Jan 14

Today’s News 14th January 2024

  • Escobar: Year Of The Dragon – Silk Roads, BRICS Roads, & Sino-Roads
    Escobar: Year Of The Dragon – Silk Roads, BRICS Roads, & Sino-Roads

    Authored by Pepe Escobar,

    As we enter incandescent 2024, four major trends will define the progress of interconnected Eurasia.

    1. Financial/trade integration will be the norm. Russia and Iran already integrated their financial message transfer systems, bypassing SWIFT and trading in rials and rubles. Russia-China already settle their accounts in rubles and yuan, coupling immense Chinese industrial capacity with immense Russian resources.

    2. The economic integration of the post-Soviet space, tilting towards Eurasia, will predominantly flow not so much via the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) but interlinked with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

    3. There will be no significant pro-Western inroads in the Heartland: the Central Asian “stans” will be progressively integrated into a single Eurasia economy organized via the SCO.

    4. The clash will become even more acute, pitting the Hegemon and its satellites (Europe and Japan/South Korea/Australia) against Eurasia integration, represented by the three top BRICS (Russia, China, Iran) plus the DPRK and the Arab world incorporated to BRICS 10.

    On the Russian front, the inimitable Sergey Karaganov has laid down the law:

    “We should not deny our European roots; we should treat them with care. After all, Europe has given us a lot. But Russia must move forward. And forward does not mean to the West, but to the East and the South. That is where the future of humanity lies.”

    And that leads us to the Dragon – in the Year of the Dragon.

    The Mao and Deng road maps

    There were a whopping 3.68 billion Chinese trips by rail in 2023 – an all-time record.

    China is fast on the way to become an AI global leader by 2030. Tech giant Baidu, for instance, recently released Ernie Bot to rival ChatGPT. AI in China is expanding fast on healthcare, education, and entertainment.

    Efficiency is the key. Chinese scientists have developed the ACCEL chip – capable of performing 4.6 quadrillion operations per second, in comparison to NVIDIA’s A100, which delivers 0.312 quadrillion operations per second of deep learning performance.

    China graduates no less than one million more STEM students than the U.S., year after year. This goes way beyond AI. Asian nations always reach the top 20% in science and mathematics competitions.

    The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) may be lousy on geopolitics. But at least they did a public service showing nations that lead the planet in 44 critical technology sectors.

    China is number one, leading on 37 sectors. The U.S. leads on 7.

    Everyone else leads zero sectors. These include Defense, space, robotics, energy, the environment, biotechnology, advanced materials, key quantum technology and of course AI.

    How did China get here? It’s quite enlightening today to revisit a 1996 tome by Maurice Mesner: The Deng Xiaoping Era: An Inquiry into the Fate of Chinese Socialism, 1978-1994.

    First of all, one needs to know what happened under Mao:

    “From 1952 to the mid-1970s, net agricultural output in China increased at an average per annum rate of 2.5 percent, whereas the figure for the most intensive period of Japan’s industrialization (from 1868 to 1912) was 1.7 percent.”

    Across the industrial sphere, all indicators went up: steel production; coal; cement; timber; electric power; crude oil; chemical fertilizers. “By the mid-1970s, China was also producing substantial numbers of jet airplanes, heavy tractors, railway locomotives, and modern oceangoing vessels. The People’s Republic also became a significant nuclear power, complete with intercontinental ballistic missiles. Its first successful atomic bomb test was held in 1964, the first hydrogen bomb was produced in 1967, and a satellite was launched into orbit in 1970.”

    Blame it on Mao: he transformed China “from one of the world’s most backward agrarian countries into the sixth-largest industrial power by the mid-1970s.” On most key social and demographic indicators, China compared favorably not only with India and Pakistan in South Asia but also with “’middle-income’ countries whose per capita GNP was five times that of China.”

    All these breakthroughs laid down the path for Deng: “The higher yields obtained on individual family farms during the early Deng era would not have been possible had it not been for the vast irrigation and flood-control projects – dams, irrigation works, and river dikes – constructed by collectivized peasants in the 1950s and 1960s.”

    Of course there were distortions – as the Deng drive produced a de facto capitalist economy presided by a bureaucratic bourgeoisie: “As has been true of the histories of all capitalist economies, the power of the state was very much involved in establishing China’s labor market. Indeed, in China a highly repressive state apparatus played a particularly direct and coercive role in the commodification of labor, a process that has proceeded with a rapidity and on a scale that is historically unprecedented.”

    It remains an inextinguishable source of debate to what extent this fabulous economic Great Leap Forward under Deng generated calamitous social consequences.

    The Empire of kakistocracy

    As the Xi era definitely tackles – and tries to solve – the drama, what makes it even more complicated is the constant interference of the notorious “structural contradictions” between China and the Hegemon.

    China-bashing is the number one politically correct game across the Beltway – and that’s bound to go out of control in 2024. Assuming a Democratic debacle next November, there are few doubts a Republican presidency – Trump or no Trump – will unleash Cold War 3.0 or 4.0, with China, not Russia, as the top threat.

    Then there is the upcoming Taiwan election. If pro-independence candidates win it, incandescence will exponentially rise. Now imagine that compounded with a rabid Sinophobe occupant of the White House.

    Even when China was militarily weak, the Hegemon could not defeat it, either in Korea or in Vietnam. There is less than zero chance Washington would defeat Beijing on a South China Sea battlefield now.

    The American problem is encapsulated in a Perfect Storm.

    Hegemon hard and soft power have been hurled down a black void with the imminent, cosmic NATO humiliation in Ukraine, compounded with complicity with the Gaza genocide.

    Simultaneously, Hegemon global financial power is about to take a very hard hit as the Russia-China strategic partnership leading BRICS 10 starts offering quite viable alternatives to the Global South.

    Chinese scholars, in priceless exchanges, always remind their Western interlocutors that History has been a consistent playground pitting aristocratic and or/plutocratic oligarchies against each other. The collective West now happens to be “led” by the most toxic variety of plutocracy: kakistocracy.

    What Chinese qualify, correctly, as “crusader nations” are now significantly exhausted – economically, socially, and militarily. Worse: nearly totally de-industrialized. Those with a functioning brain among the crusaders at least have understood that “decoupling” from China will be a major disaster.

    None of that eliminates their arrogant/ignorant drive for a war on China – even as Beijing has exercised immense restraint by not giving them any excuse to start another Forever War.

    Instead, Beijing is reversing Hegemon tactics – as in sanctioning the Hegemon and assorted vassals (Japan, South Korea) on rare earth imports. Even more effective is the concerted Russia-China drive to bypass the U.S. dollar and weaken the euro – with full support of BRICS 10 members, Opec+ members, EAEU members and most SCO members.

    The Taiwan riddle

    The Chinese masterplan, in a nutshell, is a thing of beauty: to finish off the “rules-based international order” without firing a shot.

    Taiwan will remain the prime not-yet-engaged battlefield. Roughly, it’s fair to argue that the majority of the population of Taiwan does not want unification; at the same time, they don’t want an American-engineered war.

    They want, essentially, the current status quo. China is not in a hurry: Deng’s master plan pointed to reunification sometime before 2049.

    The Hegemon, on the other hand, is in a tremendous hurry: it’s all about Divide and Rule, all over again, promoting chaos and destabilizing China’s inexorable rise.

    Beijing tracks literally anything that moves in Taiwan – via monumental, meticulous dossiers. Beijing knows that for Taipei to thrive in a peaceful environment, it needs to negotiate while it still has something to negotiate with.

    Every Taiwanese with a brain – and there are plenty of first-class scientific brains in the island – knows they can’t expect Americans to die fighting for them. First of all because they know the Hegemon won’t dare fighting a conventional war with China, because the Hegemon will lose – badly (the Pentagon gamed all options). And there won’t be a nuclear war either.

    Chinese scholars are fond of reminding us that when the Middle Kingdom was totally fragmented in the 19th century under the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), “the Sino-Manchu ruling class was incapable of relinquishing their self-image and of taking the draconian necessary steps.”

    The same applies to the Exceptionalists now – even as they go on serial somersaults trying to preserve their own, mythological self-image: Narcissus drowned in a pool of his own making.

    It’s possible to advance that the Year of the Dragon will be a year where Sovereignty reigns. Hegemon fits of Hybrid War rage and collaborationist comprador elites will be obstacles constantly hampering the Global South. Yet at least there will be three poles with the spine, the resources, the organization, the vision and the sense of Universal History to take the fight towards a more equal and just system to the next level: China, Russia and Iran.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 23:20

  • Australia Shows Why Americans Should Not Give Another Inch On Gun Rights
    Australia Shows Why Americans Should Not Give Another Inch On Gun Rights

    In 1996 in the Tazmanian city of Port Arthur a man by the name of Martin Bryant killed 35 people using semi-automatic rifles in what would later be known as the Port Arthur Massacre.  This singular event was quickly used as a rationale for the banning of most firearms for Australian civilians, but the new regulations were not a product of Port Arthur.  Rather, anti-gun politicians had been pushing for restrictions and confiscation for many years prior; Port Arthur simply gave them enough public panic to get their legislation passed.

    This is the modus operandi of the typical anti-gun lobby – Wait for a tragedy and then exploit it to punish all law abiding citizens for the crimes of a handful of deranged people.  It doesn’t make much sense unless you realize that gun control laws are not meant to thwart criminals, they are meant to thwart good people who might object to government trespasses.

    The difference between Australia and America is, of course, that the right to arms and the right to self defense are codified in the US Constitution.  There is no legal right to guns in Australia, it is treated as a privilege subject to the whims of authorities.  However, regardless of the laws of men or constitutional protections, self defense is also a natural right.  Anyone trying to take it away is in violation of natural law.     

    Outside of the perfect timing of a Port Arthur scenario, most anti-gun measures are incremental as a means to trick good citizens into believing their rights are not being diminished.  Once these rights are sufficiently whittled down and the public has been conditioned to give ground to the government over time, the violations will never stop.  Give them an inch and they will take a mile.  

    They will argue that there’s no need for civilians to have semi-automatic rifles, then they will come for the pistols, then they will come for the lever action rifles, the bolt action rifles, the shotguns, until there is nothing left.  Gun grabbers deny this agenda at every turn, but all we have to do is look at countries where gun rights have been cut down to see what the overall strategy is.  The end game is total confiscation.

    In Australia, the few firearms that are allowed in civilian hands are being scrutinized once again.  This time around, pump action rifles that would be considered a joke or a novelty in the US are being portrayed as potential tools for mass shooters.  The Australian government has sought to squeeze the Port Arthur attack for every last drop of anti-gun sympathy, even though it happened almost 30 years ago.

    One could argue it was the lack of firearms owners in places like Australia that made it possible for the national government to enforce insane and draconian measures during the covid pandemic.  These measures included threats of mandatory vaccination, mandatory reporting of vaccination, denying people the right to travel more than 3 miles from their homes, the use of official intimidation and arrest to silence contrary information online, and the installation of “covid camps” which were used for everyone, not just people traveling from overseas.

    It makes sense that governments with this level of disrespect for the civil rights of the populace would want to erode whatever means of protection citizens have left, if only to ensure full compliance during the next manufactured crisis.  They are doing it in Australia and they desperately want to do it in the US. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 22:45

  • "It Just Sort Of Appeared" – Fauci Comes Clean Over 'Science-less' Six-Foot-Distancing Rule
    “It Just Sort Of Appeared” – Fauci Comes Clean Over ‘Science-less’ Six-Foot-Distancing Rule

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

    You still bump into the stickers from time to time: “Six Feet of Distance.” It’s weird and anachronistic at this point. No one pays any attention anymore. Still it would be nice to know where this came from. Oddly, we don’t really know.

    Anthony Fauci was asked this question this week in U.S. House hearings on the COVID response.

    Incredibly, he didn’t really know how this came about.

    “It just sort of appeared,” he told the subcommittee, which was an unusual answer since he otherwise said 100 times that he could not remember anything. Here, however, he admits there was never any science behind it.

    That’s extremely peculiar.

    This rule governed all social interaction for two years and more.

    It wrecked every manner of things, made people feel diseased and isolated, made meetings impossible, and gave rise to a whole ritual of interaction that was utterly alien to the normal human way, including elbow bumps and water-gun baptisms.

    It was why schools were so delayed in reopening. They could not guarantee that students would stay apart. It’s why airports were so crowded. Everyone was trying to avoid everyone else. It’s why park benches were roped off, why restroom stalls were operating at 50 percent, and why you could not hold weddings and funerals. This stuff was enforced at all levels of society.

    And yet here is the “nation’s leading infectious disease scientist” who took charge of the pandemic response saying that he has no idea where this idea came from.

    Back in March 2021, the New York Times, of all egregious venues, got curious about this too. Reporter Emily Anthes asked around the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the mandate and the science behind it.

    She quotes Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

    “It never struck me that six feet was particularly sensical in the context of mitigation. I wish the C.D.C. would just come out and say this is not a major issue.”

    She wrote that the origin of the six-foot distancing recommendation is something of a mystery.

    “It’s almost like it was pulled out of thin air,” said Linsey Marr, an expert on viral transmission at Virginia Tech University.

    The journal Clinical and Infectious Diseases even did a large study comparing six feet and three feet of distance. It was published in March 2021. The authors found no statistically significant difference in infection rates. None. They concluded:

    “Lower physical distancing requirements can be adopted in school settings with masking mandates without negatively affecting student or staff safety.”

    Nothing happened. We were stuck with six feet.

    Once it became an enforced ritual, nothing mattered.

    Now we know that not even Anthony Fauci knows where it came from.

    But come on. Someone had to order this. Who did it? Some low-level bureaucrat? Someone yet unnamed? Whoever it is knows who he or she is. Lots of people know. But no one is speaking up. It seems like there should be a way to get to the bottom of this.

    Most likely, it resulted from nothing but irrational germophobia and a made-up way to satiate that impulse. But consider this: one person’s personal eccentricity thus became a rule for the whole nation and world, without a single study to say nothing of a vote or opinion poll. It was just cray cray on mega-steroids, and yet some vendors became very rich printing signs and stickers for millions of businesses, churches, airports, and schools around the country.

    It probably happened like the sudden mask mandate in St. Louis, Missouri, last week. Some low-level bureaucrat said it should be done and it was done. There was outrage all around, which is very good news. Beautifully, the whole thing was repealed in 24 hours, and the person who caused all this to happen was ridiculed and denounced. How dare she presume to tell everyone else what to do?

    Well, that kind of thing ruled us for two years and longer, just bureaucrats making stuff up. Some of it was impractical but it was also very expensive and damaging. For example, the Plexiglas that suddenly went up everywhere actually trapped pathogens into smaller spaces and inhibited ventilation, in contradiction to their other mandates. Arguably, this mandate made the spread worse. It certainly didn’t mitigate the virus.

    It seems as if all these edicts were sort of busy work to keep us alarmed and occupied with stupid antics until the virus arrived. That’s why Fauci didn’t care about them. It’s why the CDC wasn’t particularly interested in the supposed science behind any of this stuff. There never was any science. It was nothing but the imposition of irrational capers on the population to mark time until the great shot arrived. To top it off, the shot didn’t work!

    Looking back—and many people don’t want to look back because it is too painful—it seems as if the whole of the public was sold a bill of goods in the name of science. It was baloney no matter which way you slice it. Some of us knew it at the time and called it out. We were denounced, attacked, and censored for saying so.

    Is it any wonder that government, media, and science generally are in complete disrepute today, across the whole population and all over the world?

    This is why there needs to be some discovery and accountability. We need to know where this stuff came from.

    It didn’t come from the air or clouds. It was a decision made by human beings, somewhere and based on something. We should know what it is.

    If Fauci doesn’t know, who does? The CDC has had three heads during this time: Robert Redfield, Rochelle Walensky, and now Mandy Cohen. They should tell all they know. If they don’t know, they should name the names of others who they think might have done this. Then Congress should ask those people and get them to say who they think it is. We should do this with every single idiotic protocol issued during that period, whether six feet, masks, sanitizer, one-way grocery isles, church closures, Plexiglas, and anything else.

    The deeper truth is that the entire paradigm is drawn from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) response to SARS-1 in 2003, which was then embraced by the World Health Organization (WHO).

    That’s its real origin: it is a communist tactic of political control using infectious disease as the excuse.

    This stuff traumatized the nation and the world. It broke everything. Now we have doors flying off airplanes only to find out later that the manufacturer had to lay off lots of mechanics during lockdowns. We have political upheaval in Ecuador, which had very hard lockdowns that demoralized everyone. We have huge absenteeism in public schools everywhere because the kids can no longer be bothered to go to class. We have a massive shortage of actual workers who know how to do stuff because they gave up and retired.

    The lockdowns and everything associated with them utterly broke the world. The COVID response set the whole of the civilized world on fire. At the very least, we are owed an explanation for all this, starting with six feet of distance. If we cannot get to the bottom of where this came from, there’s no hope for sorting out the rest of the rigamarole. The investigations have to start somewhere. They should not stop for at least 5–10 years!

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 22:10

  • Where Do The World's Wealthiest People Live?
    Where Do The World’s Wealthiest People Live?

    In 2022, global household wealth stood at $454 trillion, of which half was held by millionaires.

    But where do the wealthiest people of the world live?

    From UBS and Credit Suisse’s comprehensive Global Wealth Report 2023, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu visualizes the world’s millionaire population by country.

    Their databook details the sources they used, including household balance sheet data from the World Bank, the World Income Inequality Database, surveys, tax data, and Forbes’ findings.

    UBS defines millionaires as individuals whose total wealth (including financial and non-financial assets, minus household debt) is at or above $1 million, using “smoothed exchange rates.” These are 2021 average currency exchange rates with the U.S. dollar, adjusted for inflation differences between the U.S. and concerned country, but not adjusted for U.S. inflation between 2021 and 2022.

    ℹ️ “Million” denoting just the number and not money has been shortened to ‘M’ in this article to avoid confusion when talking about millions of millionaires.

    With information current up to 2022, the world has almost 60M millionaires, of which 42% reside in North America.

    Note: UBS separates China and India from their Asia-Pacific region for better clarity

    Within that statistic is an obvious heavyweight, and we look through the per-country millionaire population in the next section.

    Ranked: Countries By Number of Millionaires

    The U.S. is home to nearly 23M millionaires, 40% of the total millionaire population in the world. Six American cities feature in the world’s wealthiest cities, led by New York City, home to 340,000 millionaires.

    As it happens, this quantity is actually lower than the 24M American millionaires in 2021, as average wealth in the category fell due to a decline in the value of financial assets.

    The world’s second-largest economy, China, is also home to the second-highest number of wealthy individuals, at 6M, about 10% of the total millionaire population. The number of Chinese residents with more than $1 million has grown rapidly since 2012, especially in economic hotspots like Hangzhou and Shenzhen.

    At third and fourth, France and Japan essentially have the same number of millionaires (2.8M) as do Germany and the UK who round out the top six with 2.6M millionaires each.

    The top 10 countries with the most millionaires are the 10 largest economies in the world, with the exception of India (ranked 14th) and Brazil, which is outside the top millionaire residents ranks, but grew its millionaire population by 122,000 between 2021 and 2022.

    Within this data however, UBS differentiates between the various types of millionaires.

    Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

    Of the last category of individuals with more than $10 million, 2.5M have assets in the $10–50 million range, leaving 243,000 ultra-high-net-worth individuals with a net worth above $50 million. This ultra-high-net-worth category has grown four times since 2008.

    UBS believes that by 2027, the world will have over 85M millionaires. This is 26M more than today, and 71M more from the year 2000.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 21:35

  • First Active-Duty Air Force Officer To Compete for Miss America, Dreams Of Being A Top Gun Fighter Pilot
    First Active-Duty Air Force Officer To Compete for Miss America, Dreams Of Being A Top Gun Fighter Pilot

    Authored by SWNS via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    SWNS

    A potential Top Gun fighter pilot will compete for Miss America this month.

    U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh is not only the current Miss Colorado and a Harvard student but has a coveted place to train as a fighter pilot.

    On Jan. 14, the 22-year-old Arkansas native will compete for the Miss America crown in Florida—an event featuring several phases including a public interview, as well as evening gown and fitness stages.

    “Pageants are changing and one of the ways is in what being physically fit means to women,” 2nd Lt. Marsh said. “For me, it’s great because I need to stay physically fit and in the gym for the military, so it already coincides with pageant training.”

    From a young age, 2nd Lt. Marsh had a love of science and a dream to be a pilot and astronaut. Her parents encouraged her dreams, sending her to Space Camp when she was 13 years old where she met astronauts and fighter pilots.

    Around that time, she learned about the United States Air Force Academy. At 15 years old, she started flying lessons, earning her pilot’s license two years later, and then began to work towards her goal of becoming a cadet.

    She was crowned Miss Colorado in May 2023 just before graduating from the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and commissioning as an Air Force Officer.

    While at USAFA, 2nd Lt. Marsh decided she would try competing in pageants as an extracurricular activity.

    “As a freshman at the Academy, you might have a hard time finding your identity in a very new and challenging environment,” she said. “My cousin had competed in pageants for a long time, and one of the big things about it that I love is the community service aspect and the focus on public speaking.”

    Three years later, she was crowned Miss Colorado.

    “It was very surreal. I believe I’m the first active-duty officer from any branch to represent at the national level of the Miss America organization,” she said.

    2nd Lt. Marsh is quick to address the many preconceived notions and stereotypes about beauty pageants and their contestants.

    “The Miss America organization that I’m a part of now is all focused on what you can provide for the community through your social impact, making sure that you have a stellar resume, that you’re good at public speaking, that you can connect with people, and are empowered to lead in other ways that’s not just about you,” she said.

    As Miss Colorado, 2nd Lt. Marsh enjoys talking with other young girls about being a pilot and serving in the military and sees it as an opportunity to dispel stereotypes that exist about military women.

    She said: “It’s an awesome experience to bring both sides of the favorite parts of my life together and hopefully make a difference for others to be able to realize that you don’t have to limit yourself. In the military, it’s an open space to really lead in the way that you want to lead—in and out of uniform. I felt like pageants, and specifically winning Miss Colorado, was a way to truly exemplify that and to set the tone to help make other people feel more comfortable finding what means most to them.”

    But 2nd Lt. Marsh’s future may see her as a Top Gun fighter pilot.

    Upon graduation from USAFA and commissioning into the Air Force, she received a coveted pilot slot and is currently determining the career opportunities and personal projects she wants to pursue. However, the sad loss of her mother to pancreatic cancer may see her career take in cancer research.

    She said: “I lost my mom about five years ago to pancreatic cancer, and I started a nonprofit almost immediately afterward with my family to raise money and awareness of pancreatic cancer for people in our town.

    “I’m now trying to take the next step and use my studies from the Kennedy School to learn about the inner workings and the difficulties of what policy really looks like. Issues like economic environments and other social pressures that might be inhibiting our ability to implement cancer policies that can affect all Americans.”

    In September, 2nd Lt. Marsh started a two-year master’s degree program in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School through the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Civilian Institution Programs.

    She will also work with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and a professor from the Harvard Medical School to research early detection of pancreatic cancer.

    “Towards the end of my time at USAFA, I started to realize that my bigger passions were in policy-making and cancer research so that’s why I ended up at the Kennedy School,” she said.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 21:00

  • Western Brands Boycott Calls Intensify After US Jets Bomb Yemen
    Western Brands Boycott Calls Intensify After US Jets Bomb Yemen

    Social media users are pressing ahead for continued boycotts of Western brands as the US and its allies pound Yemen with air strikes and missiles to neutralize Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

    “Boycott these brands that support the invasion of Yemen,” X user Naila Ayad said in a post viewed more than 1.6 million times. 

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

    And this. 

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

    Let’s not forget. 

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

    One X user pointed out, “None of these brands have anything to with Yemen and the US didn’t invade Yemen, also why is their idea of a boycott just targeting snacks.” 

    “Actually, boycotting these brands will improve your health, too,” another X user said. 

    These calls come as boycotts across the Middle East have battered Western brands following the deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7. 

    McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski wrote a LinkedIn post earlier this month that explained the Middle East boycotts have had a “meaningful business impact.” He said the boycotts were “due to the war and associated misinformation.” 

    “I also recognize that several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing a meaningful business impact due to the war and associated misinformation that is affecting brands like McDonald’s. This is disheartening and ill-founded. In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald’s is proudly represented by local owner operators who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens. That local community connection is the genius of the McDonald’s System.” 

    Last week, Papa John’s International Inc. blamed “lower-than-anticipated net unit openings” on “unanticipated international restaurant closures in the fourth quarter including 10 UK franchised restaurants; 12 international units that were re-classified as closed locations in the fourth quarter through a review of temporary restaurant closures; restaurant openings moved into 2024; and restaurant opening delays due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.” 

    It’s not just McDonald’s. Reuters said other Western brands, such as Starbucks and KFC, have been boycotted. 

    It remains to be seen if boycotts will intensify since the US bombing campaign in Yemen began on Wednesday. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 20:25

  • Voter Fraud Convictions Challenge Narrative Of Secure Elections
    Voter Fraud Convictions Challenge Narrative Of Secure Elections

    Authored by Steven Kovac via The Epoch Times,

    Superior Court Judge William Clark nullified the results of a Democrat mayoral primary in November 2023 and ordered a new election. The ruling was based on hours of video evidence showing hundreds of illegally harvested absentee ballots being stuffed into drop boxes in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

    “The videos are shocking to the court and should be shocking to all the parties,” Judge Clark wrote in his ruling.

    A California judge overturned the result in a 2021 Compton City Council run-off race that was initially decided by one vote.

    The judge tossed four fraudulent ballots cast by people not legally registered in the jurisdiction. Five people pleaded either guilty or no contest to conspiring to commit election fraud.

    After discovering that 66 of the 84 absentee ballots cast in a 2021 Democrat primary for alderman in Aberdeen, Mississippi, were invalid and shouldn’t have been counted, a judge ordered a new runoff election.

     Police arrested a notary for notarizing ballots without watching voters sign them or checking their identification.

    The court also found evidence of intimidation at the polls involving candidate Nicholas Holliday, Mayor Maurice Howard, and Henry Randal, the town’s police chief.

    The above examples of election fraud have occurred since the contentious 2020 presidential election that President Donald Trump alleged was marred with fraud.

    Democrats, meanwhile, have cast the former president’s assertions about the 2020 election as the “big lie” and generally contend that election fraud is extremely rare and inconsequential.

    In a June 2023 Congressional hearing, Rep. Joe Morelli (D-N.Y.) called Republican members’ attitudes about widespread voter fraud “cynical” and the series of election integrity hearings they were conducting in the House “tedious” and “redundant.”

    Mr. Morelli said Republicans are fixated on an “unproven lack of integrity” that they claim exists.

    However, an ongoing study by the Heritage Foundation details widespread instances of election fraud across the United States and shows that the illicit activity has resulted in election results being overturned in at least a dozen races.

    In a number of cases, the abuse of the system is well-calculated and organized, but in most instances violations appear to have been committed by individuals acting independently.

    Case studies show that some perpetrators exploit the aged, mentally infirm, and homeless in order to garner a few more votes for their preferred candidate.

    Gwinnett County workers begin their ballot recount in Lawrenceville, Ga., on Nov. 13, 2020. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

    Heritage’s findings were bolstered by a Rasmussen Reports and Heartland Institute poll of 1,085 likely voters published in December 2023.

    The poll found that 21 percent of those who voted by absentee or mail-in ballot in 2020 admitted to filling out a ballot “in part or in full” for someone else, which is illegal.

    Of the 30 percent who said they voted by mail or absentee ballot in 2020, 19 percent said a friend or family member filled out their ballot, in part or in full, on their behalf. One-fifth said they signed a ballot or ballot envelope “on behalf of a friend or family member, with or without their permission,” the poll results state.

    Seventeen percent of those who voted by mail in 2020 said they cast a ballot in a state where they’re no longer a permanent resident, which is illegal.

    Among the 1,085 voters questioned, 8 percent said that a friend, family member, political party, or organization offered “to pay or reward them for voting in the 2020 election,” according to the poll.

    Respondents were surveyed by telephone and online from Nov. 30 through Dec. 6, 2023. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus three percent with a 95 percent level of confidence.

    “The results of this survey are nothing short of stunning,” said Justin Haskins of the Heartland Institute in a statement.

    “For the past three years, Americans have repeatedly been told that the 2020 election was the most secure in history. But if this poll’s findings are reflective of reality, the exact opposite is true.”

    Patrick Colbeck, a former Michigan state senator, an aerospace engineer, and a poll challenger, in Detroit, Mich., on Nov. 27, 2020. (Bowen Xiao/The Epoch Times)

    Mr. Haskins blames election laws.

    “A democratic Republic cannot survive if election laws allow voters to commit fraud easily,” he said.

    He said despite some progress being made to eliminate election fraud in a number of states since 2020, “much more work is needed in most regions of the United States.”

    In two separate polls, one conducted by the Washington Post/University of Maryland in late 2023 and another conducted by CNN earlier in the year, between 36 and 38 percent of Americans surveyed believe the election of President Joe Biden was illegitimate.

    A Sampling

    The Heritage Foundation says its election project consists of a “sampling” of election integrity issues and is by no means “comprehensive” or “exhaustive.”

    The instances of election fraud cataloged by Heritage are confirmed cases that were investigated by law enforcement and referred to prosecutors. The subjects were indicted and either confessed in a plea deal or were convicted in the courts.

    At least half a dozen of the cases documented by Heritage are still pending.

    Sentences have varied from small fines and community service to hefty fines and years of incarceration.

    Despite assurances that U.S. elections are safe and secure, the Heritage study chronicles nearly 1,500 “proven instances of election fraud” resulting in almost 1,300 criminal convictions going back two decades. 

    A voter carries an election ballot to the voting machine at a polling station in Miami on Nov. 2, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

    Here, we highlight several cases that occurred in local, state, and federal primary and general elections by Democrats and Republicans.

    The perpetrators included ordinary citizens, campaign workers, consultants, candidates, incumbent politicians, and active and former election officials.

    One well-known case involved Domenick Demuro, a judge of elections for south Philadelphia, who is a known Democrat activist.

    Mr. Demuro was prosecuted for accepting bribes ranging from between $300 to $5,000 per election to add votes to voting machines for certain Democrat candidates and then certifying the results, during the primary election cycles in 2014, 2015, and 2016. He pleaded guilty to depriving Philadelphia voters of their rights and violating the federal Hatch Act.

    A 2022 case involved former Democrat U.S. Congressman Michael Myers who is a longtime, well-connected, political operative from Philadelphia. He was charged with conspiring with election judges, including Mr. Demuro, and bribing them to add votes to voting machines and stuff ballot boxes on behalf of Democrat candidates that he preferred or had represented as a political consultant. 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Pennsylvania elections.

    Mr. Myers pleaded guilty to depriving persons of civil rights, bribery, falsification of voting records, and conspiring to illegally vote in a federal election.

    Kris Jurski, a cyber security expert and a founder of the Florida-based The People’s Audit, said he’s not confident with the administration of elections going into 2024.

    “There have only been a few surface-level attempts to make the appearance of reforms, but the major problems that appeared in the 2020 election still exist,” he said.

    “In 2020, we were pushed without consent and, in some cases without legislation, into universal mail-in ballots.”

    Mr. Jurski was appointed to the state’s Committee for Voter Integrity at the Florida Republican Assembly in 2022.

    “Mail-in ballots are where we see a majority of the abuse in our elections. For example, you can still request and submit a mail-in ballot without any proof of your identity and eligibility,” he said.

    Mr. Jurski is an advocate of voting methods of the past.

    “We have to go back to single-day elections with paper ballots and citizens hand-counting locally in their precincts,” he said.

    “All we hear is ‘Trust us!’”

    Officials Cheating

    The result of a Paterson, New Jersey, city council election in May 2020 was overturned by a Superior Court judge because hundreds of absentee ballots—24 percent of them—were found to have signatures that did not match those on record. The judge ordered a new special election, which was held in November 2020.

    Four individuals, including two running for city council, were charged with felonies. The charges against Shelim Khalique, the brother of a city councilman, have since been dropped and expunged, while the charges against Paterson council members Michael Jackson and Alex Mendez are moving toward possible trials, according to a local New Jersey news site.

    Jason Schofield, a Republican elections commissioner, Rensselaer County Board of Elections in Troy, New York, used the State Board of Elections website to illegally obtain absentee ballots on behalf of other people without their knowledge during the 2021 primary and general elections. He pleaded guilty to 12 felony counts, resigned from his position, and his sentencing is set for May.

    Poll workers check in a box of absentee ballots in the gym at Sun Prairie High School in Sun Prairie, Wis., on Nov. 3, 2020. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)

    In Texas, Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, a Democrat, pleaded guilty in 2021 to misdemeanor election fraud and record tampering in connection with the 2018 Gregg County Democrat primary. Mr. Brown and his wife Marlena Jackson were sentenced to one year of probation and a fine of $2,000 each. Mr. Brown continued to represent his district. He and his wife had initially been charged with dozens of felonies related to ballot harvesting.

    In Michigan, Flint Township clerk and Flint County election supervisor, Kathy Funk, was charged with ballot tampering and misconduct of office during a local 2020 primary election in which she was a candidate. She won by 79 votes and “purposely broke a seal on a ballot container so that the votes inside, under Michigan Election Law, could not be counted in an anticipated recount,” according to the Michigan attorney general’s office.

    To avoid a possible prison sentence, Ms. Funk pleaded no contest to one count of misconduct in office and she was fired from her county position in 2022. In April 2023, Ms. Funk was sentenced to 2 years probation, 6 months of house arrest, and $2,000 in fines.

    Jerry Trabona, the former police chief of Amite City, Louisiana, and Kristian Hart, a city council member, worked together in a complicated vote-buying scheme where individuals were paid various small sums for their votes, and vote-buying agents were paid $20 for each vote they purchased in the 2016 elections.

    Mr. Trabona pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit vote-buying. Mr. Hart pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit vote-buying and three counts of vote-buying and aiding and abetting. The crimes took place in 2016 and 2020. Both were sentenced in November 2022, with each receiving one year in prison, according to the Department of Justice. Mr. Trabona was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

    In Hoboken, New Jersey, a man pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to use the mail to promote a voter bribery scheme during a 2015 municipal election. William Rojas attempted to bribe voters with $50 to send in mail-in ballots to support a Hoboken City Council candidate.

    In 2020, four Californians pleaded no contest to a scheme where they offered cigarettes and money to homeless people on Skid Row for fake signatures on voter registration forms and ballot initiative petitions. The plot netted hundreds of bogus ballots. The four were given penalties ranging from suspended sentences to probation.

    Nancy Williams registered to vote 26 legally incapacitated residents under her care at a nursing care facility; then requested absentee ballots in their names, without their consent, and had them sent to her. In 2023, the Wayne County, Michigan, woman accepted a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to seven counts of receiving a payment to influence a vote. She was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $3,500. She faces similar charges in Oakland County.

    Another employee at an assisted living facility in Michigan filled out 24 absentee ballot applications and forged residents’ signatures during the 2020 general election. Trenae Myesha Rainey pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of making a false statement on an absentee ballot application. She was sentenced to two years’ probation; the first 45 days of which were to be spent in the county jail.

    Residents wait in line to vote early outside a polling station in Atlanta on Nov. 29, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

    Unusual Election Fraud Capers

    A Pennsylvania man, a registered Republican, cast his ballot in person in the 2020 election. The man, Ralph Holloway Thurman, later returned to the polling place wearing a hat and sunglasses and voted again while pretending to be his deceased son, a registered Democrat. He was recognized by election workers, but had left before they could confront him. Mr. Thurman pleaded guilty to one felony count of repeat voting and was sentenced to three years’ probation.

    In a scheme that prosecutors allege was funded by violent street gang MS-13, mayoral candidate Carlos Antonio De Montenegro was accused of submitting more than 8,000 fraudulent voter registration applications on behalf of homeless people prior to the 2020 election, as well as falsifying names, addresses and signatures on nomination papers for him to run for mayor in Hawthorne, California.

    Mr. Montenegro pleaded no contest to charges of false registration, registering non-existent voters, and perjury and was sentenced to 60 days in jail, two years of probation, and 30 days community labor.

    To dissuade voters from voting by mail in 2020, two men ran a robocall scam that warned tens of thousands of voters not to do so. The reason—they falsely said it could lead to the government, law enforcement, and debt collectors obtaining their personal information. The bogus calls went out to people from Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania. 

    The men, John “Jack” Burkman and Jacob Wahl, each pleaded guilty to one count of telecommunications fraud in exchange for the dismissal of all other charges. They were both sentenced to six months of house arrest and ordered to complete 500 hours of community service in a voter registration drive aimed at low and middle income individuals in the Washington D.C. area.

    In 2020, a Nebraska man was found guilty by a jury and fined $10,000 after he voted against members of the Richland Village Board that he didn’t like. The man, Larry Divis, falsely claimed that he resided in the town even though he only owned property there.

    People vote at a polling location at a church on Election Day in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 8, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

    Forgery and More

    Some representative examples of election forgery, illegal ballot harvesting, ineligible felons voting, dead people voting, and people voting in more than one state are listed below.

    In West Virginia, a man pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge for voting in two states in the 2020 election. Richard Fox voted by absentee ballot in both West Virginia and Florida. He was sentenced to one year probation and fined $1,000.

    An elderly man in Wisconsin similarly voted in the New Hampshire general election in 2018 as well as cast an in-person vote in Massachusetts.

    Seven North Carolinians pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges for their role in an elaborate illegal absentee ballot trafficking scheme to benefit Republican congressional candidate Mark Harris during the 2016 general and 2018 primary elections.

    North Carolina’s elections board on Feb. 21, 2019, ordered a new election in the disputed race; which Mr. Harris ultimately lost. Mr. Harris, who denied knowledge of the scheme, is running for North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District seat in 2024.

    In 2020, a Florida judge overturned the result of a close election for Eatonville town council that was ultimately decided by one vote. The court threw out one absentee ballot that was not cast by the actual voter and one vote that was determined to be coerced by an elected official, prompting the court to flip the outcome.

    On Dec. 19, 2023, a Queens, New York, man was arraigned in relation to a 140-count indictment, including charges for submitting fraudulent absentee ballot applications, falsifying business records, and criminal possession of forged instruments in connection with the August 2022 Democrat primary. His case is still pending.

    During a post-election felon audit conducted by the Wisconsin Elections Commission, it was discovered that an ineligible voter, a woman who was on probation after a felony conviction, illegally voted in the 2020 election.

    An elderly New Hampshire man pleaded guilty to knowingly voting twice in the 2016 general election, once under his own name and once by impersonating a woman under a false name he had registered.

    John Mallozzi, a former chairman of the Stamford Democratic City Committee in Connecticut, was convicted of 14 counts of forgery and making false statements in connection with 26 absentee ballots and 31 fraudulent applications in local elections in 2015.

    Mr. Mallozzi was sentenced on Nov. 14, 2022, to two years probation and ordered to pay $35,000 in fines.

    Voter Rolls

    Many states don’t regularly clean their voter rolls to remove ineligible voters, including those who have died, moved to another state, or were erroneously added in the first place. 

    A 70-year-old Arizona woman pleaded guilty to submitting an absentee ballot that was sent to her deceased father in the 2018 November general election. The man died in 2012 and his name was never removed from the voter rolls. She was sentenced to one year of probation and a small fine.

    Maricopa County election workers remove ballots from a drop box in Mesa, Ariz., on Nov. 8, 2022. (John Moore/Getty Images)

    A registered Republican in Pennsylvania was convicted of using his deceased mother’s name to cast an absentee ballot in the 2020 presidential election.

    A Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, woman pleaded guilty to forging and destroying ballots in the May 2022 primary after she filled out and submitted an absentee ballot on behalf of her deceased mother.

    In 2020, Lauren Peabody, a Virginia woman who worked on a campaign for a GOP congressional candidate, pleaded guilty to participating in a plot in which signatures on the candidate’s nominating petitions were forged using the names of deceased people and former residents.

    Lauren Bowman Bis, a spokesperson for the Public Interest Legal Foundation, a national election integrity watchdog organization, said outdated voter rolls are a concern.

    “Michigan still has more than 20,000 deceased people registered to vote,” she told The Epoch Times. “We have to ensure that voter rolls are accurate before the 2024 election. Every error on voter rolls presents an opportunity for fraud.”

    Former Michigan state senator Patrick Colbeck said he’s also concerned about 2024.

    “Until we address the election fraud which occurred during the 2020 election, we cannot have confidence that the 2024 election will be conducted in a fair and lawful manner,” he told The Epoch Times.

    His low confidence is due, in part, to Michigan’s retention of most of the same officials that conducted the 2020 elections.

    Mr. Colbeck said an overarching worry is the delegation of “more and more of our election processes” to unaccountable non-governmental entities that are not subject to Freedom of Information requests.

    “The key to fair elections is equal access. If the general public had the same level of access to sensitive election records, such as voter rolls, voter history, poll books, and vote tallies that NGOs have, it would be much more difficult for anyone to subvert the integrity of our elections,” he said.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 19:50

  • FBI Stonewalls Over Seth Rich Laptop Production
    FBI Stonewalls Over Seth Rich Laptop Production

    The FBI has asked a federal court for a second delay after being ordered to produce information from Seth Rich’s computer to a Texas resident, Brian Huddleston who has sued the bureau.

    Huddleston says that the court should force the agency to produce the information before the 2024 presidential election, as it may show that Rich, not Russians, was Wikileaks’ source of leaked emails which were damaging to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US election.

    On Thursday, the FBI asked Obama-appointed US District Judge Amos Mazzant to reconsider their request not to produce the documents, and should be withheld under exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The filing was a response to Mazzant’s Nov. 2023 order to hand over images of Mr. Rich’s personal computer, as well as an index of his work computer.

    It gets better; the FBI initially claimed that they didn’t have said records – only to later admit to being in possession of Rich’s personal and work computers, along with other items.

    As if it wasn’t suspicious enough that the FBI is stonewalling on information related to a ‘mugging gone wrong.’

    Seth Rich is pictured on a poster created by police officials to urge people with information about his murder to come forward. (Metropolitan Police Department)

    According to Ty Clevenger, Huddleston’s attorney, the judge should deny the FBI’s latest bid for a production delay.

    “A presidential election is fast approaching, and voters have the right to know (1) whether the FBI knowingly framed one of the frontrunners, i.e., former President Trump; and (2) whether the FBI is still trying to cover up its partisan political activities,” he wrote.

    “It is bad enough that FBI personnel took opposition research from the Hillary Clinton campaign and used it to open a bad-faith investigation of Mr. Trump, thereby sabotaging him for more than two years,” Clevenger added. “It would be considerably worse and considerably more scandalous, however, if FBI personnel knew all along that Seth Rich—not Russian hackers—was responsible for leaking DNC emails to Wikileaks.“

    Many believe that Rich was indeed the source of the leaked DNC emails provided to WikiLeaks – a rumor which was fueled by the odd circumstances surrounding his death, the sudden retirement of D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier five weeks after the murder, and an email John Podesta sent to Hillary’s inner circle about ‘making an example’ of a suspected leaker, written more than a year before Rich’s death.

    Troves of emails were published by Wikileaks giving insight into the corrupt inner machination of the Democratic National Committee. While Rich was never officially revealed as the source of the leaked emails, it has been heavily suggested. Julian Assange was one key figure who made that suggestion when he highlighted Rich’s murder during a 2016 interview in which he was asked about the risks that come with operating WikiLeaks. Megavideo founder and entrepeneur Kim Dotcom said in May of 2017 that he worked with Rich to connect him with Assange.

    At one point, Assange heavily implied Rich was his source for the DNC emails. Meanwhile, WikiLeaks offered a $130,000 reward for information leading to the murderer of Rich.  

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 19:15

  • ATF Says The Quiet Part Out Loud
    ATF Says The Quiet Part Out Loud

    Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

    Recently while responding to criticism on X, formally known as Twitter, the Los Angeles branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tweeted that the $200 tax stamp on firearms and accessories regulated by the National Firearms Act was “quite prohibitive at the time, which was the goal of the NFA.”

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

    Did the ATF just admit that the goal of the National Firearms Act was to prohibit gun ownership by making it too expensive for regular people? For reference, $200 in 1934 is equivalent to $4,688 today.

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

    And for that matter, why is the Second Amendment treated as a second-class right? Imagine if the United States put a $200 tax on the First Amendment for the use of “dangerous” words.

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

    We at Gun Owners of America have been saying for years that the 1934 National Firearms Act is an unconstitutional law that is incompatible with the Second Amendment. Over the years, ATF has proven that it will continue to use its power to widen the reach of the NFA to cover more and more firearms.

    Recently, ATF expanded its definition of a Short-Barreled Rifle (SBR) to cover pistols equipped with a stabilizing brace. Estimates put the number of firearms affected by this rule change at up to 40 million. ATF will likely continue to expand its definitions of regulated items to cover as many firearms as possible as time goes on and gun control proposals continue to fail in Congress.

    This is evidenced by the growing relationship between gun control groups and ATF. With the recently established office of gun violence prevention in the Biden administration, gun control groups now have a direct line from the White House, right to the Department of Justice.

    Gun Owners of America is working to fight back against these and other examples of massive government overreach. Our lawsuit, GOA & Texas v. ATF, currently has the aforementioned ATF pistol brace rule stalled with an injunction for our members, and another case Britto v. ATF has been granted a nationwide injunction. In Congress, we’re working with our allies to pass the SHORT Act, which would remove short-barreled rifles entirely from the NFA.

    This is where we’ll need your help. Please call your elected representatives and tell them to pass the SHORT Act and help stop the ATF from harassing law-abiding gun owners.

    *   *   *

    We’ll hold the line for you in Washington. We are No Compromise. Join the Fight Now.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 18:40

  • Houthis Vow "Strong Response" After 2nd Round Of US-UK Strikes On Yemen
    Houthis Vow “Strong Response” After 2nd Round Of US-UK Strikes On Yemen

    On Friday night (US time) it was revealed that the Pentagon conducted a second round of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen early Saturday morning (local), a full day following an initial operation that saw large-scale US and UK missile strikes against some 60 Houthi targets.

    The follow-up strikes have been widely described as smaller in scope than the prior day’s more significant operation. The White House has simultaneously tried present that it is seeking to avoid escalation.

    UK Defence Ministry handout/Reuters

    “We will make sure we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior along with our allies,” President Biden said on Friday. And his national security council spokesman John Kirby sought to emphasize, “Everything we’re doing, everything we’re trying to do is to prevent any further escalation.

    These newest strikes reportedly targeted a radar facility among other locations with Houthi military infrastructure. Interestingly, the Houthis starting Thursday, along with aligned regional media, claimed that it hit Western navy assets in the Red Sea – but the US and UK have not reported or disclosed any such attack or damage.

    According to details from CENTCOM:

    The guided missile destroyer Carney used Tomahawk missiles in the early Saturday strike “to degrade the Houthis’ ability to attack maritime vessels, including commercial vessels,” the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

    These two rounds of attacks, which included Tomahawk missiles and even submarine launched missiles, have done nothing to deter the Iran-linked Houthis.

    They are now threatening “strong and effective response” as regional waters remain on edge for what comes next. The Houthis have repeatedly said they are not scared of US and UK threats. The reality too is that the Houthis have been battling Saudi-UAE-US airpower going all the way back to 2015, amid an ongoing war for control of the country.

    The Houthis have published a video of an exercise simulating the takeover of an “Israeli settlement”…

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

    The Houthis can continue bleeding Western navies given they use $20,000 drones to draw a response from $1 million anti-air interceptor missiles, which sets up a ‘win-win’ situation for them while keeping up pressure on Washington too chose among multiple ‘bad options’.

    The Guardian underscores that for this reason it’s “hard to see the emboldened Houthis stopping their campaign, given their access to relatively cheap missiles and drones and desire to show resistance to the west.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 18:05

  • Democrats Bring Bill To Prohibit Armed Citizen Militias
    Democrats Bring Bill To Prohibit Armed Citizen Militias

    Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Democrat lawmakers are advancing legislation intended to prevent privately organized paramilitary and militia group activities within the United States.

    Introduced by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Thursday, the bill dubbed the “Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act” would prohibit privately organized groups from “publicly patrolling, drilling, or engaging in harmful or deadly paramilitary techniques,” “interfering with or interrupting government proceedings,” or “interfering with the exercise of someone else’s constitutional rights,” according to Mr. Markey.

    Their bills defines a “private paramilitary organization” as “any group of 3 or more persons associating under a command structure for the purpose of functioning in public or training to function in public as a combat, combat support, law enforcement, or security services unit.” The bill states acting with or on behalf of such a private paramilitary organization while armed with a firearm, explosive, incendiary device, or other dangerous weapon, and engaging in patrolling, training, interfering with government or constitutional rights, or assuming the functions of law enforcement without official authority.

    The bill makes exceptions for members of the National Guard and other military reserve components, state guard forces, and members of other federal or state-organized groups to train in and apply paramilitary, law enforcement, and security service activity. The bill also allows for the organization of groups formed solely to conduct military reenactments, “bona-fide veterans organization with no intent to engage” in the aforementioned prohibited activities, and students in government or state-authorized educational institutions that teach military science.

    Lawmakers Bring Bill in Response to Capitol Breach

    Mr. Markey and Mr. Raskin introduced their legislation just days after the three-year anniversary of the breach at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a point they repeatedly referenced in a press release announcing the bill.

    “Patrolling neighborhoods, impeding law enforcement and storming the U.S. Capitol, private paramilitary groups like the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters and the Proud Boys are using political violence to intimidate our people and threaten democratic government and the rule of law,” Mr. Raskin said. “Our legislation makes the obvious but essential clarification that these domestic extremists’ paramilitary operations are in no way protected by our Constitution.”

    Though rioters and demonstrators did not use firearms or other deadly weapons during the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, many did use blunt objects and pepper spray in clashes with police officers that day. Some individuals have also been charged for having firearms and other deadly weapons on their person while on Capitol grounds that day. In trials against members of the Oath Keepers and other defendants, prosecutors made note of members of the group moving through the crowds in an apparent practiced and organized fashion frequently described as a “stack” formation, as well as wearing tactical gear, and using portable communication devices to stay in contact and coordinate their actions.

    “Three years ago, white supremacists affiliated with paramilitary organizations stormed the U.S. Capitol, shattering windows, walls, and the families of five U.S. Capitol police officers,” said Mr. Markey. “Private paramilitary actors, such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, pose a serious threat to democracy and the rule of law, and we must create new prohibitions on their unauthorized activities that interfere with the exercise of people’s constitutional rights. The forces of bigotry, hatred, and violent extremism must be stopped for the sake of our democracy.”

    Prior to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, members of the Proud Boys had organized at conservative and right-leaning gatherings and demonstrations and clashed with violent counter-demonstrators—often members of the Antifa extremist group—intent on disrupting those gatherings.

    Other Armed Organizations and Incidents

    Following the death of George Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis police custody in 2020, many left-wing groups organized in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and engaged in protests and riots throughout the summer of 2020. At various demonstrations, members of these groups often clashed with police officers. For weeks, rioters also threw fireworks, incendiary devices, and rocks at federal officers guarding a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon.

    During a political rally in support of President Donald Trump in Portland on Aug. 29, 2020, Trump supporters were met with violent counterprotesters. Trump supporter Aaron Danielson was shot and killed while walking to a parking garage following the event. In an interview with Vice News while evading law enforcement, self-described Antifa activist Michael Reinhoel described shooting Danielson while claiming he acted in self-defense. Reinhoel was charged with murder but was shot and killed during a confrontation with federal law enforcement officers attempting his arrest.

    Mr. Markey and Mr. Raskin made no mention of any left-leaning organizations while announcing their bill on Thursday. Mr. Raskin told The Washington Times that the legislation was not written with a particular ideological viewpoint in mind.

    During the civil unrest in the summer of 2020, some armed groups organized to protect private property from looting and vandalism. Several armed individuals organized to prevent property destruction at a gas station and used car lot in Kenosha, Wisconsin, amid rioting and arson in the city in August of 2020. It was during that incident that an individual who had joined the armed organized group, then-17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, shot and killed two people and wounded a third. Mr. Rittenhouse was charged with murder, but was acquitted after arguing he had acted in self-defense after he had been attacked by several individuals who‘d targeted private property and who’d chased after him, struck him, and pointed a firearm at him.

    Individuals have also engaged in non-violent protest events while exercising their rights to carry firearms in public under relevant state and local laws.

    NTD News reached out for comment from Mr. Markey and Mr. Raskin, with questions as to whether their legislation would impact organized groups of individuals guarding private property, participating in neighborhood watch groups, or attending nonviolent public demonstrations while armed. They did not respond by press time.

    This week, U.S. Circuit Judge Florence Pan, an appointee of President Joe Biden, raised the hypothetical scenario of a president ordering the military to assassinate political rivals. NTD News asked Mr. Markey’s office whether groups that organize and train to respond to that scenario and other hypothetical scenarios involving tyrannical government action would be punished under his proposed legislation.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 17:30

  • Haley Campaign Demands Iowa Station Stop Airing Attack Ad
    Haley Campaign Demands Iowa Station Stop Airing Attack Ad

    Authored by Austin Alonzo via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The Haley campaign sent a warning letter to at least one Iowa television station demanding the removal of an attack ad funded by a group tied to the DeSantis campaign.

    Republican presidential candidate South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event in Ankeny, Iowa, on Jan. 11, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    The Jan. 8 letter obtained by The Epoch Times requests Sioux City, Iowa, ABC affiliate KCAU to stop broadcasting an attack ad purchased by Fight Right Inc.

    The letter, signed by Michael Adams of Atlanta-based law firm Chalmers, Adams, Backer & Kaufman LLC, is addressed to station managers and says airing an advertisement containing “blatantly false and misleading statements” about former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley violates the station’s public trust and could result in loss of a station’s license.

    “Your station cannot violate the public trust you are federally mandated to uphold.” Mr. Adams wrote in the letter. “If you do, you can expect to be held accountable.”

    Mr. Adams was deputy chief privacy and civil liberties officer at the U.S. Department of Justice during the George W. Bush administration. He served as the general counsel to the Republican Governor’s Association from 2007 to 2019.

    It is not clear whether the letter was sent to just KCAU or all stations in Iowa that accepted a contract with Fight Right. The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Adams and representatives of the Haley campaign but did not receive a reply by press time.

    An official at KCAU confirmed the station received the letter.

    Fight Right is a super PAC linked to Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. According to its Jan. 6 disclosure statement with the Federal Election Commission, it has spent more than $9.1 million on media placements since its formation on Nov. 16, 2023. Most of the material concerns Ms. Haley, Mr. DeSantis, and former President Donald Trump.

    The Epoch Times previously reported that Fight Right works in concert with Never Back Down Inc. Never Back Down is Mr. DeSantis’ main super PAC. Fight Right, according to Federal Communications Commission disclosures, has ordered about $642,000 worth of ads with KCAU.

    Across Iowa, Fight Right purchased about $8 million worth of advertising time on the affiliates of the four major networks—ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC—since November, according to federal records.

    The letter alleges the ad is making statements that are “demonstrably false” about Ms. Haley’s stances on transgender issues. Mr. Adams said the Fight Right ad uses “deceptive, selective editing” to intentionally mischaracterize Ms. Haley’s past remarks on the subject.

    Mr. Adams said the ad represents a “substantial and immediate harm” to Ms. Haley and her campaign for the Republican party’s presidential nomination.

    “With the Republican presidential caucus just a week away, we further ask that you act on this promptly,” Mr. Adams wrote.

    Battling For Second Place

    Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis are stepping up attacks against each other ahead of the Jan. 15 Republican Party of Iowa’s caucus. On Jan 10, the pair squared off in a testy debate where they both accused each other of lying.

    Both Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis trail President Trump by a wide margin in Iowa polling. Two polls published on Jan. 11 found them both well behind President Trump.

    An Iowa State University and Civiqs poll found 55 percent of likely Republican caucusgoers intended to vote for President Trump. Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis were tied at 14 percent. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy had 8 percent support.

    A Suffolk University poll determined that 54 percent of Iowans who will likely participate in the primary contest plan to back President Trump. Trailing him were Ms. Haley with 22 percent support, Mr. DeSantis with 13 percent, and Mr. Ramaswamy with 6 percent.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 16:20

  • Data Don’t Show Clear Link Between Weight-Loss Drugs And Suicidal Ideation: FDA
    Data Don’t Show Clear Link Between Weight-Loss Drugs And Suicidal Ideation: FDA

    Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    There is no evidence weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic are tied to suicidal ideation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in its preliminary review released Thursday, Jan. 11.

    “We determined that the information in these reports did not demonstrate a clear relationship with the use of GLP-1 RAs,” the FDA wrote.

    However, the FDA stopped short of giving the medications a completely clean bill of health. While the data so far doesn’t demonstrate a link, the agency said it couldn’t definitively rule out a small risk either.

    Boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic rest on a pharmacy counter in Los Angeles, California, on April 17, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

    Adverse Event Reports Drive FDA Probe

    The FDA’s investigation follows months of adverse event reports linking suicidal ideation to GLP-1 agonists, a class of medications used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.

    According to the agency’s Adverse Events Reporting System database, known as FAERS, there have been nearly 17,000 reports of adverse events associated with Ozempic. Of those, 108 involved suicidal ideation, including nine suicide attempts and six completed suicides. Wegovy was reported for suicidal ideation 14 times.

    However, the FDA said the information provided in these reports was too limited to draw conclusions. The agency noted suicidal thoughts could be attributed to other factors unrelated to the medications themselves.

    Once niche diabetes treatments, GLP-1 agonists like semaglutides (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatides (Mounjaro) have surged in popularity for weight loss in recent years, partly driven by social media influencers. These drugs mimic the hormone GLP-1, which stimulates insulin release and reduces blood glucose after eating. This effect makes a person feel fuller for long.

    The first GLP-1 was approved in 2005, for treatment of type 2 diabetes, but the class now includes multiple options. Wegovy, specifically approved for weight management for adults with obesity or overweight with at least one weight-related condition, is the only one that warns healthcare professionals to monitor for suicidal thoughts.

    Too Soon to Draw Firm Conclusions

    The FDA also reviewed clinical trials and studies of GLP-1 agonists. Their analysis did not uncover a clear connection between the medications and suicidal behavior or thoughts. However, the agency said it could not definitively rule out a small risk, as some suicidal behavior was observed in some people.

    In all, the FDA is investigating 13 different GLP-1 receptor agonists. The Jan. 11 findings represent the first batch of results; reviews for the remaining 11 drugs are forthcoming. To reach its final conclusions, the agency plans to thoroughly analyze insurance claims data and patient health records. Recommendations will be announced once this comprehensive review is complete.

    In the meantime, the FDA advised patients currently taking GLP-1 agonists not to stop without first consulting their healthcare provider. It is critical to report any new or worsening conditions, mood changes, or suicidal thoughts. Those experiencing suicidal crisis can call 988 or visit 988Lifeline.org, which provides free support for people in distress, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

    Prescribing physicians are also being instructed to monitor for signs of depression, suicidal ideation, and unusual behavioral changes in patients on GLP-1 agonists.

    The FDA is also investigating whether these drugs cause alopecia, more commonly known as sudden hair loss, as well as aspiration. Aspiration occurs when you inhale water or food into the windpipe instead of down the esophagus.

    The FDA is also investigating potential links between these medications and sudden hair loss (alopecia) and aspiration. Nearly 420 alopecia cases and 20 aspiration events have been reported, including food particles found in one patient’s lungs during surgery.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 15:10

  • Two Weeks After "Hottest Year" Ever, NFL's Bills-Steelers Game Postponed For Snow
    Two Weeks After “Hottest Year” Ever, NFL’s Bills-Steelers Game Postponed For Snow

    Legacy media spent the last week fearmongering Americans into believing the Earth was on fire with “hottest year” ever on record headlines. 

    Firstly, these headlines are coming out in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere winter, just as a polar vortex is set to plunge temperatures across the Lower 48 states.

    Riddle us this: How can it be, less than two weeks after the hottest year ever on record, that the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers game this afternoon was postponed because of snow? 

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

    Darn that global warming! 

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

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

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

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

    “Trust the science,” they say. 

    * * *

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 14:35

  • Fani Spanked: Jim Jordan Launches Investigation Into DA's Alleged Lover As Trump-Georgia Case Goes Off The Rails
    Fani Spanked: Jim Jordan Launches Investigation Into DA’s Alleged Lover As Trump-Georgia Case Goes Off The Rails

    Update (1523ET): House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has launched an investigation into Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor in the Trump-Georgia case who has been accused of making more than $650,000 off the case – during which he and Willis took lavish vacations together.

    “According to a recent court filing, you have been paid more than $650,000—at the rate of $250 per hour—to serve as an ‘Attorney Consultant’ and later a ‘Special Assistant District Attorney’ in the unprecedented investigation and prosecution of the former President and other former federal officials,” wrote Jordan in a Friday letter reported by Just the News.

    “This filing also alleges that while receiving a substantial amount of money from Fulton County, you spent extravagantly on lavish vacations with your boss, Ms. Willis.”

    “The Committee has information that the FCDAO [Fulton County District Attorney’s Office] received approximately $14.6 million in grant funds from the Department of Justice between 2020 and 2023 and, given the enormous legal fees you have billed to the FCDAO, there are open questions about whether federal funds were used by the FCDAO to finance your prosecution,” the letter continues.

    Wade has until January 26th to reply with documents related to the case.

    *  *  *

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis – who has charged Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants with trying to change the outcome of the 2020 US election in Georgia – has become the main attraction in a major prong of the left’s 2024 election lawfare operation.

    On Tuesday we noted that Willis had hired Nathan Wade (without proper approval), a private attorney in the midst of a divorce who “has little to no experience trying felony cases, much less complex RICO actions,” according to the 127-page filing.

    Wade ended up pocketing nearly $700,000 from Fulton county taxpayers – with which he allegedly took Willis on lavish vacations.

    Now, Wade’s wife has alleged in divorce documents that he failed to disclose over $700,000 in earnings from the county, and has continued to draw from her bank account, leaving it “routinely overdrawn” despite “the clear inequity in financial circumstances,” the Daily Caller reports.

    Wade filed to divorce his stay-at-home wife of 20 years on November 2nd, 2021, the day after Fani hired him as a Special Prosecutor in the Trump case. He had his divorce sealed on February 10th, 2022, according to the 127-page filing by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman.

    Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sent a criminal referral Wednesday to Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr asking for an investigation into Willis and expressing “serious concerns” about the allegations. Greene suggested Willis could have violated a number of Georgia statutes, including violations of public oath, bribery, improper influence of a government official and more.

    The Monday motion did not cite hard evidence that Willis and Wade were romantically involved but referenced “sources close to both the special prosecutor and the district attorney” who confirmed their ongoing relationship. -Daily Caller

    Oh, and let’s not forget – Wade billed taxpayers $2,000 to talk to the Biden White House about prosecuting Biden’s political opponent.

    Looks like someone didn’t run their schemes past Marc Elias… 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 14:23

  • Republicans Score Major Win Against DEI In A 'Purple' State
    Republicans Score Major Win Against DEI In A ‘Purple’ State

    Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    In the 2000 movie “Gladiator,” the soldier Maximus understands the strategic advantage of sticking with allies and refusing to back down during an iconic fight scene in the Roman Colosseum.

    With the odds stacked against them, Maximus—played by Russell Crowe—and fellow gladiators hold their ground against opponents to win their battle despite long odds.

    It’s a lesson not lost on at least one Republican lawmaker in Wisconsin, who wielded legislation to slash Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in the University of Wisconsin (UW) system. He finally claimed victory in December after a seven-month battle.

    Wisconsin is considered a “purple” state politically—a mix of blue, with its Democratic governor, and red, with the Republican-controlled state assembly and senate.

    That’s why some are saying Assembly Speaker Robin Vos pulled off such a major victory for conservatives despite a challenging political climate. His prize: getting the state’s university system to remove many DEI positions and practices.

    In response to Mr. Vos’s maneuvers in negotiating the passage of the state budget in May, UW leaders agreed to remove a third of the system’s 188 DEI positions.

    Additionally, UW officials also said they‘d freeze DEI hiring for three years. They said they’d eliminate DEI loyalty statements for new hires. The pledges require new employees to promise to support DEI ideology and give preference to minority or identity groups said to have been oppressed.

    UW trustees also voted to phase out minority-focused recruitment and replace it with recruitment based on accomplishment. They promised to incorporate merit in student admissions, automatically accepting the top 10 percent of students in high schools based on grades and class rank. And they agreed to add an endowed chair to focus on conservative political thought.

    In exchange, UW got money for salary raises and new buildings.

    “The one thing that I have learned, the more I’ve done this, is that I have total respect for people who fight for the conservative cause,” Mr. Vos told The Epoch Times, after persuading UW trustees to make the changes, an effort that took months of negotiations and was initially voted down.  

    “But I have a lot more respect for people who win.”

    Decimating Campus DEI

    Critics contend DEI is a form of Marxism that divides people into identity groups of oppressors and their victims.

    Supporters of DEI policies say they’re needed to right the wrongs of what they believe to be systemic racism in America by giving preferential treatment to minority groups.

    Mr. Vos, who has been the speaker for about 12 years, said some people scoffed when he told them DEI was the top issue for his state. He’s felt that DEI policies in the university system led to students being “indoctrinated,” rather than educated.

    “People also don’t fully appreciate how this is like a cancer,” Mr. Vos said of DEI, which has spread to universities around the country. “It’s the worst possible thing for our democracy.”

    Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly Robin Vos (Courtesy of Robin Vos)

    Mr. Vos and fellow GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin used a carrot-and-stick approach to getting the two-year state budget passed, including measures that would mean doom for DEI on university campuses in the state.

    During budget negotiations, Republicans slashed $32 million from the university system’s budget, about what they calculated was the funding needed to support DEI programs.

    Gov. Tony Evers threatened to veto the entire state budget because of the cuts to DEI. But that would mean no raises for any state employees.

    He called Republicans’ efforts “really obnoxious” and “B.S.” He signed the budget in July.

    But a Republican-controlled committee still needed to approve the raises before going into effect. Mr. Vos warned that the committee would not approve pay raises for UW employees until receiving assurance that DEI would be cut from the university system.

    That left the decision up to UW officials. If they wanted to secure the pay raises, they’d have to agree to eliminate DEI.

    Mr. Vos recalled telling the UW leadership, “I am dead serious. We are not giving you one nickel until we negotiate and make changes to DEI.”

    After months of wrangling, university system leaders were forced to choose—pay raises for their employees or the preservation of DEI on campuses.

    They chose to boost salaries for employees in exchange for axing much of DEI.

    Lawmakers of the Black Caucus issued a statement saying they were “appalled and ashamed” at the diversity changes and questioned whether racial minorities were involved in the negotiations.

    Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, speaks to supporters during an election night event at The Orpheum Theater in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 8, 2022. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

    Conservatives point to Mr. Vos’s tactics as a blueprint for how Republicans should unite and use the so-called “power of the purse” to eliminate what they see as divisive policies from public institutions.

    The process showed Mr. Vos is a “master” legislator, said GianCarlo Canaparo, a senior legal fellow in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

    “He just played the levels of power in that state like a fiddle,” Mr. Canaparo told The Epoch Times.

    “I think what happened in Wisconsin shows why Republican legislators need to use the powers they have more than they are [using them currently], even if they don’t completely control state government,” said William Jacobson, a Cornell law school professor.

    Mr. Jacobson formed EqualProtect.org in response to DEI-fueled discrimination in education against whites and others. DEI is a form of “racial discrimination,” supported by a small group of activists, he said.

    It’s not a popular idea with most people, Mr. Jacobson said. And in his view, cutting off funding for campus DEI programs is the best way to dismantle them.

    “Because when push comes to shove, college administrators and college professors and university systems care more about the money than they care about DEI,” Mr. Jacobson said.

    ‘Stand for What You Believe’

    The Wisconsin speaker’s plan to take down DEI in his state’s university system began forming when he heard troubling stories about how hallmarks of the ideology were affecting constituents, he said.

    One told him that students had to write essays on politically left-wing topics to get into the state’s colleges. Another informed him that the universities no longer required scores from entrance exams for admission.

    Mr. Vos bristled when he learned that some high schools in his state were removing acknowledgments of merit by doing away with grades or class rankings for students.

    Concerns about DEI at the state’s universities had been growing, he said.

    And a recent survey showed a worrisome lack of free speech on one of the campuses.

    Yet, when he raised concerns about those issues with university system leadership, they ignored him, he said.

    “And frankly,” he said, “they kind of were arrogant and thought they could just go around me.”

    Meanwhile, he said, university leaders began making their wish list known to his colleagues. Namely, they wanted raises and new buildings, especially a new engineering building at the system’s flagship campus in Madison, he said.

    New College of Florida students and supporters protest against the removal of DEI policies ahead of a meeting by the college’s board of trustees in Sarasota on Feb. 28, 2023. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

    But Mr. Vos rallied Republicans, urging them to stand firm, as they hatched a plan.

    Mr. Vos wanted to negotiate for legislative control over the creation of positions within the state universities. And he wanted to require universities to base student admissions on scores from standardized entrance exams again.

    It was then that university leaders “realized that things were going to have to be different if they were going to have any chance to get the money that they wanted” for pay raises and new buildings, Mr. Vos said.

    That made conditions right for negotiating.

    In December, UW officials agreed to cut DEI policies, and Republicans agreed to fund the wanted pay raises and release the money needed for building projects within the UW system. That included money for the new engineering building initially rejected by the GOP.

    Republicans also agreed to authorize $32 million for workforce development within the UW system.

    They didn’t get standardized test scores returned to the admissions process.

    But they did maneuver to get merit back into education.

    School systems in Wisconsin and across the country have attempted to eliminate the awarding of letter grades to students and have, in many cases, eliminated testing.

    Those traditions that elevate individuals based on their achievements don’t fit the DEI concepts. Acknowledging merit is seen by proponents of DEI as part of an oppressive system that hurts minorities.

    As part of the deal-making in Wisconsin, the university system agreed to automatically admit the top 5 percent of graduating high school seniors to the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Students in the top 10 percent of their graduating class would be admitted automatically to any of the other 12 college campuses in the system.

    “We want the smartest, best people on the front lines of everything from science to technology,” Mr. Vos said. It should not, he said, be “based on your race.”

    Proponents of affirmative action hold signs during a protest at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on July 1, 2023. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

    As a result of those victories, parents of high school students will be empowered to demand a return to the awarding of grades and the assigning of class rankings, Mr. Vos said.

    The outcomes illustrate that “you just have to be tenacious,” he said. “You have to stand for what you believe in and accept the fact that you’re not going to get everything.

    “But if you play it right, you have the ability to get more than they want to give.”

    For Republicans, the “more” was the promise to create an endowed chair at the flagship university in Madison. The position will focus on conservative political thought, classical economic theory, or classical liberalism.

    Additionally, university system leaders agreed to develop and implement on all campuses a module to teach entering undergraduate students about freedom of expression.

    Mr. Vos—who views himself as being on the “hard right” politically—said Republicans need to understand that in successful negotiations, getting much of what you want is better than getting nothing.

    Florida and Texas have passed legislation banning DEI positions at universities.

    But DEI is entrenched on most college campuses, Mr. Jacobson said.

    So there’s still the possibility that DEI positions and programs that were supposed to be eliminated actually will be preserved, just with new names that sound different but represent the same purpose, he said.

    But those who feel DEI is wrong for America must stand strong.

    “It is the start of the fight against DEI,” Mr. Jacobson said. “It is not the end of the fight against it.”

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 14:00

  • Lloyd Austin Remains Hospitalized – And Should Absolutely Be Fired For Hiding Condition
    Lloyd Austin Remains Hospitalized – And Should Absolutely Be Fired For Hiding Condition

    On Saturday, the Pentagon announced that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is still hospitalized following a prostatectomy.

    To recap: On January 1, President Biden and top national security aides convened on a secure call to discuss ways to intensify pressure on Houthi militants in Yemen. Nobody present, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top aides, noticed anything wrong with Austin.

    Hours later, however, he was being raced across the DC suburbs in an ambulance, and told nobody about his health crisis for days.

    Not even Austin’s most senior aides at the Pentagon, top officials at the White House, or Biden himself had any idea of his whereabouts and the threats to his health. Kathleen Hicks, the Pentagon No. 2 who could step in for Austin if needed, was vacationing in the Caribbean.

    Four days passed before Austin’s medical crisis was disclosed publicly. The uproar unleashed by the news that the Pentagon chief had undergone two hospitalizations and a surgery following a prostate cancer diagnosis without notifying the White House or Pentagon staff has threatened to overshadow his tenure leading America’s sprawling military enterprise, and created a potentially damaging distraction for Biden as he intensifies his reelection campaign. –WaPo

    And as Roger L. Simon writes in the Epoch Times, Austin should be fired…

    *  *  *

    I consider myself something of an expert on prostatectomies because I had one not long ago—November 2022.

    Of course, I was asleep through most of it, so factor that in. I’ve also written about it in my new book in a chapter entitled “Farewell, My Prostate”—a nod to the great detective novel by Raymond Chandler, “Farewell, My Lovely.”

    If you read it, I predict you’ll agree that I’ve been more transparent about the event than the Pentagon or the White House, although that’s, as the cliché goes, a low bar.

    In fact, the obfuscation, denial, and misinformation on all ends of this, given the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, and, potentially, the Pacific, is almost the most dangerous incompetence imaginable on a global scale.

    It makes you wonder who’s minding the store here in the land that’s supposedly the guardian of the free world. Since the disastrous departure from Afghanistan, we have more than an inkling of that. The craziness and extraordinary lack of transparency in the matter of the secretary of defense’s prostate operation only hammers it home.

    In my case, the operation was a big deal to my family and me, but not, needless to say, to the country.

    All it did was delay my columns here at The Epoch Times for a few days, something I’m reasonably sure almost no one noticed.

    Unlike Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, I had notified the company sometime before, in the person of Editor-in-Chief Jasper Fakkert, that I would be having the operation. He was gracious about it.

    Such things are almost always scheduled far in advance. Mine was. (Was Mr. Austin’s?)

    Most people who have prostatectomies have known about their cancers for a considerable amount of time. They’re slow growing. In my case, it was diagnosed when I still lived in Los Angeles seven or eight years before the actual operation. I was under what’s called “active surveillance” until a biopsy told me action was needed.

    Even then, I waited several months and consulted several physicians.

    It would be interesting, actually imperative, to know Mr. Austin’s history in this regard. Just how long did he know he had prostate cancer, and who else knew it?

    The recovery, too, is tricky. I went home from the hospital, as did the secretary of defense, the day after the operation. This is conventional. But I went home with the also conventional pain medications (hydrocodone) and antibiotics—to avoid the urinary infection that Mr. Austin apparently got.

    Further, and also conventionally, I was catheterized. If you’ve been there and done that, you know that that doesn’t exactly put you “on your game.” (You probably know it, even if you haven’t been.)

    You remain that way for a week, sometimes more if the doctor advises. For me, it was by far the most unpleasant part of the entire procedure.

    I wouldn’t have been qualified to, say, monitor the activities of the Houthis in the Red Sea and make decisions about a response—not that I am normally.

    But there are reasons to believe Mr. Austin isn’t all that qualified either, normally—and not just because of the prevarications surrounding his operation.

    Mr. Austin has overseen, and been a prominent spokesman for, our new woke military that has turned our once-revered fighting forces into free, taxpayer-sponsored mills for transgender surgery—thus leaving our enemies in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea scratching their heads in bewilderment, but nevertheless, we can assume, smiling and laughing at the same time at our idiocy.

    And there’s the matter of the aforementioned flight from Afghanistan that left the Taliban one of the most heavily armed fighting forces in the world and a net exporter of weapons on a grand scale with the huge Bagram airbase in its hands, while, after a very short time, women are back to being as oppressed as they always were under their rule.

    Good job, Secretary of Defense Austin.

    Scratch that, terrible job, one of the worst ever.

    Whether it was shame over an operation that’s exclusively male or whatever excuse he has, his behavior in his crucial position was unconscionable in the extreme, and that of the White House scarcely better.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 13:25

  • George Carlin's Daughter Denounces AI Simulation Of His Comedy
    George Carlin’s Daughter Denounces AI Simulation Of His Comedy

    Authored by Matt McGregor via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    George Carlin’s daughter has criticized an artificial intelligence-generated voice of her comedian father used for an hourlong standup comedy special based on his catalog of work.

    “My dad spent a lifetime perfecting his craft from his very human life, brain and imagination,” Kelly Carlin said on X. “No machine will ever replace his genius. These AI-generated products are clever attempts at trying to recreate a mind that will never exist again.”

    Comedian George Carlin poses as he promotes his new book “All My Stuff” at Barnes and Noble in Los Angeles, Calif., on Dec. 11, 2007. (Mark Mainz/Getty Images)

    She added that his work should “speak for itself.”

    “Humans are so afraid of the void that we can’t let what has fallen into it stay there,” she said.

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

    The artificial intelligence platform called Dudesy generated the simulation of how the comedian might address contemporary issues.

    “I just want to let you know very clearly that what you’re about to hear is not George Carlin. It’s my impersonation of George Carlin that I developed in the exact same way a human impressionist would,” the AI-generated voice of Dudesy said at the beginning of the special. “I listened to all of George Carlin’s material and did my best to imitate his voice, cadence, and attitude as well as the subject matter I think would have interested him today.”

    Anti-Establishment Themes

    Mr. Carlin, who died of heart failure in 2008, often spoke of anti-establishment themes throughout the body of his comedic work.

    “Think of it like Andy Kaufman impersonating Elvis, or like Will Ferrell impersonating George W. Bush,” the AI voice said.

    Upon introducing itself, the AI voice of Mr. Carlin apologized for taking so long to come out with new material.

    “But I had a pretty good excuse,” it said. “I was dead.”

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

    The voice went on to criticize religion and the gun rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment, blaming mass shootings on the ability of Americans to be able to purchase guns easily.

    “Things are starting to come apart at the seams so they’re taking as much of your money as they can, while they still can,” the voice said. “Make no mistake, guns ain’t nothing but a federally sanctioned cash grab, plain and simple. You give your money to Smith & Wesson and Smith & Wesson gives it to the politicians. The politicians write laws to make guns easier to sell so you can give even more of your money to Smith & Wesson.”

    In addition, the voice criticized American preoccupation with pop culture such as reality television.

    “Film and television used to be art by artists that wanted to challenge us about the world and our place in it,” it said. “Now it’s content made by corporations that don’t want anyone thinking about anything.”

    The voice said it was glad it was dead because the country elected a reality television star as its president, pointing to former President Donald Trump’s competition reality show “The Apprentice.”

    “And at this point, the election is just another [expletive] reality show on one of their overpriced streaming services,” it said. “If you don’t believe me, take a look at your two, I repeat, two choices in this next election. Shouldn’t a country of 300 million ethnically and ideologically diverse people have more options than two rich, senile, dishonest, out-of-touch, 80-year-old white guys?”

    The voice added, in Mr. Carlin’s style, that the country has a two-party system because it’s cheaper for billionaires to monopolize.

    “You think you are voting for the lesser of two evils, but you are always voting for the same evil: money,” it said.

    AI-Generated Carlin Supports Woke Culture

    The voice criticized the conservative stance on several issues in relation to the culture wars and defended LGBT rights. It celebrated the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020 while criticizing the protests at the U.S. Capitol.

    “Every major city in the country was on fire,” the voice said. “People were openly fighting cops in the streets,” it said, later adding that “getting rid of the cops” is a step closer to “building a better society.”

    The voice referred to itself as an AI-generated entity and ridiculed the public’s fear of losing their jobs to this technology.

    “Seems that many of you are scared of AI, and I’ll be honest, I don’t really get why,” it said. “You all think it’s going to replace your jobs and you somehow think that’s a bad thing. When did everybody all of a sudden start liking their jobs? When I was alive people hated their [expletive] jobs. They complained about them all the time.”

    If there were one profession that was threatened by AI, it would be standup comedy, the voice said.

    “I might be the first standup comic to be brought back from the dead by AI but I’m certainly not the last,” it said before alluding to a future of streaming services for deceased comedians to comment on current affairs.

    Instead of listening to the AI-generated voice of her father, Ms. Carlin said it would be better to give living comedians a try.

    “But if you want to listen to the genuine George Carlin, he has 14 specials that you can find anywhere,” she said.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 12:50

  • Polar Blast Sends Power Prices Soaring, Spot NatGas Ripping, And Risk Of "Freeze-Offs"
    Polar Blast Sends Power Prices Soaring, Spot NatGas Ripping, And Risk Of “Freeze-Offs”

    The polar vortex split has spread dangerously cold air across the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest and is expected to reach the eastern half of the United States this weekend and into next week. Power grid operators are on high alert and have prepared generators before heating demand surges. There is also a major threat of freeze-offs that could curtail oil and gas production. 

    Around 0700 ET, the average temperature across Montana was -30F, and about a quarter of the Lower 48 recorded temperatures below zero, according to Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and former NOAA chief scientist. 

    “That cold air is slowly but surely plunging into the Plains and Great Lakes,” Maue said. 

    The Arctic blast has sent next-day power prices at the Mid Columbia hub in the Pacific Northwest to a record high of $1,075 per megawatt hour, according to Reuters, citing LSEG data. The grid’s average power prices range from $81 in 2023 to $52 between 2018 and 2022.  

    “Generator owners must take extra care to maintain equipment so that it doesn’t freeze in the cold … particularly as natural gas pipelines may become constrained as the cold spell progresses,” PJM Interconnection wrote in a press release.

    PJM is the largest grid operator in the US and supplies power to 13 states, from Illinois to New Jersey. It recently warned that state and federal decarbonization policies had caused reliability concerns in extreme weather conditions. 

    Other grid operators, including Southwest Power Pool and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, have issued weather alerts as the cold blast begins this weekend. 

    According to Bloomberg data, Lower 48 average temperatures have already plunged and will stay well below a 30-year trend for at least the next ten days. 

    According to Bloomberg, cold weather has skyrocketed spot prices at the US Henry Hub in Louisiana by 300% to as high as $17 per million British thermal units. That compared to $3.31 for the Feb NatGas contract on Friday. 

    The catalyst for soaring spot prices is the mounting risk of so-called freeze-offs, which can bring NatGas production offline, thus curbing supplies. 

    X user Celsius Energy expects “NatGas production freeze-offs will ramp up. Output will fall to 101.4 BCF, up just +0.8 BCF vs last year & 5 BCF below record highs. Most of these losses are from the Rockies. Look for further losses as arctic air reaches Texas & the Appalachians.:

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

    More signs of freeze-offs. 

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

    On Thursday, Goldman analysts Daniel Moreno and Samantha Dart said the 23% year-to-date gains for NatGas prices have largely been due to “forecasts for much-colder-than-average temperatures in the second half of January.” 

    US natural gas prices have gained 23% year-to-date to $3.10/mmBtu on the back of forecasts for much-colder-than average temperatures in the second half of January. Importantly, freezing temperatures are expected in several producing regions over the next ten days, implying interruptions to production due to freeze-offs.

    However, the analysts pointed out: “Once we move past this spell of cold weather, we expect market focus to return to managing oversupply. We estimate this will require prices to realize somewhat lower than current forwards to incentivize more coal-to-gas switching and disincentivize production. Accordingly, we maintain our Sum24 forecast of $2.55/mmBtu vs. current forwards at $2.77/mmBtu.” 

    To sum up, early impacts of the polar vortex split are increased power prices on grids due to a surge in heating demand and early reports of freeze-offs of NatGas equipment and or pipelines that curtail production and send spot prices higher. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/13/2024 – 12:15

Digest powered by RSS Digest