Today’s News 3rd October 2024

• Healthier McDonald's Options Available In Europe, But Not In The US
  Healthier McDonald’s Options Available In Europe, But Not In The US

  Authored by Cara Michelle Miller via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  People can get healthier McDonalds in Europe, food activist Vani Hari said at a recent Senate roundtable discussion.

  

  For instance, in the United States, McDonald’s fries contain 11 ingredients, while the UK version has only three, with salt being optional. Hari highlighted this disparity during her testimony at the Sen. Ron Johnson roundtable, American Health and Nutrition: A Second Opinion, revealing how many U.S. foods are laden with unsafe chemicals banned in other Western countries.

  The Epoch Times verified that U.S. McDonald’s fries contain ten or more ingredients, while the UK version has three or more ingredients.

  How can a food additive be considered risky in other countries yet deemed safe in America?

  Legal Loophole Allows Unsafe Ingredients

  “The problem is the law—there’s nothing that requires the industry to submit safety data,” Jennifer Pomeranz, associate professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health, told The Epoch Times.

  “As a result, companies can just self-regulate and designate ingredients as GRAS [generally recognized as safe] without notifying the FDA or the public.” Her recent research published in the American Journal of Public Health sheds light on this legal loophole, allowing unsafe ingredients in the U.S. food supply.

  Europe tends to take a precautionary approach, looking at evidence of harm and protecting their public, whereas the U.S. is more company-friendly, requiring evidence to remove unsafe ingredients from the food supply, she added.

  For example, the European Food Safety Authority bans substances like growth hormones and certain artificial colorings based on potential harm. In contrast, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluates food additives through a petition process, relying on the “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) principle, which allows some ingredients to enter the market without thorough testing.

  Companies can self-designate substances as GRAS based on their own evaluations, with limited oversight from the FDA. The Epoch Times reached out to the FDA for comments.

  Notably, potentially harmful chemicals, like azodicarbonamide, a chemical used in bread—which is linked to cancer in animal studies and banned in several countries—remain legal in the U.S. because of the GRAS principle.

  “In other countries, this is the same chemical they use in yoga mats and shoe rubber … when this chemical is heated, studies show that it turns into a carcinogen,” Hari said. This ingredient was previously used in Subway bread until Hari got it removed by petitioning the company.

  “There are now hundreds, if not thousands, of substances added to our foods for which the true safety data are unknown to independent scientists, the government, and the public,” said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, senior author of the study with Pomeranz and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, in a statement.

  500 Percent Rise in Food Dye Consumption

  Another concern discussed at the Senate roundtable is the significant rise in artificial food dye consumption, particularly among American children.

  Consumption of artificial food dyes has increased by 500 percent in the last 50 years, and 43 percent of products marketed to children contain these dyes, Hari said. These dyes have been linked to various health issues, including hyperactivity and allergic reactions, raising serious concerns for parents.

  Using Kellogg’s as a case study, Hari pointed out the difference between U.S. and Canadian cereals. The Canadian version of Fruit Loops is colored naturally with juice from watermelons and carrots, while the U.S. version contains artificial dyes and preservatives.

  “Kellogg’s announced plans to remove dyes by the end of 2018 but never followed through,” she said, contrasting the neon-colored version with the less-colorful, pastel one.

  California passed the School Food Safety Act on Aug. 29, which will restrict several artificial color additives—including blue dye No. 1, red dye No. 40, and titanium dioxide—in foods sold in public K–12 schools, effective Dec. 31, 2027.

  Reacting to a petition filed for FD&C Red No. 3, the FDA is reviewing the safety of red dye No. 3. In addition, on Aug. 2, the FDA banned brominated vegetable oil. Companies have until Aug. 2, 2025 to phase it out.

  FDA and Congress Can Do More

  Hari calls for stricter regulations and greater transparency with ingredient lists to protect consumers, especially children.

  “Asking food companies to remove artificial dyes would make an immediate impact on children’s health,” wrote Hari in her email to The Epoch Times. “They don’t need to reinvent the wheel, as they are already using natural alternatives in other countries.”

  Pomeranz and Mozaffarian propose several policy recommendations, including requiring companies to notify the FDA of how they determined that a substance is GRAS and sharing their safety data before adding substances to foods. Additionally, increased funding from Congress is needed to allow the FDA to enhance its reach.

  They also advocate for a stricter review process for both GRAS ingredients and food additives to ensure that substances such as caffeine, sugar, and salt are safe—not just in small amounts—but also at the higher levels found in many processed foods.

  “There is widespread agreement that current [food additive] levels in many products are not ’recognized as safe,‘” Pomeranz said on Sept. 25 during the FDA public meeting on improving the FDA’s review process of food chemicals. Excessive amounts can lead to serious health risks, she said.

  “Both the FDA and Congress can do more to enable the FDA to meet its mission of ensuring a safe food supply,” she added.

  A Safer Food Supply

  As food safety concerns grow,  the FDA is set to launch a new Human Foods Program on Tuesday to reorganize its operations and other improvements, including a proposed post-market review of food additives and GRAS substances to increase transparency and improve safety evaluations.

  The FDA has published a paper showing that the program will assess factors such as the potential toxicity of a substance, changes in exposure levels, and their presence in foods consumed by vulnerable populations like infants. Additionally, it will consider new scientific data and public or organizational interest in these chemicals.

  The agency would also consider state-level regulations on certain food products.

  This approach suggests that state-level actions could influence the FDA’s future assessments. For example, California’s recent restriction on certain food dyes could play a role in future considerations.

  Pomeranz said that a more robust review process is needed not just for existing ingredients but also for any new additives.

  However, consumers also need to be involved, Hari said. After she uncovered potentially toxic ingredients in Starbucks’ popular pumpkin spice lattes, media attention prompted Starbucks to remove an ammonia-derived ingredient linked to cancer.

  Public pressure can help drive changes for safer food options, says Hari, adding, “It’s time for consumers to demand healthier choices and for the FDA to prioritize public health.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 10/03/2024 – 02:00

• Hezbollah's Role As A "Liberator"
  Hezbollah’s Role As A “Liberator”

  Authored by Carlo J.V. Caro via RealClearDefense,

  Unlike many movements that adopt the mantle of liberation for political gain, Hezbollah’s portrayal as a liberating force is tied to a long-standing cultural memory of foreign oppression, from the Ottoman Empire to the French Mandate. Understanding how Hezbollah leveraged this identity requires an examination of Lebanon’s history of local resistance, which was not always violent but often manifested as passive defiance, economic self-sufficiency, and cultural preservation, especially among marginalized Shia agrarian communities.

  

  During the Ottoman era, southern Lebanon’s Shia population was systematically neglected and excluded by the ruling class, which favored the Sunni elite and Christian coastal merchants. Ottoman tax farmers exploited Shia agricultural communities in the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, fostering deep resentment toward external governance. The Shia community’s refusal to pay taxes or serve in the Ottoman military, a resistance that subtly persisted under the French Mandate, reinforced their self-perception as an oppressed yet resilient group. Though largely nonviolent, this resistance cultivated a cultural aversion to foreign control, which Hezbollah later capitalized on.

  In contrast, Mount Lebanon operated under a semi-autonomous Mutasarrifate system, allowing Druze and Maronite elites to negotiate governance with the Ottomans—an advantage not extended to the Shia of southern Lebanon. While Maronites and Druze enjoyed self-governance and strong trade ties with European powers, the Shia were relegated to peripheral roles, fostering isolation and mistrust toward both central authorities and foreign powers. This fragmented Lebanese identity, with allegiance often directed toward local feudal lords or religious leaders, persisted into the post-Ottoman period, worsened by the French Mandate’s efforts to centralize control in Beirut, further marginalizing southern Lebanon.

  When the French assumed control of Lebanon after World War I, they introduced modern institutions but often at the expense of local autonomy, particularly in rural areas. While infrastructure development flourished in Beirut and other urban centers, the agrarian Shia south was largely neglected, reinforcing economic isolation and discontent. The French also shaped Lebanon’s political system to the detriment of the Shia. The Confessionalist system they implemented ensured minimal political representation for the Shia, who were overshadowed by Maronite Christians and Sunni Muslims. This marginalization persisted after independence, reaching a breaking point during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). Shia exclusion from economic and political power became a critical factor in Hezbollah’s rise, as it united the community under its banner. The political system, rooted in colonialism, fueled Hezbollah’s anti-colonial narrative, allowing it to position itself as the true heir to Lebanon’s liberation struggles.

  Hezbollah effectively co-opted the Shia principle of sabr (steadfastness), a deeply ingrained religious and cultural value stemming from the martyrdom of Imam Hussein at Karbala in 680 CE. The theme of enduring suffering and injustice while remaining resolute became central to Hezbollah’s narrative, aligning with both the historical experience of foreign oppression and the contemporary struggles of Lebanese Shia. When Hezbollah claimed responsibility for Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, it framed the event as a validation of the Shia legacy of perseverance, demonstrating that victory could be achieved through unwavering resistance.

  Hezbollah further reinforced this narrative by invoking the concept of muwajaha (confrontation), a term in Shia tradition closely tied to the symbolic power of Karbala. In southern Lebanon, muwajaha extends beyond military struggle to encompass the religious and cultural duty to resist oppression. Hassan Nasrallah consistently framed the conflict with Israel not merely as a political battle but as a religious and moral obligation, linking Lebanon’s quest for autonomy with the Shia tradition of resisting injustice. This approach allowed Hezbollah to merge its military actions with a broader cultural identity, resonating across both historical and religious dimensions.

  Hezbollah’s evolution from a guerrilla force to a quasi-state actor involved more than just military expansion or political participation. Its infrastructure has not only filled the gaps left by the Lebanese state but has actively competed with and undermined the government to assert its dominance. By the early 2000s, Hezbollah had embedded itself in Lebanon’s political system, securing key ministerial positions and forming alliances with major political parties, including the Christian Free Patriotic Movement led by Michel Aoun. These alliances marked a significant shift in Lebanon’s sectarian dynamics, as it was the first time a Shia party gained the support of a major Christian faction, expanding Hezbollah’s political legitimacy beyond its Shia base. This legitimacy enabled Hezbollah to strengthen its influence over state institutions, including the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Ministry of Telecommunications, granting access to critical national infrastructure.

  Hezbollah’s state-building strategy involves Sharia courts, operating alongside Lebanon’s national judiciary, playing a crucial role in controlling the Shia population in southern Lebanon. These courts handle civil disputes, family law, and even criminal cases within the framework of Islamic jurisprudence, offering an alternative to the secular legal system. This parallel judiciary reinforces Hezbollah’s ideological legitimacy as the guardian of Shia Islamic values while providing services that the state cannot or will not offer, especially in rural areas where government presence is minimal and Hezbollah’s influence dominates.

  Hezbollah also uses commemorations as a powerful tool for political mobilization and social cohesion. Ashura, the annual Shia ritual mourning Imam Hussein’s martyrdom, holds deep symbolic significance. Hezbollah has repurposed it to strengthen its narrative of resistance, organizing large public demonstrations where Nasrallah delivers speeches drawing parallels between Hussein’s martyrdom and Hezbollah’s struggle against Israel. These events, while religious in origin, are highly political, serving as both a rallying point for supporters and a demonstration of Hezbollah’s ability to mobilize large segments of the population.

  In an effort to unite different factions under a broader nationalist identity, Hezbollah has made subtle but significant appeals to Lebanon’s ancient Phoenician heritage. Traditionally embraced by Maronites, Hezbollah has strategically invoked Phoenician identity to appeal to Lebanese Christians and secular nationalists wary of its Islamist roots.

  Hezbollah often references Lebanon’s ancient maritime heritage in speeches and cultural events, portraying itself as the inheritor of a legacy of resistance to foreign domination. This blending of Phoenician and Islamic identities acts as a form of cultural diplomacy, positioning Hezbollah as a defender of all Lebanese, beyond sectarian lines. Control over key archaeological sites, like the ruins at Tyre and the temples at Baalbek, further integrates this narrative into its political strategy, solidifying Hezbollah’s role as a guardian of Lebanon’s cultural legacy.

  While Hezbollah is often perceived as a monolithic organization, there are significant, underexplored tensions within its leadership, particularly between its military commanders and the religious clerics who provide its ideological and theological legitimacy. Hezbollah’s formal allegiance to the doctrine of wilayat al-faqih (the guardianship of the Islamic jurist), which binds it to the authority of Iran’s Supreme Leader, creates a unique dynamic that does not always align with the local religious authority of Lebanon’s Shia clerics.

  In southern Lebanon, clerical authority has traditionally been fragmented, with multiple maraji (sources of emulation) influencing the Shia population. Before Hezbollah’s rise, many Lebanese Shia followed clerics who were either neutral or opposed to the doctrine of wilayat al-faqih, including the followers of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah. Fadlallah, a prominent Lebanese cleric with significant influence in Beirut and southern Lebanon, supported the resistance movement but advocated for a more independent Shia political theology that did not place Lebanon’s Shia community under the direct control of Iranian clerics.

  Hezbollah’s rise, with its explicit allegiance to Iranian clerical authority, quietly created significant tensions within the Lebanese Shia religious community. These tensions became particularly evident in the 1990s when several key clerics, including those aligned with Fadlallah, voiced concerns about Hezbollah’s growing power and its subordination to Tehran. Although Hezbollah publicly expressed respect for Fadlallah, it effectively marginalized his influence, especially in political decision-making. This subtle power struggle remains largely hidden from public view but is crucial to understanding the internal complexities of Hezbollah’s religious authority.

  The relationship between Hezbollah’s leadership and Lebanon’s local Shia clerics is further complicated by the group’s military ambitions. While Hezbollah’s clerical supporters in Iran, particularly Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have consistently endorsed military action against Israel, some Lebanese clerics have expressed reservations about the long-term costs of ongoing conflict. During the 2006 war with Israel, reports—rarely discussed publicly—indicated that several prominent Shia clerics privately questioned the wisdom of continuing the war, particularly given the widespread destruction it caused in southern Lebanon’s Shia villages.

  This tension between local religious authorities and Hezbollah’s military leadership reflects a broader struggle within the Shia community over the future direction of the resistance. While Hezbollah’s public face remains unified, these internal fissures over religious authority and military strategy could have significant implications for the group’s future, particularly if local clerics begin to assert a more independent line.

  Hezbollah’s rise and consolidation of power in southern Lebanon can be largely attributed to its strategic use of traditional clan and family networks (hamulas). In rural areas like southern Lebanon, Lebanese society remains deeply organized around familial and clan-based allegiances, which have historically shaped local political dynamics. Hezbollah’s ability to navigate and, in some cases, co-opt these powerful networks has been crucial to its success in establishing itself as more than just a political or military movement.

  Southern Lebanon’s Shia clans, some tracing their ancestry back centuries, often acted as local power brokers in the absence of strong state governance, particularly during the Ottoman and French Mandate periods. Clans such as the Bazzi, Haidar, and Moussawi wield significant influence in their territories, often determining the outcome of local elections and resolving disputes. While these clans had traditionally been neutral or aligned with other Lebanese factions, Hezbollah’s leadership recognized early on that integrating—or at least securing the neutrality of—these networks would be vital for controlling the region.

  Hezbollah’s outreach to these clans was not purely political but also strategic. The group offered economic incentives, protection, and integration into its organizational structure in exchange for loyalty. For example, by placing clan leaders in influential positions within Hezbollah’s social service networks, such as the Jihad al-Bina reconstruction organization, Hezbollah ensured its reach extended into the deeply rooted clan systems. This allowed Hezbollah to leverage these networks for recruitment and intelligence gathering while maintaining an appearance of local autonomy.

  However, this relationship has not always been without conflict. Hezbollah’s rise often displaced traditional clan power structures, particularly when it came to control over smuggling routes and agricultural lands. In the early 1990s, there were several instances of violent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and clan militias over control of key trade routes used for smuggling goods across the Lebanese-Syrian border. While these clashes rarely made international headlines, they were significant in shaping Hezbollah’s long-term strategy of integrating rather than overtly dominating clan networks. By the late 1990s, most of these clans had either been absorbed into Hezbollah’s broader structure or neutralized through a combination of political maneuvering and economic inducements.

  Read the rest here…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 23:25

• Prosecutors Seek Indefinite Delay In Trial Of Alleged Trump Assassin Over "Complex" Evidence
  Prosecutors Seek Indefinite Delay In Trial Of Alleged Trump Assassin Over “Complex” Evidence

  Federal prosecutors on Wednesday requested an indefinite delay in the upcoming trial of Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, claiming that a massive trove of evidence has emerged in recent weeks rendering the case “complex,” ABC News reports.

  

  According to a Wednesday filing with Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon, prosecutors have gathered too much evidence to proceed to trial – including hundreds of witness interviews, 13 search warrants, and the seizure of “multiple electronic devices” from locations in Florida, Hawaii, and North Carolina. The overwhelming amount of digital data to review – around 4,000 terabytes – allegedly led to the request.

  The FBI also continues to conduct forensic tests on other evidence, including “ballistics testing, and fingerprint and DNA comparisons,” which will likely require them to prepare several expert witnesses to testify about in advance of Routh’s eventual trial.

  The filing states Routh’s defense attorneys did not oppose the government’s request to indefinitely delay his trial date.

  Routh, 58, appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday for his arraignment on attempted assassination charges. Routh’s lawyers entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. -ABC News

  The delay request came just one day after Judge Cannon had set a tentative trial date of November 18. But with prosecutors still awaiting over 100 subpoena responses and conducting forensic analysis, including ballistics and DNA testing, the government says their case is far from ready to proceed.

  Routh allegedly staked out the Trump International Golf Course in Florida for 12 hours on September 15, waiting for the former president to arrive. According to prosecutors, his attempt was thwarted when Secret Service agents spotted a rifle poking through the golf course fence. Routh was later apprehended on I-95.

  The incident echoes a previous attempt on Trump’s life just two months prior, when gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Crooks’ attack injured Trump and left one attendee dead.

  h/t Post Millennial

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 23:00

• 8 Israeli Troops Killed In Hezbollah Ambush As Close-Quarter Fighting Intensifies
  8 Israeli Troops Killed In Hezbollah Ambush As Close-Quarter Fighting Intensifies

  On Wednesday Israel has disclosed that its military suffered the loss of eight soldiers killed in combat thus far. The slain troops were young conscripts, ranging in age 21 to 23. Hezbollah sources are claiming that dozens more Israeli troops were wounded.

  Israeli media published photos of the young deceased troops, saying they were all killed Wednesday during cross-border ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and mark the first deaths since the launch of ‘Operation Northern Arrows’.

  “The six Egoz commandos were all killed during a gun battle with Hezbollah operatives in a southern Lebanon village. Another officer and four soldiers were seriously wounded in the same incident,” Times of Israel writes. Egoz is special forces reconnaissance unit made up of elite commandos. Two other deaths were recorded in a separate battle incident in Lebanon.

  

  Earlier in the day Hezbollah issued a statement saying it set an explosives trap ambush into which an Israeli unit walked, resulting in a group of casualties.

  It is a clearly intensifying ground situation, also as the IDF said Wednesday Hezbollah has launched at least 140 rockets into Israel. The IDF’s stated objective is to permanently push Hezbollah back far away enough from the border to create a buffer zone, so that tens of thousands of Israeli citizens may return to their homes in the north.

  Even rescue and extraction efforts by the IDF related the Lebanon casualties appeared chaotic and difficult. “During the extraction of the casualties following the gun battle in a building, Hezbollah operatives fired mortars at the soldiers, wounding further troops,” TOI details.

  By Israel’s account, it looks like the slain IDF troops had walked into an ambush during which fire came from multiple sides, and included shoulder-fired rockets:

  An IDF probe into the deadly battle in which the six Egoz commandos were killed found that they began an offensive against a village near the border early this morning, where Hezbollah had infrastructure that the army was seeking to dismantle.

  The troops had entered a building in the village, where they then encountered a group of Hezbollah operatives and exchanged fire with them.

  Moments later, a series of other encounters began in the surrounding area, with dozens of Hezbollah operatives opening fire, firing anti-tank missiles, and launching mortars at the soldiers.

  Prime Minister Netanyahu offered condolences to the families of the slain, and added this: “We are in the middle of a tough war against Iran’s axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us. This will not happen, because we will stand together, and with God’s help — we will win together.”

  The Israeli military evacuates its dead and wounded militants following clashes with Hezbollah. pic.twitter.com/SU8WPGzQic

  — Sharmine Narwani (@snarwani) October 2, 2024

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

  Netanyahu added: “We will rescue our hostages in the south, we will return our residents in the north, we will guarantee Israel’s eternity.”

  The IDF has said “close-range engagements” are unfolding in southern Lebanon, and that infantry forces are supported by tanks and airpower. Artillery from backline positions are also assisting, and the IDF has sent tens of thousands to the Lebanese border.

  FOX has obtained rare footage of Israeli ground force operations: 

  Exclusive: As Israeli forces started their ground operation into Lebanon, we were embedded with a commando unit that cleared a Hezbollah position.

  To cover this story, we crossed minefields and hiked through a dense forest. Our report also covers the toll on Lebanese civilians. pic.twitter.com/IqBkQb4DFy

  — Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) October 2, 2024

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

  The Associated Press details of the geographic space being fought over, “The Israeli military has warned people in and around 50 villages and towns to evacuate north of the Awali River, some 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the border and much farther than the northern edge of a U.N.-declared zone intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war.”

  A Wednesday Lebanese Army statement has said Israeli forces entered around 400m into Lebanese territory near Oddaiseh but then withdrew after intense clashes. Hezbollah says it pushed the IDF out following the skirmish.

  Still frame of AP live stream showing major new strikes on Beirut in the late night hours of Wednesday:

  

  Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians have fled north, or into Syria, while others remained trapped in the war zone. Air raids on Beirut have continued through Wednesday. Over 1,000 people have died in the last two weeks of Israeli Air Force airstrikes over Lebanon.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 22:10

• Student Wearing Black Paint On Face Isn't Protected By First Amendment: Judge
  Student Wearing Black Paint On Face Isn’t Protected By First Amendment: Judge

  Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

  A middle school student who wore black paint on his face during a California football game is not protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, according to a federal judge.

  

  The student, dubbed J.A. in court papers, his parents, and his lawyers have not shown that wearing the black paint is expressive conduct shielded by the First Amendment, U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez said in a Sept. 30 ruling.

  J.A. said he put on the paint during the game to show team spirit, but that doesn’t meet the bar established in other rulings, including a 2019 decision that found “First Amendment protection is only granted to the act of wearing particular clothing or insignias where circumstances establish that an unmistakable communication is being made,” Lopez wrote.

  “Based on the current record, it is not likely that [the] plaintiff can prevail on the merits of his First Amendment claim, nor are there serious questions about it. It ‘is possible to find some kernel of expression in almost every activity a person undertakes,’ such as ‘walking,’ ’meeting one’s friends,‘ or ’coming together to engage in recreational dancing‘ and other sports, ’but such a kernel is not sufficient to bring the activity within the protection of the First Amendment,’” she added later, citing from other rulings.

  J.A. was suspended for two days by Muirlands Middle School, which said he was wearing blackface despite the black paint being used often by athletes, and accused him or his friends of uttering racial slurs during the October 2023 game.

  Lopez was denying a request for a preliminary injunction that would have in part removed J.A.’s two-day suspension from school records. The final ruling in the case has not yet been handed down.

  The game was at a different school, whose officials forwarded concerns about the incident to Muirlands Middle School officials.

  “Just three years ago, the Supreme Court held that schools can only punish students for their off-campus speech in very limited circumstances not present here. The district court never addressed this threshold problem with Muirland Middle School’s actions,” Karin Sweigart, a lawyer with Dhillon Law Group who is representing J.A. and his parents, told The Epoch Times in an email.

  “There was no disruption of any kind that would have warranted punishing my client under binding Supreme Court precedent, and that would be true even if my client HAD engaged in a racist act, which he did not. My client had the right to engage in expressive activity by wearing eye black to show spirit on the sidelines of a football game, and we believe he will ultimately be vindicated as the facts come out in this case moving forward.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 21:45

• Boise State, Wyoming Forfeit Volleyball Games To Trans-Equipped San Jose State
  Boise State, Wyoming Forfeit Volleyball Games To Trans-Equipped San Jose State

  The growing female athletes’ revolution against “inclusion” gone mad has escalated, with the Boise State Bronco and Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball teams forfeiting games against conference rival San Jose State, in apparent objection to the Spartans roster including an alleged male-to-female trans player. 

  The Spartans rolled into the weekend with a sparkling 9-0 record — and controversy over the squad’s senior outside/right side hitter Blaire Fleming, who is one of the team’s top players in terms of kills and points. The buzz was killed, however, when Boise State announced it would take a conference loss rather than play the Spartans. The school did not give a reason for the decision, but the motive seems clear to all observers. 

  

  On Tuesday, the Wyoming Cowgirls followed suit with this announcement: 

  “After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference match against San José State University in the UniWyo Sports Complex on Saturday, Oct. 5. Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Wyoming. 

  That move appeared to be a change of course brought about by political pressure. Wyoming had initially declared it would play the game, but reversed that decision after state legislators began organizing a letter to the university’s president and athletic director.  

  The developments were applauded by former Kentucky Wildcat swimmer Riley Gaines, who’s been leading the revolt against the woke contamination of women’s sports: 

  LETS GOOOO. University of Wyoming is the third school to forfeit their match against SJSU because they have a man on their women’s team

  This is the way. Do not comply. Major kudos to @WYO_Volleyball @BroncoSportsVB @SUUVolleyball 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼https://t.co/xhmh9SxS4k

  — Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 1, 2024

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

  Last week, Fleming’s teammate, Brooke Slusser, joined a lawsuit against the NCAA, which accuses the organization of violating Title IX by permitting male athletes to compete against women and enjoy access to women’s locker rooms. The suit asserts that including male-to-female trans players not only disadvantages women but also presents a safety hazard…as highlighted in this video shared by Republican Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn:

  Complete slap in the face to every single female athlete. Why is the @NCAA pretending that it is “fair” for biological men to compete against women?

  Just look at how hard and fast biological male Blaire Fleming from @SanJoseStateVB hits this ball – unfair AND dangerous. pic.twitter.com/wJQkYn1hfa

  — Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) September 12, 2024

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

  According to a passage of the legal complaint reviewed by Cowboy State Daily… 

  “Brooke estimates that Fleming’s spikes were traveling upward of 80 mph, which was faster than she had ever seen a woman hit a volleyball…The girls were doing everything they could to dodge Fleming’s spikes but still could not fully protect themselves.” 

  In addition to asserting that the situation gives her Spartans an unfair advantage, Slusser also said she was troubled that Fleming requested to share a room with her on the team’s road trips, only to eventually admit that he was a man who wanted to be a woman. 

  

  Speaking to Outkick, Slusser’s attorney, Bill Bock, said the entire situation is a bad mix of physical danger and injustice: 

  ”One thing that’s important in this case is really the physical safety issues in volleyball…and that’s what they’re facing in practice every day. So it’s just a crazy, misguided policy that steals athletic dreams from women and gives them to men, and at the same time, puts women’s health and safety in danger.”

  Earlier in September, Southern Utah University volleyball was first to forfeit to the Spartans. That was a nonconference loss; the Boise State and Wyoming forfeits represent far larger sacrifices as losses in Mountain West Conference competition. When the Wyoming forfeit is put on the books this weekend, San Jose State will be 3-0 in the league standings — with two of the wins coming by forfeit. 

  

  The mother of a player on a team that played the Spartans twice said the situation took a toll on her daughter, who was heavily using ice to soothe her arms that were repeatedly being hammered by Fleming’s spikes. She told Reduxx: 

  “[Fleming] was basically unstoppable at times. [She] was jumping so high that I was concerned our blockers could not defend against such a fast-moving hit…Coincidentally, those two games, my daughter’s stats were not as good as most other games. Her stats were dramatically different because she was trying to compete against a male who my daughter said would stare her down after plays and was extremely arrogant.”

  Outkick also reports that San Jose State players were allegedly ordered not to discuss Fleming’s true gender with anyone outside the squad — and ominously warned that “things would go badly” for anyone who violated the directive. With her participation in the lawsuit, Slusser violated that order in a big way. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 21:20

• Media Uses Hurricane Helene To Promote "Global Warming" Agenda
  Media Uses Hurricane Helene To Promote “Global Warming” Agenda

  Authored by Eric Lendrum via American Greatness,

  Even as the death toll from Hurricane Helene continues to rise, pundits in the mainstream media are rushing to use the disaster as an excuse to promote their narrative that “global warming” is real.

  

  As reported by Just The News, a number of prominent anchors, commentators, and other television personalities have used the occasion of the hurricane to spread lies about so-called “global warming,” also referred to as “climate change.”

  “We are living in an era of extreme weather that requires new language,” said CBS News’ Major Garrett.

  He went on to falsely claim that the world has seen an increase in the number of every kind of natural disaster, despite this having been debunked by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

  CNN’s Angela Fritz declared that Hurricane Helene was caused by “fossil fuel pollution,” claiming with no evidence that “the atmosphere, warmed by more than a century of fossil fuel pollution, is hotter now than it was in pre-industrial times.”

  However, studies have shown that carbon dioxide emissions are created by just about every single process in existence that provides basic necessities to the population, including the shipping of materials and products, ranging from food to clothing.

  Fritz went on to further claim that “More than 90% of warming around the globe over the past 50 years has taken place in the oceans, and it’s making storms more likely to undergo these rapid intensification cycles.”

  But this claim has also been disproven, with Dr. Matt Wielicky, former assistant professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama, explaining how two consecutive similar tropical storms that impacted North Carolina in 1916 were even worse than Helene despite lower carbon emission levels overall.

  “The 1916 event occurred even though atmospheric CO2 levels were approximately 120 ppm lower than they are today,” Wielicki confirmed.

  “Blaming the fossil fuel industry for all weather-related disasters overlooks the complexity of natural climate variability and the role of poor urban planning in flood-prone regions.”

  The subject of global warming was brought up at the vice presidential debate on Tuesday night, with CBS News’ moderators blaming global warming for the hurricane.

  After both candidates gave their answers on the statement, the moderators falsely claimed that the “scientific consensus” is that global warming is real, even though there is no such consensus.

  The overall death toll from Hurricane Helene has risen to 139.

  The storm impacted the southeastern United States, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 20:55

• US Closes $1.5 Billion Loan To Resurrect Shuttered Michigan Nuclear Power Plant
  US Closes $1.5 Billion Loan To Resurrect Shuttered Michigan Nuclear Power Plant

  The world was abuzz two weeks ago when we learned that the notorious Three Mile Island nuclear power plant – site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history – would restart to power Microsoft data centers. As we said at the time, that was only the beginning, as the staggering electricity needs of the coming AI revolution – which we dubbed “the next AI trade” earlier in the year, meant that much more nuclear capacity will have to be either built from scratch or reopened.

  Sure enough, the US said on Monday that it closed a $1.52 billion loan to resurrect Holtec’s Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, and a senior Biden administration official said it could take two years to reopen the plant (longer than the company predicted). The Biden administration has called for a tripling of U.S. nuclear power capacity as U.S. power demand surges and worries about climate change mount. The Trump administration, should it take over in November, will be even more aggressive about the coming US nuclear renaissance.

  “Palisades is a climate comeback story,” Ali Zaidi, the White House climate adviser, told reporters in a call, adding that nuclear power supports high-paying union jobs.

  The renewed push for nuclear will include the reopening of major commercial reactors that have been shut for decommissioning, including the abovementioned Three Mile Island. And even though restarting shut nuclear plants is a complicated and expensive process never before accomplished in the country, it would take less time than building new power plants from scratch.

  The $1.52 billion in financing from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, was accompanied by funding for nonprofit electric cooperatives to purchase power from Palisades. Deputy U.S. Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced more than $1.3 billion in public funding to power cooperatives Wolverine and Hoosier Energy.

  Nuclear reactors generate emissions-free power, which is valued as electricity demand soars for the first time in decades on growth in artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and cryptocurrencies.  The chart below shows data center power consumption, by providers/enterprises in gigawatts (left) and in share percent (right).

  

  As noted back in April, electricity peak demand and energy growth rates are increasing in North America after being flat for years. Load growth had already electrification trends and electric vehicles, but annual peak demand growth was still only up 0.9%. With the increased focus on data centers, industrial facilities, and other near-term investments, this is likely to be an underestimate considering that in just one year (2023), the forecast of cumulative electricity growth over the next 5 years increased from 2.6% to 4.7% driven by major utilities further revising up their estimates.

  

  Nuclear critics, however, point out that the U.S. has not agreed on a permanent place to bury radioactive nuclear waste.

  Palisades still needs licensing from regulators and the senior U.S. official said that means it could take “a couple of years to turn back on”. Holtec has estimated a comeback in the fourth quarter next year.

  

  Patrick O’Brien, a Holtec spokesperson, said Palisades was on target for “repower” in October or later in 2025.

  Still, the plant has been shut since 2022 and needs work. The U.S. nuclear regulator said this month that preliminary results from inspections “identified a large number of steam generator tubes with indications that require further analysis and/or repair.” Steam generators are sensitive components of a nuclear power plant that require meticulous maintenance.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 20:30

• Israel Bans UN Chief From The Country After Statement Failing To Condemn Iran
  Israel Bans UN Chief From The Country After Statement Failing To Condemn Iran

  The Israeli government is fuming at UN chief Antonio Guterres’ response to the Tuesday night massive Iranian ballistic missile attack which pummeled Tel Aviv and area bases and infrastructure.

  The United Nations Secretary-General wrote Tuesday evening as an initial reaction, “I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”

  

  However, he made no mention of Iran, which at that very moment had sent nearly 200 ballistic missiles – reportedly including hypersonic missiles – into Israel.

  Israel sees the omission as purposeful, and as indicative of the UN’s refusal to condemn Iran. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday blasted Guterres for failing to “unequivocally” condemn Iran’s missile attack, which was the largest in history (given it was comprised entirely of heavy ballistic missiles).

  As a result, Israel has now declared Guterres persona non grata – effectively barring him from entering the country.

  “Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil,” Katz wrote on X.

  He went on to charge the UN chief with giving “backing to terrorists, rapists, and murderers” and castigated him as “a stain on the history of the UN.”

  Israeli officials and Guterres have frequently clashed going all the way back to the Oct.7 terror attacks. Tel Aviv has complained that the UN head only selectively condemns atrocities. Guterres often highlights the rising Palestinian death toll, but Israeli leaders see him as conspicuously quiet on the subject of Israeli casualties.

  I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation.

  This must stop.

  We absolutely need a ceasefire.

  — António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 1, 2024

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

  Last Friday’s Israeli assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah resulted in Guterres calling for all sides “step back from the brink” and warning against “an all-out war.”

  Katz responded at the time: “Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without Antonio Guterres.” Tensions have been on edge ever since, and now the UN Secretary-General is banned from Israeli territory.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 19:40

• Georgia Judge Says State Election Certification Rule "Vague" In Hearing
  Georgia Judge Says State Election Certification Rule “Vague” In Hearing

  Authored by Sam Dorman via The Epoch Times,

  A Georgia judge seemed skeptical on Oct. 1 of policies passed by the state’s election board.

  

  Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney called one of the challenged rules “vague” and needing clarification. He said that much of the policies coming out of the state’s election board were inconsistent with a Supreme Court ruling on rules passed before an election.

  One of the rules at issue in Tuesday’s trial provides a definition of certification that includes requiring county officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying results, but it does not specify what that means.

  The other includes language allowing county election officials “to examine all election-related documentation created during the conduct of elections.”

  Supporters of the rules say they are necessary to ensure the accuracy of the vote totals before county election officials sign off on them.

  However, critics worry that supporters of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump could use the rules to delay or deny certification if the former president loses the state to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, causing confusion and casting doubt on the results.

  Need for Clarity

  On the “reasonable inquiry” rule, McBurney told Ben Thorpe, attorney for the Democratic National Committee, “That one, to me, on its face, is vague and needs clarification.”

  McBurney seemed amenable to the examination rule, which he said appeared to be a “permissive rule.”

  “I struggle to see how that presents uncertainty to anyone because it permits access but doesn’t obligate anyone to do anything,” he said.

  Thorpe took issue with a portion of the rule that requires election workers to meet and conduct a review of precinct returns hours before all of the returns are complete. That creates a “direct and actual concrete problem” for the workers, Thorpe said.

  The trial was prompted by Democrats’ request for declaratory judgments invalidating two policies passed by the election board. On Sept. 30, the Democratic Party also filed a lawsuit challenging another policy in which the election board required ballots be counted by hand.

  McBurney started the trial by asking the attorneys present whether they agreed that election certification was mandatory under the new rules.

  They did, leaving McBurney to focus, in part, on how county officials might interpret the rules laid out by the election board.

  Thorpe told McBurney that to the extent the judge didn’t invalidate the rules in question, he should clarify that election workers must certify by the appointed deadline despite uncertainties. McBurney seemed to agree, suggesting a reasonable inquiry into the results without forgoing certification.

  Attorneys for the election board and the Republican National Committee maintained that the new rule allowed election workers to stay within the confines of the law.

  Elizabeth Young, an attorney for the election board, said that a ruling from the judge was unnecessary. She said if McBurney did anything further than suggesting election workers follow the law, he might be getting into the territory of issuing an “advisory” opinion, which he said he wanted to stay away from.

  Bad faith on the part of an election worker, she suggested, wasn’t a valid reason for issuing an advisory opinion since it indicated that the workers wouldn’t be willing to follow their legal obligations.

  “Let’s say you got a majority [of an election board] and they did not fulfill their legal duty, that sounds to me in that particular hypothetical like a very strong case for mandamus,” she said.

  Mandamus refers to a court ordering someone to fulfill their legal obligations.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 19:15

• Warren Buffett, Dave Ramsey, & John Maynard Keynes Are Wrong!
  Warren Buffett, Dave Ramsey, & John Maynard Keynes Are Wrong!

  Authored by Mark Thornton via The Mises Institute,

  This week, we explain how Warren Buffett, Dave Ramsey, and John Maynard Keynes are wrong about gold.

  

  John Maynard Keynes, the Godfather of Keynesian economics, famously called gold the “barbarous relic,” a term he used to denigrate the gold standard and to disparage the use of gold as money.

  Specifically, he hated the constraint the gold standard placed on government spending. If the government prints too much currency that can’t be redeemed in gold, then it must cut back its spending, bringing on a recession or depression, or face runaway price inflation in the economy.

  Following in Keynes footsteps, investment whiz kid Warren Buffett, son of the great investor and Congressman, Howard Buffett, has famously disparaged gold as an investment, saying it has “no yield.” He otherwise has voiced no coherent political philosophy, like his father.

  Hotshot Radio voice, Dave Ramsey, has likewise sharply disparaged gold as an investment, saying it’s just a “shiny, shiny rock,” with no yield, and is a terrible investment.

  Gold in Society

  Of course, in this “age of inflation,” people like Buffet junior and Ramsey are heralded for their calls for prudence in what otherwise is a financial landscape warped by hedonistic government policies of spending, borrowing without limits, and printing fiat money by the trillions.

  I will show here how wrong all three men are on all the investment points and even how contradictory their views on gold are, but I must emphasize that I am not offering any kind of investment advice here! This is just analysis and commentary on the current scene.

  This hatred and disparagement of gold as money and the gold standard has become standard dogma of and a pillar of the modern state.

  In complete contrast, regular people in society still instinctively see gold as an emblem of excellence more than a half century since the last vestige of the gold standard was taken away from us.

  Gold medals represent the very best achievements; silver medals represent the next level down.

  Teachers and parents still use the “star system” with gold or yellow stars representing the highest achievement. From babies to high school students, gold stars are still an inducement to effort and achievement. 

  Later on in life, gifts of jewelry are used to convey our affection and admiration. First, it might be things like friendship rings, but we all know that gifts of gold jewelry are an attempt to convey a high level of esteem by the gift giver. When the Wise Men visited the baby Jesus they brought gifts of gold, along with the precious perfume-medicinal compounds of frankincense and myrrh. 

  Even marketers of companies and company products—where there is a profit and loss prime directive—strive to be able to claim that their company, their product, or their service is “the gold standard” in their industry, or with their customers.

  When humans started to see the world in terms of its elements, humanity took off! The Bronze Age: society, culture, religion, buildings, science, etc.—gold was the rarest and most precious, even cherished, of them all. Human history is replete with gold exclamations whether it is culture, religion, art, and now technology and even medicine! The greatest age of peace and prosperity is the gold standard era of the 19th century!

  Investment Comparisons

  First of all, gold is not primarily an investment. Gold and silver are monies, the most advanced forms of money for thousands of years before the “age of inflation.”

  Technically, gold and silver are not money now, but only because they were forced out of that role by the state. Gold shackles the state; paper money unleashes it from its golden cage. Murray Rothbard explains this in his What Has Government Done to our Money? This is such an important work.

  Obviously, if gold and silver are money, you don’t need to “invest” in gold and silver, as you are already keeping some large percentage of your net worth in cash balances, checkable deposits, savings deposits, and gold- or silver-denominated bonds and insurance policies. 

  I remember as a kid that after we were taken off the gold standard that investment advice typically recommended, say a 20% cash holding position, with say half of that in cash funds for personal use and emergencies and half in precious metals for reasons such as inflation protection. The rest of your net worth statement would be in investments such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. The cash type holdings were not considered investments, but were for emergencies, diversification, and to take advantage of investment opportunities as you built bigger cash holdings.

  Of course, this cuts off Warren Buffett’s objections at the knees. He is after all the “king of cash,” often with mountains of cash on the balance sheet of his company. Yes, this cash does earn a yield, which might be important to his investors, but the cash yield is also subject to the inflation premium tax and all the government taxes too. The risk of loss has been very low.

  Gold can underperform stock investments. However, when I took a look at the average closing prices for gold, the Dow, and the S&P 500, during 1971—when we were taken off the gold standard—and last year, 2023, dividing 2023 into 1971, gold went up 47 and a half times, the Dow went up only 38.6 times, and the S&P 500 only went up 44.6 times. 

  So, gold actually wins that simple comparison over the 52-year period. It’s a “simple” comparison because it doesn’t include reinvested dividends, where stocks would win, and it doesn’t include capital gains taxes on stocks or fees, which would hurt stocks, and it doesn’t include the annual safety deposit box fee where for less than $100 per year you can rent a box in a bank that would hold a large amount of gold and your important papers.

  Again, my points are not a matter of financial advice, or that gold is a superior investment, it’s just to point out that Mr. Buffet and Mr. Ramsey don’t know what they are talking about and have failed to look at the facts of history—any kind of history—in voicing their “opinions.”

  In fact, I’m not even suggesting that putting all your money into gold or silver is a great idea! In the past, investment advisors simply recommended that part of our cash investments be in precious metals to protect long run purchasing power, a diversification asset, and something to balance your net worth statement. It also helps build your “buy and hold” mentality towards savings because gold and silver come with transaction fees and difficulties—less than real estate, but more than typical stocks today, or just using your debit card.

  In the end result, John Maynard Keynes was a socialist who preferred more of an absolutist state that could do much as it pleases, including unrestricted borrowing and spending. The anti-gold dogma generated by the Federal Reserve’s propaganda machine is intensely strong among us. Mr. Buffet and Mr. Ramsey swallowed that statist creed hook, line, and sinker.

  *  *  *

  We have kicked off the Fall Campaign at the Mises Institute. I humbly request that you make a small donation in the name of this podcast using the link in the show notes. It would mean a great deal to me. For every $100 or more donation, or recurring donation of $5 or more, using this link, I will send you a signed copy of my Skyscraper Curse book: mises.org/mi5

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 18:25

• Sentiment Of American Farmers Implode
  Sentiment Of American Farmers Implode

  A new reading from the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index shows sentiment across the Heartland, more specifically, on America’s farms, has tumbled to the lowest levels since 2016 as incomes pressured lower on concerns of “commodity prices, input costs, and future of trade after upcoming elections.” 

  In September, the Ag Economy Barometer, a survey of 400 farmers across America, plunged 12 points to 88, the lowest reading since March 2016, or around the time former president Trump began his first term. 

  

  “These were the weakest barometer and future expectations readings since March 2016, when the farm economy was in the throes of an economic downturn,” James Mintert and Michael Langemeier of the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture wrote in the report. 

  They noted, “The current conditions assessment very nearly matched that of April 2020, when COVID concerns were top of mind for US farmers. Weak output prices combined with high input costs were key problems cited by survey respondents in September.” 

  Both of the Ag Economy Barometer’s sub-indices, the Index of Current Conditions and the Index of Future Expectations, tumbled as the farming industry has been battered by backfiring Bidenomics policies. 

  

  “Farmers are concerned about commodity prices, input costs, the future of agricultural trade and how the upcoming election could affect their farm operation,” the authors of the report explained. 

  

  Here’s the conclusion from the report:

  Concerns about low commodity prices coupled with high input costs leading to poor financial performance expectations weakened farmer sentiment for the second month in a row. This month’s sentiment decline pushed the Ag Economy Barometer index below 100, indicating farmer sentiment is lower than during the barometer’s base period of late 2015-early 2016 when farm incomes were very weak. Producers expect markedly worse financial performance for their farms in the upcoming year compared to their expectations at this time last year. Weak farm income expectations combined with lingering interest rate concerns and a pessimistic agricultural export outlook helped push the Short-Term Farmland Value Expectations Index below 100 for the first time since 2020.

  In a separate note, researchers at the University of Missouri expect farm income to plunge 35% next year, compared to a high in 2022. The good news is that incomes are above what farmers made in 2015-20, yet the drop is steep, given elevated input costs. 

  “Farmers will have a tighter situation … than they experienced in the last three years, and they’ll have to be much more cognizant about having a very strategic marketing plan in order to make a good cash flow,” said Bob Maltsburger, a senior research economist at the Food & Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the university.

  Seems like farmers want… 

  President Trump will stand up for American farmers & ranchers 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/bDzkDJJtH7

  — Mammoth Nation (@MammothNationUS) September 26, 2024

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

   

  I’m ready for harvest
  Farmers stand with TRUMP 24 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/NXbbJm4Kb9

  — Glen (@oldfarmer92) October 1, 2024

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

  UDDER TRUTH: “Thanks to [Trump’s] efforts to open new markets, use effective tariffs to force fair competition, and lower costs to make farming profitable again.” How the former president is fighting for American farmers: https://t.co/gKW8upmvaf pic.twitter.com/AVQPoBAQGn

  — FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) September 26, 2024

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

   

   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 18:00

• Biden Says He Won't Back Israeli Strikes On Iran's Nuclear Facilities
  Biden Says He Won’t Back Israeli Strikes On Iran’s Nuclear Facilities

  Update(1759ET): Israel appears to be taking its time mulling or planning a response to Iran. Perhaps this is why?…

  United States President Joe Biden has voiced opposition to any strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in response to Tehran’s missile attack on Israel.

  When asked by reporters on Wednesday whether he would back such retaliation, Biden stated “the answer is no”.

  Biden says the White House opposes Israeli attacks against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

  The Trump campaign says America isn’t going to tell Israel how to defend itself from Iran. pic.twitter.com/zGtIA9CO4L

  — Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) October 2, 2024

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

  All recent statements from Netanyahu and his top security leadership suggest some kind of major retaliation strike is imminent. An Israeli official speaking to local media as said “it is not certain that Washington will agree with us, but it knows that we have to respond.”

  The US administration is seeking ‘alignment’ with Israel before it launches a potential attack:

  The White House is looking to align its perspectives on any potential response to the Iranian attack on Israel with counterparts in the Netanyahu administration. 

  US deputy secretary Kurt Campbell described the current situation in the Middle East as “a moment of peril” and outlined the need for clear communication between America and Israel. 

  “I think we recognize as important as a response of some kind should be, there is a recognition that the region is really on a knife’s edge, and real concerns about an even broader escalation or a continuing one,” said Mr Campbell.

  Meanwhile, new Israeli strikes have rocked central Beirut in the night hours (local). Hezbollah is expected to potentially retaliate by sending missiles toward Tel Aviv:

  The residential apartment building in Al-Bashoura, central Beirut that was bombed moments ago reportedly in an assassination attempt on MP Amine Cherri. pic.twitter.com/XovjCgXvkp

  — Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) October 2, 2024

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

  * * *

  Update(1315ET): Is tonight the night of the expected big Israeli retaliation attack? Iran appears to be bracing for new aggression from Israel: Iran has just announced the closure of its airspace, and it has diverted all civilian flights.

  There are reports the government has shut down Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport in anticipation of the potential Israeli retaliation: 

  Iran announced that airports in the western half of the country, including Tehran and Mehrabad, are closed until Thursday except for emergency and certain other flights, according to aviation security specialist Osprey Flight Solutions via WSJ.

  Speaking from Doha, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country is not seeking war, but in the scenario that “Israel acts against us we will respond.”

  Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran #Iran, all passengers have been told to leave the airport.

  Flights to and from Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz have all been cancelled until further notice. pic.twitter.com/rGoXyDbYma

  — Emily (@emilyshar1) April 19, 2024

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

  President Biden claims he’s offering the Israeli’s “advice”…

  Biden: “We will be discussing with the Israelis what they are going to do. All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond…we are giving them advice. I will talk to Bibi relatively soon” https://t.co/YnCEXtAfjS

  — Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 2, 2024

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

  * * *

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to be in meetings with his security cabinet Wednesday to mull potential operations to last night’s Iranian attack which saw some 181 ballistic missiles fired directly at Israel.

  Israel’s military claims most were intercepted, and that there was almost no damage or Israeli casualties, but the avalanche of available on-the-ground videos contradict these assertions. Israeli media has cited officials who say retaliation on Iran could include hitting targets like gas or oil rigs, and Iran’s nuclear sites.

  

  “An attack on Iranian oil facilities could devastate the country’s economy, and any of the considered responses could mark another escalation, almost one year into the ongoing war that began when the Hamas terror group attacked Israel in October 2023,” Times of Israel writes. 

  A correspondent from the same publication has cited another official who says the response will aim to inflict “significant financial damage” and that Israeli leaders feel the strike “must be significant, and it must come soon.”

  The security cabinet spent much of Tuesday night in a secure bunker under Jerusalem. By the end of the meeting there was reportedly consensus that Israel’s military would hit back.

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first words in the wake of the attack were “Iran made a big mistake tonight, and it will pay for it” and included the vow, “whoever attacks us — we will attack them.”

  “The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies. They will understand. We will stand by the rule we established: whoever attacks us, we will attack him,” Netanyahu continued.

  Netanyahu met with Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, Mossad director David Barnea, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday:

  

  Axios also suggests in its reporting that a “massive payback” is coming:

  Israeli officials staring down all-out regional war tell Axios Israel will launch a “significant retaliation” to Tuesday’s massive missile attack within days that could target oil production facilities inside Iran and other strategic sites.

  An Israeli official told the outlet, “We have a big question mark about how the Iranians are going to respond to an attack, but we take into consideration the possibility that they would go all in, which will be a whole different ball game.”

  People were celebrating the ballistic missile attacks inside Iran and Gaza. The size of it was unprecedented in history in terms of a single volley of heavy rockets sent directly on Israel.

  Iranians celebrating the IRGC attack against Israel tonight all over the country pic.twitter.com/yJ2dp9srd4

  — Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) October 1, 2024

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

  Meanwhile, in south Lebanon Israeli ground troops are reportedly engaged in close-quarters combat with Hezbollah fighters. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed the first troop death of its Operation Northern Arrows in Lebanon.

  “The soldier is named as Cpt. Eitan Itzhak Oster, 22, a team commander in the Egoz Commando Unit, from Modi’in,” TOI writes. “Oster was killed during a battle with Hezbollah operatives in a village in southern Lebanon.” 

  Despite overnight scenes like the below, Israel on Wednesday claims its bases and infrastructure came out largely unscathed…

  6. A strike on Nevatim Airbase, verified by The Post, @JakeGodin and others. One of the heaviest documented so far. pic.twitter.com/37QlbnhvFB

  — Evan Hill (@evanhill) October 1, 2024

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

  There have been unverified reports circulating of additional casualties suffered by the Israelis, and the situation is fast looking like the 2006 war, which had high casualties on both sides.

  Al Jazeera writes of the heavy fighting, “Hezbollah has issued a statement saying its fighters detonated an explosive device that killed and wounded members of the Israeli army trying to circumvent the village of Yaroun in southern Lebanon.” The Israeli Army did not put out an immediate statement confirming or denying.

  Iranians preparing for the worst…

  Endless line of cars for gas station in Tehran tonight 👇

  They know that Iran’s oil infrastructure will be gone soon.
  pic.twitter.com/8WvhL17oOT

  — Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) October 1, 2024

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

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 17:59

• "A Post-Apocalyptic Scene": North Carolina Communities 'Wiped Off The Map' By Helene, Governor Says
  “A Post-Apocalyptic Scene”: North Carolina Communities ‘Wiped Off The Map’ By Helene, Governor Says

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

  The governor of North Carolina said that “hundreds of roads” were destroyed and that entire communities were “wiped off the map” because of storm Helene last week and over the weekend.

  

  “Consider the roads closed in western North Carolina,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told CNN on Sept. 30. “We do not need sightseers coming in to observe the damage. We ask you not to come in unless you are on a specific mission to help with rescue.”

  The North Carolina Department of Transportation warned in a Sept. 30 post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that “all roads in Western NC should be considered closed to all non-emergency travel.”

  In a separate post, the agency included photos of area roads that were collapsed, washed out, or blocked by debris.

  📸 – Southeastern Buncombe County; South of N.C. 9

  Scenes like this are common across Western NC today as crews are spread out for #HeleneNC cleanup and recovery.

  All roads in Western NC should be considered closed to all non-emergency travel. pic.twitter.com/lqgTgfr3Og

  — NCDOT (@NCDOT) September 30, 2024

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

  In the Asheville area, which was especially hard-hit by the storm, people who are still seeking to evacuate can use Interstate 40 and Interstate 26 East, the department stated. Residents in other areas need to consult local emergency officials first before traveling.

  The mayor of Asheville described the aftermath as a “post-apocalyptic scene.”

  Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer told reporters on Sept. 30 that the city is “seeing just piles of people’s houses that were destroyed. Buildings that were destroyed. Cars overturned.”

  “The power lines look like spaghetti. It’s hard to describe the chaos that it looks like,” she said.

  “We are cut off from highway access from three of the four major highways into Asheville. Some resources are having to be flown in. … I can’t even think about a time frame for how long it’s going to take to recover from this storm.”

  The storm killed more than 100 people across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia, and the death toll is expected to rise once rescue teams reach isolated towns and telecommunications are restored.

  “We know that death toll will rise,” Asheville’s mayor said. “We’ve heard accounts of people seeing houses floating down the river with people in them.”

  In North Carolina, some 300 roads were closed and more than 7,000 people have registered for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance, officials said on Sept. 30. The National Guard was flying 1,000 tons of food and water to remote areas by plane and helicopter.

  

  North Carolina was coordinating 92 search-and-rescue teams from 20 states and the federal government, according to Cooper. Most efforts were in the Appalachian Mountains, which run through the western part of the state, where the storm ripped up roads, leveled trees, and tossed homes about.

  

  Tracking website PowerOutage.us shows that nearly 1 million people were without power in South Carolina and North Carolina. More than 450,000 were without power in Georgia, 73,000 lacked power in Virginia, and 64,000 had no power in Florida as of the morning of Oct. 1.

  In total, the storm knocked out service to about 5.5 million customers.

  Helene made landfall on the evening of Sept. 26 in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 “major” hurricane with 140 mile-per-hour winds before it was downgraded. However, the storm produced significant rainfall across the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Georgia.

  President Joe Biden said he would visit North Carolina on Oct. 2 and Georgia and Florida soon after. He may also ask Congress to return to Washington for a special session to pass supplemental aid funding.

  Reuters contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 17:40

• Bank Of America Customers Report Widespread Outage, Zero Balances
  Bank Of America Customers Report Widespread Outage, Zero Balances

  Bank of America customers on Wednesday reported having problems accessing their bank accounts or that their account balances currently show $0.

  The outage started at around 12:30 p.m. E.T. on Wednesday, according to the tracking website Downdetector.

  

  About an hour later, more than 20,000 user complaints were submitted via the website.

  

  The Epoch Times’ Jack Phillips reports that numerous Bank of America users have posted screenshots of empty account balances on social media.

  An Epoch Times staff member also reported not being able to log in to their Bank of America account.

  Some users on social media stated that Bank of America had not yet alerted them to the issue.

  Meanwhile, some users have reported having problems with Zelle, the digital payment system that is used by multiple banks and is owned by Bank of America and several other banks.

  It’s not clear how many customers were impacted or when the problem will be resolved.

  

  The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank has not released details about what’s causing the issue.

  On the social media platform X, Bank of America’s team was responding to complaints by asking for additional information.

  However, it did not appear that the bank provided information about the nature of the outage or how long it could take to fix.

  “Hi, we are sorry to see this. If you’re still experiencing the concern, please click below to let us know. Thank you,” one Bank of America representative wrote on X to a user who expressed concerns about logging in.

  Another post said:

  “Hello, your concern caught our attention. Please use the link below to connect with us and send additional details. We’d be happy to follow up with you.”

  The Epoch Times contacted the company for comment on Wednesday but received no response by publication time.

  Last year, fellow banking giant Wells Fargo issued an alert on its website after customers reported not seeing their paychecks and direct deposits in their accounts.

  Several users on social media were quick to remind everyone of BofA CEO Brian Moynihan’s comments just a few years ago…

  “Bitcoin is highly Speculative, you could wake up one day and your account would be worth zero.”

  And it’s gone…

  Bank of America Customers following Countrywide outages & their accounts showing $0.000

  It’s all so obvious. pic.twitter.com/z6sL19ssMC

  — Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) October 2, 2024

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

   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 17:20

• Unsurprisingly, The Bitcoin Price Follows Global Liquidity
  Unsurprisingly, The Bitcoin Price Follows Global Liquidity

  Authored by Vivek Sun via BitcoinMagazine.com,

  I have been intrigued by the significant increase in global liquidity during 2024, driven by extensive money printing and debt expansion, and how it impacts Bitcoin’s price. 

  Bitcoin is an expression against the government’s monetary expansionist policies, so its price follows global liquidity, as seen here on this chart.

  

  It was fascinating to read the recent report by Lyn Alden and Sam Callahan analyzing Bitcoin’s correlation to global liquidity.

  This further reconfirmed my view that more monetary expansion drives more people to Bitcoin, increasing prices. 

  Their rigorous analysis found that over 12-month periods, Bitcoin’s price moves in the same direction as global liquidity a remarkable 83% of the time.

  This is higher than any other major asset class, making Bitcoin a uniquely pure barometer for global liquidity trends.

  

  The report quantified Bitcoin’s correlation with global M2 money supply, finding a very strong 0.94 overall correlation between May 2013 and July 2024. Bitcoin’s average 12-month rolling correlation was 0.51, while stocks and gold showed moderately high correlations as well in the 0.4 to 0.7 range.

  Of course, Bitcoin’s correlation isn’t perfect. Shorter-term breakdowns can occur around crypto-specific events like exchange hacks or Ponzi schemes collapsing.

  Supply-demand imbalances also cause temporary decoupling when Bitcoin reaches extreme overvaluation levels during market cycle peaks.

  Yet despite these breakdowns, the long-term relationship persists. 

  Right now, liquidity is soaring to unprecedented levels, suggesting Bitcoin could soon embark on a massive bull run if this relationship holds.

  While I believe no model perfectly captures Bitcoin’s complexity, recognizing its role as a monetary canary in the coal mine can lend valuable insight.

  If history rhymes, Bitcoin’s sirens are ringing loudly that a liquidity-driven boom will soon be underway. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 17:00

• Wings Clipped: Red Bull Owners Get Lowest Payout In Four Years As Sales Stumble, Competition Grows
  Wings Clipped: Red Bull Owners Get Lowest Payout In Four Years As Sales Stumble, Competition Grows

  Red Bull’s owners have seen their ‘wings’ clipped a bit, as the energy drink maker distributed its “lowest payout in four years” to owners this year, according to a new report from Bloomberg. 

  Its two groups of shareholders, Mark Mateschitz and the Yoovidhya family in Thailand, were distributed €810 million ($897 million) in dividends and related payments, according to the report. 

  Bloomberg reports that Red Bull’s net sales grew 9% in 2023 to €10.6 billion, but rising costs limited net income growth to just 3.1%, reaching €1.7 billion, according to the company’s Austrian filings.

  This marked a slowdown from the 20%+ sales growth seen in each of the previous two years.

  

  The report comes during the first full year since Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz passed away, with his son Mark now holding the family’s 49% stake. For the first time since 2018, the Mateschitz family won’t receive a bonus payment, as stated in a recent shareholder resolution.

  Red Bull typically distributes a pro-rata dividend to all shareholders along with additional payments. Chalerm Yoovidhya, who holds a 2% individual stake, has received €3.2 million annually since 2020, including for 2023.

  Red Bull maintains a no-debt policy and is highly secretive about its operations, making corporate filings one of the few glimpses into its financials.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 16:40

• America's Dwindling National Wealth
  America’s Dwindling National Wealth

  Authored by Michael Wilkerson via The Epoch Times,

  What is a rich country? In relative financial terms, it is a country whose net investment position is positive. The net investment position reflects how much one country owns of all other countries’ assets, less how much those countries own of it.

  

  Throughout most of the 20th century, the United States’ net investment position was not only positive but also the highest in the world. Those days are over. Today, foreign governments, corporations, funds, and wealthy individuals own tens of trillions more of U.S. stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets than we own of theirs.

  The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently released information revealing that the United States’ net international investment position, the difference between U.S. residents’ foreign financial assets and liabilities, hit an all-time low of negative $22.5 trillion in the second quarter of 2024.

  Breaking it down, U.S. entities and individuals owe other countries $58.5 trillion. These countries will earn interest, dividends, and capital appreciation over time on those assets. That represents future income and wealth accumulation potential that is flowing out of the United States into other’s hands, way too much to be offset by the $36 trillion in foreign assets U.S. residents hold. We are, in effect, transferring our children’s inheritance to strangers, impoverishing future generations of Americans so that we can consume more ourselves today.

  The decline in American wealth is accelerating rapidly.

  On the eve of the global financial crisis (2007), the U.S. net international investment position was negative $1.2 trillion, having turned negative just a few years before.

  A dozen years later, on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic (2019), this deficit had grown by $10 trillion to negative $11.7 trillion. Since then, the negative gap has grown by an additional $10 billion in just five years. Of this amount, $6 trillion has been lost in the last two years alone. Let that sink in.

  The cause is obvious. As a nation, we are consuming more than we produce, and borrowing to do so. This is true of our government, our corporations, and our households. Each of these groups is over-leveraged and living beyond its means through excessive borrowing enabled by incontinent monetary and fiscal policies alike. We are borrowing from our futures and that of the nation, with no obvious means of repayment.

  The cure is as simple as the cause, though painful to follow through on. It requires substantial changes to our economic policies and regulatory framework. First, we must close the over $1 trillion annual trade deficit. Free trade isn’t free if it isn’t fair, and many of our trading partners have not treated the United States fairly. For years now, the United States has been subject to currency manipulation, industrial espionage and IP theft, state subsidies of foreign national champions, artificially low lending rates enabled by foreign central banks, and the closing off of foreign domestic markets to U.S. exports. China, which in recent years has represented between more than a quarter and nearly a half of the U.S. trade deficit, is the most visible example of these problems.

  We must rebuild our domestic manufacturing capability.

  We cannot keep consuming if we do not produce goods and services that the market demands. This is not an easy or quick process, but an appropriately targeted and structured system of tariffs, along with a sound industrial policy favoring reshoring, would help substantially.

  Debt-based money isn’t the source of wealth; production and creativity are.

  Americans’ ability to consume should be based not on the availability of cheap credit but on successful U.S. production and sale of something of value for the marketplace. Income produced by prior production and sale works its way into workers and investors pockets alike, enables demand fulfillment, and creates wealth.

  At the same time, we must unleash our domestic energy capabilities. There is no such thing as an energy-poor “rich” country. We have abundant natural resources and domestic energy productive capability, but it has been hamstrung by an ideologically driven regulatory regime. Our domestic oil and gas, coal, nuclear, and other resource companies have the ability to energize and empower the world, and to generate substantial national wealth in the process. Let them do their jobs.

  Finally, we must balance our budget. We must find a way to exit the deficit–debt–inflation doom loop that has enabled our government to print money at will and spend over $2 trillion a year that it doesn’t have. With $35.4 trillion of national debt, not including liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare, each growing by the trillions each year, the process cannot continue forever. At some point, foreign buyers of U.S. Treasuries will decide they have had enough, as the credit risks are simply too great.

  This appears to be a train wreck in slow motion, and it must be averted at all costs. We must not put our heads in the sand and ignore what is happening. It is not too late to change course. But we must accept the gravity of the situation, and unify our national resources around sensible policy objectives, if we have any hope of stopping and then reversing this rapid outflow of our future prosperity.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 16:20

• Bonds Drop, Dollar Pops As Traders Brace For Jobs
  Bonds Drop, Dollar Pops As Traders Brace For Jobs

  US markets chopped around today after yesterday’s risk off tape as Geopolitics remain the focus, and while Chinese stocks rallied,  Goldman Sachs trading desk noted that for the first time in a week they’re seeing more balance in their China flows:

  “Seeing both HF and LO sell tickets today across the complex.”

  Certainly didn’t slow the upward trajectory for now (remember China is closed for Golden Week)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  On the US side, things were quieter… Small Caps lagged, Nasdaq led the gains but the majors traded in a narrow range (which is unexpected given the drop in gamma)…

  

  We note that the S&P 500 is back within the post-Powell spike range…

  

  Mag7 stocks are back down into the post-Powell squeeze range…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  But the vol market readying itself for chaos on Friday as payrolls prints…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Bear in mind that ‘seasonally’, shit’s about to get real for vol markets…

  

  Source: Goldman Sachs

  Treasury yields were higher across the board today with the long-end lagging (2Y +3bps, 30Y +6bps). All yields are higher on the week…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  The dollar extended its rebound, back up to the post-Powell spike on FOMC day…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  …as JPY weakened, erasing all of Friday’s election panic bid…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Gold ended marginally lower on the day…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Crypto was monkeyhammered again with Bitcoin dumped back to FOMC-Day levels ($60,000)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Crude prices pumped and dumped amid inventory data, further escalations in Israel/Lebanon, and OPEC+ headlines…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Finally, despite the fact that we have crossed the month-/quarter-end rubicon, the plumbing in the financial services sewage remains a little clogged…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  The last time this happened, the repo market blew up… just saying.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 10/02/2024 – 16:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest