For many people today, practical atheism is the normal rule of life...If this attitude becomes a general existential position, then freedom no longer has any standards, then everyting is possible and permissible.
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Site: Zero HedgeRussia Ready To Alter OPEC+ Production if NecessaryTyler Durden Tue, 05/07/2024 - 10:25
By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com
The OPEC+ group is still studying whether to raise oil production but it would act on supply if necessary, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday.
The possibility to raise supply is still being reviewed, Russia’s top oilman said, as carried by Russian news agency Interfax.
“It always depends on the current situation, the balance of supply and demand,” Novak said.
“Everything is being analyzed. Right now, you don’t need to predict anything, you just need to see how the market feels,” he said.
Novak added that OPEC+ participants “are constantly monitoring the situation, and this is our plan for the second quarter, we agreed with our colleagues that these voluntary cuts can be adjusted to boost supply if necessary.”
“This is a constant process,” Novak stressed.
The OPEC+ group is meeting on June 1 to decide how to proceed with the current production cuts in the second half of the year. The current supply agreement which removes around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) off the market now including Saudi Arabia’s 1 million voluntary cut, expires at the end of June.
As of the end of last week, OPEC+ had yet to start formal talks on the alliance’s production policy, sources from producers part of the deal told Reuters.
If oil demand fails to accelerate, the group could keep the oil production cuts in place, the sources added.
“We think there's a good chance that OPEC+ will extend beyond June - but we aren't yet putting a firm view because we don't think they've actually got into the real period of discussion and decision-making,” Richard Bronze of consultancy Energy Aspects told Reuters.
The majority of analysts expect OPEC+ to extend the cut into the second half of 2024, according to a survey by Bloomberg from last week.
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Site: Ron Paul Institute - Featured Articles
The Transformation is accelerating. The harsh, often violent, police repression of student protests across the US and Europe, in wake of the continuing Palestinian massacres, exposes sheer intolerance towards those voicing condemnation against the violence in Gaza.
The category of “hate speech” enacted into law has become so ubiquitous and fluid that criticism of the conduct of Israel’s behaviour in Gaza and the West Bank is now treated as a category of extremism and as a threat to the state. Confronted by criticism of Israel, the ruling élites respond by angrily lashing out.
Is there a boundary (still) between criticism and anti-semitism? In the West the two increasingly are being made to cohere.
Today’s stifling of any criticism of Israel’s conduct – in blatant contradiction with any western claim to a values-based order – reflects desperation and a touch of panic. Those who still occupy the leadership slots of Institutional Power in the US and Europe are compelled by the logic of those structures to pursue courses of action that are leading to “system” breakdown, both domestically – and concomitantly – provoking the dramatic intensification of international tensions, too.
Mistakes flow from the underlying ideological rigidities in which the ruling strata are trapped: The embrace of a transformed Biblical Israel that long ago separated from today’s US Democratic Party zeitgeist; the inability to accept reality in Ukraine; and the notion that US political coercion alone can revive paradigms in Israel and the Middle East that are long gone.
The notion that a new Israeli Nakba of Palestinians can be forced down the throats of the western and the global public are both delusional and reek of centuries of old Orientalism.
What else can one say when Senator Tom Cotton posts: “These little Gazas are disgusting cesspools of antisemitic hate, full of pro-Hamas sympathisers; fanatics and freaks”?
When order unravels, it unravels quickly and comprehensively. Suddenly, the GOP conference has had its nose rubbed in dirt (over its lack of support for Biden’s $61bn for Ukraine); the US public’s despair at open border immigration is disdainfully ignored; and Gen Z’s expressions of empathy with Gaza is declared an internal “enemy” to be roughly suppressed. All points of strategic inflection and transformation – likely as not.
And the rest of the world now is cast as an enemy too, being perceived as recalcitrants who fail to embrace the western recitation of its “Rules Order” catechism and for failing clearly to toe the line on support for Israel and the proxy war on Russia.
It is a naked bid for unchecked power; one nevertheless that is galvanising a global blow-back. It is pushing China closer to Russia and accelerating the BRICS confluence. Plainly put, the world – faced with massacres in Gaza and West Bank – will not abide by either the Rules or any western hypocritical cherry-picking of International Law. Both systems are collapsing under the leaden weight of western hypocrisy.
Nothing is more obvious than Secretary of State Blinken’s scolding of President Xi for China’s treatment of the Uighurs and his threats of sanctions for Chinas trade with Russia – powering “Russia’s assault on Ukraine,” Blinken asserts. Blinken has made an enemy of the one power that can evidently out-compete the US; that has manufacturing and competitive overmatch vs the US
The point here is that these tensions can quickly spiral down into war of “Us” versus “Them” – ranged against not just the China, Russia, Iran “Axis of Evil,” but vs Turkey, India Brazil and all others who dare to criticise the moral correctness of either of the West’s Israel and Ukraine projects. That is, it has the potential to turn into the West versus the Rest.
Again, another own goal.
Crucially, these two conflicts have led to the Transformation of the West from self-styled “mediators” claiming to bring calm to flashpoints, to being active contenders in these wars. And, as active contenders, they can permit no criticism of their actions – either inside, or out; for that would be to hint at appeasement.
Put plainly: this transformation to contenders in war lies at the heart of Europe’s present obsession with militarism. Bruno Maçães relates that a “senior European minister argued to him that: if the US withdrew its support for Ukraine, his country, a Nato member, would have no choice but to fight alongside Ukraine – inside Ukraine. As he put it, why should his country wait for a Ukrainian defeat, followed by [a defeated Ukraine] swelling the ranks of a Russian army bent on new excursions?”
Such a proposition is both stupid and likely would lead to a continent-wide war (a prospect with which the unnamed minister seemed astonishingly at ease). Such insanity is the consequence of the Europeans’ acquiescence to Biden’s attempt at regime change in Moscow. They wanted to become consequential players at the table of the Great Game, but have come to perceive that they sorely lack the means for it. The Brussels Class fear the consequence to this hubris will be the unravelling of the EU.
As Professor John Gray writes:
At bottom, the liberal assault on free speech [on Gaza and Ukraine] is a bid for unchecked power. By shifting the locus of decision from democratic deliberation to legal procedures, the élites aim to insulate [their neoliberal] cultish programmes from contestation and accountability. The politicisation of law – and the hollowing out of politics go hand in hand.
Despite these efforts to cancel opposing voices, other perspectives and understandings of history nonetheless are reasserting their primacy: Do Palestinians have a point? Is there a history to their predicament? “No, they are a tool used by Iran, by Putin and by Xi Jinping,” Washington and Brussels says.
They say such untruths because the intellectual effort to see Palestinians as human beings, as citizens, endowed with rights, would force many Western states to revise much of their rigid system of thinking. It is simpler and easier for Palestinians to be left ambiguous, or to “disappear.”
The future which this approach heralds couldn’t be farther from the democratic, co-operative international order the White House claims to advocate. Rather it leads to the precipice of civil violence in the US and to wider war in Ukraine.
Many of today’s Woke liberals however, would reject the allegation of being anti-free speech, labouring under the misapprehension that their liberalism is is not curtailing free speech, but rather is protecting it from “falsehoods” emanating from the enemies of “our democracy” (i.e. the “MAGA contingent”). In this way, they falsely perceive themselves as still adhering to the classical liberalism of, say, John Stuart Mill.
Whilst it is true that in On Liberty (1859) Mill argued that free speech must include the freedom to cause offence, in the same essay he also insisted that the value of freedom lay in its collective utility. He specified that “it must be utility in the largest sense – grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being.”
Free speech has little value if it facilitates the discourse of the “deplorables” or the so-called Right.
In other words, “Like many other 19th-century liberals,” Professor Gray argues, “Mill feared the rise of democratic government because he believed it meant empowering an ignorant and tyrannical majority. Time and again, he vilified the torpid masses who were content with traditional ways of living.” One can hear here, the precursor to Mrs Clinton’s utter disdain for the “deplorables” living in “fly-over” US states.
Rousseau too, is often taken as an icon of “liberty” and “individualism” and widely admired. Yet here too, we have language which conceals its’ fundamentally anti-political character.
Rousseau saw human associations rather, as groups to be acted upon, so that all thinking and daily behaviour could be folded into the like-minded units of a unitary state.
The individualism of Rousseau’s thought, therefore, is no libertarian assertion of absolute rights of free speech against the all-consuming state. No raising of the “tri-colour” against oppression.
Quite the reverse! Rousseau’s passionate “defence of the individual” arises out of his opposition to “the tyranny” of social convention; the forms, rituals and ancient myths that bind society – religion, family, history, and social institutions. His ideal may be proclaimed as that of individual freedom, but it is “freedom,” however, not in a sense of immunity from control of the state, but in our withdrawal from the supposed oppressions and corruptions of collective society.
Family relationship is thus transmuted subtly into a political relationship; the molecule of the family is broken into the atoms of its individuals. With these atoms today groomed further to shed their biological gender, their cultural identity and ethnicity, they are coalesced afresh into the single unity of the state.
This is the deceit concealed in classical Liberalism’s language of freedom and individualism – “freedom” nonetheless being hailed as the major contribution of the French Revolution to western civilisation.
Yet perversely, behind the language of freedom lay de-civilisation.
The ideological legacy from the French Revolution, however, was radical de-civilisation. The old sense of permanence – of belonging somewhere in space and time – was conjured away, to give place to its very opposite: Transience, temporariness and ephemerality.
Frank Furedi has written,
Discontinuity of culture coexists with the loss of the sense of the past … The loss of this sensibility has had an unsettling effect on culture itself and has deprived it of moral depth. Today, the anticultural exercises a powerful role in western society. Culture is frequently framed in instrumental and pragmatic terms and rarely perceived as a system of norms that endow human life with meaning. Culture has become a shallow construct to be disposed of – or changed.
The western cultural elite is distinctively uncomfortable with the narrative of civilisation and has lost its enthusiasm for celebrating it. The contemporary cultural landscape is saturated with a corpus of literature that calls into question the moral authority of civilisation and associates it more with negative qualities.
De-civilization means that even the most foundational identities – such as that between man and woman – is called into question. At a time when the answer to the question of “what it means to be human” becomes complicated – and where the assumptions of western civilisation lose their salience – the sentiments associated with wokeism can flourish.Karl Polyani, in his Great Transformation (published some 80 years ago), held that the massive economic and social transformations that he had witnessed during his lifetime – the end of the century of “relative peace” in Europe from 1815 to 1914, and the subsequent descent into economic turmoil, fascism and war, which was still ongoing at the time of the book’s publication – had but a single, overarching cause:
Prior to the 19th century, he insisted, the human way of being had always been “embedded” in society, and that it was subordinated to local politics, customs, religion and social relations i.e. to a civilisational culture. Life was not treated as separated into distinct particulars, but as parts of an articulate whole – of life itself.
Liberalism turned this logic on its head. It constituted an ontological break with much of human history. Not only did it artificially separate the “economic” from the “political,” but liberal economics (its foundational notion) demanded the subordination of society – of life itself – to the abstract logic of the self-regulating market. For Polanyi, this “means no less than the running of society as an adjunct to the market.”
The answer – clearly – was to make society again a distinctly human relationship of community, given meaning through a living culture. In this sense, Polanyi also emphasised the territorial character of sovereignty – the nation-state as the pre-condition to the exercise of democratic politics.
Polanyi would have argued that, absent a return to Life Itself as the pivot to politics, a violent backlash was inevitable. (Though hopefully not as dire as the transformation through which he lived.)
Reprinted with permission from Strategic Culture Foundation.
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Site: RT - News
Illegal performance-enhancing drug use by China’s top swimmers is being covered up, Travis Tygart claims
The credibility of the Paris Olympics could be in jeopardy due to performance-enhancing drug use by Chinese athletes and the pro-China bias of anti-doping regulators, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Travis Tygart, has claimed.
Tygart’s warning came on the heels of an investigation by the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD made public last month claiming that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for banned drugs shortly prior to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. However, according to the investigation, the athletes were cleared by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA), which said that they had failed the tests due to a contaminated hotel kitchen. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted the explanation and allowed the athletes to compete, the media outlets claim.
In an interview with the news outlet Politico published on Monday, Tygart claimed that WADA is biased towards Chinese athletes and let China off the hook intentionally and “swept [the case] under the carpet.”
“Because of the cover-up that happened by China, and WADA allowing it, now that it’s come to light it’s going to be a train wreck waiting to happen going into Paris,” he stated.
The official went on to accuse the entire International Olympic Committee (IOC) of favoring China due to its position as an “incredibly important country to the Olympic Movement.”
Read more
Olympic restrictions ‘humiliating’ for Russians – EU state
“The IOC has cozied up to China in a really big way. And that means WADA is thinking twice about the ramifications of enforcing the rules fairly. And it’s chosen [in] this case not to do so,” he claimed.
Neither CHINADA nor the IOC has commented on Tygart’s accusations. A WADA spokesperson told Politico in a statement that the claims were “utter nonsense” and that the allegations of a pro-China cover-up by the agency “have lacked any evidence from the beginning.”
“Only a few individuals, with their own agenda, continue to cling to those defamatory claims,” he said.
The WADA rebuffed the claims made by the NYT and ARD, calling their investigation “misleading and potentially defamatory.” It has also said that the US doping regulator “repeatedly” approached the WADA over the years with accusations of doping cover-ups within the Chinese swimming team, but the agency found the allegations “unsubstantiated” as they were based on unspecified sources.
READ MORE: Fecal-ridden river threatens Paris Olympics
Last month, the WADA announced that it had invited an independent prosecutor to conduct a review of its handling of the 2021 case following requests by several stakeholders.
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Site: Zero HedgeDisney Shares Plunge Most In Year On Subscriber Miss, Disappointing GuidanceTyler Durden Tue, 05/07/2024 - 10:05
Disney reported fiscal second-quarter profits that exceeded estimates of the average analysts tracked by Bloomberg and raised its full-year earnings guidance. However, shares tumbled in early trading in New York as investors focused more on the Disney+ streaming service, missing its forecast for the quarter.
For the quarter ending March 30, the Disney+ streaming service reported 153.6 million subs, which fell short of Wall Street's expectations of 155.66 million. This is currently overshadowing any positive news from the quarter.
Earnings increased to $1.21 a share, excluding some items, in the quarter, beating the $1.12 average of analysts' estimates. Revenue in the first three months of the year increased by 1.2% to $22.08 billion, compared with analysts' forecast of $22.1 billion.
- Adjusted EPS $1.21 vs. 93c y/y, estimate $1.12 (Bloomberg Consensus)
- Revenue $22.08 billion MEET, +1.2% y/y, estimate $22.1 billion
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Entertainment revenue MISS $9.80 billion, estimate $10.31 billion
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Direct-to-Consumer revenue MEET $5.64 billion, estimate $5.64 billion
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Sports revenue MISS $4.31 billion, estimate $4.33 billion
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Experiences revenue BEAT $8.39 billion, estimate $8.18 billion
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However, while the media giant added more than 6 million subscribers in the second quarter to its core Disney+ streaming offering, it was less than expected:
- Disney+ subscribers 153.6 million, estimate 155.66 million
And worse still, CFO Hugh Johnston said the company doesn’t expect to see core Disney+ subscriber growth in the current quarter and profitability in streaming will suffer due to due to additional expenses for cricket rights in India.
Disney bought the India business in 2019 as part of its $71.3 billion acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox.
“We are pleased with the progress we’re making in streaming, although, as we said before, the path to long-term profitability is not a linear one,” Johnston said on a call with investors.
At the start of the cash session, Disney shares slid 8.5%. The latest rebound in the stock has hit heavy resistance at the $120 handle.
The 8.5% decline is the largest intraday tumble since May 11, 2023.
On the bright side, Disney’s theme parks saw revenue increase 10% in the second quarter and the segment posted a 12% gain in operating income.
But, once again, Johnston said he’s expecting little growth at parks in the current period, due to expenses such as a new cruise ship, before resuming growth later in the year.
Earnings in Disney’s theme-park division rose to $2.29 billion in the second quarter, driven by sharply higher results internationally, especially Hong Kong. Domestically the company’s cruise line and Disney World resort in Florida registered income growth, while California’s Disneyland saw weaker performance due to higher costs.
“While consumers continue to travel in record numbers and we are still seeing healthy demand, we are seeing some evidence of a global moderation from peak post-Covid travel,” Johnston said on the call.
The question remains, just how much can Disney put up park prices before demand literally disappears?
While McDonald's, Starbucks, and Tyson Foods have all reported low-income consumers dialing back purchases as inflation pinches pocketbooks, the Disney CFO claimed that:
"We're not seeing that in our portfolio of products," adding there hasn't been much of an impact after streaming prices were hiked earlier this year.
However, it's only a matter of time before Disney sees low-income or middle-of-the-road consumers pull back on streaming spending and outrageously priced park tickets amid rising stagflationary threats.
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Site: Mises InstituteThe importance of this book lies primarily in how it shows the interventionist state is at the root of Western society’s increasingly loathsome, self-destructive, and stingy culture.
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Site: Steyn OnlineProgramming note: Tomorrow, Wednesday, I'll be here for our midweek Clubland Q&A taking questions from Mark Steyn Club members live around the planet at 3pm North American Eastern - which is 8pm British Summer Time/9pm Central European. Hope you can
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Site: Steyn OnlineEpisode Nineteen of our current Tale for Our Time - Agatha Christie's second published novel The Secret Adversary...
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Site: LifeNews
New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing Heartbeat International and 11 crisis pregnancy centers in the state over their promotion of the abortion reversal pill, claiming they are using “false and misleading statements” about the pill’s effectiveness.
“Abortions cannot be reversed,” stated James in a May 6 news release announcing the lawsuit. “Any treatments that claim to do so are made without scientific evidence and could be unsafe.”
James’ news release states that the defendant pregnancy centers and Heartbeat International “aggressively advertise APR (abortion pill reversal) on their websites, social media, and other promotional materials,” such as stating that it is possible to reverse a chemical abortion if the life-saving pill is taken in time.
A chemical abortion involves a two-pill regime. The pregnant mother first takes mifepristone, which blocks the hormone progesterone, effectively starving the unborn child to death. The second pill, misoprostol, is taken later to induce delivery of the deceased child.
James’ news release on the lawsuit explains that the abortion pill reversal “treatment involves administering repeated doses of progesterone, a hormone bodies naturally produce during pregnancy, to a pregnant person who has taken mifepristone but has not yet taken misoprostol.”
As CatholicVote previously reported, “The reversal works by reintroducing progesterone into the woman to counter the mifepristone and restore nutrition and support to the baby.”
James seeks to stop the pro-life organizations “from continuing to promote this unproven treatment in ways that are misleading about its experimental nature and potential risks,” according to the May 6 news release.
REACH PRO-LIFE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE! Advertise with LifeNews to reach hundreds of thousands of pro-life readers every week. Contact us today.
“Specifically, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) seeks an order requiring the removal of all false and misleading claims in marketing materials and prohibiting further violations. Attorney General James is also seeking the payment of civil penalties for violations of the law,” the news release notes.
Heartbeat International is a leading advocate for abortion pill reversals especially through its partner with the hotline, Abortion Pill Rescue Network.
In January, the pro-life organization’s president spoke in a Congressional hearing about the dangers of chemical abortions and the effectiveness of abortion pill reversals. A guest at the hearing was a mother, Katelynn, whose daughter was saved by an abortion reversal pill.
Heartbeat International is transparent that there is not a 100% guarantee that the reversal pill will work, citing on its website that 64-68% of women who took an abortion reversal pill were able to save their pregnancies.
Heartbeat International continues to advocate for the pill’s accessibility, to give mothers a chance to save their pregnancy from a chemical abortion before it is too late.
On April 22, James sent a notice of litigation to 10 pro-life pregnancy centers in the state, claiming that the centers have promoted abortion pill reversal with false and misleading information.
The pro-life legal organization Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit on behalf of Heartbeat International and several pregnancy centers against James on April 30.
As CatholicVote previously reported, the Thomas More Society lawsuit against James “[outlined] the AG’s unlawful intimidation of pregnancy help organizations through threats of prosecution.”
LifeNews Note: McKenna Snow writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
The post Letitia James is Wrong, Abortion Pill Reversal is Saving Babies From Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: AsiaNews.itAn incident at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport on 1 May sparked tensions between the tourism industry and the Sri Lankan government. Private operators like GBS and VFS have been allowed to issue visas, and raise fees. As accusations whirl around the Ministry of Public Security, the government plans an investigation.
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Site: RT - News
The report is the second in two days to allege that Washington is denying weapons to the Jewish state
The US has stalled the delivery of thousands of bomb-guidance kits to Israel since January, anonymous American officials told the Wall Street Journal on Monday. The White House has not explained whether it is deliberately withholding the weapons, reportedly leaving the Israeli government puzzled by the delay.
Congress first learned in January that the State Department intended to sell Israel up to 6,500 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), in a deal worth as much as $260 million, the newspaper’s sources said. JDAM kits bolt to conventional 500 to 2,000-pound bombs, allowing these ‘dumb’ munitions to be guided toward their targets as they fall.
The US State Department is required by law to formally notify Congress of its intent to supply arms to foreign countries if the value of the package exceeds a certain amount ($25 million in the case of NATO members or Israel). However, Congress was never informed of the JDAM sale after January, “triggering an effective pause in the deal,” the Journal reported.
The State Department declined to comment on the apparent holdup. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby refused to confirm or deny any pause in arms deliveries during a briefing on Monday, but insisted that American security commitments to Israel “are ironclad.”
Read more
US froze military aid shipment to Israel – Axios
“It’s unusual, especially for Israel, especially during a war,” a congressional official told the newspaper.
The report came a day after Israeli officials told Axios that the US had abruptly canceled a planned weapons shipment last week. The officials claimed that no reason was given for the cancelation, leaving them “scrambling to understand why the shipment was held.”
It is unclear whether both reports were referring to the same shipment. Had the JDAM kits been cleared for export to Israel, the State Department would have had to issue a formal notification 15 days before the sale. No such notification has been posted on the Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s (DCAA) website, where sales are typically announced.
While US President Joe Biden has never threatened to withhold weapons from Israel, his criticisms of the Jewish state have grown more pointed as Israel’s war with Hamas drags on. Biden has declared that an Israeli invasion of the civilian-crowded city of Rafah would be a “red line,” and publicly rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza.
Read more
US tells Israel it won’t back Rafah operation ‘as currently planned’
The State Department has also sanctioned Israeli settlers in the West Bank, while the US abstained from a UN Security Council vote in March that allowed a measure demanding an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to pass.
Despite voicing these criticisms, the Biden administration has kept weapons and ammunition flowing to Israel, reportedly approving more than 100 arms deliveries since October.
Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7 last year, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Netanyahu immediately declared war on the militant group, and Israeli forces have to date killed almost 35,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
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Site: The Orthosphere
“She bound the scarlet line in the window.”
Joshua 2:21
A shibboleth is a special kind of password, which is to say a key or badge that opens a social door and grants admission to a social group. As everyone versed in scripture knowledge knows, shibboleth was at first a word that the lisping Ephramites could not pronounce, and that the Sons of Giliad therefore used to identify the survivors of a shattered Ephramite army. When a bloodied and bedraggled warrior staggered down to the ford of the Jordan, he was challenged to pronounce the word “shibboleth,” and thereby show his secret badge. Those who pronounced it “sibboleth” were immediately slain.
As I explained some years ago, shibboleths often take the form of sacrilege. The password that grants admission to one social group is in such cases a violation of the norms of that group’s enemy. Thus anti-Christian secret societies used to require an aspiring member to trample on a crucifix, spit on a Bible, or otherwise treat the sacred objects and words Christianity as profane. In on-line culture, such sacrilegious shibboleths are called “shill tests,” and in these tests an aspiring member is required to type words that an undercover agent would find it very hard to type. As I explained in that long-ago post, to get past the sentries of one group, you must often slay another group’s sacred cow.
A shibboleth is a password that prevents infiltration by spies. A “scarlet thread” is a secret badge with which a traitor makes himself known to his new compatriots, and is thereby passed over when his new compatriots descend like wolves on the people whose compatriot the traitor only pretends to be. Like shibboleth, the term “scarlet thread” comes from the Old Testament, and more particularly from the curious tale of a traitor known as Rahab the Harlot.
Rahab the Harlot dwells in the city of Jericho, and when Joshua sends two spies into that city, the two young men somehow fall in with Rahab, who we must never forget is a harlot, and she hides these two handsome young spies in her house. This house was built on, or rather up against, the city wall; and on its city-wall side had a high window that looked out over the countryside. It was from this high window that Rahab lowered Joshua’s spies on a “scarlet thread,” after telling them that her people were ripe for conquest because they were rotten with fear.
“Your terror is fallen upon us . . . the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.”
Rahab’s reward for betraying her people is that she and her family will be spared when Jericho is sacked and its citizens are slaughtered. But to assure their deliverance, Rahab must keep her family in her house (of ill repute), and must display the “scarlet thread” in the front window. of that house.
“Behold, when we come into the land, thou shall bind this thread in the window which thou didst let us down by; and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee” Joshua 2: 18.
Thus a “scarlet thread” is a means whereby a traitor escapes the destruction brought down by his or her treason. One wonders how many who “miraculously” survive some near-universal destruction owe their deliverance to display of a secret badge or “scarlet thread.” Rahab was a harlot, so she knew how treachery works.
“She bound the scarlet line in the window.”
Not long after, as every Sunday-school scholar knows, Joshua’s army compasses the city of Jericho and “the walls came a tumbling down.” Then, as many Sunday-school scholars do not know, before the sack and slaughter begins, a house displaying a “scarlet thread” is sought and a traitorous harlot is saved. Which was very fortunate for that traitorous harlot and her family, because of Joshua’s army we are told:
“They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.” Joshua 6: 21
Like a shibboleth, a “scarlet thread” is a special kind of password, although it grants its possessor the privilege of escape and not admission. It is a secret badge with which traitors and spies show their true colors to their true friends, and by which traitors and spies are exempted when their true friends utterly destroy their pretended friends with the edge of the sword.
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Site: RT - News
Officials in Warsaw have branded Tomasz Szmydt a traitor after he fled to Belarus
A Polish judge who announced his resignation after fleeing to Belarus has denied claims that he could compromise his homeland’s national security.
Tomasz Szmydt announced his resignation as a judge at Warsaw’s Provincial Administrative Court during a surprise press conference in Minsk on Monday. Poland has depicted Szmydt, who also headed the legal department at the National Council of Judges and had security clearance, as a potential traitor who could reveal state secrets to Belarus and its ally Russia.
“We cannot ignore this matter,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a cabinet meeting, adding that Szmydt “had access to classified documents to which no intelligence service should have access.” Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski has branded the former judge a traitor and condemned his actions.
Szmydt, however, has denied the accusations against him. “I did not bring any secret documents here [to Belarus],” he told RIA Novosti on Tuesday. “I did not reveal any secrets. I am not being asked to.”
Read more
NATO member says it ‘won’t send Ukrainians to their deaths’
Considering the outrage in Poland, Szmydt believes he would be criminally prosecuted in his homeland for no reason other than his security clearance. “It would mean prison for me [if I returned]. Proceedings are underway to charge me with espionage for Belarus and Russia,” he said.
The Polish leadership has claimed Szmydt developed contacts with the Belarusian government over a lengthy period. Tusk implied that the official was part of a campaign under the previous conservative government set up with “the goal of devastating the Polish legal system.”
Under the previous government headed by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, Warsaw adopted significant legal reforms which critics in the EU slammed as an encroachment on the separation of powers. On Monday, following the victory of Donald Tusk's liberals in Polish elections, the European Commission announced that Brussels is ending its six-year dispute with Warsaw.
Officials praised Tusk for changing the country’s course since he returned as prime minister in December. Unlike his nationalist predecessors, Tusk is a former president of the European parliament and an avowed ally of Brussels.
READ MORE: West is dragging Poland into war – fugitive judge
Szmydt has claimed that his surprise flight to Minsk was meant as a gesture of protest against escalating tensions between Warsaw and Moscow over the Ukraine conflict.
“Poland could be directly dragged into [the hostilities], which would involve the deployment of Polish troops to the territory of Ukraine,” he told RIA Novosti. “Mercenaries and so-called instructors have been there for a long time, but now there is talk about an official deployment of troops.”
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Site: Zero HedgePeloton Shares Surge On Private Equity Firm Buyout ReportTyler Durden Tue, 05/07/2024 - 09:05
Just one week after Barry McCarthy, CEO of Peloton Interactive, announced his departure following a disastrous tenure that saw shares plummet by 92%, CNBC reports private equity firms are circling the struggling company, known for strapping iPads on fancy exercise bikes and charging wealthy consumers a hefty premium, for a potential buyout.
People familiar with the talks say Peloton has spoken with at least one private equity firm. However, the firm's interest in acquiring the company is unclear. The people also say several other private equity firms have been interested in acquiring the company.
Responding to the report, a Peloton spokesperson told CNBC, "We do not comment on speculation or rumors."
"Firms have zeroed in on how to cut Peloton's operating expenses to make a buyout more attractive," CNBC said.
Last week, Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy announced he would step down, while the company said it would undergo another broad restructuring plan that would save it more than $200 million by the end of 2025.
Following the report, the company's shares surged by as much as 18% in premarket trading in New York.
The news comes as Peloton's float is heavily shorted, with at least 15% short, equivalent to about 50 million shares.
Under McCarthy's tenure, shares have plunged 92%, mainly because demand for at-home exercise bikes and treadmills has fallen since the pandemic. Consumers have returned to gyms, and or just can't afford the overpriced equipment Peloton has to offer.
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Site: LifeNews
Colombia, With Life There Is Hope. That was the theme of the march for Life in varies cities across the South American country this weekend as pro-life people in more than 110 cities and towns participated in the 18th National March for Life to protest abortion.
The participants called in Colombia’s highest court to reverse its rulings allowing babies to be killed in abortions.
CNA reports on the events that took place:
The simultaneous pro-life demonstrations took place in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cúcuta, Montería, Pereira, Cumaral, and scores of other cities.
In Bogotá, the marchers departed from the National Park and went down 7th Street until reaching Plaza Bolívar in the center of the Colombian capital.
In front of the thousands of people holding light blue flags and wearing blue neckerchiefs — the color of the pro-life movement — the president of United for Life, Jesús Magaña, read a manifesto in which he decried the “close to 20,000 abortions that have taken place in the city of Bogotá alone,” which amounts to “20 times more than other causes of violent deaths.”
Magaña also warned that the Constitutional Court intends to “say that abortion is a fundamental right, against the entire letter and spirit of our constitution, the feelings of the Colombian people, and signed international treaties.”
“We are unwilling to remain silent and stand by in the face of the largest massacre in the country,” he declared.
REACH PRO-LIFE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE! Advertise with LifeNews to reach hundreds of thousands of pro-life readers every week. Contact us today.
The Colombian Constitutional Court issued a radical pro-abortion ruling in February 2022 that forced the South American country to legalize the killing of unborn babies in abortions up to 24 weeks.
The court ruled 5-4 in favor of decriminalizing abortion in response to a series of lawsuits from pro-abortion groups. The high court initially split on the case, so it appointed two special judges to break the tie.
Until now, Colombia protected unborn babies’ right to life in most circumstances. It allowed abortions only in cases of rape and incest or threats to the mother’s life.
After the ruling, abortion activists, wearing green, celebrated in the streets of Bogotá, the capital, dancing and shouting because the killing of unborn babies in abortions is now legal, a video published by The Guardian shows.
Members of the country’s Congress also slammed the ruling as a violation of human rights and promised to work to undo it.
“The decision on abortion violates the right to life of the unborn, the most defenseless. We Colombians who respect life from conception will seek through a referendum to straighten out what the Constitutional Court has done today,” Sen. María del Rosario Guerra wrote on Twitter.
Another pro-life lawmaker, Sen. Paola Holguin, criticized the court for legalizing the “murder” of a defenseless child.
“Abortion is nothing different from the murder of a defenseless being by its mother in the womb; which goes against the fundamental right to life, enshrined in article 11 of the National Constitution,” Holguin wrote on Twitter. “#AbortoEs (abortion is) the murder of an innocent that denatures a mother. Life is always the best option, it is a fundamental and sacred right,” she continued.
Abortion activists and rich globalists have been targeting South and Central American countries’ pro-life laws for years, and several countries have caved into the pressure.
Argentina legalized abortions in late 2020, and Ecuador passed a pro-abortion bill last week. Additionally, the Mexico Supreme Court issued a ruling last year that pro-life advocates fear will be used to legalize the killing of unborn babies nation-wide in the coming years. Right now, Mexico allows states to decide, and most protect unborn babies by banning abortions.
In 2020, human rights groups across Central and South America accused the United Nations of pressuring their countries to legalize the killing of unborn babies in abortions during the coronavirus crisis.
Legalizing abortion does not save lives or help women. Abortions destroy unborn babies’ lives and often harm mothers physically and/or psychologically. Pro-abortion groups often overestimate the number of illegal and unsafe abortions that occur in countries across the world. Growing research also indicates that access to basic health care, not abortion, is what really improves women’s lives.
LifeNews Note: Photo Credit: Eduardo Berdejo/ACI Prensa
The post Thousands of Pro-Life People in Colombia March for Life to Protest Abortion appeared first on LifeNews.com.
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
White Genocide is in the Cards that Are Being Played
Paul Craig Roberts
Three decades ago in my book, The New Color Line, I pointed out that Alfred W. Blumrosen, compliance chief of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, turned the statutory language of the 1964 Civil Rights Act on its head and used the EEOC to create race-based legal privileges for blacks, thereby reducing white Americans to second-class citizenship. In place of equal employment opportunity Blumrosen and the liberals of the time used “affirmative action” to create and enforce privileges for blacks in university admissions, hiring and promotion. These privileges created in defiance of Congress by a regulatory authority were the opening wedge against our then merit-based system and created the acceptability of racial discrimination against white Americans. At the time the liberals admitted that it amounted to privileged treatment of a race, but said it was to be temporary in order to give blacks a leg up. It has now been 60 years, a time period that is not temporary. As I pointed out, once privilege is set in law, it becomes a property right of the privileged supported by the passage of time and precedent after precedent. Even though the racial privilege is unconstitutional, those privileged by it have squatters’ rights in the privilege.
My book was favorably reviewed by Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, by Irving Kristol, editor of The Public Interest, by Judge Robert H. Bork, by the New York Times Book Review, by The Wall Street Journal, by the Washington Post, by California Governor Pete Wilson, and many others. Henry Regnery said that my book was the most important work his firm had ever published. Yet my book had zero effect. Three decades after its publication American corporations, universities, and the US military have institutionalized racial discrimination against white Americans.
60 years too late Tucker Carlson has raised this issue with Jeremy Carl who has just published The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism is Tearing America Apart. As a large percentage of the white population has been indoctrinated into seeing themselves as guilty and undeserving, the white majority is incapable of rectifying its second-class legal status. As the white American majority is rapidly disappearing under the Democrats’ policy of open borders and recruitment of immigrant-invaders into the United States, within a few years time not even the theoretical possibility of restoring American whites to equality under the law will be possible. https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1783254594480730380
If you want to see your future, read Jean Raspail’s The Camp of the Saints. The Camp of the Saints is an accurate description of the fate of the Western World. We are experiencing that fate now. If you dare to know your future and that of your children and grandchildren, you can read this novel that correctly predicted our future in 1973. The book was a best seller, but the rot had already set in. Today the book is suppressed. You can read it here:
https://www.jrbooksonline.com/PDFs/Camp_of_the_Saints.pdfAs racial denigration of white ethnicities is institutionalized in every Western government, all white ethnicities can expect the same fate. The fate of white ethnicities is sealed. They have lost their countries and are reviled by their own white governments, universities, and media. They are doomed. Perhaps a few will be kept in zoos as examples of racist evil.
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
Biden Regime Continues Massive Program to Replace White American Population with Illegal Aliens
https://texasscorecard.com/federal/thousands-of-illegal-aliens-flown-into-texas-airports/
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
The trial brought by Democrat excrement in the non-American state of New York is revealed to have ZERO LEGAL BASIS.
As I have reported, the Trump indictments are nothing but the use of state power against a chosen victim. The corrupt Democrats’ trials of Trump are worst offenses than Stalin’s Show Trials of the leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution. Just as Democrats accuse Trump of being a Russian agent, Stalin accused the leaders of the Communist Revolution to be capitalist agents. The US Department of Justice (sic) is a far worse evil than the abuse of Soviet Law by Stalin’s “attorney general” Andrey Vyshinsky. The excrement that is Biden’s attorney general is more evil than Vyshinsky himself.
And “America is a free country?
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
Netanyahu Announces the Final Solution Is Underway
If I understand this report, the Israeli Zionist government has stood up in its Satanic robes and announced the destruction of Rafah. The final solution proceeds to its finish while the world stands aside, except for Biden who sends the bombs. for the Final Solution.
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
Texas state representatives ask Texas Attorney General and Governor to intervene in the corrupt Texas Medical Board’s vendetta against Dr. Mary Talley Bowden who cured 6,000 Covid patients by ignoring the mandated deadly Covid protocols.
Medical Boards are shills for Big Pharma
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Site: Zero HedgeWhat Will CBDCs Mean For Gold?Tyler Durden Tue, 05/07/2024 - 08:45
With the eventual introduction of central bank digital currency (CBDCs) now seemingly inevitable, there are a lot of directions central banks could take with their digital currency projects that would have dramatic implications for the price of gold.
Touted for their “convenience” and “efficiency,” the endgame of digital currencies is not only achieving greater power over the currency but also a means of surveilling and micromanaging the personal finances of each individual. Owe taxes or a parking ticket? It could be automatically deducted. Does the Fed think it needs to cool inflation? Deduct money straight from people’s accounts, or impose a daily spending limit. The possibilities for control and profit are endless, and too tempting for control freak bureaucracies and amoral tech companies to ignore.
As countries like China implement their own CBDCs, buy more precious metals, and generally buck dependence on the US dollar for trade, Western central banks also feel like they have to compete in order to retain their power. That’s the essence of the other motivation for CBDCs — a currency race between East and West wherein the winner solidifies not only unprecedented control over its own citizenry but a place atop the global power structure for the next century or longer.
Since CBDCs and the idea of a “cashless society” are mostly about increasing centralization and control on the societal and individual level, it’s easy to see how they might be accompanied by new legislation banning precious metals investing and other non-state-approved financial activities. All they need is a severe enough financial crisis to provide the justification. After all, during the Great Depression, the federal government swiftly used an Executive Order to demand that citizens submit their gold to the Federal Reserve en masse.
And with new developments in crypto-tokenization technology and a brewing global financial crisis, the Tech-Banking-Political complex is preparing for what they collectively know will be a crucial window of opportunity to force their CBDCs down the throats of the people and make opting out from their new system after the fact nearly impossible.
Once their CBDC is rolled out, central bankers will have more ability than ever to manipulate the money supply and your personal finances according to their whims. This summary from a 2023 BIS report on the promise of CBDCs to increase the scope of central bank activities describes in (cheery banker-speak) the increase in power and control that central planners will grant themselves under a unified digital currency system:
“As well as improving existing processes through the seamless integration of transactions, a unified ledger could harness programmability to enable arrangements that are currently not practicable, thereby expanding the universe of possible economic outcomes.”
Zimbabwe’s new CBDC experiment uses an interesting ”gold-backed” approach, appearing on paper to be a combination of the traditional gold standard with digital currency tech. This is a promising approach, but to avoid being corrupted by authorities, it needs a protocol that makes it nearly impossible to fake a higher gold supply with tokens for gold that doesn’t really exist. Otherwise, its claims of returning to a “gold standard” are meaningless.
I wouldn’t expect a Western CBDC to contain gold backing or the protection of any kind of restrictive protocol, but I predict that in a centralized national or international digital currency system of any kind, central banks will still hold large amounts of gold in reserve. Just as Bitcoin isn’t truly “digital gold” but only numbers on a screen, bankers know they will still have to hold real money as an insurance policy.
The difference is, that banks could be the only ones who are allowed to hold gold, while broader society will no longer have access to cash. With all other potential options to opt out of this system fully digitized and prevented from competing with CBDCs, gold, and silver will become the only way to exist and transact outside the Central Bank’s digital control grid with any semblance of true freedom or agency. Black markets will have to turn to various forms of analog money, and gold and silver will rise as the top options.
Just look at the gold chart for 1933: When Executive Order 6102 demanded that citizens give up their gold, the price skyrocketed, never again returning to pre-1933 levels. A similar effect would occur from the announcement of CBDCs, phasing out of paper cash, and restrictions on private gold ownership:
Gold vs USD Pre and Post-Executive Order 6102
Some legislators are recognizing the CBDC threat and fighting against it, declaring CBDCs a threat and empowering precious metals holders. However, I’m not sure it will be enough to fight the CBDC tide being engineered by central planners. The system may begin as optional, but with the phasing-out of cash and other incremental measures, will eventually become permanent either through direct legislation or by making it totally impractical to resist.
If the architects of CBDCs can market their new system as the solution to an epic financial crash (of their own making), it will likely appear as a sign of stability that calms global markets, possibly causing gold and silver to drop. But as precious metals emerge as the best form of physical money in a tightly controlled, micromanaged financial dystopia, they’ll become the only way to make private or off-grid transactions, making them more valuable than ever — not only as investments, but a means of survival outside the fully-digitized fiat nightmare.
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Site: Zero HedgeFutures Flat As Post-FOMC Rally Takes A BreatherTyler Durden Tue, 05/07/2024 - 08:30
US stock futures are flat after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both closed 1% higher on Monday, helped by growing optimism among investors that the economy is finally slowing greenlighting earlier rate cuts by the Fed. As of 8:00am ET S&P futures were unchanged at 5,206, trading about 1% above its 50DMA, while Nasdaq futures were down 0.2% amid some mega-cap weakness. European stocks are higher, while indexes in Japan and the UK are catching up after being closed for holidays yesterday. Shares in Swiss bank UBS jumped after it returned to profit and showed more progress in its integration of Credit Suisse. Treasuries rise, with US 10-year yields falling 3bps to 4.46%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rises 0.1%. The yen weakens 0.4% against the greenback, pushing USD/JPY up to ~154.50. The Aussie falls 0.4% after the RBA kept rates on hold and maintained a neutral stance. Oil prices advance, with WTI rising 0.3% to trade near $78.70. Spot gold falls 0.4% and bitcoin traded in a range around $64,000 with the now daily European open/US slam down pattern. US economic data slate includes March consumer credit at 3pm, while Fed's Kashkari is scheduled to speak twice (11:30am, 1:20pm).
In premarket trading, Disney reported fiscal second-quarter profit that beat estimates, thanks to sharply narrower losses in its streaming TV business and higher ticket prices at theme parks. Still, the stock tumbled 6% after the company reported fewer subscribers to its Disney+ streaming service in the fiscal second quarter than analysts had projected. Here are some of the other notable US movers before the opening bell:
- Celsius falls 8.4% after the energy-drink maker reported first-quarter revenue that missed even the lowest estimate among analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
- Coherent climbs 8.5% after the maker of components for the telecommunications industry raised the bottom end of its year revenue forecast.
- Datadog slips 11% after the cloud software company said that Amit Agarwal will be stepping down as president. The company also posted 1Q results.
- Esperion Therapeutics rallies 25% after the drugmaker’s first-quarter revenue was ahead of analyst estimates.
- Fidelity National Information Services’ rises 4% after the company raised its outlook for full-year profit.
- Gap rises 3% after Citi raised its rating on the retailer to buy on positive momentum and margin upside.
- Hims & Hers Health jumps 14% after the telehealth company boosted its adjusted Ebitda guidance for the full year.
- Lucid drops 8% after the EV maker posted a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter.
- Oscar Health climbs 15% after the health insurer reported earnings per share for the first quarter that outpaced Wall Street’s expectations.
- Palantir falls 13% as the market appeared unimpressed by the company’s outlook for annual sales after the stock has tripled in the past year.
- Symbotic jumps 14% after the warehouse robotics and automation firm posted forecast-beating 2Q revenue and surpassed expectations for its fiscal 3Q revenue outlook.
- Vimeo gains 10% after the video software company reported first-quarter results that beat analyst expectations and provided a forecast.
- Zeta rises 16% after the software company gave a forecast revenue for the second quarter that beat the average analyst estimate.
In a week light on data but heavy on Fedspeak, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is set to appear Tuesday, one day after his Richmond President colleague Thomas Barkin said Monday said he expects high interest rates to eventually cool US inflation to the central bank’s 2% target. Despite the hawkish rhetoric, swaps traders are betting on about 45 basis points of Fed rate cuts by December, an increase vs before the disappointing jobs report.
“In this environment of growth not rolling over as much as we feared and potentially cuts coming in, there is upside for earnings going forward,” Beata Manthey, head of European equity strategy at Citigroup Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg TV
"The market is taking a positive view about the US job data and anticipating that the Fed will indeed be able to cut rates," said Arnaud Girod, head of economics and cross-asset strategy at Kepler Cheuvreux in Paris.
European stocks rose for the third consecutive session, boosted by solid company earnings and renewed optimism the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year. The Stoxx 600 is up 0.6%. UBS jumps more than 8% after it returned to profit and UniCredit climbed on better-than-forecast results. German semiconductor-maker Infineon Technologies AG cut its revenue forecast, signaling demand from the automotive industry remains weak.
Earlier in the session, Asia’s equity benchmark traded little changed on Tuesday as a catch-up rally in Korean and Japanese stocks on their return from a holiday was offset by declines in Hong Kong. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1% after capping a three-day gain on Monday. Technology was the best-performing sector in the region, much like in the US session overnight, amid rising hopes that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates this year. Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were the biggest contributors to gains on South Korea’s Kospi Index, which jumped 2%, the most in Asia. Shares in Hong Kong fell, with the Hang Seng Index snapping a 10-day winning streak that was the longest since 2018 amid some concern that the rally is overdone.
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%, marking the second consecutive session of gains, as the greenback rose against most Group-of-10 currencies. The yen weakens 0.4% against the greenback, pushing USD/JPY up to ~154.50. The Aussie falls 0.4% after the RBA kept rates on hold and maintained a neutral stance.
- AUD/USD led losses falling as much as 0.6% to 0.6587, following the RBA’s interest rate decision; Australia’s central bank opted to maintain policy but markets likely expected the RBA to revert to prior guidance that a further increase in interest rates couldn’t be ruled out
- USD/JPY rose as much as 0.5% to 154.65, the highest level since May. 2, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said he’s carefully watching the impact of the weak yen on prices and that he discussed recent moves with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
- EUR/USD fell as much as 0.1% to 1.0754; German factory orders dropped 0.4% month-on-month in line with expectations, while eurozone March retail sales were up 0.8% from February
In rates, treasuries rose with US 10-year yields falling 3bps to 4.46%. Treasuries were underpinned by bigger gains in core European rates after Germany factory orders unexpectedly declined, pointing to persistent economic headwinds. During Asia session, Treasury futures drew support from dovish reaction to RBA maintaining its neutral bias, keeping interest rates at 4.35%. Focal points of US session include 3-year note auction, ahead of 10- and 30-year sales Wednesday and Thursday. US yields richer by 2bp to 3bp with the curve extending Monday’s flattening move; 10-year around 4.46% is ~2.5bp richer on the day with bunds and gilts outperforming by 1bp and 5bp in the sector. Treasury auction cycle begins at 1pm New York time with $58b 3-year note sale; $42b 10-year and $25b 30-year new issues follow Wednesday and Thursday.
In commodities, oil prices advance, with WTI rising 0.3% to trade near $78.70. Spot gold falls 0.4%.
In crypto, Bitcoin firmer today and has reclaimed the USD 64k handle, with Ethereum now holding around USD 3.2k.
Looking at today's calendar, US economic data slate includes March consumer credit at 3pm. Fed members’ scheduled speeches include Kashkari (11:30am, 1:20pm). Elsewhere we get, German March trade balance and factory orders data, French Q1 wages and Eurozone March retail sales. And as the earnings season continues to wind down, releases include Walt Disney, BP, Arista Networks, Duke Energy, McKesson, and Ferrari.
Market Snapshot
- S&P 500 futures little changed at 5,207.25
- STOXX Europe 600 up 0.6% to 511.10
- MXAP up 0.3% to 178.44
- MXAPJ up 0.3% to 552.71
- Nikkei up 1.6% to 38,835.10
- Topix up 0.6% to 2,746.22
- Hang Seng Index down 0.5% to 18,479.37
- Shanghai Composite up 0.2% to 3,147.74
- Sensex down 0.4% to 73,564.94
- Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 1.4% to 7,793.32
- Kospi up 2.2% to 2,734.36
- German 10Y yield little changed at 2.44%
- Euro little changed at $1.0762
- Brent Futures up 0.3% to $83.59/bbl
- Brent Futures up 0.3% to $83.58/bbl
- Gold spot down 0.3% to $2,315.95
- US Dollar Index up 0.16% to 105.22
Top Overnight News
- RBA leaves rates unchanged (as expected) and suggests there won’t by any additional hikes but also doesn’t seem in a rush to ease (new forecasts show no rate cuts until 2025). RTRS
- Taiwan’s CPI for Apr comes in below expectations, w/the headline number at +1.95% (vs. the Street +2.2% and down from +2.15% in Mar). BBG
- China tightened rules for hedge funds, raising the minimum-asset threshold of the 5.5 trillion yuan ($762 billion) industry while imposing restrictions on the use of derivatives and leverage. BBG
- Israel sent ground troops into Rafah on Monday night, seizing the main border crossing between Gaza and Egypt as international mediators struggled to continue talks aimed at ending the conflict. FT
- BP ended a mixed set of Big Oil results by maintaining share buybacks even as profit and cash flow fell more than expected. Aramco will pay $31 billion in dividends to the Saudi government and other investors despite lower profit. BBG
- UBS returned to profit with wealth management and the investment bank driving the beat. The firm targets another $1.5 billion in cost savings by year-end but sees integration expenses of $1.3 billion this quarter, and cautioned that the Swiss central bank’s recent rate cut will hurt NII. The stock climbed. BBG
- Social Security and Medicare will exhaust their funds in a little more than 10 years unless action is taken to address the shortfalls (although the new exhaustion dates for Social Security and Medicare are 1 and 5 years later than the prior forecasts). CNN
- Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said Monday that consumer behavior has diverged as inflation for goods and services makes life harder for many Americans. Fraser, who leads one of the largest U.S. credit card issuers, said she is seeing a “K-shaped consumer.” That means the affluent continue to spend, while lower-income Americans have become more cautious with their consumption. CNBC
- AAPL has been working on its own chip designed to run artificial intelligence software in data center servers, a move that has the potential to give the company an advantage in the AI arms race. WSJ
- Donald Trump’s prized Manhattan office tower at 40 Wall St. is getting swept up by the worst storm to hit the office market since the global financial crisis. Like thousands of other U.S. office buildings, 40 Wall is now under duress because of weakening office demand. WSJ
Earnings
- Infineon (IFX GY) Q2 (EUR): Revenue 3.63bln (exp. 3.6bln), adj. EPS 0.42 (exp. 0.38), Gross Margin 38.6% (exp. 39.8%).
- BP (BP/ LN) Q1 (USD): Adj. Net 2.72bln (exp. 2.92bln). Revenue 49.96bln (exp. 52.44bln). Adj. EPS 0.16 (exp. 0.17). Dividend 0.0727 (exp. 0.0730)Announces USD 1.75bln share buyback for Q1. Continues to expect 2024 Capex around USD 16bln.
- Nintendo (7974 JT) 2023/24 (JPY): Net 490.6bln, +13.4%; Operating 528bln, +4.9%; Recurring 680bln, +13.2%. Sold 15.7mln Switch consoles in FY23/24 (exp. 15.5mln, prev. 17.9mln FY22/23). To make an announcement on a Switch successor in FY24; will not be announcing anything re. successor hardware at Nintendo Direct in June.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks were mixed as the region only partly sustained the momentum from Wall St where the major indices extended on post-NFP advances amid rate cut hopes, while key markets returned from the long weekend. ASX 200 traded higher with a further boost in late trade after the RBA proved to be less hawkish than many feared. Nikkei 225 gained on return from holiday as it took its first opportunity to react to last week's NFP report and renewed US rate cut hopes. Hang Seng & Shanghai Comp were subdued with the former set to snap its 10-day win streak and longest consecutive run of gains since 2018, while the mainland index took a breather after yesterday's catch-up rally amid a lack of fresh catalysts.
Top Asian News
- US will host China's special envoy for climate change Liu Zhenmin in Washington on May 8th-9th, according to the State Department.
- Japanese top FX diplomat Kanda said it is important for currencies to move in a stable manner reflecting fundamentals and the government must take appropriate steps if there's excessive volatility in the FX market, while he added it is usual that they don't comment whether currency intervention was carried out.
- RBA kept the Cash Rate Target unchanged at 4.35%, as expected, while it reiterated the Board remains resolute in its determination to return inflation to the target and it is not ruling anything in or out. RBA stated that returning inflation to the target within a reasonable timeframe remains the board’s highest priority, as well as noted that inflation remains high and is falling more gradually than expected. Furthermore, the RBA raised its inflation forecasts for 2024 but trimmed forecasts for GDP and unemployment, while its forecasts assume that rates will stay at 4.35% until mid-2025 which is nine months longer than previously assumed.
- RBA's Bullock says they must be vigilant on inflation risks, believe rates are at the correct level to get inflation back to target. Board discussed the option of hiking. Will tighten if necessary, do not think they necessarily have to tighten again. Should not read too much into the technical assumptions re. rate forecasts. Policy risks remain reasonably balanced.
- Nintendo (7974 JT) 2023/24 (JPY): Net 490.6bln, +13.4%; Operating 528bln, +4.9%; Recurring 680bln, +13.2%; is to make an announcement on a Switch successor in FY24. Will not be announcing anything re. successor hardware at Nintendo Direct in June
- Japanese Business Lobby Keidanren Chief Tokura says it is desirable for FX to reflect fundaments in mid and long-term; USD/JPY above 150 is "too much". Does not know if the authorities intervened in the FX market, but if they did, thinks timing was very good. Undesirable for FX to fluctuate through speculators.
- BoJ Governor Ueda had regular exchange of views with Japanese PM Kishida; discussed FX; confirmed with the PM that the BoJ will take into account impact of economy and prices which could be potentially big. Stands ready to keep close eye out on how JPY moves affect trend inflation; to closely monitor how a weak JPY will impact prices. Explained BoJ's stance of guiding policy from standpoint of sustainably reaching inflation goal.
APAC DATA RECAP
Top European News
- Barclaycard said UK April consumer spending fell 4.0% Y/Y (prev. +3.5%) which is the lowest since February 2021.
FX
- DXY is incrementally firmer and in a tight range thus far as markets await fresh impetus following last Friday's post-FOMC NFP-induced slide. DXY sits in a 105.03-28 intraday parameter, with 21 DMA at 105.20.
- EUR is moving in tandem with the Dollar, and has seen no notable catalysts this morning with key releases for the bloc also light this week. EUR/USD sits in a 1.0755-76 range after briefly dipping under yesterday's low (1.0753).
- GBP is subdued ahead of Thursday's BoE confab with the MPC expected to keep the Base Rate at 5.25%. GBP/USD trades in a 1.2533-70 range and dipped under its 200 DMA (1.2544).
- Modestly softer session for the JPY with USD/JPY reclaiming 154.00 status overnight (currently 154.50), whilst Japanese Business Lobby Keidanren Chief Tokura said FX should reflect fundaments in mid and long-term. Elsewhere, BoJ Governor Ueda spoke to PM Kishida regarding FX, though with specifics light.
- Divergence across the Antipodeans following the RBA policy decision in which the central bank left rates unchanged at 4.35% as expected, whilst analysts framed the release as less-hawkish-than-feared. AUD/USD trades in a 0.6588-6643 range.
- PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1002 vs exp. 7.2143 (prev. 7.0994).
Fixed Income
- USTs are bid but holding a handful of ticks shy of Friday's 109-09+ payrolls peak & the 10yr yield is holding just above 4.45% by extension. Attention turns to the week's supply, with geopols also a key theme.
- Bunds have surpassed Friday's post-NFP 131.57 peak, printing a fresh high at 131.71. European specifics light with no reaction to the latest Construction PMIs as the broader market awaits a significant update to the Israel-Hamas situation around Rafah.
- Gilts gapped higher by 56 ticks after Monday's Bank Holiday, a move which accounts for that the geopol-related upside and a continuation of the post-payrolls dovish price action. Currently holding around 97.75 and higher by 79 ticks thus far.
Commodities
- Choppy session for the crude complex, as markets await updates from Israel/Rafah; most recently the operation has been said to be "limited". Brent Jul'24 trades between USD 83.30-83.82/bbl.
- Downbeat price action across precious metals despite a steady Dollar, with the complex failing to gain much impetus from a "limited" Israeli operation in Rafah. Spot gold trades in a USD 2,312.00-2,329.93/oz parameter.
- LME prices are mostly firmer as the exchange returns from the early May UK Bank Holiday. Elsewhere, JFE executives expects iron ore prices to remain at current levels in FY24/25 amid sluggish Chinese demand.
- US Senior Adviser for Energy and Investment Hochstein said the US has sufficient supply in Strategic Petroleum Reserve to address any supply concerns and the Biden administration is monitoring markets, according to Reuters.
- Russian Deputy PM Novak says possibility of raising production under the OPEC+ deal is being analysed, according to Interfax. There is no need to predict further OPEC+ steps, need to look at the market. Had agreed that oil output could be tweaked if needed.
- Commerzbank expects Palladium price to rise to USD 1100/troy oz (current 975.78) by end of the year; expects platinum to rise to USD 1100/troy oz (current 963) by end of year
Geopolitics: Middle East
- "Israeli source to CNN: The operation in Rafah is limited and aims to pressure Hamas to conclude an acceptable deal", according to Al Arabiya.
- Gaza crossings authority said the Israeli army stormed the Rafah crossing, according to Al Arabiya. However, Palestinian media said the Egyptian side informed the crossing's authority that Israeli vehicles are conducting a security operation in the vicinity of the Rafah crossing and will retreat tomorrow. It was later reported Israeli military took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border with Egypt, according to Bloomberg..
- US official said the US has concerns about Israel's unfolding Rafah strikes but it does not appear to represent a major military operation, according to Reuters.
- 100 congressional staff called on US President Biden and members of Congress to demand an immediate halt to the Israeli offensive before it is too late, according to Axios.
- Qatar Foreign Ministry said Hamas sent mediators its reply to the truce proposal on Monday and the reply could be described as "positive", while it was separately reported that the Qatari delegation arrives in Cairo on Tuesday to resume negotiations on a truce agreement in Gaza, according to Sky News Arabia.
- Jordanian Foreign Minister said Israeli PM Netanyahu is jeopardising the ceasefire deal by bombing Rafah, according to Reuters.
Geopolitics: Other
- A US soldier was detained on charges of criminal misconduct in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok last week.
- China reportedly hacked the UK Ministry of Defence with MPs to be told on Tuesday of a large data breach targeting service personnel, according to Sky News.
US Event Calendar
- 11:30: Fed’s Kashkari Participates in Fireside Chat
- 13:20: Fed’s Kashakari Speaks on Bloomberg TV
- 15:00: March Consumer Credit, est. $15bn, prior $14.1bn
DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
It was a bank holiday here in the UK and it didn’t stop raining. I had an early round of golf and half way round the greens were flooded and I was drenched. I may have called it a day but the alternative was childcare. Golf in a biblical downpour is more enjoyable that looking after three bored kids inside on a very wet day. The afternoon was proof of that.
The skies are reasonably bright in markets at the moment with the S&P 500 (+1.03% yesterday) extending its 3-day gain to +3.24% last night, the best such run since November. For 10-year yields, the 4-day decline (-19.3bps) is the largest since the start of February. The lack of a ceasefire in the Middle East hasn't so far impacted sentiment.
A strong close to the US session saw the Magnificent 7 (+1.68%) eke out a new all-time high, with the index up more than 10% from its recent low on April 19. Nvidia (+3.77%) and Meta (+3.04%) led the gains amid the mega caps, but the equity advance was broad-based with 76% of the S&P 500 higher on the day. Small caps also saw a modest outperformance, with the Russell 2000 up +1.23%. Europe’s equity markets recorded a more moderate rise earlier on, including for the Stoxx 600 (+0.53%), Dax (+0.96%), CAX (+0.49%), while FTSE MIB outperformed (+1.06%).
The equity move was helped along by the ongoing bond rally, as 10yr Treasury yields (-2.2bps) declined for a fourth consecutive session to 4.49%, their lowest level since the upside surprise in the March CPI print on April 10. The upcoming CPI print next Wednesday (May 15) will surely be key to the sustainability of this rally. The decline in yields did run out of steam at the front end, with 2yr yields up +1.5bps after falling by -21.8bps over the previous three sessions.
This came as Fed commentary largely echoed Powell’s tone last week, moving away from any signal on the timing of rate cuts but avoiding overtly hawkish messages. Richmond Fed President Barkin said he was “optimistic that today’s restrictive level of rates can take the edge off demand in order to bring inflation back to our target“, noting that “the full impact of higher rates is yet to come.” And New York Fed president Williams signaled eventual rate cuts, though with the timing of these to depend on “the totality of the data”.
We received the latest signal on the impact of the Feds’ earlier tightening with the latest quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey. This showed the tightness in credit standards continuing to moderate for most loan categories, including mortgages and CRE lending. However, the improvement in conditions for commercial & industrial loans stalled, with credit standards for mid-size and large firms a little tighter (+15.6 vs. +14.5) and demand a little weaker (-26.6 vs. -25.0) than in the previous quarter. Nothing to get too concerned about, but some evidence to support the view that a good chunk of the impact from the tighter policy stance is yet to play out. The question is where will rates and credit standards be by the time borrowing needs accelerate.
Over in euro area, the final April PMIs added to the improving growth picture, with upward revisions to the services (53.3 vs 52.9 flash) and composite (51.7 vs 51.4 flash) readings. The euro area composite is at an 11-month high and has moved above the US one for the first time in 12 months. In other data, euro area PPI inflation for March came in line with expectations at -0.4% month-on-month. This did little to dissuade expectations of a June ECB cut, with ECB chief economist Lane noting in an interview that data since the April meeting “ improve my confidence that inflation should return to target in a timely manner ”. Overnight index swaps continued to price 74bps of ECB rate cuts this year, with a June cut 95% priced. 10yr bonds saw a similar modest rally in Europe as in the US, with yields on bunds (-2.7bps), OATs (-2.3bps) and BTPs (-2.2bps) all moving slightly lower.
In the commodity space, oil prices saw some volatility amid mixed Middle East headlines. Having opened higher on Monday, oil prices briefly fell to flat on the day following news that Hamas accepted a cease-fire proposal brokered by Egypt and Qatar . However, they rallied again soon after on reports that Israel’s’s war cabinet rejected the proposal as being “far from Israel’s necessary demands,” with Axios and AP reporting overnight that Israeli troops had entered the southern Gaza city of Rafah. After falling to a seven-week low on Friday, Brent crude ended Monday’s session +0.45% higher at $83.33/bbl, and is trading around another +0.30% higher overnight as I type. This backdrop also boosted gold, which gained +1.04% to $2,326/oz yesterday.
In Asia, the KOSPI (+1.91%) is leading gains hitting a one-month high with the Nikkei (+1.18%) also seeing notable gains as trading has resumed in both markets after a public holiday. Additionally, the S&P/ASX 200 (+1.25%) is spiking higher as we type after the RBA left rates on hold but could have been more hawkish than they were. The Aussie Dollar has weakened -0.40% with 3yr government bonds yields declining -8.6bps, to trade at 3.94% as I type.
Elsewhere, Chinese stocks are bucking the regional trend with the Hang Seng (-0.69%), the CSI (-0.12%) and the Shanghai Composite (-0.08%) all trading lower. US futures are flat and Treasury yields are edging slightly lower.
The Japanese yen (-0.38%) continues to drift lower trading at 154.50 against the dollar despite fresh warnings from Japanese officials following two rounds of suspected FX intervention last week. Notably, top currency official Masato Kanda indicated that the government will respond appropriately if there are excessive or disorderly movements in the FX market.
Central bank decisions will remain in focus for the rest of the week, most of all with the BoE on Thursday. Our UK economist expects this week’s meeting to set the stage for the first rate cut in June (see his preview here). Before that, tomorrow the Riksbank could deliver its first rate cut of the cycle. Finally, we have the accounts of April ECB meeting on Friday, and with plenty more ECB and Fed speak to digest before the end of the week. It will quieter be on the data front, with the University of Michigan consumer survey on Friday the arguable highlight given the recent softening in US consumer confidence indicators.
To the day ahead, data releases will include US March consumer credit, Germany March trade balance and factory orders data, France Q1 wages and Eurozone March retail sales. In central bank speak, we will hear from the Fed's Kashkari, and the ECB's De Cos and Nagel. And as the earnings season continues to wind down, releases include Walt Disney, BP, Arista Networks, Duke Energy, McKesson, and Ferrari.
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Site: RT - News
Israel strongly opposes the plan despite support from many world powers, including the US
China and France have called for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, according to a joint statement issued during Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s two-day official visit with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
The so-called two-state solution, a plan to create a Palestinian state within territory occupied by Israel since 1967, is supported by the UN and a raft of individual nations, including Israel’s key ally the US. If implemented, it would likely require the Jewish state to remove its settlers from the occupied territories.
Macron and Xi have called for “a decisive and irreversible relaunch of a political process” to implement “the two-state solution with Jerusalem as their capital, and the creation of a viable, independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 lines,” the joint statement reads.
The term “1967 lines” refers to Israel’s borders as they stood before the Six-Day War fought that year against a coalition of Arab nations. As a result of the war, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and other areas. A return to these lines would see Israel withdraw from those areas, including East Jerusalem.
Read more
Israel comes up with post-war solution for Gaza – NYT
In February Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu said he would not be pressured into accepting a Palestinian state.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said earlier this year that Israel’s “clear and repeated rejection” of the two-state solution “is unacceptable” and “would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security.”
In a separate statement cited by the Chinese media, China and France condemned violations of international humanitarian law such as indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Gaza.
READ MORE: Israeli tanks enter Rafah (VIDEO)
Macron and Xi stated their mutual opposition to an Israeli operation in Rafah, which they warned “will lead to a greater humanitarian disaster.”
The Israeli government launched an offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. The death toll from Israel’s retaliation in the enclave is nearing 35,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Xi is on his first trip to Europe in five years. After France, the Chinese leader is set to visit Serbia and Hungary.
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Site: RT - News
Hackers reportedly accessed the personal information of multiple members of the British armed forces through a third-party payroll system
The UK suspects China of being behind a recent data hack involving the country’s Ministry of Defense, the BBC and Sky News reported on Tuesday.
According to the reports, the hack targeted the payroll system of the armed forces, which is managed by a third-party contractor. The system reportedly contained the names and bank details of current members of the Royal Navy, Army, and Air Force, and some veterans, as well as their personal addresses in some cases. It is unclear how many people’s details were accessed.
While the ministry has not made any official statements with regard to China’s involvement in the incident, several lawmakers pointed the finger at Beijing. Tobias Ellwood, a senior MP and former defense committee chair in the House of Commons, said the attack looks like the type that could have come from China.
“Targeting the names of the payroll system and service personnel’s bank details, this does point to China because it can be as part of a plan, a strategy to see who might be coerced,” he told the BBC’s Radio 4.
Iain Duncan Smith, an MP and former leader of the Conservative party, told Sky News that the data breach is “yet another example of why the UK Government must admit that China poses a systemic threat to the UK.”
Read more
China reacts to UK cyber sanctions
The ministry reportedly became aware of the data breach in recent days and immediately shut down the system. Sources within the ministry told the BBC that an investigation into the hack is underway.
Because the system was managed by an external organization, no operational data of the ministry was accessed, the reports claim. The ministry has been notifying those targeted, and said that salary payments this month will not be affected.
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps will reportedly address the UK Parliament later on Tuesday to report on the data breach.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to claims of Beijing’s involvement in a statement, claiming that “the relevant remarks of UK politicians are absurd.”
“China firmly opposes and fights all forms of cyber-attacks. We also firmly reject using the cyber security issue politically to smear and vilify other countries,” spokesperson Lin Jian said.
READ MORE: New hacking allegations against China aren’t what they seem
This is not the first time the UK has attributed attacks on databases to Beijing. In March, London formally accused Chinese “state-affiliated actors” of being behind cyber-attacks on the UK Electoral Commission between August 2021 and October 2022, which accessed voter databases and other sensitive information. The UK government placed sanctions on two Chinese nationals and one company that it claimed were linked to a hacker group behind the attacks. China has been adamant that it had nothing to do with the hacks, slamming the UK’s accusations as an “outright political manipulation and malicious slander.”
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Site: Novus Motus LiturgicusA new edition, revised, expanded and published by Os Justi Press What makes literature or art Christian? Some would say just the content, that is, what is said; others would say both the content and the form, because the way in which certain truths are conveyed can communicate them more fully. It’s not just what you say that’s important, but also how you say it. If this is the case, the style David Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07041908477492455609noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: southern ordersThe are images not a videos:
When I was ordained in 1980, girls were not allowed to be altar boys, I mean, servers. But that did not stop many parishes in the USA from having them. Bishop Lessard of the Diocese of Savannah, knew that many of his parishes had them, including my first parish as “associate pastor” in Albany, Georgia.Thus he came up with a diocesan policy that allowed girls to serve as candle and cross bearers, and vested in different liturgical garments than the boys were. Only altar boys could minister directly to the priest by holding the Roman Missal, then called the Sacramentary” and handing the water and wine to him and also washing his hands. Only boys could help with the incense.
That did nothing to stop the process of doctrinal development that has led to the full inclusion of girls as altar boys, I mean, servers. And in fact, Pope Francis has now opened the formal ministries of reader and acolyte to women, once only for men studying for the priesthood. I wonder where that will lead? Of course to women deacons, then eventually priests and bishops and one day as pope.
To see how quickly a policy can develop, all you have to do is to go to the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Saint Vincent de Paul’s Church to see a priest bless the union of two Lesbians, one of whom is a Methodist Minister, in his Church and near the altar.
It is clearly a blessing of their union as spouses. It isn’t spontaneous but planned.
This is the first stage of the development of doctrine that Pope Francis intends for Feducia Supplicans. Pope Francis knows what he is doing and how to accomplish the development of doctrine.
Stay tuned.
You can read the updated “Our Sunday Visitor” article by pressing the following:
Updated May 1, 2024: adds detail about minister’s Arizona church assignment. (OSV News) — A Methodist minister has sought a blessing on her same-sex...
YOU CAN WATCH THE INSTAGRAM VIDEO OF THE RENEWAL OF VOWS AND BLESSING OF THE HOLY SPOUSES OF TWO LESBIANS OFFERED BY THE CATHOLIC PRIEST HERE!
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Site: non veni pacem
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Site: Mises InstituteThe government’s inflationary borrow-and-spend policies have given Americans a false sense of prosperity. In the end, such policies are unsustainable.
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Site: LES FEMMES - THE TRUTH
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Site: Mundabor's blogFather Donald Kloster, of the US Diocese of Bridgeport, has published a very courageous letter in favour of the Traditional Latin Mass, demanding that the Bishops take action to promote it as the only cure to the present illness of the Church. His arguments are many and all extremely powerful. The link is here. However, […]
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Site: AsiaNews.itIn the Sagarmata area alone, the Nepali name for the world's highest mountain, the accumulation of waste amounts to about five tonnes per day. Environmental conditions complicate regular collection efforts and the increasing number of hikers does not help, but mountaineering alone earns Nepal 10 per cent of its GDP.
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Site: AsiaNews.itThe German-born Benedictine who leads the Dormition Monastery stigmatises the 'fanatical' attitude while 'people are suffering, dying'. The opposing front seen as 'monster' or 'animal' to justify the violence. The rise to power of the ultra-right Ben-Gvir government has led to an escalation in anti-Christian attacks in the Old City. Like Jesus prayer and forgiveness in response to hatred, the way to reconciliation.
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Site: Crisis Magazine
On April 25, EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo did an exclusive, hour-long interview with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Kudos to both Arroyo and Kennedy for sitting down to dialogue in a civil, thoughtful manner that’s too rare nowadays for people on separate sides of the political aisle. For Kennedy, that side of the aisle has been the Democratic side, given his family’s roots as an iconic Democrat family…
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Site: Fr Hunwicke's Mutual EnrichmentReaders may recall that, during the Rogation processions, 'stations' were made at crosses. My own suspicion is that the stone crosses which stand along the paths leading to churches, especially in the Penwith peninsular at the very end ... the loveliest part ... of Cornwall, were where such stations were made. And (even before the endowed drinking started) passages from the Holy Gospels Fr John Hunwickehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17766211573399409633noreply@blogger.com8
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Site: Padre PeregrinoMany good Catholics today have now become acutely aware of sexual sins (the Sixth and Ninth Commandment) as well as the First Commandment (partly due to public violations of this like the worship of the Pachamama statue near the Vatican a few years ago.) In light of this, I believe that the most underrated of [...]
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Site: Crisis Magazine
It’s funny to be writing this on a typewriter; but truly, I think there is a great deal to be said for the slogan “be different.” Pope Francis infamously told a World Youth Day audience to “make a mess,” and that is exactly what I’ve been doing with this typewriter for the past thirty minutes. Spurred on by an editorial in the latest issue of The European Conservative, I have been marveling…
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Site: Zero HedgeJournalism's Latest Draft Recasts Ukraine NarrativeTyler Durden Tue, 05/07/2024 - 05:00
Authored by J. Peder Zane via RealClearPolitics,
Journalism may indeed be the first draft of history but that old chestnut can be misleading. Where it suggests a set-in-stone version of events, that first draft is really an unfolding detective story, revised and rewritten as we dig out better answers to the eternal questions of who, what, when, where, and how.
Two of my colleagues at RealClearInvestigations – Aaron Maté and Paul Sperry – recently recast one of the biggest stories of our time: America’s long, strange, and destructive entanglement with Ukraine.
As with all great investigative journalism, Maté and Sperry draw on a wide range of documents and insider accounts to reveal facts the powers-that-be have tried to conceal. While President Biden and many other leaders from both parties cast Ukraine as a bastion of democracy and a beacon of freedom, Maté and Sperry reveal how a decade of anti-democratic interference by Biden and other U.S. officials has led that country to the brink of destruction while corrupting America’s domestic politics.
Their reporting shows that Ukraine is not an independent democracy but a client state of America which has pushed Ukraine into ever-deepening conflict with Russia. It does not excuse Vladimir Putin’s illegal and murderous invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but it shows the massive escalation in a decade-long proxy war the two powers have been conducting on another nation’s soil.
Although this conflict stretches back decades and even centuries, Maté’s April 30 article starts in 2013. That’s when an uprising known as the Maidan movement was percolating in opposition to Ukraine’s notoriously corrupt president, Viktor Yanukovych, who had delayed signing a trade pact with the European Union because he did not want to alienate Russia.
The Maidan movement was soon co-opted by ultra-nationalist groups, some of whose members “openly sported Nazi insignia.” But many American officials, including then-Vice President Biden, saw it as an opportunity to pull Ukraine from the influence of Russia and to undermine Putin.
High-ranking U.S. officials – including senior State Department official Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt – actively advised the movement, which staged a coup in 2014 by storming the Ukrainian parliament. Those same American officials were also involved in naming the new government.
Putin immediately moved to counter growing American influence on his border. Just days after the coup, Russia invaded and soon annexed Crimea. Russophile Ukrainians in the eastern Donbas region followed suit. While Putin publicly told the Donbas forces to seek a diplomatic solution to their claims, American officials, including then-CIA Director John Brennan pushed Ukraine’s new government to armed conflict. As Maté wrote, Ukraine then “descended into a full-scale civil war. Thousands were killed and millions displaced in the ensuing conflict.”
As Putin issued threats that eventually turned into war, the U.S. tightened its grip on Ukraine. U.S. officials, including Biden, vetted appointments and dismissals in Kyiv, shaping, Maté reports, “the personnel and policies of subsequent Ukrainian governments, all while expanding its military and intelligence presence in Ukraine via the CIA and NATO.”
Sperry’s April 17 article changes our understanding of one of the most famous and consequential examples of U.S. meddling – Biden’s December 2015 threat to withhold $1 billion in aid if Ukraine did not fire its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin. It has long been known that Shokin had launched multiple investigations into Burisma Holdings, the corruption-riddled energy giant that was paying Biden’s son Hunter millions of dollars. After Shokin was fired, those probes went away.
After this quid pro quo came to light, the Obama administration said that Biden was just carrying out the policy wishes of our government and its European allies. Sperry’s reporting, however, indicates that the U.S. had no such concerns about Shokin in the months before Biden’s threat: “An Oct. 1, 2015, memo summarizing the recommendation of the Interagency Policy Committee on Ukraine stated, ‘Ukraine has made sufficient progress on its [anti-corruption] reform agenda to justify a third [loan] guarantee.’”
Sperry also reports that one Biden advisor at the time was especially surprised by his boss’s action – Eric Ciaramella. On Jan. 21, 2016, Ambassador Pyatt emailed Ciaramella and other White House aides an article from the Ukrainian press – “U.S. loan guarantee conditional on Shokin’s dismissal.”
“Yikes,” Ciaramella responded. “I don’t recall this [the firing] coming up in our meeting with them,” he said, referring to an earlier White House meeting he hosted with top Ukrainian prosecutors.
The backstory Sperry brought to light would take on new significance three years later, when Ciaramella sparked Donald Trump’s first impeachment by complaining that the president had allegedly tried to condition Ukraine aid on an announcement that it was looking into Biden family corruption in that country – as well as Ukraine’s well documented efforts to interfere in the 2016 election in support of Hillary Clinton.
Sperry’s reporting suggests that the Trump impeachment was part of an effort to cover up Biden’s attempt to shield his family from the law. The strategy might have worked but for a strange stroke of fate, with the surfacing of a laptop Hunter Biden abandoned at a Delaware repair shop that detailed his family’s high-level influence peddling.
As Ukraine – a mid-sized country halfway around the world – played a key role in our 2016 and 2020 elections, so it promises to do the same in 2024. At first glance, its prominence seems amazing. Maté and Sperry, in far greater detail than I have summarized here, help us understand why.
Their dispatches are far from the last word. Future reporting will find still undiscovered facts, providing, one hopes, a clear sense of the past as it becomes history. Their work is also achingly relevant to the president as we witness the carnage in Ukraine. As Maté writes, “In claiming to defend Ukraine from Russian influence, Ukraine was subsumed by American influence” at incalculable cost.
Their reporting also reveals the tangled complexity of human affairs requires a healthy amount of cognitive dissonance. America’s support for Ukraine may be a necessary defense against Putin’s aggression. But it is also a recurrence of our long and now largely disavowed history of promoting regime change for seemingly noble reasons in far-flung corners of the world such as Guatemala, Iran, South Vietnam, Chile, and other places. It is not the role of journalists to resolve this tension, but, as Maté and Sperry have, to detail it without fear or favor, so that others might.
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Site: southern orders
I just saw a news story about Steward Hospital Corporation, a for profit corporation, which is declaring bankruptcy in conjunction with some scandals associated with their practices.One hospital in Massachusetts is named Saint Elizabeth’s. It also has a St. Margaret clinic.
I presume this hospital was once a Catholic hospital, but the name was maintained when it was sold to a for-profit corporation.
The same thing happened in Augusta, Georgia. Saint Joseph Hospital once owned and run by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Corondelet was sold to a for profit corporation. There was much controversy when the Sisters asked that the name of the hospital be changed with the sale.
An unusual arrangement was worked out where the hospital would be called Trinity Hospital but that the Catholic Church would maintain the chapel and some aspects of chaplaincy in the hospital. All the religious symbols in the hospital, such as statues and crucifixes remained in this hospital.
That corporation has since sold Trinity hospital to another corporation and is renamed Piedmont. I think all the religious symbols are gone as is the Catholic chapel.
It is sad that the post-Vatican II Church can’t maintain its pre-Vatican II institutions as there are no Sisters or Brothers to do so.
But yes, change the name, as painful as that is, when it is no longer a Catholic hospital.
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Site: Zero HedgeWho's Building The Most Solar Energy?Tyler Durden Tue, 05/07/2024 - 04:15
In 2023, solar energy accounted for three-quarters of renewable capacity additions worldwide. Most of this growth occurred in Asia, the EU, and the U.S., continuing a trend observed over the past decade.
In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti illustrates the rise in installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in China, the EU, and the U.S. between 2010 and 2022, measured in gigawatts (GW). Bruegel compiled the data..
Chinese Dominance
As of 2022, China’s total installed capacity stands at 393 GW, nearly double that of the EU’s 205 GW and surpassing the USA’s total of 113 GW by more than threefold in absolute terms.
Since 2017, China has shown a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 25% in installed PV capacity, while the USA has seen a CAGR of 21%, and the EU of 16%.
Additionally, China dominates the production of solar power components, currently controlling around 80% of the world’s solar panel supply chain.
In 2022, China’s solar industry employed 2.76 million individuals, with manufacturing roles representing approximately 1.8 million and the remaining 918,000 jobs in construction, installation, and operations and maintenance.
The EU industry employed 648,000 individuals, while the U.S. reached 264,000 jobs.
According to the IEA, China accounts for almost 60% of new renewable capacity expected to become operational globally by 2028.
Despite the phasing out of national subsidies in 2020 and 2021, deployment of solar PV in China is accelerating. The country is expected to reach its national 2030 target for wind and solar PV installations in 2024, six years ahead of schedule.
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Site: Mises InstituteAlthough mainstream economists hold that Adam Smith is the father of modern economics, it was Richard Cantillon that recognized the centrality of entrepreneurship in economic development.
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Site: Mises InstituteThe attempt by the mainstream economics profession to create economic literacy has turned into a movement to promote economic illiteracy.
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Site: Mises InstituteIn 1959, Ludwig von Mises gave lectures on economics in Argentina, where the economy was in steep decline. In the 1920s, Argentina was one of the world's wealthiest countries, but decades of Peronism and inflation started the country on the long road to poverty.
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Site: Mises InstituteLike the Biden administration, the European Union elites are seeking to crush free speech on the Internet in the name of preventing “hate speech” and “disinformation.” Of course, the EU ruling classes won’t have to worry about being censored.
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Site: Mises InstituteMainstream economists believe that economic theory is valid when it “predicts” economic actions or trends. Austrian economists, however, say that the purpose of economic theory is to explain economic events.
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Site: Mises InstituteWhy have some Americans opposed this nation’s involvement in foreign wars? According to Jacob Heilbrunn of The National Interest, it is because those Americans love bloody dictators like Adolph Hitler.
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Site: Mises InstituteAnimal control officers are supposed to, well, control animals in a municipal area. But thanks to animal control policies, it's the stray animals that are in control of our author’s town.
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Site: Mises InstituteWhile these students are right to oppose the horrific Israeli attacks on Gaza, many of the protests reflect leftist groupthink and typical higher education collectivism.
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Site: AsiaNews.itWith its 200,000 workers it is an important component of the local industry, but it can no longer compete on international markets. The collapse of the rouble is weighing on it, but also the higher labour costs compared to Bangladesh or Vietnam, which requires a qualitative leap in the promotion of its products.
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Site: AsiaNews.itToday's news:Beijing into British MoD data;Some Chinese provinces open up to flexible working to encourage motherhood;In the Philippines inflation is higher among poor families and in the suburbs;Putin will meet Armenian President Pašinyan to 'frankly' address differences.
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Site: Zero HedgeSystematic Review Reveals Many COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients Experienced New-Onset PsychosisTyler Durden Tue, 05/07/2024 - 03:30
Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Individuals who took COVID-19 vaccines were found to have later suffered from psychosis, with Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots linked to most of the cases.
A 1-year-old child receives a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination in Seattle, Wash., on June 21, 2022. (David Ryder/Getty Images)
The peer-reviewed systemic review, published in the Frontiers in Psychiatry journal on April 12, examined cases of new-onset psychosis among people who took the vaccines. Psychosis refers to symptoms that occur when an individual has difficulty differentiating between reality and fantasy, with hallucinations and delusions being two key types. The review looked at 21 articles describing 24 cases of psychosis symptoms following vaccination. The researchers concluded that “data suggest a potential link between young age, mRNA, and viral vector vaccines with new-onset psychosis within 7 days post-vaccination.”
“Collecting data on vaccine-related psychiatric effects is crucial for prevention, and an algorithm for monitoring and treating mental health reactions post-vaccination is necessary for comprehensive management.”
Out of the 24 cases, 13 were female. The median age of participants was 36 years. Twenty-two patients (91.2 percent) had no specific history of somatic illness and comorbidities.
In 33.3 percent of the cases, administration of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine “potentially induced adverse psychiatric events,” the study said. The viral vector AstraZeneca vaccine was linked to psychotic symptoms in 25 percent of cases.
In 45.8 percent of incidences, psychotic symptoms were reported after the first shot and in fifty percent after the second dose.
“Almost all reviewed cases (95.8 percent) presented with psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations (visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile) and delusions (mostly persecutory and delusions of reference).”
The most common form of hallucination was auditory, experienced in 54.2 percent of the cases, while visual hallucinations were experienced by 12.5 percent of patients.
“Motor disturbances, such as increased or decreased motor activity and bizarre behavior, were mentioned in 83.3 percent of cases. In 3 (12.5 percent) cases, a suicidal attempt was described.”
The psychotic symptoms mostly lasted for a period of one and two months.
The patients were treated using various methods including antipsychotics and steroids, but only 12 out of the 24 made a full recovery. The remaining suffered from “residual symptoms such as decreased emotional expressions, low affect, or residual psychotic symptoms.”
Interesting…in UK PIP disability data we saw a 42% & 124% increase in new excess clearances for psychiatric claims in 21 & 22 with z-scores of 5 & 14. https://t.co/MWRTNDJfMq https://t.co/GR0fwghRyq pic.twitter.com/e4UfWxE6ZL
— Edward Dowd (@DowdEdward) May 7, 2024In one case, the patient reported a positive COVID-19 test result. “Previous studies have shown that individuals with documented comorbidities and a history of COVID-19 infection exhibit a statistically significant increase in adverse events following vaccination,” the study noted.
Researchers speculated that inflammatory conditions following vaccination may be a reason behind the psychosis. The study found elevated C-reactive protein levels and mild to moderate leukocytosis—high white blood cell count—as the most common blood abnormalities. Both conditions have links with inflammation.
Another hypothesis suggested in the study was that post-vaccination psychosis could suggest a manifestation of autoimmune anti-NMDA encephalitis, a condition in which the immune system targets the brain neurons by mistake and causes inflammation.
Researchers noted that instances of anti-NMDA encephalitis have been repeatedly reported after vaccinations against infections like influenza, pertussis, yellow fever, and typhus.
“Considering the potential link between post-vaccination psychosis and autoimmune anti-NMDA encephalitis, it is advisable to consider immunological screening in individuals presenting psychiatric symptoms post-COVID-19 vaccination.”
A third possible reason suggested in the study is that the various speculations and uncertainties regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccines could lead to people experiencing “significant stress,” which could end up triggering the development of psychiatric reactions.
The authors received financial support for the review, with the article-processing charge funded by Riga Stradins University, Latvia. Researchers declared no conflicts of interest in the study.
Post-Vax Psychosis Cases
Episodes of psychosis after taking COVID-19 shots have been detailed in several case studies. In one instance, a 15-year-old boy from Taiwan was sent to hospital two days after taking the second Pfizer shot. He was screaming and exhibiting agitation and uncontrollable limb stretching.
Other bizarre behaviors included sitting up and lying down frequently. The child was prescribed antipsychotics yet his behaviors continued to persist after being discharged for more than a month.
The doctors then put the boy under a steroid regimen, which is anti-inflammatory and helps calm down an overactive immune system. His symptoms then improved.
In another case from Brazil, a woman in her 30s, who was previously healthy, developed refractory psychosis within 24 hours of taking an mRNA COVID-19 shot. The woman had disorganized thoughts, was aggressive, and believed she was being persecuted at the hospital.
Even though she was treated with mood stabilizers and antipsychotics, her behavior showed improvements only after four months of hospitalization. However, her psychosis continued.
A May 2022 review described the case of an 18-year-old woman who developed psychotic symptoms on the same day she took the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine.
“Symptoms started few hours after the vaccination with irrelevant talk. Over the next three days, it progressed to irritability, delusions of persecution and reference, and visual hallucinations.”
Another case study detailed the situation of a 45-year-old woman with no family history or personal history of mental disorders who ended up developing psychosis a month after she received a COVID vaccine. She quit her 18-year-old job abruptly and displayed erratic behaviors.
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Site: RT - News
The IDF has announced it is carrying out “a precise counterterrorism operation” in the Gazan city
The Israeli army has entered the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, as West Jerusalem announced strikes against Hamas militants in the area.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was conducting “a precise counterterrorism operation in the eastern Rafah area” in a bid “to eliminate Hamas terrorists.”
A video released by the IDF shows at least four Israeli tanks on the Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing on the border with Egypt. Part of the clip was apparently filmed by a soldier sitting on top of one of the vehicles.
The IDF also said its troops have “managed to establish operational control of the Gazan side of the crossing.” It added that ground troops and the air force had destroyed Hamas military structures in the area, claiming to have eliminated approximately 20 militants.
According to an unnamed Palestinian security official and an Egyptian official cited by the Times of Israel, Israeli tanks reached as close as 200 meters from the Rafah Crossing terminal, which is directly on the Egyptian border. The Egyptian official told the paper that “the operation appeared to be limited in scope.”
The IDF said it had encouraged local residents to evacuate to the expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, located on the coast and further away from the Rafah Crossing.
READ MORE: Hamas accepts ceasefire deal
The Rafah operation comes after the IDF said mortar shells had been fired from the area at Israeli troops, killing four soldiers and injuring several others. It also follows the decision by Hamas to accept an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal, the details of which so far remain unclear.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, however, said that the deal “is far from meeting Israel’s core demands.” It added that the national war cabinet had unanimously decided to push ahead with an IDF operation in Rafah, “in order to apply military pressure on Hamas” and to make progress on freeing hostages captured by the Palestinian militant group since the start of hostilities on October 7.
A 1-year-old child receives a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination in Seattle, Wash., on June 21, 2022. (David Ryder/Getty Images)Pages
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