It is sad that there are what you might call professional Catholics who make a living on their Catholicism, but in whom the spring of faith flows only faintly, in a few scattered drops. We must really make an effort to change this.
Distinction Matter - Subscribed Feeds
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Site: The Unz ReviewThe Ever-Widening War With Putin focused on useless “peace talks,” Ukraine (or Washington or NATO) attacked four Russian Air Force bases and destroyed a number of strategic Russian bombers. The BBC reports: “In an operation said to have taken 18 months to prepare, scores of small drones were smuggled into Russia, stored in special compartments...
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Site: The Unz ReviewOne of the joys of being white is that you are always to blame for conflicts, even if you do not think you are involved. Israelis held a barbecue seemingly to mock those in Gaza. A black woman said that this proved whites are genetically more prone to evil. It received over 324,000 likes.
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Site: The Unz ReviewMost of you have already heard the news because it has been dominating headlines for the last 24 hours. The footage has been released in a timely manner to back up Kiev’s claims and to prevent the Kremlin from dousing the flames (literally and metaphorically) in the aftermath of the attack. We are still speculating...
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Site: AntiWar.comIn the final days of Ramadan, and just days before Eid al-Fitr, Sudan’s de facto president and army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, knelt in prayer beside Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Al-Burhan had arrived in the kingdom only two days before the Sudanese civil war entered its … Continue reading "Riyadh and Khartoum Heading Toward a Deal That Will Anger Cairo"
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Site: Zero HedgeWhat Is American Conservatism?Tyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 23:20
Authored by Roger Kimball via The Epoch Times,
“To be deceived about the truth of things and so to harbor untruth in the soul is a thing no one would consent to.”
— Plato, The Republic
Let me start with the genus. What is conservatism? The answer? It is cheerful allegiance to the truth. This is especially true of conservatism’s American variant. Conservatism in America has some distinctive features, traceable mostly to two things: the Founders’ vision of limited government supporting individual liberty and the historical accidents of newness, on the one hand, and geographical amplitude and separateness on the other.
Although it may sometimes seem that conservatives are constitutionally averse to cheerfulness, writing works with titles such as Leviathan, The Decline of the West, The Waste Land, and Slouching Towards Gomorrah, by habit and disposition, I submit, conservatives tend, as a species, to be less gloomy than—than what? What shall we call those who occupy a position opposite that of conservatives? Not liberals, surely, since the people and policies that are called “liberal” are so often conspicuously illiberal, i.e., opposed to freedom and all its works.
Indeed, when it comes to the word “liberal,” Russell Kirk came close to the truth when he observed that he was conservative because he was a liberal, that is, a partisan of ordered liberty and the habits and institutions that nurture it. (Is that another definition of conservatism?) In any event, whatever the opposite of conservatives should be called—perhaps John Fonte’s marvelous coinage “transnational progressives” is best, though the old standby “Leftists” will do—they tend to be gloomy, partly, I suspect, because of disappointed utopian ambitions.
Conservatives also tend to enjoy a more active and enabling sense of humor than leftists. Has anyone ever accused Elizabeth Warren of having a sense of humor? How about Rachel Maddow? Or Jamie Raskin?
The nineteenth-century English essayist Walter Bagehot once observed that “the essence of Toryism is enjoyment.” What he meant, I think, was summed up by the author of Genesis when that sage observed that “God made the world and saw that it was good.” Conservatives differ from progressives in many ways, but one important way is in the quantity of cheerfulness and humor they deploy. Not that their assessment of their fellows is more sanguine.
On the contrary, conservatives tend to be cheerful because they do not regard imperfection as a moral affront. Being soberly realistic about mankind’s susceptibility to improvement, they are as suspicious of utopian schemes as they are appreciative of present blessings.
Conservatives, that is to say, are realists. Like Plato, they recoil from the prospect of being fundamentally out of touch with reality.
In a word, conservatives are not “woke.” They strive to call things by their proper names. Like Oscar Wilde’s Cecily Cardew, they call a spade a spade, just as they prefer to call “affirmative action” what it really is: “discrimination according to race or sex.” Ditto about taxation, which they describe, accurately, as “government-mandated income redistribution,” and “Islamophobia,” which is a piece of Orwellian Newspeak foisted upon an unsuspecting public by irresponsible “multiculturalists” colluding more or less openly with Islamofascists.
At a time when culture and intellectual life are everywhere beholden to the imperatives of political correctness, even insisting on clear prose seems a daring provocation. Thus, one follower of the French deconstructionist Jacques Derrida declared that “unproblematic prose” and “clarity” were “the conceptual tools of conservatism.”
Similarly, simply telling the truth about a whole host of controversial subjects is regarded as an unacceptable challenge to the reigning pieties of established opinion.
Creeping multiculturalism intersects in poignant ways with a subject that is always at the center of concern for conservatism: change. Granted, change is a great fact of life.
But an equally great fact is continuity, and it may well be that one adapts more successfully to certain realities by resisting them than by capitulating to them. “When it is not necessary to change,” Lord Falkland said some centuries ago, “it is necessary not to change.”
I recognize that “change,” like its conceptual cousin “innovation,” is one of the primary watchwords of the modern age. But the great conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr. was on to something important when he wrote, in the inaugural issue of National Review in November 1955, that a large part of the magazine’s mission was to “stand athwart history, yelling Stop.”
It’s rare that you hear someone quote that famous line without a smile—the smile meaning “he wasn’t really against change, innovation, etc., etc.” But I believe Buckley was in earnest. It was one of the things that made National Review, in its first decades at least, unzeitgemässe, “untimely” in the highest sense of the word.
Back then, National Review, as Buckley wrote, “is out of place, in the sense that the United Nations and the League of Women Voters and The New York Times and Henry Steele Commager are in place.”
The late Australian philosopher David Stove saw deeply into this aspect of the metabolism of conservatism. In an essay called “Why You Should Be a Conservative,” he rehearses the familiar scenario:
A primitive society is being devastated by a disease, so you bring modern medicine to bear, and wipe out the disease, only to find that by doing so you have brought on a population explosion. You introduce contraception to control population, and find that you have dismantled a whole culture. At home you legislate to relieve the distress of unmarried mothers, and find you have given a cash incentive to the production of illegitimate children. You guarantee a minimum wage, and find that you have extinguished, not only specific industries, but industry itself as a personal trait. . . .
This is the oldest and the best argument for conservatism: the argument from the fact that our actions almost always have unforeseen and unwelcome consequences. It is an argument from so great and so mournful a fund of experience, that nothing can rationally outweigh it. Yet somehow, at any rate in societies like ours, this argument never is given its due weight. When what is called a “reform” proves to be, yet again, a cure worse than the disease, the assumption is always that what is needed is still more, and still more drastic, ‘reform.’
Progressives cannot wrap their minds (or, more to the point, their hearts) around this irony: that “reform” so regularly exacerbates either the evil it was meant to cure or another evil it had hardly glimpsed.
The Victorian poet and essayist Matthew Arnold was no enemy of reform. But he understood that what he described as “the melancholy, long, withdrawing roar” of faith had left culture dangerously exposed and unprotected. In cultures of the past, Arnold thought, the invigorating “remnant” of those willing and able to energize culture was often too small to succeed. As societies grew, so did the forces of anarchy that threatened them—but then so did that enabling remnant.
Arnold believed modern societies possessed within themselves a “saving remnant” large and vital enough to become “an actual power” that could stem the tide of anarchy. As I look around at our present discontents, I hope more than ever that he was right.
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Site: Zero HedgePalantir's Deepening Government Ties Spark Fears Of Centralized SurveillanceTyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 22:45
On Friday the NY Times published a report highlighting the Trump administration's increasing use of software from data analysis firm Palantir, which has been deployed across at least four federal agencies for the stated purpose of increasing operational efficiency through data modernization.
For now, each deployment of Palantir software is focused on department-specific services, but the fact that they're now embedded across multiple agencies - combined with Trump's March executive order calling for the federal government to share data across agencies - has raised concerns over whether the US government is laying the groundwork for what could become an interconnected and unified surveillance apparatus created by a company which has been in business with the government since 2008.
Screenshot via USASPENDING.gov
On Wednesday we noted that Fannie Mae, the quasi-government financial firm overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced a partnership with Palantir to detect mortgage fraud using the firm's proprietary technology, which includes some elements of artificial intelligence.
According to the report, since Donald Trump took office Palantir has received over $113 million in government spending - which doesn't include a $795 million contract from the Department of Defense (DoD) awarded last week. According to the Times report (citing six alleged government officials and Palantir employees), the company is also in discussions with the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service (the latter of which contracted with Palantir during the Biden administration).
Former Employees Revolt
Palantir was founded in 2003 by Alex Karp and Trump ally Peter Thiel, and specializes in finding patterns in data and streamlining it into easily presentable formats. While Thiel is clearly a conservative, Karp - a self-described "socialist" who voted for Hillary Clinton, bragged about stopping the "far right" in Europe.
CIA agent and head of Palantir Alex Karp says his company’s software “single-handedly” stopped the “far right” in Europe.
— Reed Cooley (@ReedCooley) May 31, 2025
Founded in 2003 with funding from the CIA’s In-Q-Tel program, Palantir’s only client before 2008 was the CIA. pic.twitter.com/Shq0uA5x16Via @ReedCooley
And so it's of little surprise that employees would flip out and leave over Palantir's recent $30 million contract with ICE to build a platform to track migrant movements in real time. (Palantir notably designed software for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to identify and track Hamas targets).
This month, 13 former employees signed a letter urging Palantir to stop its endeavors with Mr. Trump. Linda Xia, a signee who was a Palantir engineer until last year, said the problem was not with the company’s technology but with how the Trump administration intended to use it.
“Data that is collected for one reason should not be repurposed for other uses,” Ms. Xia said. “Combining all that data, even with the noblest of intentions, significantly increases the risk of misuse.”
...
Ms. Xia said Palantir employees were increasingly worried about reputational damage to the company because of its work with the Trump administration. There is growing debate within the company about its federal contracts, she said.
“Current employees are discussing the implications of their work and raising questions internally,” she said, adding that some employees have left after disagreements over the company’s work with the Trump administration.
Last week, a Palantir strategist, Brianna Katherine Martin, posted on LinkedIn that she was departing the company because of its expanded work with ICE. -NY Times
According to Xia's letter, "We no longer believe Palantir’s executives are upholding these values. By supporting Trump’s administration,Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative, and dangerous expansions of executive power, they have abandoned their responsibility and are in violation of Palantir’s Code of Conduct."
"As Musk’s DOGE operation dismantles U.S. government institutions under the guise of exposing corruption, opposition remains silent. Companies are placating Trump’s administration, suppressing dissent, and aligning with his xenophobic, sexist, and oligarchic agenda.Government databases are already erasing references to transgender people and gender-affirming care.These injustices could be facilitated by the very software infrastructure we help build."
Palantir Responds
In response to the Times, Palantir pointed to a blog post on how the company handles data, which reads: "We act as a data processor, not a data controller."
"Our software and services are used under direction from the organisations that license our products: these organisations define what can and cannot be done with their data; they control the Palantir accounts in which analysis is conducted."
What say you?
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Site: Zero HedgeWill Russia's Retaliation To Ukraine's Strategic Drone Strikes Decisively End The Conflict?Tyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 21:00
Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,
Ukraine carried out strategic drone strikes on Sunday against several bases all across Russia that are known to house elements of its nuclear triad. This came a day before the second round of the newly resumed Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul and less than a week after Trump warned Putin that “bad things..REALLY BAD” might soon happen to Russia. It therefore can’t be ruled out that he knew about this and might have even discreetly signaled his approval in order to “force Russia into peace”.
Of course, it’s also possible that he was bluffing and the Biden-era CIA helped orchestrate this attack in advance without him ever finding out so that Ukraine could either sabotage peace talks if he won and pressured Zelensky into them or coerce maximum concessions from Russia, but his ominous words still look bad. Whatever the extent of Trump’s knowledge may or may not be, Putin might once again climb the escalation ladder by dropping more Oreshniks on Ukraine, which could risk a rupture in their ties.
Seeing as how Trump is being left in the dark about the conflict by his closest advisors (not counting Witkoff) as proven by him misportraying Russia’s retaliatory strikes against Ukraine over the past week as unprovoked, he might react the same way to Russia’s inevitable retaliation.
His ally Lindsay Graham already prepared legislation for imposing 500% tariffs on all Russian energy clients, which Trump might approve in response, and this could pair with ramping up armed aid to Ukraine in a major escalation.
Everything therefore depends on the form of Russia’s retaliation; the US’ response; and – if they’re not canceled as a result – the outcome of tomorrow’s talks in Istanbul. If the first two phases of this scenario sequence don’t spiral out of control, then it’ll all depend on whether Ukraine makes concessions to Russia after its retaliation; Russia makes concessions to Ukraine after the US’ response to Russia’s retaliation; or their talks are once again inconclusive.
The first is by far the best outcome for Russia.
The second would suggest that Ukraine’s strategic drone strikes on Russia’s nuclear triad and the US’ response to its retaliation pressured Putin to compromise on his stated goals.
These are Ukraine’s withdrawal from the entirety of the disputed regions, its demilitarization, denazification, and restoring its constitutional neutrality. Freezing the Line of Contact (LOC), even perhaps in exchange for some US sanctions relief and a resource-centric strategic partnership with it, could cede Russia’s strategic edge.
Not only might Ukraine rearm and reposition ahead of reinitiating hostilities on comparatively better terms, but uniformed Western troops might also flood into Ukraine, where they could then function as tripwires for manipulating Trump into “escalating to de-escalate” if they’re attacked by Russia. As for the third possibility, inconclusive talks, Trump might soon lose patience with Russia and thus “escalate to de-escalate” anyhow. He could always just walk away, however, but his recent posts suggest that he won’t.
Overall, Ukraine’s unprecedented provocation will escalate the conflict, but it’s unclear what will follow Russia’s inevitable retaliation. Russia will either coerce the concessions from Ukraine that Putin demands for peace; the US’ response to its retaliation will coerce concessions from Russia to Ukraine instead; or both will remain manageable and tomorrow’s talks will be inconclusive, thus likely only delaying the US’ seemingly inevitable escalated involvement. Tonight will therefore be fateful for the conflict’s future.
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Site: Public Discourse
Editors’ Note: In recognition of the 100th anniversary of Pierce v. Society of Sisters, this article is the first in a three-part series on religious freedom.
“The child is not the mere creature of the State.”
With those words, issued a century ago, a unanimous Supreme Court recognized that “the fundamental liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose” prevents the government from attempts to “standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only.” Parental rights include the right to choose private education.
Few cases have more profoundly shaped the intersection of education, parental rights, and religious freedom than Pierce v. Society of Sisters. Deciding amid a wave of nativist sentiment and efforts to homogenize American culture through compulsory public education, the Court struck down a Ku Klux Klan–backed Oregon law mandating public school attendance for all children. In doing so, it affirmed the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children—a principle that has since become a cornerstone of constitutional law.
Nevertheless, Pierce left several critical questions unresolved. While the decision prohibits the state from banning private schools, it remains unclear whether the state may require private institutions to offer an education “substantially equivalent” to that provided in public schools. Similarly, although Pierce affirms the right of parents to opt out of public education altogether, it does not directly address whether parents whose children attend public schools may selectively exempt their children from specific classes or curricular content they find objectionable.
These questions are currently the subject of cases in New York and Maryland that have the potential to shape the debate over parental rights, religious liberty, and education for the century to come.
From Parental Duties to Legal Obligations
Understanding Pierce and its progeny requires first noting its context. The principle that parents have primary authority over the upbringing and education of their children has deep philosophical and legal roots. In his Second Treatise of Government, for example, John Locke argued that parental childrearing authority precedes, and is independent of, political authority. Influenced by Locke, Sir William Blackstone wrote of parents’ common-law duty to provide for the maintenance, protection, and education of their children. Blackstone, in turn, was one of the legal commentators most familiar to America’s Founders.
Parents’ obligation to direct their children’s education led to laws requiring the education of children, beginning with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1642. Five years later, in order to ensure that all children could read the Bible, the Colony began requiring communities above a certain size to make teachers of reading and writing available for all children and to establish grammar schools. Whatever the instructional setting, however, the primary authority to direct children’s education remained with their parents, and the household remained the most important agency for transmitting learning, skills, and moral values.
Again led by Massachusetts, by 1918, every state had enacted laws requiring parents to send their children to a public school or to a private or parochial school that met certain standards. This movement threatened to shift primary control over children’s education from their parents to the state.
Enter the Supreme Court.
In 1919, the Nebraska legislature enacted a criminal law requiring that instruction of all subjects, in private or public schools, be in English until children passed the eighth grade. A Lutheran teacher convicted of teaching reading in German challenged the law, arguing that it violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Ratified in 1868, the amendment prohibits states from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
In Meyer v. Nebraska, the case that resulted, the Supreme Court held that “liberty” under the due process clause includes not only “freedom from bodily restraint” but also “those privileges long recognized at common law as essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.” The Court held that the teacher’s right to teach “and the right of parents to engage him so to instruct their children . . . are within the liberty of the amendment.” The Court struck down the Nebraska law, declaring that it “materially . . . interfere[d] with . . . the power of parents to control the education of their own.”
Two years later, the Court would build on Meyer’s broad conception of liberty in Pierce v. Society of Sisters, further solidifying the constitutional protection of parental rights in education and pushing back against state efforts to monopolize schooling.
Pierce v. Society of Sisters
Oregon first enacted a compulsory school law in 1889. The law required parents to enroll children ages eight to fourteen in a public school or a private or parochial school that met certain standards. However, in 1922, Oregon voters passed a ballot initiative requiring that children attend public schools exclusively, banning attendance at parochial or secular private schools. The driving motivation behind the initiative was to outlaw Catholic schooling.
Two private schools, one Catholic and one secular, challenged the law as violating “the right of parents to choose schools where their children will receive appropriate mental and religious training” and “the right of schools and teachers . . . to engage in a useful business or profession.” As in Meyer, the Court did not question the state’s general authority to require attendance at “some school.” Requiring attendance only at a public school, however, would destroy private primary schools. Citing Meyer, the Court held that this “unreasonably interferes with the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the upbringing and education of children under their control.”
This liberty, of course, is not in the text of the Fourteenth Amendment. Both Meyer and Pierce were examples of what is often called “substantive due process,” or giving substantive content to the “liberty” in the due process clause by recognizing unenumerated rights.
The legitimacy of courts’ finding unwritten substantive rights in a written Constitution intended to govern them has long been debated. While the Supreme Court has used this method to create novel rights with no historical, cultural, or legal roots, such as same-sex marriage or abortion, the Court in Meyer and Pierce tapped into the centuries-long tradition, noted above, of parental authority to direct the upbringing and education of their children. In fact, in the 2000 case Troxel v. Granville, the Court would describe this right as “perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court.”
While this parental right is unenumerated, it is perhaps more appropriate to say that the Supreme Court recognized rather than invented or created it. One of the Court’s most potent statements in Pierce hearkened back to the common law: “The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”
Determining the Framers’ intentions can be difficult; as can identifying the content and ideal application of unwritten rights, even those with such deep roots. Pierce holds that the state cannot abolish private schools, but can it impose regulations that effectively compel private schools to so closely resemble public schools that they lose their distinctive character? This remains unclear.
Likewise, Pierce affirms that parents’ right to direct their children’s education includes opting out of public schools altogether. But if parents choose to enroll their children in a public school, do they forfeit their ability to opt out of particular educational programs or courses of instruction? Pending cases before the courts may soon clarify.
Private Schools and Substantial Equivalency: The New York Yeshiva Case
Orthodox Jewish schools, known as yeshivas, look very different from the standard public school. They tend to begin the school day earlier and end much later, and most of the day is spent studying religious texts: the Torah, halacha (Jewish law), and especially the Talmud, a vast compendium of rabbinic legal debates, biblical exegesis, and stories covering innumerable topics including ethics, theology, philosophy, history, torts, agriculture, commerce, ritual law, and more. Most yeshivas, particularly among the Modern Orthodox, also offer robust secular studies. But a subset of more traditional Haredi Orthodox Jews minimize secular studies in their schools.
Since 2018, the Haredi yeshivas have been under assault by New York State Education Department (NYSED) bureaucrats and their media allies, who allege that the yeshivas are failing to provide an education that is “substantially equivalent” to that of the public schools. The New York Times ran a series of articles highlighting the claims of Young Advocates for a Fair Education, a group of formerly Haredi graduates of yeshivas they claimed left them unprepared for higher education. They are pushing NYSED to enforce stricter educational standards for their former schools.
Others argue that the yeshivas prepare the children they serve to live as productive members of their community and the broader society. Dr. Moshe Krakowski of the Modern Orthodox-affiliated Yeshiva University, for example, spent years studying Haredi yeshivas and finds that their classroom activities, grappling with the meaning of primary sources written in multiple languages, “more closely resemble upper-level humanities coursework in a university than clerical training.”
Just as the Pierce case had implications far beyond the Catholic school at the center of the lawsuit, resolution of the yeshiva case will have broad ramifications for parental rights and religious liberty generally. To what extent can the government regulate private schools before it violates the right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children? Can the government require private schools to provide instruction “substantially equivalent” to public schools?
Enacted in 1894, New York’s substantial equivalence statute was born of the same anti-Catholic motivations as the 1922 Oregon compulsory education law at issue in Pierce. It also paralleled so-called “Blaine Amendments,” constitutional provisions adopted in New York and nearly forty other states prohibiting any public financial support for parochial schools.
At the time, public schools functioned as de facto non-denominational Protestant schools, where teachers led students in Protestant prayers and taught the Protestant version of the Bible. The Supreme Court would later condemn the “shameful pedigree” of the Blaine Amendments, observing that they were “born of bigotry” and “arose at a time of pervasive hostility to the Catholic Church and to Catholics in general.”
Even though Catholics and other religious minorities were forced to pay for the supposedly “nonsectarian” public schools via their taxes, the Blaine Amendments ensured that the Catholics’ own “sectarian” schools would receive no taxpayer assistance. But the Protestant majority went even further than denying public funds to parochial schools. They passed a law requiring that the education provided at private schools be “substantially equivalent” to that offered at public schools. However, as Catholics were keen to show that they were just as American as anyone else, with few exceptions, the law essentially remained unenforced for more than a century.
That changed in 2018, when New York State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia announced new “guidelines” that substantially reinterpreted the substantial equivalence statute. These revised guidelines require private schools to provide instruction in eleven specific subjects for a minimum of 17.5 hours per week.
To monitor adherence, NYSED would, along with local authorities, conduct inspections of private schools. Schools found to be noncompliant risked losing access to public support programs, including funding for textbooks, transportation, and school meals. In more severe cases, the commissioner could require parents to enroll their children in another school and declare truant any children who remained enrolled at a noncompliant school.
Within a few months, New York was facing three separate lawsuits from organizations representing Jewish, Catholic, and independent schools challenging the new guidelines on constitutional, statutory, and procedural grounds. Citing Pierce, the lawsuit filed by a Haredi-aligned organization called Parents for Educational and Religious Liberty in Schools (PEARLS) argued that the statute violated the rights of parents to direct their children’s education and to choose an education that aligned with their beliefs. They cited First and Fourteenth Amendment violations, among other claims. These parents do not want an education that is “substantially equivalent” to what public schools offer: the education they desire for their children is substantially different.
In 2019, a trial court in Albany County nullified the new guidelines, finding that NYSED had failed to follow the proper procedure when issuing them, ; but the court did not address the merits of the constitutional claims. NYSED soon began the process of issuing new guidelines following the proper procedures, including allowing public comment. Within a span of three months, the department received more than 140,000 public comments about the proposed guidelines, the vast majority of which were opposed.
The New York Board of Regents adopted the new guidelines, which closely resembled the previous attempt to revise the substantial equivalence guidelines, in September 2022. Soon after, New York Education Commissioner Betty Rosa declared that one yeshiva failed to meet the substantial equivalence guidelines and must develop an improvement plan or face closure. PEARLS and several yeshivas quickly filed suit. A year later, a trial court judge invalidated the statute’s enforcement mechanism, holding that the burden to ensure a child received a substantially equivalent education fell on the parents, not the schools. In other words, parents could meet the statute’s requirements using a variety of education options—tutoring, homeschooling, virtual learning, etc.—but no one education provider needed to meet all the statutory requirements.
However, the victory was short-lived. Last year, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the trial court judge’s decision, holding that a “child attending an institution for a full, lengthy school day period who is not receiving or obtaining a substantially equivalent education in the basics of arithmetic, English, science, and history . . . cannot adequately supplement this substandard curriculum in the few hours remaining in the week.”
Nevertheless, the lawsuits bought the yeshiva advocates sufficient time to push back politically. The New York legislature recently modified state law to allow more pathways for private schools to demonstrate substantial equivalence and to phase in the compliance mechanisms. But if the case returns to court, many questions remain. To what extent can the state override parental rights in the name of educational oversight? At what point does imposing secular education standards on religious schools violate the Free Exercise Clause by interfering with religious practice? And are Haredi Orthodox yeshivas being subjected to unequal treatment compared to other non-public or religious schools?
The last question could prove decisive for the yeshivas. NYSED only counts yeshiva classes taught in English toward their substantial equivalence requirements, while accepting multilingual instruction in public schools and other private schools. Courts are unlikely to permit this double standard, especially in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decisions in two COVID-era cases.
In Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, the Court declared that the constitutional requirement of religious neutrality is met only if religious groups are treated as well as the most favored secular category under the law. In that case, New York State had closed churches and synagogues due to COVID, but allowed certain “essential” businesses to remain open. The Court temporarily enjoined the executive order, allowing the houses of worship to reopen.
In a subsequent case, Tandon v. Newsom, the Supreme Court clarified that “government regulations are not neutral and generally applicable, and therefore trigger strict scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause, whenever they treat any comparable secular activity more favorably than religious exercise.” Therefore, if public schools and other private schools can meet state standards with classes taught in Spanish, Arabic, or other languages, then yeshiva classes that are taught in Yiddish, Hebrew, or Aramaic should also be deemed compliant.
Parental Opt-Out in Public Schools: Mahmoud v. Taylor
Parents clearly have the right to opt out of the public school system entirely, and that right might extend to private schools that offer a substantially different education. But if they choose to enroll their child in a public school, can they opt out of individual classes and lessons, or must they accept the whole package? This spring, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which should answer this question.
In October 2022, the Montgomery County, Maryland Board of Education announced a policy requiring the use of LGBTQ-inclusive storybooks as part of the English Language Arts curriculum for elementary school students. The content of the books, as well as materials provided to teachers for fostering discussion and answering questions, makes clear that the school board intended to challenge or “disrupt” students’ traditional views about gender and sexuality. The immediate firestorm of controversy came not only from parents on religious grounds, but also from teachers and even administrators who questioned this program’s efficacy and age-appropriateness.
In response, the school board agreed to notify parents when the storybooks would be used and, as it does in other contexts, allow them to opt their children out. The board’s “Guidelines for Respecting Religious Diversity” even state that schools should accommodate parents’ requests to opt their children out of instruction they believe “would impose a substantial burden on their religious beliefs.” Less than a year later, however, the school abruptly, and without explanation, rescinded this notice-and-opt-out policy, requiring all students as young as three years old to receive this instruction without exception. The board even advised teachers not to inform families when this controversial material would be used.
A group of parents from various religious traditions filed suit, arguing that this mandatory policy violated their right to exercise religion, which includes directing what their children learn about sexuality and gender. The lower courts held that requiring young children to participate in such instruction not only does not violate their parents’ right to exercise religion, but that it does not even impose a burden on that right at all.
This case does not raise the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children in the general way that Pierce did, but it does show how this unenumerated parental right can intersect with enumerated rights such as the free exercise of religion. The best outcome will be for the Supreme Court to hold that denying any notice or opt-out, especially after having allowed them before, infringes on the parents’ right to exercise religion. At least in these circumstances, that right involves directing the upbringing of their children regarding sensitive matters such as gender and sexuality.
In other words, the Supreme Court should not only reverse the lower court decisions by concluding that the school district’s policy places a substantial burden on their religious exercise, but also by explaining clearly that this exercise of religion is intrinsically linked to their responsibilities as parents.
Courts have held that, while the parental right recognized in Pierce includes deciding which school their child will attend, it may have less force regarding matters within schools such as curriculum development or administration. This does not mean, however, that policies or actions in those categories will not undermine, perhaps significantly, parental authority regarding their children. One way to mitigate this potential damage is to show how school policies, such as the promotion of gender ideology through social transition, do not fall within those categories of items traditionally left to schools’ discretion.
Mahmoud presents another possibility. A parent relying on the First Amendment right to freely exercise religion may have a more potent claim regarding the use of objectionable material on sensitive subjects than a parent asserting only a general Pierce-style parental right. The Supreme Court’s decision in Mahmoud, therefore, will be instructive regarding the breadth and substance of rights that parents can defend when it comes to their children’s upbringing and education, even within the educational context itself.
The Legacy and Future of Pierce
Many originalists and textualists remain critical of courts’ using the due process clause to establish any substantive rights and skeptical of the Supreme Court’s attempt to limit recognition of unenumerated rights to certain categories. Nonetheless, as explained, the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children has deeper roots than other unenumerated rights and, when combined with the right to exercise religion, can have a more concrete connection to the Constitution.
For a century, Pierce v. Society of Sisters has endured not merely as a bulwark against government overreach, but by establishing as a foundation for that resistance the primacy of parental authority regarding their families. This fundamental principle is older than America itself. By giving this right, already recognized in the common law and colonial statutes, constitutional status, the Supreme Court ensured that it would continue to influence debates over the limits of state authority in regulating private education and the extent of parental rights in public school settings.
Parents’ authority over their children’s education is being challenged as much today as it was by states like Oregon a century ago. Cases like the ones discussed here will continue to arise as government finds new ways to substitute its ideology for parental prerogatives. Especially where other rights, such as the free exercise of religion, are also involved, Pierce remains a solid basis on which parents can insist on their proper place in the family and society.
Image licensed via Adobe Stock.
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Site: LES FEMMES - THE TRUTH
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Site: Catholic ConclaveTwo nuns who experienced sexual and psychological violence by Father Marko Rupnik spoke to TV Slovenia. The artist, priest and former Jesuit, who is accused by several nuns of psychological and sexual abuse, will be tried in the Vatican court.Gloria Branciani was a medical student when she joined the Loyola community, in which women, like men among the Jesuits, followed the charism of St. Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: non veni pacem
Trads, Sedes, Conservatives:
Who’s Got it Right?
Trads, Sedes, Conservatives:
Who’s Got it Right?
SSPX, Sedevacantists, Bene-Papists, EWTN-ists, FirstThings-ists…Hermeneutic of Continuity or Rupture? Latin Mass or Novus Ordo? Roman Catholic or Synodal Church?
2025 marks 60 years since the close of Vatican II. We will explore the events of the last six decades in Church History and attempt to answer which group of Catholics “Got it Right.” Only $119 to enroll, or take with Snatched From Satan, and Atheism Eviscerated and get all three courses for $299, a near $60 savings!
ENROLL
Weekly Live Classes start Thursday June 12th, at 5pm PDT/8pm EDT and will run approximately 70-80 minutes. Q&A will follow for 10 minutes or more for those who can stay. I will suggest readings. No tests. No pressure. Content: Ages 13 and up. Recorded video link sent afterwards so you can watch on your own time! Join us this Easter Season. (Projected duration 7 weeks)
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Site: Catholic ConclaveScroll down for today'sSaint of the Day/ FeastReading of the MartyrologyDedication of the MonthDedication of the DayRosaryFive Wounds Rosary in LatinSeven Sorrows Rosary in EnglishLatin Monastic OfficeReading of the Rule of Saint BenedictCelebration of MassReading from the School of Jesus CrucifiedFeast of Saint Nicholas the PilgrimNicholas was born at Steiri in Boeotia, Greece, where his Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: Zero HedgeTwo Bridges 'Blown Up', Trains Derailed, In Russian Regions Bordering Ukraine, Killing At Least 7Tyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 16:20
A lot happened in the Russia-Ukraine war on Sunday, and as the dust settles from Ukraine's major drone attacks which struck airbases and destroyed strategic bombers deep inside Russian territory, details of other parallel, devastating alleged 'sabotage attacks' are emerging.
Two bridges have collapsed in Russia’s western regions bordering Ukraine on Sunday morning, which derailed trains and left at least seven people dead, and dozens more injured.
A railway bridge collapsed Sunday in the Kursk region of Russia. Source: Acting Governor of Kursk Region/Reuters
"It was not clear on Sunday morning whether the two incidents — which both involved trains — in neighboring Bryansk and Kursk were related, or what exactly caused the separate collapses," CNN reports.
Railway authorities said of the Bryansk incident that "illegal interference" was the cause, with regional governor Alexander Bogomaz saying a bridge had been "blown up".
CNN details that "The bridge came down in the region’s Vygonichi district, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Ukrainian border, crushing the moving train and injuring at least 66 people, including three children, Russian authorities reported."
Russian state media is giving 'sabotage' as the reason for the train derailments:
Videos circulating in Telegram show a crushed train carriage with passengers being evacuated through shattered windows, and emergency services responding at the scene. The collapse also reportedly affected vehicles on the bridge, which fell onto the railway below.
Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) reported that fire and rescue units are actively working at the site of the bridge collapse. “All necessary assistance is being provided to the victims. Additional MChS forces, emergency rescue equipment, and lighting towers for nighttime operations have been deployed to the area,” the ministry noted in an official statement.
Russian media sources published videos of bystanders of the scene of a major train derailment:
New vid of CHAOTIC moments after Bryansk region bridge collapse
— RT (@RT_com) June 1, 2025
People rush to help man trapped in railroad car
Train left sprawled SIDEWAYS https://t.co/BdfL9IHfBq pic.twitter.com/x0WYsLlkFDApparently this wasn't the first effort to blow up train tracks, in a brazen act of targeting civilian transport infrastructure. RT writes that--
"Just days earlier, a freight train in Russia’s Belgorod Region ran over an explosive device planted under the tracks, causing a powerful blast. According to the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, the explosion damaged the railway’s contact network but caused no casualties."
Several different scenes of twisted metal and train 'accidents' emerged Sunday.
Reuters: Emergency responders the scene of a bridge collapse in Russia's Bryansk region on Sunday.
CNN says there was even a third train incident, which occurred Saturday night:
In a third incident on Saturday night, a Russian military freight train was blown up near the occupied city of Melitopol in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, according to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.
“As a result of the explosion, the train with fuel tanks and freight cars derailed on the railway track,” the intelligence service said.
The freight train was moving towards Russian-occupied Crimea via a “key logistical artery” often used by Russian forces, the authority added.
Mystery as Russia is rocked by 3 train crashes in one night after bridges collapse & tracks ‘blown up’ leaving 7 dead https://t.co/7Ud9UqusR4
— Corby Zone (@MissionArtist) June 1, 2025The timing of these attacks suggests likely coordination with the huge drone swarm attacks on Sunday out of Ukraine.
Kiev officials have already long described that they want to make life chaotic and dangerous inside Russia, in hopes that society could be destabilized which could in turn destabilize the government and Putin's rule.
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Site: Restore-DC-Catholicism
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Site: Catholic ConclaveCatholic women from Bavaria fight for more rights and positionsCatholic women repeatedly have high expectations of the Pope and the bishops in Rome. Even though they are repeatedly disappointed. Nevertheless, they never stop working for their church. And fighting for change.The Catholic Church's reform project has been underway for three years. For the first time, women and non-ordained men also Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: Fr. Z's BlogMorning light and my old doorway. Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links. US HERE – WHY? This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, etc.. At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful. ? … Read More →
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Site: Catholic ConclaveAfter a fiasco last year when an ardent synodalist was rejected by the Bishops (see background), German scouting now has a new leader.Maximilian Strozyk becomes the new Federal Curate of the DPSGMaximilian Strozyk, pastor at the Duisburg youth church Tabgha, has a new nationwide role: The priest of the Diocese of Essen, originally from Bochum and living in Mülheim, is now also involved at the Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: Zero HedgeKremlin Prepared For All-Out Conflict With NATO: Institute For WarTyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 15:10
The hawkish Washington DC-based think tank, The Institute for Study or War (ISW), had just prior to Ukraine's Sunday shock drone operation which reportedly took out some 40 military aircraft deep inside Russian territory issued a report saying President Vladimir Putin is prepared for war with NATO if things escalate to that point.
A May 30 decree issued by Putin concerning the Russian defense industry base (DIB) would enable the government to legally take over military contractor firms if they do not abide by wartime martial law orders.
"Putin is likely setting legal conditions to allow the Russian government to commandeer elements of Russia's economy and DIB should the Kremlin introduce full martial law in order to transition the country to a full wartime footing," ISW wrote on UnderstandingWar.Org.
"ISW continues to assess that the Kremlin is preparing Russian society and economy for a protracted war in Ukraine, indicating that Russia is not interested in engaging in good faith negotiations to reach a diplomatic settlement to its war in Ukraine."
Certainly Sunday just brought the world a big step closer to witnessing potential all-out war in Eastern Europe, given the Zelensky-ordered drone swarm attacks are already being called 'Russia's Pearl Harbor'.
"The Kremlin is continuing efforts to prepare Russian society and the Russian defense industry base (DIB) for a protracted war with Ukraine and potential future war with NATO," ISW concluded. "Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on May 30 allowing the Russian government to revoke the rights of shareholders of defense industrial enterprises in the event that the enterprise fails to fulfill state defense orders during martial law."
"The decree enables the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade to appoint a management company to act as the sole executive body of the enterprise in order to fulfill contractual obligations to the Russian government," the study says.
And it applies to "civilian aviation and shipbuilding companies, military development and production companies, and government subcontractors."
And just as useless for them. https://t.co/dIIsGnmBAm
— Moon of Alabama (@MoonofA) June 1, 2025Sunday's major attack on Russian airbases may only serve to accelerate a possible Kremlin move toward martial law and formal declaration of all-out war in Ukraine.
Despite Kiev and Ukraine supporters praising the effectiveness of Sunday's operation, the reality is that instead of translating into strategic battlefield gains, this only pokes the bear in a major way. Unverified reports say that ballistic missiles at silos across Russia are being readied.
We are likely to see Kiev soon get pummeled once again along with places like Odessa which have been for the most part sparred utter destruction thus far in the war.
Ukraine just mounted an attack that marks a turning point in the history of warfare
— Shaun Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) June 1, 2025
Hundreds of drones were pre-deployed and then struck 40+ aircraft 1000+ km inside of Russia
>$1B in damage by <$1m of drones
Critical infra is no longer safepic.twitter.com/qaPS3oKD1YRussia will likely ramp up attacks on 'command centers' throughout Ukraine, including those believed staffed by foreign advisers and officials. A big question for the Kremlin will be whether Western intelligence helped in Sunday's attacks, which saw several Russian long-range bombers destroyed. Another question that remains is: will Monday's peace talks in Istanbul still proceed at this point? There's little doubt that Putin is readying a massive, painful retaliatory attack on Ukraine.
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Site: Fr. Z's BlogToday the Pope, Leo XIV (a pleasure to type that) gave a sermon for a Mass for the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly. In this sermon he directly contradicted something that Francis inspired in others through the … Read More →
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Site: Zero Hedge"Everything Has Been Alarmist": Bessent Shuts Down CBS Over Inflation, Says US Will 'Never Default' On DebtTyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 14:35
For months, all we've heard from mainstream economic pundits is that Trump's tariff scheme would lead to absolute chaos; ports would be shut down, inflation would cripple the US economy, and markets would crater. The response was an April rollercoaster in stocks that ended the month higher, while the most recent inflation metrics had core PCE (personal consumption expenditures) coming in at its lowest level in years, while 'supercore' inflation (service-based inflation) dropped the most since COVID. So, just the opposite of what we were told would happen.
On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disintegrated the conventional wisdom, while raking CBS News' Margaret Brennan over the coals in response to the media's fake news hysteria.
The key excerpts from the interview:
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BESSENT: "Thus far there have been no price increases - everything has been alarmist. The inflation numbers are actually dropping. We saw the first drop of inflation in four years. The inflation numbers last week, they were very pro-consumer."
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BRENNAN: "But you listen to earnings calls just like we do. You know what Walmart is saying, what Best Buy is saying, and what Target is saying."
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BESSENT: "But Margaret, I also know what Home Depot and Amazon are saying. I know what the South China Morning Post wrote within the past 24 hours - that 65% of the tariffs will likely be eaten by the Chinese producers."
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BRENNAN: "The reality is there will either be less inventory, or things will be at higher prices, or both."
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BESSENT: "Margaret, when we were here in March, you said there was going to be big inflation. There hasn't been any inflation. Actually, the inflation numbers were the best in four years. So why don't we stop trying to say 'this could happen,' wait and see what does happen.
NEW: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent strikes down CBS News’ Margaret Brennan by reminding her about her own previous comments about inflation.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 1, 2025
Another rough weekend for Margaret.
Brennan: “The reality is there will either be less inventory or things at higher prices or both.”… pic.twitter.com/eONA9xNqxTBessent also pushed back on a warning by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who said that a crack in the bond market "is going to happen."
"I’ve known Jamie a long time, and for his entire career he’s made predictions like this," said Bessent. "Fortunately none of them have come true. That’s why he’s a great banker. He tries to look around the corner."
Brennan: Dimon predicted a debt market crisis,
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 1, 2025
Bessent: For his entire career, he's made predictions like this, fortunately none of them have come true. That's why he's a banker, a great banker pic.twitter.com/Kk5q50jnZuBessent also insisted that the US "is never going to default," as the deadline for raising the debt ceiling yet again approaches.
"That is never going to happen," he told Brennan, adding "We are on the warning track and we will never hit the wall."
Bessent's comments come as the US Senate returns this week to take up President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' which includes an increase in the debt limit before the so-called "X-date" when the Treasury runs out of cash and special accounting measures that would allow it to operate it within the debt ceiling and still meet federal obligations on time.
"We don’t give out the ‘X date’ because we use that to move the bill forward," Bessent said (yet, he told lawmakers last month that the US was likely to exhaust its ability to borrow by August if the debt ceiling isn't raised or suspended by then.
"The United States of America is never going to default. That is never going to happen," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says ahead of a summer deadline to increase or suspend the debt limit, telling @margbrennan, "we are on the warning track, and we will never hit the wall."… pic.twitter.com/ZKXPnd5FEQ
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) June 1, 2025Last week the Trump administration lashed out at Beijing for what they said was a violation of a US-Chinese tariff truce reached in May. Today, Bessent said he's confident that this "will be ironed out" in a call between Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping "very soon."
According to White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, the call is expected to take place this week - telling ABC's This Week that Trump "is going to have a wonderful conversation about the trade negotiations this week with President Xi."
“My expectation is that both sides have expressed a willingness to talk.”
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 1, 2025
Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said it is possible that Pres. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will speak this week about the ongoing trade battle.https://t.co/URF3j1NkNa pic.twitter.com/wwwKkLdOjXOn Friday, US Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer accused Beijing of failing to comply with several elements of the trade agreement brokered in Geneva, insisting that China continues to "slow down and choke off things like critical minerals and rare-earth magnets."
Bessent addressed this on Sunday, saying "Maybe it’s a glitch in the Chinese system, maybe it’s intentional," adding "We’ll see after the president speaks with the party chairman."
We are not seeking to decouple from China, but we must take steps to de-risk.
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) June 1, 2025
Withholding essential products from global industrial supply chains is not the behavior of a reliable trading partner. pic.twitter.com/wq4HkaECRT -
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Site: Fr. Z's BlogToo many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff. Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Mass of obligation for the Sunday after Ascension Thursday? … Read More →
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Site: Zero HedgeWall Of ConfusionTyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 14:00
Submitted by Peter Tchir of Academy Securities
Wall of Confusion
I think that we have seen the word “uncertainty” far too many times in the past few months. While uncertainty had its time and place, maybe confusion is a better description?
This is a natural evolution of last weekend’s Uncertainty – Main Street vs Wall Street.
We will use “confusion” or “confusing” as much as possible today. That might be a weird approach to writing a report that is designed to help guide investors and corporations through these markets, but it is where we are.
Wall of Worry
Wall Street is well known for climbing the “Wall of Worry.” Some have tried to argue that Wall Street climbed a Wall of Uncertainty in the past couple of months, but that does not seem accurate.
- Stocks plummeted as “Liberation Day” created certainty on tariffs – and that certainty was scary.
- Stocks rebounded as the President “pivoted” away from tariffs to the budget. While tariffs have remained a staple of the Wall Street diet, the headlines have had less and less impact, as the consensus view is that the headlines are “grandstanding” and the final results will be “manageable.”
Where we have been, for a week or longer, is figuring out how well Wall Street can climb a Wall of Confusion? On the prior Friday, when the President sent out his Truth Social posts threatening Tim Cook’s company with tariffs on a certain product, and 50% for the EU (after all the “progress” on China), many people figuratively “threw up their hands.” From a quiet Friday, to assessing the likelihood of these posts becoming policy. For me, I believe, I literally “threw my hands in the air” as the announcement was confusing in terms of timing, scope, and even reality. If we had to identify a moment in time, where the narrative should maybe switch from uncertainty to confusing, it was that series of posts (the EU one, not surprisingly, was “fixed” by the open on Tuesday, and the other one seems to have died off for now).
While uncertainty and confusion are related, they are not the same thing (at least we don’t think so).
Wall of Confusion – (That’s What the World is Today)
Okay, the song is actually “Ball of Confusion” but “Wall of Confusion” seemed more relevant to me (and I’m slightly embarrassed to admit, I thought the song was “Wall of Confusion” – but in my defense, I was never a big Love and Rockets fan, and it was more difficult to find song lyrics back in the day). Moving on, from that faux pas, there are some reassuring things about the song.
Run, run, run but you sure can't hide
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Vote for me and I'll set you freeBall of confusion (oh, yeah)
That's what the world is today, hey, heyThe sale of pills are at an all time high
Young folks walking 'round with their heads in the sky
The cities ablaze in the summer time
And oh, the beat goes onEvolution, revolution, gun control, sound of soul
Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growing up too soon
Politicians say more taxes will solve everything
And the band played onSo, 'round and around and around we go
Where the world's headed, nobody knowsIf you read the lyrics, you might be wondering if something is seriously wrong with me! How are these lyrics even remotely reassuring?
The fact that Love and Rockets felt it was timely to remake this song in 1985, and we are still around (and in general, thriving) tells me that we made it through the last 40 years, and maybe things weren’t so different?
The Temptations released the original version back in 1970!
So, the same set of words, broadly applicable today, were applicable over 55 years ago!
- The bad news is that we’ve gone 55 years and haven’t seemed to have fixed all that much.
- The good news is that we’ve flourished even with these issues and as much as today might seem different, in reality, it might not be that different. I really find that encouraging.
I assume the “ball” referred to in the song is the Earth, and yes, there is a depressing (and scary) element to the lyrics. For today, I’m going to take to heart that the world has been (and probably always will be) confusing, but we can make it through that.
On that positive note, maybe we should just end today’s report here?
While that would be nice, I do feel compelled to get across a few of the most confusing things.
Sentiment By Party Is Confusing?
We will devote as little text as possible to the University of Michigan Survey (and even that is more time than this survey deserves). We touched on the massive gap between Democrats and Republicans in Together We Stand. Overall, things would be better as the nation gravitates to a relatively uniform plan (not something we have today, but it is something that Jamie Dimon seemed to hit on in a recent interview).
1-year inflation expectations dropped from 7.3% to 6.6% in the most recent survey – though, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents all submitted for higher 1-year inflation. How is that even possible?
I was prepared for “mood” swings, like we saw in sentiment, where Democrats were less negative (economic data and stocks have been doing well, and the administration has backed off some policies), while Republican sentiment dropped a bit – presumably because of the PIVOT?
For me, sentiment surveys are on the cusp of shifting from confusing to irrelevant.
In any case, I certainly don’t know how we are supposed to use them in this day and age of social media, etc.
Tariff Inflation Confusion
Maybe I’m the only one confused by the potential impact of tariffs on inflation?
I’ve seen a number of surveys where the group running the survey is trying to figure out if tariffs are “inflationary” or “deflationary.” A valid goal, but what if the answer is both? Or kind of? Or first one, then the other?
We will now subject you to one of our very amateur charts, but one that can clarify the view that we have had (and continue to have) on tariffs.
Overall premise (which we’ve outlined in the past):
- Tariffs, initially, result in some upward pressure on prices
- Price increases take time, as the tariffs get paid and prior inventory is worked off
- Price increases take time because many prices have already been contracted
- Price increases take time due to uncertainty/confusion over whether the tariffs will remain in place
- Smaller levels of tariffs will be split between the exporter, importer, and consumer
The numbers on the “left” scale, ranging from -4 to 10, should be viewed more as a “scale” of deflationary, low, medium, and very high inflation, rather than as estimates of the percentage impact on tariffs.
While what we consider “manageable” tariffs have some inflationary pressures, it will act more or less as “business as usual.”
For higher tariff levels, we believe there will be some serious questions about the supply chain.
As tariffs increase, the pricing dynamic shifts, at least initially, from “attribution,” to real fear about supply chain issues.
That will create much higher inflation, much quicker as consumers and businesses scramble to adjust to potentially disruptive supply chains.
Higher levels of tariffs are highly likely to slow the economy down. Once we get over the initial “supply chain” issues, it seems logical to assume the economy will experience a slowdown. Inflation will reduce the number of goods consumed.
Profit margins will erode. Serious re-thinking of the global economy will occur, which will lead to deflation, as spending will drop.
Over time, in all scenarios, we should drift back to a no or limited effect.
It is probably accurate to say that tariffs are a “one-time” adjustment to prices, but that “one-time” adjustment will actually occur over a period of time.
That is why it will be difficult for the Fed to cut, as tariffs slowly leak their way into the system.
Very high levels of tariffs will likely be deflationary, as they will hurt the economy, possibly severely (which is what the market was pricing in, before the 90-day pause was instituted). Incidentally, this is what ZeroHedge said back in June 2024 in "The Experts Are All Wrong About Inflation Under A Trump Presidency"
The impact of tariffs is likely to be confusing: If our view is correct, and any inflationary pressures take time to play out, it will be difficult to separate any inflation from tariffs versus all of the other forces shaping the economy and prices.
Confusing? Possibly, though we would argue this is a logical framework to think about tariffs and inflation.
Economic Data Is and Will Be Confusing
Since the election, companies and individuals have had to think about the following:
- Potential deregulation and aggressive efforts along the lines of National Production for National Security. That was highly anticipated, then seemed to take a back seat, but is moving to the forefront again (the Nippon/U.S. Steel deal is an example.)
- M&A. Was a big hope for Wall Street. That too faded, but has been bouncing back.
- Tariffs. Buying ahead of tariffs. Slowdown as Liberation Day tariffs hit. More buying as the pause went into effect.
- Government Job Cuts and Spending Cuts. DOGE brought out the “chainsaw” – literally, on stage, but then not much seemed to happen. The Big, Beautiful Bill seems to bring back spending.
Companies and individuals have had to navigate some or all of the above as these factors affect their businesses.
While it is always difficult to estimate the “steady state” of the economy and separate the “signal from the noise,” I cannot think of a more difficult time than now.
On the government side, what was probably a drag, has become less of a drag on the economy (assuming the bill gets passed).
On the tariff side, it probably increased demand for products (and presumably labor), with a potential slowdown as any backlog is worked off.
Then you have survey response rates. We have bashed on sentiment surveys enough, but the BLS continues to see declines in survey response rates. The Establishment data, for NFP (which we get this week) gets a response rate of about 43%, down from over 60% a decade ago. So not even half of the firms bother to respond, for one of the most important pieces of data that we get.
We argued in last month’s Instant Reaction that the adjustment from the birth/death model seemed inconsistent with many other things we had been tracking (and it ultimately was the main driver of the report).
We may well get more confusing data on the jobs front this month. There is a camp that believes the jobs data has been overstated, and we have at least one foot in that camp, for the reasons we’ve been detailing.
The uncertainty, or even “confusion,” is likely slowing hiring, but it is also likely slowing dismissals, as companies don’t want to be understaffed if the PIVOT is Real and Positive.
I’m Confused Why World Leaders Are Not Golfing with Trump
We have mentioned how Abe of Japan learned to golf so he could play with Trump. The President said incredibly nice things about Abe during his speech about the U.S./Nippon Steel deal.
It seems pretty simple. Learn to golf (if you don’t already know how). Invite him to the best course your country has to offer. Get permission to do a military flyover while he is at the course. Expect a “reciprocal” at Mar-a-Lago. Don’t take the game too seriously and make sure you lose, possibly by a lot.
If I didn’t have a big defense budget, a need for airplanes, or massive amounts of chips, this would seem like a good plan to me. Heck, even if you need any or all of the above, it seems like a good plan!
I’m confused why more world leaders aren’t golfing with Trump? It seems funny, but I am serious.
Bottom Line
With all the confusion, we continue to believe that you should “stay the course” based on your current convictions, until evidence mounts that the course you are on is incorrect.
Policy pivots need to be addressed immediately. Fortunately, even with policy pivots, we seem to have time to absorb them, unlike in March and early April.
On the data front, expect some data to be confusing, or even misleading, but try to sort out the overall trend before correcting course.
Rates. Moderately bullish. We published Add Duration on May 22nd. The 10-year had closed at 4.6% the night before and is now back to 4.4%. It should have some more room to run to lower yields, especially as yields globally seem to have found support. I think we should be pricing in 3 cuts this year, starting in July.
Credit. Should continue to chug along.
Equities. Broad markets seem ok here, but extended. The “everyone is bearish” narrative has largely flip-flopped. Individual sectors may be the key here, as we digest the confusion and what it means for the economy and specific sectors. If anything, the equity market seems to be living a little bit too much on Hopium rather than concrete announcements.
- The pivot, budget, and Trump put seem fully priced in.
- Difficulties getting deals closed (including risk of sanctions on Russia, if no ceasefire is reached), seem not to be getting priced in.
- It has been awhile since we’ve used Hopium, but it seems to be the one word that is emerging from the confusion.
We can navigate through confusion, but I think we will be most successful navigating through it if we accept that confusion is different than uncertainty (as convoluted as that might sound).
Also, let’s remember the song that inspired this whole thing was released 55 years ago, and as much as the issues remain relevant, the nation, and individuals in the nation as a whole, have a lot more than we had back then!
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Site: Zero HedgeCT Dems Advance Bill That Allows Lawsuits For Turning Over Illegals To ICETyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 13:25
Connecticut Democrats have advanced a controversial bill amending the state’s Trust Act to let “any aggrieved person” sue municipalities—including police and school employees—that work with federal immigration authorities, according to Law Enforcement Today.
The Law Enforcement Today article says that the measure, passed 96-51 along party lines, was prompted by claims from immigrant advocates that some towns ignore existing state law governing local cooperation with ICE. Although it wouldn’t grant immediate recourse to detained migrants, it allows future lawsuits and forces municipalities to pay legal fees if they lose.
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, who supported the 2013 Trust Act, criticized the expansion: “It’s not enough that municipalities and our public safety cannot communicate with ICE for them to do their job. They’re now going to allow these same individuals to sue our towns and cities,” he said.
Democratic Rep. Steven Stafstrom said the change aims to reassure immigrants they can seek help from local police without fear of deportation: “We’re trying to strike the right balance,” he said.
Republicans slammed the move. Rep. Doug Dubitsky called the Trust Act “a travesty,” while Rep. Craig Fishbein questioned its purpose: “Do we trust the government to use the statutes that are in place to protect us?”
Mathew Silverman, head of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, argued that sanctuary laws “weaken the relationship between local and federal law enforcement,” making it harder to catch “dangerous individuals” and “intercept deadly fentanyl.”
Rep. Farley Santos, who came to the U.S. from Brazil as a child, defended the bill, saying: “They [illegal aliens] are the next doctors, they are the next entrepreneurs, they are the next public servants.”
Critics say the expansion ties the hands of law enforcement and undermines public safety by limiting cooperation with federal agencies.
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Site: PeakProsperityThis week's economic indicators show mixed signals: personal income up, auto sales and durable goods down, GDP growth questioned. Financial markets display cautious optimism with treasury yields falling, equities rallying, and gold hinting at a low.
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Site: Zero HedgeCandy-Maker Says It Removed Additive Targeted By RFK Jr. From SkittlesTyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 12:50
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Skittles no longer contains titanium dioxide, a chemical identified as potentially problematic by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s commission in a recent report, the candy’s manufacturer said on May 27.
Skittles on a store shelf, in an undated file photo. Scott Olson/Getty Images
“Our commitment to quality is what has enabled Mars to be enjoyed by consumers for over a century, and nothing is more important than the safety of our products,” a spokesperson for Mars Inc. told news outlets this week. “All our products are safe to enjoy and meet the high standards and applicable regulations set by food safety authorities around the world, and that’s something we will never compromise on.”
The company did not respond to requests for more information, including when the chemical was removed.
In the May 22 report from the Make America Healthy Again Commission, which Kennedy chairs, the commission said that titanium dioxide was an additive “of potential concern” and that it “may cause cellular and DNA damage.”
The commission cited a review that concluded that possible adverse outcomes of titanium dioxide exposure included cancer and damage to the heart, and an assessment that said titanium dioxide may cause immune issues, inflammation, and neurological problems.
“Based on all the evidence available, a concern for genotoxicity could not be ruled out, and given the many uncertainties, the Panel concluded that E 171 can no longer be considered as safe when used as a food additive,” the assessment from the Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings, commissioned by the European Commission and published in 2021, stated.
Kennedy hailed the move from Mars.
“You don’t need titanium dioxide to make rainbows,” he wrote on social media platform X. “Mars has announced the removal of titanium dioxide from Skittles. I’ve long been critical of the use of harmful additives in our food, especially when companies are fully capable of producing safer versions for European markets. When corporations take steps that help make our children—and America—healthy again, it’s a move in the right direction.”
The Environmental Defense Fund and other groups asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a division in Kennedy’s department, in 2023 to ban titanium dioxide from food products. The FDA says on its website that it is still reviewing the petition.
Skittles still contains artificial colorings, including Yellow No. 5 and Red No. 40.
The FDA said in April it was banning two other artificial colorings used in foods and beverages, in addition to a third that was previously prohibited. Officials also said companies would voluntarily remove the other six dyes that have regulatory approval, including Yellow 5.
Following the announcement, PepsiCo executives said the company was quickening its transition away from artificial colors. In-N-Out said it was removing dyes from its strawberry milkshakes, pink lemonade, pickles, chilis, and house spread.
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Site: Fr. Z's BlogIt was called to my attention that our Eastern lung, as St John Paul II might say, celebrates today the Nicene Fathers, the bishops who participated in the FIRST Ecumenical Council at Nicea which was called to deal with the … Read More →
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Site: Henrymakow.com
(Klaws Swab and two of his bumboys)Mathew Ehret has written a brilliant and concise explanation of Canada,and indeed the world's bondage to the Satanist Rothschild banking cartel.This is the case that Pierre Poilievre should have made but didn't.None of us are free citizens of a democracy.We are collateral for an ever-increasing national "debt."Most politicians are Freemasons working for the Rothschilds.by Matthew Ehret"A strange event took place in Ottawa on May 27, 2025 as King Charles III flew in a French AirbusCC330 across the ocean, then was chauffeured in a 27 car motorcade to Canada's parliament to deliver a throne speech- inaugurating the new session of parliament under Canada's -- Prime Minister Mark Carney.After ironically acknowledging unceded land in his opening remarks, King Charles (owner of 89% of Canada's surface area dubbed 'Crown land') proceeded to lecture Canada's representatives about committing to de-carbonization, arctic militarization and supporting European militarization via the Re-Arm Europe Plan against Russia.Mark Carney has let it be known that he wishes to enmesh Canada more deeply into the British imperial system and the European satraps which fell for London's Euro trap 30 years ago.Formerly the Governor of the Bank of Canada, then the Bank of England, and later the UN's special envoy on climate finance, Carney now stands at the center of Canada's political future."He is known to be one of the key architects behind Canada2020--the very think tank that selected and managed Justin Trudeau's political career--and now stands as Canada's Prime Minister. He served as a steering committee member of the powerful Bilderberg Group (founded by unreconstructed SS officer Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands), and was president of England's powerful Chatham House which oversees its junior chapter- the Council on Foreign Relations in the USA." (Continues)--
Hamdy Mig (Left)--"After two days of displacement, exhausting hardship and escaping certain death, I built my small tent from some thin wood and worn-out bags on the beach, and I live in it now, where the scorching sun in the morning, the bitter cold at night, and the strong winds that almost tear the tent apart and drown it in the sea waves. Here we do the impossible in order to live and not die, we do not despair or get tired, we endure all of this for the sake of a decent life in the near future."A Way to Help Gaza-Encore$21 Trillion Black Budget is Funding a Rogue Breakaway Civilization | Catherine FittsTony B-- "Catherine Austin Fitts absolutely knows of what she speaks and, at the end finally reveals the only true, workable, solution, even though she seems incapable of saying the word "God."This knowledge is so much needed that it is worth time to view a second, or even third time, if you miss some of her words.-Kevin Barrett- "Did Comey issue a deniable threat against Trump on behalf of the same neocon-zionist criminals who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington? Those suspicions were heightened by the timing. May 15 was not just the 8,647th day after 9/11. It was also the day that Trump stopped in Qatar during the US president's tour of West Asia--a tour that snubbed Netanyahu and Israel, and featured Trump denouncing neocons, US imperialism, and regional wars.--US Manufacturers Can't Fill 500,000 Vacancies NowUS manufacturing is struggling to fill existing jobs as tariffs aim to bring back more.
Physician Who Witnessed Interrogation of Rakovsky During Trotskyite Trials, Lifted the Veil of the Global Crime SyndicateRakovsky: "In direct negotiations with Hitler (the Jewish bankers) agreed as to the financing of the National-Socialist Party, and the latter received in a couple of years millions of Dollars, sent to it from Wall Street, and millions of Marks from German financiers- through the Freemason Schacht; the upkeep of the S.A. and S.S. and also the financing of the elections which took place, which gave Hitler power."This was extremely important in the depth of the Depression because the Nazis provided food and shelter to many of their supporters.--War & Migration = Disease ALWAYS!Martin Armstrong-=-"Creating WWIII on top of this gain-of-function COVID-19 disease, will be the devastating impact that our computer is projecting heading into 2029, which will probably be Phase I, with Phase II heading into 2032, but the final Phase will [?]""Yes, I have said there remains the risk of a 50% decline in population as the Sixth Wave of the Economic Confidence Model concludes. This is historically standard. This is traditionally the combination of war and disease."-
Trump's Mission from God: Use WW3 as an excuse to murder millions of non-Satanists"However, the inclusion of Pepe the Frog shifts the tone from playful homage to something more contentious. Pepe, created in 2005 by cartoonist Matt Furie for his comic Boy's Club, began as a benign symbol of slacker culture, embodying a "feels good man" ethos.By the mid-2010s, however, the character was co-opted by 4chan users and later by alt-right groups, transforming it into a symbol associated with white nationalism, QAnon, and other far-right ideologies.-'You are going to panic,' Jamie Dimon tells regulators about what will happen when the bond market cracks-Tim Fitzpatrick--JEWISH LEADERS OF RUSSIA SINCE 1917:
In a March 2017 interview, Russian opera singer Maria Petrovna Maksakova confirmed: "The majority of the Russian Federation deputies have Israeli citizenship".The following article claims that most Russian leaders since 1917, and even since 1970, were Jewish:"Apart from the ORIGINAL Bolshevik-Zionists, these also include Putin, Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Medveydev, "Stalin", Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Mikhail Mishustin, Sergey Kiriyenko, etc. According to researcher Christopher Story (who worked with defector Anatoliy Golitsyn), Mikhail Gorbachev may have been a Jew whose real name was Mikhail Orbach. Furthermore, Boris Yeltsin may have been a Jew whose real name was Boris Moiseevich. But, of course, all of this is very hard to prove or disprove."The Russian and East European Holocaust (77 million victims) was perpetrated by Jews such as "Trotsky" (Lev Bronstein); "Zinoviev" (Hirsch Apfelbaum); "Lazar Kaganovich" (Lazar Kahan); "Kamenev" (Lev Rozenfeld); "Maxim Litvinov" (Meir Henoch Wallach); Mikhail Lashevich; Moisei Uritsky; Genrikh Yagoda; "Martov" (Yuliy Osipovich Tsederbaum); "Parvus" (Israel Lazarevich Gelfand); "Ganetsky" (Jakub Fürstenberg); György Lukács; "Bela Kun" (Moritz Cohen); Yakov Sverdlov; "Karl Radek" (Karol Sobelsohn); Willi Münzenberg; "Grigory Sokolnikov" (Hirsch Brilliant); Yakov Yurovsky; "Volodarsky" (Moisey Goldstein); "Yakov Doletsky" (Yakov Fenigstein); "Yakovlev" (Yakov Epstein); Semyon Dimanstein; "Goloshchyokin" (Shaya Itsikovich); Karl Liebknecht; Rosa Luxemburg; Kurt Eisner; Emil Barth; Philipp Scheidemann; Paul Levi; Karl Radek; Lev Mekhlis; Jakub Berman; Mátyás Rákosi; "Ana Pauker" (Hannah Rabinsohn); "Yuri Steklov" (Ovshey Moiseyevich Nakhamkis); "Julius Martov" (Yuliy Osipovich Tsederbaum); "Fyodor Dan" (Fyodor Gurvich); "Yuri Larin" (Yuri Lurye); Mark Natanson; as well as part-Jews "Stalin" (Ioseb Dzhugashvili) and "Lenin" (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov).But the official-"truth" narrative claims that the Russian and East European Holocaust had to do with "left-wing politics" but was "not" a religious war in which Talmudic Jews genocided (mostly Orthodox) Christians.In reality, of course, "left-wing politics" was a deception invented to dupe the Goyim "Livestock" into thinking that communism had not in fact been a genocidal religious war pursuant to the Talmud. And most Goyim were duped."
Hamas didn't do thisENCORE: JOHN HANKEY PROVES THAT 7 OCT 2023 WAS A FALSE-FLAG RUN BY THE ZIOFASCIST IDF:John Hankey states: "Israel was behind the attacks of October 7. Hamas is run by Israeli Secret Intelligence, the Mossad. The fact that the Mossad supplied Hamas with billions of dollars in cash is NOT in dispute. ALL sources say that the Israeli military stood down (was completely absent) for 6 hours. The best evidence indicates that 94 percent of the civilians were killed by the military to justify the genocide in Gaza. Israeli veterans say so."IN DEC 2023, ZIONIST CNN ADMITTED "UNKNOWN TRADERS ANTICIPATED 7 OCT HAMAS ATTACK":POLL: 88 PERCENT OF AMERICANS WANT BIG PHARMA MAFIA HELD "FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE" FOR INJURIES (AND DEATHS) CAUSED BY THE COVID-BIOWEAPON-JAB:Here is a report on a recent poll conducted by the Center for Excellence in Polling and commissioned by the Foundation for US-Regime Accountability:--
Elon Musk latest member of the black eye club--ZIOFASCIST TRUMP STILL HAS NOT LIFTED A FINGER TO TAKE THE mRNA-COVID-BIOWEAPON-JAB OFF THE MARKET, LET ALONE MOVED TO APOLOGIZE FOR THE COVID-PHARMA GENOCIDE. COULD IT BE THAT TRUMP IN FACT WANTS TO WIPE OUT AS MANY GOYIM "LIVESTOCK" AS POSSIBLE?:Patrick O'Carroll--"Dear Donald, your ZioFascist strings are showing. Your "advisors" should have told you that you need to do much more than just feign a "spat" with your boss and handler Benjamin Netanyahu. Do you think you can "hide" your ZioFascist strings much longer? They are already showing." -
Site: Zero HedgeZelensky Calls Meetings With Putin 'Meaningless' And Asks For More Military AidTyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 12:15
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a three-way summit with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, likely in response to Russia's accelerated gains on the eastern front as well as the mass missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. "If Putin is not comfortable with a bilateral meeting, or if everyone wants it to be a trilateral meeting, I don't mind. I am ready for any format," Zelensky stated after admitting that the Kremlin had amassed at least 50,000 troops near the northern Sumy region of Ukraine.
The Kremlin responded with suspicion to the idea, noting that Zelensky was looking for 'clout' and a 'legitimacy boost' by inserting himself at the table between Russia and the US in the initial talks. And, to be fair, the real diplomatic discussion is between Russia and the US, not Russia and Ukraine.
The conflagration in Ukraine is a clear proxy war with NATO officials managing the details of the conflict behind the scenes. Ukraine's entire intel apparatus is reliant on NATO reconnaissance technology and their long range missile and drone strikes require NATO personnel and satellites to aim and guide the weapons. The Ukraine war is between Russia and NATO; Ukraine and Zelensky are incidental.
Zelensky appears to have taken offense to Russia's claim that he is chasing clout in a recent statement in which he asserted that meetings with Russia were "meaningless" without more pressure from the US and Europe. He also begged for even more money and weapons to be sent to Ukraine from western partners while suggesting that long range attacks were the best way to bring the war to the Russians and convince them to accept a ceasefire agreement.
In other words, it appears that Zelensky was indeed interested in diplomatic negotiations until it became clear that he would not be at the center of them.
Over the course of the past few months the establishment media and European officials have hinted that the war in Ukraine is not going well. The realities of attrition warfare are taking hold and eventually Ukraine and NATO will have to admit that they are losing. It's a reality many analysts have been trying to warn about for at least the past year, but anyone listening to the propaganda from the western media would assume that Ukraine is on the verge of sweeping the Russian out of the country.
This is simply not the case. Russian forces are breaking through on multiple fronts and they seem to be massing for a large scale offensive in the north. Ukraine's military is on it's last legs, which is the only reason why Zelensky has deigned to entertain the idea of peace talks at all. He is also realizing that it is highly unlikely that the US will ever intervene with boots on the ground - The fundamental strategy of Kyiv and NATO officials was to lure the US and European public to support troop deployments and direct war with Russia.
European politicians are keen on the idea of sending in troops, but without US involvement they will not be able to effectively fight Russian forces in a brand of warfare far different from the typical maneuver warfare they are used to.
Donald Trump has sought to balance his peace negotiations with carrot and stick incentives for both sides of the conflict, but it may be too late for a deal as neither government is anxious for a realistic agreement. Zelensky is forever demanding greater intervention by NATO countries and wants all territory taken by the Russians to be returned. This isn't going to happen.
Vladimir Putin, perhaps rightfully, is concerned about negotiating a ceasefire only to have progressives take power again in the US and upend any deal that is struck. The motivation for Russia to press for a total victory and the removal of the government in Kyiv is high.
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Site: southern orders
I get it. It’s artwork. But they reckovated a beautiful, historic church in Bishop Marini’s diocese to create it.
It’s a bit distracting to me, but nice to see the central crucifix. Placing it (the crucifix) to the side seems to be the Master of Ceremonies preference at the Vatican, although he goes back and forth with it.
Not sure which configuration Pope Leo prefers if any preference which is par for the course with the modern Mass, so many preferences, so many choices, so many options. Ugh! But don’t you dare, in the Diocese of Charlotte, pick the choice of fiddlebacks, tall Missal stands, candles on the altar and a central crucifix.
And certainly Bishop Marini would be reprimanded by Bishop Martin (no relation) if he prayed the vesting prayers and any prayers after Mass.
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Site: Zero HedgeNew COVID Variant NB.1.8.1 Starting To Spread Worldwide: What We KnowTyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 11:40
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1 is causing more infections worldwide, as China’s health agency said it’s the dominant variant.
A laboratory technician works on samples to be tested for COVID-19 at the Fire Eye laboratory, a COVID-19 testing facility, in Wuhan, China, on Aug. 5, 2021. STR/AFP via Getty Images
The new strain was named as a “variant under monitoring” by the UN health body last week, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed a small number of cases were circulating in the United States.
WHO Says New Variant Spreading
WHO said in an update on May 28 that the variant is driving up cases in parts of the world and is currently spreading in Southeast Asia, the western Pacific regions, and the Mediterranean.
“The recent increases have been observed in four countries and areas to date: Cambodia, China, Hong Kong ... and Singapore,” the UN group said.
The variant LP.8.1 is currently the dominant version worldwide, according to WHO. But both LP.8.1. and NB.1.8.1 have not shown signs that they would cause an “increased public health risk” when “compared to other circulating variants,” the U.N. health body stated.
Reports From China
In a recent update, the Chinese CDC said that NB.1.8.1 makes up the majority of cases in China, while some Chinese doctors have gone on record in state-run media to say that one symptom that is being reported is a sharply painful sore throat.
The Chinese CDC has been criticized over the years for not being transparent with its case and death figures throughout the pandemic. The Trump administration and some U.S. intelligence officials have said that the virus appeared to have emerged from a top-level laboratory in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 before the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempted to cover it up and downplay its significance.
Some outside experts have questioned the actual death toll and case numbers reported by the regime since the pandemic’s start in early 2020.
Dr. Jonathan Liu, professor at the Canadian College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, director of the Kang Mei TCM Clinic, and skeptic of data Chinese CDC figures on COVID-19, said official data for March reported that seven people died from COVID-19 that month. He suggested in an interview with The Epoch Times that such a number is unreal.
“With normal epidemic rates, such a low figure is implausible. Canada, with a sparse population and good sanitation, reported 1,915 COVID deaths from August last year to May this year—over 200 per month. How could China, with its dense population, have only seven deaths monthly?” Liu told The Epoch Times last week.
The Chinese CDC also “has not reported the rate of severe cases, hospitalization rate, or mortality rate,” said Sean Lin, assistant professor at the Biomedical Science Department of Fei Tian College, former U.S. Army microbiologist, and Epoch Times contributor.
Other countries “cannot know the actual situation” in China because of the CCP’s attempts to downplay the true state of COVID-19 domestically, he added.
WHO’s recent update noted that new variant cases have increased in the western Pacific region, which includes China.
Other Governments Respond
Officials in South Korea on Friday said its government is closely monitoring COVID-19 cases in China and Hong Kong, while the country’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters conducted a meeting that morning on the situation.
“COVID-19 cases are increasing in some neighboring countries, including Hong Kong, China and Thailand, which is concerning,” Second Deputy Director General Lee Han-kyung of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety told JoongAng Daily. “People aged 65 and older, as well as residents of high-risk facilities, should get vaccinated now to prevent severe illness and death.”
The Korean Medical Association also said it has “concerns” due to large fluctuations in the daily weather temperatures and “increased population movement due to domestic and international travel.”
“There is considerable concern about a COVID-19 resurgence, and with more indoor activities likely due to the hot weather, the risk of respiratory infections spreading may increase,” the association told the JoongAng Daily.
In India, Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Singh told the PTI news service on May 26 that there is no need to panic over the strain.
“We have advised hospitals to be ready with beds, oxygen, essential medicines, and equipment, just in case. This is a part of standard preparedness,” he told the newswire service. “There is no need to worry. COVID caused by the new variant is similar to a normal viral illness. The patients who have come in so far are experiencing mild symptoms like fever, cough, and cold.”
This week, officials in Taiwan sent an alert about COVID-19 and stated that people in the country should wear a mask and wash their hands. Taiwanese officials earlier this month had reported a rise in cases.
CDC Says Case Numbers Are Low
U.S. officials appeared to downplay the significance of the new variant, suggesting that it’s not worse than any of the ones that are currently in circulation.
In a statement to The Epoch Times on Sunday night, a CDC spokesperson said that the health agency “is aware of reported cases of COVID-19 NB.1.8.1 in China and is in regular contact with international partners.”
“It has not met the threshold for inclusion in the COVID Data Tracker dashboard. We monitor all SARS-CoV-2 sequences, and if it increases in proportion, it will appear on the Data Tracker dashboard,” the spokesperson added, noting that fewer than 20 sequences of the variant have been found so far.
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Site: AsiaNews.itSome 70,000 people – children, grandparents, seniors – gathered in St Peter's Square today for the Jubilee of families. In his homily, Pope Leo XIV said that humanity is "betrayed" when 'freedom is invoked not to give life, but to take it away'. During the Regina Caeli, the pontiff turned his thoughts to the families who suffer because of the war in the 'Middle East, in Ukraine and in other parts of the world.'
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Site: Zero HedgeTrump Admin Targets Tech Contracts With Feds To Streamline Bloated Gov'tTyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 11:05
A new report cites an internal memo from the General Services Administration informing 'Big Tech' that the Trump administration is expanding its cost-cutting review of federal contractors beyond consulting firms to include now technology providers—specifically value-added resellers (VARs) like Dell and CDW.
The letter, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, was sent by Josh Gruenbaum, Commissioner of the GSA's Federal Acquisition Service, to 10 tech firms in recent weeks, demanding an explanation of services and a breakdown of costs and markups, targeting inflated pricing practices and inefficiencies.
Gruenbaum oversees the review of federal contractors and has given tech firms until June 11 to respond. The US spends a staggering $82 billion annually on IT products and services through a complex procurement process. He noted that some of these services carry excessive markups and inflate costs to taxpayers, warning the tech firms, "This must change."
"We don't need to outsource everything; we don't need to always go and buy bespoke, specialized products and services," Gruenbaum told WSJ in an interview, adding, "The point is, really, can you shape shift the way the federal government does business? We think unequivocally 'yes.'"
WSJ provided an update on contract cancellations since President Trump stepped into office:
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11,297 contracts canceled across 60 agencies, saving $33 billion
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2,809 consulting contracts terminated
The shift in scrutiny to streamline the bloated federal government, from consulting firms to big tech, comes as Booz Allen slashed up to 2,500 in June. The consulting firm specializes in government and defense consulting, generating a whopping 98% of its revenue from government-related work.
Goldman analysts recently downgraded Booz Allen from "Neutral" to "Sell," noting medium-term revenue growth is expected to be flat as federal civilian spending comes under pressure and priorities shift within various federal agencies.
DOGE data shows that Booz Allen has had 68 contracts canceled, with 41 of these being contracts that had not been fully paid out, and the remainder having been fully paid. The 60 contracts account for over $600 million in deals.
Goldman also expects government IT outlays to slow in the coming year.
Here are the 20 other companies with the highest percentage of revenue from the US government.
The key takeaway is that the federal procurement process is in urgent need of reform. Looking ahead, the White House is expected to ask Congress next week to formally codify several cost-cutting measures from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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Site: Catholic ConclaveIn the centre of Milan is born the Deloitte Gallery: an exhibition space opened inside the former church of San Paolo Converso. The opening is “Liturgical”, a work by Giuseppe Lo Schiavo generated with Artificial Intelligence. Everything is part of the new Milan campus of the consultancy Deloitte.Cathcon: There is nothing liturgical about this art. They are pretending a pseudo-religiosity Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: Bonfire of the Vanities - Fr. Martin Fox
The feast of the Ascension is NOT about Jesus leaving us.
Rather, it’s about where Jesus wants to take us.
The Ascension is about heaven;
Jesus wants to take you and me to heaven.
It’s the exact same thing with Holy Mass.
This is all about getting us to heaven.
This is something some miss, or don’t grapple with.
For one, way too many people take heaven for granted.
And if you do that, then what’s Mass?
It would be like going into court, facing a trial,
but you were convinced that you’d never be found guilty.
So, there’s nothing at stake. You can just shrug. Not even show up!
So it is for many people coming to Mass.
Or else, people want Mass to boost their mood.
Or they can visit with friends. Or we get to reflect a little.
To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with any of these objectives;
but none of these is the point of Holy Mass.
And, this means, by the way: if these goals don’t happen –
if you aren’t inspired, if you can’t have quiet reflection,
if you don’t see familiar faces you hoped to see,
and you don’t come out of church feeling “up” –
that doesn’t mean you, quote, “didn’t get anything out of Mass.”
It might mean you came with the wrong expectations.
People say: what do babies get out of Mass? Or any of us?
Answer: GRACE!
The Sacrifice of the Mass is about getting us to heaven.
It is Jesus our priest making an offering – himself! – for you and me.
And that demands a response. Some reject. Some shrug.
But when you and I strike our chest, like the tax collector:
Remember, Jesus said, that’s who left justified.
That’s the response.
And again: if we take heaven for granted, why change?
No drama. Nothing at stake.
What Holy Mass does, as the Cross does, is to confront you and me,
like a mirror, showing us our desperate need.
And only then
is Jesus’ offering on the Cross – and the altar – good news!
You’re drowning, Jesus says! I’m here to save you! Good news!
But not if I say, “Who’s drowning? I’m fine. No thanks.”
By the way, let me tie this into the great project
of our parish family, our archdiocese, and our whole Church,
Namely, evangelization:
Drawing others back to the Faith, or drawing them here anew.
As long as people think: I don’t need it, then why would they be there?
On the other hand, the best pitch comes from conviction.
And that comes best, not from me – but you:
From you saying, not, “it’s kind of nice!” But rather:
“This is my refuge in a storm.
This is my hope.
The Mass, and my Catholic Faith, gives me mercy,
grace to change, and a way to understand what is dark around me.
“In a word, it’s about heaven.”
If you and I, together, are going to build our parish family
as we know needs to happen,
Everyone is needed as a convinced messenger.
Kid to kid. Teen to teen. Family to family.
Young adult to young adult.
Senior citizen to senior citizen.
Here’s another reason to focus on the deep reality of Mass.
Our focus has to be beyond the externals of our parish.
Of course, let’s become more welcoming, let’s offer our best.
But there’ll always be something on the surface to find fault with.
The best message, I think, is to say, “it’s not about us.
It’s about Jesus. And he’s here.”
So, if you’ve ever been bored at Mass, this is your remedy.
Remind yourself that the salvation of souls is at stake.
Jesus, on the Cross, pleads for them, for you!
He wants us to plead with Him, for them.
In a moment, at the altar, I’ll lift up His Body and Blood.
You hear, “Through him, with him, in him”:
This is really Jesus offering himself to the Father.
This is the source of grace to change us.
This is what gives us salvation! This is the entirety of our hope!
Jesus is the point of every Mass.
He’s in the Scriptures. He’s at the altar.
He feeds you. He goes in peace with you when Mass is ended.
And this is why the Ascension wasn’t a “going away” party.
Jesus went ahead to the Holy Trinity,
And everything that follows is him drawing us in,
Pulling in the drowning swimmers! That is, us!
Jesus hasn’t, really, gone anywhere.
It’s about him reorienting everything toward heaven.
Here’s there; he’s here.
Mass is about heaven. This to there.
Us to there. You and me: heavenly.
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Site: Steyn OnlineThis week, the team took a trip down memory road, celebrating the 8th anniversary of SteynOnline! We are truly grateful to all our readers, columnists, and of course, Mark, for being our courageous leader these many years. As SteynOnline moves into its
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Site: Steyn OnlineProgramming note: Mark will be back in audio on Friday with the latest entry to our series of audio adventures, Tales for Our Time. ~If you missed today's Serenade Radio broadcast, here's a chance to catch up via this SteynOnline premiere of one of our
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Site: Catholic ConclaveThe African cardinal was a guest of the Movimento per la Vita: "The West is governed by people without children who do not know what a family is"."The Church should rediscover its doctrine and remain faithful to it". This is the appeal that Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah wanted to spread during the presentation of his book "Does God exist?". In front of the audience in the Aula Magna of the Catholic Conclavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06227218883606585321noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: ChurchPOP
June is a month rich in celebrations for the Catholic Church.
It is a time when we remember the lives of different patron saints who, through their faith, profoundly impact millions of people around the world.
Let's learn more about some of the saints the Catholic Church celebrates during the month of June:
Saint Boniface: The Apostle of Germany (June 5)
Saint Boniface / Wikimedia Commons, Public DomainSaint Boniface, also known as the "Apostle of Germany," was a tireless English missionary who, in the 8th century, dedicated himself to the evangelization of the Germans.
His courage and determination truly exemplify faith and dedication, inspiring countless other missionaries throughout the centuries.
Saint Norbert: The Founder of the Premonstratensian Order, or the Norbertine Order (June 6)
Saint Norbert / Wikimedia Commons, Public DomainSaint Norbert, a 12th-century man who founded the Premonstratensian Order (also known as the Norbertine Order), is an icon of deep commitment to religious life and encouragement of active apostolate. His life shows us the importance of total consecration to God and service to the brothers.
Saint Anthony of Padua: The Saint of Miracles (June 13)
Saint Anthony of Padua / Wikimedia Commons, Public DomainOne of the Church's most beloved saints, Saint Anthony of Padua is known for his inspiring preaching and the numerous miracles attributed to him.
It is common for the faithful to turn to Saint Anthony in search of help to find a good marriage.
However, his story and testimony of love for God go far beyond that. Humility and great eloquence in preaching the Gospel marked this saint's amazing life.
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga: Patron Saint of Youth (June 21)
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga / Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain16th-century Italian Jesuit Saint Aloysius Gonzaga lived a life marked by purity and total dedication to God.
As the patron saint of youth and caregivers of the sick, his example reminds us of the importance of living the faith in a concrete and loving way.
Saint John the Baptist: Precursor of Christ (June 24)
Saint John the Baptist / Wikimedia Commons, Public DomainSaint John the Baptist is known as the last great prophet to announce the Messiah. His preaching ministry on repentance was essential in preparing the way of the Lord.
Jesus baptized him in the Jordan River and he is a martyr for defending marriage and the Truth.
The Catholic Church celebrates him twice a year. We celebrate the Nativity of John the Baptist on June 24 and his martyrdom on Aug. 29.
Saint Peter and Saint Paul: Pillars of Christianity (June 29)
Saints Peter and Paul with the Resurrected Christ / Wikimedia Commons, Public DomainSaint Peter and Saint Paul are two great pillars of the Church. Saint Peter, the first Pope, and Saint Paul, the "Apostle of the Gentiles," made invaluable contributions to the establishment and spread of Christianity.
Their feast celebrated together reminds us of the apostolic foundation of our faith.
All of these notable patron saints of June are not only examples of virtuous living but also a source of inspiration and intercession for believers around the world, always reminding us of the call to holiness that God extends to each of us.
Additional saints on the June liturgical calendar include Saint Justin Martyr (June 1), Saint Barnabas (June 11), and Saint Thomas More (June 22).
All you holy saints of God, pray for us!
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
Soon Truth Will Be Too Costly To Tell
Paul Craig Roberts
Dear Readers, June is upon us, and it is time for my quarterly appeal for support from the website’s readers. For 15 years this website has been providing alternative information to the concocted false narratives that disguise secret agendas. For example, 9/11 was a false flag operation to set the justification and framework for a hoax “war on terror” that was used to destroy independent Arab states. The Maidan Revolution in Ukraine was orchestrated in the hopes of restoring Washington’s hegemony by destabilizing Russia. I can go on, but this is not an article about all of the lies we have been officially told, narratives designed to deceive us and to convince us that “our leaders” are protecting our freedom, when actually they have been busy taking freedom away from us along with our understanding of reality. Those articles have already been written, and they are archived on this website.
The effort on my part to tell the truth is costly, not merely financially. The large costs are to my reputation and to my freedom. For example, some years ago a website called PropOrNot, funded by we-don’t-know-who, perhaps the US Department of State, or US AID, or George Soros, or Israel, identified me as a “Putin agent/dupe.” I was designated a “Russian agent” because I asked a simple question: Is it really in our interest to risk war with Russia, which in all likelihood will end up nuclear, for the sake of Washington’s hegemony?
If one complains of the annihilation of Palestinians and Palestine by the Israelis, one is labeled an “anti-semite” and “Holocaust Denier.”
If one complains about white ethnic America being overrun by immigrant-invaders, one is labeled racist.
And so on. Hopefully, my readers know the drill.
It is not only my reputation. Can I risk showing up at an airport and going through TSA? What is the likelihood that I am on a list? If Tulsi Gabbard can be harassed by TSA and forced to miss flights while they search her for the third time in a row, what can I expect from DEI hires who find my name on a list? In America today, I can be denied a flight by a Muslim TSA employee or an immigrant-invader who just walked across the border and was integrated into America with a TSA job.
Think about this for a moment. A former presidential appointee as Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury confirmed in office by the US Senate has no assurance that he will be able to board a US airliner in a US airport.
If I make a trip abroad, will I be harassed on re-entry?
This is the cost of telling the truth.
I sometimes wonder what the value of truth is to most Americans, or perhaps I should say a better approximation to the truth than is available in official narratives. Most Americans want to hear what they already believe. When they hear something different it upsets them because it doesn’t fit the framework from which they understand what they mistakenly think is reality. I have found in my life that telling the truth is the best way to make enemies. That’s why so few people tell the truth.
A person who takes the risk of telling the truth likes to see that there are people who appreciate it. This site receives no support from the Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Pew Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, George Soros, US AID, the Israel Lobby, corporations, foreign governments. This website is financed by monthly donations of who I think are the 5,000 Americans who encouraged me about 15 years ago to continue writing. They constitute less than 1% of the readership.
So quarterly I reach out to the 99% and ask that they support the website if it serves them, which I assume it does as the website has 2 million readers and 5 million visits annually. At times when I have checked, Word Press has reported that my website is read in every country on planet Earth. In some countries tens of thousands read it; in others three or four people, probably CIA station chiefs.
In a world with nuclear weapons and biolabs busy at work weaponizing viruses or whatever they are, life is precarious. There is huge worrying on the left about “global warming,” but little about nuclear winter and US biolabs sprinkled all over the world. Recently, the Trump administration had to stop US funding of the weaponization of bird flu in the Wuhan lab in China. How was it possible for this funding to exist? What kind of insanity is ruling over us?
If you look closely, you will see that in the Western World life is no longer viewed as positive, something to be protected. I am not just speaking about abortion. The World Economic Forum, a collection of anti-human elites and Bill Gates, seem committed to reducing human life on Earth from 7 or 8 billion to 500 million. Perhaps this is why no one in the West is disturbed by Israel’s genocide of Palestine–a mere 2 million–and not only the genocide of the Palestinians but also their country.
Ask yourself, why is your life precarious? Compare yourself to those on the American frontier in the 19th century. They are threatened by competent and committed warriors–Apaches, Comanches, Sioux–a real but minuscule threat compared to nuclear war and bioweapons and laboratory prepared and released pandemics. Americans today are far less safe than Americans on the frontier in the 1800s.
This should disturb Americans, but they seem unaware of it.
If you appreciate my efforts to elevate your understanding of our time, show it with a contribution. It is the only way I have of knowing my efforts are appreciated.
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Site: PaulCraigRoberts.org
The Camp of the Saints
Paul Craig Roberts
Austria once possessed a European empire. Today Austria exists only as a geographical location. Immigrant-invaders from the third world have taken over the cities.
In Vienna more than 75% of students in Vienna’s middle schools do not speak German at home. In some of Vienna’s districts more than 80% of residents do not use German as their main language. In lovely Salzburg, 52 percent of children do not speak German at home.
Syrian knife attacks by kids under the age of 14 have risen by 700% in 4 years.
The Austrian people, whose country Austria once was, overwhelmingly disapprove of the intentional destruction of Austria, but they are powerless to do anything about it. Their own government forces it upon them.
Herbert Kickl leads Austria’s Freedom Party, Austria’s largest party, which the anti-white Austrian establishment keeps from power like the French establishment keeps Marine Le Pen’s party from power. Kickl sums up the situation all over Europe:
“What is happening in Europe is no coincidence. It is the result of an agenda, a consciously controlled ethnic and cultural transformation. Because migration is not being stopped, it is being organized, promoted and glorified. NGOs are not noble aid organizations, they are part of smuggling networks with a political and ideological mission.”
As the children of the immigrant-invaders reach voting age, the already impotent electorate will shift in favor of the left-wing, anti-white, pro-immigrant-invader parties. With the exception of Hungary and Poland, all European ethnicities and the British and Irish are in an advanced stage of replacement.
It is the same in the United States where close to half of the electorate vote for the Democrat Party whose agenda is to transform America into a Sodom & Gomorrah Tower of Babel. Democrats openly admit this, and their policies reflect it. The Obama and Biden regimes refused to defend the borders of the United States and actually helped to organize the inflow of millions of immigrant-invaders. The Democrats prevented President Trump during his first term from constructing a wall to defend America’s border. In Trump’s second term, Democrat judges are intentionally making illegitimate rulings to prevent Trump from deporting those who have entered the country illegally. The Democrats in California allow or propose for the immigrant-invaders to serve as police officers and to count the votes in elections. Many Democrat mayors are committed to protecting illegals from deportation and to allowing them to vote in elections. All of this is known; yet it continues. Democrat voters, nearly half of the electorate nationwide and majorities in blue jurisdictions, support the transformation of America into a Tower of Babel, which the Democrats call “multiculturalism.” America is full of progressive women from elite universities who are full of empathy for immigrant-invaders but hate “Trump deplorables.” The media has been instrumental in creating these self-destructive attitudes.
For several generations throughout the Western World universities and school systems have taught white ethnicities their crimes and not their achievements. There are now several generations of white people indoctrinated that they are racists exploiters who owe “racial justice” to “people of color.” The belief system in the Western World has been destroyed by the universities, themselves transformed into anti-white indoctrination ministries.
When Western politicians force their populations into war for Israel or for oil companies or for bankers, why do white populations fight for governments that are intentionally replacing them with a Tower of Babel? Why do white ethnicities join armies that do not serve them? Everywhere in the West, except for Hungary and Poland, white people have no greater enemy than their own governments which have brought the Camp of the Saints upon them.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/shocking-data-shows-massive-demographic-transformation-europe
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Site: Zero HedgeAuthorities Find 11 Dead Bodies In Abandoned Boat Near St. Vincent And The GrenadinesTyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 08:45
Authorities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are investigating the grim discovery of an abandoned boat with 11 decomposing bodies found near Little Bay on Canouan Island on May 26, 2025, according to ABC.
The 45-foot vessel reportedly carried passports indicating the deceased may be from Mali, a West African country over 6,000 kilometers away.
The Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force called the incident “deeply concerning” and said they are working with both regional and international partners to identify the victims and establish how the boat ended up there.
This tragedy echoes previous cases involving West African migrants attempting dangerous Atlantic crossings.
In January 2025, a similar vessel was found off St. Kitts and Nevis with 19 bodies, some carrying Malian documents. In May 2021, another boat from Mauritania, containing over a dozen deceased men, was discovered near Trinidad and Tobago. Investigators believe those men had tried to reach Spain’s Canary Islands but were instead swept off course.
ABC writes that the Atlantic route remains highly dangerous, driven by factors such as political instability and economic hardship in countries like Mali. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees notes that migrants often target the Canary Islands, but ocean currents and limited navigational skills can push them far from their intended destination.
Authorities continue to investigate the Canouan case, determined to understand how this tragedy unfolded.
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Site: Zero HedgePunitive Politics And Economic Self-Harm – Germany Plans Special Tax On U.S. Tech GiantsTyler Durden Sun, 06/01/2025 - 08:10
Submitted by Thomas Kolbe,
Germany is planning to introduce a 10% special tax targeting U.S. tech giants. At least now we know what the German government needs a “Minister of State for Culture and Media” for: to invent new taxes.
Illustration via Bitcoinsensus
If the ongoing trade dispute with the United States has taught us anything, it’s that Europeans are no innocent lambs when it comes to protectionism. On the contrary, they’ve mastered the art of shielding their markets through subtle mechanisms—while their media machine works overtime to conceal these maneuvers from the public.
Weimer's Unexpected Mission
Wolfram Weimer, recently appointed Minister of State for Culture and Media, traditionally oversees a largely symbolic post linked to coalition horse-trading. Now, however, the office is being used to launch a direct political strike: a new tax to intervene in the tariff conflict with the U.S.
Weimer frames the digital tax as an act of social justice. With his “Platform Solidarity Contribution,” he aims to hold big tech companies accountable and break up their “quasi-monopolistic structures.” According to Weimer, Germany must reduce its dependence on U.S. infrastructure and contribute to “media diversity.” This is precisely where caution is warranted. When politicians start preaching solidarity, it usually ends up costing taxpayers and consumers dearly.
A Deliberate Provocation
Forget solidarity—this tax is nothing less than a calculated provocation aimed squarely at Washington. At a time when Donald Trump has paused threatened 50% tariffs on EU imports until July 9, hoping to find a negotiated solution, Europe responds with a punch in the face.
Moves like this digital tax won’t bring Brussels closer to a deal. Quite the opposite: they sour the climate and push transatlantic relations further into confrontation. Whether Germany realizes it or not, this tax confirms what many in the U.S. already suspect: Europeans are not truly interested in free trade—they're protectionists at heart.
This isn't the Art of the Deal—this is the Art of Closing the Door.
Europe’s Tech Failure
The underlying issue is both well-known and uncomfortable: Europe has failed to build its own competitive tech sector. Instead, the continent has meticulously crafted a vast and questionable regulatory framework. One wonders who this regulation is meant to serve when the sector it targets barely exists.
It’s a bureaucratic chimera—a Brussels-born behemoth now fed by Berlin, following Austria’s lead with a similar tax that met widespread criticism. In Vienna, that criticism also fell on deaf ears.
As is often the case with new levies, there’s a real concern that companies will simply pass on the added costs to consumers—through digital services, advertising, or subscriptions. What officials claim won’t affect users may well end up hitting them directly.
Industry groups like Bitkom already warned back in April that a digital tax could drive up prices for software, cloud services, and digital tools—slowing digital adoption and hurting both consumers and businesses.
Risk to Germany’s Innovation Landscape
Beyond the obvious financial burden for users, the proposed German digital tax carries serious structural risks. Though it targets international tech giants, its ripple effects could weaken Germany’s digital economy as far as it exists.
Startups and mid-sized IT firms reliant on global platforms would face rising costs. Innovation would be penalized, not rewarded—sending the wrong message to investors and stalling Germany’s already sluggish digital transformation.
On top of this looms the risk of escalating trade tensions: those who tax digital services must expect analog retaliation. Ultimately, this tax undermines Germany’s competitiveness without delivering a viable homegrown tech alternative.
Symbolic Politics Instead of Real Strategy
In the end, the digital tax is a symbolic gesture—politically driven, economically questionable. Europe again gets lost in micromanagement, passive-aggressive policies, and a complete lack of creative, future-oriented thinking.
When all else fails, the reflex is always the tax hammer. But this tax won’t hit the monopolies—it will hit their users. Not the tech behemoths, but the small players in the digital ecosystem.
And once again, it reveals the old European habit of making rules where freedom and competition would be far more productive.
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Site: AsiaNews.itPastoral workers who carry out their ministry in prisons met recently in Bangkok for their national meeting. Prisoners are among the most marginalized groups in society. For Bishop Wuthilert Haelom of Chiang Rai, the 'prison ministry is not just a social service – it is a living expression of God's mercy.'
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Site: Rorate CaeliAs soon as we were born, we needed others in order to live; left to ourselves, we would not have survived. Someone else saved us by caring for us in body and spirit. All of us are alive today thanks to a relationship, a free and freeing relationship of human kindness and mutual care.That human kindness is sometimes betrayed. As for example, whenever freedom is invoked not to give life, but to New Catholichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04118576661605931910noreply@blogger.com
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Site: La Salette Journey
The National Catholic Register is reporting that:"Controversy in a North Carolina diocese has broadened beyond traditional Latin Mass restrictions after it was revealed that the local bishop had also planned to ban the use of Latin, altar rails, and other traditional practices in all diocesan liturgies — a development with implications far beyond the Tar Heel State.
Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte proposed the restrictions in a leaked draft of new liturgical norms, which was first made public by the blog Rorate Caeli on May 28 and confirmed by the Register. Bishop Martin wrote that the purpose of the new norms, which also included barring ad orientem worship and traditional prayers at the foot of the altar, including the St. Michael Prayer, were made with the intention of “purifying and unifying the celebration of the Mass” in the diocese.
The bishop also wrote that the proposed norms are called for by Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution on the liturgy, a perspective that has been widely challenged in reactions to the document."
Bishop Martin is either supremely ignorant on this matter or he is a contemptible liar. Readers of this Blog know full well that I do not sugar coat the facts. This in keeping with the teaching of Saint Francis de Sales that the wolf is always called the wolf.
Now with regard to the Bishop's nonsense:
In his Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei, Pope John Paul II said that, "Respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of all those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition...for the use of the Roman Missal according to the 1962 edition."
And, in his book "Salt of the Earth," Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger said, "I am of the opinion, to be sure, that the old rite should be granted much more generously to all those who desire it. It's impossible to see what could be dangerous or unacceptable about that. A community is calling its very being into question when it suddenly declares that what until now was its holiest and highest possession is strictly forbidden and when it makes the longing for it seem downright indecent."
To be sure, Vatican II called for an extended use of the vernacular. But nowhere did Vatican II call for the Latin language to be abolished from the liturgy. And anyone who claims otherwise is either ignorant of the facts or a liar. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) No. 36 states clearly that, "Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites."
Number 54 of this same Vatican II document teaches that, "In Masses which are celebrated with the people, a suitable place may be allotted to their mother tongue. This is to apply in the first place to the readings and "the common prayer," but also, as local conditions may warrant, to those parts which pertain to the people, according to the norm laid down in Art. 36 of this Constitution.
Nevertheless steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them."
This is the teaching of Vatican II and the mind of the Church on the use of Latin and the attitude Catholics should have toward those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition.
Perhaps instead of appealing to some vague bullshit "spirit of Vatican II," Bishop Martin should sit down and actually READ the Conciliar documents.
Is that really too much to ask? If the Bishop cannot do his one job, perhaps it's time for him to step down.
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Site: OnePeterFive
Our Sunday is ensconced in the novena days after the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord and the mighty day of Pentecost. Church’s liturgical calendar gives us … gave us, at least, until about 1970 an Octave for Pentecost was removed which allows us to contemplate the mystery of the Holy Spirit’s descent from different angles. However, in this case we also have a novena, nine days…
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Site: Novus Motus LiturgicusThe Roman Rite has various ways of arranging the Masses during an octave. That of Easter, for example, has a completely proper Mass for every day, that of Pentecost for every day but Thursday, which was originally an “aliturgical” day; when its Mass was instituted later, it was given proper readings, but everything else is repeated from Sunday. The feast of Ss Peter and Paul is continued with Gregory DiPippohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13295638279418781125noreply@blogger.com0
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Site: OnePeterFive
From the Roman office of the feast. ℣. Grant, Lord, a blessing. Benediction. May God the Father Omnipotent, be to us merciful and clement. ℟. Amen. Reading 4 From the Sermons of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. 2nd on the Ascension Dearly beloved brethren, our Saviour is gone up from us into heaven, but let us not be troubled on earth. Let only our heart be there with Him…
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Site: southern orders
Quote from Pope Leo at Sunday morning’s Mass for Families:For this reason, with a heart filled with gratitude and hope, I would remind all married couples that marriage is not an ideal but the measure of true love between a man and a woman: a love that is total, faithful and fruitful (cf. SAINT PAUL VI, Humanae Vitae, 9). This love makes you one flesh and enables you, in the image of God, to bestow the gift of life.
I encourage you, then, to be examples of integrity to your children, acting as you want them to act, educating them in freedom through obedience, always seeing the good in them and finding ways to nurture it. And you, dear children, show gratitude to your parents. To say “thank you” each day for the gift of life and for all that comes with it is the first way to honour your father and your mother (cf. Ex 20:12).
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Site: OnePeterFive
When asked to write something for Ex-Gay Visibility Day, I was elated. I hold OnePeterFive and its readers in high regard. This publication has many talented and prolific writers, and I don’t hold a candle to any of them. However, once the elation wore off, I realized that I would be confronted with having to write about my past. There is nothing I wish to be “visible” about it…
A railway bridge collapsed Sunday in the Kursk region of Russia. Source: Acting Governor of Kursk Region/Reuters
Reuters: Emergency responders the scene of a bridge collapse in Russia's Bryansk region on Sunday.
Skittles on a store shelf, in an undated file photo. Scott Olson/Getty Images
A laboratory technician works on samples to be tested for COVID-19 at the Fire Eye laboratory, a COVID-19 testing facility, in Wuhan, China, on Aug. 5, 2021. STR/AFP via Getty Images
Illustration via Bitcoinsensus
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