It is sad that there are what you might call professional Catholics who make a living on their Catholicism, but in whom the spring of faith flows only faintly, in a few scattered drops. We must really make an effort to change this.
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Site: The Orthosphere
“The Church once allowed priests to marry, and it can do again . . . . Together with this, there needs to be a new monastic order to soak up the degenerates. Which was a function of the Church in times past, as much as we don’t want to think about it.”
Aidan Maclear, “A Few Minor Reforms,” SettingtheRecordStraight.com (Sep. 26, 2018)
While reading the archive of an old neoreaction blog, I was arrested by the very sensible suggestion above. The first part may be controversial, but it is familiar and I am for it. There may once have been good reasons for a celibate priesthood, but the discipline is not necessary and now does far more harm than good. It greatly reduces the number of vocations, and with it the general quality of priests and higher churchmen. There are exceptions, but the general intellectual quality of Catholic clergy is fairly, sometimes egregiously, low.
You know something is seriously wrong when your deacon is more knowledgeable and articulate than your priest!
The discipline of celibacy has also made the priesthood a haven for sexual weirdos, not only homosexuals but also incels and men beset by darker demons of the libido. The homosexuals are not all tickling altar boys in the vestry, but they give the Catholic Church an unpleasant gay vibe. The best priest I knew had this demerit. I have no reason to doubt his chastity, and every reason to believe he was competent and devout, but it was unsettling to watch him mince up the aisle and flop his wrist.
And then there are the priests who have not foregone female companionship in a spirit of heroic sacrifice, but because no woman would have them or because they are haunted by a weird kink they cannot work out. In either case, these men are four quarts short of healthy masculinity and thus bring weakness and creepiness to the center of the Church.
The Catholic Church would be much stronger if it were manned by men who could get a date, and who could enjoy the date they could get.
But it was the second part of Maclear’s suggestion that really made me think. Maclear is some sort of medievalist—he can read The Dream of the Rood in the original Anglo Saxon—so he knows a thing or two about monasteries. Most of us, on the other hand, have a very romantic view of monks, monasteries, nuns, and nunneries. We imagine that these people and places were pious in the extreme, Maclear says monasteries and nunneries were more like partial prisons where medieval society kept its weirdos and degenerates under lock and key.
Rejection of equality is at the heart of all reactionary thought. Men are not created equal and no amount of social engineering will make them equal. Every society is therefore saddled with a large population of degenerates who lack the mental and/or moral power to take care of themselves. These defects also disqualify them to run loose in society. They are degenerates, and if left to themselves they will take themselves and their society into terrible swamps of degradation.
Liberals deny that natural degenerates exist. Darwinists say that natural selection should do its work and freeze degenerates under highway overpasses on cold winter nights. A Christian reactionary says to a degenerate what Hamlet said to Ophelia:
“Get thee to a nunnery.”
Or a monastery, if that degenerate is a man.
Monastic discipline saves people without personal discipline from themselves. It makes them get out of bed at three o’clock in the morning, sing their prayers, eat a healthy breakfast, and then settle down to a day of regular employment. Monastic discipline also saves people who do not lack personal discipline from the destructive anarchy that degenerates invariably cause when they are set free to do as they please.
A Christian reactionary does not, therefore, like a liberal lack the wit to see that degeneracy is real and a real problem. But he also does not lack a heart, and so hopes to save all these weirdos and freaks from degradation and Darwinian death. Because he has both a head and a heart, the Christian reactionary would institutionaliz all the not-quite-criminal degenerates in nunneries and monasteries.
(I must note that the cloister is also eugenic, because everybody wins when degenerate men and women are kept apart and under lock and key.)
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Site: Zero HedgeBiden Reportedly Set To Quadruple Tariffs On Chinese EVs In Major Announcement Next WeekTyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 11:30
Update (1130ET):
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, has revealed more details about President Biden's big announcement regarding China tariffs scheduled for next Tuesday.
Officials are particularly focused on electric vehicles, and they are expected to raise the tariff rate to roughly 100% from 25%, according to the people.
An additional 2.5% duty applies to all automobiles imported into the US. The existing tariff has so far effectively barred Chinese electric vehicles, often cheaper than Western-made cars, from the US market. Biden administration officials, automakers and some lawmakers worried that 25% wouldn't be enough given the scale of Chinese manufacturing.
Bloomberg first reported that the Biden administration was planning to announce China tariffs on semiconductors, solar power, and electric vehicles.
We suspect Beijing is actively planning a tit-for-tat move later next week as the administration has made their next move very clear in news stories published in US corporate media outlets through anonymous sourcing.
* * *
The Biden administration is expected to make a major announcement on China tariffs as soon as next week that will impact semiconductors, solar power, and electric vehicles, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. While the possibility of additional tariffs has been widely known, the specific industries to be targeted have now been identified. Moreover, Beijing will likely release angry comments after Biden's speech next week, followed by a tit-for-tat response.
Two of the people said the decision to hit China's "new three" green goods comes after a review of Section 301 tariffs, which were first implemented under former President Trump in 2018. The tariffs primarily target electric vehicles, batteries, and solar cells, with existing tariffs being maintained. They said the announcement is planned for Tuesday.
The Biden administration is making a bold move against Beijing in an election year as polling data spirals lower as Bidenomics has become a complete failure. It's not us just saying this. Billionaire investor and Duquesne Family Office Chairman & CEO Stan Druckenmiller told CNBC's Joe Kernen earlier this week that Bidenomics is a disaster.
Last month, the president said he would impose 25% tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. Earlier this week, the administration said it would revoke Intel and Qualcomm's export license to supply semiconductors to Chinese firm Huawei.
If China were to retaliate, in a tit-for-tat effort, they could hit Elon Musk's Tesla or continue reducing US agricultural exports of corn and soybean.
"Instead of correcting its wrong practices, the United States continued to politicize economic and trade issues," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Friday, adding, "To further increase tariffs is to add insult to injury."
Meanwhile, if reelected, Trump has promised to hit China with a tsunami of tariffs, vowing a 60% tax on all Chinese imports.
US Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, warned Beijing will respond:
"We know how China reacted when Trump put tariffs on ... and they hit agriculture with it. I can't be sure that China would hit agriculture the same as they did in the Trump ones, but they're going to hit back."
In markets, Chinese shares of solar firms fell on the news:
- Longi shares drop 1.8% in Shanghai, JA Solar -1.7% in Shenzhen, Xinyi Solar -3.8% in Hong Kong
The yuan weakened in both onshore and offshore markets, while CSI 300 Index fell:
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USD/CNH gains 0.1% at 7.2270, pair on track to rise 0.5% on the week, biggest weekly advance since the week ended March 22
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USD/CNY rises 0.1% at 7.2251
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Bloomberg's dollar spot index steady; USD/HKD is little changed at 7.8139
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CSI 300 Index, benchmark of onshore China stocks, falls as much as 0.6% before paring about half of its decline.
"It'll definitely cause investors to pause on stocks that are potentially exposed," said Xin-Yao Ng, director of investment at abrdn. He added, "Everyone knows it's a risk."
Here's what other Wall Street analysts are saying (list courtesy of Bloomberg):
AllianceBernstein (John Lin)
- We are not overly concerned about that because to us geopolitics is now a structural part of investing in China"
- "Everybody understands that there will be periods where things get a little worse and there will be periods where things get a little better. And that fluctuation to us is really an opportunity to add or reduce risk but not a reason to stay away from the market overall"
ANZ Banking Group (Khoon Goh)
- News of the US imposing more tariffs against some Chinese imports has seen the yuan weaken slightly
- The threat of more tariffs have been known, but if the final outcome is for a more targeted approach, then there is unlikely to be much of a lasting effect on the yuan
Maybank (Fiona Lim)
- "You can't say that this was not expected. Such trade-war era kind of tensions have been in the making ever since Trump spoke about imposing 60% tariff"
- People's Bank of China is keeping the yuan in a tight grip via the fix and offshore liquidity management and that may limit bearish swings to a certain extent
- "USDCNH-USDCNY premium could widen in such an environment"
TD Securities (Alex Loo)
- It wasn't a total surprise to us. Trade tensions would likely increase if Biden puts heavy tariffs on China's products in the coming weeks
- We anticipate that yuan would trade on the backfoot given such unfavorable news but expect the PBoC to continue to intervene and smooth out any excessive weakness in the CNY
- Regional currencies are more sensitive to moves in the USD path now since China has been effectively anchoring the yuan
Eastspring Investments (Ken Wong)
- This news on the proposed tariffs in particular for Chinese EVs was widely expected
- Even so, we are seeing a bit of a pullback in EVs and renewable stocks in HK/China this morning
Saxo Capital Markets (Charu Chanana)
- The tariff announcement is a reminder that geopolitics remains a key aspect in considering exposure to China market, and valuations or government support measures are not the only catalysts
- This means valuations may continue to "take the ebb and flow of geopolitics into account" and also "increased exposure to domestic-oriented sectors"
IG Markets (Hebe Chen)
- "The US's latest tariff hike on China EV is poised to trigger unprecedented shockwaves through the industry"
- This move not only deals a crippling blow to China's new strategic ambitions, but it also marks a potential tipping point, broadening the trade war between Washington and Beijing to a new level
- For Chinese stocks, particularly EV companies, the new tariff decision is akin to a looming tsunami. Investors are bracing for a significant upend as the full impact of the new tariffs unfolds
Shanghai Jade Stone Investment Management (Chen Shi)
- We've long been expecting more anti-China rhetoric and policies to be amplified closer to the election, and though this is surely a piece of negative news, to us, and to investors in general, the marginal effect is diminishing
- "China has proven through the years that its core edge lies in a strong and comprehensive industrial structure, and that cannot be challenged with tariffs"
- There are plenty of ways for companies to work around this
Deepening a trade war with China comes as Biden's polling data is absolutely awful.
This shows Biden's polling data versus headlines in corporate media featuring trade war-related news.
A tough-on-China stance could be a new strategy the administration attempts to win back voters.
... it won't work.
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Site: Zero HedgeAfter Cocoa Crash, Rabobank Says Bull Rally Likely PeakedTyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 11:20
Rabobank analyst Paul Joules wrote in a note to clients that cocoa prices have likely peaked after crashing in the last several weeks.
"A combination of weakening global demand and production responses, particularly from countries without a fixed farmgate price, will help alleviate the pronounced uncertainty baked into current futures pricing," Joules said.
Still, "it's likely that inflated cocoa prices will stick around for the next few years," he noted, adding prices are unlikely to return to "normal" levels quickly but have passed their peak.
Cocoa futures peaked in New York on April 19, a little above the $12,000 a ton mark, and have since crashed 43%. Prices bottomed at $7,000 and have traded sideways just below the $9,000 level in the last several sessions.
Traders monitor crop conditions in West Africa, which is the mecca of cocoa growing. The region has been battered by adverse weather conditions and disease, denting harvests and sparking the third annual global deficit.
New data from forecaster Maxar Technologies shows that precipitation is expected across the Ivory Coast and Ghana over the next five days, thus potentially improving soil moisture in those growing areas.
In a separate report, analysts from BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, noted that the cocoa crash had nothing to do with market fundamentals but everything to do with market liquidity.
Recall in early April, Bloomberg's Javier Blas warned:
Liquidity in cocoa markets is quickly evaporating.
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) April 9, 2024
The number of outstanding contracts (open interest) in New York and London combined has tumbled 40% since mid-January. NY open interest is at a 12-year low.#cocoa #chocflationRabobank estimates cocoa prices in the fourth quarter of 2024 will average around $7,000.
Meanwhile, commodity trader Pierre Andurand stands by his $20,000 price target for later this year.
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Site: Zero HedgeWhat’s Behind America’s Doctor Crisis?Tyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 10:55
Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Shutterstock)
Securing an appointment to see a doctor in the United States is exacerbated by soaring health care demand and fewer doctors. Many specializations are increasingly affected by this trend, but primary care and emergency medicine are among the hardest hit.
The average wait time to see a doctor has increased since 2017 and continued to rise after the demand spike brought on by COVID-19. A survey conducted by AMN Healthcare in 2022 of 15 large metro markets revealed the average time to see a physician was 26 days—an 8 percent increase from 2017 and a 24 percent spike since 2004.
Staff constraints are also felt in hospital emergency departments. Nearly 140 million Americans visited a hospital emergency department in 2021, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, about 13 percent resulted in hospital admission; while thousands waited hours to see a health care provider.
Consequently, many patients leave before being seen by a doctor.
One study analyzed more than 1,000 hospitals between 2017 and the end of 2021 and found those with the worst performance had 4.4 percent of emergency room patients leave before a medical evaluation was conducted. At the end of 2021, that number had risen to upwards of 10 percent.
Compounding the issue is that nearly half of the doctor population will reach retirement age within the next 10 years and career burnout is hitting the rest harder than ever, according to data from Association of American Medical Colleges.
Almost 50 percent of doctors report that they feel burned out, according to a 2024 Medscape report.
These are key factors driving America’s growing scarcity of doctors. Physician Thrive’s 2023 study noted that the United States may have a shortage of 124,000 doctors by 2034. Within that shortfall, up to 48,000 will likely be lost from primary care, while the industry is projected to lose another 58,000 specialists, surgeons, and nurse practitioners.
“This is definitely coming down the pipeline. It’s been coming for a long time, and we’re seeing this all across health care,” emergency physician Dr. Jared Ross told The Epoch Times.
Dr. Ross is also president of Missouri-based Emergency Medical Services, Education & Consulting. He’s watched America’s health care worker crisis unfold on the front lines and says the shortage of physicians is an old problem that’s reached a tipping point.
“We’ve talked about this for years. It’s nothing new. There’s been a number of attempted stop-gap measures that haven’t been all that successful,” he said.
A person walks past an 'Emergency Entrance' sign at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on Sept. 22, 2020. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Some of these provisional solutions include bringing in more practitioners from foreign countries, medical school loan forgiveness programs, expanding telehealth services, and increasing the number of resident physician training supported by Medicare.
Dr. Ross has seen doctor shortages impact emergency medicine but maintains primary care has “really struggled” to retain physicians.
This is critical for two reasons. One is because health care demands in the United States are rising. The average number of times Americans visit a doctor per year by age group is four times for adults, nine for infants, and twice for children between the ages of five and 15, according to Vanguard Medical Group.
The other reason is due to what Dr. Ross called the “corporatization of medicine.”
“The problem is we have an insurance system that is a massive bureaucracy,” he said.
During a recent conference with other medical leaders, Dr. Ross said it was discussed how America has “really pushed away from the model of traditional health care.”
There was a general consensus within the group that insurance companies have become too powerful in medicine.
“The administrative burden or hassle, as many doctors describe it, is very disheartening,” Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease specialist at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told The Epoch Times.
Having worked in medicine for more than 40 years, Dr. Schaffner has witnessed it evolve into something “aggressively more complicated” as insurance companies expand power over doctors. He says this trend became more noticeable by the 1990s.
“Doctors didn’t go to medical school in anticipation of arguing with insurance companies. It’s depressing and discouraging,” Dr. Schaffner said.
In 2020, for the first time, fewer than 50 percent of U.S. physicians worked in private practice, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). Most have chosen to become employees of large medical groups, which has drastically changed the paradigm of health care.
“The shift away from independent practices is emblematic of the fiscal uncertainty and economic stress many physicians face due to statutory payment cuts in Medicare, rising practice costs, and intrusive administrative burdens,” AMA President Dr. Jesse M. Ehrenfeld said in a 2023 statement.
A health care professional suits up to enter a room in the ICU at Van Wert County Hospital in Van Wert, Ohio, on Nov. 20, 2020. (Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images)
Battling With Insurance
The move from independent practice to medical group employee presents its own dilemma. Aside from increased patient loads, it has left doctors at the mercy of having to get prior approval from insurance companies to carry out a medical treatment or procedure.
This forces a quantity-over-quality approach to treatment, according to Dr. Ross.
Prior authorizations are “an absolute headache,” he said. Physicians are now stuck battling with a third party who creates “as many roadblocks as possible because they don’t want to pay out.”
Dr. Schaffner said it took “numerous telephone conversations” with an insurance provider so a family member could get a necessary medical procedure done.
He said part of why it’s challenging is because there needs to be a level of trust on the insurance company’s end. “It’s not just a formal relationship that happens, but there also has to be a trust that develops with the benefits manager. It can take time,” Dr. Schaffner said.
Read more here...
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Site: LifeNews
Biden administration Ambassador to the Holy See Joe Donnelly will reportedly deliver the keynote speech at Saturday’s graduation ceremony for Calumet College of St. Joseph (CCSJ) in Hammond, Indiana.
Donnelly is a pro-LGBTQ Democrat who professes to be Catholic. He claims to be pro-life but had at best a mixed voting record on abortion during his tenure in the U.S. Senate.
The politician served a single six-year term in the upper chamber from 2013 to 2019, representing Indiana. He was defeated for re-election by Republican Mike Braun. Donnelly previously served three terms in the U.S. House from 2007 to 2013.
The College Fix reported Wednesday that while CCSJ “does not list Donnelly as a speaker on its website .. the Post-Tribune, a local newspaper, lists him as the speaker.”
The Fix noted that during his sole Senate term, Donnelly “regularly voted to protect taxpayer funding of abortion giant Planned Parenthood and supported the LGBT agenda.”
Unlike the vast majority of recent federal Democratic lawmakers, the former senator “sometimes voted pro-life, including for a 20-week federal limit on abortion,” according to the Fix.
Despite multiple sources consistently referring to Donnelly as a “pro-life Democrat,” he only received a 28% rating from the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), indicative of a mostly pro-abortion record.
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In 2022, days after Donnelly assumed office as Biden’s Vatican ambassador, FOX News reported:
Donnelly was known as a moderate Democrat when he served in Congress, but changed his stance on gay marriage in 2013 because it was “the right thing to do,” he said, according to Politico.
When he voted for the [Affordable Care Act, popularly known as ‘Obamacare’], he also backtracked on his position against federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions.
The same year, Donnelly said in a video message introducing himself as ambassador to the Holy See, “I have been profoundly moved by the power of the Church to improve the lives of people all around the globe.”
“From my childhood, through my college and law school years at the University of Notre Dame, through years of public service in Indiana and Washington, D.C., the Catholic Church has been a core part of my life and my values,” the Democrat added at the time.
In an interview with a Notre Dame student newspaper published last month, Donnelly reflected on his experience as an altar boy. During the same interview, he referred to President Biden as “rock solid.”
CCSJ is affiliated with the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.).
The same day Donnelly is slated to address the small Catholic college’s graduates, left-wing pro-abortion nun Sr. Simone Campbell is scheduled to give the commencement speech at the larger Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
LifeNews Note: Joshua Mercer writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Catholic College Will Host Abortion Advocate as Commencement Speaker appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero HedgeBidenomics Implodes: Consumer Sentiment Unexpectedly Craters In Biggest Miss On Record As Inflation Expectations SurgeTyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 10:26
Moments ago the University of Michigan released the latest "report card" on Bidenomics, and to nobody's surprise - except perhaps a certain senile teleprompter reading, diaper wearing puppet in the White House - it was a total disaster, as Sentiment "unexpectedly" plunged from 77.2 to 67.4, the 9.8 point drop the biggest since August 2021...
... and was not only a 7-sigma miss to expectations of a 76.2 print...
... but was the biggest miss on record!
The collapse in sentiment was broad based, and hammered both current conditions - which plunged from 79.0 to 68.8, badly missing estimates of 79.0 - and also expectations, which plunged from 76.0 to 66.5 (and far below the 75.0 estimated).
The decline in sentiment was broad across age, income and education groups, and also reflected growing concerns about high interest rates. While the labor market has driven economic growth over the last year, the downbeat assessment highlighted in the report adds to evidence of a slowdown.
“Strength in household incomes has been the primary source of support for robust consumer spending over the past couple of years, so a softening in labor market expectations is concerning and -- if it continues -- may lead to a pullback in consumers’ willingness to spend,’’ Joanne Hsu, director of the survey, said in a statement.
But wait there's more, because if that was the "stag" part of the report, the UMich report also confirmed that the "flation" isn't far behind, as the inflation outlook suddenly deteriorated quite dramatically, to wit: 1Year inflation expectations jumped from 3.2% to 2.5%, the highest since November 2023 (and far above estimates of 3.2%), while 5-10 Year inflation expectations also rose from 3.0% to 3.1%, the highest since November.
If that wasn't enough, the university's measure of buying conditions for durable goods, some of which are financed, also decreased to a one-year low. And finally, consumers’ perception of their financial situation, as well as short- and long-term economic outlooks, decreased this month.
“Worse yet, consumers expect the pain to continue, as expectations for interest rates deteriorated considerably this month,” Hsu said. “Only one quarter of consumers expect interest rates to fall in the year ahead, compared with 32% in April.”
One possible reason for the shocking collapse in the print is that, as Pantheon Macro noted ahead of the print, UMich is in the process of switching from phone to an online survey, which according to Pantheon was, get this, "likely to weigh on the headline sentiment because people on the phone are more optimistic than the online applications." Riiight. If anything the transition from phone to online just means that people are actually more truthful in their responses and, well... we just saw the result!
In short: the verdict for Bidenomics is in, and it's a complete disaster, as for Powell's recent laughable comment that he can't see the "stag" nor the "flation"... well, Fed chair, they just bit you on the ass.
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Site: LifeNews
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. expressed support for full-term abortions during a recent interview with podcast hostess Sage Steele.
Kennedy is a self-professed Catholic.
On Wednesday’s episode of her show, Steele asked Kennedy if he preferred leaving abortion “up to the states.”
“No, I wouldn’t leave it to the states,” the candidate answered. I believe we should leave it to the woman. We shouldn’t have [the] government involved.”
“Even if it’s full-term?” Steele asked.
“Even if it’s full-term,” Kennedy agreed.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on Thursday posted a clip of the interview to X (formerly Twitter). “Here is RFK Jr. affirming his commitment to China-style full-term abortion, without limits, nationwide,” Kirk wrote.
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“Billboard Chris,” a Canadian parents’ rights advocate, wrote on X that Kennedy essentially said “Leave it up to the woman to murder that baby.”
“Safe to say that insane views like this will steal some Biden votes, helping to get Trump elected,” he adde
Pro-life advocate Anna Lulis called Kennedy’s pro-abortion remarks “Absolutely evil.”
“Robert Kennedy Jr. believes you can kill babies up until the moment of birth, when they’re fully developed, can feel pain, survive outside the womb, can hiccup, have a heartbeat, fingers, toes, and fully functioning organs,” Lulis wrote on X. “[L]ate-term abortions involve dismembering a baby alive. The baby can feel their limbs being torn from their body.”
Kennedy’s comments even drew criticism from the political left.
Democratic Party activist Ed Krassenstein wrote on X, “I don’t think most Americans, including Democrats support abortions at 40 week.”
LifeNews Note: Joshua Mercer writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Robert F Kennedy Called “Absolutely Evil” for Endorsing Abortions Up to Birth appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Voltaire NetworkThe General Assembly, Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and stressing in this regard the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, Recalling its relevant resolutions, including its resolutions concerning the question of Palestine, including, inter alia, resolution ES-10/22 of 12 December 2023, Recalling also the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, Recalling further its resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October (...)
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Site: AsiaNews.itFive Indian nationals, a Filipino and an Estonian are free to go home. The Portuguese-flagged container ship was seized near the Strait of Hormuz on 13 April. Diplomats are working to free the remaining 17 crew members.
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Site: Mises InstituteDespite the accusations that Javier Milei is a fascist in libertarian clothes, many of his reforms have been successful in reversing some of the damage done to Argentina's economy by real fascists.
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Site: Steyn OnlineProgramming note: If you fancy an alternative to tomorrow's Eurovision Song Contest, my new weekly show on Serenade Radio airs Saturday at 5pm British Summer Time - that's 6pm Central European or 12 midday North American Eastern. You can listen from
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Site: Steyn OnlineAs we approach the close of The Mark Steyn Club's seventh birthday observances, I want to thank all those First Week Founding Members who've signed up for an eighth year. I'm absolutely delighted. In celebration of the occasion, I've launched a new
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Site: LifeNews
Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, made a video statement on Thursday calling out President Joe Biden for making the Sign of the Cross at a recent pro-abortion event.
“Last month on April 23, Biden compounded his support for the sin of abortion by making the Sign of the Cross during an abortion rally in Tampa, FL,” Paprocki said. “Making the Sign of the Cross is one of the most profound gestures a Catholic can make in showing reverence for Christ’s death on the Cross and belief in the Holy Trinity.”
“To misuse this sacred death is to make a mockery of our Catholic faith,” the bishop added.
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In the same video, Paprocki quoted Spanish Archbishop José Ignacio Munilla, who had blasted Biden’s “sacrilegious gesture” during a show on Radio María España.
“Bishop Munilla said that crossing oneself is meant to be used as a sign in which we remember that Jesus gave his life for us,” Paprocki said, and quoted Munilla: “He gave his life for all the innocents. He gave his life to restore innocence and to make us saints.”
“To use the sign of the Cross as Biden did, however, is to invoke the Cross in a sacrilegious manner,” Paprocki pointed out. “I fully support Bishop Munilla and agree with what he said.”
Paprocki then cited Paragraph 2120 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which defines sacrilege as “profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions as well as persons, things, or places, constituted to God.”
“Sacrilege is a grave sin,” Paprocki said.
Paprocki also referenced Cardinal Wilton Gregory’s late March appearance on CBS, where the archbishop of Washington, DC, called Biden a “cafeteria Catholic … especially in terms of the life issues.”
Paprocki added: “I fully support Cardinal Gregory and agree with what he said.”
LifeNews Note: Joshua Mercer writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Catholic Bishop Slams Biden for Making Sign of Cross at Abortion Rally appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: Zero HedgeDog Gone: Kristi Noem Cuts Short Book Tour Citing 'Bad Weather'Tyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 09:30
Authored by Philip Wegmann via RealClear Wire,
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has cut short a disastrous book tour after receiving withering criticism for her story of shooting an ill-behaved puppy and unverified claims of meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un, RealClearPolitics is first to report. The book, released Tuesday, is titled “No Going Back.”
Noem sat for a series of in-person interviews in New York and was scheduled to travel later in the week to Washington, D.C., before canceling the tour, citing inclement weather.
“Gov. Noem has sold a lot of books on this tour and is back in South Dakota to be prepared for some potential emerging bad weather systems,” spokesman Ian Fury told RCP. Tornadoes touched down in the state Monday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Noem sat for interviews Monday and Tuesday in New York before returning home.
Noem was slated to sit down with RealClearPolitics on Thursday before her team canceled the interview and declined to make her available over the phone.
Once heralded as a rising star on the right, in one week the governor was reduced to a punchline. She provided all the material. “We were supposed to have Gov. Kristi Noem on the show tonight, but she canceled. Her staff blamed bad weather,” deadpanned Greg Gutfeld Tuesday night. “We go to locals for reaction.” The Fox News funnyman then cut to a clip of barking dogs.
Noem had billed her book as “a how-to guide” for political activism, pegging its publication to the ongoing veepstakes to join former President Trump on the GOP ticket. Calamity followed when an excerpt leaked to The Guardian, and what was planned as a national audition was overshadowed by the grisly stories the governor told about herself.
Noem writes of dragging a 14-month-old dog into a gravel pit on her property after the poorly trained animal spoiled a pheasant hunt and attacked a neighbor's chickens. She killed the puppy named “Cricket” with a shotgun. After dispatching the dog, she turned her attention to an unruly goat. Noem took a shot, but the billy jumped. She writes in her memoir that she left the goat tethered, retrieved more ammunition, then “hurried back to the gravel pit and put him down.”
Despite a growing firestorm of criticism, the author went ahead with her tour, sitting down on Sunday with Margaret Brennan of CBS News. The story from two decades ago, Noem insisted, showed her willingness to make tough decisions.
“This dog was a working dog and had come from a family that had issues with this dog and I had put months and months of training into this dog. This dog had gone to other trainers as well,” Noem said.
“So all of that is the facts of the story, and all of that shows that when you put someone in a position where they have to make a decision and they want to protect their family and protect children and other people from getting attacked from an animal that has attacked others and killed livestock, that’s the choice I made over 20 years ago. And that I didn’t ask somebody else to take that responsibility for me,” she continued.
Noem also appeared to joke in the book about euthanizing President Biden’s dog, Commander, who was removed from White House grounds after numerous biting incidents.
“What would I do if I was president on the first day in office in 2025? Thanks for asking. I happen to have a list. The first thing I’d do is make sure Joe Biden’s dog was nowhere on the grounds (‘Commander, say hello to Cricket for me’),” Noem wrote. The White House was not amused.
“We learned last week, obviously like all of you, in her book that she killed her puppy," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday. “You heard me say that was very, very sad. We find her comments from yesterday disturbing. We find them absurd.”
Perhaps more disastrous was the claim Noem made about traveling to North Korea and meeting Kim Jung Un when she served on the House Armed Services Committee in Congress.
“I’m not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders. I’m just not going to do that. This anecdote shouldn’t have been in the book and as soon as it was brought to my attention, I made sure that that was adjusted,” she said when pressed about whether the meeting took place.
The publisher of the book, Center Street, announced that subsequent printings of the book would not include the reference. An audiobook, which the governor narrated, is also expected to be edited and updated. The passage in question is brief and sparse in detail.
The North Korean anecdote is two sentences in a 260-page book: “I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”
Prior to the book tour, Noem made little secret about her ambitions for national office. She was quick to criticize the field challenging Trump for the nomination, and in February, the governor traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump and pitch him on joining the ticket. According to sources with knowledge of the meeting, Noem showed Trump polling from Kaplan Strategies that showed her boosting his chances in Wisconsin and Michigan with her as a running mate.
Doug Kaplan, the pollster who conducted the survey, cautioned in a brief interview with RCP that those positive numbers were from “a lifetime ago.”
Noem is now haunted by the dog she dispatched two decades ago. During a Tuesday interview with Stuart Varney on Fox Business, the governor became impatient with the host when he kept returning the conversation to how the dead puppy affected her chances at the vice presidency.
“Enough, Stuart. This interview is ridiculous, which you are doing right now,” Noem said. “So you need to stop. It is OK. It is. Let’s talk about some real topics that Americans care about.”
“I’m afraid we’re out of time,” Varney responded.
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Site: LifeNews
Comedian, actress and disability rights campaigner Liz Carr has said that the prospect of making assisted suicide legal in the UK is “terrifying”.
Ahead of her documentary Better Off Dead? set to be aired on the BBC later this month, in which the actress makes her case against making assisted suicide legal in the UK, Liz Carr has said that making assisted suicide legal for the terminally ill will eventually lead to allowing it for people who are poor, disabled or mentally ill as well.
She described this possibility as “terrifying”.
Speaking to a Canadian clinician, Dr Ellen Wiebe, the Silent Witness actress suggested that “apart from the fact I don’t have the desire, I think probably I would be eligible [for assisted suicide or euthanasia] under Canadian law”.
Dr Wiebe did not disagree, adding that Carr would have to show that she was “suffering unbearably” in order to be given the drugs to end her life.
Carr made reference to the expansion of the assisted suicide and euthanasia law in Canada where in 2021, the Canadian Parliament repealed the requirement that the natural death of those applying for assisted suicide be “reasonably foreseeable”. This took place only five years after the original legislation allowing euthanasia and assisted suicide was passed in 2016.
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The BBC also reported the concerns of Dr Katherine Sleeman, a specialist in palliative care, who said that people may feel they are a burden to their families.
“Patients will say to me: ‘I don’t want to go to a care home really, but I know my family want me to do it and I know it will be easier for them so I think I’m going to say yes’”, she said.
“Substitute the words ‘go to a care home’ with ‘have an assisted death’ and I think it’s a completely different picture”.
Dr Sleeman argued that assisted suicide laws cannot be completely safe and that some people who do not wish to die will inevitably slip through the net.
Liz Carr will present Better Off Dead?, which will air on BBC One on Tuesday 14 May at 21:00.
At the end of last month, a large number of MPs spoke in opposition to assisted suicide after an e-petition requesting a debate on the matter reached more than 100,000 signatures.
The MPs opposed to a future change in the law on assisted suicide emphasised the manner in which the eligibility criteria for assisted suicide in other jurisdictions has rapidly expanded, the risks this legislation imposes on the most vulnerable, and the distortion of the doctor-patient relationship created by assisted suicide, among other concerns.
Study finds “wish-to-die” is transient
A 2021 study in Ireland found that almost three-quarters of people over 50 who had previously expressed a wish to die no longer had that desire two years later. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), surveyed 8,174 people over the age of 50 and found that 3.5% expressed a wish to die at Wave 1 of the study.
However, as the report states: “Seventy-two per cent of these participants no longer reported a wish to die when reassessed 2 years later”.
Researchers behind the study from Trinity College Dublin found that the “wish to die” among older people is often “transient” and linked with depression and feelings of loneliness.
Furthermore, TILDA found that 60% of those who reported a wish to die also had “clinically significant” depressive symptoms while half had been diagnosed with depression.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “Liz Carr is absolutely right to point to other jurisdictions such as Canada that show how assisted suicide and euthanasia legislation quickly expands beyond its original limits. A 2023 survey in Canada showed that 50% agreed that “disability” should be a reason for euthanasia, with that figure rising to 60% for 18-34 year olds”.
“Cultural attitudes towards disability like this are especially alarming and we would be naive to think that they couldn’t exist here.
LifeNews Note: Republished with permission from Right to Life UK.
The post Actress Liz Carr Blasts UK Measure to Legalize Assisted Suicide appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: AsiaNews.itThe Reserve Bank of India has changed its rules allowing Russia to use the rupees it earns from crude oil sales in India to invest in local government bonds, stocks, equities, and loans. India's imports from Russia are up by 32.95 per cent to US$ 61.44 billion.
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Site: The Unz ReviewPierre, I don’t think your questions are relevant. In the US and throughout the Western World, or what little remains of it, the white ethnicities who once constituted nations are now submerged in towers of babel in which the white ethnicities are demonized, and in the US reduced to second class citizenship in law, made...
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Site: AsiaNews.itThe document released by the International Truth and Justice Project reports the testimonies of 123 victims of detention, abuse and torture. During the conflict that ended in 2009 - between 80 and 100 thousand people died - both separatists and government officials were accused of violence. But the persecution of Tamils by the security forces continued unpunished even after the war was over.
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Site: AsiaNews.itAmong the 18 agreements signed in Budapest with Xi Jinping there is also cooperation on nuclear power plants. In the background are the difficulties of the new Paks II plant project, under construction with the Russian agency Rosatom and at risk of sanctions. For his part, the Chinese president praises Hungarian support for Beijing on "Taiwan, Hong Kong and human rights".
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Site: Zero HedgeBoxing Promoter Don King Endorses Trump For PresidentTyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 08:40
Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Boxing promoter Don King attends the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University, in Hempstead, N.Y., on Sept. 26, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Iconic boxing promoter Don King has endorsed former President Donald Trump for president in the 2024 election.
The 92-year-old made the remarks on May 8 on the sidelines of an event after being asked if he has a message for President Trump, who’s facing a bevy of court cases that threaten to derail his presidential campaign.
“Get reelected,” Mr. King said. “And we must reelect him to save ourselves. You know, a vote for Trump is a vote for yourself. Because we’ve got to fight the system of lies and the creation of wrong being right and right being wrong. That’s got to be eliminated.”
He called President Trump “the only man who’s got the intestinal fortitude to be able to stand up and fight the system like it should be fought,”
Mr. King said the former president “underestimated the power of this strong system of corruption and hypocrisy.”
While Mr. King didn’t elaborate on the “system of corruption and hypocrisy” that he had in mind, it could be a reference to the numerous legal battles that the former president is fighting that he and his supporters argue are thinly veiled attempts to use lawfare to derail his comeback bid.
“I want to say to him, let’s [save] America, let’s save ourselves, and then we can help others to be safe,” Mr. King added.
President Trump shared the video on his social media platform, Truth Social, thanking Mr. King for his endorsement and message of encouragement.
‘He’d Be Muhammad Ali’
Mr. King’s sympathies for the former president are well-established, with the boxing promoter being one of few celebrities who endorsed then-candidate Trump in the 2016 election.
Introducing then-candidate Trump at a church event in Ohio in 2016, Mr. King called him “courageous and brave” and said he believed the future president would fix the “corrupt” and “rigged” system and bring the country “back to inclusiveness.”
In mid-2017, after President Trump had spent several months in office, Mr. King told Politico Magazine in an exclusive interview that he believed he was doing an “excellent job” while lamenting the fact that his presidency was being overshadowed by the so-called “Russian collusion” scandal, which later turned out to be a hoax.
At the time, Mr. King told Politico that he believed President Trump was constantly in the crosshairs of the Washington establishment, saying that they would try to “keep him down” at almost any cost—even saying that he warned the president to be on guard for assassination attempts.
“If Trump were a boxer, who would he be?” the interviewer asked the legendary boxing promoter.
“He'd be Muhammad Ali...because he’s going to win,” Mr. King replied. “He’s going to run his mouth, he’s going to talk a lot and he’s going to win.”
The then-U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, along with boxing promoter Don King, answers questions from the media after a day of meetings at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 28, 2016. (Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images)
The former president has won the support of a number of prominent figures in the fight world, including Mr. King’s best-known protege, former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, and Dana White, CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Mr. Tyson endorsed then-candidate Trump for the 2016 election, while Mr. White said recently he supports his 2024 comeback bid.
“He should be president of the United States,” Mr. Tyson told HuffPost in an exclusive interview in 2015. The former champion said he thought a business-minded leader like Trump was exactly what the country needed.
“Let’s try something new. Let’s run America like a business, where no colors matter. Whoever can do the job, gets the job,” Mr. Tyson said.
‘Unfazed’
Mr. White gave his endorsement in an appearance on the Lex Fridman podcast in April, calling President Trump “the most resilient human being I’ve ever met.”
“They’re trying to attack him. They’re trying to ruin him—unfazed,” the UFC president said. “He will walk through fire.”
Former President Donald Trump (R), alongside UFC CEO Dana White (L), attends the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 299 mixed martial arts event at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla., on March 9, 2024. (Giorgio Viera/AFP)
Asked if he thinks President Trump will win reelection, Mr. White said he’s unsure given the “dirty” and “ugly” nature of politics.
“Obviously, I’m rooting for him and I’m behind him and I hope he does.”
It comes as the former president has complained about being stuck in a New York courtroom for his so-called “hush money” trial while he could be out campaigning for reelection.
In a case officially known as The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, the former president is accused of hiding so-called hush money payments to an adult performer by falsifying business records. If found guilty, he could face a prison sentence.
President Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and before he entered the courtroom on April 15, the first day of the trial, he reiterated his position that the case is politically motivated.
“This is really an attack on a political opponent. That’s all it is,” he told reporters outside the courtroom before going inside.
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Site: Zero HedgeUS Futures, Global Markets Storm Higher, Eye All-Time HighsTyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 08:15
US equity futures pointed to even more gains on the last day of trading, leaving the S&P 500 set for a third weekly rise — the longest run since February. The rally was given fresh legs yesterday by more earnings optimism coupled with disappointing economic data - this time the highest initial jobless claims since last August - that supported the case for Fed rate cuts, but the real test will come with a key US inflation print next week (where we laid out a case for why as OER catches down to real-time rates, CPI may print a big miss). As of 8:00am, S&P 500 futures higher by 0.3% after the index closed less than 1% away from its all-time high, with Nasdaq futures rising 0.4%. European stocks are up 0.9% set for a new record high with Asian stocks also gaining. Treasuries and the dollar were flat; earlier on Friday, the yuan weakened on the news that Biden’s administration is poised to unveil a sweeping decision on new China tariffs as soon as next week, with the measures expected to focus on industries such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells, with existing levies largely being maintained. The macro slate includes May preliminary University of Michigan sentiment and April monthly budget statement.
In premarket trading, 3M Co. rose 1.2% in premarket trading after HSBC raised its recommendation to buy from hold. The bank notes the company’s earnings showed nascent signs of an “inflection in growth and margin gains from restructuring” at the manufacturing giant. Akamai fell 10% after its forecast for adjusted earnings per share for the second quarter missed the average analyst estimate. Analysts note weakness in the infrastructure software company’s content-delivery network business. Here are some other notable premarket movers:
- Bumble rises 3.1% as BofA upgrades the online dating company to buy from neutral on both valuation and upside to growth.
- CRH gains 4.3% after what the analysts see as a positive start with performance driven by pricing, early-season activity and favorable weather in important markets, despite lower volumes in Europe.
- Dutch Bros gains 2.6% after Cowen raises the drive-thru coffee chain’s rating to buy from hold, expecting that 2024 will be a “beat & raise year.”
- Ginkgo Bioworks slumps 11% after the genetic engineering company cut its revenue forecast for the full year, following first-quarter sales that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. The miss and outlook cut triggered a downgrade at William Blair.
- JFrog drops 12% as the software development company’s earnings report failed to impress investors after this year’s rally. The results could prompt questions around the timing and potential contribution from AI-led workloads, which didn’t appear to have much effect this quarter, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Sunil Rajgopal wrote in a research note.
- MacroGenics sinks 68% after the drug developer reported five deaths in a mid-stage trial of its investigative therapy for prostate cancer. Analysts downgraded their ratings on the stock as confidence in the firm’s program takes a hit following the safety data.
- Natera rises as much as 20% after boosting its revenue guidance for the full year.
- Novavax surges as much as 217% after the vaccine maker signed a licensing agreement with Sanofi that includes commercializing a combined Covid-19 and flu shot.
- Progyny drops 25% after it reported first quarter revenue below average analyst estimates and cut revenue guidance for the full year. KeyBanc analysts downgraded the fertility benefits management company to sector weight from overweight, writing that they “are becoming weary” as more questions arise on visibility into revenue and customer trends.
- SoundHound AI rises 15% after the voice AI software company reported first-quarter revenue that beat expectations and gave a revenue outlook range for the full year that met the average analyst estimate.
- Sweetgreen climbs 19% after the salad restaurant chain’s revenue topped estimates and it boosted its same-store sales forecast for the full year.
- Unity Software falls as much as 4.2% after the video-game software development company reported an 8% drop in first-quarter revenue. Analysts say the shares will remain rangebound until the company’s new CEO crystallizes his own strategy.
- Yelp drops 4.1% after it adjusted Ebitda guidance for the full year and missed the average analyst estimate. Macro headwinds for restaurants and growing competition from delivery platforms could also pressure the online review company’s revenue, according to Jefferies analysts.
The rebound in stocks found fresh momentum from very poor US unemployment claims Thursday, which backed the case for rate cuts before next week’s key US inflation print. Meanwhile, so-called value and cyclical sectors are helping to broaden out a rally that had been fueled by tech giants. Traders will be watching for hints on the timing of policy easing from Fed officials including Michelle Bowman and Neel Kashkari before next week’s CPI data.
"A rally of the laggards is our key allocation call, and so far, we’re witnessing signs that it’s happening,” said Florian Ielpo, head of macro research at Lombard Odier Asset Management. “For this to persist, the market needs to maintain a delicate balance — a sweet spot where the job market remains mildly soft and earnings growth continues.”
European stocks are set for their best week since the end of January on a slew of better-than-expected earnings reports and growing confidence that interest rate cuts are still possible this year. The Stoxx 600 rises 0.9% to a record high with mining, utility and construction shares leading gains. Here are the biggest European movers:
- Enel shares rise as much as 3.5% after 1Q earnings came in materially above expectations, de-risking the utility firm’s full-year outlook and suggesting it could deliver the top end of its guidance.
- Munich Re shares rise as much as 2.6% after BofA lifts its rating on the company to buy from neutral in a note citing “underappreciated earnings strength.”
- Legrand shares advance as much as 3.3% to highest since January 2022 after Citi double-upgrades to buy from sell.
- EDP shares climb as much as 4.6% after the company said investment will decelerate in 2024-2026 as it focuses on “top projects.”
- IAG shares climb as much as 1.8% after the airline group posted a operating profit beat for the first quarter, driven by ongoing recovery in leisure traffic and the timing of Easter.
- Fluidra shares gains as much as 5.5% after JPMorgan upgrades the Spanish pool maker to overweight from neutral.
- Iveco shares rise as much as 7.1% following its first-quarter results, which Morgan Stanley says represent a positive start to the year for the Italian commercial vehicle maker.
- CCC shares jump as much as 19% after the Polish fashion retailer reported strong 1Q preliminary earnings with a 39% beat on Ebitda.
- Dino Polska shares drop as much as 4.4% after it reported further erosion of Ebidta margin, reflecting an ongoing price war in the Polish food retail market.
- Rightmove shares fall as much as 5.3%. The online property portal reiterated its revenue and margin guidance after tweaking other targets.
- Getinge shares drop as much as 9.7%, the most in more than three months, following a US FDA letter to health care providers expressing safety and quality concerns about some of the Swedish medical technology firm’s cardiovascular devices.
- BFF Bank shares plunge as much as 32%, the most on record, after Bank of Italy ordered a temporary halt on profit distribution and expansion abroad as a result of a probe into the Italian specialty finance company.
Asian stocks tracked the gains in the US where a rise in initial jobless claims spurred a dovish reaction. Hang Seng & Shanghai Comp traded mixed with Hong Kong stocks surging on reports China is considering a proposal to exempt individual investors from paying dividend taxes on Hong Kong stocks bought via the Stock Connect, while the mainland faded its initial gains with the US reportedly set to impose tariffs on China EVs and key sectors after a review which could be announced as soon as next week. Nikkei 225 rallied at the open but then slipped from intraday highs with participants reflecting on Household Spending data, US-China and tensions and amid a busy day of earnings releases for Japan. ASX 200 was led by energy, telecoms and financials but with gains capped amid mixed consumer stocks.
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index steadied and Treasury yields were little changed across the curve as traders awaited commentary from several Fed officals; Sterling rose after a much stronger than expected UK GDP print, which saw the country emerge from recession, provided a modicum of support to the pound which is up 0.1% against the dollar. The Norwegian krone tops the G-10 FX pile, rising 0.3% after CPI topped estimates.
- USD/NOK dropped 0.3% to 10.8155 as the Norwegian krone led G-10 gains against the dollar; Norway’s underlying inflation rate fell less than analysts expected last month
- AUD/USD fell as much as 0.3% to 0.6599, while NZD/USD dipped as much as 0.3% to 0.6014, on a report that the US is poised to unveil a sweeping decision on China tariffs
- GBP/USD inched up as much as 0.1% to 1.2541, after data showed the UK economy bounced back from a shallow recession
In rates, treasuries are little changed with futures holding Thursday’s advance, underpinned by gains for gilts following UK data raft including GDP, manufacturing and industrial production. US yields are within 1bp of Thursday’s closing levels, 10-year around 4.46%, with gilts and bunds outperforming by 2bp and 3bp in the sector; curve spreads likewise little changed, 2s10s holding Thursday’s flattening move. Gilts have rallied despite stronger-than-expected UK GDP figures, with UK 10-year yields falling 3bps to 4.11%.
In commodities, Oil prices advance, with WTI rising 0.6% to trade near $79.80 a barrel and near the week’s high. Spot gold climbs 1.1% to around $2,372/oz.
Looking at today's calendar, the US economic data slate includes May preliminary University of Michigan sentiment (10am New York time) and April monthly budget statement (2pm). Fed officials’ scheduled speeches include Bowman (9am), Logan (10am), Kashkari (10am, 2:15pm), Goolsbee (12:45pm, 2:15pm) and Barr (1:30pm)
Market Snapshot
- S&P 500 futures up 0.3% to 5,254.00
- STOXX Europe 600 up 0.7% to 520.47
- MXAP up 0.8% to 177.68
- MXAPJ up 0.9% to 554.50
- Nikkei up 0.4% to 38,229.11
- Topix up 0.5% to 2,728.21
- Hang Seng Index up 2.3% to 18,963.68
- Shanghai Composite little changed at 3,154.55
- Sensex up 0.2% to 72,580.19
- Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.4% to 7,748.96
- Kospi up 0.6% to 2,727.63
- German 10Y yield little changed at 2.46%
- Euro little changed at $1.0783
- Brent Futures up 0.2% to $84.02/bbl
- Gold spot up 0.9% to $2,367.89
- US Dollar Index little changed at 105.23
Top Overnight News
- Stocks rallied on earnings optimism and US data that supported the case for interest-rate cuts. A raft of Federal Reserve speakers are slated for Friday as traders await a key US inflation print next week.
- President Joe Biden’s administration is poised to unveil a sweeping decision on China tariffs as soon as next week, one that’s expected to target key strategic sectors while rejecting the across-the-board hikes sought by Donald Trump, people familiar with the matter said.
- Britain bounced back strongly from a shallow recession, providing some relief for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who has so far struggled to deliver on his promise to grow the economy.
- Money managers are piling into the European Union’s bonds in anticipation of a major shift in their status that would open up the bloc’s debt to a bigger pool of investors.
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. is on track to include India in its emerging market debt index from June with most of its clients ready to trade despite some “teething issues,” according to the firm’s global head of index research.
- China CPCA said China sold 1.55mln passenger cars in April, -5.8% Y/Y; Tesla (TSLA) exported 30,746 China-made vehicles in Apr
- US Treasury Secretary Yellen said inflation has come down substantially but is not where it needs to be, according to a Marketplace interview.
- White House is poised to nominate Kristin Johnson to fill a top role at the Treasury overseeing banks, according to Bloomberg citing sources.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks mostly tracked the gains in the US where a rise in initial jobless claims spurred a dovish reaction. ASX 200 was led by energy, telecoms and financials but with gains capped amid mixed consumer stocks. Nikkei 225 rallied at the open but then slipped from intraday highs with participants reflecting on Household Spending data, US-China and tensions and amid a busy day of earnings releases for Japan. Hang Seng & Shanghai Comp traded mixed with Hong Kong stocks surging on reports China is considering a proposal to exempt individual investors from paying dividend taxes on Hong Kong stocks bought via the Stock Connect, while the mainland faded its initial gains with the US reportedly set to impose tariffs on China EVs and key sectors after a review which could be announced as soon as next week.
Top Asian News
- US is set to impose tariffs on China EVs and key sectors after its Section 301 review as early as next week, according to Bloomberg.
- China is unlikely to lift home purchase restrictions completely, according to CCTV.
- Honda (7267 JT) FY (JPY): Pretax profit 1.64tln, +86.7% Y/Y, Op. Profit 1.38tln, +77% Y/Y; says it will buy back of up to 3.7% of own shares worth JPY 300bln.
- Earthquake felt in Taiwan's capital Taipei; magnitude 5.7, via EMSC.
- China Auto Industry CPCA says market sluggishness was worse than expected while some automakers still derived to produce and resulted in rising inventories at dealerships
European bourses, Stoxx600 (+0.7%) are entirely in the green, taking the lead from a mostly positive APAC session. Both the FTSE 100 and the DAX 40 made fresh ATHs today. European sectors hold a strong positive tilt, with the exception of Autos and Media, with the former continuing the losses seen in the prior session. Utilities takes the top spot, lifted by post-earning strength in Enel (+3.6%) and EDP (+2.5%). US Equity Futures (ES +0.3%, NQ +0.3%, RTY +0.4%) are entirely in the green, albeit modestly so, attempting to build on yesterday’s advances.
Top European News
- UBS expects the BoE to start cutting interest rates in June (prev. expected Aug)
- Over one in two firms with Germany's residential construction sector reported a lack of orders in April, via Ifo; 55.2% (prev. 56.2%) reported this
FX
- Steady trade for the USD after yesterday's data-induced losses dragged DXY to a low of 105.20. Uni. of Michigan is the main data highlight but is very much in the shadow of next week's CPI print. If DXY trundles lower once again, support ahead of the 105 mark comes via the 7th May low at 105.03.
- EUR is steady vs. the USD with EZ drivers once again lacking in today's session. EUR/USD made an incremental high at 1.0786 but catalysts today for a push beyond 1.08 are not obvious. ECB Minutes due at 12:30 BST / 07:30 EDT.
- GBP is the marginal best performer across the majors following hotter-than-expected UK GDP metrics which sent GBP/USD higher from 1.2519 to a 1.2540 peak before running into resistance at the 200DMA.
- USD/JPY's ascent has once again continued after a brief blip yesterday in a week that has seen jawboning from officials fail to stop the rot. The next inflection point will likely be US CPI data.
- Antipodeans are both marginally softer vs. the USD after benefitting yesterday from the dollar's post-data selling pressure. AUD/USD remains on a 0.66 handle in quiet newsflow with the monthly high at 0.6647.
- NOK: A slightly hotter than expected CPI which has sparked some modest NOK strength, sending EUR/NOK lower from 11.6940 to 1.6820.
- PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1011 vs exp. 7.2102 (prev. 7.1028).
- CNB Minutes (May): Easing process could be paused/terminated at any point at still restrictive levels. Holub & Frait mentioned the possibility of 75bp of easing, ultimately went for 50bp
Fixed Income
- USTs are flat with specifics light thus far though the docket ahead is packed with multiple Fed speakers. USTs are holding at 109-03+ matching yesterday's auction-driven high but still a handful of ticks shy of the WTD peak at 109-09.
- Gilts gapped higher by 15 ticks despite hawkish direction from the strong UK GDP numbers earlier in the morning. Upside which has continued and extended to a 98.29 fresh WTD high as markets digest the BoE beginning to thread-the-needle to a first cut in the near term.
- Bunds are bid but to a slightly lesser degree than Gilts with specifics light thus far. Upside which has paused at a 131.40 peak shy of 131.63-86 from earlier in the week.
- Italy sells EUR 9.25bln vs exp. EUR 7.5-9.25bln 2.95% 2027, 1.10% 2027, 3.45% 2031, 5.00% 2040, 2.15% 2072 BTP.
- Orders for Italy's BTP Valore reach EUR 11bln (circa. EUR 10bln on Thursday). Books close at 12:00BST
Commodities
- Crude benchmarks in the green but only modestly so as markets await an update to the Israel-Hamas situation after hostage negotiations ended and Israel pledged to continued with its operation in Rafah. Brent July off best levels and currently resides around USD 84.20/bbl.
- Precious metals are supported and seemingly benefitting from the modestly bullish tone for fixed income thus far. XAU up to a USD 2370/oz peak thus far, eclipsing the 21-DMA of USD 2337/oz with ease and bringing USD 2400/oz and then USD 2431/oz into view.
- Base metals are firmer, lifted by the broader risk tone and somewhat softer Dollar; though Aluminium is the standout laggard after a sizeable LME stock update of +424k (prev. -2.75k).
- Saudi's crude oil supply to China to fall by 5.8mln/bbl in June vs May, via Reuters citing sources.
- LME Stocks: Aluminium +424k (prev. -2.75k)
Geopolitics
- Israeli PM Netanyahu said they have destroyed 20 of Hamas's 24 battalions so far and hopes he and US President Biden can overcome disagreements, while he added that they have to defeat Hamas in Rafah.
- Israel's army reportedly carried out bombing operations on buildings east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera.
- US State Department said Secretary of State Blinken confirmed to his Egyptian counterpart US President Biden's "clear" position not to support the Rafah operation, according to Al Arabiya.
- US Secretary of State Blinken is expected to submit Israel conduct report to Congress today and is expected to criticise Israel but say it isn't breaking weapons terms, according to Axios.
- Group of 20 US Senators introduced a bill that would restrict funding to the UN or any organisation that gives the Palestinian Authority higher than observer status, according to Asharq News.
US Event Calendar
- 10:00: May U. of Mich. Sentiment, est. 76.2, prior 77.2
- 10:00: May U. of Mich. Current Conditions, est. 79.0, prior 79.0
- 10:00: May U. of Mich. Expectations, est. 75.0, prior 76.0
- 10:00: May U. of Mich. 1 Yr Inflation, est. 3.2%, prior 3.2%
- 10:00: May U. of Mich. 5-10 Yr Inflation, est. 3.0%, prior 3.0%
- 14:00: April Monthly Budget Statement, est. $250b, prior $176.2b
Central Bank Speakers
- 09:00: Fed’s Bowman Speaks on Financial Stability Risks
- 10:00: Fed’s Logan Participates in Moderated Q&A
- 10:00: Fed’s Kashkari Participates in Q&A
- 12:45: Fed’s Goolsbee Speaks in Moderated Q&A
- 13:30: Fed’s Barr Gives Commencement Speech
- 14:15: Fed’s Kashkari, Goolsbee on CNBC
DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
Risk assets posted further gains yesterday, thanks to growing confidence that central banks would still cut rates this year. In part, that was because of the weekly initial jobless claims in the US, which hit an 8-month high and added to fears that the labour market was cooling further. But alongside that, the Bank of England announced their latest policy decision, where Governor Bailey said it was “ likely that we will need to cut bank rate over the coming quarters ”. So this all cemented the theme that global monetary policy was heading towards a less restrictive stance, not least after the Riksbank’s rate cut earlier in the week. The next hurdle will be the US inflation numbers for April next week, but so far this month at least, investors have moved to expect a more dovish stance of monetary policy than they thought would happen at the end of April.
This trend was very helpful for equities, with several European indices up to new records yesterday, including the STOXX 600 (+0.19%), the FTSE 100 (+0.33%) and the DAX (+1.02%). Indeed, it marked a 5th consecutive advance for all three indices, and it leaves the DAX on track for its best weekly performance since November, having risen by +3.81% since the start of this week. Meanwhile in the US, the S&P 500 (+0.51%) was up to a 5-week high, and the index remains on track for a third consecutive weekly gain for the first time since February. On top of that, it’s also been the strongest performance for the S&P 500 over 6 sessions so far this year, having advanced by +3.90% since its recent low on May 1. The gains for the S&P 500 were broad-based with 10 of 11 industry groups higher on the day, and came even as the Magnificent 7 (-0.07%) was weighed down by losses for Nvidia (-1.84%) and Tesla (-1.57%).
That jobless claims data was the initial catalyst for the advance yesterday, and up until that point, S&P 500 futures had actually been in negative territory. The release showed that initial jobless claims were up to 231k (vs. 212k expected) in the week ending May 4, which was their highest level since late-August, and above every economist’s estimate on Bloomberg. But even though the data was weaker than expected, it meant investors grew more confident that the Fed would still cut rates this year, as it added to recent prints suggesting the labour market could be cooling. For instance, last week’s data showed job openings were down to a 3-year low in March, whilst the broader U6 measure of unemployment (which includes the underemployed and those marginally attached to the labour force) rose to its highest in over two years in April, at 7.4%.
But even with the uptick in jobless claims, this isn’t necessarily a leading indicator of a downturn. For instance, there was a previous spike last year, which pushed the 4-week average above 250k by late-June. But after that, the numbers came down again shortly afterwards, and there wasn’t a notable rise in the unemployment rate. And for the time being at least, the smoother 4-week average is still only at 215k, so it’s important to bear in mind that lots of other indicators are still looking more positive, and the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow indicator is suggesting that Q2 growth will come in at an annualised +4.2% rate.
This belief in future rate cuts was supported by the Bank of England’s latest decision as well. The main headline was that they kept rates unchanged at 5.25%, in line with expectations. But unlike the March meeting, when the vote was 8-1 to keep rates on hold, there was now a 7-2 split after Deputy Governor Ramsden also voted for a cut. Moreover, there was an additional line in the statement, which said that the committee would “consider forthcoming data releases and how these inform the assessment that the risks from inflation persistence are receding.” Then in the press conference, Governor Bailey said that a cut at the next meeting in June was “neither ruled out nor a fait accompli ”, and he suggested that the reductions in bank rate could be “possibly more so than currently priced into market rates”. There are two more CPI prints coming out ahead of the BoE’s next decision, so those will be in focus ahead of that, and this morning we’ve also got the Q1 GDP release shortly after we go to press.
Overall, the decision and these comments led investors to price in a growing probability of a rate cut by the next BoE meeting in June, with overnight index swaps raising the chance from 55% the previous day to 60% by the close. Front-end gilts also rallied on the prospect of faster rate cuts, with the 2yr yield coming down by -5.7bps. 10yr gilts did lose a bit of ground, with yields up +0.2bps, but that was actually an outperformance relative to the rest of Europe, where yields on 10yr bunds (+3.3bps), OATs (+4.3bps) and BTPs (+3.7bps) all saw larger moves higher.
Meanwhile in the US, Treasuries outperformed after the jobless claims data led futures to dial up the likelihood of rate cuts this year. For instance, 46bps of cuts were priced in by the December meeting at the close, up +1.9bps relative to the previous day. In turn, the 2yr yield was down -2.1bps to 4.82%. And 10yr yields were down -4.1bps to 4.45%, with long-dated Treasuries supported by a solid 30yr auction that saw the highest direct bidder share since July.
Overnight in Asia, this strength for risk assets has broadly continued, with the Hang Seng (+1.74%) rising to its highest level in almost nine months, whilst the Nikkei (+0.24%) and the KOSPI (+0.60%) have also advanced. The exception to this has been in mainland China, where the CSI 300 (-0.28%) and the Shanghai Comp (-0.22%) have both lost ground, which comes as a Bloomberg report said that the US would announce new tariffs on China. The report cited people who said an announcement was scheduled for Tuesday, and there would be a focus on strategic sectors including electric vehicles. Elsewhere, US equity futures are also positive this morning, with those on the S&P 500 up +0.09%.
To the day ahead now, and data releases include the UK GDP reading for Q1, Italian industrial production for March, Canadian employment for April, and in the US there’s the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index for May. From central banks, we’ll hear from the Fed’s Bowman, Logan, Kashkari, Goolsbee and Barr, the ECB’s Cipollone and Elderson, and the BoE’s Pill and Dhingra. We’ll also get the account from the ECB’s April meeting.
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Site: Zero HedgeUnited Airlines Boeing 737 Makes Emergency Return To Japanese Airport After Wing Flap "Irregularity"United Airlines Boeing 737 Makes Emergency Return To Japanese Airport After Wing Flap "Irregularity"Tyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 07:45
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Good morning, readers. There has been another Boeing incident overnight. This news is particularly alarming for anyone flying domestically or internationally on a Boeing jet, especially given the two Boeing mishaps earlier this week.
Aviation news website Simply Flying reported a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 that departed from Fukuoka Airport in Japan earlier today experienced an "irregularity" with a wing flap(s).
UA166, which was taking off from Fukuoka Airport to Guam Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, climbed to an altitude of 10,000 feet after takeoff, then leveled off and held a holding pattern. Around this time, pilots detected a wing flap(s) issue.
"Eventually, after holding for more than 30 minutes, the aircraft began its approach to FUK by descending and lining up on the airport's sole runway, runway 16/34, with the United Airlines aircraft landing at the aircraft on the former configuration," Simply Flying said.
Simply Flying, local media outlets nor officials provided additional information about the flap 'issue.'
What's important to understand here is that flaps are crucial for producing additional lift in takeoff and landing procedures. For the pilots out there, the flaps are critical for more lift on a 'normal' approach that provides reduced speed and controlled flight ahead of the round-out phase of landing. In other words, with full flaps deployed, a steep approach on landing means reduced speed and shorter runway distance is needed. A straight-line approach with no flaps deployed means higher speed and more runway distance required.
Given the brief aviation lesson about wing flaps, the 737-800 usually requires 6,500–7,000 feet for landing. Many calculations go into that, including weight and wind. Data shows the plane used the entire 9,186-foot runway, a possible indication of wing flap issues.
The good news is that the plane landed without an issue, and all 49 souls onboard were safe.
Another day, another issue with Boeing.
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Site: Novus Motus LiturgicusLost in Translation #86In the days that remain of Paschaltide, we turn to the Vidi Aquam, which is used from Easter to Pentecost at the Asperges rite instead of the antiphon Asperges Me and the verse, Psalm 50,3.The AntiphonThe antiphon for the season is:Vidi aquam egredientem de templo a látere dextro, allelúja: et omnes ad quos pervénit aqua ista salvi facti sunt, et dicent: allelúja, Michael P. Foleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02649905848645336033noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
This article precisely explains how the Democrats stole the 2020 and 2022 elections and how they will steal the November presidential election
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
Regulatory Agency Again Subverts the Law
Recently I explained to you how a regulatory agency rewrote the 1964 Civil Rights Act to impose racial quotas that the Act prohibited. https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2024/05/07/white-genocide-is-in-the-cards-that-are-being-played/
Now the same regulatory agency has rewritten Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination against women to include self-declared genders that allows biological males access to female spaces such as women’s showers.
Again I ask, why are women so self-destructive that they vote Democrat?
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
Congress Criminalizes the New Testament
The Democrats Have Taken Our Country Away from Us and Given it to Immigrant-invaders and the Republicans Have Taken the New Testament Away from Us
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2024/05/chuck-baldwin/congress-criminalizes-the-new-testament/
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
I received a request for an interview from a French University Ph.D. Student for His Dissertation
This is my reply:
Pierre, I don’t think your questions are relevant.
In the US and throughout the Western World, or what little remains of it, the white ethnicities who once constituted nations are now submerged in towers of babel in which the white ethnicities are demonized, and in the US reduced to second class citizenship in law, made to feel guilty and not only silenced but actually punished for protesting the over-running of their countries by Immigrant-invaders.
The intrusion of government into the family has destroyed the authority of parents. It is the state that has power over children. The children are brainwashed and indoctrinated in public education that they and their parents are racists and that they might be born into the wrong body from their real gender. In the US fortunes are being made in changing the gender of children in a process that legally has been taken out of the hands of parents.
Everyone knows that the immigrant-invaders are not “refugees from oppression.” Official US statistics document “refugees” from 160 countries. As there are only 200 countries, that would mean 80% of countries are tyrannies from which people are refuges.
The most oppressed countries in the world are the US and its West European puppet states such as France, once a great nation. If the Western peoples complain about the loss of their national identity, they are harassed, often prosecuted, for “hate crimes,” “racial crimes,” “hate speech” as is Marine Le Pen, described in the French press as a fascist or a Nazi. In Scandinavia, women are afraid to complain about being raped by immigrant-invaders as such raped women have been charged with racism. Even the feminists are too brainwashed or cowardly to come to their support..
The dispossession of white ethnicities of their countries by their own white governments is the most extraordinary event in human history.
I report on the total collapse of Western civilization, which is 90% complete, in my columns on my website.
If you are interested in real issues, instead of buttressing official narratives about “the Trump danger,” the fascist Alt Right, and the other bullshit, I warn you that your career will be squashed. If you are interested in truth, your dissertation will not be accepted.
I see no point in the interview.
To test what I have told you, try to find a dissertation committee anywhere in France or Europe or the US that will permit you to compare Jean Raspail’s 1973 predictions in his novel, The Camp of the Saints, with the reality today.
You will be thrown out of the university.
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Site: Zero HedgeAs The Dollar Falters, Gold Becomes Insurance, Not SpeculationTyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 07:20
Authored by Douglas French via The Mises Institute,
Economics trumps sentimentality, and gold’s elevated price has some people raiding the family jewelry box to pay bills.
“Young people are not wearing grandma’s jewels. Most of the young people, they want an Apple watch. They don’t want a pocket watch,” Tobina Kahn, president of House of Kahn Estate Jewelers told Bloomberg.
“Sentimental is now out the door.”
When times are tough, treasures change hands, the late Burt Blumert, once a gold dealer and Mises Institute Board Chairman, used to say.
“Prices are high, and I need cash,” Branden Sabino, a thirty-year-old information technology worker said, adding that with the cost of rent, groceries, and car insurance rising, he doesn’t have any savings. He sold a gold necklace and a gold ring to King Gold and Pawn on Avenue 5 in Brooklyn.
“People are using gold as an ATM they never had,” said store owner Gene Furman.
At King Gold, fifty-five-year-old Mirsa Vijil pawned a bracelet to pay her gas bill.
“Gold is high,” she said, adding she’d never pawned her jewelry before but will do it again if she needs to.
Adrian Ash, director of research at online gold investment service BullionVault says there is twice as much selling as a year ago on BullionVault’s platform. “People are very happy to take this price.”
“It’s very busy and we are getting more calls than ever before about clients wanting to bring in their jewels,” Kahn said.
“I’m telling the clients to bring them in now, as we are at unprecedented levels.”
So while there is plenty of liquidating to pay the bills, demand at the United States Mint is tepid, with sales in March the worst since 2019 for its American Eagle gold coin.
It turns out more than a few of those well-publicized Costco gold bar buyers are having trouble selling them. The bars, not being American Eagles or other similar gold coins, are not as liquid, given that the seller, Costco, will not buy them back. The Wall Street Journal reports, thirty-three-year old Adam Xi called five different gold dealers to get a price he would accept for the gold bar he bought at Costco in October.
He was offered $200 less by one dealer than the $2,000 he had paid. But he found a Philadelphia coin dealer near his home willing to pay $1,960, or twenty dollars under market price.
Mr. Xi has learned, or should have learned, that buying gold to turn a quick profit is a fantasy. His plan was to rack up credit-card points buying the gold and then quickly resell it for a profit.
Buyers can expect their gold to immediately lose around 5 percent of its value, according to Tom Graff, chief investment officer at the wealth advising company Facet. One pays a premium to buy and pays fees to sell.
“You need a holding period that’s long enough to overwhelm that cost,” said Graff.
Luke Greib told the Wall Street Journal that he sold a one-ounce Credit Suisse bar on a Reddit page dedicated to trading precious metals to avoid taxes and fees.
Buying physical gold is purchasing insurance against monetary mischief by the Federal Reserve, not to earn a profit via a quick flip.
Perhaps it’s hard to imagine currency destruction so devastating that your gold would serve as not only a store of value but a medium of exchange. Peter C. Earle explains in a piece for the American Institute for Economic Research, “During the peak of its 2008 hyperinflation, [Zimbabwe] experienced a catastrophic economic downturn, characterized by the issuance of billion—and trillion-dollar banknotes that were, despite their nominal enormity, virtually worthless.”
Dr. Earle writes that twenty-eight years of inflation “topped a total 231 million percent” and “the ZWD was demonetized in 2009.” The government is making its sixth attempt at a new currency, Zimbabwe gold (ZiG). “ZiG is there to stay forever,” said Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. “This bold step symbolizes government’s unwavering commitment to the de-dollarization program premised on fiscal discipline, monetary prudence and economic revitalization.”
Reportedly, ZiG “is backed by a basket of precious metals including about 2.5 tons of gold along with $100 million of foreign currency reserves held by the central bank.” As always, the Zimbabwe authorities are already blaming speculators for price increases. “Speculators should cease,” Chiwenga said. “Behave, or you get shut down or we lock you up.”
Dr. Earle has his doubts about whether the Zimbabwean authorities will maintain the ZiG backing with the required rigor. While he hopes for success, “Without fundamental changes guaranteeing private property protection, pro-market reforms, and safeguards against corruption, though, the ZiG is likely to retrace the unfortunate steps of its predecessors.”
The reason to buy and hold gold is just in case the Federal Reserve goes the way of Zimbabwe.
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
If Truth Could Be Acknowledged, America No Longer Exists
Paul Craig Roberts
Alan Dershowitz, the epitome of a Harvard law school left-winger back in the days before the left-wing went Woke, endorsed two of my books dealing with Washington’s dangerous assaults on American Civil Liberty.
Dershowitz’s failing is that as a defender of Zionist Israel he silences even Jews, such as Norman Finkelstein, who are critical of Zionist Israel. But when it comes to US civil liberty, he stands on the Constitution if Israel is not in the picture.
This is unusual for the left-wing today, which opposes the Constitution as a racist document intended to suppress black people.
In former periods of our history the American left was a countervailing power that protected civil rights. Those days are gone, and Dershowitz is the last.
I doubt that Dershowitz is a Trump supporter. But to Dershowitz, it is the the law, the Constitution, that is important. In a recent article, Dershowitz says, “Every American should be appalled at this selective prosecution. Today the target is former President Donald Trump. Tomorrow it may be a Democrat.”
In other words, Dershowitz is concerned that the US is becoming a Latin American country in which every outgoing president is prosecuted by his successor. Instead of law as a protector, law becomes a weapon.
Dershowitz has this to say:
“Trump’s underlying crime is seemingly a minor misdemeanor — falsifying business records — which long ago expired under the statute of limitations. In order to turn it into a felony within the statute of limitations, prosecutors will have to show that Trump falsified the records in order to impact his election, thus constituting a federal election felony.
The problem is, however, that federal authorities have not prosecuted Trump for this federal election crime. Moreover, state prosecutors have no jurisdiction over federal election law.”In other words, there is no legal basis for Trump’s indictment.
This has from the beginning been completely apparent, and now it has been stated by America’s most prominent legal authority, a person far more knowledgeable than any member of the US Supreme Court.
“I have been teaching, practicing and writing about criminal law for 60 years. In all those years, I have never seen or heard of a case in which the defendant was criminally prosecuted for failing to disclose the payment of what prosecutors call ‘hush money.’ Alexander Hamilton paid hush money to cover up an affair with a married woman. Many others have paid hush money since. If the legislature wanted to criminalize such conduct they could easily enact a statute prohibiting the payment of hush money or requiring its disclosure. They have declined to do so. Prosecutors cannot simply make up new crimes by jerry-rigging a concoction of existing crimes, some of which are barred by the statute of limitations others of which are beyond the jurisdiction of state prosecutors.” https://dailycaller.com/2024/05/08/opinion-trumps-trial-is-a-stupendous-legal-catastrophe-for-the-history-books-alan-dershowitz/?pnespid=qOlqBH1KL6oRxKfDomjtA5TQ7xKyUJIvJ_y70Oh58ABmWE1d_.03Q3m9YGQz_bqVDR4zq8Cx9A
In other words, America’s pre-eminent lawyer declares the totally unAmerican Biden Regime enemy of the US Constitution to be a direct threat to the existence of a rule of law and a free America.
Despite this, watch the Woke left, women, Woke white males, if male they are, vote Democrat. A country, such as America, which has lost the support of its principles by its own population is a destroyed country.
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Site: Mises InstituteIn a recent symposium on Murray Rothbard's For a New Liberty, philosopher Matt Zwolinski takes issue with Rothbard on Murray’s views of freedom and property rights.
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Site: Zero HedgeSix Reasons To Own Bitcoin In RetirementTyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 06:30
For newcomers, especially those in and around retirement age, the idea of investing in or owning bitcoin can evoke reactions from skepticism to disbelief. If you look beyond the popular narratives, however, you might find there is more to the story than first impressions suggest.
Here are six reasons to consider owning at least some bitcoin during retirement.
1. BITCOIN HELPS BROADEN YOUR ASSET ALLOCATION BASE
Traditionally, investors use a strategy called asset allocation to distribute and shield funds from investment risk over time. A sound asset allocation strategy is the antidote to putting all of your eggs in one basket. There are several types of asset “classes” or categories over which to distribute risk. Customarily, advisors seek to establish a dynamic mix between debt instruments (i.e., bonds), equities (i.e., stocks), real estate, cash, and commodities.
The more categories you employ to distribute your assets and the less correlated those categories are, the better your chances of balancing your risk, at least theoretically. Recently, due to unintended consequences caused by the aggressive expansion of societal debt and the money supply, assets that were previously less correlated now tend to behave more in kind with one another. When one sector gets hammered today, several sectors often suffer together.
Regardless of these present-day conditions, asset allocation remains a well-conceived strategy for moderating risk. While still in its relative infancy, bitcoin represents an entirely new asset class. Because of this, owning at least some bitcoin, especially due to its distinct properties when compared to other “cryptocurrencies,” provides an opportunity to broaden your asset base and more effectively distribute your overall risk.
2. BITCOIN OFFERS A HEDGE AGAINST INFLATION AND CURRENCY DEBASEMENT
As a retiree, protecting yourself from inflation is crucial to preserving your long-term purchasing power. In the asset allocation discussion above, we referenced the recent and aggressive money supply expansion. Everyone who has lived long enough to approach retirement age knows that a dollar no longer buys what it used to. When the government issues large amounts of new money, it debases the value of the dollars already in circulation. This generally pushes prices higher as newly created dollars begin to chase the existing limited supply of goods and services.
Our own Parker Lewis touched on this extensively in his Gradually, Then Suddenly series:
In summary, when trying to understand bitcoin as money, start with gold, the dollar, the Fed, quantitative easing and why bitcoin’s supply is fixed. Money is not simply a collective hallucination or a belief system; there is rhyme and reason. Bitcoin exists as a solution to the money problem that is global QE and if you believe the deterioration of local currencies in Turkey, Argentina or Venezuela could never happen to the U.S. dollar or to a developed economy, we are merely at a different point on the same curve.
In contrast to fiat currencies, no one can increase the supply and arbitrarily reduce bitcoin’s value. There are no centralized authorities that govern its monetary policy. Despite arguments to the contrary, bitcoin is similar to gold—but not exactly, because gold miners continue to inflate the supply of gold each year at a rate of 1-2%.
As bitcoin is slowly introduced to the circulating supply (i.e., mined), its inflation rate decreases and will eventually cease. This fact makes bitcoin uniquely scarce among global monetary assets. Ultimately, this scarcity, along with bitcoin’s other monetary properties, should safeguard its purchasing power. As such, owning bitcoin during retirement offers you a hedge against inflation.
3. BITCOIN OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ASYMMETRIC RETURNS
Bitcoin’s capacity to mitigate many of the challenges we discuss here rests on its ability to achieve asymmetric returns. Its supply is fixed (there will only ever be 21,000,000 bitcoin), and demand for the asset is growing steadily. As this limited supply collides with increased store-of-value adoption from individuals, institutions, and governments, bitcoin has the potential to dwarf the returns of nearly every competing asset class.
It’s worth noting that people generally improve their returns with bitcoin when they hold it for the long term. In the modern era, retirements lasting decades or more are increasingly common. Over such time periods, even a limited allocation to bitcoin offers ample opportunity to benefit from its upside potential. You just need time to hold through the short-term volatility, which contrary to popular belief, is not evidence of it being a poor store of value.
Sequestering a portion of funds solely for appreciation during retirement runs somewhat counter to conventional wisdom. Modern retirement planning generally optimizes for the liquidation of portfolio funds to provide income. However, setting aside a small amount of bitcoin—kept steadfastly gated from funds earmarked for income—opens the door to benefit from the monetization of bitcoin’s limited supply.
4. BITCOIN OFFERS PROTECTION FROM THE RISK OF LONG-TERM BONDS
Conventionally, high-grade bonds—held directly or as fund shares—make up a significant part of most retirement portfolios due to their low risk levels and tendency toward capital preservation. However, things have changed.
Monetary expansion and increases in societal debt have forced bond yields—or the amount of interest paid (i.e., coupon)—to historically low levels. The yields on most bonds today fall well below the rate of inflation. This “negative real yield” means that owning a bond can cost you money. But the difficulty doesn’t end there.
Because retirees need funds from their portfolios to pay bills, they generally must sell assets at current market rates to derive income throughout retirement. In the case of bonds, at present, this can be very problematic. Consider the following equations.
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How much money does it take for a bond paying a 2% rate to yield $20? Answer: $1,000. ($1,000 x 2% = $20)
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How much money does it take for a bond paying a 4% rate to yield $20? Answer: $500. ($500 x 4% = $20)
These two equations reveal that to yield the same $20 return, the market value of the underlying bond changes based on the interest rate promised.
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When interest rates go up, the market value of bonds goes down.
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When interest rates go down, the market value of bonds goes up.
The market value of bonds has an inverse relationship to interest rates. Consider that interest rates today hover near historic lows. Over the next twenty to thirty years, what will happen to the market value of bonds held by retirees if interest rates increase substantially? The answer: the market value of their bonds will collapse.
This changes the entire risk paradigm for bonds in retirement portfolios and potentially makes them far less safe than typically imagined. Bitcoin exists in a separate asset class from bonds; it is a bearer instrument that is not exposed to the same money market risks. As such, owning bitcoin may help you offset at least some of the potential risk incurred from owning bonds in retirement.
5. BITCOIN OFFERS A POTENTIAL SOLUTION FOR LONG-TERM HEALTHCARE RISK
Another area of concern for retirees is the cost of healthcare. Here, I am not referring so much to ordinary medical bills but rather to the potential to incur long-term care expenses in later age. Insurance is available for long-term care, but it has some unique and increasingly difficult challenges to overcome.
Healthcare, in general, takes a double-hit when it comes to price inflation. Not only do healthcare costs rise due to monetary debasement, but healthcare faces additional headwinds from demand spurred by growth in the aging population.
Source: Administration for Community Living – 2020 Profile of Older Americans
States regulate insurance for long-term care. To keep policyowners safe, insurers face scrutiny over where and how they invest policy premiums. To preserve capital required for future claims, insurers generally rely on low-risk, intermediate and long-term bonds. However, as our discussion above on bonds reveals, low yields and the potential for rising rates complicate this practice. One immediate fallout is that premiums for long-term care insurance policies have risen substantially.
We noted earlier bitcoin’s usefulness as an inflation hedge and its potential for long-term price appreciation. As it relates to long-term healthcare, it may make sense to set aside some bitcoin explicitly dedicated as a hedge for this rapidly increasing expense.
6. BITCOIN OFFERS YOU INDIVIDUAL SOVEREIGNTY
The final reason we’ll consider for owning bitcoin in retirement is that it offers you increased individual sovereignty. Bitcoin provides you a level of ownership that is not achievable with other assets. It can easily be carried across borders with a hardware wallet or seed phrase, for example, or transferred peer-to-peer anywhere in the world at low cost.
If you hold bitcoin securely in a wallet you control, no central bank can steal the value of your bitcoin by printing it into oblivion. No CEO can dilute its value by issuing more of its “shares.” Nor can a bank arbitrarily block access to or confiscate your funds. Unlike centralized financial custodians, which can be ordered to freeze or withhold funds on the whims of government or other third-party authorities, bitcoin with keys properly held is resistant to these kinds of overreach.
Specifically for retirement purposes, you can also hold your own keys for bitcoin in an IRA. Products like the Unchained IRA are a robust tool for building and saving your wealth on a tax-advantaged basis. And holding your bitcoin keys in the form of a multisig collaborative custody vault allows you to eliminate all single points of failure while you do so.
SOUND FINANCIAL PRINCIPLES AND OWNING BITCOIN
Benefitting from bitcoin does not require committing to wild speculation or thoughtless abandonment of sound financial principles. In contrast, the more you look at bitcoin through sound financial principles and apply them to your thinking, the greater the opportunities it provides. One steadfast financial principle that coincides with bitcoin ownership is prudence.
Macro-economic investment strategist Lyn Alden often speaks of establishing a “non-zero position” in bitcoin (i.e., owning at least some). The risk of losing a few portfolio percentage points in a worst-case scenario is, in my estimation, worth the potential upside. But to be clear, each person’s situation is unique. You must do your own research and make the best decisions you can about what works in your particular scenario.
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Visit Unchained.com for $100 off any Unchained financial services product with code “BTCMAG100”
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Site: Zero HedgeNew York Flight Attendants Accused Of Smuggling Millions In Drug Money To Dominican RepublicTyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 05:45
Four flight attendants from the New York City area have been accused of participating in a multimillion-dollar drug money smuggling operation which saw $8 million make its way to the Dominican Republic, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The accused, identified as Jarol Fabio, 35, of New York City; Charlie Hernandez, 42, of West New York, New Jersey; Sarah Valerio Pujols, 42, of the Bronx; and Emmanuel Torres, 34, of Brooklyn, allegedly transported the funds over a span of several years, exploiting their positions as flight attendants to bypass the stringent security measures in place at JFK International Airport.
“These flight attendants smuggled millions of dollars of drug money and law enforcement funds that they thought was drug money from the United States to the Dominican Republic over many years by abusing their privileges as airline employee[s]," stated U.S. Attorney Damien Williams. "Today’s charges should serve as a reminder to those who break the law by helping drug traffickers move their money that crime doesn’t pay."
According to prosecutors, the scheme involved using their status as "Known Crewmembers"—a designation that allows flight crew members to undergo less rigorous security screenings—to smuggle large sums of cash without detection. This privilege, intended to streamline operations for crew members, became their tool for illegal activities.
Delta Airlines, where two of the defendants were employed, has been cooperative with the authorities following the revelation that security protocols meant to protect the passengers were systematically abused.
According to court documents, the detailed operation was exposed with the help of two cooperating witnesses, themselves previously arrested on money laundering charges. These witnesses played a pivotal role in unveiling the transactions that tied some of the smuggled funds to fentanyl sales, adding a dire public health dimension to the criminal activities.
In one incident, prosecutors detailed how Hernandez and Pujols divided over $120,000 in drug money in December 2019, with each taking their share on subsequent trips to the Dominican Republic. Such episodes illustrate the methodical approach taken to avoid detection while exploiting their roles within the airline industry.
If convicted, the penalties are severe. Torres and Fabio face up to 15 years in prison, Hernandez could see 20 years, and Pujols, facing an additional smuggling charge, could be sentenced to up to 25 years. These stiff potential sentences reflect the serious nature of their alleged crimes, which compromised airport security systems and endangered public trust in the safety of air travel.
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Site: Real Investment Advice
When it comes to the financial markets, investors have a litany of investment vehicles to choose from. The choices are nearly unlimited, from brokered certificates of deposit to complex derivative instruments. Of course, investment vehicles’ proliferation comes from investors’ demand for everything from excess benchmark returns to income generation to downside protection.
Of course, every investor wants “all the upside, with none of the downside.” While there are vehicles, like indexed annuities, that can provide no downside risk, they cap the upside return. If you buy an index fund, you can get “all the upside” and “all the risk.”
However, an email from a reader last week got me thinking about the perfect “investment vehicle” and the search for the “holy grail” of investing.
“My wife and I are looking for a place to position some of our ’emergency funds’ for a better return. Our requirements are pretty simplistic:
- Guarantee at least a 4% rate of return.
- Allow me to withdraw cash without penalty when needed.
- Reinvest all income
- If bond yields decline as expected, the value of the investment increases.
At this point, I was confident in just suggesting purchasing a 10-year Treasury bond. At current rates, the investment would yield greater than 4% and guarantee the principal. If yields decline, the bond rises in price, reinvestment of income is an option, and the investment is highly liquid.
Theoretically, this would be the “perfect investment” vehicle for their needs. I said “theoretically” because they added one more requirement just as I was about to spout off my terrific idea.
“Oh, and one more thing, the dollar value of the account must remain stable at all times.”
And that, as they say, quickly ended the “perfect investment” vehicle for their needs.
Why did the addition of “price stability” make their request impossible?
The 3-Components Of All Investments
In portfolio management, you can ONLY have two of three components of any investment or asset class:
- Safety – The return of principal without loss due to price change or fees
- Liquidity – Immediately accessible without penalties or fees
- Return – Appreciation in the price of the investment
The table below is the matrix of your options.
The takeaway is that cash is the only asset class that provides safety and liquidity. Safety comes at the cost of return. Equities are liquid and provide returns but can suffer a significant loss of principal. Bonds can offer returns through income and safety if held to maturity. But in exchange for that safety, investors must forego liquidity.
In other words, no investment can provide all three factors simultaneously. While the table above uses only Equities, Bonds, and Cash, those three factors apply to any investment vehicle you may consider.
- Fixed Annuities (Indexed) – safety and return, no liquidity.
- Certificates of Deposit – safety and return, no liquidity.
- ETFs – liquidity and return, no safety.
- Mutual Funds – liquidity and return, no safety.
- Real Estate – safety and return, no liquidity.
- Traded REITs – liquidity and return, no safety.
- Commodities – liquidity and return, no safety.
- Gold – liquidity and return, no safety.
You get the idea.
Let’s revisit our email question.
While I initially focused on the cash requirements, these were also funds set aside for an “emergency.” In other words, these funds must be readily available when an unexpected event arises. Since “unexpected events” tend to happen at the worst possible time, these funds should never be put at risk. The need for “safety” and “liquidity” eliminates the third factor: Return.
No matter what investment vehicle you choose, you can only have two of the three components. Such is an essential and often overlooked consideration when determining portfolio construction and allocation.
8-Reasons To Focus On Liquidity
Liquidity is the most essential factor in making any investment. Without liquidity, I can not invest. Therefore, liquidity should always remain a high priority when managing your portfolio.
I learned a long time ago that while a “rising tide lifts all boats,” eventually, the “tide recedes.” Over the years, I made a straightforward adjustment to my portfolio management, which has served me well. When risks begin to outweigh the potential for reward, I raise cash.
The great thing about holding extra cash is that if I’m wrong, I simply make the proper adjustments to increase the risk in my portfolios. However, if I am right, I protect investment capital from destruction and spend far less time ‘getting back to even.’ Despite media commentary to the contrary, regaining losses is not an investment strategy.
Here are 8-reasons why you should focus on liquidity first:
1) We are speculators, not investors. We buy pieces of paper at one price with hopes of selling at a higher price. Such is speculation in its purest form. When risk outweighs rewards, cash is a good option.
2) 80% of stocks move in the direction of the market. If the market is falling, regardless of the fundamentals, the majority of stocks will decline also.
3) The best traders understand the value of cash. From Jesse Livermore to Gerald Loeb, each believed in “buying low and selling high.” If you “sell high,” you have raised cash to “buy low.”
4) Roughly 90% of what we think about investing is wrong. Two 50% declines since 2000 should have taught us to respect investment risks.
5) 80% of individual traders lose money over ANY 10-year period. Why? Investor psychology, emotional biases, lack of capital, etc. Repeated studies by Dalbar prove this.
6) Raising cash is often a better hedge than shorting. While shorting the market, or a position, to hedge risk in a portfolio is reasonable, it also merely transfers the “risk of being wrong” from one side of the ledger to the other. Cash protects capital and eliminates risk.
7) You can’t “buy low” if you don’t have anything to “buy with.” While the media chastises individuals for holding cash, it should be somewhat evident that without cash you can’t take advantage of opportunities.
8) Cash protects against forced liquidations. One of the biggest problems for Americans is a lack of cash to meet emergencies. Having a cash cushion allows for handling life’s “curve-balls,” without being forced to liquidate retirement plans.Layoffs, employment changes, etc. are economically driven and tend to occur with downturns that coincide with market losses. Having cash allows you to weather the storms.
Importantly, I want to stress that I am not talking about being 100% in cash.
I suggest that holding higher cash levels during periods of uncertainty provides both stability and opportunity.
With the political, fundamental, and economic backdrop becoming much more hostile toward investors in the intermediate term, understanding the value of cash as a “hedge” against loss becomes much more critical.
Chasing yield at any cost has typically not ended well for most.
Of course, since Wall Street does not make fees on investors holding cash, maybe there is another reason they are so adamant that you remain invested all the time.
The post The Investment “Holy Grail” Doesn’t Exist appeared first on RIA.
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Site: Crisis Magazine
Unless you have been living under a rock, I am sure you are aware that the Church is experiencing a vocation crisis. The numbers are bleak, and they have been for decades. Sure, there are bright spots here and there, mainly with traditional orders and societies of priests who often ordain more priests in a single seminary than the entire nation of Ireland did last year. Nonetheless…
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Site: Crisis Magazine
That Robert Louis Stevenson had a not-so-secret sympathy with Catholicism is evident in his book Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, where he describes a visit to the Trappist monastery Notre-Dame des Neiges (Our Lady of the Snows). I recall the white-washed chapel, the hooded figures in the choir, the lights alternately occluded and revealed, the strong manly singing…
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Site: AsiaNews.itMore than a month after the attack on Krokus City Hall, the retaliation against Tajik migrants in Russia has not subsided, to the point of prompting a protest note from Dushanbe. Hundreds remain stranded at airports and at the border with Kazakhstan, but Moscow cannot afford to lose the country where its most important military base in Central Asia is located.
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Site: AsiaNews.itToday's news: arson attack by settlers on the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem, building closed for security reasons;Presidential elections in Sri Lanka between September and October;Seoul opens to foreign doctors in hospitals to cope with strike, controversy over racist web post; Gazprom sells off some properties in Moscow to compensate for losses.
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Site: Mundabor's blogThe Gateway Pundit has an article about fewer Americans believing the “threat” of climate change. They give a political slant to it, and say it is to do with the Bidenomics making Americans poorer and the illegal immigration making people focus on real problems. However, I am not persuaded this is more than a secondary […]
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Site: Real Jew News
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Site: Mises InstituteSomalia is an artificial country that was created by European intervention. Somaliland, however, is an entity that should be recognized as a real nation.
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Site: Zero HedgeNew "Guide" Teaches UK MPs To Spot "Conspiracy Theories"Tyler Durden Fri, 05/10/2024 - 02:00
Authored by Kit Knightly via Off-Guardian.org,
The British government has issued a new guidebook to all sitting MPs to help them spot “conspiracy theories”.
Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt MP, who commissioned the guide, has warned that:
The proliferation of conspiracy theories across the UK is deeply disturbing. They are deliberate campaigns to spread disinformation and fear
[…]
If they go unchallenged we risk the public being conned and their wellbeing potentially damaged. These campaigns are also a threat to the health of our democracy.
It is essential that we give the public and their representatives the tools they need to combat this phenomenon.”
And claimed the aim of the new guide was to:
protect the public from the damaging effects of misinformation and safeguard the integrity of our democratic process,”
Which sounds just lovely, doesn’t it?
Oh, and just in case any of you are still caught up in the party politics illusion, the guide has full cross-party support, the Shadow Leader of the House called it “a must-read”.
The report was co-written by “experts” representing several non-governmental organisations, and fact-checkers including:
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FullFact – funded by (among others) Google, Facebook and the Open Society Foundation.
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The Institute for Strategic Dialogue – funded by (among others) the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, Facebook, over a dozen national governments and the UN.
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Global Network on Extremism and Technology – The academic research arm of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, a thinktank “designed to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms”…and which is funded by (among others) Facebook, Amazon, Youtube and Microsoft.
In short, it’s all a rather incestuous funding pool of the same handful of tech giants and billionaires paying “experts” to tell them what they want to hear.
But we probably shouldn’t judge until we’ve read the “guide” itself, which is tricky because it doesn’t seem to be publicly available (seriously I looked everywhere, if you’re aware of a copy online post it in the comments and we’ll add it the link here).
Fortunately, our old friends at the Guardian have given us a little taste, here’s three things they’re warning about.
The Great Reset, which the Graun describes as…
…a vague set of proposals from the World Economic Forum to encourage governments to move to adopt more equitable policies, the concept has been hijacked by conspiracy theorists claiming it is a bid by a small group to exert control.
…which is wonderful, because it’s essentially admitting it’s true and then pretending it’s not.
The Great Reset is, indeed, a WEF initiative. It was launched in June 2020 with the backing of world leaders and captains of industry, it aims to totally and completely rebuild the way our society works, including how we travel, what we eat and where we live.
You can read about it in Klaus Schwab’s own words here, or see their handy diagram:
How is that NOT “exerting control”?
How does one go about transforming the farming, travel, taxation and employment policies of every nation on Earth without “exerting control”?
Eating Insects is another “conspiracy theory”, apparently.
With the Guardian warning that:
[conspiracy theories] have included claims – fuelled by attempts to reduce meat consumption – that the WEF wants to make people eat insects.
The only problem being that the WEF really does want people to eat insects:
Like, a lot:
You know what? The Guardian wants people to eat insects too. So does the BBC. And Time. The list is endless.
This is – to use an overused word – gaslighting of the highest degree.
They are at once saying “hey, we all need to eat insects to save the world”, and then claiming anyone who repeats it back at them is a conspiracy theorist.
To encompass how mad this is you have to picture it being done on an interpersonal level.
Imagine a double-glazing salesman comes to your door, wearing a double-glazing company logo and holding a double-glazing sales catalogue and says “I think you should buy some double-glazing”.
To which you reply, “No thanks I don’t need any double glazing.”
At this point the man screams “Double glazing? Who said anything about double glazing!? You lunatic!” storms off down the path, gets in his double-glazing van and drives away.
It’s just that insane.
Climate Lockdowns are the third “conspiracy theory” the Guardian warns us about, claiming:
The ISD identified “climate lockdown” as the catchphrase for the conspiracy that the climate crisis will be used as a pretext for depriving citizens of liberty.
But climate lockdowns are not a conspiracy theory either, they were first posited in a report in October 2020 published by Project Syndicate and the World Council for Sustainable Development. The proposed lockdown included banning private vehicles, the consumption of red meat and “extreme energy-saving measures”.
Since then we have been inundated with peer-review studies, claiming lockdown is good for the environment.
The Guardian itself headlined, in March 2021:
Global lockdown every two years needed to meet Paris CO2 goals – study
It was such an unpopular story that they sneakily changed the headline.
It’s fairly clear that “climate lockdowns” are far from a conspiracy theory, that they were planned and then abandoned (or delayed) due to public anger at the first lockdown.
* * *
So, it looks like at least three of these “conspiracy theories” MPs are being “warned against” are actually…true. At least partially.
Oh well.
Still, it’s reassuring to know that unnamed experts from billionaire-funded NGOs are writing “guides” teaching our elected officials about the dangers of wrongthink.
What a great way to “safeguard the integrity of our democratic process”.
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Site: The Unz ReviewIn a clear rejection of US policies and leadership in the Middle East, the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly to back the Palestinian bid for full UN membership. The western media have mostly ignored Friday's balloting since the widely-anticipated results represent another black eye for Washington. But the outcome of the vote is a blow...
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Site: The Unz ReviewJeremy Carl, The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism is Tearing America Apart, Regnery Publishing, 2024, 369+xviii pages, $29.99 hardcover, $14.99 e-book Jeremy Carl is a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, served as deputy assistant secretary of the interior under President Trump, and has been associated with the Hoover Institution. His other books have dealt...
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Site: The Unz ReviewNot in my lifetime,” I used to think when contemplating America’s decline and fall—a decline and fall I eagerly anticipate as a prelude to remaking our crumbly republic such that it stands for the ideals it professes to uphold but unreservedly ignores. Blind justice, disinterested leaders and institutions, tolerance of others, freedom of thought and...
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Site: The Unz ReviewThe media’s role is to draw attention away from what the students are protesting – complicity in genocide – and engineer a moral panic to leave the genocide undisturbed As mass student protests quickly spread to campuses across the United States last week, and others took hold in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, the western...
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Site: The Catholic Thing
The primate of the Church of Hungary has established himself over the years as one of the leading ecclesiastical figures of our time. He is one of the few Catholic authorities to arouse the admiration of his peers and the interest of Catholic observers around the world. Yet he makes himself relatively scarce in the media and keeps away from the controversies and power plays that have often surrounded the Church in recent years. The late Australian Cardinal George Pell once said Péter Erdő is a man he’d like to see become pope.
The post Cardinal Erdő: ‘A man of unity, a bridge between East and West’ appeared first on The Catholic Thing.
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Site: The Catholic Thing
Even a passing glance at academic life these days makes clear that the men and women rewarded with top jobs on campus aren’t selected for their brilliance, skills, or character. These mediocrities excel precisely at the corporate art form of being simultaneously in power and not in power, enjoying their authority and prestige but claiming ignorance, impotence, or both when difficulties arise. And this is why they lack the courage to oppose faculty and student fascism.
The post My kingdom for an adult! Analyzing Columbia’s antisemitic ‘Tentifada’ appeared first on The Catholic Thing.
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Site: The Catholic Thing
In 2018, Ireland held a referendum on whether to remove the 8th amendment – which protected the rights of the unborn and in effect banned abortion – from the Irish Constitution, with the resulting majority ‘Yes’ vote resulting in the introduction of one of the most liberal abortion regimes in the world. At Dublin’s annual March for Life, one doctor put the matter succinctly: “If you lose the soul of medicine and make it a profession of killing, if you rob medicine of conscience by expelling those who listen to their conscience, everyone is in danger.”
The post The ‘soul of medicine’ lost in Ireland appeared first on The Catholic Thing.
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Site: The Catholic Thing
The so-called “Equal Rights” state-constitutional amendment says the state cannot discriminate against a person on the basis of sex and includes provisions protecting abortion, transgenderism, and sexual orientation. Bishop Robert Barron says the amendment imposes “the sexual revolution on the people of our state,” noting that the amendment lacks the possibility of conscientious objection, meaning churches, schools, and healthcare institutions guided by faith could be mandated to endorse practices or speech that violate their beliefs.
The post Bishop Barron and other Minnesota bishops rally against proposed abortion amendment appeared first on The Catholic Thing.
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Site: The Catholic Thing
She makes her way through the dark trees
Down to the lake to be alone.
Following their voices on the breeze,
She makes her way. Through the dark trees
The distant stars are all she sees.
They cannot light the way she’s gone.
She makes her way through the dark trees
Down to the lake to be alone.The night reflected on the lake,
The fire of stars changed into water.
She cannot see the winds that break
The night reflected on the lake
But knows they motion for her sake.
These are the choices they have brought her:
The night reflected on the lake,
The fire of stars changed into water.The post The Country Wife appeared first on The Catholic Thing.
(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Shutterstock)
A person walks past an 'Emergency Entrance' sign at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on Sept. 22, 2020. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
A health care professional suits up to enter a room in the ICU at Van Wert County Hospital in Van Wert, Ohio, on Nov. 20, 2020. (Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images)
Boxing promoter Don King attends the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University, in Hempstead, N.Y., on Sept. 26, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The then-U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, along with boxing promoter Don King, answers questions from the media after a day of meetings at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 28, 2016. (Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump (R), alongside UFC CEO Dana White (L), attends the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 299 mixed martial arts event at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla., on March 9, 2024. (Giorgio Viera/AFP)
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