Today’s News 19th July 2022

• Germany To Re-Impose Mask Mandate In September Despite COVID Wave Already "Losing Momentum"
  Germany To Re-Impose Mask Mandate In September Despite COVID Wave Already “Losing Momentum”

  Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,

  Germany is set to re-impose its mask mandate in September despite the summer COVID wave already “losing momentum,” indicating such rules are being made permanent.

  

  Justice Minister Marco Buschmann announced that Germans would have to mask up this autumn when indoors and that the rules would be in place throughout the winter.

  Ludicrously, such measures are being finalized months in advance when nobody even knows what the COVID situation will be later in the year.

  Buschmann also acknowledged that the summer COVID wave in the country is already “losing momentum,” but Germans will be forced to wear face coverings anyway.

  The measures will be sent to parliament in September, where they are likely to be voted into law.

  “The effectiveness of masks for individuals indoors is undisputed,” said Buschmann.

  “That’s why a form of mask requirement indoors will certainly play a role in our concept.”

  On the contrary, mask rules are being re-imposed across the western world despite no evidence that they are effective in stopping COVID.

  The UK government’s own investigation found that the evidence for the efficacy of face masks stopping the spread of COVID-19 in schools is “not conclusive.”

  We previously reported on the comments of UK government SAGE adviser Dr Colin Axon, who dismissed masks as “comfort blankets” that do virtually nothing, noting that the COVID-19 virus particle is up to 5,000 times smaller than the holes in the mask.

  “The small sizes are not easily understood but an imperfect analogy would be to imagine marbles fired at builders’ scaffolding, some might hit a pole and rebound, but obviously most will fly through,” Axon said.

  A study in Denmark involving 6,000 participants also found that “there was no statistically significant difference between those who wore masks and those who did not when it came to being infected by Covid-19,” the Spectator reported.

  A study conducted in Germany also found that the reading ability of children has plummeted compared to pre-COVID times thanks to lockdown policies that led to the closure of schools.

  Adults wearing masks has led to serious cognitive development disorders in children.

  Speech therapist Jaclyn Theek said that mask wearing during the pandemic has caused a 364% increase in patient referrals of babies and toddlers.

  A speech therapist says her clinic has seen a “364% increase in patient referrals of babies and toddlers”.

  “It’s very important kids do see your face to learn, so they’re watching your mouth.”

  What the hell have we done?!

  End this cruel insanity. pic.twitter.com/DN6J4yQfju

  — Darren Grimes (@darrengrimes_) January 26, 2022

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  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/19/2022 – 02:00

• Soros-Backed Los Angeles DA Stops Notifying Victims Of Attacker's Parole Hearings
  Soros-Backed Los Angeles DA Stops Notifying Victims Of Attacker’s Parole Hearings

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

  Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón is dissolving an office unit responsible for notifying crime victims and their families when their assailant has parole hearings.

  

  Made up of victims’ advocates, the Parole Unit—also known as the Lifer Unit—will be disbanded by the end of the year.

  “While a victim has a right to be notified, they also have a right NOT to be contacted,” Gascón’s office said in a statement. “Lawyers in the parole unit have been using Victim Service Representatives, paralegals, and Bureau of Investigation resources to contact victims and their next of kin who have not requested to be notified of parole hearings.”

  An email sent to prosecutors in the unit stated that Gascón’s office has determined that it is “‘not appropriate’ for the LADA to notify victims of crime and victim next of kin of those that were murdered that parole hearings are scheduled for the inmates that harmed them and their loved ones.”

  The office will continue sending out notifications for cases assigned through October 2022, according to the email.

  The DA’s office said the unit was already being downsized under former DA Jackie Lacey, and victims will still have access to free supportive services through the office’s victim services representatives.

  However, Diana Teran—recently promoted Director of the Parole Division and oversees all resentencing cases—issued an order that contradicted Gascón’s initial policy, stating “this Office will continue to meet its obligation to notify and advise victims under California law.”

  Immediately after he assumed office in December 2020, Gascón sparked controversy when he issued a directive (pdf) to remove prosecutors from attending parole hearings, saying that a prosecutor’s input and “the crime of conviction is of limited value in considering parole suitability years or decades later.” He also encouraged prosecutors to support granting parole after felons fulfilled their mandatory sentence minimum.

  Attorney Kathleen Cady—one of several former prosecutors who are providing pro bono assistance to crime victims in response to Gascón’s policies—said in an emailed statement that the district attorney’s latest move is “indefensible.”

  “This systematic and pervasive violation of victims’ rights appears to be motivated by one goal: to release as many murderers, child molesters and rapists as possible from prison,” Cady said.

  “Keeping victims informed and protecting the people of California and victims’ rights just seems to get in the way.”

  Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Ryan Erlich wrote on Twitter this week that Gascón “has done a bunch of terrible things since Dec. 2020. But turning his back on the families of victims of violent crime is beyond callous. If he had EVER tried a homicide, he would know that we have a moral duty to, at least, support those folks at parole hearings.”

  Elected on a promise to implement progressive criminal justice reform, Gascón could be facing a recall election in November, as almost 150,000 more signatures than the 566,857 required have been submitted to the LA County Clerk’s office for verification last week. The county clerk has until Aug. 17 to count and verify all signatures.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 23:55

• Pentagon Nears Deal With Lockheed For 375 F-35 Stealth Fighter Jets
  Pentagon Nears Deal With Lockheed For 375 F-35 Stealth Fighter Jets

  The Pentagon is reportedly close to securing 375 F-35 stealth fighter jets from Lockheed Martin Corp., Reuters reported on Monday afternoon, citing three sources.

  The sources said the 375 fifth-generation warplanes would be delivered over three years. Reuters wasn’t clear which variant of the F-35 (the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A, the short takeoff and vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35B, and or the carrier-based (CV/CATOBAR) F-35C) was part of the deal. 

  

  Recently, Lockheed said that rising inflation would boost the cost of all three F35 variants. In 2019, the Pentagon inked a deal with the defense contractor F-35As for around $78 million, F-35Bs for $101 million, and F-35Cs for $94 million. 

  

  There’s no timeline on when negotiations between the government and Lockheed will formalize the contract and announce the massive deal worth approximately $30 billion.

  So much for “world peace” as the US continues to modernize its fleet of fighter jets and strategically place them in key US allies, such as Germany, Japan, and South Korea, creating a ‘friends circle’ of fifth-generation fighters around Russia and China. 

  PENTAGON AND LOCKHEED NEAR APPROX $30 BILLION DEAL FOR AROUND 375 F-35 FIGHTER JETS – SOURCES

  Guess we won’t be getting “world peace” any time soon

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 18, 2022

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  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 23:35

• Stefanik Criticizes Jan. 6 Committee For Keeping Pelosi 'Off-Limits' From Probe
  Stefanik Criticizes Jan. 6 Committee For Keeping Pelosi ‘Off-Limits’ From Probe

  Authored by Frank Fang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  House GOP Conference Chairwoman Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) has called out Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the Jan. 6 Committee, questioning why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has remained “off-limits” from the committee’s scrutiny over the events that led up to violence on Jan. 6, 2021.

  “You have only one office that’s off-limits to investigation and that office is Nancy Pelosi’s office,” Stefanik told Fox News’ “Life, Liberty and Levin” on July 16.

  “Bennie Thompson said at the start of this witch hunt that everything is fair game,” she added, “except for the speaker of the House’s office.”

  

  In October 2021, Thompson told CNN that “nobody is off-limits” from the committee’s investigation, including former President Donald Trump.

  “[W]e know that the speaker’s office was made aware of potential threats, potential violence that day. They failed to do their job to ensure the Capitol Police had the support they needed to secure the Capitol,” Stefanik said.

  “And they have not turned over the communication with the sergeant at arms office.”

  

  Pelosi is facing questions about claims that she rejected a preemptive National Guard presence ahead of the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. According to former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, he requested that the National Guard be brought in to ensure the Jan. 6 rally went smoothly. However, Sund claims that Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving, overseen by Pelosi, rejected the request, citing concerns over the “optics” of deploying Guard personnel in the city.

  Sund’s requests were eventually denied or postponed six times, according to his interview with The Washington Post.

  “The American people deserve to have that information,” Stefanik said.

  She added the Jan. 6 committee is “a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

  “It’s not dealing with the crises that are actually impacting and hurting the American people resulting from Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi’s failed policies,” she said.

  The Jan. 6 committee consists of seven Democrats and two Republicans, all of them having voted to impeach Trump. Last year, GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) withdrew all of his picks for the committee after Pelosi rejected two of his selections, Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Pelosi then picked Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) to sit on the Democrat-dominated panel.

  In June, Trump told Punchbowl News that it’s “not even a question” that McCarthy should have put GOP lawmakers on the panel.

  “Well, I think in retrospect, I think it would have been very smart to put [Republicans on the committee] and again, I wasn’t involved in it from a standpoint so I never looked at it too closely. But I think it would have been good if we had representation,” Trump said.

  

  Trump added that it “would’ve been great” if Banks and Jordan were on the panel.

  “But when Pelosi wrongfully didn’t allow them, we should’ve picked other people. We have a lot of good people in the Republican Party,” Trump said.

  Stefanik said at a press conference in June that the Jan. 6 committee “is not about seeking the truth.”

  “It is a smear campaign against President Donald Trump, against Republican members of Congress, and against Trump voters across this country,” Stefanik said.

  Also in June, Banks took to Twitter to warn that the committee was “NEVER about addressing security failures at the Capitol or ensuring something like Jan 6 never happens again.”

  “Has ALWAYS been a witch hunt and a Trojan horse effort to advance radical left wing agenda like abolishing Electoral College,” he added. “Don’t be fooled!”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 23:15

• Jewelers Report $100 Million In Losses After 'Italian Job'-Style Armored Truck Robbery
  Jewelers Report $100 Million In Losses After ‘Italian Job’-Style Armored Truck Robbery

  California thieves have graduated from ‘smash and grabs‘ at luxury retail stores and looting rail cars stacked with consumer goods to now pulling off an ‘Italian Job’-style robbery.

  A Brink’s armored truck was loaded with millions of dollars of jewelry on July 10, following an exhibition hosted by the International Gem and Jewelry Show in San Mateo, south of the Bay Area, the group’s director Brandy Swanson told local CBS-TV affiliate KPIX.

  

  Swanson said the Brink’s truck was headed to another event on July 11 at the Pasadena Convention Center, northeast of downtown Los Angeles, when 25 and 30 bags of jewelry were stolen from the truck. She said, “18 victims reported more than $100 million in losses.” 

  Laura Eimiller, the spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles, said Brink’s armored truck was robbed in the desert city of Lancaster in northern Los Angeles County while en route to its destination at the convention center. 

  Dana Callahan, a spokeswoman for Brink’s, disputed the $100 million value of stolen property and said it’s more like $10 million. 

  Swanson said the discrepancy between the dollar amount stolen is because some traveling vendors underinsure to save money: 

  “That’s where the discrepancy comes in. These are mom-and-pop operators,” she said. “They’re devastated. Some of these people have lost their entire livelihoods.”

  Vendors claim the figure is more like $150 million. One jeweler said their “19 karat yellow gold with over 100 carats of multicolored sapphire” piece was among the stolen jewels. 

  

  Some vendors don’t have a showroom and depend on trade shows to make a living. 

  “My life. That’s how I live. That’s how I feed my kids,” the vendor continued. 

   

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 22:55

• Worksheet At Boston High School Suggests Assassinations As Legitimate Form Of Resisting 'Oppression'
  Worksheet At Boston High School Suggests Assassinations As Legitimate Form Of Resisting ‘Oppression’

  Authored by J.M. Phelps via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  At Charlestown High School in the city of Boston, certain teachers instructing students learning English who recently arrived in the United States may be indoctrinating these children to incite violence as a form of resistance to their alleged oppressors, according to experts.

  

  The “classroom files” of three of the school’s teachers in the Sheltered English Immersion program are currently available for download on the Boston Teachers Union (BTU) website. These teachers teach Humanities to ninth- and tenth-grade students who have recently arrived in the country from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and China, the website states.

  One part of the curriculum profiled on the website involves “notes and assignments around oppression, resistance, and narrative structure.”

  “It includes detailed note-taking sheets and powerpoints on institutional, interpersonal, and internalized oppression,” the BTU website states. “Students are invited to critically examine when certain forms of resistance might be appropriate.”

  A worksheet titled “Forms of Resistance” is included as an example of what’s taught in the course.

  The first page of the worksheet identifies three types of oppression as “Instituional [sic],” “Interpresonal [sic],” and “Internalized,” and then lists examples of each. One example of oppression at the institutional level was identified as, “Trump builds a wall on the border so it is harder for Latinos to enter the US.” At the interpersonal level, an example was, “A husband tells his wife she must stay home to cook and clean.” An example of oppression at the internalized level included, “An Asian girl hates her eyes, she thinks she is ugly so she gets surgery to change them.”

  Students were next asked to “list different forms of resistance for each level of oppression.”

  The following pages of the worksheet with the heading “Forms of Resistance Notes” contained 11 rows identifying 11 types of resistance that could be employed to end certain forms of oppression. The column on the far left contains pictures identifying each type of resistance and students are made to name in the type of resistance in the next column. Next, students are meant to fill in the blanks in the column that provides the “explanation” for each form of resistance. In the last section, students are to choose which of the three levels of oppression—institutional, interpersonal, or internalized—that the type of resistance was “most effective at ending.”

  Alongside peaceful protest methods such as boycotts, sit-ins, and petitions, the worksheet also contains three images are appear to portray violent forms of revolt: riots, shown by masked protestors wearing all black throwing projectiles including what appears to be a flare; fights, depicted by a cartoon image of two people brawling; and political assassinations, shown by an image of President Richard Nixon as a target of crosshairs.

  ‘Indoctrination’

  Parental rights advocates expressed alarm at what was apparently being taught to English as a Second Language students at the Boston high school.

  Rebecca Friedrichs, the founder of advocacy group For Kids & Country and author of “Standing up to Goliath: Battling State and National Teachers’ Unions for the Heart and Soul of our Kids and Country” said that a teacher for 28 years and a parent of two children she was “disgusted” by the worksheet that she described as “damaging and dangerous.”

  “These English language learners [in these classrooms] are likely new immigrants to the country, coming to this country to experience freedom, [but in Boston] they’ve run smack dab into Marxist indoctrinators posing as educators,” she said.

  “Schools are meant for educating children, not indoctrinating them in radical ideology,” she added.

  The worksheet is “full of lies,” Friedrichs said, adding that teachers are using these lies to indoctrinate children.

  Alex Newman, award-winning international journalist and executive director of the advocacy group Public School Exit, agreed, saying, “the material was clearly designed to indoctrinate children into seeing themselves as victims of oppression.”

  Newman was most alarmed by the worksheet’s examples of violent resistance that he said implied a need to “overthrow” anyone who is allegedly responsible for the oppression. “They seem to be promoting revolt and resistance to legitimate forms of authority,” he said. Newman is also a contributor to The Epoch Times.

  The goal of such teachings, Newman said, is to prime children to accept illegitimate forms of authority, and encourage them to engage in violence to achieve those ends.

  “Legitimate authorities must be brought down if they want to impose new authorities,” Newman said. And this “indoctrination program,” he said, is “an extension of that same lawless agenda.”

  Justifying Violence

  The worksheet’s attempt to justify violence could be seen through the picture of three individuals dressed in black throwing various objects, including a flare. Both experts noted that the image alludes to groups like Antifa, a far-left anarchist movement that seeks the overthrow of capitalism.

  The explanation listed alongside the picture on the worksheet says, “Protesting or marching with [blank].” Friedrichs took issue with the characterization, saying “they’re clearly engaged in violence, throwing bottles and more.”

  In a second example depicting crosshairs on the chest of President Nixon, Friedrichs said that this type of image is “extremely dangerous in the mind of a child.”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 22:35

• Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital Suspends Redemptions In One Of Its Crypto Funds
  Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital Suspends Redemptions In One Of Its Crypto Funds

  Voyager, 3 Arrows Capital, Celsius… is Skybridge Next?

  Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital suspended redemptions in one of its funds after sharp declines in stocks and cryptocurrencies, Bloomberg reported.

  The Legion Strategies fund suspended redemptions because private companies, which are harder to sell, now make up about 20% of the portfolio, one of the people said. The fund is one of Skybridge’s smaller offerings, which farms out most of its roughly $230 million of assets to hedge fund managers. According to Bloomberg FTX, the crypto exchange co-founded by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, is among the fund’s private investments.  

  The Legion Strategies fund gained exposure to digital assets through other funds managed by Skybridge, including vehicles focused on Bitcoin, Ethereum and Algorand, according to a regulatory filing. As of Feb. 28, almost a quarter of Legion’s net assets were invested in such fund.

  Scaramucci – who returned to money management after spending all of 11 days in the White House as the Trump administration’s communications director when he was angling for a nod from Trump to sell his firm to China’s now defunct HNA (the sale ultimately fell through) – made a big push into crypto, a move that helped Skybridge’s performance last year and has crushed it this year when an index of the 100 largest digital assets has tumbled 56% in 2022.  

  

  Skybridge runs a larger fund-of-funds, the Multi-Adviser Hedge Fund Portfolios, which managed about $2 billion as of March 31, according to a separate filing. That fund fell about 5.5% for the year through March 31.

  Redemptions for that fund are made through a tender offer by Skybridge. The firm told clients it will buy back 10% of the fund’s shares at the end of September, the next time investors are allowed to pull money, one of the people said.

  It’s not the first time the Mooch has faced a run on his fund: in April 2020, Reuters reported that investors in SkyBridge Capital asked for hundreds of millions of dollars back after the fund suffered a 23% loss in March when investments made by its debt-focused hedge fund managers soured. Scaramucci wrote in a letter to clients that he was “embarrassed” by the loss.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 22:15

• Shrinking Population Is Another Problem For China's Housing Market
  Shrinking Population Is Another Problem For China’s Housing Market

  By Ye Xie, Bloomberg Markets Live commentator and reporter

  The wave of mortgage-payment boycotts has spurred China’s regulators into action. Beijing may be able to prevent the issue from morphing into a bigger crisis. In the bigger picture, however, the housing downturn will be a multi-decade process amid a shrinking population.

  After a growing number of homebuyers refused to pay mortgages on stalled home projects, regulators have moved to restore market confidence. Mitigating measures being considered include allowing homeowners to temporarily halt mortgage payments and urging local governments and banks to provide more funding to developers, Bloomberg reported.

  The authorities may quell this latest disruption in the beleaguered property market since the number of affected mortgages remains small, for now. But it’s clear that this housing downturn will remain a drag on the economy for years to come. The high-turnover, pre-sale model relied upon by developers has been severely impaired, while households are already deep in debt.

  Moreover, demographic headwinds have been gathering momentum since the pandemic. The United Nations’ new population forecast released earlier this month — the first in three years — suggests that China is poised to cede the status as the world’s most-populous nation to India next year. The UN projected that China’s population will peak this year, instead of in 2031 as previously estimated. The population is forecast to shrink by 90 million – more than the current population of Germany today — by 2050.

  

  Even this forecast may be too optimistic, according to Julian Evans-Pritchard, a China economist at Capital Economics. The UN predicts China’s fertility rate bottomed out in 2021 and is set to rise slowly for the next 30 years. Evans-Pritchard said that’s “implausible” and fertility is more likely to decline, as it did in other Asian countries in recent years. He pointed out that the UN has failed to predict the drop in China’s fertility rate over the past few years.

  A shrinking population brings all sorts of problems, including slower economic growth and a larger pension shortage. It’s also a reminder that the property market has turned from a tailwind to headwind for the Chinese economy for years to come. The demographic changes mean that China’s housing demand is likely to fall from 8 million units per year in the 2010s to only 1.5 million by 2050,  Goldman Sachs estimated last year.

  

  It’s a long winter ahead for China’s property market.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 21:55

• Visualized: Lithium Ion Battery Vs. Hydrogen Fuel Cell
  Visualized: Lithium Ion Battery Vs. Hydrogen Fuel Cell

  Since the introduction of the Nissan Leaf (2010) and Tesla Model S (2012), battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) have become the primary focus of the automotive industry.

  This structural shift is moving at an incredible rate – in China, 3 million BEVs were sold in 2021, up from 1 million the previous year. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the number of models available for sale is expected to double by 2024.

  In order to meet global climate targets, however, the International Energy Agency claims that the auto industry will require 30 times more minerals per year. Many fear that this could put a strain on supply.

  “The data shows a looming mismatch between the world’s strengthened climate ambitions and the availability of critical minerals.”

  – FATIH BIROL, IEA

  Thankfully, BEVs are not the only solution for decarbonizing transportation. In this infographic, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu and Miranda Smith explain how the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) works.

  

  How Does Hydrogen Fuel Cell Work?

  FCEVs are a type of electric vehicle that produces no emissions (aside from the environmental cost of production). The main difference is that BEVs contain a large battery to store electricity, while FCEVs create their own electricity by using a hydrogen fuel cell.

  

  Let’s go over the functions of the major FCEV components.

  Battery

  First is the lithium-ion battery, which stores electricity to power the electric motor. In an FCEV, the battery is smaller because it’s not the primary power source. For general context, the Model S Plaid contains 7,920 lithium-ion cells, while the Toyota Mirai FCEV contains 330.

  Hydrogen Fuel Tank

  FCEVs have a fuel tank that stores hydrogen in its gas form. Liquid hydrogen can’t be used because it requires cryogenic temperatures (−150°C or −238°F). Hydrogen gas, along with oxygen, are the two inputs for the hydrogen fuel cell.

  Fuel Cell Stack and Motor

  The fuel cell uses hydrogen gas to generate electricity. To explain the process in layman’s terms, hydrogen gas passes through the cell and is split into protons (H+) and electrons (e-).

  Protons pass through the electrolyte, which is a liquid or gel material. Electrons are unable to pass through the electrolyte, so they take an external path instead. This creates an electrical current to power the motor.

  Exhaust

  At the end of the fuel cell’s process, the electrons and protons meet together and combine with oxygen. This causes a chemical reaction that produces water (H2O), which is then emitted out of the exhaust pipe.

  Which Technology is Winning?

  As you can see from the table below, most automakers have shifted their focus towards BEVs. Notably missing from the BEV group is Toyota, the world’s largest automaker.

  

  Hydrogen fuel cells have drawn criticism from notable figures in the industry, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess.

  Green hydrogen is needed for steel, chemical, aero,… and should not end up in cars. Far too expensive, inefficient, slow and difficult to rollout and transport.

  – HERBERT DIESS, CEO, VOLKSWAGEN GROUP

  Toyota and Hyundai are on the opposing side, as both companies continue to invest in fuel cell development. The difference between them, however, is that Hyundai (and sister brand Kia) has still released several BEVs.

  This is a surprising blunder for Toyota, which pioneered hybrid vehicles like the Prius. It’s reasonable to think that after this success, BEVs would be a natural next step. As Wired reports, Toyota placed all of its chips on hydrogen development, ignoring the fact that most of the industry was moving a different way. Realizing its mistake, and needing to buy time, the company has resorted to lobbying against the adoption of EVs.

  Confronted with a losing hand, Toyota is doing what most large corporations do when they find themselves playing the wrong game—it’s fighting to change the game.

  – WIRED

  Toyota is expected to release its first BEV, the bZ4X crossover, for the 2023 model year—over a decade since Tesla launched the Model S.

  Challenges to Fuel Cell Adoption

  Several challenges are standing in the way of widespread FCEV adoption.

  One is performance, though the difference is minor. In terms of maximum range, the best FCEV (Toyota Mirai) was EPA-rated for 402 miles, while the best BEV (Lucid Air) received 505 miles.

  Two greater issues are 1) hydrogen’s efficiency problem, and 2) a very limited number of refueling stations. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are just 48 hydrogen stations across the entire country. 47 are located in California, and 1 is located in Hawaii.

  On the contrary, BEVs have 49,210 charging stations nationwide, and can also be charged at home. This number is sure to grow, as the Biden administration has allocated $5 billion for states to expand their charging networks.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 21:35

• Democrats' Second Amendment 'Syndrome' Plan: Plotting The Next Big Fight Over Gun Rights
  Democrats’ Second Amendment ‘Syndrome’ Plan: Plotting The Next Big Fight Over Gun Rights

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  Below is my column in the Hill on the next round of litigation over the Second Amendment. New York and other states quickly moved to exploit the concurrence of Justice Brett Kavanaugh (who was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts) that state officials believe contains a loophole for greater gun limitations based not on the weapons but the places where they can be taken.

  

  Here is the column:

  In the movie “The Incredibles,” the villainous character “Syndrome” reveals a plan to make everyone a superhero. Syndrome’s motive is hardly altruistic: He hated superheroes and “with everyone super, no one will be.” Democratic leaders seem to be planning their own Syndrome plan for the Second Amendment — to make everywhere a special or “sensitive place” so that few places outside the home are protected by the constitutional right.

  The recent decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen was one of the most significant victories for the Second Amendment in the history of the Supreme Court. It was the latest defeat for the State of New York, which — having supplied a series of dubious state laws that have served to expand individual protections under the Constitution — has been the greatest gift to gun owners since the invention of the revolver.

  Right on cue, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) promised Syndrome-style legislation within an hour of the release of the Bruen decision. To make matters worse, Hochul went on television to say in a mocking tone that they would just come up with a long list of sensitive places.

  Hochul and others are relying on a concurrence in Bruen by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts. Kavanaugh reaffirmed the language in the 2008 decision in Heller v. District of Columbia that the Second Amendment was “neither a regulatory straightjacket nor a regulatory blank check.” States and the federal government could still adopt some restrictions on firearms. He specifically noted that the list of “sensitive places” referenced in the earlier case was not “exhaustive.”

  Kavanaugh’s limiting language was immediately taken as a license to bar guns by redefining places where they might be carried.

  New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act passed 43-20 and has elements that are ripe for constitutional challenge. However, it was the list that was so striking; indeed, it is hard to come up with a place that would not be declared special or sensitive. The list would seem to cover most areas outside of the home, including government buildings; any location providing health, behavioral health or chemical dependence care or services; any place of worship or religious observation; libraries; public playgrounds; public parks; zoos; the location of any state-funded or -licensed programs; educational institutions both in elementary and higher education; any vehicle used for public transportation; all public transit including airports and bus terminals; bars and restaurants; entertainment, gaming and sporting events and venues; polling places; any public sidewalk or public area restricted for a special event, and protests or rallies. That includes simply passing through Times Square.

  Montgomery County, Maryland, officials have proposed to bar the legal right to carry firearms “in or within 100 yards of a place of public assembly.”

  Other states like California are moving to bar permitted gun owners from carrying guns into any school grounds, college and university campuses, government and judicial buildings, medical facilities, public transit, public parks, playgrounds, public demonstrations and any place where alcohol is sold.

  These states believe they have an ally in Roberts. The chief justice has been criticized in the past for embracing rights while creating avenues for their circumvention. The most obvious example is his opinion in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, finding that the individual mandate of ObamaCare violated federalism but then saying that it did not matter if it is simply called a tax (which no party had done).

  These states are now hoping Roberts and Kavanaugh will do the same thing with gun rights in staunchly defending the individual right to carry a gun unless states simply define a wide array of places as “gun-free.” It is not the gun but the place that’s driving the exclusion.

  The problem is that Hochul and others may have been too open in gaming the opinion.

  Roberts is the ultimate incrementalist and institutionalist. As shown in his sole concurrence in the abortion decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, he is not afraid to stand alone in seeking a moderate compromise. However, he is not someone who relishes being treated as a chump.

  Simply listing most of Manhattan as a “sensitive place” will again push the constitutional envelope. It will force the court to again limit the authority of the states to shoulder the burden of balancing the individual right to gun ownership against the need to protect these places from the exercise of that right.

  In answering that question, the court is likely to ask how statistically lawful gun permit owners have caused or materially increased the public safety risk in these areas. Studies have generally not shown a clear relationship between restrictive gun permit laws and a significant decrease in gun violence.

  There is a clear majority on the court to give states and cities the power to impose reasonable background checks and gun limits for sensitive places. However, these states may again overplay their hand with excessive listings like the one in New York. Indeed, in Gov. Hochul’s case, she is playing poker with the cards facing outward.

  When you say that you are going play these justices, you would be wise to heed Syndrome’s other advice: “You can’t count on anyone, especially your heroes.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 21:15

• Hulu Driving More Subscribers For Disney Than Disney+
  Hulu Driving More Subscribers For Disney Than Disney+

  Disney-owned Hulu has emerged as the entertainment giant’s fastest-growing streaming service – with new subscriptions outpacing those of Disney’s flagship platform, Disney+, in 18 of the last 24 months, according to the Wall Street Journal.

  

  What’s more, total new subscriptions to Hulu have eclipsed Disney+ in each of the last six quarters, according to subscriber analytics firm Atenna.

  Hulu’s subscriber gains come as Disney leadership is under pressure from investors to keep up the momentum in Disney+ subscriber growth. Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek has set a target of signing up between 230 million and 260 million Disney+ subscribers and achieving profitability for the streaming business by September 2024, a goal described as unrealistic by some shareholders. -WSJ

  That said, streaming services have lost $887 million in the most recent quarter – and total more than $6 billion since the launch of Disney+, causing some analysts to describe streaming as a drag on Disney’s share price – which has fallen almost 40% YTD amid a larger pullback in the sector.

  Disney+ stands at 137.7 million subscribers as of the most recent quarter, while Hulu streaming-only service has 41.4 milion subscribers. Hulu Live, which goes for $70 per month, has 4.1 million subscribers.

  On Friday, Disney announced that they were raising the price of ESPN+ from $6.99 to $9.99, or from $69.99 annually to $99.99, which a Disney spokesperson says reflects the higher value and scope of the service. The company says it expects ESPN to make the Disney Bundle more attractive.

  Subscribers to the stand-alone Hulu service are less loyal than Disney+ subscribers, the data show, and more likely to cancel their subscriptions than those who subscribe to Disney’s streaming bundle, which includes both services and the sports-focused ESPN+. In June, the latest month for which data was available, 4.7% of Hulu subscribers canceled their subscriptions, compared with just 2.5% of bundle subscribers and 3.83% of Disney+ subscribers, Antenna found. -WSJ

  “They did a great job of teeing up those hard-core Disney fans” according to Antenna CEO Jonathan Carson. “But there’s a broader and longer-term upside for Hulu, because it has general market appeal, while Disney+ has a much more specialized fan base.”

  Disney acquired a controlling interest in Hulu in 2019 as part of its $72 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 20:55

• Hong Kong Government To Track Citizens With Next-Level CCP-Type COVID Smartphone App
  Hong Kong Government To Track Citizens With Next-Level CCP-Type COVID Smartphone App

  Authord by Niee Law and Ying Cheung via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Since the new chief executive, John Lee Ka-chiu took office; he has been ready to do whatever it takes to please the CCP.

  

  The Hong Kong government (HKgov) has been proactively seeking ways to reopen cross-borders with China.

  Hkgov plans to enforce the CCP’s Health Code tracking into Hongkongers’ pandemic life. Commentators and netizens are nervous about losing personal freedom and privacy under the regime.

  HKgov has plans to add the COVID-19 Color Code system to the current LeaveHomeSafe App. Doing so will further restrict citizens’ movements. This app is a HKgov-made mobile vaccine passport for tracing and tracking COVID-19 patients and their public visits.

  Lo Chung-mau, Secretary for Health Authority (HA), said the Information, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB) and HA had concluded an evaluation of LeaveHomeSafe just half a month after the new government took office on July 1.

  Lo claimed that Hong Kong must mirror the CCP’s Dynamic-Zero Policy to ease pandemic cases, as it is a good policy. “Any policy which eliminates high-risk patients’ public visits is a good policy we should learn from.” His comments confirmed citizens’ concern about real-identity-based registration on the app.

  Limitation of Movement or Under Surveillance

  Hong Kong has been quietly running a similar system since 2021. Nevertheless, the Hong Kong code had only been applied to those who cross the borders of Guangdong Province, China, or Macau under quarantine exemptions. The color code allowed both cities to watch their Covid-19 cases.

  Hong Kong Code is essentially based on the PCR Test Pass, with PCR short for polymerase chain reaction-based nucleic acid test for COVID-19.

  Unlike the current Hong Kong Code, which only traces a small group of exempted visitors, HKgov is now discussing tracking everyone in Hong Kong.

  Three color indicators will be added to the existing vaccine pass by bracketing media reports, and standards of both PCR and Hong Kong vaccine passes.

  Code Red represents COVID-19 confirmed patients, close-contact persons, any coronavirus-positive patients within 14 days upon discharge, persons who are undergoing compulsory COVID-19 test, and anyone who had reported symptoms of the virus within the past 14 days.

  Code Yellow symbolizes anyone who has visited or is currently living in the high-risk areas, those who are waiting to be tested. Public places such as restaurants and gyms will not grant entry to anyone with Code Yellow.

  As for Code Green, anyone is tested negative—but the green code is only valid for one day.

  Lo claimed that the new rule “has nothing to do with wanting to reopen cross borders with China.”

  Hongkongers and critics are worried about Hong Kong becoming another CCP surveillance city.

  Public Opinions Are Loud and Clear

  As soon as the news broke, Hongkongers’ criticism and queries buzzed.

  Some said that the new code could ban them from dining in restaurants even if they had been vaccinated. Other citizens criticized HKgov for being ignorant. One of the netizens expressed, “Does HKgov realize how many people still don’t own or know how to work a smartphone? Asking them to learn how to use your app sends them to their graves.”

  The general public is also wondering: Why would Hong Kong copy a failed policy of Dynamic-Zero from the CCP?

  One of the netizens raised a worrying question. “Will the government turn our Health Code to Code Red one day as they did in Henan Province? Will our banks ban us from withdrawing our money?”

  A Blow to Personal Privacy

  Sam Ng Chi-sum, the former RTHK host of Headliners, commented during his online program that HKgov had never been able to eliminate privacy concerns of LeaveHomeSafe.

  Ng continued, “Many Hongkongers are still hesitant to install LeaveHomeSafe. If HKgov pushes for the real-identity registration policy, Hongkongers will have zero privacy.”

  Ng emphasized the Beijing regime has been using the Health Code to control and track the people of China around the clock. Ng said, “The CCP has been using Code Red against human rights and political activists. Who can explain that?”

  In November 2021, Chinese human rights lawyer Xie Yang was about to fly to Shanghai to visit the mother of the citizen journalist Zhang Zhan. When he arrived at the airport, Xie was unexpectedly banned from flying as his PCR Test Pass turned red. Once he got home, the code became green again.

  The public’s concerns are not groundless.

  Ng mentioned, “If the regime is turning Hong Kong into a surveillance city, LegCo will not stop that from happening.”

  Health Tools Become Surveillance Tools.

  The Beijing government launched the Health Code nationwide in early 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only those with Code Green can get a pass. Compulsory PCR tests or self-quarantine are required for everyone else, and they must remain home until Code Green is signaled.

  Many other cases have proven that the authorities use the Health Code to restrict personal freedom.

  In Henan Province, certain banks in rural areas have frozen customers’ assets since April 2022. Villagers could not withdraw their savings.

  In June 2022, when hundreds of frustrated villagers planned to partake in a protest in Zhengzhou, everyone‘s original health code turned from green to red. No one could attend the rally as everyone had to stay home.

  Other bank account holders also said they encountered the same issue despite their negative PCR Test.

  Mainland media outlet Caixin reported that these customers’ Health Code going red is not pandemic-related.

  Those customers were the victims of frozen savings accounts by Henan banks.

  The Supervisory Committee of Zhengzhou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection later announced that the involved officials had been penalized, demoted, or dismissed from their positions in the CCP.

  In the Henan village bank incident, 1317 villages were red-coded and blocked from withdrawing their savings by the banks.

  On June 24, 2022, the Disease Control Bureau of the National Health Commission of China announced that any change in Health Code’s colors except for COVID-19 will be forbidden.

  Face Recognition Revealed by Hong Kong Media

  So when people under the Beijing regime had no control over their money or personal freedom, the public’s concerns about being watched were not groundless.

  In May 2022, FactWire, a Hong Kong investigative news agency, reported that the Android version of LeaveHomeSafe had a built-in face recognition module.

  The Office of the Government Chief Information Center admitted that the app development contractor had included a pre-existing facial recognition module during the development stage of LeaveHomeSafe. The office also claimed that the facial recognition function was “never activated.”

  Freedom Has limits

  Secretary for Health Authority Lo Chung-mau justified this in response to movement restrictions. “Freedom would be limited for the uninfected if sick people were allowed the freedom to roam.” Lo also claimed, “Freedom has limits. At risk, people should not be allowed to go out and endanger others.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 20:35

• Are US Presidents Getting Older?
  Are US Presidents Getting Older?

  Joe Biden is turning 80 this year. When the 46th U.S. president was inaugurated in January of 2021, he was the oldest president in U.S. history by some margin. His predecessor, Donald Trump, had also been the oldest president to take office at his inauguration six years ago (he was 70 at the time).

  As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz details below, if Biden was nominated for a second term, he would be 82 when assuming it in 2025. His old opponent Trump, who is expected to run again in 2024, would be 78.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Taking a look at all presidents’ ages at the time of their inauguration since 1789, no clear trend is visible. Before Trump and Biden, presidents’ ages were actually well below average. Barack Obama took office at 47 years and 169 days, according to Potus.com, making him the fifth youngest president at the time of inauguration.

  Bill Clinton, who was 46 when he took over, was the third youngest – only John F. Kennedy (43) and Teddy Roosevelt (42) were younger.

  Some of the oldest presidents hail from past centuries. William Henry Harrison was 68 at his inauguration in 1841 (he died a month later of typhoid and pneumonia), making him the fourth-oldest president ever. James Buchanan, who took office in 1857, was the fifth-oldest president at 65.

  The reason we bring this up is that age is the most cited reason why a majority of Democrats do not want President Biden to primary for 2024,  with a bad job performance following close behind.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  According to The Advocate, it has been almost 170 years since an incumbent president has lost his party’s nomination, the last having been Democrat Franklin Pierce in 1856 over his support of slavery.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 20:15

• Congress Grants Pentagon $58 Billion More Than Requested: DOD Report
  Congress Grants Pentagon $58 Billion More Than Requested: DOD Report

  Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  US lawmakers granted the Department of Defense (DOD) more money than the Pentagon requested for in the fiscal 2022 defense budget, a recent Pentagon report shows.

  

  In total, Congress sanctioned $58.55 billion in additional funds, according to the report. This includes $25.70 billion for operations and maintenance, $17.67 billion for procurement, $9.89 billion for research, development, test, and evaluation, $4.32 billion for military construction, and $947 million for military personnel.

  The DOD initially had a base budget appropriation of $742.3 billion for fiscal 2022. As such, the extra $58.55 billion represents an almost 8 percent increase from the base budget. The Pentagon did not put in a request for any of the programs funded with the extra $58.55 billion.

  These programs are not even in the so-called unfunded priorities lists—made up of items not included in the budget but considered critical—that departments and officers send to Congress annually.

  For instance, roughly $4 billion was granted for half a dozen ships that were not on the unfunded priorities list. Similarly, the Navy received $900 million for a dozen Super Hornet jets, the Air National Guard got $1.8 billion to purchase 16 C-130J transport planes, and $460 million was granted for developing advanced jet engines. Over $2 billion in extra funds was appropriated for classified programs.

  The $58.55 billion calculation only takes into account individual additions totaling $20 million or more. Since there are usually many spending hikes in the single-digit millions, the total actual excess funding will likely be higher.

  Funding Debate

  In an email to Roll Call, Steve Ellis, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a government spending watchdog group, called for more efficient military budgets.

  “Certainly Congress has the power of the purse, but considering the Pentagon got more than $750 billion that year, lawmakers could work within that generous budget to reflect their priorities … Instead, they dumped more than $50 billion across accounts for what appear to be in some cases very parochial interests.”

  Since fiscal 2017, the Pentagon’s base budget has risen by 48 percent. The recently passed House version of the 2023 defense budget ups the funding received by the Pentagon, authorizing $839 billion in military spending—$37 billion more than was requested by the administration.

  While some question rising military expenditures, others argue that spending needs to be much higher. In May, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) pointed out that there was a mismatch between the requested defense budget and the real-world situation.

  Speaking at a talk sponsored by the Hudson Institute, Rogers pointed out that the proposed 2023 budget only offers 1 percent of real growth after inflation. A realistic budget needs to include at least 5 percent over real inflation, he argued.

  “That’s the thing that we have to keep reminding them, stop trying to make the threats fit the budget number that the president gave you,” Rogers said. “You worry about the threats and tell us how much it’s going to cost and let us worry about it.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 19:55

• US Retailers Boost Security Personnel To Combat Soaring Thefts And Violent Crime
  US Retailers Boost Security Personnel To Combat Soaring Thefts And Violent Crime

  Eateries and supermarkets have beefed up security presence in response to mounting crime, with some operators spending money on private security, implementing new safety protocols, reducing hours of operation, and or even closing stores altogether, WSJ reports.

  

  Last week, 16 Starbucks locations were permanently shuttered in major cities over incidents related to drug use and ‘other disruptions’ in its cafes. Just weeks before, the coffee chain walked back its “all inclusive” bathroom policy. 

  “We are facing things that the stores weren’t built for,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schutz said. “We are listening to our people and closing stores,” he said, adding the government must be more proactive in crime fighting and treating mental illness as crime spirals out of control in liberal metro areas. 

  Casual dining chain Noodles & Co. encountered similar situations of rampant drug use in bathrooms. Meanwhile, supermarket Kroger Co. and drugstore Wallgreens have been pressured by increasing organized thefts. 

  A new study showed that 41% of Americans are more fearful to grab a bite to eat or shop in public areas because of rising violent crime. A national online survey by food-service research firm Lisa W. Miller & Associates LLC said that figure is up from 39% in March. The firm surveyed 1,005 adults earlier this month. 

  New Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics shows aggravated assaults that took place in supermarkets increased by a whopping 73% between 2018 to 2020 and by 60% in restaurants during that period. 

  In Southern California earlier this month, a handful of 7-Eleven stores were closed after a string of robberies at the convenience store left two people dead and three others injured. 

  Mod Super Fast Pizza Holdings LLC’s store managers have reported increasing violent crime, such as theft and robberies, over the past six months at some of its 520-stores across the US. 

  “There seems to be a layer of stress going into the restaurants, more than it used to,” Becky Mulligan, senior vice president of operations, said. 

  This month’s survey by grocery trade group FMI said 72% of its 18 food retailers representing over 12,000 stores said they were initiating plans to deal with violence prevention, while 88% of respondents said they saw a jump in robberies. 

  Walking into a Wegmans supermarket, with most stores based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, customers are greeted with local police or private security (sometimes off-duty cops) patrolling the aisles for those attempting to steal food. 

  Thefts appear to be a significant issue plaguing US retailers. Relaxed shoplifting rules in California have led to a number of Walgreens stores closing across San Francisco. 

  And let’s not forget the countless reports of ‘smash and grabs’ across all sorts of retailers from California to New York. One of the most notable flash mob raids was at a Nordstrom department store in an upscale community on the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Area, called Walnut Creek, where 50-80 people ransacked the store late last year. 

  Best Buy recently blamed sliding margins on an increased number of thefts nationwide. 

  “We are seeing more and more particularly organized retail crime,” Chief Executive Officer Corie Barry said on a conference call with analysts. “You can see that pressure in our financials, and more importantly, frankly, you can see that pressure with our associates. It’s traumatizing.”

  Increased shoplifting recently forced Target to reduce operating hours at several California locations. 

  Theft and violence across retailer stores come as the worst inflation has unequally crushed the working poor the hardest and wiped out their savings. In periods of economic turmoil, crime tends to increase.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 19:35

• June Southwest Border Apprehensions: Record High
  June Southwest Border Apprehensions: Record High

  By Steven Kopits of Princeton Policy Advisors

  US Customs and Border Protection reported 191,898 apprehensions at the US southwest border for June. This is comfortably a record for the month, almost twice the pre-Biden record of 115,000 set in June 2000 under the Clinton administration, and even 13,000 above last year’s 177,000, a record for June at the time. At the same time, apprehensions were right on our forecast, and indeed, apprehensions have been following our forecast closely for the first half of the year, suggesting that border conditions are largely unchanged since the Biden administration took office.

  

  Illegal immigration from traditional sources, notably Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, has been below that of last year since March. We presume that such immigrants are well informed about labor market conditions in the US, as they have a wide variety of sources within the US to direct them to job openings. Migrants may be perceiving softness in demand for their labor.

  At the same time, a key source of border crossing growth has come from the ‘Other’ category, that is, countries historically not a major source of illegal immigration. In March-June 2019, for example, an average of 13,000 migrants from ‘Other’ countries were arrested crossing the border monthly. In the same period this year, the average was 100,000 per month. One can imagine all sorts of legacy problems arising from the growth of ‘Other’ apprehensions. They will create a pipeline of illegal immigration that will long outlast the Biden administration.

  Our fiscal year 2022 forecast for southwest border apprehensions remains unchanged at 2.1 million, by far an annual record and nearly 500,000 higher than the previous record set by the Biden administration last year.

  

  Inadmissibles, those presenting themselves at official crossing points without appropriate documentation, have fallen sharply, with most of the decline coming from the ‘Other’ category. These were, in all likelihood, disproportionately Ukrainians fleeing the war, with their numbers declining as the situation has stabilized there.

  

  Overall, the situation at the border is largely unchanged. The Open Borders policy remains in place.

  I would note that, were we to use a market-based visa system, the US could have booked $30 bn in visa revenues this year from those otherwise entering illegally during the Biden administration. The border would effectively be closed to illegal immigration; all those working in the country would be legal and willing to return home; and these 53 migrants would still be alive.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 19:15

• California's Farmland Rapidly Turns To Dust Amid Water Crisis
  California’s Farmland Rapidly Turns To Dust Amid Water Crisis

  As much of the Western US suffers from a historic drought, all eyes have shifted to Californian farmers as hundreds of thousands of acres become fallow in a state responsible for a tremendous amount of US food production. 

  Unprecedented cuts to water supplies are jeopardizing the future of growing for many farmers. Drought conditions are worsening, making it harder for farmers to irrigate crops.

  

  As fields dry up and farm production drops, Josue Medellin-Azuara, an associate professor at the University of California Merced, told Bloomberg that 800,000 acres of farmland could be unworked this year, more than double the acreage last year. 

  Medellin-Azuara said the figure is preliminary as satellite imaging of California cropland continues to be examined. He anticipates official estimates by the end of this month or early August. 

  Just like that, multi-year, multi-decade investments in farm production have been wiped out over new water restrictions. Much of the fallow land is in California’s Central Valley, which produces more than half of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the US. 

  Farmers that remain in operation are seeing sharp reductions in surface water rights due to low snowmelt and dwindling storage from last year. 

  “What’s really concerning is for the first time we are fallowing at least 250,000 acres in the Sacramento Valley … those are the most senior water rights holders,” Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said in an interview. 

  Medellin-Azuara said the new water restrictions are a complicated issue:

  Last year, some California farmers were stunned to find their so-called senior water rights restricted. Water laws in the state are governed by a complex system that dates back to the Gold Rush era. Senior rights holders — which include companies, growers and cities with claims that were acquired before 1914, and landowners whose property borders a river — are the last to see their supplies curtailed. -Bloomberg

  California’s most productive agricultural region is turning into dust, which should concern every American.

  As a reminder, California produces a quarter of the nation’s food — shrinking crop output is more alarming news that reveals food inflation is becoming structural and won’t abate anytime soon. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 18:55

• San Francisco's New DA Goes On Firing Spree After Voters Recall Soros-Backed Predecessor
  San Francisco’s New DA Goes On Firing Spree After Voters Recall Soros-Backed Predecessor

  Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

  The new district attorney in San Francisco fired at least 15 employees from the prosecutor’s office after her left-wing predecessor Chesa Boudin was recalled last month.

  “Today, I made difficult, but important changes to my management team and staff that will help advance my vision to restore a sense of safety in San Francisco by holding serious and repeat offenders accountable and implementing smart criminal justice reforms,” DA Brooke Jenkins said in a statement about the firings.

  

  Jenkins added in a statement that she “promised the public that I would restore accountability and consequences to the criminal justice system while advancing smart reforms responsibly”

  “My new management team … with decades of prosecutorial experience at the highest levels, will help our office deliver on that promise. I have full faith and confidence that these women will promote and protect public safety while delivering justice in all of its various forms,” she said.

  Among those who were fired include former San Francisco Managing Attorney Arcelia Hurtado, who headed the city’s Innocence Commission.

  Hurtado expressed her disappointment on Twitter, invoking her ethnicity and sexual orientation.

  “After over 2 years of tireless and devoted service to the City and Cty of SF, I was unceremoniously fired without cause via phone by the Mayor’s appointed DA,” she wrote.

  “I am the highest-ranking Latina/LGBTQ member of the management team at that office. I will continue the fight 4justice.”

  

  Other staffers to lose their jobs at the district attorney’s office included Rachel Marshall and Simin Shamji, reported KRON-4.

  Boudin was recalled on June 7 amid criticism of a citywide surge in crime, homelessness, and drug usage in public. Jenkins quit Boudin’s office in 2021 after joining in 2014.

  …

  Controversial billionaire investor George Soros’ network of left-wing organizations provided Boudin with $600,000 for his 2019 election, according to the Washington Times. However, after he was recalled, a spokesperson for Soros said that he never contributed to Boudin.

  …

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 18:35

• Solar Panels Subsidized By California Are Winding Up In Landfills, Contaminating Groundwater With Toxic Metals
  Solar Panels Subsidized By California Are Winding Up In Landfills, Contaminating Groundwater With Toxic Metals

  Oh, the irony…California’s massive push for adaptation of solar over the last several decades in order to ascertain more “clean” energy is now becoming a problem for landfills.

  After 1.3 million solar installs later, the first push of panels are reaching the end of their “typical 25-to-30-year life cycle”, according to Yahoo. 

  And now for the coda to the “clean energy” story: many of the panels are “winding up in landfills, where in some cases, they could potentially contaminate groundwater with toxic heavy metals such as lead, selenium and cadmium” the report says. 

  One expert told yahoo that only 1 in 10 panels are actually recycled – the rest are contributing to “truckloads of waste”, some of which is contaminated, according to the report. 

  Sam Vanderhoof, a solar industry expert and chief executive of Recycle PV Solar told Yahoo: “The industry is supposed to be green. But in reality, it’s all about the money.”

  California has been pushing for solar since 2006, when the state approved $3.3 billion in subsidies. Now, about 15% of the state’s power comes from solar – but that belies the environmental disaster disposing of the panels has become. 

  

  While about 80% of the panels is recyclable, the process of disassembling the panels to get at the individual materials – including glass and silicon – is “extremely difficult”. 

  Serasu Duran, an assistant professor at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business in Canada commented: “This trash is probably going to arrive sooner than we expected and it is going to be a huge amount of waste. But while all the focus has been on building this renewable capacity, not much consideration has been put on the end of life of these technologies.”

  AJ Orben, vice president of We Recycle Solar added: “There’s no doubt that there will be an increase in the solar panels entering the waste stream in the next decade or so. That’s never been a question.”

  It’s burdensome to teach those who have the panels what is in them and the proper way to recycle them. Most consumers are not aware of the toxic nature of the panels. And like most everything else that needs to be subsidized in order to be adopted, recycling of the panels doesn’t make economic sense, the report adds:

  Recycling solar panels isn’t a simple process. Highly specialized equipment and workers are needed to separate the aluminum frame and junction box from the panel without shattering it into glass shards. Specialized furnaces are used to heat panels to recover silicon.

  In most states, panels are classified as hazardous materials, which require expensive restrictions on packaging, transport and storage. (The vast majority of residential solar arrays in the U.S. are crystalline silicon panels, which can contain lead, although it’s less prevalent in newer panels.

  Thin-film solar panels, which contain cadmium and selenium, are primarily used in utility-grade applications.) Orben said the economics of the process don’t make a compelling case for recycling.

  Amanda Bybee, co-founder of SolarRecycle.org, said: “There’s an informational gap, there’s a technological gap, and there’s a financial gap that we’re working on.”

  And while California regulates how the panels can be collected, it doesn’t change the end destination of many of the materials, Orben said: “What that [rule] does is really just changes how that material is handled, managed, stored, and transported. It doesn’t change how that material is actually processed.”

  Drew Johnstone, a sustainability analyst for Santa Monica, concluded: “It’s going to be a really large issue in a number of years, So it would behoove local governments, county, state, and it can go federal too, to have a plan in place for all these panels that will reach their end of life in 10 to 15 years.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/18/2022 – 18:15

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