May 03

Today’s News 3rd May 2022

  • Speed-Limiters Will Be Equipped In All-New EU Cars Beginning Next Month
    Speed-Limiters Will Be Equipped In All-New EU Cars Beginning Next Month

    On July 6, all new vehicles sold in Europe – including the UK – will be equipped with a speeder limiter as per new legal requirements to boost road safety. 

    The new speed limit assist system “will become mandatory on new cars in 2022 uses a forward-facing camera mounted on the car and the vehicle’s satellite navigation system to identify the speed limit and, if the car is exceeding it, to restrict the fuel flowing to the engine until the vehicle is at the limit speed,” British automobile magazine Autocar said. 

    Autotrader added: “The speed limiter will send haptic, audio, and visual warnings until you start driving within the speed limits.” 

    EU officials believe the speed limiters will increase road safety while reducing exhaust emissions. 

    Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham Research, told UK paper Telegraph & Argus: “Many drivers want to remain safe and drive within the law, however changing from one speed limit to another can be difficult and distracting. In this respect, Intelligent Speed Assistance systems help to not only keep drivers safe but also legal.”

    The rules aren’t retroactive, so older vehicles will still be able to go above the speed limit. It may be near impossible to fit the technology on cars built decades ago. 

    On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the Biden administration has signed a new law requiring automakers to equip new cars beginning in 2026 with government kill switches. 

    Under the guise of “safety measures,” Western governments’ move to place more control over private citizens’ vehicles is a glimpse of the dystopic future that remains ahead.  

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 05/03/2022 – 02:45

  • "Ghost Of Kyiv" Fighter Ace Was Fake News, Ukraine Military Admits
    “Ghost Of Kyiv” Fighter Ace Was Fake News, Ukraine Military Admits

    Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times,

    The mysterious Ukrainian war hero hailed as the “Ghost of Kyiv” not only didn’t die in combat, but also wasn’t real, the Ukrainian military has said.

    The unsubstantiated tale about an anonymous Ukrainian fighter jet pilot who allegedly took down six Russian warplanes in one day has been circulating on social media since the early days of Russia’s full-scale military offensive against Ukraine. The story gained major media attention and was perpetuated by official Ukrainian social media channels, including Twitter accounts of the Ukrainian government and former president Petro Poroshenko.

    “People call him the Ghost of Kyiv, and rightly so,” Ukrainian government wrote on Twitter on Feb. 27.

    “This UAF ace dominates the skies over our capital and country, and has already become a nightmare for invading Russian aircrafts.”

    Over the past two months, many people questioned whether the “Ghost” was real. But it wasn’t until the supposed death of the Ghost made news headlines that the Ukrainian military came out and admitted there never was such a person.

    Last week, The Times of London identified the Ghost as Stepan Tarabalka, a 29-year-old man flying a MiG-29 fighter jet. According to the report, Tarabalka had shot down as many as 40 Russian aircraft until he was “overwhelmed” by the enemy forces and killed on March 13.

    The report prompted the Ukrainian Air Force to clarify that Tarabilka did die in a battle, but he was definitely not the “Ghost of Kyiv,” which is but a fictional character created to boost Ukrainian morale in their conflict against Russians.

    “Stepan Tarabilka is not a ‘Ghost of Kiev’ and he did not shoot down 40 planes,” UAF spokesman Yuriy Ignat told The NY Times. “On March 13, 2022, Major Stepan Tarabilka heroically died in an air battle with the superior forces of the Russian occupiers.”

    “The ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ is a superhero legend who was created by the Ukrainians! This is rather a collective image of the pilots of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade defending the sky of the capital. Which suddenly appear where they are not expected.”

    In another Facebook post, Ukraine’s Air Force Command again confirmed that “the Ghost of Kyiv is a superhero-legend.”

    “Hero of Ukraine Stepan Tarabalka is NOT ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ and he did NOT shoot down 40 planes,” the post reads.

    The story comes as Ukraine continues to ask the United States to provide American fighter jets, such as F-16s, to help deny Russian air advantage over Ukrainian skies. Senior Pentagon officials said, however, that Ukraine has an air force that “relies principally” on Russian-made aircraft, and F-16s are not yet a part of America’s aid plan.

    “We have been providing and helping coordinate from other nations that have the kinds of aircraft that the Ukrainians fly,” a senior defense officials said at an April 28 press conference, referring to former members of the Eastern Bloc and their Soviet-era jets.

    “I’m not going to speculate about future aircraft deliveries one way or the other. Again, this is an Air Force that relies principally on old Soviet aircraft, that’s what they’re used to flying, that’s what they’ve got in their fleet,” the official said.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 05/03/2022 – 02:00

  • China Holds Secret Bank Meetings To Plan For Protecting Assets From US Sanctions
    China Holds Secret Bank Meetings To Plan For Protecting Assets From US Sanctions

    China is taking serious steps to prepare itself for potential future US sanctions such as have been imposed against Russia’s banking sector, with regulators recently convening an emergency meeting of domestic and foreign banks to examine how to best protect the country’s overseas assets. 

    Over the weekend the FT identified that the internal conference was held on April 22 and included top officials from China’s central bank and finance ministry. It’s also said that representatives were sent from every domestic and Chinese overseas bank, and additionally some China-tied international institutions, notably among them HSBC. The somewhat secretive conference was held as Russia is charging Washington with stealing $300 billion of its assets held overseas.

    The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), via Reuters

    “Western nations have actually stolen more than 300 billion US dollars from Russia when they seized the money meant to pay for Russian gas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Al Arabiya TV on Friday,” wrote state-run TASS base don the top diplomat’s words.

    Lavrov had with the last days again described US-led actions of the West “shameless robbery” and described, “London, Washington, Brussels are looking at seizing the money they have frozen to transfer it to someone else.”

    Indeed there’s been open talk of using seized Russian assets, including frozen Russian Central Bank reserves, to rebuild Ukraine in the future and to fund Ukrainian institutions. European countries have led to way in the seizures with Washington’s goading. 

    It appears China is taking note and not sitting idly by for its own similar crisis, especially as rhetoric ratchets concerning Taiwan and potential parallels with Ukraine. The emergency meeting also came after starting in March the Biden administration began expressly warning Beijing not to serve as enabler to Russia’s military machine by supplying it, or also assisting in sanctions evasion. Biden had in a March 18 call conveyed this warning to President Xi Jinping directly.

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    Citing official sources out of China, FT details the following: “…the meeting began with remarks from a senior finance ministry official who said Xi’s administration had been put on alert by the ability of the US and its allies to freeze the Russian central bank’s dollar assets.”

    “The officials and attendees did not mention specific scenarios but one possible trigger for such sanctions is thought to be a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory and has threatened to invade if Taipei refuses to submit to its control indefinitely,” the report continued.

    A person briefed on some specifics discussed at the meeting told FT: “If China attacks Taiwan, decoupling of the Chinese and western economies will be far more severe than [decoupling with] Russia because China’s economic footprint touches every part of the world.” And more from the report:

    Senior regulators including Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and Xiao Gang, who headed the CSRC from 2013 to 2016, asked bankers in attendance what could be done to protect the nation’s overseas assets, especially its $3.2tn in foreign reserves. China’s vast dollar-denominated holdings range from more than $1tn US Treasury bonds to New York office buildings. State-owned Dajia Insurance Group, for example, owns the Waldorf Astoria New York.

    At the same time, it seems Taiwan is on the opposite side of taking notes from the Ukraine playbooks and domino effect of international reaction. 

    “We try to see what we can learn from Ukraine in defending ourselves,” Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told CNN’s Fareed Zakarai in a Sunday interview.

    As China engages in long-range preparations for a theoretical economic war with the West as a result of a Taiwan armed showdown, Taipei is thinking purely strategic defense and survival with help from the West. “There are two things, of course,” Wu said in the interview. “The first is asymmetric capability. Look at the Ukrainians, they use small personal weapons to go against a large enemy. And I think that is something we can learn from. In fact, we have been preparing for that, but we need to make more investment in this regard.”

    “The second area we can learn from Ukraine is civil defense. Look at the Ukrainian people,” the foreign minister added. “All of the males are having the determination to defend the country. They want to serve in the military. They want to go to the war zones to fight against Russia. That kind of spirit is enviable for the Taiwanese people.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 23:20

  • "The End Of Euphoria": Earnings Season Turns Dire As Corporate Sentiment Plummets
    “The End Of Euphoria”: Earnings Season Turns Dire As Corporate Sentiment Plummets

    Last week, when we commented on corporate earnings ahead of the upcoming “week 3” deluge of earnings where a whopping 46% of S&P500 companies would announce results, we summarized the sorry state of affairs as follows: “Q1 Earnings From Bad To Dismal: Tech Earnings Sliding, Guidance Collapsing.” In the 7 days since, things have only gotten from “dismal” to even worse, and as Bank of America’s Savita Subramanian writes in her weekly Eranings Tracker now that week 3 is in the history books…

    …. we have clearly reached the “end of euphoria” phase.

    Which is not to say that earnings as reported are terrible, on the contrary: 276 S&P 500 companies (71% of earnings) have reported so far, and consensus 1Q EPS has risen 4% since April 1 to $53.54, up 9% YoY, with all 11 sectors are beating consensus, and 56% beating on both sales and EPS vs. a typical 44% Week 3 rate.  

    Underscoring what we reported last week, the two COVID demand reversals observed this quarter continue apace: first, a rapid shift from rate-sensitive big ticket items (housing & autos) to services (Exhibit 7), which will be a headwind for S&P earnings (50% goods vs. 20% goods for the economy). Second, Tech earnings are lagging. Its 2022 consensus earnings as % of S&P 500 earnings are now below are now below where it stood at the end of 2020, implying to full reversal of COVID-driven demand pull forward (Exhibit 8).

    So far so good, but that’s as good as it gets. Because while consensus 2022 EPS rose 1% since April 1, it was entirely driven by Energy (and dropped -0.2% ex-Energy). Worse, when looking forward, both BofA’s guidance ratio (sliding to just 0.7x in April) and its earnings revision ratio (0.8x) have plummeted to the lowest since 2Q20, confirming the collapsing outlook trend we first noted one week ago.

    It’s not just guidance that is imploding: according to Bofa’s Predictive Analytics team corporate sentiment sharply fell this quarter, representing the lowest level since 2Q20. Other than the COVID-impacted 1Q-2Q20, this marks the lowest level since 2Q16 when trailing 12-mo. EPS fell 2.7% peak-to-trough.

    Worst of all, the sentiment score has also been highly predictive of the following quarter’s earnings growth YoY (54% r-sq), and points a sharp drop in earnings ahead. 

    Adding insult to injury, companies’ mentions indicate a sharp drop in business conditions, with the spread between “better” or “strong” vs. “worse” or “weaker” falling to the lowest level since 2Q20.

    Oblivious of this sharp reversal in corporate sentiment, analysts continue to expect S&P net margins (ex-Fins) reaching new highs by 2Q, which is at this point ridiculous and overly optimistic and sets the stage for sharp downside risks to consensus earnings.

    Meanwhile, oblivious to reality, Wall Street consensus remains – as usual – too optimistic: as BofA notes, history shows analysts typically start the year too optimistic and cut estimates throughout the year. Since 2001, actual EPS came in 5% below where consensus stood at the beginning of the year on average (-1% excluding 2008 and 2020).

    Consensus EPS for both 2022 and 2023 continued to climb higher YTD (+3% and 2%, respectively) driven by higher Energy earnings…

    … but expect this to tumble once the weak guidance and slowing macro conditions finally make it clear to Wall Street that the euphoria is now officially over.

    More in the full note available to professional subscribers.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 22:40

  • Why Every American Should Care That Diesel Prices Are Surging Across The Country
    Why Every American Should Care That Diesel Prices Are Surging Across The Country

    By Craig Fuller, CEO of FreightWaves,

    Gasoline prices are increasing almost daily, pinching the wallets and pocketbooks of nearly all Americans with cars. However, as bad as that news is, diesel prices are surging even more across the country.

    The cost of diesel fuel impacts truckers and the entire economy

    Today’s truckstop retail diesel prices hit a new record of $5.32/gallon. Since February 1st, national truckstop diesel prices have increased by $1.57/gallon. For an owner-operator whose truck gets 6.5 miles per gallon, this equates to a cost increase of $0.24 per mile.

    Diesel’s importance to our economy

    To many Americans (including politicians), diesel prices are so removed from their version of reality that they often dismiss the importance of diesel to the U.S. and global economies. However, diesel is the fuel that drives the economy and leaves major industries vulnerable to cost shocks. 

    Without diesel fuel, the U.S. economy would collapse in a matter of days. Our supply chains would completely shrivel, almost overnight. 

    Trucks use it to haul our goods across the country. Of all Class 8 trucks (the big ones), 97% use diesel. No, Elon Musk is not going to save us here. When Tesla announced the Semi in 2017, Musk projected that over 100,000 would be produced by 2022. Today there are less than 20, mostly prototypes. 

    Trains also depend on diesel to transport products across the country. Almost every train in the country depends on diesel for energy. 

    A BNSF train hauls coal. (Photo: Flickr/Aaron Hockley)

    Even a large portion of our electricity is indirectly powered by diesel. Over one-fifth (22%) of our electricity in the United States comes from coal. Diesel-powered trains transport coal to power plants across the nation. 

    Diesel is also critical to our imports and exports, because 80% of the ships that transport products via the ocean are powered by diesel. 

    A world without diesel would mean that our grocery stores and restaurants would run out of food, retail store shelves would be empty, and hospitals would run out of medical supplies. But that is just scratching the surface. 

    Maersk container ships (Photo: Flickr/Kees Torn)

    Diesel’s importance to agriculture

    Farmers use diesel to power most of their machinery. According to the Diesel Technology Forum, diesel is critical to the farming industry: 

    One reason why U.S. agriculture is among the most productive and economically valuable in the world; producing more yield in less time with fewer inputs, is thanks to the advancements in the machines and equipment that do the planting, harvesting and tending to the land. Today, diesel engines power the majority of agricultural equipment in the U.S. and around the world necessary to plant, cultivate and harvest crops and transport them to markets or for processing and then delivered ultimately to the consumer.

    Diesel engines power more than two-thirds of all farm equipment, transport 90% of its product and pump one-fifth of its water in the United States. Ninety-six percent of the large trucks that move agricultural commodities to railheads and warehouses are powered by a diesel engine. One hundred percent of the freight locomotives, marine river grain barges and ocean-going vessels that deliver these products to markets at home and abroad are powered by diesel.

    In the agricultural sector, there is no cost-effective substitute for diesel engines with the same combination of energy efficiency, power and performance, durability and reliability. Diesel dominates the entire “farm supply chain” – planting the product, tending the crop (watering, fertilizers, and pesticides), harvesting the product and even bringing the product to market by truck, rail or ship. Farm tractors, combines, irrigation pumps and other equipment are the workhorses in an industry vital to our national economy and quality of life.

    Nearly every fishing vessel around the world uses diesel for power. Without diesel, our fishing food supply chain would collapse.

    The Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge is one of the largest land port for fruits and vegetables in the nation. (Photo: Customs and Border Protection)

    Diesel’s importance to the industrial sector

    Diesel also powers the construction industry. From the Diesel Technology Forum: 

    Roughly 850,000 diesel-powered vehicles nationwide are in use bringing supplies, materials and workers to and from U.S. construction sites. Earthmovers, bulldozers, bucket loaders, backhoes, cranes, pavers, excavators and motor graders are all essential to building and expanding our economic infrastructure. For most of these machines, there is simply no substitute for diesel power. No viable alternative has yet emerged for equipment that exceeds 500 horsepower; some construction engines produce several thousand horsepower.

    Since diesel powers the industrial economy, the recent surges in prices will put additional inflationary pressures on the U.S. economy – in the sectors that have already experienced unprecedented inflation – transportation, agriculture, and construction. 

    But this may be less damaging than demand destruction that may come along with price surges, especially in transportation and construction. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 22:20

  • RBA Preview: First Rate Hike Since 2010
    RBA Preview: First Rate Hike Since 2010

    The Australian central bank, the RBA, is expected to hike the Cash Rate Target by 15bps to 0.25% at its meeting on Tuesday, its first hike since 2010.

    As Newsquawk writes, Australia’s highest annual inflation in more than two decades and above target Preferred Trimmed Inflation spurred calls for a sooner lift-off, while the RBA also dropped its ‘patient’ reference at the last meeting. That said, some expect the RBA to wait for more wage data and after the election before hiking with Australia’s largest bank CBA, Goldman Sachs and HSBC among those calling for a hold.

    Here is a detailed preview of what to expect from the RBA in a few hours, courtesy of Newsquawk.

    OVERVIEW: The RBA will decide on rates on Tuesday in what is widely viewed as a live meeting as swaps traders have fully priced in a 15bps hike in the Cash Rate Target to 0.25% from the current record low of 0.10% and with a 25% chance of a greater 40bps move. Furthermore, a recent Reuters survey of 32 economists showed that 16 anticipated a 15bps hike, 4 called for a 40bps increase, while 12 saw no change to rates.

    HIGH INFLATION BROUGHT FORWARD RATE HIKE CALLS: Expectations for a sooner lift-off were spurred after the mostly firmer than expected inflation data for Q1 which showed headline annual inflation at 5.1% vs. Exp. 4.6% (Prev. 3.5%) for the fastest pace of increase in more than two decades and the RBA’s preferred trimmed mean inflation also surpassed the central bank’s 2-3% target at 3.7% vs. Exp. 3.4% (Prev. 2.6%). This prompted an adjustment of rate hike expectations with JPMorgan anticipating the RBA to hike by 15bps in May and Westpac also bringing forward its rate hike call in which it now expects a 15bps increase at Tuesday’s meeting followed by a 25bps move in June from a previous forecast of a 40bps increase in June.

    RBA’S RECENT HAWKISH PIVOT VS. UPCOMING FEDERAL ELECTION: The RBA opened the door for an earlier hike after having dropped its reference to the Board being “patient” from the statement at its last meeting and noting that developments have brought forward the likely timing of the first rate hike, while it also stated in the recent semi-annual Financial Stability Review that it is important borrowers are prepared for an increase in interest rates. Conversely, others are not convinced of a move at the upcoming meeting with Goldman Sachs and Capital Economics in the June lift-off camp, while CBA and HSBC also anticipate no change in rates at this meeting in which the arguments for a pause include the RBA’s previous desire to wait for wage data in coming months and with Australians set to go the polls for the election on May 21st.

    ANNOUNCEMENT: The announcement is scheduled for 05:30BST/00:30EDT where the focus will be centerd on the actual decision on rates with a 15bps hike likely to be supportive for AUD/USD and even more so if there is an aggressive move of 40bps, while a surprise hold in rates would pave the way for AUD selling unless the central bank counterbalances it with hawkish remarks for an impending rate increase. Attention will also be on the statement for the latest clues on central bank policy and if the RBA makes any announcement regarding its government bond holdings as ANZ Bank previously suggested the RBA may allow government bond holdings to mature without reinvesting them.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 22:00

  • They Can Print Money, But They Can't Print Food
    They Can Print Money, But They Can’t Print Food

    Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

    Whenever there is some sort of a major crisis, our politicians normally attempt to solve it by spending money.  But in this case, that isn’t going to work.  Our leaders can try to throw billions or even trillions of dollars at the global food crisis, and they may even convince themselves that they are making a difference.  However, the truth is that they simply cannot create food out of thin air.  As I discussed last week, we are facing a worldwide nightmare of epic proportions.  Fertilizer prices have spiked to absurd levels, extremely bizarre weather patterns are playing havoc with crop production all over the planet, and the war in Ukraine has caused a growing supply crunch that will not be resolved any time soon.  There simply is no “magic wand” that our politicians can wave that will make this problem go away.

    Even before 2022 came along, global food supplies were getting really right.  In fact, it is being reported that more than 800 million people did not have enough food to eat in 2020…

    The world was already rife with hunger before Covid-19 struck. In 2020, up to 811 million people – nearly one in 10 people – did not have enough food. And now the world is hurtling towards an unprecedented hunger crisis.

    Global hunger increased steadily during the COVID pandemic, and now a whole host of other factors are accelerating matters.  At this point even Joe Biden is admitting that the coming food shortages are “going to be real”, and his administration just announced that a whopping 670 million dollars will be directed to nations where things have already become quite desperate…

    Today, the Biden Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are taking the extraordinary step to draw down the full balance of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust (BEHT) as part of an effort to provide $670 million in food assistance to countries in need as a result of Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The world is suffering from historic levels of global food insecurity, which is being exacerbated by the impact Russia’s war on Ukraine is having on global food supplies.

    When all of that money is gone, Joe Biden will inevitably ask for more.

    But he can’t conjure up more food out of nothing.  All he can do is to redistribute whatever is available.

    And with each passing day, this growing crisis just seems to get even worse.

    Last month, I wrote a long article about the series of mysterious fires that are happening at food industry facilities all over the United States.  Since then, there have been more fires, including a fire that happened at a Perdue Farms facility in Virginia on Saturday evening…

    A fire took place at Perdue Farms facility in the South Norfolk area of Chesapeake Saturday evening.

    The Chesapeake Fire Department is currently working on an industrial fire at the grain processing and storage facility.

    Firefighters received a call at 501 Barnes Road at 8:41 p.m. after a plant operator at Perdue acknowledged and verified a fire at the location. All employees from the area were evacuated.

    Why are so many important food processing facilities suddenly erupting in flames?

    I think that all of us would like an answer to that question.

    Meanwhile, weather conditions continue to be a massive headache for farmers in the middle of the country.  On Friday, a huge tornado ripped through an important area of rural Kansas…

    Following a devastating tornado that crashed down in Andover, Kansas, 40 million Americans remain under severe storm threat as two separate weather systems move through over a dozen states.

    On Friday a devastating tornado ripped through Kansas leaving the city of Andover with extensive damage as it leveled multiple homes and damaged the Capital Federal Amphitheater and the local YMCA, which saw part of its roof collapse, KWCH reported.

    On the other side of the globe, extreme heat is the major problem right now.

    In India, an unprecedented heat wave threatens to significantly reduce wheat production…

    An unusually early, record-shattering heat wave in India has reduced wheat yields, raising questions about how the country will balance its domestic needs with ambitions to increase exports and make up for shortfalls due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

    Since the depths of the pandemic, the price of wheat has more than doubled, and many experts are anticipating that it will go a lot higher from here.

    Of course fertilizer prices have been going up even faster.  Some fertilizer prices have more than tripled, and as a result much less fertilizer will be used all over the globe this growing season.

    In Brazil, one of the largest farming companies just announced that it will be substantially reducing the amount of fertilizer that it uses in 2022…

    Soaring prices for industrial fertilizer have forced one of Brazil’s largest farmers to initiate plans to reduce nutrient spreading on fields by at least a quarter in 2022-23, according to Bloomberg.

    SLC Agricola SA, which manages soybeans, corn, and cotton fields in an area larger than the state of Delaware, will reduce the use of fertilizer by 20% and 25%, Chief Executive Officer Aurelio Pavinato said.

    Needless to say, similar things are happening all over the planet.

    Just check out these examples…

    Coffee farmers in Brazil, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, some of the largest coffee-producing countries, are expected to spread less fertilizer because of high costs and shortages. A coffee cooperative representing 1,200 farmers in Costa Rica predicts coffee output could slip 15% next year because of soaring fertilizer costs.

    The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) warned a reduction in fertilizer use would shrink yields of rice and corn come harvest time. Farmers in China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Vietnam — the largest rice-producing countries — are spreading less fertilizer, and may result in a 10% reduction in output, equating to about 36 million tons of rice, or enough food to feed a half billion people.

    When more fertilizer is used, yields are higher and more food is produced.

    When less fertilizer is used, yields are smaller and less food is produced.

    In 2022, global food production will be way below original expectations.

    In other words, there isn’t going to be enough food for everyone.

    The worldwide famine that I have been warning about for years is now here.

    The way that we produce our food is not sustainable, and experts have known about this for a very long time.

    It was inevitable that a day of reckoning would come, and now recent events have greatly accelerated matters.

    And the truly frightening thing is that many of the factors that are causing this crisis are not going to go away any time soon.

    So if you think that things are bad now, just wait until we get a couple more years down the road…

    *  *  *

    It is finally here! Michael’s new book entitled “7 Year Apocalypse” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 21:40

  • Ukraine Missile Attack Just Misses Secretive Visit By Russia's Top General To Front Line
    Ukraine Missile Attack Just Misses Secretive Visit By Russia’s Top General To Front Line

    Ukraine’s military is touting that a major rocket strike on a makeshift command center in the country’s east near the Donbas had just missed the presence of Russia’s highest general. 

    It was revealed Sunday that for the first time in the war the chief of staff of Russia’s forces and President Vladimir Putin’s top military adviser Gen. Valery Gerasimov made the secretive trip to observe firsthand military gains in the region. 

    Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, file image

    The New York Times had described the rare, high-risk journey to Izium as an attempt to boost morale and “change the course” of the slow pace of the advance in capturing the eastern territories.

    “Our working assumption is that he was there because there’s a recognition they haven’t worked out all their problems yet,” a US official told The New York Times.

    Gen. Gerasimov already departed the area back to Russia following a reported two-day trip to the Russia-captured zone. Ukraine forces still claim to have killed another general during the strikes, but this is unconfirmed:

    Ukrainian officials said an attack on a key Russian command center in the eastern city of Izyum on Saturday evening killed about 200 Russian troops, including Maj. Gen. Andrei Simonov, but just missed hitting the chief of the general staff of the Russian military, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, who had just concluded a secret visit to the army and airborne command center. Earlier, unconfirmed reports suggested Gerasimov was wounded in the strike.

    The attack reportedly took out School No. 12, Russia’s Izyum command center, following Gerasimov’s secretive visit which was only made public in the aftermath. Ukraine government officials are claiming that there were a “Large number of casualties among senior Russian officers” – but the Kremlin has not acknowledged the assertions is not expected to.

    Ukraine’s military says it received belated intelligence on the Russian commander’s high-level visit to the frontlines…

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    A top Ukraine military official told the NY Times that “The decision to destroy this object was taken not because of Gerasimov, but because it is an important base of operations.”

    If it’s accurate that the strike killed Gen. Simonov, he “could be at least the 10th Russian general killed during Russia’s Ukraine war,” according to The Week. While it’s clear that some high-ranking commanders have been among the casualties since the Feb.24 invasion began, in many cases it’s proven impossible to verify the list of generals Ukraine’s military says it’s killed thus far.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 21:20

  • Supreme Court Set To Overturn Roe v Wade, Leaked Draft Opinion Shows
    Supreme Court Set To Overturn Roe v Wade, Leaked Draft Opinion Shows

    A leaked draft of a US Supreme Court decision reveals that the majority of the court has decided to overturn Roe v. Wade by a vote of 5-4, according to Politico, which calls it a “full-throated, unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision – Planned Parenthood v. Casey – that largely maintained the right.”

    “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” wrote Justice Samuel Alito in the draft which was circulated inside the court before someone leaked it to the news outlet. “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled.”

    Politico highlighted these 10 passages from the draft opinion:

    • “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision….”
    • “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
    • “In the years prior to [Roe v. Wade], about a third of the States had liberalized their laws, but Roe abruptly ended that political process. It imposed the same highly restrictive regime on the entire Nation, and it effectively struck down the abortion laws of every single State. … [I]t represented the ‘exercise of raw judicial power’… and it sparked a national controversy that has embittered our political culture for a half-century.”
    • “The inescapable conclusion is that a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions. On the contrary, an unbroken tradition of prohibiting abortion on pain of criminal punishment persisted from the earliest days of the common law until 1973.”
    • “In some States, voters may believe that the abortion right should be more even more [sic] extensive than the right Casey and Roe recognized. Voters in other States may wish to impose tight restrictions based on their belief that abortion destroys an ‘unborn human being.’ … Our nation’s historical understanding of ordered liberty does not prevent the people’s elected representatives from deciding how abortion should be regulated.”
    • “We have long recognized, however, that stare decisis is ‘not an inexorable command,’ and it ‘is at its weakest when we interpret the Constitution.’ It has been said that it is sometimes more important that an issue ‘be settled than that it be settled right.’ But when it comes to the interpretation of the Constitution — the ‘great charter of our liberties,’ which was meant ‘to endure through a long lapse of ages,’ we place a high value on having the matter ‘settled right.’”
    • “On many other occasions, this Court has overruled important constitutional decisions. … Without these decisions, American constitutional law as we know it would be unrecognizable, and this would be a different country.”
    • ”Casey described itself as calling both sides of the national controversy to resolve their debate, but in doing so, Casey necessarily declared a winning side. … The Court short-circuited the democratic process by closing it to the large number of Americans who dissented in any respect from Roe. … Together, Roe and Casey represent an error that cannot be allowed to stand.”
    • “Roe certainly did not succeed in ending division on the issue of abortion. On the contrary, Roe ‘inflamed’ a national issue that has remained bitterly divisive for the past half-century….This Court’s inability to end debate on the issue should not have been surprising. This Court cannot bring about the permanent resolution of a rancorous national controversy simply by dictating a settlement and telling the people to move on. Whatever influence the Court may have on public attitudes must stem from the strength of our opinions, not an attempt to exercise ‘raw judicial power.’”
    • “We do not pretend to know how our political system or society will respond to today’s decision overruling Roe and Casey. And even if we could foresee what will happen, we would have no authority to let that knowledge influence our decision. We can only do our job, which is to interpret the law, apply longstanding principles of stare decisis, and decide this case accordingly. We therefore hold that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

    The magnitude of this report is so serious that Politico included this editor’s note vouching for the authenticity of the draft decision.

    Via Ben Mullin

    The leak has completely wiped the headlines and Twitter is exploding with hot takes.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 20:59

  • These Are The 10 Cities Seeing The Steepest Home-Price Declines
    These Are The 10 Cities Seeing The Steepest Home-Price Declines

    Double-digit monthly price growth for the US housing market could soon slow as skyrocketing mortgage rates trigger an affordability crisis that has caused fewer and fewer buyers to bid on homes in some metropolitan areas. 

    “What goes up must come down, right?” Realtor.com said in a new report, adding “price hikes have seemed unstoppable—until now.” 

    Realtor.com provided new data revealing the top ten metro areas that recorded the steepest price drops in March. Those cities include Toledo, Ohio; Rochester, New York; Detroit, Michigan; Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and Springfield, Massachusetts. 

    Here’s a complete list of where home prices fell the most.

    1. Toledo, OH

    • Median listing price: $115,000

    • Median listing price change: -18.7%

    2. Rochester, NY

    • Median listing price: $149,900

    • Median listing price change: -17.0%

    3. Detroit, MI

    • Median listing price: $75,000

    • Median listing price change: -15.4%

    4. Pittsburgh, PA

    • Median listing price: $230,000

    • Median listing price change: -13.7%

    5. Springfield, MA

    • Median listing price: $239,900

    • Median listing price change: -5.8%

    6. Tulsa, OK

    • Median listing price: $220,000

    • Median listing price change: -5.0%

    7. Los Angeles

    • Median listing price: $985,000

    • Median listing price change: -5.0%

    8. Memphis, TN

    • Median listing price: $173,500

    • Median listing price change: -4.6%

    9. Chicago

    • Median listing price: $399,000

    • Median listing price change: -3.7%

    10. Richmond, VA

    • Median listing price: $310,000

    • Median listing price change: -3.4%

     As discussed in March, “Housing Affordability Is About To Crash The Most On Record“ and “Biggest Housing Affordability Shock In History Incoming,” the affordability crisis has already begun to cool and red-hot housing market. 

    Since the beginning of the year, 30 Year fixed mortgage rate has jumped a staggering 214 bps, the highest in over a decade, with Bankrate data showing mortgage rates are above 5.40%. 

    Higher rates and elevated prices have caused the housing affordability index to crash to record lows. 

    Since housing affordability tends to lead the trajectory of existing home sales by about half a year, we suspect the housing market will continue to cool through the second half of the year. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 20:40

  • 'Deep State' Was Working Against Trump On COVID-19 Response: Dr. Paul Alexander
    ‘Deep State’ Was Working Against Trump On COVID-19 Response: Dr. Paul Alexander

    Authored by Harry Lee and Roman Balmakov via The Epoch Times,

    According to Paul Alexander, when former President Donald Trump was trying to tackle COVID-19 in 2020, the “swamp” or the “deep state” was working against him, using flawed data to tarnish him, locking down society, and keeping schools closed.

    “Can you imagine the president of the United States fighting against the [teachers’] union, fighting against the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)], fighting against his own task force?” Alexander told EpochTV’s “Facts Matter” program in an interview that will air on May 3.

    “They’re working against him. So you need to be there to understand when he said ‘the swamp’ – and he talked about deep state – it is real. I dealt with them. It is the bureaucracy. The entrenched bureaucracy is real.”

    From late March till early September 2020, Alexander served as scientific adviser to Michael Caputo, then-assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

    Dr. Paul Alexander in an interview with EpochTV’s “Facts Matter” program. The interview is scheduled to premier on May 3rd, 2022. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

    During that time, Alexander was attacked by the media and some health agency officials for trying to “tweak” the COVID-19 death numbers in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

    On Aug. 8, 2020, in an email to Caputo (pdf) and other officials, Alexander wrote:

    “CDC to me appears to be writing hit pieces on the administration and meant at this time to impact school re-openings and they then send it to the media knowing it is deceiving. I ask it be stopped now! … Nothing to go out unless I read and agree with the findings how they CDC, wrote it and I tweak it to ensure it is fair and balanced and ‘complete.’ And not misleading.”

    At the time, Alexander also pushed for herd immunity to handle the pandemic, insisting the only way to do so was to allow the non-high-risk groups to expose themselves to the virus.

    Former Trump campaign official Michael Caputo arrives at the Hart Senate Office building to be interviewed by Senate Intelligence Committee staffers, in Washington on May 1, 2018. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

    However, some media outlets depicted Alexander’s proposal as trying to get people infected intentionally. They also claimed that Caputo was promoting unfounded accusations and conspiracy theories in a Facebook video. Pressure from the media and some government officials later led to the departure of Caputo and Alexander.

    On Sept. 16, 2020, HHS announced that Caputo would take a 60-day medical leave of absence, and Alexander would leave the department.

    “New York Times wrote—now it’s part of the public discussion—that the CDC reporting to the public and the data is suboptimal. It’s incomplete. It’s not balanced. It’s missing information. So that is exactly what I was trying to say two years ago, that I was attacked for,” said Alexander.

    The New York Times on Feb. 20 reported that the CDC has been withholding critical COVID-19 data on boosters, hospitalizations, and other analyses. A CDC spokesperson told the outlet that one reason is the agency was afraid the data might be misinterpreted as the vaccines being ineffective.

    In March, the CDC quietly removed 72,277 deaths, including 416 among children, that were said to have been from COVID-19 from its data tracker web page.

    “The CDC removed 72,000 deaths. Why? I will say it this way, under the Trump administration, the CDC worked with the [National Institutes of Health (NIH)]  and the media to make the response terrible for him. Make it look, on a day-to-day basis, terrible, like bad. And they will do that with the numbers. They will report escalating infections, escalating cases, any which way they could,” said Alexander.

    “But now, in the present administration, they want to remove those deaths and those problematic metrics because it makes the present administration look bad. Fact is that more people have died from COVID under President [Joe] Biden than died under President Trump.”

    The CDC responded that the change was to make the data more accurate.

    “CDC constantly reviews our COVID-19 data to ensure its accuracy,” a CDC spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email last month, adding that “CDC’s algorithm was accidentally counting deaths that were not COVID-19-related.”

    Lockdown Based on Flawed Numbers

    In early April 2020, the United States reported more than 260,000 COVID-19 cases and about 6,200 deaths. On April 1, 2020, Trump said he would leave it up to state governments to decide whether to implement lockdowns. A day later, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN that there should be a federal lockdown. “I don’t understand why that’s not happening,” he said.

    On March 20, 2020, California became the first state to order a lockdown. By the end of May 2020, 42 states and territories issued mandatory stay-at-home orders.

    Alexander said the lockdowns were based on flawed numbers, and no study showed they work.

    “They closed society on a test that had a 97 percent false positive,” said Alexander, referring to the PCR test that is still widely used to determine a positive COVID-19 infection.

    “And remember, at that point, we were having problems in terms of how deaths were classified, how COVID infections were classified, and whether we were really having such an extensive number of infections or cases or hospitalizations,” Alexander said.

    HHS has been criticized for changing the rules for writing death certificates so that deaths were primarily attributable to COVID-19. The agency has also been targeted for a high number of false-positive COVID-19 results from PCR tests that were authorized for emergency use.

    “We were having a problem at that point with the PCR test. The PCR tests [were] over-cycled, and we knew over 24 cycles,” said Alexander. “Once you cycle over 24, 25, you are picking up viral dust and viral junk, non-infectious, non-viable pathogens. So let me put it this way, the vast majority, maybe 90 percent of people in 2020 and 2021, who were designated as COVID-positive with PCR tests were false-positive.”

    A medical worker places a nasal swab into a test tube after performing a COVID-19 PCR test at East Boston Neighborhood Health Center in Boston, Mass., on Dec. 20, 2021. (Joseph Prezioso/AFPvia Getty Images)

    An Irish doctor first claimed that PCR tests have a false rate of 97 percent. Some fact-checkers deemed the claim as false.

    One fact-checker interviewed Harvard professor Michael Mina, an epidemiologist, who said the claim was not true and “a clear misunderstanding of the PCR primers.”

    However, Mina also told The New York Times in 2021 that “in Massachusetts, from 85 to 90 percent of people who tested positive in last July with a cycle threshold of 40 would have been deemed negative if the threshold were 30 cycles.”

    On July 21, 2021, the CDC announced it would withdraw the request for an emergency use authorization for the agency-developed PCR test after Dec. 31, saying the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized “hundreds” of other COVID-specific tests.

    “We’ve argued from the beginning, this was never an emergency that they made it out to be,” said Alexander. “We could have properly protected the vulnerable and let the rest of society live largely normal lives.”

    Earlier this month, a study showed that states with strict lockdowns and other restrictive measures, such as California, New York, and New Jersey, handled the pandemic poorly. Florida, which ditched COVID-19 restrictions early, performed among the best states.

    “Trump was working to open society and to open schools. And he had a daily battle with that task force that what you saw there—that was like a clown car show—that was real. Behind the scenes, Trump was fighting them, fighting Fauci, fighting [Dr. Deborah] Birx, and the union, and the CDC to open schools because we were getting reports of young children in America hanging themselves. Children across America committed suicide because of the school closures,” said Alexander.

    President Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listen to White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx speak in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on March 29, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

    In July 2020, Fauci warned parents to send kids back to school in the fall semester, saying a study showed kids over 9 years old could transmit the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus as well as adults. The authors of the study later issued a correction, saying they could not define what direction transmission was happening within their study.

    Birx, then-White House COVID-19 task force coordinator, told media in August 2020, “If you have high caseload and active community spread … we are asking people to distance learn at this moment, so we can get this epidemic under control.”

    According to Dr. Scott Atlas, former special adviser to Trump on the coronavirus pandemic, only the three most influential doctors on the task force—Birx, Fauci, and then-CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield—could advise governors to implement lockdowns.

    (L-R) Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, Response coordinator for White House Coronavirus Task Force Deborah Birx, and CDC Director Robert R. Redfield attend the daily briefing on COVID-19 in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on April 8, 2020. ( Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

    “We could have handled this pandemic just by properly protecting the vulnerable and allowing everybody else to live a normal life, become exposed naturally and harmlessly among their own natural immunity,” said Alexander.

    “That’s how we do it for the last 100 years. But with COVID, we’ve done something different. We lock the healthy society down.”

    Alexander said he once had a discussion with some State Department officials talking about Trump.

    “They told me in no uncertain terms that: ‘Trump is only a visitor here. He doesn’t seem to understand we run things.’”

    “‘We the bureaucracy, we the deep state that you call the deep state pal, yes, we run things here. The president just visits here. He’ll be gone. We’ll be here,’” recalled Alexander.

    “That’s how they think. And that is the crux of the matter.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 20:20

  • US Informs Taiwan Of Howitzer Delivery Delay Due To "Crowded" Production Line
    US Informs Taiwan Of Howitzer Delivery Delay Due To “Crowded” Production Line

    Taiwan has confirmed that US weapons systems slated for delivery have been delayed. It’s being widely viewed as directly related to the ongoing war in Ukraine, where Washington has committed an unprecedented amount of resources. An official statement cited a “crowded” production line.

    “In response to media reports on the case of the M109A6 self-propelled guns arms sale, the Ministry of National Defense said today that the M109A6 arms purchase [by Taiwan] was crowded out in the production line. The US side informs us that this system will not be delivered to the Republic of China until 2026 at the earliest”, the ministry said in a statement posted to its website.

    Via Associated Press

    As a result Taipei is now said to be looking at ‘alternative’ weapons options. This as there’s been abundant commentary of late paralleling the Ukraine and Taiwan situations, despite Beijing’s insistence that they are not at all comparable, given China sees the democratic-run island as part of its ‘sovereign territory’. 

    As for the howitzers in question, last year the US had approved for possible sail up to 40 155mm M109A6 Medium Self-Propelled Howitzer artillery systems to Taiwan. The deal is said to be valued at up to $750 million. Previously Taiwanese media had cited a delivery timeframe of at least by 2023 – so the fact that its defense ministry is now saying 2026 – a full three years later, is a hugely significant gap.

    According to some regional observers, Taiwan may not have an extra three years to prepare for a feared Chinese invasion.

    Reuters writes of possible alternatives to fill the gap: “Taiwan is considering other precision and long-range alternative weapons systems including truck-based rocket launchers made by Lockheed Martin Corp called the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS,” based on the defense ministry statement.

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

    And further, “It did not say why the production line was snarled, but the United States has been ramping up its military support and supply of equipment for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.”

    Over the weekend Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu said, “When there’s a war, we need friends and allies to support Taiwan, as in the case of Ukraine.”

    “The people here in Taiwan are ready and prepared to defend ourselves,” he added. “We are asking the United States and other governments to provide Taiwan with necessary defensive articles, so that we are able to defend ourselves.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 20:00

  • Wall Street Journal Claims "Shadow Crew" Of Billionaires Urged Elon Musk To Buy Twitter
    Wall Street Journal Claims “Shadow Crew” Of Billionaires Urged Elon Musk To Buy Twitter

    Authored by Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times,

    Elon Musk responded on May 1 to a report from The Wall Street Journal, based on anonymous sources, that stated the world’s richest man had been persuaded to buy Twitter by a “shadow crew.”

    Marc Andreessen, general partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, shared a screenshot of the story on Twitter, prompting a response from Musk.

    “My Shadow Crew is sickkk! Also, who are they again?” Musk wrote on Twitter.

    “Sell Shadow Crew merch to buy Twitter?” Musk later asked in the same thread.

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

    Musk has been highly critical of Twitter’s content moderation policies for months. He has taken to the social media platform to lambast the company’s performance, from censorship claims to shadow bans. At the end of March 2022, Musk polled his followers:

    “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?”

    Most respondents replied, “No.”

    The Wall Street Journal report claimed that many people had nudged the Tesla Motors CEO to get involved in the struggling tech firm. The newspaper referred to this group as a “shadow crew” that included Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, billionaire investor Peter Thiel, entrepreneur David Sacks, and early Tesla investor and venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson. Musk’s brother, Kimbal Musk, also advocated for Musk to purchase a stake in the microblogging website, the report claims.

    Musk declined to be interviewed for the story, and The Wall Street Journal admitted early in its report that “it isn’t clear whether he took any of their advice to heart or merely followed his own gut,” referring to Musk and the alleged “shadow crew.”

    In March 2022, according to the article, Musk contacted Seth Dillon, the CEO of conservative satirical news outlet The Babylon Bee.

    Musk had inquired to determine if the publication had been suspended from Twitter following a tweet that referred to the U.S. assistant secretary for health, a transgender woman, as “Man of the Year.” Musk had reportedly quipped to Dillon that he might need to purchase Twitter.

    Elon Musk, founder and chief engineer of SpaceX, speaks at the 2020 Satellite Conference and Exhibition in Washington on March 9, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

    Musk had ostensibly kept his decision close to the chest up until the day before his intentions were revealed.

    “Over dinner in a private dining room at a local restaurant, Mr. Musk didn’t show much interest in talking about Twitter, one attendee said. Instead, he asked those at the table to share their theories about the meaning of life,” The Wall Street Journal reported.

    “The next day, Mr. Musk disclosed that he was seeking to take over Twitter.”

    There is a discussion in the public town square of what Musk means by free speech.

    Musk restated his views on free speech in an April 26 tweet.

    “By ‘free speech’, [sic] I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people,” Musk wrote.

    The Response to Free Speech on Twitter

    The reaction to Musk acquiring Twitter has been mixed, with both sides either cheering or jeering. In the aftermath of Musk’s Twitter takeover, the company identified fluctuations in follower counts that included mass deactivations, reactivations, and new account creations.

    On Capitol Hill, Republican lawmakers have congratulated Musk.

    Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) labeled it as “the most important development for free speech in decades.”

    Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) requested that Musk urge the San Francisco-based company to probe into internal efforts to suspend users and downrank stories pertaining to Hunter Biden’s laptop.

    “The left doesn’t want you to speak. If you don’t agree with them, you’re not allowed to talk,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “That all changes today with Elon Musk owning Twitter.”

    Some Democrats are mulling over hearings on Musk’s plans for Twitter, citing the website’s role in public discourse.

    While there is no official announcement on any hearings, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, revealed to BNN Bloomberg that “we’re thinking about it.”

    Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce Committee, said a hearing with Musk was crucial.

    “It’s a technology which is central to democracy and our economy and it is important for the representatives of the American people to hear what the new owners intend on using that technology to accomplish,” he told BNN Bloomberg. “We have to understand the censorship or lack thereof, content moderation or not, that is going to be the policy for the new owner.”

    “In terms of what the values are that this company is going to be creating for the new Elon Musk Twitter world, I think that’s actually a necessary role for Congress to play,” Markey added.

    In response to a series of tweets about the ideological shift in U.S. politics, Musk acknowledged his support for former President Barack Obama.

    “I strongly supported Obama for President, but today’s Democratic Party has been hijacked by extremists,” he wrote.

    Musk has also complained about the far left and far right, urging “less hate and more love.”

    A plurality of Americans agrees that Musk’s Twitter takeover “will lead to greater free speech on the platform.”

    According to a new Ipsos poll (pdf), 39 percent of overall Twitter users believe Musk will improve the platform. Twenty-eight percent of nonusers say he will enhance the website.

    Among heavy users, 52 percent think Musk’s involvement will improve the quality of dialogue, while 29 percent believe it will get worse.

    Seventy-three percent of all survey participants support removing posts that are considered false information. But there is a divergence on deleting political posts: 47 percent support taking down tweets that champion political action, and 40 percent are against the practice.

    “Compared with our survey results in early April, views toward the role of social media platforms in removing certain types of content remain unchanged,” the polling firm wrote.

    Elon Musk’s agreement with Twitter has not been finalized and could take several months to close. Both sides could still abandon the deal, paying a $1 billion termination fee.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 19:40

  • Russian TV Warns Britain Can Be 'Drowned In Radioactive Tsunami’ By Single Nuclear Sub Strike
    Russian TV Warns Britain Can Be ‘Drowned In Radioactive Tsunami’ By Single Nuclear Sub Strike

    A recent Russian state TV program has stirred outrage and made headlines across the United Kingdom after a television presenter featured a simulated demonstration of how the Russian navy’s nuclear submarines would take out the UK with ease.

    The segment aired late last week on public broadcaster “Channel One” and featured the chairman of the nationalist Rodina political party, Aleksey Zhuravlyov, who declared that “one Sarmat missile and the British Isles will be no more.” 

    Specifically under discussion was the UK’s military support to Ukraine. London was earliest out of the gate to publicize it’s repeat planeloads of weapons, including anti-tank systems and munitions, flown into Ukraine.

    That’s when the segment transitioned to news anchor Dmitry Kiselyov describing the following as a graphic of a submarine played behind him:

    “It approaches its target at a depth of 1km at a speed of 200km/h. There’s no way of stopping this underwater drone. The warhead on it has a yield of up to 100 megatons.”

    “The explosion of this thermonuclear torpedo by Britain’s coastline will cause a gigantic tsunami wave up to 500m high.”

    The clip from the segment, which is now being widely shared in the West…

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

    He then said the UK could be turned into “a radioactive desert” in the most provocative moment of the program: 

    “Such a barrage alone also carries extreme doses of radiation. Having passed over the British Isles, it will turn what might be left of them into a radioactive desert.”

    The panel had started off by reacting to recent comments by UK’s Armed Forces Minister, who appeared to earlier give approval for Ukraine striking Russian soil utilizing UK-provided weapons if need be.

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

    British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace issued the remarks last Thursday while describing Ukraine’s right to defend itself.

    “Part of defending itself in this type of invasion is obviously where Ukraine will go after the supply lines of the Russian army because without fuel and food and ammunition, the Russian army grinds to a halt and can no longer continue its invasion,” he told BBC TV.

    But he did note the caveat that it remains unlikely. “They currently don’t have British weapons that could do that, so it’s unlikely that it is our weapons,” he said, and added: “We’re very unlikely to supply that to anyone simply because of the technology and also the scarcity we have of those capabilities. So it is very unlikely.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 19:33

  • Venture-Backed Sale Of 'Virtual Land' Raises Millions In Buying Frenzy
    Venture-Backed Sale Of ‘Virtual Land’ Raises Millions In Buying Frenzy

    There’s an old investing aphorism that goes something like this: “buy land, because God ain’t making any more of it”.

    And while that still holds for the real estate market here on Earth, in the metaverse, it’s a different story entirely. While the market for digital assets has been in rough shape lately (one only needs to glimpse the formerly high-flying market for NFTs to arrive at this conclusion), a weekend auction of “virtual land” sponsored by the creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club – purveyors of one of the most widely hyped and most highly valued NFTs – raised about $320 million in crypto in what has been seen as the largest offering of its kind.

    In fact, demand was so intense that activity related to the event caused ripple effects across the entire Ethereum blockchain, disrupting activity and causing transaction fees to soar, Bloomberg reports.

    The ‘virtual land’ will feature in a new metaverse platform game called “Otherside” which is being developed by Yuge Labs, the creators of the BAYC.

    Holders of the ApeCoin token who verified their identities jockeyed to buy deeds for 55,000 parcels of virtual land in Otherside, the project’s planned metaverse game and the latest extension of the Bored Ape franchise. Anticipation that interest would be strong for the plots – Ethereum-based NFTs called Otherdeeds – had pushed up the price of ApeCoin last week ahead of the sale.

    Each plot cost about $6,000, and buyers paid in ApeCoin. For what it’s worth, the project has the implicit backing of major venture capital funds like the fund formerly known as Andreessen Horowitz.

    Each plot cost a buyer around $5,800 based on ApeCoin’s price of $19 as of Saturday, plus transaction costs, or “gas fees,” in Ether, which skyrocketed after the sale went live at 9 p.m. New York time as the land grab attracted heavy demand. Transaction costs just to mint Otherdeed NFTs after the launch reached $123 million, with each Otherdeed requiring about $6,000, or 2 Ether, in transaction fees to mint, according to data from Etherscan — or more than the price of the deed itself.

    Experts said that the sale led to one of the largest increases in gas fees in recent memory on the Ethereum blockchain.

    “Yuga Labs’ virtual land sale has triggered one of the highest spikes in transaction fees on Ethereum,” said Jason Wu, founder of decentralized lending protocol DeFiner. “I have seen other NFT launches causing high gas fees, but this is definitely one of the highest.”

    In addition to the virtual land sold on Saturday, another 45K plots have been allocated to holders of BAYC and MA NFTs as well.

    Besides the 55,000 Otherdeeds sold Saturday, another 45,000 were allocated to holders of Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape NFTs, as well as Yuga Labs and other project developers, with another 100,000 of the tokens expected to be awarded later to certain Otherdeed holders, according to the Otherside website. While the 55,000 Otherdeed NFTs were sold out around midnight New York Time, the process for BAYC and MAYC holders to claim their free Otherdeeds was initially delayed to avoid sending gas fee even higher. That one-time claim eventually reopened for those NFT holders as gas fees settled.

    ApeCoin is striving to become widely used in a variety of so-called web3 apps, using digital coins and blockchains. The idea is for owners to be able to access a variety of events, services, merchandise and games. It’s also the governance token of ApeCoin DAO, whose board includes Reddit Co-founder Alexis Ohanian, FTX’s Amy Wu and Animoca’s Siu. Ahead of the Otherdeed sale Saturday evening, OpenSea said it would accept ApeCoin.

    For what its worth, the Otherside land sale is bucking a broader trend: for example, while many apps have sold virtual land for cryptocurrency before, most have seen only a small number of users and transactions. On Decentraland, for example, the number of transactions is down 35% in the last 30 days, according to data tracker DappRadar.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 19:20

  • Mayorkas Says DHS Preparing For Surge In Immigrants After Title 42 Ends, Warns "Do Not Come"
    Mayorkas Says DHS Preparing For Surge In Immigrants After Title 42 Ends, Warns “Do Not Come”

    Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times,

    Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Sunday that his agency is preparing for a possible flood of immigrants attempting to enter the United States through its southern border when Title 42 border restrictions are lifted later this month.

    The Trump-era Title 42 policy allowed Border Patrol agents to turn illegal aliens back to Mexico immediately if they were deemed to pose a health threat amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    However, the Biden administration announced in April that the emergency order would be terminated in May, citing an increase in tools used to combat the spread of the virus such as vaccinations.

    This has prompted fears among some lawmakers, border officers, local residents, and officials that law enforcement will now see a surge in illegal immigrants allowed to enter from the southern border in the coming months, at a time when the United States is already experiencing a border crisis.

    Mayorkas appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday where he warned immigrants not to attempt to enter via the southern border, while noting that his department is “prepared” for an influx in migrants.

    “Because our border is not open,” Mayorkas said.

    “What happens now is individuals are either expelled under the Title 42 authority or they are placed in immigration enforcement proceedings. And they are removed if they do not have a valid claim under our law to remain.”

    When asked what message he has for immigrants considering entering the U.S. illegally at the border, the secretary replied: “Do not come.”

    Mayorkas also stressed that DHS is prepared for a surge in immigrants at the border, citing a 20-page memorandum released last week which contains six “pillars” that officials are already putting into place ahead of the expected surge in migrants.

    “It is our responsibility to be prepared for different scenarios, and that is what we are doing, and we have incredibly talented and dedicated people,” the DHS secretary said.

    “That is why the plan we have prepared calls for a number of different actions, not just in the domestic arena but also with our partners in the south,” he added.

    However, Mayorkas acknowledged that if a record-breaking number of migrants are encountered on the U.S.-Mexico border daily—which DHS estimated could be 18,000 by the time the powers are terminated, up from 13,000 in early 2021—this would put a “strain on the system.”

    “There is no question that if we reach that number, that is going to be an extraordinary strain on our system, but we are preparing for it,” Mayorkas said.

    Mayorkas was previously asked by lawmakers on Wednesday during hearings on Capitol Hill in Washington if he believes it is time to end the controversial Title 42 restrictions.

    “Our responsibility in the Department of Homeland Security is to implement the Title 42 authority of the CDC at our border and to implement it effectively and judiciously according to the law,” he said. “We are mindful that there can be an increase in migratory flows encountered at our southern border should Title 42 come to an end, as the CDC has determined it needs to do by May 23. Our responsibility, therefore, is to prepare and plan for that eventuality.”

    Mayorkas’ latest remarks come after a federal judge on April 27 temporarily blocked the Biden administration from lifting Title 42, at the request of 21 states, including Arizona and Missouri.

    U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays, a Trump appointee, said in a temporary restraining order that the plaintiffs “have established a substantial threat of immediate and irreparable injury resulting from the early implementation of Title 42, including unrecoverable costs on healthcare, law enforcement, detention, education, and other services for migrants, and further that the balance of harms and the public interest both favor issuance of a temporary restraining order.”

    The block remains in place for two weeks, unless it is further extended by the judge.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 19:00

  • Kim Jong Un Warns Of 'Preemptive Nuclear Strike' If North Korea Threatened
    Kim Jong Un Warns Of ‘Preemptive Nuclear Strike’ If North Korea Threatened

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned South Korea that he won’t hesitate to preemptively use nuclear weapons if threatened, according to the Associated Press.

    During a meeting to congratulate his top army officials for a massive military parade in Pyongyang last week, Kim expressed “firm will” to continue his nuclear program so that it could “preemptively and thoroughly contain and frustrate all dangerous attempts and threatening moves, including ever-escalating nuclear threats from hostile forces, if necessary,” North Korea’s Central News Agency said Saturday.

    KCNA said Kim called his military officials to praise their work during the April 25 parade, where the North showcased the biggest weapons in its nuclear arsenal, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially reach the U.S. homeland. The North also rolled out a variety of shorter-range solid-fuel missiles designed to be fired from land vehicles or submarines, which pose a growing threat to South Korea and Japan. -AP

    Kim also told thousands of troops and spectators gathered for the parade that he would continue developing nuclear weapons at the “fastest possible speed,” adding that his arsenal would “never be confined to the single mission of war deterrent” when the North faces external threats to its “fundamental interests.”

    Kim’s threats come as South Korea ushers in a new conservative government in May that could strike a harsher tone than outgoing liberal President Moon Jae-in.

    North Korea has conducted 13 weapons launches so far this year, including its first full-range test of an ICBM since former US President Donald Trump de-escalated tensions.

    Meanwhile, North Korea appears to be rebuilding tunnels surrounding a nuclear testing ground that was last active in 2017, which AP‘s anonymous experts suggest could mean that Kim will try to conduct new tests sometime between the South’s inauguration of President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol on May 10, and Yoon’s scheduled summit with US President Joe Biden on May 21, “to maximize its political effect.”

    According to US State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter, “We urge the DPRK to refrain from further destabilizing activity and instead engage in serious and sustained dialogue.”

    Kim’s recent remarks followed a fiery statement released by his powerful sister earlier April in which she criticized South Korea’s defense minister for touting preemptive strike capabilities against the North. She said her country’s nuclear forces would annihilate the South’s conventional forces if provoked.

    Yoon, during his campaign, also talked about enhancing the South’s preemptive strike capabilities and missile defenses. He also vowed to strengthen South Korea’s defense in conjunction with its alliance with the United States. -AP

    Since 2019, North Korea has been expanding its arsenal of short-range solid-fuel missiles, which Kim’s regime has described as “tactical” – suggesting battlefield nukes that could be used during conventional warfare. 

    “Taken together with ambitions for tactical nuclear warheads, submarine-based launch capabilities, and more sophisticated ICBMs, Pyongyang is not simply looking to deter an attack. Its goals extend to outrunning South Korea in an arms race and coercing the United States to reduce sanctions enforcement and security cooperation with Seoul,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Seoul’s Ewha Womans University.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 18:40

  • Sen. Scott: Left-Wing Groups Using Race, Lawsuits To Carry Out Election Fraud
    Sen. Scott: Left-Wing Groups Using Race, Lawsuits To Carry Out Election Fraud

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    One of the top Senate Republicans said that left-wing groups are using lawsuits and allegations of racism to push for measures that weaken the country’s election integrity.

    Voters cast their ballots at Keevan Elementary School in North St. Louis, Mo., on Aug. 4, 2020. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)

    Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) says that Democrats are currently using claims that voter ID laws are racist in a bid to strike them down, although many such laws are commonplace in countries across Europe and elsewhere.

    “You know what the left does? Well, you’re a racist. My gosh, if you do anything like that you’re a racist,” Scott told Just The News. “If you do you have to ask somebody for their ID, you’re a racist, or if you don’t allow us to do same-day registration where you won’t know who’s voting, you must be a racist.”

    Meanwhile, left-wing advocacy groups, reportedly coordinating with the Department of Justice, are trying to “make sure that you can commit fraud in this country,” Scott added. Such reports suggest those groups are seeking to dissolve or block voter ID laws, ballot harvesting laws, and limits on ballot boxes, he said.

    Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, on May 26, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

    “It’s not fair that you get to know who’s going to vote in an election. And we ought to be able to ballot harvest. And by the way, those ballot boxes, they shouldn’t be monitored,” Scott, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), told the outlet. “That’s what they want.”

    Scott said that NRSC and Republican National Committee are now defending numerous lawsuits against election integrity laws across the United States.

    “We’re defending lawsuits all over the country where these states have improved their election laws to make sure that your vote is never diluted,” he said.

    About a month ago, a judge in Florida ruled that the state’s new election law, SB 90, was unconstitutional, although state officials have appealed the order. That law was signed in May 2021 by the governor before it was challenged by several liberal advocacy groups, some of which accused the law of being racist.

    Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, an Obama appointee, said the law is discriminatory and claimed it violates the Constitution. He also issued a permanent injunction that prevented the enforcement of many of the provisions

    Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody last month appealed the ruling, while Gov. Ron DeSantis said he believes Walker’s ruling will be overturned.

    “I don’t think there is any question that it will be stayed and reversed, but this was way, way outside the bounds of what the current law is,” the governor said in April.

    Department of Justice officials didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 18:20

  • "Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste" – Biden Official Says Fertilizer Shortage Will Spark Green Farming Transition
    “Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste” – Biden Official Says Fertilizer Shortage Will Spark Green Farming Transition

    “Never let a crisis go to waste,” those were the words of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Chief Samantha Power on “This Week” Sunday. She explained the emerging global food crisis would transition farmers toward a green new world. 

    “We’re working with farmers to also increase their production so you actually have more supply brought on the market. 

    “Fertilizer shortages are real now because Russia’s a big exporter of fertilizer, and even though fertilizer is not sanctioned, less fertilizer is coming out of Russia.

    “As a result, we’re working with countries to think about natural solutions like manure and compost, and this may hasten transitions that would have been in the interest of farmers to make eventually, anyway. So, never let a crisis go to waste,” Power said. 

    Power noted global food prices are up 34% over the last year, which has promoted USAID to request emergency assistance from Congress to ease shortages in countries heavily reliant on grain from Russia and Ukraine. She said her agency works hard with farmers to transition their use of chemical fertilizers to “natural solutions.” 

    However, farmers worldwide are already reducing chemical fertilizer, which may threaten yields come harvest time. Lower yields may exacerbate the food crisis. 

    The U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) warned that a toxic combination of the conflict in Ukraine, economic disruptions due to COVID-19, and bad harvests, are driving food prices to record highs. 

    WFP pointed out millions of Middle Eastern and North African families struggle to buy even the most basic foods to keep hunger at bay. 

    “People’s resilience is at a breaking point. This crisis is creating shock waves in the food markets that touch every home in this region. No one is spared,” Corinne Fleischer, WFP Regional Director said. 

    President Biden recently said that food shortages are “gonna be real,” pledging that the U.S. and other countries will increase grain supplies to lessen the blow. 

    Power’s comment comes weeks after Rockefeller Foundation President Rajiv Shah told Bloomberg Television’s David Westin a “massive, immediate food crisis” is on the horizon. 

    The Rockefeller Foundation is aligned with the World Economic Forum, advocating for a ‘global reset‘ of the food supply chain. 

    Remember what Power’s said at the beginning: “Never let a crisis go to waste.” 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 05/02/2022 – 18:00

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