan. He has threatened, he said not too long ago, about eight months ago, that the Athenians, the modern Athenians, would wake up one morning and there would be a barrage of rockets to wipe them out. That was anger over his attempt to take back islands that are Greek off the coast of Turkey.

  He said to the Armenians at Nagorno-Karabakh—a year ago, they ethnically cleansed every Armenian out of Azerbaijan. And they had been there for a thousand years. And he said, “We are going to deal with Armenia itself in the way that our grandfathers did.” And that was, of course, the destruction of Armenian culture in Turkey.

  We know what the Iranians have said. There was a very controversial statement by [Former Iran President Akbar Hashemi] Rafsanjani about 20 years ago, but more that’s been reiterated lately, in a variety of contexts, that the idea of Israel as the home of devout Jews is actually a gift to Iran because it concentrates devout Jews in one place.

  Half the world’s Jewry is now in Israel, but more importantly, these are the observant Jews, and they are at what Rafsanjani called a one-bomb state, that one nuclear weapon could erase Jewish civilization itself.

  [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, of course, says that Ukraine is an aberration that doesn’t really exist, it was a province of the Soviet Union, and the language should be obliterated, it should be reincorporated into Russia. I’ve counted about 16 statements in the press that Russian generals, Russian media, or Russian government officials have said if the war were to continue, they would use nuclear weapons.

  In the case of China, they have threatened to wipe out Taiwan and destroy the bastard idea of a Taiwanese civilization; they say it doesn’t exist. And they’ve threatened to nuke, as well, Japan if it aids Taiwan.

  I only mentioned that because I’ve had pretty good luck with Chinese publishers buying books on military history. I wrote a book on World War II they purchased, but they sent a letter to my publisher and basically said if I didn’t take that sentence out of the book, then they were going to cancel the publication agreement. And, of course, I couldn’t take it out. Instead, I sent back not just one threat of Taiwan, I found about 15 others, and I said, “This is ridiculous, you’ve done this more than—” And so they’ve canceled the Chinese translation. But it’s pretty prevalent.

  And also, the denial. People on the walls of Constantinople said: “We can work with a sultan. He won’t kill everybody.” And people said, “Alexander the Great is a philosopher; he won’t obliterate us like Philip did,” … or something like that.

  And when you see the same denial, people get very angry when you mention Putin’s threats, they say: “Oh, he’s just bluster. He would never do that.” And, “Kim Jong Un would never do that.” And, “I’m not sure that’s true.” History says that the odds are they won’t, but it’s happened and there’s no second chances when that happens.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLMLGbQYhyo

  Mr. Bluey: What role do you think technology is playing in either facilitating or even [exacerbating] the potential for these actors to destroy other societies?

  Mr. Hanson: I think we learned with COVID gain-of-function research that the technology was accelerating much more rapidly than the social, political, economic, cultural analysis of how to handle it. And there were people who were freelancing, like EcoHealth, for example, that was giving expertise to the Wuhan lab. I think the same thing is true of AI.

  Unfortunately, I work at Stanford right next to Silicon Valley, so when I go out and eat dinner at night, I often listen to conversations of techies and I know people who give to Stanford, et cetera. I have very little confidence on their moral sense. I have a great deal of confidence that they’re very adept in high-tech research like AI.

  So my point is that when we see things like the FBI hiring Twitter contractors to suppress news about a laptop in the last election, these are the same people, the same mentalities that will be in charge of AI.

  And there was, I mentioned in the book, a Pentagon simulation in which they used a computer launch completely directed by an AI program. And so, they sent a missile on a computer and they programmed every defense mechanism in it possible. So as it went into the computer, they launched computer simulations of air attacks from aircraft, from anti-ballistic missile systems, weather problems, et cetera. And then, when it was almost over, they had the computer kill the launch because it was over.

  Well, the launch didn’t kill, it turned around and went back at the launch person because it had been programmed to think spontaneously about a threat. So the person who launched the missile had never thought that the missile would attack him.

  And so, they shut down the entire experiment because they realized that they didn’t have the capability in the real world of ensuring that an AI couldn’t reason or analyze a threat, including the person who launched the missile, which would be the greatest threat of all if he canceled the missile and aborted it.

  So things like that are pretty scary, just like the COVID and the biochemical, et cetera.

  And I think if you look at what these people said in the past, I was just shocked about the denial.

  Montezuma said, “We’re going to be here forever.” He had visions of the Cortés were some type of deities maybe, but he thought he could appease them.

  And the same thing was true of the Carthaginians, they said: “You know what? We will give up our elephant. We’ll do everything. The Romans won’t do this.” And they had no intention of doing anything else other than destroying them.

  So I do think there’s people—like the Chinese Communist government, like the government in North Korea, like the government in Turkey, like the government in Iran—who are in a whole different moral universe than what we think they’re in.

  Mr. Bluey: Do you think that some of that denial exists here in the United States today?

  Mr. Hanson: Absolutely.

  I don’t think the average American understands that the Chinese are producing four ships per year to our one ship. Or that if you took any of our $15 billion carriers and you put them in the straits between Taiwan and China, they wouldn’t last more than an hour given the Chinese have developed missile batteries where they could launch 5,000 or 6,000 small missiles that would go about 6 inches above the water and hit the waterline at night. And you couldn’t stop that.

  They are building nuclear weapons at a phenomenal rate. They’re working on anti-missile defense. They’re back up to probably 250,000 students in the United States; if 1 percent are engaged in espionage—and the FBI says it’s more than that—you’ve got thousands of people who are appropriating technology.

  I don’t think anybody understands that it’s going to take us six years to replenish Javelin stocks and maybe we can’t. North Korea is producing more 155-mm shells than we are. At least they sent 2 million of them to the Russians.

  So we are not armed, and yet, our strategic responsibilities, our strategic confidence, our arrogance has not lessened commensurately with our reduced defense capacity.

  We’re 40,000 recruits short now in the military—never happened before. And when you analyze who is not joining the military, it’s not blacks, it’s not Latinos, it’s not gays, it’s not women, it’s not trans people, all of those numbers are the same … the largest group are white males from the lower and middle classes whose families fought in Vietnam, first Gulf War, Afghanistan, but this third and fourth generation are not joining up.

  And unfortunately, for the military, if you look at the casualty or the fatality rates in Afghanistan and Iraq, that demographic dies at twice their demographics—72 percent to 74 percent of all the dead in Afghanistan, in Iraq are white males from the middle and lower classes.

  And yet, this is the very demographic that [retired Gen.] Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and [Defense Secretary] Lloyd Austin, in testimonies, have suggested suffer from white rage or white privilege. And the Pentagon was investigating just those kind of slanders about that demographic, and they found, of course, in December, they quietly issued a report, there was no cabal of white supremacists.

  But the point is, you can’t really have a successful military when you’re 40,000 recruits short in just a year.

  Mr. Bluey: What do you suggest that societies today, including the United States, learn from those historical examples you gave us earlier in the interview to maybe mitigate some of the risks that we might find ourselves in in the future?

  Mr. Hanson: I would not put much confidence in international bodies or even in so-called close allies. The Spartans came all the way up to the Thebans and they heard the Macedonians, they turned right back. On the last day of the existence of Constantinople, they were looking out at the walls at the Hellespont thinking that Venetian galleys en masse would come up and save them.

  So … I support NATO. I don’t really think the U.N. (United Nations) is of much value. The only thing that will save the United States is a deterrent military, and we don’t have that now, an overwhelmingly large, successful, smart military. And if we don’t have that, we’re going to see more of what we saw in Afghanistan, what we saw with the Chinese balloon, what we see in Gaza.

  And I think Americans don’t realize that we’re on a back of a tiger and we can’t get off because we set up the postwar world, and we had the pretensions of saying to the world, “You can go in the Red Sea, you can go in the Black Sea, you can go in the Strait of Hormuz, you can do all that and you won’t be injured.” That was a wonderful thing to do. But if you’re going to have those pretensions that you’re going to have a postwar order, you have to have a military that, from time to time, takes care of the Houthis or gets rid of Soleimani.

  And it doesn’t mean you’re going to be a neocon interventionist, but I think under [former President Donald] Trump and [former State Secretary Mike] Pompeo, they had a, I guess you would call it a Jacksonian idea that there would be no better friend than United States and no worse enemy. And we did not want to get involved in optional military adventures, but we would be very, very tough on our enemies. And then, the tougher we were, the less we would have to do it once we reestablished deterrence.

  So, we’ve lost deterrence, and that can be achieved militarily, economically, politically, but we’ve lost it in every category and it’s going to be very, very dangerous to reestablish it.

  Mr. Bluey: How much is at stake this year as it pertains to the future of this great country?

  Mr. Hanson: Everybody says each election is the most important, but I can tell you that this election is more important than 2016 and 2020 because, in my lifetime, we’ve never seen the Democratic Party—they always say the Republican Party was taken over by MAGA, but you look at 90 percent of the MAGA agenda, and it’s traditionally low taxes, small government, strong defense, closed borders.

  But the Democratic Party, as we’re seeing with Columbia [University] and all these student protests, they are a revolutionary party. It’s not that they believe in a porous border; they believe in no border. It’s not that they believe in light sentencing; they don’t want to sentence anybody. They don’t want to have bail. They don’t believe that there is such a thing as deterrence, the way we got out of Afghanistan. They believe in radical climate change. You can show them data, you can show them all sorts, they don’t care, they want to ban combustible engines, they don’t want fossil.

  So this is a group of people, as we’re seeing in this split screen with Donald Trump charged with these ridiculous misdemeanors bootstrapped onto felonies. At the same time, people are entering with violence into a Columbia building. And as one of them said the other night, “They will be out in 24 hours.” I don’t think they’re even in jail as we speak, they’re already out.

  I guess what I’m saying is we’re in a revolutionary Jacobin period, kind of a Reign of Terror. And I don’t see it stopping unless—I don’t think the election of Donald Trump will be enough. You’ll have to elect the Senate, Donald Trump, and enlarge the House majority. And then they’re going to have to act very quickly to stop it, to restore the border, to restore deterrence, to restore deterrence against criminals, to get back our preeminent position economically, to stop this $1 trillion borrowing every 100 days.

  We’re in bad shape in every category. And I think, whether we like it, I know there’s a lot of Never-Trumpers out there, but whatever problem they have with Trump’s temperament, it just pales in comparison with the ideological revolutionaries that are in there now…

  If [President Joe] Biden is reelected, what we saw the first term will be nothing, it’ll be enhanced to a magnitude, it’ll be so much greater. So I’m really worried about this election, especially the integrity of the balloting and turnout and all of those other issues.

  Reprinted by permission from The Daily Signal, a publication of The Heritage Foundation.

  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, 05/10/2024 – 21:05

• Bidenomics At Work: Ford Slashing Battery Orders As Losses Per EV Approach $100,000
  Bidenomics At Work: Ford Slashing Battery Orders As Losses Per EV Approach $100,000

  Ford is cutting battery orders in yet another sign that the EV market, despite a constant tailwind from the U.S. taxpayer, is starting to slow. 

  The company is cutting the orders to curb electric-vehicle losses as it scales back its EV strategy in a slowing plug-in market, according to insiders who spoke to Bloomberg.

  

  Ford CEO Jim Farley has said the company’s EV unit “is the main drag on the whole company right now” and CAT said its “cooperation with Ford is moving forward as normal”. 

  The company responded by saying it wouldn’t comment on relationships with suppliers. 

  Bloomberg notes that with plummeting EV prices and weakening demand, Ford’s losses per electric vehicle exceeded $100,000 in the first quarter, doubling last year’s deficit.

  Bloomberg Intelligence estimates that Ford’s projected EV unit losses this year will nearly offset profits from its Ford Blue division, which produces traditional internal combustion engine vehicles like the Bronco SUV and gas-electric hybrids such as the Maverick truck.

  BI analysts said of the results: “That raises questions about the prudence of investing heavily in EVs.”

  Ford’s order reductions highlight industry challenges as U.S. automakers face weaker-than-expected EV demand and battery makers in South Korea, China, and beyond struggle with unsold inventory.

  Making a great electric car at a great price is extremely difficult

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 10, 2024

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

  This has affected prices for key metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel, leading to multiyear lows and stalling new projects. Ford has reduced EV production costs but had to cut prices to stay competitive with Tesla.

  Ford CFO John Lawler said in April: “We’ve seen prices coming down quite dramatically and that’s why we haven’t been able to keep up from a cost reduction standpoint.”

  He continued: “But we’re targeting to take out as much cost this year as we can on Model e and all in the spirit of driving toward that contribution margin positive.”

  He concluded: “Model e has to stand on its own. It needs to be profitable and it has to provide a return on the capital we’re investing.”

  Thus, its no surprise to us (or to our readers, we’re sure) why, exactly Ford is cutting back on its EV investments.

  Recall we noted from the Epoch Times just days ago that on April 24, Ford reported it lost $132,000 for each of its 10,000 electric vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2024, according to CNN. The sales were down 20 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and would “drag down earnings for the company overall.”

  The losses include “hundreds of millions being spent on research and development of the next generation of EVs for Ford. Those investments are years away from paying off.” Ford is the only major carmaker breaking out EV numbers by themselves. But other marques likely suffer similar losses.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 20:35

• The Top 10% Are The Main Beneficiaries Of Globalization, Says Study
  The Top 10% Are The Main Beneficiaries Of Globalization, Says Study

  By Linda Schadler of PhysOrg

  The income of many people around the world has considerably increased due to the economic globalization of the last 50 years. However, these income gains are unevenly distributed. A study by Dr. Valentin Lang, junior professor of political economy at the University of Mannheim, and his co-author Marina M. Tavares of the International Monetary Fund shows that the top 10% of the national income distributions, in particular, have benefited from this development.

  

  In their study, published in The Journal of Economic Inequality, the researchers tried to answer the questions if and how the globalization of the last 50 years has affected inequalities between people worldwide.

  Their research found that globalization has led to greater income inequalities within many countries. The gap between rich and poor has widened particularly in countries that have become more integrated into the global economy, such as China, Russia and some Eastern European countries. At the same time, globalization has reduced inequality between countries. The differences between countries therefore play an increasingly minor role in the global inequality rate.

  “The influence of globalization on income inequalities worldwide was greater than we had expected,” summarizes Valentin Lang, junior professor of International Political Economy at the University of Mannheim and author of the study. “We were particularly surprised that these differences were mainly due to the gains of the richest and that the lower income groups benefited little or not at all.”

  Increasing skepticism towards globalization

  The study also shows that globalization in its early and middle stages led to considerable income increases in the individual countries but that the growth effects diminish as the degree of globalization increases. “The benefits of globalization become smaller during the integration process, while the costs of distribution become higher. This matches the increasing skepticism towards globalization which can be observed in countries with a high level of economic integration,” Lang concludes.

  For analyzing economic globalization, the authors used a new empirical approach: They combined data on trade, financial flows and regulation from the past 50 years and related these to the different speeds and regional concentrations of economic liberalization measures in the individual countries.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 20:05

• Netanyahu Vows To 'Stand Alone' & 'Fight With Fingernails' After Biden's Arms Supply Warning
  Netanyahu Vows To ‘Stand Alone’ & ‘Fight With Fingernails’ After Biden’s Arms Supply Warning

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest reaction to President Biden earlier in the week threatening that the US could withhold offensive weapons from Israel if its military escalates a ground offensive against Rafah has been to vow that his country is ready to “stand alone” and “fight with fingernails” in Gaza.

  “If we must, we shall fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than our fingernails, and with that strength of spirit, with God’s help, together we shall be victorious,” he said. Netanyahu is vowing to move forward with the ground offensive against the southern Gaza city where some 1.3 Palestinian refugees are located. Washington has long warned that there are not adequate enough civilian evacuation plans in place. The Rafah offensive is now official, per Axios: 

  Amid growing U.S. concerns about the humanitarian situation in Rafah, the Israeli security cabinet approved last night the “expansion of the area of ​​operation” of the Israel Defense Forces in the southern Gaza city, according to three sources with knowledge of the details.

  

  The prime minister in his latest remarks described that the country largely stood alone in the 1948 war that established Israel when it was “victorious” despite that it was fought by a “few against the many…and did not have weapon.”

  Defense Minister Yoav Gallant echoed something similar: “We will stand strong, we will achieve our goals,” he said. He asserted that “enemies as well as … best of friends” must know that Israel “cannot be subdued”.

  Already the US has paused a shipment of 2,000- and 500-pound bombs to Israel, but officials say there is still ample defense aid still in the pipeline. Perhaps Biden’s ‘threats’ are just political posturing in order to keep more Democratic voters from jumping ship over his Gaza policy ahead of November? 

  A fresh Times of Israel headline issued Friday reads: Despite Biden’s pause, billions of dollars in US arms for Israel still in pipeline…

  Billions of dollars worth of US weaponry remains in the pipeline for Israel, despite the delay of one shipment of bombs and a review of others by US President Joe Biden’s administration, which says it’s concerned the Israel Defense Forces could use them in densely populated Rafah, as is has in other parts of Gaza.

  So the current paused shipment is likely merely symbolic, or a show of ‘doing something’ without actually doing it in any meaningful way, and in the end Israel’s military will have whatever it needs to continue its offensive on Rafah.

  “A wide range of other military equipment is due to go to Israel, including joint direct attack munitions (JDAMS), which convert dumb bombs into precision weapons; and tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters,” Times of Israel continues.

  “Risch said those munitions were not moving through the approval process as quickly as they should be, noting some had been in the works since December, while assistance for Israel more typically sails through the review process within weeks.”

  Again, it’s more likely that this talk of halting defense aid is a ruse to get the political pressure turned down on the Biden White House, amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests across US college campuses and Progressive outrage.

  Senator Bernie Sanders in a recent CNN interview aptly stated that “This may be Biden’s Vietnam” which both could cost him the election and be a black stain on his legacy.

  “I understand that a lot of people in this country are less than enthusiastic about Biden for a number of reasons and I get that. And I strongly disagree with him, especially on what’s going on in Gaza,” he commented on the president’s waning popularity even among Dems.

  Meanwhile Israel’s Security Cabinet has just approved a strategy of the IDF’s “measured expansion” of the Rafah operation. This seems to simply mean that Israel will push the offensive up to the extent where Washington can still comfortably stomach it on a public and international level.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 19:35

• Sheriff’s Deputy Fired Over Jan. 6 Secures Nearly $400,000 In Settlement
  Sheriff’s Deputy Fired Over Jan. 6 Secures Nearly $400,000 In Settlement

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

  

  A sheriff’s deputy fired for protesting in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, has secured a large settlement from Bexar County in Texas.

  Roxanne Mathai, a lieutenant with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) at the time she traveled to Washington, will receive $395,000 in a settlement reached after she sued her former employer, the parties in the case told The Epoch Times.

  “We’re very pleased with the resolution,” Mark Anthony Sanchez, an attorney representing Ms. Mathai, told The Epoch Times. He said the settlement was “nothing short of vindication for Roxanne.”

  “I am grateful for the unwavering support of my attorney … and the countless individuals who stood by me throughout this challenging ordeal,” Ms. Mathai said in a statement. “This settlement not only provides closure for me personally but also sends a powerful message that wrongful termination will not be tolerated.”

  Monica Ramos, a spokeswoman for Bexar County, told The Epoch Times in an email that the county’s insurer decided to settle.

  “Bexar County continues to deny that any acts of discrimination or retaliation occurred,” Ms. Ramos said. “Nothing about the insurer’s decision to settle both claims can be construed as an admission of any wrongdoing or liability by Bexar County, which is expressly denied.”

  Ms. Mathai posted images and videos on Jan. 6, 2021, from a rally for then-President Donald Trump in Washington, held just before people began breaching the U.S. Capitol. Ms. Mathai went over to the building after the rally. She included captions in her posts, such as “Today has been amazing!”

  Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said a day later that he was aware of the materials and that he intended to make sure Ms. Mathai never entered a sheriff’s office building again.

  He said that Ms. Mathai was allowed to exercise her First Amendment rights but should have left once crimes began being committed.

  There is no indication Ms. Mathai entered the Capitol and she has not been charged. She has said she left around 3 p.m., that she could not see any doors or windows from her position, and that she saw people climbing the walls at the Capitol but didn’t think that was illegal.

  The sheriff’s office discharged Ms. Mathai in June 2021 after officials determined she failed to report crimes and engaged in conduct unbecoming of an officer, according to documents reviewed by The Epoch Times.

  An arbitrator upheld the termination, finding in part that while near the Capitol she “knew or should have known she was observing illegal activity (trespass, barricades down, people climbing walls and scaffolding); that tear gas in the area and later a curfew were signs of trouble; that her social media would disseminate her pictures, video and comments to the public; and, that as an officer with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office the last place she should be or remain or come back to was the scene of this so-called ‘rally.’”

  Ms. Mathai sued in 2022, alleging violations of her constitutional rights. She noted she had received permission from a superior to attend the pro-Trump rally and described herself as a “law-abiding citizen” who wanted to attend a peaceful event in support of the president.

  Ms. Mathai said she recorded video footage and photographs because she believed she “was a witness to history” and wanted to “create a record for posterity,” according to the lawsuit.

  “Ms. Mathai proudly and unapologetically voiced and displayed her lawful and constitutionally protected support of President Trump in person and through social media,” it stated.

  The suit said Ms. Mathai was “shocked and appalled” when she returned to her hotel room on Jan. 6 and watched what was unfolding at the Capitol.

  Bexar County is in southern Texas and includes San Antonio.

  An attempt in 2023 by Bexar County officials to have the case thrown out was rejected by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, who was overseeing the case. He ruled that Ms. Mathai did not waive her rights to bring a federal claim.

  The Bexar County Commissioners Court in April approved a $100,000 payment to an outside insurance carrier to allow the carrier to take over the defense in the case. That was the deductible required under the insurance policy, so the insurer is covering the remainder of the settlement, according to the county.

  The parties entered a stipulation of dismissal in federal court and Judge Rodriguez dismissed it on Tuesday.

  “The termination in this case was done within policy and was upheld by an arbitrator. The decision to issue a settlement was made outside the BCSO,” Mr. Salazar, the sheriff, told The Epoch Times in an email. “There was no wrongdoing on the part of the administration, and I stand by our actions.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 19:05

• Biden Unveils Latest $400M Package For Ukraine, But US Artillery Shells Already Depleted 
  Biden Unveils Latest $400M Package For Ukraine, But US Artillery Shells Already Depleted 

  The Biden administration on Friday announced its third tranche of new aid for Ukraine since President Biden signed into effect Congress’ $95 billion foreign aid package, which includes $60 billion total funding for Ukraine.

  This newest authorized package is for $400 million and is to include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Patriot missiles, and various munitions including anti-aircraft and anti-tank ammo, and armored vehicles like Bradleys.

  “It will also provide a number of coastal and riverine patrol boats, trailers, demolition munitions, high-speed anti-radiation missiles, protective gear, spare parts and other weapons and equipment,” according to further details in the Associated Press. “The weapons are being sent through presidential drawdown authority, which pulls systems and munitions from existing U.S. stockpiles so they can go quickly to the war front.”

  

  It’s as yet unclear if this particular package will include the longer range Army Tactical Missile System, which can hit targets up to 190 miles away. Moscow has been warning the West that parties supplying Ukraine with weapons used against Russian territory will be seen as direct participants in the war.

  Ironically this new $400 million package has been announced the very same day that Russia has launched a rare, major cross-border offensive into the Kharkiv region, seeking to establish a ‘buffer zone’ some 10km deep inside Ukraine territory, ostensibly to prevent cross-border shelling from harming Russian citizens and to more easily intercept threats like drones.

  Currently, Ukrainian soldiers are resorting to literally trying to find leftover, unexploded artillery shells scattered in the ground at prior battle sites. The Wall Street Journal has underscored this severe lack of ammo along Ukraine’s front lines in writing that “Kyiv’s ammunition shortage is so acute that a soldier who hunts for Russian shells—and makes his own bombs—has become an important supplier for some units.” 

  On Thursday, David Sacks pointed to the significant depletion in artillery shell production in the US as a sign that Kiev’s external backers are growing weaker, not stronger amid the continued escalation…

  I warned that America didn’t produce enough artillery shells to supply both Ukraine and Israel; now Biden has cut off Israel. Some of those most outraged were strong advocates for giving Ukraine everything it wanted. They have no one to blame but themselves for depleting… https://t.co/uZvDSun7nb

  — David Sacks (@DavidSacks) May 9, 2024

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

  “As the shortage of artillery shells has grown more acute in recent weeks, brigades have started sending their de-miners to Polyukhovich, hoping he’ll teach them how to find more ammunition,” the report said.

  “It is dangerous work. Several months ago, while Polyukhovich was out, his team tried to deactivate an antipersonnel mine, which is more sensitive than the antitank mines they normally work with,” WSJ detailed. “It went off, killing one of them and pockmarking the side of Polyukhovich’s house.”

  * * *

  Meanwhile, a shocking stat and reminder that the proxy war in Ukraine has in the end weakened America’s ability to defend itself…

  Even if the Ukraine War ended tomorrow, it would take over 5 years to replenish our stockpiles of artillery shells, Javelins and Stingers. But Biden sees no tradeoffs between helping Ukraine and Israel. And he wants to rattle the saber against China while he’s at it. pic.twitter.com/4xv0aNQWLi

  — David Sacks (@DavidSacks) October 25, 2023

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

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 18:35

• "The Jobs Market Is Weakening, Inflation Has Picked Up And Growth Unexpectedly Slowed"
  “The Jobs Market Is Weakening, Inflation Has Picked Up And Growth Unexpectedly Slowed”

  By Rabobank

  The Bank of England left the Bank Rate unchanged at 5.25% yesterday, but the clear signal from the record of votes, and Governor Bailey, is that cuts aren’t far away. This time around the vote split 7-2 in favour of holding (previously 8-1), with arch-dove Dhingra being joined by former hawk Ramsden in plumping for a cut.

  The BOE’s Monetary Policy Report lowered inflation forecasts, but the policy Summary warned on uncertainties around the persistence of high services inflation and the spotty ONS labour market data. Governor Bailey commented that a cut in June is “neither ruled out nor a fait accompli”, while our own BOE watcher Stefan Koopman favors an August cut, owing to sticky services inflation and uncertainties around the impact of the recent 9.8% minimum wage decision.

  So, the Bank of England is now in a similar place to the ECB, and a similar place to where the Fed was earlier in the year: cuts are coming, we just need to see some more data to be assured on the timing. In spending so much time talking about cutting rates before actually cutting them, central bankers are doing their best Abe Lincoln impersonation: “give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

  A dovish Bank of England follows Sweden’s Rijksbank delivering a 25bps cut earlier in the week (the first in 16 years) and a 25bps cut from the Brazilian central bank yesterday (though four Board members wanted to cut by 50). The RBA doved-it-up on Tuesday by keeping the cash rate unchanged at 4.35% and maintaining their neutral bias – despite a big upside surprise in inflation in Q1 and half-percentage point upward revisions to their inflation forecasts for the remainder of this year. We think the RBA’s ‘hold and hope’ strategy will ultimately get waylaid by economic reality and that they will end up hiking twice more this year, albeit reluctantly.

  Banxico might have been the closest thing to a hawkish central bank this week. They opted to pause the cutting cycle that was initiated in March, while revising inflation forecasts substantially higher and warning of persistence in inflationary shocks. USDMXN dropped below 16.80 following the meeting despite small gains in the DXY index. Nevertheless, Rabobank’s Christian Lawrence and Molly Schwartz are expecting Banxico’s policy rate to continue falling later in the year, ultimately hitting 10% by Christmas.

  Over in the United States we saw a continuation of the theme established by a soft non-farm payrolls report last Friday that the US jobs market may be beginning to crack. Initial jobless claims this week printed at 231,000, well up on the expected 212,000 and last week’s upwardly-revised 209,000. This follows a recent run of soft data, including the lacklustre payrolls report, below expectations JOLTS job openings, and ISM reports showing employment contracting for both the manufacturing and services sectors.

  While the labor market is starting to look creaky, the prices paid components of those ISM reports pumped higher. This chimes nicely with a strong run of PCE and CPI data, which we might see continued next week when we get the April PPI and CPI reports for the United States. Could another upside surprise be on the cards there? [ZH: a downside surprise is far more likely]

  So, the jobs market looks to be weakening, inflation has picked up and growth unexpectedly slowed to just 1.6% annualized in Q1 figures reported the week before last. Nevertheless, Jay Powell isn’t bothered. He recently told reporters that he couldn’t see the ‘stag’ or the ‘flation’ in the economy at the moment.

  The BOE and the ECB might be channelling one former President in softening us up for rate cuts, but in light of the recent run of data it stretches credulity to suggest that Powell is channelling another: “Father, I cannot tell a lie…”

  

  While the economic picture appears to be softening in North America, in Europe things seemed to turn for the better this week. PMIs indicated a faster rate of expansion for Spain, France and Germany, and Italian industry also remains in expansion (albeit at a slightly reduced rate). German factory orders remained dreadful, but both imports and exports showed unexpected strength. French wage growth accelerated and German industrial production was less bad than feared. All of this follows on from stronger than expected Q1 growth figures for the Eurozone last week.

  Europe might be looking better, but it isn’t time to break out the bunting just yet. Growth is still weak, and it would be a brave call to suggest that inflation has been routed – even if it may be in retreat at the moment. There’s also plenty of potential for further shocks. Just this morning we saw news that Joe Biden plans to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs and other strategic sectors as early as next week. Such moves raise the risk of China dumping those products into other markets (like Europe), which might prompt action from the Europeans to protect already fragile German industry.

  There’s also the issue of the Israel-Hamas (/Hezbollah/Iran) war bubbling away in the background. Brent crude has stabilised around $83-84/bbl after the recent tit-for-tat between Israel and Iran momentarily petered-out, but tensions remain high and the war is moving into a new phase that introduces new potential catalysts for regional potshots.

  Israel this week cut off the crossing from Rafah into Egypt as a precursor to a ground offensive. Hamas tried to accept a ceasefire deal that Israel hadn’t offered. Joe Biden wound-back long running bipartisan support of Israel by threatening to halt shipments of offensive weapons if Israel pushes into Rafah. That latter development was almost certainly electorally-driven, with the campus youth vote, and the large Muslim population in Michigan of crucial importance to Biden’s chances of re-election. Netanyahu remains undeterred, declaring that “if we must, we shall fight with our fingernails.”

  So, all in all, it was another week where there were plenty of problems that we can point to, but both stocks and bonds went higher (at least as of time of writing). Perhaps there is some truth to an observation a trader once made to me: “bears sound smart, but bulls make money

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 18:05

• Hedge Funds That Sold In May Might Now Push Stocks To New Highs
  Hedge Funds That Sold In May Might Now Push Stocks To New Highs

  Authored by Simon White. Bloomberg macro strategist,

  Hedge funds seem to have taken the old adage about selling in May to heart. From being very long for most of this year, aggregate positioning now looks to have gone short – right as the stock market bounces. Hedge funds that are offside might now chase the market higher through the rest of the month.

  We can estimate how hedge funds are positioned in stocks by looking at the beta of hedge-fund indices (in this case HFR’s Macro/CTA index) to the S&P 500. As the chart below shows, it looks like funds are now short the stock market in the aggregate.

  

  We can use the DBi Managed Futures ETF to get a flavor of what CTAs have been doing. As the table below shows, this ETF came out of the S&P in April and started adding to the MSCI EAFE, with its overall developed-market equity position trending lower. As of last week, it is long futures in MSCI EAFE, MSCI EM, oil and gold.

  

  Hedge funds (CTAs and macro funds) now having a short exposure to stocks comes at a time when the good side (for long-only investors at least) of a positive stock-bond correlation is in play – stocks and bonds rising together, as yields trend lower in response to recent weaker economic data. The bear steepening in the yield curve that is typically pernicious for risk assets has given away to a more asset-friendlier bull flattening for now.

  With US stocks less than a percent off their all-time highs, there’s a good chance funds who now find themselves offside help push the stock market to a new peak. This would match the previous patterns of a change of stock leadership marking the near-end of a correction.

  Nonetheless, even though a new high would likely see some follow-through buying, the bull trend is not going to be as plain sailing as it was.

  Liquidity conditions are less conducive to rising risk assets. Reserves and the reverse repo facility (RRP) continue to trend lower. Tapering of quantitative tightening will take some of the edge off, but reserve liquidity will be less buoyant. Furthermore, the government’s interest bill will incrementally eat more reserves and reserve velocity.

  Selling in May maybe doesn’t look like a good idea now, but by St Leger’s Day in September, hedge funds who get back in the market might find they have experienced a lot of volatility without a whole lot of upside to compensate.
   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 17:15

• They Went Woke: Oscars Facing Liquidity Crisis, Launch $500 Million Fundraising Drive As Viewers Flee
  They Went Woke: Oscars Facing Liquidity Crisis, Launch $500 Million Fundraising Drive As Viewers Flee

  Given that Ricky Gervais has been the only good thing about the Oscars in years, if not decades…

  …the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has launched a $500 million fundraising initiative in an effort to offset the Oscars dramatic drop in viewership – which went from nearly 44 million in 2014, to just 19.5 million in the latest ceremony, according to Statista.

  Bill Kramer, the Academy’s Chief Executive, revealed in an interview with the Financial Times that the organization has already raised about $100 million, with contributions from high-profile donors like billionaire Leonard Blavatnik. The campaign is further bolstered by sponsorship agreements with renowned luxury brands, including the Dorchester Collection.

  The timing of this fundraising drive is crucial as the Academy’s current broadcasting agreement with ABC, a Walt Disney-owned network, is set to expire in 2028, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Oscars. Negotiations for renewal are expected to commence shortly, with Kramer describing the existing deal as “very healthy” and lauding the partnership with Disney as “amazing.” However, the shift towards streaming and the upheavals in the television and film industry have prompted the Academy to pursue what Kramer calls a “revenue diversification campaign.”

  “No healthy company or organization should rely on one source of support to a degree that could cause concern if that support decreases,” he told the outlet.

  The move comes amid broader financial struggles within the non-profit arts sector. Notable institutions like the Metropolitan Opera in New York have had to draw emergency funds from endowments due to cash shortfalls, and the Sundance Film Festival has faced significant challenges recovering post-Covid-19 disruptions.

  

  Going forward, the Academy is trying to position itself to appeal to a broader, more international donor base, reflecting a shift in its audience and membership demographics. Approximately 30 percent of its membership now resides outside the U.S., a significant increase from a decade ago.

  As the Academy seeks to broaden its appeal and financial stability, the success of this global fundraising campaign could be pivotal. With the film industry and its audiences undergoing radical transformations, these efforts might not only reshape the Academy’s financial landscape but also its cultural footprint on a global scale – with the campaign set to be launched in Rome on Friday.

  Good luck. As Gervais put it best in 2020:

  No one cares about movies anymore. No one goes to cinema, no one really watches network TV. Everyone is watching Netflix. This show should just be me coming out, going, “Well done Netflix. You win everything. Good night.” But no, we got to drag it out for three hours…

  …Seriously, most films are awful. Lazy. Remakes, sequels. I’ve heard a rumor there might be a sequel to Sophie’s Choice. I mean, that would just be Meryl just going, “Well, it’s gotta be this one then.” All the best actors have jumped to Netflix, HBO. And the actors who just do Hollywood movies now do fantasy-adventure nonsense. They wear masks and capes and really tight costumes. Their job isn’t acting anymore. It’s going to the gym twice a day and taking steroids, really. Have we got an award for most ripped junky? No point, we’d know who’d win that.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 16:50

• "Something Super Weird Is Going On": Musk Reacts To 'Anticapitalist' Attack On Berlin Gigafactory
  “Something Super Weird Is Going On”: Musk Reacts To ‘Anticapitalist’ Attack On Berlin Gigafactory

  Update (1340ET): Some are wondering why the so-called ‘anticapitalist’ protesters who attacked the Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin are ignoring other automakers whose brands cater the the upper class they claim to oppose.

  “Why not protest factories making BMW 7 series and Mercedes S Class or Maybach?” asks X user ‘Warren Redlich,’ adding “Because they’re full of crap.“

  To which Tesla owner Elon Musk replied: “Something super weird is going on, as Tesla was the *only* car company attacked!”

  Something super weird is going on, as Tesla was the *only* car company attacked!

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 10, 2024

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

  *  *  *

  All hell is breaking out at Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg on Friday as hundreds of woke Marxist extremists storm the property. 

  Videos on X show hundreds of people running towards the massive factory. 

  BREAKING: Far-left extremists just tried storming a Tesla factory near Berlin: pic.twitter.com/yspqWa0afZ

  — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 10, 2024

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

  Hunderte Aktivist:innen haben erfolgreich das Werksgelände von Tesla erreicht und feiern das Erreichen ihres Ziels!

  Die Produktion steht still. Heute wird kein Auto gebaut.#DisruptTesla pic.twitter.com/P0tWwwjChR

  — Disrupt (@disrupt__now) May 10, 2024

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

  „Say it loud, say it clear #ElonMusk is not welcome here”#DisruptTesla action in #Grünheide starts now pic.twitter.com/ZXjvohTsCV

  — the brake (@TheBrakeNet) May 10, 2024

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

  Im Zuge der Tesla Aktionstage blokieren Aktivist*innen eine Straße mit einem Tripod. Sie fordern alternative Orte des Zusammenkommens für Alle statt dreckiger Autos! 🥳🥳 #stoptesla pic.twitter.com/iEMGRVcBZm

  — Disrupt (@disrupt__now) May 10, 2024

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

  “Most of those demonstrators do not come from Grünheide if any at all, they are not just against Tesla but against any form of capitalism and that’s a pretty ridiculous claim as its the best system to balance capital between poor and rich that exist. Its a wild mixture of people mainly believing in the lies of the media and activated from environmental organisations who amplify an ill designed protest,” one X user said. 

  A few hundred demonstrators, who are against capitalism and do not want vehicles to be produced at all from anyone, were tpday, Friday stopped by the police as they marched towards the Tesla site at 🇩🇪 Giga Berlin.

  Activists tried to break into the Tesla factory premises in… pic.twitter.com/Y5z6JWRdmL

  — Alex (@alex_avoigt) May 10, 2024

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

  In March, the far-left militant/environmental group known as “Vulkangruppe” (Volcano Group) claimed responsibility for sabotaging the power grid near the Tesla factory. 

  • “No Tesla Is Safe”: Eco-Terrorists Attack German Power Grid, Causing Outage At Gigafactory

  Power was restored to the factory days later. 

  • Tesla Gigafactory In Germany Has Power Restored After Power Grid Attack By Leftist Group

  The West has to have a very serious conversation about shady non-governmental organizations funding chaos across Europe and the US. 

  From eco-terrorist attacks in Germany to migrant invasions across Europe – and across the Atlantic, migrant invasion on the southern border to BLM protests during Covid to pro-Palestinian demonstrations shutting down critical infrastructure (bridges, highways, and airport terminals) and colleges and universities – this chaos is all funded by Marxist NGOs that all have one goal: kill capitalism and America. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 16:39

• Carnival Rides
  Carnival Rides

  Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

  “These agencies are not trusted because they are not trustworthy.” — El Gato Malo on “X”

  The miasma of anxiety befogging so many brains in our troubled land begins to lift as every narrative served up by the US fascist intel blob goes annoyingly stale and impotent. The worst media meme — that a vicious officialdom is “defending our democracy” — gets laughed out of the room now when repeated incessantly by such shills as Jen Psaki and Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC. Everybody understands they want to “defend our democracy” by cancelling your freedom of speech, pounding you into bankruptcy, and stealing whatever remains of your stuff.

  

  Likewise, everything else: that our doings in Ukraine are a “fight for freedom,” that “white supremacy” lurks just out of sight getting ready to pounce on the “marginized” (who are actually running things, and doing it very badly), that “Joe Biden” turned around the economy, that “voting rights” equals non-citizens getting to vote, that election fraud is a “big lie” (and that the J-6 riot over it was an “insurrection”), and that the Covid vaccines were “safe and effective.”

  None of these dishonest persuasions work anymore, and all of the persuasion machinery stands in plain sight like so many nauseating carnival rides. One by one, the rides are flying apart, scattering debris and body parts of the poor slobs who were on the rides all over the fairgrounds. And so, the fear rises in the ones running the carnival. The county sheriff stands by looking to round up the sleazeball carnies with their missing teeth and needle tracks inside their elbows. Before long, they will find themselves in the courtroom. . . .

  The vicious officialdom put up the carnival and all of its rides to distract the public from the crimes they committed during and after the 2016 election. Donald Trump’s idle talk about putting Hillary Clinton in jail struck nerves throughout the federal bureaucracy, the halls of Congress, and the strongholds of the Clintons and the Obamas.

  The Clintons had literally bought the Democratic Party apparatus under the DNC, using the money they grifted into the Clinton foundation from such operations as the Uranium One deal, the Skolkovo war-tech transfer deal, and the Haiti earthquake relief effort. They were sure that ownership of the DNC guaranteed the election for Hillary. It did guarantee that she would overcome Bernie Sanders’ primary election victories and the delegates that came with them, even after Julian Assange’s Wikileaks release informed the world just how the Clintons bought and paid for the DNC and the whole Philadelphia convention. Call this the birth of the “misinformation” cult, in which everything true was converted into a “big lie.”

  The problem was, Hillary lost that election. What a surprise! Buying the convention was not enough, it turned out. Those “deplorables” did the unthinkable: cast enough of their stinky votes in just the right rust belt precincts to elect the Golden Golem of Greatness, who was as surprised as anybody, and really unprepared to cobble together an actual governing administration — in the process of which, Donald J. Trump was completely buffaloed by the outgoing Obama gang. They plotted by the lights of the White House Christmas tree to go after the interloper with all they had, starting with the surgical removal of a most dangerous appointee, National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, who knew all the secrets. . . and from there onto four years of Russia, Russia, Russia. . . .

  It’s hardly a mystery anymore how “Joe Biden” got elected. It’s perfectly obvious despite the “big lie” narrative that the 2020 election was stoked with a veritable orgy of ballot fraud and direct election interference by agency rogues, especially the ones leaning hard on Facebook, Twitter, and Google to manipulate what the public actually saw. Don’t believe your lying eyes they told the nation. What is a mystery is why they chose “Joe Biden” to front for the cabal around Barack Obama actually running the show. Never before in US history was there a president who left such a slime trail of bribery and corruption. Just as they had spent all their energy the previous four years in undermining Mr. Trump, they had to spend the next four years propping up and defending “Joe Biden,” and then desperately trying to save their own asses from a Trump return. Meanwhile, they set out on their mission to wreck the country sufficient to clear the way for establishing a transhuman public-private utopia of crypto-Marxian “equity” (theft of property).

  All of this political legerdemain summoned up the miasma of anxiety that beclouded the people of this sore-beset republic, and the nearly final blow to them was the Covid-19 operation, set in motion with the phony PCR test, that has now left a substantial number of citizens, vaccine-injured, disabled, and on-course for an early death — a pretty grotesque affront to our democracy. The victims are beginning to realize it.

  The battery of Trump trials and lawsuits meant to put him totally out of business are now all simultaneously collapsing. Special Counsel Jack Smith is left doing Chinese fire drills around his office Keurig coffee machine. When the prank-fest in Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom concludes, whether the jury sees the show for the farce that it is, or not, the Golden Golem of Greatness will be at large again among the voters. If he is clever enough to pick a capable veep that represents something like “assassination insurance” — say, Vivek, Tulsi Gabbard, or JD Vance — then the Obama cabal and the blob that has been protecting it will be swept out of power and into a dragnet of a kind of law actually associated with the word justice.

  They are running out of ways to avoid it. All they’ve got left are the direst resorts: war, crashing the economy, another bio-weapon op against their own people, or an outright coup d’état. And even those probably won’t work.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 16:25

• Stocks End Week On Muted Note As Stagflation Fears Mount  
  Stocks End Week On Muted Note As Stagflation Fears Mount  

  Late Friday afternoon, US main equity indexes showed little change, with the S&P 500 on track for a 2% weekly gain after investors digested new concerns about a slowing economy and elevated inflation, rekindling fears of stagflation.

  During the session, Treasury yields increased due to persistent inflationary pressures, complicating Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s plan to cut interest rates later this year. Although most of the earnings season has concluded (prepare for Nvidia ER later this month), the continued strength from Corporate America remains a positive highlight. However, companies are increasingly signaling that low-income consumers are starting to crack. 

  Let’s begin with the biggest macro news in the session: This morning’s consumer confidence survey from the University of Michigan pointed to an implosion of Bidenomics. The report was a total disaster. The index “unexpectedly” plunged from 77.2 to 67.4, a 9.8-point drop, the biggest since August 2021. 

  

  … and was only a 7-sigma miss to expectations of a 76.2 print…

  

  … but it was the biggest miss on record!

  

  The consumer confidence report was released at 10:00 AM ET. Immediately afterward, US equity indexes gave up most of the gains and fell, moving sideways in afternoon trading. 

  

  Among the US main equity indexes, the Russel 2000 was the biggest loser in the session. This is mainly because of economic weakness. 

  

  There was little notable sector performance across the S&P500 besides tech, which was marginally higher, and energy, down half a percent. 

  

  NYSE TICK showed selling pressure after 10:00 AM and persisted into early afternoon. 

  

  Most shorted stocks are running out of steam to end the week. 

  

  Treasury yields extended gains after the report as stubborn inflationary pressures reminded traders of the higher-for-longer theme. 

  

  The Treasury 10-year Yield climbed above 4.5%. 

  

  Today’s stagflationary warning is a new challenge to the outlook of the Fed’s interest rate cutting cycle. Fed swaps for ’24 immediately sank from 1.77 cuts to about 1.63 cuts by late afternoon. Nasdaq futures tracked lower on fewer rate cuts. 

  

  “Our economists continue to forecast two rate cuts from the Fed this year beginning with the July meeting. And yields on 10-year Treasuries have come off recent highs following last week’s soft Payrolls report,” Goldman’s Chris Hussey wrote in a note this afternoon. 

  Citi’s US Economic Suprise Index slides to the lowest since January 2023. 

  

  Whoops. 

  Entire dovish move from huge jobs report miss has been reversed on catastrophic UMich print (which signals even more economic weakness) pic.twitter.com/xbjLTsa24e

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 10, 2024

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

  What to expect next week. 

  Which will reverse again next week when CPI is a huge miss https://t.co/8rjS34FLYL

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 10, 2024

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

  Bitcoin and Ethereum were clubbed like a baby seal after the report, sending the dollar soaring in a more hawkish environment. 

  

  Meanwhile, JPM gets bullish on ETH. 

  JPMorgan now just as bullish on ethereum as Larry Fink. Good luck @GaryGensler pic.twitter.com/tdQFKUvsKI

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 10, 2024

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

  In commodities, WTI was whacked from the near $80bbl handle, tumbling down to a low $78 after the report. Gold and silver slid on a strong dollar. 

  

  Looking ahead, next week will be packed with macro data points, including the release of CPI, PPI, retail sales, and industrial production in the US. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 16:01

• Apple Apologizes For 'Soul Crushing' iPad Ad
  Apple Apologizes For ‘Soul Crushing’ iPad Ad

  Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

  Apple has issued an apology following massive backlash to an ad for the new iPad Pro that crushes physical creative tools in an industrial press.

  

  As we highlighted, the commercial shows the device obliterating items such as musical instruments, paint and cameras, then unveiling an iPad as the replacement for everything creative.

  Following an overwhelmingly negative response from viewers who branded the ad ‘soul crushing’, Apple issued a statement.

  “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad,’ the company claimed, going on to admit “We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”

  ‘We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry,’ the tech giant said of a new ad involving a hydraulic press, which had drawn heavy backlash https://t.co/s0eNXW565X pic.twitter.com/mwhrDvOJ8L

  — Financial Times (@FT) May 10, 2024

  According to reports, there were plans to broadcast the ad on terrestrial television, but they have now been scrapped.

  The ad is still live on Apple’s YouTube channel.

  It’s encouraging to see that people do not want dystopian tech crushing all aspects of humanity.

  British filmmaker Asif Kapadia was taken aback, like many others, as to how honest the ad was in its admission that tech companies are crushing creativity.

  Like iPads but don’t know why anyone thought this ad was a good idea
  It is the most honest metaphor for what tech companies do to the arts, to artists musicians, creators, writers, filmmakers: squeeze them, use them, not pay well, take everything then say it’s all created by them https://t.co/ZgwXO53UZ0

  — asifkapadia (@asifkapadia) May 8, 2024

  James Bore, tech expert at consultancy Bores Group, told the Daily Mail that the ad “shows how disconnected they are from actual creative efforts.”

  “I think they may have alienated a not-insignificant part of their target market by thinking like technologists rather than creatives,” Bores continued, adding “There were much better ways to create the same message, without destroying things that their customers will feel sentimental about for a publicity stunt.”

  “Unless of course they were going deliberately for the controversy sells angle, which I can’t rule out entirely,” Bores further noted.

  Someone “fixed” the Apple ad by reversing it, thereby effectively crushing the iPad and having the creative objects appearing in its place.

  Hey @Apple, @rezawrecktion elegantly fixed your ad for you — sound on 🔊 & enjoy 😊 pic.twitter.com/A9nImoVPx4

  — Art Jonak (@ArtJonak) May 8, 2024

  Others pointed out that the ultimate irony is that the concept wasn’t even an original creation, and was done before by LG in 2008:

  LG phone ad from 2008 (BBH London) pic.twitter.com/cWIDZx1d4a

  — Andy Allen (@asallen) May 9, 2024

  *  *  *

  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
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 15:05

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• New "Guide" Teaches UK MPs To Spot "Conspiracy Theories"
  New “Guide” Teaches UK MPs To Spot “Conspiracy Theories”

  Authored by Kit Knightly via Off-Guardian.org,

  The British government has issued a new guidebook to all sitting MPs to help them spot “conspiracy theories”.

  

  Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt  MP, who commissioned the guide, has warned that:

  The proliferation of conspiracy theories across the UK is deeply disturbing. They are deliberate campaigns to spread disinformation and fear

  […]

  If they go unchallenged we risk the public being conned and their wellbeing potentially damaged. These campaigns are also a threat to the health of our democracy.

  It is essential that we give the public and their representatives the tools they need to combat this phenomenon.”

  And claimed the aim of the new guide was to:

  protect the public from the damaging effects of misinformation and safeguard the integrity of our democratic process,”

  Which sounds just lovely, doesn’t it?

  Oh, and just in case any of you are still caught up in the party politics illusion, the guide has full cross-party support, the Shadow Leader of the House called it “a must-read”.

  The report was co-written by “experts” representing several non-governmental organisations, and fact-checkers including:

  • FullFact – funded by (among others) Google, Facebook and the Open Society Foundation.

  • The Institute for Strategic Dialogue  – funded by (among others) the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, Facebook, over a dozen national governments and the UN.

  • Global Network on Extremism and Technology  – The academic research arm of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, a thinktank “designed to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms”…and which is funded by (among others) Facebook, Amazon, Youtube and Microsoft.

  In short, it’s all a rather incestuous funding pool of the same handful of tech giants and billionaires paying “experts” to tell them what they want to hear.

  But we probably shouldn’t judge until we’ve read the “guide” itself, which is tricky because it doesn’t seem to be publicly available (seriously I looked everywhere, if you’re aware of a copy online post it in the comments and we’ll add it the link here).

  Fortunately, our old friends at the Guardian have given us a little taste, here’s three things they’re warning about.

  The Great Reset, which the Graun describes as…

  …a vague set of proposals from the World Economic Forum to encourage governments to move to adopt more equitable policies, the concept has been hijacked by conspiracy theorists claiming it is a bid by a small group to exert control.

  …which is wonderful, because it’s essentially admitting it’s true and then pretending it’s not.

  The Great Reset is, indeed, a WEF initiative. It was launched in June 2020 with the backing of world leaders and captains of industry, it aims to totally and completely rebuild the way our society works, including how we travel, what we eat and where we live.

  You can read about it in Klaus Schwab’s own words here, or see their handy diagram:

  

  How is that NOT “exerting control”?

  How does one go about transforming the farming, travel, taxation and employment policies of every nation on Earth without “exerting control”?

  Eating Insects is another “conspiracy theory”, apparently.

  With the Guardian warning that:

   [conspiracy theories] have included claims – fuelled by attempts to reduce meat consumption – that the WEF wants to make people eat insects.

  The only problem being that the WEF really does want people to eat insects:

  

  Like, a lot:

  

  You know what? The Guardian wants people to eat insects too. So does the BBC. And Time. The list is endless.

  This is – to use an overused word – gaslighting of the highest degree.

  They are at once saying “hey, we all need to eat insects to save the world”, and then claiming anyone who repeats it back at them is a conspiracy theorist.

  To encompass how mad this is you have to picture it being done on an interpersonal level.

  Imagine a double-glazing salesman comes to your door, wearing a double-glazing company logo and holding a double-glazing sales catalogue and says “I think you should buy some double-glazing”.

  To which you reply, “No thanks I don’t need any double glazing.”

  At this point the man screams “Double glazing? Who said anything about double glazing!? You lunatic!” storms off down the path, gets in his double-glazing van and drives away.

  It’s just that insane.

  Climate Lockdowns are the third “conspiracy theory” the Guardian warns us about, claiming:

  The ISD identified “climate lockdown” as the catchphrase for the conspiracy that the climate crisis will be used as a pretext for depriving citizens of liberty.

  But climate lockdowns are not a conspiracy theory either, they were first posited in a report in October 2020 published by Project Syndicate and the World Council for Sustainable Development. The proposed lockdown included banning private vehicles, the consumption of red meat and “extreme energy-saving measures”.

  Since then we have been inundated with peer-review studies, claiming lockdown is good for the environment.

  The Guardian itself headlined, in March 2021:

  Global lockdown every two years needed to meet Paris CO2 goals – study

  It was such an unpopular story that they sneakily changed the headline.

  It’s fairly clear that “climate lockdowns” are far from a conspiracy theory, that they were planned and then abandoned (or delayed) due to public anger at the first lockdown.

  *  *  *

  So, it looks like at least three of these “conspiracy theories” MPs are being “warned against” are actually…true. At least partially.

  Oh well.

  Still, it’s reassuring to know that unnamed experts from billionaire-funded NGOs are writing “guides” teaching our elected officials about the dangers of wrongthink.

  What a great way to “safeguard the integrity of our democratic process”.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 02:00

• The TikTok Ban Is The Next Patriot Act
  The TikTok Ban Is The Next Patriot Act

  Authored by Aaron Sobczak via The Mises Institute,

  HR 7521, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, is a recent development in American politics. TikTok has been in the news for the past few years, after the public became aware of its connections to China. The popular social media mobile app is currently owned by ByteDance Ltd, a Chinese company. China and the United States currently have a rocky relationship, leading to fears that the Chinese government could potentially use this app to spy on American citizens. Several states and counties voted to restrict the usage of the app in some ways, mostly disallowing government employees from using it on government-owned phones. Earlier this month, the United States Congress passed a piece of legislation that would restrict the app’s availability if certain requirements are not met by ByteDance.

  

  Putting aside the idea that politicians rarely have pure motives, this act has the potential to be just as dangerous as the Patriot Act. With a supposed goal of protecting American national security, the Patriot Act granted sweeping permissions to the federal government and the National Security Agency to spy on American citizens, with far less due process. In addition to having the potential to violate privacy rights and the Fourth Amendment, this new act is a blatant attack on property rights. Mobile device manufacturers and owners have every right to install whatever software they would like, as it is their property. Any illusion of a right to national security is immediately contradicted as collective rights are positive in nature and thus not rights at all.

  When looking through this act, several parts stick out.

  It begins by restricting any entity from distributing, maintaining, or updating any application that is controlled by a foreign adversary. As skeptics of the state would point out, this is already problematic. It should be obvious that one cannot adequately trust the American national security regime to determine which countries or entities are adversarial. A recent egregious example would be when the United States was determined to paint Iraq, and Saddam Hussein, as a uniquely evil power that assisted with the events of 9/11. Additionally, one can point to how the Trump and Biden administrations supported covid lockdowns, thus making Americans who understood the Constitution and property rights look like enemies in the eyes of many. The state has proven itself to be incapable of telling Americans who or what they should fear.

  The act then goes on to even ban the hosting of internet services that enable the use of these apps, furthering the state’s control over the internet. In addition to these fears of further government censorship, Senator Rand Paul has pointed out that many Americans own a stake in ByteDance; this restriction would mean that the government is taking away American property without suspicion of a crime. The act does not just restrict companies that are directly controlled by a foreign government but even companies that are owned by private citizens of an adversarial state. When it comes to government censorship, the Chinese government is the gold standard. The American government is following in the steps of the Chinese Communist Party. The Constitution and the natural-law-based rights that the United States was founded upon conflict greatly with this level of state censorship.

  Setting aside any pretense of national security, this act will restrict competition in the American marketplace, if not incidentally. Companies such as Alphabet and Meta will benefit greatly from a huge decrease of competition in the social media marketplace. Additionally, foreign cooperation in the global marketplace serves to spread the values of capitalism and free expression. It is understood that free trade greatly reduces the risk of traditional warfare between states, resulting in greater global competition.

  Further alienating states that are considered adversarial is shown to diminish peace.

  This is seen in how Iran reacted to the end of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, how North Korea positively reacted to President Donald Trump’s brief attempts to normalize diplomatic relations, and how Russia reacted to the expansion and aggression of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

  While not quite as wide-ranging as the Patriot Act, this recent act is dangerous in multiple ways.

  The natural rights to free expression, property, and privacy are at further risk with legislation such as this.

  One can point to how this will greatly support very large companies such as Alphabet and Meta in the American marketplace, companies that have spied on American citizens on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

  Additionally, already-estranged nations are less likely to come to any sort of reasonable agreement as they are continually backed into a corner by the global community.

  Skeptical Americans who are knowledgeable of history should not trust the American national security regime to properly determine who their enemies are, or the best way to keep Americans safe.

  This legislation will only give increased power to the expansive state, power that the state has proven itself unable to use judiciously.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 23:40

• Visualizing The Tax Burden Of Every US State
  Visualizing The Tax Burden Of Every US State

  This map graphic visualizes the total tax burden in each U.S. state as of March 2024, based on figures compiled by WalletHub.

  It’s important to understand that under this methodology, the tax burden measures the percent of an average person’s income that is paid towards state and local taxes. It considers property taxes, income taxes, and sales & excise tax.

  

  Data and Methodology

  The figures we used to create this graphic are listed in the table below.

  State	Total Tax Burden
  New York	12.0%
  Hawaii	11.8%
  Vermont	11.1%
  Maine	10.7%
  California	10.4%
  Connecticut	10.1%
  Minnesota	10.0%
  Illinois	9.7%
  New Jersey	9.5%
  Rhode Island	9.4%
  Utah	9.4%
  Kansas	9.3%
  Maryland	9.3%
  Iowa	9.2%
  Nebraska	9.2%
  Ohio	8.9%
  Indiana	8.9%
  Arkansas	8.8%
  Mississippi	8.8%
  Massachusetts	8.6%
  Virginia	8.5%
  West Virginia	8.5%
  Oregon	8.4%
  Colorado	8.4%
  Pennsylvania	8.4%
  Wisconsin	8.3%
  Louisiana	8.3%
  Kentucky	8.3%
  Washington	8.0%
  New Mexico	8.0%
  Michigan	8.0%
  North Carolina	7.9%
  Idaho	7.9%
  Arizona	7.8%
  Missouri	7.8%
  Georgia	7.7%
  Texas	7.6%
  Alabama	7.5%
  Montana	7.5%
  South Carolina	7.5%
  Nevada	7.4%
  Oklahoma	7.0%
  North Dakota	6.8%
  South Dakota	6.4%
  Delaware	6.4%
  Tennessee	6.1%
  Florida	6.1%
  Wyoming	5.7%
  New Hampshire	5.6%
  Alaska	4.9%

  From this data we can see that New York has the highest total tax burden. Residents in this state will pay, on average, 12% of their income to state and local governments.

  Breaking this down into its three components, the average New Yorker pays 4.6% of their income on income taxes, 4.4% on property taxes, and 3% in sales & excise taxes.

  At the other end of the spectrum, Alaska has the lowest tax burden of any state, equaling 4.9% of income. This is partly due to the fact that Alaskans do not pay state income tax.

  Hate Paying Taxes?

  In addition to Alaska, there are several other U.S. states that don’t charge income taxes. These are: Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

  It’s also worth noting that New Hampshire does not have a regular income tax, but does charge a flat 4% on interest and dividend income according to the Tax Foundation.

  If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this graphic which ranks the countries with the lowest corporate tax rates, from 1980 to today.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 23:20

• Thursday Humor: What Is The Optimal Temperature For Global GDP Growth?
  Thursday Humor: What Is The Optimal Temperature For Global GDP Growth?

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  A group of climate alarmists have concluded that global GDP will be 23 percent lower on the current path.

  

  I was aware of the ridiculous article when it came out.

  I stopped reading when I noted that all countries were all given equal weighting. For example, Nigeria has the same weight as the US.

  The authors tried to mitigate this in various ways but it was obvious that the authors would bend the data and the report to match their goals.

  Today, I am pleased to present a complete and thorough trashing of the Nature article.

  Please consider Global Non-Linear Effect of Temperature on Economic Production: Comment on Burke, Hsiang, and Miguel by David Barker, emphasis mine.

  The journal Nature published an influential article in 2015 by Marshall Burke, Solomon M. Hsiang, and Edward Miguel (hereafter BHM) purporting to show that higher temperatures will lower economic growth in warm countries.

  The Web of Science reports that the paper is in the top six one hundredths of one percent of economics and business publications by citations, and Google Scholar shows 2,269 citations. BHM (2015) also received significant attention in the popular press. Hsiang further developed this work and cowrote a chapter of the National Climate Assessment (Hsiang et al. 2023) claiming that higher temperatures would reduce the rate of economic growth.

  BHM’s analysis is shallow and misleading. The authors use data with characteristics that are known to create spurious regression results without making proper adjustments or even acknowledging these characteristics. They estimate parameters of a quadratic curve relating temperature to growth, and then cherrypick countries to include in a chart that appears to confirm the shape of this curve. The curve is then used to project growth rates into the distant future using temperature scenarios that a more recent comment in Nature described as either “extremely unlikely” or “unlikely”.

  Description of BHM (2015)

  BHM (2015) use annual data representing 166 countries from 1961 to 2010 on temperature and economic growth. All countries are equally weighted, and every country is assigned a single average temperature for each year. Because some data are missing, there is a total of 6,584 country/year observations instead of the 8,300 that could be used if data from all years in all countries were available.

  The headline result of a 23 percent reduction in GDP comes from taking each country’s projected GDP per capita with and without climate change, then taking the weighted average by population, and then taking the percentage difference between the weighted sum with and without climate change.

  The headline result, that warming will reduce global GDP per capita by 23 percent, is more than double the mean estimate of BHM’s bootstrap estimation, which they do not report. BHM claim that their result is “globally representative”, but it does not hold without Greenland and the regions of the Sahara and Central Africa, and it does not hold in large regions of the world. Simulations support the hypothesis that spatial autocorrelation may be the cause of BHM’s results, and robustness checks also suggest that their results may be spurious. BHM has been the subject of methodological criticism (Newell et al. 2021; Tol 2019; Rosen 2019), but my paper is the first to precisely document its deceptive practices.

  Thesis Falls Apart

  Barker notes that if you remove Greenland and regions of the Sahara and Central Africa from the analysis, the entire BHM thesis falls apart.

  He also comments on dummy variables and notes that if the analysis started one year earlier, the BHM thesis also falls apart.

  On the geek side, Barker notes “Any data, no matter how noisy, will generate a smooth quadratic curve if one variable is regressed on another and its square and the predicted values of the dependent variable are plotted against possible values of the independent variable.”

  Thus, the nice smooth graphs of BHM are automatic by design.

  Regarding the lead chart, Barker says “Five countries are cherry-picked to make the relationship appear to be significant. While the figure is not a crucial part of BHM’s analysis, it is indicative of the misleading approach of the paper, and suggests alternative methods of measuring the relationship between growth and temperature.“

  Much of his rebuttal is complex and not light reading. I picked some highlights that I thought would be generally understandable.

  Optimal Temperature

  I am confident there is no such a thing as an optimal global temperature. Such a belief precludes technology advances that can mitigate climate impacts.

  At best, an optimal temperature is unknowable and changing. And it’s ridiculous to believe we could or should try to hit the optimal temperature even if it exists.

  It’s clear BHM had an agenda and manipulated the dates, the countries, the years included, and the dummy variables to produce the desired result.

  Forcing the Data to Meet the Non-Science

  BHM forced the data not to meet the science, but to meet a belief in non-science. I fail to see what they gain by this.

  At best, they now look like a pack of incompetent scientists, and at worst a pack of complete liars.

  Cheers From the Cult

  The people BHM address are in the same cult and need no convincing. OK, BHM got cheers from the cult. If that was the goal, congrats.

  But if the goal was to convince the skeptics, they failed miserably.

  Some of us saw through the nonsense right from the beginning. And now we have a stellar rebuttal from David Barker to back us up.

  March to Madness Continues

  The lie of the day is from the EPA: Carbon capture will pay for itself (thanks to IRA subsidies). No, it won’t even with subsidies. Expect blackouts and a higher price for electricity.

  

  In case you missed it, please see Biden’s New Carbon Capture Mandates Will Cause Blackouts, Increases Prices

  The march to energy madness continues.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 23:00

• Chris Cuomo Admits Taking "Regular" Doses Of Ivermectin After Previously Saying Those Who Took It Should Be "Shamed"
  Chris Cuomo Admits Taking “Regular” Doses Of Ivermectin After Previously Saying Those Who Took It Should Be “Shamed”

  After once claiming on air that people taking ivermectin should be “shamed”, Chris Cuomo has done an about face on the drug, admitting on the PBD Podcast this week that he is taking a regular dose of it to deal with long Covid. 

  In January, Cuomo revealed he’s dealing with “long COVID,” the lasting effects of a previous infection. On the PBD Podcast hosted by Patrick Bet-David, the NewsNation host said he’s using antiviral medication to combat inflammation and “brain fog.”

  Trust the science… pic.twitter.com/uKe7o631Gt

  — Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) May 8, 2024

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

  He said: “I’ll tell you something else that’s gonna get you a lot of hits. I am taking … a regular dose of Ivermectin. Ivermectin was a boogeyman during COVID. That was wrong. We were given bad information about Ivermectin. The real question is, why?”

  Why, Chris? Perhaps its because you and Don Lemon were on-air daily providing a constant stream of misinformation about the drug?

  He continued: “Everyone’s going to say ‘Joe Rogan was right. No, Joe Rogan was saying – yeah, he was right – that’s not what matters. What matters is, the entire medical community knew that Ivermectin couldn’t hurt you. They knew it … I know they knew it.”

  “How do I know? Because now I’m doing nothing but talking to these clinicians, who at the time were overwhelmed by COVID, and they weren’t saying anything!”

  But back during the pandemic, Cuomo took to the air to widely discredit ivermectin, despite it appears on the WHO’s List of Essential Medicines and having been dosed for humans millions of times. 

  Cuomo said during the pandemic:  “What person – you know you talk about cancel culture and who to shame – Ivermectin? A de-wormer? Really? … they need to be shamed. They need to be called out and shamed, brother.”

  

  Like all ridiculous liberal talking points, the truth tends to emerge only when involves the well-being of those espousing lessons on how others should live their lives. Cuomo now says about ivermectin: “It’s cheap, it’s not owned by anybody, and it’s used as an anti-microbial, antiviral and has been for all these different ways, and has been for a long time.”

   “My doctor was using it during COVID on her family and on her patients, and it was working for them. So. They were wrong to play scared on that. Didn’t know that at the time. Know it now, admit it now, reporting on it now.”

  Back in August 2023, when we published “The Unforgiveable Ivermectin Swindle“, we noted…the truth finds a way to make its way out eventually.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 22:40

• Chinese Stock Rally Likely To Stall Without Robust Earnings
  Chinese Stock Rally Likely To Stall Without Robust Earnings

  By Henry Ren, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

  Earnings for China Inc. are looking somewhat better, though likely not enough to keep fueling the recent stock market rally.

  Strategists say the bounce spurred by low valuations needs a full-blown earnings recovery to continue. Remember the lesson from China’s Covid reopening trade, which began favorably in late 2022 and lasted only three months.

  During that period when the MSCI China Index rallied 59% from trough to peak, analysts raised forward earnings expectations by about 10%. However, earnings revisions turned negative starting in February 2023, and Chinese stocks never managed to regain their strength.

  

  This year, after a 25% rebound from the bottom in January, Chinese stocks are once again at a tipping point, with investors turning to earnings for potential catalysts. First-quarter reports so far are decidedly mixed.

  Firms listed on the mainland have recorded a 4% decline in earnings as their gross profit margins lingered at low levels, according to UBS strategists. It’s a similar picture for MSCI China components.

  Companies making up a third of the benchmark index posted a 5% drop in sales, JPMorgan cautioned in a May 1 note.

  

  Next week’s reports from big-cap internet companies probably will determine how this earnings season registers on the index level. Weak retail sales growth in March and a decline in per-capita tourist spending during the May 1-5 national holiday are bad omens for the sector, which is highly affected by consumer sentiment.

  Better earnings are critically important, especially at a time when tailwinds that lifted Chinese stock gauges into bull territory are tapering off. The MSCI China Index is now technically overbought for the first time since January 2023.

  Meanwhile, Japanese equities have stabilized and US markets have digested the idea that fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts are coming, reducing the urgency for global funds to diversify away from developed markets.

  

  But it’s not all doom and gloom. The number of mainland-listed firms missing estimates declined this reporting season, and large-cap stocks are undergoing more upward earnings revisions, according to Morgan Stanley strategists led by Laura Wang.

  Some select industries still show signs of improvement, despite macro data being “weak and mixed,” said Vivian Lin Thurston, a fund manager at William Blair Investment Management in Chicago. Export-driven companies and appliance makers have stood out, she noted.

  Still, more patience is required if the recovery is to broaden. “What we do have is some better news on some specific sectors because the expectations are very low,” said Societe Generale strategist Frank Benzimra. “But it’s just too early to say that this is a sustainable upturn.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 22:20

• How People Get Around In America, Europe, And Asia
  How People Get Around In America, Europe, And Asia

  This chart, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, highlights the popularity of different transportation types in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, calculated by modal share.

  Data for this article and visualization is sourced from ‘The ABC of Mobility’, a research paper by Rafael Prieto-Curiel (Complexity Science Hub) and Juan P. Ospina (EAFIT University), accessed through ScienceDirect.

  The authors gathered their modal share data through travel surveys, which focused on the primary mode of transportation a person employs for each weekday trip. Information from 800 cities across 61 countries was collected for this study.

  

  North American Car Culture Contrasts with the Rest of the World

  In the U.S. and Canada, people heavily rely on cars to get around, no matter the size of the city. There are a few exceptions of course, such as New York, Toronto, and smaller college towns across the United States.

  

  Note: *Excluding Mexico. Percentages are rounded.

  As a result, North America’s share of public transport and active mobility (walking and biking) is the lowest amongst all surveyed regions by a significant amount.

  On the other hand, public transport reigns supreme in South and Central America as well as Southern and Eastern Asia. It ties with cars in Southeastern Asia, and is eclipsed by cars in Western Asia.

  As outlined in the paper, Europe sees more city-level differences in transport popularity.

  For example, Utrecht, Netherlands prefers walking and biking. People in Paris and London like using their extensive transit systems. And in Manchester and Rome, roughly two out of three journeys are by car.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 22:00

• Democrats Attack Judge For Delaying Trump Florida Trial
  Democrats Attack Judge For Delaying Trump Florida Trial

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  While pundits, politicians and the press have long expressed outrage over attacks on judges by former President Donald Trump, many are now attacking any judge who delays any trial of Trump before the election. Democrats have accused Judge Aileen Cannon of being politically compromised, if not conspiratorial, in her delay of the Florida trial over the mishandling of classified documents. Yet, there is ample reason for the delay that many of us anticipated in this type of case when it was filed.

  

  For months, many of us have said that we doubt that this type of trial could be held on the rapid schedule demanded by Special Counsel Jake Smith. Smith has repeatedly sought to curtail trial review and even appellate rights of Trump to advance his schedule.

  His office has made convicting Trump before the election the overriding objective of its motion — a sharp departure from past Justice Department efforts to avoid trials to influence elections.

  As a criminal defense counsel, I have handled classified material cases and they are notoriously slow. Smith could have prosecuted this case in the shorter time frame if he simply charge obstruction. That would have also eliminated the glaring contrast with the handling of the Biden investigation into the current president’s retention and mishandling of classified material.

  Smith decided to charge an array of document charges related to classified material. The defense must have access, review, and can appeal issue related to the classified procedures. Yet, Smith wanted both the array of document charges and a fast track to trial. The Supreme Court has agreed with Cannon that Smith desire to secure a conviction before the election is not the overriding consideration.

  Judge Cannon is faced with recent admissions that the government mixed up files in the boxes and staged the famous photos of document strewn over a floor with classified jackets.

  Most importantly, disputes over the relevant documents continues as expected in the case.

  Nevertheless, leading democrats are denouncing Cannon as a partisan hack.

  Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on federal courts and oversight subcommittee, said accused Cannon of “deliberately slow-walking the case.” Ignoring the fact that similar cases have taken much longer to go to trial, Whitehouse simply declared “it is hard for me not to reach the conclusion that this [judge] is deliberately slow-walking the case to put it into a position where should [Trump] be elected, he can order that the investigation and prosecution be terminated.”

  His colleague Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) insisted that Cannon was “managing this case in a way that is making it highly unlikely that it will be resolved in a timely fashion.”

  Coons added “Justice deferred is often justice denied.” It is a bizarre statement. Classified documents cases routinely take longer to go to trial. The alternative is to cut off the ability of the defense to fully review the documents and review objections for resolution before trial. Yet, because the defendant is Trump and these Democrats want the trial to influence the election, such defense protections are now evidence of judicial bias.

  They, of course, ignore that Cannon has ruled repeatedly against major Trump motions in the case.

  Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said Cannon’s “at it again, doing everything she can to delay.”

  Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), offered the most telling line. He said “I question whether this judge understands the magnitude or the legal import of this trial.”

  Indeed, it is the timing as much as the charges that makes this so important to the Justice Department and the Democrats. Smith has crafted this case to impact the election and the failure of the court to support that effort is apparently grounds for recusal.

  Blumenthal called for such a motion before the window is lost before the election: “It’s a classic dilemma for justice that a particular judicial officer may be conducting a trial that could be better done by somebody else.”

  Despite the statement of his colleague Coons, this is a case where justice delayed is justice.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 21:40

• Manhattan Apartment Rents Gain Momentum, Signal Potential Record Highs This Summer
  Manhattan Apartment Rents Gain Momentum, Signal Potential Record Highs This Summer

  While the rent component of the consumer price index has shown a strong disinflationary trend since peaking in the summer of 2023, high-frequency data reveals rent prices in key metro areas are moving higher. 

  Several high-frequency rental data points show that the cost of signing a new lease on a house or apartment is rising again despite decelerating rent component print in the March Consumer Price Index. 

  

  Let’s begin with Manhattan apartment rents, hitting a new record for April, Bloomberg reported, citing a new report from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

  

  New leases signed in April topped an average of $4,250, up $9 from last April. Overall, prices peaked at $4,440 last August, sliding marginally in the fall months, and have since moved higher at the start of the year. 

  

  “The question is whether we’re going to beat last summer’s all-time highs,” said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel. 

  Miller pointed out that rents are likely to “beat last summer’s all-time highs” given their current trajectory and momentum.  

  Looking at CoreLogic data, its latest Single-Family Rent Index, which examines single-family rent price changes nationally and across major cities, “regained strength in February, posting the highest annual appreciation since April 2023,” according to Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic. 

  

  CPI rents will be deflationary as they catch up to lagged real-time indicators. However, if high-frequency data continues moving upward, there’s a risk CPI rents could turn back up later this year. 

  If this is the case, then potentially more bad news for Bidenomics and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who is enabling this fiscal trainwreck as inflation continues to crush working poor households. 

  Recall, earlier this week, Stan Druckenmiller told CNBC’s Joe Kernen that he rates Bidenomics an “F.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 21:20

• Virtual Home Invasions: We're Not Safe From Government Peeping Toms
  Virtual Home Invasions: We’re Not Safe From Government Peeping Toms

  Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

  “The privacy and dignity of our citizens is being whittled away by sometimes imperceptible steps. Taken individually, each step may be of little consequence. But when viewed as a whole, there begins to emerge a society quite unlike any we have seen—a society in which government may intrude into the secret regions of man’s life at will.”

  – Justice William O. Douglas

  The spirit of the Constitution, drafted by men who chafed against the heavy-handed tyranny of an imperial ruler, would suggest that one’s home is a fortress, safe from almost every kind of intrusion.

  

  Unfortunately, a collective assault by the government’s cabal of legislators, litigators, judges and militarized police has all but succeeded in reducing that fortress—and the Fourth Amendment alongside it—to a crumbling pile of rubble.

  We are no longer safe in our homes, not from the menace of a government and its army of Peeping Toms who are waging war on the last stronghold of privacy left to us as a free people.

  The weapons of this particular war on the privacy and sanctity of our homes are being wielded by the government and its army of bureaucratized, corporatized, militarized mercenaries.

  Government agents—with or without a warrant, with or without probable cause that criminal activity is afoot, and with or without the consent of the homeowner—are now justified in mounting virtual home invasions using surveillance technology—with or without the blessing of the courts—to invade one’s home with wiretaps, thermal imaging, surveillance cameras, aerial drones, and other monitoring devices.

  Just recently, in fact, the Michigan Supreme Court gave the government the green light to use warrantless aerial drone surveillance to snoop on citizens at home and spy on their private property.

  While the courts have given police significant leeway at times when it comes to physical intrusions into the privacy of one’s home (the toehold entry, the battering ram, the SWAT raid, the knock-and-talk conversation, etc.), the menace of such virtual intrusions on our Fourth Amendment rights has barely begun to be litigated, legislated and debated.

  Consequently, we now find ourselves in the unenviable position of being monitored, managed, corralled and controlled by technologies that answer to government and corporate rulers.

  Indeed, almost anything goes when it comes to all the ways in which the government can now invade your home and lay siege to your property.

  Consider that on any given day, the average American going about his daily business will be monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in more than 20 different ways, by both government and corporate eyes and ears.

  A byproduct of this surveillance age in which we live, whether you’re walking through a store, driving your car, checking email, or talking to friends and family on the phone, you can be sure that some government agency is listening in and tracking your behavior.

  This doesn’t even begin to touch on the corporate trackers that monitor your purchases, web browsing, Facebook posts and other activities taking place in the cyber sphere.

  Stingray devices mounted on police cars to warrantlessly track cell phones, Doppler radar devices that can detect human breathing and movement within in a home, license plate readers that can record up to 1800 license plates per minute, sidewalk and “public space” cameras coupled with facial recognition and behavior-sensing technology that lay the groundwork for police “pre-crime” programs, police body cameras that turn police officers into roving surveillance cameras, the internet of things: all of these technologies (and more) add up to a society in which there’s little room for indiscretions, imperfections, or acts of independence—especially not when the government can listen in on your phone calls, read your emails, monitor your driving habits, track your movements, scrutinize your purchases and peer through the walls of your home.

  Without our realizing it, the American Police State passed the baton off to a fully-fledged Surveillance State that gives the illusion of freedom while functioning all the while like an electronic prison: controlled, watchful, inflexible, punitive, deadly and inescapable.

  Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide: this is the mantra of the architects of the Surveillance State and their corporate collaborators.

  Government eyes see your every move: what you read, how much you spend, where you go, with whom you interact, when you wake up in the morning, what you’re watching on television and reading on the internet.

  Every move you make is being monitored, mined for data, crunched, and tabulated in order to amass a profile of who you are, what makes you tick, and how best to control you when and if it becomes necessary to bring you in line.

  Cue the dawning of the Age of the Internet of Things (IoT), in which internet-connected “things” monitor your home, your health and your habits in order to keep your pantry stocked, your utilities regulated and your life under control and relatively worry-free.

  The key word here, however, is control.

  In the not-too-distant future, “just about every device you have—and even products like chairs, that you don’t normally expect to see technology in—will be connected and talking to each other.”

  By the end of 2018, “there were an estimated 22 billion internet of things connected devices in use around the world… Forecasts suggest that by 2030 around 50 billion of these IoT devices will be in use around the world, creating a massive web of interconnected devices spanning everything from smartphones to kitchen appliances.”

  As the technologies powering these devices have become increasingly sophisticated, they have also become increasingly widespread, encompassing everything from toothbrushes and lightbulbs to cars, smart meters and medical equipment.

  It is estimated that 127 new IoT devices are connected to the web every second.

  These Internet-connected techno gadgets include smart light bulbs that discourage burglars by making your house look occupied, smart thermostats that regulate the temperature of your home based on your activities, and smart doorbells that let you see who is at your front door without leaving the comfort of your couch.

  Nest, Google’s suite of smart home products, has been at the forefront of the “connected” industry, with such technologically savvy conveniences as a smart lock that tells your thermostat who is home, what temperatures they like, and when your home is unoccupied; a home phone service system that interacts with your connected devices to “learn when you come and go” and alert you if your kids don’t come home; and a sleep system that will monitor when you fall asleep, when you wake up, and keep the house noises and temperature in a sleep-conducive state.

  The aim of these internet-connected devices, as Nest proclaims, is to make “your house a more thoughtful and conscious home.” For example, your car can signal ahead that you’re on your way home, while Hue lights can flash on and off to get your attention if Nest Protect senses something’s wrong. Your coffeemaker, relying on data from fitness and sleep sensors, will brew a stronger pot of coffee for you if you’ve had a restless night.

  Yet given the speed and trajectory at which these technologies are developing, it won’t be long before these devices become government informants, reporting independently on anything you might do that runs afoul of the Nanny State.

  Moreover, it’s not just our homes and personal devices that are being reordered and reimagined in this connected age: it’s our workplaces, our health systems, our government, our bodies and our innermost thoughts that are being plugged into a matrix over which we have no real control.

  It is expected that by 2030, we will all experience The Internet of Senses (IoS), enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 5G, and automation. The Internet of Senses relies on connected technology interacting with our senses of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch by way of the brain as the user interface. As journalist Susan Fourtane explains:

  Many predict that by 2030, the lines between thinking and doing will blur. Fifty-nine percent of consumers believe that we will be able to see map routes on VR glasses by simply thinking of a destination… By 2030, technology is set to respond to our thoughts, and even share them with others… Using the brain as an interface could mean the end of keyboards, mice, game controllers, and ultimately user interfaces for any digital device. The user needs to only think about the commands, and they will just happen. Smartphones could even function without touch screens.

  Once technology is able to access and act on your thoughts, not even your innermost thoughts will be safe from the Thought Police.

  Thus far, the public response to concerns about government surveillance has amounted to a collective shrug. Yet when the government sees all and knows all and has an abundance of laws to render even the most seemingly upstanding citizen a criminal and lawbreaker, then the old adage that you’ve got nothing to worry about if you’ve got nothing to hide no longer applies.

  To our detriment, we are fast approaching a world without the Fourth Amendment, where the lines between private and public property are so blurred that private property is reduced to little more than something the government can use to control, manipulate and harass you to suit its own purposes, and you the homeowner and citizen have been reduced to little more than a tenant or serf in bondage to an inflexible landlord.

  When people talk about privacy, they mistakenly assume it protects only that which is hidden behind a wall or under one’s clothing. The courts have fostered this misunderstanding with their constantly shifting delineation of what constitutes an “expectation of privacy.” And technology has furthered muddied the waters.

  However, privacy is so much more than what you do or say behind locked doors. It is a way of living one’s life firm in the belief that you are the master of your life, and barring any immediate danger to another person (which is far different from the carefully crafted threats to national security the government uses to justify its actions), it’s no one’s business what you read, what you say, where you go, whom you spend your time with, and how you spend your money.

  As Glenn Greenwald notes:

  “The way things are supposed to work is that we’re supposed to know virtually everything about what [government officials] do: that’s why they’re called public servants. They’re supposed to know virtually nothing about what we do: that’s why we’re called private individuals. This dynamic—the hallmark of a healthy and free society—has been radically reversed. Now, they know everything about what we do, and are constantly building systems to know more. Meanwhile, we know less and less about what they do, as they build walls of secrecy behind which they function. That’s the imbalance that needs to come to an end. No democracy can be healthy and functional if the most consequential acts of those who wield political power are completely unknown to those to whom they are supposed to be accountable.”

  As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, none of this will change, no matter which party controls Congress or the White House, because despite all of the work being done to help us buy into the fantasy that things will change if we just elect the right candidate, we’ll still be prisoners of the electronic concentration camp.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 21:00

• Visualizing The Copper Investment Opportunity In One Chart
  Visualizing The Copper Investment Opportunity In One Chart

  Copper is essential for clean energy applications such as solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles (EVs), as well as for expanding electrical grids.

  The surge in demand for the metal, driven by the growing adoption of these technologies, presents a unique investment opportunity for early investors in copper mining companies.

  Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti introduces this chart by Sprott exploring the growing gap between copper supply and demand until 2050, based on projections from BloombergNEF’s Transition Metals Outlook 2023.

  

  Projected Copper Supply vs. Demand

  Copper is naturally abundant on Earth, but extracting the metal at the pace necessary for an electrified economy could be a challenge. The timeline for bringing a copper mine from discovery to production is lengthy, averaging over 16 years.

  Top producers like Chile and Peru are facing strikes and protests, along with declining ore grades. Russia, ranked seventh in copper production, faces an expected decline in production due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

  Meanwhile, the increasing adoption of carbon-free technology only highlights copper’s significance. 

  High Demand for Transport and Electricity Grid

  The demand for copper in the transport sector is projected to increase by 11.1 times by 2050, from 2022. EVs, for example, can contain more than a mile of copper wiring.

  Additionally, the demand for copper needed to expand the global electricity grid is projected to increase by 4.8 times by 2050, from 2022.

  By 2030, the copper supply gap is projected to approach 10 million metric tons, with both copper prices and copper mining stocks potentially set to benefit.

  As the world embraces clean technologies, the search for and expansion of copper mines will be essential. Early investors who gain exposure to copper miners may benefit from the rapidly increasing demand.

  Sprott offers convenient exchange-traded alternatives for investors seeking exposure to copper miners. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 20:40

• Republican Introduces Bill Requiring Proof Of Citizenship To Vote
  Republican Introduces Bill Requiring Proof Of Citizenship To Vote

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

  Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has introduced a bill in the lower chamber of Congress that would ensure that illegal immigrants do not vote in federal elections.

  

  The Epoch Times first obtained a copy of the bill, dubbed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.

  The bill is being introduced with the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who vowed to bring up such a bill during an appearance with former President Donald Trump weeks ago.

  Although noncitizen voting in federal elections is already unlawful, past Supreme Court decisions limit states’ power to ensure that voters are citizens.

  Mr. Roy’s bill seeks to strengthen safeguards around voter registration to ensure compliance with existing law against noncitizens voting.

  To this end, it demands that a state “shall not accept and process an application to register to vote in an election for Federal office unless the applicant presents documentary proof of United States citizenship with the application.”

  Speaking at a May 8 press conference in support of the legislation, Mr. Johnson tied it to ongoing protests at campuses across the United States.

  “In recent days, we’ve seen a growing number of folks on student visas show their willingness to break the law and utterly disrupt our way of life and threaten law-abiding students who are actually American citizens,” Mr. Johnson said. “If they’re willing to take over buildings and physically terrorize their fellow students, why would they not be willing to lie on a voter registration form?”

  Stephen Miller, a former senior adviser to President Trump, also commented during the press conference.

  “If Hakeem Jeffries and his Democrat members try to kill this bill, they will be declaring to the whole country that they want Joe Biden’s illegals to vote in this election,” Mr. Miller said.

  ‘Sacred Right and Responsibility’

  The bill lists several acceptable documents to verify the citizenship of a would-be voter, including a REAL ID compliant identification, a U.S. passport, a military ID card, or any valid state, federal or tribal identification, such as a birth certificate, hospital record, or adoption certificate, showing that the individual was born in, or is a naturalized citizen of, the United States.

  The bill also provides for accommodations for mail-in voting registration or those unable to produce documentary proof of citizenship, who can undergo a separate process to have their citizenship verified.

  States would also be required to “take affirmative steps on an ongoing basis to ensure that only United States citizens are registered to vote,” including clearing the voter rolls of those who are ineligible to vote due to their status as noncitizens. To that end, the bill also clarifies the conditions under which a state may seek to remove an individual from voter rolls.

  Additionally, the bill would require the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to investigate noncitizens who are illegally registered to vote, up to and including the possibility of removal proceedings.

  The same bill will be introduced to the Democrat-controlled Senate by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who encouraged that it be taken up and passed in a statement to The Epoch Times.

  “Thousands of illegal immigrants are being given voter registration forms and driver’s licenses, allowing them to cast illegitimate ballots on election day,” Mr. Lee said. “At a time when trust in voting is more important than ever, we must stop foreign election interference and pass the SAVE Act.

  “Voting is both a sacred right and responsibility of American citizenship, and allowing the people of other nations access to our elections is a grave blow to our security and self-governance. I’m proud to stand with Chip Roy to save our democratic process and representative government.”

  Mr. Lee also spoke during the press conference.

  “There is not a good, legitimate reason to oppose this bill,” he said. “In fact, there are all kinds of things that would be wrong with this institution if it failed immediately to pass this bill and send it to the President for his signature.”

  Speaking with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Johnson explained why the conference is pursuing this legislation now.

  During his remarks, he noted that as many as 16 million new illegal immigrants could have entered the country under President Joe Biden’s term in office. Estimates of the exact number vary widely.

  “Among the problems that flows from this open border catastrophe is directly related to this threat to election integrity,” Mr. Johnson said.

  Current Law

  Mr. Johnson tied his concerns primarily to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), otherwise dubbed the “Motor Voter” law, which allows people to register to vote at the same time that they pick up a driver’s license from their state’s Department of Motor Vehicles or other state agencies.

  However, the law does not allow states to seek documentary proof of citizenship, instead requiring that they take an individual’s word that they are a citizen unless the individual’s eligibility is called into question.

  A 2013 Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona expanded on the law, finding that the federal law supersedes existing state laws requiring documentary proof to vote—effectively banning states from imposing such requirements for federal voter registration.

  Speaking about this law, Mr. Johnson said, “we think that’s a serious problem”—one that he said Republicans will seek to amend.

  As so many illegal immigrants are already in the country, current law raises red flags that could potentially affect the outcome of the election, Mr. Johnson said.

  “There’s so many millions of illegals in the country, that if only one out of one hundred voted, they would cast potentially hundreds of thousands of votes,” Mr. Johnson said. “That could turn an election.”

  Critics of the bill have retorted that federal law already prohibits illegal immigrants from voting—a fact which they say makes the bill redundant.

  However, due to the Supreme Court’s expansion of the NVRA in 2013, existing laws include no solid mechanism for states to ensure that their voters are citizens.

  It’s unclear when the bill will be taken up in the lower chamber. But with Mr. Johnson’s blessing, it’s all but certain to come to the floor—forcing Democrats onto the record on the issue as immigration becomes a top concern for voters.

  With Republicans’ slim majority, the bill has good odds of passing the lower chamber; it faces longer odds in the Democrat-controlled Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) decides what comes to the floor.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 20:20

• Meet The Company Helping Restart The Nuclear Revolution In The U.S.
  Meet The Company Helping Restart The Nuclear Revolution In The U.S.

  A company called Holtec has become the voice for restarting the nuclear power revolution in the U.S.

  As it becomes clear that the nation’s needs for power are far underserved, and will certainly be in the future with the adoption of AI, one company, currently the “top US manufacturer of storage equipment for nuclear waste”, is advocating for restarting cold reactors across the country. 

  Lately, the company’s ambitions have soared. Since 2019, it’s acquired four retired nuclear plants originally intending to decommission them: Indian Point (NY), Oyster Creek (NJ), Pilgrim (MA), and Palisades (MI), according to Bloomberg.

  Tearing down old reactors promised good returns due to the hefty trust funds tied to cleanup costs. Holtec quickly became the nation’s leading nuclear decommissioner.

  And, as the report notes, despite initially purchasing Palisades to dismantle it, Holtec is now planning to restart the reactor with a $1.5 billion loan from the DOE, marking the first time a cold reactor would be revived in the U.S. However, Holtec lacks experience in running nuclear plants.

  While concerns have been raised due to Holtec’s safety violations in the past four years of decommissioning, others consider such infractions normal in this tightly regulated industry. Nevertheless, nuclear power is increasingly seen as key to curbing greenhouse gas emissions, and Holtec aims to have Palisades online again soon and launch its own small modular reactors (SMRs) by the end of the decade. 

  

  SMRs, factory-built reactors that can be assembled onsite, represent a highly complex and largely unproven endeavor for Holtec and the industry – yet one we have written about extensively as the obvious next step for the industry. Just yesterday we highlighted Sam Altman’s now-greenlighted nuclear SPAC, trading under ALCC before switching to OKLO at the end of this week. 

  Holtec, meanwhile, is headquartered in Jupiter, Florida, but its business hub is the Camden, New Jersey campus and factory. Founder and CEO Krishna Singh’s office overlooks the Delaware River, facing Philadelphia, where he earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 after emigrating from India.

  He specialized in heat-exchange systems, crucial training for reactor design, which involves managing the high temperatures generated by fission reactions to produce power.

  Bloomberg writes that Holtec made its mark with a storage system for spent uranium fuel rods, addressing the mid-1980s problem of overcrowded indoor cooling pools. Singh’s innovation was a durable rack that minimized fuel rod movement during earthquakes, allowing plants to store more rods in the pools. With this patented design, he founded Holtec, and within a few years, his racks dominated the market.

  

  Traditionally, decommissioning involved shutting down reactors and letting them sit for decades. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) gives operators up to 60 years to complete the process, funded by a trust built from utility ratepayer contributions. For instance, Palisades had $552 million in its trust fund when it closed. The long timeline allows funds to grow and radioactivity to decay.

  However, Holtec, NorthStar Group Services Inc., and EnergySolutions Inc. have adopted a different approach, starting decommissioning much earlier. Leveraging their expertise with radioactive materials, they complete the job in years instead of decades, keeping a share of any leftover trust fund money.

  “Not only does Holtec intend to bring Palisades back online, it also plans by the end of the decade to have its own small modular reactors up and running,” Bloomberg writes.

  Back in April we had previously written that a lot of the U.S.’s reactors could wind up coming back online. “There are a couple of nuclear power plants that we probably should, and can, turn back on,” Jigar Shah, director of the US Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, told Bloomberg in an interview.

  In March, Shah’s office approved a loan to Holtec International Corp. to reopen the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. This was a historical shift, and it was the first nuclear power plant to be reopened in the US, setting a precedent for atomic energy to make a triumphal comeback. The plant could begin producing power as early as the second half of 2025.

  Nuclear power is the largest single source of carbon-free electricity. Given onshoring trends, electrification of transportation and buildings, and, of course, as we’ve noted in “The Next AI Trade,” the proliferation of AI data centers will overload power grids nationwide unless a significant upgrade is seen.

  We again highlighted the enormous investment opportunity last month titled “Everyone Is Piling Into The “Next AI Trade””, which lists companies powering up America for the digital age.

  

  Nearly 3.5 years ago, we provided readers with a straightforward investment thesis: “Buy Uranium: Is This The Beginning Of The Next ESG Craze” Back then, it became apparent to us that the resurrection of the nuclear power industry was imminent. 

  And the trend is only gaining steam as the revival of nuclear power plants will continue benefiting some of the largest uranium producers, such as Cameco. We told readers to buy uranium stocks, such as Cameco around the $10 handle – now it’s at $50 a share. 

  You can read Bloomberg’s full feature on Holtec here. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 20:00

• Decline Of Senior Officer Integrity And Civilian Control Of The Military
  Decline Of Senior Officer Integrity And Civilian Control Of The Military

  Authored by Keith T. Holcomb via RealClearDefense,

  

  Public confidence in the military has slipped. One major reason is the politicization of senior military officers, who show an increasing propensity to compromise their integrity to gain influence and achieve both budgetary and policy goals. Their willingness to spin carefully parsed and knowingly misleading testimony and advice compromises civilian control of the military. Simply stated, these generals and admirals are not providing full and complete representations of plans, concepts, and assessments to senior civilians in the executive and legislative branches, thereby depriving them of the unbiased information they require to make decisions required by the Constitution.

  In an era of increasing complexity, cleverly constructed narratives that present simplified, politicized positions to the general population have taken on out-sized importance. Senior officers increasingly are attempting to manipulate policy making by intentionally reducing complex reality to simple narratives designed to appeal to partisan audiences. 

  Integrity has two meanings pertinent to this issue: the common understanding of integrity as honesty and the less common and more formal understanding of integrity as the quality of being whole and complete. 

  Preparation for and experience in combat develops strong wills. Senior officers motivated by the desire to get the biggest possible piece of the pie for their services are tempted to dissemble to win the internecine budget and policy fights that are the lifeblood of official Washington. When these wills are not properly constrained by higher commitments to integrity and respect for the decision-making province of civilian authorities, generals and admirals can succumb to the temptation to deceive. 

  These deceptions can take many forms. A senior officer can choose to highlight some information. Conversely, they can obfuscate, discredit, or ignore other information. They can allude to expert knowledge or classified information to undercut or deflect questions that challenge their assertions. They can use the age-old technique of making strawmen of opposing views. Worse, they can engage in or encourage subordinates or cultivated commentators to engage in ad hominem attacks on the messengers of alternate views. 

  While the hyper-political environment sees daily evidence of such behaviors, some senior officers have exercised considerable self-discipline and have not let advocacy for a position override respect for the prerogatives of senior civilians. In short, just because they have the leadership persona, verbal skills, and communication staffs to construct one-sided positions and perhaps even succeed in the manipulation of some people, they have worked to develop full and balanced representations of the issues at hand. Theirs has been a triumph of professional ethics over the abuse of information to achieve their ends.

  Regrettably, that admirable conduct is in decline and that decline is a contributing factor for decreasing public trust in the military. The American public may not know the specific capabilities of various weapons or the operational implications of various policies. But constant exposure to spun narratives has trained them to recognize manipulation when they see and hear it. Many resent being manipulated, and their sense that such techniques are being used by the Nation’s most senior officers undermines their trust and confidence in the military. The military was once recognized as a profession culturally apart from the rest of society, but no longer. America’s military, and its senior officers especially, are increasingly viewed as no less cynically self-interested than the rest of the elite class.

  The decline of senior officer integrity increasingly impacts civilian decision makers. Not long ago, overbooked national leaders could confidently “repose special trust and confidence” in the senior officers providing assessments and recommendations to them. The disciplined and honorable behaviors of past generations of generals and admirals certainly validated this special trust and confidence. But, with a rise in manipulative narratives, civilian leaders and their staffs are more likely to feel compelled to dig into the details of complex military matters to gain the full and complete picture they need to discharge their responsibilities.

  In short, it is past time for senior officers to forego their increasing addiction to the power opiate of clever narratives and work to present full and balanced representations of the issues at hand.

  Absent immediate internal reform by the Department of Defense, civilian leaders will increasingly have to turn, just as they have with other federal agencies, to independent investigations to gain a more complete understanding of national security issues.

  Brigadier General Keith T. Holcomb, (U.S. Marine Corps, ret.), is a former USMC Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His last assignment was as Director of the Training and Education Division, U.S. Marine Corps Combat Development Command.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 19:40

• Huawei's New 'Made-In-China' Smartphone Sources More Chips Locally Amid US Tech War 
  Huawei’s New ‘Made-In-China’ Smartphone Sources More Chips Locally Amid US Tech War 

  With draconian export controls and blacklisting by Washington elites, Chinese tech giant Huawei is still operating and, in fact, producing new high-tech smartphones with components increasingly sourced from domestic suppliers. 

  A new teardown analysis by tech repair company iFixit and consultancy TechSearch International, first reported by Reuters, shows Huawei’s Pura 70 Pro has a NAND memory chip sourced domestically from the Chinese telecom equipment maker’s in-house chip unit, HiSilicon. 

  iFixit and TechSearch found the Pura 70 handset was operating on a Huawei-made advanced processing chipset called the Kirin 9010. They said the new chip is likely an “improved version” of the advanced chip used by Huawei’s Mate 60 series, which was launched last year to compete with Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup. 

  “While we cannot provide an exact percentage, we’d say the domestic component usage is high, and definitely higher than in the Mate 60,” Shahram Mokhtari, iFixit’s lead teardown technician, said. 

  Mokhtari continued, “This is about self-sufficiency, all of this, everything you see when you open up a smartphone and see whatever are made by Chinese manufacturers, this is all about self-sufficiency,” Mokhtari said.

  The central theme is that a worsening tech war between Beijing and Washington pushes Huawei to source more handset components in domestic markets. This is an alarming development for Washington politicians, who have spent several years sanctioning China to prevent them from acquiring high-tech Western chips and chip-making tools, as well as the hope of imploding China’s tech-creating abilities. However, the restrictions are backfiring, as Huawei now manufactures smartphones with more domestically sourced chips than ever.  

  Just wait for the day when Chinese state media, such as the Global Times, boasts that Huawei’s phones are made entirely with domestic parts. Given the current trajectory, we believe that day is approaching.

  Reuters cited analysts who believe Huawei’s phones are denting iPhone market share in the world’s largest handset market. 

  

  However, since the Pura 70’s components are not entirely sourced domestically, IFixit and TechSearch’s analysis shows South Korean company SK Hynix makes the DRAM chip. 

  Given the chip restrictions, SK Hynix told Reuters it had been “strictly complying with the relevant policies since the restrictions against Huawei were announced and has also suspended any transactions with the company since then.”

  The analysis showed that the processor used by the Pura 70 Pro was 7 nanometers (nm), similar to the chip used to power the Mate 60. 

  “This is significant because news of the 9000S on a 7nm node caused a bit of a panic last year when US lawmakers were confronted with the possibility that the sanctions imposed on Chinese chipmakers might not slow their technological progress after all,” iFixit said.

  iFixit continued, “The fact that the 9010 is still a 7nm process chip, and that it’s so close to the 9000S, might seem to suggest that Chinese chip manufacturing has indeed been slowed.”

  The re-emergence of Huawei, taking on Apple, has infuriated Washington. There was a report from Bloomberg earlier this week that the US revoked licenses that allowed Huawei to buy semiconductors from Qualcomm and Intel. 

  The biggest takeaway: Huawei is on a mission to entirely source components from local suppliers as the tech war between China and the US heats up. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 19:20

• The (Anti) Social Cost Of Carbon
  The (Anti) Social Cost Of Carbon

  Authored by Jonathan Lesser via RealClearEnergy,

  Forty-two was the mystical number that explained “life, the universe, and everything” in Douglas Adams’ comic novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  Today, another mystical number, the so-called social cost of carbon (SSC), is providing the excuse for the Environmental Protection Agency and green-energy-enamored state regulators to enact crippling energy policies.

  

  The SCC is the thumb on the scale that can justify virtually any policy aimed at eliminating fossil fuels. When the EPA first proposed its rule to reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, the agency’s cost-benefit analysis determined the benefits would be minuscule. Any putative benefits, it turns out, would come instead from reductions in carbon emissions and, here’s the key, based on a calculated value for the SCC.  The same was true for the EPA’s earlier attempt at carbon regulation via a “Clean Power Plan,” which was shut down by the Supreme Court. But here we are again with the agency’s newest rules trying to force coal plants to further reduce mercury emissions and to force both coal and natural gas-fired power plants to capture 90% of their carbon emissions. The technology to accomplish this doesn’t exist and EPA Administrator Michael Regan admitted the rule will force the closure of fossil-fuel power plants.

  The SCC values used by the EPA are derived from calculations in integrated planning models (IPMs). Those models assume a simplistic linear relationship between carbon emissions and world temperature (never mind that the validity of that linear assumptions is a subject of deep debate in scientific circles). The models then assume that the resulting temperature increases cause all forms of environmental doom – rising sea levels, more disease, and declining agricultural production – for which yet more estimates are made to assign future cost consequences. Here’s the key: the IPMs project these costs out for the next 300 years (not a typo). Then, those far future costs are “discounted” to estimate a value in today’s dollars by using truly absurd assumptions about such things as inflation and economic growth.

  A tongue-in-cheek forecaster’s creed is “Give them a number or give them a date. Don’t give them both.” Attempting to predict the future three centuries hence may be standard fare for science fiction writers, but basing energy policies on such predictions is insane.

  Imagine someone in the year 1724 predicting life – and technology – today. Benjamin Franklin was 18 years old and working in his father’s print shop. George Washington would not be born for another eight years. The French scientist Antoine Lavoisier, who first identified carbon as an element in 1789, would not be born until 1743. The first patent on a flush toilet would not happen for another half-century. Thomas Edison would not invent the light bulb and the telephone for another 150 years. Could anyone in 1724 have imagined automobiles, mobile phones, and MRI machines? How about integrated circuits, nuclear power, and B-2 bombers?

  To presume we can accurately predict, or even imagine, what the world will look like 300 years from now is just as preposterous. Yet, simplistic models and arbitrary assumptions are being used to drive energy policy decisions today. Using the SCC estimates, and assuming that new technologies will magically appear, the EPA can justify virtually any pollution control regulation, including those that effectively mandate electric vehicles. Similarly, even though offshore wind generation costs five times more than natural gas and coal, the SCC can “prove” the benefits of offshore wind exceed its costs. New York State, for example, assumes that, by 2040, thousands of megawatts of “dispatchable emissions-free generators” (the equivalent of a natural gas generator burning pure hydrogen) will provide the necessary backup for unreliable offshore wind, even though no such generators exist.

  Contrary to the economic fantasies peddled by green energy advocates, policies to eliminate fossil fuels based on the supposed benefits captured by the SCC will cripple the U.S. economy. Electricity prices, coupled with ill-considered plans to electrify virtually everything, will soar. Supplies will dwindle, requiring rationing, either explicitly or through rolling blackouts, such as those experienced every day in South Africa. Rather than creating some green energy nirvana, the lack of adequate and affordable electricity will cause societal decay.

  All of this based on a made-up number.

  Jonathan Lesser is a senior fellow with the National Center for Energy Analytics and president of Continental Economics.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 19:00

• Security Scandal: Chinese Drone Hovers Over US Nuclear-Powered Supercarrier In Japan 
  Security Scandal: Chinese Drone Hovers Over US Nuclear-Powered Supercarrier In Japan 

  A major security scandal is developing at Japan’s Yokosuka Naval Base, where drone footage was recently filmed above an American nuclear-powered supercarrier without any activated anti-drone systems to intercept hostile unmanned aerial vehicles. This comes as loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones, are the hottest weapon on the modern battlefield in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

  X account “这是我小号4”, translated in English from Chinese as “This is my trumpet number 4,” uploaded aerial videos and images of Yokosuka Naval Base. Some of the footage was directly over the USS Ronald Reagan. 

  

  The X account wrote in English, “For anyone who thinks it’s fake….” They attached a screenshot of the drone’s flight path of the naval yard on a map to the post. 

  For anyone who thinks it’s fake pic.twitter.com/PdfwHAnwqj

  — 这是我小号4 (@Xiao_Hao_4) April 2, 2024

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

  The latest data from intel research firm Strategic Forecasting shows USS Ronald Reagan was recently moored at Yokosuka Naval Base. Footage from the drone was taken in early April. 

  

  The account posted additional images of the naval yard and US warships. 

  pic.twitter.com/JOCfTFMI68

  — 这是我小号4 (@Xiao_Hao_4) May 8, 2024

  Where are the anti-drone systems to guard against this type of aerial security breach? 

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

  pic.twitter.com/5Qx1CLQbIn

  — 这是我小号4 (@Xiao_Hao_4) April 4, 2024

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

  In English again, the account said, “It took a month for the Japanese army to just realize…” The person was referring to a news story by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, also known as NHK, covering his activity on social media about posting drone videos of US and Japanese warships. 

  It took a month for the Japanese army to just realize… https://t.co/TH6mWxQZV8

  — 这是我小号4 (@Xiao_Hao_4) May 8, 2024

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

  NHK cited Ministry of Defense officials who said drone videos were “likely genuine.” Other sources we spoke with confirmed the videos are likely real and noted the possibility that this could’ve been a Chinese-made DJI drone. 

  Why didn’t the US and or Japan activate electromagnetic counter-measures against the drone?

  The next question: Did a Chinese spy – pilot this drone?

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 18:40

• Is China's Oil Demand Set For A Major Bounce Back?
  Is China’s Oil Demand Set For A Major Bounce Back?

  By Simon Watkins of OilPrice.com

  Since the mid-1990s, China’s extraordinary economic expansion almost singlehandedly drove a supercycle in key commodities prices it required to power such growth, including oil and gas. In 2013, it became the world’s largest net importer of total petroleum and other liquid fuels and, as late as 2017, its still high rate of economic growth allowed it to overtake the U.S. as the largest annual gross crude oil importer in the world. Late 2019 saw much of this activity grind to a halt as Covid hit the country, and the economic slowdown was exacerbated by its Draconian ‘zero-Covid’ policy that saw complete shutdowns of major economic centres at the slightest hint of infection. However, 2023 saw it achieve its official gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of “around 5 percent” – posting 5.2 percent in the end. The same official target is in place this year, with the key questions for oil markets being whether this will be achieved and if so, how easily?

  

  16 April saw China’s National Bureau of Statistics release the country’s Q1 GDP figure, which showed a 5.3 percent year-on-year increase. This was way above consensus analyst expectations of 4.6 percent and was also a rise from the Q4 2023’s 5.2 percent. “Aside from the continued decline in the property sector, policy support is filtering through investment,” Eugenia Victorino, head of Asia strategy for SEB in Singapore exclusively told OilPrice.com. “With property sales now 60 percent lower than their mid-2021 peak, transaction volumes are now comparable to levels last seen in 2012,” she added. “Investments in other sectors are also picking up, particularly in manufacturing and energy production and supply, and in the coming months, infrastructure investment will also start to accelerate on the back of fiscal stimulus,” she said. “The strong performance in the first two months of the year suggests that an economic recovery is underway,” she underlined. March’s key Caixin/S&P Global China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) also came in very bullish. At 51.1 in the month, up from 50.9 in February (above 50.0 indicates expansion), it was the strongest since February 2023. “Overall, China’s manufacturing sector continued to improve in March, with expansion in supply and demand accelerating, and overseas demand picking up,” said Caixin Insight Group senior economist, Wang Zhe. April’s Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI also increased – to 51.4, beating estimates of 51 – and recording the sixth straight month of growth in factory activity. New orders rose the most in over a year and foreign sales increased at the fastest pace for nearly three-and-a-half years.

  This robust performance across several major sectors in China’s economy – including, crucially manufacturing – is in sharp contrast to the growth drivers seen last year. In the immediate aftermath of Covid, the country’s growth became reliant on just reopening the economy and removing negative policies – property, consumer, and geopolitics – rather than on aggressive stimulus, to drive activity, Rory Green, chief China economist for GlobalData.TSLombard exclusively told OilPrice.com at the time. “For the first time, a cyclical recovery in China [was] being led by household consumption, mainly services, as there [was] a great deal of pent-up demand and savings – about four percent of GDP – following three years of intermittent mobility restrictions,” he said. In terms of the effect that this had on oil prices at the time, it is apposite to note that transportation accounts for just 54 percent of China’s oil consumption, compared to 72 percent in the U.S. and 68 percent in the European Union. In 2022 and early 2023, net oil and refined petroleum imports were eight percent lower by volume than the pre-Covid peak, with infrastructure and export-oriented manufacturing partly offsetting lower mobility and less property construction. At that phase of China’s economic rebound, then, oil demand did increase, but the scale of this was far from sufficient to drive oil prices significantly higher on its own. This was even more the case, as China continued where possible to buy oil from Russia at a substantial discount.  

  Before this ‘Covid Phase’, China had already undergone several transitions in its core economic growth model, the effects of which continue to be felt to this day. From 1992 to 1998, its annual economic growth rate was basically between 10 to 15 percent; from 1998 to 2004 between 8 to 10 percent; from 2004 to 2010 between 10 to 15 percent again; from 2010 to 2016 between 6 to 10 percent, and from 2016 to the 2019 between 5 to 7 percent. For much of the period from 1992 to the middle 2010s, much of China’s massive economic growth was founded on a huge energy-intensive expansion of its manufacturing capabilities. This also involved the mass migration of new workers from the countryside and into the cities, which required a huge energy-intensive infrastructure build-out. Even after some of China’s growth began to switch into the less energy-intensive service sectors, its investment in energy-intensive infrastructure build-out remained very high. This pattern continued for many years, alongside the third phase of China’s economic growth, which was the rise of a middle class that powered domestic consumption-led demand for goods and services. All these phases had the net result of markedly increasing China’s demand for oil and gas. 

  Although this ‘Post-Covid Phase’ of growth currently looks like one that will see powerful drivers from several sectors of China’s economy – including manufacturing – it does not necessarily mean that oil prices will feel the full effects of this. The key reason here is that China continues to buy oil at greatly reduced prices not just from Russia, but also from Iran and Iraq too, through various mechanisms analysed in full in my new book on the new global oil market order. Despite sanctions in place on the first two of these countries, the U.S. is happy to look the other way for the most part, as oil demand being satisfied ‘off the official books’ ultimately feeds through into lower demand elsewhere in the global energy markets, so reducing bullish price pressure. Additionally, China does not want to encourage higher oil prices from any of those multitude of Middle Eastern countries over which it has developed an influence because the U.S. and several of its key allies remain China’s major export customers. The U.S. alone still accounts for over 16 percent of its export revenues. Rising energy prices in these countries could again fuel inflation and cause interest rates to rise, bringing the prospect of economic slowdown with them, as was seen in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to a senior source in the European Union’s (E.U.) energy security complex spoken to exclusively by OilPrice.com recently, the economic damage to China – directly through its own energy imports and indirectly through damage to the economies of its key export markets in the West – would dangerously increase if the Brent oil price remained over US$90-95 pb for more than one quarter of a year. 

  Rising energy prices also have direct ramifications in U.S. presidential elections, in which China does not want to be seen playing a part, at least overtly. Longstanding estimates are that every US$10 pb change in the price of crude oil results in a 25-30 cent change in the price of a gallon of gasoline, and for every 1 cent that the average price per gallon of gasoline rises, more than US$1 billion per year in consumer spending is lost, adversely affecting the U.S. economy. Historically, around 70 percent of the price of gasoline is derived from the global oil price. This feeds through into the second part of this equation, as also analysed in full in my new book, which is that since the end of World War I in 2018, the sitting U.S. president has won re-election 11 times out of 11 if the economy was not in recession within two years of an upcoming election. If it was in recession in this timeframe, then only 1 sitting president has won out of 7 times (although even the 1 is debatable).

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 18:20

• West Fueling Global Conflicts, Trying To Topple Moscow, Putin Says On WW2 Victory Day
  West Fueling Global Conflicts, Trying To Topple Moscow, Putin Says On WW2 Victory Day

  As fully expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a defiant tone in his speech at Moscow’s Red Square for the annual events commemorating Russia’s WW2 victory. Addressing thousands of soldiers in ceremonial attire, Putin accused the “arrogant” West of stoking conflict around the world. 

  “We know what the exorbitance of such ambitions leads to. Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash,” he said. “But at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness,” he stressed in reference to the country’s nuclear forces.

  

  The 71-year-old leader hailed that “Victory Day unites all generations,” and vowed: “We are going forward relying on our centuries-old traditions and feel confident that together we will ensure a free and secure future of Russia.”

  He called Victory Day “very emotional and poignant” as “Every family is honoring its heroes, looking at pictures with dear faces and remembering their relatives and how they fought.”

  He contrasted the “heroes” – Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, with the West – which is “fueling regional conflicts, inter-ethnic and inter-religious strife and trying to contain sovereign and independent centers of global development.”

  Present for the ceremony was nearly 10,000 Russian troops, including 1,000 who have fought inside Ukraine. According to AP correspondents, Putin underscored his ‘nuclear deterrent’ messaging by having nuke-capable missiles present: 

  Nuclear-capable Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles were pulled across Red Square, underscoring his message.

  The Soviet Union lost about 27 million people in World War II, an estimate that many historians consider conservative, scarring virtually every family.

  One theme which emerged from Putin’s speech is that the West has ignored and forgotten the immense sacrifice that Russians made in defeating the Nazis in WW2.

  Russian🇷🇺 President Vladimir Putin presides over the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow

  Did you know? It would take approximately 51.3 years to hold a minute of silence for each of the 27 million Soviets that died in World War 2

  More coverage: https://t.co/H1LZRQsy0p pic.twitter.com/Rx67mkTUs0

  — Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) May 9, 2024

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

  Putin’s family too was personally impacted by the war and defense of the homeland:

  As Putin tells it, his father, also named Vladimir, came home from a military hospital during the war to see workers trying to take away his wife, Maria, who had been declared dead of starvation. But the elder Putin did not believe she had died — saying she had only lost consciousness, weak with hunger. Their first child, Viktor, died during the siege when he was 3, one of more than 1 million Leningrad residents who died in the 872-day blockade, most of them from starvation.

  For several years, Putin carried a photo of his father in Victory Day marches — as did others honoring relatives who were war veterans — in what was called the “Immortal Regiment.”

  Putin in the speech emphasized, “Today we see how the truth about the Second World War is being distorted. It hinders those who are used to building their essentially colonial policy on hypocrisy and lies.”

  The man sitting next to Putin on the podium is war veteran Yevgeny Kuropatkov, who will turn 101 this year.#VictoryDay #Moscow #Russia
  pic.twitter.com/gYCvMVmhTf

  — StellaMoscow (@SgforgoodStella) May 9, 2024

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

  He also addressed the Ukraine conflict specifically, pointing out that the entire West is working tirelessly to defeat Moscow.

  “We know, and you know this better than anyone else, the enemy has enough modern tools, since the entire Western community is working for our enemy, dreaming about Russia ceasing to exist in its current form,” Putin described.

  Putin concluded his speech with the words, “Glory to the valiant armed forces! For Russia! For victory! Hurray!”

  🗣 Putin concluded his speech at the parade with the words, “Glory to the valiant armed forces! For Russia! For victory! Hurray!” pic.twitter.com/hJKpzZQCNG

  — Sputnik (@SputnikInt) May 9, 2024

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

  He called what’s going on a “system of confrontation” by the collective West, which views Russia as “weak”. “I am sure they are now convinced that this was far from the reality, and rather the opposite is true,” he emphasized.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 18:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• The Machinery Of Fascism Revisited
  The Machinery Of Fascism Revisited

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

  Fascism became a swear word in the US and UK during the Second World War. It has been ever since, to the point that the content of the term has been drained away completely. It is not a system of political economy but an insult. 

  

  If we go back a decade before the war, you find a completely different situation. Read any writings from polite society from 1932 to 1940 or so, and you find a consensus that freedom and democracy, along with Enlightenment-style liberalism of the 18th century, were completely doomed. They should be replaced by some version of what was called the planned society, of which fascism was one option. 

  A book by that name appeared in 1937 as published by the prestigious Prentice-Hall, and it included contributions by top academics and high-profile influencers. It was highly praised by all respectable outlets at the time. 

  

  Everyone in the book was explaining how the future would be constructed by the finest minds who would manage whole economies and societies, the best and the brightest with full power. All housing should be provided by government, for example, and food too, but with the cooperation of private corporations. That seems to be the consensus in the book. Fascism was treated as a legitimate path. Even the word totalitarianism was invoked without opprobrium but rather with respect. 

  The book has been memory-holed of course. 

  You will notice that the section on economics includes contributions by Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin. Yes, their ideas and political rule were part of the prevailing conversation. It is in this essay, likely ghostwritten by Professor Giovanni Gentile, Minister of Public Education, in which Mussolini offered this concise statement: “Fascism is more appropriately called corporatism, for it is the perfect merge of State and corporate power.”

  

  All of this became rather embarrassing after the war so it was largely forgotten. But the affection on the part of many sectors of the US ruling class had for fascism was still in place. It merely took on new names. 

  As a result, the lesson of the war, that the US should stand for freedom above all else while wholly rejecting fascism as a system, was largely buried. And generations have been taught to regard fascism as nothing but a quirky and failed system of the past, leaving the word as an insult to fling at in any way deemed reactionary or old-fashioned, which makes no sense. 

  There is valuable literature on the topic and it bears reading. One book that is particularly insightful is The Vampire Economy by Günter Reimann, a financier in Germany who chronicled the dramatic changes to industrial structures under the Nazis. In a few short years, from 1933 to 1939, a nation of enterprise and small shopkeepers was converted to a corporate-dominated machine that gutted the middle class and cartelized industry in preparation for war. 

  The book was published in 1939 before the invasion of Poland and the onset of Europe-wide war, and manages to convey the grim reality just before hell broke loose. On a personal note, I spoke to the author (real name: Hans Steinicke) briefly before he died, in order to gain permission to post the book, and he was astonished that anyone cared about it.

  “The corruption in fascist countries arises inevitably from the reversal of the roles of the capitalist and the State as wielders of economic power,” wrote Reimann. 

  The Nazis were not hostile to business as a whole but only opposed traditional, independent, family-owned, small businesses that offered nothing for purposes of nation-building and war planning. The crucial tool to make this happen was establishing the Nazi Party as the central regulator of all enterprises. The large businesses had the resources to comply and the wherewithal to develop good relations with political masters whereas the undercapitalized small businesses were squeezed to the point of extinction. You could make bank under Nazi rules provided you put first things first: regime before customers. 

  “Most businessmen in a totalitarian economy feel safer if they have a protector in the State or Party bureaucracy,” Reimann writes.

  “They pay for their protection as did the helpless peasants of feudal days. It is inherent in the present lineup of forces, however, that the official is often sufficiently independent to take the money but fails to provide the protection.” 

  He wrote of “the decline and ruin of the genuinely independent businessman, who was the master of his enterprise, and exercised his property rights. This type of capitalist is disappearing but another type is prospering. He enriches himself through his Party ties; he himself is a Party member devoted to the Fuehrer, favored by the bureaucracy, entrenched because of family connections and political affiliations. In a number of cases, the wealth of these Party capitalists has been created through the Party’s exercise of naked power. It is to the advantage of these capitalists to strengthen the Party which has strengthened them. Incidentally, it sometimes happens that they become so strong that they constitute a danger to the system, upon which they are liquidated or purged.”

  This was particularly true for independent publishers and distributors. Their gradual bankruptcy served to effectively nationalize all surviving media outlets who knew that it was in their interests to echo Nazi Party priorities. 

  Reimann wrote:

  “The logical outcome of a fascist system is that all newspapers, news services, and magazines become more or less direct organs of the fascist party and State. They are governmental institutions over which individual capitalists have no control and very little influence except as they are loyal supporters or members of the all-powerful party.”

  “Under fascism or any totalitarian regime an editor no longer can act independently,” wrote Reimann.

  “Opinions are dangerous. He must be willing to print any ‘news’ issued by State propaganda agencies, even when he knows it to be completely at variance with the facts, and he must suppress real news which reflects upon the wisdom of the leader. His editorials can differ from another newspaper’s only in so far as he expresses the same idea in different language. He has no choice between truth and falsehood, for he is merely a State official for whom ‘truth’ and ‘honesty’ do not exist as a moral problem but are identical with the interests of the Party.”

  A feature of the policy included aggressive price controls. They did not work to suppress inflation but they were politically useful in other ways.

  “Under such circumstances nearly every businessman necessarily becomes a potential criminal in the eyes of the Government,” wrote Reimann.

  “There is scarcely a manufacturer or shopkeeper who, intentionally or unintentionally, has not violated one of the price decrees. This has the effect of lowering the authority of the State; on the other hand, it also makes the State authorities more feared, for no businessman knows when he may be severely penalized.” 

  From there, Reimann tells many wonderful if chilling stories about, for example, the pig farmer who faced price ceilings on his product and got around them by selling a high-priced dog alongside a low-priced pig, after which the dog was returned. This kind of maneuvering became common. 

  I can only highly recommend this book as a brilliant inside look at how enterprise functions under a fascist-style regime. The German case was fascism with a racialist and anti-Jewish twist for purposes of political purges. In 1939, it was not entirely obvious how this would end in mass and targeted extermination on a gargantuan scale. The German system in those days bore much resemblance to the Italian case, which was fascism without the ambition of full ethnic cleansing. In that case, it bears examination as a model for how fascism can reveal itself in other contexts. 

  The best book I’ve seen on the Italian case is John T. Flynn’s 1944 classic As We Go Marching. Flynn was a widely respected journalist, historian, and scholar in the 1930s who was largely forgotten after the war due to his political activities. But his outstanding scholarship stands the test of time. His book deconstructs the history of fascist ideology in Italy from a half-century prior and explains the centralizing ethos of the system, both in politics and economics. 

  Following an erudite examination of the main theorists, along with Flynn provides a beautiful summary. 

  Fascism, Flynn writes, is a form of social organization: 

  1. In which the government acknowledges no restraint upon its powers—totalitarianism.

  2. In which this unrestrained government is managed by a dictator—the leadership principle.

  3. In which the government is organized to operate the capitalist system and enable it to function under an immense bureaucracy.

  4. In which the economic society is organized on the syndicalist model; that is, by producing groups formed into craft and professional categories under supervision of the state.

  5. In which the government and the syndicalist organizations operate the capitalist society on the planned, autarchical principle.

  6. In which the government holds itself responsible for providing the nation with adequate purchasing power by public spending and borrowing.

  7. In which militarism is used as a conscious mechanism of government spending.

  8. In which imperialism is included as a policy inevitably flowing from militarism as well as other elements of fascism.

  Each point bears longer commentary but let’s focus on number 5 in particular, with its focus on syndicalist organizations. In those days, they were large corporations run with an emphasis on union organization of the workforce. In our own times, these have been replaced by a managerial overclass in tech and pharma that have the ear of government and have developed close ties with the public sector, each depending on the other. Here is where we get the essential bones and meat of why this system is called corporatist. 

  In today’s polarized political environment, the left continues to worry about unbridled capitalism while the right is forever on the lookout for the enemy of full-blown socialism. Each side has reduced fascistic corporatism to a historical problem on the level of witch burning, fully conquered but useful as a historical reference to form a contemporary insult against the other side. 

  As a result, and armed with partisan bête noires that bear no resemblance to any really existing threat, hardly anyone who is politically engaged and active is fully aware that there is nothing particularly new about what is called the Great Reset. It is a corporatist model – a combination of the worst of capitalism and socialism without limits – of privileging the elite at the expense of the many, which is why these historical works by Reimann and Flynn seem so familiar to us today. 

  And yet, for some strange reason, the tactile reality of fascism in practice – not the insult but the historical system – is hardly known either in popular or academic culture. That makes it all the easier to reimplement such a system in our time. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 02:00

• Strengthening Our Beleaguered Military Starts With A Maritime Overhaul
  Strengthening Our Beleaguered Military Starts With A Maritime Overhaul

  Authored by Brent D. Sadler via RealClear Wire,

  America’s security and prosperity is at high risk today, largely because of bad policies backed up by too weak armed forces. Consider our U.S. maritime complex. Decades of neglect and inadequate investment have left our shipping, shipbuilding, Navy, merchant marines, ports, and Coast Guard woefully behind the times. The Secretary of the Navy and a growing group in Congress are sounding the alarm, drawing attention to the plight of our weakened maritime sector.

  

  Recent headlines help tell the story. Since October 2023, the Navy has been engaged in a ‘whack-a-mole’ standoff with the Houthis, an Iranian proxy that has been attacking vessels in the Red Sea and damaging global trade. This confrontation expanded to include missile defense of Israel, culminating on April 13 with the shoot-down of several Iranian ballistic missiles targeting Israel by destroyers Arleigh Burke and Carney.

  This defensive effort is depleting expensive munitions that are in short supply. The Secretary of the Navy stated before Congress on April 15 that the Navy has responded to 130 attacks at a cost of $1 billion in munitions. At current procurement rates, it could take years to recover unless production capacity is greatly expanded in short order.

  Closer to home, on March 26 a container ship (the Dali) lost power and collided with, and collapsed the Key Bridge in Baltimore, killing six. The investigation is ongoing, but already it is clear our port infrastructure is not resilient enough to withstand errant modern shipping. Neither the Army Corps of Engineers nor Naval salvage capacity is adequate. Both have been unable to ensure the nation’s ports can be rapidly reopened if closed due to deliberate acts, accidents or acts of God.

  A month later, the port of Baltimore remains closed. For comparison, when the ultra-large containership Ever Given grounded and closed the Suez Canal, it was reopened in eight days. Effectively, the Dali has stranded four Navy logistics ships inside the harbor unable to meet national tasking – ships verified still stuck in port on April 29th.

  Finally, in a string of embarrassing events, the large amphibious warship Boxer had to return home, further delaying its deployment due to numerous and repeated mechanical problems. This means other warships must remain at-sea longer or forgo missions, further endangering U.S. interests. As this was playing out, ships directed by the President to assist in the delivery of aid to Gaza, had to turn back due to onboard fires (the venerable 39-year old Military Sealift Command ship 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo), too short endurance (Army’s Frank Besson Jr. refueling stop in the Azores), or weather avoidance (the likely reason USAV Wilson Wharf diverted to Tenerife). These disruptions are a symptom of a too small and aged fleet that has been over-used and under-maintained by over-worked crews.

  The root cause of these problems? Sea blindness – unawareness and underinvestment in the maritime and naval forces that keep the economy functioning and our people safe.

  But there are signs this may be changing. More Americans are demanding action, and members of Congress like Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) are spearheading a bipartisan and bicameral maritime agenda. The opening declaration of this was contained in a recent letter to the President demanding action signed by 19 Congressional leaders from both parties.

  The challenge is huge. Today only 0.4 percent of commercial shipping is American flagged, making the nation too often reliant on less than friendly nations to conduct its trade and move supplies sustaining military operations. But these tentative first steps are just a downpayment on a larger endeavor: regaining the nation’s maritime strength.

  The most urgent task is keeping the peace, and that means deterring China in Asia while safeguarding Americans and our interests abroad. The clock has run out for modest, long-term actions. The threat today demands a combination of actions: retaining useful warships, expanding maritime industrial capacity, and accelerating naval shipbuilding.

  This will be an expansive task, to be sure, but it is not revolutionary, nor is it impossible. Three past naval revivals can help point the way ahead.

  One dates back a little over 100 years ago. Britain’s First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John “Jackie” Fisher’s fleet modernization is what some today call “divest to invest” – the culling of outdated ships to redirect manpower and resources to delivering modern warships. At the time, the British Royal Navy had a still modest naval rival in the Imperial German Navy that was a decade or more away from achieving parity with the British fleet.

  Fisher’s efforts delivered the Dreadnaught – a warship that ushered in the modern battleship and revolutionized naval warfare, as demonstrated at the 1916 Battle of Jutland. Fisher had the time and commitment of resources by a nation with a long, proud, and politically dominant naval tradition behind him. He also had the luxury of a foe years from matching or exceeding his own fleet. China’s navy, by contrast, already exceeds ours and continues a breakneck modernization and readiness program that makes any U.S. divestment of naval capacity a strategic risk.

  The second revival was America’s rearming ahead of the war in the Pacific, made possible by several Naval Acts of the 1930s. Animating this revival was the still fresh memories of a near catastrophe during World War I.

  As that war raged in Europe, the nation’s economy was nearly collapsed without foreign shipping to carry its cargo to market, nor ships to move troops to Europe and back. One intent of the 1930s Naval Acts was to avoid the mismanagement and waste of the Shipping Act of 1916 and the U.S. Shipping Board. With that wisdom, the Acts of the 1930s funded a naval building campaign that invigorated the maritime industrial sector. Thanks to the Naval Act of 1938, the carrier Hornet was delivered in time to play an instrumental role in the victory in the Battle of Midway. The ships these naval acts authorized quadruple the number of shipyards and delivered in the first years of World War II the warships that turned the tide against the Axis. Had it not been done, the war in the Pacific would have had a very different outcome.

  A modern Naval Act is needed, but it cannot be limited to just considerations of naval shipbuilding. It must embrace efforts to rebuild the nation’s merchant fleet that today couldn’t sustain protracted military operations nor a wartime economy.

  Finally, President Ronald Reagan’s 600-ship naval build-up of the 1980s significantly contributed to bankrupting the Soviets and winning the Cold War. The shipbuilding goal was never achieved, but a massive rebuilding effort was accomplished by increasing defense budgets disproportionately directed to naval shipbuilding and the return to service of ships in the inactive fleet. In total, the combination of new shipbuilding and reactivation grew the Navy from a low of 521 ships in 1981 to 594 in six years.

  Today there isn’t really much in the inactive fleet to recall to service. Leading to circumstances that today dictate retaining ships on the Navy’s list for deactivation with more than three years of life, thereby adding 13 warships to the fleet. Furthermore, the fleet could grow a little more with the addition of 21 deployable unmanned (LUSV, MUSV, XLUUV) vessels. This would deliver a fleet of 331 warships by 2027, still short of the 355-fleet goal. To address that gap, conventional approaches to get the Navy and merchant marine needed will not suffice.

  The reality today is that the nation faces multiple threats and at least one existential foe taking increasing risks to reorder the world to its benefit: China. Pacing these challenges has proven inadequate. It is time to seriously enter the race to secure American security and prosperity, which begins with a national effort to rejuvenate our maritime power. Recovering and meeting the threats before the nation requires a multifaceted but coherent plan of attack – a National Maritime Initiative.

  This is critical as the Navy’s ships suffer from years of over work, sailors beaten down under unrelenting prolonged deployments, and an inconsequential U.S. flagged merchant marine. We are in effect living in an “AND” world where spending is needed to grow the maritime industrial base through orders for new warships learned during the Naval Acts era, AND modernizing but without divesting, AND retaining warships with life, AND dramatically increasing naval shipbuilding as done during the Reagan era.

  Anything less is unserious and ignores the world as it is today.

  Brent D. Sadler is a senior research fellow in naval warfare and advanced technologies at The Heritage Foundation.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 23:55

• Hedge Fund Boss Loses Legal Fight Over 2,364 Silver Bars Found In WWII Shipwreck
  Hedge Fund Boss Loses Legal Fight Over 2,364 Silver Bars Found In WWII Shipwreck

  An undersea exploration company backed by a top hedge fund boss in the United Kingdom lost a major legal fight over the salvage of $40 million worth of silver bars from the wreck of a ship lost to a Japanese submarine in World War II. 

  On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that the South African government could declare state immunity in a suit by hedge fund chief Paul Marshall’s Argentum Exploration Ltd. 

  

  Argentum Exploration argued in court that it was owed a ‘substantial salvage fee’ and wanted a court to ‘fix an award.’ However, the judges were informed that the two sides had agreed to a settlement. 

  Here’s more from Bloomberg: 

  The South African government had argued that that it not only still owns the silver, but insisted that it shouldn’t have to submit to the lawsuit at all.

  The Supreme Court judges agreed, saying that the silver was a non-commercial cargo and the government was entitled to immunity.

  The ruling overturned two prior court decisions, with a judge previously saying that the government had probably “forgotten” about the bullion. UK Companies House filings record that Marshall controls Argentum.

  In 1942, the SS Tilawa was sailing from Mumbai on its way to Durban, South Africa, when two torpedoes from an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine sunk the passenger-cargo ship. On board were 2,364 bars of silver destined for the South African Mint. For seven decades, the ship resided more than two and a half kilometers below the surface of the Indian Ocean until Marshall’s exploration company discovered it. 

  In markets, the Bloomberg Precious Metal Subindex shows a multi-decade ‘cup and handle’ bullish formation. 

  

  We wonder if the settlement involved physical silver bars… Some analysts expect a “powerful silver bull market” ahead. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 23:35

• A Deep Dive Into The Opioid Crisis
  A Deep Dive Into The Opioid Crisis

  Authored by Matt Bivens, M.D. via Racket News,

  Editor’s note: the following is the first essay in a series, written by former Moscow Times co-worker and current E.R. doctor Matt Bivens. The remaining features will be published serially on his Substack site, The 100 Days. None of the articles in the series will be paywalled. In a normal presidential election year, the opiate addiction crisis would be a front-and-center domestic issue, but for a variety of mostly illegitimate reasons, it flies somewhat under the radar. Matt’s series chronicles the surprising and little-understood reasons contributing to this man-made, rapidly worsening disaster.

  Yes, we in the medical profession got millions of Americans addicted to heroin and fentanyl. But that was all just a big misunderstanding. Why get into it?

  

  And sure, nearly one in ten adults has had a family member die from a drug overdose. Ordinary people are furious about it, too. Their under-appreciated rage drove skepticism of official COVID-19 narratives, and that same rage might sway the outcome of the Presidential election — heck, might even land us in a war with Mexico! (Wouldn’t that be the ultimate “Wag the Dog”-level distraction from those sociopaths upstairs in our House of Medicine!)

  So, yes, agreed. All good points. 

  We medical people who see the patients and do all of the work — we, the house staff — we’re downstairs people. We can’t do anything about what goes on above. Agreed, it’s shameful how easily the upstairs sociopaths conned us, and it’s annoying to see them now so fabulously rich. But doctors being intentionally manipulated into destroying the lives of millions — that could have happened to anyone. Why stay angry about it? Ancient history! It’s not like it’s still happening, right? (Right?)

  Surely you don’t want to burn down the entire house? We work here. And the pay is not bad. Let’s just focus on the patients before us, and try to stay positive. Right?

  Heroin™ — brought to you by Bayer!

  As a medical student, I was once told by my attending physician that people treated with morphine for pain don’t get addicted.

  Surprised, I asked, “But what about all the Civil War veterans?”

  When the U.S. Civil War ended in 1865, both sides demobilized a weary horde of chronically ill and wounded. Some soldiers had contracted tuberculosis, or a lingering pneumonia (in the days before antibiotics). Others had suffered field amputations with handheld saws. But whether the question was chronic coughing or terrible pain, the answer was morphine. The newly invented hypodermic needle allowed for fast-acting injections. Veterans everywhere got hooked, to the point where addiction was called “the Soldier’s Disease.” Soon morphine moved beyond the battlefield and was in use for everything from menstrual cramps to teething.

  

  Things got so bad that when heroin (diacetylmorphine) arrived, it was welcomed as an improvement. Chemists had discovered it decades earlier, but in 1898 the pharmaceutical company Bayer started selling it as Heroisch, German for “heroic.” 

  Heroin was a trade name. It was Heroin™ — brought to you by Bayer! 

  Doctors desperate for something safer than morphine often convinced themselves this new drug wasn’t addictive.

  “Heroin… possesses many advantages over morphine,” wrote a physician in 1900, in the precursor to the New England Journal of Medicine. “It is not a hypnotic… [and there is no] danger of acquiring the habit.” The philanthropic St. James Society even mounted a campaign to mail free heroin samples to morphine addicts (!), to help them break the habit.

  

  Other doctors saw the public swilling down heroin and berated their fellow physicians for not sounding the alarm.

  “The patient comes to look on heroin as a harmless sedative for his cough,” wrote one such physician in 1912, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, because too many doctors think it’s safe: 

  “A patient who came under my observation told a physician, who was called to treat him for an attack of laryngitis, not to give him anything that contained opium, because he had formerly been a slave to this drug. The physician replied: ‘I will give you some heroin; there is no danger of habit from that’.”

  Ordinary Americans weren’t buying it, and by 1906 we had established the federal Food & Drug Administration, because moms want to know if it’s got heroin. Cure-alls like the morphine-and-alcohol-based Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup definitely did quiet fussy babies, but it’s believed thousands never woke up again. 

  President Teddy Roosevelt appointed an “Opium Commissioner,” who looked around and saw track marks on the arms of everyone from aging Army of the Potomac vets to high society ladies, and declared, “Americans have become the greatest drug fiends in the world.” It was our first Opioid Crisis. It had been driven by genuine ignorance and a lack of good alternatives — but tellingly, also by the inappropriate use of heavily marketed and physician-endorsed treatments. In response, the nation went on a scorched-earth campaign against all addictive substances, starting with new anti-narcotics agencies staffed by G-men in trench coats, and culminating in the U.S. Constitutional amendment to ban alcohol. Again: We rewrote the Constitution to outlaw alcohol. That we once went so far suggests how bad things had gotten.

  This all seems like a glaringly obvious cautionary tale for the House of Medicine. Yet somehow, not 70 years after the nation had walked away from the Prohibition experiment, medical schools — medical schools! — were abruptly teaching that opioids weren’t necessarily addictive.

  When my attending said a patient wouldn’t get addicted if a doctor gave morphine for pain, he was simply channeling what all the best people were saying. For example, in 2000, the Joint Commission — an independent non-profit that sets accreditation standards for hospitals — published a book for physician education that claimed: 

  There is no evidence that addiction is a significant issue when persons are given opioids for pain control.

  No evidence. And if the medical students ask about morphine-enslaved Civil War veterans? The Joint Commission’s book dismisses such concerns as “inaccurate and exaggerated.” 

  It was the same over at the Federation of State Medical Boards — a trade organization for the bodies in each state that license, investigate and discipline doctors. A set of FSMB guidelines from this era sternly stated that opioids are “essential” for treating various kinds of pain, and only mentioned addiction to warn that “inadequate understandings” of that could lead to “inadequate pain control.”

  I was literally told by my attending — who was just echoing those who accredit the hospitals and license the doctors — to “do more reading.” That’s a common directive to a medical student: Stop with the skeptical questions and go study.

  From 20,000 deaths a year, to 50,000, to now 80,000

  At the turn of the century, about 20,000 people each year would take an opioid — as a pill, or as a snorted or injected powder — and then stop breathing and die. Those of us working on ambulances or in emergency departments could not save them.

  But for every death, there are about 20 non-fatal overdoses. So, with bag mask ventilation and opioid reversal agents, we have dragged millions of people back to life. How many suffered anoxic brain injuries, and today are mentally a half-step slower? Unknown.

  Overdoses at this scale were a new development, and they were occurring hand-in-hand with the aggressive new marketing and prescribing of opioids. This is the era chronicled so well by popular miniseries — “Dopesick” on Hulu, “Painkiller” on Netflix. In the midst of it, the Sackler family-owned Purdue Pharma pled guilty to a deception campaign meticulously designed to bring about recklessly liberal opioid prescribing. As punishment, the company had to shell out $600 million, and three top executives got multi-million-dollar fines and 400 hours of community service.

  That should have been peak “Opioid Crisis.” But it was only 2007. Heck, George W. Bush was still president. The Sacklers were never contrite. They’d been raking in about $1 billion a year for more than a decade. The $600 million fine sounded impressive — but the Sacklers shrugged, cut the government in to the tune of less than 5% of the cash rolling in, and got right back to slinging opioids. And in the 17 years since, everything has gotten terribly worse.

  Did it feel like a catastrophe back in 2007, when 20,000 people a year would die, and people were enraged at Purdue?

  Or a decade later, in 2017, when President Donald Trump declared it a national emergency, and 50,000 people a year would die?

  That’s nothing. For the past three years, we’ve reliably seen 80,000 people each year take an opioid, stop breathing and die. 

  

  Opioid overdoses accelerated amidst the despair of COVID-19 lockdowns. These days, it’s completely routine for a private car to brake with screeching tires at our emergency department entrance, with the driver screaming about someone in the back seat who is floppy, gray, not breathing. The overhead announcement of “trigger to triage!” used to get nurses and techs running excitedly to the front door. Now, they respond at a walk — a briskly respectful walk, but it’s clear no one’s particularly excited. The novelty wore off long ago. 

  The Olympics of Sociopathy

  Back when Purdue Pharma had to pay $600 million, that was big news. Today, judgments are handed down left and right for billions, without much comment or public excitement, against everyone involved in making, distributing or selling opioids: $17.3 billion from CVS, Walmart and Walgreens, $5 billion from Johnson & Johnson, $21 billion from opioid distribution companies McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, $4.25 billion from Teva Pharmaceuticals, $2 billion from Allergan.

  Meanwhile, an agreement to let the Sackler family skate while Purdue surrenders $6 billion and goes bankrupt is before the U.S. Supreme Court. (For context, Purdue has earned far more than $30 billion from opioids by now. Forbes estimates the Sacklers as individuals are worth more than $10 billion; attorneys general argue the family has hidden billions more abroad. The Sacklers have for years sold more opioids via Rhodes Pharmaceuticals, a Rhode Island-based company they quietly control, than via Purdue).

  Pondering these massive new settlements, I remember thinking, “Walmart? Johnson & Johnson? Surely some innocents have been caught up in an indiscriminate dragnet?”

  Wrong. Don’t look into this if you don’t want to know. Like competitive bicyclists, many had lined up to slipstream behind Purdue Pharma and its deranged, anti-social marketing of OxyContin®. Perhaps none of those other corporations would have dared try to convince physicians and nurse practitioners to hand out opioids like candy. But the Sacklers dared and met with success — instant success, shocking success, in perhaps the most shameful episode in the history of medicine. 

  The other companies might have been surprised, but they all fell eagerly in line behind. Each of them drafted in the turbulent wake of Purdue opioid marketing — some just coasting and enjoying the free money, others so excited they would at times sprint out ahead to briefly take the lead in this Olympics of Sociopathy.

  For example, it may have been the Sacklers who first decided to target returning veterans (who have good health insurance) as an opioid growth market — veterans, by the way, are three times more likely to overdose and die than other Americans.

  

  But it took a Johnson & Johnson-backed organization, the “Imagine the Possibilities Pain Coalition”, to spitball in 2011 about targeting elementary school students. After all, third graders have pain, too! A PowerPoint presentation from this group noted we could start marketing opioids to kids “via respected channels, e.g., coaches.”

  

  Johnson & Johnson also quietly funded the 2013 launch of “Growing Pains”, “a new social networking site for young people with pain”. This effort to market opioids to teenagers aged 13 and up was shut down only as of 2021.

  From Oxy to Heroin to Fentanyl to … Buprenorphine?

  Today nearly every 10th adult has lost a family member to an opioid. All major candidates for president have tapped into the anger — which, however, they have chosen to direct at Chinese and Mexican cartels. 

  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vowed if elected president to send U.S. special forces into Mexico (!) to take out fentanyl labs. Trump as president reportedly talked about shooting missiles into Mexico to destroy said labs. President Joe Biden has pledged to “stop [fentanyl] pills and powder at the border.”

  So, the newly agreed-upon villains are foreigners. 

  Did something change? 

  Yes and no. It turns out the Opioid Crisis — that catchall term for this 25-year-long blizzard of addiction, overdose and death — has gone through different stages, much like how COVID-19 would cycle through variants, from Delta to Omicron. But while COVID quickly mellowed, the Opioid Crisis has just gotten nastier. 

  The CDC identifies three waves: First came the prescription wave of the late 1990s and early 2000s, which launched the entire enterprise. Next came the heroin wave, which per the CDC roughly started in 2010, when the prescription-addicted turned to the streets. From about 2013 to today, we have been awash in synthetic opioids like fentanyl (heroin requires farming poppies, but fentanyl is cheaply made in labs).

  

  But wait long enough, and Big Pharma always wins. Amoral, soulless corporations — often the same ones paying out massive settlements — have maneuvered skillfully to reassert control over the addiction market they’ve created. The goal now is to create a fourth and final wave of the Opioid Crisis: the buprenorphine wave. We will start as many people as possible on this ingenious opioid.

  Buprenorphine, the main ingredient in brand names such as Suboxone® and Subutex®, is a so-called partial opioid agonist: It latches tightly onto opioid receptors but stimulates them only slightly — just enough for a person with physical addiction to not experience withdrawal. A person on appropriately dosed buprenorphine is not sedated or high, they just “feel normal.” (What’s more, even if they were to inject fentanyl, the opioid receptors are already locked down by the buprenorphine, which blocks other opioids from getting through.)

  I can’t argue against expanded use of buprenorphine. The data clearly shows that it prevents death and disability. People really do get control of their lives again. Of course, it is also addictive. So, the plan we confidently propose is to treat opioid addiction with this admittedly ingenious and excellent medication, for a monthly price tag, depending on the formulation, ranging from $196 to $1,136… forever. 

  What’s not to like? 

  Big Pharma, Finally Unmasked

  Medicine has wrought amazing breakthroughs, and we have professed high moral standards. But some of us aren’t above indulging in the same “Braindead Megaphone”-style pronouncements plaguing the rest of society: sternly shouting down even the meekest questions about pediatric gender reassignment therapies or vaccine mandates, for example. When it comes to the Opioid Crisis — this massive, deadly pandemic of addiction we’ve unleashed — we stroll past whistling and look guiltily away, then whirl back around, whip out the Braindead Megaphone, and loudly announce that we expect to be paid handsomely to provide additional addictive opioids to treat this same pandemic. We declare this with wide-eyed innocence, and get indignant if anyone questions this plan — even as internal corporate communications now available show Big Pharma corporations rubbing their hands gleefully at the thought of all of that buprenorphine cash.

  That’s right: internal corporate communications — millions of pages — are now available. They can be searched online at the Opioid Industry Documents Archive, hosted by University of California San Francisco (UCSF).

  I thought I knew a lot about the Opioid Crisis. After all, I’d been a reluctant front-line participant in it for 20 years, as a paramedic, a medical student and a physician.

  Then the lawsuits arrived, and the Archive opened.

  Next: A conspiracy to taint the medical literature

  Matt Bivens, M.D.: Full-time ER doctor. Board-certified in emergency and addiction medicine. EMS medical director for 911 services. Former Russia-based foreign correspondent, newspaper editor and Chechnya war correspondent. Reluctant student of nuclear weapons.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 23:15

• These Are The Countries With The Highest Rates Of Crypto Ownership
  These Are The Countries With The Highest Rates Of Crypto Ownership

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu, ranks the top 10 countries by their rate of cryptocurrency ownership, which is the percentage of the population that owns crypto.

  

  These figures come from crypto payment gateway, Triple-A, and are as of 2023.

  Data and Highlights

  The table below lists the rates of crypto ownership in the top 10 countries, as well as the number of people this amounts to.

  

  Note that if we were to rank countries based on their actual number of crypto owners, India would rank first at 93 million people, China would rank second at 59 million people, and the U.S. would rank third at 52 million people.

  The UAE Takes the Top Spot

  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) boasts the highest rates of crypto ownership globally. The country’s government is considered to be very crypto friendly, as described in Henley & Partners’ Crypto Wealth Report 2023:

  In the UAE, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA-ADGM) was the first to provide rules and regulations regarding cryptocurrency purchasing and selling.

  The Emirates are generally very open to new technologies and have proposed zero taxes for crypto owners and businesses.

  Vietnam leads Southeast Asia

  According to the Crypto Council for Innovation, cryptocurrency holdings in Vietnam are also untaxed, making them an attractive asset.

  Another reason for Vietnam’s high rates of ownership could be its large unbanked population (people without access to financial services).

  Cryptocurrencies may provide an alternative means of accessing these services without relying on traditional banks.

  If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out The World’s Largest Corporate Holders of Bitcoin, which ranks the top 12 publicly traded companies by their Bitcoin holdings.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 22:55

• Lawmakers Urge U.S. Action To Halt China's Organ Trade
  Lawmakers Urge U.S. Action To Halt China’s Organ Trade

  Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClearPolitics,

  A group of leading China critics in Congress is urging the State Department to step up its efforts to curb Beijing’s gruesome $1 billion forced organ harvesting trade, which targets ethnic and religious minorities, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims, Christians, and Falun Gong practitioners. 

  

  Six members of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, or CECC, sent a letter last week to Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking him to utilize existing agency reward programs to provide monetary incentives for information that will “deter and disrupt the market for illegally procured organs” in China. Rep. Chris Smith, who chairs the CECC, and Sen. Marco Rubio, the commission’s ranking member, joined Democrat Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia and GOP Reps. Michelle Steel of California, Zach Nunn of Iowa, and Ryan Zinke of Montana in signing the letter. 

  The State Department manages two programs that offer awards of up to $25 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of members of significant transnational criminal organizations. One focuses on violators of U.S. narcotics law, and another targets other crimes that threaten U.S. national interests, including human trafficking, wildlife trafficking, cybercrime, money laundering, and trafficking in arms and other illicit goods. 

  “We strongly support the Department of State’s efforts to issue rewards for wildlife and narcotics trafficking in the [People’s Republic of China],” the lawmakers wrote. “However, given the global demand for organ transplants and the evidence of the illegal trafficking of organs in the PRC, there is a pressing need to uncover first-hand information from those who witnessed or engaged in the practice.” 

  The State Department didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

  Communist China has long harvested prisoners’ organs, even though the government in Beijing initially asserted that all their organ extractions were from voluntary donors. But as far back as 2005, the top transplant doctor in China, then serving as the nation’s vice minister of health, admitted that roughly 95% of all organ transplants came from prisoners.

  In recent years, leading researchers have documented a reprehensible aspect of these life-ending extractions: Prisoners of conscience – religious minorities and political dissidents are the main victims. There’s now extensive evidence that Chinese surgeons first honed their murderous organ harvesting practices on practitioners of Falun Gong, a meditation and exercise movement. In recent years, the regime expanded its pool of victims to China’s imprisoned Uyghur population as part of its systematic oppression of the Muslim minority group. 

  China has vehemently denied these claims, but in 2019, the China Tribunal, a non-governmental, independent commission in the U.K., concluded otherwise. The Tribunal investigated accusations of organ harvesting in China and found that some of the more than 1.5 million detainees in Chinese prison camps are being killed for their organs to serve a booming transplant trade worth an estimated $1 billion a year. The Tribunal also found that the Chinese organ trafficking industry is harvesting organs from executed prisoners and political prisoners at an industrial scale, actions that constitute crimes against humanity.

  In response to the Tribunal’s findings, more than a dozen United Nations human rights experts said they were extremely alarmed by reports that organ harvesting was targeting “specific ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims, and Christians” detained in China. The experts, who operate under United Nations mandates but do not speak on the international organization’s behalf, called on China to respond to the allegations of illegal organ harvesting promptly and to allow international human rights monitors into hospitals and other areas to monitor the country’s organ extraction practices. China has ignored those requests.

  In 2022, the American Journal of Transplantation, the leading medical transplant publication in the world, published a peer-reviewed article that uncovered compelling evidence that Chinese surgeons are systematically removing organs from prisoners while they are still alive, providing on-demand supplies for China’s organ export industry. 

  The practice violates the internationally accepted “dead-donor” rule that holds that organ procurement “must not commence until the donor is both dead and formally pronounced so.” 

  “Forced organ harvesting is an atrocity, and the disruption and deterrence of this practice should be a priority of the State Department,” the group of lawmakers wrote. 

  “Getting the PRC to account and fully address evidence of forced organ harvesting will be critical in ending this horrific practice and promoting, long term, the establishment of a truly voluntary organ donation system,” they continued. “With effective enforcement mechanisms, we can work towards ensuring organs are procured safely and ethically.”

  Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics’ national political correspondent.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 22:35

• The Missing Piece Of The Puzzle: Behind The Inexplicable "Strength" Of US Consumers Is $700 Billion In "Phanton Debt"
  The Missing Piece Of The Puzzle: Behind The Inexplicable “Strength” Of US Consumers Is $700 Billion In “Phanton Debt”

  Yesterday we discussed the latest consumer credit data, which revealed that the amount of credit card debt across the US has hit a new record high of $1.337 trillion (even though it appears to have finally hit a brick wall, barely rising in April by the smallest amount since the covid crash), even as the savings rate has tumbled to an all time low.

  

  To be sure, credit card debt is just a small portion (~6%) of the total household debt stack: as the next chart from the latest NY Fed consumer credit report shows, the bulk, or 70%, of US household debt is in the form of mortgages, followed by student loans, auto loans, credit card debt, home equity credit and various other forms. Altogether, the total is a massive $17.5 trillion in total household debt.

  

  But staggering as the mountain of household debt may be, at least we know how huge the problem is; after all the data is public. What is far more dangerous – because we have no clue about its size – is what Bloomberg calls “Phantom Debt“, and we have repeatedly called Buy Now, Pay Later debt. How much of that kind of debt is out there is largely a guess.

  Let’s back up: the topic of Buy Now, Pay Later, or installment debt, is hardly new: we have covered it extensively in the past year, as this selection of articles reveals:

  • “Buy Now, Pay Later” Mania Sends Americans Deeper Into ‘Black Hole’ Of Debt: April 2023
  • Consumers Use ‘Buy-Now, Pay-Later’ Option To Fund Record Black Friday Purchases: Nov, 2023
  • BIS Reveals ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Use Is Soaring Among Working Poor Youngsters: Dec 2023
  • Self-Checkout Kiosks At 4,500 Walmarts Now Offer ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Loans For Basic Items: Dec 2023
  • Many Are Addicted To “Buy Now, Pay Later” Plans, It’s A Big Trap: Feb 2024

  But while it is easy to ensnare young, incomeless Americans into the net of installment debt where they will rot as the next generation of debt slaves for the rest of their lives, there is an even more sinister side to this extremely popular form of debt which allows consumers to split purchases into smaller installments: as Bloomberg reports in a lengthy expose on installment debt, the major companies that provide these so called “pay in four” products, such as Affirm Holdings, Klarna Bank and Block’s Afterpay, don’t report those loans to credit agencies. That’s why Buy Now/Pay Later credit has earned a far more ominous nickname:

  It’s hard enough for central bankers and Wall Street traders to make sense of the post-pandemic economy with the data available to them. At Wells Fargo & Co., senior economist Tim Quinlan is particularly spooked by the “phantom debt” that he can’t see.

  Which is not to say that we have no idea how much “phantom debt” is out there: according to the report, it is projected to reach almost $700 billion globally by 2028, and yet, time and again, the companies that issue it have resisted calls for greater disclosure, even as the market has grown each year since at least 2020. That, as Bloomberg accurately warns, is masking a complete picture of the financial health of American households, which is crucial for everyone from global central banks to US regional lenders and multinational businesses.

  In fact, the recent explosion in installment debt may explain why the US consumer remains so resilient even when most conventional economic metrics suggest consumers should be struggling: “Consumer spending in the world’s largest economy has been so resilient in the face of stubbornly high inflation that economists and traders have had to repeatedly rip up their forecasts for slowing growth and interest-rate cuts.”

  Still, cracks are starting to form. First it was Americans falling behind on auto loans. Then credit-card delinquency rates reached the highest since at least 2012, with the share of debts 30, 60 and 90 days late all on the upswing.

  

  And now, there are also signs that consumers are struggling to afford their BNPL debt, too. A recent survey conducted for Bloomberg News by Harris Poll found that 43% of those who owe money to BNPL services said they were behind on payments, while 28% said they were delinquent on other debt because of spending on the platforms.

  For Quinlan, a major concern is that economic experts are being “lulled into complacency about where consumers are.”

  “People need to be more awake to the risk of BNPL,” he said in an interview.

  Well, those who care, are awake – we have written dozens of articles on the danger it poses; the problem is that those who are enabled by this latest mountain of debt – such as the Biden administration which can claim a victory for Bidenomics because the economy is so “strong”, phantom debt be damned – are actively motivated to ignore it.

  So why is this latest debt bubble called a “phantom”?

  Well, BNPL is a black box largely because of a longstanding blame game among BNPL providers and the three major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. The BNPL companies don’t provide data on their installment loans that are split into four payments, which were used by online shoppers to spend an estimated $19.2 billion in the first quarter, according to Adobe Analytics, up 12.3% compared with the same period last year.

  The BNPL giants say credit agencies can’t handle their information — and that releasing it could harm customers’ credit scores, which are key to securing mortgages and other loans. The big three bureaus say they’re ready, while two of the major credit scoring firms, VantageScore Solutions and Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), say they’re equipped to test how the products will affect their figures. Meanwhile, regulation is looming over the industry, but this stalemate has left the status quo mostly in place.

  In other words, not only do we not know just how big the BNPL problem is, it is actively masked by credit agencies which can’t accurately calculate the FICO score of tens of millions of Americans, and as a result their credit capacity is artificially boosted with far more debt than they can handle… and that’s why the US consumer has been so “strong” in recent years, defying all conventional credit metrics.

  The good news is that despite the tacit pushback of the administration, there has been some signs of progress. Apple earlier this year became the first major BNPL provider to furnish transaction and payment data to Experian. As of now, it provides a snapshot of consumers’ overall debt load from Apple Pay Later transactions, but the information won’t be used for consumer credit scores. In separate statements to Bloomberg, Klarna, Affirm and Block said they want assurance that consumers’ credit scores and their data would be protected before reporting customer information. Representatives for TransUnion, Experian and Equifax said they’ve updated their structures and the data would be secure.

  Still, the lack of transparency has researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which publishes a comprehensive quarterly report on the $17.5 trillion in US household debt, convinced they’re missing some of what’s happening in the economy.

  “They’ve reached a certain scale that they could impact economists’ assumptions about their economic outlooks,” said Simon Khalaf, Chief Executive Officer of Marqeta Inc., a firm that helps BNPL providers process their payments.

  Meanwhile, the pernicious effects of BNPL credit are piling up: the Harris Poll survey conducted last month, provides some crucial clues about how Americans use BNPL. For one, splitting payments into smaller chunks encourages more spending, obviously.

  More than half of respondents who use BNPL said it allowed them to purchase more than they could afford, while nearly a quarter agreed with the statement that their BNPL spending was “out of control.” Harris also found that 23% of users said they couldn’t afford the majority of what they bought without splitting payments, while more than a third turned to the services after maxing out credit cards.

  

  The findings also show that the spending, which for more than a third of users has exceeded $1,000, isn’t entirely on big-ticket items. Almost half of those using BNPL say they’ve started, or have considered, using it to pay bills or buy essential items, including groceries.

  Translation: Americans are no longer even charging everyday purchases they traditionally used cash and savings to pay for; now they are using installment plans to pay for bread!

  It’s not just the lower classes that are abusing BNPL credit: while whatever small pockets of consumer distress have emerged so far in the US, have been chalked up to a bifurcated economy where working class Americans struggle to make ends meet, the survey found that middle-class households are relying on BNPL, too. The shocking punchline: about 42% of those with household income of more than $100,000 report being behind or delinquent on BNPL payments!

  “BNPL essentially lets people dig a deeper and deeper hole of credit, which will be harder and harder to climb out of,” said Ed deHaan, a professor of accounting at Stanford Graduate School of Business, adding that it happens “more easily when there’s no transparency.”

  Of course, installment debt is nothing new: the option to pay in installments using short-term loans has been around for a ong time, but it exploded in popularity during the pandemic, especially with younger, digitally savvy consumers who gravitated to the services as an alternative to credit cards. The pioneering BNPL companies, including Afterpay, Klarna and Affirm, launched with trendy retailers, partnered with social media influencers and became a common option on apps and online checkouts.

  BNPL offers quick credit approvals and lets consumers pay in installments. The first is usually due right away, and the others are often collected once every two weeks for the popular “pay in four” loans. There’s typically no interest or fees, as long as payments are made on time. Like credit card companies, BNPL firms make money on fees from merchants — and some have steep penalties for missed payments.

  While normally larger banks would avoid this kind of “new and much more dangerous subprime”, this time is different: the rapid adoption of the products has enticed major financial institutions to offer the option to split payments, even as regulators warn them of the risks. That includes PayPal, U.S. Bancorp and Citizens Financial. Even big banks like Citigroup and JPMorgan have similar capabilities on their credit cards.

  The industry has branded itself a financial equalizer. They argue that “soft-credit checks” — when a lender runs a consumer’s credit history without affecting their score — expand credit access to those underserved by traditional lenders, while zero-interest provides a better deal than many cards.

  Affirm said its customers have an average outstanding balance of $641, while Afterpay and Klarna put the figure at $250 and $150, respectively. Unfortunately, there is no way to check these numbers. And while the average credit card balance was $6,501 in the third quarter of 2023, according to Experian data, the BNPL balances mean that most Americans can’t even afford a weekly outing to their grocery store without putting it on an installment plan, a truly terrifying scenario.

  Critics naturally argue that BNPL is particularly attractive to the financially vulnerable. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has flagged risks to consumers, including surprise late fees and “hidden interest” — or when BNPL purchases are made with credit cards charging high interest rates. The CFPB has also expressed concern about “loan stacking,” when individuals take out several BNPL loans at once with different providers, which is most of them.

  Some BNPL services, including Afterpay and Klarna, require borrowers to agree to “mandatory autopayment,” meaning the companies can automatically charge the credit card or bank account on file when a payment is due. Those who link the latter are potentially vulnerable to overdraft fees.

  Meanwhile, as rates remains sky high, even Wall Street’s perpetually cheerful analysts are wondering where is all the consumption coming from?

  Robust consumer spending and low unemployment rates have many economists convinced the US consumer remains strong, making Wall Street bullish on the economy. But lately, stubbornly persistent inflation has dialed back expectations for imminent interest-rate relief.

  That’s set to ramp up pressure on households that are already stretched thin by higher prices for everything from gas and food to rent and apparel. As of the end of December, almost 3.5% of credit-card balances were at least 30 days past due, according to the Philadelphia Fed, the most since the data began in 2012. Nominal card balances also set a new high.

  

  For those who are falling behind, BNPL offers what appears to be a no-brainer decision: space out payments… at least until this last credit buffer fills up and bankruptcy is the only possible outcome.

  That was the thinking of Hayden Waschak, a 23-year-old in Pittsburgh. Even though he said it felt “dystopian” to use  BNPL to pay for food, he began using Klarna in February to spread out payments on a grocery delivery app. It helped his finances — at first. After he lost his job as a documents processing specialist at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in March, he relied more heavily on the service. And without any income, he became delinquent on payments and started racking up late charges. He eventually paid off the nearly $200 balance, but he said his credit score dropped.

  “Unexpected life events caused me to lose income,” Waschak said. “I ended up paying more than if I had paid for it all at once.”

  Meanwhile, the fact that BNPL balances do not count against your credit rating, means users get little upside when it comes to their credit — paying on time won’t help them build up their score. On the other hand, the downside is still there for falling behind: not only can they get charged late fees, but delinquent BNPL loans can be turned over to debt collectors.

  The latter is what Fabrizio Lopez said happened to him. He used Affirm to split up a $500 online payment for used-car parts in 2019. The Long Island-based mechanic, who doesn’t have a traditional credit card, said that while he received the items a week later, he never got a bill. That is, until debt collection letters started pouring in from across the US.

  Lopez said he primarily relied on cash before that purchase, so the unpaid loan stands out on his credit profile. Now 30, he worries that a the BNPL purchase has created “invisible barriers” to the financial system.

  “They hook you with the idea of no interest rates,” he said. “I thought that I would be able to build my credit if I paid it back — I was so wrong.”

  He is not the only one who is “so wrong”: just as wrong are all those Panglossian economists at the Fed and Wall Street who believe that the US economy is growing at what the Atlanta Fed today laughably “calculated” was a 4.2% GDP, even as the DOE found that the most accurate indicator of overall economic strength, diesel demand, was the lowest since covid, an glaring paradox… yet glaring to all except those who refuse to see just how rotten the core of the US economy has become, and will be “absolutely shocked” when the next credit crisis destroys tens of millions of Americans drowning in what is now best known as “phantom debt.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 22:15

• Argentina To Mine Bitcoin With Stranded Gas
  Argentina To Mine Bitcoin With Stranded Gas

  Authored by Vivek Sun via BitcoinMagazine.com,

  Argentina’s energy sector is increasingly turning to Bitcoin, this time with a state-owned facility using stranded natural gas from oil fields that would otherwise be wasted.

  JUST IN: 🇦🇷 Argentina state-owned company’s subsidiary will mine $BTC with Stranded Gas: Forbes

  Eventually, every country will be mining #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/bu6sCXEUJ1

  — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 8, 2024

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

  State-owned energy firm YPF’s subsidiary, YPF Luz, recently partnered with Genesis Digital Assets (GDA) to launch a gas flare-powered mining facility. It will harness 1,200 machines to monetize gas currently being flared into the atmosphere.

  This comes as Argentina embraces Bitcoin with the election of Bitcoin-friendly President Javier Milei in late 2023.

  By repurposing stranded gas that is currently burned as waste, GDA estimates its mining operation could reduce up to 63% of the carbon emissions, which shows how Bitcoin mining can transform energy byproducts into productive use.

  GDA founder Abdumalik Mirakhmedov said:

  “This will be yet another opportunity to show the world that Bitcoin mining can have a positive effect on the environment and can be fully integrated into local communities.”

  For YPF Luz, monetizing stranded gas offsets costs and drives sustainability. 

  For GDA, this means competitive energy pricing and reduced carbon output. For Argentina, it signals leadership in leveraging Bitcoin mining to enhance energy infrastructure.

  

  The news mirrors how other countries are utilizing Bitcoin mining to “clean up” energy grids. Bhutan mines Bitcoin with renewable hydropower to consume its seasonal excess, while El Salvador uses geothermal energy to power mining with no carbon footprint.

  Mirakhmedov cited Argentina’s energy resources and friendly regulations as ideal conditions for the facility.

  As Bitcoin mining expands worldwide, projects like GDA and YPF’s showcase a template for reducing stranded gas flaring through productive Bitcoin mining.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 21:55

• "Is Consumer Travel Spending Easing?" – BofA Identifies New Trend As Travel Companies Miss Earnings 
  “Is Consumer Travel Spending Easing?” – BofA Identifies New Trend As Travel Companies Miss Earnings 

  One theme we’ve spotted this earnings season has been an increasing number of companies warning about low-income consumers. 

  From McDonald’s to Starbucks to Tyson Foods, executives on earnings calls have warned about mounting headwinds hitting the working poor. 

  Last Tuesday, Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan told investors on a call, “Our performance this quarter was disappointing and did not meet our expectations,” adding that significant headwinds originate from a “cautious consumer.” 

  A similar message was shared by McDonald’s last week when execs reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales growth. 

  On Monday, Melanie Boulden, who oversees Tyson’s Prepared Foods business, warned, “The consumer is under pressure, especially the lower-income households.” 

  Then, on Wednesday, credit card data from the Federal Reserve showed households finally hit a brick wall. Credit card debt growth in March plunged to the smallest monthly increase since the Covid crash. 

  This morning, Bank of America’s trading desk also spotted some weakness in consumer-sensitive stocks, this time in the travel industry. 

  “Theme Alert? Consumer Travel Spending easing?” BofA’s analysts asked. 

  They pointed out a list of disappointing earnings across the travel industry: 

  • $EXPE miss/guide

  • $TRIP miss

  • $CMCSA parks commentary

  • $DIS parks’ moderation’ or normalization

  • $UBER slight bookings miss

  Tripadvisor experienced its worst intraday decline ever, with its stock plunging by as much as 38%. This was due to the online travel firm’s announcement that it had called off a deal to sell the company.

  

  Did the lack of ‘deal premium’ suddenly expose investors to the the reality that Gen-Z and millennials can no longer afford their stimmy-funded “experiences” as the economy slows.

  Taking a deeper dive into markets, the Dow Jones US Travel & Leisure Index peaked in late March and fell 7.5%. The index is up against heavy resistance. 

  

  Interestingly, the Transportation Security Administration’s airport checkpoint data still shows robust travel demand. 

  

  Bank of America’s trading desk may be onto something here, a trend that other companies are also starting to notice: low-income consumers are cracking in the era of failed Bidenomics. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 21:35

• House Votes To Nullify SEC's Anti-Crypto Policy, Biden Vows To Veto
  House Votes To Nullify SEC’s Anti-Crypto Policy, Biden Vows To Veto

  Authored by Tom Mitchelhill via CoinTelegraoph.com,

  The United States House of Representatives has voted to pass a bill that overturns controversial Securities and Exchange Commission guidance preventing banks from owning crypto. 

  

  On May 8, the House voted to pass a bipartisan bill dubbed H.J. Res 109 which overturns the SEC’s Special Accounting Bulletin (SAB 121) that requires banks to hold their customers’ crypto assets on their balance sheets – which is not the case for traditional assets such as securities. 

  Republican Congressman Mike Flood – the lawmaker who introduced the resolution – said SAB 121 was unfair for banks looking to custody crypto, as custodial assets are “always considered off-balance sheet.”

  “Gary Gensler, in his jihad against digital assets, used what is supposed to be mundane staff accounting guidance to essentially freeze out large publicly traded banks from taking custody of digital assets,” said Rep. Flood (R-Neb.) in a Wednesday interview with CoinDesk.

  And the SEC didn’t consult with the banking regulators about it, Flood pointed out, arguing that Gensler “doesn’t have any business in the banking world.”

  Notably, 21 Democrats voted in favor of the bill – which combined with the unanimous 207 votes from Republicans – saw the bill pass 228 votes to 182. 

  

  Source: Caitlin Long/X

  “By overturning SAB 121, the bipartisan resolution ensures consumers are protected by removing roadblocks that prevent highly regulated financial institutions and firms from acting as custodians of digital assets,” wrote the House Financial Services Committee (HSFC) in a May 8 statement. 

  “Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 is one of the most glaring examples of the regulatory overreach that has defined Gary Gensler’s tenure at the SEC,” said HSFC Chairman Patrick McHenry.

  Introduced by the SEC in March 2022, SAB 121 outlines the regulator’s accounting guidelines for institutions looking to custody crypto assets. Notably, SAB 121 virtually prevents banks from custodying crypto assets on behalf of clients.

  U.S. lawmakers including SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce have argued SAB 121 jeopardizes the willingness of regulated banks to act as crypto custodians and treats crypto holdings differently than other assets.

  Despite the bill being passed through the House of Representatives, President Joe Biden stated he will veto the new bill.

  “SAB 121 was issued in response to demonstrated technological, legal, and regulatory risks that have caused substantial losses to consumers,” Biden said in a Wednesday statement, saying he “strongly opposes” disrupting the SEC’s work on this.

  In a May 8 statement, the White House said it “strongly opposes” members of the House of Representatives looking to overturn SAB 121, claiming it would disrupt the SEC’s efforts “to protect investors in crypto-asset markets and to safeguard the broader financial system.”

  “Limiting the SEC’s ability to maintain a comprehensive and effective financial regulatory framework for crypto-assets would introduce substantial financial instability and market uncertainty.”

  

  Source: White House

  No lesser mortal than key House Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters thought Flood’s resolution went too far.

  “This bill takes a sledgehammer to fix an issue that may merely need a scalpel, and it does so because my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are not only interested in doing the bidding of special interest groups, they are also interested in attacking and undermining the SEC in every possible way,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on McHenry’s committee.

  As CoinDesk reports, when an agency rule is reversed under the Congressional Review Act, it’s not only erased, but anything similar is forever blocked from future implementation.

  Waters argued that SAB 121 – apart from the controversial custody component – also provided guidance on crypto disclosures that are necessary and would be threatened if Congress overturns the policy, and Biden echoed the concern about policies that would be blocked.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 21:15

• China Blasts US For Talking Gaza "Ceasefire While Pouring In Weapons"
  China Blasts US For Talking Gaza “Ceasefire While Pouring In Weapons”

  First the Ukraine war and now the Gaza conflict… China increasingly finds itself the leader of the group of nations at odds with the West over how to handle these crises. 

  Beijing has criticized the United States’ role in stoking both conflicts, given Washington is the main supplier of weapons and funds for both Israel and Ukraine.

  Most Global South countries are quite obviously more sympathetic to the Palestinian side when it comes to the Gaza crisis (evidenced by recent votes at the UN), and they have shown themselves open to trade with Russia despite sanctions over the Ukraine war, and most have tended to avoid full-throated condemnations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

  

  In a new Wednesday report, Bloomberg has underscored that Gaza is the new ‘wedge issue’ which China hopes to use to further distance the Global South from US and Western policy: 

  Last week, a top Chinese diplomat took to the microphones at the United Nations to harangue the US for blocking a resolution that would have backed Palestinians’ bid for membership, saying it had “shattered the decades-long dream of the Palestinian people.”

  The broadside by Ambassador Fu Cong may have just looked like more anti-US rhetoric. But US officials and experts say it fits into a pattern with greater significance — an increasingly active Chinese effort to turn opinion in developing countries against the US since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, using the Gaza war as a wedge.

  At the start of this week President Xi Jinping was in France where he issued a rare joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron. The statement urged Israel against going through with a ground offensive in Rafah.

  Macron and Xi further reiterated their call for “a decisive and irreversible relaunch of a political process” to implement “the two-state solution with Jerusalem as their capital, and the creation of a viable, independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 lines,” according to the joint statement.

  The Chinese foreign ministry also issued its own separate statement, saying “China… strongly calls on Israel to heed the overwhelming demands of the international community, stop attacking Rafah, and do everything it can to avoid a more serious humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip.”

  Beijing has also really stepped up its denunciations of Washington ‘hypocrisy’ given the Biden administration is at once arming Israel to the teeth while publicly condemning the soaring Palestinian civilian death toll which has been the end result of deploying those very arms over population-dense urban areas. Bloomberg has further featured the following Chinese Embassy statement: 

  Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, criticized the US for talking about “a ceasefire while pouring weapons” into the “biggest humanitarian tragedy in the 21st century,” in an emailed statement.

  China has lately launched its own efforts at mediating the conflict, given it hosted Hamas and Fatah officials in Beijing last week for rare talks aimed at achieving Palestinian political unity.

  Bloomberg has cited the UK-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue to say that “Chinese and Russian actors are capitalizing on the perceived unpopularity of Western policy towards Gaza.” And ultimately the aim, the think tank says, is “to push the idea of an alternate global power structure with themselves at the helm.”

  But of course, this doesn’t seem to take into account that it might more simply be US and Israeli actions and policies are actually deeply unpopular among large segments of the population. 

  US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield recently echoed this outlook which sees nefarious Russian and Chinese influence behind every corner. “Let’s be honest — for all the fiery rhetoric, we all know that Russia and China are not doing anything diplomatically to advance a lasting peace,” she told the UN General Assembly in March.

  The disoriented strategy that got us into a new Cold War with Russia, is driving us towards a war with China as well.

  — John Robb (@johnrobb) May 6, 2024

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

  But the reality is that it was China which recently achieved the historic Iran-Saudi rapprochement, thus it at least has a positive track record of mediation in the Mideast region of late. Compare this to the US role of the last ten to twenty years, and there are names like: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 20:55

• Jan. 6 Arrests Running At Nearly Double The Rate Of 2023 And 2022: Report
  Jan. 6 Arrests Running At Nearly Double The Rate Of 2023 And 2022: Report

  Authored by Joseph M. Hanneman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Nearly 1,425 people have been arrested on Jan. 6 charges, with 2024 arrests running at almost double the rate from 2023 and 2022, a U.S. Department of Justice report shows.

  

  Through close of business on May 3, the FBI has arrested 1,424 suspects in the 40 months since the breach and violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the DOJ reported in its monthly update.

  That includes 159 people who were arrested during the first four months of 2024, nearly double the 83 arrested during the same period in 2023 and the 85 arrested in the same period in 2022, DOJ records show.

  The FBI has made 391 Jan. 6 arrests since May 2023 and 614 arrests since May 2022, according to DOJ data.

  Jan. 6 is the largest, most sweeping investigation in FBI history—one that DOJ leaders have pledged will continue unabated. The DOJ has until Jan. 6, 2026, to charge individuals before the statute of limitations expires.

  Some 1,334 people have been charged with entering and remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds, the most common Jan. 6 misdemeanor. Of those, 127 people were charged with entering and remaining while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

  Only two defendants were arrested over the past month for corruptly obstructing an official proceeding—the most commonly charged Jan. 6 felony that now affects 355 people—a controversial charge currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.

  Thirty-six percent of defendants—510—have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees. More than a quarter of those involved use of a deadly or dangerous weapon, the report said.

  About 820 defendants have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal crimes. Sixty-nine percent were misdemeanor charges, and 31 percent were felonies.

  Nearly 885 defendants have had their cases adjudicated, with 61 percent sentenced to prison time, 19 percent given home detention, and 3.5 percent given some combination of the two, the report said.

  About 160 defendants have been found guilty at contested trials, the report said, including three tried in the District of Columbia Superior Court. Another three dozen defendants were found guilty based on an agreed-upon set of facts.

  Of the 199 defendants who have gone to trial, 82 were found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers and/or obstructing officers during civil disorder—both felony charges.

  Every defendant who opted for a jury trial has been found guilty of at least some of the charges lodged against them. Only three defendants have been acquitted of all charges. Those cases involved bench trials.

  The rate of arrests picked up during the last quarter of 2023 and has continued through four months of 2024.

  

  On April 16, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a challenge to the DOJ’s novel use of a corporate fraud statute to prosecute Jan. 6 protesters with a 20-year felony.

  The Supreme Court said on Dec. 13, 2023, that it would take up Jan. 6 defendant Joseph W. Fischer’s challenge to the use of 18 U.S. Code Section 1512(c)(2) to prosecute Jan. 6 defendants for obstructing Congress’s tallying of Electoral College votes.

  If the High Court strikes down the use of the law for Jan. 6 applications, it could upend the aforementioned 355 cases and land a blow to the DOJ’s prosecution effort.

  However, prosecutors have indicated they could seek sentencing enhancements on other charges or request that prison sentences be served consecutively as ways to ensure that defendants still serve the same time behind bars.

  A small number of defendants have been released from prison pending the Supreme Court decision. Others have had sentencing hearings postponed in anticipation of High Court action in the case by June 30.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 20:35

• Biden Says He'll Halt Offensive Weapons To Israel If It Invades Gaza
  Biden Says He’ll Halt Offensive Weapons To Israel If It Invades Gaza

  Update(2025ET): President Biden spoke to CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday, and in the interview he issued some of the most significant warnings to America’s closest Middle East ally to date, telling Israel that he’s ready to halt offensive weapons transfers if its military launches a full invasion of Rafah.

  “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden said. “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem.”

  This is being widely interpreted to include all offensive weapons like bombs and artillery shells. He spelled it out in the following:

  “We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently,” Biden told CNN. “But it’s, it’s just wrong. We’re not going to — we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”

  As The Hill underscores these comments constitute “the first time he has explicitly threatened to cut off the shipment of offensive weapons to the U.S. ally.”

  FLAG: @POTUS Biden says for the first time that U.S. bombs provided to Israel have been used to kill civilians in Gaza.

  “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs,” he tells @ErinBurnett in a @CNN interview. pic.twitter.com/SBR6lKO7mM

  — Ed O’Keefe (@edokeefe) May 8, 2024

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

  Earlier in the day the State Department had previewed the new ‘warning’ to Israel over Rafah, saying that it is a decision the White House is still mulling (namely, whether to expand the pause on arms shipments beyond the initial one already paused). 

  So far, Israel has spoken about the Rafah op as ‘limited’ in scope, likely as a way to assuage Washington’s fears about scenes of a humanitarian nightmare and catastrophe unfolding. Pressure is growing on Biden ahead of the November election given Progressives and some of his base are peeling off in droves, and the persistent campus protests.

  Meanwhile there appears to have already been at least a partial invasion of the eastern part of Rafah city:

  Israel releases footage showing its forces entering Rafah, Gaza. pic.twitter.com/KBshNzkRmG

  — Clash Report (@clashreport) May 8, 2024

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

  * * *

  US defense secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed while testifying before a congressional subcommittee on Wednesday that the Biden administration has paused an arms shipment to Israel, which reportedly includes large bombs and other ammunition being put on hold for transfer.

  “We’ve been very clear … from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace,” Austin told US lawmakers. “We’ve not made a final determination on how to proceed with that shipment [of weapons],” the Pentagon chief said.

  

  He added the caveat that the paused transfer in question remains separate from the supplemental aid package for Israel that was passed last month.

  Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan has called the move “very disappointing”. President Biden “can’t say he is our partner in the goal to destroy Hamas, while on the other hand delay the means meant to destroy Hamas,” Erdan said the same day as Austin’s testimony.

  Austin did still emphasize, “My final comment is that we are absolutely committed to continuing to support Israel in its right to defend itself.”

  Separately on Wednesday the State Department hinted that following the initial paused shipment, the US could extend the temporary ban to include more arms and ammo shipments.

  Spokesman Matthew Miller says cited concerns over how Israel conducts itself in the Rafah operation. The White House has said it does not back an Israel ground offensive into the refugee-packed southern city.

  “When you see the results of the campaign to date, you see too many Palestinians die. We have been clear for some time the results are unacceptable,” Miller told a press briefing. “We’ve paused one shipment.… We are reviewing other potential weapons systems. I’m not going to get into the underlying details here.”

  Watching CQ Brown trying desperately not to get tricked into saying into a mic that he is pro the bombing of Hiroshima was not something I expected to see this morning https://t.co/Yj3ehHukyp

  — Aaron Mehta (@AaronMehta) May 8, 2024

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

  Meanwhile, the outspoken Iran hawk Sen. Lindsey Graham had this bizarre and highly theoretical exchange with Defense Secretary Austin as well as Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Charles Q. Brown Jr.:

  GRAHAM: Would you have supported dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? General Brown, to end World War II?

  BROWN JR: Well Senator, I think it is based on the situation —

  GRAHAM: Well, we know I mean, it happened, we know. I’m not asking, they did it. Do you think that was disproportionate?

  BROWN JR: It was —

  GRAHAM: Do you, in hindsight, do you think that was the right decision for America to drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities in question?

  BROWN JR: Well, I’ll tell you, it stopped the world war.

  GRAHAM: Okay. Well, so. Do you agree, General Austin? If you’d been around, would you say drop them?

  AUSTIN: I agree with the chairman here.

  GRAHAM: I mean, if you were if we go back in time says, hey, we got two atomic bombs, should we drop them? What would you say?

  AUSTIN: Well, you know, I think the leadership was interested in curtailing —

  GRAHAM: What’s Israel interested in? Do you believe Iran really wants to kill all the Jews if they could? The Iranian regime. Do you believe Hamas is serious when they say we’ll keep doing it over and over again? Do you agree that they will if they can?

  AUSTIN: I do.

  GRAHAM: Okay. Alright. Do you believe that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization also bent on the destruction of the Jewish state?

  AUSTIN: Hezbollah is a terrorist organization.

  GRAHAM: Okay, so Israel’s been hit in the last few weeks by Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas dedicated to their destruction. And you’re telling me you’re going to tell them how to fight the war? And what they can and can’t use when everybody around them wants to kill all the Jews. And you’re telling me that if we withhold weapons in this fight — the existential fight for the life of the Jewish state — it won’t send the wrong signal? Do you still think it was a good idea, General Austin, to get out of Afghanistan?

  AUSTIN: I support the president’s decision.

  GRAHAM: Yeah, I think you do. I think it was a disastrous decision. If we stop weapons necessary to destroy the enemies of the State of Israel at a time of great peril, we will pay a price. This is obscene. It is absurd. Give Israel what they need to fight the war. They can’t afford to lose. This is Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids.

  Is the Senator from South Carolina actually suggesting Israel might need to nuke the Gaza Strip? 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 20:25

• Philadelphia Mayor Starts Long-Awaited Process Of Cleaning Out City's Open Air Drug Markets
  Philadelphia Mayor Starts Long-Awaited Process Of Cleaning Out City’s Open Air Drug Markets

  Philadelphia’s new mayor Cherelle Parker may be succeeding with what seems like a relatively simple task that her predecessors were wholly incapable of performing: cleaning out the city’s open air drug markets in its Kensington section.

  Pay attention, Democrats. There’s a chance it actually can be done.

  During Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, City Council members pressed Managing Director Adam Thiel and other officials for details on the planned “encampment resolution” in Kensington and budget concerns at the Office of Homeless Services.

  The city announced it would clear homeless encampments on Wednesday along the 3000 and 3100 blocks of Kensington Avenue, according to the Philadelphia Tribune. 

  City workers have been reaching out to the homeless, informing them of their removal from the sidewalks and offering beds in treatment facilities. This initiative aligns with a significant policy shift in Mayor Cherelle Parker’s 100 Day Plan to address drug use and violence in Kensington.

  Thiel emphasized a medically focused approach to treating those affected and addressing their needs. While police will be present during Wednesday’s actions, Thiel aims to provide support to those seeking help.

  

  The Philadelphia Tribune reported that, to address neighborhood concerns, the city will eventually displace hundreds of unhoused individuals to clear encampments in Kensington. At-Large Councilmember Kendra Brooks asked if there are enough beds for all those displaced and managing Director Adam Thiel assured that there are sufficient beds citywide.

  “We are building this ecosystem of facilities so we can get folks to the right place for the right care, for the right time, until they get back on their feet and can have access to economic opportunity,” he said.

  Thiel noted that the “specific approach established by the Parker administration is the first time it will be attempted in the country.”

  Council President Kenyatta Johnson suggested sending those needing 60+ days of treatment to facilities outside Philadelphia and partnering with Treatment Court, which mandates treatment instead of incarceration for substance abuse issues.

  But it looks as though the city is holding the Office of Homeless Services accountable, which is likely a great start to at least getting better results than in years past. Councilmembers questioned Thiel and Office of Homeless Services Executive Director David Holloman about the office’s capacity to address Philadelphia’s growing homeless population, which has increased by 12% since last year.

  The office had asked for an additional $15 million last year, which Gilmore Richardson pressed back on: “We held back $5.1 million … because you all at the time could not provide the invoices to help us understand why you needed those dollars.”

  The encampment clearout is underway on Kensington Avenue. @KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/CkqAOaoSX9

  — Tim Jimenez (@TimJRadio) May 8, 2024

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

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 20:15

• Putin Doesn't Bluff
  Putin Doesn’t Bluff

  Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com,

  Two weeks ago, the Congress passed (and President Biden signed) four key pieces of legislation related to national security.

  Three of the bills provided assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. They received the most attention. The one that got the least attention was a mixed bag of provisions, such as a forced divestiture of TikTok.

  Included in that bill was something called the REPO Act that authorizes the president to steal any Russian assets, including U.S. Treasury securities, that come under U.S. jurisdiction.

  The impact of the REPO Act is limited by the fact that only about $10 billion of Russian sovereign assets are actually under U.S. jurisdiction. Yet the act contemplates that this theft will be a down payment on a much larger theft to be conducted by NATO allies in Europe.

  $290 billion of Russian sovereign assets are being held in Europe. The act says that the assets stolen by the U.S. will be contributed to the Common Ukraine Fund.

  No doubt, the U.S. will be the most powerful voice in the administration of the $290 billion common fund. The U.S. goal is to use the G7 summit in Apulia, Italy on June 13–15 as a platform for getting the other G7 members to go along with the Common Ukraine Fund and to steal any Russian assets under their jurisdiction.

  So these people think that Russia will simply accept this act of theft without retaliating?

  

  “Mirror Imaging”

  One of the persistent problems in intelligence analysis is what experts call “mirror imaging.” This is jargon for an analytic flaw in which the analyst assumes that his beliefs and preferences are shared by an adversary. Instead of looking at the adversary as he actually is, the analyst is looking in a mirror while assuming he is looking at the adversary.

  This is an extremely dangerous flaw.

  You may be rational, but the mullahs who rule Iran are not. You may believe that leaders want economic growth, but Communist Chinese leaders elevate the party over all other considerations including the well-being of their people.

  You may assume that Houthi rebels in Yemen want to avoid attacks by the U.S., but they don’t care — they live in caves anyway, so you can’t bomb them into the Stone Age because they’re already there.

  Nowhere is this flaw more apparent today than in the U.S. intelligence analysis of Vladimir Putin. In 2008, President Bush said that Ukraine and Georgia should join NATO. A few months later, Putin invaded Georgia, annexed part of its territory and destroyed Georgia’s chances of joining NATO.

  Putin Doesn’t Bluff

  In 2014, the U.S. backed a coup d’état in Ukraine that deposed a duly elected leader. Three months later, Putin annexed Crimea from Ukraine and made it part of the Russian Federation. In 2021, NATO began formal processes to admit Ukraine as a member.

  In February 2022, Russia began a special military operation that’s resulted in 500,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers. Some estimates are even higher. Ukraine’s chances of joining NATO are now zero.

  In every case, U.S. analysts did not believe Putin would take the steps he did because they thought it might somehow weaken Putin or Russia. That’s mirror imaging at its worst. The truth is Putin doesn’t bluff. When he says he will do something, he does. When he says he will react to some Western act, the reaction takes place.

  Putin said if the West steals Russian assets, Russia will retaliate by seizing billions of dollars of direct foreign investment in Russia owned by major European companies such as Siemens, Total, BP and others.

  And sure enough, just days after Biden signed legislation to authorize the theft of Russian assets, a Russian court ordered $440 million be seized from JPMorgan.

  The escalation in the asset seizure war has begun. Putin will win in the end. Unfortunately, escalation is also increasing on the geopolitical front. The U.S. and some of its European allies are becoming increasingly desperate about Ukraine’s ability to hold off Russia on the battlefield.

  Short on Weapons, Short on Men

  The recent $61 billion aid package for Ukraine (about two-thirds of which will go to U.S. defense companies) won’t be nearly enough to reverse the tide. The U.S. and its NATO allies have already given just about all they can afford to give Ukraine without jeopardizing their own security.

  The problem isn’t a lack of money but a lack of weapons and ammunition. Before the aid package was approved, critics complained that Ukraine was losing because the U.S. was withholding desperately needed materiel. But that’s not really true.

  The Europeans could have simply bought the weapons from the U.S. and delivered them to Ukraine. They didn’t. Why? Because the weapons simply weren’t there. Yes, there will always be a supply of weapons flowing to Ukraine — they’re not going to run out completely.

  But Ukraine won’t have nearly enough weapons and ammunition to undertake meaningful offensive operations against the Russians. They’ll just have enough to keep them in the fight, which is the goal of NATO.

  Unfortunately for Ukraine, the problems run much deeper than a lack of equipment. They’re also running out of trained manpower. Former commander Valeriy Zaluzhny has suggested Ukraine needs an extra 500,000 troops. But they’re having trouble finding new volunteers. An estimated 650,000 fighting age men have fled Ukraine.

  Meanwhile, the Russian army is even larger than it was before the invasion, and Russian industry is churning out weapons and ammunition at astonishing rates.

  Will France Cross the (Dnieper) Rubicon?

  When you add up Ukraine’s lack of equipment and manpower shortages, you understand why the West is becoming increasingly desperate.

  France’s Emmanuel Macron is continuing to say he might send French troops to Ukraine. Just days ago, he reaffirmed that he wouldn’t rule out sending troops if Russia broke through Ukrainian front lines and Ukraine requested it.

  Well, it’s only a matter of time until Russia breaks through Ukraine’s remaining primary defenses east of the Dnieper River. Of course Ukraine is going to request French troops since Macron himself made the offer.

  Would they be sent to western Ukraine in order to free up Ukrainian soldiers stationed there to go to the front?

  Or would they send French troops to the front, thinking that Russia wouldn’t fire on them out of fears of starting a war with France? France is a nuclear power. It has a limited nuclear arsenal (mostly consisting of four ballistic missile submarines).

  So France might believe it can deter Russia from advancing.

  But Russia has already targeted French “mercenaries” in a missile strike some months back (they were likely Ukrainian and Russian members of the French Foreign Legion). And Russia has warned France that it will attack French soldiers if it sends them to Ukraine.

  Remember, Putin doesn’t bluff. But it’s not just France suggesting a willingness to send troops to Ukraine.

  Countdown to Nuclear War

  I’ve been warning about the dangers of escalation since the U.S. committed itself to Ukraine’s defense. Unfortunately, it’s playing out exactly as I predicted.

  On 60 Minutes last night, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “We can’t let Ukraine fall because if it does, then there’s a significant likelihood that America will have to get into the conflict — not simply with our money, but with our servicewomen and our servicemen.”

  Ukraine’s going to fall, one way or the other. It might not be this year or even next year, although those are possibilities. But it will happen.

  If Jeffries is correct that the U.S. will commit its military to confront Russia directly, then we’re signing ourselves up for a nuclear war because that’s where military confrontation will ultimately lead.

  Every major simulated war game between the U.S. and Russia ends up going nuclear in the end.

  Are we really prepared for that?

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 19:55

• RFK Jr Challenges Trump To Debate At Libertarian Convention
  RFK Jr Challenges Trump To Debate At Libertarian Convention

  Hoping to exploit their overlapping appearance commitments, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr on Tuesday challenged Donald Trump to a debate at the Libertarian Party’s national convention this month, saying it represents “perfect neutral territory.” 

  Playing to Trump’s ego, Kennedy’s invitation started off with an expression of gratitude to the former president for spotlighting major media’s “rigged polling” against Trump.  “We have this concern too,” said Kennedy in a lengthy post on X, saying Democrat-aligned pollsters use deceptive methods that result in them “pretending” Kennedy is languishing in the single digits. 

  

  Kennedy then shared the results of his campaign’s own taking of America’s electoral pulse: 

  This is why we did our own poll with Zogby — the largest and most accurate poll of this election cycle. We had Zogby ask about head-to-head matchups. (1) You versus President Biden. (2) Me versus President Biden. (3) Me versus you. The results? You beat President Biden handily. I crush him as well, by even more. And against each other, I beat you in a nail-biter.

  In a three-way, you are ahead but I’m coming up strong. Two new polls (CNN and Quinnipiac) have me above the 15% debate threshold. Another (Activote) has me at 26% among young voters. And you and I are tied among America’s 70 million Independents.

  It wasn’t all flattery: Kennedy also slid in a shot at Trump’s policies, saying many of the former president’s supporters are backing Kennedy this time, saying they’re “upset that you blew up the deficit, shut down their businesses during Covid, and filled your administration with swamp creatures.”

  Dear President Trump,

  I’m grateful to you for calling attention to the rigged polling methodologies that biased DNC-influenced media have used against you. We have this concern too, and I’m happy to show you the deceptive methodologies used by DNC-allied pollsters who pretend…

  — Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 7, 2024

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

  Citing a previous Trump statement that he’d be open to sparring with Kennedy if his poll numbers were decent, Kennedy said he meets that threshold, saying “I’m the only presidential candidate in history who has polled ahead of both major party candidates in head-to-head races.” 

  While the Libertarian Party has not yet issued a statement, Kennedy said he checked with party leadership and said “they are game” for a showdown. For now, Kennedy is scheduled to speak on Friday, May 24; Trump, on Saturday, May 25. 

  Meanwhile, Libertarian Party activist, podcaster and comedian Dave Smith — who’d been regarded by many as an ideal 2024 flag-bearer before he opted against running — offered to dive in on the action: 

  If the LP nominee isn’t decided yet, I’ll gladly jump in this debate and represent the @LPNational I’m also happy to debate RFK 1 vs 1 if Trump doesn’t accept. https://t.co/7N3reNusXy

  — Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith) May 7, 2024 

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

  The party’s announcement last week that Trump would appear at the convention spawned a debate among party faithful that’s still simmering on social media. Some think his appearance will bring welcome publicity to the Libertarian Party, and demonstrate the party’s eagerness to engage in discourse with those they aren’t aligned with. Some of the more conspiracy-minded opponents say the move manifests a scheme to throw the election to Trump. 

  Earlier this year, Kennedy had considered pursuing the Libertarian Party nomination — and tapping its turnkey, 50-state ballot access — before announcing he’d remain an independent. He’s been gradually announcing his qualification on various state ballots; recently, the list has grown to include California, and the battleground state of Michigan. 

  The fact that RFK and Trump feel the need to win over Libertarian voters is historic and will drive significantly more attention to the party than it has ever received.

  And none of it would have happened without the @LPMisesCaucus takeover.

  — Liam McCollum (@MLiamMcCollum) May 7, 2024

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

  Wary of his wild card role in what’s shaping up as a tight race, both the Republican and Democratic parties have been taking shots at Kennedy in recent weeks, and Democrats have assembled a lawfare machine to thwart his ballot access.  

  Speaking to the press last week, Kennedy challenged Biden to take a “No Spoiler Pledge.” The far-fetched yet entertaining idea: Biden and Kennedy would sponsor a mid-October poll, and Biden would drop out if he did worse than RFK Jr in a head-to-head scenario. He said that, unlike Biden, Trump “is not a spoiler because he actually can win.” 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 19:35

• Democrats Join Republicans To Block Greene's Bid To Oust Speaker Johnson
  Democrats Join Republicans To Block Greene’s Bid To Oust Speaker Johnson

  By Joseph Lord of Epoch Times

  

  The House of Representatives on May 8 overwhelmingly voted to block a measure to strip House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) of the gavel advanced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) forced a vote on a motion to vacate after meeting with the speaker twice this week to discuss her grievances and demands.

  House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) then offered a measure to table Ms. Greene’s motion to vacate. Democrats joined Republicans to approve its shelving in a 359 to 43 vote. 11 Republicans voted to move forward with the ouster attempt.

  BREAKING — THE HOUSE has resoundingly tabled a motion to oust @SpeakerJohnson

  359-43

  R
  196Y
  11N

  D
  163Y
  32N

  — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 8, 2024

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

  House Democrat leaders had earlier pledged to help protect Mr. Johnson in the event of Ms. Greene’s ouster vote, citing his help in passing $95 billion foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific.

  Speaking on the House floor during what was intended to be the final vote of the week, Ms. Greene unleashed a litany of complaints against Mr. Johnson.

  She received a loud “boo” from members present when she brought the resolution to the floor.

  The Georgia lawmaker was accompanied by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of two Republicans who openly expressed support for the measure.

  Mr. Johnson has previously denounced Ms. Greene’s attempt to oust him, calling it a “dangerous gambit.”

  “I think it’s wrong for the Republican Party. I think it’s wrong for the institution,” he said last week.

  Ms. Greene, on the House floor, cited a series of alleged conservative failures by Mr. Johnson, alleging that he had “aided and abetted the Biden administration in destroying our country.”

  The other wild thing about this statement is that Trump floats that he may support ousting @SpeakerJohnson but not now!

  “We’re not in a position on voting on a motion to vacate. At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time.” https://t.co/wxbG79xBsL

  — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 8, 2024

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

  These included his move to allow a vote on a motion to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from the lower chamber, marking the first time in U.S. history that a member has been expelled before a conviction for a crime.

  Ms. Greene also cited his move to pass a 1,000-page, $1.2 trillion government funding package after giving lawmakers less than 48 hours to consider it, as required by internal rules.

  The Georgia Republican also noted that Mr. Johnson’s move to pass billions in foreign aid for Ukraine came without any demands on border security, effectively yielding any leverage Republicans had over the issue.

  Additionally, she noted Mr. Johnson’s crucial vote to kill a warrant requirement for the reauthorization of a controversial surveillance power.

  More in the full developing report at Epoch Times

   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 19:20

• Office Tower Turmoil In NYC Worsens Ahead Of Trillion Dollar Maturity Wall 
  Office Tower Turmoil In NYC Worsens Ahead Of Trillion Dollar Maturity Wall 

  A combination of factors, including remote work, an exodus of progressive cities, higher interest rates for longer, and diminished credit availability, continues to pressure the office tower market nationwide. The latest example of challenges facing the $20 trillion commercial real estate market comes from New York City.

  Bloomberg reports that the $400 million loan backing 1440 Broadway, a 25-story tower at the corner of Broadway and 40th Street in Midtown Manhattan, has fallen into delinquent status.

  

  The loan was bundled into commercial mortgage-backed security called JPMCC 2021-1440. 

  

  “One of the loans responsible for this meaningful month-over-month increase was the $399 million 1440 Broadway loan securitized in JPMCC 2021-1440,” JPMorgan analysts led by Chong Sin, Terrell Bobb and John Sim wrote in a note to clients. 

  The analysts said the deal sponsors “failed to pay the loan’s balloon payment last month, and now the loan is considered non-performing matured.”

  According to JPM data, the serious delinquency rate for office loans hit 7% in April, the highest level since the first half of 2017. 

  

  1440 Broadway has been plagued with a drop in office space demand. One of its largest tenants, WeWork, downsized after declaring bankruptcy in late 2023. Another top tenant, Macy’s, has struggled with sliding foot traffic because of fewer office workers in the city. On top of this, the high-interest rate environment has pushed up the cost of financing. 

  Here’s additional color of the property from JPM: 

  “… The property’s two largest tenants at securitization, WeWork and Macy’s, have presented significant challenges to the continued performance of this loan. At securitization, these two tenants accounted for 70% of the property’s rental income. However, Macy’s vacated the property at the end of its lease term in January 2024. WeWork declared bankruptcy earlier this year but has worked with the property’s sponsors to amend the terms of its lease. WeWork negotiated a 40% decrease in rent as it is now expected to pay just $44 psf for its space in the building as opposed to the $73.26 it was originally paying. WeWork will gradually pay more for its space as the amended lease terms do include steps up in rent. Additionally, WeWork was able to shorten the length of its lease. WeWork’s lease was originally intended to end in 2035 but is now expected to end in 2028. We estimate that the property’s occupancy rate is now at 58% and a 52% decline in gross rental income from the prior year.”

  

  Looking at citywide office occupancy trends, card-swipe data from Katle Systems shows below 50%, an ominous sign office workers aren’t returning in droves. 

  

  The CRE mess is far from over. In fact, it is a rolling disaster, with the real fireworks coming later this year if interest rates remain elevated. 

  In a recent note, we cited Mortgage Bankers Association data showing that $929 billion—20% of the $4.7 trillion total—in commercial mortgages held by lenders and investors are due later this year. The figure is up 28% from 2023 and inflated by amendments and extensions from prior years. Nevertheless, borrowers must now bite the bullet and pay up or default.

  

  Remember that surging CRE defaults risk triggering hundreds of small regional bank failures. We warned about this in a March note titled “$1 Trillion In 2024 CRE Maturities Could Lead To Hundreds Of Bank Failures.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 18:55

• 500 Individuals Recount Discrimination, Sexual Harassment At FDIC In New 200-Page Report
  500 Individuals Recount Discrimination, Sexual Harassment At FDIC In New 200-Page Report

  Authored by Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times,

  The Federal Deposit Insurance (FDIC) failed to provide its employees a safe workplace free from “sexual harassment, discrimination, and other interpersonal misconduct,” a new report released on Tuesday concluded.

  

  Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington on Nov. 15, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

  The more than 200-page report, produced by law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, was ordered by the bank regulator. The independent review was overseen by the Special Committee of the FDIC Board of Directors after The Wall Street Journal published scathing reports identifying an objectionable work climate and misogynistic culture described as a “sexualized boys’ club environment.”

  More than 500 individuals recounted their experiences of discrimination, sexual harassment, and “other interpersonal misconduct” they endured at the FDIC.

  Heads of field and regional offices managed their offices like “fiefdoms” while commissioned bank examiners “controlled the destinies of junior examiners,” the report explained.

  “Those who reported expressed fear, sadness, and anger at what they had to endure,” the report stated.

  “Many had never reported their experiences to anyone before, while others who had reported internally were left disappointed by the FDIC’s response.”

  In one example, a female examiner received a photo of a senior FDIC examiner’s private parts and was recommended by others to “stay away from him because he had a ’reputation.’”

  One employee feared for her safety after a co-worker stalked her and repeatedly shared “unwelcome sexualized text messages that feature partially naked women engaging in sexual acts.”

  Women in a field office explained that their supervisor regularly talked about their breasts, legs, and sex life.

  Others noted that colleagues and supervisors would mock personnel with disabilities, calling one “Pirate McNasty,” and demoralize workers from underrepresented groups by telling them they were “token” employees hired to fill quotas.

  “These incidents, and many others like them, did not occur in a vacuum,” the report stated. “They arose within a workplace culture that is ’misogynistic,‘ ’patriarchal,‘ ’insular,‘ and ’outdated‘—a ’good ol’ boys’ club where favoritism is common, wagons are circled around managers, and senior executives with well-known reputations for pursuing romantic relations with subordinates enjoy long careers without any apparent consequence.”

  The investigation also uncovered prevalent retaliation against workers who complained about the misconduct, which helped foster a toxic work environment.

  “Employees are not encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions up the line, in particular if it is bad news,” one witness said.

  “In fact, employees, such as myself, have been retaliated against for providing suggestions for improvement after having been requested for such feedback.”

  Others, according to the report, were unsure or did not know how to report complaints.

  ‘Very Sorry’

  Mr. Gruenberg told agency staff that the report presented “a sobering look inside our workplace” and expressed that he was “very sorry” for overseeing a hostile environment.

  “I want to also thank everyone who shared their experiences throughout this process. I know that doing so was difficult,” the FDIC chief said. “To anyone who experienced sexual harassment or other misconduct at the FDIC, I again want to express how very sorry I am. I also want to apologize for any shortcomings on my part.”

  “As Chairman, I am ultimately responsible for everything that happens at our agency, including our workplace culture,” he added.

  Implementing “meaningful and sustained change” will not be easy, Mr. Gruenberg said to employees.

  

  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) seal is shown outside its headquarters in Washington on March 14, 2023. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo)

  The recommendations outlined in the report will be incorporated into the FDIC’s ongoing 13-page action plan. Additionally, the FDIC is still actively finding a transformation monitor and independent third-party expert to help adopt the Special Review Committee’s recommendations.

  Special committee co-chair Jonathan McKernan called the report “an important first step” toward ushering in change at the FDIC.

  “Today’s report establishes the urgent imperative of a cultural transformation at the FDIC led by those with the leadership capacity to effectuate that change,” Mr. McKernan said in a statement. “Fostering an environment that promotes a safe, respectful, and inclusive workplace is fundamental to achieving the agency’s mission.”

  An apology is not enough for Patrick McHenry, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who demanded Mr. Gruenberg’s resignation.

  “It’s time for Chair Gruenberg to step aside. The independent report released today details his inexcusable behavior and makes clear new leadership is needed at the FDIC,” Mr. McHenry said in a statement.

  He added that committee Republicans will ensure the FDIC head and other senior leaders are “held accountable” for their actions.

  

   

  Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) speaks to the press after meeting President Joe Biden to discuss the debt limit at the White House in Washington on May 22, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

   

  Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton was not asked, nor did it determine, if Mr. Gruenberg and other individuals at the federal agency should be removed or disciplined.

  ‘Toxic Atmosphere’ at FDIC

  Late last year, The Wall Street Journal published two in-depth reports. The first was“Strip Clubs, Lewd Photos and a Boozy Hotel: The Toxic Atmosphere at Bank Regulator FDIC,” and the second was “FDIC Chair, Known for Temper, Ignored Bad Behavior in Workplace.”

  The article listed claims by employees, past and present, that bullying, discrimination, and sexual misconduct were pervasive at the FDIC.

  Many cases of inappropriate conduct listed in the article were met with little or no disciplinary action.

  Following the newspaper’s published investigation, Mr. Gruenberg said he had been unaware of the allegations and rejected calls from Republicans to step down.

  Later, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FDIC chief maintained “a reputation for bullying and for having an explosive temper.” At least one probe was initiated against Mr. Gruenberg after berating a female employee while serving as the vice chairman.

  Mr. Gruenberg told lawmakers at a Senate Banking Committee hearing that he was “personally disturbed and deeply troubled” by the article’s findings, adding that the agency launched a “comprehensive review” of the situation.

  Following the report, several Republican senators demanded his resignation over workplace misconduct allegations.

  Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) urged Mr. Gruenberg to step down so that “a new chair can restore the professional culture at the FDIC that the American people expect from its institutions.”

  In a Dec. 7 letter, Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) called the accusations “deeply disturbing and unacceptable at any workplace.”

  “According to these reports, both you and your top deputies ‘have been involved in decisions over high-level examples of alleged sexism, harassment, and racial discrimination in which the agency didn’t take a hard line with individuals accused of misconduct,’ allowing the culture of harassment and discrimination to persist and flourish,” the letter added.

  The bombshell Wall Street Journal reports came three years after the FDIC’s inspector general discovered multiple sexual harassment complaints and issued more than a dozen recommendations to change the workplace culture.

  Mr. Gruenberg joined the FDIC Board of Directors in August 2005. In 2011, then-President Barack Obama nominated him to a full five-year term as chairman. In 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Mr. Gruenberg to another term.

  Should Mr. Gruenberg step down or be removed from his position, FDIC Vice Chair Travis Hill would take over, and the board would be split between Republicans and Democrats.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 18:35

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Yes, The Constitution Does Matter… A Lot
  Yes, The Constitution Does Matter… A Lot

  Authored by Rob Natelson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Most of my columns for this newspaper relate to the Constitution. A common reaction among some readers—both in the online “comments” section and in direct correspondence—is that I’m wasting my time because the Constitution doesn’t matter any more. It’s irrelevant.

  I have spent most of the past 30 years working in constitutional law. I think I know something about the subject. And I can report to you that the Constitution, while wounded in a few places, is mostly alive and well. This column will explain why the Constitution still matters—and matters very much.

  

  Confusing Exceptions for the Rule

  Let’s begin with a stock market analogy:

  Over time, the price of a publicly traded company tends to follow (among other factors) the company’s earnings and projected earnings. Similarly, the valuation of the market as a whole tends to follow corporate earnings and projected earnings.

  If earnings and projected earnings drop in a way unlikely to be remedied soon, then the price of stock generally falls. If they rise in a way that does not appear to be a fluke, the price of stock generally rises.

  But this is not always so; sometimes there are exceptions. In other words, sometimes stock prices rise or fall without regard to earnings or projected earnings.

  When deviations persist for any amount of time, self-promoting pundits claim that “the rules have changed” and “earnings don’t matter any more.” People who believe them irrationally buy stock (causing a bubble) or irrationally dump it (panic selling). And when the market corrects—as it always does—those people get nailed.

  Their mistake is in thinking that an exception to the rule (a one-time bump or slump) is the rule itself.

  Most of us get our image of constitutional law from mainstream media reports of rare and controversial cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  But as in the stock market analogy, reliance on these reports leads people to mistake (purported) exceptions for the rule.

  The media reports about the highly publicized cases are often wrong or distorted.

  More importantly, the highly publicized cases represent only a small fraction of the controversies the Supreme Court resolves (often unanimously) upon accepted constitutional principles … and all of the Supreme Court’s cases together are only a small fraction of the disputes resolved by lower appeals courts—also upon accepted constitutional principles … and the cases resolved by lower appeals courts represent only a small fraction of those decided by the trial courts … and the cases decided by the trial courts are only a small fraction of those settled by the parties out of court … and the settled disputes are only a small fraction of the questions answered daily by constitutional lawyers in the normal course of business.

  So the public’s perception of the Constitution and constitutional law is being formed by (1) often-erroneous media reports on (2) a small fraction of (3) a small fraction of (4) a small fraction of (5) a small fraction of (6) a small fraction of constitutional decisions!

  You simply cannot reach conclusions about the Constitution’s viability based on such a tiny and mis-reported sample.

  Another Reason Some Think the Constitution Doesn’t Matter

  Another common mistake is expecting the Constitution to do too much. People angry that the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, for example, seem to believe that because they favor legal abortion, the Constitution must require it. There is an opposing group who believe that because abortion is evil, the Constitution must prohibit it. In fact, as the late great Justice Antonin Scalia remarked, the Constitution says nothing at all about abortion. It is an issue left to be resolved by other means.

  The Constitution was not designed to solve all human problems, nor could any man-made document ever do so. Even if every clause in the instrument were enforced quickly and perfectly, life still would be marred by foolish laws, unfair conditions, political and economic mistakes, and other human failings.

  Mistakes in Interpretation

  Sometimes an official mistake in applying the Constitution leads people to think the document doesn’t matter. But this also is wrong.

  For one thing, misinterpretations can be corrected over time. During the mid-20th century, the Supreme Court misinterpreted the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment by giving insufficient protection to freedom of religion. Since the 1980s, however, the court has been correcting its mistakes, and its freedom-of-religion law is now much closer to that envisioned by the Founders.

  Additionally, some mistakes result in the Constitution mattering even more than originally intended. One of my recent columns discussed the Supreme Court’s latest case on the Fifth Amendment “Takings Clause.” I wrote that the justices probably erred in applying the Takings Clause against a local government.

  But does that mean the Constitution is irrelevant? Of course not. Without the Constitution, there would be no Takings Clause at all. It is far better that the clause be too broad than non-existent.

  Here’s a more controversial illustration: When Sen. Barack Obama campaigned for the presidency, many people claimed he was not constitutionally qualified because he is not a natural born citizen.

  My own view, after examining the factual and legal evidence, is that President Obama is natural born. But whether or not that is true, think of why we had that discussion. We had that discussion because the Constitution requires the president to be natural born. If the Constitution didn’t matter, there would be no reason to debate the issue.

  And there would have been no reason for President Obama to produce a birth certificate (however disputed) showing that he was born in Hawaii.

  What If the Constitution Really Didn’t Matter?

  Let’s look at it another way. Suppose it were true that the Constitution didn’t matter—that the only important thing was what our masters in the “woke” establishment decided. In that event:

  • The Supreme Court would not be enforcing the First Amendment, so religious people would be under severe constraints and this newspaper would not exist.

  • If the government took your land, you would be paid nothing.

  • You could not own a gun.

  • The presidential term could be any length set by whoever was in power. Same for congressional terms.

  • President Obama could have run for a third term in 2016. And a fourth in 2020. And a fifth in 2024. (Assuming he remains influential in the Biden administration, that’s not the same as being president.)

  • Donald Trump would not have been elected president in 2016. But because the Constitution features an institution known as the Electoral College—and because the Constitution matters—he became president.

  • In fact, he probably would be in jail. But because the Constitution requires due process and because the Constitution matters, he is free and running for president again.

  • Greta Thunberg, environmental enfant terrible, could be president even though (1) she is not a native-born American (she is Swedish), and (2) she is only 21 years old.

  • And if the Constitution didn’t matter, we probably would not have elections at all—even imperfect ones. Yet we continue to do so, year after year, because the Constitution requires it. And in the overwhelming majority of cases, the certified results reflect the election’s actual results.

  I could go on. Suffice to say that without the Constitution, America would be an entirely different place.

  Why the Inaccuracy Is Dangerous

  The inaccurate view that the Constitution doesn’t matter can have dangerous consequences. If we accept that view, then no one is bound to anything in the document. We have no legal basis for protest when an election has been corrupted or even canceled.

  If we believe “the Constitution doesn’t matter,” then we have no positive law basis for complaining about loss of rights to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, keeping and bearing arms, property—or any of the other hundreds of rights and rules we take for granted in daily life.

  Ideally, we should not take those rights and rules for granted. But on a day-to-day basis we are able to do so precisely because the Constitution matters so much.

  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
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 23:40

• These Are The Countries With The Most Students Studying Abroad
  These Are The Countries With The Most Students Studying Abroad

  The world’s two most populous nations, China and India, have the highest numbers of students studying overseas.

  Statista’s Anna Fleck reports that, according to data published by UNESCO, more than one million Chinese students were studying abroad in 2021. India’s total was close to half of this, with around 508,000 students living in other countries.

  Following some way behind come Vietnam, Germany and Uzbekistan.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  The United States was the largest destination country for students studying abroad with over 833,000 there in 2021. It was followed by the United Kingdom (nearly 601,000), Australia (around 378,000), Germany (over 376,000) and Canada (nearly 318,000).

  This data was published as part of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) 2024 World Migration Report, which provides an overview of the global state of migration using the latest available data, published Tuesday. This ranges from data on asylum seekers fleeing war to economic migrants seeking labor opportunities, and as this chart shows, to students living abroad.

  According to the report, the total number of internationally mobile students has been on the rise over the last two decades. UNESCO data reveals that where 2.2 million students were studying abroad in 2001, that figure had climbed to 6.39 million students in 2021.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 23:20

• Wisconsin Voter Roll Transparency Challenged By Public Interest Legal Foundation
  Wisconsin Voter Roll Transparency Challenged By Public Interest Legal Foundation

  Authored by Steven Kovac via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Public access to Wisconsin’s state voter roll is too restricted and too expensive, according to the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), a national election integrity watchdog organization.

  

  To remedy the situation, PILF is suing the Badger State’s chief election official, Meagan Wolfe, to reduce the $12,500 price for a digital copy of the state voter roll and to force her to provide the year of birth of the registrants on purchased data.

  Wisconsinite Peter Bernegger, a computer analyst from the election integrity organization Election Watch, told The Epoch Times that the $12,500 fee is a hardship and a deterrent for every grassroots watchdog group trying to keep regular tabs on Wisconsin’s “bloated and often inaccurate state voter roll.”

  A Federal Election Assistance Commission report found that, of the 622,370 address confirmation notices mailed to Wisconsin registrants between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022, 299,490 were returned as undeliverable.

  Like Election Watch, PILF uses state election roll data to analyze the activities and programs of state and local election officials to ensure the rolls are kept current and accurate according to law.

  In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin on April 30, 2024, PILF attorneys produced evidence in which the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) acknowledged on its website that effective and accurate public evaluation of its voter list maintenance activities is impossible because the public does not have access to date of birth information.

  Year of birth information is a key tool in confirming duplicate names on the voter list and eliminating ineligible registrations.

  Despite its acknowledgment, WEC is still refusing to provide PILF with the requested year of birth information in alleged violation of the National Voting Rights Act of 1993 (NVRA).

  The act requires states to “make available for public inspection and, where available photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.”

  WEC has repeatedly claimed that Wisconsin has been exempt from NVRA since it became law in 1993 because, before the statutory cut-off date of Aug. 1, 1994, the state had a same-day voter registration program in place that allowed all voters to register on Election Day.

  At the time, Wisconsin and six other states received NVRA exemptions for either having no voter registration at all or having same-day registration.

  North Dakota still has no voter registration for state and federal elections.

  According to the complaint, the year of birth data on the roll is a record subject to the NVRA’s public disclosure provision because, as noted above, the act says “all” election records must be made available for public inspection.

  PILF contends that, even though the privacy of the year of birth information is protected by Wisconsin statute, state law must give way to federal law because of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

  Prohibitive Fee An Obstacle

  Ms. Wolfe’s refusal to turn over the year of birth data and a digital copy of the state voter roll at a reasonable price is seen by PILF as an obstacle to Congress’ objectives outlined in the NVRA.

  

  Congress declared that one of the purposes of NVRA is to protect the integrity of the electoral process and to ensure that accurate and current voter registration rolls are maintained.

  Because it is purportedly exempted from the NVRA, Wisconsin is not required to make all voter list maintenance records public, nor is it required to limit records production fees to the cost of photocopying.

  PILF attorneys assert that Wisconsin’s NVRA exemption “is invalid with respect to the law’s public disclosure provision.”

  They cite the principle of equal state sovereignty, as affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder (2013), as a precedent to support their argument.

  “Because the NVRA’s Public Disclosure Provision exists to further the NVRA’s purposes and aid in its enforcement” it is as equally relevant to Wisconsin as it is to other states.

  “Congress designed the NVRA to protect the fundamental right to vote, remove unfair registration laws, protect the integrity of the electoral process, and maintain accurate voter rolls,” the complaint said.

  Wisconsin Should Not Be Exempt

  PILF argued that the injuries Congress sought to remedy by passing the NVRA are “equally prevalent” in Wisconsin as in other states.

  According to PILF, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Shelby County decision reaffirmed that all states enjoy equal sovereignty and that if Congress treats states differently, the differential treatment must be “sufficiently related to the problem [the statute] targets” and must “make sense in light of current conditions.”

  PILF is asking the Federal District Court to order, the defendant, Meagan Wolfe, to produce the Official Registration List to the foundation in electronic format without the payment of “unlawful costs.”

  In a written statement, PILF President J. Christian Adams said: “No state should be exempt from transparency. All states should be treated equally under the law and no exemption should allow certain election officials to hide documents relating to voter list maintenance activities.

  “This lawsuit is the first step to bringing the National Voter Registration Act’s transparency requirements to all 50 states.”

  Ms. Wolfe did not respond to a request for comment, but WEC spokesman Riley Vetterkind referred The Epoch Times to Wisconsin statutes that Ms. Wolfe is relying on as justification for her denial.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 23:00

• India Leads Global Inbound Remittances
  India Leads Global Inbound Remittances

  India received by far the highest international remittances of any country worldwide in 2022, according to World Bank data published in the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) 2024 World Migration Report on Tuesday. International remittances are defined as money sent from workers living abroad to their home countries. 

  Additionally, as Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, it is also the first country ever to have passed the $100 billion mark for inbound remittances. India was trailed some way behind by Mexico ($61.1 billion), which had toppled China ($51 billion) from the second position in 2021.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  The majority of the inflows for France and Germany, which appear in rank 5 and 10, respectively, are not household transfers but “relate to salaries of cross-border workers who work in Switzerland while residing in France or Germany”, according to the report.

  In terms of the top sources of international remittances, the United States ($79.15 billion in 2022), Saudi Arabia ($39.35 billion), Switzerland ($31.91 billion), Germany ($25.60 billion) and China ($18.26 billion) are the biggest senders.

  The UAE’s data was not published this year by the World Bank but would usually also appear in the top 10 list.

  According to the IOM, 2022 marks the first year that remittances have overtaken foreign direct investment in low- and middle-earning countries. International remittances have risen by 650 percent from $128 billion in 2000 to $831 billion in 2022. As with previous years, much of this ($647 billion) was received by low- and middle-income countries. Since the mid-1990s, remittance has also greatly surpassed Official Development Assistance, i.e. government aid designed to “promote the economic development and welfare of developing countries” .

  The writers of the report highlight that the World Bank’s global data on international remittances does not take into account unrecorded flows through formal or informal channels. This means the data provided is likely below the actual figures.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 22:40

• China Remains World's Biggest Jailer Of Journalists: World Press Freedom Index 2024
  China Remains World’s Biggest Jailer Of Journalists: World Press Freedom Index 2024

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

  

  As May 3 marked World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released its 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

  China ranked near the bottom—172nd among 180 countries and regions—while maintaining its title from the previous year as the world’s biggest jailer of journalists.

  RSF, the Paris-based international non-governmental organization dedicated to safeguarding freedom of information, said in the report that “in addition to detaining more journalists than any other country in the world,” the Chinese communist regime “continues to exercise strict control over information channels, implementing censorship and surveillance policies to regulate online content and restrict the spread of information deemed to be sensitive or contrary to the party line.”

  RSF also pointed out in the report that “China is the world’s largest jailer of journalists, with more than 100 currently detained.”

  Compared with last year’s ranking of 179th—second last place—China’s ranking this year has increased. However, the report indicated that the only reason for this slight upward movement in the rankings is the deterioration of situations in other countries and regions, such as in the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, rather than any improvement in China.

  The press freedom ranking of Hong Kong—which is controlled by the Chinese regime—this year has also increased slightly, to 135th place, which is higher than its 140th position in 2023. However, its freedom score dropped 1.8 points from last year’s 44.86 “due to an increase in the persecution of journalists under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020,” says the report. RSF explained, “Some countries’ rises in the Index are misleading inasmuch as their scores fell and the Index rises were the result of falls by countries previously above them.”

  Over 100 Chinese Writers Jailed

  Meanwhile, New York’s PEN America released its Freedom to Write Index 2023.

  The report, released on May 1, pointed out that China also remains the world’s leading jailer of writers and public intellectuals. “In 2023, China jumped above 100 cases, jailing 6 writers during the year for a total of 107. Of the total number of writers, 9 are female.”

  Among the 107 writers imprisoned, 50 were online commentators who post their opinions on a range of social, political, and economic topics on social media platforms. The report said that the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses the vague charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” to arrest and imprison them.

  

  Canada-based journalist and writer Sheng Xue told The Epoch Times on May 4 that the numbers published by these international organizations are just the few leaked out to the outside world under the CCP’s tight control of information.

  “No one knows how many journalists in China have been persecuted to death, how many have been secretly arrested, sentenced, persecuted, and tortured,“ Ms. Sheng said. ”The entire system of the CCP is a state-terrorist regime, which means not only the central committee of the CCP is an autocratic and authoritarian system, [but] all levels of its power operate the same as a dictatorial and tyrannical regime. Therefore, it is impossible for the outside world to know many incidents. It is difficult to collect statistics. To be honest, even [CCP leader] Xi Jinping does not know.”

  “I believe China is definitely the country where press freedom and freedom of speech are most severely persecuted in the world,” Ms. Sheng added. “Its political system enables it to reach such an extent.”

  Lai Jianping, a Chinese human rights lawyer who currently resides in the United States, told The Epoch Times on May 4 that press freedom and freedom of speech in China, including Hong Kong, are actually declining and deteriorating.

  “The reason why the CCP continues to tighten its control over speech is mainly because it is facing increasingly profound and unprecedented political, social, and economic crises. Its ruling status is threatened, and it wants to maintain one-party dictatorship and one-man dictatorship. Therefore, it continues to strengthen its control over all aspects of social life. So [suppressing] freedom of speech and freedom of the press are top priorities for the CCP and are the most important aspects of social life that it needs to control.”

  Chinese Citizen Journalists

  Chinese citizen journalists have also been targets of the Chinese regime’s suppression and persecution.

  Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan was sentenced to four years in prison for reporting the truth about the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan in 2020. Her sentence will be completed on May 13. RSF urges the international community to pay attention and put pressure on Beijing so that she can fully regain her freedom in a press release last month. Ms. Zhang was the winner of the RSF’s 2021 Prize for Courage.

  

  Wuhan citizen journalist Fang Bin has been released from prison for a year but continues to face harassment by CCP authorities. Currently, he faces eviction while his electricity and water have been cut off at his residence, as Wuhan police pressure his landlord. He may soon be forced to live on the streets.

  During the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan in February 2020, Mr. Fang posted his video reports on social media revealing the massive number of deaths at that time, which attracted widespread international attention. Later, he was arrested by the local police and sentenced to three years’ prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”

  

  Mr. Lai said, “Citizen journalists are a basic link in the entire freedom of press [ecosystem]. Not only the [Chinese] official media and official journalists’ freedom of speech and press freedom are suppressed, but private citizen journalists are also suppressed, and even more seriously.”

  He added, “There are fewer and fewer areas in which they can report and intervene, and there is almost no space for them. Because the CCP wants to monopolize the entire discourse system and right to discourse, there is basically no room for citizen journalists to survive.”

  Ms. Sheng said that at this point, “there are no citizen journalists in China any more. When we talk about freedom of press, freedom of speech, media freedom, etc. in China, the Communist Party has given us the best answer—it has already declared that the media is the CCP’s mouthpiece.”

  Luo Ya and Fang Xiao contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 22:20

• MQ-9 Reaper Drone, At $30 Million A Pop, Top's Zelensky's Wish List
  MQ-9 Reaper Drone, At $30 Million A Pop, Top’s Zelensky’s Wish List

  Because it’s never enough… Ukraine is now eyeing the US-made MQ-9 Reaper even while Kiev awaits F-16 deliveries from the West.

  It is the latest long-range weapon system being sought by the Zelensky government. Politico has reported that the $30 million drone has moved to the top of Kiev’s arms shopping ‘wish list’.

  

  “Ukraine is increasingly interested in obtaining the MQ-9 Reaper spy drone from the U.S., bumping it up to the top of its wish list in recent months as it plans operations for the summer and seeks new ways to help identify Russian targets deep behind the front lines,” the report indicates.

  “Since the early days of the war, the Reaper has been a priority for Kyiv as it sought to use them for strike and surveillance missions,” Politico continues. “But recently, Ukraine has dialed back that request and is mainly interested in using Reapers only for reconnaissance, according to four people familiar with the issue who were granted anonymity to discuss the new strategy.”

  Ukrainian officials who now claim the Reaper would be used “only for reconnaissance” appear to in reality to be creating political cover for the Biden administration. US officials might otherwise be fearful of the risks.

  At $30 million a piece, the MQ-9 would be a prime target for the Russians to shoot down. In 2023 the Pentagon lost a Reaper over the Black Sea after an encounter with Russian fighter jets. A jet dumbed its fuel on the drone, after which the drone crashed, and later the Russian navy recovered the wreckage.

  The Pentagon has also lost three MQ-9 drones over Yemen and the Red Sea of late. A deep reluctance to see them shot down over Ukraine is likely a main reason the US is still holding back. The drone is typically equipped with expensive Hellfire missiles and other advanced defense tech.

  But, the Biden administration has more recently seemed to back off its prior insistence that Ukraine not strike inside Russian territory…

  Kirby says “if Russia is worried to be hit by western weapons they should just leave.”
  pic.twitter.com/ioLbfrw3Ae

  — The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) May 7, 2024

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

  Already Ukraine forces are newly receiving the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which has the longest range of anything supplied from Washington thus far.

  Meanwhile, UK leadership is positively encouraging strikes deep inside Russian territory. This has elicited a strong response from Moscow who has also stepped up its aerial attack especially on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and military command and control centers, including in Odessa of late.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 22:00

• Trudeau Government Offers Free Access To National Parks For Migrants Only
  Trudeau Government Offers Free Access To National Parks For Migrants Only

  Via The Post Millennial,

  Parks Canada has decided to offer a real break in 2024 for people looking to enjoy some of Canada’s glorious outdoors and backwoods.

  

  But only people who are newcomers and new Canadian citizens. In a Parks Canada post, the federal government agency announced that there will be “Free admission for newcomers to Canada and new Canadian citizens” in 2024. That applies to any park in Canada, from B.C. to Newfound and Labrador and there is no indication that free access is limited.

  Other Canadians will continue to pay $151.25 for a season’s pass for up to seven family members or $75.25 for an individual season’s pass that is good for any federally owned park. A day pass for what is perhaps the best-known national park in Canada – in Banff, AB – is $11 a day.

  Parks Canada lauds the deal on its site under the heading of “Explore spectacular Parks Canada places.”

  “Using the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s Canoo mobile app, enjoy free admission to all places administered by Parks Canada across the country for one full year.

  “Visit one of Canada’s national historic sites, each telling a unique story to piece together the defining moments in the story of Canada.

  “Get back to nature and unwind amidst the spectacular scenery in Canada’s national parks and marine conservation areas.

  “Celebrate your arrival in Canada or your citizenship with great Canadian experiences. Check out some of the most awesome places in Canada. We look forward to welcoming you!”

  However, Parks Canada does not define its terminology for those getting free access.

  How “new” does a “new Canadian” need to be to be entitled to the deal? By definition, a new Canadian is a “recent immigrant” to Canada. But that is hardly specific.

  And a newcomer to Canada can mean a “permanent resident” who is expecting someday to be a citizen; a refugee, who has been granted that status by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or a “temporary resident,” who can include foreign students or temporary foreign workers.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 21:40

• Romney Cites Anti-Israel Posts As Latest Reason To Ban TikTok
  Romney Cites Anti-Israel Posts As Latest Reason To Ban TikTok

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  In a conversation with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) acknowledged that banning TikTok has such strong support in Congress because the social media platform has hurt Israel’s public relations battle.

  “Some wonder why there was such overwhelming support for us to shut down, potentially, TikTok or other entities of that nature,” Romney said at the McCain Institute this past Friday. “If you look at the postings on TikTok and the number of mentions of Palestinians relative to other social media sites, it’s overwhelmingly so among TikTok broadcasts.”

  Blinken admits that the TikTok ban was motivated by the Israeli PR failure pic.twitter.com/EbPkPtSPP1

  — What the media hides. (@narrative_hole) May 5, 2024

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

  The official justification for targeting TikTok is the thus far unfounded allegation that it’s a Chinese spy tool because its parent company, ByteDance, is based in China.

  But Romney’s comments suggest the real purpose of the renewed push to ban the app after a similar effort failed years ago was to censor news coming out of Gaza and pro-Palestinian content.

  Blinken blamed social media in general when asked by Romney why Israel was losing the global PR war. Palestinian journalists have been able to broadcast to the whole world the atrocities committed by Israel in Gaza using social media, including graphic videos of dead or wounded children being dug out of rubble following an Israeli airstrike.

  “Now, of course, we’re on an intravenous feed of information with new impulses, inputs every millisecond,” Blinken said.

  “And, of course, the way this has played out on social media has dominated the narrative. You have a social media ecosystem, environment in which context, history, facts get lost and the emotion, the impact of images dominate. We can’t discount that, but I think it also has a very very challenging effect on the narrative.”

  A bill to ban TikTok was included in the $95 billion foreign military spending package President Biden signed into law last month. The legislation gives ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok, or else it will get banned. But ByteDance has vowed to fight the ban in court and said it would rather shutdown TikTok than sell.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 21:20

• Bad-Loans Hit Record-High As Used-Car Prices Suffer Worst Bear-Market Ever
  Bad-Loans Hit Record-High As Used-Car Prices Suffer Worst Bear-Market Ever

  A bear market in the used car market was confirmed in November and has since worsened through April. At the same time, negative equity values are hitting new record highs while auto insurance rates have soared the most since the mid-1970s. While gas prices at the pump are elevated, the environment to operate a vehicle is probably one of the worst ever. Just listen to Gen-Z and millennial users on X bitch and moan about $1,000 monthly car payments and other absurd costs associated with driving.

  The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index fell to 198.4 in April, a 14% drop from one year ago. This is the index’s lowest print since the first quarter of 2021. As for the bear market, the index is down 23% from the high and quickly falling – there could be air pockets given the rapid upward moves three years ago – and that demand has been suppressed given a high-interest rate environment. 

  

  All vehicle segments of the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index experienced seasonally adjusted prices that were down double digits year over year in April. Luxury was the only segment that was not hit the hardest, down just 12.9%. The worst-performing segment was compact cars, down 17.6% compared with last year, followed by midsize cars, down 16.8%, and pickups, down 15.2%. EVs were down 17.5%.

  

  This is a significant worry for millions of Americans who bought cars during the pandemic mania, which basically involved spending free money provided by the Federal Reserve, only now discovering that their loans are plunging into underwater territory. 

  According to a recent Edmunds note, 20% of new vehicle sales involving a trade-in had negative equity during the October-through-December period—the highest level since 2021. 

  Negative equity values soared to a new record high of $6,064 during the period, a massive 46% increase from late 2021. 

  We warned readers in 2023 about the worsening negative equity situation for heavily indebted drivers: 

  • Negative Equity Surges: More Consumers Find Themselves In Underwater Auto Loans
  • Number Of Americans In Upside-Down Auto Loans Continues To Worsen

  Adding to the financial stress for drivers, there’s also the concern that Joe Biden’s sticky inflation continues to send auto insurance rates to the highest levels since the inflation shitstorm in the mid-1970s. 

  

  We’ve pointed out that ridiculous repair bills for newer vehicles (cough, cough, EVs) are likely the main reason rates are higher. 

  • Rivian Owner Shocked By $41,000 Repair Bill For Minor Damage
  • “Shocking Number”: Rivian Owner Sees $42,000 Repair Bill For Minor Accident

  Right now, drivers are paralyzed as the average used car auto loans tracked by Bankrate surged again – now exceeding 8.5%.

  

  The average new car loan has reached a record high of $40,000. 

  

  In recent months, Joseph Yoon, consumer insights analyst for Edmunds, told Bloomberg: 

  “We’re in this situation where combined with the cost of the vehicles being so high and the interest rates being so historically high, you have a lot of people who are in bad car loans.” 

  To Yoon’s point, the percentage of subprime auto borrowers at least 60 days past due in September topped 6.11%, the highest ever. 

  

  Out of all this gloom and doom for drivers. There’s good news on the inflation front: falling Manheim used car prices will only result in a lower future print for the US CPI Used Car index. 

  

  So the big question is when will the bear market in used car prices bottom? 

  Car owners should certaily not be looking for any bailouts from The Fed anytime soon (or Biden, who is too busy paying off student loans). Higher rates and longer is the theme, no matter the jawboning, with less than two cuts now priced in for the whole of 2024 (down from over seven at the start of the year).

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 20:40

• China's 2022 Military Spending Reaches $710 Billion, Over Triple What Beijing Announced
  China’s 2022 Military Spending Reaches $710 Billion, Over Triple What Beijing Announced

  By Frank Fang of Epoch Times

  China’s communist regime spent $710.6 billion on its military in 2022, more than three times Beijing’s publicly stated totals, according to a report from the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

  “Considering that the Pentagon has labeled China the ‘pacing challenge,’ this revelation should cause concern,” the April 29 report reads.

  “When compared globally, China’s estimated $711 billion military budget illustrates that China is more of a ‘pacing threat’ than a ‘pacing challenge.’”

  Mackenzie Eaglen, a senior fellow at the AEI and the author of the report, explained that she came up with the figure based on her calculation after accounting for economic adjustments, including cheaper labor costs in China, and estimating “reasonable but uncounted expenditures.”

  

  In 2022, the Chinese regime announced that its defense spending for the year would be $229 billion.

  Beijing’s self-reported military spending should also include the money that it spent on its paramilitary organizations, Ms. Eaglen wrote, since these groups “are increasingly used in tandem with” the regime’s military, which is officially called the People’s Liberation Army.

  She estimated that Beijing spent $45.2 billion on its People’s Armed Police Force and $2.1 billion on its China Coast Guard in 2022.

  China doesn’t include other relevant expenditures related to its space forces, military satellites, or counter-space capabilities in its defense budget, according to the report.

  “Given many satellites’ inherent dual-use capability and Beijing’s general adherence to a strategy of military-civil fusion in space policy, AEI’s model counted this entire budget as a military expenditure,” the report reads.

  Ms. Eaglen estimated that China’s space budget in 2022 could have been $21 billion.

  Other hidden expenditures included spending on military demobilization, retirement, and pensions, which the author estimated to total $46.1 billion. China likely spent more than $1.8 billion on continued construction of military facilities in the South China Sea and arms imports, according to the report.

  A portion of the $711 billion spending also included military research and development expenditures, which Ms. Eaglen estimated to be $45.8 billion. However, she noted that the estimated military research and development spending could be much higher, considering the regime’s military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy, cyberespionage operations, and reliance on state-owned companies.

  “If fully evaluated, Beijing’s expenditures via military-civil fusion and dual-use technology investments prove even the much larger $711 billion figure underestimates China’s military investments,” the report reads.

  “Pacing Challenge”

  The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using the MCF strategy to acquire cutting-edge technologies, such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

  According to the State Department, the regime is implementing the strategy through “licit and illicit means,” such as theft, to achieve military dominance. Private companies, joint research institutes, and academia are “being exploited” to help the CCP’s military advance, often “without their knowledge or consent,” the department warned.

  “In just the past decade, however, China has managed to rapidly build sophisticated missile forces, surpass the United States by building the largest navy in the world, and catch up to and even exceed the United States in many other key national security areas,” the report reads.

  “By calculating the true buying power behind the Chinese military budget, it’s easy to understand how Beijing can continue this unprecedented military buildup while, on paper, appearing to spend much less.”

  In comparison, the United States spent $742.2 billion on its military in 2022, excluding supplemental spending, according to the report.

  However, Ms. Eaglen noted that the approximately equal spending level between the two countries “plays to Beijing’s benefit.”

  Continue reading at the Epoch Times

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 20:20

• Russian Fuel Cargos Pile Up at Sea as South Korean Buyers Grow Cautious
  Russian Fuel Cargos Pile Up at Sea as South Korean Buyers Grow Cautious

  By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

  Russian oil product cargos are piling up at sea as their South Korean buyers grow reluctant to go through with their deals amid a government crackdown on sanction evasion, Bloomberg has reported, citing unnamed sources.

  

  According to Kpler data, there are over 2 million barrels of Russian naphtha sitting off the coast of Oman, which is significantly higher than the weekly average for January and February, which came in at some 790,000 barrels.

  The Bloomberg sources said that the buildup was caused by the South Korean government’s closer scrutiny of incoming fuel cargos, which has made local refiners and petrochemical producers wary of buying Russian naphtha.

  The tightening sanctions on Russia’s oil exports are raising freight costs for moving Russian crude. The estimated direct cost to deliver Russian cargoes now is around 6-8% of the price of a barrel of crude leaving the western ports in Russia for Asia, according to data from commodity price reporting agency Argus crunched by Bloomberg.

  Argus estimated in March that shipping a barrel of Russian crude from a port in the Baltic Sea to China has cost around $14.50 since December, with more than half of this per-barrel cost attributable to the Western sanctions.

  The likely directly related-to-sanction cost to hire tankers to transport Russian oil is estimated at about $773 million since the end of December 2023, based on shipments tracked by Bloomberg.

  Before the war in the Ukraine Russia was the top supplier of naphtha for South Korean petrochemicals makers but the war has changed this, per the Bloomberg report. Now South Korean plastics producers are importing more naphtha from places such as the UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, and Tunisia. South Korean processors are also importing more naphtha from Kuwait and Oman.

  Russia, for its part, is shipping more naphtha to China, according to Kpler, as well as Taiwan. Last month, Russian imports accounted for more than half of the total naphtha shipments that Taiwan took in.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 20:00

• The Marine Corps That Should Have Been
  The Marine Corps That Should Have Been

  Authored by Gary Anderson via RealClearPolitics,

  Say what one wants about the Israeli incursion into Gaza, but not a single rocket or missile has been fired from what is left of it since the start of fighting. Compare this with the relative ineffectiveness of American efforts stop Yemen’s Houthis from slinging missiles at shipping in the Red Sea. The difference is simply geography. The Israelis simply have to cross fencing and concrete barriers to directly confront their attackers, the Palestinians of Hamas.

  

  If U.S. wanted to launch such a large scale punitive operation against the Houthis, it would have to be done from the sea with a large scale amphibious assault. An amphibious assault of this scale, requiring sea borne tanks, assault engineers and bridging capabilities that have been divested by the U.S. Marine Corps. Instead, the Marine Corps is building a defensive force built around anti-ship missiles designed primarily to contain the Chinese Navy.

  This defensive force is a stark departure from former Marine Corps Commandant Al Gray’s vision to modernize the Marine Corps for future wars.

  Back in the 1980s, General Gray had a vision for what he called Over the Horizon (OTH) operations using tilt rotor aircraft, long range helicopters, more capable long-range amphibious vehicles, and air cushioned landing craft. Gray realized that advanced defensive weapons would make traditional linear amphibious operations launched just offshore problematical, but OTH would enable landing in column in places that the enemy did not expect. Gray had the Marine Corps experiment with these capabilities. Throughout the nineties, numerous war games and field experiments took place to explore the physical and intellectual challenges. OTH gradually evolved into Operational Maneuver from the Sea (OMFTS) and a whole new philosophy of littoral campaigning.

  In traditional amphibious operations a relatively small portion of potential landing sites in the world’s littorals were open to the kind of linear landings done at Normandy and Iwo Jima. It was relatively easy for a defender to determine which beaches were vulnerable to amphibious landings. OMFTS were designed to open over seventy percent of littorals by landing in column across remote locations such as boat ramps and small coves with access to paths inland. This made the defense against OMTFS far more difficult.

  To achieve OMFTS, we planned to use a grid of small micro-robotic ground scouts located at key road intersections, choke points, and bridges. The robotic sensors would give the landing force a map to exploit the gaps in enemy defenses as well as be able to designate targets at enemy strong points and call-in accurate fire on them. We called this advanced reconnaissance and scouting system the Reconnaissance-Surveillance-Target Acquisition (RSTA) Grid. Platforms such as the V-22 Osprey and heavy lift helicopters such as the CH-53E could give a vertical over-the-horizon dimension to this “expanding torrent” of operational capability with the RSTA Grid identifying safe landing zones.

  OMFTS and RSTA would only require small assault force initially that would not need an “iron mountain” of logistical supplies on the beach before moving inland. Just-in-time logistics would keep the initial landing force moving until more traditional beaches and ports could be opened by attacking them from the rear. During the initial operation, fire support would come from precision strike until more conventional artillery could come ashore.

  One key element that made OMFTS different from traditional amphibious operations and more compatible with the existing Marine Corps’ maneuver warfare approaches, was flexibility. Once the line of departure was crossed in traditional operations, the force was committed; it was “do or die for old Semper Fi.” We saw OMFTS as giving us the ability to launch several probes. The most promising would become the main effort. The rest could be withdrawn or remain for a while as deception to confuse opposing forces. Worst case, the operation could be scrapped enabling us to choose a more promising set of operational targets without causing a Gallipoli-like debacle. 

  This amphibious blitzkrieg would be led by relatively small, fast moving task-organizations comprised of elements from infantry and armored battalions. However, more traditional infantry, armored, and artillery units would be needed to defend the eventual force beachhead, assist army follow-on forces in sustained operations ashore, and potential counterinsurgency operations.

  All these years of planning never led to the radically reduced Marine Corps that we have today. By 2020, there should have been newer and better tanks, artillery, and amphibious vehicles as part of ongoing Marine Corps modernization, but I came to believe that OMFTS could initially be accomplished with existing Navy LCACs, Ospreys, and CH-53Es. The Advanced Armored Amphibious Vehicle (AAAV) was a failure, but I think most of us came to believe that its absence would not be an operational “showstopper”.

  The real technological challenges were in the robotic sensors needed for the RSTA grid, sufficient over-the-horizon communications, some advanced naval mine clearing capabilities (with unmanned underwater systems), and some enhanced just-in-time logistics assets. None of these things were science fiction, and the technologists assured us were doable by 2020 and have been used during the current Russo-Ukrainian war.

  We needed to use surrogates for war games and field experiments to simulate OMFTS.

  In 1998, a small Special Purpose Marine Corps Marine Air Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) conducted an over-the-horizon landing in column from the USS Germantown across a boat ramp in Okinawa using Landing Craft Air Cushioned (LCACs) and long range CH 53 helicopters. Later that year, a MAGTF staff from III MEF used LAVs in a force-on-force operation against a Red Team led by students from the Expeditionary Warfare School -also employing LAVs- on the peninsulas of the Virginia Capes. The surrogate RSTA Grid allowed the Blue force to land in an unexpected location and maneuver quickly to defeat the Red Force. Other war games conducted during the period caused us to believe that OMFTS would provide wicked problems to future opponents. By the turn of the century, many of us in the developmental and experimental community believed that OMFTS could be fully implemented within two decades. Indeed, the technologies needed all exist today. What we did not envision was 9/11 and General Berger.

  The root of the problem really goes back to 2001 and the 9/11 attacks. At that point, the George W. Bush administration undertook the war in Afghanistan and in 2003 invaded Iraq. The Marine Corps was forced put aside its work on the next Marine Corps to support the war effort, which lasted until 2019 when virtually all conventional units had left Afghanistan. Many serving and former marines hoped to finally get back to work on OMFTS, but the new commandant at the time, General David Berger, had another vision that the dubbed Force Design 2030. OMFTS might have evolved differently if General Berger had chosen that path; the name might even have changed, but OMFTS remains the Marine Corps that could have been, particularly for operations other than island hoping in China’s first island chain.

  If it had been allowed to evolve, OMFTs would have been the perfect tool to suppress threats such as the Houthis at the source. A group of retired general officers calling themselves Chowder II have put together an alternate approach to Force Design for the Corps that they call Vision 2035; much of it is based on work done before 2001. Commandants come and go, but the Marine Corps continues to look forward. Under new leadership, Vision 2035 may again include OMFTS or something like it.

  Gary Anderson was heavily involved in OMFTS design and experimentation as the Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 19:40

• FBI File On Jeff Bezos' Grandfather, A DARPA Co-Founder, Has Been Destroyed
  FBI File On Jeff Bezos’ Grandfather, A DARPA Co-Founder, Has Been Destroyed

  What’s not widely known is that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ grandfather, Lawrence Preston Gise, helped form the Pentagon’s supersecret Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA—renamed DARPA) in 1958. Years later, DARPA developed the internet and spurred breakthroughs in high-speed networking, voice recognition, and internet search. 

  

  One year before Gise died in 1995, Bezos founded Amazon in the garage of his Bellevue, Washington home.

  

  Or so we’re told… 

  

  John Greenewald Jr., who operates The Black Vault, a website dedicated to revealing declassified government documents through obtaining Freedom of Information Act requests, posted on X that he went after Gise’s “FBI file, but found out if there was one, it has been destroyed.” 

  

  🚨L.P. Gise was Jeff Bezos’ grandfather. In the late ’50s, he helped found what would become DARPA. In the early-mid ’60s, he headed the AEC’s 7 state, 26,000 employee operation.

  I went after his FBI file, but found out if there was one, it has been destroyed.#FOIA pic.twitter.com/RdIlpsx3XB

  — John Greenewald, Jr. (@blackvaultcom) May 6, 2024

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

  News website Leading Report’s Patrick Webb commented on Greenewald’s findings, saying, “There has long been speculation that DARPA has been involved in the creation of many popular big tech companies, using “frontmen” for the allusion of a startup led by outsiders.” 

  There has long been speculation that DARPA has been involved in the creation of many popular big tech companies, using “frontmen” for the allusion of a startup led by outsiders.

  — Patrick Webb (@RealPatrickWebb) May 6, 2024

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

  With the contents of Gise’s FBI file unlikely to ever be unearthed and likely never destroyed, just inaccessible to FOIA requests or the public, other X users commented on Webb’s and Greenewald’s posts, pointing out how DARPA possibly created other big tech firms: 

  DARPA created FB too.

  — Jessica Rojas 🇺🇸💪 (@catsscareme2021) May 7, 2024

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

  We know Facebook is a “cancelled program” out of the DOD… if you look at bill gates family you find similar stuff.

  This “theory” is more confirmed every day

  — Scott (@Scott89947486) May 7, 2024

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

  LifeLog——>Facebook

  — Human Clay (@prayerw62758802) May 7, 2024

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

  Questions swirl about DARPA’s involvement in creating Amazon, given Bezos’ grandfather’s connection to the secret agency. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 19:20

• Rural Western North Carolina Community Protests 'Covert' Plans For EV Battery Plant
  Rural Western North Carolina Community Protests ‘Covert’ Plans For EV Battery Plant

  Authored by Matt McGregor via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A group of residents in western North Carolina are protesting their county board’s lack of transparency over furtive moves to welcome an electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing the residents believe would pollute their waters and ruin their scenic countryside.

  

  In October 2023, the North Carolina state legislature allocated $35.8 million to Burke Development Inc. for the purchase of a 1,400-acre property on which to build an industrial megasite in Burke and McDowell counties.

  Though the all-Republican board of Burke County Commissioners has made no official decision on approving an EV battery plant to be built within the megasite, Alan Wood, the CEO of Burke Development, alluded to the site’s potential for such a project, according to a local media report.

  Mr. Wood listed several EV manufacturing plants sprouting up in the Southeast because of their proximity to a lithium mine in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, which a Charlotte-based chemical manufacturing Albemarle Corporation is set to reopen by 2026 with the help of a $90 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defence.

  Since reports surfaced of the development, an organization called the Stop Burke-Lake James Megasite (Stop BLJM) was formed.

  A petition with 2,859 signatures is circulating while Stop BLJM members speak out in county commissioner meetings.

  In February, Burke County Manager Brian Epley held a Fireside Chat in response to the criticism in which he argued that there’s misinformation surrounding the project and that it’s a more minimal design than what’s been broadcast by those in opposition.

  He pointed to country trends that highlight a need for economic development while addressing the dimensions of the project itself.

  Economic development within the megasite will create jobs and increase the tax base in a county that will see challenges in the future with maintaining its workforce and population while facing current issues with “pockets of poverty,” he said.

  Great Meadows, LLC., owns 1,400 acres of land comprising 14 parcels zoned for industrial, residential, and commercial use.

  He said the largest parcel of land is 550 acres, 440 of which is zoned industrial, and the remaining 110 general business.

  Out of the 550 acres, the commissioners decided that 165 acres could be developed for manufacturing, he said.

  “From an economic development lens, that provides more than enough area to put the needed square footage there to make this a transformational economic development project to create the jobs that would be meaningful to Burke County and to create the tax base that would be meaningful to Burke County,” he said.

  This future development would comprise 30 percent of the property, while 70 percent would remain undeveloped.

  This undeveloped land would be used for the buffering of noise and light pollution, with room for setbacks for stream remediation and “innovative stormwater retention” that would keep the water source clean while maintaining a natural environment and wildlife habitat, he said.

  ‘Nature’s Playground’

  However, Stop BLJM members aren’t convinced.

  Lake James is where tourists come to recreate and residents live for a reason: its quiet rolling hills, panoramic clear skies, clean water, fresh mountain air, and rural community—unlike the more populated cities of Asheville and Charlotte. 

  An EV battery plant would “devastate the area,” according to Stop BLJM members who spoke with The Epoch Times.

  And the commissioners are making their decisions without any input from the residents, they said.

  “It’s clear to me that it’s a boondoggle for personal gain of all of these local politicians, not for the benefit of those in the county or living nearby,” said Daniel Oberer, who owns a home in the area.

  According to a report from the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, the Lake James Environmental Association, and the Catawba Riverkeepers, Lake James is already “a major economic driver” for the region and home to Lake James State Park in the city of Morganton, which takes in “over half a million visitors annually.”

  Lake James is a 10.2 square mile reservoir with over 150 miles of shoreline that makes contact with the Pisgah National Forest.

  It was engineered by Duke Power in the early 20th century to serve as a hydroelectric project and named for Duke University benefactor James Duke.

  “The lake is also fed by and drains into the Catawba River, classified by the State as ‘trout waters,’ and is a popular paddling and fishing destination,” the report stated. “The Catawba River and surrounding subwatershed areas are classified as a ‘water supply watershed for the City of Morganton.”

  A tributary of the Catawba River near Lake James called the Muddy Creek borders some of the parcels of the Great Meadows property, the report said.

  Having an EV battery plant on the watershed that could drain chemicals into a water supply for 26 counties downstream is just too risky, Stop BLJM members said.

  “We’re doing everything we can to stop it because once it goes in, the area will never be the same,” said Mr. Oberer.

  From Lake James tourists can see the tallest peak of the Appalachian Mountains called Mount Mitchell, which reaches 6,684 feet above sea level and is ranked as the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River.

  The area has come to be known as “Nature’s Playground” to locals and tourists alike.

  The people fighting the development range from locals who fear their way of life will be irreparably destroyed to those who aren’t from the area but own properties there, Mr. Oberer said.

  “We all have this common love for the area and common desire to protect God’s natural beauty, and to keep it for future generations to enjoy,” he said.

  ‘It’s Just a Bad Idea’

  Bill Connell, who started the Stop BLJM petition on Change.org, said the commissioners have been “extremely covert.”

  “They started this process well over two years ago and we knew nothing about it until last October, so we’re just defending ourselves at this point,” Mr. Connell said. “Now we’re looking into legal counsel and trying to get the public educated.”

  Burke County residents have been kept in the dark, Roxanne Reep Fleetwood said.

  “We go to meetings, we speak, and then the meetings are dismissed,” Ms. Fleetwood said, adding that the only ones who will benefit from the project are a few people in government and the landowner.

  “The glaring problem with this is its location in the Catawba River basin for the Catawba River,” she said. “It’s what feeds our wells. It’s water that everyone drinks from. It goes 26 counties downstream. They can have every intention of keeping people safe but there’s no guarantee.”

  In April, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a report finding the South Korean SK Battery Commerce plant in Commerce, Georgia—initially celebrated for its advancement in the Biden administration’s green energy initiative—had exposed employees to toxic chemical fumes even after they had suffered “potentially permanent respiratory damage” in an October 2023 fire.

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited SK Battery for five violations.

  Those violations included exposing workers to hydrofluoric acid, failing to train them on hazardous chemicals with respiratory hazards, and failing to train them on extinguishing lithium battery fires.

  Ignited by the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, a battery belt is beginning to loop itself throughout the Southeast despite a lack of enthusiasm for EV cars.

  According to the Pew Research Center, about half of consumers report they are unlikely to buy an EV vehicle, citing little confidence in the country’s infrastructure to support them.

  Reports of charging issues in extreme weather, long waits at charging stations, and car malfunctions have slowed the EV industry’s progress since the Biden administration’s war on carbon emissions that scholars who question the narrative argue is erroneously blamed for what others believe to be climate change.

  In addition to an EV battery plant, a Norfolk Southern rail line would need to be constructed to the plant that would pass near residents’ homes and wetlands, presumably carrying lithium and other chemical elements, Ms. Fleetwood said.

  The railroad company has a poor safety record, which includes its 2022 derailment leading to a chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, Ms. Fleetwood said.

  According to a 2023 report, Norfolk Southern has seen an average of 163.6 derailments and 2.9 hazardous material releases annually.

  “You can’t keep your water clean with a rail line that has a poor safety record that may be transporting lithium,” Ms. Fleetwood said. “And you can’t have tourism if the factory is at your gateway to this massive amount of unspoiled beautiful land which acts as a filter cleaning the water running into the Catawba River. It’s just a bad idea.”

  Then there are the chemical elements—cadmium, lithium, magnesium, and cobalt—that must be expelled through the vent systems into the air and back into the ground, she said, which will ultimately find itself in the groundwater.

  There are better ways for the commissioners to invest the taxpayers’ money, she said, such as spreading it throughout the county to facilitate the tourism industry that rivals what the EV plant would make without harming the environment or changing the character of the region.

  “We are known for tourism and if this site is developed, all of that will go away,” Ms. Fleetwood said. 

  ‘Why All of This Deception?’

  Joanna Kentch, another Stop BLJM member, has several questions related to the ethics of how the project has been handled, like who approved the funding for the megasite, where the money came from, why Commissioner Chairman Jeff Brittain and County Manager Brian Epley are on the Burke Development board that took the $35.6 million from the state, and why it seems the commissioners aren’t listening to the residents.

  “Why all of this deception, not telling us exactly what they plan to build on that site?” she asked. “They are using public funds and the taxpayers have every right to know what their money is being used for.”

  Ms. Kentch said that since the October 2023 article alluding to the county’s ambitions for EV battery plant, the commissioners have been back-peddling and that the $35.6 million is just the beginning of what will cost taxpayers millions more to make the site “shovel-ready.”

  “They’ve been trying to take back these damning statements which was the primary reason the residents of Burke County got so upset,” Ms. Kentch said.

  Ms. Kentch said the Fireside Chat was a mere “dog and pony show” in an attempt to frame the narrative around economic development.

  “There are a lot of other ways to create jobs, and not at the expense of environmental disaster,” Ms. Kentch said.

  In April, the commissioners rezoned the county to “conditional,” a proposal not recommended by the county planning board because “the language was too subjective,” according to Ms. Kentch.

  The document states that a conditional zoning district “may be more or less restrictive” than general zoning.

  “This means they can approve whatever they want, from residential to industrial, as with the case of the megasite,” Ms. Kentch said. “Now they can turn the remaining parcels to industrial without going through the steps of getting public comment before approving a rezoning application.”

  According to Mr. Epley in his Fireside Chat, conditional rezoning means that the commissioners can regulate development standards such as uses, buffers, setbacks, and road access.

  “However, Epley doesn’t mention that they can also approve dangerous access options such as railroad spurs, heavy industrial manufacturing uses, and other developments which would be considered hazardous and subject to public scrutiny under general zoning guidelines,” Ms. Kentch said.

  For Ms. Kentch and other members of Stop BLJM, the rezoning was just another move by the county to pave the way for an EV battery factory while ignoring the opposition of Burke County residents.

  Ms. Kentch said the issue over the megasite has led to two longtime commissioners getting voted out of office.

  Stop BLJM-backed Republican candidates Brian Barrier and Mike Stroud won the primary election in March and now await the general election in November when the state will also choose between Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democrat state Attorney General Josh Stein for governor, bringing Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper’s two terms to a close.

  ‘They Think They Just Know Better’

  Mr. Barrier was born and raised in Burke County. He served in the U.S. Army before later becoming the owner and publisher of Blue Ridge Christian News.

  He told The Epoch Times that, as a conservative, he was fed up with big spending in government.

  He ran a survey on social media to gauge residents’ view of the megasite project and found that out of 300 to 400 responses, “an overwhelming majority” were against it, he said.

  He said a government board’s function is to provide essential services, adding that beyond that, government officials risk transgressing their roles as employees who work for the citizens who hired them.

  “The commissioners have continued to build buildings, buy property, and overspend,” Mr. Barrier said. “I’m not saying everything they’ve done is terrible, but it’s not been fiscally conservative in providing essential services to the county.”

  And like many local government projects, it’s done with “little transparency,” Mr. Barrier said.

  He referenced South Carolina state Rep. Adam Morgan’s speech in the legislature highlighting what’s become a great divide between politicians and their constituents, who “want their tax money spent on core government functions” such as roads and schools instead of billion-dollar big corporation projects.

  “They don’t want us in here trying to play this government planning thing where we in our bureaus can figure out where the jobs should be, who should be employed, how much money should be allocated where in the private sector,” he said. “It never works. It’s socialism. It’s never worked anywhere before, so what are we doing trying to do it here?”

  Mr. Barrier said he couldn’t have said it better himself.

  “These people get elected and then they think they just know better what’s best for the citizens regardless of what the citizens want,” Mr. Barrier said.  

  If he had found that a majority of residents wanted an EV battery plant, he would have—despite his personal opinions—campaigned in favor of the development, he said.

  But this isn’t the case, he added, and Stop BLJM may be putting the commissioners in a position where they will “be forced to listen.”

  “I think they’ve brought up enough awareness and they may keep enough pressure on them that things will have to change,” Mr. Barrier said.

  The Epoch Times contacted Burke County Manager Epley for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 19:00

• Stan Druckenmiller Gives Bidenomics An "F"  
  Stan Druckenmiller Gives Bidenomics An “F”  

  Billionaire investor and Duquesne Family Office Chairman & CEO Stan Druckenmiller slammed Bidenomics and warned the Federal Reserve and federal government “misdiagnosed Covid and thought it was — we were going into a depression.”

  Druckenmiller has been irritated by the massive fiscal spending by the federal government, which we outlined last year as a “stealth stimulus” propelling Bidenomics. Meanwhile, Fed chair Jerome Powell has enabled the Bidenomics disaster as the government spends $1 trillion every 100 days. Now, with stagflationary threats emerging, the US economic situation is quickly deteriorating. 

  CNBC Joe Kernen asked Druckenmiller: 

  Let me ask you how this plays into to — it’s another I think issue of being, you know, things are going, well, and then we totally overspent in terms of fiscally as well in Bidenomics.

  Druckenmiller responded:

  If I was a professor, I’d give them an F. Basically, they misdiagnosed COVID and thought it was — we were going into a depression. The Fed did, too. I worried about it, too, in early days. The Fed eventually pivoted, better late than never. Treasury — Treasury is still acting like we’re in a depression. It’s interesting because I’ve studied the Great Depression and you had a private sector crippled with debt, with basically no new ideas. So interventionist policies were called for and were effective.

  The private sector could not be more different today than it was in the Great Depression. Their balance sheets are fine. They’re healthy. And have you ever seen more innovative ideas that the private sector could take advantage of? Now, you got Blockchain, you got AI, you’ve got the whole thing.

  All government needed to do was get out of their way and let them innovate. Instead, they’ve spent and spent and spent, and my new fear now is that spending and the — and the resulting interest rates on the — on the debt that’s been created are going to crowd out some of the innovation that otherwise would have — would have taken place. 

  We’ve got a 7 percent budget deficit at full employment. It’s just — it’s unheard of…

  Here’s the clip of Druckenmiller speaking with Kernen about Bidenomics failures:

  Investor Stanley Druckenmiller on Bidenomics: “If I were a professor, I’d give them an ‘F’.” pic.twitter.com/WfsU4ecO6y

  — Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) May 7, 2024

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

  In macro, the consumer data just continues to worsen.

  The latest consumer credit data published by the Federal Reserve shows credit growth just imploded as credit card APRs hit an all-time high. 

  

  Meanwhile, total credit card debt jumped to a record high while the personal savings rate slid to a record low. 

  

  Last week, one of the loudest stagflationary warnings printed when US GDP unexpectedly collapsed to just 1.6% in 1Q, down more than 50% from the Q4 print of 3.4%, the lowest print since Q2 2022. However, all-important core PCE for Q1 soared from 2.0% to 3.7%, suggesting the US was nearing a stagflationary recession.

  

  The Biden team has understood this failure and dialed back “Bidenomics” propaganda in corporate media headlines. 

  

  We suspect the Gen-Zers who voted for Biden in the first go around won’t make that mistake again: “Bidenomics Failure Shows Up At Polls As Gen-Z Revolts Against Democrats.” 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 18:40

• Trojan Tomato: A New GMO Is Designed To Infiltrate America's Gardens
  Trojan Tomato: A New GMO Is Designed To Infiltrate America’s Gardens

  Authored by Sina McCullough via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  As spring gardening approaches, a new contender has entered the fray—the genetically modified (GM) Purple Tomato. Unlike its GM predecessors, the GM Purple Tomato is not destined solely for the fields of commercial agriculture—it has made its debut in the backyards of home gardeners across the United States.

  

  With claims of heightened antioxidant levels and potential health benefits, this novel creation has stirred both excitement and controversy among consumers and scientists alike. Biotech investors hope it can usher in a new era of public trust in genetically engineered foods while skeptics worry the tomatoes’ near-total lack of regulation or review may hide dangers to human health and/or the environment.

  Development 

  The GM Purple Tomato was engineered by scientists at Norfolk Plant Sciences in the UK. Led by biochemist Cathie Martin and her team, the project aimed to harness the natural properties of anthocyanins, compounds found in blueberries and blackberries, to enhance the nutritional profile of tomatoes.

  

  Using genetic engineering techniques, Martin and her colleagues inserted two genes responsible for purple coloration in edible snapdragon flowers into tomato plants. This process enabled the tomatoes to express the genes from the snapdragon and, subsequently, produce high levels of anthocyanins, thereby imbuing the tomatoes with a distinct purple hue and potentially enhanced health benefits.

  According to Norfolk Healthy Produce, the U.S. subsidiary of Norfolk Plant Sciences, the Purple Tomatoes are a “rich source of antioxidants” due to the increased content of anthocyanins. Unlike domesticated tomatoes which contain anthocyanins in the skin, the Purple Tomato contains anthocyanins throughout the whole tomato.

  The genesis of the GM Purple Tomato marks a significant milestone in agricultural biotechnology. Unlike previous GM crops primarily targeted at commercial producers, this tomato is the first GM food crop directly marketed to home gardeners in the United States, offering an opportunity for individuals to engage with biotechnology in their own backyard.

  According to Norfolk Healthy Produce, more than 13,000 Purple Tomato seed orders have already shipped.

  Regulatory Approval 

  The GM Purple Tomato was deregulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2022. According to a statement from the USDA, the GM Purple Tomato is not subject to regulation by the USDA because it does not pose a plant pest risk:

  “With respect to Norfolk Plant Sciences’ purple tomato, we did not identify any plausible pathways to increased plant pest risk compared to other cultivated tomatoes and issued a response letter indicating the plant is not subject to regulation.”

  In 2023, the Purple Tomato received a “no questions” letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which means the Purple Tomato is considered “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) and, therefore, does not require premarket review or approval by the FDA.

  To qualify for GRAS status, Norfolk Plant Sciences submitted data from tests conducted internally.

  

  The lack of safety testing by the USDA and FDA, as well as reliance on data generated by the company that will profit from approval of its own product, has led to some experts calling for a more comprehensive safety assessment.

  Safety Concerns and Health Claims 

  Data provided to the FDA by Norfolk Plant Sciences demonstrates the company conducted various safety tests. However, critics argue the tests are insufficient to guarantee the safety of the Purple Tomato for human consumption.

  According to an FDA memo dated June 13, 2023, tests conducted by Norfolk Plant Sciences mainly focused on six areas.  Of those, four were relatively straightforward while two have raised safety concerns among experts, according to GM Watch.

  1. PCR and Southern blot analysis were conducted by Norfolk Plant Sciences to determine if the snapdragon foreign DNA was inserted into the tomato DNA.

  • The company (Norfolk Plant Sciences) stated that insertion of the foreign DNA was confirmed.

  2. PCR and sequence comparison of DNA samples were conducted to confirm the stability of the inheritability of the insertion across generations. Plants were bred to determine if the purple phenotype was inherited in a Mendelian segregation fashion.

  • The company stated the purple phenotype was inheritable.

  3. Compositional analysis was conducted to determine if the Purple Tomato contained similar nutrients at similar levels compared with non-GMO tomatoes, including protein, fat, carbohydrate, fiber, minerals, carotenoids, vitamins, and alpha-tomatine.

  • The company determined the levels of most of the nutritional components to be similar or with “minor differences.”

  

  4. Norfolk Plant Sciences assessed dietary exposure levels assuming the complete replacement of red tomatoes in the human diet with the Purple Tomato for two days.

  • The company concluded the level of dietary exposure to anthocyanins is the same as consuming high-anthocyanin foods.  For example, 8 ounces of Purple Tomato juice is equivalent to consuming 1 cup of blueberries.

  The Controversial Tests

  1. Bioinformatic analyses were utilized to determine if any open reading frames were generated or disrupted by inserting the foreign DNA. Norfolk Plant Sciences searched the DNA sequences flanking the insertion sequence in the tomatoes.

  • The company reported no open reading frames flanking the insertion location.

  Since Norfolk Plant Sciences did not assess possible damage to the entire genome using advanced laboratory techniques, geneticist Michael Antoniou expressed concern in a statement published by GM Watch.

  “There’s no evidence that the developers of the GM purple tomato have carried out the kind of molecular analyses (proteomics and metabolomics) that could help establish whether they only got the change they want, with no unintended changes. As a result, we don’t know if these tomatoes are safe to eat,” said Mr. Antoniou.

  “We must also bear in mind that the GM transformation process (plant tissue culture and plant cells transformation) will inevitably give rise to hundreds if not thousands of sites of unintended DNA damage (mutations). These wide scale mutations can change patterns of gene function and alter biochemistry and composition, with unknown downstream health consequences,” he said.

  2. Assessment of new peptides of equal or greater than 30 amino acids at the insertion site of the foreign DNA was conducted to rule out toxicity or allergenicity concerns.

  • The company identified one “putative” peptide, however, they stated, “this peptide has no homology to any known allergen or protein and there was no evidence this sequence is transcribed in tomato.” They concluded the results “do not raise food safety concerns.”

  Allergenicity is an ongoing concern regarding the genetic modification of food. For example, a study published in Nature in 1999 reported that bean plants were genetically modified to produce higher levels of methionine and cysteine but were discarded because the expressed protein of the transgene was highly allergenic.

  While Norfolk Plant Sciences did not identify a match with any known allergens, that does not guarantee the peptide formed through the process of gene modification is not an allergen. Given that nearly 11 percent of adults and 5.6 million children in the United States have food allergies, it may be prudent to apply the precautionary principle when modifying our food’s genetic makeup.

  The Test That Everyone Talked About

  Although not included in the 2023 FDA memo, Norfolk Plant Sciences, in conjunction with Cathie Martin, published a pilot feeding study in 2008 in Nature Biotechnology that examined the effects of Purple Tomato supplementation on the life span of cancer-susceptible mice.

  According to the study, mice fed the GM tomato lived longer—by an average of 40 days than those fed non-GM red tomatoes.

  Publication of the pilot study prompted the John Innes Centre to publish a press release titled, “Purple tomatoes may keep cancer at bay.” (Norfolk Plant Sciences is a spinoff company from the John Innes Centre.)

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 18:20

• F-22 Stealth Fighter Suffers "Mishap" At Savannah Airport 
  F-22 Stealth Fighter Suffers “Mishap” At Savannah Airport 

  Isn’t it remarkable that while the military-industrial complex, neoconservative warmongers, and radical leftists in the White House seem to push for further conflict in Eastern Europe without even a hint of suggesting peace negotiations with Russia, some of America’s most advanced military jets are unfit for combat?

  The latest example comes from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport on Monday morning when a Lockheed Martin F-22 stealth fighter jet assigned to the 71st Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Wing at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, suffered what the US military is calling a “mishap.” 

  

  It was not immediately clear what happened, as the military would not elaborate on the “mishap” involving an in-flight emergency. However, one X user posted audio, allegedly from air traffic controllers at Savannah, that reveals the stealth fighter had a “brake failure.” 

  “BURNER34 (F-22) advising SAVANAH TOWER that they have a brake failure and requests another aircraft for a visual inspection which DEMON73 (F-16) performed. BURNER34 came in and successfully hooked the runways arresting gear wire,” X user Thenewarea51 wrote in a post. 

  BURNER34 (F-22) advising SAVANAH TOWER that they have a brake failure and requests another aircraft for a visual inspection which DEMON73 (F-16) performed. BURNER34 came in and successfully hooked the runways arresting gear wire.

  Audio via @liveatc and thanks to Bill B. for… https://t.co/6Fu2Eo556a pic.twitter.com/ZkozSN8Pl0

  — Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) May 7, 2024

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

  The F-22 was conducting training exercises at Sentry Savannah, the Air National Guard’s largest fourth and fifth-generation counter-air, large-force exercise, held annually at the Air Dominance Center, Savannah Air National Guard Base, Georgia. 

  Don’t even get us started with the latest figures from the Government Accountability Office, which show that only 15% to 30% of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters are ‘capable of combat.’ 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 18:00

• Trump Is A Rorschach Test For The Body Politic
  Trump Is A Rorschach Test For The Body Politic

  Authored by Frank Miele via RealClearPolitics,

  It is no secret that Donald Trump is a hot wire that either fires up the imagination of voters or fries the brain.

  

  For those of us who experience Trump as a Promethean bringer of enlightening fire to the dark barren fields of modern politics, it is hard to fathom the reaction of those who are terrified of him. We just say they have Trump Derangement Syndrome.

  But for those Trump haters, of course, it is the rest of us who are deranged. We are cult members or Christian nationalists or foot soldiers of the new Hitler.

  You cannot imagine more diametrically opposed views of one man. On one hand, he is the embodiment of hope for those who want to restore America to the pinnacle of greatness. On the other, he is the manifestation of the worst fears of those who believe the country’s ascendant leftist ideology could still be thwarted at the ballot box.

  Call Trump the random ink blot of a national Rorschach test that forces each of us to identify with the better angels or the worst devils of our nature. Or think of him as the equivalent of the optical illusion that forces the mind to choose whether it sees an old hag or a beautiful young woman. You can’t see both at once. Although both exist simultaneously in a drawing, you can only focus on one at a time.

  As regards Trump, the media – serving as the surrogate eye of the public – can only see the equivalent of the old hag, and reports truthfully to the audience that it envisions Trump as a dark and dangerous presence who is a threat to democracy. But when the rest of us look at the same picture – or the same interview or speech – we can see Trump as the shining spirit of American greatness.

  Case in point: The now infamous interview of Trump by Eric Cortellessa that recently appeared in Time magazine. The corporate media and Trump’s political opponents have seized on this interview to declare conclusively that Trump is a clear and present danger to the nation if he were elected to a second term. The headlines are downright hysterical:

  • “Trump doesn’t rule out political violence if he loses, and other takeaways from his Time interview” (CNN)
  • “Trump threatens to prosecute Bidens if he’s re-elected unless he gets immunity” (The Guardian)
  • “Trump reveals terrifying plan for potential second term in Time magazine interview” (MSNBC)
  • “Trump Hints Another January 6 Could Happen If He Loses the Election” (The New Republic)
  • “Trump says it’s up to states whether to punish, monitor women for abortions” (Washington Post)

  If those headlines were accurate, you could certainly make the case that all Americans should vote against Donald Trump, no matter how much they despise Joe Biden. And, truth be told, if you were to read just the interpretation of Trump’s words by Cortellessa in his Time magazine news story, you would be inclined to agree with that assessment. But what if Cortellessa is looking at Trump through a prism that automatically distorts his words to fit a confirmation bias that anything Trump says must be dangerous?

  Fortunately, we don’t have to guess whether that happened. Time magazine very generously provided the evidence of the distortion by publishing not just Cortellessa’s very damaging news story, but also the raw transcript of his two interviews with Trump where we can see what the former president actually said.

  Side by side, the story and the transcripts are raw material for a master class on media manipulation and how a reporter with a point of view can manufacture damaging fake news out of even the most benign responses of an overly trusting interviewee.

  What is clear from the transcripts is that Cortellessa is an expert interviewer, someone who can make his subject comfortable and who stubbornly pursues answers to his questions until he gets the response he wants. But when you read the story he created out of the interview responses, you realize that Cortellessa’s real talent is magic: He can pull a dangerous autocrat out of Trump’s benign responses that show he intends to apply the power of the presidency in a thoughtful and well-reasoned manner to achieve the policy objectives he has outlined in his campaign.

  A few examples will have to suffice in this format, but surely a conscientious journalism student could form an entire thesis around such a comparison. Early in his story, Cortellessa goes through a long laundry list of offenses that he categorizes as “the outlines of an imperial presidency.” The first thing you notice when reading the list is that it is in large measure the exact same list of policy goals that Trump recites proudly at every rally. It is therefore not only “the terrifying plan” that has MSNBC worried about a second term; it is also the platform that has convinced voters to favor Trump over Biden by 1.5 points in the RealClearPolitics Average of polls. In fact, despite Trump’s legal woes, as of last week he was ahead of or tied with Biden in nine of the last 10 polls.

  The second and more important thing you notice about Cortellessa’s laundry list of Trump’s offending statements is that they are the least sympathetic interpretation by the author of well-reasoned positions taken by the former president in lengthy responses.

  Consider Cortellessa’s dismissal of Trump’s rejection of FBI crime statistics:

  “On the campaign trail, Trump uses crime as a cudgel, painting urban America as a savage hell-scape even though violent crime has declined in recent years, with homicides sinking 6% in 2022 and 13% in 2023, according to the FBI. When I point this out, Trump tells me he thinks the data, which is collected by state and local police departments, is rigged. ‘It’s a lie,’ he says.”

  Well, Trump is right and Cortellessa is wrong. In an Oct. 27, 2023, report at Stateline.org, Amanda Hernández reported that “Across the country, law enforcement agencies’ inability — or refusal — to send their annual crime data to the FBI has resulted in a distorted picture of the United States’ crime trends, according to a new Stateline analysis of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program participation data. … Prior to 2021, 23% of U.S. law enforcement agencies on average did not report any crime data to the FBI. In 2020, 24% of agencies did not report, and in 2021, it surged to 40%.”

  Call it a lie, or call it a damned statistic, but Trump is closer to the truth than the author.

  On another topic – abortion – Cortellessa tells his readers that Trump is contemplating invasive monitoring of pregnancies.

  “More than 20 states now have full or partial abortion bans,” Cortellessa declares, “and Trump says those policies should be left to the states to do what they want, including monitoring women’s pregnancies.”

  Not quite. When you read the transcript, you discover that it was the reporter who brought up the concept of states “monitoring women’s pregnancies so they can know if they’ve gotten an abortion after the ban.” It is a nonsensical concept because there is nothing preventing a woman from traveling to a state where abortion is legal and receiving the procedure there.

  But Trump never took the bait. When asked if he thought states should do it, he answered that they might do it, but he made it very clear that those decisions would be made at the state level and he would have no input on them. This is consistent with his policy on post-Roe legislation.

  Cortellessa does give credit to Trump for saying that he would not consider challenging the 22nd Amendment’s limitation of two terms for each president. But he did everything he could in the interview to twist Trump into saying he would like to serve a third term. Although Trump said repeatedly that he would abide by the amendment’s restrictions, the reporter asked him three times if he would consider challenging the amendment.

  “I don’t know anything about it,” an exasperated Trump says. “I mean, you’re telling me now that somebody’s looking to terminate. I wouldn’t be in favor of it. I wouldn’t be in favor of a challenge. Not for me. I wouldn’t be in favor of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job.”

  As for the threat of violence if Trump should lose the 2024 election, it is a gossamer-thin threat that exists mostly in the author’s subconscious.

  “Trump does not dismiss  the possibility of political violence around the election,” says Cortellessa. ‘If we don’t win, you know, it depends,’ he tells TIME. ‘It always depends on the fairness of the election.’”

  But Cortellessa once again had to stretch Trump’s words to make it seem like he was contemplating violence if he lost the election. Here is the relevant passage from the first transcript.

  Are you worried about political violence in connection with this November’s election?

  Trump: No. I don’t think you’ll have political violence.

  You don’t expect anything?

  Trump: I think we’re gonna have a big victory. And I think there will be no violence.

  That is as clear as you can get, but it didn’t fit the narrative that Cortellessa was intent on providing to his readers, so he returned to the topic in a follow-up interview:

  [I]n our last conversation you said you weren’t worried about political violence in connection with the November election. You said, “I think we’re going to win and there won’t be violence.” What if you don’t win, sir?

  Trump once again insisted that he would win, and suggested that because of heightened scrutiny he didn’t think the Democrats would be able to get away with any illegitimate schemes to steal the election in 2024. He then gave the quote that Cortellessa seized upon: “I think we’re going to win. And if we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election.”

  Absolutely no reference to political violence, or any other kind of violence. Rather, Trump seems to be distinguishing between the possibility of a legitimate loss and being the victim of cheating. His reaction to losing would depend on whether the election was fair or not, but there is no evidence he is promoting violence. That is just a Democratic fantasy.

  Ultimately, I recommend that everyone read the transcript of the interview and avoid Cortellessa’s interpretive fantasy. What you will discover is a former president who is fully in charge of his faculties, capable of arguing with nuance and gusto, and who has a vision for making America great again – the absolute opposite of the incumbent.

  Indeed, if every voter were to read the transcript prior to voting, I have no doubt that Trump would win in a landslide. And there is evidence that Trump knew he had delivered a knockout with his wide-ranging responses. Toward the end of his first interview with Cortellessa, he tells the reporter, “I thought it was a good interview, actually,” and then he qualifies it based on his years of experience of having his words twisted by unscrupulous reporters:

  “I mean, if it’s written fairly, it’s a good interview.”

  More evidence that Trump is at the top of his game.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 17:40

• Trump Classified Document Trial Postponed Indefinitely Days After 'Mishandled Evidence' Bombshell
  Trump Classified Document Trial Postponed Indefinitely Days After ‘Mishandled Evidence’ Bombshell

  One day after postponing a filing deadline in Donald Trump’s classified documents case, Judge Aileen M. Cannon has postponed the whole thing indefinitely.

  

  In a Tuesday decision, Cannon vacated (canceled) Trump’s May 20 trial date, and wrote that setting a new date given the enormous stack of pre-trial matters would be “imprudent.”

  NEW: Judge Cannon officially vacates May 20 trial date, says setting a new date with so many outstanding matters would be “imprudent.” pic.twitter.com/A8QwNmuQ6o

  — Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) May 7, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOn Monday, Cannon postponed a filing deadline for Trump’s team to provide a list of classified documents they want to present at trial – which was supposed to be filed by this Thursday. Cannon did not announce a new deadline, perhaps the first clue into today’s decision.

  The move also comes after special counsel Jack Smith’s team admitted that the classified files at the heart of the case had been tampered with, and they needed more time to assess that revelation.

  Smith also misled the court, after originally telling U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that the boxes remained “in their original, intact form as seized,” when in a footnote they conceded that they removed classified documents and left placeholder sheets, which prosecutors acknowledged has created an “inconsistent” record – in which some of the documents are no longer in the same order as they appear in digital scans made in the fall of 2022.

  “The Government acknowledges that this is inconsistent with what Government counsel previously understood and represented to the Court,” the footnote reads, according to Just the News.

  The finding comes after Cannon ordered a review into whether the FBI may have seized legally privileged records in response to a request from Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 17:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• These Were The Deadliest Countries For Journalists In 2023
  These Were The Deadliest Countries For Journalists In 2023

  50 media professionals were killed due to their journalistic activities in 2023, according to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) database.

  As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, by far the deadliest place for journalists last year was in the Palestinian territories, where 16 deaths were counted in just the last three months of the year.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Following some way behind were Mexico with four deaths reported there in 2023, three in Afghanistan, three in Bangladesh, three in Lebanon, and two deaths in Cameroon, Ukraine and the Philippines, respectively.

  A single journalist was also killed in each of the following countries: Albania, China, Colombia, Honduras, India, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Paraguay, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and the United States. Meanwhile, 109 people were listed as having “disappeared” last year, with the highest numbers recorded in Mexico (34), Syria (9), Russia (6), Pakistan (6), the Democratic Republic of Congo (5) and Kosovo (5).

  It is important to note here that media professionals’ deaths are only listed here if confirmed by the RSF as being linked to their journalistic work. This explains why these figures seem low and that they are subject to change as fact-checking is carried out.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 02:45

• Majority Of Germans Reject Muslim Immigration, Express Fear Of Becoming A "Minority In Germany"
  Majority Of Germans Reject Muslim Immigration, Express Fear Of Becoming A “Minority In Germany”

  Authored by John Cody via ReMix News,

  Rejection of immigrants from Islamic countries has increased in Germany, according to the latest Insa poll commissioned by the Nius media group.

  

  The most recent survey shows an absolute majority of 52 percent rather agree with the statement that “Germany should generally no longer accept refugees from Islamic countries”. Only 34 percent say “disagree” or “tend to disagree” with this statement.

  There is even greater agreement with the statement that “in certain areas of my town or village, I have the feeling that I am no longer in Germany.” According to the poll, 57 percent agree with the statement, while 36 percent do not share this feeling.

  The poll further shows that 54 percent of respondents said they were “afraid that Germans will become a minority in Germany.” On the other hand, 37 percent said they were not concerned.

  A relative majority supports the theory behind the Great Replacement, which the domestic intelligence agency the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) classifies as a “right-wing extremist” viewpoint.

  According to the poll, 45 percent of respondents agree with the statement: “I believe that Europeans are gradually being replaced by immigrants from Africa and the Middle East.”

  A smaller number of people, 41 percent, reject this statement.

  WATCH: “I don’t have to become a minority in my own country.” @EvaVlaar says Whites are being replaced in their native countries. Here is the actual data behind her claims, which shows rapid demographic change in the West’s biggest cities. pic.twitter.com/rot877Xe8Z

  — Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) April 29, 2024

  Racism against Whites

  Two-thirds of Germans (65 percent) agree with the statement that there is “racism against Whites” in Germany, while only a small minority of 22 percent think this is not true.

  A strong majority also believe integration has not worked, with 58 percent saying “no” to the question of whether “migrants have largely integrated well in Germany.” Only 29 percent of respondents say migrants have integrated well.

  Immigrants burden the German school system

  An overwhelming majority of Germans agree with the statement that “the current migration is overburdening the German school system.” The results show that 75 percent, or three-quarters, agree with this statement, while 22 percent say they do not see a problem.

  Remix News has previously reported on the problems facing the country’s school system, which is increasingly made up of an immigrant population, and in some cities, even constitutes the majority of students. Teachers and principals face assault, classroom overcrowding, language difficulties, and aggressive clashes between minority groups.

  The survey follows a series of polls that show Germans are rapidly souring on mass immigration. Currently, the most popular party among German youth is the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party while the AfD is now the second most popular party in the country, even if the party’s overall support has seen a slight drop of between 3 to 4 points over the last three to four months.

  Just this week, approximately 1,000 Muslims belonging to a radical pro-Sharia group marched in Hamburg to call for a caliphate in Germany, sparking national headlines and a sharp debate about the country’s growing Muslim population. Last month, it was reported that the share of foreigners committing crimes in the country had hit a record high of 41 percent.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 02:00

• San Diego Sues CNC Milling Technologists, Alleging They're Flouting California ‘Ghost Gun’ Laws
  San Diego Sues CNC Milling Technologists, Alleging They’re Flouting California ‘Ghost Gun’ Laws

  Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times,

  The San Diego County government is suing the manufacturer of a computer numerical control (CNC) machine, alleging that it is being used to manufacture unserialized firearms parts.

  

  The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the county by the gun-control legal advocacy group Giffords Law Center, alleges the “Coast Runner” CNC machine, marketed by Coast Runner Industries, Inc., is simply a rebrand of the “Ghost Gunner” CNC machine previously developed and marketed by Defense Distributed and Ghost Gunner Inc.

  Gun rights activist and technologist Cody Wilson has been working for years against gun control efforts by expanding access to the tools necessary to produce firearms at home. He has used his non-profit, Defense Distributed, as a platform to pioneer technological advancements in the manufacture of firearms using both 3D-printing and CNC technology.

  Individuals are not prohibited under federal rules and regulations from producing firearms for their personal use, but gun control proponents in several states have sought to prevent the proliferation of unserialized privately-made firearms, which they’ve referred to as “ghost guns.”

  While gun control advocates have attempted to stop the spread of “ghost guns,” Mr. Wilson and Defense Distributed have worked to ensure home manufacturing of firearms remains accessible with the development of its “Ghost Gunner” line of CNC machines.

  California Law and CNC Machines

  In 2022, the Democrat-supermajority California legislature passed legislation that makes it unlawful to sell or transfer any “CNC milling machine that has the sole or primary function of manufacturing firearms to any person in this state, other than a federally licensed firearms manufacturer or importer.”

  Following the passage of the 2022 law, the Ghost Gunner sales website states, “Ghost Gunner CNC machines are not currently available to non-FFL California customers.” But after Defense Distributed and Ghost Gunner restricted sales of its machines in California, a new company called Coast Runner emerged, marketing a similar CNC machine.

  The new lawsuit names Coast Runner Industries Inc., Ghost Runner Inc., and Defense Distributed as defendants.

  “The ‘Coast Runner’ and the ‘Ghost Gunner’ share more than just similar rhyming names. The ‘Coast Runner’ is in fact the Ghost Gunner with a new coat of paint,” the San Diego County lawsuit states.

  “It has the same internal designs, the same features, and is being marketed for the same purpose: the illegal production of untraceable ghost guns. Moreover, it is being sold and marketed by the same company, as public records show that Coast Runner Industries, Inc. is merely an alter ego of Ghost Gunner Inc. and Defense Distributed.”

  A marketing video for the latest iteration of the “Ghost Gunner” CNC machine shows it being used for what appear to be firearm frames and receivers, and the sales website for the machine makes clear that it is “optimized for machining AR-15 and AK-47 receivers.” By contrast, marketing videos and materials for the “Coast Runner” emphasize its cutting power and precision.

  San Diego County’s legal complaint notes that the “Coast Runner” made an appearance earlier this year at the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) show, a trade show hosted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

  The lawsuit also notes that individuals who previously worked with Ghost Gunner and Defense Distributed have gone on to work with Coast Runner Inc.

  “Defendants flout California law with too-cute-by-half sales and marketing tactics. The Coast Runner is not a joke-it is an illegal device designed, marketed, and sold to enable its users to make firearms and to violate California’s gun violence prevention laws,” the complaint states.

  “Plaintiff brings this suit to put an end to Defendants’ flagrant violations of California law and to seek remedy for the harm Defendants have caused and are continuing to cause in California.”

  California ‘Doesn’t Have the Nerve to Ban CNC’: Wilson

  The legal complaint seeks a judgment finding all defendants to be in violation of California law and seeks a civil penalty of as much as $25,000 per alleged violation of the California law prohibiting sales of CNC machines for firearms manufacturing, along with an award of “reasonable damages” to the state.

  Mr. Wilson insisted Defense Distributed remains in compliance with California law.

  “Defense Distributed follows California law with great effort,” he told NTD News in an emailed statement.

  “The state doesn’t have the nerve to ban CNC, so they ban speech about the technology.”

  Mr. Wilson declined to offer further comment on the lawsuit as he and his legal team prepare to respond.

  NTD News also contacted Coast Runner for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 23:40

• These Are The 20 Countries Most Indebted To China
  These Are The 20 Countries Most Indebted To China

  In this graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu ranked the top 20 countries by their amount of debt to China. These figures are as of 2022, and come from the World Bank (accessed via Yahoo Finance).

  

  This dataset highlights Pakistan and Angola as having the largest debts to China by a wide margin. Both countries have taken billions in loans from China for various infrastructure and energy projects.

  Critically, both countries have also struggled to manage their debt burdens. In February 2024, China extended the maturity of a $2 billion loan to Pakistan.

  Soon after in March 2024, Angola negotiated a lower monthly debt payment with its biggest Chinese creditor, China Development Bank (CDB).

  Could China be in Trouble?

  China has provided developing countries with over $1 trillion in committed funding through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive economic development project aimed at enhancing trade between China and countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe.

  Many believe that this lending spree could be an issue in the near future.

  According to a 2023 report by AidData, 80% of these loans involve countries in financial distress, raising concerns about whether participating nations will ever be able to repay their debts.

  While China claims the BRI is a driver of global development, critics in the West have long warned that the BRI employs debt-trap diplomacy, a tactic where one country uses loans to gain influence over another.

  Editor’s note: The debt shown in this visualization focuses only on direct external debt, and does not include publicly-traded, liquid, debt securities like bonds. Furthermore, it’s worth noting the World Bank data excludes some countries with data accuracy or reporting issues, such as Venezuela.

  If you enjoyed this post, check out our breakdown of $97 trillion in global government debt.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 23:20

• McMaken: The FBI And CIA Are Enemies Of The American People
  McMaken: The FBI And CIA Are Enemies Of The American People

  Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute,

  Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson sat down for a three-hour-plus discussion on the Joe Rogan Show last week, covering everything from UFOs, to religion and artificial intelligence. But perhaps the most important topic they covered was the insidious and dangerous role played by the US regime’s intelligence agencies in America. 

  Specifically, Carlson suggested the CIA continues to lobby for keeping the JFK files secret, possibly because the CIA had a role in the assassination. Tucker also brought up how the FBI’s second-in-command was responsible for taking down Richard Nixon. Carlson described how intelligence agencies hold immense power within Congress because members of Congress—who are generally disreputable people with many secrets—are terrified of being blackmailed. After all, in a post-Patriot Act world of nearly unrestrained spying by the US regime, there is no privacy in America. 

  I’ll let you, dear readers, listen to the full interview and make up your mind for yourselves as to the details of the discussion. 

  What I want to highlight here, however, is how remarkable it is that two major media figures—Rogan and Carlson—are announcing to their millions of listeners and readers that organizations like the CIA and the FBI are despicable agencies committed to undermining the legal and constitutional institutions of the United States. 

  This is long overdue. 

  

  Deep-state agencies like the CIA and the FBI have for far too long been considered reputable organizations just trying to “keep us safe” or somehow defend the United States from alleged foreign threats. Conservatives have long been among the worst offenders. Libertarians know this well, and have observed for decades the breed of “small-government” conservatives who one minute claim “the government can’t do anything right” and then the next minute simp for “heroic” CIA and FBI agents. People such as these have long checked their critical thinking skills at the door as soon as the discussion turns to the regime’s spy agencies—or the Pentagon, for that matter. This is not to say that Leftists are guiltless on this. While historically it was the Left that actually made some efforts to expose intelligence agencies and their crimes in the 1970s, that is now ancient history. The Left in 2024 has rarely met a regime spook it didn’t like. This was made explicit last month when Adam Westbrook and Lindsey Crouse declared in The New York Times that “the Deep State is actually kind of awesome.” 

  The job of opposing these contemptible enemies of freedom at America’s intelligence agencies—especially the FBI and CIA and NSA—falls to the minority of Americans who actually care about law and human rights enough to seek true restraints on regime power. Those of us in this minority must never miss an opportunity to disparage, doubt, question, and generally express loathing for these organizations and for every single agent and employee at these agencies who collects a taxpayer-funded salary. 

  A Danger for Many Decades 

  Since at least the early 1960s, many have understood that the post-war intelligence agencies have posed an especially dangerous threat to the people of the United States. For example, exactly one month after Kennedy’s assassination—surely, just a coincidence!—former president Harry Truman expressed alarm about the CIA’s meddling in domestic affairs. He wrote in The Washington Post: “For some time I have been disturbed by the way CIA has been diverted from its original assignment. It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the Government. This has led to trouble and may have compounded our difficulties in several explosive areas. …I never had any thought that when I set up the CIA that it would be injected into peacetime cloak and dagger operations.”

  Then as now, however, The Washington Post was an arm of the deep state and the editor buried Truman’s op-ed on Page A11. The CIA was outraged enough by the column, however, that CIA director Allen Dulles lied and claimed that Truman had been “quite astounded“ when he saw his own article and that the whole thing was really the work of a Truman aide.

  This bizarre attempt by CIA operative to “retract” Truman’s article was nonetheless contradicted by Truman himself who reiterated in a 1964 letter that Truman had only intended the CIA to be an informational service for the president, and that “[I]t was not intended to operate as an international agency engaged in strange activities.” Truman would later tell an interviewer that “[I]f I’d known what was going to happen, I never would have [created the CIA.]”1 

  Of course, Truman may have known about many of the CIA’s “strange activities” by the late 1950s, such as MKULTRA, and related “mind control” experiments with LSD and other drugs. The CIA was known to drug the agency’s victims against their will, such as seven black inmates in Kentucky who were were fed “’double, triple and quadruple’ doses of LSD for 77 straight days.” One might also mention the very suspicious case of Frank Olson, a bioweapons expert who was given LSD by CIA agents without his knowledge. Olson later “fell” to his death from a hotel window in 1953. The agency lied about drugging Olson for 22 years. 

  The CIA faced some scrutiny in the wake of the Vietnam war as the Left began to rein in the deep state which had spent years attempting to destroy American opponents of the war through a variety of dirty tricks. Yet, the agency had hardly been “reformed” by the time the US’s “war on terror” was launched in late 2001. The CIA returned to its illegal medical torture—assuming it had ever stopped—with new medical experiments on regime prisoners. Documents uncovered by the ACLU have shown that CIA doctors are still used to provide a veneer of scientific legitimacy to CIA torture programs. In the age of vaccine passports, this alliance between doctors and the CIA should alarm any defender of human rights. 

  In spite of all this, the CIA continues to fail spectacularly at its original mission of collecting useful information. The CIA failed to see the Iranian Revolution coming. The CIA was clueless about Soviet Missiles shipped to Cuba in 1962. The CIA believed the Soviet Union was an economic powerhouse in the 1980s. And, of course, the CIA let 9/11 happen right under its nose. 

  Given all this, even conservative stalwarts have seen the light on the CIA in recent years. The late Angelo Codevilla, for example, penned a 2020 article calling for “breaking up” the CIA. The CIA, Codevilla notes, is now so “ideologically partisan,” so “obsolete,” and its record of failure so undeniable, that the agency is now “inherently dangerous and low-value.” 

  End the FBI

  The CIA isn’t alone in its war on American freedom and decency, however. The FBI is almost equally dangerous, which is why Codevilla also calls for the FBI to be “restricted to law enforcement.” 

  Unknown to many Americans, the FBI doesn’t even consider itself to be a law enforcement agency anymore. The FBI is now a “national security” agency, and that means the FBI is an arm of the American spy regime. This, of course, is why the Department of Justice can now be used for blatantly political purposes such as when the FBI spied on candidate Donald Trump in 2016. 

  Here at mises.org, we’ve already reported on the mixture of abuse and incompetence that characterizes the FBI. The FBI expends countless hours tracking down harmless “enemies” of the regime—such as little old ladies prosecuted for the January 6 riot—while ignoring real criminals like Larry Nassar. Nor surprisingly, local police will tell you it’s the state and local police who do the real work of tracking down real criminals, and then the FBI swoops in to take the credit. 

  Moreover, the history of the FBI lends substantial plausibility to Tucker Carlson’s claim that intelligence agencies are in the business of blackmailing members of Congress. This is a known tactic employed by J. Edgar Hoover during this 48-year reign at the FBI. Hoover, of course, was lauded for decades as a hero, but in reality, he was, in the words of historian Beverly Gage, a “one-dimensional tyrant and backroom schemer who strong-armed the rest of the country into submission…the most influential federal appointee of the twentieth century.” Hoover and his army of compliant FBI agents spied on anyone and everyone—especially elected officials and other public figures—who might be useful as a target for blackmail.

  So, what to do with these agencies? 

  There is nothing that these agencies do that could justify their continued existence. Both agencies—neither of which in their present forms are authorized among the enumerated powers of the US constitution—were sold to the taxpayers as agencies to be used only against hardened criminals and foreign dictators. Today, these organizations spend their time exploiting the taxpayers for ever larger budgets, for ever more power to spy on Americans, and new ways to trick those same Americans into supporting the regime’s latest wars. 

  They are, simply put, the regime’s secret police, devoted to building the regime’s power. One answer is to eviscerate their budgets, repeal their enabling legislation, and encourage aggressive lawfare against the regime in retribution for these agencies’ many crimes. That’s probably a best-case scenario. Other scenarios likely require the bankruptcy of the regime, or perhaps its dissolution. That is likely to come with substantial and negative economic effects in the short term. Unfortunately, many Americans are still enthralled to these organizations thanks to relentless state propaganda that tells us this American version of the KGB exists for our own good.  Abolition will clearly take time. Now is a good time to start.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 23:00

• Amidst Staffing Shortage, Merced County's Sheriff Is Often Sole Officer To Respond To Calls
  Amidst Staffing Shortage, Merced County’s Sheriff Is Often Sole Officer To Respond To Calls

  Merced County California’s Sheriff is officially sounding the warning bells.

  Sheriff Vern Warnke, who has worked in the county’s office for 45 years, is officially declaring a public safety crisis, according to a new report from Yahoo and the LA Times. Why? Because he’s often finding himself the only person available to respond to calls.

  In a recent incident, a woman reported a domestic dispute involving her armed husband. With no deputies nearby, Warnke, identifiable by his cowboy hat and badge, intervened and successfully defused the situation.

  “We had nobody to send, and I, as the sheriff, I’m still a cop, I still love what I do. But we’re at that point when the sheriff and administration are having to take calls.”

  Warnke has recently expressed deep concern over the rising number of deputy vacancies. In a recent video message, he lamented the staffing shortage, fearing it could jeopardize public safety, urging residents to recognize the severity of the situation.

  He said in the message: “I’m fighting for the sheriff’s office’s life right now. That means I’m fighting for your public safety. So folks, it’s bad.”

  He continued: “Our correctional bureaus are understaffed and overworked. Our patrol deputies are understaffed and overworked. Our communication center with the dispatchers — it could be to the point when you dial 911, we have nobody who can answer it. And that’s not a joke. It’s not a threat. It’s a fact.”

  

  The report notes that the Merced sheriff’s office, usually staffed with 100 deputies for patrols, currently has 20 vacancies, while 23 custodial deputy positions out of 108 remain unfilled. The investigative unit, intended for 18 members, now operates with only eight, and the dispatch team has four vacancies out of 13 staff.

  Despite recent pleas to the county Board of Supervisors for increased budget and control over fund allocation, Warnke’s requests have been ignored.

  With just four deputies patrolling nearly 2,000 square miles during the day, and dispatch shifts covered by a lieutenant and two sergeants, the office faces severe understaffing. Colleagues are often asked to work overtime beyond their 12-hour shifts, with one dispatcher clocking over 700 hours of overtime in a year.

  California’s law enforcement struggle is widespread, with patrol officer numbers per 100,000 residents at their lowest since 1991, according to a January report. Many cities, including Alameda and San Francisco, have resorted to hefty enlistment bonuses and pay raises to attract and retain officers. Even Los Angeles, with increased officer pay and bonuses, still grapples with vacancies.

  Smaller municipalities offer incentives like gym memberships and dry-cleaning services, but rural counties lack the resources for such incentives. Tehama County suspended daytime patrols in 2022 due to staff shortages.

  Despite its relatively larger budget, Merced County struggles to retain deputies, losing them to neighboring counties with higher pay. Despite offering $10,000 signing bonuses, Merced’s top deputies earn less than those in neighboring counties, creating a cycle of turnover. Warnke expressed frustration with the county’s short-term fixes and lack of long-term planning, highlighting persistent staffing issues despite past raises.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 22:40

• China Bulls Beware: Credit Markets Flash A Warning
  China Bulls Beware: Credit Markets Flash A Warning

  By Ye Xie, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

  Chinese stocks have been on a stealth bull run, but the renewed market optimism may be built a shaky foundation — especially when it comes to credit.

  The MSCI China Index has climbed 24% from its lows in January. The Hang Seng Index has also recovered, so much so that its 9% gain this year is on par with the Nasdaq Composite Index.

  A number of factors have helped. The economic data in the first quarter beat expectations, with stimulus starting to gain traction. Valuations were cheap and investors who were bearish in China needed to close some of their underweighted positions to catch up. In addition, the Politburo meeting last week offered some positive surprises, hinting that the government may find ways to deal with unsold properties.

  But in the big scheme of things, a lot of structural headwinds haven’t disappeared. The housing market, for instance, remains in deep trouble, with new home sales in big cities down 39% in April.

  

  An even bigger risk lies in the broader credit market. Beijing’s strategy has been to shift resources from the speculative housing market to more productive industrial sectors such as electronic vehicles and renewable energy. As a result, bank loans to the housing sector have collapsed, while lending to industries soared.

  

  But there’s a limit to how far such a strategy can go. Some industries are now plagued by overcapacity concerns, while there’s a rising threat of protectionism from foreign countries that have seen a flood of Chinese imports. And in recent months, industrial loan growth has slowed after the epic surge.

  As a result, strategists at Clocktower note that China may be in the potentially treacherous position where credit demand from both households and corporations is falling at the same time.

  

  Why that is important? The strategists explained:

  A credit collapse will be a death knell for a highly leveraged economy like China. If the public sector does not come to support credit growth in a timely manner, a sharp growth deceleration is likely to occur going forward as economic agents will be forced to cut consumption and investment to meet their debt obligations.

  That’s the warning Chinese stock bulls may have to heed.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 22:20

• PA Man Who "Didn't Even Make Over $100,000" Gets $34.6 Billion Tax Bill
  PA Man Who “Didn’t Even Make Over $100,000” Gets $34.6 Billion Tax Bill

  Barry Tangert, of Mount Joy, Lancaster County got the shock of his life after filing his taxes this year, when the PA Department of Revenue sent him a tax bill for more than $34 billion.

  The number was so huge that it didn’t even fit on the bottom line of the bill he was sent. To be exact, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue that said he owed the state $34,576,826,561.47, according to WGAL. 

  Tangert told WGAL: “I knew it was an obvious blunder. I don’t even make over $100,000 a year, so there’s no way I could owe anywhere near that.”

  

  “I don’t know if it was a computer glitch in the transmission or if it was an input error from my tax preparer,” he added. 

  Tangert said he reached out to the Department of Revenue: “The first thing he said was, ‘You had a good year.’ And I said, ‘I wish’.”

  Neither Tangert of WGAL, both of whom reached out to the Department of Revenue at first, got a clarification about how the error happened. 

  Later, WGAL was told it “was an isolated incident that stemmed from the wrong numbers being inputted into the system”. 

  Barry Tangert’s jaw dropped when he got his latest tax bill. He was charged more than $34 billion in overdue taxes, penalties and interest. https://t.co/smKwkKfwBp

  — Dillon Fuhrman (@DFuhrmanKYMA) April 27, 2024

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

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 22:00

• Ex-CNN Host Chris Cuomo Reveals COVID Vaccine Injury: "I'm Sick Myself"
  Ex-CNN Host Chris Cuomo Reveals COVID Vaccine Injury: “I’m Sick Myself”

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

  Former CNN host Chris Cuomo said in a recent news segment that he is suffering from a health condition after he received a COVID-19 vaccine.

  

  Mr. Cuomo made the revelation during his NewsNation program when he was interviewing a nurse practitioner, Shaun Barcavage, a nurse practitioner who said he suffered vaccine injuries and has received little help or recognition.

  “We know that vaccines can have unintended consequences, AKA side effects, but nobody’s really talking about it because they’re too afraid of blame, and they just want it to go away,” Mr. Cuomo said. “But the problem is people like Shaun—and me—and millions of others who still have weird stuff with their bloodwork and their lives and their feelings—you know, physically—are not going away,” he added.

  Mr. Cuomo, 53, did not go into the details about his symptoms or the brand of COVID-19 vaccine he received. But during the interview, Mr. Cuomo offered to share his doctor’s information with Mr. Barcavage.

  “I’m sick myself, but I’m working with people who are working with this,” Mr. Cuomo said.

  The Epoch Times contacted Mr. Cuomo for comment Sunday.

  Mr. Barcavage told the program that he has received little support from federal health agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

  “I thought there would be people ready to help me after my injury,” he said in the NewsNation segment with Mr. Cuomo, which aired last week. “I reached out to political representatives, the NIH, the CDC, the FDA, but I received no answers. No one wanted to touch it.”

  Other Famous Claims

  Other than Mr. Cuomo, relatively few celebrities have spoken about vaccine-related injuries they may have suffered. However, one of the world’s richest people, Elon Musk, said that he was almost hospitalized after taking the shot.

  Mr. Musk revealed last year he got COVID-19 and experienced “mild cold symptoms,” but took multiple vaccine doses in order travel. However, he revealed that the “third shot almost sent me to hospital,” according to a social media post.

  “How many other people out there have symptoms that are actually from the vaccine or COVID treatment, rather than COVID itself?” he asked.

  “It’s not like I don’t believe in vaccines—I do. However, the cure cannot be potentially worse than the disease,” he said. “Public debate over efficacy should not be shut down,” Mr. Musk continued.

  Around the same time, former Fox News host and current podcaster Megyn Kelly said that she, too, suffered vaccine-related health issues and stated she wishes she never took the jab.

  “I regret getting the vaccine, even though I’m a 52-year-old woman, because I don’t think I needed it,” Ms. Kelly said on a Sept. 6 episode of her podcast. “I think I would have been fine. I had got COVID many times, and it was well past when the vaccine was doing what it was supposed to be doing,” she added.

  “For the first time, I tested positive for an autoimmune issue at my annual physical. And I went to the best rheumatologist in New York, and I asked her, do you think this could have to do with the fact that I got the … booster and then got COVID within three weeks? And she said yes. Yes. I wasn’t the only one she’d seen that with,” Ms. Kelly continued.

  On social media, Ms. Kelly had written that she received the Johnson & Johnson shot. It’s not clear what vaccine Mr. Musk had taken.

  There’s a growing body of data suggesting that COVID-19 vaccine side effects are more serious than previously claimed.

  There have been papers linking spike-protein-based COVID-19 vaccines to skin problems, a dull ringing in the ears known as tinnitus, visual impairments, blood clotting, and even death.

  The CDC still recommends that people of all ages receive a COVID-19 vaccine, saying that the potential side effects do not outweigh COVID-19. In a notice published in late April, the agency again called for adults aged 65 and older to get the latest version of the vaccines.

  Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 21:40

• Boeing's Day Just Got Worse: First Crewed Launch Of Starliner Spacecraft Scrubbed
  Boeing’s Day Just Got Worse: First Crewed Launch Of Starliner Spacecraft Scrubbed

  Update (2120ET): Its not been a great day for Boeing.

  After a wave of whistleblowers and a new FAA probe, the planemaker has abandoned its plans for its first crewed launch of the Starliner spacecraft “out of an abundance of caution,” just two hours before planned takeoff.

  ULA Launch Director Tom Heter III has made the decision to the launch team that launch operations will not continue tonight for #AtlasV and #Starliner.https://t.co/yCCjHu9R5K

  — ULA (@ulalaunch) May 7, 2024

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

  The United Launch Alliance (ULA) cites an issue with the oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V rocket for scrubbing the launch.

  Officials involved in the planned launch had said repeatedly that they wouldn’t hesitate to postpone the flight if any risks to safety emerged. Bill Nelson, the administrator for NASA and a former astronaut himself, reiterated that point Monday evening, saying the agency’s first priority is safety.

  “We go when we’re ready,” he said in a post on X.

  *  *  *

  Seven years behind schedule and more than a billion-dollar cost overrun, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is finally atop an Atlas V rocket at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. If all goes according to plan, the launch will occur tonight at 2234 ET. 

  Who’s ready for a rocket launch? #Starliner pic.twitter.com/EU3Z9iNUci

  — Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) May 6, 2024

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

  Boeing’s Starliner aims to be big defense’s answer to Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon, a spacecraft that has already achieved orbit 13 times. Fifty astronauts, cosmonauts, and civilians have flown into orbit via a Crew Dragon, with 12 flights to the International Space Station. 

  At a preflight briefing last week, astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore told reporters safety is essential on the crewed test flight:

  “Why do we think it’s as safe as possible? We wouldn’t be standing here if we didn’t.” 

  Wilmore continued:

  “Do we expect it to go perfectly? This is the first human flight of the spacecraft. I’m sure we’ll find things out. That’s why we do this. This is a test flight.”

  Meanwhile, Musk chimed in on X about Starliner being seven years behind schedule:

  Although Boeing got $4.2 billion to develop an astronaut capsule and SpaceX only got $2.6 billion, SpaceX finished 4 years sooner.

  Note, the crew capsule design of Dragon 2 has almost nothing in common with Dragon 1.

  Too many non-technical managers at Boeing.

  Although Boeing got $4.2 billion to develop an astronaut capsule and SpaceX only got $2.6 billion, SpaceX finished 4 years sooner.

  Note, the crew capsule design of Dragon 2 has almost nothing in common with Dragon 1.

  Too many non-technical managers at Boeing. https://t.co/bTXWAfxfrh

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2024

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

  SpaceX has proved that the bloated military-industrial complex cannot deliver next-generation technology to the market quickly enough and under budget.

  Watch the launch event live here:

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 21:20

• Illegal Immigrant Crisis Stings Border Town In Unexpected Way
  Illegal Immigrant Crisis Stings Border Town In Unexpected Way

  Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Benny Rodriguez, an 80-year-old grandfather of seven, beams as he points to faded photographs on the wall and proudly narrates the story of Eagle Grocery, a family-run business since 1939.

  

  It withstood a fire in 1948. It emerged from a flood in 1954. And since 2002, the 11,000-square-foot store has persevered in the shadow of a 218,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter two miles away.

  “We’ve been through a lot, but we’re still here, and we love it; we love our community, and that’s what keeps us going,” Mr. Rodriguez told The Epoch Times inside the grocery at Main and Adams Streets.

  But there are new worries about a recurrent threat that Eagle Grocery, the Rodriguez family, and the local economy have faced over the years.

  In attempting to halt illegal crossings, federal officials have sometimes blocked the flow of law-abiding Eagle Grocery shoppers by blocking the legal ports of entry across the border bridges from Mexico.

  That has hurt this shop’s bottom line, but the problem isn’t local. American businesses in border towns from California to Texas suffer when legal ports of entry are blocked, often as a political show of force in response to a surge in illegal crossings.

  Business owners like Mr. Rodriguez and officials in towns like Eagle Pass worry that government leaders might resort to this tactic more often to save face, even though its effectiveness is debatable, while illegal immigration remains the top concern for voters in the 2024 presidential race.

  The last time the legal port of entry was blocked, the economy of Eagle Pass suffered a half-million-dollar loss in just a few weeks, its fire chief, Manuel Mello III, said.

  “If this continues, we will have to place a freeze on hiring personnel, purchasing equipment, and completing projects for our citizens,” he testified to Congress during a January hearing on illegal immigration.

  Similar unintended consequences are playing out in many U.S. border towns. And the collateral damage is rippling across America in ways that most people don’t realize, draining tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue.

  Many Texans, including the Rodriguez clan, say this scenario provides more proof that many decision-makers are out of touch with the realities of life along the border. They hope for a fresh, commonsense antidote.

  

  Beneficial Relationships

  Mexico, the United States’ No. 1 trade partner, helped generate nearly $1 trillion in gross domestic product and at least 8 million jobs across America in 2023, according to a February report from The Perryman Group, a Texas-based firm that has analyzed U.S.–Mexico “Bordernomics” for many years.

  “Trade, business relationships, workforce flows, and family ties link the 10 states along both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border,” benefiting both nations, a Perryman report points out.

  The fate of Eagle Pass, Texas, is intertwined with its Mexican sister city, Piedras Negras—typifying such relationships all along both sides of the border.

  “They depend on us; we depend on them,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “If they don’t come over here, and we don’t go over there, everything stops.”

  In 2016, he served as Eagle Pass’s “Mr. Amigo,” an honor bestowed upon one resident of each city for the annual International Friendship Festival. But in March, the illegal immigration crisis displaced the joint celebration from its usual home in Shelby Park.

  That 47-acre Eagle Pass park sits alongside the Rio Grande, the river separating the United States and Mexico. For months, it has remained closed amid a standoff between federal and state authorities who disagree over how to enforce immigration laws and control the U.S. border.

  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is among the many Republicans who accuse President Joe Biden of promoting open-border policies; Mr. Abbott emphasizes stringent enforcement of immigration laws and construction of border barriers. The White House has advocated “a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system” while calling on Congress to “make long overdue reforms to U.S. immigration laws.”

  That clash—and unprecedented numbers of illegal immigrants—thrust Eagle Pass, a city of about 30,000 people, into the national spotlight late last year.

  Often called “La Puerta de México,” Mexico’s Door, Eagle Pass serves as the fastest route from Mexico to major Texas cities.

  A pair of international bridges, simply called Bridge One and Bridge Two, connect Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras.

  In a typical month, some 300,000 vehicles and 40,000 pedestrians traverse those bridges legally, city data show.

  But below those bridges, illegal crossings along the Rio Grande reached a record high last December. In that month Border Patrol agents in the Eagle Pass region apprehended more than 71,000 illegal immigrants; border-wide, arrests totaled 251,000, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.

  

  ‘It Makes No Sense’

  These illegal immigrant surges are unpredictable. CBP has sometimes responded by shutting down bridges leading from Mexico to the United States.

  As soon as the feds stopped passenger cars from crossing Bridge One in Eagle Pass on Nov. 27, 2023, “60 percent of our customer base was gone,” said Mr. Rodriguez’s wife, Angie.

  Many Mexican nationals possess U.S.-issued cards permitting them to travel back and forth. They come into the United States to visit friends and family; they attend school, eat at restaurants, enjoy entertainment, and go shopping. Then they return to their homes in and near Piedras Negras.

  These are the people whom the recent U.S. government border restrictions affected the most, the Rodriguez family’s eldest son, Jaime, 50, told The Epoch Times.

  “So, you close the bridge to legal shoppers … to open the way for illegal people coming across under the bridge; it makes no sense,” Mr. Jaime Rodriguez said.

  But that’s what happens “when you’re making decisions from Washington, D.C., without knowing the repercussions you’re having.”

  The effects reverberate from Brownsville at Texas’s southernmost tip to the border’s end point in California, almost 2,000 miles away, he said.

  Data supports his assertion. Last year’s border “inefficiencies” clogged the commerce pipeline, causing economic losses of $1.6 billion in the Texas border region, the Perryman Group calculated. Nearly 17,000 jobs were lost, about half of them in retail trade.

  Cargo Chaos

  Three weeks into the bridge shutdown, The Texas Border Coalition, which pushes for “secure, efficient borders that facilitate legitimate trade and travel,” appealed to the Biden administration for relief.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 21:00

• 41% Of Americans Think Civil War Likely By 2029, Some Say Sooner Amid Chaos 
  41% Of Americans Think Civil War Likely By 2029, Some Say Sooner Amid Chaos 

  Americans have been stunned by the Democratic megadonors funneling money into Marxist groups, sparking mass chaos across colleges and universities nationwide as risks are mounting that ‘BLM-style’ riots could spill over into city streets this summer.

  Law-abiding Americans have taken notice of radical left-wing policies pushing this nation further into chaos, from failed progressive cities ignoring law and order to open borders igniting the greatest illegal alien invasion this nation has ever seen. There is a growing sense among the population that possibly a controlled demolition of the country is underway by the radical left. 

  The spark that could ignite the next round of social unrest is possibly Marxist ‘useful idiots’ (some of which are professional and paid protesters) on school campuses who quite literally have said they want a revolution to usher in a “socialist reconstruction of America.” 

  An extremist on the mic says: “There’s only one solution, intifada revolution. We must have a revolution so we can have a socialist reconstruction of the USA.”

  This isn’t just about Israel/Palestine. It’s an attempt of the Marxist takeover of America. Our colleges have become… pic.twitter.com/2IEqRyuorB

  — A Man Of Memes (@RickyDoggin) April 30, 2024

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

  Americans are closely watching these developments on their smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs and have taken note of the possibility of summer riots, pushing the nation closer and closer to what some voters believe is a civil war on the horizon. 

  A new survey by Rasmussen Reports found that 41% of Americans are concerned a civil war could erupt sometime over the next five years, including 16% who say civil war is “very likely” in that same timeframe. 

  Meanwhile, 49% of respondents do not believe another civil war is likely in the next five years, with 20% expressing that it is “Not At All Likely.” An additional 10% are uncertain about the future. 

  “The possibility that America could face another civil war soon is not too far-fetched for a lot of voters,” the pollsters said about their survey. 

  Given these events last week:

  “Nothing Wrong With Being Hamas”: Radical Leftist Groups Trained Students Before Nationwide Campus Chaos https://t.co/R9n7ZIeY7v

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 5, 2024

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

  NYPD Raids Columbia, Protesters Arrested https://t.co/hyGlix0OuC

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 1, 2024

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

  As Americans brace for more chaos, radical leftist non-governmental organizations are artificially driving the nation into turmoil. The FBI’s silence on this matter raises questions, with some suggesting their priorities may lie elsewhere, such as targeting President Biden’s political adversaries ahead of the presidential elections in November. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 20:40

• Death Of Self-Checkout, Walmart Charges For It In Some Locations
  Death Of Self-Checkout, Walmart Charges For It In Some Locations

  By Mish Shedlock of MishTalk

  Theft and complaints are taking a toll on self-checkout. Now, Walmart wants you to pay $98 a year for Walmart⁺ for the self-checkout privilege at some stores.

  

  Retailers Scale Back Self-Checkouts

  The Wall Street Journal reports Retailers Scale Back Self-Checkouts to Curb Irritation and Theft

  Attention, shoppers: Retailers are rethinking your cashier job.

  Store operators are modifying how they use self-checkout stations in a bid to boost their bottom lines and improve the shopping experience for customers.

  Some retailers are pulling kiosks out of stores as a way to keep a lid on theft. Others, including Target (TGT), Dollar General (DG) and the regional grocery chain Schnucks, have limited how many items customers can bring to self-checkouts to avoid bottlenecks and alleviate headaches for staff.

  Schnucks now limits its self-checkout lanes to 10 items or fewer. While the primary intention is to improve customer service and checkout efficiency, Simon said the company expects some reduction of theft as well. “This item limit will help us maintain our costs while keeping the prices lower for our customers,” he said.

  About a fifth of people who used self-checkouts said they accidentally took an item without paying for it, according to a survey of 2,000 shoppers last year by LendingTree. Some 15% of self-checkout users admitted to stealing an item on purpose.

  Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, said it removed self-checkout lanes and replaced them with cashier-staffed lanes at locations including stores in Cleveland and Shrewsbury, Mo. When checkout access is limited, some stores are designating self-checkout lanes for Walmart+ customers, who pay a membership fee of $98 a year.

  In 2022, Dollar General said self-checkout was so successful and popular with customers that it tried making some stores entirely self-checkout. A year later, CEO Todd Vasos pulled back on those plans.

  “We had relied and started to rely too much this year on self-checkout in our stores,” Vasos said on a December earnings call. “We should be using self-checkout as a secondary checkout vehicle, not a primary.”

  In March, the company said it would remove self-checkout for stores with the highest levels of shrink. For remaining stores with self-checkout, it would limit customers to scanning five items or fewer.

  Do You Like Self-Checkout?

  I cannot stand it. My wife prefers it. Something always seems to go wrong for me. You cannot scan beer or wine, the bar code won’t read, and Costco has a limit on the cost amount.

  The latter hit me at Costco this week when I tried to scan a whole beef tenderloin. I had to call an attendant a second time for beer. Loose produce is generally an issue.

  Besides, trained clerks are faster, assuming you can find one. But it’s theft issue that will kill self-checkout at grocery stores. Double up a package of T-bone steaks and poof, the store just lost over $30.

  RFIDs can take care of general merchandise, but RFIDs in hamburger?

  Now Walmart wants you to pay for the agony of self-checkout. No thanks.

  A Rise in the Incentive to Steal

  

  On April 27, I noted Growth in Spending Exceeds Growth in Income for Most of the Last 10 Months

  A deeper dive into personal income and outlays for March shows significant signs of consumer stress to maintain standards of living.

  Only twice in the last 10 months has growth in real income been greater than growth in real spending.

  Count dishonest folks struggling with food or rent among those who like self-checkout. The number is sure to rise as the economy slows.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 20:20

• Mapping The Number Of AI Startups By Country
  Mapping The Number Of AI Startups By Country

  Amidst the recent expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu visualized data from Quid (accessed via Stanford’s 2024 AI Index Report) to highlight the top 15 countries which have seen the most AI startup activity over the past decade.

  The figures in this graphic represent the number of newly funded AI startups within that country, in the time period of 2013 to 2023. Only companies that received over $1.5 million in private investment were considered.

  

  Data and Highlights

  The following table lists all of the numbers featured in the above graphic.

  

  From this data, we can see that the U.S., China, and UK have established themselves as major hotbeds for AI innovation.

  In terms of funding, the U.S. is massively ahead, with private AI investment totaling $335 billion between 2013 to 2023. AI startups in China raised $104 billion over the same timeframe, while those in the UK raised $22 billion.

  Further analysis reveals that the U.S. is widening this gap even more. In 2023, for example, private investment in the U.S. grew by 22% from 2022 levels. Meanwhile, investment fell in China (-44%) and the UK (-14.1%) over the same time span.

  Where is All This Money Flowing To?

  Quid also breaks down total private AI investment by focus area, providing insight into which sectors are receiving the most funding.

  

  Attracting the most money is AI infrastructure, research, and governance, which refers to startups that are building AI applications (like OpenAI’s ChatGPT).

  The second biggest focus area is natural language processing (NLP), which is a type of AI that enables computers to understand and interpret human language. This technology has numerous use cases for businesses, particularly in financial services, where NLP can power customer support chatbots and automated wealth advisors.

  With $8 billion invested into NLP-focused startups during 2023, investors appear keenly aware of this technology’s transformative potential.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 20:00

• Mass Arrests In NYC As More Than 1,000 Pro-Palestine Protesters March To Met Gala
  Mass Arrests In NYC As More Than 1,000 Pro-Palestine Protesters March To Met Gala

  The NYPD has begun arresting people after more than 1,000 pro-Palestine demonstrators marched through upper Manhattan towards the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is hosting the star-studded Met Gala.

  

  As protesters marched down 5th Avenue towards the event, blocking traffic, cops stepped in at the East 79th Street Transverse at Central Park and started the arrests, the NY Post reports.

  NOW: Pro-Palestine protesters sprint towards Park Avenue to rejoin the march, which has been circling around the Met

  Earlier tonight the march became separated into 3 segments but the 3 segments have now rejoined pic.twitter.com/0OzDCiza9N

  — katie smith (@probablyreadit) May 6, 2024

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

   “This is an exercise in futility at this point. There’s nowhere for them to go,” one cop attempting to control the crowd was heard telling his partner, according to the report.

  The protesters then filed out of the park and were within sight of the Met, but dozens of police formed a blockade — standing two cops deep — preventing them from heading north.

  “Is that the Met?” one protester asked a friend. “Oh no, we were so close.”

  The group tried to reach the museum again by turning down East 81st Street but was again stopped by more police barricades at the intersection with Madison Avenue. -NY Post

  

  Multiple arrests of pro-Palestine protesters near the Met Gala, where protests at NYU and Hunter College converged.

  SRG is now marching down the street threatening arrest of anyone in the roadway. pic.twitter.com/VOdd52odeQ

  — Isabelle (@isabelle_leyva) May 6, 2024

  “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” the group chanted while waving Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyeh face coverings. 

  

  

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

  #BREAKING MASS ARRESTS outside #MetGala during Pro-palestine protest ‘DAY OF RAGE’ as they marched from Hunter College for Rafah

  Video by @yyeeaahhhboiii2Desk@freedomnews.tv to license pic.twitter.com/neJQcf8TnY

  — Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) May 6, 2024

  “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?” the crowd barked at the cops. 

  🚨#BREAKING: New York Police have just Declare Level 3 Mobilization as Pro-Palestine Clashing Outside Met Gala Forcefully Tearing Through Barricades

  📌#Manhattan | #NewYork

  Currently hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters and other activists are clashing with New York police… pic.twitter.com/B4vF0aUaUE

  — R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) May 6, 2024

  

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

  🚨#BREAKING: Hundreds protest near the Met Gala in solidarity with Palestine and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Awqi7PfC29

  — Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) May 6, 2024

  Things are getting a little chaotic. 

  🚨 JUST IN: HUNDREDS of Palestine “protestors” are SMASHING through police barricades and running towards Met Gala

  Things are getting UGLY in NYCpic.twitter.com/9CqqWSBs9R

  — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 6, 2024

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

  Only days ago, we asked, “Will Campus Chaos Across America’s Woke Universities Spread To The Streets?” 

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

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 19:40

• Panama Elects New President Who Vows To Shut Migrant Trail, Restore Economy
  Panama Elects New President Who Vows To Shut Migrant Trail, Restore Economy

  Voters in the Republic of Panama on Sunday elected a new president who has vowed to sever a key segment of the Latina American migrant trail that leads to the United States while restoring the country’s reputation as an investment destination.   

  

  Former security minister Jose Raul Mulino won via an approximate 34% plurality of the vote. He was a late entrant to the race — subbing in for former President Ricardo Martinelli, who was banned from running after being convicted for money laundering and sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison.

  The conviction arose from the use of public money to buy a media firm, which then gave Martinelli a majority ownership position. Martinelli is currently living in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City, where he’s been granted asylum. That didn’t stop him from being an active voice in the campaign, urging voters to choose Mulino via messages from his makeshift home in an embassy storeroom. On Sunday, Mulino acknowledged the boost, visiting Martinelli at the Nicaraguan compound after he’d cast his own vote: 

  Gracias JR Mulino por tu visita hoy pic.twitter.com/nyWmBPhkF9

  — Ricardo Martinelli (@rmartinelli) May 5, 2024

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

  Mulino, whose five-year term will begin on July 1, has vowed to stem the massive flow of illegal migration that transits Panama en route from South America to the United States. In 2023, more than 500,000 migrants traveled through Panama; most of them were Venezuelan, reports Bloomberg. 

  “I will not permit thousands of illegals to pass through our territory like nothing, without control,” said 64-year-old Mulino as he campaigned for office. Making good on that promise will require major attention to Panama’s notorious Darien Gap, a roadless, 60-mile stretch of of swamps, mountains and rain forest that is the only terrestrial connection between South and Central America.

  

  Passage through the gap is filled with perils, not least of which are assault, robbery and rape at the hands of criminal gangs. Aid groups say the criminals in the zone are extraordinarily evil, and are known to steal food — including baby formula — and abandoning beaten, hungry victims in the jungle. 

  Mulino has also promised to confront the country’s many economic challenges — which have prompted credit downgrades. Fitch lowered Panamanian debt to junk status in March. For now, S&P and Moody’s score Panamanian bonds one slot above junk.

  

  The shuttering of a single enterprise has hit Panama’s economic and fiscal prospects hard. It’s the $10 billion Cobre copper mine run by First Quantum Materials, which accounted for 5% of Panama’s GDP and 1.5% of the global copper supply. In December, the Supreme Court said the company’s contract — which it took over through a hostile takeover — was unconstitutional.

  The terms of that contract were perceived by Panamanians as leaving too much on the table, and the mine has been the subject of major protests. Some of the opposition springs from ecological concerns. Mulino’s challenge: Strike a new deal and get the mine working again, bringing money into the economy and taxes into government coffers.

  

  The country has also suffering an economic hit from a drought that has lowered water levels in Gatun Lake. The lake an important component of the Panama Canal route, and the lower water level forced restrictions that slashed canal transits and total tonnage. “The run rate for fiscal year 2024 of vessels through the canal is 9,700, 23% lower than the 2023 fiscal year throughput,” FreightWaves reported in February. 

  Nudging the canal back toward normal operations will require identifying a new water source. One proposal calls for the construction of a $900 million water reservoir, something the US Army Corp of Engineers explored in the late 1990s. If it gets the green light, construction is expected to span five years. 

  

  In 2022, the country was rocked the largest civil unrest since the end of dictator Manuel Noriega’s reign in 1989. The action included strikes by teachers and construction workers — and demonstrators using fiery roadblocks — as citizens lashed out against rising prices, as well as government corruption in the form of legislators’ families and cronies being granted bloated contracts and salaries. Members of the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party threw fuel on the fire when photos captured them drinking $340 bottles of Macallan whisky while celebrating the start of a new legislative session.  

  Order was restored after President Cortizo ordered 10% government payroll cuts and imposted price controls. Of course, government market interventions are never a path to lasting prosperity and stability. That’s a fact President-Elect Mulino may not fully grasp: One of his promised economic remedies is a boost in the country’s minimum wage.  

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 19:20

• Confidence In Biden Economic Stewardship Historically Low
  Confidence In Biden Economic Stewardship Historically Low

  By Megan Brenan of Gallup

  With Americans less optimistic about the state of the U.S. economy than they have been in recent months and concern about inflation persisting, their confidence in President Joe Biden to recommend or do the right thing for the economy is among the lowest Gallup has measured for any president since 2001. But Biden is not alone in facing a skeptical public, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, the Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress, and presumptive presidential nominee Republican Donald Trump garner confidence ratings below 50%.

  

  Forty-six percent of U.S. adults say they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in Trump to do or recommend the right thing for the economy, while fewer say the same of Biden (38%), Powell (39%), and Democratic (38%) and Republican (36%) leaders in Congress.

  To a large degree, this reflects partisanship; Democrats are confident in Biden, Powell and Democratic congressional leaders, while Republicans are confident in Trump and Republican congressional leaders. Partisans have little to no confidence in the opposing party’s leaders. While political independents are not overly confident in any of the leaders, they have the most confidence in Trump.

  These findings are from Gallup’s Economy and Personal Finance poll, conducted April 1-22. During the poll’s field period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest Consumer Price Index data showing that inflation remains stubbornly elevated, though nowhere near the 40-year highs seen in 2022. After the poll was completed, Powell announced that interest rates would remain steady due to the current inflation rate.

  Confidence in Biden’s Management of Economy Low Compared With Predecessors

  Gallup has tracked confidence in presidents’ ability to do the right thing for the economy annually since George W. Bush took office in 2001. Bush, Barack Obama and Biden (to a lesser extent) enjoyed majority-level economic confidence ratings at the start of their presidencies, while the public’s confidence in Trump never rose above his initial 48% reading. Trump’s current rating is essentially tied with that of his last year in office.

  Obama’s confidence ratings were at least 50% each year except for one (42% in 2014). Biden has fared much worse as confidence in his economic management dropped precipitously in 2022 from 57% to 40% amid sharply higher inflation, and it has been below 40% since then. Only Bush earned lower confidence from Americans than Biden has since last year — by the end of his second term, amid the Great Recession, when just 34% of Americans expressed confidence in his economic abilities.

  

  Confidence in Powell Remains Low Historically

  Powell’s latest economic confidence reading of 39% is statistically similar to last year’s 36%. Alan Greenspan, who served five terms in the position, inspired majority-level confidence for each of Gallup’s five readings between 2001 and 2005. In contrast, the two chairs of the Federal Reserve who followed Greenspan — Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen — failed to register confidence ratings above 50%.

  

  One reason Fed chairs typically engender less confidence than presidents is that the public is not overly familiar with them, and thus more likely to not offer an opinion on their leadership. This year, 16% do not offer an opinion on Powell. Historically, the average percentage not expressing a view on the Fed chair’s leadership has been 17%.

  Below-Average Confidence in Democratic, Republican Congressional Leaders

  The current economic confidence readings for both parties’ congressional leaders are statistically similar to last year’s readings but well below the historical average for each. Democratic leadership’s latest 38% confidence rating is near the all-time low of 34% recorded in 2023 and below the average of 46% since 2001. Republican leadership’s latest 36% rating is well above the 24% low for that group, in 2014, but significantly below the historical average of 43%.

  Confidence ratings were last at the majority level in 2009 for Democratic congressional leaders and in 2003 for Republican congressional leaders.

  

  Confidence in Economic Leaders Driven by Partisanship

  Americans’ confidence in these key leaders is driven by partisans’ differing views. Broad majorities of Republicans express confidence in the economic competence of Trump (86%), their party’s presumptive presidential nominee, and 82% of Democrats do the same of Biden.

  Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they are confident in their own party’s congressional leaders (80% vs. 67%, respectively). Democrats (56%) are also more confident than Republicans (30%) in Powell’s handling of the economy. Few in either party are confident in the opposing party’s presidential candidate or congressional leaders.

  Roughly one-third of independents say they are confident in Biden, Powell and both parties’ congressional leaders. Trump earns higher confidence from independents (45%).

  

  Bottom Line

  Americans’ assessments of the national economy are bleak, and they lack confidence in U.S. leaders’ ability to manage it properly. Democrats trust Biden and Powell on the economy, while Republicans trust Trump — but relatively few independents trust any of the current leaders who have a hand in managing the economy. The net result is that, unlike as recently as 2021, none of the key national figures who can influence the economy earns the trust of a majority of Americans.

  Biden’s subpar rating could have significant electoral implications as not only does he have the lowest economic rating of any president seeking reelection since Gallup began tracking this in 2001, but independents trust his opponent more than him.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 19:00

• Five Simple Policies To Reset America's "Rigged" Health System  
  Five Simple Policies To Reset America’s “Rigged” Health System  

  Calley Means, a one-time consultant for big food and pharmaceutical companies in the Washington, DC, swap and now the founder of TrueMed, a company that enables tax-free spending on food and exercise, has outlined on X five simple policies the federal government can implement to correct the “rigged system” that has contributed to the nation’s obesity crisis. 

  Means first compares childhood obesity rates in the US, over 20%, with those in Japan, which are only 4%. He said 50% of US teens are overweight or obese. As we’ve noted before, this is a national security threat, given morbidly obese men aged 18-25 are no good for the modern battlefield if World War III breaks out in Eastern Europe and or the Middle East. 

  Even more shocking is that the federal government nor politicians on Capitol Hill offer any simple lifestyle changes that could begin to correct this crisis. Instead, the solution is to bankrupt America’s Medicare program through Big Pharma’s blockbuster weight loss drugs, such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic.

  

  Means calls the health system “rigged” and offers five simple policies that are getting attention from America’s billionaires:

  1. Ban TV Pharma Ads

  • The US and New Zealand are the only countries in the world that allow pharma ads.

  • Pharma money is 55% of TV news spending. The reason pharma spends is not to influence consumers – it is to influence the news itself.

  • The President can instruct the FDA Office of Prescription Drug Promotion to ban pharma ads tomorrow.

  2. No soda on SNAP (food stamps)

  • It is criminal that 10% of all SNAP funding goes to sugary drinks – which are leading to one-third of teens to have pre-diabetes.

  • Using existing drug policy, the President can issue an executive order tomorrow that government money should not subsidize an addictive, toxic substance for kids.

  3. Fire the Corrupt USDA Nutrition Panel

  • 95% of the USDA panel that makes nutrition policy is paid for by food companies.

  • This panel recommends 10% of a 2-year-old’s diet can be added sugar.

  • The President can fire this panel tomorrow and insist on unbiased guidelines.

  4. No conflicts of interest among NIH researchers

  • This sounds like a no-brainer, but it is a radical suggestion.

  • Currently, there are no conflict-of-interest bans at the NIH and 8,000 researchers have “major” conflicts. 

  • This Is why 40x more money is spent on ways to “manage” cancer than to prevent it — prevention doesn’t make money for pharma.

  • This can be changed tomorrow.

  5. Reform Insane Ag Subsidies

  • Today, the federal government subsidizes tobacco more than vegetables.

  • 90% of agriculture subsidies go the components of ultra-processed food (corn, soy, wheat) – distorting incentives for farmers

  • These subsidies are Implemented by the Ag Department.

  In Japan, the childhood obesity rate is 4%.

  In the US, it is over 20%.

  50% of American teens are overweight or obese.

  This moral stain on our country isn’t “free choice.” US parents don’t hate their kids more.

  We have a rigged system + can change it with 5 simple policies:…

  — Calley Means (@calleymeans) May 5, 2024

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

  Bill Ackman and Elon Musk took notice of the proposed policies… 

  Ozempic ftw 🤷‍♂️

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 5, 2024

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

  Means added, “Japan has a 5x lower childhood obesity rate BECAUSE they address the root cause.” 

  Japan has a 5x lower childhood obesity rate BECAUSE they address the root cause.

  Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity, autism, and autoimmune conditions are all significantly higher in the US because we trust pharma too much – not because we don’t have enough drugs.

  — Calley Means (@calleymeans) May 5, 2024

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

  In a separate post in March, Means wrote, “If our kids are being poisoned by our food, the solution is not to let that happen + inject them w government-funded Ozempic for life.” 

  .@elonmusk is the most important living American, but he’s dead wrong on Ozempic.

  If our kids are being poisoned by our food, the solution is not to let that happen + inject them w government-funded Ozempic for life.

  It’s to stop poisoning them.

  This is a first order issue. pic.twitter.com/zs6nI3PToj

  — Calley Means (@calleymeans) February 4, 2024

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

  Meanwhile… 

  

  More than ever, Americans must break free of the food-industrial complex and big pharma or risk early death. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 18:40

• DHS Shuts Down Expert Group That Denied Hunter Biden Laptop Story
  DHS Shuts Down Expert Group That Denied Hunter Biden Laptop Story

  Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

  The Biden administration has agreed to shut down a national security experts’ group as part of settling a lawsuit accusing the group of being politically biased in favor of Democrats.

  On Sept. 19, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group to provide advice on intelligence and national security efforts. In November, America First Legal (AFL) and former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell sued the DHS, the group, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, arguing that the experts group violated provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

  

  Section 5 of FACA requires that an advisory committee be “fairly balanced in terms of the points of view.” It also mandates there be provisions to ensure that “the advice and recommendations of the advisory committee will not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority or by any special interest.”

  The lawsuit noted that “the Experts Group’s members are political allies of the Biden Administration. Most members have applauded the Administration’s decisions and fervidly condemned former President Trump’s America First approach to foreign policy.”

  “They have overwhelmingly donated to President Biden or other Democrats. Defendant Mayorkas selected members that are agreeable, not balanced,” it stated.

  Some of the members were also signatories of a letter that dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation.

  On May 2, plaintiffs and the defendants in the case agreed to settle the matter, with the DHS agreeing to wind up the experts group in 30 days.

  The group “will not hold any future meetings, and the Department will not reconstitute the Experts Group inconsistent with the FACA or the Homeland Security Act of 2002,” the joint notice of the agreement stated.

  The DHS agreed to provide AFL with the group’s meeting agendas and minutes, which have to be submitted within 15 days. “Based on these representations, Plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss their lawsuit with prejudice.”

  The department did not admit any wrongdoing and maintained its position that the group did not violate FACA.

  “Thanks to the courage of Ric Grenell in standing up to the Deep State, we have just achieved an unqualified legal victory over Mayorkas and Biden. As a result of our lawsuit in federal court, DHS is surrendering in total to our demands,” said Stephen Miller, president of America First Legal.

  The “partisan” experts group “would have been used to promote censored, unethical spying, and gross civil rights invasions of political enemies,” he added.

  Mr. Grenell said that DHS “surrendered” on the issue because they knew AFL was in the right and that “Biden’s team broke the law.”

  This is the second time that the Biden administration has agreed to disband an advisory group due to violating FACA provisions. In December 2022, the Department of Education disbanded its National Parents and Families Engagement Council after legal action brought by AFL and its clients.

  Partisan Committee

  When the DHS experts group was first announced, the panel comprised seventeen members. In its lawsuit, AFL stated that these members “do not represent a fair balance of viewpoints.”

  Two of the panel members were John Brennan, a former director of the CIA, and James Clapper, former director of national intelligence. Both of them were signatories of the “Letter of 51,” using their intelligence credentials to outrightly dismiss the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 election.

  Despite the FBI having validated the authenticity of the laptop, the letter claimed that the story had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

  Another panel member, Tashina Gauhar, a former associate deputy attorney general and deputy assistant attorney general, is linked to the 2016 Trump–Russia collusion probe.

  She was “extensively involved in the FBI’s corrupt, partisan probe into the baseless allegations that former President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia before the 2016 election, including drafting the FISA applications that were used to spy on the Trump campaign,” the lawsuit noted.

  Out of the 17 panel members, 13 have a history of political contributions, collectively making 945 contributions to candidates for political office that are reportable to the Federal Election Commission.

  “Of those 945 contributions, 932 (98.62 percent) were made to Democrat candidates for office, while only 12 (1.27 percent) were made to Republican candidates for office,” the lawsuit stated.

  “Of the 13 contributors, 9 contributed only to Democrats, whereas 1 contributed only to a Republican (with a single donation of $250). Three contributed to members of both parties, but of those, 2 were heavily lopsided in favor of Democrat candidates. The other contributor gave 8 contributions to Democrat candidates and 7 to Republican candidates.”

  In total, the political contributions made by the panel members came to over $168,000 since January 2012, out of which more than $156,000 went to Democrat candidates.

  On Sept. 29 after the DHS announced the experts group, GOP lawmakers had written a letter to Mr. Mayorkas, asking him to rescind appointments of people like Mr. Clapper and Mr. Brennan as they were “individuals known to spread lies and disinformation.”

  A few days earlier on Sept. 26, Rep. August Pfluger (R-Tex.) introduced HR 5729 which sought to “prohibit the use of Federal funds to establish a Homeland Intelligence Experts Group and for other purposes.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 18:20