Today’s News 17th December 2021

• The Year Of The New Normal Fascist
  The Year Of The New Normal Fascist

  Authored by CJ Hopkina via ConsentFactory.org,

  And so, as 2021 goose-steps toward its fanatical finish, it is time for my traditional year-end wrap-up. It’s “The Year of the Ox” in the Chinese zodiac, but I’m christening it “The Year of the New Normal Fascist.”

  And what a phenomenally fascist year it has been!

  I’m not talking amateur fascism. I am talking professional Class-A fascism. Government and corporate sanctified fascism. Bug-eyed, spittle-flecked, hate-drunk fascism. I’m talking mobs of New Normal fascists shrieking hatred and threats at “the Unvaccinated” as they are dragged off “Vaccinated Only” trains, painting Nazi-era messages on their windows of their stores, leaders of government fomenting mass hatred, TV commentators literally quoting sadistic Nazi SS doctors, leftists going full-fascist on Facebook, concentration camps, Goebbelsian propaganda, censorship of dissent … the whole nine yards.

  

  Here in Europe, things are particularly fascist. One by one, New Normal countries are rolling out social-segregation systems, ordering “lockdowns” of “the Unvaccinated,” and otherwise persecuting those who refuse to conform to official New Normal ideology. Austria has made “vaccinations” mandatory. Germany is about to follow suit. “Covid passes” have been approved in the UK. Greece is fining “Unvaccinated” pensioners by reducing the amount of their state-pension payments. Swedes are “chipping” themselves. And so on.

  In New Normal Germany, “the Unvaccinated” are under de facto house arrest. We are banned from society. We are banned from traveling. We are banned from protesting. Our writings are censored. We’re demonized and dehumanized by the New Normal government, the state and corporate media, and the New Normal masses on a daily basis. New Normal goon squads roam the streets, brutalizing pensioners, raiding barber shops, checking “papers,” measuring social distances, literally, as in with measuring sticks. The Gestapo even arrested Santa Claus for not wearing a mask at a Christmas market. In the schools, fascist New Normal teachers ritually humiliate “Unvaccinated” children, forcing them to stand in front of the class and justify their “Unvaccinated” status, while the “Vaccinated” children and their parents are applauded, like some New Normal version of the Hitler Youth. When New Normal Germany’s new Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, announced that, “for my government there are no more red lines as far as doing what needs to be done,” apparently he wasn’t joking. It’s only a matter of time until he orders New Normal Propaganda Minister Karl Lauterbach to make his big Sportpalast speech, where he will ask the New Normals if they want “total war” … and I think you know the rest of this story.

  But this isn’t just a story about New Normal Germany, or New Normal Europe, or New Normal Australia. And it isn’t just a story about mass hysteria, or an “overreaction” to a corona virus. The “New Normal” is a global GloboCap co-production, a multi-trillion-dollar co-production, which has been in development for quite some time, and this year has gone exactly to script.

  Given all the drama over the past 12 months, it’s easy to forget that the year began with the occupation of Washington DC by thousands of US (i.e., GloboCap) forces in the wake of the “Terrorist Assault on the Capitol” (a/k/a the “January 6 Insurrection,” or the “Attempted Coup,” or some such nonsense) carried out by a few hundred totally unarmed Donald Trump supporters, who were allegedly intent on “overthrowing the government” and “destroying Democracy” with … well, their bare hands.

  This was the long-awaited “Return to Normal” spectacle that had been in the pipeline for the previous four years, the public humiliation of the Unauthorized President (and the “populists” who put him in office) and the GloboCap show of force that followed. Here’s how I described it back in January:

  “In other words, GloboCap is teaching us a lesson. I don’t know how much clearer they could make it. They just installed a new puppet president, who can’t even simulate mental acuity, in a locked-down, military-guarded ceremony which no one was allowed to attend, except for a few members of the ruling classes. They got some epigone of Albert Speer to convert the Mall (where the public normally gathers) into a ‘field of flags,’ symbolizing ‘unity.’ They even did the Nazi Lichtdom thing. To hammer the point home, they got Lady Gaga to dress up as a Hunger Games character with a ‘Mockingjay’ brooch and sing the National Anthem. They broadcast this spectacle to the entire world.”

  As I assume is obvious to everyone by now, the “Return to Normal” was a “Return to the New Normal,” which the global-capitalist ruling establishment was already imposing on the entire world. The message couldn’t possibly be clearer. As Arnold Schwarzenegger succinctly put it, the message is, “screw your freedom.” The message is, shut up and toe the fucking line. The message is, show me your fucking papers. Use the fucking pronouns. Eat the fucking bugs. Get the fucking “vaccinations.” Do not fucking ask us “how many.” The answer is, “as many as we fucking tell you.”

  The message is, there will be no more unauthorized presidents, no more leaving the European Union, no more “populist” rebellions against the global hegemony of global-capitalism and its soul-crushing, valueless “woke” ideology. GloboCap is done playing grab-ass. They announced that back in March of 2020. They informed us in unmistakable terms that our lives were about to change, forever. They branded and advertised this change as “the New Normal,” in case we were … you know, cognitively challenged. They did not hide it. They wanted us to understand exactly what was coming, a global-capitalist version of totalitarianism, in which we will all be happy little fascist “consumers” showing each other our “compliance certificates” in order to be allowed to live our lives.

  I don’t need to review the entire year in detail. You remember the highlights … the roll-out of the “safe and effective” miracle “vaccines” that don’t keep you from catching or spreading the virus, and which have killed and injured thousands of people, but which you now have to get every three or four months to be allowed to work or go to a restaurant; the roll-out of the global social-segregation/digital compliance-certificate system that makes absolutely no medical sense, but which the “vaccines” were designed to force us into; The Criminalization of Dissent; The Manufacturing of “Reality”; The Propaganda War; The Covidian Cult; the launch of The Great New Normal Purge; the whole Pathologized Totalitarianism package.

  I’d like to end on an optimistic note, because, Jesus, this fascism business is depressing. So I’ll just mention that, as you have probably noticed, more and more people are now “waking up,” or relocating their intestinal fortitude, and finally speaking out against “vaccine” mandates, and “vaccination passes,” and social segregation, and all the rest of the fascist New Normal program. I intend to encourage this “awakening” vociferously. I hope that those — and you know who you are — who have been reporting the facts and opposing the New Normal, and have been ridiculed, demonized, gaslighted, censored, slandered, threatened, and otherwise abused, on a daily basis for 21 months, as our more “prominent” colleagues — and you know who you are — sat by in silence, or took part in the Hate Fest, will join me in applauding and welcoming these “prominent” colleagues to the fight … finally.

  Oh, and, if you’re one of those “prominent” colleagues and you start beating your chest and sounding off like you’ve just rediscovered investigative journalism and are now leading the charge against the New Normal for your YouTube viewers or your Substack readers, please understand if we get a little cranky. Speaking for myself, yes, it’s been a bit stressful, doing your job and taking the shit for you out here in the trenches for the past 21 months. Not to mention how it has virtually killed my comedy … and I’m supposed to be a political satirist.

  But there I go, getting all “angry” again … whatever. As the doctor said, “buy the ticket, take the ride.” And it’s the season of joy, love, and forgiveness, and publicly crucifying dissidents, and paranoia, and mass hysteria, and persecuting “Unvaccinated” relatives, and, OK, I might have had one too many.

  

  Happy holidays to one and all, except, of course, to the New Normal fascists, especially the ones that are torturing the children. God, forgive me, but I hope they fucking choke.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 23:40

• 'Kyle Rittenhouse' Was The Most-Searched-For Person In The US In 2021
  ‘Kyle Rittenhouse’ Was The Most-Searched-For Person In The US In 2021

  Every year, Google reveals its biggest trending search queries over the previous twelve months.

  Looking at all searches in the United States compared to last year, Statista’s Martin Armstrong notes that a picture of the people and the topics that were in our thoughts in 2021 emerges.

  

  While 2020’s trending searches were dominated by the coronavirus (and the election, of course), 2021’s results didn’t show signs of an increase in attention for the pandemic, with other major events and people-driven news stories taking center stage.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Away from the more serious and impactful side of the year, Bernie Sanders’ mittens took the internet by storm after an image of him went viral.

  On our TV screens, the Netflix series Squid Game gained the most traction, followed by Bridgerton and WandaVision.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 23:20

• US Navy Tests New Laser Weapon Off Yemen Coast
  US Navy Tests New Laser Weapon Off Yemen Coast

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  The US Navy tested an advanced laser weapon near Yemen’s coast in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, destroying a floating target.

  The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet said the amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland “conducted a high-energy laser weapon system demonstration.” In 2020, the Portland tested the same weapon and successfully took down an aerial drone.

  

  The Navy statement described that “During the demonstration, the Solid State Laser – Technology Maturation Laser Weapons System Demonstrator (LWSD) Mark 2 MOD 0 aboard Portland successfully engaged a static surface training target. Portland previously tested the LWSD in May 2020 when it successfully disabled a small unmanned aerial system while operating in the Pacific Ocean.”

  The US Navy chose the Portland to host and experiment with laser weapons in 2018. Media reports said the laser could be used to target drone boats that have been used by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea since the test was conducted in the region.

  

  Above: “Amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) conducts a high-energy laser weapon system demonstration on a static surface training target, Dec. 14, while sailing in the Gulf of Aden,” the Fifth Fleet statement said.

  With US support, Saudi Arabia’s navy has been enforcing a blockade on Yemen since Riyadh intervened in the country’s civil war back in 2015. The Houthis have attacked Saudi warships and tankers since the war started.

  

  The Saudi-led war in Yemen has caused widespread disease and mass starvation. The UN recently said by the end of this year, 377,000 people will have died in the Yemen war. President Biden is still supporting the war despite his earlier vows to end support for Riyadh’s “offensive” operations in Yemen.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 23:00

• Russia Compares West's Treatment Of Assange To Cannibalism
  Russia Compares West’s Treatment Of Assange To Cannibalism

  Russian officials are comparing the West’s treatment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to cannibalism, saying Washington and London’s purpose in this instance is the “annihilation of an individual”.

  Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described in her latest press briefing that covered commentary on the Assange extradition trial that “The actions taken by our Western partners over the past few years smack of cannibalism.” The comparison suggested that the West is ‘eating its own’ who stand for justice, all while Western nations claim to champions of justice and equal rights. “This is no longer about double standards or about trampling the principles and ideals [the West claims to champion],” the Kremlin official added.

  

  The statement explained, “All this is not about some double standards or defiance of lofty principles and ideals. It’s about the annihilation of an individual, revenge for his stance, for his courage and for the fact that he deemed it necessary, apparently aware of the potential risks, to share with the world some crucial information that shed light on the lies and deceit committed by a number of states.”

  The Kremlin’s lashing out came amid new revelations that Assange suffered a “mini-stroke” while confined at Belmarsh prison in London, and amid continuing reports of his extremely frail health, which his Fiancée Stella Moris has explained is taking a heavy toll mentally. She described days ago that the prior stroke was likely due to the extreme stress of the ongoing US extradition attempts. 

  Zakharova addressed this in her Wednesday statement: “Everybody can see that this man is being annihilated. He looks like two different people. Everybody can see his current condition, not to mention the campaign of victimization the champions of democracy have organized against him,” she added.

  Amnesty International: “The fact that the US has reserved the right to change its mind (on assurances) at any time, means that these assurances are not worth the paper they are written on” @amnesty #FreeAssangeNOWhttps://t.co/HljmTwk0wi

  — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) December 16, 2021

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  Most recently, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales sided with the US in upholding the Justice Department’s prior appeal filed to keep the extradition proceedings alive.

  Pundits and supporters of WikiLeaks have pointed out that short of a quick extradition to the US – a scenario yet to materialize in Washington’s favor – the DOJ’s strategy and that of its Western intelligence allies is likely to ensure Assange waste’s away in confinement while drawing out the legal process and endless appeals as long as possible.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 22:40

• US Offers $35 Million Prize To Aid Capture Of Drugmakers From China, Mexico
  US Offers $35 Million Prize To Aid Capture Of Drugmakers From China, Mexico

  Authored by Eva Fu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The U.S. State Department is offering up to $35 million for information that could lead to the arrests of seven drug dealers from China and Mexico, in an effort to curb fentanyl and other illicit drugs from flooding into the United States.

  

  The announcement came right after President Joe Biden on Dec. 15 signed two new executive orders, declaring international drug trafficking a national emergency and establishing a U.S. council on transnational organized crime to unite six agencies to counter the illicit drug trade. The Department will award up to $5 million for information on each of the seven drug traffickers.

  One of the seven individuals named was Chinese national Yip Chuen Fat, who the Justice Department has recognized as “one of the world’s largest alleged anabolic steroid producers.”

  Prosecutors announced federal charges against Yip on Tuesday. The 68-year-old, believed to be from the Chinese city of Wuhan, was slapped with five drug crimes charges in 2018, including manufacturing anabolic steroids and fentanyl precursors for export to the United States, according to the Justice Department.

  Court documents identified him as the owner of a chemical manufacturing company called Yuancheng (YC) Group, which is allegedly responsible for producing and distributing around $280 million worth of anabolic steroids from mainland China and Hong Kong. About one-fifth of the amount was shipped to the United States over a five-year period, prosecutors said.

  The YC Group allegedly shipped the contraband to all 50 U.S. states through cargo vessels and commercial air carriers such as the U.S. Postal Service, concealing shipments in food and other product packagings.

  In November, prosecutors obtained a warrant to seize more than 49.1 bitcoin, worth $2.3 million, from a crypto wallet that traced back to Yip. He allegedly uses virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, to conduct his business.

  Over 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses during the 12-month period ending April, a jump of 28.5 percent from last year, according to data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month. Synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, a drug 100 times more potent than morphine, accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total.

  Despite Beijing banning fentanyl and its analogs in 2019, China has remained the primary source of illicit fentanyl in the United States.

  To circumvent regulations, Chinese traffickers have increasingly taken to exporting precursors to Mexican cartels, who would produce the drug and smuggle it across the border, a tactic Yip’s company has allegedly adopted.

  The YC Group had once agreed to a scheme to ship 24 kilograms of 4-ANPP, a precursor to fentanyl, to the United States from China, which would then be smuggled to Mexico to make fentanyl and brought back into the United States.

  

  The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has listed Yip as one of its top 10 most wanted fugitives.

  Yip’s alleged criminal activities “have caught up with him,” DEA’s special agent in charge Eduardo Chávez said.

  “The Justice Department will pursue drug defendants to the furthest reaches of the globe if that’s what it takes to stem the tide of the drug epidemic,” said U.S. attorney Chad Meacham in a statement.

  Zheng Fujing and Zheng Guanghua, father and son from China’s Shanghai, face a 43-count indictment announced in 2018 for making and shipping fentanyl and 250 other deadly substances to at least 25 countries. The drugs the Zhengs sold allegedly led to the overdose deaths of two people in Ohio.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 22:20

• Visualizing The Global Semiconductor Supply Chain
  Visualizing The Global Semiconductor Supply Chain

  Our digitally-driven society is powered by an extremely robust semiconductor supply chain, and until the COVID-19 pandemic, not many people thought about it.

  But, as Visual Capitalist’s Omri Wallach details below, a sudden surge in demand for digital goods, improved technologies, and recovering economies put the strain and spotlight directly on semiconductors.

  The millions of digital devices we use, from smartphones to electric cars, computers, robotics, and the businesses they enable, only function thanks to the intricate chips built on semiconductors. By some estimates, up to 22.5% of global GDP is made up by the global digital economy.

  This graphic from ASE Global highlights the complex and global semiconductor supply chain that powers our modern world.

  

  How Important are Semiconductors and Chips?

  Fully understanding the importance of semiconductors to the modern world is sometimes tricky, especially when the devices themselves are so small.

  But a semiconductor device—also known as an integrated circuit (IC) or chip—actually contains many smaller circuits comprised of millions of transistors, all packed onto a few millimeters of silicon (the semiconductor).

  These semiconductor devices allow electronics to make computations, and in essence, function and operate. That makes them vital for modern electronics, with semiconductors being the fourth-most traded product in the world behind crude oil, motor vehicle parts, and refined oil.

  Here’s a breakdown of different applications of semiconductor devices by market sizes in 2019:

  

  Modern smartphones, for example, utilize semiconductor devices with many different smaller integrated circuits for different functions. For example, these modern chips can include the phone’s CPU, GPU, neural processing, and image processing cores.

  And as the recent strain on automotive manufacturing demonstrated, semiconductors are even vital for vehicles. Cars are packed with up to 1,400 semiconductor devices controlling everything from airbags to the engine, and electric vehicles utilize even more.

  What the Semiconductor Supply Chain Looks Like

  So how do these complex devices make their way from concept to your devices?

  An integrated semiconductor supply chain that involves thousands of companies, millions of people, and billions of dollars. The chain can be broken up into stages which happen across the globe, better known as the foundry model:

  1. Design: Semiconductor chip designs are created for specific or general device usage.

  2. Manufacturing (Front End): Silicon wafers are processed through an extensive series of manufacturing steps then diced into multiple chips (also called dies or devices).

  3. Manufacturing (Back End): Chips are layered and assembled into packages that can be mounted onto circuit boards. Packaged chips are then tested under different electrical and temperature conditions.

  4. End Product Integration: Chips are integrated by electronics and equipment manufacturers to create end products for consumers.

  5. Consumption: End products are shipped to companies, retailer, and consumers worldwide.

  The entire process, from starting design and production to end product integration, takes months. But in the end, those manufactured chips end up in smartphones, computers, cars, servers, smart homes, and other technology all around the globe.

  Different Types of Companies in Semiconductor Manufacturing

  In 2020, despite an economic slowdown from the pandemic, an estimated 1.4 trillion semiconductor chip units were shipped around the globe.

  Those chips were manufactured by many types of companies that occupy different parts of the supply chain. Some are household names in electronics, while others are lesser-known manufacturing stage companies responsible for most of the world’s chip consumption.

  These companies operate under the foundry model, which is also known as fabless design. The model outsources different stages of production to specialized companies:

  • Fabless semiconductor companies and electronics manufacturers (and independent design companies) create the design and specifications required for their chips.

  • Foundries are contracted to manufacture the designed chips.

  • OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly & test) companies assemble, package, and test the chips for consumption. ASE Global is the market leader in assembly and testing services, capturing 30% of the global OSAT market in 2021.

  • OEM (original equipment manufacturers) and contracted EMS (electronics manufacturing service) companies integrate the packaged chip into devices. ASE Global is also a leading EMS provider, and over the course of the company’s history, has helped manufacture more than three trillion chips.

  • Devices are then sold by the fabless companies and electronics manufacturers at the start of the chain.

  At the same time, there are also IDMs (integrated device manufacturers) that design, manufacture and sell their own chips. This was the traditional model of chip development and IDMS generally weren’t considered a part of the foundry model, but many IDMs now outsource part of their production cycles as well.

  Unlocking the Potential of the Digital Economy

  The companies that make up the semiconductor supply chain are spread all over the globe, from the U.S. to China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Germany. A finished chip can contain components that have traveled more than 25,000 miles by the time of final product integration.

  It’s a complicated but necessary supply chain that empowers the technology of the present and the future. From advances in 5G and AI to smart factories and advances in automotive and quantum computing, the companies in the semiconductor supply chain make it all possible.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 22:00

• San Francisco Mayor Finally Blasts "All The Bulls**t That's Destroyed" The City, Demands More Money For Cops
  San Francisco Mayor Finally Blasts “All The Bulls**t That’s Destroyed” The City, Demands More Money For Cops

  Authored by Michael Shellenberger via Substack,

  After Black Lives Matter protesters last year demanded that cities “Defund the Police,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed held a press conference to announce that her city would be one of the first to do exactly that. Breed announced $120 million in cuts to the budgets of both San Francisco’s police and sheriff’s departments. A spokesperson for the police officers’ union warned the cuts “could impact our ability to respond to emergencies,” but the police chief assured the public that the cuts “will not diminish our ability to provide essential services.”

  

  Yesterday, Breed reversed herself in dramatic fashion, announcing that she was making an emergency request to the city’s Board of Supervisors for more money for the police to support a crackdown on crime, including open air drug dealing, car break-ins, and retail theft. The plan contains much of what the California Peace Coalition, which Environmental Progress and I cofounded last spring, has been demanding, including in a series of protests by parents of homeless addicts, parents of children killed by fentanyl, and recovering addicts.

  San Francisco Mayor Breed and other San Francisco politicians have for years promised to crack down on drug dealing and crime, and things have only grown worse over, so skepticism is merited. Already, progressives in San Francisco have denounced Mayor Breed’s plan, which she announced with the support of just two members of the city’s 11 Board of Supervisors, and without the apparent support of the city’s District Attorney.

  But there’s good reason for hope. Breed’s plan lays out big goals and makes very specific promises, including more funding for police. There will be a recall election next June of San Francisco’s District Attorney Chesa Boudin which many political experts believe will succeed. And the progressive Supervisor who represents the Tenderloin, the neighborhood with most of city’s open drug scene, is running for state assembly, creating a leadership vacuum and opportunity for Breed.

  More importantly, Breed’s speech has the potential to change the conversation about crime. Breed explicitly embraced “tough love,” which is a very different philosophy from Woke victimology, which divides the world into victims and oppressors and demands that victims, a category that includes street addicts and criminals, only be given things, from cash and clean needles to their own apartment with butler service, and not be held accountable for their actions.

  “I’m proud this city believes in giving people second chances,” said Breed.

  “Nevertheless, we also need there to be accountability when someone does break the law…Our compassion cannot be mistaken for weakness or indifference…. I was raised by my grandmother to believe in ‘tough love,’ in keeping your house in order, and we need that, now more than ever.”

  Breed punctuated her emotional speech with an explitive.

  “It is time for the reign of criminals to end,” she said.

  “And it comes to an end when are more aggressive with law enforcement and less tolerant of all the bulls**t that has destroyed our city.”

  Why is that? What explains Breed’s 180 degree reversal in less than 18 months? And what will determine whether she keeps her promise?

  SF Mayor @LondonBreed has literally just called bullshit on progressive criminal justice reformers

  “It is time for the reign of criminals to end. It comes to an end when are more aggressive with law enforcement & less tolerant of all the BULLSHIT that has destroyed our city” pic.twitter.com/ewqheftUun

  — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

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  Murder, Looting, and Drug Deaths

  The main reason for Breed’s turnabout is skyrocketing crime. A report released yesterday by San Francisco’s Public Policy Institute of California concluded that homicides increased in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, and San Francisco by 17% in 2021. Property crimes in those four cities rose 7% between 2020 and 2021, reaching 25,000 total in October. Two-thirds of increase is due to larcenies, mainly car break-ins (by 21%) and vehicle thefts (by 10%).

  

  PPIC stresses that property and violent crimes are lower than historic levels, but business leaders and residents have told me for two years that they often do not report many crimes. And the rate of arrest has declined significantly for many crimes. In 2019, 40% of all shoplifting reports resulted in arrest; in 2021, only 19% did. San Francisco’s progressive D.A. charged just 46% of theft arrests, a 16 point decline since he took office in 2020, and charged just 35% of petty theft arrests, a 23 point decline from two years ago.

  In November, San Francisco was the first of several progressive cities hit by smash-and-grab mobs of thieves, sometimes as many as 80 in a group. Video from the San Francisco looting of Louis Vuitton shows criminals walking casually out of the store, goods in hand. In response, many of San Francisco’s luxury stores in its Union Square shopping district boarded up their windows, making the area resemble a blighted neighborhood in Detroit, and embarrassing city leaders. 

  Meanwhile, San Francisco’s open drug scene contributed to three times more deaths from illicit drugs than covid last year, and has degraded the low-income historically black Tenderloin neighborhood. San Francisco could shut the open drug scene down like European cities did but has instead refused to mandate proven medical treatment to drug addicts. San Francisco’s progressive leaders have effectively been overseeing a radical social experiment, one that killed more African Americans last year alone than the entire Tuskegee syphilis experiment killed over 40 years.

  Breed has been personally impacted by addiction and crime. Both Breed’s sister and brother struggled with addiction while growing up in public housing in San Francisco. Her sister died of a drug overdose and her brother is in prison for armed robbery. “I am not for playing games with my life when it comes to politics,” she told an interviewer. “I’ve been in that community, working in the trenches, dealing with the public safety issues, dealing with those things because my people are the ones getting left behind at the end of the day.”

  But Breed also had to be pushed. In May, I helped Jacqui Berlinn, a mother of a homeless fentanyl addict, organize the first-ever protest of open drug dealing in the Tenderloin, which generated national and local headlines and local TV coverage.

  A few months later, Berlinn and I co-founded, with parents of children killed by fentanyl, recovering addicts, and community leaders, a new state-wide group, the California Peace Coalition, to demand the enforcement of laws against open drug dealing, mandatory treatment for addicts who break the law, and a state takeover of psychiatric and addiction care.

  Then, in early November, over 200 mostly poor and working class people in the Tenderloin protested a 161% increase in violence in the neighborhood between 2020 and 2021, and open drug dealing, in a march on City Hall. Part of their motivation was a brutal attack on an 11-year-old girl while she was walking to school. The day before, a 61-year-old man was shot while sitting in a donut shop. Two weeks later, a half a dozen gunmen fired 30 and 40 rounds at each other, sending bystanders running in chaos.

  Breed put their voices at the heart of her announcement. “Last week, I met with a group of families from the TL [Tenderloin],” she wrote. “I was told about drug dealers threatening grandmothers. About mid-day shootings near a park where a single mother brings her toddler after school. About assaults on the street…. We need to take back our Tenderloin.”

  The response to Breed’s remarks from parents and residents was overwhelmingly positive. “I can’t express how happy this makes me,” tweeted Berlinn. Tom Wolff, a formerly homeless drug addict who is on the city’s Drug Dealing Task Force, said, “I’m really happy to hear the mayor take a tougher approach on this. We can’t arrest our way out of everything, but there needs to be some target specific enforcement.”

  Michelle Tandler, a San Francisco native whose photos of boarded up Union Square stores went viral, said, “I’ve been observing Mayor Breed for many years now and have to say, I think this was her greatest speech to-date. Mayor Breed took a stand for what is right. I haven’t seen her this impassioned since her inauguration a few years back.”

  Seizing the Momentum

  Breed’s speech puts pressure on progressive San Francisco supervisors and the District Attorney to shut down the open drug scene in the Tenderloin.

  When he ran for office in 2018, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin called “open-air drug use and drug sales… technically victimless crimes.” When Boudin announced that he was not going to prosecute street-level drug dealers he said it was because they are “themselves [are] victims of human trafficking.” 

  But, after the looting of Louis Vuitton, Boudin struck a more tough-on-crime tone. “I’m outraged by the looting in Union Square last night” Boudin tweeted. “We are seeing similar crimes across the country. I have a simple message: don’t bring that noise to our City.”

  Stanford addiction expert @KeithNHumphreys describes the importance, and politics, of the promise by San Francisco Mayor @LondonBreed to shut down the open drug scene in the Tenderloin neighborhood, which kills addicts and is ruining the city. pic.twitter.com/yEhnTbbcpi

  — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 15, 2021

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  But standing up for luxury stores is different from shutting down open drug scenes. “Boudin made a very strong statement after the [flash mob] theft of Louis Vuitton,” said Stanford addiction specialist Keith Humphreys. “But I want a DA who is the most worried about the poorest residents and less about Louis Vuitton.”

  Other politicians are responding to the crime wave. California Attorney General Rob Bonta promised “more resources” for investigating retail theft. And the Mayor of Oakland, which will have its highest homicides in nine years, has demanded more funding for the police, and asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to finally implement technology that would allow police to read license plates on state highways to catch criminals.

  Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said he viewed Breed’s announcement as vindication for what he has been advocating. “Californians are tolerant, but we don’t tolerate brazen crime and dangerous streets,” he said. ”It should not even be a question as to whether or not the open drug markets should be shut down — I’ve been saying for years: if you let people live and do drugs on the streets, you’re condemning them to die on the streets. I enforced this as Mayor of San Diego and it must be enforced throughout California.”

  Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, a former Republican running for California Attorney General as an independent, praised Breed and used her announcement to attack Attorney General Bonta as soft-on-crime. “Bravo to London Breed,” Schubert tweeted, “and her commitment to cracking down on crime and open air drug usage. Breed has laid out common sense strategies that Rob Bonta clearly disagrees with. San Franciscans deserve better than an Attorney General who won’t listen to local officials about common sense public safety measures.”

  Breed’s announcement come days after former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter attacked progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner for dismissing the city’s record high homicides, and several weeks after Seattle voters, of whom less than 10 percent voted for Donald Trump in 2020, elected a Republican as the city’s State Attorney in response to rising crime. “I don’t think we can overestimate the influence of the city of Seattle voting 8% for Donald Trump one year ago and voting 55% for a Republican city attorney who had a law and order platform in this year’s election,” said Humphreys.

  Here’s former Philly Mayor @Michael_Nutter denouncing “white wokeness” and “white privilege” for resulting in more homicide and crime pic.twitter.com/05bLU1Tdqn

  — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

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  In the end, shutting down the city’s open drug scenes is crucial to ending drug deaths and the chaos that plagues the city. “It is an entirely fixable problem,” said Humphreys, “as many cities have shown. There will still be drug use and addiction in San Francisco. But harm reduction requires closing down open air drug scenes. Every city in America has drug problems. They do not all have a drug scene like San Francisco.”

  Humphreys emphasized, as did the authors of a study of how five European cities closed open drug scenes, that coordination between homeless service providers and police officers is crucial. The head of one of them, Urban Alchemy, Lena Miller, said, in response to Breed’s announcement, “We are relieved. The problem wasn’t created overnight and solving it will take time. But we very happy and looking forward to everyone coming off the sidelines to solve this.”

  For Humphreys, citing the European model, “Harm reduction is not a fantasy about a drug-free society, which we’re never going to have. It’s trying to minimize the damage that drugs do. Closing down open drug markets is going to have huge gains for people, particularly in the Tenderloin, but more broadly in the city.”

  Breed announcement may help change how Americans think about drugs. While it may not be possible to halt drugs from coming into the U.S., it is possible to shut down open drug scenes, and mandate treatment for those who need it.

  “The public is wanting some action here and she’s going to try to deliver it,” said Humphreys. “I think her announcement will resonate in some of these other cities, too, and give courage. I admire the mayor for taking a political risk on behalf of the least powerful people in the city.”

  *  *  *

  Michael Shellenberger is a Time Magazine “Hero of the Environment,”Green Book Award winner, and the founder and president of Environmental Progress. He is author of just launched book San Fransicko (Harper Collins) and the best-selling book, Apocalypse Never (Harper Collins June 30, 2020). Subscribe To Michael’s substack here

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 21:40

• Crypto Rich Flock To Puerto Rico, World's New Luxury Tax Haven Paradise
  Crypto Rich Flock To Puerto Rico, World’s New Luxury Tax Haven Paradise

  President Joe Biden says the 1980s Reagan era trickle-down economics doesn’t work as he wants to roll back tax cuts for the rich. The impending clampdown has spooked top affluent investors, including crypto investors, who are descending to Puerto Rico to dodge tax hikes. 

  Puerto Rico passed two important tax bills in 2012 that has transformed the island into a cryptocurrency tax haven paradise. Under Act 22 of its local tax code, the Caribbean island and unincorporated U.S. territory offers full exemption from all local taxes on passive income to new residents. Act 20, provides a 4% corporate tax rate and exemptions on dividends. This is a much better deal than the U.S., where investors pay 20% in long-term capital games and 37% in short-term gains. 

  

  The explosion of remote work, expansion of crypto markets, and tax haven have made the Caribbean island attractive for crypto investors. 

  That was the case for Anthony Emtman, who left Los Angeles behind and bought a condo at the resort in March. The chief executive officer of Ikigai Asset Management is now a part of a burgeoning crypto community along Puerto Rico’s north shore, where the tropical weather is just a bonus.

  Emtman and his crypto peers take a page out of hedge funds’ books and seek residence on the island to reap huge tax savings. – Bloomberg 

  The rise in crypto markets has made it an easy target for the Biden administration and Democrats to tax the living hell out of the industry. Smart money understands what’s coming and wants no parts of it. 

  Crypto funds Pantera Capital and Redwood City Ventures have moved to the tropical island to escape U.S. taxes. Facebook product manager-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen recently disclosed that she moved to Puerto Rico to be with her crypto buddies.

  Now, “it’s not just, ‘Move to Puerto Rico to save tax,'” said Giovanni Mendez, a corporate tax attorney. “It’s, ‘Move to Puerto Rico because everybody is there.'”

  Puerto Rico’s tax laws were put in place to help its struggling economy a decade ago. Hedge funds have been shifting operations from the Northeast U.S. to the island for at least half a decade or more. 

  So far this year, Puerto Rico has received more than 1,200 applications — a record — through its Individual Investors Act, which exempts new residents from paying taxes on capital gains, according to the island’s Department of Economic Development and Commerce. The number of U.S. mainlanders seeking Puerto Rico’s tax breaks has tripled this year.

  Another 274 corporations, LLCs, partnerships and other entities were approved for the Exports Services Act, which provides a 4% corporate tax rate and a 100% exemption on dividends. Both fall under Puerto Rico’s Act 60, a group of tax breaks that were packaged together in 2019 to attract investment not just from crypto, but finance, tech and other industries. -Bloomberg 

  Michael Terpin, the founder of BitAngels, moved to the island from Las Vegas in 2016. He’s known as the “messiah” for convincing people to move to the island. 

  Crypto investors are interested in several areas on the island: Bahia, which resides 26 miles east of San Juan, and the Ritz-Carlton Dorado Beach resort. 

  The wave of new newcomers has lifted property markets in the country. Francisco Diaz Fournier, the founding partner of Luxury Collection Real Estate, said some properties are now selling for more than $20 million. 

  “Right now we are selling a home in Dorado Beach for $27 million, and another one is going for $29 million,” Fournier said. 

  Blanca Lopez, the founder of Gramercy Real Estate Group, said Bahia prices per square foot have doubled. 

  “We are seeing prices north of $3,000 per square foot,” Lopez said. She said homes in Condado are between $1,400 to $1,500 per square foot, an approximately 35% increase from a year ago.

  Meanwhile, inventory is running low for high-end homes. 

  “We don’t have room, at least not in Dorado, Bahia or Condado,” said Fournier. “The market is spreading out, so we’re seeing spillovers in areas of San Juan where people wouldn’t look before.”

  So far, the tax incentives appear to be working. Crypto investors flock to the island to dodge Biden’s proposed tax increases. However, the IRS has a message for net-worth individuals, corporations, and cryptocurrency traders moving to the island: ‘We’re waiting for you…’

  The bad news is the push for statehood would kill its tax system. In the meantime, wealthy crypto investors don’t care and seek tax shelter on the tropical island. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 21:20

• A Populace Of Hostages: Corporate America's Advancement Of China's Belt And Road
  A Populace Of Hostages: Corporate America’s Advancement Of China’s Belt And Road

  Submitted by reader M. Roberts,

  Many Americans have heard about China’s ambitious global development strategy, known as the Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI. However, an appetite for delving further into the plan’s nuts and bolts seems to be quite scarce, as most Americans are justifiably focused on the country’s domestic economic and political challenges. Xi Jinping, the paramount leader and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CCP), had signaled in 2012 that the BRI would help fulfill the “dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” On its face, this sounds like another CCP trope commonly messaged to rally ideological support to bolster the party’s legitimacy and monopolization of power, while encouraging mutual cooperation abroad to solidify economic gains. Therefore, why should every American care about China’s own domestic goals and issues when the country is at its own critical juncture? Meanwhile, America’s corporate elite have taken advantage of this gap in public intellectual curiosity to fulfill their own ambitions of wealth and power at the expense of the populace.

  

  Simply put, the CCP’s aspirations have always been framed within a zero-sum mentality, meaning China may only rise at the expense of the rest of the globe, a common feature of Marxist-Leninist theory. This has serious consequences for the American way of life and standards of living in the country. The US Government and intelligence community had typically understood Chinese grand strategy as patient and collectively viewed it within the context of former CCP General Secretary Deng Xiaoping’s mantra of “hide your strength, bide your time.” As we have seen in recent years, Xi Jinping seemingly abandoned this notion and forcefully projected China’s aggressiveness within global institutions and international fora. The dividends of cautiously capturing global elites and quietly bringing them into China’s sphere of influence has paid off quite handsomely for the CCP, as Xi believed it was time for China to flex its muscles. In accordance with the party’s Marxist-Leninist ideology, the BRI is the most suitable mechanism to coercively dominate global trade, infrastructure, and culture.

  The BRI claims to be a global infrastructure investment strategy to connect Asia with Africa and Europe through maritime and overland structures. The CCP overtly messages the BRI’s significance in providing financial assistance, infrastructure, and now digital technologies, to developing countries as a result of the party’s own benevolence and inherent responsibility as the new global leader. However, the reality starkly contrasts with the propaganda the party spews through its vast network of media proxies. We have witnessed the BRI being used as a tool to entrap many states, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and several African nations among others, into unsustainable debt that causes the victims to become ever more dependent on the CCP’s goodwill. The BRI has also elevated China’s ability to expand forced technology transfer and the outright theft of intellectual property from various business and global institutions, costing the world an untold amount in lost revenue. Chinese intelligence services are also utilizing the initiative, predominantly through their co-optees and previously captured elites, to engage in nefarious activities beneficial to China all under the guise of the CCP’s overstated slogan of “win-win competition.”

  Although the United States has refused to cooperate with China and sign any memorandum of understanding to implement BRI projects, that has not stopped China from altering their strategy to bypass federal-level policy. China is quite adaptable and realized that the co-opting of subnational, local, and state-level elites can yield many of the same benefits that come from national BRI deals. Much like a common thief may reason, they are no longer using the front door and have resorted to breaking in through the back. The party uses its United Front proxies, which are often disguised as peaceful non-governmental organizations or community groups, to lobby local officials to allow bids by Chinese state-owned or affiliated contractors for various infrastructure projects within their districts. Many of these bids have been successful and have even expanded into attempts to bid on federal-level projects. This strategy has allowed China to increase their leverage over American infrastructure, effectively holding American companies and public utilities at ransom over Chinese demands. You can think of it as either a kill-switch or a coercive economic tool. In an act of war, what is stopping China from covertly altering the speed of your subway cars to affect physical harm? They can also utilize the infrastructure projects to halt US exports and goods in the unsuspecting event of a canal or bridge coincidentally not working properly at the right moment.

  The presence of Chinese digital firms in our society also poses serious risks for data privacy, as we know the CCP exploits data to further their repressive campaigns of wiping out any and all dissent domestically and abroad. All Chinese firms are required to abide by China’s new national security law, which forces companies to hand over data to authorities at any moment, with no course of due process. China has also ingrained in their constitution the policy of civil-military fusion, which requires that specifications for any project, especially physical infrastructure such as ports and bridges, must be aligned with the People’s Liberation Army’s needs. Therefore, we have to realize that we are no longer dealing with the typical trappings of Western investment and development. We are in a new era where the CCP expands their influence and power via the aforementioned zero-sum mentality that they publicly lambast other nations for perpetuating.
  Alongside increased US Government attention and pushback, corporate America needs to effectively make decisions that are best not only for its shareholders, but for the American people. China’s long-term capture of corporate elites has made this strategy difficult to implement, but it’s necessary. The American worker deserves a whole-of-society approach to ensuring that they are free to do business and keep their intellectual property in safe hands. The CCP has long convinced US businesses to invest in China for its expansive market access. However, that does not mean that the CCP prioritizes pro-business relationships above all, as we have seen with its destructive policies globally. They have provided a “carrot” for short-term gains, and then utilized their nefarious “stick” of economic leverage to fulfill their own geopolitical goals. Above all, Americans must know that the survival of the party is their first and foremost goal. We have seen what the CCP does to its own national champions, such as Alibaba and Tencent, when the party feels as if its grip on power becomes questionable.

  The old mentality of changing China to become a responsible stakeholder in the global environment was idealistic, yet it has proven to be a false hope. We must deal with the China that is in front of us, and not with the one in which we hope for them to become. Americans must prioritize their own independence by ensuring that our critical technologies and infrastructure are no longer at the risk of being leveraged for our adversaries’ political and economic advantage. This strategy will only work if our country’s increasingly dysfunctional and paid-for legislators mandate that corporate America cannot engage in transactions and investments with Chinese entities which were created to destroy American dominance in the financial and currency markets. Capital market restrictions must be put into place, as we know that a large portion of CCP revenue comes from unwitting pensioners and fund investors. The BRI is, by far, the greatest geopolitical and societal challenge to the American way of life. We no longer have the option of staying silent and praying for a different outcome or a pacified Beijing. The evidence of the CCP’s intentions is laid out among the global catastrophes it has caused; and as we know from the COVID-19 pandemic, global issues eventually come to our doorstep. As a result, corporate America must be forced to take America’s side in this long strategic challenge.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 21:00

• Fauci Sets Stage For Omicron Panic, Warns Hospitals Could Be 'Overwhelmed' Within Weeks
  Fauci Sets Stage For Omicron Panic, Warns Hospitals Could Be ‘Overwhelmed’ Within Weeks

  Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday predicted that the omicron variant will likely be the dominant strain in the US within “a few weeks,” and that hospitals may become overwhelmed this winter.

  

  Fauci’s caveat was that the number of vaccinated individuals – ‘especially those with booster shots,’ will leave them “relatively well protected, at least against severe disease,” and that he’s most worried about the unvaccinated.

  “With omicron breathing down our back, things could get really bad, particularly for the unvaccinated,” he said during an event hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “The vaccinated and those who are boosted I believe will be relatively well protected, at least against severe disease.”

  About that…

  South Africa doesn’t appear to be having problem despite just 23% of the population having been vaccinated.

  

  “Besides the toll of suffering and death which will inevitably go up if in fact we have that convergence in the winter months of flu and omicron and delta, we could get our hospital systems overwhelmed,” Fauci said.

  The Biden administration has emphasized that boosters are the best response to the new variant, and has dismissed the idea of further business closures.

  Asked about business closures, Fauci said “it’s going to really depend on how well we do the interventions,” like wearing masks in indoor public settings and getting booster shots.

  “If we do that, I don’t believe we’ll have to be doing any kind of shutdown with regard to businesses in your community,” he said. –The Hill

  For anyone paying attention, the new omicron variant has been described by officials around the world as ‘far more transmissible, yet mild’ in comparison to other Covid-19 strains.

  This means that while fewer people are likely to die of omicron as a percentage of those infected, its hyper-transmissibility means a lot more people will contract the new strain – and despite a smaller percentage of severe cases, the actual number of hospitalizations may rise sharply.

  In other words, the nuance here is in the denominator – and by leaving that out, Fauci is intentionally scaremongering.

  Can anyone give a coherent explanation for why “boosters” are being mandated to curb “Omicron,” which is purportedly spreading at exponential rates because existing vaccines do not prevent infection/transmission? Hence the spread on >99% vaccinated college campuses?

  …Anyone? https://t.co/pO3EC8BXQ5

  — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) December 16, 2021

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 20:40

• Pandemic Lockdowns Fueled Massive Rise In Gaming And Addiction, Experts Say
  Pandemic Lockdowns Fueled Massive Rise In Gaming And Addiction, Experts Say

  Authored by Jackson Elliott via The Epoch Times,

  During the pandemic, nationwide stay-at-home orders handed gaming companies a golden opportunity.

  Under restrictive nationwide COVID-19 lockdowns, for many people, gaming was one of the few active recreations, social activities, and creative outlets available.

  From 2020 to 2021, revenue for gaming companies skyrocketed.

  

  Video game maker Activision Blizzard saw revenues on the first-person shooter game Call of Duty rise by 72 percent, the massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORG) World of Warcraft by 7 percent, and apps by its King subsidiary rise by 22 percent.

  Chinese gaming company Tencent saw its total revenue rise by 25 percent in the same time frame. It owns first-person shooters Fortnite and Rainbow Six Siege, online battle game League of Legends, multiplayer base builder app Clash of Clans, battle royale game Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, and more games.

  In dollar terms, Activision Blizzard’s revenue rose to $2.275 billion from $1.79 billion, and Tencent’s revenue rose to $20.6 billion from $15.252 billion.

  Activision Blizzard and Tencent didn’t respond to requests for comment.

  

  By contrast, the movie industry that traditionally competes with video games has tanked.

  AMC Entertainment Holdings had revenue of $941.5 million in 2020’s first quarter and $692 million in revenue in 2021’s first quarter. Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. saw its revenue drop by about $140 million in the same period.

  But this massive profit from games isn’t just a case of free-market business as usual, some experts say.

  Gaming companies often use manipulative methods similar to gambling, and the number of people addicted to video games has risen as well.

  Nationwide gaming addiction support group Online Gamers Anonymous has seen its number of monthly visitors more than quadruple. Gaming addiction recovery centers in Austin, Texas, and Chicago have also seen the number of people seeking addiction help rise dramatically.

  Much of gaming’s revenue comes from things that gamers hate the most, features experts say are intentionally designed to mimic gambling, take advantage of human impatience, and capture the money of gamers in traps engineered from cutting-edge psychology.

  “It’s like selling your soul to the dark side,” addiction expert Dr. Nicholas Kardaras said of psychologists who work for gaming companies. “You’re going to use your talents to help addict people.”

  As gaming’s revenues have increased, companies have “weaponized” psychology to wring money out of the more than 244 million gamers in the United States, he said.

  

  U.S. video gaming is divided among console-based games, computer-based games, and mobile gaming apps, although there is some overlap between these categories.

  Three-quarters of American households have some kind of gaming console, but mobile gaming apps make up more than 50 percent of gaming revenue. About 80 percent of gaming revenue comes from games that are free to play, but offer in-game purchases.

  “It’s a whole seismic shift away from traditional marketing and PR,” Kardaras said.

  “There’s a difference between creating a catchy jingle to sell a car, as opposed to really sinking your hooks into the psyche of a vulnerable child to then create a consumer slave for the rest of their lives.”

  The Dark Side

  The gaming features that make the most money were born in casinos, said Kardaras. They are designed to be habit-forming.

  

  “Gaming, like gambling, uses what’s called an intermittent reward schedule, which happens to be the most habit-forming kind,” he said.

  “This is the slot machine reward schedule. Slot machines wouldn’t be as habit-forming if you won every time.”

  To turn video games and app games into cash, companies use every foothold they can.

  Gaming companies use secret monetization formulas to target players based on their individual data. For instance, apps record when players have spent money in the past and make similar offers under similar conditions.

  Digital life has affected American culture in shocking ways, Kardaras said.

  In a famous experiment in the 1970s, psychologist Walter Mischel tested the ability of children to delay gratification by offering them a choice between one marshmallow immediately, or two marshmallows later.

  In the 1970s, almost all older children waited for the larger reward, Kardaras said. The test was effectively a measure of maturity.

  But today, even older children tend to take the marshmallow without waiting. Kardaras said the change in impulsivity comes from a digital culture that promotes instant gratification.

  “What the pandemic did was throw kerosene on the fire that had already been burning,” he said. “We’d already been primed for impulsivity because of our digital immersion, because of that instant gratification feedback loop that we all experience.”

  The best weapons in the gaming industry’s money-making arsenal all rely on impulsivity and impatience.

  

  Loot boxes let gamers pay money for items in-game that are otherwise difficult, or impossible, to get. Gamers can either play games for hours to get an item or pay money to buy it. These boxes exist both in apps and in traditional video games.

  But loot boxes don’t just sell items. Instead, each individual loot box has a chance to unlock the one item a gamer wants.

  In effect, a loot box is a slot machine accessible to children that offers a chance to win a desirable virtual item instead of a cash payout.

  Two loot boxes in Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch team shooter game cost about $2. But the more a player buys, the sweeter the deal. There’s no guarantee whether a gamer will get the item he or she wants when opening a loot box, so the game incentivizes players to buy many.

  Other games rely on gems, diamonds, or other in-game purchase items to make money. Free apps offer players a chance to play a game. But certain parts of the app are slow, irritating, or difficult to manage. For instance, upgrading a building in Tencent’s base-builder app Clash of Clans can often take hours, during which a gamer can’t progress.

  But with purchasable gems, the same building can upgrade instantly. This game mechanic can result in players spending thousands of dollars on games without parental permission.

  On The Tonight Show, comedian Jack Black told the audience that his 8-year-old son spent more than $3,000 on in-game “diamonds” without his father’s knowledge.

  “My boy, he doesn’t know. He’s just like, ‘I’m gonna get the big sack of diamonds,’” Black said. “It’s $100 a throw. A $100! This game is designed for children. It’s marketed to children, and then there’s a $100 thing in-app?”

  These issues aren’t just anecdotal.

  In 2014, Apple paid out $32.5 million to 37,000 customers for in-app purchases made by children without parental knowledge. Although parents can get refunds for these purchases by contacting Apple, these issues can sometimes go unnoticed on a credit card bill.

  Gamers Versus the System

  Unsurprisingly, many gamers hate these features.

  When gaming company Electronic Arts (EA) revealed that Star Wars Battlefront II included loot boxes that players had to buy to play as iconic characters like Darth Vader, gamers online responded with outrage.

  When EA’s developer announced the change on Reddit, gamers downvoted the post en masse. Today, it’s the most downvoted post on Reddit by 640,000 points.

  To many gamers, in-app purchases resemble panhandling more than they resemble selling. The irritating demands for cash only stop when they pay up.

  Even so, the hated features continue to make cash hand over fist. Money from games that are free with in-app purchases makes up 85 percent of gaming revenue, according to research collected by Fortunly.com.

  

  The Science

  About 3 percent of gamers are addicted to video games, according to a 2020 study by researchers from the University of Adelaide.

  Experts disagree on whether video games are actually addictive. Extremely immersive video games are so new that it’s still debatable just why people still play them so much. Both sides make compelling cases.

  Some experts say video games are addictive in the same way, and for the same reason, that gambling is addictive.

  When people get the adrenaline rush of a victory, exciting rewards, and a feeling of progress, they continue playing games even when they have more important things to do.

  About the same proportion of gamers and gamblers are addicted.

  Other psychologists say the problem isn’t addictive games, but underlying issues within people.

  Psychology professor Christopher Ferguson said that people who blame games for addictive behavior are causing a moral panic. Games aren’t addictive, but some people are addicts by nature, Ferguson said. A small proportion of people get addicted to any interesting activity, he added.

  There are food addicts, sex addicts, work addicts, and gaming addicts, not because these activities are addictive, but because some people have addictive personalities, Ferguson argued.

  “If someone goes on a week-long bender on heroin, that’s bad,” said Ferguson. “Whereas if you have a person that plays Civilization for a week a bit obsessively, it’s not really the same thing.”

  Ferguson said that gaming during the lockdowns has been a good thing. It kept people indoors, socially connected, and entertained during a stressful time.

  “Games saved lives during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “Whether directly, by keeping people inside so they didn’t get COVID-19, or by giving people social outlets so they didn’t get mental health disorders, or become suicidal.”

  

  Right now, those who argue gaming is unusually addictive are winning the public policy debate.

  The World Health Organization (WHO) and American Psychiatric Association (APA) categorized excessive gaming as a disorder.

  China outlawed gaming for children during the week and limited weekend gaming. But Chinese company Tencent runs one of the biggest gaming app empires.

  “It’s not shocking that a country like China would use whatever means necessary to addict the children of other countries while being cautious about their own kids,” Kardaras said.

  Getting Played

  Addictive or not, too much gaming can have a terrible impact on people.

  In extreme cases, addicted gamers can spend up to $5,000 a month on video games, said professional counselor Matt Lawson of Chicago Compass Counseling.

  But, in most addiction cases, people spend around a couple of thousand dollars a month.

  Despite these figures, the real cost of game addiction is time and sleep, Lawson said.

  “The kids are staying up really late, past parents telling them to go to sleep,” he said. “People will spend hours, and hours, and hours, and hours, in these games.”

  In some rare cases, people have died in ways related to their video game habits.

  Shawn Woolley shot himself after spending massive amounts of time playing EverQuest, an online multiplayer fantasy game.

  Woolley had lost touch with his family and gave up on life outside the game, said his mother, Liz Woolley.

  When he tried to quit, he shot himself, with the game still running on the computer.

  “He got addicted within three months,” she said. “He lost his job. He got evicted from his apartment. He no longer cared about the future. He told me in all seriousness that he wanted to play the game the rest of his life.”

  Liz Woolley is the founder of Online Gamers Anonymous, a recovery group for obsessive gamers.

  Only a tiny percentage of obsessive gaming cases result in death. Most are far less serious.

  Scott, a former gaming addict from Virginia, said he spent weeks at a time sleeping five hours per night because he was playing EverQuest and World of Warcraft. At one point, he spent 30 hours a week gaming.

  “The biggest problem was sleep deprivation from getting to bed at one, or two, or three, in the morning,” Scott said. “That can cause huge problems and compound other problems. It’s kind of like a vicious, downward spiral.”

  Without sleep, Scott said he had low energy levels, poor memory, felt grumpy, and got impatient easily. He didn’t want to be around other people. These issues damaged his relationship with friends and family.

  At first, Scott said he thought his gaming was a bad habit. But when he tried to stop, he found it strangely difficult.

  When people stop bad habits, they feel great, he said. But when people stop addictions, they feel horrible.

  “We go through withdrawal symptoms,” he said. “We feel extremely restless and irritable. We feel very impulsive about it. We’re definitely not productive.

  “Our brain feels scrambled and we feel lost without the crutch that we’ve been using. And so that’s why addiction is such a huge problem is because it’s so, so miserable.”

  These symptoms aren’t unusual for addicted people.

  Aaron, another gaming addict, said that he felt depressed for three months when he stopped gaming obsessively.

  “The only reason I was able to break out of the addiction cycle was that I moved back in with my dad and his internet could not support my gaming habits, which forced me to quit,” he said.

  “The withdrawals and depression was the toughest part.”

  Scott said that it took four years for him to get over his addiction. To do so, he stopped playing all video games.

  “I can’t play at all. If I play, it all leads back,” he said. “So I need to stop completely.”

  It isn’t just the simple psychological reward system that gets people obsessed with a game. A sense of progress and meaning underlies much of game addiction, Aaron said.

  “Games are addicting because it is a chance to be in a world that you control. A world where you can matter and make a difference. They are easy to understand and honestly, they are an economical thrill,” said Aaron.

  Although gaming addicts come from all ages, counselor Jeremy Edge said most of his video-game-addicted clients are boys between 15 and 17. Edge founded the internet addiction site Escapingthe.com.

  Most people with gaming addiction feel little purpose in life, Edge said.

  “They have no drive, or direction,” he said of gaming addicts. “I’ve also seen that’s kind of a big factor, where they’ll they find purpose in games so they’ll increase their time there.”

  Lockdowns and COVID-19 news made the real world joyless, lonely, and purposeless, Kardaras said. Video games offered all these things. Or the pixels that seemed like these things.

  “Let’s see what happens if we make people socially isolated, much more sedentary, make any kind of human contact technology-dependent,” Kardaras said.

  “And we saw what happened. Suicide rates increased, gaming increased, increased depression, increased cognitive delays happened with kids, kids went through what was called COVID fog.”

  Both sides of the addiction debate agree that lockdowns have created the ideal environment to escape through addiction. Lonely, purposeless people make great addicts.

  “There is some evidence that everybody’s becoming a little bit more mentally ill now,” said Ferguson. “We’re just going through a very difficult period right now as a culture.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 20:20

• US Blacklists Chinese Biotech Groups For DNA Collection Technology & Mass Surveillance
  US Blacklists Chinese Biotech Groups For DNA Collection Technology & Mass Surveillance

  The Biden administration on Thursday announced it has placed China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences along with 11 other institutes involved in biotechnology on an export blacklist for their involvement in assisting the Communist government’s oppression and surveillance of its Muslim Uighur population. 

  Among other things the companies’ advanced technology is used for DNA collection as a key social control measure in the Xinjiang region, as part of efforts to use genetic technology to further mass surveillance capabilities. “These actions come in the broader context of the administration’s efforts to address the misuse of technology to surveil and in many cases…to exercise large scale repressive social control,” a senior Biden administration official told The Wall Street Journal.

  

  Further the Treasury Department was cited as saying the “action highlights how private firms in China’s defense and surveillance technology sectors are actively cooperating with the government’s efforts to persecute ethnic minorities.”

  Included in the blacklist of entities that US firms can no longer invest in are commercial drone-making giant DJI Technology Co. and government linked facial-recognition technology development companies. It follows on the heels of prior sanctions days ago, most notably against the large facial recognition company SenseTime.

  Additionally making the list are the facial recognition software start-up company Megvii, as well as Dawning Information Industry, which provides supercomputer-based cloud-computing services in Xinjiang. Commerce and Treasury’s growing list of banned Chinese military-industrial complex companies will by the end of this week reach almost 70. 

  In some notable instances the sanctions saw immediate effect:  “SenseTime said this week it would postpone its $767 million initial public offering in Hong Kong, after reports the Chinese artificial intelligence company was being put on the US investment blacklist,” according to reports.

  Years ago, The Wall Street Journal and others began investigating Beijing’s attempts to build the world’s largest ever DNA security database, which could ensnare the “innocent and guilty alike”…

  Police in Guangdong province take mouth swabs from bus passengers, prompting fears of a nationwide DNA collection program in #China, reports @RadioFreeAsia. https://t.co/RI3OKvMZG6 pic.twitter.com/FzHnFlsK2V

  — Steve Herman (@W7VOA) August 8, 2019

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  “The police collected a lot more names they could add to the world’s biggest DNA database, an essential part of China’s high-tech security blanket being unfurled across the country as Beijing seeks to better monitor its 1.4 billion citizens,” one prior report said. “Nationwide, police have a goal of almost doubling China’s current DNA trove to 100 million records by 2020, according to a Wall Street Journal examination of documents from police departments across China. To get there, they need to gather almost as many records each year as are in the entire national database the U.S. has built over two decades.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 20:00

• German Warship Enters South China Sea For 1st Time In 20 Years
  German Warship Enters South China Sea For 1st Time In 20 Years

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  A German warship entered the South China Sea on Wednesday for the first time in almost 20 years in yet another example of the Western push to stoke tensions with China in the region.

  Germany’s Defense Ministry said the frigate Bayern began a transit through the disputed waters on the way to Singapore, a trip that should take a few days. The last time a German warship sailed through the South China Sea was in 2002.

  

  Germany is the latest Western ally of the US to send a warship into sensitive waters near China in a move that is seen as a challenge to Beijing’s maritime claims. This year, both France and the UK have deployed their navies to the South China Sea, and Canada joined the US in a Taiwan Strait transit back in October.

  A major aspect of the Biden administration’s China strategy is to build alliances in Asia. The US has stepped up military cooperation with nations in the Asia Pacific and is working to strengthen the Quad, a group made up of the US, Japan, Australia, and India. Hawks in Washington view the Quad as a foundation for a potential NATO-style alliance in Asia.

  Washington’s focus on China is demonstrated by the significant uptick in US military activity in the region. Last month, Chinese researchers said US reconnaissance flights in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the Yellow Sea had more than doubled compared with the previous year. At that point in 2021, the US had conducted over 2,000 sorties in the waters near China’s coast, compared with just under 1,000 in 2020.

  Tonight @FregatteBayern left the operation area and dropped out of PSMX. Despite bad weather next stop: #Singapur 🇸🇬 ☺️ #IndoPacificDeployment2021 #IPD21 pic.twitter.com/3lZjLKevbP

  — Fregatte „Bayern“ (@FregatteBayern) December 15, 2021

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  The US activity shows no sign of slowing down. The Beijing-based South China Sea Probing Initiative tracked 94 US spy planes in the South China Sea in November, the highest number of sorties in one month since the think tank began tracking US flights in June 2019.

  Meanwhile, a Thursday Chinese state media op-ed in Global Times called Germany’s actions in sending the frigate to regional waters near China merely as “opportunistic” and “attention-seeking”. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 19:40

• "Bored Ape" NFT Sells For Just 1% Of Expected $300,000 Price Tag After Fat Finger Listing
  “Bored Ape” NFT Sells For Just 1% Of Expected $300,000 Price Tag After Fat Finger Listing

  It isn’t just the trading world where fat finger mistakes can happen – they also can happen in the NFT universe.

  Such was the case this week when a non-fungible token was sold by a trader for 1% of its supposed $300,000 price, according to Bloomberg. 

  The NFT, which was part of a collection of 10,000 pieces called The Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, was supposed to sell for 75 ETH (~about $300,000) but instead wound up selling for just 0.75 ETH. 

  The piece was quickly sold as soon as the listing mistake hit the open market. 

  

  “Just like that, $250,000 was gone,” the seller wrote on Twitter. “I instantly saw the error as my finger clicked the mouse but a bot sent a transaction with over 8 ether of gas fees so it was instantly sniped before I could click cancel.”

  The piece was part of a collection owned by “an exclusive club”, according to the report, that includes celebrities like NBA star Steph Curry and late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon.

  It has since been relisted for 85 ETH, or about $320,000. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 19:20

• Experts Refute Claims Linking Deadly Tornadoes To Climate Change
  Experts Refute Claims Linking Deadly Tornadoes To Climate Change

  Authoreed by Nathan Worcester via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Experts have pushed back against claims that this weekend’s tragic tornadoes in Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee can be clearly linked to manmade climate change.

  

  In an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times, professor and climate economist Richard S.J. Tol of the University of Sussex explained why it is so difficult to connect weather events on the scale of a tornado to shifts in the Earth’s climate.

  “Tornadoes are small, rarely more than 3 kilometers in diameter. The most advanced climate models, however, cannot see things that are smaller than 9 by 9 km. Climate models can therefore tell us very little about tornadoes,” he told The Epoch Times via email.

  “Data are not great, but suggest that there is no upward or downward trend in tornado frequency or severity,” he added.

  

  Over the weekend, President Biden speculated that climate change had “some impact” on the massive storms, which have claimed at least 74 lives so far.

  “All I know is that the intensity of the weather across the board has some impacts as a consequence of the warming of the planet and climate change,” Biden said, according to reporting from Fox News. “The specific impact on these specific storms, I can’t say at this point.”

  “The fact is that we all know everything is more intense when the climate is warming. Everything. And obviously it has some impact here, but I can’t give you a quantitative read on that,” he later added.

  “The rush to attribute the… tornadoes to climate change illustrates perfectly the political distortion of the topic,” climate economist and University of Guelph professor Ross McKitrick told The Epoch Times via email in another exclusive interview.

  

  “The IPCC AR6 (Sct 11.7.3) makes no attribution claims between greenhouse gases and tornadoes, and the long term data show no increasing trend in numbers or severity (indeed there is a slight decrease in numbers),” he added, referring to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the physical science basis for climate change. “Yet the public has been so primed by politicians and activists to blame extreme weather on greenhouse gases they hardly blink when someone like President Biden just makes up the connection.”

  A Dec. 13 article from The Washington Post claimed that tornadoes have become more frequent in recent decades, citing data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that they said illustrated tornadoes in the United States are becoming more frequent.

  

  Responding to that article on Twitter, University of Colorado environmental science professor Roger Pielke Jr. described a figure from the article as “incredibly misleading,” pointed out that the rollout of Doppler radar systems increased reporting of very weak tornadoes in more recent years.

  Like McKitrick, he noted that the IPCC has not found that tornadoes are clearly linked to climate change.

  McKitrick, who recently questioned a key statistical approach used to link greenhouse gases to climate change, wonders why some researchers only ever look at potential downsides of any changes to the Earth’s climate.

  “Now the alarmists are shifting to a claim that while the events are natural, greenhouse gases [make] them worse than they otherwise would be,” he told The Epoch Times. “Aside from the questionable statistical analysis behind such arguments, the big problem is that it’s ambulance chasing. The fact that they only ever associate greenhouse gases with bad weather outcomes is meaningless since they only ever look at bad weather events. They never study whether a stretch of mild weather could be attributed to greenhouse gases.”

  pointed out that the rollout of Doppler radar systems increased reporting of very weak tornadoes in more recent years.

  Like McKitrick, he noted that the IPCC has not found that tornadoes are clearly linked to climate change.

  McKitrick, who recently questioned a key statistical approach used to link greenhouse gases to climate change, wonders why some researchers only ever look at potential downsides of any changes to the Earth’s climate.

  “Now the alarmists are shifting to a claim that while the events are natural, greenhouse gases [make] them worse than they otherwise would be,” he told The Epoch Times. “Aside from the questionable statistical analysis behind such arguments, the big problem is that it’s ambulance chasing. The fact that they only ever associate greenhouse gases with bad weather outcomes is meaningless since they only ever look at bad weather events. They never study whether a stretch of mild weather could be attributed to greenhouse gases.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 19:00

• Flood Traps 21 People In Illegal Chinese Coal Mine As Production Hits Record
  Flood Traps 21 People In Illegal Chinese Coal Mine As Production Hits Record

  Like many other countries worldwide, China faces an energy crisis as coal shortages and high energy costs have increased power prices, forcing local governments to implement rolling blackouts for energy-intensive industries. Beijing ramped up coal production to record levels as illegal coal mining is on the rise. 

  AP reports one illegal coal mine in China, located in Xiaoyi city in Shanxi province, one of the leading coal-producing regions in the country, experienced a flood on Wednesday that trapped 21 miners underground. 

  Water was being pumped out of the mine, and the water level was falling, the Xiaoyi government said in an update on social media. Police have detained six people and others were being sought in connection with the incident, the report said. – AP 

  

  China has cracked down on illegal mining but not hard enough as there appear to be ones still operating. A shortage of coal this year ahead of the Northern Hemisphere winter (Dec. 21) sent coal prices through the roof. A squeeze on coal has driven up prices, prompting a surge in legal and illegal mining. 

  

  In November, China’s efforts to secure energy supplies resulted in record coal production. National Bureau of Statistics data reported production levels at 370.84 million tons of coal last month, compared to the previous record of 357.09 tons in October and was up 4.6% from the same period last year.

  Despite Beijing’s climate change pledge, the world’s biggest coal miner and consumer produced 3.67 billion tons for the first eleven months of the year, up 4.2% over last. 

  China has been blasted with cold snap after cold snap as a La Nina weather pattern forced Beijing to secure energy supplies at all costs. State-owned firms panic stockpiled coal and natural gas, used for heating and power generation. 

  The latest average temperature forecast in China continues to slide. Temperatures are expected to average between 45-35 Fernhight for the back half of December. 

  

  Heating degree days continue to rise. This means households and businesses will increase electricity use to heat their homes, putting pressure on power plants to increase output, thus more demand for coal. 

  

  As long as coal prices remain elevated, illegal coal mines will continue to operate. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 18:40

• Musk Slams (Lack Of) Joy Reid For Acting As 'Lobbyist For Senator Karen'
  Musk Slams (Lack Of) Joy Reid For Acting As ‘Lobbyist For Senator Karen’

  Elon Musk’s war with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) just got even more entertaining, after MSNBC host Joy Reid argued that the Tesla founder was guilty of cultural appropriation for calling Warren ‘Karen.’

  

  For those out of the loop, Warren tweeted on Monday “Let’s change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else.”

  Let’s change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else. https://t.co/jqQxL9Run6

  — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 13, 2021

  Musk shot back, ” You remind me of when I was a kid and my friend’s angry Mom would just randomly yell at everyone for no reason,” adding “Please don’t call the manager on me, Senator Karen.”

  Please don’t call the manager on me, Senator Karen 🙏

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2021

  Joy Reid, while culturally appropriating Hedy Lamar‘s hair, accused Musk on Wednesday of culturally appropriating black vernacular by using the word “Karen.”

  MSNBC’s Joy Reid, one of the dumbest people in media, argues Elon Musk culturally appropriated his Karen insult from black people. Really: pic.twitter.com/v8kXj16NMu

  — Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 16, 2021

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttps://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsMusk fired back – “(Lack of) Joy Reid is a lobbyist for Sen Karen”

  (Lack of) Joy Reid is a lobbyist for Sen Karen

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2021

  Warren, meanwhile, told Reid: “The world’s richest freeloader evidently has a very thin skin.”

  “But you know the part that makes me angry about this? It’s on behalf of every public schoolteacher, every waitress, every computer programmer, every street cleaner who actually paid taxes and that means they paid more than Elon Musk did in federal income taxes. And that’s just not right. And it means the system is broken.”

  And now you know, the rest of the story.

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 18:20

• Beijing Fears Newly-Passed Massive NDAA Will Lead To Escalation Over Taiwan
  Beijing Fears Newly-Passed Massive NDAA Will Lead To Escalation Over Taiwan

  After on Tuesday the Senate passed the massive $778 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with a vote of 89 to 10, China’s state media is busy hyping the ramp-up in US military spending as signaling near future escalation over Taiwan.

  The NDAA is now headed to President Biden’s desk, and will become law with his signature. The bill designated $740.3 billion for the Pentagon, $27.8 billion for the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons program, and $9.9 billion for “Defense-related Activities Outside NDAA Jurisdiction.” Crucially also listed within defense department programs is $7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI).

  The Pacific Deterrence Initiative will not only seek more US troops in the Asian Pacific region in order to “better confront China” – but there are long-standing plans in place to establish a network of long-range missiles near China. The only thing is there have been no readily willing allies who want to be the first to host such missiles, given they’ll immediately become “target #1” for Chinese defenses.

  

  A new Thursday report in state-run English daily Global Times focuses on the $7+ billion in counter China efforts, saying it’s all about propping up pro-independence forces in Taiwan: “Judging from items in the act, Chinese observers said an escalation in the collusion between the US and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority is likely and the mainland should be prepared in strategy and military tactics to respond to further provocations,” the GT report says.

  Highlighting language in the 2022 NDAA which signals Taiwan’s Navy will likely be invited to participate in the US-led Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC) conducted in 2022, GT cites a Chinese military analyst who says Beijing must “prepare for the worst” in terms of provocations surrounding the Taiwan issue…

  The Chinese mainland should “prepare for the worst” and get ready, in strategy and military tactics, for any scenario amid the worsening cross-Straits situations and China-US rivalry, Song said, as the US has lost multiple “handles” to contain China, including Hong Kong and Xizang (Tibet), which will make it play the “Taiwan card” hysterically. 

  Given also US-Russia tensions over Ukraine and NATO’s expanding presence over the past years in Eastern Europe, the GT analysis concluded that the Pentagon’s bloated budget demands the constant creation of hyped external threats:

  Li said the shockingly high and continuously rising military budget is the foundation for the US to maintain its hegemonic status worldwide. To justify the high spending, the US has to create conflicts, crises and hype “external threats,” which only demonstrates that the US is the “destroyer of world peace.”

  Graphic by Global Times comparing defense spending by other major powers…

  

  Lately the US has been clearly beefing up its presence in the South China Sea region, which has included the US having conducted over 2,000 sorties in the waters near China’s coast, according to Chinese researchers compiling figures last month, which is more than double that of the previous year.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 18:00

• Trump Hints At 2024 Run, Says He Likes DeSantis 'A Lot'
  Trump Hints At 2024 Run, Says He Likes DeSantis ‘A Lot’

  Authored by Li Hai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Former President Donald Trump again hinted at a 2024 presidential run during his “History Tour” with Bill O’Reilly in Orlando on Sunday.

  “We won the first time, and the second time we won by even more. And it looks like we might have to think about very strongly a third time,” Trump told O’Reilly before a crowd in the Amway Center.

  Orlando is the second stop of Trump’s “History Tour” with the former Fox News anchor. Trump started the tour Saturday in Sunrise, Florida, and will have two more stops in Texas—one in Houston on Dec. 18 and one in Dallas on Dec. 19.

  

  When asked by O’Reilly if Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would be a “possible No. 2,” Trump didn’t address the question directly.

  “First of all, I think that people are going to be very happy with what I do,” Trump said.

  As the question persisted, Trump said, “he’s certainly somebody that I like a lot. I can tell you that.”

  DeSantis has become popular among GOP voters because of his firm stances against the Biden administration’s lockdown, COVID-19 vaccine mandate, immigration policy, and others.

  During the first stop at Sunrise, Florida, Trump said DeSantis “would be good” for a potential running mate. “I think Mike [Pence] has been very hurt by what took place with respect to January 6. I think he’s been mortally wounded, frankly,” Business Insider reported.

  

  However, according to the Article II of the Constitution, if the candidates for the nation’s top two offices come from the same state, the electoral votes from that state may not be counted.

  Florida represents 30 electoral votes for 2024—one more vote after the 2020 census—which can not be ignored by a potential Trump-DeSantis ticket.

  Trump officially moved his residence from New York to Florida in 2019. He might need to move to another state if he decides to run with DeSantis.

  Former Vice President Dick Cheney made such a move in 2000.

  Cheney was chosen by George W. Bush, then-Texas governor, as the running mate for the presidential election. Cheney obtained a Wyoming driver’s license and put his Dallas home on the market before the election.

  Trump has been flirting with a possible 2024 run for months. Previously, Trump said he would announce if he ran again after the 2022 midterm elections. He also said the reason he could not announce his run was because of the “very complicated” campaign finance rules and regulations.

  “There’s no question that Donald Trump is eyeing the 2024 Republican nomination for president,” O’Reilly said in a statement Tuesday. “As it stands now, he is the front runner by a lot.”

  A recent poll showed that 67 percent of GOP voters would choose Trump in a possible 2024 presidential race, RSBN reported.

  During Sunday’s event, Trump also said he wouldn’t investigate President Joe Biden’s son Hunter if elected.

  “I don’t want to hurt a family. I’ll be honest,” Trump said, receiving a boo from the crowd.

  The displeasure from the crowd took the president by surprise, O’Reilly said, “Me too, I have to be honest, because it was loud.”

  Jack Phillips contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 12/16/2021 – 17:40

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