Nov 01

Today’s News 1st November 2022

  • First Nuclear Power Plant In Poland To Be Constructed By US Company
    First Nuclear Power Plant In Poland To Be Constructed By US Company

    Via Remix News,

    The construction of the nuclear plant will commence in 2026 on the Baltic Sea shore in northern Poland…

    Poland has chosen the Westinghouse group from the U.S. to construct the country’s first nuclear plant, with a government resolution on the matter to be adopted on Nov. 2, announced Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Saturday.

    Morawiecki said the project will be realized using the proven and safe technology offered by the U.S. Westinghouse Electric Company. He delivered the news following successful talks with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.

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    The markets had expected Poland to choose the U.S. technology but the two other offers from French and Korean companies were also taken into consideration by the government. However, Poland and the United States feature the strongest cooperation dialogue in the nuclear sector going back many years.

    In January 2022, the Westinghouse Electric Company signed a memorandum of cooperation with ten Polish companies regarding the potential construction of six AP1000 reactors as part of the Polish Nuclear Energy Program. The company specializes in producing devices utilizing nuclear energy and their flagship projects are the AP1000 reactors that are used in countries such as China.

    Poland’s decision to choose the U.S. firm does not mean that the other offers submitted by French EDF group and Korean KHNP are not at play, as two nuclear plants are to be constructed in Poland. According to unofficial information reported on Monday, KHNP will sign a letter of intent with Polish Energy Group and ZE PAK concerning the construction of nuclear units in Pątnów in central Poland on land owned by ZE PAK group. On Tuesday, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin will be visiting Shin-Kori nuclear plant in South Korea.

    The Polish nuclear program envisions the construction of six reactors, one every two years.

    The construction of the first reactor is to begin in four years, and its launch is planned for 2033. It will be able to provide energy to 4 million households. The last reactor of the second power plant will start functioning in 2043.

    If both investments are completed, Polish nuclear power could amount to between 8.8 and 11.8 gigawatts, with the government estimating the cost of their construction at around €39 billion (185 billion Polish zloty).

    In December 2021, Polish Nuclear Plants (PEJ) reported that the seaside area of Lubiatowo-Kopalino was selected as the preferred location for the construction of the first nuclear plant in Poland. The second possible location is in nearby Żarnowiec, where a nuclear plant of the Soviet-era remains unfinished to this day.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/01/2022 – 02:00

  • COVID-19: A Universe Of Questions In A Time Of Universal Deceit
    COVID-19: A Universe Of Questions In A Time Of Universal Deceit

    Authored by Michael Bryant via Off-Guardian.org,

    “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act“

    -George Orwell

    As we approach the third year of the ‘Covid Crisis’, the once unassailable Covid Story – reported and repeated by politicians, public health mandarins and all mainstream media – has been replaced by contradictions and inconsistencies.

    The original Covid Story narrated by health ‘experts’ and government officials told of a particularly virulent pathogen which besieged the planet in 2020 and spread like wildfire– terrorizing, infecting, and killing people en masse. 

    It was the story of a “pandemic level event” in which people were told to stay indoors, entire sectors of society were forced to shut down and humans were told to do everything possible to avoid contact with one another. 

    It was a story of closed down schools, closed down businesses, closed down churches and soon-to-be overwhelmed hospitals.

    In later chapters the Covid Story morphed from ironclad truths, “Follow the science”, to ever changing definitions, “The science evolves.” Countless aspects of the “official” narrative changed overnight. Gradually the tale became fraught with pages of questionable statistics and ever shifting storylines.

    What was one to make of all of these contradictions and ministerial mutations? 

    Did today’s story make sense with yesterday’s? Will tomorrow’s make sense with today’s?

    Soon the only certainty within the Covid narrative became its uncertainty– the moment the Covid story “you thought you knew” was on solid footing the sands shifted yet again.

    Attempting to make sense of the Covid conundrum soon required navigating a complex labyrinth of deceits, manipulations, obfuscations and concealments. Separating fact from fiction became more challenging each day.

    While most persisted with the media storyline and government edicts, some began to take notice of the numerous anomalies and started asking questions.

    The most glaring question was simply: “Why was no one allowed to ask questions?” Once this Pandora’s Box opened, a stream of questions came tumbling out. 

    Why wasn’t the media asking any questions? How were they all operating in lockstep?

    Were we alerted to this “pandemic-level event” by our direct observations and experiences? 

    Were we surrounded by sick people, in our homes, neighborhoods and workplaces who were succumbing to a quick-spreading and dangerous virus?

    If we were truly in a pandemic of biblical proportions would there be so much discussion of the epidemiological minutiae?

    Bit by bit as most of the accepted narrative began to unravel, questioning the “official story” became more than a revolutionary act it became an obligation.

    If you have to be persuaded, reminded, pressured, lied to, incentivized, coerced, bullied, socially shamed, guilt-tripped, threatened, punished and criminalized. If all of this is considered necessary to gain your compliance — you can be absolutely certain that what is being promoted is not in your best interest. Ian Watson

    To sell the Covid Story a mass marketing campaign rife with its own nomenclature was launched. The constant drumbeat of the Covid battle cry became inescapable resembling  military grade propaganda rather than public health messaging.

    “Hospitals and doctors are getting rich off a sickened mass population.“

    – Steven Magee, Hypoxia, Mental Illness & Chronic Fatigue

    One of the earliest Covid Campaign methods used to alert the public to the coming storm of dire illness centered on the belief that hospitals were going to be overwhelmed by a cascade of the Covid infected.

    “Two weeks to flatten the curve” became a national rallying cry.

    The public was flooded with stories of overflowing hospital corridors and swamped ICU’s. Makeshift hospitals were swiftly constructed to take in the excess casualties. The unquestioning media amplified these stories creating a climate of widespread panic and hysteria.

    Was any of this true?    

    “Fear is a market. To instill fear in people also has advantages. Not only in terms of drug use. Anxiety-driven people are easier to rule.”

    – Gerd Gogerenzer, Director Emeritus, Max Planck Institute for Educational Research

    As the pandemic picked up speed, the “Covid death toll” became a daily marker hammered home by media bullhorns and mortality scoreboards.

    Ghastly tales of the “first wave” of Covid fatalities were plastered all over media channels in lockstep. Harrowing tales of overflowing morgues and refrigerated trucks filled with Covid cadavers saturated the evening news. While a simpler explanation for these trucks was readily available, a compliant and complicit media plugged its ears and continued to manufacture mass hysteria. 

    Again all questions that might sow seeds of skepticism were kept away from public discussion. 

    But was this advertised death march verifiable or was this yet another feature of the Covid fear campaign?

    “One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth.“

    – Carl Sagan

    As the purported wreckage of the “first wave” subsided and the body count failed to add up to the predicted totals, the narrative abruptly shifted.

    “The Covid Death” was replaced by “The Covid Case” as the main vector of fear. What defined a “Covid Case” generally seemed up for grabs. “Case” definitions ranged from anyone “suspected of having Covid” to those who were ‘positive’ as established through PCR testing.

    Nowhere in the media could one find an inquiring reporter who would question what it meant to be a “probable case.” Even as the PCR became a regular feature of daily life never was the soundness of its usage as a diagnostic tool examined by any mainstream source. 

    Were these case counts and the methods used situated on solid scientific ground?

    “Big Pharma needs sick people to prosper. Patients, not healthy people, are their customers. If everybody was cured of a particular illness or disease, pharmaceutical companies would lose 100% of their profits on the products they sell for that ailment. What all this means is because modern medicine is so heavily intertwined with the financial profits culture, it’s a sickness industry more than it is a health industry.“

    – James Morcan

    Once it was firmly established in the public’s mind that a pathogenic menace was lurking just outside their door a non-stop barrage of messaging, gaslighting and coercion kicked in from all angles. 

    The entire world was repeatedly informed that the only salvation for the human species was a genetically engineered experimental medical product concocted at “Warp Speed” by giant Pharmaceutical companies. This and only this medication could save humanity from catastrophe.

    Like many other facets of the Covid Story, the tale of Big Pharma and their magical potions unraveled upon further scrutiny. Multiple questions arose:

    “I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.“

    – Malcolm X

    When the mass rollout of the experimental Covid vaccines was launched, a compulsory campaign silencing all voices who dare question the vaccine imperative was set in motion. Even so, some voices of apprehension slipped through the cracks. Many of these voices were some of the most renowned medical practitioners in their field. 

    Why were their voices not allowed into the mainstream conversations? 

    Ultimately a comprehensive and complete reckoning with the ‘Covid Story’ is not possible without a thorough examination of the policies which unfolded in hospitals and nursing homes and the catastrophic consequences.

    While hospital workers were feted as heroes, reports began to leak out hinting that what actually occurred inside these medical institutions was contrary to the sustained media narrative. As more stories surfaced, suspicions escalated that this too was part of the Covid mythology.

    Questions concerning treatments in hospitals and nursing homes emerged and allegations about monied interests materialized. 

    “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.“

    – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

    In the early chapters of the Covid Story, perhaps no other storyline trapped our imaginations and pulled on our heartstrings quite like the “Saving Grandma” shibboleth. We were told that “Covid-19” targeted the old and the sick and multiple reports from across the globe revealed a consistent pattern of how ghastly situations in long-term care facilities unfolded. 

    As more information on this piece of the sordid Covid puzzle surfaced more questions came to light.

    Did thousands of elderly die because of Covid or was the management of their end-of-life treatment withdrawn actively putting them in a situation that ensured their death?

    “I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of “Admin.” The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid “dens of crime” that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices.“

    – C.S. Lewis

    All intricate stories require a cast of characters and the Covid Chronicle was no different. Neil Ferguson and Christian Drosten played significant supporting roles behind the scenes while others, like Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates, took center stage. As we moved through the Covid narrative we “came to know” these personalities through the portraits painted by a uniformly deferential media. 

    Were these images of our Covid cast of characters accurate depictions? How much about them did we really know?

    “They failed to see that globalisation was merely a tactic to prise power from nation states towards international conglomerates. Once the power was siphoned from the people and democratic control was circumvented, the ability to assert global governance without any democratic restraint was available.“

    –James Tunney

    Finally, to understand the totality of the Covid Story it’s necessary to understand how the public health industry is inextricably linked to global financial markets and operates based on the demands of those financial conglomerates. Manufactured pandemics are now considered one of the biggest investment opportunities to increase the wealth of billionaires and consolidate their power. 

    The medical industry is no longer a system whose primary focus is to serve the health and well-being of the public. It is a system whose primary function is as a financial instrument for investors. The present-day policies that define the medical industry are designed to serve socioeconomic and political agendas which benefit these same financial elites.

    Was the entire ‘Covid Crisis’ a genuine health emergency or was it an agenda rooted in fear to enrich the pockets of Big Pharma and their monied investors.

    Here again the mainstream media remain dutifully silent, refusing to ask the most basic of questions:

    After a deeper dive into the Covid Hall of Mirrors one wonders if even a single strand of the story withstands scrutiny. Three years on and the wreckage from the fusillade of Covid policies continue to pile up. With every passing day more holes appear in the official narrative and more admissions come to light as officials scurry to avoid accountability.

    As the dust settles in the aftermath of the Covid carnage we are left asking one final question: 

    “Was the entirety of the Covid Story a lie?”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 23:45

  • "Dangerous Escalation": US To Deploy Six Nuclear-Capable B-52 Bombers To Australia
    “Dangerous Escalation”: US To Deploy Six Nuclear-Capable B-52 Bombers To Australia

    America’s great power competition against China is gaining momentum as the Pentagon plans to deploy a fleet of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers in northern Australia in what is being dubbed a “signal” to Beijing, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. 

    “Having bombers that could range and potentially attack mainland China could be very important in sending a signal to China that any of its actions over Taiwan could also expand further,” Centre for New American Security’s Becca Wasser told the ABC. 

    The Australian broadcaster’s current affairs show, Four Corners, revealed the US documents detailing up to six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers were set for deployment at the Tindal air base, south of Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. The airbase would also receive $100 million in upgrades for the maintenance and parking areas for the bombers, expected to be finished by 2026. 

    “The ability to deploy US Air Force bombers to Australia sends a strong message to adversaries about our ability to project lethal air power,” the US Air Force told Four Corners.

    Meanwhile, Greens Senator David Shoebridge tweeted: 

    “This is a dangerous escalation. It makes Australia an even bigger part of the global nuclear weapons threat to humanity’s very existence — and by rising military tensions it further destabilises our region.” 

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    The long-range heavy bombers send a clear “signal to the Chinese” that the Americans and its allies are “planning for a war with China,” Richard Tanter, a senior research associate at the Nautilus Institute and anti-nuclear activist, explained to Four Corners. 

    A recent op-ed in the Australian Financial Review titled “Australia’s alliances in Asia are a tale of two regions” points out that the Biden administration’s chip restrictions on China to crush its technological capabilities “is unambiguously a new cold war.” He said Australia has a complicated juggling act of catering to its top trading partner China and its top security partner, the US, while Washington pressures Canberra and other countries in the region to distance themselves from Beijing.

    Besides the bombers, Australia, the UK, and the US recently announced a new security deal known as AUKUS, allowing the Australian military to procure a fleet of nuclear submarines by 2040. 

    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded to the news Monday and wasn’t all too thrilled:

    “The US’s move escalates regional tensions, gravely undermines regional peace and stability, and may trigger an arms race in the region.” 

    The US military’s expanding footprint in northern Australia shows Washington’s quest to build a ‘friends circle’ of bombers and stealth fighter jets around China. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 23:25

  • Democrats 'Fearful' Over Where 'Momentum Is Going' In Midterm Elections: Former Press Secretary
    Democrats ‘Fearful’ Over Where ‘Momentum Is Going’ In Midterm Elections: Former Press Secretary

    Authored by Lorenz Ducahmps via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Oct. 28 that Democrats are worried that the momentum has shifted toward Republicans as polls continue to tighten in the leadup to the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

    Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki attends Vox Media’s 2022 Code Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sept. 7, 2022. (Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Vox Media)

    Psaki was asked to comment on an Oct. 27 hot mic moment when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was overheard telling President Joe Biden on the tarmac of a New York airport that Democrats are “in danger” of losing a seat and are “going downhill” in Georgia.

    “What we heard there and what you saw on the screen is similar to a lot of the conversations Democrats are having behind the scenes and a lot of people I talked to as well,” Psaki said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

    “People are fearful about where the momentum is going in some of these races,” she added. “Yes, there are very encouraging signs like the record early vote numbers, but numbers in some of the House races are not where they should be.”

    The former White House official also said that it appears Democrats are encouraged to vote for candidates “at the top of the ticket” but lack enthusiasm for down-ballot races.

    “A lot of people I talked to are worried about voters being encouraged and excited about people at the top of the ticket, and maybe not excited enough to vote for the congressional candidates, and that’s a real concern,” Psaki said.

    It isn’t the first time Psaki expressed concern about the Democratic Party ahead of the midterms. In late September, she said the party will lose if they are seen by the electorate as a “referendum” on the leadership of Biden.

    Republicans now consistently lead Democrats on the generic congressional ballot. As of this writing, the RealClearPolitics average has Republicans up 2.9 percent in the generic congressional ballot polling average; only two of the past 15 polls show a Democratic lead.

    Last-Ditch Effort

    Psaki also said witnessing “all these people out on the trail,” including former President Barack Obama and Biden, is a reflection of Democrats’ concerns over where the midterm elections are headed.

    “That’s why I think you see Barack Obama, Joe Biden all these people out on the trail because they’re trying to light a fire with Democrats right now,” she said.

    President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris wave to supporters during the Democratic Party’s Independence Dinner in Philadelphia on Oct. 28, 2022. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

    Obama recently traveled to Georgia to attempt to bolster Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. In an event outside Atlanta, the 44th president said that the “basic foundation of our democracy” is under threat and that voters should elect Democrats.

    Last week, Obama also campaigned in Michigan and Wisconsin, two key Midwestern states. He will visit Nevada on Tuesday and then hold multiple events in Pennsylvania alongside Biden on Saturday.

    Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, made a rare joint appearance on Oct. 28 in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania in an effort to boost Senate hopeful John Fetterman, a fellow Democrat, in the closing stretch ahead of the midterm elections.

    “Democracy is literally, not figuratively, on the ballot this year,” Biden told the event. “I’m going to be spending the rest of this time making the case that this is not a referendum. It’s a choice, a fundamental choice.”

    Fetterman, who suffered a stroke five months ago, appeared on stage on Oct. 25 to debate rival Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz as the two vie for a key Senate seat. The impact of the stroke was apparent during the debate as Fetterman used closed-captioning posted above the moderator to help him process the words he heard, which led to occasional awkward pauses.

    The Senate stands at 50–50, with Harris serving as a tiebreaker. In the House, Republicans need to gain a total of five seats. Historically, the party that occupies the White House tends to lose seats in Congress.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 23:05

  • NASA Captures Creepy 'Jack-O'-Lantern' Image Of Sun
    NASA Captures Creepy ‘Jack-O’-Lantern’ Image Of Sun

    NASA’s space-based Solar Dynamics Observatory tweeted what appeared to be a jack-o’-lantern-esque creepy smile of the sun — just in time for Halloween.

    “Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark patches on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space,” NASA said, adding the sun appeared to be “smiling.” 

    The United Kingdom’s Science and Technology Facilities Council responded to the space agency’s tweet with a photoshopped pumpkin of the sun. 

    According to NASA, coronal holes are areas of high magnetic field that emit solar wind streams into the universe. If the coronal holes are Earth-facing, a flow of protons, electrons, and other particles collide with Earth and cause geomagnetic storms, ranked on a scale from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme). 

    And solar storms can cause a whole lot of disruption if powerful enough. 

    The coronal hole trio prompted a minor geomagnetic storm watch over the weekend. As of the late afternoon, SolarHam indicates there’s no notable space weather event today. 

    As a reminder, the sun goes through 11-year solar cycles. It’s currently in Solar Cycle 25 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 22:45

  • Can A Republican Become California’s Top Cop?
    Can A Republican Become California’s Top Cop?

    Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClear Wire,

    In an attack ad blasting California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a woman named Rachel describes her deep frustration over the five-month probation sentence for the juvenile driver who slammed into her and her 8-month-old child in Los Angeles last year.

    The disturbing incident was caught on tape and quickly went viral on social media, cited by countless critics as yet more evidence of a spike in brazen and violent crime across the state.

    Rachel, a Democrat, says she will vote for Nathan Hochman, the GOP candidate for attorney general. Even though she and Bonta share other political beliefs, she said the Democratic attorney general isn’t doing enough to stop the surge in violent crime across the state. She’s particularly angry that Bonta has declined to take over her case from embattled Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón.

    “The kid tried to murder me and my child, and the state couldn’t have cared less, and they proved that by only giving him five months of probation,” she says. “California Attorney General Rob Bonta has the ability to step in and take over from district attorneys like George Gascón, but Bonta chooses not to. It’s about voting for the right candidate, and the right candidate is Nathan Hochman.”

    The ad is part of a soft-on-crime barrage Republicans are deploying across the country to skewer Democrats’ public safety records. Too many Democratic officials have pushed liberal policies that emboldened criminals, critics argue. Top policy targets include cashless bail, early release for tens of thousands of prisoners, and reduced punishment for many convicted of theft and other nonviolent offenses.

    Over the last three months, worries about rising crime have helped power New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to within striking distance of incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul. And growing anxiety over public safety ranks among the top three to five issues in many urban areas across the country.

    In California, rising violent crime has been a flash-point all year, before and after San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was accused of coddling criminals and neglecting rampant drug use on city streets, was recalled in early June. In Los Angeles, critics of Gascón, who is known as the “godfather of progressive prosecutors” and preceded Boudin as San Francisco DA, claimed to have collected 715,000 signatures to launch a recall of him. County officials, however, invalidated 200,000 of the signatures, preventing a recall but prompting an ongoing legal fight.

    A Harvard/Harris poll released Oct. 14 found that 68% of respondents considered crime to be “very important” and are more likely to vote Republican than Democratic in the upcoming midterm election because of that concern. Earlier this year, two-thirds of registered voters in California said crime had risen in their neighborhoods, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. Just more than half of voters surveyed said California Gov. Gavin Newsom was doing a poor job on crime and public safety, up 16 percentage points from 2020.

    Hochman, a federal prosecutor with 30 years of experience, is running to replace Bonta, a former state assemblyman for Oakland who previously served as the deputy city attorney for San Francisco. Newsom appointed Bonta to replace Xavier Becerra when he stepped down to become President Biden’s secretary of Health and Human Services. 

    Hochman says he’s running because Bonta has failed to intervene in counties where crime has risen sharply, and policies he’s championed, including cashless bail, have placed the interests of criminals above victims. Bonta has countered that he’s “strong, effective, and smart on crime” and can make the criminal justice system fairer without compromising public safety.

    Over the last week, Hochman has been touring the state on a bus emblazoned with his promise to “stop the spiral of lawlessness.” Along the way, he’s touted his endorsements from across the political spectrum – from Death Row Records founder Michael “Harry-O” Harris and Hollywood A-lister Gwyneth Paltrow to former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Two dozen district attorneys from across the state and Female Business Leaders, a Democratic-leaning group in Los Angeles have also endorsed him. In late September, Hochman received the backing of the San Diego Union-Tribune, which said both candidates are strong, but Hochman has a “better plan for responding to growing crime.”

    In numerous interviews and a recent ad, Hochman has hammered Bonta as “missing in action” when it comes to the state’s fentanyl crisis. Fentanyl is responsible for 5,722 California deaths in 2021, including 224 between the ages of 15 and 19, according to the California Department of Public Health.

    In mid-October, Bonta appeared to respond, arguing that the state is “all-in when it comes to protecting California families from the dangers of fentanyl” and issuing an update to the state Department of Justice’s work to address the crisis.  

    Both MSNBC and Fox News in recent days have dubbed the race one of the most competitive in the country. RealClearPolitics talked to Hochman about his chances on Election Day and the current political mood in California. Here are excerpts from that interview:

    Q: The district of attorney recall efforts in several cities, including San Francisco, shows that many California voters, including Democrats and independents, are looking for new leadership. Still, no Republican has won statewide in California since 2006. How can you overcome that big hurdle?

    Hochman: I would classify myself as a moderate Republican and [someone] who has the best chance in a generation to win this office. Here’s why: The first is a change in conditions on the ground. 2014 was considered one of California’s safest years in the last 30. [This year] public safety has risen to a top-three issue in polling for the first time in a generation.

    When people are afraid to send themselves, their kids, their parents out at night in their neighborhoods … when you have what I’ve described as a ‘spiral of lawlessness’ that starts with one or two people going into a small business and stealing just under $950 and not being prosecuted because it’s now a misdemeanor and the prosecutors aren’t doing their jobs … and that turns into three people running out of Walgreens and people running out of Nordstroms in smash-and-grab robberies, home robberies, train robberies and a double-digit rise in homicides … That’s a wake-up call for not just Republicans, but Democrats and independents.

    I believe California voters are going to look to the one statewide position that’s identified with safety and security, and that’s the attorney general position. The kind of conditions on the ground are ripe for change – people are crying out for change.

    The Boudin recall and the issues that arose there show that a Republican can win. Chesa Boudin was recalled 55% to 45%. Republicans make up only 8% of the vote in the city of San Francisco, and roughly three-quarters of the votes to recall Boudin came from Democrats and independents.

    Secondly, in the last 20 years, you had Jerry Brown, Kamala Harris, and Javier Becerra serving as attorney general. Those are fairly unbeatable candidates with great statewide name recognition and some level of law enforcement background. They were also presiding over a time when safety and security was much more under control.

    Rob Bonta was appointed by Gov. Newsom, and shockingly, he had zero law enforcement experience before he took the job. Gavin Newsom appointed an Oakland assemblymember –basically a politician – to be your chief law enforcement officer, someone who’s never argued a criminal case or conducted a criminal investigation, dealt with victims or [handled] criminal sentencing and dealt with judges. He is absolutely inexperienced and unqualified to hold that position. Coupled with that, he also has brought along a criminal justice agenda that I believe is too far to the left. I believe it’s very pro-criminal.

    Q: But aren’t the laws that California voters approved a few years ago the problem, and your job would be enforcing them? Proposition 47 was passed by voters. It reclassified felony drug and theft offenses as misdemeanors and raised from $400 to $950 the amount for which theft can be prosecuted as a felony. Two years later, voters approved another proposition that allowed prisoners to be released earlier.

    Hochman: They call [the attorney general] the top cop in the state for good reason, because under the California constitution, the chief law enforcement officer has the power to go into any one of the 58 counties and take over any case, if you believe it’s not being properly prosecuted.

    It’s an enormous power that’s somewhat unique to California, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

    [Bonta’s] opened up the middle ground. That’s where I exist.

    In contrast to his zero years of criminal-justice experience, I was a judge’s clerk. I was then an assistant U.S. attorney, a federal prosecutor for seven years in Los Angeles where I went after narcotics traffickers, gang members, international money launderers, tax evaders, public corruption cases, dirty sheriffs. I ran the environmental crimes unit. Then [I served as] assistant attorney general running the U.S. Department of Justice’s tax division. We had 350 lawyers and a $100 million budget to go after tax cheats across country. I’ve also been a defense attorney.

    Thirty years of experience gives me the perspective to figure out the true public safety threats to our society – who should and shouldn’t be in jail. It requires an individualized analysis of three things: the level of crime that’s committed, the defendant’s criminal history, which is often overlooked, as well as the impact on the victim.

    Q: What specifically can a state attorney general do to stop fentanyl overdoses? Fentanyl is coming across the border, and most Republicans argue it’s a border security issue that the Biden administration needs to fix.

    Hochman: The fact that Rob Bonta since he took over the position has not been a central figure, front-and-center, leading the task force to go after all the fentanyl dealers that are bringing millions of counterfeit tablets in, spiking marijuana, cocaine and other drugs with fentanyl, is a dereliction of duty. We’re talking about people who are poisoning Californians. It would be like if there were a sniper killing 17 people a day in San Francisco or Los Angeles with a high-powered rifle, and it’s not front-page news in California.

    As attorney general, you have the power to educate. You can hold press conferences, you can go into high-school communities … you can do your own PR campaign in connection with all the other state and federal government agencies. By leading an enforcement and an education effort, you could really make a difference. You could save lives tomorrow.

    Q: After the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade earlier this summer, Newsom pledged to make California an abortion sanctuary state and signed several new laws strengthening abortion access. What is your position on abortion, and how would you carry out these news laws?

    Hochman: I am pro-choice and will fully enforce all the laws on the books in protecting a woman’s reproductive rights. Full stop.

    Q: What do you think of Brooke Jenkins, the interim district attorney appointed following the recall of Chesa Boudin – her effort so far to reverse Boudin’s record? She has decided to try some juveniles who committed heinous crimes as adults and has overturned some of Boudin’s plea deals.

    Hochman: Anyone from any part of the political spectrum that has safety and security as one of their top goals, and actually enacts policies to do that – I think that’s great. Safety and security and justice should not be political issues. If Jenkins is reversing policies and doing her best to bring safety and security back to San Francisco, I applaud that.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 22:25

  • Alberta's New Premier Under Attack For Refusing To Associate With WEF
    Alberta’s New Premier Under Attack For Refusing To Associate With WEF

    Recently noted as an opponent of vaccine and mask mandates, new Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is breaking previously established ties with the World Economic Forum, which has been deeply involved in a “health consulting agreement” revolving around the province’s covid response.

    “I find it distasteful when billionaires brag about how much control they have over political leaders,” Smith said at a news conference Monday after her new cabinet was sworn in. “That is offensive … the people who should be directing government are the people who vote for them.”

    The United Conservative Party premier said she is in lockstep with federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has stated he and his caucus will having nothing to do with the World Economic Forum.  Earlier this month, on her first day as premier, Smith stated that people not vaccinated against covid are the most discriminated group she has seen in her lifetime.  

    In response, the Canadian mainstream media is pursuing a thorough hatchet campaign against Smith, consistently referring to all opposition to the WEF as being based in “conspiracy theory.”  As they say, if you want to know who is really in power, all you have to do is find out who you are not allowed to criticize.

    After two years of authoritarian lockdowns and attempts to enforce vaccine passports in Canada, Alberta was one of the only regions in the country that asserted political opposition to executive dictates.  This helped to support the anti-passport protests by truckers and other Canadians, and led to Justin Trudeau using provisions for terrorism to confiscate donations to the movement.  Alberta’s covid averages in terms of infections and deaths are no worse than provinces with strict mandates, proving once again that the mandates achieved nothing in terms of safety, but everything in terms of control.

    The Canadian Press and other media outlets claim that criticism of the WEF is built on “online conspiracy accusations, unproven and debunked, that the forum is fronting a global cabal of string-pullers exploiting the pandemic to dismantle capitalism and introduce damaging socialist systems and social control measures, such as forcing people to take vaccines with tracking chips.”

    Every “conspiracy” noted in that statement is true – none of them have been “debunked” except perhaps the “tracking chip” claim, which is unnecessary because the WEF was already encouraging governments to use cell phone tracking apps to monitor the vaccine status and movements of their respective populations.  Many of these apps were approved by the CDC in the US, and in countries like China they are mandatory.

    The World Economic Forum, acting as a kind of globalist think-tank for future policy initiatives, was instrumental in promoting many of the failed restrictions used by various national governments during the pandemic.  

    WEF head Klaus Schwab specifically mentions in his writings that the institution saw covid as a perfect “opportunity” to implement what he calls the “Great Reset” which includes the concept of the “Shared Economy,” a global socialist technocracy meant to replace free markets and end capitalism as we know it.  As the WEF states, you will “own nothing, have no privacy” and you will like it.

    This is not conspiracy theory.  This is openly admitted conspiracy fact.  It is undeniable. 

    The use of the “conspiracy theory” label is generally a tactic designed to circumvent fair debate based on facts and evidence.  If the Canadian Press was forced to defend their position based on the information at hand, they would lose.  So, they instead try to inoculate their readers to opposing arguments by calling them “conspiracy theory” in the hope that those readers will never research the information further.  

    The Canadian media then cites quotations that specifically argue that not working with the WEF would put the Alberta public at a disadvantage because it would cut them off from information that the WEF provides.  

    It’s important to mention that there is no evidence that the WEF has provided any life saving health information to date concerning the covid pandemic.  In fact, there is no evidence that the WEF is useful to the Canadian public in any way.  The mainstream media’s bizarre and antagonistic reaction to Smith’s shunning of a foreign organization of elitists that has no loyalty to the Canadian citizenry suggests that they may be operating from a foundation of bias.     

    Danielle Smith’s bravery in cutting off WEF influence from Alberta is being met with a dishonest media response, but in the long run, she is making the best decision possible.  Taking advice from a potential parasite is not good leadership.  

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 22:05

  • FBI Asks Court For 66 Years To Release Seth Rich Laptop Information
    FBI Asks Court For 66 Years To Release Seth Rich Laptop Information

    Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The FBI is asking a U.S. court to reverse its order that it produce information from Seth Rich’s laptop computer.

    If the court does not, the bureau wants 66 years to produce the information.

    Rich was a Democratic National Committee staffer when he was killed on a street in Washington in mid-2016. No person has ever been arrested in connection to the murder.

    U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant, an Obama appointee, ruled in September that the bureau must hand over information from the computer to Brian Huddleston, a Texas man who filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the info.

    The FBI’s assertion that the privacy interest Rich’s family members hold outweighed the public interest was rejected by Mazzant, who noted the bureau cited no relevant case law supporting the argument.

    But the ruling was erroneous, U.S. lawyers said in a new filing.

    The bureau shouldn’t have to produce the information because of FOIA exemptions for information that are compiled for law enforcement purposes and “could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source,” the lawyers said in a motion for reconsideration. Another exemption, which enables agencies to withhold information that would disclose law enforcement techniques also applies, they said.

    “Given the Court’s findings that except for the information related to Seth Rich’s laptop withheld pursuant to Exemptions 6 and 7(C) based on privacy interests, the FBI properly withheld or redacted all other information responsive to Huddleston’s requests, the production order seems inconsistent with the rest of the order,” the motion stated.

    The FBI, after claiming it never possessed Rich’s laptop or any information from it, acknowledged in 2020 that it had thousands of files from the computer.

    The bureau “is currently working on getting the files from Seth Rich’s personal laptop into a format to be reviewed,” the government said at the time.

    Information and material extracted from the computer were provided by a source to an FBI agent during a meeting on March 15, 2018, FBI records officer Michael Seidel said in a declaration. He said the files included photographs and documents, among other material.

    In the new filing, government lawyers said the FBI never extracted the data, which it revealed as originating with a law enforcement agency. They said the information is on a compact disc containing images of the laptop.

    “The FBI did not open an investigation into the murder of Seth Rich, nor did it provide investigative or technical assistance to any investigation into the murder of Seth Rich. As a result, the FBI has never extracted the data from the compact disc and never processed the information contained on the disc,” they said.

    To produce the information, the FBI would have to convert information on the disc into pages and then review the pages to redact information per FOIA, according to the government.

    If Mazzant upholds his order, the FBI wants a lengthy period of time to perform the work—66 years, or 500 pages a month.

    “If the court overrules the FBI’s motion, the FBI wants to produce records at a rate of 500 pages per month. At that rate, it will take almost 67 years just to produce the documents, never mind the images and other files,” Ty Clevenger, a lawyer representing Huddleston, told The Epoch Times in an email.

    Read more here…

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    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 21:45

  • CEOs Cutting Back Or Pausing Their ESG Efforts: KPMG Study
    CEOs Cutting Back Or Pausing Their ESG Efforts: KPMG Study

    Authored by Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times,

    Despite U.S. companies championing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments and results, many others are planning to suspend or reconsider their ESG efforts in the coming months over growing recession fears, according to a new report. 

    In August, KPMG published an in-depth report titled “2022 U.S. CEO Outlook.” It assessed a wide variety of issues facing businesses over the next 12 months, including economic turbulence, finding and retaining talent, and technological developments. The paper also looked at the ESG trend sweeping America and the rest of the world. 

    The authors pf the report noted that a majority of CEOs (79 percent) think the public will look to the private sector to address major social challenges rather than governments, be it climate change or income inequality.

    But while this form of social investing has become integral in the private marketplace, organizations acknowledged that there is a demand for increased reporting and transparency on ESG issues, particularly as more of the public becomes skeptical over “virtue signaling” and “greenwashing.” 

    The former consists of a business expressing a specific moral viewpoint to communicate an impeccable character, typically one that favors an establishment talking point. The latter is when consumers are deceived into thinking a company’s products are environmentally friendly or socially responsible. 

    Fumes emit from factories of Keihin Industrial Area in Kawasaki, Japan, on Dec. 1, 2009. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

    But the key finding from the report was that 59 percent say they “plan to pause or reconsider their ESG efforts in the next six months” to help prepare for the anticipated recession. 

    The report suggested that diminishing investment in ESG strategies “may lead to long-term financial risk,” as a possible recession tests CEOs’ commitment to the latest craze in Corporate America. Seventy percent of CEOs noted that ESG has improved their firms’ financial performance. 

    “As CEOs take steps to insulate their businesses from an upcoming recession, ESG efforts are coming under increasing financial pressure,” said Jane Lawrie, global head of corporate affairs at KPMG. 

    Eighty percent of CEOs expect a recession within the next 12 months, according to the KPMG survey. 

    Is ESG Still a Priority?

    Central banks worldwide have abandoned their pandemic-era easy-money policies, with market experts warning that these tightening efforts will lead to an economic downturn in either 2023 or 2024. This type of climate will make borrowing more expensive, forcing companies and investors to tighten their belts and be more conservative with their dollars and cents.

    Will ESG still remain a top priority for businesses and traders in such a fiscally prudent environment?

    While speaking at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha Conference in September, Lauren Taylor Wolfe, Impactive Capital co-founder and managing partner, explained that financial performance is the chief objective for companies.

    “We believe that ESG without returns is simply not sustainable,” she said.

    “We are exclusively focused on risk-adjusted returns.”

    Meanwhile, a broad array of studies points to greater skepticism and less enthusiasm over everything related to ESG.

    A recent Capital.com poll, for example, found that investors and traders are not prioritizing ESG. The online brokerage firm’s research indicated that 52 percent never picked a stock based on ESG factors. Nearly half (46 percent) reported not knowing how to do so, while 12 explained that ESG investments were too expensive. 

    A separate survey from global investment manager Ninety One discovered that 55 percent say the risk and return performance of their holdings remained the chief concern. Interestingly enough, 40 percent of asset purport that investing in funds related to ESG goals, such as climate change, will cause a reduction in their returns. 

    Many states across the country, including Florida, Arizona, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Kentucky, have rejected ESG strategies, divesting billions from financial institutions that make investment decisions based on the system. Wall Street appears mixed on the issue, with 45 percent of CFOs telling a CNBC survey that they supported the moves. Thirty percent stated they were neutral, while 25 percent opposed these decisions.

    “I think the criticism is deserved,” Wolfe added.

    Last week, Strive Asset Management, led by activist investor Vivek Ramaswamy, launched a nationwide campaign that aimed to “promote excellence over ESG priorities.” The initiative suggests that some of the world’s largest companies, such as Amazon, Citigroup, ExxonMobil, and Home Depot, maintain “untapped potential” that could be unleashed if they were not beholden to ESG.

    “Everyday Americans have extraordinary yet unrealized power at their fingertips,” said Ramaswamy in a statement. “They don’t just vote as citizens at the polls in two weeks. They vote every day with their investment dollars, which are too often used by other asset managers to inject political agendas into corporate America’s boardrooms.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 21:05

  • China Lashes Out At Export Curbs In Blinken Call, Says US "Blinded By Ideology"
    China Lashes Out At Export Curbs In Blinken Call, Says US “Blinded By Ideology”

    Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi lashed out over US export curbs in a Sunday phone call with his US counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The tense call underscored that significant obstacles remain as the two sides continue preparing for a potential Biden and Xi Jinping face-to-face meeting next month.

    “The U.S. side should stop its containment and suppression of China and not create new obstacles to bilateral relations,” Wang said, base on a foreign ministry statement. “The US side introduced new export controls against China, restricting investments in China, seriously violating free-trade principles and seriously harming China’s legitimate rights and interests, which must be corrected.”

    Via Reuters

    Additionally, per state media: “China’s diplomatic and domestic policies are open and transparent, and the US should not be blinded by ideology,” Wang said. The US was generally once again accused of suppressing China’s economic growth. 

    It was the first direct contact since Wang became China’s top-ranked diplomat, having been promoted to the Communist Party’s 24-member Politburo during its major meeting earlier this month. 

    Biden’s first ever sit-down meeting as president with President Xi is likely to happen at the Group of 20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia in mid-November. Washington efforts to restrict Chinese access to chipmaking technology, which it appears was a top pressing issue raised with Blinken by Wang, will likely be brought up by Xi as an area of deep contention later.

    As for the US readout of the call, Blinken said the two agreed upon the need to “maintain open lines of communication” – with two main foreign policy issues also raised: Ukraine and Haiti. “The Secretary raised Russia’s war against Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability,” an official US readout said. “The Secretary also noted the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in Haiti and the need for continued coordinated action in support of the Haitian people.”

    Currently, the US is attempting to put together a UN coalition that can lead a peace-keeping force into restive Haiti, at a moment the US-backed Acting President Ariel Henry is battling armed groups seeking his removal from power. China and Russia have signaled they would veto such a resolution at the UN Security Council, seeing in it another attempt at US-Western intervention in a foreign country’s internal affairs.

    As for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, President Xi while entering a third term as China’s most powerful leader in decades is expected to deepen relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    As a further sign of China’s growing willingness to stand behind Moscow even while Putin faces unprecedented global isolation over the war…

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    Last week, Reuters cited Wang’s words describing Beijing’s future outlook on its relationship with Russia as follows, “China is willing to deepen its relationship with Russia in all levels and any attempt to block the progress of the two nations will never succeed.”

    “It is the legitimate right of China and Russia to realise their development and revitalisation, Wang Yi said in a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov,” the report noted.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 20:45

  • Yuan Traders Test PBOC's Credibility Like It's 2015
    Yuan Traders Test PBOC’s Credibility Like It’s 2015

    By Ye Xie, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and analyst

    The People’s Bank of China has urged traders to respect its yuan fixing. Instead, they are testing the central bank’s resolution to defend the currency by pushing the yuan toward the limit of its trading band.

    The longer the deviation between the market and the PBOC’s reference rates persist, the more likely it will end in a volatile showdown.

    Recent data show continued weakness in economic fundamentals for the yuan. Both manufacturing and service sectors contracted. Outflows from the bond market continued. And Covid cases are spreading again.

    Against this backdrop, it’s not surprising to see the yuan under pressure. One-month implied volatility has hit a record since the offshore market came into existence in 2011. The volatility curve is inverted, with short-term vol higher than one-year vol, in a sign of market stress.

    On Monday, the yuan traded about 1.8% weaker than the fixing, marking the third time over the past five weeks that the spot rate was so close to the 2% daily limit. The currency has never tested the trading band so often since China revamped the fixing mechanism in 2015.

    And it’s not only against the dollar. The yuan’s weakness is broadening. The CFETS yuan basket fell below 100 for the first time since November 2021. On a trade-weighted basis, the divergence between the market and the official reference rate reached a record 1.8% on Oct. 25, according to Bank of America’s calculation.

    Source: Bank of America

    In September, when the spot yuan traded close to the daily limit, the PBOC issued a strongly-worded statement saying that speculators will lose money and called for market participants to “protect the authority of the fixing.”

    These warnings have fallen on deaf ears. That shows “the credibility of the CNY regime is being tested,” Bank of America’s strategists, including Claudio Piron, wrote in a note Monday.

    In early 2015, the PBOC kept the yuan steady even as the spot rate started to weaken toward the edge of the trading band. The divergence was eventually resolved when the PBOC engineered a one-off devaluation in August of that year.

    The central bank is facing a similar dilemma. Either it forces the market to converge to a stronger level to reinforce its authority, or it allows the market to guide the yuan to a lower level. Either way, there’s likely to be more volatility ahead.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 20:25

  • Trick-Or-Treat Around The World
    Trick-Or-Treat Around The World

    Trick-or-treating has been associated with Halloween celebrations in the U.S. and Canada since the early 1900s, but, as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz notes, traditions of children going door to door in a quest for treats exist in many parts of the world, with one European custom being widely recognized as the precursor of the North American tradition.

    Infographic: Trick-or-Treat Around the World | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    As far back as the Middle Ages, people in the British Isles dressed up for holidays and went from door to door performing scenes in order to receive a thank-you in the form of food and drink. The tradition is preserved today in Scotland and Ireland under the name guising and features dressed-up children rather than theater displays. The origin of Halloween, celebrated on October 31, also goes back to Celtic traditions, more specifically the Samhain festival, which marked the beginning of winter and a time when fairies and spirits needed to be appeased. Like many Christian holidays, All Saints’ Day (November 1) and its eve, All Hallows’ Day, coincide with the pagan festival and trick-or-treating is done in Portugal on the first day of November. All Saints’ Day also has a big significance in Mexico (celebrated as Day of the Dead there) but U.S. Halloween traditions have also been adopted, most heavily in the Northern and Central parts of the country, where the custom is named calaverita (litte skull) after the sugar skulls which are gifted for the festival.

    But scary dress and trick-or-treating antics are not tied to a single date: Scandinavian children engage in them around Easter, while those in Northern Germany and Southern Denmark pick New Year’s Eve. In Southern Germany, Austria Switzerland, the Netherlands and Flanders in Belgium, treats are given out not for threats, but for songs, which children perform on November 11 (St. Martin’s Day). Caroling for sweets is also performed during Ramadan in Central Asia. This is where trick-or-treating blends into Christmas caroling, which is sometimes also rewarded with food offerings, for example in Eastern Europe.

    The practice is associated most closely with England and the United States, but involves adults as well as children and more commonly the collection of money, for example for charity.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 20:05

  • Anti-Russian Alliance Fractures After Japan Decides To Stay In Russia's Sakhalin-1 Energy Project
    Anti-Russian Alliance Fractures After Japan Decides To Stay In Russia’s Sakhalin-1 Energy Project

    While Europe continues the unvarnished hypocrisy of pretending it is imposing draconian sanctions against Russian oil and gas, when instead it is merely buying the country’s natural resources via such middlemen as India and China (an exercise in virtue signaling that costs it a 20% mark-up to Russian prices), less than a year since the start of the Ukraine war, some countries have had enough of pretending.

    Today, the Japanese government decided to officially screw the sanctions, and remain involved in the (formerly Exxon-led) Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia, as it seeks a stable supply of energy (who doesn’t) despite international sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, the Nikkei reported.

    ExxonMobil, which held a 30% stake in Sakhalin-1, announced in March that it would withdraw from the project. But after vacillating for more than half a year, Japan decided not to follow in Exxon’s footsteps.

    Meanwhile, Russia set up a new company to take over the project under a presidential decree that has in effect forced investors to choose sides. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is a stakeholder in Tokyo-based Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development — which owns 30% of Sakhalin-1’s current operator – along with other investors including Itochu, Japan Petroleum Exploration and Marubeni.

    The Japanese consortium will make a final decision on whether to stay invested in the project after discussions with other stakeholders.

    Why does this matter? Well, back in may, the G-7 nations decided to ban imports of Russian crude oil. Although the G-7 did not decide on a time frame, saying only that the ban will be enforced in a “timely and orderly fashion,” Japan’s continued participation in Sakhalin-1 would go against the consensus among fellow G-7 members.

    In short, Japan would be the first “western” nation to officially breach the anti-Russia alliance.

    Of course, there are reason: Japan relies on the Middle East for 95% of its crude imports, and sees ownership in Russian projects as essential to ensuring a stable supply of energy. But then again, one can say the same of most of the developed world, and certainly all of Europe, where Russian energy commodities serve as the basis for comfortable, modern life.

    On October 7, Vladimir Putin signed a decree transferring Sakhalin-1 to a newly established company, which was registered on Oct. 14. Stakeholders in the project were given one month to decide whether to invest in the new company, and relevant Japanese agencies, including the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, have been considering their options. They have now decided.

    A unit of Russian state oil company Rosneft is expected to operate Sakhalin-1 after ExxonMobil. Rosneft and India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. each previously held 20% of the project.

    As a result of the chaos, operations at Sakhalin-1 have been virtually shut down, and Japan has imported no oil originating from the project recently, so losing its stake will not have an immediate impact on the country’s fuel supply.

    Russia has transferred operations of the Sakhalin-2 natural gas project to a new company as well. Japanese investors Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. decided to retain their stakes in the project, and their continued investment has been approved by the Russian government.

    Translation: the upcoming G-20 will be rather awkward as Japan’s PM Fumio Kushida, an anchor pillar of the G7 in Asia, may decide to sit at the table next the Xi and Putin.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 19:45

  • Iran's IRGC Seizes Foreign Fuel Tanker In Persian Gulf
    Iran’s IRGC Seizes Foreign Fuel Tanker In Persian Gulf

    Iran’s military has seized a foreign-flagged tanker on suspicion of illegal smuggling operations, state media announced Monday.

    While the tanker or flag it is flying under hasn’t been identified by Tehran authorities, it was said to be carrying 2.9 million gallons of “smuggled fuel” – worth an estimated $6.6 million, according to a statement of an Iranian official. 

    The country’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) boarded and took control of the vessel in the Persian Gulf. Tehran has long complained about and tried to crackdown on what it has described as persistent smuggling of its oil and fuel to Gulf states.

    “The captain and crew of this foreign tanker are also detained as investigations and legal procedures are being completed,” Iran’s judiciary chief of the southern province of Hormozgan, Mojtaba Ghahremani, said in a video address.

    “All vessels which have delivered fuel to the violating tanker will also be subject to prosecution,” Ghahremani added.

    State media showed a clip of the seized vessel with IRGC operatives approaching it. This practice of intercepting foreign vessels in the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway has put Iran’s navy on a crash course with the US military presence in the region. Of late, the IRGC has sought to seize US sea drones in the region.

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    Interestingly, Iran is further alleging that smugglers seek to steal national assets with the help of foreigners. 

    “The criminal acts by fuel smugglers who plunder national assets in coordination with foreigners will not be hidden from the sight of Judiciary officials and officers, and the perpetrators of such crimes will be punished severely and without leniency,” Ghahremani said additionally in his statement, according to PressTV.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 19:25

  • Spooky Torts: The 2022 List Of Litigation Horrors
    Spooky Torts: The 2022 List Of Litigation Horrors

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    Here is my annual list of Halloween torts and crimes. Halloween of course remains a holiday seemingly designed for personal injury lawyers around the world and this year’s additions show why. Halloween has everything for a torts-filled holiday: battery, trespass, defamation, nuisance, product liability and more. Particularly with the recent tragedy in South Korea, our annual listing is not intended to belittle the serious losses that can occur on this and other holidays. However, my students and I often discuss the remarkably wide range of torts that comes with All Hallow’s Eve.

    So, with no further ado, here is this year’s updated list of actual cases related to Halloween.

    In October 2021, Danielle Thomas, former exotic dancer known as “Pole Assassin” (and the girlfriend of Texas special teams coach Jeff Banks), found herself embroiled in a Halloween tort after the monkey previously used in her act bit a wandering child at the house of horror she created for Halloween. Thomas considers the monkey Gia to be her “emotional support animal.”

    Thomas goes all out for the holiday and converted her home into a house of horrors, including a maze. She said that the area with Gia was closed off and, as for petting, “no one is allowed to touch her!”  She publicly insisted “No one was viciously attack this a lie, a whole lie! She was not apart of any haunted house, the kid did not have permission to be on the other side of my property!” She even posted a walk-through video of the scene to show the steps that a child would have to take to get to the monkey.

    She insists in the video that she knows all of the governing legal rules and shows the path in detail. It is not helpful on the defense side: it is not a long path and easy to see how a child might get lost. She later deleted her account (likely after her attorney regained consciousness).

    The case raises an array of torts including animal liability, licensee liability, negligence, and attractive nuisance claims.

    In 2022, we often added conversion to the usual torts where multiple versions of the new giant skeleton were stolen, including one particularly ham-handed effort in Austin, Texas caught on video tape:

    * * *

    In Berea, Ohio, the promoters of the 7 Floors of Hell haunted house at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds appreciate realism but one employee took it a bit too far. An actor brandished this real bowie knife as a prop while pretending to stab an 11-year-old boy’s foot. He then stabbed him.

    The accident occurred when the actor, 22, approached the boy and stabbed at the ground as a scare tactic. He got too close and accidentally cut through the child’s shoe, piercing a toe.

    The injury was not serious since the boy was treated at the scene and continued through the haunted house.

    The case raises an interesting question of “respondeat superior” for the negligent acts by employees in the course of employment. The question is what is in the scope of employment.  The question is often whether an employee was on a “detour” or “frolic.”  A detour can be outside of an employer’s policies or guidelines but will be the basis for liability as sufficiently related to the employment.  A frolic is a more serious deviation where the employee is acting in his own capacity or for his own interests.

    In this case, the actor was clearly within his scope of employment in trying to scare the visitors. However, he admitted that he bought the knife in his personal capacity and agreed it “was not a good idea” to use it at the haunted house, according to FOX 8. That still does not negate the negligence — both direct and vicarious liability. There was a failure to monitor employees and safeguard the scene. His negligence is also likely attributable to the employer. Finally, this would constitute battery as a reckless, though unintended, act.

    * * *

    In 2020, parents in Indiana were given a warning in a Facebook post that the Indiana State Police seized holiday edibles featuring packaging that resembles that of actual name brands — but with the word “medicated” printed on the wrapper along with cannabis symbols.

    The packaging makes it easy for homeowners to confuse packages and give out drugged candy.  Indeed, last year, two children were given THC-infused gummies while trick-or-treating, according to police in Waterford, Conn.. Such candies include the main active ingredient linked to the psychedelic effects of cannabis – the plant from which marijuana is derived.

    Even an accidental distribution of such infused candies would constitute child endangerment and be subject to both negligence and strict liability actions in torts.

    * * *

    I previously have written how the fear of razor blades in apples appears an urban legend. Well, give it enough time and someone will prove you wrong. That is the allegation of Waterbury, Connecticut police who say that Jason A. Racz, 37, put razor blades in candy bags of at least two trick-or-treaters. Racz’ razor defense may not be particularly convincing to the average juror. According to police, “Racz explained that the razor blades were accidentally spilled or put into the candy bowl he used to hand out candy from.” However, police noted that he “provided no explanation as to how the razor blades were handed out to the children along with the candy.”

    The charge was brought soon after Halloween in 2019. Racz is now charged with risk of injury to a minor, reckless endangerment and interfering with a police officer. He could also be charged with battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, but it is not clear if any children were injured.

    *  *  *

    Steven Novak, an artist from Dallas, Texas, believes that Halloween should be a bit more than a traditional plastic pumpkin and a smiling ghost.  Police were called to his home in Texas over a possible murder. They found a dummy impaled on a chainsaw with fake blood; another dummy hanging from his roof; a wheelbarrow full of fake dismembered body parts and other gory scenes.  Neighbors called the display too traumatizing.  Police responded by taking pictures for their families.

    A tort action for intentional infliction of emotional distress is likely to fail. There must be not just outrageous conduct but conduct intended to cause severe emotional distress. Courts regularly exclude injuries associated with the exercise of free speech or artistic expression . . . even when accompanied by buckets of fake blood.

    *  *  *

    The Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom in Pennsylvania tells customers that, if they come to their Halloween Haunt, “Fear is waiting for you.” In 2019, a new case was filed by Shannon Sacco and her daughter over injuries sustained from “unreasonable scaring.” They are seeking $150,000.

    The Allentown Morning Call reported that “M.S.” went with friends to the amusement park and was immediately approached by costumed characters. She said that she told them that she did not want to be scared and backed away. A little further on into the park however a costumed employee allegedly ran up behind her and shouted loudly. The startled girl fell forward and suffered what were serious but unspecified injuries. She alleges ongoing medical issues and inability to return to fully functioning activities. The lawsuit also alleges that the park failed to inform Sacco or her daughter that they could buy a glow-in-the-dark “No Boo” necklace to ward off costumed employees. The obvious issue beyond the alleged negligence of the Park is the plaintiffs’ own conduct. Pennsylvania is a comparative negligence state so contributory negligence by the plaintiffs would not be a bar to recovery. See Pennsylvania General Assembly Statute §7102. However, it is a modified comparative negligence state so they must show that they are 50 percent or less at fault. If they are found 51 percent at fault, they are barred entirely from recovery. Even if they can recover, their damages are reduced by the percentage of their own fault in going to a park during a Halloween-themed event.

    *  *  *

    In 2019, there is a rare public petition to shutdown a haunted house that has been declared to be a “torture chamber.” The move to “shut down McKamey Manor” that has been signed by thousands who believe Russ McKamey, the owner of McKamey Manor, has made his house so scary that it constitutes torture, including an allegation of waterboarding of visitors. The haunted house requires participants to get a doctor’s note and sign a 40-page waiver before they enter. People are seeking the closure of the houses located in Summertown, Tennessee and Huntsville, Alabama. McKamey insists that it is just a “crazy haunted house” and stops well short of the legal-definition of torture. The question is whether consent vitiates any extreme frights or contacts.

    He is also clear in both the waiver and the website that the house is an “extreme haunted attraction” for legal adults who “must be in GREAT HEALTH to participate.” Not only do people enter with full knowledge but there is no charge. McKamey owns five dogs and only requires a bag of dog food for entry. Presumably the food is cursed.

    *  *  *

    An earlier case was recently made public from an accident on October 15, 2011 in San Diego. Scott Griffin and friends went to the Haunted Trail in San Diego. The ticket warns of “high-impact scares” along a mile path with actors brandishing weapons and scary items. Griffen, 44, and his friends went on the trail and were going out of what they thought was an exit. Suddenly an actor jumped out as part of what the attraction called “the Carrie effect” of a last minute scare. While Griffen said that he tried to back away, the actor followed him with a running chain saw. He fell backwards and injured his wrists.

    The 2013 lawsuit against the Haunted Hotel, Inc., in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, alleged negligence and assault. However, Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal granted a motion to dismiss based on assumption of the risk. She noted that Griffin “was still within the scare experience that he purchased.” After all, “Who would want to go to a haunted house that is not scary?”

    Griffen then appealed and the attorney for the Haunted Hotel quoted Hunter S. Thompson: “Buy the ticket, take the ride.” Again, the court agreed. In upholding the lower court, Justice Gilbert Nares wrote, “Being chased within the physical confines of the Haunted Trail by a chain saw–carrying maniac is a fundamental part and inherent risk of this amusement. Griffin voluntarily paid money to experience it.”

    *  *  *

    In 2018, a case emerged in Madison, Tennessee from the Nashville Nightmare Haunted House.   James “Jay” Yochim and three of his pals went to the attraction composed of  four separate haunted houses, an escape room, carnival games and food vendors.  In the attraction, people are chased by characters with chainsaws and other weapons.  They were not surprised therefore when a man believed to be an employee in a Halloween costume handed Tawnya Greenfield a knife and told her to stab Yochim.  She did and thought it was all pretend until blood started to pour from Yochim’s arm. The knife was real and the man was heard apologizing “I didn’t know my knife was that sharp.”

    It is not clear how even stabbing with a dull knife would be considered safe.

    The attraction issued a statement:

    “As we have continued to review the information, we believe that an employee was involved in some way, and he has been placed on leave until we can determine his involvement. We are going over all of our safety protocols with all of our staff again, as the safety and security of all of our patrons is always our main concern. We have not been contacted by the police, but we will cooperate fully with any official investigation.”

    The next scary moment is likely to be in the form of a torts complaint.  Negligence against the company under respondeat superior is an obvious start. There is also a novel battery charge where he could claim that he was stabbed by trickery or deceit of a third person. There are also premises liability issues for invitees.  As for Greenfield, she claims to have lacked consent due to a misrepresentation.  She could be charged with negligence or a recklessness-based theory of battery, though that seems less likely.  Finally, there is an interesting possible claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress in being tricked or misled into stabbing an individual.

    *  *  *

    Last year, a 21-year-old man surnamed Cheung was killed by a moving coffin in a haunted house in Hong Kong’s Ocean Park.   The attraction is called “Buried Alive” and involves hopping into coffins for a downward slide into a dark and scary space. The ride promises to provide people with the “experience of being buried alive alone, before fighting their way out of their dark and eerie grave.” Cheung took a wrong turn and went backstage — only to be hit by one of the metal coffins.  The hit in the head killed Cheung who was found later in the haunted house.

    While there is no word of a tort lawsuit (and tort actions are rarer in Hong Kong), the case is typical of Halloween torts involving haunted houses.  The decor often emphasizes spooky and dark environs which both encourage terror and torts among the participants.  In this case, an obvious claim could be made that it is negligence to allow such easy access to the operational area of the coffin ride — particularly in a dark space.  As a business invitee, Cheung would have a strong case in the United States.

    *  *  *

    A previous addition to the Spooky torts was the odd case of Assistant Prosecutor Chris White. White clearly does not like spiders, even fake ones. That much was clear given his response to finding fake spiders scattered around the West Virginia office for Halloween. White pulled a gun and threatened to shoot the fake spiders, explaining that he is “deathly afraid of spiders.” It appears that his arachnophobia (fear of spiders) was not matched by a hoplophobia (fear of firearms).

    The other employees were reportedly shaken up and Logan County Prosecuting Attorney John Bennett later suspended White. Bennett said “He said they had spiders everyplace and he said he told them it wasn’t funny, and he couldn’t stand them, and he did indeed get a gun out. It had no clip in it, of course they wouldn’t know that, I wouldn’t either if I looked at it, to tell you the truth.” It is not clear how White thought threatening the decorative spiders would keep them at bay or whether he was trying to deter those who sought to deck out the office in a Halloween theme. He was not charged by his colleagues with a crime but was suspended for his conduct.

    This is not our first interaction with White. He was the prosecutor in the controversial (and in my view groundless) prosecution of Jared Marcum, who was arrested after wearing a NRA tee shirt to school.

    *  *  *

    Another new case from the last year involves a murder. Donnie Cochenour Jr., 27, got a seasonal break (at least temporarily) on detecting his alleged murder of Rebecca J. Cade, 31. Cade’s body was left hanging on a fence and was mistaken by neighbors as a Halloween decoration. The “decoration” was found by a man walking his dog and reported by construction workers. A large rock was found with blood on it nearby. Donnie Cochenour Jr., 27, was later arrested and ordered held on $2 million bond after he pleaded not guilty to murder.

    Cade apparently had known Cochenour since he was a child — a relationship going back 20 years. Cochenour reportedly admitted that they had a physical altercation in the field. Police found a blood trail that indicates that Cade was running from Cochenour and tried to climb the fence in an attempt to get away. She was found hanging from her sleeve and is believed to have died on the fence from blunt force trauma to the head and neck. Her body exhibited “defensive wounds.”

    When police arrested Cochenour, they found blood on is clothing.

    *  *  *

    In 2015, federal and state governments were cracking down on cosmetic contact lenses to give people spooky eyes. Owners and operators of 10 Southern California businesses were criminally charged in federal court with illegally selling cosmetic contact lenses without prescriptions. Some of the products that were purchased in connection with this investigation were contaminated with dangerous pathogens that can cause eye injury, blindness and loss of the eye.

    The products are likely to result in a slew of product liability actions.

    *  *  *

    Another 2015 case reflects that the scariest part of shopping for Halloween costumes or decorations may be the trip to the Party Store. Shanisha L. Saulsberry sued U.S. Toy Company, Inc. after she was injured shopping for Halloween costumes and a store rack fell on her. The jury awarded Saulsberry $7,216.00 for economic damages. She appealed the damages after evidence of her injuries were kept out of the trial by the court. However, the Missouri appellate court affirmed the ruling.

    *  *  *

    The case of Castiglione v. James F. Q., 115 A.D.3d 696, shows a classic Halloween tort. The lawsuit alleged that, on Halloween 2007, the defendant’s son threw an egg which hit the plaintiff’s daughter in the eye, causing her injuries. The plaintiff also brought criminal charges against the defendant’s son arising from this incident and the defendant’s son pleaded guilty to assault in the third degree (Penal Law § 120.00 [2]). However, at his deposition, the defendant’s son denied throwing the egg which allegedly struck the plaintiff’s daughter.

    Because of the age of the accused, the case turned on the youthful offender statute (CPL art 720) that provides special measures for persons found to be youthful offenders which provides “Except where specifically required or permitted by statute or upon specific authorization of the court, all official records and papers, whether on file with the court, a police agency or the division of criminal justice services, relating to a case involving a youth who has been adjudicated a youthful offender, are confidential and may not be made available to any person or public or private agency [with certain exceptions not relevant here]” (CPL 720.35 [2]). This covers both the physical documents constituting the official record and the information contained within those documents. Thus, in relation to the Halloween egging, the boy was protected from having to disclose information or answer questions regarding the facts underlying the adjudication

    *  *  *

    We discussed the perils of pranks and “jump frights,” particularly with people who do not necessarily consent. In the case of Christian Faith Benge, there appears to have been consent in visiting a haunted house. The sophomore from New Miami High School in Ohio died from a prior medical condition at the at Land of Illusion haunted house. She was halfway through the house with about 100 friends and family members when she collapsed.

    She had an enlarged heart four times its normal size. She also was born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, which prevents the lungs from developing normally. This added stress to the heart. In such a case, consent and comparative negligence issues effectively bar recovery in most cases. It is a terrible loss of a wonderful young lady. However, some fatalities do not always come with liability and this appears such a case. Source: Journal News

    *  *  *

    As discussed earlier, In Franklin County, Tennessee, children may want to avoid the house of Dale Bryant Farris, 65, this Halloween . . . or houses near him. Bryant was arrested after shooting a 15-year-old boy who was with kids toilet-papering their principal’s front yard. Bryant came out of his house a couple of houses down from the home of Principal Ken Bishop and allegedly fired at least two blasts — one hitting a 15-year-old boy in the right foot, inner left knee, right palm, right thigh and right side of his torso above the waistline.

    Tennessee is a Castle Doctrine state and we have seen past cases like the notorious Tom Horn case in Texas where homeowners claimed the right to shoot intruders on the property of their neighbors. It is not clear if Bryant will argue that he was trying to stop intruders under the law, but it does not appear a good fit with the purpose or language of the law. Farris faces a charge of aggravated assault and another of reckless endangerment. He could also face civil liability from the boy’s family. This would include assault and battery. There is a privilege of both self-defense and defense of others. This privilege included reasonable mistaken self-defense or defense of others. This would not fit such a claim since he effectively pursued the boys by going to a neighbor’s property and there was no appearance of a threat or weapon since they were only armed with toilet paper.

    The good news is that Farris can now discard the need for a costume. He can go as himself at Halloween . . . as soon as he is out of jail.

    *  *  *

    As shown below, Halloween nooses have a bad record at parties. In 2012, a club called Pink Punters had a decorative noose that it had used for a number of years that allowed party goers to take pictures as a hanging victim on Halloween. Of course, you guessed it. A 25-year old man was found hanging from the noose in an accidental self-lynching at the nightclub in England.

    The case would appear easy to defend in light of the assumption of the risk and patent danger. The noose did not actually tighten around necks. Moreover, this is England where tort claims can be more challenging. In the United States, however, there would remain the question of a foreseeable accident in light of the fact that patrons are drinking heavily and drugs are often present at nightclubs. Since patrons are known to put their heads in the noose, the combination is intoxication and a noose is not a particularly good mix.

    *  *  *

    Grant v. Grant.

    A potential criminal and tort case comes to us from Pennsylvania where, at a family Halloween bonfire, Janet Grant spotted a skunk and told her son Thomas Grant to fetch a shotgun and shoot it. When he returned, Janet Grant shined a flashlight on the animal while her son shot it. It was only then that they discovered that Thomas Grant had just shot his eight-year-old cousin in her black and white Halloween costume. What is amazing is that authorities say that they are considering possible animal gaming charges.

    Fortunately, the little girl survived with a wound to the shoulder and abdomen.

    The police in Beaver County have not brought charges and alcohol does not appear to have been a factor.

    Putting aside the family connection (which presumably makes the likelihood of a lawsuit unlikely), there is a basis for both battery and negligence in such a wounding. With children in the area, the discharge of the firearm would seem pretty unreasonable even with the effort to illuminate “the animal.” Moreover, this would have to have been a pretty large skunk to be the size of an eight-year-old child.

    Just for the record, the average weight of a standard spotted skunk in that area is a little over 1 pound. The biggest skunk is a hog-nosed skunk that can reach up to 18 pounds.

    *  *  *

    We also have a potential duel case out of Aiken, South Carolina from one year ago. A 10-year-old Aiken trick-or-treater pulled a gun on a woman who joked that she wanted take his candy on Halloween. Police found that his brother, also ten, had his own weapon.

    The 28-year-old woman said that she merely joked with a group of 10 or so kids that she wanted their candy when the ten-year-old pulled out a 9 mm handgun and said “no you’re not.” While the magazine was not in the gun, he had a fully loaded magazine in his possession. His brother had the second gun. Both appear to have belonged to their grandfather.

    The children were released to their parents and surprisingly there is no mention of charges against the grandfather. While the guns appear to have been taken without his permission, it shows great negligence in the handling and storage of the guns.

    What would be interesting is a torts lawsuit by the woman for assault against the grandfather. The actions of third parties often cut off liability as a matter of proximate causation, though courts have held that you can be liable for creating circumstances where crimes or intentional torts are foreseeable. For example, a landlord was held liable in for crimes committed in his building in Kline v. 1500 Massachusetts Avenue. Here the grandfather’s negligence led to the use of the guns by these children. While a lawsuit is unlikely, it would certainly be an interesting — and not unwarranted — claim.

    *  *  *

    Tauton High School District

    The Massachusetts case of Smith v. Taunton High School involves a Halloween prank gone bad. A teacher at Taunton High School asked a 15-year-old student to answer a knock on the classroom door. The boy was startled when he came face to face with a man in a mask and carrying what appeared to be a running chainsaw. The student fell back, tripped and fractured a kneecap. His family is now suing though the state cap on such lawsuits is $100,000.

    Dussault said the family is preparing a lawsuit, but is exploring ways to avoid a trial and do better than the $100,000 cap when suing city employees. This could make for an interesting case, but would be better for the Plaintiffs as a bench versus a jury trial. Many jurors are likely to view this as simply an attempt at good fun by the teacher and an unforeseeable accident.

    Source: CBS

    *  *  *

    In Florida, a woman has sued for defamation, harassment and emotional distress after her neighbor set up decorations that included an insane asylum sign that pointed to her yard and a fake tombstone with an inscription she viewed as a reference to her single status. It read, “At 48 she had no mate no date/ It’s no debate she looks 88.”

    This could be a wonderful example of an opinion defense to defamation. As for emotional distress, I think the cause of the distress pre-dates Halloween.

    *  *  *

    Pieczonka v. Great America (2012)

    A family is suing Great America for a tort in 2011 at Great Falls. Father Marian Pieczonka alleged in his complaint that his young daughter Natalie was at the park in Gurnee, Illinois for the Halloween-themed Fright Fest when a park employee dressed in costume jumped out of a port-a-potty and shot her with a squirt gun. He then reported chased the screaming girl until she fell and suffered injuries involving scrapes and bruises. The lawsuit alleges negligence in encouraging employees to chase patrons given the tripping hazards.

    They are asking $30,000 in the one count complaint but could face assumption or comparative negligence questions, particularly in knowingly attending an event called “Fright Fest” where employees were known to jump out at patrons.

    *  *  *

    A lawsuit appears inevitable after a tragic accident in St. Louis where a 17-year-old girl is in a critical condition after she became tangled in a noose at a Halloween haunted house called Creepyworld. The girl was working as an actress at the attraction and was found unconscious. What is particularly chilling is that people appeared to have walked by her hanging in the house and thought she was a realistic prop.

    Notably, the attraction had people walk through to check on the well-being of actors and she was discovered but not for some time after the accident. She is in critical condition. Creepyworld employs 100 people and can expect a negligence lawsuit.

    *  *  *

    Rabindranath v. Wallace (2010)

    Peter Wallace, 24, was returning on a train with fellow Hiberinian soccer fans in England — many dressed in costumes (which the English call “fancy dress.”) One man was dressed as a sheep and Wallace thought it was funny to constantly flick his lighter near the cotton balls covering his body — until he burst into flames. Friends then made the matter worse by trying to douse the flames but throwing alcohol on the flaming man-sheep. Even worse, the victim Arjuna Rabindranath, 24, is an Aberdeen soccer fan. Rabindranath’s costume was composed of a white tracksuit and cotton wool.

    Outcome: Wallace is the heir to a large farm estate and agreed to pay damages to the victim, who experienced extensive burns.

    What is fascinating is the causation issue. Here, Wallace clearly caused the initial injury which was then made worse by the world’s most dim-witted rescue attempt in the use of alcohol to douse a fire. In the United States, the original tortfeasor is liable for such injuries caused by negligent rescues. Indeed, he is liable for injured rescuers. The rescuers can also be sued in most states. However, many areas of Europe have good Samaritan laws protecting such rescuers. Notably, Wallace had a previous football-related conviction which was dealt with by a fine. In this latest case, he agreed to pay 25,000 in compensation.

    The case is obviously similar to one of our prior Halloween winners below: Ferlito v. Johnson & Johnson

    *  *  *

    Perper v. Forum Novelties (2010)

    Sherri Perper, 56, of Queens, New York has filed a personal injury lawsuit due to defective shoes allegedly acquired from Forum Novelties. The shoes were over-sized clown shoes that she was wearing as part of her Halloween costume in 2008. She tripped and fell.

    She is reportedly claiming that the shoes were dangerous. While “open and obvious” is no longer an absolute defense in such products cases, such arguments may still be made to counter claims of defective products. In most jurisdictions, you must show that the product is more dangerous than the expectations of the ordinary consumer. It is hard to see how Perper could be surprised that it is a bit difficult to walk in over-sized shoes. Then there is the problem of assumption of the risk.

    *  *  *

    Dickson v. Hustonville Haunted House and Greg Walker (2009) Glenda Dickson, 51, broke four vertebrae in her back when she fell out of a second story window left open at the Hustonville Haunted House, owned by Greg Walker.

    Dickson was in a room called “The Crying Lady in the Bed” when one of the actors came up behind the group and started screaming. Everyone jumped in fright and Dickson jumped back through an open window that was covered with a sheet — a remarkably negligent act by the haunted house operator. She landed on a fire escape and then fell down some stairs.

    *  *  *

    Maryland v. Janik (2009)

    Sgt. Eric Janik, 37, went to a haunted house called the House of Screams with friends and when confronted by a character dressed as Leatherface with a chainsaw (sans the chain, of course), Janik pulled out his service weapon and pointed it at the man, who immediately dropped character, dropped the chainsaw, and ran like a bat out of Halloween Hell.

    Outcome: Janik is charged with assault and reckless endangerment for his actions. Charges pending.

    *  *  *

    Patrick v. South Carolina (2009) Quentin Patrick, 22, an ex-convict in Sumter, South Carolina shot and killed a trick-or-treater T.J. Darrisaw who came to his home on Halloween — spraying nearly 30 rounds with an assault rifle from inside his home after hearing a knock on the door. T.J.’s 9-year- old brother, Ahmadre Darrisaw, and their father, Freddie Grinnell, were injured but were released after being treated at a hospital.

    Patrick left his porch light on — a general signal for kids that the house was open for trick and treating. The boy’s mother and toddler sibling were in the car.

    Patrick emptied the AK-47 — shooting at least 29 times through his front door, walls and windows after hearing the knock. He said that he had been previously robbed. That may be so, but it is unclear what an ex-con was doing with a gun, let alone an AK-47.

    OUTCOME: Charges pending for murder.

    *  *  *

    Kentucky v. Watkins (2008)

    As a Halloween prank, restaurant manager Joe Watkins of the Chicken Ranch in Paris, Kentucky thought it was funny to lie in a pool of blood on the floor. After seeing Watkins on the floor, the woman went screaming from the restaurant to report the murder. Watkins said that the prank was for another employee and that he tried to call the woman back on her cell phone.

    OUTCOME: Under Kentucky law, a person can be charged with a false police report, even if he is not the one who filed it. The police charged Watkins for causing the woman to file the report — a highly questionable charge.

    *  *  *

    Mays v. Gretna Athletic Boosters␣95-717 (La.App. 5 Cir. 01/17/96)

    “Defendant operated a haunted house at Mel Ott Playground in Gretna to raise money for athletic programs. The haunted house was constructed of 2×4s and black visqueen. There were numerous cubbyholes where “scary” exhibits were displayed. One booster club member was stationed at the entrance and one at the exit. Approximately eighteen people participated in the haunted house by working the exhibits inside. Near and along the entrance of the haunted house was a bathroom building constructed of cinder blocks. Black visqueen covered this wall.

    Plaintiff and her daughter’s friend, about 10 years old, entered the haunted house on October 29, 1988. It was nighttime and was dark inside. Plaintiff testified someone jumped out and hollered, scaring the child into running. Plaintiff was also frightened and began to run. She ran directly into the visqueen-covered cinder block wall.

    There was no lighting in that part of the haunted house. Plaintiff hit the wall face first and began bleeding profusely from her nose. She testified two surgeries were required to repair her nose.”

    OUTCOME: In order to get the proper effect, haunted houses are dark and contain scary and/or shocking exhibits. Patrons in a Halloween haunted house are expected to be surprised, startled and scared by the exhibits but the operator does not have a duty to guard against patrons reacting in bizarre, frightened and unpredictable ways. Operators are duty bound to protect patrons only from unreasonably dangerous conditions, not from every conceivable danger.

    As found by the Trial Court, defendant met this duty by constructing the haunted house with rooms of adequate size and providing adequate personnel and supervision for patrons entering the house. Defendant’s duty did not extend to protecting plaintiff from running in a dark room into a wall. Our review of the entire record herein does not reveal manifest error committed by the Trial Court or that the Trial Court’s decision was clearly wrong. Plaintiff has not shown the haunted house was unreasonably dangerous or that defendant’s actions were unreasonable. Thus, the Trial Court judgment must be affirmed.

    *  *  *

    Powell v. Jacor Communications␣

    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

    320 F.3d 599 (6th Cir.2003)

    “On October 15, 1999, Powell visited a Halloween season haunted house in Lexington, Kentucky that was owned and operated by Jacor. She was allegedly hit in the head with an unidentified object by a person she claims was dressed as a ghost. Powell was knocked unconscious and injured. She contends that she suffered a concussion and was put on bed rest and given medications by emergency-room physicians. Powell further claims that she now suffers from several neuropsychological disorders as a result of the incident.”

    OUTCOME: Reversed dismissal on the basis of tolling of statute of limitations.

    *  *  *

    Kansas City Light & Power Company v. Trimble␣

    315 Mo. 32; 285 S.W. 455 (1926)

    Excerpt: “A shapely pole to which, twenty-two feet from the ground is attached a non-insulated electric wire . . Upon a shapely pole were standard steps eighteen inches apart; about seventeen feet from the ground were telephone wires, and five feet above them was a non-insulated electric light wire. On Halloween, about nine o’clock, a bright fourteen-year-old boy and two companions met close to the pole, and some girls dressed as clowns came down the street. As they came near the boy, saying, “Who dares me to walk the wire?” began climbing the pole, using the steps, and ascended to the telephone cables, and thereupon his companions warned him about the live wire and told him to come down. He crawled upon the telephone cables to a distance of about ten feet from the pole, and when he reached that point a companion again warned him of the live wire over his head, and threatened to throw a rock at him and knock him off if he did not come down. Whereupon he turned about and crawled back to the pole, and there raised himself to a standing position, and then his foot slipped, and involuntarily he threw up his arm, his hand clutched the live wire, and he was shocked to death.”

    OUTCOME:

    Frankly, I am not sure why the pole was so “shapely” but the result was disappointing for the plaintiffs. Kansas City Light & Power Company v. Trimble: The court held that the appellate court extended the attractive nuisance doctrine beyond the court’s ruling decisions. The court held that appellate court’s opinion on the contributory negligence doctrine conflicted with the court’s ruling decisions. The court held that the administrator’s case should never have been submitted to the jury. The court quashed the appellate opinion.

    “To my mind it is inconceivable that a bright, intelligent boy, doing well in school, past fourteen years of age and living in the city, would not understand and appreciate the fact that it would be dangerous to come in contact with an electric wire, and that he was undertaking a dangerous feat in climbing up the pole; but even if it may be said that men might differ on that proposition, still in this case he was warned of the wire and of the danger on account of the wire and that, too, before he had reached a situation where there was any occasion or necessity of clutching the wire to avoid a fall. Not only was he twice warned but he was repeatedly told and urged to come down.”

    *  *  *

    Purtell v. Mason␣ 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49064 (E.D. Ill. 2006)

    “The Purtells filed the present lawsuit against Defendant Village of Bloomingdale Police Officer Bruce Mason after he requested that they remove certain Halloween tombstone “decorations” from their property. Evidence presented at trial revealed that the Purtells placed the tombstones referring to their neighbors in their front yard facing the street. The tombstones specifically referred to their neighbors, who saw the language on the tombstones. For instance, the tombstone that referred to the Purtells’ neighbor James Garbarz stated:

    Here Lies Jimmy, The OlDe Towne IdioT MeAn As sin even withouT his Gin No LonGer Does He wear That sTupiD Old Grin . . . Oh no, noT where they’ve sent Him!

    The tombstone referring to the Purtells’ neighbor Betty Garbarz read:

    BeTTe wAsN’T ReADy, BuT here she Lies Ever since that night she DieD. 12 feet Deep in this trench . . . Still wasn’T Deep enough For that wenches Stench!

    In addition, the Purtells placed a Halloween tombstone in their yard concerning their neighbor Diane Lesner stating:

    Dyean was Known for Lying So She was fried. Now underneath these daises is where she goes crazy!!

    Moreover, the jury heard testimony that Diane Lesner, James Garbarz, and Betty Garbarz were upset because their names appeared on the tombstones. Betty Garbarz testified that she was so upset by the language on the tombstones that she contacted the Village of Bloomingdale Police Department. She further testified that she never had any doubt that the “Bette” tombstone referred to her. After seeing the tombstones, she stated that she was ashamed and humiliated, but did not talk to Jeffrey Purtell about them because she was afraid of him.

    Defense counsel also presented evidence that the neighbors thought the language on the tombstones constituted threats and that they were alarmed and disturbed by their names being on the tombstones. James Garbarz testified that he interpreted the “Jimmy” tombstone as a threat and told the police that he felt threatened by the tombstone. He also testified that he had concerns about his safety and what Jeffrey Purtell might do to him.”

    OUTCOME: The court denied the homeowners’ post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to and motion for a new trial. Viewing the evidence and all reasonable inferences in a light most favorable to Officer Mason, a rational jury could conclude that the language on the tombstones constituted threats, that the neighbors were afraid of Jeffrey Purtell, and that they feared for their safety. As such the Court will not disturb the jury’s conclusion that the tombstones constituted fighting words — “those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.”

    *  *  *

    Goodwin v. Walmart

    2001 Ark. App. LEXIS 78

    “On October 12, 1993, Randall Goodwin went to a Wal-Mart store located on 6th Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He entered through the front door and walked toward the sporting goods department. In route, he turned down an aisle known as the seasonal aisle. At that time, it was stocked with items for Halloween. This aisle could be observed from the cash registers. Mr. Goodwin took only a few steps down the aisle when he allegedly stepped on a wig and fell, landing on his right hip. As a result of the fall, Mr. Goodwin suffered severe physical injury to his back, including a ruptured disk. Kelly Evans, an employee for appellee, was standing at the end of her check-out stand when Mr. Goodwin approached her and informed her that he had fallen on an item in the seasonal aisle. She stated that she “saw what he was talking about.”

    OUTCOME: Judgment affirmed because the pleadings, depositions, and related summary judgment evidence did not show that there was any genuine issue of material fact as appellant customer did not establish a plastic bag containing the Halloween wig which allegedly caused him to slip and fall was on the floor as the result of appellee’s negligence or it had been on the floor for such a period of time that appellee knew or should have known about it.

    *  *  *

    Eversole v. Wasson␣ 80 Ill. App. 3d 94 (Ill. 1980)

    Excerpt: “The following allegations of count I, directed against defendant Wasson, were incorporated in count II against the school district: (1) plaintiff was a student at Villa Grove High School which was controlled and administered by the defendant school district, (2) defendant Wasson was employed by the school district as a teacher at the high school, (3) on November 1, 1978, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Wasson was at the high school in his regular capacity as a teacher and plaintiff was attending a regularly scheduled class, (4) Wasson sought and received permission from another teacher to take plaintiff from that teacher’s class and talk to him in the hallway, (5) once in the hallway, Wasson accused plaintiff of being one of several students he believed had smashed Wasson’s Halloween pumpkin at Wasson’s home, (6) without provocation from plaintiff, Wasson berated plaintiff, called him vile names, and threatened him with physical violence while shaking his fist in plaintiff’s face which placed plaintiff in fear of bodily injury, (7) Wasson then struck plaintiff about the head and face with both an open hand and a closed fist and shook and shoved him violently, (8) as a result, plaintiff was bruised about the head, neck, and shoulders; experienced pain and suffering in his head, body, and limbs; and became emotionally distraught causing his school performance and participation to be adversely affected . . .”

    OUTCOME: The court affirmed that portion of the lower court’s order that dismissed the count against the school district and reversed that portion of the lower court’s order that entered a judgment in bar of action as to this count. The court remanded the case to the lower court with directions to allow the student to replead his count against the school district.

    *  *  *

    Holman v. Illinois

    47 Ill. Ct. Cl. 372 (1995)

    “The Claimant was attending a Halloween party at the Illinois State Museum with her grandson on October 26, 1990. The party had been advertised locally in the newspaper and through flier advertisements. The advertisement requested that children be accompanied by an adult, to come in costume and to bring a flashlight. The museum had set up different display rooms to hand out candy to the children and give the appearance of a “haunted house.” The Claimant entered the Discovery Room with her grandson.

    Under normal conditions the room is arranged with tables and low-seated benches for children to use in the museum’s regular displays. These tables and benches had been moved into the upper-right-hand corner of the Discovery Room next to the wall. In the middle of the room, there was a “slime pot” display where the children received the Halloween treat. The overhead fluorescent lights were turned off; however, the track lights on the left side of the room were turned on and dim. The track lights on the right side of the room near the tables and benches were not lit. The room was dark enough that the children’s flashlights could be clearly seen. There were approximately 40-50 people in the room at the time of the accident.

    The Claimant entered the room with her grandson. They proceeded in the direction of the pot in the middle of the room to see what was going in the pot. Her grandson then ran around the pot to the right corner toward the wall. As the Claimant followed, she tripped over the corner of a bench stored in that section of the room. She fell, making contact with the left corner of the bench. She experienced great pain in her upper left arm. The staff helped her to her feet. Her father was called and she went to the emergency room. Claimant has testified that she did not see the low-seating bench because it was so dimly lit in the Discovery Room. The Claimant was treated at the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with a fracture of the proximal humeral head of her left arm as a result of the fall. Claimant returned home, but was unable to work for 12 to 13 weeks.”

    OUTCOME: “The Claimant has met her burden of proof. She has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the State acted negligently in placing furnishings in a dimly-lit room where visitors could not know of their location. The State did not exercise its duty of reasonable care. For the foregoing reasons, the Claimant is granted an award of $20,000.”

    *  *  *

    Ferlito v. Johnson & Johnson

    771 F. Supp. 196 “Plaintiffs Susan and Frank Ferlito, husband and wife, attended a Halloween party in 1984 dressed as Mary (Mrs. Ferlito) and her little lamb (Mr. Ferlito). Mrs. Ferlito had constructed a lamb costume for her husband by gluing cotton batting manufactured by defendant Johnson & Johnson Products (“JJP”) to a suit of long underwear. She had also used defendant’s product to fashion a headpiece, complete with ears. The costume covered Mr. Ferlito from his head to his ankles, except for his face and hands, which were blackened with Halloween paint. At the party Mr. Ferlito attempted to light his cigarette by using a butane lighter. The flame passed close to his left arm, and the cotton batting on his left sleeve ignited. Plaintiffs sued defendant for injuries they suffered from burns which covered approximately one-third of Mr. Ferlito’s body.”

    OUTCOME: Ferlito v. Johnson & Johnson: Plaintiffs repeatedly stated in their response brief that plaintiff Susan Ferlito testified that “she would never again use cotton batting to make a costume.” Plaintiffs’ Answer to Defendant JJP’s Motion for J.N.O.V., pp. 1, 3, 4, 5. However, a review of the trial transcript reveals that plaintiff Susan Ferlito never testified that she would never again use cotton batting to make a costume. More importantly, the transcript contains no statement by plaintiff Susan Ferlito that a flammability warning on defendant JJP’s product would have dissuaded her from using the cotton batting to construct the costume in the first place. At oral argument counsel for plaintiffs conceded that there was no testimony during the trial that either plaintiff Susan Ferlito or her husband, plaintiff Frank J. Ferlito, would  have acted any different if there had been a flammability warning on the product’s package. The absence of such testimony is fatal to plaintiffs’ case; for without it, plaintiffs have failed to prove proximate cause, one of the essential elements of their negligence claim.

    In addition, both plaintiffs testified that they knew that cotton batting burns when it is exposed to flame. Susan Ferlito testified that she knew at the time she purchased the cotton batting that it would burn if exposed to an open flame. Frank Ferlito testified that he knew at the time he appeared at the Halloween party that cotton batting would burn if exposed to an open flame. His additional testimony that he would not have intentionally put a flame to the cotton batting shows that he recognized the risk of injury of which he claims JJP should have warned. Because both plaintiffs were already aware of the danger, a warning by JJP would have been superfluous. Therefore, a reasonable jury could not have found that JJP’s failure to provide a warning was a proximate cause of plaintiffs’ injuries.

    The evidence in this case clearly demonstrated that neither the use to which plaintiffs put JJP’s product nor the injuries arising from that use were foreseeable.

    But in Trivino v. Jamesway Corporation, the following result:

    The mother purchased cosmetic puffs and pajamas from the retailer. The mother glued the puffs onto the pajamas to create a costume for her child. While wearing the costume, the child leaned over the electric stove. The costume caught on fire, injuring the child. Plaintiffs brought a personal injury action against the retailer. The retailer filed a third party complaint against the manufacturer of the puffs, and the puff manufacturer filed a fourth party complaint against the manufacturer of the fibers used in the puffs. The retailer filed a motion for partial summary judgment as to plaintiffs’ cause of action for failure to warn. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the actions against the manufacturers. On appeal, the court modified the judgment, holding that the mother’s use of the puffs was not unforeseeable as a matter of law and was a question for the jury. The court held that because the puffs were not made of cotton, as thought by the mother, there were fact issues as to the puffs’ flammability and defendants’ duty to warn. The court held that there was no prejudice to the retailer in permitting plaintiffs to amend their bill of particulars.

    OUTCOME: The court modified the trial court’s judgment to grant plaintiffs’ motion to amend their bill of particulars, deny the retailer’s motion for summary judgment, and reinstate the third party actions against the manufacturers.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 19:05

  • "Nothing But A Lie": Beijing Responds To COVID Lab Leak Allegations, Blaming Them On "Anti-China Forces"
    “Nothing But A Lie”: Beijing Responds To COVID Lab Leak Allegations, Blaming Them On “Anti-China Forces”

    Just days after a Senate report was published outlining how the origins of Covid were more likely than not the result of a “research related incident”, Beijing has gone on the defensive, blaming the lab leak theory on “anti-China forces,” Bloomberg reported this weekend. 

    Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday that the idea that Covid leaked from a lab in Wuhan is “nothing but a lie”. According to Bloomberg, Zhao also said that China has maintained a consistent position on the origins of the virus, seemingly alluding to the idea that the virus originated in a Wuhan wet market.

    China “opposes all forms of political manipulation”, Zhao went on say, according to the report. 

    Recall, just days ago, a Senate Committee on Health Education, Labor and Pensions interim report from October 27, 2022 titled “An Analysis of the Origins of the COVID19 Pandemic” revealed that the origins of Covid were more likely based in a lab as part of a “research related incident” and not zoonotic. This report came weeks after Dr. Richard Ebright of Rutgers University posted a damning chronology of circumstantial evidence that seemed to back up the lab leak theory. 

    The Senate report was the result of a “bipartisan Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee oversight effort into the origins of SARS-CoV-2”. It provided a lengthy analysis that reviewed “publicly available, open-source information to examine the two prevailing theories of origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus”.

    Among other conclusions, the report notes: “Substantial evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic was the result of a research-related incident associated with a laboratory in Wuhan, China,” the report states.

    “A research-related incident is consistent with the early epidemiology showing rapid spread of the virus exclusively in Wuhan with the earliest calls for assistance being located in the same district as the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s (WIV) original campus in central Wuhan. The WIV is an epicenter of advanced coronavirus research, where researchers have collected samples of and experimented on high-risk coronaviruses.”

    “While precedent of previous outbreaks of human infections from contact with animals favors the hypothesis that a natural zoonotic spillover is responsible for the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 that resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic was most likely the result of a research-related incident.”

    In other words, all of us “conspiracy theorists” floating the idea of a lab leak just because of the totally coincidental fact that the virus showed up on a virology lab’s doorstep, have now been validated by the U.S. Senate.

    In a section titled “Problems with the Natural Zoonotic Hypothesis”, the report says:

    “Based on precedent and genomics, the most likely scenario for a zoonotic origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is that SARS-CoV-2 crossed over the species barrier from an intermediate host to humans. However, the available evidence is also consistent, perhaps more so, with a direct bat-to-human spillover. Both scenarios remain plausible and, in the absence of additional information, should be considered equally valid hypotheses.”

    “However, nearly three years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, critical evidence that would prove that the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and resulting COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a natural zoonotic spillover is missing.”

    “Such gaps include the failure to identify the original host reservoir, the failure to identify a candidate intermediate host species, and the lack of serological or epidemiological evidence showing transmission from animals to humans, among others outlined in this report,” the report states.

    “As a result of these evidentiary gaps, it is hard to treat the natural zoonotic spillover theory as the presumptive origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

    Then, in the report’s conclusion, it states:

    “Based on the analysis of the publicly available information, it appears reasonable to conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic was, more likely than not, the result of a research-related incident. New information, made publicly available and independently verifiable, could change this assessment. However, the hypothesis of a natural zoonotic origin no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt, or the presumption of accuracy.”

    The report was signed off on by Richard Burr, United States Senator and Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 18:45

  • TuSimple Fires Co-founder As CEO Amid Federal Probes, Board Inquiry
    TuSimple Fires Co-founder As CEO Amid Federal Probes, Board Inquiry

    By Alan Adler if FreightWaves

    TuSimple Holdings on Monday fired co-founder Xiaodi Hou as chairman, CEO and chief technology officer amid federal probes and an internal investigation of the company’s dealings with China.

    An ongoing investigation led by the audit committee of the TuSimple board of directors  determined a change at the top was necessary, TuSimple said in a statement. Hou also was removed as a member of the government security committee.   

    The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) are investigating TuSimple over the exchange of its U.S. intellectual property with a China-backed company started by Hou’s co-founder, Mo Chen.

    TuSimple shares crater

    The news led to a sharp sell-off of TuSimple stock (NASDAQ:TSP), which already was down 83% this year. Shares traded at midday Monday at $3.35, down $2.96 or 46.91%. 

    CFIUS investigated TuSimple before the company went public in April 2021. It found no wrongdoing. But two board members backed by China technology conglomerate Sina Corp. left the TuSimple board after the probe concluded. TuSimple also agreed to limited federal oversight of its business as part of the settlement. 

    Sina divested part of its 20% stake at the time TuSimple went public.

    Yumer becomes interim CEO and president

    Ersin Yumer, executive vice president of operations, will serve as interim CEO and president while Russell Reynolds Associates conducts an executive search. Lead independent director Brad Buss will be TuSimple’s chairman. The board is seeking to add new independent members following the departure of the two Sina-related board members.

    “Transparency, good judgment and accountability are critical values to our Company,” Buss said. “We take these values extremely seriously.”

    Coincidentally, Hou said almost the same thing in a Sept. 15 Q&A with Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shankar during the investment firm’s 10th annual Laguna Conference.

    “We are very honest with ourselves and to the world,” Hou said. “That sets us apart as a unique company.”

    In an email to employees, Buss wrote: “And we also know that the technology we’ve developed at TuSimple works. We have proven it through the world’s first driver-out autonomous freight test runs, and we are on the path to commercialization. Now, we have to continue to make the hard decisions necessary to keep TuSimple moving on its trajectory toward long-term success and long-term stability.

    Yumer, who joined TuSimple from rival Aurora Technology, rose quickly through the technology ranks since joining the company 15 months ago. Like Hou, he has a Ph.D. focused on engineering and product development.

    Yumer’s rise coincided with the departure earlier this year of CEO Cheng Lu and CFO Pat Dillon, who led TuSimple to public trading via an initial public offering.

    “It’s not uncommon for a CFO to leave shortly after their CEO,” Yumer told FreightWaves in a recent interview. “Our perspective is that it’s not uncommon with companies that come from being a startup and then transition into being a public company. That transition changes what the focus is for the folks that have actually brought the company there.”

    TuSimple named Ersin Yumer as interim CEO and president of the autonomous trucking developer after firing co-founder Xiaodi Hou as CEO, chairman and chief technology officer

    Hou lashes out

    In a linkedIn post Monday, Hou lashed out at the board, complaining that it fired him without cause.

    “Unfortunately, the Board’s processes and conclusions have been questionable at best,” Hou wrote. “As the facts come to light, I am confident that my decisions as CEO and Chairman, and our vision for TuSimple, will be vindicated. I want to be clear that I fundamentally deny any suggestions of wrongdoing.

    “I have been completely transparent in both my professional and personal life and I fully cooperated with the Board because I have nothing to hide.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 18:25

  • Biden Lost Temper In Zelensky Phone Call: "Show A Little More Gratitude" 
    Biden Lost Temper In Zelensky Phone Call: “Show A Little More Gratitude” 

    Days after the Pentagon announced that total US military aid given to Ukraine so far has topped $18.5 billion, new reporting has revealed President Joe Biden briefly lost his temper in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, after the latter kept pressing for more money and arms.

    NBC has cited four officials familiar with a phone call which took place in June, who revealed for the first time on Monday, “Biden had barely finished telling Zelenskyy he’d just greenlighted another $1 billion in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine when Zelenskyy started listing all the additional help he needed and wasn’t getting.”

    Image via Axios

    At that point, “Biden lost his temper, the people familiar with the call said.” Not only has Washington handed Kyiv a record amount of military aid, but tens of more billions in humanitarian funding as well, as the country struggles to keep the lights on and keep civil services active amid mounting wartime debt as the Russian invasion continues. 

    President Biden, reportedly showing his irritation, explained to Zelensky in that prior phone call, “The American people were being quite generous, and his administration and the U.S. military were working hard to help Ukraine, he said, raising his voice, and Zelenskyy could show a little more gratitude.”

    The report followed by citing one source who said additionally that “Biden was direct with Zelensky” and reminded him that defense aid must be handled through the appropriate military channels. 

    According to more from NBC, the two leaders’ communications have since improved: 

    Administration officials said Biden and Zelenskyy’s relationship has only improved since the June phone call, after which Zelenskyy made a statement praising the U.S. for its generous assistance. But the clash reflects Biden’s early awareness that both congressional and public support for sending billions of dollars to Ukraine could begin to fade. That moment has arrived just as the president prepares to ask Congress to greenlight even more money for Ukraine.

    Perhaps the two getting past those prior June tensions was the result of the White House continuing to essentially sign off on whatever Ukraine asks for. 

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

    Last month, Zelensky boasted in a CBS “Face the Nation” interview that Washington is providing him with a whopping $1.5 billion per month for state coffers as the country piles up a large war-time deficit. 

    “The United States gives us $1.5 billion every month to support our budget to fight” against Russia the Ukrainian leader explained, but pointed out there remains “a deficit of $5 billion in our budget.” Of course, in that interview he immediately pivoted to repeating Kyiv’s longtime complaint that it’s not enough – because it’s never enough, apparently.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 18:05

  • Pelosi Attacker Charged With Assault, Attempted Kidnapping; Intended To "Kneecap" Nancy "If She Lied"
    Pelosi Attacker Charged With Assault, Attempted Kidnapping; Intended To “Kneecap” Nancy “If She Lied”

    The man who allegedly attacked the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was charged Oct. 31 with assault and attempted kidnapping.

    David DePape, 42, was charged with assaulting Paul Pelosi, 82 and attempting to kidnap Nancy Pelosi, 82.

    DePape was charged in U.S. court in northern California three days after he allegedly broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and attacked Paul Pelosi.

    He faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted on both counts.

    As The Epoch Times’ Zachary Stieber reports, San Francisco officers responded to a 911 call from Paul Pelosi in the early hours of Friday and witnessed, after the door was opened, DePape and Paul Pelosi each with a hand on the same hammer.

    At 2:31 a.m., San Francisco Police Department (“SFPD”) Officer Colby Wilmes responded to the Pelosi residence, California and knocked on the front door.

    When the door was opened, Pelosi and DEPAPE were both holding a hammer with one hand and DEPAPE had his other hand holding onto Pelosi’s forearm.

    Pelosi greeted the officers.

    The officers asked them what was going on.

    DEPAPE responded that everything was good.

    Officers then asked Pelosi and DEPAPE to drop the hammer.

    Officers located zip ties in a bedroom in the home and inside of a backpack, they found a journal, a roll of tape, a hammer, a pair of gloves, and white rope.

    Officers found signs that DePape broke into the home through the rear of the building.

    A witness told officers that he saw a person wearing all black and carrying a large black bag walking near the Pelosi residence. Paul Pelosi, meanwhile, said that he was asleep when DePape entered the bedroom and said he wanted to talk to Nancy Pelosi. DePape said that he would wait, even after Paul Pelosi said his wife would not be home for several days.

    Paul Pelosi called 911 from the bathroom.

    According to dispatch audio, Paul Pelosi said that he was with a man he described as “a friend” and that the man was going to wait for his wife.

    The dispatcher sent officers to the home after receiving the call.

    DePape told officers hours after being detained that he intended to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and that he would break her kneecaps if she did not tell the truth.

    As the criminal complaint breaks down, in a Mirandized and recorded interview of DEPAPE by San Francisco Police Department Officers, DEPAPE provided the following information:

    a.    DEPAPE stated that he was going to hold Nancy hostage and talk to her. If Nancy were to tell DEPAPE the “truth,” he would let her go, and if she “lied,” he was going to break “her kneecaps.”

    DEPAPE was certain that Nancy would not have told the “truth.”

    In the course of the interview, DEPAPE articulated he viewed Nancy as the “leader of the pack” of lies told by the Democratic Party.

    DEPAPE also later explained that by breaking Nancy’s kneecaps, she would then have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other Members of Congress there were consequences to actions.

    DEPAPE also explained generally that he wanted to use Nancy to lure another individual to DEPAPE.

    b.    DEPAPE stated that he broke into the house through a glass door, which was a difficult task that required the use of a hammer.

    DEPAPE stated that Pelosi was in bed and appeared surprised by DEPAPE. DEPAPE told Pelosi to wake up. DEPAPE told Pelosi that he was looking for Nancy. Pelosi responded that she was not present. Pelosi asked how they could resolve the situation, and what DEPAPE wanted to do. DEPAPE stated he wanted to tie Pelosi up so that DEPAPE could go to sleep as he was tired from having had to carry a backpack to the Pelosi residence.

    Around this time, according to DEPAPE, DEPAPE started taking out twist ties from his pocket so that he could restrain Pelosi. Pelosi moved towards another part of the house, but DEPAPE stopped him and together they went back into the bedroom.

    c.    While talking with each other, Pelosi went into a bathroom, where Pelosi grabbed a phone to call 9-1-1.

    DEPAPE stated he felt like Pelosi’s actions compelled him to respond.

    d.    DEPAPE remembered thinking that there was no way the police were going to forget about the phone call.

    DEPAPE explained that he did not leave after Pelosi’s call to 9-1-1 because, much like the American founding fathers with the British, he was fighting against tyranny without the option of surrender.

    DEPAPE reiterated this sentiment elsewhere in the interview.

    e.    DEPAPE stated that they went downstairs to the front door. The police arrived and knocked on the door, and Pelosi ran over and opened it. Pelosi grabbed onto DEPAPE’s hammer, which was in DEPAPE’s hand.

    At this point in the interview, DEPAPE repeated that DEPAPE did not plan to surrender and that he would go “through” Pelosi.

    f.    DEPAPE stated that he pulled the hammer away from Pelosi and swung the hammer towards Pelosi.

    DEPAPE explained that Pelosi’s actions resulted in Pelosi “taking the punishment instead.”

    DePape and Paul Pelosi were both taken to a hospital for treatment.

    Paul Pelosi underwent surgery for a skull fracture and injuries to his hands, according to Nancy Pelosi’s office. Paul Pelosi’s condition “continues to improve,” Nancy Pelosi said in a statement over the weekend.

    Local prosecutors have said they also plan to file a slew of felony charges against DePape, including  attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and elder abuse.

    As if that was not enough, a source with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News that DePape was an illegal immigrant and a “longtime” visa overstay, meaning he arrived in the United States by legal means but did not leave after his visa expired and was never repatriated. DePape was born in Canada and has resided within the U.S. for roughly 20 years.

    So in summary, a Berkeley nudist and illegal-immigrant, with a pedophile ex-wife, leaves his BLM-adorned, LGBT-supporting home and attacks the Pelosi residence with the goal of getting the “truth” from the Speaker and “fighting against tyranny”.

    What’s weird about that?

    Read the full criminal complaint below:

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 10/31/2022 – 17:46

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