Jul 15

Today’s News 15th July 2024

  • China's GDP Growth Unexpectedly Tumbles As New Home Prices Plunge Most In 9 Years
    China’s GDP Growth Unexpectedly Tumbles As New Home Prices Plunge Most In 9 Years

    China’s economic growth collapsed to just 4.7% YoY in the second quarter, missing all but one economist’s forecast, as the world’s second largest economy is slowly but surely grinding to a halt (absent a bazooka stimulus).

    GDP, which rose 5.3% in the first quarter, had been expected to rise 5.1% based on economists polled by Bloomberg; instead growth slumped to just 4.7%, the lowest growth since March 2023.

    In sequential terms, GDP fell to 0.7% QoQ in Q2 from 1.5% in Q1. Industrial production growth remained solid at +5.3% yoy in June, despite a moderation from +5.6% yoy in May, thanks to strong export growth.

    China has grappled with weak consumer demand and a prolonged property slowdown, prompting greater intervention from policymakers in recent months, but in the absence of a bazooka stimulus – both fiscal and monetary – it is unlikely that anything will change and growth will continue to cool quarter after quarter, until there is a brutal recession and/or civil unrest.

    Elsewhere, industrial production rose 5.3% in June, slightly above expectations of 5.0% but below the 5.6% increase in Q1, while retail sales rose just 2.0% missing expectations of 3.4% by a wide margin and in line with sluggish tourism revenue growth during the Dragon Boat Festival and the soft 618 Online Shopping Festival. Fixed Investment rose 3.9%, right on top of reduced expectations, and reflecting the tug-of-war between policy support, adverse weather conditions and still-depressed property investment.

    Separately, new home prices in China fell 4.9% year on year last month, the fastest pace of decline in nine years, according to Bloomberg calculations, while new construction starts and property investment were down 23.7% and 10.1%, respectively, in the first half of the year.

    According to Goldman, taking Q2 GDP and June activity data together, “domestic demand remained sluggish despite strong exports, and more policy easing is necessary through the remainder of this year, especially on the fiscal and housing fronts.”

    The data release came as the Chinese Communist party’s Central Committee on Monday launched its third plenum, a four-day meeting in which the country’s leadership is expected to set the direction of economic policy. The last such event was held in 2018.

    Beijing has set a full-year economic growth target of about 5%, and unless Beijing launches a bazooka stimulus, it has precisely zero chance of hitting it.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 23:30

  • Escobar: The Yemen-Russia Riddle
    Escobar: The Yemen-Russia Riddle

    Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Cradle,

    Sanaa is eagerly engaging with Moscow in a bid to expand its astounding military gains into both the economic and diplomatic realms. While trade with Russia may be integral to blunting the effects of the siege of Yemen, Sanaa also views membership in the BRICS as a ‘golden opportunity’ to establish lasting Persian Gulf security.

    Yemen’s stellar strategic maneuvering in defense of Palestine from its dramatically ascendant role in West Asia’s Axis of Resistance is acquiring the contours of an epic odyssey – eagerly scrutinized by the Global Majority.  

    As if the unprecedented humiliation of the US Navy in the Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea was not enough, Ansarallah targeted an Israeli ship with a Hatem-2 hypersonic missile, a remarkable advancement in indigenous technological development.

    These prodigious strategic-military advances displayed by Ansarallah at the same time revived the always simmering, unfinished war and blockade launched against Yemen in 2015 by Saudi Arabia and the UAE with the usual US and UK backing.

    Riyadh abhors the Yemeni resistance like the plague. Instead of Sanaa, Yemen’s recognized capital city, it supports an anti-Ansarallah’ government’ sitting in Aden, sort of recognized by the ‘rules-based international order.’ In truth, though, that government actually sits in a luxury Riyadh hotel.

    Ansarallah has tried hard to negotiate a prisoner exchange involving captured Saudi pilots traded for jailed Hamas members in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has not only refused but threatened that bank transfers to and from Yemen would be blocked, and Sanaa’s international airport and sea ports would be shut down.

    Ansarallah’s response was stark: if Yemeni banking is blocked, the Saudi Arabian banking system would be destroyed. If Sanaa airport is targeted, the same would happen to Saudi airports.

    So, the war that never ended is suddenly and ominously back on track. Ansarallah would have no problem targeting Saudi Arabia’s oil production as retaliation to a full blockade – considering its proven capability with brand-new missiles and naval drones. The consequences for global oil markets would be catastrophic.  

    Two delegations come to Moscow…

    Yemen represents the classic case of a fierce resistance actor in the context of the emerging multipolar, multi-nodal world. So that begs the question of where multipolar/multi-nodal champion Russia stands when it comes to Yemen’s fight.  

    Which brings us to the fascinating case of two Yemeni delegations that recently visited Moscow.

    One of them, led by a senior Ansarallah official, met in Moscow with the Russian President’s Special Envoy to the Middle East (West Asia) and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov.

    They discussed not only the ongoing Gaza genocide but also what Ansarallah describes as “the American–British aggression on Yemen,” a reference to ongoing western naval operations in the Red Sea that have – unsuccessfully – sought for months to thwart Yemeni ops against Israel-bound and Israel-associated shipping vessels. A retaliatory siege, if you will.

    The Yemenis reassured the Russians that their maritime operations “do not pose a threat to international navigation or target anyone, but rather support the Palestinian people and respond to the American and British airstrikes on Yemen.” Ansarallah praised Russia’s understanding and expressed gratitude for: 

    Russia’s position against the American–British aggression on Yemen and their support for the humanitarian and political process in our country. We also reviewed the outcomes of the de-escalation efforts between Yemen and the aggressor countries and highlighted the necessity of reaching a comprehensive solution that ensures Yemen’s unity and sovereignty.

    All of the above concerns what could be described as the Yemeni political process delegation. In Oman, while waiting to collect their Russian visas, they crossed paths with another Yemeni group: let’s call it the geoeconomics delegation.

    This delegation was led by Dr Fouad al-Ghaffari, special advisor to Yemeni Prime Minister Dr Abdulaziz Saleh bin Habtoor’s National Salvation Government in Sanaa.

    Habtoor is a leading Yemeni intellectual and the author of the remarkable Undeterred: Yemen in the Face of Decisive Storm, which highlights key details of the war launched in 2015 “by a hostile coalition of 17 countries,” fully supported by the US and the EU, and complete with air, sea, and land blockades.

    The prime minister explains the economic war, as the Yemeni Central Bank was transferred to Aden; the biological war, which led to a horrendous break out of cholera across the nation; and how the Arab League was bought and paid for all the way. He stresses how “this is the first war in History in which all the rich Arab countries stand together under the cloak of the most powerful imperialist country in an unsacred coalition against the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula.”  

    That war is far from over. Yemen is suffering badly. The specter of a large famine has not disappeared. So, the focus of Dr Ghaffari’s delegation clearly had to be humanitarian and centered on food security.  

    He tells The Cradle what Yemen expects to receive from Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture: 

    We have food to export and import from Russia. We should have a shipping line between Russia and Yemen at Hodeidah port. Last month, another Yemeni delegation was in China. There were good contacts, and they are now developing an agreement. Here, I came as an adviser to the Prime Minister, and parallel to the Russian presidency of BRICS, I came to highlight the importance of developing an agriculture connection – and food security connection – between us and Russia. We need Russian expertise on all this. We have special products in Yemen that we want to export – and now we are fighting a boycott by the US and the west. We want Russian products instead of products coming from Europe.

    Ghaffari adds, “Some Russian products do come to Yemen – but they don’t come directly. They come from Gulf countries or African countries. But not as Russian products. In Yemen, there are no Russian products. Now, after 96 years of Russia–Yemen relations, Yemen is defining itself as a good player in our region. It’s a time for BRICS to unite – and to fight back against the US model.”

    Yemen’s BRICS drive

    Dr Ghaffari further explains what, in effect, breaks down as the possible geoeconomic integration of Yemen: 

    We had good signs from official contacts, and the Prime Minister in Yemen welcomes that. The objective is to close a deal with Moscow. We have a vision. We want to explain this vision of how to bring the North and South of Yemen together into one railway. This brings us back to 15 years ago when Russian Railways had a project. We bring oil, gas, [and] agriculture investment to seaports. Maybe Yemen could do that by itself in 50 years, but with good help, we can do it in one or two years.

    He says a long discussion was also held in Moscow on Yemen’s desire to apply for BRICS membership – and the pitfalls involved:

    We have been working close to BRICS for 10 years in Yemen, because we believe in this vision, if we have a chance to become a member. I am the only adviser to the Prime Minister for BRICS advancement. We want to work with BRICS. We now have a golden opportunity.

    The prime minister’s office in Sanaa has sent letters to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressing its desire to join BRICS. If these contacts develop, Moscow could certainly invite Sanaa to participate as an observer in the BRICS summit in Kazan in October. 

    But does the recent BRICS membership of Saudia Arabia and the UAE create an instant obstacle in Yemen’s pathway to joining the multipolar powerhouse?

    Ghaffari doesn’t seem to think so, linking Yemen’s BRICS drive to establishing “security in the Gulf. The Emirates and Saudis are now in BRICS. BRICS could take all of us together.”

    So Dr Ghaffari’s delegation visited Russia with several objectives: to study the opportunity of establishing a joint agricultural company, to discuss import and export opportunities and shipping methods, to discuss cooperation within the BRICS strategy for economic partnership in agriculture, to learn about the Russian experience in boycotting western products; to introduce the specificity of Yemeni products, especially coffee, honey, and cotton into the Russian market, and to discuss the construction of one of the Yemeni dams.

    Add to this a key diplomatic objective: to discuss the possibility of a Yemeni representative attending the upcoming BRICS summit. “We stand with Russia. Russia should have a complete picture of what happens in Yemen. If Yemen is not at the summit, something would be missing in the region.”

    Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran would certainly agree. But then hardcore geopolitical reality calls. The Russian Federation, forced to protect an extremely delicate geopolitical balance between Iran and Saudi Arabia inside BRICS, may still be far from solving the Yemen riddle.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 23:20

  • Chinese Regulators Intensify Efforts To Tighten Control Over Financial Markets
    Chinese Regulators Intensify Efforts To Tighten Control Over Financial Markets

    By Charlie Zhu and Helen Sun, Bloomberg Markets Live reporters and strategists

    Three things we learned last week:

    1. Chinese regulators intensified efforts to tighten their control over financial markets. The People’s Bank of China effectively narrowed its interest rate corridor, placing a much higher floor on the costs banks pay to borrow overnight from each other.

    For longer-term bond yields, local branches of the National Financial Regulatory Administration asked some rural lenders to shorten the average duration of their bond holdings, joining the PBOC’s recent efforts to prevent yields from falling further.

    For stocks, the securities watchdog took some of its most extreme measures yet to restrict short selling and quantitative trading strategies, providing a boost to some of the key indexes.

    While recent policies have their respective rationale, they could come at long-term or macro economic costs, according to Nomura Holdings Inc. Measures to control the yield curve might mitigate financial risks, but weak domestic demand need lower interest rates to stimulate borrowings, economists at Nomura wrote in a report last week.

    China’s financial industry has already been reeling from slower growth and regulatory crackdowns. Ping An Bank Co. is relocating more than 100 staff based in Shanghai to its Shenzhen home base to cut costs, while PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is cutting staff across its China operations amid an exodus of corporate clients.

    2. Domestic demand remains week despite efforts to stimulate consumption. The consumer price growth hovered near zero for a fifth month, with the statistics bureau attributing it to promotions for the annual “618” shopping festival.

    “The deteriorating labor market will limit the potential for any quick and sustained recovery in consumption and hence inflation,” economists led by Zhou Yingke at Barclays Plc wrote in a report.

    Meanwhile, credit expansion also missed estimates. Exports in June jumped more than expected, highlighting the importance of external demand in underpinning China’s economy. Together with weak imports, the country registered a record trade surplus.

    3. Baidu’s tests of unmanned auto driving have reminded people the future has arrived. China’s Internet search leader is investing in generative AI and autonomous driving to diversify its business. With Beijing supporting robotaxis in ride hailing and car rental fleets, Baidu’s shares in Hong Kong posted the biggest weekly gain in more than one-and-a-half years.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 22:50

  • Former CDC Director Says FDA Underreported Adverse Vax Side Effects To Prevent Vaccine Hesitancy
    Former CDC Director Says FDA Underreported Adverse Vax Side Effects To Prevent Vaccine Hesitancy

    Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

    Dr. Robert Redfield, the former director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pushed a false “safe and effective” COVID vaccine narrative by underreporting adverse events. The mRNA shots “never should have been mandated,” Redfield told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday.

    The Democrat-controlled Senate oversight hearing entitled “Risky Research: Oversight of U.S. Taxpayer Funded High-Risk Virus Research,” included witnesses  Dr. Gerald Parker, Dr. Carrie Wolinetz, Dr. Kevin Esvelt, and Redfield.

    Former President Trump’s CDC director accused the Biden government of suppressing data about vaccine injuries in an effort to prevent vaccine hesitancy.

    “There was not appropriate transparency from the beginning about the potential side effects of these vaccines, and I do think there were inappropriate decisions by some to try to underreport any side effects because they argued that would make the public less likely to get vaccinated” Redfield testified.

    Redfield said the biggest mistake of all was the Biden regime’s decision to mandate the mRNA products.

    “They never should have been mandated,” he said. “It should have been open to personal choice. They don’t prevent infection, they do have side effects.”

    A growing number of doctors and scientists now say that the cost to society and the cost to the individual taking the COVID injection far outweighed any of the proposed benefits.

    Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) pointed out that Biden regime officials like Dr.  Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, continue to deny that the injections are dangerous.

    “They’re saying they [vaccine side effects] are rare and they’re mild,” Johnson said.

    “The FDA should release all of the safety data they have,” Redfield replied. “I was very disappointed to hear that they’re planning to hold on to that [safety data] until 2026,” he continued. “That really creates a sense of a total lack of trust in our public health agencies toward vaccination. It’s counterproductive,” he added.

    Johnson lamented that he has been unable to get Rep. Gary Peters (D-Wis.), the chairman of the the Senate Homeland Security Committee, to issue any subpoenas to the relevant health agencies to obtain the safety data.

    “I would suggest you do that,” the Republican told Peters.

    Johnson was poised to spearhead investigations into COVID vaccine malfeasance himself as Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations starting in 2023, but Republicans did not gain the majority in the 2022 midterm elections.

    The Wisconsin senator said there’s “a lot more” being covered up than the COVID origin story.

    “There are many aspects of our miserably failed response to COVID that needs to be uncovered, not the least of which, the sabotage of early treatment,” Johnson said. “The public has a right to know.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 22:45

  • Project 2025 & The Continued Democrat Meltdown
    Project 2025 & The Continued Democrat Meltdown

    Authored by Richard Truesdell and Keith Lehmann via American Greatness,

    Tying Donald Trump to Project 2025 is the latest desperation tactic from Democrats. But it’s likely to backfire. It might actually create a new generation of Conservatives in the process.

    Last year, the Heritage Foundation published the Mandate for Leadership as assembled by a consortium of people and think tanks called Project 2025. It is a compilation of long-standing recommended Conservative policies for the next Republican administration. The Project 2025 group claims the document is “the Conservative movement’s unified effort to be ready for the next Conservative administration to govern at noon, January 20, 2025.”

    It absolutely petrifies progressive Democrats.

    Looking at a portion of the 900+ page compendium, we note that it contains policy suggestions that have been embedded within the Conservative platform for over sixty years. We also note that proclamations from right-leaning think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation are routinely attacked from the left as being “radical” in nature and “out of touch” with ordinary Americans. This is nothing new. The left and progressives, especially, see this as the latest bogeyman to motivate the base as the Biden candidacy spins out of control.

    What is new here is the odd tactical decision of the Biden-Harris campaign to demonize the Heritage Foundation and tie the organization’s work to Donald Trump, who has nothing to do with Heritage and had no participation with Project 2025. It’s quite doubtful Trump even knew about Project 2025 until the Biden-Harris campaign decided it would characterize it as “Donald Trump’s Project 2025 Agenda” as “something every American should be scared of.”

    When we first saw references to Project 2025 appear, we knew that it was not organic. When all the usual suspects—MSDNC, CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Axios, Politico, NPR, Media Matters for America, and dozens of those image memes flooding your timeline on Facebook—we knew it was no accident. As we like to say, there are no coincidences in partisan politics.

    Calling this “Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda” is yet another droplet in the endless ocean of lies from the Biden administration and its leftwing enablers. Here is another example of the obvious disinformation coming from the left (hit the link to see how remarkably unhinged these people are).

    While some of the points are true (i.e., ending the Department of Education, using public funding for private religious schools, increasing Arctic oil drilling), over 90 percent of these claims are outright lies, many of which are not even mentioned in the document. Project 2025 responded to this with an enumerated list of 30 “myths vs. facts.”

    This attack on Project 2025 and the attempt to connect their agenda to Trump seem to have a very strange appeal to ignorant Biden-Harris voters. Previously, hardly anyone, even among Republican and Conservative political junkies, had even heard of the Heritage Foundation, a relatively low-key, center-right institution that has never been considered a radical fringe organization. A vast majority of Americans are now hearing about Heritage for the first time.

    What might actually emerge is a broader awareness of the Heritage Foundation and its Conservative work among citizens who would not have otherwise found out if the Biden-Harris campaign had not made such a huge stink. The curiosity of voters will drive them to check out Project 2025, in which they will find five primary policy pillars intended to restore the Constitution as the country’s primary governing guide. We have distilled the five massively detailed policy proposals as follows:

    First, and arguably most important, “The president must enforce the Constitution and laws as written, rather than proclaiming new ‘law’ unilaterally. Legislatures make the laws in a republic, not executives.” (With the SCOTUS controlled by its current Conservative majority, this is downright scary to far-left progressives.)

    Second, “We must rediscover and adhere to the Founder’s wise division of war powers, whereby Congress, the most representative and deliberative branch, decides whether to go to war; and the executive…decides how to carry it out once begun.” Our multi-generational experimentation in presidentially initiated wars demonstrates that “we depart from our Constitutional design at our peril.” Over the vast majority of our history, especially in the 20th century, it was a Congressional Declaration of War that had the United States enter World War Two, not a Presidential Declaration of War.

    Third, the president and the State Department must “stop skirting the Constitution’s treaty-making requirements and stop enforcing ‘agreements’ which haven’t been ratified by the Senate as the Constitution requires, as if they were proper treaties.” Republicans as well as Democrats are guilty of this. Is it any wonder that no new wars were started during the four years of the first Trump administration?

    Fourth, “The Senate has been extraordinarily lax in fulfilling its constitutional obligation to confirm presidential appointees.” This results in unconfirmed, “acting” officials carrying out executive-branch responsibilities for months or years without Senate approval. Not to hold Democrats totally to blame here, the Senate ceded its war-making powers to the Executive Branch, starting with George W. Bush and continuing through the Obama and Biden administrations. Our growing involvement in the Ukraine conflict serves no real United States policy agenda other than to keep deep state warmongers like Victoria Nuland happy under Republican as well as Democrat administrations.

    Fifth, the Justice Department must “respect the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech rather than try to police speech.” Oh my God, where do we start here? The encroachment on the First Amendment started under Bush with the Patriot Act in the aftermath of 9/11 and has accelerated since then, especially under Obama and Biden. Biden’s Department of Justice especially has used deep state violations of its police powers against ordinary citizens, like many of the J6 demonstrators as well as journalists who neglect to toe the administration’s line.

    Each of these five points is a cap, not an expansion, of presidential power. The Biden-Harris campaign making such an effort to characterize Project 2025 as enabling a presidential power grab is a classic case of projection.

    Tying Trump to Heritage is a losing proposition, indicative of a campaign in desperation to change the subject from their complete and total meltdown in the wake of Biden’s catastrophic performance in the first debate and his subsequent interview with former Bill Clinton operative, George Stephanopoulos. It will backfire as expected and could lead to a broadening of acceptance toward Conservative principles among the American population.

    Keep up the good work, Democrats!

    ***

    Richard Truesdell is a former consumer electronics retail executive and automotive travel photojournalist. In the last 25 years, he has visited more than 35 countries on six continents. A former high school history teacher with a BA in Political Science from Waynesburg University, he is a lifelong Conservative moderate who has turned his thoughts and keyboard to political commentary and popular culture. A cross-section of his writings can be found here.

    Keith Lehmann is a retired consumer electronics industry executive who has written extensively on technology, transportation, and international travel. Living in Southern California for over fifty years, he has first-hand exposure to societal and cultural happenings of the left and submits decidedly realism-based, Conservative viewpoints, much of which can be found on his Substack.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 22:10

  • Mapping High School Graduation Rates By State
    Mapping High School Graduation Rates By State

    A high school diploma not only represents the development of essential knowledge and skills but is also a critical step toward personal and professional growth.

    This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, shows the percentage of public school students who graduate with a regular high school diploma in each U.S. state. Data is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, for the school year 2021–22.

    West Virginia Has the Highest Graduation Rate

    The U.S. average high school graduation rate was 87% in the school year 2021–22.

    West Virginia has the highest graduation rate, with 91% of its students graduating. Meanwhile, the District of Columbia has the lowest graduation rate, with 76%.

    State Percentage
    West Virginia 91
    Tennessee 90
    Wisconsin 90
    Kentucky 90
    Massachusetts 90
    Iowa 90
    Missouri 90
    Texas 90
    Virginia 89
    Kansas 89
    Connecticut 89
    Mississippi 89
    New Hampshire 88
    Delaware 88
    Utah 88
    Alabama 88
    Arkansas 88
    Indiana 88
    Florida 87
    Illinois 87
    Pennsylvania 87
    Nebraska 87
    California 87
    New York 87
    North Carolina 86
    Maryland 86
    Ohio 86
    Maine 86
    Hawaii 86
    Montana 86
    New Jersey 85
    North Dakota 85
    Georgia 84
    South Carolina 84
    Minnesota 84
    Washington 84
    Rhode Island 83
    Louisiana 83
    Vermont 83
    Colorado 82
    Wyoming 82
    Nevada 82
    Oregon 81
    Michigan 81
    Idaho 80
    Alaska 78
    Arizona 77
    District of Columbia 76
    New Mexico Not available
    Oklahoma Not available

    Given that West Virginia typically struggles in rankings like this, this top placement might be surprising to some. This high graduation rate is part of a concerted effort by the state to increase its graduation rate.

    In 2011, West Virginia’s graduation rate sat at 72% (which would put them dead last by today’s standards). How did the state see such a significant improvement? A data-driven early warning system was put in place to target individuals when they are at most risk of dropping out and using interventions to keep them on pace to graduate.

    Alabama, also an early adopter of this system, saw a steep improvement in their graduation rate over the past decade and a half.

    If you enjoy posts like these, check out Mapped: Personal Finance Requirements by State, which visualizes where high school students are required to take a personal finance course.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 21:35

  • Property Tax & The Death Of The American Dream
    Property Tax & The Death Of The American Dream

    Via SchiffGold.com,

    While the primary catalyst for the original English pilgrims to venture to America was religious freedom, a strong desire for independence followed closely behind. They desired to be independent of two things: poverty and government meddling. This spirit carried into the American Revolution and informed domestic policy for many years. The Homestead Act of (FIND YEAR) was enacted to allow citizens a type of independence those who first fled Britain could only dream of. Remote settlers earned their own homes by proving their merit to Mother Nature. It was fairly easy to live as one wished without violating rules and regulations. The law was a fairly small framework that attempted to allow lives free from violence and evil. The two curses they fled were now powerfully refuted. The poverty caused by government oppression of the past was replaced by success or failure based upon individual action. 

    While poverty enabled and created by tyranny guided pilgrims to leave, it was no easy road in the new land. Settlers often dealt with great hunger and lack because they knew it was better than the guaranteed squalor they would have faced in Europe. Americans had to bet on their futures using their competence and capabilities. They received the fruits of their labor and often lived far better than they could have before. The American government was in place to protect their ability to live a private life in which they received the benefits of their labor.

    The whole American vision was built upon delayed gratification. There was no guarantee that a homesteader’s crops would thrive in any given year. Individuals who were less competent were forced to settle for a life that, while far better than before they emigrated, was below the standard of other more competent settlers. Homesteaders who wanted to fill their stomachs in winter would find they had no seed to plant in the spring. Months and years of hardship were endured to secure ownership and the ability to rest.

    The government’s primary role was to protect people against anyone who desired to intrude on their hard-earned peace, whether foreign nations or malicious citizens. People worked for security and the ability to give their children security. Land was a constant investment that directly reflected its developer’s work ethic and rewarded their competency. Unlike in Europe, land was very accessible to the common man. Rather than working for lords and barons, land distinguished Americans and allowed them to work for themselves.

    At the beginning of the 19th century, property taxes were small, primarily by the acre, and did not rise often. As administrative bloat and government corruption grew, property taxes gradually grew and morphed into something powerful and harmful to the core of the American dream. Property taxes became not just on the acre, but also on the valuation of the property. In some states, this tax is higher than 2% yearly. A 500,000$ house, a great deal in many locations, would force the owner to pay over 10,000$ yearly just to live on the land that they own. In complete opposition to the vision of the past, inflation and increasingly high valuations mean that as time goes on, landowners will be forced to work more just to make ends meet.

    If a family worked hard to make a life on a humble piece of land and became surrounded by a luxury housing development, the resulting higher valuation would drive them to live somewhere else. This incentive to move shifts Americans towards a consumer culture rather than a culture of creation. There is less reason to put effort into any piece of land or community if an indeterminate amount of “rent” must be paid every year. That “rent” used to be primarily the sweat of the brows of the owners of that land as they worked tirelessly to cultivate it.

    That vision has been replaced and land seems more like a luxury for the ultra-wealthy than any meaningful part of the American identity. Even small bits of land are not often loved and held for long. Moving constantly has become a favorite pastime of many families as they cannot seem to escape high taxes and inflation. Families continually downsizing or moving to other states cannot be sustainable as a national strategy. We must either make urban living far more appealing or face many families forced to choose between unappealing apartments or paying through the nose for ever-smaller houses. Property taxes exacerbate the attack on the root of American identity.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 21:00

  • The Number Of Global Millionaires Keeps Rising
    The Number Of Global Millionaires Keeps Rising

    In its latest annual report, Swiss bank UBS shows that while there has been a mixed picture in the development of global wealth inequality, the number of dollar millionaires worldwide keeps on rising and is projected to continue to do so in most countries. Out of the 56 nations in UBS’s sample, millionaire numbers are projected to increase until 2028 in 52 – sometimes substantially. Notable exceptions are the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, there will be a projected 17 percent – or around 500,000 – fewer millionaires in 2028 than in 2023.

    As  Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, the number of U.S. dollar millionaires has risen sharply since the beginning of the 21st century.

    Infographic: Number of Millionaires Keeps Rising | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    In 2000, there were 14.7 million millionaires in the analyzed countries. In 2023, there were 58 million – a fourfold increase in twenty years (300 percent).

    If we compare this figure with the fight against extreme poverty, the number of people below the global poverty line – which today stands at $2.15 a day – has declined at a much slower rate.

    At the turn of the century, there were 1.7 billion people living in extreme poverty, compared with around 700 million today, a drop of around 60 percent.

    The United States is home to by far the largest contingent of dollar millionaires: 22 million in 2023, representing 6.6 percent of the country’s population.

    Next on this list is China with 6 million (0.4 percent of the population), while France completes the podium with 2.9 million (4.2 percent of the population). China saw millionaire numbers rise especially fast since 2000.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 20:25

  • Is The USD Really Too Big To Fail?
    Is The USD Really Too Big To Fail?

    Authored by Matthew Piepenburg via VonGreyerz.gold,

    Between politics (driven by self rather than public servants), markets (driven by debt rather than profits) and currencies (diluted by over-creation rather than chaperoned by a real asset), it is fair to say we live in not interesting but surreal times.

    But amidst the surreal, the dollar, as many believe, is our rock, our immortal albeit often unloved constant.

    The USD: Too Big to Fail?

    Whatever one thinks of the dollar, we can’t deny its centrifugal force, exorbitant privilege and entirely unequaled market power (from the current SWIFT and Eurodollar systems to the derivative and petrodollar markets).

    And even as broken, debased, inflated (and inflation-exporting) as the USD is, its place as a world reserve currency (with 80%+ of global FX transactions) is firm.

    More importantly, the USD is a currency (base money) that only the Fed can print into existence and which the rest of the dollar-thirsty and dollar-indebted world (i.e. Eurodollar markets) can only lend into existence (like a second derivative credit currency) in a perpetual dollar-roulette of “debt and print” or “debt and lend.”

    This effectively makes the USD the world’s base money (and denomination) for the vast majority of derivative global debt instruments, which means everything else (including Eurodollar lending) is essentially just credit-related.

     And because credit makes the $330T debt-world spin, the USD, by extension, makes the world spin.

    In short, one might argue the USD is too big to fail, right?

    The Immortal Greenback?

    Given the baked-in global demand and credit role for this otherwise diluted super-dollar, the national and global system which it has ruled since 1944 will thus likely and only end (save for a miraculously peaceful Plaza Accord 2.0) in some form of what Brent Johnson rightfully described as “profound violence—economic and/or military.”

    But according to the dollar bulls, even a collapsing system and, hence, tanking US bond market, would send UST yields to the moon and, hence, the USD (ironically) even higher. 

    In short, no matter how some spin it—the dollar is king, and every central banker in DC knows this, right?

    After all, such dollar realists have discovered the hard truth through the lens of realpolitik global finance: The dollar, love or hate it, is the base money of the global financial system and, as such, will be “the last to fall.”

    Gold Backing? 

    As for any return to a gold-backed dollar, those same realists would remind us of the infamous 1896 “Cross of Gold” case laid out by William Jennings Bryan, who warned that with a dollar tied to gold, credit would eventually tighten to such levels that the average citizen and small business would be left bleeding credit-dry in the streets.

    Furthermore, there’s the equally realistic stance that no country would want to be tied to a gold chaperone (or “standard”) for long, as this would only impede their sovereign ability to mouse-click their own currencies into existence when needed (i.e., whenever backed into a self-created debt wall).

    Money, and hence the USD, they ruefully conclude, will therefore be whatever the strongest country (bully) on the block says it is, and like it or not, the US and USD are still flexing the strongest biceps in the global neighborhood, right?

    Assuming Nothing (or History) Ever Changes

    But each of the foregoing (and reasonable) conclusions only hold true if one assumes that the US is and remains the strongest bully (and money) on the block.

    The evidence of history, however, which is dynamic rather than static, may suggest otherwise.

    For now, however, the dollar matters most to many.

    China, Russia, or India, for example, may be important, but few of us can or would predict that the yuan, ruble, or rupee will replace the greenback.

    I certainly don’t.

    So again, the USD will remain the king of liquidity. 

    And even for those who take de-dollarization seriously, will the BRICS+ nations really be able to agree to a gold-backed BRICS+ currency redeemable in, say, Moscow or Shanghai?

    I have my doubts—for the simple reason that as much as the BRICS+ nations collectively distrust the now weaponized USD, they don’t trust each other enough to relinquish their option to print their own currencies at will.

    But that doesn’t end the discussion on gold’s new and rising role in a changing dollar/world.

    Going Around Rather than Replacing the Dollar

    For me, debating a gold-backed new currency or “end of the dollar” drama thesis is missing the bullseye. 

    The facts and evolving history of today and tomorrow suggest that the real story is not about replacing the dollar, but simply going around it in a new price direction paved in both black and real gold.

    Toward that end, look at what the rest of the world and its central banks are doing, not what they (or our financial leadership) are saying:

    • Since 2008’s GFC, Putin has been hording gold;

    • Since 2014, global central banks have been net-sellers of USTs and net buyers of physical gold;

    • In 2023, 20% of global oil sales were outside of the USD;

    • Despite being pegged to the USD, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other GCC nations’ favorite import out of Switzerland this year is physical gold;

    • More than 44 nations are currently executing trade settlements outside of the USD;

    • Both Japan and China, historically the most reliable buyers of Uncle Sam’s IOUs, are now dumping billions and billions worth of them;

    • Russia is the world’s greatest commodity exporter, and China is the world’s greatest commodity importer—and they like each other far more than they do Biden or the next White House resident; more importantly, it is a matter of national survival for China to buy oil outside the USD;

    • Russia is now selling oil to China in yuan, which the Russians then use to buy Chinese goods (once made in America); thereafter, any delta in the trade is net settled in gold (not dollars) on the Shanghai Exchange. This, folks, is BRICS scalable (think India…);

    • Between swap lines, the CIPS alternative to the SWIFT system and rising negotiations between Gulf oil nations and other BRICS+ big-whigs, the current move away from dollar-denominated oil trades is real rather than imaginary;

    • Given the growing decline of physical gold and silver levels in the New York and London exchanges, they can no longer price fix gold as in the days of yore, nor can they justify a different 200 moving day gold price than one more fairly priced in China’s exchange;

    • The BRICS+ nations are no longer USD pawns but rising rooks. Their share of global GDP is surpassing that of the G-7;

    • In 2023, the Bank of International Settlements declared physical gold a tier-one asset alongside the 10Y UST;

    • Nations are openly (and naturally) preferring gold as a reserve asset over the other “tier-one” option–a dollar-based IOU of “risk-free-return,” which by any honest (current and future) measure of inflation offers a negative real yield, in other words: “return-free-risk;”

    • No matter how enamored the green crowd is of ESG, we are decades and decades (as well as trillions and trillions) away from carbon-neutral, and like it or not, energy matters and fossil fuels literally fuel the world;

    • China and India each have populations of over 1.4B. If oil demand increases even slightly in either of these BRICS countries, oil prices in rupees and yuan (and every other fiat currency) will explode—and two of the biggest players in the oil space don’t want to use dollars to pay for it. Instead, they’d prefer to net settle their oil and gas in gold, which buys more energy than dollars can;

    • Given that the annual production capacity for oil is 12-15X that of global gold, and with gold increasingly becoming the favored oil payment, gold’s price relative to oil can only go up;

    • This explains why gold is openly (not theoretically) becoming a more trusted reserve asset than the UST:

    In short, Energy matters, and rather than the USD being the base layer of money (see above), energy very well could be. 

    And THAT, folks, is how a system changes “violently and or militarily,” as most US direct and proxy wars have something to do with…oil.

    And that oil, by the way, is increasingly being net-settled in gold—day by day, and minute by minute, for the simple reason that history is like a hockey puck: You play where it is headed (gold), not where it sits (the USD).

    The Other Bullies Are Coming Together

    Returning to the prior assumptions of the Immortal Dollar thesis above, if money is whatever the strongest bully/power says it is, what happens to the previous notion of “money” when a collection of rising and resource-rich bullies/powers (BRICS+) is growing stronger, and their preferred focus is oil and not the dollar?

    What happens after a neutral reserve asset is weaponized against a major nuclear power and energy exporter (Russia) already in financial bed with the world’s largest energy importer (China)?

    The answer is simple: That once “immortal” reserve currency is less trusted and hence less in demand.

    Is it any coincidence, for example, that after DC weaponized the USD, the BRICS+ roster of nations increased to include the major oil exporters?

    Is it a coincidence that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, whatever you think of him, gave Biden a fist-pump and Xi a warm handshake?

    And let’s be blunt: Does anyone truly believe oil is irrelevant? That American wars (direct or indirect) with Iraq, Libya and Syria were about protecting freedom and democracy? 

    Or might these conflicts have had something a bit more to do with energy in general and oil in particular?

    What the US elite doesn’t want you to know is that oil matters more than dollars, and that more countries today would rather pay for that oil in gold.

    And do we think the Saudis haven’t noticed that gold-backed oil sales are significantly and historically more stable than dollar-backed oil?

    Is it, therefore, a coincidence that since DC weaponized the USD, global central banks have been stacking gold at historical levels?

    Is it a coincidence that more and more nations are net settling commodities and other trade deals in gold rather than dollars?

    Is it a coincidence that nations and their central banks would rather save in gold (a finite asset of infinite duration) rather than US IOU’s (an infinite asset of finite duration), whose returns can’t beat inflation and whose purchasing power, even in dollar terms, has fallen greater than 98% when measured against a milligram of gold since 1971?

    Is it a coincidence that within 2 years of de-coupling the USD from gold in 1971, DC desperately raised its interest rates and strengthened its dollar so that Saudi Arabia et al. would agree to force the world to buy oil in strong dollars, thereby creating forced demand for an otherwise over-supplied/printed USD?

    But is it also just a coincidence that 50+ years (and a 98% weaker dollar later), Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia are now slowly turning away from that petrodollar after a generation of seeing it debased by over $100T in US public, private, and household debt—all of which has made an increasingly unloved UST increasingly unable to withstand further rate hikes and hence dollar-strength?

    It’s Good to Be the King

    But as per above, the smart bankers at the Fed and big banks still want us to believe the dollar is king, and that despite all its flaws, the great straw-sucking demand from a dollar-centric world is precisely what makes the greenback too big to fail.

    But what if the world is energy rather than dollar-centric? And what if the BRICS rise is more than a chimera but a new puck direction?

    Think about that. No one in DC or Wall Street wants you to.

    Pride Comes Before the Fall

    The certainty that tomorrow’s dollar will remain yesterday’s dollar is, in fact, a dangerous sign of hubris (and historical ignorance) before the fall.

    After all, if we can see the decline of the USD’s purchasing power since 1971, can’t others?

    And if we can see that UST returns are losing (technically defaulting) to current and future inflation, can’t others?

    And if we can see that the fake liquidity (QE or other) required to pay Uncle Sam’s rising bar tab will continue to be highly inflationary (and dollar-debasing), is it not reasonable to assume that the rest of the world can see this too?

    Going Around Rather than Against

    In fact, and based on what is being done rather than said, the rest of the world appears to see precisely what we are seeing.

    The BRICS nations are not seeking to destroy or replace the dollar. Instead, and like the Germans facing the Maginot line, they are already and openly going around it.

    How?  

    By using local currencies for local goods which are then net settled in a timeless asset: Gold.

    And if we can see that holders of gold can purchase significantly more energy (i.e., oil or gas) with gold ounces and kilos than they can with American dollars and USTs, is not at least reasonable to assume that gold’s role as a trade settlement asset will have higher demand as the USD suffers declining demand?

    And if demand for the USD as a net trade settlement asset continues to fall rather than rise, is it not equally plausible (if supply and demand forces still apply) to suggest that tomorrow’s dollar may be weaker rather than stronger?

    Two Crowns: The Timeless vs. The Temporary

    And even if we were to concede the milk-shake theory’s reasonable postulate that despite all its blemishes, the dollar will be “the last to fall,” the simple fact remains that regardless of whether it falls or fails “last,” it is already being repriced, even if it may never be fully replaced?

    Finally, and perhaps most importantly (and obviously), even if the USD remains “king” relative to all other fiat currencies (and this matters if you live in countries—like Turkey or Argentina-where your currency is far weaker), we can still objectively see, again, that gold holds its value even better than that USD “king.”

    In short, there’s a far better “king” than the USD—it was always there. 

    The central bankers just don’t want you to see it. 

    And this precious king has a crown of gold rather than paper.

    Which king will you choose?

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 19:50

  • Elon Musk Reveals Multiple Assassination Attempts, Says Time "To Build Flying Metal Suit Of Armor"
    Elon Musk Reveals Multiple Assassination Attempts, Says Time “To Build Flying Metal Suit Of Armor”

    The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has disclosed for the second time that there have been multiple assassination attempts on his life over the past eight months. This comes after the failed assassination attempt on former President Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening. 

    “Please, please triple your protection. If they can come for Trump they will also come for you. Elon Musk,” X user Ian Miles Cheong wrote in a post on the social media platform. 

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    Musk responded to Cheong’s post with, “Dangerous times ahead,” adding, “Two people (separate occasions) have already tried to kill me in the past 8 months. They were arrested with guns about 20 mins drive from Tesla HQ in Texas.” 

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    “You’ve likely already done this, but still, please beef up your security even more. Your family and the world needs you,” Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt told Musk on X.

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    Tesla Owners Silicon Valley said, “Can you please up your security Elon ?” 

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    “The dangerous rhetoric from the left is spiraling out of control. It is time for us to condemn left-wing extremism and classify ANTIFA and other left-wing extremist groups as violent terrorist organizations much like ISIS,” X user Adam Lowisz said. 

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    “Now this is a moment for the adults in the room to recognize an opportunity. People are now getting shot because of the hateful rhetoric of the left, rhetoric which is leveled against all pro-life, pro-family, pro-God Americans,” The Remnant’s Michael J. Matt wrote on X.

    Matt added, “The rhetoric of the left is so hateful and so dangerous that it must be said the enemy is encouraging just this sort of violence in our country. I don’t care what you think of Trump, THIS is the takeaway.” 

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    No matter if it’s Musk, who is pro-humanity, or Trump, who is pro-family and pro-country, the leftist corporate media’s dangerous rhetoric against their political opponents is fueling violence and hate and assassination attempts. 

    Musk noted, “Maybe it’s time to build that flying metal suit of armor,” referring to the fictional exoskeleton worn by Tony Stark in the movie Iron Man. 

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    The good news is that Tesla’s Cybertruck’s 301 stainless steel exoskeleton is bulletproof against America’s most common round, the 9mm round. 

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    Maybe it’s time for lawmakers on Capitol Hill to investigate leftist corporate media outlets that have pushed so much hate against not just the president but anyone who dares to support him, such as Musk and many others. 

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 19:15

  • Biden Halts 'Trump Is Hitler' Ads After Assassination Attempt
    Biden Halts ‘Trump Is Hitler’ Ads After Assassination Attempt

    Authored by Luis Carnelio via HeadlineUSA.com,

    The scandal-plagued Biden campaign has pulled all its ads against former President Donald Trump after he was nearly killed by a shooter on Saturday. 

    Joe Biden is “pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible,” a campaign official told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday morning. 

    The ads would have likely labeled Trump as an existential threat ahead of the 2024 election. 

    Biden’s anti-Trump claims have rightfully led critics to question whether this heavily partisan rhetoric has incited violence against Trump.

    This rhetoric often conflates Trump with dictators, including Adolf Hitler, and suggests he would end “Democracy” if elected. 

    Just on Friday, Biden appeared at a campaign rally in Michigan, where he labeled Trump a “threat to this nation.” 

    Several conservatives quickly called out the past anti-Trump rhetoric that could have fueled violence against the former president. 

    Cartoonist Scott Adams on Twitter wrote, “The Biden campaign is pausing its ad campaign that was obviously designed to get Trump assassinated.  The Fine People Hoax probably just killed one spectator, injured another, and almost ended Trump. This is all on Biden.”

    Kyle Mann, the Babylon Bee’s editor-in-chief, added, “When you call your political opponent Hitler for 4 years, don’t act surprised when you inspire your followers to try to kill him.” 

    Outkick founder Clay Travis echoed Mann’s remarks, writing, “I am f**king furious beyond words. F**k every left wing media member who has been calling him Hitler for the past eight years. This is on them. They made this happen.” Travis’s post has reached nearly 5 million views.

    Director James Wood wrote, “We were two inches away from a civil war today. It is not a prospect I relish, but one that is to be feared if Democrats don’t stop with their absurd vile Hitler analogies and their assassination glee.” 

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    Comedian and host Dave Smith similar said, “How the f**k can you say he’s literally Hitler and Democracy is on the line but we wish him a speedy recovery and political violence is never acceptable?”

    The Daily Wire posted a video compilation of several legacy media outlets comparing Trump to Hitler.

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    Other critics were equally vocal in their responses.

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 18:40

  • Spot The Odd One Out
    Spot The Odd One Out

    The COVID-19 pandemic erased nearly two decades of life expectancy gains in America. Meanwhile, U.S. health spending per capita is at the highest level in the world.

    In the graphic below, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu visualizes life expectancy and per capita healthcare costs across several wealthy nations.

    Figures were compiled by Peterson-KFF, and are as of 2022.

    America Spends a Lot on Healthcare, For Little Gain

    As Peterson–KFF bluntly notes, “the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy amongst large, wealthy countries” while their per capita healthcare cost has moved past $12,500 as of 2022

    In fact the U.S. is an outlier for both healthcare costs (+$4,600 from next-highest Germany), and in life expectancy (-3.2 years from Germany).

    Note: Health spend is measured in PPP-adjusted 2022 U.S. dollars.

    From the 12 developed countries in the analysis, the average healthcare per capita cost is at $6,700 with a life expectancy of 82.2 years. Americans spend nearly double the amount while living 5 years less on average. Peterson-KFF also notes that in 1980, the U.S. had similar health spends and life expectancies as all its peers. Trends have since diverged.

    Of course, both health care spending and life expectancies are influenced by a variety of socioeconomic factors. For example, the UK has the lowest costs ($5,500) amongst its European peers in the group, thanks in part to its National Health Service.

    At the same time, Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world (84 years) while its per capita health costs come in at $5,300. Their low red meat intake and high fish consumption are partially credited with maintaining good health in the population.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 18:05

  • Middle East Reacts To A 'Destabilized' America
    Middle East Reacts To A ‘Destabilized’ America

    Via Middle East Eye

    The assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday has provoked an outpouring of condemnation, even from opponents of the Republican frontrunner. In the Middle East, national leaders largely joined in. 

    “I followed up the treacherous attack on former president and presidential nominee Donald Trump with concern, and I reiterate Egypt’s condemnation of the incident,” wrote Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on his Facebook page. He expressed hope for the “completion of the American election campaigns in a peaceful and healthy atmosphere, free of any manifestations of terrorism, violence, or hatred“.

    Via AP

    The attack was also condemned by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said he hoped those behind it would be brought to justice “in order not to cast a shadow on the US elections and global stability“, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and his wife would pray for Trump’s “safety and speedy recovery”.

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has not enjoyed cordial relations with Trump in past, also condemned the attempted assassination, saying in a statement that he “reaffirm[s] the positions of the State of Palestine, which has always rejected violence, terrorism, and extremism, regardless of its source”.

    Not everyone, however, was so supportive or magnanimous. The Telegram and X accounts for Sabereen News, an outlet affiliated with the Iran-backed “resistance” groups in Iraq, on Sunday posted a picture of a bleeding Trump with the caption: “Today terror has entered their fortified palaces.”

    One of Trump’s last significant acts while in office was ordering the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, former head of Iran’s Al-Quds Force.

    The 2020 attack in Baghdad, hailed by Trump as a “flawless precision strike”, also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a senior Iraq government official and head of the irregular Popular Mobilisation Forces.

    Iranian journalist and former diplomat Amir Mousawi also implied the attack was “divine” retribution for the killing of Muhandis and Soleimani, tweeting “soul for a soul and an eye for an eye” and suggesting Netanyahu would be next.

    Others pointed out the irony of Israeli officials’ condemnation of the Trump attack just a day after their own attempted assassination of a senior Hamas leader in Gaza:

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    And as night follows day, numerous social media users also attempted to link the assassination to a range of Middle Eastern factions, with some in the US and Israel claiming the shooter was a supporter of Hamas, some blaming the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency, and some Turkish users saying he was a supporter of the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

    While Trump’s arch-nemesis Iran has yet to comment on the shooting, a number of Trump supporters tried to link the Islamic Republic to the shooting by citing a statement by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander last year in which he said they “hope we can kill Trump, [former Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo, [former US general Kenneth] McKenzie and the military commanders who gave the order” to kill Soleimani.

    So far however, despite speculation and conspiracy theories, the motivation of the shooter has yet to be determined.

    * * *

    Meanwhile…

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 17:30

  • These Are The 10 US States With The Highest Cost Of Living
    These Are The 10 US States With The Highest Cost Of Living

    Ever wondered where your dollar stretches the least in the U.S.?

    States vary significantly when it comes to cost of living, which takes into account expected expenses for essentials like housing, food, and transportation.

    In this graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu maps out the top 10 U.S. states with the highest annual cost of living in 2024. The cost of living figures are based on data calculated by Forbes Advisor.

    Calculating Cost of Living

    To calculate the cost of living in each state, Forbes Advisor calculated annual expenses for housing, healthcare, taxes, food, and transportation.

    Their data sources include C2ER, KFF, MIT Living Wage Calculator, and the U.S. Census Bureau. You can read more about their methodology here.

    Hawaii is the State with the Highest Cost of Living

    The sunny state of Hawaii is the most expensive state to live in, with an average annual cost of living of $55,491.

    Despite having the highest cost of living ($55,491), Hawaii also has the lowest annual average salary ($61,420) among these 10 states.

    This leaves residents with an annual disposable income of $5,929–the lowest out of all 50 states.

    Some factors that contribute to Hawaii’s high cost of living are its high housing costs due to housing shortages and high income taxes.

    Coastal Life Isn’t Cheap

    Life on either coast isn’t cheap, either.

    All four West Coast states make the top 10 list, while Northeastern states like New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey also make an appearance. New York City is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.

    About 40% of the U.S. population lives on the coast, but the coast only accounts for less than 10% of the country’s land mass.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 16:55

  • America Was Less Than An Inch Away From Socio-Political Disaster
    America Was Less Than An Inch Away From Socio-Political Disaster

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

    Former President and impending Republican Nominee Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday days before his party’s national convention after suddenly turning his head at the last second and thus miraculously dodging a bullet that only ended up grazing his ear. The shooter was killed by the Secret Service, but an eyewitness told the media that he warned the police about a man crawling on the roof a few minutes earlier, though no action was taken.

    This security lapse is suspicious and prompts speculation that at least one member of the Secret Service might have purposely waited until after the shooter took his shot before neutralizing him, whether out of sympathy for his cause or perhaps because they were in on some sort of plot.

    About the shooter, he’s been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a registered Republican. It remains unclear at the time of writing what his online history was and whether there’s more to his party affiliation than meets the eye.

    At the very least, there’s no doubt that the Democrats’ and their allied “Never Trumpers’” hatemongering played a role in radicalizing the suspect.

    Had he succeeded in assassinating Trump, then the US would have certainly plunged into socio-political disaster, which it literally missed by less than an inch. Many expect that powerful Democrat donors might soon force Biden to drop out of the race, thus leading to the party selecting their nominee outside of the notionally democratic primary process.

    Their Republican counterparts would have done the same on their side of the aisle, especially since Trump hadn’t yet announced his Vice-Presidential pick by the time of his attempted assassination. Both parties would therefore have likely chosen nominees that didn’t complete their respective primary processes, thus blatantly disenfranchising Americans even more than they already are in reality. In theory, the elections could be delayed to re-run the primaries, but Congress might not agree to it.

    Even if they did, the aforementioned hyperlinked article reminded readers that the 20th Amendment mandates the end of the President and Vice-President’s four-year terms at noon on 20 January, thus leading to (replacement) President Harris being forced to step down before a new one is elected. Her Vice-Presidential replacement could only be speculated upon in that scenario since the 25th Amendment stipulates that they’d have to be confirmed by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

    Whether or not the elections would be delayed, the US would continue to be ruled by the “governing oligarchy” that Axios reported late last month is the real power behind Biden. This analysis here that was coincidentally published earlier that same day noted that “The country is being ruled by a shadowy network of transnational and domestic elites that are united by their radical liberal-globalist ideology.” This group simply exploits Biden as their placeholder to publicly legitimize all of their decisions.

    They’d remain in power if the Democrats keep the White House or if a “Republican In Name Only” (RINO) replaced Trump had he been assassinated. The former President promised supporters that he’d make good on his former pledge to “drain the swamp” if he’s re-elected, and while precedent suggests that he might once again fail, there’s still a chance that he might partially succeed. At the very least, his return could create the conditions for some replacements, who might be conservative-nationalists.

    This insight sheds light on those forces who’d be pleased had he been assassinated, namely the liberal–globalist clique that secretly controls American policy, and they’d also have been delighted that Trump wouldn’t get the opportunity to end their latest “forever war” in Ukraine like he sought to do. His potential Republican successor could try to follow in his planned footsteps, but they also might not be interested in doing so if they’re a RINO, hence why taking Trump out could have been a game-changer.  

    On the home front, there’s no doubt that “shitlibs” would have plastered pictures of Trump’s blown-out brains all over social media and their cities in order to incite his supporters to violence, and some of them would have predictably obliged after being endlessly provoked with such images. The ruling liberal-globalists have wanted to radicalize MAGA members for a while already in order to further discredit their movement and create a compelling pretext for cracking down more forcefully upon them all.

    It also can’t be ruled out that some of these newly radicalized supporters of his might have carried out “retributive violence” by targeting Democrat officials from the federal level on down to the local one if they blamed them for his assassination. Infamous anti-Trump celebrities and influencers could also have been caught up in this bloody campaign, which might have led to martial law in parts of the country like Trump should have imposed during the Democrats’ spree of urban terrorism in summer 2020.

    America’s socio-political fabric could therefore have very easily been torn to shreds had Trump not suddenly turned his head at the last minute and thus miraculously averted this worst-case scenario by less than an inch. There’s no guarantee that this won’t happen again, however, which is why it’s imperative that Trump immediately announce his Vice-Presidential pick and ideally choose someone who the ruling liberal-globalist elite is also afraid of in order to reduce the chances of him being killed.

    Regardless of whatever happens, America just got a reality check about how close it is to descending into chaos, which shows how much it’s changed for the worse since 2016. Partisan radicalization and elite scheming have always been around, but they reached an unprecedented level after Trump became the Republican Nominee back then. He’s an imperfect candidate with a lot of personal flaws, but his re-election is the last chance to save America from itself if he succeeds in implementing his lofty plans. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 16:20

  • 'A Mistake': Zelensky Says He Can 'Forget' Biden Calling Him Putin (After Billions Donated)
    ‘A Mistake’: Zelensky Says He Can ‘Forget’ Biden Calling Him Putin (After Billions Donated)

    Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had a brief look of shock and confusion the moment when on Thursday President Biden introduced him before the NATO summit as Russian “President Putin”.

    In the embarrassing aftermath, which stunned the US Democratic political establishment at a moment questions were already intensifying over his mental fitness for office, Zelensky has been asked to comment on the uncomfortable moment. The Ukrainian leader as expected played down the flub, calling it a “mistake” which can now be forgotten and that he plans to move on from it.

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    “It’s a mistake. I think [the] United States gave a lot of support for Ukrainians. We can forget some mistakes, I think so,” the Ukrainian president told reporters from Ireland on Saturday, where he’s visiting Irish leader Simon Harris.

    Immediately after calling Zelensky “Putin” – Biden corrected himself and looked humiliated, saying the Ukrainian leader was actually going to “beat” Putin.

    But the moment overshadowed everything, including the rare Q&A the US president did later that night, which also didn’t go so well (given the references Biden made to “Vice President Trump”…).

    “Theater of the absurd,” a Russian reporter said after playing a clip of Biden calling the Ukrainian president by his wartime enemy’s name. —NBC

    As for Zelensky downplaying the moment and wanting the world to move on… this is exactly what one might expect from a foreign leader who has been given tens of billions by Biden.

    At the same time Ukraine has not looked favorably on a potential future Trump administration. Trump has at times said things which have outraged Kiev, such as promising to end the war within 24 hours by quickly getting each side to the negotiating table.

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    Trump has reportedly even floated a plan to withhold weapons from Kiev if it doesn’t agree to quickly seek to negotiate toward ceasefire and peace. By and large Ukraine has sided with the Biden administration in looking upon Trump as somehow ‘compromised’ by the Kremlin, given also the past years of pushing ‘Russiagate’ narratives.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 15:45

  • Democratic Socialists Of America Withdraws Endorsement Of AOC
    Democratic Socialists Of America Withdraws Endorsement Of AOC

    Via HeadlineUSA.com,

    The Democratic Socialists of America withdrew its endorsement of “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez, D-N.Y., for not being far left enough on Israel’s military strike in Gaza.

    In a memo on Wednesday, the DSA acknowledged Ocasio–Cortez has taken some “courageous positions on Palestine,” but said she has not done enough to oppose Israel.

    The memo cited her recent panel with leaders from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, calling it a “deep betrayal to all those who’ve risked their welfare to fight Israeli apartheid and genocide through political and direct action in recent months, and in decades past.”

    The DSA also took issue with “[Ocasio-Cortez’s] votes, including a vote in favor of H.Res.888, conflating opposition to Israel’s ‘right to exist’ with antisemitism,” and a press release in April she co-signed that “support[s] strengthening the Iron Dome and other defense systems.”

    Because of this, the DSA said it would be revoking its endorsement of Ocasio–Cortez, which it gave to her in June on the condition that she publicly oppose all funding to Israel, participate in the DSA committee, publicly oppose criminalization of all “anti-Zionism,” and publicly support efforts to “end Israel settler-colonialism.”

    The group added, “A national DSA endorsement comes with a serious commitment to the movement for Palestine and our collective socialist project. To build a socialist movement that’s capable of defeating capitalism, we must demand more from leaders in our movement.”

    In 2018, Ocasio–Cortez became the first female member of the DSA to be elected to Congress, alongside her fellow “Squad” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. She is still endorsed by the DSA’s New York chapter.

    Ocasio–Cortez has been openly critical of the Biden administration’s continued support for Israel and has demanded that President Joe Biden pressure Israel to agree to a permanent ceasefire against Hamas. 

    However, other groups that considered themselves central to her political rise, such as the Justice Democrats, have likewise signaled that the former bartender from the Bronx has lost site of their core values on her climb up the political ladder.

    She has not commented on the DSA’s withdrawal of support for her campaign.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 15:10

  • Surge In "Donate To Trump" Searches After Assassination Attempt
    Surge In “Donate To Trump” Searches After Assassination Attempt

    Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee could be set to receive another influx of donations from Americans, including many mom-and-pop voters across the nation, following the assassination attempt on the former president at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening. If the surge in donations following Trump’s guilty verdict in May, which brought in tens of millions of dollars in the days and weeks after, is any guide, then another donation wave could be imminent, if not already underway. 

    Google Trends search data shows that “Donate to Trump” surged nationwide in the moments after the assassination attempt. Folks in Wyoming, South Dakota, New Hampshire, West Virginia, and Nevada were searching for ways to donate to the Trump campaign the most. 

    The search data already exceeded the prior peak during Trump’s guilty verdict in his criminal hush money trial in May. That month, Trump and the GOP raised $141 million, with more than two million donations averaging $70 each. About 37.6% of the $141 million was raised in the 24 hours after the verdict was announced. 

    Americans were also searching for the “Trump campaign website,” and this search trend spiked overnight. 

    On Friday, Bloomberg revealed that Elon Musk contributed to America PAC, which is working to elect Trump to the White House. 

    Hours after the assassination attempt, Bill Ackman “formally endorsed” Trump on X.

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    PredictIt data shows that Trump’s odds of winning the presidential elections jumped to as high as 68% last night. Trump’s odds of winning surged at the end of last month following President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. 

    The increasing support for the former president comes as Biden’s election efforts falter, and a growing number of Democrats have asked Biden to step aside over his lack of mental acuity. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 14:35

  • "Malice Or Massive Incompetence": Erik Prince Gives Detailed Assessment Of Secret Service Failure
    “Malice Or Massive Incompetence”: Erik Prince Gives Detailed Assessment Of Secret Service Failure

    Update (1420ET): Former Navy Seal and Blackwater founder Erik Prince gave a detailed assessment of yesterday’s Secret Service debacle in the wake of a failed assassination attempt on former President Trump.

    “Hopefully after the tragedy yesterday in Butler PA we can all recognize that unaccountable bloated bureaucracies continue to fail us as Americans,” Prince posted to X.

    Continued (emphasis ours):

    Donald J Trump is alive today solely due to a bad wind estimate by an evil would be assasin [sic].

    As the graphics show the full value wind of just 5mph was enough to displace the unconfirmed but likely light 55 grain bullet two inches from DJT’s intended forehead to his ear.

    DJT was not saved by USSS brilliance. The fact that USSS allowed a rifle armed shooter within 150yds to a preplanned event is either malice or massive incompetence. Clearly there was adequate uncontrolled dead space for a shooter to move into position and take multiple aimed shots. Watching the newsreel one can hear how proximate the shooter is by the very short time lapse between the crack of arriving bullet (supersonic) to the boom of muzzle blast (sonic).  

    The law enforcement sniper (unclear if USSS) in newsreels was clearly overwhelmed as his face came off his rifle instead of doing his job to kill the shooter. Clearly they were watching the shooter but apparently have a no “first shot” policy.  The only positive action was an apparent 488yd shot by one USSS sniper which despatched the assasin but after the assassin launched at least 5 rounds, wounding DJT and killing and severely others in the crowd.

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    In my old business of providing Diplomatic Security in two active war zones we were expected to execute the basics or we would be fired. Clearly USSS failed at the basics of a secure perimeter and once shots were fired their extraction was clumsy and left DJT highly exposed to follow on attacks. It looked like they had never drilled together because those responses should be effectively autonomic. Will there be accountability?  That’s not the Washington way.

    Unserious and unworthy people in positions of authority got us to this near disaster. Merit and execution must be the only deciding factors in hiring and leadership, not the social engineering priority of the day.  Sadly nothing in Washington reflects that any longer. DJT is right to question the competence of those protecting him because yesterday they failed in almost every way. Nature abhors a vacuum and there are always other options.

    Most importantly, as Americans let’s come together and run a proper valid election so we can get back to what matters a merit based society that judges on character and skill. Nothing else.

    (Images from a SEAL sniper instructor at Red Sky LLC)

    *  *  *

    Indeed…

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    When looking at the circumstances in favor of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the identified alleged suspect in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, PA, it’s hard to see how the guy failed.  Almost every Secret Service security protocol seems to have been ignored, allowing Crooks easy access to a perfect shooting position and plenty of time to acquire a bead on Trump’s podium.

    The rooftop used by Crooks was a mere 140 yards away from the event with a clear line of sight to the right of Trump.  Those familiar with precision shooting know that any shot within 300 yards is considered easy for a moderately trained rifleman.  With the right caliber an expert can hit a torso sized target consistently at 1000 yards or more.  At 140 yards any amateur should be able to hit a pie plate-sized target with little difficulty, even without a magnified optic. 

    The Secret Service is supposed to secure all obvious “sniper perches” well before the arrival of a protectee – Meaning, nearby rooftops and buildings are supposed to have a security presence in place along with drone surveillance.  In the case of Butler, PA, this was apparently not done.  SS snipers were only present on the building right behind the venue stage.

    The lack of a security presence at the building across the field made it possible for the would-be assassin to brazenly jaunt to the location and climb to the rooftop with his rifle in broad daylight.  The SS traditionally uses concentric “circles of security” going out hundreds if not thousands of yards when preparing a location for protection.  Watch the video below for insight on how meticulous the Secret Service is supposed to be when preparing an area to prevent assassination attempts.

    The idea of Crooks being able to get that close with an elevated position on the stage is unthinkable.  Another fail was the lack of sight obstructions put in place near the stage.  The Secret Service is supposed to erect barriers to block the line of sight from potential shooting locations.  Again, this was not done. 

    Finally, there’s the dismal lack of response time.  Witnesses outside the event report that they saw Thomas Crooks climbing to the building rooftop with his rifle at least three minutes before he started shooting.  They claim they tried to warn police and Secret Service agents to no avail.  

    “How could you have somebody on the rooftop?” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise – a victim of political violence, after the shooting. “There are reports that people watched him climb up the roof and even alerted authorities, and we’re going to be looking into that.“

    Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Saturday night demanded immediate answers from the Secret Service as to how it failed to prevent the assassination attempt.

    “I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing,” Comer said on X. “The Oversight Committee will send a formal invitation soon. There are many questions and Americans demand answers.”

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    As Just the News notes, warning signs about the Secret Service were there months before the Trump assassination attempt.

    Back in May, Congress requested a briefing with the Secret Service, after several incidents allegedly raised internal concerns over the quality of its trainings.

    A petition within the Secret Service has reportedly been circulating because of the incidents and called for a congressional investigation into the agency, according to Comer.

    One incident saw a Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris allegedly attack her superior and other agents. The unnamed agent also exhibited other “concerning” behavior, according to her colleagues.

    Luckily for Trump, Crooks seems to have had terrible aim and he was not smart enough to shoot from a covered position which would have offered him protection and allowed him even more time.  Unfortunately, the shooter’s stray bullets hit at least three bystanders in the crowd, leaving one dead and two in critical condition.  The security failure in this situation is so complete that former Secret Service agents are admitting it publicly and calling for an investigation into how this could have happened.

    The motive for Thomas Crooks’ actions is not yet known.  Reports claim the 20-year-old Bethel Park resident was registered to vote as a Republican, yet, he also donated money to Democrat run organizations in 2021, including ActBlue and the Progressive Turnout Project.  

    As we warned only two weeks ago, Democrat rhetoric has been increasingly violent after the Supreme Court decision on Trump’s prosecution immunity.  Many Democrat representatives and activists openly suggested Trump could (or should) be assassinated in response to the ruling.  The media’s fear mongering over the “imminent destruction of Democracy” should Trump prevail might not be directly related to the shooting attempt, but it certainly doesn’t help.  In the wake of the failed assassination many have still taken to social media to argue that the shooting was “staged”, while others complained that the shooter missed his target.             

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    Regardless of one’s position on Trump, this kind of political vitriol should be considered poisonous.  It can only lead to more violence in the future. Again, the shooter was given every opportunity; Democrats almost got what they have long wanted.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 07/14/2024 – 14:24

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