Mar 29

Today’s News 29th March 2022

  • Unsafe Water Kills More People Than Disasters And Conflicts
    Unsafe Water Kills More People Than Disasters And Conflicts

    Fewer people around the world lack access to basic drinking water services than when the data was last published in 2015. Yet, as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz explains below, several countries, especially in Africa, still have a way to go to provide their citizens with safe drinking water. 

    Infographic: Unsafe Water Kills More People Than Disasters and Conflicts | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    772 million people around the world still lack even basic access, according to the United Nations, who declared March 22 World Water Day.

    This is despite the fact that unsafe water, causing diseases like cholera, typhoid and hepatitis A, is a bigger cause of human death annually than disasters and conflicts combined. This is according to data by PRIO and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program as well as the International Insurance Institute. 

    Children especially are affected by these deadly waterborne diseases.

    The UN and WHO joint monitoring program on safe drinking water found that people lacking access to it are currently predominantly located in Africa.

    South and Central America, on the other hand, offer basic drinking water services (defined as access to protected wells or springs in less than 30 minutes distance) to at least three quarters of the population in all countries except for Haiti.

    The APAC region generally also provides these basic services to at least three quarters of people, except for in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/29/2022 – 02:45

  • Ukraine's Military Intelligence Chief Says "Total Guerrilla Warfare" Coming Next
    Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Chief Says “Total Guerrilla Warfare” Coming Next

    Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute,

    The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, threatened total “guerrilla” warfare in Russian-occupied territory. He also warned Moscow was attempting to split his country into a divided state. 

    Budanov said that Ukraine was preparing a guerrilla war in any territory Russia continues to control. “The season of a total Ukrainian guerilla safari will soon begin,” he said.

    Member of Ukraine’s territorial defense force, via CBC.

    The statement from the intel chief comes as the US is dumping billions of insurgency-style weapons into Ukraine. The American weapon’s shipments to Keiv included the shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile that the CIA provided to the Afghan Mujahideen to use against the Soviet Army. 

    There is a long track record of influential foreign policy thinkers who suggested America would benefit from Russia fighting an insurgency in Ukraine.

    The latest official to express the benefits of Ukrainian insurgency is US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl. He believes Russia would be weakened by the war in Ukraine.

    “I think with a high degree of certainty that Russia will emerge from Ukraine weaker than it went into the conflict. Militarily weaker, economically weaker, politically and geopolitically weaker, and more isolated,” Kahl said on Thursday.

    The CIA has also spent several years training Ukrainians in insurgency tactics. The agency believed those it trained would be the leaders of the resistance if Russia invaded. 

    Budanov also accused Russia of trying to recreate a Korean split of Ukraine. “In fact, it is an attempt to create North and South Korea in Ukraine,” he said. 

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

    Russia has demanded that Keiv recognize Moscow’s control over Crimea and the independence of the Donbas before it would end its assault. On Sunday, Zelensky indicated for the first time he may be willing to “compromise” with Russia over control of the Donbas. The two Donbas republics – Donetsk and Luhansk – have been at war with Keiv since 2014.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/29/2022 – 02:00

  • Grim 7th Anniversary: The US-Saudi War On Yemen
    Grim 7th Anniversary: The US-Saudi War On Yemen

    Authored by Walt Zlotow via AntiWar.com,

    While the U.S. government and mainstream media rightly condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, neither offer one iota of protest against US enabling of Saudi Arabia’s horrific war against neighboring Yemen that has killed over 400,000 and puts millions at risk of starvation.

    The Saudis started the war 7 years ago this week by intervening in Yemen’s civil war to prevent an Iranian aligned faction from becoming their neighbor. For America it represents a proxy war against the hated Iranian regime.

    America has been all in helping the Saudis with US made planes and bombs; refueling and maintenance help, and logistical support. Without US support the incompetent Saudi war effort would collapse, making America instrumental in the carnage and humanitarian catastrophe called the ‘worst in the world’.

    Reuters image: Red Crescent medics next to bags containing the bodies of victims the air strike

    A couple of years back Congress voted an end to American war crimes under the War Powers Act. Trump vetoed the measure and had enough friendly votes for more war crimes in Yemen from Congress to prevent an override. Biden came into office vowing to end it. But in a criminal and cowardly move, kept right on killing on in Yemen.

    Congress will try again with another War Powers Act measure in the works. On Friday Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17) issued the following statement:

    “Seven years ago today, the United States began unauthorized military participation in Saudi Arabia’s devastating war in Yemen. In the time since, Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes and air-and-sea blockade have cost hundreds of thousands of lives and threatened millions more with famine, triggering the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. On this grim anniversary – spanning seven years and three presidential administrations – we are calling for an immediate end to American involvement in the Saudi-led coalition’s brutal military campaign.”

    While the US funnels in over a billion dollars in weaponry into Ukraine to keep the war there going on for 31 days now instead of promoting a negotiating settlement. US support for the Saudi slaughter of Yemenis continues into day 2,550.

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

    But turn on mainstream news and it’s all Ukraine 24/7. Not one peep about the Made In USA slaughter in Yemen. Maybe Russia took a cue from the worst when contemplating their criminal war.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 23:40

  • "Sexual Get-Together": Rep. Cawthorn Says He Was Invited To DC Orgy, Has Witnessed Lawmakers Doing Cocaine
    “Sexual Get-Together”: Rep. Cawthorn Says He Was Invited To DC Orgy, Has Witnessed Lawmakers Doing Cocaine

    Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) says that in the 14 months he’s been in Washington DC, he’s been invited to DC orgies and has witnessed lawmakers using cocaine, according to Just the News, citing the freshman lawmaker’s recent appearance on the “Warrior Poet Society” podcast.

    “I look at all these people, a lot of them that I’ve looked up to through my life, I’ve always paid attention to politics. Then all of the sudden you get invited to: ‘Well hey we’re going to have kind of a sexual get together at one of our homes, you should come,” said Cawthorn.

    “I’m like: ‘What did you just ask me to come to?” he continued. “Then you realize they are asking you to come to an orgy.”

    Later, Cawthorn revealed that some of the very lawmakers who are “leading on the movement to try and remove addiction in our country” are on drugs themselves. “You watch them do, you know, a key bump of cocaine right in front of you and it’s like ‘Wow, this is wild.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 23:20

  • The Impossibility Of Autarchy
    The Impossibility Of Autarchy

    Op-Ed authored by Daniel Lacalle via The Epoch Times,

    The invasion of Ukraine, the spike in inflation, and the risks of supply shortages have made some politicians dust off some of the worst economic ideas in history: autarchy and protectionism.

    Shipping containers are unloaded from ships at a container terminal at the Port of Long Beach-Port of Los Angeles complex in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 7, 2021. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

    Some believe that if our nation produced everything we needed, we would all be better off because we wouldn’t depend on others. The idea comes from a deep lack of understanding of economics. There’s no such thing as autarchy. There’s no such thing as covering all the needs of a population based on the limit of a politically defined border. It makes no sense.

    If I told you that I wanted to make my city self-sufficient, you would laugh about it, understanding that it’s impossible and that the reason why my city thrives is because of the interaction and commerce with other cities. However, when a group of politicians defines a nation’s border, we’re immediately led to believe that those limits contain every resource that citizens may need and that everything else is irrelevant.

    The other fallacy about autarchy that anyone can understand is that limiting the economy to the confinement of a random area of land is a poor way to develop, grow, and prosper. It’s almost laughable to read from politicians in the eurozone about how they want to achieve full independence and limit imports while at the same time they brag about the bloc’s enormous trade surplus. It’s funny to see how the most autarchic politicians want to increase exports at the same time. Close our borders to evil foreign commerce that destroys our factories! Let’s build more manufacturing capacity so that we can export to them!

    We also forget that our progress also comes from the development of the nations we trade with. Our security of supply and our improvement is only a function of everyone else’s growth.

    How can autarchy and protectionism be sold to citizens? By selling the false idea of a zero-sum game in the economy. If someone is selling oil to us, they win, and we lose. If someone is selling solar panels to us, they win, and we lose. We would win if we sold everything to ourselves. Really? The math doesn’t work like that. Politicians that sell a zero-sum game in the economy know it’s false, but they also know that protectionism and autarchic aspirations give power to them and make citizens more dependent on political power.

    It’s precisely through the development of other nations and making the best out of trade that we can grow faster and have access to more goods and services at better prices.

    Productivity, technology, trade, and cooperation are essential factors for prosperity. Autarchy and protectionism are essential drivers of stagnation and poverty.

    It may be true that some nations have taken advantage of an open economic system in order to sell more while making it more difficult for others, but the solution isn’t protectionism but more open trade. If a nation decides to harm itself by being protectionist, we’re reaping the benefits, not them, because we benefit from trade growth and prosperity while they end in stagnation. Even large economic giants such as the United States or China can’t survive with closed economies. Who are you going to sell your excess production to if you close your borders?

    The current inflation and supply shortage problem hasn’t arrived because of the evils of globalization and the mistakes of free trade, but because of the trend toward interventionism and protectionist measures that has plagued the world for the past 20 years. There’s only one way in which countries can overcome the impact of a war in a country that sells a lot of cereals, oil, and gas to the world: more trade and better diversification of sources of supply, not autarchy and protectionism.

    If the current crisis can tell us anything it’s that we need more cooperation and trade with even more countries to avoid hunger, shortages, and lack of access to essential goods. The rise of protectionism in the past 10 years has proven to be a mistake. It’s time to reverse it.

    The challenges presented by China or Russia aren’t solved by closing our economies and thinking everything will be good for us while the rest of the world collapses. Our nation would fall with the rest. The solution to the challenge presented by the polarization of the world is to develop even more trade and cooperation agreements with the world. Thankfully, technology and human action are dissolving what once seemed like impenetrable borders.

    The world’s supply problems can’t be solved by adding massive overcapacity in every country. That leads to a collapse in productivity and, much worse, real wages. There are plenty of great nations that can cooperate with us to deliver prosperity to everyone. Trade is the blood of the economy. Autarchy only leads to zombification and, ultimately, decay.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 23:00

  • LAPD Offers 'Gift Cards' For Ghost Guns In New Buyback Event
    LAPD Offers ‘Gift Cards’ For Ghost Guns In New Buyback Event

    This past weekend, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) held a gun buyback program, though the guns weren’t your normal ones but rather so-called “ghost guns.” 

    Even though L.A. City Council unanimously voted in November on prohibiting the possession, purchase, sale receipt, and transportation of an unserialized gun. They continue their mission to woo ghost-gun owners (mainly ones who own unserialized handguns to AR-15) with $25 to $200 gift cards. 

    LAPD held five events across the city on Saturday between 0800 PST to 1300 PST. 

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

    There was no word on the total success of the buyback program. Though LAPD Chief Michel Moore said an hour into the gun buyback program that around “3” ghost guns were turned in. The rest of the other weapons listed were serialized. 

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

    LAPD Captain Lillian Carranca told local news ABC7, “these guns cannot be traced – there is no background check completed on the individuals who want to own it.”

    LAPD figures show 813 ghost guns were seized in 2020. By 2021, they seized 1,921, marking a 136% increase in weapon seizures. About 25% of all seizures were ghost guns, and the majority of the illegal weapons confiscated are unserialized pistols. 

    “Gun “buybacks” serve mostly as a show for anti-gun politicians and do nothing to reduce gun violence,” Maryland-based gun advocacy group The Machine Gun Nest (TMGN) said. 

    “These “buybacks” are, in fact, the clearest example of how misinformed the anti-gun agenda is because criminals do not participate in buybacks,” TMGN continued. 

    TMGN cited a National Bureau of Economic Research study and said, “gun buybacks often only exist for gun owners to sell their old junk firearms. The same study found that the actual effect in reducing gun violence was about zero.”

    TMGN also notes: “Ironically still, this comes right before Biden’s rule on ghost guns. Maybe the LAPD thinks that criminals pay attention to the intricate web of federal gun laws and want to dispose of their privately made firearms before the rule change. Ultimately, this is a pointless show for anti-gun politicians who care nothing about stopping real gun violence.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 22:40

  • Rand Report Prescribed US Provocations Against Russia & Predicted Kremlin Retaliation In Ukraine
    Rand Report Prescribed US Provocations Against Russia & Predicted Kremlin Retaliation In Ukraine

    Authored by Rick Sterling via AntiWar.com,

    According to a 2019 Rand report titled “Overextending and Unbalancing Russia”, the US goal is to undermine Russia just as it did the Soviet Union in the cold war. Rather than “trying to stay ahead” or trying to improve the US domestically or in international relations, the emphasis is on efforts and actions to undermine the designated adversary Russia. Rand is a quasi-US governmental think tank that receives three-quarters of its funding from the US military.

    The report lists anti-Russia measures divided into the following areas: economic, geopolitical, ideological/informational, and military. They are assessed according to the perceived risks, benefits and “likelihood of success”.

    Image: Azov Battalion detachment

    The report notes that Russia has “deep seated” anxieties about western interference and potential military attack. These anxieties are deemed to be a vulnerability to exploit. There is no mention of the cause of the Russian anxieties: they have have been invaded multiple times and had 27 million deaths in WW2.

    Significance of Ukraine

    Ukraine is important to Russia. The two countries share much common heritage and a long common border. One of the most important leaders of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, was Ukrainian. During WW2, Ukraine was one of Hitler’s invasion routes and there was a small but active number of Ukrainian collaborators with Nazi Germany. The distance from the capital of Ukraine, Kiev, to Moscow is less than 500 miles.

    For these same reasons of geography and history, Ukraine is a major component of a US/NATO effort to undermine Russia. Current Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, said that over 20 years the US invested $5 billion in the project to turn Ukraine. The culmination was a violent coup in February 2014. Since 2015, the US has been training ultra nationalist and Neo-Nazi militias. This has been documented in articles such as “U.S. House admits Nazi role in Ukraine” (Robert Parry, 2015), “The US is arming and assisting neo-nazis in Ukraine while the House debates prohibition.”(Max Blumenthal, 2018), “Neo Nazis and the far right are on the march in Ukraine” (Lev Golinken in 2019) and “The CIA may be breeding Nazi terror in Ukraine” (Branko Marcetic Jan. 2022).

    Rand suggested provocations

    Prior to 2018, the US only provided “defensive” military weaponry to Ukraine. The Rand report assesses that providing lethal (offensive) military aid to Ukraine will have a high risk but also a high benefit. Accordingly, US lethal weaponry skyrocketed from near zero to $250M in 2019, to $303M in 2020, to $350M in 2021. Total military aid is much higher. A few weeks ago, “The Hill” reported, “The US has contributed more than $1 billion to help Ukraine’s military over the past year”.

    The Rand report lists many techniques and “measures” to provoke and threaten Russia. Some of the steps include:

    • Repositioning bombers within easy striking range of key Russian strategic targets
    • Deploying additional tactical nuclear weapons to locations in Europe and Asia
    • Increasing US and allied naval force posture and presence in Russia’s operating areas (Black Sea)
    • Holding NATO war exercises on Russia’s borders
    • Withdrawing from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty

    These and many other provocations suggested by Rand have, in fact, been implemented. For example, NATO conducted massive war exercises dubbed “Defender 2021” right up Russia’s border. NATO has started “patrolling” the Black Sea and engaging in provocative intrusions into Crimean waters. The US has withdrawn from the INF Treaty.

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

    Since 2008, when NATO “welcomed” the membership aspirations of Ukraine and Georgia, Russia has said this would cross a red line and threaten its security. In recent years NATO has provided advisers, training and ever increasing amounts of military hardware. While Ukraine is not a formal member of NATO, it has increasingly been treated like one. The full Rand report says “While NATO’s requirement for unanimity makes it unlikely that Ukraine could gain membership in the foreseeable future, Washington’s pushing this possibility could boost Ukrainian resolve while leading Russia to redouble its efforts to forestall such a development.”

    The alternative, which could have prevented or at least forestalled the current Russian intervention in Ukraine, would have been to declare Ukraine ineligible for NATO. But this would have been contrary to the US intention of deliberately stressing, provoking and threatening Russia.

    Ukraine as US client

    In November 2021, the US and Ukraine signed a Charter on Strategic Partnership. This agreement confirmed Ukrainian aspirations to join NATO and rejection of the Crimean peoples decision to re-unify with Russia following the 2014 Kiev coup. The agreement signaled a consolidation of Washington’s economic, political and military influence.

    December 2021 Russia red lines followed by military action

    In December 2021, Russia proposed a treaty with the US and NATO. The central Russian proposal was a written agreement that Ukraine would not join the NATO military alliance.

    When the proposed treaty was rebuffed by Washington, it seems the die was cast. On February 21, Putin delivered a speech detailing their grievances. On February 24, Putin delivered another speech announcing the justification and objectives of the military intervention to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine.

    As Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov later said, “This is not about Ukraine. This is the end result of a policy that the West has carried out since the early 1990’s.”

    Afghanistan again?

    As earlier indicated, the Rand report assesses the costs and benefits of various US actions. It is considered a “benefit” if increased US assistance to Ukraine results in the loss of Russian blood and resources. Speculating on the possibility of Russian troop presence in Ukraine, the report suggests that it could become “quite controversial at home, as it did when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.” (p 99 of full report)

    That historical reference is significant. Beginning in 1979, the US and Saudi Arabia funded and trained sectarian foreign fighters to invade and destabilize the Afghan government. The goals were to overthrow the socialist inclined government and lure the Soviet Union into supporting the destabilized government. It achieved these Machiavellian goals at the cost of millions of Afghan citizens whose country has never been the same.

    It appears that Ukrainian citizens are similarly being manipulated to serve US goals.

    A “disadvantageous peace settlement”

    The Rand report says, “Increasing US military aid would certainly drive up the Russian costs, but doing so could also increase the loss of Ukrainian lives and territory or result in a disadvantageous peace settlement.”

    But who would a peace settlement be “disadvantageous” for? Ukrainian lives and territory are currently being lost. Over fourteen thousand Ukrainian lives have been lost in the eastern Donbass region since the 2014 coup.

    A peace settlement that guaranteed basic rights for all Ukrainians and state neutrality in the rivalry of big powers, would be advantageous to most Ukrainians. It is only the US foreign policy establishment including the US military media industrial complex and Ukrainian ultra-nationalists who would be “disadvantaged”.

    Since Ukraine is a multi-ethnic state, it would seem best to accept that reality and find a compromise national solution which facilitates all Ukrainians. Being a client of a distant foreign power is not in Ukraine’s national best interest. The Rand report shows how US policy focuses on actions to hurt Russia and manipulates third party countries (Ukraine) toward that task.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 22:20

  • Here Is What Wall Street Thinks Will Happen To Bond Yields Next
    Here Is What Wall Street Thinks Will Happen To Bond Yields Next

    With interest rates marching relentlessly higher both in the US and across the world, even as much of the yield curve pancakes and inverts to pre-recession if not pre-depression levels…

    … because the last time the 2s30s 1Y fwd was here, the dot come bubble burst…

    … Wall Street has once again shifted its tune for obvious reasons, and while no longer predicting the yield curve can’t invert – pretty much everyone now acknowledges it’s just a matter of time, with Goldman predicting 2s10s goes negative next quarter..

    … the stock market’s cheerleaders are instead trying to convince anyone who cares that the only curve that matters is some transposed version of the 3M10Y, which of course is laughable as explained in “Battle of the Yield curves.“

    So while their opinions may be largely discredited, strategists still call the shots for better or worse, and here – courtesy of Bloomberg – is a summary of what the top rates strategists write in their weekly research reports, about the potential for Treasury yields to continue to rise and the curve to invert. Several revise year-end yield forecasts or Fed balance-sheet expectations, and flag that pension funds are likely to step up long-end buying during 2Q. 

    Bank of America (Mark Cabana, others, March 25 report)

    • Revises year-end rate forecasts higher:
      • 2-year: 3%
      • 10-year: 2.5%
      • 10-year real: 0%
    • Real policy rates don’t reflect restrictive Fed policy, and this “presents an opportunity for investors to trade a flatter real yield curve and express higher near-forward real rates”

    BMO (Ian Lyngen, Benjamin Jeffery, March 25 report)

    • With Fed inclined to do half-point rate hikes in May and June, “all roads lead to curve inversion”
    • “The bearish window for Treasuries remains intact as quarter-end approaches,” however “we suspect that Q2 will usher in a round of stability in longer-end Treasuries as front-end yields continue to march higher”

    Citi (Jason Williams, March 27 report)

    • Fed 50bp hiking narrative “implies that reserves, and not RRP, are likely to be drained when QT starts,” which “may add further stress to UST liquidity and risk assets”
    • Dislocation between 3m2y Treasury curve (steep) and ED5 vs ED9 curve (inverted) is largest since 1994 hiking cycle, which was followed by cuts in 1995
    • Biggest pension funds are likely to buy more bonds in 2Q, supporting long end, after funded status ratios reach 105% based on higher 30-year yields

    Goldman Sachs (Praveen Korapaty, others, March 24 report)

    • Raised Treasury yield forecasts “to reflect more broad- based and persistent price pressures and the accompanying hawkish Fed pivot”
    • More here

    JPMorgan (Jay Barry, March 25 report)

    • Sees scope for yields to rise further, creating “upside risk to our 2.5% 10-year yield target” for year-end
    • “Policy rates may need to rise to even more restrictive levels than what’s priced in, forward real rates still point to significantly accommodative policy in 2- to 3-years’ time, and intermediate Treasuries remain rich to fair value”
    • Supply/demand backdrop “is also shifting bearishly, with balance sheet normalization expected to commence in May and bank demand for Treasuries likely to remain light this year”
    • 10s30s curve “no longer appears steep versus the broader curve, suggesting limited room for further near-term flattening, though LDI demand could pressure the curve flatter over the medium term”

    Morgan Stanley (Guneet Dhingra, March 25 report)

    • Revises Treasury yield forecasts based on Fed call:
      • 2year: 3%
      • 10-year: 2.60%
    • This month’s rise in yields appears “more durable” than the March 2021 move because a bigger portion has occurred during U.S. trading hours
    • Japan’s fiscal new year is unlikely to drive significant demand for Treasuries, but marginal demand from Japanese insurers and pension “could help the curve bull- or twist-flatten”; higher funding ratios for U.S. pension funds should also keep flattening pressure on the curve
    • 2s10s “hasn’t flattened commensurately with the rise in yields” for three reasons, first and third of which are worth fading
      • Focus on QT, however Treasury is likely to fund shortfall at short end
      • Pricing in a higher long-term neutral rate
      • Decrease in flight-to-quality premium to a degree that appears excessive

    NatWest Markets (Jan Nevruzi, March 24 report)

    • “Next major theme for the markets will be rising fears of a recession as the Fed hikes into decelerating growth, potentially supporting a peak in rates into this summer”
    • Revised year-end yield forecasts:
      • 2-year 2%
      • 5-year 2.8%
      • 10-year 2.55%
      • 30-year 2.45%

    TD Securities (Priya Misra, others, March 25 report)

    • Expects 50bp rate hikes in May and June, 25bp at each meeting from July to December and in February 2023
    • Expects QT announcement in May with three-month phase-in to caps of $60b and $30b for Treasuries and MBS
    • Revises year-end forecast for 10-year Treasury yield to 2.65% and favors short 5s on 2s5s10s fly
    • “We don’t think the market is fully pricing in the supply implications of balance-sheet runoff of about $1t per year

    Source: BBG

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 22:00

  • US Electric Grid Incredibly Vulnerable To Cyberattack: Filmmaker David Tice
    US Electric Grid Incredibly Vulnerable To Cyberattack: Filmmaker David Tice

    Authored by Masooma Haq and Melina Wisecup via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    In the wake of the White House’s warning that intelligence reveals potential for a cyberattack by Russia, documentary film producer of “Grid Down, Power Up” David Tice reiterated the danger of this type of attack on the country’s power grid. Tice said based on research he did for his documentary, electricity infrastructure is extremely vulnerable to cyberattacks from adversarial countries like Russia and China.

    “We’re in an incredibly vulnerable position,” Tice told NTD’s Capitol Report in a recent interview.

    “And essentially, we have four big adversaries, China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. And all of them have talked about the fact that they could potentially bring down our power grid and therefore affect U.S. civilians.”

    Documentary film producer of Grid Down, Power up, David Tice interview on NTD Capitol Report, March 24, 2022

    The Biden administration has on multiple occasions recently warned of cyberattacks from Russia and President Joe Biden said this type of threat has gone up since sanctions were placed on Russia for invading Ukraine.

    “Today, my administration is reiterating those warnings based on evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks,” Biden said in a March 21 press statement.

    Biden added that private electric companies need to do their share to prevent these types of attacks: “My administration will continue to use every tool to deter, disrupt, and if necessary, respond to cyberattacks against critical infrastructure. But the Federal Government can’t defend against this threat alone.”

    Tice said the infrastructure for America’s electrical grids is not secure from these kinds of cyberattacks because these companies are privately owned and under-regulated.

    “Essentially, government tends to not be prepared for these ultimate catastrophes. And frankly, one of the big issues is our public utilities have not been regulated sufficiently … our public utilities or electric companies have pretty much been self-regulated and there needs to be an overhaul of that regulation.”

    The U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) head echoed the White House, confirming intelligence reports that Russia seeks to undermine U.S. security.

    “In light of the indictments announced today and evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options to conduct potential cyberattacks against the U.S., CISA, along with our FBI and DOE partners, is issuing this joint advisory to reinforce the demonstrated threat posed by Russian state-sponsored cyber actors,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly in a March 24 press statement.

    Tice said millions of people could die from the aftermath of a cyberattack on the electrical grid because so much other infrastructure relies on electricity to function.

    “And therefore, they could essentially turn out the lights, if they can knock out our critical transformers, and our SCADA [Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition]. Essentially, that could cause a longer-term power outage,” said Tice.  SCADA is an industrial control system at the heart of many industries.

    On the upside, Tice said the U.S. military is in less danger from such an attack.

    “Essentially our military has become hardened against a potential cyberattack and electromagnetic pulse attack. However, our civilian infrastructure has not been given that same attention.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 21:40

  • Massive Texas Wildfire Spreads To America's Largest Army Base 
    Massive Texas Wildfire Spreads To America’s Largest Army Base 

    A massive wildfire rages in and around America’s most populous U.S. military base in Texas. The fire is zero percent contained and doubled in size on Monday, according to Bloomberg. 

    The Texas Wildfire Incident Response System (TWIRS) said the “Crittenburg Complex Fire” had burned more than 33,175 acres as of 11:50 local time. TWIRS shows multiple wildfires are burning on the northeastern edge of Fort Hood. 

    Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored base in the U.S. The fort resides on 214,968 acres and can station and train two Armored Divisions. The latest census figures show at least 20,000 live on the base.

    Crittenburg Complex fire consists of three wildfires. 

    The Texas A&M Forest Service warned Monday of “high potential growth” for the fires because of severe drought conditions. Earlier this month, Governor Greg Abbott warned about elevated wildfire risks in the Lone Star State. 

    Local newspaper Killeen Daily Herald said the Texas A&M Forest Service Task Force, Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System team, and several local fire departments are at Fort Hood with ground and air equipment to mitigate the fire’s spread. Though efforts have yielded no success as the size of the fire doubled in size.

    “As conditions across a large portion of the state worsen, wildfires that ignite are burning more intensely and are frequently resistant to control.

    Unfortunately, little to no precipitation is forecast for the immediate future and we expect the current level of wildfire activity to continue for some time,” Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead said.

    Images on Twitter show large plumes of billowing smoke from Fort Hood. 

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

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

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

    Weather satellites capture the massive plume. 

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

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

    Fort Hood public affairs officials have yet to announce any evacuations. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 21:20

  • Shutting Canadian Pipeline Would Cost US Consumers $23.7 Billion More In Fuel Costs: Report
    Shutting Canadian Pipeline Would Cost US Consumers $23.7 Billion More In Fuel Costs: Report

    Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A recently published analysis by a consumer advocacy nonprofit maintains that shutting a 4.5-mile section of a nearly 70-year-old pipeline that spans the Great Lakes from Wisconsin to Ontario would impose $23.7 billion in higher fuel costs on families and businesses in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

    Damage to anchor support EP-17-1 on the east leg of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline within the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan is seen in this June 2020 photo.(The Canadian Press/HO – AP, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy)

    Consumer Energy Alliance’s (CEA) 14-page report estimates that closing Canada-based Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan to Lake Huron, would spur regional fuel price spikes of 9.47 to 11.66 percent “independent of any other market conditions, such as the surge in fuel prices observed over the past 12 months that are tied to international oil markets and logistical challenges caused by the pandemic.”

    Enbridge and the state of Michigan have been engaged in litigation for more than a year over the pipeline after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, in November 2020 revoked the pipeline’s original 1953 lakebed easement and ordered the pipeline to be shut by May 2021, citing the risk of a spill in the ecologically sensitive straits.

    Enbridge ignored the order—the pipeline is still funneling 540,000 barrels per day (bpd) of light crude oil, light synthetic crude oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) through the straits—and petitioned to have the case heard in federal courts. In October 2021, the government of Canada backed Enbridge in its challenge and invoked a 1977 pipeline treaty with the United States to demand bilateral negotiations at the federal level.

    In November 2021, a federal judge transferred Whitmer’s suit out of Michigan’s courts. That suit was subsequently dropped, but a similar lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel remains in state courts, although a ruling is pending regarding its jurisdictional status.

    Built in 1953 by Bechtel Corp., the Line 5 pipeline is actually two 20-inch-diameter parallel pipes with an enamel coating that’s three times thicker than a typical pipeline. Enbridge maintains that there has never been a leak in its 69-year operational existence.

    The company maintains that it monitors Line 5’s Straits crossing “24/7, using both specially trained staff and sophisticated computer monitoring systems” that include “regular inspections of the line, using inline tools, expert divers, and remote operating vehicles (ROVs), going above and beyond regulatory requirements.”

    In April 2020, Enbridge filed an application with the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) requesting authority to replace its 4.5-mile Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac and encase it inside a tunnel.

    The Straits Line 5 Replacement Segment Project would replace the dual 20-inch diameter pipes with one 30-inch diameter pipe and relocate it within a concrete-lined tunnel below the lakebed.

    The application didn’t address the tunnel—only the pipeline replacement. The proposed $500 million tunnel project is being reviewed under separate applications filed with state and federal agencies. The last date for public comments on the proposed tunnel was March 11. State regulators and the three-member PSC are currently reviewing the proposal.

    Enbridge sought swift approval for its pipeline replacement project based on its original 1953 approval, but the PSC determined that the proposed pipeline replacement project presented significant differences and denied its request for declaratory relief, referring it to the state’s Act 16 process for formal contested case hearings.

    Six months later, Whitmer pulled the plug by revoking its easement and ordering the pipeline shuttered by May 2021, effectively pushing the matter into the courts.

    Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a press conference on Belle Isle in Detroit, Mich., on June 22, 2021. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

    Although there have never been any reported leaks from the pipeline in the straits, Enbridge-owned pipelines have been responsible for oil spills elsewhere in Michigan, including from Line 5 in Crystal Falls in 1999 and in the Kalamazoo River in 2010.

    Eight Michigan counties and municipalities have formally called for the “retirement “of Line 5 including Cheboygan, Cheboygan County, Emmet County, Genesee County, Mackinaw City, Mentor Township, Munising Township, and Wayne County.

    According to a study published by the University of Michigan and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a leak in Enbridge 5 near the Straits of Mackinac could affect roughly 700 miles of shoreline. A pipeline leak and oil spill could cost as much as $6 billion in cleanup efforts and environmental damage, according to the state, citing a close call in 2018 when a ship’s anchor stuck, but didn’t rupture, the pipeline in the straits.

    An August 2020 study by Gary L. Street, former Dow chemical engineer, found a temporary court-ordered shutdown of one of Line 5’s dual pipelines following an incident elsewhere along its traverse didn’t affect gas prices or supply in Michigan or Canada.

    But according to CEA’s analysis, shutting down the pipeline permanently would be another matter.

    CEA stated that its “independent third-party analysis,” conducted by California-based Weinstein, Clower, and Associates, examined the effects that a Line 5 closure would have on the region and found “shutting down this critical infrastructure would have a devastating impact on the supply of transportation fuels in regional markets, and hurt petrochemical refiners that rely on the pipeline to safely and efficiently deliver feedstock.”

    According to the report, Ohio residents and businesses would incur $2.73 billion in higher gasoline and diesel prices through 2027. Michigan residents and businesses would see $2.22 billion in higher costs, those in Indiana $272 million, and those in Pennsylvania for $630 million.

    “The jump in transportation fuel prices will not be borne evenly across all consumer groups,” the CEA report reads. “But given current macro-economic trends, most of these higher costs will likely be passed on to households.”

    The increase in fuel costs will radiate through local and state economies, according to CEA.

    “Based on research into broader energy price inflation, these cost increases will further push up food prices, especially for beef, pork, and corn. We estimate combined grocery and restaurant prices will rise an additional 0.2 percent to 0.3 percent on top of any other inflationary pressures in the economy,” the report reads. “These energy cost increases will lower economic growth rates, especially in Michigan and Ohio, for years to come.”

    The March analysis follows a 2021 CEA study that found Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania would lose $20.8 billion in “lost economic activity,” an $8.3 billion reduction in Gross State Product, $265.7 million in “lost state tax revenue,” a loss of 33,700 jobs, and $2.36 billion in “forgone labor earnings.”

    “In the longer term, rising transportation fuel prices will have negative impacts on regional economic competitiveness, particularly in manufacturing and related logistics services,” the report reads. “These energy cost increases will lower economic growth rates, especially in Michigan and Ohio, for years to come.

    “Households are already enduring the highest rate of inflation in 40 years with real wages and earnings declining over the past year. The closure of Line 5 would be the wrong action at the wrong time.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 21:00

  • DoorDash Is Dominating The US Food Delivery Market
    DoorDash Is Dominating The US Food Delivery Market

    The food delivery app market in the U.S. is shifting from an oligopoly, where market control was shared amongst four companies, to more of a duopoly setting.

    As Visual Capitalist’s Carmen Ang details below, according to McKinsey & Company, two major players—DoorDash and Uber Eats—control close to 80% of the food delivery market as of 2021.

    Here’s how the overall food delivery app market has shifted since 2018:

    The Most Popular Food Delivery App in the U.S.

    The COVID-19 pandemic has helped accelerate DoorDash’s rapid growth and market dominance. The food delivery company increased its market share from under 20% in 2018 to 53% in 2021.

    As the world stayed indoors to weather the pandemic, the entire U.S. delivery app market grew 48.3% within the first couple months of 2020. And over the course of the year, DoorDash’s individual share of the market grew by about 12.5 percentage points, helping the company’s annual revenue to balloon from $0.85 billion in 2019 to $2.88 billion in 2020.

    While an easy-to-use interface was a critical component of this success, many market analysts attribute DoorDash’s pandemic boom to a combination of superior customer data and brand positioning as an ally to struggling restaurants during the pandemic.

    This success culminated in a widely-discussed IPO in December 2020, where in its first day of trading, DoorDash stock prices soared 86% to $190 per share.

    DoorDash and Uber Eats Crowd Out the Competition

    Throughout DoorDash’s growth, Uber Eats has remained their biggest competitor and maintained roughly 25% of the U.S. delivery app market since 2018.

    These achievements have come at the expense of Postmates, Grubhub, and other smaller players, which have seen their market shares decrease substantially. It is worth noting that both Postmates and Grubhub have still seen increases in their annual revenue, in part due to the increasing size of the overall market.

    That said, lesser-known platforms such as Delivery.com and ChowNow are decreasing in significance to the industry. As the delivery app market matures, control is increasingly consolidating in the hands of a smaller number of companies.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 20:40

  • California State University Drops SAT Test As 'Too Stressful'
    California State University Drops SAT Test As ‘Too Stressful’

    Commentary by James Breslo via The Epoch Times,

    Chalk another one up for progressives never letting a good crisis go to waste. They have been using the COVID-19 crisis to implement a host of progressive dream programs, including government handouts, eviction protections, enhanced unemployment benefits, universal mask and vaccine mandates, and trillion dollar government spending packages.

    A California State Fullerton symbol is pictured in Anaheim, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2002. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

    A far more insidious, yet lesser known, COVID-19 era invention is the end of standardized tests like the SAT and ACT for admission into college. About 80 percent of universities in the United States eliminated the requirement during the pandemic.

    Here is a typical statement: “The California State University understands the challenges that students are facing due to COVID-19. In response, the CSU has temporarily suspended the SAT or ACT test requirements only for students applying for admission in fall 2022 as freshman.”

    But, surprise, what starts as temporary, suddenly becomes permanent. CSU, the largest public university system in the country, just made the change permanent, joining the more prestigious University of California system that made a similar announcement last year.

    It is not hard to figure out what is behind this: “equity.” In November 2020, California’s radical left failed in their effort to lift the state’s ban on affirmative action in admissions to state schools and in state employment. The ban was first put in place through a vote of Californians in 1996. The effort to overturn it was rejected and by a wider margin (16 points). In defeating affirmative action twice, Californians have been clear: They oppose race or ethnicity playing a role in the admission of students to college.

    But the California left does not let the will of the people, or the state Constitution, get in the way of implementing their radical agenda. They simply change the name from affirmative action to equity and keep right on going. Equity, as people are now learning, is not about treating people equally, but rather treating them unequally in order to achieve an equal outcome based on race or ethnicity or whatever other category the left decides needs its help.

    The biggest impediment to implementing equity is a standardized test, so they got rid of it. And they are not trying to hide what they are doing. Acting CSU Chancellor Steve Relyea said the move “aligns with the California State University’s continued efforts to level the playing field and provide greater access to a high-quality college degree for students from all backgrounds.” He also said the test was too “high-stress.”

    Robert Keith Collins, chair of CSU’s Academic Senate, said, “We all realized that in many cases, the disparities in terms of access outweigh the benefits of the SAT and ACT.”

    So, while recognizing that the tests benefit the admissions process, he says they must be tossed out because they create disparities based upon race. He acknowledges that students will now be admitted who are not college-ready, but that professors “welcome the challenge of bringing new students up to college-level readiness.” Up to? The whole point of the admissions process is supposed to be to assure that incoming students are at that level!

    The move totally ignores the individual. The fact is African Americans (only 5.8 percent of California’s population), are far more likely to have been raised in a single parent home. As then-Senator Barack Obama noted, children who grow up without a father are nine times more likely to drop out of school. Latinos (39 percent of California’s population) are far more likely to have been raised by recent, legal or illegal, immigrants with less education and English as their second language.

    But they do not care about the individual and why some are not able to attain a high level of achievement. Their only concern is that the numbers wind up equal in the end. The ACT’s statement in response to the decision gets it right: “Solving the prevailing, systemic education inequities that exist in this country requires attention and focus on root causes, rather than dismissing the tools that substantially improve our understanding of them.”

    Because the University of California policy was implemented last year, we can already see its effects. I have friends with children at two very prestigious, and very expensive, private high schools. They borrowed and strained to get their children the best possible education, which in turn, they thought, would get them the best possible collegiate education. Children from these schools score very high on standardized tests because of the strenuous curriculum and their parents’ emphasis on education.

    However, without a standardized test, a 3.5 grade point average at one of these schools is viewed the same as a 3.5 grade point average at a far less rigorous school. The admittance rate into the prestigious University of California campuses ends up being about the same from each high school, regardless of the quality of the students. According to one tweet on the subject, Brentwood High School, one of the most prestigious in Los Angeles, “is in chaos after almost zero white seniors got into UC schools.”

    The message for parents? Do not bother spending the effort or money to have your kids go to the best school possible. The result for our country? Its inevitable decline due to the end of meritocracy and excellence.

    Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 20:20

  • Unprecedented Permanent Security Forum Opens With Israel & 4 Arab States United Against Iran
    Unprecedented Permanent Security Forum Opens With Israel & 4 Arab States United Against Iran

    Israel and multiple Arab states, along with the United States, have taken the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords peace agreement a big step further, on Monday agreeing to erect a permanent security forum, which involves the participation of Israeli, the US, Egypt, UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. 

    The Times of Israel described that “At their historic summit in the Israeli Negev town of Sde Boker on Monday, the top diplomats of Israel, the US and four Arab nations announced that the conference would be the first iteration of a permanent regional forum, as they reaffirmed the importance of growing ties between Israel and the broader Middle East.”

    It came on the heels of a deadly terror attack which took the lives of two Israeli border police in the northern city of Hadera on Sunday. “The foreign ministers of Israel, Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates and the US secretary of state all condemned terrorism, a day after an attack in the city of Hadera in which two Border Police officers were shot dead,” Times of Israel continues.

    AP Image, Monday’s Negev Summit.

    Above: Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, left, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, and United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan

    The killings grabbed headlines across Israeli media, and has been blamed on Islamists which Israeli government authorities say had sympathies for the Islamic State. 

    However, the focus of what’s being called “a permanent forum” dubbed the Negev Summit is Iran. All foreign representatives said they are presenting a united front against the Islamic Republic, which the Arab Gulf allies in particular have been in proxy war against for at least a decade, starting with the Syrian war, but also over the last seven years in Yemen.

    The unprecedented gathering was widely seen as an attempt by Israel and its Arab allies to create a front against shared regional foe Iran. Israeli officials told reporters on the scene that the talks centered around creating a “regional security architecture,” among other issues.

    The Times of Israel details further:

    At a joint press conference of all six diplomats following the meetings, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told reporters that the so-called Negev Summit would become “a permanent forum.”

    He said the confab was building “a new regional architecture based on progress, technology, religious tolerance, security and intelligence cooperation.”

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

    The Arab ministers took the previously rare step of condemning the latest attacks on Israeli police. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended in person, and hailed that “once-impossible things have become possible” – in reference to the fact that the Arab Gulf countries present up to a couple years ago didn’t even have formal relations with Israel, but now they have joined a permanent counter-terror security forum hosted by the Jewish state.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 20:00

  • Booming Texas Real Estate Market Means Surging Homeownership Taxes
    Booming Texas Real Estate Market Means Surging Homeownership Taxes

    By Pauline Smith of KHOU

    Why could the booming real estate market be bad news for Texas homeowners?

    The housing market is red hot right now. Demand is high and supply is low, driving up prices across the country. Even if you’re not looking to sell or buy your home, you could still pay the price thanks to property taxes. 

    The head of the Harris County Appraisal District says the increase in market values for 2022 is unprecedented.

    Now they’re mailing out letters telling homeowners how much more their home is worth, and people are getting sticker shock. 

    That’s because the average home value has increased 21% in one year.  But that’s just the average. Some have increased by as much as 30%.

    And pretty much everyone is getting hit.

    The Harris County Appraisal District says the values of over 95% of residential properties in the county have increased. 

    The good news is the homestead exemption in Texas caps the yearly increase at 10 percent.

    So what can you do if you are facing a big property tax bill? 

    First, check and make sure you’re actually getting that homestead exemption.

    There are other exemptions for seniors and the people with disabilities that can lower your bill.

    You can check on those at HCAD.org. 

    You can also file a protest by the May 16 deadline. Instructions on how to do that will be in that appraisal letter sent out by the county.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 19:40

  • Biden DOJ Kills Trump-Era Program To Catch Chinese Spies
    Biden DOJ Kills Trump-Era Program To Catch Chinese Spies

    Republican Senators led by Marco Rubio (FL) have penned an angry letter to Biden AG Merrick Garland over the DOJ’s decision to end a program to thwart Chinese spies.

    The letter asks why the 2018 Trump administration ‘China Initiative’ – which was designed to identify and prosecute people hacking, stealing trade secrets, and conducting economic espionage for China within the US, according to Just the News.

    “On Feb. 23, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it was effectively ending the China Initiative and implementing a new ‘Strategy for Countering Nation-State Threats,’ which will subsume the China Initiative’s work in addition to efforts related to countries such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea,” reads the Thursday letter.

    In a speech announcing the termination of the China Initiative, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said that while China “stands apart” as a “brazen” espionage threat, a “broader approach” is needed to confront threats from a “variety” of countries. Olsen called this effort a “strategy for countering nation-state threats.”

    Republican senators expressed concern that the new approach is ill-defined and therefore may not be effective at specifically combating nefarious activities conducted by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). -JtN

    “In light of the continuing national security threat posed by the CCP, and the lack of clarity surrounding DOJ’s new ‘Strategy for Countering Nation-State Threats,’ we write seeking clarity with respect to the changes in DOJ’s approach,” reads the letter. “Specifically, its enforcement efforts to counter espionage and other illicit activities conducted by the CCP.”

    Five questions were included in the letter.

    “Despite this critical moment and the high stakes, DOJ chose to disband its China Initiative in favor of a vague ‘Strategy for Countering Nation-State Threats’ that appears to equate the unique and extensive threats from the CCP with those of other nation-state threats,” wrote the Senators. “What concrete policies and actions will emerge from this strategy, and their adequacy to the challenge at hand, remain to be seen. We urge DOJ to formally recognize and reprioritize the threat presented by the CCP to U.S. national security, and ask that you reconsider your decision to disband the China Initiative.”

    And of course, while some might question pro-China changes at the DOJ if it were Don Jr. who’d inked all sorts of international deals with Chinese power players during the Obama administration – we assume nobody in the MSM would dare suggest this has anything to do with the Bidens’ cozy relationships with Chinese businessmen.

    Chinese espionage costs the U.S. between $200 billion-$600 billion dollars a year in stolen intellectual property, according to Mike Orlando, acting director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.

    In a Jan. 31 speech, FBI Director Christopher Wray described the threats posed by China inside the U.S. as uniquely troubling.

    “When we tally up what we see in our investigations — over 2,000 of which are focused on the Chinese government trying to steal our information or technology — there is just no country that presents a broader threat to our ideas, our innovation and our economic security than China,” he said. -JtN

    Trump’s China Initiative was successful – leading to several arrests and convictions, most famous of which was Harvard Chemistry Department chair Charles Lieber, who was found guilty of lying to US officials about his ties to Beijing.

    Read the rest of the report here.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 19:20

  • Republicans Plan To Investigate Hunter Biden Laptop Story: Issa
    Republicans Plan To Investigate Hunter Biden Laptop Story: Issa

    By Jack Phillips of The Epoch Times,

    Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said he will lead an effort to investigate 2020 election-related suppression of news coverage about Hunter Biden’s laptop and its contents if Republicans win back the House later this year.

    “Big Tech will resist accountability like it always does – but we are more determined than ever to make certain that we get the truth of the collusion that we know occurred,” Issa said in a statement to news outlets last week.

    “We should carry with us an obligation to see this through.”

    The lawmaker told The Hill that he’s already sent record and document preservation requests to several tech company executives, White House aides, and former intelligence officials in connection to the initial New York Post story on the younger Biden’s laptop.

    With just days to go before the 2020 election, Facebook and Twitter both moved to block the spread of the Post’s story, drawing condemnation from the newspaper’s editors and Republican elected officials. Twitter, for example, barred anyone from posting or sharing the article, alleging that it contained “hacked material” and locked the Post out of its account for two weeks.

    Then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey later conceded that Twitter’s suppression of the report was a “total mistake” although he didn’t say who made the decision.

    The Post’s report, published in October 2020, said that emails obtained from Hunter Biden’s laptop showed there was a meeting between Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and Ukrainian business leaders. More than a year later, earlier this month, the New York Times and other legacy outlets said the contents of the laptop were authentic. But before, those outlets and some former intelligence officials alleged it was disinformation designed to sway the election.

    During one of the presidential debates, former President Donald Trump repeatedly brought up Hunter Biden’s laptop and insinuated that the elder Biden was involved in allegedly shady dealings overseas. Tony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, then came forward in October 2020 and said Joe Biden was the “big guy” referenced in purported proposed payout packages and equity shares in a Biden venture with a Chinese energy conglomerate.

    Hunter Biden and President Biden have both said that the younger Biden didn’t do anything wrong.

    Issa told The Hill that he sent preservation requests to former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and other executives regarding the suppression of the Post’s report.

    “Material investigation is essential for Congress to conduct a comprehensive fact-finding investigation into actions by technology companies, media organization and political allies to suppress information and prevent public awareness of matters involving the Biden Family,” Issa wrote, according to The Hill.

    The White House often declines to comment on developments regarding Hunter Biden, saying that he doesn’t work for the federal government.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 19:00

  • Soaring Cotton Prices Could Mean Clothing Is About To Get More Expensive 
    Soaring Cotton Prices Could Mean Clothing Is About To Get More Expensive 

    Cotton futures jumped as high as 4% Monday, reaching a new decade high, as data supplied by weather forecasters say drought conditions in Texas could tighten supplies. The front-month contract in New York hit $1.41 a pound, the highest intraday level since May 2011.

    Cotton futures have soared nearly 9.5% in the last three sessions. Prices are coming back in on Monday after hitting a new decade high. Prices around 0950 ET are around $1.36. The latest spike in prices has been due to drought fears in Texas and Ukraine conflict tightening supplies. 

    Bloomberg cited new data from weather forecaster Ajay Kedia, director at researcher Kedia Commodity, who indicated drought conditions for West Texas would pressure supplies. Texas is the largest state in terms of production; the US is the number three producer in the world. 

    Weather concerns “will definitely add some fuel to the prices,” he said, adding that cotton could extend its rally to $1.53 in the coming months. 

    Earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published a new report forecasting between April to June, much of the western US, including Texas, will struggle with severe to exceptional drought conditions. 

    “There is a high possibility if things continue this way we can touch $2 also,” Kedia warned. He said prices have also been increasing due to the Ukrainian conflict and crude and fertilizer prices soaring. 

    Cotton is the most common natural fiber to make clothing, accounting for a third of all the world’s fibers found in textiles. If cotton prices soar even higher, plus rising farm costs such as fertilizer and diesel, and increasing freight costs, the cost of clothing will continue to climb. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 18:40

  • Record Pentagon Budget Includes $6.9BN For European Deterrence Initiative & $682M To Assist Ukraine
    Record Pentagon Budget Includes $6.9BN For European Deterrence Initiative & $682M To Assist Ukraine

    Authored by Jake Johnson via Common Dreams,

    Rebuffing progressive lawmakers’ calls for Pentagon spending cuts, President Joe Biden on Monday is set to unveil a budget blueprint for the next fiscal year that includes a record $813.3 billion in funds for the U.S. military apparatus, a $31 billion increase from the current level.

    The president’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget request, which must be approved by Congress, is expected to contain $773 billion for the Pentagon alone as well as billions in funding for the Energy Department’s maintenance of the country’s nuclear arsenal.

    The New York Times reported Monday that Biden’s funding request for the Pentagon—the only federal agency that has not passed an independent audit—will “include $4.1 billion to conduct research and develop defense capabilities, nearly $5 billion for a space-based missile warning system to detect global threats, and nearly $2 billion for a missile defense interceptor.”

    Getty Images

    According to Bloomberg, the White House is urging Congress to approve $145.9 billion for procurement, funding that will allow the military to purchase “61 F-35 jet fighters from Lockheed Martin Corp., fewer than previously planned, as well as… the B-21 bomber from Northrop Grumman Corp. and two Virginia-class submarines from General Dynamics Corp. and Huntington Ingalls Industries Corp.”

    The president’s latest budget proposal will land on Capitol Hill amid Russia’s deadly invasion of Ukraine, which has thus far proven to be a major boon for the U.S. weapons industry as the Biden administration pours arms into the besieged country.

    “The hawks in Washington want to jack up the military budget and use Ukraine as an excuse,” William Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, argued in a recent interview on Democracy Now!, noting that Biden’s new military budget request amounts to $100 billion more than was spent at the height of the Cold War, adjusted for inflation. Such a massive military budget increase, Hartung warned, “is only going to benefit weapons contractors and members of Congress who receive campaign contributions from them.” Politico details:

    There is an additional $682 million for Ukraine, “to counter Russian malign influence and to meet emerging needs related to security, energy, cybersecurity issues, disinformation, macroeconomic stabilization, and civil society resilience,” according to a budget document.

    In a statement on Monday, Hartung said that “spending to address the Ukraine crisis can be more than readily accommodated under current Pentagon spending levels.”

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

    “The Pentagon budget is replete with examples of waste and dysfunction that must be addressed before going on a new spending spree,” he added. “This includes dangerous or unworkable systems like the F-35 combat aircraft and the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Add to this the routine contractor practice of grossly overcharging the Pentagon for spare parts and the steep cost overruns on major systems, and there is room to cut tens of billions of dollars from the Pentagon budget without diminishing our security.”

    In his budget request for the current fiscal year, Biden asked for $753 billion in military spending and Congress ultimately approved $782 billion, an indication that lawmakers could add to the president’s new $813 billion proposal. Last week, Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.)—the co-chairs and founders of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus—warned Biden that dumping more money into the Pentagon’s overflowing coffers “will continue to starve our domestic priorities of needed funding.”

    In recent days, the Biden administration has had to begin shutting down key coronavirus pandemic response programs due to GOP obstruction of new funds. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers—and some hawkish Democrats—have clamored for more Pentagon funding amid Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

    “Some of our colleagues will continue to seek virtually unlimited amounts of funding for the Department of Defense, no matter the department’s own assessments of its needs for the coming fiscal year. This mission creep is dangerous to peace-seeking efforts,” Lee and Pocan wrote in a letter to Biden. “Diplomacy and international aid will suffer, as will our
    response to the largest threats currently facing the nation, the ongoing global pandemic and climate change.”

    Yifat Susskind, executive director of the global women’s rights organization MADRE, argued Sunday that “endless military spending isn’t giving us security: it’s robbing our communities of the resources they need to be secure, like healthcare and green energy.”

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

    “We’re being robbed of resources,” Susskind added, “to feed the endless hunger of the military-industrial complex.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/28/2022 – 18:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest