- German Politicians Fingered In Chinese "Cash For Permits" Corruption Scandal
German Politicians Fingered In Chinese “Cash For Permits” Corruption Scandal
By Thomas Brooke, of Rmx.news
The main suspect in an ongoing fraud investigation in Germany has incriminated several local politicians from the mainstream parties in the town of Düren, accusing key players in the district administration of taking bribes to approve bogus residence permits for wealthy Chinese nationals.
Claus B., a lawyer suspected of leading a criminal enterprise that advertised its services to foreign nationals and registered fake companies in Germany to assist with work permits, says local politicians were complicit in the scheme and received incentives to look the other way.
Former CDU district administrator Werner Stump was accused of having knowledge of the racket and has maintained a long-running relationship with Claus B., hosting his law firm’s parties at a hotel he runs and meeting regularly with the suspect to discuss real estate deals. Stump has denied violating any laws relating to the granting of residence permits and insists he has done everything necessary to cooperate with the investigating authorities.
Another politician, Jens Bröker, a former SPD district administrator candidate who is now the department head for change and development in the Düren district, has been accused of being a major partner in the scheme, allegedly receiving up to €300,000 to use his influence and ensure the smooth approval of residence permit applications when landing on his desk.
Bröker is also in custody and has been dismissed from his posts. His defense attorney did not respond to requests for comment by German media.
Other politicians named in the scandal include former head of the immigration department and current treasurer Dirk Hürtgen (CDU) and his successor Sybille Haußmann (Greens) who allegedly facilitated the permit approvals, and District Administrator Wolfgang Spelthahn (CDU), president of the local football team FC Düren, which received substantial sponsorship and funding from companies owned by Claus B.
Spelthahn has denied that he “received any monetary payments or other benefits” and insists the sponsorship contracts with FC Düren were “documented transparently, properly taxed and processed and supported by the entire board,” according to news outlet Junge Freiheit.
Continue reading at rmx.news
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 23:00 - Farage's Reform UK Party Overtakes Sunak's Conservatives: Poll
Farage’s Reform UK Party Overtakes Sunak’s Conservatives: Poll
Europe’s marked shift towards populism appears to be accelerating, as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party has surpassed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives in an opinion poll for the first time, signaling a potential shift in the British political landscape as the nation approaches the July 4 general election.
According to a YouGov survey conducted for The Times, Reform UK now holds 19% of voter support, up two percentage points, while the Conservatives remain static at 18%. The opposition Labour Party continues to lead with 37% support. The poll, involving 2,211 respondents, was conducted from June 12 to June 13, shortly after Sunak’s announcement of a 17 billion pound ($21.70 billion) tax cut in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto.
The rise of Reform UK coincides with Farage’s return to the political forefront, after he announced his intent to lead the party and seek election to Parliament. Farage, a pivotal figure in Britain’s Brexit movement, aims to reshape the political conversation around populist issues, including stringent immigration policies.
“This is the inflection point. The only wasted vote now is a Conservative vote, we are the challengers to Labour and we are on our way,” Farage declared in a campaign video.
Reform UK, initially founded as the Brexit Party in 2018, has embraced a platform that appeals to right-wing voters who feel alienated by the traditional Conservative agenda. This shift comes as Sunak faces criticism for his early departure from D-Day memorial events in France, an action that has cast a shadow over his campaign.
Despite the latest polls showing Reform UK ahead of the Conservatives in terms of voter preference, the party’s evenly spread support across the country poses a significant challenge in the first-past-the-post electoral system. This system favors geographically concentrated backing, thus making it unlikely for Reform UK to secure many, if any, of the 650 parliamentary seats, despite potentially amassing millions of votes nationwide.
A Conservative lawmaker, who asked to remain anonymous, commented on the shift – telling Reuters: “Yes. I think people are fed up with the Tories, but not with Conservatism. So they are moving to another Conservative party.”
While other polls have shown the Conservatives with a more substantial lead over Reform, the momentum appears to be with Farage as he re-enters the political arena with a clear message and strategy aimed at disrupting the current political order. As the election approaches, it remains to be seen how this shift will impact the Conservative Party’s strategy and whether Farage’s renewed influence will translate into electoral success.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 22:30 - US Worried Israel Is Rushing Into War With Hezbollah With No Clear Strategy
US Worried Israel Is Rushing Into War With Hezbollah With No Clear Strategy
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
The Biden administration is concerned that the violence on the Israel-Lebanon border could soon escalate into a full-blown war and that Israel is rushing into the conflict without a clear strategy, Axios reported this week.
US officials told Axios that the administration has cautioned Israel against the idea of a “limited war,” warning that Iran could intervene and militants in Iraq and Syria could join the fighting.
Image: Israel Defense Forces The report said the White House believes a ceasefire in Gaza is the only thing that could reduce tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border. However, Israeli officials have previously threatened to escalate in Lebanon if a truce is reached in Gaza.
The report comes after Israeli airstrikes killed a Hezbollah commander who was described as the most senior member of Hezbollah to be killed by Israel since October 2023.
Hezbollah responded with a large volley of rockets. On Thursday, Israeli soldiers were spotted launching large fireballs into southern Lebanon to start fires.
According to a tally from AFP, Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon have killed at least 468 people in southern Lebanon since October, including 89 civilians. On the Israeli side, Israeli authorities have said 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed by Hezbollah.
The US is calling for de-escalation on the border after the latest round of strikes, but there’s no sign diplomatic efforts are making any progress.
There’s also no sign that the US is putting any real pressure on Israel to change what it’s doing in the north since US military aid continues to flow.
Hezbollah publishes footage of fresh attacks on settlements of Kiryat Shmona, Kafr Sold, & Margaliot in northern Israel:
⚡️Hezb-Allah publishes footage of them targeting the settlements of Kiryat Shmona, Kafr Sold, and Margaliot in northern occupied Palestine with dozens of Katyusha and Falaq rockets. pic.twitter.com/eclLWAkvjq
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) June 14, 2024
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Back in January, The Washington Post reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might view a war in Lebanon as key to his political survival. President Biden said recently that people have “every reason” to believe that Netanyahu is dragging out the onslaught in Gaza for his own political self-preservation.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 22:00 - Eat More Pork Chops – A "Really Tasty Alternative" To Beeflation
Eat More Pork Chops – A “Really Tasty Alternative” To Beeflation
Cash-strapped consumers are on the hunt for deals this summer. We highlighted in a note earlier Friday that Goldman analysts revealed that Walmart offers the best grocery deals among major brick-and-mortar supermarkets. Digging deeper, the discussion has now shifted to the meat aisle.
Consumers are well aware of soaring beef prices over the last several years, primarily due to the collapse of the US cattle herd to its smallest size since the 1950s.
Collapsing herd.
Retail ground beef prices.
The good news for consumers is that with an abundance of pork supplies, prices are much more affordable than beef.
How much cheaper?
Well… Wholesale pork prices are currently $2.13 per pound cheaper than beef. This added savings means consumers have increased purchasing power if they switch from beef to pork during this summer’s grilling season.
According to Bloomberg, the pork industry is finally about to catch some tailwinds after oversupplied conditions severely dented margins in recent years. Now, industry leaders are raising awareness about pork savings.
Pork producers have been under pressure as meat demand hasn’t kept pace with supplies and higher crop prices made it more expensive to feed herds. Still, attendees at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, last week expect the industry’s fortunes to start turning, with more demand giving them the bump needed to further improve margins. -BBG
“I would ask that every American go out and buy as many pork chops as they can and share with their neighbors,” said Bryan Humphreys, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council, a hog producer trade group.
More from Bloomberg about the good fortunes coming to hog farmers:
Hog producers are seeing the beginnings of a turnaround after a pork glut sent profits plunging over the past year. For operators who bulk up pigs from farrowing to slaughter weight, margins in April turned profitable for the first time in seven months, according to Iowa State University data.
“Every time that things get tough, people eat more pizza,” Rabobank senior animal protein analyst Christine McCracken explained, adding that ground pork is a “really tasty alternative” to ground beef.
And there you have it. Beef is becoming a luxury item. Pork is for the poors.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 21:30 - 76 Percent Of Those Under Age 40 Would Consider A China-Model Car
76 Percent Of Those Under Age 40 Would Consider A China-Model Car
Authored by Mike Shedlock via mishtalk.com,
Would You Buy a China-Made Car?
The Wall Street Journal reports 2024 Polestar 2: Built to Compete With Tesla
Our guest this week is the facelifted Polestar 2, a chic if somewhat cramped premium compact crossover built in China and brought to you by Volvo Cars in Gothenburg, Sweden. In 2010, the China-based conglomerate Geely bought Volvo Cars and now owns a 24% stake in the Polestar brand.
Last week AutoPacific market research released survey results gauging Americans’ openness to Chinese imported vehicles. Of the 800 people surveyed, 35% said they would be open to buying a car from a China-based brand. Among the under-40, that number hits 76%, despite widespread concerns about personal privacy.
It’s the age-based survey aspect that caught my eye, not the performance of the P2 that will cost close to $50,000.
BYD to Slash EV Prices Even More
Electrek reports BYD to Slash EV Prices Even More with New Platform as it Looks to Crush ICE Car Sales.
BYD is leading an offensive against ICE vehicles. A new report claims BYD’s new EV platform will slash costs even further as the automaker kicks off a “liberation battle” against gas-powered cars.
Best known for its low-cost EVs, such as the Dolphin, Atto 3, and sleek Seal sedan, BYD is taking its game up a notch in 2024.
BYD launched a price war on ICE vehicles last month with the new Qin Plus EV and PHEV models. Starting at $15,200 (109,800 yuan), the new EV officially opened a “new era of electricity is cheaper than oil.”
The DM-i (PHEV) version is even cheaper, starting at around $11,000 (79,800 yuan). It includes up to 74 mi (120 km) NEDC all-electric range.
The all-electric Qin Plus is offered with 48 kWh or 57.6 kWh battery packs for up to 261 mi (420 km) or 316 mi (510 km) CLTC range, respectively.
Last year, BYD introduced a DM-i model priced below the 100,000 yuan ($13,900) mark for the first time. The automaker said it was “directly destroying the moat of joint venture vehicles.” In other words, legacy automakers that are still selling gas-powered cars.
Its next-gen DM-i system will enable PHEVs to drive over 1,200 miles (2,000 km) with a fuel tank and full charge. This will make it hard for traditional gas cars to compete.
Although BYD isn’t planning to launch passenger EVs in the US, it is taking market share in key global markets, including Europe, Japan, South America, and Thailand.
Electrek Reader Comment
Personally I don’t care if all legacy US auto companies go out of business. BYD can make cheap $10,000 quality EV’s and US consumers should be able to buy them. Legacy automakers have been ripping us off for years by selling polluting gas guzzlers that break down far too often and cost us thousands of dollars to repair. The cheaper Chinese EV’s have less moving parts and are much cheaper to buy and maintain. BYD should be allowed to import their EV’s into the US and build an EV factory in the US.
Deflationary Push From China
On April 22, I cautioned A Big Deflationary Push From China But Will Biden or Trump Allow That?
China keeps returning to a well that has run dry, using exports as a means for growth. China is about to hit a brick wall, with global consequences.
Everyone thinks they can win a trade war. The only way to win is not play the game.
Neither China, nor the US, nor Germany or Japan has figured this out. And everyone wants to be a big exporter. It’s mathematically impossible.
Biden Hikes Tariffs 100 Percent
On May 10, I noted Biden Wants EVs so Badly That He Will Quadruple Tariffs on Them
Astute readers will immediately notice the title of this post makes no sense. It’s not supposed to. But it is exactly what President Biden is doing.
Conflicting Goals
We don’t want EVs unless people are willing to pay 100% more for them. And this is despite the claim that the world as we know it will end in 12 years if we don’t act on them.
The EU Taxes Vehicles from China that its Own Companies Make
Yesterday, I commented The EU Taxes Vehicles from China that its Own Companies Make
As with the EU, Biden insists you buy an EV and he wants you to pay the most possible for it (no cheap BYD vehicles).
On top of it, Biden has a Green mandate with no infrastructure in place, no way to produce the needed batteries with US materials, and no way to get the minerals given China has a 90 percent monopoly on nearly all of the processing and most of the mining.
Trump wants to stop China as well.
Look towards Mexico for China’s hoped for work around. Please note BYD Unveils the “Shark” a Plug-in Hybrid Pickup Truck Built in Mexico
The Chinese automaker BYD (Build Your Dreams) announces a 700-mile range PHEV that will be built in Mexico, this year.
China Shock II Is Coming, the EU Will Be Hit Hard, Then the US
On May 17, I commented China Shock II Is Coming, the EU Will Be Hit Hard, Then the US
Germany is feeling the pinch of China shock. But the US is on deck too. A global trade war looms.
We are right on schedule for China Shock. And it will happen no matter who wins the election.
Meanwhile, If you are interested in an inexpensive EV, both Trump and Biden want to stop you from having one.
Short-term, a recession will help the Fed. Long-term, inflation pressures are still huge.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 21:00 - Mondelez Says Oreo Cookie Prices Won't Be Hiked Despite Cocoa Chaos In West Africa
Mondelez Says Oreo Cookie Prices Won’t Be Hiked Despite Cocoa Chaos In West Africa
Junk food maker Mondelez International remains optimistic that cocoa prices will drop at some point next year despite a global shortage sparked by adverse weather conditions in West Africa. This week, futures contracts in New York topped $10k/ton again. And the company reassured investors that it won’t raise prices on its chocolate-based products to protect its sales volume.
“My most probable scenario into next year is that costs will come down,” Chief Financial Officer Luca Zaramella said during the 4th Annual Evercore ISI Consumer & Retail Conference held virtually this week.
Zaramella, who was first quoted by Bloomberg, revealed that Mondelez, the maker of Oreo cookies and Toblerone bars, is well-prepared to purchase cocoa at lower prices. He also acknowledged the possibility of a temporary gap between high cocoa costs and affordable chocolate prices.
“The name of the game for us is — particularly in a context where we believe chocolate costs will come down — to go through a potential temporary dislocation and protect volume and share as much as possible,” he added.
The comments come as cocoa prices in New York surged above $10k/ton this week on the news the world’s top producers, Ivory Coast and Ghana, are experiencing worsening shortages of the bean.
Here’s our latest reports:
- Cocoa Mess: Ivory Coast Bans Some Bean Sales As Global Supplies Tighten Further
- Rollercoaster: Cocoa Prices Surge Above $10,000 A Ton As Global Supply Fears Worsen
With prices above $10k/ton this week, commodity trader Pierre Andurand, who turned cocoa bull in March, is still bullish on his $20k/ton price target for later this year or next on the thesis of a continued slide in the inventory-to-grinding ratio.
So, will Zaramella’s forecast of slumping cocoa prices next year be correct? Or will the junk food maker cave and eventually raise prices for consumers?
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 20:30 - Nashville Shooter’s Manifesto Released Despite FBI Resistance
Nashville Shooter’s Manifesto Released Despite FBI Resistance
Authored by John R. Lott Jr. via RealClearPolitics,
The 2023 Nashville Covenant School murders understandably received massive news coverage when they occurred. The fight over obtaining the murderer’s diary also received news attention. But when “nearly four dozen pages” of the murderer’s diary were finally released last week, the mainstream media completely ignored it. It turns out that behind the scenes, the FBI had fought hard against the diary’s release. Some Covenant School parents also opposed releasing the diary because it would force families to re-live the nightmare. The Tennessee Star’s parent company, Star News Digital Media, successfully filed two lawsuits to obtain the diary.
Five days after the release of the diary, with the exception of the New York Post, which is a national news outlet, the news coverage was limited to seven other conservative outlets such as The Daily Wire and Newsbusters.
The school murderer was transgender, and her diary reveals a suicidal left-winger who hated whites. The FBI expressed concern that the release of the diary from a transgender person could lead the public “to dismiss the attacker as mentally ill,” which would “further permeate the false narrative that the majority of attackers are mentally ill.” It worried that the diary could “potentially inflam[e] the public.”
The FBI worried that releasing the diary could have “unintended consequences for the segment of the population more vulnerable or open to conspiracy theories, which will undoubtedly abound.” Self-professed “experts,” the FBI fears, will “proffer their perspectives” in the press.
But there is a lot of important information in the diary. As is very typical of mass public shooters, the murderer was suicidal: “A terrible feeling to know I am nothing of the gender I was born of. I am the most unhappy boy alive. I wish to be dead.” She was also on the anti-anxiety drug Buspirone, whose potential side effects include “abnormal dreams, outbursts of anger, tremors, and physical weakness.”
The FBI worries that the diary will help create a link in people’s minds between mass murderers and mental illness, but suicidal people presumably have some mental health problems. Nor should the link be particularly surprising given that the Crime Prevention Research Center shows that 51% of mass public shooters in the last 25 years were actually seeing mental health care professionals before their attacks. That is 2.5 times the rate in the general public.
The FBI acknowledged that Americans want to “understand what led to such tragic events.” But the FBI argued these statements “seldom provide the answers” and the diaries and manifestos were “often misleading.” Yet the national media appears completely uninterested in why these murderers pick the targets they do and how their motivation to get media coverage is important in understanding how to stop these attacks.
The diary showed that the murderer had picked the Covenant School because it was a soft, unprotected target. Even if the national media ignored these comments, the Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake, who had access to the diary, said on the day of the attack, “There was another location that was mentioned, but because of a threat assessment by the suspect of too much security, they decided not to.” A couple of days later, Nashville Council member Robert Swope stated that the murderer “looked at” two other Nashville public schools before deciding “the security was too great to do what she wanted to do.”
While the FBI worries that many of “the offenders themselves do not fully grasp or comprehend” what they are writing, there is a logic to attacking facilities assumed to be gun-free zones, like the Covenant School, and trying to maximize the amount of media coverage that they receive. The FBI may not want to acknowledge this, and the media may not want to cover these points, but we see it consistently in these attacks.
The mass murderer wanted to get attention for the difficulties facing transgender individuals. She compared trans individuals to other groups in a way that indicates she clearly believed that transgender people didn’t have the same rights: “Disabled have rights, civil races have rights, LGBTQ have rights, gun owners have rights.” But referring to the life of transgender people, she declared: “… with no rights, anyone’s country is a s***** dictatorship.”
The news media and the FBI under the Biden administration are attempting to control the information available to Americans about a mentally troubled woman who identified as a man. The Biden administration is free to argue against linking transgender issues to mental illness or mass murder, but censoring the information is not the right approach.
John R. Lott Jr. is a contributor to RealClearInvestigations, focusing on voting and gun rights. His articles have appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, USA Today, and Chicago Tribune. Lott is an economist who has held research and/or teaching positions at the University of Chicago, Yale University, Stanford, UCLA, Wharton, and Rice.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 20:00 - Alex Jones Ordered To Liquidate Personal Assets, But Infowars Lives To Fight Another Day
Alex Jones Ordered To Liquidate Personal Assets, But Infowars Lives To Fight Another Day
A bankruptcy judge in Houston, Texas on Friday ordered Infowars founder Alex Jones to liquidate his personal assets to help pay roughly $1.5 billion in damages to Sandy Hook families, but handed Jones a win – dismissing a separate bankruptcy case over Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems that would have handed control to the plaintiffs.
In his ruling, US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said that Sandy Hook families can pursue claims against Jones in state court without forcing Free Speech Systems into bankruptcy.
“The right call is to dismiss this case,” said Lopez, giving Infowars a lifeline. “I think remaining assets can be resolved outside of a bankruptcy forum.”
As for Jones’ personal bankruptcy, he had agreed to convert it into a Chapter 7 liquidation last week.
“Those trustees will make decisions about where things go,” he continued. “We’re not leaving things into the wind here.”
Infowars responds
“It looks like Infowars just got some extra time,” said host Owen Shroyer on air after news of the ruling broke.
Jones had been preparing his massive audience for a shutdown, as attorney for the families sought not only to take over Infowars, but Jones’ personal social media accounts which they argued is “no different than a customer list of any other liquidating business.”
Shortly before the hearing, Jones addressed the public to describe possible outcomes.
Alex Jones Gives Press Conference At Federal Courthouse in Houston On Hearing To Close Infowars
Support: https://t.co/c7Lo59AJZ5 pic.twitter.com/d6PwZd5DgO
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) June 14, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The Sandy Hook families asked the judge to make clear that the Jones’ “@RealAlexJones” account on X.com, formerly known as Twitter, will be among the assets turned over to a court-appointed trustee in charge of liquidating Jones’ assets. Jones’ X account, which has 2.3 million followers, is “no different than a customer list of any other liquidating business,” the Sandy Hook families argued.
They argued that Jones has used the social media account to push down the value of Infowars by diverting sales from that site to his father’s DrJonesNaturals.com, which sells health supplements and other products. –Reuters
Jones’ attorney, Vickie Driver, hit back – arguing that the request was procedurally improper and that Jones would oppose the currently moot request.
“The Connecticut Plaintiffs have never wanted money from Jones but to silence him,” said Driver.
Early Friday morning, Jones explained what was going on while driving to court.
🚨BREAKING NOW: Feds Attempting To Take My Personal @realalexjones X Account Today!@elonmusk this is precedent setting. Please take action. pic.twitter.com/3rHVPBgumN
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) June 14, 2024
Earlier this week, a court-appointed trustee for Free Speech Systems, who Jones said is a giant leftist, urged Lopez to convert Jones’ bankruptcy into a Chapter 7 liquidation – claiming that Jones’ reaction to his life’s work being dismantled was “erratic and unhinged,” and could therefore hurt the value of his business empire – thus reducing the amount that could be paid to the Sandy Hook families.
The plaintiffs in the case were sharply divided over the fight – with Connecticut families asking that the company be liquidated, and Texas plaintiffs who prevailed over Jones asking the case to be dismissed – arguing that they could better pursue funds if Infowars remained in business.
Jones filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2022, after filing for bankruptcy for Free Speech Systems earlier that year.
Jones livestreamed on the way home from court, and will be on-air at 10AM central.
#WarRoomShow Friday LIVE: Updates From The Courtroom That Could Decide The Fate of #Infowars — TUNE INhttps://t.co/T907Es61Hf
— War Room (@WarRoomShow) June 14, 2024
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 19:30 - NIH Documents Show $1.6 Billion Long COVID Initiative So Far Falls Short Of Goals
NIH Documents Show $1.6 Billion Long COVID Initiative So Far Falls Short Of Goals
Authored by Megan Redshaw, J.D. via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
(Naeblys/Shutterstock) It’s been more than three years since Congress directed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate the long-term effects of COVID-19—and there are still no answers for the millions of Americans suffering from long COVID.
The NIH launched the $1.15 billion RECOVER initiative in early 2021 to understand, prevent, and develop potential treatments for long COVID. The NIH set deadlines for certain goals to be met when it allocated funding.
But according to documents obtained by The Sick Times, MuckRock, and STAT through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the goals outlined in contracts between the NIH and the institutions tasked with leading the research have not been met despite passing the deadline, and nearly all of the initial funding has already been allocated.
“It’s a waste of money,” Dr. Darrel DeMello, a COVID-19 specialist, told The Epoch Times in an email. Dr. DeMello believes there should be a solution or a series of solutions for treating long COVID by now.
Congress allocated more than a billion dollars to the NIH in December 2020 and recently signed off on an additional $515 million to bolster research efforts. However, the documents show the majority of the funding has been used for observational research to collect data instead of clinical trials that test therapies or treatments.
NIH Recruited Data Experts, Not Long COVID Experts
According to NIH documents, RECOVER relied on three central institutions for its long COVID research initiatives: New York University (NYU), Massachusetts General Hospital, and Research Triangle Institute.
Collectively, these three contracts account for a significant portion of the $1.15 billion that Congress allocated to the NIH for long COVID research in 2020. The contract documents offer insights into how the NIH established its long COVID research initiative, the scientific expertise that the NIH prioritizes in its research teams, and RECOVER’s initial goals and timelines.
The NIH did not choose scientists with established expertise treating COVID-19 or independent physicians currently seeing long COVID patients in the clinical setting. The agency largely chose personnel in the research field who have been or are presently funded by other NIH grants and specialize in data collection and information systems.
According to the contract between NYU and NIH, experts with “key personnel experience” have backgrounds in biostatistics, data collection, and cardiac therapeutics. Key personnel working on the Massachusetts General RECOVER initiatives have backgrounds in biostatistics, epidemiology and environmental health, pharmacoepidemiology, pulmonology, rheumatic disease, information systems, cloud computing, and developing and implementing analytic tools for large data.
Selecting researchers who have never treated acute COVID-19 infections will yield results, as those who treat COVID-19 infections are the ones who understand the actual underlying disease process, according to Dr. DeMello.
Although the NIH has an expert list of investigators and clinicians providing oversight to working groups with expertise and clinical experience treating post-infection syndromes, myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other illnesses, only one expert is currently part of RECOVER’s listed leadership and its clinical trial leadership team.
RECOVER Initiative Still Hasn’t Defined Long COVID
An initial goal of RECOVER was to better define long COVID and the risk of developing the condition after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. This goal has not been met.
Around 10 percent of adults who have had COVID-19 continue to experience long-term symptoms, commonly referred to as long COVID or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). This translates to millions of Americans, considering that over 100 million people in the United States have been infected with SARS-CoV-2.
According to the NIH’s contract with NYU, its observational study aimed to recruit 85 percent of its cohort by spring 2022 and to have a working research-based definition of long COVID within the same timeframe. They did not reach 85 percent recruitment in 2022 and no working definition for long COVID has been provided.
In a paper published more than a year ago in the Journal of the American Medical Association, RECOVER researchers sought to develop a long COVID definition based on self-reported symptoms that could be used in future studies.
They found 37 symptoms across multiple pathophysiological domains present more often in SARS-CoV-2–infected participants at six months or more after infection compared with uninfected participants. Of these, the NIH said 12 symptoms best distinguished between those with and without long COVID, including post-exertional malaise, fatigue, brain fog, dizziness, gastrointestinal symptoms, heart palpitations, issues with sexual desire or capacity, loss of smell or taste, thirst, chronic cough, chest pain, and abnormal movements. This led experts and lawmakers to criticize the prioritized symptoms for diagnosis as more than 200 symptoms have been reported in those with long COVID. The NIH, in response, posted a Q&A to address concerns.
The NIH reiterated that there is no definition of long COVID researchers can use to identify the disease, nor should insurers, disability agencies, or physicians use the study’s findings to clinically define or rule out long COVID. Additionally, the NIH acknowledged a working definition is evolving, but more research is needed before a definition can be used in clinical practice.
RECOVER Has Not Started Clinical Trials
The RECOVER website states that the NIH has finished planning the “full research protocols” for RECOVER observational studies, but clinical trial protocols have only been finalized for two of the five RECOVER clinical trials, and none of the clinical trials have completed enrollment.
“I know everybody has been frustrated with how slow things are moving, but good science takes time,” Dr. Michelle Harkins told The Epoch Times.
Dr. Harkins, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist, said she’s involved in three of the five RECOVER clinical trials.
“It has taken longer than I would like to get them up and running, but there are some clinical trials in progress,” she said.
“In the RECOVER-VITAL study, we are looking at Paxlovid, and two-thirds of the enrolled population is already in the study. We are going to be doing a sleep study at the University of Mexico to look at light therapy and other treatments, and we will be taking some of our patients from the observational cohorts for the clinical trial,” Dr. Harkins said.
In a randomized clinical trial published June 7 in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers from Stanford found that a 15-day course of Paxlovid was generally safe but did not show significant benefit in a group of 155 mostly vaccinated participants with long COVID. The clinical trial was funded by Pfizer and coauthored by experts on RECOVER’s post-infection illness expert list.
“In the ENERGIZE study, researchers will look into transcranial direct current stimulator to assess neuro-component, and another study will look at POTS [Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome] disease and IVIG [intravenous immunoglobulin],” Dr. Harkins added.
In response to concerns that most of the funds went to data collection and observational research instead of clinical trials that could provide potential treatments for long-COVID patients, Dr. Harkins said observational cohorts will not provide specific answers but will provide “biobanking specimens” that scientists and researchers can learn from, which is especially important for the pediatric cohort.
As to why it has taken so long for the clinical trials to get underway, Dr. Harkins said the enrollment process can take a while because participants have to be screened to ensure they qualify for the trial.
“We want to make sure we put them in the right trial. If you put everyone with long COVID into a trial, you may not get answers, but if you put the person into the right trial based on their symptoms, we might be able to understand what treatments work for which group of patients. So, it is a little more detailed than just putting people into trials,” she explained.
“Long COVID is very complex, and it affects multiple organ systems—so really finding one pill to fix long COVID is not going to happen, so we are trying to understand how people with certain symptoms respond to certain treatments,” she said. “I wish it were as easy as the vaccine, believe me. It is taking a long time, and that’s frustrating, I’m sure, for all of us—on the study side of things, too. I wish it were going faster, but we are making some progress.”
At the same time, Dr. Harkins said some things could be done to speed things up. For example, faster clinical trials could be set up to test treatments that some patients and doctors are already using with some success, like low-dose naltrexone.
“Can we set up a rapid clinical trial network like we had during COVID times, where we have a little less red tape and can push things through faster? There needs to be another arm that looks into a rapid clinical trial,” she said.
Dr. Harkins said they’re close to finishing enrollment for the clinical trials she’s working on, but they will still need to perform the trial and follow participants for 120 days afterward.
“I think we are going to have some answers on some of the clinical trials in the coming months, and hopefully, they’ll be causative answers so that we know how to help patients. In the meantime, the observational studies do still give us good information that we can use,” she said.
“But I do think we could have a faster turnaround for all of the things that need to get done. Perhaps having a central entity to help fast-track and really study this so that we can move things forward, because we need to have these mechanisms in place for the pandemic or health crisis,” she added.
Dr. Harkins said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is working on a “moonshot bill,” which would provide $10 billion in funding over the next decade to establish a long COVID research program at the NIH. This funding would be in addition to recent funding allocated for the continued RECOVER trial and may help speed up the process.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 19:00 - LA City Council Removes U-Turn Signs In Gay Neighborhood Because They Are "Homophobic"
LA City Council Removes U-Turn Signs In Gay Neighborhood Because They Are “Homophobic”
Another bizarre virtue signal just in time for pride month. Street signs that LA officials said previously targeted LGBT community members were taken down from a Silver Lake neighborhood this week. The signs that read “No Cruising” and prohibited U-turns were installed in 1997 when neighbors allegedly complained about gay men stalking back and forth in vehicles looking for “dates” in certain residential areas.
BREAKING: LA City Council members have removed “No U-Turn” traffic signs in a gay neighborhood.
They say the signs were homophobic.
No, this is not satire. pic.twitter.com/yadflyo588
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 14, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
In other words, the signs interfere with the gay pastime of “cruising” (sexual solicitation). Whether or not they were actually posted specifically to ward off gay people is not confirmed, but the simple act of obstructing LGBT people from doing whatever they want to do is now considered “homophobia” by progressives.
“For me, growing up in South Central Los Angeles, cruising had a very different meaning. It usually meant folks in their lowriders or their cars, a lot of hip-hop music, just going up down Crenshaw Boulevard,” Council member Soto-Martinez said. “But here in Silver Lake, cruising, of course, meant something very different. It meant an opportunity for the LGBT community to try to find human connection and intimacy and to be able to express themselves in a society at the time that was not very welcoming to the LGBT community.”
The history of “cruising” in the gay community had very little to do with dating and far more to do with anonymous encounters as well as prostitution. With the advent of more socially accepted gay society in the US in the 1970s, a cultural problem of sexual solicitation and lewdness arose in public bathrooms and public parks in cities across America. The habit naturally attracted crime to certain areas and is even cited as one of the primary causes for the rapid spread of AIDS in the early 1980s.
The problem was apparently so bad in the neighborhood of Silver Lake that residents were compelled to put traffic restrictions in place to prevent people from driving back and forth on their street all day soliciting for sex. Keep in mind, such laws also exist in places where straight prostitution and solicitation is common.
LGBT advocates argue that cruising encounters were a necessity due to social stigma and laws against homosexuality, but such issues did not exist in the late 1990s, especially in liberal LA. The bottom line? Hedonism is a consistent feature of gay society regardless of the laws or how much social acceptance is in vogue. Cruising is not a necessary behavior, it’s a fetish.
If residents of any neighborhood were faced with their area becoming a hot spot for solicitation and prostitution, gay or straight, it’s reasonable for them to do whatever they can to make it stop.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 18:30 - Top Tech Trio Melts Up To Record High As Rest Of Market, Europe Burns
Top Tech Trio Melts Up To Record High As Rest Of Market, Europe Burns
Another day, another tech-led meltup, which managed to reverse the early slump in the stock “market”, and push the S&P to just shy of closing green, and the 41st record high of 2024, on the back of just one idea: this one.
Frankly, the whole AI meltup has become stupid: with the Mag 7 concept now dead and buried, all that matters are the Top 3 Tech Trio – Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia – which all have the almost same market cap, just around $3.2 trillion, and which as reported yesterday, are just “Taking Turns Going On Runs To All Time Highs“, with Nvidia overtaking Apple again today yet both just behind Microsoft…
… as traders expect that somehow the rest of the world will plow trillions into these three companies in perpetuity to justify their market cap, which of course will never happen (especially with the stagflationary recession that is looming according to pretty much any other industry) and instead these top AI-linked companies have so far disclosed relatively modest backlogs and cloud/data center RPO datapoints. According to Goldman, revenue allocated to RPOs for the cloud/data center segment was a paltry $242 billion as of March 31.
That doesn’t matter however, because once in momentum, the party must go on, and until the buyback blackout period begins after the close today, the party is in full swing.
Indeed, take Apple, which first saw its most disappointing WWDC performance in a decade – and with good reason: an AI-enabled Siri where all your queries are intercepted by the NSA tool that is ChatGPT, is still just as useless as Siri – only to explode higher the very next day as Tim Cook unleashed a massive buyback spree to create the impression that Apple’s official foray into AI wasn’t actually a total dud, and which in this extremely illiquid market sent the AAPL RSI to 80 making it the most overbought stock in three years…
… as the buyback was promptly joined by what may have appears to be the world’s biggest gamma squeeze!
And so, with the daily stock buyback-cum-gamma squeeze chase rotating among the Top Three Techs, the resulting action has pushed the S&P to record highs on 30 days this year, and four consecutive ATHs this week (Friday will be a wash) while the equal-weighted S&P has not moved in the past 4 months!
But it’s not just tech vs non-tech. Even within tech there is a staggering divergence – Nasdaq hit a new record high despite 72% of the index close lower on the session and more than twice as many new lows as new highs...
… and with the equal-weighted Nasdaq now underperforming 9 of the past 10 days!
And here is the chart of the week: Nasdaq vs Nasdaq advance/decline line. Absolutely crazy.
So while all the buying now focuses on just a handful of stocks, this is what the S&P looked at the close: 2 sectors green and 9 red….
… and yet, that epic imbalance didn’t stop spoos from closing unchanged!
Literally, literally, nothing but those 3 companies matters any more, certainly not the Russell 2000 index which is down three days in a row.
But while algos and traders are staring in fascination at the daily chase to new record highs among the “Top 3” and ignoring the rest of the S&P, things outside the US are turning ugly. No, not China, which as everyone knows is a basket case, and where the recent bounce is now over and done as the CSI slides from the mid-May highs…
… we are talking about Europe, and specifically France, where as noted earlier, the upcoming elections called so unexpectedly by president Macron, are now setting up to be a disaster for the French president, who is looking at a catastrophic loss following the snap formation of a leftist alliance, and which sent the French CAC40 plunging the most this week since early 2022, driven by plunging banks (SocGen down 12%, BNP Paribas down 10%)…
… but it wasn’t France’s stocks that were the highlight: instead it was the plunge in French bonds and the record blow out in the French-German yield spread…
… which widened 29bps this week to 77bps, the highest since 2017…
… that should be truly spooking markets as nobody, and we mean nobody, is prepared for another European debt crisis right now…. although this may be just the “crisis”, similar to Covid, the world needs to shock central banks into aggressively easing over the coming months and ahead of the US presidential election. To this point, the 10Y clearly knows which was the wind is blowing and ignoring the meltup in tech, TSY yields tumbled to the lowest level since early May.
And speaking of tightening, in the biggest news overnight, the BOJ once again kicked the can on actually tightening financial conditions and trimming its bond buying, and even as Japan reels under staggering inflation, the idiots that pass for its central bankers somehow managed to spark another yen rout, and only the imminent arrival of the next European sovereign bond crisis managed to push the yen modestly higher.
Yet while the coming central bank deluge was noted by gold and silver, both of which closed at session highs…
… crypto remains in an algo-driven world of its own, and tumbled all session since the European close for no reason even as ETFs now own 1 million of the 21 million bitcoins that will ever be mined.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 18:11 - DOJ Won’t Pursue Criminal Contempt Charges Against Garland
DOJ Won’t Pursue Criminal Contempt Charges Against Garland
Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in Congress in Washington on Sept. 20, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times) An official from the Department of Justice (DOJ) told House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a letter that Attorney General Merrick Garland will not be prosecuted for contempt of Congress because his refusal to hand over audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with a prosecutor did not amount to a crime.
In the letter, which was obtained by several media outlets, the DOJ official said that Mr. Garland’s refusal to comply with a subpoena demanding audio records of an interview that special counsel Robert Hur conducted with President Biden in his investigation into the president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents “did not constitute a crime.”
“Consistent with this longstanding position and uniform practice, the Department has determined that the responses by Attorney General Garland to the subpoenas issued by the Committees did not constitute a crime, and accordingly the Department will not bring the congressional contempt citation before a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute the Attorney General,” Carlos Felipe Uriarte, an assistant attorney general, wrote in the letter.
The letter also cited DOJ policy not to prosecute officials for contempt of Congress when they don’t comply with subpoenas due to a presidential claim of executive privilege.
A request for comment and confirmation of the content of the letter sent to the DOJ was not immediately returned.
More Details
The refusal to pursue contempt charges against Mr. Garland comes after the House voted on June 12 to hold him in contempt for failing to comply with the subpoena to turn over the tapes.
The House resolution, which passed in a mostly party-line 216–207 vote, came amid a months-long standoff between Republicans and the DOJ over the production of the audio recordings of President Biden’s two-day interview with the special counsel.
House Republicans have said that they want to obtain the recordings to verify Mr. Hur’s assertions that President Biden couldn’t recollect certain facts during the interview. They have alleged that a two-tiered justice system exists because Mr. Hur opted to not charge President Biden while former President Donald Trump faces multiple charges in connection with his own classified documents probe.
Mr. Hur, who faced criticism from Democrats and the White House for remarks on the president’s cognitive capacity in his report, didn’t recommend charges against President Biden, in part because of his ailing memory.
“At trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the special counsel wrote in his 388-page report, which found that President Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials” when he was a private citizen after the end of his term as vice president during the Obama administration.
While Republicans have said that they want the tapes to verify Mr. Hur’s assertions, Democrats have argued that Republicans want to use the tapes in campaign ads to portray President Biden as a frail leader with a poor memory who’s too old to serve another term in the Oval Office.
Mr. Hur revealed in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in March that White House officials sought to soften his report’s characterizations of President Biden’s ailing memory.
Mr. Uriarte’s letter to Mr. Johnson also states that the DOJ made efforts to accommodate Congressional requests for information related to Mr. Hur’s interview of the president, including producing a transcript of the conversation.
The DOJ official also cited a “lack of a sufficient need” for the production of the audio tape of the interview that would “further a legitimate congressional purpose.”
Executive Privilege
On May 16, President Biden asserted executive privilege over the interview tapes, with the White House counsel’s office notifying House Republicans of the move just hours before they were expected to recommend holding Mr. Garland in contempt for refusing to hand them over.
Mr. Garland and White House Counsel Ed Siskel defended the executive privilege assertion as necessary because it could affect future investigations.
In a May 15 letter to the president, Mr. Garland said that the “committee’s needs are plainly insufficient to outweigh the deleterious effects that the production of the recordings would have on the integrity and effectiveness of similar law enforcement investigations in the future.”
President Biden’s counsel accused House Republicans of wanting the tapes to craft political attack ads.
“The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal—to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes,” Ed Siskel, President Biden’s counsel, wrote to Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in a May 16 letter. “Demanding such sensitive and constitutionally-protected law enforcement materials from the Executive Branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate.”
Still, the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Mr. Comer, and the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Mr. Jordan, both voted on May 16 to hold Mr. Garland in contempt of Congress despite President Biden’s executive privilege intervention.
Mr. Johnson has been critical of efforts to block the release of the tapes.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 18:05 - Southwest Boeing 737 Max Came Within 400 Feet From Crashing In Ocean Near Hawaii
Southwest Boeing 737 Max Came Within 400 Feet From Crashing In Ocean Near Hawaii
Bloomberg has obtained an internal memo from Southwest Airlines that was recently distributed to pilots. The memo details a frightening incident in April when a Boeing 737 Max 8 nearly crashed into the ocean off the coast of Hawaii during an aborted landing.
The memo states Southwest Flight 2786 dropped at an abnormally high rate of more than 4,000 feet per minute before one of the pilots was able to sharply pull back on the yoke, sending the jet climbing at 8,500 feet per minute. The jet was 400 feet from hitting the ocean when the pilot recovered the aircraft.
Data from from flight tracking website ADS-B Exchange shows Flight 2786 dropped from an altitude of about 1,000 feet to 400 feet above the ocean in just a few seconds. The plane was near Lihue Airport on the island of Kauai during the incident.
Flight 2786 mishap was previously unreported and adds to the safety challenges facing the aviation industry, especially Boeing jets.
The memo shows the incident was likely pilot-induced – and not a Max glitch:
According to Southwest’s review, the incident occurred following an aborted landing attempt due to inclement weather that blocked the pilots from seeing the runway by a specified altitude.
The captain opted to put the “newer” first officer in command on the short flight to Lihue despite the forecasts, according to the memo.
The less-experienced first officer “inadvertently” pushed forward on the control column, then cut the speed causing the airplane to descend. Soon after, a warning system sounded alarms the jet was getting too close to the surface and the captain ordered the first officer to increase thrust. The plane then “climbed aggressively” at 8,500 feet per minute, the memo said. -BBG
For some context about stable and controlled flight, commercial jets usually glide down on approach at around a rate of 1,500 to 2,000 feet a minute before landing. The 8,500 feet per minute rate is very extreme and not controlled.
Bloomberg noted, “That incident was investigated by both the FAA and NTSB, which found the mishap resulted from a miscommunication between the pilots on the aircraft.”
Kit Darby, a former commercial airline pilot and flight instructor, said the pilot was “pitching up and pitching down with the power and close to out of control — very close,” adding, “It would feel like a roller coaster ride.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 17:40 - FDA Changes Course, Advises Updated COVID-19 Vaccines Target KP.2 Strain
FDA Changes Course, Advises Updated COVID-19 Vaccines Target KP.2 Strain
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
A healthcare worker prepares a COVID-19 vaccine in New York City in a file photograph. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 13 changed course and recommended COVID-19 manufacturers target the KP.2 virus strain in their next round of shots.
The regulatory agency had said earlier this month it was following advice from its advisers and directing manufacturers to target the JN.1 variant.
The change “is intended to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 Formula) more closely match circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains,” the regulators said. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.
The change is “based on the most current available data, along with the recent rise in cases of COVID-19 in areas of the country,” the FDA said in a statement.
The regulators, though, said manufacturers could choose whether or not to target KP.2, a sublineage of JN.1.
That likely means consumers will be presented with different vaccines in the fall, which the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee advised against.
“I do think about some potential for confusion, particularly if there were different variants included in different vaccines,” Dr. Archana Chatterjee, one of the advisers, said during the committee’s recent meeting. “There’s enough confusion already about this vaccine.”
Pfizer and Moderna, which produce modified messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, have said they can produce vaccines targeting KP.2 or JN.1. However, Novavax, which makes a protein-based vaccine, has said it developed a JN.1 vaccine and would not be able to shift to a KP.2-based product in time for the fall. Protein-based vaccines require more manufacturing time than mRNA shots.
JN.1 was displaced in May in the United States by KP.2 and KP.3, two sublineages, according to estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of June 8, KP.3 was responsible for a quarter of the cases in the United States, and KP.2 was responsible for 22.5 percent of the cases in the country, according to the estimates.
The strains LB.1 and XDV.1 are also on the rise.
Advisers had noted that by the time the vaccines are available in September, the circulating strains might be different. That’s one reason they recommended targeting JN.1.
“If we’re going to stick with a monovalent for now, the trunk of the tree is the best bet,” said Dr. Bruce Gellin, another adviser.
Some advisers said they thought the new vaccines should contain multiple strains, but FDA officials rejected that advice and said the new shots will be monovalent.
The currently available vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax target the XBB.1.5, which was displaced in 2023 before the shots were brought to the market. They have been taken by 22.5 percent of adults and 14.4 percent of children, according to government surveys. The effectiveness of the vaccines quickly drops, according to data presented at the FDA meeting. [delete]
Officials say the vaccines will likely be updated once a year moving forward in a bid to counter waning effectiveness.
New Studies
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, meanwhile, announced Thursday it is committing $500 million for clinical trials evaluating experimental vaccines against COVID-19. [delete]
The vaccines are administered as a nasal spray or a pill, while the shots on the market are administered by needle.
The bulk of the money is going to California-based Vaxart, which is developing a pill vaccine.
New York-based Castlevax and Georgia-based Cyanvac are also receiving funds for their intranasal vaccine candidates.
“We are making progress on the development of cutting-edge treatments, such as vaccines administered as a nasal spray or as a pill,“ Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. ”The Biden-Harris Administration won’t stop until we have the next generation of innovative vaccines, therapeutics, and other tools to protect against COVID-19, or any other pathogen that could threaten the American public.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 17:15 - NATO Expansion: A New Detailed Timeline
NATO Expansion: A New Detailed Timeline
The official website of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has since January of this year featured an entire page which seeks to “debunk” what it calls “Russian disinformation on NATO”.
The series of “myths” that the official NATO page sets out to dispel in one section mocks the very term “NATO expansion”—strongly suggesting that it’s so misleading, the words shouldn’t even be used in conversation or in media reporting.
Here is what NATO claims as part of its ‘debunking’ and setting forth of ‘facts’…
The wording “NATO expansion” is already part of the myth. NATO did not hunt for new members or want to “expand eastward.” NATO respects every nation’s right to choose its own path. NATO membership is a decision for NATO Allies and those countries who wish to join alone.
Via Reuters In recent days Terry Cowan – a geopolitical commentator and Lecturer of History at University of Texas at Tyler – has compiled a new and very helpful timeline documenting the history of NATO’s eastward expansion to Russia’s doorstep.
Below is professor Cowan’s NATO Expansion: A Timeline.
* * *
There is an official narrative to our war with Russia through Ukrainian proxies. To be sure, Russian troops did cross the Ukrainian border, and territorial integrity is important to us, except, of course, when it isn’t. President Biden enunciated it on the day Russian troops poured over the Ukrainian border:
“This was never about genuine security concerns on their part. It was always about naked aggression, about Putin’s desire for empire by any means necessary–by bullying Russia’s neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause.”
Biden has reiterated that view, certainly less articulately, in recent days at the D-Day observances in Normandy, but the basic outline is still there, to-wit:
-
Our heavy involvement in Ukraine since 1991 did nothing to contribute to the conflict.
-
Russia’s security concerns about the advancement of NATO eastward are silly.
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There are bullies in the world, but the bully is never us.
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Although the 4th largest economy in the world (in purchasing power), Russia still longs to recreate the Soviet Union.
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Russia is corrupt, although their current leader is elected, while Ukraine is not corrupt, although their current leader rules by martial law.
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Changing borders is wrong, when Russia does it. When we do it (Kosovo), it is for humanitarian reasons.
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No actions by the West or Ukraine over 8 years against Russian speakers in the Donbass that resulted in 14,000 deaths provide any justification for Russia’s actions.
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Russia is bad, the West is good.
So there you have it. This is our official narrative. This aligns with our sentiments and comforts our ideological prejudices, even if it is lacks much in the way of self-awareness.
There is another narrative, however; one that is not ideologically-driven and is buttressed by actual facts. That is the story Glenn Diesen tells in The Ukraine War & the Eurasian World Order. What I have done is to construct a Time Line of NATO expansion, taken from Diesen’s narrative. I find it compelling.
NATO Expansion: A Timeline
From: The Ukraine War & the Eurasian World Order by Glenn Diesen (Atlanta: Clarity Press, Inc., 2024)
1975
The Helsinki Accords
Outlined a common framework for European security
1987
George Kennan:
“Were the Soviet Union to sink tomorrow under the waters of the ocean, the American military-industrial complex would have to go on, substantially unchanged until some other adversary could be invented. Anything else would be an unacceptable shock to the American economy.”
1989
“Common European Home”
Gorbachev’s plan to demilitarize Europe by disbanding both the Warsaw Pact & NATO
“Europe Whole and Free”
The U.S. rejected Gorbachev’s plan; offers universalism of liberal democracy as the foundation for a common Europe
Malta Summit
Negotiated end to the Cold War; Russia would not use military to suppress democracy movements in eastern Europe; Russia agreed to unification of Germany; the U.S. (Bush & SoS James Baker) promised NATO would expand “not one inch eastward.” These promises were not only made by Bush & Baker, but by Hans-Dietrich Genscher (the West German foreign minister), Helmut Kohl, Robert Gates, Francois Mitterrand, Margaret Thatcher, Douglas Hurd, John Major, and Manfred Wörner.
1990
The Charter of Paris for a New Europe
Based on Helsinki Accords, sovereign equality with no dividing lines, to preserve principles of CoP, NATO would have to remain a status quo power
1994
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Translated Helsinki Accords & Charter of Paris into an actual security organization; dismissed by the U.S.
1994
The U.S. began to pursue NATO expansion under old slogan “Europe Whole and Free”; the West failed to reform/transform itself after end of Cold War–became fundamentally militaristic with the assumption of superiority in light of Russia’s weakness.
1994
“Partnership for Peace”
President Clinton advocated this as an alternative to NATO expansion; instead became stepping-stone t0 NATO membership. “Clinton was talking out of both sides of his mouth.” Boris Yeltsin saw this as the beginning of a new split in Europe. Secretary of Defense William Perry argued against expansion, but was met with response of “Who cares what they think? They’re a third-rate power.”
1994
Boris Yeltsin
“History demonstrates that it is a dangerous illusion to suppose that the destinies of continents and of the world community in general can somehow be managed from single capital.”
1995
20 former U.S. officials wrote open letter opposing NATO expansion, “convincing most Russians that the United States and the West are attempting to isolate, encircle and subordinate them, rather than integrating them into a new European system of collective security.”
1996
President Clinton:
“We keep tellin ol’ Boris, ‘O.K., now, here’s what you’ve got to do next–here’s some more shit for your face.”
1997
50 prominent U.S. foreign policy experts sent letter to President Clinton warning that NATO expansion “is a policy error of historic proportions.”
George Kennan:
“expanding NATO would be the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-cold war era…Why with all the hopeful possibilities engendered by the end of the cold war, should East-West relations become centered on the question of who would be allied with whom and, by implication, against whom.”
1997
Ambassador Jack Matlock argued that Washington repeated the same mistake made at Versailles in 1919 by excluding Russian and establishing a security order that would perpetuate the weakness of Russia.
1997
Madeleine Albright:
“…if Russia doesn’t work out the way that we are hoping it will…NATO is there.”
The justification of NATO’s post-Cold War existence was therefore to respond to the security threats that had been created by its expansion.
Former Secretary of State James Baker warned that the purported need for an insurance policy could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.: “The best way to find an enemy is to look for one, and I worry that that is what we are doing when we try to isolate Russia.”
Ambassador Jack Matlock:
“May well go down in history as the most profound strategic blunder made since the end of the Cold War.”
Zbigniew Brzezinski
“Without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be a Eurasian empire.”
1998
George Kennan:
“I think it is the beginning of a new cold war…There was no reason for this whatsoever. No one was threatening anybody else. This expansion would make the Founding Fathers of this country turn over in their graves…Of course there is going to be a bad reaction from Russia, and then [the NATO expanders] will say that we always told you that is how the Russians are–but this is just wrong.”
1999
NATO invasion of Yugoslavia
NATO represents European security and can supersede international law. Henry Kissinger warned that this transformation of NATO from a defensive alliance into an offensive alliance contradicted our repeated assurances to Russia that they had nothing to fear from a NATO expansion.
NATO occupies Kosovo
NATO obtains UN mandate to occupy the Kosovo region of Yugoslavia under the specific condition of upholding Yugoslavia’s territorial integrity. Used as venue for NATO base in the Balkans, and to change realities on the ground.
On the last day of the year, Boris Yeltsin steps down and handed presidency over to his prime minister, Vladimir Putin.
2001
The U.S. announced it would unilaterally withdraw from the 1972 AMB Treaty, in order to develop strategic missile defense, a “preemptive counterforce capability against Russia and China.
9/11: Putin is the first foreign leader to contact George W. Bush, offers sympathy & support; provided important intelligence and logistical network support for the invasion of Afghanistan.
2004
Color Revolutions
The U.S. promoted successful coups around Russia’s periphery: Ukraine & Georgia. Orange Revolution in Ukraine: popular demands for democratic reforms and tackling corruption were hijacked by international NGOs (NED, Freedom House, USAID); “an American creation, a sophisticated and brilliantly conceived exercise in western branding and mass marketing…” a “postmodern coup d’état…CIA-sponsored third world uprising of cold war days adapted to post-Soviet conditions.”
“Single Economic Space”
Proposal by Russia to include Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan; denounced in the West as an expression of “imperial ambitions” that had to be resisted.
2005
Common Spaces Agreement
Committed both Russia and EU to preventing new dividing lines; regional cooperation.
2007
Munich Security Conference
Putin summarizes Russia’s concerns about “one centre of authority, one centre of Force, one centre of decision-making…that NATO has put its frontline forces on our borders…against whom is this expansion intended?”
Condoleezza Rice
Mocked Russia’s concerns about the U.S. placing 10 interceptive missiles in Eastern Europe: “purely ludicrous, and everybody knows it.” Within a few years, the number had risen to several hundred.
2008
Moscow proposed new pan-European security architecture; opposed by West as feared it would weaken NATO.
NATO Bucharest Summit
“We agreed today that these countries [Ukraine and Georgia] will become members of NATO.” A Gallup poll taken in Ukraine at the time revealed that 46% valued closer ties to Russia, while only 10% favored closer ties with the U.S. over Russia.
Ambassador William Burns
“Not only does Russia perceive encirclement, and efforts to undermine Russia’s Influence in the region, but it also fears unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences Which would seriously affect Russian security interests…Russia is particularly worried that the strong divisions in Ukraine over NATO membership, with much of the ethnic-Russian community against membership, could lead to a major split, involving violence or at worst, civil war. In that eventuality, Russia would have to decide whether to intervene; a decision Russia does not want to have to face.”
“Ukrainian entry into NATO is the brightest of all redlines for the Russian elite (not just Putin)…I have yet to find anyone who views Ukraine in NATO as anything other than a direct challenge to Russian interests…Today’s Russia will respond.”
British Ambassador Roderic Lyne
“It was stupid on every level. If you want to start a war with Russia, that’s the best way of doing it.”
Fiona Hill
She warned Bush that “bring Ukraine and Georgia closer to NATO as a provocative move that would likely provoke pre-emptive Russian military action. But ultimately, our warnings weren’t heeded.”
Angela Merkel
Russia would view this as a “declaration of war.”
2010
Moscow proposes EU-Russia Free Trade Zone “to facilitate a Greater Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok.” Dismissed as sinister plot to divide the West.
President Yanukovich approved a bill that cemented Ukraine’s neutrality: “intention of becoming a permanently neutral state that does not participate in military blocs.”
2013
The EU pressured Ukraine to drop its neutral stance and offered the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area instead; effectively an ultimatum to choose either the West or Russia. Russia countered with trilateral EU-Uraine-Russia agreement which the EU rejected out of hand, “the times for limited sovereignty are over in Europe.”
Hillary Clinton
On the Eurasian Economic Union: “We are trying to figure out effective ways to slow down or prevent it.”
2014
National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
“Ukraine is the biggest prize…Putin may find himself on the losing end not just in the near abroad but within Russia itself.”
Coup
Victoria Nuland: “the U.S. had invested almost $5 billion since 1991 to assist Ukraine in achieving ‘the future it deserves.’” Nuland caught deciding who should be in the new Ukrainian government and who should be kept out, at a time when Yanukovich was still the lawful president of Ukraine.”
“The most overt coup d’état in history”
“In 2014 the United States backed an uprising–in its final stages a violent uprising–against the legitimately elected Ukrainian government of Viktor Yanukovych, which was pro-Russian.”
Crimea
Vladimir Putin: “They cheated us again and again, made decisions behind our back, presenting us with completed facts. That’s the way it was with the expansion of NATO, in the east, with the deployment of military infrastructure at our borders. They always told us the same thing: ‘Well, this doesn’t involve you.’”
Vladimir Putin speech
“After the revolution, the Bolsheviks, for a number of reasons–may God judge them– added large sections of the historical South of Russia to the Republic of Ukraine. This was done with no consideration for the ethnic makeup of the population, and today these areas form the southeast of Ukraine. Then, in 1954, a decision was made to transfer the Crimean region to Ukraine, along with Sevastopol, despite the fact that it was a city of union subordination. This was the personal initiative of the Communist Party head Nikita Khrushchev.
Henry Kissinger
“…if Ukraine is to survive and thrive, it must not be either side’s outpost against the other-it should function as a bridge between them…any attempt by one wing of Ukraine to dominate the other–as has often been the pattern–would lead eventually to civil war or break up.”
“Washington’s planned seizure of Russia’s historic, legitimate warm-water naval base in Crimea failed.”
Washington’s reference to the sacred principle of territorial integrity in accordance with international law was unconvincing as the West’s rules-based international order had introduced the right to self-determination as a competing principle to territorial integrity. It was therefore problematic to make a convincing legal case for why the secession of Crimea was different from the secession of Kosovo.
Approximately 75% of Ukraine’s naval personnel defected to Russia or quit the Ukrainian navy.
Stephen Walt
“The real question, however, is why Obama and his advisors thought the United States and the European Union could help engineer the ouster of a democratically elected and pro-Russian leader in Ukraine and expect Vladimir Putin to go along with it.”
In accordance with the rules-based international order, NATO countries refer to liberal democratic norms to exempt themselves from constraints imposed by international law.
2015
Minsk-2 Agreement
Ukraine, Donbass, Germany, France, Russia agreed to pursue diplomatic reform for Donbass autonomy; never pursued. Victoria Nuland described Angela Merkel as “defeatist,” John McCain referred to it as “Moscow Bullshit.”
Mikhail Gorbachev
“NATO’s eastward expansion has destroyed the European security architecture as it was defined in the Helsinki Final Act in 1975. The eastern expansion was a 180-degree reversal, a departure from the decision of the Paris Charter in 1990 taken together by al the European states to put the Cold War behind us for good. Russian proposals, like the one by former President Dmitri Medvedev that we should sit down together to work on a new security architecture, were arrogantly ignored by the West. We are now seeing the results.”
2019
The U.S. unilaterally withdraws from the INF Treaty
Russia demanded that the U.S. not place missiles in Ukraine as they had done in Poland and Romania.
2021
The UK signed a naval agreement with Ukraine.
NATO pushed the prospect of membership for Ukraine
“We reiterate the decision made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance.”
Russia sent the U.S. a draft treaty outlining the conditions to restore security and stability in Europe. President Biden responded “I don’t accept anyone’s red line.”
2022
Vladimir Putin
“Listen attentively to what I am saying. It is written into Ukraine’s doctrines that it wants to take Crimea back, by force if necessary. This is not what Ukrainian officials say in public. This is written in their documents…Imagine that Ukraine is a NATO country and starts these military operations. What are we supposed to do? Fight against the NATO bloc? Has anyone given at least some thought to this? Apparently not.”
Ambassador Jack Matlock
“The war might have been prevented–probably would have been prevented–if Ukraine had been willing to abide by the Minsk Agreement, recognize the Donbass as an autonomous entity within Ukraine, avoid NATO military advisors, and pledge not to enter NATO.”
John Mearsheimer
“The United States and its European allies share most of the responsibility for the crisis. The taproot of the trouble is NATO enlargement.”
President Biden
“This was never about genuine security concerns on their part. It was always about naked aggression, about Putin’s desire for empire by any means necessary–by bullying Russia’s neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause.”
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg:
“Weapons are the way to peace.”
Through Turkish intermediation, Russia and Ukraine reach an agreement. “Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries.”
Boris Johnson came to Kiev with two messages: “The first is that Putin is a war criminal, he should be pressured , not negotiated with. And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they [the UK and the U.S.] are not.
“The war in Ukraine can end only with Valdimir Putin’s defeat.” President Zelensky invoked a degree making it illegal to negotiate with Putin. Any political settlement would require the removal of Putin from power.
2023
Victoria Nuland:
“I am, and I think the Administration is, very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like, to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea.”
The U.S.–with the cooperation of Norway–had attacked the gas pipelines.
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Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 16:50 -
- US Signs $23 Billion F-16 Deal With Turkey
US Signs $23 Billion F-16 Deal With Turkey
The US has inked a $23 billion deal with Turkey for 40 F-16 warplanes. Washington promised to sell dozens of the advanced fighter jets to Ankara and upgrade scores of Turkish F-16s in exchange for Turkey approving Sweden’s NATO membership.
The AFP reported the deal was signed on Thursday. “The contract was signed and delegations from both sides are negotiating the details,” Turkish defense ministry sources told the outlet.
Getty Images The State Department said last week that it had taken significant steps towards finalizing the deal, which was proof of the deep military relationship between Washington and Ankara.
“Just the latest example of US enduring commitment to security partnership with Turkey,” it said in a statement on US government social media accounts.
In January, President Biden sent a letter to Congress pushing Capitol Hill to approve the sale of F-16s to Turkey. Washington had conditioned the deal on Ankara lifting its months-long obstruction of Stockholm joining NATO.
Since joining the bloc in March, Sweden has taken an aggressive approach towards Russia. Stockholm has approved Kiev using its weapons against targets inside Russia, and top Swedish officials have suggested Stockholm could join NATO’s nuclear weapons sharing program.
Turkey was initially a partner in the F-35 project and was set to receive the latest American warplane. However, during the Trump administration, Ankara purchased an advanced missile defense system from Moscow, leading Washington to cut Turkey from the program.
When the sale was first approved to advance forward earlier this year, US ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake described the sale as a “great step forward.” He said, “Turkiye’s F-16 fleet is critical to NATO’s strength, ensuring future interoperability among Allies.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 16:25 - US Nuclear Attack Sub, Canadian Warship In Cuba Just Behind Russian Naval Group
US Nuclear Attack Sub, Canadian Warship In Cuba Just Behind Russian Naval Group
A US Navy fast-attack submarine has surfaced and arrived in Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay, just on the heels of a group of Russian warships having arrived in Havana merely the day prior. The American nuclear-powered USS Helena arrived at the US base on Thursday, while a Canadian navy patrol ship has followed on Friday.
The Pentagon’s US Southern Command in a statement called it “a routine port visit…while conducting its global maritime security and national defense mission.” While both Moscow and Washington have tried to downplay these mirror deployments to Cuban waters, the whole spectacle is reminiscent of the Cold War, given it seems clear the US is using the nuclear submarine to signal strongly in response to Russia.
Illustrative: Navy file image All of this is taking place a mere 100 miles off the Florida coast. The Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan just before arriving in Cuba had earlier this week conducted “high-precision missile weapons” training in the Atlantic Ocean.
In an effort to calm tensions that are the result of Russian warships being in the Caribbean, Cuba’s Foreign Ministry assured the world that “None of the vessels carries nuclear weapons,” in reference to the Russian vessels. Cuba further said the official Russian Navy visit to the port “does not represent any threat to the region.”
Military reports have indicted that the Helena has enough food and supplies on board to remain on station for up to an estimated three months.
Despite current efforts to downplay these maneuvers, Newsweek has pointed out that “It is unusual for the United States and other countries to disclose the precise locations of their submarines, but surfacing a stealth boat sends an unmissable military signal to potential adversaries.”
“The vessel’s location and transit were previously planned,” the Pentagon has said, but at the same time US defense officials have told various media publications that US and Canadian forces had been “actively monitoring” the Russian naval group’s movements across the Atlantic and as it came near the US East coast.
“We’re always, constantly going to monitor any foreign vessels operating near U.S. territorial waters,” a Pentagon press spokesperson said this week. “We of course take it seriously, but these exercises don’t pose a threat to the United States.”
Russian state media has declared that the Russian sub and accompanying vessels docking in Cuba gives the US a dose of its own medicine.
“I think we can definitely see this as a direct Russian reply to the general US declaration of conducting what it calls ‘Freedom of navigation’ exercises. Although, as far as we know, no one has challenged the freedom of navigation,” geopolitical analyst and American citizen Mark Sleboda, who lives in Russia, has told Sputnik.
Source: Newsweek/OSM-Boundaries President Biden has meanwhile at the Group of Seven summit in Italy sought to signal a message of resolve and commitment on Ukraine, with the White House saying that Putin “just cannot wait us out” and that Washington support to Kiev is not going to wane.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 15:20 - Silver Demand In The Solar Sector Could Squeeze Silver Supply In The Future
Silver Demand In The Solar Sector Could Squeeze Silver Supply In The Future
Authored by Mike Maharrey via Money Metals,
Silver use by the solar energy sector is one of the primary factors driving the overall demand for silver, and there is reason to believe photovoltaic silver off-take will continue to increase in the years ahead.
Not only is the demand for silver panels growing, but the amount of silver used in each panel is also increasing.
Industrial demand for silver set a record of 654.4 million ounces in 2023 and it is expected to hit new highs this year. According to the Silver Institute, ongoing structural gains from green economy applications underpinned this surge in silver demand.
“Higher than expected photovoltaic (PV) capacity additions and faster adoption of new-generation solar cells raised global electrical & electronics demand by a substantial 20 percent. At the same time, other green-related applications, including power grid construction and automotive electrification, also contributed to the gains.”
Silver is the best conductor of electricity of all metals at room temperature. That makes it a vital input in the production of solar panels.
To manufacture a solar panel, silver is formed into a paste that is applied to the front and back of silicon photovoltaic cells. The front side collects the electrons generated when sunlight strikes the cell, while the back side helps to complete the electrical circuit.
Each solar panel uses approximately 20 grams (0.643 ounces) of silver. While this is a relatively small amount, the total adds up quickly when you consider the number of panels produced each year. The solar industry used approximately 100 million ounces of silver in 2023, accounting for about 14 percent of total silver demand.
Several years ago, analysts assumed that the amount of silver used in solar panels would decline over time with the development of new technologies. However, a Saxo Bank report in 2020 disputed this claim, saying, “Potential substitute metals cannot match silver in terms of energy output per solar panel.”
“Further, due to technical hurdles, non-silver PVs tend to be less reliable and have shorter lifespans, presenting serious issues for their widespread commercial development.”
It turns out, this analysis was correct. Newer more efficient technologies use 20 to 120 percent more silver.
In 2020, Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC) technology was the standard, accounting for virtually the entire solar market. A PERC solar panel uses about 10 milligrams of silver per watt.
By 2022, PERC technology was being replaced by Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon) cells. This advanced technology enhances the efficiency of solar cells by improving the way they handle electron flow. A TOPCon cell is cheaper to produce but uses more silver than a PERC solar panel. It contains about 13 milligrams of silver per watt.
Now, heterojunction (HJT) technology is beginning to dominate the solar market. HJT cells are even more efficient than TOPCon technology and can capture energy on both sides of the panel. They are also more environmentally friendly. But they use even more silver – about 22 milligrams per watt. HJT cells only made up a small part of the market in 2023, but demand for these more efficient panels is expected to grow.
With demand for solar power increasing along with the amount of silver used in each panel, analysts believe that solar panel production will consume increasingly large amounts of silver in the future.
According to a research paper by scientists at the University of New South Wales, solar manufacturers will likely require over 20 percent of the current annual silver supply by 2027.
By 2050, solar panel production will use approximately 85–98 percent of the current global silver reserves.
The green energy sector is also essentially recession-proof because it is being driven, incentivized, and in some cases directly funded by governments around the world.
The silver market is already running significant deficits with silver demand outstripping supply. The structural deficit in 2023 came in at 184.3 million ounces.
While there is still a large silver stock available, market deficits will eventually deplete the reserve of available metal. We could see a significant supply squeeze in the coming years.
Silver is not currently priced for these supply and demand dynamics.
It’s also important to remember that while industrial demand is an important factor driving the price, silver is still fundamentally a monetary metal. As such, the price tends to track with gold over time. If you are bullish on gold, you should be even more bullish on silver. In fact, silver tends to outperform gold in a gold bull market.
Given the supply and demand dynamics, the economic environment, and a historically wide gold-silver ratio that indicates silver is underpriced, there are plenty of reasons to think silver will shine in the future.
Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for MoneyMetals.com with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 14:55 - "Alt-Protein": Pentagon Contractor Wants To Feed US Troops Lab-Grown Meat To "Reduce CO2 Footprint"
“Alt-Protein”: Pentagon Contractor Wants To Feed US Troops Lab-Grown Meat To “Reduce CO2 Footprint”
A Pentagon contractor that has received more than $500 million from the Defense Department wants to produce lab-grown meat for America’s soldiers in order to “reduce the CO2 footprint” at Defense Department outposts, the Free Beacon reports.
BioMADE, a public-private DoD contractor, “is a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) with a vision to build a sustainable, domestic, end-to-end bioindustrial manufacturing ecosystem,” according to a project overview posted last month. It is seeking proposals to develop “innovations in food production that reduce the CO2 footprint of food production at … DoD operational environments,” which include “novel cell culture methods suitable for the production of cultivated meat/protein,” aka lab grown meat.
This type of meat is grown in a lab from animal cells with the aid of other chemicals, and has emerged as a flashpoint in debates about the efficacy and morality of manufacturing meat products without slaughtering animals.
BioMADE—which earlier this year received a $450 million infusion of taxpayer cash—maintains that lab-grown food products will reduce the Pentagon’s carbon footprint, a priority for the American military as it pursues a Biden administration-mandate to address climate change and other cultural issues that critics describe as “woke.” -Free Beacon
“Innovations in food production that reduce the CO2 footprint of food production at and/or transport to DoD operational environments are solicited,” the company said in an informational document. “These could include, but are not limited to, production of nutrient-dense military rations via fermentation processes, utilizing one carbon molecule (C1) feedstocks for food production, and novel cell culture methods suitable for the production of cultivated meat/protein.”
The company is also soliciting proposals for “processes that convert greenhouse gasses,” as well as “projects that develop bioproducts useful in mitigating the negative environmental impacts either regionally or globally,” including “bioproducts that can be used to prevent or slow coastal erosion
The project has fallen under heavy scrutiny from critics, who say that US troops should not be used as guinea pigs for experimental food.
“Taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund the lab-grown meat sector,” said Jack Hubbard, executive director at the Center for the Environment and Welfare, a consumer group that analyzes emerging markets such as bioengineered meat. “Our troops deserve better than to be served lab-grown meat, produced in bioreactors with immortalized cells and chemicals.”
“Unfortunately, this effort is being driven by an agenda that is political and anti-farmer. Our soldiers should never be used as guinea pigs,” he continued.
The Pentagon and its outside partners, as part of its push to fund “alt-protein projects,” made up to $2 million available for such projects, according to the publication Alt-Meat.
Supporters of these efforts say U.S. national security hinges on addressing global change and pursuing new technologies that enable products like lab grown meat. -Free Beacon
According to former DoD official Matt Spence in 2021, “One of the most immediate, politically feasible, and high-impact ways to do this [address climate change] is for the U.S. government to invest in and accelerate alternative ways to produce meat.”
That said, UC Davis published a report last year suggesting that “lab-grown meat’s carbon footprint [is] potentially worse than retail beef.”
“If companies are having to purify growth media to pharmaceutical levels, it uses more resources, which then increases global warming potential,” said lead author, Derrick Risner of the college’s Department of Food Science and Technology. “If this product continues to be produced using the ‘pharma’ approach, it’s going to be worse for the environment and more expensive than conventional beef production.”
“Our findings suggest that cultured meat is not inherently better for the environment than conventional beef. It’s not a panacea,” said corresponding author Edward Spang, an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology. “It’s possible we could reduce its environmental impact in the future, but it will require significant technical advancement to simultaneously increase the performance and decrease the cost of the cell culture media.“
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/14/2024 – 14:35
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