- These NATO States Are Embracing Conscription, Eyeing Future War With Russia
These NATO States Are Embracing Conscription, Eyeing Future War With Russia
Authored by Connor Freeman via The Libertarian Institute,
As NATO escalates its proxy war in Ukraine and inches closer to fighting directly with Russia, the Washington-led bloc is embracing mandatory military service. Many European members of NATO have expanded or reintroduced conscription as part of large-scale preparations for such a war, CNN reports. Already outpaced in terms of military industrial capacity by Russia, the alliance’s new battleplans will see an attempt to beef up weapons production and form 35-50 brigades of 3,000-7,000 battle ready troops.
Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has insisted, “Today, we have 500,000 troops on high readiness, combat-ready battlegroups in the eastern part of the Alliance for the first time.” But the bloc is struggling to meet its goals of assembling 300,000 soldiers prepared to be activated within a month and another half a million in six months. There is also a question of whether the bloc can filed a military fit for a protracted war akin to the Ukraine conflict.
Following the end of the Cold War, several European states ceased conscripting their citizens. Although increasing numbers of NATO member countries have resorted to the draconian practice during recent years, especially in the Baltics and Scandinavia. Roughly a third of the NATO alliance practices some form of compulsory military service.
This year, for the first time since it was abolished in 2006, Latvia reimplemented its draft. Male citizens are subject to conscription within a year of turning 18 years old. Additionally, Norway has unveiled a long-term plan to increase its ranks of mandatorily conscripted troops, employees, and reservists by 20,000 as well as double the military budget. In 2015, Oslo became the first NATO government to establish a gender-neutral draft.
Lithuania brought back mandatory military service in 2015, each year drafting 3,500 to 4,000 men between the ages of 18-26 for a nine-month period. Although the Finnish Defense Forces employ only 13,000 people during peacetime, Helsinki claims it has the ability to activate over 900,000 reservists with 280,000 combat-ready troops. Sweden conscripts both men and women, Stockholm drafted 7,000 its citizens and the military expects to conscript 8,000 next year. The Swedes have had conscription since 1901.
Citing the supposed Russian threat to Europe, Robert Hamilton, the head of Eurasia Research at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said “It is tragically true that here we are, in 2024, and we are grappling with the questions of how to mobilize millions of people to be thrown into a meatgrinder of a war potentially.” For 30 years, Hamiliton served as a US Army officer. “Meatgrinder” is a term often used by frontline troops in Ukraine, particularly during the battle of Bakhmut where the average life span of such a soldier was only a few hours.
In the United Kingdom, conscription is currently being pushed by Conservative MPs. The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, the annual military spending bill, may include provisions which inter alia will seek to automatically register all eligible men and women for Selective Service, a form of conscripted labor, which could inevitably include military service.
Former Supreme Allied Commander of Europe General Wesley Clark echoed Hamilton’s hawkish sentiments, emphasizing “whether this is a new Cold War or an emerging hot war is unclear.” He added that NATO “must rebuild our defenses,” including with mandatory military drafts.
“I think young people in Europe and the US will come to realize that this generation, like the generation that fought WWII, it didn’t ask to be the ‘Greatest Generation’ but the circumstances thrust that burden on them,” Clark added.
The risk of direct war with Russia is growing by the day amidst the Ukraine proxy war, as the alliance has largely approved NATO missiles to be used for attacks against the Russian mainland. The bloc will soon provide Kiev with F-16s and an explicit green light for the warplanes to carry out direct strikes against Russian territory as well. Without irony, Stoltenberg claimed this should not be viewed by Russia as an escalation.
As NATO considers increasing its nuclear weapons deployments, the US is also planning to deploy previously banned, medium-range, nuclear capable missiles in Germany which has caused Russia to hint it could similarly retaliate. Pointing to the massive US-led buildup for war with China, President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of creating major security threats for Russia in Asia.
NATO set its sights on China four years ago, identifying Beijing as a military threat to European security. China maintains a “no limits” partnership with Russia. “NATO is already ‘moving’ there (to Asia) as if to a permanent place of residence. This, of course, creates a threat to all countries in the region, including the Russian Federation. We are obliged to respond to this and will do it,” Putin vowed earlier this year. That same month, Stoltenberg cited China as a reason the bloc is considering an “adaptation” of its nuclear arsenal.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 07/25/2024 – 02:00 - Escobar: China Designs An Economic Road Map All The Way To 2029
Escobar: China Designs An Economic Road Map All The Way To 2029
There can hardly be a better place to track the four-day, twice-a-decade plenum of the Communist Party of China than dynamic, “one country, two systems” Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is right at the heart of East Asia – halfway between Northeast Asia (Japan, the Koreas) and Southeast Asia. To the west is not only China but the Eurasia landmass, linking it to India, Persia, Turkiye and Europe. To the east, sailing forward, is the Pacific and the US’s West Coast.
Moreover, Hong Kong is the ultimate multipolar, multi-nodal (italics mine) hub: a frenzied global metropolis forged by trade routes going back centuries, attracting people from every latitude keen on interconnecting commerce, ideas, technologies, shipping, commodities, markets.
Now, reinvented for 21stcentury Eurasia integration, Hong Kong has all it takes to profit as a key node of the Greater Bay Area, the southern hub propelling China to economic superpower status.
The plenum in Beijing was a quite serious/sober affair – trying to strike a balance between sustainable economic growth and national security all the way to 2029, when the PRC celebrates its 80th anniversary.
The proverbial comprador elites, 5th columnists and outright Sinophobes across the West have gone bonkers on the current slowdown of the Chinese economy – complete with slumps in the financial and property fronts – running in parallel to all hybrid war strands of Chinese containment emanating from Washington.
Fact: China’s GDP grew roughly 5% in the first semester; and the final plenum communique, released at the end of the four-day meeting, stressed that this should remain the “unwavering” target for the second semester.
The official rhetoric of course was heavy on stimulation of domestic consumption, and “new momentum” to drive exports and imports.
This key passage in the final communique breaks it all down when it comes to the new iteration of “socialism with Chinese characteristics”:
“We must purposefully give more prominence to reform and further deepen reform comprehensively with a view to advancing Chinese modernization in order to better deal with the complex developments both at home and abroad, adapt to the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and live up to the new expectations of our people.
It was stressed that, to further deepen reform comprehensively, we must stay committed to Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development and fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
We must thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s new ideas, viewpoints, and conclusions on comprehensively deepening reform and fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts.”
And to make it more simple, Xi actually explained it all in some detail.
Those Pesky ‘Markets’
Nowhere around the world one finds a government focused on devising five-year plans for economic development (Russia now seems to be engaged in its first attempts) – encompassing development of rural land, tax reform, environmental protection, national security, the fight against corruption, and cultural development.
When the term “reform” appears no less than 53 times in the final communique, that means – contrary to Western proselytism – that the CPC is dead set on improving governance and increasing efficiency. And all those targets must be met – otherwise heads will roll.
Science and technology will once again have pride of place in China’s development, a sort of follow-up to the Made in China 2025 strategy. The emphasis predictably will be on better integration of the digital economy into the real economy; infrastructure upgrading; and boosting “resilience” in the industrial supply chain.
It’s fascinating to watch how the communique emphasizes the necessity to “correct market failures” – which is a euphemism for reigning in turbo-neoliberalism. What is stressed is “unswerving support and guidance” to the development of the “non-state sector”, with Beijing ensuring “all forms of ownership” in the economy competing fairly and lawfully “on an equal footing”.
The plenum could be easily interpreted as a calculated exercise in Taoist patience. According to Xie Maosong, from the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, “Xi said many times that the easy part of the reform is over, and now we are in uncharted waters. The party must watch its step, particularly as the external risks build. We are also touching the vested interests of many groups.”
Of course turbo-capitalist Hong Kong’s main obsession is “markets”. Conversations with British traders scouting Asia for their clients reveal they are not so keen on investing in China – yet that does not faze Beijing’s planners. What matters for the Politburo is how to meet the economic, social, environmental and geopolitical targets set by Xi for the next five years. It’s up to the markets to adapt to it.
Of course Beijing planners are already factoring Trump in the overall equation. The Western mantra that China’s economy is struggling to stabilize may be debatable. Yet China’s economy may be in fact in a more precarious position now than when Trump unleashed his trade war in mid-2018. The yuan may seem to be under more pressure because of the gap between US and Chinese borrowing costs.
According to a JPMorgan estimate, every 1% tariff hike during the 2018-2019 period of the US-launched trade war was linked to a 0.7% rise of the US dollar versus the yuan.
Trump plans to impose a 60% tariff on virtually all Chinese products.
That would lead to an exchange rate of roughly 9 yuan to the dollar, 25% weaker than now.
Now Read the Whole Thing and Get to Work
It’s enlightening to check what Hong Kong’s chief executive, John Lee, said about the plenum. He encouraged “all sectors of the community” to read the communique. And the Hong Kong business elite did get the drift: they interpreted it as Beijing betting once again on Hong Kong’s key role for the development of the Greater Bay Area.
It would not be any other way. Hong Kong, Lee stressed, is a “superconnector” and “super value-adder”, linking mainland China with the Global North and the Global South, and still attracting all sorts of foreign investment to China.
Now compare it with the predominant view on Hong Kong in US business circles. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong is appalled, stressing how US businessmen in fact don’t understand the Safeguarding National Security directive approved last March, which complemented the National Security Law installed by Beijing in 2020.
For Beijing, these are very serious matters of national security – which range from a crackdown on money laundering to preventing the proverbial 5th columnists from launching a color revolution such as the one that nearly destroyed Hong Kong in 2019. No wonder so many American investors cannot get it. Beijing couldn’t care less.
Now let’s see what China’s top mutual fund manager has to say about it.
Zhang Kun, manager of Blue Chip Mixed Fund, runs four funds with combined assets of $8.9 billion. He prefers to set his sights on Beijing’s aim to boost per capita GDP to match the West by 2035.
If that happens, with or without a US trade war – and the Chinese won’t stop at nothing to achieve it – then per capita GDP could be around $ 30,000 (it was $12,300 last year, according to Chinese think tanks).
So foreign investment will continue to be welcomed in China, via Hong Kong or not. But on each and every front, what trumps everything is national security. Call it a practical exercise in sovereignty.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 23:40 - The Salary Needed To Buy A Home In 50 US Cities In 2024
The Salary Needed To Buy A Home In 50 US Cities In 2024
In 2024, the median salary for the typical American home buyer has risen to $104,339 – up from $88,000 just two years prior.
Despite record-high home prices, housing demand continues to outpace supply, even with mortgage rates at their highest in over a decade. As one bright spot, housing inventory is steadily increasing, with the number of homes for sale up almost 19% in May compared to the previous year. This growth in inventory could help ease the cost of home ownership looking ahead.
This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Nuefeld, shows the salary needed to buy a home across the 50 largest U.S. metropolitans in 2024, based on data from Home Sweet Home.
The Cost of Home Ownership in 2024
Below, we rank U.S. metro areas based on the salary needed to buy a median-priced home.
2024 Ranking Metro Area State Median Home Price Salary Needed 1 San Jose California $1,840,000 $463,886.5 2 San Francisco California $1,300,000 $336,170.4 3 San Diego California $981,000 $241,783.5 4 Los Angeles California $823,000 $207,030.2 5 Seattle Washington $755,300 $191,332.4 6 New York City New York $659,200 $186,122.8 7 Boston Massachusetts $704,700 $186,058.7 8 Denver Colorado $651,000 $160,874.3 9 Miami Florida $625,000 $159,528.2 10 Washington, D.C. N/A $600,200 $155,370.4 11 Riverside/
San BernardinoCalifornia $579,900 $146,791.9 12 Portland Oregon $574,000 $146,483.4 13 Sacramento California $533,900 $139,283.1 14 Austin Texas $466,700 $135,333.1 15 Salt Lake City Utah $551,200 $134,691.8 16 Providence Rhode Island $470,700 $129,565.5 17 Phoenix Arizona $470,500 $114,499.6 18 Orlando Florida $435,000 $114,215.9 19 Las Vegas Nevada $465,400 $113,354.8 20 Raleigh North Carolina $439,800 $111,347.6 21 Dallas Texas $377,700 $110,463.0 22 Richmond Virginia $425,000 $106,952.9 23 Tampa Florida $405,200 $106,614.1 24 Hartford Connecticut $350,400 $106,127.9 25 Baltimore Maryland $385,000 $104,132.8 26 Chicago Illinois $349,300 $103,794.0 27 Jacksonville Florida $390,000 $103,487.6 28 Minneapolis Minnesota $373,500 $101,868.4 29 Nashville Tennessee $404,300 $101,535.4 30 Charlotte North Carolina $398,300 $100,140.4 31 Philadelphia Pennsylvania $342,500 $99,535.4 32 Houston Texas $334,100 $98,135.3 33 Milwaukee Wisconsin $354,000 $96,942.7 34 Atlanta Georgia $369,200 $96,825.1 35 San Antonio Texas $305,800 $90,259.9 36 Virginia Beach Virginia $336,500 $88,208.3 37 Columbus Ohio $306,600 $84,598.5 38 Kansas City Missouri $308,600 $83,386.1 39 Indianapolis Indiana $300,100 $77,181.6 40 Cincinnati Ohio $280,600 $75,634.6 41 New Orleans Louisiana $277,700 $75,218.3 42 Birmingham Alabama $295,000 $75,193.9 43 Memphis Tennessee $272,400 $71,943.2 44 Buffalo New York $229,700 $71,669.2 45 Oklahoma City Oklahoma $251,000 $70,455.8 46 Louisville Kentucky $262,000 $69,169.8 47 Detroit Michigan $240,000 $68,334.7 48 St Louis Missouri $241,100 $68,240.0 49 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania $207,100 $59,604.2 50 Cleveland Ohio $191,900 $58,402.6 National $389,400 $104,339.0 Note: These calculations determine the salary needed to afford the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance payments on a median-priced home in the corresponding metro area as of May 2024. Figures reflect homes with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and a 20% down payment.
As the most expensive city overall, residents in San Jose require a salary of $463,887 for a median-priced home in 2024—more than quadruple the national average.
Since 2023, this required salary has skyrocketed almost $100,000, soaring to a monthly payment of $10,824 to own a home. One reason why San Jose prices are sky-high: it sits at the heart of Silicon Valley. On average, homes on the market sell in roughly nine days.
Like San Jose, the San Francisco metro area is highly unaffordable. In May, median home prices stood at $1.3 million. The metro area houses more billionaires than anywhere in the world, in addition to having among the most individuals with $100 million in investable wealth globally.
New York City residents need an annual salary of $186,123, making it the sixth-highest in the country. While the annual growth in home prices fell into negative territory, the required salary to own a home jumped over $25,000 since last year. Overall, just 30% of New Yorkers own homes, compared to the 66% national average.
On the other hand, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis are the most affordable metro areas in the dataset, where a salary under $70,000 can buy a median-priced home.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 23:20 - Blood Proteins Can Predict The Risk Of Developing More Than 60 Diseases
Blood Proteins Can Predict The Risk Of Developing More Than 60 Diseases
Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Over 60 diseases can be predicted just by looking at proteins in the blood, a study published Monday finds.
(Connect world/Shutterstock) These proteins provided more accurate predictions for 52 out of 67 diseases than current clinical tests.
“Measuring one protein for a specific reason, such as troponin to diagnose a heart attack, is standard clinical practice. We are extremely excited about the opportunity to identify new markers for screening and diagnosis from the thousands of proteins circulating and now measurable in human blood,” lead author professor Claudia Langenberg, director of the Precision Healthcare University Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London, said in a press release.
Postdoctoral researcher Julia Carrasco-Zanini-Sanchez, who is also the study’s first author, told The Epoch Times that the study was prompted by her team’s prior research on a disease related to impaired glucose control.
“[The condition] is basically a form of prediabetes that you can only detect when you do what’s called an oral glucose tolerance test, but not through HBA1c (blood glucose testing) or fasting glucose testing,” she said.
“We started working with proteomics (large-scale study of proteins) to try to develop a test … to predict the outcome of this oral glucose tolerance test without having to perform it because it’s routinely not done in clinical practice.”
Ms. Carrasco-Zanini-Sanchez said that their prior study led them to wonder if other diseases could be predicted using proteins.
She said that their current model predicts disease development in 10 years’ time.
“[Ten years] is kind of a long time frame for some of the diseases that we’re studying … a three- or five-year prediction timeline would be a bit more relevant. However, the data is still not large enough, which is why … all of them are trained for 10-year incidents,” the first author said.
Ms. Carrasco-Zanini-Sanchez, who did her doctorate research on proteomics, told The Epoch Times that she hoped the study’s proteomics tests would be used to screen specialized populations most at risk for the disease in question rather than the entire population.
52 Diseases Identified
The study, published in Nature Medicine, used data from the UK Biobank and analyzed over 3,000 different blood proteins for 218 different diseases.
Over 40,000 people were recruited to have a sample of their blood taken for proteomics analysis.
These people were then followed for 10 years through their electronic health records to see what diseases they would develop.
For those who did end up developing various diseases, by studying the protein levels they had 10 years ago, researchers determined protein signatures for over 60 diseases.
Each protein signature is made up of five to 20 different proteins.
The researchers developed a clinical model to predict the risk for various diseases, which included information such as age, sex, and body mass index, among other factors.
On top of that model, they added the protein signature, disease biomarkers, or genetic risk scores to make three other models and compared the results.
With the protein signature model, the authors found significant improvements to the predictions for 52 diseases. They include celiac disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, liver cirrhosis, multiple myeloma, COPD, dementia, Sjogren’s disease, and prostate cancer, among others.
The authors highlighted that the biomarker model for prostate cancer, which is currently screened for by measuring a person’s prostate-specific antigen, was outperformed by their protein signature model.
They also identified certain proteins that only predicted one disease; for example, TNF receptor superfamily member 17, a protein responsible for B-cell development, was highly specific for predicting multiple myeloma.
Model Based on One-Time Sample
Participants’ blood samples were only taken once at the start of the study. Their health outcomes were followed through their electronic health records for 10 years.
Ms. Carrasco-Zanini-Sanchez said it is unlikely that blood protein levels would change too drastically.
“There are not that many studies with repeated proteomic sampling. But the ones that exist do show that there are quite stable levels or stable measurements of the proteins. Very large variations are mostly associated with changes in risk factors or the environment that may, on itself, predispose you to a different disease.”
Ms. Carrasco-Zanini-Sanchez envisioned that their test may help doctors make better judgments on diagnosing and treating high-risk groups.
“If we think about screening the entire population [for celiac disease] … about one person in 100 people will basically go on to develop celiac disease,” she said, adding that many people may need to be tested to only help one person.
However, in specific population groups, like those with autoimmune disease, their risks of developing celiac disease are higher.
“This is kind of the general framework in which we envision,” she said, “It’s just about finding the right population in which you would apply this sort of test realistically.”
The first author said that doctors in the United States may also use the proteomics test to screen their own patients for diseases during checkups.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 23:00 - Amazon Will Reportedly Start Charging $10 A Month For Premium Alexa AI Features
Amazon Will Reportedly Start Charging $10 A Month For Premium Alexa AI Features
All we’ve got to say is, good luck with that.
According to The Verge, Amazon is planning to release a newer, subscription-based version of Alexa – the “assistant” who knows to set food timers and tell you the weather and, well, that’s pretty much it, with generative artificial intelligence support that will cost as much as $10 a month. Alexa will still be free for the basic version you have now, but the newly upgraded version will offer conversational generative AI with a monthly fee, which the Wall Street Journal reports could launch as soon as this month.
While Amazon is reportedly targeting an August launch date for this new version of Alexa but that is subject to change. This comes as Amazon has started to roll out an improved version of Alexa on Fire TVs to help make finding movies and TV shows easier.
Amazon hopes that putting its AI-upgraded Alexa –which may be called “Alexa Plus” or “Remarkable Alexa”– behind a paywall will drive revenue, but the plan is under a lot of pressure according to CordcutterNews.
In 2022, reports said Alexa was set to lose Amazon $10 billion that year. As recent as November, Amazon cut several hundred jobs in its Alexa division. In short, a smaller team has to handle more work in a short amount of time.
In addition, asking people who already use the voice assistant to start paying for it could backfire.
“[S]ome were questioning the entire premise of charging for Alexa,” sources said in the report of other Amazon employees said earlier this year. “For example, people who already pay for an existing Amazon service, such as Amazon Music, might not be willing to pay additional money to get access to the newer version of Alexa.”
The new technology has been tested by 15,000 customers, according to the report, and while it excels in human-like conversation, it’s “deflecting answers, often giving unnecessarily long or inaccurate responses.”
This comes after Amazon unveiled an upgraded, more human-sounding version of Alexa in September. The enhancements aim to bring the company’s voice assistant in line with newer artificial intelligence technology.
In the end of the day, however, the question is “would you pay for use Alexa”, and if not, just how brittle is the AI castle in the sky built on hopes of dreams of widespread adoption and which has singlehandedly propped up the market for the past two years…
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 22:40 - NIH's Latest Desperate Attempt To Incite Fear
NIH’s Latest Desperate Attempt To Incite Fear
Authored by Ian Miller via The Brownstone Institute,
The response to the Covid-19 pandemic revealed many concerning aspects of how government functions and how committed individuals and institutions are to maintaining their preferred narratives.
Truth, data, science, evidence…apparently none of those matter relative to the importance of ensuring the public complies with their desired behavior. Perhaps no single individual has been a better representation of the symbiotic relationship between government officials and media members, as well as their ceaseless commitment to ideological priorities, than Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fauci’s NIAID and its parent organization, the National Institutes of Health, have been two of the most prolific spreaders of ideologically motivated misinformation ever during the pandemic. But Fauci is no longer part of NIH, having departed for the considerable financial rewards available from the private sector.
So as a result of his timely exit, we must finally be witnessing improvements regarding government studies and communication, right? Right?
Not exactly.
Government Covid Misinformation Continues Unabated
A triumphant, breathless press release from the National Institutes of Health was just released in the past week covering a new study that claimed a horrifying new conclusion.
Contracting Covid-19 once is bad, but God forbid you experience two bouts of the virus…It’s terrifying.
That’s their claim resulting from utilizing massive volumes of “health data” on over 200,000 Americans who they believe had Covid at least once over a two-and-a-half-year period from 2020-2022.
“Those individuals were originally infected between March 1, 2020-Dec. 31, 2022, and experienced a second infection by March 2023. Most participants (203,735) had Covid-19 twice, but a small number (478) had it three times or more,” the study says.
The conclusion, is at first glance, concerning.
“Using health data from almost 213,000 Americans who experienced reinfections, researchers have found that severe infections from the virus that causes COVID-19 tend to foreshadow similar severity of infection the next time a person contracts the disease. Additionally, scientists discovered that long COVID was more likely to occur after a first infection compared to a reinfection,” the NIH summary claims.
That sounds pretty bad. If you get infected a second time, you’re likely to experience a severe case of Covid. Right?
Except that is a completely inaccurate conclusion based on the limited data presented.
“About 27% of those with severe cases, defined as receiving hospital care for a coronavirus infection, also received hospital care for a reinfection. Adults with severe cases were more likely to have underlying health conditions and be ages 60 or older. In contrast, about 87% of those who had mild Covid cases that did not require hospital care the first time also had mild cases of reinfections,” the researchers write.
And there’s the real story, hidden in plain sight.
We know from years of experience that Covid significantly impacts those who are in poor health, have underlying conditions, or are older AND in poor health. We also know that a very small percentage of Covid cases require treatment in a hospital setting.
All this study shows is that those who are in poor health, have underlying conditions, or are older, are more likely to need additional care if they get Covid a second time. Even then, 73% of those who had a second infection and were hospitalized the first time did not need hospitalization for the second infection. Sure enough, the vast, vast majority of those who had mild Covid cases the first time had mild Covid cases the second time.
The protection from natural immunity is highly important and generally durable, though less so when an individual with poor underlying health has contracted the virus. This is nothing new. But that didn’t stop the new head of the NIH from spouting some impressive fear-mongering and bad science.
NIH Can’t Stop Getting Things Wrong
Dr. Monica Bertagnolli posted a link to the study on X, and a short summary. She repeated the same line about the severity of Covid reinfections, which were intended to undermine the importance of natural immunity.
And more importantly, she claimed that the results underscore “the importance of preventing infection.”
After analyzing data from 200K Americans who had #COVID19 twice, researchers found that a severe #COVID case tended to foreshadow a similarly severe infection the second time, underscoring the importance of preventing infection[.]
Except that’s an impossibility. SARS-CoV-2 is an endemic virus. It will never be eliminated. It will never be stopped. Infection cannot be avoided. Vaccinations don’t prevent it, masks surely are ineffective, and any public interaction may result in an infection.
There simply is no way to prevent infection, which is why some countries have now reported that roughly 70% of their population, even with masking and vaccination, have tested positive. Telling those at risk to try to avoid infection is irresponsible and inaccurate. So why is this coming from the NIH?
Sure enough, these researchers also accidentally made the case for natural immunity. When studying the nonexistent phenomenon of “long Covid,” they found that those who had typical, longer-lasting effects from viral infections had bigger reactions after their first infection.
“Scientists also discovered that regardless of the variant, long Covid cases were more likely to occur after a first infection compared to a reinfection,” the study says.
Why is that? Because of natural immunity.
Under Anthony Fauci, they spent years downplaying it. They continue to undermine it in 2024. But the reality and the science continue to prove that natural immunity is protective and durable, and this is especially true for those in good health and younger age groups. Imagine if government agencies had been willing to admit this in 2020 instead of pointlessly locking down all of society in order to somehow prevent a virus that cannot be prevented.
That would have been the correct evaluation and communication.
But since when have government agencies handled a single aspect of Covid correctly?
* * *
Republished from the author’s Substack
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 22:20 - "We Don't Live In Dictatorship": Black Lives Matter Blasts Democrats For 'Anointing' Harris Without Vote
“We Don’t Live In Dictatorship”: Black Lives Matter Blasts Democrats For ‘Anointing’ Harris Without Vote
The radical left-wing Black Lives Matter group demanded on Tuesday that the Democratic National Committee host an informal, virtual snap primary across the country ahead of the DNC convention in August because the installation of Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee, without any public voting process threatens “the integrity of our democracy and the voices of Black voters.”
“The current political landscape is unprecedented, with President Biden stepping aside in a manner never seen before,” BLM wrote in a statement, explaining how the “Democratic Party elites and billionaire donors are attempting to manipulate Black voters by anointing Kamala Harris and an unknown vice president as the new Democratic ticket without a primary vote by the public.”
On Sunday, President Biden announced he would be exiting the presidential race and endorsed VP Harris to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket to face former President Trump in the November presidential elections. Democrats have hemorrhaged all other talking points, such as the miracles of ‘Bidenomics,’ and resorted to this race is all about ‘defending democracy.’
Notice how Trump’s rising election odds via PredictIt data prompted an immediate response from leftist corporate media outlets, resulting in a surge of articles about how Democrats were “defending democracy” from Trump.
Meanwhile, BLM articulated very strongly that picking Harris without a public vote is a “blatant disregard for democratic principles” and “unacceptable.”
“We have no idea where Kamala Harris stands on the issues, now that she has assumed Joe Biden’s place, and we have no idea of the record of her potential vice president because we don’t even know who it is yet,” the leftist group said.
BLM emphasized:
“We do not live in a dictatorship. Delegates are not oligarchs. Any attempt to evade or override the will of voters in our primary system—no matter how historic the candidate—must be condemned. We demand an informal, virtual snap primary now that the incumbent president is no longer in the running.”
It gets better…
“For the past few years, the Democratic Party has proclaimed that “democracy is on the ballot” in an effort to persuade Black voters to participate in the upcoming general election. They have presented this as the most serious election for democracy in our lifetimes. However, democracy isn’t just an ideal to be protected against Republicans; it must also be safeguarded from erosions within the Democratic Party.”
And better.
“Installing Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee and an unknown vice president without any public voting process would make the modern Democratic Party a party of hypocrites.”
Again, better.
“Imagine our first Black woman president not having won some sort of public nomination process. The pundits would immediately label it as affirmative action or a DEI move, and any progress made by a President Harris would be on shaky foundations. If Kamala Harris is to be the nominee, it must be through a process that upholds democratic principles and public participation.”
Shalomyah Bowers, one of BLM’s leaders, said:
“This is about the nominating process. Those of us who care about the principles of democracy cannot be serious about installing Kamala Harris and an unknown vice president as the Democratic nominee without any semblance of a people-powered process. Not delegates and party elites, but actually asking communities across the country if they believe this should be the democratic ticket. Anything less is unserious in the quest for democracy. Democracies are stronger when political parties operate with primary systems that allow for genuine participation.”
Oh, the irony: the Democratic Party, once the champion of voter rights and freedom of speech, now finds itself accused of voter suppression and disenfranchisement. Like BLM said, “Democratic Party elites and billionaire donors”…
Soros.
Are attempting to install Harris, all in the name of “saving democracy” against Trump. Yet, in doing so, they undermine the principles they claim to protect.
Here is what X users are saying about this:
Glad to see y’all actually being on the right side
The system removed Joe and installed Kamala and left voters out of the decision
— Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) July 23, 2024
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Woke eats their own. I love it. I agree, Biden is the nominee.
— Valentina Gomez (@ValentinaForSOS) July 23, 2024
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Wow BLM on the right side of history.. thats something i thought id never say
— aka (@akafacehots) July 23, 2024
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They should call it the Undemocratic Party from now on
— Beff – e/acc (@BasedBeffJezos) July 24, 2024
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I never thought I’d say this, but good on them. They’re absolutely right.
— Mediocre Thoughts (@EarwQrm) July 23, 2024
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Dude.. did they forget they’re a bunch or Marxists at BLM? I mean, I’m having a hard time disagreeing with them here!
— Joe Pags Pagliarulo (@JoeTalkShow) July 24, 2024
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Let’s not forget.
You’ve been getting played. pic.twitter.com/3HvkBfagp8
— Starving Artist (@Starvin38883324) July 24, 2024
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Jamaican-born father and an Indian-born mother.
The only Black DNA in Kamala was from Willie Brown. pic.twitter.com/kWt1OOigTr— Thomas Barrett (@barretto724) July 23, 2024
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This is entertainment indeed.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 22:00 - California's Danger Zones: 5 Counties With Highest Homicide Rates
California’s Danger Zones: 5 Counties With Highest Homicide Rates
Authored by Sophie Li via The Epoch Times,
Alameda County, home to Oakland, ranked No. 1 in homicides in the state per capita in 2023, according to a report released earlier this month, by the California Attorney General’s office.
Meanwhile, Merced County – in the central region of the state – which topped the list in 2022, showed a sharp decrease in homicides and fell out of the state’s top five.
Los Angeles County, despite accounting for more than one-third of homicides in the state, also was not on the top five list.
Statewide, 1,892 homicide cases were reported in 2023 – a nearly 16 percent decrease compared to 2022. This is the first time the number of homicides has dropped below 2,000 since 2020.
1. Alameda County, Pop. 1.63 Million
The county just north of San Jose topped the list with a murder rate of 10 per 100,000 residents, totaling 165 cases in 2023.
The number is an 11 percent increase over a five-year period and a 3 percent rise from 2022.
A majority of murders occurred in Oakland, with 126 deaths reported by the Oakland Police Department––representing a homicide rate of 27.6 per 100,000 persons.
2. San Joaquin County, Pop. 793,220
Just east of Alameda County, San Joaquin County ranked second in the state with a homicide rate of 9.6 per 100,000 residents, totaling 75 cases last year.
Over a 10-year period covered in the report, the county has consistently been one of the “deadliest” regions in the state, with a homicide rate significantly higher than the state average each year. Additionally, the county has ranked highest in violent crime in recent years.
3. Tulare County, Pop. 477,544
Named after Tulare Lake, this growing county has also seen a rise in its homicide rate in recent years.
With 43 murders in 2023, the county ranked third in the state in 2023 with a murder rate of 9.1 per 100,000 residents. The number has grown by 117 percent since 2019.
4. Kern County, Pop. 916,108; Kings County, Pop. 152,981
Tied for fourth were Kern and Kings counties, both with a murder rate of 7.9 per 100,000 residents.
Largely different in population, the two counties also show varying trends in homicide throughout the years.
Kern County, which spans the southern end of the Central Valley, has seen a downward trend for the past two years, after hitting a rate of 13.7 per 100,000 residents in 2021.
Conversely, the rate for Kings County, located to the northwest of Kern County, has fluctuated due to its smaller population, but has been on the higher end in the state since 2020.
5. Madera County, Pop. 160,256
In 2023, the rural county—located at the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park—reported 12 homicides, resulting in a murder rate of 7.6 per 100,000 residents. The data also indicated an increase in such crimes over the past three years, though the rate remained below the state average in both 2021 and 2022.
Notable Mention: Los Angeles County
Although not among the top 5 “deadliest” counties in the state, L.A. County accounted for more than one-third of the state’s total homicides in 2023, with 683 cases reported.
With more than 9.7 million residents—the most populous county in the nation—the rate translates to a murder rate of 7 per 100,000 residents.
Such is a 7.6 percent decrease compared to 2022, and a nearly 19 percent decrease compared to 2021.
Additionally, when compared with data from the Los Angeles Police Department’s from January, nearly half of the county’s murder cases, according to the report, occurred in the City of Los Angeles, which had 327 homicides and a rate of 8.4 per 100,000 residents in the city of about 4 million people.
Killed by Acquaintance
The report additionally showed that 48.7 percent of the 2023 murders were committed by friends or acquaintances; 30 percent by strangers; and nearly 15 percent by family members.
Additionally, 80 percent of the victims were male, and 20 percent female.
Nearly half of the victims were Hispanic, 27 percent were black, and 17 percent were white.
Nationwide Comparison
Data also showed California’s largest cities have a much lower homicide rate compared with other major cities across the nation.
In 2023, Washington D.C. reported a murder rate of 39.7 per 100,000 residents; Philadelphia, 23.9, Chicago, 22.5; and Dallas, 18.9—according to a 2023 crime report by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 21:40 - A Harris Presidency Would Be The Final Death Blow To US Border Security
A Harris Presidency Would Be The Final Death Blow To US Border Security
During the first three years of Joe Biden’s presidency one issue was dodged and deflected more than any other – Illegal immigration and the unprotected southern border. While the stagflation crisis remains at the top of the list of greatest concerns among the majority of Americans, almost every poll of non-economic problems puts immigration at forefront of people’s minds.
The two things are indelibly linked: Mass illegal immigration helps to feed the fires of economic crisis and inflation. When your house is in economic decline the last thing you want to do is invite millions of unskilled freeloading migrants into your living room to sleep on your couch and eat from your fridge.
Biden (along with the establishment media) spent an incredible amount of energy and resources denying and hiding the reality of the border situation. When El Paso, TX was overrun with tens of thousands of illegals and the story could not be suppressed, conservatives demanded that Biden or Kamala Harris visit the region and see the danger for themselves. Initially, they refused.
When Biden did finally fly to El Paso the city had been sterilized of all migrants and ironically, a border wall had been erected using storage containers and barbed wire guarded by armed soldiers. Biden then enjoyed a quick photo op with border patrol agents and pretended as if there was never a problem.
During this period Harris was responsible for border related policy and PR. She was often referred to as the “Border Czar” but today Democrats deny this was her position. Harris had essentially taken over all public and media engagement on the border crisis, but this is a role Democrats would now prefer to diminish as she runs for president.
One would think her first task would be to travel to the US/Mexico border and speak with locals and border agents about how to better secure ports of entry. Points of invasion should have been addressed and the incentives motivating illegals to come to the US should have been examined. This didn’t happen, ostensibly because doing so would be an admission that there was indeed a crisis in progress.
Instead, Harris traveled to Central American countries and launched her “Central America Forward” initiative. She argued:
“Most people don’t want to leave home, and when they do it is for one of two reasons: because they are fleeing some harm, or because to stay at home means they cannot satisfy the basic needs of their family…We have the capacity to give people hope and the belief that help is on the way.”
Her office said US investment would create more than 70,000 jobs and provide internet access for more than 4.5 million people. In other words, her solution was to give away even more American taxpayer dollars to pay off possible migrants before they come to the border.
The program ignored the greater issue of welfare subsidies and housing subsidies offered to “asylum seekers” as well as the 2-year-long waiting list for immigration courts to even address new asylum cases. During that time, illegals have been allowed to stay in the US and enjoy numerous handouts. Over 60% of non-citizen households access US welfare programs that they rarely pay into.
Biden and Harris fought for the end of Title 42, the Trump order that stopped migrants from living in the US while their asylum cases were processed. They also tried to sabotage Governor Greg Abbott’s efforts to defend the Texas Border by creating a razor wire barrier. Abbott has already put a dramatic dent in illegal crossing in the past year (a drop of 74%), and he promised to triple his razor wire projects should Kamala Harris become president.
In a 2019 interview with National Public Radio, Harris suggested as president she would declare all illegal border-crossers refugees despite unconfirmed claims, even if that meant ignoring the law. She argued:
“I disagree with any policy that would turn America’s back on people who are fleeing harm. I frankly believe that it is contrary to everything that we have symbolically and actually said we stand for. And so, I would not enforce a law that would reject people and turn them away without giving them a fair and due process to determine if we should give them asylum and refuge.”
Harris also insinuated that ICE agents were a symbol of racism, stating in a Senate confirmation hearing for Trump nominee Ronald Vitiello that:
“Certain communities saw ICE as comparable to the Ku Klux Klan for administering its power in a way that is causing fear and intimidation, particularly among immigrants and specifically among immigrants coming from Mexico and Central America…”
Harris visited the border just once as Vice President, traveling to El Paso after immense public pressure. Her plan to control mass immigration by “going to the source” and paying migrants to stay home failed. Illegal crossings continued to skyrocket.
Putting a stop to the border surge would require threatening Central American nations with economic retaliation should they continue to allow migrant caravans to cross their lands and travel to the US. It would require a complete moratorium on asylum applications and an end to welfare subsidies. Finally, illegals would have to be deported in large numbers in order to send a message that coming to America without going through proper channels is a waste of time and energy.
Harris will do none of these things. In fact, her history shows that as president she will do the opposite and likely surpass Biden in border degradation. Where Biden tried to hide his open border agenda from the public, Harris will be brazen and unapologetic. She will gaslight the public and suggest the crisis is actually to their benefit. She will rationalize open borders as a humanitarian necessity.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 21:20 - Net-Zero Targets Could Double Yearly Copper Demand By 2035
Net-Zero Targets Could Double Yearly Copper Demand By 2035
Authored by Sohrab Darabshaw via Metal Miner,
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The global demand for copper is projected to increase by 40% by 2040, driven by the adoption of green technologies.
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Vedanta Resources has regained control of the Konkola Copper Mines, a major high-grade copper deposit in Zambia.
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The Cobre Panama mine closure and reduced output from Chinese smelters have contributed to concerns about a potential copper shortage.
By now, the world knows that although the current global copper reserves are sufficient to meet demand, extraction continues to lag behind consumption.
As a result, many inside and outside the copper market fear there will be a shortage in the coming years.
Predictions say that the annual global demand for copper will increase by about 40% by 2040.
There are multiple factors fueling this expected growth, including the global move toward renewable energy and sustainable transportation.
Given this current environment, any developments around copper and its mining remain guaranteed to hit the headlines.
Reclaiming an Essential Asset in the Copper Market
Analysts watched from the sidelines for months as the Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources Holdings Limited tried to regain control of the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Zambia, Africa. That was before news arrived earlier this week that the global conglomerate had fulfilled its commitment under the “KCM scheme” of arrangement through a payment of U.S. $245.75 million.
With this move, the copper market could see the immediate reinstatement of KCM’s Board of Directors and the restoration of full management control to Vedanta. This critical step is necessary for Vedanta to boost production and fully unlock KCM’s potential.
KCM boasts copper grades over 2.4%, placing it among the world’s largest high-grade copper deposits. Moreover, the mine also has about 400 kt of contained cobalt reserves and resources, meaning KCM can become a top cobalt producer. As per media reports, Vedanta hopes to push copper production at KCM to 300 ktpa and hike cobalt production from 1 ktpa to 6 ktpa through enhanced production capabilities.
Global Copper Supply Remains in Doubt
Vedanta spent the past five years actively pushing to take full management control of the KCM mine. However, the Zambian Government forced the copper mine into liquidation in 2019 after President Edgar Lungu accused it of failing to increase copper production.
Commenting on the development to LiveMint, Chairman of Vedanta Group Anil Aggarwal said copper was the metal of the future. According to him, the Government of India wanted to secure a copper supply line for its own internal consumption. Incidentally, India has significantly limited domestic production, making it dependent on imports. According to a report by India’s Commerce Ministry, India imported copper plus copper articles worth $12 million in FY23 alone.
One significant event that impacted copper market dynamics was the closure of the Cobre Panama mine, a major global copper source. This closure altered market expectations from a surplus to a deficit, thus driving copper prices higher.
Green Tech Continues to Fuel Copper Demand Predictions
Moreover, Chinese smelters decided to reduce output back in March due to a concentrate shortage, further increasing prices. Because of the feared upcoming shortage, copper miners globally foresee closer collaboration with end users, ranging from carmakers to utilities, which could help transform a previously fragmented supply chain.
According to this report, the change mainly revolves around copper’s importance in green technologies, which will likely only increase in the coming years. In fact, there’s an emerging trend involving some mining companies trying to sign direct deals with cable manufacturers, automotive companies, etc. in order to secure a steady supply of copper at an affordable price.
It may eventually come down to a situation in which anyone using copper for any purpose, be it vehicles, green energy, or charging stations, will have to understand and plan how to lay their hands on the amount of copper they require every year.
Analysts believe that to get anywhere near net-zero targets by 2035, yearly copper demand may double to 50 MMT. Even conservative estimates predict a one-third increase in demand over the next decade, fueled by significant investments in decarbonization initiatives from both the public and private sectors. This will significantly strain copper markets in both the short and long term.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 21:00 -
- The Cost Of A Hoax
The Cost Of A Hoax
Authored by Wendy McElroy via The Mises Institute,
The scandal surrounding Canada’s Kamloops Indian Residential School (1890-1969, British Columbia) is an ultracautionary tale about the damage inflicted by self-interested politicians and activists, backed by a media that toes the line. The 2021 scandal sprang from the alleged discovery of 215 graves of indigenous children. They were said to have died under suspicious circumstances at the Catholic-run school and then buried in unmarked graves behind the facility. Kamloops was one of the largest schools in the residential system through which indigenous children were culturally deprogrammed and indoctrinated to mold them into “proper” Canadians.
When the story broke, the press fell over itself in a race to sensationalism. CBC News on May 28 declared, “Remains of 215 children found buried at former B.C. residential school, First Nation says.” The Toronto Star announced on May 28, “The remains of 215 children have been found. Now, Indigenous leaders say, Canada must help find the rest of the unmarked graves.” The international press jumped on the speeding news train with their own headlines, such as “‘Horrible History’: Mass Grave of Indigenous Children Reported in Canada’” from The New York Times on May 31.
Actually, no graves had been discovered; their existence was extrapolated from “anomalies” in the earth found by ground-penetrating radar. Such anomalies are commonplace, however, and usually indicate a tree root, a large rock, or some other innocuous presence. Today, after three years and almost $8 million of publicly unaccountable funds being expended, no graves have been found. No one has bothered to even start the digging necessary to verify anything.
Evidence is optional in the court of opinion
The world was ready to believe without evidence. The residential school system was a horrific page of Canadian history and an act of cultural assault, if not cultural genocide. Perhaps this history lent an automatic credibility to the accusations that many students died prematurely and were buried anonymously as a cover-up or out of callousness.
The fallout from these accusations was stunning. Canada was internationally smeared as a genocidal nation; the United Nations called for prompt action on a massive “human rights violation”; the Pope apologized; dozens of Catholic Churches in Canada were burned down in retaliation; the 2021 Canada Day celebrations were canceled in national shame, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau taking a knee to indigenous people. Subsequent government funds were pledged, including $3.1 million for a National Residential School Student Death Register and $238.8 million for a Residential Schools Missing Children Community Support Fund. Other governments followed suit. For example, the government of Ontario pledged $10 million to search for unmarked graves at residential schools in this province.
Eventually, academics and journalists began to ask for evidence. In a 2022 New York Post article entitled “Biggest fake news story in Canada: Kamloops mass grave debunked by academics,” Professor Jacques Rouillard of the Department of History at Université de Montréal expressed an increasingly common concern. “Not one body has been found. After … months of recrimination and denunciation, where are the remains of the children buried at the Kamloops Indian Residential School?” And why hadn’t a single missing person’s report on them been found?
Almost alone among prominent Canadian media, the National Post ran a series of articles that showed cracks in what had become an almost sacred narrative about Kamloops. A Sept. 6, 2023, headline asked, “Who started calling residential school burial sites mass graves? At least in the beginning, First Nations didn’t claim there were deliberately hidden ‘mass graves.’ Media and activists did.” A May 30, 2024, article concluded, “Canada slowly acknowledging there never was a ‘mass grave’. There was much that was dark about residential schools, but no graves have been confirmed at Kamloops to this day.” In late 2023, the anthology “Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools)” appeared.
In response to a growing backlash, the special interlocutor assigned to the Kamloops criminal case asked Parliament to make “denialism” of this matter illegal under the criminal code. Those who expressed public skepticism would be vulnerable to prosecution for a hate crime in much the same manner as those who denied the Holocaust. Under section 319 of the criminal code, the willful promotion of antisemitism, unless in a private conversation, could lead to up to two years in prison. This includes “condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust.” Discussions of Kamloops would receive the same treatment. On Nov. 26, 2023, the Canadian Press reported that Justice Minister Arif Virani was still considering how to criminalize residential school denialism. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed sympathy for the idea.
Making the open discussion of a news story into an illegal act obviously guts freedom of speech and journalism. The government wants to control both the information we can hear and our judgment of its worth. This is nothing new, and it is well-explored ground.
But lesser-discussed damages inflicted by the handling of Kamloops are important and common to many cover-ups.
Every day that passes without exhumations casts more doubt about the validity of the Kamloops story. If the narrative is true, then refusing to confirm it is an outrageous offense against the indigenous children lying in these graves. If false, then it is an outrageous offense against any indigenous person who reports a true atrocity in the future and is received with greater skepticism due to Kamloops. If false, then Kamloops also provides shade for real genocides around the globe. The CBC reported on June 22, 2021, “On the same day Canada helped to launch an international effort at the United Nations to demand that China allow free access to Xinjiang to investigate reported human rights violations, China and its allies have called on the UN to investigate crimes against Indigenous people in Canada.” When genocide becomes a game of political chess, it loses its connection to truth or justice.
The politicization of Kamloops also prevents genuine healing for those involved because healing rests on understanding, not lies. As it stands, there is deepening antipathy on the part of the main parties: the white Christians accused and the indigenous people. Since May 2021, at least 33 Catholic Churches have burned to the ground, with 24 being confirmed as arsons.The Catholic Register on June 5, 2024, noted, “Over 100 Canadian Christian churches have been vandalized, damaged by fire or outright burned to the ground since the Kamloops’ claim first came to light.” (A map of vandalized or destroyed churches is here, valid as of February 2024.) To some, it feels like open war has been declared on Christianity, especially Catholicism.
For their part, how can indigenous people join hands with white Christians when the latter are portrayed as the murderers of their children who bury the evidence in unmarked graves? The residential system has ceased to be the historical shame it truly is and has become, instead, a multigenerational burden of guilt that stretches forward forever.
It does not have to be this way. The continuing turmoil is created by those to whom it brings power and money. The Epoch Times is correct in stating, “It’s absurd that people can claim a site contains the bodies of hundreds of murdered children yet refuse to allow further investigation into the issue. Only when we have confirmed what did or didn’t happen in Canadian residential schools will we be able to close the door on that chapter of our national history. Until there are excavations at the Kamloops site, the myths will continue to be spun and national healing won’t happen.” In the most literal sense, it is time to start digging for the truth.
This is unlikely to happen. For one thing, in his 2021 federal election campaign, Trudeau leaned heavily on the promise to right the wrongs done against indigenous Canadians. For another thing, the federal government owns much of the mainstream media. Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa explained the government’s system of financially “supporting” the media:
“While the current system covers 25% of the journalist costs up to $55,000 per employee (or $13,750), the government’s fall economic statement increases both the percentage covered and cap per employee. Under the new system, which is retroactive to the start of this year [2023], Qualified Canadian Journalism Organizations (which covers print and digital but not broadcasters) can now claim 35% of the costs of journalist expenditures up to $85,000 per employee. It increases the support to up to $29,750 per employee or an increase of 116%. This new support will run for four years at a cost of $129 million ($60 million this year alone).”
Thus, in a literal sense, the federal government owns much of the mainstream media, at least in terms of paying their salaries.
This is yet another cost of perpetuating an official narrative without evidence. Dismantling freedom of the press is a prerequisite to establishing the politically sacred version of an event, such as the discovery of 215 bodies of indigenous children. If the bodies exist, they will probably never be exhumed and given a proper burial. There is no political advantage in doing so.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 20:20 - Watch: President Biden Hails "Capable" Kamala In Resignation Speech Decrying "Tyrants & Dictators"
Watch: President Biden Hails “Capable” Kamala In Resignation Speech Decrying “Tyrants & Dictators”
Update (2020ET): To be frank, he didn’t sound great at all. Speaking quietly in his new ‘hoarse’ voice, President Biden did not use the word “Hitler” or explain why he is actually resigning from the race (aside from his usual platitudes), but there was still plenty of division and fearmongering for everyone if you don’t vote the ‘right’ way.
He began:
“My fellow Americans:
It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your President.
I draw strength and find joy in working for the people.
But this sacred task of perfecting our Union is not about me. It’s about you. Your families. Your futures.
It’s about “We the People.””
He continued to explain that he quit “for party unity.”
“Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy.
And that includes personal ambition.
So I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.
That is the best way to unite our nation.”
Then the division and warnings started:
America is at an inflection point.
We must choose between moving forward or backward.
Between hope and hate.
Between unity and division.We have to decide: Do we still believe in honesty, decency, and respect?
Freedom, justice, and democracy?
“The sacred cause of our country is larger than any one of us,” he whispered on, adding that “those of us who cherish that cause – the cause of American democracy itself – must unite to protect it.”
“In just a few months, the American people will choose the course of America’s future. I made my choice.”
Watch the full brief remarks here and let us know what you thought:
President Joe Biden will (allegedly or it could be a ‘cheap fake’) appear on camera from the Oval Office on July 24 for the first time since ending his candidacy and a week after testing positive for COVID-19.
“Tomorrow evening at 8 PM ET, I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people,” he said in a post on X.
The president has been out of the public eye since testing positive for COVID-19 on July 17 while campaigning in Las Vegas.
President Biden canceled his remaining events and has since self-isolated in his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
President Biden spoke with reporters after exiting Air Force One in his return to the White House on Tuesday.
“Watch and listen. Why don’t you wait and hear what I say?” he said when asked what his message will be during his speech on Wednesday night, his first on-camera appearance since contracting COVID-19 on July 17.
A reporter asked President Biden why he dropped out of the election. He turned his head to the reporter and laughed before walking to his motorcade.
His ever-willing accomplice, KJP, just expressly told the White House Press Corps that the President continues to believe that he can serve four more years and did not withdraw due to his diminished state.
“It has nothing to do with his health.”
So, as Jonathan Turley wrote on X:
“he ran out the primaries and then decided that the party would swap out presidential candidates at the convention for political reasons. This was after the Democratic establishment fought against anyone running against him or holding any debates…
…The question is whether, in light of the decision to withdraw after the primaries, the President will agree to submit to neurological and cognitive tests in light of calls for the 25th Amendment process to start.”
Watch President Biden cough, stumble, stammer, yell, and whisper-mode through his explanation for why he dropped out but is perfectly healthy otherwise… (due to start at 2000ET)…
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 19:55 - Pentagon's New Arctic Strategy Aims To Counter China–Russia Partnership
Pentagon’s New Arctic Strategy Aims To Counter China–Russia Partnership
Authored by Andrew Thornebrooke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Pentagon leadership is unveiling its latest strategy for the Arctic region as competition for geopolitical advantage heats up with China and Russia.
The Russian “50 Years of Victory” nuclear-powered icebreaker is seen at the North Pole on Aug. 18, 2021. (Ekaterina Anisimova/AFP via Getty Images) The strategy takes aim at the increasing militarization of the region by Beijing and Moscow amid an expanding race for natural resources.
“The Arctic is strategically vital to U.S. security,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks told reporters during a July 22 briefing.
Ms. Hicks added that it’s imperative to national security that the United States ensure the Arctic “remains a secure and stable region” in the face of increasing aggression by the Chinese regime and Russia throughout the world.
The strategy directs the U.S. military to adopt a “monitor and respond approach” while “exercising [a] calibrated presence” in the region by coordinating with Arctic allies on issues pertaining to strategy, training, and equipment.
Ms. Hicks described the strategy as part of a “whole of government” effort to round out U.S. deterrence and readiness in the Arctic through regular training and exercises with allies, as well as investments in new systems, space capabilities, and cold weather gear.
Among the efforts outlined is a directive to modernize the North American Aerospace Defense Command, through which the United States and Canada respond to emergent threats in North American airspace.
The strategy is the Pentagon’s first since 2019 and follows the Biden administration’s National Arctic Strategy unveiled in 2022. It further outlines the U.S. objective to maintain an Arctic that is “peaceful, stable, prosperous, and cooperative,” while confronting communist China’s “pacing challenge” in the region.
The Arctic houses vast reserves of natural resources, including oil, natural gas, rare earth metals, diamonds, and pristine fishing grounds. For the last decade, the Chinese regime has increased its efforts to project power into the region, in part to seize those resources for itself.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, declared China a “near-Arctic state” in 2012, although its nearest territory is some 900 miles away.
The Chinese regime has more than doubled its investment into Arctic projects since then and is focused on pursuing mineral extraction and scientific engagements, which could help to improve its military capabilities.
China also is attempting to build out a new economic corridor through the region. The so-called Polar Silk Road would link Asia and Europe by traversing the opening waterways of the Arctic along Russia’s northern coast rather than going through the more densely patrolled Indo-Pacific.
The subsequent flow of commercial, scientific, and military vessels into the region has increased, altering a geographic and strategic reality that had long seen little disturbance.
“We’ve seen an uptick in their [China and Russia’s] cooperation over the last several years,” Deputy Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience Iris Ferguson said.
“We’ve also seen military exercises … off the coast of Alaska.”
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks addresses the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington on July 9, 2024. (Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images) Ms. Hicks described China and Russia’s continued strategic cooperation as “concerning” and said it’s likely China’s scientific research in the Arctic that would have military applications.
“We always have concerns that there’s a military aspect to that,” she said.
“It is imperative that the joint force is equipped and trained with what they need to succeed in the Arctic.”
As such, Ms. Hicks said that the United States is investing in cold weather equipment just as it had previously invested in specialized gear for deployments in the Middle East.
Foremost among those investments is the development and deployment of polar icebreaker ships, which are required to break through the softening ice of Arctic trade routes in the summer months.
At present, the United States has just two diesel icebreakers, both of which are nearing the end of their life. Likewise, U.S. ally Finland maintains 12, and Canada maintains nine.
Russia, meanwhile, boasts some 30 diesel-powered and seven nuclear-powered icebreakers.
The White House announced earlier this month that the United States would work with Canada and Finland to jointly build up their icebreaker fleets as they look to bolster their defenses in the Arctic.
The Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact) will facilitate collaboration in producing polar icebreakers and enhance information sharing on related issues. It also will allow workers and experts from each country to train in shipyards across all three.
Ms. Hicks described the ICE Pact as “yet another example of the type of cooperation that we can leverage.”
“It’s about making sure we’re ready to execute missions there,” she said.
Likewise, Ms. Ferguson said, “This is the type of cooperation we should be leaning into more.”
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 19:40 - Elon Musk Says Report Of $45 Million Monthly Donation To Pro-Trump Super PAC Was "Made Up Fiction By WSJ"
Elon Musk Says Report Of $45 Million Monthly Donation To Pro-Trump Super PAC Was “Made Up Fiction By WSJ”
Elon Musk was spotted Wednesday in the US Capitol Building ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to lawmakers as the war in Gaza continues into its ninth month.
A reporter asked Musk, “Are you still going to donate to Trump? Are you still donating $45 million?”
Musk replied, “At no point did I say that I was donating $45 million a month for Trump. That was a fiction made up by the Wall Street Journal.”
Footage of the interaction between the reporter and Musk was posted on X by Collin Rugg.
NEW: Elon Musk blasts the Wall Street Journal, says he never said he was donating $45 million a month to Donald Trump.
Reporter: “Are you still gonna donate to Trump? Are you still donating $45 million?”
Musk: “At no point did I say that I was donating $45 million a month for… pic.twitter.com/6PCTwiJCm7
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 24, 2024
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On July 16, The Wall Street Journal reported that “people familiar with the matter” said Musk committed $45 million monthly to a new super political-action committee supporting the former president.
Earlier this week, in an interview with Jordan Peterson, the billionaire said, “What’s been reported in the media is simply not true. I am not donating $45 million a month to Trump.”
Elon Musk confirms that he created the America PAC.
But he says that the idea that he is not putting $45 million a month into the group.
“What’s been reported in the media is simply not true. I am not donating $45 million a month to Trump.”pic.twitter.com/V8we3Iqbwb
— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) July 22, 2024
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Musk has often criticized mainstream corporate media for inaccurate reporting.
🚨 Elon Musk gets a question from a Business Insider ‘Reporter’ ie. Activist
Before ‘reporter’ could finish speaking Elon launches a NUKE@elonmusk: “I don’t thing Business Insider is a real publication. Next question”
Room ERUPTS 👏🏼
How you do it…pic.twitter.com/Tq5fjyCxKf
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 23, 2024
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He has called out Reuters and Business Insider.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 19:20 - Russia Could Ban Diesel Exports Again
Russia Could Ban Diesel Exports Again
Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via Oilprice.com,
Russia is considering banning the export of diesel if prices rise further, Russian daily Kommersant reported on Wednesday, citing several sources.
The Russian government could ban diesel exports if prices spike in the near term, but no decision has been made yet, according to Kommersant’s sources.
There are no conditions for a complete ban on diesel shipments abroad yet, a source at a local oil company told the Russian daily.
The government is restoring a ban on gasoline exports from August 1.
In the autumn of 2023, Russia banned exports of diesel and gasoline in an effort to stabilize domestic fuel prices in the face of soaring prices and shortages as crude oil rallied and the Russian ruble weakened.
Prior to implementing the ban, Russia had raised mandatory supply volumes for motor gasoline and diesel fuel to deal with a supply crunch.
These bans lasted only a few weeks.
This year, Russia reinstated a ban on gasoline shipments from March 1 but lifted the restriction on May 20 as more refineries completed planned seasonal maintenance or emergency repairs after Ukrainian drone hits in the winter and early spring.
At the end of March, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the government doesn’t plan to ban diesel exports again.
At the time the supply and prices of diesel were stable.
However, diesel demand and prices have increased in recent weeks, and, according to Kommersant’s sources, the government could reinstate a ban on exports if prices continue to rise.
In terms of gasoline exports, a ban will be renewed on August 1, Novak said earlier this week.
“We have the embargo approved until September 1. An exception has been currently made for the month of July. The exception ends from August 1. The tacit ban on exports of petroleum products and gasoline will be restored. In other words, the ban will be reenacted from August 1,” Russian news agency TASS quoted Novak as saying.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 19:00 - The Hubris Of Central Planning: A Lesson From Jim Grant
The Hubris Of Central Planning: A Lesson From Jim Grant
In the latest episode of the Money Metals Midweek Memo, host Mike Maharrey delved into the perils of central planning and the inherent limitations of human knowledge, drawing on insights from economist Friedrich Hayek and financial expert Jim Grant.
The episode offered a critical examination of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and its implications for the economy.
Planning in Uncertainty
Maharrey began with personal anecdotes to illustrate the unpredictability of life. He shared stories of a day disrupted by a flat tire and an unexpected plumbing issue during a home renovation, underscoring the theme that “you don’t know what you don’t know.” This unpredictability, he argued, is a fundamental flaw in central economic planning.
The Knowledge Problem
Maharrey referenced Friedrich Hayek’s seminal work, “The Use of Knowledge in Society,” to explain why central planning is doomed to fail. Hayek’s “knowledge problem” posits that no central planner can possess all the information necessary to make informed economic decisions. Hayek wrote, “The knowledge of the circumstances of which we must make use never exists in concentrated or integrated form but solely as the dispersed bits of incomplete and frequently contradictory knowledge which all the separate individuals possess.”
Jim Grant’s Critique of Central Planning
Maharrey highlighted an interview with Jim Grant on Fox Business, where Grant criticized the Federal Reserve’s approach to monetary policy.
Grant described central planning as “the ignorance that knows not it’s ignorant,” a phenomenon where policymakers fail to recognize the limits of their knowledge.
He stressed the importance of markets in discovering interest rates rather than having them imposed by central authorities.
Grant also pointed out the flaws in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate projections, noting that they are accurate only 38% of the time, which Maharrey compared to flipping a coin.
This statistic underscores the speculative nature of central banking decisions.
In the interview, Grant made a compelling point: “Assumptions are harmless as long as the assuming party doesn’t confuse them with foreknowledge.”
Historical Perspective
To provide context, Maharrey reflected on the contrasting attitudes of policymakers in 1953, the first year of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration. At that time, there was a commitment to balancing the budget and restoring the dollar to gold convertibility. Federal Reserve Chairman William McChesney Martin lauded the free market and emphasized that fixed interest rates and economic dysfunction were not part of American institutions.
In contrast, today’s Federal Reserve is deeply involved in manipulating markets and interest rates. Maharrey pointed out that despite their confidence, central planners are inevitably blind to the full consequences of their actions, leading to economic dysfunction.
“The future is a phenomenon both strange and wondrous though it doesn’t exist unless we reckon with it,” Grant remarked, highlighting the unpredictability of economic outcomes.
The Current Economic Climate
Maharrey criticized the current mindset that the Federal Reserve has everything under control, attributing the stock market’s highs to easy money policies rather than effective economic governance. He argued that the apparent stability over the past two decades has given people a false sense of security, ignoring the underlying issues that could lead to future economic crises.
Maharrey expressed significant skepticism about Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve’s ability to manage the economy effectively. He argued that central planners, including Powell, are often overly confident in their ability to predict and control economic outcomes, despite lacking the necessary comprehensive knowledge.
Maharrey emphasized that “they don’t know what they don’t know,” highlighting the inherent unpredictability and complexity of economic systems.
He pointed out that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate projections are only accurate 38% of the time, suggesting that their decisions are more speculative than scientific. Maharrey was critical of the Fed’s past and current policies, including the handling of the 2008 financial crisis and the response to the pandemic, which he believes have led to long-term economic instability.
Maharrey also criticized the mainstream investment world for treating Fed officials like “demigods handing down wisdom from on high,” despite their frequent inaccuracies and failures. He argued that the Fed’s current monetary policies, including interest rate manipulation, are based on hubris and a false sense of certainty, leading to potential future economic crises.
The Importance of Humility
Maharrey echoed Grant’s advice for investors and policymakers to approach their predictions with humility. Grant reminded us that the future is uncertain and that past successes do not guarantee future accuracy. Maharrey emphasized that understanding historical economic trends and fundamentals can help make more informed predictions, but one must always remain cautious and prepared for unexpected events.
“Hubris almost always gets you in trouble,” Maharrey warned, reflecting on Grant’s insights about exaggerated pride and self-confidence.
Preparing for Uncertainty
In conclusion, Maharrey stressed the importance of having a safe haven like gold and silver in one’s investment portfolio to hedge against economic uncertainty. He encouraged listeners to contact Money Metals Exchange to explore opportunities in precious metals, especially during periods of market volatility.
Final Thoughts
Maharrey wrapped up the episode by inviting listeners to stay informed through Money Metals’ various platforms and to tune in to their regular podcasts for more insights into the precious metals markets and economic trends. “Just because nothing bad has happened yet doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen,” Maharrey cautioned, urging a proactive approach to financial preparedness.
For more detailed insights, listeners are encouraged to visit the Money Metals website and subscribe to the updates and podcasts.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 18:20 - Ukraine Strongly Signals Willingness To Negotiate With Russia: China FM
Ukraine Strongly Signals Willingness To Negotiate With Russia: China FM
The Ukrainian government has been showing an increased willingness to get to the negotiating table to end the war, with the latest development being a trip by the country’s top diplomat to China to explore avenues forward. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, and communicated in a statement that “I am convinced that a just peace in Ukraine is in China’s strategic interests.”
“China’s role as a global force for peace is important,” he emphasized, while also stipulating that Kiev will only engage Moscow when Putin is “ready to negotiate in good faith.” However, he added that “No such readiness is currently observed on the Russian side.” This marks the first such trip of Ukraine’s foreign minister to China since the war began in February 2022.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Source: Xinhua Wang in a readout said that Russia and Ukraine had each “sent signals of their willingness to negotiate to varying degrees.”
From Ukraine’s perspective, China alone is a powerful enough external actor which possesses enough influence with Moscow to get it to end the invasion. For Beijing, this is an opportunity to show itself a crucial counterweight to the United States on the world stage in dealing with intractable conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement continued in follow-up to Wang’s comments, saying, “Of course, the negotiations should be rational and substantive, aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace.”
Wang had in the meeting warned the Ukrainian diplomat that there is the “risk of escalation and spillover” of the conflict, adding that “China believes that the resolution of all conflicts must eventually return to the negotiation table.”
Last week, President Zelensky issued a surprise reversal, saying that a second Ukraine peace summit should include Russian representation. “I believe that Russian representatives should be at the second summit,” Zelensky told a press conference in Kiev on July 15 while outlining preparatory work for another summit.
The first “Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock” in Switzerland in mid-June importantly did not have either Russian or Chinese participation. While Beijing had been invited, Russia was not, and the Chinese government cited this as a reason it found the whole endeavor futile.
China has been busy presenting itself as peacemaker while condemning ‘hegemonic’ Washington…
China 🇨🇳 just brokered a historic unity pledge with Palestinian leaders.
Ukraine is requesting China mediate peace with Russia.
China brokered peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
While the U.S. fuels genocide and endless war, China is showing its a peace making super power. pic.twitter.com/uHq4RJOJLO
— Danny Haiphong (@SpiritofHo) July 24, 2024
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In addition to China, the Vatican is also this week calling for some very real talk regarding the war. According to a readout from the Vatican as quoted in Russian media:
The Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, believes that the Ukrainian conflict is still far from being settled and that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s proposed peace formula is not sufficient, the Cardinal said on Wednesday in an interview with Italian daily Avvenire…
“It seems to me that we are still far away from the resolution [of the conflict],” he said. “We have President Zelensky’s peace proposal, which the Holy See supported immediately, particularly in the sphere of humanitarian issues.”
“It represents an attempt to find peace, although it has gaps in the sense of not involving Russia. This plan can help, but it is not sufficient,” he continued. “I hope other formulae can be found to pave the way for the talks.”
It remains that Kiev has been unwilling to budge on the idea of making territorial concessions. At the same time, Russia is unwilling to give up the four eastern territories it previously annexed, declaring them part of the Russian Federation after a referendum last year.
But this month has included a series of openings and unprecedented signaling coming from Kiev for the first time. This as both Ukraine is in a desperate situation on the battlefield and as it is bracing for a likely future Trump administration in the US.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 18:00 - The Dark Arts Exposed: Fear-Nudging
The Dark Arts Exposed: Fear-Nudging
During the COVID crisis, nudging emerged as one of the primary psyops tools used by globalists, governments, NGOs, and “security” (intelligence) forces against us ordinary folk.
Recently, a number of peer-reviewed papers have come to light, exposing just how pervasive and damaging the use of nudges was during COVID-19. They also reveal how nudging, including fear nudging, is being used to control individuals and populations on matters such as health, climate change, meat-eating, tobacco use, alcohol use, weight control, electoral candidates, political campaigns, and more.
The PsyWar Campaign continues to work to control our hearts and minds on all matters of statecraft.
For those that need reminding, nudging is a form of psychological manipulation that is often used in psyops and psywar campaigns.
A nudge is a technique for modifying people’s behavior in a predictable way by influencing people to behave in a desired outcome. Nudging is usually performed covertly, although that is not considered a criterion of the nudge. A nudge can be described as: “any aspects of the choice architecture that predictably alters people’s behavior without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives.”
Nudging alters the environment, triggering automatic cognitive processes to favor the desired outcome. Nudging makes it more likely that an individual will make a particular choice or behave in a particular way.
Fear nudging involves using nudges that utilize a fear component to drive behavior, opinions, or decision-making. While this is a particularly effective form of nudging, it is absolutely unethical, in my opinion and that of others.
The peer-reviewed papers below document just how effective the fear nudge has become and how globalists and governments alike routinely use this technique to control populations.
Abstract
Internet users are inundated with attempts to persuade, including digital nudges like defaults, friction, and reinforcement.
When these nudges fail to be transparent, optional, and beneficial, they can become ‘dark patterns’, categorised here under the acronym FORCES (Frame, Obstruct, Ruse, Compel, Entangle, Seduce).
Elsewhere, psychological principles like negativity bias, the curiosity gap, and fluency are exploited to make social content viral, while more covert tactics including astroturfing, meta-nudging, and inoculation are used to manufacture consensus.
The power of these techniques is set to increase in line with technological advances such as predictive algorithms, generative AI, and virtual reality.
Digital nudges can be used for altruistic purposes including protection against manipulation, but behavioural interventions have mixed effects at best.
Tactics of FORCES (Frame, Obstruct, Ruse, Compel, Entangle, Seduce), which are being used by governments, globalists, and NGOs to control populations.
The above graphics are from the paper listed below.
Abstract
Nudging, a controversial technique for modifying people’s behavior in a predictable way, is claimed to preserve freedom of choice while simultaneously influencing it.
Nudging had been largely confined to situations such as promoting healthy eating choices but has been employed in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis in a shift towards measures that involve significantly less choice, such as shoves and behavioral prods.
Shared decision making (SDM), a method for direct involvement and autonomy, is an alternative approach to communicate risk.
Predominantly peer-reviewed scientific publications from standard literature databases like PubMed, PsycInfo, and Psyndex were evaluated in a narrative review.
The so-called fear nudges, as well as the dissemination of strongly emotionalizing or moralizing messages can lead to intense psycho-physical stress.
The use of these nudges by specialized units during the COVID-19 pandemic generated a societal atmosphere of fear that precipitated a deterioration of the mental and physical health of the population.
Major recommendations of the German COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO) study, which are based on elements of nudging and coercive measures, do not comply with ethical principles, basic psychological principles, or evidence-based data.
(Shared decision-making) SDM was misused in the COVID-19 crisis, which helped to achieve one-sided goals of governments.
The emphasis on utilitarian thinking is criticized and the unethical behavior of decision makers is explained by both using the concept of moral disengagement and the maturity level of coping strategies.
There should be a return to an open-ended, democratic, and pluralistic scientific debate without using nudges. It is therefore necessary to return to the origins of SDM.
The dark nudge is an incredibly effective fear-based tool that governments, political candidates, companies, NGOs, the security state, and others use to control thought and action at the individual and population level. This psyops tool has been, is, and will be utilized against ordinary people.
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A search on “COVID-19 vaccine and hesitancy” in Pubmed pulls up 5,550 results.
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A search on “vaccine and hesitancy” in Pubmed pulls up 7981 results.
The use of the nudge is a key strategy that many organizations resort to in order to “overcome” vaccine hesitancy.
The peer-reviewed paper below established that some hospitals used psychological torture and even physical discomfort to induce people to accept COVID-19 vaccination.💉
From the paper:
Abstract
Methods
We conducted an explanatory sequential designed observational mixed-methods study, including quantitative and qualitative sections consecutively in two different pandemic hospitals between 15 September 2021 and 1 April 2022. The characteristics of vaccinated and unvaccinated (vaccination of healthcare workers) HCWs were compared.
The vaccine hesitancy scales were applied, and the effect of nudging, such as mandatory PCR and education, were evaluated. In-depth interviews were performed to investigate the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among HCWs according to Health Belief Model.
Results
…After the mandatory weekly PCR request nudge, 83.33 % (130/156) vaccine-hesitant HCWs were vaccinated, and 8.3 % (13/156) after the small group seminars and mandatory PCR every two days.
Conclusions
The nudging interventions such as mandatory PCR testing and small group seminars helped raise the rate of COVID-19 vaccination; the most effective one is mandatory PCR.
This study took place in Turkey, but a physical intervention (mandatory PCR testing) was performed to coerce people into being vaccinated against their will.
We all know, having lived through the COVID crisis, that this intervention was performed informally throughout the Western world. These scientists just documented what governments and hospitals were doing to people worldwide.
The truth is that “the machine” (the system) did this to us. This goes beyond some small unethical breach, as using PCR testing to harass and cause physical discomfort of the unvaccinated was performed worldwide. Hence, fear nudging that applied physical discomfort and even pain was performed on millions of people worldwide.
The number of peer-reviewed papers documenting and encouraging the use of dark nudges is astounding. Often, these organizations don’t even know the name of this technique – they just do it because it is effective.
It is time that legislative action be considered to control the abuse of this psyops technique that can border on psychological and even physical torture.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 17:40 -
- Florida Housing Downturn "Keeps Getting More Intense By The Day"
Florida Housing Downturn “Keeps Getting More Intense By The Day”
The housing market is shifting from a shortage of homes for sale to one with increasing inventory levels. Supply is rising for both new and existing homes. This added supply and high mortgage rates will likely put pressure on sky-high home prices.
Drilling down into the inventory story, Nick Gerli, CEO and Founder of real estate analytics firm Reventure Consulting, pointed out on X that all eyes should be on the “Florida housing downturn” because it “keeps getting more intense by the day.”
Gerli noted housing inventory across the Orlando metro area has spiked to levels not seen since 2007.
“With active listings skyrocketing 82% over the last year. To 10,759 homes on the market. That’s the highest level of supply since at least 2017. Suggesting: home prices will be going down in Orlando. And potentially by a lot,” he said.
Housing inventory in Orlando is now spiking like it’s 2007.
With active listings skyrocketing 82% over the last year. To 10,759 homes on the market.
That’s the highest level of supply since at least 2017.
Suggesting: home prices will be going down in Orlando. And potentially… pic.twitter.com/OzY3BIQjD7
— Nick Gerli (@nickgerli1) July 22, 2024
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The analysts warned:
“This Florida housing downturn keeps getting more intense by the day. With a combination of investors, builders, and inflation-burdened homeowners off-loading houses at a historically fast clip. This increase in listings is now corresponding with a slowdown in demand, which is pushing inventory levels through the roof.”
1) This Florida housing downturn keeps getting more intense by the day. With a combination of investors, builders, and inflation-burdened homeowners off-loading houses at a historically fast clip.
This increase in listings is now corresponding with a slowdown in demand, which is…
— Nick Gerli (@nickgerli1) July 22, 2024
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With inventory rising, he said home values in Orlando are 28% overvalued compared to their long-term averages using data from Reventure.
“That’s a similar level of overvaluation to the previous peak in mid-2000s,” he said, adding, “The more that inventory climbs, the greater the likelihood that prices fall.”
2) The more that inventory climbs, the greater the likelihood that prices fall.
Especially given the heavily overvalued home prices across Florida today.
For instance – home values in Orlando are currently 28% overvalued compared to their long-term norms acc to data on… pic.twitter.com/xmIEcE1oC7
— Nick Gerli (@nickgerli1) July 22, 2024
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He lists the ten most overvalued housing markets across the Sunshine State.
Last month, Gerli said Austin, Texas’ housing inventory has “now spiked to the highest level on record. He said, “Values down nearly 20% already and could have another 15% decline to go.”
The downturn in Austin, TXs housing market is remarkable.
Inventory has now spiked to the highest level on record.
More than 25% higher than the previous, pre-pandemic high.
And the listings just keep coming.
Values down nearly 20% already and could have another 15% decline… pic.twitter.com/Jb8UOSZG0A
— Nick Gerli (@nickgerli1) June 21, 2024
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Low inventory has plagued the overall US housing market in recent years, but the US existing home sales inventory shows a nearing reversal. This also comes as the number of news stories featuring ‘housing inventory’ in corporate media has spiked to record highs.
High mortgage rates and rising supply are needed in the second half to reverse sky-high housing prices. However, if the Federal Reserve’s cutting cycle begins in September or the end of the year, a lower rate environment could drive demand, pushing prices higher. A continuation of higher rates for longer periods, with rising inventory, would likely begin to pressure home prices.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 07/24/2024 – 17:20
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