How Widespread Is Distrust Of Mainstream Media?
How Widespread Is Distrust Of Mainstream Media?
Distrust of the https://www.statista.com/topics/1536/media-use/
is particularly widespread in the United States and France.
https://www.statista.com/chart/33749/share-of-respondents-who-do-not-trust-the-mainstream-media/
by Statista Consumer Insights, one in five respondents in each country said that they do not trust mainstream media.
This is the highest share of the 21 countries polled.
Spanish respondents were similarly skeptical, with 19 percent of respondents answering the same.
As the chart shows, the Swiss are more convinced of their country’s journalistic integrity, with only 13 percent of respondents stating they distrusted Swiss mainstream media.
https://www.statista.com/chart/33749/share-of-respondents-who-do-not-trust-the-mainstream-media/
You will find more infographics at https://www.statista.com/chartoftheday/
Under one in ten respondents said they distrusted the news in China.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 01/11/2025 - 20:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/how-widespread-distrust-mainstream-media
Musk's X Should Be Banned In Poland During Election Campaign, State-Run TV Host Says
Musk's X Should Be Banned In Poland During Election Campaign, State-Run TV Host Says
In the TVP Info program, journalist Dorota Wysocka-Schnepf, who hosts major television shows on the state-run network, suggested that the authorities should completely shutdown the X portal during the presidential election campaign, which would amount to a form of mass censorship not seen in Poland since communist times.
“We live in a situation where disinformation can come to us not only from the East, but the West can also poison us with content that will have nothing to do with the truth,” said Dorota Wysocka-Schnepf.
The shocking suggestion was made on the “Dangerous Liaisons” program, which is broadcast by state-run TVP Info. Dorota Wysocka-Schnepf’s guests were Prof. Anna Siewierska-Chmaj from the University of Rzeszów and Dr. Katarzyna Bąkowicz from SWPS, according to Polish outlet https://dorzeczy.pl/opinie/676859/szokujaca-slowa-wysockiej-schnepf-w-tvp-info-moze-zamknac-x.html
.
🇵🇱Will X be banned in Poland?
Influential journalist https://twitter.com/DorotaWSch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1877690381699027429?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In response, Dr. Katarzyna Bąkowicz said:
“We know that there are organized criminal groups that spread disinformation. It’s not just Russia or China. We have to remember that disinformation has become an element of political struggle. What Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who joined in, are doing is opening Pandora’s box.”
The EU is pulling out all the stops to monitor the Alice Weidel and Elon Musk interview, all while French officials put forward the idea of an EU-wide ban on X.https://t.co/uobdFoONt6
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1877377347160056085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Prof. Anna Siewierska-Chmaj responded with what appeared to be supportive statements, saying that Elon Musk does not hide the fact that he is fascinated by European politics and wants to change it, with Musk’s comments about Great Britain the latest example.
“What shocks me the most is Germany and its support for the post-fascist AfD, and we should be afraid of that,” said Wysocka-Schnepf.
“Of course, the AfD’s victory fuels the Polish right, so it is de facto influencing the Polish elections,” replied Prof. Siewierska-Chmaj.
As the EU prepares to crack down on X and Elon Musk for “influencing” elections in Germany, Musk is calling attention to the massive influence billionaires have had on Europe for decades. https://t.co/Yurkb51jWn
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) https://twitter.com/RMXnews/status/1877014912339177648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Then, the journalist’s shocking words about the need to consider closing Musk’s portal for the duration of the election campaign were uttered.
“We are in such a situation, more and more countries are announcing the closure of TikTok for fear of Chinese propaganda, so should we seriously consider that maybe X should be closed for the duration of the election campaign,” said Dorota Wysocka-Schnepf.
“This would be a very radical solution…but we need to think about regulating this area,” replied Dr. Bąkowicz.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 01/11/2025 - 11:40
Palisades Inferno Forces More Evacuations, Burns Near 405 Freeway
Palisades Inferno Forces More Evacuations, Burns Near 405 Freeway
The Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Kenneth Fire, Hurst Fire, and Lidia Fire have scorched over 27,000 acres, destroyed 12,000 structures, claimed at least 11 lives, and evacuated more than 150,000 people. Containment for the two largest fires, the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, remains in the mid-to-high single digits. Evacuation orders were issued overnight for Mandeville Canyon as the Palisades Fire advanced toward the Interstate 405 freeway.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is calling for censorship of “misinformation” on the Los Angeles Fires
He wants censorship because he is directly responsible. Here’s drone footage of the Pacific Palisades fire destruction. This is a result of Gavin Newsom. He should resign. https://t.co/SrPtIfRyc0
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1877807641126195604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Firefighters continued battling the Palisades, Eaton, and other fires. A red flag warning via the National Weather Service was still in effect in the early morning hours.
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provides the latest on all five fires raging across the LA County area:
Palisades Fire:
Burned 21,317 acres and numerous homes, businesses and landmarks in Pacific Palisades and westward along Pacific Coast Highway, toward Malibu. As of 5 a.m. Friday morning, the fire was 8% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. On Friday night, officials upgraded an evacuation warning to a mandatory order from Sunset Boulevard north to Encino Reservoir, from the 405 Freeway west to Mandeville Canyon. New evacuation warnings were issued for areas to the east of the 405 Freeway, north of West Sunset Boulevard and south of Mulholland Drive, along with areas south of Ventura Boulevard and east of Louise Avenue in Encino.
Eaton Fire:
Burned 14,117 acres and many structures in Altadena and Pasadena. Additional evacuation orders were mandated Thursday afternoon when fire climbed toward Mt. Wilson. Other mandatory evacuations were lifted as city officials notified residents in Glenoaks Canyon and Chevy Chase Canyon that it was safe to return to their homes. Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X on Friday morning that the fire was 3% contained as of 7:30 a.m.
Kenneth fire:
Burned 1,052 acres near the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. As of 6 a.m. Friday morning, the fire was 50% contained, according to Cal Fire. All evacuation warnings have been lifted for the fire.
Hurst Fire:
Burned 771 acres in the area around Sylmar. Evacuation orders have been lifted. As of 8 p.m. Thursday night, the fire was 70% contained, according to Cal Fire.
Lidia Fire:
Burned 394 acres in Acton and is 98% contained, according to Cal Fire.
Fire Map (LA Times)
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The latest concern has been a large flare-up in the Palisades area that prompted new evacuation orders from Sunset Boulevard north to Encino Reservoir, and from the 405 Freeway west to Mandeville Canyon. This area includes Brentwood and the foothills of the San Fernando Valley.
LA Times warned: "The Palisades fire can now be seen across Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, an unsettling development as officials worried about the fire expanding into neighborhoods in Encino and Brentwood and possibly jumping the 405 freeway into Bel Air."
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Josh Sautter, president of the Encino Neighborhood Council, told the media outlet that the latest round of evacuation orders sent panic through the community.
"I don't think that people here really saw that it was coming," Sautter said, adding, "We didn't think that it was something that would really affect us — until it did."
Here are the latest LA Times headlines regarding the inferno:
Glow of Palisades fire seen across LA's San Fernando Valley; swaths of Encino, Brentwood told to evacuate
Latest Palisades fire evacuation order sends shock wave through Encino
LA County declares health emergency due to smoke and ash
State to probe why Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline, empty when firestorm exploded
Newsom orders investigation into dry fire hydrants that hampered firefighting in LA.
Insurance commissioner issues moratorium on home policy cancellations in fire zones
'We don't know half of it.' LA firestorm death toll expected to rise as searchers go door to door
Latest Zero Hedge headlines:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/20-arrested-looting-during-los-angeles-fires
https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/arson-threats-major-issue-wildfire-ravaged-los-angeles-county
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass find themselves in the hot seat as their own liberal voter base turns against them, blaming the radical politicians for the spread of fire due to their massive mismanagement of budgets.
A https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gov-newsom-cut-fire-budget-100m-months-lethal-california-fires
report found that Newsom slashed funding for wildfire and forest resilience by more than $100 million last year. He signed the budget covering the 2024-25 fiscal year in June.
Even the left-leaning USA Today reported that new budget documents showed the mayor reduced the Los Angeles Fire Department's budget from $837 million in fiscal year 2024 to $819 million in fiscal year 2025.
In December, LAFD sent a report to the mayor and city council warning that " these budgetary reductions have adversely affected the Department's ability to maintain core operations."
The destruction caused by the wildfires is about twice the size of Manhattan, and growing, and in our view, will be a political disaster for both Newsom and Bass.
Elon Musk wrote on X the huge loss of mansions across LA has primarily been a failure of Newsom and Bass...
Exactly. Climate change risk is real, just much slower than alarmists claim.
The immense loss of homes in LA is primarily due to:
1. Nonsensical overregulation that prevented creating fire breaks and doing brush clearing.
2. Bad governance at the state and local level that… https://t.co/KByGVCjQ8N
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1877379125452910850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
On Friday evening, Newsom was trying to salvage his dumpster fire political career by inviting President-elect Donald Trump to California.
.https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
, as you prepare to assume the presidency once more, I invite you to come to California.
The hundreds of thousands of Americans – displaced from their homes and fearful for the future – deserve to see us all working together in their best interests, not… https://t.co/R3C7cGqdBh
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1877845635359191191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Newsom also noted on X, "I am calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir."
NEW: I am calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.
We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to… https://t.co/R0vq0wwZph
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1877823208273178995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Newsom is getting angry.
This is not true. https://t.co/70J4YCF4Nw
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1877953993042960679?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Community Noted.
A ridiculous lie. We have doubled the size of our firefighting army, built the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet, and increased the forest management ten-fold since taking office.
Time to serve these folks the facts. https://t.co/qITPcQDTKk
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1877930583000805634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It's not surprising at all that liberal Californians, including Hollywood elites, voted in Mayor Bass, a Marxist!
Karen Bass is a Marxist who praised Fidel Castro and Communist Party USA leaders.
Now her fire response makes sense. https://t.co/JGyD7KK3xO
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) https://twitter.com/nataliegwinters/status/1877730890647843182?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
LA Mayor Karen Bass is a trained Marxist terrorist who traveled to Cuba dozens of times, praised communist dictators and allied with the literal terror group that bombed the US Capital.
One has to assume she’s burning LA on purpose. Bass should be in jailhttps://t.co/4UmSK4Z47p
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1877321926542077997?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Local elections matter—what were you all thinking?
Also, all of this proves that you can not rely on gov't....
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 01/11/2025 - 09:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/palisades-inferno-forces-more-evacuations-burns-near-405-freeway
US Greets Nicolas Maduro's Swearing-In For Third Term With $25M Bounty
US Greets Nicolas Maduro's Swearing-In For Third Term With $25M Bounty
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday has been sworn in for a third six-year term following an election that saw his opponent Edmundo Gonzalez as well as Washington claim voter fraud.
Gonzalez, meanwhile, has been recognized by the US as 'president-elect' instead of Maduro. On the same day Maduro was sworn in, the US unveiled a $25 million reward for information leading to his arrest. This represents a significant increase from a prior similar reward of $15 million for narco-trafficking related charges.
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Additionally a fresh reward of up to $15 million been offered for the arrest of Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.
A senior US official has https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/reward-for-venezuelas-maduro-increased-to-25-million/
the expanded reward reflects "the gravity of his crimes and the continued threat he poses to international stability."
The Venezuelan leader has remained defiant in the face of international pressure. "May this new presidential term be a period of peace, of prosperity, of equality and the new democracy," Maduro said in televised remarks upon his inauguration. "I swear on history, on my life, and I will fulfil [my mandate]."
The US reward is largely symbolic. Given Maduro is the leader of a sovereign country, with a military and security services, it would be just about impossible for someone collect on the reward. Instead it appears meant to encourage internal https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/reward-for-venezuelas-maduro-increased-to-25-million/
:
Anyone outside the US with information about Maduro is urged to contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. In the U.S., tips can be directed to the local Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office.
Meanwhile Venezuelan opposition groups have been reporting an uptick in political https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/09/americas/maria-corina-machado-venezuela-protests-intl-latam/index.html
:
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she is now safe after her aides said she was “intercepted” at a protest in Caracas on the eve of President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration. Machado’s political group wrote on X that she had been “violently intercepted” on Thursday while leaving the rally.
In a later update, her team posted that “during the period of her kidnapping she was forced to record several videos and was later released.”
Maduro has been paranoid about US government-backed plots against him. He has long accused the opposition of serving the interests of enemies of Caracas.
Trump is likely to restart an even more muscular policy toward the Latin American country...
"When I left [office], Venezuela was ready to collapse. We would have taken it over, and we would have gotten all that oil," said President Trump during a speech in North Carolina.
Dangerous Monroe rhetoric. https://t.co/QKRBzaLXpo
— Mats Nilsson (@mazzenilsson) https://twitter.com/mazzenilsson/status/1877787758447452297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Bloomberg also https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-10/maduro-cements-power-in-venezuela-as-opposition-grasps-for-hope
Friday, "In a show of brute force, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro has once again backed his rivals into a corner."
"The strongman closed airways and land crossings through neighboring Colombia to prevent Edmundo González from entering the country to disrupt his inauguration Friday," the report said. "That, along with a dramatic ramp up in repression, has sent his challengers scattered and reeling."
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 01/10/2025 - 21:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-greets-nicolas-maduros-swearing-third-term-25m-bounty
CEO Of UK Non-Profit Forced To Apologize For 'Accidentally' Following Tommy Robinson On X
CEO Of UK Non-Profit Forced To Apologize For 'Accidentally' Following Tommy Robinson On X
The CEO of a professional body of therapists in the UK has been forced to issue a grovelling apology after it was discovered that he was following Tommy Robinson on X.
?itok=dhUB8OCW
James Esses notes that the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists were informed back in August that its Chief Executive Steve Jamieson’s personal X account was following Robinson, who the organisation describes as a “far–right activist.”
The non-profit organisation conducted a five month investigation into the matter led by trustees and even appointed a barrister as an independent investigator.
🚨This takes guilt by association to a new level.
Today, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (https://twitter.com/RCSLT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
) published a 5-month long investigation into the fact that its CEO was ‘following’ Tommy Robinson on X.
You read that correctly.
Not that he praised Tommy…
— James Esses (@JamesEsses) https://twitter.com/JamesEsses/status/1876285240848580920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The rest of the post reads…
Not that he praised Tommy Robinson. Not that he amplified or re-posted Tommy Robinson. But that he was ‘following’ Tommy Robinson, from his own personal X account.
A sub-committee was established with a barrister appointed to investigate, in order to reflect the ‘gravity of the situation’.
Even more ludicrous, the investigation found that ‘on the balance of probabilities it was deemed that this was an accidental follow’.
The outcome? The CEO has been forced to issue a ‘personal apology for his actions’. In this apology, he has apologised for the ‘hurt, distress, fear and anger that this caused’.
This is utter madness, from a body of therapists.
In a https://www.rcslt.org/news/rcslt-statement/
, the RCSLT announced “Our response to the incident was slower than it should have been,” and that “Our responses to the incident lacked objectivity, empathy, and compassion, and failed to align with the values of the organisation.”
Jamieson was instructed to issue his own statement apologising for ‘accidentally’ following Robinson on X, in which he stated ” I am deeply sorry for the hurt, upset, distress, fear and anger that this caused members, colleagues and staff,” adding that “For members to see this, at a time of racial hatred and riots, must have been deeply shocking.”
He added, “Whilst I cannot turn back the clock, I have learnt from this and want members, staff and other RCSLT stakeholders to know that I recognise I have let you down and I am truly sorry.”
Jesus suffering christ https://t.co/pk7typP7RG
— Bożena (@Bozenka_2023) https://twitter.com/Bozenka_2023/status/1876319177734230101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Britain is at a new level of totalitarianism.
— ShayShayLaPromeneuse (@HadEknuff) https://twitter.com/HadEknuff/status/1876293935674585222?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Apparently accidentally and unintentionally following someone on X whose views some members of the organisation disagree with is completely unacceptable.
This is a Struggle Session:
Public Apology and Confession.
Guilt by Association.
Disproportionate Response.
Emphasis on Collective Harm.
— Dr Clare Craig (@ClareCraigPath) https://twitter.com/ClareCraigPath/status/1876295679850729759?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Peoples Republic of Britain holding struggle sessions.
— Ice Jester 🤡🏒🥅🚨🤡 (@hkyshawn) https://twitter.com/hkyshawn/status/1876322495718212081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
If he’d followed Huw Edwards or another nonce, nothing would happen. Make it make sense.
— just my opinion 🇬🇧 (@VotedReform) https://twitter.com/VotedReform/status/1876314621700973005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
You’re not even allowed to ‘accidentally’ see what the unperson is saying on X, even if you also might disagree with them.
This is ludicrous. People follow accounts that they vehemently disagree with to see what they’re saying, it’s not always because they agree with them. https://t.co/84VuOPb7Ie
— Richard 🐎 (@Richx183) https://twitter.com/Richx183/status/1876326703859138664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
So following an idiot/ criminal / hate stirrer on X is now a breach of professional standards.
Are we still allowed to listen to such people when they are interviewed or voice clipped on the evening news? Or do we have to turn the volume down and look away while they speak? https://t.co/jbmEN5uuVa
— Almut Gadow (@AlmutGadow) https://twitter.com/AlmutGadow/status/1876335549050687606?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Whatever your opinion of Tommy Robinson is, this is just nuts.
Insane https://t.co/pOJVJTuovP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1876320746361991530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Whatever happened to independent thought or critical thinking? You can’t think about anything if you don’t read anything from another viewpoint. Unbelievable overreach.
— Coach (@rowinggeek) https://twitter.com/rowinggeek/status/1876330572974321716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 01/08/2025 - 03:30
Musk Confirms "Large Fireworks &/Or Bomb" Exploded Cybertruck At Trump Vegas Hotel
Musk Confirms "Large Fireworks &/Or Bomb" Exploded Cybertruck At Trump Vegas Hotel
Update (1723ET):
"We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself," Tesla's Elon Musk wrote on X, "All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion."
We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.
All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion. https://t.co/HRjb87YbaJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1874579547452269054?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Update (1534ET):
Government officials told https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/police-investigating-vehicle-explosion-trump-hotel-las-vegas/story?id=117252987
that the Tesla Cybertruck explosion on Wednesday outside the Trump Las Vegas hotel in Nevada is being investigated as a "possible act of terror."
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Here's more from ABC:
Investigators do not know what caused the blast, such as whether something was wrong with the vehicle or whether something external prompted it. Determining what was behind the explosion is the key focus of the probe.
An official briefed on the probe told ABC News that the Tesla Cybertruck had a load of fireworks-style mortars onboard. Investigators are urgently working to determine a motive and whether the driver intended to set off an explosion and why.
Until a motive is determined and other possibilities are ruled out, police are treating the explosion like a possible criminal act and a possible act of terror. Evidence collection and investigation are ongoing.
Tesla's Elon Musk responded:
The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now.
Will post more information as soon as we learn anything.
We’ve never seen anything like this. https://t.co/MpmICGvLXf
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1874558969802547611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
With everyone on edge after the New Orleans 'https://www.zerohedge.com/political/reported-fatalities-bourbon-street-after-vehicle-plows-crowd-during-new-years
' on Bourbon Street early this morning, reports flooded X moments ago of a 'boom' and/or a 'vehicle fire' in Las Vegas.
BREAKING: Witnesses heard "boom" video smoke rising near Trump Tower in Las Vegas.https://t.co/Fk3TtxnMlN
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1874507555147481490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It turns out the 'boom' was caused by a Tesla Cybertruck ablaze in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, possibly due to a lithium battery fire.
Cybertruck blew up in front of Trump hotel in Las Vegas. Those are our luggage by the door and that’s where we were when it happened. https://t.co/KaVZXfGLNK
— ayackle (@kaaaassuu) https://twitter.com/kaaaassuu/status/1874506594425381133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Wow.
🚨🚨 BREAKING UPDATE: Police confirm the driver was killed in a Cybertruck explosion at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, with 7 others injured. https://t.co/kFFg1UVjQM
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1874545592682299652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
What are the odds?
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 01/01/2025 - 17:23
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/cybertruck-blew-outside-trump-hotel-vegas
A Roadmap For DOGE's 30 Percent Budget Cut
A Roadmap For DOGE's 30 Percent Budget Cut
Authored by Nikolai Wenzel via the https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/a-roadmap-for-doges-30-percent-budget-cut/
(AIER)
, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy laid out their vision for the new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) they will head within the Trump White House. They don’t yet have details (part of the plan involves identifying personnel, and then inefficiencies). But the vision has a three-part approach: ”regulatory recissions, administrative reductions, and cost savings.”
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With politicians it’s often hard to know what is solid conviction and what is bluster for future bargaining. With Donald Trump, it’s always hard to know. He wants to renew the 2017 tax cuts, which lowered income and corporate taxes until 2025... but he also wants to tax imports at 10 percent to 20 percent (and 60 percent for China), which is the equivalent of a consumption tax on an American economy that is hungry for imported goods. Mr. Trump wants to cut red tape and federal spending… but he also wants to increase spending on defense and mass deportations.
Amidst all this, Messrs. Musk and Ramaswamy have bruited the lofty goal of a 30 percent cut in federal spending.
The federal budget was $6.2 trillion for FY23 (which I use here for accounting simplicity, rather than FY24). This represents almost 23 percent of GDP, to which we can add 13 percent spent by states and local governments. To this, we can also add the 10 percent of GDP in annual compliance cost with federal regulations, as estimated by the https://cei.org/studies/ten-thousand-commandments-2024/
. This total means that, for every dollar of economic activity, fully 46 cents are controlled, directly or indirectly, by politicians and bureaucrats. And only 54 cents of each economic dollar are in the hands of American consumers, families, and entrepreneurs. As of November 2024, the national debt is at 120 percent+ of GDP, and interest on the debt is the fourth biggest budget item (at $659 billion/year, or about 11 percent of federal spending). Clearly, America has a fiscal problem.
Before we examine possible budget cuts, let us see where that whopping $6,200,000,000,000 is going. First, we must distinguish between https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59728
. Mandatory spending has been set in motion by Congress, without the need for annual negotiation or reauthorization. Discretionary spending must be legislated, in political jockeying between the Congress and the President.
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Mandatory Spending (71.7 percent of total federal budget). AIER
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Discretionary Spending (28.3 percent of total federal budget). AIER
I propose three options for budget cuts, from the bold (and probably politically impossible) to the marginal.
1. The Constitution
I hate having to repeat it, over and over again... But the American people and the political class seem to have forgotten that the U.S. Constitution is different. Most other constitutions of the world are documents of assumed powers: governments are allowed to do anything, except that which is prohibited by the constitution. The U.S. Constitution, however, is one of limited and enumerated powers: it may not do anything, except that which is authorized by the constitution. Article 1, section 8 grants a bit over a dozen legislative powers to Congress (beyond the military and international powers authorized to the President in Article 2, and the judiciary powers in Article 3).
According to Article 1, section 8, the Congress has power over the following, only:
taxes and import duties
borrowing
regulation of commerce among the states and internationally
establish uniform laws of immigration and bankruptcy
coin money, fix standards of weights and measures, and grant patents
punish counterfeiting and piracy
establish post offices and postal roads
to constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court
declare war, and maintain and regulate armed forces
to control the District of Columbia and other federal properties
Lest there be any doubt about enumeration and limitation, the 10th amendment reads as follows: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or the people.”
It should be obvious, then, that the vast majority of federal expenditures are not authorized by the Constitution; as such, they are prohibited and unconstitutional. Only a small percentage of actual federal spending is authorized by the Constitution: defense, operating and retirement expenses for federal employees, support to veterans, international relations and justice (for a total of $1.46 trillion). If we squint very hard at the Constitution, we could conceivably see transportation ($115 billion), health ($100 billion), and the environment ($48 billion)... if we suppose generously that such expenditures are authorized under the commerce clause, as functions that cannot be handled by the individual states. Even then, we find ourselves at $1.72 trillion, or 27.7 percent of the current budget.
This would represent savings of $4.48 trillion, or 72.3 percent of the budget that could be returned from the unconstitutional hands of politicians and bureaucrats, back to American families, consumers, and entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, the President lacks the authority to veto mandatory spending, and merely enjoys veto power over discretionary spending bills. And, for all his talk of reducing red tape, Mr. Trump has yet to show a libertarian or constitutional soul. It is thus unlikely that we will end up with a North American version of a chainsaw-wielding Javier Milei of Argentina.
2. Big-Ticket Items
A return to constitutional constraints would be lovely. But it is not in the realm of the politically possible. The second option would be to start with the low-hanging fruit of Social Security and Medicare. Social Security was born in 1935, as part of FDR’s New Deal, and Medicare came to be in 1965, as part of LBJ’s Great Society. Neither of these programs is means-tested (technically, the Social Security formula is redistributive, but participation in both programs is mandatory for all Americans).
Social Security might have been necessary in 1935 (I am skeptical, as I have read David Beito’s https://uncpress.org/book/9780807848418/from-mutual-aid-to-the-welfare-state/
, “From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social Services, 1890–1967.” Civil Society was doing a fine job of providing welfare, before the New Dealers decided everything had to be nationalized). But financial markets have evolved drastically since 1935. Americans now have easy, low-cost, and convenient access to mutual funds, and especially index funds that track the market without investor savvy. The federal government could easily get rid of the low-yield, pay-as-you-go Social Security pension scheme, and replace it with a high-yield, portable, individually funded retirement plan. The Chilean plan of mandatory 10 percent contributions to a private fund would be a simple start. Likewise, insurance markets (especially if they are deregulated, unsubsidized, and fixed) can take care of the majority of American retirees.
Simply stated, most Americans don’t need Social Security and Medicare. These two big-ticket items eat about one third of the federal budget. They are unconstitutional. And they are unnecessary. Again, as a student of David Beito, https://civitas.org.uk/pdf/Tocqueville_rr2.pdf
, economics, and history, I have learned the superiority of private charity over government welfare. But, as a temporary solution, Social Security and Medicare could easily be privatized, with a portion replaced by means-test programs, with a much smaller cost. Currently, about 20 percent of Americans receive federal welfare or Medicaid. Setting aside details, we can easily imagine privatizing pensions and healthcare for the other 80 percent, with an 80 percent cut in Social Security ($1 trillion in savings) and Medicare ($671 in savings), for a total of $1.67 trillion in savings. This would still not be constitutionally authorized, but it would represent almost one third of the federal budget. As a bonus, a privately funded retirement plan would represent a surge in investment, and thus of economic activity and tax revenue; the lower expenses would mean the national debt would not increase as much, and pressure on interest payments would be relieved. The true savings would thus exceed one third.
Unfortunately, all retirees, rich and poor, have their snout in the federal trough—this was the political genius, and the fiscal disaster, of universal programs (rather than targeted means-tested programs). Social Security and Medicare costs are politically dangerous, and Mr. Trump has already promised he would not touch the two biggest federal expenditures.
3. Marginal Cuts
Without pushing constitutional respect or cutting the low-hanging fruit of big and outdated universal programs, the federal government could still save at the margin.
As mentioned above, the Competitive Enterprise Institute has calculated that 10 percent of GDP is spent each year on compliance with federal regulations. A Mercatus Center study estimates that, if regulations had stayed steady at the 1949 level, the American economy would be a whoppinghttps://www.mercatus.org/research/policy-briefs/regulatory-accumulation-and-its-costs
(it has a disparate impact on the poorest). Without attacking the budget directly, DOGE could take a serious ax to federal regulation, to great effect.
Finally, the https://www.cato.org/blog/10-spending-cuts-president-trump
has proposed a collection of small cuts that would amount to a serious $1 trillion to $2 trillion in savings (or 16 percent to 32 percent of the current budget).
It would be ideal, of course, to return to the constitution—for reasons of rule of law, as much as for fiscal prudence. More local responsibility, more market competition, less bureaucratic waste, more reliance on an efficient and human civil society over a wasteful and anonymous federal machine to help the poor—these would all be positive developments that would restore America’s fiscal health while actually tackling poverty. In the meantime, a 30 percent budget cut is within grasp—and it would represent a return to federal spending, not in some distant past… but as recently as 2001.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 01/01/2025 - 17:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/roadmap-doges-30-percent-budget-cut
Telecom Providers Say Networks Are Secure Following Chinese Salt Typhoon Hack
Telecom Providers Say Networks Are Secure Following Chinese Salt Typhoon Hack
(emphasis ours),
AT&T and Verizon were targeted by China-backed hacking group Salt Typhoon, but their networks are now secure, the telecommunications companies said on Saturday in their first acknowledgement of the hacking.
?itok=DwKYWBEg
Meanwhile, Lumen Technologies, which owns CenturyLink, said on Sunday that it has no evidence of Chinese actors in its network.
It comes after the White House said on Friday that it had https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/us-adds-9th-telecom-victim-list-salt-typhoon-telecom-victims-5782739
a ninth U.S. telecom network that had been compromised by the wide-ranging espionage campaign, which began 2022, and that they are still accessing the scope of the breach.
Officials didn’t provide a full list of the compromised networks. Earlier this month, the FBI said malware from Salt Typhoon and two other Beijing-backed hacking groups, dubbed by Microsoft as Flax Typhoon and Volt Typhoon, were still https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/china-backed-salt-typhoon-hacking-group-remains-embedded-in-us-telecommunications-5774029
in some U.S. systems.
Verizon said in a statement to The Epoch Times that it has notified “a small number of high-profile customers in government and politics” who were targeted by the hackers.
The company said it has contained the threat, and that “an independent and highly respected cyber security firm” had confirmed the containment.
“Immediately upon learning of this incident, Verizon took several key actions to protect its customers and its network including partnering with federal law enforcement and national security agencies, industry partners, and private cybersecurity firms,” Verizon’s Chief Legal Officer Vandana Venkatesh said in a statement.
“We have not detected threat actor activity in Verizon’s network for some time, and after considerable work addressing this incident, we can report that Verizon has contained the activities associated with this particular incident.”
On Saturday, an AT&T spokesperson told Reuters the company detected “no activity by nation-state actors in our networks at this time.”
“Based on our current investigation of this attack, the People’s Republic of China targeted a small number of individuals of foreign intelligence interest,” the spokesperson said.
While only a few cases of compromised information were identified, AT&T was monitoring and remediating its networks to protect customers’ data and continues to work with authorities to assess and mitigate the threat, the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Lumen Technologies told The Epoch Times there’s no evidence of Chinese actors in its network.
“An independent forensics firm has confirmed Salt Typhoon is no longer in our network. In addition, our federal partners have not shared any information that would suggest otherwise. To date, there is no evidence that customer data was accessed on our network,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s Chief Security Officer Jeff Simon said in a https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/update-cyberattacks-targeting-us-wireless-companies?msockid=3b5f6980a5f6620f36d17cbba4db63a6
published on Friday that the operator stopped attempts to infiltrate its systems “within the last few weeks,” but could not definitively identify the attacker’s identity.
Government officials have previously said Salt Typhoon targeted a limited number of high-profile officials and politicians over a long time. Simon said that is “not the case at T-Mobile.”
Chinese officials have previously described the allegations as disinformation and said Beijing “firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms.”
The FBI and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed in October that they were https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/chinese-linked-hack-breaches-us-telecom-sector-as-election-threats-mount-5748022
cyber threats linked to the Chinese regime following media reports of Salt Typhoon’s operation.
In November, the FBI and the CISA issued a joint statement, saying Chinese hackers had https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/china-linked-hackers-conduct-broad-and-significant-espionage-against-us-telecom-companies-says-fbi-5759632
commercial telecommunications infrastructure in a “broad and significant cyber espionage campaign,” in which they stole customer call records data, compromised private communications of government officials and politicians, and copied information “that was subject to U.S. law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders.”
Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/china-linked-hackers-targeted-very-senior-us-political-figures-white-house-says-5772841
on Dec. 7 that the hackers had stolen a large volume of Americans’ metadata while targeting some “very senior political individuals.”
On Friday, Neuberger said it’s believed the hackers geolocated a large number of individuals in the Washington DC, Virginia area, and targeted “probably less than 100 on the actual individuals.”
Earlier this month, the CISA issued a guidance for “highly targeted” senior government officials and politicians, urging them to “use only end-to-end encrypted communications” and to adopt other measures to mitigate risks posed by Chinese hackers.
Reuters contributed to this report.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 12/31/2024 - 11:40
Warnings Of Racist Attacks Targeting Migrants In Germany After Christmas Market Attack
Warnings Of Racist Attacks Targeting Migrants In Germany After Christmas Market Attack
Authorities in Germany reacted to the attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg by a Saudi Arabian migrant by warning that it may not be safe for migrants to go out at night due to fears of racist attacks.
?itok=RedGdoS0
Yes, really.
The terrorist, named as Taleb A. by German authorities, used emergency exit points situated around the market to plough a vehicle into more than 200 people during the attack.
A 9-year-old boy and four women were killed while a further 40 victims were left with serious or critical injuries.
After a demonstration that was dubbed “far-right” took place in the city during which protesters held up a banner with the word “remigration,” authorities and lobby groups are now warning of racist attacks targeting migrants.
NEW - Migrant association concerned about "right-wing violence" and strongly advises "people with a migration history not to move through the city alone and in the evening hours" after an Arab attacked the Christmas market — BILD https://t.co/kD4HyOBc5p
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1873801044947591292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The regional network of migrant organisations in Saxony-Anhalt (Lamsa) advised that “people with a migration background not to move around the city alone and in the evening hours.”
Calling for an increase in police patrols on New Year’s Eve, the group asserted that, “There were several racist attacks on migrants after the incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg.”
The regional bishop of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, Friedrich Kramer, is also warning, “Ever since the attack , migrants in our midst have been afraid of being attacked and do not dare to leave their houses these days – we must face up to the new violence.”
Eva von Angern, leader of the Left Party in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt, also insisted that migrants should not be made scapegoats, writing on X about an “increase in hostile treatment” and attacks on foreigners.
Similar warnings were noticeably absent when it was https://modernity.news/2024/05/08/foreign-migrants-account-for-nearly-6-in-10-violent-crime-suspects-in-germany/
that despite comprising roughly 14.6 per cent of the population, foreign migrants were responsible for 58.5 per cent of all violent crimes in Germany.
Apparently, people being mean to migrants is a far more serious threat than migrants who plough cars into people.
As we previously highlighted, before the attack, police were busy patrolling Christmas markets focusing on the real problem – grannies with pocket knives in their handbags.
* * *
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support
.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 12/31/2024 - 08:45
US Says Putin Treating North Korean Troops As 'Expendable' Amid Mass Casualties
US Says Putin Treating North Korean Troops As 'Expendable' Amid Mass Casualties
The White House has said Moscow is treating its North Korean partner forces as "expendable" in its war against Ukraine, and following South Korean and Pentagon intelligence assessments which say North Korea has suffered at least 1,100 casualties so far
National Security communications adviser John Kirby said in a Friday press briefing, "It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses."
?itok=72bX39w_
"These North Korean soldiers appear to be highly indoctrinated, pushing attacks even when it is clear that those attacks are futile," he added.
Kirby said there have been reports of North Korean troops committing suicide due to the battlefield conditions and hopelessness of the situation. He presented this as anecdotal and tangential evidence pointing to massive losses, but the assertion could very well be wartime propaganda.
"We also have reports of North Korean soldiers taking their own lives rather than surrendering to Ukrainian forces, likely out of fear of reprisal against their families in North Korea in the event that they’re captured," Kirby asserted.
On Friday Kiev forces claimed to have actually captured North Korean troops on the battlefield. These foreign troops are believed mainly deployed in Russia's Kursk region, to assist Moscow in regaining its lost territory.
"Today we received reports on several soldiers from North Korea, our warriors managed to capture them. But they were seriously wounded and could not be resuscitated," Zelensky had said in an https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/korejskij-narod-ne-maye-vtrachati-svoyih-lyudej-u-boyah-v-ye-95269
.
"This is one of the manifestations of the madness dictatorships are capable of," he continued. "The Korean nation should not lose its people in the battles in Europe."
Zelensky also called on China to exert pressure on Kim Jong-Un to abandon the deployment in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Beijing, however, has remained mum on the issue.
Kirby in his briefing had also vouched for recent South Korean intelligence figures: "Our estimate is that, to date, they have suffered more than 1,000 killed or wounded in this particular fighting in just the past week of them fighting on the front lines," he said.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 12/28/2024 - 16:55
Europe: The Fall Of The Holy Renewable Empire
Europe: The Fall Of The Holy Renewable Empire
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21244/europe-germany-renewable-energy
,
Solar and wind power production falls drastically during unfavorable weather conditions. It happens, in fact, every year. This condition, however, now has far-reaching economic and environmental repercussions, revealing the flaws in an energy policy based on intermittent renewable energies. Why does Germany, while having one of the https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-energy-bills-germany-brussels-pipeline-prices/
, now consume the most expensive electricity in Europe? How did the country lose its energy autonomy?
?itok=wQfi-3vF
For the last fifteen years, Germany https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/germany-sets-new-record-for-renewable-power/
in the country. In 2022, it was only 48%.
The main contribution to renewable energy has comes from https://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-eco/allemagne-plus-de-la-moitie-de-la-production-d-electricite-etait-d-origine-renouvelable-en-2023-20240103
, at 31% of total production, followed by solar power at 12%, biomass at 8%, and other renewable sources such as hydroelectricity for the remaining 3.4%. In 2024, renewable energy accounted for almost 60% of German electricity production in the first half of the year. This production level, however, is smoothed out over a given period and does not reflect moments of crisis such as the "Dunkelflaute."
Dunkelflaute
Literally "flat, dark calm," Dunkelflaute is characterized by a simultaneous lack of wind and sun in winter, when demand for electricity in Germany is at its highest. These episodes last from a few days to several weeks, with wind and solar production sometimes falling to less than 20% of their capacity, and sometimes nothing. On December 12 of this year, for example, German electricity production from wind and solar power was https://x.com/DGodefridi/status/1867631369238851794
than the demand for it.
Renewable policies would be bearable if they were based on a sustainable energy source -- indifferent to the weather -- such as nuclear power. In 2011, however, in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, Germany abruptly decided to https://www.base.bund.de/en/nuclear-safety/nuclear-phase-out/nuclear-phase-out_content.html
and gradually shut down fully operational plants. This decision reduced the country's capacity to produce stable, predictable electricity and instead made heating, cooling and so on cruelly vulnerable to fluctuations in renewable energy sources. In short, when there is neither wind nor sun in Germany, the lights go out.
The phase-out of nuclear power has left Germany incapable of being self-sufficient in energy, especially during Dunkelflaute. The country https://www.eupd-research.com/en/conventional-electricity-imports-are-the-achilles-heel-of-the-german-energy-transition/
to produce electricity. Germany's massive imports of electricity also lead to colossal increases in electricity prices for its neighbors.
The prices are indeed staggering. In 2024, the household price of electricity in Germany was the https://countryeconomy.com/energy-and-environment/electricity-price-household/germany
than in France. How is all that "sustainable" for Europe?
But this is "for the planet", right? Not even close. Despite its commitment to so-called green energies, Germany still has a high carbon footprint due to its increased reliance on coal and lignite to make up for energy shortfalls. In 2024, the country remains the second-largest emitter of CO2 per unit of energy produced in Europe, with a significant proportion of electricity coming from fossil sources. https://environmentalprogress.org/big-news/2017/2/11/german-electricity-was-nearly-10-times-dirtier-than-frances-in-2016#:~:text=By%20contrast%2C%20France%20generated%20530,over%20300%20million%20metric%20tonnes.
CO2 per unit of energy produced than France.
Economic and geopolitical repercussions
Germany's high electricity prices are leading to the relocation of its industry, as companies look for sites where energy costs are more affordable. How can you stay viable when you pay three times more for electricity than your competitors? (Natural gas prices are even worse: https://www.statista.com/statistics/673333/monthly-prices-for-natural-gas-in-the-united-states-and-europe/
more expensive in Europe than in the USA.)
Whole swathes of Germany's proud industry are collapsing. We only remember the big names -- https://www.motor1.com/news/739673/vw-boss-structural-problems-decades/
along with it. Energy-intensive sectors such as metallurgy and chemicals are particularly hard hit.
Finally, Germany's increased dependence on its neighbors for energy supplies has been creating tensions in Europe. High electricity prices in Germany are being https://brusselssignal.eu/2024/12/european-electricity-prices-skyrocket-as-german-renewables-fail-to-deliver-power/
from certain energy agreements, particularly those relating to electricity imports.
In short, the Dunkelflaute is the symptom of a profound energy crisis, caused by an ideological, authoritarian, irrational and failed energy transition. Dependence on unreliable energy sources (wind, solar), combined with the hasty phase-out of nuclear power, has made Germany's electricity the most expensive in Europe and compromises the country's -- and ultimately the continent's -- energy autonomy. The consequences are manifold: environmental, with high CO2 emissions; economic, with industry in steep decline, and geopolitical, with Germany's neighbors fed up with its failing energy diktat.
Given Germany's demographic and economic weight, this latest German misstep is proving to be yet another European catastrophe.
Drieu Godefridi is a jurist (University Saint-Louis, University of Louvain), philosopher (University Saint-Louis, University of Louvain) and PhD in legal theory (Paris IV-Sorbonne). He is an entrepreneur, CEO of a European private education group and director of PAN Medias Group. He is the author of https://www.amazon.com/Green-Reich-Global-Warming-Tyranny-ebook/dp/B081H2MB37/
(2020).
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sat, 12/28/2024 - 09:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/europe-fall-holy-renewable-empire
60 To 80 Injured After Car "Attack" On German Christmas Market, Saudi Driver Arrested
60 To 80 Injured After Car "Attack" On German Christmas Market, Saudi Driver Arrested
Watch Live UK News
* * *
Update (1534ET):
Government spokesman Matthias Schuppe told German media outlet https://www.welt.de/politik/article254938074/Anschlag-in-Magdeburg-Verdaechtiger-aus-Saudi-Arabien-festgenommen.html
that the car-ramming incident at a Christmas market in Magdeburg "was an attack." City spokesman Michael Reif stated that initial reports suggested it was an "attack on the Christmas market."
?itok=FXse-fzi
WELT reported that the suspected perpetrator is in police custody. Security sources told the outlet that the male driver is of Saudi Arabian origin and was born in 1974.
Elon Musk called for the resignation of Chancellor Olaf Scholz: "Scholz should resign immediately. Incompetent fool."
Scholz should resign immediately. Incompetent fool.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1870204253752697317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Update (1456ET):
AFP News reports that 60 to 80 people were injured when a car rammed through a Christmas market in Germany. There is no official word regarding fatalities.
Reportedly the footage of the arrest. https://t.co/uVrKGIq5zu
— Clash Report (@clashreport) https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1870195475720331660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Update (1440ET):
There are a lot of casualty numbers being thrown out on X.
According to German news outlet MDR News:
"At least one person is dead and several people are injured. A large number of rescue workers are deployed. The suspected driver of the car has been arrested. An overview of the latest developments."
Overview of the Christmas market:
?itok=i2-orJWj
Shocking video...
JUST IN: At least one car plows through a large crowd of people at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany.
The driver of the car was arrested.
Local reports say that many people are injured. It's unclear how many have d*ed.
"A vehicle drove through the Christmas market… https://t.co/UY6jsA5n0L
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1870187310840459544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
* * *
Panic erupted at a popular Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday evening after a vehicle plowed through the market. Details remain scant, but such incidents have become all too familiar around Christian holidays, often involving vehicle or knife attacks.
"A state of emergency currently prevails at the Magdeburg Christmas market. According to eyewitnesses, numerous people fled the market area in panic. A vehicle is said to have driven into the crowd," Epoch Times Deutsche reported.
Auf dem Magdeburger Weihnachtsmarkt herrscht derzeit Ausnahmezustand. Wie Augenzeugen berichten, flüchteten zahlreiche Menschen panisch vom Marktgelände. Ein Fahrzeug soll in die Menge gefahren sein. https://t.co/HvZgLhtAio
— Epoch Times Deutsch (@EpochTimesDE) https://twitter.com/EpochTimesDE/status/1870182640441025022?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Unverified footage on X published moments ago shows what appears to be a number of causalities...
Es ist eine Katastrophe... Wurde mir gerade zugeschickt. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Magdeburg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— koerner_23 (@koerner_23) https://twitter.com/koerner_23/status/1870181267523670426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/hashtag/Magdeburg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Anabel Schunke (@ainyrockstar) https://twitter.com/ainyrockstar/status/1870178996287090710?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Naomi Seibt, a German teen who has a prominent voice on X and denounces mass migration in Europe, asked if this incident was "terrorism"?
"Islamists have been sending explicit threats that they will attack our Christmas markets via immigrants. The police already prevented several attempts last minute," Seibt, adding, "Elon Musk is right: Only the AfD can save Germany."
🚨🇩🇪TERR0RISM⁉️ CAR DRIVES INTO MAGDEBURG CHRISTMAS MARKET!
Islamists have been sending explicit threats that they will attack our Christmas markets via immigrants.
The police already prevented several attempts last minute.
Elon Musk is right:
Only the AfD can save Germany. https://t.co/REfNC9TGD5
— Naomi Seibt (@SeibtNaomi) https://twitter.com/SeibtNaomi/status/1870181009209340161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"I can't believe it was an accident, it's a pedestrian zone & cars never drive there, and the car probably got there," https://x.com/ricoo1337/status/1870178046604349672
user said.
?itok=WFK_TvZO
On Dec. 19, 2016, in Berlin, an Islamic extremist attacker plowed into a Christmas market with a truck, leaving 13 people dead and dozens injured.
This aged well...
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had said late last month that there were no concrete indications of a danger to Christmas markets this year, but that it was wise to be vigilant.-AP News
*Developing...
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 12/20/2024 - 15:34
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/terror-or-accident-car-plows-germany-christmas-market
Canada Is The World's Best Country For Free Or Universal Healthcare; WHO
Canada Is The World's Best Country For Free Or Universal Healthcare; WHO
Last week marked the UN's International Universal Health Coverage Day.
Canada is the https://www.statista.com/statistics/1375891/uhc-effective-coverage-index-worldwide/
.
The organization ranked 194 countries based on a selection of indicators of key health concerns such as reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases and service capacity and access.
The https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/service-coverage
: the coverage of essential health services (SDG 3.8.1) and the lack of financial protection (SDG 3.8.2), which is defined as the “proportion of a country’s population with large household expenditures on health relative to their total household expenditure.”
This is in order to support the UN's aim of achieving universal health coverage by 2030, which includes financial risk protection, access to quality essential health care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines. As the https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/universal-health-coverage-(uhc)
explains, this is because "protecting people from the financial consequences of paying for health services out of their own pockets reduces the risk that people will be pushed into poverty because the cost of needed services and treatments requires them to use up their life savings, sell assets, or borrow – destroying their futures and often those of their children."
https://www.statista.com/chart/31420/uhc-service-coverage-index-by-country/
You will find more infographics at https://www.statista.com/chartoftheday/
While this chart only reflects the coverage element of UHC, it still serves to highlight the extent to which global inequalities exist in terms of that access.
Where Canada received a total score of 91 index points out of 100, followed by Iceland, the Republic of Korea and Singapore, each with 89 points, this is a stark contrast to countries at the other end of the spectrum such as South Sudan (34), Central African Republic (32), Papua New Guinea (30), Chad (29) and Somalia (27).
It’s also important to note here that since this data focuses on a nationwide level, it hides regional inequalities within countries and communities. For example, according to the WHO, coverage of reproductive, maternal, child and adolescent health services tends to be higher among those who are richer, more educated, and living in urban areas, especially in low-income countries, while people living in poorer households, rural areas and in households with older family members are more likely to be further pushed into poverty by out-of-pocket health spending.
In terms of tracking overall global trends, WHO researchers outline how improvements to health services coverage have stagnated since 2015, rising only three index points to 68 by 2019 and remaining there until 2021. This is the equivalent to about 4.5 billion people living without full coverage of essential health services in 2021. Meanwhile, in 2019, out-of-pocket health spending pushed 344 million people further into extreme poverty and 1.3 billion into relative poverty.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 12/20/2024 - 04:15
https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/canada-worlds-best-country-free-or-universal-healthcare-who
Terror Threat? NYC Now Deploys "Largest Military Presence In Subways Since 9/11 Aftermath"
Terror Threat? NYC Now Deploys "Largest Military Presence In Subways Since 9/11 Aftermath"
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul beefed up the number of New York National Guard members patrolling NYC subway stations, marking the largest military presence in the city's subway system since the aftermath of 9/11. This heightened security measure coincides with mounting public hysteria over unidentified drones in NJ-NY airspace and the rising threat of terrorism.
On Wednseday, Gov. Hochul told reporters that 250 additional Guard members will join the already https://www.zerohedge.com/political/terror-threat-nyc-mobilizing-1000-national-guard-troops-subways?ref=biztoc.com
to combat rapes, murders, and robberies that plague NYC's subway system.
In March, when we heard about the initial deployment, we asked...
Terror Threat? NYC Mobilizing 1,000 National Guard Troops In Subways https://t.co/OKN0DiUeMt
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1765563049136607500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"This marks the largest military presence in the city's subway system since the aftermath of 9/11," local paper https://gothamist.com/news/hochul-says-nyc-subways-are-safer-then-sends-in-250-more-national-guard-troops
noted.
Really need rifles to combat criminals in the subway? Seems like there has been an ongoing terror threat.
BREAKING: New York National Guard and State Police have arrived at NYC Subways after the governor deployed them to combat a big increase in violent crime
Perhaps if New York prosecutors weren't soo busy going after Donald Trump, they could spend their time locking criminals up https://t.co/4wWbzgogzY
— George (@BehizyTweets) https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/1765516965781647869?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The governor said, "I've heard from many people that the presence of the National Guard has made not just a physical difference, but a psychological difference in how they feel about safety. When people see a person in uniform, NYPD, MTA, transit, even our national Guard, they feel more secure than why it's a deterrent to those who would break our laws and threaten other riders," adding, "They see that sense of security that if they have a problem, there's someone there to help."
Hochul credited the increased military presence, first deployed in March, with making riders feel safer...
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Sure, increasing the number of Guard members to combat subway crime might make sense. But why not simply beef up NYPD patrols? Or the threat is much larger than NYPD officers can handle. There must be something the government is failing to tell folks in NYC - just like the feds went weeks with keeping the public in the dark about mystery drone flights in the region.
The most alarming issue NYC faces comes from disastrous Biden-Harris' open borders that flooded NYC with upwards of 200,000 unvetted migrants, some of whom may be https://www.zerohedge.com/political/coming-your-community-biden-harris-open-borders-transforms-america-terrorist-playground
.
In the short term, the threats to the homeland are rising, as https://www.hstoday.us/featured/column-the-strategic-fallout-how-isis-al-qaeda-and-hezbollah-could-leverage-the-october-7-hamas-terror-attacks/
by Dr. Mahmut Cengiz, an Associate Professor and Research Faculty with Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University:
"Radicalized Hamas members may increasingly look to Al-Qaeda as a more viable destination for their operations, given Al-Qaeda's growing capabilities and its strategic ties to Iran. This shift could significantly strengthen Al-Qaeda's position in the region, making it an even more formidable threat to Western and Israeli interests in the future."
While Hochul claims beefing up the Guard's presence to the highest levels since the aftermath of 9/11 is merely to combat crime, the expanded deployment is likely a response to a more significant threat than drug addicts and rapists, considering Democrats have transformed America into a "https://www.zerohedge.com/political/coming-your-community-biden-harris-open-borders-transforms-america-terrorist-playground
" with open borders.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Thu, 12/19/2024 - 11:05
Yes, It Was A Landslide
Yes, It Was A Landslide
https://amgreatness.com/2024/12/12/yes-it-was-a-landslide/
Having lost the election, demoralized Democrats now argue their defeat wasn’t a landslide. Nice try. Their reaction is more than knee-jerk petulance; instead, it arises from fears of permanence. With Trump gaining momentum, even before his inauguration, Democrats rightfully fear that they could fare even worse in 2028 and beyond.
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Before the election, the Democrats’ presidential complaint was the Electoral College. Certain they would win the popular vote, Tim Walz, speaking in October, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/walz-says-electoral-college-needs-to-go-campaign-says-thats-not-its-position/
, and more) are all arguing to diminish Trump’s victory—and thereby his momentum.
While Democrats and their supporters’ need is understandable, Trump’s landslide gets bigger the more it is scrutinized.
Even on the surface, its particulars are impressive. Trump was the Republicans’ first presidential candidate to beat a Democrat in the popular vote in 20 years. He won more popular votes than any Republican presidential candidate in history. He won each of the contest’s seven swing states—and he came close to flipping several (NJ, VA, NM, NH, and MN) seemingly solid blue https://www.google.com/search?q=2024+presidential+election+results&sca_esv=64a609d90a359d40&sxsrf=ADLYWIIm-kjHgamAbDioaNdg4TzXvAsSaA%3A1733688117545&ei=NftVZ7L6II3e5NoP6ZmlkAc&ved=0ahUKEwjy6JbD-5iKAxUNL1kFHelMCXIQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=2024+presidential+election+results&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiIjIwMjQgcHJlc2lkZW50aWFsIGVsZWN0aW9uIHJlc3VsdHMyChAjGIAEGCcYigUyBhAAGAcYHjINEAAYgAQYsQMYFBiHAjIFEAAYgAQyCxAAGIAEGLEDGIMBMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBhAAGAcYHjIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAESP0SUP0KWKIOcAF4AJABAJgBUaABswGqAQEzuAEDyAEA-AEBmAICoAKNAcICCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFwgIIEAAYgAQYogTCAgUQABjvBZgDAIgGAZIHATKgB9AP&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
. And he won the electoral vote 312-226.
Conversely, compared to Biden in 2020, Democrats’ popular vote percentage dropped in 50 of 51 states and the District of Columbia, going up only in Utah by a scant 0.2 percentage points.
Big as Trump’s win was on the surface, closer examination shows it was bigger still.
Trump’s victory came despite finishing behind Harris by over four million votes in California and New York combined and despite these states combining for 84 electoral votes. Dismissing the result in these two states, Trump won by five percentage points in the other 48 states and 312 to 142 in electoral votes. Take away the results of Massachusetts and Washington, and Trump won by almost seven percentage points in the popular vote and 312-121 in the electoral vote.
Basically, apart from the coasts, Trump won overwhelmingly: where 80 percent of the presidential electoral votes are, Trump won three-quarters of them.
Next, put these impressive numbers into the context of their occurrence.
Trump amassed these numbers while being enormously https://jtyoung-my.sharepoint.com/personal/jtyoung_jamestyoung_com/Documents/enormously
and outspent. Harris had hundreds of millions more to fuel her campaign than Trump did. And she had to only focus on the seven swing states that everyone knew were the fulcrum of the contest. Yet, Trump still swept all seven—something that neither he nor Biden had been able to do in 2016 and 2020.
Trump also rang up his numbers despite eight years of unrelenting negativity from the establishment media. For almost a decade, there has been nothing approaching balanced coverage: regardless of his opponent—Hillary, Biden, and Harris—each received a strong establishment media tailwind. Yet despite this, Trump increased his general election popular vote percentage each time.
And that establishment media bias was never stronger than in the aftermath of Biden’s withdrawal.
For over 100 days, the establishment media gave Harris a pass: on press conferences, on interviews, on evading questions, on softball venues when she did appear, on often not answering questions in even these friendly confines, and on nonsensical responses when she did speak.
And Trump won despite having almost the entirety of America’s self-styled elite opposing him.
In academia, in Hollywood, in music, in sports, the coolest of the cool and the biggest of the big were overwhelmingly and vocally against him. Not surprisingly, in the face of all this opposition, Trump’s https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/favorability/political-leaders
rating was below Harris’s.
Yet, Trump still racked up his impressive numbers.
Despite every conceivable disadvantage, Trump beat not one, but two Democrat nominees to win the presidency. Outright - not only in electoral votes but by almost 2.5 million votes.
That is the definition of a landslide.
Of late, Americans have suffered a surfeit of Democrats and their apologists saying something isn’t true when it patently is—that Joe Biden was capable of being president, that the Democrat elite wasn’t deposing Joe Biden when they drove him from the ticket, that Kamala Harris was his qualified replacement, that Joe Biden wouldn’t pardon Hunter. The list is endless; it stretches back in time and extends uninterrupted into it. But nowhere is Democrat denial greater than in their attempt to deny Trump’s November presidential landslide.
Their reason is as obvious as the truth they are seeking to deny. They fear its repetition.
They worry that Republicans will continue Trump’s conservative populism, and they know that next time 2024’s overwhelming advantages will be gone. Bad as November’s landslide was, the ones Democrats potentially face going forward could be far worse.
* * *
J.T. Young is the author of the new https://www.amazon.ca/Unprecedented-Assault-Government-Unleashed-Socialist/dp/B0DBMH66YR
Unprecedented Assault: How Big Government Unleashed America’s Socialist Left, from RealClear Publishing, and has over three decades of experience working in Congress, the Department of Treasury, and OMB, and representing a Fortune 20 company.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 12/13/2024 - 20:55
The Historic Failure Of The Biden Administration
The Historic Failure Of The Biden Administration
https://amgreatness.com/2024/12/08/the-historic-failure-of-the-biden-administration/
Whether American presidents are successes or failures is measured by their major foreign and domestic actions. That has been the historical standard by which they are weighed and which defines their legacy. Some presidents are outstanding in every respect. Washington defined the American presidency. Lincoln saved the Union and kept foreign powers, most importantly Great Britain, from intervening to aid the South. Most presidents are heavily mixed; Buchanan employed the Army to suppress the Mormon Rebellion, but his monumental failure was that he did not act to stop the Civil War. Lyndon Johnson’s failure in Vietnam defined his presidency. Richard Nixon had many successes in foreign policy, but Watergate was his demise. Jimmy Carter failed abroad and at home.
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With just over 40 days left, Americans are nearing the end of the Biden administration, and so it is fitting to provide an assessment of it and to place it in historical context.
By any metric from American history and by any objective standard used to measure his predecessors in the White House, the Biden administration has been a catastrophic failure for the American people. Were that it was otherwise. An old man suffering from the horrors of dementia is a tragedy. Biden is not only a dementia patient but also President of the United States. It is clear that now he is more dementia victim than he is president. He cannot stay awake at international meetings and other fora, and he seems to willingly accept the deliberate snubs. Accordingly, as hard as it is to acknowledge, given that he is the President of the United States, world leaders, and Americans know that he has no business being in the nation’s highest office. This impacts all Americans and U.S. national security, and it is important to recognize facts that impact national security as they are, rather than as we would desire them to be.
In the years to come, the fiasco of the Biden administration will be explained by multiple factors. We may certainly anticipate that presidential historians will argue that his dementia was debilitating and precluded him from effective leadership, or that his presidency was just a Potemkin Village. Others may assess that Barack Hussein Obama was actually in control through his direct intervention and via surrogates like Susan Rice—who overreached in pushing a radical Marxist agenda. At this point, no matter the causes, it is essential to document the Biden administration’s failures and to learn from them as a cautionary tale about the disastrous impacts of the worst president in American history. Of course, we note that his greatest catastrophes may be yet to come.
In domestic policy, Biden destroyed the economy, inflation returned with a vengeance, and America’s borders were opened intentionally. This caused a flood of illegal immigration. Immigration took an unprecedented turn, even an unimaginable one; the U.S. government entered the business of importing people, some 12 to 15 million, and thereby funded the cartels and other criminals and criminal organizations. The true numbers will not be known until Trump comes into office and reveals how this happened and the true impact and parameters of the problem. Another domestic failure has been the massive increase in the federal deficit—one that impacts every American, as well as our national security posture. Likewise, energy security was compromised, and America’s energy independence was lost. These domestic disasters reveal the spirit of the American people was targeted deliberately—in order to usher in a new world order based on the tenets of collectivism and top-down control rather than the principles of individualism, freedom, and liberty.
In the realm of foreign policy, the Biden Administration will be remembered for their disastrous and deadly retreat from Afghanistan to the benign neglect of checking the People’s Republic of China (PRC) across the Indo-Pacific. By failing to deter the Russian invasion of Ukraine and by laboring to simultaneously sustain and escalate the war, rather than pressuring both sides to end the conflict, Biden will be held responsible for the deaths and displacement of many millions. Even the recent collapse of governments in Germany and France can be laid at Biden’s doorstep due to his waffling approach to great power politics and NATO’s ineptitude. The Middle East went from stability to war as Israel fights against multiple threats in the wake of the horrific terror attacks on October 7, 2023. In the Indo-Pacific, Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), treated Biden as a supplicant. In no small part because Xi knew that Joe Biden’s administration was compromised via millions from the PRC that flowed in and enriched the Biden family’s coffers. Xi instructed Biden on how to behave, and the Biden administration went along with it when it mattered, such as not laboring to overthrow the CCP at a time of great peril for it.
The opportunity cost of the Biden administration was massive. Their actions precluded other strategic choices, priorities, and paths that the U.S. might have taken. For example, the strategic airfield in Bagram, Afghanistan would not have been lost to Chinese influence and occupation. The war in Ukraine might have been deterred, and millions alive and billions of dollars saved for American citizens being hit by deadly hurricanes in North Carolina or fires in Maui. Moreover, America’s arsenal of stockpiled weapons would not have been depleted.
Likewise, the CCP would be on the run through a concerted and consistent whole-of-government agenda to roll back the PRC’s advances in their declared “People’s War” against the U.S. Fundamentally, Biden was the return to and the last of the post-Cold War presidents—Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama—those who could do anything they wanted in the domestic and international realms because they were living off the capital their predecessors had accumulated—a strong and prosperous America. In his first term, Trump was different and labored mightily to change course. Now America faces genuine peril at home and abroad.
The warnings from the Biden administration are myriad. However, at root, the lesson is how could it have been otherwise when a vile and loathsome individual intent on enriching himself be permitted to be used as a puppet by Obama and the CCP? Biden neither has the merit nor the mettle to be president. He is a vessel filled with personal ambition but does not possess the acumen or virtue to realize his ambition. It had to be given to him by Obama. His legacy is a grotesque one: he proved the “Peter Principle” wrong—that you actually can rise far beyond your level of incompetence. He did his best to destroy the country. He leaves for his successor a dangerous world and an economy in an equally precarious position. Thankfully, Trump and his administration will be up for such a massive task.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Fri, 12/13/2024 - 17:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/historic-failure-biden-administration
Rumors Swirl About The West Planning To 'Exile' Zelenskyy
Rumors Swirl About The West Planning To 'Exile' Zelenskyy
https://rmx.news/article/rumors-swirl-about-the-west-planning-to-exile-zelensky/
If a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine, the West is considering “exiling” Volodymyr Zelensky to London, writes https://dorzeczy.pl/swiat/664795/media-zachod-rozwaza-zeslanie-zelenskiego-do-londynu.html
, citing a report out of the Spanish daily El Mundo via government sources in Kyiv.
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A rumor has been circulating in diplomatic circles in the Ukrainian capital for two weeks that if a ceasefire occurs, the West will convince Zelensky to “exile” himself to the U.K. and presidential elections will be held in Ukraine.
European peacekeeping forces, mainly troops from Great Britain and France, would then be deployed in Ukraine. Kyiv could also count on “rapid” accession to the European Union and aid for the country’s post-war reconstruction.
Ukraine had a bad November, with Russia occupying the largest amount of territory in Ukraine since March 2022, mainly in the east of the country, near Pokrovsk, according to experts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The group says Moscow has occupied a total of 68,500 square kilometers since the beginning of the war, or about 19 percent of Ukraine’s entire pre-2014 territory, including the annexed Crimea and part of Donbas.
Senior aides of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump have met with officials from Kyiv, as the incoming president has made ending the conflict a top priority of his administration, while Zelensky is clearly tired of war.
Head of MI6, Richard Moore, raised alarm bells over the dangerous situation the world is currently facing. After meeting with his French counterpart, Nicholas Lerner, last week, he told the press, “Nicholas and I are in no doubt about the stakes in Ukraine: If Putin is allowed to succeed in reducing Ukraine to a vassal state, he will not stop there.”
At the same time, the U.S. is pushing Ukraine to begin recruitment of 18-25 year olds to bolster Ukraine’s armed forces, but there are concerns about the country’s demographic future should his young cohort be sent to the front.
https://rmx.news/article/rumors-swirl-about-the-west-planning-to-exile-zelensky/
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Sun, 12/08/2024 - 07:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/rumors-swirl-about-west-planning-exile-zelenskyy
Israel Warns Troops Against Traveling Abroad Over 'Blacklists' In Europe
Israel Warns Troops Against Traveling Abroad Over 'Blacklists' In Europe
Israel continues feeling the pressure in the wake of the controversial International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant for overseeing alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
Israel's military has issued an alert to all troops warning about travel abroad. "Some soldiers have already been required to leave countries they visited due to concerns about legal proceedings," the Israeli news site https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjxb1y6myx#autoplay
reports Wednesday.
The report details that in many cases pro-Palestinian organizations are pressuring governments abroad to block certain individuals from traveling, by creating "blacklists" with details of Israeli army soldiers. Names and photos are used and circulated while "hoping to identify future travel plans."
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"Individual proceedings against soldiers and junior officers traveling abroad could be based on ICC rulings. To any soldier or officer, if they are arrested, summoned for questioning, or feel they are being followed or photographed while abroad, Israel will provide immediate legal assistance through its local embassy or the Foreign Ministry’s situation room," the army said in the message.
"In non-ICC member countries such as the US, China, or India, there is local legislation governing the law of war. These nations are not obligated to act on ICC arrest warrants, but local laws could still pose risks," it added.
Ynet notes that some European governments have already taken action against over a https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjxb1y6myx
:
The IDF has identified about 30 cases of criminal proceedings initiated against its members. At least eight soldiers, including some who had traveled to Cyprus, Slovenia and the Netherlands, were forced to leave immediately.
The push for the arrest warrants was overseen by The Hague-based ICC's Karim Khan, and subsequently the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were obtained on November 21.
While the ICC has no enforcement arm, relying on individual member states, it creates a political headache for the Israeli government. And clearly, given the army's warning to all ranks of troops, the warrants are having a chilling and trickle-down effect.
Israel, the US, and some other allies have blasted the ICC move as outrageous and even 'antisemitic'. The ICC has in turn said it has long faced coercion and threats from Israeli officials.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Wed, 12/04/2024 - 17:20
House Oversight Report Supports Chinese Lab-Leak Theory For COVID-19 Origin
House Oversight Report Supports Chinese Lab-Leak Theory For COVID-19 Origin
(emphasis ours),
A Republican-led oversight subcommittee has concluded that the COVID-19 virus likely originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, following a two-year investigation into the pandemic.
The House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic released a 520-page https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/117748/documents/HRPT-118-SSCPReport.pdf
on Dec. 2, detailing the findings of the subcommittee’s investigation.
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The report found that the U.S. National Institutes of Health funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), and that https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/department-of-justice-should-investigate-ecohealth-alliance-president-house-panel-5640988
Inc. used U.S. taxpayer dollars to facilitate this research at the lab.
It also found that the Chinese communist regime, agencies within the U.S. government, and some members of the international scientific community sought to cover up facts concerning the origins of the pandemic.
The committee said that COVID-19 possesses biological characteristics not found in nature and that data indicates that all COVID-19 cases stemmed from a single introduction into humans, unlike previous pandemics, where there were more spillover events.
“By nearly all measures of science, if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced,” the oversight subcommittee said in a https://oversight.house.gov/release/final-report-covid-select-concludes-2-year-investigation-issues-500-page-final-report-on-lessons-learned-and-the-path-forward/
.
The report said that the Wuhan Institute of Virology has a history of conducting “gain-of-function” research under low biosafety precautions.
Several researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell sick with a COVID-like virus months before the first case of the outbreak was allegedly detected at a wet market, according to the report.
The report said that in January 2021, the U.S. State Department published an unclassified https://2017-2021.state.gov/fact-sheet-activity-at-the-wuhan-institute-of-virology/
that stated: “The U.S. government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illness.”
Citing the fact sheet, the report stated that the Wuhan Institute of Virology “has a published record of conducting ‘gain-of-function’ research to engineer chimeric viruses.”
The report said the https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Report-on-Potential-Links-Between-the-Wuhan-Institute-of-Virology-and-the-Origins-of-COVID-19-20230623.pdf
assessment supported this conclusion and went further, stating, “Scientists at the WIV have created chimeras, or combinations of SARS-like coronaviruses through genetic engineering, attempted to clone other unrelated viruses, and used reverse genetic cloning techniques on SARS-like coronaviruses.” The June 2023 ODNI Assessment said that some of the “WIV’s genetic engineering projects on coronaviruses involved techniques that could make it difficult to detect intentional changes.”
Among those interviewed during the panel’s investigation was Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), who stepped down from his role in December 2022.
The report stated that Fauci had “prompted” a research study titled “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2”—which dismissed the idea that the virus was laboratory constructed—to “disprove” the lab leak theory.
Fauci testified at a June hearing that he did not suppress the lab leak theory and did not view it as inherently a conspiracy theory but said that “some distortions on that particular subject are,” according to the report.
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“Although Dr. Fauci believed the lab-leak theory to be a conspiracy theory at the start of the pandemic, it now appears that his position is that he does have an open mind about the origin of the virus—so long as it does not implicate EcoHealth Alliance, and by extension himself and NIAID,” it stated, citing Fauci’s memoir published just weeks after the hearing. “Understandably, as he signed off on the EcoHealth Alliance grant.”
In a May 2021 Senate hearing, Fauci said his agency did not provide funds for “gain of function” research into coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Fauci https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/no-doubt-american-tax-dollars-funded-gain-of-function-research-at-wuhan-lab-ex-cdc-director-5110722
the hearing.
The report also stated that Taiwan notified the World Health Organization (WHO) on Dec. 31, 2019, about “atypical pneumonia cases” reported in Wuhan and asked the agency to investigate, but the WHO ignored the warnings.
The WHO response to the COVID-19 pandemic was “an abject failure because it caved to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party and placed China’s political interests ahead of its international duties,” the subcommittee said.
In a statement accompanying the report, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the committee, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a distrust in leadership. Trust is earned. Accountability, transparency, honesty, and integrity will regain this trust.”
A https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/risa.14291
that “the possibility of a laboratory origin cannot be easily dismissed.”
The Epoch Times reached out to Anthony Fauci, NIAID, EcoHealth Alliance Inc., and the WHO for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.
https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
Tue, 12/03/2024 - 22:35
US Won't 'Cry' About The Pressure Syria Is Facing From Al-Qaeda-Linked Fighters: Sullivan
US Won't 'Cry' About The Pressure Syria Is Facing From Al-Qaeda-Linked Fighters: Sullivan
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/02/politics/us-syria-diplomatic-situation/index.html
that the US will not "cry" over the pressure the Syrian government and its allies are facing from an offensive on Aleppo led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an offshoot of al-Qaeda.
Sullivan acknowledged that HTS was "a terrorist organization designated by the United States" and said the US has "real concerns about the designs and objectives of that organization."
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But he added, "At the same time, of course, we don’t cry over the fact that the Assad government, backed by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, are facing certain kinds of pressure."
HTS captured Aleppo following a surprise offensive that was launched last Wednesday, which came after Israel stepped up airstrikes on Syria.
US officials have not been shy in the past about their preference for HTS and its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, over other factions in Syria. James Jeffrey, an American diplomat who served as a special envoy to Syria under the Trump administration from 2018-2020, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/abu-mohammad-al-jolani-interview-hayat-tahrir-al-sham-syria-al-qaeda/
that HTS was "an asset" to the US’s strategy in Idlib, a northwestern Syrian province that’s been under HTS control since 2017.
"They are the least bad option of the various options on Idlib, and Idlib is one of the most important places in Syria, which is one of the most important places right now in the Middle East," Jeffrey said.
Julani was formerly the leader of al-Nusra Front, which was the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. In 2016, Julani publicly announced he was splitting with al-Qaeda and changed his group’s name to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, which merged with other Islamist groups to form HTS in 2017.
Julani’s rebranding campaign was part of an effort to gain more support from the West. Jeffrey https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/interview/james-jeffrey/
while he was working as the US envoy to Syria. Jeffrey said a typical message from al-Julani was like this, "This is what we’re doing. These are our goals. We’re not a threat to you."
Jeffrey said he responded to Julani by saying, "I couldn’t agree more. … Keep me informed as often as possible."
Reminder that tens of thousands of foreign fighters landed at Turkish airports, freely crossed into Syria from Turkey, and joined ISIS, Nusra (now HTS), and other terror orgs while the US watched and denied it https://t.co/fkYpZss1Bd
— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) https://twitter.com/LindseySnell/status/1863886139049877675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups always https://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Pg.-291-Pgs.-287-293-JW-v-DOD-and-State-14-812-DOD-Release-2015-04-10-final-version11.pdf
that "AQ (al-Qaeda) is on our side in Syria."
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Tue, 12/03/2024 - 22:10