-
The Hurricane spins around hotspots of tension and conflict. Feel free to suggest your stories, opinions and ideas: UIHEN@protonmail.com
Next US President to face slowing economy
Experts say the next President likely will have to deal with an economic slowdown next year. The government may try to intervene, but there’s a risk any remedies will cause harm
On paper, the U.S. economy is chugging along nicely. Unemployment is low, the markets are up, and the GDP came in 3% above inflation in the second quarter. Third-quarter GDP is expected to climb 2.6% above inflation, and median wages increased by nearly 2.5% (adjusted for inflation) over the past two years
Yet, a large proportion of Americans don’t feel like the economy is working well for them
Only about 21% consider business conditions “good”—a far cry from the nearly 40% who thought so five years ago, according to Consumer Confidence Index surveys. Self-reported family financial situation has virtually stagnated for the past year, the survey shows. Meanwhile, credit card debt is up about 16% over the past two years
Economic indicators likely won’t remain as encouraging for long, “I think you’re going to start looking at much lower rates of economic growth somewhere sub-2% growth as consumers become challenged by making ends meet,” says Lance Roberts, the chief investment strategist at RIA Advisors
Steve Hanke, professor of Applied Economics at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, shares a similar concern
“The economy is running on fumes and is bound to slow down,” he said via email, pointing to the shrinking of money supply in 2022–2023 that has since only partly reversed
#USA #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Human welfare beyond foreign wars
By Andrea Mazzarino
Images of homes that collapsed under mudslides or falling trees, waterlogged farms, and debris-filled roads drove home (yes, home!) to me recently the impact of Hurricane Helene on rural areas in the southeastern United States
Given that Helene’s human impact was plain for all to see, what struck me was that significant numbers of headlines about that storm’s devastation centered not on those people hardest hit, but on the bizarre conspiracy theories of extremist observers: that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is funneling tens of millions in funds and supplies meant for hurricane survivors to migrants, that the Biden administration has been in cahoots with meteorologists to control the weather, or that Biden and crew actually planned the storm! One of my personal favorites came from a neighbor I encountered at the post office in our rural Maryland town: we don’t have enough money for FEMA rescue operations, she told me, because we’re funding Israeli healthcare and housing — a reference, undoubtedly, to the tens of billions of dollars of bombs and other aid this country has sent Israel’s military in its war in Gaza and beyond
Of course, some conspiracy theories have a grain of truth at their core: if only we had focused long ago on issues of human welfare here instead of funding decades of foreign wars, it’s possible we might not be living in such an inequitable, infrastructurally weak country, or one increasingly devastated by climate-change-affected weather
#USA #FEMA #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
In anticipation of the popular vote, the White House complex was enclosed by a second heavy-duty metal fence
Democracy, it is so...
#USA #Elections #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Ford continues posting huge losses on its electric lines, while automakers reverse course on EVs
Across the board, many automakers envisioned that consumers would clamor to buy EVs and all the they had to do was build them
The Biden-Harris administration received more bad news regarding its goal of getting most drivers in the U.S. to switch to electric vehicles. Ford Motor Company posted a loss of $1.224 billion on its electric vehicle lines. That brings the company’s loss on EVs in the first nine months of this year to $3.7 billion
Unlike other major automakers, Ford separates the financials on its EV business into a separate category called Model E
Energy watchdog Robert Bryce points out on his Substack that the company’s losses on Model E this year are equal to its gross profit on its internal combustion engine business, Ford Blue. In 2023, Ford lost $4.7 billion on its EV sales, and in 2022, it lost $2.2 billion
#USA #Ford #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Transhumanism hasn’t been the paradise mankind thought it would be
By Spencer Klavan
With the award of this year’s Nobel Prize in physics to a pair of researchers in the field of machine learning, it’s coming to look as if the future truly does belong to AI. But what kind of future?
Widespread anxiety that machines will outstrip or replace humanity altogether are a natural outgrowth of a philosophy that has been gaining in currency at least since the days when Alan Turing, forefather of modern computing, suggested that human beings are functionally indistinguishable from highly functioning machines. If it’s true that we are merely biological processing units, then humanity is long overdue for an upgrade
For the machines, at least, the upgrades have come thick and fast. Computer technology has soared to staggering heights of sophistication and complexity. Ever since the internet linked computer to computer at unheard-of speeds, these imitation minds have come to seem as if they could do almost anything
Transhumanism – the promise of a new generation with bodies and minds enhanced by machine technology – has become a millenarian aspiration among the magnates of the world
This dream is fast becoming a nightmare. For all the promises of liberation and triumph, our bodies and brains have not responded well to our efforts at treating them like first-generation meat computers
The way out of our anxiety about humanity’s future is not to hearken back to a prescientific age, but to look ahead at what science is actually revealing to us, which is not the well-established mythology or matter. The discoveriews of physics point to a more humanizing vision of the world – if we can take stock of all that they imply
#AI #Transhumanism #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Natural climate variability caused the 2023 global warming spike of 0.29C
A recently published paper titled ‘The 2023 global warming spike was driven by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation’ found that the 2023 global warming spike was driven by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (“ENSO”)
ENSO is an internal variability in the climate system (a natural climate variability) that comprises a positive phase, El Niño, and a negative phase, La Niña. It occurs every few years, typically every 3-7 years, in the tropical Pacific Ocean, affecting global temperatures, winds and atmospheric conditions
According to the study, it is ENSO, and not external factors such as “emissions” due to human activity, that caused the 0.29oC spike (give or take 0.04oC) in global temperatures last year. And it’s not the first time on record that ENSO has caused such a spike
“Most studies have focused on the external forcing aspects, particularly the role of aerosol pollution reductions, rather than quantifying the role of internal variability. We will argue that ENSO is the primary reason for global warming spikes,” the authors explained
#Climate #ENSO #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
1 in 33 kids ages 5 to 8 — more than previously thought — has autism
One in 33 children between the ages of 5 and 8 has an autism diagnosis — a higher rate than the official figure of 1 in 36 — according to a study published in JAMA Network Open
The study examined the health records of over 12 million Americans enrolled in healthcare systems between 2011 and 2022, to identify trends in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses
The authors found a 175% increase in autism diagnoses within the full sample during the study period, with the biggest increases seen among young adults, females and children in several racial and ethnic groups
The authors — including four researchers affiliated with Kaiser Permanente and one with the Henry Ford Health System — said their results may be undercounting autism cases
“Rates reported here may underestimate the true prevalence of ASD in adults, especially older female adults, as many would not have been screened in childhood and remain undiagnosed”
Gas bills could double within 15 years in Illinois
A new report says gas bills for many Illinoisans could skyrocket unless state regulators intervene in a pipe replacement program
Peoples Gas and its System Modernization Program has been under fire for cost overruns and delays. The Illinois Commerce Commission paused most spending on the program pending a state investigation
The nonprofit Citizens Utility Board has released a report that says the cost of Peoples Gas’ program has climbed to nearly $11 billion, far beyond the original $2 billion estimate. Jim Chilsen, CUB director of communications, said if the program isn’t overhauled, there will be rounds of record-breaking rate hikes for 15 years
“That would double the annual charges for the average customer from about $1,200 to $2,400 by 2040,”
China’s top solar firms post big losses as oversupply persists
China’s top solar manufacturers posted big losses in the third quarter as severe overcapacity and price wars continue to hurt the companies producing equipment critical to global energy transition
Leading panel-maker Longi Green Energy Technology Co. chalked up its fourth straight quarterly net loss of 1.26 billion yuan ($177 million), after recording a profit of 2.5 billion yuan in the same period last year. Rivals Tongwei Co. and Trina Solar Co. also swung to losses, while JA Solar Technology Co. saw net income plunge and Jinko Solar Co. barely turned a profit
Longi blamed a persistent mismatch between supply and demand, which has led to a significant drop in product prices, according to its statement. The company has cut output to ease losses
China’s world-dominating solar firms have been forced to sell below cost after a breakneck buildup in capacity to feed China’s renewables boom. Companies are undercutting each other to maintain market share, and most are expected to report losses this year, BloombergNEF said in a report earlier this month. Consolidation has already seen some smaller players going bankrupt or being bought by larger outfits
China’s main solar industry association earlier this month called for rational pricing and urged companies to be more disciplined in bidding for projects. Over the summer, it said struggling manufacturers should exit the market as soon as possible
#China #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
India poised to become largest driver of oil consumption
India is set to replace China as the largest driver of growing oil consumption for the rest of the decade – with a young, fast-growing population, rising incomes, and increasing car ownership boosting transport demand
India’s annual oil consumption increased by 136 million tonnes between 2003 and 2023, accounting for 17% of the worldwide increase over the period, second only to China on 60%
Consumption grew at a compound annual rate of 4%, four times faster than the rest of the world, according to the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy
As a result, India’s share of global consumption rose consistently to reach 5% in 2023, up from 3% in 2003, making it the third-largest consumer after China (17%) and the United States (18%)
For its size, India is exceptionally poor in oil reserves. Proved reserves of 600 million tonnes accounted for less than 1% of the world total at the end of 2020
Petroleum consumption has grown much faster than domestic production, making the country increasingly reliant on imported crude to process in its refineries
#India #Oil #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
JD Vance tells he and Trump could win ‘normal gay guy vote’
Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio said during an interview with Joe Rogan that he Donald Trump could win the “normal gay guy” vote
Vance said that “normal” gay men would object to sex change procedures for children
“I wouldn’t be surprised if me and Trump won just the normal gay guy vote,” Vance said. “Because, again, they just want to be left the hell alone, and now you have all this crazy stuff on top of it”
“They’re like, ‘No, no… we didn’t want to give pharmaceutical products to nine-year-olds who are transitioning their genders, we just want to be left the hell alone,” Vance continued
Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy revealed to The New York Times she did not publish the results of a $9.7 million study on the effects of puberty blockers on children because she feared the results would boost arguments made by opponents of sex-change procedures for children
“Well, a lot of gay guys feel like the whole movement is homophobic, which is ironic because they think, they think that there’s people [that] think there’s something wrong with being gay,” Rogan said
“So what you really are is a girl and they think a lot of this is being given, these thoughts are being given to these kids. These kids would grow just up to be gay men, but instead you’re getting them to convert their gender”
#USA #Vance #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Massive lithium deposits found in Southwestern Arkansas
According to the study published in Science Advances, researchers estimate between 5 and 19 million tons of lithium reserves are present in the region. If commercially recoverable, the supply could potentially meet the projected 2030 world demand for lithium in car batteries nine times over, according to a press release by the U.S. agency
The research, which combined efforts between the USGS and the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment’s Office of the State Geologist, employed a methodology using water testing and machine learning to estimate how much lithium is present in brines within what’s known as the Smackover Formation
USGS director David Applegate said the discovery has several meaningful implications.
“Lithium is a critical mineral for the energy transition, and the potential for increased U.S. production to replace imports has implications for employment, manufacturing, and supply-chain resilience,”
Gates Foundation gets diplomatic immunity in Kenya
Kenya last week granted diplomatic immunity to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and its employees, or “servants,” Tim Schwab reported on Substack
Under the new status, the foundation and its employees are exempt from legal action for acts performed as part of their official foundation duties. They also are exempt from paying taxes on their salaries, and they now have the right to own property in Kenya
“While nations around the world have long treated Bill Gates as a head of state, it’s now been practically codified into law in Kenya,” wrote Schwab, author of “The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire”
Schwab said the decision has raised “alarm bells” within the country and across the world. One public advocate, through a Freedom of Information Act request, has already petitioned the government for documents related to the decision
Others worry the decision to grant immunity may set a precedent for other billionaire philanthropists
Concerns also have arisen that other nations will be pressured to follow Kenya’s lead and offer immunity to the Gates Foundation in exchange for continued access to the massive resources the foundation pours into other African countries
#Kenya #Gates #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
US Coast Guard to expand presence in Indo-Pacific amid China concerns
The U.S. Coast Guard said that it intends to send specialized forces, training teams, and other capacity-building assets to help Indo-Pacific allies bolster their ability to safeguard exclusive economic zones and protect their natural resources from exploitation, according to the Coast Guard 2024 operational posture report released on Oct. 25
The report states that the region remains “a top regional priority” for the United States, citing its geostrategic importance, vital role in global trade, and the need to ensure “a free, open, and rules-based maritime order”
“We are expanding our presence and cooperation in Southeast and South Asia, with a focus on advising, training, deployment, and capacity building,” the Coast Guard stated while also pledging to continue to support its allies’ efforts in combating “predatorial fishing practices”
The report comes amid growing concerns over China’s military assertiveness in the region but did not mention the Chinese communist regime by name. It stated that the United States aims to boost the capacity of regional coast guards to support them in countering “malign influence,” enforcing their laws and addressing their priority interests such as climate change
#USA #China #Military #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
"We have provided Ukraine with military help in the most crucial way, because when Germany was talking about sending them helmets, we sent them 320 tanks. Therefore, our input has evidently been substantial, especially in the beginning, when it was most needed," Polish deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski said when asked by PAP about Biden’s decision to exclude Poland from the conversation on the war of its eastern neighbor
October 18 US President Joe Biden took part in a meeting with top European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. At the meeting, the politicians discussed the possibility of ending the war Russia has waged over Ukraine as well as the situation in the Middle East
Bartoszewski also failed to hide his resentment towards Ukraine’s victory plan, the dossier on which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently referred to some of his country’s allies excluding Poland. According to Zelensky, the files “have been given to those countries, which “specifically have the means to support Ukraine in the ways outlined by the plan” and “If a country does not have that, then why should it be given the dossier, even if it is our close partner?”
Bartoszewski responded that Warsaw would surely be a key part of the rebuilding of Ukraine. He added that he sees no possibility of rebuilding Ukraine without the participation of Poland
#Poland #Ukraine #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
French authorities constantly report on the favorable situation in the country's energy sector, but the reality turns out to be different, in 2025 a third of French people will suffer from cold in their homes. This is twice as much as in 2020
Figaro writes that in 2024, energy consumption was a concern for 85% of households, compared to 89% in 2023
75% of households say they have limited heating to avoid bills that are too high, and for 28% have difficulty paying their bills
This year, there have been 265,000 consumer disconnections of electricity and gas due to debt and about 736,000 energy supply restrictions
Against the backdrop of these figures, Frederic Ferrio, director of the national energy ombudsman's service, recommends a ban on power cuts due to unpaid bills, maintaining “a minimum service with reduced power needed to run basic electrical appliances”
#France #Energy #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The management of Boeing, the US aerospace giant in crisis, is officially abandoning the “diversity, equality and inclusion” agenda
Money, or rather the lack of it in the current environment, eventually overcame the ideological tinsel.
Immediately after the BLM riots, Boeing decided to increase the proportion of black employees in the corporation to 20%. They literally hired them by racial quota, not for talent. Management was given generous bonuses for hiring workers with the “right” gender and skin color
At the same time, production itself was economized. Workers' complaints about defects in airplane assembly were ignored. And thousands of experienced engineers were fired. And then it turned out that managers with the correct gender pronouns couldn't produce airplanes. Amazing!
Harley Davidson, whose director called himself a “taliban” of equality and inclusiveness, was in a similar situation. But against the backdrop of collapsing motorcycle sales, the ideology had to be abruptly abandoned. The same went for Bud Light, a beer brand that was boycotted for advertising with a “transgender” character. Or Disney, which suffered billions of dollars in losses for promoting the diversity agenda
For Boeing it ended with mass layoffs of tens of thousands of employees, colossal reputational losses, and a real threat of bankruptcy or division of the corporation
They are already thinking of selling their space business. Debts are close to 60 billion dollars, losses for the first half of 2024 amounted to 7 billion, workers are on strike. Hundreds of unfinished airplanes sitting in hangars. The cultural agenda has failed the test of harsh reality
#USA #Boeing #Diversity #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The illusion of growth: how inflation skews our perception of the stock market
Americans can readily see the effects of record-high inflation every time they shop. Prices have soared, from the grocery store to the gas pumps. Although inflation has cooled, families are still feeling the pinch
And the harm doesn’t end there: Inflation also is making stock markets appear stronger than they really are and cutting into returns for everyone, including those with retirement accounts
We seldom hear about that last point. When media outlets discuss the latest inflation rate, they typically highlight the average annual percentage change in the consumer price index. The CPI tracks a basketful of goods, including housing, food, energy, insurance, and more, measuring the average price increases of these items over time
#USA #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Chicago named country’s ‘rattiest city’ for 10th straight year
With the number of infestations sharply on the rise since the pandemic, part of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget recently allocated almost $15 million to the Bureau of Rodent Control to combat the problem
Illinois state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, is taking the findings of a new Orkin Pest Control survey that brands Chicago as the “rattiest city” in the country with a grain of salt
For the 10th consecutive year, researchers from the Atlanta-based company tabbed Chicago with the dubious distinction, pointing to the city’s many alleyways as safe hideaways and constant sources of sustenance for the city’s growing rodent population
As recently as 2022, data shows residents across the city filed more than 50,000 rat complaints with most of them coming on the South and West Sides. Axios has reported with city resources now stretched to the limit, the city’s Inspector General’s office is now auditing the Bureau of Rodent Control
With researchers collecting data for its rankings by tracking new residential rodent treatments over a yearlong period beginning Sept. 1, 2023, Los Angeles and New York round out the top three positions in the survey
#USA #Chicago #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Lagarde: US dollar world-order here to stay. China is not ready to provide reserve currency… Yet
The US dollar world-order is not going anywhere anytime soon, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde has claimed
Lagarde also repeated warnings that the European Union economy was falling further behind China and the US, largely as a result of overregulation
Speaking to Le Monde, she expressed doubt as to the viability of the proposed alternative international payment system floated by the BRICS intergovernmental organisation comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates
According to Lagarde, for such a payment system to be viable, another country would have to step up to provide a reserve currency — a role usually taken by the US and the dollar
“China is preparing for this but is not yet ready,” she said
#USA #China #BRICS #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Antwerp diamond trade ‘faces collapse’
The centuries-old diamond trade in Antwerp (Belgium) is facing a severe crisis, with local traders having expressed fears that the industry could soon vanish altogether
According to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), imports of rough diamonds have fallen 38% in the first nine months of this year alone. Over the past decade, the total stands at 70%
Trade in polished diamonds has declined by about 14% in the past year and 40% in 10 years
Where in the first nine months of 2014 the value of imported and exported diamonds for Antwerp stood between €10 billion and €12 billion, that had dropped to between €7 billion and €4 billion over the same time period of 2024, the AWDC said
On October 30, University of Antwerp economics professor Koen Vandenbempt told Belgian station Radio 1 that the sector was “in a perfect storm”
There were several reasons for the collapse, he said, the most recent being the European Union boycott of Russian diamonds
#Belgium #Diamond #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Inflation is basically back to normal. Why do consumers still feel blah?
Grocery inflation has been cooling sharply, but consumers haven’t noticed that
The lingering pessimism is something of a puzzle. The job market has been chugging along, although more slowly, overall growth has been healthy and even inflation is more or less back to normal. Inflation data released on Thursday showed that prices have increased by a mild 2.1% over the past year
Confidence has crept back up as inflation has cooled, but it remains much lower than it was the last time the economy looked as solid as it does today
Although prices are now climbing much more slowly, costs for necessities like groceries and housing are much higher today than they were a few years ago. Many households still feel that burn when they go to pay the bills
Surveys show that consumers correctly understand that inflation is slowing. Consumer expectations for future inflation have been slowly moving down. But people are also annoyed that prices are higher than they were before the pandemic; that levels are up, even if they are no longer rising as quickly
Wages have climbed faster than prices for many consumers, but that is not true across the board. And people tend to see raises as something that they have earned, whereas they see price increases as something that is being done to them — perhaps even unfairly
The grocery store is not the only place where prices are noticeably higher. Housing costs have climbed a lot in recent years. And for people who are hoping to buy a first home, affording one has become much more difficult since 2020
#Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
British PM popularity collapse bigger than any of predecessors
Sir Keir Starmer has suffered the biggest fall in approval rating after winning an election of any prime minister in the modern era, a poll has shown
Sir Keir’s approval rating was at a high of plus 11 in July after Labour won the election with a landslide 174-seat majority – the biggest in 25 years – according to the poll, by More in Common
But by this month, ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Budget on Wednesday, his personal rating has fallen to -38 – a net drop of 49
It takes him below Rishi Sunak’s rating, which this month has improved from -37 when he lost the election to -31, according to the poll of 1,012 adults
In comparison, Sir Tony Blair’s approval was still at plus 46 in August 1997, three months after his landslide victory, when the figure stood at plus 60. It took until summer 2000 before his rating turned negative
#UK #Starmer #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Chinese hackers compromised multiple Canadian government networks for years
Cyber threat actors from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have been implicated in multiple breaches of networks associated with federal government agencies and departments, according to a report from the national cybersecurity agency
“Over the past four years, at least 20 networks associated with Government of Canada agencies and departments have been compromised by PRC cyber threat actors,” said the National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025-2026, released Oct. 30 by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
The centre identifies China as the top threat actor targeting Canada, noting that its cyber operations are “second to none” in scale, technique, and ambition. Beijing’s objectives include espionage, intellectual property theft, malign influence, and transnational repression, the centre says
While the report highlights China’s hacking of 20 federal government networks in the past four years, information elsewhere in the report shows that Chinese hackers have had access to multiple government networks longer than that. The report says that Chinese agents have compromised Canadian government networks over the past five years, collecting communications and other valuable information
#China #Canada #Hackers #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
“Third atomic bomb”: new self-replicating RNA vaccines being rolled out in Japan
The initial round of COVID-19 vaccines were ineffective, dangerous and downright scary, but now Big Pharma has managed to come up with something even more terrifying: self-replicating RNA vaccines
Also known as replicon vaccines, they work by making copies of themselves endlessly and create proteins that will theoretically spur the body to generate antibodies to disease
These vaccines not only have the power to change the human genome of those who receive it, but they can also have this effect on people who are near those who have been vaccinated via shedding
It has been a huge topic of debate in Japan, where the self-amplifying mRNA vaccine known as Kostaive is about to be rolled out. It was the first country to approve such a vaccine, although it is also currently under review by the European Union
Physician and mRNA researcher Dr. Robert Malone recently described the type of reception this new jab is getting there
“I just came back from Tokyo where they had a 30,000-person rally because they’re about to deploy self-replicating RNA vaccines. Japan is being used as the guinea pigs for the world for this new technology. The Japanese people are calling this the third atomic bomb,” he said
#Japan #COVID #Vaccines #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
RFK Jr. plans to reform CIA
Former President John F. Kennedy threatened to “splinter [the CIA] into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds” before he was assassinated in 1963. JFK’s nephew, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., wants something perhaps less dramatic
In a Trump campaign event with Tulsi Gabbard on Saturday, RFK explained his idea for reforming the CIA. According to him, reforming the CIA is as simple as splintering the “espionage” and “plans” divisions, which handle matters of intelligence and paramilitary operations, respectively. Those divisions are referred to today as the Directorate of Intelligence and Directorate of Operations
RFK said the two divisions need to be reorganized so the intelligence/espionage area has oversight of the paramilitary operations. He said his father had a similar plan when he was Attorney General
“My father had a reform plan … Break up espionage division from the plans division, which is paramilitary division that fixes elections, buys newspapers, assassinates foreign leaders and so on,” he said
“I would break up those divisions and … put espionage division oversight of plans division.”
#USA #RFK #CIA #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Newspaper endorsements of candidates matter—on the margins
By Steve McKee
Much is being made about the decision made by a handful of newspapers not to endorse a presidential candidate this year, most notably The Washington Post. Post owner Jeff Bezos’ money-losing newspaper is now losing a chunk of its subscribers and staff, as well. His decision is either the first step on a very long road to regaining the public’s trust or another nail in the coffin of a once widely respected institution
There is, of course, no shortage of opinions being floated about what this means. I’ve heard more than one pundit comment on this development by first making a qualifying statement that newspaper endorsements don’t matter, that nobody is going to base their vote for president on what The Washington Post or the Los Angeles Times says
Endorsements may not matter as much as they used to, but in a closely divided country, they could make the difference. The closer to the middle people are, the more they are looking, consciously or subconsciously, for something to sway their decision. A newspaper endorsement—or lack thereof—may be all they need
#USA #Elections #MSM #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Did White House violate Presidential Records Act?
The White House told reporters that Biden wasn’t referring to Trump’s supporters but to the comedian who on Saturday made a joke about Puerto Rico’s garbage problem. And in the official White House transcript of Biden’s Zoom call, the sentence reads, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos…”
But what Biden said is clear from the video, even progressive news outlets now admit that Biden did, indeed, call Trump’s supporters “garbage,” and the White House appears to have violated the Presidential Records Act by altering official transcripts
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and Oversight Chairman James Comer had sent a letter to the White House demanding that it preserve all communications and documents related to the editing. “White House staff cannot re-write the words of the President of the United States to be more politically on message,” they wrote
#USA #Elections #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Color Revolution. Now in America?
There's been a notable shift amongst Democrats in the last month. A recent sense of fatalism - or perhaps just simple resignation to what appears to be an inevitable Trump win. But as it turns out, there are some personalities who have been preparing for this potential outcome for at least the last year
Norman Eisen, a Brookings senior fellow, former Ambassador to Czechoslovakia during the “Velvet Revolution. Eisen is also the author of the highly influential color revolution manual, The Democracy Playbook
Eisen’s latest venture, State Democracy Defenders Action (SDDA), declares its aim to “fill three key gaps in the fight against election sabotage and autocracy” by going “on offense against democracy deniers who break the law, including through our innovative program of outside public support for criminal prosecutions”
The group says they “work with national, state and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundation of our democracy – free and fair elections.” SDDA also foreshadows future civil unrest by claiming to “help shape the long-term strategy to defeat autocracy in 2025 – and beyond”
As we’ll see, this sounds like the formation of a Color Revolution.
In his Color Revolution playbook, Eisen wrote that “Political opposition groups should form networks between other opposition groups, local electoral activists, civil society groups, and, where appropriate, international organizations and actors” and “Forcefully contest each individual illiberal act of non-democratic actors”
#USA #Politics #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The new world order… without Europe
Imagine that the world is being reorganised, and Europe is not there. This is exactly what we are experiencing in these days. Not only in Russia, where the BRICS met. But also in Washington, where the US election is being prepared
The fate of Ukraine, but also the future “burden sharing” with Europe, will depend on the outcome of this election. However, the EU has nothing to report. It did not even look at the 5th. November prepared
There was a proposal to develop a common position on both potential election winners, Harris and Trump. But nothing has come of it – the EU is divided. There is also no “Plan B” for Ukraine
“Continue like this” – that was the motto at the European elections in June. While the Americans still have a say, the Europeans have been found to be incapacitated. Not even there was a discussion at the EU summit
And they are waiting in Brussels for the things that may come from Washington – European policy will be paralyzed for at least the comming week. Trump wins, it could go on like this until January
The EU's reaction to the BRICS summit in Kazan is even more helpless. While President Putin proclaims a new, multipolar world order there, the Europeans don't even have an idea of what kind of world they want in the future
#EU #USA #BRICS #FindTruth
@uinhurricane