Aug 15

Today’s News 15th August 2024

  • "An Intricate Fabric Of Bad Actors Working Hand-In-Hand" – So Is War Inevitable?
    “An Intricate Fabric Of Bad Actors Working Hand-In-Hand” – So Is War Inevitable?

    Submitted by Alastair Crooke,

    Walter Kirn, an American novelist and cultural critic, in his 2009 memoir, Lost in the Meritocracy, described how, after a sojourn at Oxford, he came to be a member of ‘the class that runs things’ – the one that “writes the headlines, and the stories under them”. It was the account of a middle-class kid from Minnesota trying desperately to fit into the élite world, and then to his surprise, realising that he didn’t want to fit in at all.

    Now 61, Kirn has a newsletter on Substack and co-hosts a lively podcast devoted in large part to critiquing ‘establishment liberalism’. His contrarian drift has made him more vocal about his distrust of élite institutions – as he wrote in 2022:

    “For years now, the answer, in every situation—‘Russiagate,’ COVID, Ukraine—has been more censorship, more silencing, more division, more scapegoating. It’s almost as if these are goals in themselves – and the cascade of emergencies mere excuses for them. Hate is always the way,”

    Kirn’s politics, a friend of his suggested, was “old-school liberal,” underscoring that it was the other ‘so-called liberals’ who had changed: “I’ve been told repeatedly in the last year that free speech is a right-wing issue; I wouldn’t call [Kirn] Conservative. I would just say he’s a free-thinker, nonconformist, iconoclastic”, the friend said.

    To understand Kirn’s contrarian turn – and to make sense of today’s form of American politics – it is necessary to understand one key term. It is not found in standard textbooks, but is central to the new playbook of power: the “whole of society”.

    “The term was popularised roughly a decade ago by the Obama administration, which liked that its bland, technocratic appearance could be used as cover to erect a mechanism for a governance ‘whole-of-society’ approach” – one that asserts that as actors – media, NGOs,corporations and philanthropist institutions – interact with public officials to play a critical role not just in setting the public agenda, but in enforcing public decisions.

    Jacob Siegel has explained the historical development of the ‘whole of society’ approach during the Obama administration’s attempt to pivot in the ‘war on terror’ to what it called ‘CVE’ – countering violent extremism. The idea was to surveil the American people’s online behaviour in order to identify those who may, at some unspecified time in the future, ‘commit a crime’.

    Inherent to the concept of the potential ‘violent extremist’ who has, as yet, committed no crime, is a weaponised vagueness: “A cloud of suspicion that hangs over anyone who challenges the prevailing ideological narratives”.

    “What the various iterations of this whole-of-society approach have in common is their disregard for democratic process and the right to free association – their embrace of social media surveillance, and their repeated failure to deliver results …”.

    Aaron Kheriaty writes:

    “More recently, the whole of society political machinery facilitated the overnight flip from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris, with news media and party supporters turning on a dime when instructed to do so—democratic primary voters ‘be damned’. This happened not because of the personalities of the candidates involved, but on the orders of party leadership. The actual nominees are fungible, and entirely replaceable, functionaries, serving the interests of the ruling party … The party was delivered to her because she was selected by its leaders to act as its figurehead. That real achievement belongs not to Harris, but to the party-state”.

    What has this to do with Geo-politics – and whether there will be war between Iran and Israel?

    Well, quite a lot.

    It is not just western domestic politics that has been shaped by the Obama CVE totalising mechanics.

    The “party-state” machinery (Kheriaty’s term) for geo-politics has also been co-opted:

    “To avoid the appearance of totalitarian overreach in such efforts”, Kheriaty argues,“the party requires an endless supply of causes … that party officers use as pretexts to demand ideological alignment across public and private sector institutions. These causes come in roughly two forms: the urgent existential crisis (examples include COVID and the much-hyped threat of Russian disinformation) – and victim groups supposedly in need of the party’s protection”.

    “It’s almost as if these are goals in themselves – and the cascade of emergencies mere excuses for them. Hate is always the way”, Kirn underlines.

    Just to be clear, the implication is that all geo-strategic critics of the party-state’s ideological alignment must be jointly and collectively treated as potentially dangerous extremists. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea therefore are bound together as presenting a single obnoxious extremism that stands in opposition to ‘Our Democracy’; versus ‘Our Free Speech’ and versus ‘Our Expert Consensus’.

    So, if the move to war against one extremist (i.e. versus Iran) is ‘acclaimed’ by 58 standing ovations in the joint session of Congress last month, then further debate is unnecessary – any more than Kamala Harris’ nomination as Presidential candidate needs to be endorsed through primary voting:

    Candidate Harris told hecklers on Wednesday, chanting about genocide in Gaza, ‘to pipe down’ – unless they “want Trump to win”. Tribal norms must not be challenged (even for genocide).

    Sandra Parker, Chairwoman of the political advocacy arm for the three thousand members of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) was advising on correct talking points, the Times of Israel reports:

    “The rise of Republican far right-wingers who spurn decades of (bi-partisan) pro-Israel orthodoxies, favouring isolationism and resurrecting anti-Jewish tropes is alarming pro-Israel evangelicals and their Jewish allies… The break with decades of assertive foreign policy was evident last year when Sen. Josh Hawley derided the “liberal empire” that he dismissively characterised as bipartisan “Neoconservatives on the right, and liberal globalists on the left: Together they make up what you might call the uniparty, the DC establishment that transcends all changing administrations””.

    At the CUFI talking points conference, the fear of increased isolation on the Right was the issue:

    “You’re going to see that adversaries will see the U.S. as in retreat” – should isolationists get the upper hand: Activists were advised to push back: Should lawmakers claim that NATO expansion is what triggered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “Should anybody begin to make the argument that the reason the Russians have moved in on Ukraine – is because of NATO enlargement – can I just say that this is the age-old ‘blame America trope,’” the Chair advised the assembled delegates.

    “They have the strain of isolationism that’s – ‘Let’s just do China and forget about Iran, forget about Russia, let’s just do one thing’ – but it doesn’t work that way,” said Boris Zilberman, director of policy and strategy for the CUFI Action Fund. Instead, he described “an intricate fabric of bad actors working hand in hand”.

    So, to get to the bottom of this western mind-management in which appearance and reality are cut from the same cloth of hostile extremism: Iran, Russia and China are ‘cut from it’ likewise.

    Plainly put, the import of this “behavioural-engineering enterprise (it no longer having much to do with the truth, no longer having much to do with your right to desire what you wish – or not desire what you don’t wish)” – is, as Kirn says: “everyone is in on the game”. “The corporate and state interests don’t believe you are wanting the right things—you might want Donald Trump— or, that you aren’t wanting the things you should want more” (such as seeing Putin removed).

    If this ‘whole of society’ machinery is understood correctly in the wider world, then the likes of Iran or Hizbullah are forced to take note that war in the Middle East inevitably may bleed across into wider war against Russia – and have adverse ramifications for China, too.

    That is not because it makes sense. It doesn’t. But it is because the ideological needs of ‘whole of society’ foreign-policy hinge on simplistic ‘moral’ narratives: Ones that express emotional attitudes, rather than argued propositions.

    Netanyahu went to Washington to lay out the case for all-out war on Iran – a moral war of civilisation versus the Barbarians, he said. He was applauded for his stance. He returned to Israel and immediately provoked Hizbullah, Iran and Hamas in a way that dishonoured and humiliated both – knowing well that it would draw a riposte that would most likely lead to wider war.

    Clearly Netanyahu, backed by a plurality of Israelis, wants an Armageddon (with full U.S. support, of course). He has the U.S., he thinks, exactly where he wants it. Netanyahu has only to escalate in one way or another – and Washington, he calculates (rightly or wrongly), will be compelled to follow.

    Is this why Iran is taking its time? The calculus on an initial riposte to Israel is ‘one thing’, but how then might Netanyahu retaliate in Iran and Lebanon? That can be altogether an ‘other thing’. There have been hints of nuclear weapons being deployed (in both instances). There is however nothing solid, to this latter rumour.

    Further, how might Israel respond towards Russia in Syria, or might the U.S. react through escalation in Ukraine? After all, Moscow has assisted Iran with its air defences (just as the West is assisting Ukraine against Russia).

    Many imponderables.

    Yet, one thing is clear (as former Russian President Medvedev noted recently): “the knot is tightening” in the Middle East. Escalation is across all the fronts. War, Medvedev suggested, may be ‘the only way this knot will be cut’.

    Iran must think that appeasing western pleas in the wake of the Israeli assassination of Iranian officials at their Damascus Consulate was a mistake. Netanyahu did not appreciate Iran’s moderation. He doubled-down on war, making it inevitable, sooner or later.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 08/15/2024 – 02:00

  • Who Owns America? Oligarchs Have Bought Up the American Dream
    Who Owns America? Oligarchs Have Bought Up the American Dream

    Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

    “The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls. They got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear… They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying. Lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else… It’s called the American Dream, ’cause you have to be asleep to believe it.”

    – George Carlin

    Who owns America?

    Is it the government? The politicians? The corporations? The foreign investors? The American people?

    While the Deep State keeps the nation divided and distracted by a presidential election whose outcome is foregone (the police state’s stranglehold on power will ensure the continuation of endless wars and out-of-control spending, while disregarding the citizenry’s fundamental rights and the rule of law), America is literally being bought and sold right out from under us.

    Consider the facts.

    We’re losing more and more of our land every year to corporations and foreign interests. Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land has increased by 66% since 2010. In 2021, it was reported that foreign investors owned approximately 40 million acres of U.S. agricultural land, which is more than the entire state of Iowa. By 2022 that number had grown to 43.4 million acres. The rate at which U.S. farmland is being bought up by foreign interests grew by 2.2 million acres per year from 2015 to 2021. The number of U.S. farm acres owned by foreign entities grew more than 8% (3.4 million acres) in 2022.

    We’re losing more and more of our businesses every year to foreign corporations and interests. Although China owns a small fraction of foreign-owned U.S. land at 380,000 acres (less than the state of Rhode Island), Chinese companies and investors are also buying up major food companies, commercial and residential real estate, and other businesses. As RetailWire explains, “Currently, many brands started by early American pioneers now wave international flags. This revolution is a direct result of globalization.” The growing list of once-notable American brands that have been sold to foreign corporations includes: U.S. Steel (now Japanese-owned); General Electric (Chinese-owned); Budweiser (Belgium); Burger King (Canada); 7-Eleven (Japan); Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge (Netherlands); and IBM (China).

    We’re digging ourselves deeper and deeper into debt, both as a nation and as a populace. Basically, the U.S. government is funding its existence with a credit card, spending money it doesn’t have on programs it can’t afford. The bulk of that debt has been amassed over the past two decades, thanks in large part to the fiscal shenanigans of four presidents, 10 sessions of Congress and two wars. The national debt (the amount the federal government has borrowed over the years and must pay back) is more than $34 trillion and will grow another $19 trillion by 2033. Foreign ownership makes up 29% of the U.S. debt held by the public. Of that amount, reports the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, “52 percent was held by private foreign investors while foreign governments held the remaining 48 percent.”

    The Fourth Estate has been taken over by media conglomerates that prioritize profit over principle. Independent news agencies, which were supposed to act as bulwarks against government propaganda, have been subsumed by a global corporate takeover of newspapers, television and radio. Consequently, a handful of corporations now control most of the media industry and, thus, the information dished out to the public. Likewise, with Facebook and Google having appointed themselves the arbiters of disinformation, we now find ourselves grappling with new levels of corporate censorship by entities with a history of colluding with the government to keep the citizenry mindless, muzzled and in the dark.

    Most critically of all, however, the U.S. government, long ago sold to the highest bidders, has become little more than a shell company, a front for corporate interests. Nowhere is this state of affairs more evident than in the manufactured spectacle that is the presidential election. As for members of Congress, long before they’re elected, they are trained to dance to the tune of their wealthy benefactors, so much so that they spend two-thirds of their time in office raising money. As Reuters reports, “It also means that lawmakers often spend more time listening to the concerns of the wealthy than anyone else.”

    In the oligarchy that is the American police state, it clearly doesn’t matter who wins the White House, because they all work for the same boss: a Corporate State that has gone global.

    So much for living the American dream.

    “We the people” have become the new, permanent underclass in America.

    We’re being forced to shell out money for endless wars that are bleeding us dry; money for surveillance systems to track our movements; money to further militarize our already militarized police; money to allow the government to raid our homes and bank accounts; money to fund schools where our kids learn nothing about freedom and everything about how to comply; and on and on.

    This is no way of life.

    It’s tempting to say that there’s little we can do about it, except that’s not quite accurate.

    There are a few things we can do (demand transparency, reject cronyism and graft, insist on fair pricing and honest accounting methods, call a halt to incentive-driven government programs that prioritize profits over people), but it will require that “we the people” stop playing politics and stand united against the politicians and corporate interests who have turned our government and economy into a pay-to-play exercise in fascism.

    Unfortunately, we’ve become so invested in identity politics that label us based on our political leanings that we’ve lost sight of the one label that unites us: we’re all Americans.

    The powers-that-be want us to adopt an “us versus them” mindset that keeps us powerless and divided. Yet as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, the only “us versus them” that matters is “we the people” against the Deep State.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 23:25

  • These Are The World's Youngest Countries
    These Are The World’s Youngest Countries

    The youngest countries in the world are located in Africa.

    As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz details below, the youngest of them all is Niger at a median age of just 15 years – meaning that an equal amount of people in the country are older and younger than 15.

    In the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific regions, the youngest countries and territories have median ages of around 20 to 22 years, while the youngest in Europe are much older. They are Kosovo at a median age of 32 years, Albania at 36 years and Iceland at 38 years.

    Infographic: The World's Youngest Countries | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    The oldest countries in the world, among them Japan, Italy, Spain and Germany, have median ages between 47 and 50 years and are grappling with the demographic issue of a shrinking working-age population and its threat to economic growth.

    Meanwhile, very young countries in Africa have the opposite problem, as their economies, institutions and education facilities are not able to provide for the a big number of children and young people they produce.

    In the Central African nation of Niger, poverty and child marriage continue to pose problems and the World Bank observes that high fertility in poor countries will worsen health outcomes, reduce investments in human capital and lessen economic growth. The country is working to reduce child marriage and fertility, which is traditionally been associated with the chance at a wealthier life in the country and the region.

    The 21 youngest countries are in Africa, also including Uganda, Angola and Mali with median ages of just 16 years.

    The youngest territory outside of Africa is Palestine, with an median age of 19.5 in Gaza and 21.9 in the West Bank. This is followed by Afghanistan at 20 years, Timor-Leste at 20.6 years and Papua New Guinea at 21.7 years.

    While the economic and development outlook in many African nations still being poor and with large families remaining the norm as a result, very young countries outside of Africa often had their developmental outlook startled by prolonged conflict or war, also including Yemen, Iraq and Haiti.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 23:00

  • California Sheriff Blasts Harris For Using His Image In "Misleading" Campaign Ad, Says He Supports Trump
    California Sheriff Blasts Harris For Using His Image In “Misleading” Campaign Ad, Says He Supports Trump

    Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

    A California sheriff is slamming Kamala Harris over her ‘misleading’ political ad that fraudulently touted her border security record while using his image without permission.

    The video features Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux and other local and state law enforcement officers flanking then Attorney General Harris during her visit to the Central Valley in 2014.

    “In light of a recent political ad put out by Kamala Harris featuring Sheriff Boudreaux, as well as other local law enforcement, the Sheriff wants to make it abundantly clear that his image is being used without his permission, and he does NOT endorse Harris for President or any other political office,” the sheriff said in a statement issued to Fox News Digital.

    Boudreaux has spent 37 years in the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and is currently president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association.

    “As a matter of fact, I would like to point out the misleading information projected in that same political ad. In the ad, Harris claims to have spent decades fighting violent crime as a ‘border state prosecutor,’” Boudreaux stated.

    The ad claims:

    “As a border state prosecutor, she took on drug cartels and jailed gang members for smuggling weapons and drugs across the border.”  Harris’ campaign ad also dubiously states that she will “hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.”

    Boudreaux and other law enforcement officials in Southern California were outraged that Harris would take credit for fighting crime at the border when she allegedly only “undercut” their efforts.

    “How can you go in and promote that you were this tight border person when all the troops are coming across the border, and you literally are eliminating all these task forces? I mean, that completely made us mad,” Boudreaux told Fox News.

    “When you see that advertisement, if you do a little research, you’ll find that what she’s (Harris) touting goes completely against what was happening at the time, so when she put that picture out there with me in it, I got really upset, that ad is all smoke and mirrors,” Boudreaux said. “I do not support her.”

    Harris reportedly came to the Valley in 2014 to take credit for “a years-long investigation into a multi-national drug operation, with ties to Mexican drug cartels and prison gangs,” that was done by local law enforcement.

    According to the sheriff,  11 people were arrested, including suspected “kingpin” Jose Magana of Dinuba in that case.

    “The truth is, Harris never cared about the cartels and did nothing to stop people from illegally crossing the border,” Boudreaux said.

    The sheriff made note of Harris’ haughty attitude during the 2014 visit.

    “We were in the green room. She never came in and said hello to any of us. She walked up front, gave her presser, literally walked out, never said hi to any of us,” Boudreaux said. “I’m disgusted because, you know, she didn’t shake hands. She didn’t say hello. And she’s taken credit for all this work that the locals did.”

    Boudreaux’s political action committee, Golden State Justice, also issued a scathing statement blasting Harris’ new campaign ad.

    “As Attorney General, Kamala Harris undercut efforts by California law enforcement officials to stop criminals from flooding our state with guns and drugs across the border,” the statement read.

    “She repeatedly defunded and shuttered task forces designed to protect our residents, leaving the Valley and our state vulnerable,” the statement continued. “Kamala’s sad attempt to paint herself as tough on the border by implying my support – and the support of neighboring law enforcement leaders—is pathetic.”

    The statement concluded by saying “a politician crowding the podium at a press conference clearly hasn’t solved our border crisis. Neither has Kamala Harris.”

    Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward, who is also featured in the ad, was also enraged by the video.

    “The hypocrisy knows no bounds. It’s disingenuous and her campaign ad, somehow now, touting her reputation as a prosecutor as a positive thing, she was attorney general under three of the worst tragedies that had befallen the citizens of the state of California,” Ward told Fox News.

    Ward concurred with Boudreaux about using their images in a campaign ad without permission, saying that it should have been a “professional courtesy” to let them know about it.

    “We’re not hard people to find or to contact. Simple professional courtesy would have been warning us that it was going to be used. And I think that we are well within our rights to clarify the records,” Ward said.

    “Just as Sheriff Boudreaux said, I do not in any way want the use of that photo to be construed as support of her (Harris) either in her candidacy, current candidacy, or even in her tenure as attorney general of the State of California.”

    In an interview Tuesday with Fox News, Boudreaux said Harris showed up in 2014 “for a sound bite, didn’t shake anyone’s hands and she quickly left the briefing room.”

    He said law enforcement officials in Southern California are “very familiar” with Harris’ record and her campaign ad was “deceptive to say the least.”

    The sheriff added, “I just wanted to come out and say that for me as the sheriff or Tulare County looking out for victims, looking for someone who’s going to support criminal justice and law enforcement, that is best represented by Donald Trump, not Kamala Harris.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 22:35

  • Reclaiming Strength and Rebuilding Lost Muscle
    Reclaiming Strength and Rebuilding Lost Muscle

    Authored by Sheramy Tsai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Muscle atrophy, the wasting or loss of muscle tissue, can occur astonishingly quickly, posing serious challenges for individuals recovering from prolonged illness or extended periods of inactivity.

    A study in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia, and Muscle revealed that just three days of simulated bed rest resulted in a more than 10 percent loss of muscle tissue and increased fatty infiltration of the muscle.

    “Believe it or not, you can start losing significant muscle mass in just five days of inactivity,” fitness and nutrition expert JJ Virgin told The Epoch Times. She noted that athletes can see the effects of reduced activity within about three weeks if they don’t maintain their workout routines.

    Everson A. Nunes, a postdoctoral fellow at McMaster University, noted the variability in muscle loss during inactivity. In an email to The Epoch Times, he said that healthy young individuals can lose about 0.8 percent of muscle per day during a week of leg immobilization.

    Nunes said that the primary cause of atrophy is the lack of mechanical stimulus.

    “Muscles, tendons, and bones need mechanical stress to maintain size, function, and proper turnover rates,” he wrote. The key to healthy muscles, tendons, and bones is continuous breakdown and rebuilding.

    Muscle loss can happen during extended periods of bed rest because of illness or injury, leading to disuse-induced atrophy.

    “Disuse-induced atrophy will likely affect every person in his or her lifetime, and can be debilitating, especially in the elderly,” Sue Bodine, who holds a doctorate in neuromuscular physiology, wrote.

    “If you’re sidelined due to an injury or stuck in bed, your muscles aren’t getting the workout they need to stay strong,” Virgin said. Without movement, muscles begin to degrade, resulting in a noticeable loss of strength and function.

    Aging and Atrophy

    Aging is a significant contributor to muscle atrophy. Our bodies naturally lose muscle mass and strength as we age, a process known as sarcopenia. This decline begins as early as age 30, with muscle mass decreasing by 3 percent to 8 percent per decade, and the rate of loss doubling at about age 60, making it even more challenging to maintain muscle health, according to Virgin.

    Even more troubling is the loss of strength and power, occurring twice and three times the rate of muscle mass loss, respectively, according to Virgin. These changes can significantly impact daily activities and overall quality of life.

    “The maintenance of muscle mass is dependent on the balance of two processes: the rate of protein synthesis and protein degradation. Under atrophy conditions, there is a shift in the balance of these two processes such that there is a net loss of muscle proteins,” Bodine wrote.

    A 2021 review in Nature Communications supports this by highlighting the numerous factors affecting muscle health. The authors note that changes in muscle mass can significantly impact metabolism, movement, and even breathing. Their research shows that muscle function adapts to environmental and nutritional cues, emphasizing the importance of balancing protein synthesis and degradation.

    The Role of Inflammation in Muscle Atrophy

    Inflammation is a key factor in muscle loss, particularly for individuals with chronic illnesses or persistent low-grade inflammation. Nunes notes that chronic diseases and high body fat can cause anabolic resistance, meaning muscles do not respond well to muscle-building signals from protein intake or exercise.

    In cases of severe injury, trauma, or systemic diseases, inflammation plays a critical role in helping the body heal. High levels of inflammatory mediators are released in response to these conditions, but this can also lead to increased muscle breakdown. This inflammatory response, while essential for healing and defense, can complicate muscle recovery by exacerbating muscle atrophy.

    “With major injury or trauma or systemic diseases, inflammation scales up and causes massive behavior and metabolic changes contributing to muscle loss,” Nunes wrote.

    “It has been difficult to find a sweet spot that is able to prevent unwanted effects but still having an effective healing/defense response,” Nunes wrote. This challenge is particularly evident when using anti-inflammatory drugs, which can inhibit both harmful and beneficial inflammatory processes.

    For those with chronic inflammation, strategies to combat muscle loss include a combination of drugs and lifestyle changes. These may involve anti-inflammatory medications, anabolic agents, and therapies aimed at maintaining appetite and muscle function. It’s important that people exercise regularly and eat well, but these can be difficult habits to maintain.

    Rebuilding Strength at Any Age

    Many believe that muscle atrophy is irreversible, particularly as people age, based on the misconception that older adults can’t build muscle.

    “This simply isn’t true,” Virgin said. “Muscle plasticity, the ability of muscles to regenerate and grow, persists throughout life. With the right training and nutrition, you can rebuild muscle at any age.”

    Recovery for older adults often requires more time and a more focused approach than it does for younger people. In young, healthy adults, muscle mass recovery following disuse atrophy is usually complete, but in older people, it is often delayed and sometimes incomplete.

    “As we age, our bodies naturally experience a decrease in muscle regenerative capacity and hormonal changes that can slow down the recovery process,” Virgin said.

    Older adults must pay closer attention to their diet, particularly protein, to support muscle repair and recovery. With age, our bodies experience anabolic resistance, which means that eating protein or amino acids doesn’t stimulate muscle building as much as when we were younger. Consequently, seniors may require more protein than younger people to achieve similar muscle repair and growth.

    “Staying active is the most important thing we all should do on a population level to prevent anabolic resistance and help with recovery,” Nunes wrote. He noted that physically active older adults do not exhibit signs of anabolic resistance.

    Rebuilding muscular strength begins with movement, but it is crucial to address the underlying causes of inactivity, whether that be a specific ailment, lack of time, or something else.

    “Treating the cause is the most important step, in parallel with physiotherapy or supervised exercises. These are the most effective strategies targeting the inactivity aspect,” Nunes wrote.

    Practical Exercises for Rebuilding Muscle After Inactivity

    After a prolonged period of inactivity or illness, rebuilding muscle should be approached gradually and safely.

    “Ideally, you want to get up and moving as quickly as possible,” Virgin said.

    Virgin advises starting with simple isometric exercises involving holding a contraction without movement, such as planks. These exercises are beneficial for those with limited mobility, as they help rebuild strength with minimal injury risk and require no equipment. This approach allows muscles to engage even if walking is not possible.

    As recovery progresses, incorporating resistance training becomes essential. Virgin recommends exercises that mimic daily activities, such as squats, bent-over rows, and dips. Starting with body weight or light resistance bands helps focus on proper technique before gradually increasing the resistance. Using a full range of motion and engaging the core are crucial for effective muscle rebuilding.

    For individuals unable to handle significant resistance due to injury, blood flow restriction training (BFRT) offers an effective alternative. This involves exercising while wearing bands or other devices that restrict blood flow. For example, while lifting a weight with the arm, a person may have a band tied around the arm similar to the tourniquet applied when giving a blood sample.

    According to a study in the Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, BFRT can “prove to be a boon in many conditions such as muscle weakness and degeneration.” It can be an essential treatment in preventing disuse atrophy during the initial days of bed rest in post-surgical patients.

    Maintaining consistent activity is key to recovery. Virgin suggests tracking daily steps and gradually increasing them. Adding a weighted vest, known as a rucking vest, can enhance strength and endurance.

    Once a basic fitness level is established, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can be introduced. HIIT involves short bursts of intense activity followed by rest periods or lower-intensity exercise. This method aids muscle building and growth hormone release, while improving cardiovascular health and boosting metabolism.

    “Recovery strategies should also include adequate rest and stress management, as elevated stress hormones like cortisol can further impair muscle recovery and overall health,” Virgin said.

    Nutrition’s Role in Muscle Recovery

    Nutrition plays a pivotal role in muscle recovery and overall health during and after injury or illness. A 2020 review in Nutrients emphasizes that periods of disuse combined with poor dietary intake can accelerate muscle loss and weaken strength, especially in older adults.

    “Protein is essential for muscle repair and growth,” Virgin said. Ensuring an optimal protein intake is critical, with a minimum of 100 grams per day, and ideally 1 gram or more per pound of ideal body weight.

    However, Nunes noted that merely increasing protein intake does not prevent muscle loss. “Muscles need to be put to work in order to decrease the level of loss during inactivity or disease,” he wrote.

    Virgin also recommends incorporating 15 grams of essential amino acids with one to two meals a day to provide the necessary nutrients for healing and preventing muscle breakdown. Additionally, extra collagen, either as a supplement or through bone broth or bone broth protein powder, can be beneficial at an intake of 15 grams to 30 grams daily.

    Virgin highlighted creatine’s benefits for enhancing performance and recovery, making it a valuable addition to any recovery regimen.

    The Mental Grit Behind Physical Recovery

    Nunes noted that the mental factor directly affects nutrition, sleep, and overall activity levels.

    “Mental resilience is absolutely crucial in physical recovery,” Virgin said. It greatly affects the speed and completeness of recovery from illness, injury, or prolonged inactivity.

    When physical strength is weakened, mental grit is essential for maintaining focus, discipline, and positivity, enabling adherence to recovery protocols and coping with the often slow and frustrating healing process.

    “It’s like armor for your psyche, protecting and propelling you forward even when the going gets tough,” Virgin said, underscoring the importance of a strong mindset.

    Cultivating mental resilience during recovery involves several key strategies, she said.

    • Embrace a positive outlook. It’s not just about thinking happy thoughts but strategically viewing challenges as opportunities for growth and learning.
    • Visualize. Picture yourself healed, strong, and thriving, which can help steer your subconscious toward those outcomes.
    • Practice resilience-building techniques. Gratitude journaling and mindfulness meditation are beneficial. These practices reduce stress and improve overall mental well-being.
    • Build Your Community. Being surrounded by people who uplift and encourage provides emotional comfort and practical help, motivating adherence to recovery goals.

    Setting Realistic Goals and Measuring Progress in Muscle Recovery

    Tracking progress is essential for those aiming to regain muscle strength after inactivity, according to Virgin. One effective starting point is a DEXA scan, which estimates skeletal muscle mass and assesses balance between limbs. This scan offers a detailed baseline, enabling precise progress monitoring.

    Alongside DEXA scans, regular fitness tests can assess improvements in strength, power, endurance, flexibility, and balance. At-home tests include hand dynamometer grip strength, push-ups, flexed arm hang or pull-ups, vertical jump, sit and reach for flexibility, and standing balance.

    For ongoing tracking, affordable bioimpedance scales can align with DEXA results, providing a convenient way to monitor changes at home. Virgin advises reassessing fitness tests every one to three months and repeating the DEXA scan every six months to track long-term progress.

    Tracking progress offers tangible evidence of improvements and boosts motivation. Fitness trackers, apps, or workout journals can help monitor routines by recording exercise types, weights, and repetitions. This documentation aids in adjusting goals and ensuring continued progress.

    “Always start out doing less than you think you can and progress carefully. Listen to your body,” Virgin said. If you experience joint pain or soreness, reduce your activity and consult an expert to check your form.

    “Be sure to celebrate milestones, no matter how small, as they

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 21:45

  • Taliban Flexes US Weapons In Military Parade, Left Behind By Biden-Harris' Botched Afghan Exit
    Taliban Flexes US Weapons In Military Parade, Left Behind By Biden-Harris’ Botched Afghan Exit

    The Biden-Harris administration’s poor planning and execution in Afghanistan resulted in the botched withdrawal that killed 13 US service members, left Americans stranded, and allowed billions of dollars in US military equipment to flow into the hands of the Taliban terror group.

    Since the Afghan government’s collapse in August 2021 under Biden-Harris, the war-torn nation (thank you, Bush/Cheney), landlocked in the Middle East, has once again become a safe haven for terrorism. The chaotic withdrawal allowed Taliban fighters to commandeer Black Hawk helicopters, A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft, armored Humvees, and 600,000 weapons, including grenade launchers, machine guns, and rifles.

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

    There has been zero accountability from President Biden or Vice President Kalama Harris over these colossal failures. Even to the extent that Biden made the stunning claim during the presidential debate in June that he was “the only president this century” and “this decade” that did not have any troops “dying anywhere in the world.”

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

    Meanwhile, Americans might get fired up after learning that Taliban fighters have showcased all of Biden-Harris’ gifts from the botched exit in a massive military parade, marking the third anniversary of the takeover of Afghanistan. 

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

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

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

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

    What were those gifts? 

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

    Here’s what X users are saying:

    • “If this doesn’t raise your BP and your temperature, then you don’t realize what the Biden/Harris Administration did: they have made the Taliban a 21st century kinetic warfare force,” one X user said. 

    • Another person said, “The Democrat’s presidential nominee made it possible for this Taliban parade to happen. Yes, those are our vehicles and weapons, left behind by Biden/Harris.” 

    Harris’ presidential campaign has been running far from her 3.5-year toxic track record as VP, with elderly Biden guiding rudderless foreign policy that has led the world to the brink of war. 

    The Biden-Harris duo has little to show for their time in office. Even White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre could not name one of Harris’ accomplishments. 

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

    All Harris needs to do – is continue to avoid all press conferences and hide under the cloak of far-left corporate media that has launched a massive info war to convince the American people the person who pushed terrible economic, domestic, and foreign policy is the best choice in November. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 21:20

  • Human Rights Lawyer: Olympic Boxer's "Cyberbullies" Lawsuit A Threat To Free Speech
    Human Rights Lawyer: Olympic Boxer’s “Cyberbullies” Lawsuit A Threat To Free Speech

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    A human rights lawyer has warned that a lawsuit brought by Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif against the likes of Elon Musk and JK Rowling could set a significant precedent against free speech.

    Khelif, who competed and won a gold medal in the women’s welterweight division, despite having XY chromosomes, is charging that prominent personalities and bodies engaged in “acts of aggravated cyber harassment.”

    Questions were raised by both the World Boxing Organisation and the International Boxing Association regarding Khelif’s eligibility to compete as a woman following two previous  ‘failed’ gender tests.

    Speaking to GB News, human rights lawyer David Haigh warned that the lawsuit could lead to “policing of social media” across borders.

    Haigh outlined “If they proceed with this, the Paris prosecutors have the reach jurisdiction to come to other countries. And if that is the case, that then is a very concerning development.”

    “You can have countries around the world basically policing social media in other countries. It could be a very, very significant case in free speech, the use of social media,” Haigh added.

    He continued, “are we now going to see France trying to extradite or issuing arrest warrants for JK Rowling? It’s a very slippery slope and it could become a very significant case.”

    The lawyer also noted that the case could also set a legal precedent in terms of gender ideology.

    “If it proceeds, and that’s a big if, it could have significant ramifications. Whether or not there has been harassment, you will have a debate on what is and isn’t a man or a woman in the court,” he noted.

    “If part of whether or not there has been harassment and abuse comes down to whether or not that boxer is a man or a woman, obviously evidence will need to be put forward on both sides of that,” Haigh further explained.

    *  *  *

    Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 20:55

  • FTC Says Google Antitrust Ruling Goes Beyond Epic Games, Hints Tech 'Monopolist' Should Be Broken Up
    FTC Says Google Antitrust Ruling Goes Beyond Epic Games, Hints Tech ‘Monopolist’ Should Be Broken Up

    The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an amicus brief in the Epic Games antitrust lawsuit against Google’s monopolistic behavior, suggesting that the court impose stringent actions against such practices.

    The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by developer Epic Games against Google. Epic claimed that Google violated antitrust regulations by monopolizing two markets: the market for distribution of mobile apps for Android users and the market for processing payments. In addition, Google benefits from gaining access to user data.

    “Google has thus installed itself as an unavoidable middleman for app developers who wish to reach Android users and vice versa,” Epic said.

    In December 2023, a district court jury in California ruled in favor of Epic, finding that the game developer proved that Google was in violation of antitrust laws. District Judge James Donato has yet to decide on what relief Epic should be provided.

    Naveen Athrappully reports for The Epoch Times that on Aug. 12, the FTC filed an amicus brief in the case, suggesting how the court could consider remedies.

    Ensuring antitrust laws are strictly enforced “is essential for protecting and preserving economic freedom and the free-enterprise system,” the agency pointed out.

    “When a company engages in business practices that are found to violate the antitrust laws, courts are empowered to remedy those violations by ordering all relief necessary to restore competition in the affected markets,” it stated.

    This includes “identifying and requiring actions that the defendant must affirmatively take toward that end.”

    If companies violating antitrust laws reap the advantages secured through such actions, it will end up incentivizing other firms to engage in similar behavior, the agency warned.

    As such, the district court should ensure that the violating firm does not continue securing the benefits obtained via breaching antitrust rules, it stated.

    Though it should be said that at no point does the FTC outright say that Google should be broken up, Duncan Riley reports via SiliconAngle.com, that any lay reader with a knowledge of U.S. antitrust law and English can reasonably come to that conclusion. And there’s more.

    “Looking forward in cases like Epic v. Google often requires the consideration of network effects, data feedback loops, and other key features of digital markets,” the FTC writes. “This could help ensure that potential competitors can overcome the advantages established digital platforms often gain, which include network effects and data incumbency.”

    But the real kicker comes towards the end. “Google’s monopolistic behavior has significantly harmed millions of users in the United States,” the FTC adds. “Allowing monopolists to reap the rewards of illegal monopolization while avoiding the costs of restoring the competition that they unlawfully eliminated would undermine deterrence.”

    There is a strong possibility that the FTC is hinting at a possible breakup of Google as a negotiating tactic; nonetheless, it should be taken seriously.

    Kent Walker, president of Google global affairs, said the decision “recognizes that Google offers the best search engine“ but concludes that Google ”shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available,” according to a statement emailed to The Epoch Times.

    “Given this, and that people are increasingly looking for information in more and more ways, we plan to appeal,” Walker stated.

    “As this process continues, we will remain focused on making products that people find helpful and easy to use.”

    Earlier this year, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called for stronger antitrust enforcement to break up big tech firms.

    “To restore competition in existing digital markets and to foster emerging markets like AI, Amazon’s e-commerce platform should be separated from its product lines. Google should be broken into its search business and its browsing services,” she said.

    “Each of the major cloud services—Google, Microsoft, and Amazon—should not be allowed to use their enormous size to dominate a whole new field, and that means blocking them from operating large language models. Each of these moves would create valuable competition.”

    According to Bloomberg, less severe options than a breakup of Google include forcing Google to share more data with competitors and measures to prevent it from gaining an unfair advantage in AI products.

    Should a breakup occur, first up would be forcing Google to divest both its Android operating system and its Chrome web browser.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 20:30

  • Vote Integrity's Nitty-Gritty: The Battle Lines Of '24's Epic Struggle
    Vote Integrity’s Nitty-Gritty: The Battle Lines Of ’24’s Epic Struggle

    Authored by Ben Weingarten via RealClearInvestigations,

    More than a dozen jurisdictions run by Democrats – including Washington D.C., and several adjacent Maryland municipalities – allow noncitizens to vote in some local elections. San Francisco not only permits noncitizens to vote but appointed one to serve on its Elections Commission.

    Such developments, against a backdrop of millions of illegal migrants streaming into the United States under the Biden-Harris administration, bring new urgency to debates over election integrity. Many Republicans fear that a widespread effort is afoot to give noncitizens the full benefits of citizenship, including the right to vote in all elections, on top of benefits already available to illegal aliens in some places, notably drivers licenses, food stamps, government health care, and work visas.

    Although Democrats note that noncitizens may not participate in federal elections and claim there is little evidence noncitizens are voting unlawfully, critics are unmollified.

    A RealClearInvestigations analysis of proposed and enacted state and federal laws, along with other reporting and research, suggests that the fight over noncitizen voting is only likely to intensify this year – both in the immediate wake of an expected closely-contested presidential election and in its aftermath.

    States across the country report that thousands of noncitizens have been discovered on voter rolls in the past decade, with unknown numbers already having voted: 

    • Pennsylvania found 11,000 registrants suspected of being noncitizens after becoming aware of a decades-old “glitch” in the state’s “motor voter” registration system in 2017. It removed 2,500 individuals from the rolls, and it could not verify the citizenship status of the other 8,700 registrants.
    • Virginia has removed over 11,000 registrants from its rolls between 2014-2023 – and more than 6,300 from January 2022 to July 2024 alone – upon learning that they had declared themselves noncitizens in other interactions with government, typically in transactions with the state’s department of motor vehicles. House Republicans cited a study showing that of nearly 1,500 noncitizens the Commonwealth removed from rolls from May 2023 to February 2024, 23% had cast ballots since February 2019.
    • New Jersey had some 616 self-reported noncitizens in 11 counties “engaged on some level with the statewide registration system,” 9% of whom cast ballots, according to a 2017 survey conducted by the Public Interest Legal Foundation.
    • Boston, Massachusetts, officials revealed this year that the city had removed 70 noncitizens from the rolls, some 22 of whom had voted, the removals coming in response to disclosure requests from the Public Interest Legal Foundation.
    • Ohio recently ordered the removal of 499 noncitizens from its voter rolls after removing some 137 other registrants back in May.
    • North Carolina identified more than 1,400 registrants on state voter rolls who did not appear to be naturalized, in an audit conducted prior to the 2014 midterm election. Eighty-nine flagged individuals appeared at the polls to vote, and 24 had their registration challenged; 11 challenges were sustained or justified.
    • Arizona classifies some 42,000 people on its rolls as “federal-only” registrants as of July 1, 2024 – after they had failed to provide the proof of citizenship necessary to vote in state and local races. The state’s bifurcated voter rolls are the result of a 2013 Supreme Court ruling in which a 7-2 majority led by the late Justice Antonin Scalia ruled that federal voter registration requirements – of which documentary proof of citizenship is not one – preempted the state’s standards. 

    Other evidence of noncitizen voting has been found in states from California to Illinois. 

    Republicans argue that such examples expose weaknesses in the voter registration and administration process – including that registrants need not provide proof of citizenship to get on the voter rolls. These and other loopholes in state-run systems make elections vulnerable to ineligible noncitizen voters today.

    Each side has its own research to support its claims. Democrats cite a study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, finding that local election officials overseeing the tabulation of 23.5 million ballots during the 2016 presidential election identified only 30 potential incidents of noncitizen voting.

    Republicans highlight a recent study estimating that 10% to 27% of noncitizens are illegally registered to vote, and 5% to 13% will illegally vote in 2024 – a potentially massive number given the illegal alien portion of the noncitizen population alone numbers well over 10 million. Election integrity advocates argue that states have not found many incidents of noncitizen voting for the simple reason that authorities, including the Department of Justice, do not look for it.

    “DOJ investigations of illegal voting are all but nonexistent,” Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, said in a recent floor debate concerning the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act, a bill Lee and House colleague Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced to combat noncitizen voting. After the House passed the measure in July, Democrats blocked the legislation in the upper chamber, where it remains stalled.

    “[T]oo many prosecutors refuse to enforce the law even when such illegal behavior is discovered by election officials or others,” Hans von Spakovsky, a former Department of Justice official who now works at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told Congress in May.

    Should election officials fail to prevent noncitizens from casting ballots on the front end, J. Christian Adams, a fellow former DOJ official and president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, told RCI, there is “almost nothing” the public or political parties can do on the back end to identify, challenge, and invalidate noncitizen votes prior to election certification.

    Adams’ group has documented myriad electoral races decided by one vote or tied over the last two decades – something he and others argue indicates just how critical it is to combat illegal voting, given the potential impact to tight races up and down ballots.

    States generally seem unfazed by the prospect of noncitizen voting. For this article, RealClearInvestigations contacted authorities in the seven states comprising RealClearPolitics’ top battlegrounds: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Two states, Michigan and Pennsylvania, did not respond to RCI’s inquiries. Election authorities in the five responsive states maintained that current law is a sufficient deterrent to noncitizen voting, emphasizing that casting a ballot as a foreigner would constitute a criminal offense with grave penalties.

    “Someone would have to knowingly and intentionally commit a class 6 Felony if they did vote as a noncitizen, and it would result in the revocation of their legal status in the USA, and they would likely face deportation,” a spokesman for Arizona’s Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said in a statement. The spokesman said he hoped his statement, which pointed to the state’s voter challenge process and noted other procedures pertaining to citizenship, would “compel” RealClearInvestigations to “clear up [RCI’s] notions and erroneous assumptions.”

    Georgia touted its 2022 citizenship audit in correspondence with RCI, the first such review of the voter rolls for citizenship in state history, in which it found that 1,634 people who attempted to register to vote were not verified by the SAVE program. All were in “pending citizenship” status within Georgia’s internal systems, and thus none had been allowed to vote. “Due to the effective processes Georgia has in place to verify U.S citizenship at the time of registration … we are confident noncitizens are not voting in Georgia, and if one ever does, they will be punished to the full extent of the law,” Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, told RCI.

    North Carolina election board public information director Patrick Gannon told RCI: “We have little evidence of noncitizens voting in elections, and get very few complaints alleging voting by noncitizens.”

    He pointed to a 2016 state audit report and the handful of cases alleging noncitizen voting that the bipartisan State Board of Elections has referred to prosecutors since 2017.

    Similarly, Wisconsin election commission public information officer Riley Vetterkind told RCI, “There is not evidence to support the idea that noncitizens are voting in Wisconsin in significant numbers.” The spokesperson for the state’s bipartisan commission cited the few instances of suspected election fraud, irregularities, or violations referred to district attorneys by municipal clerks that the state’s election commission “has been made aware of.”

    These messages of reassurance, however, at times come with notes of caution that underpin election integrity advocates’ concerns.

    States each have their own independent processes to maintain voter lists. Those processes vary widely in vigor, tempo, and transparency. They are often based on different degrees of access to sources of citizenship status with which to identify ineligible voters. “No state or federal law requires the WEC [Wisconsin Elections Commission] or clerks to verify a voter’s citizenship status beyond requiring the voter to certify that they are a U.S. citizen as a qualification for voter eligibility,” said Vetterkind.

    Pennsylvania has asserted that “The Commonwealth has no systematic program to identify and remove noncitizens from the voter rolls.” 

    The Public Interest Legal Foundation has litigated against the Keystone State and other jurisdictions just to get a peek into their registration list maintenance processes. As for how states identify potential noncitizens, Gannon said of North Carolina’s audit that “relying on state databases was wildly inaccurate for determining citizenship status.” 

    The state passed a law in 2023 requiring that the election board regularly reconcile its registration list with lists provided by state courts of those excused from jury duty due to lack of citizenship – an ad hoc approach commonly used by other states.

    Georgia emphasized its use of the Department of Homeland Security’s more robust SAVE tool, which provides “point in time immigration status” for those who have been issued a unique immigration identifier. (This Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements tool is distinct from the GOP-sponsored legislation with the same acronym.)

    Most state officials who responded to RCI’s query emphasized that there are laws on the books permitting third-party challenges to voter eligibility. But this is a measure requiring time, money, and effort. The two former Justice Department officials – Spakovsky and Adams – recently took issue with the view that state audits and scrubs of voter rolls ought to inspire confidence, writing in the Daily Signal:

    Because almost no state even attempts to verify that individuals registering to vote are U.S. citizens – and because the federal government, including both the courts and the executive branch, have put up significant barriers to such verification – we don’t really know how many aliens, whether here legally or illegally, are registering and voting.

    Rougher Weather Ahead

    Whatever the extent of noncitizen registration and voting today, Election Integrity Network leader Cleta Mitchell says conditions are building for a “perfect storm.” Two factors are about to produce it: “the invasion of our country by millions of illegals” and a series of largely Democratic Party-driven efforts to ease voter registration and participation.

    Mitchell and others, including the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, have suggested that significant numbers of noncitizens could wind up on the voting roles under Biden administration Executive Order 14019, which directs every federal agency to register and mobilize voters. 

    Officials in Alabama and Mississippi say that under the executive order, which RCI has previously examined, authorities are already attempting to register noncitizens to vote. The Biden administration initiative calls on federal agencies to coordinate with third-party groups in pursuit of its objectives as well. Adams, testifying alongside Spakovsky for the Republican majority before the House Administration Committee in May, said that “most often noncitizens are getting on the rolls through the motor voter registration process or third-party registration drives.” 

    Regarding motor-voter registration, the Only Citizens Vote Coalition warns that “many states are now automatically registering people to vote at the time of coming into contact with the DMV unless the person ‘opts out’ of registration.” 

    Advocates are also concerned that practices like same-day voter registration and allowing the use of student IDs to vote – IDs that can be issued to foreigners – could lead to noncitizens ending up on voter rolls and potentially voting. 

    These issues likely only exacerbate concerns election integrity advocates already have around practices like mail-in voting and ballot harvesting that have become widespread since the 2020 election. A more robust “level of citizenship tracking and verification would almost certainly require legislative change to accomplish,” Wisconsin’s Riley Vetterkind told RCI.

    Congressional Republicans have sought to do just that with the SAVE Act, which passed the House on July 10 in a largely party-line vote. Under the existing registration system, applicants attest to their citizenship simply by checking a box, under penalty of perjury. House Speaker Mike Johnson calls this nothing more than an “honor system” that leaves “people who have already proven they have no regard or respect for our laws” undeterred. 

    The SAVE Act would close this loophole by requiring that applicants provide proof of citizenship in person when registering to vote in federal elections. Adams has argued that under the less stringent status quo, noncitizens often end up on the voter rolls through no fault of their own – subjecting aliens who often can’t speak English to severe legal liability.

    Critics of the SAVE Act, echoing some states, believe those liabilities – including the threat of deportation, jail time, and other punishments – sufficiently curb noncitizen registration and voting.

    New York University Brennan Center for Justice President Michael Waldman emphasized in the May congressional hearing, as the Democrat minority’s witness opposite Adams and Spakovsky, that “under current law, noncitizen voting in federal elections is illegal four times over: it is both a state and federal crime to register to vote, and it is both a state and federal crime to vote in federal elections.” 

    The liberal think-tank did not respond to RCI’s inquiries in connection with this story. Democratic party leaders from President Biden on down also dismiss evidence of noncitizen voting, claiming it is virtually non-existent.

    “Even the conservative CATO Institute has said that ‘noncitizens don’t illegally vote in detectable numbers,’” California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla noted in a floor speech in response to Mike Lee, referencing a 2020 blog post from the libertarian think tank. 

    Democrats also claim the bill’s documentary proof of citizenship requirements disenfranchise potential voters. They point to past evidence indicating that similar state laws in places like Kansas ended up preventing eligible registrants from voting. They also highlight surveys showing millions of Americans lack commonly used documents to prove citizenship, like a passport or birth certificate – two of a number of forms one could present to satisfy the SAVE Act’s requirements.

    House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries branded the SAVE Act an “extreme MAGA Republican voter suppression bill.”

    DHS’s ‘Slow-Walking’

    Registration requirements and Voter ID laws, which vary by state, do not necessarily prevent ineligible individuals from voting since noncitizens – and, in some cases, illegal aliens – can obtain relevant forms of identification. As Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin highlighted in a recent executive order, only three states – his included – require even a full social security number to register to vote.

    Thus, the SAVE Act would also mandate that states bolster their registration list maintenance practices explicitly to identify and remove noncitizens from voter rolls – including through cross-referencing their lists with more comprehensive data sources.

    Only five states currently have access to one resource referenced in the bill, the Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE tool. A House Administration Committee report indicates that DHS is not granting the same level of access to all states and may be “slow-walking” requests to use it. 

    ‘Significant Inaccuracies’ in the Federal Database

    When asked about this allegation, a spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service told RCI, “There is an established process agencies must undergo and eligibility criteria agencies must meet to complete SAVE registration.”

    “USCIS is committed to working with agencies seeking access to SAVE and processing registration requests as efficiently as possible,” the spokesperson added while referring a reporter to several resources on its website.

    Still, these databases are not seen by all as a panacea. “Even using the federal SAVE database, which can only be used to determine current citizenship status for one person at a time, and only when that person has been involved in the federal immigration system, our agency found significant inaccuracies in the data we received,” North Carolina’s Patrick Gannon told RCI in an email. “There is no comprehensive, accurate, or up-to-date database of U.S. citizens that election administrators could use for verification purposes.”

    Democrats argue that the more robust voter registration list maintenance demanded by Republicans could leave eligible voters purged. Calling the SAVE Act “nothing other than a solution in search of a problem,” Sen. Padilla blocked the bill in the upper chamber.

    With a September spending fight looming in Congress, the House Freedom Caucus is seeking to force the issue by calling on leadership to attaching the SAVE Act to any stopgap spending solution – a plan Sen. Lee has also endorsed.

    Meanwhile, election integrity advocates like the Only Citizens Vote Coalition are calling for state-level model legislation to combat noncitizen voting. The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project has been working to identify vulnerabilities in extant voter registration systems and potential legal violations, publicize them, and press lawmakers to enforce relevant laws to combat noncitizen voting.

    The conservative public interest law organization America First Legal recently sent letters to all 50 states instructing them that under existing law, states can and should send requests to the DHS soliciting the citizenship status of registered voters.

    America First Legal has also sent demand letters to all 15 Arizona County Recorders compelling them to verify the citizenship of all “federal-only” voters, including through making citizenship requests of DHS – or face legal action.

    On Aug. 5, America First Legal filed suit against the Maricopa County Recorder for his alleged failure to act in response to the group’s demand letter. Three days later, the Republican National Committee filed an emergency application at the Supreme Court in a bid to compel Arizona to enforce its proof of citizenship requirements for the 2024 presidential election.

    Warning: Extended Lawfare Ahead

    These forces on the right are likely to find themselves locked in battle with the left for years to come. 

    House Democrats, today in the slim minority, have voted to continue apportioning congressional seats based on total population rather than total citizens in a given jurisdiction; to protect noncitizen voting rights in Washington, D.C.; and, in legislation aimed at providing certain aliens with a path to permanent resident status, to permit authorities to waive unlawful voting as grounds for deeming noncitizens inadmissible. Liberal witnesses were unable or unwilling to affirm that only citizens should be permitted to vote in federal elections during a March Senate Judiciary Committee hearing concerning elections.

    As a presidential candidate in 2020, Vice President Kamala Harris signaled her support for providing government healthcare to illegal aliens. Her presumed running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, signed legislation providing benefits for illegal aliens, including state-funded healthcare, driver’s licenses, and free college tuition.

    Those on the left see voting rights, like the expansion of other benefits to noncitizens, as a matter of fairness.

    “Immigrants pay taxes, they use city services, their kids go to our public schools. They are part of our community. And they deserve a say in local government,” New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in defending a bill that has been ruled unconstitutional that would have allowed an estimated 800,000 noncitizens to vote in local elections.

    The Trump-Vance campaign, by contrast, has called for mass deportation of the illegal alien population to which Democrats increasingly wish to extend rights and benefits, among other immigration measures the Republicans say aim to protect and support Americans. In contrast to the growing coterie of blue-state jurisdictions embracing noncitizen voting, red states are increasingly passing amendments prohibiting local governments from allowing noncitizens to vote, with Louisiana and Ohio most approving such constitutional changes in 2022. Eight more states have citizenship-related ballot measures in the 2024 election.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 20:05

  • Don't Let Washington Do To Airlines What It Did To Amtrak
    Don’t Let Washington Do To Airlines What It Did To Amtrak

    Submitted by Merrill Matthews, a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. Follow him on X @MerrillMatthews.

    A record number of travelers are taking to the skies this year. In an era of expensive groceries, gas, food and rent, the last thing anyone wants is a massive increase in airfares.

    But that’s precisely what travelers could experience if lawmakers push through new restrictions on prices, routes and even seat sizes.

    More airline regulation might sound appealing. But red tape always comes with a cost, often in higher prices but also in reduced access and convenience.

    Air travel used to be heavily regulated. Until the late 1970s, government officials set fares, routes and schedules for all interstate air travel. Prices were sky high, the industry operated inefficiently and relatively few people flew.

    Lawmakers decided they had to do something. Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978. The law allowed airlines to determine their own routes and prices.

    The change unleashed competition and allowed low-cost operators to enter the market. Choices skyrocketed and prices fell. On an inflation-adjusted basis, the cost of flying is half of what it was before Congress deregulated the industry.

    Deregulation led to more options. The number of cities connected via nonstop service, and the number of carriers providing that service, increased markedly.

    More affordable tickets and an explosion of routes made flying accessible to millions of Americans. In 1977, a quarter of Americans reported flying in the past year. Today, it’s close to half. Nearly 90 percent of Americans have flown in their lifetime.

    Considering these outcomes, why do policymakers seem intent on bringing back onerous airline regulations? Especially considering the government has a less-than-stellar public-transportation “track record” — that is, Amtrak.

    Amtrak is a government-subsidized public train system that receives billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies. Government created the system because passenger trains were losing money. The Washington Times notes, “Even with all that money, there are still widespread complaints about the train service. Signal problems, mechanical snafus and computer breakdowns are seen across the country.”

    In Congress, members have proposed legislation that would pave the way for more federal control of airline baggage policies, fees, and seat sizes. A recent Department of Transportation rule imposes complex restrictions on airline refund policies that even the seasoned traveler may be hard-pressed to understand.

    Together, the changes amount to an oversized regulatory regime that would be expensive and time consuming to comply with. Some airlines could be forced to raise prices or cut unprofitable routes altogether.

    Proposals to re-regulate the airlines have nothing to do with passenger safety. It’s been 15 years since the last fatal U.S. commercial airline crash.

    To be sure, there’s room to improve America’s air travel system. Shortages among air traffic controllers contribute to frustrating flight delays and cancellations. Outdated facilities and infrastructure pose challenges in many parts of the country. But remember, these broken parts of the system are largely under government control already.

    Subjecting airlines to burdensome regulations wouldn’t make air travel better. It’d lead to higher costs, fewer routes, and less-satisfied travelers. Don’t let Washington do to the airline industry what it did to train travel.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 19:40

  • China Port Explosion Snarls Trans-Pacific Container Trade
    China Port Explosion Snarls Trans-Pacific Container Trade

    The closure of Ningbo Beilun’s Phase III Terminal is expected to have cascading effects on the main trans-Pacific trade lanes out of Asia, and the supply chain at large, in the midst of the peak shipping season.

    As Stuart Chris reports for FreightWaves, container traffic has been halted at Ningbo following a shipboard explosion involving hazardous materials at one of the world’s busiest intermodal hubs.

    The explosion aboard the Yang Ming vessel YM Mobility on Friday reportedly involved organic peroxide materials.

    There were no injuries in the blast, but the terminal has been closed until further notice.

    Ningbo is the world’s third-busiest container port, with volume of 33.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2023.

    The shutdown couldn’t come at a worse time as record peak volumes for  North American imports are forecast for August, after an “early peak” in June as shippers rushed to get holiday merchandise ahead of expected supply chain disruptions in the fall.

    “With this closure, Ningbo Port is no longer operational, compounding existing supply chain disruptions exacerbated by Typhoon Gaemi in July,” said Christian Roeloffs, co-founder and chief executive of Container xChange, an online container marketplace based in Hamburg, Germany, in a customer advisory.

    “For container trading companies and those involved in container leasing, this incident presents some straightforward challenges worth accounting for. The disruption at the Ningbo Port, combined with pre-existing congestion at major Asian ports, will lead to a deterioration of ocean schedules and further delays in container availability,” Roeloffs said.

    “Companies must brace for increased dwell times, potential re-routing of shipments, and a tightening of available container supplies, especially for hazardous and dangerous goods.”

    The exchange advised shippers to evaluate alternative routes through other ports but to expect increased congestion at neighboring hubs.

    Shippers should also plan for extended delays amid longer dwell times at major ports, and adjust inventory levels and delivery schedules accordingly.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 19:15

  • "Would It Kill You Guys?" CNN Gets Confrontational With Harris SPOX For Avoiding Interviews, Press Conferences
    “Would It Kill You Guys?” CNN Gets Confrontational With Harris SPOX For Avoiding Interviews, Press Conferences

    The Harris campaign’s ‘hide Kamala’ strategy may be working from a polling perspective – but it’s gone on so long that even CNN is getting annoyed.

    “Would it kill you guys to have a press conference?” asked the network’s Jim Acosta (of ‘shouting at Trump’ fame) during an interview with Harris communications director Michael Tyler.

    “I’m sure this is not going to be the first time you’ve heard this question, but the Trump campaign is also going after the vice president for not doing enough interviews, for not holding a press conference. Would it kill you guys to have a press conference? Why hasn’t she had a press conference?“

    To which Tyler laughed sheepishly and pivoted to robotic talking points about Harris and running mate Tim Walz being “busy” traveling around the country to multiple (teleprompter) campaign rallies.

    “Michael, you know a campaign really isn’t really a press conference,” Acosta pushed back. “Why hasn’t she had a press conference? She’s the vice president, she can handle the questions, why not do it?”

    Tyler said Harris will sit down for a one-on-one interview before the end of the month, which Acosta said was “not a lot,” adding “can you commit to a press conference by the end of the month?”

    Tyler once again deflected – saying “We will commit to directly engage with the voters who are actually going to decide this election, and that is going to be complete with rallies, with sit-down interviews, with press conferences, with all the digital assets that we have at our disposal.”

    Watch:

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

    CNN‘s John Berman also pressed a Harris campaign spox over the VP’s lack of media presence.

    “The reason I was asking you about today is because it seems like she has time if she wanted to do an interview with a member of the media or do a news conference, correct? There does appear to be that time, if she wanted,” said Berman – to which Harris campaign spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod repeated Tyler’s talking point that Harris and Walz are bringing their message directly to voters.

    “She hit a number of battleground states. I think we had 15,000 people in Detroit last week, 12 to 13,000 in Nevada. She’s been taking her message to the voters and drawing large crowds. So she’s actually having those direct conversations,” said Elrod – before Berman cut her off.

    “But not today — all I’m saying is not today. She could do an interview today, I would think, you know, because she’s not out there today,” said the CNN host.

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

    Meanwhile, Trump did a lengthy press conference at Mar-a-Lago last week and had a 2 hour conversation with Elon Musk – something Harris clearly couldn’t pull off because her biggest liability, like Biden, is her brain.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 18:50

  • 45% Of Bitcoin Supply Has Not Moved In 6 Months
    45% Of Bitcoin Supply Has Not Moved In 6 Months

    By William Suberg of CoinTelegraph

    Nearly half the available Bitcoin supply has not moved in the past six months, onchain data confirms. In the latest edition of its weekly newsletter, “The Week Onchain,” analytics firm Glassnode shows investors did not “sell the top” on BTC.

    Bitcoin hodlers double down on reaccumulation

    Bitcoin may have put in a new all-time high some five months ago, but a large section of the BTC investor base continues to double down on its holdings.

    Analyzing the realized cap HODL waves indicator, Glassnode reveals that just over 45% of all bitcoins have remained dormant in their wallets for at least the past half a year.

    Despite the record highs and subsequent volatility, a considerable swath of market participants prefer to do nothing.

    Bitcoin realized cap HODL waves chart (screenshot). Source: Glassnode

    Long-term holders (LTHs) — entities hodling coins for at least 155 days — distributed to the market both leading up to the all-time high and later on.

    “We can also assess the 7-day change in LTH supply as a tool to assess rates of change in their aggregate balance. We can see substantial LTH distribution, typical of macro topping formations, into the March ATH,” Glassnode explains.

    “Fewer than 1.7% of trading days have ever recording a larger distribution pressure. More recently, this metric has returned to positive territory, indicating that the LTH cohort are expressing a preference for holding onto their coins.”

    Bitcoin long-term/short-term holder supply ratio chart (screenshot). Source: Glassnode

    That theme speaks to what “The Week Onchain” describes as “a notable slow-down in the distribution pressure by LTHs.”

    “This has led to the percentage of network wealth held by this cohort to firstly stabilize, and then recommence growing,” it continues.

    “Despite the substantial sell-side pressure by LTHs into the market ATH, wealth held by longer-term investors remains historically elevated when compared to previous all time high breakouts.”

    BTC sell-off angst pervades market mood

    As Cointelegraph continues to report, sell-side pressure is never far from traders’ minds this month.

    After the mass sell-off at the start of August, concerns of a retest of six-month lows have combined with analysis showing “older” coins moving onchain.

    Recent fluctuations in the Crypto Fear & Greed Index underscore the uncertainty currently running through crypto as a whole.

    Countering this is optimism over global liquidity, with some perspectives seeing crypto benefiting from a move toward financial policy easing.

    “Global money supply is exploding up. Plus we just broke out of a massive 4 year consolidation,” Charles Charles Edwards, the founder of quantitative Bitcoin and digital asset fund Capriole Investments, wrote on X this week.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 18:25

  • WHO Declares Monkeypox "Global Health Emergency" – Again
    WHO Declares Monkeypox “Global Health Emergency” – Again

    Just when we thought we had the monkeypox menace whipped, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared an African outbreak of mpox (renamed so as not to offend monkeys, apparently), a new public health emergency.

    The UN agency’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced the declaration in Geneva after accepting a recommendation from WHO’s emergency committee.

    As the Epoch Times notes further, Tedros said there have already been more than 14,000 reported cases and 524 reported deaths in Africa this year, a jump from last year. He also pointed to the emergence of a new mpox strain, or clade, which he described as worrying.

    “In addition to other outbreaks of other clades of mpox in other parts of Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” Tedros said at a briefing.

    Mpox is a virus that occurs in animals and humans. Mpox can spread between people and causes an illness that typically manifests with a rash and resolves in a few weeks. But some cases can lead to death.

    Mpox has predominately affected men who have sex with other men.

    A public health emergency of international concern, or global health emergency, is the highest level of alarm the WHO can convey.

    It’s declared for extraordinary events deemed to constitute a public health risk to countries through the international spread of disease.

    COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency of international concern in 2020.

    That declaration ended in 2023 after the number of cases dropped considerably.

    And as Off-Guardian opines, this is the second time in two years the WHO has declared monkeypox a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” (PHEIC). It was originally labelled such in the summer of 2022…before quietly having that status rescinded in 2023.

    In truth, it was a narrative that flapped its little wings as hard as it could but never got off the ground.

    They tried to label it as “the same level as leprosy and the plague”, they did the trick with the PCR tests, and they changed websites to make it seem scarier.

    They followed the Covid playbook step-by-step…none of it worked.

    In the end it just sort of fizzled away.

    But now it’s back. This time with a new name.

    There’s some talk of clades and variants and whatnot, but we’re all too familiar with this dance now to let a costume change distract from the same old routine.

    We know what’s going on.

    The only questions worth asking are “why now?” and “what next?”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 18:00

  • Let The American People Have Autonomy Over Their Automobiles
    Let The American People Have Autonomy Over Their Automobiles

    Authored by Ashley Klingensmith via RealClearPennsylvania,

    President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed complete disregard for our freedom of choice earlier this year, by forcing the automotive industry to transition to electric vehicles (EVs) rather than allowing Americans to choose the cars they want to buy and drive. Our government shouldn’t be dictating who wins or loses, but rather should allow Americans to make the choice for themselves.   

    The EPA finalized a rule that functions as a de facto gas car ban on light and medium duty vehicles, requiring 56% of vehicle sales in the U.S. to be electric by 2032. If people feel moved to buy EVs and do their part in quelling climate change, that’s up to them. But forcing a rushed mandate goes too far.   

    The remnants of a once bustling automotive manufacturing hub can be found along Pittsburgh’s Baum Boulevard, where people could buy themselves a brand-new Ford or Chrysler. A mandate of this severity would be the nail in the coffin for gas powered vehicles. With something so personal to each individual or family – and so vital to the economy – the government should be embracing freedom and not issuing a rule that takes away our autonomy.  

    At Americans for Prosperity, we advocate for sustainable legislation that increases economic prosperity for all. The “tailpipe rule” issued by the EPA is the antithesis to the mission we’ve worked to uphold. By phasing out affordable, more reliable options like gas powered vehicles, Pennsylvanians will have to make calculated decisions about where they spend their money in order to adapt to this market shift. By denying Americans choice, the federal government is ignoring the same people they committed to serve.   

    Despite the EPA’s efforts, Americans aren’t running to car lots to purchase expensive EVs. In fact, Tesla continues to lay off thousands of employees after experiencing a less than thrilling start to 2024. In short, people aren’t buying EVs like some industry leaders had hoped.   

    EV sales in Q1 2024 fell 15.2% in comparison to Q4 2023, demonstrating a shift in Americans’ purchasing power. The government shouldn’t force the American people to purchase vehicles they don’t want – or likely can’t afford – just to sustain Biden’s climate agenda. During a time where Americans are forced to be more money conscious due to inflation, it’s confusing why the government is issuing mandates that will only further inflict financial strain on the American people.   

    Even when people do choose to purchase an EV for themselves and/or their family, national EV infrastructure lags far behind, creating challenges for EV drivers. The government is investing millions to build more comprehensive charging infrastructure, but the roll out is happening at a snail-like speed. In Pennsylvania, a majority of new charging stations are built and concentrated in major cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, leaving much of the state without reliable access to public charging stations. The pace at which critical charging stations is an ill omen, at least for Biden’s EPA; EV’s are too expensive, and the technology is not yet ready for universal adoption – let alone a government mandate. 

    In Pennsylvania, as of July 2023, just over 47K residents own registered EVs. This is out of a whopping 11,800,712 registered vehicles. Just as I expressed in 2021, when discussing Biden’s massive spending package that included electric vehicle rebates for households making up to $500K a year: who does this benefit? It’s whoever you see driving a Tesla on your block.  

    Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman has echoed similar sentiments. This past March, Fetterman called for further conversation surrounding Biden’s EPA tailpipe mandate. Fetterman stated, “we need to respond to what seems to be the American consumer sentiment, what seems to be a diminished kind of enthusiasm, for EVs.”   

    Pennsylvania has a rich history of manufacturing, specifically in the automotive industry. It’s ingrained in our culture in ways many other states can’t understand. Through this blatant display of government overreach the EPA is choosing which sectors to uplift and which ones to take out at the knees.    

    To disregard the voice of the people and our nation’s functioning free market system by implementing a rushed, ill-advised plan is not the American way. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 17:40

  • Russia Ready To Execute Nuclear Attacks On NATO Targets, According To Leaked Documents
    Russia Ready To Execute Nuclear Attacks On NATO Targets, According To Leaked Documents

    Via ReMix News,

    Western sources have reportedly leaked Russian plans drawn up between 2008 and 2014 for “a series of overwhelming strikes across Western Europe,” the Financial Times reported.

    Citing documents from Western security sources, Putin allegedly sought to enable the Russian navy to execute nuclear strikes within NATO territory were a conflict with the alliance to emerge.

    Targets would not be solely military. According to William Alberque, a former NATO official:

    “There could be hundreds, if not thousands, of targets mapped across Europe, including military and infrastructure targets.”

    Russia is also evidently still capable of transporting nuclear weapons on surface ships, which experts say carries a significant risk of escalation or accident. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), signed by the U.S. and Russia in 1991, was supposed to have eliminated this possibility, although many have often questioned Moscow’s adherence to it.

    Possible targets presented by the FT included the west coast of France, military installations in Norway, Germany, and Estonia, as well as the British port town of Barrow-in-Furness, known for its production of nuclear submarines.

    “They see (tactical nuclear warheads) as potentially war-winning weapons,” says Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey and an arms control expert.

    “They’re going to want to use them, and they’re going to want to use them pretty quickly.”

    Anton Bendarzsevszkij, director of the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation, has said that “there is a global arms race that resembles the Cold War of the 1950s and 60s,” according to Mandiner.

    Russia is said to have north of 5,500 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, while the United States has just over 5,000, meaning the two countries control some 90 percent of such weapons today.

    Continue reading at ReMix news.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 17:00

  • Pentagon Belatedly Reveals 8 US Troops Were Wounded In Syria Attack Last Week
    Pentagon Belatedly Reveals 8 US Troops Were Wounded In Syria Attack Last Week

    Since last fall US forces have recorded over 100 rocket and drone attacks on their positions in Iraq and Syria by Iran-aligned militias or Syrian national militias, depending on the side of the border. While most of the time these incidents pass without casualties, some observers have long suspected the Pentagon attempts to keep the number of wounded or injured US personnel from these attacks under wraps.

    The Pentagon belatedly revealed Tuesday that a total of eight US troops were wounded in a drone attack that struck a US base in northeast Syria last Friday. Spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that all eight were treated for traumatic brain injuries – the common term for potential head injuries when a person is too near a blast – as well as smoke inhalation.

    Via Associated Press

    “Three of those service members have returned to duty while the others remain under observation,” told a press breifing. “According to CENTCOM (US Central Command), none of the injuries are life-threatening.”

    It happened at Rumalyn Landing Zone, which is in Hasaka in northeast Syria – for years subject of the US military occupation. While over the weekend the Pentagon acknowledged the attack, saying their were minor injuries, it had withheld details as well as to the number of troops injured.

    These attacks have been on the rise of late, as ABC News details:

    Since Oct. 18, there have been close to 170 attacks taking place on a nearly daily basis as Iranian-backed militia groups target U.S bases in Iraq and Syria, supposedly in retaliation for the Israel-Hamas war.

    Those attacks largely stopped after Feb. 4 following large-scale U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria and a drone strike that killed a top-level leader of the Kataib Hezbollah militia group that the U.S. held responsible for the attacks.

    Since the July 31st Israeli killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the region has been on edge in expectation of a major Iranian retaliation on Israel. This has put American troops occupying easter Syria in harm’s way, leading many to question what the Pentagon is still doing there.

    The Pentagon and mainstream media have meanwhile dusted off the ole ‘counter ISIS’ mission rationale…

    “In a little-publicized campaign, American aircraft conduct airstrikes and provide live aerial surveillance to SDF ground forces who conduct raids on suspected Islamic State cells,” WSJ wrote this week. “While they usually stay a safe distance from the fighting, elite U.S. troops sometimes conduct missions on their own to kill or capture senior Islamic State leaders.”

    This is a recipe for seeking to keep US troops there as part of yet another post-911 era ‘forever war’ which has no specific and definable aims.

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

    WSJ wrote further that “Islamic State’s latest comeback effort represents a different challenge than the one it posed in its heyday, when hundreds of militants would charge through isolated villages and crowded cities in tanks and pickup trucks mounted with machine guns. Now the group operates in smaller cells armed with rifles and booby traps.”

    Of course, no one ever asks anymore how the Islamic State got to Syria in the first place, in the context of the Western allies and Gulf axis drive to overthrow Assad.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 16:40

  • The Shiny New Kamala Harris That Propaganda Built
    The Shiny New Kamala Harris That Propaganda Built

    Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper blog,

    Remember just over a month ago when Kamala Harris was the lowest-polling vice president in history?

    Remember how she utterly failed as “border czar?”

    Remember how many terrible gaffes she made, speaking in word salads and nodding her encouragement to pretend we all understood what the heck she was talking about?

    Don’t worry. Now we have a shiny NEW Kamala Harris who’s prepared to be the leader of the free world.

    Going back even further, who remembers her alleged inappropriate relationship with her boss that helped her to rapidly (allegedly) climb the political ladder in California? And what about her keeping black men incarcerated in California past their release dates just so they could be used as slave labor? What about her throwing the book at 2,000 people for possessing marijuana while currently laughing/cackling about how “nobody should go to jail for smoking some weed?”

    But that was the OLD Kamala Harris.

    You’re encouraged to forget all that. Not just encouraged, but you’re gaslit and brainwashed into forgetting it. The Shiny New Kamala Harris (SNKH) is a whole different human being.

    SNKH is teleprompted and scripted. She doesn’t say anything that wasn’t already approved for her to say because the propaganda machine knows about those confusing word salads she rambles. In fact, SNKH hasn’t done a single interview since she was shoved into place for a floundering Joe Biden.

    SNKH has had her entire background “disappeared” into some internet black hole. You know and I know that she was the “border czar” but all the “fact checkers” are acting like this never happened. Everything that is happening at the border and with illegal migrants now will continue to happen and even worsen if she is elected. She has a proven track record of doing… absolutely nothing about this issue. But I challenge you to find any mention of her shortcomings on the MSM.

    SNKH is lauded as “Mommala” to the Gen Z-ers. But in fact, she has no children and she’s certainly not maternal when it comes to things like protecting kids from violent criminal migrant gangs. And if her step-daughter, Ella Emhoff, a radical pro-Palestinian “model,” reflects SNKH’s values, I want none of that. In fact, Ella’s dad is Jewish, and Ella has “pointedly insisted she does not consider herself Jewish,” according to an article from the NY Post.

    Emhoff has also raised cash for “urgent relief for Gaza’s children” — which critics said would find its way into terrorist hands. The presumptive first stepdaughter remains “an active presence in pro-Palestinian circles,” according to the New Republic.

    And that isn’t all – the candidate who everyone thought would be her Vice Presidential pick, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, was looked over for Tim Walz, a dude who turned Minnesota into a “sanctuary state” for illegals and LBGTQ kids whose parents won’t allow them to undergo “gender-affirming care.” Oh, and also, he’s lied about his military service. Repeatedly. We’re talking stolen valor level lies.

    But the MSM is beating a totally different drum.

    In the span of the three weeks since President Joe Biden dropped out of the election on Twitter and someone tried to assassinate former President Trump, SNKH has undergone a total transformation, courtesy of the Mainstream Media Propaganda Machine. The media appears to be colluding with the Democrats or Harris’s campaign or someone to make her a totally different and socially acceptable choice for president.

    Not only have they memory-holed all mentions of “border czar-ing,” but they’ve also gotten rid of many of her former faux pas.  They have created a new Kamala Harris to present to the world in the span of just 23 days. They have created a total illusion of SNKH’s greatness and somehow completely turned the polls around.

    Or have they?

    I remember when we all thought Hillary Clinton was going to win back in 2016 and were shocked when Trump was announced as the 45th president. The polls then showed a strong lead for HRC, but in the end, even allegedly cheating, she lost.

    Are the polls now any different? Are all these positive polls for real that show this ultra-confused woman trouncing President Trump? The same President Trump who got shot and got up pumping his fist in the air telling us to “fight!?” The same President Trump who was soundly defeating President Biden? Has it turned around that quickly or are they just telling us that it has?

    I honestly think it’s the second. I have great difficulty imagining who could believe this ridiculous scheme to paint SNKH as a totally different person. Of course, I also can’t understand why people thought Joe Biden was A-OK and non-demented until his fateful debate with Trump. So perhaps I’m wrong.

    The Harris Campaign is feeding the Shiny New Kamala Harris creation, too

    Of course, the Harris Campaign is right up there, priming the pump for all the wonderful things SNKH has accomplished and will soon accomplish. But they don’t seem to believe the MSM is doing enough.

    According to Axios, they are making up headlines and attributing them to MSM networks in their ad campaigns.

    Image Courtesy of Axios

    No, those aren’t real. Those are ads that will pop up when you search Google for something related to the topic of SNKH and her wannabe VP, Tim Walz. Those misleading ads are fake headlines, wild dreams, and crazy wishes that are made to look absolutely real to those who are searching for information.

    Here’s more from the Axios article about this:

    … Since August 3rd, nearly a dozen news companies have been used in these types of search ads from the Harris campaign, Axios found.

    • Examples include The Independent UK, NPR, AP, The Guardian, USA Today, PBS, CNN, CBS News, Time and others, including local outlets like North Dakota radio station WDAY Radio.
    • The ads include links to real articles from the news outlets, but the headlines and supporting text have been altered to read as though the articles support the Harris campaign’s objectives.
    • For example, an ad that ran alongside an article from The Guardian shows a headline that reads “VP Harris Fights Abortion Bans – Harris Defends Repro Freedom” and then includes supporting text underneath the headline that reads, “VP Harris is a champion for reproductive freedom and will stop Trump’s abortion bans.”

     

    • An ad featuring a link to an NPR story reads, “Harris Will Lower Health Costs,” with supporting text that says, “Kamala Harris will lower the cost of high-quality affordable health care.”

    It’s not illegal but it’s kinda crazy how all those “disinformation” websites aren’t all over this. They red-flagged me for posting links to studies with opposing results.

    What it all adds up to

    In my humble opinion, here’s what we could expect from a Harris presidency:

    • More crime and devolution from our leaky southern border

    • More difficulty for the average REAL American to get social assistance because we’re spending billions on illegal immigrants

    • Unsafe cities because of liberal ideas of “criminal justice”

    • Even more inflation than we’re already facing at the grocery store

    • A full-on stock market collapse as the world loses faith in America and our dollar

    • More surveillance and control

    • A war in the Middle East that will spill over into the rest of the world

    • A globe that has no respect for Americans

    • More DEI-related incompetence

    • More Marxist B(aloney) S(andwiches) shoved down our throats at every opportunity

    • A quick trip to communism when people can no longer survive in the inhospitable economic climate of the future

    Remember, you know what you know about her. Don’t let this tomfoolery and gaslighting make you forget how inept this person is and how unsuited she is for the highest office in the United States of America.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 16:20

  • Bullion, Bitcoin, & Black Gold Battered But Sanguine CPI Slams Leaves Stocks & Bonds Confused
    Bullion, Bitcoin, & Black Gold Battered But Sanguine CPI Slams Leaves Stocks & Bonds Confused

    Inflation ‘surprise’ data continues to drift back lower (at February lows after this morning’s CPI) but more problematically macro growth ‘surprise’ data is hovering near COVID lockdown lows…

    Source: Bloomberg

    …and it is that potential growth scare that is dominating traders’ minds as they reduce rate-cut expectations…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Markets are confused…

    … Small Caps up, Dow down; Short-end of yield curve higher in yield, long-end lower; dollar flat as rate expectations slide; growthy Mag7 stocks rally while growthy commodities tumble…

    Source: Bloomberg

    …and gold and crypto slammed with dollar unch (though gold seemed to see this coming way early)…

    Source: Bloomberg

    …and distracted…

    …as Kamala’s prediction market odds are now 12 pts above Trump’s…

    Source: Bloomberg

    By the end of the day, The Dow was up, Small Caps down, Nasdaq unch… until a late-day panic-bid put some lipstick on the pig ahead of tomorrow’s retail sales data…

    VIX was clubbed like a baby seal back to a 16 handle…

    Treasuries were mixed with the short-end lagging (2Y +3bps, 30Y -4bps), but all yields are down on the week…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Today’s price action was a little wild in bond land with the CPI print sending 2Y up to 4.00% where it was firmly rejected…

    Source: Bloomberg

    The dollar was dumped overnight and through CPI, only to retrace those losses to end unchanged on the day…

    Source: Bloomberg

    While the dollar was unchanged, gold prices tumbled, erasing much of Monday’s gains…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Oil prices followed a similar trajectory, with WTI dropping to a $76 handle intrday (after an unexpected crude build)…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Bitcoin was battered back down to $59k after CPI and reports that Kamala’s administration is dumping more Silk Road seizures…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Finally, market-driven financial conditions have eased dramatically in the last few months…

    Source: Goldman Sachs

    …clearly the market is demanding 200bps of cuts this year…or else, Kamala loses!.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 08/14/2024 – 16:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest