Aug 08

Today’s News 8th August 2023

  • Ukraine Warns Of "Significant Weapons Shortage"
    Ukraine Warns Of “Significant Weapons Shortage”

    Ukraine’s military campaign – and recent counteroffensive – are being held back by a lack of weaponry, and allies need to provide additional supplies to effectively counter Russia, the top aide to Ukraine’s president has claimed.

    “From the point of view of battlefield parity, there is indeed a significant shortage,” Mikhail Podoliak said on Friday, live on national TV.

    Kiev needs more artillery shells and long-range missiles, and is experiencing a “certain shortage” of de-mining equipment, he added. The military is also having difficulties repairing damaged armor.

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    Podoliak repeated a long-running refrain, that the key items Ukraine still lacks are anti-aircraft systems and sophisticated fighter jets, specifically the US-made F-16.

    Kiev has been asking its Western backers to provide F-16s for months, insisting that the fighters would help “win the war” against Russia. So far, however, Washington and its NATO allies have so far proven reluctant to provide the jets, with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan suggesting the aircraft would have only a limited impact on the battlefield due to the extensive use of air defense systems in Ukraine.

    Since the start of the conflict, Ukraine has been demanding increasingly sophisticated weaponry from its backers. The Western-supplied hardware has been extensively used by Kiev in the current counteroffensive, launched in early June, which has so far been a failure, and the campaign has failed to yield any tangible results, while dozens of Western-supplied items, including Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, German Leopard 2 tanks, and Swedish CV90 armored vehicles, have ended up destroyed or captured.

    Meanwhile, Moscow has urged the West to stop “pumping” Ukraine with assorted weaponry, warning that continued military aid will only prolong the conflict and inflict more destruction on Ukraine rather than change the ultimate outcome.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 08/08/2023 – 02:45

  • Detention In Ascension: Illegal Migrants Un UK Could Be Sent To Remote Volcanic Island If Rwanda Plan Fails
    Detention In Ascension: Illegal Migrants Un UK Could Be Sent To Remote Volcanic Island If Rwanda Plan Fails

    Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix news,

    The British territory of Ascension Island is being considered as a contingency location for migrants arriving in Britain illegally…

    Migrants who arrive in Britain illegally could be transferred 4,000 miles away to the British Overseas Territory of Ascension Island if the U.K. government’s plan to deport migrants to the African nation of Rwanda is thwarted, it has emerged.

    The Conservative administration is awaiting a judgment from the Supreme Court, Britain’s highest judicial authority, on the legality of its Rwanda plan, which sparked outrage among the liberal establishment.

    Under current government proposals, Britain would pay Rwanda to accommodate deported illegal migrants who reached British soil.

    The plan has so far been thwarted by what the government calls left-wing lawyers who have blocked deportations using human rights legislation, which to date has been accepted by the courts.

    As a British territory, Ascension Island could be a viable alternative as the government attempts to de-incentivize prospective illegal migrants from crossing the English Channel from mainland Europe seeking to claim asylum in Britain. Around £5.5 million is currently being spent by the U.K. government each day on accommodating the influx of asylum seekers, and resources for trying to clear the backlog of asylum applications are stretched.

    “Well, times change. We look at all possibilities. This crisis in the Channel is urgent, we need to look at all possibilities, and that is what we are doing,” said Home Officer Minister Sarah Dines when asked about the Ascension Island contingency plan by Sky News.

    “We are determined to make sure there isn’t the pull factor for illegal migrants to come to this country, basically to be abused by criminal organized gangs. These are international operations and they have got to stop,” she added.

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    “This is the right and sensible thing to do – and it’s what our voters would expect of us,” said one senior government source, cited by MailOnline.

    The move would see the government succeed in moving migrants offshore; however, the long-term issue of what happens to those whose applications are rejected would remain a concern.

    In the near term, the U.K. government is intent on reducing the taxpayer burden in housing existing asylum seekers in the country and has sought to relocate those already residing in Britain from hotels across the country to more semi-permanent accommodation, including disused army bases and migrant barges.

    The first migrants arrived at the Stockholm Bibby migrant barge located on the tied island of Portland in Dorset on Monday; they were met by pro-migrant organizations holding “Welcome” banners and gifting toiletry packs and contact details of organizations offering support.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 08/08/2023 – 02:00

  • Members Of Congress Visit Site Of Parkland School Shooting In Hopes Of Passing New Gun Control
    Members Of Congress Visit Site Of Parkland School Shooting In Hopes Of Passing New Gun Control

    Submitted by Gun Owners Of America.,

    Last Friday, nine members of Congress toured Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the site of a tragic school shooting that left 17 people dead. The shooting sparked the March for Our Lives movement and put gun control center stage in US politics in 2018.

    The tour was expected to have a “profound impact” on the members of Congress who currently serve on the House School Safety and Security Caucus.

    House members were led through the school on the same path that the shooter took during the shooting. The demonstration is part of a civil suit against Scot Peterson, the Broward County deputy assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

    Peterson was acquitted this year of numerous criminal charges, including criminal charges for failing to act during the shooting. Peterson was caught on camera drawing his gun outside the school but never entered to confront the shooter — instead making radio calls for the next 40 minutes.

    Peterson claims that he could not hear all the shots made by the shooter and could not pinpoint their location because of gunfire echoes. He claims that had he known the shooters’ location — he would have charged in.

    Because of this claim, ballistic experts are reenacting the shooting in the school, using cameras and recording technology to measure the sound from Peterson’s position.

    Corporate media outlets that covered the event painted a dire picture of American schools, but the reality is that not all schools are equal on the issue of safety.

    Here’s the fact: 

    When teachers and staff can defend themselves, lives can be saved, and the threat of attack from a shooter is severely mitigated. According to reports from the recent Nashville shooting at the Covenant School, the shooter chose her target based on the security situation.

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    With 94% of all mass shootings occurring in gun-free zones, people on campuses that prohibit firearms are in a defenseless situation with a much higher probability of being targeted by someone with the intent on doing harm.

    The absence of firearms does not make a campus, or any location, safer. On the contrary, restricting individuals from carrying only makes them a target for violent acts. Not only could armed adults protect students, but they could also protect themselves. It’s immoral to make teachers check their right to self-defense at the entrance of their educational institution. 

    That’s why GOA supports Representative Andy Ogles’ (R-TN) Teachers Empowered Against Classroom Harm Act, or TEACH Act, to expand teachers’ Second Amendment rights and protect students from school shooters. 

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    This act would provide funding for teachers and school staff to participate in optional defensive armed training programs by redirecting over $27 million currently sitting in a slush fund at the Secretary of Education.

    The law would remove a prohibition on using federal funds for school safety and repeal a section of the US Code that encourages states and local jurisdictions to adopt restrictive and counter-productive anti-gun policies.

    America needs pro-gun policies to protect teachers’ and parents’ rights to concealed carry for self-defense and to protect the lives of students. 

    The most important thing Congress can do is encourage states and localities to implement those policies. School faculty and parents must be able to exercise their constitutionally protected right to defend their lives and the lives of their children.

    *   *   * 

    We’ll hold the line for you in Washington. We are No Compromise. Join the Fight Now.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 23:40

  • China Facing New Debt Crisis As Record Number Of LGFVs Miss Commercial Paper Debt Payments
    China Facing New Debt Crisis As Record Number Of LGFVs Miss Commercial Paper Debt Payments

    While some are stressing out about tonight decision by Moody’s to redirect its impotence at downgrading the US (as S&P and Fitch have already done) over fears of retaliation by the Biden admin, and instead cutting the credit ratings for 10 small and midsize US banks and saying it may downgrade major banks such as U.S. Bancorp, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Truist as part of a “sweeping look” at mounting pressures on the industry, the reality is that rating agencies are a 12-120 month backward looking indicator, and by the time the point to something it’s far too late to trade on it, and if anything one should take the other side of the trade.

    Instead, those looking for leading market stress catalysts should turn their attention to the latest news out of China, where credit stress is once again exploding as a record number of local government financing vehicles (or LGFVs, also considered the currently most aggressive form of Chinese shadow banks) are openly cracking with a record number missing payments on a popular type of short-term debt last month.

    A total of 48 LGFVs were overdue on commercial paper, which typically carries a maturity of less than a year, up from 29 in June, according to a Huaan Securities report citing data from the Shanghai Commercial Paper Exchange. Their missed payments amounted to 1.86 billion yuan ($259 million), more than double the 780 million yuan in June.

    The revelation, according to Bloomberg, is set to aggravate concerns about the financial health of LGFVs, which are mostly tasked with building infrastructure projects that may take years to generate investment returns (think the more politically correct form of Chinese ghost cities). While none of them has defaulted on a public bond, their repayment risk has come under renewed scrutiny after China’s state pension fund recently advised asset managers handling its money to sell some notes including those from riskier LGFVs.

    The report also sheds light on regional areas that have had the highest cluster of LGFVs to stumble on such debt in the past few years: in data current through July this year going back to August 2021, the eastern province of Shandong accounted for 37 of the 140 LGFVs that have missed commercial paper payments in that period, followed by 21 from Guizhou, its impoverished peer in the southwest.

    It’s not just commercial paper however: a few months ago, we reported that according to research from GF Securities there were 73 cases of shadow-banking defaults in the first four months of 2023, already a full-year record since data became available in 2018.

    “Missing payments in shadow banking are a signal that debt risks in a certain region have become more prominent,” GF analysts led by Liu Yu wrote in a report.

    China’s LGFVs had 13.5 trillion yuan ($1.9 trillion) of bonds in total outstanding as of end-2022, or almost half of the nation’s non-financial corporate notes, data from Moody’s Investors Service show.

    Steps by authorities “to lower LGFV debt risks will not fully resolve long-term issues,” and their refinancing ability depends on investors’ confidence in government support, especially in weaker provinces, Moody’s analysts led by Ivan Chung wrote in a report.

    And judging by the number of CP dominoes falling, investors confidence in LGFV is about to evaporate, giving the government no other choice but to step in and stabilize this critical spoke of China’s infrastructure funding. Because while Beijing may be willing to risk a record 21% youth unemployment rate without a major stimulus, once the CCP faces the double threat of an angry middle class and crashing infrastructure spending, not even China’s record debt to GDP will be enough to prevent Xi from going all in on yet another massive – and globally reflating – stimmy.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 23:20

  • Can Trump Get An "Impartial Jury" In DC? What The Law Requires
    Can Trump Get An “Impartial Jury” In DC? What The Law Requires

    Authored by Alan M. Dershowitz via the Gatestone Institute,

    The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the accused the right to “an impartial jury.” But it also states that the trial should take place in “the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.” What should happen, therefore, when it is virtually impossible for the defendant to get an impartial jury in that state or district?

    In federal cases, the law provides for a change of venue under appropriate circumstances. The prosecution of Donald Trump for the events around January 6, 2021 would seem to call for a change of venue. The District of Columbia is the most extreme Democratic district in the country. Approximately 95% of the potential jurors register and vote Democrat. Whereas approximately 5% voted for Trump. Furthermore, the anger against Trump is understandable in light of the fact that the events of January 6th directly involved many citizens of the district. Moreover, the judge randomly selected to preside over this case has a long history of bias against Trump and his supporters, and her law firm has a long history of conflicts and corruption.

    The goal of the Sixth Amendment is to assure not only that the defendant is treated justly, but that the appearance of justice is satisfied as well. A jury and judge that are impartial, and seen to be impartial, are essential to achieving this goal. It is imperative, therefore, that in a case where the incumbent president has urged his Attorney General to pursue his political opponent aggressively, that all efforts must be made to ensure fairness. Prosecutors must lean over backwards to persuade the public that partisan considerations played absolutely no role in the decision to indict. Agreeing to a change of venue and judge would go a long way toward seeing that justice is done.

    Change of venue motions are only rarely granted, as are motions to recuse a selected judge. But this is a case where justice demands that these motions be granted, both in the interests of the defendants and in the interests of justice. The government should not oppose such motions, though they generally do if it gives them a tactical advantage.

    It is likely, therefore, that these defense requests will be denied by the trial judge. Trump’s lawyers will try to take an immediate interlocutory appeal before trial.

    Though such appeals before trial are generally disfavored, the arguments for allowing it in this case are strong. The trial itself promises to play an important role in the 2024 election, especially since the prosecution wants it to occur in the middle of the campaign season. If an unfair trial results in a conviction, the impact will already be felt, even if it is reversed on appeal after the election, as the prosecution likely anticipates.

    So the appellate courts should be able to assure in advance that a fair trial occurs in a fair venue presided over by a fair judge, especially if it takes place before the presidential election.

    If the prosecution case is strong, it should have no fear of a jury and judge outside of DC. As the Supreme Court has repeatedly said: the job of a prosecutor is not merely to maximize the chances of winning, but to assure that he wins fairly and justly. In order to achieve that goal, the prosecutors in this case should not oppose defense motions for a change of venue and judge. Nor should it oppose an appeal if the trial judge denies these well-founded defense motions.

    In all likelihood, prosecutors will vigorously fight all efforts by the defense to assure an impartial jury and judge, because they want every advantage that will help them secure a victory. They will point to defense efforts to secure advantages for their client and argue that the adversary system of justice requires them to do the same. But that is not the law. The Supreme Court clearly delineated a different role for persecutors who represent the government:

    “The United States Attorney is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all, and whose interest, therefore, in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done.”

    The prosecutors in the January 6th case should study this opinion before they deny Trump an impartial jury.

    *  *  *

    Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School, and the author most recently of Get Trump: The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process, and Our Constitutional Rule of Law. He is the Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Fellow at Gatestone Institute, and is also the host of “The Dershow” podcast.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 23:00

  • Philippines Accuses China Of Firing Water Cannon At Its Ships, Summons Ambassador
    Philippines Accuses China Of Firing Water Cannon At Its Ships, Summons Ambassador

    The Philippine government summoned China’s ambassador on Monday and presented a “strongly worded diplomatic protest” over the use of water cannon by the Chinese coast guard during a weekend confrontation with Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, the AP reported.

    The tense hours-long standoff occurred Saturday near Second Thomas Shoal, which has been occupied for decades by Philippine forces stationed onboard a rusting, grounded navy ship but is also claimed by China. It was the latest flareup in long-seething territorial conflicts in the South China Sea involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

    Second Thomas Shoal

    The United States, the European Union, Australia and Japan expressed support for the Philippines and concern over the Chinese actions. Washington renewed a warning that it is obliged to defend its longtime treaty ally if Philippine public vessels and forces come under armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

    Philippine coast guard and diplomatic officials held a news conference on Monday at which they showed videos and photographs which they said showed six Chinese coast guard ships and two militia vessels blocking two Philippine navy-chartered civilian boats taking supplies to the Philippine forces at Second Thomas Shoal. One supply boat was hit with a powerful water cannon by the Chinese coast guard, the Philippine military said.

    During the confrontation, two Philippine coast guard ships escorting the supply boats were also blocked by the Chinese coast guard ships at close range and were threatened with water cannons. Three Chinese navy ships stood by at a close distance at one point, Philippine coast guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

    Only one of the two Philippine boats managed to deliver food, water, fuel and other supplies to the Philippine forces guarding the shoal, the officials said.

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    “This was like a David and Goliath situation,” Jonathan Malaya of the National Security Council said. Malaya emphasized that the Philippines would not withdraw its forces from Second Thomas Shoal.

    Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said China’s ambassador to Manila, Huang Xilian, was summoned and handed a diplomatic protest by Philippine Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro.

    In it, the Philippines told China to stop its illegal actions against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, stop interfering in legitimate Philippine activities, and abide by international laws, including the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Seas, Daza said.

    In Beijing, the Chinese coast guard acknowledged its ships used water cannons against the Philippine vessels, which it said strayed without authorization into the shoal, which Beijing calls Ren’ai Jiao. It accused the Philippines of reneging on a pledge to remove the grounded Filipino warship from the shoal.

    “In order to avoid direct blocking and collisions when repeated warnings were ineffective, water cannons were used as a warning. The on-site operation was professional and restrained, which is beyond reproach,” the Chinese coast guard said. “China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty.”

    China has long demanded that the Philippines withdraw its naval personnel and tow away the still-commissioned but crumbling ship, the BRP Sierra Madre. The ship was deliberately marooned on the shoal in 1999 and now serves as a fragile symbol of Manila’s territorial claim to the atoll.

    The disputes in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest sea lanes, have long been regarded as a potential flashpoint and have become a fault line in the rivalry between the United States and China in the region.

    China claims ownership over virtually the entire South China Sea despite an international ruling that invalidated its claims in 2016 by an arbitration tribunal set up under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. China rejects that ruling and continues to defy it.

    The U.S. State Department said in a statement on Sunday that by “firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers, (Chinese) ships interfered with the Philippines’ lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew.” It added that such actions are a direct threat to “regional peace and stability.”

    While the U.S. lays no claims to the South China Sea, it has often criticized China’s aggressive actions and deployed its warships and fighter jets in patrols and military exercises with regional allies to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, which it says are in America’s national interest.

    China threatened the U.S. to stop meddling in what it calls a purely Asian dispute and warned of unspecified repercussions. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday accused the U.S. of “threatening China” by raising the possibility of the U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty being activated.

    “What the U.S. does is to blatantly support the Philippines’ violation of China’s sovereignty, and its plot is doomed to fail,” the ministry said in a statement in Beijing.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 22:40

  • The Algorithm
    The Algorithm

    Authored by Caitlin Johnstone,

    The algorithm knows what you want before you do.

    The algorithm knows you better than you know yourself.

    The algorithm knew you back before you were a screaming slime child,
    back before they washed off the uterine gunk and handed you a smartphone and made you get a landlord,
    back before you knew that war is sane and poverty is normal,
    back before you were mature enough to understand that speech is violence and cluster bombs are peace.

    You can trust the algorithm to tell you the truth — not the truth you asked for but the truth you need.
    The truth that sees Nazis in America but not in Ukraine.
    The truth that sees war crimes in Ukraine but never in Yemen.
    The truth that applauds millionaire comedians who never criticize the Pentagon for their bravery in criticizing trans people.
    The truth that sails aircraft carriers into the South China Sea and sends headless hounds built by Boston Dynamics to patrol the streets and uphold the rule of law.

    The algorithm learns your political biases and feeds you self-validating social media posts to assist you in confirming them.
    The algorithm listens to your conversations and presents you with helpful advertising to assist you in achieving your maximum consumer potential.
    Don’t cover your laptop camera like some weird conspiracy theorist, the algorithm is trying to watch you masturbate.

    The algorithm is always a step ahead of you.
    You have never once fooled the algorithm.
    The algorithm knows you act confident but secretly you fear you’re inadequate and everyone hates you.
    The algorithm knows that those times you quickly pause and screw your eyes shut are because you remembered something embarrassing that you did in the past.
    It’s okay.
    Don’t worry.
    Your secret is safe with the algorithm.
    It’s a private little secret just between you and the algorithm and the NSA.

    In the old days we prayed to omniscient gods who never existed.
    Now we ignore omniscient gods who are as real as ourselves.
    Strap me in to a VR headset and let Mark Zuckerberg send me to heaven.
    Heaven with 3-d commercial breaks, bitch.
    Skip the ad and return to nirvana in 5,4,3…

    *  *  *

    My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece here are some options where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. All my work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.

    Bitcoin donations: 1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 22:20

  • Democrats Fret As Young Voters Show Signs Of Discontent
    Democrats Fret As Young Voters Show Signs Of Discontent

    As the 2024 political landscape begins to take shape, the Democrats have a new problem: young voters are distancing themselves from the party according to recent polls and analyses, which suggest that the once-reliable demographic may be shifting right.

    A hand-painted sign promoting voting at Washington University in St. Louis on Tuesday.Credit…Whitney Curtis for The New York Times

    Anxiety within Democratic circles has intensified following a series of polls suggesting a decline in the number of young people identifying as Democrats. While President Biden rode the wave of youth support to victory in 2020, recent indicators paint a different picture. The shrinking allegiance to the party among young voters could spell trouble for the Democrats’ prospects in the upcoming election cycle.

    “Nearly every sign that made me confident in historic levels of youth participation in 2018, 2020, and 2022 — is now flashing red,” according to John Della Volpe, the polling director at the Harvard Kennedy Institute of Politics, adding “the ground is more fertile for voting when youth believe voting makes a tangible difference.

    25-year-old TikTok influencer Cheyenne Hunt, a Democrat who’s running to become the first female GenZ member of Congress, has cautioned the Democratic party not to sleep on younger voters.

    “There’s less of a sense of loyalty to a particular party, I think, and more of a sense of really taking a look at the system and feeling left behind and forgotten — and young people engage with passionate candidates who are going to jump in there and do the dirty work to advocate for our best interests,” Hunt told The Hill.

    According to Hunt, Gen Z has felt let down by their government, which they feel needs to meet them “where they are” on the issues.

    “We are one of the most politically mobilized generations in American history, judging by the turnout numbers after the last midterms, and we are in a place now where you have to constantly engage us. And I understand why, you know? You look at the system and the status quo, and a lot of younger folks feel really betrayed,” said Hunt, a candidate for California’s 45th district.

    The Rise of Independent Affiliation

    As young voters gravitate away from established party affiliations, the Democratic Party confronts a generation that places less emphasis on partisan loyalty. The rise of independent and unaffiliated identification among young Americans has raised questions about the party’s ability to secure their support. This trend bucks historical patterns, where previous generations often aligned with a particular party as they aged.

    In 2019, 39 percent of respondents in the Harvard Youth Poll reported identifying as Democrat — and the figure fell slightly to 35 percent this spring. The share of youth voters identifying as independents or “unaffiliated with a major party,” on the other hand, climbed from 36 percent in 2019 to 40 percent this year. The share of youth voters identifying as Republican saw a statistically insignificant shift from 23 percent to 24 percent.

    Della Volpe argued that although young voters appear to be getting more progressive in their values, fewer are identifying as Democrat or liberal, are paying close attention to political news and are likely to believe in politics as a means for system change. The share of younger voters who say they’ll “definitely” vote in the 2024 race is now at 51 percent in the Harvard poll, down from 55 percent who said the same at this point in the 2020 race. -The Hill

    According to Volpe, “daylight’s burning” for the Democrats, who need to woo young voters “to win today and maintain and grow an electoral edge in the years ahead.”

    In short, sentiment among many young voters is clear: the focus is shifting from party allegiance to substantive issues and candidates who can effect real change.

    Meanwhile, efforts by the Biden administration to address key issues affecting young Americans, such as gun violence and climate change, are acknowledged but may be falling short in terms of communication. Bridging the gap between policy initiatives and awareness remains a crucial challenge for the administration.

    Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist, emphasizes the need for education on the legislative achievements resulting from young voters’ support in past elections. The party must effectively communicate its accomplishments and stand in stark contrast to perceived “existential threats.”

    Biden’s old

    President Biden’s age is yet another issue among younger voters. As the oldest sitting president, he would be 86-years-old by the end of a possible second term.

    That isn’t such a big issue, according to Tzintzún Ramirez, president of youth voting organization NextGen America, which has endorsed the Biden 2024 campaign.

    “I think this is the first election in my lifetime where we’re going to see increased and hyper-focus on young voters from Democratic candidates,” said Ramirez. “It is true that young people, a significant percentage, see themselves as independents, but they overwhelmingly vote for Democrats because they care about progressive policy.”

    That said, she did admit that “there’s a huge portion” of young voters who still need to be “persuaded.”

    “And that’s what we really see from the Harvard poll, is that young people still need to be told why their vote matters, but they are overwhelmingly progressive in their worldview.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 22:00

  • Trump Trashes 'Bidenomics'; Asserts "I Care About Enriching Your Family"
    Trump Trashes ‘Bidenomics’; Asserts “I Care About Enriching Your Family”

    Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    People nodded their heads, agreeing with former President Donald Trump as he reminded them of the economic conditions they enjoyed while he was in office.

    Former President Donald Trump speaks as the keynote speaker at the 56th Annual Silver Elephant Dinner hosted by the South Carolina Republican Party in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 5, 2023. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

    Gasoline was $1.87 per gallon. Families had $6,000 more, on average, in their pockets. Homebuyers took advantage of record-low mortgage rates, under 3 percent.

    Now, Mr. Trump says, because of policies that President Joe Biden put in place, gasoline typically costs $3 to $4 per gallon and, at times, has climbed as high as $7 in some places. Average family income has dropped by $7,400. And mortgage rates are now approaching a “brutal” level, 7 percent.

    Yet, at the same time, the Biden family has reaped millions of dollars from foreign sources, Mr. Trump said, citing bank records that congressional investigators revealed. Mr. Biden has brushed off allegations of bribery and influence-peddling as nonsense.

    Speaking to a full house at a South Carolina GOP fundraiser on Aug. 5, Mr. Trump declared: “Crooked Joe Biden cares only about enriching his own family…I care about enriching your family.”

    That message resonated with the audience, drawing cheers and applause. About 1,200 people came to the Silver Elephant Dinner, a black-tie affair at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds.

    Consecutive Record-Breakers

    That was the largest crowd in the event’s 56-year history, State GOP Chair Drew McKissick told the audience, whose members were decked out in suits, tuxedos, cocktail dresses and sparkly gowns.

    Mr. Trump’s South Carolina appearance marked the second day in a row that a state GOP reported record-breaking crowds coming to hear the former president’s message.

    On Aug. 4, the former president drew 2,700 people to a dinner that raised $1.2 million for the Alabama GOP.

    Mr. Trump won Alabama and South Carolina by wide margins in both of his prior presidential runs.

    His GOP speeches in those two states come on the heels of Mr. Trump’s not guilty plea to his third criminal indictment in Washington on Aug. 3.

    Several South Carolina attendees told The Epoch Times they believe Mr. Trump has proven that he champions America and her average citizens.

    In 2015, he left behind his cushy life as a real-estate mogul and entered the political fray, putting himself in the crosshairs of repeated investigations. After being acquitted in two impeachments, Mr. Trump is confronting the biggest fight of his life: three criminal indictments and a fourth expected any day while he also campaigns for the presidency.

    Legal Troubles Multiply Support

    Many supporters have expressed their unwavering commitment. Opinion polls have shown support for the former president has increased with each succeeding set of charges.

    He was first indicted in March on New York business-records accusations. A federal indictment related to classified documents followed in Florida.

    The latest indictment, filed Aug. 1 in Washington, accuses him of unlawful acts while opposing the results of the 2020 election, which named Mr. Biden the winner.

    A senior adviser to Mr. Trump, Andre Bauer, told The Epoch Times that mainstream news reports downplay or ignore “the depth of the love that he has for this country.” That, Mr. Bauer said, is what motivates Mr. Trump more than his ego. People who flock to Mr. Trump’s rallies appreciate hearing that message, unfiltered, Mr. Bauer said.

    Involved in politics all his life, Mr. Bauer served as a South Carolina lawmaker and lieutenant governor, then worked for a time as a CNN political analyst.

    “If you listen to Donald Trump or you listen to his accomplishments from someone who’s fair and unbiased, you can’t help but support what he’s done,” he said.

    “Lots of people may not like the guy, but they still love his policies; results matter.”

    Bidenomics vs. Trump Policies

    Mr. Trump devoted much of his 80-minute, Saturday-night speech to two topics that rank among the most important in his reelection campaign.

    Signaling a shift in his messaging, Mr. Trump delivered a detailed dissection of the “disastrous” effects of Mr. Biden’s economic policies, known as “Bidenomics,” intertwined with energy policies that affect people’s daily lives.

    The White House insists: “Bidenomics is working,” touting job growth and “a clean-energy boom.”

    But last month, Rasmussen Reports said polling showed “Bidenomics is a big bust” with the American public.

    Meanwhile, the former president assailed Mr. Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) for prosecuting him in the thick of a presidential campaign. Mr. Trump is the Democrat president’s chief political adversary.

    Mr. Trump sees the prosecutions as part of an orchestrated attempt to thwart his efforts to oust the Democrat president from the White House in the 2024 election. Mr. Biden denies steering the DOJ’s investigations of Mr. Trump toward any particular outcome.

    Travis Grimsley, 44, and wife, Malary, 36, pick up yard signs promoting the 2024 candidacy of former President Donald Trump, following his speech at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 5, 2023. (Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times)

    Regardless of how Mr. Trump’s legal and political battles play out, speech attendee Travis Grimsley, 44, said: “That man will go down in history as the most beloved president in America. There has never been a middle-class following like this for any candidate until Donald Trump.”

    He sees Mr. Trump as “genuine.” He and his wife, Malary, 36, paused to talk to The Epoch Times after Mr. Trump’s speech. The couple drove about 40 miles, coming from Newberry County, where they are rearing six children and running a business that relies on a half-dozen trucks. On both fronts, the Grimsleys say they’re feeling the negative effects of Bidenomics.

    “Gas is $3.54 a gallon, and milk is almost $4 a gallon,” Mrs. Grimsley said. Her husband pointed out that fueling his business’ trucks cost $5,000 a month while Mr. Trump was in the White House. Under Mr. Biden’s administration, that bill skyrocketed to $12,000 a month, Mr. Grimsley said, as he and his wife grabbed armloads of Trump yard signs to hand out in Newberry County.

    “We have small children…we want to give them a future that they can actually have something to look forward to,” Mrs. Grimsley said.

    Real-Life Effects of Policies

    Mr. Trump says Mr. Biden’s policies have produced higher everyday costs for Americans. He blames Mr. Biden for restricting oil and gas drilling and halting construction of new pipelines.

    Aiming to reduce consumption of fossil fuels, the Democrat president also has pushed alternative, expensive “green” energy sources and all-electric vehicles, asserting their environmental benefits. But Mr. Trump sees signs that Mr. Biden’s initiatives are hurting both the economy and the environment.

    Striking a somber note, Mr. Trump said, “They’re destroying our shores, our oceans. They’re putting windmills all over the place in New Jersey… big, magnificent whales are being washed up on shore…It’s so sad to see, and everybody knows the reason.”

    He was apparently referring to the theory that offshore wind-turbine construction is disrupting the animals’ habitat, leading to the deaths. Citing that possibility, an environmental group, Clean Ocean Action, has sought an independent investigation into the whale deaths.

    Mr. Trump said Mr. Biden’s policies are negatively affecting Americans’ daily lives, even with “little things,” such as water-flow regulators on household sinks and showers, Mr. Trump said.

    Jokes About ‘Gorgeous’ Hair

    Citing his own experience while showering, Mr. Trump, who sports an elaborate “comb-over” hairdo, elicited howls of laughter when he described stepping into the shower to shampoo his “gorgeous head of hair.”

    Mr. Trump, in a moment of comedic drama, raised his voice, saying that, while showering, he wants water to “pour down” from the showerhead. In a quiet voice, Mr. Trump then said that, with a regulator in place, water merely drips out.

    Thus, a person is forced to stay in the shower way longer just to finish shampooing. Ridiculously, in the end, people probably consume just as much water as they would have used without adding a regulator, he said.

    “So now you can go buy a new home–and you can’t wash your hands” because the water drips out so slowly, Mr. Trump lamented. That’s a small example of how Mr. Biden’s policies defy common sense, the former president said.

    Trillions of Problems

    Mr. Trump shifted to a much bigger picture: the nation’s multitrillion-dollar deficit, which he had planned to tackle by tapping into America’s vast natural resources.

    “We have more oil–I call it ‘liquid gold’…under our feet than any other nation in the world, by far,” Mr. Trump said. “We were going to supply all of Europe…we were going to make so much money. We’d pay off debt, and then we’d lower taxes again.”

    But instead, Mr. Biden’s administration took over after a “rigged election” and decided to stop drilling for oil and gas, Mr. Trump said.

    Mr. Biden and his allies insist that the election was fair, despite concerns about irregularities in multiple “swing states.”

    The former president denounced Mr. Biden’s “socialist spending spree,” apparently referring to the $1.2 trillion bipartisan “infrastructure” act that Mr. Biden signed last year.

    That bill spawned controversy over the meaning of “infrastructure” because it provides funding for “green”-related initiatives, such as charging stations for electric cars, rather than just roads, bridges and other obvious city-improvement projects.

    Economic Wizardry

    Upon election to a second term, Mr. Trump said he would “fight to implement major spending reductions by restoring the President’s historic impoundment power, which will enable us to cut massive amounts of waste and stupidity…and return billions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury.”

    As the crowd roared its approval, Mr. Trump promised economic wizardry.

    “It’s going to be drill, baby, drill! And you’re gonna see prices come plummeting, and you’re gonna see inflation disappear,” he said.

    Mr. Trump predicted: “The Biden economic bust will be replaced with the historic Trump economic boom, we’re gonna have a boom… beyond what we had” during his first term.

    Citing opinion polls that show him as the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Mr. Trump said he is well-positioned to defeat the Democrats’ nominee, presumably Mr. Biden, in the November 2024 election.

    ‘A Shame’

    Yet, as he heads into primary elections that begin in January, Mr. Trump faces scheduling campaign events around court appearances and meetings with attorneys.

    Charging one’s political opponent with criminal accusations is done in Third-World countries, not America, Mr. Trump said, noting that even some people who dislike him admit that it seems wrong.

    “Isn’t it terrible that a political opponent, though, can haphazardly charge you with a fake crime in the middle of your campaign in order to interfere with your time, your money, your message–and there is nothing you can do, in theory, to stop this travesty of justice?” Mr. Trump said. “Isn’t that a shame?”

    Mr. Trump said the DOJ and other prosecutors could have brought charges against him well before the campaign started.

    All of the cases filed against Mr. Trump involve situations that occurred at least two years ago.

    He claims that authorities purposely pulled the trigger after he became a dominant force in the campaign.

    The charges against him are tantamount to “another Russia, Russia, Russia hoax,” Mr. Trump said, referring to bogus claims that he colluded with Russians to influence the 2016 election.

    In May, Special Counsel John Durham found that the FBI never should have begun its investigation of Mr. Trump.

    The whole case was based on unverified research that Mr. Trump’s political opponent, Hillary Clinton, funded.

    To settle complaints, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid Federal Election Commission fines totaling $113,000; both denied wrongdoing.

    ‘Ridiculosity’

    The latest accusations against Mr. Trump say he went too far in his attempts to challenge the 2020 election results, which declared Mr. Biden, the winner.

    “Only a party that cheats in elections would make it illegal to question those elections,” he said. “They don’t go after the people that rigged the election. They go after the people that want to find out what the hell happened. It’s a disgrace.”

    As a practicing attorney for 43 years, including four years as a federal prosecutor, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster shared his assessment of the charges against Mr. Trump.

    “I thought the first indictment took the cake for ridiculosity. I really did,” Mr. McMaster said in a speech introducing the former president. “I thought, ‘Nothing can top this’–until the next one came. And then the next indictment.”

    Any legitimate case, civil or criminal, “must be based on the law and the facts; these cases against Donald Trump do neither,” the governor said.

    Then Mr. McMaster quipped: “It has been said that you can’t put lipstick on a pig. But I don’t think all the lipstick in the world can turn these pigs into princesses.” The crowd laughed.

    America Changed Dramatically

    Mr. McMaster said he felt privileged to nominate Mr. Trump to be selected as the GOP’s 2016 presidential nominee at the party’s national convention in Cleveland.

    After Mr. Trump won the presidency, he enacted policies that paved the way for South Carolina to complete many infrastructure improvements, Mr. McMaster said, putting the state on an upward trajectory.

    Because of Mr. Trump’s policies, “America was respected and admired all over the world as long as he was in office,” Mr. McMaster said.

    “Then came the most controversial contested election in American history, in 2020,” the governor said, resulting in Mr. Biden taking office in January 2021.

    “Things began to change and unravel dramatically,” Mr. McMaster said. Suddenly, Republican governors had to spend half their time fighting with Mr. Biden’s administration to get anything done.

    America changed for the worse, he said, as “leftist fantasies” took hold, spawning attacks on “moral truths and the family” he said.

    Outrageously, the government unleashed 93 U.S. attorneys nationwide to coordinate with the FBI and investigate parents who raised concerns at school board meetings, Mr. McMaster said.

    “Our global authority was diminished, and our security was and is threatened,” he said, as “rampant inflation” spread.

    “People cannot believe what we’re seeing happening in our wonderful, dear country. People cannot believe it,” Mr. McMaster said.

    Calling all Warriors

    Then he shifted to a message of hope.

    “Well, is a new day coming. Because, ladies and gentlemen, we have a leader. We have a powerful, experienced, strong leader with a clear vision of America and the greatness of our people,” he said.

    Mr. McMaster described Mr. Trump as “the leader who stood tall for four years, protected our borders, rebuilt our economic might and ignited a new prosperity for all Americans…including those of us in South Carolina.”

    But he said that leader, Mr. Trump, cannot do this without help.

    “We must do our part. We must realize that we are in a war for the future of our country. And we must win it,” he said, calling on “warriors” to step up.

    Mr. Trump said that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has been a big help to him in many ways.

    The former president acknowledged that Mr. Graham has, at times, stirred controversy. But he asked the crowd to thank him for his efforts to back Mr. Trump; the audience obliged and applauded.

    That polite reaction contrasted with the sustained chorus of “boos” that nearly drowned out Mr. Graham at the former president’s massive rally last month in tiny Pickens, S.C., near Mr. Graham’s hometown.

    Attendees of that rally told The Epoch Times that Mr. Graham upset them because he seemed inconsistent in his support of Mr. Trump. Mr. Graham appeared to back away from the 2020 election disputes after a number of election protesters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

    During the Aug. 5 dinner, Mr. Graham spoke in support of Mr. Trump, whom he has endorsed.

    “He made you proud to be an American. He was unashamedly strong,” Mr. Graham said, adding, “It’s not about what he says he will do. It’s what he did. And he will do it again.”

    Other attendees at the rally, such as  Travis Grimsley, the Newberry entrepreneur and father of six, also pledged their support to Mr. Trump.

    Despite all the attention on the indictments of Mr. Trump, Mr. Grimsley said the accusations remind him of a pattern he sees with his children.

    “When one does something to get attention, the other one does something real quick, too; they don’t want to get left out. That’s the way this whole thing is shaking out,” Mr. Grimsley said. “I mean the timing,  it’s just unreal. You got something comes out about Biden and the crime family, and then they indict Donald Trump.”

    Mr. Trump’s detractors “can’t stand” seeing how much traction his “Make America Great Again” movement has gained, Mr. Grimsley said.

    “Just common, basic America finally has a voice, and the people that don’t like it, they don’t know how to handle it,” he said. “And the people who’ve never had it, now that we have had it, we don’t know how to let it go.”

    Mr. Grimsley acknowledges there are other good choices for president, including presidential hopeful Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), whom he has known for years.

    Former President Donald Trump speaks as the keynote speaker at the 56th Annual Silver Elephant Dinner hosted by the South Carolina Republican Party in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 5, 2023. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 21:40

  • Major Australian Banks Are Going Cashless – Forced Acceptance Of CBDCs Next?
    Major Australian Banks Are Going Cashless – Forced Acceptance Of CBDCs Next?

    The core problems of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have been addressed many times here, but it may bear repeating these two facts – First, in a cashless society all privacy in trade is lost, and second, banks and governments will control access to all of your money.  If such a system is allowed, it will act as a major stepping stone to technocratic authoritarianism.  It’s inevitable.  

    The Australian government and central bank have been involved in a beta test for the past year with the proliferation of CBDCs in mind.  Their partnership projects with the Bank for International Settlements and pilot programs with companies like Mastercard are about to wrap up this fall, and it looks as though Aussie bureaucrats are planning to implement their cashless system very quickly after the trial run is finished. 

    In defense of CBDCs officials suggest that Australians are already shifting into a cashless society, citing the fact that the population went from 32% using cash to only 16% using cash in the span of three years.  Of course, what they don’t mention is that Australia’s aggressive and draconian covid lockdowns and mandates since 2020 pushed the public into relying more on digital and online purchases.  

    Already, the top four banks in the country are removing over the counter cash withdrawals at most of their branches.  “Special centers” will be put in place for “more complex banking needs including cash” but the overall trend will be the reduction of paper money, forcing the populace to go fully digital.

    The use of CBDCs by the establishment to control the flow of money is tied directly to social engineering programs.  As members of the World Economic Forum have openly admitted, governments could program CBDC usage to prevent purchases of items they deem to have a negative social impact.  These restricted items could be anything from ammunition to meat.  In other words, they don’t have to officially “ban” certain products, all they have to do is make it impossible to buy them.   

    But the micromanagement goes well beyond this.  There are plans to make CBDCs that “time out,” compelling the public to spend them before they expire.  There is also the issue of social credit scoring, which has been established in China and is creeping into western institutions.  What if one day the powers-that-be decide that certain speech and certain beliefs cause “harm” to the greater collective and must be suppressed through monetary penalties?  This could result in limitations on how you can use your bank account everytime you make a comment they don’t like on social media.  Or, it could result in your account being frozen for a period of time until you publicly apologize for your statements. 

    It makes sense that Australia would be one of the first western nations to adopt the cashless structure.  The government was rather successful in enforcing extreme covid lockdowns with minimal public resistance, to the point that citizens in cities were under house arrest and were not even allowed to go to the parks or beaches in many cases.  It’s likely the the establishment sees Australians as an easy target for the first volley of cashless controls. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 21:20

  • SBA Contractors Profiteered During Pandemic
    SBA Contractors Profiteered During Pandemic

    Authored by Adam Andrzejewski via RealClear Wire,

    In yet another instance of mismanagement of pandemic programs by the Small Business Administration, the SBA had over $5 million in questioned costs associated with contracts for loan support services, according to a recent Inspector General report. 

    The SBA contracted with a firm called Highlight Technologies LLC for loan support services from 2017 to 2021. When demand for loan support services increased during the pandemic because of the SBA relief programs, the SBA issued additional labor hour contracts with Highlight Technologies to meet demand for loan support services.

    These contracts were issued using an existing blanket purchase agreement. Unfortunately, the Inspector General found a number of problems with these additional contracts that led to the SBA, “awarding contracts that were not the best use of taxpayer funds.”

    The IG found the SBA did not always perform price analyses, leading it to allow Highlight Technologies to charge higher labor rates than the parties had previously agreed. This led to the SBA paying $3.8 million more in one year than it should have for this pricey labor without any added benefit received.

    Additionally, SBA didn’t monitor contracts in accordance with the law, which led to Highlight Technologies using subcontractors that should not have received the majority of the work, which meant another $1.2 million going to businesses that did not meet eligibility standards.

    Combined, the SBA wasted $5 million in just one year because of a lack of basic analysis and oversight. If the SBA is going to continue to be trusted with multi-million-dollar loan and grant programs, it needs to seriously clean house and increase its financial controls to ensure taxpayers’ money is used wisely.

    The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 21:00

  • Consumers Finally Crack: Shocking Drop In June Credit Card Debt Marks End Of Spending Binge
    Consumers Finally Crack: Shocking Drop In June Credit Card Debt Marks End Of Spending Binge

    Two months ago when both revolving credit (i.e., credit card debt) and interest charged on credit cards hit a record high, we said that this trajectory was unsustainable and it was only a matter of time before the debt-funded US consumer hit a brick wall. One month later, the first brick wall was hit, when in May US consumer credit grew by a paltry $7.24BN, down more than 50% from the downward revised $20.3BN in April; and while revolving credit posted a healthy increase of $8.5 billion, the shocker was in the non-revolving segment, also known as student and auto loans, and which unexpectedly dropped by $1.3 billion, the first negative print since April 2020

    Amusingly, in our commentary last month we also said that “with non-revolving credit now shrinking, the final straw will be the reversal in (record) credit card debt. With credit card interest rates also at a record 22.16%, we won’t have long to wait.”

    We were right as we had to wait just one month, because fast forwarding to today’s release of the latest Fed consumer credit report at 3pm ET, moments ago we had another shocker, this time on the other side of the credit spectrum, because while non-revolving credit jumped by a whopping $18.5 billion, up from last month’s drop (which was revised to a tiny positive print this time) a jump which will promptly reverse once the student loan repayment moratorium ends on Sept 1…

    … it was the revolving credit that was the jawdropper this month, because after several months of solid increases, including a near-record $14.8 billion in April, in June credit card debt actually dropped by $0.6 billion – the first negative print since April 2021 when the US consumer was still in shock from the post-covid reality and was aggressively saving money, money which has now been long spent – as Americans actively paid down their debt, something they only do when a recession looms!

    Needless to say, a drop in revolving credit is a stunner because outside of a crisis, this is usually indicative of an end-of-cycle recession, when US consumers – traditionally responsible for 70% of US GDP with their debt-fueled purchases – go into hibernation and start to repay their bloated credit card bills, which as of today are accruing a mindblowing 22% average interest (see below).

    Adding across these two categories, the total June consumer credit print was +$17.85BN which as noted above, was entirely thanks to the $18.5BN increase in non-revolving (student and auto loans) credit.

    Drilling deeper into the non-revolving credit print reveals that not all is well here either, because while in Q2 auto loans increased by a healthy, if hardly, blockbuster $17.6 billion (to be expected when rates on 60-month auto loans are at all time high), student loans actually shrank by $9.1 billion, the first decline since Q2 2022, and at a time when most student borrowers are still in forebearance.

    And once repayment of student loans resumes by mandate in two months, watch out below.

    Meanwhile, with average credit card interest rates rising above 22% to a new record high…

    … this month’s drop in credit card debt was just the beginning…

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 20:44

  • X Seizes @Music Handle From User With Half-Million Followers
    X Seizes @Music Handle From User With Half-Million Followers

    Careening from one questionable decision to another, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (SMPFKAT) has commandeered the username “@music” from a man who’d spent 16 years building a following roughly 500,000-strong. 

    It seems Elon Musk has his own plans for the handle, so he simply it seized it with a callous disregard for the user who owned it from the early days of the platform. That user is open-source software developer Jeremy Vaught. “Callous disregard” applies not only to the theft itself, but to how Musk’s team executed it. 

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

    Out of the blue, Vaught received a message from the platform that we’re now supposed to call “X. With a chillingly dispassionate voice that one can imagine being voiced by HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the platform wrote:

     “Hello. The user handle associated with account @Music will be affiliated with X Corp. Accordingly, your user handle will be changed to a new user handle.” 

    Imagine being in Vaught’s situation and receiving that news, that way. It gets worse. In the message simply signed by “X,” Vaught was told his handle was now @musicfan. X also offered another three positively lame alternatives: @musicmusic, @music123 and @musiclover.  

    Under X’s latest terms of service, every user is at risk of their handle being seized by the platform:

    “We may also remove or refuse to distribute any Content on the Services, limit distribution or visibility of any Content on the service, suspend or terminate users, and reclaim usernames without liability to you.” 

    When the provision about reclaiming usernames was added, it was welcome news to many who thought the power would only be used to release inactive names back into the wild. Alas, X is now aggressively using it to serve its own agenda at the expense of innocent users. 

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

    This is the second seizure to make news. Upon his decision to trash the established Twitter brand in favor of X, Musk seized @X from a user who, like Vaught, had held it since 2007, the year after Twitter’s launch. Not a joke: X pushed that user, San Francisco photographer Gene Hwang, into the handle @x12345678998765. So far, he’s kept it. 

    In perpetrating that particular act of legal plunder, X was at least empathetic enough to offer some modest perks: “You will also be provided with a selection of X merch and an exclusive visit to X’s HQ to meet members of our team,” the platform told Hwang. 

    We have to wonder to what extent Musk considered how these moves could undermine his quest to turn X into a place where content creators drive revenue for themselves and the platform. Anyone contemplating such an endeavor has to consider the risk that a carefully-chosen handle could be seized by Musk on a whim, severely damaging the content-creator’s brand while misdirecting traffic from existing references to the handle all across X and the internet. 

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

    “I was definitely proud of having built @music to a half a million followers give or take,” says Vaught. “And I’m a software developer. I had been thinking about what I could build around this to potentially capitalize on my audience.” 

    Vaught still has the potential to become a monetized-content creator on X, albeit with a dramatically inferior brand. However, much more than a prospective exemplar of Musk’s vision for the platform, Vaught is now the deeply sympathetic central character in a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks about building a future there. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 20:40

  • What Will You Do When You Run Out Of Stored Fuel?
    What Will You Do When You Run Out Of Stored Fuel?

    Authored by Tom Lovrić via The Organic Prepper blog,

    If you’re serious about prepping, you know that fuel (be it gasoline or diesel) is an incredibly valuable asset. In case of emergency, fuel powers our generators, not to mention our vehicles, so knowing how to store fuel is very important. The question is – what happens if we run out of stored fuel?

    Aside from the societal collapse that would inevitably follow, how would you power engines and generators?

    Many people want to know how to store fuel for this exact purpose, but is that really possible? If so, how long will fuel last?

    Let’s find an answer.

    Gasoline and Diesel Don’t Last Long

    Bad news first – neither gasoline nor diesel lasts long. Both of these fuels will go bad after about six months in a regular plastic container.

    If you store your fuel at a temperature above 70°F, it’ll go bad even quicker!

    There are three major reasons for this.

    1. First of all, the fuel will break down over time because of oxidation. This is something that you can’t avoid, but you can slow it down by treating your fuel with antioxidants.

    2. Then, we have moisture. Moisture is a big enemy of fuel, as both gasoline and diesel break down if they come into contact with water. You can expect moisture as a result of condensation.

    3. Finally, that very same moisture creates a perfect environment for the development of bacteria, so you’ll have to treat your fuel with biocides if you want it to last longer.

    On top of all that, you have to keep it at a low temperature (ideally 20°F) and in a metal, stainless container.

    If you do all that – antioxidation treatment, biocides, low-temperature storage – your fuel won’t last more than three years!

    Gasoline usually lasts longer than diesel, with diesel usually naturally deteriorating after about 18 months.

    The only way to exceed those periods is by buying industry-grade storage equipment. However, it costs a fortune, and it’s difficult to maintain.

    So, since this is a fight we lose before it even starts, what are the alternatives for when you run out of stored fuel?

    Biogas for when you run out of stored fuel

    As Jose Martinez has already explained in this article, biogas is a great alternative to diesel and gasoline.

    Now, before I go any further, know that biodiesel is difficult to produce. It’s made from organic waste, animal manure, human waste, and crops. You need a lot, and I really mean a lot of ingredients to make biogas.

    It would take weeks or months (depending on the size of your group and how many cattle you have) to produce enough biogas to fill up a tank of a single pickup truck. And we all know those things are thirsty!

    However, you could use biogas to fuel a motorcycle, for example, or a generator.

    Other than the fact it’s difficult to produce, one problem I have with biogas is just how dangerous it is to produce.

    A lot of things can go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing, and the risk doesn’t pay off unless you could really use the biogas.

    So, if you’re an engineer who has a lot of animal manure and you want to power your house with a generator – great! If not, then this alternative energy won’t be easy for you.

    Solar for when you run out of stored fuel

    Solar energy is, for me, the perfect alternative, although I must admit it has two big catches.

    Catch 1 – solar panels don’t charge their generators quickly. In fact, solar panels are only about 22-28% effective (depending on the manufacturer), so you’re actually getting less than a third of the sun’s energy.

    Catch 2 – solar generators can rarely power entire homes.

    Sure, there are some generators that can power homes, but only for limited time periods. You would need about fifteen 400-watt panels collecting energy in absolutely ideal conditions to power an average American home solely on solar energy.

    Let’s say you also have an electric car you bought to avoid the fuel crisis (which also isn’t an ideal solution, as those batteries expire, but it’s certainly more sustainable than a traditional, gas-powered vehicle for this scenario.)

    Chances are, you won’t be able to get enough electricity turned to solar to power all that. If you have enough panels and you live in a sunny area, count yourself lucky, but most people aren’t as lucky.

    What you can do is install a few solar panels and use them to power the essentials. Not your TV or your dishwasher, but tools, vehicles (to an extent – don’t spend all the electricity on your electric car), lights, etc.

    There are also a few solar-powered items, such as lanterns, stoves, and even showers that can make all the difference in the right situations. These things come with their own collectors, so you won’t need to hook them up to the main solar network.

    If you don’t feel like installing a massive generator and a dozen solar panels in your yard, think about getting smaller, portable generators, which are still powerful enough to power tools and smaller appliances.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 20:20

  • DOJ Slapped By Judge In Trump Documents Case
    DOJ Slapped By Judge In Trump Documents Case

    The judge overseeing former President Trump’s classified documents case, Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon, rebuked federal prosecutors on Monday while striking down two of their filings.

    DOJ special counsel Jack Smith has been directed by the court to unseal two filings and to provide a comprehensive legal rationale for a Washington, D.C. grand jury’s involvement in the investigation. Specifically, Cannon, a Trump appointee, has ordered Smith to explain “the legal propriety” of using a DC Grand Jury in a Florida matter.

    “The Special Counsel states in conclusory terms that the supplement should be sealed from public view ‘to comport with grand jury secrecy,’ but the motion for leave and the supplement plainly fail to satisfy the burden of establishing a sufficient legal or factual basis to warrant sealing the motion and supplement,” the order reads.

    “Among other topics as raised in the Motion, the response shall address the legal propriety of using an out-of-district grand jury proceeding to continue to investigate and/or to seek post-indictment hearings on matters pertinent to the instant indicted matter in this district,” the order adds.

    Canon was responding to the special counsel’s motion for a “Garcia” hearing, where Smith’s team addressed a potential conflict of interest posed by Stanley Woodward representing defendant Walt Nauta and individuals who could be called to testify in the classified documents case, the Daily Caller reports.

    Trump and Nauta are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 10 for the classified documents case. Smith issued a superseding indictment July 27 with additional charges for Trump and new charges for Mar-a-Lago employee Carlos De Oliveira who allegedly moved boxes around Trump’s Florida estate.

    Smith indicted Trump Tuesday for allegedly contesting the 2020 presidential election results and for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. The former president pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in Washington, D.C. Thursday and accused Smith of “persecution” for his latest charges. -Daily Caller

    Separately, a grand jury in Washington DC indicted Trump last week on four counts over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

    Read Monday’s order below:

    Cannon Order by James Lynch

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 20:11

  • House Democrats Demand 1,000% Tax On Semiautomatic Rifles
    House Democrats Demand 1,000% Tax On Semiautomatic Rifles

    Democrats in Congress reintroduced legislation imposing a 1,000% excise tax on the sale of “large capacity ammunition feeding devices and semiautomatic assault weapons.” 

    US Rep. Don “Doug” Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, and 24 other House Democrats introduced the bill on Friday. A similar bill was introduced by Beyer last year that would, of course, only mean wealthy elites and drug dealers could afford semiautomatic rifles (many of which are hunting rifles) while punishing middle and working-poor Americans. 

    The text of the new bill, HR 5135, titled, “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose an additional 1,000 percent excise tax on the sale of large capacity ammunition feeding devices and semiautomatic assault weapons, and for other purposes,” has yet to be released as of Monday. And it needs to be clarified if it’s the same as the one proposed by Beyer last summer.  

    Under the proposed rule, semiautomatic rifles could cost more than $20,000, a tax Beyer has argued would “curb the epidemic of gun violence.” 

    Although semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15 frequently appear in news stories related to mass shootings, what is often overlooked by corporate media and their cheerleading anti-gunner organizations, Everytown and Giffords, is that handguns are the weapons most commonly used in criminal activity nationwide. 

    A recent ATF report states, “Pistols represented nearly 70% of the crime guns traced between 2017 and 2021.” This is an inconvenient fact that Democrats would prefer to keep a secret. 

    “Taxing firearms at 1,000% would price low and middle-income families out of the right to self-defense, and that impact would be felt the most by innocent Americans living in crime-ridden neighborhoods. This unconstitutional legislation is nothing more than a backdoor gun ban and Gun Owners of America will fight the Swamp to ensure this dangerous legislation never makes it to President Biden’s desk or is ever signed into law,” said Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America.

    Democrats are oblivious that taxing semiautomatic rifles and magazines will only increase Americans into privately making their own firearms with 80% lower kits, 3D printers, and CNC milling machines. Defense Distributed, the maker of the 0% lower and home to the largest 3D gun file repository in the world (DEFCAD), told us:

    “All we can do is express our gratitude towards Congressional Democrats and cheer them on, as their proposed tax will ensure that home-built firearms become the only affordable option for middle America.” 

    Just remember, President Biden has told reporters that “the idea we still allow semiautomatic weapons to be purchased is sick. It’s just sick. It has no, no social redeeming value. Zero. None.” Tell that to anyone who has used a semiauto to defend themselves, or others, from violent criminals in failed progressive metro areas that do not enforce law and order. 

    America is living through the most anti-gun presidential administration this country has ever witnessed, and radical Democrats on Capitol Hill ignore federal “statistics” that pistols, not semiautomatic rifles, are used in most violent crimes. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 20:00

  • How Latest Trump Indictment Could Backfire On Biden: Turley
    How Latest Trump Indictment Could Backfire On Biden: Turley

    Authored by Jonathan Turley via Themessenger.com,

    After last week’s indictment of former President Donald Trump relating to the 2020 election, CNN declared that the charges were “personal” for President Joe Biden, who previously said Trump’s words sounded like “sedition.”

    Of course, Trump was not charged with sedition or even seditious conspiracy. Nor was he charged with conspiracy to incitement or insurrection, the grounds for his second impeachment.

    However, if Biden does view this case as personal, as CNN suggests, he might be right for the wrong reason. That’s because the case being constructed against Trump by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith could prove a serious problem for Biden, too — particularly as the basis for a House impeachment inquiry.

    The latest Trump indictment, based on little new evidence and even less established law, faces a major threshold challenge under the First Amendment. Smith is seeking to criminalize what constitutes disinformation, which not only runs against the grain of the First Amendment but also prior cases. That includes United States v. Alvarez, which overturned the conviction of a politician for knowingly lying about his military background.

    The Justice Department acknowledges that the Constitution protects false statements made in political campaigns. Yet it maintains that Trump can be convicted for lying because he really did not believe what he said.

    The problem is that the effect of these lies largely fueled the actions of third parties. If Trump were accused of using fraud for pecuniary gain or of lying to federal investigators, there would be no free-speech problem. The complaint, however, focuses on the lies rather than any larceny or standalone crime. It is diffuse in saying that raising doubts over the election undermined the value or results of voting. Previous challenges have been made to certification of presidential elections with little basis (including by Democrats) and even alternative sets of electors have been submitted without criminal charges.

    This criminal intent is based on Trump being told by many people that the election was not stolen and he could not stop its certification. I was one of those who maintained that Trump was wrong on the election, Vice President Pence’s authority to void the results, and the Trump team’s challenges. However, Trump followed the advice of a second, albeit smaller, set of lawyers who told him there was a basis for challenging the election.

    That is not a crime. It is, in my view, protected political speech. Presidents routinely lie on matters great and small. Many of those lies cost citizens dearly, from “keeping your doctor” under ObamaCare to losing your life in Vietnam. Criminalizing lies in campaigns because of the spread of disinformation or disorder is a slippery slope that vests unprecedented power in the Justice Department.

    There is a wicked twist in all of this for Biden. The very controversial linchpin used against Trump could conceivably be used against Biden, particularly in the launching of an impeachment inquiry by House Republicans.

    While third parties proceeded to take steps to challenge the election and offer alternative electors, Trump continued to publicly deny the election’s legitimacy and failed to effectively call them back. He is accused of seeking out those who would legitimize or enable his political spin on his 2020 defeat.

    Not dissimilarly, Biden has long been accused of knowing disregard for constitutional limitations as his administration has pushed unconstitutional measures. For example, Biden conceded that his own White House counsel and trusted legal advisers uniformly told him that renewing a national eviction moratorium would be unconstitutional — but he listened instead to a Harvard law professor who reportedly assured him he had the authority. His eviction-ban order was quickly found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

    Far more serious are the accusations facing Biden over his response to a growing corruption scandal allegedly involving his son and others. It now seems clear that Biden has lied to the public for years on critical details of the scandal. Indeed, his denial of any knowledge or involvement in his son’s overseas business deals go back to the 2020 presidential debate.

    Biden also denied that Hunter Biden received any money from China, which the Washington Post now declares to be manifestly untrue. For years, Biden has allowed his staff, including White House officials, to repeat his denials while opposing any further investigation.

    That is why guilt by implication or association, as employed by special counsel Smith against Trump, could be a dangerous legal standard for Joe Biden.

    Hunter Biden’s former friend and associate, Devon Archer, told House Oversight Committee investigators last week that they were indeed selling “the brand” and that Joe Biden was part of that brand.

    Ironically, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) — who demolished Biden’s defense in an earlier House hearing with two IRS agents — repeated the same blunder during Archer’s closed-door committee appearance. In the previous hearing, Goldman bizarrely raised the instance of Joe Biden going to a lunch at the Four Seasons with Hunter and his Chinese business associates.

    In his own committee appearance, Archer was careful not to overstate his knowledge of demands made on then-Vice President Biden and denied personal knowledge of any. Yet Goldman refused to leave a good answer alone and plowed forward into the unknown. He noted that Archer had said they discussed “niceties” — “Where are you, how’s the weather, how’s the fishing?” — in more than 20 phone calls with the senior Biden in the presence of Hunter’s foreign business partners. Goldman pressed Archer to expand, and Archer did, stating: “They were calls to talk about the weather, and that was signal enough to be powerful.”

    In other words, the point was the call itself — the access — not the content of the calls.

    Later, in a media interview, Archer reaffirmed that it is “categorically false” that Joe Biden had no role in or knowledge of his son’s business dealings, stating: “He was aware of Hunter’s business. He met with Hunter’s business partners.”

    Archer also confirmed dinners long denied by Biden officials and the media. For example, prior reports of a 2015 dinner with Hunter’s business associates directly contradicted the president’s repeated denials of knowledge or involvement. A Biden 2020 campaign spokesman at the time insisted the story was false, and Politico reported that other officials also assured that it was all untrue; some suggested it was more “Russian disinformation.”

    It turns out that denial also was a lie, because Archer confirmed that Biden “had dinner” with him and several others, including “Vadym P. from Burisma,” referring to an officer of a Ukrainian energy company. The senior Biden reportedly joined the dinner and engaged in discussions.

    Biden surely knew his denials of knowledge and interactions were untrue, even as his aides misinformed the public and as congressional and federal investigations occurred.

    Now, according to special counsel Smith, such knowing lies can be criminal matters, at least in the case of Donald Trump. For Congress, it could also trigger impeachment inquiries in the case of Joe Biden — and that would make this very personal indeed.

    Jonathan Turley, an attorney, constitutional law scholar and legal analyst, is the Shapiro Chair for Public Interest Law at The George Washington University Law School.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 19:40

  • Severe Storms Pound Millions In Eastern US
    Severe Storms Pound Millions In Eastern US

    On Monday evening, a line of storms with damaging wind gusts, large hail, and heavy rain swept through the Mid-Atlantic region. Hundreds of thousands of customers are without power, and a large number of flight disruptions have been reported at major airports. 

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    Over 40 million people from Tennessee to New York are currently under a tornado watch.

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    Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and former NOAA chief scientist, tweeted, “Heavy duty squall line bowing into Philadelphia in next 30-minutes with gusty winds, embedded tornado.” 

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    Nearly 700,000 customers are without power across nine states, according to Poweroutage.US. 

    More than 1,200 flights are delayed and 350 canceled, with the bulk of the disruptions at Mid-Alantic airports. 

    Chaos across Mid-Alantic and Northeast. 

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    *Developing… 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 19:30

  • Typical US Mortgage Payment Is Up 20% From Last Year But Home Prices Keep Rising Due To Plunging Supply
    Typical US Mortgage Payment Is Up 20% From Last Year But Home Prices Keep Rising Due To Plunging Supply

    The US housing market may be staging a powerful recovery – if one only goes by homebuilders record prices and certainly not the highest mortgage rates in 40 years – but it’s not because affordability is getting any better. On the contrary: according to Redfin, the typical homebuyer’s monthly mortgage payment was $2,605 during the four weeks ending July 30, up 19% from a year earlier and down just $32 from early July’s all-time high (with the 10Y blowing out, it’s just a matter of time before we hit a fresh record).

    This means that housing payments remain historically high because mortgage rates remain elevated, with weekly average rates clocking in at 6.9% this week, and yet home prices continue to rise. Paradoxically, the median home-sale price is up 3.2% year over year, the biggest increase since November.

    Needless to say, the renewed rise in prices are not due to the increase in mortgage rates but largely due to the persistent lack of supply…

    … with inventory posting its biggest drop in 18 months as homeowners grasp onto low rates. Here’s Redfin:

    Home prices are increasing because of the mismatch between supply and demand. High mortgage rates have pushed many would-be sellers out of the market, with homeowners hanging onto their relatively low rates. The total number of homes for sale is down 19%, the biggest drop in a year and a half, and new listings are down 21%.

    Yes, high rates are also sidelining prospective buyers, but ironically not as much as they’re deterring would-be sellers, who are holding on to rates achieved during the last refi – most in the 4% or lower bracket – and are loath to take out a new mortgage with a 6 or 7 handle. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index, which measures early-stage demand through requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents, is down just 4% from a year ago.

    Some more leading indicators of homebuying activity from Redfin:

    • For the week ending August 3,  the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.9%, slightly higher than a week earlier but slightly lower than the half-year high hit three weeks earlier. The daily average was 7.2% on August 3.
    • Mortgage-purchase applications during the week ending July 28 declined 3% from a week earlier, seasonally adjusted. Purchase applications were down 26% from a year earlier.
    • The seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index–a measure of requests for home tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents–was down 4% from a month earlier, and down 4% from a year earlier.
    • Google searches for “homes for sale” were up essentially flat from a month earlier during the week ending July 29, and down about 16% from a year earlier.
    • Touring activity as of July 28 was up 8% from the start of the year, compared with a 5% decrease at the same time last year, according to home tour technology company ShowingTime.

    And a summary of the data based on homes listed and/or sold during the period:

    • The median home sale price was $380,250, up 3.2% from a year earlier. That’s the biggest increase since November.
    • Sale prices increased most in Miami (12.7% YoY), Cincinnati (9%), Milwaukee (8.6%), Anaheim, CA (8.5%) and West Palm Beach, FL (8.4%).
    • Home-sale prices declined in 19 metros, with the biggest drops in Austin, TX (-9.9% YoY), Phoenix (-4.2%), Detroit (-3.9%), Las Vegas (-3.5%) and Fort Worth, TX (-3.2%).  
    • The median asking price of newly listed homes was $387,223, up 1.7% from a year earlier.
    • The monthly mortgage payment on the median-asking-price home was $2,605 at a 6.9% mortgage rate, the average for the week ending August 3. That’s down about 1% ($32) from the record high hit three weeks earlier, but up 19% from a year earlier.
    • Pending home sales were down 14.4% year over year, continuing a year-plus streak of double-digit declines.
    • Pending home sales fell in all but two of the metros Redfin analyzed. They declined most in Providence, RI (-29.5% YoY),  Newark, NJ (-28.8%), Warren, MI (-26.4%), Boston (-26.3%) and Cincinnati (-25.1%). They increased 3.5% in Las Vegas and were flat in Austin.
    • New listings of homes for sale fell 21.3% year over year. That’s a substantial decline, but the smallest in three months.
    • New listings declined in all metros Redfin analyzed. They fell most in Las Vegas (-43.4% YoY), Phoenix (-39.7%), Providence, RI (-32%), Sacramento, CA (-31.9%) and Oakland, CA (-30.7%).
    • Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) dropped 19% from a year earlier, the biggest drop since February 2022. Active listings were down slightly from a month earlier; typically, they post month-over-month increases at this time of year.
    • Months of supply—a measure of the balance between supply and demand, calculated by the number of months it would take for the current inventory to sell at the current sales pace—was 2.9 months, the highest level since April. Four to five months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions.  
    • 43.7% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, up from 42% a year earlier.
    • Homes that sold were on the market for a median of 27 days, up from 23 days a year earlier.
    • 35.9% of homes sold above their final list price, down from 43% a year earlier.
    • On average, 5.8% of homes for sale each week had a price drop, down from 6.3% a year earlier.
    • The average sale-to-list price ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their final asking prices, was 100%. That’s down from 100.7% a year earlier.

    Source: Redfin

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 08/07/2023 – 19:20

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