Mar 12

Today’s News 12th March 2024

  • Four Years Ago This Week, Freedom Was Torched
    Four Years Ago This Week, Freedom Was Torched

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

    “Beware the Ides of March,” Shakespeare quotes the soothsayer’s warning Julius Caesar about what turned out to be an impending assassination on March 15. The death of American liberty happened around the same time four years ago, when the orders went out from all levels of government to close all indoor and outdoor venues where people gather. 

    It was not quite a law and it was never voted on by anyone. Seemingly out of nowhere, people who the public had largely ignored, the public health bureaucrats, all united to tell the executives in charge – mayors, governors, and the president – that the only way to deal with a respiratory virus was to scrap freedom and the Bill of Rights. 

    And they did, not only in the US but all over the world. 

    The forced closures in the US began on March 6 when the mayor of Austin, Texas, announced the shutdown of the technology and arts festival South by Southwest. Hundreds of thousands of contracts, of attendees and vendors, were instantly scrapped. The mayor said he was acting on the advice of his health experts and they in turn pointed to the CDC, which in turn pointed to the World Health Organization, which in turn pointed to member states and so on. 

    There was no record of Covid in Austin, Texas, that day but they were sure they were doing their part to stop the spread. It was the first deployment of the “Zero Covid” strategy that became, for a time, official US policy, just as in China. 

    It was never clear precisely who to blame or who would take responsibility, legal or otherwise. 

    This Friday evening press conference in Austin was just the beginning. By the next Thursday evening, the lockdown mania reached a full crescendo. Donald Trump went on nationwide television to announce that everything was under control but that he was stopping all travel in and out of US borders, from Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. American citizens would need to return by Monday or be stuck. 

    Americans abroad panicked while spending on tickets home and crowded into international airports with waits up to 8 hours standing shoulder to shoulder. It was the first clear sign: there would be no consistency in the deployment of these edicts. 

    There is no historical record of any American president ever issuing global travel restrictions like this without a declaration of war. Until then, and since the age of travel began, every American had taken it for granted that he could buy a ticket and board a plane. That was no longer possible. Very quickly it became even difficult to travel state to state, as most states eventually implemented a two-week quarantine rule. 

    The next day, Friday March 13, Broadway closed and New York City began to empty out as any residents who could went to summer homes or out of state. 

    On that day, the Trump administration declared the national emergency by invoking the Stafford Act which triggers new powers and resources to the Federal Emergency Management Administration. 

    In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a classified document, only to be released to the public months later. The document initiated the lockdowns. It still does not exist on any government website.

    The White House Coronavirus Response Task Force, led by the Vice President, will coordinate a whole-of-government approach, including governors, state and local officials, and members of Congress, to develop the best options for the safety, well-being, and health of the American people. HHS is the LFA [Lead Federal Agency] for coordinating the federal response to COVID-19.

    Closures were guaranteed:

    Recommend significantly limiting public gatherings and cancellation of almost all sporting events, performances, and public and private meetings that cannot be convened by phone. Consider school closures. Issue widespread ‘stay at home’ directives for public and private organizations, with nearly 100% telework for some, although critical public services and infrastructure may need to retain skeleton crews. Law enforcement could shift to focus more on crime prevention, as routine monitoring of storefronts could be important.

    In this vision of turnkey totalitarian control of society, the vaccine was pre-approved: “Partner with pharmaceutical industry to produce anti-virals and vaccine.”

    The National Security Council was put in charge of policy making. The CDC was just the marketing operation. That’s why it felt like martial law. Without using those words, that’s what was being declared. It even urged information management, with censorship strongly implied.

    The timing here is fascinating. This document came out on a Friday. But according to every autobiographical account – from Mike Pence and Scott Gottlieb to Deborah Birx and Jared Kushner – the gathered team did not meet with Trump himself until the weekend of the 14th and 15th, Saturday and Sunday. 

    According to their account, this was his first real encounter with the urge that he lock down the whole country. He reluctantly agreed to 15 days to flatten the curve. He announced this on Monday the 16th with the famous line: “All public and private venues where people gather should be closed.”

    This makes no sense. The decision had already been made and all enabling documents were already in circulation. 

    There are only two possibilities. 

    One: the Department of Homeland Security issued this March 13 HHS document without Trump’s knowledge or authority. That seems unlikely. 

    Two: Kushner, Birx, Pence, and Gottlieb are lying. They decided on a story and they are sticking to it. 

    Trump himself has never explained the timeline or precisely when he decided to greenlight the lockdowns. To this day, he avoids the issue beyond his constant claim that he doesn’t get enough credit for his handling of the pandemic.

    With Nixon, the famous question was always what did he know and when did he know it? When it comes to Trump and insofar as concerns Covid lockdowns – unlike the fake allegations of collusion with Russia – we have no investigations. To this day, no one in the corporate media seems even slightly interested in why, how, or when human rights got abolished by bureaucratic edict. 

    As part of the lockdowns, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which was and is part of the Department of Homeland Security, as set up in 2018, broke the entire American labor force into essential and nonessential.

    They also set up and enforced censorship protocols, which is why it seemed like so few objected. In addition, CISA was tasked with overseeing mail-in ballots. 

    Only 8 days into the 15, Trump announced that he wanted to open the country by Easter, which was on April 12. His announcement on March 24 was treated as outrageous and irresponsible by the national press but keep in mind: Easter would already take us beyond the initial two-week lockdown. What seemed to be an opening was an extension of closing. 

    This announcement by Trump encouraged Birx and Fauci to ask for an additional 30 days of lockdown, which Trump granted. Even on April 23, Trump told Georgia and Florida, which had made noises about reopening, that “It’s too soon.” He publicly fought with the governor of Georgia, who was first to open his state. 

    Before the 15 days was over, Congress passed and the president signed the 880-page CARES Act, which authorized the distribution of $2 trillion to states, businesses, and individuals, thus guaranteeing that lockdowns would continue for the duration. 

    There was never a stated exit plan beyond Birx’s public statements that she wanted zero cases of Covid in the country. That was never going to happen. It is very likely that the virus had already been circulating in the US and Canada from October 2019. A famous seroprevalence study by Jay Bhattacharya came out in May 2020 discerning that infections and immunity were already widespread in the California county they examined. 

    What that implied was two crucial points: there was zero hope for the Zero Covid mission and this pandemic would end as they all did, through endemicity via exposure, not from a vaccine as such. That was certainly not the message that was being broadcast from Washington. The growing sense at the time was that we all had to sit tight and just wait for the inoculation on which pharmaceutical companies were working. 

    By summer 2020, you recall what happened. A restless generation of kids fed up with this stay-at-home nonsense seized on the opportunity to protest racial injustice in the killing of George Floyd. Public health officials approved of these gatherings – unlike protests against lockdowns – on grounds that racism was a virus even more serious than Covid. Some of these protests got out of hand and became violent and destructive. 

    Meanwhile, substance abuse rage – the liquor and weed stores never closed – and immune systems were being degraded by lack of normal exposure, exactly as the Bakersfield doctors had predicted. Millions of small businesses had closed. The learning losses from school closures were mounting, as it turned out that Zoom school was near worthless. 

    It was about this time that Trump seemed to figure out – thanks to the wise council of Dr. Scott Atlas – that he had been played and started urging states to reopen. But it was strange: he seemed to be less in the position of being a president in charge and more of a public pundit, Tweeting out his wishes until his account was banned. He was unable to put the worms back in the can that he had approved opening. 

    By that time, and by all accounts, Trump was convinced that the whole effort was a mistake, that he had been trolled into wrecking the country he promised to make great. It was too late. Mail-in ballots had been widely approved, the country was in shambles, the media and public health bureaucrats were ruling the airwaves, and his final months of the campaign failed even to come to grips with the reality on the ground. 

    At the time, many people had predicted that once Biden took office and the vaccine was released, Covid would be declared to have been beaten. But that didn’t happen and mainly for one reason: resistance to the vaccine was more intense than anyone had predicted. The Biden administration attempted to impose mandates on the entire US workforce. Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling, that effort was thwarted but not before HR departments around the country had already implemented them. 

    As the months rolled on – and four major cities closed all public accommodations to the unvaccinated, who were being demonized for prolonging the pandemic – it became clear that the vaccine could not and would not stop infection or transmission, which means that this shot could not be classified as a public health benefit. Even as a private benefit, the evidence was mixed. Any protection it provided was short-lived and reports of vaccine injury began to mount. Even now, we cannot gain full clarity on the scale of the problem because essential data and documentation remains classified. 

    After four years, we find ourselves in a strange position. We still do not know precisely what unfolded in mid-March 2020: who made what decisions, when, and why. There has been no serious attempt at any high level to provide a clear accounting much less assign blame. 

    Not even Tucker Carlson, who reportedly played a crucial role in getting Trump to panic over the virus, will tell us the source of his own information or what his source told him. There have been a series of valuable hearings in the House and Senate but they have received little to no press attention, and none have focus on the lockdown orders themselves. 

    The prevailing attitude in public life is just to forget the whole thing. And yet we live now in a country very different from the one we inhabited five years ago. Our media is captured. Social media is widely censored in violation of the First Amendment, a problem being taken up by the Supreme Court this month with no certainty of the outcome. The administrative state that seized control has not given up power. Crime has been normalized. Art and music institutions are on the rocks. Public trust in all official institutions is at rock bottom. We don’t even know if we can trust the elections anymore. 

    In the early days of lockdown, Henry Kissinger warned that if the mitigation plan does not go well, the world will find itself set “on fire.” He died in 2023. Meanwhile, the world is indeed on fire. The essential struggle in every country on earth today concerns the battle between the authority and power of permanent administration apparatus of the state – the very one that took total control in lockdowns – and the enlightenment ideal of a government that is responsible to the will of the people and the moral demand for freedom and rights. 

    How this struggle turns out is the essential story of our times. 

    CODA: I’m embedding a copy of PanCAP Adapted, as annotated by Debbie Lerman. You might need to download the whole thing to see the annotations. If you can help with research, please do.

    *  *  *

    Jeffrey Tucker is the author of the excellent new book ‘Life After Lock-Down’

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 23:40

  • X Users Blast Establishment Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson For Owning Condo In Climate Change Flood Zone
    X Users Blast Establishment Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson For Owning Condo In Climate Change Flood Zone

    X users blasted establishment ‘scientist’ Neil deGrasse Tyson for owning a multi-million condominium in an area that is projected to be underwater in a climate change model. 

    “In Florida, at 345-feet, Britton Hill is the highest elevation — the lowest highest elevation in United States. This makes Florida supremely susceptible to sea-level rise during Climate Change. An objective truth even if you don’t believe in Climate Change. Just Sayin’,” Tyson wrote on X on Sunday morning. 

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    X users quickly pointed out that Tyson owns a $2.1 million second-floor condo in Manhattan—an area that will be underwater in the scientist’s own climate change model. 

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    Another X user showed the climate change scam: Nantucket, “Where elite Democrats buy oceanfront mansions,” such as the Obamas, who recently dropped nearly $12 million on an oceanfront beach house. 

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    The same people who push global warming also believe… 

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    And by the way, these global warming libtards have been pushing misinformation and disinformation to scare the general public for decades. 

    h/t DickPrickly

    Cough, cough, Tyson. 

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    Where’s the melting ice caps?

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    Has it occurred to these elites who peddle climate misinformation that they’re being laughed at?

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 23:20

  • Jamie Dimon Sees "Little Bit Of A Bubble In Stock Markets Right Now", But BofA Says Buy Because This Time It's Different
    Jamie Dimon Sees “Little Bit Of A Bubble In Stock Markets Right Now”, But BofA Says Buy Because This Time It’s Different

    “One fact of financial life should never be forgotten. Wall Street – to use the term in its figurative sense – would like its customers to make money, but what truly causes its denizens’ juices to flow is feverish activity. At such times, whatever foolishness can be marketed will be vigorously marketed – not by everyone but always by someone.”

             – Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway 2023 investor letter

    One week ago, a polite feud broke out among some of Wall Street’s top strategists, when – nearly a year and a half after turning bearish when the S&P hit 3,500 and remaining steadfastly so every since – JPM’s equity strategist Marko Kolanovic goalseeked the usual selection of bearish reasons including “froth” and “complacency” to “explain” why the market melt up can not be sustained (instead of actually correctly predicting that the market will continue to melt up) and warned that the bubble is bursting. At the same time his colleague at Goldman, head of US equity strategy David Kostin, who has been far more constructive on stocks and has even raised his 2024 S&P price target not two but three times in the past few months, literally said that this bubble is different…

    … and that 1999 and 2021 were worse, as “the prevalence of extreme valuations today looks far less widespread than in 2021 after adjusting for market concentration“, in other words, it is a bubble but only in the handful of stocks that really matter for the market… so there’s nothing to worry about this time or something. Here is the punchline:

    The recent rally has driven the share of market cap in stocks with extremely high valuations to levels similar to those reached during the euphoria of 2021.

    However, the prevalence of extreme valuations today looks far less widespread than in 2021 after adjusting for market concentration. The number of stocks with elevated EV/sales ratios has declined sharply from the peak in 2021. Unlike the broad-based “growth at any cost” in 2021, investors are mostly paying high valuations for the largest growth stocks in the index. This dynamic more closely resembles the Tech Bubble than 2021. However, in contrast with the late ’90s, we believe the valuation of the Magnificent 7 is currently supported by their fundamentals.

    Another key difference between the market today and in 2021 is that the cost of capital is much higher today than it was then. In 2021, the implied weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of the S&P 500 fell to 3.8%, its lowest level in decades. The low cost of financing meant growth plans could be funded relatively cheaply at the same time as a low discount rate benefited the valuations of growth stocks with cash flows in the distant future. As inflation surged and the Fed hiked sharply, the cost of capital spiked. The WACC now equals 5.7%.

    Translation: the bubble of Fabulous Four or so stocks that have done all the heavy in the past year may be poised to pop, but it’s not really a bubble as “this time is different”, plus it not like all those ridiculous EPS forecasts that see earnings growing exponential in perpetuity for AI/mega tech names, can all be wrong… can they?

    Well, maybe they can… according to the world’s most powerful banker, Jamie Dimon, who was speaking at an Australian Financial Review business summit event, “little bit of a bubble in equity markets right now.“

    The troubling admission, which framed Dimon’s far less optimistic admission about the US economy, in which he said that the “chance of a soft landing in the next year or two is half” of what the world is pricing in, “probably 70%-80%”,  came just hours after JPM’s Marko Kolanovic issued his weekly fire and brimstone sermon hoping that this week, this is the week, when he will finally be right and stocks will finally crash back to the mid-3000s.

    In his latest JPMOrgan View note, Kolanovic once again tried to come up with any reason whatsoever that scare the bank’s clients and keep them out of what has so far been a 40% rally from the October 2022 lows (which is when Marko turned bearish), and said that the recent rush into momentum stocks like the Mag 7 has typically been followed by a correction whenever it has occurred in the past: as a result “while it is unclear whether the recent deceleration is simply a pause in the rally or the start of a pullback, in our view the risk-reward is negatively skewed.”

    Kolanovic went on to caution – yet again – the bubble in Mag 7 stocks, writing that it’s only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down, to wit:

    “a combination of High for Longer and the Halo Effect of LLM stocks has created market dislocations across global equities over the past year. Extreme crowding into Momentum has steadily risen along with equity investor positioning. Momentum is a dynamic stock factor that changes its exposure depending on macroeconomic and fundamental conditions. As such, it often becomes crowded, followed by an inevitable and often sharp correction (i.e. momentum crash)… NVDA has a causal relationship to S&P 500; given this relationship coupled with very bullish investor sentiment and positioning, we caution investors that this relationship is likely to work in reverse when the AI euphoria peaks.

    …

    As such, we keep a defensive allocation in our model portfolio, unchanged vs. last month, with an UW in equities and credit vs. OW in cash and commodities.”

    Fundamentally, Marko is not wrong of course (and those interested can read more in his full note available to pro subs in the usual place), the problem – as anyone who listened to him and shorted stocks in September 2022 when we said his bearish pivot actually marked the market bottom, which we humbly suggest has been the best market-timing call this decade…

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    … is that when it comes to timing market inflection points, the Croat strategist is an epic disaster, about as accurate as Cramer or Gartman. Which is why, sadly for the skeptics, as long as Marko remains bearish the market will rise.

    Which, incidentally, is something that another Wall Street strategist would complete agree with: in her latest note published just one week after she hiked  her year-end S&P price target from 5,000 to 5,400 in keeping with all the other lemmings who chase price and then goalseek reasons to justify their groupthink, BofA’s Savita Subramanian said that she has “had a full week of feedback and pushback” since raising her year-end price target to 5,400, and notes that she hears “that sentiment is now “full bull”, the market is trading in bubble-like territory, and it is time for something else to break from the Fed’s aggressive monetary policy.“

    She goes on to address several of the FAQs, essentially derivatives of one very direct question on a recent call: “Savita, are you forecasting a bubble?”

    Q: What defines a bubble, and is the S&P 500 one?

    A: Prior market bubble conditions include (1) a gap between price and intrinsic value, (2) democratization of the asset class, and (3) rampant speculation, often amplified by the use of leverage. Housing in 2007, Tech in 2000, tulips in 1637 are examples that tick these boxes. But the S&P 500 today does not: passive/index ownership (most of which is a proxy for the S&P 500) makes up just over half of US equity float, but Japan passive equity reached 80%. Moreover, CFTC data show net short positions by speculators. The gap between price and intrinsic value is high based on snapshot PE multiples, but the ex-Magnificent 7 trades closer to long-term average multiples, and, more importantly, today’s index lacks comparability to prior decades’, in our view.

    * * *

    Q: So historical valuation doesn’t matter?

    A: Valuation matters. But comparing a trailing PE today to a trailing PE of prior decades makes little sense given the index’s mix shift (ZH: right, because it’s different this time… never heard that one before). Furthermore, companies have been forced to abandon low quality EPS growth (levered buybacks, global cost/tax arbitrage) to focus on efficiency, yielding more predictable margins and warranting a higher multiple. Finally, valuation is a poor predictor in the short-term (r-sq of 10% for 1yr returns) but is all that matters in the long-term. Today it indicates lower price returns over the next decade with a higher proportion of total return from dividends (ZH: so… don’t buy then? We are confused…)

    Q: Is it 1995 or 1999?

    A: More 1995. US equity sentiment is at almost precisely the same level as in 1995 based on our Sell Side Indicator – neutral, not wildly bullish like 1999. The S&P 500 ERP is at almost the same level as in the mid-90s, and actually went negative by 1999. The efficiency/productivity themes of today (AI, automation) are nascent like the PC revolution was in the mid-90s. In 1999, Tech was valued on price to eyeballs, today, the earnings contribution and capital discipline of TMT is similar to that of 1995’s Nifty 50.

    Q: Where is equity sentiment today, really?

    A: The net message of investor sentiment frameworks is neutral on US equities. Bull markets end with euphoria, and today euphoria has been ring-fenced to themes (AI, GLP-1 etc.) Sentiment has warmed up on equities since mid-2023, driving our slightly lower level of conviction in an up market, but is nowhere near bullish levels of prior market peaks. In our view, this bull market has legs.

    In retrospect that is not even the worst, most goalseeked defense of the current tech bubble; And FWIW, we won’t even bother to debunk all the points brought up here. Instead we will leave it to the capable hands of Savita’s own co-worker Michael Hartnett who has done a phenomenal job of countering the bullshit of the “it is only a small bubble, plus this time it’s different” argument over, and over and over, and over again.

    More in the full BofA report available to pro subs in the usual place.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 23:00

  • Doctors, Dictators, And The Medical Autocracy
    Doctors, Dictators, And The Medical Autocracy

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

    Jean Wendrick acknowledges that she’s been mostly unhealthy her whole life—suffering from diabetes since she was in her 20s and overcoming breast cancer more recently.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

    At a doctor’s appointment last year, Ms. Wendrick learned she has osteopenia, a condition in which her body isn’t making new bone cells quickly enough, which often leads to osteoporosis. Her doctor suggested medication—the same type her mother has been taking.

    “It was devastating to me,” she said. “My mom is hunched over with osteoporosis and can only look at the floor. She’s in so much pain, and she took all the meds. It was all for nothing.”

    While Ms. Wendrick can see her potential future when looking at her 86-year-old mother, she also finds reasons, when thinking of her 18-year-old daughter, Victoria, whom she had at age 47, to make the changes that can restore her health.

    Thus, Ms. Wendrick became determined six months ago that she would live out her years in the best possible health. She knew it would demand real change and a true return to a healthy lifestyle—something her doctor’s prescriptions could never give her.

    The Doctor’s Dilemma

    Ms. Wendrick’s experience is common. Facing devastating illness, patients are offered drugs that have little effect and create problems that patients may never be told about.

    It is common for doctors to suggest only two types of treatment options: drugs or surgery. (Daria Serdtseva/Shutterstock)

    While some doctors will do little beyond suggesting surgery or a new prescription, many others do recommend their patients make lifestyle changes to fundamentally resolve the cause of chronic conditions.

    However, all too often, these recommendations come as brief commands to “lose weight,” “exercise more,” or “eat better” and are often served with a sprinkle of judgment.

    Health care providers may then blame patients for their inability to follow such orders.

    A study in Finland echoes findings in other settings where physicians and nurses say patients with obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and who smoke, just won’t do what they are told.

    “A majority [of both physicians and nurses] agreed that a major barrier to the treatment of lifestyle-related conditions is patients’ unwillingness to change their habits,” the study states.

    And all too often this is true. However, research also suggests doctors and nurses dispense such advice in ineffective ways. Giving orders in brief and hurried appointments is not an effective way to get patients to address long-standing habits, like eating certain foods, advised Dr. Ann Lindsay, a physician and clinical professor in medicine at Stanford, in an article in Stanford Medicine’s Scope magazine.

    “Everybody basically wants to lead a healthy life,” Dr. Lindsay told Scope, “but there are different beliefs and obstacles that contribute to ambivalence.”

    Helping patients overcome those beliefs and navigate those obstacles simply isn’t in the job description for many health care practitioners.

    Many doctors have hundreds of patients and spend too little time building a genuine connection with or an understanding of them. (peterfactors/Shutterstock)

    One part of the issue is a lack of time. Another part of the issue is that physicians simply don’t know how to help patients or communicate these issues well. Many doctors have no meaningful relationship with the people whose lives depend on them.

    Physicians who learn how to communicate well are more than twice as effective in getting patients to make lifestyle changes, said Dr. Lindsay.

    One of the reasons for the rise of functional medicine is a desire from both patients and physicians to focus on the systemic lifestyle factors behind disease.

    A Different Approach to Medicine

    Making changes requires patients to take responsibility—and health care practitioners to effectively support that change, say experts.

    “Before I had excuses. I ate what I wanted when I wanted, and I was eating for emotions. I always had symptoms. I didn’t do any exercise. It was awful,” Ms. Wendrick recalled. “Now, there is a reason for me to get up in the morning and finally take care of me. I know it takes discipline and determination to get results.”

    Ms. Wendrick is on a mission to get her diabetes under control, lose weight, and strengthen her bones. She hired a new doctor to help her succeed, Dr. Scott Doughty, a family doctor at U.P. Holistic Medicine in Michigan. Ms. Wendrick calls him “the boss.” She’s lost 30 pounds so far and said she feels like she’s in her 20s.

    For the first time in her health care experience, Ms. Wendrick felt listened to and that she had suitable options and a support system that would allow her to avoid the poor prognosis she was facing. It became easier for her to comply because she felt in control and supported by Dr. Doughty, she said.

    Ms. Wendrick isn’t an exception. Patient engagement, motivation, and support are vital ingredients for healing disease from the standpoint of functional medicine and research studies.

    The American Medical Association (AMA) says doctors need to help patients find their motivation and give them small but meaningful targets for improvement—like a 5 percent weight reduction.

    The AMA also raises the need for an engaging coach, someone capable of getting patients to participate in lifestyle programs.

    People often need the support of a health coach, nutritionist, or personal trainer to make meaningful changes in their daily habits. (The Good Brigade/Getty Images)

    Unfortunately, these programs are still hard to come by in many areas and physicians may not even be aware they exist. All too often, doctors simply tell patients they need to take a new drug or have surgery, with little in the way of discussion.

    Medicinal Commands

    A 2019 study revealed that a shared power balance between patients and health care providers was critical to active patient participation and adherence to treatment in chronic illnesses.

    “Patients cannot be forced to follow a lifestyle dictated by others,” notes the study published in the International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery. “The finding suggests that adherence is facilitated by empowerment that includes competence in self-care, adaptability, and persistence in treatment.”

    Telling people they need to “stop this or stop that” almost universally fails, Dr. Joel Evans, founder and director of the Center for Functional Medicine, told The Epoch Times. It’s more effective, he said, to find beneficial things to add to behavior such as eating more fruits and vegetables.

    “By talking to patients this way, they feel more cared for, and they’re more likely to participate in the creation of a plan … and they’re more likely to follow the plan,” Dr. Evans said. “The doctor dictator doesn’t work.”

    While it can be frustrating to encounter doctors who don’t offer options or support, patients can voice concerns, ask for more resources, or find help elsewhere as Ms. Wendrick did.

    Doctors As Dictators

    Physicians find themselves in an impossible bind. They often believe they must convey a sense of certainty and authority to give their patients confidence in prescribed treatments—and yet there is little certainty in medicine. This can lead to issuing orders rather than engaging patients in more meaningful conversations.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 22:20

  • Deluge Of Violent Crime Sees Philly Transit Boss Call For National Guard, Following NYC's Lead
    Deluge Of Violent Crime Sees Philly Transit Boss Call For National Guard, Following NYC’s Lead

    Transit Workers Union Local 234 President Brian Pollitt is demanding accountability from Gov. Josh Shapiro, Mayor Cherelle Parker, and SEPTA officials after a string of violent crimes on and around Philadelphia mass transit over the last few weeks. 

    In fact, he says he has been calling for National Guard deployment on SEPTA – similar to how New York City has deployed the National Guard on MTA – for four years, according to WKYW.

    “I think that governor needs a round of applause because they’re going through the very same thing that we’re going through,” Pollitt said of New York City. 

    He says many drivers are seeking retirement because of how dangerous the job has gotten and that it is tough recruiting new drivers. “And I got young people coming in the door and once they come in here and see how things are, they’re going out there looking for other opportunities,” he said. 

    Recall last Thursday we wrote about 8 teens who were shot near a SEPTA bus in Northeast Philadelphia. The incident came just hours after the last shooting injuring four and killing one involving mass transit in Philadelphia.

    The incident occurred at around 3 p.m. near Northeast High School at Cottman and Rising Sun avenues, where students were waiting for a bus. Three assailants opened fire, shooting over 30 rounds from across the street, wounding eight teenagers.

    Surveillance captured them exiting a blue Hyundai Sonata and attacking as a bus arrived, then fleeing. The victims, aged between 15 and 17, included seven boys and a girl; two are critically injured.

    Descriptions of the gunmen have been released. The shooting prompted a lockdown at a nearby elementary school and hit two SEPTA buses without injuring passengers.

    Police have impounded a car believed to be involved in the shooting, seizing a blue Hyundai Sonata found parked on Roselyn Street in the Olney area of the city on Wednesday night. The vehicle, now at a local impound lot, is said to match the description of the dark blue 2019 Hyundai Sonata identified as the getaway car in surveillance footage.

    Mayor Cherelle Parker commented last week: “The purpose of our being here today is to inform you all that enough is enough. That every law enforcement partner that we have here in the city of Philadelphia is actively engaged in working together to ensure that every resource that is needed is readily available so that the work can be done to solve crimes.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 22:00

  • CDC Warns Thousands Of Children Sent To ER After Taking Common Sleep Aid
    CDC Warns Thousands Of Children Sent To ER After Taking Common Sleep Aid

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

    A U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) paper released Thursday found that thousands of young children have been taken to the emergency room over the past several years after taking the very common sleep-aid supplement melatonin.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 23, 2020. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images)

    The agency said that melatonin, which can come in gummies that are meant for adults, was implicated in about 7 percent of all emergency room visits for young children and infants “for unsupervised medication ingestions,” adding that many incidents were linked to the ingestion of gummy formulations that were flavored. Those incidents occurred between the years 2019 and 2022.

    Melatonin is a hormone produced by the human body to regulate its sleep cycle. Supplements, which are sold in a number of different formulas, are generally taken before falling asleep and are popular among people suffering from insomnia, jet lag, chronic pain, or other problems.

    The supplement isn’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and does not require child-resistant packaging. However, a number of supplement companies include caps or lids that are difficult for children to open.

    The CDC report said that a significant number of melatonin-ingestion cases among young children were due to the children opening bottles that had not been properly closed or were within their reach. Thursday’s report, the agency said, “highlights the importance of educating parents and other caregivers about keeping all medications and supplements (including gummies) out of children’s reach and sight,” including melatonin.

    The approximately 11,000 emergency department visits for unsupervised melatonin ingestions by infants and young children during 2019–2022 highlight the importance of educating parents and other caregivers about keeping all medications and supplements (including gummies) out of children’s reach and sight.

    The CDC notes that melatonin use among Americans has increased five-fold over the past 25 years or so. That has coincided with a 530 percent increase in poison center calls for melatonin exposures to children between 2012 and 2021, it said, as well as a 420 percent increase in emergency visits for unsupervised melatonin ingestion by young children or infants between 2009 and 2020.

    Some health officials advise that children under the age of 3 should avoid taking melatonin unless a doctor says otherwise. Side effects include drowsiness, headaches, agitation, dizziness, and bed wetting.

    Other symptoms of too much melatonin include nausea, diarrhea, joint pain, anxiety, and irritability. The supplement can also impact blood pressure.

    However, there is no established threshold for a melatonin overdose, officials have said. Most adult melatonin supplements contain a maximum of 10 milligrams of melatonin per serving, and some contain less.

    Many people can tolerate even relatively large doses of melatonin without significant harm, officials say. But there is no antidote for an overdose. In cases of a child accidentally ingesting melatonin, doctors often ask a reliable adult to monitor them at home.

    Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, with the Seattle Children’s Hospital at the University of Washington, told CNN that parents should speak with a doctor before giving their children the supplement.

    “I also tell families, this is not something your child should take forever. Nobody knows what the long-term effects of taking this is on your child’s growth and development,” she told the outlet. “Taking away blue-light-emitting smartphones, tablets, laptops, and television at least two hours before bed will keep melatonin production humming along, as will reading or listening to bedtime stories in a softly lit room, taking a warm bath, or doing light stretches.”

    In 2022, researchers found that in 2021, U.S. poison control centers received more than 52,000 calls about children consuming worrisome amounts of the dietary supplement. That’s a six-fold increase from about a decade earlier. Most such calls are about young children who accidentally got into bottles of melatonin, some of which come in the form of gummies for kids, the report said.

    Dr. Karima Lelak, an emergency physician at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and the lead author of the study published in 2022 by the CDC, found that in about 83 percent of those calls, the children did not show any symptoms.

    However, other children had vomiting, altered breathing, or other symptoms. Over the 10 years studied, more than 4,000 children were hospitalized, five were put on machines to help them breathe, and two children under the age of two died. Most of the hospitalized children were teenagers, and many of those ingestions were thought to be suicide attempts.

    Those researchers also suggested that COVID-19 lockdowns and virtual learning forced more children to be at home all day, meaning there were more opportunities for kids to access melatonin. Also, those restrictions may have caused sleep-disrupting stress and anxiety, leading more families to consider melatonin, they suggested.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 21:40

  • Leftist Consulting Firms Exposed As Hidden Hand Behind The Wokification Of Video Games
    Leftist Consulting Firms Exposed As Hidden Hand Behind The Wokification Of Video Games

    How the tables have turned in the past decade.  If you were involved at the inception of the culture war around a decade ago then you probably remember an abrupt and distinct change in popular media from 2015 to 2016.  There was a surge of far-left and feminist propaganda in movies, television, commercials and even video games that was highly aggressive, perhaps even militant.  Some people spoke out at the time and questioned the motives behind the trend, only to be smacked down by angry mobs of activists and corporate journalists with accusations of “conspiracy theory” and “bigotry.”

    In other words, their claim was that you were not seeing what you thought you were seeing.  There was no feminist agenda.  There was no gay or trans agenda.  There was no socialist messaging.  It was only in your head.

    If there is one rule that encompasses all political endeavors, it is this:  If you have to hide your intentions and lie about your goals when trying to spread your ideology, then something is probably very wrong with your ideology.  This is exactly the problem inherent in the attempt to spread woke doctrine – Activists and provocateurs never ask anyone if they want to hear about woke ideas; they seek to force everyone to see and hear woke ideas, to the point that people cannot escape the messaging.

    Even more insulting is the fact that even though most of these activists claim to be fans of the media they target, they are usually discovered to be frauds.  Woke ideologues have little sincere interest in nostalgia, movie making, video games, comic books, etc.  They only care about these properties because they see them as a vehicle to be co-opted, infected and dominated.  Leftists know well that if they control pop culture they can control the thinking of the next generation.

    The explosion of this cultism was evident by 2016, which led to a rising counter-movement among independents and conservatives within pop-media communities including video games.  Gamergate was born, driven by the desire to call out the thought police taking over the games industry.

    The movement would spark a firestorm among mainstream news platforms who sought to discredit them as monstrous misogynists and racists that were merely upset because they didn’t like “diversity in gaming.”  But there had always been diversity in games, so this accusation didn’t hold much water.  The real reason why leftists were furious over Gamergate was because they knew what it represented – organized push-back.  If this continued, the propaganda machine would eventually be exposed.  

    Skip ahead to 2024, long after the frenzy over Gamergate has faded.  The truth has finally and officially been revealed after disclosures of a little-known company called Sweet Baby Inc.

    Founded in 2018, Sweet Baby Inc is a media consulting firm based out of Montreal, Canada.  Many of the founding members of the company have direct ties to the same leftist propagandists that were outed by Gamergate years ago.  The group is also undeniably linked to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programming.  The Spread of DEI and the reason why such consulting firms have any market whatsoever is due exclusively to the global ESG loan scheme.

    At the height of ESG, companies like Blackrock and Vanguard were throwing billions in low cost loans at any corporations willing to show their fealty to the woke cause.  The agenda is openly admitted now; the point is to use easy money to “force behaviors” (and narratives) onto the public consciousness.

    Recent investigations by a host of independent outlets have discovered that Sweet Baby Inc. has been involved in some of the most blatant woke games of the past decade.  Anyone paying attention to trends might have noticed the exponential rise of a shrill and oppressive voice within the games world.  As it turns out, the progressive stranglehold on video games was not an unorganized affair perpetrated by random unrelated activists; it has been highly centralized and deliberate, using the “terror” of the mob as leverage to convince game developers to insert woke messaging into their products.

    Beyond the lure of ESG subsidies, the consulting strategy works like this:  Woke “consultants” accuse developers of producing bigoted content and instigate leftist mobs of hundreds or thousands of people to harass them.  Then, the consultants offer their services to the developers that are under attack, telling them that all they need to do is hire the consulting firm and the mob will leave them alone.  In other words, it’s a protection racket.  

    Once they are in the door, they sow fear in the minds of marketing teams with images of cancel culture hordes marching out to destroy their company.  The marketing team convinces the game makers to implant incessant woke narratives despite the fact that none of their customers want this.  In the end, the video game market is saturated with leftist-inspired propaganda.  All it takes is a handful of these consulting organizations to change the course of an entire industry.  Companies that used to be concerned with making great products and making their customers happy suddenly become nothing more than bullhorns for the progressive cause.

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    Sweet Baby Inc. has been using similar strong arm tactics for quite some time, but their most recent attempt to shut down a Steam page dedicated to compiling a list of games the consultants had a hand in was the straw the broke the camel’s back.  Instead of silencing dissent, the group triggered a hurricane that led to their exploits being discussed on every part of the internet.

    This is very similar to the efforts by leftists to shut down the Libs of TikTok Twitter account, which was only ever guilty of reposting videos made by woke activists describing their crazed motives in their own words.  Sweet Baby Inc tried to shut down a page which only listed the video games they were involved in.  Why?  One can only guess, but it seems as if they didn’t want consumers to know they even existed.  

    Luckily, the Streisand Effect went into effect and now the whole world is aware that these groups exist and what they are involved in.  Most importantly, however, is the vindication of those people (like Gamergate) that fought for years to prove that there was in fact a concerted leftist conspiracy within the video games industry.  They weren’t bigoted or “crazy,” they were right, and now everyone knows it.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 21:20

  • Nightmare Scenario: How A Trump Trial Could Now Run Up To (Or Through) The 2024 Election
    Nightmare Scenario: How A Trump Trial Could Now Run Up To (Or Through) The 2024 Election

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    “This trial will not yield to the election cycle.” Those words of U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan last year made clear that she will not consider that Donald Trump will likely be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee in setting the schedule for his federal trial in Washington, D.C.

     

    Most recently, in the federal prosecution in Florida, Special Counsel Jack Smith declared that he will not consider himself bound by the Justice Department’s longstanding policy of not bringing charges or holding trials of candidates close to an election.

    With the Supreme Court reviewing the immunity question (and a decision not expected until June), a nightmare scenario is unfolding in which Trump could be tried not just before the general election, but actually through November’s election.

    Chutkan has insisted that her refusal to consider Trump’s candidacy is simply denying special treatment to the former president. But there is nothing typical about how she and others have handled the case. The fact that Chutkan was pushing for a March trial date shows just how extraordinary her handling has been.

    In the D.C. courts, with thousands of stacked up cases, that would be a rocket docket for a complex case of this kind. There are roughly 770,000 pending cases in roughly 100 district courts around the country. The backlog of pending criminal cases in the federal court system increased by more than a quarter in the last five years. Even when defendants plead guilty, criminal cases average 10 months. If a trial is needed, it runs on average to two years, absent serious complications over classified or privileged material. Smith indicted Trump less than a year ago.

    At every juncture, Smith has tried to expedite and spur the case along. This has included an attempt to cut off standard appellate options for Trump.

    It seems as if the entire point is to try Trump before the election.

    Smith has offered no reason, other than that he wants voters to consider the outcome of the trial.

    It is a rare acknowledgement of a desire for a trial to become a factor in an election.

    Judge Chutkan has shown the same determination. The judge was criticized for comments she made before any charges were brought that strongly suggested she thought Trump should be criminally charged. Chutkan told one defendant that he showed “blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.” In another case, Chutkan told the defendant that it was unfair that he might go to prison but “the architects of that horrific event will likely never be charged.”

    When asked to recuse herself, Chutkan denied the clear implication of her own words. She insisted that she has not expressly stated that “’President Trump should be prosecuted’ and imprisoned… And the defense does not cite any instance of the court ever uttering those words or anything similar.”

    Of course, neither the court nor the prosecutors seem willing to apply a similarly deferential view of the meaning of Trump’s words within the context of the case. There, the implications are sufficient for that “one person” described earlier by the court.

    Chutkan is now reportedly telling parties in other cases that she will be out of the country in August, and that defendants will have to delay any proceedings in light of her plans…unless she can try Trump. She told lawyers that she will stick with her schedule unless “I’m in trial in another matter that has not yet returned to my calendar.”

    Given the apparent motivation of the trial court to try Trump before the election, the only other source of restraint would be the Justice Department itself. Smith, however, has insisted that he will show no such restraint, even if he tries Trump through the election.

    In his filings in Florida, Smith insisted that the oft-cited Justice Department policy to avoid such proceedings within 60 days of an election would not be applied in Trump’s case. He insisted that, since everyone knows about the allegations, there would be no harm or foul in holding him for trial for the weeks before the election as his opponent, President Biden, is free to traverse the country campaigning.

    Smith’s position was applauded by commentators who had previously invoked the rule to oppose charges that might have helped Trump before prior elections. Take Andrew Weissmann, who served as the controversial top aide to Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Now an MSNBC legal analyst, Weissmann assured viewers that there was no problem trying Trump just before the election because this is just “an internal rule. It is not a law.”

    He then added “Second, the rule does not apply! For anyone who has been at the Justice Department, this is such a red herring.” He insisted this is only meant to avoid some “covert cases” being tried “because you don’t want to influence the election when that person — the candidate — doesn’t have an opportunity to get to trial.”

    However, when the issue was the possibility of Special Counsel John Durham charging figures in the Russia investigation before the 2020 election, Weissmann and Professor Ryan Goodman wrote a column not only invoking the rule but encouraging prosecutors to refuse to assist Durham.

    I have previously written about the ambiguity of this rule and the selectivity of its applications. However, Weissmann and Goodman were adamant that such prosecutions would be dangerous. Even though no actual election candidate would have been charged, they invoked this Justice Department “norm” and declared, “The Justice Department should not take action that could distort an election and influence the electorate. If someone is charged immediately before an election, for instance, that person has no time to offer a defense to counter the charges. The closer the election, the greater the risk that the department is impermissibly acting based on political considerations, which is always prohibited.”

    It is certainly true that these charges have been known for a while, but Trump may not have an ability to present a complete defense before the election. It is also clear that he will have to choose between campaigning for office and defending his liberty.

    Moreover, this is the leading candidate for the presidency, and the opponent to the current incumbent. A 2023 poll found that a 47 percent plurality of Americans already believe the charges are politically motivated. That appearance will only worsen as the election approaches, a recognition that should force a modicum of restraint upon both the court and the prosecution. Finally, Smith is referencing the election as the reason to expedite the trial precisely because it may have an influence on voters.

    The Trump trials are troubling precisely because they are being handled differently because of who the defendant is.

    No one can seriously suggest that Judge Chutkan would be moving other cases or canceling trips in order to shoehorn them into the calendar this year, if it were not for the election and the name of the defendant. Such cases are, after all, notorious for taking years to work out complicated pre-trial matters.

    Most citizens already see that reality. State prosecutors in New York and Georgia waited for years to charge Trump, then pushed for expedited schedules in order to try him before the election.

    That brings us back to Judge Chutkan’s pledge to “not yield to the election cycle.” Yet the expedited effort of the court seems clearly motivated by the election cycle. She and Smith are depending on the election cycle as they struggle to pull Trump into court at the height of a presidential campaign.

    It is a schedule conceived for the “one person” described by Chutkan in the earlier cases. As the calendar continues to shrink, claims of blind justice increasingly look like the blind pursuit of a specific person.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 21:00

  • Israel Making Preparations To Launch Invasion Of Southern Lebanon
    Israel Making Preparations To Launch Invasion Of Southern Lebanon

    Israel has continued signaling that it is preparing to launch a major new operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon following months of tit-for-tat escalation. Some 80,000 Israeli residents whose homes are near the border have remained evacuated since October and November, and are essentially internally displaced. Because of this, pressure has mounted on Israeli leaders to do something that would allow their return, and ensure the security of Israel’s north.

    Israeli media, particularly YNet News reported on Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is preparing “contingency plans” for a wide-scale attack on Lebanon. Israeli Army Northern Command head Major General Ori Gordin in a meeting with settler leaders from northern Israel stated, “We are preparing contingency plans to launch an attack in Lebanon. Our commitment, mine, is to change the security situation so that the residents can be returned home.”

    Via AFP

    YNet further unveiled plans to initiate the army’s “Operation Steady Anchor” which aims to protect civilians during the expected escalation in fighting. Hezbollah is widely estimated to possess over 150,000 rockets – some of which can likely reach Haifa and Tel Aviv.

    The operation involves setting up dozens of mass shelters utilizing fortified abandoned buildings and underground parking garages. This is to protect civilians in the instance of a mass Hezbollah rocket barrage. The shelters will be equipped to allow families to take refuge anywhere from a few hours to up to several days.

    In another key sign of Tel Aviv’s war preparations, the IDF has been conducing a logistics supply drill focused on its northern bases and positions, and in preparation for a Lebanon offensive This has included practice runs delivering ammo, equipment, water, and fuel to simulated “maneuvering forces” operating in southern Lebanon.

    Meanwhile, Army Chief Herzi Halevi has reportedly ordered Brig. Gen. Chico Tamir, the former deputy commander of the northern corps, to draw up “several possible plans for a ground operation in Lebanon.”

    Veteran Middle East war correspondent Elijah Magnier reports Monday from the Lebanese side that “Hezbollah (and allies) is training and preparing for a possible war with Israel above and below ground.”

    Attacks by Hezbollah have continued to be daily, also amid Israeli return fire. On Sunday a major Israeli airstrike hit a home in south Lebanon’s Khirbet Selm, killing a family of five, including three Hezbollah members.

    Last month, an op-ed in Foreign Policy predicted that a broader Israel-Hezbollah war is inevitable. “It is likely that there is going to be a war between Hezbollah and Israel within the next six to eight months,” wrote Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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    Cook said, “Still, it is not hard to imagine a moment at which the Iranians loosen the reins on their primary proxy. As Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made clear in an early January speech remembering the life and work of Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani—the IRGC Quds Force commander who the United States killed in a drone strike in early 2020—the Iranians have put significant time, energy, and resources into the development of so-called axis of resistance.”

    A bigger war in Lebanon would very likely also spill over into Syria and Iraq as well, where US occupying forces have already come under frequent drone and rocket attack, though these instances have been less frequently in the last few weeks.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 20:40

  • Only The US Can Destroy The US Dollar
    Only The US Can Destroy The US Dollar

    Authored by Russell Clark of the Capital Flows and Asset Markets substack

    Being the reserve currency has enormous benefits. And in the entirety of financial history, the US is the first and only fiat reserve currency. Sterling, and any other reserve currencies derived their value from the ability to maintain their value to gold. With the two World Wars, the US came to be seen as the government most able to honour its commitments, and saw huge inflows of gold, but in the 1960s, gold started to flow back to Europe and elsewhere, and in essence, Nixon decided that higher interest rates needed to maintain the link to gold price was not worth the effort, and cut the link to gold price.

    Moving from a gold based currency to a fiat currency has had enormous benefits for the US. First of all is that it no longer needs to ever run a current account surplus. That is it never needs to reduce consumption or imports, which is a huge political benefit. The norm since 1980 is for the US to have a current account deficit.

    The US also does not need to balance the budget. The budget was balanced in 2000, but this was probably now seen as a tactical error on the part of the Democrats.

    What I find most interesting about the transition from gold to US treasury backed financial system is how Asian nations, despite a long history of using gold, accepted this system. China and Japan have some of the largest foreign reserves in the world, but their holdings of gold are limited. Even India holds a relatively small amount of gold as foreign reserves.

    Japan is the most interesting, where almost all of its foreign reserves are held as US treasuries. Unfortunately US treasury data on foreign holders only begins in 2000, but I have no reason not to believe the Japanese were big buyers in 1990s as well.

    Why do the Japanese only buy treasuries? Well for most of the time since 1980, treasuries have been much better investments than gold. They offer an income stream, they are very liquid, and they have a natural pull to par, which means that there is never a need to book a loss – which will have powerful appeal to bureaucrats. From 1980 to 2000 long dated treasuries consistently outperformed gold, while from 2000 its has been far more of mixed bag.

    Typically when people talk about reserve currency status, they talk about the size of the US economy or its military might, and basically imply that this can never end, so US dollar reserve status is forever. I think about the US dollar as a reserve currency I think it is something more akin to Microsoft, or Google. The product is not that good, the management is of debatable quality, but because everyone else uses it, its just too hard to switch. Given the infrastructure, and ease of using the US dollar for almost all financial transactions, why would anyone bother to use a different system? And even as US trade deficits exploded this just left more money for Asian exporters to recycle back into treasuries. The flywheel worked for all parties.

    As pointed out in the last post, the US itself has started the process of creating a parallel financial system, by basically trying and failing to cut off Russian energy exports from the US financial system. For years the Russian wanted to price their oil in non-US dollar form, and made little headway, but the US basically did the job for them.

    What would be the next step in the US dismantling the US centric financial system? For years I have wondered why the Hong Kong dollar has remained pegged to the US dollar. Why not just repeg to Chinese Yuan? Hong Kong could then sell large chunks of its foreign holdings, and reducing the scope of the US to influence trade in HK.

    Of course changing from USD to peg to a CNY peg would be hassle for all the existing contracts and present financial and legal problems, which no doubt would fan more resentment of Beijing in Hong Kong. A far better solution for Beijing would be for the US government to begin sanctioning HK businesses, and changing the legal status of HK, a process that has begun under the Trump administration. All this involves doing is China integrating Hong Kong into its political system, and the US will predictably react. It is hard to see how this process could be reversed.

    The problem for the US is that Russia has been cut off from the US financial system, and not imploded. That makes the fear of sanctions more tolerable. The Euro/Ruble exchange rate, which is as a good of as a measure for Russian economic health shows that the sanctions have had an effect, but not as dramatic as hoped. That is there is life after sanctions.

    The political calculation for US attitude towards China is now very difficult. The more financial sanctions that it applies to China, the more it weakens the case for the US treasury as a reserve asset, but without applying sanctions, China has a chance to continue to grow to be the largest economy in the world. We can already see a change in behaviour in Asian governments. Vietnam has been a huge beneficiary of the move away from China. It now runs a huge trade surplus with the US. This is larger than Japan.

    But we do not see Vietnam accumulating treasuries likes South Korea, Japan or China.

    There is no guarantee that all this money will end up in gold. But whenever I see GLD/TLT trade well, I feel that the US is losing ground.

    As mentioned previously, the US politically and culturally probably feels compelled to defend its position at the largest economy in the world. Can it do this without losing its special status as the reserve currency of the world? Without a political collapse in China, I doubt it.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 20:20

  • Boeing Whistleblower Found Dead In A Truck From "Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound"
    Boeing Whistleblower Found Dead In A Truck From “Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound”

    The latest twist in what can only be described as an onslaught of horrific news surrounding Boeing – or perhaps the sequel to the Hudsucker Proxy where a mysterious cabal is trying to spark a stock panic so they can buy the company for pennies on the dollar – came this afternoon when we learned that a key whistleblower employee, a former quality control manager who raised concerns about the firm’s production standards, was found dead after an apparent suicide.

    John Barnett, a former veteran Boeing employee of 32 years, passed away from a self-inflicted wound on March 9, as confirmed by the Charleston County coroner, according to BBC which broke the news on Monday evening.

    Bartnett’s lawyer said that he was found dead in a truck near a hotel parking lot in South Carolina from an alleged “self-inflicted’ wound”, with  Breaking 911 calling it a ‘gunshot’ wound and BBC, the Gateway Pundit and numerous other sources referring to it as a ‘self-inflicted’ wound. 

    Barnett was involved in a whistleblower lawsuit against Boeing, alleging serious safety concerns at the North Charleston plant, where he managed quality for the 787 Dreamliner production. Boeing was in Charleston for legal interviews related to the lawsuit when he was found dead. 

    He claimed the push for speed compromised safety, with sub-standard parts being used and a significant failure rate in emergency oxygen systems. Despite raising these issues, he felt his concerns were disregarded, leading to legal action against Boeing, alleging career damage due to his whistleblowing.

    BBC wrote:

    He said in some cases, sub-standard parts had even been removed from scrap bins and fitted to planes that were being built to prevent delays on the production line.

    He also claimed that tests on emergency oxygen systems due to be fitted to the 787 showed a failure rate of 25%, meaning that one in four could fail to deploy in a real-life emergency.

    Boeing has denied his allegations, but the Federal Aviation Administration upheld some of Barnett’s safety concerns in 2017. At the time of his passing, Barnett was engaged in legal proceedings related to his claims.

    The FAA said last week it found “multiple instances where the company allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements”.

    “This is not a 737 problem, this is a Boeing problem,” he said during a recent interview he took with TMZ, speaking out about his concerns with Boeing airplanes. “Back in 2012, Boeing started removing inspection operations off their jobs,” he continued:

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    “My concern is with the 737 and the 787,” he said. “Because those programs have really embraced the theory that quality if overhead and non value added.”

    In recent year the public’s attention had been focused primarily on the company’s 737 MAX airplane which was grounded briefly after two deadly crashes in 2019 revealed a deadly corporate culture of cutting costs and corners, which led to a collapse in the stock price and cost former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg his job.

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    However it now appears that concerns about airplane safety at Boeing should focus on the entire production line. Or rather, some have already speculated that Bartnett “killed himself” to contain the damage.

    The news comes the same day Al Jazeera posted a video showing a walkthrough of the Boeing plant in South Carolina. There, when asking the employees if they would fly in the jets they are assembling, numerous employees said they would not. 

    “Many employees are addicted to drugs and no one cares,” the reporter wrote. That video is here. 

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    Over the weekend, we learned that the DOJ had opening a criminal investigation into the company: according to the Wall Street Journal, the DOJ has initiated a criminal probe into the incident involving the infamous “Convertible” Alaska Air flight, during which a door plug ripped off a brand new 737 Max mid-flight. 

    Then, on Sunday, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Fox News and explained that the Federal Aviation Administration would ‘rigorously’ probe Boeing. He said that maintaining airline safety requires “an enormous amount of rigor in dealing with Boeing and any regulatory issue.” 

    Meanwhile, Boeing and federal regulators have their hands full after several aircraft incidents last week. 

    As James Lavish pointed out on Twitter, the company has been awash with controversy since the beginning of the year, including the following separate incidents:

    • Passenger door blown out, mid-air
    • cockpit window cracked, take-off
    • oxygen leak, pre-flight (Blinken incident)
    • passenger notices bolts missing on wing, pre-flight
    • lost wheel during take-off, wobbled off
    • lost wheel after take-off, mid-air
    • plane arrived with cargo door open
    • landing gear malfunction
    • engine failure mid-flight
    • engine fire, mid-flight

    As Lavish astutely notes at the end of his Tweet: “the stock still trades at 61 P/E.” Once any of these multiple serious incidents escalate into something deadly, which is a matter of when not if, it won’t be trading there for long.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 20:12

  • Zelensky Says 'Build The Wall': Ukraine Erecting 2,000km Of Fortifications On Front Lines
    Zelensky Says ‘Build The Wall’: Ukraine Erecting 2,000km Of Fortifications On Front Lines

    Ukraine’s President Zelensky has more or less indicated he’s ready to build the wall—to borrow the old Trump phrase…

    He announced on Telegram Monday that he has ordered the construction of some 2,000 kilometers of fortifications in order to solidify the front lines with Russian forces. He touted the good “pace of construction of new defense lines.” 

    Image: Wiki Commons

    He reviewed the status of the fortification in a meeting with military commanders and ministers following approval of a “record amount” of funds allocated for the fortification efforts, at between $500 and $800 million.

    According to Ukrainian media reports, “In the fall of 2023, the authorities received criticism for slow progress on fortifying defensive lines. A working group was established in November to coordinate fortification efforts.”

    Zelensky is busying trying to paint an optimistic picture of how his forces are fairing on the battlefield, after months of Western media reports that the Ukrainians have steadily lost ground, especially after abandoning Avdiivka in the east to the better-armed and more numerous Russian army.

    The Wall Street Journal has detailed that “West of Avdiivka, excavators more common to a construction site than a battlefield are carving up the earth to create antitank ditches and trenches. The Ukrainians are attempting to replicate the physical obstacles that Russia created on its side of the front more than a year ago, with deadly effectiveness in stymying Ukraine’s offensive last summer.”

    Zelensky has been urging private donors to fund the ambitious undertaking: “On all the main fronts, we need to dig in, speed up the pace of construction,” he has underscored. “The priority is obvious.”

    It became evident starting last summer that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had failed, but now it’s becoming more clear by the day that Kiev forces are being steadily pushed back. The WSJ acknowledged this in an investigative report days ago…

    “But Western officials and Ukrainian soldiers say that the campaign hasn’t yielded significant results, and the absence of progress is proving a liability for Ukraine as Russia steps up its assaults,” WSJ wrote. “In recent days it has pushed Ukrainian forces out of a string of villages west of Avdiivka, although hills and bodies of water a little further west can serve as natural obstacles for Kyiv that are easier to defend.”

    With not enough troops to hold and advance positions, front line areas resemble large construction sites…

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    So this means the half-billion dollar plus “wall” or military fortifications could prove too little, too late in terms of preparing the battlefield space. Ukraine is bracing for another major Russian ground assault at some point this spring.

    On the Russian side, the Kremlin’s aim has been to solidify gains, particularly over the four annexed territories in the east, while sending sporadic major air assaults in retaliation for Ukrainian cross-border attacks on Russian cities and energy infrastructure. These operations have stepped up particularly in Crimea and the Black Sea, where Russia has reportedly lost a couple of small warships.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 20:00

  • Over 80% Of Tattoo Inks Contain Unlisted Substances That Can Cause Organ Damages, Allergies: Study
    Over 80% Of Tattoo Inks Contain Unlisted Substances That Can Cause Organ Damages, Allergies: Study

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

    The vast majority of tattoo inks sold in the United States are contaminated with unlisted ingredients that can cause serious health issues, including organ damages, according to a recent study.

    A tattoo shop in Costa Mesa, Calif., on May 26, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

    The study, published in the Analytical Chemistry journal on Feb. 22, investigated nine different brands of tattoo ink common in the United States, from minor to major brands.

    Out of the 54 inks of the nine brands analyzed by researchers, 45 (83 percent) were found to contain “unlisted additives and/or pigments,” the study stated.

    “Major, unlisted adulterants include polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and higher alkanes. Many of the adulterants pose possible allergic or other health risks.”

    Over half of the inks contained unlisted polyethylene glycol, which causes organ damages following repeated exposure. Fifteen inks contained propylene glycol, a potential allergen. Some contained a compound called 2-phenoxyethanol that posed health risks to nursing infants while other inks were contaminated with an antibiotic used to treat urinary tract infections.

    “Taken together, the results from this study highlight the potential for a significant issue around inaccurate tattoo ink labeling in the United States,” the study stated.

    The research was unable to identify whether unlisted ingredients were added unintentionally or whether the manufacturer was provided with contaminated materials. It is also unknown whether the manufacturer incorrectly labeled the inks.

    Risks associated with tattooing usually focus on skin cancer and reaction to the pigments. However, ink additives can be dangerous as well, including having negative impacts beyond the skin. If a person with a tattoo starts experiencing reactions, unlisted ingredients can make it challenging to ascertain what reaction is happening and why it is occurring.

    “We’re hoping the manufacturers take this as an opportunity to reevaluate their processes, and that artists and clients take this as an opportunity to push for better labeling and manufacturing,” said John Swierk, an assistant professor of chemistry at Binghamton University who is also an author of the study.

    Tatto Ink Regulation

    It was only recently that regulation on tattoo ink was introduced in the United States. In late 2022, Congress passed the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), allowing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tattoo inks for the first time, including regulating labeling practices.

    Before the Act was passed, tattoo inks were considered to be cosmetic and not subject to regulations. “The FDA is still figuring out what that is going to look like and we think this study will influence the discussions around MoCRA,” Mr. Swierk stated.

    “This is also the first study to explicitly look at inks sold in the United States and is probably the most comprehensive because it looks at the pigments, which nominally stay in the skin, and the carrier package, which is what the pigment is suspended in.”

    The study only focused on substances present in quantities of 2,000 parts per million (ppm) or more, which are usually considered to be high concentrations.

    However, in Europe, even substances in the range of just two ppm are considered by authorities when assessing risks. As such, the tattoo inks could contain even more potentially toxic substances than what the study has found.

    Tattoo Ink Risks

    A 2021 study on tattoo inks conducted in the European Union arrived at similar conclusions. It analyzed 73 tattoo inks in the market, investigating labels as well as ingredients.

    The study found that “ninety-three percent of the bought tattoo inks violated European, legal requirements on labeling.”

    “Fifty percent of the tattoo inks declared at least one pigment ingredient incorrectly,” authors wrote. “Sixty-one percent of the inks contained pigments of concern, especially red inks.”

    Main metals detected in the inks included iron, aluminum, titanium, and copper, most of which were in green or blue inks. “The levels of iron, chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, zinc, lead, and arsenic were found to covary significantly.”

    Researchers of the study called on tattoo ink manufacturers to follow regulations and minimize the presence of nickel and chromium impurities to prevent allergy and toxic reactions among users.

    A December 2016 retrospective study looked at 493 health complications resulting from tattooing among 405 individuals. They identified 184 cases of allergic reactions, 53 instances of bacterial infections, and 46 psycho-social complications.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked people to “think before you ink.” Multiple research studies have “reported that some inks contain pigments used in printer toner or in car paint,“ the agency stated, adding that it ”has not approved any pigments for injection into the skin for cosmetic purposes.”

    After receiving a tattoo, the person may see some redness, swelling, or warmth on the skin. If the tattooed area does not heal or if there is a rash forming in the region, the FDA advises people to contact their healthcare professional. This is especially true if they develop a fever.

    “More aggressive infections may cause high fever, shaking, chills, and sweats. Treating such infections might require a variety of antibiotics—possibly for months—or even hospitalization and/or surgery. A rash may also mean you’re having an allergic reaction. And because the inks are permanent, the reaction may persist,” the FDA warned.

    “Scar tissue may form when you get a tattoo, or you could develop ‘granulomas,’ small knots or bumps that may form around material that the body perceives as foreign. If you tend to get keloids—scars that grow beyond normal boundaries—you may develop the same kind of reaction to the tattoo.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 19:40

  • Deadspin Fires All Employees As Part Of Liquidation Sale, Just Weeks After 'Blackface' Lawsuit
    Deadspin Fires All Employees As Part Of Liquidation Sale, Just Weeks After ‘Blackface’ Lawsuit

    Four weeks after the family of a 9-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan sued Deadspin after ‘journalist’ Carron Phillips falsely accused him of wearing blackface at a game, the outlet’s parent company, G/O Media (previously Gizmodo Media Group), announced that it had fired everyone and sold the sports blogging site to a European company, Lineup Publishing. Lineup seeks to “build a new team more in line with their editorial vision for the brand,” CEO Jim Spanfeller announced Monday.

    Kansas City Chiefs fan Holden Armenta (L), race-baiting now-former Deadspin journalist, Carron Phillips.

    We don’t imagine the sale is likely to impact the lawsuit, which was filed against G/O Media.

    Phillips, meanwhile, has gone private on X, and may find himself in the unemployment line for a while.

    Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, who Deadspin has talked massive shit about in the past, celebrated – as one does when an enemy self-vanquishes.

    “How many times can I pop a bottle for the same goddamn company? How many times can I kill Deadspin? How many times can Julie DiCaro lose her goddamn job?” Portnoy said, adding “Those motherfuckers just don’t get it. Being miserable, hating life, never laughing. It’s never going to pay the bills. See you motherfuckers on the employment line. Again! Victory!”

    More on the sale, via Axios:

    •     Impacted staffers were notified Monday that they were being let go from G/O Media, marking the third round of cuts at the firm in less than a year.
    •     Spanfeller said Lineup Publishing approached him about the sale and that the company was not “actively shopping Deadspin.”
    •     “The rationale behind the decision to sell included a variety of important factors that include the buyer’s editorial plans for the brand, tough competition in the sports journalism sector, and a valuation that reflected a sizable premium from our original purchase price for the site,” Spanfeller wrote in the memo.
    •     “While the new owners plan to be reverential to Deadpin’s unique voice, they plan to take a different content approach regarding the site’s overall sports coverage,” he added.

    Catch up quick: G/O Media has been offloading sites and cutting staff gradually over the past year as it streamlines its focus to become more efficient.

        The company shuttered its female-focused brand Jezebel and laid off 23 editorial staffers as part of a broader restructuring last November. It later sold Jezebel to Paste Magazine.

        It sold its lifestyle website Lifehacker to Ziff Davis last March and laid off 13 staffers last June.

     Another one bites the dust.

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    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 19:20

  • How Shadowy Network Of NGOs Supplies Mega-Corporations With Migrants To Exploit Cheap Labor
    How Shadowy Network Of NGOs Supplies Mega-Corporations With Migrants To Exploit Cheap Labor

    One week ago, we wrote a note describing how illegals are obtaining jobs through a federal government loophole enabled by the Biden administration as they await deportation proceedings. This caught the attention of Elon Musk, who said, “Wow, learn something new every day.” 

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    Now, we’re revealing how corporate interests have become deeply interconnected with immigration through a non-governmental organization called Tent Partnership for Refugees. This NGO comprises more than 400 major multinational companies committed to hiring “refugees.” 

    Several NGO partnerships with mega corporations include RedRoof Inn, Royal Farms, Shopify, CSX, Delta Airlines, DoorDash, Etsy, and even Bloomberg. 

    The NGO’s relationships run deeper than mega-corporations, in fact, all the way up to the Biden administration. 

    In December of 2022, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a memorandum of understanding with Tent Partnership to “expand economic opportunity for refugees” in the private sector. 

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    Since the Biden administration opened the floodgates, 10 million illegal immigrants invaded the nation. The NGO serves as an extension for mega-corporations to exploit cheap labor.

    Since the summer of 2018, there has been zero job creation for native-born workers… 

    … and that since Joe Biden was sworn into office, most of the post-pandemic job gains the administration continuously brags about have gone foreign-born (read immigrants, mostly illegal ones) workers.

    This leads us to a Bloomberg report showing how meatpacker Tyson Foods Inc. is set to hire tens of thousands of migrants via Tent Partnership. Tyson already employs 42,000 migrants among its 120,000 US workforce. 

    “We would like to employ another 42,000 if we could find them,” said Garrett Dolan, who leads Tyson’s efforts to eliminate employment barriers such as immigration status. 

    “We’re recognizing there’s not a lot of people that are going to be working labor-manufacturing jobs that are American,” Dolan said, adding a large portion of new hires “are going to come from refugees and immigrants, so we’re now in the business of strategically thinking that through.”

    In addition to efforts to influence elections and the Census through the influx of illegals, Democrats and their shadowy network of NGOs are pumping migrants to mega corporations, enabling the billionaires to exploit cheap labor. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 19:11

  • Red Candle In The Wind
    Red Candle In The Wind

    By Benjamin PIcton of Rabobank

    February non-farm payrolls superficially exceeded market expectations on Friday by printing at 275,000 against a consensus call of 200,000. We say superficially, because the downward revisions to prior months totalled 167,000 for December and January, taking the total change in employed persons well below the implied forecast, and helping the unemployment rate to pop two-ticks to 3.9%. The U6 underemployment rate also rose from 7.2% to 7.3%, while average hourly earnings growth fell to 0.2% m-o-m and average weekly hours worked languished at 34.3, equalling pre-pandemic lows.

    Undeterred by the devil in the detail, the algos sprang into action once exchanges opened. Market darling NVIDIA hit a new intraday high of $974 before (presumably) the humans took over and sold the stock down more than 10% to close at $875.28. If our suspicions are correct that it was the AIs buying before the humans started selling (no doubt triggering trailing stops on the way down), the irony is not lost on us.

    The 1-day chart for NVIDIA now makes for interesting viewing, because the red candle posted on Friday presents quite a strong bearish engulfing signal. Volume traded on the day was almost double the 15-day simple moving average, and similar price action is observable on the 1-day charts for both Intel and AMD. Regular readers will be aware that we have expressed incredulity in the past about the durability the AI thematic melt-up, so it will be interesting to see whether Friday’s sell off is just a profit-taking blip, or a genuine trend reversal.

    AI equities aside, this week ought to be important for markets because the BTFP program expires today. That means that the Fed will no longer be loaning cash to the banking system in exchange for collateral pledged at-par. The KBW Regional Banking index has so far taken this in its stride and is trading 30% above the lows established during the mini banking crisis of this time last year, but the Fed’s liquidity facility was effectively an exercise in can-kicking that makes regional banks a sector of the market worth paying attention to in the weeks ahead. Even here in Sydney, regulators are warning of external risks posed to the banking sector from scheduled refinancing of commercial real estate loans following sharp falls in valuations.

    Markets are sending signals in other sectors, too. Gold closed at a new record-high of $2178/oz on Friday after trading above $2200/oz briefly. Gold has been going ballistic since the Friday before last, posting gains even on days where 2-year Treasury yields have risen. Gold bugs are buying as real yields fall from the October highs and inflation breakevens creep higher. This is particularly interesting as gold ETFs have been recording net outflows; suggesting that price gains aren’t being driven by a retail pile-in. Are gold buyers now betting on a stagflationary outcome where the Fed cuts without inflation being anchored at the 2% target? The price action around the US CPI release tomorrow ought to be illuminating.

    Leaving the day-to-day movements to one side, we are also seeing further signs of structural change at the macro level. The UK budget last week included a provision for the creation of a British ISA. That is, an Individual Savings Account that provides tax breaks to savers who invest their money in the stock of British companies. This follows moves last year to encourage pension funds to head up the risk curve by allocating 5% of their capital to unlisted investments.

    As a Hail Mary option for a government cruising toward an electoral drubbing it’s a curious choice, but it’s worth highlighting as cash-strapped governments increasingly see private savings pools as a funding solution for their spending priorities.

    Of course, the UK is not alone in making creeping moves towards financial repression. In contrast to announcements today of increased trade liberalisation, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has in the recent past flagged his interest in tapping private pension savings to fund state spending priorities, including defence, public housing and renewable energy projects. Both the UK and Australia appear intent on finding ways to open up the lungs of their economies, but government wants more say in directing private capital flows for state goals.

    So, how far is the blurring of the lines between free markets and state planning likely to go? Given the immense and varied budgetary (and security) pressures that governments are facing, could we see a re-up of WWII-era Victory bonds, where private investors are encouraged to do their patriotic duty by directly financing government at negative real rates?

    That would really light a fire under the gold market.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 19:00

  • Here's What's In Biden's 'Reckless' $7.3 Trillion Budget, And Here's How He'll 'Pay' For It
    Here’s What’s In Biden’s ‘Reckless’ $7.3 Trillion Budget, And Here’s How He’ll ‘Pay’ For It

    The Biden administration has released a proposed budget that would boost federal spending to $7.3 trillion next fiscal year. To pay for it, they plan to raise taxes on the wealthy and large corporations.

    And while there’s virtually no chance of it passing given the current makeup of Congress (WSJ calls it ‘largely symbolic’), it will give Biden a steady supply of talking points to read off teleprompters across the land during his re-election campaign.

    According to the White House, the 2025 budget would cut the deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade, and raise taxes by a net of $4.9 trillion – a boost of roughly 7% in collections without any policy changes, the Wall Street Journal reports.

    Other features of the proposed budget include:

    • A boost in defense spending to $895 billion, up from $886 billion.
    • Congressional approval for roughly $1.6 trillion in discretionary spending – slightly lower than the current year’s budget.
    • This will be offset by $1.6 trillion in spending caps which were agreed to last year by House Republicans and the Biden administration, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
    • Medicare taxes and drug pricing are also included, with tax increases on people earning more than $400,000 per year (which we all know is total bullshit). The plan will also significantly expand the number of drugs subject to government price negotiation, to 50 per year, up from 20, and it would extend a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drugs under Medicare.
    • Immigration and international aid: The Department of Homeland Security would receive an additional $8.7 billion under the proposal – much of which would plug a budget hole created by the ‘unexpected’ surge in migrants last year. $2.9 billion of it would fund longer term investments, including hiring more Border Patrol agents and asylum officers.
    • Ukraine: Of course, the budget proposal also reiterates Biden’s supplemental request for $60 billion in emergency aid for his favorite country.

    Other items of note: the budget calls for shoring up Social Security but does not specify a plan. It also calls for extending Trump-era tax cuts for most households after they expire in 2025, but does not detail how they should be paid for. It also calls on restoring the expanded child tax credit on a temporary basis.

    Under his plan, families making less than $200,000 a year would be guaranteed subsidized child care, with the lowest income families paying nothing. The president proposed building or preserving more than two million housing units, and a series of tax credits to ease the high cost of purchasing a home. He calls for spending $12 billion to come up with strategies to reduce the cost of college, while expanding Pell Grants and offering tuition-free community college. And he again outlined a federal paid family and medical leave program. -WSJ

    According to White House spox Olivia Dalton, the budget “invests in all of America to make sure everyone has a fair shot, we leave no one behind,” adding that congressional Republicans “have made their values clear in the meantime; they have repeatedly fought to slash critical programs that the American people rely on.”

    House Republican leaders, meanwhile, said in a statement that “the price tag of President Biden’s proposed budget is yet another glaring reminder of this administration’s insatiable appetite for reckless spending and the Democrats’ disregard for fiscal responsibility.”

    The budget proposal comes less than eight months before Election Day and amid polls that show Trump with a narrow lead over Biden. As he shifts his focus to the general election, the president is expected to increasingly seek to draw a contrast with his presumed opponent, casting Trump as out of touch with voters’ priorities and a danger to democracy. Trump, in turn, has railed against the president, targeting his spending on issues such as clean energy.  -WSJ

    According to Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, Americans are “going to have a robust tax debate at the end of 2025.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 18:40

  • China Planted Mystery Devices On Cranes Used In US Ports, Could Seize Control Remotely: Congressional Letter
    China Planted Mystery Devices On Cranes Used In US Ports, Could Seize Control Remotely: Congressional Letter

    Authored by Andrew Thornebrooke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Top Republicans from multiple House committees are sounding the alarm on a series of mysterious devices that appear to have been implanted into container cranes used throughout the U.S. port system by China.

    A large ship-to-shore crane is used to unload cargo containers from a ship at the international cargo terminal in the Port of Tokyo on Nov. 16, 2023. (Kazuhiro Nogi/ AFP via Getty Images)

    The lawmakers say that numerous modems with no known function were uncovered from ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, which are used to unload cargo at the nation’s largest ports.

    All of the cranes in question were manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), a subsidiary of the state-owned China Communications Construction Co.

    Relatedly, the lawmakers noted that ZPMC’s manufacturing facility is located adjacent to China’s most advanced ship-making facility, where the regime builds its aircraft carriers and houses advanced intelligence capabilities.

    In a letter (pdf) addressed to the president and chairman of ZPMC, the lawmakers demand to know the purpose of the cellular modems discovered on crane components and in a U.S. seaport’s server room that houses firewall and networking equipment.

    “These components do not contribute to the operation of the STS cranes or maritime infrastructure and are not part of any existing contract between ZPMC and the receiving U.S. maritime port,” the letter said.

    “The Committees have serious concerns that this proximity to the [Chinese military’s] main shipyard provides malicious CCP [Chinese Communist Party] entities, including its intelligence agencies and security services, with ample opportunity to modify U.S.-bound maritime equipment, exploit it to malfunction, or otherwise facilitate cyber espionage thereby compromising U.S. maritime critical infrastructure.”

    U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Vann, who leads the Coast Guard’s Cyber Command, told reporters last month that there were over 200 China-manufactured cranes operating across U.S. ports and regulated facilities.

    At that time, Coast Guard cyber protection teams had assessed the cybersecurity or hunted for threats on 92 of those cranes, he said.

    The discovery comes amid an ongoing congressional investigation into the operation of cranes manufactured in China and operating at U.S. ports.

    Though the investigation is still ongoing, the committees identified serious concerns regarding ZPMC’s relationship with the CCP, particularly given the recent discovery of Chinese malware on vital infrastructure related to the port system.

    As part of another cybersecurity investigation, some of the modems in question were also found to have active connections to the operational components of the STS cranes, suggesting they could be remotely controlled by a device no one previously knew was there.

    Speaking to reporters last month, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger said the cranes were designed to be serviceable from a remote location, which leaves them open to such exploitation.

    “By design, these cranes may be controlled, serviced, and programmed from remote locations,” Ms. Neuberger said. “These features potentially leave [China]-manufactured cranes vulnerable to exploitation.

    As such, the letter suggests that every U.S. seaport with ZPMC cranes could already be, or is at risk of being, compromised by the CCP.

    Retired Army Col. John Mills told The Epoch Times that the cranes were effectively an extension of the CCP’s global cybercrime operation, which could be used during an invasion of Taiwan to sow chaos in the United States.

    “Those container cranes are not cranes,” Mr. Mills said. “They’re IP endpoints on a worldwide intelligence collection system.”

    To that end, he said that the cranes’ operational and safety features could likely be overridden remotely. This would allow the CCP to potentially trick one of the giant cranes into shifting its counterbalance in such a way that would cause it to crash into ships or containers in the nation’s busiest ports.

    Complicating the issue all the more, he said, was the fact that the niche nature of the cargo cranes and their programming means it is unlikely a tailored cyber response to secure the systems will be created anytime soon.

    To counter the threat in the long term, he added, the United States would need to ensure that it manufactured such vital equipment in its own territory.

    “As things play out, they’re [the CCP] going to start initiating the hitting of target sets in cyber. The port cranes are a perfect example,” Mr. Mills said.

    “This is the importance of making things here. If you want to reduce the Chinese threat, start making things here.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 18:20

  • Transgender Golfer Booted After Woman's Pro Tour Adopts 'Biological At Birth' Rules
    Transgender Golfer Booted After Woman’s Pro Tour Adopts ‘Biological At Birth’ Rules

    “Effective immediately, I have been removed (banned) from the next 3 NXXT tournaments that I already signed up for and been approved to play,” wrote transgender golfer Hailey Davidson last week.

    The message came after he/she was removed from the NXXT Women’s Pro Tour, who has now announced that participants must be “a biological female at birth” to participate in its events, according to Fox News and the NY Post. 

    Davidson expressed his/her discontent because he/she was already crushing the woman’s field: “They changed their policy mid season, after me signing up already and being 2nd in Player of the Year race.” 

    The tour faced massive backlash after Davidson won a tournament earlier this year that attracted significant media attention. 

    NXXT GOLF CEO Stuart McKinnon said: “As we navigate through the evolving landscape of sports, it is crucial to uphold the competitive integrity that is the cornerstone of women’s sports.”

    “Our revised policy is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to celebrating and protecting the achievements and opportunities of female athletes. Protected categories are a fundamental aspect of sports at all levels, and it is essential for our Tour to uphold these categories for biological females, ensuring a level playing field.”

    Recall, we reported back in January that Davidson had stepped in to win a women’s tournament in Florida, bringing with him her “dreams of making it to the LPGA tour”.

    30 year old Davidson, born a man, won the NXXT Women’s Classic at the Mission Inn Resort and Club near Orlando earlier this year. 

    Davidson shot one over 73 and finished the three round tournament +4, which was enough to take the trophy. Davidson was three shots behind an actual woman the next best golfer before forcing a playoff and winning. 

    NXXT said at the time: “The Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour” and that the tour is focused on “elevating women’s golf”. 

    The Post wrote that Davidson’s recent victory placed her first on the NXXT tour leaderboard with a leading score of 1320, 150 points ahead of her closest competitor. Since November, she has secured two top-2 finishes in the league’s five tournaments, along with seventh and ninth place results.

    And it isn’t just bragging rights that Davidson won: he/she was entitled to $1,576.51 in prize money, which adds to her career total which currently stands at $5,801.89 over the course of eight events. 

    To qualify for two exemptions to the Epson Tour, Davidson, transitioning from male to female, needed LPGA approval. Discussions began in 2016, but eligibility was granted in 2021 after undergoing Hormone Replacement Therapy for over five years and completing gender reassignment surgery, as indicated in an October 2022 social media post.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 18:00

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