Jan 25

Today’s News 25th January 2023

  • "Crimson Contagion"
    “Crimson Contagion”

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via DailyReckoning.com,

    The lockdowns of March 2020 shocked the American people and most public health agencies, not to mention infectious disease doctors.

    The idea of school shutdowns, business closures, plus mandatory remote work and other restrictions have previously seemed inconceivable. It was especially remarkable to have such an “all-of-government” response to a virus that we already knew posed a threat mainly to the elderly and infirm.

    Issues like public-health precedent, American legal tradition, and medical knowledge about dealing with respiratory viruses, not to mention natural immunity and collateral damage of lockdowns, were all thrown out the window.

    Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s book The Real Anthony Fauci mentions a tabletop exercise called “Crimson Contagion” that ran from January through August, 2019. I had not previously heard of it and I found the mention remarkable, simply because it proves that not everyone was shocked by lockdowns.

    They were not part of official planning documents of either the CDC or WHO but they were clearly in the plans of someone.

    This Is Eerie

    I’ve only followed up on this report in light of growing focus on the person who coordinated Crimson Contagion: Robert Kadlec, who served in the Trump administration as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, Preparedness and Response. It was he who also ran the Covid response between HHS and the Department of Homeland Security.

    Kadlec’s lifetime government service (and, yes, he is said to be CIA) extends all the way back to the G.W. Bush administration when in 2007 he took the position of Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Biodefense Policy on the Homeland Security Council from 2007 to 2009.

    The very notion of lockdowns originated in that administration.

    The 2019 tabletop exercise involved a huge number of public-sector agencies across all states plus many private-sector associations. It postulated a disease scenario in which a respiratory virus begins in China and spreads around the world by air travelers.

    It’s first detected in Chicago. The World Health Organization declares a pandemic 47 days later. But then it was too late: 110 million Americans became sick, with 7.7 million hospitalized and 586,000 dead.

    The conclusion of the exercise was that government was not well prepared for a pandemic and urged more planning and fast acting to implement what we now call lockdowns as we await a vaccine. Presumably, the vaccine then fixes everything.

    The public knew nothing of this exercise until March 19, 2020, when the New York Times reported on it for the first time. This was one day following the detailed release of stay-at-home orders by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The next day, National Public Radio also ran a report on Crimson Contagion.

    A Trial Run

    The Times reported:

    The Crimson Contagion planning exercise run last year by the Department of Health and Human Services involved officials from 12 states and at least a dozen federal agencies. They included the Pentagon, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Security Council. Groups like the American Red Cross and American Nurses Association were invited to join, as were health insurance companies and major hospitals like the Mayo Clinic.

    The war game-like exercise was overseen by Robert P. Kadlec, a former Air Force physician who has spent decades focused on biodefense issues. After stints on the Bush administration’s Homeland Security Council and the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he was appointed assistant secretary of Health and Human Services for Preparedness and Response.

    Also participating were former Trump administration officials Rex Tillerson (Secretary of State, 2017-2018) and John F. Kelly, who was White House chief of staff from 2017 to 2019. The NYT even ran a picture of the two of them at the event.

    Here are some direct quotes from the October 2019 report of Crimson Contagion:

    The exercise revealed several workforce protection challenges under conditions where medical countermeasures, such as the pandemic vaccine, antiviral medications, and personal protective equipment, are limited. To protect the public prior to vaccine distribution, public health officials issued guidance on the implementation of nonpharmaceutical interventions intended to slow the spread of the virus.

    In keeping with non-pharmaceutical intervention recommendations, employers – including government entities – sought to practice social distancing by having a significant portion of their employees work remotely. Employers encountered cascading impacts associated with making, communicating, and implementing such work-distancing decisions.

    At multiple levels of government, officials wrestled with identifying employees who are essential and those who are nonessential in the context of an incident forecasted to span many months. In addition, officials faced challenges in determining which employees could perform their duties remotely and hierarchical organizations, such as state and federal departments and agencies, were uncertain as to the process for determining and implementing remote-workforce decisions.

    Shut Down the Schools!

    Also:

    During the exercise, CDC recommended that states delay school openings for six weeks, a follow-up to the initial (pre-exercise) recommendation that states delay the opening of schools for two weeks if the disease is present in the area. Many local jurisdictions and school districts have the authority to decide to close schools (or keep schools open). This distributed approach to school closure decisions caused confusion centered on discrepancies between schools that remained open and those that closed.

    In addition, while school delays and dismissals may be necessary over the course of the pandemic response, state participants identified any continued school delays and dismissals as having serious cascading impacts that require a concerted public messaging campaign and government coordination. Multiple states realized that dismissing schools is much more complex than they previously appreciated.

    This exercise took place entirely out of the public eye but had strangely prescient foretelling of events only 5 months later. Kadlec, who had organized the entire tabletop exercise, was also later the author of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education, Labor and Pensions report: An Analysis of the Origins of the COVID-19 Pandemic, which came out earlier this year.

    Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., reports: “second only to his longtime crony and comrade in arms Anthony Fauci, Robert Kadlec played a historic leadership role in fomenting the contagious logic that infectious disease posed a national security threat requiring a militarized response.”

    It’s the Law!

    By the time of this letter, US intelligence already knew of the Wuhan virus. Four months later, US lockdowns began, starting with the March 8th cancellation of South-by-Southwest by the Austin, Texas mayor, and extending to the March 12th imposition of travel restrictions, the March 13 takeover by FEMA, and the March 16th press conference by Trump, Fauci, and Deborah Birx, which announced nationwide lockdowns.

    The same day, Politico ran an article about another pandemic exercise from 2017 in which some incoming Trump officials participated, including Kelly and Tillerson. The article claims that such exercises are required by law.

    By the time of Covid lockdowns, they had both been pushed out, only to reemerge as key participants in Crimson Contagion along with most national-security and health-related agencies of the federal government.

    The lockdowns — to which Trump agreed only reluctantly and were extended far past the point in which he believed they would control the virus — were the most ruinous of the administration. Trump’s pollsters for 2020 all agreed that these lockdowns created the conditions that drove him from office.

    What does it all mean? Perhaps it is all just a series of coincidental data points, that what is called the worst pandemic in 100 years came only a few months after an elaborate multi-agency trial run of the same in which former high officials of the Trump administration participated.

    And perhaps the best person to run the Covid response also happened to be the very person who organized and managed the trial run in the previous season.

    Many people will surely say there is nothing to see here. There is so much not to see these days.

    What do you think?

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 01/25/2023 – 00:05

  • Will China 'Revenge Spending' Follow $2.6 Trillion Rise In Savings?
    Will China ‘Revenge Spending’ Follow $2.6 Trillion Rise In Savings?

    After a tough 2022, China’s economy is poised for growth – as households are now sitting atop the biggest pool of new savings in history – having deposited $2.6tn in 2022.

    The bull case revolves around the notion of ‘revenge spending’ – an anticipated wave of pent-up demand fueled as consumers open their wallets for the first time in years.

    Last week the IMF indicated that it would upgrade its global economic forecasts based on China’s reopening following three years of zero-Covid, while Morgan Stanley points to “sizeable excess household savings” to underpin their bull case.

    Economists at Morgan Stanley recently forecast that China’s economic growth would be more front-loaded this year, “mainly supported by consumption amid excess savings, improving household balance sheets . . . and recovery in the job market and income expectations”.

    They point to “sizeable excess household savings” of Rmb3tn to Rmb4tn built up “from an inability to spend amid Covid restrictions and/or precautionary savings”. -FT

    The bear (or at least less-bullish) case

    Tempering expectations, however, both the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times have their doubts over the level of ‘revenge spending’ in store.

    “There’s overestimation on the splash of Chinese consumers,” said Alicia García-Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at French investment bank Natixis in a comment to the Times. “The excess savings won’t be easily spent.“

    The WSJ, meanwhile, suggests that “Several key pillars of China’s labor market—exports, the internet technology sector and the housing market—still face structural or cyclical headwinds. And finally, financial conditions remain relatively tight: Overall credit growth in December was weak, and bond yields and money-market rates have risen in recent weeks.”

    All of this means that while Chinese “revenge spending” will give a jolt to the economy this year, those expecting a U.S. 2021-style consumption bacchanalia might be disappointed. -WSJ

    Also in the bear camp is analyst Lin Qingqi of state-run China International Capital Corp, who says that the “excess” savings in 2022 was more due to cautious households redeploying riskier investments – pulling cash out of underperforming equities and stashing it in the bank.

    Luo Zhiheng, Yuekai Securities chief economist, has a similar prediction – and expects that some savings will be redeployed in “revenge spending,” but that “There’s still lingering uncertainty on the economic outlook, and people have a strong desire to save.”

    “China needs a strong force to drag the economy out from the vicious circle of weak demand and low expectation of income growth,” said Zhang Jun, dean of the School of Economics at Fudan University. “If that can’t [come from] exports in 2023, then fiscal stimulus such as strong government spending should step up and be that force.“

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 23:45

  • Los Angeles Extends Rent Protections After COVID-Era Moratoriums Set To Expire
    Los Angeles Extends Rent Protections After COVID-Era Moratoriums Set To Expire

    Authored by Jamie Joseph via The Epoch Times,

    The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Jan. 20 to make some COVID-era protections for renters permanent, less than two weeks before they were set to expire.

    “Today was a huge victory,” recently-elected Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky posted to Twitter after the vote.

     “The Los Angeles City Council just unanimously adopted several common sense tenant protections that will protect thousands of Angelenos facing eviction, and help make our work around homelessness and reducing poverty that much easier.”

    The council approved moratoriums for renters – including no-fault evictions and nonpayments – beginning at the height of the pandemic and were to expire Feb. 1.

    Previously, tenants eligible for such protection were those who had experienced a loss of income due to COVID, including reduced work hours, and who needed financial assistance with childcare and medical expenses.

    The new rules will give protections for renters living in non-rent controlled units—meaning those built after 1978—and include preventing landlords from evicting tenants unless there is unpaid rent or evidence of breaking a lease’s rules. That “just cause” policy provision—which states that a landlord must have a valid reason, such as a violation of a lease, for evicting a tenant—goes into effect after six months or when a lease is expired, whichever comes first.

    But some, including small-scale landlords, are wondering how they can keep covering property, utility costs, and mortgages without rent paid by tenants.

    Stickers for rent cancelations are pasted to a light fixture in front of Los Angeles City Hall on Nov. 8, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

    The Coalition of Small Rental Property Owners founding member Diane Robertson told The Epoch Times the council’s vote has “additional handcuffs” on small mom-and-pop landlords.

    “There are so many of us who are strongly considering leaving the housing industry in Los Angeles … and to be frank, if that happens, properties are going to be sold to corporate owners more than likely and in the long run, that is not going to bode well for renters,” she said.

    Property owners in rent-controlled areas, Robertson said, also struggle to keep up with rising inflation costs.

    “Prices for everything needed to maintain our properties have increased,” Robertson said.

    “Plumbers, electricians, gardeners—these things are essential for us to provide housing that tenants want to live in.”

    Most renters in Los Angeles already have “just cause” protections, but the council’s vote expanded the number of households covered.

    The new provision also prevents landlords until February 2024 from evicting tenants who have prohibited pets and additional residents not listed on their lease.

    Despite their support, Councilmembers Traci Park, Monica Rodriguez, and John Lee expressed concern over the new provisions, arguing small landlords will need to have a fair pay-back program for unpaid rent.

    “I’d like to dispel the notion heard so often that this council has done nothing to help tenants throughout this pandemic. In my opinion, that could not be further from the truth,” Lee said during the meeting.

    “… [But] we can also set up a timeline for rental repayment that is fair and manageable,” for landlords and tenants alike.

    In response, the council added an amendment for when landlords must receive rent that went unpaid during the pandemic.

    For such incurred between March 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, tenants will have until Aug. 1 to pay. For that between Oct. 1, 2021, and Jan. 31, 2023, until Feb. 1, 2024.

    The council additionally voted for the city administrator to provide recommendations within 30 days for a relief-assistance program for small mom-and-pop landlords.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 23:25

  • Meta Welcomes Neo-Nazi Azov Regiment Back On Facebook, Removes "Dangerous Organization" Listing
    Meta Welcomes Neo-Nazi Azov Regiment Back On Facebook, Removes “Dangerous Organization” Listing

    Days ago Facebook, which is now Meta, announced it is welcoming Ukraine’s Azov Regiment to its platform. Azov had up until recently, and throughout the Russian invasion of Ukraine, been on Meta’s of “dangerous organizations” list. 

    It was on this banned list because the militia’s members regularly display Nazi symbols and signs on their uniforms and as part of the their media content. But now, pro-Azov content can be freely posted, and the group can create its own official accounts on Facebook and Instagram for the first time.

    Ukrainian veterans of the Azov volunteer battalion attend a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine in 2020. NurPhoto via Getty Images

    The Washington Post recently detailed that the change “will allow members of the Azov Regiment to create accounts on Facebook and Instagram and post content without fear of it being removed unless it breaks the company’s content rules.” Additionally, “The move will also enable other users to explicitly praise and support the group’s work.”

    The company headed by Mark Zuckerberg still sought to emphasize that “Hate speech, hate symbols, calls for violence and any other content which violates our Community Standards are still banned, and we will remove this content if we find it.”

    Ukrainian officials have especially since the summer lobbied hard for Facebook/Meta’s Oversight Board to loosen up its restrictions on Azov, saying it was ‘unfair’ and that it’s keeping Ukrainian media organizations from sharing accurate information about the war in real-time.

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

    Facebook’s changing approach started about a year ago, when it began allowing some pro-Azov posts in instances where they were fighting the Russian invasion, as The Intercept reported in Feb. 2022:

    According to internal policy materials reviewed by The Intercept, Facebook will “allow praise of the Azov Battalion when explicitly and exclusively praising their role in defending Ukraine OR their role as part of the Ukraine’s National Guard.” Internally published examples of speech that Facebook now deems acceptable include “Azov movement volunteers are real heroes, they are a much needed support to our national guard”; “We are under attack. Azov has been courageously defending our town for the last 6 hours”; and “I think Azov is playing a patriotic role during this crisis.”

    The materials stipulate that Azov still can’t use Facebook platforms for recruiting purposes or for publishing its own statements and that the regiment’s uniforms and banners will remain as banned hate symbol imagery, even while Azov soldiers may fight wearing and displaying them. In a tacit acknowledgement of the group’s ideology, the memo provides two examples of posts that would not be allowed under the new policy: “Goebbels, the Fuhrer and Azov, all are great models for national sacrifices and heroism” and “Well done Azov for protecting Ukraine and it’s white nationalist heritage.”

    Azov’s formal Facebook ban goes back to 2019, when the US social media giant acknowledged it as a hate group.

    An example of the type of imagery that’s long filled Azov social media channels in general…

    Oops… from Bellingcat in 2020:

    Now that Azov is fully free to create accounts and post on Facebook, one wonders what changed? After all, there are still endless examples of Azov members sporting neo-Nazi imagery, as well as ongoing public displays of support for historic Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 23:05

  • Why Are Millennials Having So Many Strokes?
    Why Are Millennials Having So Many Strokes?

    Authored by Ross Pomeroy via RealClear Wire,

    Strokes commonly strike the old.

    The average age for the devastating condition – in which blood supply to a part of the brain is blocked or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts – is around 71.4 years in men and 76.9 years in women.

    Millennials, however, are starting to bring those averages down.

    Now ranging in age from 27 to 42, Millennials are suffering strokes at higher rates than their forebears did at the same age, reversing a 40-year decline in stroke deaths.

    Between 2003 and 2012, there was a 32% spike in strokes among 18- to 34-year-old women and a 15% increase for men in the same age range, according to CDC researchers.

    When Scientific American further parsed the data, they found that the hike was mostly centered in the West and Midwest, where stroke rates among young people rose 70% and 34%, respectively, with particularly sharp increases in urban areas. Now, about one in ten people who has a stroke in the U.S. is under the age of 45.

    Younger stroke victims

    There are many potential explanations for this disconcerting trend. Rising stress, falling physical activity levels, and fewer doctor visits among Millennials could all play a role. One narrative rises to the forefront, however. As cigarette use in the U.S. declined from an alarming high of around 45% in the 1950s to just 12.5% in 2020, all Americans collectively reaped the benefit of less smoke in public places, which manifested in reduced rates of lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke. But since the 1970s, the public health benefits from reduced smoking are being eroded by rising obesity and its related health complications.

    Childhood obesity is particularly noxious in regard to early stroke, and Millennials were the first generation to truly be affected by this alarming trend. The rate of childhood obesity more than tripled from 5% in 1978 to 18.5% in 2016, leaving many more children burdened by associated conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, which can lead to a stroke.

    There is good news. Thanks to improved medical care, stroke fatality rates have fallen significantly between 1975 and 2019, about 65% for hemorrhagic stroke (caused by a burst blood vessel) and 80% for ischemic stroke (caused by a blood vessel blockage). And with greater brain plasticity, young people are more apt to recover. Still, strokes can leave Millennials with lasting complications, such as occasional seizures, incontinence, cognitive impairment, hindered speech, and diminished muscle control, not to mention a sharply elevated risk of a future stroke.

    Increased stroke isn’t the only health issue that Millennials are contending with. The rates of many cancers, especially those tied to poor diet, are rising for people under age 50.

    Diet and exercise

    The best solution to reverse the rise in early stroke is for Millennials and future generations to eat right and exercise, especially from a young age. Schools and parents have a vital role to play here.

    Obesity’s grasp can be hard to break if it takes hold at a tender age, but if healthy lifestyle practices are instilled early, it’s likely they will remain second nature.

    This article was originally published on Big Think.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 22:45

  • Tennessee Law Barring Adults Under 21 From Carrying Guns Shot Down
    Tennessee Law Barring Adults Under 21 From Carrying Guns Shot Down

    Chalk up yet another legal victory for gun rights advocates: On Monday, the government of Tennessee officially admitted its attempt to outlaw the carry of guns by adults under 21 is unconstitutional, The Reload was first to report. 

    Lawyers for the state signed onto an “agreed order,” which is a written agreement among parties to a lawsuit that becomes an order of the court upon the judge’s approval. In part, Monday’s agreed order reads: 

    “The Challenged Scheme regulating the possession and carrying of handguns that restricts individuals aged 18 years old to 20 years old from carrying handguns or obtaining permits to carry handguns on the basis of age alone violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

    “Defendant and his officers, agents, employees, and all others acting under his direction and control, are permanently enjoined from implementing or enforcing the Challenged Scheme.”

    The state now faces a 90-day deadline to begin processing enhanced carry permit applications submitted by Tennesseans under 21. The state will also have to shell out almost $47,250 to cover legal the plaintiffs’ legal costs.    

    In 2021, Tennessee ended the requirement for most adults to have a permit to carry a handgun. However, it does issue what is not called an “enhanced handgun carry permit.” 

    The victory marks the end of nearly two years of litigation by the Firearms Policy Coalition and two Tennessee plaintiffs, Caleb Bassett, Blake Beeler and Logan Ogle, who were under 21 when the complaint was filed. Last month, Texas surrendered on its own attempt to ban the carrying of guns by adults under 21: A federal judge found it unconstitutional in August and, in December, Texas withdrew its appeal of that ruling.  

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

    Other types of gun control are being shot down left and right. Just last week, an Illinois judge issued a temporary restraining order barring the state from enforcing the “assault weapon” and “high-capacity” magazine ban that was hastily enacted on Jan 10. That law also faces a challenge in federal court. 

    The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) has been involved in many high-profile gun-control challenges, from last summer’s pivotal Supreme Court ruling in NYSRPA v Bruen to the ongoing fight against Oregon’s sweeping gun control law and Delaware’s “assault weapon” ban. An activity-tracker on the group’s website shows FPC is currently at work on more than 70 cases all across the country…so the liberty-minded should ready for more good-news headlines in coming weeks and months. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 22:25

  • The Game Is Over And They Have Lost
    The Game Is Over And They Have Lost

    Authored by Robert Blumen via The Brownstone Institute,

    The Guardian on Jan 15, 2023 published the most perfect piece of new normal nostalgia that ever was or could be: Coronavirus: ‘People aren’t taking this seriously’: experts say US Covid surge is big risk by Melody Schreiber. 

    This piece may be studied as a Platonic Form.

    Nothing could more perfectly demonstrate the inability of the covid fear porn publishers to let go of the narrative.

    If the author didn’t have her own website, I would have attributed the piece to an instance of ChatGPT trained on every Guardian and New York Times article from the past three years.

    The writer employs every single discredited covid trope at least once.

    I will list a few of the best, here. To cover them all I would have to quote the entire article and that would violate the Fair Use Doctrine.

    I have chosen a tabular form with a quote alongside the trope that it is derived from:

    My favorite part of the piece is, “Yet because of poor messaging from officials, many people may not even realize the US is experiencing a surge.”

    I am one of those many people who did not know this.

    A surge of what? A normal seasonal flu that makes people feel a bit under the weather for a week? A bad cold-vid?

    We can celebrate our return to the old normal when an outbreak of a seasonal virus is of concern to those who are infected or who care for a family member. All of society need not be thrust into a panic over such things. The more normal the world is, the more resources of those who are impacted will have to deal with their troubles. And the better will those who are not directly affected be able to support them. 

    As a software engineer I note with some amusement that the variant (or as I like to call them “scariant”) names now have two periods. In a software release version a version with double dot is used for a minor bug fix release, (e.g. 3.0.1). “Minor” means that the release is not important enough for users to upgrade immediately. Perhaps the same thinking should be applied to the way we handle the emergence of new viral variants.  

    When Biden said that the pandemic is over, followed by “If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape,” that may have been his dementia inhibiting the filter that was supposed to kick in before he said something truthful. Biden only said the quiet part out loud: the public has put the panic phase in the rearview. Even Anthony Fauci made the incomprehensible statement that the pandemic isn’t over but we are out of the “pandemic phase.” Every statement like this is more toothpaste for the pandemic dead-enders to put back in the tube. 

    The article bemoans the low acceptance rate of the booster vaccinations. We are told that cases are avoidable if patients had sought additional injections. First thing: do we care about cases? Second thing: it is not true that the covid vaccines prevent infection. That could only be so if the failed claim of sterilizing immunity were valid.  

    Vaccine advocates have walked back the earlier claims that one or any number of shots would prevent the recipient from getting infected. It was let out late in 2022 that the clinical trials did not even test for the ability of the drugs to stop transmission. It’s hard to believe that anyone can still say that after so many multiply-vaccinated-and-boosted public figures have gotten covid. 

    My friend Kevin Duffy, a professional investor, after seeing the Guardian article, sent me this image. The graph shows the market psychology of a financial bubble and subsequent market crash. I have added the red oval highlighting where Kevin thinks we are now: in the denial phase, after the bubble has burst. 

    I am also reminded of the Kubler-Ross stages of grief that a patient or a loved one goes through when receiving a terminal diagnosis. The stage in her sequence is denial. The subsequent stages are anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. 

    The same could be said of all of these tropes: Does anyone believe them anymore? This is not news. It is a last-gasp attempt to squeeze more juice out of a dehydrated lemon. These messages were potent fear generators two years ago. But with each use, the charge becomes weaker. 

    The script has worn itself out. These tropes are now tired and ineffective. The fear-pushers seem unaware that the message has lost its effect, but do not have anything else to offer. The tell is not that they publish articles like this. It is how much these pieces show that they don’t know that the game is over and they have lost. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 22:05

  • Turkey Angrily Cancels Key NATO Talks With Sweden & Finland
    Turkey Angrily Cancels Key NATO Talks With Sweden & Finland

    As expected Turkey on Tuesday announced it has indefinitely postponed any future rounds of talks with Sweden and Finland regarding their NATO membership bids. 

    A major meeting was expected to take place in Brussels in February, but this has been dramatically canceled, Turkish state broadcaster TRT reported based on diplomatic sources. 

    Via AFP

    NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was supposed to attend the talks, and when it was planned the two countries were widely perceived as very close to their NATO accession being approved.

    President Erdogan himself on Monday lashed out at Sweden in particular, blasting Swedish authorities for allowing a far-right activist to burn a Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm over the weekend. 

    Erdogan stated bluntly that Sweden should no longer expect support from Turkey to join NATO given it allows “terrorists” in its midst. Turkey has also expressed deep dissatisfaction at both Nordic countries’ failure to crack down on Kurdish groups banned by the Turkish state.

    Amid continuing Turkish anger, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto has said a diplomatic “time-out” is now needed in order to reassess. 

    At the same time, Finland has suggested it could seek NATO membership without Sweden, after the two earlier indicated a joint membership bid process.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 21:45

  • Chip Sales Plunge In China, Buffeting Global Industry
    Chip Sales Plunge In China, Buffeting Global Industry

    Authored by Anne Zhang and Lynn Xu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Chip sales in China have tumbled at a whopping rate, as productivity in the semiconductor-related sector has contracted dramatically, indicating that the country’s manufacturing industry is shrinking, according to the latest industrial report.

    The Washington-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) released data on Jan. 9 indicating that compared to the same period in 2021, China’s chip sales plummeted by 21.1 percent in November of 2022. Meanwhile, in the United States, chip sales rose by 5.2 percent; sales in Europe increased by 4.5 percent year-on-year; and sales in Japan went up by 1.2 percent.

    Workers producing LED chips at a factory in Huaian, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, on June 16, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

    China’s Industrial Recession Buffets Global Data

    According to SIA statistics, in 2021, China alone made up $192.3 billion, or 34.6 percent, of $555.9 billion in global semiconductor industry sales, ranking first in the world.

    As the world’s largest chip market, the Chinese market’s sharp decline has dragged down the yield of the global industry, with November 2022 seeing global semiconductor industry sales slide to $45.5 billion. That is 2.9 percent less than the previous month and 9.2 percent less than the same period of the previous year, respectively.

    “Global semiconductor sales decreased in November [2022], largely due to market cyclicality and macroeconomic headwinds,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO of SIA.

    The SIA represents most U.S. semiconductor companies and nearly two-thirds of non-U.S. semiconductor companies.

    Chip Imports Decline

    China’s chip imports have faced a serious decline since last October when the United States imposed sanctions on Chinese semiconductor companies.

    Chinese customs data showed that China imported 40.5 billion integrated circuits in November 2022, a 25.3 percent drop from 54.22 billion units in November 2021.

    Last October, the United States issued a semiconductor and equipment export control order against the Chinese Communist regime. The new ban restricts exports to China of logic chips below 14/16 nanometres, DRAM memory chips below 18 nanometres, and NAND flash memory chips above 128 layers, as well as related manufacturing equipment.

    The move could be a heavy blow to a wide range of manufacturing areas, including automobiles, mobile communications equipment, and computers.

    Industry Output Declines

    In November 2022, China’s output of microcomputer equipment plunged by 27.9 percent; and mobile communication handheld devices dropped 13 percent, including a 19.8 percent decline in the production of smartphones from the same period last year, according to data released by China’s Statistical Bureau.

    In addition, the manufacturing of railroads, ships, aerospace, and other transportation equipment, computer, communication, and electronic equipment, and general equipment manufacturing declined 0.9–2.9 percent year-over-year.

    Manufacturing Prospects Fall to Record Low

    A Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reading below 50 indicates a contraction in manufacturing and service sectors, according to industrial statistics methods. This gloomy data was seen for most of last year in China.

    China’s Bureau of Statistics published a report on Dec. 31 saying that China’s PMI remained under 50 for most of last year, with the exception of January, February, June, and September, which were slightly higher than 50. In the fourth quarter of last year, China’s PMI fell sharply for three consecutive months, with its December PMI hitting a record low of 47.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 21:25

  • US Clears First Small Nuke Plant Design To Power Carbon-Free Future
    US Clears First Small Nuke Plant Design To Power Carbon-Free Future

    Nuclear power generation is an integral part of the electrical grid landscape, and it’s a critical pillar in decarbonizing the energy sector to achieve net-zero greenhouse gases. 

    The evolution of nuclear power generation from traditional, giant, light-water reactors to advanced light-water small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) could be a reality by the end of the decade. 

    The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently certified a design for NuScale Power’s SMR. The certification allows utilities to use the design when applying for licenses to build a nuclear power plant. The rule becomes effective next month. 

    “The rule takes effects February 21, 2023 and equips the nation with a new clean power source to help drive down emissions across the country,” NRC wrote in a statement. 

    This is the first design for an SMR to be certified in the US. The other six designs are for large traditional reactors. 

    “The design is an advanced light-water SMR with each power module capable of generating 50 megawatts of emissions-free electricity,” NRC continued. 

    President Biden has prioritized advancing nuclear technologies to power the grid of tomorrow. His administration has also announced funding to extend the lifespans of nuclear power plants nationwide. 

    Recall we have stated if President Biden wants to obtain a carbon-free future, his ability to do so will be through the expansion of nuclear power generation, not unreliable solar and wind energy that fluctuates with the weather. 

    NuScale’s small design, about a third of the size of a traditional reactor, allows it to be built almost anywhere. 

    There’s even a floating version of the reactor built on a barge that can be towed to grids that need to expand power capacity quickly. 

    The DOE and NuScale will build a demonstration power plant with SMRs in 2025, with the first power module operating by 2029. 

    What’s become very evident is the US’ thirst for boosting nuclear capacity by adding SMRs to the grid to realize a carbon-free future. To do this, the US will also need to kick its reliance on nuclear fuel from Russia, indicating a need to increase domestic mining supply chains and enrichment facilities.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 21:05

  • Brazil's Central Bank On The Verge Of Raising Its Inflation Target As It Spirals Into The Inflationary Abyss
    Brazil’s Central Bank On The Verge Of Raising Its Inflation Target As It Spirals Into The Inflationary Abyss

    Over the past year, we have repeatedly said that the endgame for this particular episode in central bank stupidity will be when the Fed is dragged, kicking and screaming, into hiking the US inflation target (read this, this and this).

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

    And while it will take at least a few more years before the Fed admits defeat – should it pause and/or pivot it will take far shorter – one place where a central bank inflation target increase is imminent, is Brazil.

    To be sure, Brazil is a bit of a basket case, having had its share of close encounters with terminal socialism, most recently in October when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) defeated Bolsonaro to became president for a second time (and a first-ever third term) while promising all the irresistible delights of socialism, if not communism. And like every self-respecting socialist, Lula quickly figured out that what he needs first and foremost, is control over the central bank.

    The problem, as everyone knows, is that giving access of a country’s money printer to a true-blue socialist is sovereign suicide, and in Brazil It took decades of cajoling and lobbying by the financial community to finally shield the central bank from political meddling.

    So when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, just three weeks into office, questioned the need for an autonomous central bank during a national TV interview last week, it didn’t go over well in markets… even if nobody was really surprised. Swap rates surged and the currency tanked following his remarks. Cabinet members entered the field and managed to halt the plunge that day, but the episode left many investors increasingly alarmed about a Lula presidency they are finding to be vastly different than the one that oversaw an economic boom back in the first decade of the new the century.

    As Bloomberg notes, as part of his socialist overhaul, Lula has packed his economic team with “left-wing loyalists, lambasted fiscal rules and now, with his thinly veiled attack on central bank autonomy, taken a posture that raises doubts about the government’s commitment to quelling consumer prices increases in a country with a long history of nasty inflation outbreaks.” Which is ironic since so much of the US establishment was openly rooting for a grand ole socialist time under Lula and was so very happy when Bolsonaro lost by the narrowest of margins.

    And like every socialist (or despotic tyrant for that matter) who promises the sun, moon and stars… if only he had access to an infinite supply of (soon to be devalued cash), Lula quickly grasped that what he needs is to strip the central bank of its independence. As such, his saber-rattling is born in large part out of frustration, investors say, with the growing clash between their fiscal policy – aimed at boosting a sputtering economy – and the central bank’s high interest-rate policy –  designed to bring inflation back down to target.

    But what if one goes for the classical Faustian bargain: let’s make life a little bit easier for everyone if we all agree on just a little more inflation? Well, that’s precisely what Lula is doing.

    Last Wednesday, in a wide-ranging interview with Globo TV, Lula downplayed the importance of an independent central bank, and addressed the country’s soon-to-be-raised inflation target.

    Taking a page right out of Erdogan’s playbook (as a reminder, in Turkey the central bank has lost all of its autonomy in recent years as Turkey’s dictator appointed close friends and allies to run it under fear of immediate termination if they refuse to follow orders), Lula said that “there was a lot of discussion in this country to have an independent central bank, believing that it would be better,” (during Lula’s initial two terms in office, the bank’s chief, Henrique Meirelles, said the president had given him de-facto autonomy to set monetary policy). Lula then said that “it’s silly to think that an independent central bank governor is going to do more than when the president appointed him.”

    Which, of course, is precisely what he would say when considering his bigger goal, which is – drumroll – raising the Brazilian inflation target. As Bloomberg noted, during the interview, Lula defended moves to raise the country’s inflation target and said that he would be forced to tighten economic conditions to reach the target and questioned why not set higher than the current 3% goal established for 2024, mentioning 4.5% as a possibility.

    And since every radical monetary overhaul needs a social crisis, the CIA Brazil conveniently had just that a few days prior. The president said in the interview that he views the storming of the presidential palace, the congress and the Supreme Court building on Jan. 8 to have been “the beginning of a coup” and that the rioters were acting “according to the order and guidance that Bolsonaro gave for a long time.”

    “His decision to keep quiet after losing the election, weeks and weeks of not saying anything; his decision not to hand the sash to me, to leave for Miami as if he were running away in fear of something; and his silence even after what happened here, gave me the impression that he knew everything that was happening, that he had a lot to do with what was happening,” Lula said.

    Ah yes, implementing revolutionary monetary policy overhaul at a time when a group of people (without military support) storms the local center of power, and the former president is constantly used by the media and the deep state as an endless propaganda distraction from what matters… it’s almost as if we’ve seen that particular play before.

    So what happens next? Well, since there is nobody that can prevent Lula from achieving what he wants (see Turkey) it’s only a matter of time before Brazil becomes the first quasi-modern central bank to raise its inflation target during this particular monetary cycle.

    The soon-to-be-toothless central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto himself addressed concerns about Lula’s intervention several times, saying such moves could “reduce the power” of monetary policy and reinforcing that policy makers “won’t hesitate” to raise interest rates if needed.

    Meanwhile, as foreign investors watch the Brazilian socialist tragicomedy unwind in real time terrified of what the outcome for the country’s inflation will be, they have been avoiding local assets. Vista Capital had flagged an attack on the central bank’s autonomy as a “relevant risk” being underestimated by markets in a note at the end of last year, but the topic became ubiquitous following the interview, with money managers now expecting the administration to force a change in Brazil’s inflation goals. The government is expected to set 2026’s target in June, and will almost certainly revise the current goal of 3% for 2024 and 2025 to 4.5% as Lula hinted.

    “Lula’s decision to publicly state twice that the inflation target should be higher did not go unnoticed, and may further reinforce increasing inflation expectations over longer periods” in the central bank’s weekly survey, JPMorgan economist Cassiana Fernandez wrote in a note as Bloomberg reported. Sure enough, analysts in the survey have raised estimates for 2023 inflation six weeks in a row, and also see consumer prices rising above target through 2025.

    Campos Neto seemed to mostly shrug off Lula’s remarks, acknowledging interest rates were currently high while also reiterating the bank will continue to act independently — something that’s helped curb volatility in markets, he said late last week, at least until Lula makes it very clear that he is in control of the central bank. As such, locals are watching for what they say is the first true test to the bank’s autonomy: the appointment of a replacement for Bruno Serra, who’s expected to step down as monetary policy director in February.

    Campos Neto plans to suggest a name for the post, with Banco Santander’s Sandro Sobral gaining momentum among the possibilities, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked for anonymity discussing private information. But ultimately it’s up to the president to name Serra’s replacement, and it will most likely not be the most qualified candidate but instead some crony of Lula’s.

    What happens next? Look to Argentina for clues. As for all those in the US deep state and assorted hanger-on billionaires who backed Lula over Bolsonaro, they are following events in Brazil most closely, knowing well that once the inevitable economic crash pans out – as it does every time a socialist is in charge – it will be only a matter of time before they can buy up Brazil’s vast riches at pennies on the real.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 20:45

  • China Becomes World's Biggest LNG Buyer With Flurry Of Long-Term Deals
    China Becomes World’s Biggest LNG Buyer With Flurry Of Long-Term Deals

    China is rapidly becoming the world’s most dominant force in liquefied natural gas, with Chinese buyers accounting for 40% of recent long-term LNG contracts among global players, according to Nikkei Asia.

    Take Chinese energy giant Sinopec Group, which reached a 27-year agreement with state-owned QatarEnergy late last year to buy 4 million tonnes of LNG annually. The imports are due to begin around 2026. As a key client, China is also negotiating to invest in a massive Qatari project to expand LNG output.

    At the same time, a private-sector Chinese energy company, ENN Group, signed a contract last year with Texas-based Energy Transfer to buy 2.7 million tonnes of LNG annually for 20 years. ENN increased its purchasing agreement with NextDecade, also headquartered in Texas, to 2 million tonnes a year for 20 years as well. In addition, NextDecade has agreed to supply 1 million tonnes of LNG yearly to China Gas Holdings, whose principal shareholder is an investment vehicle controlled by the city of Beijing. Imports are to start in the latter 2020s.

    Over 2021 and 2022, China closed long-term LNG purchasing contracts worth nearly 50 million tonnes a year, European research firm Rystad Energy reports. In this not so covert attempt to corner the LNG market, China has tripled the scale of purchases through long-term contracts in just two years, up from the annual volume of roughly 16 million tonnes from 2015 through 2020.

    A liquefied natural gas terminal owned by China’s ENN Group in Zhejiang province near Shanghai.  

    In 2020 and 2021, spot transactions accounted for 40%-50% of China’s natural gas imports, well above the estimated 30% for Japan. But China appears to have changed strategy to fit long-term demand. Long-term contracts offer more stability in supplies compared with spot contracts.

    In 2021, China surpassed Japan as the world’s top LNG importer. But last year, imports apparently dropped 18% to around 65 million tonnes on the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Yet China’s demand for natural gas in 2030 is projected to be over 50% higher than in 2021.

    Amid global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, many countries have converged on natural gas as a relatively clean bridge fuel. The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan predicts annual worldwide LNG demand will reach 488 million tonnes in 2030, up about 40% from 2020. But global supply is on track to fall short of demand by 7.6 million tonnes a month in 2025.

    The China contingent are addressing the risk of being cut off from the LNG supply chain at a time when U.S. and allies work to create China-free supply chains for semiconductors. Long-term contracts are seen as a hedge against such disruptions.

    Ironically, the US is already China’s biggest LNG supplier based on long-term contracts. The same US that aggressively ramping up alternative semiconductor supply chains that bypass Beijing and which has cracked down on Chinese reverse engineering of US technology. And while Beijing imposed a 25% tariff on American-made LNG in 2019 during the trade war, it then started issuing waivers on the duties in 2020, and since 2021, Chinese and U.S. companies have signed a series of massive LNG deals.

    China now imports about 90 million tonnes of LNG through long-term contracts, with the U.S. responsible for around 25 million. Australia ranks next at roughly 17 million tonnes, while the Middle East supplies 14 million and Russia contributes about 6 million.

    Despite being extensively reliant on US long-term deal, Beijing intends to avoid dependence on American LNG, and China “is ready to expand cooperation with Qatar in natural gas and other traditional energy sectors,” President Xi Jinping said during a December meeting with Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

    Additionally, Beijing is carefully diversifying suppliers in the name of energy security. Beyond tanker-borne LNG, China also brings in natural gas via pipelines. China covers just over half of its natural gas demand through domestic output, and the rest comes from Russia and Turkmenistan. The natural gas supplies are supplemented by LNG from the U.S. and other sources.

    “It’s best not to rely on any one country for 30%-40% of our needs,” said an executive at a large Chinese oil company, a lesson which Europe learned the very hard way.

    As China emerges as a dominant LNG buyer, the role of Japanese purchasers has diminished.

    In 2021 and 2022, Japanese companies agreed to less than 10 million tonnes of LNG per annum in long-term contracts. Utilities are wary of large LNG contracts due to uncertainties about future demand amid the decarbonization movement, Japan’s shrinking population and the restart of nuclear plants.

    Japanese LNG importer JERA, a joint venture between utilities Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings and Chubu Electric Power, decided at the end of 2021 not to renew a 25-year contract with Qatar to buy 5 million tonnes of LNG annually. China’s Sinopec was quick to step in and has emerged as Qatar’s replacement buyer.

    Before LNG developers start production at new projects, they sign long-term contracts with importers to secure income and take in financing from lenders. Japanese power and gas companies once took leading roles for projects in Southeast Asia and Australia, but now Chinese players are looking to fill that function.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 20:25

  • New England Farmer Sues Town for 'Home Equity Theft' In Federal Court
    New England Farmer Sues Town for ‘Home Equity Theft’ In Federal Court

    Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    After a town in central Massachusetts seized dramatically more than what a farmer owed in property taxes, the farmer is suing the town in federal court for alleged “home equity theft.”

    Alan DiPietro in an undated photograph at his alpaca farm in central Massachusetts. (Courtesy Pacific Legal Foundation)

    Alpaca farmer Alan DiPietro, an engineer by training who lives outside of Worcester, filed suit (pdf) earlier this month against the town of Bolton, claiming that the seizure constitutes an unlawful taking of his property in violation of the Massachusetts Constitution and the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

    When Bolton took DiPietro’s home in December 2021, it had a market value of at least $370,000. The town subtracted his debt of about $60,000 and pocketed the remaining approximately $310,000 in equity.

    Massachusetts law permits the government to keep the excess amount. The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), which is representing DiPietro, calls this home equity theft. Twelve states and the District of Columbia allow local governments and private investors to seize dramatically more than what’s owed from homeowners who fall behind on property tax payments, according to the PLF, which issued a December 2022 report on the practice, The Epoch Times reported.

    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon take up the issue of home equity theft in a PLF case.

    On Jan. 13, the court agreed to hear Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota, the appeal of a 94-year-old homeowner who’s challenging the constitutionality of laws that allow local governments to take the full value of a home as payment for much smaller property tax debts. The county seized Geraldine Tyler’s condo, valued at $93,000, and sold it for just $40,000. Instead of keeping the $15,000 it was owed, the county retained the full $40,000, amounting to a windfall of $25,000, according to the PLF. A date for the hearing has yet to be determined.

    DiPietro had been raising alpacas and marketing their fleece since 2008 in Bolton, a town in the Nashoba Valley region. But by 2014, he needed more land, so he purchased 34 undeveloped acres situated in Bolton and the neighboring town of Stow. He mowed the existing fields and put up fencing and some small structures, unaware that Bolton would claim that the improvements required local permits.

    Land Use Disagreement

    Although both towns claimed the upgrades were made too close to a wetland protected under state law and violated both towns’ bylaws, DiPietro argued that using the land for agricultural purposes was exempt from local conservation rules. The towns sued DiPietro, and he was charged $26,000 to restore the protected area.

    After the legal battle, DiPietro couldn’t afford his home mortgage and also the property taxes on the farm. The home was foreclosed on and he moved into a recreational vehicle on his farmland.

    PLF attorney Joshua Polk said the town “stole over $310,000 worth of property equity from our client” and deliberately frustrated the client’s efforts to settle his debt.

    DiPietro was caught in a situation he couldn’t resolve. He tried to sell off part of the land but was blocked.

    “[He] had a tax that he wanted to pay by selling off one of the lots of property, but he couldn’t get a permit to make the property suitable for a residential sale, because he owed taxes that he was trying to pay by selling the lot,” Polk told The Epoch Times in an interview.

    “It’s a circular situation that he got trapped into. And at every point along the way prior to foreclosure, and even after foreclosure, he was seeking out ways to pay this tax debt, but he was blocked at every turn by the town.”

    Bolton “completely derailed his plans,” according to Polk.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 20:05

  • Record Number Of Border Deaths During Biden’s First 2 Years
    Record Number Of Border Deaths During Biden’s First 2 Years

    Authored by Charlotte Cuthbertson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    As the number of illegal immigrants flooding across the southern border continues to increase, so does the number of illegal immigrants who die while crossing into the United States, or soon after.

    A group of Hondurans cross the Rio Grande toward Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, on April 21, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

    Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded a total of 880 illegal immigrant deaths in fiscal 2022, which ended on Sept. 30, 2022. It’s the highest number of deaths since data became available in 1998. The second-highest number on record was fiscal year 2021, with 566 deaths.

    The Epoch Times submitted a Freedom of Information request in October 2022 to obtain the data for the past two fiscal years after the Biden administration broke a long-standing policy and stopped publicly releasing the numbers. CBP responded to the Freedom of Information request on Jan. 18.

    Previous, publicly available CBP data show 247 illegal immigrants died near the southern border during fiscal 2020, the lowest on record, while 300 died in fiscal 2019.

    Graph depicts the number of illegal immigrant deaths aalong the U.S.–Mexico border as reported by Customs and Border Protection. (The Epoch Times)

    The Rio Grande Valley in Texas and the Tucson Sector in Arizona have traditionally been the most deadly border sectors, as the river and the summer heat claim the most lives, and smugglers leave injured and sick migrants to die.

    But, Texas’s Del Rio sector, which includes Eagle Pass, bore the brunt of the deaths last year with 255 recorded. Most of the deaths in this area were due to drowning in the deceptively swift Rio Grande. But the total also includes 53 deaths of illegal aliens being smuggled in a locked tractor-trailer unit near San Antonio last June.

    Deaths in the Del Rio sector over the past two fiscal years were higher than the previous 15 years combined. The sector also became the epicenter of mass illegal crossings.

    The CBP data include a footnote indicating that the “data may be subject to change based on new discoveries of remains and possible dates of death as determined by a medical examiner.”

    Not all migrant deaths are counted in the CBP data, as Border Patrol agents aren’t always involved in the discovery. Sheriff’s offices have their own tally of bodies discovered by ranchers, hunters, or others.

    The bodies are often from those who are walking in remote ranchland to circumvent Border Patrol highway checkpoints, sometimes 60 to 100 miles from the border.

    Former CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said the CBP numbers are the “tip of the iceberg” for migrant deaths.

    “When you increase the number of illegal aliens coming by 500 percent, you’re going to increase all the suffering, tragedies, and inhumane actions associated with that,” Morgan told The Epoch Times on Jan. 19.

    “Everything expands—the numbers of those that are thrown into trafficking expand, the number of those that are sexually assaulted expand, the numbers of those that die expand. It’s a game of numbers.”

    Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal aliens along the southern border increased exponentially after President Joe Biden took office.

    More than 1.6 million illegal aliens were apprehended in fiscal year 2021 and 2.2 million in fiscal 2022, according to CBP data. In comparison, fiscal 2020 saw just over 400,000 apprehensions along the southern border.

    The number of illegal crossings has more than tripled since 2020, as have the number of deaths.

    “Biden’s got blood on his hands. He knows this is happening. And he knows migrants are dying. He knows migrants are being assaulted. He knows migrants are being raped. He knows migrants are being thrown into the life of trafficking,” Morgan said.

    Benny Martinez, then-chief deputy of the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office, carries the human remains of a suspected illegal immigrant on a ranch in Falfurrias, Texas, on May 22, 2013. (John Moore/Getty Images)

    Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has maintained the border is secure.

    “I have been to the border nearly 20 times, and I can attest to the steadfast commitment of the DHS workforce to secure our border, enforce our laws, and build safe, orderly, and humane immigration processes under extremely difficult conditions,” Mayorkas said in a Jan. 5 press conference.

    “Let me be clear: Title 42 or not, the border is not open,” Mayorkas said, referring to the public health order that allows Border Patrol agents to quickly expel some illegal aliens back to Mexico.

    CBP declined to provide a comment to The Epoch Times on the increase in deaths.

    Deadly Brooks County

    In south Texas, Brooks County sheriff’s deputy Don White of Remote Wildlands Search and Recovery volunteers his time to search for the injured and dead. Most often, he says, he finds males, aged 19 to 40, from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador.

    During 2022, he found 91 bodies—a decrease over the record-breaking previous year of 119. In comparison, 34 bodies were found in 2020.

    Brooks County Sheriff Benny Martinez estimates that for every body they find, another 5 to 10 are never recovered.

    “I’ve spoken to a lot of mothers over the telephone, or they’ve been here in my office, crying for their loved ones that have been lost for 10, 15 years,” Martinez, a Democrat, said in an earlier interview.

    “Our terrain is real sandy. We’re about 100 foot above sea level. So once that sand starts going over that body, and that body starts getting torn apart by the feral hog, by the coyote … the only time it’s recovered is when they’re moving cattle and they turn the soil over… [and] a skull would pop up, or something. Body parts would pop up. That’s how we’re going to find out that something laid there for a while. I mean, what is compassionate about that?”

    In Kinney County, southwest Texas, the sheriff used to handle one or two deceased illegal immigrants per year.

    In 2021, the county dealt with 17 bodies, and 10 in 2022. In one case, the county judge had to leave a county meeting to officially pronounce dead the body of an illegal alien found on his own ranch.

    “The thing is, it’s 17 bodies in a small county,” Sheriff Brad Coe told The Epoch Times in December. Kinney County sits on the border with Mexico and has a population of about 3,600 people.

    “Brooks County will always lead the state in the number of dead, but for us here, 17 was an astronomical number when we’re used to one or two.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 19:45

  • Tesla To Announce New $3.5 Billion Production Facility For Semis In Nevada
    Tesla To Announce New $3.5 Billion Production Facility For Semis In Nevada

    If there’s a demand problem, Tesla certainly isn’t acting like it.

    Just days after the company slashed prices on its models in both the U.S. and China, it is now being reported that Tesla is seeking to open yet another production facility – this one slated to be in northern Nevada. 

    The planned $3.5 billion plant is going to be for Tesla Semi production, according to Inside EVs. It had previously been assumed that production of the Tesla semi would take place at the company’s Giga Texas plant. Early manufacturing “began in late 2022 at a private site near its Gigafactory Nevada facility,” the report says.

    Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo stated in a State of the State address on January 23 that Tesla is planning to invest $3.5 billion in the state and could be making a formal announcement as early as today, January 24. 

    “Whether it’s closing the lithium loop, unlocking innovation and investment in logistics, entertainment, science and technology, or embracing entrepreneurship, the message is, that Nevada is ready to partner,” he said.

    He continued: “Case in point… I am looking forward to joining Elon Musk and the team at Tesla tomorrow when they unveil plans to build a brand new $3.5 Billion-dollar advanced manufacturing facility in northern Nevada for the company’s all-electric semi-trucks.”

    The new facility will add to the company’s presence in the state, where it already has its Gigafactory Nevada, 24 miles east of Reno. 

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 19:25

  • Biden Says He Won't Let GOP 'Wreck' Economy While McConnell Says McCarthy Needs To Craft Debt Ceiling Deal
    Biden Says He Won’t Let GOP ‘Wreck’ Economy While McConnell Says McCarthy Needs To Craft Debt Ceiling Deal

    During a Tuesday meeting with Congressional Democrats, President Joe Biden said that he has “no intention of letting the Republicans wreck our economy.”

    “Nor does anybody around this table,” he continued, nodding to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

    “[We] want to build this economy from the bottom up, the middle out,” said Biden, adding “We also want to talk about the extreme Republican economic plans.”

    The president appeared to sarcastically refer to some of the plans Republicans have to cut costs.

    “Apparently, they’re genuinely serious about cutting Social Security, cutting Medicare,” Biden said. “I love their 30 percent sales tax.”

    Democrats, he said, are looking forward to talking “a lot about that.” –WaPo

    Meanwhile on the other side of the aisle, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on Tuesday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) needs to spearhead crafting a solution to the debt ceiling.

    “I can’t imagine any debt ceiling provision passed out of the Senate with 60 votes could actually pass this particular House,” McConnell told reporters on Tuesday. “So I think the final solution to this particular episode lies between Speaker McCarthy and the president.”

    McConnell said it would be ‘reasonable’ for McCarthy to consider spending cuts as part of a plan to extend the debt ceiling before a June 5 deadline that the Treasury Department says needs to be me, lest the country face ‘economic calamity.’

    According to McConnell, it’s “entirely reasonable for the new speaker and his team to put spending reduction on the table. “I wish him well in talking to the president. That’s where a solution lies.”

    McConnell’s remarks raise pressure on McCarthy, who is seeking to navigate demands from House GOP hard-liners to force aggressive spending cuts as part of any debt ceiling extension. While McConnell has negotiated past deals with Biden, including when he was vice president, McCarthy has little experience negotiating complicated deals with Democrats. It’s not clear what, if anything, can get the votes to pass the House, where Republican control a narrow majority. –NBC News

    Biden and the Democrats, however, say they won’t entertain cuts or other negotiations.

    According to Schumer, the ball is indeed in McCarthy’s court.

    “McConnell made the argument for us. He says the House has to go first,” Schumer told reporters. “We’re just taking that one little step further and saying yes, not only that to go first, they have to show us a plan.”

    Earlier Tuesday, Schumer said that “default would be a catastrophe for American working families. It’s not an abstract issue. It’s going to affect every American family severely and adversely,” adding “And playing brinksmanship, taking hostages is being risky and not caring about average people. If MAGA GOP stops paying our nation’s bills, Americans pay the price.”

    Translation; prepare for more chaos.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 19:05

  • New York City Snow Drought Might End Tomorrow
    New York City Snow Drought Might End Tomorrow

    New York City’s snow drought, the third longest since records began, might end Wednesday morning. 

    National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Ramsey said NYC could expect up to 2 inches of snow during the morning commute, but a changeover to a wintry mix and rain could occur at some point when milder air moves into the Northeast. 

    Wednesday’s accumulation could be enough to end the Big Apple’s snowless streak.

    The longest streak of days without 0.1 inches of snow or greater was 332, which ended on Dec. 15, 2020. As of Monday, the city has had 320 days without measurable snowfall, the third longest on record, according to Accuweather. 

    If tomorrow’s weather event only produces a trace or less than 0.1 inches, the metro area could be on pace to hit the snowless record in about two weeks. By late January, NYC should average about 11 inches of snow. 

    Meanwhile, the heaviest snowfall will blanket northern New York to interior parts of New England, where upwards of a foot more could be dumped through Thursday. 

    A pattern change for the US is underway. Long-term weather models forecast lower-than-average temperatures from now through early February for the Lower 48. 

    Cold weather is welcomed after an unseasonably warm January. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 18:45

  • Microsoft Reverses Gains After CFO Slashes Outlook
    Microsoft Reverses Gains After CFO Slashes Outlook

    Update (1820ET): Just as we warned as earnings were released, Microsoft has given up all its after-hours gains after the CFO warns in the conference call that sales in the current quarter will come in at least $1 billion lower than Wall Street expected as December slowdown is projected to continue into new year.

    For the current quarter, Microsoft executives expect revenue of $50.5 billion to $51.5 billion, according to guidance provided by Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood, well below the consensus estimate for fiscal third-quarter revenue of $52.42 billion, according to FactSet.

    Hood said that Microsoft observed a slowdown in customer spending in December, and expects that to continue.

    Azure grew by 38% in constant currency, topping expectations, but Hood said that they exited December in the “mid-30s” after the deceleration, and executives expect that percentage to fall four or five points in the current quarter.

    Analysts were were projecting Azure growth of 27.8% for the quarter, or 33.7% in constant currency, according to FactSet.

    And with that, MSFT shares tumbled all the way back into red for the day…

    And that is weighing heavily on Nasdaq futures…

    *  *  *

    With all eyes on super-tech bellwether Microsoft, and specifically on how the company’s Azure cloud division would do, not to mention what the company would say about its outlook, this is what the company reported moments ago:

    • Revenue $52.747 billion, missing estimates $52.93 billion; yet in constant currency terms, revenue grew 7%, beating the estimate of +6.59%
    • Adjusted EPS $2.32, beating estimates 2.30

    Here, a mixed picture at best, and some more details

    • Productivity and Business Processes revenue $17.00 billion, beating the estimate $16.81 billion
      • Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 7% (up 14% in constant currency) driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 11% (up 18% in constant currency)
      • Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue decreased 2% (up 3% in constant currency) and Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers grew to 63.2 million
      • LinkedIn revenue increased 10% (up 14% in constant currency)
      • Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 13% (up 20% in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 21% (up 29% in constant currency)
    • More Personal Computing revenue $14.24 billion, missing estimate $14.74 billion, and down 19% Y/Y (down 16% in constant currency), which is to be expected following the PC buying spree during the covid lockdowns.
      • Windows OEM revenue decreased 39%
      • Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue decreased 3% (up 3% in constant currency)
      • Xbox content and services revenue decreased 12% (down 8% in constant currency)
      • Search and news advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 10% (up 15% in constant currency)
      • Devices revenue decreased 39% (down 34% in constant currency)
    • Operating income $20.40 billion, missing estimate $21 billion
    • Capital expenditure $6.27 billion, missing estimate $6.63 billion

    But while the above were largely in line, what everyone was looking for was what MSFT reported about Cloud and here there was some good news, to wit: Intelligent Cloud revenue came in at $21.51 billion, which increased 18% (up 24% in constant currency), and beat estimates of $21.43 billion. Server products and cloud services revenue increased 20% (up 26% in constant currency) driven by Azure and other cloud services revenue growth of 31%, up 38% in constant currency, and beating estimates of 35% .

    A snapshot of growth rates by various operating divisions shows just how extensive the impact of the strong dollar was across the board.

    Commenting on the quarter, CEO Satya Nadella, said that “The next major wave of computing is being born, as the Microsoft Cloud turns the world’s most advanced AI models into a new computing platform. We are committed to helping our customers use our platforms and tools to do more with less today and innovate for the future in the new era of AI.”

    “We are focused on operational excellence as we continue to invest to drive growth. Microsoft Cloud revenue was $27.1 billion, up 22% (up 29% in constant currency) year-over-year as our commercial offerings continue to drive value for our customers,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft.

    And while the growth within Azure was the slowest observed yet in MSFT history…

    … it may have been just enough to ease market fears of the bottom falling out.

    In kneejerk reaction, MSFT stock jumped more than 4% after hours…

    … kicking off the closely-watched big-tech earnings season on an upbeat note. Peers such as AMZN were also up some 3% after hours.

    That said, keep an eye out for forecasts and more during the firm’s conference call, due at 5:30pm NY time: a word out of place could promptly burst any bullish sentiment from the cloud beat.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 18:29

  • Flood-Damaged Cars From California Likely To Hit Used Market Soon
    Flood-Damaged Cars From California Likely To Hit Used Market Soon

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

    Recent storms that hammered California have dumped years’ worth of rain on the state, causing widespread flooding, and has prompted warnings that flood-damaged vehicles may hit the used car market soon.

    In California, 32 trillion gallons of rain and snow fell since Christmas. The water washed out roads, knocked out power, and created mudslides by soaking wildfire-charred hills. It caused damage in 41 of the state’s 58 counties. At least 21 people have died, officials say.

    After recent flooding hit the Los Angeles area this week, Ivan Drury, director of insights for Edmunds, said that cars that have suffered water damage could be quite unsafe even if they don’t appear so on the surface.

    “Number one, your electrical system: you’ve got so much electronics on a car, now more so than ever. Technology systems prevent you from getting into an accident, and now you are in more danger,” he told the Los Angeles Times late last week.

    “And there’s the vehicle physically deteriorating over time.”

    Drury emphasized that smelling the vehicle is critical.

    “You had better get your face close to carpet,” he said.

    “That gross, musty smell,” he added, “that’s a big red flag.”

    Consumers should take caution when purchasing a used car that was registered in a state or city where there has been recent flooding, Drury said.

    Kenneth Potiker, owner of San Bernardino-based Riteway Auto Dismantlers, told the paper that he expects to see recently flooded California vehicles to appear at car auctions in the coming weeks. “I’ll buy a few, I’m sure—but I stay away from a lot,” he said, adding that it’s difficult to tell the extent of the damage.

    But he warned potential buyers that they should avoid such cars. 

    “I would tell them not to buy a car like that—that would be the best advice,” he said.

    “If it floods inside a car, water damage is one of the worst types of damage.”

    Insurance companies say that many flooded vehicles often get totaled, meaning that the cost of the repair work is equal or greater to the value of the car. According to the Insurance Information Institute, some flood-damaged cars are issued a salvage title, which can alert people and companies to possible damage.

    “By definition, a flood vehicle has been completely or partially submerged in water to the extent that its body, engine, transmission or other mechanical component parts have been damaged,” it says.

    “If the vehicle is so damaged that it is no longer operable, the driver’s insurance company settles the claim by buying the vehicle and selling it as a ‘salvage’ at an auto auction.”

    But the Institute warns that “dishonest and unscrupulous car dealers” can then purchase the vehicles, clean them, but it leaves “hidden flood damage.” Those dealers then take the cars to states that weren’t impacted by the storm before selling them as used cars to unsuspecting buyers.

    A woman waits for her husband at their front porch to be rescued from their flooded home in Brentwood, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

    And those “dishonest dealers will not disclose the damage on the vehicle’s title as they are required, which is a crime called ‘title washing,’” says the Institute. “The vehicles are then sold with the hidden damage.”

    “It’s very easy for a professional to clean up a vehicle and make it look new, when, in fact, the electronics and computers are in really bad shape,” Jack Gillis, chairman of the board of directors for the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, told KOMO News.

    “This can present a safety hazard.”

    After Hurricane Ian hammered Florida last year, vehicle data company Carfax warned consumers about purchasing used vehicles that may have water damage. At the time, it estimated that more than 350,000 vehicles might have been damaged by Ian’s flooding.

    “We are seeing these flooded cars show up all around the country, putting unsuspecting buyers at risk,” Emilie Voss, a Carfax spokeswoman, said in a statement last year about Ian’s aftermath.

    “Cosmetically these cars might look great, but if you don’t know what to look for, it’s nearly impossible to tell they are literally rotting from the inside out.”

    From Dec. 26 to Jan. 17, California was deluged by 11.47 inches of rain and snow on average across the state, according to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, with some reports of up to 15 feet of snow in the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Late last week, meanwhile, President Joe Biden toured a California beach town to survey damage that was done by the recent storms.

    California has been hit by nine atmospheric rivers since late December. The storms have relented in recent days. Forecasters say that a dry period will envelop much of the state for the time being.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 01/24/2023 – 18:25

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