**Vice Preparing To File For Bankruptcy**
Vice Preparing To File For Bankruptcy
First BuzzFeed, now Vice: one by one all the woke "media giants" of the new normal are going broke.
Just two weeks after we reported that BuzzFeed News - which was instrumental in spreading fake news (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-twitter/financial-market-website-zero-hedge-knocked-off-twitter-over-coronavirus-story-idUSKBN1ZW0PZ)to get us suspended on twitter - was shuttering it not filing for bankruptcy just yet, today the NYT reports that the woke left's disruptor darling and former "multi-billion media empire" Vice, which once upon a time charmed giants like Disney and Fox into investing hundreds of millions before its stunning crash-landing, **is preparing to file for bankruptcy.**
According to the NYT, (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/business/media/vice-bankruptcy.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare) the filing could come in the coming weeks, according to three people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorized to discuss the potential bankruptcy on the record.
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_Vice headquarters in Venice, Calif_ (
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The company has been looking for a buyer, and still might find one, to avoid declaring bankruptcy. More than five companies have expressed interest in acquiring Vice, according to a person briefed on the discussions. The chances of that, however, are growing increasingly slim, said one of the people with knowledge of the potential bankruptcy.
A Vice bankruptcy filing would be a fitting ending to the tumultuous story of Vice, a new-media Phoenix that rose out of the ashes with its iconoclastic, counterculture facade, then quickly sought to supplant the media establishment before persuading it to invest hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2017, after a funding round from the private-equity firm TPG, Vice was worth $5.7 billion. Around this time, the company realized that for the money to keep flowing, it would need to curb its rebellious ways and quickly turned woke, losing most of its fans in the process.
As a result, the company is now worth a fraction of the money it managed to squeeze out of existing media giants, and is now facing bankruptcy.
When Vice files, the company's largest debtholder, hegde fund Fortress, will likely end up controlling the company. Vice could continue operating normally and run an auction to sell the company over a 45-day period, with Fortress in pole position as the most likely acquirer.
Unlike Vice’s other investors, which have included Disney and Fox, Fortress holds senior debt, which means it gets paid out first in the event of a sale. Disney and Fox, which have already written down their investments to zero, are getting wiped out.
“Vice Media Group has been engaged in a comprehensive evaluation of strategic alternatives and planning,” Vice said in a statement on Monday. “The company, its board and stakeholders continue to be focused on finding the best path for the company.”
Vice began as a punk magazine in Montreal more than two decades ago. Over the years, it blossomed into a global media company with a movie studio, an ad agency, a glossy show on HBO and bureaus in far-flung world capitals. Disney, after investing hundreds of millions in Vice, explored buying the company in 2015 for more than $3 billion.
The deal never materialized, but the interest from Disney forced a comprehensive culture revolution within Vice, which lost its rebellious appeal and instead scrambled to appeal to woke snowflakes - the group that represents the core decision-making process at Disney - and not surprisingly, it lost virtually all of its readers and viewers in the process.
After it failed to convince a strategic partner to acquire it, Vice eventually succumbed to a bearish market for digital media companies. The company has been trying for years to turn a profit but has consistently failed to do so, losing money and repeatedly laying off employees.
Last week, we reported that Vice was closing its Vice World News, a global reporting initiative that covered world conflict and human-rights abuses. The closure of the world news operation was a blow to employees who saw the division’s aggressive coverage as in keeping with Vice’s roots in gonzo journalism, established when co-founder Shane Smith would report from risky destinations like North Korea.
As it has sought a buyer in recent months, Vice has dealt with turnover in its leadership ranks. Nancy Dubuc, the company’s former chief executive, left this year after nearly five years at the company. Jesse Angelo, the company’s global president of news and entertainment, also left the company.
Smith founded Vice with Suroosh Alvi and Gavin McInnes in 1994 as a magazine. He sold out his c…
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/vice-preparing-file-bankruptcy
**2024 Presidential Candidate Wants To 'Shut Down The FBI,' Replace It**
2024 Presidential Candidate Wants To 'Shut Down The FBI,' Replace It
_Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (https://www.theepochtimes.com/2024-presidential-candidate-wants-to-shut-down-the-fbi-replace-it_5233007.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge) (emphasis ours),_
**Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said he would attempt to shut down the FBI and replace it with another entity if he’s elected president.**
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_Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the National Rifle Association annual convention in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 14, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)_ (
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During an interview (https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/Tk7twFf5)with “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Ramaswamy, a businessman, suggested (https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1652702629154156547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) that he does not want to “defund the FBI” after host Chuck Todd suggested it.
“ **I didn’t say defund the FBI. I said shut down the FBI and replace it with something new**,” said Ramaswamy on Sunday. “I think it’s a new apparatus built from scratch that actually respects the law instead of making it up.”
“So you’re going to replace the old FBI with a new FBI?” Todd asked in response. “With a new institution built from scratch to carry out federal law enforcement,” Ramaswamy said, “because the existing FBI, the people who work there, have worked there for so long they’ll be getting in their own way.”
“ **I personally believe someone who’s running to actually run the executive branch of the government**, when you have a bureaucracy whose culture becomes so ossified, every once in a while, you need to turn it over,” he told “Meet the Press.” He added: “We need federal law enforcement, but that institution has, in a bipartisan way, become so, I think ossified in its own norms, in its own corruption, that we need to rebuild it from scratch and have something new take its place.”
When Todd suggested that Ramaswamy wants to “replace the old FBI with a new FBI,” Ramaswamy stated: “The problem is there’s people who have worked there for decades.”
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_The FBI headquarters—the J. Edgar Hoover building—in Washington on March 22, 2023. (Richard Moore/The Epoch Times)_ (
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“What I say is, if I’m the U.S. president and I can’t work for the federal government for more than eight years—which I think is a good thing—then none of those bureaucrats reporting in to me should either,” he added. “There’s people who have worked there for decades,” he said.
Republicans in recent years have become increasingly critical of the FBI, accusing the agency of targeting the political opponents of Democrats while not investigating actual criminals. Former President Donald Trump has perhaps been the chief critic of both the FBI and the Department of Justice and said both agencies have engaged in a longstanding witch hunt to politically wound him.
_Read more **here...** (https://www.theepochtimes.com/2024-presidential-candidate-wants-to-shut-down-the-fbi-replace-it_5233007.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge)_
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 22:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/2024-presidential-candidate-wants-shut-down-fbi-replace-it
**Biden "Punishes Responsibility" As New Mortgage Equity Program Begins**
Biden "Punishes Responsibility" As New Mortgage Equity Program Begins
Starting today, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's mortgage pricing adjustments will **increase fees for borrowers with high credit scores while reducing costs for those with subpar credit scores**. This upside-down policy is blatantly socialism, and one can't help but wonder if anyone in the Biden administration learned anything from the subprime mortgage meltdown (https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/biden-punish-good-credit-homebuyers-subsidize-high-risk-mortgages) that occurred more than a decade ago.
As part of the Biden administration's plan to **make housing affordable for everyone** (we've seen this story before), upfront fees for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be adjusted based on the borrower's credit score. Borrowers with high credit scores will pay more in fees, while those with lower credit scores will pay less.
The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-housing-finance-agency-sandra-thompson-mortgages-credit-e66fd493) cited data from Evercore ISI that shows borrowers with credit scores between 720-759 who make around 15-20% down payments will see loan-level pricing adjustment (LLPA) costs rise by .750%. Inversely, under the new adjustments, risky borrowers with a credit score below 639 and who put down only 5% of the value of their home will only have to pay 1.750%, compared with 3.750% under old rules.
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**Backlash over LLPA changes prompted the FHFA to publish a statement last week, calling such concerns "a fundamental misunderstanding."** The Biden administration ensures the new changes are meant to help those with poor credit scores obtain homes amid the worst housing affordability in a generation.
According to the FHFA, the new adjustments will redistribute funds to reduce the interest rate costs paid by risky borrowers. This sounds like socializing home buying to us.
Even more alarming is data from the American Enterprise Institute found that default rates of Fannie/Freddie owner-occupied 30-year fixed-rate purchase loans acquired in 2006-2007 were between 39.3% and 56.2% for borrowers with credit scores between 620 and 639 and less than 4% down payments. Those with credit scores between 720 and 769 and 20% down payments had default rates between 4.2% and 8.8%.
**The Biden administration is subsidizing irresponsibility, rewarding failure, and discriminating against people with high credit scores.** (https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/biden-punish-good-credit-homebuyers-subsidize-high-risk-mortgages)
Meanwhile, 27 states revolted against Biden's mortgage redistribution rule to subsidize risky borrowers...
> BREAKING: 34 state financial officers from 27 states have signed-on to a letter to the Biden Administration demanding that they end their new mortgage equity program, which forces buyers with good credit to pay higher rates to subsidize loans for riskier borrowers. pic.twitter.com/P8RHbj0zzf (https://t.co/P8RHbj0zzf)
>
> — Will Hild (@WillHild) May 1, 2023 (https://twitter.com/WillHild/status/1653031906454171649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) blasted Biden.
> .@SenatorTimScott (https://twitter.com/SenatorTimScott?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) slams new federal mortgage rules punishing Americans with good credit scores and urges voters to ‘reverse the curse’ of the Biden administration.https://t.co/15mnVVO7F8 (https://t.co/15mnVVO7F8)pic.twitter.com/8gXOuQANcq (https://t.co/8gXOuQANcq)
>
> — Fox News (@FoxNews) May 1, 2023 (https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1652860406384279553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
_**"Punishing responsibility—that's the Biden way,"**_ tweeted Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR).
> Biden's mortgage scheme will cost homeowners an extra ~$30k for having a high credit score.
>
> Punishing responsibility—that's the Biden way.
>
> — Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) May 1, 2023 (https://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1653100560390709278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
"While the changes may not be as bad as some headlines suggest, **it still seems illogical to essentially penalize fiscally responsible borrowers in an effort to assist less qualified borrowers**," Federal Savings Bank loan officer Lewis Sogge told us.
There's no logic here, just progressive bureaucrats enacting policies that may ultimately lead to another future crisis. (https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bidens-credit-score-screw-job-mortgage-pricing-even-legal)
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 22:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/biden-punishes-responsibility-new-mortgage-equity-program-begins
**America's Empire Is Bankrupt**
America's Empire Is Bankrupt
_Authored by John Michael Greer via UnHerd.com,_ (https://unherd.com/2023/04/americas-empire-is-bankrupt/) _(emphasis ours)_
**_The dollar is finally being dethroned..._**
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Let’s start with the basics. Roughly 5% of the human race currently live in the United States of America. **That very small fraction of humanity, until quite recently, enjoyed about a third of the world’s energy resources and manufactured products and about a quarter of its raw materials.** This didn’t happen because nobody else wanted these things, or because the US manufactured and sold something so enticing that the rest of the world eagerly handed over its wealth in exchange. It happened because, as the dominant nation, the US imposed unbalanced patterns of exchange on the rest of the world, and these funnelled a disproportionate share of the planet’s wealth to itself.
**There’s nothing new about this sort of arrangement.** In its day, the British Empire controlled an even larger share of the planet’s wealth, and the Spanish Empire played a comparable role further back. Before then, there were other empires, though limits to transport technologies meant that their reach wasn’t as large. Nor, by the way, was any of this an invention of people with light-coloured skin. Mighty empires flourished in Asia and Africa when the peoples of Europe lived in thatched-roofed mud huts. Empires rise whenever a nation becomes powerful enough to dominate other nations and drain them of wealth. They’ve thrived as far back as records go and they’ll doubtless thrive for as long as human civilisations exist.
America’s empire came into being in the wake of the collapse of the British Empire, during the fratricidal European wars of the early 20th century. Throughout those bitter years, the role of global hegemon was up for grabs, and by 1930 or so it was pretty clear that Germany, the Soviet Union or the US would end up taking the prize. In the usual way, two contenders joined forces to squeeze out the third, and then the victors went at each other, carving out competing spheres of influence until one collapsed. When the Soviet Union imploded in 1991, the US emerged as the last empire standing.
Francis Fukuyama insisted in a 1989 essay (https://www.jstor.org/stable/24027184) that **having won the top slot, the US was destined to stay there forever.** He was, of course, wrong, but then he was a Hegelian and couldn’t help it. (If a follower of Hegel tells you the sky is blue, go look.) The ascendancy of one empire guarantees that other aspirants for the same status will begin sharpening their knives. They’ll get to use them, too, because empires invariably wreck themselves: over time, the economic and social consequences of empire destroy the conditions that make empire possible. That can happen quickly or slowly, depending on the mechanism that each empire uses to extract wealth from its subject nations.
**The mechanism the US used for this latter purpose was ingenious but even more short-term than most.** In simple terms, the US imposed a series of arrangements on most other nations that guaranteed the lion’s share of international trade would use US dollars as the medium of exchange, and saw to it that an ever-expanding share of world economic activity required international trade. (That’s what all that gabble about “globalisation” meant in practice.) This allowed the US government to manufacture dollars out of thin air by way of gargantuan budget deficits, so that US interests could use those dollars to buy up vast amounts of the world’s wealth. Since the excess dollars got scooped up by overseas central banks and business firms, which needed them for their own foreign trade, inflation stayed under control while the wealthy classes in the US profited mightily.
The problem with this scheme is the same difficulty faced by all Ponzi schemes, which is that, **sooner or later, you run out of suckers to draw in.** This happened not long after the turn of the millennium, and along with other factors — notably the peaking of global conventional petroleum production — it led to the financial crisis of 2008-2010. Since 2010 the US has been lurching from one crisis to another. This is not accidental. The wealth pump that kept the US at the top of the global pyramid has been sputtering as a growing number of nations have found ways to keep a larger share of their own wealth by expanding their domestic markets and raising the kind of trade barriers the US used before 1945 to build its own economy.
**The one question left is how soon the pump will start to fail altogether.**
When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US …
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/americas-empire-bankrupt
**IBM To Stop Hiring For Roles That Can Be Replaced By AI; Nearly 8,000 Workers To Be Replaced By Automation**
IBM To Stop Hiring For Roles That Can Be Replaced By AI; Nearly 8,000 Workers To Be Replaced By Automation
One month ago, to much dismay and widespread denial (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ai-will-lead-300-million-layoffs-us-and-europe), Goldman predicted that AI could lead to **some 300 million layoffs among highly paid, non-menial workers** in the US and Europe. As Goldman chief economist Jan Hatzius put it, "using data on occupational tasks in both the US and Europe, **we find that roughly two-thirds of current jobs are exposed to some degree of AI automation, and that generative AI could substitute up to one-fourth of current work.** Extrapolating our estimates globally suggests that generative AI could expose the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs to automation" as up to " **two thirds of occupations could be partially automated by AI."**
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Yet while Goldman's forecast was met with a emotions ranging from incredulity to outright mockery, it may not have been too far off the mark.
Consider that just last week, Dropbox said (https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/27/23700629/dropbox-laying-off-500-people-pivoting-ai)it would lay off 16% of the company, some 500 employees as the company sought to build out its AI division. In a memo to employees, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston said that “in an ideal world, we’d simply shift people from one team to another. And we’ve done that wherever possible. However, our next stage of growth requires a different mix of skill sets, particularly in AI and early-stage product development. We’ve been bringing in great talent in these areas over the last couple years and we’ll need even more.”
The changes we’re announcing today, while painful, are necessary for our future,” Houston notes. “I’m determined to ensure that Dropbox is at the forefront of the AI era, just as we were at the forefront of the shift to mobile and the cloud. We’ll need all hands on deck as machine intelligence gives us the tools to reimagine our existing businesses and invent new ones.”
But while Dropbox's layoffs were lateral, and meant to open up space for more AI linked hires, in the case of IBM, it is AI itself that is making workers redundant.
As Bloomberg reports, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said the company expects to pause hiring for roles it thinks could be replaced with artificial intelligence in the coming years. As a result, hiring in back-office functions — such as human resources — will be suspended or slowed, Krishna said in an interview. These non-customer-facing roles amount to roughly 26,000 workers, Krishna said. **“I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period.”** That would mean roughly 7,800 jobs lost.
Part of any reduction would include not replacing roles vacated by attrition, an IBM spokesperson said.
Krishna’s plan marks one of the largest workforce strategies announced in response to the rapidly advancing technology; it certainly won't be the last as virtually all companies follow in IBM's footsteps and layoffs tens if not hundreds of millions of workers in the coming years.
Mundane tasks such as providing employment verification letters or moving employees between departments will likely be fully automated, Krishna said. And while some HR functions, such as evaluating workforce composition and productivity, probably won’t be replaced over the next decade, it is only a matter of time before these roles are also replaced by AI.
IBM currently employs about 260,000 workers and continues to hire for software development and customer-facing roles. Finding talent is easier today than a year ago, Krishna said. The company announced job cuts earlier this year, which may amount to about 5,000 workers once completed. Still, Krishna said IBM has added to its workforce overall, bringing on about 7,000 people in the first quarter.
The Armonk, New York-based IBM beat profit estimates in its most recent quarter due to expense management, including the earlier-announced job cuts. In the past IBM had managed to manipulate its stock higher thanks to billions in stock buybacks (at much higher prices). But once its debt load grew too big, the buyback game ended, Warren Buffett sold his shares, and the stock price has languished for over half a decade. And since the company's revenue is stagnant at best, its only hope is to drastically cut overhead.
Enter AI: new "productivity and efficiency" steps - read replacing workers with algos - are expected to drive $2 billion a year in savings by the end of 2024, Chief Financial Officer James Kavanaugh said on the day of earnings.
…
**Colorado: 27 Democrats Vote Against Making Flashing Kids A Felony**
Colorado: 27 Democrats Vote Against Making Flashing Kids A Felony
_Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News (https://summit.news/2023/05/01/colorado-27-democrats-vote-against-making-flashing-kids-a-felony/),_
**More than two dozen Democrats in the state of Colorado have voted against legislation (https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb23-1135) that would make it a felony for anyone to indecently expose themselves to children, reasoning that it could lead to the banning of drag shows.**
_
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Currently, in Colorado it is only considered a class 1 misdemeanor if a person indecently exposes themselves in the view of a child, if it is the first offence.
Speaking about the legislation to make it a class 6 felony, one of the Democratic Representatives, Leslie Herod said, “These types of laws have been used to ban drag shows, to target individuals who use the restroom of the sex that they identify with—a public restroom—to charge them with felony charges.”
“I am very concerned about the attacks against the transgender community that are happening across the country,” she added.
> 🚨🚨 27 DEMOCRATS VOTE AGAINST MAKING INDECENT EXPOSURE TO MINORS A CLASS 6 FELONY!
>
> A Democrat attacked the bill for “targeting” the transgender community in her dissent. #copolitics (https://twitter.com/hashtag/copolitics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)#coleg (https://twitter.com/hashtag/coleg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
>
> 📜BILL: https://t.co/Lgle6vX25U (https://t.co/Lgle6vX25U)
>
> 🎧Listen for yourself: pic.twitter.com/Tq9wiryLMu (https://t.co/Tq9wiryLMu)
>
> — Colorado House Republicans (@COHouseGOP) April 29, 2023 (https://twitter.com/COHouseGOP/status/1652366593563979776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> HAPPENING TODAY‼️
>
> HOUSE DEMOCRATS filibustered for nearly three hours today AGAINST felonizing #IndecentExposure (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndecentExposure?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) to minors.
>
> Rep. Mary Young (D) argued AGAINST jailing perpetrators — incase they might be mentally impaired. HB23-1135 #CoPolitics (https://twitter.com/hashtag/CoPolitics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)pic.twitter.com/Uki3xQhlq9 (https://t.co/Uki3xQhlq9)
>
> — Roger D. Hudson (@RogerHudsonCO) April 28, 2023 (https://twitter.com/RogerHudsonCO/status/1652076564216168448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> pic.twitter.com/03AditcSyL (https://t.co/03AditcSyL)
>
> — Colorado House Republicans (@COHouseGOP) April 29, 2023 (https://twitter.com/COHouseGOP/status/1652358202221285381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
First of all, what attacks?
Secondly, this has nothing to do with transgenders, it’s a bill to make flashing at kids a felony.
Despite the Democratic opposition, the bill reportedly did pass on Saturday, but with amendments to not apply the law if the exposure is in a public place with other adults present.
It’s still ok for drag queens to get their junk out in front of kids then.
Drag Queen Flashes Children During Story Hour (https://summit.news/2019/10/30/drag-queen-flashes-children-during-story-hour/)
> So this is an admission that drag shows may involve indecent exposure to minors. How else could it be seen as targeting them?
>
> — Jolene Campbell (@JoleneCampbel65) April 29, 2023 (https://twitter.com/JoleneCampbel65/status/1652424391572213760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> If a man flashes my daughter while she’s walking home from school, it should not be a felony because we need to protect trans people?
>
> Once again, trans ideology trumps girls’ safety.
>
> — Eyes Wide (@ShannaDarkness) April 29, 2023 (https://twitter.com/ShannaDarkness/status/1652370000731344896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> So it’s ok to show your junk to a minor? Sick democrats, nothing justifies this, nothing.
>
> — Pmtrader (@Pmmoontrader) April 29, 2023 (https://twitter.com/Pmmoontrader/status/1652416153078190081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> GROOMERS!
>
> — Nat Nat (@media20148) April 30, 2023 (https://twitter.com/media20148/status/1652471283983192064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
\* \* \*
_Brand **new merch** now available! Get it at **https://www.pjwshop.com/** (https://www.pjwshop.com/)_
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Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 21:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/colorado-27-democrats-vote-against-making-flashing-kids-felony
**Prepare For "Major Accidents" In The Market; Morose Milken-ites Warn "We're Going To See Losses"**
Prepare For "Major Accidents" In The Market; Morose Milken-ites Warn "We're Going To See Losses"
Bad loans, worse banks, but _**"it's not nearly as bad as it was in 2008"**_ if you believe Charlie Munger.
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Having admitted over the weekend in an interview with The FT (https://www.ft.com/content/da9f8230-2eb1-49c5-b63a-f1507936d01b)that **American banks are "full of" what he said were "bad loans"**, thanks to the plunge in commercial property prices, the 99-year-old warned ominously that _**"trouble happens to banking just like trouble happens everywhere else. In the good times you get into bad habits... When bad times come they lose too much."**_
Quite notably, while the Biden administration is deftly attempting to paint SVB, SI, and now FRC as "outliers" and "unique", the latter is far from 'unique' and that is a problem as Munger later noted that _**"it's not that damned easy to run a bank intelligently, there are a lot of temptations to do the wrong thing."**_
> Karine Jean-Pierre says they are "very confident" no more banks will fail — despite the second-, third-, and fourth-largest bank failures in history happening during the Biden presidency. pic.twitter.com/KnAXVuMaOK (https://t.co/KnAXVuMaOK)
>
> — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 1, 2023 (https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1653126059166953474?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
More specifically, their loan books are now plagued with CRE loans (_a topic we warned about extensively - before the mainstream media picked up the torch_ (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/hedge-funds-pile-new-big-short-next-credit-event-emerges)).
> _**"A lot of real estate isn’t so good any more,”** Munger said._
>
> _“We have a lot of troubled office buildings, a lot of troubled shopping centres, a lot of troubled other properties. **There’s a lot of agony out there**.”_
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And while the grumpy old man has slammed bitcoin (we don't blame him for not understanding that), he is certainly far more versed in the details of commercial property loans and banking, which is why we take him seriously and at today's Milken Conference, Munger's message was echoed loud and clear by investment leaders from Apollo's Marc Rowan to Cain's Jonathan Goldstein and Citi CEO Jane Fraser.
> _**“It’s a bad day to be an office owner in San Francisco and Chicago,”** Marc Rowan, co-founder and chief executive officer of Apollo, said Monday._
>
> _**“We are going to see losses,”** he said, adding that the stresses will be concentrated and not systemic._
“Every piece of real estate, everywhere in the world, that was purchased pre-the run up in interest rates, as a result of the change in interest rates, is now worth less,” Rowan continued.
> _“It does not mean it won’t come back. It does not mean it won’t ultimately be a good investment, but in the short term, we have significant dislocation.”_
David Steinbach, global chief investment officer at real estate investment firm Hines, said Monday during one panel (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-01/apollo-s-rowan-says-next-stress-wave-is-commercial-real-estate)that **commodity office buildings - older office buildings that lack amenities - would face particular pain**, with Amherst CEO Sean Dobson pointing to office towers in central business districts as a particular rough spot for the industry.
> _“I do think we’ve got a period of pain and I don’t think we’ve yet reached the bottom of that,” Cain's Goldstein said._
>
> _“But there will be opportunity that comes out when people do begin to sense that the bottom’s been reached.”_
As Bloomberg reports (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-01/citi-s-fraser-says-return-to-office-trends-drive-property-fears), Fraser said she's **most worried about real estate with debt that’s been packaged into lower-rated commercial mortgage-backed securities.**
> _“It’s the return-to-office phenomenon that’s driving it,” Fraser said Monday during a panel discussion at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California._
>
> **_“We’re not talking about the local doctors’ office, we’re not talking about all of the office space either.”_**
Finally, TCW Group President and CEO Katie Koch warned (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-01/tcw-ceo-koch-warns-of-major-accidents-ahead-in-private-credit) that cracks are starting to show in the private credit market and that investors should prepare …
**Joe Biden Is Losing Young Climate Voters**
Joe Biden Is Losing Young Climate Voters
_Authored by Rick Whitbeck via RealClear Wire (https://www.realclearwire.com/articles/2023/04/28/joe_biden_is_losing_young_climate_voters_896488.html),_
Now that President Biden has made his 2024 run official, he has plenty of work to do if he hopes to shore up his lagging support among key constituencies. **According to a recent NBC News survey, a full 70 percent of Americans (https://www.mediaite.com/news/new-poll-whopping-70-percent-think-biden-shouldnt-run-again-days-before-hes-set-to-announce-reelection-bid/) do not want the President to run again.** One demographic to watch is younger voters, who backed Biden by a wide 61-36 (https://now.tufts.edu/2020/11/12/young-voters-were-crucial-bidens-win) margin in 2020.
_
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Younger Americans are exceptionally aggressive and vocal on climate policies. **Nearly two-thirds (62%), support phasing out fossil fuels entirely**, said Alec Tyson, an associate director of research at Pew Research Center. According to a recent Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics poll (https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/spring-2023-harvard-youth-poll), an amazing half of those polled prefer the government do more to curb climate change, even if U.S. economic growth is damaged in the process.
As friendly as Biden has been to the eco-left, and outright hostile to our domestic, traditional energy industries, he is still facing backlash from these eco-centric voters over three recent decisions dealing with energy development. As always, my state of Alaska is at the epicenter.
First, the President – through the Department of Interior – approved Alaska’s Willow oil and gas development project last month. His decision elicited a collective groan of disgust and disapproval from the environmental movement. They’d dedicated years opposing the project, and spent the weeks ahead of the final decision bombarding social media, protesting outside of the White House and using their extensive, inside access to stop Willow from progressing.
Afterward, they vented.
“ **Biden approved \[Willow\] knowing full well that it'll cause massive and irreversible destruction, which is just appalling**, particularly coming from an administration who has pledged to address the climate crisis, has pledged to address environmental injustice, has pledged to address the extinction crisis,” said Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, who, along with other activist organizations, promptly took legal action to oppose the decision.
Next, Biden greenlit the export plan for Alaska Gasline Development Corp’s goal to build an 800-mile pipeline to bring trillions of cubic feet of gas from the North Slope to homes, businesses and eventually a tidewater port for export to Asia and other Pacific Rim countries. Having previously been held up under the guise of environmental and Indigenous justice reviews, the approval on April 14 gave a significant boost to the $43 billion project.
Environmentalists went apoplectic. “ **Joe Biden’s climate presidency is flying off the rails,**” said Lukas Ross of Friends of the Earth. Ross pointed out this was the second U.S. approval of a “fossil-fuel mega-project” in as many months.
Finally, the tipping point for climate activists may have come on April 21, when Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm penned a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), asking to “expeditiously” approve regulatory authorizations for the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia. Granholm noted the gas pipeline can "play an important role as part of the clean energy transition".
Once again, green activists hit the roof, including former National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) attorney and current Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA), who stated bluntly, “She (Granholm) sounds like a cheerleader for the fossil fuel industry; it’s really quite pathetic.”
The same groups who previously cheered when the Green New Deal was introduced, celebrated when the Keystone Pipeline was shuttered and nearly danced in the streets when copper mines in Alaska and Minnesota were ruled off-limits to development are now blasting Biden for losing his way on what they see as an ‘existential threat’ to their survival, and turning his back on mankind.
The group Gen-Z for Change recently put out a statement that clearly spells out the position of many young voters. " **There is no deeper form of betrayal than watching a president who has claimed to value the voices of youth…blatantly disregard one of our generations' largest and clearest movements.**" Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) was even more blunt: ''Young people are plugged i…
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/joe-biden-losing-young-climate-voters
**Greenwald: Ukraine's Conscript Army Being Used By West As "Cannon Fodder"**
Greenwald: Ukraine's Conscript Army Being Used By West As "Cannon Fodder"
_Journalist Glenn Greenwald issued some blunt and apt statements on the nature of the Ukraine war and Washington's constant stoking of conflict, as opposed to US officials exploring serious avenues for peace. Below is his epic Twitter thread Monday in response to once again being accused of supposedly "aping" pro-Kremlin talking points \[emphasis ours\]_...
No, the biggest victims of the war in Ukraine are the tens of thousands of Ukrainian men forced against their will as **conscripts to serve as cannon fodder** so that empty and weak Western losers like you can feel a sense of purpose and strength **as you cheer from a safe distance**.
> No, the biggest victims of the war in Ukraine are the tens of thousands of Ukrainian men forced against their will as conscripts to serve as cannon fodder so that empty and weak Western losers like you can feel a sense of purpose and strength as you cheer from a safe distance. https://t.co/sAi6bDWFtL (https://t.co/sAi6bDWFtL)
>
> — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 1, 2023 (https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1653042092006862849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Whenever it comes to wars people get to cheer without fighting in them -- call it **the Bill Kristol Syndrome** \-\- you can never underestimate the **ample psychological benefits they get from feeling strong and tough but never getting near the fight**.
Adam Smith \[in The Wealth of Nations\] warned of it in 1776:
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For those who love to cheer the war in Ukraine but seem to have no idea what it's actually about, here's just the latest instance in which Zelensky had to increase punishments for desertion because of how unwilling much of the conscript army is to fight:
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Zelensky knew there were way too few Ukrainian men willing to fight the Russian Army. That's why he begged Westerners who "support Ukraine" to come help fight Russia.
But so few did, **so they closed the border and used unwilling conscripts**...
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Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 20:20
**Kansas Becomes 1st State To Pass Law Defining Gender As A Person’s Sex At Birth**
Kansas Becomes 1st State To Pass Law Defining Gender As A Person’s Sex At Birth
_Authored by Alice Giordano via The Epoch Times (https://www.theepochtimes.com/first-state-passes-law-defining-gender-as-a-persons-biological-sex-at-birth_5230704.html?utm_source=Morningbrief&src_src=Morningbrief&utm_campaign=mb-2023-04-30&src_cmp=mb-2023-04-30&utm_medium=email&est=4GeFFIK02nOR7aNiHXbhEhnOAfGPAKt84vqWMGTEa%2BA1w%2BI4t6DQ5nsaTq0Y0v8BMQ%3D%3D) (emphasis ours),_
**Kansas has become the first state to adopt a definition of gender with the passage of legislation that keeps men, no matter what gender they identify as, out of women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and other intimate spaces.**
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It also separates inmates and restricts participation in sports according to one’s sex at birth.
The move came late in the afternoon of April 27, when the state Legislature voted to override Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of S.B. 180, which became known as the “Women’s Bill of Rights.”
Under it, a female is defined as “an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova.” A male is defined as “an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female.”
**It also defines gender words calling for “woman” and “girl” to be used to refer to human females and “man” and “boy” to refer to human males. It defines “mother” as a parent of the female sex and “father” as a parent of the male sex.**
The override comes a little more than a week after Kelly vetoed the bill on April 20, after it was passed by a two-to-one margin between Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate.
Kelly said she vetoed the legislation because she was concerned it would open the state up to costly discrimination lawsuits, cause a loss of federal funding, and hurt the Sunflower State’s economy.
The bill garnered support from a range of groups, including one staunchly pro-choice women’s rights group.
**“Victory!”** wrote the Women’s Liberation Front (WOLF) on Twitter, upon news of the veto override.
The national women’s rights organization, which helped craft the legislation, wrote on its website, “This bill takes procedural steps to write into law common sense definitions that ensure the meaning of words like ‘woman’ and ‘mother’ aren’t corrupted by unelected bureaucrats intent on pushing gender ideology.”
The group stated that members sent more than 600 messages to Kansas lawmakers in support of the bill.
Opposition Forces
The legislation also had plenty of opposition, with critics calling it anti-trans and reminiscent of racial segregation in the 1960s.
“It’s the same sayings,” state Rep. John Alcala (D-Topeka) said at a public hearing on the bill. “I don’t want you in my bathroom. I don’t want you drinking out of my water fountain. I don’t want you over at my house. I don’t want my kid hanging out with you.”
Beth Oller, a physician who testified against the bill, said the title was inappropriate and violated women’s rights. “This is \[in\] no way a women’s bill of rights. The bill does the opposite of protecting women; it causes harm.”
Oller said that medical doctors “for decades have agreed that there is no sufficient way to define what makes a woman.”
“ **Gender is not binary but is a spectrum of biological, mental, and emotional traits that exist along a continuum**,” she said. “Intersex people exist.”
The bill does include a provision that recognizes intersexual individuals. “Individuals born with a medically verifiable diagnosis of disorder/differences in sex development are to be provided available federal and state legal protections,” the legislation states.
Opposition to SB 180 also came from the Kansas School Superintendents’ Association, the United School Administrators of Kansas, and Kansas Legal Services.
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 20:00
**6 Dead, Dozens Injured After Blinding Illinois Dust Storm Caused 90-Vehicle Pileup**
6 Dead, Dozens Injured After Blinding Illinois Dust Storm Caused 90-Vehicle Pileup
Six people have died and more than 30 injured in a 90-vehicle pileup on Interstate 55 in Illinois that was blamed on a blinding dust storm.
"The cause of the crash is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway leading to zero visibility," Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick told NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/blinding-dust-storm-illinois-leads-multiple-fatalities-dozens-hospital-rcna82327).
> Interstate 55 in southern Sangamon and northern Montgomery counties remains closed in both directions because of numerous crashes caused by a dust storm, which has greatly reduced visibility. (photo via @wics\_abc20 (https://twitter.com/wics_abc20?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)) pic.twitter.com/rYbWKndJa6 (https://t.co/rYbWKndJa6)
>
> — IDOT\_Illinois (@IDOT\_Illinois) May 1, 2023 (https://twitter.com/IDOT_Illinois/status/1653113105046536192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Starrick said the stretch of the interstate would be closed until tomorrow because of the high number of crashed vehicles and casualties.
> Massive pileup on I-55 south of Springfield, Illinois has closed the interstate for nearly 30 miles. Blowing dust off freshly plowed fields led to very low visibility#ilwx (https://twitter.com/hashtag/ilwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
>
> 🎥: Nathan Cormier pic.twitter.com/im7QLE8BTp (https://t.co/im7QLE8BTp)
>
> — Nick Hausen (@NickHausenWx) May 1, 2023 (https://twitter.com/NickHausenWx/status/1653095543977959434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Nathan Cormier was driving on the interstate and described what he saw to The Weather Channel (https://weather.com/news/news/2023-05-01-illinois-dust-storm-pileup-springfield-farmersville):
_"I saw the smoke cloud from a distance and I've driven through them before, you know, you put your hazards on, go slow ... And I moved to the left lane to get away out from behind a semi. And that's when I came across everything else stopped in the road."_
Cormier described the scene as a "dust bowl."
> “This is like 1930’s dust bowl.”
>
> A dust storm caused a major crash on I-55 south of Springfield, Illinois earlier Monday. Truck driver Nathan Cormier joined FOX Weather to recount his experience during the pile-up. #ILwx (https://twitter.com/hashtag/ILwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)@IanOliverWX (https://twitter.com/IanOliverWX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)pic.twitter.com/nWDW353IH6 (https://t.co/nWDW353IH6)
>
> — FOX Weather (@foxweather) May 1, 2023 (https://twitter.com/foxweather/status/1653140390596468736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Starrick said dust storms similar to this one sometimes occur across Illinois during the planting season.
A total of ten helicopters were requested, with four on the scene. First responders requested 37 ambulances.
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 19:40
**US Says It Will Defend Philippine Boats Against Chinese Threats**
US Says It Will Defend Philippine Boats Against Chinese Threats
_Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,_ (https://news.antiwar.com/2023/04/30/us-reaffirms-it-will-go-to-war-if-philippine-boats-come-under-attack-in-the-south-china-sea/)
The State Department has reaffirmed (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/30/us-says-china-intimidates-philippine-vessels-in-south-china-sea) that **an attack on a Philippine vessel in the South China Sea will invoke the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty** following a near miss between Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels in the disputed waters.
The stand-off took place on April 23 (https://apnews.com/article/philippines-dispute-south-china-sea-patrol-27ee9778f7302938c5090644e3d153c2) when Manila says a larger Chinese ship blocked a Philippine patrol vessel after warning it to leave the area near Second Thomas Shoal, a Philippine-controlled reef in the Spratly Islands also claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
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The incident received a lot of publicity as the Philippine coast guard had journalists onboard during the patrol, including reporters from _The Associated Press_. According to _AP_, the Chinese ship came within 120 to 150 feet of the Philippine vessel, which had to reverse its engines to avoid a collision.
For their part, Beijing blamed the Philippine vessel (https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3218791/beijing-says-philippine-coastguard-staged-south-china-sea-near-collision-benefit-journalists?module=AI_Recommended_for_you_In-house&pgtype=homepage) for the incident and **said Manila staged the near collision for the press**. "
"It needs to be stressed that the Philippine vessels intruded into the waters with press staff on board. This makes it clear that it was a **premeditated provocation designed to initiate friction, blame it on China and hype up the incident**," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
The State Department issued a statement (https://www.state.gov/u-s-support-for-the-philippines-in-the-south-china-sea-4/)that said the US "stands with The Philippines in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard’s continued infringement upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea."
The statement went on to vow that the US was willing to go to war with China if a Philippine vessel came under attack.
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"The United States stands with our Philippine allies in upholding the rules-based international maritime order and reaffirms that an armed attack in the Pacific, which includes the South China Sea, on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft, including those of the Coast Guard, would invoke US mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 US Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty," the statement said.
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 19:20
**Woke Bar Loses Customers Defending Bud Light Transgender Ad Campaign**
Woke Bar Loses Customers Defending Bud Light Transgender Ad Campaign
A dive bar in southern Indiana is begging for more customers after **defending Bud Light** **and booting anyone being 'intolerant'** following Anheuser-Busch's partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvnaey.
The beer maker has received enormous backlash since the "365 Days of Girlhood" ad campaign featuring custom-made cans featuring Mulvaney's face. In response, **millions of Americans have boycotted Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch brands**.
The **Fairfax Bar & Grill in Bloomington, Indiana**, however, is now hurting for customers after it hypocritically declared that it supports free speech - except for anyone who criticizes Anheuser-Busch or Bud Light.
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"We are tired of all of the hate. We are very open to debate and discussion and it’s truly a shame that we can’t have open conversations about this important political and cultural topic. Bars, in our opinion, exist as public spaces where ideas should be exchanged," the establishment wrote on Facebook. "Unfortunately due to all of the bigotry and hatred that has surfaced around the Bud Light controversy any patron wanting to voice their concerns about the issue will be immediately asked to pay their bill and leave our establishment."
The post was featured next to an image of a statement claiming the Bar & Grill welcomes "ALL people," except those who are "intolerant."
"We are all aware of the controversy surrounding Bud Light. We support ALL people in this establishment no matter who you are of how you identify. We will continue to sell Anheiser \[sic\] Busch products because we don’t care who they make special cans for," reads the statement. "If you are intolerant of other humans of any kind, we ask that you keep your opinions to yourself. Should you feel the need to discuss this matter in public you will be asked to leave. We will not tolerate intolerance here."
Bar owner McKinley Minniefield told _WISHTV_ (https://www.wishtv.com/news/bloomington-bar-owner-cracks-down-on-hate-speech/): " **We were just dealing with a lot of hate speech, and people being uncomfortable. My bartenders were aggravated and we had customers that were leaving**."
"We’re a local dive bar in southern Indiana, there’s a lot of ideas that tossed around here, but I’ve never dealt with anything recently that was so overtly hateful."
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As _Fox News_ (https://www.foxnews.com/media/bar-loses-customers-warning-patrons-tolerate-intolerance-among-guests-bud-light) notes, however, on Wednesday the bar's Facebook page posted a follow-up statement to the backlash.
"While the response here has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive, it's time to reiterate why we took a stand against hate speech. In the last two weeks since sharing a post stating that we will not tolerate intolerance, our social media has been flooded with blatantly transphobic, homophobic and racist comments," adding "We are all inclusive and welcome all kindhearted customers. After making that post, the comments on every post since include hate speech saying that transgender people are mentally ill, biological women are being erased, and showing a plethora of disgusting memes."
"Hate speech has no place at The Fairfax," the statement continues, **before admitting that they're hurting for customers.**
"Thank you to all of you for supporting our establishment. With the departure of some of our regulars, **we have needed new clientele, and you have answered. I'm not gonna lie, we still need more of you right now,**" reads the page. "Please continue to consider supporting us. It's gonna be a great year of friendship, food, drinks and live music!"
As _Jonathan Turley notes_ (https://jonathanturley.org/2023/04/29/bar-ban-indiana-owner-declares-anyone-criticizing-bud-light-will-be-thrown-out/),
According to his policy, “playing nice” means not voicing an opposing view on this controversy. Yet, being tossed out of the bar is not considered censoring an opinion.
**Notably, the ban is not on those who are shouting or engaging in disruptive conduct. It is anyone who “voices their concerns” about the transgender campaign.**
**Clearly, the bar has a free speech right to set such standards.** Heck, we just discussed a bar (https://jonathanturley.org/2023/03/05/merlins-beard-pub-profusely-apologizes-for-allowing-the-harry-potter-video-game-to-be-shown-on-pub-screen/) that faced a…
**Hedge Fund CIO: "The US Will Benefit From Existential Competition With China... Provided We Don't Destroy Each Other"**
Hedge Fund CIO: "The US Will Benefit From Existential Competition With China... Provided We Don't Destroy Each Other"
_By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management_
**Survival Of:**“Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolutions, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space,” said the President of the United States. “We mean to be a part of it - we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding,” continued John F. Kennedy in 1962, the USSR’s Sputnik orbiting overhead, a 184-pound metallic ball, 22 inches in diameter.
**The Fittest:** “Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe,” said the President of the United States. “Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar,” continued Ronald Reagan, standing before the Brandenburg Gate in 1987, eighteen years after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. “As long as this gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Two years later, the Berlin Wall fell, ending the greatest national competition in human history.
**Monopolies:** “Today the House of Representatives has taken an historic step toward continued prosperity in America, reform in China and peace in the world,” said the President of the United States. “If the Senate votes as the House has just done, to extend permanent normal trade relations with China, it will open new doors of trade for America and new hope for change in China,” continued Bill Clinton in 2000, overly confident in the triumph of democracy, capitalism. “Bringing China into the WTO and normalizing trade will strengthen those who fight for the environment, for labor standards, for human rights, for the rule of law. America, of course, will continue to defend our interests, but at this stage in China's development we will have more positive influence with an outstretched hand than with a clenched fist.”
**Competitors:** Nineteen years later, China landed a rover on the dark side of the moon. In 2020 it pioneered quantum-entanglement satellite communication. In 2021, Beijing released its 14th Five-Year-Plan with ambitions to achieve supremacy across exploration/research/technologies essential to national security and development. **1\. Artificial Intelligence. 2. Quantum computing. 3. Semiconductors. 4. Brain Science. 5. Genomics and biotechnology. 6. Clinical medicine and health. 7. Deep space, deep earth, deep ocean, and polar research.** It also included China’s vision for 2035, when the country seeks/expects to “be among the most innovative nations globally.”
**Communists:** “ _At the heart of capitalism is creative destruction_.” Joseph Schumpeter brought forward economic principles with piercing logic. Competition is key to progress - firms “strive to survive,” he argued. Excessive policy responses to successive financial crises have derailed that pathway by socializing financial losses, allowing incumbents to deepen competitive moats. The policy narrative is that financial losses risk economic depression, justifying the prioritization of bailouts. Yet, even at low unemployment rates, workers earn a share of the national income seen in the 1950s. **Unlike previous inflations, corporate profit margins survived the most recent one due to lack of real competition**. Political urgency should be squarely focused on restoring it.
**Metaphors:** Life expectancy in America has dropped for a nearly unprecedented second year in a row - down to 76 years. While countries all over the world saw life expectancy rebound during the second year of the pandemic after the arrival of vaccines, the US did not. American children are less likely to live to age 5 than children in other high-income countries. Even Americans who are not obese or do not smoke, appear to have higher disease rates than their peers in other countries. And in 2020, a Pentagon study revealed that **77 percent of young Americans do not qualify for military service without a waiver due to being overweight, drug use, or mental or physical prob…
**Kirby Claims Whopping 100,000+ Russian Casualties In Bakhmut Alone**
Kirby Claims Whopping 100,000+ Russian Casualties In Bakhmut Alone
In a Monday press briefing National Security Council spokesman John Kirby issued a surprisingly high estimate of Russian casualties which he said took place since December fighting in the contested Donetsk city of Bakhmut.
He said (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/russian-offensive-stalling-casualties) Russian forces have suffered over 100,000 total casualties - including **about 20,000 soldiers killed in combat** and **another 80,000 wounded**.
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He explained that these figures were based on "information and intelligence that we were able to corroborate over a period of of some time."
While presenting these figures he said that the Russian advance in Donetsk and Luhansk provinces had "failed" - despite most international estimates currently indicating Russia holds 80-90% of Bakhmut at this point.
**"Most of these efforts have stalled and failed,"** Kirby said. "Russia has been unable to seize any real strategically significant territory. "
"The only area where Russia has made some incremental gains — and I want to focus on the word ‘incremental’ — is Bakhmut," Kirby acknowledged. "That really holds, as we've said before, very little strategic value for Russia. The capture of Bakhmut would **absolutely not alter the course of the war in Russia's favor**, and Ukraine's defenses in the areas surrounding Bakhmut still remain strong."
He also said that some half of the 20,000 Russians killed there had been fighting on behalf of Wagner.
"Folks he \[Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin\] went knocking around on the doors in prison cells throughout Russia to throw human flesh at this fight," Kirby said of a months-long recruitment drive by Wagner, controversially focused on Russian prisons.
But when pressed, the NSC spokesman **refused to give casualty numbers for the Ukrainian side**. "I'm not ever going to put anything out in the public domain that's going to make their job harder," Kirby said. "They are the victims here. Russia is the aggressor."
While very clearly Bakhmut has for months been a tragic "meat-grinder" (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/10/russia-ukraine-war-bakhmut-meat-grinder-deadlock) for both sides, the US could be offering this staggering and large Russian casualty count of 100,000 in order **to establish a 'pyrrhic victory' narrative.** Kirby admitted the Russians are winning in Bakhmut, but wants to paint a picture of it losing the overall conflict given the massive cost and sacrifice for Bakhmut.
But to keep this figure in perspective, which to most people is going to seem an extremely high estimate (and thus dubious), the total official American casualties in Vietnam were nearly 60,000 killed in action, and over 150,000 wounded - and that was after a decade of war.
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 18:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/kirby-claims-whopping-100000-russian-casualties-bakhmut-alone
**Luongo: Tucker, BlackRock, & The SIFI Two-Step**
Luongo: Tucker, BlackRock, & The SIFI Two-Step
_Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, 'n Guns blog,_ (https://tomluongo.me/2023/05/01/tucker-blackrock-and-the-sifi-two-step/)
The big news last week was Tucker Carlson’s unceremonious firing by Fox News. The reasons for Tucker’s firing are still unclear. And even Tucker’s emergence from his man cave on Tuesday for two minutes did nothing to quell the speculation.
**What it did do was underscore just how much real power he amassed during his time in the prime time slot anchoring Fox’s entire evening.**
> Good evening pic.twitter.com/SPrsYKWKCE (https://t.co/SPrsYKWKCE)
>
> — Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) April 27, 2023 (https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1651376097349578753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
I’m not the first to point out to you just how many views this thing has gotten, dwarfing his Nielsen Ratings.
**This was a serious needle scratch. Something changed behind the scenes.** Within an hour Don Lemon was dumped by CNN. Susan Rice left the Biden Administration that morning. Nate Silver was let go from ABC News.
Both Carlson and Lemon had stories planted about them harboring ‘toxic workplace environments’ to set the scene.
**Nuts and Sluts is a time-tested method of invalidating a public figure.**
It doesn’t have to be true, it just has to play. Even if only for a day or two \*cough\* Abby Grossman \*cough\*
There is every theory imaginable about what happened here and all of them have a nugget of truth to them. Dexter White and I recorded a podcast (https://www.spreaker.com/episode/53672563)covering what we think is the beginning of the Death of the Time Slot.
And while the court politics of this are interesting, they almost feel like discussing 9/11 or the Kennedy assassination at this point. Does it matter who was behind or why Carlson was ousted from Fox? Could we not see this coming the further he went off the reservation?
In fact, I was amazed he was still on the air after all this time. I don’t think this is a Tucker-as-Icarus proxy story no matter which way you cut it. It was always about something far bigger than Tucker Carlson.
The confluence of major media and political figures leaving their posts, including now the head of the BBC Richard Sharp, over literal ancient conflict of interest issues that **looks more like something taken off the shelf for the proverbial rainy day rather than some new, disturbing thing.**
It never just rains when its time to change the board state. And that’s exactly what this feels like, an attempt to completely change the direction of information flow as we get ready for the next big psy-op…
_**… The remaking of the First Fungal President into the Next Garden Variety Wartime President.**_
Because this is the best chance the DNC has at this point of retaking the presidency with any degree of credibility given their approval ratings. Even if you believe our elections aren’t corrupt (sic) you at least have to admit to yourself that this is a plausibly deniable way to convince yourself of that ‘fact.’
Of course, as I said above, do any of the other whys about these events even matter? Of course not, they are, like Wartime presidents don’t lose, statistics which are simply chum for people to feed their confirmation biases and prevent any coming together of the center of the electorate to say no more.
**This was Tucker’s real crime if any of us are being honest with ourselves.**
And, in fact, it is the least interesting part of the whole story. Because the given proximate cause spoon fed to the ‘smart people’ in alternative media is the entire Blackrock angle.
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Of course, this isn’t true but, again, it doesn’t matter. **That said, there is a Blackrock angle to this story but it isn’t what people were led to believe for a couple of days.**
Blackrock increased their ownership in FOX just before these events (https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/blackrock-increases-position-in-fox-corporation-foxa). This is symptomatic of Blackrock’s use of proxy to get what they want.
Larry Fink, BLK CEO, is notorious for his antics in forcing heads of state and CEO’s to do his bidding while hiding behind the smokescreen of _**‘I’m just a guy investing your hard-earned capital on your behalf for the good of humanity.’**_
_**
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**Now, this is some prime Grade AA Bullshit.**
Blackrock is Davos’ main arm-twisting subsidiary in the C-Suites of the S&P 500 as well as the Euro STO…
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/luongo-tucker-blackrock-sifi-two-step
**Trump To Participate In CNN Town Hall On May 10**
Trump To Participate In CNN Town Hall On May 10
Former President Donald Trump **is scheduled to participate in a May 10 presidential town hall** **hosted by _CNN_** in New Hampshire, the network announced Monday.
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_Evan Vucci / AP / Shutterstock_ (
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"The event, hosted by ‘CNN This Morning’ anchor Kaitlan Collins and airing at 9 p.m. ET on May 10, will feature the former president taking questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to vote in the 2024 GOP presidential primary," reads a statement (https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/01/politics/donald-trump-town-hall/index.html) from the network.
" **CNN has a longstanding tradition of hosting leading presidential candidates for Town Halls and political events as a critical component of the network’s robust campaign coverage."**
The first of many?
According to the network: " **This event with former President Trump** _**will be the first of many**_ for CNN in the coming months as CNN correspondents travel across the country to hear directly from voters in the runup to the 2024 presidential election.”
What's up with Trump suddenly warming up to his 'Fake News' nemesis?
> _During his time in the White House, **Trump often disparaged CNN as an “enemy of the people” and “fake news,”** a phrase he repeated last month as he gloated over the network’s decision to fire morning anchor Don Lemon. “Good News: ‘The dumbest man on television,’ Don Lemon, has finally been fired from Fake News CNN. My only question is, WHAT TOOK THEM SO LONG?,” Trump said in a message posted to his Truth Social platform. “No wonder CNN’s ratings (MSNBC’s also) have gone down the tubes — and will stay there until they bring credibility back to the newsroom. Don’t hold your breath,” he added, repeating another of his favorite digs—that CNN’s ratings have collapsed._
>
> _**Trump clearly will put his issues with the network aside as he continues his 2024 campaign for the Republican nomination**. He’s made several trips to New Hampshire in recent weeks—the most recent just last week—and has made headlines lobbing insults at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who’s expected to challenge Trump for the GOP nomination. -Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2023/05/01/donald-trump-agrees-to-appear-at-cnn-town-hall-in-new-hampshire/?sh=5563679167e1)_
Perhaps it's because _Fox_ just fired Trump-friendly host Tucker Carlson?
A senior Trump adviser told the _Daily Caller_'s Henry Rodgers: " **President Trump is running to be President for all Americans**. Going outside the traditional Republican ‘comfort zone’ was a key to President Trump’s success in 2016. Some other candidates are too afraid to take this step in their quest to defeat Joe Biden, and are afraid to do anything other than Fox News. **CNN executives made a compelling pitch**."
Will _CNN_ ambush the former president with fake news (see: Matt Taibbi)?
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 17:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-participate-cnn-town-hall-may-10
**California, New York, Illinois Biggest Losers Amid Exodus To Low-Tax States: IRS**
California, New York, Illinois Biggest Losers Amid Exodus To Low-Tax States: IRS
_Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (https://www.theepochtimes.com/california-new-york-illinois-biggest-losers-amid-exodus-to-low-tax-states-irs_5231809.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge) (emphasis ours),_
The latest tax migration data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) shows that the exodus of taxpayers from high-tax states continued from 2020 to 2021, with California, New York, and Illinois again suffering some of the nation’s biggest losses of people and money.
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_An aerial image shows the city skyline in San Francisco, Calif., on Jan. 20, 2023. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)_ (
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**California’s tax base shrank by nearly $29.1 billion as the Golden State saw a net loss of 332,000 taxpayers and their dependents during a time of widespread lockdowns,** stay-at-home orders, and business closures, according to the IRS migration data (https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-migration-data-2020-2021) released Thursday.
In second place was New York, which was hit by a net loss of $24.5 billion and 262,000 people. Illinois was third, with a net loss of $10.9 billion and 105,000 people. Other high-tax states such as Massachusetts ($2.6 billion) and New Jersey ($2.3 billion) also saw tens of thousands of people moving out during the period.
On the winning side, Florida reaped the benefits of the wealth migration more than any other state, enjoying a net gain of $39.1 billion in gross income from 256,000 new residents. Texas, which gained $10.9 billion and 175,000 people, came in second. They were followed by Nevada ($4.6 billion), North Carolina ($4.5 billion), Arizona ($4.4 billion), South Carolina ($4.2 billion), and Tennessee ($4.1 billion).
The data was compiled by comparing the mailing addresses on one year’s income tax return and that of the next. The most recent migration data reflects address changes that occurred between when taxpayers filed their tax year 2019 returns in calendar year 2020 and when they filed their tax year 2020 returns in calendar year 2021.
**Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, California had already seen a net outflow of people and money to other states.** According to previous IRS data, California lost $8 billion in income in 2018 and $8.8 billion in 2019.
California still takes in more tax revenue than any other state due to its tax structure, which places higher rates on wealthy residents. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last May that his state had a historic $97.5 billion budget surplus.
_Read more **here...** (https://www.theepochtimes.com/california-new-york-illinois-biggest-losers-amid-exodus-to-low-tax-states-irs_5231809.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge)_
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 17:20
**Yellen Warns Treasury To Run Out Of Cash As Soon As June 1 Absent Debt Ceiling Deal**
Yellen Warns Treasury To Run Out Of Cash As Soon As June 1 Absent Debt Ceiling Deal
In a long-awaited update from Janet Yellen, shortly after the close, the Treasury Secretary sent a letter (https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDAsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vaG9tZS50cmVhc3VyeS5nb3Yvc3lzdGVtL2ZpbGVzLzEzNi9EZWJ0X0xpbWl0X0xldHRlcl9Db25ncmVzc19NZW1iZXJzXzA1MDEyMDIzLnBkZiIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMzA1MDEuNzYwNjg5NjEifQ.5Kr17Hq-94XkFicsx7LwnJjbEI8GlDVjjPwkGRv24Rw/s/49821475/br/172300451233-l)to Congress in which she said that as a result of the recent slowdown in tax receipts (extensively discussed here (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/unexpected-last-minute-jump-tax-receipts-gives-us-1-month-delay-until-debt-ceiling-crisis)), the Treasury could run out of emergency debt-limit measures (i.e., _hit the infamous X-Date_) **as soon as June 1 absent a debt-ceiling deal,** a revision to her previous Jan 13 letter in which she said that it was _"unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures would be exhausted before early June."_ In other words, Congress has exactly one month to get a deal to raise the debt limit - which of course won't happen without the market first plunging enough to prompt the extremely polarized chamber into action.
Here is the key part from the letter:
> In my January 13 letter, I noted that it was unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures would be exhausted before early June. **After reviewing recent federal tax receipts, our best estimate is that we will be unable to continue to satisfy all of the government's obligations by early June, and potentially as early as June 1**, if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time. This estimate is based on currently available data, as federal receipts and outlays are inherently variable, and the actual date that Treasury exhausts extraordinary measures could be a number of weeks later than these estimates.
As a reminder, we have been tracking daily cumulative tax receipts (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/unexpected-last-minute-jump-tax-receipts-gives-us-1-month-delay-until-debt-ceiling-crisis)which had fallen as much as 35% below last year's levels...
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... prompting banks to warn that a debt ceiling crunch could come far sooner than the expected X-date some time in late July/early August.
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To be sure, Yellen admits that the X-date remains fluid, a function of the daily changes in tax receipts and outlays, and it is "impossible to predict with certainty the exact date when Treasury will be unable to pay the government's bills" and Yellen will provide further updates to Congress in the coming weeks "as more information becomes available" but given the current projections, Yellen warns that "it is imperative that Congress act as soon as possible to increase or suspend the debt limit in a way that provides longer-term certainty that the government will continue to make its payments."
Additionally, Yellen said that to avoid breaching the debt limit, the Treasury is suspending the issuance of State and Local Government Series (SLGS) Treasury securities: "SLGS are special-purpose Treasury securities issued to states and municipalities to help them comply with certain tax rules. When Treasury issues SLGS, they count against the debt limit."
Such a move will deprive "state and local governments of an important tool to manage their finances", which for a country that spends like a drunken sailor, is a move in the right direction.
Finally, as usual, Yellen ends by pleading with Congress to get a debt ceiling deal done as soon as possible:
> We have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States. If Congress fails to increase the debt limit, it would cause severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests.
Needless to say, with the debt ceiling becoming the most controversial political topic and one which neither side is willing to compromise over, **it is likely that nothing short of a market quake - similar to August 2011 - will be needed to prompt Congress into action**, especially since there are just 12 legis…
**China Is Back: Record 19.7 Million Railway Trips Made On First Day Of May Day Holiday As Retail Sales Soar 20%**
China Is Back: Record 19.7 Million Railway Trips Made On First Day Of May Day Holiday As Retail Sales Soar 20%
China's "zero covid" nightmare is now long forgotten, and the long-suffering local population is finally emerging from the ashes of home lockdowns and celebrating its freedom by traveling more than ever.
According to the China Railway Group, the country tourism and consumer activities rose sharply on the first day of the five-day Labor Day holiday, as residents rushed to travel and spend after three years of Covid-19 restrictions finally ended. As Bloomberg reports, **some 19.7 million railway trips were made across the country on Saturday, the highest on record for a single day.**
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This is just the start: the railway operator expects traffic to jump to a record 120 million passengers for the extended holiday period, up 20% from the same period in 2019, before the pandemic struck.
Meanwhile, for those lamenting the lack of a Chinese economic rebound, just wait: shoppers were out in force on Saturday too, with major retail and catering companies seeing sales expand 21% from a year ago, according to Ministry of Commerce data cited by state broadcaster CCTV. Key food chains saw a 37% revenue boost, clothing sales climbed 21% while sales of jewellery, cigarettes and alcohol all rose 17%. The bottom line: China is not only traveling, it is spending, and the long-overdue economic bounce is about to hit with a vengeance.
According to Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-30/china-s-travel-rush-over-holiday-sees-tourism-and-spending-soar), many residents are making their first trips since the pandemic after the authorities scrapped Covid-19 curbs in December, fuelling a rapid rebound in consumption and domestic tourism.
Why the surge in railroad transit? Because many young tourists are opting for low-cost, value-for-money experiences, with some unexpected destinations becoming the new hot spots.
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In Beijing, where some of the strictest travel curbs were imposed during the pandemic, over 1.4 million trips were made in and out of the city’s railway stations on Saturday. That was a surge of 1,485% from 2022, and 27 per cent from 2019, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.
Finally, flights coming in and out of Beijing also saw passenger numbers soar 1,594% from 2022, and 14% from 2019, one year before covid shut down the local economy.
Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Mon, 05/01/2023 - 16:40