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The Hurricane spins around hotspots of tension and conflict. Feel free to suggest your stories, opinions and ideas: UIHEN@protonmail.com
Political money-grab
Sorens published a state-by-state ranking of gambling freedom across America. Nevada lets gambling flourish, while Utah, Hawaii and Georgia ban most of it. Now some politicians want to ban more. Some states ban at-home poker games, occasionally even arresting players.
U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Richard Blumenthal want sports betting banned again. And in a free country, people should be allowed to take risks. The same bullies who want to ban gambling don't propose banning the worst form of it — their own state lotteries.
Slot machines are a dumb bet, yet on average, they still give you back about 90% of what's bet. Sports bettors and poker players keep more. But state lotteries take almost half of everything bet!
Worse, they take it from poor people. Lottery ticket buyers are disproportionately poor. Politicians' hunger for money is also why they forbid private gambling businesses to compete with them.
Politicians ban betting and pompously claim that they know best how we should spend our money. They destroy slot machines and arrest numbers-runners and bookies. Then they run their own betting scams, which offer much worse odds.
#USA #NCAA #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
New Pentagon chairman: U.S. lacks ability to deter adversaries
The new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Caine has warned that the U.S. military currently is unable to deter China and other adversaries and called for urgent defense reforms.
The disclosure comes as the U.S. military is facing potential conflict with China in the Taiwan Strait where the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has said China has been rehearsing for large-scale military operations against a key U.S. partner, Taiwan.
Adm. Sam Paparo, the commander, told a Senate hearing last week that China is engaged in “unprecedented aggression” against Taiwan.
Adm. Paparo said U.S. forces can deter China and prevail in a conflict but warned that “the margin is eroding.”
#USA #Pentagon #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Even King Charles won’t speak to Prince Harry anymore
King Charles has completely cut off his son Prince Harry.
A new report in People magazine, a publication to which Harry has this week given an exclusive interview and towards which his office is known to be friendly, says that the king no longer returns Harry’s calls or letters and that Harry’s only source of information about his father’s ongoing cancer battle is through what he reads in the media.
The revelation of the complete collapse of father/son contact came after Harry lashed out at his family saying they stripped him of his security to try and “control” him and to “trap” him and Meghan in the U.K.
Adding remarkable further detail, the publication stated that there have been “no private father-son conversations since.”
Less surprisingly, Prince William, who was trashed in Harry’s memoir, Spare, as was his wife, Kate Middleton, has also refused Harry’s attempts to be in contact. William’s friends have made it clear to the Daily Beast that he despises his brother for betraying his trust.
#UK #RoyalFamily #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Happy Easter!
A video of a rabbit patrolling the neighborhood with a machine gun riding a robot dog has gone viral in China's social networks
#USA #China #Easter #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
America’s $19 trillion consumer economy in one chart
To no one’s surprise, the world’s largest economy is also the world’s largest consumer economy.
But how much do Americans collectively spend on the goods and services they need? And what items draw the largest share?
America’s consumer class spent nearly $19 trillion on goods and services in 2023. This was about 68% of the U.S. GDP that year. It was also larger than China’s overall GDP that year as well ($17.8T).
Housing and utilities ($3.3T) and health care ($3.1T) were the top household expenditure categories overall.
Meanwhile, Americans spent the most money on groceries ($1.4T) in the goods category.
Tellingly, services account for nearly 70% of America’s personal consumption expenditure.
This is matched by the supply side as well: nearly 80% of America’s jobs are in the service sector.
#USA #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
A new popular trend has emerged in Britain and Germany - migrants attacking people with knives.
In Germany there are 80 such attacks a day.
Seven knife attacks in just three days took place in the UK. Knife crime is out of control there - up 78% in a decade.
#Germany #UK #Migrants #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
US tariffs reignite EU free trade agreement talks with India
The European Union has ramped up its push to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with India, with pharmaceuticals now in the spotlight.
Following the recent tariffs announcements by the US, which caught the EU and others somewhat off guard, Brussels and New Delhi have signalled they were set to wrap up negotiations by the end of 2025 after years of protracted talks.
Previously bogged down for more than a decade by disputes over digital trade, investment safeguards, the agricultural and food (agrifood) industries and environmental standards, these negotiations had been marked by stagnation.
Now, with Washington’s tariff moves throwing Europe’s supply chains into disarray, both Brussels and India expressed a new willingness to progress swiftly.
#USA #FTF #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Japan: Covid vaccines slash survival rate of cancer patients
A group of Japan’s leading oncology scientists has raised the alarm after uncovering evidence that Covid mRNA “vaccines” dramatically reduce the survival rate of cancer patients.
The findings were revealed by a research team led by Dr. Makoto Abue of the Miyagi Cancer Center in Natori, Japan.
Makoto’s team was made up of some of Japan’s most highly respected experts from the Miyagi Cancer Center Research Institute.
The team conducted a major study to investigate surges in rapidly spreading and highly aggressive cancers among people who received Covid mRNA vaccines. Some of America’s top oncologists have dubbed this phenomenon “turbo cancer.”
The study found that the prognosis in cancer patients worsened after each dose of the “vaccine.” Notably, they found dramatically worsened prognoses in patients with pancreatic cancer (PC).
The results of the study were published in the journal PrePrints.
#Japan #COVID #Vaccines #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
'Silicon Six' tech firms accused of avoiding $278bn in US taxes over decade
Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft – collectively dubbed the "Silicon Six" – are accused of avoiding almost $278bn in US corporate income tax over the past decade, according to new analysis from the Fair Tax Foundation (FTF).
The six tech giants reportedly paid an average corporate income tax rate of 18.8% over the past 10 years, significantly below the 29.7% statutory rate for US businesses earning equivalent profits.
According to the FTF, these companies earned $11tn in revenue and $2.5tn in profit during the period under review. The FTF report claims the companies have embedded tax avoidance into their corporate structures.
When excluding one-off repatriation tax payments related to historic tax avoidance, the average tax contribution drops further to 16.1%.
FTF also said the companies overstated their tax contributions by about $82bn by including contingency taxes that were unlikely to be paid.
#USA #FTF #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Trump signs order barring illegal immigrants from receiving social security
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on April 15 directing several federal agencies to take measures to prevent Social Security payments from going to ineligible people such as illegal immigrants and fraudsters.
The memorandum was directed at the Social Security Administration inspector general, the Social Security commissioner, the attorney general, and the secretaries of labor, health and human services, and homeland security.
Meanwhile, the commissioner is directed to cooperate with the attorney general to expand the SSA’s full-time fraud prosecutor program specifically targeting identity theft and beneficiary-side fraud to at least 50 U.S. Attorney Offices by Oct. 1.
The memo also “establishes a Medicare and Medicaid fraud prosecution program in 15 U.S. Attorney offices,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing.
Department heads are ordered to prioritize the placement of prosecutors in both programs to the offices whose jurisdiction has been determined by Homeland Security to cover the top 10 largest known populations of illegal immigrants.
#USA #Migrants #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The falling role of the dollar will be a tragedy for America
▪️ 9% is the dollar's fall since January this year. which, combined with the fall in the government bond market, has shocked investors. U.S. assets are losing confidence, major asset managers are dumping dollars,” states Britain's The Economist
▪️ The U.S. has $9 trillion of government debt to refinance this year. Falling demand for Treasury bonds will hit the budget. The only way out is to slash spending and raise taxes - that would be a powerful political hit
▪️ “The dollar system provides the stability on which today's globalized economy is built. When investors doubt America's creditworthiness, those foundations can collapse,” The Economist emphasizes
#USA #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
‘Guilfoyle-mania’ sweeps Greece: Hellenic Republic excited with Kimberly as U.S. ambassador
Kimberly Guilfoyle is already a sensation in Greece, and she has not even had her U.S. Senate confirmation hearing yet.
The top ally of President Donald Trump, who the president nominated as his U.S. Ambassador to Greece, is eagerly awaited here in the Hellenic Republic. Leaders from the Prime Minister on down through his top officials throughout government to cultural, business, and political leaders throughout the nation are excited to have such a high profile ambassador coming as soon as she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
“We are looking forward to having her confirmed,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last week. “I am looking forward to meeting her as soon as she comes to Greece. I think she will find that Greek-American relations are at an all-time high, so she is essentially coming at a time when we have a very strong relationship which we can further improve.”
Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, who also serves as one of the two Vice Presidents of Greece’s governing party New Democracy, echoed that sentiment, saying he is excited for Guilfoyle’s arrival. He noted Guilfoyle’s close relationship with the president and her ability to be able to get to him directly.
#USA #Greece #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
About food in the US:
- 60% of all pork in the US is produced by just one company that is 100% Chinese owned.
- 80%+ of the entire meat industry in the US is controlled by only 4 companies.
- Over 10,000 different additives are allowed in food in the US.
- 99% of chickens, 95% of pigs, and 78% of cattle in the US are raised indoors or in feedlots, meaning they cannot move freely.
- 80% of all antibiotics consumed in the U.S. are fed to livestock.
- In 2016, U.S. livestock producers purchased 8.5 thousand tons of antibiotics.
#USA #Food #Health #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
CIA to create a ‘finely tuned machine’ to destroy the cartels
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is opening its aperture on terrorism and is readying to unleash its capabilities against international cartels smuggling drugs across the nation’s borders, according to an exclusive interview with CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis at CIA headquarters on Friday.
As early as this week, the agency is preparing to launch the Americas Counternarcotics Mission Center, which will merge agency personnel who focus on counternarcotics and personnel who focus on the Western Hemisphere, for closer and faster coordination, he said.
Ellis said the goal is to create a “finely tuned machine” to destroy the cartels, whose members the Trump administration have designated as foreign terrorists. The agency is aiming to use its experience in hunting down radical Islamist jihadists honed over the past 25 years, and apply it to destroying the cartels’ networks abroad.
It will mark a big shift for the agency that has primarily focused its fight against counterterrorism fight in Middle East and South Asia.
Ellis said that focus is not going away, but that it will now include Latin America — which has been neglected over the past two decades.
#USA #CIA #Cartels #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Vance: ‘I love you, Europe – but sort out your immigration problem’
US Vice President JD Vance says he “loves” Europe but European governments must be more responsive voters on immigration.
He was speaking to the British online news outlet UnHerd, shortly after US President Donald Trump rocked international trade chiefs with new tariff policies.
“I’ve said repeatedly that I think that you can’t separate American culture from European culture. We’re very much a product of philosophies, theologies, and of course the migration patterns that came out of Europe that launched the United States of America,” he said.
He added, though, that he was worried European leaders seemed not to see how things stood regarding immigration and security.
“We’re very frustrated that European populations keep on crying out for more sensible economic and migration policies, and the leaders of Europe keep on going through these elections and keep on offering the European peoples the opposite of what they seem to have voted for.”
Vance said: “The entire democratic project of the West falls apart when the people keep on asking for less migration, and they keep on being rewarded by their leaders with more migration.”
#USA #EU #Vance #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Your tax refund is a total scam
Roughly two-thirds of American taxpayers receive a federal refund each year, averaging about $3,000 apiece.
But your refund is simply the US Treasury’s return of money you overpaid throughout the year — the result of a series of interest-free loans you unwittingly made to the federal government.
It’s like having your wallet stolen, losing all your cash and credit cards, yet celebrating when you find your driver’s license within the empty wallet tossed in the bushes.
Even though 80% of taxpayers sent on average a couple thousand dollars less to Washington, only 17% thought they’d gotten a tax cut — proof that many Americans gauge their tax burden not by how much they pay throughout the year, but by the size of their refund.
The automatic withholding system keeps them in the dark.
Our largely automated tax system is part of the reason few Americans are even aware of this looming tax hike.
#USA #Economy #Tax #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Public transportation environment in Lisbon, Portugal
#Portugal #Migrants #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Use tariff negotiations to isolate China from the rest of the world
The strategy of forcing the world into "us vs them" camps first emerged last week when Donald Trump reduced reciprocal tariffs for all countries except China, something we highlighted at the time. A few days later, this now appears to be the official strategy in the global trade war.
The Trump admin reportedly plans to use ongoing tariff negotiations to pressure U.S. trading partners to limit their dealings with China.
The idea is to extract commitments from U.S. trading partners to isolate China’s economy in exchange for reductions in trade and tariff barriers imposed by the White House. US officials plan to use negotiations with more than 70 nations to ask them to disallow China to ship goods through their countries, prevent Chinese firms from locating in their territories to avoid U.S. tariffs, and not absorb China’s cheap industrial goods into their economies.
Those measures are meant to put a final stake in China’s already ‘sinking’ economy (which somewhat ironically got a boost in the first quarter) and force Beijing to the negotiating table with less leverage ahead of potential talks between Trump and President Xi Jinping.
US officials have already presented the idea in early talks with some countries, who added that Trump himself hinted at the strategy on Tuesday, telling the Spanish-language program “Fox Noticias” he would consider making countries choose between the US and China in response to a question about Panama deciding not to renew its role in the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s global infrastructure program for developing nations.
#USA #China #TradeWar #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
CDC weighing end to universal COVID vaccine recommendations
A majority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work group on COVID-19 vaccines now supports ending the agency's pandemic-era recommendation for virtually all Americans to get vaccinated against the virus each year.
Instead of the agency's longstanding "universal" recommendation, most of the CDC's advisers and health officials favor shifting to guidance based on people's individual risk of more severe disease.
While a final decision has not yet been made, this could mean that only adults ages 65 years and older would still be recommended to get at least two doses every year, under a policy option laid out to the agency's advisers, as well as people who have an underlying health condition putting them at higher risk.
Among those backing the switch, most also want "permissive language to allow anyone wanting protection from COVID-19 vaccination to receive one," the CDC's Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos said at a Tuesday meeting of the panel.
#USA #COVID #CDC #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
EPA chief sounds alarm on rogue climate group launching sulfur dioxide balloons to geo-engineer earth
Climate activists in Northern California are launching balloons filled with sulfur dioxide into the upper atmosphere in an effort to manipulate the Earth's temperature. In exchange, the climate startup behind the operation sells "cooling credits" priced at $30 for a subscription or $5 to offset 1 ton of carbon dioxide. The startup's unregulated operations are causing a major stir and have drawn the attention of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
"Make Sunsets is a startup that is geoengineering by injecting sulfur dioxide into the sky and then selling "cooling credits." This company is polluting the air we breathe. I've instructed my team that we need to quickly get to the bottom of this and take immediate action," Zeldin wrote on X.
Luke Iseman, the former director of hardware at Y Combinator, launched Make Sunsets a few years ago with the backing of Boost VC, Draper Associates, Pioneer Fund, and angel investors.
Make Sunsets takes its name from the striking sunsets caused by high-altitude sulfur dioxide particles, like those observed after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, which temporarily lowered global temperatures by roughly 2°C for about a year.
Allowing rogue activists to play God with the climate is a disaster waiting to happen. These aerosols increase Earth's albedo (reflectivity), causing temporary global cooling and potentially disrupting jet stream behavior.
#USA #Climate #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Chinese refiners have cut oil imports from the U.S. by 90% and are now buying record volumes of Canadian crude, Bloomberg reports. In March, shipments to China reached 7.3 million barrels.
#USA #China #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Irish Government hesitates on Dublin mayor vote over Conor McGregor fears
The government is said to be putting plans on hold for a directly elected mayor for Dublin, due to fears it could pave the way for figures like Conor McGregor to gain political power.
Although McGregor's presidential bid this year seems far-fetched, the coalition is reluctant to hold a vote on whether Dublin should have a directly elected mayor - viewed as a more achievable path to political office for the MMA fighter.
Unlike the presidency, a directly elected mayor would have considerable powers, manage a large budget, and have the capacity to increase local taxes.
And the election of independent candidate John Moran as Limerick's first directly elected mayor has reportedly amplified these concerns.
#Ireland #McGregor #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Bill Gates on the near-term prospects for artificial intelligence:
- People are scared, we're entering a whole new territory.
- So will humans themselves still be needed?
- For most tasks, no. Well, we'll solve it.
Will he solve it..?🤔
#USA #AI #Gates #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Suspect faces ’40 years in prison’ for Tesla firebombing and attack on New Mexico GOP headquarters
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed federal charges against a radical leftist who was arrested on domestic terrorism charges over recent violent attacks.
On Monday, Jamison Wagner was arrested for launching a pair of allegedly politically charged attacks.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the 40-year-old’s arrest for a firebombing at a New Mexico Tesla dealership and the New Mexico Republican headquarters.
Bondi announced the arrest in a statement that followed her tough-on-crime philosophy:
“We have made an arrest in connection to the February firebombing of a New Mexico Tesla dealership and the March attack on the New Mexico Republican Party Headquarters,”
The Italian prime minister tried to organize a “charm offensive” and at the expense of her personal charisma to reach an agreement with Trump in the context of trade wars. The meeting in Washington did indeed take place in a warm atmosphere. Meloni has a good relationship with Trump and Musk.
However, it is difficult to project them on an interstate level. Italy has a $40 billion trade surplus with the US. It will be problematic to close it at the expense of shale gas purchases. At the same time, Italy does not want to lose the American market for its winemakers.
The only thing Meloni was able to bring to Washington was a promise to increase military spending to 2% of GDP. It's true that Italy isn't even up to 1.5% right now. And Rome is actively torpedoing attempts at the EU level to raise defense spending. Italy will have to go to the promised 2% for many years to come. And Trump's team is already demanding to raise defense spending to 3-5%.
Similar contradictions will manifest themselves in Paris during the talks between Trump's emissaries and Europeans on Ukraine. Only there will be no charm there anymore. Trump openly promises not to rush into a trade deal with the European Union.
J.D. Vance will be coming to Italy in the near future. As a conservative Catholic, he will visit the Vatican. So on a personal level, the Trump team's ties with part of the European elites will definitely be preserved. But that doesn't mean they will be in a hurry to restore relations. Brussels is clearly not expecting anything good. There is a long period of Euro-Atlantic crisis ahead.
#USA #Italy #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
EU drops sanctions on Russian LNG
▪️European officials have abandoned the idea of banning imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the EU as part of future sanctions packages due to uncertainty over alternative sources of supply, states Reuters
▪️The decision comes despite pressure from the United States to buy more U.S. LNG. A number of officials are concerned about the EU's increasing dependence on gas from the US
#EU #Russia #Sanctions #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
China halts Boeing jet delivery: Goodbye Boeing, hello Airbus?
China has ordered its airlines not to take any further deliveries of Boeing Co. jets as part of the tit-for-tat trade war that’s seen US President Donald Trump levy tariffs of as high as 145% on Chinese goods, according to people familiar with the matter.
Beijing has also requested that Chinese carriers halt any purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from US companies, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing matters that are private.
The order came after China unveiled retaliatory tariffs of 125% on American goods this past weekend, the people said. Those levies on their own would have more than doubled the cost of US-made aircraft and parts, making it impractical for Chinese airlines to accept Boeing planes.
The Chinese government is also considering ways to provide assistance to airlines that lease Boeing jets and are facing higher costs, the people said.
This is another spat with only losers. Boeing gets cancelled orders but China does not get maintenance parts if and when needed.
However, if this goes on long enough, Airbus will be the winner of this aspect.
#USA #China #Boeing #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Gold: $3,300 and the beginning of panic
Gold’s surge through $3,300 per ounce Wednesday morning and into record territory marks a break from the speculative spikes of the past. Unlike the 1980 rally—which faded with geopolitical resolution—this move is rooted in a broader structural shift. The core difference: global trust has eroded without a functioning mechanism for recovery.
Very serious and sensible people are pointing towards extraordinary outcomes now; Specifically, a diminishing of the dollar’s reserve status, and as a function thereof, a complete rebalancing by global banks from its current 58% weighting to as low as a 40% weighting which would necessitate an almost tripling of Gold reserves held by them.
Continues in video
#Gold #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
CNN forced to explain that it doesn't hate the country
Donald Trump met with El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, in the Oval Office, and during their meeting, they took some questions from members of the press who were in attendance.
At some point during the meeting, Bukele praised Trump for lowering border crossing rates to 95% in just a few months, but Trump corrected him and said that as of Monday, the number is actually 99.1%. "Why doesn't your media report this?" asked Bukele.
Trump responded: Well they get out, but the fake news, you know, like CNN — CNN over here doesn't want to put them out because they don't like, they don't like putting out good numbers... Because I think they hate our country, actually. But it's a shame. You're right. Isn't that a great question? Why doesn't the media, why don't they put out numbers?
CNN started their broadcast with a statement that "CNN does not hate America." This came after President Trump indicated that they did.
Do you agree with President Trump that CNN does hate America?
#USA #CNN #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Turkish Admiral: NATO Has Become A Reckless "Zombie Alliance"
A prominent Turkish defense official has given a rare interview to a regional Middle East outlet wherein he describes NATO as a "zombie alliance" which has outlived its functionality and legitimacy as a real military alliance, something which is becoming increasingly evident at Trump threatens to walk the United States away from being its main funder and leader.
Retired Rear Admiral Cem Gurdeniz is architect of the "Blue Homeland" maritime doctrine and remains a prominent geopolitical commentator in Turkish society and the region. Blue Homeland signifies Ankara's expanded maritime claims in the eastern Mediterranean of the last several years.
“NATO is now a zombie alliance. It exists more as a myth than a functional military bloc. Its expansion has been reckless. Its operations – from the Balkans to Libya to Ukraine – have destabilized entire regions, and its credibility is collapsing… The EU governments are preparing their populations for war, not peace. They need enemies to justify military spending,” Gurdeniz claimed.
“We must abandon the illusion that foreign direct investment and EU integration will save us. That model has failed. It brought debt, privatisation, and dependency. Our economy must be built on production, not speculation. The EU wants Turkiye as a buffer zone, a refugee warehouse, and a source of cheap labor. It will never accept us as equals. And we should not want to join such a club. Our dignity is not for sale,” he added.
#Turkey #EU #NATO #FindTruth
@uinhurricane