Today’s News 26th August 2023

• The Road To Totalitarianism, Part 3: CJ Hopkins' Trial (& Sentencing) For 'Thoughtcrimes'
  The Road To Totalitarianism, Part 3: CJ Hopkins’ Trial (& Sentencing) For ‘Thoughtcrimes’

  Authored by CJ Hopkins via The Consent Factory,

  So, the Germans are putting me on trial for my thoughtcrimes, and, apparently, I’ve already been found guilty and sentenced. Bear with me and I’ll try to explain.

  

  The Berlin District Court has issued a so-called “penalty order” or “order of punishment,” in which I am advised that I am now officially a criminal in Germany, for tweeting two Tweets. According to my attorney, a trial will now be scheduled, at which my attorney will argue the case before the judge that just issued the “order of punishment.” At this trial, the judge will listen attentively to the arguments my attorney has already made in writing, consider them carefully, and find me guilty, again. Then the judge will reaffirm the “order of punishment.”

  Go ahead, read that paragraph again.

  After my Kafkaesque trial has concluded, my attorney will file a series of appeals, which will fail, at which point I will have to decide whether to pay a fine of 3,600 Euros or go to German prison for 60 days.

  This process will take months, if not years, and will cost me God knows how much money in attorney’s fees, court costs, and then the €3,600 fine. Yes, I’m going to pay the fine. I am not going to German prison for 60 days. Life is too short, and I am getting older, and it wouldn’t really accomplish anything except making a narcissistic spectacle of myself.

  However, what will accomplish something (I don’t know how much, but something) is if I see the whole process through to the end, and shine as much light on it as I possibly can, because my case is just one of many such cases, and the real story here is not about me, it is about the crackdown on political dissent that is being carried out, not just here in Germany, but also in other countries all throughout the West.

  There are not many outlets reporting this story, not outlets with any significant reach. If you are reading this column, you’re probably aware of various alternative media outlets that are, but most of these outlets are quarantined off where “normal” people never have to see them, and are delegitimized as “unreliable sources” and purveyors of “misinformation,” and so on.

  There are a few bigger sources covering the story, which are also increasingly being branded “illegitimate,” Matt Taibbi’s Racket News, Michael Shellenberger’s Public, Glenn Greenwald’s Locals operations, and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few more, forgive me.

  The point is, unless you’re a charter member of the “science-denying, conspiracy-theorizing, hate-speech-speaking, anti-vaxxing, misinforming left-or-right extremist” club — i.e., people who read weird “malinformationist” publications like The Grayzone, OffGuardian, ZeroHedge, Dissident Voice, and Unlimited Hangout, and who are planning to vote for Bobby Kennedy, or, God help them, Donald Trump — you probably have no idea what I mean when I refer to “the crackdown on dissent” … or you do, and you think it’s just hunky-dory.

  I won’t mince words. The folks who think it’s hunky-dory are totalitarians. They’re fascists. They applaud the crackdown on dissent. They applaud the criminalization of dissent. They applaud the censorship of political speech, of any speech they do not agree with. They want their political opponents in prison. They want everyone who disagrees with them punished. They want people who offend them cancelled. They want anyone who refuses to conform to their official ideology erased.

  I have been calling these people “totalitarians” and “fascists” for a number of years now. I do not enjoy doing that. I’m not doing it gratuitously. Some of these people were my friends. I’m doing that, calling these people “fascists,” and comparing the nascent totalitarianism that is erupting all throughout the West to other, earlier totalitarian systems, like Stalinism (sorry, Marxist friends), and, yes, to fucking Nazi Germany, because, despite the fact that there are numerous differences, a lot of it is textbook totalitarianism. Naked textbook totalitarianism. There isn’t another, nicer word for it … or for those who are enthusiastically embracing it.

  I’m not going to present the evidence for that assertion again. I have done that ad nauseam, much of it in my latest book, which is banned by Amazon in several countries, and which bears a warning on other Amazon sites to “visit the WHO, the CDC,” or your local national health authority, “for the latest information on Covid-19 and vaccines” before you consider buying it, and the cover art of which is about to make me an official “hate criminal,” with a criminal record.

  That’s right, as I explained at greater length in a previous column, the pretext for this so-called “hate crime” prosecution is two Tweets I tweeted almost exactly one year ago of the cover art of that very same book, which just happens to document the rollout of the “New Normal” (i.e., the new totalitarianism) in 2020 and 2021.

  Here are the two Tweets that constitute my “hate crimes.”

  

  The one on the left reads, “The masks are ideological-conformity symbols. That is all they are. That is all they have ever been. Stop acting like they have ever been anything else, or get used to wearing them.” The one on the right is a quote by Karl Lauterbach, the Minister of Health of Germany. It reads “The masks always send out a signal.” The image is the cover art of my book.

  

  Say what you want about me and my writing. I can be “provocative,” and some of my political satire is bombastically over-the-top, but, as Matt Taibbi put it in a recent Racket News piece …

  “No amount of drugs exist that if consumed would allow a rational person to conclude that the writing of C.J. Hopkins furthers ‘the aims of a former National Socialist Organization.’ Agree with him or not, and I increasingly do, he used his imagery to compare the sweeping declarations of emergency power that were common around the world during the pandemic (and were particularly authoritarian in Germany) to Nazi tactics.”

  And that is what I am being accused of, and “punished” for doing, by the German authorities, i.e., “furthering the aims of a National Socialist Organization” … basically, promoting Nazism, for tweeting those two Tweets above.

  There is no complex legal issue here. Yes, swastikas are banned in Germany if you’re a Nazi or promoting Nazism or Fascism, but they are permitted for the purposes of “civic education, countering anti-constitutional activities, art, science, research and education, coverage of historic and current events,” and similar purposes, according to German law. Do you seriously believe that the German hate-crime police and the prosecutor and the judge do not understand that? Of course they understand that. They’re not complete imbeciles. They know the charges are just a pretext. And they know we know the charges are just a pretext. They do not care. They do not have to. They don’t even have to pretend to be following the rule of law. Not anymore. Because they know the majority of the masses are with them.

  The point of prosecutions like this (and much more serious and significant prosecutions, like that of Julian Assange, for example) is to send a message. The naked disregard for the rule of law, the blatant absurdity of the charges, the open contempt for democratic principles, is all part of the message. It’s not a message about the law. It’s a message about power. Who has it, and who doesn’t. And what happens to those who refuse to bow down to it.

  The message is not intended for me, or for more important figures like Julian Assange, or the many other less well-known dissidents that are being made examples of currently. We’re just the medium that conveys the message. We’re the delivery service. The message is for you.

  I’m pretty sure you’re getting the message. The question is … how are you going to respond?

  I do not mean by “storming” your capitol. Please do not go out and get yourself shot. I mean, are you going to help shine a light on where we are headed? Because it’s pretty fucking dark. Folks are offering to send me money to help with my legal costs, and I’m extremely grateful, because I’m going to need it (and here’s how to do that), but what I think we need to do is a little harder, and costs more, and is much more important.

  We need to talk to the totalitarians … yes, the ones who wanted to put us in camps. If we can’t get through to them, we’re probably screwed. And there is a window of opportunity to do that now. It’s not 2020 or 2021. The mass hysteria has worn off for a lot of people. I know, not all of them, but for some of them, a lot of them. Some of them are finally reachable.

  Take a chance, talk to them, the ones you know, or used to know. Try to get through to them. Not the bug-eyed, fanatical, foaming-at-the-mouth types who can’t wait for the return of the “emergency measures.” The other ones … you know the ones I mean. The ones who want out. You can see it in their eyes. Take a chance. Talk to these people. Totalitarianism, fascism, it is not an identity. It’s a mindset. No one is born a fascist. People can be deprogrammed. Some of them can. And, at this point, we need all the help we can get.

  So, if you’re one of the kind and generous folks who have been asking what you can do to help and offering to send me money, sure, go ahead and send me the money — thank you, I’ve been overwhelmed by your messages, and I’m sorry that I can’t personally respond to all of them — but also consider what I’m suggesting, if you can possibly bring yourself to do it. If you can’t, I completely understand. Trust me, I am still just as angry as you are. I am hurt. I feel betrayed and abandoned. I have a feeling that some of you feel that way too. So I know what I’m asking when I ask you to talk to the New Normal totalitarians, the ones who might be reachable.

  If you can’t yet, don’t. But if you’re able to, try.

  Don’t try to convince them that you were right and they were wrong. Just shine a light on the road we’re on. Try to get them to recognize where we’re headed. Regardless of who was right and who was wrong about whatever, we are all going down this road together.

  Personally, I’d rather not ride it all the way to the end and face what is down there this time.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/26/2023 – 00:00

• AI Humanoid Pilot Might be Able To Solve Pilot Shortage
  AI Humanoid Pilot Might be Able To Solve Pilot Shortage

  Our readers know there’s yet to be a quick solution to the US pilot shortage, which may linger until 2032. Current data shows a staggering 17,000-pilot gap. This shortfall can be attributed to several factors:

  • Early retirements spurred by the pandemic.

  • The unyielding retirement age of 65.

  • A dwindling number of pilots from the military.

  • The unappealing prospect for civilians to embark on a pilot career. 

  Airlines can only train 1,500 to 1,800 pilots a year. The deficit has triggered all sorts of flight disruptions, with the latest from American Airlines. 

  However, South Korean researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) developed “Pibot,” a life-sized humanoid robot that can fly planes and understand complex flight controls. 

  Flight news website Airways Magazine explains more about Pibot’s capabilities:

  As the world continues to adapt to the growing trend of Artificial Intelligence (AI), South Korean scientists have unveiled a humanoid robot capable of piloting an aircraft.

  Named Pibot, the life-sized robot, measuring 160 cm tall and weighing in at 65 kg, is capable of gripping the controls, memorizing aircraft manuals, and even responding to emergency situations. It is fitted with multiple cameras capable of monitoring the aircraft’s systems and operational conditions.

  

  Currently under development by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), researchers utilized Al chatbots such as ChatGPT to create ways for PiBot to learn the pilot manuals for various aircraft. The robot can then be changed onto an alternative airframe by clicking the type. It can also memorize worldwide Jeppesen aeronautical navigation charts, an impossible task for its human equivalent.

  PiBot can also communicate with air traffic control (ATC) and other humans on the flight deck, meaning it can operate via a Captain or First Officer. This has been done using Voice synthesis. By plugging the robot into the aircraft, it can communicate directly with the airframe.

  Airways Magazine explained the humanoid pilot has already demonstrated it can control an aircraft safely. 

  While it’s clear a robo-pilot is not something the US Federal Aviation Administration would clear anytime soon — it might catch the agency’s attention amid the worst pilot shortage ever. 

  US airlines have been quietly lobbying Congress to allow them to use just one pilot in the cockpit instead of two. But with an increasing number of pilot deaths — some even in mid-air — one has to wonder: Is the FAA open to considering a mix between human and robot pilots in the cockpit? 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 23:30

• The State Protects Itself While Crime Against Ordinary People Surges
  The State Protects Itself While Crime Against Ordinary People Surges

  Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute,

  In all the media and regime frenzy over the January 6 riots and the Pentagon Leaker in recent months, it is interesting to examine the contrast between how the regime treats “crimes” against its own interests, and real crime committed against ordinary private citizens. 

  

  Witness, for example, how the Biden administration and corporate media have treated the January 6 riot as if it were some kind of military coup, demanding that draconian sentences be handed down even to small-time vandals and trespassers. Regime paranoia has led the Justice Department to ask for a 30-year sentence for Enrique Tarrio, a man who was convicted of the non-crime of “seditious conspiracy” even though he wasn’t even in Washington on January 6. In recent months, Jacob Chansley, the “QAnon Shaman,” received a sentence of three-and-a-half years, even though prosecutors admit he did nothing violent. Riley Williams was given three years for simply trespassing in Nancy Pelosi’s office. Members of the Capitol Police force have been lionized in the media as great protectors of “sacred” government buildings, and any threat to the property or persons of Washington politicians has been equated with an assault on “democracy.” 

  Yet, had these supposed insurrectionists inflicted these same actions against an ordinary private individual, there’s a good chance the perpetrators would not even be arrested, let alone given years of prison time. Consider, for example, the mobs that ransack private businesses in American cities, stealing tens of thousands of dollars of merchandise while police and prosecutors consider it all to be low priority.  Violent crime and property crime surge in many areas of the United States, with violent crime rising 30 percent in New York City in 2022. Unsolved murders in the US are at a record high. Meanwhile, progressives and social democrats are looking for ways to reduce criminal penalties against violent criminals. Police departments often devote only tiny portions of their budgets to homicide investigations, and if your property is stolen, odds are good you can forget about ever seeing it again. 

  The situation is quite different when it comes to protecting the state, its agents, and its property from any threat. During urban riots, such as those which occurred in Ferguson, Missouri and Minneapolis, Minnesota, the police went to great lengths to protect themselves and government property. If you were just a private shopkeeper or ordinary citizen, however, you were on your own. At the Uvalde School shooting in 2022, hundreds of law enforcement officers from all levels of government chose to protect themselves rather than the children who were being murdered inside. When Uvalde parents demanded the police act, the police attacked the parents. 

  We find similar phenomena at the federal level. There are, of course, special federal laws against violence perpetrated against federal employees. Ordinary taxpayers receive no such consideration. Note how federal agencies move to arm themselves to the teeth while also seeking to disarm the private-sector. Federal agents will spare no expense finding someone who put his feet up on Nancy Pelosi’s desk, but it’s another matter entirely when we’re talking about serious violent crime against regular people.  Federal agents, of course, allowed 9/11 to occur right under their noses, they refused to investigate known rapist Larry Nasser, and shrugged off reports about the man who would end up slaughtering children at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Contrast this with how long the federal government has been conniving to get revenge on Julian Assange for merely telling the truth about US war crimes.  

  Naturally, law enforcement officers rarely face any sanctions for their failures to bother themselves with private property, life, or limb. The federal courts have made it clear that law enforcement officers are not obligated to actually protect the public. In other words, the taxpayers must always pay taxes to hold up their end of the imagined “social contract” or face fines and imprisonment. But the other side of that “contract,” the state, has no legal obligation to make good on its end. This, of course, is not how real contracts work. 

  The state’s fastidious devotion to protecting itself, compared to its casual concern for the safety of mere taxpayers, illustrates an important principle of state behavior. In his essay The Anatomy of the State, Murray Rothbard notes 

  We may test the hypothesis that the State is largely interested in protecting itself rather than its subjects by asking: which category of crimes does the State pursue and punish most intensely—those against private citizens or those against itself? The gravest crimes in the State’s lexicon are almost invariably not invasions of private person or property, but dangers to its own contentment, for example, treason, desertion of a soldier to the enemy, failure to register for the draft, subversion and subversive conspiracy, assassination of rulers and such economic crimes against the State as counterfeiting its money or evasion of its income tax. Or compare the degree of zeal devoted to pursuing the man who assaults a policeman, with the attention that the State pays to the assault of an ordinary citizen. Yet, curiously, the State’s openly assigned priority to its own defense against the public strikes few people as inconsistent with its presumed raison d’etre.

  This double standard has been repeatedly on display in recent years as the regime has increasingly been consumed with paranoia over threats to itself—propagandistically termed “threats to democracy”—while attention given to real crime against private citizens is apparently not a priority at all. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 23:00

• The Most Flown Private Jet In The US Is… 
  The Most Flown Private Jet In The US Is… 

  In a rapid shift in private aviation among millionaires, cent-millionaires, and billionaires, Textron Inc.’s Cessna Citation, the most popular and most flown private jet in the US, which held that record for 15 years, has just been dethroned. 

  Bloomberg reports new monthly flight data from the Federal Aviation Administration shows Brazil’s Embraer Phenom 300, a medium-sized jet that seats around nine passengers, had 360,000 takeoffs and landings at US airports in the 12 months through August, 1,200 more than the Citation Excel family of jets. 

  

  Brian Foley, a private aviation consultant, said the biggest reason behind the surge in popularity of the Phenom 300 is fuel efficiency, which burns one-third less than the Citation Excel. He said cheaper fuel costs offset the Phenom 300’s smaller cabin space.

  For some context, at cruising speed, the two Pratt & Whitney turbofans of the Citation Excel burn around 225 gallons per hour of Jet A fuel. 

  

  Meanwhile, the Phenom 300 is around 158 gallons of Jet A fuel per hour. 

  

  Even though Phenom 300s are being flown more, Cessna still dominates private jet deliveries. 

  

  Textron told Bloomberg, “One of every three business jets worldwide is a Cessna Citation, and product upgrades like these continue to give customers new reasons to choose us for our proven performance, leading technology and unmatched cabin experience.” 

  Despite the ‘climate change’ cheerleading, private jet demand soared to new heights in recent years, though mounting macro uncertainty and the highest interest rates in two decades led to a cooling in private jet flights earlier this year. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 22:30

• Democrats Have Broken America: Where’s The Outrage?
  Democrats Have Broken America: Where’s The Outrage?

  Authored by J. Peder Zane via RealClear Wire,

  The Democrats have an ace in the hole in their relentless war on the Constitution – conservative America’s reverence for the concept of the rule of the law.

  

  Only their steadfast commitment to this traditional ideal explains why conservatives are allowing   Democrats to flagrantly corrupt our judicial system to destroy their opponents and protect themselves. For all their huffing and puffing, conservatives have effectively taken a let the system play itself out attitude while Democrats nakedly politicize that system through their partisan indictments of former President Trump and their Potemkin Village probes of the Bidens. These are not statements of opinion. These are facts.

  Part of me is glad that so many legal analysts have spilled so much ink exposing these charades. But we degrade our country and ourselves when we treat this unspeakable behavior with anything other than horrified contempt. Every good-faith critique normalizes and legitimizes this profoundly un-American conspiracy.

  Viewing the obvious forest rather than the tangled trees, the cases against Trump are a continuation of the deceitful effort by Democrats and their deep state allies, especially in the DOJ, to annihilate their chief political opponent. That effort began even before his election when Hillary Clinton’s campaign manufactured false claims that Trump had conspired with Vladimir Putin to steal the 2016 election. When that sham was exposed, they almost immediately made Trump only the third president in the country to be impeached for asking Ukraine’s leader to look into the Biden family’s influence-peddling schemes. They set aside almost every rule and order of business by rushing to impeach him once again after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. While that was going on, Democrats insistently rained down other bogus concerns – that he was violating the Emoluments Clause because wealthy foreigners continued to stay at his hotels, that his alleged mental instability made him unfit – to remove him from office.

  The hypocrisy is beyond belief: The party that assails Republicans for questioning the integrity of the highly irregular 2020 election spent years and vast government resources to undo the results of 2016.

  The charges Trump now faces are part of the ongoing campaign by Democrats to subvert the rule of law to delegitimize what they see as the greatest threat to their power.

  In the meantime, Democrats are blatantly using the criminal justice system to protect President Biden. It is now beyond dispute that Biden lied to the American people when he said he never discussed foreign business with his son Hunter and when he claimed during his final 2020 debate with Trump that Hunter’s laptop, which contained evidence of those corrupt dealings, was a “Russian plant.” Has a candidate ever peddled more consequential falsehoods?

  In fact, the president was not only aware of his son’s influence-peddling schemes, whose sole selling point was the connection to his vast power. He was an active participant through phone calls and meetings with clients. Irony does not capture the deviousness of the Democrats’ decision to impeach Trump for asking Ukraine to look into this corruption.

  The cover-up of the Bidens’ conduct is equally disturbing. The U.S. attorney in Delaware assigned to the case, David C. Weiss, is a former colleague of Biden’s late son Beau. Although the tax avoidance charges involved are straightforward, Weiss spent more than five years allegedly looking into them – allowing the statute of limitations to run out on millions of unreported earnings Hunter generated in 2014 and 2015. Note that even as the president calls on Americans to pay their fair share, neither he nor his allies have demanded that Hunter pay his.

  Indeed, we only know about Weiss’ corruption because of two courageous IRS whistleblowers. In response, Weiss quickly struck a deal with Hunter to settle the matter, crafting a sweetheart deal that would have let him off the hook with a slap on the wrist. All might have been forgiven but for the presiding judge, who rejected the deal last month as “not standard” and potentially unconstitutional.

  In response to this scandal, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel to look into the mess. This move is beyond brazen – Weiss is now apparently in charge of probing his own misconduct. The goal is obvious: Protect the president, and let the statute of limitations run out on other alleged crimes while shutting down any questions about the “ongoing investigation.”

  The arrogance is jaw-dropping; the lawlessness is in plain sight. Democrats are not even trying to hide their malfeasance – which is part of their method. If they can make us accept their authority to twist the system so that it is no longer a means of justice but a tool of their political power, then their possibilities are unlimited.

  Imagine if the roles were reversed: What if Republican prosecutors had indicted a former Democratic president, who was also the party’s leading candidate in the next election, in four separate cases on 91 questionable charges while a GOP-controlled Department of Justice simultaneously protected its sitting-president boss, who was seeking reelection, by slow-walking a probe of his family’s alleged crimes?

  The corporate media would be in high dudgeon about this assault on the Constitution and the streets would be filled with left-wing protestors who would make the BLM riots, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and the harassment of Supreme Court justices in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade seem mild.

  Here’s the conundrum. While no one wants conservatives to start engaging in direct action, their passivity is allowing Democrats to weaponize the government. On the one hand, I admire their faith in our system. Even Trump, for all his barking, has largely submitted to his gross mistreatment.

  But our system is shattered. The rule of law is now more concept than fact. Where’s the outrage?

  J. Peder Zane is a RealClearInvestigations editor and columnist. He previously worked as a book review editor and book columnist for the News & Observer (Raleigh), where his writing won several national honors. Zane has also worked at the New York Times and taught writing at Duke University and Saint Augustine’s University.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 22:00

• 'Bidenomics' Fail: Food Stamp Bonanza Sends Grocery Bills Soaring 15%, Study Finds
  ‘Bidenomics’ Fail: Food Stamp Bonanza Sends Grocery Bills Soaring 15%, Study Finds

  In a classic move by those on the left — democrats, socialists, and everyone in between with seemingly no grasp of what sparks inflation — championed the Biden administration’s move in 2021 to increase food stamp spending by the most in history, hiking benefits by an average of 27%. 

  In 2022, the Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spending hit a record high of $119 billion, a sixfold increase over the last two decades. In 2019, taxpayers were on the hook for $4.5 billion per month on food stamp benefits. By December 2022, monthly food stamp spending soared to $11 billion. 

  

  According to findings from the government watchdog Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), previewed by Fox News, the administration’s massive expansion of food stamp benefits could be responsible for a 15% spike in grocery store prices. 

  FGA called Biden’s rush to increase SNAP benefits an “unlawful expansion—which bypassed Congress—will cost taxpayers $250 billion over the next decade and has heavily contributed to soaring grocery prices.”  

  “Congress should repeal President Biden’s unlawful food stamp expansion and ensure this type of executive overreach cannot happen again. In doing so, Congress could save taxpayers more than $193 billion over the next decade,” it added. 

  The good news is the emergency allotments expired earlier this year, but food stamp spending remains $8.6 billion in March. The Congressional Budget Office estimates SNAP spending will cost taxpayers nearly $1.1 trillion over the next decade. 

  “USDA cooked their books to hike food stamp benefits by 27% — the largest permanent increase in program history. And they bypassed Congress to do it,” said Jonathan Ingram, Vice President of Policy and Research at the Foundation for Government Accountability.

  Ingram noted, “Data show the Biden administration’s overreach led to massive spikes in grocery prices. They’re feeding inflation, not stopping hunger.”

  The index for food at home (groceries) has skyrocketed ever since Biden increased SNAP benefits. 

  

  As food inflation soared, Biden’s officials, seemingly detached from economic reality, pointed the finger at food companies for raging food inflation. 

  Remember this?

  

  If FGA is correct, this is another sign that ‘Bidenomics’ has been a disaster for low/mid-tier consumers drowning in inflation. 

  

  It’s one giant EBT party…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 21:30

• 371 Charged for COVID-19 Fraud Totaling $836 Million: DOJ
  371 Charged for COVID-19 Fraud Totaling $836 Million: DOJ

  Authored by Samantha Flom via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched two new COVID-19 fraud strike forces, the department said Wednesday in announcing the filing of criminal charges against 371 people in relation to the theft of more than $836 million in pandemic relief funds.

  “The Justice Department has now seized over $1.4 billion in COVID-19 relief funds that criminals had stolen, and charged over 3,000 defendants with crimes in federal districts across the country,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

  “This latest action, involving over 300 defendants and over $830 million in alleged COVID-19 fraud, should send a clear message: The COVID-19 public health emergency may have ended, but the Justice Department’s work to identify and prosecute those who stole pandemic relief funds is far from over,” he added.

  The charges are the result of a COVID-19 fraud enforcement sweep that took place nationwide from May through the end of July.

  According to the DOJ, of the 371 defendants charged, 119 either pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial, and more than $57 million in court-ordered restitution was imposed.

  The sweep involved a total of 718 law enforcement actions, including 117 civil matters yielding more than $10.4 million in judgments.

  Many cases involved charges related to pandemic unemployment insurance benefit fraud and fraud against the Small Business Administration’s two largest pandemic programs: the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

  Together, prosecutors and law enforcement worked to secure the forfeiture of more than $231.4 million.

  Announcing the results at a roundtable meeting of senior DOJ, law enforcement, and Office of the Inspector General officials, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the department was also launching two new strike forces to assist in its ongoing crackdown on pandemic-related fraud.

  “The law enforcement actions announced today reflect the Justice Department’s focus—working with our law enforcement partners nationwide—on bringing to justice those who stole from American businesses and families at a time of national emergency,” Ms. Monaco said. “The two new strike forces launched today will increase our reach as we continue to pursue fraudsters and recover taxpayer funds, no matter how long it takes.”

  According to the Associated Press, it is possible that more than $280 billion in pandemic relief funds was stolen by fraudsters, while another $123 billion was wasted or misspent.

  The attorney general established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in May 2021 to help prevent, investigate, and prosecute cases of COVID-19 fraud. In September 2022, the DOJ added to those efforts by launching three strike force teams at the U.S. attorney’s offices in the Eastern and Central Districts of California, the Southern District of Florida, and the District of Maryland.

  The new strike forces will operate out of the U.S. attorney’s offices for the District of Colorado and the District of New Jersey.

  “I applaud the hard work of our prosecutors around the country,” said Michael C. Galdo, acting director of COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement. “However, this announcement is not a victory lap. Our mission is not complete.

  “We know from our investigative partners that identifying those who committed pandemic relief fraud and recovering stolen funds is difficult work. But the Justice Department, including our strike forces, U.S. attorneys’ offices, and the Criminal and Civil Divisions, is committed to using our criminal, civil, and forfeiture tools to hold these fraudsters accountable.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 21:00

• "I Just Want To Sell Titty Pictures": Sex Workers F**ked By Crypto
  “I Just Want To Sell Titty Pictures”: Sex Workers F**ked By Crypto

  Sex workers – who frequently face financial discrimination, losing access to payment apps and banking apps such as PayPal, Venmo and CashApp due to their profession – began using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as an alternative for payments, which bypass traditional banking systems and avoid service fees from platforms such as OnlyFans.

  According to data by the Free Speech Coalition, 2/3 of sex workers have lost access to a bank account or financial service, with 40% having an account closed within the last year, Wired reports.

  “I just want to sell titty pictures,” said Allie Eve Knox, a professional dominatrix and fetish performer. “I never wanted to be an expert in financial discrimination.”

  🖕 pic.twitter.com/21WPZJUSbB

  — Allie Eve Knox (@allieeveknox) August 23, 2023

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

  After starting out in sex work in 2014, Knox, like others in the field, has become something of a financial pariah. The first to ban her were the payment apps—PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp—which prohibit the sale of adult content as policy. But then Knox lost her bank account too. It took a week to recover her money.

  Nine years on and 30-plus bans later, Knox is jaded: “I don’t want to have to know how to run money to different places. I don’t want to deal with any of this bullshit.” -Wired

  Another sex worker, Allie Rae, an ICU worker by training, began posting on OnlyFans when her husband was placed on work furlough. After a short period of time, she was making nearly $500,000 per month more than her day job – but she says she quickly ran into trouble.

  After her OnlyFans account was discovered by her employer, she was fired. She also found that realtors shunned her, lenders refused to extend a mortgage and accountants ghosted her. Rae eventually established a corporation to run her business through, however no major bank would open a business account.

  POV: You just picked me up, now where we going? pic.twitter.com/CwYCRHhCvG

  — The Allie Rae ®️ (@MrsAllieRae) August 24, 2023

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

  “Left and right, it’s been a struggle,” she told the outlet. “I was very naive—I didn’t understand the magnitude of the discrimination.”

  In short, in a world that embraces the gig economy, where YouTubers and Instagram influencers can become millionaires, sex workers have found themselves in a peculiar form of exile.

  Crypto: false hope

  Given the systemic discrimination throughout the banking sector, many sex workers have turned to cryptocurrencies as a means of both storing wealth and accepting payment. For a while, things were great. Digital currencies allowed customers to pay discreetly without supplying personal information, while sex workers now had a way to bypass the banking system entirely.

  Knox, for example, began accepting crypto in 2014 – holding up a QR code through which viewers could tip her in crypto.

  Another sex worker, former escort-turned-porn star Lira Roux, told the outlet that she began to accept crypto in 2015 at the request of clients. Initially, she would exchange the crypto for dollars, however when new laws came into effect – after which many adult-friendly advertising sites were barred from accepting regular money – she began to pay for ads with crypto too.

  “By and large, crypto is useful for people that aren’t being taken care of properly by the government,” Roux said. “For sex workers, who aren’t well-served by banks, it becomes a useful option.”

  Now, thanks to regulatory scrutiny which has gone into overdrive since the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, sex workers are ‘bumping up’ against limitations – and are finding that ‘decentralized’ crypto is no more detached from the banking system than traditional currency – as sex workers are finding it increasingly difficult to convert crypto into dollars. Typically, this is done via an exchange, which then allows one to withdraw to a traditional bank account. Sex workers are now being banned from crypto exchanges.

  “You get on an exchange for as long as you can, until they shut your ass down,” said Knox. “You quickly [run out of exchanges], so you sit on a lot of useless money. The whole ‘crypto is permissionless and censorship-resistant’ thing is a bunch of bullshit.”

  In the US, full-service sex work (also known as prostitution) is illegal in every state but Nevada, but pornography and online sex work are legal under the First Amendment. Irrespective of this distinction, banking access has been a problem for the entire sex work community since at least the 1960s, says Mike Stabile, director of public affairs at the FSC, and has only become more acute.

  The issue was exacerbated a decade ago by a program launched by the Obama administration, under which banks were warned that a collection of industries posed an “elevated risk” of fraud, including pornography. Now known as Operation Chokepoint, the initiative was found by investigators not to have constituted a deliberate attempt to disrupt disfavored businesses, but is nonetheless said to have led banks to sever ties with the adult sector.

  …

  (Knox suspects she has ended up on a blacklist at Plaid, a provider of technology plumbing to large crypto exchanges like Gemini, Kraken, and Robinhood, leading to the repeated bans. Freya Petersen, spokesperson for Plaid, says no such list exists, but that all firms that wish to use its services are subject to a standard risk assessment process, factoring in the industry in which they operate.) -Wired

  When banks blacklist sex workers, they rarely justify their actions. In one case, porn star Alana Evans, president of the Adult Performance Artists Guild (APAG) was told by Wells Fargo that her account – opened in the mid-1990s, would be closed as part of “ongoing reviews” related to the bank’s responsibility to “manage risks.”

  After being a customer since 1993, and NEVER GOING NEGATIVE ONCE, @WellsFargo sent me this letter today.

  After 30 years, they are closing my accounts.

  What is going on? I’m being removed for being a sex worker.

  In one week, I’m fired from a vanilla job AND losing my bank pic.twitter.com/siYgb5EDlr

  — Alana Evans XBIZ BEST MILF CAM Winner!! (@alanaevansxxx) September 2, 2022

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsThe industry lockout means that sex workers can’t enjoy the convenience factors provided by Venmo or other payment platforms, and forces them to rely on OnlyFans and Fansly, which handle payouts but not before taking a sizable chunk of their income.

  Given this environment, many sex workers turn to friends or spouses (or pimps) to act as a custodian of their finances, exposing them to potential abuse.

  “One of the ways traffickers control victims is by controlling their finances,” said Jessica Van Meir, founder of MintStars, an adult-friendly NFT subscription platform, and a PhD candidate at Harvard specializing in women’s informal labor. “The irony is that banks exclude sex workers largely for fear of liability for sex trafficking, but by discriminating against sex workers, they put them at higher risk of sex trafficking.”

  How fucked is that?

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 20:30

• Biden Targets Schools: Pulls Plug On Archery & Hunting Programs
  Biden Targets Schools: Pulls Plug On Archery & Hunting Programs

  Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

  The disastrous consequences of the Republican-backed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act keep adding up.

  The law, passed last year through a compromise between Democrat Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, encouraged the Biden administration to pass universal background checks via executive order and more.

  Now, the latest gun control comes in the form of funding cuts for school hunting and archery training programs, just in time for the new school year.

  

  The Department of Education cut off this funding due to the agency’s interpretation of a provision in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that bans taxpayer funds from being used towards “training in the use of a dangerous weapon.” The Department of Education seems to think that Hunting and Archery meet that qualification.

  Ironically, Senator Cornyn wrote to the Department of Education this month expressing concern over the interpretation of this provision.

  The writing is on the wall.👏

  The Biden administration’s ultimate goal is to reduce participation in hunting and shooting sports, both by halting the use of cheap traditional ammunition on public lands and by cutting funding to our schools. https://t.co/rRgOSMewie

  — Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) August 21, 2023

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

  While the Republicans who helped introduce and pass this legislation remained confused about the outcome, Gun Owners of America has been diligently warning members of Congress about the consequences of passing new gun control.

  When Congress passes ambiguous laws, it allows anti-gun administrations such as the Biden administration to step in and interpret as they please.

  According to the International Hunter Education Association, Hunter Education courses certify over half a million students annually. Their website details that hunting-related injuries have decreased drastically because of this education.

  It’s obvious that the Biden Administration has a vested interest in cutting these programs from schools. Any program that could create responsible, law-abiding gun owners goes against their anti-gun agenda.

  This is why Gun Owners of America is working diligently in Congress to introduce legislation that repeals exactly these type of anti-gun laws.

  We worked with Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado to introduce the Shall Not Be Infringed Act. This act specifically repeals the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, as well as other gun control measures passed by the 117th Congress.

  Just recently, we secured a major victory for veterans, stopping the VA from disarming veterans simply because they use a fiduciary to manage their finances, overturning a Clinton-era rule.

  And that’s just the start. We’re fighting every day for your rights on Capitol Hill and throughout the courts nationwide.

  *   *   *

  We’ll hold the line for you in Washington. We are No Compromise. Join the Fight Now.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 20:05

• 'Rich Men North of Richmond' Artist Laughs At GOP Debaters For Mentioning Viral Song
  ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Artist Laughs At GOP Debaters For Mentioning Viral Song

  The first Republican primary debate this week featured the viral song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” currently topping the Billboard 100 and iTunes charts. 

  “As we sit here tonight [Wednesday], the No. 1 song on the Billboard chart is called ‘Rich Men North of Richmond.’ It is by a singer from Farmville, Virginia, named Oliver Anthony. His lyrics speak of alienation, a deep frustration with the state of government and this country,” co-moderator Martha MacCallum said. 

  “Washington D.C. is about 100 miles north of Richmond,” MacCallum continued. “Why is this song striking such a nerve in this country right now?” 

  Responding to the question, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the country “cannot succeed when the Congress spends trillions and trillions of dollars” and that those “rich men north of Richmond have put us in this situation.”

  Days later, on Friday, Oliver Anthony (real name Christopher Anthony Lunsford), the unknown artist who was once a factory worker living in forgotten Appalachia, published a YouTube video saying it was “funny seeing it [song] at the presidential debate because it’s like I wrote that song about those people.” 

  “So for them [DeSantis and all the other Republican candidates] to have to sit there and listen to that that cracks me up uh but it was funny kind of seeing the response to it like that song has nothing to do with Joe Biden you know it’s a lot bigger than Joe Biden um that song is written about the people on the on that stage and a lot more too not just them.” 

  He continued, “I hate I do hate to see that song being weaponized like I see I see the right trying to characterize me as one of their own and I see the left trying to um trying to discredit me I guess in retaliation uh that shit’s gotta stop if you watch the response videos on YouTube to this song it’s not conservative people responding to the song it’s not even necessarily Americans responding to the song um I don’t know that I’ve seen anything get such positive response from such a diverse group of people and I think that terrifies the people that I sing about in that song and they’ve done everything they can the last two weeks to make me look like a fool to spend my words to try to stick me in a political bucket and they can keep trying but I’m just going to keep on writing and I’ve got a lot of words to put down on paper.”

  And this is why the establishment is scared by the song… Unity. 

  Watching people from all walks of life connect with Rich Men North of Richmond reminds me that we are not alone in the struggles that we’re facing. Nothing scares them more than us unifying against them.
  pic.twitter.com/b9nKEp1tQE

  — TaraBull (@TaraBull808) August 17, 2023

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

  While establishment Republican presidential candidates duked it out on stage this week, the front-runner, former President Trump, ditched Fox for a Tucker Carlson interview, which might have stolen the show with over 255 million views and counting. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 19:40

• Transgender Surgeries In US Nearly Tripled In 3 Years
  Transgender Surgeries In US Nearly Tripled In 3 Years

  Authored by Mary Gillis via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Transgender surgeries nearly tripled in the United States between 2016 and 2019, with breast and chest procedures accounting for 56.6 percent of all operations, results of a study published Wednesday in the JAMA Network Open show.

  

  Close behind was genital reconstruction, making up 35.1 percent, followed by facial and cosmetic procedures at 13.9 percent. The greatest number of procedures overall were undergone by women, 19- to 30-year-olds, people with private insurance, and people with higher incomes. Most procedures occurred in the West and were performed in urban teaching hospitals.

  When divided into subgroups, breast and chest procedures comprised more of the surgical interventions in younger patients. Genital procedures were higher in older patients.

  About 15 percent of the over 48,000 respondents examined indicated mental health or addiction problems, including drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and psychosis.

  “These findings suggest that there will be a greater need for clinicians knowledgeable in the care of transgender individuals with requisite expertise to perform gender-affirming procedures,” the study authors wrote.

  What Are the Dangers of Transgender Surgery?

  Transgender surgeries do not come without potential dangers. Evidence concerning regret rate, long-term medical complications, effects of hormonal therapy, and the link between surgeries and depression and suicide rates require further study.

  Side Effects 

  A 2021 study found reoperations due to long-term complications following breast augmentations do happen. Implant ruptures, capsular contractures (an immune response to breast implants resulting in scar tissue), and aesthetic problems can occur anywhere from 30 days to 5.5 years after surgery.

  According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, side effects of reconstructing male genitalia to female genitalia, known as transfeminine bottom surgery, include the following:

  • Bleeding.
  • Infection.
  • Poor incision healing.
  • Hematoma.
  • Nerve injury stenosis of the vagina.
  • Inadequate vaginal depth.
  • Urinary tract injury.
  • Abnormal connections between the urethra and the skin.
  • Painful intercourse.

  Suicide Risk and Attempts

  A study published in PLOS One highlighted the alarming rates of suicide and suicide attempts in people who underwent sex-reassignment surgery. Experiment results by researchers in Sweden found people who underwent sex reassignment were 4.9 times more likely to attempt suicide and 19.1 times more likely to die of suicide than the controls.

  “Persons with transsexualism, after sex reassignment, have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behaviour, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population,” the authors wrote. “Our findings suggest that sex reassignment, although alleviating gender dysphoria, may not suffice as treatment for transsexualism, and should inspire improved psychiatric and somatic care after sex reassignment for this patient group.”

  Updated Recommendations

  Hormone therapy is recommended and sometimes required for some patients before breast and chest surgery.

  However, evidence supporting hormone therapy for transgender individuals is inconclusive.

  The Tavistock Centre in London, characterized as a clinic for young people facing gender identity difficulties, is slated to close by the end of 2023 after an independent review (pdf) cited a lack of conclusive evidence supporting routine recommendations of hormone therapies such as puberty blockers, among other complications in running the clinic.

  The clinic closure comes on the heels of Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare’s 2022 updated recommendations. Board officials concluded there was insufficient scientific evidence on “gender-affirmative” care, calling for caution and restraint in hormonal interventions for minors.

  “The update to the Swedish treatment guidelines represents an impressive step toward safeguarding the growing numbers of gender dysphoric youth from medical harm arising from inappropriate gender transition,” health officials wrote in the recommendations.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 19:15

• Putin Signs Law Forcing Wagner Fighters To Swear Oath
  Putin Signs Law Forcing Wagner Fighters To Swear Oath

  Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told reporters on Friday that in a legal sense, Wagner group doesn’t exist. This came as he announced a new presidential decree signed by President Putin on the same day, which stipulates that all Russian paramilitary fighters will be required to swear an oath to the Russian flag and nation.

  Fighters, including from Wagner, must pledge “their loyalty to the Russian Federation… strictly follow their commanders and superiors’ orders, and conscientiously fulfill their obligations,” according to the new decree.

  

  The decree was described as aiming to form “the spiritual and moral foundations for the defense of the Russian Federation” and applies to all mercenary outfits which are “contributing to the execution of tasks given to the armed forces.”

  And there was this, according to The Moscow Times: 

  Asked about the future of Wagner, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that “legally the Wagner private military group does not exist.”

  Private military companies are officially outlawed in Russia.

  This fresh decree appears aimed squarely at Wagner fighters, given it also comes just two days following the jet downing which took Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s life (something still being verified as Russian investigators examine DNA).

  This week there have been reports of Wagner mercenaries leaving Belarus in droves, while there are elsewhere conflicting reports they’ve been allowed to stay.

  Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has meanwhile commented on the whole Prigozhin matter in a newly published interview. He revealed that he personally told Yevgeny Prigozhin to “watch out” for threats to his life. Apparently this happened not long before the plane crash. And more:

  Mr Lukashenko said that the Wagner leader had never asked him for security guarantees. “I don’t have to ensure Prigozhin’s safety… the conversation was never in that vein.”

  Lukashenko also denied that Putin was behind the killing of the Wagner leader: 

  A close ally of Mr Putin, the Belarusian president said that he believed the plane crash was “just too rough and unprofessional a job” for the Russian leader to be involved. “I know Putin: he is calculating, very calm, even tardy,” Lukashenko said. “I cannot imagine that Putin did it, that Putin is to blame.”

  Putin appeared cheery after Russian media reported Prigozhin was dead, opening remarks at an event with a broad smile.

  “Devotion to the homeland and loyalty to the military oath is what unites all participants of the special military operation,” he said. https://t.co/aworTOa4Ow

  — POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) August 24, 2023

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

  This is something which the Kremlin itself said on Friday, calling Western assertions that Putin was behind the assassination of Prigozhin “absolute lies”. But it should also be noted that the death of he and his top commanders aboard the same plane happened two months to the day of the June 23-24 mutiny and armed ‘march on Moscow’.

  All of this does appear to be President Putin engaged in some serious post-mutiny house cleaning and muscle-flexing. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 18:50

• Quinn: "The Entire World Is Nothing But A Racket"
  Quinn: “The Entire World Is Nothing But A Racket”

  The Burning Platform’s Jim Quinn unloads a truck-full of uncomfortable realities in this brief comment:

  The entire world is nothing but a racket.

  Just call it a war and the funding is never ending.

  

  Why would any politician or general ever want peace?

  Their funding would stop.

  Why would Big Pharma and their media co-conspirators ever want to cure cancer or any disease created by other mega-corporations?

  Their riches would evaporate.

  The war on terror must never be won, because the Department of Homeland Security and all the parasites that live off that bloated cow need your money.

  Joe Rogan points out the same narrative when it comes to homelessness. 

  Joe Rogan On The Homelessness Problem In California 🚨🚨🚨

  🔊

  “The people managing these homeless programs for the state are making $250,000 per year and have no incentive to solve it. If they solve it, they are out of a job. So they just manage it and ask for more funding.… pic.twitter.com/9HqPvHkjei

  — Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) August 24, 2023

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

  Bureaucrats and departments in all these Democrat shitholes don’t want to solve the homelessness problem. They would be out of jobs.

  Everything is a racket.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 18:25

• Musk Slams 'Black Supremacist' AG Going After SpaceX For Not Hiring Refugees
  Musk Slams ‘Black Supremacist’ AG Going After SpaceX For Not Hiring Refugees

  On Thursday, Biden’s DOJ slapped SpaceX with a lawsuit for not hiring refugees and asylum seekers, one day after Musk announced he was suing organizations funded by George Soros for lying about ‘hate incidents’ on X (formerly known as Twitter).

  

  And while there’s no obvious link between the two, the timing couldn’t be more suspicious.

  Anyhoo, following the absurd shot at SpaceX – which is bound by the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which regulates the export of regulated technologies, such as rocket parts – curious internet denizens discovered that the Assistant Attorney General spearheading the case, Kristen Clarke, appears to be a total black supremacist.

  

  On Thursday night, venture capitalist Max Meyer tweeted: “FLASHBACK: Assistant AG for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke, who is suing @elonmusk  and @SpaceX  for “discriminating against asylum seekers” was an avowed black supremacist while at Harvard University,” referring to a 1994 letter to the Harvard Crimson claiming that blacks are genetically superior to whites for various reasons. The letter was a response to “Defending The Bell Curve,” which argues that human intelligence is a combination of both inherited and environmental factors.

  Included is a quote from the Black Students Association, which Clarke was president of at the time, which reads: “Melanin endows Blacks with greater mental, physical and spiritual abilities.“

  FLASHBACK:

  Assistant AG for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke, who is suing @elonmusk and @SpaceX for “discriminating against asylum seekers” was an avowed black supremacist while at Harvard University

  “Melanin endows Blacks with greater mental, physical and spiritual abilities”

  🧐 pic.twitter.com/raEsZ8N6kL

  — Max Meyer (@mualphaxi) August 25, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsThe letter is attributed to “no writer,” however it ends with “Kristen Clarke ’97′” and “Victoria Kennedy ’97,” with a note reading “Clarke is president of the Black Students Association.” Clark clearly wrote, co-wrote, or at minimum endorsed, its message.

  The entire letter is reproduced below in its entirety (emphasis ours)

  In response to those who defend The Bell Curve (“Defending The Bell Curve,” Opinion, Oct. 24, 1994), please use the following theories and observations to assist you in your search for truth regarding the genetic differences between Blacks and whites.

  One: Dr. Richard King reveals that at the core of the human brain is the “locus coeruleus” which is a structure that is Black because it contains large amounts of (neuro) melanin which is essential for its operation.

  Two: Black infants sit, stand, crawl and walk sooner than whites.

  Three: Carol Barnes notes that human mental processes are controlled by melanin–that same chemical which gives Blacks their superior physical and mental abilities.

  Four: Some scientists have revealed that most whites are unable to produce melanin because their pineal glands are often calcification or non-functioning. Pineal calcification rates with Africans are five to 15 percent, Asians 15 to 25 percent and Europeans 60 to 80 percent. This is the chemical basis for the cultural differences between Blacks and whites.

  Five: Melanin endows Blacks with greater mental, physical and spiritual abilities–something which cannot be measured based on Eurocentric standards.

  We can readily admit that an abused child is less likely to achieve academically than a child that has grown up in a supportive atmosphere. Black children, whether rich or poor, grow up with an added abuse which white children never have to face. Imagine the message that misguided information like The Bell Curve would send to a Black child who is trying to find her place in school. It’s degrading, belittling and outrageously false.

  Attacks on Black people such as those in The Bell Curve are not unique. Black children face this abuse daily through television shows, jokes aired on the radio, textbooks with truncated history, etc. Liberal whites underestimate the damage which racism causes on the minds of Black children, and conservative whites know all too well how to enlarge that damage. No matter how rich or supportive a Black person’s home might be, by the time she is ready to take the SAT or apply to college, she has struggled far more extensively than any white person of the same social and economic background.

  In addition, it is completely naive to say that Blacks have achieved economic equality with whites. It seems that whites have grown tired of hearing about racism. So, some have turned to measures such as The Bell Curve to relieve themselves of blame.

  It’s just ridiculous. Black people are not asking for political correctness, but truthfulness, fairness and an end to this abuse. Kristen Clarke ’97   Victoria Kennedy ’97

  Clarke is president of the Black Students Association.

  In response, Musk tweeted “She is super racist and proud of it.”

  She is super racist and proud of it

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2023

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

  Of course…

  Ah, the Tucker Carlson Rule.

  “Whatever they accuse you of, they have already done.”

  — Joshua Lisec | The Ghostwriter (@JoshuaLisec) August 25, 2023

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

  About time “Black supremacist” became an acceptable term in race relations discourse.

  — Amit Schandillia (@Schandillia) August 25, 2023

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

  It does look that way.

  — babcia1 (@wieslawawy) August 25, 2023

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

  Any racism is racism.
  Now imagine ANY white person saying it?

  So equally treated racism must be whoever it comes from!

  — NeutrinoInlovetweet (@NeutrinoInlove) August 25, 2023

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

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 18:00

• Saudi Arabia Weighs China Bid To Build Nuclear Power Plant
  Saudi Arabia Weighs China Bid To Build Nuclear Power Plant

  By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

  Saudi Arabia is considering a bid from a Chinese state firm to build a nuclear power plant, which could give the Kingdom leverage in possible talks for U.S. assistance for establishing a civil nuclear industry, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, quoting Saudi officials with knowledge of the matter.

  

  Saudi Arabia has been actively seeking help with expertise in nuclear energy to develop its own civil nuclear generation capacity. The U.S. has been an obvious first choice among potential partners, but Washington has taken a cautious approach. The United States has made it clear that it would only help Riyadh develop nuclear generation capabilities if any agreement includes preventing the enrichment of uranium or reprocessing of plutonium from the reactors, to prevent the weaponization of nuclear power.

  Now Saudi Arabia is evaluating a bid from China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) to build a nuclear power plant in an Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, close to the border with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Saudi officials told the Journal.

  Those officials also admitted to the WSJ that the idea to consider the Chinese bid was an attempt to gain leverage in talks with the U.S. about its help for Saudi Arabia’s civil nuclear program, and potentially extract some compromise on the non-proliferation issues.

  The Middle East is not known for its nuclear power generation capabilities. With all its oil wealth, the region has traditionally relied on fossil fuels to meet its electricity needs.

  In 2020, the first nuclear power plant in the Arab world began operating in the UAE. Plans are to expand it to a facility that would meet a quarter of the country’s electricity demand.

  However, observers warn any expansion of nuclear capabilities in the sensitive Middle Eastern region could lead to a nuclear arms race that could end in disaster.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 17:40

• Watch: Maui Residents Turned Back By Police Barricades Recount Their Brush With Death
  Watch: Maui Residents Turned Back By Police Barricades Recount Their Brush With Death

  After Joe Biden’s recent delayed visit to Maui in which he fell asleep during a ceremony honoring the people killed during the terrible event and chuckled about almost “losing his wife, his corvette and his cat” in a fire, many questions about the calamity remain unresolved. Without any obvious pressure from the federal government to get answers, Hawaii’s Democrat leadership is left to its own devices.  They are even attempting an information blackout instead of begging Maui citizens for their forgiveness.  

  Multiple reports from Lahaina indicate that West Maui residents ran into government barricades while trying to flee the rapidly expanding fire; with the survivors being forced to disobey the blocks and bypass police.  It’s yet another bizarre occurrence in a long list of disastrous decisions made by Hawaiian officials that likely cost hundreds (if not thousands) of lives.  

  The government gave no warning siren, denied access to water for fighting back the blaze, and set up barricades which stopped people from escaping.  It’s almost as if the state government did not care about a high body count…

  The following video is an overview of first hand footage recorded by Maui citizens, recounting their brush with death after they barely slipped past the rushing fire only to be turned back into the inferno by police blockades.  Luckily they lived, some only by running into the ocean to wait out the fires.  The question remains – Why did this happen?  How could a place surrounded by water be allowed to burn so easily with families being chased into the sea?  How did Hawaiian officials make the worst possible decisions at every turn?  Was it incompetence, or, something else?

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 17:20

• A Startling Compilation: 'Neither Safe Nor Effective'
  A Startling Compilation: ‘Neither Safe Nor Effective’

  Authored by Linda Weigenfeld via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  A section of Dr. Colleen Huber’s introduction to her very important book, “Neither Safe Nor Effective 2nd Edition: The Evidence Against the COVID Vaccines,” is worth quoting before looking at the book as a whole:

  “Dr. Peter McCullough, an American cardiologist, called the COVID vaccines, ‘the worst pharmaceutical development idea in the history of mankind.’”

  “It often comes as a surprise to people that mRNA-type medical interventions and coronavirus vaccines had plenty of red flags through their history prior to December 2020. The ingredients used were already known to be toxic: Cationic lipids injure the nervous system, lungs and liver, as well as cell membranes throughout the body. Polyethylene glycol was never used for injections, due to safety concerns. mRNA had already been shown to change DNA. Previous attempts at coronavirus vaccines had all failed and killed the test animals. So inflicting the world’s population with a new, mostly untested vaccine for which its components already had so many safety warnings was the most widespread reckless experiment in human history.”

  

  Dr. Huber exposes the deaths, injuries, and the lack of desired results left in the wake of the COVID vaccines. She backs up her words with over 700 references to medical studies and government webpages.

  A Little Background

  Dr. Colleen Huber’s clinic in Tempe, Arizona, has provided cancer care by naturopathic physicians for its 16 years of existence. In 2014, Dr. Huber authored the largest and longest study in medical history on sugar intake in cancer patients.

  Since the spring of 2020, Dr. Huber’s research interests have focused on the health hazards of masks and the COVID vaccines, as well as early treatments for COVID. As a medical expert in court cases related to vaccine safety concerns, she has, to prepare testimony for trials, compiled vital statistics, data from vaccine manufacturers, and other data from the United States and governments from around the world.

  While parts of Dr. Huber’s book are quite technical and others unpleasant (to say the least), without access to a book with data such as this, the health of those receiving vaccines could be further jeopardized and lives lost. The documentation is complete and comprehensive, supporting Dr. Huber’s intention to expose the truth about the COVID vaccinations.

  

  A Lack of Public Scrutiny

  Dr. Huber discusses how the naïve public was required to allow Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson to inject substances on pure faith—without any scientific results backing up the company’s products.

  Each of the manufacturers were inadequately scrutinized by the public prior to widespread use of the vaccines. Yet there was reason to thoroughly examine these companies. Pfizer had the distinction of paying the largest criminal fine in history for fraud, and Moderna had never produced anything before, much less a medical treatment. Johnson and Johnson had recently been convicted of asbestos contamination in its talcum powder. Thus, the three main manufacturers of the COVID vaccines each had a history that should have alarmed people.

  There was also an assumption by the public that the vaccines would be better than the disease. Perhaps, in part, this assumption was due to a heavily financed and carefully choreographed COVID fear campaign.

  Dr. Huber says that an emergency experimental vaccine cannot be assumed to be safer than a virus with a very high survival rate such as COVID.

  Vaccine Side Effects

  Dr. Huber documents the effects of COVID vaccinations. For example, the vaccine may cause blood clotting which can cause strokes, heart attacks, and pulmonary embolisms.

  The vaccine turns the body into a spike-protein factory. These spike proteins then damage blood vessels and cells throughout the body, including cells in the heart.

  Uveitis, an eye inflammation, is a common complaint within a few days following a COVID vaccination.  This manifests as blurred vision, floaters, pain, redness and/or light sensitivity.  Injuries to the retina and clouding of the vitreous humor (the clear gel that we see through) have also been reported.

  By August 2022, data analyst Raimond Hagemann had compiled information on birth rate changes in 19 European countries and produced an extremely important paper. Nine months after the peak of COVID vaccinations, birth rates sharply declined and stayed down.

  Cancers, especially aggressive cancers, have increased enormously since peak COVID vaccine uptake in spring of 2021.

  Demyelinating disorders, that is, conditions that damage a layer of cells that protect the nerves, have been reported following the vaccinations.  These include multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre, seizures, encephalopathies, and encephalitis.

  

  Other Chapters of Interest

  Dr. Huber has a chapter giving a review of the immune system, and another explains why vaccines for respiratory diseases cannot work. There is also a chapter demonstrating with graphs that the more vaccines (boosters) a person receives, the more damage that can occur.

  Offering suggestions for healing the vaccine injured, Dr. Huber adds the disclaimer that she cannot guarantee any of her advice will even partially heal the injured but some of it may prove effective in some cases. She mentions Vitamin D with its long and very successful history against viral infections, as well as agmatine, phosphatidyl serine, and nattokinase.

  She also advises looking to Africa for solutions. Africa has been a beacon of light against an otherwise bleak global map. The continent has the distinction of having very little incidence and deaths from COVID when compared to the rest of the populated world. Africa also had an extraordinarily low vaccination rate. Instead, of vaccines, ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine have been widely used throughout equatorial Africa for about a half century as they happen to be very useful against endemic parasites.

  Dr. Huber includes a chapter on legal cases that are pertinent to bodily autonomy. She includes a link to each case, including some in which she was not involved, with quotes from each ruling judge.

  She also talks about how to obtain religious and medical exemptions to COVID vaccines—providing a letter which asserts civil rights and supports bodily autonomy.

  Speaking to the Author

  Colleen Huber provided some insights as to why she wrote “Neither Safe Nor Effective.”

  

  Fearing a pandemic may happen again, Dr. Huber worried about the almost blind acceptance of COVID vaccines. She hopes her book will help stop mandatory COVID vaccination for all people because one size does not fit all. The bodies of people are different and react in different ways to drugs, vaccines, and even food. Thus, she hopes her book will provoke second thoughts in those who are thinking of getting COVID injections in the future.

  She also wants to dispense information that empowers people. By publishing her data now, she shows what happens when a government and social-media companies collude to stifle a free exchange of medical information. It’s become clear that problems with the COVID vaccines would have been easier to prevent before they were administered than to treat the problems they’ve created afterwards.

  And, of course, she wants to provide resources to help the vaccine injured.

  Dr. Huber’s reasons for her writing the book are the very reasons that you should buy the book. Knowledge is power.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 17:00

• US Bank Deposits Plunged Last Week As Fed Rescue Funding Usage Hits New Record High
  US Bank Deposits Plunged Last Week As Fed Rescue Funding Usage Hits New Record High

  For the first time in 6 weeks, US money market funds saw outflows (admittedly a tiny $1BN)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  The outflows were driven by institutional funds – the first in 6 weeks. Retail funds saw inflows for the 18th straight week..

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Also of note is that usage of The Fed’s emergency funds rose yet again (admittedly only $144MN) to a new record high…

  

   

  Source: Bloomberg

  Meanwhile, total bank deposits (on a seasonally-adjusted basis) fell for the second week in a row, plunging last week by $49BN…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Which leaves the divergence between bank deposits and money market funds wide but perhaps starting to narrow…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  The big drop in deposits was driven by foreign bank outflows (-$31BN) but Large ($13BN) and Small banks ($4.6BN) also saw notable outflows on a SA basis. However, on a non-seasonally-adjusted basis Large (+$14BN) and Small banks (+$1.4BN) saw  deposit inflows.

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  So, we have the now ubiquitous ‘baffle em with bullshit’ measures showing domestic US banks had $15BN of inflows (NSA) but $18BN of outflows (SA)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Despite the outflows, Large ($13.7BN) and Small ($6.3BN) banks saw loan volumes increase last week…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Finally, US equity market cap remains divergent from bank reserves at The Fed…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  So what exactly are the banks going to do in 6 months when The Fed’s BTFP funding expires? That’s a $107BN balance sheet hole that will need to be fixed…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 16:40

• Kunstler: The Party Of Chaos Is Running Scared
  Kunstler: The Party Of Chaos Is Running Scared

  Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

  “Georgia could determine who is our next president. A TEAM of lawyers needs to watch them count every single vote. They can start in Fulton County where we are having water leaks.”

  – Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Nov. 4, 2020

  What to make of this mugshot? Serious as a heart attack? I’d hate to be you on that fateful day? Table turner? Energy shift? Game on? Daddy’s in da house? Good career move? You can run but you can’t hide? Please, Br’er Fox, don’t fling me in that-there briar patch…

  

  Good luck trying this case, DA Fani Willis. And by all means roll the TV cameras in the courtroom. You are about to supplant the Scopes trial of 1925 as the most notoriously ridiculous piece of legal work in US history. That one, over in Tennessee, was called “the Monkey Trial” when a high school teacher named John Scopes was charged with teaching the theory of evolution in his biology class. It got the national news spotlight for the duration. The state enlisted three-time Democratic presidential nominee Williams Jennings Bryan as a special prosecutor. Poor Bryan, famously sweating in the southern July heat, was made a fool of by Chicago lawyer for the defense Clarence Darrow. Bryan died of a stroke days after the conclusion of the trial. It also killed what remained of his reputation.

  This week, DA Willis staged the circus parade of bookings, forcing the large cast of indictees – most of them attorneys for Mr. Trump – to submit to the finger-printing and mugshot ceremony in the county jail, in case any of them had thoughts of decamping to Uruguay. The cable news peanut gallery went berserk with glee at the humiliation of election denial celebrities Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell especially. On Thursday, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who advised Georgia GOP officials on the process of assembling alternate electors in the case of election fraud under Georgia law, demanded a speedy trial.

  Under Georgia’s speedy trial law, Mr. Chesebro’s trial would have to take place this fall. (Such are the guiles of the law.) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper called it, “an aggressive filing.” Ms. Willis had hoped to try all 19 defendants together during the 2024 presidential primary season, to support her RICO charges. Meanwhile, three other defendants, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, filed to have their cases removed to the federal court, in so far as the actions they are accused of taking happened while they worked in the service of the US government. Mr. Meadows is accused of seeking by email to get the phone number of a Pennsylvania election official.

  Ms. Willis’s case hinges on a number of novel propositions. First, that it is somehow against the law to object to the outcome of an election. And second, that the process for relief in such a case, as provided in Georgia’s election contest law and the US Electoral Count Act of 1887, does not apply to Mr. Trump and his lawyers. Anyone who intends to challenge the outcome must necessarily assemble a panel of alternate electors if state officials cannot certify the election properly and in good faith. Ms. Willis refers to these erroneously as “fake electors.” Mr. Trump and his co-defendants will necessarily have to present evidence that the Georgia presidential election of 2020 was not certified properly or in good faith.

  Will the defendants be allowed to present evidence of serious irregularities in the 2020 Georgia election results? If not, would that not be grounds for dismissal. So far, Democrats in charge of the machinery of law all over the country have skated on mere assertions that the 2020 election was fair. In Georgia, none of the principals involved in the dispute have been subject to cross-examination, the best instrument for truth-finding in the American legal system. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Sec’y of State Brad Raffensperger may not be so hot for an airing of what actually went on Nov 3, 2020 and the days after, especially the validity of over 100,000 mail-in ballots in a state where “Joe Biden’s” margin of victory was a mere 11,799 votes.

  Mr. Trump seems to be thriving under the tribulation of four court cases brought against him as he runs for election in 2024. Each new set of charges boosts his poll numbers. It helps him hugely that the cases are transparently idiotic and mendacious. If he is initially convicted in any of them, he can still run for president and be elected, even if he’s jailed — as Eugene Debs did in 1920 getting 913,693 votes running on the Socialist Party from the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, where he was jailed under the 1917 Espionage Act for speaking out against America’s entry into the First World War.

  The Party of Chaos is running scared. Everybody knows that “Joe Biden” can’t possibly run for another term and yet the public debate is so grotesquely disabled that nobody will talk about it. Most particularly, they will not talk about who might take his place.

  All they are really demonstrating with this barrage of prosecutions against their chief adversary is how broken, craven, and degenerate the party is, and what a menace it is, as they like to say, to our democracy.

  *  *  *

  Support his blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/25/2023 – 16:20

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