Apr 142025
 


Gustave Moreau Orpheus at the Tomb of Eurydice 1891

 

Only Trump Is Brave Enough For This Job (David Bossie)
Tucker Carlson: Of Course Trump Is Willing to Negotiate Tariffs With China (DS)
Trump’s Doctor Gives Him Clean Bill of Health (RT)
US and China Try ‘Soft’ Approach to Tariff Row, Talking Via Intermediaries (Sp.)
Trump to Announce New Tariffs on US Semiconductor Imports in Coming Week (Sp.)
Ray Dalio Fears Global Financial System Collapse (RT)
Europe Pledges $23 Billion in Military Support for Ukraine (Antiwar)
EU Elites Are Hyping The Russian Threat And War For Political Survival (SCF)
Top Kiev Official Wants Women Conscripted Into Army (RT)
Russia and Ukraine To Hold Direct Talks – CNN Turk (RT)
Kremlin Teases Potential Putin-Trump Meeting (RT)
Trump’s Press Team Won’t Respond to Emails With ‘Preferred Pronouns’ (DS)
Trump Backs Away From Improving Relations With Russia (Paul Craig Roberts)
Can Trump and America Survive the Whore Media and the Corrupt Judiciary? (PCR)
Public Trust in Media Dies in ‘Groupthink’ (Tim Graham)
Hamas: 75% of Tunnels Intact, 40,000 Fighters & Rocket Production (LI)
The Most Important 4-Minutes On America’s Middle East Wars We Ever Heard (ZH)

 

 

 

 

O’Leary

Miller
https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1911435337303278045

VDH

 

 

Rogan

 

 

 

 

Don’t want to start a fan club, but the esssence here seems true. There’s no-one else. He won the elections by a mile and a half. Without the fierce forever bogeyman anti-Trump narrative, imagine how popular he could be.

Only Trump Is Brave Enough For This Job (David Bossie)

Aside from Congressional Democrats, there’s widespread agreement among the American people that the failed status quo in Washington must be confronted immediately. There’s also agreement that navigating our country around the economic iceberg that is rapidly approaching after decades of bad policy decisions is not a task for the faint of heart. During the 2024 presidential race, President Trump campaigned on implementing the difficult but necessary reforms that have been “punted” by weak-kneed career politicians and was elected by historic margins because he has a record of keeping his promises. And nearly 80 days into his second term, Donald Trump the steel-spined change agent is busy bringing common sense back to America to change our downward trajectory before it’s too late.

No one with any credibility can argue that our $36 trillion national debt can be ignored, that our trade agreements are fair, or that allowing an enormous tax increase is sound policy. And because he listens to the American people intently, President Trump is laser focused on dealing with these three consequential issues once and for all to supercharge our economy both in the short term and for future generations. Taking on entrenched power is never easy, but entrenched power has never butted heads with a fearless visionary like Donald Trump.

The radical left is trying to block President Trump’s fiscally responsible spending reforms and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cost-cutting recommendations at every turn, but he won’t be deterred. On taxes, Democrats are employing garden variety class warfare tactics, but Trump knows that every American is taxed too much, and people deserve the certainty that comes along with making low tax rates permanent. And regarding the issues of trade and tariffs, President Trump will never bow to concocted media hysteria or hollow threats from powerful self-interested elites who can’t fathom a much-needed change in direction. He believes deeply – and happens to be 100 percent correct – that America has spent decades entering into trade deals that put our country at a strategic disadvantage on the world stage. Americans are grateful that we finally have a leader with the guts to look out for millions upon millions of working families who have been struggling to get by for far too long.

The American people are more than willing to be patient with President Trump’s reforms because they understand how badly previous leaders let things veer off track. Folks understand this president’s language, like when he says that America needs to go in for a long overdue medical procedure and the recovery won’t happen overnight. Trump’s reciprocal tariff policy – simply charging countries the same amount that they charge us – has drawn the expected response from those riding the gravy train, but we’re already starting to see the president’s grand plan in action with over fifty countries lining up to make deals. For example, the European Union is reportedly offering a “zero for zero” tariff deal and Israel, Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Indonesia – to name a few – have all indicated they are ready and willing to negotiate new agreements with President Trump.

Instead of premature hyperventilation over daily stock market ups and downs and astroturf drama to drive clicks, ratings, outrage, and division, Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media should consider rooting for American success for a change. It wasn’t so long ago that liberals would line up to fight for the working class. These early moves by reasonable nations stand in stark contrast to Communist China. The CCP seems eager to start a trade war with the United States instead of acknowledging what everyone else already knows – that they’ve taken advantage of flawed U.S. policy for years and President Trump is now working to level the playing field. By choosing a course that is fraught with peril, China is running the risk of exposing itself as a bad actor on the world stage by refusing to act in good faith for the benefit of all peaceful nations. The CCP needs to understand that they don’t have Barack Obama and Joe Biden to kick around anymore.

It will take time for some to get used to a president who puts America first again. Regardless of how hard the decisions are or how well-funded the opposition to saving America is, President Trump is going to plow forward with his robust economic plan because he realizes we can’t kick the can down the road any longer. Whether it’s tackling spending and debt, tariffs and trade, taxes and regulations, or the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy, this president is the perfect leader to handle it all in short order. President Trump understands better than most that time is of the essence and that he was made for this moment.

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“There’s going to be a disengagement from China.” “I hope it doesn’t become a … total disengagement..”

Tucker Carlson: Of Course Trump Is Willing to Negotiate Tariffs With China (DS)

President Donald Trump is using tariffs to apply heavy pressure on China on trade, but he remains open to negotiations with Beijing, Tucker Carlson says. “Well, of course, he is,” Carlson said when asked whether he thought Trump is willing to negotiate with China. “I mean, the question is: Who needs the other more? Does the U.S. need China more or China need the U.S.? I can’t answer that,” Carlson told The Daily Signal. Only hours after new tariffs went into effect on about 90 countries around the world, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the “reciprocal” tariffs, but he increased tariffs on goods from China. “Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the world’s markets, I am hereby raising the tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.

China and the U.S. “need each other,” Carlson said. “The deal has been for the past 30 years: We’ll buy your underpriced consumer goods; you buy our overpriced debt. And you know, in some ways that’s worked great. In other ways, it hasn’t worked at all.” Carlson was at the White House last week when Trump stood in the Rose Garden and announced his plan to increase tariffs to a minimum of 10% on nations around the world. Despite knowing Trump for years and the president’s interest in tariffs as a negotiation tool, the conservative news commentator and former Fox News host said he was “shocked” by Trump’s tariff plan. “I wasn’t against what Trump was saying, but I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, that’s shocking that he said that. You can’t erect trade barriers.’ … It’s like all the childhood orthodoxies were still rattling around in my head.”

Free market conservatives have traditionally opposed most tariffs. While there is a lot Carlson said he cannot assess regarding Trump’s use of tariffs due to not being an economist, he was confident in saying, “There’s going to be a disengagement from China.” “I hope it doesn’t become a … total disengagement,” Carlson said, “and I certainly hope there’s not a military conflict. I don’t think we’d win. Well, we wouldn’t win at this point. But there needs to be some kind of disengagement on trade.” America cannot be reliant on China and other nations for critical products such as pharmaceuticals and critical military components, he said.

“You have to be able to build a jet engine exclusively in the United States and not rely on supply chains 10,000 miles long or on countries that are hostile to you. I mean, that’s crazy. It’s just basic stuff. And we have the resources to do that,” he said. On Friday, China raised tariffs on U.S. imports to a matching 125%. Trump says he is using tariffs to bring American manufacturing back to the U.S., an action some on Capitol Hill say is long overdue. “Missouri alone has lost 50,000 jobs to China,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote on X on Thursday. “Trump is right to go after China.”

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My personal favorite of his “active lifestyle”: “frequent victories in golf events..”

Trump’s Doctor Gives Him Clean Bill of Health (RT)

US President Donald Trump remains in “excellent cognitive and physical health,” White House physician Captain Sean Barbabella has said. On Friday, Trump underwent the first physical of his second presidential term at a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, which included a five-hour medical examination, blood work and a cognitive test. The results of the check-up have shown the 78-year-old president to be “fully fit” for the job, Barbabella said in a memorandum on Sunday. ”President Trump remains in excellent health, exhibiting robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function,” the memo read. The US leader’s “active lifestyle,” which includes meetings, public appearances and “frequent victories in golf events,” has contributed significantly to his well-being, the doctor stressed.

Trump currently weighs 224 pounds (101.6kg) and is 75 inches (190cm) tall. His resting heart rate is 62 beats per minute and his blood pressure is 128/74 mmHg, the memo said. During the examination, he was also found to have scarring “on the right ear from a gunshot wound” as a result of an attempt on his life last July, it added. According to Barbabella, the president had “minor sun damage” and several “benign skin lesions.” Trump scored 30 out of 30 in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which is commonly used to detect cognitive decline and early signs of dementia, the memo said. The 10-minute test contains such tasks as drawing a clock, naming animals, recalling words after a delay of five minutes, and others.

Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump insisted that he “got every answer right” on the cognitive test. “Overall, I felt I was in very good shape. A good heart, a good soul, a very good soul,” he said. The president added that he had received “a little bit” of advice from the doctor on lifestyle changes to improve his health, but did not reveal any further details. Trump had repeatedly questioned the cognitive and physical health of previous US President Joe Biden, who left the White House at age 82. Biden had refused to undergo a cognitive test after his poor performance in a debate last June. A month later, he withdrew from the presidential race, and was replaced by his Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Trump had defeated.

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Good.

US and China Try ‘Soft’ Approach to Tariff Row, Talking Via Intermediaries (Sp.)

On April 2, Trump signed an executive order introducing “reciprocal” tariffs on imports from other countries. The baseline rate was set at 10%, while dozens of countries were hit with higher rates. The duties on most countries were reversed to 10% days later to allow for trade negotiations, while those on China were hiked to 145%. The United States and China have started “soft” communications on tariffs and other trade issues through intermediaries, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday.

“I think we have had soft — the way I would say this is soft entrees, you know, through intermediaries,” Lutnick told ABC News when asked about whether Washington and China had recently had any contacts regarding their trade relations. The US commerce secretary added that he was confident that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would be able to “work out” the differences and find a solution.”Donald Trump has the ball … He knows how to play this game. He knows how to deal with President Xi,” Lutnick said.

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Will Xi make the call?

Trump to Announce New Tariffs on US Semiconductor Imports in Coming Week (Sp.)

US President Donald Trump said that he would announce new tariffs on semiconductor imports to the United States in the coming week. “I’m going to be announcing it over the next week,” he told the White House press pool reporters, commenting on the upcoming tariffs on semiconductor imports. Earlier, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that Washington had temporarily exempted imports of electronics and semiconductor devices from “reciprocal tariffs”, since the US administration intended to introduce separate sectoral duties on them in the coming months.

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Happened to find this list:

“All of the following products are now exempt from the larger global tariffs, including the tariffs in place against China:

•Computers (laptops, desktops, servers) •Workstations •Computer systems •Keyboards •Mice •Hard drives •Memory modules (RAM) •Power supplies •Computer motherboards •Graphic cards •Semiconductor manufacturing equipment: •Photolithography machines •Etching and doping machines •Wafer handling robots •Cleanroom systems used in chip fabrication Used by companies like TSMC, Intel, and Samsung in chip production. •Smartphones •Mobile phones with data transmission capabilities •Devices like iPhones, Android phones, and similar mobile communication devices •Wireless routers •Network switches •Modems (cable, DSL, etc.) •VoIP equipment •Communication hubs •Internet gateway devices •USB flash drives •SSDs (solid-state drives) •Memory cards (like SD, microSD) •Other flash storage devices used in everything from laptops to cameras and game consoles. •Individual solar cells, unassembled •Photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or panels, with or without bypass diodes •Custom or specialty solar panels •Microprocessors (CPUs, SoCs) •Memory chips (RAM, Flash, etc.) •Logic ICs, analog ICs, mixed-signal ICs •Specialized application chips (ASICs, GPUs, AI chips) •Widely used in all electronics: smartphones, laptops, vehicles, appliances, industrial controls •All types of LEDs.”

 

 

Dalio doesn’t know how the tariffs will work out, anymore than you or me. So why so negative? Only exception seems to be: “While acknowledging that tariffs could serve as a useful tool to bring back manufacturing and generate revenue..”

Ray Dalio Fears Global Financial System Collapse (RT)

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has warned that the United States is facing economic risks far greater than a typical recession, arguing that President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies and ballooning debt could trigger a breakdown of the global financial system. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, the founder of Bridgewater Associates said the world is at a critical juncture, marked by profound changes in the political, economic, and geopolitical order – factors which he says have historically led to severe crises. “I think that right now we are at a decision-making point and very close to a recession,” Dalio said. “And I’m worried about something worse than a recession if this isn’t handled well.” Dalio explained that the US economy is confronting several overlapping challenges: rising debt, internal political divisions, growing geopolitical tensions, and shifts in global power.

“Such times are very much like the 1930s,” he warned. “If you take tariffs, if you take debt, if you take the rising power challenging the existing power – those changes in the orders, the systems, are very, very disruptive.” Asked about the worst-case scenario, Dalio pointed to a potential breakdown of the dollar’s role as a store of wealth, combined with internal conflict beyond the norms of democratic politics and escalating international tensions – potentially even military conflict. “That could be like the breakdown of the monetary system in ‘71. It could be like 2008. It’s going to be very severe,” Dalio said. “I think it could be more severe than those if these other matters simultaneously occur.”

While acknowledging that tariffs could serve as a useful tool to bring back manufacturing and generate revenue, Dalio cautioned that the method of implementation matters deeply. “How that’s done – whether in a practical and stable way, with quality negotiations – or whether that’s done in a chaotic and disruptive way that produces great conflict, makes all the difference in the world,” he said. Describing Trump’s recent tariff moves as “very disruptive,” Dalio said the real test will come after the current 90-day negotiation period ends. “What was put there is like throwing rocks into the production system,” he said, warning of “enormous” impacts on global efficiency and costs.

Goldman Sachs raised the odds of a US recession in the next 12 months to 45% last week, following Trump’s April 2 announcement of a minimum 10% tariff on all imports – but before he placed a three-month hold on further “reciprocal” duties of 11% to 50% targeting dozens of nations. China, however, was still hit with a 145% tariff hike – and retaliated with a 125% levy of its own.

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Europeans don’t have $23 billion to spare.

Europe Pledges $23 Billion in Military Support for Ukraine (Antiwar)

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) pledged to send 21 billion euros ($23.7 billion) in future military aid for Kiev. Under the Joe Biden administration, Washington led the UDCG and was the largest contributor to the Western proxy war in Ukraine. Following a meeting of the UDCG on Friday, the bloc announced the new military aid for Kiev. The majority of the aid was pledged by Berlin and London. Germany agreed to send Ukraine €11 billion over the next four years. The UK plans to send £4.5 billion this year. The UDCG was formed and led by the US to facilitate Western support for the proxy war in Ukraine. After Trump returned to the White House, the US stepped back as the group’s leader. London and Berlin are now co-heads of the organization. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attended Friday’s summit remotely.

Discussing Berlin’s pledge, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius argued, “Given Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, we must concede (that) peace in Ukraine appears to be out of reach in the immediate future.” He added, “We will ensure that Ukraine continues to benefit from our joint military support.” President Trump is making a major push to bring the war to an end with a diplomatic settlement. US and Russian officials met in Turkey on Thursday, with both sides describing the talks as positive. On Friday, Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to St. Petersburg to meet with President Valdimir Putin. UK Defence Secretary John Healey accused Putin of misleading the US about Russia’s interest in ending the war. “Putin said he wanted peace, but his forces continue to fire on Ukraine,” he said.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who attended Friday’s summit, explained that Europe was now “taking the lead in security assistance for which we are thankful to the UK and Europe.” He noted that Washington has continued to send Kiev military aid. Pistorius said Berlin’s pledge to send billions in weapons to Kiev over the next four years is because “Russia needs to understand that Ukraine is able to go on fighting, and we will support it.” According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the German pledge includes 4 IRIS-T air-defence systems with 300 guided missiles, 300 reconnaissance drones, 120 MANPADS, 25 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 15 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks, 14 artillery systems, 100 ground surveillance radars, 30 PATRIOT guided missiles, and 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition.

Berlin’s pledge notably does not include Patriot launch systems, just interceptors. Ukrainian President Zelesnky has recently made several appeals to allies for more air defense systems. Pistorius said Germany was unable to send a Patriot system to Ukraine as Berlin is waiting for deliveries of the platform for its defenses. “Air defence is a problem all over the world – we are doing as much as we can as fast as we can,” said Pistorius. Most of Britain’s military aid will come as radar systems and air defenses. “In our calculations, 70% to 80% of battlefield casualties are now caused and inflicted by drones,” Healey explained.

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“The sole raison d’être of the European Union today appears to seek the strategic defeat of a neighboring country – Russia – despite the enormous political and economic cost to European people..”

EU Elites Are Hyping The Russian Threat And War For Political Survival (SCF)

The elitist rulers of the European Union are proof of the time-honored adage that war and militarism are a convenient escape from internal problems. And the European Union, as well as hangers-on like the doughty British, have an abundance of intrinsic, structural problems tantamount to a political meltdown. Over decades, the 27-member European bloc has evolved into a centralized superstate structure in which policy decisions have become wholly decoupled from the democratic preferences of its 450 million citizens. Our columnist, Ian Proud, in a recent article, explored how the EU has lost its way from its original vision as a friendly association of European neighbors to one of an unwieldy and unresponsive bureaucracy fixated on ideological conformity to its core.

As Ian Proud comments: “The sole raison d’être of the European Union today appears to seek the strategic defeat of a neighboring country – Russia – despite the enormous political and economic cost to European people who are denied a say through wall-to-wall propaganda.” He adds this cautionary note: “Ever-greater centralization of powers in Europe will inevitably leave member states feeling disenfranchised by the removal of sovereignty and the attack on their identity. This will continue to drive political dissent and pressure for disintegration that we can already see in Germany, France, Hungary, and other places.” Many other observers consider that the EU is heading towards a systemic collapse over the next few years owing to a combination of top-heavy concentrated political power, democratic deficit, economic malaise, and a hyper-militarized albeit ineffectual state.

In a desperate bid to offset its stagnating condition, the European bloc bureaucrats and political leaders (with a few honorable exceptions) are seeking their political survival by recklessly talking up fear of war with Russia. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president and daughter of a Nazi-affiliated German politician, wants the bloc to increase its total military budget to €800 billion. This militarism will deprive the civilian economy of essential resources and public services. The ulterior purpose is to try to boost the EU’s flagging industrial growth. Scapegoating Russia and talking up a looming war is a handy way to justify this insane militarism instead of dealing with the root causes of economic malaise, such as wasting billions on a proxy war in Ukraine and blowing up gas pipelines from Russia.

This week saw European military chiefs from some 30 nations meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels to solidify a so-called “Reassurance Force” for Ukraine. Significantly, the Americans were absent. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also skipped attendance of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Ramstein, Germany, held on Friday. While the Trump administration is prioritizing diplomacy with Russia to end the over three-year conflict in Ukraine, the Europeans seem desperate to undermine any peace initiative by talking up the “military defense” of Ukraine. The Europeans are indulging in a chivalrous charade by portraying themselves as a “coalition of the willing” to bolster any peace deal that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin may deliver.

Last week, British and French military brass met with Ukrainian counterparts in Kiev to discuss the deployment of troops purportedly to support an eventual peace deal. The Black Sea port city of Odessa was one location mooted for an Anglo-Franco contingency. This is nothing but a cynical cover for preparing a NATO military intervention in Ukraine, which will inevitably trigger an escalation of the war to a critically dangerous international level. Russia has amply warned that European troops deployed in Ukraine even as so-called peacekeepers will be targeted as combatants. Thus, European colonel blimps doing the bidding of their equally blimpish politicians are gambling with a nuclear World War Three.

Russia has all but won the war as the Kiev regime flounders from rampant corruption, repression and despotism under the puppet president Zelensky, as well as battlefield devastation in the east of the country. Russian forces are rolling up the NATO proxy army and laying waste to mountains of military weapons that the U.S. and Europe plowed into Ukraine. The Trump administration has admitted the futility of the proxy war and is trying to shore up huge financial and military losses by engaging in long-overdue diplomacy with Russia. Not so the elitist Europeans who cannot afford to admit their criminal machinations in Ukraine. They are in denial.

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“Some agreed verbally, but never followed through with signing. In some cases, parents intervened; others thought, ‘Peace is coming soon, no need for this.’

Top Kiev Official Wants Women Conscripted Into Army (RT)

The Ukrainian presidential administration’s deputy head, Col. Pavel Palisa, has voiced support for mandatory conscription for women, drawing inspiration from the Israeli approach. Ukraine is facing a shortage of troops, leading enlistment officers to employ aggressive tactics shown in numerous eyewitness videos. In an interview with the investigative journalism outlet Bihus.info published on Saturday, Palisa emphasized the need for a structured transition period to help the public adapt to the idea that military service should be a universal obligation. He also proposed that individuals who have not served in the military be restricted from accessing certain government benefits and opportunities, including employment in public service roles.

”If a citizen claims to support the state, job, education, I don’t know, in general, to claim some payments from the state budget, they should serve… there is a minimum contract, let it be annual,” the official suggested. Palisa went on to state that both men and women in a modern army “have a lot of different jobs[…] No matter how wild it sounds now, maybe we need to learn the experience of Israel in this,” he explained. After the conflict with Russia escalated in February 2022, Ukraine implemented martial law and announced a general mobilization, preventing able-bodied men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. Both measures have been extended multiple times since. In response to the mobilization drive being marred by corruption and draft dodging, last year the Ukrainian government lowered the conscription age to 25 and implemented stricter penalties for evading the draft and desertion.

Since February, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has been offering enrollment incentives to men aged 18 to 24 who are not subject to compulsory service. Chief among these is compensation of one million hryvnia ($24,000) for one year of service. The ministry has also released several videos showcasing how the money could supposedly enhance recruits’ lives. However, according to Palisa, fewer than 500 men have signed such contracts. “Some agreed verbally, but never followed through with signing. In some cases, parents intervened; others thought, ‘Peace is coming soon, no need for this.’ There are all kinds of reasons,” he said, commenting on the low number.

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Black Sea only.

Russia and Ukraine To Hold Direct Talks – CNN Turk (RT)

Russian and Ukrainian representatives will hold direct talks in Ankara next week, CNN Turk has reported, citing sources in the Turkish Defense Ministry. Delegations from the two countries will meet to discuss security in the Black Sea, the outlet said in an article on Sunday. The meetings will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Turkish Naval Forces headquarters in Ankara, according to sources. During talks between Russian and US experts in Riyadh in late March, it was agreed to move towards reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which according to the Kremlin, should include the removal of Western restrictions against the Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial institutions involved in the international sale of food and fertilizers.

A maritime ceasefire is seen by Moscow and Washington as a step towards the diplomatic settlement of the Ukraine conflict. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, originally brokered in July 2022 by the UN and Türkiye, envisioned the safe passage of Ukrainian agricultural products in exchange for the US and EU lifting its restrictions on Russian grain and fertilizer exports. Moscow withdrew from the deal a year later, citing the West’s failure to uphold its obligations. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky claimed earlier that Kiev rejected a maritime truce due to it representing “a weakening of positions and a weakening of sanctions” against Russia.

US President Donald Trump confirmed last month that his administration is considering lifting some curbs on Moscow in order to revive the Black Sea Grain Initiative, saying that “there are about five or six conditions. We are looking at all of them.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ruled out relaxing EU restrictions on Moscow, insisting they should “remain in effect until a just and lasting peace is established in Ukraine.” According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the maritime truce could take effect only when certain conditions set out by Russia are met. “Of course, this time justice must prevail, and we will continue our work with the Americans [on the Black Sea Initiative],” Peskov stressed.

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After 4 hours of WItkoff, this should be soon. But after 3-4 years of no communication, it may take some time.

Kremlin Teases Potential Putin-Trump Meeting (RT)

A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump “will take place,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed, while stressing it would be “at the appropriate time.” Peskov made the remarks to reporter Pavel Zarubin on Sunday. His statement follows Friday’s meeting between Putin and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg. The Kremlin said the talks covered “aspects of the settlement of the Ukraine conflict.” “The presidents expressed their political will that [the meeting] should take place, including publicly. But it will take place at the appropriate time, we need to prepare for it,” he added, without specifying a timeline. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Witkoff’s trip this week was part of Trump’s broader effort to negotiate a ceasefire.

“This is another step in the negotiating process,” she explained. Witkoff’s visit came soon after Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev met with senior Trump officials in Washington. In March, Putin and Trump held a phone call that reportedly lasted for over two hours. In that conversation, Trump proposed a 30-day mutual ceasefire, including a halt to strikes on energy infrastructure. Putin supported the idea and gave the corresponding orders to the Russian military. During the call, the two reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a “lasting peace” rather than a temporary solution to the Ukraine conflict. Moscow stressed the need to “eliminate the root causes of the crisis,” as well as meet “Russia’s legitimate interests in the area of security” and “the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kiev,” as fundamental elements necessary for an agreement, the Kremlin press service said.

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“As a matter of policy, I don’t respond to people who use pronouns in their signatures as it shows they ignore scientific realities and therefore ignore facts.”

Trump’s Press Team Won’t Respond to Emails With ‘Preferred Pronouns’ (DS)

Reporters often contact government officials to request statements or quotes on significant events or policies, but President Donald Trump’s press deputies have determined that one group of journalists won’t be getting a response to their emails. According to The New York Times, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and other Trump administration communications officers have implemented a policy effectively ignoring emails from journalists who include their “preferred pronouns” in their email signatures. Leavitt explained, “As a matter of policy, we do not respond to reporters with pronouns in their bios.” She added, “Any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story.” Responding to The New York Times’ report on social media, the press secretary quipped, “Fact Check: True.”

The New York Times noted several instances when “senior Trump press aides have refused to engage with reporters’ questions because the journalists listed identifying pronouns in their email signatures.” The outlet claimed that the “widespread” practice of including preferred pronouns in email signatures is a means of “clarifying one’s gender identity and conveying inclusivity and solidarity for transgender and nonbinary individuals.” White House communications director Steven Cheung told The New York Times, “If The New York Times spent the same amount of time actually reporting the truth as they do being obsessed with pronouns, maybe they would be a half-decent publication.”

Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and spokeswoman for the Department of Government Efficiency, told journalists, “As a matter of policy, I don’t respond to people who use pronouns in their signatures as it shows they ignore scientific realities and therefore ignore facts.” While the Trump administration has not confirmed whether or not this is an official administration-wide policy, Trump’s presidential campaign account on X claimed, “It is official White House policy to IGNORE reporters’ emails with pronouns in the signature.”

In comments to The Washington Stand, Family Research Council Senior Fellow Meg Kilgannon, a former public relations expert at the conservative Creative Response Concepts firm, said, “With the number of requests for comment and information the White House gets, not responding to people with pronouns in their signatures is a great way of attempting to identify nonhostile or less hostile media. It’s the job of the communications teams to amplify the president’s message.” Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and spokeswoman for the Department of Government Efficiency, told journalists, “As a matter of policy, I don’t respond to people who use pronouns in their signatures as it shows they ignore scientific realities and therefore ignore facts.”

While the Trump administration has not confirmed whether or not this is an official administration-wide policy, Trump’s presidential campaign account on X claimed, “It is official White House policy to IGNORE reporters’ emails with pronouns in the signature.” In comments to The Washington Stand, Family Research Council Senior Fellow Meg Kilgannon, a former public relations expert at the conservative Creative Response Concepts firm, said, “With the number of requests for comment and information the White House gets, not responding to people with pronouns in their signatures is a great way of attempting to identify nonhostile or less hostile media. It’s the job of the communications teams to amplify the president’s message.”

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I doubt it. Trump wants that peace.

Trump Backs Away From Improving Relations With Russia (Paul Craig Roberts)

On April 10 Trump declared a continuation of the national emergency with Russia and renewed President Biden’s April 2021 executive order declaring Russia to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the United States.” By renewing Biden’s executive order, Trump even buys into the Russiagate charges against himself: Among the “harmful” activities ascribed to Russia in the document are “efforts to undermine the conduct of free and fair democratic elections and democratic institutions in the United States and its allies and partners.” Russia is also blamed for a Washington specialty: “undermining security of countries and and violating principles of international law.”

Trump has already cluttered the peace negotiations with his demand for Ukrainian rare earth minerals. Now he has introduced another extraneous issue–his demand for control of the pipeline through which Russian natural gas is delivered to Europe. Yes, Putin is still supplying Russia’s active enemies with energy. What sense does it make to help your enemies make war against you? The Kremlin remains unable to read the writing on the wall. Kremlin spokesman Peskov said that “our dialogue with the American side is ongoing,” and that Moscow remains open to resolving the Ukraine conflict diplomatically. The Kremlin thinks it is building relations with Washington by being the only party to keep the ceasefire on energy infrastructure. It is not succeeding.

Trump has already threatened Russia with more sanctions unless Russia agrees to a total ceasefire. What incentive does Russia have to do that when Zelensky? US? NATO? won’t even keep a partial ceasefire? It leaves one to wonder if Putin has convinced Washington that he is so averse to war that he will eventually surrender. It is now completely clear that Putin made a strategic mistake not to quickly win the conflict. Instead, the Kremlin valued reaching an agreement with the West higher than it valued Russian national defense.

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“He could break up the media by enforcing the Sherman Anti-trust Act. But he hasn’t.”

Can Trump and America Survive the Whore Media and the Corrupt Judiciary? (PCR)

The Associated Press, like the rest of the presstitutes who are anti-Trump, report all news falsely in order to undermine Trump. According to the AP presstitutes Bernard Condon and Stan Choe, Trump is causing the US to lose its reputation as a “safe haven.” Their evidence is a “freak sell-off of ‘safe haven’ US bonds that raises fear that confidence in America is fading.” The AP message is clear: Trump is destroying the world’s confidence in America, and Americans will not be able to get a loan. The reason for the Bond sell-off is that the stock market was down several thousand points, and people waiting for a buy opportunity sold bonds and bought equities. So far they have gained 3,000 points on their transaction. The alleged “freak sell-off” of US Treasuries was nothing but the decisions of people to take advantage of a buying opportunity by shifting from bonds to stocks.

I believe in holding Trump accountable. That is the responsibility of American citizens. If the Trump administration has deported mistakenly a father of American children, the error should be corrected. But I do not believe in permitting the media to lie and misrepresent in order to attack a president of the United States or the government of any other country. But that is what biased and ideologically-motivated media do in America and throughout the Western world. There is no Western media, just a propaganda ministry that is against anything that is normal. Prior to Trump’s reelection, I warned that he would be faced with a corrupt Western media and a corrupt American judiciary. He could break up the media by enforcing the Sherman Anti-trust Act. But he hasn’t.

The DEI Democrat judges appointed for the sole purpose of advancing liberal/left agendas are a different kind of problem. The majority of them are unqualified and should never have been approved. The question for Trump and his intent to renew America is how is this achieved when Democrat and RINO members of the judiciary are opposed to America? President Trump is faced with Democrat judges who are ideologues who are enemies of America. Trump is faced with a judicial system that is willing to violate the 14th Amendment’s requirement of equality under the law by giving legal preferences not only to DEI but also to sexual perverts and to illegal alien immigrant-invader criminal gangs, even trying to stop their deportation. The question Trump and American citizens face is: WHAT CAN A PRESIDENT DO WHEN THE JUDICIARY IS AGAINST THE COUNTRY?

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“..it’s the combination of the overt adoration of Obama and the attempted evisceration of Trump that sunk trust in the media.”

Public Trust in Media Dies in ‘Groupthink’ (Tim Graham)

Journalists are terrible at hiding their desire to run our democracy, using their platforms to direct history to the “right side.” That badly disguised lust for power creates an audience problem, where the people resent the media’s imperious lectures about which side they are supposed to favor—and if they don’t, they are uneducated, racist nincompoops. Axios.com co-founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen appeared on the podcast “Honestly with Bari Weiss.” The host left The New York Times editorial page staff as it bubbled over in wokeness in 2020. She asked her guests what caused the collapse in public trust in the media. VandeHei blamed three happenings for the problem:

1. The ascent of Twitter showed reporters were engaged in a “hotbed of liberal groupthink,” and reporters clearly stated which side they were on. He oddly argued before Twitter, reporters were objective, and their opinions “they hid from the public.”
2. In 2020, the coverage of COVID-19, “defund the police,” and the “word policing” didn’t sit right with Americans.
3. The final straw was the coverage of President Joe Biden, where the public clearly saw his decline, but there wasn’t a lot of coverage of that. The media lectured that this issue was all “cheapfakes.”
VandeHei then claimed that this problem was somehow caused by only a few people! He announced he is a fierce defender of journalism, and “I believe that most reporters at most institutions actually do try to get to the closest approximation of the truth and achieve it most of the time. I think it’s a couple of bad apples who make it look bad for everyone.” That inevitably undercuts numbers 1, 2 and 3. The media’s arrogance isn’t limited to two or three “bad apples.” They are unified in a broadly national and overtly hostile mindset.

These three are certainly factors, but the voters who are old enough to rely today on traditional media outlets know it goes back further than that. Contrary to VandeHei’s imagination, reporters openly demonstrated an infatuation with Bill Clinton in 1992, insisting he was a more talented candidate than John F. Kennedy. Then they descended even deeper into “thrill up my leg” adoration for Barack Obama in 2008. Weiss told her guests they should start in 2016, where the election of Trump caused crying fits in the newsroom and spurred the national newspapers to present themselves as crusaders, because “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” But it’s the combination of the overt adoration of Obama and the attempted evisceration of Trump that sunk trust in the media.

When Weiss returned to the cover-up of Biden’s mental decline, Allen blamed the groupthink: “People discounted what they saw with their own eyes … you don’t want to be separate … the herd wanted the approval of the White House … they didn’t want to look like they were being ideological.” Isn’t it strange that these self-appointed heroes who think they embody democracy are a herd who deny reality because they “wanted the approval of the White House”? Today’s “news judgment” is very crude when it’s considered “ideological” to pursue an obvious storyline because it might help Trump.

The legacy media today aren’t “fact-based.” They are results-oriented. Public trust would seem to go hand in hand with the media letting go of their overweening desire to control the results. You can’t gain public trust when it’s obvious you don’t trust the public to vote “the right way.”

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Safe to say that Bibi failed.

Hamas: 75% of Tunnels Intact, 40,000 Fighters & Rocket Production (LI)

Israeli military sources speaking to the press revealed the lack of progress Tel Aviv has made toward one of its core goals in Gaza: eliminating Hamas. The armed wing of the Palestinian group reportedly retains 75% of its tunnel network, 40,000 fighters and the ability to produce its own weapons. According to Haaretz, an Israeli defense official explained that Hamas still has significant military capabilities despite 18 months of fighting in the Strip. Israeli military analysts now estimate that Hamas has 40,000 fighters. Before October 7, 2023, Hamas was estimated to have between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters under arms.

Near the end of the Joe Biden administration, the US intelligence community estimated the group had lost 15,000 men during the Israeli onslaught, but had recruited the same number of new troops. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that one of his top goals in Gaza is to eradicate Hamas. However, the war has decimated the civilian population of Gaza. Most Gazans have been displaced multiple times, at least 50,000 have been killed, and countless deaths of deprivation have been reported. Tel Aviv and Washington maintain that all of the fatalities caused by the Israeli war and blockade are the responsibility of Hamas. The Israeli defense officials reported that despite some protests, Hamas retains its popularity and is firmly in charge of Gaza.

Its armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, still has the capability to produce arms and rockets. Last week, Hamas fired several rockets into Israel, leaving one person injured. While Hamas has a significant fighting force, Israeli officials said the militants have not been engaging with Israeli troops. Tel Aviv says the fighters are hiding among civilians or in tunnels. Hamas also retains a significant portion of its tunnel network. The officials said the IDF has only managed to destroy 25% of the group’s underground facilities so far. Defense Minister Israel Katz explained that some of the tunnels connecting Gaza with Egypt remain intact.

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You be the judge of that.

The Most Important 4-Minutes On America’s Middle East Wars We Ever Heard (ZH)

Economist Jeffrey Sachs strikes again… this time by dropping truth bombs at Saturday’s Antalya Diplomacy Forum — an annual conference on international diplomacy held in Antalya, Turkey. Sachs is also director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and has been an adviser to the United Nations for decades. Below is a clip from his mainstage speech, which is the most important four-minute commentary on the Middle East we have heard in a long time. He told the audience while discussing regime change in Syria and America’s legacy in the region to look up the CIA’s ‘Operation Timber Sycamore’ while pointing out that

This region (Middle East) has been manipulated by Britain, France and the U.S. for 100 years since the Treaty of Versailles. It will not have safety or peace until the U.S. is out of this region. If you think your big friend U.S. is gonna do your bidding and help you get your way. Empires divide to rule. They’re not doing the bidding of Syria, Türkiye… You are calling the U.S. to balance Iran… This is gonna work out well? It’s not gonna work out well. You don’t need the U.S. to pull the chestnuts out of the fire. There’s not international community. We’re trying to make one. That’s the tragedy in this world. There’s no community.

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Cow
https://twitter.com/TrumpGirlLove/status/1910762182528168351

 

 

Flying fish+

 

 

Granite

 

 

Driver

 

 

Sugar

 

 

Wag
https://twitter.com/NiallHarbison/status/1911391733444735219

 

 

Bunny?

 

 

Friends
https://twitter.com/OlgaBazova/status/1911154772498850036

 

 

 

 

Support the Automatic Earth in wartime with Paypal, Bitcoin and Patreon.

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 272022
 


Rembrandt van Rijn Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer 1653
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picture_This_(novel)

 

Intracellular Reverse Transcription of Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine (MDPI)
‘Final Review’ Of Russia’s Relations With West Now Possible – Medvedev (RT)
US Foreign Policy Is a Cruel Sport (Diana Johnstone)
The New Geopolitical Game Board (Luongo)
Ukraine’s Leadership Has Rejected Negotiations – Kremlin (RT)
Can Ukraine Have A ‘Nazi Problem’ With A Jewish President? (Karabelnicoff)
Elon Musk Activates Starlink Satellites to Restore Internet in Ukraine (GR)
The Freezing Of Accounts Was Political Vengeance (TSun)
The Global Disinformation Campaign to Suppress Ivermectin (Kory)
Scientific Groupthink Silenced Scientists Sceptical of Lockdowns (DS)

 

 

 

 

Pharmacokinetics

 

 

This study is in vitro, but it is beyond scary, and should halt all vaccinations right now:

“We also show that BNT162b2 mRNA is reverse transcribed intracellularly into DNA in as fast as 6 h upon BNT162b2 exposure.”

“BNT162b2-derived DNA may be integrated into the host genome and affect the integrity of genomic DNA..”

This MUST first be tested. The sad irony is that there are a few hundred million test cases walking around.

Intracellular Reverse Transcription of Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine (MDPI)

In the current study, we employed a human liver cell line for in vitro investigation. It is worth investigating if the liver cells also present the vaccine-derived SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which could potentially make the liver cells targets for previously primed spike protein reactive cytotoxic T cells. There has been case reports on individuals who developed autoimmune hepatitis [39] after BNT162b2 vaccination. To obtain better understanding of the potential effects of BNT162b2 on liver function, in vivo models are desired for future studies.


In the BNT162b2 toxicity report, no genotoxicity nor carcinogenicity studies have been provided [26]. Our study shows that BNT162b2 can be reverse transcribed to DNA in liver cell line Huh7, and this may give rise to the concern if BNT162b2-derived DNA may be integrated into the host genome and affect the integrity of genomic DNA, which may potentially mediate genotoxic side effects. At this stage, we do not know if DNA reverse transcribed from BNT162b2 is integrated into the cell genome. Further studies are needed to demonstrate the effect of BNT162b2 on genomic integrity, including whole genome sequencing of cells exposed to BNT162b2, as well as tissues from human subjects who received BNT162b2 vaccination.

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“It’s time to close the embassies with barn locks. And to continue contacts by examining each other only through binoculars and weapons’ optical systems..”

‘Final Review’ Of Russia’s Relations With West Now Possible – Medvedev (RT)

Western sanctions could be an “excellent reason for a final review” of Russia’s relations with the nations that have imposed the restrictions, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and former president, Dmitry Medvedev, said on Saturday. Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, which was launched on February 24, has prompted outrage in the West and a new wave of harsh sanctions against Russia. In a lengthy post on the Russian social network VK, Medvedev called the restrictions “a myth, a figment, a figure of speech.” “Sanctions could be an excellent reason for the final review of all relations with those states that have introduced them. Including interruption of the dialogue on strategic stability,” Medvedev wrote. He added that in principle, it is possible “to renounce everything,” including the New START Treaty.


“Yes, and diplomatic relations, in principle, are not particularly needed. It’s time to close the embassies with barn locks. And to continue contacts by examining each other only through binoculars and weapons’ optical systems,” Medvedev said. Commenting on the decision by the Council of Europe and Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to suspend Russia’s membership, the former president said that while this is a “flagrant injustice,” it could still be considered as a good reason “to finally slam the door and forget about these meaningless almshouses forever.” This development could also be used to “restore a number of important institutions for prevention of especially serious crimes in the country,” he said, such as the “death penalty for the most dangerous criminals, which, by the way, is being actively used in the United States and China.”

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“The Minsk agreement set out a few steps to end the internal Ukrainian crisis. First, Ukraine was supposed to immediately adopt a law granting self-government to eastern regions (in March 2015).”

US Foreign Policy Is a Cruel Sport (Diana Johnstone)

The 2014 U.S.-backed coup that overthrew President Viktor Yukanovych, solidly supported by the east of the country, brought to power pro-West forces determined to bring Ukraine into NATO, whose designation of Russia as prime enemy had become ever more blatant. This caused the prospect of an eventual NATO capture of Russia’s major naval base at Sebastopol, on the Crimean peninsula. Since the Crimean population had never wanted to be part of Ukraine, the peril was averted by organizing a referendum in which an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted to return to Russia, from which they had been severed by an autocratic Khrushchev ruling in 1954. Western propagandists relentlessly denounced this act of self-determination as a “Russian invasion” foreshadowing a program of Russian military conquest of its Western neighbors – a fantasy supported by neither facts nor motivation.

Appalled by the coup overthrowing the president they had voted for, by nationalists threatening to outlaw the Russian language they spoke, the people of the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk declared their independence. Russia did not support this move, but instead supported the Minsk agreement, signed in February 2015 and endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution. The gist of the accord was to preserve the territorial integrity of Ukraine by a federalization process that would return the breakaway republics in return for their local autonomy. The Minsk agreement set out a few steps to end the internal Ukrainian crisis. First, Ukraine was supposed to immediately adopt a law granting self-government to eastern regions (in March 2015).

Next, Kiev would negotiate with eastern territories over guidelines for local elections to be held that year under OSCE supervision. Then Kiev would implement a constitutional reform guaranteeing eastern right. After the elections, Kiev would take full control of Donetsk and Lugansk, including border with Russia. A general amnesty would cover soldiers on both sides. However, although it signed the agreement, Kiev has never implemented any of these points and refuses to negotiate with the eastern rebels. Under the so-called Normandy agreement, France and Germany were expected to put pressure on Kiev to accept this peaceful settlement, but nothing happened. Instead, the West has accused Russia of failing to implement the agreement, which makes no sense inasmuch as the obligations to implement fall on Kiev, not on Moscow. Kiev officials regularly reiterate their refusal to negotiate with the rebels, while demanding more and more weaponry from NATO powers in order to deal with the problem in their own way.

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“It was as clumsy as it was stupid, to quote Darth Vader..”

The New Geopolitical Game Board (Luongo)

Up until February 23rd, 2022, the powerful countries of the world played a very rarified game. Too many people try to analyze geopolitics like it is a game of chess. Move, counter-move. Push a pawn? Threaten a knight, that type of thing. It’s easy to understand and makes for good copy. In the past I’ve tried to liken it to a multi-player version of Go, with anywhere from four to 6 different colored stones on the board trying to take territory. It was a better metaphor but nearly impossible to describe adequately. In fact, at times, it was exhausting. The reality is that neither of these metaphors are explanatory. Because the only accurate model for geopolitics is actually Calvinball. You know that game. That’s the one from Calvin & Hobbes.

Contrary to your memory of the legendary comic strip, there were rules to Calvinball that went something like this: Calvin got to make the rules up as he went along. In geopolitics it pretty much comes down to whoever is the strongest player got that power. Here’s the thing. Up until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (and yes, it is an invasion, justifiable or otherwise) there was something called the ‘rules-based order’ promoted mainly by the US but also supported directly by the European Union and the Commonwealth. The rules of the ‘rules-based order’ were simple. We make the rules, you follow them. We reserve the right to change the rules whenever we want to suit our purpose. It was the geopolitical equivalent of Sam Francis’ idea of ‘anarcho-tyranny,’ which boils down to, “rules for thee, but not for me.”

We’ve heard the Russian diplomats complain about this for years. Why have these rules if they are not ever enforced? As I point out all the time when talking about leftist ideologues purity spiraling towards self-destruction, we have these rules because only others’ hypocrisy counts. Sub-humans are not allowed to talk or even be a part of the conversation. And in the world of diplomacy as practiced by the collective West, the Russians are definitely sub-human, just like the unvaxxed, anyone to the immediate right of Karl Marx and who isn’t a furry. All that changed when Russian tanks crossed the border, stand off missiles hit anti-aircraft and artillery batteries, and marines came onshore in Ukraine.

For months we’ve been treated to the dumbest and most infuriating facsimile of diplomacy I’ve ever witnessed. It beggared belief listening to the nauseating virtue signaling of US ‘diplomats’ who refused to engage Russia’s concerns in even a half-serious manner while blaming them for every issue on the planet. It was as clumsy as it was stupid, to quote Darth Vader. It was clear that Putin and his staff would be given this ultimate option, invade Ukraine and face global opprobrium or kneel before Zod. Their miscalculation was in thinking that Russia actually cares one whit about that global opprobrium at this point. By their actions in Ukraine this week, it is clear they do not.

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Fluid. Latest is that Zelensky is willing to talk, but not in Minsk.

Ukraine’s Leadership Has Rejected Negotiations – Kremlin (RT)

Russia’s military operation in Ukraine is continuing after the country’s leadership declined to negotiate, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday. President Vladimir Putin previously ordered the Russian troops to halt their advance on Friday, awaiting a response from Kiev, Moscow said. It added that the offensive continued on Saturday. Alexey Arestovich, an adviser at Zelensky’s office, confirmed to Ukrainian media that Kiev has declined the talks with Russia, citing the “terms” put forward by Moscow through intermediaries. “It was an attempt to force us into capitulation,” he said, without elaborating. Alexey Arestovich, an adviser at Zelensky’s office, confirmed to Ukrainian media that Kiev has declined the talks with Russia, blaming the “terms” put forward by Moscow through intermediaries.


“It was an attempt to force us into capitulation,” he said, without elaborating. However, moments later, another official at Zelensky’s office, Mikhail Podolyak, told Russian outlet RBC that Kiev did not reject the negotiations. “Undoubtedly, Ukraine did not refuse to negotiate,” he said, underlining that negotiations have not yet taken place. “Ukraine and President Zelensky categorically reject any unacceptable or ultimatum-like conditions of the Russian side.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that he was ready to sit down for talks with Russia in order to end hostilities between the countries. The same day, Peskov told reporters that Moscow was ready to hold talks in Minsk, Belarus. He later claimed that the Ukrainian side first offered to move the meeting to Warsaw, Poland, and then stopped responding.

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From jewishunpacked.com.

I think Putin’s point is that neo-nazis have too much influence in Ukraine.

Can Ukraine Have A ‘Nazi Problem’ With A Jewish President? (Karabelnicoff)

In Ukraine, the offense of antisemitism is now punishable by a fine or a prison sentence of up to five years. Despite this, antisemitism is not a thing of the past in Ukraine. The country has been historically reluctant to reckon with its role in the Holocaust, during which more than one million Jews were killed by the Nazis and local Ukrainian collaborators. The Jews of Ukraine account for a great proportion of the Soviet victims of the Holocaust with the worst massacre taking place at Babi Yar outside Kiev. During 1941–43 more than 100,000 Jews were killed in Babi Yar. For some in Ukraine’s Jewish community, the current events have stirred up memories of past horrors, reported the New York Times. “Though antisemitic violence is relatively rare in Odessa, some Jews are fearful that it could be unleashed by the chaos of war,” the article explained.

“Antisemitism in Ukraine exists in its old ‘traditional’ and cultural form: the notion that Jews control all money, the media and government, they are greedy, murdered Jesus, and ‘suck our blood,’” said Samuel Kliger, the American Jewish Committee’s Director of Russian and Eurasian Affairs. Alongside that apathy, Kilger said, some Ukrainian lawmakers have pushed to celebrate certain Nazi collaborators as war heroes, trumpeting their anti-Communist battles while ignoring their complicity in Holocaust crimes. “Ukraine really does have a far-right problem, and it’s not a fiction of Kremlin propaganda. And it’s well past time to talk about it,” explained journalist and expert on the Ukrainian far right, Michael Colborne.

The most known neo-Nazi group on Ukraine’s far right is the Azov movement. The movement grew out of the Azov Regiment (originally a Battalion), formed in the chaos of war in early 2014. It was formed by a “ragtag group of far-right thugs, football hooligans and international hangers-on, including dozens of Russian citizens,” said Colborne, who wrote a book on the movement. At that point, Azov became an official unit of Ukraine’s National Guard. Now, the movement’s most public face is the National Corps political party, which won barely 2% of the vote in a coalition with other far-right parties in parliamentary elections in 2019.

Estimates of membership are around 10,000 members, according to Corborne. “It’s more a brand than a party, a polished PR-focused outfit that isn’t above coyly referencing the so-called “14 words”, a white supremacist slogan,” he wrote. “The Azov movement tries to be a one-stop shop for all things far right. There’s also a bevy of loosely affiliated but more extreme subgroups under its umbrella as well, including open neo-Nazis who praise and promote violence.” The Azov movement is frequently cited by people who want to “give Putin a free pass to do what he wants in Ukraine,” Corborne added. “It doesn’t in any way justify the actions of the Russian president.”

De-nazification

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12,000 satellites…

Elon Musk Activates Starlink Satellites to Restore Internet in Ukraine (GR)

Elon Musk said early on Sunday that his Starlink satellite service is activated in Ukraine after a government official in Kyiv called on him to supply satellite-based communications to help resist Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine,” Musk tweeted, adding “more terminals en route.” The tweet came some 10 hours after Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov urged Musk to provide Starlink services to Ukraine, days after it was invaded by neighboring Russia. “While you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations,” Fedorov tweeted at Musk.


He also called on the billionaire “to address sane Russians to stand” against their government’s invasion. Internet monitor NetBlocks said Ukraine has seen a “series of significant disruptions to internet service” since Thursday when Russia launched military operations in the country. “Musk’s Starlink helps nations facing threats or natural disasters like Ukraine, Tonga”. Starlink operates a constellation of more than 2,000 satellites that aim to provide internet access across the planet. The company on Friday launched a further 50 Starlink satellites and many more are slated to be put into Earth’s orbit. It currently has more than 1,600 satellites orbiting in space — but that’s only the beginning for the tech maven, who plans to launch up to 12,000, reports Smithsonian Magazine.

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“..an assault on ordinary Canadians just because they disagreed with the government.”

The Freezing Of Accounts Was Political Vengeance (TSun)

By the time you read this column, perhaps the Trudeau government will have permitted banks, pension funds, insurance companies, mortgage brokers and other financial institutions to release the accounts of protestors and Freedom Convoy donors that were frozen after the Liberals invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14. But as I am writing this – about 48 hours after the prime minister ended his emergency degree – the bank accounts, credit cards and loans of Canadian workers and businesses connected with the convoy were still under government lock and key. Why? Monday, when asking Parliament to approve his use of the Emergencies Act, Trudeau promised the state of emergency would not last “a day longer than necessary.”

Well, for the more than 200 Canadians being held financial hostage by Ottawa, it has gone on longer. That is outrageous enough. But consider what Barry MacKillop, deputy director of FINTRAC, told the Commons Finance committee on Thursday. As far as his agency is concerned none of the people whose accounts were frozen intended to bring down the Canadian government or destabilize the country’s economy. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), is the federal agency within the Department of Finance responsible for detecting and preventing money laundering, terrorism financing and transfers of the proceeds of crime.

When the Trudeau government sent banks on a witch hunt through the account records and credit histories of ordinary Canadians who had given money to the Freedom Convoy, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said such heavy-handed tactics were necessary because “we know these platforms are being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity which is damaging the Canadian economy.” Really!? ‘Cuz the very agency within Freeland’s own department in charge of preventing such activity told MPs on Thursday this was the donors’ own money. As far as FINTRAC can tell, the millions donated in small amounts were genuine, good-faith donations. They weren’t money being funneled from powerful sources bent on overthrowing the Trudeau regime.

“It was (donors’) own money. It wasn’t cash that funded terrorism or was in any way money laundering,” MacKillop testified. He added, “There were people around the world who were fed up with COVID and were upset and saw the demonstrations. I believe they just wanted to support the cause.” Which, if you think about it, makes the freezing of these people’s personal accounts an act of political vengeance by the Liberals – an assault on ordinary Canadians just because they disagreed with the government. Politicians using the vast power of the state to intimidate their opponents purely on ideological grounds is far more of a threat to our democracy than any threat the Trudeau government imagined (and I use the word “imagined” on purpose) the convoy posed.

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“It’s time for the cops. It’s time for the prosecutors. And it’s time for the judges. And then it’s time for the prisons.”

The Global Disinformation Campaign to Suppress Ivermectin (Kory)

The only way to stop future pharmaceutical industry crimes against humanity is to record, for posterity, the historically unprecedented scale of censorship and propaganda of information that they deployed. If I can help expose this playbook (with my little Substack—delusions of grandeur?), we have a shot at developing countering and/or neutralizing measures to prevent further massive deaths in this disease—as well as many other diseases. Note that the nefariousness of these actions can only be dwarfed by their scale, as they have impacted survival outcomes in almost the entirety of planet Earth’s citizens. Although I will document these depraved actions, in most cases I will be unable to suggest or truly identify the ultimate or specific protagonists.

You know: The actual individuals deploying these tactics, the ones making the ad buys and providing the “messaging,” paying the journalists and researchers for their media hit jobs, publishing the “negative” medical journal editorials and studies, partnering with the occasional U.S sociopath health agency leader, etc. Although I will be unable to identify them personally, employing logic, the only possible source of sufficient power to have exerted such widespread influence, would be the managers of the three multi-trillion dollar investment firms that have influential and/or controlling stakes in almost all corporations in almost all industries, and those three are: Black Rock, State Street, and Vanguard.

Or it may have been the occasional pseudo-philanthropist-vaccine-obsessed-eugenicist-hundred-billionaire who, along with massive controlling donations to all the major international and national health agencies, also distributed hundreds of millions amongst almost every major media outlet in the world. That investigative exercise is not what I am skilled in, as I am just a lowly physician expert in ivermectin who has held a front row seat to now fourteen months of their deadly successful disinformation campaign against ivermectin. Instead, I simply plan to document every detail of every action that I have witnessed and/or have been personally involved in…and hope the investigative authorities can take care of the rest.

It’s time for the cops. It’s time for the prosecutors. And it’s time for the judges. And then it’s time for the prisons. But first: The evidence. Stay tuned.

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“Many academics and researchers were scared of losing grant funding if they raised their head above the parapet.”

Scientific Groupthink Silenced Scientists Sceptical of Lockdowns (DS)

Early in the pandemic a narrow scientific ‘groupthink’ took hold, which cast those questioning draconian policies as “unethical, immoral and fringe” – but this “smokescreen is finally starting to dissipate”, the Telegraph‘s Science Editor Sarah Knapton has said. “Take scientists who supported the Great Barrington Declaration. They, not unreasonably, believed that it would be sensible to shield the most vulnerable while allowing those at very low risk to carry on their lives, thereby preventing cataclysmic damage to the economy, mental health and education. Instead of the idea being sensibly debated, the signatories were pilloried and made to seem as if they were in the minority.

A recent study by Stanford University revealed they weren’t; they just had fewer social media followers and so struggled in the face of more organised opposition.The report neatly demonstrates the alarming reach and power of demographically unrepresentative forums like Twitter, which are easily hijacked by powerful lobbying groups. Prof John Ioannidis, the study author and an expert in data science and the reliability of research, told the Telegraph: “Twitter is a useful means to communicate both with colleagues and with the general public. However, it should not be used for arbitrating what is scientifically correct, let alone for shaping health policy. “Twitter can be easily usurped by agendas and narratives; it is very easily susceptible to political coloration and fads, and it is often used for smearing opponents.

“I worry about the distortion that can ensue when science is communicated in brief clips or with a mindset of how to satisfy or excite one’s followers.” Much of the pro-lockdown narrative was controlled by a small group of scientists who effectively organised themselves into a political movement which sought to influence policy. Independent Sage, a group of largely Left-wing academics which regularly called for tighter restrictions, was put together by the Citizens, a group founded by Carole Cadwalladr, a Guardian and Observer journalist and activist. Many of the scientists on Independent Sage also signed the John Snow Memorandum, which branded the Great Barrington Experiment as unethical.”

Many of those opposed to the new groupthink kept their heads down for fear of losing funding, Sarah writes. “Many academics and researchers were scared of losing grant funding if they raised their head above the parapet. It created a chilling effect which made it appear that most scientists believed in greater restrictions. Even within the Government, there is now a feeling that too much attention was paid to too narrow a band of scientists, at the expense of seeing the bigger picture. Large parts of the scientific community were completely ignored as a disproportionate amount of attention was given to virologists and epidemiologists. One Government minister said: “We have had to have the guts to say the data can be challenged sometimes, and say that’s good data but we have to make a political decision.

“In the pandemic we got a bit close to pretending there was no tension. Public health officials who have absolutely no remit to keep the economy vibrant, they only remit is to make sure there is no infection were calling for the whole thing to be shut down

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THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED
https://twitter.com/i/status/1497269557035216900

 

 

People’s Convoy 10 miles long

 

 

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Sep 012016
 
 September 1, 2016  Posted by at 9:31 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  1 Response »


F.A. Loumis, Independence (Bastille?!) Day 1906

Collapse of Hanjin, World’s 7th-Biggest Shipping Line, Upsets Global Trade (R.)
Investors Miss Out On $500 Billion As Global Bond Yields Plunge (CNBC)
In Case Of Recession, The Fed Might ‘Need’ To Cut Rates To Minus 2% (CNBC)
Eurozone Core Inflation Fall Raises Prospect Of ECB Stimulus Measures (G.)
Bank of Japan Has an $84 Billion Yen Gap in Balance Sheet (BBG)
Admitting Ignorance Is Better Than Groupthink For Central Bankers (BBG)
An 809% Debt Ratio And Investors Are Serene? It Must Be China (BBG)
Austria Says Will Start ‘Conflict’ In EU About Canada Trade Deal (R.)
Apple Travesty Is A Reminder Why Britain Must Leave The Lawless EU (AEP)
UK Defined Benefit Pension Fund Deficit Grows By £100 Billion In A Month (G.)
London’s Elite ‘Pushed Out Of Exclusive Postcodes By Super Rich’ (G.)
A Third Of Africa’s Elephants Were Wiped Out In Just 7 Years (CNN)

 

 

Excellent. We’re far too independent on the idiocy of 10,000 mile shipping lines. They’re heavily polluting (in more ways than one) and entirely unnecessary.

Collapse of Hanjin, World’s 7th-Biggest Shipping Line, Upsets Global Trade (R.)

The collapse of South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping sent ripples though global trade on Thursday, as the country’s largest port turned away its ships and as some manufacturers scrambled for freight alternatives. Hanjin on Wednesday filed for court receivership after its banks decided to end financial support, and ports from China to Spain, the United States and Canada have refused entry to Hanjin vessels in what is traditionally the industry’s busiest season ahead of the year-end holidays. An official with Hanjin Shipping in Busan confirmed that its vessels were not entering the southern city’s port as container lashing providers deny service on concerns that they will not be paid. The company was also worried that the ships may be seized by creditors.

LG Electronics, the world’s No.2 maker of TVs, told Reuters it was cancelling orders with Hanjin and was seeking alternatives to ship its freight. An executive at the Korea International Freight Forwarders Association said on Wednesday he had been inundated with calls from cargo owners worried about the fate of their shipments in transit to the United States and Europe. While mobile phones and semiconductors are carried by air, other electronics like home appliances are shipped by sea. “This will have an impact on the entire industry,” the official said.

South Korea’s maritime ministry said on Wednesday that Hanjin’s woes would affect cargo exports for two or three months, with about 540,000 TEU of cargo already loaded on Hanjin vessels and facing delays. It would be difficult to find alternative ships given high seasonal demand from August to October. The ministry said it would ask local rival Hyundai Merchant Marine to supply vessels to cover some of Hanjin’s routes to the United States and Europe, while also seeking help from overseas carriers.

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How central bankers kill pensions.

Investors Miss Out On $500 Billion As Global Bond Yields Plunge (CNBC)

Investors have seen their interest income squeezed as global bond yields plunge. On the flipside, governments aren’t complaining. Relative to yields in 2011, global investors are foregoing more than $500 billion in annual income on roughly $38 trillion in sovereign debt that is outstanding, Fitch Ratings said in a report on Wednesday. “Cash flow benefits have effectively been transferred from global investors to sovereign issuers, as sovereign borrowing costs have dropped in response to central bank monetary stimulus,” Fitch said in the report. “This has posed new challenges for income-reliant investors, such as insurers and pension funds, while enabling governments to borrow at increasingly attractive rates.”

Borrowers would realize benefits only slowly, however, as bonds with higher coupon rates matured and newer bonds with lower interest rates were issued, the rating agency said. According to Fitch, investors who tended to buy assets and hold them onto maturity would have to invest new cash in bonds that paid lower interest rates, blunting the money they earned from coupon payments. Government bond yields, which move inversely to prices, have plummeted around the world as central banks in many developed economies scooped up bonds in order to provide stimulus to their economies. These purchases have sparked a scramble for government debt, enabling many countries to flog bonds while cutting the interest rates they have to pay to lure investors.

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In itself a reasonable argumant re the history of spreads, but that does not make the conclusion alright, or logical.

In Case Of Recession, The Fed Might ‘Need’ To Cut Rates To Minus 2% (CNBC)

The U.S. Federal Reserve might need to cut interest rates to as low as negative 2%, far lower than levels other global central banks have tested, a former Fed economist said. That’s what would likely be needed to engineer a recovery if the U.S. economy were to fall into a recession in the next couple of years, Marvin Goodfriend, who was an economist and policy advisor at the Federal Reserve’s Bank of Richmond from 1993-2005, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday. Goodfriend, who is currently a professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University, pointed to data on the eight recessions in the U.S. since 1960.

“In eight of those recessions, the Fed had to push the short rate 2.5 percentage points below the long term rate. Today, the 10-year rate in the U.S. is 1.5%,” he noted, saying that would indicate that during the next recession, the Fed would need to cut rates as low as minus 1% at a minimum. “In five of those recessions, the Fed had to push the federal funds rate 3.5 percentage points below the 10-year bond rate,” he said. “So if that happens this time around, we would have to push the federal funds rate to minus 2%.” That’s well below where any other central banks have ventured so far. Sweden’s central bank, an early adopter of negative rates, has set its benchmark at negative 0.5%.

The Bank of Japan’s rate was set at minus 0.1% earlier this year, while the ECB, which first moved its rates into negative territory in 2014, currently has a deposit rate of negative 0.4%. The Fed funds rate has remained in positive territory, with the U.S. central bank last increasing interest rates in December of 2015, its first hike since 2006. That raised the Fed’s target rate to a range of 0.25 to 0.5%. To be sure, Goodfriend didn’t expect the Fed would be headed there anytime soon, noting that he believed the central bank should actually raise rates before the end of the year.

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More more more.

Eurozone Core Inflation Fall Raises Prospect Of ECB Stimulus Measures (G.)

Speculation is growing that the European Central Bank could take action to stimulate the eurozone economy after official figures showed an easing in underlying inflation last month. Pressure on the ECB increased when the European commission’s statistical agency, Eurostat, published figures that showed core inflation in July was lower than in same month last year, despite aggressive action by the Frankfurt-based bank over the past 18 months. With concerns that the eurozone recovery was losing momentum, Eurostat said the headline rate of inflation remained unchanged at 0.2% in August. Core, or underlying inflation, which excludes energy, goods, alcohol and tobacco, fell from 0.9% in July to 0.8%.

Separate Eurostat data showed that eurozone unemployment was unchanged at 10.1% in July, the latest month for which figures are available for all 19 countries that use the euro. The jobless rate in the eurozone has fallen from 10.8% over the past year, but financial markets had been expecting the reduction to continue to 10% last month. The ECB has been using negative interest rates and quantitative easing in an attempt to increase activity and push inflation back towards its target of just below 2%. Analysts said the inflation and unemployment figures would be discussed when the ECB meets to discuss policy options next week.

Stephen Brown of consultancy Capital Economics said: “The unchanged headline inflation rate in August highlights the fact that price pressures in the eurozone remain weak and boosts the case for more monetary easing from the ECB. “With [the] survey data also pointing to a marked slowdown in growth ahead, there is a strong case for the ECB to announce further policy easing. This could come as soon as the bank’s meeting next week.”

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Abe and Kuroda won’t even take it serious.

Bank of Japan Has an $84 Billion Yen Gap in Balance Sheet (BBG)

There’s an 8.7 trillion yen ($84 billion) gap between the value of government bond holdings on the Bank of Japan’s balance sheet and their face value. While not an immediate problem because the BOJ’s income can cover the losses, the widening gap raises questions about the sustainability of the central bank’s bond purchases, which Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has said could be expanded. The costs of the central bank’s record stimulus are mounting, while its chief goal – spurring inflation to 2% – appears as far away as it was when Kuroda took the helm in 2013. The BOJ is in the midst of reviewing its policy before a board meeting later this month, but the governor has said there will be no scaling back of his monetary program.

“These numbers show the distortions of the BOJ’s current policies,” said Sayuri Kawamura, a senior economist at the Japan Research Institute in Tokyo. “The annual amortization losses are going to increase and consume the BOJ’s profits, and the risk is increasing that the bank’s financial stability will be shaken.” The bonds the BOJ owns are worth almost 326.7 trillion yen when taken at face value, but were marked at almost 335.4 trillion yen on the balance sheet in August. That gap is 42% bigger than before the introduction of negative rates in January, according to an analysis of the balance sheet and list of the bonds the central bank owns. Tadaaki Kumagai, a spokesman for the central bank, said “the BOJ releases half-yearly and yearly accounts,” while declining to comment further.

The gap exists because, unlike the Federal Reserve, the BOJ counts its bond holdings at the purchase price, minus amortization costs. This number is diverging more from the face value because the central bank’s purchases and negative rate policy are pushing up prices. The face value is what the BOJ will receive when the bonds mature. At the end of the 2015 fiscal year on March 31, the gap between the two valuations was 6.4 trillion yen and the BOJ wrote down 874 billion yen, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. That was covered by the 1.29 trillion yen in coupon income the bank received that year, a situation that may not continue indefinitely.

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Groupthink is all they have.

Admitting Ignorance Is Better Than Groupthink For Central Bankers (BBG)

If the Fed’s objective last week was to put its September meeting back into play as the potential venue for a rate increase, it can claim a partial success. Prices in the futures market show traders now see about a 34% chance of a hike on Sept. 21, up from 22% two weeks ago. But you still have to go out to December before the likelihood rises above 50%. There’s a very good reason for that market skepticism. Raising rates at a time when inflation is dormant and miles away from the central bank’s 2% target seems somewhat perverse, especially when the forecast is for prices to remain subdued for many months to come:

The Jackson Hole Symposium (and let us note in passing what a great word symposium is, adding gravitas to what would otherwise be a mere conference) was an opportunity, as the event title said, to consider “Designing Resilient Monetary Policy Frameworks for the Future.” Instead, Fischer’s comment suggests it’s business as usual at the Federal Open Market Committee, with no room at present for such innovations as changing the inflation goal or targeting nominal GDP. That’s a shame. There’s a consensus that monetary policy is becoming impotent, and that governments need to step in with fiscal stimulus. But until central banks admit that their firepower is waning, politicians can continue to evade responsibility. “You can’t expect us to do the whole job,”

Christopher Sims, a Nobel Prize-winning economist from Princeton University, said at Jackson Hole last week. “Fiscal expansion can replace ineffective monetary policy at the zero lower bound. So long as the legislature has no clue of its role in these problems, nothing is going to get done. Of course, convincing them that they have a role and there is something they should be doing, especially in the U.S., may be a major task.” Finance – particularly in an era of fractional reserve banking – is essentially a confidence trick. Depositors have to be confident their money will be there when they try to withdraw it. Businesses have to be confident that the economy is on a sound footing otherwise they won’t invest and hire. Central bankers aren’t just economists and policy makers; they’re also salespeople, selling a story.

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China is a giant debt bubble.

An 809% Debt Ratio And Investors Are Serene? It Must Be China (BBG)

Prudence dictates that a compulsive shopper who runs up a hazardous amount of debt should think about cutting the credit card in half and staying home for a while. Try telling that to China’s acquisition-hungry companies.Two prime examples were on show this week when China Evergrande Group, one of the nation’s biggest developers, and Fosun International, an expanding Shanghai-based conglomerate, reported first-half earnings. The results show just how hard it is to kick the buying habit in an environment where compliant lenders stand ready to advance seemingly unlimited sums. Total borrowings at junk-rated Evergrande jumped by 28% from the end of December to 381 billion yuan ($57 billion).

That pushed the Guangzhou-based company’s ratio of net debt to shareholders’ equity to 142%, above the average 108% for China’s overleveraged property developers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Count Evergrande’s perpetual bonds as debt rather than equity and even that ratio starts to look benign. The total debt to common equity ratio rose to 809% at the end of June, from 582% six months earlier. The developer added about 40 billion yuan more perpetual notes during the period. So, time to rein things in somewhat?

Not a bit of it. Evergrande wants to acquire brokerage and trust companies as well as smaller rivals, Chief Executive Officer Xia Haijun told reporters in Hong Kong Tuesday. That would be on top of more than $5 billion of purchases so far this year, including building a stake in larger developer China Vanke and acquiring a chunk of Shenyang-based Shengjing Bank. First-half profit, meanwhile, fell 23% excluding property revaluations and foreign-exchange losses.The debt buildup wouldn’t be so striking if Evergrande were acquiring cash-generating assets that can help pay down borrowings. If anything, things seem to be moving in the opposite direction.

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Good. Kill that too.

Austria Says Will Start ‘Conflict’ In EU About Canada Trade Deal (R.)

Austria is ready to confront other European Union members states over its opposition to a free trade deal with Canada, Chancellor Christian Kern said, because it sees it containing many of the same problems as one being negotiated with the United States. “This will be difficult, this will be the next conflict in the EU that Austria will trigger… We must focus on making sure… we don’t shift the power balance in favor of global enterprises,” Kern told broadcaster ORF late on Wednesday. Austria opposes a proposed free trade deal with the United States, and Kern said the deal with Canada, called the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), bore many of the same problems.

Ministers from Germany and France have also called for a halt in negotitations on the EU-U.S. deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). “We will have to see where the weaknesses of (CETA) are. Many are the same as with TTIP,” Kern, a social-democrat, said, without elaborating. Kern is expected to address issues surrounding TTIP at a news conference on Friday. There are widespread concerns in Austria that the TTIP could compromise food safety standards. Kern also opposes the idea that the agreement could allow companies to challenge government policies if they feel regulations put them at a disadvantage.

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There are multiple truths in this case. In the end, though, this is about Brussels seeking to supersede member states’ sovereign law. For that, the constitutions of 27 nations should be held to the light. I would venture that what Brussels does here, and in many other fields, violates a fair number of these constitutions. And that is not legal no matter what their respective governments say or do. That’s an issue for their judicial systems. There’s a reason why the political and judicial systems have been made separate entities.

Apple Travesty Is A Reminder Why Britain Must Leave The Lawless EU (AEP)

Europe’s Competition Directorate commands the shock troops of the EU power structure. Ensconced in its fortress at Place Madou, it can dispatch swat teams on corporate dawn raids across Europe without a search warrant. It operates outside the normal judicial control that we take for granted in a developed democracy. The US Justice Department could never dream of acting in such a fashion. Known as ‘DG Comp’, it acts as judge, jury, and executioner, and can in effect impose fines large enough to constitute criminal sanctions, but without the due process protection of criminal law. It misused evidence so badly in pursuit of the US chipmaker Intel that the company alleged a violation of human rights. Apple is just the latest of the great US digital companies to face this Star Chamber.

It has vowed to appeal the monster €13bn fine handed down from Brussels this week for violation of EU state aid rules, but the only recourse is the European Court of Justice. This is usually a forlorn ritual. The ECJ is a political body, the enforcer of the EU’s teleological doctrines. It ratifies executive power. We can mostly agree that Apple, Google, Starbucks, and others have gamed the international system, finding legal loopholes to whittle down their tax liabilities and enrich shareholders at the expense of society. It is such moral conduct that has driven wealth inequality to alarming levels, and provoked a potent backlash against globalisation. But the ‘Double Irish’ or the ‘Dutch Sandwich’ and other such tax avoidance schemes are being phased out systematically by the G20 and by a series of tightening rules from the OECD.

The global machinery of “profit shifting” will face a new regime by 2018. We can agree too that Apple’s cosy EU arrangements should never have been permitted. It paid the standard 12.5pc corporate tax on its Irish earnings – and is the country biggest taxpayers – but the Commission alleges that its effective rate of tax on broader earnings in 2014 was 0.005pc, achieved by shuffling profits into a special ‘stateless company’ with its headquarters in Ireland. “The profits did not have any factual or economic justification. The “head office” had no employees, no premises and no real activities,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition chief.

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Someone will find a way to blame this on Brexit.

UK Defined Benefit Pension Fund Deficit Grows By £100 Billion In A Month (G.)

The combined deficit of the UK’s 6,000 defined benefit pension funds has grown by £100bn in the last month, bringing the total deficit to £710bn, according to a new report. The research, by the accountants PricewaterhouseCooper, found that the pension schemes have total assets of £1,450bn but are liable to pay out about £2,160bn in contractual promises to existing and former workers. Pension deficits have worsened since the EU referendum because companies use the interest rate on gilts, otherwise known as the yield, as the main tool in estimating how much they will have to pay out in pensions in the future. The lower the gilt yield, the more that companies have to set aside to meet their future costs.

The scale of the problems facing companies offering final salary pension schemes was underlined on Wednesday by the Yorkshire-based manufacturer Carclo, which issued a statement to the stock exchange to say that the recent increase in its pension deficit meant that a dividend payout to shareholders announced in June and due to be paid in October could not now go ahead. Carclo, which is based near Leeds and employs about 1,300 people making plastics and LED products, said in its statement: “If the corporate bond yield remains at its current low level then this will result in a significant increase in the group’s pension deficit.” It said this would have the effect of “extinguishing the company’s available distributable reserves”. The announcement immediately wiped almost 15% off the company’s share price.

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How to kill a city, Chapter 826.

London’s Elite ‘Pushed Out Of Exclusive Postcodes By Super Rich’ (G.)

London’s traditional elite, such as lawyers, architects and academics, are being pushed out of their enclaves in Mayfair, Chelsea and Hampstead by an influx of global super rich investors, causing a chain reaction of gentrification across the capital, according to research by the London School of Economics. An influx of extremely wealthy overseas buyers is leading the old elite to sell up and move from London’s most exclusive postcodes and buy in areas they previously considered undesirable, said Dr Luna Glucksberg, of the LSE’s International Inequalities Institute. This displacement of old money and affluent middle class professionals is in turn pricing neighbourhoods in south and east London out of the reach of average Londoners and threatening to push those on low incomes to the margins of the city and beyond, she added.

“The changes happening at the top end of the market are real, and although they do not affect large numbers of people directly, the ripple effects they generate do resonate across London,” Glucksberg said. “In terms of the impact on London as a whole, this represents a very different kind of ‘trickle down’ effect from what politicians across the spectrum have long argued would be the benefit of the ‘super rich moving into our city’,” said Glucksberg. “Affordability for average Londoners in the rest of the city is likely to become an even more difficult issue to solve.” The trend was contributing to dramatic house price rises in areas ranging from Battersea and Clapham to Acton, as the old elite bought property there with the significant profits – usually in the millions – made from selling up to the global uber wealthy, the researcher found.

“The study shows that the wealthy individuals and families that live in London’s most exclusive areas no longer feel able to compete at the top end of the capital’s property market,” said the researcher. “Instead they feel like they are being pushed out of elite neighbourhoods. For the first time, this elite group are buying flats for their children in areas they never would have previously considered.”

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We need the death penalty for poachers and buyers, the entire chain, not just in Africa but everywhere, also in China and Japan. If they don’t comply, no more trade and full isolation.

A Third Of Africa’s Elephants Were Wiped Out In Just 7 Years (CNN)

Scanning Botswana’s remote Linyanti swamp from the low flying chopper, elephant ecologist Mike Chase can’t hide the anxiety and dread as he sees what he has seen too many times before. “I don’t think anybody in the world has seen the number of dead elephants that I’ve seen over the last two years,” he says. From above, we spot an elephant lying on its side in the cracked river mud. From a distance it could be mistaken for a resting animal. But the acrid stench of death hits us before we even land. Up close, it is a horror. He was a magnificent bull right in his prime, 45 to 50 years old. To get at his prized ivory tusks, poachers hacked off his face. Slaughtered for their ivory, the elephants are left to rot, their carcasses dotting the dry riverbed; in just two days, we counted the remains of more than 20 elephants in a small area.

Visitors and managers at the tourist camps here are frequently alarmed by the sound of gunshots nearby. And Chase worries that if Botswana can’t protect its elephants, there’s little hope for the species as a whole. Chase, the founder of Elephants Without Borders (EWB), is the lead scientist of the Great Elephant Census, (GEC) an ambitious project to count all of Africa’s savannah elephants – from the air. Before the GEC, total elephant numbers were largely guesswork. But over the past two years, 90 scientists and 286 crew have taken to the air above 18 African countries, flying the equivalent of the distance to the moon – and a quarter of the way back – in almost 10,000 hours.

Prior to European colonization, scientists believe that Africa may have held as many as 20 million elephants; by 1979 only 1.3 million remained – and the census reveals that things have gotten far worse. According to the GEC, released Thursday in the open-access journal PeerJ, Africa’s savannah elephant population has been devastated, with just 352,271 animals in the countries surveyed – far lower than previous estimates. Three countries with significant elephant populations were not included in the study. Namibia did not release figures to the GEC, and surveys in South Sudan and the Central African Republic were postponed due to armed conflict. In seven years between 2007 and 2014, numbers plummeted by at least 30%, or 144,000 elephants.

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