- Germany To Expel 30 Russian Diplomats As Spying Fears Ratchet
Germany To Expel 30 Russian Diplomats As Spying Fears Ratchet
Russia’s diplomatic links to Europe continue to collapse at a moment nuclear rhetoric is increasing and growing more dangerous. Simple communication among governments also continues to grow worse, making conflict de-escalation among major powers all the more difficult.
Germany announced Saturday that it is planning to expel more than 30 Russian diplomats from Berlin. German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock indicated to local media plans for the new wave of expulsions Saturday.
Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany, via AP A German media source cited officials as saying “More decisive action must be taken against Moscow’s spies.”
Allegations of spying have driven large-scale expulsions at various times over the past two years, put have picked up in frequency and scale particularly after the Feb.24, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Germany has claimed that the presence of Russian intelligence agents and officials in Berlin has greatly increased of late, with German officials asserting the embassy is now staffed even better than during the Cold War.
Other countries which are backers of Ukraine have also continued to take punitive measures against Russian diplomats.
Number of Russian diplomats expelled worldwide from 2000 to 2022, by country”:
figures as of late January 2023. You will find more infographics at Statista
“Last month, Estonia expelled 21 Russian embassy staffers, saying it would host only eight diplomatic officials on its territory — matching the size of Tallinn’s team in Moscow,” Politico reports over the weekend. “The Kremlin responded by kicking Estonian Ambassador Margus Laidre out of Russia — the first ambassadorial expulsion from the country in the year since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” the publication added. “Tallinn then ended Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipayev’s tenure on Pikk Street.”
This and other Russian embassies and consulates in Europe have faced accusations of acting as ‘spy hubs’ – far beyond what’s considered the ‘normal’ presence of intel agents and officials.
Tyler Durden
Mon, 03/27/2023 – 02:45 - Zelensky Admits Ukraine Already Ran Out Of Ammo
Zelensky Admits Ukraine Already Ran Out Of Ammo
Authored by Andrew Korybko via TheAutomaticEarth.com,
The US-led West’s Mainstream Media (MSM) began reporting more accurately on the military-strategic dynamics of the NATO-Russian proxy war in Ukraine since the start of the year, but the true test of their comparatively improved integrity will be whether they raise awareness about Zelensky’s latest damning admission. In an interview with Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, he candidly told his interlocutors that “We do not have ammunition. For us the situation in the East is not good.”
This is a major revelation for several reasons.
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First, it proves that Russia is winning NATO’s self-declared “race of logistics” in the sense that its armed forces still have ammo to continue fighting while the West’s Ukrainian proxies already ran out of that which their patrons provided over the past year.
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Second, the aforesaid aid that was already extended to this crumbling former Soviet Republic exceeds $100 billion, which makes Russia’s leading position in this “race of logistics” all the more impressive.
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Third, Zelensky’s admission adds credence to what the Washington Post recently reported regarding how poorly Kiev’s forces are faring in this conflict, especially its “severe ammunition shortages” that one of its sources spoke about. Fourth, the preceding points drastically decrease the chances that Kiev’s upcoming counteroffensive will achieve much of anything and actually make it increasingly likely that such a move would be an epic mistake that could ultimately lead to a decisive Russian breakthrough.
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And finally, it can therefore be expected that Zelensky and his agents of influence across the West will beg for even more aid, arguing that the failure to pay up would risking making their prior investments in this proxy war all for naught if Kiev ends up losing to Russia. The problem, however, is that no amount of money can make ammunition appear out of thin air since it requires a lot of time to scale production accordingly to meet these newfound exorbitant needs.
The very fact that Ukraine is out of ammunition proves that the West’s defeat in its self-declared “race of logistics” with Russia might already be a fait accompli by this point since it’s clear that Kiev can’t keep pace with its opponent despite being backed by all of NATO’s military-industrial capacity. Zelensky almost certainly didn’t realize that his candid admission essentially amounted to this, but it’s presently unclear whether the MSM will inform their audience about this or not.
On the one hand, doing so could contribute to his forthcoming begging campaign, but it could also backfire if taxpayers start asking whether it’s worth ponying up even more money if Ukraine already ran out of ammo despite the over $100 billion in aid that it’s received thus far. After all, if that astronomical sum wasn’t enough to keep their guns firing, then there’s no telling how much will be needed for Kiev to reconquer more of its lost territory like it intends to do.
Not only that, but as was earlier explained, no amount of money can make ammunition appear out of thin air. Quite clearly, fundamental changes in the Ukrainian Armed Forces are needed in order to indefinitely perpetuate this conflict like the US is plotting to do, but its fighters can’t immediately transition to using exclusively Western equipment when they’re used to operating Soviet-era wares. This poses a dilemma since Russia keeps moving further ahead in this “race of logistics” as each day goes by.
Objectively speaking, the military-strategic dynamics are trending in the Kremlin’s favor, which would ordinarily compel Kiev to seriously consider China’s peace plan if it wasn’t for its American overlords preventing it from doing so. The longer that Zelensky remains resistant to the very thought of a ceasefire, the greater the chances are that Russia will transform its growing advantage in its “race of logistics” with NATO into a decisive victory that could result in Ukraine losing even more territory.
* * *
Tyler Durden
Mon, 03/27/2023 – 02:00 -
- It's Getting Ugly Out There
It’s Getting Ugly Out There
Authored by Brendan O’Neill via The Spectator,
The shameful persecution of Posie Parker in New Zealand
This is what it must have been like when women were marched to the stake.
Yesterday in Auckland the British women’s rights campaigner Posie Parker found herself surrounded by a deranged, heaving mob.
She had tomato soup and placards thrown in her face. She was doused with water. Huge men screamed insults and expletives in her face. The shoving of the crowd became so intense that Parker feared for her life. ‘I genuinely thought that if I fell to the floor I would never get up again’, she said. ‘My children would lose their mother and my husband would lose his wife.’
It was a truly chilling spectacle. The mobs’ faces were twisted into masks of feral hatred. They ranted in frenzy as the diminutive Parker, her bottle-blonde hair stained orange from the soup that had been dumped on her, desperately tried to make her way to the safety of a police car. It was a ritualistic shaming of a witch, a violent purging of a heretic.
#WATCH RNZ’s Jordan Dunn captured the moment that Posie Parker was escorted away from the rally.
The counter-protest crowd gathered in Albert Park this morning before Parker’s speech, and made a cacophany of noise to drown her speech out.
🔗 https://t.co/a9ZWNhKuDn pic.twitter.com/yFQm9yrJ7A
— RNZ (@radionz) March 25, 2023
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Next time you’re reading a history book and find yourself wondering how Salem came to be consumed by such swirling hysteria, watch the clips of Posie’s persecution in New Zealand. This is how it happens. This is how the fear of witches can overrule reason and unleash the darkest, most punitive passions of the mob.
And what is Parker’s crime?
What did this witch do?
She said, ‘A woman is an adult human female’.
That’s it.
Parker, whose real name is Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, is well known for her criticism of the ideology of transgenderism. She thinks a man never becomes a woman, no matter how many hormones he takes or surgeries he undergoes. She thinks if you were born male, you will die male, and in the time in between you have no right whatsoever to enter any women-only space.
This is heresy.
Dissenting from the gospel of gender ideology is to the 21st century what dissenting from the actual gospels was to the 15th. And so Parker must be punished. It was a modern-day stoning, so mercifully they only threw soup and water and planks of cardboard at the blasphemer.
Parker organises public events called ‘Let Women Speak’. She has done it across the UK, in parts of the US, and for the past couple of weeks she’s been doing it in Australia and New Zealand.
It’s a genius initiative. She knows these gatherings of women who merely want to give voice to their profane belief that sex can never be changed will draw out crowds of intolerant trans activists and their allies. She knows the ‘Be Kind’ mob will do everything in its power to stop women from speaking. And she knows it will all brilliantly illustrate her core belief: that trans activism is misogyny in disguise, misogyny in drag, if you like, and that it has devoted itself to silencing women who believe in biology.
Australia and New Zealand played their parts brilliantly in Parker’s clever scheme. From Melbourne to Canberra, Hobart to Auckland, huge crowds of the right-on turned up to drown out the voices of the pesky women who dare to call men ‘men’. ‘Let women speak’, Parker says. ‘No’, says the mob. She incites them to confess their misogyny and intolerance in full public view. And they do.
Auckland was the worst. At Albert park in the centre of the city yesterday, the mob could not hide its vengeful loathing of the uppity women who disagree with its ideologies. Parker is a new kind of witch, one who willingly submits herself to a witch-trial, so that the rest of us might see just how dogmatic and unforgiving the new witch-hunters are. I am full of admiration for her. Her courage is shining a light on the visceral intolerance that advances under the banner of identity politics.
The events in Auckland should be a wake-up call for liberals everywhere. We glimpsed the iron fist of authoritarianism that lurks in the velvet glove of ‘Be Kind’. The misogynistic streak in trans extremism is undeniable now. Watch enraged men kicking down metal barriers so that they might get closer to the witch Posie and tell me this isn’t sexism masquerading as radicalism. Witness the crowing of men who are delighted that the mob made the ‘coward TERF’ run away and tell me this isn’t chauvinism on steroids. Behold the use of megaphones and expletive-laden chants and physical menace to silence a woman and tell me this isn’t a sexist, censorious crusade against women’s freedom of speech.
That mob in Auckland did not emerge out of thin air. No, it was a brutish manifestation of a regressive idea that has been taking hold for some years. Namely, that it should be forbidden to dissent from gender ideology. That it is bigotry to state biological facts. That it ought to be a punishable offence – whether that punishment is being No Platformed or sacked or having objects thrown in your face – to say men are men and women are women.
To see where censorship ends up, just look at those grimacing agitators in Auckland, hatred spreading like a current through their number, as they fight with every fibre of their being to prevent the expression of a critical idea. Censorship begets bigotry. It begets violence itself. For the more we tell people that certain words will hurt them, the more we witlessly incite people to hurt those who dare to utter certain words.
That mob was drunk on sanctimony. This is what happens when we tell people their identity is the most important thing in the world and that anything that so much as grazes their self-esteem is an outrage that must be crushed.
We nurture a generation of navel-gazing Torquemadas.
Posie has exposed them, yet again, and for that she deserves our thanks. This time round, the witches might just win.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 23:30 - How Much Does A Bottle Of Water Cost?
How Much Does A Bottle Of Water Cost?
Buying bottled water is a luxury that not everyone in the world can afford.
Statista’s Anna Fleck reports that a 1.5-liter bottle of water from a local brand costs an average of $0.70 globally, according to 92 countries analyzed in September 2022 by the website GlobalProductPrices.com.
You will find more infographics at Statista
Australia and the Philippines are the markets where bottled water is the most expensive, at US$2.02 per bottle.
Singapore, Uruguay, Puerto Rico and Norway also have some of the highest prices, with between US$1.59 and US$1.74 per 1.5 liters of bottled water.
On the other hand, countries such as Egypt and Tunisia have the lowest prices, at $0.14 and $0.20, respectively.
In Iran and Bangladesh, a bottle of water is also available for less than $0.25.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 23:00 - Prosecutor Admits DC Police Officers Acted As Provocateurs At US Capitol On Jan. 6
Prosecutor Admits DC Police Officers Acted As Provocateurs At US Capitol On Jan. 6
Authored by Joseph M. Hanneman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
A federal prosecutor admitted in court papers that three D.C. Metropolitan Police Department undercover officers acted as provocateurs at the northwest steps of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Two members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Electronic Surveillance Unit approach the northwest side of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Metropolitan Police Department/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) The admission came in a March 24 filing before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras that seeks to keep video footage shot by the officers under court seal.
Prosecutors accused the case defendant—William Pope of Topeka, Kansas—of an “illegitimate” attempt to unmask the video as part of his alleged strategy to try the case in the news media. Pope filed a motion to remove the court seal on Feb. 21.
“The defendant is not entitled to ‘undesignate’ these videos to share them with unlimited third parties,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Moran. “His desire to try his case in the media rather than in a court of law is illegitimate, and the government has met its burden to show the necessity of the protective order.”
Videos long hidden under court seal have become a major topic, especially with prosecutors disclosing in a number of high-profile Jan. 6 cases the involvement of multiple FBI informants.
Pope is seeking to lift the court seal on the undercover video as part of his drive to obtain full access to video evidence held by the government. Pope is representing himself in the criminal case being prosecuted against him. At a hearing on March 3, Judge Contreras seemed sympathetic to Pope’s motion to unmask the videos.
“Officer 1,” a member of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s Electronic Surveillance Unit, shot video while he shouted at protesters to climb the northwest steps to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Metropolitan Police Department/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) “The officer clearly incited that area, and we still don’t have video from all other undercover MPD,” Pope told The Epoch Times. “And as the numerous informants in the Proud Boys trial demonstrates, we are only just beginning to scratch the surface on FBI involvement.”
The undercover video—a portion of which posted on Rumble on March 24—shows three members of the MPD’s Electronic Surveillance Unit approach the Capitol’s northwest steps. One of the men, while surveying the crowd, stated, “Someone’s going to get shot.”
Officer 2 replied, “They’re not going to shoot anybody.”
Along the edge of the Capitol property, Officer 2 encouraged one protester to go up to the building. “Go join ‘em then,” he said. The man replied, “No, I’ve got my bike to guard.”
The men engaged in banter on the walk across the west Capitol lawn.
‘Never Seen Anything Like This’
“This is amazing,” Officer 2 said. Officer 1, who was shooting the GoPro video, replied, “Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Nearly 30 members of the Electronic Surveillance Unit were assigned to duty on Jan. 6, some of whom were gathering evidence on crowd activity. Members wore special bands on their left wrists to identify themselves as part of the Electronic Surveillance Unit, according to the MPD’s 96-page Jan. 6 action plan.
Officer 1 repeatedly joined in chants of “Drain the swamp!” and “Our house! Our house! Our house!”
A little closer to the Capitol, the video captures a protester shouting, “Joe Biden! We wanna hear you speak, you [expletive] pedophile satanist [expletive]!”
A short time later, Officer 1 joined the crowd in a “USA!” chant, repeating the phrase five times.
At the foot of the northwest stairs, someone leaned part of a bicycle rack against the balustrade. As a protester climbed up the makeshift ladder, Officer 1 shouted, “C’mon, man, let’s go! Leave that sh*t.”
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 22:30 - "This Is What Armageddon Would Look Like For The US"
“This Is What Armageddon Would Look Like For The US”
Biggie:
“We get guaranteed bank deposits when there’s a bank run,” Barked Biggie Too.
“We get energy rebates when there’s a war,” continued the Chief Global Strategist for one of Wall Street’s Too-Big-To-Fail affairs.
“And we got stimmy checks when we had Covid,” bellowed Biggie.
“What are we gonna get when unemployment starts heading higher?”
And of course, you never interrupt Biggie when he’s on a roll, so I just nodded.
“Bank activity, commercial real estate, it’s all contracting. Why couldn’t we have a big, nasty recession in the 2nd half?” asked Biggie.
“If investors start losing faith in US gov’t credibility over the debt ceiling and the poor handling of this banking crisis, and we get the progressives screaming for stimmy checks at the first hint of rising unemployment, then we got a real problem,” said Biggie.
“They start talking about UBI and it’s over,” he said, dropping to a whisper.
“And let me tell you what Armageddon is. It’s a -200k non-farm payrolls report that leads to a 50bp rise in long-term bond yields. And that’s where the people running policy are leading us. To be an emerging market.”
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 22:00 - Sunday Satire: 11 Great Reasons To Stay In California
Sunday Satire: 11 Great Reasons To Stay In California
According to reports, hundreds of thousands of people have fled California in recent years, citing minor annoyances like aggressive homeless people, increased violent crime, and crippling taxes.
Some experts believe that by 2030, the only person left in California will be Gavin Newsom – and he’ll spend half his time on his ranch in Montana.
But all these concerns citizens have may be overblown.
There’s still a lot to love about the Golden State.
Here are 11 great reasons to stick around:
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Zillow estimates your cardboard box house will be worth $3 million in just a few years – Hoooold – HOOOOOLD!!!
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If you identify as black you have a decent chance of scoring millions in reparations soon – Pull a Rachel Dolezal and you can be cashing in big time any day now.
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There are beautiful natural sights like the warm glow of forest fires lighting up the skies – We call them “the golden lights,” and they’re magnificent.
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Everyone will be gone soon and then there will be no lines at Disneyland – You’ll have to push the button to start up the tea cups yourself, but no more waiting!
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Everything at CVS is free – Even better than no waiting – no paying for anything!
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When you pay your massive state tax bill, you get a sense of satisfaction that you’re supporting some hobo’s fentanyl addiction – No amount of money saved can make up for that feeling.
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Law-abiding citizens don’t have guns, so there is never any crime – It’s science.
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There’s great weather outside of fire season, drought season, and deadly mudslide season – There are three days in April without fires, droughts, or mudslides. Enjoy them.
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You can ski and surf on the same day, even though you haven’t done either in years – But you can be smug in the knowledge that you could if you really wanted to. (But you don’t). (But you could).
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You can go camping right on the sidewalk – No permit required.
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Best of all, the government will make all your decisions for you – This is maybe the best reason to stick around: you won’t be burdened with pesky concepts like “liberty” and “personal responsibility.” Good ol’ Gavin will take care of ya.
Well, that’s all we can think of.
If these didn’t convince you, then move to Texas and enjoy your lame “freedom” and “guns.”
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 21:00 -
- US "Strongly Urges" Compromise As Massive Protests Erupt Across Israel After Anti-Judicial-Reform Minister Fired
US “Strongly Urges” Compromise As Massive Protests Erupt Across Israel After Anti-Judicial-Reform Minister Fired
Update (2045ET): Massive protests have erupted across Israel tonight after PM Netanyhau fired his Defense Minister, a day after he called on the Israeli leader to halt a planned judicial overhaul that has fiercely divided the country.
As a reminder, Netanyahu and his allies say the plan will restore a balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies. But critics say the constellation of laws will remove the checks and balances in Israel’s democratic system and concentrate power in the hands of the governing coalition.
Gallant’s dismissal signaled that Netanyahu will move ahead this week with the overhaul plan, which has sparked mass protests, angered military and business leaders and raised concerns among Israel’s allies.
“The country is facing the greatest danger since the Yom Kippur War,” writes former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
“I call on the prime minister to withdraw Galant’s dismissal letter, suspend the reform and begin negotiations until after the Day of Independence.
Israel’s Consul General has resigned…
Resignation statement in full from the consul general of #Israel in #NYC. pic.twitter.com/dEIivDnqpy
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) March 26, 2023
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Bibi later tweeted “we must all stand strong against refusal.”
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets… in Tel Aviv…
⚡️#BREAKING The police chief of the Tel Aviv district joined the demonstrations against Netanyahu pic.twitter.com/YoAr3qJO3S
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 26, 2023
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… and Haifa…
⚡️One of the highways in Yafa pic.twitter.com/pZPTrxSzXg
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 26, 2023
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Not everybody is protesting…
It’s so beautiful… pic.twitter.com/TXMMYfJwW8
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 26, 2023
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Haaretz reports that amid the unprecedented protests that erupted in Israel on Sunday night, several Likud lawmakers and ministers call to stop the highly controversial legislative process of Netanyahu’s judicial reform.
Additionally, as Nadav Eyal notes, for the first time in history, Israel’s main union, as well as leaders from the banks and the entire business sector, are about to declare a general strike demanding that the government stop the plan to overhaul the judicial system.
Netanyahu and Macron have much in common. Both are shaking the foundations of their corrupt regimes. pic.twitter.com/3saTWLe5A4
— Seyed Mohammad Marandi (@s_m_marandi) March 27, 2023
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Finally, and more ominously, amid chatter across social media of the same, Iran has dropped the c-word:
Will there be a military coup in Israel?
Mutiny in the Israeli army following Netanyahu’s decision to fire the defense minister — Barak David
— Iran Observer (@Iranobserver01) March 26, 2023
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The situation is definitely escalating, as Joyce Karam summarizes…
UPDATE: #Israel in last few hrs
• Defense Min. Gallant fired
• Consul General in NY resigns
• Protests across Israel,> 500,000
• Roads blocked; Clashes w Police
• Universities cancel classes
• Netanyahu meeting head of Intel
• May pause Judicial Overhaul
• Knesset awaits— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) March 26, 2023
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Ratcheting up the pressure on Netanyahu, Washington has chimed in:
We are deeply concerned by today’s developments out of Israel, which further underscore the urgent need for compromise.
As the President recently discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu, democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the U.S.- Israel relationship.
Democratic societies are strengthened by checks and balances, and fundamental changes to a democratic system should be pursued with the broadest possible base of popular support.
We continue to strongly urge Israeli leaders to find a compromise as soon as possible.
We believe that is the best path forward for Israel and all of its citizens. U.S. support for Israel’s security and democracy remains ironclad.
Which follows a report earlier in the month of the U.S. State Department has been funding a left-wing organization in Israel that is helping to promote anti-government protest aimed at bringing down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his judicial reforms. The Washington Free Beacon reported Monday that U.S. taxpayer funds have been granted to the Movement for Quality Government (MQG), which has participated in the protests that have rocked Israel for weeks. The protests began after Netanyahu, whose right-wing coalition won a commanding majority in recent elections, began tackling the decades-old problem of the judicial usurpation of power from the legislature.
And finally, as the crisis is worsening tonight, Bibi has called the leaders of the ruling coalition parties to an emergency meeting on Monday morning.
* * *
Update (1415ET): In perhaps the least surprising geopolitical move of the day, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister on Sunday, a day after Yoav Gallant called for a halt to the planned overhaul of Israel’s judiciary that has divided the country.
Netanyahu’s office did not provide further details.
As we detailed below, Gallant, a senior member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, became the first to break ranks late Saturday by calling for the legislation to be frozen.
* * *
In a major development, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday called for Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to halt its planned judicial reforms, which have prompted enormous protests and are starting to disrupt the country’s military.
“I see the source of our strength eroding…The rift within our society is widening and penetrating the Israel Defense Forces,” said Gallant in a televised evening speech. “This is a clear and immediate and tangible danger to the security of the state. I shall not be a party to this.”
In addition to calling for a suspension of the reforms, Gallant also implored Israelis to stop their enormous protests, which raged even as he spoke.
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant delivering his remarks on Saturday evening (Defense Ministry photo) The coming week could bring high drama and even more upheaval, as the Knesset is expected to hold its final vote on the first aspect of the judicial overhaul: a measure giving the government more power over Supreme Court appointments.
Other reforms would allow the Knesset — Israel’s unicameral legislature — to override Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority vote. Others would end the court’s practice of applying a “reasonableness” test when evaluating laws and government actions.
Critics characterize the scheme as a step deeper into authoritarianism. Some say the moves are in part designed to help Netanyahu terminate his ongoing prosecution on corruption charges.
The past ten weeks have seen major public protests all across Israel. Saturday night’s crowds were reportedly the largest yet, estimated in the hundreds of thousands.
Tel Aviv, today. Estimated as the largest protest in the history of Israel pic.twitter.com/2CEGz4cl2b
— Danel Lushi (@DanelLushi) March 25, 2023
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Gallant said the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are feeling the effects: “The events happening in Israeli society are not staying out of the military. Feelings of rage, disappointment and fear have reached heights we have never seen before,” said Gallant.
More pressingly, a growing coalition of Israeli service members — calling themselves Brothers in Arms — are committing to stop showing up for duty in protest of the measures.
Some say they’ll stay home if the judicial reform passes, but others aren’t waiting — particularly among Israel’s reserve forces. On Friday, two hundred Israeli Air Force reserve pilots signed a letter saying they will not report for two weeks. Reservists are an essential part of Israel’s military, and especially its air force, which has been active in bombing targets across Syria, including the Damascus airport.
IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has already sounded an internal alarm, saying the dip in reservists reporting for duty is now so large that the the military is on the verge of curtailing some operations, according to The New York Times, which quoted three anonymous Israeli officials. Two of those officials are bracing for resignations from full-time service members.
Palestinians would surely welcome the curtailing of IDF operations Underscoring the divisions caused by the judicial proposal, far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir lashed out at his fellow cabinet member, urging Netanyahu to fire Gallant, whom he condemned for “succumbing to the pressure of those [IDF members] who threatened to refuse [to report for duty] and are trying to stop the important reform.”
Similarly, Israel’s communications minister accused Gallant, a former navy commando, of “giving wind to a military coup.”
However, just minutes after Gallant concluded his remarks, two of his fellow Likud party lawmakers endorsed his plea, Haaretz reports. One is the chair of the Knesset’s security and foreign affairs committee, and the other is a person who rarely criticizes Netanyahu.
Israel’s agriculture minister and another Likud member reportedly favor a freeze as well. If they went as far as to become “no” votes, that quartet would be sufficient to impede the legislation.
On Friday — the day before Gallant’s speech — Netanyahu told reporters:
“Surrendering to [IDF] refusal is a terrible danger to the state of Israel…The country cannot exist without the IDF. There will not be a nation, it’s very simple. All red lines have been crossed. People who were responsible for the security of the country suddenly adopted this cynicism.”
Gallant said he had privately shared his views with Netanyahu, who asked him to delay going public with them. Gallant cancelled plans to speak out on Thursday, but said he now felt compelled to take his message to all Israelis.
Netanyahu ends another humiliating foreign trip, his own defense minister urges a halt to the govt anti-democratic legislative blitz while record numbers protest across Israel; police use water cannon and far-right Kahanists counter-demonstrate @haaretzcomhttps://t.co/4Z68IFoaAN pic.twitter.com/b4azoVOtEK
— Esther Solomon (@EstherSolomon) March 25, 2023
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Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 20:57 - Morgan Stanley Asks When Will Central Banks Worry More About Financial Stability Than Inflation
Morgan Stanley Asks When Will Central Banks Worry More About Financial Stability Than Inflation
By Seth Carpenter, Morgan Stanley chief global economist
It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over
Major central banks have hiked rates despite volatility in markets. They collectively said that inflation clearly means it is too soon to conclude that the hiking cycle is over. The banking sector developments haven’t stopped the hiking, and indeed, I have noted that the idea of focusing on financial stability at the expense of inflation is a false dichotomy. Central banks are deliberately tightening financial conditions in order to slow their respective economies and thereby bring inflation down…while hopefully avoiding an unnecessarily painful recession. What the banks disruption does, however, is make it harder to
calibrate the correct degree of tightening.Inflation is clearly the priority for central banks. On March 16, the ECB noted that it projects inflation to stay “too high for too long.” Chair Powell was similarly blunt, saying that “inflation remains too high.” And even though the BoE expects inflation to fall significantly in 2Q23, it worried that a strong labor market and an improving growth outlook could reinforce the persistence of inflation. So, what’s a poor central bank to do?
Central banks’ main tool is the policy rate. Higher rates tighten financial conditions, which slows economic growth. That chain of causality becomes more important in the current circumstances, because while policy has tightened financial conditions, so too have disruptions in the banking sector. Ideally, central banks would separate the issues, using different tools to deal with macroeconomic issues versus financial stability, but they know an interaction exists. So, they are watching developments in the banking sector to see if continued rate hikes have an outsized or nonlinear effect on financial conditions. To date, their conclusion has been “no.”
The ECB did not see volatility in financial markets as a reason to pause or to do a smaller hike. Nevertheless, the ECB did not provide particularly strong guidance about what the next policy move would be. It wants more tightening of financial conditions, but it also wants to understand what is in train. Similarly, the Fed followed through on its rate hike as we anticipated, and Chair Powell was explicit that credit market tightening works in the same direction as policy tightening. According to Powell, the banking sector disruption provides restraint akin to one or two more rate hikes. Thus, the dot plot did not show more hikes than in December, despite stronger incoming economic data. Instead of focusing on one objective versus another, central banks are keeping their eyes on inflation while trying to adjust to changing financial conditions.
When would central banks worry more about financial stability than inflation? When inflation is no longer an issue, because in response to instability, the financial markets would deal such a blow to the real economy that we would experience a severe recession. If anything, the Fed told us that it was willing to absorb even more economic pain to reduce inflation than it had in the past. Not only is the Fed projecting three years of below-potential growth (2022, 2023, and 2024) to bring inflation down (almost) to target at the end of 2025, it also reduced its forecast for growth this year and next, along with a slightly higher path for policy.
So how does it end?
If disruption in the banking sector delays an extension of policy tightening, then a soft landing is still possible. Our banking analysts see higher funding costs and rising deposit betas combined with tighter lending standards restricting loan growth. This view is consonant with Powell’s. But the downside risks have gotten bigger. A broader, more persistent contraction in credit would cause a recession given that growth will be near zero in the best version of the world. And central banks will be ruling out the upper tail of possible outcomes. The ECB is clearly focused on inflation, so growth can be sacrificed, and upside surprises like last week’s PMIs will add to its resolve.
January’s strong data in the US initially led Powell to re-open the door to 50bp rate hikes. The other lesson from the past two weeks is that the “no landing” notion never made any sense.
Central banks were always going to force a landing, one way or another; the banking sector may hold the key to which kind.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 20:30 - Autism On The Rise: CDC Data
Autism On The Rise: CDC Data
Autism rates in US children have jumped from one in 150 in 2002 to one in 36 in 2020, or 2.8%, according to a new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Photo via Kimberly Paynter/WHYY.org The findings come from the CDC-funded ‘Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network,’ launched in 2000 “to collect data to better understand the number and characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities living in different areas of the United States.”
The program spans 11 states, including Arkansas, Maryland and Tennessee.
Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder, is a wide-ranging developmental disability that manifests in various ways – but which typically includes trouble with communication and social interactions.
The study also found that boys were far more likely to have autism than girls.
That said, the report also notes that the communities included in the program “are not representative of the entire United States,” while other federal autism programs are meant to be nationally representative. As the Epoch Times notes, the last nationwide autism estimate for children aged 3 through 17 was 2.9%, in-line with the latest figures from this study.
Another new paper published by the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that more 4-year-olds were being diagnosed with autism from 2016 through early 2020 vs. the previous four years.
One explanation: “Our best guess, consistent with the general rise in autism prevalence rates, is that it is more equitable access to evaluations and diagnoses,” according to Kelly Shaw, a CDC epidemiologist and one of the researchers, in a comment to Today.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 20:00 - 'The Real Question Is How Many': James O'Keefe Suggests He Has Multiple Insiders In Manhattan DA Case Against Trump
‘The Real Question Is How Many’: James O’Keefe Suggests He Has Multiple Insiders In Manhattan DA Case Against Trump
James O’Keefe, the founder and former head of undercover reporting and whistleblower organization Project Veritas, has suggested that he has multiple insiders in the Manhattan DA’s case against former President Donald Trump – either on the grand jury, or otherwise familiar with (or involved in) the case.
“NY DA Bragg likely hid exculpatory evidence from the Trump Grand Jury as their meetings have been postponed,” said political influencer Ryan Cunningham, adding “The real question is has @JamesOKeefeIII got to someone on the inside?“
To which O’Keefe replied “The real question is how many do we have on the inside? Stay tuned.”
The real question is how many do we have on the inside? Stay tuned
OKeefeTips@protonmail.com
Subscribe —> https://t.co/aXpfOC6v5F https://t.co/eYWUjszWdM— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) March 23, 2023
Trump is being investigated by the Manhattan DA over a payment made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford).
More on O’Keefe’s new venture via The Epoch Times;
O’Keefe founded Project Veritas in 2010. He departed the group in February after the board of directors suspended him amid an investigation into alleged financial malfeasance. His new project is called O’Keefe Media Group, or OMG.
O’Keefe said that the new group has been sending cameras out, “which means the OMG army of exposers will soon be holding those in power accountable.”
O’Keefe warned people who are planning wrongdoing, adding: “You’re being watched. We’re coming after you. The next time you try and take advantage of honest Americans, the person sitting next to you might have a microphone or a camera. You see, the world is watching. And if you’re lying, cheating, stealing, or scamming, you might be the next unwilling star of the internet.”
OMG’s first story will be released on March 27, O’Keefe said.
At least one Project Veritas staffer has followed O’Keefe to the new project. R.C. Maxwell, a former Project Veritas employee, was in O’Keefe’s new video.
O’Keefe said in another Twitter post he’d just spent one day this week in three states.
“Just wrapped a 20 hour day. Three states, multiple investigations fueled by so many citizens,” he wrote.
New Model
OMG is based on the concept of collecting funds from supporters, buying cameras, and sending them to “citizen journalists” who will capture newsworthy moments.
News outlets “can’t hire everybody,” O’Keefe told The Epoch Times on March 16. “But what if there was a way to empower and mobilize journalists, citizen journalists, and decentralized journalism? In the same way that Uber did that for the taxi, if there was a way to do that for thousands and thousands of people? And you might say, well, that’s impossible, that’s too difficult. Well, that’s the mission that I’m embarking on.”
People have already approached OMG, asking for cameras to record school meetings and other events, O’Keefe said.
Asked whether the citizen journalists would be paid, O’Keefe said he wasn’t sure.
“Most people want to do this for free,” he said.
“I don’t know exactly how it’s going to work, we’re going to figure it out,” he added later.
O’Keefe said being ousted from Project Veritas has turned out to be a “blessing in disguise” because it let him start the new group.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 19:00 - Will You Play It Fast And Loose?
Will You Play It Fast And Loose?
Authored by MN Gordon via EconomicPrism.com,
“How should I play that one, Bert? Play it safe? That’s the way you always told me to play it: safe… play the percentage. Well, here we go: fast and loose. One ball, corner pocket. Yeah, percentage players die broke, too, don’t they, Bert?”
– Fast Eddie Felson, The Hustler
QT2 Master Plan
Stopping the excess is always much harder than starting it. But sometimes it must be done. And done all the way. Half measures avail nothing.
On June 1, 2022, Fed Chair Jay Powell commenced Quantitative Tightening (QT) Part 2. “Brace yourself,” was the advice of JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon. Were his banker cohorts listening?
The master plan for QT2 was for the Fed to reduce its holdings of Treasury notes and mortgage-backed securities by a combined $47.5 billion per month for the first three months (July thru August 2022). Then, by September 2022, the Fed would start reducing its balance sheet by a total amount of $95 billion a month (i.e., $60 billion in Treasuries notes and $35 billion in mortgage-backed securities).
Wells Fargo Investment Institute took the Fed at its word and even projected that its balance sheet could shrink by almost $1.5 trillion by the end of 2023. Taking it down to around $7.5 trillion.
To anyone with a memory that extends back longer than two years, it was obvious that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell the Fed would contract its balance sheet to $7.5 trillion by the end of 2023. At the time, we remarked, “We’ll bet dollars to doughnuts this never happens.”
Our certainty was not based on any special insight about the future. It was merely the recognition that QT1 flamed out early.
Specifically, it took 24 months for the Fed to reduce its balance sheet by $800 billion between October 2017 and September 2019 (in the wake of a $3.5 trillion expansion). That was before QT1 abruptly ended in repo-madness.
QT2 Fail
Like all plans of central planners, the QT2 plan laid out by the Fed to extinguish nearly double the ‘assets’ in 19 months that were terminated in 24 months during QT1 was nothing but a pipe dream. Clearly, something was bound to break well in advance of the Fed hitting a balance sheet of $7.5 trillion.
By now we all know what broke. Silicon Valley Bank broke. As did Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, and Credit Suisse. More banks could fail too, even in the face of mega bailouts being engineered by activist central banks.
With respect to the Fed’s balance sheet, after peaking at over $8.9 trillion in April 2022, it fell roughly $626 billion through the end of February 2023. As of March 15, 2023, the Fed’s balance sheet had jumped $300 billion. And by the time you’re reading this, or shortly after, we’ll know how many more hundreds of billions in credit the Fed has created out of thin air to liquify the financial system.
In short, QT2 was a complete and utter failure. Of the $626 billion reduction that occurred, $300 billion was added back – in a matter of days. This massive increase marks the return of Quantitative Easing (QE). It also surfaces an important question.
How much Fed credit creation – out of thin air – will be needed to stem the banking crisis?
One trillion dollars, $5 trillion, $10 trillion?
Your guess is as good as ours. In matters like this, however, it is always best to think in big, round numbers. So, don’t be surprised when the Fed’s balance sheet eclipses $20 trillion over the next several years.
Inflation Deflation
Inflation of the money supply is inflation in the truest sense. It’s what comes first. Asset price inflation and consumer price inflation then follow in wild and unpredictable ways.
Are these massive new additions to the Fed’s balance sheet inflationary?
By definition, yes. As the inflation of the Fed’s balance sheet supplies additional credit to the financial system. But how will this inflation impact asset and consumer prices?
This is to be determined.
The immediate concern is credit contraction and debt deflation. The forces causing banks to go belly up are relentless. As TradeSmith recently noted, the money supply (M2) is contracting for the first time in the modern era. Liquidity has disappeared from the marketplace.
For example, for investors holding the $17 billion of Credit Suisse’s additional tier 1 (AT1) bonds, the banking crisis is deflationary. This includes retail investors in Asia, PIMCO, Invesco, and Legg Mason, among others. Their investment – principal, interest, the whole nine yards – has been written down to diddly-squat.
But what about for SVB depositors, including those with accounts above and beyond FDIC insurance limits? Is the BTFP bailout inflationary when depositors are merely being made whole?
Make of it what you will. The moral hazard of it all, which rewards bankers for going hog-wild speculating with customer deposits, is a disaster.
What is clearly inflationary, and what is explicitly driving consumer prices higher, is the massive amount of deficit spending being racked up by Washington. The federal government has already spent $723 billion more than it collected in revenue in fiscal year 2023. Yet the fiscal year hasn’t even reached the mid-point.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the FY 2023 deficit is projected to hit $1.4 trillion. This is on top of the $1.38 trillion deficit accumulated in FY 2022. Thus, as the credit market contracts, and banks fail, consumer prices will remain elevated.
Will You Play It Fast And Loose?
With consumer price inflation just off its highest levels in over 40 years, we suppose the massive deficit spending combined with the broadening scope of the bank bailouts will be a tailwind for rising consumer prices. This is especially true as shameful opportunists like Senator Elizabeth Warren use the politics of the bank crisis to justify creative ways to inject printing press money into the economy.
But at the moment, we expect the real action will be in asset prices. And there’s great uncertainty in how it will all play out.
Those expecting Fed liquidity to pump up the stock market should moderate their enthusiasm. That time will come. But first, there’s plenty of wreckage in the debt market that needs to reconciled, written off, or bailed out.
This week Fed Chair Powell, following the federal open market committee meeting, hiked the federal funds rate 25 basis points to a range of 4.75 to 5 percent. This, no doubt, is deflationary for the debt market. It furthers the negative carry problem that banks foolishly got themselves in.
Still, what could Powell do? Inflation is out of control. It must be restrained. Shortsighted decisions made during the COVID Panic must be corrected. Moreover, with Washington spending like drunken sailors, Powell must hold the line as long as politically feasible.
Ultimately, it’s a losing cause. Interest payments on the national debt during the current fiscal year are up 29 percent year over year. Soon enough, the Fed will have to cut rates to bail out Washington – inflation be damned.
In the interim, a hardcore stock market panic is in store. We expect this will be one for the history books. We also expect it will provide buying opportunities of a lifetime, which most people will miss out on. Are you psychologically prepared to buy when the time is right?
At the point of maximum fear, when the sky is falling, the world is ending, and shares of Bank of America trade below $8, what will you do?
Will you play it safe? Or will you play it fast and loose?
* * *
As the financial system falls apart and the economy slips into a recession, a great distraction will be needed to control the masses. In this regard, is Washington secretly provoking China to attack Taiwan? Are your finances prepared for such madness? Answers to these important questions can be found in a unique Special Report. It’s called, “War in the Strait of Taiwan? How to Exploit the Trend of Escalating Conflict.” You can access a copy for less than a penny.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 18:30 - Which Countries Hold The Most US Debt?
Which Countries Hold The Most US Debt?
Today, America owes foreign investors of its national debt $7.3 trillion.
These are in the form of Treasury securities, some of the most liquid assets worldwide. Central banks use them for foreign exchange reserves and private investors flock to them during flights to safety thanks to their perceived low default risk.
Beyond these reasons, foreign investors may buy Treasuries as a store of value. They are often used as collateral during certain international trade transactions, or countries can use them to help manage exchange rate policy. For example, countries may buy Treasuries to protect their currency’s exchange rate from speculation.
In the graphic below, Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld and Joyce Ma show the foreign holders of the U.S. national debt using data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Top Foreign Holders of U.S. Debt
With $1.1 trillion in Treasury holdings, Japan is the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt.
Japan surpassed China as the top holder in 2019 as China shed over $250 billion, or 30% of its holdings in four years.
This bond offloading by China is the one way the country can manage the yuan’s exchange rate. This is because if it sells dollars, it can buy the yuan when the currency falls. At the same time, China doesn’t solely use the dollar to manage its currency—it now uses a basket of currencies.
Here are the countries that hold the most U.S. debt:
Rank Country U.S. Treasury Holdings Share of Total 1 🇯🇵 Japan $1,076B 14.7% 2 🇨🇳 China $867B 11.9% 3 🇬🇧 United Kingdom $655B 8.9% 4 🇧🇪 Belgium $354B 4.8% 5 🇱🇺 Luxembourg $329B 4.5% 6 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands $284B 3.9% 7 🇨🇭 Switzerland $270B 3.7% 8 🇮🇪 Ireland $255B 3.5% 9 🇹🇼 Taiwan $226B 3.1% 10 🇮🇳 India $224B 3.1% 11 🇭🇰 Hong Kong $221B 3.0% 12 🇧🇷 Brazil $217B 3.0% 13 🇨🇦 Canada $215B 2.9% 14 🇫🇷 France $189B 2.6% 15 🇸🇬 Singapore $179B 2.4% 16 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia $120B 1.6% 17 🇰🇷 South Korea $103B 1.4% 18 🇩🇪 Germany $101B 1.4% 19 🇳🇴 Norway $92B 1.3% 20 🇧🇲 Bermuda $82B 1.1% 21 🇳🇱 Netherlands $67B 0.9% 22 🇲🇽 Mexico $59B 0.8% 23 🇦🇪 UAE $59B 0.8% 24 🇦🇺 Australia $57B 0.8% 25 🇰🇼 Kuwait $49B 0.7% 26 🇵🇭 Philippines $48B 0.7% 27 🇮🇱 Israel $48B 0.7% 28 🇧🇸 Bahamas $46B 0.6% 29 🇹🇭 Thailand $46B 0.6% 30 🇸🇪 Sweden $42B 0.6% 31 🇮🇶 Iraq $41B 0.6% 32 🇨🇴 Colombia $40B 0.5% 33 🇮🇹 Italy $39B 0.5% 34 🇵🇱 Poland $38B 0.5% 35 🇪🇸 Spain $37B 0.5% 36 🇻🇳 Vietnam $37B 0.5% 37 🇨🇱 Chile $34B 0.5% 38 🇵🇪 Peru $32B 0.4% All Other $439B 6.0% As the above table shows, the United Kingdom is the third highest holder, at over $655 billion in Treasuries. Across Europe, 13 countries are notable holders of these securities, the highest in any region, followed by Asia-Pacific at 11 different holders.
A handful of small nations own a surprising amount of U.S. debt. With a population of 70,000, the Cayman Islands own a towering amount of Treasury bonds to the tune of $284 billion. There are more hedge funds domiciled in the Cayman Islands per capita than any other nation worldwide.
In fact, the four smallest nations in the visualization above—Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Bahamas, and Luxembourg—have a combined population of just 1.2 million people, but own a staggering $741 billion in Treasuries.
Interest Rates and Treasury Market Dynamics
Over 2022, foreign demand for Treasuries sank 6% as higher interest rates and a strong U.S. dollar made owning these bonds less profitable.
This is because rising interest rates on U.S. debt makes the present value of their future income payments lower. Meanwhile, their prices also fall.
As the chart below shows, this drop in demand is a sharp reversal from 2018-2020, when demand jumped as interest rates hovered at historic lows. A similar trend took place in the decade after the 2008-09 financial crisis when U.S. debt holdings effectively tripled from $2 to $6 trillion.
Driving this trend was China’s rapid purchase of Treasuries, which ballooned from $100 billion in 2002 to a peak of $1.3 trillion in 2013. As the country’s exports and output expanded, it sold yuan and bought dollars to help alleviate exchange rate pressure on its currency.
Fast-forward to today, and global interest-rate uncertainty—which in turn can impact national currency valuations and therefore demand for Treasuries—continues to be a factor impacting the future direction of foreign U.S. debt holdings.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 18:00 - Panic In Philly As Chemical Spill Sends Residents Scrambling For Bottled Water
Panic In Philly As Chemical Spill Sends Residents Scrambling For Bottled Water
Update (2135 ET): Philadelphia officials have rescinded their recommendation that residents only drink bottled water. Saying testing has found no contamination at the intake site for the city water system, the officials assured the tap water should be considered safe…through at least 11:59 pm on Monday.
In the wake of shoppers lining up all over the city to buy water, officials attempted to dissuade Philly residents from hoarding, encouraging them to use containers to stock up on two days of tap water just in case the assessment of the water’s safety changes.
“I want to reiterate there was never any contamination in Philadelphia Water Department’s system,” said Mike Carroll, deputy managing director for Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, at a 5pm briefing. “There was contamination in the Delaware River, but we shut off the intake to the River and we’re operating off of water that was not contaminated.”
* * *
Philadelphia officials warned area residents on Sunday to drink only bottled water “out of caution” following the spill of a latex product along a tributary of the Delaware River.
“City of Phila recommends using bottled drinking water from 2PM 3/26/2023 until further notice for all Phila Water Department customers,” reads a text message from city officials which was sent to area residents and reported by CNN. “Contaminants have not been found in the system at this time but this is out of caution due to a spill in the Delaware River.”
This spill will potentially affect water treated at the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant. Residents can find out if they live in an impacted area here: https://t.co/gIpeKRUptT
— Philadelphia Water (@PhillyH2O) March 26, 2023
Following the notice, long lines formed at ShopRite, Target and other area stores, with ShopRite limiting customers to three bottles each.
Line at Target to buy bottled water 10 minutes after the city of #Philadelphia sent out an alert regarding a spill in the Delaware River. pic.twitter.com/4EUpoj3ZBJ
— Ben Ames (@BenAmesWx) March 26, 2023
Our grocery store after the City of Philadelphia announced that the drinking water *may or may not be* contaminated for a day pic.twitter.com/pCVfU5qHlG
— Walking Philly (@WalkingPhilly) March 26, 2023
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js“As has been reported, on Friday night a chemical spill occurred in Bristol Township, Bucks County which released contaminants into the Delaware River,” said Mike Carroll, the city’s deputy managing director for transportation, infrastructure and sustainability. “The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) became aware of this through the Delaware Valley Early Warning System (EWS) and has been evaluating the situation since that time to understand potential impacts to the public. Although early indications have not revealed contamination, we are still monitoring the situation and conducting testing.”
Philadelphia residents are urged to use bottled water “out of an abundance of caution” until further notice as authorities investigate a spill of a latex product that occurred along a Delaware River tributary.
As of this time, “no contaminants have been found” in the water… pic.twitter.com/YZopVKW6HH— Shlomo Schorr (@OneJerseySchorr) March 26, 2023
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
According to the Philadelphia Water Department’s website, it provides water to over “2 million people in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, and Bucks counties.”
Trinseo is gonna be reimbursing us for all the bottled water we gotta buy now, right? pic.twitter.com/ry0iPkcp73
— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) March 26, 2023
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 17:00 - New Documents Expose Government Censorship Efforts At Facebook And WhatsApp
New Documents Expose Government Censorship Efforts At Facebook And WhatsApp
New emails uncovered in the ongoing Missouri v. Biden litigation reportedly show that the Biden Administration’s censorship efforts extended to Facebook to censor private communications on its WhatsApp messaging service.
In recent months, the Twitter Files revealed an extensive and secret effort by the FBI and other agencies to censor citizens on social media. I testified on that effort. Democratic members oppose efforts to investigate the full scope of this effort and even denounced those calling for greater transparency as “Putin lovers” and apologists for insurrectionists and racists. Yet, the evidence of an extensive censorship and blacklisting effort by the Administration continues to mount.
Facebook (now known as Meta) is accused of working with the government to target citizens with dissenting views on Covid and the pandemic.
According to emails obtained through discovery, Biden’s Director of Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty pressed Facebook executives to be more aggressive with censorship. Flaherty reportedly objected that “I care mostly about what actions and changes you’re making to ensure you’re not making our country’s vaccine hesitancy problem worse…I still don’t have a good, empirical answer on how effective you’ve been at reducing the spread of vaccine-skeptical content and misinformation to vaccine fence sitters.”
Just a few weeks ago, I wrote that the congressionally created, federally funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED) had supported blacklisting efforts at the British-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI). The index was widely ridiculed for targeting ten conservative and libertarian sites as the most dangerous sources of disinformation; it sought to persuade advertisers to withdraw support for those sites, while listing their most liberal counterparts as among the most trustworthy.
At the time, I noted that the Biden administration had played us for chumps. As we celebrated the demise of the infamous Disinformation Governing Board with its “Disinformation Nanny,” the Biden administration never disclosed a larger censorship program.
Shortly after my column posted in The Hill, the NED wrote to me to say that it was discontinuing support for the GDI.
Microsoft also was forced into retreat after it was shown to be pushing the GDI’s biased blacklist.
Then we learned of additional funding going through the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC).
We also know of backchannel communications with the CDC and other agencies.
It is assumed that the comprehensive effort to censor was not limited to Twitter. This is another indication of such efforts with Facebook. However, the Democratic leadership has opposed such an investigation for years. They have even refused to accept the email evidence. When I testified on the Twitter Files, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) criticized me for offering “legal opinions” without actually working at Twitter. As I have noted, it is like saying that a witness should not discuss the contents of the Pentagon Papers unless he worked at the Pentagon. It was particularly bizarre because I was asked about the content of the Twitter Files. The content — like the content of the Pentagon Papers — are “facts.” The implication of those facts are opinions.
Members like Wasserman Schultz will likely continue to refuse to acknowledge these new emails. However, the public has repeatedly shown in polls that they want transparency on the censorship efforts. The House may be able to guarantee that transparency as its need continues to rise with new evidence of the government’s efforts to silence dissenting views on social media.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 16:30 - WTF Headline Of The Day
WTF Headline Of The Day
Nobody likes getting punched in the balls… especially if you’re a woman…
A transgender woman has called for the dismantling of airport TSA screenings after she claimed an agent punched her in the testicles and “yelled at me for having a penis”.
The flyer posted a since-deleted selfie showing her sobbing in a bathroom stall following the episode, complaining that her “balls still hurt so bad”.
“I don’t want the TSA agent that hurt me fired,” she said in a separate post.
“I want her educated and the entirety of TSA abolished altogether.”
The Daily Mail reports that after the accusations were posted to social media, the airport said they were investigating the incident.
“We apologize again for your experience,” it said in response on Twitter.
“Your comments have been noted and shared.”
We here at ZeroHedge stand alongside our trans women friends – no one should have to suffer getting punched in the balls just to get through security at airports.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 16:00 - 'Go, Go, Go! Help Them Up! Push Them Up': New Leaked J6 Footage 'Shows DC Metro Cop Encouraging People To Go Towards The Capitol'
‘Go, Go, Go! Help Them Up! Push Them Up’: New Leaked J6 Footage ‘Shows DC Metro Cop Encouraging People To Go Towards The Capitol’
Authored by Chris Menahan via Information Liberation,
Newly leaked footage from January 6th shows undercover DC Metropolitan Police officers pushing protesters to move towards the US Capitol and helping them climb the scaffolding outside the Capitol building.
After climbing the scaffolding, the DC metro cop continues to encourage people to move closer to the Captiol. “Keep going” @julie_kelly2 pic.twitter.com/Suq9yQJwZD
— 3sidedstory 🇺🇲 (@3sidedstory) March 25, 2023
The full video was leaked Saturday on Rumble by an anonymous account named OverwatchJ6:
A federal prosecutor admitted in court papers that three D.C. Metropolitan Police Department undercover officers acted as provocateurs at the northwest steps of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The admission came in a March 24 filing before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras that seeks to keep video footage shot by the officers under court seal.
Prosecutors accused the case defendant—William Pope of Topeka, Kansas—of an “illegitimate” attempt to unmask the video as part of his alleged strategy to try the case in the news media. Pope filed a motion to remove the court seal on Feb. 21.
“The defendant is not entitled to ‘undesignate’ these videos to share them with unlimited third parties,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Moran. “His desire to try his case in the media rather than in a court of law is illegitimate, and the government has met its burden to show the necessity of the protective order.”
The feds worked together with the media to smear everyone involved in this protest for two years straight and bias the already biased DC juries against them but their victims are not allowed to share this footage to defend themselves?
The fact these cases are even being tried in DC is an absolute disgrace. J6 protesters are blatantly being denied their right to a fair trial on top of being held indefinitely in pre-trial detention and tortured in prison.
Videos long hidden under court seal have become a major topic, especially with prosecutors disclosing in a number of high-profile Jan. 6 cases the involvement of multiple FBI informants.
Pope is seeking to lift the court seal on the undercover video as part of his drive to obtain full access to video evidence held by the government. Pope is representing himself in the criminal case being prosecuted against him. At a hearing on March 3, Judge Contreras seemed sympathetic to Pope’s motion to unmask the videos.
“The officer clearly incited that area, and we still don’t have video from all other undercover MPD,” Pope told The Epoch Times. “And as the numerous informants in the Proud Boys trial demonstrates, we are only just beginning to scratch the surface on FBI involvement.”
[…] “This video clearly evidences undercover law enforcement officers urging the crowds to advance up the stairs and scaffolding towards the Capitol on January 6,” Pope wrote in an earlier case filing. “The government may claim that incidents like this did not happen, but the facts show they did.”
Prosecutor Moran acknowledges such in a motion filed on March 24.
“The specific footage, GoPro video recorded by an MPD police officer who was stationed at the Capitol in an evidence-gathering capacity, captures the officer shouting words to the effect of, “Go! Go! Go!” Moran wrote.
“At other times in these videos, the officer and the two other plainclothes officers with him appear to join the crowd around them in various chants, including “drain the swamp,” “U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”, and “Whose house? Our house!”
Moran also argued against unsealing large amounts of closed-circuit television (CCTV) security video, which she said could put officers at risk.
“There are very specific and highly worrisome risks associated with the specific videos the defendant seeks to share en masse,” she wrote.
“Given the highly volatile nature of the discourse surrounding these cases, releasing the identities of the officers depicted in these videos—officers the defendant now claims to have instigated the entire attack on the U.S. Capitol—would surely put the lives of those officers at risk.”
Pope told The Epoch Times that he never made such a claim. He has not yet filed a response to the government’s memorandum.
Another video Pope discovered in his research shows Officer 2 and Officer 3 walking behind the late Ashli Babbitt on the northwest steps. About an hour later, Babbitt was shot at the entry of the Speaker’s Lobby by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd. She died a half-hour later.
The only “risk” involved in releasing this footage and more from J6 is the police and feds being caught helping provocateur the event.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Tucker Carlson need to get on with it already and release the 40,000 hours of footage they have to the public.
Follow InformationLiberation on Twitter, Facebook, Gab, Minds and Telegram.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 15:30 - NYPD Overtime Budget On Pace For Record As Cop Shortage Worsens
NYPD Overtime Budget On Pace For Record As Cop Shortage Worsens
The New York City Police Department is experiencing its biggest officer exodus in twenty years, leading to a shortage of personnel. As a result, officers are now increasing their hours on patrols, causing the overtime budget to swell, on track to hit the highest level in a decade this year, according to Bloomberg.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander published a new report outlining that the NYPD has exceeded its budget by $98 million, spending $472 million on overtime through February. Lander’s office said the department is on track to spend more than $740 million, which would be the highest in a decade. The NYPD’s fiscal year ends on June 30.
While newly-elected Mayor Eric Adams has pledged to reduce NYPD overtime spending, the department is suffering a severe staffing crisis following the protests and riots of 2020 that were sparked by George Floyd’s death. Then defunding the police movement swept in as progressive lawmakers demanded a reduction in police budgets.
On top of all of that, left-leaning media outlets demonized officers and led to a further exodus that continues to this day. Data from NYC Police Pension Fund found that 1,955 officers retired in 2022, and another 1,746 quit, indicating a total of 3,701 left the force just last year — the largest exodus since 2002, following the 9/11 attacks.
So what’s clear is that the soaring overtime budget results from officers working longer hours because of a shortage of personnel. NYPD has lowered its standards for new officers in an attempt to boost numbers on the streets.
Meanwhile, robberies, burglaries, felony assaults, and grand larceny are surging. How can New Yorkers rest assured that they will be protected as a cop shortage plagues the metro area?
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 15:00 - Mattresses, Social Media, Smart Phones, & Failure Of The Fed
Mattresses, Social Media, Smart Phones, & Failure Of The Fed
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,
The Fed is looking for scapegoats. It got some assistance from the Wall Street Journal…
Silicon Valley Bank Scapegoats
Please consider The Economy Changed, Regulators Didn’t
On March 8, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were both, according to public disclosures, “well capitalized,” the optimal level of health by federal regulatory standards. Days later, both failed.
“The question we were all asking ourselves over that first week was, ‘How did this happen?’” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.
Banking regulators will spend months, if not years, getting to the bottom of what happened.
What none of the regulators or bankers anticipated was how fast depositors could flee, which appears to be a new reality in the age of smartphone apps and social media.
“The speed of the run…is very different from what we’ve seen in the past,” Mr. Powell said Wednesday. “And it does kind of suggest that there’s a need for possible regulatory and supervisory changes, just because supervision and regulation need to keep up with what’s happening in the world.”
FDIC officials are discussing how to manage public confidence as social media expands people’s ability to “electronically panic,” a person familiar with the talks said.
“The speed of the run…is very different from what we’ve seen in the past,” Mr. Powell said Wednesday. “And it does kind of suggest that there’s a need for possible regulatory and supervisory changes, just because supervision and regulation need to keep up with what’s happening in the world.”
Scapegoat Nonsense
The idea that the economy changed (it’s always changing), and smart phones and social media are largely responsible for the failure of Silicon Valley Bank is a bunch of scapegoat nonsense.
OK, social media increased the speed at which SVB failed, but that has nothing to do with the cause of the failure.
Social media did increase the speed of the failure, but smart phones played no role at all. To initiate a wire from bank A to bank B requires an account at both banks. Whether this was done by computer, a regular land line, or a smart phone makes no difference in speed.
“Banking regulators will spend months, if not years, getting to the bottom of what happened.“
What a hoot, yet I have no doubt it’s true.
In Fed Q&A Jerome Powell Wonders “How Did Bank Failures Happen?”
“The question we are asking ourselves the first weekend is how did this all happen.”
There is no need for a study. I outlined twelve reasons for the bank failures, none of which had anything to do with smart phones or the changing economy.
Please consider In Fed Q&A Jerome Powell Wonders “How Did Bank Failures Happen?”
How Did This Happen?
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The Fed held interest rates too low too long, once again.
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The Fed even wanted to make up for lack of prior inflation, initially welcoming the pickup of inflation.
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The Fed failed to understand how $9 trillion in QE would fan asset bubbles.
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The Fed failed to understand how three rounds of fiscal stimulus, the largest in history, would fan inflation.
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The Fed presidents believe in economic models such as inflation expectations that its own studies prove do not work.
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When inflation did pick up, the Fed kept insisting that inflation was transitory.
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Even when the Fed finally realized inflation was not transitory, it kept QE going until the bitter end, not wanting to disturb prior forward guidance.
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The San Francisco Fed, whose job it was to monitor Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was asleep at the wheel.
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The Fed considers treasuries a risk-free asset, ignoring duration risk.
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The Fed ignored a record concentration of long-term treasury and mortgage assets at SVB despite understanding the interest rate risk of those assets.
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The Fed’s forward guidance has been a disaster. It openly encouraged speculation.
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The Fed reduced reserve requirements on deposits to ZERO.
If you are looking for one item and one item only look at point 12. The reserve requirement on deposits is ZERO.
The discussion triggered a bunch of silly responses on Twitter but this one takes the cake for financial illiteracy.
Mattress Solution
“Anyone in the U.S. can set up a 100% reserve account tomorrow if they want. By a big safe and stuff it with large denomination bills, gold, silver, whatever they want. But, why require everyone to have what nearly no one wants?“
Wow!
Try making a $1 million payroll out of a safe or a mattress.
Heck, try paying for anything with $10,000 in cash. You will have a quick knock on the door wondering where you got the money and more than likely it will be confiscated as drug money.
As for “But, why require everyone to have what nearly no one wants,” it seems to me that there was a run on SVB to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars because there was amazing demand for a safekeeping bank.
FDIC only covers $250,000. The bank run happened precisely because there was no safekeeping by the bank.
Not Designed for Speed
Why didn’t regulators blow the whistle on SVB’s problems?
“The supervisory process has not evolved for rapid decision making. It is focused on consistency over speed. In a fast-moving situation, the system is not as well-designed to force change quickly.” https://t.co/eOlHFdKJkC
— Nick Timiraos (@NickTimiraos) March 24, 2023
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Not Designed for Speed
Here’s another hoot from the same article.
“The supervisory process has not evolved for rapid decision making. It is focused on consistency over speed. In a fast-moving situation, the system is not as well-designed to force change quickly.”
Again, this has nothing to do with speed. It has everything to do with a zero reserve requirement on deposits plus a Fed that crammed about $9 trillion in deposits down banks throats while ignoring duration mismatch of bank investments of those funds.
We do have consistency, that’s for sure. We have consistency of doubling down on failed policies and not learning from past mistakes.
Fed Policy: It’s Not Fractional Reserve Banking, It’s ZERO Reserve Banking
If you think we have fractional reserve banking, we don’t. We have zero reserve banking.
For further discussion, please see Fed Policy: It’s Not Fractional Reserve Banking, It’s ZERO Reserve Banking
Part of my proposal is admittedly controversial. I propose a 100% gold-backed dollar. But we do not even have a 100% dollar-backed dollar.
I don’t endorse fraud, because that is what it is.
A person deposits money and a bank lends it for a long period of time.
Both claim rights to the money at the same time.
It’s logically impossible and in fact legalized fraud. https://t.co/2vPW8G23QK— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) March 20, 2023
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All SVB or any bank had to do to maintain 100% liquidity was park deposits at the Fed or in extremely short duration US Treasuries.
Reader Question
My posts also triggered this question. “Are you proposing that banks stop making loans from their deposits?“
Going one further, because SVB did not park money at the Fed, they had unrealized losses that did impact their ability to lend!
This is a failure of SVB, the FDIC, reserve policy, QE, and the Fed.
I blame the Fed the most.
— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) March 25, 2023
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The fact of the matter is loans create deposits. And so did QE to the tune of nearly $9 trillion.
Fictional Reserve Lending
If anyone thinks I am a johnny-come-after-the-fact-lately I have written about the problem many times, at least once in 2009 an again in 2020.
Please consider my March 2020 article Fictional Reserve Lending Is the New Official Policy
Official policy finally caught up with reality. Reserves are fictional.
With little fanfare or media coverage, the Fed made this Announcement on Reserves: “On March 15, 2020, the Board reduced reserve requirement ratios to zero percent effective March 26, 2020. This action eliminated reserve requirements for all depository institutions.“
What’s Changed Regarding Lending?
Essentially, nothing.
The announcement just officially admitted the denominator on reserves is zero.
There are no reserve lending constraints (but practically speaking, there never were).
When Do Banks Make Loans?
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They meet capital requirements
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They believe they have a creditworthy borrower
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Creditworthy borrowers want to borrow
BIS Working Papers No 292 Unconventional Monetary
In 2009, I referred to BIS Working Papers No 292 Unconventional Monetary
The article addresses two fallacies
Proposition #1: an expansion of bank reserves endows banks with additional resources to extend loans
Proposition #2: There is something uniquely inflationary about bank reserves financing
From the BIS
The underlying premise of the first proposition is that bank reserves are needed for banks to make loans. An extreme version of this view is the text-book notion of a stable money multiplier.
In fact, the level of reserves hardly figures in banks’ lending decisions. The amount of credit outstanding is determined by banks’ willingness to supply loans, based on perceived risk-return trade-offs, and by the demand for those loans.
The main exogenous constraint on the expansion of credit is minimum capital requirements.
The central bank has a monopoly over interest rate policy, but not over balance sheet policy. This raises tricky questions about coordination, operational independence and division of responsibilities.
Balance sheet policies can have a significant impact on the financial risks absorbed by the central bank. The extent depends on their characteristics and on how much they are relied upon. This, too, raises questions about operational autonomy and credibility, largely reflecting the impact of losses on the financial position of the central bank.
Read those points over and over until they sink in. I discussed that article in 2009 and again in 2020.
Three Key Points
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Deposits result from loans and QE policy.
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The central bank has a monopoly over interest rate policy, but not over balance sheet policy. The FDIC is supposed to address the latter. And in the case of SVB, the San Francisco Fed was also asleep at the wheel.
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Social media, smart phones, and the WSJ notion “The Economy Changed, Regulators Didn’t” are scapegoats to a problem I addressed in 2009.
What to Expect
Banking regulators will spend months, if not years, getting to the bottom of what happened.
They will conclude the problems are social media, smart phones, and the WSJ notion that the economy changed but regulators failed to keep up.
* * *
Tyler Durden
Sun, 03/26/2023 – 14:30 -
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