Nov 29

Today’s News 29th November 2024

  • This November, Voters Chose Price Tag Over Awkward Conversation
    This November, Voters Chose Price Tag Over Awkward Conversation

    Authored by Ed Goeas & Celinda Lake via RealClearPolitics,

    Discussing politics on Thanksgiving is a tradition that many of us could live without, but can’t seem to get away from. It’s especially poignant every four years after the tidal shifts accompanying presidential elections. This year, we saw remarkable outcomes, most notably that voters prioritized bringing down the cost of their Thanksgiving meal over bringing the family together for a civil conversation. 

    Ok, that is an oversimplification, but let’s take a look at the numbers. 

    The two of us, a Republican and a Democrat, have been conducting polling together around civility in our political discourse for decades. For the last five years, we’ve partnered with the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service to dive into just what this means for the state of our politics. We conducted our most recent poll of 800 likely voters right after the outcomes of the 2024 elections. We asked voters which candidate they believed ran a more divisive campaign, who messaged their ability to get things done more effectively, which candidate they thought represented their shared values the best, and much more. 

    We learned that many voters found Vice President Harris to be someone who is a unifier and ran a less negative campaign as opposed to President Trump, but President Trump had advantages in key areas that propelled him over the top. He was able to effectively message himself as the candidate who addressed the kitchen table issues that most stood out to voters. We’ve seen in exit poll after exit poll that the economy was the issue most on people’s minds on Election Day, and when you look at our findings, you see a pattern that reflects President Trump’s win. 

    When asked, “Which candidate is talking to you about this issue,” we see some of the dynamics in the race represented. Vice President Harris outperformed President Trump in addressing abortion, protecting Democracy, sharing my values, and caring about people like me. Fifty-two percent found that Vice President Harris was the candidate who better messaged bringing the country together. Conversely, voters found that President Trump more effectively talked about the economy, inflation, and immigration, and a majority thought he would be better at getting things done, but most do not expect him to be a unifier in the White House.

    Clearly, voters were less concerned about civility than they were about costs. The overall outcome has surprisingly resulted in a drop in political tensions based on the measure we have used for the last five years – largely driven by Republicans who are feeling relief after Election Day. We measure tension by asking folks where they feel the country is on a scale of one to 100, with one being no division at all and 100 being civil war. We saw a four-point drop since our last poll in March from 70 to 66, the lowest mark in the last five years that we have done this poll. Division scores are highest among Democrats at 70, while independents are at about the total sample’s mean (66), and Republicans see the least division (61). These scores reflect a significant 14-point drop for Republicans, specifically from March, with independents remaining largely the same and Democrats seeing a small, two-point uptick.

    Of particular note is the hope respondents share about a brighter future and the possibilities of collaboration between the parties. Despite President Trump’s “trifecta’ control, 95% of those polled agreed with the statement, “I want President Trump, Republicans in Congress, and Democrats in Congress to work together to solve the major problems facing this country.” Also, 82% of respondents agreed, “It will be good for the country if President Trump and Congress compromise to find solutions even if this means I will not always get everything I want.” In what could be a reflection of these hopes, when asked how much division they expect in the country a year from now, respondents predicted a 61 out of 100, a more than 12-point decrease led largely by Republicans in projected division from September 2023.

    So, how does this impact your Thanksgiving meal this year? Prices are projected to drop this year, pretty significantly, dropping nearly $10 compared to this time last year when the average cost for a Thanksgiving meal was $67.84, all the way to $58.08. Your Republican relative might take a minute to brag that this is the market reacting to President Trump’s win, but your Democrat relative might say that it’s a sign that Bidenomics is working and the country went down the wrong path on Election Day. 

    Either way, we know that politics will be debated this Thanksgiving in many homes across the country. We only hope that it’s a little more civil this time around.

    Ed Goeas is president and CEO of The Tarrance Group, a Republican political survey research and strategy team.

    Celinda Lake, president of Lake Strategies, is a political strategist serving as tactician and senior adviser.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 23:20

  • China's Role In Fentanyl Crisis Back In Spotlight As Tariffs Loom
    China’s Role In Fentanyl Crisis Back In Spotlight As Tariffs Loom

    Authroed by Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    When President-elect Donald Trump announced a hike in his tariff plans for China, as well as U.S. trade partners Canada and Mexico, he drew attention to China’s involvement in the illicit fentanyl crisis in the United States.

    Paramedics attend to a man who is overdosing, in the Drexel neighbourhood of Dayton, Ohio, on Aug. 3, 2017. The Epoch Times

    The day one plan would add 10 percent duty on top of the tariffs Trump already has planned for Chinese products, and a 25 percent tariff on all products coming in through Canada and Mexico.

    Trump said on Nov. 25 that the three countries have not done enough to help the United States stem illegal immigration and the entry of illicit drugs.

    Over the past two administrations, including Trump’s first term, Beijing has made a number of promises to help curb the movement of illicit fentanyl but kept few of them.

    Fentanyl is an FDA-approved synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain, such as in open-heart surgery, or epidurals for mothers in labor.

    Illicit fentanyl, however, is often mixed with other drugs, and illicit drug makers are increasingly producing analogs, or drugs similar to fentanyl, with small molecular changes that can make the drug up to 100 times more deadly.

    Fentanyl is already a potent drug—2 milligrams is enough to be a lethal dose depending on a person’s size.

    Illicit fentanyl and its various analogs have been linked to nearly 400,000 deaths in the United States since 2016. The United States has identified China as the primary source of illicit fentanyl coming in across the border since at least 2017 and the source of other drugs years before that.

    In 2023, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized more than 80 million fentanyl-laced pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, representing 390 million lethal doses, more than the population of the United States.

    Steve Yates, a China expert and former national security official in the George W. Bush administration, has made recommendations to Trump advisers on fentanyl policy. He and others say sanctions on Chinese banks for backing money launderers and chemical sellers will accomplish what diplomacy to date has not.

    “When you don’t do those things, then you’re a doormat,” Yates told Reuters.

    David Asher, a top former U.S. anti-money laundering official who helped target the finances of the Islamic State terrorist group, said this mechanism has been used against designated foreign adversaries like Iran but never Mexican or Canadian banks.

    “You need to hit all the bankers. It’s sort of basic,” said Asher, who has recommended criminal indictments against Chinese and Mexican financial institutions, bounties on traffickers, and other measures.

    A demonstrator holds a sign depicting the Chinese Communist Party’s role in drug trafficking networks, at a rally in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Oct. 1, 2020.

    China Agreements

    Fentanyl-linked deaths sharply increased in 2016. Near the end of President Barack Obama’s term, China agreed to block exports of precursor chemicals, or ingredients, used to make methamphetamine, fentanyl, and its analogs to the United States.

    Trump, who had campaigned on stopping the opioid crisis, formed a commission to combat the issue in March 2017 and declared a public health emergency in October that year.

    The DEA increased its presence in China and engaged Chinese regime drug authorities to try to block shipments to the United States. The DEA has met with Chinese officials about blocking fentanyl since 2014 and held expert-level bilateral meetings in 2017 and 2018 to satisfy Chinese demands for more information about how these drugs were being used. This resulted in Beijing putting several key fentanyl precursors on a control list.

    By 2019, Trump had secured another promise from Chinese communist regime leader Xi Jinping that China would curb exports of all fentanyl variants to the United States, putting them on an export control list.

    But while the DEA and the U.S. Postal Service found that imports from China indeed decreased by 2020, the DEA noted that illicit fentanyl and analogs were increasingly coming in from Mexico.

    Experts and officials have determined that precursor chemicals—which can be hard to ban if they have benign, legal applications—are shipped from China to Mexico, where local labs finish the process to create illicit fentanyl and analogs.

    DEA officials note that the drugs are cheap to manufacture, as Mexican labs can buy $3,000 worth of Chinese fentanyl and sell it for $1.5 million on American streets.

    Former DEA official Derek Maltz told The Epoch Times that tariffs only address one aspect of a vast and complex problem, but they certainly help and, more importantly, signal that the incoming administration will show strong leadership on the issue.

    “We have to be more aggressive to get [Beijing] to cooperate more than they have in the past,” he told The Epoch Times.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 22:40

  • The Terrorist Offensive In Aleppo Is Meant To Deliver A Coup De Grace To Syria
    The Terrorist Offensive In Aleppo Is Meant To Deliver A Coup De Grace To Syria

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

    The terrorist-designated Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS), which is the rebranded form of the Al Qaeda-backed Al-Nusra, launched a surprise offensive in Aleppo this week. It’s already made a lot of progress due to the terrorists’ use of drones and other modern warfare tactics. These were reportedly taught to them by Ukraine according to reports in the run-up to the latest hostilities. Other reports included Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) warning about a false-flag chemical weapons attack.

    Syrian, Iranian, and Russian forces (including its aerospace ones) are currently trying to push back HTS’ advance. This intense fighting comes immediately after the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal, which that Iranian-backed Resistance group agreed to in spite of the late Nasrallah’s pledge not to do so without a ceasefire in Gaza first. It can therefore be interpreted as an Israeli victory despite Iran hailing this agreement and its ideologically aligned influencers spinning it as a Resistance victory.

    With the Resistance objectively on the backfoot in the region, it makes sense why their HTS foes decided to go on the offensive at this specific moment, something that they’d clearly planned to do for a while. If the hostilities continue, then another large-scale humanitarian crisis might follow, which could see more internally displaced people in this war-torn country and some of them even fleeing to Europe. Terrorist sleeper cells elsewhere in the country might also awaken and reverse the progress of the past few years.

    None of this would be possible without Turkiye’s support since all of HTS’ food, clothes, and arms come from that neighboring country in spite of Ankara formally designating it as a terrorist group. Erdogan’s prioritization of what he believes to be his country’s national interests, whether rightly or wrongly and regardless of morality, explains why he’s exploiting recent events to this end. He sees an opportunity to deliver a coup de grace to Syria for ending its long-running conflict on better terms for Turkiye.

    Assad is unlikely to be toppled, but Erdogan wants him to grant broad Bosnian-like autonomy to the Islamist-controlled northwest of the country in which Turkiye continues to exert influence, but the Syrian leader refuses to do so since he remains adamant that his Arab Republic must remain a unitary one. Likewise, he also won’t grant such autonomy to the Kurds in the US-occupied northeast, which is also the country’s most agriculturally and energy-rich region. Readers can learn more about this proposal here.

    On that topic, RFK Jr. revealed shortly after the US elections that Trump is considering withdrawing these American troops, which could lead to another Turkish offensive just like the several prior ones that were all carried out under the pretext of stopping Kurdish separatism. Unless pro-Turkish Kurds replace the political influence of Ankara-designated Kurdish terrorists there like they earlier did in Iraq, then Ankara will consider any autonomous project to be a stepping stone to more separatism inside of Turkiye itself.

    With this in mind, one of Turkiye’s strategic objectives in HTS’ offensive is to coerce Damascus into granting autonomy to the Islamists under its influence in the northwest while agreeing to do the same in the northeast but only after replacing the current ruling Kurdish clique with pro-Turkish ones. Turkiye could carry out joint operations with Syria in the northeast to defeat the separatists if American troops are withdrawn and Damascus first agrees to grant autonomy to the aforesaid Islamists.

    The other strategic objective that Turkiye is pursuing right now is to get on Trump’s good side by doing the US the strategic favor of delivering a coup de grace to Syria that finally ends this long-running conflict and thus frees him up to fully refocus on his planned “Pivot (back) to Asia”. In exchange, Trump might agree not to expand the sanctions regime that he’s inheriting to include Turkiye’s trade with Russia, which involves energy, agriculture, and also the transshipment of Western-sanctioned tech.

    Building upon this imperative, Turkiye also knows that the unexpected exacerbation of the hitherto largely frozen Syrian Conflict at precisely the moment when the NATO-Russian proxy war in Ukraine is also intensifying following the latest ATACMS-Oreshnik escalations works against Russia’s interests. Accordingly, by opening up a “second front”, Turkiye might hope to pressure Russia into either coercing Syria into the previously described concessions and/or also enacting its own concessions in Ukraine.

    Either outcome, and especially both, would by default work in advance of the US’ interests and thus possibly ingratiate Erdogan much more with Trump. The Turkish leader might be concerned that the returning American one could take a harder line towards Turkiye if he doesn’t give him some impressive geopolitical gifts before the inauguration due to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee Tulsi Gabbard’s documented dislike of his country. He therefore has an urgent impetus to deliver on this.

    Lost amidst the discussion about Syrian, Russian, and Turkish interests in this newly thawed conflict is Israel’s interests. The Alt-Media Community largely believes that Israel wants to overthrow Assad due to its prior backing of terrorist-designated Islamist militants, but its interests nowadays are arguably to have Assad expel Iran and Hezbollah. Its hundreds of bombings against those two there over the years, none of which Russia interfered with despite occasionally condemning them, hasn’t yet led to that.

    It’s admittedly a far-fetched scenario, but if Syria, Iran, and Russia struggle to fend off Turkish-backed HTS’ latest advance, then it can’t be ruled out that Israel might lend a helping hand to Damascus on the condition that Iran and Hezbollah are immediately expelled. The Russian Aerospace Forces are naturally prioritizing the Ukrainian front over the Syrian one so their limited capabilities in the latter theater might lead to a situation where Damascus becomes desperate enough to seriously consider this possibility.

    Even though Erdogan never took any meaningful action in support of Hamas or Hezbollah, limiting himself purely to the realm of demagogic rhetoric, Israel still didn’t appreciate this and thus has an axe to grind with him if the right opportunities and incentives present themselves. Turkish-backed HTS’ offensive represents such an opportunity while the incentive to bomb them could emerge if it advances in Aleppo, Syria and its allies struggle to stop them, and Damascus agrees to the abovementioned deal.

    To be absolutely clear, there are no signs that Assad is seriously considering kicking his Iranian and Hezbollah allies out of the country as a quid pro quo for the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) support against HTS, which would amount to a total betrayal of the Resistance that Syria itself helped found. Nevertheless, his calculations could change if Iran’s ground forces and Russia’s Aerospace ones aren’t able to save Aleppo, in which case he might consider this option out of desperation to stop the terrorists’ advance.

    Unlike Russia, which is focused on the special operation, Israel just agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon and is pretty much done with its Gaza campaign so the IAF could focus on destroying HTS if Assad agrees. Turkiye won’t go to war with Israel in response no matter what Erdogan might then threaten so it’s possible that Turkiye ends up being the one that’s dealt a coup de grace instead of Syria if Israel helps Syria destroy Turkiye’s proxies there and thus foils Erdogan’s grand plans that were explained.

    The odds of Syria agreeing to this would increase if Israel leveraged its influence inside the US and especially within Trump 2.0 to ensure sanctions relief in exchange for kicking Iran and Hezbollah out of the country, which could be paired with Emirati-led Arab reconstruction assistance. Once again, the likelihood of this admittedly far-fetched scenario materializing is very low, but it would represent a regional game-changer that would also greatly advance America’s strategic interests too.

    Russia’s military presence in Syria might also be unaffected since neither Israel nor the US minds it. In fact, Putin might even appreciate Netanyahu teaching Erdogan a lesson since the Turkish leader’s proxy offensive in Syria risks reversing Russia’s anti-terrorist progress there and thus harming its reputation. Moreover, Trump might also appreciate Netanyahu doing the same to Erdogan, which Tulsi would applaud as well if she’s confirmed as DNI. Erdogan might thus ultimately regret approving this offensive.

    It’s premature to predict that such a scenario sequence will unfold since it’s still very unlikely that Assad would fulfill the prerequisite of betraying the Resistance like Israel would demand, especially since it’s still possible that Syria and its allies will beat back HTS’ Turkish-backed offensive on Aleppo. Even if there’s another full-fledged Battle of Aleppo, so long as that city doesn’t fall to the terrorists, Assad will probably still rule out such a “deal with the devil” as he sees it.

    In the event that he loses Aleppo and his allies can’t help him liberate it again, such as if Russia’s Aerospace Forces are still focused on the special operation while Iran’s might have been irreparably weakened by the latest West Asian Wars, then he might finally consider it. Everything will therefore depend on whether HTS is stopped outside of Aleppo; the outcome of any possible battle for that city; and how desperate Assad becomes if he loses control over it and the terrorists advance on Damascus.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 22:00

  • Taiwan Indicts Surgeon Who Sent Patients To China for Organ Transplants
    Taiwan Indicts Surgeon Who Sent Patients To China for Organ Transplants

    Authored by Frank Fang and Eva Fu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A Taiwanese surgeon and four other individuals have been charged with illegally brokering organ transplantation in China, a case that a local medical advocacy group said is alarming given that Beijing sources organs from prisoners of conscience.

    Doctors prepare for a kidney transplant in a file photo. Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty Images

    The surgeon, Chen Yao-li, is accused of orchestrating a criminal group that helped send 10 Taiwanese patients to China for organ transplant surgery from 2016 to 2019, the district prosecutors’ office in southern Taiwan’s Changhua County said in a press release on Nov. 25.

    Chen is charged with violating the island’s Human Organ Transplant Act, which says that any transplant organ “shall be provided or acquired free of charge” and “persons who broker organ transplants or the provision and acquisition of organs” may be jailed for up to five years and a maximum fine of NT$1.5 million (about $46,200).

    Chen once worked at the Changhua Christian Hospital’s organ transplant center.

    After prosecutors announced the indictment, the hospital said Chen has not worked at the facility since July 2022. The Changhua prosecutors began investigating Chen in March of that year.

    The hospital warned locals against traveling to China for liver transplants, citing reports and the United Nations’ warning about the regime’s forced organ harvesting that targets Falun Gong practitioners, prisoners of conscience, Uyghurs, and Christians. It added that it prohibits unethical and illegal medical conduct and respects the results of judicial investigations.

    David Huang, vice chairman and spokesperson of the Taiwan Association for International Care of Organ Transplant, said the case marks an important milestone.

    It is the first indictment against illegal organ brokers since Taiwan amended its Human Organ Transplant Act in 2015, to prohibit the use of organs from executed prisoners, as well as the sale, purchase, and brokering of organs.

    “I hope that this indictment will attract the attention of local citizens and the government. Going to China for organ transplantation involves medical, moral, and legal risks,” Huang said in an email to The Epoch Times.

    The Epoch Times requested comment from Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, where Chen works as the vice director of the facility’s liver transplant center. The hospital declined to comment on the indictment but said, “Dr. Chen has always followed our hospital’s managerial procedures and professional standards while carrying out medical work in our hospital.”

    Liver and Kidney Transplants

    Prosecutors alleged that Chen, while working at the transplant center, had his transplant patients contact an accomplice surnamed Huang, who was the head of an unnamed biotech company. Huang allegedly arranged for six Taiwanese patients to have either a liver or kidney transplant surgery at a Chinese hospital in Qingdao, a city in eastern China’s Shandong Province.

    Huang allegedly charged each of the six patients NT$5 million to NT$7.5 million (about $154,000 to $231,000) for a liver transplant, and NT$3 million to NT$3.5 million (about $92,400 to $107,800) for a kidney transplant. Huang’s wife, surnamed Yang, then connected patients with doctors at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University to arrange the surgeries.

    Chen allegedly also went to the Chinese hospital in Qingdao to “provide instruction” inside the operating room while the liver surgeries were taking place, according to prosecutors.

    Separately, Chen allegedly instructed a Taiwanese nurse assistant surnamed Hsieh to travel to China to administer post-operative care for a payment of NT$200,000 (about $6,150) per patient.

    Chen also worked with an accomplice surnamed Lin, who had for years provided “organ transplant services” between Taiwan and China, to have four Taiwanese patients undergo either kidney or liver transplant surgery in Changsha, a city in central China’s Hunan Province. The two then split the payments.

    Prosecutors are seeking a six-year sentence for Chen and a three-year sentence for each of his four accomplices. They aim to confiscate the group’s total illegal earnings of about NT$20.4 million (about $628,000).

    Chen allegedly earned over NT$14.8 million (about $455,600) during the three-year span. He returned $83,060 during the investigation, and prosecutors have confiscated his property to prevent him from “enjoying the illegal proceeds,” the Changhua prosecutor’s office said.

    Hsieh must now return NT$1.1 million (about $33,800) in illegal earnings as part of her settlement with prosecutors, who agreed to a deferred prosecution against the nurse.

    Organ Transplants in China ‘Highly Risky’: Prosecutors

    Taiwanese prosecutors warned people of the risks that come with undergoing organ transplants in China.

    Most of the patients involved only survived for two or three years after the organ transplants, they said. Some died within a week after returning to Taiwan.

    “It demonstrates that organ transplant surgeries that involve intermediaries and are untransparent are highly risky,” the press release stated.

    The London-based China Tribunal in 2019 concluded that forced organ harvesting was happening on a “significant scale” in China, with Falun Gong practitioners being the main source of organs. Practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice also known as Falun Dafa, have been targets of persecution by the Chinese regime since 1999.

    The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Falun Gong Protection Act (H.R. 4132) in June.

    If enacted, the legislation would require the president to provide relevant congressional committees with a list of foreign individuals who have “knowingly and directly engaged in or facilitated the involuntary harvesting of organs within the People’s Republic of China.” Those on the list would face sanctions such as a ban on entering the United States.

    Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla) introduced the Senate version (S.4914) of the legislation in July. Rubio has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as U.S. Secretary of State.

    David Huang from the Taiwan Association for International Care of Organ Transplant applauded the legislative efforts in the United States. Should the Senate pass the legislation, Huang said it would be “an epoch moment in the making.”

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 21:20

  • Man Allegedly Part Of Rothschild Banking Family Dies In Mysterious Hollywood Hills House Fire
    Man Allegedly Part Of Rothschild Banking Family Dies In Mysterious Hollywood Hills House Fire

    The internet is abuzz after a man, identified by local media outlets as a possible member of the Rothschild banking family, died in a mysterious house fire in the Hollywood Hills area on Wednesday.

    ABC 7 News reports that fire crews responded to a house fire on the 8500 block of Lookout Mountain Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. While battling the blaze, firefighters discovered a deceased man inside the home. Neighbors identified him as “Will Rothschild,” according to the media outlet.

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

    The outlet further reported, “Rothschild was described by neighbors as an eccentric millionaire—or even billionaire—with multiple properties and dozens of expensive cars,” adding that “Rothschild was said to have lived as a bit of a recluse.”

    ABC 7’s Jory Rand commented, “It turns out the man who lived there might have been a billionaire.”

    The plot thickens…

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 20:40

  • Gold-Backed Or Bust: Judy Shelton's Plan To Tame The Fed And Restore The Dollar
    Gold-Backed Or Bust: Judy Shelton’s Plan To Tame The Fed And Restore The Dollar

    Authored by Paul Mueller via the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER),

    Judy Shelton has spent her career advocating for sound money. Her latest book, “Good as Gold: How to Unleash the Power of Sound Money,” makes an up-to-date case for reinstituting a gold standard. Her intriguing conclusion is that the dollar can be reconnected to gold by simply issuing federal treasury bonds with gold-redeemability clauses. The book also addresses recent events and important current debates about monetary systems like whether central bankers should have wide policy discretion, whether fixed or floating exchange rates are better for economic growth, and what happens when countries manipulate their currency to boost exports.

    Dr. Shelton engages these questions in the context of academic debates, but she also uses the lens of rational economic planning to evaluate how the monetary system contributes to or detracts from economic growth. At the end of the day, the case for sound money rests on the claim that it will generate more stable and greater long-run economic prosperity. Dr. Shelton believes sound money will do just that. But what would such a sound money regime look like?

    Although Dr. Shelton would prefer a system along the lines of a classical gold standard, she would probably be content with other monetary systems that dramatically reduced the discretion of policymakers. The real problem with our current monetary regime is not primarily technical. It is behavioral. Because public officials have strong incentives to inflate the currency, bail out various corporations, and underwrite extensive government borrowing, they do a poor job conserving the value of fiat currency or providing a predictable stable system of interest rates, credit, liquidity, etc.

    In the first couple chapters of “Good as Gold,” Dr. Shelton takes the Federal Reserve to task. The wide discretion Fed officials can exercise makes monetary policy unpredictable. Although Fed officials argue that their decisions are countercyclical, that may not always be the case. As Milton Friedman famously noted, the effects of monetary policy decisions have “long and variable” lags. Despite claims to being “data-driven,” Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decisions remain unpredictable. Data can change rapidly and unpredictably, which can make policy change rapid and unpredictable too.

    Another problem is that the “data-driven” mantra invokes the assumption that the data always clearly indicate what ought to be done. In fact, this is rarely the case. Not only do a wide variety of inflation measures exist, but there are also a wide range of time intervals over which to compare inflation trends. But that’s not the worst of it!

    Employment, unemployment, GDP, and a host of other economic numbers suggest different things are going on in the economy. Retailers expect strong record spending this holiday season while the N.Y. Fed just released a study where the number of people reporting concern about their ability to make debt payments hit its highest level since 2020. How to weigh these various factors is far from clear.

    Another problem with Fed policy is the rapid change in its interest rate targets. Three years ago, the short-run interest rate was ~.5 percent. Within two years it was over 5 percent. That rapid change created many issues in the economy, only some of which we have recognized. The rate-hike cycle created significant turmoil in the banking industry with Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failing entirely while many large regional banks shrank or were enfolded into larger national banks.

    The commercial real estate market has also been upended. While the owners of office buildings were already facing strong headwinds from the pandemic’s normalization of remote work, the Fed delivered a one-two punch when it raised interest rates. Most large commercial real estate investors use variable rate debt to finance their portfolios—which means the interest rate they pay moves with the market. Adding a couple percentage points to one’s debt rapidly changes the viability of a venture. In addition to higher debt-servicing costs, commercial real estate investors saw the market value of their holdings decline precipitously as buyers disappeared, financing costs rose, and future potential cash flows were more heavily discounted.

    The previous rate-hike cycle in 2006 and 2007 preceded a major recession and financial crisis. Even as the Fed creates disruptions in markets, it has also overseen the relentless decline in the value of the dollar—ironically in the name of pursuing their mandate to maintain price stability. A dollar in 2024 is worth what a quarter was in 1980 and what a dime was in 1965. And a 2024 dollar is worth about what a penny was worth in 1900.

    This downward march in the value of the dollar creates problems.

    It drives up asset prices, favoring those who have investment savvy while eating away at the value of people’s savings and undermining the prosperity of those on fixed incomes. The steady fall of the dollar also distorts price calculations and expectations.

    I’ve argued elsewhere that the Fed has been a prime culprit in boosting housing prices and, as a result, creating a “transitional gains trap” where homeowners with significant equity, juiced in large part by easy money, have organized to protect their equity by putting up local legal barriers to building new housing.

    But “Good as Gold” includes much more than criticism of the Fed. Dr. Shelton points out that unstable money and exchange rates create costs to doing business. International firms must devote time, energy, and money to protect themselves from erratic fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Creating these “hedges” to protect their profitability from exchange-rate risk necessitates additional classes of assets and asset traders—contributing to greater “financialization” of the economy. While the services being offered create real value for corporations, they come at a price and would not be needed under more stable monetary arrangements.

    Besides the frictions and costs that unstable money introduces into day-to-day business operations, it also creates long-term consequences when it comes to investing. If certain exchange rates can move 15 percent, 30 percent, or more in a single year, Dr. Shelton asks, then how can investors rationally allocate capital based on real factors and comparative advantage? The structure and mix of capital investment we currently have across countries and within the same country looks very different than it would in a world of stable money.

    Dr. Shelton makes this point indirectly in a fascinating chapter about the monetary debate between Milton Friedman and Robert Mundell. Both were staunch advocates of free markets, but they differed in what monetary regime they thought best. Friedman argued in favor of freely floating exchange rates set by market participants. In this world, governments would feel pressure from markets, in the form of capital outflows, if they engaged in domestic monetary policy shenanigans. Mundell, on the other hand, favored more stability in exchange rates that would require domestic prices to adapt to changes in trade and capital flows. Friedman and Mundell both agreed, however, that government officials and central bankers should have very little discretion in how they managed a country’s monetary system.

    In a later chapter, Shelton offers the problem of “currency manipulation” as a reason for implementing a sound money regime. Her argument basically asserts that countries that actively depreciate or weaken their domestic currency experience short-run benefits (in the form of more competitive exports) and long-term costs (in the form of inflation and capital outflows). Other countries, however, feel short-run pain as their exports decline and their factories shut down—even though they also receive cheaper goods and reallocate much of the displaced labor and capital. I find this line of reasoning a bit curious.

    Shelton rightly champions free trade and argues that it works best when countries do not artificially manipulate the value of their currencies. No objection here. But I am not convinced that a sound money regime, even a gold standard, would change other countries’ incentives to devalue their currency. Gold convertibility of one currency does not prevent the issuer of a different fiat currency from issuing large amounts of that fiat currency to reduce the relative price of its exports.

    I suppose one could argue (and Dr. Shelton does) that currency manipulation becomes easier to discern because currencies will be valued in terms of a fixed standard (gold), rather than in terms of another fluctuating fiat currency. For example, the price of gold in terms of dollars increased by 77 percent from May 2014 to May 2024.

    The currencies of the largest trade partners with the United States lost far more value relative to gold in that period: Euros (129 percent), Mexican Peso (131 percent), Canadian dollar (122 percent), Chinese yuan (105 percent), and Japanese yen (165 percent). But that probably matters relatively little to the devaluing regime. Using gold as a benchmark might reveal relative changes in the value of currencies better. It could also defuse the language of “currency manipulation.”

    Instead of attributing motives to foreign central bankers, policy makers could set relatively straight-forward criteria for when another country’s currency declines in a distortive way. Shelton suggests that some level of tariffs should be imposed in response to another country’s currency devaluation to offset the monetary distortion to international trade. This idea may not be crazy from a purely technical standpoint, yet I would hesitate to recommend it because of the likely distortions and co-opting of such policies by special interests. I also question whether the costs of not imposing tariffs on depreciating currencies is as high as Dr. Shelton believes.

    Sound money advocates like Shelton must explain how we could get to a sound money regime. On the one hand, advocating a gold standard seems archaic and implausible. On the other hand, it would not be technically difficult to implement. And, in fact, given the dominance of the U.S. dollar, if another major currency, such as the Euro, also chose to move back to gold redeemability, it is not hard to imagine other major currencies (Yen, Yuan, Pound, etc.) following suit. The political difficulty, of course, is getting the United States to take the first step and then getting the EU to follow suit.

    The odds of successful reform are highest when pursuing the easiest path to transition the current system to a sound monetary regime. Abolishing the Federal Reserve is not on that path. So tying dollars back to gold using the Fed makes more sense than moving back to a pre-Fed world. Similarly, constraining the FOMC seems far more plausible than abolishing it.

    It may be worth raising a few other important secondary questions. At what price will the currency be convertible into gold? Dr. Shelton has suggested that incorporating a gold clause in Treasury bonds could be a good method for discovering the right price of convertibility. In fact, putting gold convertibility into government bond contracts may be sufficient, in and of itself, to tie dollars back to gold.

    Afterall, depreciation of dollars would create consequences for the federal government and the Federal Reserve, the very institutions primarily responsible for managing the dollar and maintaining the monetary system. Shelton also makes the important point that currency should be seen as being like a weight or measure—something standardized for the public to use. It should not be viewed as a policy instrument or lever for managing the economy. This simple point rarely arises in modern commentary on the Fed and on monetary policy—yet it has deep legal and historical roots in the American founding and beyond.

    Another benefit of moving to gold redeemability for U.S. bonds is that it utilizes U.S. gold reserves more effectively. Currently, the United States is the largest holder of gold in the world. But ironically, that gold is severely undervalued on the government’s ledger. Its book value is less than two percent of its market value (i.e., on the ledger the gold is valued at less than $50/oz when its market value is over $2700/oz). Offering gold redeemability might also open up the option for extremely long-dated debt (50 years or more) and lower interest rates because the most significant risk to lending to the federal government, the devaluation of future dollars, has been taken off the table.

    The likely benefits of such bonds are so significant that it may seem surprising that they have not been implemented. The problem, of course, is that this form of bond would reveal the man behind the curtain. It would show that government officials can and do play fast and loose with the dollar and with the U.S. financial system to enable themselves and their friends a free hand to borrow and spend, and to actively “manage” the economy.

    Dr. Shelton’s proposed changes will be vigorously resisted by those who benefit from the existing status quo—large commercial banks and financial institutions, Federal Reserve officials and bureaucrats, politicians and regulators—everyone who benefits from the Fed’s tendency to loose monetary policy. Still advocates of freedom and prosperity should continue to make the arguments and offer proposals for moving to a sound monetary regime.

    And that is exactly what Dr. Shelton does in “Good as Gold.”

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 20:00

  • These Are The US States Producing The Most Turkeys In 2024
    These Are The US States Producing The Most Turkeys In 2024

    Every Thanksgiving, millions of Americans gather around the table to feast on a traditional turkey dinner. But have you ever thought about the origins of these Thanksgiving turkeys?

    As Visual Capitalist’s Jenna Ross details below, turkey production in the U.S. is highly concentrated, with a few states dominating the market. In this infographic from BGO, we’ll explore the top 10 turkey-producing states in 2024.

    Ranking the Top States

    Over four out of every five turkeys come from just 10 states. Most of these states are located in the Midwest or the South.

    Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, as of October 28, 2024.

    The top spot goes to Minnesota, having produced nearly 34 million birds so far in 2024. Minnesota became the top-producing state due to a number of factors:

    • Multi-generational farm families have passed down their knowledge and expertise

    • The state grows a lot of soybean and corn, which are the main ingredients in a turkey’s diet

    • A veterinarian from the University of Minnesota Extension helped eliminate a disease that once killed many turkeys

    North Carolina lands in second place for turkey production. The state’s moderate climate and affordable land and labor likely contributed to the industry’s growth. Like Minnesota, North Carolina also has easy access to crops like corn and soybean to feed the birds.

    Rounding out the top three, Arkansas produces 12% of America’s turkeys. Many poultry companies are located in the state, including Butterball and Tyson Foods.

    Transporting Turkeys to Tables

    With turkey production being so concentrated, most birds will need to be shipped to consumers. It’s critical that they don’t spoil on the journey, and that producers have them transported quickly. Cold storage is a key part of the solution.

    BGO is a leading investor in cold storage buildings that are strategically placed to ensure quick delivery to stores. Ultimately, these facilities help ensure turkeys arrive cool and on time for Thanksgiving.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 19:20

  • Trade Policy Is About Much More Than Tariffs
    Trade Policy Is About Much More Than Tariffs

    Authored by Gordon Gray via RealClearMarkets,

    Since the early days of his campaign, President Donald Trump has pledged to impose wide-ranging tariffs on many imported goods, including a 10 percent or higher tax on imports from other countries. This decision has made waves, drawn criticism, and largely dominated the trade policy debate in recent months – understandable, given the far-reaching implications of such a drastic change in policy. Nevertheless, President Trump’s tariffs are far from the only trade policy issue deserving of attention by the new administration. As we look ahead to January, any trade reform effort considered by President Trump and his advisors should also include overdue changes to a little-known agency responsible for implementing our country’s trade agenda: the International Trade Commission (ITC).

    Congress has given the executive branch wide authority to set trade policy. The ITC’s role is less widely understood. Due to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the ITC maintains the ability to institute “unfair import investigations,” a tool ostensibly designed to protect American companies from intellectual property infringement violations stemming from foreign competitors.

    If an infringed product is imported into the United States, the ITC has one remedy – an Exclusion Order – that completely ban the product in question from the U.S. market.

    Unfortunately, in recent years, the ITC has become the forum of choice for opportunistic patent assertion entities (PAEs). Also known as patent trolls, PAEs are companies that purchase portfolios of patents with the sole purpose of using them as the basis for infringement litigation. While the threshold for injunctions in federal courts are much higher, patent trolls flock to the ITC thanks to its unique ability to issue relief via ITC Exclusion Orders.

    When an Exclusion Order is issued, the ITC is supposed to investigate and determine whether banning the imported product in question will negatively affect the public. In the past, a wide range of stakeholders, from Hispanic interest groups to rural community advocates, have called on the ITC to issue public interest exemptions and ensure consumers’ access to critical products is not impeded. Unfortunately, the ITC rarely conducts a thorough public interest review before taking action. In fact, it’s been nearly forty years since it last used a public interest exemption to decline issuing an Exclusion Order.

    Fortunately, there are bipartisan efforts in Congress to address these deficiencies in how the ITC considers such cases. Last year, Representatives David Schweikert (AZ-01) and Don Beyer (VA-08) introduced the Advancing America’s Interests Act (AAIA) to stop patent abuse at the ITC and reaffirm its public interest standard.

    The AAIA would also strengthen an important feature of the the Tariff Act – the “domestic industry” standard – that would prohibit a U.S. company from being used as a plaintiff unless they voluntarily join a complaint requesting the ITC’s relief. As part of the Tariff Act of 1930, a complainant at the ITC needs to demonstrate that it contributes to the industry in the U.S. related to whatever patent rights it is alleging have been infringed. Yet in an oft-used loophole, the patent holder can satisfy this requirement by stating it licenses its patents to other companies even if those companies did not join the complaint.

    This creates a “domestic industry by subpoena” problem where a patent troll claims it has met the domestic industry requirement by involving an otherwise unwilling and uninterested licensee in the investigation. The AAIA would prohibit this practice unless the licensed entity in question ‘joins’ the complaint.

    Tariffs policy and protectionism figured prominently in the presidential campaign, and there is no doubt these issues will remain salient during the second Trump administration. But trade policy is more than simply a function of tariffs. Congress should act and pass legislation to return the ITC to its original mission. The constant threat of patent troll litigation is a drag on many U.S. companies and pulls resources away from developing the new technologies necessary to grow our economy and out-innovate the world.

    As policymakers look forward to what should be included in a new administration’s trade agenda, fixing the ITC should be at the top of the list.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 18:40

  • Thanksgiving Pilgrimage: Holiday Travel To Beat Record
    Thanksgiving Pilgrimage: Holiday Travel To Beat Record

    Thanksgiving holiday travel is expected to reach a new record in 2024, as nearly 80 million Americans are forecast to hit the road or the skies to travel more than 50 miles for this year’s celebrations.

    That’s according to projections from AAA who are predicting that 71.7 million Americans will take to the nation’s roads, while 5.8 million will fly domestically and 2.3 million will travel by train or other means to be with family or friends for the holidays.

    Infographic: Thanksgiving Pilgrimage: Holiday Travel to Beat Record | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    As Statista’s Felix Richter reports, that represents an increase of 2.1 percent from last year and 2.7 percent from 2019, as lower gas prices compared to last year are fueling Americans’ appetite for travel.

    “Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, and this year we’re expecting to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising,” Stacey Barber, Vice President of AAA Travel, said.

    “Americans reconnect with family and friends over Thanksgiving, and travel is a big part of that.”

    All modes of transport are set to see a noticeable increase this year and road trips will continue to dominate Thanksgiving travel.

    90 percent of travelers are expected to drive to their holiday destination, as gas prices are currently lower than they have been for the most part of the past three years. Even though air travel is far less common for Thanksgiving celebrations, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is bracing for the busiest Thanksgiving period on record, with airports expected to be especially crowded on Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 18:00

  • The Outcome Of Romania's Presidential Election Could Spoil The US' Potential Escalation Plans
    The Outcome Of Romania’s Presidential Election Could Spoil The US’ Potential Escalation Plans

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

    The surprise victory of populist conservative-nationalist Calin Georgescu in the first round of Romania’s presidential election gives this heterodox outsider the chance to enter into office next month. The Mainstream Media is apoplectic since he criticized Romania’s hosting of the US’ missile defense infrastructure and is against perpetuating NATO’s proxy war on Russia through Ukraine. He’s also a devout Orthodox Christian and praised some of his country’s most controversial World War II-era figures.

    Interestingly, he was also the diaspora’s favorite, with the added twist being that more in Western Europe voted for him than those in Eastern Europe. This suggests that his appeal is also due to the hope that he’ll bring long-overdue accountability to his infamously corrupt country and finally help its people improve their living standards through more effective economic, financial, and developmental policies. Foreign policy is important, but local issues and economics far outweigh the former for average voters.

    If Georgescu becomes President of Romania, he’s therefore much more likely to try to change his country’s internal workings than he is to radically transform its foreign policy, but it also can’t be ruled out that his potential victory could adversely affect NATO’s proxy war on Russia through Ukraine. Those who voted for him dislike how Ukrainian grain flooded their domestic market to local farmers’ detriment and also aren’t pleased with the government financially supporting Ukrainian refugees.

    Additionally, the latest military-strategic developments in this conflict raised worries among many about the spectre of World War III, in which case Romania would be directly involved due to its hosting of the previously mentioned US missile defense infrastructure. Their country also plays an important logistical role in arming Ukraine and its newly built “Moldova Highway” could facilitate the deployment of NATO troops there if the bloc or a “coalition of the willing” therein decides to conventionally intervene.  

    Even if Romania doesn’t dispatch troops, the transit role that it could play in others’ intervention there could put a Russian target on its back, especially if this leads to direct NATO-Russian hostilities. For this reason and keeping in mind his criticism of NATO’s proxy war on Russia through Ukraine, he as Supreme Commander might not approve of these plans. After all, he’s a populist conservative-nationalist who prioritizes what he sincerely believes to be national interests, which this scenario is contradictory to.

    If he wins, then he’ll assume office on 21 December, which could therefore make it impossible for the US to rely on Romania in the abovementioned respect from there on out. That would be significant, provided that Georgescu has the political will to implement such a policy, since it means that the outgoing Biden Administration might thus only have less than a month to do this if it wants to. After all, even if Trump decides to “escalate to de-escalate” through such means, he too might not be able to.

    There’s always the possibility that Poland might serve as the only route through which conventional NATO troops could enter Ukraine, even if it doesn’t dispatch its own, but neither the outgoing conservative-nationalist president nor his liberal-globalist rivals in the ruling coalition might allow this. The reason is that both want to appeal to Ukro-skeptical voters ahead of next year’s presidential election, the first in order to keep the second in check while the second wants to finally be unrestrained.

    That’s why each have been trying to outdo the other in populist rhetoric, with the ruling coalition even going as far as to trump the former conservative-nationalist government of which the outgoing president is a part by taking an even harder line towards Ukraine. To that end, they demanded that it exhume and properly bury the Volhynia Genocide victims’ remains like it earlier did for 100,000 Wehrmacht troops, and it’s now only offering more military aid in exchange for a loan and no longer for free.

    In fact, one of the Deputy Prime Ministers went as far as accusing Zelensky of wanting to provoke a Polish-Russian War in Ukraine, which powerfully signals that the ruling liberal-globalist coalition isn’t really interested in facilitating a conventional NATO intervene there and thus can’t be relied on for this. If Romania is ruled out in this respect too should Georgescu win, assume office next month, and promulgate the proposed policy, then the US might therefore be more willing to cut a deal with Russia.

    Therein lies the most globally significant consequence if this populist conservative-nationalist becomes President of Romania since it could greatly limit the ways in which the US – whether under the outgoing Biden Administration or the incoming Trump one – could “escalate to de-escalate” on more of its terms. By removing the likelihood of a conventional NATO intervention, the odds might then greatly increase for Russia ending this conflict on more of its own terms instead, which could lead to a more lasting solution.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 17:20

  • NYPD Raid Uncovers Rifles & Ammo Linked To Illegal Alien Prison Gang In Bronx
    NYPD Raid Uncovers Rifles & Ammo Linked To Illegal Alien Prison Gang In Bronx

    Venezuelan prison gang activity has dangerously surged nationwide, with an alarming amount of activity observed in New York City—a mecca for illegal aliens. The invasion of migrants, some of whom are gangsters and cartel members, poses a severe national security risk. This migrant crisis is set to be addressed in less than two months by President-elect Donald Trump and incoming Border Czar Tom Homan.

    X user Viral News NYC reports the New York City Police Department and Emergency Service Unit executed a search warrant targeting members of the extremely dangerous Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang at a residential building in the Bronx (isn’t this AoC’s district?) on Wednseday morning. 

    NYPD sources told the media outlet that “a significant cache of weapons” was found during the raid, including rifles, pistols, and “a large quantity of ammunition.” It is as if these illegal alien gangsters were preparing for war.

    Here’s more from the report:

    The operation also resulted in the detention of 15 individuals, including 8 females, 7 males, and one child. Investigators revealed that several of the suspects have multiple warrants issued from jurisdictions across the country, highlighting the gang’s widespread criminal network.

    Authorities are continuing to search the premises for additional evidence. This operation marks a significant step in the ongoing effort to dismantle the Tren de Aragua gang, a transnational criminal organization known for its involvement in human trafficking, extortion, and other violent crimes.

    Originally formed in Venezuela, the Tren de Aragua gang has expanded its reach in recent years, posing a growing threat in the United States. Police sources described this morning’s raid as a critical move toward reducing their influence in New York City

    “This is a dangerous organization, and we’re committed to taking the necessary actions to protect our communities,” one official stated.

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    In recent days, CBS News cited NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, who said TdA gangsters were recruiting children from migrant shelters.  

    “We have 39 members of TDA that have been identified and we have an additional four members that have been identified of a subgroup called Little Devils of 42nd Street. Those are much younger kids,” Kenny said.

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    Kenny continued, “We have no fingerprints on file for them. We have no photographs on file for them. We have no prior criminal history on them, adding, “They swap out their IDs. We have no way of tracking or knowing who they are when they enter the country.”

    The New York Post recently learned from sources that TdA gangsters have been setting up operations nationwide, including in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. Some of these operations include human trafficking to the drug trade and organized retail crime theft.

    Source: NYPost

    Just months ago, investigative reporter James O’Keefe published a US Army North Division memo that warned an estimated 5,000 TdA gangsters were in the US. We suspect that number is a lot higher. 

    The southern border invasion facilitated by the open border globalist Biden-Harris regime has plunged this nation into chaos as national security risks continue to surge. Now it’s up to President-elect Trump and the incoming Border Czar to clean up the Biden-Harris regime’s mess. It’s time to Make America Safe Again….

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 16:40

  • Lake Tahoe To Make Waves With First Flying Electric Ferry In US
    Lake Tahoe To Make Waves With First Flying Electric Ferry In US

    Authored by Ilene Ang via The Epoch Times,

    Getting from one end of Lake Tahoe to another could soon become easier, as the first electric hydrofoil ferry in the United States is expected to debut at the popular tourist destination.

    The “flying” ferry, which uses computer controlled hydrofoil wings to lift its hull above the water, is a joint venture of Swedish tech company Candela and U.S. operator FlyTahoe. A similar launch took place in Stockholm last month.

    The Candela P-12 ferry will make the north-south trip across the lake in just 30 minutes, saving passengers a drive around the lake that typically takes about three hours.

    Millions make the drive around Lake Tahoe each year to admire its beauty. But according to Ryan Meinzer, founder and CEO of FlyTahoe, the wear of tires on the roads over time causes particulates and road sediment to form.

    “This road sediment isn’t just causing damage to lungs and the air, but it’s also ending up [in] the lake,“ he told The Epoch Times. ”Essentially, Lake Tahoe is a large watershed, and in fact, this is one of the largest contributors to the degradation of the clarity of the famous blue cobalt lake that we love.”

    There were over 15 million visitors to Tahoe last year, and about 20,000 trips a day between the north and south of the lake, Meinzer said. “This is why FlyTahoe has decided to focus its primary efforts on that particular route.”

    In an announcement on Nov. 21, Candela said the hydrofoil ferry is the world’s fastest electric vessel at 25 knots, or about 30 miles an hour, with a range of about 40 nautical miles. It cuts energy consumption by 80 percent compared to other vessels due to the design of its wings, which lift the hull above the water and reduce drag. This, in combination with technology and sensors to balance the vessel, provides “a silent and smooth ride,” the announcement said.

    “It basically works like a jet fighter, which is constantly balanced using ailerons. The principle of the P-12 is the same, except our wings fly in water instead of air,” said Gustav Hasselskog, CEO and founder of Candela. Ailerons are small hinged sections on the outboard portion of an aircraft’s wing.

    The interior of an electric hydrofoil ferry, the Candela P-12. Candela

    Meinzer hopes to have a fleet of electric hydrofoil ferries traversing Lake Tahoe in the future, but for now, the company is under contract for just one.

    Meinzer says one of his biggest challenges is working with local laws and complying with federal regulations like the Jones Act, which regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters.

    “We, of course, need to make sure that we’re complying with all safety standards and inspection standards, because at the end of the day, this is a vessel that is flying across a lake,” he said.

    Meinzer also cited infrastructure considerations such as charging. “This electrification of waterways is relatively new,” he said, and while there are some electric boat charging stations in and around Lake Tahoe, “we need more.”

    “A rising tide lifts all boats. In that respect, the more electric chargers are installed around the marinas of the lake, the better it is for anyone who has electric boats in the lake, not just FlyTahoe.”

    Meinzer explained that if the ferry’s range is 40 miles fully charged and the lake is about 20 miles across, it can make a round trip on one charge.

    The cost for a one-way trip across the lake is expected to be about $50, Meinzer said. Eventually, he hopes to lower the price with government grants.

    The hydrofoil will be able to ferry up to 30 people across the lake per trip, and is wheelchair accessible, with storage for snowboards, skis, and bikes.

    Ryan Meinzer, CEO of FlyTahoe. FlyTahoe

    FlyTahoe has not finalized pickup and drop-off destinations, boat storage, or parking options yet, Meinzer said.

    A spokesperson for Candela told The Epoch Times that the hydrofoil ferry is expected to begin operations in late 2025 or the first half of 2026.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 16:00

  • Bloomberg Ruins Thanksgiving: "Gobbling Meat Is Fueling A Climate Crisis" 
    Bloomberg Ruins Thanksgiving: “Gobbling Meat Is Fueling A Climate Crisis” 

    Legacy media journalists at Bloomberg published an article titled “Gobbling Meat Is Fueling a Climate Crisis. Here’s How to Cut Back” on Thanksgiving morning, attempting to guilt-trip readers into reducing meat consumption to address the so-called climate crisis. The article advocates for a shift from meat-based diets to plant-based alternatives as their proposed solution to combat climate change. 

    The article’s climate crisis messaging is nothing new—just repackaged ‘green’ propaganda tailored with a Thanksgiving theme. It continues the narratives pushed by the World Economic Forum and Bill Gates about the dire need to shift away from cows to save the planet from a fiery death.

    Here’s an excerpt by Bloomberg journs trying to ruin Thanksgiving: 

    Some of the highest-emission foods come from cows and other ruminant animals, which roam across acres of land emitting methane, a potent greenhouse gas, during their unique digestion process. Compared to plant-based proteins including beans and legumes, for example, beef is responsible for some 20 times more emissions per edible gram of protein.

    The article is a subliminal advertisement for plant-based food companies.

    Source: Bloomberg

    Separately, and in markets, fake meat company Beyond Meat was just a fad – shares are down 43% on the year to record low levels. Interestingly, BYND’s float is massively short – upwards of 46%, equal to 28 million shares.

    As long as Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, and other billionaires continue flying around the world in private jets, we’re not giving up our meat. 

    Plus, new research shows that ultra-processed vegan food can increase the risk of heart disease and early death…

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    Thanks, but no thanks, we’ll stick with clean beef from mom and pop farms—maybe even the Amish—than ever switch to fake meat.

    Here’s what X users are saying about legacy media trying to ruin Thanksgiving with climate propaganda:

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    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 15:20

  • Lebanon Accuses Israel Of Already Violating Ceasefire Several Times
    Lebanon Accuses Israel Of Already Violating Ceasefire Several Times

    Who could have seen this coming?

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    As The Cradle reports, the Israeli military carried out several artillery and bombing attacks on the south of Lebanon on Thursday, marking yet another round of ceasefire violations on the second day after the cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. 

    “Israeli enemy artillery is shelling the heights of the town of Halta, Hasbaya district, targeting citizens in the outskirts of the town,” Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on Thursday afternoon. 

    Via Reuters

    Taybeh, Khiam, and the Marjayoun plains were also struck by Israeli artillery, according to NNA. Three shells were fired at the town of Rmeish, damaging a house and a supermarket. Israeli troops also opened fire on Lebanese citizens trying to return to their homes in Bint Jbeil. 

    Israeli tanks shelled the towns of Kfar Shuba and Wazzani as well. At least two Lebanese citizens were injured in an airstrike on the town of Markaba. 

    The Lebanese army warned displaced residents of southern border villages on Wednesday not to enter areas where Israeli troops are still deployed. 

    Israeli forces have been violating the ceasefire since it took effect early on November 27. The Israeli army opened fire on a group of Lebanese journalists in the southern town of Khiam on 27 November. 

    Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli troops also opened fire on Khiam, Kfar Kila, and other towns as displaced residents made their way back. Israeli Army Radio and Channel 12 reports claimed several people were killed. Lebanese media did not acknowledge any deaths. 

    Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday night “that its fighters from various military specialties will remain fully prepared to deal with the Israeli enemy’s ambitions and attacks, and that their eyes will continue to follow the movements and withdrawals of the enemy’s forces beyond the borders, and their hands will remain on the trigger, in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty and for the sake of the dignity and honor of its people.”

    Lebanese forces announced their deployment across the south on 27 November as part of the ceasefire deal, which is based on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701. As part of the agreement, Lebanese troops are required to dismantle all Hezbollah infrastructure south of the Litani River, and Israel is required to withdraw its army from Lebanon – all within a period of 60 days.

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    The entry of weapons into Lebanon and attempts by the resistance to restock weaponry are prohibited in the agreement.

    A pre-existing tripartite mechanism, including France and the UNIFIL, has been headed by the US to monitor any violations reported by both Israel and Lebanon.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 14:40

  • "Good Faith" Discussions Underway To Un-Cancel NFL Redskins Logo 
    “Good Faith” Discussions Underway To Un-Cancel NFL Redskins Logo 

    In a recent X post by Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines, the senator wrote, “The censorship of the former Commander logo was a classic case of woke gone wrong. I applaud the Commanders & the NFL for their commitment to never censor the logo again.”

    Speaking to Fox News, Daines said, “The irony – they [woke left] were canceling Native American culture, as in the DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] movement went way too far …” 

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    At a recent Energy & Natural Resources Committee meeting on Capitol Hill, Daines stated that there had been “good faith negotiations” with the NFL team to restore the logo of Blackfoot Chief John Two Guns White Calf, which had been in use for half a century.

    In 2020, the NFL team succumbed to pressure from the radical left, promoting woke culture and forcing a name change from the Redskins to the “Washington Commanders.”

    Before the woke left unleashed cancel culture, the NFL franchise used Native American artist Walter “Blackie” Wetzel’s artwork of the Blackfoot chief as the inspiration for the team’s logo from 1972 to 2020.

    In 2022…

    And just like that, the iconic logo, celebrating Indian Country, was memory-holed, as were many other logos.

    The nation is waking up from a terrible decade of toxic and nation-killing wokeism nightmare. As we’ve previously noted, the ‘Overton Window‘ has shifted. 

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    For the sake of humanity, let us hope the woke mind virus—destructive by nature and detrimental to the nation—comes to an abrupt end. Woke ideology was never intended to succeed; its true purpose is to destroy. Even The New York Times and Bloomberg acknowledged a new Rutgers study showing that DEI initiatives transform individuals into being “hostile.” 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 14:00

  • Will Your Thanksgiving Table Become A Political Battleground?
    Will Your Thanksgiving Table Become A Political Battleground?

    Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times,

    The presidential election is over, and while half of America may be celebrating, the other half may be feeling a mixture of emotions from angst to anger. But when it comes to breaking bread with family for the Thanksgiving holiday, will the politicians hold the upper hand and wreak havoc at your dinner table?

    New data from Prolific reveals that many Americans are bracing themselves for potentially uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner conversations with family or relatives who share opposing political views.

    In fact, 20 percent of respondents to a recent poll say they plan to skip the traditional holiday gathering to avoid family interactions. Some indicated they would take a vacation instead, while others intend to spend Thanksgiving alone or with a few like-minded friends.

    Prolific, a technology and research company based in California, polled more than 2,000 U.S. residents of different ages, genders, and ethnicities. Of that number, 96 percent reported feeling confident in their voting decisions with no regrets.

    While the poll indicated that 62 percent of those surveyed expressed disapproval of the current Biden administration, 58 percent had an unfavorable opinion of President-elect Donald Trump. Some 22 percent already reported increased polarization within families following the election. Among younger voters—ages 18 to 24—that number jumped to 36 percent.

    Andrew Gordon, senior consultant at Prolific, told The Epoch Times that researchers were quite surprised by the survey responses.

    “While the depth of potential political division within families was striking, it actually aligns well with the trends we’ve been observing in our ongoing polling—extreme polarization within the electorate on any number of key issues,” he said.

    “The data underscore just how deeply woven into the fabric of everyday life politics has become, even extending into family dynamics during traditionally unifying occasions like Thanksgiving.”

    More than 23 percent of people living in Northeast states such as Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island believe the election has stirred up political tensions within the family. California and Washington state were the only western states included at that level.

    “This year has been marked by a perfect storm of political and societal factors: an extremely polarizing election, a big focus on leadership across party lines, and a worldwide economic slowdown that has led to general dissatisfaction with government performance,” Gordon said. “Add to this social platforms, and politics has become an unavoidable part of daily conversations.”

    Tim Ives, a licensed New York psychoanalyst specializing in family therapy, told The Epoch Times it’s important that people decide what they want to do before getting into a potentially stressful situation.

    “As much as many of us are family-oriented, holidays don’t necessarily look like Norman Rockwell paintings,” he said. “Families getting along together is not always the norm.”

    Ives, who is also a minister serving the Scarborough Presbyterian Church in Briarcliff Manor, New York, said the key for those choosing to spend Thanksgiving and the holidays with family is to be non-reactive.

    “Politics can be divisive and it’s difficult sometimes to ignore opinions that are different from yours. My advice is to just smile and nod,” he said.

    Alcohol can also fuel the fires for controversial discussions, so Ives recommends keeping drinks to a minimum.

    “If discussions do get heated, people can always quietly get up from the table and go to another part of the house or outside to avoid getting caught up in that turmoil,” he said. “A lot of families set a rule of no politics or religion discussions at gatherings.”

    Political polarization is nothing new, noted Ives.

    “I remember back during the 1964 election when everyone was scared to death of Barry Goldwater—they thought it was going to be the end of the world,” he recalled. Lyndon Johnson eventually defeated Goldwater in a landslide.

    Ives has recently been involved with counseling couples who find themselves on opposite sides of the political fence.

    “This year’s election has caused some angst among couples, but the bottom line is people have to consider how much this is really going to affect their personal lives,” he said.

    Almost 50 percent of the survey respondents living in southern and western states reported that they were not surprised at the outcome of the election. These states included Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Texas, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.

    Answering the question of whether democracy is alive and well in the United States, 52 percent of those aged 45 to 54 said yes, compared with 47.1 percent of those aged 55 to 64, and 45.2 percent of people in the 65-plus range. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed in Wyoming also provided an affirmative answer to the question, as did 52 percent of those polled in Montana, North and South Dakota, and Utah.

    “While we have conducted numerous studies on political sentiment and its impact on societal interactions, this is the first time we have explicitly explored how these divisions might manifest during Thanksgiving,” Gordon said.

    “This year’s findings take that dynamic a step further, demonstrating how political tensions are reshaping holiday traditions and prompting Americans to reconsider how they celebrate.”

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 13:30

  • Did Trump Just Solve The Border Crisis: Mexican President "Agreed To Stop Migration Through Mexico" Trump Claims
    Did Trump Just Solve The Border Crisis: Mexican President “Agreed To Stop Migration Through Mexico” Trump Claims

    Did Trump solve the border crisis two months before even being sworn in as the 47th president?

    Two days after surprising markets – and sending the peso plummeting – by announcing he would enact 25% import duties on Mexican goods if the country doesn’t stop the flow of drugs and migrants across the border.

    tariffs on Mexican goods in response to the flood of drugs across the porous southern border, best known for allowing millions of illegal immigrants to enter the US in the past four ears, Trump’s unexpected gambit may have already paid off.

    In a post on Truth Social network, Trump announced that after a “wonderful” conversation with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, she “agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border.”

    He added that the two also talked about “what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States” concluding that it was a “very productive” conversation which of course, it would be, if indeed Trump – who again is still two months away from inauguration – managed to solve the US border crisis just 48 hours after using targeted tariffs as a bargaining chip.

    While it remains to be confirmed on the Mexican side if Trump’s recollection of the conversation is accurate, Trump’s announcement comes just hours after the legacy media reported that Mexico would take on a more aggressive posture, with the AP reporting that Sheinbaum had suggested that “Mexico could retaliate with tariffs of its own” and that while she was willing to engage in talks on the issues, drugs were a U.S. problem.

    “One tariff would be followed by another in response, and so on until we put at risk common businesses,” Sheinbaum said, referring to U.S. automakers that have plants on both sides of the border.

    She said Tuesday that Mexico had done a lot to stem the flow of migrants, noting “caravans of migrants no longer reach the border.” However, Mexico’s efforts to fight drugs like the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl – which is manufactured by Mexican cartels using chemicals imported from China – have weakened in the last year.

    Amusingly, Sheinbaum also said Mexico suffered from an influx of weapons smuggled in from the United States, and said the flow of drugs “is a problem of public health and consumption in your country’s society” which judging by the libs ongoing reaction to Trump’s victory is pretty much spot on.

    As noted, there is still no official confirmation or full context of the agreement from President Sheinbaum’s side, but the market certainly reacted with the peso surging, and almost wiping out all losses from the past 48 hours after Trump’s first unveiled his 25% tariff threat.

    If confirmed, this would be the second time Trump has managed to convince Mexico to suspend migrants from crossing its territory to enter the US. Back in 2018, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador – a charismatic, old-school politician – developed a chummy relationship with Trump. The two were eventually able to strike a bargain in which Mexico helped keep migrants away from the border – and received other countries’ deported migrants – and Trump backed down on similar threats.

    While Sheinbaum, who took office Oct. 1, has been seen as a stern leftist ideologue trained in radical student protest movements, and appeared less willing to pacify or mollify Trump, it seems she too has capitulated just 48 hours after Trump unveiled what was coming.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 13:17

  • Denmark Hit By 'Whole Country' Mobile Outage, Trains Halted 
    Denmark Hit By ‘Whole Country’ Mobile Outage, Trains Halted 

    While Americans celebrate Thanksgiving by chowing down on turkey and mashed potatoes (and, of course, gravy), Denmark has experienced a widespread telecommunications outage, disrupting cellphone service and bringing train networks to a grinding halt. 

    The German news website Der Spiegel reports that the TDC Net network suffered a nationwide outage on Thursday due to technical difficulties. The exact cause has yet to be disclosed. 

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    Here’s more from the German news site:

    The lack of mobile coverage occurs randomly across the country. “The whole country is affected sporadically,” said Lasse Bjerre Sørensen. Accordingly, it could take some time before the network is back up and running.

    …

    The outage also affects emergency calls. Because the local emergency call center – 112 – is affected by the mobile network outage and calls may not be able to be put through, the emergency rescue service Hovedstadens Beredskab is sending vehicles onto the streets. As the rescue service announced on X, these vehicles should be contacted when urgent help is needed.

    rail traffic is at a standstill

    The administrator of the Danish rail network, Banedanmark, reports errors in the digital signaling system in the west of the country on X. They have therefore suspended operations until 6 p.m.

    The Deputy Traffic Director of Banedanmark, Nicolai Smidt Sigsgaard, wrote on X, “We are working hard to get the traffic going again and are investigating the cause of the breakdown.” 

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    This incident comes ten days after a Chinese bulk carrier transporting Russian fertilizer sabotaged two undersea fiber optic cables connecting Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Lithuania across the Baltic Sea. 

    Also, these incidents come as World War III risks are soaring in Eastern Europe. 

    *Developing… 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 12:35

  • Joy Reid Has Thanksgiving Meltdown Over Trump Supporters "Suffering The Consequences" Of Their Vote
    Joy Reid Has Thanksgiving Meltdown Over Trump Supporters “Suffering The Consequences” Of Their Vote

    Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via modernity.news,

    MSNBC’s Joy Reid took all the joy out of Thanksgiving by going on a 10 minute meltdown rant about how Trump supporters won’t get a “cookie, trophy or hug” from her.

    Oh no, how awful.

    Still furious that Trump supporters refer to ‘undocumented immigrants’ as “illegal immigrants” (they are), Reid suggested “right-wingers” should have to suffer the consequences of voting for Trump.

    “Make your own sandwiches, wipe your own tears, troll amongst yourselves with Elon, and leave us alone,” said the host, acting as if Trump supporters would want to socialize with her anyway.

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    “You got your heart’s desire. The president you dreamed of and worshiped instead of Jesus. And this time, you didn’t even have to storm the Capitol, smash the windows or try to kill police officers or issue death threats to poll workers,” she added.

    “But if you expect the 73 million who voted for the prosecutor, not the felon, and particularly the 92% of black women who voted for Kamala to give you a cookie for your vote, a trophy, a hug, a high five, you might be asking too much,” said Reid.

    No one asked, Joy, no one asked.

    “If we want to eat with you, we will. But if we just want some peace over the holidays, and we don’t want to put up with your trolling… get over it. Stop acting like we owe you,” added the host, pretending as though any Trump voter actually thinks like this.

    “And for God’s sake, stop whining, it’s embarrassing, our Thanksgiving, our choice,” she concluded.

    The only person whining is you, Joy, for 10 minutes straight.

    Given that MSNBC is up for sale and Elon Musk has suggested he might buy it, this might be the last Thanksgiving that Reid will have to spew such vitriol on cable news.

    As we previously highlighted, after spending the entire election campaign demonizing Trump supporters as Nazis and fascists, on the eve of the election she bragged that the media had “said all they can” to help Kamala win.

    After she lost, Reid told what few viewers she has left to stay away from Trump-supporting family members because they might “turn you in” to the authorities.

    One suspects it’s going to be a far from joyful Thanksgiving in the Reid household this year.

    Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/28/2024 – 12:10

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