- Escobar: The G20's Balinese Geopolitical Dance
Escobar: The G20’s Balinese Geopolitical Dance
Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Asia Times,
Xi has few reasons to take Biden – rather, the group writing every script in the background – at face value…
Balinese culture, a perpetual exercise in sophisticated subtlety, makes no distinction between the secular and the supernatural – sekala and niskala.
Sekala is what our senses may discern. As in the ritualized gestures of world leaders – real and minor – at a highly polarized G20.
Niskala is what cannot be sensed directly and can only be “suggested”. And that also applies to geopolitics.
The Balinese highlight may have featured an intersection of sekala and niskala: the much ballyhooed Xi-Biden face-to-face (or face to earpiece).
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs preferred to cut to the chase, selecting the Top Two highlights.
1. Xi told Biden – rather, his earpiece – that Taiwan independence is simply out of the question.
2. Xi also hopes that NATO, EU and US will engage in “comprehensive dialogue” with Moscow.
Asian cultures – be they Balinese or Confucianist – are non-confrontational. Xi laid out three layers of common interests: prevent conflict and confrontation, leading to peaceful coexistence; benefit from each other’s development; and promote post-COVID global recovery, tackle climate change and face regional problems via coordination.
Significantly, the 3h30 meeting happened at the Chinese delegation’s residence in Bali, and not at the G20 venue. And it was requested by the White House.
Biden, according to the Chinese, affirmed that the US does not seek a New Cold War; does not support “Taiwan independence”; does not support “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan”; does not seek “decoupling” from China; and does not want to contain China.
Now tell that to the Straussians/neo-cons/neoliberalcons bent on containing China. Reality spells out that Xi has few reasons to take “Biden” – rather the combo writing every script in the background – at face value. So as it stands, we remain in niskala.
That zero-sum game
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was dealt a terrible hand: how to hold a G20 to discuss food and energy security, sustainable development, and climate issues, when everything under the sun is polarized by the war in Ukraine.
Widodo did his best, urging all at the G20 to “end the war”, with a subtle hint that “being responsible means creating not zero-sum situations.”
The problem is a great deal of the G20 arrived in Bali bent on zero-sum – seeking confrontation (with Russia) and hardly any diplomatic conversation.
The US and UK delegations avowedly wanted to snub Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov every step of the way. France and Germany is a different matter: Lavrov did speak briefly with both Macron and Scholz. And told them Kiev wants no negotiation.
Lavrov also revealed something quite significant for the Global South:
“US and the EU have given the UN Secretary General written promises that restrictions on the export of Russian grain and fertilizers will be lifted – let’s see how this is implemented.”
The traditional group photo ahead of the G20 – a staple of every summit in Asia – had to be delayed. Because – who else – “Biden” and Sunak, US and UK, refused to be in the same picture with Lavrov.
Such childish, un-diplomatic hysterics is profoundly disrespectful towards ritual Balinese graciousness, politeness and a non-confrontational ethos.
The Western spin is that “most G20 countries” wanted to condemn Russia in Ukraine. Nonsense. Diplomatic sources hinted it may be in fact a 50/50 split. Condemnation comes from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, UK, US and EU. Non-condemnation from Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye and of course Russia.
Graphically: Global South against Global North.
So the joint statement will refer to the impacts of the “war in Ukraine” on the global economy, and not “Russia’s war in Ukraine”.
The collapse of the EU economy
What was not happening in Bali enveloped the island in an extra layer of niskala. Which brings us to Ankara.
The fog thickened because on the backdrop of the G20, the US and Russia were talking in Ankara, represented by CIA director William Burns and SVR (Foreign Intel) director Sergei Naryshkin.
No one knows what exactly was being negotiated. A ceasefire is only one among possible scenarios. And yet heated rhetoric from NATO in Brussels to Kiev suggests escalation prevailing over some sort of reconciliation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was adamant; de facto and de jure, Ukraine can’t and does not want to negotiate. So the Special Military Operation (SMO) will continue.
NATO is training fresh units. Next possible targets are the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and the left bank of the Dnieper – or even more pressure in the north of Lugansk. For their part, Russian military channels advance the possibility of a winter offensive on Nikolaev: only 30 km away from Russian positions.
Serious Russian military analysts know what serious Pentagon analysts must also know: Russia used at best only 10% of its military potential so far. No regular forces; most of them are DPR and LPR militias, Wagner commandos, Kadyrov’s Chechens and volunteers.
The Americans suddenly interested in talking, and Macron and Scholz approaching Lavrov, point to the heart of the matter: the EU and the UK may not survive next winter, 2023-2024, without Gazprom.
The IEA has calculated that the overall deficit by then will approach 30 billion cubic meters. And that presupposes “ideal” circumstances this coming winter: mostly warm; China still under lockdowns; much lower gas consumption in Europe; even increased production (from Norway?)
The IEA ‘s models are working with two or three waves of price increases in the next 12 months. EU budgets are already on red alert – compensating the losses caused by the current energy suicide. By the end of 2023, that may reach 1 trillion euros.
Any additional, unpredictable costs throughout 2023 mean that the EU economy will completely collapse: industry shutdown across the spectrum, euro in free fall, rise of inflation, debt corroding every latitude from the Club Med nations to France and Germany.
Dominatrix Ursula von der Leyen, leading the European Commission (EC), of course should be discussing all that – in the interests of EU nations – with global players in Bali. Instead her only agenda, once again, was demonization of Russia. No niskala here; just tawdry cognitive dissonance.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 23:40 - FIFA World Cup: The Biggest Stage Of All?
FIFA World Cup: The Biggest Stage Of All?
When Qatar and Ecuador kick off the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Sunday, it is the beginning of what is arguably the biggest sporting event in the world. While maybe not the greatest spectacle in sports – that honor goes to the Super Bowl, which is bridging the gap between sports and entertainment unlike any other event – the quadrennial FIFA World Cup is probably the most followed competition in the world of sports.
Taking the Super Bowl as a measuring stick reveals the extraordinary scale of the World Cup’s global appeal. As Statista’s Felix Richter reports, according to FIFA, the average live TV audience for the 64 matches at the 2018 World Cup in Russia was 191 million.
That’s significantly more than estimates for the Super Bowl’s TV viewership, which was just short of 100 million in the U.S. this year plus an estimated 30 to 50 million across the globe.
Keep in mind, it’s not the World Cup final we’re talking about, it is every single one of the 64 matches played over the course of a month.
The final is at another level altogether, with the 2018 clash between France and Croatia drawing an average TV audience of 517 million people, as live coverage of the game reached more than a billion people in total.
You will find more infographics at Statista
Looking at the overall reach of the FIFA World Cup, it even puts the Olympics to shame. In 2018, an estimated 3.56 billion people watched at least one minute of World Cup coverage on linear TV or across digital channels, compared to 3.05 billion for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and 2.01 billion for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. And Russia 2018 was no outlier in that respect: Brazil 2014 reached similar numbers and so did South Africa 2010 before it. The matter of fact is that football truly is a global game, played and followed across the globe like no other sport. Whether the controversial decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar will affect the event’s reach is yet unclear, but polls suggest that, all criticism aside, hundreds of millions of football fans will tune in once the ball is actually rolling.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 23:20 - Conservative Think Tank Report Urges Congressional Investigation On Black Lives Matter Organizations
Conservative Think Tank Report Urges Congressional Investigation On Black Lives Matter Organizations
Authored by Terri Wu via The Epoch Times,
A new special report on cultural Marxism is urging Congress to hold hearings on Black Lives Matter (BLM) organizations.
America’s political leaders shouldn’t shy away from investigating any organizations with the words “Black Lives Matter” in their titles for fear of the “racist” label, said the report’s authors Mike Gonzalez, an expert at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, and Katharine Gorka, a national security expert and former research fellow with the Foundation.
“Because [BLM organizations] have been the vector for the introduction of cultural Marxism into the lives of all Americans, getting serious about the threat that the BLM organizations represent is the most immediate, and easiest, thing that Americans can do to confront Marxism,” the report read.
The authors define cultural Marxism as a more sophisticated and nuanced version of Marxism led by American Marxists “under the pretense of social justice.”
Instead of pitting workers against capitalists, cultural Marxists use race and gender to drive wedges between various racial groups, and children and parents to destroy the nuclear family in America, the authors said.
The report argues that critical race theory—a framework that views America as systemically racist—in education, America’s war on climate change, and corporate America’s environmental, social, and corporate governance rules are all parts of Marxist strategies.
On Nov. 14, a discussion about this report was held at the Foundation, Gonzalez told the audience that it’s legal to be a communist in the United States, but people should be aware of the BLM leaders’ Marxist beliefs and intentions.
According to the U.S. Crisis Monitor, 633 riots took place in 2020 after the death of George Floyd, Gonzalez said in a previous Epoch Times interview.
The Insurance Information Institute noted that these riots were the costliest civil unrest in U.S. history, with insured losses estimated at over $2 billion.
“I think the country should know whether you [leaders of BLM organizations] have unleashed this level of violence and have had these riots because you believe in these ideas,” Gonzalez said at the event.
Leaders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), an umbrella organization for the BLM movement, had openly said they were “trained Marxists,” and they should be the subject of congressional investigations, according to the special report’s authors.
…
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 23:00 - Biden Admin Warns Of Bankruptcy Surge As It Asks Supreme Court To Resume Student Debt Forgiveness Plan
Biden Admin Warns Of Bankruptcy Surge As It Asks Supreme Court To Resume Student Debt Forgiveness Plan
Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan is going to the Supreme Court.
After Biden’s plan to buy votes in exchange for forgiving a portion of one’s student loan was halted by two federal courts in recent weeks, both of which found it to be unconstitutional, the admin’s Justice Department is asking for quick action to block both rulings and allow the plan to take effect even as it plays out in the nation’s courts.
As a result, the White House plans to ask the Supreme Court to reinstate the president’s student debt cancellation plan, according to a Thursday legal filing warning that :Americans will face financial strain if the plan remains stalled in court” when loan payments are scheduled to restart in January.
In a legal filing Thursday, the administration announced plans to appeal one of those rulings, by a federal appeals court in St. Louis, to the nation’s highest court. It also said it’s prepared to appeal the other case if needed.
The White House has said it will prevail, but even supporters of the plan worry about its chances before a conservative Supreme Court that has scaled back Biden’s authority in other ways, including in a June decision curbing the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to limit power plan emissions.
Keeping the debt relief on hold would leave the government with an “unnecessarily perilous choice,” the administration argued in its filing. If it restarts student loan payments as planned on Jan. 1, millions of Americans will get billed for debt that was promised to be canceled. Which probably means the president should not have promised to cancel it; meanwhile if the government extends the payment pause, it will cost billions of dollars in lost revenue. It builds on arguments the administration made in other filings this week, warning that many Americans won’t be able to pay their student debt bills in January if the cancellation plan remains halted.
Biden’s plan promises $10,000 in federal student debt forgiveness to those with incomes of less than $125,000, or households earning less than $250,000. Pell Grant recipients, who typically demonstrate more financial need, are eligible for an additional $10,000 in relief.
Almost 26 million people already have applied for the relief, with 16 million approved, but the Education Department stopped accepting and processing applications last week after the plan was ruled illegal.
For typical borrowers, monthly payments would be $200 to $300 higher than they would be if Biden’s plan goes through, the Education Department said. The strain could lead to soaring default rates, and push the country into an even deeper recession.
“We anticipate there could be an historically large increase in the amount of federal student loan delinquency and defaults as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Education Undersecretary James Kvaal said in a Tuesday filing. “This could result in one of the harms that the one-time student loan debt relief program was intended to avoid.”
In other words, the president is hoping that his unconstitutional scheme in which taxpaying citizens fund the liberal education of deadbeats so the US recession isn’t even deeper than it currently is, is overturned by a conservative dominated supreme court. GLWT.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 22:40 - Twitter On Lock Out After Mass Resignation Exodus; Operations At Risk
Twitter On Lock Out After Mass Resignation Exodus; Operations At Risk
Hundreds of Twitter’s remaining employees have reportedly resigned ahead of Elon Musk’s “extremely hardcore” cultural reset of the company. After Musk gave an ultimatum to his employees to either commit to the company’s new “hardcore” work environment or leave, many more workers declined to sign on than he expected, potentially putting Twitter’s operations at risk, according to Bloomberg sources, as well as internal Slack messages seen by The Verge and employee tweets.
On Thursday afternoon, so many employees decided to take severance that it created a cloud of confusion over which people should still have access to company property. According to a memo seen by Bloomberg and reports from Platformer’s Zoe Schiffer, Twitter closed its offices until Monday; urging employees to “please continue to comply with company policy by refraining from discussing confidential information on social media, with the press or elsewhere.”
We’re hearing this is because Elon Musk and his team are terrified employees are going to sabotage the company. Also, they’re still trying to figure out which Twitter workers they need to cut access for.
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) November 17, 2022
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
According to Bloomberg, in the final hours before his deadline, Musk tried to convince people to stay. Key staff were brought into meetings as the Thursday evening deadline neared to hear pitches on the social network’s future, according to people familiar with the matter. Musk, who had earlier said he was strictly against remote work, also sent a follow-up email Thursday softening his tone.
“All that is required for approval is that your manager takes responsibility for ensuring that you are making an excellent contribution,” he wrote, adding that staffers should have in-person meetings with their colleagues not less than once per month.
Despite the ultimatum, no Twitter employees have been deactivated — even those who’ve publicly resigned, the Platformer also reported, adding that “Musk and his team only collected the list of “yes’s” — employees who said they want to be part of Twitter 2.0. They’re still trying to track who is out.”
So far no Twitter employees have been deactivated — even those who’ve publicly resigned. Musk and his team only collected the list of “yes’s” — employees who said they want to be part of Twitter 2.0. They’re still trying to track who is out.
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) November 18, 2022
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Elon’s attempt to ease the terms of the ultimatum wasn’t enough, and Twitter’s internal communications channels filled with employees offering a salute emoji, which has become a symbol for departing the company. Former staff tweeted the salute publicly, too, along with their internal Slack messages.
Some employees who were departing speculated that so many were leaving, along with their knowledge of how the product works, that the social network may have trouble fixing problems or updating systems during its normal operations, according to people familiar with the matter. Indeed, starting around 4pm ET or around the time of the resignation wave, Down Detector has observed a surge in Twitter outages.
Source DownDetector Adding to the complexity of Musk’s attempt to overhaul the company, there have been reports that the designers leading Musk’s Blue verified project have also quot, along with the lead web engineer. Furthermore, Many Twitter employees who maintained critical infrastructure have resigned.
NEW: The designers leading Elon Musk’s Blue verified project are out, along with the lead web engineer. Many Twitter employees who maintained critical infrastructure have resigned. This is going to look like a very different company tomorrow.
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) November 18, 2022
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As reported earlier, Musk on Wednesday had asked employees to formally state whether they were willing to keep working at the company – a commitment that would include “working long hours at high intensity.” Employees had until 5 p.m. Eastern time Thursday to fill out a Google form.
The form included just one possible response: “Yes.” Anyone who failed to accept the form by the deadline was told they would be out of the company with three months severance.
“I’m not pressing the button,” one departing employee posted in Slack according to The Verge. “My watch ends with Twitter 1.0. I do not wish to be part of Twitter 2.0.”
The ultimatum came less than two weeks after he laid off 50% of Twitter’s workforce, or roughly 3,700 employees. Many Twitter workers consulted lawyers this week to determine what to do. The form included almost no details about the severance packages, and it was not immediately clear whether employees would receive legal protections that would allow them to keep vesting stock awards or maintain insurance coverage.
Twitter had roughly 2,900 remaining employees before the deadline Thursday. Remaining and departing Twitter employees told The Verge that, given the scale of the resignations this week, they expect the platform to start breaking soon. One said that they’ve watched “legendary engineers” and others they look up to leave one by one.
“It feels like all the people who made this place incredible are leaving,” the Twitter staffer said. “It will be extremely hard for Twitter to recover from here, no matter how hardcore the people who remain try to be.”
Multiple “critical” engineering teams inside Twitter have now either completely or near-completely resigned, said another employee who requested anonymity to speak without Musk’s permission. For example, the team that maintains Twitter’s core system libraries that every engineer at the company uses is gone after Thursday. “You cannot run Twitter without this team,” the employee said.
Departing employees also tweeted their decisions to leave:
— parker lyons (@tweetsbyparker) November 17, 2022
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While those departing the company may think it’s a jobseeker’s market they may be surprised at how rapidly the Silicon Valley job market has turned against them.
Ain’t all bad #hardcore 🤘 pic.twitter.com/L2tCas5jRg
— AODHAN FLYNN (@aodhan) November 17, 2022
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And just like that, after 12 years, I have left Twitter. I have nothing but love for all my fellow tweeps, past and present. A thousand faces and a thousand scenes are flashing through my mind right now – I love you Twitter and I’ll forever bleed blue 🫡💙
— Satanjeev Banerjee (@satanjeev) November 17, 2022
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It’s been a ride pic.twitter.com/0VDf5hn2UA
— Matt Miller (@brainiaq2000) November 17, 2022
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Meanwhile, Twitter recruiters have already started reaching out to outside engineers to see if they want to join “Twitter 2.0 – an Elon company,” according to a message sent to one recruit that was seen by The Verge.
“I have worked here at Twitter for over 11 years,” one employee wrote in Twitter’s Slack as the salute emojis poured in Thursday. “Back in July, I was the 27th most tenured employee at the company. Now I’m the 15th.”
Meanwhile, Musk reportedly brought back leaders who had departed, either as part of his own layoffs or through resignation, to convince others to stay, A Bloomberg source said. One returning leader is Ella Irwin, who will manage employees in Trust and Safety.
Musk later sent a follow-up email on remote work, according to a screenshot viewed by Bloomberg. “Any manager who falsely claims that someone reporting to them is doing excellent work or that a given role is essential, whether remote or not, will be exited from the company.”
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 22:31 - Court Blames Russia For Missile That Struck Malaysia Airlines Plane, Killing Nearly 300
Court Blames Russia For Missile That Struck Malaysia Airlines Plane, Killing Nearly 300
A court in the Netherlands has determined that a Russian-made missile was fired by two Russian nationals and a Ukrainian citizen, leading to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 which killed nearly 300 people.
People inspect the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine, on July 17, 2014. (Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo) “The court is of the opinion that MH17 (Flight 17) was brought down by the firing of a BUK missile from a farm field near Pervomaisk, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members,” presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis said, per Reuters.
The case is different from that of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared around four months earlier and has remained a mystery.
As the Epoch Times notes, the statement was issued in the trial of several Russians and a separatist Ukrainian who were found guilty in absentia of the mass murder for their alleged involvement in shooting down Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine.
Russians Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy, and Oleg Pulatov and Ukrainian separatist Leonid Kharchenko were on trial at the Schiphol Judicial Complex in Badhoevedorp, Netherlands, according to reports. Pulatov was acquitted while the three others were found guilty.
A Malaysian air crash investigator inspects the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, near the village of Hrabove (Grabovo) in Donetsk region, Ukraine, July 22, 2014. (Maxim Zmeyev/File Photo/Reuters) None of the defendants appeared for the trial that began in March 2020, and if they’re convicted, it’s unlikely they’ll serve any sentence anytime soon. Prosecutors had sought life sentences for all four. Prosecutors and the suspects have two weeks to file an appeal.
In a statement responding to the verdict, the US state department said:
The United States welcomes today’s decision finding three members of Russian proxy forces in eastern Ukraine guilty for their roles in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. The decision by the District Court of The Hague is an important moment in ongoing efforts to deliver justice for the 298 individuals who lost their lives on July 17, 2014.
Today’s decision is the result of sustained work by a Joint Investigation Team comprised of authorities from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, and Ukraine, and reflects the Netherlands’ firm commitment to establish the truth and pursue accountability in this case. While this is a solid step towards justice, more work lies ahead to meet the UN Security Council’s demand in resolution 2166 that “those responsible…be held to account.”
Russia, meanwhile, slammed the verdict as ‘politically motivated.’
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Dutch court was “under unprecedented pressure” during the hearings, adding “There can be no talk of objectivity and impartiality under such circumstances.”
Investigators work at a the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014. Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images The Russians pointed to alleged attempts by Dutch “politicians, prosecutors and media to impose a politically motivated verdict” in the case. “We deeply regret the fact that The Hague District Court disregarded the principle of impartiality of justice in favor of the current political situation.”
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 22:20 - Masa-Son Steps Back From Running Softbank, Personally Owes Almost $5 Billion To Troubled Tech Giant
Masa-Son Steps Back From Running Softbank, Personally Owes Almost $5 Billion To Troubled Tech Giant
It has not been a good week (or year for that matter) for Masayoshi Son – the founder of (once giant) tech fund SoftBank.
First, The FT reports that, according to a person familiar with the matter, SoftBank will likely be forced to write down its approximately $100 million investment in collapsing crypto exchange FTX to zero.
Second, and perhaps related to that, following its report last week that the technology conglomerate posted quarterly investment losses of $10 billion, Son said he would step back from running day-to-day operations at SoftBank (to “devote” himself to turbocharging the growth of UK chip designer Arm, which is owned by the Japanese group).
SoftBank also cut 30% of its Vision Fund staff by the end of September and has sharply reduced the size of its investments over the past six months.
On Friday, Son emphasized that he was “perfectly healthy”, in response to speculation he was ill after SoftBank revealed that he would no longer be giving his signature presentation to investors using his eccentric slides (as we have often noted).
Finally, and perhaps most ominously, The FT reports that Masayoshi Son personally owes SoftBank close to $5bn because of growing losses on the Japanese conglomerate’s technology bets, which have also rendered the value of his stake in the group’s second Vision Fund worthless.
As various massive tech bets have imploded, the SoftBank founder’s losses have mounted because SoftBank fronted Son the money to invest in its technology-related funds.
The value of Son’s 17.25% stake in SoftBank’s second Vision Fund (which was as high as $2.8bn at the end of 2021) was also wiped out entirely by the end of September.
SoftBank has not yet collected $2.8 billion that Son owes in relation to his stake in the fund (and The FT does note that Son is under no obligation to repay for many years). Previously, SoftBank netted off the value of his equity from the amount he owed the group, meaning at the end of 2021 this stood at just $4 million – but now that’s all gone and just the liability is left.
Son also owes SoftBank $669mn under a similar arrangement on its Latin American fund.
The total amount the Japanese executive owes his company is now at $4.7bn, when losses in the group’s short-lived internal hedge fund SB Northstar (which earned notoriety for carrying out the “Nasdaq whale”/gamma-squeeze trades in US tech stocks in 2020) are also taken into account, SoftBank confirmed to the FT.
According to Bloomberg, Son’s net worth stood at $13.9 billion (though it is unclear whether that is ‘net’ of this massive loan from Softbank).
Given all the self-dealing, inter-company loans, and cross-holdings, one can’t help but wonder if Masa-son is nothing more than a more polished version of SBF…
Step aside @SBF_FTX, here comes the real bubble master: Masayoshi Son owes $4.7bn to SoftBank following tech rout : FT
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 17, 2022
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 22:00 - "Oops": Fired Facebook Employees Took Bribes To Hijack User Accounts
“Oops”: Fired Facebook Employees Took Bribes To Hijack User Accounts
Facebook parent Meta has fired or disciplined over two dozen employees and contractors over the last year who have been accused of improperly hijacking user accounts – in some cases for bribes, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter and documents seen by the outlet.
The suspects accepted thousands of dollars in bribes from outside hackers in some cases.
Some of those fired were contractors who worked as security guards stationed at Meta facilities and were given access to the Facebook parent’s internal mechanism for employees to help users having trouble with their accounts, according to the documents and people familiar with the matter. -WSJ
The mechanism, known internally as “Oops,” was created during the company’s early years in order to help users who either forgot their passwords or emails, or had their accounts taken over by hackers.
“Individuals selling fraudulent services are always targeting online platforms, including ours, and adapting their tactics in response to the detection methods that are commonly used across the industry,” according to Meta spokesman Andy Stone, who added that the company would continue to take “appropriate action against those involved in these kinds of schemes.”
Meta contractor Allied Universal said in a statement that it “takes seriously all reports of violations of our standards of conduct.”
When users are locked out of their accounts, there are automated procedures to try and recover it – including trying to reach Meta by phone or email, which is typically an exercise in futility.
“Oops,” which stands for Online Operations, is supposed to be limited to special circumstances, such as friends, family, business partners and public figures as a way to cut in line for assistance. In 2020, it serviced over 50,000 tasks – up from 22,000 just three years earlier. In order to file an Oops report, the employee or contractor lists an email address to be reset. They must answer a series of questions, including whether the request is being made for someone on CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s team, a celebrity, Meta partner, or family member, the Journal reports.
Because so many people depend on social media for their businesses, or to manage critically important aspects of their lives, gaining illicit control of an account can be lucrative. Stolen Facebook and Instagram handles can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars on other online forums.
But in part because the Oops system is off limits to the vast majority of Facebook users, a cottage industry of intermediaries has developed who charge users money to regain control of their accounts. In interviews with the Journal, some of those third parties claim to have access to Meta employees to help reset accounts. -WSJ
“When you take someone’s Instagram account down that they’ve spent years building up, you’re taking away their whole means of generating an income,” said Nick McCandless, whose company McCandless Group operates a platform for content creators and charges people to reset their accounts through an inside contact at Meta.
“You really have to have someone on the inside who will actually do it.”
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 21:44 - Chemical Shippers Warn Rail Strike Could Hasten Recession
Chemical Shippers Warn Rail Strike Could Hasten Recession
By Joanna Marsh of FreightWaves,
A potential rail strike could be the catalyst that brings the U.S. economy into a full-on recession, the American Chemistry Council warned on Wednesday in an economic analysis of the impacts on its industry and others.
“[If a strike lasts one month, it] would likely put a major chill on several leading economic indicators through the first half of 2023,” ACC said in a release about the report.
The group, which represents chemical shippers, determined a strike could result in 700,000 lost jobs across multiple industries, as well as cause a 4% spike in the producer price index (PPI), a 1% contraction of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and pull out almost $160 billion from the economy.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the PPI measures the average change over time of the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.
If a strike continues for another month, the two months combined could result in the PPI increasing by 12% and cause the GDP to contract by 2%.
“A rail strike could shove the economy out of recovery mode and into a recession,” ACC Chief Economist Martha Moore said in a news release. “A prolonged strike would have an exponential effect for each additional month and drag the country into a potential recession much faster.”
A rail strike could curtail production at ACC member facilities because they typically don’t have more than four to five days’ worth of empty cars or raw materials on hand, according to the report. If facilities aren’t able to receive the supplies they need after roughly a week, they could be forced to shut down.
ACC and other shippers have urged Congress to prevent a rail strike, sending a letter recently to the majority and minority leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Should a strike appear imminent, Congress should pass legislation that would enact the labor contract terms that the unions and the railroads agreed to in September, ACC said.
Shippers’ groups are concerned that a strike could occur should members of the two largest rail unions — the ones representing locomotive engineers and train conductors — decide against ratifying their labor agreements with the railroads. The results of their votes on whether to approve a new deal will be announced Monday.
Three other rail unions have already voted against ratifying their labor agreements and headed back to the bargaining table.
Sick leave policies could be one of the sticking points for those unions, although the railroads have indicated publicly a reluctance to budge, opting instead for that discussion to occur outside of contract negotiations, per recommendations by the U.S. president-appointed board that convened over the summer to help resolve the multiyear negotiations impasse.
If members of the locomotive engineers and train conductors’ unions vote against ratification, members could opt to engage in a strike but only after a cooling-off period, per federal law. That stretch for some of the five remaining unions ends Dec. 4, although that timetable could be extended to Dec. 9 if they align their ending dates for the periods.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 21:40 - Judge Rules Georgia Abortion Ban Invalid
Judge Rules Georgia Abortion Ban Invalid
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
A judge in Georgia on Nov. 15 found the state’s ban on abortions unconstitutional and ordered authorities to stop enforcing it.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney in Atlanta, Ga., on May 2, 2022. (Ben Gray/AP Photo) Georgia House Bill 481, known as the LIFE Act, declared that unborn children were living people with rights and banned abortions once a heartbeat was detected.
At the time it was enacted, though, key portions violated the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court precedent, principally the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that concluded access to abortion was a constitutional right, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said in a 15-page ruling.
“At that time—the spring of 2019—everywhere in America, including Georgia, it was unequivocally unconstitutional for governments—federal, state, or local—to ban abortions before viability,” McBurney said. “And yet the LIFE Act, through Section 4, did just that: a doctor faced with a request to end a pre-viability pregnancy, i.e., at a time when the fetus absolutely could not survive outside the mother’s womb, would be committing a felony if she honored her patient’s wishes.”
A federal judge made the same decision in an earlier case but the order was overturned by an appeals court after the Supreme Court reversed Roe in its June ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Under Georgia law, however, the timing of a new law being enacted determines constitutional tests.
The legislature may pass a new ban since Dobbs changed the Supreme Court precedent but “only after our Legislature determines in the sharp glare of public attention that will undoubtedly and properly attend such an important and consequential debate whether the rights of unborn children justify such a restriction on women’s right to bodily autonomy and privacy,” McBurney said.
He declared that authorities are enjoined from enforcing the post-heartbeat ban on abortion. Authorities have to refer to an earlier law, which bans abortions after 19 weeks unless a doctor deems an abortion necessary to avert the death or “serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman,” or to preserve the life of an unborn child.
The case against the ban was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and other groups.
“We celebrate this victory in Georgia that restores the right to abortion and reproductive freedom,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, has already filed notice to the Georgia Supreme Court that he’ll appeal the ruling.
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 21:00 - DeSantis Leads Trump By Big Margins In Key Primary States
DeSantis Leads Trump By Big Margins In Key Primary States
New post-midterm election polls find that Republicans in critical primary states favor Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over former President Donald Trump by substantial margins.
Polling conducted Nov. 11-13 by WPAi Intelligence on behalf of the conservative Club for Growth Action found that DeSantis is the preferred candidate of 48% of Iowa’s likely Republican voters, compared to just 37% for Trump. The margin is even wider in New Hampshire: Republicans prefer DeSantis by a 52% to 37% margin.
In what must be a particular humiliation for Trump, he trails DeSantis in their shared home state of Florida by 26 points — 56% to 30%.
Separately, a post-midterm poll commissioned by the Texas Republican Party found 43% of Texas Republicans prefer DeSantis, compared to 32% who back Trump.
Not only are those leads substantial, but they also show DeSantis’ position has strengthened in the wake of his resounding reelection victory in Florida, where he not only defeated Charlie Crist by a whopping 19 percentage points, but also helped lead Republicans to a statewide thrashing of Democrats — to include turning majority-Hispanic Miami-Dade county red. In 2018, he lost the county by 20 points.
County-level results in Florida’s 2024 gubernatorial contest (via NBC) In August polls conducted for Club For Growth Action, Trump led DeSantis in Iowa, was tied with him in New Hampshire, and trailed by just seven points in Florida. Now, he finds himself well behind in all three.
Trump tumbled fast in Texas too. Just last month, the former president easily led among Lone Star State Republicans, 46% to 29%, but is now down 11 points.
It remains to be seen if some of the glow of DeSantis’ reelection will prove temporary, or if Trump is able to boost his own prospects by attacking his undeclared rival.
In the days leading up to the midterm elections, Trump called the popular Florida governor “Ron DeSanctimonious.” After the election, Trump threatened him, hinting he would reveal “things about him that won’t be very flattering…I know more about him than anybody, other than, perhaps, his wife.”
Ron and Casey DeSantis (Office of Florida Governor, via People) Likely referring to Trump’s jabs at DeSantis, Club for Growth president David McIntosh said:
“Our polling shows that Republican primary voters recognize Trump’s insults against Republicans as hollow and counterproductive, and it’s taking a significant toll on his support.”
The polls themselves may be a sign that Trump is also in growing disfavor with Republican Party leadership and allied organizations. Politico characterized the very release of the Club For Growth Action poll as a shot across Trump’s bow:
“The conservative Club for Growth is sending a warning shot at former President Donald Trump on the eve of his expected 2024 campaign launch — and indicating it might back his chief potential rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. …
The release of the memo represents the latest twist in a complicated relationship between the Club for Growth and Trump. After savaging Trump during the 2016 campaign, the conservative group became an ally during his White House tenure.“
Tensions came to a boil in this year’s Ohio Senate primary, as Club for Growth backed Josh Mandel while Trump backed J.D. Vance. Politico reports that, as things deteriorated, Trump sent a pointed message to Club For Growth’s McIntosh: “Go fuck yourself.” Trump’s candidate won the primary and the general election.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 20:40 - Wealth Of China's Richest Plunges By 39% In 2022
Wealth Of China’s Richest Plunges By 39% In 2022
Authored by Nie Law, Shan Lam, and Harry McKenny via The Epoch Times,
Forbes recently released China’s Richest 2022. Among the top 100 richest people, 79 of them saw their wealth fall.
The biggest wealth drop since Forbes’ records began with a drop of 39 percent – from $1.48 trillion in 2021 to $907.1 billion in 2022.
At the same time, the “Hurun China Rich List” also shows that the number of Chinese billionaires in 2022 has the biggest drop within the past 24 years.
The following information is from the Forbes report dated Nov. 11, 2022, and the previous year’s totals are dated Nov. 17, 2021:
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Nongfu Spring, Zhong Shanshan, the richest people in mainland China, wealth dropped five percent to $62.3 billion from $65.9 billion in 2021.
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ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, with a fortune of $49.5 billion, down $9.9 billion from $59.4 in 2021.
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CATL, Zeng Yuqun, battery manufacturer, with a fortune of $28.9 billion, down 43 percent from last year’s $50.8 billion.
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Tencent, Ma Huateng, with a fortune of $23.4 billion, plummeted $25.7 billion (nearly 50 percent) from 2021.
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Alibaba, Jack Ma, with a fortune of $20.3 billion.
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SF Holding, Wang Wei, $19.6 billion.
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Midea Group, He Chunjian, $18.8 billion.
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NetEase Inc., Ding Lei, $19.7 billion.
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Pinduoduo, Huang Zheng, $18.6 billion.
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Muyuan Shares, Qin Yinglin, $18.4 billion.
Xiao mi, the founder Leijun dropped 50 percent of wealth from US$17.9 billion in 2021 to US$7.6 billion in 2022, ranked 37th this year
JD.com, the chairperson Liu Qiangdong, fell more than 50 percent to $8.3 billion from $17.6 billion, ranked 32nd this year.
Worst Drop from Real Estate
The 82 percent biggest drop in net worth from real estate tycoon Yang Huiyan, Country Garden (Property Development), from $27.8 billion to $4.91 billion.
China Evergrande, the founder Xu Jiayin and many other real estate billionaires even failed to make the list this time.
Biggest Loss of Billionaires in 24 Years
The 2022 Hurun China Rich List released by the Hurun Research Institute on Nov. 8 shows that the drop in the number of Chinese billionaires this year is the largest within the past 24 years.
A total of 1,305 entrepreneurs in China have wealth of more than 5 billion yuan (approx. US$0.71 billion) this year, a decrease of 160 people or 11 percent from last year, and their total wealth also fell 18 percent from last year to 24.5 trillion yuan (US$3.5 trillion).
Only 411 people on the list saw their wealth increase compared to last year. 1,187 people shrank or stayed more or less the same compared to last year, while 293 people even fell off the list this time round.
On the list, 1,121 billionaires live in mainland China, 90 in Hong Kong, 67 in Macau and Taiwan, and the remaining 27 live outside China.
Among the 293 who fell out of the list, the real estate sector suffered the most, accounting for 14 percent of the loss, followed by the health industry, accounting for another 12 percent. When it comes to locations, the city with the largest number of dropouts is Shanghai at 15 percent, followed by Beijing at 11.
Traditional Industries Overtake Information Technology
Rupert Hoogewerf (also known by his Chinese alias as Hu Run), chairperson of the Hurun Report, described that traditional industries had risen significantly this year.
It is surprising to see that in an era of rapid technological development, China’s richest man is Zhong Shanshan of Nongfu Spring, a mineral water company, whose wealth is almost the sum of Zhang Yiming from ByteDance in 2nd place, and Zeng Yuqun, the 3rd ranked owner of an electric vehicle battery manufacturer.
Li Ka-shing surpassed Ma Huateng of Tencent for the first time in five years.
Pig farmer Qin Yinglin, overtook Ma Yun of Alibaba for the first time.
‘Global Economic Recession and Inflation Will Persist’
Xie Tian, a professor at the Aiken School of Business at the University of South Carolina in the U.S., told the Epoch Times on Nov. 12 that the wealth of the Chinese riches in high-tech and Internet-related companies has declined, while those in traditional real industries such as mineral water and pig farming are raising. This is a trend that can be seen globally.
The overall U.S. stock market has fallen 30 percent to 40 percent this year, with technology stocks bearing most of the brunt, leading to many e-commerce and Internet giants, such as Twitter and Facebook, laying off workers.
Xie analyzed that the decline of U.S. technology stocks is the result of inflation and economic downturn in the entire world, and such a decline of U.S. technology stocks also has a negative impact on the shares of China’s tech companies. China’s technology stocks had long been criticized as overpriced and frothy. Coupled with the current economic recession in China, it is no surprise it has a tremendous negative impact on the wealth of mainland China’s richest. When stocks in high-tech, Internet, e-commerce, and other industries decline, in contrast, stocks in more traditional primitive industries such as mineral water and pig farming will go up.
Xie also speculates that this trend will continue for at least the next half to one year because the global economic recession and inflation problems will persist in 2023, casting a similar trend in next year’s rich list.
The Economic Indicator
Political and economic commentator Simon Li Sai-man (pen name) pointed out to the Epoch Times on Nov. 12 that it is not just the wealth of the richest in China that has fallen. The wealth of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and other wealthy guys has also shrunk. The strong dollar itself is indeed causing a certain impact on the global economy.
Simon Li also believes that how much wealth the richest have is not the best indicator of the region’s economy. When the economy turns bad, it is the average person who will bear most of the brunt. To analyze the economic situation of a region, we should better refer to indicators such as the employment rate of students leaving college.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 20:20 -
- Dwindling US Cattle Herd Implies Supermarket Beef Prices May Rise Even More
Dwindling US Cattle Herd Implies Supermarket Beef Prices May Rise Even More
The US Department of Agriculture will release a report Friday that might show ranchers sent the fewest cattle to feedlots in a decade. Cattle generally spend several months at feedlots while they grow and gain body fat and muscle before being transported to a meat packing plant. Fewer cattle at feedlots may only imply dwindling beef supplies and high prices at the supermarket.
Bloomberg’s average estimate for cattle placed into feedlots in October is about 2.17 million, a decline from nearly 2.5 million in early 2019 (right before the virus pandemic), and the lowest level since 2012.
Source: Bloomberg “That’s a reversal from recent months, when ranchers faced with dwindling supplies and sharply higher prices for hay moved more animals off the ranch, helping to keep meat supplies relatively plentiful. Fewer animals moving closer to slaughter would signal herds are shrinking, which will likely mean higher meat prices down the road,” Bloomberg said.
… and meat is becoming a luxury: ground beef prices per pound at the supermarket are up 25% since early 2020 and more than 134% since 2009.
But don’t worry because supermarkets are finalizing plans to stock insects on their shelves and market them as an affordable food source for people struggling to purchase groceries.
Just remember, who wants you to eat bugs…
Besides beef, food inflation remains at the highest levels since the late 1970s, crushing the pocketbooks of Americans as they drain their savings and rack up credit card debt just to buy essentials.
Perhaps readers should ignore WEF’s messaging to eat bugs, as well as Bloomberg’s op-ed writer that advised people to eat lentils — how about venturing into the great outdoors and becoming a hunter. That could be your ticket to inexpensive grass-fed venison.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 20:00 - Indian Gold Demand Continued Strong In October
Indian Gold Demand Continued Strong In October
Festival and wedding buying boosted gold demand in India last month and the outlook looks strong moving forward.
The arrival of festivals and the wedding season coincide with a price pullback last month. This helped drive Indian retail demand higher according to the World Gold Council, pushing the local market back into a premium for most of the month.
October retail demand remained strong with the onset of festivals and weddings. The festivals of Dussehra and Dhanteras sparked fresh demand for physical gold towards the end of the month. … With a stable gold price before this date, demand received a boost from sales of jewelry (for weddings and everyday wear) as well as bar and coin purchases.
Moving forward, the WGC projects demand will remain healthy, supported by the ongoing wedding season. Growing consumer confidence in urban areas could also boost gold demand. But there could be some headwinds in rural areas due to lower crop production.
Considering the strong start to Q4 and the interplay between urban and rural demand in the months ahead, we expect overall retail demand to remain above pre-pandemic levels in the quarter, although possibly below that of 2021, at which time there was a huge boost from pent-up demand post-2020-2021 lockdowns.”
Investors also helped drive Indian gold demand higher. Indian gold ETFs charted inflows of 0.7 tons in October. It was the second straight month Indian ETFs charted increases in gold holdings. This bucked the global trend of ETF outflows. According to the World Gold Council, total Indian ETG gold holdings to 39.2 tons by the end of October. Overall, Indian gold ETFs have seen small but meaningful net inflows of 1.6 tons year-to-date.
The Reserve Bank of India also bought more gold in October, increasing its holdings by another ton. According to the latest available data, the RBI’s total gold reserves now stand at 786.3 tons.
India ranks as the ninth largest gold-holding country in the world. Since resuming buying in late 2017, the Reserve Bank of India has purchased over 200 tons of gold. In August 2020, there were reports that the RBI was considering significantly raising its gold reserves.
India ranks as the second-largest gold-consuming country in the world, second only behind China, but the gold market has languished over the last couple of years. The pandemic crushed demand, particularly for gold jewelry. But even before the pandemic, record-high gold prices in rupee terms and government policy put a drag on the gold market. There were signs of a turnaround late last year and it continued through the first quarter of 2022. The second COVID-19 wave stalled the gold market’s recovery in India early in Q2, but it regained steam later in the year with strong retail demand and a surge in gold imports.
Indians traditionally buy and hold gold. Collectively, Indian households own an estimated 25,000 tons of gold and that number may be higher given the large black market in the country. The yellow metal is interwoven into the country’s marriage ceremonies and cultural rites. Indians also value gold as a store of wealth, especially in poor rural regions. Two-thirds of India’s gold demand comes from these areas, where most people live outside the official tax system.
Gold is not just a luxury in India. Even poor people buy gold in the Asian nation. According to an ICE 360 survey in 2018, one in every two households in India purchased gold within the last five years. Overall, 87% of households in the country own some amount of the yellow metal. Even households at the lowest income levels in India own some gold. According to the survey, more than 75% of families in the bottom 10% had managed to buy gold.
Gold served as a lifeline for many Indians during the pandemic.
The Indian government’s response to the first wave of COVID-19 ravaged the economy. As a result, many banks were reluctant to extend credit due to fear of defaults. In this tight lending environment, many Indians used their stashes of gold to secure loans. As Indians battled the second wave of COVID-19, many Indians sold gold outright in order to make ends meet.
Indians understand that gold tends to store value and that ultimately gold is money. If they have gold, they know they will be able to get the goods and services they need – even in the event of an economic meltdown. And while westerners may not embrace the cultural and religious aspects of the Indian love affair with gold, the economic reasons for their devotion to the yellow metal are every bit as applicable in places like the US.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 19:40 - NYC Taxi Bust Over? Drivers Get First Price Hike Since 2012, Medallion Values Bottom
NYC Taxi Bust Over? Drivers Get First Price Hike Since 2012, Medallion Values Bottom
We have been following how ridesharing companies have decimated the taxi industry for years now, rendering New York City taxi medallions near-worthless. Then the virus pandemic collapsed demand as work-at-home flourished, followed by soaring inflation that made operating a yellow cab in the metro area super expensive. Meanwhile, drivers were forced to keep metered fares at decade-low levels throughout all of this, making it impossible to earn a living wage.
Thousands of yellow cab drivers were trapped in the taxi medallion boom that saw licenses to operate a taxi in the city skyrocket to a $1.32 million peak in 2014, then crash down to $79,106 in May 2021 and has since moved higher to about $140,000 late in 2022.
Numerous factors contributed to the bust. One of the biggest was ridesharing companies that decimated the taxi industry — this began in 2014.
While medallion prices slid for half a decade, many drivers who bought the license to operate a taxi on debt were underwater. They were unable to afford debt-servicing payments or putting food on the table. Some drivers committed suicide while others endlessly protested for government relief as the industry was in freefall.
Then came the pandemic, where demand froze. Even more drivers could not service their medallion loans because NYC’s progressive government forced a mandatory lockdown that halted the economy. Prices of the medallions cratered some more, losing a whopping 94% since the peak, but have since turned up some. Then inflation struck taxi drivers, as many found it nearly impossible to make a living wage.
And finally, after all the suffering, taxi drivers saw some much-needed relief this week when NYC’s Taxi and Limousine Commission voted to increase metered fares by 23%, the first price increase since 2012, Bloomberg reported.
The increase is obviously great for taxi drivers but will make rides around NYC more expensive.
“Raising taxi fare rates and minimum pay for high-volume drivers is the right thing to do for our city.
“We are confident that today’s unanimous Commission vote will keep our taxi and FHV fleets sustainable and ready to serve New Yorkers,” TLC Commissioner David Do said in a statement.
TLC boosted taxi metered rates from $2.50 to $3, with surcharges rising from $1 to $2.50 during rush hour. The overnight fee was raised from 50 cents to $1. The flat rate of about $52 to John F. Kennedy International Airport will jump to $70.
Source: Bloomberg The average taxi ride in the city will now cost $19.62 compared to $15.97.
A similar price hike will be seen for Uber and Lyft drivers. They will receive a 7% per minute price hike and 24% per mile. The average 7.5 miles trip, about 30 minutes of travel time, will now require a minimum charge of $27.15.
“After a year of all drivers having to choose between food and fuel, and a decade of not just stagnation but loss for yellow cab drivers in particular, we’re relieved to see the raise be voted on,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a 25,000-member union of yellow cab and Uber and Lyft drivers.
The long overdue price hike is excellent for drivers but will add to the structural inflation of everything getting more expensive and ultimately hurt consumers’ discretionary spending.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 19:20 - PA House Judiciary Committee Moved To Impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner
PA House Judiciary Committee Moved To Impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner
Authored by Beth Brelje via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
In the final days of a Republican controlled Pennsylvania House, the Judiciary Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to move two impeachment articles against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to the full House, which is expected to vote on it Wednesday.
Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner during a press conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on Nov. 6, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) The articles blame Krasner’s leadership in the district attorney’s office (DAO) as being a direct cause of increasing Philadelphia crime and accuse him of obstructing the impeachment investigation by not sufficiently complying with a subpoena from the Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order.
That select committee released a report of its investigation on Oct. 24 and, although it did not recommend impeachment, it offered a grim look at Philadelphia’s crime.
The report (pdf) looked at rising crime rates, the use of public funds intended for enforcing the law and prosecuting crime, the enforcement of crime victims’ rights, and the use of public funds intended to benefit crime victims in the City of Philadelphia.
‘Shocking Increases’ In Crime Under Krasner
Between Jan. 1, 2021, and Oct. 16, 2022, the report says, 992 people have died as a result of a homicide in Philadelphia. The report compares that to the 557 homicide deaths in 2015 and 2016, combined. Nonfatal shootings have increased, too. In 2022, there have been eight victims of nonfatal shootings who have not yet celebrated their sixth birthdays.
“It is no secret that the DAO and DA Krasner’s progressive policies are the focus of criticism with respect to the increasing crime rate, the handling of criminal cases, and the abject failure to respond, in any meaningful way, to the current crisis,” the report says. “Most troubling to the Select Committee, is what happens after arrests are made—the DAO’s prosecution, or lack thereof,” the report says.
The office categorizes violent offenses as homicides, nonfatal shootings, rape, robberies, aggravated assault, and other forms of assault. To the date of the report, 65 percent of all violent offenses have been withdrawn by the DA’s office or dismissed by the courts, resulting in no prosecution for those crimes. Compared to district attorney’s offices in other Pennsylvania counties, the Philadelphia office withdraws cases much more often.
“No doubt, Philadelphia criminals are emboldened by the knowledge that the likelihood that they will be arrested is slim, and once caught, the likelihood that they will be prosecuted and incarcerated is minimal,” the report says.
Crime at ‘Unacceptable’ Levels
Krasner is in his second term. If the House voted to impeach, the state Senate would conduct a trial, after which, a two-thirds vote from the Senate would be needed to impeach and remove Krasner. The Senate is still a Republican majority, but with 28 Republicans and 22 Democrats in the next session, it is not a two-thirds majority.
“I suspect that we will have bipartisan support for this effort as we have thus far,” Rep. Martina White, a Philadelphia Republican and prime sponsor of the articles of impeachment, said in a press conference after the measure passed from committee. “The investigation and holding Larry Krasner in contempt was bipartisan. Tomorrow, I believe this will also be bipartisan because the people of Philadelphia deserve better than what they receive out of the district attorney’s office. He has not been doing his job well enough for us, endangering the lives of citizens that he’s supposed to serve and protect by prosecuting criminals and making sure that they’re convicted guilty, should the evidence be there. But that’s not what’s happening right now. The district attorney is basically withdrawing cases at an unprecedented level.”
White said she wants to assure the citizens of Philadelphia that they can live the way they deserve, not having to worry about walking out their front door and being carjacked or worrying about sending kids to school only for them to be shot dead on the walk home from the gunfire of gang members who should be locked up in jail and convicted of previous crimes.
“It’s unacceptable,” White said. “And now is the time to act. There’s no reason to wait any longer.”
Krasner’s Words
In a letter sent to the select committee Oct. 21, Krasner—a Democrat whose campaign was funded in part by billionaire George Soros—defended his work.
“Criminologists know what works to prevent crime. It is not love for the NRA, opposition to reasonable gun regulations, or draconian sentences,” Krasner said. “It is investment in communities, fully funded public schools, mental health and addiction treatment resources, economic opportunity, trade school and higher education opportunity, keeping parents in the community (not in jail) when they have committed non-violent, non-serious offenses, and modern police reform, among other things. All leading criminological reports show zero correlation between crime and progressive/reform prosecution.”
Krasner said every decision he makes as district attorney is with the goal of seeking justice and improving public safety.
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 19:00 - "Red Cup Rebellion" To Disrupt Starbucks Stores As Baristas Go On Strike
“Red Cup Rebellion” To Disrupt Starbucks Stores As Baristas Go On Strike
Starbucks workers at more than 100 US stores plan to walk off the job Thursday in a labor action during one of the coffee giant’s busiest days of the year, WaPo reported.
More than 2,000 members of the Starbucks Workers Union (SWU) in 25 states, covering 112 stores across the country, will be participating in what is called the “Red Cup Rebellion.”
The strike coincides with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day when free reusable cups are given to customers who purchase holiday drinks. Workers have said this day is one of the busiest of the year.
In an Instagram post, SWU said:
“Starbucks Workers United is conducting a nationwide ULP Strike over the company’s refusal to bargain in good faith. Workers across this campaign are also calling for the company to fully staff our union stores, because we know that Short Staffing = Venti Wait Times. Starbucks thinks they can drag their feet in bargaining, and we’re here to show them we rebel against their tactics and we mean business – by shutting down theirs.”
SWU represents approximately 7,000 employees at hundreds of stores, but that’s only a tiny fraction compared to the chain’s 70,000 workforce.
“We unionized to fix a lot of problems with a job we really like,” Josie Serrano, a barista in Long Beach, Calif., told WaPo.
Workers seek higher pay, better working conditions, more consistent schedules, and higher staffing levels.
According to union leaders, Starbucks has countered the unionization effort by shuttering some stores.
Serrano continued: “It’s frustrating that the company that hired us doesn’t want to work to find a happy medium. … We want to send a strong signal to the company that, ‘Hey, this is not something we’re playing around with anymore.'”
Here’s a map of stores on strike.
“This is the first time unionized baristas have banded together across the country to disrupt Starbucks’s operations,” WaPo said.
Workers from one store in Buffalo, New York, were the first to unionize about one year ago. Momentum has spread nationwide (read: here & here) this year as more than 300 stores in three dozen states have had union elections. Unionized stores only make up 3% of the 9,000 company-operated US stores.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 18:40 - The Mid-Terms: The Hunger Gaming Of America
The Mid-Terms: The Hunger Gaming Of America
Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, ‘n Guns blog,
I’ve had this post in the back of my mind for years now. But this week’s mid-terms have brought it to the forefront of my thinking.
There are very few movie experiences I’ve had in my life that rival the first time I watched The Hunger Games. So much of my reaction was due to where I was at the time and how, frankly, shitty my life was then.
It ranks for me right up there with seeing the Death Star blow up (age 10), to being rendered speechless for an hour after watching Full Metal Jacket (age 19) to sobbing uncontrollably for 40 minutes after a midnight showing of Schindler’s List (age 25).
I watched The Hunger Games for the first time while flat on my back broke in late 2012 by myself in the post-midnight dark, metaphorically and physically.
For 2+ hours I sat there in horror clutching a pillow because all I could see was my daughter needing a protector and knowing at that moment I wasn’t that person.
But as raw as my reaction to it was that night, it was the exact thing I needed at that moment to pick myself and keep going.
So, the cynics in the audience can forgive me if they think me an old softy for falling so hard for a piece of what I can honestly look at as thinly-conceived allegory.
Sometimes timing is everything.
When I put my economist’s hat back on, Suzanne Collins’ world is not well thought out. It doesn’t hold up to deep scrutiny. Most stories like this don’t and, honestly, they aren’t supposed to.
As a writer, however, I’m still bowled over with her daring to write the books in first-person, present tense. Between a story metaphorically so very true and this bit of technical prowess I have nothing but immense respect, one professional to another.
But as allegory, especially political allegory, The Hunger Games is uniquely powerful, addressing the fundamental evil of our society using our children as emotional blackmail to coerce our compliance to a system that is truly monstrous.
And this brings me to the mid-term elections.
This is our biannual Hunger Games and we all volunteer to be Tributes thinking our votes can change the system, rather than simply reinforce it by participating, even if only vicariously.
Now that the steal is in full swing and the Senate falling to the Democrats, they will run the table on their full agenda — end the filibuster, pack the court, UBI, Climate Change, on-demand abortions of 7-day old babies and gun control.
But the steal, which is real, is also equally supported by a broken and traumatized population so gaslit into believing things which are simply not true that it is easy to mask what’s happening.
This gaslighting has rendered our threat detectors so hyperactive that they’ve been honed razor sharp.
And on this knife edge rests all of our political calculus.
We’re now dealing with people supporting the Democrats because “they can’t even…” bring themselves to vote for Republicans over the ungrounded fear that one step back from the Progressive madness of Critical Rage Theory and/or pushing back against the normalization of child sexualization is tantamount to embracing Nazism.
But, sadly, this is where we are.
To the true believers, we still haven’t gone far enough.
But, they aren’t enough to move the needle as far as it did to give the Democrats a chance this election cycle.
What should scare you more is the ones in the middle, the so-called independents. Their fear has them cowed into abdicating their civil responsibility by prioritizing decadence over protecting their children.
In an environment this stressful too many have chosen fear of backsliding even an inch because that may lead to an over-correction.
The fear over Roe v. Wade going away has too many people immediately thinking all abortions will be banned everywhere, when that’s simply not happened nor will it.
Their arguments have devolved into allowing drag queens to twerk in a ball sack in front of eight-year-olds on the public dime lest one gay guy get harassed in a bar in rural Texas.
It is perverse in the extreme.
And that brings me back to The Hunger Games.
The punishment for the violence of the past was an original sin never to be wiped clean. The outlying districts sacrifice their children to reinforce the Capitol’s control.
All capital is sucked into The Capitol draining the Districts of not only their vitality but their dignity through the ritualistic humiliation of thinking one of them has a chance at winning the annual event.
But the districts farthest from The Capitol never win. It’s a once-in-a-generation event. Here Collins gets the economics of fiat currency correct. Those closest to the money printing get the lion’s share of the spoils.
And this ritualistic theft fuels a contempt for the unwashed as real as the deaths in the arena and a sympathy for them as fake as the capital which supports their empty lives. The decadence of The Capitol is a reflection of the giant wealth vacuum the entire society is designed around.
Which brings me back to the mid-terms.
With each election cycle the disparity between the rural and the urban centers grows wider. But it’s not just a disparity of ‘capital’ or wealth. It’s a disparity of morality.
Those in the cities voting for more funds from the public till believe they are entitled, ultimately, to the Tribute from the rural areas. But, without those rural communities producing the food and energy there is no urban center.
There are no gay rights or abortion debates.
There’s just the jungle.
And that’s what really drives the fear of the urbanites who voted blue even though they tell themselves red is even worse. They know that letting their collective boot off the neck of those they’ve tyrannized through the fake power of a corrupt democratic process leads to a future without them.
So, they expect everyone to show up for work, pay Tribute to the Capitol and shut their deplorable mouth-breathing pie-holes while they deny they’re stealing your voice, a voice you aren’t entitled to because well, they’re your betters.
Or, at least, that’s what I keep hearing on Twitter.
And that’s why Katniss’ story is our story, the example of one girl strong enough to understand the rules of the game so intuitively that when their fake story of a fake romance for a fake catharsis to feed the emotional infancy of a bunch of entitled fakers plays out to its Shakespearean end…
… the Capitol blinks and the illusion of its control falls away. And everyone knows it, fueling an anger, long seething which soon catches fire. I warned everyone don’t turn the silent majority into The Fremen.
Now there’s no turning back from it happening.
And I don’t think the odds will be in favor of the real enemies of the people.
* * *
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Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 18:20 - Japan Weighs Raising Taxes On EVs With "Higher Output Motors"
Japan Weighs Raising Taxes On EVs With “Higher Output Motors”
Just days ago, we reported that the UK was looking to raise more tax revenue from electric vehicles, shattering the years-long assumption that if you contributed to “helping the environment” by buying an EV, you’d be entitled to subsidies and tax credits.
Now, Japan appears to be following suit.
The country’s internal affairs ministry is reportedly weighing whether or not to raise taxes on electric vehicles in order to make up for a shortfall in income from taxes on traditional gas powered cars, Bloomberg reported Thursday morning.
Currently, electric vehicle owners pay a flat fee of 25,000 yen per year to local governments, but the ministry is interested in potentially altering this framework for vehicles that have “higher output motors”, the report says.
The ministry will reportedly ask the ruling coalition to “consider the change” for inclusion in the 2023 tax code, Bloomberg reports. Even then, the change could take several years to come into effect.
Recall, we wrote back on November 5 that UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to put an electric vehicle excise tax in place by 2025-2026.
This month’s Autumn Statement will include the measures, according to FT, who said people familiar with the road tax is part of a larger plan to address a fall in motoring tax revenues caused by the shift to EVs, which leave out fuel-related taxes.
Fuel duty raises about £35bn, but the Treasury has warned that a growing number of EVs on the road could cause this number to plunge by £2.1bn by 2026-27. Ergo, a new excise duty on EVs could take place by 2025-2026.
More than 1 million EVs on the roads of the UK could wind up being affected. As is the case globally, sales of EVs continue to accelerate, with about 15% of new vehicles sold so far this year moving away from traditional ICE power.
How soon before the U.S. follows suit?
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/17/2022 – 18:00
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