Jan 19

Today’s News 19th January 2025

  • These Are The 25 Most Affordable Cities In America
    These Are The 25 Most Affordable Cities In America

    Most Americans know living costs vary widely across the country, with the coasts being significantly more expensive than Middle America.

    From rent and groceries to gas, the Midwest often stands out for its affordability. But just how far does this pattern extend?

    To find out, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao ranked the 25 most affordable cities among America’s 50 largest, based on average monthly household spending on 10 common bills.

    Data is sourced from payment platform Doxo’s annual report tracking household expenditure.

    America’s Least Expensive City: Detroit

    Detroit, still home to America’s big three automakers, is the most affordable large American city.

    Households in Detroit spend about $1,600 a month, almost $100 less than second-ranked Cleveland, Ohio. This is also the largest gap between cities on this list.

    As previously suspected, America’s most affordable large cities are clustered in the Midwest (particularly around the Great Lakes) and the South.

    In fact, only five cities on the entire list are not in one of the two regions. Of them, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ($2,060/month) is the only one that can be considered on the seaboard.

    But of course, just dollars spent isn’t everything.

    By looking at the share of monthly income put towards these bills, new patterns emerge.

    For example, Detroit households spent nearly half of their monthly income on these bills, far more than 25th ranked Fort Worth households (37%).

    So which cities spend the most on bills? Check out: America’s Least Affordable Cities Going Into 2025 for a breakdown.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 23:00

  • Trump Unveils "Official" MemeCoin Late Friday; 12 Hours Later It Is Up 16,000% To $30 Billion
    Trump Unveils “Official” MemeCoin Late Friday; 12 Hours Later It Is Up 16,000% To $30 Billion

    Just hours after Gary Gensler left the SEC headquarter for the last time in his life…

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    … Trump showed the world what an outsized role crypto, and certainly memecoins, will have in his administration.

    After nearly a year of frenzied speculation which of the dozens of Trump-linked memecoins the 47th president will pick as his own, just before 10pm ET on Friday night – and just two days before his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States – Trump stunned the world when he unveiled on his Truth Social and X accounts, his “official” meme coin, TRUMP…

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    … which in the 12 hours since its unveiling has surged to a $30 billion market capitalization, roughly three times bigger than Trump’s other momentum chasing venture, DJT (whose market cap is $8.7 billion and has roughly the same amount of revenue or cash flow as the meme coin) as part of an exponential move that has seen its market cap rise (and occasionally fall) by a billion dollars every few minutes.

    “My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

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    The token started trading at an opening price of $0.1824, but within 12 hours had jumped over 15,000%, trading at roughly $30 as of 10:00am ET, 12 hours after its launch. Its market cap stood at ~$30 billion at the time.

    Initially, the crypto community initially voiced concerns about the token’s legitimacy, with some warning of a possible hack or social engineering scheme. According to blockchain engineer cygaar, the project’s official website mirrors those of Trump’s previous NFT collections and suggested that “either this is the greatest cyber heist of all time, or this is legitimate.” However, as Trump’s posts remained online, and with Polymarket data suggesting only a 10% chance of account compromise, skepticism began to subside, pushing the price of the token further up.

    The token’s explosive growth has also drawn concerns regarding its allocation.

    “80% of the token supply is locked in a multisignature wallet, amounting to $3 billion controlled by the creator, who also added $40 million in liquidity,” Conor Grogan, head of product business operations at Coinbase, said in a post on X, adding that the project was seeded with millions of dollars of funds from Binance and Gate, two exchanges that don’t serve US customers. Other analysts noted that 80% of the token’s circulating supply is allocated to Fight Fight Fight LLC and CIC Digital LLC, entities linked to the Trump Organization, with only 20% of the supply split equally between public investors and liquidity.

    While Trump controls the vast majority of the tokens, they remain locked which means the US president is unlikely to “rug” millions of his most ardent fans… at least for now.

    Meanwhile, amid the panicked buying frenzy, the market value of the token is now $30BN, meaning it has surpassed such veteran cryptocurrencies as TRON, Avalanche, Chainlink and Shiba Inu.

    Separately, while the Solana-linked memecoin has pushed the market cap of Solana – a cryptocurrency conceived with the purpose of create such shitcoin pump and dump schemes – to a record $118 billion, there has been an offsetting drain in the price of Ethereum, which has served as the primary source of liquidity, and whose market cap has dropped by 5% overnight, losing about $240BN in value.

    TRUMP’s launch comes as the president-elect continues to align himself with cryptocurrency initiatives. Once an outspoken crypto-skeptic, he made a U-turn during his election campaign and pledged to reshape the US cryptocurrency landscape to make the country the “crypto capital of the planet.” Paul Atkins, Trump’s pick to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is expected to spearhead these efforts. A known crypto advocate and former SEC commissioner, Atkins will replace Gary Gensler, who has been criticized for his crackdown on the industry.

    Finally, while many are delighted to jump on board of the biggest momentum trade in history which is eclipsing even such social media phenomena as Gamestop and AMC, some such as Bloomberg ETF guru are voicing skepticism that this particular foray by Trump “seems exploitative” and is an “unforced error in the making”.

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    Whether he is right or not will depend on how long before this particular bubble bursts.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 22:30

  • Here's Why The Stage Has Been Set For War With Iran…
    Here’s Why The Stage Has Been Set For War With Iran…

    Authored by Chris Macintosh via InternationalMan.com,

    The stage is set for a major war with Iran. Let’s first go back to what’s happened and potential implications.

    Ten days after the attacks of 11 September 2001, former US Army General Wesley Clark revealed a controversial military strategy. In a conversation in the corridors of the Pentagon, Clark learned of a secret plan to “eliminate seven countries in five years.” This 2007 revelation raised many questions about the real motivations of the “War on Terror” and the garbage narrative fed to the world via mainstream media.

    Clark reported that the plan was to invade Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and, finally, Iran. The surprisingly extensive list raised questions about US intentions and global strategy after the 9/11 attacks.

    According to Clark, the decision to attack Iraq was made without clear justification, underlining officials’ inability to deal with the terrorist threat effectively. The conversation that took place between Clark and another senior Pentagon official revealed the uncertainty and confusion within the upper echelons of the military. “Are we going to war with Iraq? Why?,” asked Clark. The answer was puzzling: “I don’t know. I guess they don’t know what else to do.”

    This admission highlighted the lack of a coherent strategy and a willingness to use military power to topple governments rather than directly confront the terrorist threat. Clark’s statement emphasized how the “War on Terror” had been executed ineffectively and for political reasons rather than a real need for national security.

    The list of target countries seemed aimed at consolidating US political and military influence in strategically important regions rather than eliminating concrete threats. Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks, Clark’s words still resonate as a warning.

    Remembering these events is crucial to understanding today’s geopolitical dynamics and the consequences of the decisions made then. The war in Iraq, which began in 2003, was only the first step in a series of military interventions conducted at the behest of Israel, which have had significant repercussions throughout the Middle East and beyond.

    Remember General Wesley Clark?

    For a reminder, watch this.

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    In any event, the West is nearly wetting themselves with glee saying that Syria is now “free.” By free, of course, they have this guy.

    Jolani, we are told, is the face of freedom. Who is he? Al-Jolani who fought against the US in Iraq before joining Islamic State and Al-Qaeda and later founding the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, earning a $10 million bounty on his head. As the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), he oversaw a regime of what the UN classified as “war crimes” in Idlib province.

    But fortunately for Western media, they’re mostly talking to a bunch of ignorant peasants who won’t do even a cursory investigation into whether or not they’re being fed porkies or not, so here he is, a reformed, legitimate, moderate leader.

    Since the 7 countries in 5 years project is entirely an Israeli-led initiative, it is no surprise to see Israel stampeding into the country bombing the isht out of much of it. The operation to divide Syria up will now commence. My guess is Erdy struck a deal and will get a chunk of the north, and Israel will move forward with the greater Israel project.

    Just keep in mind that as we watch this taking place in front of our very eyes, any statements to the facts mentioned will be immediately met with the label of “anti semitism.”

    It is the same strategy that has been used to silence truth. The labels of “conspiracy theorist,” “anti vaxxer,” “climate denier,” etc. — all are specifically designed to shut down any debate on the topic at hand while ridiculing those pointing out the obvious. The “anti semitism” label is no different. Expect to see it wielded with greater tyranny over the coming years.

    The US and therefore NATO will be brought to the fore in order to fight these wars on behalf of Israel. You didn’t think that Jeffrey Epstein’s hard work for Mossad wouldn’t be put to work, did you?

    Which brings me to….

    Did Erdy Just Sign His Own Death Warrant?

    Erdy has been in power since March 2003. That’s a long time. He’s repeatedly made reference to his vision of restoring Turkey’s influence over former Ottoman territories. This has led to a rebellious (and often ambitious) foreign policy, however he is what I like to call politically promiscuous — he’ll screw anyone.

    Before we get into what’s just happened — namely Turkey providing military support for the Jihadists to overthrow Assad — let’s dial back the clock to 2016.

    In a CIA-led coup attempt, Erdy found himself in a pickle. He was trapped in his resort in Marmaris, pleading on FaceTime with the citizenry after narrowly escaping assisination. It was reportedly Russian intelligence that saved his skin, notifying him of the incoming threat. Since that event, Russian-Turkish relations have been a lot more positive.

    So a couple things happened there. Erdogan had become vehemently anti-Israel, and the coup was a strong message from the West that opposition to Israel would not be tolerated. Secondly, he now owed his life to the Russkies.

    The way he’s played it ever since has been with ever increasing trade between the Russians while spewing empty rhetoric about his resistance to Israel, but with no actions taken. For example, despite calling out the genocide in Gaza, he has continued the uninterrupted supply of oil to Israel. Furthermore, he’s continued to undermine the Assad government, which — aside from Iran — has been the most anti-Israel government in the region. This also goes against both Russian and Chinese interests, both of whom have been supporters of Assad. Like I said, politically promiscuous.

    So as you can see, it’s complicated. But here’s the thing. When you travel around Turkey, you see that all the major developments are financed by… wait for it, Chinese banks. And much of the infrastructure development is in partnership with or exclusively Russian. Mmmm, tricky!

    So why did Erdy collaborate with Israel to take out Assad now? I suspect he’ll walk away with a chunk of northern Syria in a deal already struck. I see Israel taking Western Syria and Turkey taking the Kurdish areas and what it can. Plus, the Americans saying, “Well, we’re here for all the oil, but we’ll give it to Israel.”

    The issue is Erdy now has decisively pissed off the Russians for sure as well as the Chinese. And you know what else?

    Well, the recent cosying up to Russia and China by the Saudis is likely getting a rethink.

    They’ll be correctly thinking, “Hmmm, they’re really trying to grab the whole Near East. Maybe we should be very careful about joining BRICS and threatening to move our assets out of the dollar because we could be next.”

    They’re familiar with what happened to the US puppet Saddam Hussein, who was originally installed by the CIA, only to then fall out of favour. They know what happened to him. He developed weapons of mass destruction so well concealed they’ve never to this day been found, and furthermore, 9/11… you know, Al Qaeda was linked to… oh, I dunno. He was a bad man, OK.

    The Saudis know that the stories told to the peasants in the West don’t even need to make sense and they will fall for it hook, line, and sinker.

    This brings up a point I want to make regarding BRICS. It will shortly dawn on the Chinese in particular and the rest of BRICS that formalising BRICS as an economic alliance will not be tolerated, and if they are to have a multi polar world, then they will be forced to form a military alliance, too. And that means WW3. And yes, I know we are already in it, but it will by necessity go overt.

    What else? As is always the case it is worth following the money. Here is the money…

    So what we’re likely now to see is the Qatar-Turkey pipeline being pushed. I don’t think it’ll happen for the simple reason that it looks more likely that Syria becomes the next Afghanistan. In other words, a fustercluck. Getting any infrastructure built with dozens of factions of warring tribes will prove costly and ultimately won’t happen — at least not within the next five years or so. This in turn is great news for another country, halfway across the world…

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    The Western system is undergoing substantial changes, and the signs of moral decay, corruption, and increasing debt are impossible to ignore. With the Great Reset in motion, the United Nations, World Economic Forum, IMF, WHO, World Bank, and Davos man are all promoting a unified agenda that will affect us all. To get ahead of the chaos, download our free PDF report “Clash of the Systems: Thoughts on Investing at a Unique Point in Time” by clicking here.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 22:10

  • These Are What 'Experts' See As The Largest Risks Faced By The World
    These Are What ‘Experts’ See As The Largest Risks Faced By The World

    Over the next 10 years, climate change and its consequences will pose the greatest risk to the world. That’s according to more than 900 global experts from academia, business and politics, who were asked to evaluate 33 global risks over a two-year and a 10-year horizon for the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks Report.

    With inflation having eased in most parts of the world, the experts no longer consider the cost-of-living crisis one of the most pressing issue in the short-term.

    Instead, as Statista’s Felix Richter details below, for the second year in a row, misinformation and disinformation is considered the most severe risk over the next two years. Following the “super election year” 2024, misinformation is still considered a major risk, as AI tools have facilitated the creation of false information, be it in the form of text, image or even video. It has the potential to further sow division, resulting in even more polarized societies, which are prone to radicalization and political unrest.

    Looking at the 10-year horizon, misinformation is expected to remain a major threat, but the four most severe risks faced by the world are all predicted to be related to climate change over the coming decade.

    Climate change is no longer seen as a long-term problem only, however, as this year’s report reveals a growing sense of alarm in the short term as well. Extreme weather events are rated as the second most severe risk for the present and the near future, marking a notable shift from past editions of the report.

    The following chart nicely illustrates the difference between what experts consider short-term risks and which challenges will shape the world for years or even decades to come.

    Infographic: The Largest Risks Faced by the World | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    In conclusion, the 20th edition of the WEF’s Global Risks Report finds “an increasingly fractured global landscape, where escalating geopolitical, environmental, societal and technological challenges threaten stability and progress.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 21:35

  • Pro-Bitcoin Lawmakers Pack Congress But Partisan Gridlock Looms
    Pro-Bitcoin Lawmakers Pack Congress But Partisan Gridlock Looms

    Authored by Aaron Wood via CoinTelegraph.com,

    Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the Republican-majority US Congress has been busy appointing pro-crypto lawmakers to key positions in the legislature.

    The House of Representatives Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence — part of the Financial Services Committee — is now packed with pro-crypto legislators. 

    But in an era of hyper-partisanship in Washington, observers are skeptical whether common-sense legislation for cryptocurrencies can overcome partisan gridlock. 

    And while crypto lobbies and political action committees played a crucial role in funding a number of campaigns in 2024, there are other pressing matters facing lawmakers — like the rising cost of living and escalating conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.

    Crypto simply may not be at the top of the list of legislative priorities. 

    How crypto may get caught in partisan gridlock

    The majority of Congressional Republicans have already shown themselves as proponents of a pro-crypto, laissez-faire approach to regulation. The party has taken great pains to contrast itself with the more cautious Democrats, who prioritize investor protections and financial oversight.

    Indeed, the Grand Old Party’s official 2024 platform states:

    “Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and unAmerican Crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. We will defend the right to mine Bitcoin, and ensure every American has the right to self-custody of their Digital Assets, and transact free from Government Surveillance and Control.”

    The site DoTheySupportIt (“it” being crypto) tracks various representatives’ stances on crypto. The methodology is rough, but it gives a snapshot of who supports crypto in Washington — and it’s almost all Republicans.

    Still, it isn’t as politicized as “wedge” issues like reproductive rights, gun ownership, or LGBTQ+ inclusivity and acceptance. At least not yet.

    One reason it isn’t so politicized is the complicated nature of crypto regulation. As noted by Dylan Desjardins, a research associate at George Washington University’s Regulatory Studies Center, “Grouping voter sentiments into neat categories is further complicated by the complexity of crypto-related issues generally.”

    “For example, government propagation of digital currency might be thought of as loosening crypto regulation, but cuts against conservative distrust of government.”

    Speaking to Cointelegraph, Representative Tom Emmer — who was recently appointed to the House Digital Assets Subcommittee — disputed the idea that crypto was a partisan issue, noting that a number of House Democrats supported digital-assets-related bill FIT21 last year:

    “This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue. This is an American issue, and I am confident that we will continue to come together, in a nonpartisan way, to provide the necessary regulatory guardrails to give digital asset entrepreneurs the confidence to innovate and everyday Americans the confidence to engage with this technology.”

    Filecoin Foundation chair Marta Belcher would seem to agree, telling Cointelegraph, “Many policymakers on both sides of the aisle support crypto. I don’t think crypto is a partisan issue, just like ‘the internet’ isn’t a partisan issue. I don’t think, in 2025, either party can be ‘anti’ an entire technology if they’re thinking seriously about America’s future.”

    However, as Desjardins notes, recent experience shows that formerly uncommon issues like trans rights or “critical race theory” can balloon into major points of contention. Another market crash or FTX-like incident — wherein investors lose billions due to lack of oversight — could change public perceptions around crypto and how it should be regulated.

    Is crypto a priority?

    The crypto industry in the US collectively spent over $130 million soliciting promises and guarantees from lawmakers — but Washington’s K Street is full of moneyed interest groups, and crypto is still a relative newcomer to the political process.

    Speaking to CBS, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Republican-led Congress’ priorities include tax breaks and to “get the economy humming again.”

    Americans for Prosperity, a powerful libertarian conservative think tank affiliated with the Koch brothers, noted legislative priorities like renewing the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts, deregulating restrictions on the energy industry, and ending what it perceives to be wasteful government spending.

    Emmer, who refers to Trump as the “first crypto president,” says crypto fits into Trump’s broader efforts to stimulate the economy. “We advocate for policies that empower everyday Americans to control their financial futures. By providing clear guidance for crypto businesses, we ensure everyone can confidently engage with this revolutionary technology.”

    According to Emmer, Congress’ first priorities vis-a-vis crypto are to “focus on passing comprehensive market structure and stablecoin legislation.”

    Indeed, stablecoins could be an easy win for representatives who took money from crypto lobbies. There is more bipartisan support for stablecoin legislation in Congress.

    In recent years, Representative Patrick McHenry introduced the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2023, while Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis and New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand submitted the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act. 

    Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of decentralized finance research and advocacy group DeFi Education Fund, told Bloomberg there’s a “broad consensus” regarding stablecoin regulation.

    “The McHenry bill that was marked-up in mid-2023 has been well-socialized and was negotiated with [Democratic Representative Maxine] Waters. I think that anything that passes will look largely similar to that bill.”

    What can the crypto industry expect from Congress? 

    If Congress is known for anything, expediency is not it. Even if crypto is high on representatives’ docket, the wheels of legislation move slowly. Various rewritings and drafts must pass through committees before they can even reach a vote — let alone the president’s desk. 

    Major changes pushed by the crypto industry could still take a long time and may not look exactly as proponents expect.

    Belcher said that “crypto market structure legislation is likely to move relatively fast this year — or, fast for Congress.” 

    Crypto lobbyists’ more ambitious plans, like the Bitcoin reserve bill, may have less of a chance. Castle Island Ventures founding partner Nic Carter said in a recent interview with Bloomberg that he thought it was a long shot, as support in Congress for a Bitcoin reserve is tepid. 

    Dave Grimaldi, executive vice president of government relations at Blockchain Association, said that electoral calculus could affect how quickly crypto legislation moves forward. Firstly, he argued that pro-crypto Republicans will likely show some bipartisanship in passing new regulations before the mid-terms in 2026, when the majority could change.

    Secondly, he noted the influence of the crypto lobby and the crypto as a voter issue:

    “Members of Congress have seen that it is a good and fortuitous thing for them to be on the open-minded side of this industry rather than against it.”

    “There are […] pro-crypto candidates who won and were funded by our industry and had votes coming to them from crypto users in their district. […] And then there were also incumbent, sitting members of Congress who lost their seats because they were so negative for completely unnecessary and illogical reasons.”

    Crypto industry lobby Fairshake is already raising money for the mid-term elections in 2026, so anyone in a vulnerable district — i.e., anyone looking at a competitive race in 2026 — can’t afford to be seen as anti-crypto.

    For crypto, the dust of the crypto landscape in Washington hasn’t settled. Certain elements of the industry enjoy tentative bipartisan support, but there is still potential for crypto to turn into a political football. 

    Much will depend on whether the industry gets the guardrails it believes it deserves, which — if you’re counting on Congress — could take a very long time. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 21:00

  • US Suspends EcoHealth Alliance, Peter Daszak After COVID-19 Evidence Uncovered By House Committee
    US Suspends EcoHealth Alliance, Peter Daszak After COVID-19 Evidence Uncovered By House Committee

    EcoHealth Alliance, the nonprofit that Dr. Anthony Fauci used to offshore risky gain-of-function research 6 months before the Obama administration banned it, has finally been cut off by the US Government – along with its former president, Peter Daszak, for a period of five years following scrutiny over its work in Wuhan, China ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Peter Daszak toasts with Wuhan Institute of Virology ‘bat lady’ Shi Zhengli

    The decision by the Department of Health and Human Services was based on findings by the House Oversight Committee, which announced on Friday that EcoHealth and Daszak had been disbarred.

    “Justice for the American people was served today,” said Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) in a statement. “Bad actor EcoHealth Alliance and its corrupt former President, Dr. Peter Daszak, were formally debarred by HHS for using taxpayer funds to facilitate dangerous gain-of-function research in China. Today’s decision is not only a victory for the U.S. taxpayer, but also for American national security and the safety of citizens worldwide.”

    EcoHealth funding had been suspended in May by HHS, which recommended a permanent ban on funding the nonprofit.

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    “Given that a lab-related incident involving gain-of-function research is the most likely origin of COVID-19, EcoHealth and its former President should never again receive a single cent from the U.S. taxpayer,” Comer continued.

    As journalist Paul Thacker noted in June, the NIH lied about EcoHealth’s gain-of-function research, feeding lies to reporters, while lying to Congress. Meanwhile, former NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci ‘prompted’ the fabrication of a paper by a cadre of scientists aimed at disproving the Covid-19 lab-leak theory.

    According to US Right to Know, emails obtained in 2020 revealed that a statement in The Lancet authored by 27 prominent public health scientists condemning “conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin” was organized by employees of EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit group that has received millions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer funding to genetically manipulate coronaviruses with scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

    The emails obtained via public records requests show that EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak drafted the Lancet statement, and that he intended it to “not be identifiable as coming from any one organization or person” but rather to be seen as “simply a letter from leading scientists”.

    To review;

    The US was doing risky gain-of-function research on US soil until 2014, when the Obama administration banned it. Four months before the ban, Dr. Fauci offshored it to Wuhan, China through New York nonprofit, EcoHealth Alliance.

    After Sars-CoV-2 broke out down the street from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Fauci engaged in a massive campaign to deny the possibility of a lab-leak from the lab he funded, and instead pin the blame on a yet-to-be discovered zoonotic intermediary species.

    And if you’d like to dig even deeper, this is perhaps the best, most comprehensive summary of the “proximal origin” timeline.

    Further reading:

     

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 20:25

  • Rental Price-Gouging & Scamming Fueling The Flames For California Wildfire Victims
    Rental Price-Gouging & Scamming Fueling The Flames For California Wildfire Victims

    Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times,

    Ever since the deadly California wildfires began, Lauren Ravitz has often been jolted out of bed at 6 a.m. by phone calls from homeless fire victims desperately seeking a place to live. A realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Global Network in Los Angeles, Ravitz, has also been receiving up to 100 emails or texts daily.

    “It’s a dire situation here, and it’s devastating for those who have lost everything—they’re all scrambling to find a place to rent,” Ravitz told The Epoch Times.

    “Many have temporarily moved into hotels, some are living in Airbnb’s, and others are sleeping on friend’s sofas.”

    To make matters even worse, some wildfire victims, according to Ravitz, have also experienced rental price gouging, despite California Penal Code section 396, which limits rent increases to 10 percent above pre-emergency levels during a state of emergency. That law applies to both existing rentals and new leases.

    “Some people were so desperate to find housing that they paid the inflated rates, but now others are starting to realize this and report it,” said Ravitz.

    The law states that violators can face up to $10,000 in fines and up to one year in jail. The City of Los Angeles has a separate penalty for landlords who price gauge, increasing fines to up to $30,000.

    In addition, scammers have started to pop up, offering bogus properties for rent and then asking potential renters to wire them a deposit in order to hold the rental.

    “People are so overwhelmed and in such a frenzy that they often send the money, only to discover that the properties don’t even exist,” Ravitz said.

    In the meantime, the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs is asking residents to report price gouging and other scams to their department.

    With the wildfires still uncontained, former homeowners whose properties have now been reduced to rubble are faced with the decision to either rebuild, sell the land and move to another area, or leave the state altogether.

    To date, several of Ravitz’s clients have already reached out to architects and builders in hopes of returning to newly constructed homes by next year. Others are moving to nearby Manhattan Beach, where local schools are readily accepting more student enrollments.

    “So many people are going through so much in addition to trying to cope with their financial losses,” she said.

    “I have one client who’s starting chemo and another dealing with Parkinson’s disease. I just want to cry every day.”

    Anne Russell, president of the Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors (GLAR), has already experienced being evacuated from her home but was fortunate enough to be able to return the following day. Her office in Los Angeles is also safe for the time being.

    Russell told The Epoch Times that rent gouging is not uncommon, despite the law prohibiting it.

    “I’ve told all of our 13,500 realtor members to be aware of this and to share it with their clients,” she said.

    “Hundreds of people are now vying for rentals, and most in the area have been taken up. Many seem to be flocking to Santa Monica now, because local hotels can be very expensive.”

    GLAR’s website is also cautioning local residents about additional scams involving text messages that pretend to assist people but are in fact phishing scams trying to extract personal information or ask for payments for fake charities.

    “Please do not click on links from phone numbers you do not recognize,” the website warns.

    Russell considers herself fortunate to have been spared so far from the raging fires.

    “My previous office in Pacific Palisade is gone, and I have many friends there who have lost everything,” she said.

    While six regional fires have been contained, four continue to burn in the Los Angeles area, including Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, and Auto. The blazes have destroyed thousands of acres and claimed at least 27 lives.

    “We have wildfires here all the time, but it’s never happened that we have so many huge fires burning simultaneously,” Russell said.

    “Add to that our very little rainfall, the strong Santa Ana winds, and an empty Palisades reservoir due to repairs and you have a recipe for disaster.”

    GLAR meanwhile has been working with local agencies to provide gift cards for people to buy groceries, clothing, and other necessities. Both the California Association of Realtors Disaster Relief Fund and the National Association of Realtors’ Realtor Relief Fund are standing ready to assist with recovery efforts.

    As for the real estate market in the regions affected, Russell noted that those with insurance and financial stability will rebuild.

    “The most important thing is for them to choose architects and contractors who have had experience working with insurance claims,” she said.

    Prior to the wildfires, the regional inventory had started to climb slightly, but now with all of the losses, housing will again be scarce.

    “We believe it’s critical that homes are built again, but that they be built better with special fire retardant materials,” Russell said. “Still it’s going to be a real insurance battle for fire coverage.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 19:50

  • Large-Scale Deportations To Begin Tuesday With Chicago Raid
    Large-Scale Deportations To Begin Tuesday With Chicago Raid

    Just one day after President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated for the second time, the new administration will kick off large-scale deportations, starting with a massive raid in Chicago, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing four anonymous individuals ‘familiar with the planning.’

    The raid, expected to begin on Tuesday morning, will involve 100-200 officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (and is of course being reported in the WSJ so the migrants have ample warning to relocate).

    As the Journal notes further, the Trump administration will target illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds first. Many of them had offenses ‘too minor’ for the Biden administration to pursue, however if any illegals are present during a raid or an arrest, regardless of criminal history, they will be taken and deported as well.

    The transition team had been contemplating cities to target in a day-one operation as a way of making an example of so-called sanctuary cities, which adopt policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. They settled on Chicago both because of the large number of immigrants who could be possible targets and because of the Trump team’s high-profile feud with the city’s Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson.

    Though it isn’t clear how many people the operation will actually target, Trump’s team is planning to work with several right-leaning media outlets to amplify its efforts. -WSJ

    Incoming border czar Tom Homan teased the raid last month during a visit to Chicago.

    “We’re going to start right here in Chicago, Illinois,” he said at a holiday party on Chicago’ North Side. “And if the Chicago mayor doesn’t want to help, he can step aside. But if he impedes us, if he knowingly harbors or conceals an illegal alien, I will prosecute him.“

    Tom Homan

    In response, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said “I’m going to make sure to follow the law. I’m concerned that the Trump administration and his lackeys aren’t going to follow the law.”

    ‘Sanctuary Cities’ In The Crosshairs

    In addition to Chicago, large immigrant centers such as New York, Los Angeles, Denver and Miami are looking at raids of their own. To carry out these actions, the Trump administration is weighing a broad mix of changes that would give sheriffs more power – and reward jurisdictions that cooperate, while financially punishing those which don’t. Homan has already threatened to throw the mayor of Denver in jail.

    Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has already said they wouldn’t help, saying in a statement that local officials banned cooperation with ICE in 2020, and that “We are here to protect the communities we serve, not to enforce immigration laws.”

    Which means they can say goodbye to potentially billions of dollars in federal grants.

    Migrant rights groups are freaking out, meanwhile.

    “If the intent is to instill a sense of terror and persecution, that’s what the Trump administration is doing very well,” said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, spokesman for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, which says it has conducted over 140 workshops since the election to teach illegals how to avoid, and resist, the incoming Trump administration.

    Under the Biden administration an official 10 million migrants have entered the US illegally – however unofficial figures peg the number north of 20 million.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 19:15

  • 'I See Dead Amendments': President Biden Issues Otherworldly ERA Declaration
    ‘I See Dead Amendments’: President Biden Issues Otherworldly ERA Declaration

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    President Joe Biden wants people to know that he sees dead amendments. Just before leaving office, Biden declared that we have a 28th amendment despite dying in the ratification process years ago.

    Not since the movie Sixth Sense has there been a more creepy moment. To paraphrase Cole Sear in the film, Biden does not see them in constitutional coffins but “Walking around like regular [amendments]. They don’t know they’re dead.” Neither does Biden.

    Biden waited to shortly before leaving office to pander to the most delusional elements of the Democratic party in unilaterally announcing that the Equal Rights Amendment is now part of the Constitution. The farcical moment was then amplified by figures like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) rejoicing and falsely telling women that they can now go to court and enforce the amendment to restore such things as abortion rights.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    This bizarre group fantasy was triggered by the following declaration:

    “In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”

    Without naming them, Biden cites dozens of “constitutional experts” to support this absurd claim.

    Biden’s last-minute declaration is more creepy than the movie because it requires not just the departure from the constitutional process but reality. Despite running as the champion of democracy, Biden is simply brushing aside the fact that the ERA was not ratified, as made clear by the Justice Department, various judges, and his own archivist just weeks ago.

    Even the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg declared the amendment dead.

    Archivist, Colleen Shogan recently explained that neither her office nor the White House have the authority to publish the amendment unilaterally or waive the deadline for ratification:

    “In 2020 and again in 2022, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable,” she wrote. “The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts.”

    “Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment. As the leaders of the National Archives, we will abide by these legal precedents and support the constitutional framework in which we operate.”

    The reason is simple. The underlying argument is utterly ridiculous.

    As I have previously written, the ERA is a dead as Dillinger.

    The deadline for ratification of the ERA was set for March 22, 1979 — allowing seven years to secure the required approval by three-quarters of the states, or 38 states. It failed to do so. Even worse,  four states — Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky — rescinded their prior ratifications and a fifth, South Dakota, set its ratification to expire if the ERA was not adopted by the 1979 deadline.

    Kentucky also had an additional problem because its Democratic lieutenant governor vetoed the resolution rescinding the ratification when the governor was out of town. However, Article V speaks of ratifications by state legislatures.

    Notably, during the extended period, not a single state was added. Even assuming that the five states could be counted despite the votes to rescind their ratifications, the ERA was still three states short when it missed the second deadline.

    Democrats then insisted that states could not rescind their votes, even before ratification was finalized.  So, Democrats and then-President Carter simply extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. However, in 1981, a federal district court ruled in Idaho v. Freeman that Congress could not extend the ERA’s ratification deadline. (The Supreme Court later stayed that order but then declared the matter moot.)

    In 2021 federal Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that it would have been “absurd” for the Archivist to disregard the deadline and unilaterally add the unratified amendment to the Constitution. On appeal, a unanimous D.C. Circuit panel rejected the appeal of Illinois and Nevada that the Archivist should be ordered to publish the ERA, holding “The States’ argument that the proposing clause is akin to the inoperative prefatory clause in a bill is unpersuasive…because if that were the case, then the specification of the mode of ratification in every amendment in our nation’s history would also be inoperative.”

    None of this matters to the defenders of democracy who ignored the votes in these states and dismissed constitutional deadlines and procedures.  Harvard Law Professors Laurence Tribe and Kathleen Sullivan ran a column declaring “The ERA is Now Law!” as if amplification and exclamation points would somehow make it true.  (This is the same Laurence Tribe that declared that Trump to be charged with the attempted murder of former Vice President Mike Pence and that the law was clear “without any doubt, beyond a reasonable doubt, beyond any doubt”).

    Notably, Biden did not issue an executive order to the archivist as many activists wanted. The reason is simple: the White House knew that it could be challenged in court and would quickly collapse under judicial review. They would prefer Biden to declare Caesar-like that we have a new amendment and treat it as a fact.

    With the declaration, Biden gave “the last full measure of devotion” to the radical left of his party. It was a pandering and frankly pathetic moment for a president who is currently one of the least popular presidents in leaving office.

    His action on the ERA is precisely why he is viewed as a “failed” president. Biden has always sacrificed principle for the politics of the moment. This was a participation trophy given to activists that lacked any substance or basis. It is also why voters saw Biden as the greater threat to democracy than Trump.

    It is chilling to think that Biden actually believes this nonsense and sees dead amendments walking around the White House. After all, insides have described the White House in the final days as a virtual “morgue.” Yet, the truth may be even scarier: He simply does not care. He sees dead amendments in the hope of restoring life to his legacy. Both, however, now belong to the ranks of the corpus mortuus.

    *  *  *

    Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 18:40

  • 'Zynning': Zyn Nicotine Pouches Win Marketing Approval From FDA
    ‘Zynning’: Zyn Nicotine Pouches Win Marketing Approval From FDA

    Zyn nicotine pouches, popular with millennials and GenZers, will soon be featured in advertisements nationwide after the US Food and Drug Administration authorized marketing for twenty Zyn products.

    On Thursday, the FDA authorized the marketing of 20 Zyn products (manufactured by Philip Morris International), including cinnamon, citrus, coffee, and mint, claiming the nicotine pouches outweigh the risks to public health… 

    “To receive marketing authorizations, the FDA must have sufficient evidence that the new products offer greater benefits to population health than risks,” Matthew Farrelly, Ph.D., director of the Office of Science in the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, wrote in a statement. 

    Farrelly noted, “In this case, the data show that these nicotine pouch products meet that bar by benefiting adults who use cigarettes and/or smokeless tobacco products and completely switch to these products.”

    The announcement comes in the final days of the Biden-Harris administration. Earlier this week, the FDA proposed a rule to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes to make combustible tobacco products less addictive.

    Kenneth Shea, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, described the FDA’s marketing approval as a significant competitive advantage for Philip Morris, which holds about 34.5% share of the $12 billion oral nicotine market, according to data from Circana-measured channels. 

    ‘Zynning’… 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 18:05

  • The 'Monkey Wrench' Sabotage Of America Begs For An Authoritarian Response
    The ‘Monkey Wrench’ Sabotage Of America Begs For An Authoritarian Response

    Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

    Accidents and crime happen, all the time in fact, and generally the American public barely takes notice of the number of such events that occur on a monthly basis. The reason for this is because the vast majority of incidents don’t lead to economic and infrastructure damage on a large scale.  A disaster has to be pretty extensive to get the attention of the public and usually that attention doesn’t last long because most people are still able to go on with their day without much inconvenience.

    But let’s say you are a villain; a terrorist or a social engineer (same thing).  Let’s say you are a person or group with malicious intent and you have deliberately set out to destroy a country, or a society or a civilization.  Do you try to do this with a single elaborately planned event?  Probably not.  Instead, you would coordinate and encourage thousands of smaller acts of sabotage that go largely unnoticed by the population until infrastructure breaks down and the country is in ruins.

    The concept is actually rather common – We see it in the covert instigation of civil unrest and color revolutions throughout history.  We have seen it in the US with groups like the leftist/communist “Weather Underground” in the 1970s.  Such plans were executed broadly by western governments in Europe under Operation Gladio, which was exposed in the 1990s.

    An interesting fictional example of this idea is the movie ‘Invasion USA’ starring Chuck Norris, about a communist network using America’s open borders to sneak thousands of foreign agents into the country.  They then coordinate a series of infrastructure and terror attacks nationwide in order to expedite a civil breakdown and economic crash.

    The point is, the public doesn’t know they are under attack because all the incidents seem to be far apart and unrelated.  I believe that such a strategy is well underway within the US and parts of Europe right now, but instead of covert agents or terrorists working at the behest of some foreign adversary I argue that our OWN GOVERNMENTS are engaged in this sabotage.

    I call this strategy “Monkey Wrenching”, based on the book ‘The Monkey Wrench Gang’ by Edward Abbey and published in 1975.  I touched on the concept in my article ‘Open Borders Have Created A Terror Attack Time Bomb In The US In 2025’ published last December, and then again in my article ‘Terror Attacks Kick Off In 2025 – It’s Only Going To Get Worse So Be Prepared’.

    I want to go a little more in-depth on the “monkey wrench” concept because, as I predicted last year, 2025 just started and already we’ve seen multiple terror attacks including the car attack in New Orleans and the car bombing in front of Donald Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas.

    These events follow some strange and disturbing incidents in 2024, including the armed invasion of Venezuelan cartels into multiple US neighborhoods and cities, two assassination attempts on Donald Trump by leftists as well as the assassination of an insurance CEO in New York by Luigi Mangione (identified as politically ambiguous by the media but widely applauded by leftists).

    Then there’s the natural disaster issue.  The government displayed what appears to be total incompetence during the horrific fires in Maui, the lack of adequate federal response after Hurricane Helene in states like North Carolina, and of course there’s the absolute neglect of practical fire precautions in LA leading to one of the worst disasters in US history (more and more evidence is being released showing that these fires were, at least in part, started by a flurry of arsonists).  But what if government apathy and inaction in the face of fires and floods are just another deliberate form of monkey wrenching?

    And let’s not forget about human-composed disasters like the mass illegal immigration created by the Biden Administration.  Dropping tens-of-millions of third-world aliens into the US economy in the span of a few years is a calamity bigger than anything Mother Nature could possibly produce.

    But how are any of these things connected?  Aren’t they just the natural random noise of civilization?  It couldn’t possibly be maliciously planned, right?  Well, it depends – Chaos is not always directly created, but it can be encouraged into being through policy.

    Is this conspiracy theory?  We’ve seen many conspiracy theories proven true over the past couple years, from the covid pandemic lockdowns, mandates and death numbers being exposed as a sham, Twitter and Facebook now outed for colluding with government officials to censor conservatives, the US government and Ukraine blowing up the Nordstream gas pipeline to Europe.  Conspiracy theorists are racking up an impressive list of wins lately.

    If it seems to you as it does to me that the frequency of destabilizing events is increasing, that’s probably because it is.  It’s not a symptom of internet “information overload” as the media claims; the internet has been around a long time now and we’re used to the ease of info access.  No, this is something new.

    The Monkey Wrench Gang

    Edward Abbey’s politically charged book titled ‘The Monkey Wrench Gang’ portrays a group of environmentalist extremists out to stop the “pollution” of the southwestern US using sabotage of machines and infrastructure as a means to grind development to a halt.

    The Monkey Wrench Gang has long been considered an inspirational work of fiction for the political left, but it is also treated as a sort of instruction manual for leftists and anarchists – A guide for bringing down the system. It depicts the destruction of minor targets like billboards and bulldozers, up to and including the destruction of bridges, the derailment of trains and the attempted bombing of a dam. It’s sort of like the leftist version of The Turner Diaries.

    The idea is that one small attack alone doesn’t do much, but thousands of attacks have an accumulative effect that can result in the downfall of a country or system.

    What the book does not address is the idea that a shadow government would HELP or fund these kinds of attacks.  With the government on their side as it remains passive, saboteurs can operate with impunity. They can then commit acts of sabotage in a way that avoids drawing too many questions – In other words, they would have the ability to make the events look like accidents, or commit crimes in a way that looks random.

    Leftist Reactions To Losing Political Power – The Rise Of Marxist Terror

    Leftists throughout modern history have a habit of engaging in destabilization efforts when they don’t get what they want.  They view their motivations as sacrosanct and beyond criticism, be it “saving democracy” or “saving the planet” or “taking down capitalists and colonists”. 

    In every case where the political left had influence over social conditions and then lost that power, they revert to directed exponential disruption and violence from riots to assassination.  They claim to care about the right of the majority to have their voices heard, but in reality they don’t care at all.  When the majority goes against the leftist narrative, leftists go rogue.

    If I could come up with one word to describe progressives and their behavior it’s this:  Petty.

    That might sound too reserved, but there’s nothing more dangerous than people who are petty; they’re capable of justifying anything.  We saw this on a large scale after Donald Trump’s first election win in 2016 and I guarantee we’re going to see a lot more as he enters office again in 2025.  Establishment gatekeepers in the media and among globalist institutions have conjured an atmosphere in which at least 30% of the country believes that “democracy” is facing an existential threat from Donald Trump and conservatives.

    They think they’re headed for concentration camps once Trump settles into the White House and that all their rights are about to be taken away.  Ironically, it’s their pettiness and propensity for sabotage that might actually end up creating the desire among conservatives for putting these people behind bars for a long time.

    Establishment elites have fostered an environment in which random attacks are more easily triggered, but they also participate in the direct funding and training of Marxist extremist groups.  For anyone who thinks this kind of thing never happens, I suggest you look into the true history behind the leftist terrorists of the Weather Underground and how many of those people (who were wanted by the FBI) ended working within the government and teaching at major universities.

    There WILL be a number of these groups active in the coming years.  These people will not accept failure and they will lash out any way they can.  Some of them will be given help from establishment elites with extensive resources.

    The Tempting Authoritarian Response To Monkey Wrenching

    The temptation in the face of mass induced sabotage of a nation is to respond with cold and calculated power.  Frankly, it’s hard to see another solution at times.  As most Libertarians will point out, government power is like the Ring of Sauron from Lord Of The Rings – You might think you can wield it for good, but ultimately it will corrupt you just as it corrupts everyone.  I tend to agree.

    In the decade after WWI Germany faced a series of Marxist provocations from economic sabotage to armed violence and assassinations.  The German government and traditionalist citizens eventually responded in kind, creating militias to quell leftists and imprisoning or killing some in their leadership.  Germans were well aware of what happened under Marxism in other nations and the havoc it inspired.  Those years of instability in the 1920s and the fear they induced led to the ultimate formation of the Nazi Party and the rise of National Socialism.

    Disturbingly, fascism was presented as the counter to Marxism, but even Adolph Hitler admitted on multiple occasions that fascism was inspired by Marxism. The German people, in a desperate effort to return to normalcy and prosperity, embraced a Marxist inspired political system in order to undo the chaos created by Marxist revolutionaries.

    We stand at a dangerous crossroads in 2025, but this does not mean we sit back and do nothing (which, unfortunately, seems to be a common Libertarian response).  Do we form citizen militias like the Germans did and take down leftist agitators?  Or, do we let the government under Trump flirt with unconstitutional measures?  Do we arrest Democrat city or state officials that refuse to fix infrastructure problems?  Do we remove them by force if they continue protecting illegals from deportation?

    Recent surveys show that nearly HALF of all federal employees plan to resist or obstruct the plans of the Trump Administration, which means they will be actively trying to sabotage the implementation of policies that most Americans voted for.  They’re telling you that the will of the voter doesn’t matter.  What should be done about these people?

    These are the kinds of questions that are going to come up frequently in the next four years and we need to consider them seriously.

    Some would argue that any violence of action whatsoever is authoritarian in nature, but I see little chance of reversing the damage done by globalists and leftists without some form of violence.  For example, mass deportations of millions of illegal immigrants will be presented by critics as authoritarian in nature.  Yet, this strategy is entirely necessary if our country is to be saved.

    Do the ends justify the means?  In this case, yes.  When your civilization is under attack it is morally acceptable to defend it.  The problems arise when the act of retaliation against an enemy results in the loss of the very freedom and prosperity your society hopes to protect.  This is the conundrum created by the monkey wrench:  It’s an internal war, with internal enemies, and to strike at internal enemies you sometimes take the risk of striking yourself.

    *  *  *

    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
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 17:30

  • How Much Of The World's Plastic Waste Actually Gets Recycled?
    How Much Of The World’s Plastic Waste Actually Gets Recycled?

    The United States, the world’s largest plastic polluter, recycles a mere 5% of its household plastic waste.

    Around the world, the situation is slightly better, but a staggering 91% of plastic waste is still incinerated, landfilled, or mismanaged (e.g. dumped into the ocean).

    As Visual Capitalist’s Nick Routley details below, the graphic below, by Rosey Eason, using OECD data (via Our World in Data), paints a clear picture of the situation. Here’s a global overview of how plastic waste is disposed of:

    There is growing awareness of the world’s plastic waste challenges, so why isn’t that translating into higher rates of recycling?

    The Illusion of Recycling

    The recycling system itself is deeply flawed. Most plastics are incompatible, making sorting costly and inefficient. Only PET (#1) and HDPE (#2) are widely recycled. In short, once most plastic products are created and reach the end of their usefulness, they’re tough to repurpose.

    The economics of recycling are also stacked against success. Virgin plastic, often subsidized by fossil fuel subsidies, is cheaper than recycled plastic. This price disparity discourages the use of recycled materials.

    Furthermore, the rise of flexible packaging—those lightweight packets for snacks and food—exacerbates the problem. These multi-layered packets, while convenient, are incredibly difficult to recycle due to contamination and complex composition.

    What Can Be Done About Plastic Waste?

    Addressing the global plastic crisis requires systemic change. Here are some steps that could help stem the tide of plastic waste:

    • Bans on single-use and/or unrecyclable plastics

    • A global plastics treaty

    • Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies

    • Implementing and strengthening responsibility programs for plastic producers

    Our day-to-day experience of using cheap and convenient plastics often supersedes any negative externalities that happen further down the chain. Solving the problem will require a fundamental shift in our relationship with plastic, driven by policy and innovation.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 16:55

  • It's Time To Retire 'Misinformation'
    It’s Time To Retire ‘Misinformation’

    Authored by Pierre Kory via The Brownstone Institute,

    In a seismic political shift, Republicans have laid claim to an issue that Democrats left in the gutter – the declining health of Americans. True, it took a Democrat with a famous name to ask why so many people are chronically ill, disabled, and dying younger than in 47 other countries. But the message resonated with the GOP.

    We have a proposal in this unfolding milieu. Let’s have a serious, nuanced discussion. Let’s retire labels that have been weaponized against Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., nominated for Health and Human Services Secretary, and many people like him. 

    Start with discarding threadbare words like “conspiracy theory,” “anti-vax,” and the ever-changing “misinformation.”     

    These linguistic sleights of hand have been deployed—by government, media, and vested interests—to dismiss policy critics and thwart debate. If post-election developments tell us anything, it is that such scorn may no longer work for a population skeptical of government overreach.

    Although RFK has been lambasted for months in the press, he just scored a 47 percent approval rating in a CBS poll. 

    Americans are asking: Is RFK on to something?

    Perhaps, as he contends, a 1986 law that all but absolved vaccine manufacturers from liability has spawned an industry driven more by profit than protection. 

    Maybe Americans agree with RFK that the FDA, which gets 69 percent of its budget from pharmaceutical companies, is potentially compromised. Maybe Big Pharma, similarly, gets a free pass from the television news media that it generously supports. The US and New Zealand, incidentally, are the only nations on earth that allow “direct-to-consumer” TV ads. 

    Finally, just maybe there’s a straight line from this unhealthy alliance to the growing list of 80 childhood shots, inevitably approved after cursory industry studies with no placebo controls. The Hepatitis B vaccine trial, for one, monitored the effects on newborns for just five days. Babies are given three doses of this questionably necessary product—intended to prevent a disease spread through sex and drug use.

    Pointing out such conflicts and flaws earns critics a label: “anti-vaxxer.”  

    Misinformation?

    If RFK is accused of being extreme or misdirected, consider the Covid-19 axioms that Americans were told by their government.    

    The first: The pandemic started in animals in Wuhan, China. To think otherwise, Wikipedia states, is a “conspiracy theory,” fueled by “misplaced suspicion” and “anti-Chinese racism.” 

    Not so fast. In a new 520-page report, a Congressional subcommittee linked the outbreak to risky US-supported virus research at a Wuhan lab at the pandemic epicenter. After 25 hearings, the subcommittee found no evidence of “natural origin.” 

    Is the report a slam dunk? Maybe not. But neither is an outright dismissal of a lab leak.

    The same goes for other pandemic dogma, including the utility of (ineffective) masks, (harmful) lockdowns, (arbitrary) six-foot spacing, and, most prominently, vaccines that millions were coerced to take and that harmed some. 

    Americans were told, wrongly, that two shots would prevent Covid and stop the spread. Natural immunity from previous infection was ignored to maximize vaccine uptake.

    Yet there was scant scientific support for vaccinating babies with little risk, which few other countries did; pregnant women (whose deaths soared 40 percent after the rollout), and healthy adolescents, including some who suffered a heart injury called myocarditis. The CDC calls the condition “rare;” but a new study found 223 times more cases in 2021 than the average for all vaccines in the previous 30 years.

    Truth Muzzled? 

    Beyond this, pandemic decrees were not open to question. Millions of social media posts were removed at the behest of the White House. The ranks grew both of well-funded fact-checkers and retractions of countervailing science.

    The FDA, meantime, created a popular and false storyline that the Nobel Prize-winning early-treatment drug ivermectin was for horses, not people, and might cause coma and death. Under pressure from a federal court, the FDA removed its infamous webpage, but not before it cleared the way for unapproved vaccines, possible under the law only if no alternative was available.

    An emergency situation can spawn official missteps. But they become insidious when dissent is suppressed and truth is molded to fit a narrative. 

    The government’s failures of transparency and oversight are why we are at this juncture today. RFK—should he overcome powerful opposition—may have the last word. 

    The conversation he proposes won’t mean the end of vaccines or of respect for science. It will mean accountability for what happened in Covid and reform of a dysfunctional system that made it possible.     

    Republished from RealClearHealth

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 16:20

  • Netanyahu Says Trump "Emphasized" To Him That The Gaza Ceasefire Is "Temporary"
    Netanyahu Says Trump “Emphasized” To Him That The Gaza Ceasefire Is “Temporary”

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued some surprisingly bold assertions in a national televised address given just 12-hours before the much anticipated Gaza ceasefire is set to go into effect Sunday morning.

    Both Biden and Trump have hailed and celebrated the deal, but it’s the Republican president-elect who is by and large receiving the most credit for seeing it to the finish line. Some Israeli media outlets have represented the whole thing as a ‘defeat’ for Netanyahu, who appeared to want to keep the war going until Hamas is completely eradicated.

    Among Netanyahu’s most provocative words on Saturday was his claim that he has the support of President-elect Trump in the scenario Israel feels it must abandon the ceasefire and keep fighting. He says he has Trump’s full backing to resume the war, and has claimed further that Trump too agreed that the truce is just “temporary”. Watch below:

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    “Netanyahu also asserted that he negotiated the best deal possible, even as Israel’s far-right Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he and most of his party would resign from the government in opposition to it,” Times of Israel notes of the remarks.

    And there’s some some last-minute details which threaten implementation of the ceasefire…

    The prime minister had warned earlier that a ceasefire wouldn’t go forward unless Israel received the names of hostages to be released, as had been agreed. His statement came almost three hours after Israel had expected to receive the names from mediator Qatar. There was no immediate response from Qatar or Hamas.

    But without doubt Netanyahu is feeling the pressure, both within but even more from external allies, especially Washington – which writes the checks for the Israeli war machine.

    As for Netanyahu’s talk of the deal being ‘temporary’ it’s unclear whether the Trump team agrees with this assessment. There hasn’t been any initial reaction from Trump as he prepares for the inauguration Monday.

    But Trump without doubt wants a ceasefire to stick, and is likely to be celebrating its implementation during some of Monday’s inaugural remarks. He has vowed to wind down various conflict hot spots, especially Ukraine, and bring peace.

    He has also warned that there will be “hell to pay” if Hamas doesn’t uphold its end of the truce deal. This suggests Netanyahu could be telling the truth, or at least an interpretation of it. An initial small group of hostages are expected to be returned to Israel by Sunday evening, with hopeful families awaiting and on edge.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 15:45

  • TIME Magazine Suggests Leftists Form 'Crying Groups' On Inauguration Day
    TIME Magazine Suggests Leftists Form ‘Crying Groups’ On Inauguration Day

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    TIME magazine has published an article offering advice to leftists who might not be able to cope on Inauguration Day Monday, suggesting that they hold group crying sessions and go ‘forest bathing.’

    The publication, which begrudgingly named President Trump as its man of the year, produced a guide on what to do to avoid “spiralling” as Trump is sworn in, and its unintentionally hilarious.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    The piece asks “Why so much distress after months of processing the outcome of this divisive election?”

    Maybe it’s because the legacy media told fragile leftists that it would literally be the end of the country and the world if Trump won?

    The article then lists 11 ways to avoid seeing Trump take the oath, consulting “experts to share their favorite science-backed suggestions.”

    OK, this should be funny.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Along with smiling, dancing and journaling, it suggests blue haired people gather in groups to have a communal cry, or go ‘forest bathing.’

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    It’s basically, “walking aimlessly and slowly” through the woods.

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    Who else would pay to watch sad leftists doing this?

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    There is something better they could do…

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    TIME was getting so mercilessly mocked that they changed the headline:

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    It’s all a cult.

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    It’s over for them.

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    *  *  *

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 15:10

  • States Follow Musk's Lead With Bold DOGE-Like Initiatives
    States Follow Musk’s Lead With Bold DOGE-Like Initiatives

    DOGE co-heads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are inspiring governors across a handful of states to launch their own ambitious cost-cutting initiatives ahead of President-elect Donald Trump assuming the White House for a second term.

    Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), during her Tuesday evening address before lawmakers, announced the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for the Hawkeye State aimed at cutting wasteful spending.

    “I like to say that we were doing DOGE before DOGE was a thing,” Reynolds stated. “And to build on our success, I’m launching our own state DOGE to find even greater savings and efficiencies in both state and local government.”

    Emily Schmitt, general counsel of Sukup Manufacturing, will head the program, the governor said.

    Last week, New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) unveiled in her inauguration address plans to create a DOGE commission to dramatically reduce spending.

    “In just a few short years, we’ve turned our state into a national model for bold, get-it-done government. And we’re not stopping,” Ayotte said. “We need to make sure that the government is operating more like the lean process in manufacturing, where waste is eliminated each step in the process for a better result.”

    “And to help us do this, because I know there is nothing harder than politicians and asking them not to spend money. So today, I’m announcing the creation of the Commission on Government Efficiency, or I like to call it the COGE,” the governor added.

    In December, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) revealed plans to launch a program aimed at cutting waste and eliminating outdated regulations. He issued an executive order to create a new government efficiency body and appointed oil and gas executive Steve Orlando as the state’s first Financial Responsibility Czar.

    In the same month, Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) moved to establish a DOGE-like panel called the Governmental, Oversight, Accountability and Transparency Committee (GOAT).

    “I think that we can look at a lot of ideas and try to find ways to make the government do a better job than we currently are,” Vos said in an interview with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

    “I’m super excited that we’re going to now kind of focus on, not just how do we layer more things on, but how do we make the things that we already have work better,” the lawmaker added.

    Last November, Trump appointed Musk and Ramaswamy to co-lead DOGE to slash up to $2 trillion off of the federal budget.

    “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies—essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement,” Trump wrote in a statement at the time. “I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans.”

    While it’s unclear what measures DOGE will take come next week, Musk has expressed his intention to chop 30% of spending from the $6 trillion budget, while Ramaswamy has proposed reducing the federal workforce by half by forcing staff to report for in-office work.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 14:35

  • Illegal Immigrants Have Begun Deporting Themselves; Report
    Illegal Immigrants Have Begun Deporting Themselves; Report

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    Illegals in the US have started self-deporting ahead of Trump taking office according to an immigration attorney.

    Rolando Vasquez told NewsNation that there has been a surge in immigrant voluntarily leaving with Trump’s promised mass deportations on the horizon and with Mexico agreeing to take non-Mexican deportees.

    Another driving factor is that Cuba and Venezuela generally do not accept deportation flights from the United States but may accept them from Mexico.

    “This is causing many migrants to leave on their own, knowing that they’re either going to be deported to their home country or be deported to Mexico,” Vasquez said, adding “The overwhelming majority of them do not want to be in Mexico.”

    NewsNation reporter Jorge Ventura also warned sources have told him that newly deported migrants are targets for extortion or even abduction by Mexican cartels and human smugglers.

    Watch:

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    The news comes amid rumours that the Trump administration will carry out its first large-scale deportation operation in the ‘sanctuary city’ of Chicago next Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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    Trump’s border czar Tom Homan noted Friday “We’re going to concentrate on public safety threats and national security threats right out of the gate. That’s our priority. We’re going to go for the worst first. And I find it hard to believe any elected official doesn’t want public safety threat out of their communities.”

    Homan warned governors and mayors in so called ‘sanctuary’ areas not to impede the process, asserting “Just stay out of the way and we will do it. You can sit back and let us do the job. It’s going to be less efficient, it will be more dangerous without their assistance, but we’re going to do the job regardless.”

    *  *  *

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 14:00

  • Gaza Ceasefire Will Begin 8:30AM Sunday – 33 Israeli Hostages To Be Freed In 1st Phase
    Gaza Ceasefire Will Begin 8:30AM Sunday – 33 Israeli Hostages To Be Freed In 1st Phase

    After Israel’s cabinet on Friday approved the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, it is expected to finally take effect beginning at 8:30am Sunday (local), and initially three Israeli women are expected to be named and freed.

    “As coordinated by the parties to the agreement and the mediators, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 19, local time in Gaza,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari announced on X. “We advise the inhabitants to take precaution, exercise the utmost caution, and wait for directions from official sources.”

    CNN writes of the Israeli government that “The 33-member group of ministers approved the agreement following a recommendation earlier Friday by the smaller security cabinet. Deliberations stretched over seven hours, late into the night on Friday into early Saturday morning local time.”

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    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also confirmed the ceasefire’s start time, and three civilian women who are on a list of 33 hostages to be freed in the 42-day first phase of the deal are set to be handed over, after which up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons. 735 of these prisoners will be released in the first phase. 

    “The State of Israel is committed to achieving all the goals of the war, including the return of all our hostages – both living and dead,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

    Times of Israel notes that the Palestinian freed will include “several serving multiple life sentences for deadly terror attacks and murders.”

    At least 50 humanitarian aid and fuel trucks are awaiting to enter the Strip as soon as the truce takes effect Sunday morning. 

    A surge of homeless Gazan refugees are expected to seek to return to their communities in Northern Gaza, but the Israeli army is warning that the situation will still be dangerous.

    The Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued instructions for Palestinians for when the ceasefire takes effect. Al Jazeera listed out a translation of the instructions as follows:

    • Moving from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip or towards the Netzarim Corridor remains dangerous in light of the military activities in the area. Once movement is permitted, instructions will be given.
    • The Israeli army will remain deployed in specific areas of the Gaza Strip. You must not approach its officers until further notice and doing so could expose you to danger.
    • It is dangerous to approach the Rafah crossing, the Philadelphi Corridor and all areas in southern Gaza where Israeli forces are deployed.
    • In the coastal area along the Strip, fishing, swimming and diving is dangerous and we warn against entering the sea in the coming days.
    • It is forbidden to approach Israeli territory and the buffer zone. Approaching the buffer zone is very dangerous.

    Still, there’s some last minute details still reportedly being worked out, including a demand by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who says Israel will not proceed with the ceasefire until a list of the 33 captives who will be released by Hamas in the first phase is received.

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    “We will not move forward with the agreement until we receive the list of hostages who will be released, as agreed. Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. The sole responsibility lies with Hamas,” Netanyahu said on X.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 13:25

  • Top Priorities For Trump's Presidency
    Top Priorities For Trump’s Presidency

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Readers of The Epoch Times have identified border security, fiscal responsibility, and national defense as the top priorities for President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.

    A poll of 26,740 readers, conducted between Jan. 10–13, points to these issues as key areas of focus, reflecting widespread concern over unchecked immigration, economic instability, and global security threats.

    Meanwhile, write-in responses by readers of The Epoch Times highlighted strong support for government reform, coupled with opposition to progressive policies such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

    Border security and deportations topped the list, with 90 percent of respondents considering it “extremely important.” This aligns with Trump’s campaign pledge to launch what he has described as the largest deportation operation in American history, set to begin immediately after his inauguration on Jan. 20.

    “On my first day back in the Oval Office, I will sign a historic slate of executive orders to close our border to illegal aliens and stop the invasion of our country,” Trump said during a Turning Point USA conference in Phoenix in December 2024.

    Besides vowing to deport millions of illegal immigrants, Trump also plans to end birthright citizenship, in which anyone born in the United States is currently given automatic citizenship, including to parents of illegal immigrants.

    Fiscal Discipline and Economic Stability

    Government spending and debt reduction ranked as the second-highest priority, with 82 percent of respondents highlighting the need for fiscal discipline.

    Concerns over the ballooning national debt—now at $36.22 trillion—is a key concern. The president-elect has said he intends to address these issues through measures such as cutting wasteful spending and reforming federal agencies.

    U.S. President-elect Donald Trump smiles during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 22, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. The annual four day conference geared toward energizing and connecting conservative youth hosts some of the country’s leading conservative politicians and activists. Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

    To spearhead these efforts, Trump has proposed the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy tapped to lead the initiative. DOGE aims to slash $2 trillion from the federal budget.

    “Your money is being wasted,” Musk said at a Trump rally in New York in October 2024, underscoring Trump’s commitment to tackle government inefficiency and cut wasteful spending.

    The federal government spent $6.75 trillion in fiscal year 2024—which was $1.83 trillion more than it collected in revenue—pushing the national debt up to $36.22 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.

    So far in fiscal year 2025, which runs until the end of September, the government has already spent $1.79 trillion.

    The issue of debt sustainability, long a concern of fiscal conservatives, has clearly been on Trump’s radar. In a statement announcing the nomination of Scott Bessent to serve as his Treasury secretary, Trump said his administration would “reinvigorate the private sector, and help curb the unsustainable path of federal debt.”

    The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has warned about the unsustainable trajectory of federal debt, projecting it to climb to a hefty 181 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2053.

    If left unchecked, this rising debt is expected to slow economic growth, increase interest payments to foreign creditors, and limit lawmakers’ flexibility to address future fiscal and economic challenges, according to the CBO.

    Strengthening National Defense and Securing Elections

    Military strength and national security emerged as the third most important priority, with 77 percent of respondents citing it as “extremely important.”

    Concerns over global threats from adversaries such as China and Russia have amplified calls for bolstering America’s defense capabilities.

    Trump’s proposed “peace through strength” agenda emphasizes modernizing the military, increasing operational readiness, and reinforcing U.S. deterrence on the world stage. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to reform the U.S. military, criticizing “woke” policies that he says undermine the nation’s warfighting capacity.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 01/18/2025 – 12:50

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