- A State Of Martial Law: America Is A Military Dictatorship Disguised As A Democracy
A State Of Martial Law: America Is A Military Dictatorship Disguised As A Democracy
Authored by John and Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,
“What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?”
– Thomas Jefferson
The government is goosestepping all over our freedoms.
Case in point: America’s founders did not want a military government ruled by force. Rather, they opted for a republic bound by the rule of law: the U.S. Constitution.
Yet sometime over the course of the past 240-plus years that constitutional republic has been transformed into a military dictatorship disguised as a democracy.
Most Americans seem relatively untroubled by this state of martial law.
Incredibly, when President Biden bragged about how the average citizen doesn’t stand a chance against the government’s massive arsenal of militarized firepower, it barely caused a ripple.
As Biden remarked at a fundraising event in California, “I love these guys who say the Second Amendment is—you know, the tree of liberty is water with the blood of patriots. Well, if [you] want to do that, you want to work against the government, you need an F-16. You need something else than just an AR-15.”
The message being sent to the citizenry is clear: there is no place in our nation today for the kind of revolution our forefathers mounted against a tyrannical government.
For that matter, the government has declared an all-out war on any resistance whatsoever by the citizenry to its mandates, power grabs and abuses.
By this standard, had the Declaration of Independence been written today, it would have rendered its signers extremists or terrorists, resulting in them being placed on a government watch list, targeted for surveillance of their activities and correspondence, and potentially arrested, held indefinitely, stripped of their rights and labeled enemy combatants.
This is no longer the stuff of speculation and warning.
For years, the government has been warning against the dangers of domestic terrorism, erecting surveillance systems to monitor its own citizens, creating classification systems to label any viewpoints that challenge the status quo as extremist, and training law enforcement agencies to equate anyone possessing anti-government views as a domestic terrorist.
A 2008 Army War College report revealed that “widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security.” The 44-page report goes on to warn that potential causes for such civil unrest could include another terrorist attack, “unforeseen economic collapse, loss of functioning political and legal order, purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency, pervasive public health emergencies, and catastrophic natural and human disasters.”
Subsequent reports by the Department of Homeland Security to identify, monitor and label right-wing and left-wing activists and military veterans as extremists (a.k.a. terrorists) have manifested into full-fledged pre-crime surveillance programs. Almost a decade later, after locking down the nation and spending billions to fight terrorism, the DHS concluded that the greater threat is not ISIS but domestic right-wing extremism.
Rounding out this profit-driven campaign to turn American citizens into enemy combatants (and America into a battlefield) is a technology sector that is colluding with the government to create a Big Brother that is all-knowing, all-seeing and inescapable. It’s not just the drones, fusion centers, license plate readers, stingray devices and the NSA that you have to worry about. You’re also being tracked by the black boxes in your cars, your cell phone, smart devices in your home, grocery loyalty cards, social media accounts, credit cards, streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, and e-book reader accounts.
The events of recent years have all been part of a master plan to shut us up and preemptively shut us down: by making peaceful revolution impossible and violent revolution inevitable.
The powers-that-be want an excuse to lockdown the nation and throw the switch to all-out martial law.
This is how it begins.
As John Lennon warned, “When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you—pull your beard, flick your face—to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you.”
Already, discontent is growing.
According to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll, 7 out of 10 Americans believe that American democracy is “imperiled.”
Americans are worried about the state of their country, afraid of an increasingly violent and oppressive federal government, and tired of being treated like suspects and criminals.
What we’ll see more of before long is a growing dissatisfaction with the government and its heavy-handed tactics by people who are tired of being used and abused and are ready to say “enough is enough.”
This is what happens when a parasitical government muzzles the citizenry, fences them in, herds them, brands them, whips them into submission, forces them to ante up the sweat of their brows while giving them little in return, and then provides them with little to no outlet for voicing their discontent.
Our backs are against the proverbial wall.
We’ve been losing our freedoms so incrementally for so long—sold to us in the name of national security and global peace, maintained by way of martial law disguised as law and order, and enforced by a standing army of militarized police and a political elite determined to maintain their powers at all costs—that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when it all started going downhill, but we’ve been on that fast-moving, downward trajectory for some time now.
When the government views itself as superior to the citizenry, when it no longer operates for the benefit of the people, when the people are no longer able to peacefully reform their government, when government officials cease to act like public servants, when elected officials no longer represent the will of the people, when the government routinely violates the rights of the people and perpetrates more violence against the citizenry than the criminal class, when government spending is unaccountable and unaccounted for, when the judiciary act as courts of order rather than justice, and when the government is no longer bound by the laws of the Constitution, then you no longer have a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”
Brace yourselves.
There is something being concocted in the dens of power, far beyond the public eye, and it doesn’t bode well for the future of this country.
Anytime you have an entire nation so mesmerized by political theater and public spectacle that they are oblivious to all else, you’d better beware.
Anytime you have a government that operates in the shadows, speaks in a language of force, and rules by fiat, you’d better beware.
And anytime you have a government so far removed from its people as to ensure that they are never seen, heard or heeded by those elected to represent them, you’d better beware.
The architects of the police state have us exactly where they want us: under their stamping boot, gasping for breath, desperate for freedom, grappling for some semblance of a future that does not resemble the totalitarian prison being erected around us.
The government and its cohorts have conspired to ensure that the only real recourse the American people have to express their displeasure with the government is through voting, yet that is no real recourse at all.
Yet as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, what is unfolding before us is not a revolution. This is an anti-revolution.
We are at our most vulnerable right now.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 23:40 - These Industries Are Most 'At Risk' For AI Automation
These Industries Are Most ‘At Risk’ For AI Automation
Since the release of tools like ChatGPT, artificial intelligence (AI) has begun to permeate industries worldwide, transforming the way we work and live.
To gain insight into this rapidly evolving landscape, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu and Sabrina Lam – using data from MSCI – has ranked U.S. industries by their estimated share of employment that could be exposed to AI-driven automation.
Data and Highlights
This analysis comes from a March 2023 report published by Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research.
The authors estimated automation exposure for over 900 U.S. jobs using the O*NET occupational database, which provides details on the types of tasks each occupation conducts. Exposure estimates were then weighted by the employment share of each occupation, and aggregated to the industry level.
Industry Estimated Share of U.S. Employment Exposed to AI (%) Office and administrative support 46% Legal 44% Architecture and engineering 37% Life, physical, and social science 36% Business and financial operations 35% Community and social service 33% Management 32% Sales and related 31% Computer and Mathematical 29% Farming, fishing, and forestry 28% Protective service 28% Healthcare practitioners and technical 28% Educational instruction and library 27% Healthcare support 26% Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media 26% All industries average 25% Personal care and service 19% Food preparation and serving related 12% Transportation and material moving 11% Production 9% Construction and extraction 6% Installation, maintenance, and repair 4% Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 1% According to these findings, “office and administrative support” will likely be the most affected by AI-driven automation at 46%. This transformation could largely impact common tasks such as data entry, scheduling meetings, and document management.
The second highest industry, “legal”, trails close behind at 44%. AI is expected to automate legal processes like contract analysis, and could even be used to anticipate court case outcomes.
As expected, industries that won’t be heavily impacted are those that rely heavily on manual labor, like “construction and extraction.”
Benchmarking the Automated Future
AI is still a very new and developing technology. How it will impact labor productivity in the future depends on its capability (how fast it improves) and adoption (how quickly people and businesses begin using it).
Adoption rates are unlikely to be the same around the world, as survey results have shown that some countries are more optimistic towards AI than others.
Under the most aggressive scenario, Goldman Sachs believes that AI automation could impact up to 300 million jobs globally and potentially result in a 7% increase in annual GDP (equal to about $7 trillion).
Given AI’s massive potential for disruption, it’s more important than ever for investors to stay ahead. That’s why MSCI has created the MSCI ACWI IMI Robotics & AI Index, which benchmarks an investable universe of companies associated with the adoption of AI, robotics, and automation.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 23:20 - Ivanka Trump Dropped As Co-Defendant In $250 Million Lawsuit
Ivanka Trump Dropped As Co-Defendant In $250 Million Lawsuit
Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
A New York appeals court has dismissed all claims against former President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump in a civil lawsuit brought by Attorney General Letitia James.
Ivanka Trump speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Aug. 27, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images) The New York Appellate Division’s First Department ruled unanimously this week to dismiss claims against Ivanka Trump because they were filed too late and she was no longer part of the Trump Organization during the relevant period.
“The allegations against defendant Ivanka Trump do not support any claims that accrued after February 6, 2016. Thus, all claims against her should have been dismissed as untimely,” the judges wrote in the decision.
While the judges denied the former president’s motion to dismiss the case, they agreed to limit the time frame of some of the claims against the other defendants, barring some claims before 2016 and others before 2014.
The Trumps have denied any wrongdoing while the former president has accused James of engaging in a politically-motivated prosecution.
President Donald Trump arrives, flanked by daughter and advisor Ivanka Trump and wife, first lady Melania Trump, to deliver his acceptance speech for the Republican Party nomination for reelection during the final day of the Republican National Convention from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Aug. 27, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) ‘Witch Hunt,’ Claims Trump
James’ civil lawsuit, filed in September 2022, seeks at least $250 million in damages from Trump, his adult sons Donald Jr. and Eric, the Trump Organization and others. It also seeks to block the Trumps from operating businesses in the state of New York.
The suit accuses Trump of lying about asset values in order to secure better terms for loans and insurance
It alleges that, for about a decade between 2011 and 2021, Trump fraudulently manipulated asset valuations, including his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his Trump Tower penthouse in Manhattan, and his own net worth.
James wants the Trump Organization to be barred from doing business in New York, from engaging in real estate acquisitions in the state for five years, and for Trump and his children to be barred from serving as high-level executives at any New York company.
Trump, who is the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, has called James’ lawsuit a politically-motivated “witch hunt” meant to thwart his bid for the White House.
A spokesperson for the New York Attorney General’s office said in a statement to media outlets following Tuesday’s appellate court ruling that there’s enough evidence for the case to proceed against the other defendants.
“There is a mountain of evidence that shows Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for significant economic gain,” a spokeswoman for James said.
“This decision allows us to hold him accountable for that fraud, and we intend to do so,” the spokesperson added.
Christopher Kise, a lawyer for the former president and most of the other defendants, said the ruling was “the first step” toward ending the lawsuit.
“The correct application of the law will now limit appropriately the previously unlimited reach of the attorney general,” he said.
“We remain confident that once all the real facts are known, there will be no doubt President Trump has built an extraordinarily successful business empire.”
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 23:00 - Florida Issues Statewide Emergency Malaria Alert
Florida Issues Statewide Emergency Malaria Alert
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The Florida Department of Health issued a statewide alert after four people in Sarasota contracted malaria in locally transmitted cases, coming a day after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a similar notice for Florida and Texas.
This thin film blood smear photomicrograph reveals the presence of two Plasmodium malariae schizonts, which cause malaria. (CDC/Dr. Mae Melvin) “All individuals have been treated and have recovered. Malaria is transmitted through infected mosquitoes,” Florida’s Department of Health stated in a release issued June 27.
The agency stated that ground and airborne spraying that targets mosquitos will be carried out around Sarasota, which is near Tampa, to mitigate transmission.
“Effective treatment is readily available through hospitals and other health care providers,” the department stated. “Individuals in this area with symptoms of fever, chills, sweats, nausea/vomiting, and headache should seek immediate medical attention.”
It also advised the public to control the breeding of mosquitoes by eliminating any standing water, which is where mosquitoes lay their eggs.
This close-up photograph shows a mosquito in Montlouis-sur-Loire, central France, on Oct. 21, 2022. (Guillaume Souvant/AFP via Getty Images) “Drain water from garbage cans, house gutters, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flowerpots, or any other containers where sprinkler or rainwater has collected,” the alert said.
Locals should also take precautions while outdoors by using bug spray, avoiding infested areas, and wearing long sleeves and pants if possible.
Malaria is caused by a parasite, Plasmodium vivax, that spreads via mosquito bites, with the largest number of deaths occurring in tropical places such as sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria can be transmitted only by infected mosquitoes, not other people.
Symptoms include chills, fever, tiredness, headache, muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea, and anemia and jaundice may also occur. If left untreated, infected individuals could develop more serious complications and die.
According to the World Malaria Report, released by the U.N. World Health Organization, there were about 247 million cases of malaria in 2021, while the estimated death toll for that year was 619,000. The WHO African Region had the highest share, accounting for about 95 percent of cases and 96 percent of deaths, it said.
Malaria was mostly eliminated in the United States in 1951 after officials sprayed the pesticide DDT and drained swamps in rural areas. DDT was ultimately banned in 1972 in the United States but is still used in African countries.
CDC Issues Notice for 2 States
Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that the cases in Florida and one in Texas mark the first local spread of malaria in the United States in about 20 years.
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 22:40 - The Sad State Of American Journalism
The Sad State Of American Journalism
Authored by Patrick Maines via RealClear Wire,
We may never know for sure why FOX News sidelined Tucker Carlson, their most popular anchor, but the reason this matter takes on greater importance is because of the growing realization that the U.S. media beyond FOX no longer practice journalism worth the name.
Of course, it’s been widely known for a while now that propaganda and misinformation are the lifeblood of an outfit like CNN. But the truly horrifying thing is that it’s not just CNN. It’s virtually all of the MSM. Readers of RealClearPolitics, the NY Post, Wall Street Journal, and a handful of other mostly online outlets are aware of the cascading evidence of massive corruption by President Biden and his family, aided and abetted by the FBI and the Justice Department.
But if you get your news from ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, NPR, the Washington Post, or the New York Times, you have quite possibly not been aware of it. The worst aspect of this isn’t just the occasional betrayal of the country and every virtue in journalism. The worst is that these and other legacy media have been acting as a kind of journalistic cabal from 2016 until the present moment.
The list of truthful stories they have ignored or dismissed is as long as one’s arm. It includes the evidence that “Russiagate” was a fraud; that Hunter Biden’s laptop was, in fact, his and was deeply incriminating; that Joe Biden interjected himself in the affairs of the Ukrainian company, Burisma, to protect Hunter’s relationship with and astounding compensation from that company; that using his dad’s name, Hunter coerced millions of dollars out of a Chinese company (Harvest Fund Management) and then shared some of that booty with other Biden family members; and that in all of these things, the media actively sought to protect Joe Biden and to keep the American people in the dark.
One could add to this list the MSM’s lack of curiosity about the origin of COVID and the Wuhan Lab, and the ongoing scandal of the storming of our southern border.
If even one or two of the national news media had seriously delved into these matters – an ABC or CBS, a Times or Post – one could still have some degree of confidence in the independence and integrity of the media. But when none of them have done so, we are confronted with the chilling realization that the legacy media, for reasons only they and their therapists know, have become an existential threat to our country. Simply put, you cannot have a functioning democratic system when the citizens are kept in the dark and misled by our national news organizations.
As things stand now, a large number (a majority, according to a Gallup poll released in October of last year) of Americans have little or no confidence in the media. How could they? If the MSM ignore or misinform their readers and viewers about the most important issues of the day, how can people know how to act, vote, or think? Put another way, if the media don’t report something, did it happen?
Judging by multiple reports to date, events are going to force an answer to that question in the very near future. Thanks to pieces from online news and opinion outlets, and to FOX, there will be no avoiding the claims now being made about Joe and Hunter Biden, and about Merrick Garland and the Justice Department. And if, in the debate and resolution of these matters, everything the media has said and not said is proven wrongheaded and worse, where then the Fourth Estate?
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 22:20 - US Arming Taiwan With Volcano Mine-Laying Systems After Biden Called Xi A Dictator
US Arming Taiwan With Volcano Mine-Laying Systems After Biden Called Xi A Dictator
Taiwan has finalized a new defense deal with the US worth $146 million to acquire Volcano Vehicle-Launched Scatterable Mine Systems, seen as crucial for defense of the self-ruled island in the event of a Chinese military invasion. This comes the same week the State Department announced approval for $440 million more in ammo and logistics deals for Taiwan.
The pending Volcano mine-laying systems deal had first been previewed by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in December 2022. It additionally included M977A4 trucks, M87A1 anti-tank mines, as well as M88 and M89 training munitions.
A M977 HEMTT with M136 Volcano mine dispensing system. Image: US Army Announcement of the finalized deal is sure to provoke China, at a moment Beijing-Washington relations have hit a recent low point, amid continued fallout over the Chinese ‘spy balloon’ shootdown in February and Biden’s recently calling Xi Jinping a “dictator”. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in follow-up days ago said he backed Biden’s assessment.
Taiwan’s army first proposed acquisition of the US mine-laying system in 2018, as it needed to capability for rapid deployment of anti-tank mines over a large area, in the scenario of an amphibious landing assault.
Among the capabilities of the Volcano system include:
- each vehicle contains 960 anti-tank/anti-personnel mines
- is capable of laying a minefield 1,100 meters long
- …and can scatter mines 120 meters wide within four to 12 minutes
A review of the system’s further specs and capabilities from a US defense industry website details the following:
Ground Volcano is designed to emplace large minefields in depth and tactical minefields oriented on enemy forces in support of maneuver operations and friendly AT fire. The system consists of the M139 Dispenser used for dispensing pre-packaged mine canisters, the dispensing control unit (DCU) and mounting hardware, and is designed to be mounted on either ground or aerial vehicles using the same components except for the mounting hardware, which varies between fitment.
Volcano is designed to be fitted to and removed from vehicles with a minimum of time and labour. The dispensing system is also designed for ease of use, to operated by personnel with a minimum of training. The ordnance used by the system is based upon a modified GATOR mine. Both live and inert (training) ordnance is available; live canisters are painted green while inert canisters are painted blue.
China has meanwhile continued its warnings aimed at Taipei and the US, on Friday sending 24 Chinese PLA jets and five naval vessels near Taiwan, in what has at this point become a weekly and almost daily exercise.
Last weekend, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said that eight Chinese warplanes came close to Taiwan’s contiguous zone, which extends 24 nautical miles off the island’s coast–which was a true rarity and is being widely interpreted as a more severe threat, compared to the somewhat routine breaches of the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 22:00 - The Power To Define Is The Power To Rule
The Power To Define Is The Power To Rule
Authored by Pete McGinnis via RealClear Wire,
The federal legislative process is messy, slow, and littered with stumbling blocks – exactly as the Founders intended. Compromise and half-loaves are built into the system. The public can learn what legislation is up for vote, and members can slow down the process as they represent their constituents and work on their policy priorities. The sluggish pace frustrates activist government whether on the left and the right, so the executive branch finds workarounds: agencies promulgate regulations, the president issues executive orders, and so on.
Yet sometimes, in order to get what it wants, the government just changes how things are defined. The simple manipulation of language or the meaning of a word can often remove obstacles and give federal agencies what they couldn’t get through legislation.
For example, the National Academy of Sciences has proposed a new definition of poverty. Ostensibly, it wants to do this because “An accurate measure of poverty is necessary to fully understand how the economy is performing across all segments of the population and to assess the effects of government policies on communities and families.”
That’s reasonable. What’s not reasonable is the new definition’s practical impact: making millions more people eligible for welfare benefits. The U.S. could get a massive backdoor extension of the welfare state – at least $124 billion over 10 years, by one estimate – because NAS arbitrarily wants a new definition.
With Congress closely divided, this kind of spending could be nearly impossible to pass. But if the Census Bureau adopts NAS’s proposed new definition, the administration doesn’t need Congress.
And NAS’s proposal is not arbitrary. Twelve of the 13 authors of the paper proposing the change “have contributed to Democratic causes or worked for Democratic administrations.” So, inside of government, shielded from oversight and public awareness, partisans want to implement a partisan scheme – and they can do it by changing a few works or numbers.
It’s a common tactic. In the first two quarters of 2022, the United States experienced negative economic growth. That had long been one of the definitions of an economy in recession. Not anymore: with midterm elections looming, the Biden administration refused to acknowledge the recession. “When you’re creating almost 400,000 jobs a month, that is not a recession, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
But job creation has not been a measure of what constitutes a recession – at least, not until it became convenient for the White House. Yellen was adamant. “This is not an economy that’s in a recession. A recession is broad-based weakness in the economy. We’re not seeing that now,” she said.
Truth may be the first casualty of war, but it’s no safer during a pandemic. This became apparent in September 2021, when the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) quietly redefined the words “vaccine” and “vaccination” on its website. As the Miami Herald explained:
Before the change, the definition for “vaccination” read, “the act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce immunity to a specific disease.” Now, the word “immunity” has been switched to “protection.”
The term “vaccine” also got a makeover. The CDC’s definition changed from “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease” to the current “a preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases.”
Why did the CDC make these changes? Because the COVID-19 “vaccines” weren’t vaccines at all. Whatever their benefits, the shots developed and distributed in response to the pandemic did not “stimulate a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease.” Yet they were hyped as vaccines. When it became apparent that the shots weren’t doing the job of vaccines, the government decided to change the definition of what a vaccine is.
A CDC spokesperson’s attempt to explain it was singularly ineffectual: “Slight changes in wording over time … haven’t impacted the overall definition.” Except in this case. As the Herald explained, the spokesperson then went after a strawman:
The previous definitions could have been “interpreted to mean that vaccines were 100% effective, which has never been the case for any vaccine, so the current definition is more transparent, and also describes the ways in which vaccines can be administered,” the spokesperson said.
Nobody ever thought that vaccines were 100 percent effective, and even if they did, the responsible course would have been to call the COVID-19 drugs what they were and explain the difference to the public. Instead, government called them vaccines at a time when the public was desperate for the sort of reassurance the word “vaccine” had always carried.
In each of these cases, smart government insiders are using semantic sleight of hand to achieve their objectives or to justify them after the fact. “Control the language, control the masses” is a cliché, but only truths become clichés. Representative democracy is supposed to guarantee the people a voice in governance and ensure transparency in government’s workings. Unelected bureaucrats altering definitions to suit their needs betrays both goals.
Pete McGinnis is director of communications at the Functional Government Initiative.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 21:40 - These Are The Largest Asteroid Craters On Earth
These Are The Largest Asteroid Craters On Earth
June 30 marks Asteroid Day, a day dedicated by the United Nations to raising awareness around the risks of asteroid impacts.
The following chart, via Staista’s Anna Fleck, uses estimates from the Asteroid Foundation’s Asteroid Day portal to provide a round up of eight of the largest known asteroid impact craters on Earth.
You will find more infographics at Statista
First on the list – and the largest – is the Vredefort Crater, located not far from Johannesburg in South Africa. The crater was formed an estimated two billion years ago and today has an estimated diameter of some 300km.
Next up, is the Chicxulub Crater, located in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. The Chicxulub impactor, as the asteroid that created it was known, is presumed to have wiped out the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago. The asteroid itself is thought to have been approximately 10 km in diameter and today its impact crater is approximately 180 km across.
The Popigai Crater in northern Siberia, Russia was created some 35 million years ago and today has a diameter of approximately 100 km. According to Asteroid Day, the area is now rich in diamond reserves thanks to the region having been heavy in carbon, which turned into the precious stone under the heat and pressure of the impact.
Three major impact craters in North America also make it onto the list: two in Canada (the Sudbury Basin in Ontario and the Manicouagan Crater in Québec) as well as one in the United States (Chesapeake Bay in Virginia). The latter is considered one of the best-preserved “wet-target” or marine impact craters worldwide.
To get a sense of scale, according to the Asteroid Day platform, many of these asteroid impact craters are so immense that they are only noticeable when using satellite imagery.
Different sources rank global craters with other metrics, for instance depending on the size of the impact crater when it was created rather than today, when it might have changed size due to erosion.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 21:20 - Beijing And Shanghai Record Largest Decline In Existing Home Prices
Beijing And Shanghai Record Largest Decline In Existing Home Prices
Authored by Mary Hong via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
China released its May national housing price data on June 15. Beijing and Shanghai had the largest fall in second-hand home prices among 70 large and medium-sized cities.
The price of second-hand homes in Shanghai fell by 0.8 percent compared with the previous month, the largest drop among cities surveyed, and Beijing fell by 0.6 percent.
A real estate sales office in Beijing. (Getty Images) Experts believe the fall in prices in the two megacities is a sign of a bad economy.
U.S.-based economist Davy J. Wong explained that the majority of Chinese investors have been limited to real estate because of limited investment channels under the current ruling regime.
He said that Chinese people in general believed real estate provides a better cushion against inflation and depreciation.
In China, local governments and developers who set the new housing market price have the real estate market fairly monopolized; “but the second-hand market is fairly free for maneuver, and thus reflects the true market in China,” he said.
A worker walks past a billboard advertising a new real estate project in Shanghai. (Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images) In a 2019 report of the People’s Bank, 74.2 percent of tangible assets of urban households were housing, in a nationwide survey of 30,000 urban households; whereas real estate accounted for only around 30 percent of total household wealth in the United States, said the Chinese media report.
The weak economy has forced everyone to cut down their consumption, Wong analyzed. The three-year zero-COVID policy has ruined people’s confidence in the future. He believed many more people choose to sell their properties to ease financial stress, “It’s a risk management,” he said.
Wong said the falling second-hand housing prices in Beijing and Shanghai suggested the supply is too large for the transaction volume to keep up.
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 21:00 - 40% Of Californians Are Considering Moving To Another State Due To Cost Of Living
40% Of Californians Are Considering Moving To Another State Due To Cost Of Living
Just when you though the exodus from California to places like Florida and Texas may have slowed….you can guess again.
That’s because a recent poll called the California Community Poll, administered at the beginning of June, showed that roughly 43% of residents in California think the state is heading in the wrong direction.
28% have mixed feelings about the direction and 28% think it is going in the right direction, a summary from Just the News/The Center Square reported this week. The survey interviewed 1,354 people.
56% of respondents were “totally dissatisfied” with the state’s cost of healthcare and another 56% said they were dissatisfied with the cost of homes in the state. More than 50% of residents also were dissatisfied with safety in their local communities, the report says.
Californians also seem to be unhappy with the state’s economy, with 68% of those polled saying they were “totally dissatisfied” and a stunning 81% of respondents saying that the cost of everyday expenses was unsatisfactory.
61% of those polled also said the cost of living is the key reason that they are considering leaving the state, with about 40% of respondents saying they are considering moving to another state, even with 68% of respondents saying California is “part of how they identify themselves”.
Also focused on the economy, 46% of residents surveyed said they can’t pay for an unexpected expense and don’t have the ability to save.
The report was quick to note that, despite the stunning response from the more than 1,300 people surveyed, many residents were “by and large” still happy to live in the state because it “brings people together around new ideas and vibrant communities.”
So, we’ll see you in Texas and Florida then, right?
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 20:40 - New York City Now Sheltering More Illegal Immigrants Than Homeless Citizens: Deputy Mayor
New York City Now Sheltering More Illegal Immigrants Than Homeless Citizens: Deputy Mayor
Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
New York City is now providing more shelter to non-citizens than to its own homeless resident population, according to the latest assessment from a city official.
Illegal immigrants and their relatives take part in a family reunion event in Queens, New York, on June 25, 2023. (Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images) At a Wednesday press conference, New York City Deputy Mayor For Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said the city is currently sheltering more than 100,000 people, the majority of whom are illegal immigrants and other non-citizens who are seeking to stay in the United States for the long-term.
“With over 50,000 asylum seekers currently in our care at this point, we now have more people seeking U.S. asylum than longtime unhoused New Yorkers in our shelter system,” New York City Williams-Isom said.
Many of the non-citizens being sheltered in the city are people who illegally crossed the U.S. southern border but made asylum claims or otherwise requested legal status in the U.S. and are now awaiting a ruling in their immigration cases.
Since last year, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been busing illegal immigrants away from his border state to other areas of the country; particularly Democratic districts like New York City that have designated themselves as immigration “sanctuary cities.” New York City has been one of the main receiving points for tens of thousands of these illegal immigrants and many have stayed in the city since their arrival.
Williams-Isom called the ratio of illegal immigrants to resident homeless people in the city’s shelter system “sobering.” She said New York City has taken in 81,200 illegal immigrants and asylum seekers since the Spring of 2022, including “2,500 new asylum seekers” in the past week.
“You see from today’s numbers that we have reached a tipping point,” she said. “We now have more asylum seekers in our care than longtime New Yorkers from when we first came in and who are in our existing [New York City Department of Homeless Services] system.
NYC Mayor’s Shelter Strategy
Williams-Isom said New York City has opened 176 new shelter sites, including 12 humanitarian relief sites since last spring, but indicated the city has virtually exhausted its capacity to shelter people.
“We will continue to do our part. I might say we’re doing more than our part,” she said on Thursday. “But this is a national humanitarian crisis and we need sustained and profound support from the federal government in the form of financial aid and in the form of a national coordination.”
Following a 1984 court decision known as the “Callahan consent decree,” New York City has had to provide shelter for virtually all homeless people who apply. Last month, New York City Mayor Eric Adams requested that a court suspend this “Right to Shelter” rule. New York City is also one of many locations throughout the U.S. that consider themselves “sanctuary cities,” meaning they do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities that might arrest or deport illegal immigrants.
Abbott has said his busing strategy has shone a spotlight on the hypocrisy of sanctuary cities that balk at the prospect of having to actually take, and share responsibility for, illegal immigrants.
In May, Adams began trying to relocate some illegal immigrants from New York City to neighboring areas of New York, with a commitment to cover the costs of their shelter, food, counseling, and other services for up to four months. Many of these neighboring communities have rejected the relocation efforts, even issuing emergency declarations to block Adams’ administration from busing illegal immigrants to their communities.
Earlier this month, the Adams administration filed a lawsuit against 30 New York counties, seeking a court order overriding any emergency orders blocking his efforts to move illegal immigrants to those neighboring communities.
Adams has also called on President Joe Biden’s administration to provide New York City with more federal funding for its shelter system. In a May 21 interview with CBS News, host Margaret Brennan noted the federal government has pledged about $30 million in assistance to deal with the influx, but Adams insisted his city’s shelter expenses would far exceed that level of federal support.
“We’re projected to spend close to $4.3 billion, if not more. This estimate was based on a number of migrants coming to the city, and those numbers have clearly increased,” Adams said. “When you look at the price tag, $30 million comes nowhere near what this city is paying for a national problem.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 20:20 - A Coup Within The World's Largest Nuclear Power? Sounds Good To The Biden Admin
A Coup Within The World’s Largest Nuclear Power? Sounds Good To The Biden Admin
Submiited by Liam Cosgrove,
Whether or not what transpired over the weekend was a legitimate coup attempt or strategic theater by Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, it was understood by the western press and US government to be an attempted coup. This article will operate under that assumption to scrutinize the first-order thinking displayed by many hawkish pundits and Biden officials.
There were reports that Prigozhin occupied — in under 24 hours — Rostov-on-Don on Saturday. This city is the headquarters for Russia’s Southern Military District. Just 60 miles from the border of this district is the Engels-2 airbase, home to several long-range nuclear bombers. Considering the proximity between these nukes and Russia’s most notorious mercenary, this should have been a wake-up call to the Biden administration.
Still, at Monday’s State Department briefing, the administration seemed unphased if not a little pleased by the coup:
A supposed “coup” in the world’s largest nuclear power resolved peacefully.
While State Dept seemed to welcome Prigozhin’s revolt, it refused to engage questions from The Grayzone’s @cosgrove_iv on the dangers of Russia’s nuclear arsenal falling into the Wagner leader’s hands. pic.twitter.com/6t3RreCrAe
— The Grayzone (@TheGrayzoneNews) June 27, 2023
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The reaction came just one week after President Biden warned a group of California donors that the threat of Putin using a nuclear bomb is “real.” Prigozhin’s main gripes with Russia’s top military brass is that they haven’t been aggressive enough in their fight, saying earlier this year that his mercenary group would not be taking any more prisoners of war and would instead “kill everyone on the battlefield.”
This man could have commandeered part of the Russian nuclear arsenal over the weekend… and that’s a good thing?
While State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller withheld his excitement, other “experts” were not so coy. Stanford professor and former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul celebrated the chaos over the weekend, saying it proved that the West should get even more aggressively involved in the war:
Instead of doubling down with more force to crush the mutiny, Putin accepted humiliation instead. He was the rat trapped in the corner that so many Putinologists have told us to fear. But he didn’t lash out & go crazy. He negotiated & with a traitor. 4/
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) June 25, 2023
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This really sums up the neocon mindset. After miraculously averting what could have been an existential crisis (civil war in a country with 6,0000 nuclear warheads) and with minimal bloodshed, McFaul’s instinctual emotional response is not gratitude and relief but greed and self-assurance, which he immediately uses to further his interventionist dogma. Like someone with a gambling addiction, he thinks: Great, I didn’t lose on that hand. Surely I can win a couple more while I’m hot.
Here was the analysis of ”no comment” Paul Massaro from the The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe:
russia is weaker than ever
— Paul Massaro (@apmassaro3) June 24, 2023
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This reaction may take the cake. It’s Peter Ziehan — the guy whose appeal is his ability to discuss geopolitics with the factual rigor and vocal inflections of a gossiping housewife — calling the coup “delicious”:
I cannot not sum up the establishment’s reaction to the weekend’s events any better than venture capitalist David Sacks, whose long-form tweet from Saturday evening I’ll include in full below:
What’s better: negotiated peace or nuclear chaos?
It looks like the crisis in Russia is abating after many premature predictions, dunks, and celebrations. We’ve come to expect such behavior from mids like Kinzinger, but the participation of so many more serious American policy makers and influencers shows the extent to which they have lost perspective.
They expressed glee over the possibility of a coup in the world’s largest nuclear weapons state by a warlord whose main gripe is that Russia has not prosecuted the war vigorously enough, who advocates full mobilization and total war, and is more likely to countenance nuclear use.
I can understand why Ukrainian nationalists — who are desperate to win the war in light of a counteroffensive that even CNN admitted yesterday is thus-far failing — would be willing to roll the dice and root for chaos and civil war in Russia. But for American leaders to do so shows that they have lost any conception of a distinct American national interest.
What the last 24 hours have underscored is that wars are not just incredibly destructive but also incredibly unpredictable. I continue to maintain that it was in the best interest of the United States to avoid this by supporting the Istanbul deal. It would have cost us nothing except an agreement not to add Ukraine to NATO. In fact, this would not have been a cost but a benefit, saving ourselves from the insanity of committing American boys & girls to fight Russia one day on Ukraine’s behalf.
Now the war seems likely to enter an even more desperate stage for both Russia and Ukraine. Is this what we want? History proves that things can always get worse. ISIS was worse than Saddam, Lenin was worse than the Tsar, and Prigozhin could have been worse than Putin. Do we want to keep rolling the dice? Or do we want to figure out how to bring the killing to an end?
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 20:00 - We Are All Chinese Now
We Are All Chinese Now
By Russell Clark, author of the Capital Flows and Asset Markets substack
When I managed money, I never worried too much about politics or politicians. I didn’t even bother with central bankers much either (can you imagine!). They would always promise inflation – but were never able to deliver it. There was one big exception to this, which was China.
Whatever the Chinese government said it was going to do, it generally did. But even then, I thought ultimately Chinese policymakers would eventually succumb to free market forces, particularly in terms of the exchange rate – but here I was wrong. A closed capital account, and control of the banking system has made Chinese Yuan exchange rate a policy choice as well. For equity investors, the clearest example of Chinese policy affecting assets is China deciding that “big tech” had too much power and needed to have its wings clipped. The difference in performance gets starker every day.
What I originally thought was that Chinese changes in policy would act as an example for the rest of the world. That China would lead a worldwide swing against pro-capital policies to pro-labour policies. We have seen that to a degree – and certainly I think inflation and interest rates are going to go higher. My favourite trade, Long GLD and Short TLT still appeals to me.
But what I am seeing in currency markets suggest government policy is having a greater effect on assets markets everywhere. Ever since Nixon left the gold standard, generally the world has been moving to free floating exchange rates, determined by market forces. And this force was by and large irresistible – where nations like Mexico, Argentina, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia all eventually forced to free floating exchange rates – and ultimately devalued. Japan had the opposite problem where it spent years trying to devalue, but could not. That has changed in recent years. One traditional very safe trade in currency world was to short the Mexican Peso vs the US dollar. It had a fairly consistent trend of moving sideways for a number of years, and then devaluing to a new lower level, and never recapturing its old value. True to form, Mexico devalued during Covid, but has been appreciating ever since. From a low of 25 Peso to the US dollar during Covid, it now at 17 Peso to the dollar. The Peso has strengthened against the US dollar in an era of US dollar strength. It has also achieved this in a period of relative commodity weakness, which historically has been bad for the Peso.
The corollary to the unexpected strength of the Peso, and been the sustained weakness in the Yen. This was for many years, the antithesis of the Peso. Bouts of yen strength, that then proved difficult to reverse, but moving ever stronger versus the US dollar. Last two years, the Yen has weakened significantly.
On a pure macro view, with Japan and commodity importer, and Mexico a commodity exporter, I would have expected the Yen to strengthen against the Peso, given the weakness in oil prices. I would have been wrong.
A better way to analyse the Mexican peso and the Yen would have been politically. The President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) is definitely a president on the left – favouring labour over capital. In my view, pro-labour governments push for rising wages, and rising interest rates to preserve the buying power of the exchange rate. Bank of Mexico interest rate policy is about as far away as you can get from the QE addicted Western World.
But interest rate policy is not the only factor here. Tariffs on Chinese goods means that a “strong peso” policy can be followed without the risk of factories being relocated to Asia. That is China-US conflict is allowing “left wing” policy makers to adopt pro-labour policies. You are also see many manufacturers are investing into Mexico as an insurance policy on a US-China conflict. Japan does not have this benefit, making the Yen/Peso divergence easier to understand. When we add in the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the negative effect that has on Europe, we can also understand the huge strength of the Peso versus the Norwegian Kroner. Every macro indicator would suggest to own Norwegian Kroner over Mexican Peso (NIIP, Foreign Reserves, CPI etc) – but that would be the wrong trade this year.
Just like China, investors need to pick political winners, not just in equities, but in currency markets too.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 19:40 - Pornhub Blocks Virginia-Based IP Addresses Ahead Of New Age Law
Pornhub Blocks Virginia-Based IP Addresses Ahead Of New Age Law
Virginia is the latest state to adopt an age-verification law, known as SB 1515 and proposed by Republican state Sen. William M. Stanley Jr., for the internet’s biggest adult websites, including Pornhub. Even before the law went into effect on Saturday, Pornhub blocked users in the state.
Users with Virginia-based IP addresses are no longer able to browse the world’s most trafficked porn site. According to The Virginian-Pilot, users are greeted with this message:
“As you may know, your elected officials in Virginia are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website.
“While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.”
The statement continues and says the new law doesn’t properly enforce the age verification requirement. Pornhub offered a solution to protect children: “Identify users by their device and allow access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that identification.”
“As we’ve seen in other states, [requiring ID] just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place. Very few sites are able to compare to the robust Trust and Safety measures we currently have in place,” the statement reads, adding, “To protect children and user privacy, any legislation must be enforced against all platforms offering adult content.”
Here’s the current landing page for PornHub if you live in Virginia.
Proud of the work we’ve done at @approject to help make this happen. This is a no-brainer to protect kids. Let’s get this done in all 50 states! pic.twitter.com/RUXFAoNBGw
— Jon Schweppe (@JonSchweppe) June 30, 2023
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“Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in Virginia,” wrote Pornhub.
… and this is certainly not going to be well received by Virginian users. Blocking access to Pornhub might result in enough angry phone calls and emails to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office.
However, a spokeswoman for the governor told media outlet WRIC that they stand behind the new law:
“The governor remains committed to protecting Virginia’s children from dangerous material on the internet.”
According to Free Speech Coalition, a non-profit adult industry trade association, its ‘Age Verification Bill Tracker‘ shows Louisiana had the first age requirements for adult websites that went into effect in January. Since then, a tidal wave of bills and enforcements has swept across the country.
The tracker shows Utah’s age requirement law went into effect on May 5, Mississippi and Virginia on July 1, Arkansas on July 31, Arizoinz (if passed) on August 1, Texas on September 1, and Montana on January 1, 2024.
“It’s not a matter of if these laws will be ruled unconstitutional but when,” Free Speech Coalition’s spokesperson Mike Stabile told WRIC. He noted:
“Adult content–even material harmful to minors– is First Amendment-protected speech and the Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that restrictions on its production and consumption face the highest legal bar: strict scrutiny.”
Pornhub is gambling on its users, exerting enough political pressure on Youngkin’s administration to overturn the law. If unsuccessful, the company might see market share in the state dwindle to other sites.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 19:20 - California's Reparations Task Force Demands Action, Presents 1,100-Page Final Report To Governor, Legislature
California’s Reparations Task Force Demands Action, Presents 1,100-Page Final Report To Governor, Legislature
Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times,
After two years of internal discussions, public hearings, and collaboration with stakeholders, California’s reparations task force presented its final report of recommendations to the Legislature June 29.
(L-R) State Sen. Steven Bradford, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, task force member Lisa Holder, and Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer hold up a final report of the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans during a hearing in Sacramento on June 29, 2023. The report heads to lawmakers who will be responsible for turning policy recommendations into legislation. Reparations will not happen until lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom agree. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
The 1,100-page, 4-inch document discusses policy recommendations for the Legislature to consider, and while no specific dollar amounts are proposed, formulas for calculating harms and repairs are included as guidance for lawmakers.
The report lists five time frames to be considered for reparations dating from 1850 to the present for various harms, including unjust property takings, devaluation of black businesses, housing discrimination, mass incarceration and over-policing, and health-related issues.
“Our descendants will be able to consult this great document and see the evidence that this state has committed crimes against black folks,” said Amos Brown, vice chair of the committee and a member of the board of directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), during the meeting.
“It’s time they paid their crime bill.”
Reverend Amos Brown, the vice-chair of the reparations task force, president of the San Francisco Chapter of the NAACP, and longtime pastor of the Third Baptist Church sits for a portrait inside the sanctuary of the church, in San Francisco on June 27, 2023. (Philip Pacheco/AFP via Getty Images)
Established with the passing of Assembly Bill 3121 in May 2021, the task force is composed of nine members, with five appointed by the governor, two by the President pro-Tempore of the Senate, and two by the Speaker of the Assembly. The panel was tasked with studying the impacts of slavery and providing recommendations for reparations to the governor and legislative branches for review.
Payments recommended by the task force are estimated at up to $1.2 million per eligible individual, and some economists calculated the cost to the state at approximately $800 billion if the recommendations are enacted as proposed.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has remained quiet on the topic of cash payment, saying that “reparations are about more than money” in a recent interview with Fox News, and he stressed repeatedly in a May budget press conference that prudence is required by the state during times of economic uncertainty.
Some on the panel are anticipating pushback from the governor and legislators regarding such concerns.
“Don’t come telling us that you don’t have the money,” said Brown, the vice chair.
“From where I come from in Mississippi, they had what you call a layaway plan. And if you can’t pay it because of deficits, deficits don’t last always.”
The state is currently facing a $32 billion budget deficit, which its Legislative Analyst’s Office has said could grow significantly in the event of a recession—which economists suggest is likely to occur later this year.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces the May budget revision in Sacramento on May 12, 2023. Newsom said the state’s budget deficit has grown to nearly $32 billion, about $10 billion more than predicted in January when the governor offered his first budget proposal. (Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via AP)
With a $311 billion spending package set for the fiscal year beginning July 1, the recommended reparation payments represent more than two and a half times the state’s annual budget.
Support for the task force at other public hearings and today’s—with elated members of the audience erupting into boisterous applause and impromptu singing on occasion—has been broad and virtually unanimous, but a recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, an independent, nonprofit research institution based in San Francisco, suggests that sentiment across the state is divided, with only 43 percent saying they approve of the task force recommendations such as reparations.
Legislators will now be tasked with reviewing the information, and if deemed applicable, to create a package of bills to address the recommendations.
“The final report is not the end of the work. It’s really just the beginning,” Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) told the audience.
“It is now up to the Legislature, which I’m part of, and the governor, to implement it.”
Observing that critics of the proposals note that California was never a slave state and should therefore not be subject to reparations payments, the senator said that other aspects of history need to be considered.
“It was not a slave state in name only. Not in practice, not in deeds,” Bradford said.
“The first governor of this state-owned slaves and was proud of it. We had a fugitive slave law that returned slaves,” after they fled from other states.
People listen to the California reparations task force, a nine-member committee studying restitution proposals for African Americans, at a meeting at Lesser Hall in Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, Calif., on May 6, 2023. (Sophie Austin/AP Photo)
Talking directly to critics that say they should not have to pay for acts committed centuries ago, he questioned their perspective.
“If you can inherit generational wealth, you can inherit generational debt,” Bradford said.
“And this is a debt that is owed.”
Fellow lawmaker and task force member Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles) echoed his colleague’s commitment to seeing the recommendations transformed into legislative action.
“Next year we will move with legislative and budget ideas to make it happen,” he said in his final remarks on the report.
Don Tamaki, a task force member and attorney, recognized the thousands of hours of commitment from the Department of Justice and staff that assisted in producing the voluminous document.
“The amount of research and writing that went into this is breathtaking,” he said during the hearing. “This is going to resonate nationally.”
A Reparations Task Force meeting is held online in California on Sept. 23, 2021. (Screenshot via California Reparations Task Force)
Speakers repeatedly thanked California Secretary of State Shirley Weber—who authored the bill in 2020 that led to the task force’s creation when she was an Assemblywoman—for her vision, and Vice Chair Brown personally presented her with a copy of the report.
“There’s tremendous wealth in this,” she told the crowd upon receiving her copy of the final report.
“I am so pleased with the document because it answers every question.”
Weber’s daughter, Assemblywoman Akilah Weber (D-San Diego)—now occupying her mother’s former seat—spoke about the honor she felt at representing the people in attendance, while making one of many comments throughout the day about the encyclopedic size of the report.
“It is long because the harms are long,” she told the crowd at the hearing.
“But this report is phenomenal.”
While an electronic version is available online, one committee member suggested sending a hard copy of the recommendations to all lawmakers, saying its physical presence is impactful.
“I suggest we buy a copy for every member of the Legislature,” said Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles).
“California needs to feel that weight. It weighs a pound of flesh. It weighs 400 years.”
The state’s Attorney General Rob Bonta was on hand to receive his copy of the final report, and he assured the task force and audience that his staff will continue to work toward achieving the goals outlined in the recommendations.
“Reparations are warranted, they are necessary, and they are needed,” he said. “Reparations are our way forward. Solutions must be thoughtful, meaningful, and enduring.”
Recognizing the unprecedented nature of the proposals, Bonta said he hoped that the work of the task force will lead to a nationwide discussion.
“California doing what we so often do,” he told the audience.
“Being first, being bold, being courageous, and bringing solutions to complicated problems.”
The California state capitol building in Sacramento on March 11, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
Members of the state’s legislative Black Caucus spoke about their intention to work together with fellow lawmakers to craft bills that can successfully navigate the Legislature.
“We can and must act on these recommendations,” Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) said during the hearing.
“The future of our nation depends on us.”
With some pointing to the price tag as an obstacle to progress for reparations payments, proponents say that with one-half of one percent set aside from the annual budget, it could make fiscal sense, though critics have questioned the mathematical possibility of such a plan.
“Let’s be clear and honest. The cost of reparations will be high, but make no mistake, the harms that are done are just as high,” said Bradford, the task force member and senator. “No one asks how we pay for high-speed rail, which many in the Legislature say is a train to nowhere.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 19:00 - Shellenberger: "Escape The Woke Matrix"
Shellenberger: “Escape The Woke Matrix”
Michael Shellenberger gave a must-watch keynote address to the students and faculty of the University of Austin this week, titled “Escape The Woke Matrix.”
In it, he argues that Western civilization is being rapidly taken over by a psychopathological religion, and that we must resist it by exposing it for what it is, and re-grounding our institutions in love of humanity, civilization, and freedom.
Shellenberger’s work covers a wide range of topics, but a common theme is the distortion of history and censorship benefiting the powerful.
In this emotional address, Shellenberger discusses the negative effects of censorship, rewriting history, and the power dynamics it serves.
He highlights disparities between the real-world and the one we are delivered by authorities and ‘experts – pointing out the decline in deaths from natural disasters and the fact that police killings in the US, including those of African-Americans, have declined over the years – among others, emphasizing the need for seeking out accurate information.
Shellenberger criticizes the selective disinformation campaigns and censorship surrounding topics like COVID-19, vaccines, and the Hunter Biden laptop; and argues that society is moving towards a new moral order centered around race, victimhood, and identity politics, creating a culture of entitlement and grandiosity.
Finally, Shellenberger points out the presence of narcissistic and psychopathic behavior in positions of power, calling for courage in confronting these cluster B personality types and emphasizes personal responsibility, optimism, and the need to fight for positive change while avoiding toxic ideologies.
As Shellenberger writes at his Public Substack:
“You can hear the emotion in my voice. The global crackdown on free speech has left me feeling angry and afraid. Despite my emotional state, or perhaps because of it, the students gave me a standing ovation at the end.”
…
“It’s not enough to condemn, we must also seek to understand, and explain. We are going toe-to-toe with an opponent that would put us in prison for wrongthink. We must stand up to their bullying, and break their hyponotic trance over the population. That is how we will escape from the woke matrix.”
Watch the full address here…
Subscribers to Michael’s Substack can read the full report here…
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 18:40 - Hundreds Of 'A-List' Actors Threatening To Join Hollywood Writers On Strike
Hundreds Of ‘A-List’ Actors Threatening To Join Hollywood Writers On Strike
Authored by Alice Giordano via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
A group of 300 A-list Hollywood celebrities—including Ben Stiller, “Hunger Games” Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Kevin Bacon, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus—is threatening to take industrial action if their demands on key issues are not met.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher speaks onstage during the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 26, 2023. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images) They include better protection against artificial intelligence (AI) celebrity cloning, a “seismic realignment” in minimum pay, an increase in media residuals, and better health and pension terms.
The celebrities submitted a letter on June 28 to the Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) stating their claims.
“As regards [to] artificial intelligence, we do not believe that SAG-AFTRA members can afford to make halfway gains in anticipation that more will be coming in three years, and we think it is absolutely vital that this negotiation protects not just our likenesses, but makes sure we are well compensated when any of our work is used to train AI,” the actors wrote.
The letter, which was provided to The Epoch Times by a union member, comes just days before the June 30 deadline for SAG-AFTRA to negotiate a new contract for the actors with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
It also comes amid the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike against the alliance. Like the actors, the guild has also cited concerns about the infringement of artificial intelligence on the industry and consequently their pay.
SAG-AFTRA—including its executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and president Fran Drescher, famous for her role on the 1980’s sitcom “The Nanny”—did not respond to inquiries about the strikes from The Epoch Times.
Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) in “No Hard Feelings.” (Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing) Days before the actors submitted their letter to them, Crabtree-Ireland and Drescher released a video in which they assure actors that they were being properly represented in contract renewal talks.
“We’re not providing you with a lot of detailed reports tonight, because … it’s very confidential what’s going on in there,” said Drescher. “But I just want to assure you that we are having extremely productive negotiations that are laser-focused on all the crucial issues that you told us were most important to you.
“And we are standing strong and we are going to achieve a seminal deal.”
Crabtree-Ireland said he remained optimistic that the union negotiating team “will be able to bring the studios, networks, and streamers along to make a fair deal that respects union members and their “contribution to this industry.”
In their letters, the actors said they felt otherwise.
“A strike brings incredible hardships to so many, and no one wants it,” read the letter addressed to the union leadership and negotiating committee. “But we are prepared to strike if it comes to that. And we are concerned by the idea that SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.”
Other well-known celebrities threatening to strike include Brendan Fraser, Maya Hawke, Lesley Ann Warren, Marisa Tomei, Rosie O’Donnell, Neil Patrick Harris, Tea Leoni, Glenn Close, Jane Fonda, Minnie Driver, Tim Daly, Debra Messing, Eva Longoria, Quinta Brunson, Dave Franco, Noah Wyle, and J. Smith Cameron.
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 18:20 - Russian Oil Exports From Western Ports To Tumble 18% In July
Russian Oil Exports From Western Ports To Tumble 18% In July
Is the flood of Russian oil finally tapering?
Following several months of record-busting flows, Eikon data showed on Wednesday that Russia’s seaborne oil exports from the ports of Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Novorossiisk will fall to 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in July from 2.3 million bpd in June as domestic refineries increase runs, and – perhaps – as Russia finally decides to comply with its self-imposed output cut.
On a daily basis oil loadings from Russia’s western sea outlets are set to decline 18% in July compared to June, Reuters calculations showed. Russia’s oil exports are curbed by higher oil processing by domestic refineries along with frozen oil production under OPEC+ agreement and additional cuts pledged by Russia.
Lower loadings expected in July have already supported Urals oil differentials in ports of India – the main buyer of the grade.
Urals and Kazakhstan’s transit oil (KEBCO) loadings from Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga were set at 5.6 million tonnes, down from 6.5 million tonnes planned for June.
Urals, KEBCO and Siberian Light oil loadings from Black Sea’s Novorossiisk were planned at 2.4 million tonnes in July, down from 2.9 million tonnes in June.
Russian refineries cut runs during spring months allowing state exports to reach a 4-year record in May. After works ended in June exports started to slide.
The sharp drop in exports comes after Russian crude oil flows to international markets have largely continued to grow unabated, with no substantive sign of the output cuts that the Kremlin insists the country is making. Four-week total average seaborne shipments, which smooth out some of the volatility in weekly numbers, edged higher in the period to June 4, rising to 3.73 million barrels a day from a revised 3.68 million in the period to May 28, according to Bloomberg.
At the start of the month, flows to international markets were more than 1.4 million barrels a day higher than they were at the end of last year — more than can be accounted for by the diversion of pipeline flows or lower refinery runs. Shipments have also risen since February, the baseline month for the pledged production cut.
Following the recent OPEC+ decision to cut output, Moscow’s OPEC partners have sought clarity and transparency from Russia on the country’s crude production. They noted that Moscow has made a commitment to accept reassessment of February’s production level by OPEC’s secondary sources. The assessment by those seven companies currently stands at 9.83 million barrels a day.
However, there has been precious little evidence that the 500,000 barrels a day of Russian export cuts have been made. Moscow has cited the diversion of crude previously piped to Germany and Poland through the Druzhba pipeline as a reason for robust shipments; but that switch happened in January and February, before the output cut was due to come into effect. Flows of Russian crude through the pipeline, now limited to deliveries to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, have been stable at about 240,000 barrels a day since February.
And while Russian refineries cut their crude processing in the first part of May, runs recovered in the final week of the month, rising by about 180,000 barrels a day from the previous seven days. Despite the dip in refinery runs there is no sign of a corresponding drop in overseas shipments of refined products.
Meanwhile, Russia’s revenues from oil are still being hit hard, despite robust overseas flows. May’s budget proceeds from oil taxes plunged 31% from a year ago to 426 billion rubles ($5.2 billion), according to Bloomberg calculations, largely the result of a sharply lower oil price.
Ironically, to boost oil-related revenues, Russia may have no choice but to sharply reduce its output if only to spook speculators and spark a short squeeze which lasts longer than the one in April. Then again, the moment Russia resumes exporting at full blast, the price will drop again until such time as Beijing finally admits that it needs to launch a massive fiscal stimulus which reboots the country’s economy. And with youth unemployment already at a record 20%, and potentially jeopardizing the one thing that Beijing cares about the most – social stability – that day isn’t too far away.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 18:00 - Gold Vs. Bitcoin Vs. CBDCs
Gold Vs. Bitcoin Vs. CBDCs
Authored by Nick Giambruno via InternationalMan.com,
International Man: For over 2,500 years, gold has been mankind’s most enduring money.
However, with the emergence of Bitcoin there is a new hard money option.
How do you see the two as governments worldwide continue to engage in rampant currency debasement and are rolling out central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)?
Nick Giambruno: First, I am all for free-market competition in money.
I say let the best money win.
Having a handle on the basics is crucial to understand what is happening here.
Money is a good, just like any other in an economy. And it isn’t a complex notion to grasp.
It doesn’t require you to understand convoluted math formulas and complicated theories—as the gatekeepers in academia, media, and government mislead many folks into believing.
Understanding money is intuitive and straightforward.
Money is simply something useful for storing and exchanging value. That’s it.
The way I see it, three primary monetary goods are competing against each other today: Bitcoin, gold, and fiat currency.
Fiat currency is currently the dominant form of money in the world.
But that status is fleeting as central banks are debasing their currencies at breathtaking speed.
CBDCs are a desperate, last-ditch effort to keep the fiat currency scam going—a Hail Mary.
To escape the collapsing fiat system and CBDC enslavement, many millions—soon billions—of people are turning to monetary alternatives like gold and Bitcoin.
Fiat currency is a fraud of historic proportions that causes incomprehensible damage. So I am rooting for both gold and Bitcoin in this three-way war for monetary supremacy.
International Man: Can you explain Bitcoin’s monetary qualities?
Nick Giambruno: Bitcoin shares many of gold’s monetary characteristics. They’re both durable, divisible, consistent, convenient, scarce, and most importantly, “hard assets.”
“Hardness” does not mean something that is necessarily tangible or physically hard, like metal. It means “hard to produce.” By contrast, “easy money” is easy to produce.
The best way to think of hardness is “resistance to debasement,” which helps make it a good store of value—an essential function of money.
The most important characteristic of a good money is that it is credibly “hard to produce.”
All other monetary characteristics are meaningless if the money is easy for someone to produce.
Like gold, Bitcoin does not have counterparty risk.
In other words, Bitcoin and gold are the only primarily monetary assets that aren’t simultaneously someone else’s liabilities.
Gold has established itself as money over thousands of years. Bitcoin is a new and emerging money.
Bitcoin is like hard money with a call option based on its further monetization, which is an excellent bet.
A lot more can be said on this topic, but this sums up the essential points.
International Man: What about CBDCs?
Nick Giambruno: Despite all the hype, CBDCs are nothing but the same fiat currency swindle on steroids.
It’s doubtful CBDCs can save otherwise fundamentally unsound currencies—as I believe all fiat currencies are.
If the current fiat system is not viable, then CBDCs are even less viable as they enable the government to engage in even more currency debasement.
Would a CBDC have saved the Zimbabwe dollar, the Venezuelan bolivar, the Argentine peso, the Lebanese lira, or the Nigerian naira?
I don’t think so. And a CBDC won’t save the US dollar or the euro from their fates either.
There are a lot of bad things that come with CBDCs. But there’s a silver lining…
CBDCs are going to introduce and familiarize people with using digital currencies. It’s then only then a matter of time before they discover Bitcoin.
CBDCs and Bitcoin share some characteristics.
For example, they are both digital and facilitate fast payments from a mobile phone. But that is where the similarities end.
The reality is that CBDCs and Bitcoin are entirely different in the most fundamental ways.
You need the government’s permission and blessing to use a CBDC, whereas Bitcoin is permissionless.
Governments can (and will) create as many CBDC currency units as they want. With Bitcoin, there can never be more than 21 million, and there is nothing anyone can do to inflate the supply more than the predetermined amount in the protocol.
CBDCs are centralized. Bitcoin is decentralized.
Governments can censor transactions and freeze, sanction, and confiscate CBDC units whenever they want. Bitcoin is censorship-resistant. No country’s sanctions or laws can affect the protocol.
There is no privacy with CBDCs. However, with Bitcoin, if you take specific steps, it is possible to maintain reasonable privacy.
CBDCs are government money that are easy to produce and give politicians a terrifying amount of control over people’s lives. On the other hand, Bitcoin is non-state hard money that helps liberate individuals from government control.
In short, CBDCs are a pathetic attempt to compete with Bitcoin.
CBDCs make an inferior form of money even worse, but at the same time, they are an excellent Trojan Horse for Bitcoin.
It doesn’t take much imagination to see that once governments inevitably inflate their CBDC units, censor transactions, freeze people’s accounts, and confiscate funds, it will push people to look for better digital alternatives, first and foremost Bitcoin.
That’s how, contrary to conventional wisdom, CBDCs could be an enormous catalyst for Bitcoin adoption.
International Man: Couldn’t governments simply ban Bitcoin?
Nick Giambruno: Bitcoin threatens a major source of the government’s power—the power to create fake money out of thin air and force everyone to use it. There’s no question they’ll try to protect this racket from Bitcoin. The question is whether they’ll be successful.
Remember, the powerful Chinese government has banned Bitcoin numerous times with little to no long-term effects as adoption grows.
That’s because it’s entirely impractical for governments to ban Bitcoin. They’re no match for the economic incentives that attract millions—soon billions—of people, and increasingly, corporations, and even nation states to a harder and superior form of money.
Further, all aspects of Bitcoin are genuinely decentralized and robust. The best that governments can do is play an endless game of global whack-a-mole.
Governments in Argentina and Venezuela have laws restricting their citizens from accessing US dollars. However, these laws have little effect on their citizens’ desire and ability to use them. These actions just create a thriving black market, or, more accurately termed, a free market.
Similarly, governments have tried to ban cannabis for decades, which hasn’t worked out very well for them.
Bitcoin would be infinitely more challenging for governments to ban than US dollars or a plant.
I would like to see governments try to ban Bitcoin because they’ll fall flat on their faces.
It’s doubtful any government will be more successful in banning it than the Chinese government was.
A failed attempt to ban Bitcoin will reinforce its value proposition as a superior form of money nobody controls.
International Man: Where do you see the Bitcoin price going?
Nick Giambruno: What we have with Bitcoin is an entirely new asset that millions worldwide are adopting as money because of its superior monetary properties, namely its total resistance to debasement.
The monetization of the new monetary good is genuinely unlike anything anyone alive has ever seen.
It took gold centuries to achieve monetization. Bitcoin has a good chance of undergoing monetization in a much shorter period.
The market cap for Bitcoin today is around $600 billion.
The market cap for all the mined gold in the world, which took thousands of years to accumulate, is about $12.7 trillion.
That means Bitcoin has a market cap roughly equal to 5% of gold’s and is already well on its way to monetization.
Assuming gold stays flat and Bitcoin goes up 20x, it would have a market cap roughly equal to gold. At that point, a single Bitcoin would be worth over $620,000. I think that’s a real possibility in the next ten years, though it could happen much sooner.
If that sounds outrageous, consider this…
Ten years ago, the Bitcoin price was around $100. Today, it’s roughly 310x that.
Bitcoin has made numerous breathtaking moves to the upside in the past. I think it can do it again, especially as corporations, institutional investors, and even nation states start buying Bitcoin for the first time. Of course, it’s important to remember that past performance does not indicate future results for any investment.
Here’s the bottom line.
Few people are aware of what is really happening with Bitcoin.
And even fewer know how to prepare.
That’s why I’ve just released an urgent PDF report revealing three ways you can do that.
Check it out as soon as possible because it could soon be too late to take action. Click here to get it now.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 06/30/2023 – 17:40
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