Dec 17

Today’s News 17th December 2024

  • Give Me Liberty, Not Pronouns
    Give Me Liberty, Not Pronouns

    Authored by Kenin Spivak via RealClearPolitics,

    It’s time to defrock the word police.

    The election, polls, and anecdotal evidence confirm that Americans want to end the obnoxious recitation of pronouns – “Latinx,” “birthing persons,” and other entries in the radical left lexicon – except in eulogies for progressive virtue signaling.

    In a March Gallup poll of more than 12 million adults, 4.4% identified as bisexual, 0.9% as transgender, and 0.1% as pansexual. In exit polls this year of more than 110,000 voters conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, just 1% identified as “nonbinary,” a subset of the Gallup categories. Some of these individuals, most often nonbinaries, dominate use of non-standard pronouns such as “they,” “zir” and “hir.”

    If 100% of bisexuals, transgenders, and pansexuals used non-standard pronouns (they do not) and all are offended if the remaining 94.6% of us do not publicly proclaim our pronouns in our signature cards and profiles (also untrue), then the pronoun kerfuffle risks offending 5.4% of Americans. From 10 to 20 times more Americans are offended by this babble. According to a Pew study published in June, nearly 56% of registered voters are uncomfortable with someone using the pronouns “they” or “them,” rather than “he” or “she.” Most of the 53% of Americans who consider religion to be “very important” in their lives likely agree.

    Even in Canada, where polls show greater support for gender fluidity, a survey of 3,016 adults from the Angus-Reid Institute found that 66% opposed (36% strongly) and just 22% supported (6% strongly) that “everyone should put their pronouns in their social media profiles/emails.” Media savvy squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deleted her pronouns from her X profile.

    The core question is not whether those who choose non-standard pronouns, other than “they,” should be dissuaded from doing so, but whether we must all subjugate ourselves to pronoun activists by beclowning our signature cards and profiles to confirm that we are adhering to at least 2,000 years of gender identification, and whether we must adopt idiosyncratic pronouns when describing others.

    At the least, no one should use the pronoun “they.” The use of “they” to describe an individual is grammatically incorrect in nearly all circumstances. It is narcissistic and pompous. When discussing multiple people and also using “they” as a pronoun for one or more of them, the result is indecipherable. (Try to understand the sentence I just wrote if the word “them” could mean both more than one individual, and one or more specific individuals.)

    More than a few times I have had the following conversation with a professional whose firm uses pronouns in its signature cards. Me: Does anyone in the firm use pronouns other than him or her? Partner: “No” (or, rarely, “a few”). Me: Why then do you do this, since it must be off-putting to many more people than the number who like it? Partner: Some variation of, “We only care about the feelings of the few.”

    This goes even further when people are penalized for refusing to participate in this farce. Being LGBTQ may be protected by law or common decency, but the Constitution unambiguously protects free speech and the exercise of religion. It does not protect an individual’s right to force others to refer to him or her as a “they.” At least 10 states have passed legislation to ensure that teachers, staff, and students aren’t required to use students’ pronouns or names if they don’t align with the student’s sex at birth.

    Nothing, of course, is more absurd that the misogynistic “birthing person,” or that a nominee for the Supreme Court can’t define “woman.”

    U.S. passport applicants now may select any gender, or an “X” gender, as may residents of 16 states on birth certificates, and at least 25 states and the District of Columbia on drivers’ licenses and other identification, defeating the purpose of identification.

    French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish assign gender to most nouns. Hence, Americans from South America refer to themselves as “Latino,” “Latina,” or just “Hispanic.” The same misogynistic pathology that causes progressives to insist there are more than two immutable sexes, erase women, and put biological males in girls’ sports, drives them to the despised slur “Latinx.”

    A 2021 poll of 800 registered voters of Latin American descent for Bendixen and Amandi International, a Democratic firm, found that only 2% described themselves as Latinx, and 40% found the term offensive. A Pew survey in September found that only 4% of Hispanics use it, 51% have never heard of it, and 75% of those who have, oppose it. In October, a study conducted by professors from Georgetown and Harvard found that the use of Latinx by Democrats was increasing Hispanic support for Donald Trump and other Republicans.

    The progressive lexicon is based on tenuous connections (“grandfathered” is racist), wordy (“people experiencing homelessness” for “homeless”), kooky (“assigned female at birth” for “girl”) and offends vast number of Americans, including women and members of minority groups whom the progressives claim to be supporting.

    According to Future Forward, Kamala Harris’ lead PAC, variants of Trump’s campaign advertisement about her support for taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgery for transgenders with the tagline “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.” shifted the race 2.7% in Trump’s favor.

    Trump’s success among most demographic groups, and exit and post-election polling (see here, here, here, and here) tell us that Americans don’t want to be told by the radical left what to think or how to speak about social issues. It is time to put pronouns, Latinx, and other progressive terminology in the waste basket.

    Kenin M. Spivak is founder and chairman of SMI Group LLC, an international consulting firm and investment bank. He is the author of fiction and non-fiction books and a frequent speaker and contributor to media, including The American Mind, National Review, the National Association of Scholars, television, radio, and podcasts.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 23:25

  • Russia, Germany, Turkey Condemn Israeli Land Grab In Syria
    Russia, Germany, Turkey Condemn Israeli Land Grab In Syria

    “Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom and settle in it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, confirming reports that Israel will expand its settler population there.

    Netanyahu has now declare the Golan to belong to Israel ‘forever’ in the wake of the fall of the Assad, and Israel is expected to double the amount of settlers living there. “Multiple Middle Eastern nations and Israel’s ally Germany on Monday denounced Israel’s decision to double the Israeli settler population in the illegally occupied Syrian territory,” Al Jazeera writes.

    Via AFP

    At this point Israeli tanks are positioned a mere couple dozen miles from the capital of Damascus, and Israel has established a forward base on the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon.

    Russia has been among those countries strongly warning Israel not to expand its hold on Syrian territory. The Golan was first taken by Israel in 1967 and it was annexed in 1981.

    Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Monday issued the following strong words telling Israel to stop exploiting the situation:

    “I would like to warn certain ‘hotheads’ in West Jerusalem against being intoxicated by opportunities,” Ryabkov said, stressing that “the annexation of the Golan Heights, which many are talking about now, is absolutely unacceptable.” 

    Turkey too has said something similar. “This decision is a new stage in Israel’s goal of expanding its borders through occupation. This step by Israel is a source of grave concern, taken together with Israel’s entry into the area of separation, in violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement, its advance into adjacent areas and airstrikes in Syria,” its foreign ministry said.

    Al Jazeera further notes the following countries’ statements:

    • Qatar rebuked the scheme as a “new episode in a series of Israeli aggressions on Syrian territories”.
    • Jordan called it a “blatant violation of international law”.
    • Turkiye denounced the move as a bid by Israel to “expand its borders”.
    • Saudi Arabia slammed “continued sabotage of Syria’s chances of restoring its security and stability”.
    • Egypt condemned the plans as “a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

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    Despite many acknowledging that Turkish intelligence was behind the rapid Hayat Tahrir al-Sham takeover of the country, Israel has by and large been a big ‘winner’ on a geostrategic level from Assad’s ousting. 

    But it’s ironic and hypocritical that Turkey would do any condemning of annexing Syrian land here… given Turkey has long occupied northern Syria, and its troops have now moved into the environs of Aleppo while supporting its proxies there.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 23:00

  • Astaxanthin – The Ultimate Anti-Inflammatory And Anti-Aging Nutrient
    Astaxanthin – The Ultimate Anti-Inflammatory And Anti-Aging Nutrient

    Authored by Derek Henry, Holistic Health Coach for Healing the Body,

    At the root of every disease process is inflammation, a first defence process used by the body in order to try and heal itself. The problem is that when your body is in that state chronically it creates an overactive immune system, which brings crippling pain with it. This compromises your ability to do anything, which includes living a normal and productive life. So what do you do if you want to heal inflammation naturally? You consider astaxanthin.

    robynmac/iStock

    Astaxanthin 101

    Astaxanthin (asta-zan-thin) is a deep red coloured phytonutrient synthesized by microalgae called Haematococcus, and is also known as the “King of Carotenoids”. It’s grown in fresh water using sophisticated techniques that encourage the algae to grow its own powerful medicines protecting it from oxidation, UV radiation and other environmental stressors.

    Astaxanthin is actually what gives salmon their reddish colour and allows them to perform heroic feats like swimming upstream against the current and leaping up waterfalls.

    When it is harvested from the algae and concentrated into a tiny liquid capsule it becomes the most powerful antioxidant known in the natural world, with research showing that it is 550 times the antioxidant power of vitamin E! These antioxidants slow down the ageing process and protect us from free radicals that can cause DNA damage, nerve cell damage, and accelerated ageing of our internal organs.

    Astaxanthin for Inflammation

    Inflammation is a first response defence and healing mechanism that becomes active before our immune system does. It is an extremely complex system and in general causes redness, swelling, heat, and pain. These effects occur due to a wide spectrum of inflammation mediators that are released after a detected injury or attack. Some of the mediators are known as prostaglandins, tumor necrosis factors, interleukins, and nitric oxide.

    Some of the strongest pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories limit the production of prostaglandins and therefore ease swelling and pain. However, these drugs can cause side effects as it is very unnatural and unbalanced for the body to deal with extreme suppression of one single mediator, without affecting the balance of the others.

    Alternatively, naturally occurring anti-inflammatory foods will ease inflammation by gently inhibiting several mediators, including prostaglandins, to calm the system as a whole.

    Even though astaxanthin is not as powerful as leading pharmaceutical anti-inflamamtories, it is found to be one of the strongest ones in nature. Several double blind, placebo controlled animal and clinical trials shows that astaxanthin naturally inhibits many of the known inflammation mediators, which eases inflammation and pain without the side effects.

    Authors Note: I personally used astaxanthin in a period where I dealt with debilitating inflammation, and had no desire to use pharmaceutical drugs. I can accurately state that it extinguished 80-90% of my systemic inflammation.

    Other Benefits of Astaxanthin

    The best part of astaxanthin is that the healing benefits don’t stop at pain management due to inflammation. However, since it is such a strong anti-inflammatory it also deals effectively with a number of other health issues, including:

    • Reduces joint pain
    • Reduces the risk of cancer and proliferation of breast cancer tumour cells
    • Protects brain from dementia and other brain related disorders
    • Reduces damage to your DNA by up to 40%
    • Reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics
    • Improves fertility
    • Promotes cardiovascular health
    • Reduces or eliminates carpal tunnel syndrome
    • Boosts immune system
    • Protects against infections
    • Prevents asthma by normalizing histamine levels
    • Protects body from highly oxidative foods
    • Increases endurance, muscle recovery, and workout performance
    • Protects kidneys from damage due to high blood sugar
    • Protects eyes and reduces cataracts
    • Prevents UV damage to eyes and skin (works as an internal sunscreen)

    Since astaxanthin is fat soluble (unlike most antioxidants) it gets carried by fat molecules directly to your muscles, tissues, and organs where it is needed most, like your brain, breast tissue, prostate tissue, skeletal muscles, and retina. This way it prevents oxidation right at the site of stress or potential oxidation.

    Read the rest here…

    Check out Derek Henry here.

    And snag some Astaxanthin here:

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 22:45

  • 2 Men Arrested After Drone Operates 'Dangerously Close' To Boston's Airport, Police Say
    2 Men Arrested After Drone Operates ‘Dangerously Close’ To Boston’s Airport, Police Say

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Two people were arrested on Saturday evening near Boston’s Logan Airport for what was described as a “hazardous drone operation,” police said, coming amid widespread reports of drones flying over the New Jersey region.

    A Spirit airlines flight takes off from Boston’s Logan Airport on Jan. 9, 2023. Brian Snyder/Reuters

    At around 10 p.m. Saturday, Boston police officers arrested 42-year-old Robert Duffy and 32-year-old Jeremy Folcik, both of Massachusetts, according to a news release issued Sunday.

    “The arrests were made on Long Island, part of the Boston Harbor Islands, following a hazardous drone operation near Logan Airport’s airspace,” police said. “Both suspects face charges of trespassing, with additional fines or charges potentially forthcoming.”

    It’s not clear if the Logan Airport incident was related to drone sightings in recent weeks near New Jersey and New York City.

    A Boston officer detected a drone “operating dangerously close to Logan International Airport” before finding the location of the unmanned aerial vehicle, police said. Police officials then coordinated with state police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and other federal agencies.

    Members of the local Boston Police unit found three people in the Long Island Health Campus, which has been decommissioned.

    “Upon attempting to make contact, the suspects fled on foot. Two of the three individuals were apprehended and identified as Duffy and Folcik. During the investigation, a drone was discovered inside a backpack carried by Duffy,” the news release said.

    The other individual was not located or named in the news release. Officials said he is suspected to have fled in a “small vessel,” according to the news release.

    Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights started last month over New Jersey, raising concerns among residents and officials. Part of the worry stems from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and over Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, located in the state.

    Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use and are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be certified by the FAA.

    On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he is urging the federal government to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify them.

    “I’m pushing for answers amid these drone sightings. I’m calling for [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas] to deploy special drone-detection tech across NY and NJ,” Schumer wrote on social platform X. “And I’m working to pass a bill in the Senate to give local law enforcement more tools for drone detection.”

    The New York Democrat is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to immediately deploy special technology that identifies and tracks drones back to their landing spots, according to his office.

    “There’s a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News Sunday. “The answer ‘We don’t know’ is not a good enough answer.”

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday said federal officials were sending a drone detection system to the state.

    “This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” Hochul said in a statement. The governor did not immediately provide additional details, including where the system will be deployed.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 22:35

  • West Ready To Court Terror Leader Jolani If Russian Military Pushed Out Of Syria
    West Ready To Court Terror Leader Jolani If Russian Military Pushed Out Of Syria

    We reported earlier that Russia is in contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus over the future fate of the two Russian military bases on Syria’s coast. The Tartous Naval Base remains Russia’s only Mediterranean military port. And alongside Khmeimim Air Base, these are the only two major Russian military outposts outside of the former Soviet Union.

    As expected, the West is pressuring the jihadist group under Abu Mohammed al-Jolani to ensure Russia’s military is booted from the country. What’s more is that European countries are using the question of Syria’s continued economic isolation as leverage.

    The newly installed Syrian leader Al-Julani

    And the West is also dangling the terror designation in front of HTS. “Some European nations are considering making the expulsion of Russia’s military from Syria a precondition for lifting restrictions against the Islamist group now in control of most of the country, according to people familiar with the matter,” The Straits Times reports.

    The report comes as the Biden White House is also mulling the matter of whether to drop its formal terror designation against HTS, which began years ago as Al-Nusra Front, or Syrian al-Qaeda. 

    The West seems to be saying that if HTS merely does what it wants, all can be ‘forgiven’. Per the same report:

    A debate is also underway about whether to make the delivery of longer-term aid to the war-ravaged nation conditional on Moscow vacating its two Syrian bases, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive material. The talks are ongoing and a joint final decision has yet to be taken, they said. 

    The conferring between countries is a sign of broader international support for the position taken by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, who said it would be “too early” to lift European Union sanctions against Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, which ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a little over a week ago. 

    “We really would like to condition that on an inclusive political transition,” Veldkamp also said. The West has been urging HTS to respect ethnic and religious minorities, given that it has been known to massacre and persecute Alawites, Christians, Druze, Shia, or anyone who is not an extremist Sunni.

    The Dutch foreign minister emphasized, “I think it’s also important to look at conditionality regarding the Russian military bases in Syria.” He’s emphatic that “We want the Russians out.”

    The West is turning a blind eye to the ground reality that Syria will go from quasi-secular state under Baath rule to rapid hardline Islamization…

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    Thus it appears the West is lining up to court the terrorists in Damascus… or as we described earlier this is all about putting lipstick on a pig – at the end of which Jolani and HTS will be sold to the European and Americans as a “moderate”. And for Europe, this arrangement will also help deal a blow to Russia related to the Ukraine war.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 22:10

  • The U.S. Must Fortify Itself Against Future Mineral Export Bans
    The U.S. Must Fortify Itself Against Future Mineral Export Bans

    Authored by Gregory Wischer, Morgan Bazilian & Jahara Matisek via RealClearDefense,

    Last week, China imposed export bans on antimony, gallium, and germanium—all of which are listed on China’s dual-use export control list. Other minerals on the list and, thus, at risk of future bans include aluminum, magnesium, and zinc, among others. Beyond their economic importance, many of these minerals have military applications. For example, tungsten superalloys are used in military turbines and armor-piercing munitions, while bismuth is used in ammunition and alloys for defense.

    With many minerals, the U.S. government can increase domestic mining, processing, and recycling to help mitigate future supply cutoffs from China. Of course, building and expanding domestic capacity will take time, significant capital, and appropriate government policies, but it can be done.

    However, for some minerals—such as bismuth and tungsten—the United States simply lacks the mineral reserves, scrap, and substitutes to fill supply gaps from a Chinese export ban. For instance, China supplied over 60 percent of America’s bismuth consumption from 2019 to 2022, and the United States has not produced bismuth since 1997. The U.S. National Defense Stockpile also has no inventory of bismuth.

    For such minerals, the U.S. government—in addition to seeking to boost domestic production—should both increase inventories in the National Defense Stockpile and sign right-of-first refusal (ROFR) offtake agreements with existing overseas mineral producers. Such steps will help buttress the United States against future export bans.

    With stockpiling, the U.S. government should acquire minerals from domestic producers when possible but prioritize acquiring supply wherever it is available including from China. For instance, with both bismuth and tungsten, China is far and away the world’s largest producer: it produces 80 percent of the world’s bismuth and 81 percent of its tungsten.

    The second policy is signing ROFR offtake agreements with existing overseas mineral producers for their uncontracted production. In ROFR agreements, the U.S. government would have the first right—but not the obligation—to purchase a certain volume of mineral production before it is offered to other buyers.

    To secure ROFR offtake agreements, the U.S. government could invest in overseas mineral projects or expansions. Already, the U.S. government has invested (through an intermediary) in two overseas mineral projects: a nickel-cobalt mine in Brazil and a rare earth processing project in South Africa.

    While ROFR offtake agreements are common with prospective mineral producers, the timeline for commissioning new production is lengthy and often jeopardized by technical (e.g., ramp-up issues) and jurisdictional (e.g., regulations) risks. Moreover, ROFR offtake agreements for future mineral production cannot supply minerals if China imposes export bans with immediate effect. Having ROFR offtake agreements for existing production could immediately help fill supply gaps caused by adversarial export bans.

    The U.S. government should prioritize signing ROFR offtake agreements with firms operating in allied and partner countries, such as Australia, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. The U.S. government should also prioritize inking agreements in countries least likely to face disruptions from a possible U.S.-China conflict in the western Pacific.

    For example, Australia and Austria produce about the same volume of tungsten, yet because shipping across the Atlantic Ocean would be more secure than shipping across the Pacific Ocean in a U.S.-China conflict, the U.S. government should first prioritize agreements for tungsten with Austria over Australia. In other cases, avoiding the western Pacific is not possible. For instance, Japan and South Korea are highly exposed to a U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan, but they are the only major bismuth producers that are U.S. allies.

    Demonstrating tungsten’s importance for the U.S. military, U.S. tungsten imports spiked during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, and U.S. imports would likely spike again in a potential conflict against China. The U.S. government would be well-served in pre-emptively securing these imports and similarly important war minerals through ROFR offtake agreements.

    Controlling the overseas supply of these military minerals can have direct combat implications, too. The Tungsten Institute writes, “Before World War II was started, Germany had bought up virtually the entire world supply of off-grade tungsten ore.” This tungsten proved critical in Germany’s nearly successful North Africa campaign: German tanks used armor-piercing munitions with tungsten carbide cores with dangerous effects against British tanks.

    China’s recent mineral export ban is yet another wake-up call for the U.S. government to reduce America’s reliance on China for critical minerals. For many minerals, the United States can indeed rely on domestic resources to offset future mineral cutoffs from China, but for other minerals, it cannot—it must depend on foreign actors. In such cases, the U.S. government should preemptively stockpile and sign ROFR offtake agreements with overseas mineral producers. These proactive steps will help fortify the United States against future mineral export bans.

    Gregory Wischer is a fellow at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines.

    Morgan Bazilian is the director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines.

    Lt Col Jahara “Franky” Matisek is a military professor in the National Security Affairs department at the U.S. Naval War College and fellow at the Payne Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed in this article are his own.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 21:45

  • Two Homeland Security Agents Sold Drugs Previously Seized As Evidence For Up To $300,000
    Two Homeland Security Agents Sold Drugs Previously Seized As Evidence For Up To $300,000

    It’s another one of those “do as I say, not as a do” examples that continue to emerge during President Biden’s administration…

    This time, it was two Homeland Security agents in Utah, who allegedly sold seized drugs through an informant, earning up to $300,000 per to court documents and according to Yahoo Finance.

    According to an FBI affidavit, the agents sold “bath salts” to the informant weekly from spring to December, with each ounce sold for $5,000 and resold at a higher price.

    The informant, recruited by federal agents while in prison, was initially tasked with legitimate controlled buys. However, the affidavit claims the agents also pressured him into illegal drug sales.

    Yahoo reported that Homeland Security Agent David Cole was arrested in Salt Lake City on Friday and charged in federal court with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. During a Monday hearing, a judge ordered him detained. If convicted, Cole faces a potential prison sentence of 10 years or more.

    Court documents also implicate a second agent, identified as “Person A,” in selling drugs to the informant, though it’s unclear if charges will follow. Cole’s attorney, Alexander Ramos, declined to comment on the allegations, citing ongoing case review.

    Ramos commented: “Dave has many years of service to his community as an outstanding agent with HSI and holds a great reputation among the federal law enforcement community.”

    Searches of the agents’ homes, vehicles, phones, and workspaces uncovered over $67,000 in cash, suspected bath salts, and other evidence, according to the affidavit.

    FBI Special Agent Tristan Hall commented: “Based on an average of one or two drug buys per week, involving 25 grams of bath salts and the amount of $5,000 each buy, it is estimated that Cole and Person A have profited approximately $150,000 to $300,000 in illegal proceeds.”

    The investigation began after the informant’s attorney reported that two Homeland Security agents had coerced him into illegal activities, the report says. 

    The informant, cooperating with the FBI for money and personal safety, alleged the agents sold him drugs seized as evidence, meeting in public locations like Panera Bread and Shake Shack. Details were confirmed through surveillance, and while the agents’ credentials were suspended, they remain employed.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 21:20

  • Trump Says Assad's Ouster In Syria Was An 'Unfriendly Takeover' By Turkey
    Trump Says Assad’s Ouster In Syria Was An ‘Unfriendly Takeover’ By Turkey

    In a wide-ranging question and answer session from the press, President-elect Donald Trump speculated over what was behind the collapse of Syria and the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

    He said the jihadist rebel victory in Syria was really an ‘unfriendly takeover’ by Turkey. The explanation he gave at first generated headlines which made it appear he was condemning and lashing out at Turkish action; however, the full comments were a bit more sympathetic and deferential to Erdogan and to Turkey.

    Getty Images

    In the comments he hailed Turkey’s regional role as a major power and his personal ties with President Erdogan.

    “Turkey is a major force, by the way, and Erdogan is somebody I got along with great but he has a major military force. And he has not been worn out with war,” Trump told reporters at the briefing held at Mar-a-Lago estate. “He’s built a very strong, powerful army” – he said in reference to Erdogan.

    “[Erdogan] is a very smart guy and very tough, but Turkey did an unfriendly takeover without a lot of lives being lost. I can say that Assad was a butcher here what he did to children.”

    Trump also explained that “Turkey is the one behind it” and stressed “They wanted it for 1000s of years, and he got it, and those people that went in are controlled by Turkey, and that’s okay. It’s another way to but no, I don’t think that.”

    He said that while “nobody knows” the future of post-Assad Syria, he still thinks “Turkey is going to hold the key to” the nation. “Actually, I don’t think you’ve heard that from anybody else, but I’ve been pretty good at predicting,” Trump followed with, but without saying whether he will eventually pull US forces out of Syria.

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    The presence of US forces in Deir Ezzor and Hasakeh regions has frequently outraged Turkey, especially given US troops are training and arming Syrian Kurdish YGP forces (which form the core of the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF). But Ankara views this group as but an extension of the outlawed PKK.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 20:30

  • Unidentified Drones In America's Skies? Smells Like A False Flag…
    Unidentified Drones In America’s Skies? Smells Like A False Flag…

    Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

    The term “False Flag” gets thrown around rather haphazardly these days and it’s important to recognize that a real false flag requires a particular end result – The public blaming the wrong culprit for an event that someone else (usually our own government) perpetrated. When it comes to the increasing fervor over major drone activity across the US, I have very little doubt that what we are witnessing is a false flag scenario.

    First, let’s outline what has happened so far: Drone sightings have exploded across the country involving a wide variety of devices – but the incidents that concern me the most are those involving the SUV-sized UAVs in places like New Jersey. The sightings have been happening for months. US government agencies including the FBI, DHS and national security officials claim they have no idea who is behind this activity, even though drones have been seen operating over highly protected areas like US military bases.

    There’s a lot of information to be gleaned here if you know what you’re looking for. I have written extensively about drones and drone warfare in my survival newsletter over the years, primarily on new developments in the technology and ways for civilians to defeat that technology. However, I have also written on how civilians can use drones for their own self defense.

    I know enough about tracking technology to say with relative certainly that officials are lying about the drones over New Jersey, and probably about most of the covert drone activity in other parts of the country. They know who is controlling these drones, and it’s most likely our own government.  What we are witnessing is some form of false flag in progress.

    First and foremost, drones can indeed be tracked rather easily depending on where they fly. Remote signals going back to the operator can be tracked with the right equipment. The stronger the remote signal the easier it is to find the operator. In New Jersey, for example, US Air Force Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst partnered with AeroDefense, a local business specializing in tracking technology and drone detection, to produce a system to track drones across the installation as well as pinpoint perpetrators who fly them. They started this program back in 2020.

    Drone company DJI, which controls around 90% of the consumer drone market, has their own proprietary drone tracking technology that can be purchased by governments and various agencies. There’s likely dozens more companies out there right now producing similar products to the DJI tracking tech.

    Under new FAA regulations instituted this year, all drones operating in US air space (except very small drones) are required to carry a Remote ID module which broadcasts operator information and location. Most drones now have Remote ID integrated into their software and removing it can be a pain. For example, DJI drones are basically no longer used by Ukrainian forces because the built-in Remote ID gives away their positions. They now build most of their drones from scratch.

    There are ways around drone tracking (to a point). Remote ID spoofing devices can be built and programmed for as little as $20. These broadcasting modules can create the illusion of dozens of drones in the sky with false operator data included.  Anyone trying to use Remote ID tracking to find you will have no idea which drones are real and which are fake.

    Drone signal repeaters (which function much like ham radio repeaters) are not uncommon and are used in Ukraine by both sides to help confuse tracking attempts. Signal repeaters and antennas are easy to hide, and pinpointing an exact location is difficult. In Ukraine, trackers would simply find a general area where the antenna or operator might be and then hit it with artillery. If they only hit a repeater, then the operator is out about $200 and that’s it.

    The Russians use drones connected to long spools of fiber optic cable which allows them to send the devices into areas protecting by jamming.  The direct connection also keeps the operators from being tracked.

    Then there are drones with AI software which bypass a lot of tracking tools. If the drone is controlling itself then there’s no operator signal to trace. The drone might be broadcasting a video signal but that’s not going to give up the location of the people who deployed the drone.

    Most of these techniques would never be used by common civilians or even small terror groups (AI flight software in particular would only be used by governments). On top of that, access to large drones or car-sized drones is very rare for civilians and requires extensive permits. The cost of such devices is prohibitive (tens-of-thousands or hundreds-of-thousands of dollars depending on the drone).

    My point is, there is no way civilian operators or small terror groups are behind the majority of these events. The level of sophistication involved here requires military or government agency oversight. Beyond that, there aren’t enough  countermeasures in the world to prevent tracking over sensitive government locations.  The US military and DHS have extensive means to track down drones (especially large drones) flying in close proximity to bases and protected sites.

    Triangulation would not be hard given the drone operators would have to fly through the middle of multiple detection equipped facilities. And, even if the drones are AI operated, large drones are not very fast or nimble. They could be followed without much trouble by helicopters or other drones.

    Lack of public knowledge on this issue is being exploited by government officials and the media. I have seen multiple agency representatives claim that there’s “not enough restrictions in place” to keep the threat of domestic drones in check. I have also seen government reps claim these drones are being operated by a foreign enemy like Iran.  Recently, at least two men were arrested for flying a small drone too close to an airport in Long Island – Federal agencies and the media have tried to link these men to the covert drone sighting across the country when it’s likely they have nothing to do with the situation.

    Misinformation like this suggests an attempt to pin the drone activity on civilian sources, or, a foreign adversary working with civilian sources. 

    In other words, they are preparing the ground for one of two outcomes:

    1. More aggressive restrictions on civilian drones, or,

    2. a drone attack that is blamed on a foreign government.

    The size of the drones is what worries me most. If the goal of a foreign government was to monitor sensitive sites and collect information, they wouldn’t use car-sized drones. Large drones would be too easy to trace.  They would use small mid-range drones outfitted with thermal that fit in a backpack.

    But, our own government could fly fleets of large drones over cites and military bases with impunity.  If our government wanted to, say, blow up a sacrificial military facility, damage a nuclear power plant or hit a civilian center, car-sized drones would be very useful because they are designed to carry considerable weight.  Drones like those sighted over New Jersey could carry 500-1000 pounds of ordnance (maybe more). A swarm of these drones could cause total havoc in a heavily populated area.

    I worry about this outcome because the Biden Administration and the globalist establishment have been very active in the past several months trying to create as many ignition points for world war as they possibly can before Donald Trump takes office in January. A false flag at this time makes perfect sense.

    My second theory is based on the strange comments by defense officials linking the activity to lack of restrictions on the civilian drone market.  As noted, there is NO WAY civilians are flying car-sized drones in US airspace over protected sites without being followed.  The drones are too expensive, too big to move around without people noticing and that kind of operation requires insider knowledge of DoD and DHS tracking methods.

    Some have speculated that there may be an agenda to get legislation (like a new Patriot Act) passed in the near future. 

    I believe this may be a ploy to get traction on legislation restricting or banning civilian ownership of drones. Some people might be skeptical about that idea, but consider for a moment how useful drones are to a potential populist rebellion…

    For over a century, governments and national armies have had a monopoly on aerial surveillance and the ability to engage enemies from the sky.  With the invention of drones many patriots and survivalists have viewed the technology as the biggest threat to future attempts at rebellion against the establishment. The devices are cheap to produce, can operate in forests and urban environments and even small drones can carry enough explosives to maim or possibly kill with precision.

    In the past, smaller forces using asymmetric tactics could still gain the upper hand against governments, even when fighting an advanced military with air superiority.  Drones are now treated as the end game for insurgencies.  But the truth is quite the opposite; drones are the end game for standard armies and a huge advantage for asymmetric rebellions.  Drones are the biggest game changer in warfare for civilians since the invention of the repeating rifle.

    We have seen the face of combat change dramatically in the war in Ukraine as drones become increasingly vital for both sides. Medium-sized drones have disrupted typical maneuver warfare tactics using high explosives to disable armored columns. Small drones allow operators to monitor the battlefield from the sky for miles and make discreet troop movements impossible.

    Drones can be easily used by civilians for the same purposes. For the first time ever, patriots have access to the air for surveillance and defense. I would not be surprised to see governments fabricate reasons why the technology “needs to be banned” – They will try to sell the American people on the idea that drones are a danger to public safety, even if that requires bankrolling a terror attack to frighten people into compliance.

    In either case – A trigger for WWIII or a test case for banning the civilian drone market, the establishment gains an advantage.  As far as I can tell, no one else benefits from these drone incidents.  All signs point to a false flag.  If this reality is exposed widely enough, I expect that the government will finally admit that they were behind the drone flights, but only as an effort to “protect the public” from an insidious threat that they could not tell us about beforehand.

    *  *  *

    If you would like to support the work that Alt-Market does while also receiving content on advanced tactics for defeating the globalist agenda, subscribe to our exclusive newsletter The Wild Bunch Dispatch.  Learn more about it HERE.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 20:05

  • "Deeply Conflicted" Judge Rules Trump Doesn't Have Immunity In New York 'Hush Money' Case
    “Deeply Conflicted” Judge Rules Trump Doesn’t Have Immunity In New York ‘Hush Money’ Case

    President-elect Donald Trump does not have immunity in the so-called “hush money” case in New York, Judge Juan Merchan ruled in a decision on Dec. 16.

    The conduct described by the 34 felony counts of which Trump was convicted earlier this year is related “entirely to unofficial conduct entitled to no immunity protections,” Merchan wrote.

    As Joseph Lord reports for The Epoch Times, the decision, coming in the wake of Trump’s sweeping victory in the 2024 presidential election, is tied to a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year that reaffirmed the longstanding precedent that official presidential conduct enjoys “presumptive immunity” from criminal prosecution.

    The Supreme Court’s decision forced Merchan to determine whether the charges were presumptively immune under the law.

    Trump’s attorneys contended that New York prosecutors introduced evidence during his seven-week trial that was protected by the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity doctrine.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) urged the judge to reject Trump’s arguments, arguing that no evidence placed before the jury was protected, and even if it was, it paled in comparison to “other overwhelming evidence of defendant’s guilt.”

    Merchan agreed, finding that none of the challenged evidence was protected.

    Even if immunity did extend to the evidence in question, Merchan wrote he “would still find that the People’s use of these acts as evidence of the decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch, a conclusion amply supported by non-motive-related evidence.”

    The Hill reports that Trump has separately argued that his White House victory compels the dismissal of the jury’s verdict and the case in its entirety.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) has pushed back, instead laying out alternatives like freezing the proceedings during Trump’s term.

    The judge has yet to rule on that matter.

    “Today’s decision by deeply conflicted, acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA Witch Hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s decision on immunity, and other longstanding jurisprudence,” Steven Cheung, Trump’s spokesperson and incoming White House communications director, said in a statement.

    In a separate letter, Merchan revealed that Trump also sent a Dec. 3 letter alleging juror misconduct. The judge provided sparse details but indicated the issue would be made public with redactions.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 19:43

  • The Life-Affirming Vitality Of Raw Milk
    The Life-Affirming Vitality Of Raw Milk

    Authored by Matthew Gasda via RealClearBooks,

    I’ve been drinking raw milk for almost 15 years, ever since I made a sudden switch from veganism while visiting my sister in Europe. At the time, she was living in Germany and getting raw milk from a local farmer. I remember mocking her, interrogating her, feigning disgust—performing disgust—which I thought was justified by science and ethics. Then, in an instant, it hit me: I was the one being disgusting (rejecting local, traditional, healthy food while scouring German supermarkets for synthetic vegan snacks imported from around the globe).

    When I got back to New York City, where I lived then and still live now, I found a raw milk co-op, which I still use today. The driver, who I won’t name because it’s illegal to sell raw milk in New York, has become my friend. The milk comes from the Amish. Over these 15 years, I’ve only been to the doctor once, for a routine physical. I’ve had no major health problems or depression. My friends say I look young; I feel young. I play sports every weekend. I play fast for my age. I feel better, much stronger, than when I was much younger, and vegan.

    Thus, the animus behind the Amish vote turning out for Trump, linked to events like the federal raid on Amos Miller’s farm and the confiscation of his raw dairy, didn’t surprise me. The Amish are representative figures for a particular kind of social and subject position. Their traditional practices and resistance to modernization make them perfect symbols for a broader cultural revolt against technocratic authority.

    While not a national headline, the Fed’s raid on Miller went viral on X, and for me, it exemplified how progressive health culture—once about choice and care—has become indistinguishable from federal overreach. The message sent by the state health officials and NGO activists is clear: no one should drink milk or slaughter animals on their own or seek non-pharmacologically mediated health. We should drink oat milk, pea protein smoothies, and eat fake meat. Pharmaceuticals should be the first and last line against illness.

    For some, the meme-ification of raw milk (and related products like beef tallow) is just a sideshow to what is increasingly, clearly, a small “r” anti-bureaucrat populist political revolt. However, I think the raw milk meme, the signifier, encapsulates something very deep about that revolution: Americans want the level of healthiness the Amish have, and are increasingly willing, like the Amish, to push back against health norms dictated by bureaucrats, Big Agra, and Big Pharma.

    “Taste classifies, and it classifies the classifier,” the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu wisely asserts. Case in point: fake milks, which have long symbolized “progress”  and liberal orthodoxy, environmental sensitivity, and supposed better health and living. Progressive food hygiene reflects a broader cultivation of neuroticism—a puritanical morbidity that’s ultimately about self-denial. It’s not just that Amish foods, rooted in centuries of tradition, are safe. It’s that they taste good—rich, fatty, nutritious. Foods like raw milk, pastured eggs, and raw meat excite the senses, nourish the body, and make modern life, with its endless laptop work, socializing, and algorithmic dating, feel worthwhile.

    Drinking raw milk is part of a larger desire to reconnect to the body, to natural reality, to traditions, to the earth. Raw milk symbolizes nature, locality, and the uncommodified. It stands against a scientistic (not scientific) mindset that insists on interventions like pasteurization—treating food in a way that might make it marginally safer but also destroys part of its essence, its taste. Pasteurization is a metaphor for the progressive mentality: a relentless pursuit of safety at all costs, even if it makes life blander and less vital.

    Raw milk, tallow, and the broader “MAHA” movement reject this safetyism. They defy the smug, know-it-all attitudes of the Axios, Ezra Klein class, who can’t fathom why anyone would choose non-optimized, non-expert-approved practices. For years, I’ve had friends (who are often demonstrably, obviously, very physically unwell) tell me I’m endangering myself by drinking raw milk. They’ve called it disgusting, weird, even subversive. These same types were shocked when I didn’t wear a mask or get a vaccine, and they’re just as shocked that I didn’t vote for Kamala.

    This ahistorical obsession with safety and control—what’s “normal”—isn’t just conditioned by corporate food interests; it’s embedded in a complex web of power relations that shape our very understanding of health and risk. The modern food safety regime—which has been internalized by cable-news watching, unthinking ‘libs’ as normal—demands not just compliance, but cultish devotion to the status quo systems (like the food and medical systems)—a devotion which entails a denial of our sensory experience and a rejection of accumulated wisdom. It’s a form of what Bourdieu calls “symbolic violence,” whereby what for thousands of years was considered a normal act (drinking unprocessed milk), becomes redefined by a dominant, in this case, technocratic culture as dangerous or regressive.

    Our technocratic, medicalized, scientistic life-system insists we feel “right” rather than feel alive, and that symbols matter more than the signals of the body itself. Drinking raw milk, therefore, has a kind of sacramental quality, just in the sense that it shocks those who practice the rituals of liberal hygiene and right-living; it inverts hygiene practices and is actually about making food holy again.

    We’re asked to sacrifice tradition for regulation, vitality for standardization, embodied wisdom for bureaucratic protocols. We’re trading the full-bodied experience of life—with all its subtle flavors, risks, and rewards—for a thin gruel of safetyism and industrial efficiency. Raw milk memes, and the Amish voting turnout, and MAHA isn’t just about dairy or tallow or seed oils; it’s about refusing a certain kind of bargain where useful unofficial forms of knowledge and experience are discarded and mocked.

    Progressivism, both as a politics and a lifestyle, has the high burden of proving that the future is always better than the past; I think many are finding that there’s no reason to accept that burden. Sometimes the past, backed by thousands of years of fine-tuning, is just better than the future.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 19:15

  • Assad Breaks Silence From Moscow, Denies 'Planned' Syria Departure
    Assad Breaks Silence From Moscow, Denies ‘Planned’ Syria Departure

    Syria’s toppled leader Bashar al-Assad has made a statement for the first time since fleeing Syria after jihadist groups led by US-designated terror organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over the country and the army peeled away without a fight.

    The statement was posted Monday to the Syrian Presidency’s Telegram account; however, it can’t be independently verified that he personally made the statement. Assad is with his family in Moscow, where they have received asylum from the Russian government.

    The posted letter describes that Syria’s collapse was the result of terrorism and that his leaving was not planned. He said he was evacuated to Russia from the Khmeimim airbase on the Syrian coast. This happened the evening of December 8, and the letter further describes that the base was coming under drone attacks and the security situation deteriorating. He suggested he wanted to stay and fight.

    Via Associated Press

    “My departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed. On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday 8th December 2024,” the statement said.

    “With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8th December. This took place a day after the fall of Damascus, following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions,” the statement continued.

    “At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party. The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught,” it added.

    But the statement does say that as state institutions collapsed that his position as president of the country quickly became “void of purpose” as by then Syria was overrun by “terrorists”.

    “When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose, rendering its occupation meaningless,” Assad added.

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    Assad’s precise whereabouts or the timeline of events of his exit had been unknown for days even after he was in Moscow. It appears many of this top officials, including his brother Maher, had fled either across the Iraq border or to Dubai. For example, Assad’s top media advisor Bouthaina Shaaban was spotted in Dubai’s airport.

    Western media sources are currently alleging that in recent years Assad had $250 million in cash flown from Syria to Russia. The media is presenting this as him having looted the country’s central bank, but the airlifts took place a number of years ago:

    The Financial Times (FT) said that it had uncovered records showing that Assad’s regime flew two tonnes of banknotes into Moscow between 2018 and 2019 to be deposited at Russian banks. Newsweek has contacted the Russian foreign ministry for comment.

    The FT says that Syria’s central bank airlifted $250 million in cash to Russia at a time when Assad was indebted to Moscow and the Middle Eastern country was desperately short of foreign currency.

    Likely this was also done to bypass Western sanctions, and given Russia has long been a hub of Assad family finances. 

    Meanwhile, Reuters reported last week that “The vaults in Syria’s central bank were left unscathed by looters in the turmoil that briefly engulfed the capital Damascus after the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad, a senior business leader and three other sources told Reuters.” According to more breaking developments:

    • SYRIA RETAINS NEARLY 26 TONS OF GOLD RESERVES INSIDE CENTRAL BANK VAULT – SOURCES
    • SYRIA’S CENTRAL BANK HAS ROUGHLY $200 MLN IN U.S. DOLLAR RESERVES IN VAULTS – SOURCES
    • SYRIA’S GOLD RESERVES WORTH $2.2 BLN AT CURRENT MARKET PRICES – REUTERS CALCULATIONS

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    Bassel Hamawi, head of the Damascus Chambers of Commerce, said that “The most important point is that the amounts in the central bank are still as they were, there is no infringement on the central bank and the money in the central bank has been handed over to the new government” – despite other smaller cash stores at the bank having been stolen.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 18:50

  • Autonomous AI Poses Existential Threat – And It's Almost Here: Former Google CEO
    Autonomous AI Poses Existential Threat – And It’s Almost Here: Former Google CEO

    Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) is coming—and that it could pose an existential threat to humanity.

    Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 21, 2011. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    “We’re soon going to be able to have computers running on their own, deciding what they want to do,” Schmidt, who has long raised alarm about both the dangers and the benefits AI poses to humanity, said during a Dec. 15 appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”

    “That’s a dangerous point: When the system can self improve, we need to seriously think about unplugging it,” Schmidt said.

    Schmidt is far from the first tech leader to raise these concerns.

    The rise of consumer AI products like ChatGPT has been unprecedented in the past two years, with major improvements to the language-based model. Other AI models have become increasingly adept at creating visual art, photographs, and full-length videos that are nearly indistinguishable from reality in many cases.

    For some, the technology calls to mind the “Terminator” series, which centers on a dystopian future where AI takes over the planet, leading to apocalyptic results.

    For all the fears that ChatGPT and similar platforms have raised, consumer AI services available today still fall into a category experts would consider “dumb AI.” These AI are trained on a massive set of data, but lack consciousness, sentience, or the ability to behave autonomously.

    Schmidt and other experts are not particularly worried about these systems.

    Rather, they’re concerned about more advanced AI, known in the tech world as “artificial general intelligence” (AGI), describing far more complex AI systems that could have sentience and, by extension, could develop conscious motives independent from and potentially dangerous to human interests.

    Schmidt said no such systems exist today yet, and we’re rapidly moving toward a new, in-between type of AI: one lacking the sentience that would define an AGI, and still able to act autonomously in fields like research and weaponry.

    “I’ve done this for 50 years. I’ve never seen innovation at this scale,” Schmidt said of the rapid developments in AI complexity.

    Schmidt said that more developed AI would have many benefits to humanity—and could have just as many “bad things like weapons and cyber attacks.”

    The Challenge

    The challenge, Schmidt said, is multifaceted.

    At a core level, he repeated a common sentiment among tech leaders: if autonomous AGI-like systems are inevitable, it will require massive cooperation among both corporate interests and governments internationally to avoid potentially devastating consequences.

    That’s easier said than done. AI provides U.S. competitors like China, Russia, and Iran with a potential leg-up over the United States that would be difficult to achieve otherwise.

    Within the tech industry as well, there’s currently massive competition among major corporations—Google, Microsoft, and others—to outcompete rivals, a situation that raises inherent risks of improper security protocols for dealing with a rogue AI, Schmidt said.

    “The competition is so fierce, there’s a concern that one of the companies will decide to omit the [safety] steps and then somehow release something that really does some harm,” Schmidt said. Such harms would only become evident after the fact, he said.

    The challenge is greater on the international stage, where adversarial nations are likely to see the new technology as revolutionary for their efforts to challenge U.S. global hegemony and expand their own influence.

    “The Chinese are clever, and they understand the power of a new kind of intelligence for their industrial might, their military might, and their surveillance system,” Schmidt said.

    That’s a bit of a catch-22 for U.S. leaders in the field, who find themselves forced to balance existential concerns for humanity with the potential for the United States to fall behind its adversaries, which could be catastrophic to global stability.

    In the worst case, such systems could be used to engineer crippling biological and nuclear weapons, particularly by terror groups like ISIS.

    For this reason, Schmidt said, it’s absolutely crucial that the United States continue to innovate in the field, and ultimately maintain technological dominance over China and other adversarial states and groups.

    Industry Leaders Demand Regulation

    Regulation of the field remains insufficient, Schmidt said. But he expects that governments’ focus on enhancing safeguards around the tech will accelerate dramatically in the coming years.

    Asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos if governments were doing enough to regulate it, Schmidt replied, “Not yet, but they will, because they’ll have to.”

    Despite some initial interest in the field—hearings, legislative proposals, and other initiatives—emerging during the current 118th Congress, this session seems to be on track to end without any major legislation related to AI.

    President-elect Donald Trump, for his part, has warned of the vast risks posed by AI, saying during an appearance on Logan Paul’s “Impaulsive” podcast that it’s “really powerful stuff.”

    He also spoke of the need to maintain competitiveness with adversaries.

    “It brings with it difficulty, but we have to be at the forefront,” Trump said. “It’s going to happen, and if it’s going to happen, we have to take the lead over China. China’s the primary threat.”

    Schmidt’s takes on both the benefits and the challenges of the technology aligns with other industry reactions.

    In June 2024, OpenAI and Google employees signed a letter warning of “serious risks” posed by AI, and calling for greater government oversight of the field.

    Elon Musk has put forward similar warnings, saying that Google is seeking to create a “digital God” through its DeepMind AI program.

    In August, these concerns intensified after it was discovered that an AI took autonomous action to avoid being shut down—raising fears that humanity is already losing control over its creation as governments remain inactive.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 18:25

  • South Korean President Skips Summons Amid Political Crisis, Faces Arrest Risk
    South Korean President Skips Summons Amid Political Crisis, Faces Arrest Risk

    South Korea’s Constitutional Court began reviewing President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment on Saturday, following a National Assembly vote that led to it. Yoon was scheduled for questioning on Sunday as part of a prosecutors’ office investigation, but he has not responded. Meanwhile, the leader of his party, who had supported the impeachment, has resigned.

    NBC News reports the prosecutors’ office asked Yoon to appear for questioning on Sunday as part of an investigation over his failed attempt to declare emergency martial law earlier this month. Prosecutors will issue another summons for the president. 

    On Saturday, the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon, with 204 lawmakers in the 300-member house in favor of the motion and 85 against. Eight votes were declared invalid, while three lawmakers abstained from voting.

    Source: Bloomberg 

    The vote comes a little more than a week after Yoon survived an impeachment vote, capping multi-week political turmoil in the country that borders North Korea. This follows Yoon’s declaration of the briefest martial law in South Korean history on December 3, lasting only a few hours, after accusing the opposition party of engaging in ‘anti-state activities.’

    Recall, Yoon said: “I will not give up. I will do my best for our country.” And this could be why he failed to appear for questioning on Sunday.

    “If Yoon continues to defy requests for questioning in the two inquiries, investigators could ask a court to issue a warrant for his arrest,” NBC noted. 

    Under South Korea’s Constitution, Yoon’s impeachment has allowed Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to become interim leader.

    Political instability in South Korea led to the resignation of Han Dong Hoon, the leader of Yoon’s People Power Party, on Monday morning. 

    Han said he does “not regret supporting the impeachment” because the president’s use of martial law was wrong. 

    “Defending illegal martial law is a betrayal of the country, the people, the conservative spirit, and the achievements of our party that achieved industrialization and democratization,” Han emphasized. 

    Given that the Constitutional Court will now decide whether to reinstate or remove Yoon, Goldman’s Goohoon Kwon and Andrew Tilton provided clients with the possible transition scenarios. That process could take up to six months.

    Here’s what comes next: 

    Newsquawk’s latest headlines on the ongoing political turmoil: 

    • South Korean MPs have successfully voted to impeach President Yoon in their second attempt, amid backlash following his brief move to impose martial law, according to BBC. Yoon was suspended from official duties at 19:24 local time on Saturday while PM Han is to continue as acting president, according to Yonhap.

    • South Korea’s acting president Han vowed to leave no vacuum in state affairs, build a solid security posture, and ensure the cabinet works hard to maintain trust with the US, Japan, and other partners. He also pledged efforts to operate financial and forex markets smoothly, according to Yonhap. Acting President Han said the country will maintain preparedness to prevent North Korea from stirring up provocations, secure national interests ahead of the new US administration, and prioritise national security above all else, according to News1 and Yonhap.

    • South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said the party has decided not to proceed with the impeachment of acting , according to Reuters.

    • Bank of Korea stated it is necessary to respond more actively to the economic impact compared with past impeachment periods, given heightened challenges in external conditions. It also said it will use all available policy instruments, in conjunction with the government, to respond to and avert escalation of volatility in financial and forex markets, according to Reuters.

    • South Korea’s Finance Minister said the government will continue to swiftly deploy market-stabilising measures as needed, seek more support measures for vulnerable sectors, and actively communicate with parliament to keep the economy stable. The minister also confirmed that the bi-annual economic policy plan will be announced before the end of the year, according to Reuters.

    • South Korea’s financial regulator said it will expand market-stabilising funds if needed to boost liquidity in bond and short-term money markets and expects financial markets to stabilise as recent political events are temporary shocks, according to Reuters.

    Also, the Goldman analysts warned of another scenario that could unfold: “… muddling through in a political gridlock.” 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 18:00

  • Key Figures From "Thank You Dr. Fauci" Lead The Quest For COVID-19 Accountability
    Key Figures From “Thank You Dr. Fauci” Lead The Quest For COVID-19 Accountability

    The documentary Thank You Dr. Fauci has emerged as a prescient roadmap for understanding the COVID-19 pandemic, its origins, and the political and scientific decisions that shaped the world’s response. If you haven’t already, please watch and share this groundbreaking work.

    With recent talk of a preemptive pardon for Fauci, the film – and those featured in it, is set to take center stage in what we hope begins a phase of accountability.

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    Directed by progressive filmmaker Jenner Furst, Thank You Dr. Fauci brings together an extraordinary cast of whistleblowers, investigators, and scientists who were early voices in questioning the narratives surrounding the pandemic. As the Trump administration prepares to take office, with figures like Senator Rand Paul leading investigations into COVID-19 origins, the documentary stands as a bold call for transparency, justice, and reform.

    The film carefully curates a mix of insiders, investigators, and progressive activists who have shaped the COVID-19 discourse. Their inclusion not only provides a thorough examination of the pandemic but also underscores the film’s broader message about systemic failures and the need for reform.

    Dr. Richard Ebright: The Voice Against Risky Research

    Ebright, a molecular biologist and professor at Rutgers University, plays a crucial role in Thank You Dr. Fauci as one of the most prominent critics of gain-of-function research and its potential role in the COVID-19 pandemic.

    For years, Ebright has been a leading voice in the scientific community warning of the dangers posed by experiments that enhance the transmissibility or pathogenicity of viruses. His expertise and willingness to challenge public health orthodoxy make him a pivotal figure in the film’s narrative of accountability and reform.

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    Dr. Jay Bhattacharya: From Lockdown Critic to Key Voice in the Trump Administration

    Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor of medicine and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, emerges in Thank You Dr. Fauci as one of the most prominent critics of lockdowns and restrictive COVID-19 policies. Known for advocating “focused protection” instead of broad lockdowns, Bhattacharya has consistently argued that public health measures disproportionately harmed the poor, children, and vulnerable populations while failing to adequately address the spread of the virus. His inclusion in the film underscores the growing debate over the societal and economic costs of pandemic policies.

    Bhattacharya has been appointed by President-elect Donald Trump as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This role places him at the helm of one of the most powerful health agencies in the world, giving him the opportunity to reshape how the government approaches public health and pandemic preparedness.

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    Dr. Bryce Nickels and Dr. Justin Kinney: Scientists Leading the Push for Biosafety Reform

    Dr. Bryce Nickels, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University, and Dr. Justin Kinney, a quantitative biologist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, feature prominently in Thank You Dr. Fauci as advocates for greater accountability and reform in scientific research. Both scientists have been vocal critics of gain-of-function research, arguing that the lack of oversight and transparency in this field contributed to the conditions that may have led to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The pair are working to have bullshit Fauci-commissioned scientific papers retracted.

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    Dr. Marty Makary – early Fauci Skeptic picked by Trump to lead the FDA

    Kenny Holston/The New York Times

    In Thank You, Dr. Fauci, Makary notes how he became a Fauci skeptic “during the Ebola epidemic,” after Fauci “transferred a nurse in Dallas with Ebola to the NIH clinical center in Washington DC, and then Dr. Fauci puts on an astronaut suit and walks in with a photographer for a photo opportunity.”

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    “The media parroted whatever Fauci and the CDC fed them, just as they did when government leaders told them there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, parroting whatever the government told them without asking any questions,” Makary told the House Select Subcommittee on the Covid Pandemic on May 11, 2023.

    Makary has been picked by President-elect Donald Trump as the next commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Should he be confirmed, he will report to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – should Kennedy also be confirmed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

    David Asher – former State Department Investigator

    David Asher, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and bioweapons expert, led the U.S. State Department’s investigation into the origins of COVID-19 during the Trump administration. His inquiry focused on the possibility that the virus originated from a laboratory incident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China.

    Asher’s investigation examined the WIV’s research activities, including gain-of-function experiments that enhance a virus’s transmissibility or virulence. He raised concerns about the safety protocols at the WIV and the potential for an accidental release of the virus. Asher also highlighted the Chinese government’s lack of transparency and cooperation in investigating the pandemic’s origins.

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    Andrew Huff – at the center of EcoHealth

    Dr. Andrew Huff is a whistleblower who worked for EcoHealth Alliance who we’ve covered multiple times over the past few years. According to Huff, a former VP at EcoHealth – his former employer helped the Wuhan lab put together the “best existing methods to engineer bat coronaviruses to attack other species” for many years.

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    “China knew from day one that this was a genetically engineered agent. The US government is to blame for the transfer of dangerous biotechnology to the Chinese,” Huff wrote in his book, The Truth About Wuhan.”

    Charles Rixey and Lt. Col. Joseph Murphy: The Whistleblowers

    The film gives significant attention to Charles Rixey of the DRASTIC research group and Lt. Col. Joseph Murphy, both of whom uncovered critical evidence supporting the lab-leak hypothesis. Their work reveals how government agencies and scientific organizations may have suppressed key information about the pandemic’s origins. The inclusion of leaked documents, coupled with their firsthand accounts, adds weight to the film’s argument that a full reckoning of the pandemic’s roots is overdue.

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    Adam Andrzejewski: RIP

    A crusader for government transparency, Andrzejewski – founder of OpenTheBooks.com filed several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests which revealed Fauci’s exorbitant $450,000 per year salary and several other damning details related to the pandemic. Andrzejewski passed away unexpectedly in August at the age of 55 right before he was set to testify against Fauci.

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    Dr. Robert Redfield: A Key Figure in the COVID-19 Accountability Movement

    Dr. Robert Redfield, the former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), emerges as a critical voice in Thank You Dr. Fauci – noting how he was shut out of Fauci’s conclave of pandemic advisors despite his position.

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    The Trump Administration and a New Era of Accountability

    As Thank You, Dr. Fauci gains traction, the Trump administration’s return to power positions figures like Senator Rand Paul to lead investigations into COVID-19’s origins and alleged coverups. Paul, a vocal critic of Fauci, has promised to subpoena records and hold hearings into gain-of-function research and the suppression of the lab-leak theory.

    The documentary becomes particularly relevant in this context, as many of the individuals featured are expected to play active roles in shaping these inquiries. The film’s message aligns with the incoming administration’s focus on challenging the so-called “Deep State” and holding public health officials accountable.

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    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 17:40

  • Santa, Please Bring Me A War For Christmas
    Santa, Please Bring Me A War For Christmas

    Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

    “Understand this deeply – you nearly lost your country and your freedom to a deranged, totalitarian-leaning enemy of our nation’s soul and destiny. Take this personally.”

    – Mel K

    So, you expected “Joe Biden” to serve up a neat little Christmas-time World War Three, lobbing ATACMS into Russia and all, but instead, surprise surprise, you got The War of the Worlds: mysterious drones hovering on-high over the endless muffler shops, manicure parlors, mafia palazzos, and mosques of New Jersey.

    But there seems to be more to this than, say, the stunt that Orson Welles pulled in 1938, scaring a few rubes over the radio.

    This ain’t no foolin’ around.

    It’s been going on for weeks.

    And not just in New Jersey. But around New York City, up the Hudson River Valley above Stewart Airport, over in Massachusetts, down in Pennsylvania, and out in Ohio in the vicinity of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton Ohio.

    Howls of “WTF” echo all over the cable news channels. The US government — that is, the twilighting “Joe Biden” admin — plays dumb.

    Alejandro Mayorkas, our unimpeachably frank Homeland Security chief told ABC-News on Sunday “that there’s no question that drones are being sighted.” I’m sure that told you a lot. He went on to explain that the FAA changed its rules last year allowing drones to fly at night. Are we to suppose that avid US drone-owners waited until the very last month of this year to start flying their pet aircraft after dark? Pentagon spox John Kirby, added helpfully at a news conference that federal investigators had been “unable to corroborate reports of any unauthorized drones above New Jersey.”

    (Translation: DARPA and other Pentagon ops are too busy figuring out new ways to surveil and kill you to bother with these drone swarms.)

    Theories abound and multiply.

    One is that these are US Govt drones seeking signals of radioactivity emanating from a nuclear bomb supposedly purloined out of Ukraine’s old Soviet arsenal — and possibly stashed in a shipping container or some-such other hidey-hole along our east coast. It’s a good story. It’s rumored that some-60 Uke nukes from that era have gone missing in the decades since. Of course, the theoretical owner of such a device would have to be pretty dumb to not stash his nuke in a lead-shielded casket to prevent detection. In the meantime, what else can be said or done? Standing by on that mushroom cloud. . . .

    Blogger / Author and former White House stenographer (2002 – 2018) Mike McCormick had a neat theory: that shipping interests were testing drone deliveries of imported goods from offshore in an attempt to work-around the longshoreman’s union contract negotiations currently underway.

    The union has been fighting against automation that would eliminate the good-paying jobs of 85,000 dock-workers.

    Any takers on that one?

    Of course, it’s difficult to swallow the govt’s statements that, basically, they dunno nuffins ‘bout no drones. There are enough of them flying over enough varied terrain that surely the USAF could find a way to shoot one down over a cow pasture in, say, Orange County, New York. I’m frankly a little surprised that some enterprising civilian marksman hasn’t popped off a few 7mm Remington mag loads into the hovering lights. At least they haven’t said it’s Santa Claus testing a new high-tech delivery system that would put his old-timey sleigh-and-reindeer out of business.

    The theory I lean toward is the notion that “Joe Biden” (meaning the DC blob) is desperately seeking some way to obstruct or fend-off the January 20th inauguration of Mr. Trump. Because, well, to put it bluntly, a whole lot of blobistas are worried about going to jail when the likes of Kash Patel, John Ratcliffe, Tulsi-G, and Pam Bondi get their mitts on the levers of power and start opening up the files. They’ve got thirty-five days to. . . to do something! (Somebody, please do something!!!)

    There was a lot of chatter all year long about a coming space alien emergency. I know, sounds preposterous, and even more so when you consider that the military arm of the blob would be so dumb as to try to pass off drones as alien spacecrafts — like something out of a 1950s horror movie when the “special effects” had to be done with puppets and balsa-wood models flying on wires. Maybe it’s actually come to that in this super dumbed-down age. (Are you aware that the main diminishing return of our magical computer tech is that it’s made our society an order-of-magnitude dumber across the board? Well, it has.)

    The situation remains fluid, with ongoing investigations and public discourse about the implications and origins of these drone activities.

    The FBI is on-the-case (so never fear!) along with Mr. Mayorkas and his outfit, and maybe even the US military.

    Chill.

    They got this — as Hollywood loves to say. Go shopping. Have a goshdarn eggnog. Shut up.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 17:40

  • West Pushing Russia Beyond 'Red Line' While Building Up Troops In Europe: Putin
    West Pushing Russia Beyond ‘Red Line’ While Building Up Troops In Europe: Putin

    The month of December has already witnessed several waves of US-supplied long-range ATACMS target inside Russian territory. Many have been intercepted, but others have struck Russian bases.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday addressed a meeting of his defense ministry wherein he warned that the Western allies are pushing Russia beyond a red line. He stressed that this means Moscow is pushed into a situation in which it must retaliate.

    He began the comments by accusing the US of seeking “to weaken our country and inflict a strategic defeat”  by continuing “to pump a de facto illegitimate ruling regime in Kiev with weapons and money, sending mercenaries and military advisers, thereby encouraging further escalation of the conflict.”

    Putin continued, according an English translation in state media, “They push us to the red line… we begin to respond, and then they frighten their population.” He said that Washington authorities in this way use “simple tactics” to keep the American population in fear, allowing escalation of threats to continue.

    According to another translation by Reuters:

    The Russian president said: “They [Western leaders] are simply scaring their own population that we are going to attack someone there using the pretext of the mythical Russian threat.

    “The tactic is very simple: they push us to ‘a red line’, from which we can not retreat, we start to respond and then they immediately scare their population – in the old days it was with the Soviet threat and now it’s with the Russian threat.”

    He not only warned that Russia and other independent nations are facing West-sponsored “hybrid wars” – but that NATO is increasing its force posture in Europe near Russia’s borders.

    “The number of American service members in Europe has already exceeded 100,000 troops,“ he said, also noting that Washington’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region has increased too.

    Putin in the comments further hinted that though Moscow currently abides by the INF Treaty, even after Washington pulled out, all self-imposed restrictions could immediately be lifted should the US begin deploying its medium and short-range missile systems in violation of the now defunct treaty.

    “If the United States begins to deploy such systems, then all our voluntary restrictions will be lifted,” he warned. “The relocation and deployment of these missile systems in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region is already being practiced.”

    President-Elect Donald Trump on Monday said that he could immediately reverse the Biden admin’s policy of allowing Kiev to hit Russia with US missiles. He has vowed to rapidly de-escalate and negotiate toward peace.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 17:20

  • Biden Lied About Everything: Philly Fed Finds All Jobs "Created" In Q2 Were Fake
    Biden Lied About Everything: Philly Fed Finds All Jobs “Created” In Q2 Were Fake

    Back in August, many were surprised by the accuracy of our forecast, when we predicted that in its annual revision, the Biden Bureau of Labor Statistics would revise jobs for the April 2023-March 2024 period by “up to 1 million”, something which we said would mean that all job report “beats” recorded in the past year will have been misses and the US labor market is in far worse shape than the admin would admit.

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    The final results, as everyone knows by now, was a shocking 818K revision lower, just as the Philadelphia Fed had predicted 6 months prior, in March, when it calculated correctly that the Biden Department of Goalseeking Propaganda had overstated payrolls by “at least 800,000.”

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    The answer ended up 818,000 for the 12 month period ended March 31 (or about 68,000 per month) and the implied sharp deterioration to the job market was the main scapegoat used by the Fed to launch its easing cycle with a jumbo 50bps rate cut (now that “suddenly” the economic golden age pushed by the Biden propaganda regime, and trillions in debt, had just collapsed).

    We mention all of this up because on Friday, the Philly Fed served up its latest shocker: not only did the Biden admin lie again, but the collapse in the labor market that had been covered up for much of the past year and was only exposed with the annual benchmark revision, extended into the second quarter.

    “Estimates by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia indicate that the employment changes from March through June 2024 were significantly different” – read lower – “in 27 states compared with preliminary state estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Current Employment Statistics (CES)”, the Philly Fed said on December 12.

    “According to the early benchmark (EB) estimates conducted by the Phily Fed, employment was lower in 25 states, higher in two states, and lesser changes in the remaining 23 states and the District of Columbia.”

    Translation: 23 states unchanged, 1 revised higher…  and 25 lower. The breakdown is shown below.

    Maybe someone can calculate what the odds of that distribution occurring naturally are, but here is our guess: virtually nil. Which is why would make such a loud stink every month after the Biden BLS revised jobs data lower month after month after month. The whole point was to make the labor market appear stronger than it was, then to gradually revised it all away. And now the Philadelphia Fed confirms – again – that we were right all along.

    And so, after it first revised the 12 months ending March 31 by 818K, the downgrads extended into the second quarter of 2024, when the Philadelphia Fed early benchmark estimates showed that instead of the 1.1% gain shown initially by the BLS, payroll jobs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia were actually down 0.1%!

    By state, the regional Fed bank estimates that largest revision of employment for the nine-month period ended in June will come from California, where it sees a downward revision of 172,700 jobs. Payrolls in Texas may be revised down by 112,100. An extended forecast by the BLS to the third quarter show further declines as well.

    And while we don’t yet know the specifics of the revisions – those will be revealed on Feb 7, 2025 when the final numbers are published – at the national level, we do know that all the jobs reportedly “created” in the second quarter, were actually fake, there were no net jobs created at all, and in fact, the US lost jobs in Q2!

    Translation: in his latest attempt to create an impression of economic growth, Biden lied about everything, again.

    Source: Philly Fed

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 17:00

  • VDH: Are The Years Of Madness Ending?
    VDH: Are The Years Of Madness Ending?

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

    Never in U.S. history has a president-elect been welcomed as the real president before his January 20 inauguration.

    And never has the incumbent president so willingly surrendered his last two months in office and all but abdicated—to the relief of his nation and the rest of the world.

    One reason so many are welcoming Trump’s return is the universally desperate hope that his election spelled an end to a collective madness at home and its ripples abroad during the last four years. And why not?

    Nations overseas had never quite witnessed anything like the lethal August 2021 American flight from Afghanistan.

    That utter humiliation and impotence of the U.S. military likely signaled to Russia there would be no consequences if it invaded Ukraine—and it did; to Iran that it could now unleash Hamas and Hezbollah on Israel—and it did; and to China that it could daily threaten Taiwan and send a spy balloon across the United States with impunity—and it did.

    The result was the current global chaos perhaps not seen since the late 1930s when a confused United States was similarly a bystander to the rise of bellicose regimes and wars. The Biden administration shrugged that the Red Sea, the Black Sea, the South China Sea, the Straits of Hormuz, and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea all became dangerous to the U.S. Navy and unsafe to world shipping.

    A disparate group of nuclear and near-nuclear powers—Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran—are either at war with Western allies or threatening war with them. Their confidence was predicated on the assumption that the U.S. after 2020 was engaged in a Maoist-like cultural revolution that warred on its own security, energy, military, universities, and social unity—and would continue with a second Biden term.

    The Biden-era cultural revolution has done great damage to the United States. The U.S. border was systematically and deliberately destroyed to allow some 10-12 million illegal entrants to pour into the U.S. without legality or background checks. Never has an outgoing administration spitefully sold taxpayer-purchased border wall material for pennies on the dollar—rather than see it used for the purposes for which it was purchased.

    Never had the U.S. experienced such an immigrant surge. And never had more than 50 million, and over 15 percent of the resident American population been foreign-born.

    Why did Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas erase the border? What madness and hate drove them to dismantle federal immigration law? Was it sheer nihilism? Or a desperate but calculated effort to alter American demography for political purposes?

    For four years, the public, elected officials, and pundits have all warned that Joe Biden was dangerously cognitively challenged and indeed completely unfit to fulfill the duties of the presidency.

    A long-suffering nation winced as Biden slurred his words, spoke in unintelligible sound bites, stood frozen and mute, screamed at and libeled half the country, tripped, fell, wandered aimlessly, became bewildered, and more or less proved a global embarrassment. All knew Biden was not able to run the country; yet none knew exactly who was actually in charge of America in his stead. The Obamas? Leftists like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, the Squad, Jill Biden, and the Biden staff?

    Our allies worried that the usually resilient American president was now all but demented. Our enemies enjoyed these leaderless years of opportunity. And the left serially misled the public that the decrepit Biden, whom they feared in private was senile, was “dynamic,” “energic,” and “fit as a fiddle.”

    Never has a president so deserved to be removed by the 25th Amendment or through impeachment and conviction. And never has even his inner circle finally but silently agreed as they left office, the very enablers who had done their political best to mask his dementia for four long years.

    Never has the justice system, from local to state to national jurisdictions, so systematically and coordinately, sought to bankrupt, render inert, and jail an ex-president and current presidential candidate.

    Rarely have the FBI, the CIA, the IRS, the Department of Justice, and the Pentagon become weaponized and so flagrantly and with impunity broken the law, abandoned their mission statements, and served political agendas rather than the American people. Not since the J. Edgar Hoover era has the FBI hierarchy serially lied under oath, stonewalled Congress, forged a court affidavit, or partnered with the media to suppress the news. Has the FBI ever raided an ex-president’s home, spied on parents at school board meetings, monitored Catholics, or tried to terrify and harass pro-life activists?

    Never has a presidential family so brazenly profited by selling its influence to foreign interests. Never has it used the powers of the FBI and DOJ to cover up its crimes and to ensure the family filial bagman would be for years exempted by the DOJ and later pardoned by the president himself, the father of the family miscreant and privy to the family syndicate’s illegal activities.

    Seldom has a president and his administration sought to fuel a veritable cultural revolution to change the fabric of the nation by institutionalizing a third, transexual gender, violating civil rights law, and systematically admitting, hiring, and promoting Americans on the basis of their race and gender.

    Never since the Civil War era had local and state insurrectionist governments established 600 nullification zones, in which they vowed to break federal law and consider it null and void within their jurisdictions. Never have rioters looted, burned, killed, assaulted, and occupied large swaths of cities for over 120 days, and largely with impunity.

    Never had the U.S. Treasury borrowed so much money so quickly and owed $37 in national debt—and been so intent on borrowing continuously nearly $2 trillion a year in annual deficits.

    Never has a political party sought to systematically violate long-standing traditions, customs, and often the law itself to destroy a political opponent: hiring a foreign national to spread smears among the media and bureaucracies, impeaching a president twice, trying an ex-president in the Senate, seeking to remove a presidential candidate from 16 state ballots, using five different judicial jurisdictions to try an ex-president, and serially so defaming a candidate and ex-president as a dictator, fascist, and Nazi to create a climate that encouraged two near-miss assassination attempts on him.

    In sum, for the last four years, the world has watched aghast as the United States lost its collective mind and became a radical Jacobin revolutionary society.

    So why is there not a sense of almost ecstatic relief, not just among conservatives but even among Democrats, that the years of darkness and madness are ending?

    The global public believes that the United States will again become lawful, have a secure border, return as a beacon of free-market economics, protect its allies, deter its enemies, win over its neutrals, return to the rule of law, restore the professionalism and prestige of its government agencies, check predatory nations abroad with a new deterrent military, and prepare to lead the world in energy production, exploration of space, and scientific and technology development.

    Summed up, the welcomed counterrevolution is one of restoration—to dream again that nothing is impossible, and the dreary age of stasis, envy, cynicism, and nihilism is ending, replaced again by a world without limits. No one knows quite what is ahead, but all know that it is at least better already than the current nightmare.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/16/2024 – 16:20

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