• US Will Not Restrain Israel In Gaza: Lavrov
  US Will Not Restrain Israel In Gaza: Lavrov

  Via The Cradle,

  The US does not want to restrain Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview to RT on Wednesday. Russia has proposed several UN Security Council resolutions seeking a ceasefire to the all out conflict that erupted between the Israeli military and Hamas on October. 

  When asked to comment on why he believed the US vetoed the resolutions, Lavrov suggested that Washington “is highly ideologized.” He said: “Anything coming from Russia is taken as a hostile act… But on substance, and on practical terms Washington does not want to tie Israel’s hands.”

  

  After Israel had killed 7,028 Palestinians were killed, including 2,913 children, after just three weeks of fighting, Washington still insisted it was not trying to dictate limits to Tel Avis in its execution of the war. At the same time, the US continued to accelerate badly needed military aid to Israel. “We’re not drawing red lines for Israel,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said at the time.

  Last week, as the death toll had reached over 10,000 Palestinians, Axios reported that under pressure from Washington, Israel agreed to begin “tactical, localized humanitarian pauses” but the US made it clear that the request was not intended to force the Israelis into a ceasefire.

  During his interview with RT, Lavrov explained as well that Moscow does not believe that Hamas allies Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon want the war in Gaza to escalate into a broader regional conflict.

  Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has threatened to bomb Lebanese capital Beirut in a similar way to their campaign in Gaza, while some US hawks have called for an attack on Iran.

  Moscow, however, believes there is “no appetite” for a major conflict in Lebanon or Iran, Lavrov stated, adding that neither country wants “any involvement in this crisis.” Lavrov claimed that recent televised remarks by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah show that it has “no appetite for a big war.”

  Lavrov also argued that the Western allies “wanted and still want to ‘Ukrainize’ each and every agenda of each and every international forum.” But, he explained—

  “This was never going to fly… The countries of the global majority, of the Global South, don’t want to allow the West to continue to decide each and every issue on the planet on its own, in its own interests.”

  ‘Expelling Palestinians from Gaza would ruin UN resolutions’ – Lavrov pic.twitter.com/YFFKIjdhCK

  — RT (@RT_com) November 15, 2023

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  Meanwhile, Hezbollah has exchange fire with Israel on the southern border since Oct. 8, losing some 60 fighters and inflicting damage on Israeli military bases and settlements. However, Hezbollah has not used its vast rocket and missile stocks, thought to number over 130,000, to launch a full scale war against Israel. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 23:40

• Where Are The Landmines?
  Where Are The Landmines?

  Since 1997, anti-personnel landmines have been prohibited by the United Nations via a treaty that was signed by more than 150 countries. Unfortunately there are a ton of them still active all over the world.

  As Martin Armstrong of Statista reveals, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor classifies large swathes of the world as being contaminated to some degree with land mines. The negative effects of their presence can not be understated: “Both landmines and explosive remnants of war pose a serious and ongoing threat to civilians. These weapons can be found on roads, footpaths, farmers’ fields, forests, deserts, along borders, in and surrounding houses and schools, and in other places where people are carrying out their daily activities. They deny access to food, water, and other basic needs, and inhibit freedom of movement. They endanger the initial flight and prevent the repatriation of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), and hamper the delivery of humanitarian aid.”

  

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 23:20

• CDC Announces Expansion Of Airport Surveillance: What It Means For You
  CDC Announces Expansion Of Airport Surveillance: What It Means For You

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

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will increase its airport surveillance for respiratory infections, said statements from the federal agency and a private partner on Monday.

  

  What It Entails

  The private firm, Ginkgo Bioworks, said that it is expanding its work with the CDC’s Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program “to test for more than 30 additional priority pathogens, in addition to SARS-CoV-2,” the virus that causes COVID-19.

  It then described the program as a “flexible, multimodal platform that consists of three complementary approaches of sample collection from arriving international travelers at U.S. airports, including voluntary nasal swabbing, aircraft wastewater, and airport wastewater sampling to enhance early detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens, and fills gaps in global surveillance.”

  What It Will Test

  The other pathogens the company said it will test for include multiple influenza strains as well as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Neither it nor the CDC listed listed the others.

  “The expansion of the Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program to flu, RSV, and other pathogens is essential as we head into fall respiratory season. The TGS program, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic, acted as an early warning system to detect new and rare variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and will do the same for other respiratory viruses going forward,” said Dr. Cindy Friedman, chief of the CDC’s Travelers’ Health Branch, in the statement.

  The travelers program was introduced in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to detect COVID-19 variants and other pathogens via a nasal swab and wastewater collection sampling.

  It allowed for the “early detection of the SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.2.86 entering the United States within days of its global identification,” the CDC said, referring to a COVID-19 variant that was found over the summer of 2023. “As the infected traveler had originated travel in Japan, this finding also informed the public health community that the new variant had also spread to Asia.”

  ‘Voluntary’ Program

  The CDC’s program has “enrolled” more than 360,000 air travelers since it was implemented in late 2021, the agency said, adding that it is both “voluntary and anonymous.” It covers flights from more than 135 countries around the world, officials said.

  It doesn’t only just rely on travelers volunteering. The agency also collects wastewater samples to evaluate pathogens.

  Other than Gingko Bioworks, XpresCheck—a company that runs spa operations at airports—will also partake in the program, according to the CDC.

  “We have known that travelers are a very important population to consider for tracking new and emerging infections,” Dr. Friedman, with the CDC’s program, told CNN. “One sample from an aircraft coming from a geographic destination afar can give us information potentially about 200 to 300 people that were on that plane,” she added.

  A CDC map shows the travelers program is being run at major airports in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington D.C., New York City, Boston, and Newark in New Jersey.

  

  Where?

  Officials say the latest expansion will launch at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport.

  Hospitalizations Down

  According to data provided by the CDC, the rate of hospitalizations have declined in recent weeks since late summer. For the week ending Oct. 28, the hospitalization, death, and COVID-19 positivity rate have essentially remained steady, although emergency room visits have declined, the data shows.

  In September, the agency said that for the fall and winter season, hospitalizations would rise for COVID-19, RSV, and influenza.

  Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC signed off on three new updated COVID-19 booster vaccines, although federal data suggests that uptake is relatively slow. So far, only 7 percent of Americans have received the shot, according to the data, while polls suggest that more and more Americans are increasingly wary of the shots.

  A poll from the the Annenberg Public Policy Center with the University of Pennsylvania found that about 63 percent of Americans think that getting the COVID-19 vaccine is safer than getting the virus itself—signaling a drop of 12 percentage points from April 2021 when 75 percent held that view.

  That survey also found that Americans who view the shot as unsafe increased from 18 percent in August 2022 to 24 percent during last month’s poll.

  Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans who back using ivermectin—a drug that was often demonized by media outlets and even some federal health officials—to treat COVID-19 has risen from 10 percent in September 2021 to 26 percent last month, the survey found.

  Earlier this year, as the federal government lifted its three-year-long public health emergency over COVID-19, the CDC also lifted its rule that required non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Before, any visitor to the United States had to receive the vaccine before getting on a flight to the United States and would have to be also tested for the virus beforehand.

  Reuters contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 23:00

• SpaceX Prepares For Starlink IPO In 2024, Report Says
  SpaceX Prepares For Starlink IPO In 2024, Report Says

  Starlink, the satellite internet technology made possible by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, is preparing for an initial public offering as soon as the second half of 2024, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the situation. 

  SpaceX has been shifting Starlink’s assets to a wholly-owned subsidiary that would make it ripe for a spin-off ahead of the IPO, one person said, adding there is yet to be a concrete decision about going public. They said the upcoming listing could be postponed to 2025. 

  

  News of a Starlink IPO follows Musk’s comment on social media platform X earlier this month: “Excited to announce that @SpaceX @Starlink has achieved breakeven cash flow!” 

  He continued, “Excellent work by a great team. Starlink is also now a majority of all active satellites and will have launched a majority of all satellites cumulatively from Earth by next year.” 

  Excited to announce that @SpaceX @Starlink has achieved breakeven cash flow! Excellent work by a great team.

  Starlink is also now a majority of all active satellites and will have launched a a majority of all satellites cumulatively from Earth by next year.

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2023

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  Musk has commented on the prospect of a Starlink IPO for several years, but the timing remains unclear. However, in 2021, the billionaire said that once the company can “reasonably” forecast cash flow, that would be a sign that a listing to the public markets would be nearing. 

  Last Friday, Billionaire investor Ron Baron told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin that he expects SpaceX to IPO its Starlink in 2027. 

  Baron said, “We think that by the time they go public with SpaceX, with Starlink … in 2027 or so, four years, the company will be worth $250 billion to $300 billion.”

  Tesla blogger Sawyer Merritt recently posted on X a graph that shows Starlink’s onboarding of new customers has been parabolic since June 2022. The service now has more than 2 million users worldwide. 

  BREAKING: @SpaceX has announced that there are now over 2 million active Starlink customers, up 500k from 4 month ago🛰️

  It’s now available on 7 continents and in over 60 countries. pic.twitter.com/3DvUzwH1vp

  — Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 23, 2023

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

  SpaceX currently has a $150 billion valuation. It has delivered 80% of all Earth’s payload mass to orbit this year. 

  As we continue to point out, Musk is becoming the ‘uncancellable‘ billionaire while radical Democrats in Washington weaponize government agencies against his companies. 

  In other news, SpaceX’s Starship launch could be as soon as this Friday. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 22:40

• Campus Antisemitism Is Fueled By Woke Takeover Of Higher Education
  Campus Antisemitism Is Fueled By Woke Takeover Of Higher Education

  Authored by Jonathan Pidluzny via American Greatness,

  “[T]here are moments in this life… when… pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world.” That is how President Biden first described Hamas’s gruesome premeditated attack on Israeli civilians.

  Compare the reaction on college campuses. In a “Day of Resistance” toolkit, National Students for Justice in Palestine, an organization with hundreds of campus chapters, called the slaughter of Israeli Jews “a historic win for the Palestinian resistance.” The toolkit went on to describe the “heightened stage of the Palestinian struggle” as a “resistance” that will “bring dignity and honor to the Palestinian people.”

  

  In the weeks since, student groups on U.S. campuses have celebrated the atrocity — both in public statements and boisterous campus rallies. A statement endorsed by more than 30 student groups at Harvard University professing to hold “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” is only the highest profile among many examples. Two weeks ago, 57 people — many of them calling for Israel’s destruction — were arrested for trespassing at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

  Faculty, too, are on record cheering Hamas. A Cornell professor called the slaughter “exhilarating,” while a professor of climate science at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago called Israelis “pigs” and “savages.” An American Studies professor at the University of California–Davis encouraged violence targeting “Zionist journalists” (and their families) in a public Tweet.

  And yet, few university presidents have condemned expressions of hatred on their campuses with the moral clarity the moment demands. Many could not even muster the fortitude to condemn Hamas’s massacre without equivocating. Emboldened, pro-Hamas students are now crossing the line from protected (hateful) speech to harassment and violence. With menacing mobs chanting eliminationist slogans, how could a Jewish student feel truly safe on an elite campus?

  All this against a backdrop that will sear October 7 into our historical memory for generations: more than 1,400 confirmed dead; thousands injured; more than 200 hostages taken by terrorists who fantasize about wiping Israel from the face of the Earth; ISIS-level displays of cruelty and barbarism; and dead children discovered in pieces.

  What is going on? Why are privileged students on elite campuses, tomorrow’s public leaders, cheering evil and blaming the victims of a heinous terrorist attack? Why such cowardice from academic administrators?

  Three aspects of the contemporary campus environment, trends that have been building for decades, help to explain a reaction that ordinary Americans rightly find appalling and incomprehensible.

  First, today’s “social justice” movements crudely sort individuals into groups based on whether they can be viewed as oppressors or the oppressed. Jews are labeled oppressors by virtue of their political and economic success — even though their suffering, as a people, is unparalleled in modern history.

  This lazy way of understanding the world — common to postcolonial studies, critical race theory, intersectionality, campus DEI, and a host of far-left intellectual frameworks — has rotted the academy. It teaches adherents to embrace primitive tribalism, one that sees the world exclusively in terms of virtuous victims and evil oppressors. And it teaches students to make simple, uncompromising judgments: Jews are oppressors in Israel. White interests systematically discriminate against minorities in this country.

  As a result, students leave campus primed to judge others based on group identity or skin color, not individual character or merit. Thus, critical deliberation is sacrificed to a feverous, anti-intellectual imperative: cheer for the group the Left says is marginalized—and against Western Civilization, which is alleged to be inherently oppressive. This is how the new campus ideologies obliterate students’ capacity for moral judgment.

  It also explains why campus activists can fly into an indignant rage over “microaggressions” — literally, an alleged harm that is microscopic — if the “victim” claims a favored group identity while at the same time, blaming Israel when barbaric Hamas terrorists burn Jewish babies to death. The mindset forged on campus migrates with graduates into our schools, the media, and the halls of Congress.

  Second, it is possible to hold such a simplistic, fanatical worldview in part because students lack the historical understanding that would help them appreciate the magnitude and moral significance of October 7. It should be the role of universities to instill this.

  Unfortunately, general education (the course of study common to all students at a university) has deteriorated beyond recognition. Instead of taking courses designed to acquaint students with their civilizational inheritance — courses in politics, history, foreign languages, philosophy, religion, etc. — students today choose from menus of disjointed electives, many of them designed to advance a social justice ideology.

  As a result, few students learn much about the Middle East and its complicated history — or even their own country. It is easier to cling to a propagandistic distortion when you lack the perspective that would call it into question, for example, the reasons Israel’s borders changed after its 20th-century wars, the fact Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, awareness that eradicating Israel is written into Hamas’s very charter, etc., etc., etc.

  Third, elite university campuses are the one place in American society where making the intellectual case for antisemitism is fashionable. Faculty in radical “Studies” disciplines, some of them funded by federal tax dollars under Title VI of the Higher Education Act (others, by foreign gifts from Gulf states), run biased and imbalanced programs. Some even advocate for the abolition of Israel and platform the professors who have been cheering Hamas’s massacre. No university would hire faculty whose “academic research” made similar claims about any other people.

  Antisemitic professors and student groups, even in small numbers, warp the campus conversation. Their presence conveys to students that this one hatred is respectable. Indeed, researchers have established that the presence on campus of faculty who express anti-Zionist views “is associated with a significant increase in…. incidents that target Jewish students for harm, including assault, harassment, destruction of property and suppression of speech.”

  The result is a campus environment broadly hostile to Jewish students and is quickly getting worse. We knew this before Hamas’s killing spree. A 2022 survey found that 55% of Jewish students said that they have personally experienced antisemitism on their campus. Only 28% said they think that school administrators take antisemitism seriously.

  The specter of students cheering an evil massacre at elite universities while cowardly administrators convey indifference reveals a profound sickness in the places that are supposed to preserve (and perpetuate) our civilizational inheritance.

  Campus pathologies spread. Academic ideologies reshape society as they ripple beyond the university’s walls. That is what they are designed to do. Combating campus antisemitism is, therefore, not just a moral imperative. It is an urgent priority in the battle to save higher education, which will profoundly shape the society in which our children and grandchildren grow up.

  Jonathan Pidluzny, Ph.D., is the Director of the Higher Education Reform Initiative at the America First Policy Institute.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 22:20

• Owner Of Chinese Biolab Busted In California Linked To CCP Military Program: House Report
  Owner Of Chinese Biolab Busted In California Linked To CCP Military Program: House Report

  The Chinese owner of a makeshift biolab discovered in a remote California city has ties to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and a Chinese military program, according to a report by the House Select Subcommittee on the CCP.

  

  Jia Bei Zhu, 62, was arrested in October for distributing misbranded medical devices and lying to the FDA.

  The lab, located near Fresno, California (less than 200 miles from where Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Joe Biden on Wednesday), was discovered serendipitously when a local code enforcement officer noticed a garden hose attached to the facility. This led to the discovery of thousands of vials, some labeled in Mandarin, others in an undeciphered code. However, the inaction by the FBI and CDC in this matter, as reported by the committee, is perplexing and concerning.

  

  Zhu, a PRC citizen, was reportedly a key figure in China’s “military-civil fusion organizations“ – entities that blur the lines between civilian research and military applications. This strategy, according to the State Department, is part of the CCP’s grand vision to transform its People’s Liberation Army into a formidable global power by 2049.

  While the committee’s investigations unearthed Zhu’s extensive involvement in several PRC government-controlled companies, his activities in the U.S. under the alias “David He” and the discovery of dangerous materials in the unlicensed lab in Reedley, California, are particularly alarming. Here, officials found over 20 potentially infectious agents, including HIV and Malaria, and genetically engineered mice carrying COVID-19.

  

  Zhu’s confession of operating his companies to “further PRC policy” and meet demands of a PRC premier raises serious concerns about espionage and intellectual property theft. His history of operating companies in Canada, engaging in the massive theft of American cattle-related intellectual property, and fleeing to the U.S. after a $330 million judgment, only adds to the gravity of the situation.

  The committee also highlighted Zhu’s inflammatory private messages on WeChat, where he talked about defeating “the American aggressor” and referred to his companies as tools against “American imperialism.”

  CDC Ignores Evidence?

  But perhaps even more disturbing is the alleged disregard by the CDC for potential evidence, including a freezer labeled “ebola.” This negligence or possible cover-up raises critical questions about the integrity and competence of these federal agencies in handling matters of national security.

  

  The committee’s findings corroborate an investigation by the Daily Caller from August 2023, which linked Zhu’s biolab to Ai De Biopharmaceutical in Qingdao, China. This connection suggests a broader network of PRC-controlled companies engaging in dubious activities on American soil.

  As the full scope of Zhu’s operations and his connections to the PRC government unfold, this case may well represent a glaring example of the CCP’s covert operations in the United States, blending industrial espionage with potential biological threats. The implications for national security are profound and demand an urgent and thorough response from U.S. authorities.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 22:00

• Can We Reverse America's Distemper?
  Can We Reverse America’s Distemper?

  Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via Of Two Minds,

  Consider this description of America’s discontent:

  “…a Hamlet-like loss of self-confidence, with an apocalyptic sense of doom for the civilization. On the Right it embodies a conviction that the sensate culture is pushing the society down the Gaderene slope of drugs-and-fornication to destruction. On the Left there is the vague sense that America is imperialist, fascist-oriented, caught in inner contradictions of class and ethnic struggles which will end in self-destructive wars or civil chaos.

  …the fragmenting and polarizing of institutions (family, neighborhood, university, church, nation)–in short, the overloading of the social nervous system by sudden accelerations of change.”

  Is that a reasonably fair description of America in 2023? Interestingly, it was written in January 1974, describing the America of 50 years ago. (America Agonistes (Max Lerner, Foreign Affairs, January 1974). I have often referred to Peter Turchin’s evidence-based cyclical mapping of the structural sources of social disorder which he has updated in his latest work, End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration.

  Turchin identified 50-year cycles of integration–in which people find reasons to cooperate–and disintegration, in which people find reasons to devolve cooperation. From this perspective, that an article from 50 years ago sounds current is not only no surprise, it was easily predictable.

  This Salon article summarizes many of the conclusions in Turchin’s new book: Hope in “End Times”: Peter Turchin’s analysis of our coming collapse could help us avoid it:

  For all its breadth and depth, there’s a simple message at the core of “End Times”: At the heart of our problems, Turchin writes, is “a perverse ‘wealth pump’ … taking from the poor and giving to the rich,” and we have to find a way to turn it off.

  This reflects “one of the most fundamental principles in sociology, the ‘iron law of oligarchy,'” he writes, “which states that when an interest group acquires a lot of power, it inevitably starts using that power in self-interested ways.” For example, while wages fell far behind the growth of economic productivity from 1979 onward, Turchin cites analysis from the Economic Policy Institute indicating that three-fourths of that gap was due to elite-driven policy shifts: weakened labor standards, the erosion of collective bargaining, corporate globalization and so-called fiscal austerity.

  Diminished economic conditions for the less educated were accompanied by a decline in the social institutions that nurtured their social life and cooperation. These institutions include the family, the church, the labor union, the public schools and their parent-teacher associations, and various voluntary neighborhood associations.”

  Back in America’s previous cyclical crisis, Lerner identified the sources of decline in this way: “Civilizations die not only of rigidity, failure to meet challenges, constitutional breakdown. They may also die of deep alienations and the erosion of crucial institutions.”

  He concluded that America’s cult of change precluded a decline due to rigidity:

  “My own stress is on studying the crucial factors in the death of past civilizations, and using them to put questions concerning American directions. To start with, the rigidity which marked a number of declines and falls is only minimally present in America, with her cult of change and her experience of social and cultural revolution.”

  I will consider the issue of rigidity in upcoming posts, but for now, let’s consider the decay of America’s social and economic foundations, starting with Turchin’s perverse wealth pump that has stripmined the bottom 90% to enrich the top 1%, as shown in this chart:

  

  Social trust, a baseline measure of social stability, has eroded. It’s worth noting that the tumultuous 1970s don’t come off so badly in this chart compared to the present. It is not coincidental that social trust rose in the 1990s, when prosperity included the entirety of households and not just the top 10% and has since declined sharply as prosperity was concentrated in the top 10%.

  

  The hyper-financialization and hyper-globalization of the economy–the engines of wealth and income inequality– took off in 2000, more than tripling total debt. Soaring debt service is a consequential measure of financial decay:

  

  Across every institution, the entrenched elites and incumbents now respond to decline by doing more of what’s failed, a sign not of flexibility but of self-serving rigidity:

  

  I’ll consider an even more destructive manifestation of rigidity in my next post.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 21:40

• The Inaugural ZeroHedge Debate: Laura Loomer And Dave Smith Clash Over The Israel-Hamas War
  The Inaugural ZeroHedge Debate: Laura Loomer And Dave Smith Clash Over The Israel-Hamas War

   

  Welcome to the first ever ZeroHedge live debate in which Laura Loomer and Dave Smith will clash over the Israel Palestine conflict. We hope you find it informative. In the replies to this tweet, please submit your questions for the participants. https://t.co/xDKaEkOTjf

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 15, 2023

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

   

   

  Modern discourse has devolved into headlines and soundbites. Gone are the great debates of decades past, when luminaries such as Buckley and Vidal, Chomsky and Foucault, or Tucker and Carville spent the better part of an hour hashing out issues on the national stage. These unfiltered, pre-internet debates, untainted by self-serving echo chambers and the biased lens of corporate media, served to actually inform – not manipulate – the public, and shape official policy.

  In the same vein, and in hopes of short-circuiting the endless media noise, ZeroHedge is going back to basics with a series of live, spontaneous, unscripted and interactive debates, with no commercial breaks, which we hope will inspire discussion on a wide variety of controversial topics, ranging from war to finance, to unsustainable debt, to crypto, to society and religion, and everything in between.

  Why? Because we realize that only free, uncensored debate can crush bad ideas before they evolve and lead to social and economic misery, suffering and death… and because only dialogue can save the world.

  Our first debate features Dave Smith and Laura Loomer, who will discuss the Israel-Hamas war. We will also dedicate a portion of the debate to responding directly to questions submitted by our readers on X/Twitter.

   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 21:21

• Where America's International Students Come From
  Where America’s International Students Come From

  While enrollment at US higher education institutes saw a massive dip during the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of international students has bounced back in the 2022/2023 academic year, thanks to a huge influx from India.

  And while still below pre-pandemic levels, 1.06 million international students came to the US in the past school year according to the Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange – a jump of 11.5% over 2021/2022 and 15% over 2020/2021.

  As Katharina Buchholz of Statista further notes, International students make up 5.6 percent of the total U.S. student population, up from 4.6 percent one year prior. They contributed around $40 billion to the American economy in 2022/23.

  China remained the largest source country for international students with a grand total of 289,526 enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, non-degree and optional practicing training programs. Their number has been decreasing for years however. India, on the other hand, came second with 268,923 students – a count that has been increasing, most recently by a whopping 35 percent. South Korea is in rank 3 with 43,847 international students in the past academic year, followed by Canada, Vietnam and Taiwan. Other countries where international enrollment at U.S. institutions grew quickly were Nigeria (up 22 percent) and Japan (up 19 percent).

  

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 21:20

• California Landlords Struggle To Make Ends Meet After Eviction Moratorium Ends
  California Landlords Struggle To Make Ends Meet After Eviction Moratorium Ends

  Authored by Rudy Blalock via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  After years of missed rental payments, one Oakland property owner was left on her own to recover her losses, despite desperately seeking help from the city, state, and local law enforcement.

  

  Carolyn Silas-Sams, a retired paralegal and an Oakland resident, said she inherited a duplex in the city in 2006 from her late mother and has been maintaining it ever since, although she never imagined that she would face the disaster that she has over the past few years due to the eviction moratorium.

  “I’m telling you … any level of education would not allow your brain to accept that something like this could happen, because it’s not rational,” she told The Epoch Times.

  After remodeling her three-bedroom unit, she rented it out in December 2019 to a woman on Section 8 housing, a federal program that provides rental assistance for low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled. The woman claimed to have four children who would be moving in.

  The mother had said that she’d struggled to find housing that was suitable for four kids.

  Unfortunately, her empathy led to thousands of dollars in lost rent and damages that she has now had to cover on her own.

  

  “Initially, she did have Section 8; then, what I didn’t know is that she was in line to have her kids taken. … Fact of the matter is, the kids never even came,” Ms. Silas-Sams said.

  She said her tenant lied about the children moving in to get a larger rental allowance from Section 8.

  Ms. Silas-Sams asked housing officials for help but was denied.

  Because of the moratorium, nothing could be done, she said. Meanwhile, the tenant’s boyfriend moved in. Fighting ensued and it was discovered that the boyfriend was selling drugs from the apartment and hiding stolen goods in it, she said. The tenant was finally evicted in October.

  “If you could just see all of the filth that I’ve had to move out,” she said.

  Some rental relief was offered by Alameda County, where the apartment is located, for tenants earning less than 80 percent of the county’s median income, which means below $76,000, per 2022 calculations. But in Oakland, the city had its own rental relief program, prioritizing those who were earning less than 30 percent of the area median income, or below $30,000 for the same year.

  According to the city’s website, Oakland received $28 million during the pandemic from the federal government for rental assistance, with another $10.4 million from the state. But demand outstripped the funding and landlords were left on the hook for unpaid rents.

  While the rental assistance programs ended in March 2022 for Alameda County and Oakland, renters in the county’s unincorporated areas can still receive assistance if they earn less than 80 percent of this year’s median income, or $78,500 and below.

  

  Ms. Silas-Sams said that because there weren’t any repercussions for not paying rent, tenants such as hers didn’t even attempt to apply for the relief provided at the time.

  “Even the program that they could have signed up for—that may have paid me something, they were too trifling to even do that. Because they didn’t have to, they didn’t have to do anything,” she said.

  From mid-2020 until now, Ms. Silas-Sams hasn’t received any rental payments but has still had to cover her $4,400 mortgage payments in addition to water and garbage expenses, she said.

  “I’ve drained everything from my 401(k),” she said. “I’ve even had to borrow from family members, which is stressful. And I had to borrow from my life insurance. … In fact, I was just about to call them again because I don’t have the mortgage for this month.”

  According to estimations by Chris Moore, a landlord in Alameda County who led efforts to end the eviction moratoriums in the cities of Oakland and San Leandro and in Alameda County, there’s about $1 billion in unpaid back rent for Alameda County alone. He said evictions are always a last resort.

  In the Bay Area, tenants can receive free advice and representation from attorneys, he said, who often fight evictions with various arguments, costing the landlord thousands in attorney fees.

  “I can disprove all of them,” Mr. Moore said, “but I have to … pay a lawyer $500 to $600 an hour. It costs $30,000 to $40,000 now to do an eviction, so I can tell you, I’m not interested in evicting the tenant.”

  Mr. Moore is also a board member of the East Bay Rental Housing Association—a nonprofit that represents 1600 rental property owners providing about 40,000 rental homes in Alameda and Contra Costa counties and, along with their affiliates, represent 700,000 rental homes in California.

  

  “Most tenants do try to make a payment plan and work with us … the ones [that don’t] are really hurting the mom-and-pop housing providers that only have maybe a couple of units, and they don’t have the capital to survive,” he said.

  Ms. Silas-Sams, who said she didn’t have the money to hire a lawyer, was able to prevail in court after the moratorium was lifted in July, and her tenant was evicted in October with the help of the local sheriff’s department.

  She said she had to spend more than $3,000 hauling away the junk left behind, including drug pipes, stolen credit cards, driver’s licenses, and lots of trash scattered throughout the apartment.

  Initially, the tenant agreed to move out after threats of eviction, but after cleaning crews cleaned out the unit, she reappeared and was legally allowed to stay because of the moratorium.

  “She turned around and she came back on the day that we were moving this stuff out, and I was not there. … She told [the junk removal man], ‘What are you doing? This is my place,’” she said.

  Police were called and responded, but they sided with the tenant.

  “They let her stay,” Ms. Silas-Sams said.

  There were an average of 310 eviction filings per month in 2019, but during the moratorium, the monthly average dropped to about 55, according to the Alameda County Superior Court. Since it has been lifted, the average number of evictions has risen to about 580 per month, which some say is because landlords were barred from doing so for years.

  “So why is it happening? Basically, the government said, ‘Hey, you don’t have to pay your rent for the last three and a half years,’ which, by the way, our industry is the only one they did that too,” Mr. Moore told The Epoch Times.

  A recent article in The Wall Street Journal reported that there could be more than $1 billion in unpaid back rent in the greater Los Angeles area because of its eviction moratorium.

  In the city of Los Angeles, landlords who owned 12 or fewer units were eligible to receive through taxpayer dollars up to $30,000 per rental unit for unpaid rents, but they had to apply for the program from Oct. 23 through the end of the month.

  According to the county’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs website, other assistance that’s “coming soon” includes up to $30,000 in total for landlords with four or fewer units whose mortgages went into default, or $30,0000 for landlord expenses outside of their mortgage payments that accrued due to missed rental payments.

  According to Daniel Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, such relief for landlords won’t make up for the losses that they incurred during the pandemic.

  “When you look at what the city’s providing the landlords and what they’re providing in rent subsidies to renters and compare it to the over $1 billion of COVID rental debt that’s still owed … all this pales in comparison,” Mr. Yukelson told The Epoch Times in a recent interview. “It’s really a drop in the bucket compared to the losses that property owners have suffered these past three-plus years.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 21:00

• Think Tank Warns Biden's Inner Circle 'Bidenomics' Media Blitz Failed
  Think Tank Warns Biden’s Inner Circle ‘Bidenomics’ Media Blitz Failed

  A progressive think tank recently met with President Biden’s top aides at the White House and delivered a stark warning: The economic policies often referred to as “Bidenomics” were not resonating with most Americans.

  According to Politico, members of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) visited the West Wing in September and October to brief White House officials about Bidenomics’ branding failure. They presented numerous polling data that showed Americans aren’t convinced about economic policy accomplishments under the president. 

  “Democrats can’t just hammer people over the head with an insistence that the economy is great,” Adam Green, co-founder of the PCCC, told Politico.

  Green said, “We have to acknowledge pain and pivot, and there are ways that we can optimize that pivot to hit Trump for mismanaging the economy.”

  Politico said PCCC supplied White House officials with several surveys that showed Americans weren’t buying into the Bidenomics story:

  Just 35 percent of Americans trusted Democrats more on economic issues, according to weeks of private polling presented to the White House in mid-September and recently obtained by POLITICO. The data reinforced broad concerns over the public’s dismal outlook. Despite expressing widespread support for Biden’s policy agenda, few voters were aware he’d made much progress on any of a dozen-plus top priorities, like drug pricing or infrastructure.

  Perhaps most alarming, 7 out of 10 people surveyed believed the economy wasn’t getting better — even after they were explicitly told that inflation had eased and unemployment sat near record lows. That preface, designed specifically to persuade voters to brighten their view of the economy, did not seem to move them.

  Green continued, “When we intentionally put our finger on the scale, and 100 percent of people hear good economic indicators before saying if the economy’s going well for them, we still get walloped.” 

  

  Headline count data via Bloomberg shows the White House launched the “Bidenomics” media blitz in late June.

  

  Despite the media blitz, Biden’s job approval polling data via Real Clear Politics went down. 

  

  Perhaps the Biden administration fails to admit that two years of negative real wage growth crushed many low/mid-tier households. 

  

  We’ve recently shown consumers have never been in this worse shape, draining personal savings while racking up insurmountable credit card debt in the highest rate environment in a generation. Many folks are struggling with out-of-control food prices, elevated pump prices, and high shelter costs. 

  

  Biden has lost the GenZer vote.

  Millennials crying about life, rent, groceries.

  “and all we do, we record a video and post it on social media. Then we close up the app and go about our day.”

  Do you have sympathy for their situation? Or do you want to tell them, “try voting differently next time.” I sort of… pic.twitter.com/KEZ3rjxdxw

  — Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) October 12, 2023

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

  In other words, the Biden administration has failed to control the narrative. Now it’s time for them to usher in more censorship of ‘free speech’ or label anyone with non-approved gov’t narratives ‘Russian bots’.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 20:40

• The Rise Of Pharma Fascism And The Ruination of the Commons
  The Rise Of Pharma Fascism And The Ruination of the Commons

  Authored by Toby Rogers via the Brownstone Institute,

  I. When the commons was Eden 

  “The commons” is a foundational idea in left political philosophy. The commons refers to shared spaces — oceans, lakes, rivers, forests, the air — that are not owned by anyone. It can also refer to cultural spaces — the town square for example. I could make a case that the internet is a commons — even though there are millions of individual owners of particular spaces no one owns the whole thing. 

  The left loves the idea of the commons because it harkens back to the era of hunter gatherers who were free to hunt, fish, and live off of the abundance of the earth. The commons is also essential to the left imagination because they don’t believe in private property, so on some level they think that the entire world is or could be the commons. And because they see themselves as more empathetic, educated, and wise than everyone else, they believe that they are the best stewards to manage the commons. 

  

  On the left, entire careers are made by writing and teaching about the commons: 

  Henry George was an early theorist of the commons in the 19th century. 

  Garrett Hardin popularized the idea of the commons with his 1968 article in Science titled, “The Tragedy of the Commons” about managing the individual incentives to overexploit shared resources. 

  In 2009, Elinor Ostrom became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics for her work documenting examples of successful management of the commons.

  And heaps of additional left public intellectuals have done important work on the commons including feminist theorist Silvia Federici, Marxist geographer David Harvey, and newcomer Raj Patel (with his bestselling book, The Value of Nothing). 

  Anyone who wants to remain a member in good standing of the left must be able to speak at length about the commons. This discussion of the commons is almost entirely concerned with protecting the collective space from encroachment by greedy individuals and rapacious corporations. The worst thing that one can do (a sin usually reserved for feudal lords, kings, and corporations) is to “enclose the commons” — make private and exclusive what was formerly open and accessible to all. I’ve long admired the idea of the commons and think it represents the left at its best. 

  And then a very strange and terrifying thing happened. Over the last several years, the bougie left, without even a hint of self-awareness or irony, enclosed the global commons — seized it is a better term — in the name of public health, based on false assumptions about how viruses work. 

  As I will explain below, this is the mechanism by which the bougie left slid from liberalism into fascism. 

  ---

  II. The birth of modern Pharma fascism

  The battle against SB276 in California in 2019 was one of the most sickening and heartbreaking things I’ve ever witnessed. In 2015, California banned all religious and philosophical exemptions to school vaccination requirements with SB277. But SB276 went further. Sponsored by Richard Pan, a man with no empathy who is controlled by Big Pharma, SB276 revokes the medical license of any doctor who writes more than 5 medical exemptions to school vaccination requirements. In a state with 9,100,000 children, 5 exemptions per doctor is not very many. Fearing the loss of their livelihood, doctors in California stopped writing medical exemptions altogether. 

  Disabled by DTaP? Too bad, you still have to take all of the other shots. Your sibling died from a vaccine? Too bad, it wasn’t you that died (yet) so roll up your sleeves. This approach to public health contradicts two centuries of best practices in medicine. Prior to SB276 the entire scientific and medical community acknowledged that some people should not be vaccinated because of underlying medical conditions, previous reactions, or family history. But Pharma was in a hurry to wipe out the unvaccinated control group that would reveal the extent of their crimes so they introduced SB276 in a state they already owned before rolling it out to the entire country. 

  As the bill moved through the legislature, Richard Pan stood at the front of the room grinning like the Cheshire Cat, while thousands of parents, mostly mothers, testified about vaccine injuries in their kids. It was like something out of a Holocaust documentary. As the bill sponsor he was allowed to respond to the public testimony prior to the vote by each committee (Health, Education, and Appropriations). At every hearing he made a strange little speech that conveyed the new ideology of the Pharma Fascist Left.

  Pan explained that “your right to swing your fist ends at my nose.” But he argued (and this is the sleight of hand) the same principle applies to viruses. Because viruses exist, and because the unvaccinated may be carrying a deadly virus, the act of breathing, by an unvaccinated person, is the legal equivalent of punching him in the face. Thus the unvaccinated, by their very existence break the law because they violate his right to be free from disease. The only way to prevent this grave miscarriage of justice then is to either a.) force children to be vaccinated; or b.) remove the unvaccinated from schools (and the rest of society — Pan wants the unvaccinated banned from all public spaces). 

  Let’s just pause for a moment to note that he clearly does not believe that vaccines actually work because if they did, the unvaccinated would pose no threat to the vaccinated. When confronted with this fact he moves the goalposts to claim that his real concern is the “immunocompromised who cannot be vaccinated.” But like everything else he says this is a lie because in California and all blue states they vaccinate the hell out of the immunocompromised as well. 

  This is the “logic” of Pharma fascism. 

  Pan has never had an original thought in his life so this angle of attack was likely developed by a Pharma PR firm and focus-group tested before sending it out to spokespeople in the Democratic Party. And now it’s the dominant ideology in the Democratic Party and ruling parties throughout the developed world. 

  There is a multitude of problems with this flawed ideology. But what I want to point out in this article is that it leads to enclosure of the commons — even before Covid. Democrats would really like to enclose the air itself but that is too difficult. So instead they enclose schools by kicking out some kids (SB276 kicked 56,000 kids out of public school). Vaccine mandates enclose our bodies by allowing corporations to trespass with their toxic products. And Democrats try to enclose the public square (digital and otherwise) by setting up a vast surveillance system to censor, shadowban, demonetize, and deplatform anyone who disagrees with their increasingly zany ideology. 

  ---

  III. Pan’s “logic” is absolute horsesh*t

  Democrats do not understand viruses, vaccines, or the law and it leads them to make catastrophic policy decisions that are destroying the health of the American people. 

  Viruses don’t work that way

  There are a quadrillion x quadrillion viruses in the world (more viruses on earth than stars in the known universe).

  Research on the global virosphere has concluded that, “Trillions Upon Trillions of Viruses Fall From the Sky Each Day.” From the New York Times: 

  Scientists have surmised there is a stream of viruses circling the planet, above the planet’s weather systems but below the level of airline travel…. Each day some 800 million viruses cascade onto every square meter of the planet.

  “Human cells, GOOD! Bacteria and viruses, BAD!” is how public health officials usually frame the discussion. But that’s not how health actually works. Instead, our bodies are a complex ecosystem of different types of cells. Only 43 percent of the cells in our body are human — the rest are various bacteria and viruses that communicate and exchange with our human cells and DNA in ways that make life possible. 

  Human consciousness itself is said to have emerged as a result of the beneficial exchange between viral and human DNA. Between 40 and 80 percent (an admittedly large range) of the human genome came initially from viruses. Viruses (and bacteria) regulate all living systems on earth. 

  So we’re never going to get rid of all viruses and bacteria nor would we want to. But what about the small number of viruses (about 200) that can be harmful to humans?

  Vaccines are ineffective and dangerous

  The large gains in life expectancy and declines in infectious disease in the 20th century happened before the introduction of mass vaccination campaigns. Improved living standards, sewers, water treatment facilities, food safety, organized solid waste disposal, along with “improvements in housing and decreased crowding in US cities” are responsible for “nearly 90% of the decline in infectious disease mortality among U.S. children.” That’s not me talking, that’s a review of a century of public health data published in Pediatrics. In an earlier era, when public health focused on large public works projects, health improved. Now that public health focuses almost exclusively on promoting vaccines, health and well-being have plummeted.

  An analysis, by Danish researchers, of the best vaccine data set in the world indicates that all of the vaccines on the US schedule cause more harms than benefits. 

  None of the vaccines on the US schedule (with the exception of a tiny subtrial of the Gardasil vaccine) were tested against a saline placebo in a true randomized controlled trial. ICAN’s December 31, 2018 letter to the US Department of Health and Human Services proves this fact and it is perhaps the single most important document ever written during the vaccine wars.

  Pan’s approach ignores all the rest of medicine. In the current hysteria, it seems that people sometimes forget that there are medical products other than vaccines! We can treat various diseases with antivirals, antibiotics, and a thousand other medicines without forcing one-size-fits all toxic vaccines on the entire population. 

  Pan’s approach ignores all of the toxicants that can cause ill health. Zach Bush points out that waste ponds from industrial livestock production are breeding grounds for all sorts of viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Pharmaceuticals introduce toxicants into our bodies. Factories and freeways produce a wide range of toxicants that impair health. We could find common ground on regulating those sources but Pharma controls the political process and so the entire focus of public health is on vaccines. 

  Pan’s approach also ignores all the rest of health. Why do two people with similar environmental exposures have different outcomes? Nutrition, exercise, rest, and sunshine (factors now ignored by allopathic medicine) make a significant impact on whether someone will get sick. Furthermore, as Jennifer Giustra-Kozek, LPC, author of Healing Without Hurting points out, most diseases that are usually attributed to viruses and bacteria often have an underlying vitamin deficiency that can be addressed through food, supplements, or intravenously in acute cases. 

  

  For Covid-19, the corresponding deficiencies that need to be addressed are usually zinc and vitamin D.

  Individualized medicine will always be superior to one-size-fits-all Pharma-captured medicine. 

  The most extreme enclosure of the commons in history

  No Pharaoh, no king, no feudal lord, and certainly no political party has ever before claimed that they own the air and that the mere act of breathing by the citizenry was an assault that must be managed by a police state. 

  Yet that is the central claim of Pan, Fauci, and the public health bureaucracy and the idea that drives vaccine mandates, masks, lockdowns, social distancing, and the rest of the modern Fascist Pharma State. The cultural enclosure is also cruel and senseless — kicking students out of universities via vaccine mandates, delicensing doctors for helping their patients survive by prescribing ivermectin, and refusing medical care in hospitals to the unvaccinated are just some examples. 

  As I’ve written before, the only historical parallels with Pan’s ideology are Jim Crow laws in the US that declared Black Americans unclean (thus requiring separate drinking fountains, bathrooms, and schools) and the Nazis who claimed that Jews were disease carriers and thus must be moved into ghettos and concentration camps. But now this preposterous junk science has returned from the dead and it drives public health policy in the US and throughout the developed world in the Covid era. 

  ---

  IV. Ideology becomes policy and law

  Unfortunately the obscene ideology described above is widespread. Naomi Klein in Doppelganger repeats this same vile notion. In Klein’s view there is no individual “I” — we all breathe the same air thus the Fascist Pharma State has the right and indeed obligation to police the bodies of the unvaccinated, lest they infect her superior over-vaccinated body. Again, it is beyond weird that the Cult of Vaccine does not actually believe in their own product while insisting on injecting it into others.

  Indeed this nonsense has become the dominant ideology of ruling parties throughout the developed world. In North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea liberal democracy has been replaced with this Stakeholder Fascism based on junk science that makes Pharma rich.

  You can see how it’s a short distance from this twisted supremacist ideology to concentration camps and extermination of the unvaccinated in the name of public health. 

  These junk science ideas about public health inevitably make their way into policy and the law. In 2020 the NY Department of Public Health created a regulation (10 NYCRR 2.13) titled “Isolation and Quarantine Procedures” that enabled the state to remove anyone from their home for any reason and detain them indefinitely without due process of law under the guise of public health. Quite literally the NY Department of Public Health decided that concentration camps were the best approach for managing Covid. 

  Attorney and Brownstone Institute Fellow Bobbie Anne Flower Cox spent the last two years battling the state of New York to get this regulation struck down. On July 8, 2022, a NY Supreme Court Judge, Ronald Ploetz, ruled that the “Isolation and Quarantine Procedures” regulation is unconstitutional and “violative of New York State law as promulgated and enacted, and therefore null, void and unenforceable as a matter of law.” Astonishingly, Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James appealed the decision and the appeal was heard in court just a few weeks ago. 

  If the NY Supreme Court Appellate Division affirms that the law is unconstitutional, it will be a small step toward sanity. If the court somehow decides that indefinite detention for any reason without right to due process is lawful, we will be living in America’s version of National Socialism. 

  Of course the national media did not report on the NY “Quarantine Camp” policy — why would they, they believe the same nonsense as Richard Pan. And just like SB276 in California, it appears that Pharma introduced this idea in a captured blue state as a test run before rolling it out nationwide. 

  ---

  V. Conclusion

  It is essential to reframe this entire debate. I should not have to explain any of this but we live in The Upside Down World so let me state the obvious: 

  Viruses and bacteria are ubiquitous. They live in us, on us, and all around us and usually contribute to our well-being. Bad health outcomes can be reduced through making healthy lifestyle choices. For acute cases there are a range of medicines and supplements that are effective. Large infrastructure projects (e.g. sewers, treatment plants and pipes to deliver clean water to homes and businesses) are the proven best path to improving public health. 

  Public health policy in the US is based on junk science that enriches the largest donors to the Democratic Party. Health has absolutely nothing to do with it. If you follow the advice of the CDC you are putting your life in grave danger. 

  Health and medicine must always be tailored to the individual needs of each person. One-size-fits-all medicine is barbarism. 

  No one owns the air. It is not a crime to breathe. Anyone who wants to protect the commons must recognize the universal right for people to exist without corporate trespass into our bodies. 

  There are no pandemic exceptions to the US Constitution. Totalitarianism is not a recommended treatment for any disease. Concentration camps are never appropriate. 

  The best approach to any problem is always the free and open exchange of ideas in a system of free and sovereign citizens.

  Republished from the author’s Substack

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 20:20

• In High-Stakes Gamble, Toyota Will Make 2025 Camry Hybrid-Only
  In High-Stakes Gamble, Toyota Will Make 2025 Camry Hybrid-Only

  In a major milestone in the government-coerced push away from gas-powered vehicles, the best-selling sedan in America will only be available with gas-electric hybrid powertrains starting with the 2025 model year, Toyota revealed in Malibu on Tuesday night. 

  The 2025 Toyota Camry will feature a 2.5-liter gas engine paired with an electric drive that will deliver more power than the 2024 hybrids. Toyota is already the leading seller of hybrid vehicles, which, depending on the driving scenario, use only electric power, only gasoline, or both. Hybrids recapture energy from the braking system that helps boost the range. 

  It could be a very risky move for Toyota, considering that combustion models comprise about 85% of Camry’s 2024 sales volume. The Camry is king of the sedan market. However, as Americans increasingly prefer crossovers and SUVs, total sedan sales have plummeted from 7.2 million a year in 2012 to just 2.9 million in 2022, notes the Wall Street Journal.  

  Toyota’s radical shift comes in part because of a government gun held to manufacturers’ heads. Whether consumers want it or not, the federal government is using regulation to force gas vehicles out of the marketplace by tightening average mileage requirements for manufacturers’ fleets. Most recently, the White House proposed a 58 mpg standard for the 2032 model year.  The 2022 average was 27 mpg. 

  

  While Toyota didn’t disclose its 2025 pricing yet, at a time when Americans are reeling from inflation, cutting out gas-only models is likely to make the cheapest Camry more expensive next year. For the 2024 model year, the cheapest gas-only Camry is costs about $2,400 less than the cheapest hybrid.  “We think the value the hybrid powertrain brings is worth that kind of premium,” Toyota’s North America brand chief David Christ told Reuters. 

  According to federal fuel economy numbers, the current Camry hybrid saves $650 a year versus the gas version, reflecting the 52mpg vs 32 mpg difference. That implies a 3.7-year break-even on the price differential between the hybrid and gas-only version. Critically, that math does not include:

  • Extra interest expense for those financing a more expensive vehicle
  • Higher sales and other taxes linked to the sales price
  • Higher insurance costs — on average, hybrids cost about 7% more to insure, according to carinsuranceplan.org

  The new 2025 Toyota Camry will be hybrid-only but it’s keeping the classic hood strut pic.twitter.com/Gd34Qze9fR

  — Edmunds (@edmunds) November 15, 2023

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

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 20:00

• Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland Speaks Out About His Removal By Pope Francis
  Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland Speaks Out About His Removal By Pope Francis

  Authored by Jana J. Pruet via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, was forcibly removed from his office by Pope Francis on Saturday morning.

  “They had the authority to remove me from diocesan governance, but I encourage those upset or confused by the development to pray for the pope and not to leave the Church,” Bishop Strickland wrote on Facebook on Monday morning.

  

  The news from the Vatican shocked and angered many who supported the 65-year-old bishop’s respect of traditional Catholic teachings.

  Bishop Strickland, who has served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Tyler since 2012, has been outspoken in his criticisms of Pope Francis’ progressive views on the LGBTQ community within the church.

  In June, Pope Francis ordered an investigation into the pastoral governance of the Tyler Diocese by Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden, New Jersey, and Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona.

  “After months of careful consideration by the Dicastery for Bishops and the Holy Father, the decision was reached that the resignation of Bishop Strickland should be requested,” according to a statement by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

  On Nov. 9, the bishop’s resignation was requested, but Bishop Strickland declined to resign his office.

  Two days later, the Vatican announced that Bishop Strickland had been “relieved of pastoral governance of the Diocese of Tyler.” No reason was given for the bishop’s dismissal.

  The pope appointed Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin to serve as Apolostic Administrator of the Diocese of Tyler.

  “During this time of transition, we pray that God may continue to abundantly bless and strengthen the Church and God’s holy, faithful people here and around the world,” the Tyler Diocese wrote in a statement.

  In an interview with John-Henry Westen, editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews, Bishop Strickland said he believes his removal was due to his support of the “truth of the gospel.” LifeSiteNews is a pro-life Catholic news website based in Canada.

  Bishop Strickland said he has turned to prayer during this “storm” in his life.

  “The rosary has taken on a life for me that is truly amazing,” he said.

  The bishop said he does not fully blame the pope for his removal, pointing to the “many forces working at him and influencing him to make these kinds of decisions.”

  “The only answer I have to that is because the forces in the church right now don’t want the truth of the gospel,” Bishop Strickland told Mr. Westen.

  “There are people in the Church, rather than glorifying in the truth of Christ, they want to delete significant portions of Sacred Scripture and say, ‘Oh, we got that wrong,’ or ‘We’re just going to ignore it.'”

  “[The Truth], it’s perennial, it’s everlasting, it’s glorious,” the bishop continued. “And if you want it to change, then I’m the problem.”

  “He [Jesus] doesn’t morph into a different being than He was when He died on the cross and rose for us. He is the same Lord; He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and those who want to change that, for a day, in terms of human history, we have to live through this day, but it’s a moment that will pass, and the truth will prevail,” he said.

  Throughout the interview, Bishop Strickland remained steadfast in his faith that God would see him through and that he would continue serving his faith community.

  Michel J. Matt, editor of The Remnant, a national Catholic newspaper, reacted to Bishop Strickland’s removal on X, saying, “This is total war. Francis is a clear and present danger not only to Catholics the world over but also to the whole world itself. It appears now that he is actively trying to bury fidelity to the Church of Jesus Christ. Let him be anathema.”

  Open to Gay Marriage

  Pope Francis has made surprising public statements such as, “Who am I to judge them?” in response to a question about gay priests dating back to his first papal news conference in July 2013.

  Last month, the pope suggested being open to priests performing gay marriages in the Catholic Church, in response to five conservative cardinals who challenged him to affirm the church’s teaching on homosexuality ahead of the 2023 Synod of Bishops at the Vatican. Earlier this year, the pope had stated that while homosexuality is not a crime, it is a sin.

  The faith has long opposed the Church recognizing gay marriages.

  “The Church has a very clear understanding of marriage: an exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to procreation,” Pope Francis wrote in a response to the cardinals. “Only this union can be called marriage.”

  “However, in our relationships with people, we must not lose the pastoral charity, which should permeate all our decisions and attitudes,” he continued. “The defense of objective truth is not the only expression of this charity; it also includes kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, and encouragement. Therefore, we cannot be judges who only deny, reject, and exclude.”

  Pope Francis added that there is no need to turn such pastoral charity into the norm. Rather, the issue could be dealt with on an individual basis, adding that the “life of the Church flows through many channels other than the normative ones.”

  The letter was a reversal from the Vatican’s position in 2021, when Pope Francis said that the church could not bless same-sex unions because God “does not and cannot bless sin.”

  The Epoch Times reached out to Bishop Strickland for comment. “At the moment, I’m still consulting with my God,” he said. “Will let you know when I will grant another interview. Remain Blessed!”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 19:40

• Maryland Teachers Union 'Milking' Taxpayers While Test Scores Plummet 
  Maryland Teachers Union ‘Milking’ Taxpayers While Test Scores Plummet 

  Investigative reporter Chris Papst from Fox45 News’ Project Baltimore finds while Maryland’s education system is in a downward spiral, the state’s largest and most powerful education union continues to record new highs in revenues and assets. 

  Papst pointed out that the Maryland State Education Association’s website says the union is supposed to “make a positive difference in their professional lives in order to elevate the quality of public education for all students.” The tax-exempt non-profit organization derives most of its money by collecting tax dollars given to schools and paid to teachers, who, in turn, pay union dues.

  Data obtained by Project Baltimore show MSEA’s financial statements going back a decade. In 2013, the union reported revenues of $19.8 million. By 2022, revenues jumped 34% to $26.5 million, the highest amount on record. 

  Papst said the divergence in the union’s revenues and test scores is a major concern. 

  $$$$$$: The wealth of Maryland’s largest teachers union surges to record levels – as student test scores plummet. Union assets have nearly tripled since 2013 to $45.3 million! The union’s tax-exempt mission: “to elevate public education for all students.”https://t.co/t1fuVuVjCy

  — Chris Papst (@chrispapst) November 14, 2023

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

  He cited federal test scores that state Maryland students in 2013 outperformed the national average in fourth-grade reading and math. In 2013, MSEA reported revenues of $19.8 million. By 2022, revenues jumped to $26.5 million. 

  Anirban Basu, an economist and former member of the Baltimore City School Board, told Papst, “Teachers make, certainly, more than they used to … But then the question becomes, okay that’s fine, what is the taxpayer getting for all of this money that’s flowing into the educational system, the teachers on to unions? And the answer is, not much.”

  Basu said, “Unions do not exist to profit maximize,” adding, “And if the union in particular, the teachers unions, for instance, are elevating adults over children, then they’re not the force for good that they are supposed to be, given their federal mandate, their organizational mission.”

  He continued, “It seems like this money is just piling up. It’s going to go someplace, I suppose, at some point. But at the end of the day, the test scores speak for themselves.”

  “What we have seen in recent years is our kids are falling behind,” said Basu. He noted, “In many cases, they score below the national average. And so, what does that tell you? We’re taking a lot of potential educational achievement and not fulfilling or operationalizing that achievement. Something is wrong here.”

  Project Baltimore found the bulk of the MSEA revenue collected last year paid for 93 union employees. 

  Money laundering 101

  — Ramman06 (@baltoravorls) November 14, 2023

  One X user commented on Papst’s and said this is a case of “Money laundering 101.”  

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

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 19:20

• Gaza After The War: Biden Needs A Reality Check
  Gaza After The War: Biden Needs A Reality Check

  Authored by Josh Hammer via American Greatness,

  As Israel continues its systematic assault on Hamas deep inside Gaza, closing in on high-ranking targets and putting the jihadist outfit’s sprawling subterranean tunnel network squarely in its crosshairs, the conversation has already begun to shift away from the warfare on the ground. True, much painful fighting likely remains; true as well, no one can predict the extent to which Hezbollah or the Iranian regime itself might escalate, thereby risking a full-fledged regional conflagration.

  

  But the war will, at some point, end. And a gap has already emerged between the positions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden when it comes to what happens in Gaza the day  after Israel deems that the cancerous Hamas tumor has been sufficiently eradicated.

  On the one hand, Netanyahu avowed that Israel “will for an indefinite period have security responsibility” in Gaza after the war. On the other hand, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking on behalf of a deeply unpopular president who faces a difficult reelection next year and has endured declining Muslim-American support over the past month, stated that “it is clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza” after the war.

  Something has to give.

  The Biden administration’s specific position on Gaza after the war is downstream of its broader obstinance when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In a speech in Tel Aviv on Nov. 3, Blinken reiterated the Biden administration’s continued support for a so-called “two-state solution” to the conflict. “Two states for two peoples,” Blinken intoned — presumably based, as it was for the Obama administration before it, on the absurd “1967 borders,” which would pinch the Jewish state to 9 miles wide at its narrowest point and which former Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin once lambasted as “Auschwitz borders.”

  The Biden administration, in other words, is of the opinion that the Hamas Holocaust of Oct. 7 was not a paradigm-shifting geopolitical event. Biden, Blinken and the rest of the Democratic foreign policy establishment are of the belief that the single biggest slaughter of Jews since Hitler was not a game-changer — the sort of event that causes one to revise underlying assumptions and reassess a situation from the ground up. They believe that nothing fundamentally has actually changed; after Israel is satisfied with its work in Gaza, it will get right back to more conciliation and territorial concessions.

  It is more plausible that the tooth fairy exists than the “two-state solution,” as presently conceived, ever becomes reality. Indeed, the original proposed “two-state solution,” following the European powers’ post-World War I carving up of the Middle East, would have made all of “Mandatory Palestine” — encompassing the entirety of the Land of Israel, “from the river to the sea” as it is now said — a Jewish state, and would have made the Emirate of Transjordan (today, the kingdom of Jordan) a so-called “Palestinian” state. But the modern “two-state solution,” which would have Gaza and the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria form the basis for an independent “Palestinian” state, is a fantasy that should have died after Yasser Arafat’s Second Intifada — and definitely should have died after the pogrom of Oct. 7, 2023.

  To continue to believe — after all the unspeakable horrors of Oct. 7, after the reality that “Palestinian self-determination” in Gaza following Israel’s unilateral disengagement in 2005 resulted in the barbaric and genocidal (but democratically elected!) rule of an Islamist reich — in a “two-state solution” is to reveal oneself to be entirely out-of-touch to anything smacking of empirical reality. It is to reveal one’s worldview as so deeply ideological, so wholly based on fanciful academic theorizing, and so completely divorced from facts on the ground, that one will have inadvertently outed himself as a complete and utter fool.

  There is an alternative explanation for those still stubbornly peddling a “two-state solution.” It is a darker explanation than mere incompetence or mental deficiency: a desire to simply see more Oct. 7 pogroms and more dead Jews. Indeed, many on university campuses are barely concealing their desire for precisely this.

  After Oct. 7, it is clear that the 2005 disengagement from Gaza will go down as one of Israel’s all-time historical mistakes, along with ceding the Temple Mount to the Jordanian waqf after the Six-Day War, the disastrous lack of preemptive action before the Yom Kippur War, and the Oslo Accords with Arafat. The world has seen what leaving Gaza to “Palestinian self-determination” results in: a jihadist entity that indiscriminately fires rockets at Israeli civilians and commits Nazi-like war crimes. The very least Israel must do is reassert operational control of Gaza’s borders and security; ideally, a military occupation or formal re-annexation would be on the table.

  Biden is understandably concerned about his reelection prospects next fall. There is only so much in the way of Muslim-American support he can afford to lose. Like a true cynic, he has apparently chosen to shore up that support to the exclusion of our close ally’s existential security.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 19:00

• Biden DOJ Quietly Hires More Lawyers For Vaccine Injury Lawsuits
  Biden DOJ Quietly Hires More Lawyers For Vaccine Injury Lawsuits

  In January, the CDC was forced to reveal the results of its VAERS safety signal monitoring for COVID-19 vaccines (thanks to a FOIA request by Zachary Stieber of the Epoch Times), which painted an alarming picture. The analysis, spanning Dec. 14 2020 through July 29, 2022, revealed:

  • There were 770 different types of adverse events that showed safety signals in ages 18+, of which over 500 (or 2/3) had a larger safety signal than myocarditis/pericarditis.

  • The CDC analysis shows that the number of serious adverse events reported in less than two years for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is 5.5 times larger than all serious reports for vaccines given to adults in the US since 2009 (~73,000 vs. ~13,000).

  • Twice as many mRNA COVID-19 vaccine reports were classified as serious compared to all other vaccines given to adults (11% vs. 5.5%). This meets the CDC definition of a safety signal.

  Read more on that here…

  

  In April, the Biden administration rejected several demands for compensation from people who have been injured by the Covid-19 vaccine, despite the fact that injury reports have been on the rise – as evidenced by a February report by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Lapado over a 4,400% increase in life threatening conditions reported to in the state to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) since the 2021 rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines.

  Meanwhile, several lawsuits have been filed against the Biden administration by vaccine-injured individuals over worldwide vaccine contracts that indemnified drugmakers from litigation, as well as for censorship surrounding the big tech crackdown on people sharing their experiences after receiving Covid-19 vaccines.

  DOJ Hires Lawyers

  In response to the mounting vaccine injuries, the Biden DOJ quietly began hiring more lawyers in October to handle vaccine litigation. In a posting to USAJobs.gov, the Washington DC Office of Office of Constitutional and Specialized Tort Litigation – Vaccine Litigation Staff asks for individuals who can fight “claims of injury as a result of the receipt of vaccines” covered by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (“Vaccine Act”).

  The job pays between $94,199 and $183,500 for whatever soulless Devil’s Advocate acolyte take a job fighting vaccine injured Americans.

  The position is a unique trial practice in support of public health, science, and medicine. The legal and medical issues at stake in each case vary. Trial attorneys independently manage heavy caseloads, and while streamlined procedures are utilized, many cases involve complex scientific issues of causation that require expert witnesses in medical fields such as pediatrics, neurology, immunology, and epidemiology. In cases in which petitioners are found entitled to compensation, the litigation occasionally requires use of damages experts to develop an appropriate life care plan for the injured party, including medical treatment and related care needs, and the determination of other compensable damages, such as lost earnings and pain and suffering, often awarded through a structured settlement.

  Attorneys with limited experience will focus primarily on litigating cases in a “claims” type posture, typically involving less complicated issues of science and medicine, limited damages, and fewer court appearances, with the possibility of transitioning to handling more complex cases in litigation over time.

  Attorneys appear frequently before the Office of Special Masters in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and also appear before the judges of the Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit when handling appeals. Responsibilities include factual and legal research, medical record review, brief writing, and working with expert witnesses to develop the defense of claims, as well as to address the life care needs of vaccine-injured petitioners in some cases. The majority of cases are resolved informally, and thus attorneys engage regularly in settlement and damages negotiations, including alternative dispute resolution, and drafting settlement memoranda.

  

  Hilariously, while the DOJ came after Elon Musk’s SpaceX (which deals with matters of national security) for not hiring illegal immigrants, the vaccine injury job posting requires applicants to be “a U.S. Citizen or National.”

  Other interesting job requirements include:

  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance with eligibility for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access depending on organizational assignment / duty location.
  • Financial Disclosure: If selected, you will be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.
  • You will be required to complete a pre-employment security investigation and background check which includes a drug screening.

  We think they’re going to need more than eight.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 18:40

• JP Morgan Urges Oil And Gas Clients To Cut Methane Emissions
  JP Morgan Urges Oil And Gas Clients To Cut Methane Emissions

  By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

  Reducing methane emissions and addressing methane leaks in operations are immediate actions from which both businesses and the climate will benefit, JP Morgan, one of the world’s top fossil fuel financiers, said in a new report on Wednesday.

  

  JP Morgan’s “The Methane Emissions Opportunity” white paper urges companies to boost efforts to cut methane emissions and says that the Wall Street bank recognizes methane abatement as an opportunity “to support accelerated efforts by our clients to reduce operational emissions.”

  “Consistent with that objective, we have set a net zero-aligned emissions intensity reduction target for the Oil & Gas sector’s operational (Scope 1 and 2) emissions in our financing portfolio, including reducing leakage, venting, and flaring of methane as key drivers,” JP Morgan said in the report.

  “We recognize that different technologies and solutions will make sense for different types of operators, and we aim to work with industry participants to support the deployment of effective solutions.”

  According to the bank, recent events such as the war in Ukraine have highlighted the urgent need to provide energy resources securely, reliably, and affordably while scaling solutions and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

  “These objectives are not mutually exclusive. The world can — and must — do both,” JP Morgan said.

  A report by environmental groups from earlier this year showed that JP Morgan is no longer the world’s biggest financier of fossil fuels. Last year Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) became the top bank funding oil and gas. For the first time since 2019, US bank JP Morgan Chase dropped from the top spot of the biggest backer of fossil fuels.

  Overall, U.S. banks dominated fossil fuel financing, accounting for 28% of all fossil fuel financing in 2022.

  JPMorgan Chase remains the world’s biggest funder of fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement, while Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America are still among the top 5 fossil financiers since 2016.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 18:20

• Democrats Introduce Bill To Restrict And Track Ammo Sales While Criminalizing “Straw Purchases”
  Democrats Introduce Bill To Restrict And Track Ammo Sales While Criminalizing “Straw Purchases”

  Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren and California Congressman Robert Garcia have recently introduced a bill called the Ammunition Modernization and Monitoring Oversight (AMMO) Act.  If passed, the bill would restrict bulk sales of ammunition, would require businesses who sell ammunition to obtain the same federal license as gun dealers, and would require businesses to conduct a background check on buyers.

  Additionally, it would also apply the same prohibition on straw purchases for ammunition that currently exists for firearms.  It would make it illegal for individuals to purchasing ammunition and then give that ammo to others, and it would require data sharing on ammunition sales.

  Robert Garcia argues:

  “The bottom line is no individual should be buying bulk amounts of ammunition without a federal background check from places like gas stations, pharmacies, and convenience stores – especially without any sort of regulation and no record of the sale.  If we’re ever going to really take on the gun violence epidemic in this country, we need to regulate ammo accessibility. This bill aims to protect the American public from the devastating violence that occurs when individuals have access to unlimited amounts of weaponry.”

  The bill prohibits bulk sales of ammunition based on the type of ammo. It specifically limits individuals to 100 rounds for .50 caliber ammo, and 1000 rounds for all other ammunition within a 5-day period. The full text of the bill can be found here.

  

  Records of sales would be required and the data must be held by vendors for at least two years, while anyone buying ammo and transferring it to others without record could be punished with heavy fines and up to five years jail time.

  The AMMO Act essentially places ammunition under the same ATF category as firearms while opening the door to subjective ATF rulings on ammo sales.  Anti-gun lawmakers have long sought to undermine 2nd Amendment rights through the backdoor of ammo purchases.  Some past attempts have included “micro-stamping” as not just a way to track each round back to a buyer, but also to make the production process so expensive for manufacturers that ammo prices rise exponentially.

  The purpose of restrictions on “bulk ammo” sales is less certain.  The average active shooting incident involves far less than 1000 rounds fired, so the new rule would do nothing to prevent criminals from engaging in such attacks.  Shooting events involving 50 BMG ammo are almost non-existent, yet under the bill this caliber of ammo is the most restricted in terms of bulk sales.   

  That said, the restrictions combined with purchase tracking and background checks would be useful in identifying preppers and patriots; people who are much more likely to buy large amounts of ammo at one time.  It should also be noted that few people other than preppers have an interest in spending the exorbitant funds required to shoot 50 BMG, which may explain the special restrictions on the caliber cited in the bill.      

  Federal agencies have consistently stated that they believe “domestic extremists” (their term for conservatives) are the greatest threat to the country.  They have shifted their focus away from foreign terrorism and are aiming the bureaucratic apparatus at American citizens with constitutional ideals.  The phrases “patriot rebellion” and “civil war” have been mentioned in the establishment media with increasing regularity as a growing concern for the government.  

  Despite the endless arguments that “an AR-15 would be useless against an F-16,” it’s clear that the powers-that-be have decided that civilian firearms access is more dangerous to them than they may have initially assumed.     

  Furthermore, making it illegal for the average citizen to share or resell ammo with others creates a pathway to a host of ATF intrusions and prosecutions.  And, as we have seen with gun peripherals such as bump stocks, pistol braces and specialty triggers, once the ATF has their foot in the door on ammo they will exploit their newfound power to the furthest extent possible.  As with most bills like the AMMO Act, the goal is to quietly whittle away at gun rights and frighten law abiding citizens with an ever growing list of potential violations.  Nothing in these bills will save a single life from gun related violence.   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/15/2023 – 18:00

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• US Beef Prices Hit Record High As Nation's Cattle Herd Expected To Shrink Through 2025
  US Beef Prices Hit Record High As Nation’s Cattle Herd Expected To Shrink Through 2025

  Brazilian processor Marfrig Global Foods SA warned the US cattle herd will continue shrinking through the midpoint of the decade. Less supplies will pressure meatpackers and keep the prices of steak and hamburgers at elevated levels. 

  During a conference call, Tim Klein, the head of Marfrig’s North American operation, explained the availability of fattened animals for meatpackers to slaughter and process should trough between 2025 and 2026. He said this is because ranchers have not yet started keeping cows for breeding.

  As we’ve noted, years of drought and high feed costs forced ranchers across the Midwest to send the cows to slaughterhouses, leading to a sharp reduction in the nation’s overall herd size. In January, the beef cow herd size was the smallest since 1962. 

  

  Tight supplies of cattle have hurt the profits of meatpackers, including Tyson Foods Inc. and JBS SA: 

  National Beef Inc., Marfrig’s US unit, saw adjusted earnings before items such as taxes and interest more than halve in the third quarter from a year ago to $150 million, according to a statement from the company on Monday. Tyson Foods Inc. and JBS SA posted results earlier that were largely affected by lower profits in their US beef operations. -Bloomberg 

  Declining cattle numbers also sent US beef prices at the supermarket to record highs.

  

  Also, US beef exports are forecasted to slide 14% this year from 2022 to 3 billion pounds, the lowest since the early days of the Covid pandemic when plant closures crushed meatpackers. The USDA warned US beef production is expected to decline further next year. 

  Last week, Pete Bonds, a Texas-based cattle producer, told Reuters, “The future of this industry is not here in the United States.” 

  Food inflation remains sticky. And soon, beef will be a luxury only the rich can afford. As for the working poor, Tyson plans to build a new insect plant in 2025. 

   

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 23:45

• Lucid Lost $227,000 Per Car Sold In Q3
  Lucid Lost $227,000 Per Car Sold In Q3

  What do you get after a decade of negative real rates and unlimited QE as monetary policy? Losing $227,000 per vehicle as an acceptable business model for an automobile company!

  At least that’s the case over at Lucid, according to a new writeup from the Daily Caller. 

  The California-based Lucid Motors, offers four electric vehicle (EV) models priced between $74,900 and $249,000 and reported a third-quarter net loss of $630.9 million, excluding overhead costs.

  This amounts to over $227,000 in losses per car sold, the report says, citing its financial statements and calculations by The Wall Street Journal.

  

  Despite having sold only 125 vehicles by November 2021, the company’s valuation peaked at $91 billion. However, its stock price has since dropped by approximately 93%.

  Last week, Lucid Motors reduced its vehicle prices to boost demand, the report notes. All the while, the electric vehicle company’s primary investor is the Saudi Arabian public investment fund, ironically sustained by oil revenues.

  The Saudi government plans to purchase 100,000 Lucid cars over ten years, with the fund investing heavily to support the struggling company, the report added. 

  Lucid is not alone in its financial struggles within the EV sector. Rivian, another upscale EV maker, faced a loss of $33,000 per vehicle sold in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Ford, a traditional automaker, anticipates over $4 billion in losses from its EV division this year.

  All this completely rational, sensible behavior and market mechanics in the name of climate change…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 23:20

• WeInflate, WeMalinvest, WeWork
  WeInflate, WeMalinvest, WeWork

  Authored by Peter C. Earle via the American Institute for Economic Research,

  

  The bankruptcy filing of WeWork Inc. on November 6, 2023 came with neither a whimper nor a bang, but with a laconic shrug. Although the company has been around for 13 years, it has been defined more by successive flirtations with demise and unseemly corporate revelations than by innovative ideas for the second half of its life. Few were surprised when the latest, and possibly not the final, chapter arrived.

  While some stories are better told starting at the end, the WeWork story is best told from the beginning: It started as a company that rents desks. That’s it. Yes, it has been described as an enterprise providing “flexible co-working spaces” with the value adds of “collaboration” and “community.” Over the years it has variously billed itself as a real estate company and a high-tech firm. It has dabbled in online events, run a design agency, owned a smartphone authentication startup, acquired an online facilities management platform, and stretched the We brand beyond recognition (WeLive, WeGrow, Rise by We, and others). At the root of all, though — buried deep under a morass of corporate mysticism, questionable business dealings, and most of all a penchant for squandering money at a Biblically diluvian rate — is a business of renting desks.

  One can easily see how the sharing model employed by Uber, AirBNB, Turo, TaskRabbit, Spinlister, and other such firms would’ve found its way into the commercial real estate business. Yet subleasing as a business was not pioneered by WeWork. Large urban office buildings are frequently not fully occupied outside traditional business hours. And rarely are there office spaces small enough to both accommodate and justify the expense of one or two individuals, or for only a day or two per week, or other permutations thereof. And this is where economic calculation begins: If some smart person could figure out how to treat commercial space like a four-dimensional game of Tetris, cleverly fitting different occupancy needs of spaces and times together in ways that traditional building managers can’t or won’t, they might not only serve an unmet need, but eke out a profit in the process. 

  But landlords aren’t terribly interested in putting wild-eyed intermediaries between themselves and their earnings. So an entrepreneur interested in offering unique, customizable office spaces has to first rent out space, usually several floors or an entire building, only then dividing it into the unusual units for which there may be a market. While eventually WeWork did purchase and operate its own buildings, its basic business is that of a sublessor: renting space to rent back out at a slight premium with perks to enhance the marketability of spaces. Some of those amenities were subtle, like dartboards or Ping Pong tables. Others seemed out-of-place in a business context, like beer on tap and hammocks. A few, like administrative support, phone systems, and printers undoubtedly added value.

  While there are many challenges to running that kind of business, several are immediately evident. First, margins are likely to be small — even before spending on inducements. Also, providing maximum permutability to would-be renters of various sizes and terms requires taking long-term leases. And it goes without saying that in order to make significant revenue and profits, the business — again, fundamentally, renting desks — would have to be scaled enormously. More floors, in more buildings, in more cities, with tireless marketing, sales, and development support. 

  If, sometime in 2019, you’d asked a major, international sublessor what the major threats to their business were, they’d probably have said a terror attack or serious recession. But both of those things have happened, and while they dampened economic growth, they weren’t long-lasting. Plus, international diversification provides a hedge, of sorts, to that kind of shock. What few, if any, would have guessed is that a pandemic would break out. Far fewer would have guessed that governments around the world, with few exceptions, would respond to a pandemic by ordering widespread business shutdowns, restrictions on in-person meetings, and other heedlessly destructive policies. And who, even when the word COVID became part of the 24-hour news cycle throughout 2020 and 2021, would have anticipated that the relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions would not be met by a surge back into office spaces, but by a vastly broader acceptance of remote work?

  In the future, the many idiosyncrasies of founder Adam Neumann are likely to figure prominently in WeWork retellings. The explanation for the bankruptcy that is likely to prevail, however, is that WeWork was felled by COVID precautions. In fact, WeWork was conceived of and established during the Federal Reserve’s post-2008 collapse zero interest rate policy (ZIRP), at a time when credit was cheap and plentiful. And just as the company was facing calamity, historically expansive monetary and fiscal policy measures gave the long-ailing WeWork a reprieve before it ultimately succumbed to long-looming financial vulnerabilities.

  Austrian Business Cycle Theory

  It sometimes puzzles observers that scores of sound businesses humming along would suddenly collapse in large bunches as economic conditions begin to deteriorate. Or relatedly, that firms which are unprofitable can at times limp along for years on end. The Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT) offers an explanation for these phenomena, by focusing upon the relationship between central bank policies, interest rates, and the allocation of resources within an economy.

  ABCT designates the start of booms with a period of credit expansion by a central bank, which typically involves lowering interest rates and increasing the money supply. This expansion leads to a decrease in market interest rates, making borrowing cheaper and more attractive to businesses and investors. As a result of the lower interest rates, businesses and investors increase their borrowing and investment activities. This leads to an economic boom characterized by increased spending, investment in long-term projects, and a general sense of optimism in the economy.

  Artificially low interest rates (rates set by policy, rather than set by market forces in lending markets) send misleading signals to entrepreneurs and investors. These low rates suggest that resources are more abundant than they actually are, and that the time preference for consumption, versus saving and investment, has changed. Entrepreneurs and businesses respond to the distorted interest rate signals by making investments in long-term and capital-intensive projects that may not be economically viable in the long run. They may engage in speculative ventures and allocate resources inefficiently. Owing to bountiful credit at negligible cost, business concepts which, in normal periods at market-determined rates, may never have gotten off the ground are not only established but gain initial traction. 

  The credit expansion can lead to the creation of asset bubbles in various sectors. These bubbles are unsustainable because they are driven by the artificial credit expansion rather than genuine economic fundamentals. Eventually, the unsustainable nature of the boom becomes evident. The central bank may start to raise interest rates or reduce monetary stimulus, leading to a contraction in credit and a shift in market sentiment. This triggers the “bust” phase. Malinvestments made during the boom become apparent. Businesses may find that their long-term projects are no longer profitable, leading to bankruptcies, layoffs, and a revaluation of asset prices.

  The Federal Reserve began its first round of quantitative easing (QE1) in late 2008 in response to the global financial crisis. It was followed by QE2, which ran from November 2010 to September 2012 and QE3, which ended in October 2014. WeWork’s establishment in March 2010 places its corporate birth late within the first, most-expansionary phase of the post-2008-crisis monetary policy regimes. 

  When interest rates are driven to rock-bottom prices as a matter of policy, investors begin to seek higher-risk projects and vehicles to produce meaningful returns. This phenomenon is known as the “reach for yield,” which has been seen time and time again throughout boom and bust cycles. It may induce individual investors preparing for retirement to abandon investment grade bonds and stock indices in favor of riskier securities. And it may drive venture capital firms already in the business of taking on speculative ventures to ratchet up their exposure to uncertain and questionable ventures. This has been shown from one speculative bubble to the next. 

  The WeWork Saga

  As mentioned previously, WeWork has done one thing consistently since its founding: lose money. A $15 million investment in 2010 which valued the company at $45 million leapt to a $16 billion valuation by 2016. By that time, the firm was already struggling, missing several financial targets and laying off a substantial number of its employees. By mid-2017 the firm was valued at $20 billion, boosted by high-profile investments from the Softbank Vision Fund among others. Throughout this period, WeWork embarked upon an acquisition spree, purchasing high-profile buildings, international spaces, competitors, and several businesses (some particularly unusual). The valuation of the company reached roughly $42 billion by the end of 2018, even as it lost over $2 billion throughout the year. 

  The peak of WeWork’s valuation was $47 billion in January 2019. At that point, an initial public offering of stock was considered, and in August 2019 a Form S-1 was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

  (It is instructive at this point to note that an initial public offering, while sometimes depicted as a magnanimous opportunity for retail investors, is in fact an exit strategy for founders and early-stage investors. Although most companies continue to generate positive returns after going public, IPOs are undertaken when the general consensus among insiders is that the explosive period of initial growth is over, nearly so, or that public equity valuations are high enough that they should be taken advantage of.)

  The filing revealed WeWork to be incurring massive losses, with questionable governance arrangements and dubious prospects. Of particular note was the disclosure that the company had incurred $47 billion in future lease obligations with only $4 billion in lease commitments. A number of questionable financial metrics within the filing additionally raised concerns regarding the proper depiction of the firm’s financial health. The effect of these revelations, as well as doubts regarding the fitness of Neumann to serve as the CEO of a public company, led to the IPO being withdrawn in September 2019. Within this time period, the company’s valuation plummeted from nearly $50 billion to an estimated $10 billion. 

  In November, SoftBank Group disclosed a $9.2 billion loss in the value of its investments in WeWork, which amounted to approximately 90 percent of the $10.3 billion that SoftBank had previously invested in WeWork over the preceding years. Less than two weeks later, WeWork announced workforce reductions of roughly 20 percent of its global headcount. The firm was already struggling mightily before the pandemic struck. 

  With the onset of the pandemic came several rounds of massively expansionary monetary policy programs, as well as fiscal stimuli policies, on a global scale. A stock market crash in March 2020 — the first since 1987 — accompanied by several rounds of stimulus checks, rock-bottom interest rates, and collective ennui, drove investors into markets ranging from equities to cryptocurrencies and beyond. The coordinated short squeezes of a handful of distressed equity issues was emblematic of the effects of the massive credit boom.  

  Throughout 2020, WeWork liquidated some of its Chinese assets and engaged in several more rounds of layoffs. It also renegotiated certain lease agreements and deferments at many locations. Cheap money and seemingly insatiable risk appetites throughout the year led to a surge in Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) deals, which:

  are also commonly referred to as blank check companies … [T]hrough a SPAC transaction, a private company can become a publicly traded company with more certainty as to pricing and control over deal terms as compared to traditional initial public offerings, or IPOs … Unlike an operating company that becomes public through a traditional IPO, however, a SPAC is a shell company when it becomes public.  This means that it does not have an underlying operating business and does not have assets other than cash and limited investments, including the proceeds from the IPO. 

  This was the means by which WeWork ultimately became a publicly traded company on October 21, 2021. It ended its first trading day up 13 percent to $11.78 per share, for a valuation of $9 billion. 

  Fed Funds rate (red), WeWork stock price (black, w/first trading date green horizontal line

  

  (Source: Bloomberg Finance, LP)

  Less than six months later, in March 2022, the Federal Reserve began its most-aggressive contractionary policy campaign in four decades to arrest the surge of inflation in the United States. With higher interest rates and the contraction of the balance sheet, the size of the US money stock began contracting for the first time in decades. As the flow of credit slowed and became more expensive, the prospects of many SPACs dimmed, with their stock prices following. 

  After going public, WeWork’s stock price and valuation declined steadily. By August 2023 the share price hit $0.14 cents, down 99 percent in 22 months. WeWork bonds traded at a deeply distressed 10 cents to the dollar. Once valued at $47 billion, the company’s valuation had fallen to $300 million. To maintain the minimum $1 bid price required to remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the company undertook a 1:40 reverse split. And despite a debt restructuring, shedding superfluous assets, and the renegotiation of virtually all of its remaining global leases, WeWork filed for bankruptcy on Monday, November 6th, with $15 billion in assets, $18 billion in debt, and at a reverse split stock price of 84 cents valued at $60 million. Softbank’s total losses in WeWork are calculated at over $14 billion. 

  Since 2008, some eleven years have seen policy rates set at one percent or less. In that time period, the year-over-year expansion of different monetary aggregates has varied greatly. From March 2020 to July 2022, the M2 money supply increased by almost $6 trillion, and has since been contracting at the fastest rate in decades. 

  Companies founded in easy money periods will tend to be the most vulnerable. Many firms will survive the credit crunch, but few will emerge unscathed. WeWork is only among the most prominent of countless firms which were carried aloft by expansionary policies, now feeling the effects of the severe contractionary reversal (see also Peloton, Beyond Meat, Zoom, Didi Global, and others). 

  Stock prices of Peloton (blue), Beyond Meat (green), Zoom (purple), and Didi Global ADR (red), M1 Money Supply Index (black dash), and M2 Money Supply M2 Index (black dots), 2020 – present

  

  The liquidation of malinvestment is painful and takes time. There will be more layoffs, more breached contracts, and more fire sales. There is a chance that, greatly scaled down and highly focused, WeWork can emerge from bankruptcy and find some measure of commercial success. Or its assets may be acquired by other entrepreneurs and put to work profitably. One cannot and should not fault business visionaries for attempting to scale a niche, low-margin business into a global empire…even if that business is renting desks. Nor are they to be blamed for taking advantage of investor interest, expansive credit offers, or unconventional sources of financing. The cause ultimately lies not with them, and much less with a virus, but with the monetary interventionism that made both the attempt and the ensuing wreckage possible. 

  Peter C. Earle is an economist who joined AIER in 2018. Prior to that he spent over 20 years as a trader and analyst at a number of securities firms and hedge funds in the New York metropolitan area. His research focuses on financial markets, monetary policy, and problems in economic measurement. He has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC, Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, NPR, and in numerous other media outlets and publications. Pete holds an MA in Applied Economics from American University, an MBA (Finance), and a BS in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 22:55

• Watch: Officials Grilled Over San Fran's 'Miraculously' Spotless Streets For Xi Visit
  Watch: Officials Grilled Over San Fran’s ‘Miraculously’ Spotless Streets For Xi Visit

  With Chinese President Xi Jinping’s airplane having touched down in California Tuesday night, the Biden administration is facing questions over the now viral images coming out of San Francisco. As we and others have detailed, the feces-encrusted Golden City was miraculously able to clean itself up, seemingly overnight.

  We previously pointed out that for decades, and with increasing severity, residents of San Francisco have been forced to navigate through shit-covered streets, drug dens and criminal elements, all while the city feigned the inability to do anything about it. On Monday, the White House was pressed on the growing and unavoidable public perception that the federal and local government in San Fran cares more about the soon to arrive Communist dictator than American citizens and civic life and public health.

  But as the disturbing clip below from a yesterday afternoon press briefing shows, the administration could care less. Biden admin advisor Jake Sullivan was asked, “Does President Biden agree that it’s more important to impress the leader of China than the American people that live in San Francisco?” Watch Sullivan’s pathetic non-answer below…

  “Does President Biden agree that it’s more important to impress the leader of China than the American people that live in San Francisco?”

  JAKE SULLIVAN: “I completely reject the premise” pic.twitter.com/1GBkp5XGot

  — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 13, 2023

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  As one online commenter has pointed out, “San Francisco’s homeless population was entirely cleared out for Xi Jinping” and took note that “The government can easily fix our cities overnight. It just doesn’t want to.”

  And look who just basically admitted that this is precisely what’s going on…

  “I know folks say, ‘Oh, they’re just cleaning up this place because all these fancy leaders are coming into town.’ That’s true because it’s true.”

  Gavin Newsom admits San Francisco wiped its streets of filth and excrement for Xi Jinping but not Americans:

  “I know folks say, ‘Oh, they’re just cleaning up this place because all these fancy leaders are coming into town.’ That’s true because it’s true.” pic.twitter.com/qF1NrfeNFz

  — Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 13, 2023

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  And the reaction from San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who also skirted the relevant pointed question and gave a non-answer…

  “We have been working on this now for a few years…

  This is not an issue that we’ve been sitting around waiting to solve,” Mayor Breed said. 

  Wow. Journalist actually asked San Francisco mayor London Breed a real question:

  “Why has it taken the visit of US President Biden and China’s President Xi for action on all of the problems that this city has been talking about for 4 years?” pic.twitter.com/QtqEyCVmaF

  — Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 13, 2023

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  Meanwhile, Xi has emerged to newly “clean streets”…

  good idea not to show the 2 feet of excrement he is walking in https://t.co/nIkaUevGJk

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 14, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 22:30

• Harvard Grad Union Endorses Anti-Israel BDS Movement Amid Backlash From Jewish Alumni
  Harvard Grad Union Endorses Anti-Israel BDS Movement Amid Backlash From Jewish Alumni

  Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  Harvard University’s graduate student union has voted to endorse the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, a move that risks further ire from the Ivy League school’s Jewish affiliates who are threatening to withhold donations.

  The roughly 600-member Harvard Graduate Student Union voted on Nov. 10 to support a BDS statement from some rank-and-file members of the United Auto Workers, the national union to which the Harvard group belongs, according to student newspaper The Harvard Crimson.

  The BDS is a loose amalgam of organizations and individuals who call for economic pressure on Israel to change its Palestinian policies. While some merely see BDS activism as a way to express their solidarity with the Palestinians, others are convinced that it is a concrete strategy to isolate and delegitimize the state of Israel by inflicting real economic damage.

  “As members of the labor movement, we call on U.S. labor unions to cut all ties with Israeli unions,” the UAW rank-and-file statement reads.

  About 64 percent of Harvard grad union members voted in favor of the statement, representing the largest turnout for a non-contract vote in the union’s history, The Crimson reported.

  Also approved at the Nov. 10 meeting was a separate statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The statement, primarily signed by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, also calls for the release of Israeli civilians taken hostage by Hamas.

  “The road to peace cannot be found through warfare,” it reads. “We commit ourselves to work in solidarity with the Palestinian and Israeli peoples to achieve peace and justice.”

  The second statement passed with 69 percent of votes.

  Shani Cohen, a former bargaining committee member who voted against the BDS endorsement but is in favor of the calling for a ceasefire, told The Crimson that she will resign from the union. She argued that the union’s actions are not helping to fix the hostile climate against Jewish and pro-Israel students on campus.

  “The union kind of failed its basic role in protecting members and being in solidarity with members that are Israeli or Jewish,” she said.

  ‘Polarizing Rhetoric’

  The union’s vote also comes as more than 1,600 Harvard alumni declared that they will close their checkbooks to the Cambridge, Massachusetts, school if it doesn’t take urgent action to crack down on anti-Semitism.

  “We never thought that, at Harvard College, we would have to argue the point that terrorism against civilians demands immediate and unequivocal condemnation,” wrote members of the Harvard College Jewish Alumni Association (HCJAA) in an open letter to President Claudine Gay and Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana. “We never thought we would have to argue for recognition of our own humanity.”

  “We are calling on the University to meet its commitment to protecting all its students, not just those that shout the loudest or blare the most polarizing rhetoric.“

  The HCJAA was formed last month in the aftermath of the university’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks. Organizers claim that this is the first Jewish alumni association in Harvard’s history.

  In an interview with CNN, Rebecca Claire Brooks, a co-founder of the HCJAA, said many of the signatories of the letter are key donors to the university.

  “This is a broad and growing intergenerational movement of alumni from many different sectors and industries,” she said. “Yes, some of them are very influential donors and some of them are sort of more normal-sized donors. But we’re speaking in one unified voice in response to this moment.”

  Harvard, like every other Ivy League school, relies on donations and endowments for a significant proportion of its income. According to the university’s financial report for fiscal year 2022, donations generated total revenue of $5.8 billion. Only 55 percent of the university’s revenue was generated through education, research, and other means such as publications and royalties.

  “As the University’s single largest contributor to revenue, 45 percent of this year’s income arose from philanthropy—9 percent from current use gifts, which have an immediate impact on operations, and 36 percent from the ongoing support of distributions from the endowment,” the report stated.

  Several high-profile donors have already announced that they were cutting ties with Harvard. Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and his wife, Batia, quit an executive board at the university in protest over the university leadership’s response to the Hamas attacks. Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management; and Leslie Wexner, former chief executive Victoria’s Secret, have also joined the donor exodus.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 22:05

• "No Ceasefire!": Largest Pro-Israel Rally In World Held In D.C.
  “No Ceasefire!”: Largest Pro-Israel Rally In World Held In D.C.

  Tuesday saw a huge pro-Israel rally take over Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., which organizers say was in support of ongoing Israeli military efforts to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and towards denouncing antisemitism in the US and globally.

  Some reports estimate the crowd was nearly 300,000 people, as it filled the National Mall and stretched for several blocks. Jewish organizations had been active in bussing activist groups from cities across the east coast.

  

  Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed the crowd via live video feed. He said people from all over the US and world were in D.C. “to march for the babies, the boys and girls, women and men viciously held hostage by Hamas; to march for the right of every Jew to live proudly and safely in America, in Israel and all around the world.”

  The march is being widely reported as the largest pro-Israel demonstration to occur anywhere since the killing of some 1,200-1,400 Jews in Hamas’ Oct.7 attacks:

  Addressing the pro-Israel rally on Washington’s National Mall, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations CEO William Daroff says over 290,000 people are in attendance, making it the largest pro-Israel gathering in history.

  He adds that more than 250,000 people have also been watching online and on C-SPAN.

  US House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke in person, receiving loud cheers when he denounced any talk of ceasefire. He actually called the very idea of ceasefire at this point “outrageous.” He emphasized, “Israel will cease their counter-offensive when Hamas ceases to be a threat to the Jewish state.” The crowd then broke out into chants of “no ceasefire!” 

  Some critics said the march had the atmosphere of a “pro-war rally”…

  As Speaker Johnson declares that “The calls for a ceasefire are outrageous,” the crowd starts chanting “no ceasefire.”

  Difficult to see how a demonstration demanding that the carnage continues can be called anything other than a pro-war rally.

  Also difficult to see how this… pic.twitter.com/BQYgTWlYxz

  — Trita Parsi (@tparsi) November 14, 2023

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  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also addressed the rally, saying “When Hamas says from the river to the sea, they mean all the present-day Israel should be a Jewish-free land.” He said: “We stand with you, and we will not rest until you get all the assistance you need.”

  Many Evangelical pastors and leaders were also present. The Evangelical movement, and particularly those who have ‘end times’ Biblical prophecy as a primary doctrinal focus, represent a significant base of Israel’s unwavering support in America. Arguably the most controversial pastor to address Tuesday’s rally was Christians United For Israel’s Pastor John Hagee, who is based out of San Antonio. 

  Here with thousands of supporters of Israel to send a message to the world…Israel, you are not alone!!! #MarchForIsrael #StandWithIsrael #BringThemHome pic.twitter.com/Fm0Spx2ruD

  — Pastor John Hagee (@PastorJohnHagee) November 14, 2023

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  “You, the leaders of Israel, and you alone, should determine how this war is going to be conducted and concluded,” Hagee told the cheering crowd. “You decide — no one else.”

  He continued, “Choose Israel or Hamas,” and emphasized: “There is no middle ground in this conflict. You’re either for the Jewish people or you’re not.”

  But Hagee has long been well-known to make incredibly controversial statements regarding the Jewish state, which he says Christians must support as a matter of dogma. For example:

  Here’s #MarchForIsrael speaker John Hagee claiming, in a 2005 sermon broadcast internationally and sold by Hagee’s ministry, that Hitler was a “hunter” sent by God to chase Europe’s Jews to what is now Israel.https://t.co/dhGuatz8Gv

  — Bruce Wilson (@brucewilson) November 14, 2023

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  Tuesday’s massive march comes after dozens of large pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the US and across major Western and global capitals have denounced Israel’s military operation as “genocidal”. These rallies have become particularly big in London. They have denounced Israel’s killing of well over 10,000 Palestinians (and now, the mostly civilian death has surpassed 11,200). However, strong supporters of Israel have often deemed these events ‘antisemitic’–and the Israeli government has also accused these marches of being “pro-Hamas”. 

  The D.C. event was considered a ‘high security’ situation, and Metro police were out in force. Earlier in the day it was reported that “The Department of Homeland Security has designated Tuesday’s March for Israel in Washington, D.C., as a  ‘Level 1’ security event, the highest rating of risk assessment, sources tell ABC News.” But thankfully there appears to have been no significant security incident.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 21:40

• Xi/Biden: Photo Op Or "Defining” Moment?"
  Xi/Biden: Photo Op Or “Defining” Moment?”

  By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

  Xi/Biden – Photo Op or “Defining” Moment?

  I just want to make sure that we are on the same page: I generally view these international meetings (G-20, UN, COP 25, and Davos) as much more about “photo ops” and “soundbites” rather than anything material. However, I think that this time could be different.

  I have been negative on our relationship with China.

  • The need to carefully safeguard intellectual property.
  • The need to secure supply chains. For corporations (and for the nation as a whole), as we reassess what “wartime production” means, the war might not feature a traditional enemy, and could include anything from cyber to pandemics.
  • The competition for chips. This is a tricky one, as it is really about high-end, military, AI, and quantum computing grade chips, but it is impacting the entire industry and IP.
  • Rare earth metals, critical minerals, and processing. We largely ceded this to China as we failed to deal with many of the countries that have these minerals in abundant supply and we regulated ourselves out of much of the processing.
  • The threat to global sales of U.S. products, especially in emerging markets, as China transitions from “Made in China” to “Made by China.” This is a natural progression for Chinese brands, but it introduces a new competitor for our domestic brands.
  • The rise in trade that is being denominated in yuan (versus the dollar or other currencies). This is only a “negative” because it reduces the impact of sanctions in many regions, as trade can easily continue in other currencies.
  • Investing in China. My concern has been about “the ability to get the money out” and “what rules could be changed” especially in cases where the rules were bent to allow for certain investments or financial activities to occur.
  • Taiwan, the South China Sea, China’s military, Geopolitics, and Diplomacy. While these are more in the purview of Academy’s Geopolitical Intelligence Group, everyone is well aware of the risks, and these risks are a concern for many of our clients.

  Based on everything that we’ve done so far, I still think that we could get some “positive” surprises out of this meeting.

  The Case for a “Defining” Moment

  It is important for me to get this on the record, partly because it may surprise people given the litany of issues that were raised in the first section.
  The reasons why I think that we could get a positive surprise out of this meeting are:

  • Tariffs. If you weren’t mired in the back and forth around the tariffs that Trump put in place, then you saved yourself some misery. It was probably the first time that I can remember where one’s political affiliation seemed to really impact one’s views on tariffs. “Trade wars are bad!” I was in the “we’ve been in a trade war for 2 decades and this is the first time that we’ve fired a shot” camp. In any case, there was real vitriol at the time and many pieces were written against tariffs. But the election came and went, and the tariffs were largely unchanged. I believe that many of those senior economic advisors who opposed tariffs still do, which means that there must be an inclination to cut back on tariffs. In fact, many expected that the administration would roll back tariffs on day one and these people were somewhat surprised when that didn’t happen. Rolling back some tariffs seems possible.
  • The chip industry. This is incredibly important, and we initially addressed this in World War V3.1. The risk has always been about finding the “right level” of technology to restrict. If it’s too low, then we don’t accomplish our national security objectives. If it is too high, then we won’t allow companies to profit from existing developments or use those profits to propel us into the future (the Chips Act helps but isn’t sufficient). I must imagine that lobbyists are saying that some recent proposals have gone too far. Real potential for some pullback on rhetoric.
  • Iranian oil. Venezuelan oil. The SPR. We have been “pragmatic” (to say the least) in many cases around the world. So-called “lines in the sand” have been moved. But let’s just focus on oil and what has happened in the past year as we “fought inflation.” By all accounts, Iran is selling over 3 million barrels of oil a day despite sanctions that should be keeping that number much lower. The U.S. struck a deal to start accessing Venezuelan oil, which required a commitment to free elections. The Venezuelan courts killed the free election idea, but so far there is no indication that we have lost interest in getting Venezuelan oil. Not long ago, we said something about replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when oil was below $80. If we did this, it was at a snail’s pace. So, for anyone arguing that the U.S. has changed its current stance, I must mention the “pragmatic” behavior that we’ve seen recently.
  • Too much geopolitical uncertainty. The attack by Hamas and Israel’s response has opened a new front for U.S. involvement in the region (in terms of support). The Ukrainian offensive stalling doesn’t help matters there, where international support for Ukraine (after almost 2 years) seems to be diminishing. China has been careful not to act against anyone, and many of their diplomatic actions seem to encourage a reconciliation in these conflicts. At the same time, their activity around Taiwan has escalated, pilots have acted more “daring” around U.S. military aircraft, and their Coast Guard has interfered with the resupplying of the Second Thomas Shoal by the Philippines. Wouldn’t it be nice to de-escalate this? With so much going on around the globe, de-escalating the risks here so that the U.S. and China can focus on all the problems already on their plates would be very helpful, especially coming into an election year.
  • China’s slowing economy. China’s economy has still not kicked into gear post-COVID. This is partly because companies across the globe have less interest in creating manufacturing facilities there, the Belt and Road Initiative seems to have slowed, and the real estate market is in decline (which limits the ability of many citizens to consume). Xi has a middle class that he and the Chinese Communist Party would like to placate (remember, after some protests, the government did an about-face on the COVID lockdowns). Xi is not in a position to play hardball and should want a deal (he does have the advantage of knowing that he has a “lifetime” to achieve his goals, so his negotiating strategy can be longer-term in nature).
  • Inflation. Inflation remains a legitimate fear. I’m not in the runaway inflation camp, though I do think that geopolitical/reshoring/ESG inflation will put upward pressure on inflation for the next several years (1% to 3% above “normal” inflation). However, I understand the fear (especially if India’s economy kicks into an even higher gear). Some sort of deal would likely be seen as deflationary (driving bond yields lower and stock prices higher).

  So, be prepared for the meeting this week to come across as highly conciliatory prompting an “everything rally” into year-end. We don’t even need to see concrete actions taken. If the messaging is strong, that messaging (combined with seasonality and a lot of negativity priced into the market) should be enough to get the job done.

  Bottom Line

  I suspect that I will rant about any “deal,” saying that the U.S. traded short-term benefits for longer-term problems, but that won’t stop a “deal” from helping markets near-term.

  We will know more by the end of the week, but position for the “everything rally” in case this meeting turns out to be far more than a mere “photo op” and delivers a deal that will be pitched as “historic!”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 21:15

• Israeli Troops Storm Gaza's Largest Hospital After Doctors Warn Of 'Catastrophic Consequences'
  Israeli Troops Storm Gaza’s Largest Hospital After Doctors Warn Of ‘Catastrophic Consequences’

  Update(2113ET): In the overnight and early morning hours of Wednesday (local time), Israel’s military says it is moving against al-Shifa hospital, the Strip’s largest, while saying the assault “operation” is necessary to root out a Hamas command post there. 

  Al Jazeera earlier reported that Israel announced the hospital would be raided in “minutes” – but the fate of worried doctors and patients has remained unknown since. According to the latest being reported in The Wall Street Journal: 

  Israeli forces carried out a targeted operation against Hamas “in a specified area’’ of Gaza’s largest hospital, hours after the White House backed Israeli assertions that Palestinian militants are running military operations from the enclave’s hospitals.

  The Israeli military said that it launched “a precise and targeted operation’’ in the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The White House had earlier cautioned Israel not to carry out airstrikes against the hospital. Hamas said in a statement that it holds Israel and President Biden “fully responsible” for the raid on Al-Shifa hospital.

  On the ground Al Jazeera coverage is showing chaos unfolding at the hospital, which has already been site of mass death, given the IDF has had it surrounded for days and has reportedly fired at targets near the entrance. Fighting has also engulfed its environs, where tanks have the area surrounded.

  The Ministry of Health in Gaza has stated: “Dozens of [Israeli] soldiers entered the emergency department building in Al-Shifa Hospital Complex.”

  AL SHIFA HOSPITAL, GAZA pic.twitter.com/1r3nQ0ADCK

  — The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) November 15, 2023

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  Doctors interviewed by Al Jazeera say they plan to remain with the patients, who have been moved into interior corridors, as gunfire can be heard on the hospital campus. There are multiple thousands, including displaced refugees seeking shelter, still inside the besieged hospital. There are growing accusations that Israel’s operation is a clear war crime.

  Below is the official IDF statement in English announcing the new offensive against al-Shifa:

  🔴 Operational Update:
  IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa Hospital, based on intelligence information and an operational necessity.

  The IDF is conducting a ground operation in Gaza to defeat Hamas and…

  — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 15, 2023

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  Palestinian Minister of Health Dr. Mai Al-Kaila had earlier been cited in regional sources as warning ahead of the new assault, “Israeli forces are committing a new crime against humanity, medical staff, and patients by besieging and bombing the Shifa Medical Complex. We hold the occupation fully responsible for the lives of the medical staff, patients, and displaced people in the Shifa Medical Complex, and we warn of the catastrophic consequences of storming the medical complex.”

  Israel says it got a green light for the raid on Shifa from the US, after the White House said it backs Israel’s narrative that it’s being used for military purposes.

  * * *

  Israel has been ramping up its global messaging campaign at a moment it faces increased isolation from Global South countries, and amid growing criticism from large powers like China, Russia, and major Latin American countries such as Brazil.  

  But there have been signs of dissent even within the Biden administration as well, with pushback especially coming from the State Department of late, as US officials want to see the White House become more publicly critical of alleged Israeli war crimes, given also the immense death toll, at over 11,200 Gazans killed – with some half of these believed to be women and children.

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now taking his message to the American public, in a Monday night appearance on Fox News’ Sean Hannity, warning that the US will be “next” if his military doesn’t decimate Hamas.

  

  “We have to win not only for our sake, but for the sake of the Middle East, for the sake of our Arab neighbors. You know what, for the sake of Gazans who’ve been held by this dark tyranny that has brutalized and brought them nothing but bloodshed and poverty and misery,” Netanyahu introduced.

  “We have to win to protect Israel. We have to win to safeguard the Middle East. We have to win for the sake of the civilized world. That’s the battle we’re fighting, and it’s being waged right now. There is no substitute for that victory.”

  And that’s when he emphasized the potential dire repercussions for the West if Israel fails in its objectives. “If we don’t win now, then Europe is next and you’re next. And we have to win,” he added.

  Netanyahu’s words carried a theme of a war between ‘barbarians’ and ‘civilization’, with an intent to make Americans believe what’s happening in the Middle East is “your fight” as well. According to Fox:

  Netanyahu stressed that “our fight is your fight” and that there is “no substitute for victory.”

  “We have to have the forces of civilization beat these barbarians because otherwise this barbarism will spread and will endanger the entire world,” Netanyahu said. “Every American, every civilized country will be under peril. We have to win. There is no substitute for victory. Total victory.”

  Such messaging filled with a ‘good vs. evil’ motif was also heavily relied upon by the Bush administration and neocons in selling the Iraq War in 2003. Netanyahu has in past years also painted such simple contrasts when speaking about Iran and its supposed ‘nuclear threat’ as well.

  Netanyahu may have been responding to rare words of restraint issued by President Biden on the same day. “I have not been reluctant in expressing my concerns about what’s going on and it’s my hope and expectation that it will be less intrusive action relative to the hospital,” Biden said Monday regarding the worsening humanitarian crisis at al-Shifa hospital in the center of Gaza City.

  Zelensky’s playbook of “you’re next”?…

  Netanyahu on Hannity last night:

  – Israel is invading Gaza “for the sake of Gazans.” Sounds very generous and humanitarian

  – War boils down to “good guys” versus “bad guys”

  – If Israel doesn’t occupy the Gaza strip, “Europe is next, and you’re next.” I guess he means Ohio pic.twitter.com/4GXGDC5khk

  — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 14, 2023

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  “So, I remain somewhat hopeful but the hospital must be protected,” he said. This was in response to growing international condemnation, including from the UN, of Israeli troops laying siege to the large Gaza hospital, amid reports that patients – including the very young – are dying, and as the hospital has run out of fuel to keep vital generators going.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 21:13

• Empty Words? Biden Tells Family Members Of US Hostages In Gaza: "Hang In There, We're Coming"
  Empty Words? Biden Tells Family Members Of US Hostages In Gaza: “Hang In There, We’re Coming”

  It was only on Sunday that the Bident administration belatedly revealed that an American toddler is among the some 240 Israeli and foreign hostages being held by Hamas. Though an exact figure is hard to come by, there may be a dozen or more dual US citizens among the captives. Last month, two were among the first to be released. Days ago, White House spokesman Jake Sullivan put the number at nine Americans missing.

  But hopes are dwindling concerning the fate of the rest, given how violent the fighting in Gaza City has been. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Tuesday a new death of one of its soldiers in captivity: 19-year old Cpl. Noa Marciano. She had been kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct.7 terror raids, but then—

  On Monday evening, Hamas published a propaganda video of Marciano, showing her speaking to the camera four days after being taken hostage, identifying herself and reciting the names of her parents and her hometown. The video then cut to showing her dead body.

  

  Hamas sources have suggested she died as the result of an airstrike, while Israeli sources say that terrorists beat her to death, or executed her. The IDF has now confirmed her death in captivity.

  This has sparked new fears over the worst case scenario for remaining hostages. On Tuesday reporters asked President Joe Biden about what’s being done to free the rest, and particularly the Americans. He told reporters that his message to the hostages and their families is “Hang in there, we’re coming.”

  “I’ve been talking to the people involved every single day. I believe it’s going to happen, but I don’t want to get into any detail,” Biden said. These talks have centered on Qatar’s ability to mediate, given it communicates with Hamas leadership.

  Sullivan over the weekend had told ABC News, “There are ongoing negotiations involving the Israelis, the Qataris, and we, the United States, are actively engaged in this as well because we want to make sure that we bring home those Americans who have been taken hostage as well as all of the other hostages.”

  In addition to the negotiations track, it’s possible the White House could be preparing a military rescue “option”, but such an operation would of course be extremely risky and filled with uncertainty amid the evolving urban battlefield. 

  The Biden administration has accidentally revealed the identities of several Delta Force commandos helping Israel in the hostage rescue – Sky News

  A photo of Biden shaking hands with one of the soldiers, in the presence of other soldiers, was posted on the official White House… pic.twitter.com/jWPMOSYaAz

  — NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 20, 2023

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

  It was previously confirmed that the Pentagon currently has elite special forces operators advising the Israelis. There are also rumors these US forces could be on the Gaza battlefield in limited numbers. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 20:50

• Speculator Or Investor? What’s The Difference?
  Speculator Or Investor? What’s The Difference?

  Authored by Lance Roberts via realinvestmentadvice.com,

  

  Are you an “investor” or a “speculator?” 

  Over the last month, we have discussed the “false market narratives” that push investors to make portfolio mistakes. Such is why we previously discussed the “Investing Rules” needed to navigate volatile markets.

  This past week, on the #RealInvestmentShow, we discussed the difference between being an investor, like Warren Buffett, and a speculator, which is both you and I.

  In today’s market, the majority of investors are simply chasing performance. However, why would you NOT expect this to happen when financial advisers, the mainstream media, and Wall Street continually press the idea that investors “must beat” some random benchmark index from one year to the next?

  But this defines the difference between being a “speculator” or an “investor?” 

  Graham And Carret

  If you were playing a hand of poker and were dealt a “pair of deuces,” would you push all your chips to the center of the table?

  Of course not.

  The reason is you intuitively understand the other factors “at play.” Even a cursory understanding of the game of poker suggests other players at the table are probably holding better hands, which will rapidly reduce your wealth.

  More importantly, just like a game of poker, as individuals buying a few company shares, we have ZERO control over how that company manages its finances, makes decisions, or conducts its business. As such, we are “betting” on an unknowable future outcome with only a basic understanding of the risks involved.

  Therefore, as individuals, we are “speculators” in the financial markets, and as such, we must focus on the management of the risks to allow us to “stay in the game long enough” to “win.”

  “Philip Carret, who wrote The Art of Speculation (1930), believed “motive” was the test for determining the difference between investment and speculation. Carret connected the investor to the economics of the business and the speculator to price. ‘Speculation,’ wrote Carret, ‘may be defined as the purchase or sale of securities or commodities in expectation of profiting by fluctuations in their prices.’” – Robert Hagstrom, CFA

  Chasing markets is the purest form of speculation. It is simply a bet on prices going higher rather than determining if the price being paid for those assets is selling at a discount to fair value.

  Benjamin Graham and David Dodd attempted a precise definition of investing and speculation in their seminal work Security Analysis (1934).

  “An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.”

  There is also an essential passage in Graham’s The Intelligent Investor:

  “The distinction between investment and speculation in common stocks has always been a useful one and its disappearance is a cause for concern. We have often said that Wall Street as an institution would be well advised to reinstate this distinction and to emphasize it in all its dealings with the public. Otherwise the stock exchanges may some day be blamed for heavy speculative losses, which those who suffered them had not been properly warned against.”

  Indeed, in today’s world of chasing markets from one year to the next, the meaning of being an investor has been lost. However, the following ten guidelines from legends of our time will hopefully get you back on track and turn you from being a speculator to a successful investor.

  10-Investing Guidelines From Legendary Investors

  1) Jeffrey Gundlach, DoubleLine

  “The trick is to take risks and be paid for taking those risks, but to take a diversified basket of risks in a portfolio.”

  This is a common theme that you will see throughout this post. Great investors focus on “risk management” because “risk” is not a function of how much money you will make but how much you will lose when you are wrong. As a speculator, you can only play if you have capital.

  Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy. One of the best times to invest is when uncertainty and fear are the highest.

  2) Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates

  “The biggest mistake investors make is to believe that what happened in the recent past is likely to persist. They assume that something that was a good investment in the recent past is still a good investment. Typically, high past returns simply imply that an asset has become more expensive and is a poorer, not better, investment.”

  Nothing good or bad goes on forever. The mistake that investors repeatedly make is thinking, “This time is different.” The reality is that it will change despite whatever mainstream narrative is permeating headlines. The rule that never changes is that “what goes up must and will come down, and vice versa.”

  Wall Street wants you to be fully invested “all the time” because that is how they generate fees. However, as an investor, it is crucially important to remember that “price is what you pay, and value is what you get.” 

  Speculators don’t care about value. Investors do.

  3) Seth Klarman, Baupost

  “Most investors are primarily oriented toward return, how much they can make and pay little attention to risk, how much they can lose.”

  The most significant risk in investing is investor behavior driven by cognitive biases. “Greed and fear” dominate the investment cycle of investors, ultimately leading to “buying high and selling low.”

  4) Jeremy Grantham, GMO

  “You don’t get rewarded for taking risk; you get rewarded for buying cheap assets. And if the assets you bought got pushed up in price simply because they were risky, then you are not going to be rewarded for taking a risk; you are going to be punished for it.”

  Successful investors avoid “risk” at all costs, even if it means underperforming in the short term. The reason is that while the media and Wall Street have you focused on chasing market returns in the short term, ultimately, the excess “risk” built into your portfolio will lead to abysmal long-term returns. Like Wyle E. Coyote, chasing financial markets will eventually lead you over the cliff’s edge.

  5) Jesse Livermore, Speculator

  “The speculator’s deadly enemies are: ignorance, greed, fear and hope. All the statute books in the world and all the rule books on all the Exchanges of the earth cannot eliminate these from the human animal….”

  Allowing emotions to rule your investment strategy is, and always has been, a recipe for disaster. All great investors follow a strict discipline, process, and risk management diet. The emotional mistakes show up in the returns of individual portfolios over time. (Source: Dalbar)

  

  6) Howard Marks, Oaktree Capital Management

  “Rule No. 1: Most things will prove to be cyclical.

  Rule No. 2: Some of the greatest opportunities for gain and loss come when other people forget Rule No. 1.”

  As with Ray Dalio, realizing nothing lasts forever is critical to long-term investing. To “buy low,” one must first “sell high.” Understanding that all things are cyclical suggests that investments become more prone to declines after long price increases.

  

  7) James Montier, GMO

  “There is a simple, although not easy alternative [to forecasting]… Buy when an asset is cheap, and sell when an asset gets expensive…. Valuation is the primary determinant of long-term returns, and the closest thing we have to a law of gravity in finance.”

  “Cheap” is when an asset sells for less than its intrinsic value. “Cheap” is not a low price per share. When a stock has a very low price, it is usually priced there for a reason. However, a very high-priced stock CAN be cheap. Price per share is only part of the valuation determination, not the measure of value itself.

  8) George Soros, Soros Capital Management

  “It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.”

  Regarding risk management, being right and making money is great when markets are rising. However, rising markets tend to mask investment risk that is quickly revealed during market declines. If you fail to manage the risk in your portfolio and give up all of your previous gains and then some, you lose the investment game.

  9) Jason Zweig, Wall Street Journal

  “Regression to the mean is the most powerful law in financial physics: Periods of above-average performance are inevitably followed by below-average returns, and bad times inevitably set the stage for surprisingly good performance.”

  The chart below shows the 3-year average of annual inflation-adjusted returns of the S&P 500 to 1900. The power of regression is seen. Historically, when returns exceeded 10%, it was not long before they fell to 10% below the long-term mean. Those reversions were devastating to investor’s capital.

  

  10) Howard Marks, Oaktree Capital Management

  “The biggest investing errors come not from factors that are informational or analytical, but from those that are psychological.”

  The biggest driver of long-term investment returns is the minimization of psychological investment mistakes.

  Baron Rothschild once said, “Buy when there is blood in the streets.” This means that when investors are “panic selling,” you want to be the one they sell to at deeply discounted prices. Howard Marks expressed the same sentiment: “The absolute best buying opportunities come when asset holders are forced to sell.”

  Conclusion

  As an investor, it is simply your job to step away from your “emotions” and look objectively at the market around you. Is it currently dominated by “greed” or “fear?” Your long-term returns will depend significantly on how you answer that question and manage the inherent risk.

  “The investor’s chief problem – and even his worst enemy – is likely to be himself.” – Benjamin Graham

  As I stated at the beginning of this message, “Market Timing” is ineffective in managing your money. However, as you will note, every great investor throughout history has had one core philosophy in common: the management of the inherent risk of investing to conserve and preserve investment capital.

  “If you run out of chips, you are out of the game.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 20:25

• Doug Casey On The Imminent Bankruptcy Of The US Government
  Doug Casey On The Imminent Bankruptcy Of The US Government

  Authored by Doug Casey via the International Man,

  

  International Man: Everyone knows that the US government has been bankrupt for many years. But we thought it might be instructive to see its current cash-flow situation.

  The US government’s budget is the biggest in the history of the world and is growing at an uncontrollable rate.

  Below is a chart of the budget for the most recent fiscal year, which had a deficit of nearly $1.7 trillion.

  

  Before we get into the specific items in the budget, what is your take on the Big Picture for the US budget?

  Doug Casey: The biggest expenditure for the US government are so-called entitlements. It’s strange how the word “entitlements” has been legitimized. Are people really entitled to the government paying for their health, retirement, and welfare? In a moral society, the answer is: No. Entitlements destroy personal responsibility, legitimize theft, destroy wealth, and create antagonisms.

  The fact is that once people have an “entitlement,” they come to rely on it, and you can’t easily take it away. The Chinese call that breaking somebody’s rice bowl. In the case of the American welfare state, it’s more a question of breaking a whipped dog’s doggy bowl. It’s a shame because many have come to rely on their mother, the State, not entirely through their own fault. The US has become pervasively corrupt.

  The World Economic Forum (WEF)—a pox upon them—isn’t entirely incorrect when it arrogantly calls most people “useless mouths.” An increasing number produce absolutely nothing but only consume at the expense of others. Courtesy of the State.

  There’s little doubt in my mind that the government’s expenses are going way up as people demand more. While receipts go down as the Greater Depression deepens. Which it will, as the economy is burdened by evermore taxes, regulations, and currency debasement. That’s on top of the gigantic debt the government and country are buried under.

  The government reminds me of a poker player on tilt, betting more and more crazily in hope of magic or luck to bail him out. It always ends badly.

  We’ve watched this progression accelerate since at least the 1960’s—a slow motion train wreck. But the inevitable has finally turned into the imminent.

  International Man: What are your thoughts on Social Security, Health, and Medicare?

  With an aging population, it seems politically impossible to make any meaningful cuts here. On the contrary, spending in these areas is likely to explode.

  Doug Casey: They should be abolished. I’ve said this many times before, but it bears repeating as often as possible because everybody forgets the most basic of the basics. Namely, the government, as an instrument of force, should be limited to protecting people from physical force. And nothing else.

  That implies a police system to defend people from force within, a military to defend against foreign aggressors, and a court system to allow people to adjudicate disputes without resorting to force. I’d further argue that those three things are so important to the conduct of a civil society that they shouldn’t be left to the kind of people who inevitably gravitate towards government. But that’s a different subject.

  Looking at these three things you mentioned in particular, they’re complete disasters. They’re fiscally unsound, will bankrupt the US government, and, therefore, bankrupt the country itself, especially with an aging population.

  Social Security seemed like a good idea at the time so that poor people wouldn’t be left totally without an income in old age. But the fact is that Social Security is a classic Ponzi scheme. Its taxes have gone from a trivial percentage to 12.4%.

  It’s so high that people are on the bottom end of society, who it’s meant to help, are precluded from saving on their own. Social Security is both a practical and moral disaster.

  As for Medicare, how is it your problem if another has failed to take care of his body? Your body is your primary possession. Should it also be your problem if somebody fails to take care of his car? Should the State fix all your property?

  Should the government have anything to do with health? No. It’s strictly a matter of personal responsibility. Of course, if the State believes it owns you, like a milk cow, the cattle can expect food to show up, as will medicine if they get sick.

  Government entitlement schemes encourage everyone to try to live at the expense of his neighbors. They’re intrinsically dehumanizing, corrupting, and degrading. They’re a bad deal all around.

  International Man: With the most precarious geopolitical situation since World War 2, “National Defense” seems unlikely to be cut.

  Instead, so-called defense spending is all but certain to increase.

  What is your take?

  Doug Casey: The United States’ “defense” spending exceeds that of the next 10 nations combined, including Russia and China. Most of that spending goes into the maw of five major defense companies. A decade or two ago, there used to be 30 or 40 defense companies. But they’ve now consolidated, the better to deal with Big Government.

  They increasingly make only expensive high-tech weapons, which may prove totally useless in today’s environment. For instance, the US is currently suffering an invasion of feet people across the southern border—millions and millions of young males, of alien race, language, religion, and culture, in the last two years alone. We may yet wind up with a civil war in the US, on top of several insane foreign wars.

  These high-tech weapons, in the process of bankrupting the US and enriching the defense establishment, will prove largely useless. Meanwhile, military personnel are being gutted. It’s no secret that the services can’t recruit enough people to keep their numbers where they want them. That’s in good measure because ESG and DEI have been insinuated throughout the military like slow-acting poisons. The military is no longer a meritocracy. Now, it’s critical to be the right color and gender. George Patton would quit in disgust.

  On top of all that, defense spending is a provocation to other countries. It’s like waving around a giant golden hammer. They’re correctly afraid that everything has started to look like a nail to the US.

  International Man: The net interest expense on the national debt was $659 billion in FY 2023, which is sure to rise.

  The US government needs to roll over a significant portion of its existing debt issued when interest rates were 0% in an environment of much higher and rising rates.

  What are your thoughts on this item?

  Doug Casey: Interest on the debt is the next big thing, in addition to entitlements and out-of-control “defense” spending.

  They used to say, “Don’t worry about the national debt; we owe it to ourselves,” which was always ridiculous because some specific people always owed it to other specific people.

  But the US can no longer generate adequate capital to fund the government’s debt. And I hasten to point out that the government is not “We the People.” The government is a separate entity, with its own interests, as distinct as General Motors.

  In the recent past, the national debt has been financed not by Americans, but by foreigners. At this point, however, foreigners no longer want to own the debt of a bankrupt entity whose currency is nothing but a floating abstraction. The government can only finance its debt by selling it to its central bank, the Fed, which creates new dollars to buy the debt.

  As the dollar inevitably loses value, interest rates will rise. That’s regardless of what the Fed does or doesn’t want. The market will demand higher interest rates to finance the debt. You don’t want to own bonds.

  International Man: US government expenses seem to have nowhere to go but up.

  Is there any chance the US government can reform and return to a sustainable basis?

  If not, what are the implications?

  Doug Casey: The US government is bankrupt. It’s not just the official $34 trillion. The real number is several times higher, considering contingent liabilities. It’s probably more like $100 trillion. This debt will never be repaid. The US government is like Wiley Coyote after he runs off a cliff.

  In addition, the average American is deeply in debt—student loans, mortgage debt, credit card debt, auto debt, and much more. The country is in big trouble. Frankly, there’s no practical way out at this point except to officially declare bankruptcy.

  I realize serious change is impossible since the situation is so out of control. But here are six things to imagine—for a start:

  1. Allow the collapse of all bankrupt entities. No bailouts, subsidies, or guarantees for banks, insurers, corporations, or anything. 

  There will be plenty in the coming years. Bailout money is always wasted. Most of the real wealth now owned by the bankrupt entities will still exist.

  It will simply change ownership. But that’s not nearly enough. At this point, it would be a half-measure, a 3-foot rope over a 12-foot gap. If you allow the collapse of unprofitable enterprises without changing the conditions that created the problem, recovery is going to be even harder. So…

  2. Deregulate. Contrary to what almost everyone thinks, the main purpose of regulation is not to protect consumers but to entrench the current order. Regulation prevents new institutions from arising quickly and cheaply.

  Does the Department of Agriculture really need 100,000 employees to regulate fewer than two million farms in the US? Abolish it.

  Has the Department of Energy, created in 1977 to somehow solve a temporary crisis, done anything of value with its 110,000 employees and contractors and $32 billion annual budget? Abolish it.

  How about the terminally corrupt Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has outlived whatever usefulness it might have had by 100 years. Abolish it.

  The FTC, SEC, FCC, FAA, DOT, HHS, HUD, Labor, Commerce, and many more, serve little or no useful public purpose. Eliminate them, and the entire economy would blossom – except for the parasitical lobbying and legal trades. There are hundreds of agencies like these. Most aren’t just useless. They’re actively destructive.

  3. Abolish the Fed. This is the actual engine of inflation. Money is just a medium of exchange and a store of value; you don’t need a central bank to have money. In fact, central banks are always destructive. They benefit only the cronies who get their money first.

  What would we use as money? It doesn’t matter as long as it’s a commodity that can’t be created out of thin air. Gold is the obvious choice. Bitcoin may turn out to be excellent.

  The whole idea of a central bank is a swindle. Massive bailouts and optional wars can’t be done without it.

  4. Cut taxes by 50%… to start. The economy would boom. The money won’t be needed with all the agencies gone. Certainly not if the next two points are followed.

  5. Default on the national debt. I realize this is a shocker unless you recall that the debt will never be paid anyway. Why should the next several generations have to pay for the stupidity of their parents?

  A default sounds dishonorable—and it is in civil society. But government is different. It hasn’t been “We the People” for a long time; it’s now a self-dealing behemoth run by cronies. It’s like a building with a rotten foundation—better to bring it down with a controlled demolition than wait for it fall unpredictably.

  Governments default all the time, though most defaults are subtle, through inflation. In an outright default, however, the only people who get hurt are those who lent money to an institution that can only repay them by stealing money from others. They should be punished.

  6. Disentangle and disengage. The entanglements the US needs to escape prominently include the UN and NATO. Spending could easily be cut 50%. The US combat troops now in over 100 foreign countries can come home. They’re not “defending” anything but local collaborators while picking up bad habits and antagonizing the locals. Spending on the military and its sport wars significantly adds to the economy’s problems.

  Editor’s Note: The economic trajectory is troubling. Unfortunately, there’s little any individual can practically do to change the course of these trends in motion.

  The best you can and should do is to stay informed so that you can protect yourself in the best way possible, and even profit from the situation.

  That’s precisely why bestselling author Doug Casey and his colleagues just released an urgent new PDF report that explains what could come next and what you can do about it.

  Click here to download it now.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 19:35

• Luxury Bust Worsens: Rolex, Patek Prices Hit Two-Year Lows 
  Luxury Bust Worsens: Rolex, Patek Prices Hit Two-Year Lows 

  In October, the secondary market for pre-owned Rolex and Patek Philippe watches reached its lowest point in two years, primarily due to high interest rates crushing demand and increasing supply returning to the market. The combination of the two is accelerating the bust cycle in the luxury watch market. 

  The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which tracks prices for the 50 most-traded watches by value on the secondary market, fell 1.8% in October, stumbling to its lowest level since 2021. 

  

  Subdial data shows a Patek Philippe Nautilus Travel Time 5990/1A-001 has crashed 42.5% since peaking at $271,000 in March 2022. 

  

  Prices for a Rolex Daytona 116506 have been halved since peaking at $185,000. 

  

  “We are seeing growing downward pressure in the market, which could lead to a further downward drift in prices as dealers cut valuations to chase sales,” Christy Davis, the co-founder of Subdial, wrote in an October market report. 

  According to Subdial data, the number of used watches hitting the secondary market has increased 5% since August. More supply is adding downward pressure on an already fragile market. 

  “With more watches available at a wider spread of prices, what we’re seeing is people dropping prices to chase sales going into the holiday season,” Davis said.

  However, she did not provide a specific reason for the increased supply. We note it could be attributed to speculators who purchased luxury watches at high prices during the mania phase during Covid and are now forced to sell to generate liquidity. 

  Last week, luxury group Richemont warned about waning consumer demand for watches, jewelry, and clothing. The owner of Cartier Jewelry was gloomy about the economic outlook. 

  In October, luxury conglomerate LVMH, controlled by billionaire Bernard Arnault, reported a slowdown in sales for high-quality products, such as leather goods, perfumes, watches, and wine, in China, Europe, and the US amid a soaring interest rate environment. 

  Timing the bottom of the used luxury watch market might be a 2024 story. This year has been nothing more than a ‘falling knife.’  

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 19:10

• The Debt Reaper
  The Debt Reaper

  Authored by Robert Burrows via Bond Vigilantes,

  Debt is an integral aspect of modern economies and has long been hailed as a catalyst for growth. When wielded judiciously, it stands as a potent tool for economic development, providing the means to finance projects, expand operations, and invest in essential sectors like education, health, and housing. In the right context, debt fuels economic growth, creates jobs, and fosters innovation. Furthermore, during economic downturns, it offers a safety net for individuals and organizations, helping them weather financial storms.

  The ghost of future wealth

  Governments have traditionally argued that as long as debt remains manageable and serviceable without difficulty, there’s little cause for concern. While this notion holds some truth, the reality is that recent growth has largely been fueled by an insurmountable increase in debt. Particularly since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the creation of what seems like wealth has resulted in soaring asset prices, including equities and real estate, contributing to an alarming rise in wealth inequality. However, there exists a disconnect between perceived wealth and actual wealth, a scenario unlikely to endure. Distinguished economists have persistently argued that debt for consumption essentially borrows demand from the future. This borrowed debt inevitably must be repaid, heralding a probable future slowdown in demand. However, debt allocated for investment purposes differs significantly, capable of fostering future growth and potentially curbing long-term debt.

  

  The trajectory of global debt, as depicted in the chart above, illustrates an unrelenting rise in both government and private debt over time. Up until the 2000s, the surge in debt was primarily attributed to burgeoning private debt, empowering a substantial improvement in living standards, especially in developed nations. Since 2000, private debt has plateaued, whilst government debt has sharply ascended, sustaining the growth in living standards. Yet, the overarching question remains – at what cost? However benign they might seem, debt levels can swiftly move from being a seemingly manageable concern to a formidable challenge once they surpass a particular threshold.

  Renowned economists Reinhart and Rogoff attempted to ascertain this threshold and concluded that it begins to matter when debt levels hit 90% of GDP. Nonetheless, this figure remains a moving target, contingent upon a multitude of variables. Recent economic theories, particularly Modern Monetary Theory, have further complicated this limit, challenging the traditional understanding of debt thresholds. The struggle to identify this threshold arises from the confluence of two pivotal variables: the stock of debt and the level of interest rates, both in perpetual flux. Research aiming to determine at what point servicing debt becomes unmanageable largely predates the widespread implementation of quantitative easing and the drive towards zero interest rates. As a result of these two relatively recent phenomena, debt levels have significantly swelled, accompanied by a notable surge in bond yields in response to this. Some nations like Japan, sustaining an elevated debt level of 250% of GDP, continue to flourish due to their substantial savings, but issues are  beginning to surface. The Japanese economy represents a unique case. Conversely, smaller economies running twin deficits are anticipated to confront their threshold much sooner. Though the definitive threshold remains an mystery, it is evident that we are closer to this limit than we were just a few years ago. Perhaps economies with low levels of outstanding debt will be considered the new safe harbour going forward. 

  The Factors that Transform Debt into a Menacing Problem

  Interest Rates:

  The escalation of interest rates significantly affects debt servicing costs. As rates soar, the cost of servicing this debt climbs, straining government budgets and impeding economic growth. The Federal Reserve and other central banks strive to engineer a controlled economic slowdown to contain inflation. Nevertheless, history often demonstrates that rapid interest rate hikes are typically followed by recession.

  

  Crowding Out:

  The hike in rates leads to a natural consequence called crowding out. As rates rise, investors lean towards guaranteed government bond yields rather than venturing into riskier private sector investments. This shift diminishes the availability of private sector financing and forces down valuations of private assets, adversely impacting the equity market. On the consumer front, higher interest rates stimulate a proclivity for saving, as consumers take advantage higher returns in cash, but also brace for anticipated higher tax levels in the future. This hampers demand and augments the likelihood of an economic downturn.

  Budgetary Constraints:

  When a significant portion of a government’s or a business’s budget is directed towards servicing debt, it limits the resources available for essential services, investments, and initiatives. It also restricts the government’s ability to implement a Keynesian fiscal stimulus during economic downturns.

  Economic Downturns:

  Economic recessions or crises can exacerbate debt issues. Reduced revenues and amplified demands on government services lead to deficits and increased borrowing requirements. Extended periods of ultra-loose monetary policy invariably breed misallocations of capital. The rapid increase in interest rates will likely bring these misallocations to the surface, albeit with the usual monetary policy lags. A slowdown is more probable than not.

  Investor Confidence:

  The current high levels of global debt have notably diminished investor confidence. If creditors lose faith in a government’s ability to manage and service debt, they will demand higher yields to cover risks. Alternatively, investors might abstain from investing altogether or, worse, decide to sell existing debt, further complicating the situation.

  Battle lines drawn – electorate vs bond market

  Governments often bear the brunt of public anger, seen as the ‘bad guys’ for imposing spending cuts and increased taxes.  However, this essentially reflects the democratic process, where elected governments serve as gatekeepers of fiscal policy. Should the electorate resist upcoming austerity measures intended to foster debt sustainability, they will likely opt for a new government. However, this poses a challenge. The electorate’s choices for fiscal largesse have been feasible thus far due to low debt levels, compounded by the era of ultra-low interest rates. The bond market presses for fiscal rectitude, pitted against an electorate reluctant to endure forthcoming difficult times in pursuit of debt sustainability given the context of a painful austerity experience in the not too distant past. The recent government bond crisis in the UK is a very good example of this issue and ultimately the bond market won. Further struggles between the bond market and the electorate loom on the horizon.

  In the case of the United States, achieving debt sustainability appears challenging. Both major political parties seem at odds in their fiscal ideals. Democrats aspire to expand entitlement spending, while Republicans are inclined towards tax reductions. Under both administrations, fiscal deficits continue and debt mounts. Ongoing events in regions like Ukraine and the Middle East are unlikely to conclude soon, adding to US military spending, and increasing the debt burden. The move towards carbon neutrality will continue to compete in the race of ever increasing spending. The US is not alone in facing these issues, however, if the biggest and most liquid bond market in the world runs into difficulty, the impacts will be felt far and wide.

  

  As it stands debt servicing costs remain relatively low in historical context. However, the Treasury market has an average maturity of circa 7 years and approximately 31% of the $33 trillion needs to be refinanced in the next 12 months, which will result in debt servicing costs moving meaningfully higher. The below chart shows what the Treasury has experienced to date.

  

  The whims and trends in bond markets offer insights into current sentiments, while elections present an accurate pulse of the electorate’s leanings. The impending number of elections over the coming year hints at potentially increasing political instability.

  

  Nassim Nicholas Taleb famously introduced the black swan theory, identifying events that emerge unexpectedly and bear significant consequences. In contrast, a neon swan characterizes rare yet highly predictable events with severe implications. The burgeoning stock of debt firmly falls into the latter category.

  A tussle between the electorate and the bond market is unfolding. The eventual victor remains unclear, but the debt reaper is sure to claim some economic souls along the way.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 18:45

• Wall Street Bonuses Set For Another Year Of Declines
  Wall Street Bonuses Set For Another Year Of Declines

  Wall Street bonuses are set for another disappointing year, affected by elevated inflation, high-interest rates, failures of regional banks, and a downturn in dealmaking and new stock listings.

  A new survey released by New York-based pay consultancy Johnson Associates found investment bankers (on the advisory side) are expected to see bonuses tumble by 15-25% from a year ago, including both cash and stock-based compensation. Retail and commercial bankers at regional banks could see 10-20% smaller bonuses. And investment bankers in debt underwriting could see their payouts slide by as much as 10%.

  Here’s the complete list of expected bonus cuts for Wall Street 2023:

  

  “It’s another disappointing year, and you overlay that with inflation, people’s incomes are down meaningfully,” stated Alan Johnson, Managing Director at Johnson Associates, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

  It’s the second consecutive year of sliding compensation for Wall Street after record low-interest rates, helicopter money, and juiced-up financial markets sent bonuses to record levels. Global dealmaking has since fallen after peaking at record highs. 

  Last year, the average Wall Street payout plunged 26% to an average of $176,000 across all NYC financial services employees. According to data from the NY State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, this was the most significant annual drop since the financial crisis. 

  Johnson Associates expects 2024 will be “another challenging year” for Wall Street as the Fed holds interest rates’ higher for longer’, which already has rate traders pricing in 50bps of rate cuts for July 2024 on fears of an economic downturn. 

  

  This year, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase, among others, have been laying off staff over economic uncertainty. Some of these banks have reproed declines in trading, leaving the bonus pool with less cash to pay staff. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 18:20

• Michael Burry Liquidates "Big Short" After Suffering Big Loss; Doubles Down With Bet Against Semiconductors
  Michael Burry Liquidates “Big Short” After Suffering Big Loss; Doubles Down With Bet Against Semiconductors

  Six months ago, when looking at Michael Burry’s Q1 13F which in turn followed just a few months after the famous permabear admitted he had been wrong to urge his followed to sell…

  

  … we found that the Big Short had continued the trend of rapidly rotating his entire portfolio and in the first quarter, Burry liquidated the rest of his legacy 2022 holdings, dumping his entire stake in companies like Black Knight, Wolverine World Wide, MGM Resorts and Qurate, and also trimmed his formerly largest holding, private prison operator GEO group, and had reallocated the proceeds in three ways:

  • Adding to his Chinese exposure, making JD.com and Alibaba his top stocks (a move which appears to have been driven by the Q4 momentum and which has since fizzled, leading to substantial losses in Chinese names).

  • Launching a handful of new positions in energy names such as Coterra, NOV and Devon

  • Most notably, a third – or seven of the fund’s total 21 positions – were bank names, and with the exception of Wells, they were mostly distressed, regional, small banks and/or credit card companies, such as CapitalOne, Western Alliance, Pacwest, First Republic, and Huntington Bancshares, all of which had been hammered significantly during the March bank crisis.

  In other words, as we put it then, “Burry appears to have enough of being called the “big short” and in this particular twist of the liquidity cycle is positioning himself to be the next “big long.”

  Fast forward three months, when back in August we found that in Q2 Burry’s Scion Asset Management made even more dramatic changes to the investor’s personal portfolio.

  First and foremost, we found that once again, Burry liquidated the bulk of his Q1 holdings, selling not only his previous top two positions, JD.com and Alibaba but also another 13 names of the 21 names that made up Burry’s Q1 holdings, among which were Zoom, Sibanye, Coherent, energy names such as Coterra, NOV and Devon, as well as all the banks he had acquired during the March crisis including Capital One, Wells Fargo, Western Alliance, Pacwest, and First Republic.

  He also bought a bunch of things. Let’s start with Burry’s largest cash holdings which as of June 30, were Expedia ($10.9MM), Charter Communications ($9.2MM) and Generac ($8.2MM, which however is surely worth much less after the company’s catastrophic Q2 earnings which wiped out almost a third of its value). Other names Burry added were Cigna, CVS, MGM, Stellantis, Vital, all of which represented new mid-to-high single digit million positions (the full list is below).

  But what was the most interesting new development, was not the single names Burry bought or sold, but his ETF and derivative trades.

  Starting at the top, as of June, Burry owned two 2 million notional-equivalent blocks of SPY puts (for a notional-equivalent value of $887 million) and QQQ puts (a $739 million notional equivalent). In total, Burry owned puts on both the S&P and Nasdaq 100 for a notional-equivalent of $1.625 billion (which of course is not the capital at risk, and the actual premium Burry paid for those puts is orders of magnitude less), and which are both deeply underwater as of this moment since both the S&P and Nasdaq are trading high above where they were on June 30.

  In other words, in the second quarter, Burry had made another giant (at least for his AUM) and very levered (using over $1.6 billion notional in put) “big short” bet on the broader market. Alas, unlike his infamous and original bearish bet against subprime, Burry’s latest attempt to time a market crash has crashed and burned, because according to the just released 13F from Burry’s Scion Capital, the $1.6 billion notional in puts on the SPY and QQQ have been liquidated. And since during the third quarter, when Burry unwound these positions (originally put on in Q2), the S&P did not drop below the June 30 highs, one can conclude that the puts either expired either worthless or were sold with very little value due to the brutal theta observed n Q3 when both calls and puts saw their value eviscerated.

  Ok, so the “big short” liquidated his big market shorts; what else did he do in Q3?

  Well, as has been the case recently, Burry once again rotated almost all of his holdings, liquidating a total of 25 existing positions, including what were formerly his three biggest cash holdings including Expedia, Charter and Generac. At the same time he added to a handful of smaller positions including Stellantis, Nexstar, and Star Bulk carriers, none of which have done all that well in Q3 or Q4. Burry also appears to have taken a hedged position in Booking Holdings, where he bought both the stock and puts against the stock. Oh, and after liquidating his JD.com and Alibaba positions in Q1, the former doctor is back in the two Chinese names and is once again hoping that this time Chinese stocks will finally surge.

  But the one most notable trade Burry did in Q3 was to put on a large bearish trade against semiconducors, by buying $47 million notional worth of SOXX puts, a trade which was likely prompted by Burry’s bearishness against NVDA and its peers, yet which may have been an even bigger flop than Burry’s ill-timed bet against the SPY and QQQ, especially if he held on to it until now when the SOXX is once again well above where it was on Sept 30 and is fast approaching 2023 highs largely thanks to Nvidia.

  Burry’s full 13F summary is below.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 18:13

• House Funding Bill Passes Thanks To Democrats, Averting Government Shutdown
  House Funding Bill Passes Thanks To Democrats, Averting Government Shutdown

  Update (1801ET): Democrats stepped in to save the day on Tuesday, helping House Speaker Mike Johnson avert a government shutdown despite opposition from Republicans in the Freedom Caucus who opposed the bill due to a lack of offsetting spending cuts.

  

  According to Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman, more Democrats voted for it than Republicans.

  Rs: Y: 127 N:93
  Ds: Y: 209 No: 2

  🚨NEWS — The House has passed the stopgap funding bill.

  336-95\

  BUT — Democrats saved him. More Democrats voted for this than Republicans.

  Rs: Y: 127 N:93
  Ds: Y: 209 No: 2

  Dangerous territory for a GOP speaker. See McCarthy, Kevin.

  — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 14, 2023

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

  The legislation now heads to the Senate, where both Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave it their full-throated support as noted earlier.

  According to a Tuesday statement by Schumer, the Senate will work to pass it “as soon as possible,” after which it will head to President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature.

  Along the lines of what Sherman said;

  Passage of the legislation marks an early legislative achievement for Johnson, who was elected to the Speakership less than a month ago after three weeks of standstill in the House following former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) removal from the role.

  That ouster was caused in large part by McCarthy’s decision to put a “clean” continuing resolution on the floor and pass it with help from Democrats — similar to Johnson’s course of action this week.

  But hardline conservatives said they would give Johnson some breathing room this time around — despite opposing his stopgap bill — citing his nascent Speakership.

  “He’s had two weeks to pass it; his predecessor had since January and then he jammed us up against the Sept. 30 deadline,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy.

  Trouble, nonetheless, looms for Johnson and his fractious House GOP conference as they stare down two funding deadlines and try to pass their remaining five appropriations bills, which have run into trouble on the floor and in committee. 

  Johnson plans to tackle Ukraine funding next, which has become a contentious issue among Republicans.

  “I’ve been drinking from Niagara Falls for the last three weeks,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “This will allow everybody to go home for a couple of days for Thanksgiving, everybody cool off — members have been here for, as Leader Scalise said, for 10 weeks, this place is a pressure cooker. And so I think everybody can go home, we can come back, reset, we’re gonna get our group together, we’re gonna map out that plan to fight for those principles.”

  Good luck with that.

  *  *  *

  House Speaker Mike Johnson’s new stopgap funding bill designed to avert a  government shutdown on Friday is expected to head to a vote today, marking Johnson’s first big vote as head of the chamber.

  

  Johnson’s plan, a “two-step continuing resolution,” would fund some parts of the government until January 19, while others would receive funding until February 2.

  “This two-step continuing resolution is a necessary bill to place House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories,” Johnson said in a statement after announcing the plan to House Republicans in a conference call.

  If Johnson’s plan does pass in the House, it appears the Senate will rubber-stamp it – with both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expressing support for the ‘clean’ bill, which McConnell labeled a “responsible measure that will keep the lights on,” adding “Shutting down does nothing — nothing — to advance that work,” referring to the passage of funding bills.

  

  “Regular order requires that Congress provides itself the time for careful consideration and thorough amendment. I’m glad that Speaker Johnson has produced a continuing resolution that would do exactly that,” McConnell continued.

  The House Freedom Caucus may dick with Johnson’s plans, however, announcing after a meeting with the Speaker on Monday night that they won’t support the stopgap because it doesn’t include any offsetting reductions in spending.

  

  “The House Freedom Caucus opposes the proposed ‘clean’ Continuing Resolution as it contains no spending reductions, no border security, and not a single meaningful win for the American People,” the group said in a Tuesday morning position statement. “Republicans must stop negotiating against ourselves over fears of what the Senate may do with the promise ‘roll over today and we’ll fight tomorrow.'”

  “While we remain committed to working with Speaker Johnson, we need bold change,” the Caucus added.

  “I’ll eat my Thanksgiving dinner sitting right on the floor of the house…I’d be happy to be here on Thanksgiving Day in order to fight to secure the border of the United States.”

  Rep Roy talks about what’s at stake in the fight over the funding deadlinehttps://t.co/UyRipwF8gF

  — Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) November 13, 2023

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  The announcement also comes after GOP leaders announced last night that they would seek to fast-track the bill through a floor vote in order to avoid Republican opposition shooting it down – though it will require support from two-thirds of the whole house, meaning that dozens of Democrats will have to cross the aisle.

  An official position from the Freedom Caucus requires support from 80 percent of the group, which has around three dozen members. But the caucus is not unified in opposition to the continuing resolution plan.

  Freedom Caucus member Rep. Andy Harris (D-Md.) is an architect of the two-tiered stopgap funding plan. –The Hill

  “The two-step CR is a way to get the broken appropriations process back on track without resulting in a massive omnibus spending bill,” Harris wrote on X over the weekend.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 18:02

• A Trump-Tucker Ticket?
  A Trump-Tucker Ticket?

  Authored by Andrew W. Coy via American Thinker,

  

  A Trump Tucker ticket for the presidency in 2024.  Just imagine it.

  Wow.  Oh my goodness.  Praise the Lord.  Fantastic.  Our prayers are answered. 

  Could it actual happen?  The dream ticket is not as far-fetched as previously thought. 

  A Trump Tucker (T2) presidential ticket is beginning to look like a real possibility.  A T2 ticket would be putting the Make America Great Again movement and the America First alliance on steroids. 

  As opposed to being a “balanced ticket,” it would be a “double down” on an American exceptionalism ticket. 

  A Trump-Tucker ticket would certainly electrify and energize a base already loaded for bear.  A T2 ticket would tell the American citizen, and put the globalist elites, and the Deep State hooligans on notice, that we are right, we are unashamed, we will not be intimated, and we will not apologize.  A Trump-Tucker ticket might possibly be the ticket that saves our democratic republic.  A T2 ticket might be the platform that holds off the communists/deep state/globalist elites.

  A T2 presidency might be the answer to putting the BLM and Antifa criminals in jail.  A Trump-Tucker administration might be the only hope for securing the First and Second amendments.  An unashamed and without apology Trump-Tucker ticket might just be the political platform and personalities that save the American empire from the dustpan of history.

  Now, if there is election interference and voter fraud like there was in 2020, it will not matter. 

  If in the toss-up states, they stop counting the votes at 11:30 p.m. and after everyone goes home, start up again at 2:30 in the morning, it won’t matter. 

  If Fulton County, Georgia counts Biden votes multiple times, it won’t matter. 

  If the upper Midwest states use Zuckerbucks again,  it won’t matter. 

  If the management and upper echelons at Fox News appear to be willing participants, it won’t matter.  

  If state election officials in Pennsylvania are once again allowed to purposely ignore their very own state legislated election laws, it won’t matter. 

  If 2024 election tabulations are counted just as they were in the Purple States in 2020, it won’t matter. 

  But, but, but, if the election is run fair and square in the swing states, without cheating, without the Deep State “brownshirts” putting their thumb on the scale; it will matter. 

  Without the FBI/CIA/NSA running cover for the Biden/Harris ticket; Donald Trump and running mate Tucker Carlson will win the 2024 election for the presidency. 

  If only legitimate and legal votes are counted, and they are counted only once, T2 will win by a landslide and they will even dominate in the Purple/Border/Swing States.

  Fair Elections Matter.

  Tucker Carlson brings a great deal to the ticket for Donald Trump.  Tucker is bright, youthful, articulate, and seasoned as to D.C. politics.  Tucker is fearless, unafraid, and courageous to the attacks he will undoubtedly face from D.C. and the far left media.  Tucker has had over 30 years of life  in the D.C./New York City environment and he knows who the evil people are and what their tactics will be. 

  Yet he is the David of the Old Testament taking on the Goliath of the D.C. deep state criminals.  Tucker’s back will be straight, his knee will only bow to the Lord, and he is willing to have a bull’s-eye on his back.

  Donald Trump needs such a soldier.  And ‘soldier’ is the correct term because if T2 are successful, it will be war. 

  Maybe not armed conflict, maybe, but it certainly will be cloak-dagger tactics done by the alphabet intelligence goons.  Unlike Mike Pence, who is now doing his Benedict Arnold/John Dean III impersonation, Tucker Carlson will fight as hard, be loyal, and be as relentless as his president.  Evangelicals, conservatives, Christians, Constitutionalists and supporters of Israel will be very pleased to have Tucker Carlson as vice president. 

  President Trump was willing to take on those sacred cows during his presidency.  Trump fearlessly took on the Deep State, the FBI/CIA/NSA,  NATO, the military industrial complex, and Obama/Bush. 

  Tucker similarly has a history of taking on the sacred cows as well.  Tucker has full-throatily taken on the CIA, the JFK assassination, the J6 FEDsurrection, and the George Floyd lies.  Tucker has without fear taken on the Nord Stream II pipeline explosion, COVID-19 lies, the vaccination lies, white replacement goals, and the falsities of global warming. 

  Tucker continues to attack Hillary Clinton, Anthony Fauci, the military -industrial complex, Kamala Harris, Ray Epps, and why are we in Ukraine. He asks where the Jeffrey Epstein client list is. 

  Tucker is unafraid and Trump must have that in his veep. Tucker is pro-life, worships God, and knows that an America without the underpinning of Judeo-Christian values is headed for the same fate as the Roman empire. 

  Tucker knows , if America has no Godly conscience, then we are done.  Tucker continues to fight for our flawed, but heroic, Founding Fathers.  He knows our Founders were not perfect, but they were exceptional.  Because of Tucker’s background, experience, and his intuition; Tucker knows where many of the bodies are buried and who put them there.

  Tucker Carlson appears exactly who Donald Trump needs to put him over the top in 2024. 

  The T2 ticket tells our friends and our enemies, from within and without, what the T2 mission is.  Trump-Tucker will show MAGA and America First that they are not the forgotten working class.

  A T2 presidency will let Jerusalem and Israel know that we have their backs and that there is no moral equivalence between the Jews and Hamas.  A Trump-Tucker ticket stands with Israel, a Biden administration does not. 

  A T2 presidency will make sure Russia is out of Ukraine, China backs away from Taiwan, and Iran stops its nuclear proliferation…..and this will be done without the firing of one bullet.  A firm, in-your-face, and convincing warning is all that will be needed to thus back off Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing.  A T2 ticket will once again have our friends trust us and our enemies fear us.  A T2 ticket might well replace the gender indoctrinations and white guilt propaganda in our public schools with an emphasis on returning to math, English, computer literacy, civics, and student discipline.  The “free exercise of religion” might soon return to our social fabric.  Tucker on the ticket might just be the final personality and intellect that  Trump needs to assure victory.  Almost assuredly the J6 freedom fighters will be released from the D.C. Bastille.  Trump and Tucker will pardon these political prisoners. 

  The middle class, the blue collar laborers, the working class, and the legal immigrants in our country will all blossom and flourish under T2.  Senior citizens’ dollars will go further once the inflationary policies of Mr. Biden are nullified. 

  The military will become strong, vibrant, and victorious once again.  With our military, once T2 are in office, the days of the impotent and embarrassing Afghanistan retreat will be a thing of the past.  Christians, conservatives, and Constitutionalists will once again be allowed back into our military without harassment.   In our economy, businesses will again operate under sound business money making practices, not D.E.I. mandates. 

  Under Trump-Tucker, we will again be an energy self supporting country.  We will be energy independent once again.  We will not have to kowtow to our enemies in Iran, Venezuela, and Russia for energy.  Under T2, the price of gasoline will once again be under $2 a gallon.  Our nation’s borders will become secure again under T2. 

  Deportations of illegals, criminals, terrorists, Hamas, child traffickers and those that wish our nation harm would begin very soon after January of 2025.  Much like Ronald Reagan, Trump and Tucker know that a nation without borders; really is not a nation. 

  A Trump-Tucker ticket will make our country strong again.  It will allow for religious freedom again. Pro-life advocates will no longer be imprisoned.  And soccer moms at school board meetings will no longer be on the FBI “watchlists” like terrorists.   

  They  will drive out some of the corruption in the Swamp. 

  It will however be dangerous.  Both Trump and Tucker are outsiders.  Many people are surprised that both Trump and Tucker have not already met untimely deaths.  The evil inside of D.C. and also globally, would want to put Trump and Tucker in jail; as Stalin, Mao, and Castro did to their political opponents.  Or they might want to put them in the ground, much like what happened to JFK.  It will certainly make for dangerous times.

  The election of 2024 will undoubtedly be one of the most crucial elections in American history.  2024 can easily be compared to 1860 or 1960 or 1980 or 2020.  It will be crucial and the aftermath of this election result will carry on for decades.  Donald Trump adding Tucker Carlson as his running mate will hopefully help America to still be a rising sun; and not one that is soon to set.  T2 might just make the difference in America’s as well as the world’s future. 

  Donald Trump would be very wise, and he is, to look at Tucker Carlson as his running mate. America’s destiny might well be in the balance of that choice.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 17:55

• Strip Clubs, D*ck Pics & Booze: FDIC Revealed As Misogynistic Free-For-All In New Expose
  Strip Clubs, D*ck Pics & Booze: FDIC Revealed As Misogynistic Free-For-All In New Expose

  A brand new expose out this week paints banking regulator the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as a toxic work environment where strip club visits, sex with underlings and drinking at work – not to mention male workers texting female co-workers photos of their genitals – were all part of the “day to day” culture. 

  The Wall Street Journal expose was out on Monday and hours later FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg announced that the agency has engaged BakerHostetler for a comprehensive review following. In a staff video, Gruenberg stated that necessary changes would be made based on the law firm’s findings.

  The Journal’s investigation revealed several incidents at the FDIC, including a male supervisor in Denver engaging in sexual relations with an employee, bragging about it to colleagues, and encouraging her to consume alcohol during work hours.

  Additionally, it was reported that senior bank examiners sent inappropriate images to female staff and extended invitations to a strip club, according to the Wall Street Journal. Despite these allegations, the implicated men remain on the FDIC’s payroll.

  

  This ongoing issue of misconduct and the apparent absence of disciplinary action have reportedly forced many female employees to consider leaving the organization, as evidenced by interviews, legal documents, union complaints, EEOC filings, and various internal communications reviewed in the report. 

  The Journal reports that female examiners characterized the FDIC as a male-centric, sexually charged workplace, where discussions about women’s looks were common.

  Highlighting the severity, a former female employee recounted male colleagues suggesting that women must resort to sexual favors for career advancement, while directly gazing at her. Additionally, the outlet’s extensive interviews, over 100 with current and former staff, including more than 20 women who resigned, indicate a widespread belief among female employees of unequal opportunities compared to their male counterparts.

  Lauren Lemmer, a former examiner-in-training, commented: “It was just an accepted part of the culture.”

  Examiner, Neha Singh who joined in 2017 said she felt pressured to drink every night. “I felt really taken advantage of in a moment where I was totally vulnerable,” she said after being told “You seem a little arrogant” when declining drinks with co-workers. 

  Singh resigned from the FDIC in 2022, within her first year of becoming a fully qualified examiner, having just received her commission. She stated that she clearly informed the senior management that her departure was due to what she perceived as a culture of harassment and misogyny. According to Singh, one of the managers acknowledged hearing similar complaints from other female employees and admitted it was an issue.

  Another former employee, Kelsi Foutz, said: “For the longest time, I didn’t have any perspective. It was just normal. You deal with it.”

  

  She remembered a time when she was told not to bring up issues she was having about her 2018 performance review because the reviewer, she was told, was just “intimidated by tall, beautiful women.”

  “Just smile and make him feel good,” her male counterparts told her. One male co-worker told her in 2013: “Obviously if I walked into this office and you were naked, I’d f–k you right here.”

  The Journal reported that female FDIC staffers said the agency’s toxic work culture persisted nationwide, not just at its Washington, DC headquarters. This pervasive atmosphere, especially during offsite bank examinations, led to it being termed the “Wild West.”

  In one instance, a female examiner, while on a 2018 North Carolina assignment, received an unsolicited explicit image from a colleague but chose not to confront him due to close work proximity. Additionally, Lemmer, who left the FDIC in 2013, recounted various incidents of inappropriate behavior, including being followed to her hotel room, invited to a strip club, and receiving an explicit photo, all of which coincided with her being overlooked for career advancement, the report says.

  You can read the Journal’s full expose here. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 17:40

• At Least 4 More Attacks On US Forces Since Latest US Airstrikes In Syria
  At Least 4 More Attacks On US Forces Since Latest US Airstrikes In Syria

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  US troops based in Syria have come under attack at least four times since the latest US airstrikes in eastern Syria were launched on Sunday, Task & Purpose reported on Monday.

  The Pentagon announced Sunday that it launched strikes against facilities “used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups” in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province. It marked the third round of US airstrikes since US troops in Iraq and Syria have come under a spate of attacks in response to President Biden’s backing of Israel’s war in Gaza.

  

  A Pentagon official told Task & Purpose that US forces in Syria came under attack three times on Sunday after the US airstrikes and one time on Monday. The White House has said one purpose of its airstrikes is to “deter” further attacks on US troops, but it’s clear the strategy has failed.

  The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it recorded six attacks on US forces on Monday alone, but the report is not confirmed. The four incidents confirmed by the US official brings the total number of attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria since October 17 to 52. The Pentagon has said at least 56 US troops have been wounded.

  An umbrella group of Shia militias known as the Islamic Resistance of Iraq has taken credit for most attacks on US forces. Militia leaders have said they won’t back down unless Israel’s onslaught on Gaza comes to an end. Iran supports the Shia militias that operate in the region but denies any role in the attacks on US forces.

  The US has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, where it backs the Kurdish-led SDF. The occupation of eastern Syria is opposed by the government in Damascus, and the continued US military presence in Iraq is opposed by many elements in Iraqi politics.

  Many observers have pointed out that with a crisis like the Gaza war, US troops occupying Syria are vulnerable as prime targets for Iran-aligned militias in the region…

  The #US illegal base in al-Omar oil field in #Syria’s Deir Ezzor was targeted by a rocket or drone attack.💥💥
  No matter how hard the US try, the attacks will continue until the complete cessation of hostilities and atrocities against the Palestinians in Gaza!! pic.twitter.com/H0ApqhyqWE

  — IWN (@A7_Mirza) November 13, 2023

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  After the US launched a drone strike in January 2020 that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad, Iraq’s parliament voted to expel US troops, but the US refused to leave. In an effort to placate anti-US factions, the US formally changed its presence in Iraq from a combat role to an advisory role in December 2021 but did not withdraw any troops.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 11/14/2023 – 17:15

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• Next Level Banana Republic: Japan State Finance Minister Resigns After Getting Caught Evading Taxes
  Next Level Banana Republic: Japan State Finance Minister Resigns After Getting Caught Evading Taxes

  We have frequently said that Japan’s top government and central bank power echelons are nothing more than a grotesque circus of utter incompetence…

  The Circus of Japan formerly known as the Bank of Japan about to enter all out panic mode again

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 12, 2023

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  … and the latest news out of that basket case banana republic have just confirmed out cynicism once again.

  In a “shocking” twist of events out of the land of the rising sun banana, Japan’s State Finance Minister, Kenji Kanda – best known for doing nothing and just watching as Japan’s currency craters to record lows while unleashing historic inflation on the local population – has stepped down following allegations of tax evasion, delivering a fresh blow to the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, which may well be the most incompetent in recent Japanese history, and which is already grappling with the departure of two other Cabinet members since the recent cabinet reshuffle in September.

  According to BNN, Kanda’s resignation came in the wake of a magazine report alleging that Kanda’s company had defaulted on its tax payments. The Finance Minister didn’t deny these claims. Instead, he confirmed that the authorities had seized his company’s land and property due to non-payment of fixed asset taxes.

  The opposition parties didn’t let this opportunity slip by. They criticized Kanda for his financial improprieties, and there were widespread calls for his resignation. In the end, “Kanda had to bow to mounting pressure and vacate his ministerial post” or in other words, jump on the land mine and take one for the Kishida team which has at best bought itself a week or two of extra time.

  

  The fourth-term lower house member Kanda has confessed that he had skipped compulsory annual lectures for tax accountants, as alleged by the Shukan Bunshun weekly, which also reported the tax scandal in early November.

  “I became busy with national political affairs, and the weight of my tax accountant work decreased,” Kanda said in a parliamentary session last week. “Demand letters and other matters were left to the staff at the tax accountant’s office. I was too busy to get involved.”

  Kinda like Tim “Turbo-Tax” Geithner… remember him?

  An opposition lawmaker, who has called Kanda a “criminal,” said his tax delinquency had given the impression that people do not have to pay taxes. Kanda apologized but initially denied he would resign as senior vice finance minister.

  Kenta Izumi, chief of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said it is “too late” for Kanda to decide to step down, adding, “Questions are being raised about Prime Minister Kishida’s responsibility for the appointment.”

  Izumi indicated that his party will not participate in Diet deliberations on a supplementary budget for the fiscal year through March 2024 to fund the new economic stimulus package, scheduled to start later this month, unless Kishida replaces Kanda.

  This incident marks the third time an official has resigned from a ministerial position since Prime Minister Kishida reshuffled his cabinet in September. The successive resignations have raised questions about Kishida’s choice of cabinet members and his ability to steer the government.

  Akira Koike, head of the secretariat of the Japanese Communist Party, also criticized Kishida, telling reporters, “The prime minister’s responsibility for delaying this far is significant. It is a symbol of sloppy governance.”

  Meanwhile, the grossly incompetent Prime Minister – whose recent track record culminates with crushing the currency, unleashing galloping inflation, and promising extremely unpopular fiscal stimulus and cash handouts with which to “defeat” inflation – has at most a few more months as his latest polls confirmed: according to an NHK poll published Monday, the approval for Kishida’s cabinet fell 7% to 29% the lowest since he took office in Oct. 2021.

  In any other country, this would have been a sufficient condition for angry riots in front of the prime ministry. But for Japan’s zombified population of complacent sheep, where not even the historic currency collapse and near record runaway inflation seems to register, it’s unclear just what can finally wake the local gerontocracy out of its terminal coma.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 23:40

• Aircraft Carrier USS Dwight S. Eisenhower Now in Gulf of Oman
  Aircraft Carrier USS Dwight S. Eisenhower Now in Gulf of Oman

  Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and its escorts are operating in the Gulf of Oman after leaving the Red Sea earlier this weekend, USNI News reported.

  Ike and its escorts were operating off the coast of Oman as of Monday, according to the USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker, based on publicly available satellite imagery. The carrier passed through the Suez Canal on Nov. 4 and sailed through the Red Sea and past the Bab el Mandeb through the Gulf of Aden to its current location.

  The move is part of the overall U.S. naval buildup in Europe and the Middle East following the Hamas attacks outside of Gaza and the ongoing conflict in Southern Israel.

  While Ike is operating off the Arabian Peninsula, carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and its escorts remain on station in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea along with U.S. command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20), the amphibious warship USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19), elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and French and U.K. warships.

  Nearby in the northern Red Sea, USS Bataan (LHD-5) and USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) and the rest of the 26th MEU have been on station with a group of guided missile destroyers. Last month, USS Carney (DDG-64) shot down a series of drones and land attack cruise missiles fired by Houthi militants from Yemen over the Red Sea.

  

  U.S. warships and other units have flowed into U.S. Central Command in an effort to keep the conflict from spreading beyond Israel. To that end, the Pentagon has said there has been an uptick in attacks by forces sympathetic to Hamas on installations in both Iraq and Syria. The U.S. has about 3,400 troops split between Iraq and Syria, Reuters reported.

  As of Thursday, there had been almost 50 attacks on U.S. installations in both Syria and Iraq.

  On Sunday, the U.S. Air Force made two air strikes in Syria in response to ongoing attacks on U.S. forces in the region.

  “U.S. military forces conducted precision strikes today on facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups in response to continued attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria. The strikes were conducted against a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Abu Kamal and Mayadin, respectively,” reads a Sunday statement from the Pentagon.

  “The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 23:20

• The Declaration That Wasn't Supposed To Happen
  The Declaration That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

  It’s been a continuing mystery for three years, at least to me but many others too.

  In October 2020, in the midst of a genuine crisis, three scientists made a very short statement of highly public health wisdom, a summary of what everyone in the profession, apart from a few oddballs, believed only a year earlier.

  

  The astonishing frenzy of denunciation following that document’s release was on a level I’ve never seen before, reaching to the highest levels of government and flowing through the whole of media and tech. It was mind-boggling. 

  For proof that nothing in the document was particularly radical, look no further than the March 2, 2020, letter from Yale University signed by 800 top professionals. It warned against quarantines, lockdowns, closures, and travel restrictions. It said such extreme measures “can undermine public trust, have large societal costs and, importantly, disproportionately affect the most vulnerable segments in our communities.” That document appeared only two weeks before the lockdowns announced by the Trump administration. 

  That was the period of the grant amnesia. The conventional wisdom turned on a dime toward full backing of regime priorities, a shift more extreme and mind boggling that anything in dystopian fiction.

  Seven months later, the Great Barrington Declaration said something very similar to the Yale document. It was a summary statement concerning what governments and society should and should not do during pandemics. They should seek to allow everyone to live as normally as possible in order to avoid guaranteed damage from coerced disruptions. And the vulnerable population – those who would experience medically significant impacts from exposure – should be protected from exposure insofar as doing so is consistent with human rights and choice. 

  It was nothing particularly novel, much less radical. Indeed, it was accepted wisdom the year before and for the previous century. The difference this time, however, is that the statement was released during the wildest and most destructive science experiment in modern times. The existing policy of lockdowns was utter wreckage: of businesses, schools, churches, civic life, and freedom itself. Masks were being forced on the whole population, including children. Governments were attempting a regime of test, track, trace, and isolate, as if there were ever any hope of containing a respiratory pathogen with a zoonotic reservoir. 

  The carnage was everywhere already and obvious from a look at every downtown of every city in the US. Stores were boarded up. The streets were mostly empty. The professional class was hunkered down, binging on streaming and gaming services, while the working class was hustling everywhere to deliver groceries to doorsteps. In short, insanity had broken out. 

  Several groups of doctors had already made strong statements against the goings on, including the frontline doctors group on Capitol Hill and the brilliant Bakersfield doctors, among many individuals. However, they were quickly shot down by major media and blasted for failing to support the great undertaking. Even that was astonishing to watch unfold. It didn’t matter how exalted the reputations of the doctors or scientists were. They were all shot down, more or less instantly, as crazies and cranks. 

  It was like living in a horror house of mirrors where nothing appears as it is supposed to. At the time, I chalked it all up to mass confusion, cultural amnesia, bad education, government overreach, media ignorance, or just some general tendency of humanity to go mad that I had not previously seen in my lifetime but had only known from history books. 

  Several top epidemiologists felt the same way. They were Martin Kulldorff from Harvard, Jay Bhattacharya from Stanford, and Sunetra Gupta from Oxford. Together they wrote a very short statement in hopes of bringing public officials and common people back to good sense and rationality. We had the idea of putting it online and inviting others to sign. We were racing against time because there were several interviews coming up. Lucio Saverio-Eastman, now with Brownstone, skipped a nights’ sleep to create the website. He tells the story here. 

  The blowback began within hours. It was really something to behold. Twitter accounts came out of nowhere to smear the document and its producers and the institution that hosted the event where the scientists explained their thinking. The calumnies and attacks were coming in so quickly that it was impossible to respond. The website itself was subject to open and admitted sabotage, with fake names. That required some fast patches and new levels of security. 

  It was a storm of frenzy the likes of which I had never seen. It’s one thing to object to a point of view but this was next-level. The hit pieces were pouring out of huge venues, almost as if they had been ordered from the top. Much later we found out that they had in fact been ordered: Francis Collins, the head of National Institutes of Health, called for a “quick and devastating takedown” of the document. 

  When that revelation came out, it didn’t make much sense to me. I get that this view had become what seemed to be a minority view but how do you “take down” the public health wisdom of one hundred years? The GBD was not the outlying position; the lockdowns were the radical move that never had a scientific justification. They were just imposed as if they were normal even though everyone knew they were not. 

  Lately we’ve been flooded with more information that starts to make sense of this puzzle.

  As Rajeev Venkayya had told me the previous April, the whole point of the lockdowns was to wait for the vaccine. Frankly, I didn’t believe him at the time. I should have. After all, it was he who had invented the idea of lockdowns, worked for the Gates Foundation as head of its vaccine advisory, and then moved to a vaccine company thereafter. If anyone knew the real plan, it was he. 

  In the meantime, we now know there was then being built a vast censorship machinery involving the federal government, outposts as universities such as Stanford and Johns Hopkins, tech companies, and media embeds in all important outlets. It was not only being built but being deployed in order to craft the public mind in ways that would maintain the spirit of fear and the reality of lockdowns until the magic inoculation arrived. The whole plot sounds straight out of a bad Hollywood movie, but it was a plot being enacted in real life. 

  Think here of the timing of the Great Barrington Declaration. It came out barely a month before the election, after which the plan from the top was to release the vaccine, presumably after the sitting president was defeated. That way the new president could get the credit for the distribution stage and thus would the pandemic end. 

  The underlying dynamic of the timing of the release of the GBD – we had no clue at all that this was going on – worked utterly to subvert the entire censorship regime. The perception too was that this document would undermine vaccine acceptance. At that point in the great plan, all focus was on molding the public mind toward mass jabbing. That meant cultivating among the population the appearance of expert unity.

  “Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed,” said the document.

  “As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all – including the vulnerable – falls. We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity – i.e. the point at which the rate of new infections is stable – and that this can be assisted by (but is not dependent upon) a vaccine. Our goal should therefore be to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity.”

  Further, “the most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk.”

  Reading those words today, in light of what we now know, we can start to make sense of the sheer panic at the top. Natural infection and immunity? Can’t talk about that. The end of the pandemic is not “dependent upon” the vaccine? Can’t say that either. Go back to normal for all populations without significant medical risk? Unsayable. 

  You need only reflect on the astounding barrage of vaccine propaganda that began immediately upon release, the attempt to mandate it on the whole population and now the addition of the Covid jab to the childhood schedule even though children are of near zero risk. This is all about product sales, as you can easily discern from the unrelenting ad videos made by the new head of the CDC. 

  As for the product effectiveness itself, there seems to be no end to the ensuing problems. It was not a sterilizing inoculation, and it appears that the manufacturers always knew that. It could not stop infection or transmission. The hazards associated with it were also known early on. Every day, the news gets more grim: in the latest revelation, the CDC seems to have kept two separate books on vaccine injury, one public (showing harms without precedent but which has been deprecated by officials) and one yet to be released. 

  Even now, therefore, there is every effort being made to keep a lid on what surely ranks as the greatest failure/scandal in the modern history of public health. Some brave experts called it out before the whole calamity unfolded even further. 

  The problem with the Great Barrington Declaration was not that it was not true. It’s that – unbeknownst to its authors – it flew in the face of one of the most funded and elaborate industrial plots in the history of governance. Just a few sentences sneaking through the wall of censorship they were carefully constructing was enough to threaten and eventually dismantle the best laid plans. 

  Sometimes just telling the plain truth in well-timed ways is all it takes. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 23:00

• Housing, Credit Data Spotlight China's Slump
  Housing, Credit Data Spotlight China’s Slump

  By Ye Xie, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

  When President Xi Jinping meets his US counterpart Joe Biden this week, he will have relatively little evidence to cite while talking up the Chinese economy. In fact, the latest credit and housing data shows growth is again losing momentum.  

  Data on Monday showed China’s credit growth remained steady in October, thanks to a jump in government bond sales, which helped mask the underlying weakness of the private sector. Even so, the flow of aggregate financing still fell short of economists’ forecasts. Those figures made clear that without the government stepping up borrowing, credit growth – the lubricant greasing the wheels of the economy — would have collapsed.

  

  In addition, M1, a measure of money supply that includes corporate demand-deposit, grew only 1.9% from a year earlier, suggesting that nominal GDP is struggling. The weak M1 growth likely reflects the continued liquidity stress of property developers, according to Morgan Stanley.

  

  Historically, the housing market, via borrowing from developers and home buyers, had been one of the main drivers of China’s credit growth. But despite various easing measures, the housing slump deepened.

  Since the start of November, average new home sales volume in 21 major cities tumbled 44% from the pre-pandemic level in 2019, compared with a 31% decline in October, according to Nomura economist Lu Ting. That is similar to the pace of contraction in July, before Beijing started a new round of easing measures to stabilize the property sector.

  

  The housing market isn’t the only place where consumers are reluctant to spend money. During Singles’ Day, the annual bargains extravaganza in days around Nov. 11, the total gross merchandise value (GMV) sold through the e-commerce platforms edged up 2% from the same shopping event last year, according to Nomura, citing data from Syntun, a third-party research firm. That marks a sharp slowdown from a growth pace of 14% in 2022.

  All told, until housing market stabilize and consumer confidence rebounds, Beijing needs to do more to shore up the economy.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 22:40

• Fewer Americans Are Interested In Fighting Wars For The Regime
  Fewer Americans Are Interested In Fighting Wars For The Regime

  Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute,

  Good news: the Pentagon is having trouble meeting recruiting goals, and an increasingly small portion of the American public is interested in fighting wars for the regime. 

  It’s been apparent for several years now that the Pentagon is having serious trouble with recruitment.

  

  In September, the New York Post reported that “Much of the military will fall short of recruitment goals by as much as 25% this year.”

  2023 is the first time the Air Force has missed its recruiting goals since 1999. 

  Moreover, a Gallup poll in June found confidence in the military declined for a sixth consecutive year, to 60 percent.

  It doesn’t look like a major war will induce most Americans to sign up either.  For example, Newsweek reports today: 

  A poll by the research institute Echelon Insights of 1,029 likely voters, conducted between October 23-26, found that 72 percent of those asked would not be willing to volunteer to serve in the armed forces were America to enter a major conflict, compared with 21 percent who would. The remainder were unsure. The poll was conducted after Hamas led an unprecedented militant attack on Israel on October 7.

  Note how the question is phrased. It’s not asking people if they would fight to defend their communities. Rather, the question is whether or not one would be willing to volunteer to fight in “a major conflict.”  Few are apparently interested, and why should they be? It has become abundantly clear over the past 25 years that the elective wars fought by the US regime have nothing to do with the defense of Americans or their communities. The US bombing of Libya and Syria has had nothing to do with keeping Americans safe. The multi-decade wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had nothing to do with keeping Americans safe.  After all, the US lost the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, with no invasion of the United States imminent as a result. In fact, those wars likely increased the danger to  Americans by destabilizing the region—the US invasion made ISIS possible—and making more enemies for the US around the world. 

  Sadly, every American who died in those conflicts died for little except to enrich local warlord “allies” in those countries made rich by suitcases full of US taxpayer dollars.

  In 2023, the “we’re fighting them over there so they don’t fight us here” slogan only works on the most gullible of Americans, and fewer than ever are falling for it. That worked well in 2001. Most have now caught on to the ruse. 

  On the other hand, it’s worth noting that a majority of Americans still say they’d volunteer to fight if the United States were actually invaded. Newsweek continues:

  At the start of October, a survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted by J.L. Partners for the Daily Mail found that while an overall majority of Americans said they would die fighting for their country were the U.S. invaded…

  Discerning potential recruits have figured out the reality which is that joining the military most likely means being shipped 10,000 miles away to do the bidding of wealthy arms dealers, White House officials, and uniformed politicians—known as Pentagon generals. At any time these political cliques could ask ordinary American soldiers to do any of the following: 

  • Provide security guarantees to the dictators of Saudi Arabia.

  • Fight to prop up the Ukraine regime, known to be one of the most corrupt governments on earth. 

  • Fight in a war against Iran because some Washington interest groups don’t like that country. 

  Of course, most service members won’t ever be in combat. They’ll spend their time doing more mundane tasks—such as computer programming or logistics planning—to justify a defense budget that now nears a trillion dollars per year. 

  One thing that is clear to most, however, is that virtually none of this has anything to do with defending the United States from invasion, so most young people who have real talent, skills, and plans know they can contribute to the community is far more useful ways. Ordinary nurses, truckers, roofers, private-school teachers, and insurance salesmen do far more net good for their communities than any member of the military who spends his time guarding a hill of sand in Syria or protecting the dictators of Kuwait. 

  If the US military wants to see a return of enthusiasm for enlistment, there are some things they could do:

  • End all foreign deployments of National Guard troops, and make the National Guard a strictly domestic defense force controlled by state governments. 

  • End all US military foreign deployment to any place where the US Congress has not formally declared war against the local regime. 

  • Stop fighting elective wars that have nothing to do with the defense of Americans in America. 

  Of course, doing those things would put significant obstacles in the way of the regimes that seeks to ever expand an de facto American global empire that reserves to itself the right to invade or bomb any country on earth at any time for any reason. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 22:20

• High Stakes And A Simple Choice: "I'm 94 Years Old & Saddened By What I See Happening To America"
  High Stakes And A Simple Choice: “I’m 94 Years Old & Saddened By What I See Happening To America”

  Authored by Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, via RealClear Wire,

  I am 94 years old and like many of you, I am exhausted by politics and saddened by what I see happening to America. I had hoped it was time for me to move to the sidelines and let younger generations continue the fight to preserve America’s founding freedoms and values. But, like so many of us, I realized that I could not let myself walk away; the stakes are just too high.

  

  We cannot let the America we see today be what we leave to our children and grandchildren. Many of our once-great cities have devolved into lawlessness with random violent attacks on innocent people, rampant looting, and large-scale homeless encampments. There are rarely consequences for the wrongdoers because George Soros-elected prosecutors across America refuse to prosecute them.

  Moreover, our southern border is unprotected, and millions of people we know nothing about pour into our nation to receive care and benefits that we cannot afford to provide to our struggling military veterans. Worse, many of the border crossers may be gang members who commit violent crimes here. Schoolchildren across America cannot read, write, or do basic math, while our educational leaders tell us that they know better than parents how to raise our children. Working men and women are struggling to provide for their families and must raid their retirement funds just to feed, clothe, and take care of their children. These are just a few of the problems America is facing after three years of bad government policies. They cannot be our legacy.

  This should not be a partisan issue. This should be an issue for all Americans – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – that I hope to reach with this op-ed. You enjoy the freedoms and values on which the nation was founded. Sadly, I see these freedoms and values being eroded today as government gets bigger and weaponized against its political opponents.

  I wrote this op-ed because of my love for America, not for any financial gain or advantage. I have been retired for 30 years and spend my time engaged in philanthropic causes, with which I have committed to share 90% of my net worth. I was born here and can give testimony about The American Dream. I lost my job and was broke when I was 48 years old. A dear friend of mine suggested that my misfortune presented a great opportunity to build a small business based upon an idea I had shared with him. Only in America, the land of opportunity, could being without a job and broke be a great opportunity. In 1978, my partners and I built four hardware stores, and this small business grew and is known as The Home Depot. We could only have done this in America because of America’s system of free enterprise and pro-jobs growth government policies. The state of America today, especially record inflation, government over-regulation, and the problems of the last three years, would prevent my partners and I from succeeding as we have.

  Part of our legacy must be passing on to future generations of Americans our founding freedoms and values, including The American Dream. We must change the current trajectory of the nation and solve the problems created in the last three years. We must also reject calls from some politicians to replace our free market system with big government socialism. Most of them seem to have never had a job outside of government. All they know is making government bigger and more intrusive in the lives of its citizens.       

  I wrote above that I wanted to sit on the sidelines of politics, but the stakes were too high for me just to walk away. The stakes are America’s path forward. Do we want to continue the perilous trajectory we are now on? I do not because it would be disastrous for all Americans except the political elite.

  For Democrats, the choice is simple. If you feel that you are better off now than you were three years ago, you should vote for Joe Biden or whoever is the Democrat candidate. For Republicans, the choice is also simple.  Let’s face it: Donald Trump is going to win the nomination. You should be doing all you can to ensure his winning the general election.

  I understand the frustration of some of my Republican friends who do not like or are offended by things Donald Trump does and says. I, too, have been frustrated at times, but we cannot let his brash style be the reason we walk away from his otherwise excellent stewardship of the United States during his first term in office. Now is the time for unity to save The American Dream for future generations. 

  For these reasons, I endorse Donald J. Trump as the nominee of the Republican Party and as our next President. I endorse him not only because he has the best chance of winning the general election but because he is the best person to take on and dismantle the administrative state that is strangling America. The new war in the Middle East will present great challenges for the free world for some time, especially in keeping other terrorist groups or nations out of the conflict. This will require a president with the judgment, strength, decisiveness, and courage that Donald Trump displayed in his first term when he ordered the strike that killed the Iranian terrorist Gen. Qasem Soleimani and dissuaded Russia from invading Ukraine. Many, including myself, believe that Hamas would not have unleashed its barbarism and cruelty on Israel if Donald Trump was our president today. The reason is America’s enemies respect and, more importantly, fear Donald Trump’s judgment, strength, decisiveness, and courage. It is critical that America’s next leader have these attributes in the face of Hamas murdering innocent babies, old people, including Holocaust survivors, entire families; burning alive innocent people; raping women and young girls; and other unspeakable acts.

  I urge my fellow Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to put their love for America above all else. I urge the Republican National Committee to end the Republican debates that only benefit ad makers and political consultants. They are unproductive and embarrassing.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 21:55

• Introducing ZeroHedge Live Debates: Laura Loomer Vs. Dave Smith In Wednesday Showdown Over Israel-Hamas War
  Introducing ZeroHedge Live Debates: Laura Loomer Vs. Dave Smith In Wednesday Showdown Over Israel-Hamas War

  

  Add this online event to your calendar:

  

  Modern discourse has devolved into headlines and soundbites. Gone are the great debates of decades past, when luminaries such as Buckley and Vidal, Chomsky and Foucault, or Tucker and Carville spent the better part of an hour hashing out issues on the national stage. These unfiltered, pre-internet debates, untainted by self-serving echo chambers and the biased lens of corporate media, served to actually inform – not manipulate – the public, and shape official policy.

  In the same vein, and in hopes of short-circuiting the endless media noise, ZeroHedge is going back to basics with a series of live, spontaneous, unscripted and interactive debates, with no commercial breaks, which we hope will inspire discussion on a wide variety of controversial topics, ranging from war to finance, to unsustainable debt, to crypto, to society and religion, and everything in between.

  Why? Because we realize that only free, uncensored debate can crush bad ideas before they evolve and lead to social and economic misery, suffering and death… because only dialogue can save the world.

  Imagine a world where those who lie and lead us into wars do not go on to shape national dialogue through establishment outlets which exist to control narratives – providing revolving-door cover for their benefactors and ideological allies. We can counter this when the marketplace of ideas is alive and thriving. When it’s not, when the market has been manipulated and curbed for the benefit of those in power, that’s when catastrophic outcomes become inevitable.

  Ultimately, exposing ideas to public scrutiny is the only way to separate the wheat from the chaff, to distinguish good from bad.

  Our first debate features Dave Smith and Laura Loomer, who will discuss the Israel-Hamas war.  We will also dedicate a portion of the debate to responding directly to questions submitted by our readers on X/Twitter.

  The winner of the debate will be chosen by you, the readers, through a poll immediately following the debate.

  As this novel ZeroHedge project moves forward (please bear with any glitches especially in the beginning), we seek to collaborate with anyone interested in rational debate on one of the largest free-speech platforms in the world – including members of the Intellectual Dark Web, Munk, and others in the alternative media space who wish to amplify their message and reach a huge audience.

  Tune in on Wednesday, Nov 15 at 7:30 PM ET for the Inaugural, interactive, and commercial-free ZeroHedge Debate, which will be broadcast live on X and on ZeroHedge.

   

  Add this online event to your calendar:

  

   

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 21:52

• Trump Will File For Mistrial In NY Fraud Case 'Soon,' Attorney Says
  Trump Will File For Mistrial In NY Fraud Case ‘Soon,’ Attorney Says

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

  Former President Donald Trump’s legal team will “very soon” file for a mistrial in the New York fraud case to address a range of “issues,” said his attorney on Sunday.

  

  Attorney Alina Habba was asked during a Fox News appearance about whether they will file a mistrial, she said it would come “soon” and “very soon.” She added the former president is concerned about the judge and the clerk in the trial, saying that a gag order prevented her from issuing a full response.

  “I can tell you that we will be filing papers to address all of those issues,” Ms. Habba told the outlet. “The problem is, with all of these things, such as filing a motion for recusal, which we have done twice, is that the judge has to be the one that decides—is he going to recuse himself? Does he feel that there was a mistrial?”

  Because it is a “bench trial” and one judge, Arthur Engoron, is involved, he has to make those determinations, the attorney added. “At this point, I don’t have any reason to believe he shouldn’t after what we have learned, if it’s true,” she said.

  On Monday, the former president’s legal team is expected to present their case in New York, where President Trump faces a $250 million lawsuit that was brought about by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

  She has alleged that the Trump Organization engaged in fraudulent activities over a decade, while accusing the former president, his sons, and the real estate firm of falsely inflating the value of its assets. The former president and his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, have denied wrongdoing, while President Trump has said it’s part of a politically motivated bid to derail his third presidential campaign.

  In a separate interview with Fox News on Sunday, Ms. Habba claimed that the Trump Organization can prove that no lenders were harmed and were paid on time, with interest, and made money. Instead, she added, it is because Ms. James wanted to make a name for herself, making note of a statement the attorney general had made during her first campaign about prosecuting President Trump.

  

  “She should really dismiss this case, it’s making her look bad, frankly, and the city needs her attention elsewhere,” Ms. Habba added, referring to Ms. James. Another problem they “have is the judge is the one that’s going make those decisions and he’s proven himself to be quite motivated by the other side,” she also said.

  Late last week, a top House Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a filed an ethics complaint against Judge Engoron, alleging he has displayed a “clear judicial bias” against President Trump and his company. Her letter said that the judge has failed to honor President Trump’s due process rights under the U.S. Constitution and made note of the former president’s status as a clear GOP presidential front-runner for the 2024 race.

  “I filed an official judicial complaint against Judge Arthur Engoron for his inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance in New York’s disgraceful lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization,” Mrs. Stefanik said in a statement to several news outlets. “Americans are sick and tired of the blatant corruption by radical Leftist judges in New York. All New Yorkers must speak out against the dangerous weaponized lawfare against President Trump.”

  So far, Judge Engoron has not issued a public comment about the letter. Before the trial started, the judge ruled in September that he believes the Trump Organization defrauded banks and insurers by inflating the value of its assets, ordering that some of the former president’s business licenses be rescinded as punishment.

  “In the defendants’ world, rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party’s lies,” Judge Engoron wrote in a 35-page ruling. “That is a fantasy world, not the real world.”

  However, some real estate professionals have cast doubt on the judge’s ruling, namely regarding President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. Judge Engoron ruled that President Trump over-valued Mar-a-Lago by a significant margin.

  “Appraisal values and market values are just not the same thing. It’s a well-known fact,” Eli Beracha, chair of the School of Real Estate at Florida International University, told CNN last month. “That’s especially true for properties that are unique. And it’s very easy to argue this is a unique property.”

  About a month after his ruling, a New York appeals court judge temporarily halted the process of breaking up President Trump’s businesses. The appeals court judge, however, rejected President Trump’s attempt to dismiss the fraud trial.

  Other than the fraud case, the former president separately faces criminal charges in Georgia, Washington, D.C., Florida, and New

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 21:40

• New York's Hunger Games Governor Is Now "Collecting Data" From "Surveillance Efforts" On Social Media To Monitor "Hate Speech"
  New York’s Hunger Games Governor Is Now “Collecting Data” From “Surveillance Efforts” On Social Media To Monitor “Hate Speech”

  New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced threw off some serious Hunger Games vibes Monday, announcing that the state of New York has been ‘collecting data’ from social media platforms in order to combat “hate speech” following an alleged rise in antisemitic attacks.

  

  The announcement came after Hochul met with the state’s Jewish leaders, local law enforcement and federal authorities.

  “It’s painful to me as the governor of this great state — that has been known for its diversity, and how we celebrate different cultures, different religions, different viewpoints — it’s painful to see the cruelty with which New Yorkers are treating each other,” she said, not letting a crisis go to waste.

  “Everywhere from college campuses, to our streets, to schools, to playgrounds; even as they’re entering their houses of worship,” Hochul said, noting that she “immediately deployed the State Police to protect our synagogues and yeshivas and mosques and any other place that could be susceptible to hate crimes or violence.”

  Kathy Hochul announced that New York is “collecting data” from “surveillance efforts” on social media

  Hochul says the social media analysis unit will contact people who commit “hate speech”

  This is to “ensure safety” Even though they got rid of Guiliani’s Stop and Frisk which… pic.twitter.com/QjlPiXfRpz

  — Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) November 13, 2023

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

  According to the NYPD, hate incidents against Jews have increased nearly 331% in New York City since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

  And after meeting with top Jews in NY, Hochul plans “to catch incitement to violence” and “direct threats to others” via social media surveillance.

  “We’re very focused on the data we’re collecting from surveillance efforts – what’s being said on social media platforms. And we have launched an effort to be able to counter some of the negativity and reach out to people when we see hate speech being spoken about on online platforms,” she said, adding that New Yorkers “should feel they have to hide any indications of what their religious beliefs are.”

  Some definitions of ‘hate speech’ and ‘incitement to violence,’ plus a list of who’s judging speech to be hateful, would be nice.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 21:20

• Victor Davis Hanson: The Damage Of The 'White Privilege' Smear
  Victor Davis Hanson: The Damage Of The ‘White Privilege’ Smear

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

  One of the many satanic paradoxes of the Third Reich’s architecture of the Final Solution was the requirement – mandated after the 1939 outbreak of the war – that Jews anywhere under German rule or occupation had to wear a yellow badge or armband with the Star or David.

  Yet was not all this elaborate bureaucratic need for identification embarrassing to the Nazi apparat?

  After all, if Nazi doctrine about supposedly manifest Aryan “racial” superiority – Nordic looks and build, superior intelligence, stable disposition – were so persuasive, then why the need for Jews to identify themselves?

  

  In contrast, the Star-of David IDs were prima facie proof that the entire bankrupt Nazi project was based on the unspoken fear that millions of Jews were indistinguishable in all respects from other Europeans.

  In other words, on the fascist right, anti-Semitism was predicated on the pseudo-science that Jews were not European and thus somehow racially inferior. Yet currently, the entire industry of anti-Semitic hatred has flipped, from Jews as toxic non-whites to Jews as toxic whites. The two common denominators of racial obsession and hating Jews remain the same.

  One of the key reasons leftwing anti-Semites have been so effective at galvanizing campus hatred of Israel, and by association of Jews in general, is their careful effort to brand themselves DEI victims why tarring Jews with the empty white supremacy slur.

  Accordingly, Jews and Israel now supposedly enjoy toxic white privilege.

  They are libeled as veritable white supremacists illegitimately in the Middle East to colonize “Palestine,” and as European imperialists picking up the mantle of the earlier 19th century British and French—as if a prior 400 years of Ottoman imperialism in the Middle East never occurred.

  As now-privileged white victimizers, contemporary Jews are not seen as victims of the Holocaust, explaining the comfortable alliance between Islamist Holocaust deniers and the DEI crowd.

  It was no accident that a racist BLM on news of the October 7 massacres quickly issued posters glorifying Hamas hang-gliding murderers.

  It was no surprise that DEI czars and professors in various ethnic and race studies programs proved the most prominent on campus in damning Israel and its Jewish citizens as racists. And who was shocked when university administrators—the cowardly MIT campus is a good example—simply warned Jews of no-go zones, rather than ensured there were no such zones anywhere on campus for anyone?

  Jews seem to be collateral damage from the damning of an entire group of people, namely white Americans and Europeans. In a society that is supposedly wedded to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dictum that we should be judged by the content of our character, not the color of our skin, it is shocking how the racist DEI and woke industries have been given a complete pass to castigate and demonize an entire group, without any concern for individual characteristics, or for class, religious, or ethnic differences.

  Indeed, white is as sloppy a term as Hispanic. Just as third generation Cuban-American professionals have almost no intrinsic ethnic, political, class, or often even linguistic affinities with impoverished Oaxacans who just crossed illegally into America—and vice versa—so too a white male from rural America working as a welder in the Ozarks or a logger in the Sierra Nevada has zero solidarity with a white Bay Area techie at Google or an Ivy League legacy preppie screaming “from the river to the sea” in Harvard Yard.

  But “white” is not just a ridiculous construct that ignores the multiplicities of European ethnic and religious fault lines, the vast differences in “white” class, income, and politics, and the increasing frequency of whites marrying non-whites. When joined with the tired epithets “privilege,” “supremacy,” and “rage,” the result grows even more incoherent and sinister.

  Is proof of the privilege of “whites” that their life expectancy is lower than Hispanics and Asians?

  A suicide rate higher than blacks, Asians, and Hispanics?

  Dying in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq at double their numbers in the general population?

  An inordinate percentage of fentanyl deaths?

  A current percentage of whites in Ivy League freshman classes of 20-40 percent, despite making up 55 percent of the youth demographic?

  Why does “white rage” not result in whites being overrepresented as perpetrators of “hate crimes,” as are Latinos and blacks? Or in relatively rare interracial crimes, why are blacks far more likely to assault or kill whites than vice versa? In the DEI lexicon of reductionist stereotypes, is there a term “black rage” that reflects FBI statistics on hate or interracial crimes?

  Woke and DEI fads have created entire anti- “white privilege” industries.

  One result was the epidemic of careerism-inspired and media-fed hoaxes, such as the Duke Lacrosse lie, the Covington Kids myth, and the Jussie Smollett fiasco.

  All were predicated on the idea the white male smear would alone obviate the need for evidence—and would provide exemption when the fakers were exposed.

  Another bastard child of the “white privilege” myth was the ironic but pathetic effort of whites to fake a non-white identity to win privileges in hiring, admissions, and status.

  What, after all, drove the transitioning of Sen. Elizabeth Warren to declare herself the first “native American” professor of law at Harvard, or careerist professor Ward Churchill to outfit himself in buckskin and beads—not to mention the famous Rachel Dolezal, former head of the NAACP in Spokane, Washington?

  Identity fakery is traditionally an empirical guide to privilege, or otherwise nonwhites would be transitioning to white status, as in the segregationist and overtly racist days of the Old South.

  In that regard, why did the New York Times dub Hispanic, half-Peruvian George Zimmerman “White Hispanic,” when they had never used that phrase for any other person, even though two thirds of “Hispanic” Americans self-identify as white? Because it was an acceptable affront in demonizing Zimmerman, but would have been considered a racist slander against another Hispanic American?

  A hallmark of the white-privilege slander industry is the one-way application of “disproportionality,” or the idea that coveted or celebrity billets must reflect demographics.

  Such institutionalized discrimination is now applied in crude fashion throughout companies and universities, but not when inconvenient. In professional sports, where meritocracy is deemed essential and whites are “underrepresented,” or in recording contracts, or even in the US postal service, there is no such sin in any group’s overrepresentation.

  Another dividend of the blanket white privilege/supremacy slur is the racial shakedown industry. The BLM movement in the wake of George Floyd’s death ended up extorting millions of dollars from guilty or scared corporations. The vast majority of donations ended up unaccounted for, but likely enriched the founding grifters of BLM.

  Ibram X. Kendi earned lucrative fees and honoraria espousing “anti-racism” and founded an “anti-racism” academic center that produced no tangible research. All that and more followed from his academic mish-mash of writings justifying racism against whites to “stop racism.”

  The industry of white demonization also plays a role in the drastic reductions in U.S. armed forces recruitment.

  The Pentagon insists that labor shortages, obesity, criminality, gang affiliations, or drugs explain their current alarming dearth of recruits.

  But the drop-off in white rural and suburban males is demonstrable, and the reason is most likely their weariness with constant woke hectoring and discrimination.

  Such pandering was on display when Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley in his June 2021 testimony to Congress pontificated about ferreting out “white rage” and “white privilege” in the ranks—despite providing no evidence or data to back up his white bias and racism allegations.

  Indeed, the Pentagon publicly quotes in detail the racial makeup of almost every branch and rank of service—except the disproportionately-white demographics of combat deaths, which are considered taboo and inherently macabre and “divisive.”

  The DEI virus and the incessant “white privilege” stereotyping infect all areas of American life, and have rendered our society obsessed and hypocritical, if not incoherent as it equates everything from meritocracy to punctuality to toxic “whiteness.”

  The normal rules of media sensationalism dictate that when any law enforcement officer lethally shoots an unarmed suspect, especially at a distance that posed no direct threat to the shooter, the name of the officer is immediately released.

  But when a capitol officer shot and killed the unarmed January 6 protestor Ashli Babbitt for the likely misdemeanor of entering a broken window in the Capitol, his name and identity were immediately hidden from the public for months.

  The same coverup was at work in the suppression of the manifesto and diaries of the self-declared trans mass shooter in Nashville—given that current leaks reveal one of her motivations was sheer hatred of what she deemed “white privileged” children, or, as she also called them, “crackers.”

  If New York Prosecutor Letitia James had been a white male conservative activist prosecutor, seeking fame and an upward political career in his state by indicting Barack Obama in an election year for some suspicious financial transactions or sweetheart real estate con from years ago, he would have been denounced as racist.

  And what if said prosecutor was on record screaming, not the now socially acceptable and common slogan “too pale, too male, and too stale,” but something about the overrepresentation of the “not pale, not male, but stale?” Would the result be the summary dismissal of an embarrassing, superfluous, and racist writ by a grandstanding, incoherent political hack?

  Inconsistency is a final hallmark of “white privilege” ideology.

  What characterized the exemptions given to the summer of 2020 riots—with 35 dead, 1,500 law enforcement officers injured, $2 billion in damages, and a courthouse, police precinct, and historic church torched—was their pretense that white privilege had resulted in George Floyd’s death and anti-racist violence was justified.

  Black Lives Matter therefore was to be immune from consequences in its “rage” against “white supremacy.”

  During the lockdowns, when minor infractions of the quarantine warranted everything from social ostracism to jailing, thousands of health-care professionals—once the most adamant in insisting on the shutdowns—hit the streets claiming that they were marching against white privilege and therefore exempt from the very protocols they had inflicted on others.

  By contrast, both the peaceful protestors and the rioters of January 6 were alike dubbed “white supremacists” and “insurrectionists,” and given harsh sentences.

  Some no doubt deserved such arrest and punishment, but the single-day event was hardly comparable to the 120 days of rioting, looting, arson, and killing associated with the Antifa/BLM-engineered 2020 riots.

  The low bar for “insurrection,” of course, was white-privilege-inspired.

  Note the contrast with the recent “pro-Palestine” demonstrations.

  

  Ostensibly these protests should have qualified for all the new requirements of “insurrection” established by the official responses to January 6.

  Some of them entered the Capitol rotunda, where protests are forbidden. They interrupted a session of Congress, yelling and disrupting congressional hearings. They defaced government property, smearing fake-blood on the White House stone wall and swarming iconic statues. The genocide of Jews was the theme of their “river to the sea” monotonous chants.

  And to make the analogy with the January 6 “insurrection” complete, a prominent politician, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, delivered a speech to the protestors prior to their entry into the Capitol.  In fact, she too implicitly fired up the volatile crowd by calling for the destruction of Israel by demanding a Palestine “from the river to the sea.” Yet in contrast to the January 6 protestors, there were very few arrests and likely will be fewer convictions.

  In sum, for years the left has been exempted for what in normal circumstance would be a cardinal civil rights sin. They demonize and stereotype an entire group solely on the basis of their skin color, attributing to them collective negative characteristics that trump all individual differences by presenting them as if frozen in a time warp of the pre-1960s.

  Anti-Semitism is on the rise and fortified by the campus DEI and woke crowd.

  Hate crimes are soaring. Violent crime in general is on the upswing. Military recruitment is dropping. Trust in the media is plunging. Anti-Semites are proud and not ashamed of acting out their hatred. The progressive woke agenda is imploding.

  The one common denominator is the now-acceptable notion that it is not just permissible but encouraged to smear without evidence over two-thirds of Americans as the sole beneficiaries of “privilege,” prone to rage, and conspiring to ensure racial supremacy—all lies.

  But they are lies nevertheless as useful to their promulgators as they are toxic and incendiary to a multiracial consensual society if not addressed, refuted, and discredited.

  It is past time for Americans to reject all racial stereotyping and the racist careerists who leverage it – before we all descend into tribal nihilism.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 21:00

• Retailers In Boston Are Rushing Out Of The City And Into Suburbia
  Retailers In Boston Are Rushing Out Of The City And Into Suburbia

  In what might be the most least surprising news of the week, retailers are ditching cities and moving to the suburbs. It’s a trend we’ve already seen in places like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco.

  Now, it’s taking place in Boston. According to a new report from Bisnow, the retail sector in Boston’s suburbs is experiencing a revival, with locals spending less time traveling to the city center and seeking more shopping and dining alternatives in their own neighborhoods.

  The report says that retailers are adapting to changing consumer trends by moving towards suburban areas. However, this shift is bypassing traditional enclosed malls in favor of suburban main streets and open-air lifestyle centers, as reported by brokers and landlords.

  Bisnow notes that the high demand has led to lower vacancy rates, enabling property owners to increase rents and transfer expenses to tenants. Simultaneously, this trend is challenging for new businesses seeking to establish themselves in these areas, prompting developers to consider increasing supply.

  Bialow Real Estate CEO Corey Bialow commented: “The suburbs have been on fire. I’ve never seen such a landlord-favored market. It’s become the norm that if any good space comes up in a strong suburban shopping center, there’s four or five offers right out of the box.”

  He added: “As people are spending more time at home instead of going to lunch down on Boylston Street, they’re having lunch around the corner from their house in downtown Newton or downtown Beverly. We’re just seeing a lot of these small downtowns re-emerge, which is good for the community.”

  

  Boston’s consumer behavior shift will become evident in the upcoming holiday season, expected to be robust. Deloitte’s Holiday Retail Survey indicates Boston shoppers will spend an average of $1,883, up 16% from last year and 14% above the national average. This expenditure includes non-gift items like personal clothing and home furnishings, with 81% of respondents planning such purchases, the report says. 

  The pandemic’s impact on work and commute patterns has shifted retail hotspots from downtown areas like Newbury Street and the Seaport to suburban town centers. These New England main streets in Newton, Brookline, Dedham, Arlington, Wellesley, and Lexington, known for their quaint low-rise buildings and local retail, are in high demand but face low vacancy rates. For instance, Newton Centre has less than a 2% vacancy, making it challenging for new businesses to enter these bustling retail corridors.

  Whitney Gallivan, managing director at Boston Realty Advisors, added: “There’s certainly been a flock to the suburbs. With the access to the work-from-home environment, as well as hybrid workplaces, I think more and more people are able to gravitate further away from the city.”

  “Young families and young people want their suburbs and want their town to have more. They want the fitness concept, they want the fast-casual place to grab food, they want a brewery. We are starting to see the suburbs light up,” Gallivan added. 

  Judy Cazeau, associate retail broker at Avison Young’s Boston office, added: “You’re looking at astronomical numbers to get your storefront running. I’ve seen several landlords, even in markets that aren’t even in Boston, asking for 5% annual increases, and it’s kind of jaw-dropping.”

  She concluded: “Cities and towns are just becoming a little more hip. They’re investing in their smaller communities and small businesses.”

  You can read Bisnow’s full report here.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 20:40

• "This Is The End-Process That We've Been Softened Up For…"
  “This Is The End-Process That We’ve Been Softened Up For…”

  Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

  “I hope you realise the ideological brain worms possessing group narcissists preclude condemnation of anything done in the name of the cause no matter how evil. The ends justify the means — no matter how depraved. This is why you can’t reason with them. Ideology binds and blinds.”

  – Aimee Therese on X

  The sun is low on the horizon all day long now, and darkness creeps in like a home invasion of your mind. Demons descend through a red and black sky and no help is on the way. Our country is so mentally hog-tied trying to unravel the twisted events of just a few years past that it has no mojo left for rationally anticipating the events of just a few years ahead. Have you ever felt more alone?

  

  This is the end-process that we’ve been softened up for: the inability to think and plan. The gigantic “intel community” evolved from something intended to act as sensitized antennae for detecting threats against our republic into what is now a remorseless mind-fucking operation against our republic. That word, by the way, derives from the Latin res publica: the public thing, a society that literally belongs to the people, who decide its affairs. Now, so much is mysteriously decided for us, and not in any good way.

  It’s no wonder more than half the country can’t think straight, and it’s a whopping irony that this group comprises most of our country’s thinking class —the bureaucratic managers, the professors, the curators, the editors, the reporters lost in mis-reporting. This group used to play a critical role in the res publica: to earnestly determine what is true and what is real, and to present us with a way of understanding all that so we can think and plan. They appear to be captured by malign forces. The scribes are hard at work defending every act of official malice. The dishonesty at work is epic. You need a decoder ring to keep your mind right.

  You are probably desperate to understand why this is happening — how, for instance, a blatantly corrupt and ignorant attorney general in New York state can get away with bringing a politically-motivated nonsense case against the leading presidential candidate in a courtroom ruled by a judge who acts like a jester in a Shakespeare play. New York AG Letitia James gets away with it because the flagship organ of the thinking class, The New York Times, is in on the gambit. But why?

  We struggle to sort this out.

  One explanation is that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has infiltrated the management of our country at every level so as to eventually conquer our territory for its resources while eliminating or enslaving the population?

  Surely, the CCP has made significant inroads, starting with the successful bribery and compromise of “Joe Biden,” probably other elected officials, too, in placing many CCP agents in the vast array of university research departments, NGOs, PACs, and lobbying gangs, and extending to the purchase of vital businesses and farmland to prepare the gameboard for eventual takeover. My opinion is they’ve accomplished a good bit of this, but it’s not the answer you’re seeking.

  Another popular idea out there is that a sinister cartel or cabal composed of the World Economic Forum, the WHO, the EU, and a claque of super-rich megalomaniacs (e.g., Bill Gates, George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg) trying to usher in the so-called “transhumanist” next chapter of human history.

  This scheme is so full of preposterous contradictions that it remains hard to take seriously. The main one is that their engineered collapse of techno-industrial civilization would destroy the very network of complex systems that might support their supposed cyborg nirvana, especially a reliable electric grid. Secondarily, collapse would result not in centralizing power but just the opposite, re-localizing power away from the center, negating the possibility of global rule.

  A third theory is that the USA has somehow gone “communist.”

  The universities have, for sure, but in a most half-assed way imaginable that presents more as a case of collective mental illness than a true political ideology. Higher education has lately enjoyed stupendous subsidies and revenues that funnel down to the miserable cat-ladies who have taken over the faculty department chairs, plus the deans and president’s offices. The Niagara of grants and lavish salaries has funded the dissemination of incoherent cat-lady ideas, such as the foundational notion that all men are hopelessly defective except the ones who pretend to be women or vice-versa. Such postulations lead to ridiculous actions like the drag queen story hour, or men competing in women’s swim competitions. These actions-and-effects are “communistic” only insofar as the induce some Marxist-Gramscian overthrow of normality (i.e., a coherent cultural consensus) in order to usher in the utopia of perfect social equity, where nobody is allowed to do better than anybody else — that is, a society of cat-ladies (plus men pretending to be cat-ladies), all equally miserable.

  Are the editors and reporters of The New York Times all bought off by the CCP, Soros, Gates? I doubt it. That’s not what’s going on here. And the same goes for the Intel Community, much of the rest of the executive branch of the US government, the various “blue” state and blue city governments, and the great social media companies. Are all the employees of these vast bureaucracies dedicated communists?  Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha….

  What’s going on is that all these players are now desperate to evade the blame for and consequences of their many crimes. Hundreds of top bureaucrats and elected officials will be liable for prosecution for monstrous acts of perfidy and treason against our republic and its citizens. The New York Times and other compliant news outlets that lied about everything from Russian collusion to election fraud to the safety of Covid-19 vaccines to protect their fumbling allies in power are desperate to save their reputations — though that will be impossible as the truth eventually unfolds, and it will. Their knowing lies did real and lasting harm to the public thing.

  Take heart in these darkening days. The light will not be extinguished. It will return, as everything does in this universe of endless cycles. A nation turned upside down will find its feet again. The wicked will answer. The counter-revolution has begun. You are not alone.

  *  *  *

  Support his blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 20:20

• 'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley Launches 2024 Congressional Bid
  ‘QAnon Shaman’ Jacob Chansley Launches 2024 Congressional Bid

  Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man who entered the halls of Congress shirtless while wearing patriotic face paint and horned fur headgear on Jan. 6, 2021, has filed paperwork to run for Congress as a Libertarian.

  

  According to the filings, Mr. Chansley is seeking to fill the seat currently held by Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), who announced in October that she won’t be running for reelection in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. The congresswoman’s term ends in January 2025.

  Others seeking the seat include Blake Masters, a Republican who lost to Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly in last year’s election, and Republican state Sen. Anthony Kern, who was labeled an “insurrectionist” by Arizona Democrats for being present at the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington.

  Mr. Chansley, better known as “QAnon Shaman,” was among the first batch of the “Stop the Steal” rally attendees to enter the Capitol. Images of him sitting in Vice President Mike Pence’s chair in the Senate became iconic representations of that day, when thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump gathered in the nation’s capital, urging Congress to halt the certification of electoral college votes from states they believed had serious problems of election integrity.

  

  After he was charged with obstructing an official proceeding, Mr. Chansley pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 41 months in prison. In May, after serving a prison sentence of 29 months, including two months in a halfway house, he was released from custody and began a 36-month period of supervised release.

  New Footage Helps Chansley

  Mr. Chansley’s release came after Fox News in March publicized clips of surveillance camera footage in and around the Capitol complex on Jan. 6, 2021, on the prime-time program hosted by Tucker Carlson, who was fired from the media company two months later.

  Among the footage was a clip showing Mr. Chansley walking alongside several U.S. Capitol Police officers who didn’t make any attempt to remove him from the building. At one point of the clip, an officer even opened a door to the Senate Chamber for Mr. Chansley before following the shirtless, American-flag-carrying man inside.

  “The crowd was enormous. A small percentage of them were hooligans. They committed vandalism. You’ve seen their pictures again and again,” said Mr. Carlson, speaking of the “possibly thousands” of people who entered the Capitol over the course of two hours that day. “But the overwhelming majority weren’t. They were peaceful. They were orderly and meek. These were not insurrectionists. They were sightseers.”

  The footage prompted prominent public figures such as Elon Musk to call for Mr. Chansley’s release. The attorney representing the Arizona man also asked the court to vacate the prison sentence, arguing that the government violated his client’s constitutional rights by not handing over the potentially exculpatory footage.

  “Because this material was favorable to Mr. Chansley for purposes of sentencing, and it was suppressed by the Government, Mr. Chansley’s due process rights were clearly violated by the failure to produce the CCTV camera video from inside the Capitol,” wrote his lawyer, William Shipley.

  A Call for National Unity

  In an interview with The Epoch Times after being released from prison, Mr. Chansley said he was being “targeted” while in custody in Washington.

  “I experienced a certain level of prejudice, considering I was the guy in the horns, and they knew who I was,” he said of his 11-day stay in the Washington jail in February 2022, before being transferred to a facility in Alexandria, Virginia.

  This experience, according to Mr. Chansley, allowed him to gain a deeper insight into America’s ideological polarization.

  “The media sells outrage. They don’t sell truth,” he said. “And they never offer solutions. They only complain about the problem.”

  He also said he believes that the government is “certainly corrupt on both sides of the aisle—Republicans and Democrats.”

  “I think in America, we can actually agree on a whole lot more than we disagree on,” he told The Epoch Times.

  He said he hopes to promote “a spiritual message of love, of peace, the power of love, the power of peace, the power of prayer, the power of forgiveness, the power of the truth.”

  “That’s the only way we’re going to solve our problems,” he said.

  Gary Bai contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 20:00

• Xi's Decision To 'Stay In Office For Life' Has Created Challenges: Hillary Clinton
  Xi’s Decision To ‘Stay In Office For Life’ Has Created Challenges: Hillary Clinton

  Authored by Dorothy Li via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s life tenure has created not only political challenges at home but difficulties in the bilateral relationship with the United States, according to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

  

  Mrs. Clinton’s comment at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore came as tensions between Beijing and Washington remain high, including over China’s military aggressions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea and the U.S. restrictions on high-end technologies exports and investment that has the risk of supping the communist regime’s military ambition.

  The future of U.S.-China relations “really depends upon what Xi Jinping’s goals are,” Mrs. Clinton said at the summit via video link on Thursday. 

  “Once Xi Jinping decided to stay in office for life, that creates a lot of…challenges within their own system,” Mrs. Clinton said. “We’re seeing some of that with the removal of top officials, some of the economic problems in the Chinese economy, but it also creates a kind of chilling effect in terms of relations. “

  “How do you deal with somebody who’s not going to be held accountable?“

  Mr. Xi claimed a third term as the head of the state during the annual session of China’s rubber-stamp parliament in March, completing the transition to the country’s most powerful chairman since Mao Zedong.

  Now, he is poised to rule the country indefinitely. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has already cleared the way for that move, deleting the two-term limits on the country’s position of chairman from the regime’s Constitution in 2018.

  While the position of the state chairman is a largely ceremonial role in China’s governing system—the main power coming from the role of Party chief — it’s the only post that Mr. Xi holds with term limits. The 70-year-old leader has two other titles: general secretary of the CCP and the chairman of the Central Military Commission that commends the Party’s military wing. Neither of them limits the tenures.

  Mr. Xi, who became the state chairman a decade ago, has already stayed in power longer than his immediate predecessors—Jiang Zemin and then Hu Jintao — who stepped down after two five-year terms.

  “Hu Jintao was a Chinese leader who decided he would not stay for life,” Mrs. Clinton said. “So there could be a constant renewing of both the Chinese government and, through that, the American relationship.”

  Biden-Xi Meeting

  Mrs. Clinton expected to see more coming out of the meeting between Mr. Xi and President Joe Biden at the sideline of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Fransico. The exchange on Nov. 15 will be the two leaders’ first in-person meeting in nearly a year amid growing friction between Beijing and Washington.

  Mrs. Clinton said there has been “a real chill” from China about American business operating in the country. At the same time, there are pressures from the U.S. Congress to counter the threat posed by communist China, she said.

  The Biden-Xi engagement, according to Mrs. Clinton, created “a terrific opportunity” for the world’s two largest economies to “reset the table.”

  According to China’s foreign ministry, Mr. Xi will visit the United States from Nov. 14 through Nov. 17, the first trip in more than six years.

  Mr. Xi’s upcoming U.S. trip came as geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington further dented foreign investors’ confidence in the country amid domestic economic woes. The real estate sector once contributing to nearly one-third of China’s GDP, is on the edge of collapse, threatening the savings of millions of middle-class families when the youth unemployment rate hits a record high.

  Western businesses’ confidence in the country has dropped to the lowest point in decades, according to two recent surveys from China’s American and European business lobbying groups.

  Concerns cited by the report from the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai include the tensions with the West, and the regime’s crackdown on foreign business. Officials have slapped Mintz, a U.S. due diligence firm, with a $1.5 million fine in a security crackdown after police raided its Beijing office and detained five of its local employees earlier this year.

  Apart from Mintz, Chinese police have raided the offices of consultancy Capvision, questioned employees at U.S. due diligence Bain, and detained staff from Japanese drug maker Astellas.

  The European Union Chamber of Commerce, in China’s paper, attributes investors’ sluggish confidence to the regime’s tightening control over perceived threats in data, national security, and espionage. In July, the updated anti-espionage law came into force. The legislation expanded the definition of espionage to include “all documents, data, materials, or items related to national security and interests,” but did not specify what falls under national security, adding to concerns among business leaders.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 19:40

• Flying Taxi Spotted In Lower Manhattan
  Flying Taxi Spotted In Lower Manhattan

  One of Joby Aviation’s flying taxis – or electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft – was spotted on a helicopter pad in Lower Manhattan. 

  A Sunday post by Joby on social media platform X showed the flying taxi surrounded by office towers but did not mention the location. 

  👀🍎 pic.twitter.com/zKGAkJMvAX

  — Joby Aviation (@jobyaviation) November 13, 2023

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  Dow Jones reporter Allen Root posted on X a photo Monday morning showing the eVTOL on the edge of a helipad in NYC. 

  Root said, “eVTOL getting ready to fly in NYC on a chilly, clear Monday.” 

  $JOBY eVTOL getting ready to fly in NYC on a chilly, clear Monday pic.twitter.com/rtruRX1epu

  — Allen Root (@DowJonesAl) November 13, 2023

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  We’ve all seen Dubai and other cities in the East commit to using flying taxis, but very little activity in the US. 

  NYC could be preparing for future flying taxi services, potentially displacing Uber helicopters as the FAA prepares for the first crewed flying taxi flights by 2027. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 19:20

• UofA Profs: Hamas Not Terrorists, Just An Anti-Zionist "Resistance" Group
  UofA Profs: Hamas Not Terrorists, Just An Anti-Zionist “Resistance” Group

  Authored by Dave Huber via TheCollegeFix.com,

  A pair of University of Arizona education professors was recorded telling a “Cultural Pluralism for Young Children” class that Hamas is not comprised of terrorists, but is a “resistance” group merely opposed to Zionism.

  

  Rebecca Lopez and Rebecca Zapien (pictured above), both of whom teach “teaching, learning & sociocultural studies,” initially appear to differ somewhat in their views in the audio obtained by the X account Israel War Room.

  But not for long.

  One of them concedes that Hamas representatives appear to be “like, speaking, like very antisemitic,” but is countered by her peer who says “they’re probably anti-Zionist, which, again, is about the Israeli state.”

  “Antisemitism,” the second professor continues, “is different than being anti-Zionist.”

  The first professor then claims the Hamas “movement” is about how Israel and the Zionists “have been taking away and taking away and blockading [Palestinians] so that they’re not allowed to leave, and they’re tired of that.”

  She goes on to say it is “so exhausting” for Palestinians “to be constantly treated like crap, like you don’t matter,” and that Hamas is merely “responding” to this — much like the Black Panthers did in the U.S. during the civil rights struggle of 60-plus years ago.

  This professor then states Hamas “doesn’t represent the Palestinian people” as they are “not elected officials.”

  (In fact, they are.)

  She says she “thinks [she] thought [Hamas] was a terrorist group” because people “just say” so, and her peer notes that “language matters.”

  Despite having the ability to target its weapons, Israel puts “churches, shelters, schools [and] hospitals” in its crosshairs, the first professor continues. The targeting “seems to be very intentional and deliberate,” she says.

  After a student in the class says Zionists are “almost as cruel as Nazis” and another student objects, one professor jumps in to say “genocide is awful” and that the “part that’s really brutal to think about is that there have been many holocausts” … but “we’re only taught about World War II.”

  One professor eventually informs the class what they can do to support the Palestinian cause: engage in boycotts (she specifically mentions the BDS — Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions — movement), contact various representatives and organizations, and participate in marches.

  In an education class at @uarizona, these professors chose to discuss the current Israel-Gaza war and the broader Israeli/Palestinian conflict. What was shared was an entirely BIASED, ANTISEMITIC, BLATANTLY FALSE, and TERRORISM-SUPPORTING narrative. Listen for yourself. 🧵
  (1/9) pic.twitter.com/rF4EQ9j5nC

  — Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) November 12, 2023

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  According to Ballotpedia, Zapien last year ran unsuccessfully for an at-large Tucson Unified School District school board seat. In 2020 she penned an op-ed blasting the district for having police, aka School Resource Officers, in its schools.

  “Stop funding the false and dangerous narrative that SROs are safe for our brown and black youth,” she wrote.

  “Stop participating in the school-to-prison pipeline and start practicing transformative justice.”

  On her personal website, Lopez includes the “Mahatma Ghandi” [sic] quote “If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 19:00

• "We Might Need To Let It Burn": Firefighting In The EV Era Is A Whole New Game
  “We Might Need To Let It Burn”: Firefighting In The EV Era Is A Whole New Game

  Firefighting is a whole new game in the electric vehicle era.

  In fact, departments across the U.S. are finding out that the best way to “fight” such fires are to simply let them burn, according to a new report by the the Wall Street Journal.

  The report points out that EV fires, unlike traditional gas-fueled car fires, are more enduring, challenging to extinguish, and prone to reigniting, according to firefighters and experts.

  It also cites and example from Franklin, Tenn., where first responders encountered a Nissan Leaf EV fire in September, which required 45,000 gallons of water to douse, significantly more than the 500 to 1,000 gallons typically needed for gasoline vehicle fires.

  Fire Marshal Andy King stated: “I think if we were faced with a similar scenario next time, we might need to let it burn.”

  

  The Journal reported that in the U.S., over 170,000 vehicle fires occur annually. However, the National Fire Protection Association, relying on federal data, doesn’t categorize these fires by the vehicles’ power source.

  Tesla claims its cars have a much lower fire incidence compared to the national average, a finding echoed by some independent studies regarding EVs in general.

  Michael O’Brian, fire chief of Michigan’s Brighton Area Fire Authority and chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ battery committee, told WSJ:  “When we look at how much money is going into battery plants, into the EV transition, there hasn’t been that carve-out to prepare the fire service.”

  EV fires typically originate in the car’s lithium-ion batteries, which hold vast energy. According to UL Solutions’ chief scientist Robert Slone, these fires can start due to poor design, damage, or internal lithium build-up causing “thermal runaway.”

  These batteries, containing combustible chemicals and self-oxygenating properties, can reignite long after being extinguished. Tom Miller, an instructor at West Virginia University Fire Service Extension and the National Volunteer Fire Council, highlights that these fires also release extremely toxic fumes.

  

  Fire departments are adapting to electric vehicle (EV) fires, which often originate in lithium-ion batteries. In New Jersey and California, firefighters let Teslas burn out after accidents, as water can be ineffective against battery fires, the Journal wrote. 

  Some firefighters are exploring techniques like using fog streams to cool fires enough to move the vehicle. New technologies, such as specialized nozzles and fire-suppressing batteries, are being developed to address these challenges.

  The National Fire Protection Association recommends additional safety measures, like sprinklers in parking garages, to counteract the increased fire risks from modern vehicles. Meanwhile, car manufacturers and suppliers are working on innovations like early warning sensors and materials to contain battery fires, and research into solid-state batteries is ongoing.

  Regardless, firefighting organizations continue to seek effective strategies for dealing with EV fires, with new guidelines expected in the near future.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 18:40

• Baker Hughes: Geopolitical Risks Are At The Highest Since 1973 Oil Embargo
  Baker Hughes: Geopolitical Risks Are At The Highest Since 1973 Oil Embargo

  By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

  The world faces the highest geopolitical risks since the 1973 oil embargo, the chief executive of one of the largest oilfield service providers, Baker Hughes, told the Financial Times.

  

  “From a historical context I’ve heard people say, you go back to the oil embargo of 1973 — that being somewhat similar,” Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli told FT in an interview.

  The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East could threaten further instability in the oil and gas markets, Simonelli noted.

  The risks are stoking demand for LNG, a key growth area for Baker Hughes.

  Global LNG demand is set to grow by 2% year-over-year in 2023, to reach close to 410 million tons annually, the company said last month as it reported higher-than-forecast earnings for the third quarter.

  “Year-to-date, global LNG demand has reached record levels at just over 300 MTPA. This is despite softer than anticipated gas demand and economic weakness persisting in key LNG-consuming markets like Europe and China,” Simonelli said on the earnings call.

  “Turning into 2024, we forecast LNG demand to increase by 3%, which should result in utilization rates remaining at elevated levels, as we forecast just 15 MTPA of nameplate capacity coming online next year.”

  Baker Hughes believes that natural gas will play a critical role as both a transition and destination fuel.

  “Accordingly, natural gas will be fundamental in satisfying the world’s energy needs for many decades to come, while also improving air quality and reducing global emissions, displacing coal in the broader energy mix,” Simonelli said last month.

  Looking into 2024, geopolitical risk will be a very important factor to monitor, the executive said. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 18:20

• Biden Admin Thinks Israel Seeking Pretext For Wider War In Lebanon: Axios
  Biden Admin Thinks Israel Seeking Pretext For Wider War In Lebanon: Axios

  Some top level members of the Biden administration have warned that Israel could be seeking to provoke a broader war with Hezbollah with an aim toward drawing the United States into a deeper conflict with Iran and its proxies.

  Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “expressed concern” over escalation with Hezbollah in a Saturday call with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant – with the White House also citing “growing anxiety” that Israel’s military action which could spark war in southern Lebanon.

  

  The US has also been warning Hezbollah, as well as the Lebanese government, against escalating attacks on northern Israel, which have left about ten Israeli soldiers and civilians dead since last month. Hezbollah has also revealed that over 60 of its fighters have been killed.

  This ‘warning’ has also come in the form of a US military build-up in the Eastern Mediterranean, which has significantly included a couple of aircraft carrier strike groups and ominously a nuclear-powered submarine.

  SecDef Austin’s caution conveyed to Gallant about Israeli military actions in Lebanon was first reported in Axios on Sunday, which wrote based on three Israeli and US sources privy to the call: 

  Austin’s message to Gallant reflected growing anxiety in the White House that Israeli military action in Lebanon is exacerbating tensions along the border, which could lead to a regional war.

  Some in the Biden administration are concerned Israel is trying to provoke Hezbollah and create a pretext for a wider war in Lebanon that could draw the U.S. and other countries further into the conflict, according to sources briefed on the issue. Israeli officials flatly deny it.

  Israel has already evacuated tens of its citizens from near the border with Lebanon, comprising dozens of towns and settlements, given the exchanges of fire have grown daily.

  There have been more clashes today between #Hezbollah and #Israel along the border with Hezbollah targeting Israeli military positions and Israel bombing the outskirts and homes in southern #Lebanon villages like Aita Chaab, Naqoura, Tayr Harfa. #حزب_الله #لبنان #إسرائيل pic.twitter.com/GPFfZlYxyC

  — Nicholas Frakes | نيكولاس فريكس (@nicfrakesjourno) November 13, 2023

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  Meanwhile, the border just witnessed a big escalation, with Times of Israel detailing that “at least 14 civilians were wounded, including one seriously, in an anti-tank guided missile attack by the Hezbollah terror group from Lebanon on Sunday, the military and medical officials said.” And a separate attack witnessed seven Israeli soldiers wounded by a mortar.

  “The Hezbollah missile struck a number of vehicles near the northern community of Dovev, close to the border. Some of the victims were Israel Electric Corporation employees who had arrived to repair power lines damaged by previous fire from Lebanon,” the Israeli report continued.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 11/13/2023 – 18:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Escobar: Another Snapshot Of Kiev's Military Collapse: But It Ain't Over Yet
  Escobar: Another Snapshot Of Kiev’s Military Collapse: But It Ain’t Over Yet

  Authored by Pepe Escobar,

  The spectacular “success” of Kiev’s counter-offensive, which echoed throughout the geopolitical galaxy, has predictably engendered what everyone with a brain was expecting: a dogfight…

  

  Enter the Zelensky-Zaluzhny Show – especially after the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) admitted on the record that the war has “reached a stalemate” – code for “we’re deeply in trouble”. He also referred to “positional defense” – code for “we’re gonna keep losing more and more territory.”

  The dogfight comes complete with Mafioso overtones, as in 39-year-old Zaluzhny assistant Gennady Chistyakov “accidentally” detonating a grenade received as a gift, seriously injuring his daughter and duly blowing himself up.

  This might be seen at face value as yet another wacky Pulp Fiction-style sketch involving the top dogs (with no Winston Wolf  to “solve problems”). But it does carry an ominous message to Zaluzhny: once again, Mafia-style, from now on he’d better beware of friends bearing gifts.

  As for the “counter-offensive”, the file, for all practical purposes, seems to be closed. There won’t be another one – because there are no more weapons, assets or troops to carry it, except the odd Ukrainian elderly citizens and unsuspecting housewives chased by the “security services” as they exit the supermarket.

  A moral-psychological debacle

  That brings us to yet another snapshot of what’s really happening on the frontlines.

  The attached document, fully verified for authenticity, is a mid-October report to the Commander of the 10th Army Corps of the AFU.

  

  The report states that the 116th separate mechanized brigade is “incapable of conducting offensive operations because of high losses and high numbers of soldiers that need psychological and medical assistance.”

  The 116th brigade has been deeply involved in military operations in the Zaporozhye region for 5 months already. For 3 months it had been part of the 10th Army Corps, “Tavriya”.

  The report details that the brigade’s losses are 94 soldiers dead; 1122 wounded; and 95 missing. That corresponds to 25% of the total number of personnel.

  When it comes to the moral-psychological front, at least 153 soldiers are deemed in need of immediate psychological rehabilitation.

  This brigade is a quite significant unit; what’s implied is that a moral-psychological debacle is now inbuilt as a System Error at the heart of the Ukrainian military. Consequences, short and middle term, will be dire.

  All that is happening while the flow of foreign mercenaries to the AFU is drying up. No wonder: enter the Perfect Storm of brigades being thoroughly decimated; unspeakable levels of corruption; and better career opportunities in the rekindled Forever War in Israel/Palestine.

  Civilians in Kharkov, for instance, confirm that foreign mercenaries speaking Polish or English are now “almost invisible”.

  None of the above means that things from now on will be a cakewalk for Russia. For instance, the Russian Army still has not been able to destroy the Ukrainian bridgehead on the Dnieper in Kherson.

  Further on down the road, it will be increasingly trickier to expel the Ukrainians from the eastern margin of the Dnieper.

  Russian military media, at the highest level, does its best to sharply focus on serious instances of ineptitude by the Russian Army. That’s their civic duty – and involves creating a groundswell of public opinion, forcing the Russian Army to correct its mistakes and most of all refrain from underestimating the enemy.

  After all, this is far from over – no matter the dogfight now raging in the corridors of power in Kiev.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 23:20

• Novo Nordisk's Obesity Drug Cuts Risk Of Death By 18%, But Is All The Good News Already Priced In
  Novo Nordisk’s Obesity Drug Cuts Risk Of Death By 18%, But Is All The Good News Already Priced In

  There was good news for fans of weight loss drugs this weekend, when Novo Nordisk unveiled details from a closely watched study that supports the use of Wegovy, its blockbuster weight-loss drug, to cut the risk of death by 18% in a trial that the Danish pharmaceutical company hopes will convince more health systems and insurers to pay for the treatment.

  

  Novo Nordisk on Saturday said the heart protective benefits of its wildly popular Wegovy obesity treatment are due to more than weight loss alone, according to new data presented at a major medical meeting on Saturday. Early data from the Danish drugmaker’s Select trial released in August demonstrated that Wegovy, which has been shown to help patients lose an average of 15% of their weight, also reduced incidence of heart attack, stroke or death from heart disease by 20%.

  The full results from the study, presented at the American Heart Association annual scientific meeting in Philadelphia in front of a standing room only crowd and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest the drug has other beneficial effects beyond the known health benefits from losing weight.

  The heart risk difference between patients who received Wegovy, known chemically as semaglutide, and those on placebo began to appear almost immediately after starting treatment, researchers said.

  In the study of overweight and obese patients based on body mass index who had preexisting heart disease but not diabetes, Wegovy reduced the risk of non-fatal heart attack by 28%, non-fatal stroke by 7% and death from cardiovascular causes death by 15% compared to a placebo (though the numbers did not quite meet the bar for statistical significance).

  According to Novo, which of course is extremely incentivized to present the drug in the most favorable light so it can force insurance companies to cover the ~$1000/month drug, given that patients had not started losing weight when the cardiovascular benefits first appeared suggests the heart protection was not purely the result of weight loss. The trial also showed a 73% reduction in progression to diabetes and a 22% reduction of kidney disease, both of which significantly add to cost effectiveness of Wegovy treatment, write JPMorgan analysts including Richard Vosser in a note.

  Still, the result is hardly a shock: in August, initial data from the Select trial sent shares in Novo Nordisk up as much as 16%, as investors became excited that the results could win over any health systems and insurers reluctant to cover the new class of weight-loss drugs (Wegovy has a US list price of more than $1,300 a month). It begs the question: how much of the good news has already been priced in.

  Dr Chad Weldy, a cardiologist at Stanford University, said on the sidelines of the conference that it was important to note that the trial did not study how semaglutide might stop heart disease from happening and only looked at how to stop it from getting worse.

  Despite that, the size of the patient population covered by this trial should make doctors think about the sorts of patients who should be prescribed Wegovy based on the data.

  “Anyone who has had a heart attack or obstructive coronary disease and has a body mass index of more than 27 fits in with this study, which is a very large patient population,” he said, which of course makes sense: after all GLP-1 drugs, extremely expensive as they may be and requiring a $1000 outlay every month to keep the weigh loss results, do miracles in muting appetite and slashing excess weight.

  Dr Bruno Halpern, head of the obesity center at Hospital 9 de Julho in São Paulo, Brazil, also said at the conference that Wegovy should now be a frontline treatment for heart disease. 

  The study researchers said that while understanding of the mechanisms of the cardiovascular protection from semaglutide remain speculative, there was a consistent effect on associated risk factors that support the idea that multiple pathways are behind the drug’s clinical benefit.

  Ironically, the associated risk factors – which include inflammation, blood pressure and blood sugar control, all of which can impact heart health – can potentially be just as bad if not worse, however in the end of the day, it’s all about how the trial was structured.

  John Deanfield, one of the study’s authors and cardiology professor at University College London, said at the medical meeting that the trial data would spur a debate over where Wegovy fits into doctors’ treatments.

  “When do we start these drugs in our patients? How do we stop them? How much weight do we want them to lose to get the benefit?” he said.

  Patients on Wegovy experienced decreases in C-reactive proteins, an indication of inflammation, similar to those reported with cholesterol lowering statins, which are known to significantly lower heart risks, researchers reported.

  “The cardiovascular benefit (of Wegovy) is a combination of many factors, but I would call out glycemic (blood sugar) control, weight loss and inflammation,” Martin Lange, Novo Nordisk’s head of development, said in an interview.

  It was not all roses: in the 17,604-patient trial with a mean duration of 33 months, almost 1,500 of those taking Wegovy discontinued treatment due to adverse side effects, mostly gastrointestinal disorders like nausea and vomiting, compared to 718 patients in the placebo group, according to the study.

  Though the trial was not conducted to test weight loss, participants lost an average of nearly 10% of their total body weight. Novo said patients in the heart study were not required to track diet and exercise as they are in obesity trials.

  The study showed Wegovy to be safe and well-tolerated in line with previous semaglutide trials, Novo said. It was unclear whether the results could be applied to all GLP1-class drugs or were specific to semaglutide, Barclays analyst Emily Field said in an interview.

  Lange said he expected the company’s application to have Wegovy’s label updated to include the heart benefits to be approved in the U.S. in the first half of next year and in the EU in the second half. Drug regulators can update the information on medicine labels to include new data or reflect new indications for use after initial approval.

  U.S. and UK drug regulators approved Eli Lilly’s rival weight-loss treatment on Wednesday, which had previously been approved and marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes.

  Yet what should have been a strong week for GLP-1 and health loss drugs, as well as the healthcare sector in general, was anything but. The Healthcare sector was hammered in a tumultuous week, with underperformance leading the sector back to YTD lows in terms of relative performance vs. the market (XLV vs. SPY). At the sector level, the tail end of the 3Q earnings season has continued to skew towards near-term uncertainty + persisting headwinds into ’24 – with particular focus around updates from the Life Sciences Tools and Medtech companies through the week. Updates from biopharma were more mixed, with several notable setbacks (VTYX, AMLX, NBIX, etc) partly balanced by BMRN (news of activism) and underscored by LLY’s highly anticipated obesity approval for their GLP-1.

  Meanwhile, a violent sell-off in Large Biopharma on Thursday am, that quickly spread to other subsectors (XLV’s worst 1D performance YTD) as well as Novo Nordisk itself, drove a scramble by investors to identify the driver of the weakness…  without a clear smoking gun beyond the culmination of recent negative news cycle and potential angst ahead of the SELECT trial, whose favorable outcome was greatly anticipated, as it was the catalyst that initially sparked the latest frenzy around this drug class in early August.

  

  As Goldman concludes, debates are high ahead of this update – with potential for far reaching implications + stock moves this coming Monday – where there continues to be focus on the GLP-1 At-Risk cohort.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 22:45

• High Stakes And A Simple Choice: "I'm 94 Years Old & Saddened By What I See Happening To America"
  High Stakes And A Simple Choice: “I’m 94 Years Old & Saddened By What I See Happening To America”

  Authored by Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, via RealClear Wire,

  I am 94 years old and like many of you, I am exhausted by politics and saddened by what I see happening to America. I had hoped it was time for me to move to the sidelines and let younger generations continue the fight to preserve America’s founding freedoms and values. But, like so many of us, I realized that I could not let myself walk away; the stakes are just too high.

  

  We cannot let the America we see today be what we leave to our children and grandchildren. Many of our once-great cities have devolved into lawlessness with random violent attacks on innocent people, rampant looting, and large-scale homeless encampments. There are rarely consequences for the wrongdoers because George Soros-elected prosecutors across America refuse to prosecute them.

  Moreover, our southern border is unprotected, and millions of people we know nothing about pour into our nation to receive care and benefits that we cannot afford to provide to our struggling military veterans. Worse, many of the border crossers may be gang members who commit violent crimes here. Schoolchildren across America cannot read, write, or do basic math, while our educational leaders tell us that they know better than parents how to raise our children. Working men and women are struggling to provide for their families and must raid their retirement funds just to feed, clothe, and take care of their children. These are just a few of the problems America is facing after three years of bad government policies. They cannot be our legacy.

  This should not be a partisan issue. This should be an issue for all Americans – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – that I hope to reach with this op-ed. You enjoy the freedoms and values on which the nation was founded. Sadly, I see these freedoms and values being eroded today as government gets bigger and weaponized against its political opponents.

  I wrote this op-ed because of my love for America, not for any financial gain or advantage. I have been retired for 30 years and spend my time engaged in philanthropic causes, with which I have committed to share 90% of my net worth. I was born here and can give testimony about The American Dream. I lost my job and was broke when I was 48 years old. A dear friend of mine suggested that my misfortune presented a great opportunity to build a small business based upon an idea I had shared with him. Only in America, the land of opportunity, could being without a job and broke be a great opportunity. In 1978, my partners and I built four hardware stores, and this small business grew and is known as The Home Depot. We could only have done this in America because of America’s system of free enterprise and pro-jobs growth government policies. The state of America today, especially record inflation, government over-regulation, and the problems of the last three years, would prevent my partners and I from succeeding as we have.

  Part of our legacy must be passing on to future generations of Americans our founding freedoms and values, including The American Dream. We must change the current trajectory of the nation and solve the problems created in the last three years. We must also reject calls from some politicians to replace our free market system with big government socialism. Most of them seem to have never had a job outside of government. All they know is making government bigger and more intrusive in the lives of its citizens.       

  I wrote above that I wanted to sit on the sidelines of politics, but the stakes were too high for me just to walk away. The stakes are America’s path forward. Do we want to continue the perilous trajectory we are now on? I do not because it would be disastrous for all Americans except the political elite.

  For Democrats, the choice is simple. If you feel that you are better off now than you were three years ago, you should vote for Joe Biden or whoever is the Democrat candidate. For Republicans, the choice is also simple.  Let’s face it: Donald Trump is going to win the nomination. You should be doing all you can to ensure his winning the general election.

  I understand the frustration of some of my Republican friends who do not like or are offended by things Donald Trump does and says. I, too, have been frustrated at times, but we cannot let his brash style be the reason we walk away from his otherwise excellent stewardship of the United States during his first term in office. Now is the time for unity to save The American Dream for future generations. 

  For these reasons, I endorse Donald J. Trump as the nominee of the Republican Party and as our next President. I endorse him not only because he has the best chance of winning the general election but because he is the best person to take on and dismantle the administrative state that is strangling America. The new war in the Middle East will present great challenges for the free world for some time, especially in keeping other terrorist groups or nations out of the conflict. This will require a president with the judgment, strength, decisiveness, and courage that Donald Trump displayed in his first term when he ordered the strike that killed the Iranian terrorist Gen. Qasem Soleimani and dissuaded Russia from invading Ukraine. Many, including myself, believe that Hamas would not have unleashed its barbarism and cruelty on Israel if Donald Trump was our president today. The reason is America’s enemies respect and, more importantly, fear Donald Trump’s judgment, strength, decisiveness, and courage. It is critical that America’s next leader have these attributes in the face of Hamas murdering innocent babies, old people, including Holocaust survivors, entire families; burning alive innocent people; raping women and young girls; and other unspeakable acts.

  I urge my fellow Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to put their love for America above all else. I urge the Republican National Committee to end the Republican debates that only benefit ad makers and political consultants. They are unproductive and embarrassing.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 22:10

• Four L.A. Sheriff's Department Employees Commit Suicide In A 24 Hour Period
  Four L.A. Sheriff’s Department Employees Commit Suicide In A 24 Hour Period

  Could there be controversy brewing underneath the surface at the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department?

  Sadly, this is the question any reasonable person is forced to ask themselves after four current and former Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department employees committed suicide over a 24 hour span, according to a new report from the LA Times.

  Sheriff Robert Luna urged his deputies to check on the health of their co-workers and friends, stating: “We are stunned to learn of these deaths, and it has sent shock waves of emotions throughout the department as we try and cope with the loss of not just one, but four beloved active and retired members of our department family.”

  “During trying times like these it’s important for personnel regardless of rank or position to check on the well-being of other colleagues and friends,” he added.

  He also claimed the department was “urgently exploring avenues to reduce work stress factors to support our employees’ work and personal lives.”

  Department sources, preferring anonymity due to the ongoing probe, indicated no connection or foul play in the recent deaths, including that of former and current employees, with three suicides occurring in a day.

  

  Cmdr. Darren Harris, notable for his 25-year media presence and a key department spokesperson, was among the deceased, found in his Santa Clarita home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. Harris’ career included roles in media relations, Transit Services Bureau, and leading the Santa Clarita station. His death, while not officially confirmed, was disclosed by sources to The Times.

  The LA Times also reported that on Monday, retired sergeant Greg Hovland was found dead at his Quartz Hill home. This was followed by another employee’s death in Stevenson Ranch after sunset, and a fourth suicide that occurred Tuesday morning at a Pomona hospital.

  These incidents highlight the growing concern of law enforcement suicides in Los Angeles and nationally, where studies show officers face higher suicide risks than the general population, often linked to job stress and public scrutiny.

   The department is offering counseling and support through its Psychological Services Bureau and Peer Support Program, as stated by Luna. Additionally, four other Sheriff’s Department employees have died by suicide this year, confirmed by spokesperson Nicole Nishida.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 21:35

• Rare Government Support Seeks To Contain China Debt Risks
  Rare Government Support Seeks To Contain China Debt Risks

  By Charlie Zhu and Helen Sun, Bloomberg Markets Live reporters and strategists

  1. Fresh signs of official support for debt-laden property firms emerged, triggering a relief rally in developers’ dollar bonds. China Vanke, a major developer recently rattled by repayment worries, received unusually strong support from officials in its hometown of Shenzhen last Monday.

  Then came a report by local media Cailian on a meeting among the central bank, other regulators and top builders including Vanke, Longfor, and Gemdale. The first two builders’ dollar notes jumped on the news.

  Market confidence in developer bonds now comes from government support – similar to those of local government financing vehicles, Ming Ming, chief economist at Citic Securities, wrote in a note. Although it takes time for the property sector to recover, vulture investors may already see value in some securities, he added.

  In a contrasting example, Country Garden Holdings’ shares plunged nearly 10% Thursday after Ping An Insurance Group denied a Reuters report that authorities asked the insurer to buy the embattled developer. Ping An itself also suffered a $5.5 billion stock selloff, indicating only the state, rather than any private-sector firm, has the capacity to bail out a company of Country Garden’s size.

  

  2. The People’s Bank of China also has debt-laden regions on its mind. Governor Pan Gongsheng pledged to provide emergency funding to heavily indebted local governments as needed, showing a sense of urgency on preventing repayment risks at regional authorities from derailing a patchy economic recovery.

  In another sign that Beijing is tightening scrutiny of the issue, the Ministry of Finance listed eight cases of irregularities committed by local governments to build up hidden debt. The inclusion of financial institutions in the penalties issued by the ministry shows debt control will be a more comprehensive effort involving both creditors and debtors, Yang Yewei, analyst at Guosheng Securities, wrote in a note.

  Out of some 1.3 trillion yuan ($172 billion) of refinancing bonds sold by provincial authorities over the past month or so, indebted regions including Guizhou, Yunnan, and Inner Mongolia ranked as the top issuers, according to data compiled by GF Securities.

  

  3. Global investors turned more optimistic about Chinese assets. JPMorgan’s chief Asia & China equity strategist Wendy Liu said the bank sees increasing likelihood of a technical rebound in the country’s stock market toward the end of the year, citing improvement in risk factors from geopolitics to long-term structural growth.

  Franklin Templeton Investments President Jenny Johnson said it’s time to “wade back into China” as Chinese assets are trading cheaply. Meantime, Citadel founder Ken Griffin said global investors have to “be watching and investing” in China to tap into innovation and growth in the region.

  US-China relations though may still be a challenge. In a sign of how rocky the bilateral ties can be, Beijing accused Washington of discrediting China’s business environment, just when China booked more than 1 million tons of US soybeans in a gesture of goodwill ahead of this week’s summit between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 21:00

• Australian Ports Hit By "Nationally Significant Cyber Incident" As Containers Pile Up
  Australian Ports Hit By “Nationally Significant Cyber Incident” As Containers Pile Up

  Australian Federal Police are investigating a cybersecurity incident that has paralyzed Australia’s second-largest port operator, which manages container terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Fremantle. 

  DP World Australia is responsible for 40% of Australia’s maritime freight and shuttered operations on Friday after a cybersecurity incident. 

  

  “The company, in collaboration with cybersecurity experts, has worked tirelessly, making significant progress in re-establishing landside freight operations at its ports,” DP World Australia said in a statement. 

  Bloomberg reported Sunday that DP World Australia has made “significant progress” after the cybersecurity incident. Still, the port operator’s main systems are down, preventing trucks from picking up or dropping off containers. However, vessels can still load and unload containers at the terminals. 

  On Saturday, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil posted on X that the “cyber incident at DP World is serious and ongoing.” 

  The cyber incident at DP World is serious and ongoing.

  DP World manages almost 40% of the goods flowing in and out of our country, and this incident is affecting the ports of Melbourne, Fremantle, Botany and Brisbane.

  — Clare O’Neil MP (@ClareONeilMP) November 12, 2023

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

  On Sunday, National Cyber Security Coordinator, Air Marshal Darren Goldie, said the port operator is closely working with the government to resolve a “nationally significant cyber incident.” 

  The Australian Government continues to work with DP World Australia to resolve a nationally significant cyber incident that has affected operations at a number of ports around the country.

  — National Cyber Security Coordinator (@AUCyberSecCoord) November 12, 2023

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

  “DP World today advised the Australian Government that the time frame for interruptions to continue is likely to be a number of days, rather than weeks,” Goldie said.

  Here’s more from the official:

  Today (Sunday 12 November 2023), I again convened the National Coordination Mechanism to bring together government agencies and the maritime and logistics sectors as part of the response to the incident. This followed earlier technical and Ministerial briefings with the company.

  DP World’s IT system remains disconnected from the internet, significantly impacting their operations in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle. Our priority remains assisting DP World to restore their systems, which will allow cargo operations to recommence.

  DP World today advised the Australian Government that the timeframe for interruptions to continue is likely to be a number of days, rather than weeks.

  They also advised that despite the disruption, they are able to access sensitive freight at the ports if necessary – for example, in a medical emergency.

  We are continuing to develop our understanding of the flow on impacts to Australia’s logistics system.

  The National Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts and the Office of Supply Chain Resilience in the Department of Industry, Science and Resources will work with DP World to ensure that government and industry stakeholders have appropriate situational awareness necessary to support the management of any disruption to Australia’s supply chains.

  While I understand there is interest in determining who may be responsible for the cyber incident, our primary focus at this time remains on resolving the incident and supporting DP World to restore their operations.

  The Australian Federal Police is continuing to investigate the incident.

  Ports Australia wrote in a statement that the disruption is only at DP World Australia terminals:

  “Australia’s ports and other terminals remain operational. We understand the importance of accurate reporting in maintaining public confidence and preventing unnecessary concern.” 

  This comes days after Chinese bank ICBC was hit with a cyberattack that reportedly affected US Treasury liquidity during a 30-year auction. And a string of cyber breaches at major ports in recent years. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 20:25

• Morgan Stanley's 2024 Outlook: Slowing Economy, Policy Easing And Challenging Set-Up For Markets
  Morgan Stanley’s 2024 Outlook: Slowing Economy, Policy Easing And Challenging Set-Up For Markets

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

  Later today, we will publish our year-ahead outlook. Personally, it is a milestone – it is the 20th year that I have had the privilege of being part of this annual crystal ball-gazing at Morgan Stanley Research. For those of us steeped in the daily grind of the markets, stepping back and imagining how the economies and markets evolve over the course of the year ahead is a challenging endeavor, and one we take seriously. We strive to achieve cohesion and consistency in our outlooks across economies and markets through a highly collaborative and deliberative exercise involving our economics and strategy teams globally.

  Our economists led by Seth Carpenter, Morgan Stanley’s chief global economist, expect below-trend growth in developed markets (DM) and a mixed growth picture evolving in emerging markets (EM). They see restrictive monetary policy of the last two years continuing to exert pressure on the global economic cycle over 2024. Positing that while global inflation has peaked, returning to target levels will take a period of below-par growth, they expect to see global growth slowing with most DM economies avoiding recession while taming inflation. They acknowledge that while recessions remain a risk everywhere, any recession in our baseline scenario (such as in the UK) should be shallow as inflation is falling with full employment, so real incomes hold up, leaving consumption resilient, despite more volatile investment spending.

  The risk of a debt-deflation trap remains in place for China, resulting in a subpar improvement in both growth and inflation which weighs on headline growth in EM.

  While growth remains robust in select EM economies such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines, it won’t be sufficient to offset the drag from China.

  After nearly two years of aggressive monetary policy, our economists expect policy rates across most DMs, with the notable exception of Japan, to remain broadly on hold in 1H24 and decline only gradually as inflation cools towards target levels.

  Thus, despite the start of easing. policy rates in DMs remain restrictive even at the end of 2024. Japan continues to play to a different tune, inching towards policy normalization from the other end of the policy spectrum. Our economists expect the BoJ to remove both the Negative Interest Rate Policy (NIRP) as well as Yield Curve Control (YCC) in January 2024 and hike once in July 2024.

  For markets, 2024 presents a challenging set-up. Many markets have already priced a smooth macro transition, a soft landing characterized by moderating growth and inflation and eventually easier policy.

  Thus, justifying current valuations across many asset classes requires the macro outlook to stick the landing perfectly. In that sense, there is little room for error. Unlike the last two years when we had a strong preference for RoW over US, we expect that US assets will find 2024 easier, and EM markets less so. In currencies, we expect that USD strength endures through 1Q, as growth and rate divergence continue and USD’s defensive characteristics remain alluring. JPY outperforms on the back of the BoJ exiting YCC and NIRP.

  A slowing economy and policy easing set the stage for yields to be lower in the US, Europe, the UK and the dollar bloc, and yield curves to steepen. We think that this is a good set-up for ‘income investing’. For yield-focused investors seeking 6%+ yields, we see a wide range of opportunities across high-quality fixed income – DM government bonds, IG credit, agency MBS and senior tranches of securitized credit.

  Given that there is little room for error, we lean towards a defensive posture, particularly in equities. Japan is our most preferred region while EM is our least preferred, dragged down by Asia growth. For US equities, we continue to recommend a defensive growth and late-cycle cyclicals barbell and look for a durable earnings recovery to emerge during 2024 even as we expect the earnings recession to continue in the short term. Meanwhile, we expect European equity earnings to trough in 1Q, but any recovery is likely to be L-shaped.

  2023 has been a challenging year for markets and 2024 won’t be easy either, but we expect the nature of the challenge to be different.

  You will get the full story in our global outlooks coming out later today and more detailed asset class-specific outlooks that follow. Stay tuned.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 19:50

• Drastically Different Narratives Emerge Centered On Shifa Hospital's Mounting Deaths
  Drastically Different Narratives Emerge Centered On Shifa Hospital’s Mounting Deaths

  This weekend has seen the most intense fighting in Gaza City which has centered on al-Shifa hospital and its vicinity, which is the Strip’s largest, which has for days been totally surrounded by Israeli forces, and lacking food and water.

  The hospital is “totally surrounded and bombardments are going on nearby,” its director, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, announced in a late Saturday statement. Israel has claimed that Hamas uses bunkers beneath the hospital as a command center. However, al-Shifa’s head of surgery, Dr Marwan Abusada, has told regional news sources that civilians are trapped and patients are dying.

  

  “Shooting and bombardment are everywhere you hear it at every second around the al-Shifa Hospital. No one can get out. No one can come in. People who tried evacuate the hospital, they were shot at in the streets. Some got killed, some injured,” he described of the desperate situation. Some Israeli officials and media have alleged that it is in fact Hamas snipers doing the shooting, though without evidence.

  Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila has at the same time said Israel’s military “are not evacuating people from hospitals; instead they are forcibly evicting the wounded onto the streets, leaving them to face inevitable death.”

  This was in response to the IDF announcing it would help facilitate the safe passage of babies and other wounded from the hospital. But the IDF has asserted repeatedly it is Hamas that is using civilians at the hospital as ‘human shields’ and that Hamas also hijacked inbound fuel which was meant for hospital generators. 

  The Wall Street Journal on Sunday also quoted doctors who presented a scenario of mass suffering and death unfolding:

  Doctors described an increasingly desperate situation at hospitals in northern Gaza, including the biggest one, Al-Shifa Hospital, where they said dozens of dead bodies have been left in the open and decomposing and nearly 40 prematurely born babies are without the incubators they need.

  “If we do not stop this bloodshed immediately with a ceasefire or at the bare minimum a medical evacuation of patients these hospitals will become a morgue,” Doctors Without Borders, the international healthcare charity, said Sunday.

  Competing and contrasting narratives have emerged concerning who is to blame for deaths at Shifa hospital…

  The IDF publicly said yesterday it would help evacuate babies from Gaza’s #AlShifa hospital. But the head of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) – told us there is is no such conversation of coordinated action to help evacuate patients. His doctors are at Al Shifa. https://t.co/ITkJKRYXFH

  — Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) November 12, 2023

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  Israel’s Foreign Ministry has said the compounding misery is being orchestrated by Hamas…

  Breaking: Hamas prevented the Shifa Hospital from receiving 300 liters of fuel from the IDF for urgent medical purposes.

  📸 (left) A recorded conversation between an IDF officer and a senior official in the health ministry in Gaza who states that the Hamas Health Ministry… pic.twitter.com/dcfXfLxiwu

  — Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) November 12, 2023

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  Meanwhile, also on Sunday fighting along the Israeli-Lebanon border is worsening following the latest wave of Hezbollah rockets, some of which reportedly scored direct hits, leaving significant casualties. 

  “At least six civilians were wounded, one critically, in an anti-tank guided missile attack by the Hezbollah terror group from Lebanon on Sunday, the military and medics said,” the Times of Israel reports.

  Hezbollah has been facing pressure from both its supporters in the region and Palestinian armed factions to ‘do more’ and escalate its attacks on northern Israel.

  Before and after: this is how Rashid Street looks like today in Gaza, which is located along the sea in the Strip

  — Channel 12 pic.twitter.com/Lwa02ZaIHa

  — Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) November 12, 2023

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  However, many of the IDF soldiers were reported as only “lightly wounded” and were evaluated at a local hospital. There are reports that Israel’s military is preparing more devastating retaliatory attacks on southern Lebanon.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 19:15

• Trump Lawyers To Mount Counterattack After Weeks Of Bruising Cross-Examination In NY Civil Case
  Trump Lawyers To Mount Counterattack After Weeks Of Bruising Cross-Examination In NY Civil Case

  Authored by Michael Washburn via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The media and public should brace themselves for the most heated phase of the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump when courtroom proceedings resume on Monday—if past interactions between the defense and the judge and government lawyers are any indication.

  

  On Nov. 13, the defense will begin to make its case on behalf of the 45th president and 2024 candidate, as well as his two sons and daughter, who are no longer defendants in the case yet faced relentless and acrimonious cross-examination on the witness stand over the last two weeks.

  President Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. is expected to be the first to testify for the defense.

  Trump lawyer Christopher Kise and Judge Arthur Engoron feuded throughout the cross-examination of President Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump. The defense attorney has objected constantly that questions posed were irrelevant to the legal issues at hand or that no one could reasonably expect the people on the stand to recall the details of documents, records, meetings, and conversations from as far back as 2012.

  As if to add further contentiousness to the proceedings, New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office on Friday sent a letter to Judge Engoron seeking to block testimony from four expert witnesses set to take the stand during the defense phase next week. Their testimony would address the accuracy of valuations contained in statements of financial condition submitted to Deutsche Bank and other firms for the purpose of securing favorable terms for loans and insurance. In the view of the attorney general’s office, such testimony is beside the point given that the judge has already ruled that Trump is guilty of fraud.

  Nor has the pro-Trump side been inactive during the run-up to the next phase of the trial. On Friday, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) sent a lengthy letter to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, spelling out a litany of complaints about how Judge Engoron has conducted himself and his alleged bias against the respondents in the lawsuit.

  

  “This judge’s bizarre behavior has no place in our judicial system, where Judge Engoron is not honoring the defendant’s rights to due process and a fair trial. These serious concerns are exacerbated by the fact that the defendant is the leading candidate for President of the United States, and it appears the judicial system is being politicized to affect the outcome of the campaign,” Ms. Stefanik writes.

  She then goes on to cite the judge’s reference to the former president as “just a bad guy” deserving of prosecution by the attorney general, and his blunt statement to President Trump that “we are not here to listen to what you have to say.”

  Judge Engoron also told President Trump’s attorney Mr. Kise, “I am not here to hear what he has to say, now sit down!” and said, when Mr. Kise floated the idea of requesting a directed verdict, “You better not, Chris.”

  The letter also characterizes the judge and members of his staff as “partisan Democrat donors” who, in violation of the New York Code of Judicial Conduct, have given lavishly to the party opposing President Trump.

  Mr. Stefanik’s letter concludes, “Judge Engoron’s lawlessness sends an ominous and illegal warning to New York business owners: If New York judges don’t like your politics, they will destroy your business, the livelihood of your employees, and you personally. This Commission cannot let this continue.”

  A Defense Lawyer’s Concerns

  Though Ms. Stefanik is not part of the Trump defense team in the current proceedings, her letter summarizes many of the objections that Mr. Kise has repeatedly raised over the last few weeks. Mr. Kise took exception to the frequent passing of notes between the judge and a law clerk, suggesting that the judge often made rulings favoring the plaintiffs upon reading the notes, whose contents were not disclosed to the rest of the court.

  “The rulings are frequently if not inordinately against us on every issue,” said Mr. Kise. Later on in the proceedings, he said he hoped that the defense would receive the same latitude that the judge has granted to the plaintiffs when the defense finally gets its turn the week of Nov. 13.

  Judge Engoron insisted that he had every right to send and receive as many notes as he pleased, and the validity of such courtroom procedure was not for Mr. Kise to adjudicate. At another point in the proceedings, the judge fired back at Mr. Kise, saying he vehemently objected to the suggestion that the judge held a bias in favor of the plaintiffs and was not acting in accordance with generally accepted rules and standards of courtroom conduct and decorum.

  Near the end of the Nov. 2 hearing, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Amer ridiculed the idea that bias was at work and the grounds on which Mr. Kise alleged such bias.

  “The notion that bias can be inferred by the number of notes passed between a judge and a clerk is one I have never heard of, and is frivolous,” Mr. Amer said.

  Regardless of whether the concerns of Mr. Kise and Ms. Stefanik have any basis, the proceedings that get underway in Manhattan civil court at 10:00 a.m. on Monday are likely to rise—or descend—to a level of acrimony with few parallels in any lawsuit involving a former U.S. head of state or current presidential aspirant.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 18:40

• "You Do This, Dumb B**ch!": Maryland Man Flips Out And Goes Berzerk At McDonald's Drive Thru Window
  “You Do This, Dumb B**ch!”: Maryland Man Flips Out And Goes Berzerk At McDonald’s Drive Thru Window

  A man in White Marsh, Maryland went berzerk at a McDonald’s last week, throwing drinks as workers and demanding that they turn over food to him. And of course, it was all captured on a viral Tik Tok video, The New York Post reported last week.  

  Well, at least somewhere in a server room in China, the government cybersecurity experts getting paid to review all of the U.S.’s Tik Tok footage for national security secrets got to have a laugh. 

  According to The New York Post, an unidentified man, donned in a beanie, blue polo, and sunglasses, aggressively opens the drive-thru window of a McDonald’s in White Marsh, Maryland, about 16 miles from Baltimore. He confronts an employee, harshly telling them: “You do this! You do this, dumb b—h!”

  

  In his rage, he snatches a serving of fries and a small beverage from the counter typically used for assembling drive-thru orders and hurls them at a staff member. Then, he took a large soda and tossed it into the eatery, causing people off-screen to react with gasps and screams. It remains unclear if anyone was injured in the incident.

  Furiously, he yells “Shut it down right now!” while attempting to dismantle the soda fountain. “Give me some food!” he demands, gesturing towards the interior of the McDonald’s, apparently targeting one of the workers.

  “I own all this stuff!” he then yells, looking at the cash register. In a fit of rage, the man wrenches the cash register from its mount, causing a cascade of registers and other equipment to topple. Frustrated, he shakes the rack, demanding “some damn real food.”

  He then aggressively insists on being served “some f—ing food,” to which a visible staff member assures him that his meal is being prepared. A woman’s voice in the background of the video, which has attracted over 69,000 views since its posting, confirms, “He’s cooking your order right now.”

  Demanding fries, he points through the window, threatening, “Give me that bag of fries right there,” and repeats his demand with an added threat towards an employee.

  The man was charged that day, according to ABC. 

  You can watch the entire wonderful exchange here:

  https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 18:05

• Trump's Veterans Day Message Was Quite Different From Biden's
  Trump’s Veterans Day Message Was Quite Different From Biden’s

  Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

  President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both released differing messages on Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day.

  “Today, we honor the story of our veterans – the story of our nation at its best,” President Biden wrote on X.

  “On Veterans Day, let’s recommit to fulfilling our one sacred obligation as a nation: to prepare those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home.”

  In a Veterans Day speech at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery, President Biden made reference to “those who have always, always kept the light of liberty shining bright across the world,” while making reference to his late son, Beau, who was deployed to Iraq about 15 years ago.

  “We come together today to once again honor the generations of Americans who stood on the front lines of freedom … to once again bear witness to the great deeds of a noble few who risked everything, everything, to give us a better future,” President Biden also said.

  During the event, president was joined by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff. Several members of his cabinet also joined.

  On Saturday, President Biden announced that military veterans who were exposed to toxins could be able to enroll in no-cost health care starting next year.

  

  President Trump marked Veterans Day with a message on his Truth Social social media platform:

  “To our heroic veterans, I am grateful for your service to our country and honored to wish you a Happy Veterans Day.”

  He added that there is “no greater act of selfless service than defending America’s God-given freedoms and liberty.”

  Hours later, he wrote a message on the platform noting that in “honor of our great veterans on Veteran’s Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.”

  They will “do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American dream,” added President Trump, who was later seen at a UFC fight in New York on Saturday.

  “The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave, than the threat from within,” the former president also wrote.

  “Despite the hatred and anger of the radical left lunatics who want to destroy our country, we will make America great again!”

  Two GOP presidential candidates issued Veterans Day messages to underscore their military ties.

  “Proud of my veteran Michael Haley and the many men and women who have served to defend our freedoms,” former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley wrote on X, along with a photo of her husband Michael, a National Guard officer.

  And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a former Judge Advocate General (JAG), sent this thanks to “all who have worn the cloth of our country.”

  He added, “As a veteran myself, I am honored by the unwavering support we receive. I will always have the backs of our vets.”

  Nov. 11, once known as Armistice Day, is the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the first celebration that used the term Veterans Day occurred in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1947.

  World War II veteran Raymond Weeks had set up a “National Veterans Day,” which included a parade and other events to honor veterans. It has held on Nov. 11.

  “In 1954, after the return of service personnel from both World War II and the Korean War, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill rededicating Nov. 11 as Veterans Day, encouraging Americans to commit themselves to the cause of peace and to honor America’s veterans for their courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice,” according to the National World War I Museum.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 17:30

• "Antisemitism Has No Place Here" – Harvard President Condemns "From The River To The Sea" Phrase After 1600 Jewish Alum Pull Donations
  “Antisemitism Has No Place Here” – Harvard President Condemns “From The River To The Sea” Phrase After 1600 Jewish Alum Pull Donations

  Following enormous backlash against the University over its initial statement about Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel – with critics condemning Harvard President Claudine Gay’s statement for failing to explicitly denounce Hamas and lack of response to a controversial joint letter by Harvard student groups in support of Palestine that called Israel “entirely responsible” for the violence – Harvard has just announced that it will work with its newly established antisemitism advisory group to implement antisemitism education and training for affiliates.

  “I affirm our commitment to protecting all members of our community from harassment and marginalization, and our commitment to meeting antisemitism head-on, with the determination it demands,” Gay wrote.

  “Antisemitism has no place at Harvard,” Gay added. “We are committed to doing the hard work to address this scourge.”

  

  Harvard President Claudine Gay announced plans to implement training around antisemitism in a Thursday email.

  Additionally, in her email, Gay explicitly condemned the use of the phrase “from the river to the sea” – a pro-Palestine slogan that prominent alumni have called “eliminationist” and antisemitic.

  “Our community must understand that phrases such as ‘from the river to the sea’ bear specific historical meanings that to a great many people imply the eradication of Jews from Israel and engender both pain and existential fears within our Jewish community,” Gay wrote.

  “I condemn this phrase and any similarly hurtful phrases.”

  The Crimson reports that Gay’s decision to single out the phrase “from the river to the sea” – which is frequently chanted by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and other pro-Palestine student groups – almost immediately received backlash from some Harvard affiliates.

  Kirsten A. Weld, a professor of History at Harvard, criticized Gay’s decision to denounce a specific phrase used by student activists.

  “Can’t recall any prior instance of a contested phrase/idea receiving official condemnation like this, or having one singular ‘specific historical meaning’ imputed to it, in my 11 years on this campus,” Weld wrote in a post on X.

  

  Gay, standing next to Harvard Chabad President Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, views an Shabbat table installation in the Yard symbolizing the hundreds of hostages held by Hamas.

  Gay also confirmed that the FBI and HUPD are investigating a video taken during the Oct. 18 pro-Palestine “die-in” protest at Harvard Business School depicting several protesters confronting a man and escorting him away after he filmed protester’s faces.

  The protesters shouted “shame” after the man, who other media outlets later identified as an Israeli student.

  What could have caused such a sudden and considerable ‘flip’ in Gay’s perspective (or silence) on the jew-hatred being seen at Harvard – and across many so-called ‘Ivy League’ schools? Doesn’t she realize the world is binary – oppressor vs oppressed, victimizer vs victims?

  We are sure it is simply a realization that principles matter (and terrorism is bad), and has nothing at all to do with the fact that 1600 wealthy jewish alumni have withdrawn their donations from the once-prestigious learning academy.

  As CNN reports, high-profile billionaire alumni like Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman and former Victoria’s Secret CEO Leslie Wexner have already said that if Harvard doesn’t take steps to fix the problem they could face a donor exodus, but now the largest group yet of alumni – most of whom do not have billionaire status – are threatening to withdraw their donations.

  “We never thought that, at Harvard College, we would have to argue the point that terrorism against civilians demands immediate and unequivocal condemnation,” wrote members of the Harvard College Jewish Alumni Association (HCJAA) in an open letter to President Claudine Gay and Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana.

  “We never thought we would have to argue for recognition of our own humanity.”

  Philanthropy is the single largest contributor to revenue at Harvard, accounting for 45% of the university’s $5.8 billion in income last year. Philanthropic gifts accounted for 9% of the university’s operating budget last year and 36% of its $51 billion endowment amassed over decades.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 16:55

• Los Angeles County Approves New 'Office Of Food Equity'
  Los Angeles County Approves New ‘Office Of Food Equity’

  Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

  The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan this week to create a new Office of Food Equity to address what they call a growing problem of food insecurity in the region.

  

  The measure, authored by Supervisors Janice Hahn and Lindsey Horvath, will build on the county’s Food Equity Roundtable, created in 2021 to bring together food companies with private and public charity groups. The coalition was funded by the Annenberg, the California Community, and the Weingart foundations.

  According to Ms. Hahn, the new office will allow the county to improve the county’s food system.

  “By creating the first-ever LA County Office of Food Equity, we can build on the work we already started with our partners, modernize our food system, and work toward a future where everyone in LA County can get the healthy food they need,” she said in a statement Nov. 7.

  The roundtable, a two-year pilot program, integrates the county’s solutions for chronic food insecurity based on the principle that “just and equitable access to healthy and nutritious food is a human right.”

  In a December 2022 report, the program compiled a list of recommendations to improve food access—such as addressing structural racism, ageism, and overall inequity—and identified populations who organizers say are disproportionately more vulnerable to food insecurity, including immigrant and transgender communities.

  California residents living in poverty or who have lost jobs are already eligible for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides monthly funds to buy food. In 2022, more than 4.6 million California residents—or about 1 in 8 people—received SNAP benefits, according to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute.

  

  Volunteers at Laguna Niguel Presbyterian work with San Clemente-based Family Assistance Ministries in handing out food donations to a line of cars in Laguna Niguel, Calif., on Dec. 23, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

  The state received nearly $14.5 billion in such benefits in 2022—about 142 percent more than in 2019.

  However, food insecurity was much higher last year in Los Angeles County compared to the rest of the United States, according to the latest county and federal statistics.

  In Los Angeles County, about 24 percent of households—nearly 1 in 4—were food insecure as of July 2022, statistics show.

  “We know the need has only grown, particularly for communities of color who lack access to fresh food,” Ms. Horvath said in the Nov. 7 statement. “The Office of Food Equity will build on this successful public-private partnership model to continue to provide nutritious food to residents who are counting on us.”

  Federal statistics show the number of households in the U.S. that were food insecure grew substantially in 2022 to 12.8 percent, or 17 million households. That meant 3.5 million more households were lacking food compared to the year before, when 10.2 percent reported food insecurity, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

  Food insecurity in the U.S. declined in 2018, decreasing for the first time to 2007 levels, the USDA reported. Only 11 percent of U.S. households were food insecure in 2018, a decline from 11.8 in 2017, according to the agency.

  Cinny Kennard, executive director of the Annenberg Foundation, said she hoped the new office would ensure all people get the food they need.

  “This motion approved by the Board of Supervisors will ensure the new office of Food Equity is staffed and supported so that we can together begin to work to get all people much needed quality, affordable, and healthy food,” she said in the statement.

  Ms. Kennard is also a former media executive and co-chair of the food roundtable.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 16:20

• Palestinians 'Disappointed' Hezbollah Hasn't Escalated A Northern War On Israel
  Palestinians ‘Disappointed’ Hezbollah Hasn’t Escalated A Northern War On Israel

  On Saturday Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave his second speech since the Gaza War began, and there was little new that signaled he’s ready to escalate; instead, it was mostly a reiteration of ‘red lines’ and more threats of possible future action.

  He did emphasize that the war against Israel will be long and that “victory” would “take years” to achieve, after Hezbollah has already lost at least 63 of its fighters. He did pledge that “This front will remain active,” in reference to southern Lebanon. 

  In response, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told his troops who are deployed to the northern border, “Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into a war that might happen.” The two sides have exchanged daily rocket and mortar fire, but there’s yet to be the kind of all-out battle that many have been fearing.

  

  “It is making mistakes and … those who will pay the price are first and foremost Lebanon’s citizens. What we are doing in Gaza we can do in Beirut,” Gallant said additionally.

  But many Palestinians were hoping that Nasrallah would have declared war by now, and they are said to be “disappointed” this hasn’t happened. This is true also of Palestinians in refugee camps in Lebanon, some of which were interviewed by Al Jazeera: 

  His message fell short for many Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila, a Palestinian refugee camp that sprawls out across two Beirut neighborhoods.

  “I wanted him to open up the war completely,” said Abdallah, 25, one of the Palestinians who gathered anxiously at a sidewalk cafe in Sabra and Shatila to watch the speech.

  And others echoed the same:

  “Hezbollah is fighting and they’re trying, but we want them to make more happen,” said Abdallah.

  Some Palestinians in Lebanon believe that Hezbollah should take the fight to Israel first.

  But feelings are much more mixed among Lebanese themselves, who remember much of the country being bombed in 2006, including Beirut’s international airport. But unlike the situation in 2006, Lebanon’s economy is currently in tailspin, amid other worsening societal woes. 

  There are fears that a full Hezbollah assault would drag the entire country into war with Israel, and it remains that the Lebanese Army doesn’t have much of an air force or proper anti-air defenses to speak of if Israel chooses to bomb the whole country “back to the stone age” – as Israeli leaders past and present have frequently vowed.

  ⚡️Israeli airstrike near the old road between the town of Qalaia and the Mahmoudiyah area, Lebanon pic.twitter.com/6SOS2fUXa0

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) November 12, 2023

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  So far both Hezbollah and the IDF have exercised some degree of restraint in order to keep the exchanges of fire “limited” – despite casualties on either side the border. The IDF has meanwhile been forced to divert a significant amount of troops, tanks and other armor to the north in order to deal with the Hezbollah threat.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 15:45

• WaPo Drops Bombshell On The Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage Narrative: A Ukrainian Colonel, Covert Ops, & The CIA's Shadow
  WaPo Drops Bombshell On The Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage Narrative: A Ukrainian Colonel, Covert Ops, & The CIA’s Shadow

  Consider the source (and the timing)…

  No lesser deep-state mouthpiece than The Washington Post just dropped a bombshell with the revelation that Ukrainian Colonel Roman Chervinsky “was integral to the brazen sabotage operation” on the Nord Stream pipeline, “according to officials in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe, as well as other people knowledgeable about the details of the covert operation.”

  

  The bombing, dubbed a “dangerous assault on Europe’s energy infrastructure” by US and Western officials at the time, marked a critical juncture in the ongoing tensions between Russia and the West. By targeting the pipeline, the operatives (whoever they were) struck a blow to a critical artery of Russian energy exports, a sector that has been at the heart of European-Russian economic relations.

  Additionally, as the Goebbels-ian narrative that ‘Russia did it’ was pushed by mainstream media (and politicians), it enabled further ‘aid’ to be sent to Ukraine, to ‘protect interests’.

  The think tanks receive funding from the US government and private entities, and often don’t report it, in order to spread misinformation and discredit accurate information pic.twitter.com/BHx7d8wvmO

  — Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) February 8, 2023

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  Chervinsky, a senior figure within Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, was allegedly the “coordinator” of the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline. The operation, executed with precision and secrecy, involved deep-sea diving and explosive charges, ultimately resulting in substantial damage to the pipeline which Ukraine had long complained would allow Russia to bypass Ukrainian pipes, depriving Kyiv of huge transit revenue.

  Of course, as one would expect, the Ukrainian Colonel, via his counsel, refutes any involvement in the pipeline sabotage, blaming Russia for this accusation.

  “Without merit, Russian propaganda is spreading all rumors regarding my participation in the assault on Nord Stream,” Chervinsky stated in a written statement to The Washington Post and Der Spiegel, which jointly investigated his activities.

  It would not have been out of character as WaPo reports that Chervinsky is a decorated officer with extensive experience in covert operations, reportedly including plans to ensnare Russian Wagner mercenaries and targeting pro-Russian separatists, highlighting a pattern of aggressive, high-stakes operations against Russian interests.

  Furthermore, WaPo reports that Chervinsky did not act alone and he did not plan the operation, again “according to the people familiar with his role,” but instead took orders from more senior Ukrainian officials, who ultimately reported to Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s highest-ranking military officer, “according to people familiar with how the operation was carried out.”

  More problematically, Chervinsky’s involvement in the Nord Stream assault is in direct opposition to Zelensky’s public denials regarding Ukraine’s involvement.

  “I am president and I give orders accordingly,” Zelensky said in press interview in June, responding to a report by the Post that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had learned of Ukraine’s plans before the attack.

  “Nothing of the sort has been done by Ukraine. I would never act that way,” Zelensky said.

  Interestingly, WaPo reports that Chervinsky is being held in a Kyiv jail on charges that he abused his power stemming from a plot to lure a Russian pilot to defect to Ukraine in July 2022. Authorities allege that Chervinsky, who was arrested in April, acted without permission and that the operation gave away the coordinates of a Ukrainian airfield, prompting a Russian rocket attack that killed a soldier and injured 17 others.

  

  This WaPo report comes at a crucial time in the geopolitical chess-game, as the desire for more spending in what appears to be a lost cause in Ukraine is fading fast among Western populations (most notably US), and perhaps offers President Biden an ‘excuse’ to reduce aid in light of this ‘shocking development’ – which, of course, Washington has vehemently denied any involvement in (and denounced as a “reckless act”.

  But the twists and turns do not stop there as the backdrop to this unfolding drama includes Seymour Hersh’s explosive allegations regarding the CIA and the US Navy’s covert activities.

  Throughout “all of this scheming,” the source said, “some working guys in the CIA and the State Department were saying, ‘Don’t do this. It’s stupid and will be a political nightmare if it comes out.’”

  Nevertheless, in early 2022, the CIA working group reported back to Sullivan’s interagency group: “We have a way to blow up the pipelines.”

  Hersh, a renowned investigative journalist – who broke such well-known stories as the My Lai massacre and Abu Ghraib scandal and has long been known for impeccable insider sources – has previously reported on the deep entanglement of US intelligence in various global hotspots, hinting strongly at the complex interplay between Ukrainian ambitions and broader Western strategic objectives.

  The broader geopolitical context cannot be ignored.

  The US and NATO have been deeply involved in supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression, but the extent of their involvement in covert operations remains a subject of intense debate and speculation. The Nord Stream bombing, if indeed orchestrated by a faction within the Ukrainian military, could be seen as an extension of this proxy conflict, where Ukraine serves as a frontline in a larger strategic contest between Russia and the West, with CIA pulling the strings (just as Hersh concludes).

  In an interview with WaPo in June of this year, Zaluzhny said the CIA had never asked him directly about any attack on Nord Stream. He said that after the explosions, in September 2022, he received a phone call from then-U. S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark A. Milley.

  “He asked me, ‘Did you have anything to do with it?’ I said, ‘No’. A lot of operations are planned, a lot of operations are going on, but we have nothing to do with it, nothing at all.”

  Some of those who described Chervinsky’s participation in the Nord Stream attack defended the veteran intelligence officer as acting in Ukraine’s best interests.

  So, why now? Suddenly various ‘sources’ come forward to offer a scapegoat for this “reckless act”?

  A distraction from potential confirmation of Washington’s involvement? … A potential release valve on the ‘blame Russia’ narrative enabling ‘peace’ conversations to take place? … An opportune excuse to curb ‘aid’ (pending an investigation)given the involvement of Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s top military officer (and Zelensky’s denial) prompting questions of discord within the Ukrainian chain of command?

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 15:25

• The House 'Concentrates The Mind' Of Hunter Biden With A Game-Changing Subpoena
  The House ‘Concentrates The Mind’ Of Hunter Biden With A Game-Changing Subpoena

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  Below is my column in the Messenger on the issuance of House subpoenas to the Biden family, including Hunter Biden. The move dramatically changes the profile of the investigation and the perils for the Biden family. After these subpoenas were issued, the House also subpoenaed an array of Biden associates connected to his alleged influence peddling or his art sales. After following the transfer of millions in foreign money, the Committee is drawing closer to the epicenter of the Biden family.

  

  Here is the column:

  The great English writer Samuel Johnson once told a friend, “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”

  The quote came to mind after reading the response of Abbe Lowell, legal counsel for Hunter Biden, to the issuance of subpoenas for Hunter and other family members by the House Oversight Committee. Lowell said that “Hunter is eager to have the opportunity, in a public forum” — but premised that on the condition that it be “the right time” for Hunter to speak. He also dismissed the committee investigation as a “political stunt.”

  It appears that further concentration is warranted.

  A congressional subpoena is really not an invitation for a sit-down at a convenient time.

  Hunter has spent years relying on denial and delay to fend off inquiries. With this subpoena, he will now have to choose between cooperation or contempt … on the committee’s schedule.

  The issuance of subpoenas to Hunter, his uncle, James Biden, and Biden family associate Rob Walker, changes the entire threat — and the range of options — for the Bidens. Attorney General Merrick Garland moved quickly and aggressively to prosecute Trump associates such as Steve Bannon who failed to appear or cooperate with Congress. The public will demand the same vigorous prosecution in the face of any similar contempt by Biden associates.

  Moreover, Hunter has tried a wide array of approaches to these allegations of influence peddling, from a plea for sympathy to threats of litigation. Too many in the media have been willing enablers of these shifting claims, including figures like Jimmy Kimmel who conducted a softball interview that portrayed Hunter as a hero rather than an alleged influence peddler.

  That may now change. If Hunter lies to congressional investigators, he can be charged with a federal crime. While the Justice Department allowed the statutes of limitations to run on various felonies, Hunter would be faced with a new set of charges with years for criminal charges to be brought by prosecutors.

  The situation is equally serious for the president’s brother, James, who has long been accused by House Republicans of influence peddling. Most recently, House investigators disclosed that, in 2018, James Biden received two loans totaling $600,000 from Americore Health, which they described as “a financially distressed and failing rural hospital operator.” The company has been referenced in past reports of alleged influence peddling by James Biden.

  According to the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, it made the loans “based upon representations that his last name, ‘Biden,’ could ‘open doors’” to new overseas investors. On the day he received the second loan transfer, James Biden allegedly sent a check for the same amount — $200,000 — to Joe Biden as a “loan reimbursement.”

  The House committee also reports finding a $40,000 check from James Biden and his wife to Joe Biden. Again, it was marked as a “loan reimbursement.”

  Congressional interviews can be perilous, but they are far more so when your client’s interview will cover years of transactions and statements. It presents a target-rich environment for investigators and ample opportunities for witnesses to make misleading or false statements.

  Hunter and his uncle may soon have company. In addition to a subpoena for Biden family associate Rob Walker, the House committee has requested voluntary transcripted interviews with Sara Biden, Hallie Biden, Elizabeth Secundy, Melissa Cohen and onetime Hunter business associate Tony Bobulinski.

  Figures like Bobulinski are likely to cooperate. He already has accused President Biden of lying about his lack of knowledge of foreign dealings, including giving detailed accounts of meeting with Joe Biden in a hotel.

  However, committees often first request voluntary interviews before issuing subpoenas. As with Hunter and James Biden, the committee has ample grounds to demand these interviews as part of both its impeachment inquiry and its oversight authority.

  In anticipation, perhaps, Hunter is reviving his addiction defense, even claiming that the investigations into his conduct are a blow against anyone who is fighting addiction. It is a curious effort since his counsel recently claimed that federal gun charges are invalid because his client had a period of sobriety just in time to sign the allegedly false gun application. That is the type of fluid, conflicted narrative that can produce criminal charges in congressional investigations.

  Samuel Johnson’s observation is particularly poignant in this case, given the subject. It was a reference to William Dodd, an Anglican clergyman, accused of being a spendthrift who became indebted due to his extravagant lifestyle. He forged a document to secure a “loan” to help clear his debts. Johnson tried unsuccessfully to keep him from the gallows, but he wrote a sermon before his death, titled, “The Convict’s Address to his unhappy Brethren.” Johnson was widely believed to have been the true author and defended his friend by saying that the hanging brought out the best of him.

  It remains to be seen if these subpoenas will bring out the best or worst of Hunter Biden. Thus far, he has received every break from federal prosecutors, from expired statutes of limitations to reported tip-offs on investigators’ interviews. That will now change. Either Hunter will concentrate his mind, or congressional investigators will do it for him.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 15:10

• San Francisco: Clean For Xi, Not For Thee
  San Francisco: Clean For Xi, Not For Thee

  Now wait just a damn minute…

  For decades, and with increasing severity, residents of San Francisco have been forced to navigate through shit-covered streets, drug dens and criminal elements, all while the city feigned the inability to do anything about it (despite employing 6-figure ‘poop patrollers’ to regularly pressure-wash the sidewalks).

  

  Now, with the announcement that the world’s top commie, Chinese President Xi Jinping, will meet with President Joe Biden in The Golden City, and San Francisco was miraculously able to clean itself up, seemingly overnight.

  San Francisco finally fixed the homeless crisis. All it took was a visit from a world dictator.

  Before Xi: After: pic.twitter.com/2WimoNHC49

  — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 12, 2023

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  REPORT: The San Francisco homeless population has “miraculously” gone missing as President Biden & Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in the liberal city.

  Remarkable!

  The typical drug addicts & homeless who wander the city like zombies have disappeared as 20,000… pic.twitter.com/2iDpl4FHCG

  — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 11, 2023

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  San Francisco’s homeless population was entirely cleared out for Xi Jinping.

  The government can easily fix our cities overnight. It just doesn’t want to.pic.twitter.com/tBGmWCbwtX

  — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 12, 2023

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  For Xi visit San Francisco cleared our homeless and put about 100 new planters.

  It’s amazing what can happen if government wants to actually fix things. pic.twitter.com/Ea47CJtI8g

  — I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) November 12, 2023

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  San Francisco is finally clean and it only took Xi Jinping to do it.
  The government can easily fix our cities overnight. It just doesn’t want to.
  It’s amazing what our government will do for #China but not for its own citizens!
  Hey Dictator Xi Jinping, can you please visit… pic.twitter.com/dpbOb225QU

  — Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) November 12, 2023

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  Needless to say, people are asking questions, as not only does San Francisco clearly have the capability to clean up its streets, it waited to do so until the president of China came to town.

  Where did they go?

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 11, 2023

  this was @balajis explanation pic.twitter.com/4fWxBZADKx

  — jamie ryan (@self_beware) November 12, 2023

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  In a communist city.

  — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 11, 2023

  Some locals say the homeless have just been ‘herded’ to a different part of town.

  They’ve been “herded” back into the Tenderloin. I was out there today. Hundreds on the streets and garbage on every corner. They cleaned up the dealers, but the homeless remain. Very sad.

  — T Wolf 🌁 (@Twolfrecovery) November 11, 2023

  Others noted that San Francisco is treating a foreign leader better than their own citizens. 

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

  They lacked the motivation. They love Xi more than they love their citizens.

  — The Doctor (@TennantRob) November 12, 2023

  Again, WTF!?

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  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 14:35

• The "Safety" Dance
  The “Safety” Dance

  By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

  On Wednesday, November 8th, Academy Asset Management (an affiliate of Academy Securities) celebrated the VETZ Veteran Impact ETF and Veterans Day at the New York Stock Exchange by ringing the closing bell. Safety was a big topic of conversation last week, and was highlighted during the geopolitical roundtable that Academy held at the NYSE. Issues covered included:

  • Geopolitical and physical safety
  • Investment safety
  • Cyber security (or safety to fit within our theme)
  • “Safe” assets
  • Technological, economic, and trade “safety”

  It doesn’t hurt that bringing up “The Safety Dance” brings back some good memories of a road trip to Montreal where we got to see Bootsauce live (a local up-and-upcoming band at the time). We all need some good things to reflect on when “safety” and “security” are top of mind.

  It was nice that markets cooperated with the Bottom Line from last weekend’s What a Fire (some “consolidation” with a bias towards owning the “everything rally”).

  We also got to discuss a variety of subjects (including “safety”) on Bloomberg TV on Wednesday (starts at around the 1:42:45 mark). Apparently, based on a lot of feedback, it was an interesting interview and worth watching. That feedback is at least partially supported by the fact that Bloomberg made a quick clip out of the Pain Trade portion of the interview and they used our line from the piece titled “Analysts Who Cried Recession” in the headline of a written report. Bloomberg also aired a replay of the energy discussion we had.

  However, let’s get back to the issue of “safety.”

  Geopolitical and Physical Safety

  The battles between Israel and Hamas have intensified. As our Geopolitical Intelligence Group (“GIG”) has repeated over and over, it will be very difficult for Israel to eradicate Hamas as a threat. The complex tunnel network makes the urban fighting even more difficult than what the U.S. experienced in Fallujah. Setting up operations and command & control centers in and around civilian facilities (like schools and hospitals, which is prohibited by the Geneva Convention) makes the fighting more challenging.

  On the “bright” side of things (to the extent that there is a bright side), so far there has been no escalation by other groups or countries in the region. That threat does exist, and will remain high while the fighting continues. This is a very tricky situation, but it has (so far) not escalated to the point of being a major global economic issue. However, I am hearing chatter about supply chain issues. The supply chain issues are centered around goods produced by Israel. There is also concern around the ability to ship things through the region (e.g. the Suez Canal) because the risk of escalation or even “accidents” is greatly increased.

  Ukraine’s “counteroffensive” is all but over, and it seems like Russia may be turning the tide. The likelihood of the “stalemate” continuing seems high (though presumably, the Russians will attempt another winter offensive once the ground freezes). Support for weapons deliveries is now far from universal. However, while the quality and types of weapons being delivered are superior to what was delivered early in the war, many members of the GIG question whether it is enough to allow Ukraine to push Russian forces back across their border. Nothing good is happening in the war which, paradoxically, may be a good thing as it could push both sides to the table (though that is not likely until the spring). It is still unclear to me if this would result in much of an immediate impact to the global economy or even the inflationary pressures in Europe (Ride of the Valkyries).

  “Safety” in Markets

  As stocks seemed to defy gravity (or at least higher bond yields) on Friday to finish the day and the week up (1.3% to 2.4%, depending on the index you track), many are looking at “hedges.” That is in the “normal” realm of discussion topics. What is abnormal is this background buzz about whether Treasuries are “safe” assets.

  The 10-year auction did well, but the 30-year auction struggled. That had absolutely nothing to do with the Fed. Yes, Powell spoke hawkish, but what else was he going to do or say? It has everything to do with:

  • Higher inflation expectations. The concepts of geopolitical inflation, ESG inflation, and supply chain inflation are now widely held views. We continue to expect 3% to 5% inflation over the next 3 to 5 years from these various forces. However, we don’t think that the Fed will react aggressively to persistent inflation near 3%, precisely because of where it’s coming from. It would be good to see better messaging out of D.C. regarding why this sort of inflation (which goes hand in hand with creating a safer and more secure economy) is not only necessary, but good for us longer-term!
  • Lack of control, discipline, and responsibility out of D.C. We discussed this in U.S. Credit on the back of some actions by the NRSROs (often referred to as rating agencies). Now, we are all watching the nation’s cost of borrowing rise rapidly as the combination of rising yields and more total debt becomes problematic. Some are using words other than “problematic” to describe the situation, but that is premature. Yes, we are on a bad trajectory, but both supply and the average coupon paid take time to reset significantly higher and too much is already priced in.

  

  Treasuries are still “safe,” but in no way as “safe” as they were a year or two ago. Why would we even bother discussing the difference between “safe” and “still safe, but not as safe as before?” That is probably a good question, but I also wanted to point out that certain mathematicians have varying degrees of “infinite.” How can something that is infinite be bigger or smaller than something else that is infinite? Well, it can be, and I think that logic (although it hurts my head) is why it is appropriate to think about what is “safe.”

  • I’m leaning towards being overweight floating rate assets. SOFR (for all intents and purposes) is set by the government/Fed. Sure it can spike for a day or two, but there are tools and policy support steps in place to keep it stable. The same cannot be said for longer-dated bonds. Longer-dated bonds, especially in this algo driven “faux” liquidity (Voldemort) environment, are susceptible to large moves. The risk of stops being triggered is real. Bond investors typically lose far more money from forced selling than they do from defaults. I think that being overweight floating debt (or short-term debt) could put you in a position to capture some “weird” days in bonds, where we get a large move in bond yields (3 or more standard deviations).
  • Corporates (and Munis) versus government debt. Municipalities typically must operate with a balanced budget. In addition, corporations have governance. I really like the front end (5-years and in, with some floaters) of high-quality IG (A or better, I wanted to say BBB or better, but figured that I’d get too much push back) as spreads will do well as some choose corporates over government debt.
  • Crypto. There, I said it! I’m not even sure that I really believe it, though it is coming up more often in discussions about “what is safe.” Clearly Bitcoin has surged recently and is back above $37,000. Other parts of the market have also done well. Certainly, hopes of a “spot” ETF have fueled those gains. Geopolitical unrest across the globe is likely helping as well, but I suspect that part of this rise is driven by investors looking for something “safe.” I’m not there yet (in terms of thinking that crypto is “safe”), but clearly others are and at least from a trading perspective, this theme could have legs as others think about what is “safe” or not.
  • Stocks. In a world where we don’t “trust” the “safe” asset, maybe something that tends to benefit from government spending is “safer.” The one flaw here is that the debt that is increasing due to higher borrowing costs only really helps the savers, so I’m not sure how well that translates into corporate earnings or multiples that investors will pay.

  Applying degrees of safety to government debt seems awkward, but we are there and not turning back any time soon.

  Cyber Safety

  We will be publishing some new “X Reports” (cyber, AI, and space focused) in the coming weeks, but two things really stuck out at the cyber/AI panel from Wednesday.

  • Quantum computing. The potential obsolescence of existing encryption.
  • How dangerous is the cyber world. Somehow the conversation on Wednesday turned to “number of attacks.” While some of the specific numbers are classified, the panelists seemed comfortable trying to point out that however high “we” (the audience) thought the numbers were, the real number was significantly higher. One example that was brought up, if I understood correctly, is that the NSA has a list of known malicious websites to which it helps block inadvertent access. This list is apparently in the billions! I started thinking about various letter and number combinations, and a billion seems like a lot. To put this in perspective, 1 million seconds is a bit less than 12 days. A billion seconds is over 31 years!

  Very little about the cyber panel was comforting. In addition, this week a ransomware attack on a foreign financial institution caused some disruption in the U.S. Treasury market. However, the fact that companies and countries are acutely aware of the risks (and are working to stop them) is good. Also, we don’t hear much about the “successes” because that is the nature of cyber “warfare.”

  Economic Safety

  One thing that I could see happening is that the U.S. could reach some sort of “accord” with China in the coming weeks or months.

  With so many “hot spots” across the globe, we could look to reduce tensions with China. Maybe we could back off on tariffs? We could also make some changes to what technology is prohibited from being traded.

  I suspect that any such deal would cause us some longer-term problems as it would considerably help the “Made by China” story (which is gaining traction) and increase the risk of China gaining access to technology that we are trying to prevent them from accessing. Of note, the latest phones in China use chips that are thinner than the U.S. expected them to have at this point.

  In the near-term, this kind of news would likely spark a major rally in risk assets.

  Again, it seems convoluted that something that I don’t like long-term would help in the short-term. However, it does seem like the U.S. currently holds the “weaker hand” in trade negotiations with China (despite the obvious evidence of their economy slowing).

  Bottom Line

  Add some equity hedges and favor the “everything rally.” If nothing else, let’s not forget that:

  “We can dance if we want to
  We can leave your friends behind
  Because your friends don’t dance
  And if they don’t dance
  Well, they’re no friends of mine.”

  I write this knowing that I am a horrible dancer but wanted to end on a positive note because while we need to worry about “safety,” we also need to enjoy life!

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 14:00

• Russia Begins Evacuating Some 600 Citizens From Gaza Strip
  Russia Begins Evacuating Some 600 Citizens From Gaza Strip

  Russia has announced it has begun evacuating its citizens who have been trapped in the besieged Gaza Strip belatedly now that there has been more access through the Rafah Crossing. “The Emergency Situations Ministry together with Russian diplomats have organized the evacuation of civilians from the Gaza Strip,” a statement posted to Telegram indicated.

  “Over the past week, the operational group of the Emergency Situations Ministry of Russia has been working to coordinate the procedure and routes for the evacuation of Russian citizens trapped in the area of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” it continued.

  Starting last week, two Russian Il-76 transport planes have been parked in Cairo on standby in order to evacuate Russians from the Gaza Strip, state-run TASS has confirmed.

  

  Russian diplomats cited in state media earlier this month estimated there are almost 600 Russian citizens seeking to evacuate Gaza. They’ve been prevented from leaving until now, as it has been the countries of the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar involved in discussions overseeing evacuations through Rafah.

  Already a reported 60 Russian nationals have entered Egypt as of this weekend – this after over 80 were given Israel’s approval to leave, per RIA Novosti news agency. They are being sent to Cairo to be assessed by Russian emergency crews.

  The United States has so far evacuated hundreds of its dual citizens through Rafah, as many other countries have for weeks been scrambling to get theirs out too.

  The crossing has been subject to frequent, unannounced closures – and its vicinity even at times pummeled by Israeli airstrikes. Egypt is concerned over seeing a massive Palestinian refugee influx into its country. There’s been some limited numbers of medical evacuees.

  According to The Wall Street Journal, “Fewer than 50 people, including foreign passport holders, Egyptians and five wounded Palestinians, had entered Egypt on Friday before the crossings were halted” – after in total, “More than 2,000 people have crossed the border at Rafah since limited evacuations from Gaza to Egypt began on Nov. 1. The evacuations have been suspended a few times due to strikes.”

  Due to Washington’s closeness with Israel, there’s a widespread perception that the US has been given priority in terms of safely getting its hundreds of passport holders out of the war-ravaged Strip first.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 11/12/2023 – 13:25

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• Is Abortion, Not Trump, The GOP's Albatross?
  Is Abortion, Not Trump, The GOP’s Albatross?

  Authored by Matthew Boose via American Greatness,

  Republicans should restrict abortion wherever and whenever it is prudent to do so…

  

  How many times do voters have to send the message before Republicans get the picture?

  America loves abortion. Is that cavalier? Unfortunately, it’s the truth. Decades of “me, me, me” culture have taken their toll. We are in the end stages of democracy, here, and there may be no putting the genie back in the bottle.

  Nothing is ever free. Because of Dobbs, abortions are much harder to get in a number of states. The right made a bargain to save lives, and the cost is pain at the polls.

  Tuesday’s election was a wipeout for conservatives. Everyone is quick to blame Donald Trump, but the real loser was Ron DeSantis – although it’s hard to say what he had left to lose.

  DeSantis, and the pro-life movement in general, hammered Trump weeks ago for urging Republicans to moderate on abortion. They called Trump a sell-out. But Trump is unfortunately correct. No serious political junkie thinks Trump is going to lose Ohio next year. And guess what? Ohio just voted to enshrine abortion into law, and it wasn’t particularly close. In a time when the smell of pot pervades every public space imaginable, Ohio also legalized recreational marijuana. It was twofer for “Fetterman nation.”

  Trump is the only Republican with the sense and the courage to say what many conservatives do not want to hear: their moral agenda is unpopular. This is especially true in the Rust Belt states that Trump flipped in 2016, like Pennsylvania. Democrats won a Supreme Court seat there on Tuesday night by, once again, championing “choice,” much as they did successfully in Wisconsin months ago.

  Trump’s Republican critics are already trying to blame him for the election’s disappointing results. In reality, Trump has never been more electable.The New York Times just released a poll that has Trump dominating Biden in swing states, despite the unprecedented and unscrupulous lawfare campaign unleashed on Trump by the Democrats. The “blue wall” that Trump toppled in 2016, since patched up by Biden (with a little help from ballot shenanigans), is vulnerable once more.

  Democrats are actually scared for the first time in three years that they will lose the White House. They’re not confident in Biden, at all. Nothing would calm their nerves so much as Republicans nominating an uptight socially conservative ideologue in 2024.

  Biden wants to run on abortion. It’s his party’s saving grace – the perverse absolution for all the destruction they have wrought.

  Republicans have a winning agenda on every other issue – the economy, crime, and especially immigration, Trump’s signature issue. Everyone can see now that Trump was right about the border, especially those taking advantage of Biden’s abdication by pouring across. An unprecedented invasion is swelling at the gates, and even blue state voters have had enough.

  In Suffolk County, New York, Ed Romaine won the race for county executive in a landslide – solidifying the GOP’s gains from last year in the Empire State. Romaine is the first Republican to hold the office in 20 years. Of course, in New York, crime and immigration are much more salient issues than abortion.

  Immigration is the reason we are in this quandary with abortion to begin with. Decades of demographic replacement have rigged democracy in the favor of one party. Democrats now have a built-in advantage in every single election, and pretty soon they will win them all. This is the biggest issue facing the country, not abortion. America cannot survive another four years of the invasion. The Republican party certainly can’t.

  Republicans should restrict abortion wherever and whenever it is prudent to do so. But, as the saying goes, “politics is the art of the possible.” This reasoning strikes many conservatives as devilish, but we live in a fallen world. Republicans can either continue on their self-destructive course, or they can compromise with reality, take Trump’s advice, and fight to live another day.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 23:20

• Certain COVID-19 Vaccines Linked To Elevated Risk Of Guillain-Barré Syndrome
  Certain COVID-19 Vaccines Linked To Elevated Risk Of Guillain-Barré Syndrome

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

  As the vaccination rate continues to rise, an increasing number of side effects are being reported. Research indicates that COVID-19 viral vector-based vaccines increase the risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) by three to four times compared to mRNA-based vaccines.

  

  The Link Between Vaccines and Guillain-Barré Syndrome Risk 

  Increasing evidence suggests an association between COVID-19 vaccines and Guillain-Barré Syndrome. One study revealed an increase in GBS cases within 42 days of receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The researchers suggest a potential link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the increased risk of GBS.

  In March, a prospective surveillance study published in Scientific Reports indicated that out of 38,828,691 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, between February 2021 and March 2022, 105,409 adverse events were reported, including 55 cases of GBS.

  After assessing the risk factors for GBS following COVID-19 vaccination, it was found that viral vector-based vaccines were linked to a three-to-fourfold higher risk of GBS compared to mRNA-based vaccines.

  In terms of age and gender, the incidence of GBS was higher in individuals aged 60 and older compared to younger age groups, and it was more common in men than women.

  Based on a vaccine mechanism evaluation, the incidence rate of GBS for viral vector-based vaccines was 4.49 cases per million doses, higher than mRNA-based vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) which had an incidence rate of 0.80 cases per million doses.

  The researchers are urging health care providers to closely monitor individuals following COVID-19 vaccination, especially men who received their first dose of viral vector-based vaccines.

  Onset of GBS Following COVID-19 Vaccination 

  In 2021, the British Medical Journal published a case study in which a 48-year-old man from Malta experienced facial paralysis on the left side of his face 10 days after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. He was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy grade III and received treatment with prednisolone, an oral corticosteroid, as well as eye drops and eye care.

  The patient had pre-existing blood lipid abnormalities before vaccination, but no other relevant medical history or history of infections.

  The patient also experienced intense and excruciating pain in the central area of the back, with conventional pain relievers proving ineffective. Over the next 24 hours, the patient’s facial paralysis symptoms progressively worsened, and similar symptoms appeared on the right side of the face.

  Three days later, the patient developed grade V facial nerve paralysis on both sides of the face, and the severe back pain persisted. However, neurological examinations did not reveal any defects. The patient underwent a lumbar puncture, which revealed elevated protein levels (1,264 milligrams per liter) and an excess of lymphocytes beyond normal values, leading to a diagnosis of GBS. Subsequently, the patient was discharged after an improvement in facial paralysis symptoms.

  However, in less than 24 hours, the patient returned to the emergency department with symptoms including lower limb weakness, absent reflexes, foot drop, moderate weakness in the hands, and pain sensations when wearing gloves or long socks. The doctor administered intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) at a dosage of 2 grams per kilogram of body weight, which continued for five days, along with oral prednisolone.

  Subsequently, the patient’s condition rapidly improved, with significant recovery in muscle strength and limb paralysis, and complete disappearance of the facial paralysis symptom. After undergoing intensive physical rehabilitation therapy, the patient regained the ability to function independently. A follow-up examination two months later revealed only mild weakness in both hand muscles.

  Researchers believe that among the various side effects of different vaccines, neurological complications may be one of the most severe, thus causing the greatest concern.

  GBS affects multiple peripheral nerves in the body (polyneuropathy). Peripheral neuropathy can also affect the nerves controlling functions of the heart and circulation system (cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy).

  Symptoms of Guillain-Barré Syndrome

  According to National Health Service in the UK, Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a rare and severe neurological disorder caused by an immune system dysfunction, with an extremely low incidence rate.

  Under normal circumstances, the immune system attacks any pathogens that make their way into the body. When the immune system malfunctions, it can mistakenly attack and damage the nerves.

  The symptoms of GBS typically begin in the hands and feet before spreading to the arms and legs. Common symptoms include numbness, pins and needles, muscle weakness, pain, as well as balance and coordination problems. These symptoms may worsen over the next few days or weeks and then gradually improve. In severe cases, GBS can lead to difficulties in walking, breathing, or swallowing. Occasionally, it can be life-threatening, and some individuals may experience long-term complications. If you experience any symptoms of GBS, it is crucial to seek immediate medical attention.

  According to the latest records released by the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program of the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare on Aug. 10, a total of 150 GBS cases related to adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination have been reviewed. Among them, a 56-year-old Mr. Tsai from Taipei experienced numbness in all four limbs, breathing difficulties, and unsteady walking after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. Additionally, two individuals who received the Moderna vaccine reported symptoms, including numbness and weakness in their upper and lower limbs, thigh pain, and more. All of them sought medical attention, and neurological tests confirmed Guillain-Barré Syndrome in all three cases. The Ministry of Health and Welfare offered compensation of TWD 450,000 (nearly $14 million), TWD 70,000 ($2,166), and TWD 250,000 (nearly $8000), respectively.

  Treatment of GBS

  According to the National Institutes of Health, there are currently two commonly used treatment methods to interrupt immune-related nerve damage: plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. Both treatment options show no significant difference in effectiveness if started within two weeks of GBS symptoms onset.

  1. Plasma exchange: This procedure involves extracting some of the patient’s blood through a catheter, treating it to remove blood cells, and then reintroducing it into the body. Plasma contains antibodies, and plasma exchange helps remove harmful antibodies that damage the nerves.

  2. Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy: Immunoglobulins are proteins naturally produced by the immune system to target invading organisms. This therapy can lessen the immune system’s attack on the nervous system and shorten recovery time.

  According to Taiwan’s Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, it is recommended to closely monitor fluctuations in heart rate and blood pressure, as well as regularly assess the degree of respiratory muscle weakness. This is crucial because the condition can progress to respiratory failure or lead to life-threatening arrhythmias, necessitating intubation or pacemaker implantation to maintain cardiopulmonary function. Additionally, pain management and early rehabilitation exercises can help alleviate symptoms and restore muscle strength.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 22:10

• Dear Greta…
  Dear Greta…

  According to the Global Carbon Atlas, the world’s top polluters are China, India, and the U.S., which accounted for 52% of the world’s CO₂ in 2021.

  

  Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu and Bruno Venditti use that data in the graphic below to explore which countries contribute the most to CO₂ emissions.

  

  The largest polluters are also the biggest in terms of population, which means, in terms of CO₂ emissions per capita (metric tons), the U.S. is relatively high at 15.32, while China and India rank lower at 7.44 and 1.89, respectively.

  Historically, the U.S. has been the largest carbon emitter, releasing 422 billion metric tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. This is equivalent to almost a quarter of all CO₂ produced from fossil fuels and industrial activities.

  Given their massive populations and the fact that countries typically increase their emissions as they become more developed, China and India may continue to grow their shares even further.

  

  The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that India’s share of global emissions could rise to 10% by 2030.

  All of these major contributors of carbon to the atmosphere have set goals to reduce emissions over the next decades.

  While the U.S. targets net-zero emissions by 2050, China aims for carbon neutrality by 2060 and India recently set a target of 2070.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 21:35

• Raided Pro-Life Activist Sues DOJ For 'Malicious Prosecution,' Emotional Distress
  Raided Pro-Life Activist Sues DOJ For ‘Malicious Prosecution,’ Emotional Distress

  Authored by Samantha Flom via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Pro-life activist Mark Houck and his wife are suing the Department of Justice (DOJ) over its treatment of their family during his harrowing arrest at gunpoint.

  

  The Houcks filed their lawsuits on Nov. 6, seeking damages for assault, false arrest, abuse of process, malicious and retaliatory prosecution, and “intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

  Mr. Houck, a Catholic and a father of seven, was arrested at his home in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, early on Sept. 23, 2022, when his family awoke to find a group of heavily armed FBI agents at their front door.

  The arrest stemmed from an October 2021 altercation between Mr. Houck and an elderly Planned Parenthood clinic escort—an incident in which local authorities chose not to bring charges.

  More than a year later, however, the DOJ charged Mr. Houck with twice violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a law that prohibits violent and threatening conduct intended to interfere with an individual’s right to “seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.”

  A jury acquitted Mr. Houck of those charges in January. But according to the complaints—filed by the Graves Garrett law firm—he and his family members continue to suffer “severe emotional distress” brought on by his arrest and the fight for his freedom.

  “These government agents intentionally sought to assault Mr. Houck and deprive him of his Fourth Amendment rights by using excessive force to arrest him on non-violent charges when he had not threatened law enforcement, did not own a gun, and had offered to turn himself in to authorities if indicted,” one of the complaints notes.

  During the raid, agents reportedly pointed their weapons at the activist’s wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, and their children—an act that the lawsuits allege was meant to inflict emotional distress.

  Mr. Houck’s complaint also charged that the indictment against him was riddled with factual errors and false statements that could only have been adopted by a grand jury if the DOJ had presented the facts in a malicious way or concealed critical and material information.

  Restitution

  According to the lawsuits, the emotional trauma of the raid took such a toll on the Houck children that they all suffer from anxiety and sleep problems. Some of them have also developed deep-seated fears of police, unannounced visitors, and losing their parents.

  “Mr. Houck finds it important to be strong for them,” one complaint states. “But carrying his own emotional burden alongside the grief and fear of his wife and seven children has taken an enormous toll on Mr. Houck.”

  For Mrs. Houck, the lawsuits claim that the toll of the ordeal hasn’t only manifested in mental and emotional distress but also resulted in three miscarriages.

  “Doctors attribute the loss of the babies to the stress of these events and have told the Houcks that they are now infertile as a result. Mr. and Mrs. Houck suffer immense grief and pain from these losses of life and this diagnosis,” the suit states.

  Other injuries that the lawsuits list include loss of income and business opportunities following Mr. Houck’s high-profile arrest.

  In total, the Houcks are seeking $4.35 million in collective damages.

  “This is more than just a lawsuit; it’s a resounding declaration that the era of targeting individuals for their pro-life stance is over,” said Shawn Carney, president and CEO of 40 Days for Life, which is also representing the Houcks.

  Mr. Carney said that his organization—for which Mr. Houck has volunteered—has always cooperated with federal law enforcement, but in the wake of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, that dynamic “shifted dramatically.”

  “Mark Houck’s home was besieged at gunpoint—an appalling show of force that was completely unwarranted,” he said. “The local authorities saw no crime, yet the DOJ sought to make an example of him.

  “We stand up now to safeguard the rights of all Americans who advocate for life. This is a fight for our most essential freedoms, and we are fully equipped and ready to see it through to victory.”

  The lawsuits follow Mr. Houck’s announcement in August that he’s running for Congress.

  “I know firsthand what it’s like to be attacked by the federal government. I know firsthand how the enemy of the state can be created by virtue of your faith. And I want to protect the 1st District of Pennsylvania and all families in the 1st District from that ever happening to them,” Mr. Houck told Catholic News Agency at the time.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 21:00

• "Absolute Torture": Jan. 6 Inmates Put Renewed Spotlight On Use Of Solitary Confinement
  “Absolute Torture”: Jan. 6 Inmates Put Renewed Spotlight On Use Of Solitary Confinement

  Authored by Joseph M. Hanneman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  John Strand, who received a 32-month federal prison sentence for serving as the security detail for the founder of America’s Frontline Doctors at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, is being held in long-term solitary confinement for doing a media interview, Dr. Simone Gold says.

  Mr. Strand, 40, of Naples, Florida, testified on June 13 at a U.S. House field hearing on Jan. 6 issues shortly after being sentenced for convictions on five criminal counts, including felony obstruction of an official proceeding and four misdemeanors. He has appealed the convictions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

  “He was in two weeks, let out for five or six days, and then today will be nine more weeks,” Dr. Gold said in a Nov. 9 interview with The Epoch Times. “It’s unbelievable. Absolute torture.”

  

  Mr. Strand apparently violated prison rules for doing a broadcast interview with Real America’s Voice host Grant Stinchfield. Dr. Gold said Mr. Strand did not realize he needed permission before speaking with the media from behind bars.

  “They also are not giving him his mail. They are not allowing legal [counsel] visits,” Dr. Gold said. “This is just what they do.”

  Another Jan. 6 inmate, InfoWars host Jonathon Owen Shroyer, is also in solitary confinement after his recent activity on social media.

  Dr. Gold—an emergency medicine specialist from Los Angeles who founded America’s Frontline Doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic—was sentenced in June 2022 to 60 days in jail under a plea deal on one Jan. 6 count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, a misdemeanor.

  She and Mr. Strand were indicted together in February 2021. She was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to speak at a permit-approved event on medical freedom and COVID-19.

  Her case was unusual because, according to Dr. Gold, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper had asked her on a date when they were students at Stanford Law School in the early 1990s. She turned him down—something she said influenced the judge’s sentencing decision in her case. Judge Cooper denied Dr. Gold’s assertion—and also denied motions from her and Mr. Strand demanding he recuse himself from their cases.

  Retaliation?

  Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) questioned U.S. Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters about Mr. Strand and Mr. Shroyer during a Nov. 7 hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance.

  “Does the Bureau of Prisons retaliate against people for constitutionally protected speech?” Mr. Gaetz asked Ms. Peters.

  

  “I have been very clear that retaliation will not be stood for on my watch,” Ms. Peters replied. “I’m confident that message has been delivered, and if anyone has engaged in retaliation, we will hold them accountable.”

  In a message posted on Nov. 7 to his social media account on X, Mr. Strand said he has been a victim of “abusive retaliation.”

  “I took an interview while incarcerated to explain the inhumane conditions of J6 prisoners like myself, and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons retaliated by putting me in solitary confinement,” Mr. Strand was quoted as saying.

  Social media use is also believed to be the reason that InfoWars host Shroyer, 34, of Austin, Texas, was put into solitary confinement twice at the Federal Correctional Institution Oakdale in Louisiana.

  

  Mr. Shroyer is serving a 60-day sentence under a plea agreement on one misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

  The Strand and Shroyer cases have again thrown the spotlight on the alleged use of solitary confinement to further target Jan. 6 pretrial detainees and those serving sentences.

  According to U.S. Bureau of Prisons data, 10,842 of the 144,084 inmates in BOP custody are kept in special housing units, which can be protective custody or for misconduct, criminal behavior, or if they are transferring in or out of the prison. Thirty-one inmates have been held in protective custody for more than 30 days.

  Defense attorney Joseph D. McBride, who has represented more than a dozen Jan. 6 defendants, condemned the use of solitary confinement.

  “Solitary confinement is an inherently evil practice that should be banned absent a limited set of circumstances,” Mr. McBride told The Epoch Times. “It is being used to degrade, abuse, torture, and psychologically break January 6 prisoners.”

  Mr. McBride accused the Biden administration of actively encouraging the abuse of Jan. 6 defendants to send a message that political dissent won’t be tolerated. Affluent Republicans who are in a position to help, Mr. McBride said, “do not care at all about the suffering of these men.”

  In August 2021, Mr. McBride issued a report (pdf) that documented abuses against Jan. 6 pretrial detainees held at the District of Columbia jail.

  “January Sixers are routinely denied the right to confer with their counsel, as well as obtain and maintain their legal paperwork,” McBride wrote in the report, which was addressed to Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union.

  “They are also being beaten, sleep deprived, denied medical care, regular shower access, haircuts, shaves, and held in solitary confinement for long periods of time,” Mr. McBride wrote. “This is unprecedented, unconstitutional, un-American, offensive to all standards of common decency, illegal, and wrong.”

  

  Four months after Mr. McBride issued his document, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) issued a report, “Unusually Cruel,” (pdf) based largely on a site visit to the D.C. jail complex.

  Ms. Greene and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) were given a more than three-hour tour of the facility on Nov. 4, 2021. This was after Ms. Greene, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. Gohmert, and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) were twice denied access to the buildings to visit Jan. 6 detainees.

  “The walls of the rooms had residue of human feces, bodily fluids, blood, dirt, and mold,” the report said. “The community showers were recently scrubbed of black mold—some of which remained.

  “The interior walls of the common area were also freshly painted,” the report said. “According to the inmates, the U.S. Marshals had recently visited the area just days before, which caused a flurry of activity by guards to clean up the January 6 area while the U.S. Marshals were inspecting another area.”

  Mr. Gaetz said he plans to take up Ms. Peters’s offer to arrange site visits at FCI Miami and FCI Oakdale.

  “I would like to go with you,” Ms. Greene posted Nov. 7 on X. “There are many reports coming out about human rights abuses against J6 defendants.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 19:50

• Dems Suffer Flashbacks As 2016 'Spoiler' Jill Stein Announces White House Run
  Dems Suffer Flashbacks As 2016 ‘Spoiler’ Jill Stein Announces White House Run

  Democrats across the country are pacing their living rooms with clenched jaws and fists, as the woman they hold responsible for tipping the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump has announced she’s jumping into the 2024 race.  

  Jill Stein, who previously ran for president on the Green Party ticket in 2016 and 2012, announced her bid on Thursday. “With the war machine swallowing trillions of dollars as working people struggle to survive and the climate crisis accelerates, it’s time to offer voters a viable alternative to the bought-off politicians who have thrown them under the bus,” said Stein. “The ruling parties that got us into this mess aren’t getting us out.”

  In a video promoting her latest Green Party candidacy, Stein took shots at both major parties, but many of her most pointed barbs were illustrated with headlines about the Democratic Party’s actions —  including references to “throwing competitors off the ballot, suppressing the base” and “rigging their primaries.”   

  The political system is broken. Over 60% of us now say the two-party establishment has failed us and we need a party that serves the people.

  I’m running for President to offer a better choice for the people. Join us!https://t.co/sjGXNNSnmK pic.twitter.com/QkrugPGadb

  — Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) November 9, 2023

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

  Stein is reviled by Democrats who think she took enough votes from Hillary Clinton in 2016 to allow Trump to win key battleground states and thus the election. Stein’s vote-counts in both Michigan and Wisconsin were larger than Trump’s margins of victory. 

  In 2019, when the Russia Collusion hoax still had legs, Clinton went so far as to accuse Stein of working directly for Moscow. Discussing the 2020 field, Clinton first said the Russians were grooming Tulsi Gabbard. She continued, “That’s assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not, because she’s also a Russian asset. Yes, she’s a Russian asset, I mean, totally. They know they can’t win without a third-party candidate.”

  Hillary Clinton accused Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate in both the 2012 and 2016 elections, of being a “Russian asset.”

  Stein tells @smerconish it’s a “completely unhinged conspiracy theory.” https://t.co/zm0aJeH8M7 pic.twitter.com/wT1kAk2g0z

  — CNN (@CNN) October 19, 2019

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

  In that same wacky spirit, following Stein’s announcement, many are rushing to social media to post a photo that’s supposed to be some sort of gasp-inducing, smoking-gun evidence of Stein’s status as a Russian agent. 

  Jill Stein is a Russian asset. What part of what happened in 2016 don’t you all understand? pic.twitter.com/B4fCcUaAvy

  — American Veteran (@VetsNyc30811) November 10, 2023

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

  Stein’s campaign issued a statement disputing the photo’s implications:

  “Jill Stein was invited to a 2015 media conference in Russia, which she attended at her own expense to spread a message of peace and diplomacy. At the Moscow conference, Dr. Stein gave a speech in which she criticized the excessive militarism of both Vladimir Putin and U.S. leaders.

  At the dinner, she was seated with diplomats and office holders from various countries, including Michael Flynn, who had most recently served as the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under Obama. Putin sat at the table for a few minutes, during which he spoke only with his Russian-speaking companions. Dr. Stein publicized her experiences at the time via a press release and social media posts. The Senate Intelligence Committee later investigated the trip and found no wrongdoing whatsoever.” 

  Against the backdrop of the proxy war in Ukraine and blank-check backing of Israel’s ruthless destruction of Gaza, Stein is certain to capture at least some progressive voters outraged with the Biden administration. However, as with 2016, the debate about Stein’s potential spoiler status rests on the extent to which those voters might simply stay home if Stein weren’t in the race — as opposed to making the effort to vote for the warmongering Biden. 

  Stein’s announcement coincided with another blow to Democrats: On Thursday, centrist West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin announced he wouldn’t seek re-election in 2024, virtually guaranteeing the seat will flip to the Republican Party. Manchin also dropped strong hints that he’ll pursue a third-party White House run via the No Labels organization.  

  Manchin and Stein are the latest in a wave of late-to-the-2024-party, wild-card entrants:

  • This summer, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced that he was abandoning the rigged Democratic Party nomination process — which includes refusing to host debates — to run as an independent. A recent Quinnipiac poll found Kennedy leading among independents. His candidacy briefly had high appeal for many libertarians and progressives, before Kennedy startled them with a series of intensely pro-Israel statements that shattered his anti-war credentials. 
  • In October, Democratic Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips announced he was challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination. Phillips has voted in lockstep with the Biden agenda. The mega-millionaire Phillips’ campaign appears to be a call option on a scenario in which the clearly-declining Biden is finally deemed physically and/or mentally incapable of running again. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 19:15

• It Really Doesn't Matter Who Created Bitcoin, Or Why…
  It Really Doesn’t Matter Who Created Bitcoin, Or Why…

  Authored by Mark Jeftovic via BombThrower.com,

  Even if it was the NSA, the CCP, or the WEF…

  

  Rumours have abounded that Bitcoin was created by the NSA (or the CIA, or the CCP or WEFsters)  going back at least as far as 2010, or so.

  They resurfaced over the past week when  Dr Mercola interviewed Catherine Austin Fitts. Since then I’ve had numerous readers forward me some choice quotes of their talk  (the transcript is here), and highlighting Fitts’ suspicion that Bitcoin was created non-altruistically by the NSA.

  In it, there is a reference to Nic Carter’s theory about the NSA having created Bitcoin:

  “The common understanding is that Nakamoto is the ultimate altruist and abandoned his 1 million Bitcoin for the benefit of humanity. Nic Carter is a well-known figure in the cryptocurrency community, and he doesn’t buy that story and is convinced that the United States National Security Agency (NSA) is responsible for creating Bitcoin. He believes Bitcoin was written by NSA cryptographers as a monetary bioweapon.“

  Mercola references this Cointelegraph article where Nic Carter clearly lays out that his NSA-origin theory for Bitcoin is “the lab leak” scenario:

  “I call it the ‘Bitcoin lab leak hypothesis.’ I think it was a shuttered internal R&D project, which one researcher thought was too good to lay fallow on the shelf and chose to secretly release.”

  Very much in line with the Promethean mythos behind the Satoshi Nakamoto legend that resonates so deeply throughout the community – and if true, might explain just why, the he/she/they/them that is Satoshi – left those 1 million BTC exactly where they sit today. Nobody would want to suffer the fate of Prometheus, doomed to spend eternity chained to a rock, having his liver eaten daily by an eagle.

  

  Yet the discussion between Fitts and Mercola, as well as many others who suspect something nefarious behind Bitcoin’s mysterious creation, seem to be deriving the wrong conclusion from Carter’s theory – or dismissing it in favour of an intentional, deliberate creation, and presumably, what that would mean (as per Fitts),

  “It depends on how their rollout of complete control works … As long as they have the ability to assert complete control and shut [crypto] down or marginalize it, it’s easy for [Mr. Global] to assert control. Until then, they can continue to pull money out of precious metals and real and hard assets by encouraging retail to go into crypto.”

  The assumption being: whoever created Bitcoin, controls Bitcoin.

  The reality is:

  Bitcoin is beyond anyone’s control

  And the reason, quite simply, is because Bitcoin is open source software.
  What does “open source” mean and why does it matter to Bitcoin?
  Contrast with something closed source and proprietary, like Microsoft Windows – or the entire Microsoft operating system stack, open source means that the instructions that comprise the computer program itself are published to the world openly in their uncompiled source code form.

  Further, anybody running the software does so by downloading the open source copy of the code, compiling it locally and then running it.

  What this means is that even if the NSA, or the CCP or the WEF secretly created and released Bitcoin intending it as a Trojan horse for digital slavery (like CBDCs will be), then we would all be able to literally see it in the source code, which is right here – and nobody would run it.

  • There wouldn’t any Bitcoin devs maintaining the codebase (or if there was, they’d simply remove the malware)

  • Nobody would be trading energy, or cash, for Bitcoin generated from compromised code, and

  • Bitcoin miners would certainly not be spending hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars in order to build out massive server farms to run NSA malware.

  In other words, there would be zero market momentum behind the phenomenon known as “Bitcoin” that is sweeping the world.

  Some others might concede that Bitcoin is an open source movement, with no hidden trojans or malware – but that it’s really One Big Psy-Op  to acclimatize us plebs to a cashless society using digital money.

  The people who believe this might even tweet about it from their smart phone while sitting in a cafe sipping a latte that they just bought via ApplePay or tapping their chipped credit card (like that Mastercard that already cuts off your spending when your carbon footprint quota is exceeded).

  

  You don’t need Bitcoin to brainwash people to accept a cashless society or even the coming CBDCs – huge swaths of the population are going to line up for that – and in my mind it will result in a kind of Monetary Apartheid.

  Bitcoin is emergence, CBDCs are totalitarian.

  The people who think Bitcoin is some kind of meat tenderizer to soften the public’s mind up for CBDCs have simply not been paying enough attention to:

  1. The difference between Bitcoin and CBDCs, and

  2. The difference between Bitcoin and other cryptos

  It all comes down to the decentralized nature of the blockchain, the miners (Proof-of-Work) and self-custody of one’s own private keys vs centralized banking, centralized cryptos, faux-decentralized shitcoins and the like.

  We even see this manifesting in legal policy in the US, as Bitcoin is the only digital asset being treated as a commodity while everything else is looking at being designated a security (even Ethereum, especially since that unforced error of switching to Proof-of-Stake).

  Where people mistakenly think that Bitcoin is paving the way to usher in CBDCs, Bitcoin is actually the  anti-CBDC. It is the CBDC’s Kryptonite. An emerging monetary system as a response to the over-centralization of what I liked to call Late Stage Globalism, but lately I have become enamoured with George Gilder’s term: Emergency Socialism.

  I’ll re-iterate a quote from my recent review of Ferdinand Lips classic, Gold Wars, about where monetary systems actually come from:

  By 1900, approximately fifty countries were on a gold standard. including all industrialized nations. The interesting fact is that the modern gold standard was not planned at an international conference, nor was it invented by some genius. It came by itself, naturally and based on experience. 

  The United Kingdom went on a gold standard against the intention of its government. Only much later did laws turn an operative gold standard into an officially sanctioned gold standard.

  The same thing is happening today, with Bitcoin (yes, really).

  Hyper-Bitcoinization vs Notgeld

  In the early days of my involvement with the space, I too, dismissed claims that the global monetary system was destined for “Hyper-Bitcoinization” – I just didn’t think it would ever happen because central bankers would simply never allow it.

  Instead, I viewed Bitcoin as a kind of “Notgeld” – a German term that emerged during the Weimar Hyper-inflation that translated to “Emergency Money”. In those days towns would print their own scrip. In later hyper-inflations, other things would emerge as “notgeld” – in Zimbabwe it was prepaid phone cards and gas coupons. Every hyperinflation had one. I thought Bitcoin was an emergent, global notgeld, but I never thought it would become anything “official”.

  Then, two things happened that flipped me into the Hyper-Bitcoinization camp:

  The first was when the ruling Liberal/Socialist coalition government of Canada weaponized the banking system against the #FreedomConvoy protestors, probably the one single act that orange pilled the most citizens globally since the Cyprus bail-in of 2013.

  The other was when the US government seized the foreign reserves of two other governments. It doesn’t matter that those governments were Russia and The Taliban, doing so probably orange-pilled more than a few nation states.

  What I also realized since then, namely watching the globalists attempt – and fail – to impose a permanent technocracy under Covid, was that what ultimately happens isn’t up to the central banks, and it’s not even up to the governments. It’s up to market forces – despite all the central planning and authoritarianism marshalled against it.

  That won’t prevent them from trying, however. Which is where CBDCs come in.

  Money backed by debt, becomes social credit backed by carbon quotas

  In the latest issue of the premium newsletter (while analyzing an Agustín Carstens speech to the BIS working group on CBDCs)  I said:

  Right now, what we call “the fiat world” uses debt for money. That’s no longer sustainable, so what we think will happen in the future is an attempt to switch what we loosely identify as “money”, from something backed by debt, to social credit scores, backed by carbon emissions.

  When that comes, Bitcoin will not be some sort of gateway drug to CBDCs because there are fundamental incompatibilities, and there are other cryptos out there far more suited to the task – like Ethereum and Ripple, and who actually want to the global base layer for Central Bank Digital Currencies (after all, it’s not called WEFereum for nothing…)

  

  So where we are headed – is a global economy where the world is either going to have to adopt a non-state, decentralized digital bearer asset or international trade flows will inexorably grind to halt as trust deteriorates right along with every fiat currency going.

  And a social credit system where the majority of the population (everybody who has any reliance on The State for their economic sustenance) has their lives gamified via their smart phones and their carbon footprints rationed in the name of climate justice.

  Marbled throughout this world (for as long as such a system will last, because ultimately, it can’t) there will be “network states” and enclaves of those who hold their wealth and earn their income outside the social credit/CBDC system.

  In my next post, I’ll tackle the inevitable arguments that “governments will never allow people to escape the coming CBDC system” and show why, at the end of the day, they have no choice. It’s already beyond their control.

  *  *  *

  My forthcoming ebook 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, sign up today.

  Follow me on Nostr, or Twitter.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 18:40

• WaPo Drops Bombshell On The Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage Narrative: A Ukrainian Colonel, Covert Ops, & The CIA's Shadow
  WaPo Drops Bombshell On The Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage Narrative: A Ukrainian Colonel, Covert Ops, & The CIA’s Shadow

  Consider the source (and the timing)…

  No lesser deep-state mouthpiece than The Washington Post just dropped a bombshell with the revelation that Ukrainian Colonel Roman Chervinsky “was integral to the brazen sabotage operation” on the Nord Stream pipeline, “according to officials in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe, as well as other people knowledgeable about the details of the covert operation.”

  

  The bombing, dubbed a “dangerous assault on Europe’s energy infrastructure” by US and Western officials at the time, marked a critical juncture in the ongoing tensions between Russia and the West. By targeting the pipeline, the operatives (whoever they were) struck a blow to a critical artery of Russian energy exports, a sector that has been at the heart of European-Russian economic relations.

  Additionally, as the Goebbels-ian narrative that ‘Russia did it’ was pushed by mainstream media (and politicians), it enabled further ‘aid’ to be sent to Ukraine, to ‘protect interests’.

  The think tanks receive funding from the US government and private entities, and often don’t report it, in order to spread misinformation and discredit accurate information pic.twitter.com/BHx7d8wvmO

  — Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) February 8, 2023

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  Chervinsky, a senior figure within Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, was allegedly the “coordinator” of the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline. The operation, executed with precision and secrecy, involved deep-sea diving and explosive charges, ultimately resulting in substantial damage to the pipeline which Ukraine had long complained would allow Russia to bypass Ukrainian pipes, depriving Kyiv of huge transit revenue.

  Of course, as one would expect, the Ukrainian Colonel, via his counsel, refutes any involvement in the pipeline sabotage, blaming Russia for this accusation.

  “Without merit, Russian propaganda is spreading all rumors regarding my participation in the assault on Nord Stream,” Chervinsky stated in a written statement to The Washington Post and Der Spiegel, which jointly investigated his activities.

  It would not have been out of character as WaPo reports that Chervinsky is a decorated officer with extensive experience in covert operations, reportedly including plans to ensnare Russian Wagner mercenaries and targeting pro-Russian separatists, highlighting a pattern of aggressive, high-stakes operations against Russian interests.

  Furthermore, WaPo reports that Chervinsky did not act alone and he did not plan the operation, again “according to the people familiar with his role,” but instead took orders from more senior Ukrainian officials, who ultimately reported to Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s highest-ranking military officer, “according to people familiar with how the operation was carried out.”

  More problematically, Chervinsky’s involvement in the Nord Stream assault is in direct opposition to Zelensky’s public denials regarding Ukraine’s involvement.

  “I am president and I give orders accordingly,” Zelensky said in press interview in June, responding to a report by the Post that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had learned of Ukraine’s plans before the attack.

  “Nothing of the sort has been done by Ukraine. I would never act that way,” Zelensky said.

  Interestingly, WaPo reports that Chervinsky is being held in a Kyiv jail on charges that he abused his power stemming from a plot to lure a Russian pilot to defect to Ukraine in July 2022. Authorities allege that Chervinsky, who was arrested in April, acted without permission and that the operation gave away the coordinates of a Ukrainian airfield, prompting a Russian rocket attack that killed a soldier and injured 17 others.

  

  This WaPo report comes at a crucial time in the geopolitical chess-game, as the desire for more spending in what appears to be a lost cause in Ukraine is fading fast among Western populations (most notably US), and perhaps offers President Biden an ‘excuse’ to reduce aid in light of this ‘shocking development’ – which, of course, Washington has vehemently denied any involvement in (and denounced as a “reckless act”.

  But the twists and turns do not stop there as the backdrop to this unfolding drama includes Seymour Hersh’s explosive allegations regarding the CIA and the US Navy’s covert activities.

  Throughout “all of this scheming,” the source said, “some working guys in the CIA and the State Department were saying, ‘Don’t do this. It’s stupid and will be a political nightmare if it comes out.’”

  Nevertheless, in early 2022, the CIA working group reported back to Sullivan’s interagency group: “We have a way to blow up the pipelines.”

  Hersh, a renowned investigative journalist – who broke such well-known stories as the My Lai massacre and Abu Ghraib scandal and has long been known for impeccable insider sources – has previously reported on the deep entanglement of US intelligence in various global hotspots, hinting strongly at the complex interplay between Ukrainian ambitions and broader Western strategic objectives.

  The broader geopolitical context cannot be ignored.

  The US and NATO have been deeply involved in supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression, but the extent of their involvement in covert operations remains a subject of intense debate and speculation. The Nord Stream bombing, if indeed orchestrated by a faction within the Ukrainian military, could be seen as an extension of this proxy conflict, where Ukraine serves as a frontline in a larger strategic contest between Russia and the West, with CIA pulling the strings (just as Hersh concludes).

  In an interview with WaPo in June of this year, Zaluzhny said the CIA had never asked him directly about any attack on Nord Stream. He said that after the explosions, in September 2022, he received a phone call from then-U. S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark A. Milley.

  “He asked me, ‘Did you have anything to do with it?’ I said, ‘No’. A lot of operations are planned, a lot of operations are going on, but we have nothing to do with it, nothing at all.”

  Some of those who described Chervinsky’s participation in the Nord Stream attack defended the veteran intelligence officer as acting in Ukraine’s best interests.

  So, why now? Suddenly various ‘sources’ come forward to offer a scapegoat for this “reckless act”?

  A distraction from potential confirmation of Washington’s involvement? … A potential release valve on the ‘blame Russia’ narrative enabling ‘peace’ conversations to take place? … An opportune excuse to curb ‘aid’ (pending an investigation)given the involvement of Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s top military officer (and Zelensky’s denial) prompting questions of discord within the Ukrainian chain of command?

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 18:05

• On "River City One" And Coming Home From War
  On “River City One” And Coming Home From War

  Authored by Erica Moshtahedian via RealClearPolitics.com,

  For those of us who came of age in the aftermath of September 11 and the wars that followed, a new book “River City One” by first-time author John Waters provides a reprieve from glamorized, military-style leadership guides like “Extreme Ownership” or “Make Your Bed,” or adrenaline-filled memoirs like Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s “American Sniper.”

  This is a penetration into the mind of a veteran returned to the world that we share with him.

  

  A Naval Academy graduate and a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, Waters is now an attorney in Omaha, his hometown. “River City One” is a novel, not a memoir, albeit a palpably autobiographical account. (In the interest of disclosure, after leaving military service as a U.S. Marine Corps captain, Waters was co-editor of RealClearDefense; Carl Cannon, executive editor of RealClearMedia, wrote the foreword to this book).

  The story’s protagonist, war hero John Walker, shares with the reader an inner dialogue influenced by his drug-like withdrawal from the adrenaline and purpose of battle into the mundaneness of everyday life. He is an imperfect protagonist. Walker shares more with the self-doubting characters found in the novels from Lost Generation authors than the depictions of modern war heroes likely to be adapted by Hollywood.

  In Walker, we are introduced to a character who, like Ford Madox Ford’s character Christopher Tietjens in “Parade’s End,” is not immediately likable and somewhat aloof. Unlike Tietjens, Walker doesn’t inform us of his life philosophy. Instead, we know only of his opinions through his critique of others. Clients, colleagues, fellow veterans, and family are not spared. He regularly dismisses the accomplishments of others as having little meaning. He thinks of civilians who want to ask him questions about his service as “turned on” by war stories. He asserts that his family occupies a separate world apart from him, as if he is unimportant to their well-being. We come to understand that his opinions are partial truths, informed by shame, used to justify his avoidance of family intimacy.

  Even as a civilian, Walker has remained fit enough to drop and rhythmically knock out pushups. He must be sufficiently handsome and masculine to coast at his job as a lawyer, putting less effort into his work and appearance than his colleagues. Had Walker’s physicality been defined up front and the character described as having a more amiable disposition, he would register as a heartthrob, like Milan Kundera’s Tomas in “The Unbearable Lightness of Being.” Instead, the author avoids allowing his protagonist either to be put on a pedestal or seen as a cad, ensuring that his dalliance with an aging, auburn-haired singer named Ruth is not regarded as part of a pattern. Instead, it registers as an act of despair, a final gasp for life.

  We instead relate to Walker by accepting that his internal dialogue (like our own) can be wildly detached from what he says or does or how others perceive him. He is thus simultaneously unlikable and sympathetic. Who among us has only benevolent thoughts? As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Walker’s private criticism of others reflects more than passing internal commentary but rather his inability to find purpose. His inner dialogue transforms into the cause of the unfolding drama. Ultimately, his fixations lead to an existential crisis.

  Unlike “Parade’s End,” Waters’s novel features no evil force or character challenging the protagonist. Walker’s wife epitomizes the modern supportive partner, even as Walker goads her by sharing his interest in meeting Ruth, the exotic and alluring opera singer, who is introduced halfway through the novel. Moreover, despite his lack of ambition in his peacetime profession, his colleagues and superiors do their best to include, mentor, and elevate him.

  Walker does not want for opportunity. The schism between his self-image and how others perceive him is internal. Ironically, Ruth doesn’t suffer this same internal conflict. She is an archetype of a sophisticated and attractive woman who, in the abstract, could “understand” him. At any moment, Walker could choose to make his life about the future and move on from the past. He could decide to reconnect with his wife and son.

  “River City One” is a stimulating read because it addresses how such a fractured sense of self can lead to all-consuming nihilistic thoughts.

  Walker may be handsome, educated, employed, and loved – but he is unable to reciprocate in relationships or to recognize PTSD in himself and the deep shame he feels from the loss of a friend during the war.

  

  Does his predicament represent the quiet despair and numbness that thousands of our veterans feel when they return to their own River Cities?

  Waters illustrates that a downward spiral can occur inside a man’s head, even if life appears to move forward.

  Walker supplies a subtle reminder – especially to those of us with friends, family, or peers who are combat veterans of Afghanistan or Iraq – that one never knows what is going on in someone else’s head. Neither talent nor opportunity spares veterans from the loss of purpose they may experience when returning home from war.

  Many American families wish that they knew how to get someone in this position to snap out of it. “River City One” does not offer a remedy but simply a glimpse inside the mind of someone whose life and self-image were shattered by war. The novel’s lesson broadly applies to veterans and civilians alike: our lives are the sum of our choices. At every stage, we can choose to embrace family and make better decisions for ourselves and the people who care for us. The author leaves open the possibility of redemption for his protagonist. There is always hope. Perhaps Waters is a “Make Your Bed” guy, after all.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 17:30

• Bill Maher's Pissed Off At 'Progressive' Pandering Using "Victims Or Victimizers" Reductivism
  Bill Maher’s Pissed Off At ‘Progressive’ Pandering Using “Victims Or Victimizers” Reductivism

  In his characteristic blunt and provocative style, Bill Maher recently tackled the apparently contentious topic of Western civilization and its role in shaping modern values, during a segment on his HBO show “Real Time.”

  

  He passive aggressively challenges the increasingly negative narrative surrounding Western culture, particularly among progressives and academics, arguing that Western civilization has been instrumental in developing liberal values:

  “Western civilization is what gave the world pretty much every goddamn liberal precept that liberals are supposed to adore.”

  His position – as he has repeatedly done over the past few years – is a stark contrast to the current trend, from so-called progressives, of demonizing Western history and achievements including “Individual liberty, scientific inquiry, rule of law, religious freedom, women’s rights, human rights, democracy, trial by jury, freedom of speech.”

  Focusing on Israel, Maher highlighted it as an exemplar of Western values in the Middle East, suggesting that the world could benefit from more nations embracing the Western ideals that Israel represents. Sure to stir the blood of every pandering political activist, Maher calmly stated that:

  “…since one can find all these concepts in today’s Israel and virtually nowhere else in the Middle East, if anything, the world would be a better place if it had more Israels.”

  Maher swiftly moves on to destroy the current socio-political movements that often view Western civilization solely through the lens of oppression and colonialism, lamenting that the oversimplified categorization of nations and cultures as either “victims or victimizers”, arguing that this viewpoint ignores the positive impact of Western ideals, “so Israel is lumped in as the toxic fruit of the victimizing West.”

  Challenging this binary and idiot-level reductivist narrative prevalent in today’s mainstream media and ‘protests’, Maher exclaims:

  “The irony being that all marginalized people live better today because of Western ideals, not in spite of them.”

  Going further back in time, Maher points out that Western Enlightenment ideals have profoundly influenced global human rights and governance, mentioning figures like Thoreau, Rousseau, and Locke, and challenges the notion that Western history is predominantly negative with a controversial example:

  “The cop who murdered George Floyd got 21 years for violating his Fourth Amendment rights, an idea we got directly from John Locke, who no one in college would ever study anymore because he’s so old, and so White, and so dead.“

  Finally, given the increasing refusal to recognize Western historical figures and their contributions, Maher calls for a more balanced view of Western civilization, criticizing the tendency to overlook its contributions while magnifying its flaws. He questioned the double standards in historical assessments, asking, “Why is it that every other culture gets a pass, but the West is exclusively the sum of the worst things it’s ever done?”

  We suspect his calls for a more nuanced understanding of Western history, that acknowledges both its achievements and failures, will fall on deaf ears. And as he concludes, it appears he thinks so too…

  “America only ever overcorrects, and so we’re at this place now where the words ‘Western Civ’ became kind of a shorthand for ‘White people ruined everything’…”

  But, he pauses amid the crowd’s cheers and applause, “they didn’t ruin everything…”

  “Why is it that every other culture gets a pass, but the West is exclusively the sum of the worst things it’s ever done? You think only White people colonized?”

  Watch the full monologue below on X (since we would not be surprised if such blasphemy has been removed from other ‘less free’ social media platforms):

  The world would be a much better place if it had more “outposts” like Israel. pic.twitter.com/w6QlVSTaVe

  — Bill Maher (@billmaher) November 4, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 16:55

• Good Samaritan Arrested After Stopping NYC Subway Assault By Firing Warning Shots
  Good Samaritan Arrested After Stopping NYC Subway Assault By Firing Warning Shots

  A man with no criminal history who saved a woman from being attacked by a homeless man has been arrested and charged by the Manhattan DA with criminal possession of a firearm and reckless endangerment because he fired a warning shot, stopping the assault.

  

  According to eyewitness accounts and security footage, John Rote, 43, drew a pistol and began firing shots after witnessing a man trying to steal a woman’s purse.

  The suspect in the attempted robbery, Matthew Roesch, 49, was also arrested. Roesch was running scheme by which he would hold an emergency gate open to let riders avoid paying fees, and asked for money in return. Around 9 p.m. Tuesday, Roesch tried to grab a 40-year-old woman’s purse who refused to pay him, before Rote scared him off with his gun.

  This incident raises questions about the adequacy of law enforcement in New York’s transit system. With crime rates on the rise and insufficient policing across major cities in America, ordinary citizens like Rote feel compelled to take matters into their own hands.

  This is John Rote

  Yesterday, he was in a New York Subway station when a homeless man tried to violently mug a woman.

  John pulled out his gun, yelled “leave her alone”, and fired 2 warning shots.

  The NYPD arrested him. pic.twitter.com/cooKtb7D1c

  — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 9, 2023

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  Officials, who aren’t protecting vulnerable citizens, are pissed.

  “I’ve looked at the video,” said New York City Transit President Richard Davey at a news conference Wednesday. “It’s, I would say unusual. He sort of looks very calm, pulls out a gun, fires two shots, calmly puts the gun back in the bag and walks away.”

  “The point is, that’s not what we need from anybody in this system,” Davey continued.

  Mr. Rote is originally from West Virginia and has ties out of state, but no criminal history, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

  “Thank goodness nobody was hurt here—but what happened was outrageous, reckless, and unacceptable,” Mr. Davey said in a statement released after Rote was arrested. -AP

  John Rote stepping up to protect someone only to be charged is absurd. A good Samaritan faces punishment while criminals roam free? That’s twisted justice. The DA’s priorities seem misplaced. Self-defense isn’t a crime; it’s a right.

  — Swan (@BigPoppaSwan) November 9, 2023

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  The incident comes months after a Marine Corps veteran was arrested for putting a deranged homeless man in a chokehold on a New York City subway, which led to the man’s death.

  

  Daniel Penny, the marine, says he didn’t intend to take Jordan Neely’s life, but he had to protect the frightened passengers after Neely threatened to kill people on the train.

  “The man stumbled on, he appeared to be on drugs, the doors closed, and he ripped his jacket off and threw it down at the people sitting next to me at my left,” Penny said in the video.

  “I was listening to music at the time, and I took my headphones out to hear what he was yelling,” he continued.

  “The three main threats that he repeated over and over was ‘I’m going to kill you,’ ‘I’m prepared to go to jail for life,’ and ‘I’m willing to die.’”

  Penny, who stands at 6 feet 2 inches tall, said he was intimidated by Neely, who was bigger than him and was shouting in the subway riders’ faces.

  “There’s a common misconception that Marines don’t get scared. We’re actually taught, one of our core values is courage, and courage is not the absence of fear but how you handle fear,” he said.

  “I was scared for myself, but I looked around, I saw women and children. He was yelling in their faces saying these threats. I just couldn’t sit still.”

  *  *  *

  “For evil to succeed, it is only necessary for good men to do nothing.” -Edmund Burke

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 16:35

• Your $2 Bill Could Be Worth Thousands Of Times More: Here's How To Check
  Your $2 Bill Could Be Worth Thousands Of Times More: Here’s How To Check

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

  A $2 bill you have lying around could be worth hundreds—or even thousands—of times more than its face value.

  

  The U.S. Currency Auctions’ Pricing guide shows that a $2 bill, which features the third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson, could be worth up to $4,500, depending on certain factors. Compared with other bills, the $2 currency is considered more rare, although they’re still being produced.

  “Americans don’t spend $2 bills, because they think they are markedly scarce. However, the numbers tell us a different story,” Dustin Johnston, vice president of Heritage Auctions, told MarketWatch on Wednesday, noting that some bills could be worth up to $20,000 at auction.

  The auction official issued a caveat: “Just in the last five years, they’ve printed 100 million $2 bills. The fact that they don’t circulate and are kept as mementos is a little bit odd. Very few of them have numismatic or collector value.”

  And Art Pinto, the manager of Legacy Coins and Curiosities in Florida, told Fox 13 that there are several contributing factors that help determine the potential value of a $2 bill. He noted that newer bills have a green seal on them and are likely just worth their face value, but if the bill includes a red seal, it likely is worth more.

  “If you’re looking for a high dollar $2 bill, it would be pre-1900, and it would have to be in a very high-graded condition,” said Mr. Pinto.

  Mr. Johnston told MarketWatch that other than the date, people look for serial numbers and the condition of the bill.

  “What we look at is fancy serial numbers,” he said. “A serial number ‘1’ for a 1976 $2 bill would be worth $20,000 or more. But a majority of those people holding 1976 $2 bills, they are only worth face value. There are very few that actually exceed face value.”

  He added that “beyond the fancy serial numbers, most of the value is going to be in the large size notes [from] 1918 and prior,” adding that 1918 bills “are very common.”

  “They typically start at $80 to $100 and go up from there,” Mr. Johnston added. “The more recent ones, the 1920s and beyond, well over 99 percent are going to be worth marginally over face value.”

  According to Heritage Auctions, a $2 currency note that was minted in 2003 sold online for $2,400 in July 2022. The same bill sold for $4,000 at a separate auction later that year.

  A $2 bill known as a “Rainbow Note,” dating back to 1869, is expected to sell for at least $12,000, says a listing on the auction company’s website. One of those same notes is also currently listed on eBay for $7,990.

  The $2 bill has been in U.S. circulation since 1862, and six different types have been created since then, according to the Department of Treasury’s website. But the currency been mostly unpopular over its history.

  “For most of their history, $2 notes have been unpopular, being viewed as unlucky or simply awkward to use in cash exchanges,” the Bureau of Engraving and Printing says, which added that President Jefferson did not start appearing on the bill’s face until 1869. Before that, first U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton appeared on the currency.

  As of 2017, there were about 1.2 billion $2 bills in circulation, according to the U.S. Currency Education Program.

  However, Mr. Johnston said that holding onto most recently made $2 bills likely won’t pan out. “Holding onto the common ones for another 30 years, they are common now, they are going to probably stay common,” he told MarketWatch. “You’re almost better off spending them now, or depositing them in the bank vs. holding onto them.”

  Several years ago, a extremely rare $1,000 bill sold for $1.2 million at an auction. The 1891 bill features the face of William L. Marcy, who served as the governor of New York and was a secretary under President James K. Polk in the mid-nineteenth century.

  The most expensive U.S. coin that was ever auctioned is the 1933 Double Eagle gold coin, which was sold for $18 million in 2021.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 16:20

• The Biden-Du Pont Nexus: From A Prestigious Golf Club To A Controversial Child Rape Plea Deal
  The Biden-Du Pont Nexus: From A Prestigious Golf Club To A Controversial Child Rape Plea Deal

  As the MSM turns on President Joe Biden heading into the 2024 election, the Washington Post had an interesting piece on Thursday exploring a little-known connection between the Bidens and the du Pont family, which revolves around a 2001 case in which then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) was voted in as a prominent new member of a prestigious Golf Club in Wilmington, Delaware, founded by a du Pont heiress.

  

  That year, Biden, known for his “Middle-Class Joe” image and modest financial status, joined the exclusive Fieldstone Golf Club, a symbol of prestige and power. This move painted a contrasting picture: a politician aligned with working-class values, yet rubbing shoulders with the state’s most affluent family, renowned for their chemical company empire.

  At the time, Biden walked a delicate line. On one hand, he campaigned as an Amtrak-riding “Middle-Class Joe” striving to make ends meet, and accurately described himself as “one of the poorest members of Congress” — reporting $221,000 in combined income with his wife that year and $360 in charitable contributions. -WaPo

  Biden’s connection to the du Ponts extended beyond social interactions. His staffing choices, political allies, and personal real estate investments all reflected a deep integration with this influential family. His acquisition of a mansion built by a du Pont member further underscores this relationship.

  Yet, Biden’s entry into the Fieldstone Golf Club raised eyebrows and led to a brief FBI investigation in 2007. The inquiry centered on how Biden obtained his club membership, especially as it involved an “unused” ticket from a company owned by the club’s founder, potentially bypassing a substantial partnership fee. The FBI’s probe, which included photographing Biden’s personal locker at the club, eventually closed without any allegations of wrongdoing. It’s unknown whether Biden was ever informed about the FBI investigation.

  

  In response to an inquiry, the White House told the Post: “These bizarre suggestions from more than 20 years ago are confusing given the fact that the Post is reporting that President Biden was fully responsible for membership dues at the golf club and all out-of-pocket costs associated with it. Frankly, the Post’s own reporting suggests this supposed matter was closed 15 years ago with no finding of wrongdoing. If you want to dig deep on who’s funding a president’s golf habits, we might have some suggestions.”

  Yet, this story reveals the delicate balance Biden navigated between his public identity as a relatable politician and his private interactions with Delaware’s elite. While maintaining his image as a defender of middle-class interests, Biden also sought inclusion in the state’s upper echelons, epitomized by his association with the du Ponts and his membership at Fieldstone.

  For someone raised in Delaware with Biden’s blue-collar background, “it would be quite an accomplishment” to rise into the same social circles as the du Ponts, said Joseph Hurley, a Wilmington attorney who grew up with Biden and represented Moseley.

  “It’s like, ‘I’ve really arrived,’ because the du Ponts were the family, the king’s-family type thing,” he said. -WaPo

  Biden often cited the long role of the du Pont family in Delaware in his family story – writing in his memoir that his father moved the family from Scranton, PA to a suburb of Wilmington, which was made more economically stable thanks to so many well-paid DuPont employees.

  “DuPont meant security for today and better times for the future,” Biden wrote.

  Years later, Biden recalled that his mother urged him to value his heritage with as much pride as the state’s best-known family. “Like I’m a du Pont or something,” Biden recalled. “You’re a Biden. Nobody is better than you, and everybody’s equal to you,” his mother told him.

  Still, he envied the position and power of those who founded the DuPont company.

  Elected to the Senate in 1972, he served in Congress alongside Rep. Pierre “Pete” du Pont IV, who later became Delaware’s governor and ran for president. Biden’s close adviser and Senate chief of staff, Ted Kaufman, had worked for DuPont as a plastics engineer.

  In 1974, Biden spent $185,000 to buy what he called a “gorgeous … enormous” mansion built six decades earlier by a du Pont family member in Greenville, Del. The home, which he named “the Station,” served as a base for Biden’s unsuccessful 1988 presidential campaign; he sold it for $1.2 million in 1996 and then bought a four-acre lakefront property in Greenville. -WaPo

  

  The Biden-du Pont connection, reinforced by this membership, raises questions about potential influences and reciprocal favors within these elite circles.

  In particular, it seems appropriate to revisit a controversial 2009 plea deal offered by then-Attorney General Beau Biden to a du Pont heir accused of raping his own daughter when she was a toddler. Richards was originally charged with two counts of second-degree rape, which carried a minimum of 20 years behind bars. Instead, he pleaded guilty in 2008 to fourth-degree rape, which carries no minimum prison time.

  

  The deal was offered to du Pont heir Robert H. Richards IV, who had confessed to the fourth-degree rape of his 3-year-old daughter. He was spared prison time, a decision that sparked public outrage and scrutiny. Beau Biden defended the decision in 2014, citing the case’s weaknesses and potential for loss at trial, but these justifications were met with skepticism, given the family’s history with the du Ponts.

  The plea bargain’s leniency towards a figure from a wealthy and powerful family contrasts sharply with the typically harsher sentences meted out to less privileged offenders. This disparity points to a potential bias within the judicial system, influenced by socio-economic status and connections.

  The link between the Bidens and the du Ponts, established years earlier through Joe Biden’s golf club membership, suggests a narrative of mutual benefits and unwritten understandings among Delaware’s elite. While there’s no evidence of a link, the timing and context of these relationships paint a picture of intersecting interests and shared spaces between powerful families.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 15:45

• Revelations From Special Counsel David Weiss' Testimony On Hunter Biden Investigation
  Revelations From Special Counsel David Weiss’ Testimony On Hunter Biden Investigation

  Authored by Techno Fog via The Reactionary,

  Ever since explosive whistleblower testimony detailing DOJ efforts to sabotage the Hunter Biden investigation was released this summer, the US Attorney (and now Special Counsel) in charge of that investigation – David Weiss – has been under siege.

  

  Beset with allegations of misconduct by those who had been part of his investigative team, and self-inflicted mistakes such as allowing the statute of limitations on tax crimes to pass, Weiss (who was appointed Special Counsel in August) provided closed-door testimony this week before the House Committee on the Judiciary, led by Jim Jordan.

  It was a rare opportunity to obtain testimony from a Special Counsel – they typically only testify after their reports have been completed. And while he refused to answer specifics concerning Hunter’s plea deal, the status of his investigation, and why he allowed the statute of limitations to pass on some of Hunter’s tax crimes, Weiss’s testimony does provide important context regarding what has transpired since his investigation began.

  For background, Weiss has investigated Hunter Biden for approximately five years. According to the testimony of whistleblower Gary Shapley, a highly-credentialed IRS Criminal Supervisory Special Agent, this investigation “has been handled differently than any investigation I’ve ever been a part of for the past 14 years of my IRS service.” Agent Shapley explained:

  “Some of the decisions seem to be influenced by politics. But whatever the motivations, at every stage decisions were made that had the effect of benefiting the subject of the investigation. These decisions included slow-walking investigative steps, not allowing enforcement actions to be executed, limiting investigators’ line of questioning for witnesses, misleading investigators on charging authority, delaying any and all actions months before elections to ensure the investigation did not go overt well before policy memorandum mandated the pause. These are just only a few examples.”

  As we noted back in June, the preferential treatment included: denials of normal investigative steps like looking into Hunter Biden’s communications; tipping off the Biden Transition Team that Hunter Biden would be interviewed; and refusing search warrants of Joe Biden’s home, though the Assistant US Attorney (Lesley Wolf) helping with the case admitted it was “likely” there would be evidence.

  One of the biggest revelations from the whistleblowers was that Weiss, who was the Delaware US Attorney at the time, was denied authority to file charges against Hunter Biden in DC or California.

  During his testimony, Weiss was able to provide some context on how that transpired.

  In February of 2022, Weiss reached out to Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer “because we were looking to bring certain portions of our investigation to either D.C. or L.A.” In that call, Weiss raised the idea of being granted “Special Attorney” authority, which would have allowed him to bring the charges in those venues.

  This requested wasn’t granted by Main Justice. Instead, Weinsheimer told Weiss to reach out to DC (and California) to see if they “would be interested in joining or otherwise participating in the investigation.”

  Weiss then reached out to the US Attorneys for DC and the Central District of California (LA) regarding the potential to prosecute Hunter Biden for 2014-2015 tax crimes. These are the years where, according to the testimony of IRS whistleblower Shapley, Hunter Biden undertook a scheme to not report his foreign income from Burisma and “to evade his taxes through a partnership with a convicted felon.”

  The US Attorney for DC denied his request: “I received word from my staff that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia had decided not to join the case as a partner or co-counsel moving forward.” (A remarkable declination from DC, considering their zealous prosecutions of January 6 protesters.)

  The Central District of California also declined to help pursue the charges.

  These denials are important because they were made by political appointees of President Biden. Main Justice, by ordering Weiss to go through this process, put Weiss in a position that he probably didn’t like – that he would have to pursue charges that were denied by other US Attorneys. (Weiss probably imagined the condemnations from the media.)

  This left Weiss with a decision: whether to file the DC and California tax charges against Hunter Biden on his own. Weiss would testify that after the DC denial, Main Justice informed him that he had the authority under the “Special Attorney” regulations “to bring whatever charges you deem appropriate.”

  Weiss, however, let the statute of limitations expire on Hunter Biden’s 2014 and 2015 tax crimes. Why Weiss decided not to go forward with these charges remains a mystery, especially considering that the DOJ Tax Division (and AUSA Wolf) recommended Biden be prosecuted for these years (see below for reference). Weiss declined to explain his non-prosecution decision, stating he could address this in his report.

  Read the rest here – including:

  • Weiss’s response as to whether it was “fair” that Hunter could avoid paying taxes on his Burisma income
  • Weiss’s defense of AUSA Lesley Wolf, who was accused of covering for the Bidens
  • Weiss’ thoughts on the future of his investigation as Special Counsel

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 15:10

• IRS Unveils New Tax Bracket Income Limits For 2024
  IRS Unveils New Tax Bracket Income Limits For 2024

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

  The Internal Revenue Service has announced its annual tax inflation adjustments for 2024, including new income limits for seven tax brackets.

  The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has disclosed the annual inflation adjustments affecting over 60 tax provisions for the upcoming 2024 tax year, including an increase in the standard deduction and new income limits for seven tax brackets.

  The federal agency said in a Nov. 9 announcement that a string of new annual inflation adjustments will impact the 2024 tax year, potentially bringing a boost to your paycheck.

  The IRS adjusts tax rates each year to take into account the higher cost of living and with price pressures remaining abnormally elevated, many inflation-weary Americans are hoping for some relief at tax time.

  

  Standard Deductions

  The standard deduction, which is typically used by people who don’t itemize their taxes, raises the amount of income people can earn before they have to hand some of it over to the government through taxes.

  Under the IRS’s newly announced annual inflation adjustments, the standard deduction for married couples filing jointly in 2024 is $29,200, up $1,500, or 5.4 percent from the prior year. This year’s increase is smaller than last year’s (which was $1,800, or 7 percent greater) because the pace of inflation has slowed somewhat from last year’s eye-watering levels.

  For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction rises to $14,600 for 2024, up $750. For heads of households, the standard deduction will be $21,900 for the tax year 2024, up $1,100 from 2023, marking a 5.4 percent increase (less than last year’s 7.4 percent bump).

  

  Tax Bracket Changes

  While the tax rates in percentage terms remain unchanged for the tax year 2024, the income limits at which they kick in have been changed.

  The top marginal rate, or the highest tax rate based on income, remains at 37 percent for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $609,350, or $731,200 for married couples filing jointly.

  The lowest rate is 10 percent, and applies to single individuals with incomes of $11,600 or less and married couples earning $23,200 or less.

  The other rates are:

  • 35 percent for incomes over $243,725 (or $487,450 for married couples filing jointly),
  • 32 percent for incomes over $191,950 (or $383,900 for married couples filing jointly),
  • 24 percent for incomes over $100,525 (or $201,050 for married couples filing jointly),
  • 22 percent for incomes over $47,150 (or $94,300 for married couples filing jointly),
  • 12 percent for incomes over $11,600 ($23,200 for married couples filing jointly).

  Overall, the income limits for the seven tax brackets have been raised by 5.4 percent for the 2024 tax year compared to last year.

  Alternative Minimum Tax

  For single filers, the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) exemption amount has been raised to $85,700 for the 2024 tax year, up from $81,300 for the prior year.

  This is the threshold level at which taxpayers become subject to the AMT, a separate tax scheme with its own set of rules and rates meant to ensure that higher-income individuals and corporations pay a minimum amount of tax regardless of deductions or credits.

  For married couples filing jointly, the AMT exemption amount has been raised to $133,300 for the 2024 tax year.

  The AMT exemption amount for tax year 2024 starts to phase out at $609,350 for single filers and at $1,218,700 for married couples filing jointly.

  Earned Income Tax Credit

  The IRS has raised the maximum amount for households who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to $7,830 for the tax year 2024 for individuals who have at least three qualifying children. In the tax year 2023, or the current tax year, this was $7,430.

  Last year, the average claimed EITC amount was more than $2,000, but around 20 percent of those entitled to the credit didn’t claim it, according to the IRS.

  People particularly prone to overlooking the tax credit include those living in nontraditional homes (such as a grandparent raising a grandchild), those whose earnings declined or whose marital or parental status changed, people living in rural areas, veterans, the self-employed, and those with earnings below the tax return filing requirement.

  Since navigating EITC eligibility can be tricky due to its complexity, the IRS has a tool called the EITC Assistant that people can use to check if they qualify and how much they can expect to get.

  Flexible Spending Arrangements

  For the 2024 tax year, the dollar limitation for employee salary reductions for flexible spending arrangement contributions increases to $3,200, up from the current tax year’s threshold of $3,050.

  The flexible spending account, also known as a flexible spending arrangement, allows workers to contribute a portion of their regular earnings, up to a limit set by the IRS, into an account that can be used to pay for certain health care costs.

  The funds taken from the account are not subject to income and payroll taxes, and so they offer certain tax advantages.

  Other Notable Adjustments

  In tax year 2024, other notable changes include higher Medical Savings Account (MSA) deductibles and out-of-pocket expense limits.

  For self-only coverage, the deductible range is $2,800 to $4,150, and the maximum out-of-pocket expense is $5,550. Family coverage deductibles range from $5,550 to $8,350, with an out-of-pocket limit of $10,200.

  The foreign earned income exclusion increases to $126,500, and estates of decedents in 2024 have a basic exclusion amount of $13,610,000. The annual gift exclusion rises to $18,000, and the maximum adoption credit is $16,810.

  Certain provisions remain unchanged: the personal exemption stays at zero, there’s no itemized deduction limitation, and the Lifetime Learning Credit phases out for incomes over $80,000 ($160,000 for joint returns) for all tax years starting from Dec. 31, 2020.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 14:00

• San Francisco Clears Homeless And Cleans Sh*t-Covered Streets For World Leaders Next Week
  San Francisco Clears Homeless And Cleans Sh*t-Covered Streets For World Leaders Next Week

  Progressive city leadership in crime-ridden San Francisco has undertaken a massive effort to improve the city’s image, which has been tarnished with shit-covered streets, homelessness, and open-air drug markets. These measures have been implemented as a temporary solution ahead of the global trade summit that will flood the city with world leaders and corporate executives beginning today. 

  The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is San Francisco’s largest international event since world leaders gathered in the town in 1945 to sign the charter creating the United Nations. A lot has changed in the metro area in 78 years, including radical leftists in City Hall that have pushed failed ‘defund the police’ policies that have transformed parts of the region into an out-of-control, crime-infested hellhole. 

  The New York Post confirmed the wonderful folks in City Hall began pushing “drug addicts, dealers, and homeless” from the downtown area to other parts of the city, an effort that some believe is to conceal their failed policies from the international community during APEC. 

  REPORT: The San Francisco homeless population has “miraculously” gone missing as President Biden & Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in the liberal city.

  Remarkable!

  The typical drug addicts & homeless who wander the city like zombies have disappeared as 20,000… pic.twitter.com/2iDpl4FHCG

  — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 11, 2023

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  Residents and business owners told The Post that Mayor London Breed’s attempts to “herd” the homeless and drug addicts to an opposite side of the city during the summit are only a “Band-Aid” amid the worst crime crisis the city has ever seen.  

  Sources said the cleanup of homeless people and drug addicts is concentrated across seven intersections in the Tenderloin and South of Market, or SoMa, neighborhoods. These areas have been known to be covered in shit and fentanyl and heroin needles, as well as various tent cities housing the homeless. 

  China level propaganda and control. Clearing out homeless in San Fran for a world leadership summit, only to unleash them back into the streets days later. https://t.co/Xfvn3qLb1D

  — Red Bear (@RedBear04749384) November 11, 2023

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  “They started clearing the tents earlier this week and there is definitely a lot more police presence,” SoMa resident and community activist Ricci Lee Wynne said. 

  “They’ve cleared out the tents that were near the Moscone Center on Howard Street, which tells me the city had the capability to do this all along — instead they just do the bare minimum,” Wynne said. 

  He added, “Once APEC is gone, police presence will start to simmer down again, the tents will return. And it will slowly flare up again. What we need is a permanent solution.”

  The summit, which runs through next Friday, will feature a highly anticipated meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday. 

  So, all along, radical Democrats in City Hall had the capability to enforce law and order but chose not to only until world leaders and corporate execs showed up to a summit. This is the biggest red flag yet for residents that leftists do not have the best interest of the majority of voters and are likely serving a fringe minority of elites.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 13:25

• Taibbi: According To Pundits, "Ignorance" Makes Americans Give "Wrong" Answers To Economic Confidence Poll
  Taibbi: According To Pundits, “Ignorance” Makes Americans Give “Wrong” Answers To Economic Confidence Poll

  Authored by Matt Taibbi via Racket News,

  Paul Krugman of the New York Times on America’s “belief” problem when it comes to the economy:

  Biden is not, in fact, presiding over a bad economy. On the contrary, the economic news has been remarkably good, and history helps explain why. Nonetheless, many Americans tell pollsters that the economy is bad. Why? I don’t think we really know… Many voters have demonstrably false views about the current economy — believing, in particular, that unemployment, which is near a 50-year low, is actually near a 50-year high.

  The Guardian editorial Krugman linked to explains: Americans continue to believe the economy sucks, even though they’ve been told over and over it doesn’t! Why won’t they listen?

  

  Commenting on their own exclusive poll, the Guardian wrote:

  The results illustrate a dramatic political split on economic views — with Republicans far more pessimistic than Democrats. But unhappiness about the economy is widespread.

  Two-thirds of respondents (68%) reported it’s difficult to be happy about positive economic news when they feel financially squeezed each month (Republicans: 69%, Democrats: 68%).

  Noting Joe Biden’s achievements include a “landmark $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill” and legislative actions “predicted to create 1.5m jobs per year for the next decade,” the Guardian complained:

  That message may be hard to sell given the widespread disbelief of and ignorance about the health of the US economy highlighted by the poll.

  As well as being wrong about the unemployment data, respondents were unaware of, or chose to mischaracterize, other major economic data points.

  I can’t remember an instance of newspapers polling Americans about their feelings, then telling them their answers are not only wrong, but ignorant! The Guardian takes the additional hilarious step of blasting respondents for making it harder to “sell” the story the economy is doing well.

  Krugman, last seen citing the sqme unemployment stat and insisting those who complain about the economy are Republicans bent on “giving Vladimir Putin victory,” now says the problem is “psychological,” because people want to think higher incomes are personal reward rather than monetary side-effect.

  Subscribers to Racket News can read the rest here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 12:50

• Iceland Declares Emergency As 'Quake Swarms' Signal Potential Volcanic Eruption
  Iceland Declares Emergency As ‘Quake Swarms’ Signal Potential Volcanic Eruption

  Authorities in Iceland declared an emergency and issued an evacuation order for thousands of people in a popular tourist town in the country’s southwestern Reykjanes Peninsula after quake swarms intensified in the last 48 hours – sparking fears that the next big volcanic eruption could be imminent. 

  WATCH: Series of earthquakes being felt in Iceland due to volcanic unrest pic.twitter.com/3XGMWLXgqn

  — BNO News (@BNONews) November 10, 2023

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  OMG….Another earthquake video #Iceland. This was happining all day yesterday. They are still getting loads of earthquakes but not as big…..😱👇

  I can’t verify the video as I can’t find the original but it does look legit. All credit to them! pic.twitter.com/7T81XBzEbk

  — Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) November 11, 2023

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  On Friday night, Iceland’s National Police Commissioner declared a state of emergency for civil defense. Residents in Grindavík were ordered to leave after a magma tunnel formed under the area. 

  “We want to reiterate that residents MUST evacuate their homes and leave the town. But we also want to reiterate that this is not an emergency evacuation, there is plenty of time to prepare, secure things and drive out of town calmly,” the agency said.

  The Icelandic Meteorological Office’s latest update warned:

  “The seismic activity has moved south towards Grindavík. Based on how the seismic activity has evolved since 6 PM today, along with results from GPS measurements, there is a likelihood that a magma intrusion has extended beneath Grindavík.” 

  It said: 

  “At this stage, it is not possible to determine exactly whether and where magma might reach the surface. There are indications that a considerable amount of magma is moving in an area extending from Sundhnjúkagígum in the north towards Grindavík. The amount of magma involved is significantly more than what was observed in the largest magma intrusions associated with the eruptions at Fagradalsfjall.”

  Magma coming to the surface produced the first seismic activity on Oct. 25, and since then, 22,000 quakes have been reported.

  

  In the last 48 hours, seismic activity has intensified with over 1,500 quakes. 

  

  Officials have elevated the volcanic warning system to “orange,” which means heightened unrest with an increased likelihood of eruption. 

  The road between Grindavik and Reykjanesbraut has been closed by the police due to damage. A large crack has formed. #Reykjanes #eruption pic.twitter.com/dyBl2AS5Ng

  — Gisli Olafsson (@gislio) November 10, 2023

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  The US Embassy in Iceland also issued a volcano alert, warning about the increased signs of volcanic activity. 

  “If an eruption occurs, follow the instructions of Icelandic authorities. Volcanic hazards may include lava, toxic gases, and heavy smoke from fires ignited by lava,” the embassy said.

  In 2010, nearly all flights in Europe and across the Atlantic Ocean were halted for a week as ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano sparked one of the most significant air traffic disruptions in peacetime until the Covid virus pandemic in 2020. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 12:15

• Bump Stock Case Could Nullify Other Biden Admin Gun Control Rules
  Bump Stock Case Could Nullify Other Biden Admin Gun Control Rules

  Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

  After years in litigation, a Trump-era gun control rule is finally headed to the Supreme Court.

  The case in question is Cargill v. Garland. In January of 2023, the 5th Circuit decided that bump stocks were not, in fact, machine guns, as they do not meet the definition of ‘machine gun’ as stated by federal law.

  Gun Owners everywhere are saying: “Exactly!”

  For those unfamiliar, a bump stock is a device that uses the recoil of a firearm to “bump” the trigger. This causes a semi-automatic firearm to shoot faster. While the ATF now considers this device to be a “machine gun” under federal law, it’s worth noting that bump fire can be achieved with belt loops and pants pockets. 

  U.S. House of Reps. votes 233-194 (including 13 Republicans) to pass a bump stock & bump fire ban. Apparently, belt-loops and pants-pockets must now be illegal, too! Watch @RealGunLobbyist bump fire without a stock ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/7jXPo94Jgg

  — Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) June 8, 2022

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  The 5th Circuit ruled against US Attorney General Merrick Garland and blocked the ATF’s bump stock rule, which had been in place since 2019. 

  Before that decision, GOA had a nearly identical case in the 6th Circuit, GOA v. Garland. But the Supreme Court declined to hear our case when we petitioned them. 

  But because our case and Cargill’s case are so similar, we’ve created what’s known as a circuit split, which is when two federal courts issue opposite decisions. The circuit split has made it extremely difficult for the Supreme Court to ignore this case. 

  Bump stocks do not make firearms into fully automatic weapons nor do they “pose a significant threat to public safety.”

  We are glad our case helped pave the way for Michael Cargill’s case to make it to SCOTUS and we’re confident the correct decision will be made. https://t.co/ZfbRPAa8jp

  — Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) November 3, 2023

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  And maybe the most important detail is that both cases were filed not on Second Amendment grounds but instead on the fact that ATF exceeded its powers by creating law out of thin air with this “regulation.”  

  The Supreme Court has an opportunity in this case not just to reign in the rogue bureaucrats at the ATF, but also to put limits on how executive agencies issue regulations. This case could affect many of Biden’s more recent gun control regulations, which were issued in the same manner as the Trump-era bump stock ban.

  To this day, ATF has gone unchecked by the Supreme Court for this behavior. Even the House of Representatives attempted to smack down the recent ATF pistol brace rule by passing H.J. Res 44. This attempt ultimately failed in the Senate, but only by one vote, and is a massive boon to our current lawsuit against Biden’s pistol brace ban. 

  When we fight in the courts, we rely on the grievances of our members who we represent. This is why notice and comment periods are so important. Each ATF rule, by law, must go through the notice and comment period. ATF must consider each comment when regulating, so our members need to make their voices heard.

  If you didn’t already know, we’re actually in a notice and comment period right now. Biden is currently directing his Department of Justice and the ATF to “bring the United States as close to universal background checks as possible without the passage of new legislation.” 

  We’re calling on all our members to comment on this new rule. We all know that universal background checks are the first step towards a national gun registry.

  We can’t allow this to happen. 

  Please click here to comment on the ATF’s new Universal Background Check rule and help us defeat it! 

  *    *    * 

  We’ll hold the line for you in Washington. We are No Compromise. Join the Fight Now.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 11/11/2023 – 11:40

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• What It Feels Like To Survive An IED Blast
  What It Feels Like To Survive An IED Blast

  Authored John J. Waters via RealClearWire.com, (emphasis ours)

  The following is an excerpt from River City One: A Novel (Knox Press; November 7, 2023).

  I’m laughing now because I can still see him. He’s got his helmet on, the chinstrap dangling and tobacco spit coming off his lip. I tell you the right side of his face was blown up like a puffer fish. He kept himself grungy, so unclean that you’d think not even the bad guys would touch him. Maybe that’s why I liked him being nearby, because I thought it would keep me safe or something.

  

  I was walking fourth in line that day and one place ahead of West, who was smack in the middle. “You’re in my world today, Sir—you know the drill.” He was the guy everybody wanted in charge of the patrol, so I did as he said.

  We set off single file, like a group of schoolchildren walking across the playground, one right after another. It had rained the night before so the ground was thick with mud. It felt like I was walking through peanut butter, every step sucking at the bottoms of my boots. The point man had the metal detector stuck out in front of him, waving it back and forth like a flashlight in the dark. We only walked where the metal detector allowed us, each man planting his foot into the footprint of the man in front of him and that was how it worked: one footprint at a time, hoping the ground wouldn’t give out from underneath.

  I can’t remember what I was thinking about before it happened. The weight of my pack, maybe, how it felt like carrying a limp body on my shoulders, that’s how heavy the gear felt. I wasn’t thinking about fighting. I was uncomfortable but not afraid. “Keep up, Sir. Speed is the name of this game,” was the last thing West said.

  We crested the hill and were approaching the plateau.

  Halfway to the center, there was a flash of white light, then heat, a wave of fire that burned the hair off the back of my neck. I felt something kick the side of my head and then, all of a sudden, I’m sitting on the ground. I feel the force of the blast on every part of my body, like a punch to the head and ribs at the same time. One second passes. My first thought is, “I’m dead.” Another second passes. I hear rocks and debris, clumps of mud splattering onto the ground around me. The air is reddish brown, a fog, like I’m inside a filthy cloud, picking wet mud out of the inside of my nose and spitting it from my mouth. More seconds pass. My conscious self slams back inside my head and I realize for the first time that I’m alive. I have memory. I remember I was walking, that I’m with my team and we’re near the end but we’ve been hit by something. More time passes. My ears are ringing and I notice that my head hurts, like I haven’t had a cup of coffee for the first time in months, and the ache is enough to make me stretch my forehead and close my eyes. A doctor told me later that the blast from twenty pounds of explosives shattered my eardrum, but for now, I’m just drifting in and out of focus. I hear voices, the sounds coming from a tunnel, inside a shaft. They’re getting louder as the sound expands, but still I’m staring into the fog and seeing nothing until I turn to see what’s going on behind me.

  “I’m good!” I scream at the outline of a figure, sweeping my hands over my legs and in front of my face, then my chest. “I’m okay,” I whisper to myself. I made it. I look behind me and finally see the image of someone emerging through the fog. “Hey, buddy. I made it,” I call out. He’s quiet, just sitting there. His back is stiff and perfectly upright, like he’s just chilling, and I think to myself, “Hell of a time to sit around, isn’t it?” He’s holding something in his hands—a helmet turned upside down like a bowl with a bootlace hanging out of it, and it’s odd. I push myself to my feet so that I can stand above him and then I understand. West isn’t sitting. His upper body is planted in the mud, like he’s sprouting up out of the dirt, right up from his ass, and there’s something black and red tucked inside the boot he’s cradling in his helmet. I keep staring at the boot in his hands.

  “My mind flips back to something I heard. “Sir, my orthotics don’t fit these issue boots, so I’m gonna need to buy a special pair. Check out this sweet-ass pair of boots.” The only dude in the platoon with boots that looked like Air Jordans. It’s his left foot he’s holding in that helmet, the tan leather is a dark red color, but otherwise in perfect condition. The toe box and throat of the boot are plump. The laces are tied.

  He couldn’t have been more than five feet away. I dream about it sometimes at night, reaching for his tourniquet off the front right shoulder of his plate carrier, fingers dancing across the stub of his right thigh before I rip my own tourniquet off my plate carrier, fastening it across what little is left of his left leg, doing what I can to stop the bleeding. I do it right every time in my dream, but it didn’t happen like that. Seconds passed and I didn’t move. More seconds passed and I couldn’t move. Eventually, the lead man in the column is there in front of me, giving the aid I’d plotted out in my head but hadn’t been able to deliver.

  Have you ever had that dream where you’re playing a basketball game and you steal the ball? There’s nothing but open court between me and the basket. Not a single defender stands in my way. Sometimes my legs are rubber, other nights they’re wood. He bled out on the helicopter, arteries sliced just as clean as cut grass is what the medic told us, said it was a “victim-operated IED.”

  Victim-operated, like West had decided to kill himself when he stepped on the pressure plate, when he stepped into my footprints.

  We both stepped on the plate. Only West was able to operate the bomb that killed him.

  John J. Waters graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. He served in the Marine Corps on deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. He lives with his family in Nebraska, where he was born.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 23:40

• 55 Global Nations Do Not 'Recognize' Palestine, 29 Don't Recognize Israel
  55 Global Nations Do Not 'Recognize' Palestine, 29 Don't Recognize Israel

  The recent conflict between Hamas and Israel has brought the Gaza Strip, and the partially recognized State of Palestine, prominently into the focus of the global news cycle.

  In the graphic below, Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti uses Wikipedia data to map the countries that currently recognize Palestine as a state and those that don’t.

  

  55 Countries Do Not Recognize Palestine

  On November 15, 1988, the State of Palestine was officially proclaimed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) coalition. The state claimed sovereignty of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

  As of November 2023, 138 of the 193 UN members (72%) recognize the State of Palestine.

  Here are the 55 countries that don’t recognize Palestine:

  State	Recognizes Palestine?
  🇦🇩 Andorra	No
  🇦🇲 Armenia	No
  🇦🇺 Australia	No, informal relations
  🇦🇹 Austria	No, informal relations
  🇧🇸 Bahamas	No
  🇧🇧 Barbados	No
  🇧🇪 Belgium	No, informal relations
  🇨🇲 Cameroon	No, informal relations
  🇨🇦 Canada	No, informal relations
  🇭🇷 Croatia	No, informal relations
  🇩🇰 Denmark	No, informal relations
  🇪🇷 Eritrea	No, informal relations
  🇪🇪 Estonia	No, informal relations
  🇫🇲 Federated States of Micronesia	No
  🇫🇯 Fiji	No
  🇫🇮 Finland	No, informal relations
  🇫🇷 France	No, informal relations
  🇩🇪 Germany	No, informal relations
  🇬🇷 Greece	No, informal relations
  🇮🇪 Ireland	No, informal relations
  🇮🇱 Israel	No, informal relations
  🇮🇹 Italy	No, informal relations
  🇯🇲 Jamaica	No
  🇯🇵 Japan	No, informal relations
  🇰🇮 Kiribati	No
  🇱🇻 Latvia	No, informal relations
  🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	No
  🇱🇹 Lithuania	No, informal relations
  🇱🇺 Luxembourg	No, informal relations
  🇲🇭 Marshall Islands	No
  🇲🇽 Mexico	No, informal relations
  🇲🇩 Moldova	No, informal relations
  🇲🇨 Monaco	No
  🇲🇲 Myanmar	No
  🇳🇷 Nauru	No
  🇳🇱 Netherlands	No, informal relations
  🇳🇿 New Zealand	No, informal relations
  🇲🇰 North Macedonia	No
  🇳🇴 Norway	No, informal relations
  🇵🇼 Palau	No
  🇵🇦 Panama	No
  🇵🇹 Portugal	No, informal relations
  🇼🇸 Samoa	No
  🇸🇲 San Marino	No
  🇸🇬 Singapore	No
  🇸🇮 Slovenia	No, informal relations
  🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	No
  🇰🇷 South Korea	No, informal relations
  🇪🇸 Spain	No, informal relations
  🇨🇭 Switzerland	No, informal relations
  🇹🇴 Tonga	No
  🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	No
  🇹🇻 Tuvalu	No
  🇬🇧 United Kingdom	No, informal relations
  🇺🇸 United States	No, informal relations

  Many of the world’s Western countries, including the entire G7, do not recognize Palestine. Instead, many maintain informal diplomatic relations.

  In contrast, emerging major economies like those within BRICS and other G20 nations, including Argentina, Indonesia, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia, officially recognize the state.

  In 2012, the State of Palestine was also upgraded by the UN to become a non-member observer state, a status shared only by the Holy See of Vatican City.

  Hamas and the Gaza Strip

  Officially, the United Nations recognizes the PLO as the governing entity in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, both of which fell under Israeli control following the 1967 Six-Day War.

  After the Oslo Accords were signed by Israel and the PLO in the mid 1990s, the PLO gained control over the Gaza Strip and 40% of the West Bank through the newly-created Palestinian Authority administration.

  However, following a 2007 military conflict between rival Palestinian factions Fatah (the majority party of the PLO) and Hamas (a militant political party separate from the PLO), the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas.

  *  *  *

  The recognition of Israel’s sovereignty has remained a dynamic and intricate issue since its establishment in 1948.

  In the graphic below, Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti uses Wikipedia data to map the countries that currently recognize Israel as a state and those that don’t.

  

  29 Countries Do Not Recognize Israel

  As of November 2023, 164 of the 193 UN members recognize Israel as a state, including all G7 countries. Even the State of Palestine recognized Israel as part of the Oslo Accords in 1993.

  Here are the 29 countries that don’t recognize Israel:

  State	Recognized Israel?
  🇦🇫 Afghanistan	Never
  🇩🇿 Algeria	Never
  🇧🇩 Bangladesh	Never
  🇧🇴 Bolivia	Suspended/Cut Relations
  🇧🇳 Brunei	Never
  🇰🇲 Comoros	Never
  🇨🇺 Cuba	Withdrew
  🇩🇯 Djibouti	Never
  🇮🇩 Indonesia	Never
  🇮🇷 Iran	Withdrew
  🇮🇶 Iraq	Never
  🇰🇼 Kuwait	Never
  🇱🇧 Lebanon	Never
  🇱🇾 Libya	Never
  🇲🇾 Malaysia	Never
  🇲🇻 Maldives	Suspended/Cut Relations
  🇲🇱 Mali	Suspended/Cut Relations
  🇲🇷 Mauritania	Suspended/Cut Relations
  🇳🇪 Niger	Suspended/Cut Relations
  🇰🇵 North Korea	Never
  🇴🇲 Oman	Never
  🇵🇰 Pakistan	Never
  🇶🇦 Qatar	Never
  🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	Never
  🇸🇴 Somalia	Never
  🇸🇾 Syria	Never
  🇹🇳 Tunisia	Never
  🇻🇪 Venezuela	Suspended/Cut Relations
  🇾🇪 Yemen	Never

  With the exception of four countries—Bolivia, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela—the countries that do not recognize Israel are predominantly Muslim.

  Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria have never recognized Israel and technically remain in a state of war with the country. Iran also doesn’t recognize Israel, but actually had relations with the country in the past before severing all ties following the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

  Likewise, Cuba recognized Israel in 1949, but reversed its position in 1973 and actively supported Egypt and Syria against it during that year’s Yom Kippur War.

  On the other hand, some Muslim-majority countries including Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE, have gradually normalized with the country.

  Effects of the Israel-Hamas War

  Relations between Israel and other countries are often strained when it engages in military conflicts, especially in the Gaza Strip.

  In some cases those relations have broken completely. Venezuela broke all diplomatic ties with Israel during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. More recently, Bolivia cut official ties with Israel over the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.

  As of November 2023, 85% of UN members recognized Israel as a country, compared to 72% for the State of Palestine.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 23:20

• ATF Director Says Assault Weapons Ban Now On His "Wish List"
  ATF Director Says Assault Weapons Ban Now On His "Wish List"

  Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

  Looks like Biden’s ATF director has drastically changed his views from his Senate confirmation hearing.

  During a recent interview with Caroline Light, the Director of Undergraduate studies in Women, Gender and Sexuality at Harvard University, ATF Director Steve Dettelbach was asked about his gun control “Wish list.”

  

  According to Harvard Magazine, ATF Director Dettelbach answered that he’d like to revive the federal prohibition on “assault weapons,” which expired in 2004. 

  The so-called “assault weapons” that Dettelbach refers to are commonly owned modern sporting rifles that 1 in 20 Americans own.

  This is a drastic change from Dettelbach’s nomination hearing, where he promised to be a fair regulator and only use the tools that Congress gave him.

  These words earned him his nominations from holdouts like Senator Angus King of Maine and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.

  Senator King was credited with torpedoing the previous ATF director nominee, David Chipman.

  Chipman, a former ATF agent and veteran of the gun-control lobby, was withdrawn after his views on firearms confirmed that he would be antagonistic towards the firearms industry as a regulator.

  Dettelbach was seen as a law enforcement candidate, with a background as a United States Attorney who promised to “never let politics in any way influence my action as ATF director.”

  It is clear that Director Dettelbach has become a gun-control advocate in the vein of David Chipman. In fact, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, no ATF director has ever advocated for an assault weapon ban until now.

  This is unsurprising, as the Biden administration recently announced an office of gun violence prevention — its sole purpose being to cozy up the gun control lobby with a direct link to ATF. Look no further than the Office of Gun Violence Prevention’s Deputy Director, Rob Wilcox.

  ICYMI📢

  Last week, Biden’s White House announced the new gun violence prevention office. This is just another attempt to take away your Second Amendment rights. pic.twitter.com/r1HejsNWvh

  — Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) September 30, 2023

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

  Wilcox was the Senior Director of Federal Affairs for Michael Bloomberg’s gun-control organization Everytown for Gun Safety before working directly for the White House in their newly created office.

  Interesting as well in Dettelbach’s interview was his attempt to characterize a GOA-backed overturning of an egregious gun control policy by the Department of Veterans Affairs as somehow related to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine.

  Dettelbach suggested that the GOA-backed policy lowered barriers to gun ownership for those found to be mentally incompetent. This is the furthest thing from the truth.

  In reality, the provision reversed a sinister policy by the VA, which added veterans to the list of prohibited persons in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) if they used a fiduciary to manage their finances. Over 250,000 veterans were disarmed because of this policy.

  ATF is currently working to implement Universal Registration Checks by executive fiat (another item on Dettelbach’s wish list), and the rule is now up for comment. Click here to let ATF know that you oppose this rule by leaving a public comment.

  Gun Owners of America proudly stands in opposition to ATF and Director Dettelbach in the defense of law-abiding gun owners’ Second Amendment rights.

  *  *  * 

  We’ll hold the line for you in Washington. We are No Compromise. Join the Fight Now.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 23:00

• Not Married, No Kids: The Rise Of China's 'Single' Culture
  Not Married, No Kids: The Rise Of China's 'Single' Culture

  While Singles‘ Day was originally conceived as a celebration of people who are not in a relationship, Statista’s Felix Richter points out that the growing popularity of a lifestyle that prioritizes personal independence and self-discovery over traditional societal expectations has not come without side effects.

  One such side effect has been a steep decline in marriage rates across the country.

  Young adults in particular are increasingly likely to delay or forgo marriage altogether, breaking away from the longstanding societal pressure to marry early. While 47 percent of newly married people in China were 24 or younger in 2005, that number dropped to just 15 percent in 2022, with nearly 50 percent of newlyweds older than 30, compared to less than 20 percent in 2005. The reasons behind this shift are multifaceted, encompassing factors such as changing gender roles, increased educational and career opportunities for women and a desire for personal fulfillment outside the confines of a traditional family structure. As our chart shows, the marriage rate in China dropped to a historic low of 4.8 new marriages per 1,000 people in 2022, down from more than double that a decade earlier.

  Accompanying the decline in marriages has been the concerning trend of a falling birth rate in China, which also fell to a new low in 2022, resulting in the country’s first population decline in over 60 years. The choice to remain single or delay marriage often translates into delayed parenthood or even a decision to remain childless. Economic considerations, career aspirations and the high cost of raising children in urban areas further contribute to this decline. The Chinese government’s efforts to encourage childbirth, such as the relaxation of the one-child policy, have yet to yield a substantial reversal of the declining birth rate.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  So while the rise of the single culture in China is emblematic of evolving social attitudes and individual aspirations, it also raises questions about the long-term demographic and economic implications for the nation. As the number of single individuals continues to rise, policymakers are grappling with the need to adapt to this changing landscape, addressing challenges such as an aging population and potential strains on social welfare systems.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 22:40

• Is A Cyber 9/11 Coming?
  Is A Cyber 9/11 Coming?

  Authored by Marie Hawthorne via The Organic Prepper blog,

  Talk of a “Cyber 9/11” has been circulating for years.  With the next presidential election twelve months away now, some folks are predicting that a major cyber event will happen before then, throwing a monkey wrench into the 2024 election process.

  

  What the heck is Cyber 9/11?

  What does Cyber 9/11 mean?  Is there a real risk?  What should we be preparing for?

  There are two aspects to the Cyber 9/11 concept.  The first is the disaster itself; 9/11 was a catastrophe that ended the lives of over 3000 people in one day.  There are fears that if power grids were hacked or enough damage was done to logistical centers, the ensuing chaos would cause deaths.

  Quite memorably, back in 2000, a disgruntled public works employee in Australia hacked into the water treatment system and caused raw sewage to pour into public areas, flooding a Hyatt hotel.  One man acting alone caused a disgusting, expensive mess. Of course security experts are concerned with what a team of angry individuals could do.

  The second aspect to a potential Cyber 9/11 is the change in the regulatory landscape that occurred after 9/11 in 2001.  I remember flying as a teenager in the 90s. So many things changed later.  The airport changes were most obvious to regular citizens, but the passage of the Patriot Act in October 2001 was far more consequential.  It dramatically changed the way surveillance was conducted.

  Under the Fourth Amendment, private citizens are supposed to be protected from warrantless search and seizures.  The Patriot Act really weakened that. Law enforcement is now allowed to delay the notice of search warrants.  They don’t need nearly as much oversight from judges to conduct phone and internet surveillance.

  These Constitution-weakening changes occurred after 9/11 in 2001.

  How might our Constitutional rights be altered after a Cyber 9/11?

  Centralized powers have made it obvious that they love using calamities to push through changes the public would never otherwise accept.  Winston Churchill was the first person on record to say, “Never let a crisis go to waste,” as he worked to establish the UN in the 1940s, but he was hardly the last.

  • Rahm Emmanuel, regarding the 2008 banking crisis: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.  And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.”

  • Hillary Clinton, regarding the push for universal healthcare in 2020: “This would be a terrible crisis to waste.”

  • Klaus Schwab, regarding the Covid pandemic: “. . . the pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world to create a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous future.”

  Understanding this tendency to see crisis as opportunity is absolutely vital to understanding everything else going on today.

  So, is a Cyber 9/11 something we should be preparing for?

  Some experts believe that a Cyber 9/11 would be difficult to pull off by the known terrorist groups for technical reasons.  And the world is too connected, globally, for most governments to pursue large-scale cyberattacks, even between unfriendly nations.  For people who want to use the internet to harm American society, there are simply better ways to do it.

  However, we can’t ignore the fact that cyberattacks have been increasing.  Ask any small business owner. Daisy has mentioned in previous articles that most of this site’s income goes to security.  And I’ve heard similar things from friends that work in fields as diverse as accounting and energy.

  These stories from friends align with what security professionals have found, too.  The Information Security Forum is a London-based firm that provides guidance on internet security for many Fortune 500 companies and governments around the world.  They have seen a huge increase in cyberattacks, too, and in June this year, they hosted an Operational Technology Cyber Simulation exercise in Brussels.  This gave industry leaders an opportunity to meet and collaborate, working through a simulation of a cyberattack on a fictitious manufacturing facility

  How would governments react to a major cyberattack?

  I don’t think a major cyberattack is an unreasonable concern.  I also don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask, if we did have a major cyber event, how would our governments react?

  Central banks and governments around the world have been talking an awful lot about implementing CBDCs.  In late June, 130 countries representing 98% of the global economy were exploring CBDCs.  This is despite a lack of interest by average citizens.  During Covid, many people became aware of how China used its social credit system, interconnected with online banking, to enforce compliance.

  It’s not just China that people can look to with alarm. When Nigeria’s government tried to impose CBDCs on their citizens, widespread protests erupted.

  In the U.S., Republican Senators introduced legislation that would ban the federal government from implementing a CBDC.   Europeans don’t want CBDCs, either.  It has simply become too obvious that CBDCs will be used as a means of control, and politicians have been caught admitting it.

  Look at the Rumble pranksters who convinced European Central Bank President Christine LaGarde that she was on the phone with Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky.  She admits, thinking that she is speaking privately, that CBDCs would be used to control what kind of payments the population would be able to make.

  There’s no putting the cat back in that bag.  Politicians and central bankers want total financial control, and they think they have the technology to do it, through CBDCs.  Average citizens worldwide have been making it clear that they would really prefer to have the option of private, decentralized payments through crypto or cash, and so there is a legitimate concern that any upcoming cyberattack (no matter who actually conducts it) could be used to reset financial systems worldwide.

  But do they have the technology to pull this off successfully?

  Who knows.

  We’ve talked before about Ukraine’s Diia app and how, shortly after it launched, they had a massive data breach in which millions of people had their personal information released all over the dark web.

  This breach was tiny compared to what just happened to the people of India in the recent Aadhaar data breach.

  Aadhaar is the Indian program launched to streamline the identification process of Indian citizens.  The program was rolled out in 2009, issuing a unique 12-digit number to each person who registered in exchange for their biometric data/

  Before Aadhaar, there was no universal identification program within India, and as you can imagine, this led to widespread abuse and corruption.  Aadhaar claimed to solve that problem.

  Within a few years of launching, Aadhaar had become the world’s largest biometric data collection service.  As of 2023, 99% of Indians, or 1.3 billion people, have handed over their fingerprints and iris scans in exchange for access to government services.  The Indian government has boasted that this allows the poorest Indians, many of whom had no official identification beforehand, to receive benefits.

  A court ruling in 2018 claimed that the Indian government could demand Aadhaar data, but that private entities such as banks and phone companies could not.  However, despite this court ruling, many educated people within India claim that it was not clear what services would or would not be withheld based on Aadhaar participation.  Instances of fraud have been playing out since its adoption.  It has been used for voter fraud.  And, once you opt-in, there’s no opting out.

  Within the past two weeks, India has suffered a massive data breach, with 815 million people having their biometric data and banking information put up for sale on the dark web.

  This is the biggest data breach in history.  Eight hundred fifteen million people means that more than 1 in 10 people on planet Earth just had their data stolen.  You can find many, many videos on YouTube of furious Indians talking about the data breach, but Western media has totally ignored this for reasons that are probably obvious.

  How am I preparing?

  So, after all this, am I preparing for Cyber 9/11?  Am I prepping for the attack itself, or some kind of biometrically linked CBDC to roll out?

  General chaos, leading to Thirdworldization, is my pre-2024 election prediction.  There are some power-hungry people individuals who would love to have the whole world living under a global digital system, but I think that forced implementation is more likely to cause chaos than anything else.  These systems are not foolproof and lead to problems wherever they’re tried.

  We may not be able to avoid attempts at forced implementation.  But we can prepare by paying attention to our surroundings, becoming more skilled producers rather than consumers, and most of all, developing trusted networks of friends and family in the real world.

  For more information on preparing for a cyberattack, check out this article and this one.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 22:20

• Seven Hezbollah Fighters Killed In Syria After Expanded Israeli Airstrikes On 'Iran Axis'
  Seven Hezbollah Fighters Killed In Syria After Expanded Israeli Airstrikes On 'Iran Axis'

  Lebanon’s Hezbollah has issued a rare announcement Friday, saying that seven of its fighters have been killed, describing that they were “martyred on the road to Jerusalem” – which is code for fighting Israel.

  But it’s being widely reported that at least some of the slain Hezbollah members were killed inside Syria, after a new Friday Israeli airstrike on central Homs. In total on Friday, Hezbollah released seven death notices.

  

  Hezbollah as well as international sources have cited a death toll of at least 68 Hezbollah fighters since the Oct.7 conflict began, centered on southern Israel and Gaza.

  “A Hezbollah official and a Lebanese security official said the seven fighters were killed in neighboring Syria this morning,” international press agencies and regional reports indicated. “They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.”

  Israel’s attacks on Syria, where Hezbollah has long been operating in coordination with the Assad government, have grown to almost daily of late. This presents the prospect that the war could go regional, given these assaults are ultimately aimed at the ‘Iran axis’. 

  On Wednesday, there were reports that three ‘pro-Iran’ fighters had been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the outskirts of Damascus. And Bloomberg on Friday says that cross-border fire in southern Lebanon has persisted:

  Iran-backed Hezbollah said it launched missiles at Israeli soldiers, the militant group’s Al-Manar TV reported. Israel Defense Forces said that a group launched a number of anti-tank missiles from Lebanon toward an army post in northern Israel. The Israeli army said it responded and struck the source of fire.

  There also appears to be a concerted effort to degrade and destroy Israel’s string of observation and communications posts along the border…

  For those who ask why Hezbollah is hitting the towers:

  Hezbollah is destroying all Israeli observation stations, leaving the border completely open for an invasion of Israel.

  Israel has spent billions of dollars on these observation towers. pic.twitter.com/J5m3Hj3R2M

  — Iran Observer (@IranObserver0) November 10, 2023

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

  While most analysts have underscored that a full ‘war front’ has yet to be opened by Hezbollah, the fact of 60+ Hezbollah deaths does mean that significant fighting is taking place. 

  Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a recent speech said part of the purpose of operations was to divert up to one-third of Israel’s military hardware and personnel to the north, in order to divert these way from Gaza operations.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 22:00

• Taibbi: Big Brother Is Flagging You
  Taibbi: Big Brother Is Flagging You

  Authored by Matt Taibbi via Racket News,

  

  “We just set up an election integrity partnership at the request of DHS/CISA,” wrote Graham Brookie of the Atlantic Council on July 31, 2020, according to a devastating new House report:

  

  So much for “CISA did not found, fund, or otherwise control the EIP.” That’s what the public was told in March, after Michael Shellenberger and I testified to Jim Jordan’s Weaponization of Government Committee about the ubiquitous presence in the Twitter Files of the the Election Integrity Partnership, a cross-platform content-flagging operation set up ahead of the 2020 Trump-Biden election.

  Nominally run by Stanford University, the EIP is really government censorship in a ski mask, a creature of the Department of Homeland Security and its sub-agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Despite media protestations to the contrary, this has never really been in doubt. Stanford Internet Observatory Director Alex Stamos told the world EIP was formed because CISA “lacked both kinda the funding and the legal authorizations” to do its “necessary” work:

  Now, after a damaging new report packed with subpoenaed documents just released by the House Weaponization of Government Committee, a thorough exposé by Michael Shellenberger and Alexandra Gutentag at Public, and new documents in this space from both the Twitter Files and the Missouri v. Biden case, the public hopefully will have enough information to shut the door on one of the more infuriating and shameless ass-covering campaigns in recent memory:

  After Shellenberger and I testified in March, some partners in the EIP — which included the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO), the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP), Graphika, and the “Center for Internet Security” (CIS) — denied they were part of a censorship operation, claiming to be victims of “false statements” and mischaracterizations.

  The denials triggered a furious campaign of counter-accusation leveled through national media, which was of course more interested in Jordan, Michael and me than in efforts by an intelligence service to build a domestic censorship operation. EIP members worked with everyone from Mehdi Hasan at MSNBC to PBS Frontline to the Washington Post, New York Times, and the New Yorker, unironically depicting congressional subpoenas and Freedom of Information requests as “tools of harassment.” Stanford’s Renée DiResta even told The New Yorker, “Matt Taibbi says something on a Twitter thread, and then members of Congress get to read my e-mails!”

  Of course, congress gets to read such emails because voters chose to give politicians who wanted to read them subpoena power. Or: Freedom of Information laws allow anyone curious about the destination of public funds to see correspondence involving anyone working on public projects. That EIP “researchers” believe subpoeanas or FOIA rules to be unfair impositions says a lot about how much say they feel the public should have in publicly-funded programs.

  The Twitter Files confirm information in the Weaponization Committee report, containing multiple references to DHS plans in 2020 to build an election content-reviewing program. Here for instance lawyer Stacia Cardille says, “DHS want to establish a centralized portal for reporting disinformation”:

  

  Shortly after, in May 2020, a different Twitter official noted “CISA received a grant to build a web portal for state and local election officials to report incidents of election-related misinformation,” and “This tool has been built in beta form”:

  

  The Committee report noted Twitter was “briefed on the portal” by DHS in May, 2020. In a June a Twitter exec noted in an email, “We have already done a demo with DHS/CISA,” and, “Twitter has already received a demo on this product.”

  

  

  Along with the Brookie email about the EIP set up “at the request” of DHS/CISA, plus the EIP’s own bragging about filling the “critical gap” for a government agency that “lacked both kinda the funding and the legal authorizations” to do this work, it was already comical to claim “CISA did not found, fund, or otherwise control the EIP.”

   

  Subscribers to Racket News can read the rest here…

   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 21:40

• Visualizing The Expansion Of The Shanghai Cooperation Organization
  Visualizing The Expansion Of The Shanghai Cooperation Organization

  China has actively pursued the expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Eurasian political, economic, and international security entity.

  Established in 2001 by Russia, China, and former Soviet states, the organization serves as a counterbalance to Western influence in the region.

  Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti and Sabrina Fortin created the chart below, using data from Incrementum, the UN, and the SCO, to illustrate the development of the largest regional organization globally.

  

  SCO Timeline

  The SCO, formed with objectives such as combating terrorism, promoting border security, strengthening political ties, and expanding economic cooperation, initially included China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

  

  In 2002, member states ratified the organization statute to encourage political, trade, economic, technological, cultural, and educational collaboration.

  Since then, the organization has undertaken over 20 large-scale projects related to transportation, energy, and telecommunications. A notable initiative is China’s expansive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aims to rebuild the Silk Road and connect China to Asia, Europe, and beyond through significant infrastructure investments.

  The organization has also expanded its geopolitical influence. It attained observer status in the UN General Assembly in 2005 and gave Afghanistan observer status in 2012. Currently, it is working with the interim Taliban administration to include Afghan representatives in its future meetings.

  India and Pakistan officially became members of the SCO in 2017, and Iran is in the process of obtaining full-time membership. Egypt and Qatar are dialogue partners, and Saudi Arabia, a traditional U.S. ally, has taken steps to join. Belarus is set to become a member in 2024 after signing a memorandum of obligations.

  Furthermore, the organization also plays a crucial role in Chinese military ambitions.

  In 2007, the SCO signed an agreement outlining the legal rights and responsibilities for military exercises in another member country.

  The agreement allows Chinese armed forces to engage in air-ground combat operations abroad, covering activities like long-distance mobilization, counterterrorism missions, stability maintenance operations, and conventional warfare.

  

  Military presence is particularly important for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which fears that separatist movements in the Uyghur-dominated autonomous region of Xinjiang could gain support from other Central Asian states.

  Implications for the United States

  Today, the SCO encompasses 42% of the global population and 32% of the global GDP.

  Due to its growing influence, U.S. policymakers have been monitoring the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

  In a 2020 report to the U.S. Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission highlighted that through the SCO, China is establishing diplomatic relationships and expeditionary capabilities that could support power projection beyond its borders.

  According to the document, “there is a significant risk that Beijing may leverage its relationships with SCO countries to limit the ability of U.S. armed forces to operate in Central Asia.”

  Nonetheless, the same report mentions that the SCO could serve as a beneficial tool for Central Asian states, offering a platform for cooperation and presenting an alternative to potential domination by Russia, particularly in areas such as energy.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 21:20

• "Malpractice": Ramaswamy Denies Claim By RNC Chair McDaniel That He Voted For Obama
  "Malpractice": Ramaswamy Denies Claim By RNC Chair McDaniel That He Voted For Obama

  Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (Emphasis ours),

  GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has denied claims made by Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel that he voted for former Democratic President Barack Obama.

  

  The Ohio entrepreneur took to social media to accuse Ms. McDaniel of “flat-out lying” and reiterated his call for her resignation.

  He repeated online anonymous claims that the RNC chair had allegedly vowed not to give “one cent” to his campaign after he criticized her during the third GOP debate held on Wednesday.

  “I’ve never voted for Obama in my life,” Mr. Ramaswamy told Fox News on Thursday. “So, for a chair of the RNC to be saying that on national television, is malpractice.”

  The RNC, in response to inquiries, directed The Epoch Times to a statement denying Ms. McDaniel’s reported remarks about withholding financial support for Ramaswamy’s campaign.

  

  At the third GOP debate in Miami on Wednesday, one day after the Nov. 7 off-year elections that saw Democrats gain ground in key elections, Mr. Ramaswamy said the GOP had become a “party of losers.” He attributed the blame to the Republican establishment and called on Ms. McDaniel to resign.

  “Since Ronna McDaniel took over as chairwoman of the RNC in 2017, we have lost 2018, 2020, 2022,” he said. “We got trounced last night in 2023, and I think that we have to have accountability in our party.

  “For that matter, Ronna, if you want to come on stage tonight, you want to look the GOP voters in the eye and tell them you resign, I will turn over [and] yield my time to you.“

  Following the debate, Ms. McDaniel said the GOP should be focused on domestic issues, such as the border and fentanyl crisis, crime, U.S. families, and defeating President Joe Biden—not her.

  “I’m not running for anything, so let’s focus on Joe Biden and beating the Democrats,” she said Wednesday night.

  

  In further comments on Thursday, Ms. McDaniel dismissed Mr. Ramaswamy’s comments calling on her to resign, saying that he “needs a headline” and noting that he’s polling at “4 percent.”

  She also said the RNC, a federal committee, isn’t involved in state elections.

  “We’re a federal committee, so we weren’t involved in those races on Tuesday,” Ms. McDaniel said. “I know Vivek is kind of newer to the party. He voted for Obama, so he may not know that, but this is something we’re going to have to get right … as a party.”

  Ms. McDaniel made her remarks during an interview with Fox News, in which she was responding to criticisms Mr. Ramaswamy leveled at her during the third GOP debate on Wednesday night.

  Among the victories for Democrats on Tuesday were Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection and the keeping and flipping, respectively, of the Virginia state Senate and House of Delegates.

  To qualify for the fourth GOP debate, candidates must meet either of two polling thresholds: “at least 6 percent in two national polls” or “6 percent in one national poll and 6 percent in one early state poll from two separate ‘carve out’ states,” according to the RNC.

  They also need a minimum of 80,000 unique donors, with at least 200 donors from each of 20 or more states and territories.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 21:00

• Lilly's New Weight Loss Medication Ignites Obesity Drug Price War
  Lilly's New Weight Loss Medication Ignites Obesity Drug Price War

  The obesity drug price war has just begun following the Food and Drug Administration’s Wednesday approval of Zepbound, a weight-loss drug from Eli Lilly and Company. Zepbound is anticipated to be more affordable than Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and will be stocked at US pharmacies after Thanksgiving. 

  

  Zepbound is the latest entrant into the GLP-1 craze this year as obese Americans give up Pelotons for ‘miracle’ weight loss drugs that can help people lose up to 5% of body weight in a month. The new drug costs 21% less per month – or about $1,060 for a shot, compared with the premium price of $1,349 a month for Wegovy, according to Bloomberg. 

  

  Despite the high monthly cost of Wegovy, which can be comparable to expenses like car payments, rent, or mortgage payments and thus unaffordable for many folks, along with some insurance companies unwilling to pick up the bill, the introduction of Zepbound offers hope for more affordable options in the GLP-1 space. 

  Bloomberg noted Lilly’s discount has likely instigated the opening move of a “war between the two drugmakers to win over insurers’ dollars.” 

  There could be a divide-and-conquer strategy between the two drugmakers with insures:

  Even as list prices remain high, drugmakers often offer insurance companies steep behind-the-scenes discounts in exchange for favorable coverage, especially when there’s competition from a very similar drug. What drugmakers lose in rebates — as these deals are often called — they gain in potential market share. Winning over the fragmented, complex and lucrative US health-care system is imperative for Lilly and Novo in maximizing long-term profits.

  The two drugmakers are experts at navigating the behind-the-scenes fights with insurers for access to their patients. For years, the two competed to get coverage for injectable diabetes drugs, including more recently Mounjaro and Ozempic. They have historically split market-share for diabetes treatments, but the stakes are higher for weight-loss medicines. -Bloomberg

  Bloomberg Intelligence’s Michael Shah said Lilly and Novo “want to get broad access, so insurers will likely pit one against the other to secure the biggest discount.” 

  Shah estimates that Novo has discounted Wegovy by at least 55% to secure access with insurers. He said the obesity drug war will likely mean rebates will move higher. This is a good sign for obese folks that more affordable pricing is ahead.  

  On Wednesday, after Zepbound’s approval, Lilly wrote in a press release that its new drug is a “powerful new option for the treatment of obesity.” Clinicals have shown it can help people lose up to 52 pounds in 16 months. 

  Patrik Jonsson, a Lilly executive vice president, recently said the more affordable Zepbound is a “signal from our side” that Lilly is taking drug costs seriously. 

  Bloomberg noted the obesity drug wars will accelerate this weekend:

  Novo is expected to present data at the American Heart Association meeting from a big trial showing that Wegovy can prevent heart attacks and strokes in cardiovascular patients without diabetes. Those findings could also pressure insurers to cover the drug if it has more perceived health benefits.

  The beginning innings of the obesity drug price war appear to have started this week to ‘make America slim again’ (also make billions of dollars along the way). 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 20:40

• This Crime Data Is Not Real
  This Crime Data Is Not Real

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

  Headlines in recent weeks blared that crime is down, all based on a new report from the FBI.

  

  News media picked it up and did the predictable kabuki dance over the greatness of the Biden administration, as if the president has anything to do with it.

  Mainly, the point is that all is well.

  There’s nothing about which to complain.

  You’re safe and prosperous, so just stop your kvetching.

  The report stated the following:

  “The FBI’s crime statistics estimates for 2022 show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 1.7 percent in 2022 compared to 2021 estimates: Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2022 estimated nationwide decrease of 6.1 percent compared to the previous year. In 2022, the estimated number of offenses in the revised rape category saw an estimated 5.4 percent decrease. Aggravated assault in 2022 decreased an estimated 1.1 percent in 2022. Robbery showed an estimated increase of 1.3 percent nationally.”

  Before we examine this reported data, consider that there’s no reason to believe that it’s even close to the truth.

  In all the chaos of the last several years, people have mostly stopped reporting theft and even assault. It’s so routine and everyone knows that the police will not and probably cannot do anything anyway. This truth is easily confirmed by asking any street-level store owner in any big city. Theft is rampant. Cameras are everywhere. But there’s nothing they can do about it.

  Just a couple of days ago, I was in a CVS Pharmacy and startled that the toothpaste was under lock and key. That’s how terrible things have gotten in formerly civilized places.

  One wonders about assaults, too. Based on what you can see in midtown Manhattan on any night, does anyone believe that assaults in this setting are being reported? What precisely would be the point?

  To be sure, murders are different. Those data are less subject to reporting problems. But here’s another problem: a basic statistical error in how it is presented. It’s a sophomoric point but nonetheless real. Whether something is up or down, getting better or getting worse, entirely depends on the baseline that you choose as your starting date. If you choose the absolute worst peak of a trend, everything else looks good by comparison.

  That’s precisely what the FBI has done.

  It has chosen the worst possible year in order to make our present hellish reality seem great by comparison. Joshua Crawford of the Georgia Center for Opportunity explains:

  “Part of the problem with most media analysis is that 2019 didn’t represent a historical baseline of homicide and violent crime rates in America—2014 did. Nationally, violent crime and murder were much more prevalent in 2019 than in 2014. So though U.S. rates have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels, the country is well above normal violent-crime rates. Total violent crime in 2022 was 5 percent higher than in 2014, an increase that represents tens of thousands of additional victims in a single year. The national homicide rate in 2022 was 43 percent higher than in 2014. Since 2015, there have been roughly 30,000 more murders in the U.S. than there would have been if the homicide rate had stayed at the 2014 low.”

  Which is to say, this is all terrible news. It’s only not as terrible as the most terrible possible reality of 4 years ago. This isn’t crime being down; this is crime persisting and even worsening in many respects in many places, especially in blue areas such as San Francisco.

  We’re all getting pretty fed up with the lying by statistics. Sadly, it often works. It depends fundamentally on the public’s statistical ignorance, which is undoubtedly very high. People can only understand the most rudimentary notions, such as “up” and “down,” without asking more important questions such as “Compared with what?” much less more sophisticated questions such as “Are we talking about an absolute fall or a drop in the rate of increase?”

  We experience this constantly with inflation data. For more than two years, we’ve kept hearing about a fall in the inflation rate. People hear that and think, “Oh, prices are coming back down,” without even realizing that this isn’t what it means. It means a falling rate at which prices are going up. Prices are still going up.

  Mass statistical ignorance is extremely costly. It allows a ruling class to toss around numbers all the time to sound vaguely sciency but without having any real substance behind the claims. This is what enabled the Biden administration to say daily that the job market is great, that economic growth is strong, that Americans are growing wealthier, and now, that crime is down. It’s all completely gibberish and contradicted by every bit of reality that we observe with our own eyes.

  The crime problem is a major one because it directly affects two fundamental points of security that are essential to the good life: security of property and security of person. Both are in deep trouble in America today. It only adds insult to literal injury that our own FBI is tossing around extremely misleading data to suggest that it’s all in our heads.

  If and when things settle down, and America gets its act together again, there needs to be a mass educational campaign to do remedial classes in math and statistics (and probably logic, too). It was the ignorance of the basics that allowed so many people to be bamboozled during the COVID-19 era. When you don’t really understand the math or data, you have no real choice but to trust the interpretation of the featured experts. This is a huge problem.

  During this period of our lives, property became ever less secure, first wrecked by government edict and then threatened by mobs of riots and now under assault from petty thieves and organized shoplifting gangs. Respect for life has declined, too. Generally, the very notions of human dignity and bodily autonomy have declined in moral legitimacy in the public mind.

  Foot traffic in our cities has fallen dramatically, and this is partially a result of crime fears. Will murders decline from their highs, too? Certainly. But this isn’t because our streets are safer. It’s because people are too terrified to go there. This isn’t an improvement but evidence of a worsening problem.

  That kind of analysis is too deep and rich for sound bites in today’s manipulated public square, where propaganda always seems to prevail over facts. It’s true in economics. It’s true in public health. And now we see that it’s true in crime reporting as well. It’s just another sector of life in which the decline in trust is much merited.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 20:20

• Vietnam Veterans Are The Largest Veteran Group In The US
  Vietnam Veterans Are The Largest Veteran Group In The US

  Tomorrow marks Veterans Day and, as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reports, military men and women who served in Vietnam are still the largest group of vets in the U.S. 

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Even when counting both Gulf War periods together, like is done in some statistics, veterans of these wars only surpassed the number of Vietnam vets currently living in the US in 2016.

  The Department of Veteran Affairs has also projected the future development of veteran populations in the U.S.

  The smallest group to date, WWII veterans, are expected to lose its last members in 2045.

  By that time fewer than 400 veterans of the Korean War are expected to remain alive.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 20:00

• Russia's Finance Ministry Says (Again) That The Digital Ruble Will Replace Cash
  Russia's Finance Ministry Says (Again) That The Digital Ruble Will Replace Cash

  Authored by Riley Waggaman via Off-Guardian.org,

  The transition to CBDCs will be completely voluntary, though. You needn’t worry!

  

  Alexei Moiseev, Russia’s deputy minister of finance, is the world’s most candid space lizard.

  When he announced in a September 2021 interview that “the digital ruble is a replacement for the cash ruble”, skeptics and haters spread hurtful rumors that Moiseev’s refreshing and award-winning honesty had been taken out of context.

  Here’s what Mr. Moiseev told RIA Novosti two years later, on October 30, 2023:

  Essentially, [the digital ruble] is the real currency of the 22nd or any other century, which at the end of the day must replace cash.

  He also promised that the digital ruble would be more “convenient” than cash and non-cash transactions. Safety and convenience are the guiding principles of the 21st century, so it’s easy to imagine that the 22nd century will be extremely safe and outrageously convenient.

  

  source: ria.ru

  But just to be 100% clear: Elvira Nabiullina and her devoted blog-admirers promise that Russians will never be coerced into using digital rubles.

  The gradual transition to CBDCs will be an organic process—a naturally occurring result of Extreme Convenience.

  Russians will never be prevented from using cash in certain situations, even though this is already happening right now, today, in 2023.

  

  That was fast. (source / source)

  But that’s neither here nor there. As the Bank of Russia’s universally loved chairwoman said just yesterday, Russians will always be allowed to decide how they receive their salaries and pensions—that is her current “position” and it would be rude to even consider the possibility that this position might change.

  Just like it would be uncouth to think that the Bank of Russia’s position on placing restrictions on how digital rubles can be spent (“coloring” them) would ever change.

  All Russians understand how convenient and voluntary the 21st and 22nd centuries will be.

  Just look at what they’re saying on the internet forums:

  

  source: yaplakal.com

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 19:40

• FBI Seized NYC Mayor Eric Adams' Phones, iPad
  FBI Seized NYC Mayor Eric Adams' Phones, iPad

  Authored by Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times,

  An attorney for New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed on Friday that the FBI seized the mayor’s phones and an iPad as part of an investigation into his campaign financing.

  “After learning of the federal investigation, it was discovered that an individual had recently acted improperly. In the spirit of transparency and cooperation, this behavior was immediately and proactively reported to investigators. The Mayor has been and remains committed to cooperating in this matter,” his attorney Boyd Johnson said in a statement.

  “On Monday night, the FBI approached the mayor after an event. The Mayor immediately complied with the FBI’s request and provided them with electronic devices. The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing and continues to cooperate with the investigation.”

  

  Mr. Adams also denied any wrongdoing in a statement.

  “As a former member of law enforcement, I expect all members of my staff to follow the law and fully cooperate with any sort of investigation—and I will continue to do exactly that. I have nothing to hide,” he stated.

  Last week, the FBI raided the home of Brianna Suggs, one of the mayor’s chief political consultants, after which the mayor also issued a statement that he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

  “I feel extremely comfortable about how I comply with rules and procedures. I’ve stated this over and over again. I hold myself to a high standard, I hold my campaign to a high standard, and I hold my staffers at city hall to a high standard,” he said. He also said that Ms. Suggs was a “real professional” and would remain on his team for his 2025 reelection campaign.

  “I am outraged and angry if anyone attempted to use the campaign to manipulate our democracy and defraud our campaign,” Mr. Adams said in the statement.

  “I want to be clear, I have no knowledge, direct or otherwise, of any improper fundraising activity—and certainly not of any foreign money.”

  A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in Manhattan declined to comment.

  Investigation

  The FBI has not made public details of the investigation, but a search warrant was first reported by the New York Times, which reported that the federal investigation is related to alleged corruption in Mr. Adams’s 2021 campaign and possible ties to the Turkish government.

  The seized devices, which the FBI has likely made copies of, were returned days later.

  The mayor’s staff has confirmed that his office has met with the federal prosecutors, but did not disclose what they discussed.

  After the raid on Ms. Suggs’s home, media reported that the relationship between the mayor’s 2021 campaign and Brooklyn-based KSK Construction Group’s ties to Turkey is the center of the probe.

  The KSK Construction Group owns apartment buildings and condominiums throughout the city. It is owned by the KiSKA Construction Corp., a company that possesses two branches of a Turkish hotel chain in the United States.

  Turkey

  Mr. Adams has visited Turkey multiple times, including as part of official duties in different public offices.

  “I’m probably the only mayor in the history of this city that has not only visited Turkey once, but I think I’m on my sixth or seventh visit to Turkey,” Mr. Adams said at a Turkish flag-raising ceremony in New York recently.

  Two of those trips were made while he was the Brooklyn Borough President.

  Campaign records show that he received donations from three members of a foundation opened by the son of the Turkish president.

  At an event this week, the mayor answered reporters’ questions about the probe and his ties to Turkey.

  “We just thought it was a great opportunity to exchange ideas as we do with all these…countries and we want to attract businesses here,” he said of the trips, according to The City.

  “So Turkey as well as any other country, I want to attract people to the city. There’s nothing specific about that one particular country.”

  He added that he frequently told his staff to “follow the law.”

  “I just strongly believe you have to follow the law. It would really shock me if someone that was hired by my campaign did something that was inappropriate,” he said.

  *  *  *

  ZH: Well, that will be the last time Adams mentions the illegal immigrant crisis or the open borders…

  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 19:20

• Pentagon Is Starting To Restrict Flow Of Military Aid To Ukraine As Money Runs Out
  Pentagon Is Starting To Restrict Flow Of Military Aid To Ukraine As Money Runs Out

  No more green for Zelenskyy.

  With war funding for both Ukraine and Israel now seemingly snarled up beyond repair in Congress, on Thursday the Pentagon said that funding delays have forced the US to begin restricting the flow of military assistance to Ukraine, and the Pentagon has only $1 billion left to replenish stocks of weapons that were sent to the country, according to a spokeswoman.

  “We have had to meter out our support for Ukraine,” Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters. “We’re going to continue to roll out packages but they are getting smaller.”

  Singh urged Congress to break a deadlock and approve the Biden administration’s $61.4 billion request for emergency funds for Ukraine’s fight against Russia, part of a masive $106 billion package that would include aid for Israel and the US-Mexico border, but which now has virtually no chance of passing. House Republicans have sought to separate the aid for Ukraine and Israel, an idea both the Senate and the White House oppose.

  Singh said the US had burned through about 95% of previous funding for Ukraine, which she said also totaled more than $60 billion; of course, much of that $60 billion was then rerouted back to the Military Industrial Complex and Deep state back in the US, where it served to boost various military companies, and their political supporters and assorted hanger-on lobbies. 

  She said the remaining $1 billion is part of a program that allows President Joe Biden to send existing US military hardware to Ukraine and replace it with new orders.

  Singh’s warning was only the latest from the administration, which has said repeatedly it’s scrambling to keep military aid flowing for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s forces. Last month, the Pentagon’s comptroller said a government shutdown, which is also looming later this month, would slow the pace of replacing weapons stockpiles sent to Ukraine.

  Perhaps realizing that Ukraine’s military forces are about to expire, Telegraph reported that Russia has amassed an estimated 40,000 troops around the key battlefront in Avdiivka as it prepares for a third wave assault on the shattered eastern town, the Ukrainian military has said.

  “They are building up reserves. They’ve brought in about 40,000 men here along with ammunition of all calibres,” said Anton Kotsukon, spokesperson for the 110th separate mechanised brigade. “We see no sign of the Russians abandoning plans to encircle Avdiivka.”

  Russian forces, he said, had surrounded the town on three sides and were “playing cat and mouse”, sending up “huge numbers” of drones to scout out Ukraine’s defences.

  Ukrainian forces regard the town as a gateway for future advances to recapture territory in the east; alternatively the Russian army expects capture of the town to allow to penetrate deep into Ukraine territory.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 19:11

• Pentagon Lays Out 4 Military Objectives For Middle East Amid Force Build-Up
  Pentagon Lays Out 4 Military Objectives For Middle East Amid Force Build-Up

  Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute,

  A Department of Defense spokesman explained Washington’s current goals in the Middle East. Since Israel launched a massive military operation in Gaza, the US has deployed thousands of troops and a large host of naval ships to the region. 

  According to a press release outlining Gen. Pat Ryder’s statement, the Pentagon’s four priorities for the Middle East currently are: 

  1. “Protection of US forces and citizens in the region.”

  2. “Flow of critical security assistance to Israel as it defends against further Hamas terrorist attacks.” 

  3. “Coordination with the Israelis to help secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, to include American citizens.”

  4. “Strengthening of force posture across the region to deter any state or nonstate actors from escalating the crisis beyond Gaza.”

  

  On October 7, Hamas launched an attack in southern Israel that killed over 1,000 people. Israel responded with a massive bombing campaign that killed 10,000 civilians, including 4,000 children, in the past month. 

  President Joe Biden has traveled to Israel, and the White House has offered full-throated support for Tel Aviv’s military operation in Gaza. While American officials have admitted that the Israeli operations have killed many thousands of civilians, the White House refused to call for a cease-fire or condition American weapons transfers to Israel on reducing civilian casualties.

  US forces in the region have come under attacks from local military groups that view Washington’s support for Tel Aviv as crucial to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Over the past month, various groups have conducted 38 attacks on American soldiers, injuring at least 45 troops.

  In response to the attacks on US soldiers, the Pentagon has deployed more military assets to the region, including thousands of troops, two aircraft carrier strike groups, and a nuclear-powered submarine. 

  Additionally, on Wednesday, US Central Command announced it had conducted two show of force operations with B1-B Lancer bombers in three days. “For the second time in three days, a US B-1 Lancer conducted a mission over the Middle East area of responsibility. US F-16s escorted the bomber,” CENTCOM posted on X. 

  The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, threatened to attack the American ships in the region if a more expansive war broke out. “Since the outbreak of the war, the US has threatened to bomb us in Lebanon from its military ships in the Mediterranean. We are prepared for whatever scenario,” he said in a speech last week. “If an all-out war breaks out, you Americans will pay with your ships, your aircraft, and your soldiers.” 

  While the Biden administration has sought to secure the release of American citizens who are held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, Tel Aviv has rejected pauses in the fighting to facilitate prisoner swap negotiations.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 19:00

• 'Cocoa Mayhem' Sends Prices To $4,000 Per Ton, Highest Since 1978
  'Cocoa Mayhem' Sends Prices To $4,000 Per Ton, Highest Since 1978

  Cocoa prices Friday topped $4,000 per ton in New York, the highest level since 1978, as the outlook of poor crop harvests across West Africa has been a bullish factor pushing prices higher this week. There is also an increasing risk that El Nino-induced weather disturbances could cause the global cocoa market to sink into a deficit for the third year. 

  According to Bloomberg, harvests in Ivory Coast and Ghana – some of the world’s largest cocoa producers – are producing lower crop yields, which has led to tighter supplies, therefore supporting higher prices. 

  “The market does not seem convinced that production will recover enough to avoid a supply deficit for 2023/24,” ADM Investor Services Inc. analysts said in a note.

  Cocoa futures rose 1% in New York, topping $4,000 a ton for the first time in 45 years. 

  

  Analysts warn El Nino-induced weather disturbances could bring drier weather to top-growing regions. They say that could result in a third year of deficits. 

  “The expectation of a supply deficit has been compounded with weather variations, especially in West Africa,” the International Cocoa Organization said in a recent report. 

  In June, we told readers: Global Cocoa Shortage Sends Prices Soaring As “Consumers Should Brace” For ‘Chocolateflation’… Fast forward to Halloween, ‘candyflation‘ strikes: 

  Data from retail price tracking website Datasembly reveals consumers have been slapped with the second year of double-digit inflation in the candy aisle. Prices for candy jumped 13% this month compared to prices last October. That’s up from a 14% increase in candy in October 2022. 

  Earlier this week, Oreo-maker Mondelez International said it would have to hike prices on some of its products due to the soaring cocoa and sugar prices. 

  Meanwhile, sugar prices hit decade highs on global shortage fears in April. And Arabica coffee prices are set to move higher after inventories hit 24-year lows. 

  This all might indicate that food inflation is very sticky. As one ag analyst warned this week, the current global food crisis is ‘much worse than 2008‘. 

   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 18:40

• The Censorship "Switchboard": A New Layer To The Biden Administration's "Orwellian Ministry Of Truth"
  The Censorship "Switchboard": A New Layer To The Biden Administration's "Orwellian Ministry Of Truth"

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  Free speech is in a free fall as millions embrace censorship as a political cause, including some now running for federal office on a pledge to silence others. 

  One of the most alarming aspects of this period has been the emergence of a type of triumvirate of censorship, an alliance of government, academic, and media corporations. Together they have established the most comprehensive censorship system in the history of this country.

  That system is being forced out into the public by the investigation of House committees. This week the House Judiciary Committee released a 103-page staff report on the academic prong of the triumvirate. What is most chilling about this report is that it adds yet another layer of government-supported speech controls. It also reflects a conscious and coordinated effort to carry out censorship through allies in a labyrinth of academic and public interest groups.

  Earlier this year, I testified at the first hearing by the special committee investigating the censorship system. I warned that there was ample evidence of a system based on “censorship by surrogate” where government agencies used academic and media allies to silence those with opposing views.

  The latest report reveals details of the critical role played by government officials in “switchboarding” the censorship system by channeling demands for removal or bans from state and local officials. In addition to the direct targeting of individuals by federal agencies, switchboarding allowed the agencies to operate as a control tower in this sprawling system.

  

  This switchboarding system was confirmed by Brian Scully of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the Department of Homeland Security. CISA has emerged as one of the critical control centers in this system.

  CISA head Jen Easterly declared that her agency’s mandate over critical infrastructure would be extended to include “our cognitive infrastructure.” That includes not just “disinformation” and “misinformation,” but combating “malinformation” – described as information “based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate.”

  Despite the determined opposition by Democratic members and the Biden Administration, the investigation has revealed a wide array of grants to academic and third party organizations to create blacklists or to pressure advertisers to withdraw support for conservative sites. The subjects for censorship ranged from election fraud to social justice to climate change.

  The Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) was created in partnership with Stanford University “at the request of DHS/CISA.” It is described as a “consortium of ‘disinformation’ academics led by Stanford University’s Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO).

  EIP supplied a “centralized reporting system” to process what were known as “Jira tickets” targeting unacceptable views. It would include not only politicians but commentators and pundits as well as the satirical site The Babylon Bee.

  Some of us have previously criticized Stanford for its effort to systematize and expand censorship. Stanford’s Virality Project pushed to  censor even true facts since “true stories … could fuel hesitancy” over taking the vaccine or other measures.

  In newly released emails, the secret coordination with federal agencies was made public, including a July 31, 2020 email from the director at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, an EIP partner.

  Graham Brookie, the lab’s senior director, confirmed that her group “just set up an election integrity partnership at the request of DHS/CISA and are in weekly comms to debrief about disinfo.”

  During this time many of us in the free speech community were raising the alarm over the evidence of a government-supported censorship system, including the use of surrogates in academia.  As noted in emails in May 2020, government officials were privately saying that they need to avoid any move that would “openly endorse” censorship while funding these groups and switchboarding the system.

  As officials served as the conduit, it continued to attach a standard disclaimer that CISA “neither has nor seeks the ability to remove what information is made available on social media platforms.”

  Notably, EIP worked not only with CISA, but with the Global Engagement Center, a multi-agency entity housed within the State Department. It was the Global Engagement Center that contracted with the Atlantic Council, which sent suggested blacklists to Twitter. It got to be so reckless that Yoel Roth, then Twitter’s head of trust and safety, responded “omg” and “what a total crock.”

  This system rests on grants coming from Homeland Security, the Justice Department, the State Department, and other agencies. That system included scoring groups through a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to the British-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI). The index targeted ten conservative and libertarian sites as the most dangerous sources of disinformation, including sites like Reason which publishes conservative legal analysis. Conversely, some of the most liberal sites were ranked as the most trustworthy for advertisers.

  The report on switchboarding is most chilling when placed within this larger context. The Biden Administration has funded a global effort to score, target, and ban opposing views through an ever-increasing array of allied groups in academia and corporations. A federal court recently enjoined aspects of that system after finding that it is an unprecedented censorship system that effectively created a type of “Orwellian Ministry of Truth.”

  The solution is as obvious as the danger itself. Congress must bar any funding — directly or indirectly — for censorship systems. Calling opposing views “disinformation” does not alter the fact that there is a comprehensive censorship system using groups allied with the government.  Federal agencies are always able to respond to claims that they deem are untrue about their own policies and programs. However, we need to get the government out of the business of speech controls, including shutting down the censorship switchboard.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 18:20

• Gun Owners Score Major Legal Victories On Pistol Braces and Ghost Guns 
  Gun Owners Score Major Legal Victories On Pistol Braces and Ghost Guns 

  This week, gun owners scored two major victories in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. One judge granted a preliminary injunction that halts the enforcement of the recent Biden Administration’s pistol brace rule by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on a nationwide basis, while another determined that the Biden administration did not have the authority to regulate ‘ghost guns.’ 

  On Wednesday, in the case Britto v. ATF, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction halting the ATF’s enforcement of the rule that redefines braced pistols as short-barreled rifles under the National Firearms Act. 

  Enacted earlier this year, the pistol brace rule would jail or fine tens of millions of law-abiding Americans who refused to reclassify their braced weapons as short-barreled rifles. 

  

  Two of the three plaintiffs in Britto v. ATF were injured Marine veterans represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, who argued the rule violates their Second Amendment and be thrown out for “vagueness.” Pistol braces were designed in 2012 to help disabled veterans shoot rifles more accurately. Meanwhile, radical Democrats on Capitol Hill frequently lied about the braces, saying they were ‘machine guns.’ 

  “Additionally, ATF admits the 10-year cost of the Rule is over one billion dollars,” Judge Kacsmaryk said. “And because of the Rule, certain manufacturers that obtain most of their sales from stabilizing braces risk having to close their doors for good.”

  Kacsmaryk claimed, “The Court is certainly sympathetic to the ATF’s concerns over public safety in the wake of tragic mass shootings.”

  “The Rule embodies Salutary policy goals meant to protect vulnerable people in our society. But public safety concerns must be addressed in ways that are lawful. This rule is not,” he added. 

  The Biden administration’s Justice Department will most likely appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on the pistol brace ruling. 

  The next win for gun owners was realized on Thursday when a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with gun owners, gun rights groups, and manufacturers in declaring the ATF’s 2022 ‘ghost gun’ rule is “unlawful.” 

  

  The rule updated the definition of a “firearm,” “frame,” and “receiver” under the Gun Control Act of 1968 to force ghost gun makers and gun shops to run background checks. 

  In writing for the 5th Circuit panel, Circuit Judge Kurt Engelhardt said ATF’s rule “flouts clear statutory text and exceeds the legislatively imposed limits on agency authority in the name of public policy.”

  “ATF, in promulgating its final rule, attempted to take on the mantle of Congress to ‘do something’ with respect to gun control,” Engelhardt wrote, adding, “But it is not the province of an executive agency to write laws for our nation.”

  In a statement, Cody Wisniewski, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the Firearms Policy Coalition Action Foundation, called the ruling a “massive victory against ATF and a huge blow to the Biden administration’s gun control agenda.”

  “The Fifth Circuit has thoroughly rebuked the Biden ATF for acts of legislation, which only Congress may do under our Constitution,” said Defense Distributed’s Cody Wilson, also one of the plaintiffs in the case. 

  *   *   *

  Rulings:

  Britto v. ATF

  VanDerStok v. Garland

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 11/10/2023 – 18:00

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• Dr. Robert Malone Reveals How The Government Tore His Reputation Apart, "Piece By Piece"
  Dr. Robert Malone Reveals How The Government Tore His Reputation Apart, “Piece By Piece”

  Authored by Dr. Robert W. Malone, MD, MS via Who Is Robert Malone,

  Fellow Americans, the government will take care of you!

  

  They don’t want you to have to worry about information that they don’t approve in your social media accounts.

  They don’t want you to worry that the US government would directly interfere with your First Amendment rights, and certainly would never meddle in an election or with your medical freedoms.

  That said, the deep state will gladly “contract those jobs out to creepy left-wing “disinformation”-fighting firms”.

  A bombshell new report has been published, titled: “WEAPONIZATION OF “DISINFORMATION” PSEUDO-EXPERTS AND BUREAUCRATS: HOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PARTNERED WITH UNIVERSITIES TO CENSOR AMERICANS’ POLITICAL SPEECH”, Interim Staff Report by the Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government U.S. House of Representatives was released on November 6, 2023.

  In that report, the committee laid out the role of the Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) and other astroturf organizations contracted (that means paid for) by the Department of Homeland Security to censor Americans.

  Representative Jim Jordan on his Twitter account also provided the receipts how the Election Integrity Partnership was founded, by attaching a letter from the Atlantic Council advising a “sync-up” whereby they created the Election Integrity Partnership in 2020. Ergo, a partnership of four organizations working in collaboration with both the US Government and the Atlantic Council.

  

  In fact, the EIP is made up of four “partners”. They are the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO), The U. of Washington Center for an Informed Public (CIP), Graphika, and the Atlantic Council. Each organization has a distinct role to play, from identifying “spreaders of misinformation”, to identifying the networks of social media landscapes that those so accused interacted on, to actual recommendations to social media companies for removal of identified offending posts, and communications back and further between the government and the EIP. This was done with government monies and resources.

  Below is a link for each partner, together with a description of their technologies or recent activities.

  • The Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO): Stanford has removed the SIO page from their website, although the way back machine has a somewhat functional archival copy.

    Within those pages, is information about their operation “Platform Takedown”, which was developed to get information removed from the major social media platforms.

    The SIO Platform takedown only lists case reports up to June 2020, but the wayback machine has some detailed reports up through 2022.

  

  • The University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP)
    Their mission “is to resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society, and strengthen democratic discourse”.

    AS of this month (Nov 2023), the CIP has now turned its identification of targets for censorship to identifying the flow of what they view as the “new elites” of X (ergo influencers with large followings) regarding how they share information regarding the Hamas/Israel conflict.

    The implication being that “X” will be targeted in the future for more harassment by the Election Integrity Partnership.

  .

  • Graphika

  This is a company that specializes in “cutting-edge technology that creates large-scale explorable maps of social media landscapes”. Their in-depth analysis reveals insights to help “clients and partners understand complex online networks and take decisive action”. Graphika lists Harvard, Oxford and DARPA (DARPA = CIA) as its partners.

  

  • The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab)

  The Atlantic Council’s DFRL is staffed by former US intelligence establishment technology staffers (ergo, ex CIA and DIA = “Deep State” personnel), and of course the the Atlantic Council itself is known as a landing bed for deep state operatives (otherwise known as a cutout organization).

  The DFRL website states:

  Centralized and decentralized platforms share a common set of threats from motivated malicious users—and require a common set of investments to ensure trustworthy, user-focused outcomes…

  Further research and capability building are necessary to avoid the further proliferation of these threats.

  Within industry, decades of “trust and safety” (T&S) practice has developed into a field that can illuminate the complexities of building and operating online spaces. Outside industry, civil society groups, independent researchers, and academics continue to lead the way in building collective understanding of how risks propagate via online platforms—and how products could be constructed to better promote social well-being and to mitigate harms.

  Take away all the flowery words and it sure sounds like organized government-sponsored Deep State censorship to me!

  Beyond the websites listed above, the House Report does an excellent job of showing how the Election Integrity Partnership worked to censor the American People.

  Lets go back to the the Congressional report on censorship, it reads:

  Enter the Election Integrity Partnership (EIP), a consortium of “disinformation” academics led by Stanford University’s Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) that worked directly with the Department of Homeland Security and the Global Engagement Center, a multi-agency entity housed within the State Department, to monitor and censor Americans’ online speech in advance of the 2020 presidential election. Created in the summer of 2020 “at the request” of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the EIP provided a way for the federal government to launder its censorship activities in hopes of bypassing both the First Amendment and public scrutiny.

  This interim staff report details the federal government’s heavy-handed involvement in the creation and operation of the EIP, which facilitated the censorship of Americans’ political speech in the weeks and months leading up to the 2020 election. This report also publicly reveals for the first time secret “misinformation” reports from the EIP’s centralized reporting system, previously accessible only to select parties, including federal agencies, universities, and Big Tech. The Committee and Select Subcommittee obtained these nonpublic reports from Stanford University only under the threat of contempt of Congress. These reports of alleged mis- and disinformation were used to censor Americans engaged in core political speech in the lead up to the 2020 election.

  As this new information reveals, and this report outlines, the federal government and universities pressured social media companies to censor true information, jokes, and political opinions. This pressure was largely directed in a way that benefitted one side of the political aisle: true information posted by Republicans and conservatives was labeled as “misinformation” while false information posted by Democrats and liberals was largely unreported and untouched by the censors. The pseudoscience of disinformation is now—and has always been—nothing more than a political ruse most frequently targeted at communities and individuals holding views contrary to the prevailing narratives.

  <in other words, people that were saying things that the Deep State did not want to be said were the ones being censored>

  The EIP’s operation was straightforward: “external stakeholders,” including federal agencies and organizations funded by the federal government, submitted misinformation reports directly to the EIP. The EIP’s misinformation “analysts” next scoured the internet for additional examples for censorship. If the submitted report flagged a Facebook post, for example, the EIP analysts searched for similar content on Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and other major social media platforms. Once all of the offending links were compiled, the EIP sent the most significant ones directly to Big Tech with specific recommendations on how the social media platforms should censor the posts, such as reducing the posts’ “discoverability,” “suspending [an account’s] ability to continue tweeting for 12 hours,” “monitoring if any of the tagged influencer accounts retweet” a particular user, and, of course, removing thousands of Americans’ posts.

  The House committee (through Rep. Jim Jordan) also released a google doc (Jira Tickets) that lists some of those censored in chronological order and what their alleged “crimes” were.

  In the Jira Tickets list, it is worth noting that on 11 June 2021, the list abruptly changed its focus from “election misinformation” to “vaccine misinformation” and renamed these efforts as the virality project. Almost like there was some sort of directive from the top .

  On the last page of Jira Tickets list, they have included the censorship of my original interview with Tucker Carlson for Fox News. Almost directly after that, the list ends. So, how many times I was recommended for censorship is an unknown. Except that based on the obvious shadow-banning over the past two years, most likely it was in the hundreds of times.

  Some screenshots from the Jira Tickets report generated on me regarding the Tucker interview (page nine):

  My sin, as shown in the screenshot below, was that I claimed on the Fox interview that the risks outweigh the benefits in teenagers and young adults (per June 30, 2021).

  

  In the image below, the Election Integrity Partnership (now the Virality partnership) notes I am both “General anti-vaccination” and also “right wing” in my affiliations.

  So this is really creepy. That fact that my political leanings are mentioned implies that being “right wing” was/is criteria enough for censorship. That this criteria was enough for censorship shows direct election interference.

  As this list also labels me as being generally against vaccination. As if being against the mRNA gene therapy for specific vulnerable groups makes one against vaccination. This was enough apparently to be censored.

  

  I believe that is a listing of where that had been shared prior to the censorship:

  

  The Election Integrity Partnership also notes that I am a “repeat offender”

  

  Frankly, the whole document and the House Committee report makes me feel violated.

  The House report then goes to to document how even Congresspeople were censored and that under Biden, the censorship efforts were ramped up domestically.

  This did not end with the 2020 election.

  After President Biden was inaugurated in January 2021, the government’s censorship regime ramped up. At CISA, the CFITF team dropped any pretense of a “foreign”-focus and relabeled itself as the “MDM team” that would focus on foreign and domestic speech that the government considered mis-, dis-, or malinformation. Throughout 2021, the Biden White House engaged in a pressure campaign against Facebook and other social media companies to censor anti-vaccine content, even if it was true. By 2022, CISA invited Dr. Starbird, thenTwitter Executive Vijaya Gadde, and others to form an advisory MDM Subcommittee to consult with CISA about how the agency could and should combat Americans’ speech that the government considered to be mis-, dis-, or malinformation.

  But by 2023, as Republicans retook the majority in the House of Representatives and initiated oversight of the censorship-industrial complex, CISA scrubbed its website of references to domestic censorship. The Committee and Select Subcommittee obtained and revealed how Facebook changed its policies because of pressure from the Biden Administration. Internal Facebook documents showed that the Biden White House in particular wanted true information and satire censored at a rate even Big Tech found objectionable.

  Based on the Committee’s and Select Subcommittee’s work, even the mainstream media could no longer ignore these constitutional violations. The plaintiffs in Missouri v. Biden have obtained significant victories before a federal district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and now will have their case heard by the Supreme Court. Public reporting shows that universities are reconsidering whether to permit their professors to receive funding and engage in censorship work. But the work is not done yet. The Committee and Select Subcommittee’s investigation remains ongoing.

  Clearly, the hit pieces on me by the Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, Washington post (twice), Business Insider, The Scientist and Rolling Stone and other main stream media outlets within a very short timeframe were a coordinated effort by the Deep State to bring me down . I believe that this effort was led by the intelligence agencies and DHS through the Deep State. Kash Patel nicely discusses how this these types of hits are conducted in his book, Government Gangsters. Whereby the government feeds information into operatives working in main stream media (ergo, as in CIA Operation Mockingbird). Now I am told that those same hit pieces were used against me in other government circles. The Supreme court case, Sullivan Versus New York Times, resulted in a situation whereby people in the public eye can almost never win a lawsuit for malicious defamation. The Deep State uses this fact to attack, malign, defame, harass and engage in direct character assassination. This is evil.

  For me, I will never get my reputation back as it once was. However, I will not give up fighting for our freedoms, whether it be to bring back integrity to the FDA, CDC, NIH, DoD and HHS or whether it be reining-in the intelligence agency. We all must continue to bring our government to heel.

  I will not concede to the Deep State character assassination. I will not let them ruin my life and reputation. And I will not allow them to victimize me.

  “Who is Robert Malone” is a reader supported publication. Please consider supporting us in our important work.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 23:40

• When Will The Global Population Reach Its Peak?
  When Will The Global Population Reach Its Peak?

  When will the world reach its peak population?

  According to data from the United Nations’ 2022 Revision of its World Population Prospects, we could see a peak of over 10.4 billion people sometime in the late 2080s.

  While the UN’s projections are the most widely used, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the most accurate. Several alternative models have predicted an earlier and lower peak, suggesting that the world’s population could decline sooner than expected.

  In the UN’s latest revisions, it lowered its own estimates for global population in 2100, from 10.9 billion (as of 2019) to 10.4 billion (as of 2022).

  In this graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Marcu Lu and Miranda Smith visualized population projections to 2100 from three organizations: the UN, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).

  

  Data and Highlights

  The population projection data we used to create this graphic is listed in the table below. Note that UN projections are as of 2022, IHME are as of 2020, and IIASA are as of 2014.

  

  From this data we can see that the UN expects the world to hit peak population in 2086, as well as maintain above 10 billion people in 2100.

  On the other hand, neither the IHME nor IIASA models expect global population to reach 10 billion, instead forecasting a peak of 9.7 billion in the 2060s (IHME) or 9.4 billion in 2070 (IIASA). Both models also predict population to fall back to the 8 billion range by 2100.

  The differential at 2100 is substantial, with IHME’s forecast lower than the UN’s by 1.6 billion people, for example.

  What Is the IHME and IIASA, and Why Do They Differ?

  The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is a Seattle-based research institute founded in 2007 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its mission is to “deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice.”

  The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), on the other hand, is an international research institute based in Austria, dating back to 1972. It was established to improve scientific cooperation between the Soviet Union and the U.S., and today has members in over 20 countries.

  To understand why the IHME and IIASA models differ from the UN’s, let’s look at each organization’s projections for fertility rate, which is measured as the number of children per woman.

  

  Based on this chart, the IHME and IIASA expect global fertility rates to fall at a quicker rate pre-2050, then stabilize as we approach 2100. This contrasts with the UN’s projections, which expect fertility to decrease at a slower, steadier rate all the way to 2100.

  Generally speaking, a country’s birth rate declines as it becomes more developed. This is due to many factors like higher education rates for women (and thus more women in the workforce), greater access to contraceptives and family planning, as well as higher childbearing costs.

  How Fast Will Fertility Rates Fall in Africa?

  Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest fertility rates in the world, but this is quickly falling as the region experiences rapid economic growth.. For instance, GDP per capita in Sub-Saharan Africa has climbed from $632 in 2000, to $1,690 in 2022.

  Because of this economic transformation, some researchers believe that Africa will undergo a fast demographic transition similar to East Asia, in which population growth falls off sharply. For instance, a UNICEF survey from 2021 found that fertility rates in Nigeria had fallen from 5.8 to 4.6 (a 17% decrease) in just five years time.

  ℹ️ Consider this July 2023 article from the Wilson Center for more context on the evolution of Nigeria’s demographics.

  Now going back to the question at hand, let’s see how the UN and IHME’s fertility rate projections for Sub-Saharan Africa differ.

  

  These differences may seem small, but even a few decimal places can have a huge impact. For example, let’s revisit the UN’s population projection for the year 2100, which was 10.4 billion people.

  Under the UN’s low fertility scenario (birth rates remain 0.5 lower), population in 2100 would be a significantly smaller 7.0 billion. Meanwhile, under the high fertility scenario (birth rates remain 0.5 higher), population would balloon to 14.7 billion.

  As a result, how birth rates change in high fertility regions like Sub-Saharan Africa will have a significant influence on when the global population will reach its peak.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 23:20

• China Unveils Plan To Mass Produce Human-like Robots, Calling It 'New Engine' For Growth
  China Unveils Plan To Mass Produce Human-like Robots, Calling It ‘New Engine’ For Growth

  Authored by Eva Fu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  China is setting out to mass produce human-like robots in two years, an ambitious plan that, according to a blueprint issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), it hopes will make the regime in Beijing the leader in the field of robotics.

  

  The goal is to establish an innovation framework for humanoid robots and ensure that the country can make core parts of the robots on its own.

  The products, under the MIIT plan, will meet advanced international standards in quality, for use in harsh environments, manufacturing, and service sectors, according to the directive. Like smartphones, computers, and new energy vehicles, humanoid robots have the “disruptive” potential to “revolutionize” people’s lives, the document said.

  The ministry told local officials to take advantage of China’s market size and its “whole-of-nation system” to accelerate humanoid robot development as a pillar industry to advance China’s manufacturing and digital dominance.

  Beijing hopes that by 2025 it will have two to three companies with global influence and will nurture more smaller businesses dedicated to the field. In another two years, the aim is to create a “safe and reliable supply chain” for the technology and make the country competitive globally. At that point, it said, such products will be deeply integrated into the economy and become a “new engine” for economic growth.

  The “brain,” “cerebellum,” and “limbs” of the robots should be the focus, and the industry should aim at creating “highly reliable” robots for harsh or dangerous conditions, the guideline said. When monitoring and safeguarding “strategic locations,” robots need to be able to move in “highly complicated terrains,” size up the situation, and make intelligent decisions, it said, adding that robots will need greater ability to protect themselves and work with higher precision in scenarios such as rescue work or where explosives are involved.

  Relevant authorities need to deepen international cooperation, encourage foreign companies to create research centers in China, and bring Chinese products to the international market, according to the document.

  Eager to partake in setting the global standard for emerging technology, Beijing said it’d like to get “deeply involved in the international rules and standard setting” and “contribute Chinese wisdom” to the industry’s development, the document said.

  The directive is China’s latest attempt to boost technological self-reliance as the United States tightens its ban on China’s access to advanced U.S. chips. Expanding on chip controls on China from October last year, the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Commerce Department in mid-October required more U.S. firms to obtain a license before they could export advanced semiconductor chips to China, a step they said is necessary to prevent Beijing from using these chips for their military ends. On Oct. 23, the U.S. government told Nvidia to stop shipping most of its key artificial intelligence chips to China.

  Without citing those actions by the United States, the document asked the industry to design AI chips for humanoid robots that would allow for self-learning and other capabilities.

  Half a dozen Chinese intelligence firms saw their shares jump by as much as 20 percent the day after the announcement, and stock value for other robotic electronics also surged.

  The Beijing regime’s roadmap means it will be competing with international firms such as Samsung, Microsoft, and Tesla that are investing in the field.

  Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been trying to build a humanoid robot called Optimus or Tesla Bot. After much hype last year, though, the display of the robot walking slowly on the stage and waving to the crowd fell short of expectations.

  

  There seems to be optimism about the technology among Chinese media.

  Lu Hanchen, director of the Gaogong Industry Research Institute, told the state-owned Securities Times that while China is some distance away from producing humanoid robots at scale, that goal isn’t far off.

  More than 10 Chinese companies this year have revealed innovations related to humanoid robots, he noted, adding that China already has some supporting facilities from developing industrial robots.

  Beijing has set aside about 10 billion yuan (about $1.4 billion) to fund the robotic development. On Nov. 6, China opened the first provincial-level innovation center on humanoid robots in the country’s capital to work on solving pressing “key common problems,” including an operation control system, open source software, and robot prototypes.

  At least one Chinese company, Jiangsu Miracle Logistics System Engineering Co., has promised to introduce its first humanoid robot by the end of the year. Chinese securities brokerage firm Zheshang Securities estimates that the humanoid robot market will have a demand for 1.77 million machines by 2030.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 23:00

• Pentagon Is Starting To Restrict Flow Of Military Aid To Ukraine As Money Runs Out
  Pentagon Is Starting To Restrict Flow Of Military Aid To Ukraine As Money Runs Out

  No more green for Zelenskyy.

  With war funding for both Ukraine and Israel now seemingly snarled up beyond repair in Congress, on Thursday the Pentagon said that funding delays have forced the US to begin restricting the flow of military assistance to Ukraine, and the Pentagon has only $1 billion left to replenish stocks of weapons that were sent to the country, according to a spokeswoman.

  “We have had to meter out our support for Ukraine,” Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters. “We’re going to continue to roll out packages but they are getting smaller.”

  Singh urged Congress to break a deadlock and approve the Biden administration’s $61.4 billion request for emergency funds for Ukraine’s fight against Russia, part of a masive $106 billion package that would include aid for Israel and the US-Mexico border, but which now has virtually no chance of passing. House Republicans have sought to separate the aid for Ukraine and Israel, an idea both the Senate and the White House oppose.

  Singh said the US had burned through about 95% of previous funding for Ukraine, which she said also totaled more than $60 billion; of course, much of that $60 billion was then rerouted back to the Military Industrial Complex and Deep state back in the US, where it served to boost various military companies, and their political supporters and assorted hanger-on lobbies. 

  She said the remaining $1 billion is part of a program that allows President Joe Biden to send existing US military hardware to Ukraine and replace it with new orders.

  Singh’s warning was only the latest from the administration, which has said repeatedly it’s scrambling to keep military aid flowing for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s forces. Last month, the Pentagon’s comptroller said a government shutdown, which is also looming later this month, would slow the pace of replacing weapons stockpiles sent to Ukraine.

  Perhaps realizing that Ukraine’s military forces are about to expire, Telegraph reported that Russia has amassed an estimated 40,000 troops around the key battlefront in Avdiivka as it prepares for a third wave assault on the shattered eastern town, the Ukrainian military has said.

  “They are building up reserves. They’ve brought in about 40,000 men here along with ammunition of all calibres,” said Anton Kotsukon, spokesperson for the 110th separate mechanised brigade. “We see no sign of the Russians abandoning plans to encircle Avdiivka.”

  Russian forces, he said, had surrounded the town on three sides and were “playing cat and mouse”, sending up “huge numbers” of drones to scout out Ukraine’s defences.

  Ukrainian forces regard the town as a gateway for future advances to recapture territory in the east; alternatively the Russian army expects capture of the town to allow to penetrate deep into Ukraine territory.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 22:40

• Taibbi: The Tragic Victimhood Of "Disinformation Experts"
  Taibbi: The Tragic Victimhood Of “Disinformation Experts”

  Authored by Matt Taibbi via Racket News,

  On June 8th, the Washington Post ran, “These academics studied falsehoods spread by Trump. Now the GOP wants answers,” a story about how “records requests, subpoenas and lawsuits” were wielded as “tools of harassment” against “scholars” in the “field of disinformation.” In photo portraits, Kate Starbird of the University of Washington stared plaintively in the distance, a caption under one: “The political part is intimidating — to have people with a lot of power in this world making… false accusations about our work.” Starbird sits on an advisory committee for the 245,000-person, $185 billion Department of Homeland Security, but perhaps she meant “a lot of power” in a different sense?

  

  When Bari Weiss, Michael Shellenberger, and I first started working on the Twitter Files, none of us knew much about people who did “anti-disinformation” work. Before it became controversial, these “experts” didn’t seem bashful about security-state credentials. For instance, New Knowledge, the firm profiled by Susan Schmidt last week that authored a Senate report on Russian interference and was caught creating fake accounts in an Alabama Senate race, gained this cheerful description in VentureBeat after raising $11 million for “anti-disinformation”:

  What further distinguishes New Knowledge is that its founders are AI and Homeland Security experts who grew up in the NSA and have worked as security advisers. [CEO Jonathon] Morgan, for instance, was an adviser for the U.S. State Department and published research at the Brookings Institution.

  When lawsuits like Missouri v. Biden and then the Twitter Files began shining light on this direction, experts reinvented themselves as “scholars” or research fellows. That their LinkedIn pages often featured odd gaps, or periods listed as “consultants” to the military or the FBI, was apparently not important, nor that “anti-disinformation” is not an academic discipline. Even if they were very new arrivals to campuses, we were expected to show deference to new roles as “researchers,” much as campaign reporters were asked to stop calling Rick Perry a dummy when he put on glasses.

  Reporters once didn’t fall for this sort of thing, reserving special bile for politicians or spooks who tried to pass themselves off as intellectuals. But these days they swoon like teen girls seeing the Elvis wiggle for the first time for “anti-disinformationists,” with anchors like Nicolle Wallace, Brian Stelter, and Rachel Maddow giving the “We’re not worthy!” treatment to anyone with intelligence credentials who utters dire prophecies about Trump and “fake news.”

  Even the once-mocked “smart glasses” trick became foolproof, as former counterterrorism warriors like Hamilton 68 frontman Clint Watts earned plaudits as bespectacled “disinformation experts,” and even media figures who once went for hunky or fetching in headshots donned solemn expressions — and glasses — when moved to the disinfo beat. I don’t remember Rick Stengel wearing specs much as editor of Time magazine, but he accessorizes nicely in his new role as former head of the Global Engagement Center, pimping books like Information Wars.

  This is all background for “Big Brother is Flagging You,” about the House Weaponization of Government Committee report on Stanford’s Election Integrity Partnership. I’ve been in media long enough not to be shocked by much, but the people picked to man “anti-disinformation” bureaucracies have an almost admirably bottomless capacity for self-pity and deception. With teary eyes, they’ll swear they’re not in the censorship business, but then it will come out that they’re sending notes to platforms like, “We recommend that these posts be removed immediately.”

  They’ll describe concerns about the First Amendment as conspiracy theories, but then we learn about people like Stanford’s Renée DiResta making notes about “very real 1st amendment questions” in a presentation about the EIP, or a lawyer for former CISA director Chris Krebs snapping at congressional investigators to cite a legal authority “other than the First Amendment” to justify questioning. “Researchers” will declare unequivocally that CISA did not “found, fund, or control” their program, but then it will come out the superficially private structure of the EIP was necessary because “DHS cannot openly endorse the portal,” while a “behind-the-scenes” arrangement was fine. And so on.

  Put bluntly, these people lie, but do it in a way that would impress even a politician. In one of the many times I was pestered this year by a mainstream reporter asking why a nice “scholar” like DiResta should be prevented from “just doing research,” I asked him to go back and find out what academic credentials qualified her for “scholar” status (she’s listed as a “research manager”), and to cite another type of “research” that involves flagging content for removal of speech on behalf of an intelligence agency. As my podcast partner Walter Kirn puts it, Stanford’s Observatory is the first one in history that destroys planets.

  I asked the same reporter why non-doctors should be allowed to police the scientific opinions of MDs and PhDs, why publicly funded programs targeting the speech of voters should be exempt from FOIA requests, and so on, but it’s hopeless. In the new world, brazen enough scams are respected, those who don’t fall for them become the outlaws, and we all have to get used to it.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 22:20

• Pentagon Confirms Series Of New Attacks On Bases In Syria, Iraq After Latest US Airstrikes
  Pentagon Confirms Series Of New Attacks On Bases In Syria, Iraq After Latest US Airstrikes

  The overnight Pentagon airstrikes on alleged Iran-back militia targets in Syria’s east has already been met with retaliation attacks. The US strikes marked the second major such aerial operation in Syria in recent weeks since the Gaza war began. 

  “American troops were hit four times by Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East after a U.S. strike Wednesday on an Iranian facility in Syria,” The Hill reports based on fresh defense official statements. 

  

  Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh in a Thursday briefing filled in more details on the continuing tit-for-tat as US troops are in the line of fire while occupying some one-third of Syrian territory.

  She indicated that in 56 American soldiers were wounded in more than 46 attacks against US bases in Iraq and Syria in the period of time spanning Oct. 17 to Nov. 9

  One of the Wednesday US strikes was reportedly against an “IRGC-linked weapons storage facility” – and Singh said it was ‘successful’ as “we were able to render that building pretty much non-usable.” She described that the prior attacks on US bases have all involved rockets and suicide drones, which in total has been 24 attacks in Iraq and 22 in Syria.

  “If these attacks continue against our personnel, we won’t hesitate at a time and place of our choosing to respond again,” Singh added.

  Defense officials have further said that all or most of the over 50 US troop injuries have been minor, and that all have since returned to duty.

  Below: an initial round of US strikes in late October:

  

  The US has had some 1,000 or more troops and personnel in Syria for years. Originally claiming a “counter ISIS” mission, the US “mission” quickly became an oil and gas resource grab – ultimately with an eye toward regime change in Damascus, via suffocating sanctions and diverting of domestic energy.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 22:00

• Watch: Rand Paul Says It's "Difficult To Imagine Trump Winning" In 2024
  Watch: Rand Paul Says It’s “Difficult To Imagine Trump Winning” In 2024

  Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

  GOP Senator Rand Paul says that he thinks it is difficult to imagine Donald Trump winning another term in office because of the magnitude of everything that is being done by Democrats and the establishment to prevent it happening.

  

  “It’s difficult to image Trump winning, but it’s also difficult to imagine anything more unfair they could do to him, and also how pitiful the performance of Biden has been, and how frail and detached that he looked in doing his job,” Paul said during an interview with Piers Morgan.

  “It worries people that he is still able and has enough vim and vigour to actually be the president,” Paul continued.

  Paul also, somewhat jokingly, said “I haven’t endorsed [Trump or anyone else] yet because I haven’t decided whether I’m going to run or not.”

  “I ran in 2016, maybe I should through my hat in, I don’t think it’s going that well for everybody else,” the Senator further stated.

  Elsewhere during the interview, Paul urged that the solution to “ugly or despicable” speech is “more speech”. 

  Morgan had asked Paul about the Anti-Israel demonstrations that threaten to disrupt Remembrance Day events at the weekend in London. Paul responded that countering with better ideas and useful arguments is “much better than banning speech”. 

  Watch:

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 21:40

• Iraq Combat Vet Explains Why The US Might Be Marching On The Middle East Again Soon
  Iraq Combat Vet Explains Why The US Might Be Marching On The Middle East Again Soon

  Former Army drill instructor and Iraq combat veteran ‘Angry Cops’ offers some interesting evidence that suggests the US military is gearing up for a major deployment to the Middle East. 

  Where specifically?  It’s hard to say. 

  While all eyes are currently on Israel and Gaza, US air forces are striking targets in Syria, naval units are intercepting drones and missiles from Yemen and tensions are rising with Lebanon and Iran. 

  It’s clear from previous statements by US and Israeli officials that Iran is the ultimate target of the growing conflict, and if this is the case there is no doubt American troops would be involved. 

  ‘Angry Cops’ points out that two odd command decisions made simultaneously by two different military branches hint that the US government is about to take on a war posture, and they may deploy troops very soon…

   

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 21:20

• Aussie Telco Blackout Chaos Proves Cash Still Remains King
  Aussie Telco Blackout Chaos Proves Cash Still Remains King

  Authored by Eric Abetz via The Epoch Times,

  The Optus blackout proves that a small glitch in the system can cause total mayhem in a cashless society…

  Modern technology is a wonderful thing … until it isn’t.

  Australians experienced that truism when telco giant Optus had a substantial outage on Nov. 8, resulting in a stop to call services and any bank card transactions for several hours.

  

  In short, the mayhem, frustration, and missed opportunities piled up in all quarters.

  Some businesses, like the call centres for the banks, may have breathed a sigh of relief given they could not field calls from concerned customers after they suffered another 0.25 percent interest rate hike the day before, courtesy of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

  However, for most people and small businesses, it spelled disaster. The ever so convenient “tap and go” method of making payment was removed. And without warning.

  It’s a timely reminder to us all that carrying cash may be a sensible thing to do for occasions such as that experienced on Nov. 8.

  Such outages have happened in the past and will happen in the future. So the wise counsel is to be prepared.

  Speaking of which, it is making more and more sense to use cash as retailers and banks continue charging for the use of cards and “tap and go”—to which we were all seduced by its ease and promised “no extra costs.”

  Remember when Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) delivered you cash free of charge because it saved the bank from paying wages?

  Tap and go sped things up considerably for the customer, the business, and the bank. It was less labour intensive and created new savings for businesses and banks (particularly during COVID-19 we were all encouraged not to use cash because of its propensity to transmit germs).

  Yet once enough of us had been lured into ATMs, rather than real live human tellers behind a counter in a local branch, banking staff was then cut and branches closed. Then, fees started to be charged at the ATM.

  

  People queue for ATM machines outside a branch of the Commonwealth Bank in Melbourne on Aug. 8, 2018. (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

  An Extra Price to Pay

  Fast forward to today and the surcharges for paying with a card have been quietly introduced, meaning that the supposed “savings” for customers were now being ignored.

  The surcharges vary but can be as high as a few percent on a total transaction.

  In a period of cost of living pressures, those extra gouged percentages can be avoided by paying cash. A saving that could place literally hundreds of dollars back into the family budget.

  Surely, the cost of a cashless transaction is far less than one that involves receiving money from the customer, giving change, balancing the till at the end of the day, and taking the proceeds to the bank for depositing.

  Further, tap and go often makes the customer oblivious to what they are actually paying for. In the past, the customer would have had to dig a bit deeper into his pocket and pull out an extra coin or note making a person a lot more price aware and the merchant more self-conscious about increasing prices.

  

  Supplied image of people using a new contactless payment app designed by Optus on a smartphone at a retailer in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 13, 2014. (AAP Image/Fuel Communications, Optus)

  From a privacy point of view, cash payments allow purchases to be made without traceability as well. But in that case, it is important to ask for a receipt as proof of purchase may become necessary.

  With the federal government’s ham-fisted announcement that it will shortly outlaw cheques, it is more important than ever that the public retains access to cash and that cash transactions be accepted by all merchants.

  The removal of cash from the economy will give unprecedented power to the banking institutions, as they will be able to control all transactions other than bartering.

  The Royal Commission into the Australian banking sector exposed the power exercised and the moral free zone it became as profits were pursued in an ethics-free environment. It is doubtful that with even more market power, there would be a commensurate enhancement of moral and ethical standards.

  The Australian Mint has announced that by Christmas 2023 the visage of the king of Australia, King Charles III, will start appearing on local currency.

  This a timely reminder that cash is king and it is in every Australian’s interest to ensure it remains a viable method to undertake transactions, besides potentially saving hundreds of dollars each year.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 21:00

• "Younger Voters Have Turned Against The Governor": Berkeley Poll Reveals Record Number Of Californians Disapprove Of Newsom
  “Younger Voters Have Turned Against The Governor”: Berkeley Poll Reveals Record Number Of Californians Disapprove Of Newsom

  A new poll from the University of California-Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) reveals that more Californians disapprove of the job Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is doing (49%) than approve (44%) – the first time this has happened since Newsom took office in 2019.

  

  This marks an 11-point decline in Newsom’s approval rating since the last time IGS asked the same question in February, just nine months ago.

  “This includes significant declines among the governor’s Democratic voter base and is most prominent among two of the state’s swing voter blocs – political moderates and No Party Preference voters,” according to the poll.

  

  “Younger voters have also turned against the governor, while voters ages 65 or older remain supportive.”

  Poll Director Mark DiCamillo suggested the sharp decline was due to those with extreme views, “with the proportion strongly approving of Newsom’s performance declining from 25% to 18%, while those strongly disapproving climbed from 29% to 36%,” NY1 reports.

  According to DiCamillo, the decline is “broad-based and is particularly noteworthy among political moderates and No Party Preference voters.”

  While 66% of Democrats approve of the job Newsom is doing, just 37% of No Party Preference and 7% of Republicans approve. Support was strongest in San Francisco (53%), where Newsom served as mayor before being elected governor, and among females, with 46% of women approving of his job performance compared with 41% of men.

  While 53% of voters age 65 or older continue to support the governor, younger voters are less approving. Just 35% of voters age 18 to 29 and 38% of voters age 30 to 39 approve of the job he’s doing. -NY1

  Newsom’s declining approval rating comes as California struggles with budget shortfalls and other issues. Meanwhile, just 50% of California voters approved of Newsom’s recent trip to China to meet with President Xi Jinping, while 39% disapproved.

  It also comes as Newsom stands accused of running a ‘shadow’ Presidential campaign to take the mantle if Joe Biden dies or otherwise isn’t the Democratic nominee in the 2024 US election.

   

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 20:40

• Running On Censorship: A California Candidate Seeks To Ride The Anti-Free Speech Wave
  Running On Censorship: A California Candidate Seeks To Ride The Anti-Free Speech Wave

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  It is not easy to unseat an incumbent in Congress, but Will Rollins believes that he has hit on a guaranteed winner to galvanize Democratic support in California’s 41st congressional district.

  

  He is pledging to push for greater censorship to stop those “profiting by spreading division based on lies.”

  Of course, the former assistant U.S. Attorney suggests that he will know who is lying and who should be allowed to speak freely.

  Rollins is also running on his role “prosecuting insurrectionists” from January 6. While most of us condemned the riot on that day and supported the prosecution of those who broke into the Capitol, polls show that most Americans do not view what occurred as an actual insurrection or rebellion.

  That, however, is a legitimate matter of debate and people of good faith can differ in how they view the crimes committed that day. What is far more serious is the embrace of censorship as a political cause.

  Rollins pledged to stop people saying things that “erode our democracy.” His policy platform promises “accountability” for tech platforms that “spread conspiracy theories” and do not yield to demands for censorship. It appears to be a pitch to restore censorship systems on sites like X but also pledges to go after “media outlets.”

  He is not alone in such efforts. Democratic members caused a firestorm previously by writing to cable carriers like AT&T to ask why they are still allowing people to watch FOX News. Rollins promises to crackdown on “propaganda networks to protect the public’s right to be informed.” He does not identify which networks would be targeted, but the assumption is that it is not MSNBC. (For full disclosure, I am a legal analyst on Fox News). However, he wants ramped up penalties for anything that he considers “harmful lies and conspiracy theories.”

  Of course, one person’s “conspiracy theory” is another person’s news. It is again unlikely that Rollins will be pursuing the Washington Post which recently reaffirmed that it is standing by past false claims made about Lafayette Park, the Hunter Biden laptop, and Russian collusion. Rollins is not likely referencing the false conspiracy theories funded by the Clinton campaign like the Alfa Bank allegations.

  As someone who was raised in a liberal, politically active Democratic family in Chicago, I remember when the party championed free speech as a touchstone of the party. Now it is often treated as an existential threat to democracy.

  In recent hearings on the government’s censorship programs, Democratic members and pundits attacked witnesses as “Putin lovers” or supporters of “insurrectionists” in opposing censorship.

  President Joe Biden is now arguably the most anti-free speech president since John Adams. His administration is unabashedly and unrepentantly pursuing the silencing of those with opposing views. Jen Easterly, who heads the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, extended her agency’s mandate over critical infrastructure to include “our cognitive infrastructure.” That includes combating “malinformation” – described as information “based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate.”

  Democratic members have warned social media companies that they will not tolerate any backsliding after Elon Musk dismantled the massive censorship system at Twitter.

  In one hearing, tech CEOs appeared before the Senate on past censorship. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) pushed back on statements from the witnesses suggesting an effort to protect free speech and reminded them that “the pandemic and misinformation about COVID-19, manipulated media also cause harm” as well as “climate change misinformation policy” and “climate denialism.”

  It did not matter that many censored over their views on the efficacy of masks or the necessity of shutting down schools have been vindicated. Even raising the lab theory on the origin of Covid 19 was denounced as a conspiracy theory. Even after the theory was embraced by government agencies as possible or the most likely explanation, science and health reporter for the New York Times, Apoorva Mandavilli,  continued to denounce the theory as “racist.”

  The concerning aspect of Rollins’ campaign is that censorship was largely used as a political tactic in Washington to silence critics and opposing views. It is now an actual political campaign. It shows how speech regulation has become popular with the rank-and-file in the party. It now defines the party.

  Campaigning for censorship should be a warning sign of the breakdown of democratic values. Limiting free speech is akin to cutting off oxygen to the body politic. It produces atrophy in a system, the breakdown of our political tissues. That is also reflected in a recent poll that shows that 52% of Biden supporters say Republicans are now a threat to American life while 47% of Trump supporters say the same about Democrats. Roughly 40% of both parties believe violence is now justified and roughly a quarter of both parties now question our system of government.

  Politicians fuel that anger by running on silencing their opponents in the name of disinformation or malinformation. It is of course popular. Rage is often popular. Indeed, it can be addictive. Yet, what remains is release from reason in the blind pursuit of those with opposing views.

  Will Rollins is right that this is a popular pitch for an age of rage. However, it is the political version of the Dead Sea Fruits that were irresistible to pick but would turn to ashes in one’s mouth. Silencing others creates an insatiable appetite for combating an ever widening circle of “lies.” Until, that is, when you find yourself encircled by your own truth police.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 20:20

• Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy Rocket To Launch Mysterious Space Plane Into Orbit 
  Elon Musk’s Falcon Heavy Rocket To Launch Mysterious Space Plane Into Orbit 

  The US Space Force’s Boeing X-37B unmanned, reusable space plane will be launched via a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, for the first time in early December, the US military wrote in a press release. 

  “The X-37B Mission 7 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time, designated USSF-52, with a wide range of test and experimentation objectives,” Space Force said.

  The mysterious spaceplane is built by Boeing and operated by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and the Space Force. Its last mission ended one year ago after spending 2.5 years in space.

  

  Space Force said the Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the X-37B into space on a mission called “USSF-52” on Dec. 7 and perform “tests include operating the reusable spaceplane in new orbital regimes, experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies, and investigating the radiation effects on materials provided by NASA.” 

  “We are excited to expand the envelope of the reusable X-37 B’s capabilities, using the flight-proven service module and Falcon Heavy rocket to fly multiple cutting-edge experiments for the Department of the Air Force and its partners,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, the X-37B Program Director. 

  

  The X-37B is similar to the retired space shuttle, although the space plane is a fraction of the size, coming in at 29 feet in length and 9.5 feet high, with a wingspan of 15 feet. 

  

  Here’s a list of the prior X-37 B’s top-secret missions in low-Earth obit:

  • OTV-1: launched on Apr. 22, 2010 and landed on Dec. 3, 2010, spending over 224 days in orbit.
  • OTV-2: launched on Mar. 5, 2011 and landed on Jun. 16, 2012, spending over 468 days in orbit.
  • OTV-3: launched on Dec. 11, 2012 and landed on Oct. 17, 2014, spending over 674 days in orbit.
  • OTV-4: launched on May 20, 2015 and landed on May 7, 2015, spending nearly 718 days in orbit.
  • OTV-5: launched on Sept. 7, 2017 and landed on Oct. 27, 2019, spending nearly 780 days in orbit.
  • OTV-6: launched on May 17, 2020 and landed on Nov. 12, 2022, spending over 908 days in orbit.

  There are rumors the X-37B might be a testbed for space weapons or could be used to capture adversary satellites… 

  News of the X-37B launch via SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket further shows Elon Musk is becoming the ‘uncancellable’ billionaire as the West increasingly relies on his rocket technology.  

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 20:00

• 2.9 Million Borrowers Pay Nothing In Biden's 'Most Generous Ever' Student Loan Repayment Plan
  2.9 Million Borrowers Pay Nothing In Biden’s ‘Most Generous Ever’ Student Loan Repayment Plan

  Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Nearly 5.5 million federal student loan borrowers have enrolled in what the Biden administration calls “the most generous” repayment option ever offered, federal officials said on Wednesday.

  

  The repayment plan, dubbed the Saving on Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, went into effect in August as part of President Joe Biden’s regulatory effort to dramatically reduce monthly obligations for student borrowers who aren’t earning very much, with many borrowers seeing their bills shrink to practically nothing.

  According to the latest update from the U.S. Department of Education, about 2.9 million of the SAVE plan’s current enrollees have incomes that are low enough that they have monthly payments of $0.

  The updated SAVE enrollment figure includes 1.8 million borrowers who have newly signed up for the program, as well as another 364,000 borrowers who were automatically switched to SAVE because they had already been in one of the existing income-driven repayment (IDR) plans that the Biden administration seeks to replace with SAVE.

  The new figure is based upon enrollment in the program as of Oct. 15. It reflects an increase from the the 4 million borrowers that the Education Department said were enrolled in the plan at the beginning of September.

  Overall, borrowers are repaying $300 billion in federal student loans on the plan. That represents about 19 percent of the $1.6 trillion in outstanding debt from the federal student loan portfolio.

  One of the biggest differences between the SAVE plan and IDR plans is that the amount of income incurring no charge, or protected income, rises from 150 percent above the federal poverty guidelines to 225 percent. Under the SAVE plan, payment also drops from 10 percent of the difference between earnings and protected income to 5 percent.

  In practice, this means a single person who earns less than $32,800 a year is required to pay $0 a month. The same applies to a family of four that has an annual income less than $67,500.

  On top of all that, under the SAVE plan, borrowers will see their remaining loan balances wiped out after 10 years of repayments. By comparison, it takes 20 or 25 years under IDR for borrowers to get their remaining debt canceled.

  “I’m thrilled to see that in less than three months, nearly 5.5 million Americans in every community across the country are taking advantage of the SAVE Plan’s many benefits, from lower monthly payments to protection from runaway student loan interest,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement on Monday, promising to “not rest” in the efforts to “make paying for college more affordable.”

  Biden Plan Faces Republican Challenge

  The SAVE plan is expected to cost billions in taxpayer dollars, a point Republican lawmakers have been emphasizing since the plan’s announcement.

  Estimates vary widely, but one analysis by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School suggests that the plan will cost about $475 billion in a span of 10 years.

  “About $200 billion of that cost will come from payment reduction for the $1.64 trillion in loans already outstanding in 2023,” the analysis read.

  According to the leading business school, the SAVE plan will be incentivizing college students to collectively borrow billions more dollars every year in the next decade due to the expectation that they may not have to repay the debt.

  “The remainder of the budget cost, or about $275 billion, comes from reduced payments for about $1.03 trillion in new loans that we estimate will be extended over the next 10 years,” it added.

  Citing Wharton’s estimates, a group of 17 Republican senators in September introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution against the plan. A CRA resolution does not only nullify an existing rule but bans the federal agency from issuing the same rule again unless Congress later passes a new law authorizing the agency to do so.

  “It’s incredibly unfair to those who never incurred student debt because they didn’t attend college in the first place or because they either worked their way through school or their family pinched pennies and planned for higher education,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), ranking member of Senate’s education committee.

  “Our resolution protects the 87 percent of Americans who don’t have student debt and will be forced to shoulder the burden of the President’s irresponsible and unfair policy,” he added.

  Sen. Cassidy is joined by Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

  A companion CRA resolution was introduced by Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) in the lower chamber. Both chambers are expected to vote on the Republican-led resolutions in the coming weeks.

  In defense of the repayment plan, Mr. Cardona implored lawmakers seeking to undo it to speak with borrowers who are “drowning in debt.”

  “We’re hearing from the American people who are drowning in debt and can’t buy a home in the economy because of college costs,” he said during a Sept. 8 interview on CNN. “Those who are vehemently opposed to it have not spoken to their constituents who are drowning, who need support, who need to make higher education more accessible.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 19:40

• Arab Spring 2.0? Gro Intelligence's Head Warns Global Food Crisis 'Much Worse Than 2008'  
  Arab Spring 2.0? Gro Intelligence’s Head Warns Global Food Crisis ‘Much Worse Than 2008’  

  Speaking at the sidelines of Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum in Singapore, Sara Menker, founder and CEO of Gro Intelligence, cautioned that the current food crisis surpassed the one in 2007-08, which ultimately sparked Arab Spring across the Middle East a few years later. This is primarily due to elevated crop prices and steep declines in local currencies against the dollar. 

  Bloomberg’s Yvonne Man asked Menker: “When we talk about where we see food prices – come off from the record highs of last year. What drives food insecurity is wars, climate change, and economic shocks. And we’re feeling that on all fronts right now… So what worries you the most?” 

  Menker responded: “It’s actually the narrative that food prices have come off the highs, which has been the narrative we’re using because we’re all following future markets that are all dollar-denominated as a gauge of where food prices are.” 

  She said, “Year-on-year food prices have come off quite substantially.”

  

  “But what has happened in most other parts of the world that import food – is that food prices continue to go up because local currencies are weakening significantly against the dollar,” she said, adding, “People eat in local currency and not in US dollars.”

  

  She pointed out, “While wheat futures are down double digits year on year – it’s up double digits year on year in Egypt because the price of importing wheat has gone up just due to the decimation of the Egyptian pound.” 

  Menker said in Syria, food inflation is up 2,000%, 1,200% in Lebonan, and 700% in Argentina. She said the food crisis “is far from over for most people in the world.” 

  Later in the interview, Man asked Menker: “Where are we headed now? Obviously, we look at the 2007-08 food crisis at that time. Are we getting closer to that scenario?” 

  Menker’s response was apocalyptic: “Actually, I think we are much worse.” 

  She explained again, “Where food prices are in a lot of countries – if you take it in a local currency basis – food prices are significantly higher when compared to 2007-08.” 

  Here’s the interview.

  For some context, after global food prices spiked in 2007-08, in late 2010 and early 2011, discontent over soaring prices triggered the Arab Spring. 

  

  In late 2020, SocGen’s Albert Edwards started to warn about the Federal Reserve blowing bubbles during the Covid pandemic and how it could spark a rise in food prices and the usually ongoing risks, such as social-economic instabilities. 

  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recently warned the world food import bill jumped to nearly $2 trillion in 2022 as many poor countries are on the brink of crisis. 

  This time, unlike a decade ago, the Western world has been battered with food inflation crushing tens of millions of low-income folks. 

  Everything is fine … 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/hEpZZ3moUE

  — Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) November 9, 2023

  “There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy,” American investigative journalist Alfred Henry Lewis stated in 1906. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 19:20

• Minnesota Supreme Court Dismisses Case To Keep Trump Off The Ballot
  Minnesota Supreme Court Dismisses Case To Keep Trump Off The Ballot

  Authored by Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The Minnesota Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit that sought to keep former President Donald Trump off the state’s Republican primary ballot on Wednesday, after having heard arguments on whether they should take the case.

  

  In a brief opinion and order written by Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, the justices said the petition was dismissed without prejudice.

  Free Speech for People, a liberal group, had sued on behalf of eight local voters, arguing that the secretary of state putting President Trump on the ballot would be an “error.”

  In the opinion, Chief Justice Hudson wrote, “there is no ‘error’ to correct here as to the presidential primary election if former President Trump’s name is included on the presidential primary ballot after the Chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota provides his name to the Secretary of State.”

  “Because there is no error to correct here as to the presidential nomination primary, and petitioners’ other claims regarding the general election are not ripe, the petition must be dismissed,” she wrote.

  She added that this dismissal would not prevent the petitioners from bringing forth the claim again regarding the general election ballot.

  President Trump commented on the decision in a Truth Social post.

  “Ridiculous 14th Amendment lawsuit just thrown out by Minnesota Supreme Court. Without Merit, Unconstitutional. Congratulations to all who fought this HOAX!” he wrote.

  State Secretary Powers

  During a hearing on Nov. 2, the justices had seemed skeptical of the petitioner’s arguments, noting that it would give the secretary of state a great amount of power if, as petitioners argued, they had the power to decide who to put on election ballots.

  The secretary of state, Steve Simon, had declined to make arguments on merit, saying only that he disagreed it was his authority to determine eligibility and would defer to the court’s decision.

  In the opinion, Chief Justice Hudson wrote that allowing President Trump to appear on the ballot if the state’s Republican party deems he meets their requirements is the correct procedure under state law.

  “There is no state statute that prohibits a major political party from placing on the presidential nomination primary ballot, or sending delegates to the national convention supporting, a candidate who is ineligible to hold office,” she wrote.

  14th Amendment Challenges

  The 14th Amendment grants citizenship and equal rights to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. Ratified after the Civil War, it also included a section that prohibited those who had participated in “rebellions” or “insurrections” against the nation from holding office.

  The Minnesota petition argued that, under section three of the 14th Amendment, President Trump is disqualified from holding elected office again because he engaged in an “insurrection.”

  Similar challenges have been brought in several other states, with most courts having ruled similar to Minnesota in dismissing the cases. Some note they don’t have jurisdiction over the matter, while in Minnesota justices also brought up the question of whether it was prudent for them to take on the case even if they did have jurisdiction, as it could potentially create “chaos” with ballots varying from state to state.

  Likewise, secretaries of state have across the board said they don’t have the authority to determine the eligibility of a candidate under state laws, sometimes leading to petitions against them.

  On Thursday, a hearing will take place in Michigan, where petitioners have sued Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, arguing she needs to keep President Trump off the ballot. President Trump and the Trump Campaign are intervenors in this case, as they have been with other 14th Amendment challenges.

  To date, only Colorado has brought such a case to trial, and a state court spent two weeks hearing substantive testimony from witnesses and experts on whether Jan. 6, 2021, constituted an “insurrection” and whether President Trump “engaged” in that.

  Colorado District Court Judge Sarah Wallace will rule on the case next week.

  “This is an internal party election to serve internal party purposes.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 19:00

• Tesla Shares Fall 5% On HSBC $146 Target, Continued Cybertruck Skepticism
  Tesla Shares Fall 5% On HSBC $146 Target, Continued Cybertruck Skepticism

  Tesla shares sold off by more than 5% on Thursday after HSBC came out and added yet another bearish sell side voice to the discussion about Elon Musk’s EV automobile empire. HSBC’s Michael Tyndall began coverage of Tesla shares on Thursday, advising a sell and setting a target of $146, suggesting a potential 33% decline from current prices.

  Following this, Tesla’s shares had fallen by almost 5.5% at Thursday’s close, adding to a now 18.9% fall over the last month, according to Yahoo Finance.

  

  “We see considerable potential in Tesla’s prospects and ideas, but we think the timeline is likely to be longer than the market and valuation is reflecting. Hence the Reduce rating,” the note said. 

  “Timing of delivery is our primary concern: we think questioning Tesla’s credibility is  problematic. Its ambitions may be grand (20m units by 2030), but it has a track record of  generally doing what it promises. Equally, as outsiders, we struggle to challenge the feasibility  of the group’s ideas. So, our caution stems from the uncertainty around the timing and  commercialisation of its varied ideas. We see considerable potential in Tesla’s prospects and  ideas, but we think the timeline is likely to be longer than the market and valuation is reflecting.  Hence the Reduce rating,” the note continues. 

  It continued, questioning the future prospects of many of the “growth” stories Tesla’s valuation depends on: “Our DCF [discounted cash flow] valuation is generous as we assume businesses such as FSD [full-self driving], Dojo and Optimus all become successful by the end of the decade, contributing around 40% of our DCF value. We think, however, that the expected cost of capital for these businesses should be well above the group average given the regulatory and technological challenges they face.” 

  

  Yahoo Finance wrote that HSBC recognizes Tesla’s unique position in the electric vehicle (EV) market, acknowledging its cost leadership and strong growth prospects.

  And although Tyndall considers Tesla’s target of 20 million units by 2030 ambitious, he notes that doubting the company’s commitments is challenging, given its track record of fulfilling its promises, despite some skepticism regarding the feasibility of such figures at present.

  

  Calling CEO Elon Musk a “risk”, Tyndall continued: “Musk’s global fame has afforded the group a customer awareness that far outweighs the money it has spent on marketing and advertising, which is therefore a tangible benefit. Leaving aside the current legal issues Elon Musk faces, we think his prominence presents a considerable ‘singleman’ risk at the group.”

  

  The autonomous software sector, including Tesla, faces challenges, with investigations into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Autopilot software by NHTSA and the Department of Justice, Tyndall noted. Additionally, GM’s Cruise service has now been halted nationwide, his note pointed out.

  Despite the pessimism, Tyndall does admit that Tesla is an innovator and deserves a premium:

  It is more than just an auto company; Tesla has positioned itself as an innovator. Cars  may well be the main driver of revenue and profits currently, but if the group is to be taken at its  word, the future for Tesla is about robots, autonomous vehicles, energy storage and super computers. Many of these ideas are in concept stage at present, which makes modelling them  and valuing them problematic. To gain a better understanding of the prospects for each, we  have relied on HSBC’s domain experts in each field. This has helped round out our opinion and  valuation on the stock, but it seems clear, to us, there is a fair degree of hope in the current  share price.

  Ironically, the better Tesla is as an auto company, the more it deserves an “auto like” valuation, so arguably the ideas need to become reality to support the current share price. Tesla auto faces fewer challenges than the incumbents and as such, deserves a  premium: we view conventional carmakers as ex-growth businesses; they are selling to  (largely) saturated markets and their ability to price higher content has historically been limited.  

  For the incumbents, the switch to electric is simply another price-cost challenge – how long will  EV premiums prevail? Can they cut costs quickly enough to maintain margins? These  challenges don’t exist for Tesla. EVs, by virtue of rising penetration, are a growth market and  are likely to be for decades. Tesla is already the cost leader and given its stated ambitions (and  scale), is likely to remain so.

  

  Adding to the misery for Tesla this week was InsideEVs writeup on the company’s forthcoming Cybertruck. The article was called: “I Saw The Tesla Cybertruck Up Close. It Still Looks Horrible” and it sports a subtitle that says “A close look reveals a lot of issues.”

  “Basking in the SoCal sun, this Cybertruck looked frankly horrible,” the article says. “I’ve been around hundreds of prototype cars in my career, ranging from early test mules to near-production prototypes, and I’ve never seen an automaker proudly present something of this poor quality, especially not this late in development.”

  

  Daniel Golson from InsideEVs added: “It is absolutely baffling to me that Tesla’s lead designer would parade around a vehicle in this condition just weeks before deliveries of production cars are allegedly commencing and even more baffling that he’d park it at such a public enthusiast event.”

  

  The article concluded:

  “Yes, this is still just a prototype at the end of the day. But at this stage of development, this close to customer deliveries starting, I couldn’t help but feel something akin to second-hand embarrassment when looking at it. If Tesla feels comfortable showing this Cybertruck off, I don’t think it bodes well for early customers.”

  Recall, Tesla shares were trounced after last quarter’s earnings due to comments Musk made about the difficulties the company was having (and would be having) with producing the Cybertruck. Elon Musk said at the time:

  “It’s an amazing product but I do want to emphasize that there will be enormous challenges in reaching volume production with the Cybertruck and then in making the Cybertruck cash flow positive,” Musk said during Tesla’s earnings call on Wednesday.

  “While I think this is potentially our best product ever — I think it is our best product ever — it is going to require immense work to reach high-volume production and be cash flow positive at a price that people can afford.”

  However, Musk claims demand for the Cybertruck is “off the charts” with more than 1 million potential buyers putting down $100 to reserve one.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 18:40

• To Understand Mike Johnson, Look To Small-Town Louisiana
  To Understand Mike Johnson, Look To Small-Town Louisiana

  Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  In the classic American film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” an idealistic leader appointed to the U.S. Senate finds himself in a tangle of political corruption and intrigue as he struggles to do what’s best for the people.

  

  Mr. Smith, played by actor Jimmy Stewart in the 1939 film, arrives at Congress from an unnamed Western state after the death of an incumbent senator. Initially, he’s unaware of the dishonest actions of some of his new congressional colleagues, and his inexperience leads the press to take advantage of him.

  In the movie, Mr. Smith refuses to become corrupt, proving the importance of decency and honesty and driving home the idea that one person really can make a difference.

  The film appears to be as relevant today as it was more than 80 years ago, a cautionary tale for politicians who believe that they can change what they see as a broken system.

  Mike Johnson, the new speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from small-town America, appears to want to do just that.

  

  Shaping a Speaker

  To understand Mr. Johnson, one must look to the places that shaped him—his church and community.

  God is loved in Louisiana. America is, too.

  When people speak about Mr. Johnson in his hometown of Benton, their comments always weave back around to his faith, which was demonstrated to the world after he was elected House speaker.

  “I want to tell all my colleagues here what I told the Republicans in that room last night,” Mr. Johnson said, addressing the House chamber after receiving the gavel on Oct. 25. “I don’t believe there are any coincidences in a matter like this. I believe that scripture—the Bible—is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority.”

  Benton has a population of about 2,000 and serves as a bedroom community for the much larger nearby city of Shreveport.

  At least 18 churches have Benton addresses, far outnumbering the single-traffic-light intersection in the small downtown.

  Couples holding hands stroll through the upscale neighborhood that Mr. Johnson calls home, as children laugh and play on manicured green lawns where American flags wave beneath towering pines and hardwoods.

  “He’s not afraid,” Marty Treece said of his now-famous neighbor.

  Mr. Treece and his wife, Brenda, told The Epoch Times that they believe that God is using Mr. Johnson just like he used former President Donald Trump.

  People in the community were excited when they heard that their congressman, a dark horse candidate for speaker, had ascended to the position without a single dissenting Republican vote.

  For weeks, Republicans in Congress bickered among themselves in an attempt to elect another speaker, after hardline Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida and seven other Republicans voted to oust sitting Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) with the help of Democrats.

  

  “All I want to say to Mike Johnson and those Republicans up there is ‘Stand up,’” Mr. Treece said. “It’s just sad that there are so many RINOs [Republicans in name only]” serving in Washington.

  Mr. Treece said he likes the way in which Mr. Johnson is approaching the job already, especially in proposing a cut to the IRS budget to find money for Israel in its war with the terrorist group Hamas.

  The Treeces said everyone knows that people will try to smear Mr. Johnson. But they feel certain that the new speaker won’t fear the trials ahead because his faith is his backbone.

  No sooner had the little-known Louisiana congressman been elected as speaker than both sides of the political divide tried to quantify Mr. Johnson. He had managed to do what heavy-hitters in the GOP, such as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), couldn’t—get elected as speaker.

  Those on the political left dubbed him MAGA Mike, a Bible-thumping fundamental Christian who supported President Trump as he fought against what he maintains was a rigged 2020 election.

  To those on the right, especially in his community, Mr. Johnson is known as a devout Southern Baptist who loves family and country.

  A politician often said to have no enemies, Mr. Johnson emerged as the right man at the right moment to unite a fractured Republican conference during turmoil at home and abroad, his allies say.

  Prayers From Home

  Christians in Benton indicate that they see a spiritual significance in Mr. Johnson’s rise in politics.

  Cypress Baptist Church—the home church of the Johnson family—was packed on Nov. 5 with believers who came to hear the Rev. John Fream.

  “God, continue to lift up our dear friend House Speaker Mike Johnson and his wife, Kelly,” the pastor prayed aloud.

  Mr. Fream, known in these parts as Pastor Fream, spoke of being thankful, even in a wicked world.

  His sermon dovetailed with Psalm 37, reportedly Mr. Johnson’s favorite Bible verse. It calls on the faithful to “fret not” because the righteous will prevail against evildoers.

  Some nonbelievers might scoff at those who follow the Bible, Mr. Fream said in the sermon. He knows some mock the idea that there are only two sexes and that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

  “What was worse, Sodom and Gomorrah, or today?” he asked a hushed congregation from the pulpit.

  “They celebrate evil as good. We live in a world that is so upside down and inside out that you say, ‘God, send your wrath.'”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 18:20

• The Delta Between New York City And New Jersey Rents Across The River Is Narrowing
  The Delta Between New York City And New Jersey Rents Across The River Is Narrowing

  If you still thought you could still escape the astronomical rents in New York City by the time-honored tradition of hopping across the river to Jersey City, your window of time may be coming to an unceremonious close. 

  According to data from rental platform StreetEasy, the median rent in Jersey City, located directly across from Manhattan, soared to $2,850 last month. This represents a staggering 48% increase since January 2020, surpassing the growth rates of the majority of neighborhoods in New York and nearly a hundred other principal cities.

  In other words, rents are growing quicker than in New York City, meaning the delta between the two locations is narrowing, according to Bloomberg.

  StreetEasy economist Kenny Lee told Bloomberg: “The opportunity for rent arbitrage in New Jersey has been going away.”

  Their report caught up with several people who tried to make moves to save money. One person was Angel Njoku, who moved to Brooklyn after her rent in Jersey City went up $125 to $3,795 per month. 

  “‘I was like, ‘There’s no point living in New Jersey’. I’m basically paying New York prices, why not just live in New York?” she told Bloomberg. 

  

  One realtor told Bloomberg that, as of 2019, a one-bedroom apartment in Hoboken, New Jersey typically remained available for around 14 days before being rented out.

  The Bloomberg report notes that these units are being snapped up in nearly half that time and at markedly increased rates, as the inventory of available rental properties has shrunk by one-third. A notable case, as mentioned, is an apartment that once would list for $5,500 and might have been offered two or three times is now commanding a rent of $8,500.

  “The lack of housing is crippling people,” the agent commented.

  After a 35% rent rise on their two-bedroom Jersey City apartment, 32 year old Oliver McAteer, and his wife renegotiated to $4,150 temporarily. Post their daughter’s arrival in spring, they purchased a house in Maplewood, New Jersey, with a mortgage matching their rent.

  McAteer told Bloomberg: “Everyone was coming over from Brooklyn, making Hoboken and Jersey City the new Williamsburg. What surprised me was how quickly it changed. It was such a shame that so many people got driven out.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 18:00

• Watch: Biden DHS Head Claims There Is "No Disaster" At The Border
  Watch: Biden DHS Head Claims There Is “No Disaster” At The Border

  Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

  Despite record numbers of encounters will illegal immigrants crossing the southern U.S. border in their thousands every day, including suspected terrorists, the head of the Biden Department for Homeland Security claimed under oath Wednesday that there is “no disaster”.

  

  Alejandro Mayorkas made the claim while testifying before Congress regarding the border security budget and spending, and asking for more funding.

  GOP Senator John Boozman told Mayorkas that “by every metric the situation at the border is a disaster,” adding that “what you’re asking for does nothing to get those numbers down.”

  Mayorkas attempted to pivot the exchange to suggest Republicans are resistant to providing funding to hire more personnel at the border.

  Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith further asked Mayorkas: “So the situation at the border, you’re saying, is not a disaster?”

  “That is correct,” Mayorkas then answered.

  Mayorkas says the situation at the border is NOT a disaster

  pic.twitter.com/GMEe3pqeTk

  — The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) November 8, 2023

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

  Mayorkas was further pressed by other Senators about whether he sees the border situation as a crisis and again failed to respond:

  “Either you’re not qualified to manage a Costco food court or you believe in open borders,” says @SenJohnKennedy to Biden’s incompetent DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

  “It’s the latter.” pic.twitter.com/2cshQhIIWN

  — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 8, 2023

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

  Does this look like a crisis/disaster nor not?

  UPDATE: The deceased innocent Americans have been identified as an elderly married couple from Dalton GA, in Whitfield County, according to @TxDPS. Their names are Jose Lerma & Isabel Lerma. Their son has been notified. They were driving to MX from GA when killed. DPS is…

  — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 8, 2023

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

  Per CBP source, Border Patrol’s Tucson, AZ sector recorded over 2,400 illegal crossings yesterday alone.
  The sector continues to be the biggest hot spot along the border, with illegal immigrants crossing there from all over the globe, including the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. https://t.co/iA8pPazWwg

  — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 7, 2023

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

  NEW: “Jesus Christ…”

  Video courtesy of @TxDPS shows illegal immigrants bailing out of a human smuggler’s stolen SUV and running into the brush as they are pursued by TX troopers & Border Patrol near Del Rio, TX over the weekend. You can hear the trooper’s reaction to the chaos. pic.twitter.com/5yaF5fkjS4

  — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 7, 2023

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

  NEW: An illegal immigrant from Honduras who was released into the US after being apprehended by Border Patrol in TX in June 2021 is now charged with felony rape & abduction by force in Virginia. He was arrested by local police there, but the Fairfax County jail didn’t honor ICE’s…

  — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 7, 2023

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

  NEW: An illegal immigrant from Honduras who was released into the US after being apprehended by Border Patrol in TX in June 2021 is now charged with felony rape & abduction by force in Virginia. He was arrested by local police there, but the Fairfax County jail didn’t honor ICE’s…

  — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 7, 2023

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

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 11/09/2023 – 17:40