- Arctic Defense: The Growing Geopolitical Battle For The North
Arctic Defense: The Growing Geopolitical Battle For The North
Authored by Brian Giesbrecht via The Epoch Times,
The Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) runs north of the Arctic Circle from Alaska in the west to Baffin Island in the east, then continues across Greenland.
It was built by the United States, with the cooperation of Canada, at the height of the Cold War in the 1950s as a defence against the Soviet Union.
Most of the self-sufficient bases on this line had a paved runway, with equipment and personnel necessary to keep the runway cleared. The bases had to be operational for the dozens of fighter planes that were kept at the ready by U.S. Strategic Air Command, in case Soviet jets came over the North Pole.
Most of those sites fell into disuse, and the DEW Line became the North Warning System. Not much has happened since then.
Although the federal government has promised to address the deterioration of our defences, nothing of substance has been done by Ottawa to deal more effectively with the defence of our vast North. Similarly, although the government has promised to modernize its NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command) commitments, it has been largely ignored.
The Trump administration has made it clear that it finds Canada’s defence readiness to be unacceptable. The complaint is legitimate.
The fact is that the world is very different from what it looked like in the 1950s and 60s. At that time, the Soviet Union was the major threat to the West, while communist China was desperately poor and weak. Under Mao’s “Great Leap Forward” and later his “Cultural Revolution,” millions starved. China looked then more like North Korea than the economic and military behemoth it has become today. We certainly didn’t fear it as a threat.
Now, both communist China, and an increasingly aggressive Russia are formidable foes. They are also very interested in the North. Ominously, they have recently partnered with each other in a “friendship without limits” which raises the possibility that they might collaborate (or be collaborating right now) on joint plans for the military and commercial exploitation of the North.
The fact that shipping on a large scale through the Northwest Passage might be a possibility in the not-so-distant future is one of the reasons why. The passage can cut shipping distances drastically, so huge amounts of money and fuel can be saved. Future passage from Asia to Europe via the Northeast Passage (also called the Northern Sea Route) and Northwest Passage would be incredibly valuable—strategically, militarily and commercially—for both Russia and China.
Russia is far ahead of Canada on northern strategy and development. It has at least 40 ships capable of breaking through ice, including eight nuclear-powered icebreakers. Canada has no icebreakers that are nuclear powered. Recent promises to build two are years away from fruition. The Americans are acutely aware of Russia’s northern superiority.
Northern security goes some way to explaining Donald Trump’s very public offer to buy Greenland.
Whether he is serious about buying it, or just wants better access guarantees, is something known only to Trump and his closest advisers.
The prospect of Greenland falling under the control of its adversaries (and possible future enemies) must alarm the Pentagon. Is such a prospect remote? Consider the fact that there are only 56,000 Greenlanders. China and Russia, separately or jointly, could make each Greenlander a millionaire with $56 billion. That is a small sum for those giants. Is it not possible that America wants to get to Greenlanders with an offer first? After all, Denmark has assured the Greenlanders that they can become independent with a simple vote. The prospect of becoming millionaires might have strong appeal to the relatively poor indigenous inhabitants of that huge, cold island. Trump’s concerns about the security of his nation are very real. He probably sees preventing China or Russia (separately or as a combined force) from gaining control of Greenland as absolutely vital.
More likely than bribing Greenlanders, Chinese Communist Party-controlled corporations could gain a foothold in Greenland by making attractive offers to the inhabitants, as the CCP has done throughout the developing world with its Belt and Road Initiative. The days of European empires, with Europeans waving attractive trinkets in the faces of poor natives, have been replaced with today’s savvy Chinese businessmen doing essentially the same thing.
But a glance at the map shows how close Greenland is to Canada. Trump probably has many of the same concerns about the vast, largely undefended Canadian Arctic that he has about Greenland. And some of Canada’s recent actions are probably causing alarm in the Trump camp.
An example might be the ceding of partial sovereignty by Canada to Nunavut. Nunavut is a huge land mass. Like Greenland, it is rich in natural resources, particularly natural gas. And, like Greenland, it is also strategically important.
Nunavut sits smack dab on a Northwest Passage that might be worth trillions of dollars in the future. Who controls the passage could turn out to be a determining factor in whether the West, or “no-limits” China/Russia, will be the victor in future Great Power struggles. Like Greenland, Nunavut has a small population, about 38,000 mainly poor Inuit people. The Foreign Interference Commission has been clear that besides targeting governments at different levels, foreign actors also try to exploit indigenous communities.
We have seen how important the issue of CCP control of the Panama Canal is to the Americans. The possibility of China/Russia control of the Northwest Passage could well be equally important to them. Not to be alarmist, but shouldn’t the fact that that China has already—very quietly—been making huge deals with semi-autonomous indigenous territories concern Canadians as well?
Will semi-autonomous Nunavut decide that their consent is required to use the passage, perhaps even from Canadian vessels? Now that United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) has become law in Canada, could indigenous people in these semi-autonomous indigenous territories assert tribal law that would trump other laws? If you think this is too far-fetched, consider that fact that our Supreme Court has already held that tribal law cancels Charter protections in some cases, and even held that indigenous people who are not Canadian citizens and do not live in Canada can have rights to Canadian resources. How does the United States view such giveaways of Canadian sovereignty to indigenous groups?
Nunavut is not the only part of Canada that is being ceded, or partially ceded, to indigenous groups. In British Columbia, Haida Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands) looks like it will have a status similar to Nunavut.
BC’s government seems determined to give other parts of the province over to the many First Nations who live there as well. Each would presumably be able to make their own laws, and make commercial agreements with whomever they choose. That would include CCP-controlled companies.
There will no doubt be protective provisions in those agreements, but B.C. has adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). A double whammy of DRIPA and UNDRIP might arm indigenous groups with effective weapons to assert sovereignty, even in the face of government opposition. Canadian courts have been amazingly willing to give indigenous groups what they want. What are the chances that Haida Gwaii separatists are even now planning business deals with CCP-controlled corporations that will make Washington—and should make Ottawa—extremely uncomfortable?
How will the Trump, or future administrations, see these developments? Will Americans tolerate a British Columbia, or a Canada, that cedes its sovereignty to people who are increasingly being urged to see themselves not as British Columbians or Canadians but as victims of a “colonizing” Canada? Or how does the United States regard a Canada that closes its eyes to human smuggling on semi-autonomous Mohawk border reserves? Americans see their security being compromised.
Under pressure from the United States, Canada is only now promising to build more icebreakers and improve northern defence.
A federal election is in the offing. A prime minister will be chosen. His or her new government will negotiate agreements with the United States that will undoubtedly include doing things we should have done long ago: enhancing our northern defence, meeting our NATO commitments, and rebuilding our dilapidated armed forces. Our political leaders will also be forced to do a major rethink on all matters relating to North American security.
Trump, or any American president, would not even think of giving away sovereignty as Canada is doing so casually. As we think about security, perhaps this is a good time for Canada to work closely with indigenous communities to strengthen Arctic defence, ensuring that all regions remain integrated within a unified security framework.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 23:25 - First In-Orbit Image Released From Classified X-37 Spaceplane
First In-Orbit Image Released From Classified X-37 Spaceplane
On Thursday evening, the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs published the first-ever in-orbit image captured by Boeing’s X-37 spaceplane, which was shared on the DVIDS website.
USAF Public Affairs described the photo, taken by an onboard camera designed to monitor the X-37’s “health and safety,” as showing Earth in the distant background during a series of “experiments in a highly elliptical orbit in 2024.”
“As part of the X-37 B’s seventh mission, the vehicle executed a series of first-of-its-kind maneuvers, called aerobraking, to safely change its orbit using minimal fuel,” the public affairs office said.
The top-secret spaceplane, built by Boeing and operated by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and the Space Force, has spent years in space quietly conducting classified missions. Its real purpose has yet to be revealed.
With each successive top-secret mission, the X-37B spends long and longer time in orbit:
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OTV-1: launched on Apr. 22, 2010 and landed on Dec. 3, 2010, spending over 224 days in orbit.
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OTV-2: launched on Mar. 5, 2011 and landed on Jun. 16, 2012, spending over 468 days in orbit.
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OTV-3: launched on Dec. 11, 2012 and landed on Oct. 17, 2014, spending over 674 days in orbit.
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OTV-4: launched on May 20, 2015 and landed on May 7, 2015, spending nearly 718 days in orbit.
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OTV-5: launched on Sept. 7, 2017 and landed on Oct. 27, 2019, spending nearly 780 days in orbit.
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OTV-6: launched on May 17, 2020 and landed on Nov. 12, 2022, spending over 908 days in orbit.
In the age of DOGE, perhaps it’s time for the Space Force to provide more color on the spaceplane’s objectives to determine if the return on investment for taxpayers is truly justified.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 23:00 -
- Mapping The Growth Of Government
Mapping The Growth Of Government
Submitted by OpenTheBooks
As DOGE continues searching for and flagging waste, fraud and abuse across the federal government, American taxpayers are hearing about a lot of outrageous spending – and obscure agencies and projects – for the first time.
The scandalous spending at USAID on foreign programs (think a transgender opera in Colombia) and progressive NGO’s (think The Aspen Institute) set off an explosion of headlines. Separately, our own auditors found $22 BILLION spent by the Office of Refugee Resettlement – a division of Health and Human Services – on aid to migrants since 2020. Again, NGO’s were granted the money to go out and act as ideological proxies for the Biden administration.
It’s become clear that Americans need an exhaustive map of the federal government and how much spending at each agency has grown over time.
When we began that work, we immediately found another problem.
Record keeping within the Federal Register, which is supposed to be the definitive guide to government policy, is shockingly bad.
At least 75 agencies listed there are effectively defunct or obsolete; they’ve been subsumed by other entities, renamed, or don’t even exist any longer.
Not only are agencies listed that are long-defunct, but records of those agencies are often not updated, so members of the public must conduct deep research to ascertain the composition of their own government.
The vast scope of DOGE’s task becomes much clearer in that context.
We doubled down and began taking inventory of the remaining agencies that do exist, so that taxpayers can track the changing number of federal employees per agency and the growth in expenditures over the years. We’re untangling this web in a public database.
By cataloguing every federal agency, it will create a clearer picture of the government as it stands. Where is there duplication? Bloat? Which agencies are mostly sending cash out the door for others to do the work of government?
For DOGE to be as effective as possible, it’s necessary to have the best possible understanding of the status quo as of 2024.
Open the Books will periodically release a list of agencies our auditors have studied, charting their growth, expense and activity over time. Are taxpayers getting their money’s worth? Are they getting anything at all? Regardless of your affiliation, it’s in everyone’s interest to open the books together and find out.
THE FIRST 50
Already, we’ve charted nearly 50 federal agencies as far back as the data goes, tracking the growth in headcount and the growth in outlays (money spent by the agency).
They include the Department of Justice; Department of Defense; Department of Transportation; Department of Homeland Security (and its many subagencies like FEMA, ICE and the Border Patrol); Department of Education; Department of Health and Human Services (which includes the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Food & Drug Administration); and an assortment of independent agencies ranging from the now-infamous USAID to the lesser known, like the Administrative Conference of the United States.
We’ll continue updating this list over the next weeks until taxpayers have the full picture. It’s an absolute avalanche of data with historical context, and we invite every concerned citizen, journalist, member of Congress, and DOGE employee to take a close look. There’s an untold number of stories to be mined from these topline numbers!
KEY EXAMPLES
Critics of DOGE have complained – early and often – that the size of the federal workforce has not grown enormously since the last time cuts were implemented in the Clinton era. Why make cuts when the country has grown and the federal workforce has stayed static? they demand to know.
At agency after agency, a pattern emerges. While headcounts may or may not grow appreciably, spending seems to soar much faster regardless.
Across the political spectrum, there are explanations to be had – it’s not just inflation.
Progressive critics of the efficiency project say the real problem is privatization of government services – private-sector outsourcing like Medicare Advantage or huge equipment contracts signed by the Pentagon. More small-government proponents lament the amount of NGO’s that sop up taxpayer dollars to act as ideological proxies for the administration in power.
SIDEBAR: Our most recent story details shocking amounts of money filtered out of HHS to nonprofit organizations for aid to migrants. Not just life-saving aid, but help with home and auto loans, small business startups, fixes for credit histories, and much more! $22.6 Billion worth. Nonprofit group International Rescue Committee alone received $598 million since 2020! READ MORE.
There’s plenty of data to suggest both can be true, and then some. (We can’t forget improper payments either!)
National Institutes of Health
Take the National Institutes of Health for example. Sure, headcount grew 21.5% higher than in the year 2000. But over the same period, spending has skyrocketed 301% of that figure.
Department of Education
The pattern repeats, even more extremely, at the Department of Education. Employee headcounts actually decreased since 2000, to 13.9% lower. But spending? It rose to astonishing 749% of the prior total.
That calculation looks even more galling on the heels of recent news the American students are not recovering from Covid learning losses – they’ve fallen further behind on reading and made little improvement in math. The National Assessment of Educational Progress—known as America’s report card – showed “growing numbers of students lack basic reading skills,” according to the Associated Press. Peggy Carr, commissioner for the National Center of Education Statistics, told journalists that “poor results can no longer be blamed solely on the pandemic, warning the nation’s education system faces ‘complex challenges.’”
FEMA
What about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)? They’ve come under fire for shortfalls in their Disaster Relief Fund, and for spending big sums to house migrants in hotels. Well, their employee count actually did rise significantly – it’s just that their spending still outpaced it by miles.
FEMA headcount was 290% higher in 2024 than in 2000. But spending swelled more than seven times faster – to 2,096% of the prior spending levels! There has to be a better way to get aid to disaster zones that’s more timely and efficient – and get away from mission creep like migrant housing.
USAID
For good measure, we’ll take a look at the Agency for International Development (USAID), as it’s been the subject of so much news. Head count since 2000 has grown 218% larger. But spending has risen to 467.7% of outlays from 2000. That’s a lot of DEI for Serbian workplaces and trans comic books for Peru.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 22:35 - These Are The Countries Who Depend On Remittances The Most
These Are The Countries Who Depend On Remittances The Most
Remittance inflows to low- and middle-income countries rose to $685 billion in 2024, up from $647 billion the previous year, according to estimates from the World Bank.
Globally, remittances also grew, reaching $905 billion.
In absolute terms, India ($129 billion), Mexico ($68 billion), and China ($48 billion) remained the top recipients of remittances in 2024. However, it’s smaller and poorer economies that feel the impact the most, as these inflows make up a significant share of their economies. Tajikistan, where remittances accounted for 45.4 percent of GDP in 2024, is one such case. OECD analysts say this is partly driven by the higher demand in Russia for migrant workers.
As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, three of the top four countries where remittances made up the largest share of GDP were classified as highly fragile by the OECD.
You will find more infographics at Statista
Nicaragua (27.2 percent of GDP), for example, saw high remittances as economic and political instability drove migration, primarily to the United States. Honduras was previously also listed a “high fragility” context in an earlier OECD report, but has since been downgraded to a lower fragility rating.
Overall, the OECD identified 14 out of 61 highly or extremely fragile contexts where remittances made up more than 10 percent of GDP in 2023.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 22:10 - Former CNBC Analyst To Admit Conning Investors Out Of Nearly $3 Million
Former CNBC Analyst To Admit Conning Investors Out Of Nearly $3 Million
Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Former CNBC financial analyst James Arthur McDonald faces decades behind bars after defrauding investors out of at least $2.7 million, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Feb. 19.
James Arthur McDonald, Jr., pleaded guilty to bilking investors out of at least $2.7 million. FBI McDonald, 53, a former resident of Arcadia, Calif., agreed to plead guilty to one count of securities fraud, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
“This defendant was entrusted by his clients to care for their money and he violated that trust by using it to enrich himself,” said acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally.
In June 2024, federal officers arrested McDonald in Washington state, where he fled in 2021 to avoid appearing before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
At his Washington hideout, officers found a fake Washington, D.C., driver’s license bearing McDonald’s photograph and the name “Brian Thomas,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
McDonald was the CEO and chief investment officer of two companies headquartered in Los Angeles—Hercules Investments LLC and Index Strategy Advisors Inc. He also often appeared on the CNBC financial news network.
In late 2020, federal prosecutors say McDonald lost tens of millions of dollars of Hercules client money after adopting a risky short position that effectively bet against the health of the U.S. economy in the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election.
McDonald projected that the COVID-19 pandemic and the election would result in major sell-offs that would cause the stock market to drop, federal prosecutors asserted.
When the market decline did not happen, Hercules clients lost between $30 million and $40 million.
By December 2020, Hercules clients were complaining to company employees about the losses, according to court documents.
The SEC filed a civil complaint against McDonald in September 2022, charging him and Hercules with violating federal securities law.
In early 2021, McDonald solicited millions of dollars’ worth of funds from investors to raise capital for Hercules but misrepresented how the money would be used. The SEC alleges he raised more than $5.1 million from 23 investors and clients and misappropriated more than $2.9 million of those funds for personal investments and Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors, meaning he paid some clients using funds from other clients.
The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at its headquarters in Washington on May 12, 2021. The SEC filed civil charges against James Arthur McDonald, Jr., in 2022, accusing him of violating federal securities law. Reuters/Andrew Kelly/File Photo He also failed to disclose the massive losses the company previously realized, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
As part of the campaign to raise capital, McDonald received $675,000 in investment funds from one victim group on March 9, 2021. Prosecutors say he misappropriated most of those funds in various ways, including spending $179,610 at a Porsche dealership and transferring $109,512 to the landlord of a home McDonald was renting in Arcadia.
Prosecutors also claim McDonald defrauded clients of his other firm, Index Strategy Advisors Inc., using less than half of about $3.6 million he raised for trading purposes. Instead, he frequently commingled client funds with funds from his personal bank account, which he used to purchase luxury cars and to pay rent on his home, personal credit card charges, and Hercules operating expenses.
Prosecutors also say he used the funds to make Ponzi-like payments to the company’s clients.
In total, McDonald caused losses of about $2.7 to more than $3 million, according to federal prosecutors.
In April 2024, U.S District Judge Percy Anderson found McDonald and Hercules liable and ordered they pay civil penalties and several million dollars in disgorgement, which is a court-ordered remedy requiring that someone give up ill-gotten gains.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 21:45 - Here's When Every Continent's Population Will Peak This Century
Here’s When Every Continent’s Population Will Peak This Century
After 350 straight years of global population growth – including a 4x surge from 2 billion in the year 1920 – this trend is finally set to reverse.
Earth’s population is expected to peak in 2084 at 10.3 billion after which it will begin tapering off.
This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, explores every continent’s population from 1975 to 2100, with estimates used from 2025 onward.
Data comes from the UN’s World Population Prospects (2024).
Peak Population Year For Every Continent and Region
While global peak population is still around 60 years away, some regions will hit their peak a lot sooner.
Europe, for example, already peaked in 2020 at 750 million people.
Note: All figures are estimates.
Meanwhile, Asia and Latin America will hit their peaks in the 2050s, at 5.3 billion and 731 million respectively.
However Africa, Northern America, and Oceania will keep growing slowly past 2100. Under current projections, they will not hit their peaks this century.
Explaining Population Projections
How and why are some regions peaking earlier, later, or not at all?
The answer lies in fertility rates and migration patterns.
First, the fertility rate is measured as the average number of births a woman will have over her lifetime. Since the 1970s, the global fertility rate has been declining steadily.
However, many African nations still have relatively high fertility rates, leading to more births, which leads to a growing population.
Note: All figures are estimates.
In contrast, European countries have some of the lowest fertility rates in the world. When the fertility rate drops below the replacement rate (the number of births required per woman, for a generation to replace itself), and migration into the region isn’t enough to offset it, a region’s population begins to decline.
However for Northern America and Oceania, international migration into the region (most likely from Africa and Asia) will bolster declining birth rates, at least until 2100.
Finally, these UN estimates take current fertility, mortality, and migration assumptions into account. They can change, and therefore future projections can also change drastically.
Low fertility rates have an immediate impact on births. Check out Declining Birth Rates in the Most Populous Countries (1950-2024) to see their dramatic fall.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 21:20 - Blockbuster Yale Study: Millions Of Long COVID Patients Might Actually Be Vaccine Injured
Blockbuster Yale Study: Millions Of Long COVID Patients Might Actually Be Vaccine Injured
Authored by Paul D. Thacker via The Disinformation Chronicle,
Yale researchers released a study today that posits millions of Americans thought to have Long COVID may have been misdiagnosed and actually have post-vaccination syndrome caused by exposure to the spike protein in COVID vaccines. Spike protein produced by the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines triggers the body’s immune response, and the FDA claimed in a 2023 Politifact fact check that vaccine spike protein is not toxic and does not linger in the body. However, Yale researchers report that some patients, who were never infected with COVID virus, were sick with post-vaccination syndrome (PVS) and had elevated levels of virus spike protein in their blood up to 709 days after vaccination.
“There is considerable overlap in self-reported symptoms between long COVID and PVS, as well as shared exposure to SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein in the context of inflammatory responses during infection or vaccination,” noted the study authors.
NIH has poured $1.6 billion into Long COVID research, while ignoring patients harmed by COVID vaccines, causing some well-known patient advocates to hide vaccine injury. After a 13-month battle with Long COVID, Hollywood screenwriter Heidi Ferrer took her own life after deciding death was preferable to another minute in her own “personal hell.” Death of the Dawson’s Creek writer made headlines across the media including places such as People, the Guardian, Variety, CNN, Newsweek, and The Daily Mail—each recounting Ferrer’s struggle with Long COVID.
But in a private video circulating among patient groups and obtained by The DisInformation Chronicle, Ferrer’s husband Nick Guthe stated that Moderna’s COVID vaccine was the final straw, causing Heidi to develop tremors and then internal vibrations when she lay down for bed, so that even prescription sleeping pills would not allow her to sleep.
“And that’s when things turned,” Guthe said in the video.
3) Long COVID patients such as Dawson’s Creek writer Heide Ferrer are hiding vaccine injury. Ferrer took her own life, w/ media reporting it was Long COVID.
Her husband later admitted in a private video that after COVID vax “that’s when things turned.” pic.twitter.com/lC0BSAkNLi
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) February 19, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Prominent patient advocate Beth Mazur also committed suicide after a COVID vaccine apparently worsened her struggles with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), a chronic illness with many similarities to Long COVID. Mazur co-founded #MEAction for patients with chronic illness. #MEAction reported in early 2021 that a significant number of ME/CFS patients experienced “both new symptoms and long-lasting exacerbations of their pre-existing ME/CFS symptoms” after a COVID vaccine.
“Beth was a compassionate advocate for ME/CFS and a fierce advocate for vaccine injury after she experienced this herself sometime before she took her own life,” said one of Mazur’s personal friends who did not wish to be identified. “Having people come after you for vaccine injury is worse than being sick itself. And people can’t handle that. It’s a shroud of shame.”
One of the study’s lead authors, Yale Medical School’s Akiko Iwasaki, previously shot down public concerns about COVID vaccine side effects. When Houston Methodist Hospital staffers sued to avoid the hospital’s coronavirus vaccine mandate in 2021, Iwasaki told the Washington Post that the employees’ fears were “absurd” because “no safety concerns” had been found in the mRNA vaccine clinical trials.
Along with other prominent health experts, Iwasaki also signed a petition supporting the OSHA COVID-19 vaccine mandate which the Supreme Court later blocked.
Several of the study’s findings as well as research the authors cite in their paper have been labeled as false by federal agencies, medical experts, and fact checkers. Because medical journals have been rejecting studies on vaccine side effects, the authors uploaded their paper to the preprint site medRxiv.
Passages from the paper are examined below, as well as “fake fact checks” with false and misleading statements by federal agencies and medical experts that, in the past, called these new scientific findings fallacious. Hyperlinks to research papers cited by the study authors have been added to replace their footnotes.
Yale researchers point out that vaccine injury has not been totally defined and has been labeled both PVS and PACVS. Unlike Long COVID, health authorities do not officially recognize PVS, so patients get little support or care. See passage from paper:
In addition, some individuals have reported post-vaccination symptoms resembling long COVID beginning shortly after vaccination. This condition, sometimes referred to as post-vaccination syndrome (PVS) or post-acute COVID-19 vaccination syndrome (PACVS), is characterized by symptoms such as exercise intolerance, excessive fatigue, numbness, brain fog, neuropathy, insomnia, palpitations, myalgia, tinnitus or humming in ears, headache, burning sensations, and dizziness. Unlike long COVID, PVS is not officially recognized by health authorities, which has significantly limited patient care and support.
Both Long COVID and PVS rely on patient’s self-reported symptoms, which have quite a bit in common. Exposure to the spike protein during infection or vaccination causes inflammation. Various parts of the mRNA vaccine might also be problematic such as the mRNA itself which then creates the spike protein, or the tiny fat globule that encases vaccine mRNA called a lipid nanoparticle.
However, there is considerable overlap in self-reported symptoms between long COVID and PVS, as well as shared exposure to SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein in the context of inflammatory responses during infection or vaccination. In susceptible individuals, vaccines may contribute to long-term symptoms by multiple mechanisms. For example, vaccine components, such as mRNA, lipid nanoparticles, and adenoviral vectors, trigger activation of pattern recognition receptors.
FAKE FACT CHECK: In a 2021 fact check, AP claimed spike protein from COVID vaccines are not toxic.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines create a spike protein that is also called “S protein” or “S1”. See passage from paper:
Secondly, it has been shown that the S protein expressed following BNT162b2 [Pfizer] or mRNA-1273 [Moderna] vaccination circulates in the plasma as early as one day after vaccination.
The virus spike protein has two parts called S1 and S2. These might break down into smaller units called peptides. Some patients with PVS have been found with S protein in their blood cells. In animals, the mRNA vaccine has been found to cross over a membrane and enter the brain. If the mRNA then created spike protein, this could cause neurological problems.
Interaction with full-length S, its subunits (S1, S2), and/or peptide fragments with host molecules may result in prolonged symptoms in certain individuals. Recently, a subset of non-classical monocytes has been shown to harbor S protein in patients with PVS. Further, biodistribution studies on mRNA–LNP platforms in animal models indicate its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, and the local S expression could result in neurocognitive symptoms.
FAKE FACT CHECK: In a March 2021 fact check, Reuters claimed spike protein is broken down after it leaves a cell.
The researcher report that patients with PVS cited the following symptoms:
The most frequent symptoms reported by participants were excessive fatigue (85%), tingling and numbness (80%), exercise intolerance (80%), brain fog (77.5%), difficulty concentrating or focusing (72.5%), trouble falling or staying asleep (70%), neuropathy (70%), muscle aches (70%), anxiety (65%), tinnitus (60%) and burning sensations (57.5%)
Patients reported symptoms from the vaccines around 4 days, and severe symptoms about 10 days after vaccination.
The median number of days for the development of any symptom was 4 [Interquartile range (IQR): 23 days], while for severe symptoms, it was 10 (IQR: 44 days) post-vaccination.
Patients with PVS had higher levels of spike protein or S1 in their blood.
The results indicated that participants with PVS had significantly higher circulating S1 levels compared with the control group (p = 0.01).
This figure from the paper shows that PVS patients had spike protein or S1 in their blood up to 709 days after they were vaccinated.
FAKE FACT CHECK: In 2023 Politifact alleged the spike protein does not linger in the body after vaccination, based on claims from an FDA official.
PVS and Long COVID share similar symptoms probably from exposure to S protein. Researchers have found the full spike protein and the smaller S1 protein in Long COVID patients. See passage from paper:
Given the similarities between PVS and long COVID symptoms, one hypothesis in the literature is that shared exposure to the S protein may play a role and several groups have independently reported the presence of circulating S1 & full-length S in long COVID using various detection methods.
The highest levels of spike protein were found in PVS patients who had been vaccinated but never infected by COVID virus.
Notably, we observed that the highest levels of detectable S1 in the PVS-I group were the furthest away from the last known exposure and ranging between greater than 600-700 days.
Patients vaccinated with mRNA COVID vaccines and the adenovirus COVID vaccine have shown harm. Patients with PVS had poor health as defined by standardized tests called GHVAS and PROMIS29. Few studies have investigated the cause of PVS, which has no agreed upon definition. See passage from paper:
Post-acute conditions following COVID-19 vaccination have been reported for multiple vaccine platforms including mRNA and adenoviral-vectored vaccines. We observed that the general health status of the PVS participants was far below the general US population average based on the GHVAS scores. The patient-reported outcome scores from the PROMIS29 domains were also indicative of lower quality of life. To date, only a few studies have investigated the immunological mechanisms associated with PVS and no consensus definition of this syndrome exists.
Underlying risk factors for developing PVS are similar for Long COVID. This might be due to problems caused by spike protein, but should be studied further.
The demographics at risk of developing PVS and symptom manifestations are similar to those of long COVID. Whether this reflects overlapping underlying mechanisms such as persistent S protein remains to be determined.
High levels of spike protein in the blood were found in PVS patients who had been infected with the COVID virus and those who had never been infected. This makes sense as spike protein has been found in blood cells. Spike protein has been found in the blood of patients who had myocarditis after COVID vaccination. Because PVS and Long COVID are so similar, the spike protein might be causing the chronic health problems.
By contrast, in our study, significantly elevated levels of circulating S1 and S were observed in a subset of PVS participants both in the infection-naive and infection-positive groups up to 709 days post-exposure. This is in line with the findings of S1 persistence in monocytes in people with PVS. Circulating full-length S has also been detected in cases of post-vaccination myocarditis. Given the striking similarities between long COVID and PVS symptoms, there has been speculation regarding the potential causal role of the persistent presence of spike protein driving the chronic symptoms.
More reporting on vaccine side effects in patients to come.
We strongly encourage you to subscribe to The Disinformation Chronicle.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 20:55 - Mapping Every Known US Military Base Overseas
Mapping Every Known US Military Base Overseas
This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavia Rao, locates the known overseas bases of the American military, categorized by who controls the base.
In red are the ones controlled by the U.S., and blue are ones controlled by the host country.
ℹ️ This map does not include several hundred temporary sites for military exercises or contingency operations.
Data is sourced from a Congressional report published in 2024. Troop data is from the Defense Manpower Data Center, current to March 2024.
Ranked: Countries with the Most U.S. Bases and Troops
Based on unclassified data, the U.S. has at least 128 bases across 49 countries.
Of them, Japan (14), has the most by far, followed by the Philippines (9) and South Korea (8). Here’s the full list of all 128 listed bases, the country they’re in, and who controls them.
Base Name Country ISO Code Status Kyogamisaki CS 🇯🇵 Japan JPN Ally Controlled Misawa AB 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled Shariki CS 🇯🇵 Japan JPN Ally Controlled Yokota AB 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled Camp Zama 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled USFA Yokosuka 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled NAF Atsugi 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled MCAS Iwakuni 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled Kure Pier 6 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled USFA Sasebo 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled USAG Okinawa 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled MCB Camp Butler 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled MCAS Futenma 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled Kadena AB 🇯🇵 Japan JPN U.S. Controlled MCI Mujuk 🇰🇷 South Korea KOR Ally Controlled USAG Daegu 🇰🇷 South Korea KOR U.S. Controlled USAG Yongsan-Casey 🇰🇷 South Korea KOR U.S. Controlled Tango 🇰🇷 South Korea KOR U.S. Controlled Osan AB 🇰🇷 South Korea KOR U.S. Controlled Camp Humphreys 🇰🇷 South Korea KOR U.S. Controlled Kunsan AB 🇰🇷 South Korea KOR U.S. Controlled USFA Chinhae 🇰🇷 South Korea KOR U.S. Controlled USAG Kwajalein Atoll 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands MHL U.S. Controlled Navy Region
Center Singapore🇸🇬 Singapore SGP U.S. Controlled NSF Diego Garcia 🇮🇴 British Indian Territory IOT U.S. Controlled Antonio Bautista AB 🇵🇭 Philippines PHL Ally Controlled Benito Ebuen AB 🇵🇭 Philippines PHL Ally Controlled Lumbia Airport 🇵🇭 Philippines PHL Ally Controlled Basa AB 🇵🇭 Philippines PHL Ally Controlled Fort Magsaysay 🇵🇭 Philippines PHL Ally Controlled Camp Melchor Dela 🇵🇭 Philippines PHL Ally Controlled Lal-lo Airport 🇵🇭 Philippines PHL Ally Controlled NB Camilo Osias 🇵🇭 Philippines PHL Ally Controlled Balabac Island 🇵🇭 Philippines PHL Ally Controlled Nadzab Airport 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea PNG Ally Controlled Lae Seaport 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea PNG Ally Controlled Momote Airport 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea PNG Ally Controlled Lobrum NB 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea PNG Ally Controlled Port Moresby 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea PNG Ally Controlled Jackson International Airport & Seaport 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea PNG Ally Controlled RAAF Base Darwin 🇦🇺 Australia AUS Ally Controlled RAAF Base Tindal 🇦🇺 Australia AUS Ally Controlled NCS Harold E. Holt 🇦🇺 Australia AUS Ally Controlled Robertson Barracks 🇦🇺 Australia AUS U.S. Controlled Pituffik Space Base 🇬🇱 Greenland GRL U.S. Controlled NAS Keflavik 🇮🇸 Iceland ISL U.S. Controlled Joint Warfare Center 🇳🇴 Norway NOR U.S. Controlled RAF Menwith Hill 🇬🇧 UK GBR U.S. Controlled RAF Alconbury /
Molesworth🇬🇧 UK GBR U.S. Controlled RAF Lakenhealth 🇬🇧 UK GBR U.S. Controlled RAF Mildenhall 🇬🇧 UK GBR U.S. Controlled RAF Croughton 🇬🇧 UK GBR U.S. Controlled Lajes Field 🇵🇹 Portugal PRT U.S. Controlled Moron AB 🇪🇸 Spain ESP U.S. Controlled NS Rota 🇪🇸 Spain ESP U.S. Controlled USAG Benelux 🇧🇪 Belgium BEL U.S. Controlled Kleine Brogel AB 🇧🇪 Belgium BEL U.S. Controlled Geilenkirchen AB 🇧🇪 Belgium BEL U.S. Controlled Spangdahlem AB 🇩🇪 Germany DEU U.S. Controlled Ramstein AB 🇩🇪 Germany DEU U.S. Controlled USAG Weisbaden 🇩🇪 Germany DEU U.S. Controlled USAG Stuttgart 🇩🇪 Germany DEU U.S. Controlled USAG Ansbach 🇩🇪 Germany DEU U.S. Controlled USAG Bavaria 🇩🇪 Germany DEU U.S. Controlled Aviano AB 🇮🇹 Italy ITA U.S. Controlled USAG Vicenza 🇮🇹 Italy ITA U.S. Controlled Ghedi AB 🇮🇹 Italy ITA U.S. Controlled Camp Darby 🇮🇹 Italy ITA U.S. Controlled NSA Detachment Gaeta 🇮🇹 Italy ITA U.S. Controlled NSA Naples 🇮🇹 Italy ITA U.S. Controlled NAS Sigonella 🇮🇹 Italy ITA U.S. Controlled Amari AB 🇪🇪 Estonia EST Ally Controlled Lielvarde AB 🇱🇻 Latvia LVA Ally Controlled Siauliai 🇱🇹 Lithuania LTU Ally Controlled Camp Herkus 🇱🇹 Lithuania LTU Ally Controlled NSF Redzikowo 🇵🇱 Poland POL Ally Controlled Powidz AB 🇵🇱 Poland POL Ally Controlled Lask AB 🇵🇱 Poland POL Ally Controlled Zagan 🇵🇱 Poland POL Ally Controlled Camp Kosciuszuko 🇵🇱 Poland POL Ally Controlled Papa AB 🇭🇺 Hungary HUN Ally Controlled Kecskemet AB 🇭🇺 Hungary HUN Ally Controlled Camp Turzii 🇷🇴 Romania ROU Ally Controlled NSF Deveselu 🇷🇴 Romania ROU Ally Controlled Mihail Kogalniceanu AB 🇷🇴 Romania ROU Ally Controlled Novo Selo Training Area 🇧🇬 Bulgaria BGR Ally Controlled Graf Ignatievo AB 🇧🇬 Bulgaria BGR Ally Controlled Larissa AB 🇬🇷 Greece GRC Ally Controlled Stefanovikeio AB 🇬🇷 Greece GRC Ally Controlled NSA Souda Bay 🇬🇷 Greece GRC U.S. Controlled RAF Akrotiri 🇨🇾 Cyprus CYP Ally Controlled Camp Bondsteel 🇽🇰 Kosovo XKX U.S. Controlled Incirlik AB 🇹🇷 Turkey TUR U.S. Controlled Izmir AS 🇹🇷 Turkey TUR U.S. Controlled MFO South Camp 🇪🇬 Egypt EGY Ally Controlled Muwaffaq Salti AB 🇯🇴 Jordan JOR Ally Controlled Al-Tanf garrison 🇸🇾 Syria SYR Ally Controlled Rumalyn 🇸🇾 Syria SYR Ally Controlled Erbil AB 🇮🇶 Iraq IRQ Ally Controlled Al Assad AB 🇮🇶 Iraq IRQ Ally Controlled Duqm 🇴🇲 Oman OMN Ally Controlled Jebel Ali 🇦🇪 UAE ARE Ally Controlled Al Dhafra AB 🇦🇪 UAE ARE U.S. Controlled Al Udeid AB 🇶🇦 Qatar QAT U.S. Controlled NSA Bahrain 🇧🇭 Bahrain BHR U.S. Controlled Sheik Isa AB 🇧🇭 Bahrain BHR Ally Controlled Prince Sultan AB 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia SAU Ally Controlled King Faisal AB 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia SAU Ally Controlled Camp Buehring 🇰🇼 Kuwait KWT U.S. Controlled Al Jaber AB 🇰🇼 Kuwait KWT U.S. Controlled Ali Al Salem AB 🇰🇼 Kuwait KWT U.S. Controlled Camp Arifjan 🇰🇼 Kuwait KWT U.S. Controlled Al Mubarak AB 🇰🇼 Kuwait KWT U.S. Controlled Camp Lemonnier 🇩🇯 Djibouti DJI U.S. Controlled Ascension Island
Auxiliary Airfield🇸🇭 St. Helena HLE U.S. Controlled Chabelley Airfield 🇩🇯 Djibouti DJI Ally Controlled Baledogle 🇸🇴 Somalia SOM Ally Controlled Mogadishu 🇸🇴 Somalia SOM Ally Controlled Kismayo 🇸🇴 Somalia SOM Ally Controlled Manda Bay 🇰🇪 Kenya KEN Ally Controlled Mombasa 🇰🇪 Kenya KEN Ally Controlled N’djamena 🇹🇩 Chad TCD Ally Controlled Atlantic Undersea
Test & Evaluation
Center🇧🇸 The Bahamas BHS U.S. Controlled Naval Station
Guantanamo Bay🇨🇺 Cuba CUB U.S. Controlled Soto Cano Air Base 🇭🇳 Honduras HND U.S. Controlled CSL Comalapa 🇸🇻 El Salvador SLV Ally Controlled CSL Reina Beatrix
International Airport🇦🇼 Aruba ABW Ally Controlled CSL Hato
International Airport🇨🇼 Curacao CUW Ally Controlled A quick glance at the map reveals the two major security priorities for the U.S. military: Europe and East Asia.
Japan also has the most troops stationed in any country, numbering 53,000 at last count.
While Germany, Italy, and the UK don’t have double-digit bases like Japan, collectively Europe has a huge American presence, when adding in all bases and troops together.
And this isn’t even accounting for the additional 80,000 soldiers deployed to the region after the 2022 Russian invasion.
Middle East: A Growing Security Sphere
While not as nearly cluttered as Europe and East Asia, the Middle East is also home to numerous American bases. Key allies Kuwait and Bahrain also host forces.
Rank Countries With the
Most U.S. BasesBases Countries With the
Most U.S. TroopsTroops 1 🇯🇵 Japan 14 🇯🇵 Japan 52,852 2 🇵🇭 Philippines 9 🇩🇪 Germany 34,894 3 🇰🇷 South Korea 8 🇰🇷 South Korea 23,732 4 🇮🇹 Italy 7 🇮🇹 Italy 12,319 5 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea 6 🇬🇧 UK 10,180 6 🇩🇪 Germany 6 🇧🇭 Bahrain 3,424 7 🇬🇧 UK 5 🇪🇸 Spain 3,253 8 🇵🇱 Poland 5 🇹🇷 Turkey 1,683 9 🇰🇼 Kuwait 5 🇧🇪 Belgium 1,119 10 🇦🇺 Australia 4 🇨🇺 Cuba 572 Nothing makes security priorities more clear than base in Djibouti, not just for the U.S. but also the rest of the world.
It’s situated on the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, and is a key shipping route. The Red Sea has been in the news lately due to Houthi rebel attacks.
Thus, Djibouti’s strategic location, and careful deal-making, has resulted in the country hosting military bases from seven other nations as well. This includes political rivals to the U.S., like China.
You might have noticed several NATO members hosting troops and bases. Check out: NATO Members Are Ramping up Defense Spending to see how the Russian invasion had an impact.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 20:30 - Nearly 2 Dozen Trinitarios Gang Members Arrested In Massachusetts
Nearly 2 Dozen Trinitarios Gang Members Arrested In Massachusetts
Authored by Rachel Acenas via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Nearly two dozen members of a violent transnational gang were arrested and charged in Massachusetts, federal authorities announced Feb. 19.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in a file photograph. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images Twenty-two alleged Trinitarios gang members face various federal charges including racketeering conspiracy in connection with several murders, attempted murders, shootings, kidnappings, and robberies.
Authorities confirmed that factions of the Trinitarios gang have been identified in the cities of Lawrence, Lynn, Boston, and Haverhill.
“We believe those arrested today–leaders, members, and close associates of the Trinitarios–have allegedly shown a reckless indifference to human life in order to control their turf, push their poison, and make money,” Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said in a statement.
The investigation, led by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), began in the aftermath of four murders and a series of attempted murders and shootings that happened in Lynn back in 2023. Two of the alleged gang members were juveniles at the time the crimes were committed and have been charged with murder.
“The Massachusetts Trinitarios allegedly recruit new members among communities of legal immigrants and illegal aliens from the Dominican Republic—specifically juveniles in local high schools in Lawrence and Lynn,” according to ICE.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said this latest enforcement ends the gang’s “reign of terror” in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors continue to target violent criminal enterprises. Members and associates of Tren de Aragua, one of the world’s most dangerous transnational criminal organizations, have been nabbed in recent targeted enforcement operations across the country.
The Trump administration on Wednesday officially designated six drug cartels and two gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, or FTOs.
The organizations that received the label include Tren de Aragua, MS-13, Sinaloa cartel, Jalisco New Generation cartel, Tepalcatepec cartel, Los Zetas cartel, Gulf cartel, and La Nueva Familia Michoacana.
The notice issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the groups pose a risk to U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic interests. The label expands the government’s ability to crack down on criminal groups operating in the United States. Designating a group as an FTO allows the government to disrupt the group’s finances through sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on its members and associates.
The move comes after Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office last month that called on officials to evaluate whether any criminal cartels or transnational gangs should be designated as terrorism groups.
From NTD News
* * *
Check out these excellent knives for no reason in particular…
In case you run out of bullets… Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 20:05 - Social Security Chief Says Millions Of Dead People On Record 'Not Necessarily Receiving Benefits'
Social Security Chief Says Millions Of Dead People On Record ‘Not Necessarily Receiving Benefits’
Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The new head of the Social Security Administration (SSA) on Wednesday addressed speculations that millions of deceased individuals over the age of 100 may be receiving Social Security benefits, stating that they are likely exaggerated.
A Social Security card sits alongside checks from the U.S. Treasury in Washington on Oct. 14, 2021. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Acting SSA Commissioner Lee Dudek, appointed recently by President Donald Trump, issued a statement on Feb. 19, clarifying concerns raised by Trump, DOGE frontman Elon Musk, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The three had said in social media posts and press briefings that SSA records list individuals as being 100, 200, or even 300 years old—raising questions about potential improper payments.
Dudek said he wants to “acknowledge recent reporting about the number of people older than age 100 who may be receiving benefits from Social Security,” adding that the “reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record.”
“These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” Dudek said, while expressing confidence in the audits conducted by DOGE, which Trump has tasked with uncovering any fraud, waste, and abuse in government spending.
“I am confident that with DOGE’s help and the commitment of our executive team and workforce, that Social Security will continue to deliver for the American people,” Dudek said.
Trump said at a Florida press briefing on Feb. 18 that DOGE’s findings suggest “millions and millions” of centenarians may be receiving benefits improperly. This is “obviously fraudulent or incompetent,” he said.
“If you take all of those millions of people off Social Security, all of a sudden, we have a very powerful Social Security with people that are 80 and 70 and 90, but not 200 years old,” the president said.
Click pic… buy colostrum… live long enough to collect vampire social security? Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. “It’s a very positive thing” that DOGE had shed light on the potential issue, Trump said. “We’re figuring it out.”
Musk echoed these concerns on social media.
“Maybe Twilight is real, and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security,” he joked in one post. In another, he wrote: “Having tens of millions of people marked as ‘ALIVE’ when they are definitely dead is a HUGE problem. Some of them would have been alive before America existed as a country. Think about that for a second.”
Musk also criticized the lack of action on past government reports that highlighted the issue. “What’s super weird is that the @USGAO pointed out years ago that millions of dead people were tagged as alive by Social Security, but nothing was done!” he wrote.
Leavitt said in an appearance on Fox News that Musk and DOGE have been working to identify fraud at the SSA. “They haven’t dug into the books yet but they suspect that there are tens of millions of deceased people receiving fraudulent Social Security payments,” she said.
Concerns about outdated records are not new. SSA’s Office of the Inspector General has noted the presence of inactive Social Security numbers and that the records don’t necessarily mean fraudulent payments are occurring.
A March 2015 report and a July 2023 follow-up found that the SSA had not updated its system to properly annotate death information for approximately 18.9 million people born in 1920 or earlier who were not officially marked as deceased. The reports also stated that “almost none” of these individuals were actively receiving benefits.
The SSA ultimately decided not to update the database due to the cost, which was estimated to exceed $9 million. Additionally, since September 2015, SSA policy has automatically stopped payments to anyone listed as older than 115 years old.
The extent of improper Social Security payments remains uncertain.
A July 2024 report from the Social Security inspector general found that, between fiscal years 2015 and 2022, the agency distributed nearly $8.6 trillion in benefits. Of that amount, $71.8 billion, less than 1 percent, was classified as improper payments, with the majority being overpayments to living recipients rather than deceased individuals.
Additionally, in early January, the U.S. Treasury recovered more than $31 million in various federal payments—not limited to Social Security—that had been mistakenly sent to deceased individuals. Former Treasury official David Lebryk described the recovery efforts as “just the tip of the iceberg.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 19:15 - Voter Rolls Like They Oughta Be
Voter Rolls Like They Oughta Be
Authored by Doug Truax via RealClearPolitics,
Why do we tolerate purposeful government incompetence? Especially when it comes to our voter registration rolls – the lists we use to make sure only qualified voters cast ballots in an election.
These rolls are bloated with ineligible voters, only periodically updated, and opaque to the public.
What if our bank records were like that? How long would that last before we’d spill out into the streets?
There’s one state official who’s trying to change that. He’s Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who announced recently he’d make available to the public daily snapshots of the voter rolls to keep up with additions and subtractions to the list. That’s a great reform. LaRose has been ahead of most state election officials, passing a series of reforms that puts Ohio on the leading edge of election transparency.
While LaRose is on the right track, there’s still a long way to go. Our vision at the Voter Reference Foundation is to have all the rolls up to date at all times in an easily consumed format. That was our idea when we created VoteRef.com in 2021, the first attempt ever in America to publish voter rolls in all 50 states.
We understand – as do LaRose and many election experts – that fixing the voter rolls is the lynchpin for clean elections. It makes sense – in order to conduct an election, you need an accurate, up-to-date registration list of eligible voters to start. Any bogus name on the list, including dead voters or those who have moved away, is an open invitation for vote fraud. Those who oppose clean, accurate voter rolls are people not concerned with election integrity.
We have made tremendous progress, but some states are more committed to hiding their voting records than exposing them to public scrutiny. More than a dozen either ban their publication or severely hamstring a taxpayer’s ability to examine them. Most of those states are run by Democrats. One, New Mexico, sued us in federal court and referred us for criminal investigation for publishing them. A federal judge agreed with us that we had the legal right to publish the rolls.
Another obstacle is that states charge lots of money for access to the rolls and don’t update them in real-time. We are doing our best to work around these limitations. State officials don’t seem to understand that taxpayers pay for election administration and, under federal law, have a right to examine the records. These are our records, not theirs.
The new Trump administration in Washington is certainly attuned to the election integrity crisis in America. Large swaths of our population lack confidence that elections are free, fair, and accurate. We must change that, and now is the time.
We hope Frank LaRose’s actions in Ohio will be the spark that convinces states to open up their voting records more fully to the public. Our republic cannot tolerate a sloppy and inaccurate government that gives an opening to the corruption of our elections.
Let’s get moving.
Doug Truax is founder and CEO of Restoration of America, one of the most active and effective political organizations in America. He is a West Point graduate, successful entrepreneur, and former Army Ranger.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 18:25 - Trump Set To Take Control Of Postal Service – Privatization Could Be Next
Trump Set To Take Control Of Postal Service – Privatization Could Be Next
Continuing his government-reformation fiesta, President Trump is expected to issue an executive order dissolving the US Postal Service leadership and absorbing the organizaton into the Commerce Department. That bold move may be just a first step toward an even more ambitious and controversial goal: privatizing the perpetual money-loser.
From leadership to rank-and-file employees, the USPS will most certainly mount intense legal and political efforts against both initiatives. The USPS governing board is already gearing up: On Thursday, the USPS board held an emergency meeting in which it hired outside attorneys and directed them to file legal challenges when Trump makes his first move, the Washington Post reported.
The USPS Board of Governors, led by chair Amber McReynolds, has given outside lawyers orders to file suits to block any Trump moves The Postal Service is politically powerful — starting with its raw headcount: While you may not guess it given the long lines that typify a visit to a post office, USPS has a staggering 650,000 employees, who rise up whenever privatization gains momentum. It’s also popular among Americans — 72% view it favorably, compared just 21% who view it unfavorably, according to a 2024 Pew Research poll.
A 2018 Pittsburgh postal workers union rally against Trump’s interest in privatizing the US Postal Service (Lake Fong/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) In December, the Post reported that Trump had been discussing USPS privatization with Howard Lutnick, who is now Secretary of Commerce, along with other transition officials whom Trump used as a sounding board on the topic. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) held its own meetings to explore drastic actions with the 250-year-old service.
In November, USPS disclosed a net loss of $9.5 billion for the 2024 fiscal year — a loss that was 46% worse than the service’s $6.5 billion deficit in 2023. The plunge came alongside a slight uptick in revenue enabled by the latest annual increase in postage rates, pursuant to the 2021 Delivering for America plan. That program was supposed to help the perennially-profitless behemoth “achieve financial sustainability and service excellence.” The service also has a crummy balance sheet, with nearly $80 billion in liabilities.
The USPS “profit” in 2022 was a mirage resulting from the repeal of a requirement to prepay future retiree health benefits, and the cancellation of past-due pre-funding obligations (chart via Washington Post) In recent years, USPS has increased its headcount despite that fact that mail volumes have steadily declined since a Covid-era spike. Grilling Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at a Senate hearing, Rand Paul asked, “Can you think of a private business — where 80% of what they’re doing to make money is going down in volume — would actually increase their employees?” Here’s a particularly well-framed video of the exchange:
NEW: Head of the Postal Service, Louis Dejoy is stepping down after losing $9.5 BILLION in 2024. In 2023 he lost $6.5 BILLION
🚨 USPS has seen a 80% DECREASE in volume of mail but ADDED 190,000 employees
Senator Rand Paul “Can you think of a private business where 80% of what… pic.twitter.com/AcAu60XdZN
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) February 19, 2025
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Since 1970, the USPS has operated as a quasi-governmental agency, led by a board of governors whose members are appointed by presidents subject to Senate confirmation. Earlier this week, DeJoy informed the USPS board that he was ready to step down from his position, and asked the board to begin seeking his successor. His move halfway through his 10-year-term came amid reports that Trump was thinking of replacing him. DeJoy was appointed by Trump in the summer of 2020, and soon became a lightning rod for Democrats who accused him of thwarting the vote-by-mail free-for-all that leftists fostered during that pandemic-stricken election year. In the crucial state of Pennsylvania, 76% of mailed ballots went to Biden.
Predictably, leftists have started losing their minds over Trump’s pending moves, simultaneously decrying USPS reform as Russian interference, racism and an attack on democracy…
So Trump wants to dissolve the board of governors and take full control of the USPS. I wonder who gave him that idea? pic.twitter.com/brtzz4swQA
— Skunk Factory (@skankyskunk47) February 21, 2025
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In going after USPS, Trump is trying to decimate an organization famous for employing hundreds of thousands of Black people throughout its history. pic.twitter.com/C6BXfsZ5cI
— Jeremy Fassler (@J_fassler) February 21, 2025
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Trump wants to control the USPS so he can fuck with mail in voting.
TRUMP WANTS CONTROL OF THE USPS SO HE CAN FUCK WITH MAIL IN VOTING.
— Liberal Lisa in Oklahoma (@lisa_liberal) February 21, 2025
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 18:00 - Julie Kelly: The Real Scandal Behind The Latest DOJ Defection
Julie Kelly: The Real Scandal Behind The Latest DOJ Defection
Authored by Julie Kelly via Declassified With Julie Kelly,
In what has become the latest trend in #Resistance fashion, another government lawyer made a splashy exit from the Department of Justice this week. Denise Cheung, chief of the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, sent a three-page letter to her boss explaining why she would have to quit rather than follow orders to pursue an investigation into potential wrongdoing tied to the Biden administration.
In noting her 24-year career at the DOJ—she once worked as former Attorney General Eric Holder’s national security advisor—Cheung, like those before her, claimed the moral high ground as her excuse not to do her job. “I have always worked to enforce the rule of law, to vindicate the rights of victims. and to protect the security of the nation,” Cheung wrote to Ed Martin, the acting D.C. U.S. attorney and President Trump’s pick to permanently run the powerful office, on February 18. “I believe that the values the Department of Justice stands for, and the many people that work every day to fulfill them, are to be promoted and cherished.”
Recent antics by DOJ employees indicate one “value” is the ability to defy superiors with a change of the political winds. In Cheung’s case, she challenged the veracity of evidence presented as the basis for a potential investigation into a Biden-era “climate” initiative with all the markings of a political slush fund ripe for fraud and corruption.
Biden-Style Grift on His Way Out the Door
The so-called Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund first got attention when Lee Zeldin, the new Environmental Protection Agency administrator, laid out details of the jaw-dropping arrangement in a video posted last week. “Roughly twenty billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA,” Zeldin said on February 12. “This scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history and it was purposefully designed to obligate all the money in a rush job with reduced oversight.”
Zeldin noted that the money, now understood to be “parked” at Citibank, was awarded to eight climate nonprofits who then “doled out your money to NGOs and others at their discretion with far less transparency.” He referred the matter to both the DOJ and EPA inspector general:
🚨The Biden EPA tossed $20 billion of “gold bars off the Titanic”.
BIG UPDATE! We found the gold bars and they are now being recovered for you, the hardworking American taxpayer.
Here are more of the details: pic.twitter.com/DM4C0TQcpj
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) February 13, 2025
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There is no question about the political origins of the fund; the Biden White House touted the program with great fanfare months before the 2024 election. During a campaign stop last April, Kamala Harris announced the eight chosen winners of the $20 billion climate lottery. Harris also noted the unique nature of the arrangement, boasting that “for the first time in history, we are providing tens of billions of dollars directly to community lenders to finance local climate projects. This is a novel approach, it is actually the first time we have taken this approach.” (The list of recipients is here.)
Here is Kamala Harris announcing the $20 billion climate lottery in April 2024.
Lee Zeldin and Trump DOJ want an investigation into abuses of this fund—which is not overseen by Congress but by Citibank. First of its kind arrangement.
I mean—what could go wrong? pic.twitter.com/JIfbLvMRuD
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) February 19, 2025
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And far from being a single-minded mission to reduce carbon emissions, the pot primarily is reserved for “communities with environmental justice concerns, communities of color, low-income communities, rural communities, [and] Tribal communities.” Projects could involve something as basic as replacing insulation and installing solar panels to buying a fleet of electric trucks to start a delivery service, Harris said in her speech.
What possibly could go wrong?
A Ripe Target for Investigation—But Not So, Says Cheung
One can only imagine how climate and social justice activists spending billions in free money with apparently no accountability might abuse the system. This is especially true of Joe Biden, who has a long history of leveraging his government power to enrich his family and friends. (Breaking news indicates one grantee is tied to Stacey Abrams. More on this in a follow up piece.)
The unusual nature of the arrangement alone—a major bank rather than Congress handling a big chunk of tax dollars with no known oversight mechanism established just a few months before the election—should raise the Spidey senses of any federal prosecutor, especially one with a stellar DOJ resume that stretches back more than two decades.
But not so with Cheung.
Evidence? What Evidence?
Apparently acting on information described by Zeldin, who is an attorney, and a separate video produced by Project Veritas that showed a Biden political appointee at the EPA admitting the administration was rushing to move the climate money before Trump got into office, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove sought to initiate an investigation.
“I was asked to review documentation supplied by [Bove] to open a criminal investigation into whether a contract had been unlawfully awarded by an executive agency before the change in Administration and to issue grand jury subpoenas pursuant to this investigation,” Cheung wrote in her resignation letter. “I was told that there was time sensitivity and action had to be taken that day because there was concern that contract awardees could continue to draw down on accounts handled by the bank handling the disbursements.”
Cheung said she then conferred with DOJ employees who have “substantial white collar criminal prosecution experience.” They concluded, however, “the existing documents on their face did not seem to meet this threshold” for an investigation.
Bove additionally sought a letter to Citibank ordering a “freeze” of funds related to the unidentified grant recipient. Cheung then contacted the famously corrupt Washington FBI field office for more guidance; she then concluded that enough evidence supported potential conspiracy and wire fraud charges.
But the letter from the FBI only “recommended” a freeze of the funds.
When confronted by Martin, who wanted to send a follow-up letter demanding, not recommending, the freeze, Cheung refused. “When I explained that the quantum of evidence did not support that action, you stated that you believed that there was sufficient evidence,” she told Martin. “I still do not believe that there is sufficient evidence to issue the letter you described, including sufficient evidence to tell the bank that there is probable cause to seize the particular accounts identified.”
She then resigned per Martin’s request.
Cheung’s sanctimony and sudden devotion to careful prosecutorial scrutiny is hard to swallow given her history. After years of helping the DOJ pursue clearly politically motivated investigations against Republicans, Cheung suddenly suffered an alleged attack of conscience when it came to investigating Democrats?
This is, after all, the same Denise Cheung who was part of the DOJ team that initiated the dubious investigation into Donald Trump over Jan 6; brought federal charges against Trump advisors Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro for defying an illicit congressional committee; and helped manage the largest criminal prosecution in Justice Department history resulting in the arrest of nearly 1,600 Americans for the events of Jan 6.
Cheung’s “moral, ethical, and legal obligations,” as she bragged in her resignation letter, never got in the way of her office’s unlawful use of a post-Enron obstruction statute to turn hundreds of J6 protesters into lifelong felons. Or when her office applied federal misdemeanors such as “parading” in the Capitol for the first time against political protesters. Or when her office added terror enhancements to sentencing recommendations in order to throw nonviolent J6ers in federal prison for years. Or when her office sent women in their 70s to jail for protesting outside of abortion clinics.
The list of abuses by the DOJ tacitly endorsed by Cheung over the past decade or so is long and ignominious. Which is why her preachy indignation in the face of investigating Democrats rather than Republicans rings hollow.
Subscribe to Declassified with Julie Kelly here…
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 17:40 - China's Vice-Premier Spars With Bessent In Call Over Tariffs & 'Economic Imbalances'
China’s Vice-Premier Spars With Bessent In Call Over Tariffs & ‘Economic Imbalances’
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China’s Vice-Premier He Lifeng held a video call on Friday, kicking off crucial diplomatic efforts between the President Xi Jinping government and the new Trump administration.
As expected, the Chinese side raised “serious concerns” on the recent imposition of tariffs and other restrictive measures on Chinese goods by the Trump White House, at a moment of growing fears of a renewed trade war.
Chinese Vice Premier He, via Reuters “Both sides recognized the importance of China-US economic and trade relations and agreed to continue to maintain communication on issues of mutual concern,” a rather guarded and vanilla readout from the Chinese government’s State Council said.
The “in-depth” exchange of views recognized the importance of bilateral economic and trade relations, the Chinese readout said further.
Likely central to the conversation was Beijing’s objections to the Trump-imposed 10% tariffs which came in early February as a punitive response to the explosion of Chinese fentanyl trafficking. Beijing had hit back with targeted tariffs of up to 15% on select US imports, and warned that sanctions – including on Google – could come next.
The readout issued soon after the call from the US Treasury chief highlighted that Bessent and Vice-Premier He discussed counternarcotics efforts, economic imbalances, and unfair policies.
Below is the short US readout in full:
Earlier today, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent had an introductory call with Vice Premier He Lifeng of the People’s Republic of China to exchange views on the bilateral economic relationship. Secretary Bessent expressed serious concerns about the PRC’s counternarcotics efforts, economic imbalances, and unfair policies, and stressed the Administration’s commitment to pursue trade and economic policies that protect the American economy, the American worker, and our national security. Secretary Bessent and Vice Premier He agreed to remain in communication going forward.
The question of a likely visit by Chinese President Xi to Washington looms large in the background. The day prior, Trump while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One indicated he expects Xi to visit soon, but didn’t reveal a timeline.
Saying that “it’s possible” for for Washington and Beijing to strike a new trade deal, he acknowledged that more direct talks are needed. “We’ll have, ultimately, President Xi, we will have everybody coming (to the US),” Trump said.
The recent response from Chinese state media…
Instead of protecting American economic interests, Washington’s tariffs, as multiple studies have shown, have driven up prices, reduced economic output and employment, and dented the overall economy. https://t.co/irR3Leg8Pi pic.twitter.com/hGY1B3p45T
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) February 21, 2025
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The Republican president has further lately teased the threat reciprocal tariffs for all countries that tax US imports, which would escalate global trade tensions.
In a January Hannity interview just days after being sworn in to his second term, Trump displayed a reluctance to escalate the trade war, stating that he would “rather not” impose tariffs on China. He has emphasized his willingness to negotiate with President Xi and has sought to avert a clash between the world’s two largest economies.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 17:20 - Trump Admin Serious About Combatting Global Censorship
Trump Admin Serious About Combatting Global Censorship
Authored by Sean Nelson via RealClearPolitics,
President Donald Trump is well known for his America First agenda. Some have interpreted this as an isolationist stance of retreat from the world stage. If anything, the first few weeks have shown an energetic engagement on foreign policy. America First hasn’t meant disengagement with the world. Rather, it has meant taking seriously American foundational principles and believing those are core values that other nations will look up to when demonstrated proudly.
One of those fundamental American principles is free speech, and the Trump administration is making sure that the world sees America vigorously fighting for it.
This new posture of strongly proclaiming the American value of free speech on the global stage had its biggest demonstration yet for the new administration last week. On Friday, Vice President J.D. Vance spoke at the Munich Security Conference. Rather than focusing on external global threats from Russia and China – as important and real as they are – Vance turned his attention to a major worrisome trend in Europe: the rise of aggressive censorship.
Vance lamented the “retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” For Americans, censorship is itself an attack on democracy. As the Vice President stated, “Dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections, or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing. In fact, it is the most surefire way to destroy democracy.” Free speech is not supposed to just be an American value but a universally shared fundamental right, protected in international treaties and charters enthusiastically signed onto by European allies.
Vance highlighted one example in particular of the attack on freedom of expression, that of British Army veteran and ADF International client Adam Smith-Connor. Smith-Connor was charged in November 2022 for violating a “buffer zone” outside an abortion clinic in the UK when he had silently prayed outside of it. This past October, Smith-Connor was criminally convicted for his three minutes of silent prayer. Smith-Connor’s appeal will be heard in July.
But that is just one example of what has become increasingly systematic attempts in Europe at ever larger scales to censor and control public discourse to exclude “wrong” opinions.
Other cases abound, like that of Päivi Räsänen, the Finnish member of Parliament who has been hounded on “hate speech” criminal charges now for almost four years and investigations for even longer because she posted a picture of a Bible verse on then-Twitter.
But on a broader level, Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) would make every European social media user subject to the censorship regime and potentially export that censorship throughout the world, including America. The DSA imposes enormous penalties on large social media companies that do not comply with orders to censor so-called “illegal content,” broadly defined as anything that is illegal under EU or national law. Notably, this can include vague and subjective terms like “hate speech,” “misinformation,” and “disinformation,” which are readily weaponized against disfavored religious views, as the stories above show.
Because large social media companies are often American companies, that means that the DSA could harm not just American business but lead to the censorship of Americans. Nearly every major digital service provider in the United States, from Adobe to Zoom, and most social media platforms, maintains these kinds of harmful policies prohibiting “hate speech” or “misinformation,” as reported by ADF’s Viewpoint Diversity Index. If you oppose the government’s position and voice that opinion on social media, there’s a very real chance that a European bureaucrat will try to silence your voice as “misinformation.” Just look at Smith-Connor’s and Räsänen’s cases.
The concern that Europe’s mania for expanding and exporting censorship – as bad as that is by itself – will be felt on American shores was the animating principle for Vance’s push for free speech in his European trip last week and has become a major theme. Earlier in the week, during his speech on AI, Vance directly criticized the Digital Services Act and “the massive regulations it created about taking down content and policing so-called misinformation.” “America cannot and will not accept that,” he said.
Vance is not pursuing this free speech posture toward Europe alone. Congressman Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent the European Commission a letter at the end of last month “express[ing] our serious concerns with how the DSA’s censorship provisions affect free speech in the United States.” Last week, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the “Censorship-Industrial Complex,” highlighting censorship efforts abroad.
One of President Trump’s first actions was an executive order preventing any federal efforts to facilitate censorship against Americans, especially under the guise of combatting “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “malinformation.” This was a sharp turnabout from the Biden-Harris administration’s pressuring of social media companies to censor posts skeptical of government policies. Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed this up by announcing that he would terminate “any programs that in any way lead to censoring the American people.”
Vance and the Trump administration’s critics have tried over the weekend to make Vance’s position sound extreme, but instead have only confirmed how right he was to make a strong defense of free speech. No reaction was more egregious than CBS’s on Sunday, when Margaret Brennan absurdly blamed free speech for the Holocaust, while 60 Minutes promoted the German system of prosecuting thousands of cases of online “hate speech” and insults. Now that the weaponization of terms like “misinformation” and “disinformation” has been exposed, the rhetoric from opponents of free speech has become more direct.
Vance’s speech has been a clarifying moment, laying down clearly the choice between free speech and censorship. When it comes to opposing global censorship, and especially when that censorship can affect Americans, the Trump administration is fulfilling its promises early on. Vance’s Munich speech is the clearest demonstration yet that America will take the lead again in ensuring the protection of free speech for Americans and worldwide.
Sean Nelson is an international human rights lawyer who serves as legal counsel for global religious freedom at ADF International.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 17:00 - "You Better Do It": Trump Destroys Maine Governor For Defying Transgender EO
“You Better Do It”: Trump Destroys Maine Governor For Defying Transgender EO
President Donald Trump sparred with Main Gov. Janet Mills (D) on Friday during a National Governors Association meeting at the White House, after Trump told Mills he would withhold federal funding from the state over the state’s refusal to comply with an executive order barring male transgender athletes from women’s sports.
During his speech, Trump asked Mills whether she would follow the order, to which Mills replied “I’m complying with state and federal law.”
Trump shot back, “We are the federal law. You better do it because you’re not going to get federal funding – and by the way your population, even though it’s somewhat liberal – I did very well there, your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports.“
To which Mills replied “See you in court.“
“Good, I’ll see you in court,” Trump replied, adding “I look forward to it. That should be a real easy one.”
Watch:
🔥 President Trump calls Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) out to her face over her refusal to comply with the executive order keeping men out of women’s sports:
“You better do it — because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.” pic.twitter.com/uMUZsy1j6t
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 21, 2025
On Thursday, Trump announced that Maine wouldn’t receive federal funding unless they comply with the executive order.
“Anyone here from Maine?” Trump asked a crowd. “They are still saying they want men to play in women’s sports and I cannot believe that they are doing that…so we’re not gonna give them any federal funding until they clean that up.”
🚨 President Trump announces Maine will not receive federal funding until they comply with the executive order keeping men out of women’s sports pic.twitter.com/OZqBHyW1QB
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 21, 2025
The executive order, signed Feb. 5 as part of the administration’s agenda to protect women’s sports, pulls funds from “educational programs” that fail to adhere to the ban.
In a Friday statement, Mills said “the State of Maine will not be intimidated by the president’s threats.”
“If the president attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of federal funding, my administration and the attorney general will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides.”
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Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 16:40 - "The Ever-Expanding Matrix Of NGOs Created An Army Of Useful Idiots…"
“The Ever-Expanding Matrix Of NGOs Created An Army Of Useful Idiots…”
Authored by James Howard Kunstler,
Funny Money
“The revelations that are coming for America possess the potential to reshape our entire notion of the relationship between citizen and state.”
– El Gato Malo on Substack
You’ve got to wonder how the Party of Chaos thought they would get away with the Stacey Abrams grift-of-grifts.
In case you forgot, Stacey Abrams ran for governor of Georgia twice, lost, and claimed she was “real governor” for years after.
In the meantime, she parlayed her celebrity persona to a $3.17-million net worth by 2022, doing nothing but running for office.
She claimed it derived from giving speeches, publishing romance novels, and “wise investments.”
That was then, and this is now.
Stacey popped up again this week in what looks like a textbook case of political scamming, uncovered by The DOGE team of forensic financial investigators.
As “Joe Biden” racked up Democratic presidential primary wins in 2024, the shadowy claque behind him allocated $27-billion to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from the huge Inflation Reduction Act, ostensibly for “climate change action.”
The money was stashed at Citibank, where it became a hidden slush-fund to keep payoffs flowing to party favorites no matter who won the 2024 election. An EPA “special advisor on climate action,” one Brent Efron, told a Project Veritas investigative reporter that “President Biden” was “throwing gold bars off the Titanic”.
The key to understanding how the Democratic Party works is how it uses federal grants to redistribute taxpayer money into jobs programs for its rank-and-file. As seen in the recent USAID scandal, the action revolves around the creation of countless NGOs (non-governmental orgs). They are easily created, poorly supervised, and assembled into large networks of self-serving, inter-dependent organisms whose main mission is paying staffers — and secondarily pretending to do good works, as suggested by a given group’s name is. These staffers make up the matrix of Democratic Party activists, well-paid foot-soldiers in do-nothing jobs who can be called upon to cheer-lead for the party, organize street protests and, most critically, harvest ballots when the time comes.
Stacey Abrams became a kind of field marshal for setting up NGOs around her campaigns for office and then later turned them into money laundromats for the trillions of dollars fire-hosed out of the US Treasury during the Covid-19-darkened “Biden” years. Here are some of Stacy’s NGOs:
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The New Georgia Project and its affiliated NGP Action Fund — set up for her 2018 run for governor. It was eventually fined $300,000 for failing to disclose millions in contributions, failing to register properly, and sixteen violations of campaign laws. Its main purpose was providing jobs for an army of activists. One question that might have been asked: how many of Stacey Abrams’ books were purchased by The New Georgia Project, juicing her royalties?
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The Southern Economic Advancement Project, founded in 2019 to “promote equity” in twelve southern states, paid Stacey a $700,000 annual salary.
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The Fair Fight Action group raised nearly $62 million in dark pool donations by 2022, with 96-percent from 252 large, unidentified donors.
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The Fair Count Project was created to lobby for counting illegal aliens in the 2020 US Census, in order to pad state congressional districts.
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The Third Sector Development group, created as an “incubator” for other groups (including the New Georgia Project).
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The Fair Fight 2020 group, created to “train voter protection teams” in twenty “battleground states.” That is, ballot harvesting.
Out of the $27-billion from “Joe Biden’s” Inflation Reduction Act sent to EPA in 2024, $2-billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) ended up in the Stacey-associated Rewiring America org and its offshoot the Power Forward Communities org. Stacey was listed as “senior counsel” to Rewiring America, which also happened to “partner” with her prior NGOs Fair Count and Southern Economic Advancement Project.
What you might surmise from all this is that “Joe Biden’s” green energy agenda was used as a green smokescreen for a giant patronage racketeering operation. The billions allocated would go ostensibly to innumerable corporations set up to carry-out “green” good deeds, most of which would never actually happen, but would, along the way, pad thousands upon thousands of bank accounts for favored contractors.
Stacey’s Power Forward Communities NGO was incorporated in the state of Delaware where loose corporate governance requires such orgs to pay out only five percent of the org’s funds to its stated mission recipients each year. The rest of the $2-billion not allocated to staff salaries can be socked away in safe investments garnering, say, $50-million-a-year in returns, which can be rolled back into the org and used for spinning out new NGOs with more paid staff positions. . .grift upon grift. . . .
That is what patronage is, and that, by the way, is how it became such an urgent national issue over a hundred years ago when it was openly known as the “spoils system” in electoral politics — to the victor go the spoils— which was resolved by the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. Alas, in our time patronage (that is, corruption) has reinvented itself as the blob, the runaway system that almost sank the country.
Do you see how all this works now?
The ever-expanding matrix of NGOs creates an army of useful idiots working hand-in-hand with an ever-expanding rogue bureaucracy that has become effectively a fourth branch of government accountable to nobody. This is how your tax dollars disappear down a rat-hole and why the US government is insolvent.
The difference now is that the Democratic Party no longer has its hands on the levers of power.
Different managers are in place at the critical agencies, most particularly Pam Bondi at DOJ, Kash Patel at the FBI, Russell Vought at OMB, Lee Zeldin at EPA, and Elon Musk in the DOGE.
In the past, nothing was done about these shenanigans. This time is different.
The Democratic Party will lose its principal means for staying alive.
That’s why senators like Chuck Schumer, Chris Coons, and Adam Schiff are out mewling and hollering in the streets.
Meanwhile, the blob is getting methodically disassembled, one bureaucratic office at a time.
Before much longer we are going to be a different country, and most probably a better one.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 16:20 -
- 'You're FIRE-d': LA Mayor Karen Bass Boots Fire Chief Over Handling Of Palisades Blaze
‘You’re FIRE-d’: LA Mayor Karen Bass Boots Fire Chief Over Handling Of Palisades Blaze
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has fired LA Fire Department Chief Kristen Crowley over her handling of the January Palisades fire.
“Acting in the best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I have removed Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief,” said Bass in a Friday statement. “We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch.“
“Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal,” Bass continued. “The heroism of our firefighters — during the Palisades fire and every single day — is without question. Bringing new leadership to the Fire Department is what our city needs.”
Of course, the woman in charge of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Janisse Quiñones, wasn’t fired for failing to ensure the main reservoir wasn’t empty!
According to an investigation by the LA Times, LAFD elected not to assign roughly 1,000 available firefighters to the fire along with dozens of water-carrying engines in advance of the fire.
Fire officials also chose not to order firefighters to remain on duty for a second shift as the winds were building, which would have effectively doubled the personnel on hand. What’s more, just five of more than 40 engines were staffed at the time.
According to Bass’ office, Ronnie Villanueva – who retired seven months ago as chief deputy of emergency operations after 41 years with the department – will serve as interim chief.
Mayor Bass has walked out for post Crowley firing press conference with the interim fire chief Villanueva and backed by council members Soto Martinez, Price and Council President Harris-Dawson pic.twitter.com/pOE1oKe2t6
— Julia Wick (@sherlyholmes) February 21, 2025
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During an interview with Fox 11, Crowley suggested that Bass had failed her department, telling the network that her agencies were understaffed and underfunded, calling the situation “no longer sustainable.”
🚨BREAKING: LA Mayor Karen Bass FIRES Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley – per Fox News’ Bill Melugin
Bass: “We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch.” pic.twitter.com/SBurCciMaj
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) February 21, 2025
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Later that day, Crowley told CNN‘s Jake Tapper that the fire department lacks enough mechanics to repair broken-down emergency vehicles.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 15:40 - "You Can't Take Our Country" Justin Trudeau Tells Trump After Canada Beats U.S. In 4 Nations Hockey Championship
“You Can’t Take Our Country” Justin Trudeau Tells Trump After Canada Beats U.S. In 4 Nations Hockey Championship
As most people know, in recent months, Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested Canada should become the U.S.’s 51st state.
During a December 2024 meeting with Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago, he proposed annexation to address trade and border issues. Trump has since called Trudeau the “Governor of the Great State of Canada” and claimed many Canadians back statehood, citing potential tax cuts and improved security.
What fewer people know is that Canada’s Justin Trudeau seemed to understand that Trump was serious, according to the New York Post. Trudeau said at a meeting with business leaders earlier this month: “I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have, but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state.”
“They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those. But Mr. Trump has it in mind that one of the easiest ways of doing that is absorbing our country. And it is a real thing,” he said.
And now yesterday, Trudeau used Team Canada’s victory over Team U.S.A. at the 4 Nations hockey championship as an opportunity to publicly
screechfire back at Trump.“You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game,” Trudeau wrote on X.
The New York Post writes that before Thursday’s championship game, Trump, who has referred to the Canadian leader as “Governor Trudeau,” called Team USA to rally them.
“You guys are really talented. I have great respect for hockey players, I’m a hockey fan. I love hockey. The talent, the skill that you have is crazy,” he told the team in a Truth Social clip. “Just go out and have a good time tonight. I just want to wish you a lot of luck.”
According to Team USA GM Bill Guerin, Trump also briefly mentioned making Canada the 51st state during the call.
The intense USA-Canada rivalry escalated this year as politics seeped into the tournament. Canadian fans booed “The Star-Spangled Banner” during Saturday’s game in Montreal, while American fans responded by booing Chantal Kreviazuk’s rendition of “O Canada” in Thursday’s final in Boston.
Kreviazuk even changed the anthem’s lyrics from “in all of us command” to “that only us command” in protest, her rep told CBC.
The 4 Nations Face-Off, which replaced this season’s NHL All-Star Game, featured top players from the USA, Canada, Finland, and Sweden in a high-energy competition.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/21/2025 – 15:20
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