- Rare Earth Elements And National Security: Reclaiming US Control Amid China's Monopoly
Rare Earth Elements And National Security: Reclaiming US Control Amid China’s Monopoly
Authored by Antonio Graceffo via The Epoch Times,
The Center for Strategic and International Studies on July 18 identified China’s control over gallium (a rare earth element) as a national security threat.
Rare earth elements (REEs) are crucial to the U.S. military, but China holds the key. China possesses 36 percent of the world’s known rare earth reserves and controls 70 percent of the world’s extractive capacity and an astonishing 90 percent of the processing capacity. This dominance in extraction and processing gives China a commanding position in the global REE market, raising concerns about resource security and international dependency.
REEs are critical to defense technology as modern weapons can’t be built, repaired, or maintained without them. Everything from F-35 fighter aircraft to cellphones depends on rare earths, as do critical space technologies, electronics, and semiconductors. Of the 50 minerals designated as critical by the U.S. Geological Survey, 17 are considered rare earths. Although the supply of REEs is sufficient to meet defense needs, extracting a small amount of rare earths requires mining a large quantity of waste materials.
In February 2022, the Biden White House issued a statement acknowledging how critical minerals provide the building blocks for many modern technologies and are essential to U.S. national security and economic prosperity. The statement went on to outline steps that the administration was taking to secure the U.S. supply chain. However, the problem remains unresolved.
One of the reasons why the United States and Western nations can’t compete with China in rare earth mining is environmental regulations. The necessity for permits and achieving environmental standards make mining REEs extremely difficult and expensive. The United States only has one REE mine, which is located in Mountain Pass, California.
In 2022, the White House granted $35 million to MP Materials to process REEs from Mountain Pass, but the company still sends its REE feedstock to China for advanced processing. Similarly, the United States provided funding to Australia’s Lynas Corporation for REE mining, but Lynas continues to outsource processing to China.
An apparent contradiction in the environmental regulations on mining REEs is that the same amount of pollution is being added to the Earth’s atmosphere, whether the REEs are mined and processed in the United States or China. Furthermore, green technologies are heavily dependent on REEs. Wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicle motors require REEs. Unless the United States and other nations dramatically increase their REE mining and processing, the world can never achieve the Paris Agreement’s climate change goals.
To meet emission reduction targets set by President Joe Biden, the United States will have to increase its electricity generation by 60 percent by 2030.
With the growing sales of electric cars and wind turbines, Boston Consulting Group estimates that demand for REE will increase to 466 kilotons by 2035 from 170 kilotons in 2022.
Given the size of the average REE project, 30 new projects would have to be put into operation by 2035. A shortfall will result in electricity outages and a reduction in the standard of living for most Americans.
It could take years for the United States to build sufficient REE mining and refining operations.
Under current regulations, it takes an average of 16 years for a permit to be awarded. Once greenlighted, REE projects are capital-intensive and take a great deal of time to turn a profit. Due to these difficulties and the uncertainty of earning a positive return, most established mining companies have steered away from the REE business. Boston Consulting Group estimates that keeping up with increasing demand would require an investment of $100 billion per year for the next 12 years.
Environmentalists suggest recycling REEs already above ground as a partial solution. The Heritage Foundation recommends that private industry and the U.S. Department of Defense should stockpile processed and semi-processed REEs. To rebuild the U.S. capacity to mine and process REEs, Congress must reduce the environmental restrictions. Federal and state agencies must also follow suit. Federal land where mining is prohibited should be reviewed and potentially reopened.
Furthermore, the United States should collaborate with its defense partners in Europe, Australia, North America, and Asia to establish mining and processing operations so allies could mitigate dependence on China. Finally, the Development Finance Corporation should be empowered to provide financing to U.S. corporations and those of friendly nations to establish mining and processing operations.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 23:30 - These Are The World's Largest Cities By Population
These Are The World’s Largest Cities By Population
The world has experienced rapid urbanization over the last century.
Today, more than 4.3 billion people live in urban settings, or 55% of the world’s population.
But what is the world’s largest city?
Answers to that question will vary greatly depending on which lines are being used to demarcate city boundaries and measure their populations.
In the graphic below, Visual Capitalist’s Bhabna Banerjee and Bruno Venditti use data taken from the latest official censuses and projections to rank the top cities based on the three most common metrics…
The Largest Cities by City Proper
Our first metric is based on the city proper, meaning the administrative boundaries.
According to the United Nations, a city proper is “the single political jurisdiction which contains the historical city center.”
The Chinese city of Chongqing leads the ranks by this metric and has an administrative boundary the size of Austria, with an urban population of 32.1 million.
The city’s monorail system holds records for being the world’s longest and busiest, boasting 70 stations. Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, is among the world’s top 50 busiest airports. Additionally, the city ranks among the globe’s top 50 hubs for scientific research.
Other Chinese cities dominate the ranking by this metric:
The first non-Chinese city, Delhi, has been experiencing one of the fastest urban expansions in the world.
The United Nations projects India will add over 400 million urban dwellers by 2050, compared to 250 million people in China and 190 million in Nigeria.
The Largest Cities by Urban Area
This measurement largely ignores territorial boundaries and considers a city a contiguous, connected built-up area.
Demographia describes urban areas as functioning as an integrated economic unit, linked by commuting flows, social, and economic interactions.
By this metric, Tokyo leads the ranking:
The city proper houses about 10% of Japan’s population. If the greater Tokyo metro area is considered, including cities like Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, then Tokyo’s total population surpasses 37 million—about 30% of the country total.
Consequently, even with one of the world’s largest railway systems, trains in Tokyo are incredibly crowded, with a boarding rate of 200% during peak time in the most overcrowded areas. The city is also famous for its Shibuya Crossing, the busiest intersection on the planet.
The Largest Cities by Metropolitan Area
Tokyo also leads by our final metric, metropolitan area.
This measurement is similar to urban area, but is generally defined by official organizations, either for statistical purposes or governance.
In the United States, this takes the form of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), such as Chicago-Naperville-Elgin or Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler.
As the global urban population continues to rise, new cities, especially in Africa and Asia, are expected to vie for the “largest” tag soon.
The UN projects that by 2050, 68% of the world will live in urban areas.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 23:00 - Understanding The Parasitic Cooperation Between Globalists And Leftists
Understanding The Parasitic Cooperation Between Globalists And Leftists
Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,
I have to admit that in my efforts to analyze and dissect far-left/globalist ideologies and agendas I have come to a point where I am just as fascinated as I am horrified. Consider for a moment the progressive “intersectional” narrative which we often refer to as “woke”: It’s not an activist movement because they already have equal rights under the law. It’s partially a political movement but their goals go far beyond putting candidates in government – A large part of the government is already on their side.
They claim to stand against “capitalism” and corporate power, yet their movement is primarily funded by the very money elites they say they despise.
No, this movement is something different – It’s a system of blind belief and the invasion of a cult that worships itself, that worships power and seeks to undermine the truth whenever possible as a means to an end. We are witnessing history in the making; the birth of a monstrous religion of moral relativism.
To understand the political left and their tactics you have to understand their relationship with the globalists. Woke groups are a creation of the corporate/globalist regime. For decades think-tanks like the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation have been grooming universities to produce a steady supply of cult members, all of them indoctrinated into a carefully crafted narrative that clings to socialism and uses victim status as a currency.
They abhor meritocracy and have delusions of equity. They demand an impossible Utopia that guarantees equal outcomes. They see self sufficiency as criminality; an attempt to escape from collective oversight. And they are more than willing to rationalize dishonesty, disinformation, deconstruction, chaos and murder as a means to get what they want.
As I’ve noted in the past, it’s difficult to combat a movement with no morals and no shame. If your purpose is to convince them to stop what they are doing using logic, data, common sense and appeals to conscience, you will fail. They don’t care about any of these things. The leftist obsession with power is absolute – It’s all they talk about. It’s the root of every one of their arguments.
That said, their concept of power is rather limited and childish.
For the woke, power is in cancel culture. Power is in the mob. Power is in displays of collective destruction and control.
They ask themselves “What can we take from others, and how can we instill fear?” They believe the more they can take, the more power they have.
Globalists view power in a similar manner to leftists, but they expand on the manifesto with the question “How can we convince others to give us control willingly?”
Woke useful idiots see power as something that must be stolen through intimidation or force. Globalists see power as something that is handed to them by useful idiots. In order to get that power, globalists spend the vast majority of their energy and wealth on the manufacturing of consent. It’s not enough to control the population, you have to make them believe that your oligarchy is THEIR IDEA. That way, they never try to fight back.
While woke activists are running around like monkeys with matches trying to burn down the world, globalists are looking at the activists and saying “How can I make those monkeys burn down the things I want them to burn down?”
Manufacturing consent from half the population of a nation requires a massive disinfo apparatus. I doubt that most leftists even realize their entire philosophy was funded and fabricated by corporate interests. And if you educate them on the fact that they are now allied with the same ultra-rich corporate vampires they say they hate, you’ll soon discover they don’t mind. They’ll happily embrace the devil’s contract because they see it as a means of “winning.” In this way political leftists and the globalists are indelibly intertwined.
This is why I don’t take arguments over the “false left/right paradigm” very seriously anymore. Sure, there are still Neo-Cons in the Republican Party that claim to be conservative when they are actually globalists and leftists. That’s not the point. The point is, millions upon millions of regular people on the left have willfully chosen to side with the globalists and have specifically targeted conservative and patriot culture for destruction.
They are the enemy, just as much as the globalists are the enemy. Without the leftist mob the globalists have no power. It’s time to accept this reality instead of falling back on the same old lazy argument: “But both sides are the problem…” No, only one side is the problem. They have always been the problem regardless of the political masks they wear.
If you look at the pyramid from the bottom-up, there is no such thing as the “false left/right paradigm” anymore. There is a VERY REAL left/right paradigm. The division is a fact of life. The lines have been drawn by the establishment; either you’re with them or you’re against them. There is no in-between.
In the film ‘The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari’ an elite member of society turns a man into a monster through hypnosis, sending him to stalk the countryside to kill people the elite wants out of his way. The globalists have also used mesmerism to summon their own leftist monster whenever they need some dirty work done. There are two key pillars that they want leftists to tear down – People’s perceptions of freedom and people’s perceptions of objective fact.
For example, look at the recent covid “crisis” and the draconian response that the majority of leftists supported. Also look at the hysterical climate change narratives and the calls for carbon restrictions that would inevitably lead to mass depopulation; once again largely supported by the political left.
Both agendas rely on the notion of an existential threat that requires people to sacrifice their freedoms on a micro-level. Yet, covid mandates suggest that we need to save the population from death while climate change mandates suggest that we need to kill most of the population to protect the environment. It doesn’t make sense unless you understand that diminishing freedom is the ultimate point. Covid was never about saving lives and climate controls have nothing to do with saving the planet.
As for perceptions of objective fact, one need only look at the transgender movement to see that the very foundations of truth are under siege. If biology is subjective, if identity is subjective, if the genetic details we use to define and categorize our species are “social constructs” instead of facts, then almost any truth could be targeted. I believe that this attempt to make biological truth a matter of prerogative is done with the intent of making moral truth mutable.
If civilization is convinced to accept the surgical/chemical mutilation and sterilization of our youth, if we can be convinced to accept the sexualization of children from an early age, then we can easily be convinced to accept just about anything else. Pedophilia? Slavery? Murder? All in the name of hedonism posing as freedom.
By extension, the abandonment of universal truths will invariably lead to the rebuke of freedom itself. What is freedom really? Is it a legitimate concern for the future? We “live in a society” after all, and according to leftists everything we do “affects everyone else.” Therefore, freedom can be dangerous; it might hurt or upset others. It might ruin the planet. Best to get rid of it entirely for the good of the collective…
It is an eternal dichotomy – Without truth there can be no freedom – Without freedom there can be no truth. On the dark side of that coin is the globalist/leftist dichotomy – Without the globalists there is no leftist mob, without the leftist mob the globalists will be erased.
Globalists are seeking to subjugate the world, and to do that they need to undermine the basic tenets of human interaction and understanding. They have allied with the political left in order to blitz the populace with chaos, keeping people distracted and off balance while the powers-that-be wrap their tentacles around every last vestige of private liberty.
Our greatest hope is for the citizenry to adopt a hostile posture and refuse to compromise another inch. We have to start calling the political left out for what they really are – The striking hand of the globalist cabal. There can be no give-and-take when it comes to our core principles. No more tolerance of deconstruction, no more slack given to saboteurs. If a subversive group is trying to tear down the moral fabric that makes the west functional and free, if they desire to eradicate the heritage that our founders fought to establish, then we must do as the founders did and remove the threat.
* * *
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Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 22:30 - The 'Brrr' Is Coming Back
The ‘Brrr’ Is Coming Back
Summer in the Northern Hemisphere has peaked and will soon give way to the cold season. The latest extended weather forecast for the winter 2023-24 season reveals cold temperatures, snow, and damp conditions across the Lower 48.
“After a weird and warm winter season last year, this winter should make cold weather fans rejoice—especially those in the Great Lakes, Midwest, and northern New England areas,” Peter Geiger, editor of the Farmer’s Almanac, wrote in a statement.
Geiger added, “The ‘brrr’ is coming back! We expect more snow and low temperatures nationwide.”
For winter, the Farmer’s Almanac factors in a strengthening of El Niño, which should result in more moisture and storms across the southern US.
Last year’s weather prediction forecasted a chilly and snowy winter for the East and arid conditions for the West. However, that only partially panned out.
Farmers’ Almanac’s method of forecasting weather is the same as it was two centuries ago:
“The Almanac first started in 1818, so back in that time period, our editor wanted to predict the weather for farmers. So, he developed a mathematical formula that gets applied to sunspot activity, planet position, the effect the moon has on the Earth, and all of those things. The formula allows us to do our weather two years in advance. There are times when there’s a very strong El Niño, or La Niña that’s very strong, that could make things a little different than what we’re calling for, but basically, we have a good track record.”
Summer in the Northern Hemisphere has peaked.
Others are forecasting cold weather.
We put our first winter forecast out on Weatherbell. Here is the temperature and snow forecast. You can read it on our premium site. Just so happens the latest CFSV2 CONTROL run went nuts pic.twitter.com/dWva8PVH8T
— The American Storm (@BigJoeBastardi) August 18, 2023
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
If the Farmers’ Almanac’s winter predictions prove accurate, brace yourselves for another wave of the very same climate alarmists who warned of a melting Earth this summer due to cow farts and gas-powered cars. They will likely pivot and claim cold weather is yet another sign of ‘climate change’ induced by humans. Has anyone told these hopeless, fearmongering folks there are seasons?
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 22:00 - Brace Yourselves, Because What They Have Planned Is Going To Absolutely Devastate The US Economy
Brace Yourselves, Because What They Have Planned Is Going To Absolutely Devastate The US Economy
Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,
Do you remember what happened in 2008? Many people believe that another historic financial disaster is coming and that it will absolutely devastate the U.S. economy. Earlier this week, I wrote about an investor named Michael Burry that has actually bet 1.6 billion dollars that the stock market is going to crash. He made all the right moves in 2008, and he fully intends to be proven right once again in 2023. Of course current conditions definitely resemble 2008 in so many ways. The residential housing market is so dead right now, and commercial real estate prices are plummeting at a very frightening pace. Unfortunately, officials at the Federal Reserve are making it quite clear that they are not done strangling the economy.
This week, mortgage rates jumped above the 7 percent mark to the highest level that we have seen in more than 20 years…
Mortgage rates surpassed 7% this week, hitting the highest level in more than two decades.
The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage increased to 7.09% this week, up from 6.96% the week prior, according to Freddie Mac’s release on Thursday. That’s the highest point since the first week of April 2002 and marks just the third time rates have exceeded 7% since then. The last times were in October and November of last year, when the rate reached 7.08%.
Needless to say, high mortgage rates have been crippling the housing market in recent months.
At the midpoint of this year, existing home sales were down a whopping 18.9 percent from the same time in 2022…
Total existing-home sales1 – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – receded 3.3% from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.16 million in June. Year-over-year, sales fell 18.9% (down from 5.13 million in June 2022).
There are certainly lots of people out there that would like to buy homes, but thanks to how high mortgage rates have become they simply cannot afford to do so.
Housing has become extremely unaffordable in this country. According to Redfin, the percentage of teachers that can afford to buy a home close to the school where they work has fallen to just 12 percent…
The number of teachers who can afford a reasonably priced home in their school district nationwide has collapsed to just 12%, down from 17% last summer and 30% in 2019, amid the worst housing affordability crisis in a generation, according to data from Redfin.
Redfin’s analysis of median teacher salaries for 2022 across 50 major cities for over 70,000 PreK-12 public and private schools revealed no teacher in San Jose and San Diego could afford homes within “commuting distances” to their respective school, which means home and work are 20 minutes during typical rush hour conditions.
So much damage has already been done.
But apparently officials at the Federal Reserve believe that even more carnage is necessary, because they are indicating that more rate hikes are on the table…
Most Federal Reserve officials signaled during their July policy-setting meeting that high inflation still poses an ongoing threat that could necessitate additional interest rate hikes this year.
Minutes from the U.S. central bank’s July 25-26 meeting released Wednesday showed that central bank officials observed that inflation remains well above the Fed’s 2% target — and that policymakers need to see “further signs that aggregate demand and aggregate supply were moving into better balance to be confident that inflation pressures were abating.”
No.
Don’t do it.
Even if rates stay at current levels, we are headed for extreme pain.
Raising rates even higher would just be suicidal.
But it looks like they are going to do it anyway, and that could push mortgage rates up to the 8 percent level…
Economists have predicted mortgage rates could go above 8 percent if the economy continues to show signs of strength and the US Federal Reserve decides to raise interest rates again.
Mortgage Rates have not hit such levels since 2000, according to data compiled by Freddie Mac.
Do officials at the Fed actually believe that our system can handle such high rates?
Unless the Fed changes course, the housing market is going to absolutely implode.
And of course the commercial real estate market is already imploding.
The chaos that is already transpiring is putting an enormous amount of strain on our financial institutions, and Fitch is warning that we could soon see sweeping rating downgrades in the banking industry…
A Fitch Ratings analyst warned that the U.S. banking industry has inched closer to another source of turbulence — the risk of sweeping rating downgrades on dozens of U.S. banks that could even include the likes of JPMorgan Chase
.
The ratings agency cut its assessment of the industry’s health in June, a move that analyst Chris Wolfe said went largely unnoticed because it didn’t trigger downgrades on banks.In many ways, I feel like I am watching a repeat of 2008.
Officials at the Fed can clearly see everything that is happening, but they just keep insisting on making things even worse.
So I hope that you have been preparing for turbulent times, because things are going to get crazy.
Sadly, the truth is that most Americans are not prepared for tougher times. In fact, one recent survey discovered that 72 percent of Americans are not financially secure…
For many Americans, payday can’t come soon enough. As of June, 61% of adults are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a LendingClub report. In other words, they rely on those regular paychecks to meet essential living expenses, with little to no money left over.
Almost three-quarters, 72%, of Americans say they aren’t financially secure given their current financial standing, and more than a quarter said they will likely never be financially secure, according to a survey by Bankrate.
Many of those people will lose their jobs during this new economic crisis, and because they don’t have any sort of a financial cushion to fall back on many of them will also end up losing their homes.
Delinquency rates are already starting to move higher, and that should deeply alarm all of us.
But what we have experienced so far is just the tip of the iceberg.
So brace yourselves for what is ahead, because this ride is only going to get bumpier from here.
* * *
Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 21:30 - Visualizing $156 Trillion In US Assets, By Generation
Visualizing $156 Trillion In US Assets, By Generation
The distribution of wealth is an important measure of the economic power of each generation.
In the U.S., for example, baby boomers own half of the nation’s $156 trillion in assets despite making up 21% of the country’s population.
To learn more about U.S. wealth by generation, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu and Joyce Ma created two visualizations using Q4 2022 data from the Federal Reserve that break down both the assets and liabilities held by each American generation.
Assets by Generation
Assets by generation are listed in the table below. All figures are as of Q4 2022 and in USD trillions.
Baby boomers’ biggest category of assets is Equities & Mutual Funds, where they own 56% of the national total. Millennials, on the other hand, represent just 2%.
Where millennials do have more wealth is Real Estate, with 12% of the national total. This suggests that millennials have, for the most part, foregone investing in financial assets in order to purchase a home.
Liabilities by Generation
The following charts show a breakdown of liabilities by generation. Not surprisingly, Mortgages make up the largest component of liabilities for all generations.
Something to highlight is that millennials are carrying the largest amount of Consumer Credit, at $2 trillion (representing about 43% of total consumer credit). As of 2022, millennials accounted for 22% of the U.S. population.
U.S. Wealth by Generation
Finally, we subtract liabilities from assets to arrive at total wealth by generation in the United States. Figures again are USD and in trillions.
As a final note, it’s worth highlighting that Gen Z is still too young to be included as a separate demographic in datasets like these. Born between 1997 and 2012, these individuals are currently between 11 and 26 years old. Interestingly, the Federal Reserve currently considers all U.S. adults born after 1981 as millennials.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 21:00 - Is There Meat Glue In Your Food?
Is There Meat Glue In Your Food?
Via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Editor’s Note:
Ever gone out to an inexpensive buffet and marveled at the vast display of freshly prepared, hot food just waiting to be devoured? You choose the perfectly fried tempura shrimp—that unbeknownst to you—may have been mixed with a binding enzyme called transglutaminase—otherwise known as meat glue. This is not an unlikely scenario as meat glue—though banned in the European Union—is classified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as “generally recognized as safe.”
In the book, “A Consumer’s Guide to Toxic Food Additives” authors Bill and Linda Bonvie reveal the many additives lurking in our everyday food and outline ways we can identify and eliminate them from our diets. Following on the heels of our excerpt about the health implications of carrageenan, this one is sure to “stick” in your mind.
(kan_khampanya/Shutterstock) Meat Glue—Pink Slime’s Far More Sickening Sibling
Back in 2012, an ABC news lead story about Pink Slime (called in the industry by the more appetizing name, “finely textured beef”) struck a chord of disgust in the meat-eating public.
Petitions were formed to get the product out of the school lunch program, and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver conducted pink slime demos where he put beef scraps in a washing machine and then soaked them in ammonia and water.
Right before the slime hit the fan, however, ABC news affiliates spilled the beans about another underground meat practice. It was the use of an enzyme called transglutaminase, or, as it’s more commonly referred to, meat glue.
Now, even though meat glue has the potential to be a lot more hazardous to your health than pink slime, for some reason, the public couldn’t quite seem to wrap its head around it in the same way.
While some stories appeared in the press at the time, there were no petitions or consumers calling on the FDA or USDA to do something about it. In fact, some big-name chefs even came out in praise of meat glue.
For example, Wylie Dufresne, who was both chef and owner of the super-pricy Manhattan eatery wd~50 (which closed in 2014), was quoted in Meat Paper as saying he had “concocted all manner of playful and bizarre food products with meat glue, including shrimp spaghetti, which he made by mixing salt, cayenne, deveined shrimp, and meat glue in a blender.”
“Meat glue,” Dufresne declared, “makes us better chefs.”
However, even if you’re dining at an elegant establishment like wd~50, you may want to think twice about eating “glued” food. That’s one of the problems with this stuff—the appearance of food in which it has been used can definitely be deceiving.
How to Fake a Steak (or Eggs)
Since 2016, a certain restaurant chain has been using the catchy slogan “You can’t fake steak” in its TV commercials. While we can’t say whether or not that particular chain’s steaks are the real McCoy, the fact is that the slogan is wrong: You can indeed fake steak—by simply using a little meat glue.
At one time, transglutaminase was manufactured entirely from the clotting agent extracted from pig or cow’s blood. Now, it’s typically made by cultivating bacteria to do the job. Most of the meat glue supplied to the food industry comes from none other than Ajinomoto—the company that brought MSG to America.
Like MSG, Ajinomoto claims that transglutaminase is “ubiquitous in nature … typically found in various plants and animals.” Where MSG is concerned, that premise really doesn’t hold much water, as “bound” glutamic acid found in things such as meat, mushrooms, or tomatoes is quite different than the free glutamic acid added to food. Now, new research has found that this might also apply to transglutaminase sprinkled on meat or seafood.
What meat glue does is to allow restaurants and manufacturers to get away with one of the most devious forms of food fakery. Even the meat industry, when it defends transglutaminase, has to acknowledge that it can be used to fool diners. Meat glue is used much more often to “fake a steak” than to make gourmet shrimp noodles, as chef Dufresne did. By sprinkling the enzyme on various scrap pieces of meat, chicken, or seafood, and then binding it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerating it for several hours, you can turn out a picture-perfect filet mignon, solid piece of chicken, or a top-dollar-looking filet of fish.
Even experts can’t tell the difference.
If you’ve ever attended a banquet or a convention, or maybe even dined in a restaurant, and were served an expensive-looking steak or sushi at a bargain price, you may have wondered how that came to be. The answer is either that the restaurant owner is losing money with each meal or, more likely, that there’s a bag of meat glue in the kitchen.
The fake food industry has also found use for meat glue in a product bizarrely called “JUST Egg,” something that contains no trace of eggs. But along with brain-damaging amino acids, you will find transglutaminase listed on the JUST Egg label—yet another excellent reason to read food ingredients carefully no matter what brand names the products are given.
A Pathway for Pathogens to Get Inside Your Dinner
Fakery aside, meat glue could be contributing to the growing epidemic of food poisoning that hits millions (the CDC puts the number at 1 in 6 Americans or around 48 million every year).
That’s because pathogens, like Escherichia coli, Listeria, and Salmonella (with many strains now antibiotic resistant) mostly appear on the surface of meat. When the outer surface is seared, even if the meat is eaten medium rare or rare, that bacteria have most likely been killed.
When multiple pieces of meat are combined, however, those pathogens could be lurking in the center. Surfaces of the meat that once were on the outside are now in the middle. If you haven’t cooked that meat thoroughly inside and out, you could be in for big trouble.
On an Australian TV exposé of meat glue several years ago, an expert in microbiology commented that “the amount of bacteria on a steak that’s been put together with meat glue is hundreds of times higher” than your average piece of unglued meat. The same is true for chicken and fish.
Now, if you ask the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration], USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture], and certainly Ajinomoto, you’re going to hear that meat glue is perfectly safe. Sure, there’s that little problem of bacterial contamination, but these US consumer protection agencies appear to be quite confident that restaurants know that glued meat needs to be cooked thoroughly.
The USDA calls it TG enzyme, and gives instructions for cooking stuck-together meat that sounds exactly the same as what it would tell you about cooking all types of raw meat. As far as the FDA is concerned, there’s really no problem with Ajinomoto making its own determination that transglutaminase is generally recognized as safe, or GRAS.
Back in the late 1990s, the USDA received several petitions from both Ajinomoto and another company called AMPC about expanding the use of TG enzyme and attempting to get the consumer labeling (in the supermarket) to be as innocuous as possible.
Both companies got just about everything they wanted. Meat glue can now be used in meat products across the board—both the kind the USDA calls “standardized” and “non-standardized.” (This refers to what’s called a “standard of identity”—a legal description of what it takes for certain foods to be able to use a name such as hot dogs, milk, cheese, bread, etc. For example, if you want to sell something called “Salisbury steak,” it must contain at least 65 percent meat, among other requirements.)
In the case of meat glue, the agency had to change the standard of identity for numerous items like breakfast sausages, frankfurters, and bologna in order to allow for the use of the enzyme. Additionally, it was also approved to be used as a “binder” (something added to food to thicken or improve texture) for “certain meat and poultry products.”
As a result, it’s quite possible that manufacturers are putting it to uses way beyond faking expensive cuts of meat.
Perhaps one of the most important reasons you need to go out of your way to avoid this badditive has to do with a more recent discovery—one that might help explain the explosion of gut and digestive troubles that are plaguing so many these days.
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 20:30 - "Quiet" Thrusters For 'Flying Cars' Comes Out Of Stealth Development
“Quiet” Thrusters For ‘Flying Cars’ Comes Out Of Stealth Development
Coming out of stealth development is an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft by Applied eVTOL Concepts. The new eVTOL has thruster technology developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration via a multi-million dollar grant from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Applied eVTOL Concepts revealed the “Epiphany Transporter” last week, described as a “new mode of personal mobility.”
The company released specs on the new aircraft, indicating it’s capable of 160 mph with a 300-plus mile range but generates less than 55 decibels of noise at 50 feet.
For some context, a normal conversation with background music is around 50 decibels.
“The Epiphany Transporter can accommodate two people, their luggage, plus golf clubs! Intended to be simple and safe to operate, and about the size of a Tesla Model ‘S’ automobile, it fits into a standard one-car garage with its thrusters folded up, Applied eVTOL Concepts said.
The company said the thruster technology has been in development for a quarter-century:
Originally developed under a $5.1 million DARPA grant, the NASA-proven ducted thrusters have undergone over a quarter-century of refinement through full-scale flight testing in wind tunnels and several prototype manned vehicles.
The news of the “exceptionally quiet” and “neighbor-friendly” eVTOL comes as the Federal Aviation Administration has published the Advanced Air Mobility Implementation Plan to ensure safe skies for flying taxis operations by 2028.
Last month, the FAA granted SpaceX-backed mobility firm Alef Aeronautics a Special Airworthiness Certification that will allow “limited” flight operations.
We suspect those who want to be in command of an eVTOL will likely need to obtain a private pilot’s license and get rated for the aircraft to operate in controlled airspace.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 20:00 - These Are The Most Dangerous Cities In The US
These Are The Most Dangerous Cities In The US
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,
NeighborhoodScout does an annual report on the most dangerous cities US per capita. Let’s see what cities are on the list for 2023.
Data from the NeighborhoodScout, image from the Visual Capitalist
Please consider NeighborhoodScout’s Most Dangerous Cities – 2023
Our research reveals the 100 most dangerous cities in America with 25,000 or more people, based on the number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Violent crimes include rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. The data used for this research are the number of violent crimes reported to have occurred in each city, and the population of each city. Based on the latest national data available at the time of publication, representing calendar year 2021 and released in October 2022, this report reveals interesting patterns about safety from crime in America.
This year, Monroe, LA was replaced by Bessemer, AL, dropping from its two-year ranking as the number one most violent city in America to the ranking of third. Bessemer has 33.18 violent crimes per 1,000 population, and the chance of being a violent crime victim is 1 in 30.
Many of the dangerous cities on the list this year have appeared on past lists. For those who live in these cities, NeighborhoodScout can help you find the safest neighborhoods nearby any city using our Create feature. For example, by searching for the lowest crime rate within 15 miles of the number one most dangerous city, Bessemer, AL you can find the neighborhood of New Hope in Birmingham, AL is safer than 99% of neighborhoods nationwide.
Top 22
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Bessemer, AL
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 33.1
Your chance of being a victim: 1 in 30 -
Mobile, AL
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 27.9
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 35 -
Monroe, LA
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 26.3
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 38 -
Saginaw, MI
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 25.1
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 39 -
Memphis, TN
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 25.1
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 39 -
Detroit, MI
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 23.0
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 43 -
Birmingham, AL
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 20.6
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 49 -
Pine Bluff, AR
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 20.5
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 48 -
Little Rock, AR
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 20.2
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 49 -
Alexandria, LA
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 18.8
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 53 -
Cleveland, OH
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 17.1
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 58 -
Kalamazoo, MI
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 16.8
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 59 -
Milwaukee, WI
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 16.6
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 59 -
Albany, GA
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 16.1
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 61 -
Gadsden, AL
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 15.8
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 63 -
Danville, IL
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 15.8
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 63 -
Lansing, MI
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 15.7
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 63 -
Baltimore, MD
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 15.6
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 63 -
Springfield, MO
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 15.6
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 64 -
Spartanburg, SC
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 15.2
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 65 -
Rockford, IL
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 15.0
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 66 -
Wilmington, DE
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): 15.0
Chance of being a victim: 1 in 66
Hello Danville
I grew up in Danville, Illinois. It chimes in at # 16 with a 1 in 63 chance of being a victim of a violent crime.
The top 100 ranges from a 1 in 30 chance for Bessemer, AL, to 1 in 107 for Rocky Mount, NC, in spot #100.
I grew up in Danville, Illinois, the home of Chuckles (the candy), Hyster (lift forks), Lauhoff (the world’s largest grain elevator), Petersen Puritan (one of the world’s largest aerosol bottling plants, think deodorant sprays), a GM foundry in adjacent Tilton, and many other industries.
All of those industries but Hyster are gone or sold to other companies. Hyster remains but production of forklifts doesn’t. Lauhoff is now the Bunge corporation. Inquiring minds may be interested in the History of Chuckles, no longer made in Danville.
Dick Van Dyke, Jerry Van Dyke, Bobby Short, Gene Hackman, Irving Azoff, Hellen Morgan, are some of the celebrities who were born or raised in Danville.
I graduated from Danville Schlarman, a Catholic high school, in 1971, and from the University of Illinois in 1976. My goal was to escape the area, and I did.
The population of Danville was 44,000+ when I was in high school. It’s now 28,472 according to US Census Data as of 2022.
When industry left, Danville had nothing else going for it.
Number of US Cities by Population
Stats as of 2019 from Statista
Number 16 out of 1,521 is an impressive achievement of sorts.
Roughly 99 percent of the country is better than Danville, Illinois when it comes to violent crime.
Test Scores at Danville School District 118
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18% of elementary students tested at or above the proficient level for reading and 19% tested at or above that level for math.
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20% of middle school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 15% tested at or above that level for math.
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15% of high school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 9% tested at or above that level for math.
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The high school college readiness is 20.3% and the high school graduation rate is 70.2%.
The test score stats are from US News.
Only 9 percent of those in high school are proficient in math. Wow.
What a sorry, sorry situation.
More tax hikes and progressive policies will not help Danville or the entire state. I have written about the state on numerous occassions.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 19:30 -
- SpaceX Starship Launch Nears After Coast Guard Warns Of "Rocket Activity"
SpaceX Starship Launch Nears After Coast Guard Warns Of “Rocket Activity”
SpaceX’s next launch of the Starship spaceship and Super Heavy booster from South Texas could be as early as the end of August, according to a new US Coast Guard notice.
“On Aug. 31, 2023, mariners operating offshore in waters east of Brownsville, Texas, are advised of rocket launching activities and associated hazardous areas which may impact navigation interests,” USCG stated.
The agency continued, “Navigational hazards from rocket launching activity may include, free falling debris and/or descending vehicles or vehicle components, under various means of control. Mariners should avoid all waters within rocket flight trajectories originating from launch sites in the vicinity of Boca Chica Beach and Brownsville, Texas.”
Boca Chica is home to the SpaceX Starbase, located on the east coast of Texas near South Padre Island’s beaches.
The massive size of Starship!!🚀
— Alvin Foo (@alvinfoo) August 18, 2023
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On Aug. 4, Elon Musk posted on “X,” formerly known as Twitter, “Preparing for next Starship flight! This time, I think we have ~50% probability of reaching orbital velocity, however even getting to stage separation would be a win.”
Preparing for next Starship flight! This time, I think we have ~50% probability of reaching orbital velocity, however even getting to stage separation would be a win. https://t.co/MUS8EZtyYy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 5, 2023
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Musk tweeted Friday evening, “Interstage extension for hot gas venting added to enable Starship to turn on its engines while booster engines still firing!”
Interstage extension for hot gas venting added to enable Starship to turn on its engines while booster engines still firing! https://t.co/NqPLddl603
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
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Meanwhile, SpaceX recently submitted its final report on the Starship launch on Apr. 20, which ended with the rocket exploding four minutes after liftoff.
“SpaceX has submitted its final mishap investigation report to the FAA for review. That review is ongoing,” FAA officials said in an emailed statement to Space.com.
“When a final mishap report is approved, it will identify the corrective actions SpaceX must make,” the statement added. “Separately, SpaceX must modify its license to incorporate those actions before receiving authorization to launch again.”
Jim Free, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, told Fox News that officials from his agency visited Starbase to discuss Starship’s next launch.
“They need to launch multiple times, not just for us but for them. And then they need to launch multiple times for us. So we really want to see them find the success in their launches, including the next one,” Free said.
“While we wouldn’t expect a launch by Aug. 31, SpaceX is closer to launching Starship again than not. The fast-paced progress definitely can’t be ignored, and a launch attempt by the end of 2023 is certainly quite possible,” Tesla blog Teslarti wrote.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 19:00 - Transgender Powerlifter Smashes Women's World Record By More Than 440 Pounds
Transgender Powerlifter Smashes Women’s World Record By More Than 440 Pounds
Authored by Jackson Elliott via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
A male powerlifter who identifies as a woman just set a new world record—in women’s powerlifting.
In the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s (CPU) championships from Aug. 10 to Aug. 17, Anne Andres lifted 597.5 kilograms or 1317 pounds, according to advanced results.
This weight was at least 440 pounds more than the top-performing woman, SuJan Gill, lifted.
Anne Andres, a male powerlifter who identifies as a woman. (Instagram/Screenshot via the Epoch Times) Mr. Andres, a 40-year-old, gender transitioned at 20 years old, after going through male puberty, according to an Instagram post.
“[I] didn’t touch a barbell in my entire life until seven years ago,” he said in the post. “In theory, I will be representing Canada at IPF Masters Worlds in October 2024. Unless I get hurt, I will win by a good margin.”
Mr. Andres attributes his record-breaking lifts to a strong training ethic, not strong hormones. He has always had deficient testosterone, he said in another post.
“My test [testosterone] is lower than almost every human on this planet,” he said. “It was low during puberty, it is non-existent now. These are the first tests you run as a transwoman to find out how much you need to suppress. Didn’t take much. So, not exactly valid.”
He added that he has gone through “menopause” three times.
SuJan Gill, a Canadian powerlifter who got second place to Anne Andres, a transgender-identifying man. (Instagram/Screenshot via the Epoch Times) Women’s Sports Gives Support
For the most part, women in Canadian powerlifting have supported his participation in the sport, he told The Epoch Times in an Instagram message.
At the North American Powerlifting Federation, women wore transgender flag socks to support him, Mr. Andres said.
“I highly recommend ignoring me entirely and focus on the women who I have been allowed to share the platform with,” Mr. Andres said. “My opinion is worthless. The women who want me there are the ones who matter.”
Ms. Gill, who got second place, agreed.
“My view is that everyone is forgetting that Anne Andres is a human being with emotions, and a desire to be accepted, as we all are,” she told The Epoch Times in an Instagram message. “As a fellow human being, I chose to support her, as she chooses to support me and all of our fellow lifters.”
Anne Andres, a male powerlifter who identifies as a woman, trains for a lifting competition.(Instagram/Screenshot via the Epoch Times) Qualifying the statement, Ms. Gill added that she doesn’t know “the science behind transgender athletes and if they have biological advantages.”
She declined comment on any potential physical advantage Mr. Andres may have.
Scientific studies show male biology provides powerful athletic advantages.
Government studies found that men outperformed women by about 36.8 percent in their separate Olympic weightlifting events.
Studies also show that men have significantly more skeletal muscle mass than women, especially in the upper body.
Male puberty gives boys such a physical advantage that high school boys often outcompete female Olympians in many sports.
“I train very, very, stupidly hard,” Mr. Andres said in an Instagram post.
Gender Gains
Some women have expressed outrage that transgender-identifying men now compete in women’s sports.
Canadian women’s sports coach Dr. Linda Blade condemned Canadian sports groups for failing to preserve women’s sports in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Dear Sports Federations in Canada. It’s not hard to have two sports categories and be 100 percent inclusive,” she said.
The CPU’s policy on transgender powerlifters allows any man who says he is a woman to participate without getting surgery, hormone therapy, or a history of transgender identification.
“Individuals participating in development and recreational sport should be able to participate in the gender with which they identify and not be subject to requirements for disclosure of personal information beyond those required of cisgender athletes,” the group’s site reads.
In March of 2023, male powerlifting coach Avi Silverberg identified as a woman and broke the women’s world record for powerlifting.
Mr. Silverberg hasn’t commented on his action. He has no record of identifying as transgender.
While male biological advantage may be extremely visible in powerlifting, it’s present in other sports too.
Former world champion tennis player Martina Navratilova condemned the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) for opening the sport to transgender-identifying men.
“Women’s tennis is not for failed male athletes—whatever age,” Ms. Navratilova said. “This is not right and it is not fair. Would this be allowed at the U.S. Open this month? Just with self-ID? I don’t think so.”
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 18:30 - "Towns Could Get Cut Off": Hurricane Hilary Threatening "Catastrophic" Flooding Across California
“Towns Could Get Cut Off”: Hurricane Hilary Threatening “Catastrophic” Flooding Across California
As Hurricane Hilary churns 235 miles south of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, moving northwest at 16 mph, the National Hurricane Center warned of “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” across the Southwestern United States.
“Heavy rainfall in association with Hilary is expected across the Southwestern United States, peaking on Sunday,” NHC wrote in an advisory, forecasting total rainfall amounts between 3 to 6 inches, with some areas expected to receive as much as 10 inches of rain. Those areas are portions of Southern California and Southern Nevada.
On Saturday morning, Hilary weakened from a very dangerous Category 4 with winds of 130 mph to Category 3 status, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.
National Weather Service posted tropical storm warnings across Southern California, affecting 42 million people — for the first time since Nora in 1997.
Ahead of the storm’s arrival, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo called up the National Guard.
“These Guardsmen will be put in place to provide support to southern counties, which may be significantly impacted by flooding.
“As the state takes the necessary steps to prepare for flooding and severe weather, I strongly urge all Nevadans to do the same,” Lombardo said in a written statement.
NHC’s latest trajectory and warnings about the storm:
A newly updated forecast of the “catastrophic flooding impacts are expected late tonight through early Monday” for Southern California and Nevada.
The Weather Prediction Center warned entire “Towns could get cut off” due to mudslides and landslides:
The heavy rainfall combined with high winds expected at elevation could lead to mudslides and landslides, which would be exacerbated where trees uproot within saturating soils. Debris flows and rock slides are a given considering the volume of rainfall expected. The overall combination of effects could block and undermine roads, particularly sensitive areas such as sections of U.S. 50 in NV. Towns could get cut off. Given the overall uniqueness of this event and expected impacts, the High Risk for areas of southern CA remains justified. The main change was the joining of the two separate High Risk areas and some slight westward shift of the risk areas in CA, NV, UT, and AZ and some northward stretching of the threat areas to account for the slightly accelerated guidance.
Stefanie Sullivan, a forecaster with NWS, said a tropical storm to come off the ocean and make landfall in California is “exceedingly rare.” The last time this happened was in 1939.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 17:45 - "America Is Under Attack": Georgia Senator Demands Special Session To Investigate, Possibly Impeach Fani Willis
“America Is Under Attack”: Georgia Senator Demands Special Session To Investigate, Possibly Impeach Fani Willis
Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Georgia Republican state Sen. Colton Moore is demanding a special emergency legislative session to investigate the actions of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with regard to former President Donald Trump, in a move that Mr. Moore said could lead to Ms. Willis’s impeachment.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government building in Atlanta on Aug. 14, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) This week, Ms. Willis charged President Trump and 18 others with a litany of alleged crimes in connection with their efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
Ms. Willis charged each defendant under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a law drafted to fight organized crime, with the indictment alleging that President Trump and his co-conspirators did “constitute a criminal organization,” which has provoked controversy.
President Trump and his co-defendants have denied any wrongdoing, with the former president accusing Ms. Willis of corruption.
“So, the Witch Hunt continues! 19 people indicated tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney,” President Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social.
And now, Mr. Moore has accused Ms. Willis of corruption and of weaponizing the justice system to pursue a political prosecution, while calling for a special emergency legislative session to investigate her actions and possibly recommend impeachment.
‘Weaponization of Our Justice System’
Mr. Moore said he has urged Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to call a special session to investigate the actions of the Fulton County district attorney.
“As a Georgia State Senator, I am officially calling for an emergency session to review the actions of Fani Willis,” Mr. Moore said in a statement obtained by The Epoch Times.
“America is under attack. I’m not going to sit back and watch as radical left prosecutors politically target political opponents,” he added, echoing rhetoric expressed by numerous critics of Ms. Willis’s decision to charge President Trump, namely that it amounts to interference in the 2024 presidential election.
Mr. Moore elaborated in a statement that accompanied an online petition demanding the investigation of Ms. Willis, this time explicitly mentioning the prospect of impeachment.
“Corrupt District Attorney Fani Willis is potentially abusing her position of power by pursuing former President Donald J. Trump, and I am calling on my colleagues in the Georgia legislature to join me in calling for an emergency session to investigate and review her actions and determine if they warrant impeachment,” Mr. Moore wrote.
The Republican lawmaker also called for Ms. Willis’s office to be defunded until the investigation runs its course.
“The politically motivated weaponization of our justice system at the expense of taxpayers will not be tolerated. I am demanding that we defund her office until we find out what the hell is going on. We cannot stand idly by as corrupt prosecutors choose to target their political opposition,” Mr. Moore wrote.
In a letter to Mr. Kemp that was obtained by The Epoch Times, the Republican lawmaker said that, in his opinion, “an emergency exists in the affairs of the state, requiring a special session to be convened” under Georgia law “for all purposes, to include, without limitation, the review and response to the actions of Fani Willis.”
In Georgia, a special legislative session can be called by the governor or if three-fifths of both legislative chambers sign a letter—such as the one written by Mr. Moore—demanding that an emergency session be convened.
Ms. Willis’s office declined to comment.
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for Mr. Kemp referred to remarks made earlier in the day by Cody Hall, one of the governor’s senior advisers, who dismissed calls for a special session as pointless.
Reactions
Kandiss Taylor, former Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate and current Georgia GOP district chair, expressed her support for an emergency session to investigate Ms. Willis.
“State Senator calls for a special session to secure GA elections!” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “[Colton Moore] you are amazing! Thank you for not bending the knee. Thank you for representing GA voters. We see you. We stand with you.”
Conservative commentator Rogan O’Handley, widely known by his X handle DC Draino, hailed Mr. Moore’s announcement, even suggesting that the Republican lawmaker is governor material.
“A rare example of political courage in the GOP,” Mr. O’Handley wrote on X.
“State Sen. [Colton Moore] is calling for an emergency session to review & possibly impeach Fani Willis after she indicted Pres. Trump & his team. Bravery like this is what makes future Governors.”
Ms. Willis has asked for a March 4, 2024, trial date for President Trump and his co-defendants, a proposal that would put the former president—the front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination—on trial just one day before the “Super Tuesday” primary contests.
Besides President Trump, the defendants are his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; his former attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis; attorneys Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Ray Smith III, and Robert Cheeley; former Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark; GOP strategist Michael Roman; Georgia alternate electors Shawn Still, Cathleen Latham, and former head of the Georgia Republican Party David Shafer; Illinois pastor Stephen Lee; Harrison Floyd, vice president for the Black Conservative Federation, who is also involved in Black Voices for Trump; Trevian Kutti, former publicist for Kanye West; Scott Hall, a Georgia bail bondsman and Fulton County Republican poll watcher; and Misty Hampton, also known as Misty Emily Hayes, former Coffee County elections supervisor.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the defendants, and Ms. Willis said at a press conference that they have until noon on Aug. 25 to voluntarily surrender.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 17:30 - DeSantis Devastated, Now Tied With Ramaswamy For 2nd In GOP Primary
DeSantis Devastated, Now Tied With Ramaswamy For 2nd In GOP Primary
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) is now tied for 2nd place in the Republican presidential field with conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, after an Emerson College poll showed the two tied at 10% each.
Former President Donald Trump leads the pack at 56%, according to the same poll.
DeSantis, meanwhile, dropped from 21% in June, while Ramaswamy rose from just 2% to tie DeSantis over the same period.
The poll’s release coincides with a leaked memo from a DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down, which urged the Florida governor to “take a sledgehammer” to Ramaswamy – who’s been quickly closing in on Ron.
“Another boring, establishment attack from Super PAC-creation ‘Robot Ron’ who is literally taking lame, pre-programmed attack lines against me for next week’s debate. ‘Hammer Ramaswamy,’ Ramaswamy wrote on X in response.
Another boring, establishment attack from Super PAC-creation “Robot Ron” who is literally taking lame, pre-programmed attack lines against me for next week’s debate. “Hammer Ramaswamy.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/u8puIW88jS
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 17, 2023
Ramaswamy, in particular, has been improving his support with voters who have postgraduate degrees – who support him by 17%, and 16% of voters younger than 35. DeSantis has been losing support over the same period – dropping among postgraduate voters from 38% in June to just 14% now. Just 15% of those under 35 support the Florida governor, according to The Hill.
The release states that DeSantis’s drop is similar to that of Emerson’s New Hampshire poll that showed former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) surpassing DeSantis by 1 point for second place in the state, a statistical tie.
Pollsters also found somewhat more shaky support among DeSantis supporters than among those for Ramaswamy. Almost half of Ramaswamy backers said they will definitely vote for him, while only a third of DeSantis supporters said the same.
Meanwhile, more than 80 percent of Trump supporters said they will definitely vote for the former president.
DeSantis, Ramaswamy and several other GOP candidates, none of whom are likely to win the primary, will duke it out next week during the first Republican primary debate.
Trump, meanwhile, is skipping out for an interview with Tucker Carlson.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 17:00 - "Leave Neutrality Behind": Soros-Backed UT Austin Initiative Embraces Advocacy Journalism
“Leave Neutrality Behind”: Soros-Backed UT Austin Initiative Embraces Advocacy Journalism
We have discussed the rise of advocacy journalism where objectivity and neutrality are discarded in favor of social justice. Despite public trust (and profits) crashing in the media, faculty members are plowing ahead with the new model of journalism to the peril of their profession. The latest such example is found in the “Solidarity Journalism Initiative” at the University of Texas at Austin.According to its website, the new initiative is being financed by tech companies and George Soros’ Open Society Foundations to help “journalists, journalism educators, and journalism students improve coverage of marginalized communities.”The College Fix reports that the program was brought over from Santa Clara University after UT hired Professor Anita Varma.
The school is pushing students to use their “lived expertise” and to “leave[] neutrality behind.” Instead, of neutrality, they are pushing “solidarity [as] ‘a commitment to social justice that translates into action.’”
In 2021, Varma wrote an article titled, “Solidarity Eclipses Objectivity as Journalism’s Dominant Ideal” in which she explained:
“objectivity as an aspirational ideal ends up encouraging journalists to avoid addressing what matters…
In coverage of issues like immigration, Covid-19, police brutality, and housing instability, the idea that observations will objectively speak for themselves is quickly off the table.”
That view has been in vogue within the mainstream media for years. We have often discussed the increasing bias and advocacy in major media in the United States.
What is most striking about this universal shift toward advocacy journalism (including at journalism schools) is that there is no evidence that it is a sustainable approach for the media as an industry. While outfits like NPR allow reporters to actually participate in protests and the New York Times sheds conservative opinions, the new polling shows a sharp and worrisome division in trust in the media. Not surprisingly, given the heavy slant of American media, Democrats are largely happy with and trusting of the media. Conversely, Republicans and independents are not. The question is whether the mainstream media can survive and flourish by writing off over half of the country.
A 2021 study from the non-partisan Pew Research Center showed a massive decline in trust among Republicans. Five years ago, 70 percent of Republicans said they had at least some trust in national news organizations. In 2021, that trust was down to just 35 percent. Conversely, and not surprisingly, 78 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents saying they have “a lot” or “some” trust in the media. When you just ask liberal Democrats, it jumps to 83 percent.
This latest polling shows that the problem is only getting more acute for the media. Yet, publishers and editors are still pandering to the mob in calling for more advocacy and less objectivity.
For example, we previously discussed the release of the results of interviews with over 75 media leaders by former executive editor for The Washington Post Leonard Downie Jr. and former CBS News President Andrew Heyward. They concluded that objectivity is now considered reactionary and even harmful. Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, editor-in-chief at the San Francisco Chronicle said it plainly: “Objectivity has got to go.”
Saying that “Objectivity has got to go” is, of course, liberating. You can dispense with the necessities of neutrality and balance. You can cater to your “base” like columnists and opinion writers. Sharing the opposing view is now dismissed as “bothsidesism.” Done. No need to give credence to opposing views. It is a familiar reality for those of us in higher education, which has been increasingly intolerant of opposing or dissenting views.
Downie recounted how news leaders today
“believe that pursuing objectivity can lead to false balance or misleading “bothsidesism” in covering stories about race, the treatment of women, LGBTQ+ rights, income inequality, climate change and many other subjects. And, in today’s diversifying newsrooms, they feel it negates many of their own identities, life experiences and cultural contexts, keeping them from pursuing truth in their work.”
There was a time when all journalists shared a common “identity” as professionals who were able to separate their own bias and values from the reporting of the news.
Now, objectivity is virtually synonymous with prejudice. Kathleen Carroll, former executive editor at the Associated Press declared “It’s objective by whose standard? … That standard seems to be White, educated, and fairly wealthy.”
In an interview with The Stanford Daily, Stanford journalism professor, Ted Glasser, insisted that journalism needed to “free itself from this notion of objectivity to develop a sense of social justice.” He rejected the notion that journalism is based on objectivity and said that he views “journalists as activists because journalism at its best — and indeed history at its best — is all about morality.” Thus, “Journalists need to be overt and candid advocates for social justice, and it’s hard to do that under the constraints of objectivity.”
Lauren Wolfe, the fired freelance editor for the New York Times, has not only gone public to defend her pro-Biden tweet but published a piece titled “I’m a Biased Journalist and I’m Okay With That.”
Former New York Times writer (and now Howard University Journalism Professor) Nikole Hannah-Jones is a leading voice for advocacy journalism.
Indeed, Hannah-Jones has declared “all journalism is activism.” Her 1619 Project has been challenged as deeply flawed and she has a long record as a journalist of intolerance, controversial positions on rioting, and fostering conspiracy theories. Hannah-Jones would later help lead the effort at the Times to get rid of an editor and apologize for publishing a column from Sen. Tom Cotton as inaccurate and inflammatory.
All of these voices show a complete disconnect from readers and viewers who do not want advocacy journalism and no longer trust what they are reading in the media. Yet, these calls remain personally popular for writers and editors alike. It is reminiscent of how executives at companies like Disney have pursued woke policies to the detriment of their shareholders and the alienation of many of their customers. The same is true for the push for censorship on social media despite the clear preference of users for more free speech and fewer speech controls.
As with brands like BudLight, the abandonment of actual consumers will not deter media executive in pushing this “new journalism.” As Downie explained “objectivity” is “keeping them from pursuing truth in their work.”
So they will do their jobs even when viewers and readers no longer are interested in their work.
While this type of vanity press can count on subsidies from billionaires like Jeff Bezos and George Soros, the public may balk at a media that is increasingly writing for itself.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 16:30 - Ukraine Drone Attack Deep Inside Russia Damages Parked Warplane
Ukraine Drone Attack Deep Inside Russia Damages Parked Warplane
For the first time in a year-and-a-half of war, Ukraine has launched an attack on a military airfield deep inside Russia located in the northwestern Novgorod region.
What is being dubbed a ‘terrorist attack’ by Russian authorities was reportedly thwarted on Saturday. “Today, at around 10:00 am Moscow time, the Kyiv regime carried out a terrorist attack using a copter-type drone on a military airfield in the Novgorod region,” the Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) said. But it also admitted damage on the ground.
⚡️Fire at the Soltsy airfield in the Novgorod region (Russia), after it was struck by a Ukrainian drone.
This airbase is mostly home to the Tu-22 bomber and the Russian MoD confirmed that one aircraft was “damaged”, but didn’t specify the type. pic.twitter.com/oXm7fQRctc
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) August 19, 2023
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The MoD further described that the attacking drone was shot down by “by small arms” — but noted that at least one Russian warplane was damaged. The airfield is remote, and near the town of Soltsy between Moscow and St. Petersberg.
“As a result of the terrorist attack on the territory of the airfield, a fire broke out in the parking lot of aircraft, which was quickly eliminated by fire fighters. One aircraft was damaged,” the MoD statement continued. Eyewitnesses described a plume of smoke rising from the base in the aftermath of the attack.
Ukraine may have been seeking to degrade Russia’s fleet of long-range bombers in targeting the base, as Newsweek explains:
Strategic Russian Tu-22M3 bombers carrying X-22 missiles are believed to be based at the airfield. Russia deployed the Tupolev Tu-22M3 during its bombing of the Donetsk city of Mariupol in 2022.
…However, the Telegram channel Ateo Breaking said that two aircraft rather than one had been damaged. Images shared on social media, taken some distance from the air base, show smoke billowing into the air from behind buildings.
Monitoring groups have said there were about 10 Tu-22M3 units at the airfield, which is located over 410 miles from the border of Ukraine. Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian defense ministry for comment.
Russia’s clear air superiority has been devastating for the Ukrainian side. President Zelensky and his officials have begged Western allies to help tip the scales by quickly supplying F-16s, but these won’t be operational until next year, possibly by summer 2024.
Location of airfield, via Google maps Meanwhile, Russia again bombarded the northern city of Chernihiv on Saturday, with BBC citing official Ukraine government statements to report, “Seven people, including a six-year-old child, were killed when a Russian missile struck a theatre in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, officials say.”
“Fifteen children were among 129 people wounded, the interior ministry said. At least 25 people were in hospital,” the report continued. The acting mayor of the city, Oleksandr Lomako, said he believed Russia was targeting a military event, but that the area was teeming with civilians.
Another video of the moment of today’s Russian missile attack on Chernihiv. pic.twitter.com/Ldb0q9Wgg7
— UNITED24media (@United24media) August 19, 2023
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“The theatre was hosting a gathering of drone manufacturers, the acting mayor of Chernihiv told the BBC.”
Lomako said, “I understand that their aim was a military event taking place in the building of the drama theatre and that it was their target.”
No more drone expos in theaters probably. pic.twitter.com/gZRNBPUqzo
— ayden (@squatsons) August 19, 2023
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 16:00 - These Are America's Most Affordable States To Live In This Year
These Are America’s Most Affordable States To Live In This Year
Authored by Mary Prenon viaThe Epoch Times,
When it comes to housing, living expenses, taxes, insurance, and even grocery costs, South Dakota is the winner for the most affordable place to live in the United States. In its “Cheapest States to Live in 2023” report, Scholaroo, a college scholarship search platform, analyzed all 50 states using 31 metrics, which also included cable, internet, utility, medical, transportation, and even haircut and manicure costs.
Indiana came in second, followed by Arkansas, Mississippi, and Nebraska.
Scholaroo spokesperson Abigail Da Costa told The Epoch Times that this is the first time the platform has conducted the analysis on the average cost of living in all 50 states.
“While individual preferences and economic circumstances will inevitably influence personal costs, the primary aim of this report is to serve as a comprehensive guide on the estimated expenses of living in each state,” Ms. Da Costa said. “Prospective homebuyers can also benefit from this study, as it provides valuable insights into the most suitable locations to purchase property based on their financial situation.”
Amy Stockberger, broker and owner of Amy Stockberger Real Estate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, wasn’t surprised that her state was named the most affordable in the nation.
(Courtesy of Scholaroo)
“We’re a little hidden gem and everything from groceries to utilities and gas prices is reasonable, plus in Sioux Falls, job wages are comparable to other larger metro areas,” Ms. Stockberger told The Epoch Times.
With a median single-family home price of $312,000 inside Sioux Falls, the area has been attracting buyers from California, Minnesota, and the Northeast. In 2022, the state’s largest city saw an influx of about 7,000 people.
“We do get a strong population of people who want to retire here,” she said. “We have a low crime rate, a lower cost of living, and no pollution. In fact, for the first time in my 23-year career, I’ve seen siblings and relatives of relocating families also following them to move here.”
Another incentive to move to South Dakota, Ms. Stockberger said, is the fact that it has no state income tax. “It’s a great place to start a business as well,” she said.
With four seasons, the state offers attractive outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and sledding. Sioux Falls alone has more than 80 parks and 30 miles of bike trails.
“We’ve been listed many times as one of the best places to raise a family,” Ms. Stockberger said.
While South Dakota scored the overall best location for affordability, the Scholaroo report names West Virginia the leader in affordable homebuying options, with the average monthly mortgage cost for a single-family home at $879, followed by Arkansas at $947, and Alabama at $970. On the other end, the average mortgage payments for California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Hawaii are all above $2,000. California had the highest cost with an average of $2,402.
Joshua McGrath, CEO of BHG Real Estate Central in Charleston, West Virginia, has been selling residential real estate for almost 25 years.
“Since the pandemic, I’ve seen more and more people relocating to West Virginia,” Mr. McGrath told The Epoch Times. “In addition to affordability, people are looking for more spacious land. They don’t want a tight community with no yard.”
A three-bedroom home, listed at $289,000, sits on three acres in Scott Depot, W.Va. (Courtesy of BHG Real Estate Central in Charleston, W.V.)
He said that he’s currently working with a couple from Colorado who’ve decided to move back to their West Virginia roots. “They can sell their home there, relocate here, reduce costs by about 50 percent, and still have a comparable house,” Mr. McGrath said.
One of his recent listings for a three-bedroom, two-bath home on three acres had 26 showings and six offers in just 48 hours. “We’re still seeing bidding wars here, and the accepted offer was well over the $289,000 asking price,” he said.
Low taxes are another reason that West Virginia scores high on the affordability charts—the average taxes on a single-family home are less than $2,000 a year. Outdoor activities such as hiking, zip lining, and white-water rafting are other draws to the area.
While Charleston is the state’s capital and is considered a smaller city, it’s just a few hours away from major metropolitan areas such as Lexington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati.
In terms of median home value, Scholaroo reports that Mississippi has the lowest in the nation, followed closely by West Virginia, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. Conversely, Washington state came in with the highest home value, followed by Massachusetts, New York, California, and Hawaii.
Maryland takes the lead for the highest annual median household income at $91,431, followed closely by New Jersey at $89,703, and Massachusetts at $89,026. Mississippi holds the No. 1 spot for the lowest annual median income at just $49,111. West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, and New Mexico are also included on the list of annual household median incomes under $60,000.
A three-bedroom home, listed at $315,000, in Sioux Falls, S.D. (Courtesy of Amy Stockberger Real Estate in Sioux Falls, S.D.)
For apartment dwellers, West Virginia ranked first in terms of the least expensive state. The median rental rate for a one-bedroom apartment is $732 per month. Arkansas is a close second with a monthly rental rate of $760, followed by South Dakota at $761. Kentucky at $783 and Mississippi at $789 close out the top five most affordable apartment rental locations.
Meanwhile, Hawaii takes the lead for the most expensive rents, with an average of $1,651 monthly. California comes in second with an average rent of $1,586, and Maryland is third with $1,415. Rounding out the top five most expensive rental states are New Jersey and Washington state, both with rents above $1,300.
“The reality is that there were no surprises here,” Ms. Da Costa said. “It was expected that the states located in the Midwest region would be the most affordable, and the states located on the coasts, such as California, New York, or Hawaii, the most expensive.”
Realtor.com’s newly released June Rental Report shows rental prices dropping nationwide by 1 percent year-over-year, but the median asking rent in the 50 largest metro areas increased by $7 from the previous month to $1,745. However, that number represents a $31 drop from its peak in July 2022.
“The downward trend in rent prices continued in June, providing a much-needed respite for renters and an opportunity to regain some control over their housing expenses,” said Danielle Hale, Realtor.com’s chief economist. “With our midyear forecast update calling for slowing inflation, better-than-expected labor market performance, and an increase in multi-family supply, we’re seeing some encouraging signs for renters’ budgets as we enter the second half of the year.”
The report indicates that rent in Western metros is declining faster than in other parts of the country, with a 3.8 percent decline year-over-year. San Jose, the last large Western metro to show a slide in rental prices, saw its first year-over-year rent drop in nearly two years. In contrast, rents in Northeastern hubs such as New York City and Boston continued to escalate. Rents in the Midwest are still climbing, as well.
Half of the top 10 metros experiencing the most rent growth are located in the Midwest. Only in the South have rent costs declined compared to a year ago. Oklahoma City’s median monthly rental of $1,025 makes it the country’s most affordable city in which to lease an apartment. Cincinnati offers monthly rents at $1,188, followed by Louisville/Jefferson County in Kentucky and Indiana at $1,210, and Columbus, Ohio, at $1,211. The fifth place goes to another Ohio locale—Cleveland/Elyria—at $1,236 per month.
Three of California’s metro regions topped the chart with a median monthly rental cost of $3,301 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, followed by San Diego-Carlsbad at $3,029, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward at $2,960. New York City’s metro area median rental cost ranked fourth at $2,899, and the Washington metro area completed the list of the top five most expensive rents in the country with a median rent of $2,232. Realtor.com used a compilation of rents from studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 15:30 - "Trump Was Right": Jake Tapper Admits Biden Lied About Hunter 'Making Fortune In Ukraine, China, Moscow'
“Trump Was Right”: Jake Tapper Admits Biden Lied About Hunter ‘Making Fortune In Ukraine, China, Moscow’
In an odd change in tone, CNN‘s Jake Tapper finally admitted that former President Donald Trump was right and Joe Biden was wrong during the 2020 presidential debates when Trump said that Hunter Biden “made a fortune in Ukraine, in China, in Moscow.”
Citing a fact check from the Washington Post‘s Glenn Kessler (!?), Tapper noted that “Hunter Biden admitted in court in July that he was, in fact, paid substantial sums from Chinese companies,” and that “Hunter Biden reported nearly 2.4 million income in 2017 and 2.2 million income in 2018, most of which came from Chinese or Ukrainian interests. But this — and this directly goes against what Joe Biden said in the debate in 2020 with Donald Trump,” Tapper said.
Watch:
CNN’s Jake Tapper: “Trump was right.. Biden was wrong.” pic.twitter.com/IYaa2NPVT2
— Real Mac Report (@RealMacReport) August 18, 2023
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsFormer Democratic Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan then dove in to provide cover for Joe Biden, claiming “Well, I think dads sometimes and parents sometimes have blind spots about their kids, for sure, and the President may be no exception. But nothing has tied the President to any of Hunter Biden’s dealings. There’s no whiff of him being involved or him being implicated in it.“
Which Tapper let him get away with, as opposed to mentioning:
- “Can You Ring Your Dad?” Joe Biden Spoke Directly To Hunter’s Business Partners Dozens Of Times
- Tucker’s Explosive Devon Archer Interview, Admits Joe ‘Knew That Business Associates’ Were On Call
- House Republicans Release Bank Records Showing Over $20 Million In Payments To Biden Family, Associates
- A Decade Of ‘Deals’: The Definitive Timeline Of The Bidens’ Influence-Peddling
Then there’s former Biden business associate, Tony Bobulinski – who flipped on the Bidens, confirmed that the “Big Guy” (of ‘10% for the Big Guy’ fame) is Joe Biden, and that he met with Joe Biden twice in LA in 2017 as part of the vetting process for him to run a joint venture with Hunter and his Uncle Jim Biden, an a Chinese energy company (CEFC), which would end up netting them millions of dollars in exchange for no obvious products or services.
Then again, this is CNN we’re talking about. Just admitting that Trump was right is a huge baby-step in the right direction.
Corporate Media claimed:
1) Russia-Collusion real
2) Steele Dossier credible
3) Trump a Putin puppet
4) Hunter Laptop was Russian disinfo
5) FBI acted fairly
6) Censorship by Govt a myth
7) Covid didn’t come from lab
8) Biden wasn’t involved w/HunterLeftists: Still trust media https://t.co/VAHyA7UOWe
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) August 19, 2023
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 15:00 - Most Intensive Ivermectin Use Had 74% Reduction In Excess Deaths In Peru: New Study
Most Intensive Ivermectin Use Had 74% Reduction In Excess Deaths In Peru: New Study
Authored by Megan Redshaw, JD via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
According to a new peer-reviewed ecological study, a natural experiment occurred when the government of Peru authorized ivermectin for use during the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in evidence of the drug’s effectiveness and ability to reduce excess deaths.
(Carl DMaster/Epoch Times) The paper’s results, published August 8 in Cureus, found a 74 percent reduction in excess deaths in 10 states with the most intensive ivermectin use over a 30-day period following peak deaths during the pandemic. When analyzing data across 25 states in Peru, researchers found these reductions in excess deaths correlated closely to ivermectin use during four months in 2020.
When ivermectin was available without restriction, there was a fourteenfold reduction in nationwide excess deaths. Once access to ivermectin was restricted by the government, a thirteenfold increase in excess deaths was observed in the two months following the limitation of its use. The findings align with summary data from the World Health Organization for the same time period in Peru.
Ivermectin is a widely-known and inexpensive treatment against parasitic diseases. Scientists believe the drug can also bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, limiting its morbidity and infectivity.
Peru Promoted Then Restricted Access to Ivermectin
Before Peru implemented COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the country relied on mitigation strategies such as lockdowns and therapeutics to control the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, as did many other nations.
The Peruvian Ministry of Health, on May 8, 2020, approved ivermectin widely for use prompting 25 states in Peru to implement inpatient and outpatient treatments with ivermectin to different extents and in different time frames. Additionally, through the Mega-Operación Tayta (MOT)—a national program led by the Ministry of Defense—Peru’s government began distributing ivermectin on a wide scale.
Through a partnership with 11 other government agencies, MOT aimed to reach every targeted region with rapid response teams to detect COVID-19 cases, administer ivermectin, and provide food to encourage people to isolate for 15 days. Shortly thereafter, MOT began distributing the therapeutic to everyone identified as high-risk, regardless of whether they tested positive or were symptomatic for COVID-19.
The government of Peru independently tracked daily COVID-19 deaths and all-cause deaths through numerous Peruvian national health databases, allowing researchers to calculate excess deaths. Additionally, they extensively tracked data for deaths and other public health parameters allowing analysis of the potential efficacy of interventions such as ivermectin during the pandemic.
When President Francisco Sagasti took office on Nov. 17, 2020, the government stopped distributing ivermectin and made it available only by prescription. This made the drug significantly more difficult for people to obtain and allowed researchers to see nationwide changes in daily excess all-cause deaths before and after restrictions went into place.
Impact of Ivermectin on Excess Deaths
Excess all-cause deaths were calculated from the total deaths recorded for January through February 2020. During this period, monthly all-cause deaths fluctuated with a mean value of 5.2 percent and a standard deviation of 3.8 percent. By May 2020, total deaths fluctuated by more than double the baseline value calculated in January through February.
An analysis of excess all-cause deaths was performed state-by-state for those aged 60 years and older to establish the date of peak excess deaths during the pandemic’s first wave. Decreases in excess deaths from the peak date of death to 30 and 45 days afterward were tracked. The 25 states were then grouped by the extent of ivermectin distribution: maximal distribution—occurring through operation MOT, medium, and minimal.
Results showed that the 10 MOT states had a sharp decrease in excess deaths after reaching peak values—with a 74 percent drop at 30 days and an 86 percent drop at 45 days after the date of peak deaths. For 14 states that locally administered ivermectin, excess deaths dropped by 53 percent at 30 days and 70 percent at 45 days.
In Lima, where ivermectin treatments were delayed until August—four months after its initial pandemic surge in April—excess deaths only dropped by 25 percent at 30 days and 25 percent at 45 days after peak deaths on May 30.
According to the study, mean reductions in excess deaths 30 days after peak deaths were 74 percent, 53 percent, and 25 percent, respectively, for the maximal, medium, and minimal states that distributed ivermectin. Forty-five days after peak deaths, mean reductions were 86 percent, 70 percent, and 25 percent.
The researchers noted that ivermectin distribution may have yielded such positive numbers due to the drug’s ability to both prevent and treat COVID-19 when distributed to an at-risk population on a greater scale.
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/19/2023 – 14:30
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