- World Trade Plunged To 'Lowest Levels' On Record In June
World Trade Plunged To ‘Lowest Levels’ On Record In June
Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/20/2020 – 02:45Central banks expanded interventions to counteract the effects of the virus-induced global downturn have resulted in global equity prices, at, or, near record-high levels. These money wizards have printed trillions of dollars, plowing the money into financial markets to create an illusion that the worst global downturn on record is nothing more than a blip.
However, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Goods Trade Barometer registered a record low in June, confirming the decline in global merchandise trade in 2Q20 and suggests the recovery phase remains challenging:
“Additional indicators point to partial upticks in world trade and output in the third quarter, but the strength of any such recovery remains highly uncertain: an L-shaped, rather than V-shaped, the trajectory cannot be ruled out,” said the WTO.
June’s Goods Trade Barometer reading is at 84.5, 15.5 points below the baseline of 100 and down 18.6 points year-on-year. The current reading is in line with WTO’s June trade forecast of an 18.5% drop in merchandise trade volumes in the second quarter. It also said the full-year decline would be “less pessimistic” of about -13%.
Nevertheless, the Goods Trade Barometer set a record low reading in June:
“This reading – the lowest on record in data going back to 2007, and on par with the nadir of the 2008-09 financial crisis – is broadly consistent with WTO statistics issued in June, which estimated an 18.5% decline in merchandise trade in the second quarter of 2020 as compared to the same period last year,” the WTO said.
WTO said, “all the barometer’s component indices remain well below trend, with many registering record lows, but some have begun to stabilize. Indices for automotive products (71.8) and air freight (76.5) are by far the worst on record since 2007. Container shipping (86.9) also remains deeply depressed. Export orders (88.4) show signs of recovery as this index has turned upward. Meanwhile, indices for electronic components (92.8) and agricultural raw materials (92.5) have held up relatively well.”
Breakdown of component indices:
Contrary to the official narrative of a “V-shaped” economic recovery seen around the world – the recovery in the US, China, and Europe is stalling.
Investor faith that central banks have effective monetary tools to produce a robust and timely recovery is merely an illusion of elevated asset prices.
- Why Beijing's Wolf Warrior Diplomacy Suddenly Quieted Down
Why Beijing’s Wolf Warrior Diplomacy Suddenly Quieted Down
Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/20/2020 – 02:00Authored by Huidong Zhang via The Epoch Times,
Top-level Chinese officials have recently shifted away from the regime’s wolf warrior diplomacy tactic to a more toned-down approach. This turnaround can be interpreted as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) not wanting to decouple from the United States nor shut out of the global economic order led by Washington.
Yang Jiechi, a top member of the Politburo, wrote, “China is always open to dialogue and communication with the U.S.,” in an article dated Aug. 7. Cui Tiankai, Chinese ambassador to the United States, said the U.S.-China relationship should be “cooperation rather than confrontation” at the Aspen Security Forum on Aug. 4. Foreign Minister Wang Yi addressed the China-U.S. Think Tanks Media Forum on July 9, saying, “China can restore and restart the dialogue mechanisms at all levels and in all areas.”
Although the above statements from the CCP officials reveal that Beijing is begging for a dialogue with Washington, the words carry no weight and may not lead to concrete actions.
Wolf Warrior Diplomacy Creates a Global Enemy
For a long time, the CCP has regarded diplomacy to be a way of extending its tyranny. Its aggressive and offensive diplomacy is characterized by the goal of inciting national sentiment and brainwashing the Chinese people.
For example, as former leader of the Communist Party, Mao Zedong’s revolutionary diplomacy was in line with his personal ambition—to become a leader of the world revolution. He classified nearly all nations as enemies. The United States and Western Europe became “imperialists,” the communist countries that abided by the Soviet Union were the “social imperialists,” and the remaining third world countries basically close to Europe and the United States were the “anti-China” faction. The few countries left were the “widespread poor friends” in Africa, which the regime could exploit using its foreign aid policy.
In the 1969 Sino-Soviet border conflict, a very annoyed Soviet Union was preparing to carry out a “surgical nuclear strike” against China. A firm opposition from the United States spared the Chinese people from nuclear attack. Under the provocative “anti-imperialist” and “anti-revisionist” foreign policy of the regime, the Chinese people have suffered endlessly from an arrogant and isolated dictatorship.
The subsequent leaders of the CCP realized that the time wasn’t right for the CCP to become a world leader; so they adopted former leader Deng Xiaoping’s “economic foreign policy with a strong nationalist diplomacy” to confuse the international community. During this period, the CCP organized various demonstrations in mainland China to threaten the international community, such as the 1999 students’ anti-American demonstration, the Chinese internet users’ boycott of French retail giant Carrefour in 2008, the 2012 anti-Japanese protest, and the anti-Korea demonstration in 2017. The wolf warrior diplomats, however, remained quiet.
China’s economy developed rapidly after the United States helped it join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Its national strength also increased significantly, especially after it surpassed Japan to become the world’s second largest economy in 2010. Its capital strength seemed to prepare the CCP to achieve its ambition of changing the world order so it dominated the world. CCP hack writer Jin Canrong, a professor on Sino-U.S. relations at Renmin University of China, even declared the so-called “win-win” as China wins twice. The new superpower is now ready to launch its revolutionary diplomatic wars around the world.
The global pandemic enabled the wolf warrior diplomats to launch a series of attacks in order to shirk accountability for the wide spread of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. First, they inferred that the United States was the source of COVID-19, which provoked the China-U.S. conflict. Second, shamelessly demanding gratitude from the world for providing defective face masks. Third, the Chinese ambassador to Australia warned Australia to stop the international inquiry into the origin of the CCP virus. Fourth, the Chinese ambassador to Paris slandered staff in France’s nursing homes on his embassy’s website and sharply criticized the Western response to the outbreak for being laggardly. Fifth, the Chinese Embassy in Brazil tweeted that Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of the President of Brazil, had been infected with a “mental virus” during a recent trip to the United States after he tweeted that the regime is a “dictatorship.” Sixth, the Chinese Embassy in Germany called local tabloid BILD “bad” when it claimed that China owes a debt to Germany because of the CCP virus pandemic. Seventh, the Chinese Embassy in Sweden posted on its website that think tank Frivärld’s claim that “China should apologize” is totally groundless, unjustified, and is a more terrifying virus.
These diplomatic spats caused by the wolf warriors on the surface demonstrate the tough line of the regime, but also constantly brainwash the Chinese people. As the state-run media Global Times wrote, “The days of China getting bullied are gone.” The ultimate goal of such tactics is to trap the international community into the blame game and obfuscate the fundamental issue of the source of pandemic.
However, this wolf warrior diplomacy has brought an obvious side effect, namely, “the big power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics” proposed by CCP leader Xi Jinping has deteriorated to distrust by all countries in the world, and to once again becoming the “human enemy.” A recent Pew Research Center survey showed “roughly two-thirds of Americans now have a negative opinion of China, the highest percentage recorded” since Pew began asking the question 15 years ago.
Shifting to Dialogue Mode Buys Time
Wolf warrior diplomacy has not only failed to elevate international power proposed by China’s foreign ministry, it has ruined the image of a worldly new power the CCP created through painstaking efforts.
The relationship between the CCP and other countries in the world continues to deteriorate—especially U.S.-China relations. After U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the freedom-loving nations of the world “must start by changing how our people and our partners perceive the Chinese Communist Party,” and (we) “can’t treat this incarnation of China as a normal country, just like any other,” the regime finally realized the change in U.S. foreign policy toward the CCP. In order to maintain the legitimacy of the regime, the CCP top officials had to beg for a dialogue with the United States.
Yang Jiechi, a Politburo member and director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China wrote:
“The two countries need to engage in dialogue and communication in all areas. China is always open to dialogue and communication with the U.S.”
Obviously, Yang deliberately forgot what Pompeo said in his speech, “Yang’s promises, like so many the CCP made before him, were empty.” The dialogue will not occur because the United States has recognized, as Pompeo stated, “that the only way—the only way to truly change communist China is to act not on the basis of what Chinese leaders say, but how they behave.”
The United States has said it clearly:
“When it comes to the CCP … we must distrust and verify.”
The CCP’s begging for a dialogue with the United States can be interpreted as a delaying tactic and pinning its hopes on the upcoming presidential election.
“China prefers that President Trump—whom Beijing sees as unpredictable—does not win reelection,” according to a statement made by NCSC (U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center) Director William Evanina on Aug. 7.
The CCP has never given up its ambitions of global hegemony. Therefore, the United States must be alert to the current behavior of the CCP, because what the CCP does has always threatened the security of the United States and the world.
CCP Breaking Away From World Economic Order
As we all know, from the cover-up of the coronavirus outbreak to the suppression of whistleblowers, the CCP’s actions, aided by the WHO director general’s misleading information, have led to a world pandemic that continues to erode the international community. It is inevitable for people around the world to demand compensation from the CCP for damages caused by the virus. Already, some countries in Africa have publicly asked the CCP to reduce or forgive their debts—this is compensation in disguise. Conflicts around the issue of claims will erupt after the pandemic is over. The CCP may have to leave the international economic order.
Countries will not move their industrial supply chains to China, especially after seeing the threat of the CCP’s tyranny to the global economy and politics. Considering national security and the safety of people’s lives and health, countries will accelerate their decoupling with the regime. A tidal wave of decoupling from the CCP has already begun.
Countries involved in cooperation projects and organizations led by the CCP’s investment-oriented “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road Initiative), Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the BRICS, have had serious conflicts and disagreements with the CCP over the pandemic and diplomacy. India and Brazil, members of the BRICS, for instance, have shown deteriorating relations with the CCP.
Through the pandemic, deterioration of relations between the CCP and other countries has accelerated. Once the industrial chain moves out of China, it will be difficult to get it back. The status of “world factory” will never return. The CCP’s perverse actions will only lead to its exclusion from the international community and the world economic order.
- Australian Five- And Ten-Cent Coins To Disappear As Pandemic Ushers In 'Cashless Society
Australian Five- And Ten-Cent Coins To Disappear As Pandemic Ushers In ‘Cashless Society
Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/20/2020 – 01:00Australia’s five and ten cent coins could bite the dust as the coronavirus pandemic has supercharged the decline of coin circulation.
Leading up to the pandemic, coin circulation in Australia experienced a sharp decline in the use of 5 and 10 cent coins.
Royal Australian Mint CEO Ross MacDiarmid told ABC News that he expects 5 and 10 cent coins to be phased out of circulation in the coming years, adding that the pandemic has likely shortened the natural life of coins.
“There’s no doubt there has been a significant decline in demand for circulating coin over the last five to six years,” MacDiarmid said.
“Decline in demand for coins (is) roughly 55 to 56 per cent,” he said.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) recently published data showing the rapid decline of physical currency used in transactions over the last half-decade. The RBA pointed out an unprecedented decline in the use of cash because of the virus pandemic forced people to transact online and use contactless payments.
“ATM withdrawals in April were down 30 per cent from the month before and over 40 per cent lower than 12 months earlier,” RBA Assistant Governor Michele Bullock said in June.
“Rising inflation, coupled with the growth of online and contactless payments, are rendering the lowly silvers obsolete, despite their place as a mainstay in cafe tip jars, charity tins, and school canteens,” said ABC.
MacDiarmid said the outgoing coins would be redeemable at banks and can still be used in shops.
He said the government has carefully taken a look at the 50 cent coin:
“We are monitoring its use in circulation to see whether there’s a need somewhere in the future for a different 50c piece to be produced,” MacDiarmid said.
“It’s not something we’ve necessarily raised with the Government but it’s something that perhaps could be raised in the future,” he added.
MacDiarmid cited a figure, pointing to the steep decline of coins over the last five decades. He said there are only 4 billion coins in circulation, down from 15 billion in 1965.
The decline of physical money attributed to the virus pandemic has also been seen in the US over the last two months. A coin shortage has forced many businesses to only accept exact change and or only accept credit and debit cards.
The demise of the Australian 5 and 10 cent coins amid the rise of contactless payments, supercharged by the virus pandemic, along with the coin shortage in the US, forcing folks to use contactless payments as well, certainly suggests a cashless society is ahead.
- The Great Election Fraud: Will Our Freedoms Survive Another Vote?
The Great Election Fraud: Will Our Freedoms Survive Another Vote?
Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/20/2020 – 00:05Authored by John Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,
“Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest—forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of other centuries.”
– Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
And so it begins again, the never-ending, semi-delusional, train-wreck of an election cycle in which the American people allow themselves to get worked up into a frenzy over the misguided belief that the future of this nation—nay, our very lives—depends on who we elect as president.
For the next three months, Americans will be dope-fed billions of dollars’ worth of political propaganda aimed at keeping them glued to their television sets and persuading them that 1) their votes count and 2) electing the right candidate will fix everything that is wrong with this country.
Incredible, isn’t it, that in a country of more than 330 million people, we are given only two choices for president? How is it that in a country teeming with creative, intelligent, productive, responsible, moral people, our vote too often comes down to pulling the lever for the lesser of two evils?
The system is rigged, of course.
It is a heavily scripted, tightly choreographed, star-studded, ratings-driven, mass-marketed, costly exercise in how to sell a product—in this case, a presidential candidate—to dazzled consumers who will choose image over substance almost every time.
As author Noam Chomsky rightly observed, “It is important to bear in mind that political campaigns are designed by the same people who sell toothpaste and cars.”
In other words, we’re being sold a carefully crafted product by a monied elite who are masters in the art of making the public believe that they need exactly what is being sold to them, whether it’s the latest high-tech gadget, the hottest toy, or the most charismatic politician.
This year’s presidential election, much like every other election in recent years, is what historian Daniel Boorstin referred to as a “pseudo-event”: manufactured, contrived, confected and devoid of any intrinsic value save the value of being advertised.
After all, who wants to talk about police shootings, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture schemes, private prisons, school-to-prison pipelines, overcriminalization, censorship or any of the other evils that plague our nation when you can tune into a reality show carefully calibrated to appeal to the public’s need for bread and circuses, diversion and entertainment, and pomp and circumstance.
But make no mistake: Americans only think they’re choosing the next president.
In truth, however, they’re engaging in the illusion of participation culminating in the reassurance ritual of voting. It’s just another Blue Pill, a manufactured reality conjured up by the matrix in order to keep the populace compliant and convinced that their vote counts and that they still have some influence over the political process.
It’s all an illusion.
The nation is drowning in debt, crippled by a slowing economy, overrun by militarized police, swarming with surveillance, besieged by endless wars and a military industrial complex intent on starting new ones, and riddled with corrupt politicians at every level of government.
All the while, we’re arguing over which corporate puppet will be given the honor of stealing our money, invading our privacy, abusing our trust, undermining our freedoms, and shackling us with debt and misery for years to come.
Nothing taking place on Election Day will alleviate the suffering of the American people.
Unless we do something more than vote, the government as we have come to know it—corrupt, bloated and controlled by big-money corporations, lobbyists and special interest groups—will remain unchanged. And “we the people”—overtaxed, overpoliced, overburdened by big government, underrepresented by those who should speak for us and blissfully ignorant of the prison walls closing in on us—will continue to trudge along a path of misery.
With roughly 22 lobbyists per Congressman, corporate greed will continue to call the shots in the nation’s capital, while our so-called representatives will grow richer and the people poorer. And elections will continue to be driven by war chests and corporate benefactors rather than such values as honesty, integrity and public service.
Just consider: while billions will be spent on the elections this year, not a dime of that money will actually help the average American in their day-to-day struggles to just get by.
Conveniently, politicians only seem to remember their constituents in the months leading up to an election, and yet “we the people” continue to take the abuse, the neglect, the corruption and the lies. We make excuses for the shoddy treatment, we cover up for them when they cheat on us, and we keep hoping that if we just stick with them long enough, eventually they’ll treat us right.
When a country spends billions of dollars to select what is, for all intents and purposes, a glorified homecoming king or queen to occupy the White House, while tens of millions of its people live in poverty, nearly 18 million Americans are out of work, and most of the country and its economy remain in a state of semi-lockdown due to COVID-19 restrictions, that’s a country whose priorities are out of step with the needs of its people.
Then again, people get the government they deserve.
No matter who wins the presidential election come November, it’s a sure bet that the losers will be the American people if all we’re prepared to do is vote.
As political science professor Gene Sharp notes in starker terms, “Dictators are not in the business of allowing elections that could remove them from their thrones.”
To put it another way, the Establishment—the shadow government and its corporate partners that really run the show, pull the strings and dictate the policies, no matter who occupies the Oval Office—are not going to allow anyone to take office who will unravel their power structures. Those who have attempted to do so in the past have been effectively put out of commission.
So what is the solution to this blatant display of imperial elitism disguising itself as a populist exercise in representative government?
Stop playing the game. Stop supporting the system. Stop defending the insanity. Just stop.
Washington thrives on money, so stop giving them your money. Stop throwing your hard-earned dollars away on politicians and Super PACs who view you as nothing more than a means to an end. There are countless worthy grassroots organizations and nonprofits working in your community to address real needs like injustice, poverty, homelessness, etc. Support them and you’ll see change you really can believe in in your own backyard.
Politicians depend on votes, so stop giving them your vote unless they have a proven track record of listening to their constituents, abiding by their wishes and working hard to earn and keep their trust.
It’s comforting to believe that your vote matters, but Franklin Delano Roosevelt was right: “Presidents are selected, not elected.”
Despite what is taught in school and the propaganda that is peddled by the media, a presidential election is not a populist election for a representative. Rather, it’s a gathering of shareholders to select the next CEO, a fact reinforced by the nation’s archaic electoral college system. In other words, your vote doesn’t elect a president. Despite the fact that there are 218 million eligible voters in this country (only half of whom actually vote), it is the electoral college, made up of 538 individuals handpicked by the candidates’ respective parties, that actually selects the next president.
The only thing you’re accomplishing by taking part in the “reassurance ritual” of voting is sustaining the illusion that we have a democratic republic.
In actuality, we are suffering from what political scientists Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page more accurately term an “economic élite domination” in which the economic elite (lobbyists, corporations, monied special interest groups) dominate and dictate national policy.
No surprise there.
As an in-depth Princeton University study confirms, democracy has been replaced by oligarchy, a system of government in which elected officials represent the interests of the rich and powerful rather than the average citizen.
We did it to ourselves.
We said nothing while our elections were turned into popularity contests populated by individuals better suited to be talk-show hosts rather than intelligent, reasoned debates on issues of domestic and foreign policy by individuals with solid experience, proven track records and tested integrity.
We turned our backs on things like wisdom, sound judgment, morality and truth, shrugging them off as old-fashioned, only to find ourselves saddled with lying politicians incapable of making fair and impartial decisions.
We let ourselves be persuaded that those yokels in Washington could do a better job of running this country than we could. It’s not a new problem. As former Senator Joseph S. Clark Jr. acknowledged in a 1955 article titled, “Wanted: Better Politicians”: “[W]e have too much mediocrity in the business of running the government of the country, and it troubles me that this should be so at a time of such complexity and crisis… Government by amateurs, semi-pros, and minor-leaguers will not meet the challenge of our times. We must realize that it takes great competence to run a country which, in spite of itself, has succeeded to world leadership in a time of deadly peril.”
We indulged our craving for entertainment news at the expense of our need for balanced reporting by a news media committed to asking the hard questions of government officials. The result, as former congressman Jim Leach points out, leaves us at a grave disadvantage:
“At a time when in-depth analysis of the issues of the day has never been more important, quality journalism has been jeopardized by financial considerations and undercut by purveyors of ideology who facilely design news, like clothes, to appeal to a market segment.”
We bought into the fairytale that politicians are saviors, capable of fixing what’s wrong with our communities and our lives, when in fact, most politicians lead such sheltered lives that they have no clue about what their constituents must do to make ends meet. As political scientists Morris Fiorina and Samuel Abrams conclude, “In America today, there is a disconnect between an unrepresentative political class and the citizenry it purports to represent. The political process today not only is less representative than it was a generation ago and less supported by the citizenry, but the outcomes of that process are at a minimum no better.”
We let ourselves be saddled with a two-party system and fooled into believing that there’s a difference between the Republicans and Democrats, when in fact, the two parties are exactly the same. As one commentator noted, both parties support endless war, engage in out-of-control spending, ignore the citizenry’s basic rights, have no respect for the rule of law, are bought and paid for by the corporate elite, care most about their own power, and have a long record of expanding government and shrinking liberty.
Then, when faced with the prospect of voting for the lesser of two evils, many simply compromise their principles and overlook the fact that the lesser of two evils is still evil.
Perhaps worst of all, we allowed the cynicism of our age and the cronyism and corruption of Washington, DC, to discourage us from believing that there was any hope for the American experiment in liberty.
Granted, it’s easy to become discouraged about the state of our nation. We’re drowning under the weight of too much debt, too many wars, too much power in the hands of a centralized government, too many militarized police, too many laws, too many lobbyists, and generally too much bad news.
It’s harder to believe that change is possible, that the system can be reformed, that politicians can be principled, that courts can be just, that good can overcome evil, and that freedom will prevail.
Yet I truly believe that change is possible, that the system can be reformed, that politicians can be principled, that courts can be just, that good can overcome evil, and that freedom can prevail but it will take each and every one of us committed to doing the hard work of citizenship that extends beyond the act of voting.
A healthy, representative government is hard work. It takes a citizenry that is informed about the issues, educated about how the government operates, and willing to make the sacrifices necessary to stay involved.
Most of all, it takes a citizenry willing to do more than grouse and complain.
The powers-that-be want us to believe that our job as citizens begins and ends on Election Day. They want us to believe that we have no right to complain about the state of the nation unless we’ve cast our vote one way or the other. They want us to remain divided over politics, hostile to those with whom we disagree politically, and intolerant of anyone or anything whose solutions to what ails this country differ from our own.
What they don’t want us doing is presenting a united front in order to reject the pathetic excuse for government that is being fobbed off on us.
So where does that leave us?
We’d better stop hanging our hopes on a political savior to rescue us from the clutches of an imperial president.
It’s possible that the next president might be better, but then again, he or she could be far worse.
Remember, presidential elections merely serve to maintain the status quo. Once elected president, that person becomes part of the dictatorial continuum that is the American imperial presidency today.
If we are to return to a constitutional presidency, “we the people” must recalibrate the balance of power.
The first step is to start locally—in your own communities, in your schools, at your city council meetings, in newspaper editorials, at protests—by pushing back against laws that are unjust, police departments that overreach, politicians that don’t listen to their constituents, and a system of government that grows more tyrannical by the day.
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the only thing that will save us now is a concerted, collective commitment to the Constitution’s principles of limited government, a system of checks and balances, and a recognition that they—the president, Congress, the courts, the military, the police, the technocrats and plutocrats and bureaucrats—answer to and are accountable to “we the people.”
This will mean that Americans will have to stop letting their personal politics and party allegiances blind them to government misconduct and power grabs. It will mean holding all three branches of government accountable to the Constitution (i.e., vote them out of office if they abuse their powers). And it will mean calling on Congress to put an end to the use of presidential executive orders, decrees, memorandums, proclamations, national security directives and legislative signing statements as a means of getting around Congress and the courts.
As historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. concludes:
“I would argue that what the country needs today is a little serious disrespect for the office of the presidency; a refusal to give any more weight to a President’s words than the intelligence of the utterance, if spoken by anyone else, would command… If the nation wants to work its way back to a constitutional presidency, there is only one way to begin. That is by showing Presidents that, when their closest associates place themselves above the law and the Constitution, such transgressions will be not forgiven or forgotten for the sake of the presidency but exposed and punished for the sake of the presidency.”
In other words, we’ve got to stop treating the president like a god and start making both the office of the president and the occupant play by the rules of the Constitution.
- Party At Ground Zero: Wuhan Water Park Hosts Massive Concert With No Social Distancing Or Masks
Party At Ground Zero: Wuhan Water Park Hosts Massive Concert With No Social Distancing Or Masks
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 23:45What was once ground zero for a pandemic still ravaging its way across the globe appears to simply be “over it”.
Thousands of concert-goers piled into the Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park last weekend to attend a massive electronic music concert – without social distancing measures and without masks, according to photos posted on CNN.com.
The scene would be considered “unthinkable” in many other parts of the world, yet in Wuhan – who had arguably the strictest lockdowns of any geographic location – life is starting to look like it did pre-pandemic.
The city hasn’t reported any new cases since mid-May, after lifting a 76 day draconian lockdown in early April.
The Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park reopened late in June and crowds finally began to come out in August.
Despite the turnout for this concert, the water park says it is only doing half the business it did the year prior. The park currently gets about 15,000 daily visitors during weekends and is trying to entice new business by offering half price discounts.
Wuhan was the original epicenter of the coronavirus and accounts for 60% of all cases in the country, according to China.
Whether or not China has been honest with its infection numbers remains to be seen; but maybe the world should take a cue from ground zero relaxing its lockdown measures in what is also likely a nod to the growing body of evidence that the virus may not be as devastating as the world once thought.
VIDEO: 🇨🇳Crowds packed out a water park over the weekend in the central Chinese city of #Wuhan, where the #coronavirus first emerged late last year, keen to party as the city edges back to normal life pic.twitter.com/sIrvzSFdin
— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 18, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
At the same time, it is also worth noting that China has supposedly issued and granted the “first invention patent to a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate,” according to state-owned mouthpiece The Global Times.
The vaccine is “a recombinant adenovirus vaccine named Ad5-nCoV co-developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics Inc, one of the vaccine candidate’s co-developers, with the other being a team led by Chinese military infectious disease expert Chen Wei.”
The Global Times hilariously claimed that the launch of the vaccine “would enhance the international market’s trust in Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccines amid the US’ groundless accusations of Chinese hackers trying to steal novel coronavirus data on treatments and vaccine development from them.”
Fox’s Laura Ingraham had a sharper take on the situation:
How convenient. You lie about this virus, it kills an extraordinary number worldwide, then turn it all into billions in profit on a vaccine. “Patent affirms efficacy of vaccine developed by China” – Global Times https://t.co/eI8gurjNDi
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) August 18, 2020
- The "Try-Hard" Club: Limp-Wristed Marxists Need Not Apply
The “Try-Hard” Club: Limp-Wristed Marxists Need Not Apply
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 23:25Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com,
Memes are a dominant force in popular culture today, and there is good reason for this; they allow people to inject an argument into discussion without having to actually compose that argument. In other words, by sharing a meme, everyone already knows what you are saying without an explanation. We all do this from time to time.
When I refer to a woman screaming at a man on the sidewalk for not wearing a mask as a “Karen”, most people immediately understand why this woman is a problem. She fits an archetypal mold, she has made herself into a walking, talking stereotype. The meme describes a thing everyone has experienced and is tired of dealing with. Memes make debate easier – They take on a life of their own.
That said, problems arise when dishonest people try to hijack a meme for their own agenda.
For example, how many times have you seen crazed leftists call a conservative a “snowflake” because he/she is criticizing crazy leftist behavior? The meme refers to people who let their emotions get in the way of reason and they have “meltdowns” when faced with facts that disagree with their feelings. It also refers to people who fear competition and discomfort so much that they are trying to reshape the world so that it is “more fair” and less threatening to their self esteem. It does not apply to people who are logically debunking terrible behavior and terrible arguments.
To be fair, the term “snowflake” can be abused as a way to dismiss a younger person out of hand when they are expressing discontent with problems in the world. Memes can be misused by both sides of the political spectrum.
By the same token, a “Karen” is grown adult (not always a woman) who is aggressively uppity and unreasonable and who throws temper tantrums when they don’t get their way. It’s a person who acts like a spoiled toddler, and they do this because it has worked many times in the past in our “customer is always right” retail world. No one has ever smacked them upside the head and taught them a lesson in humility.
A “Karen” is NOT someone who is simply complaining or criticizing over a legitimate problem in a logical way. Yet, I have seen this meme misused as well to attack and shut down people who are doing exactly that.
And what about the “Okay Boomer” meme? The idea being that older people are disconnected from the “changing times” and that they have nothing to contribute anymore to the discussion because the planet has left them behind. This is one of the few purely leftist memes I’ve seen in the past few years. It’s a futurist meme which comforts children in their common false notion that they have the world all figured out and advice from “old people” is useless. It’s a way for people with zero life experience and zero success to dismiss people with decades of life experience along and an array of successes and failures to draw knowledge from.
Being told you are a “newbie” is not always fun, but it’s sometimes necessary. The Boomer meme is a tool for young people to feel better about themselves and their lack of wisdom or education. These days, anyone who is over 30 years of age and disagrees with leftist politics or aspects of Zennial culture is called a “boomer” by default.
Memes can be entertaining, but the fact that they are so easy to exploit also leaves them open to abuse by narcissists and sociopaths. Leftists in particular are guilty of hijacking memes and twisting them for their own ends. They see memes as part of a culture war they are desperate to win. For them, controlling the meaning of words is paramount.
The newest meme trend I’m seeing these days is called the “try-hard” meme, i.e. “Stop acting like such a try-hard…” Now, this is another case where a phrase is being co-opted to fit a false narrative. Originally, a “try hard” was someone who takes recreational things much too seriously and turns fun into war. For example, a guy who plays a game of volleyball with his family and starts pummeling spikes down into their faces like he’s in a professional match. In other words, people who beat their chests and act overtly competitive in situations that don’t call for it.
These days, I’m seeing the meme used to describe ANYONE who excels at anything. That’s right, if you push yourself to be the best, if you are competitive and win often, if you are focused on self improvement as an individual, then there’s something “wrong” with you.
Leftists in particular have always had a problem with competition and it stems from the Marxist roots of their philosophy. There is this notion among lefties that the world is supposed to be “equal”. Now, there are different types of equality, and I think the majority of Americans agree with the idea of equal opportunity. Meaning, (at least in the West) we think every person regardless of their circumstances should be given the CHANCE to PROVE they can work hard and succeed. People should not be stopped from pursuing that chance merely because of who they are.
However, leftists and Marxists think that equality of opportunity is not enough. They think that there should also be equality of outcome.
This one delusion sits at the core of all Marxist thinking.
Equality of outcome is impossible because not all people are born equal. Some people are, frankly, born superior to others. Some people are born smarter. Some people are born stronger, taller and faster. Some people are born with innate musical or artistic talent. Some people are born with innate mathematical understanding. Some people are born extroverted and are good at making friends. Some people are born introverted and are better at self reflection and awareness. Some people are born to be basketball players and some are born to be engineers.
The psychological reality of mankind is that we are not born as blank slates; we are born with inherent qualities and the seeds of unique individual talents. Marxists suffer from a complete mental disconnect with this concept. If they were to admit that people are born with individual qualities and advantages and are not blank slates, then the foundation of their philosophy falls apart. They rationalize their social engineering agenda under the premise that all people need to be “molded” into equal units. They think people must be reeducated to reject bad beliefs and bad habits they were taught as blank slate children and learn to accept that everyone starts life out exactly the same. Therefore, the majority of people who succeed are those that were given an unfair advantage, and success should be treated with disdain and suspicion.
But if people have inherent psychological characteristics and inherent advantages, then their personalities and qualities cannot be reformed. Those “bad beliefs and habits” might actually be completely natural and necessary. You might be able to hold them back through force or fear, but you can’t change the core of who they are. If our biological and genetic imperatives prevail, Marxists become obsolete and useless.
The secret is to discover what your innate strengths are in life and take advantage of them to succeed. If you do not have innate talent, then you must at least have an innate ability to work hard. If you don’t have the ability and drive to work hard to become good at a thing, then you don’t deserve to get recognition for that thing. You are not entitled to feel like a winner merely because you exist. It’s really as simple as that.
The try-hard meme is basically the equivalent of excellence-shaming; you are supposed to feel ashamed of being better than others at a certain task or talent. I’m not sure where this hatred for competition comes from, but I suspect it has something to do with leftists and their early childhoods. Many of them are “late bloomers” who did not have many experiences winning, or they were never pushed by their parents to mature and excel. They grew to despise the idea that winning and success are so elevated in our society, while at the same time they still crave that feeling of being the best at something.
So, they adopt the Marxist creed, which tells them that yes, they are losers, but it’s not because they are lazy and they suck; no, they are losers because they are victims of a society that is holding them back from their true potential. Marxism tells them that the people who succeed were actually given special treatment because of their class or the color of their skin. The winners are actually very bad people who don’t deserve success. If only the system was forced to be more fair, then THEY would be the winners. Thus, in order for losers to “win”, they must join a mob of other losers and gain power through collective control. The successful people must be given an extreme handicap by the mob to “level the playing field”.
I think the Marxist ideal is leading these kids down a path of brutal delusion, because they are never going to achieve the Utopian society that they seek. The world will never be “fair”, and the idea that you can force such conditions upon a culture without serious consequences is childish and mentally unstable. Make no mistake, we are entering an era in which the facade propping up limp-wristed and weak people is falling away. When it comes to economic strife, crisis and survival, there is no appeal to equality. You’re in the jungle, baby, and if you have no merit, you’re gonna die.
The people willing to work hard and the people who seek to self improve are going to do well. The people that want a trophy just for participating are not going to make it.
By extension, trying to socially engineer our country to cater to the lowest common denominator would grind all progress to a standstill and make the crisis even worse. If “trying hard” becomes something to be ashamed of, or something that is punished, then there is no more incentive to improve or innovate or go beyond that which has already been accomplished. Our evolution ceases, and humanity stagnates.
While human competition has its ugly moments in history, at the very least it must be encouraged among individuals. It must continue to be rewarded. For if we start rewarding mediocrity it will be the exact opposite of the biological drives that keep us alive. It will lead to self destruction of the entire species.
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- Mauritius Arrests Captain Of Japanese Oil Tanker That Ran Aground, Causing Massive Oil Spill
Mauritius Arrests Captain Of Japanese Oil Tanker That Ran Aground, Causing Massive Oil Spill
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 23:05The captain of a Japanese oil tanker that ran aground off the coast of Mauritius on July 25, causing a devastating oil spill in one of the world’s cleanest ocean environments, is now under arrest.
Additionally, International Tankers Owners Pollution Federation Ltd and Le Floch Depollution will both begin cleaning 3 sites on the country’s shoreline that were affected, joining local efforts from fishermen, according to Reuters.
The tanker, MV Wakashio struck coral reef off the coast of the Indian Ocean and began to spill oil on August 6. As a result, Mauritius announced a state of environmental emergency. The spill spread over a “vast area of endangered corals” according to the report. Some are calling it the country’s “worst ecological disaster”.
Inspector Siva Coothen said:
“We have arrested the captain of the vessel and another member of the crew. After having been heard by the court they have been denied bail and are still in detention.”
The country’s coast guard had “repeatedly tried to reach the ship” in order to warn it about its dangerous course. They said they received no reply.
An official for Mauritius said:
“The route set five days before the crash was wrong and the boat navigation system should have signalled that to the crew and it seems the crew ignored it. The boat did also fail to send out an SOS (when it ran aground), and did not respond to attempts by the coastguard to get in touch.”
The crew had been questioned about whether or not they were having a birthday party on board but, so far, there have been no definitive answers. There were also scattered reports that the ship was moving closer to the shoreline to find a Wifi signal or a cell phone signal; those reports have also not been confirmed.
The deputy captain was also arrested. Emergency crews were able to remove most of the ship’s remaining oil before it split in two on Saturday.
- Melbourne Authorities To Use Surveillance Drones To Catch People Not Wearing Masks
Melbourne Authorities To Use Surveillance Drones To Catch People Not Wearing Masks
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 22:45Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,
Authorities in Melbourne, Australia will use high-tech surveillance drones to catch people outside not wearing masks as well as to scan for vehicles that are in violation of curfew by being more than 5km from home.
“High powered drones will be used to find people not wearing masks and cars too far from home,” according to a 7News Melbourne news report.
The drones will also be used to ensure skate parks and playgrounds remain empty.
The surveillance devices can be flown up to a distance of 7km and produce images so clear they can “read a vehicle’s number plate from 500 meters away.”
Privacy advocates are concerned that there is no sunset clause on the use of such technology and the drones could continue to be used to spy on citizens after the pandemic ends.
7News Melbourne spoke to two residents who said they weren’t worried because they were behaving and had “nothing to hide.”
Police are preparing to launch their aerial arsenal as part of a crackdown on COVID rule breakers. High powered drones will be used to find people not wearing masks, and cars too far from home. https://t.co/5zYfOfohG3 @tdolling #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/Yy84UBTH0V
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) August 17, 2020
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The measures are just the latest example of what represents one of the most draconian coronavirus lockdowns in the developed world after the state of Victoria announced a “state of disaster” in response to an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
There have been several instances of police physically tackling people for not adhering to mask wearing rules, including one incident when a woman was placed in a chokehold by a male police officer.
Police have also been given the power to enter people’s homes without a warrant and perform quarantine spot checks.
Drivers are also being asked to show their papers at highway checkpoints simply to get to work.
Anyone caught outside without a mask or violating the 8pm-5am curfew also risks being made to pay a massive fine.
As the post below illustrates, the rules are also being enforced by Australian Defence Force troops patrolling parks and other outdoor areas.
Police also fined a couple for allowing their child to play further than 5km from their home, while also executing a search warrant against and seizing computers belonging to two men who were planning an anti-lockdown protest.
Melbourne, Australia. pic.twitter.com/qPqke9rVyx
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) August 18, 2020
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- Over 100,000 Chinese Evacuated As Floods Continue Pressuring Three Gorges Dam
Over 100,000 Chinese Evacuated As Floods Continue Pressuring Three Gorges Dam
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 22:25Since early summer, devastating floods have wreaked havoc in southern China due to torrential rains caused by the rainy season, with most of the flooding observed around the Yangtze basin and its tributaries.
Local officials are calling the latest flooding a “once in a century” event, with a typhoon making landfall Wednesday.
China’s largest river, the Yangtze, continues to rise to dangerous levels after another round of rainfall. More than 100,000 people on Tuesday, in the Sichuan province, were evacuated from their homes, reported Reuters.
China Central Television published video footage of a road collapse in southwest China, swallowing 21 vehicles on Wednesday.
The southwest and central regions of the Yangtze river basin have been hit with unusually high levels of rainfall in the last couple of months due to flood season.
The Ministry of Water Resources warned Monday that 38 tributaries along the upper part of the Yangtze were at critical levels.
Some 63 million people have been affected by the floods, with economic damage totaling $26 billion.
A red alert was issued late Tuesday by the water commission, who said some monitoring stations along the river were expected to rise above flood protection levels. The ministry also warned about the Three Gorges Dam, indicating water inflow levels continued to increase, with water inflows registering 74,000 cubic meters per second on Wednesday, the highest ever.
The dam underwent a series of water discharges on Tuesday to “reduce flood control pressures,” the water ministry said.
Three Gorges Dam opened all 10 spillways to lower the flood crest on Wed as the inbound flow of water rose to 72,000 cubic meters per second, the largest inbound flow since the dam was built. pic.twitter.com/RYlYEVoWGy
— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) August 19, 2020
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As we’ve noted, there are serious concerns about the structural integrity of the dam following elevated water levels:
- Is China’s Massive Three Gorges Dam On The Edge Of Failure?
- “Rumors Of Structural Faults” – China’s Three Gorges Dam Could Be Nearing collapse
The floods in the Yangtze River also struck the Leshan Giant Buddha statue in southwestern Sichuan province. Floodwaters crested over the toes of the Buddha, the first time since 1949.
Last week, China’s slower-than-expected rise in industrial production and a decline in retail sales suggested the Chinese Communist Party can now blame devastating summer floods on why the economic recovery is faltering.
- Green California Has The Nation's Worst Power-Grid
Green California Has The Nation’s Worst Power-Grid
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 22:05Authored by Steve Goreham via Washington Examiner,
More than a million Californians suffered power blackouts last Friday evening [and continue under the threat of more rolling black outs]. When high temperatures caused customer demand to exceed the power available, California electrical utilities used rotating outages to force a reduction in demand. The California grid is the worst in the nation, with green energy policies pursued by the state likely furthering reduced grid reliability.
At 6:30 pm on Friday, Pacific Gas and Electric, California’s biggest utility, began shutting off power in rolling outages to force a reduction in demand. Southern California Edison also denied power to homes, beginning just before 7 pm. Shutoffs impacted a rotating group of up to two million customers until 11 pm.
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) declared a Stage 3 Electrical Emergency, the first Stage 3 emergency since 2001. Spot power electricity prices soared to over $1,000 per megawatt-hour, more than 10 times the usual price.
In 2018, 19 percent of California’s electricity came from roof-top and utility-scale solar installations, the highest percentage in the nation. But by 6:30 pm each day, that solar output approaches zero. The state lacks enough reliable electricity generation capacity to run the air conditioners during hot summer evenings.
California has the least reliable electrical power system in the US. It isn’t even close. According to data by Eaton Corporation, the state leads the US in power outages every year, with more than double the outages of any other state over the last decade.
The causes of power outages can be divided into four major groups, which in order of importance are weather or downed trees, faulty equipment or human errors, unknowns, and vehicle accidents. California suffered the largest number of outages in each category in each year for 2014 through 2017.
For more than a decade, California has been closing coal and nuclear power plants. Recently, the state also began closing natural gas-fired plants as part of a continuing effort to fight global warming.
In 2006, Senate Bill 1368 established California’s Emissions Performance Standard, an effort to reduce state greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Since 2007, 11 in-state, coal-fired plants have been closed as a result, with an additional 3 converted to biomass fuel. California also slashed imports of electricity generated from coal plants. The Argus Cogen plant in Trona is the last remaining coal plant.
California nuclear plants, though not emitters of greenhouse gases, are also being phased out. The second and third units of the San Onofre nuclear generating plant near Los Angeles ceased operation in 2013. The Diablo Canyon plant, the last nuclear plant in California, is scheduled for closure in 2025.
Driven by state efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, gas-fired plants are also being shuttered. Natural gas generating capacity has fallen by more than 10 percent since 2013, with additional reductions planned.
Following the blackouts last Friday night, blackouts resumed at 6:30 pm on Saturday. Power officials blamed the loss of 1,000 megawatts of wind power when the wind subsided and the unexpected shutdown of a 470-megawatt power plant. It’s clear that the state does not have enough reliable baseload power as backup for intermittent wind and solar energy.
The problem of California’s poor electric reliability will likely get worse. On September 10, 2018, then Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 100, committing California to obtain 100 percent of its electricity from “clean energy sources” by 2045. Replacement of coal, nuclear, and natural gas generators with wind and solar will continue erode grid reliability.
As part of global warming efforts, officials want all citizens to switch their natural gas stoves and furnaces to electric models. More than 30 California cities have enacted bans on gas appliances, including the major cities of San Francisco and San Jose. Almost 10 percent of the state population now lives in an area covered by restrictions against gas appliances in new residential construction.
California also wants residents to transition from gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks to plug-in electric models. So, when those blackouts occur in the future, not only will your lights and air conditioners fail, but you won’t be able to cook your food or drive your car either.
California sacrificed reliable electrical power on the altar of the fight against global warming. There is no evidence that state efforts will have the slightest effect on global temperatures, but they will be great for candle and flashlight sales.
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Steve Goreham is a speaker on the environment, business, and public policy and author of the book Outside the Green Box: Rethinking Sustainable Development.
- San Francisco's Cops Aren't Waiting Around To Be "Defunded": They're Leaving En Masse
San Francisco’s Cops Aren’t Waiting Around To Be “Defunded”: They’re Leaving En Masse
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 21:45Police in San Francisco aren’t waiting around for pandering politicians to “defund” the city’s police department, which has already seen a mass exodus of officers following the passage of a state law called Prop 47, a statewide criminal-justice law passed back in 2014. It appears the pace of officer exits is picking up this year, and what’s even more interesting: The acceleration started before the murder of George Floyd.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, 23 officers resigned during the first six months of the year, with many resigning even before Floyd’s murder. Most expect that another wave of resignations spurred by the protests and widespread anti-police sentiment in the deep blue state will spur even more officers to leave.
Of those, 19 took jobs at other law enforcement agencies, in and outside the state. By comparison, 26 officers resigned in 2019, and only 12 officers resigned in 2018.
One critic of City Hall’s law enforcement policies blamed a “social experiment” whereby police were commanded to refuse to enforce all low-level crime for the city’s problems.
“The members are upset that the social experiment being conducted in San Francisco is failing, and they would rather work someplace that values them,” said Montoya, a constant critic of City Hall’s calls for police reform, which after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis has taken the form of shifting money from the police budget to social causes.
And this is only the beginning, according to the critic quoted above. At this pace, the number of officers leaving in 2020 could double the number from 2019, and nearly 4x the pace from 2018.
“This is just the beginning. Dozens are actively in the hiring process with other agencies,” said Tony Montoya, president of the Police Officers Association.
[…]
“Members have gone to places like the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, Pleasant Hill, Beverly Hills, Petaluma, Palm Springs, Placerville, Long Beach, Idaho, Texas, Arizona,” Montoya said.
Long commutes are also a problem, since most cops can’t afford an apartment in the city where they work.
Police Chief Bill Scott said there has been an “uptick” in officers leaving this year but that many of the applications to leave predated the national unrest after Floyd’s death.
“It’s a tough job, and for many officers it’s also long commute to and from work,” Scott said in a recent interview. “If there are opportunities closer to home, people are going to take them.”
One officer, who wasn’t named, but who said he quit the San Francisco Police Department and took another job at a department in Texas (ditching California like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Joe Rogan plan to do) summed up the department’s retention problem in a few sentences. It’d not just about the money, he said. It’s the money, combined with the long commutes combined with the fact that San Francisco NIMBYs (basically every homeowner in the city) are impossible to satisfy.
“I was getting a great paycheck, but 20% went to taxes,” said one former San Francisco officer now working at a police department in Texas who asked not to be named for privacy concerns. “Here I got a bigger house, a more affordable lifestyle and a commute that went from two hours each way to 15 minutes.”
“It’s also nice working at a place where everyone isn’t mad at you,” the officer said. “In San Francisco, everyone was mad. The homeowners would get mad because you didn’t move the homeless who were sleeping in front of their house. Then, when you tried to help the homeless, someone would start yelling about police brutality.”
“And everyone had a cell phone camera on you,” he said.
This is what happens when people who have no concept of the role law enforcement plays in deterring crime call for police to essentially just let most criminals run wild, only locking them up unless they seriously hurt or kill or rape somebody. Shoplift, smoke crack and sell your body all you want, in San Francisco, the most you’ll get is a quick trip to the station and a slap on the wrist.
And never forget, when progressives say “abolish the police” – they literally mean, ‘abolish the police’.
Too bad Cali’s governor doesn’t have the temerity to take steps to put the ultra-liberal mayors running America’s biggest cities in check, unlike Texas’ Gov Greg Abbott.
- BofA Puts Cost Of Re-Shoring At $1 Trillion
BofA Puts Cost Of Re-Shoring At $1 Trillion
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 21:25Submitted by Market Crumbs,
Manufacturing has been moving to China from the U.S. and Europe for decades. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, many companies are now looking for ways to bring manufacturing back home…
Research from Bank of America estimates that it could cost U.S. and European companies $1 trillion over five years to move manufacturing out of China. Bank of America argues that the cost of doing so would likely be beneficial to companies over the long term.
Bank of America’s survey of global analysts from before the pandemic began found that companies were already starting to shift supply chains locally. The research cites trade disputes, national security concerns, climate change and the rise of automation as reasons companies had started to move away from globalization.
The coronavirus caused 80% of global sectors to have supply chain issues, according to the report. 67% of respondents from Bank of America’s Global Fund Manager survey believe localizing or re-shoring supply chains is the most dominant structural shift going forward.
“While Covid has acted as a catalyst to accelerate this change, the underlying reasons are grounded in a shift to ‘stakeholder capitalism,’ concluding relocation favors a broader community of shareholders, consumers, employees and the state,” Bank of America Head of Global Research Candace Browning said.
The team behind the report believes policymakers and corporations will aggressively pursue re-shoring plans to offset higher operating costs.
“We don’t expect a silver bullet, but we were struck by the universal declaration (in our survey) of intent to automate in future locations,” the report said.
“Policymakers are also expected to help through tax breaks, low cost loans and other subsidies with recent announcements to that effect from the U.S., Japan, the EU, India and Taiwan (amongst others).”
Bank of America believes the best way to invest in the unraveling of globalization is through stocks in engineering, machinery, automation and robotics, electronic equipment manufacturing and application software. They also see banks in North America, Europe and South Asia benefitting as a result of increased economic activity in these regions.
This trend could easily accelerate in the years to come as companies may end up looking back on the coronavirus as a wake up call to have their supply chains insulated from the worst.
- Scientists Capture First Male Murder Hornet, A Sign Washington Swarm Is Ready To Hunt
Scientists Capture First Male Murder Hornet, A Sign Washington Swarm Is Ready To Hunt
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 21:05Though it’s still a little early in their hunting season, it appears a hive of “Murder Hornets” (the popular name for the Asian Giant Hornet, native to parts of Japan) has indeed taken root in Washington State. The live hornet was trapped near Custer, Washington on July 29 (then processed in the state Department of Agriculture’s entomology lab on Aug. 13). Now scientists are saying it’s official. One plausible theory is that the hornet was part of a team of ‘scouts’ sent out shortly before the hornet’s hunting season begins to try and get a read on where the food might be.
We first introduced the concept of “Murder Bees” back in early May, when the New York Times published a story about their presence in Washington State. It’s believed they arrived late last year in cargo from Asia.
Hunting season begins in late summer/early fall (typically in September), but it appears these hornets are getting to work early, perhaps because their numbers are still small, as the new colony takes root on American soil.
“Trapping a male Asian giant hornet in July initially came as a surprise,” Sven Spichiger, the agency’s managing entomologist, said in a press release this week. “But further examination of the research and consultation with international experts confirmed that a few males can indeed emerge early in the season.”
Suspicions about a potential Murder Hornet infestation first arose in May when a beekeeper reported the devastation of his hive by an unknown assailant to local wildlife authorities. Experts surmised Murder Hornets were probably to blame. A specimen was located in July – an unmated queen – and now this, the first living male specimen, only five months later.
To be sure, the Agriculture Department said that their initial catch back in July appeared to be an unmated queen, a promising sign that their makeshift traps might have succeeded in crippling the new colony.
But apparently, the hornets are still coming out to hunt.
We’ll see what things look like in a month.
- Gold Pressures Empire
Gold Pressures Empire
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 20:45Authored by Steve Brown via TheDuran.com,
Ian Fleming wrote Goldfinger for good reason. The most important market in the world is gold. Not US stocks. Not shares in Amazon. Not bitcoin. Not Facebook. Sovereigns use gold – real gold – as the foundation for their most important deals.
Now consider that 40% of the world’s physical gold trade passes through bin Zayed’s United Arab Emirates. The same United Arab Emirates that blundered Bush into the Dubai Ports World scandal. The same UAE that hosts one of the largest US airbases in the Middle East… and the very same al Nahayan plutocracy that touts Israel as its closest friend and ally, beside the former United States.
But first, consider that the United States began weaponizing the US dollar as a matter of policy long before alleged ‘criminal’ Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announced it. Weaponization of the dollar is isolating the US in world trade, but as regime star Kushner noted, “you cannot turn a battleship around overnight.”
The ‘battleship’ has been turning for fifty years since the disaster of the Nixon Shock, when the United States ‘temporarily’ abandoned the international gold standard thus heralding the ‘permanent’ era of central bank by-decree currency. Fifty years hence, a new perfect storm of events may prove that the consequence of August 15th, 1971 must now be confronted.
During the Vietnam war the demand for US gold in exchange for US dollars could not be sustained. Nixon’s cowardly act in closing the US gold window enabled the imperial hegemon to survive as geopolitical bully on the basis of the US dollar being global reserve currency — but only temporarily. Fifty years on, the piper must be paid.
Once again, the world is demanding gold in exchange for US dollars. And the Federal Reserve’s primary dealers – some of which operate as bullion banks — are unable to comply. Briefly, when a commodity exchange is unable to settle gold contracts by delivering the product to a buyer, the exchange must then settle the paper contracts in US dollars.
Historically the manipulators of the monetary metal played along happily, speculating on gold contracts as derivatives, where no actual delivery of the commodity was ever intended. As result, trading gold contracts has been a speculative operation engaged in by the major bullion banks where delivery seldom occurred.
But when the demand for gold is real, settling gold contracts in US dollars bears little relation to holding the metal itself. Contracts settled in dollars are worth less than the actual commodity. That’s because the published spot price for gold is lower than the price at which the physical metal actually trades. This is called contango and has amplified the demand for settlement in real gold called EFP, or Exchange for Physical.
Before COVID and since the repo crisis of 2019 the stability and safety of the US financial system has increasingly come into focus. The US financial system has been forced to lower real interest rates to real negative territory, causing gold to look more attractive than holding increasingly worthless US dollars, since gold has intrinsic value when the US dollar has none.
Instead of a classic store for inflationary dollars, the new demand for settlement in real bullion threatens the existence of the US gold exchange (COMEX) and threatens serious financial loss for the largest global players, including HSBC, JP Morgan, and UBS. Even Goldman Sachs has warned of this threat.
So… what has changed? It appears that some new element is at work. As explored in a prior article, the US regime’s new cold war versus China has caused that country to re-assess its relationship to US assets. China began divesting itself of US debt instruments in 2019. And, seldom reported in the west, China has recently escalated its effort to divest itself of US public debt (Treasury) holdings in 2020.
In tandem with improved convertibility of the yuan (CNY) intel sources indicate that China may be the second largest holder of gold globally. Likewise, China may be using gold as a medium of exchange to avoid the aforesaid weaponization of the US dollar so favored by the current US regime. Even so, the foregoing does not fully explain the events we are seeing.
Traditionally the Federal Reserve and their dealers have controlled gold to limit central bank losses and prevent gold from effectively competing with or displacing the US dollar as a primary trusted monetary medium. But someone or some entity somewhere is now battling the US central bank for that control.
Bottom line, monetary realists as observers still don’t understand why the historic central bank market manipulation of gold is presently failing. The US Central Bank must suppress the price of gold or face catastrophic losses that will cause an escalating downward spiral in the standing of the US dollar.
We can only return to the concept of flailing Empire. The United Arab Emirates trades in illegal gold from Africa and has used its influence via the gold carry trade and elsewhere as an essential tool to support the corrupt western banking empire that the United States and Israel represent. Now the major media touts the visible association of the UAE, former United States, and Israel as elements of an aligned geopolitical bloc. The intention is to somehow portray these powers as moral and worthy of respect when in fact they are not.
The United States, Israel and UAE present a divisive bloc removed from any real notion of an efficient global hegemon. As we see, these powers are exposed and vulnerable to gold’s economic reality, the reality that no corrupt power favoring warfare and division can rule forever when its currency is severely devalued and global trade is impacted.
Regardless, argue, ignore, or deny it… the golden rule, “He who hath the gold rules” is as true now as it has ever been. The problem arises when that being of real value is supplanted by illusion. And it is only the illusion we have seen since August, 15th, 1971.
Fifty years on the reality has yet to play out. But that which is of real value will always trump fakery in the long run, regardless of what paper traders and central bankers say.
- Saudi Arabia Breaks Silence, Tentatively Embraces Israel-UAE Peace Deal
Saudi Arabia Breaks Silence, Tentatively Embraces Israel-UAE Peace Deal
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 20:25As the steward of the two Muslim holy cities (Mecca & Medina) – cities where no non-Muslims are allowed – Saudi Arabia has an image to maintain as an ally in the regional struggle to support the Palestinians in their struggle against Israel. But in another sign of just how significant Jared Kushner’s accomplishment actually was, it appears the desert petro-kingdom is finally ready to make an important step toward publicly accepting Israel as a neighbor and friend.
One of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s greatest accomplishments during his record-setting tenure at the helm of the young Jewish state has been to parlay a mutual friendship with the US into a closet alliance with Saudi and the Saudi-aligned gulf puppet states (chief among them the UAE) in their eternal struggle to contain Iran, Israel’s sworn mortal foe. That accomplishment was finally crystalized with the Israeli-UAE peace deal, wherein Israel makes some critical concessions that could attract more support from its neighbors. If the trend continues, the Palestinians might be forced to the table, and a deal to end all sectarian hostilities might finally be reached, ending the blockade that’s suffocating the Gaza Strip.
Though Saudi Arabia stopped short of full-blown acceptance, the kingdom’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, cautiously welcomed the agreement in a statement released Wednesday, ending the kingdom’s conspicuous silence. As we explained in a post published two days ago, the deal calls for Israel to suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in Netanyahu’s “Vision for Peace” in the Western Bank.
Also, Tel Aviv will reportedly focus its efforts on “expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.” The agreement will also provide Muslims with greater access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It still remains in question how Israel will comply with its part of the deal as the annexation of Palestinian territories is the cornerstone of its regional policy.
Offering what could be called “muted praise”, Farhan said the deal “could be viewed as positive,” but refrained from outright backing the move and stressed Saudi Arabia is open to establishing similar relations on condition that a peace agreement is reached between Israel and the Palestinians.
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His remarks came during a news conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.As we mentioned above, it marked the first comments by Saudi Arabia on Thursday’s surprise deal announcement, which Trump and his administration helped broker. Bahrain, Oman and Egypt issued official statements welcoming the agreement shortly after it was reached.
Prince Faisal reiterated during the briefing that the kingdom supports the Arab Peace Initiative, sponsored by Saudi Arabia in 2002, which promises Israel full ties with Arab states in exchange for a peace deal with the Palestinians.
“Once that is achieved, all things are possible,” Faisal said.
More problematic, perhaps, Faisal also insisted that any future Palestinian state should include East Jerusalem as its capital.
- Largest US Base In Syria Targeted In Rocket Attack Amid Soaring Tensions With Locals
Largest US Base In Syria Targeted In Rocket Attack Amid Soaring Tensions With Locals
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 20:05The largest U.S. base in Syria was targeted by a number of missiles in the eastern countryside of the Deir Ezzor Governorate on Tuesday.
According to reports from eastern Syria, the U.S. base at the Conoco Oil Fields was targeted with a number of rockets fired by unknown group in the Deir Ezzor countryside.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Coalition said that at least three rockets were fired towards the base, but the projectiles did not manage to hit the installation.
Despite no group claiming responsibility for the attack, the U.S. Coalition and their allies from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been facing heavy opposition from the Arab tribes inside the Deir Ezzor Governorate.
Most recently, the Syrian Democratic Forces and Al-Akidat Tribe clashed along the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, culminating in a series of events that led to a number of tribes getting involved in the hostilities.
As geopolitical analysis site Moon of Alabama underscores, Trump’s ‘secure the oil’ plan is increasingly on shaky ground given it’s keeping American troops in the middle of a war zone on someone else sovereign territory and with unclear and confused objectives to boot:
New on MoA:
Syria – Trump’s ‘Keep The Oil’ Occupation Runs Into Troublehttps://t.co/fsUjCqdERv pic.twitter.com/PLhv09tk9v— Moon of Alabama (@MoonofA) August 11, 2020
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Among the tribes involved in the clashes against the U.S. Coalition and SDF is the Al-Baggara Tribe, which claimed their forces expelled the Syrian Democratic Forces from the village of Jadeed Baggara in eastern Deir Ezzor last weekend.
- The "Wolf Of Wall Street" Is Back To Pitching Penny Stocks
The “Wolf Of Wall Street” Is Back To Pitching Penny Stocks
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 19:45Now that Robinhood has cut off the data feed that powered RobinTrack, we don’t have quite as much visibility into the activities of the army of newly minted day traders, inspired by the suddenly ill Dave “El Prez” Portnoy to try to parlay their free government checks into free money by following the aphorism “stocks only go up” (in their limited experience, that has proven mostly true).
And unsurprisingly, it appears this surge in retail interest has prompted another wave of hucksters and ‘market gurus’ looking to con gullible mom-and-pop traders out of their hard-earned cash. And in what is perhaps the worst reflection on Jay Clayton’s America since the SEC let Elon Musk walk away with a slap on the wrist (allowing the Tesla founder to publicly humiliate the agency) Jordan Belfort, the Stratton Oakmont founder better known as “The Wolf of Wall Street”, is once again pitching penny stocks.
Jordan Belfort
According to a report in Wedneday’s FT, Belfort has signed on with fast-growing “RagingBull.com”, a website that offers pricey “online courses” purporting to teach mom and pop traders how to make “millions” with penny stocks. According to a statement from RagingBull delivered to the FT, Belfort will “share his favourite trading sectors” with retail investors and teach them how to “learn from your mistakes” and “take advantage of opportunities” in a series of videos.
The “Wolf of Wall Street” has signed up as a coach on RagingBull, a US stock-trading training platform that has drawn fire for its high-pressure sales tactics. Jordan Belfort earned the nickname by offloading worthless penny stocks to retail investors at Stratton Oakmont, the brokerage he ran in the 1990s, which was described as “a quintessential ‘boiler room'” by the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was sent to prison and barred from association with any broker, dealer, investment company or investment adviser. Now, he will “share his favourite trading sectors” with retail investors and teach them how to “learn from your mistakes” and “take advantage of opportunities” in a series of videos, RagingBull said on Wednesday. The company added that he would not be giving advice on specific stocks, companies or investment strategies.
[…]
“The market has been flooded with new accounts and traders and a lot of them don’t know what they’re doing,” said Mr Belfort.
But that’s precisely it. A lot of mom and pop traders are stepping up, and as usual, the ones looking to take the easy way out will fall prey to scams.
Some of RagingBull’s classes run up to $14,000, which is perhaps why the business (founded in 2011 by two charlatans) has been widely derided as a scam. The Better Business Bureau says the company has more than 100 complaints (the company says most have been resolved) and former customers told the FT that the company continued to bill them after they cancelled their subscriptions, and when they requested a refund, the company asked them to sign an NDA as a condition of getting their money back.
Keith Elliott, a retired construction worker in Angleton, a town in British Columbia, tried unsuccessfully 17 times to cancel the auto-renewal feature for one set of services that totalled $4,000. He has paid the company more than $14,000 for training over the past three years and said few services have proven useful. “I definitely did not make any money courtesy of RagingBull,” he told the Financial Times.
Tom Steel, a retiree in Palm City, Florida, paid $199 to receive four trade ideas from Mr Bishop but received only two. His request for a refund was refused until he filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the attorney-general of New Hampshire.
“You’re constantly being bombarded with emails to sign up to other things that cost thousands of dollars,” Mr Steel said.
The company’s marketing is “a well-oiled machine,” said Sydney Budina, a real estate broker in Miami who paid $2,999 in 2017 for tips to trade biotech stocks. The following year he was billed for the same amount again despite opting out of the programme. The company offered him a refund in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement, which he refused. He has since launched a website to highlight the grievances of RagingBull customers.
Then again, if you buy a stock that Jordan Belfort is pitching, and you actually expect that you might turn a profit, well, that staggering lapse in judgment is on you.
- Fear Is A Viral Monster
Fear Is A Viral Monster
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 19:25Authored by Donald Boudreaux via The American Institute for Economic Research,
Reading the late Hans Rosling’s 2018 book, Factfulness, during the summer of 2020 creates a sensation of surrealness that would have been absent had I read this volume in 2018 or 2019. On nearly every page of Factfulness Rosling busts the popular myth that we denizens of modernity face imminent calamities that will destroy us and the earth.
Widespread fears – such as of overpopulation, of terrorism, and of the rich getting richer while the poor stagnate – are methodically revealed to be either completely unjustified or exorbitantly exaggerated.
But today, in the midst of the ongoing lockdowns and with no end in sight to the hysteria over COVID, I’ve lost all of the natural optimism that has long resided within me and that would have otherwise been fortified by Rosling’s splendid work.
Sledgehammered
The image that keeps coming into my head is of a sledgehammer. With brute force, a blunt and heavy instrument was swung down on society by the state. Sledgehammers crush. They demolish. That’s their only function. They do not build. And for as long as the dreadful weight of this particular sledgehammer – the massive mallet that is the COVID-19 lockdown – continues to press down on the rubble that it caused, there is very little opportunity for the human creativity and work effort unleashed by markets to bring about the kind of improvements that Rosling documents.
Will humanity recover? Will we – when the sledgehammer is lifted – rise, dust ourselves off, and climb back on to the happy track that we were on before March 2020? Of course it’s possible. But there’s now a novel reality that makes a renewed continuation of pre-COVID progress much less likely: the sledgehammer itself.
When this sledgehammer is lifted off of us, it won’t be lifted for long. We now know that this awful hammer is there, looming overhead. We have good reason to worry that government officials are likely to smash it down upon us when another communicable pathogen emerges and makes news – as such a pathogen inevitably will, for viral pathogens have been part of human existence from the start. How will entrepreneurship and investment be changed by this ever-present threat of a smashing sledgehammer? The creation, funding, and operation of venues in which individuals come into close physical contact with each other – either for recreation or for work – will surely be much less attractive.
More generally, the newly demonstrated willingness of state officials to destroy, with just a few executive diktats, hundreds of billions of dollars of capital value cannot but push some entrepreneurs and investors into inactivity. Why build, or build grandly, when some pompous governor or mayor – someone whose only ‘skill’ and most intense itch is to exercise power over fellow human beings – can, with a mere signature, smash down a sledgehammer and turn to mush the fruits of years of hard work and sacrifice?
And how will those in power – and those who seek power – be affected by the display by so many people of a sheepish willingness to be ordered by the state into house arrest? Did prime ministers, governors, and mayors know in mid-March just how easy it would be for them to herd millions of the rest of us away from the activities that we human beings have for generations enjoyed? Were these officials aware of their power to convince so many people under their command that each individual poses a poisonous threat to every other individual?
To prosper, we human beings must cooperate in production – Adam Smith called it the division of labor – and trade extensively. Most of these activities require face-to-face contact among individuals who see each other as partners in cooperation and exchange rather than as threatening carriers of death. And to enjoy what we produce also requires face-to-face contact, for we are a social species.
In possession of dictatorial power unknown just a few months ago, government officials – a group undeserving of much trust even in the best of times – will not shy away from wielding their newly discovered powers.
The results will be ugly.
Attentive to Fear
Ironically, in his upbeat book Hans Rosling himself unintentionally offers justification for my pessimism. He does so in a chapter titled “The Fear Instinct.” Here’s a key passage:
When we are afraid, we do not see clearly… Critical thinking is always difficult, but it’s almost impossible when we are scared. There’s no room for facts when our minds are occupied by fear.
This undeniable reality means that a people in fear are a people who are unlikely to assess with much rationality the pros and cons of government policies. And the greater the fear, the less able people are to detect and resist government overreach.
Who is so naïve as to deny that this reality gives to government officials strong incentives to stir up fear? People who seek positions of political power generally are people who, by this very seeking, reveal that they are especially keen on exercising power over fellow human beings. And so if more power for the state grows out of more fear in the people, state officials have every incentive to exaggerate real dangers and to concoct fake ones.
The result is a vicious cycle. The possession of power includes a disproportionately great ability to stir up fear, and stirred-up fear creates more power.
Further, Rosling’s insights about the media imply that they contribute to this vicious cycle. Here again is Rosling:
[W]e have a shield, or attention filter, between the world and our brain. This attention filter protects us against the noise of the world: without it, we would constantly be bombarded with so much information we would be overloaded and paralyzed…. Most information doesn’t get through, but the holes [in our attention filter] do allow through information that appeals to our dramatic instincts. So we end up paying attention to information that fits our dramatic instincts, and ignoring information that does not.
The media can’t waste time on stories that won’t pass our attention filters.
Here are a couple of headlines that won’t get past a newspaper editor, because they are unlikely to get past our own filters: “MALARIA CONTINUES TO GRADUALLY DECLINE.” “METEOROLOGISTS CORRECTLY PREDICTED YESTERDAY THAT THERE WOULD BE MILD WEATHER IN LONDON TODAY.” Here are some topics that easily get through our filters: earthquakes, war, refugees, disease, fire, floods, shark attacks, terror attacks. The unusual events are more newsworthy than everyday ones.
An invisible virus is the perfect troublemaker to portray as an existential monster. Like an evil spirit, it can live, usually silently, within the breast of each of us. And so if a large enough number of us can be convinced that an unseen, vile monster lurks in everyone else, the resulting widespread fear empowers government officials to do what government officials do best – and what they’ve done so horribly over the past five months: destroy.
- Watch: Two US Drones In Fiery Crash Over Syria After Reportedly Colliding Mid-Air
Watch: Two US Drones In Fiery Crash Over Syria After Reportedly Colliding Mid-Air
Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 – 19:05Despite the Syria war long falling out of the headlines, here’s your weekly reminder that American forces are not only still occupying the northeast section of the country, but apparently flying so many aircraft overhead that they are colliding mid-air.
“The U.S. lost two drones over Syria Tuesday after a midair collision, a defense official tells Military Times,” Military Times writes.
Via Military Times: Defense official says two U.S. drones collided and crashed Syria. (image from Twitter purporting to be one of those aircraft). “Images of burning aircraft crashing to the ground were posted on Twitter Tuesday. There was speculation that the aircraft were MQ-9 Reapers — a remotely piloted aircraft used predominately as an armed hunter-killer drone, but also capable of surveillance and intelligence collection — and were shot down,” the report continues.
Initial social media video posts from eyewitnesses near where the drones had fallen in a fiery blaze of wreckage suggested Turkish forces had shot down at least one of them:
Breaking. #Turkey shot down a drone (likely #Russia|n) near the border. It was monitoring an area previously bombed by #RuAF (N. #Idlib). pic.twitter.com/l3Or3f8FdN
— QalaatM (@QalaatM) August 18, 2020
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The drones reportedly went down over Idlib, which is still held by Syrian al-Qaeda and pro-Turkish factions.
BTW it seems there two big UAVs were shot down. As we can see above, one is MQ-9, second possible also MQ-9 or another big UAV. pic.twitter.com/f09EVMTyPL
— Yuri Lyamin (@imp_navigator) August 18, 2020
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There had also been widespread speculation they were Russian drones, given the recent intensity of Russian operations over the region.
However, American UAVs have also been in stepped up operations over the region the past days, and the drones were reportedly confirmed as of US origin by photos and eyewitnesses on the ground.
Better video of one of the UAVs that was shot down today over Idlib, which appears to be a Reaper. 377/https://t.co/zLNFnRyygu pic.twitter.com/r3FEt61dnJ
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) August 18, 2020
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The Drive also later reported it was the result of two US MQ-9 Reaper drones colliding, however, there hasn’t been official confirmation from the Pentagon, other than unnamed defense officials speaking to the media on the incident.
As geopolitical analyst Mark Sleboda has observed, “There are obviously so many American drones illegally flying over Syria that they are running into each other.”
There are obviously so many American drones illegally flying over Syria that they are running into each other https://t.co/4FIetTo1Ni
— Mark Sleboda (@MarkSleboda1) August 19, 2020
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The reports have still left the circumstances of the pair of drones crashing somewhat ambiguous: “Whether they were shot at afterwards – and whether that caused the crash – is unclear,” the Military Times report qualified.
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