Today’s News 26th February 2021

• How Does All Of This End?
  How Does All Of This End?

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The American Institute for Economic Research,

  There is a sense in the air that the pandemic is winding down, and the toxic culture of division, fear, and hatred along with it.

  • Cases are down dramatically.

  • Deaths too.

  • Hospitalizations are no longer irregular.

  • Restrictions are being repealed.

  You can follow all the action daily at the CDC’s new and unusually competent landing page on the virus (it only took them a year to build this). 

  

  Despite all the talk of a new normal and infinite mandates, there is hope that it could all unwind quickly, pushed by force of public impatience and frustration with restrictions, and a political scramble to avoid responsibility by running away from all that they did for the last year. 

  The list of signs and symbols could be made very long. 

  • The politicians who overreached are suddenly being held accountable, with both Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom on the hotseat. Calls for governors and mayors to resign consume state and local news. There is clearly major political tumult building. 

  • The Great Barrington Declaration scientists can hardly keep up with the requests for respectful interviews, now that it is becoming clear that they were right all along. 

  • The experience in open states like Florida, Georgia, South Dakota, and so on, makes it impossible to ignore the grim truth that the lockdowns achieved nothing for public health but did harm health, businesses, liberties, law, and civilized life. 

  • The push to open economies, by the same people who locked down the economies, such as Boris Johnson in the UK, is an implicit repudiation of the nonsensical ZeroCovid movement. Everyone seems now to agree with what AIER has been saying for a year: humanity must deal intelligently with pathogens and stop pretending that political forces can control them. 

  • AIER visiting senior fellow Naomi Wolf had a hit just last evening on the Tucker Carlson show, and they spoke as allies in the reopening efforts after years of ideological sparring. 

  • There is growing weariness of Anthony Fauci’s daily word salads that have massively mixed up the public health messaging for a full year, to the point that Meghan McCain has called for his firing. 

  • A year ago, Slate was making sense until the virus became political and they joined the lockdown mob. Now the publication is back to making sense again, with this excellent piece. 

  • British medical journal The Lancet is publishing excellent short pieces on the cost of lockdowns, including this riveting letter from Martin Kulldorff. 

  • A prestigious European journal of public health has published a blistering attack on the very idea that a power government should ever be trusted with virus mitigation. 

  The people who have committed their careers and lives to this pandemic and the policies surrounding it might soon need to find a new raison d’etre. Then the clean up begins – how did this happen, who did it, how to make sure it never happens again – and does not end perhaps for decades. 

  It’s been fascinating to see the early drafts on the reasons why. There will be some perfunctory efforts to credit lockdowns, masks, human separation, and closures for somehow making the virus go away. The trouble is that there is no evidence of this. There is evidence for many other explanations having to do with herd immunity and “seasonality” (another way of saying the pathogen comes and then goes) and possibly more precision in testing. 

  For example, this new article by the very sensible Jennifer Beam Dowd of Oxford names many factors (while downplaying the role of vaccines) but says of masks and so on that it is “challenging to identify their specific effects, and cases are dropping in almost all states even with a wide range of policies.” 

  Indeed! 

  The reckoning will be taking place for months if not years. In the end people will be left wondering why we took such extreme measures that wrecked so many lives when the endemic equilibrium comes in time regardless of all these measures. We tried a crazy experiment in social and economic control and we are left with scant evidence that it made much difference on the virus but vast evidence that they demoralized and ruined life for billions of people. 

  What about the opening? There will continue to be those who will cower in fear, still dealing with the deep psychological trauma that comes from watching TV journalists scream panic for the better part of a year. But there will be an emerging majority that will be more than willing to go back to real life. 

  My go-to book on the pandemic and the response has been Albert Camus’s remarkable novel The Plague. He wrote it as partially autobiographical about his own quarantine. It was published in 1947. It still stands as a brilliant account of the sociology and psychology of fear during pandemic and lockdown. 

  As we approach the end of the novel, the plague begins to lift, not because of anything that the townspeople did or because of the restrictions on their lives. It lifts because the virus ran its pandemic course. What’s striking is how quickly the dawn of normalcy happens, followed by a new appreciation for life, fun, revelry, and exuberance. 

  As people begin to see the end, Camus records the fictional scene. 

  No doubt the plague was not yet ended—a fact of which they were to be reminded; still, in imagination they could already hear, weeks in advance, trains whistling on their way to an outside world that had no limit, and steamers hooting as they put out from the harbor across shining seas. Next day these fancies would have passed and qualms of doubt returned. But for the moment the whole town was on the move, quitting the dark, lugubrious confines where it had struck its roots of stone, and setting forth at last, like a shipload of survivors, toward a land of promise….

  In streets and squares people were dancing. Within twenty-four hours the motor traffic had doubled and the ever more numerous cars were held up at every turn by merry-making crowds. Every church bell was in full peal throughout the afternoon, and the bells filled the blue and gold sky with their reverberations. Indeed, in all the churches thanksgiving services were being held. But at the same time the places of entertainment were packed, and the cafés, caring nothing for the morrow, were producing their last bottles of liquor. A noisy concourse surged round every bar, including loving couples who fondled each other without a thought for appearances. All were laughing or shouting. The reserves of emotion pent up during those many months when for everybody the flame of life burned low were being recklessly squandered to celebrate this, the red-letter day of their survival. Tomorrow real life would begin again, with its restrictions. But for the moment people in very different walks of life were rubbing shoulders, fraternizing. The leveling-out that death’s imminence had failed in practice to accomplish was realized at last, for a few gay hours, in the rapture of escape.

  And so on goes the opening, slowly at first, then quickly, then all at once. The decisive turn is when the public returns to thinking rationally, refuses to be locked up anymore, and decides to trust themselves and the medical profession rather than the powerful elites who only pretend to manage disease. The trauma lasts, of course, but the healing also begins. 

  Last April, in a more naive time, I truly did imagine that these lockdowns and restrictions could not last. I had underestimated both the public panic and the government’s willingness to double- and triple-down on unworkable policies. 

  I also overestimated what I had previously imagined to be a widespread commitment to liberty and property that would have inspired some public revolt early on. So here we are a full year later, with the reports of lockdown carnage pouring in by the day and hour. It’s a gigantic mess, to be sure, but the end does seem to be in view, and thank goodness for that. Let the blowback begin.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 23:40

• New Bill Would Prohibit Transgenders From Entering Opposite-Sex Bathrooms, Women's Sports
  New Bill Would Prohibit Transgenders From Entering Opposite-Sex Bathrooms, Women’s Sports

  A new bill set to be introduced on Friday by Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) would prevent transgender individuals from using opposite-sex bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams.

  

  Intended to protect women and girls from both predators and unfair competition, the bill would also clarify the word “sex” in Title IX as “sex determined solely by a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” according to the Daily Caller, which obtained an advance copy of the bill.

  The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the legislation which is titled the Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act. Miller, who has five daughters herself, decided to put the bill together after President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order to interpret Title IX as requiring schools to allow access to sex-segregated spaces and activities based on gender identity on his first day in office.

  Biden’s executive order specifically mentions restrooms, locker rooms and sports in schools would be targeted. Girls would no longer have spaces to change their clothes or go to the bathroom, as biological males would have access to their spaces. Miller’s bill also focuses on women’s sports and how it is unfair for a biological male to compete against a biological female. –Daily Caller

  

  “Democrats continue to push radical gender ideology on our children, and we must draw the line to protect women and girls. On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order to interpret Title IX as requiring schools to allow access to sex-segregated spaces and activities based on gender identity. But Title IX was created to enhance athletic opportunities for women, not threaten their safety. This is why I’m sponsoring the Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act,” said Miller, who told the Caller that women could be put at risk by Biden’s Executive Order.

  Daily Caller Obtained Safet… by Henry Rodgers

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 23:20

• FBI "Aware Of" Possible UFO Spotting, Won't Confirm Investigation
  FBI “Aware Of” Possible UFO Spotting, Won’t Confirm Investigation

  Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

  The FBI said Thursday it’s aware of a possible unidentified flying object (UFO) sighting, but would not confirm whether the bureau is probing the incident.

  “The FBI is aware of the reported incident. While our policy is to neither confirm nor deny investigations, the FBI works continuously with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners to share intelligence and protect the public,” a spokesperson for the bureau’s Albuquerque Field Office told The Epoch Times via email.

  “Anyone who is aware of suspicious or criminal activity should contact their local law enforcement agency or the FBI,” the spokesperson added.

  The incident in question reportedly took place as an American Airlines plane was en route to Phoenix, Arizona, from Cincinnati, Ohio.

  

  Chatter recorded by blogger Steve Douglass shows a pilot reporting that “we just had something go right over the top of us.”

  “I hate to say this but it looked like a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise missile type of thing – moving really fast right over the top of us,” he added, according to a transmission from a radio scanner.

  American Airlines did not return a request for comment.

  The airline told Fox News that the transmission was from its flight 2292, though it also told ABC 7 that it was not.

  UFOs are periodically spotted by pilots and passengers but the mysterious vessels are sometimes confirmed to be everyday objects. In other cases, sightings are confirmed but no ready explanation is provided.

  A spokesperson for the Department of Defense said in 2019 that officials investigate UFO reports.

  “The Department of Defense is always concerned about maintaining positive identification of all aircraft in our operating environment, as well as identifying any foreign capability that may be a threat to the homeland,” the spokesperson said.

  “The department will continue to investigate, through normal procedures, reports of unidentified aircraft encountered by US military aviators in order to ensure defense of the homeland and protection against strategic surprise by our nation’s adversaries.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 23:00

• Boeing 777 Makes Emergency Landing In Moscow Due To Engine Trouble
  Boeing 777 Makes Emergency Landing In Moscow Due To Engine Trouble

  It really has not been a good year for Boeing. Or a good decade for that matter.

  Just days after a Boeing-777 became the latest symbol of all that is wrong with the once almighty aircraft maker, when the plane’s right engine exploded (with debris striking houses below it in a scene right out of Breaking Bad) and only a miracle prevented a tragedy, moments ago another Boeing-777 made an emergency landing in Russia’s Sheremetyevo airport outside of Moscow, Interfax reports, adding that the plane crew requested the landing after one of left engine control channels failed

  The news service doesn’t name the airline operator; but said that the plane was flying from Hong Kong to Madrid. Luckily, no injuries were reported.

  The latest mishap followed even more bad news for the aerospace giant, which earlier on Thursday agreed to pay $6.6 million to U.S. regulators as part of a settlement with the Federal Aviation Administration over the planemaker’s failure to comply with a 2015 safety agreement including quality and safety-oversight lapses going back years, a setback that comes as Boeing wrestles with repairs to flawed 787 Dreamliner jets that could dwarf the cost of the federal penalty.

  As Reuters reported, Boeing is beginning painstaking repairs and forensic inspections to fix structural integrity flaws embedded deep inside at least 88 parked 787s built over the last year or so. The inspections and retrofits could take up to a month per plane and are likely to cost hundreds of millions – if not billions – of dollars, though it depends on the number of planes and defects involved.

  The penalties include $5.4 million for not complying with the agreement in which Boeing pledged to change its internal processes to improve and prioritize regulatory compliance and $1.21 million to settle two pending FAA enforcement cases.

  “The FAA is holding Boeing accountable by imposing additional penalties,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement.

  But the biggest challenge facing Boeing is whether or not it can find passengers for its 737 MAX now that the infamous deadly airplane which was reportedly “designed by clowns…supervised by monkeys” is set to fly again. While the plane may indeed have gotten a green light from the FAA, a far bigger question is whether Boeing has by now lost the trust of the public for good.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 22:45

• "Deeply Unfair Move" – Baltimore Strippers Protest City's COVID-19 Restrictions
  “Deeply Unfair Move” – Baltimore Strippers Protest City’s COVID-19 Restrictions

  Baltimore strippers showed up enforce at City Hall Wednesday to protest the mayor’s new coronavirus health measures that keep adult entertainment establishments closed, according to local television station WBAL. 

  The announcement came from Mayor Brandon Scott earlier this week, who allowed restaurants to partially open with indoor capacity set to 25% and outdoor dining to 50%. He felt optimistic about current COVID-19 health trends in the city. 

  However, strip clubs were not permitted to open; this triggered outrage among sex workers who protested the City Hall Wednesday afternoon. 

  “This is a deeply unfair move, in our view,” an anonymous spokesperson for adult entertainment business owners in Baltimore said in a statement. “We’re being selectively targeted to stay closed. If you can open a gym or put on a stage show, you can have a gentleman’s club open. There’s some other agenda at work here, and it’s very insensitive to the not inconsequential number of people who make their livings through the adult entertainment industry.”

  The statement also pointed out cooks, bartenders, janitors, security guards, and other tradespeople are also affected by the mayor’s harsh coronavirus measures. 

  At the protest, strippers chanted, “Sex work is real work.” 

  

  Dozens of strippers showed up in front of City Hall to voice their anger at the mayor as mandatory government shutdowns have ruined their lives. 

  At City Hall for @NAACP presser in support of Marilyn Mosby. In the background? A rally to reopen Baltimore strip clubs. pic.twitter.com/byb7PPPzEm

  — Tim Prudente (@Tim_Prudente) February 24, 2021

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  Bella Gluscevich, a 22-year-old stripper at Fantasies in Baltimore, told Baltimore Brew that it’s been tough during the pandemic. 

  “It’s been really rough being out of work; I lost my apartment, my car, and I haven’t been able to pay for school,” Gluscevich said.

  A provision in the government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) banned strip clubs from collecting stimulus checks – the industry across the country has been devastated. But as capitalism always prevails, some clubs have found ways to survive. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 22:40

• Luongo: The Greening Of The Grid Froze Texas
  Luongo: The Greening Of The Grid Froze Texas

  Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, ‘n Guns blog,

  Polar winds scream out of Canada in seeming revenge for Joe Biden canceling the Keystone XL pipeline.

  Texas’ power grid collapsed as temperatures more likely in Sioux Falls than San Antonio roared in plunging more than 4 million people into darkness and without heat.

  How can this have possibly happened in a place whose entire cultural identity revolves around producing energy?

  

  Simple.

  Texas’ deregulated energy market went green over the past decade. In the past ten years, according to the EIA, Texas retired more than 5,000 MW of coal-supplied power while spinning up more than that in windmills.

  Wind produces the marginal, or last, megawatt in Texas, in this case the last 17%. Nuclear provides the first megawatt, less than 10%.

  Natural Gas provides most of the megawatts.

  One would think in a world which is getting hotter that putting windmills and solar panels would be a good idea.

  I’m sure that’s what the CEO’s of all those energy providers across Texas thought as well. And our government at every level incentivized this. The cultural zeitgeist of ‘sustainability’ and ‘renewables’ overrode, as it always does, common sense.

  Because at the heart of this problem is, bluntly, the planet isn’t warming. It hasn’t warmed net-on-net for the nearly twenty years Texas’ electricity market has been deregulated.

  In fact, when one steps back from the entire CO2-induced Climate Change hysteria and sees it for what it is – a giant money laundering operation through taxes — we have been preparing for the wrong climate catastrophe for more than a generation.

  More on that in a minute.

  Because of the intense cold power, demands for electric heat in Texas spiked well above levels needed for air conditioning in their normally brutal summers. Why? Because those wind turbines which produce the marginal megawatt froze.

  Even worse, because most of Texas’ power actually comes from its abundant production of natural gas and no one thought to consult the folks in Canada or North Dakota, apparently major parts of the gas pipeline infrastructure which delivers the gas to the power plants froze as well.

  So, no gas, no power. No wind, no power. Even with wind, no power.

  

  H/T ElVaquero5555 on Telegram

  On top of that one of the two reactors at the South Texas Nuclear Power Station went down this week adding to the state’s power woes.

  The result was the price for electricity spiking to unheard of numbers that make Bitcoin look like a stablecoin in comparison.

  From under $100 per MWHr to the limit, as defined by Texas’ regulatory board ERCOT, of $9000 per MWHr.

  Anti-free market types will chime in and decry the evils of deregulation and protecting the little guy from price gougers. Commies will scream that it wasn’t the frozen windmills’ fault or the lack of sunlight.

  It will be blamed on the evils of capitalism because that’s what always happens when even a somewhat deregulated market like that of electricity in Texas is hit with a six-sigma outlier event, like Dallas dealing with a high of 9oF in mid-February.

  It doesn’t matter if we socialize the costs or not, the bills for the power used this week in Texas have to be paid. Those costs weren’t necessarily caused by deregulation the extremity of the situation was caused by something far more pernicious than price gouging, bad planning because of bad information.

  CO2-induced global warming theory is, simply put an illusion. The emotions surrounding it along with the economic incentives created through government edict are real.

  The planetary and solar physics have far more predictive and explanatory power than the endless data fudging associated with Mann’s Hockey Stick graph and Al Gore’s stupid movie.

  The weather event which engulfed the center of the U.S. and is moving east, which pushed the Jet Stream to the extreme south cannot be explained by aggregate CO2 concentrations, but rather the interactions between fluctuations in the solar wind and Earth’s rapidly weakening magnetic field.

  A strong solar wind event which pushes on the magnetic field alters the flow of the jet stream bringing strong polar winds farther south than thought possible by the builders of Texas’ energy grid.

  In geological and solar system time scales fifty or sixty years of data are irrelevant. It doesn’t matter that it hasn’t been this cold in Texas for a hundred years when the conditions which caused this event occur every few thousand.

  You can’t plan for that unless you are looking at the right data with the right sets of eyes.

  For decades the effects of solar physics on our planet have been suppressed in pursuit of the CO2 narrative enshrined at the heights of our political power structure at a global level. They do this, in my opinion, to further their political power and advance an agenda of control rather than one of freedom and inquiry.

  Because of this we’ve diverted trillions in useful capital into critical infrastructure projects which fail when we need them most because their bad information crowded out better information.

  It’s pushed back the promise of home power generation for a generation.

  This, to me, is real energy freedom.

  It looked promising back when I built my house in 2003. It is still just a dream outside of solar. The power companies and local governments will not give up that control, it is the key to their tax collection.

  The rallying cry of Joe Biden, when he can read it clearly off the teleprompter, is ‘Trust the Science.’ But science isn’t consensus anymore than chocolate is vanilla. Science in our hyper-politicized world is just that, political.

  Because if we listened to the science (SCIENCE!!) we would have given up on Global Warming decades ago.

  The history of science is the scientists acting as gatekeepers of the dominant political system. New knowledge which threatens the existing power structure is suppressed, its advocates branded heretics slowing the adoption of new paradigms of thought for generations.

  That’s where we are today in climate science. The global warming story collapsed. Now it’s Climate Change. And even that is dubious as the solar physics story gains incontrovertible traction.

  And remember, what we wanted was less pollution. What we got was frozen wind turbines and solar farms in Germany covered in ice.

  Even the IPCC will finally add some solar particle forcing data, the kind which pushed the Jet Stream down to freeze Texas, into their data set in 2022. This is the first major step, officially, towards ending this insanity.

  Reality is reasserting itself with a vengeance in this space and yet the Biden Administration is full steam ahead with the Green New Deal.

  The sad truth is that if none of us had ever listened to the renewable energy hysteria and pushed for proper deregulation of energy markets things would be better today.

  If Texas had left those coal plants running and built a few more nuclear reactors it wouldn’t be freezing today.

  If we’d gotten the government out of the energy regulation market altogether and allowed a proper free market in it with a properly decentralized grid, we would be far closer to the socialists dream of ending price gouging during weather crises.

  But because of government’s insatiable need to control the real means of production – energy, communications, travel and education – we limp along with a hodgepodge grid just waiting for the next catastrophe.

  *  *  *

  Addendum:

  Since this piece was written (2/16/2021) it’s come out that Gov. Greg Abbott wanted to fire up the coal plants to keep the grid from collapsing ahead of the front. He was denied by the DoE unless they charged customers $1500 per MWHr to satisfy Green Energy requirements.

  BOMBSHELL: Biden administration blocked Texas from increasing power as Texas begged for help a week before catastrophic polar vortex.

  Texas asked to temporarily lift regulations on energy output to avoid disaster. Biden’s DOE refused to help due to “green energy standards”. pic.twitter.com/Zt52hT8dzL

  — djcalligraphy 🇺🇲 (@DJcalligraphy) February 21, 2021

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  Politics is the killer here, not free markets.

  *  *  *

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 22:20

• Japanese 10Y Blows Out Above YCC Barrier, But In The US Yields Are Already Sliding
  Japanese 10Y Blows Out Above YCC Barrier, But In The US Yields Are Already Sliding

  Earlier we noted that despite an aggressive attempt by Australia’s central bank to enforce its recently launched yield curve control, including a $3BN POMO yesterday – triple the amount it bought on Monday and the most since the bond market turbulence during the COVID-19 panic last March – followed by another $3BN POMO on Friday, the Australian 3Y had blown out to 0.13% earlier today then rose as high as 0.154% a few hours ago, before retracing and last trading at 0.116% still above the 0.10% “controlled” max yield on the security.

  Australia was just the start: shortly after Asia reopened following today’s blowout, Japan followed suit and saw its 10Y surge above 0.18%, the highest level since early 2016, well before the BOJ implemented Yield Curve Control in September of the same year, which changed the bank’s policy framework to target the yield on ten-year government bonds at “around zero percent.”

  

  Well, with today’s blowout past the highest level reached during the YCC period, one can conclude that YCC is starting to fail across the globe, first in Australia and now in Japan.

  But while yields were surging across the globe in sympathy with the epic rout that took place in US bonds earlier in the day, when a catastrophic 7Y auction sent the 10Y soaring by 10bps in seconds, rising as high as 1.60%, US Treasurys have since faded much of the move as traders are now rushing to buy the dip.

  As JPMorgan writes in its end of day market recap, “today there were many multi-month/multi-year levels that were broken and now the question is now where can markets find a level. Today was the first day in the recent sell-off that felt distinctly defensive in nature. Equity markets are taking cues from bond markets and today we took out our firm’s forecast for mid-year 10Y yield. In the face of another slug of almost $2T in fiscal and a third vaccine, how much farther can yields run?”

  While one would think that the answer is “a lot”, JPM then notes that its “Equity Derivatives team saw buyers of interest rate products, betting that yields have moved too far.“

  There’s more: as JPM strategist Jay Barry adds in a valientattempt to find dip buyers, Treasury yields are somewhat “mispriced” at current levels with the first hike baked in for March 2023, which is out of line with fundamentals according to the JPM trader. And while Barry expects to ultimately see higher yields and steeper curves from current levels, in the latest moves fundamentals have been taking a back seat to technicals and are now well below fair value.

  This, to JPM, presents the short-term opportunity to add duration. Given there are over 50bp of hikes priced by early 2024, there is value in intermediate Treasuries, and JPM recommend tactical long positions in 5- year notes at 0.796%.

  Others echoed JPM’s sentiment that the bond rout is a dip buying opportunity, and according to Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management, investors will consider buying Treasuries after 10-year U.S. yields rose above the closely watched level of 1.5%.

  “Looking at the current levels, it’ll be hard for investors to stay bearish and they’ll start to think about dip-buying opportunities,” said the bank’s Akio Kato, who may have been stating his wishes instead of his “objective” assessment.

  He added that “Treasury yields are overshooting as Fed officials have been refraining from commenting directly about them” and noted that “the pick up in momentum reflects strong economic signals from U.S. indicators.”

  Finally, keep in mind that as recently as Monday JPM calculated that due to month-end pension rebalancing, around $90bn of equity selling was expected by balanced mutual funds for February month-end. Well, following today’s bond rout, funds may instead reverse and opt to buy bonds in the next three days ahead of month end to take advantage of the sharply lower prices which have not been matched by a similar decline in stocks.

  In short, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a vicious snapback rally in the coming days, especially if some CTAs close out their shorts, which are currently the highest in 2 years…

  

  … and turn long duration. In fact, one look at the aggressive buying of Treasurys in the overnight session, it appears that this may have already started.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 22:01

• Secretly, Biden's Foreign Policies Are Trump's Foreign Policies
  Secretly, Biden’s Foreign Policies Are Trump’s Foreign Policies

  Authored by Eric Zuesse via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

  Biden’s foreign policies are putting Democratic Party lipstick onto the Republican Party’s pig. That’s his ‘change’, on US foreign policies. Though President Joe Biden is publicly critical of Trump’s foreign policies, he’s continuing almost all of them and is changing only minor ones. The changes are almost entirely in rhetoric, not in actual policies, as will be documented here.

  A good example of this entirely rhetorical ‘difference’ is described in a February 19th article from Reuters, Drawing contrast with Trump, Biden promises US allies a partnership that’s not transactional. Biden’s policy, to “promote democracy over autocracies,” condemns Trump’s polices as having been “transactional” instead of based on “values.” But, actually, America’s invasions, and coups, and economic sanctions, during the past few decades, have been ‘justified’ by condemning the US regime’s target-nations (Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine before America’s 2014 coup there — and now Ukraine is ‘our ally‘) as not being “democratic,” and as not adhering to ‘human rights’, as if the US regime itself were an authentic democracy, or were unquestionably better on human rights than the targets against which its aggressions are directed — none of which is true.

  

  If America were a democracy, then why does it have a higher percentage of its residents in prisons than does any other nation on the planet? And they’re almost all poor people, who couldn’t even afford a good lawyer. That’s ‘equal rights’? America is a country of equal rights? And it provides equal opportunity there, if your father went to prison? (Many ex-cons in America aren’t even allowed to vote. And their job-prospects, with a prison record or empty years shown on a CV, are permanently reduced.) Biden condemned “Trump, who angered allies by breaking off global accords and threatening to end defense assistance unless they toed his line. ‘Our partnerships have endured and grown through the years because they are rooted in the richness of our shared democratic values. They’re not transactional’ [he said].” Liberal hogwash — purely arrogant lies, by the U.S. regime, so that it can continue to perpetrate aggression against its target-nations, while appearing, to suckers, to be a ‘kinder and gentler nation’.

  The hypocrisy of that is understood by all of America’s allies — all leaders of the empire’s vassal-nations. They know that many of those allied leaders are, themselves, even more tyrannical than America’s leaders are. For example, on February 16th, the BBC bannered Princess Latifa: ‘Hostage’ ordeal of Dubai ruler’s daughter revealed, and reported: “The daughter of Dubai’s ruler who tried to flee the country in 2018 later sent secret video messages to friends accusing her father of holding her ‘hostage’ as she feared for her life. In footage shared with BBC Panorama, Princess Latifa Al Maktoum says commandos drugged her as she fled by boat and flew her back to detention.” Will Biden therefore dump its UAE vassal-nation, for this “problem,” which goes all the way back to the year 2000 and has never yet caused the US regime to drop any ‘ally’?

  Another of the ‘democratic’ America’s vassal leaders, the one who controls Saudi Arabia, had perpetrated the 2 October 2018 luring into Istanbul’s Saudi Consulate of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi (who feared for his life even as he entered there) where he was immediately dismembered and chopped-up by the team of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman al-Saud, and thus was placed on public display how above-the-law Saudi Arabia’s Government really is. The five execution-team-members, whom the Crown Prince had reason to believe might testify against him if released, were sentenced to death. So, anyone who would be hired for such an operation in the future would be a fool to trust that employer. The only real insiders in such a regime are at the very top. ‘Honor among thieves’ doesn’t exist at that high a level. Finally, on 9 September 2019, Turkey’s Daily Sabah newspaper bannered Saudi hit squad’s gruesome conversations during Khashoggi’s murder revealed, and reported that—

  The recordings, which took place before the murder between Sept. 28 and Oct. 2, 2018, reveal in detail the plans and preparations made between the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and the Riyadh administration.

  On Sept. 28, when Khashoggi came to the Saudi Consulate for papers to marry his fiancee Hatice Cengiz, Ahmed Abdullah al-Muzaini, who worked as Saudi Arabia’s intelligence station chief at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, informed Riyadh with an emergency code that Khashoggi had arrived at the consulate. Khashoggi’s return to the consulate on Oct. 2 was also informed to Riyadh.

  On the same day at 7:08 p.m., Saudi Consul Otaibi held a phone call with an official from the office of Saud al-Qahtani, a close aide of Crown Prince Mohammed.

  During the conversation, the murder of Khashoggi was called [in order to code so as to hide what was going on, in case Turkish intelligence were listening-in] “a private matter” and “a top-secret mission.” The official told the Saudi consul that “the head of state security called me. They have a mission. They want one of your officials from your delegation to deal with a private matter. They want someone from your protocol… for a private, top-secret mission. He can even get permission if necessary.”

  These statements are proof that the murder of Khashoggi was not done without the consent of the Saudi crown prince.

  And Israel’s Netanyahu isn’t leading a racist apartheid theocratic nation? And Saudi Arabia’s monarch and his son Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud aren’t also leading a pro-jihadist regime, and America’s Government don’t know this?

  Not “transactional”? It’s actually just replacing Trump’s transactionalism by Biden’s more hypocritical type.

  And the hypocrisy here goes beyond the “not transactional” lie. On February 18th, Reuters headlined US says ready for talks with Iran over nuclear deal and this propaganda reported that:

  Washington would respond positively to any European Union invitation to talks among Iran and the six major powers who negotiated the original agreement: Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

  “We are ready to show up if such a meeting were to take place,” the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity, after a senior EU official said he was prepared to convene such a meeting among the parties to the deal.

  But it’s just a nothingburger.

  Though Russia supported an unconditional restoration of the Iran deal, because only the US had broken it and quit it, the US ‘allies’ backed the aggressor-nation (the US regime), “during a video meeting with his British, French and German counterparts gathered in Paris,” as Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken (who has supported every U.S. invasion including the 2003 invasion of Iraq) led them:

  “Secretary Blinken reiterated that … if Iran comes back into strict compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, the United States will do the same and is prepared to engage in discussions with Iran toward that end,” a joint statement from the four nations said.

  America broke it first, but Iran must return to it first — according to America (which broke it first). Only idiots would accept such wacky ‘reasoning’. But Joe Biden’s Administration appeals only to such idiots. And yet America’s liberals deride Trump for Trump’s stupidity, and for the stupidity of his followers. Truth, and progressivism (which opposes all lies, conservative or liberal), have virtually no representation in today’s American politics. Progressives are marginalized here.

  Also on February 18th, the Moon of Alabama blogger bannered Why Is Biden Creating Himself An Iran Quagmire? and he wrote that the US side were not only demanding that Iran cancel its own departure from the Iran deal (which cancellation had followed after the U.S. had already abandoned the deal) before the US and its gang would return to the negotiating table to restore the Iran deal, but that in addition the U.S. and its ‘allies’ would demand that Iran restrict its missile program — which hadn’t even been included in the Iran deal — before the U.S. and its allies would negotiate a return to the Iran deal. In other words: Iran would have to make concessions first — though only the U.S. had actually broken the deal — and the U.S. and its ‘allies’ still wouldn’t negotiate unless and until Iran would first agree to reduce its missile-forces (which weren’t part of the Iran deal). Furthermore, already, a law recently passed in Iran’s Parliament requires Iran’s Government to bring an end to the IAEA inspections, starting on February 23rd; so, Iran’s Government wouldn’t be allowed to back down to the U.S. regime’s demands, even if Iran’s President were stupid enough to want to do so.

  Instead of the gangster — the US regime — apologizing for what it had done, it tries to fool its own and allied publics into believing that Iran — and not the U.S. gang — were the criminals here. The blatancy of America’s being a regime instead of a democracy is obvious (after all, America stole Iran in 1953 and has been trying to grab it back ever since Iran finally broke away in 1979), and Biden’s pretense to being in a better category than Trump is based on lies that only fools could believe.

  And then there’s Syria.

  Biden Pick For Pentagon Mideast Desk Bragged That US “Owns” Syrian Oil Territory https://t.co/zYNFRzNHyZ

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 2, 2021

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

  On January 23rd, Zero Hedge — linking to reliable online sources — headlined A Large US Military Convoy Rolled Into Syria On 1st Day Of Biden Presidency. Not only is the new US President Joe Biden intensifying America’s invasion of Syria, but he is preparing to increase the theft of oil that his predecessor Trump began in Syria after Trump’s predecessor Obama had begun America’s attempted conquest of Syria in 2012.

  Among the sources which were linked to, in that news-report, is Syrian National News Agency (SANA), which — in the past — has proven to have been truthful, about the war, far more often than standard US and other anti-Syrian ‘journalism’ has been shown to have been. SANA reported, on January 21st (Biden’s first day as U.S. President) that:

  The so-called US-led international coalition has sent weapons and logistical materials to its illegitimate bases in Hasaka countryside.

  Local sources told SANA that a convoy consisted of 40 trucks loaded with weapons and logistical materials, affiliated to the so-called international coalition have entered in Hasaka countryside via al-Walid illegitimate border crossing with north of Iraq, to reinforce illegitimate bases in the area.

  Over the past few days, helicopters affiliated to the so-called international coalition have transported logistical equipment and heavy military vehicles to Koniko [Conoco] oil field in northeastern Deir Ezzor countryside, after turning it into military base to reinforce its presence and loot the Syrian resources.

  That oil field had been heavily contested during 2016 between Syria’s Government (which owns it) and ISIS, until US President Barack Obama bombed Syria’s troops who were protecting it, and immediately ISIS forces moved in, and took it over (as was Obama’s intention). That oil facility promptly became the chief source of income for ISIS’s Syrian operation, to overthrow Syria’s Government.

  On 30 April 2017, I had bannered How Obama & Erdogan Moved ISIS from Iraq to Syria, to Weaken Assad, and explained:

  Chris Tomson of Al Masdar News headlined on Monday May 1st, Syrian Army tank takes direct hit from ISIS guided missile in Deir Ezzor [on Sunday, April 30th] and reported that, “Currently, government forces are less than 1500 meters from linking up Deir Ezzor city to its airbase,” which would be an essential link-up in order for the Syrian government to begin to restore control over the largest city in eastern Syria. Here will be the account of how U.S. President Barack Obama handed that city over to ISIS by means of two key actions, so as to weaken Assad’s government.

  Today, Der Zor, or Deir Ezzor, Syria’s major oil center, is controlled by ISIS or Daesh, but Obama’s warplanes bombed the Syrian government troops there on 17 September 2016 and thereby ended the then 5-day-old ceasefire that John Kerry had spent months putting together with Sergei Lavrov [Russia’s Foreign Minister], and thus Obama effectively ended all peace negotiations with Russia regarding Syria. Then, when US and Turkish forces attacked ISIS in Mosul Iraq, an escape-path was intentionally left by them for those ISIS jihadists to travel west to Der Zor, so that they could not only take over the oil wells there, but do major damage to the Syrian government’s army forces in that key city, after Obama had bombed there on September 17th. Consequently, Erdogan and Obama were now using ISIS in Mosul as a means for reinforcing ISIS in Syria, in such a way as to provide oil-income to ISIS and also to directly weaken Assad’s government.

  Obama never told anyone that he favored ISIS and all jihadists over Assad’s government, but he showed it clearly and consistently by his actions.

  A 12 August 2012 U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency warning [whose original can be seen here] that the Obama Administration’s strategy might drive ISIS from Mosul in Iraq to Der Zor in Syria, has actually been carried out as a plan instead of a warning — a plan to weaken and ultimately oust Syria’s non-sectarian President Bashar al-Assad and replace him with a Sunni Sharia-law regime (one led by jihadists). The 2012 DIA warning had called this scenario an “unraveling,” but Obama and the U.S. Congress actually chose it, so as to set the incoming President Trump up with an opportunity to replace Assad’s government by one that the Sauds and their U.S.-made weapons will control.

  Previously, Al Qaeda had been stealing Syria’s oil, and the EU was cooperating with the Obama regime in order to help sell into the EU nations. Syrian troops briefly grabbed it back, but Obama now forced Syria’s Army out and handed that oil-facility to ISIS, so that they could make money from it and continue the job of weakening Syria’s Government.

  On 9 March 2019, three years into Trump’s Presidency, I headlined Syria Accuses U.S. of Stealing 40+ Tons of Its Gold that ISIS had accumulated from their foreign sales of Syria’s oil. However, now that US President Trump knew that ISIS had been ‘earning’ that much money from selling that oil, he wanted to become the person who would be choosing whom would be funded by Syria’s oil. So, on 30 October 2019, I bannered How the U.S. Regime ‘Justifies’ the Theft of Syria’s Oil and reported that—

  On 26 Oct, the New York Times headlined “Keep the Oil”: Trump Revives Charged Slogan for New Syria Troop Mission and opened by saying that “in recent days, Mr. Trump has settled on Syria’s oil reserves as a new rationale for appearing to reverse course and deploy hundreds of additional troops to the war-ravaged country.” They closed with a statement from Bruce Riedel, retired from the CIA: “‘Let’s say he does do it,’’Mr. Riedel said. ‘Let’s say we establish the precedent that we are in the Middle East to take the oil. The symbolism is really bad.'” The propaganda-value of a ‘news’-report is concentrated in its opening, and especially in what the ‘reporter’ (fulfilling the intentions of his editors) selected to be at the very end (such as Riedel’s statement). However, is what’s wrong with taking Syria’s oil actually the “symbolism,” as Riedel said, or is it instead the theft — the reality (and why did the NYT pretend that it’s the symbolism)? Nowhere did that NYT article use the word “theft,” or anything like it, but that is the actual issue here — not mere ‘symbolism’.

  So, Biden will continue that operation, which Obama had started and Trump continued.

  

  The goal is to hand to the Saud family control over Syria’s government. The Saudis are to select whom the rulers of Syrians will be. That has been the plan ever since the CIA’s second coup, which briefly overthrew Syria’s Government, in 1949.

  And then there’s Julian Assange, who has never been convicted of anything but is being drugged and held in a British maximum-security prison as the latest stage in his decade-long imprisonment-without-conviction for anything. A British judge dropped all charges against him and was keeping him in prison pending a decision by Joe Biden (via Merrick Garland) on whether or not to re-assert Donald Trump’s re-assertion of Barack Obama’s assertion that Assange had stolen (though he never stole) and made public US Government secrets and should be extradited to the US for what everyone expects to be a kangaroo court trial that would end in his execution for having done what Daniel Ellsberg had done in the Pentagon Papers case about the Vietnam War. The international hero, Assange, is to be ‘tried’ in a US court. On February 12th, the New York Times bannered, Biden Justice Dept. Asks British Court to Approve Extradition of Julian Assange. Biden continues Trump’s continuation of Obama’s attempt to murder Julian Assange.

  Ultimately, Biden’s foreign policies are putting Democratic Party lipstick onto the Republican Party’s pig. That’s his ‘change’, on US foreign policies.

  Just like with Hitler, it’s all fakery, except that (like with Hitler) the evil which motivates it, and which threatens the entire world, is all too real. Whether the US regime will go all the way to yet another World War in order to impose it everywhere (as Hitler aspired to do), is unknown. (Some experts think the signs point that way.) Hitler went that far, but lost his war. And his spirit (minus the anti-Semitism) then took over in Washington, but with ‘kinder’ rhetoric. The results in the nuclear Age would be that everyone would lose. The only way to stop that would be to stop Washington, but that’s a decision which only Washington’s vassal-nations would make — if they will.

  And even on his domestic polices, Biden lies in order to serve the priorities of the billionaires who funded his way into the White House. For example, on February 20th, NPR headlined FACT CHECK: Biden’s Comments On Loan Forgiveness And Elite Colleges and proved that he was deceiving the public about that issue. He is as corrupt as they come. The stopping of the US aristocracy will either come from abroad, or not at all. It won’t come internally from within the US, because the regime doesn’t allow its public to recognize that it’s a regime — an imperialistic aristocracy — instead of a democracy. It’s more cunning than Hitler was. America’s aristocracy recognizes that in modern times, personification of their regime (in a monarch or other ‘divinely ordained’ individual or “Fuehrer”) produces only a fleeting dictatorship and one that is hard to keep in line or continue with a successor. In modern times, a ‘democratic’ dictatorship has more lasting power. So, that’s what we now have. The spirit of Hitler lives on, in America’s aristocracy.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 22:00

• California Collapsing
  California Collapsing

  Authored by Martin Sieff via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

  California now fulfills Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s nightmare vision in his prophetic masterpiece “The Possessed” as to what unlimited liberalism must inevitably create – if not stopped in its tracks and rolled back.

  

  Where California goes today, the rest of the United States and much of the Western world goes tomorrow. But what we are now seeing in America’s most populous state is the complete internal collapse of the entire liberal progressive civilization and the society that has most frantically tried to fulfill it

  For well over a hundred years, California, the self-styled “Golden State” has trail-blazed  the future of America especially through the two famously American industries of aerospace and motion pictures. Telecommunications, computers and Artificial Intelligence are now led from Silicon Valley and the state has dominated the national politics of the United States too.

  California rapidly grew into the wealthiest and largest population US state. It has produced two two-term presidents (Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan), one of the most important Chief Justices of the Supreme Court (Earl Warren) and the likely next president – current Vice President Kamala Harris if 78-year-old Joe Biden cannot complete his term.

  From 1928 to 2004, 14 out of 19 winning presidential election tickets included someone from either California or Texas and Biden’s choice of Harris put California back at the heart of national electoral politics last year.

  Politically, California remains rock solid liberal. It has not elected a single Republican to national or statewide office since reelecting incumbent Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. In 2016, then-Governor Jerry Brown notoriously notoriously handed out state accreditation and driving licenses to untold hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, secure in the knowledge that they would all vote Democrat and so it proved. Registered Democrats now hold a 46 percent to 24 percent advantage over registered Republicans statewide.

  California also holds a cast-iron grip on the national Democratic leadership in Congress through House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her key allies such as Congressman Adam Schiff, whose farcical bungles in the two impeachments of President Donald Trump did not dent his immutable position as one of Pelosi’s most youthful favored sons (he is merely 60) at all.

  Yet now, California is in terminal collapse and crisis. Governor Gavin Newsom, farcically promoted by the national Mainstream Media (MSM) as a heroic White Knight in Shining Armor in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring has been exposed even in his own state as a catastrophic bungler and hypocrite who has never had a clue what he was – or more usually was not – doing. As I write, California’s sick and tired citizens are close to providing the 1.5 million signatures necessary to pull Newsom into what would certainly be a chaotic recall election.

  California was also ravaged last year by the worst wild fires in its history. The slavish media – told what to think by the mindless Los Angeles Times (once a great newspaper) and even more infantile San Francisco Chronicle – bent over backwards to avoid acknowledging the real causes but they have been exhaustively documented.

  Witless romantic Green environmental policies scrapped the centuries old, wise practices of creating firebreaks in forests between clumps of trees that would limit fire outbreaks in hot weather. Far from “protecting the trees” and wildlife, as the kneejerk Greens demanded, the ending of windbreak spaces instead allowed forest fires to blaze on an unprecedented scale and at record speed.

  At the same time, multiple millions of people sweated in even luxury suburbs through the rolling heat waves without any air conditioning relief because the state electric grid -another victim of ignorant Green prejudice falsely masquerading as “science” – repeatedly collapsed, unable to generate the necessary reliable requisite power levels at vital times.

  Los Angeles, the state’s largest city and arguably the most populous now in the United States, has become a byword for violent crime and especially the stronghold of the enormous, ultraviolent and rapidly growing MS 13 organization, routinely mislabeled as a mere “gang” in media reports. MS 13 has up to 50,000 members worldwide of whom at least 10,000, officially, and probably twice as many according to the private assessments of many police officers are in LA.

  The Trump administration had remarkable success – again unacknowledged in the liberal media – in deporting many thousands of MS 13 members. However, President Joe Biden has already ensured with his initial Executive Orders that the old open border policies of both Democratic presidents (Bill Clinton and Barack Obama) and Republican ones (Ronald Reagan and both George Bush’s) is being restored so they can flood back in again.

  San Francisco – America’s “anything goes” city – is in even worse shape. Its most famous, historically popular and beautiful stylish locations are now swamped with aggressive, unsanitary street people who openly urinate and defecate in the streets. Public services, long superb, are now appalling.

  Even the mindless liberal suburban classes who have relentlessly voted for and imposed these catastrophic polices over the past 40 and more years are now fleeing California as property values crash and taxes become too crushing even for them.

  If California continues to trail-blaze the future for the rest of the United States, that future is now clear: It is a high taxation society with a huge, impoverished, unemployed and unemployable destitute class where the middle class is annihilated, organized gangs and general chaotic street crime including muggings, rapes and murders metastasize in all major urban areas and gangs more numerous and heavily armed than the police operate openly with impunity.

  It is a society where unlimited abortion on demand to and even beyond the point of birth is acclaimed as a “moral” imperative supposedly superior to all the Ten Commandments.

  For California now fulfills Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s nightmare vision in his prophetic masterpiece “The Possessed” or “The Devils ” as to what unlimited liberalism must inevitably create – if not stopped in its tracks and rolled back.

  As goes California, so goes the rest of the United States: For a hundred years, since the infant silent movie industry entranced the entire world before and during World War I, that simple mantra has held true.

  But if America’s future now has no future – what future can the rest of America look forward to?

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 21:40

• "It's Bananas" – 72% Of US Homebuyers Say Pandemic Disrupted Plans
  “It’s Bananas” – 72% Of US Homebuyers Say Pandemic Disrupted Plans

  Americans have been fascinated by market trends during the pandemic era, as everything from bitcoin, to baseball cards, is seeing prices rise, and central bankers like Jerome Powell have been repeatedly forced to swat away questions about asset bubbles.

  And one of the most interesting markets – perhaps because millions have been confined almost exclusively to their homes during the quarantines and repeated waves of COVID-19 – has been real estate, as urban markets have seen their luster fade, while suburban areas are suddenly hot again.

  The other day, the LA Times and other media outlets published a story explaining how falling rents in San Francisco are starting to draw tenants back from nearby Oakland. In fact, some parts of San Francisco are actually cheaper than parts of Oakland now.

  Even on a foggy San Francisco morning, the view from Scott Simmons’ 25th-floor apartment stretches from downtown to Golden Gate Park. The home of the 42-year-old tech worker is also spacious for a one-bedroom, featuring hardwood floors, new appliances and granite countertops.

  A year ago, when he was sharing a two-bedroom place with his brother, Simmons couldn’t have imagined living in an apartment like this one. But last fall, when Simmons heard about big rent declines during the COVID-19 pandemic, he discovered he could get way more for his money in the heart of San Francisco than in the neighborhood where he was doubling up in Oakland.

  “It’s bananas,” Simmons said. “I never thought I was going to be someone who was going to have a nice view. It’s a luxury.”

  In a survey from Improve.net in partnership with CraftJack found that the pandemic had a serious impact on prospective homeowners and their ability to move ahead with plans to buy. According to the survey, 72% of prospective buyers- basically everyone in the Gen Z and Millennial generations – among the sample of Americans surveyed said that the outbreak of COVID-19 had disrupted their plans to buy. Here’s a breakdown of the study’s highlights.

  • 72% of prospective homebuyers said their savings plan for a home has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 54% of prospective homebuyers report that their moving and home buying plans have changed during the pandemic (30% have accelerated vs 24% have slowed or been put on hold).

  • 52% say their interest in types of homes and locations has changed as a direct result of the pandemic.

  • On the bright side, 54% of millennials and Gen Zers report being more motivated to become homeowners, as a direct result of the pandemic.

  • The top home buying factors that have been impacted by the pandemic: 1. Access to nature 2. Proximity to family 3. Indoor space 4. Outdoor space 5. Home location.

  • 36% of city residents say they value suburban living more than they did before the pandemic.

  Read the full writeup from Improve.net below:

  During the coronavirus pandemic, millions of Americans have felt their relationship with their home tested. Whether it’s because of remote learning, remote work, or simply having nowhere else to go, both space and functionality have been pushed to their limits for so many of us.

  Many have embarked on home improvement projects to optimize their space – and used our home service cost estimator to see what they can afford – but sometimes making a change means more. Many Americans find themselves reflecting on long-term priorities and recalibrating their homeowner ideals.
  In this study, we explore how attitudes, ideals, and needs have shifted for homeowners and aspiring homeowners alike. No doubt, a spirit of change is in the air. In fact, 79 percent of those we surveyed said all the change forced by the pandemic has inspired them to make other changes in their lives that may never have occurred.

  We began by asking people about moving plans and buying plans. Four in 10 say their plans haven’t changed, but a majority of people report things have changed. Thirty-six percent say they either didn’t plan to move and now they’re moving, or their previous moving plans have accelerated.

  Similarly, 30 percent report that homebuying plans have either materialized or accelerated. But an almost equal amount have said plans are slowing down or are on hold. On top of that, 72 percent of millennials and Gen Zers – basically everyone under 40 years old – who have been saving to buy a home say their savings plans have been disrupted by the pandemic.

  

  That aside, the future looks bright for the real estate market as 54 percent of millennials and Gen Zers say they feel more motivated than ever to become homeowners, as a direct result of the pandemic. Across all generations, 52 percent say their interest in certain types of homes and/or locations has shifted since the beginning of the pandemic.

  One of the things we were most curious about is how priorities have changed with respect to where and how people live. We were particularly interested to learn about the experience of younger people, those who either don’t yet own homes or are early in their homeownership journey.

  

  We also asked people how well their homes are functioning for them, and in what ways they wish their space better supported their current lifestyles. Spoiler alert: contrary to much of the attention its been given, home office space is not the top priority right now.

  

  Finally, we waded into the city versus suburbs debate. Even though many people are entrenched on this topic and have strong preferences, we sensed that attitudes have softened as a result of the pandemic. They have – at least one in three people say their opinion of city living has lessened over the past year and almost four in 10 say they feel more strongly about the suburbs.

  We also asked both urbanites and suburbanites what they thought of the long-term prospect for big cities.

  

  * * *

  Source: Improve.net

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 21:20

• In Final Days, Trump Gave Up On Forcing Release Of Russiagate Files, Nunes Investigator Says
  In Final Days, Trump Gave Up On Forcing Release Of Russiagate Files, Nunes Investigator Says

  Authored by Aaron Maté via RealClear Investigations (emphasis ours),

  After four years of railing against “deep state” actors who, he said, tried to undermine his presidency, Donald Trump relented to U.S. intelligence leaders in his final days in office, allowing them to block the release of critical material in the Russia investigation, according to a former senior congressional investigator who later joined the Trump administration.

  

  Kash Patel, whose work on the House Intelligence Committee helped unearth U.S. intelligence malpractice during the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane probe, said he does not know why Trump did not force the release of documents that would expose further wrongdoing. But he said senior intelligence officials “continuously impeded” their release – usually by slow-walking their reviews of the material. Patel said Trump’s CIA Director, Gina Haspel, was instrumental in blocking one of the most critical documents, he said.

  

  Patel, who has seen the Russia probe’s underlying intelligence and co-wrote critical reports that have yet to be declassified, said new disclosures would expose additional misconduct and evidentiary holes in the CIA and FBI’s work.

  “I think there were people within the IC [Intelligence Community], at the heads of certain intelligence agencies, who did not want their tradecraft called out, even though it was during a former administration, because it doesn’t look good on the agency itself,” Patel told RealClearInvestigations in his first in-depth interview since leaving government at the end of Trump’s term last month, having served in several intelligence and defense roles (full interview here).  

  Trump did not respond to requests seeking comment sent to intermediaries.

  Although a Department of Justice inspector general’s report in December 2019 exposed significant intelligence failings and malpractice, Patel said more damning information is still being kept under wraps. And despite an ongoing investigation by Special Counsel John Durham into the conduct of the officials who carried out the Trump-Russia inquiry, it is unclear if key documents will ever see the light of day.

  Patel did not suggest that a game-changing smoking gun is being kept from the public. Core intelligence failures have been exposed – especially regarding the FBI’s reliance on Christopher Steele’s now debunked dossier to secure FISA warrants used to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. But he said the withheld material would reveal more misconduct as well as major problems with the CIA’s assessment that Russia, on Vladimir Putin’s orders, ordered a sweeping and systematic interference 2016 campaign to elect Trump. Patel was cautious about going into detail on any sensitive information that has not yet been declassified. 

  ‘Continuously Impeded’ in Public Disclosure 

  Patel’s work on the House Intelligence Committee, under the leadership of its former Republican chairman, Devin Nunes, is widely credited with exposing the FBI’s reliance on Steele and misrepresentations to the FISA court. Yet congressional Democrats and major media outlets portrayed him as a behind-the-scenes saboteur who sought to “discredit” the Russia investigation. 

  The media vitriol unnerved Patel, who had previously served as a national security official in the Obama-era Justice Department and Pentagon – a tenure that exceeds his time working under Trump. Patel says that ensuring public disclosure of critical information in such a consequential national security investigation motivated him to take the job in the first place.

  

  “The agreement I made with Devin, I said, ‘Okay, I don’t really want to go to the Hill, but I’ll do the job on one basis: accountability and disclosure,” Patel said. “Everything we find, I don’t care if it’s good or bad or whatever, from your political perspective, we put it out.’ So the American public can just read it themselves, with a few protections here and there for some certain national security measures, but those are minimal redactions.”

  That task proved difficult. The House Intelligence Committee’s disclosure efforts, Patel said, “were continuously impeded by members of the intelligence community themselves, with the same singular epithets that you’re going to harm sources and methods. …  And I just highlight that because, we didn’t lose a single source. We didn’t lose a single relationship, and no one died by the public disclosures we made because we did it in a systematic and professional fashion.”

  “But each time we forced them to produce [documents],” Patel added, “it only showed their coverup and embarrassment.” These key revelations he helped expose include Justice official Bruce Ohr’s admission that he acted as a liaison to Steele even after the FBI officially terminated him; former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s false statements about leaks related to the Hillary Clinton email investigation; and the FBI’s reliance on the Steele dossier to spy on Page. “There is actually a law that prevents the FBI and DOJ from failing to disclose material to a court just to hide an embarrassment or mistake, and it came up during our investigation. It helped us compel disclosure.”

  Assessing the ‘Intelligence Community Assessment’ 

  For Patel, a key document that remains hidden from the public is the full report he helped prepare and which Trump chose not to declassify after pressure from the intelligence community: The House Intelligence Committee report about the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA).

  The ICA is a foundational Russiagate document. Released just two weeks before Trump’s inauguration, it asserted that Russia waged an interference campaign to help defeat Hillary Clinton. Despite widespread media accounts that the ICA reflected the consensus view of all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies, it was a rushed job completed in a few weeks by a small group of CIA analysts led by then-CIA Director John Brennan, who merely consulted with FBI and NSA counterparts. The NSA even dissented from a key judgment that Russia and Putin specifically aimed to help install Trump, expressing only “moderate confidence.”

  

  The March 2018 House report found that the production of the ICA “deviated from established CIA practice.” And the core judgment that Putin sought to help Trump, the House report found, resulted from “significant intelligence tradecraft failings that undermine confidence in the ICA judgments.”

  Along with that March 2018 report, Patel and his intelligence committee colleagues produced a still-classified document that fleshed out the ICA’s “tradecraft failings” in greater detail.

  “We went and looked at it [the ICA], and looked at the underlying evidence and cables, and talked to the people who did it,” Patel says. According to Patel, the ICA’s flaws begin with the unprecedentedly short window of time in which it was produced during the final days of the Obama White House. “In two to three weeks, you can’t have a comprehensive investigation of anything, in terms of interference and cybersecurity matters.”

  Patel said that still classified information undermines another key claim – that Russia ordered a cyber-hacking campaign to help Trump. The March 2018 House report noted that the ICA’s judgments, “particularly on the cyber intrusion sections, employed appropriate caveats on sources and identified assumptions,” but those were drowned out by partisan insistence that Russia was the culprit.

  Constrained from discussing the material, Patel said its release “would lend a lot of credence to” skepticism about the Mueller report’s claim that Russia waged a “sweeping and systematic” interference campaign to install Trump.

  That skepticism was bolstered in July 2019 when the Mueller team was reprimanded by a U.S. District judge for falsely suggesting in its final report that a Russian social media firm acted in concert with the Kremlin. (Mueller’s prosecutors later dropped the case against the outfit.)

  “We had multiple versions, with redactions, at different levels of classifications we were willing to release,” Patel said.”But that was unfortunately the one report, which speaks directly to [an absence of concrete evidence] that’s still sitting in a safe, classified. And unfortunately, the American public – unless Biden acts – won’t see it.”

  Confirming earlier media reports from late last year, Patel says it was Trump’s CIA Director Gina Haspel who personally thwarted the House report’s release. The report sits in a safe at CIA headquarters in Langley. “The CIA has possession of it, and POTUS chose not to put it out,” Patel says. He does not know why.

  ‘Outrageous’ Reliance on CrowdStrike

  Another key set of documents that the public has yet to see are reports by Democratic National Committee cyber-contractor CrowdStrike – reports the FBI relied on to accuse Russia of hacking the DNC. The FBI bowed to the DNC’s refusal to hand over its servers for analysis, a decision that Patel finds “outrageous.”

  “The FBI, who are the experts in looking at servers and exploiting this information so that the intelligence community can digest it and understand what happened, did not have access to the DNC servers in their entirety,” Patel said. “For some outrageous reason the FBI agreed to having CrowdStrike be the referee as to what it could and could not exploit, and could and could not look at.”

  

  According Patel, Crowdstrike CEO Shawn Henry, a former top FBI official under Mueller, “totally took advantage of the situation to the unfortunate shortcoming of the American public.”

  CrowdStrike’s credibility suffered a major blow in May 2020 with the disclosure of an explosive admission from Henry that had been kept under wraps for nearly three years. In  December 2017 testimony before the House Intel Committee showed he had acknowledged that his firm “did not have concrete evidence” that Russian hackers removed any data, including private emails, from the DNC servers. 

  “We wanted those depositions declassified immediately after we took them,” Patel recalled. But the committee was “thwarted,” he says, by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under Dan Coats, and later by Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff once Democrats took control of Congress in January 2018. According to Patel, Schiff “didn’t want some of these transcripts to come out. And that was just extremely frustrating.” Working with Coats’ successor, Richard Grenell, Patel ultimately forced the release of the Henry transcript and dozens of others last year. 

  Still classified, however, are the full CrowdStrike reports relied on by the FBI, Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate Intelligence Committee. Patel said their release would underscore Henry’s admission while raising new questions about why the government used reports from DNC contractors – the other being Fusion GPS’ Steele dossier – for a consequential national security case involving a rival Republican campaign.

  Doubting Reliability of CIA’s Kremlin Mole

  The CIA relied on another questionable source for its assertion that Putin personally ordered and orchestrated an interference campaign to elect Trump: a purported mole inside the Kremlin. The mole has been outed as Oleg Smolenkov, a mid-level Kremlin official who fled Russia in 2017 for the United States where he lives under his own name. According to the New York Times, some CIA officials harbored doubts about Smolenkov’s “trustworthiness.”

  Patel said he could not comment on whether he believes Smolenkov relayed credible information to the CIA. “I’m sort of in a bind on this one, still, with all the classified information I looked at, and the declassifications we’ve requested, but have not yet been granted.”

  Patel did suggest, however, that those who have raised skepticism about the CIA’s reliance on Smolenkov are “rightly” trying to “get to the bottom” of the story. “But until that ICA product that we created, and some of the other documents are finally revealed – if I start talking about them, then I’m probably going to get the FBI knocking at my door.”

  Will Key Documents Be Released?

  On his last full day in office, President Trump ordered the declassification of an additional binder of material from the FBI’s initial Trump-Russia probe, Crossfire Hurricane. A source familiar with the documents covered under the declassification order confirmed to RealClearInvestigations that it does not contain the House committee’s assessment of the January 2017 that Patel wants released. Nor does it contain any of the CrowdStrike reports used by the FBI.

  In addition to those closely guarded documents, Patel thinks that there is even more to learn about the fraudulent surveillance warrants on Carter Page. The public should see “the entire subject portion” of the final Carter Page FISA warrant, Patel said, as well as “the underlying source verification reporting” in which the FBI tried to justify it, despite relying on the Steele dossier. By reading what the FBI “used to prop up that FISA, the American public can see what a bunch of malarkey it was that they were relying on,” Patel added. “The American public needs to know about and read for themselves and make their own determination as to why their government allowed this to happen. Knowingly.

  “And that’s not castigating an entire agency. We’re not disparaging the entire FBI because of Peter Strzok [the FBI agent dismissed, in part, because of anti-Trump bias] and his crew of miscreants. Same thing goes for the intelligence community. If they did some shoddy tradecraft, the American public has a right to know about it in an investigation involving the presidential election.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 21:00

• Biden Carries Out Air Strikes In Syria Targeting "Iranian-Backed" Militia
  Biden Carries Out Air Strikes In Syria Targeting “Iranian-Backed” Militia

  You knew it was coming when the NYT set the stage yesterday with its latest anti-Assad hit piece titled “Having Won Syria’s War, al-Assad Is Mired in Economic Woes” (which makes only a passing reference just why Syria is mired in economic woes namely that “most of the country’s oil fields and much of its agricultural land are in the northeast, which is controlled by Kurdish-led forces backed by the United States”) and sure enough, just over a month since his inauguration, Biden reminded the world that the military-industrial complex is back in control by carrying out air strikes in eastern Syria against facilities that allegedly were used by “Iranian-backed” militia, the U.S. Defense Department said on Thursday night.

  The strike marked the first (of many) overseas military attack ordered by Joe Biden, which in its first weeks has emphasized its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China.

  Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the strikes took place “at President Biden’s direction” and were authorized “in response to recent attacks against American and coalition personnel in Iraq, and to ongoing threats to those personnel.”

  “Specifically the strikes destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian backed militant groups including Kait’ib Hezbollah and Kait’ib Sayyid al Shuhada,” Kirbry said.

  “The operation sends an unambiguous message; President Biden will act to protect American coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to deescalate the overall situation in both Eastern Syria and Iraq.”

  

  The site is reportedly used as part of a weapons smuggling operation by the militias. The strikes were carried out to degrade the ability of the groups to carry out future attacks and to send a message about the recent attacks, the US official said.

  The assault came after a series of rocket attacks in recent days on facilities in Iraq used by the U.S., including one that killed a contractor working with the U.S.-led coalition in the country.

  What is amusing is that on one hand Biden is attacking “Iran-backed” militia in Syria, while at the same time he is reportedly seeking to restore the Nuclear deal with Iran and restore cordial relations. As Bloomberg notes, “by hitting a facility in Syria said to be operated by an Iranian-linked militia, the U.S. avoids raising tensions that would come with a strike directly on Iran, which the Biden administration is seeking to persuade to return to a 2015 nuclear deal that former President Donald Trump withdrew from three years ago.”

  Of course, that’s hardly how the attack will be spun by Iran, where Biden just burned any political capital he may have had, and may soon have to resort to paradropping pallets full of billions in cash, similar to what Obama used to do.

  I think Biden just launched them into Syria. https://t.co/YeD86WVZSl

  — The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) February 26, 2021

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  What is even more amusing is that as usual, the deep state never actually had any proof (but it is always highly confident in everything, including that Russia is behind every evil in the world),  and the US had not definitively blamed any specific group for the rocket attacks or attributed them to any Iranian proxies in the region, but the administration had made it clear where they place the blame.

  Earlier this week White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US holds Iran accountable for the actions of its proxies, which is of course quite different from what she said back in April 2017 when Trump ordered a similar airstrike on Syria.

  pic.twitter.com/6hLQGouvRZ

  — Biden Voters Posting Their L’s Online (@BidenLs) February 26, 2021

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  It gets better…

  Syria. pic.twitter.com/topGlqGbAQ

  — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) February 26, 2021

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  In any case, Biden administration officials condemned the Feb. 15 rocket attack near the city of Irbil in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish-run region, but as recently as this week officials indicated they had not determined for certain who carried it out. Officials have noted that in the past, Iranian-backed Shiite militia groups have been responsible for numerous rocket attacks that targeted U.S. personnel or facilities in Iraq.

  Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, had said Tuesday that Iraq is in charge of investigating the Feb. 15 attack.

  “Right now, we’re not able to give you a certain attribution as to who was behind these attacks, what groups, and I’m not going to get into the tactical details of every bit of weaponry used here,” Kirby said. “Let’s let the investigations complete and conclude, and then when we have more to say, we will.”

  So… launch attacks first, and then conclude who is responsible later. Sounds like the good old MIC is back in action.

  In any case, the strikes come as Washington and Tehran position themselves for negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program, potentially crippling the already fragile process.

  The U.S. launched the strike one day after Biden spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. The two leaders “discussed the recent rocket attacks against Iraqi and coalition personnel and agreed that those responsible for such attacks must be held fully to account.”

  Now if only the US had determined who that was before actually, well, launching the attacks…

  Biden taking his first step towards the Nobel Peace prize by bombing Syria.

  — matt’s idea shop (@MattsIdeaShop) February 26, 2021

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 20:29

• McConnell Says He'd "Absolutely" Back Trump If He's 2024 GOP Nominee
  McConnell Says He’d “Absolutely” Back Trump If He’s 2024 GOP Nominee

  After throwing former Donald Trump under the bus following this month’s impeachment acquittal, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he would back the former president if he wins the party’s 2024 presidential nomination.

  

  “There’s a lot to happen between now and ’24. I’ve got at least four members that I think are planning on running for president. … Should be a wide open race,” McConnell told Fox News’ Bret Baier.

  Then, when asked if he would support Trump in 2024 if nominated, McConnell replied: “The nominee of the party? Absolutely.”

  After Mitch McConnell said a number of senators are likely to run in 2024, @BretBaier asked what he would do if Trump was the nominee: “If the President was the party’s nominee [in 2024], would you support him?”

  McConnell replied w/this: “The nominee of the party? Absolutely.” pic.twitter.com/FZb9kXSiiZ

  — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 25, 2021

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  The statement was McConnell’s first mention of Trump weeks after he excoriated Trump on the Senate floor – calling him “morally responsible” for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, despite the fact that he was acquitted of incitement.

  Trump, in response, called McConnell “a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack.”

  “My point is what happened in the past is not something relevant now, we’re moving forward. We’ve got a new administration,” said McConnell, after Baier played a clip of the scathing floor speech, while similarly declining to reveal whether he blamed Trump for the loss of two Senate seats in Georgia, or whether Trump should speak on Sunday Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

  “I don’t have any advice to give the former president about where he should speak or what we should say,” said McConnell, who stressed that the GOP needs to unite heading into the 2022 midterms. As The Hill notes, “Republicans hold 50 seats, putting them on the cusp of the majority, but they are also playing defense in 20 states in 2022. “

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 20:27

• New California Bill Would Fine Retailers With Separate "Girls" & "Boys" Sections
  New California Bill Would Fine Retailers With Separate “Girls” & “Boys” Sections

  Authored by Christian Britschgi via Reason.com,

  Retail stores in most of California are only allowed to operate at 25 percent capacity. A new bill in the state legislature would ensure that whatever part of their shop is allowed to be open is as inclusive as possible.

  

  Last week, Assembly Members Evan Low (D–Cupertino) and Cristina Garcia (D–Los Angeles) introduced a bill that would require retailers to offer their toys and childcare products in a gender-neutral format.

  Brick-and-mortar shops would have to display the majority of their products and clothing aimed at children in one undivided, unisex area on the sales floor.

  

  They’d also be barred from putting up signage that would indicate whether a product was intended for a boy or girl.

  California-based retailers that sell children’s products online would also have to have a page on their website that offers these products in a general neutral fashion.

  The bill would allow retailers to title that section of their website “kids,” “unisex,” or “gender neutral.”

  The bill is nearly identical to one that Low introduced last year, telling Politico at the time that he was hoping to create a more inclusive shopping experience.

  “This is an issue of children being able to express themselves without bias,” he said.

  Low dropped the bill in May to prioritize COVID-19-related work but promised to pick up the fight later, saying in a statement that “the policy behind this bill is not only important in regards to addressing perceived societal norms but also ensuring that prejudice and judgment does not play a prominent role in our children’s lives. I look forward to working on this issue in the future.”

  If passed, stores that did put dresses in a separate girls section could be hit with a $1,000 civil fine. The policy would only apply to retail department stores with over 500 employees.

  Even without mandates, some retailers have been moving away from gendered in-store promotion. In 2015, Target announced that it would get rid of separate sections for bedding and toys.

  At the time, the company was careful to note that they weren’t eliminating all gender distinctions in their store layout and signage, saying that “some cases, like apparel, where there are fit and sizing differences” gender-based suggestions were appropriate.

  Low’s bill would deprive Target and other retailers of making that choice for themselves.

  That stores like Target are voluntarily moving toward more gender-neutral promotions shows that mandating such a change isn’t necessary to provide a genderless child section to shoppers. The fact that some haven’t made the same move suggests that there may still be customers who find gendered distinctions helpful.

  Regulating how companies market their products online and in their stores could potentially raise First Amendment challenges as well.

  The bill would appear to disadvantage brick-and-mortar stores versus online retailers. But it’s those same brick-and-mortar retailers that have been hammered by the pandemic and related lockdown restrictions. Having to spend more complying with new regulations is the last thing many need.

  *  *  *

  “There are clear political and social motivations behind this bill, namely to use the state to compel “inclusivity” and encourage the “self-expression” of disordered inclinations at a very young age. It’s despicable,” commented Evan James.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 20:20

• Biden's $15 Minimum Wage Plan Will Not Be In Stimulus Bill, Parliamentarian Rules
  Biden’s $15 Minimum Wage Plan Will Not Be In Stimulus Bill, Parliamentarian Rules

  Two weeks ago we discussed the fact that President Biden was about to run into “the most important person no one has ever heard of” – namely, the parliamentarian.

  The sudden interest in the obscure official was because the parliamentarian determines which laws can be repealed (or passed) using budget reconciliation, the procedure by which the Senate can avoid a filibuster and allow legislation to pass by a simple majority.

  This makes the parliamentarian the powerful procedural traffic cop on Capitol Hill, as all of the headlines asserted. MacDonough stopped Republicans cold when they tried using reconciliation to repeal some provisions of Obamacare, and she might soon rule that a provision in the COVID relief bill to raise the minimum wage to $15 is out of order.

  Well, tonight we just discovered how powerful she is as Axios reports that the Senate parliamentarian has ruled that the minimum wage increase cannot be included in the Democratic COVID-19 stimulus package.

  The Senate parliamentarian has ruled that Democrats’ $15 minimum wage provision cannot be included in President Biden’s COVID relief bill.

  — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 26, 2021

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  Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth McDonough was playing referee under what’s known as the “Byrd Rule,” a 1980s construct of then-Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat and master of Senate procedures. The rule requires that anything done under the cover of the budget must be central to the country’s fiscal situation.

  Extraneous provisions can be struck by the motion of a single senator, and it requires 60 votes to waive the rule – the same threshold as a filibuster.

  We do note that Vice President Kamala Harris could overrule the decision, but the administration has signaled they will not do so (especially with Manchin already signaling he is not comfortable with $15).

  “We’re going to honor the rules of the Senate and work within that system to get this bill passed,” Mr. Klain said on MSNBC.

  This is a significant blow to the more progressive wing of the party who have insisted the $15 minimum wage bill be a part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.

  

  This means that any increase in the minimum wage will need bipartisan support.

  Bear in mind that Republicans have introduced their own versions of bills to increase the minimum wage.

  • Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) proposed an increase to $10/hour by 2025. This bill, however, contains a provision that would mandate E-Verify for all employers to ensure the rising wages go to “legally authorized workers,” which likely would not get any Democratic support.

  • Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced an alternative to the Democrats’ proposal that would use federal dollars to increase low-earning workers’ income. One foreseeable problem: the subsidy would disproportionally benefit those in states that have kept their minimum wages low.

  But, of course, Bernie and his pals won’t stand for anything less than $15!

  

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 19:54

• Leaked Emails Confirm UN Gave Names Of Dissidents To CCP
  Leaked Emails Confirm UN Gave Names Of Dissidents To CCP

  Authored by Alex Newman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Leaked emails prove that, contrary to United Nations denials, UN human-rights officials did in fact give the names of Chinese dissidents to the communist regime in Beijing before those activists were set to testify in Geneva against the Communist Chinese Party’s abuses.

  

  In fact, it appears from the leaked documents that the practice of handing over names of Chinese dissidents to the dictatorship was viewed as a “usual practice” by all involved. The whistleblower told The Epoch Times that it continues to this day, despite UN denials.

  Chinese communist authorities used the names received from the UN to prevent the dissidents from leaving China. At least one dissident identified by the UN and detained by the CCP before leaving for Geneva, Cao Shunli, died while in detention.

  If the dissident expected to embarrass Beijing at the UN was already abroad, the CCP frequently threatened or even kidnapped and tortured the person’s family, according to UN whistleblower Emma Reilly, who first exposed the scandal.

  Critics of the regime whose names were handed over by the UN included activists concerned about Tibet, Hong Kong, and the Islamic Uyghur minority in Western China—all of which are being targeted by the CCP for various reasons.

  In February of 2020, The Epoch Times reported on the scandal, and on the retaliation faced by Reilly for attempting to expose and halt the practice. Reilly’s case at the UN is ongoing. She remains employed there but is under “investigation.”

  Prominent human-rights organizations around the world have slammed the UN practice for endangering the lives of dissidents and their families.

  In comments to The Epoch Times, Reilly described it as “criminal” and even argued that it made the UN “complicit in genocide.”

  For years, the UN denied that its agents were providing the names of dissidents to the CCP.

  Thanks to leaked e-mails about the practice, however, it is now clear that the UN misled its member governments and the press surrounding the scandal.

  One of the explosive emails in question was sent on Sept. 7, 2012, from a diplomat at the CCP’s Mission to the UN in Geneva requesting information on Chinese dissidents set to testify at the UN Human Rights Council.

  “Following the usual practice, could you kindly heip me [sic] to check whether the persons on the attached list are requesting the accreditation of the 21st session of the HRC?” asked the CCP diplomat in an email to a UN liaison with non-governmental organizations. “My delegation has some security concern [sic] on these persons.”

  The UN official, whose name was redacted from the leaked email, responded by confirming that two of the dissidents on the CCP’s list were in fact accredited and planning to attend.

  “As per your request, kindly be advised that Dolkun Isa and He Geng were accredited by the Nonviolent Radical party, Transnational and Transparty for the 21st session of the Human Rights Council,” the UN official confirmed to the regime, with no apparent concern for the safety of either dissident or their families still in China.

  Isa is the president of the World Uyghur Congress, which advocates on behalf of the Uyghur population of Western China’s Xinjiang region that is being brutally targeted by the CCP.

  Numerous official sources around the world say the regime is holding more than a million Uyghurs in “re-education” camps. Former detainees who spoke with The Epoch Times revealed that they were being raped, tortured, brainwashed, and savagely abused.

  Isa also serves as the vice president of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), which seeks to be a voice for nations and people groups without representation from a nation-state of their own.

  The year after that email, at the request of the regime’s delegation, UN security attempted to remove Isa from the Human Rights Council chamber. However, Reilly—and only Reilly—intervened and prevented his ouster.

  The other dissident identified by the UN in its email to the CCP mission, Geng He, is the wife of imprisoned Chinese human-rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, a Christian who wrote a book about the severe torture he was subjected to by the CCP for his work and beliefs.

  One of the reasons for the brutal torture of Gao was the fact that his wife was speaking out at the UN, as revealed to the CCP in advance by the UN officials in that email.

  Another leaked email, this one from 2013, showed the same CCP diplomat again seeking to confirm the identities of Chinese dissidents expected at the Human Rights Council to expose CCP abuses.

  “The Chinese Mission had very good cooperation with you and your section in previous sessions,” the CCP diplomat said in to the UN official in the email obtained by The Epoch Times and other media. “We appreciate it a lot.”

  “This time, I need you to do me a favor again,” the CCP diplomat continued. “Some anti-Chinese Government secessionists are trying to participate the HRC session [sic] under the disguise of other NGOs. They might pose a threat to the United Nations and the Chinese Delegation.”

  “Could you please check and inform me whether the persons I list below have got accreditation for the 22th session [sic] of the Human Rights Council?” the CCP diplomat asked. “If you have any information, please contact me through email or at [number redacted].”

  Among the names on the list was Dolkun Isa, again.

  According to Isa, CCP agents have showed up at his house overseas to try to get him to stop speaking out. CCP operatives also arrested his family in China, including his mother, who died in a Chinese “concentration camp” in 2018. His older brother was also arrested. And his younger brother has been missing since 2016. CCP media outlets reported that Isa’s father died, too, though Isa does not know when or where.

  The Epoch Times attempted to reach the CCP diplomat in question at the Swiss cell-phone number listed in the email, but was unsuccessful.

  UN human-rights officials responded to that CCP mission email with the names of four activists who were expected to attend the Human Rights Council.

  The Epoch Times is withholding the names of the activists that are not yet public for their protection and privacy.

  Reilly was furious and horrified at the same time.

  “This is a hideous practice, but if the UN is going to do it, at least they must make sure it’s public so people know the danger they are going to be put in,” she told The Epoch Times in a video-conference interview from Geneva. “This is basic decency and basic standards of humanity—don’t secretly put these people in danger. Is that too much to ask?”

  Right from the start, the emails reveal that Reilly argued against giving the names of dissidents to the CCP. Instead, she advocated informing the targeted individuals.

  However, Chief of the UN Human Rights Council Branch Eric Tistounet argued that the list of names was public and that the CCP requests could therefore not be resisted.

  Indeed, Tistounet suggested acting as quickly as possible to avoid “exacerbating Chinese mistrust,” the emails show.

  “When did that become part of the considerations?” Reilly asked rhetorically in comments to The Epoch Times.

  News of the emails confirming that the UN was in fact handing over names of Chinese dissidents made a major splash in Turkish media. However, in Europe and the United States, the scandal has barely been mentioned in the press.

  In remarks to The Epoch Times, Reilly urged journalists worldwide to examine the documents, transcripts of internal court cases, and other evidence to see who was telling the truth—and then to report that truth so the people of the world can see what is happening.

  But Reilly said this is a systemic issue with the UN.

  “The problem with the UN is there are no adults in the room, and there is no external oversight,” she said, citing other examples of whistleblowers who have been persecuted for trying to do the right thing. “Unless the member states act, this is going to continue.”

  Reilly also expressed deep concern about the close relationship between CCP agents and senior officials within the UN human rights system charged with protecting human rights.

  For years, senior UN officials attempted to mislead UN member states, the media, and the public about the name-sharing scandal, Reilly told The Epoch Times.

  From 2013 to 2017, the UN claimed the practice was not happening. Much later, in January of 2021, a spokesman for the UN was quoted telling the Anadolu Agency that the practice was stopped “since 2015.”

  However, in a Feb. 2, 2017, press release aiming to deflect the escalating criticism, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) admitted that it was indeed confirming to governments the identities of individuals being accredited to attend its human-rights events.

  “Chinese authorities, and others, regularly ask the UN Human Rights Office, several days or weeks prior to Human Rights Council meetings, whether particular [non-governmental organization] delegates are attending the forthcoming session,” the UN OHCHR said. “The Office never confirms this information until the accreditation process is formally under way, and until it is sure that there is no obvious security risk.”

  Reilly said she was shocked by the language used in the release.

  “The only security checks that are ever done are those done by the Chinese diplomats,” she told The Epoch Times.

  Indeed, transcripts from the case show that Reilly challenged the UN to show any evidence of its supposed “security” checks before handing over the names. None was provided.

  “It was all about whether these people would cause problems for the Chinese diplomats at the UN,” she said. “It had nothing to do with keeping anyone safe.”

  This is a major violation of the UN’s own rules as well, Reilly said, noting that if governments want to know who is attending they are supposed to ask the plenary in front of other UN member states.

  Despite the escalating scandal surrounding the practice and the UN’s retaliation against the whistleblower who exposed it, Reilly told The Epoch Times that the practice of handing dissident names to the CCP continues to this day.

  “It has now become my personal mission and responsibility to prevent this UN complicity in genocide,” she said.

  Documents obtained by The Epoch Times reveal that some of the highest-ranking officials within the UN system have been involved in an effort to silence, discredit, and retaliate against Reilly for her efforts.

  The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights did not respond to requests for comment on the leaked emails or the broader scandal.

  In early 2020, the UN OHCHR declined to comment to The Epoch Times, citing ongoing litigation. However, Reilly told The Epoch Times this week that she has given them full permission to comment on the case to the media.

  Multiple spokesmen for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also declined to comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 19:40

• Global 'COVID Deaths' Top 2.5 Million One Year After Start Of Pandemic
  Global ‘COVID Deaths’ Top 2.5 Million One Year After Start Of Pandemic

  The global COVID death toll has surpassed another macabre milestone: more than 2.5MM people have died from the virus around the world.

  

  Although globally new deaths are falling thanks to changing weather patterns and the rollout of various COVID-19 vaccines in certain hard-hit countries, with over 800K deaths, Europe is the hardest hit region, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, then the US and Canada.

  

  Nearly half of these deaths can be attributed to just five countries: the US, Brazil, Mexico, India and the UK. They have reported 506K, 250K, 183K and 122.3K deaths each, respectively. The combined global tally according to Johns Hopkins University topped 1MM on Sept. 28, a little over nine months after the first death was recorded in Wuhan. The world topped 2MM on Jan. 15 – roughly six weeks ago.

  Despite extreme differences in restrictions, vaccine roll-outs, and levels of inequality, the pace of COVID-linked deaths has slowed almost uniformly across every continent since the start of 2021, as the chart above shows, but since November, Europe has contributed roughly one-third of the global daily total.

  

  Source: CNN

  The US has seen a sharp drop in COVID deaths since the vaccines were rolled out late last year (Europe hasn’t had nearly as much success with getting vaccines to patients). And deaths among nursing home residents, seen as the most vulnerable, have fallen by an even greater margin.

  

  But daily death tolls have fallen on every continent since the start of the year. Deaths in North America have fallen by nearly 25%, faster than Europe and Africa, which shed 13% to report 378 new deaths per day.

  While Britain earlier this week laid out its plan for reopening its economy, EU officials said that despite initial delays, the bloc remains on track to reach its goal of fully vaccinating 70% of adults by mid-September, after AstraZeneca’s boss said on Thursday that he was confident the company could make up a huge shortfall in promised doses. Speaking by videolink, Pascal Soriot told the European Parliament that Europe had plans to accelerate its vaccination program, and that the delivery deficit (which is currently equal to around 60% of the 100 million doses that were supposed to be supplied between January and March) could be attributed to low production yields in the EU factories making AstraZeneca’s vaccine.

  At any rate, while the UK prepares to wind down its COVID-fighting measures, other European economies, most notably Finland, are weighing whether to impose another round of restrictions.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 19:20

• Mr. Potato Head To Become "Gender Neutral" To Allow Kids To Create "Same-Sex Families"
  Mr. Potato Head To Become “Gender Neutral” To Allow Kids To Create “Same-Sex Families”

  Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,

  Toy giant Hasbro has announced that Mr. Potato Head will become gender neutral ‘Potato Head’ in order to encourage kids to create “same sex families.”

  

  Yes, really.

  The company is dropping “Mr.” from the name in a move “designed to break away from traditional gender norms, particularly when it comes to creating Potato Head families,” according to Fast Company.

  The change will help children “create same-sex families or single-parent families” as Hasbro seeks to lean away from representing the “traditional family structure.”

  “Culture has evolved,” said Kimberly Boyd, an SVP and GM at Hasbro.

  “Kids want to be able to represent their own experiences. The way the brand currently exists—with the “Mr.” and “Mrs.”—is limiting when it comes to both gender identity and family structure.”

  The iconic Mr. Potato Head gets a 21st-century rebrand https://t.co/TqRtl9jv1X

  — Fast Company (@FastCompany) February 25, 2021

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

  “The brand’s solution is to drop the gendered honorific title altogether,” writes Elizabeth Segran.

  “This means the toys don’t impose a fixed notion of gender identity or expression, freeing kids to do whatever feels most natural to them: A girl potato might want to wear pants and a boy potato might wear earrings. Hasbro will also sell boxed sets that don’t present a normative family structure. This approach is clever because it allows kids to project their own ideas about gender, sexuality, and family onto the toy, without necessarily offending parents that have more conservative notions about family.”

  According to the report, the move is a bid to “stay relevant in the 21st century” while challenging “heteronormative narratives.”

  In other words, Hasbro is cashing in on the million in free advertising exposure that this will generate as a result of creating yet another divisive thing for woke imbeciles and those who’ve retained a semblance of sanity to argue over.

  While in the meantime, kids will further be indoctrinated about how abnormal traditional family structures have become.

  What could possibly go wrong?

  *  *  *

  In the age of mass Silicon Valley censorship It is crucial that we stay in touch. I need you to sign up for my free newsletter here. Support my sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown. Also, I urgently need your financial support here.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 19:00

• Drought In Taiwan Just Turned The Semi Shortage "Crisis" To "Critical"
  Drought In Taiwan Just Turned The Semi Shortage “Crisis” To “Critical”

  Taiwan is suffering the “island’s worst drought in decades”, according to Nikkei. And this is terrible news for semiconductor manufacturers, who are being forced to make cuts on water usage while at the same time desperately trying to scramble and play catch-up with a drought of their own. 

  Taiwan is now planning to “further tighten water use in several cities that are home to a cluster of important manufacturers,” including plants in Taoyuan, Taichung, Hsinchu and Miaoli. They are going to be asked to cut consumption by up to 11%. Chiayi and Tainan, where Taiwan Semiconductor is based, will be asked to take a 7% cut.

  All of these cuts come on top of another 7% cut already put into effect last month.

  One chipmaker executive told Nikkei: “All the industries are concerned whether the situation will be alleviated soon. … No one wants to see the worst-case scenario of anyone being forced to dial back production capacity due to water issues.”

  Companies like TSMC use 156,000 tons of water a day. Water quality is “is extremely critical to chip production lines and the processes. … It could affect product performance, so that needs to be handled very carefully,” one insider told Nikkei. 

  

  “So far the situation is manageable, but if it does not rain properly and continues like this till the end of May, that would be a real big problem,” they concluded. 

  Meanwhile, TSMC is now considering trucking water in to supplement its reservoirs. “Deployments are still limited and the main purpose is to get the involved staff prepared for possible future needs,” a TSMC spokeswoman said. 

  United Microelectronics is considering doing the same. CFO and spokesperson Liu Chi-tung told Nikkei: “As the water-saving rate needs to increase to 11%, we need the support of additional water trucks. Currently we only need a small percentage of additional water, but the company will adjust accordingly based on the dynamics.”

  Unimicron CFO Michael Shen said on an earnings call Wednesday: “We’ve been reserving water and we will use rental water trucks to support our use if necessary. If we keep having no rain … it will be difficult for us to address the issue.”

  No typhoons hit the island in 2020, despite Taiwan averaging three major storms a year that bring much needed rain. 

  We just documented weeks ago how critical Taiwan would be in getting the semiconductor industry back up and running. We noted that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is rushing to try and build new facilities through the Chinese New Year in order to meet demand. 

  

  TSMC is one of the biggest suppliers of chips to company like Apple, Google and Qualcomm. As a result of a worldwide shortage in chips that was brought on due to the pandemic, they are now rushing to try and get a new factory in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan built. Construction the new facility will take place throughout 2021, with completion expected in 2022. 

   

  

  Earlier this month we noted that the semi situation had been turning dire and was now being referred to as the “most serious shortage in years”. Qualcomm’s CEO said weeks ago that there were now shortages “across the board”. 

  And it wasn’t just Qualcomm executives speaking out: other industry leaders warned in recent weeks that they are susceptible to the shortages. Apple said recently that its new high end iPhones were on hold due to a shortage of components. NXP Semiconductors has also warned that the problems are no longer just confined to the auto industry. Sony also said last week it may not be able to to fully meet demand for its new gaming console in 2021 due to the shortage. Companies like Lenovo have also been feeling the crunch.

  

  Neil Mawston, an analyst with Strategy Analytics, said: “The virus pandemic, social distancing in factories, and soaring competition from tablets, laptops and electric cars are causing some of the toughest conditions for smartphone component supply in many years.” 

  At the center of the shortage is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., who now sits astride a larger political crisis between China and Taiwan while Biden officials in the U.S. work to find solutions, not only for the semiconductor issues, but for the larger conflict developing between the two nations. 

  

  While the extent of the damage on consumer electronics remains to be seen, the shortages are expected to cost $61 billion worth of sales in the auto industry. Recall, we noted weeks ago that GM and Ford had joined Nissan in cutting production due to the shortage. 

  Several weeks ago the U.S. automaker announced that the shortage would “impact production in 2021”, according to StreetInsider. The company said in a statement that “semiconductor supply for the global auto industry remains very fluid”.

  It continued: “Our supply chain organization is working closely with our supply base to find solutions for our suppliers’ semiconductor requirements and to mitigate impacts on GM. Despite our mitigation efforts, the semiconductor shortage will impact GM production in 2021.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 02/25/2021 – 18:40

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