States Will Lead The Charge, The People Will Decide, Constitution Is The Only Way – Ep. 2491

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Rep. McCaul Calls COVID Virus Origin "Worst Cover-Up In Human History"

Rep. McCaul Calls COVID Virus Origin "Worst Cover-Up In Human History" Authored by Isabel van Brugen via The Epoch Times, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Sunday said it was “more likely than not” that COVID-19 originated from a lab accident, calling it the “worst cover-up in human history.” “I do think it’s more likely than not it emerged out of the lab, most likely accidentally,” McCaul said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Let me say, this is the worst cover-up in human history that we’ve seen resulting in 3.5 million deaths, creating economic devastation around the globe.” His remarks come amid calls for a deeper probe into the origins of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus following widespread concerns that the pandemic may have been sparked by a laboratory accident in China’s central city of Wuhan. President Joe Biden has ordered the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) to ramp up efforts to investigate the virus’s origins. Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted last week that he’s now “not convinced” that COVID-19 developed naturally, and called for a deeper investigation into its origins. Early reports about an outbreak of the CCP virus first appeared in Wuhan in late 2019, when a cluster of cases was reported by state-controlled media to be linked to a local wet market. More than a year later, the origins of the virus remain unknown, although the possibility that the virus leaked from a laboratory at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) is now receiving wider recognition. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 23 that three researchers at the WIV were hospitalized in November 2019 with symptoms consistent with seasonal flu and COVID-19. The newspaper cited unnamed U.S. government sources familiar with a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report. “That was suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party,” McCaul said, referring to the hospitalizations of the three researchers. McCaul said Biden’s calls for a deeper probe into the origins of the CCP virus were “long overdue,” and called on the United States to “pull our supply chain” out of China as a “punitive” response. “My response to this whole thing is supply chain. We need to pull our supply chain out of the region, that being medical supply, rare earth mineral supply,” the lawmaker said. He also warned that the president’s investigation could be inconclusive because “they [Beijing] have destroyed everything at the lab.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki, said on May 24 that the Biden administration has “repeatedly called for the WHO to support an expert-driven evaluation of the pandemic’s origins that is free from interference or politicization.” “Now, there were phase one results that came through. We were not—during that first phase of the investigation, there was not access to data, there was not information provided. And now, we’re hopeful that WHO can move into a more transparent, independent phase two investigation,” Psaki said. Tyler Durden Mon, 05/31/2021 - 18:00
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Based: California Cafe Owner Charges Customers Wearing Masks Additional $5, Offers 50 Percent Discount to Those Who Throw Their Masks Away

by Shane Trejo, Big League Politics: A cafe owner in Northern California says he’s charging a small fee to customers who wear masks and will give a discount to customers who throw their masks in the trash. Chris Castleman, owner of Fiddleheads Cafe in Mendocino, posted a sign last Sunday announcing the $5 fee for […]
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Memorial Day: Remember Political Lies That Caused Soldiers To Die

Memorial Day: Remember Political Lies That Caused Soldiers To Die Authored by James Bovard via JimBovard.com, On Memorial Day, the media do their usual sacralizing of war. Instead, it should be a day for the ritualized scourging of politicians. During the last 70 years, their lies have resulted in the unnecessary deaths of almost 100,000 American soldiers and millions of foreigners. And yet, people still get teary-eyed when politicians take the stage to talk about their devotion to the troops. On Memorial Day 2011, for instance, the Washington Post included numerous touching photographs of graves, recent widows or fatherless kids by the headstones, and stories of the troops’ sacrifices. The Post buried a short article in the middle of the A-Section (squeezed onto a nearly full-page ad for Mattress Discounters) about the U.S. military killing dozens of Afghan civilians and police in a wayward bombing in some irrelevant Afghan province. The story’s length and placement reflected the usual tacit assumption that any foreigner killed by the U.S. military doesn’t deserve to be treated as fully human. The Washington Post celebrations of Memorial Day never include any reference to that paper’s culpability in helping the Bush administration deceive America into going to war against Iraq. When Post reporters dug up the facts that exposed the Bush administration’s false claims on the Iraqi peril, editors sometimes ignored or buried their revelations. Washington Post Pentagon correspondent Thomas Ricks complained that in the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, “There was an attitude among editors: ‘Look, we’re going to war, why do we even worry about all this contrary stuff?’” The Post continued aiding the war party by minimizing its sordidness. When the Bush administration’s claims on Iraq’s nuclear-weapons program had collapsed, the Washington Post article on the brazen deceits was headlined, “Depiction of Threat Outgrew Supporting Evidence.” According to Post media columnist Howard Kurtz, the press are obliged to portray politicians as if they are honest. He commented in 2007, “From August 2002 until the war was launched in March of 2003 there were about 140 front-page pieces in the Washington Post making the administration’s case for war. It was, ‘The President said yesterday.’ ‘The Vice President said yesterday.’ ‘The Pentagon said yesterday.’ Well, that’s part of our job. Those people want to speak. We have to provide them a platform. I don’t have [sic] anything wrong with that.” World War I: Transport of the Wounded. Oil painting by Ugo Matania. https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/V0018185.html [Wikimedia] The Post was not alone in its groveling to war. Major television networks behaved like government-owned subsidiaries for much of the period before and during the Iraq War. CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan explained a month after the United States attacked Iraq, “I went to the Pentagon myself several times before the war started and met with important people there and said, for instance, at CNN, ‘Here are the generals we’re thinking of retaining to advise us on the air and off about the war,’ and we got a big thumbs-up on all of them. That was important.” Jessica Yellin, a CNN correspondent who formerly worked for MSNBC, commented in 2008, “When the lead-up to the war began, the press corps was under enormous pressure from corporate executives, frankly, to make sure that this was a war that was presented in a way that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the nation and the president’s high approval ratings.” NBC news anchor Katie Couric stated that there was pressure from “the corporations who own where we work and from the government itself to really squash any kind of dissent or any kind of questioning of it.” Before the war, almost all the broadcast news stories on Iraq originated with the federal government. PBS’ Bill Moyers noted that “of the 414 Iraq stories broadcast on NBC, ABC, and CBS nightly news, from September 2002 until February 2003, almost all the stories could be traced back to sources from the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department.” But this record of servility and deceit has not slackened the media’s enthusiasm to drench Memorial Day with sanctimony. In reality, Memorial Day should be a time to remember the government’s crimes against the people. Politicians have perennially sent young Americans to die for false causes or on wild-goose chases. Over the past century, war memorials have become increasingly popular. However, most of the memorials do little or nothing to inform people of the chicaneries or deceits that paved the way to or perpetuated the war. It would be a vast improvement if each war memorial also had an adjacent monument of major lies—such as an engraved plaque listing the major deceits by which the American public were swayed to support sending American boys off to die for some grand cause. UH-1D Operation MacArthur Vietnam 1967 [Wikimedia] The Vietnam War memorial in Washington, for instance, lists the names of each American killed in that conflict. If that memorial could be complemented by excerpts from the Pentagon Papers—or from some of the major admissions of deceit by some of that war’s policymakers—the effect on the public would be far more uplifting.General Patton said that an ounce of sweat can save a pint of blood. Similarly, a few hours studying the lessons of history can prevent heaps of grave-digging in the coming years. President Trump has saber-rattled against Iran, North Korea, Syria, and other nations. His bellicose rhetoric should spur Americans to review the follies and frauds of past wars before it is too late to stop the next pointless bloodbath.Memorial Day can benefit from the creativity of free spirits across the board. Tom Blanton, the mastermind of the website Project for a New American Revolution, proposed in an exchange on my website changing Memorial Day to make it far more realistic: It used to be that Memorial Day was to honor dead soldiers. In recent years, we are asked to also honor veterans (who already have a day) and active duty members of the armed services. This may be an indication that the politicians feel there aren’t enough dead soldiers… I think Memorial Day should simply be renamed Tombstone Day and people should decorate their yards with styrofoam tombstones like they do for Halloween. True-believers might even consider a few flag-draped coffins made of cardboard and maybe hanging dismembered arms and legs made of rubber from their trees. Blanton’s proposal would provide a shot in the arm for party stores during the slow period between Valentine’s Day and Halloween. And it would be a spark for conversations that were far more substantive than the usual flag waving. I would favor celebrating Memorial Day the way the British used to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. Fawkes was the leader of a conspiracy in 1604 to blow up the Parliament building in London. Until recently, the British celebrated the anniversary of that day by burning Guy Fawkes in effigy. (Government officials have recently banned such burnings on the grounds that something bad might happen because of the fires. The movie V for Vendetta probably made some bureaucrats nervous.) It would be appropriate to celebrate Memorial Day by burning in effigy the politicians whose lies led to the deaths of so many Americans (and innocent foreigners). Those whose images deserve to be torched run the gamut from Lyndon Johnson to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara to Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton (Kosovo) to George W. Bush (Iraq, et cetera), to Barack Obama (Afghanistan, Libya, et cetera). Donald Trump’s warring has primarily resulted in the killing of foreigners, but they are also worthy of remembrance and lamentation. The burnings could be accompanied by recitations of the major offenses against the truth and liberty that each politician committed. The best way to honor American war dead is to cancel politicians’ prerogative to send troops abroad to fight on any and every pretext. And one of the best steps towards that goal is to remember the lies for which soldiers died. Tyler Durden Mon, 05/31/2021 - 17:00
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7,300 People Tune in to White House YouTube Channel to Watch 81 Million Vote Recipient Joe Biden Deliver Memorial Day Service Remarks

by Cristina Laila, The Gateway Pundit: Joe Biden on Saturday delivered remarks at an annual Memorial Day Service in Delaware. Biden slurred his way through a 9 minute speech. “I had a long conversation for two hours recently with President Xi, making it clear to him we could do nothing but speak out for human […]
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"We Are Going To Expose You": Crenshaw, Cotton Create Military Whistleblower Site To Combat 'Woke Ideology'

"We Are Going To Expose You": Crenshaw, Cotton Create Military Whistleblower Site To Combat 'Woke Ideology' Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times, Two GOP lawmakers this week launched a campaign calling on whistleblowers in the military to come forward with their experiences in training programs that promote critical race theory or “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” “We won’t let our military fall to woke ideology,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a former Navy SEAL, wrote in a tweet on Friday while linking to a website where informants can submit their accounts. “With written permission, we will anonymously publish egregious complaints on social media and tell the country what’s happening in our military.” “For too long, progressive Pentagon staffers have been calling the shots for our warfighters,” said Crenshaw about the web page posted in conjunction with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a former Army captain. House Homeland Security Committee member Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) speaks during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Sept. 17, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) They hope that service members “will anonymously publish egregious complaints on social media” in order to “tell the country what’s happening in our military,” according to Crenshaw. “Progressive Pentagon staffers have been calling the shots for our warfighters,” the lawmaker added, “and spineless military commanders have let it happen. Now we are going to expose you.” Earlier this month, the U.S. Space Force confirmed it relieved Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier of his duties after he alleged that Marxism and critical race theory—which draws heavy inspiration from Marxist critical theory—are both being spread in the military via training courses that are required by Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other high-level officials. “Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, Space Operations Command commander, relieved Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier of command of the 11th Space Warning Squadron, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, May 14, due to loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead,” the Space Force said in mid-May, adding that Lohmeier’s remarks in a podcast and in his self-published book “constituted prohibited partisan political activity.” The Space Force’s statement didn’t provide an example. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) speaks during a hearing to examine United States Special Operations Command and United States Cyber Command, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 25, 2021. (Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images) Last week, Lohmeier met with Cotton, who tweeted after their meeting that he’s concerned “by what I heard” and promised to press “senior military leaders for answers.” Critical race theory denounces U.S. and Western culture as a systematic form of oppression that negatively impacts minority groups. Critics of the ideology—which is sometimes referred to as being “woke”—have said its proponents apply the Marxist tactic of “class struggle” to divide people along lines of race, gender, and ethnicity to label them “oppressors” and the “oppressed.” At the state level, legislatures and governors have taken action against critical race theory as well as The New York Times’ “1619 Project,” by barring them from being promoted in schools and in government institutions. The governors of Tennessee, Idaho, Arkansas, and Oklahoma have already signed anti-critical race theory bills. In Texas, Arizona, and Iowa, similar measures have been proposed, according to an analysis. Tyler Durden Sun, 05/30/2021 - 18:10
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Upper Limit Of Human Mortality Is 150 Years Old, Scientists Say

Upper Limit Of Human Mortality Is 150 Years Old, Scientists Say Silicon Valley elites are obsessed with immortality. They're pouring investments into biohacking technologies on their quest for living forever. We don't want to spoil their fun, but sometimes we have to, as a new study suggests the upper limit of human mortality is 150 years old.  Researchers of Gero, a Singapore-based biotech company in collaboration with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, published new research in the journal of Nature portfolio, showing results between aging and the loss of the ability to recover from stresses. They gathered iPhone and medical data from volunteers in the US and UK to calculate the maximum age of humans.  Using artificial intelligence, researchers analyzed the health data of the volunteers. The study found two crucial data points for human lifespan — biological age and resilience. The former is connected with stress, lifestyle, and chronic diseases and the latter are related to how fast a person reverts to normal conditions following stressor response. Heather Whitson, director of the Duke University Center for the Study of Aging, who was not involved in the study, told Scientific American that the researchers "asked the question of 'What's the longest life that a human complex system could live if everything else went really well, and it's in a stress-free environment?'" In doing so, the researchers were able to establish the "pace of aging," which found human bodies aren't immortal but have an "absolute limit" of 120 to 150 years old.  "Aging in humans exhibits universal features common to complex systems operating on the brink of disintegration. This work is a demonstration of how concepts borrowed from physical sciences can be used in biology to probe different aspects of senescence and frailty to produce strong interventions against aging," said Peter Fedichev, co-founder and CEO of Gero. "This work, in my opinion, is a conceptual breakthrough because it determines and separates the roles of fundamental factors in human longevity - the aging, defined as progressive loss of resilience, and age-related diseases, as "executors of death" following the loss of resilience. It explains why even most effective prevention and treatment of age-related diseases could only improve the average but not the maximal lifespan unless true antiaging therapies have been developed," said prof. Andrei Gudkov, PhD, Sr. Vice President and Chair of Department of Cell Stress Biology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.  David Sinclair, Harvard Medical School professor of genetics, commented on the study by saying it "shows that recovery rate is an important signature of aging that can guide the development of drugs to slow the process and extend healthspan."  ... and possibly the quest for immortality has been shattered by this new research as elites resort to biobacking in their quest to live forever.  Tyler Durden Sun, 05/30/2021 - 17:30
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Newsmax Correspondent Reports Alarm Sounds Today in Building Holding Fulton County Ballots for Audit – Building Found Wide Open

from The Conservative Treehouse: If this reporting from Newsmax correspondent Emerald Robinson is confirmed, the motives will be found in the recent court documents. This is unreal: There is an ongoing legal battle surrounding the 145,000 absentee ballots that were due to be audited. The audit was supposed to begin yesterday, Friday May 28th. However, […]
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HARLEY SCHLANGER-[DS] IS LOSING EVERYTHING,THE PEOPLE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING THEIR FALSE NARRATIVE

from X22report: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
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THE NEW HITLER YOUTH MOVEMENT: Critical Race Theory Is Promoting Reverse Racism Through Classic Bolshevik-Style Divide and Conquer Tactics

by Dave Hodges, The Common Sense Show: As a disclaimer to my position to this heinous video, I am dedicated to the equal treatment of all. I firmly believe that when we see mistreatment of all types, we need to stand for the victim. Silence is indeed complicit guilt. Victimization does include racism, but is […]
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Missouri Man Sentenced For Role In Largest "Organic Food" Fraud In American History

Missouri Man Sentenced For Role In Largest "Organic Food" Fraud In American History A north Missouri businessman who was involved in the largest organic fraud scheme in American history has been sentenced to probation and fined. According to KTTN, federal prosecutors in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sentenced Steven Whiteside of Chilicothe to three years probation and a fine of 45-thousand dollars. Two other Northwest Missouri men were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in the 142-million dollar grain fraud scheme, which federal prosecutors describe as the “Field of Schemes.” Steven Whiteside of Chillicothe pleaded guilty in December to signing a document that allowed Randy Constant to sell conventionally raised grain as certified organic and receive a higher premium. Federal prosecutors say Whiteside received $177-thousand for grain that Constant resold to animal feed producers. They had asked for a one-year term in prison for Whiteside. His defense attorney argued he received a lesser sentence for having a clean record and having family obligations. Constant, also of Chillicothe, killed himself in 2019, three days after being sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for wire fraud. Four other farmers, one from Missouri and three from Nebraska, received prison sentences for their role in the long-running scheme. Back in December, the DOJ said that Constant admitted the fraudulent scheme involved at least $142,433,475 in grain sales, and the vast majority of those sales were fraudulent. From 2010 to 2017, Constant misled customers into thinking they were buying certified organic grain when the grain he was selling was not organic. Constant admitted falsely telling customers the grain he sold was grown on his certified organic fields in Nebraska and Missouri when the grain was not organic either because he purchased the grain from other growers, the certified organic fields were sprayed with unauthorized chemicals, or organic grain was mixed with non-organic grain. As part of the plea, Constant also agreed to forfeit $128,190,128 in proceeds from the fraudulent scheme. Constant’s grain was mostly used as animal feed, primarily for chickens and cattle. That livestock was then sold as organic meat or products from the livestock were sold as organic products. Because of Constant’s fraud, most of the livestock that was fed his grain was not organic, causing millions of consumers to purchase what they thought was organic meat for a premium price across the country. It is unclear how much of the billions in exorbitantly expensive "organic" food sold every year by the likes of Whole Foods and other overpriced outlets, is just plain, ordinary, off-the-shelf "inorganic" produce with a "ceritifed" sticker slapped on it to part the gullible with their money. Tyler Durden Sat, 05/29/2021 - 18:00
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California cafe charging mask-wearing customers an extra $5 to pay for ‘collateral damage’ of Covid-19 restrictions

from RT: A cafe owner in California is challenging mask-wearing customers by charging them an extra $5 to pay for the “damage they have collectively caused.” Chris Castleman, owner of the Fiddlehead Cafe in Mendocino, told NBC News the extra charges would be donated to charity. “I don’t think $5 to charity is too much […]
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China Successfully Launches Cargo Rocket With Supplies For New Space Station

China Successfully Launches Cargo Rocket With Supplies For New Space Station China launched an automated cargo rocket hauling supplies for the country's new space station late Saturday from the tropical island of Hainan in the South China Sea.  A Long March-7 Y3 rocket carrying the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft blasted off at 8:55 pm local time from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, state-run media Global Times reported.  China launched the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-2 on Saturday, which is scheduled to dock with the space station core module Tianhe to deliver supplies, equipment and propellant. #GLOBALink pic.twitter.com/GElRRa7NZd — China Xinhua News (@XHNews) May 29, 2021 The Tianzhou spacecraft is tasked with refueling the Tianhe space station core cabin for maintenance in orbit and also provides living necessities for future crewed missions at the space station.  The Chinese space agency expects 11 launches through the end of this year to deliver two more modules for the Tiangong Space Station, additional supplies, and a three-member crew. Today's launch marks the second within a month.  Apart from launch and eventual docking at the new space station, the rocket itself is set to fall back to Earth in an uncontrolled manner. Well, that's at least what happened earlier this month after the launch. There was no statement from Beijing about reentry plans for the rocket.  Beijing isn't part of the International Space Station (ISS), primarily due to the U.S. The ISS has been in low Earth orbit for a little more than 22 years and could reach its lifespan by the end of this decade. Russia has already announced it would be withdrawing from the ISS to build its own.  Tyler Durden Sat, 05/29/2021 - 17:00
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Where Will The Next Deflationary Shock Come From?

Where Will The Next Deflationary Shock Come From? Authored by Louis-Vincent Gave via Evergreen Gavekal blog, “Whenever I hear numbers like this, I look back to my childhood growing up in Hungary, where…[the] value of money meant nothing. I’m very worried this is an unstoppable situation because the longer the Fed waits, the more they will have to raise rates. So, we’re basically painting ourselves into a box, and I don’t see how we’re going to get out of it.” – Thomas Peterffy, chairman and founder of Interactive The 1986 oil price crash, to an extent, fired the starting gun on 30 years of global deflation. As commodity prices collapsed, so did the Soviet Union, giving the West a deflationary peace dividend. By the early 1990s, Japan’s real estate and equity market busts threatened its banks. The rollout of the North American Free Trade Area and the 1995 “tequila crisis” helped make Mexico a competitive manufacturing hub. Soon after, the 1997-98 Asian crisis made producing abroad even cheaper, while China’s 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization greatly simplified outsourcing. In 2008, the US mortgage bust spurred China to build more infrastructure, unleashing 500mn more workers into the global economy. Europe’s 2011-13 crisis caused another deflationary hit, while the US’s shale energy boom stopped oil and gas prices rising. So today, as inflation expectations move toward generational highs, a relevant question is: where might the next deflationary shock come from? Europe.  If vaccine rollouts let Europeans vacation freely this summer, it is unlikely to spur deflationary forces. The effect should be steeper eurozone yield curves, outperformance by financials and a firmer euro. Yet, if Europeans are told to stay home, another deflationary eurozone crisis could still ensue. Citizens deprived of a vacation may register their protest at the ballot box or, more likely, on the streets. For this reason, the odds are high that Europe re-opens, just as last year’s large fiscal stimulus gets rolled out. We should thus assume that—for now at least—Europe will not be a deflationary black hole. Commodities. With Europeans set to hit the beach and Americans looking to crank up the vehicle miles, energy prices should stay well bid. And as about a third of the cost of producing commodities is attributable to energy, the broader complex is unlikely to provide any kind of deflationary shock in the near future. The US dollar. As big projects in emerging economies are mostly funded in US dollars, any strengthening of the unit reduces their growth and depresses commodity prices. So, could a rising dollar unleash deflationary forces? For now, the US currency is making lower highs and lower lows, in spite of higher yields. This is perhaps not surprising, as the Federal Reserve has promised to add US$120bn of fresh dollars to the global system each month. Given such generosity, the threat of a US dollar short squeeze has now greatly receded. Hence, the dollar seems unlikely to be a deflationary force in the near future. The renminbi. With so much production capacity centered in China, the renminbi’s value is vital for manufacturers. When it is weak, few Western industrial firms can compete with China but when strong, foreign producers can expand margins and/or compete on price. Whether viewed on a three-year, five-year or 10-year basis, the renminbi has been the world’s best-performing major currency on a total return basis, which shows that, structurally, there is little appetite in Beijing for a devaluation. Moreover, as China’s trade surplus hits new highs and the authorities there tighten both fiscal and monetary policies, there seems little reason, cyclically, for this to happen. US real estate.  Homes are getting expensive, with median prices relative to incomes near the highs seen in 2006-07. The difference now is low supply as the stock of existing homes available for sale is at an all time low. Add into the mix the soaring cost of skilled labor and surging prices for building materials and it is hard to see why US real estate prices should crater anytime soon. Putting it all together, in the coming few years those “usual suspects” that previously unleashed deflation are now more likely to raise the inflationary temperature. Hence, if deflationary forces are going to carry the day, there will need to be impressive productivity gains. Somewhere in the system, someone will have to produce a whole lot more, with a whole lot less. But is this likely given the following trends that have been covered in recent Gavekal reports? * Globalization rollback: productivity gains from outsourced production are under threat as its true social costs have become more apparent. * Semiconductor shortage: robots have been touted as replacements for low-end labor everywhere, but as car factories are shuttered for want of chips one has to wonder where robot-makers will find the semiconductors they need to build the robots that will then build the cars. * Labor markets: workers across Western economies are being incentivized to stay home and, unsurprisingly, wages are now starting to rise. Indeed, 2020 saw the first meaningful US recession in which wage growth barely fell. This leaves us in the situation of seeing the price of everything from meat, corn, gasoline and lumber to shipping rates rise without a clear countervailing deflationary force. In an environment of rising government intervention, expanded public hand-outs, higher corporate taxes and more protectionism (and that is just the US!), it is possible that a surge in productivity provides an offset to the growing inflationary wind. But like an Elizabeth Taylor marriage, this seems to represent the triumph of hope over experience. Tyler Durden Sat, 05/29/2021 - 16:30
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After Grade-Rigging Scandal, Baltimore City Schools No Longer Holding Back Failing Students

After Grade-Rigging Scandal, Baltimore City Schools No Longer Holding Back Failing Students A new grading policy, put forth by the Baltimore City School Board, Tuesday, will allow students who are struggling and failing classes to move up to the next grade level due to the virus pandemic, according to local news Fox 45.  Instead of holding back students, Baltimore City Public School System's (BCPSS) new grading policy will push up struggling students who failed classes during the pandemic and have their educational status tested during the fall semester to determine what skills they missed during virtual learning classes.  Chief Academic Officer Joan Dabrowski said the new policy is intended to "avoid the punitive approach of failing students."  "This is not about a failure, but it is about unfinished learning and giving multiple opportunities, multiple onramps for young people to complete that ... learning," BCPSS CEO Sonja Santelises said. High school students will have their failing grades swapped out for a "No Credit," and for lower schools, a "Fail" will be replaced with "Not Completed."  About 78,000 students are enrolled across the metro area. More than 65% of students in secondary schools and 50% of Elementary Schools failed at least one class. Fox 45's investigative arm, "Project Baltimore," has spent several years investigating BCPSS corrupt school system. Grade-rigging has been well known before the pandemic, but now it's out in the open. At least now, school officials can deflect their failures on the pandemic.  Earlier this year, we pointed out how a high school student who almost graduated near the top half of his class failed almost every class. There have been attendance issues, such as attendance at high schools dropping to a 13-year low. More than a dozen schools have zero students proficient in math.  BCPSS officials no longer have to be covert about grade rigging as they can openly blame the pandemic.  Tyler Durden Sat, 05/29/2021 - 16:00
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Buy a 1oz Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coin for $50? (Streets of Singapore)

from Silver Bullion TV: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
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Market Report: Chinese buying revealed

by Alasdair Macleod, GoldMoney: Gold and silver continued to rally this week, with gold challenging the $1900 level and silver $28. From last Friday’s close, gold rose a net $12 to trade at $1892 in European trading this morning, and silver by 16 cents at $27.67. Gold hit a high of $1912.70 on Wednesday on […]
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Thursday Conversation – Tom Luongo

by Turd Ferguson, TF Metals Report: As you know, the NSFR of Basel3 are set to be implemented and enforced upon the EU Banks at the end of next month with UK Banks (and thus the LBMA) given a deadline of January 2022. If this all proceeds as scheduled, the impacts upon the current pricing […]
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Dig It! #96: USDA RFID Cattle Surveillance & Biolab + More!

from Corey’s Digs: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
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US Sitting On ‘Raft’ Of Unexamined Virus Intel; Former Official Says ‘Almost No Evidence’ Of Natural Origin

from ZeroHedge: Hours after President Biden promised to release the ‘full report’ from US Intelligence community’s 90-day examination of where COVID-19 originated – unless there’s something he’s unaware of… …the New York Times reports, there’s things he’s unaware of. TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/ Namely, ‘a raft of still-unexamined evidence that required additional computer analysis that might shed light on the mystery,” […]
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Mayor Lightfoot Pushes Permanent 10pm Curfew On Liquor Store Sales In Chicago

Mayor Lightfoot Pushes Permanent 10pm Curfew On Liquor Store Sales In Chicago Authored by Patrick Andriesen via IllinoisPolicy.org, Grocery and liquor stores would be barred from selling beer, wine and liquor after 10 p.m. if Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot gets her way. She said the move would curb crime by stopping gatherings outside liquor stores and help recovering bars and restaurants. Mayor Lightfoot introduced an amendment Wednesday that would permanently ban Chicago stores from selling beer, wine and other alcoholic drinks after 10 p.m. In April 2020, Lightfoot instituted the controversial 9 p.m. liquor curfew in Chicago to prevent residents from gathering outside during the coronavirus pandemic. Stores had been allowed to stay open until 2 a.m. most days and 3 a.m. Saturdays before the pandemic. The city revived the early curfew in October to combat a second wave of COVID-19 cases. Now, as Chicago enters the final phase of the COVID-19 reopening plan, Lightfoot wants to make the 10 p.m. curfew permanent. She said it would curb crimes and disturbances outside stores, as well as boost the pandemic-decimated hospitality industry by potentially driving more people into bars and restaurants if they want a drink after 10 p.m. The Chicago municipal code amendment proposed by Lightfoot during Wednesday’s City Council meeting would limit any person with a package goods license from selling or giving away packaged goods 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. “This initiative will address public safety and nuisance issues by limiting the nighttime sale of packaged goods …,” Lightfoot’s office announced in a news release. While Lightfoot originally defended the 2020 alcohol curfew as a “protective” measure against COVID-19 infections, she introduced the permanent curfew on Chicago liquor vendors as part of a package to help businesses recovering from the pandemic. She also proposed a 15% cap on fees charged by food delivery services and permanently allowing cocktails to-go. The City Council must approve Lightfoot’s plan for the curfew to go into effect. Tyler Durden Thu, 05/27/2021 - 17:20
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RESET, BAIL-INS & HYPERINFLATION…Q&A WITH LYNETTE ZANG

from ITM TRADING, INC.: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
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Ministry Of Truth 2.0 Looms

Ministry Of Truth 2.0 Looms Authored by Cal Thomas, op-ed via The Epoch Times, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas is reportedly considering the development of tools that would help America’s children discern truth from lies and know when they are being fed “disinformation.” The Washington Times, which first reported the story, says a department spokesperson declined to give details, but that more information would be revealed “in the coming weeks.” Mayorkas might want to start by fact-checking his recent claim that the U.S. southern border is “closed.” He made the statement when news pictures showed waves of people crossing the border. Should kids believe him, or their “lying eyes”? Should anyone, regardless of political party or persuasion, be comfortable with government telling especially children what they can believe and whom they can trust? This is what totalitarian states do. It’s called propaganda. We are already inundated with political correctness, cancel culture, and woke-ism. TV networks spend more time delivering opinion and slanting stories to particular points of view than what once resembled—if not objective journalism—then at least fairness. The list of government officials who have lied is long and dates back to the founders of the nation. Some lies could be defended on national security grounds. Others were used to cover up wrongdoing or enhance the image of the one who lied. In recent years, we recall President Clinton’s denial of having sex with Monica Lewinsky, President Obama’s claim about his health care program: “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor,” President George H.W. Bush’s “Read my lips, no new taxes,” assertions by the George W. Bush administration that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, Richard Nixon’s lies about Watergate, the lies told by Lyndon Johnson, members of his administration and generals about how we were winning the war in Vietnam (Johnson had pledged during the 1964 campaign not to send Americans to fight in Vietnam, another lie), and the CEO of R.J. Reynolds telling a congressional committee in 1994 that “cigarette smoking is no more ‘addictive’ than coffee, tea, or Twinkies.” The Washington Post reported in January that by the end of his term, former President Trump “had accumulated 30,573 untruths during his presidency—averaging about 21 erroneous claims a day.” I could go on, but you get the point. George Orwell was prescient when he wrote in “1984” about Newspeak and the Ministry of Truth. We have already achieved the former in what we are allowed to say, or not say, lest we be smeared with nasty rhetorical stains. Let’s revisit the Ministry of Truth for those who haven’t read the book or need a reminder. The Ministry of Truth was related to Newspeak in that it had nothing to do with truth, but propaganda by another name. Its job was to falsify historical records in ways that aligned with government policies and its version of those events. It was also tasked with defining truth, which sometimes resulted in “doublespeak,” or contradictions, that served the purposes of the state. Truth has become subjective and relative in modern times and is now personal. You have your “truth” and I have my “truth.” Even when they contradict each other, it doesn’t matter as long as we both feel good about it. This flawed notion has contributed to our cultural decline. Try this experiment if you want to see how far we have moved from objective truth. Go to any popular definition website and type in “truth.” They assume truth exists and can be discovered. The truth is supposed to set us free, but if we can’t recognize or define it, we will be in bondage. Secretary Mayorkas should reread Orwell’s novel and then abandon any plans to indoctrinate schoolchildren. Tyler Durden Thu, 05/27/2021 - 16:40
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​​​​​​​Russian Spy Ship Quietly Parked In Waters Off Hawaii

​​​​​​​Russian Spy Ship Quietly Parked In Waters Off Hawaii A Russian Navy surveillance ship parked in international waters off Kauai, an island in the Central Pacific, part of the Hawaiian archipelago, has delayed a Missile Defense Agency missile test, according to Honolulu Star-Advertiser.  The US Pacific Fleet confirmed Wednesday that it "is aware of the Russian vessel operating in international waters in the vicinity of Hawaii, and will continue to track it through the duration of its time here."  The ship has been operating in international waters just 13 nautical miles west of Kauai for several days. The vessel is not broadcasting an automatic identification system signal.  "Through maritime patrol aircraft, surface ships and joint capabilities, we can closely monitor all vessels in the Indo-Pacific area of operations," US Pacific Fleet's statement continued.  U.S. Naval Institute News first identified the presence of the spy ship, indicating it was a Russian Navy Vishnya-class auxiliary general intelligence (AGI) ship Kareliya (SSV-535). Honolulu Star-Advertiser then expanded on this and said the vessel is in the vicinity of the Pacific Missile Range and has "delayed" a missile test.  The question remains: Why does a Russian signals intelligence vessel sit off the coast of Kauai? Is Moscow sending the Biden administration a message of new strength in the Pacific?  Tyler Durden Thu, 05/27/2021 - 16:20
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Catholic church in St. Louis ROPES OFF unvaccinated members like cattle, bans them from parish hall

by Ethan Huff, DC Clothesline: St. Joseph Catholic Parish in Cottleville, Mo., near St. Louis is reportedly segregating its unvaccinated members from the rest of the congregation by forcing them to worship and take communion in their own separate area of the building. All non-vaccinated members of St. Joseph’s are now prohibited from using the parish hall […]
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Two Charts, One Message: Get Ready to Load Up on Silver?

by Jeff Clark, Gold Seek: An ideal way to invest is to identify an asset that is both undervalued and poised to rise. Easier said than done, but if an investor can find an opportunity that meets those two criteria, they can put the odds greatly in their favor. Well, that may be exactly what […]
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DEMISE OF THE DOLLAR

from Junius Maltby: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
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Johns Hopkins Prof: Half Of Americans Have Natural Immunity; Dismissing It Is "Biggest Failure Of Medical Leadership"

Johns Hopkins Prof: Half Of Americans Have Natural Immunity; Dismissing It Is "Biggest Failure Of Medical Leadership" Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News, A professor with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has said that there is a general dismissal of the fact that more than half of all Americans have developed natural immunity to the coronavirus and that it constitutes “one of the biggest failures of our current medical leadership.” Dr. Marty Makary made the comments during a recent interview, noting that “natural immunity works” and it is wrong to vilify those who don’t want the vaccine because they have already recovered from the virus. Makary criticised “the most slow, reactionary, political CDC in American history” for not clearly communicating the scientific facts about natural immunity compared to the kind of immunity developed through vaccines. “There is more data on natural immunity than there is on vaccinated immunity, because natural immunity has been around longer,” Makary emphasised. “We are not seeing reinfections, and when they do happen, they’re rare. Their symptoms are mild or are asymptomatic,” the professor added. “Please, ignore the CDC guidance,” he urged, adding “Live a normal life, unless you are unvaccinated and did not have the infection, in which case you need to be careful.” “We’ve got to start respecting people who choose not to get the vaccine instead of demonizing them,” Makary further asserted. Listen: The professor’s comments come amid a plethora of media generated propaganda suggesting that natural immunity isn’t enough, and that those who do not choose to take the vaccine should be socially ostracised. The likes of the World Health Organisation have even shifted the definition of ‘herd immunity’, eliminating the pre-COVID scientific consensus that it could be achieved by allowing a virus to spread through a population, and insisting that herd immunity comes solely from vaccines. *  *  * Brand new merch now available! Get it at https://www.pjwshop.com/ *  *  * In the age of mass Silicon Valley censorship It is crucial that we stay in touch. We need you to sign up for our free newsletter here. Support our sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown. Also, we urgently need your financial support here. Tyler Durden Wed, 05/26/2021 - 16:19
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OPERATION JAB AMERICA: The Ultimate DIVIDE & RULE PsyOp

from State Of The Nation: “VAX or MASK” In other words, if you’re a good boy and girl and get your Covid jab, you can take off your mask. Otherwise, you wear a mask for the rest of your life and everyone knows you as a dangerous vax denier and superspreader. TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/ […]
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Project Veritas blows lid on Facebook's global censorship of "vaccine hesitancy"

(Natural News) Facebook is so determined to get everyone in the world “vaccinated” for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) that it is now censoring all content that it deems as promoting “vaccine hesitancy” (VH). Two whistleblowers recently came forward to tell their stories to Project Veritas, revealing that Facebook’s goal is to “drastically reduce user exposure”...
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Elizabeth Warren Wants To Ban Lawmakers From Trading Individual Stocks

Elizabeth Warren Wants To Ban Lawmakers From Trading Individual Stocks Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wants to end what is effectively legalized insider trading by members of Congress by barring them from trading individual stocks ever again. Warren first attempted to push through similar legislation with the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act she introduced in 2018 and then again in 2020. Both bills unsurprisingly died in the Senate Finance Committee, which Warren sits on. The renewed push comes as several members of Congress have come under recent scrutiny for profitable stock trades in recent months, according to Business Insider. The include Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and former Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia. And who can forget California Democratic Congresswoman Judy Chu, the former East LA Community College teacher who entered congress with a $100,000 - $250,000 net worth - and somehow day traded herself to an estimated net worth of $7 million dollars. The $4 million increase in Judy Chu (D-CA) net worth in 2017 shows just how far that $174K salary can go pic.twitter.com/9SB8pyshpa — zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 28, 2020 According to Warren, government officials exist "to serve the people, not their personal financial interests," adding "Congress should pass anti-corruption legislation and restore American's faith in government by making it work for everyone — not just the rich and powerful." Warren didn't offer a specific time table for when she plans to introduce the legislation, while lawmakers continue to trade stocks like hotcakes. More via Business Insider: Burr goes bear Burr, who endured a months-long federal investigation into his personal stock trades, last week reported making several recent stock sales along with his wife, Brooke Burr. The Burrs sold up to $165,000 worth of stock in Enterprise Products Partners, a natural-gas and crude-oil pipeline company, between April 28 and April 30. The company's stock price has remained effectively level since then. Brooke Burr also reported selling up to $100,000 in MetLife Inc. floating-rate noncumulative preferred stock and up to $100,000 in US Bancorp depository preferred shares. Burr, who wasn't charged, made a flurry of stock sales on February 13, 2020, six days after cowriting an opinion article on FoxNews.com that sought to ease public concern over the threat COVID-19 posed to the US. "Thankfully, the United States today is better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health threats, like the coronavirus, in large part due to the work of the Senate Health Committee, Congress, and the Trump Administration," Burr wrote along with then-Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican. But on February 27 of last year, Burr — then chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee — told a more dire story to a small, private luncheon gathering at Washington's tony Capitol Hill Club. "There's one thing that I can tell you about this: It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history," Burr said, according to a secret recording obtained by NPR's Tim Mak. "It is probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic." The Justice Department's investigation of Burr's February 2020 stock trades, together valued at more than $1.7 million, centered on whether the senator made his trades based on insider information obtained during senators-only briefings about the COVID-19 threat. Burr says he is not planning to run for reelection in 2022. Jim Inhofe moves to amend An aviation enthusiast who announced his 2020 reelection bid by piloting a propeller plane upside down, Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican of Oklahoma, has regularly made news over the years for close-call incidents while flying. More recently, Inhofe sought to remedy another aircraft situation — this time on paper. In a May 17 letter to the US Senate Secretary Julie Adams, Inhofe acknowledged understating the value of the assets — most notably, airplanes — held by The Padre Company LLC, a limited-liability company that the senator controls. As of 2019, Inhofe's LLC held three aircraft together valued at up to $1 million: a 1979 Grumman Tiger, a 1999 RV-8, and a 1979 Cessna 340. It also included real estate. Inhofe wrote that his letter provided a "total reconciliation of the life of my assets" within The Padre Company LLC, which formed in 1999. In short, Inhofe had not been previously factoring in the value of the real-estate property as part of his public disclosure of the LLC. Now he is, which is why the reported value of the LLC has increased. "Ahead of filing his annual disclosures each year, Senator Inhofe discusses it with the Ethics Committee to maximize transparency and ensure he is adhering to the spirit of the law, not just the letter of it," the spokesperson Leacy Burke told Insider. "Previously, it had been understood that these were considered personal properties and exempt, unreportable assets. This year, in the interest of greater transparency, he was encouraged to file the amendment and include them, as you can see he did." Read the rest of the report here. Tyler Durden Tue, 05/25/2021 - 17:05
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New Regulation Could Pressure Paper Metals Markets

by Clint Siegner, Money Metals: Alasdair MacLeod, the Head of Research at Goldmoney, wonders if we may soon see “the end of paper gold and silver markets.” The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) developed Basel III regulations, purportedly to prevent another 2008-style financial crisis. The roll out of these new measures began years ago. Unless […]
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Body Language: Central Bank Digital Currency Payment Systems

from Body Language Ghost: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
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Bonds & Bullion Bid, Stocks Skid As Stimmy-less Sentiment Slumps

Bonds & Bullion Bid, Stocks Skid As Stimmy-less Sentiment Slumps The day started off with an exuberant buying-panic in Small Caps at the US cash open (as the rest of the majors were sold). That lasted around 12 minutes before Small Caps reversed that maniacal spike and everything accelerated into the red and beyond into the European close. A brief bounce ensued, only for that rip to be sold and as the old "WSB" names started to rise, so Small Caps and the rest of the major indices tumbled in the last hour. Nasdaq managed to close green, none of the other majors did with Small Caps the laggards (from up 1% at the open to down 1% at the close) Amid the lowest volume of the year... Source: Bloomberg Sentiment slipped for the first time this year with buying plans crashing. New home sales crashed... and home prices are exploding... and RRP volumes are exploding... Those old "WSB" short-squeeze names were back today... Source: Bloomberg With GME topping $200 once again... And AMC even more aggressively bid... The dollar ended slightly lower despite China's best efforts overnight... Source: Bloomberg As China told its banks to buy USD to intervene in the Yuan's strength... Source: Bloomberg Bonds were aggressively bid too - down around 4bps across the curve - helped by a rock solid 2Y auction... Source: Bloomberg With 10Y tumbling below 1.60 and accelerated down to critical level near its lowest close in over two months... Source: Bloomberg Real yields are continued to revert lower (catching up with Gold's signal)... Source: Bloomberg Gold futures surged back above $1900 - almost back in the green for the year... Silver rallied back above $28 today... WTI ended very marginally lower on the day, stalling around the $66.50 level once again ahead of tonight's inventory data... Cryptos were mixed today, though generally lower in the majors. Ethereum oscillated around $2600... Source: Bloomberg And Bitcoin hovered around $38k after briefly tagging $40k... Source: Bloomberg Finally, it is pretty clear that there are some serious issues occurring under the hood of 'calm' in these markets as the size of RRPs is exploding in a massive rejection of The Fed's liquidity spigot... Source: Bloomberg And, as Curvature notes, "Yesterday, GC averaged at -.0099%, which was the lowest non-quarter-end, non-year-end average EVER. The previous record low was -.0078% on March 19." And we all know what "reality" the 'market' faces, if The Fed ever stops... (and don't forget SF Fed's Daly admitted today that they're "talking about talking about tapering...") Trade accordingly. Tyler Durden Tue, 05/25/2021 - 16:01
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Gold “Relatively Cheap” Compared to Other Assets: TD Securities Head

from Birch Gold Group: This week, Your News to Know rounds up the latest top stories involving gold and the overall economy. Stories include: Expert says gold is still at bargain price, how Basel 3 could boost gold and silver prices, and what’s next after gold’s breakout. TD Securities: Gold is “relatively cheap” compared to […]
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UK Airlines Ordered To Avoid Belarusian Airspace As Ryanair CEO Blasts "State-Sponsored Hijacking"

UK Airlines Ordered To Avoid Belarusian Airspace As Ryanair CEO Blasts "State-Sponsored Hijacking" A growing number of European carriers, including all airlines based in the United Kingdom, are now avoiding entry into Belarus' airspace following Sunday's dramatic events involving the diversion of a Ryanair flight carrying Belarusian opposition journalist Roman Pratasevich. The BBC is confirming that "The UK government has told airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace after a Ryanair flight was diverted to Minsk and an opposition journalist arrested." The government said this is necessary "to keep passengers safe". JUST: UK directed all its airlines to avoid #Belarus’ airspace following Protasevich kidnapping. Follows Lithuania gov, SAS, Air Baltic, Wizz Air airlines. Flight trackers show ✈️ skirting Belarus: pic.twitter.com/cNgBhFX915 — Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) May 24, 2021 Britain's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced Monday: "Following the forced diversion of a Ryanair aircraft to Minsk yesterday, I’ve instructed the UK Civil Aviation Authority to request airlines avoid Belarusian airspace in order to keep passengers safe." He also said "I have also suspended Belavia’s operating permit" - in reference to the state-owned national airline company of Belarus. The Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania had been intercepted and escorted by Belrusian Air Force MiG-21 jets, which US and EU officials have slammed as putting the 170 passengers at risk. Americans had been among the international passengers on board. Pratasevich had been arrested the moment the plane touched down in Minsk.  A growing list of airliners are now said to be avoiding the airspace, particularly out of Baltic states, after a number of European governments expressed shock and outrage at the "state hijacking" of the Ryanair flight on Sunday. Ireland's Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary also belatedly issued a statement after not commenting for much of Sunday. He affirmed that the company sees it as a brazen instance of "a state-sponsored hijacking" which happened without warning. He said further: "It was clear that the intent of the Belarusian authorities was to remove a journalist and his traveling companion. We believe some KGB agents [State Security Committee of Belarus] were offloaded from the aircraft as well." ❗️According to his mother, Roman Protasevich is in hospital in critical condition - heart disease. pic.twitter.com/5YKx3WLFyq — Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) May 24, 2021 Meanwhile, in a worrisome development which is beginning to have echoes of the Navalny saga, there are now significant rumors that Protasevich has been hospitalized. It also comes amid reports that the journalist and activist who had a major presence on the anti-Lukashenko Telegram channel Nexta could either face execution or even be extrajudicially "disappeared".  Global outrage as Belarus forces a passenger plane carrying a wanted opposition activist to divert and land in its capitalhttps://t.co/Ji1aHOHeM0 📹 Passengers aboard the Ryanair flight carrying dissident journalist Roman Protasevich describe what happened during the flight pic.twitter.com/h4512Wx1tP — AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 24, 2021 As we underscored earlier, the whole bizarre ordeal is setting up yet another major diplomatic clash between the West and Russia, especially after Moscow called out the US and EU for it's "double standard" and selective outrage - given past notable instances of European governments and the US doing the same thing. For example, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova issued the following Monday statement: "Either the should be shocked by everything: from the forced landings in Austria of the plane of the president of Bolivia at the request of the United States and in Ukraine after 11 minutes of takeoff of a Belarusian flight with an Antimaidan activist. Or they should not be shocked by similar behavior by others." Tyler Durden Mon, 05/24/2021 - 16:50
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Strong Dollar? Weak Dollar? Stable Dollar? The Fed Is Ruining The Dollar!

from Silver Doctors: The Fed, politicians and their crony corporate friends persistently manipulate the dollar and U.S. economy to their advantage, at the expense of everyone else. Prices are… The Fed, politicians and their crony corporate friends persistently manipulate the dollar and U.S. economy to their advantage, at the expense of everyone else. Prices are […]
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Solari Report: Loosen Technology’s Grip on Your Mind with Corey Lynn

from Corey’s Digs: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
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Bitcoin, Bullion, & Big-Tech Soar As Dollar Drop Resumes

Bitcoin, Bullion, & Big-Tech Soar As Dollar Drop Resumes As the inflation narrative fades amid a now-negative China credit impulse, all of the old favorite trades are back and today was the panic-buying of big-tech reignited once again. Nasdaq roared higher, Small Caps lagged along with the Dow, S&P ended up 1%.. Small Caps are coiling in a tight range between 50- and 100-DMAs... And Nasdaq bounced after closing below its 100DMA, back above its 50DMA... Growth outperformed Value... Source: Bloomberg VIX tumbled back below 19... Another short-squeeze (filled the gap from last Wednesday's tumble) provided some more ammo for the rip today... Source: Bloomberg Cryptos all rallied hard today, surging back into the green after another illiquid bloodbath over the weekend... Source: Bloomberg ...with Bitcoin back above $38,000 after falling beloe $32k over the weekend... Source: Bloomberg Ether outperformed dramatically, ripping back from below $2000 to over $2500... Source: Bloomberg And gold held its gains... As the dollar reversed its gains from late Friday... Source: Bloomberg Bonds were bid today - even as stocks rallied - with the majority of the curve down around 1-1.5bps... Source: Bloomberg 10Y Yields found support at 1.60% again... Source: Bloomberg Real yields dipped, catching (up) gold's lead... Source: Bloomberg Crude oil surged higher today too, with WTI back above $66... Finally, as we detailed earlier, the banks sent another, even louder message to The Fed today with a near-record RRP... Source: Bloomberg The message is simple "f**k off, I'm full!" Tyler Durden Mon, 05/24/2021 - 16:01
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Biden Spox Deflects Over Wuhan Bombshells During Tense Exchange

Biden Spox Deflects Over Wuhan Bombshells During Tense Exchange The White House on Monday deflected after Fox News' Peter Doocy put spox Jen Psaki on the spot following a Wall Street Journal report that three workers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill with COVID-19 symptoms in December of 2019, bolstering the lab-leak theory for the origins of the pandemic. "Why isn't President Biden pushing for more access, more information to get to the bottom of exactly what happened," asked Doocy. "We are," replied Psaki, adding "and we have repeatedly called for the WHO to support an expert-driven evaluation of the origins. During that first phase of the investigation there was not access to data, there was not information provided. And now we're hopeful that WHO can move into a more transparent independent phase II investigation." Doocy shot back - "But with 589,920 dead Americans, at what point does President Biden say 'we don't want to wait for the WHO. We don't know what they're doing. This needs to be an American-led effort to get to the bottom of what happened.'" "He talks all the time about how he's known President Xi for a long time. So why can't he just call and ask?" Psaki: "You're misunderstanding how this process works. An international investigation led by the WHO is something that we've actually been pressing for for several months, in coordination with a range of partners from around the world. We need that data, we need that information from the Chinese government. What we can't do... is leaping ahead of an international process. We don't have enough data to come to a conclusion at this time." Doocy: "So is there any amount of casualties from covid that would make you not want to wait for an international effort and just do it?" Watch: WH’s Psaki on growing evidence Covid escaped from a Chinese lab: We want a WHO-driven investigation, not a U.S-led probe: "We have repeatedly called for the W.H.O. to support an expert-driven evaluation of the pandemic's origins" pic.twitter.com/XQlUws9Ndd — Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) May 24, 2021 The pain didn't stop there for Psaki... After @PDoocy went back-and-forth with Jen Psaki over the @WSJ story about Wuhan Institute of Virology employees, Reuters's @jeffmason1 and CBS's @Weijia Jiang both picked up on it and continued hammering away (and much to Psaki's dismay). Left, right, center -- this matters. — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 24, 2021 The White House has repeatedly resisted forming an opinion over the growing lab-leak hypothesis, insisting that it would wait for a 'complete and independent investigation' from the World Health Organization - the same WHO which conducted a laughable Wuhan roadshow months ago that concluded COVID-19 likely emerged via natural origin. And who was the most prominent member of said WHO 'investigation' by far? EcoHealth's Peter Daszak, the guy paid $666,000 per year by Anthony Fauci's NIH to collaborate with the Wuhan lab! For some reason, Peter doesn't want to talk to us. Was it something we said? https://t.co/IlHhvMFXD6 pic.twitter.com/0aRGOUKVn7 — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 24, 2021 We've got many questions...   Tyler Durden Mon, 05/24/2021 - 15:25
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Hollywood Begs Moviegoers to Return to Big-screen Theaters

by James Murphy, The New American: After a year during which a pandemic and political turmoil put a damper on the motion picture viewing habits of Americans, Hollywood had a message for aficionados of the big screen experience. In the words of The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, “We are back!” That’s what the actor and former California […]
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Morgan Stanley: Here Are The 4 "Worries" That Will Dominate The Next 6-12 Months

Morgan Stanley: Here Are The 4 "Worries" That Will Dominate The Next 6-12 Months By Andrew Sheets, Chief Cross-Asset Strategist for Morgan Stanley All Gas, No Brakes The weather in London this week has been rainy while sunny, which feels like a fair description of current sentiment, as we’ve been discussing our mid-year outlook with investors this week. There’s a wide range of views out there at the moment, with the noisiness of the data giving everyone something to hang their hat on. In short, it’s the perfect time to step back and debate the longer-term outlook. The most notable aspect of our forecasts, and one of the most contentious areas of debate, is just how much our expectations differ from the prior decade. The post-GFC period was defined by fiscal austerity, low investment, a deleveraging consumer and central banks acting pre-emptively to choke off inflationary risk. Indeed, for all that we associate ‘easy policy’ with the last cycle, the PBOC tightening in 2010, the ECB hiking in 2011 and the Fed hiking in 2015 were all aggressive early moves to nip inflation in the bud. Our expectations this time around couldn’t be more different. Fiscal policy is historically expansionary. The consumer in the US, Europe and China is in outstanding shape, with record levels of savings. We see a ‘red-hot capex cycle’ and public and private sector investment increasing. Global real rates are still near all-time lows. As my colleague Chetan Ahya noted in last week’s Sunday Start, fiscal easing, cheap money, a strong consumer and more investment are four powerful cylinders in the proverbial economic engine. But just as notable is the expected policy response. In the face of strong growth, we think that central banks remain unusually standoffish. For the Fed, it’s a focus on still-elevated unemployment, coupled with a recent commitment to average inflation targeting. For the ECB, it’s awareness of a long-running inflation undershoot and memories of the 2011 hikes. For China, it’s taking a more gradual approach to tightening than after the last downturn. In short, it’s a global economy with a lot of gas and few brakes: And if that is so, it means the risk case is different. After a decade where risk often skewed to the downside and the question was what new form of easing would central banks conjure up to fight weakness, the issue now is that growth is good. Hence: * Will the recovery create inflation? * Will it alter central bank policy? * Will that lead to margin and tax pressures? * And is good growth already in the price? If these are the ‘worries’ that will dominate the next 6-12 months, they won’t apply evenly. For US equities and credit, as well as segments of EM, these concerns will be front and center. But for Europe (and Japan), the questions of excessive valuations, high inflation, a hawkish policy shift or new corporate taxes seem much more distant. Maybe this distinction is obvious, but we think that it still works to Europe’s advantage. A hotter cycle could also mean a shorter cycle, and an unusually fast normalization of conditions. Such a scenario disadvantages credit. The asset class sees outstanding early-cycle, post-recession performance as growth recovers and companies focus on survival. But as things heat up, extra growth doesn’t mean any extra income from a corporate bond. On a cross-asset basis, credit underperforms on our new 12-month forecasts, and credit risk premiums look rich relative to other assets. With a change in view from Srikanth Sankaran and our credit strategy team, we’ve downgraded credit to equal-weight. Finally, these forecasts invite an even more important structural question. Again, our expectations for strong fiscal, monetary and capital spending and consumer trends are very different from what prevailed over the last decade. Will this mean an exit from the secular stagnation of the post-GFC mindset? If we are right, this should be an increasingly important debate. As we’ve told this story over the last week, opinions, like the weather, have been mixed. We’ve talked to plenty of investors who think it’s finally Europe’s time to shine, and plenty of others who worry it will remain a serial disappointment. One investor described our expectation that the Fed doesn’t hike until 3Q23 as ‘what the Fed wants to do, not what it will do’, while another thought the Fed wouldn’t be able to complete tapering, given market sensitivity to real rates. Opinion on the big picture is similarly divided. Indeed, the current debate reminds me quite a bit of 2010, when there was a sharp division between those who expected a rapid return of pre-crisis conditions (higher rates, EM leadership), and those who thought otherwise. As growth and inflation pick up, we expect a trickier summer, but also an ongoing debate around these larger issues. Rain during sunshine could be something we need to get used to. Tyler Durden Sun, 05/23/2021 - 16:30
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THE OLD DEVILS ARE AT IT AGAIN… THE NEVER ENDING WAR ON HUMANITY

from Dollar Vigilante: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
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Fauci Finally Admits COVID-19 May Have Come From Wuhan Lab, 'Not Convinced' Of Natural Origin

Fauci Finally Admits COVID-19 May Have Come From Wuhan Lab, 'Not Convinced' Of Natural Origin Earlier this month, just hours after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) dragged Anthony Fauci over pandemic misinformation - and the fact that Fauci's NIH funded risky collaborations at the Wuhan Institute of Virology - the nation's top virologist (and highest-paid government employee) furiously backpedaled over the origins of the pandemic in what we can only assume was an effort to redirect attention from his own culpability. Recall that since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, Fauci parroted CCP talking points - insisting that the virus couldn't possibly have come from a Chinese lab. h/t @QTRResearch Yet, hours after Rand Paul's grilling - Fauci suddenly changed his tune during an afternoon Poynter event on "United Facts of America: A Festival of Fact-Checking," according to the Fox News. When asked by Katie Sanders of Politifact if he was still confident that COVID-19 developed naturally, Fauci responded: "No actually. "I am not convinced about that, I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened." "Certainly, the people who investigated it say it likely was the emergence from an animal reservoir that then infected individuals, but it could have been something else, and we need to find that out. So, you know, that’s the reason why I said I’m perfectly in favor of any investigation that looks into the origin of the virus," he added, nervously. Watch below - and notice how Fauci gets upset that Paul brought up NIH funding - while misdirecting with the false argument nobody is making that the NGO he funded, EcoHealth Alliance, participated in the creation of COVID-19. As we noted in March, Fauci's NIH "funded a number of projects that involved WIV scientists, including much of the Wuhan lab's work with bat coronaviruses. While in 2017, Fauci's agency resumed funding a controversial grant without the approval of a government oversight body, according to the Daily Caller. For context, in 2014, the Obama administration temporarily suspended federal funding for gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses. Four months prior to that decision, Fauci's NIH effectively shifted this research to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) via a grant to nonprofit group EcoHealth Alliance, headed by Peter Daszak. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance The NIH's first $666,442 installment of EcoHealth's $3.7 million grant was paid in June 2014, with similar annual payments through May 2019 under the "Understanding The Risk Of Bat Coronavirus Emergence" project. Notably, the WIV "had openly participated in gain-of-function research in partnership with U.S. universities and institutions" for years under the leadership of Dr. Shi 'Batwoman' Zhengli, according to the Washington Post's Josh Rogin. And now, Fauci, who funded EcoHealth, is suddenly putting his hands in the air and playing innocent over the whole thing. Tyler Durden Sun, 05/23/2021 - 16:00
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Forest area the size of France has regrown worldwide since 2000, new study reveals

(Natural News) Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at a record high. But it’s not as bad as it sounds. It’s actually great for trees and forests, as shown by a recent study led by the nonprofit conservation group World Wide Fund (WWF). The study, which is part of the WWF’s Trillion Trees project, found that an area of...
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Definitely Not a Cult

from Paul Joseph Watson: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
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GOP Congressman 'Forgot' To Cast Proxy Vote Which Would Have Tanked Democrats' $1.9B Security Spending Bill

GOP Congressman 'Forgot' To Cast Proxy Vote Which Would Have Tanked Democrats' $1.9B Security Spending Bill California GOP Rep. Ken Calvert somehow "forgot" to cast a proxy vote last week on behalf of Texas GOP Rep. John Carter which would have tanked the Democrats $1.9 billion supplemental security bill in response to the Jan. 6 'insurrection,' according to Just The News. 'Forgetful' Rep. Ken Calvert (R?-CA) Carter authorized Calvert to cast the proxy vote for him in a May 14 letter to the House Clerk, Cheryl Johnson - and successfully had a proxy vote cast for him on "the motion to recommit" which preceded the final vote that Calvert 'forgot' to cast. A spokesperson for Carter told Just The News that "The congressman included a statement in the record that he would've voted no," while a Calvert spokesperson said he "had been voting by proxy for Rep. Carter throughout the week," adding "Rep. Calvert made a mistake and simply forgot to cast Rep. Carter's vote." "Simply forgot" to kill the Democrats' virtue signaling legislation intended to cast Trump supporters as violent criminals. Right. More via Just The News: House members now have the option to vote by proxy in lieu of in-person voting due to rule changes that the House passed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the House, a tied vote can sink a bill, so a no vote from one or two of the GOP members who didn't vote would have blocked the bill from passing.  Florida Republican Rep. Daniel Webster was against the measure, but he's opposed to using proxy voting and was unable to vote in-person on the bill. "Rep. Webster missed votes because he was unavoidably detained in the district and wasn’t able to make it to D.C. in time to make the votes," a spokesperson for Webster told Just the News on Friday. "He likely would have opposed the bill — he didn't proxy vote on principle as he is on the record opposing proxy-voting and was part of the original lawsuit challenging its constitutionality." Aside from the two GOP members whose votes were not recorded, all other Republican House members voted against the bill. The Democrat-led House passed the bill 213-212 on Thursday. There were three Democrats that voted against the bill and 3 Democrats that voted present.  Of course, the bill would have also died had Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a spine.  The only reason Pelosi's More-Capitol-Police-Funding bill passed is because @AOC, @JamaalBowmanNY & @RashidaTlaib spent a year demanding "Defund the Police!" for everyone else, but then did what they had to (voted "present") to ensure they got more police funding for themselves: https://t.co/bXldqPvMEb — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 21, 2021 I forgot about @AOC's attack on @TulsiGabbard for voting "present" on Trump's impeachment, saying a present vote is a violation leadership duties. This makes @AOC' "present" vote yesterday on the $1.9 billion Capitol Police spending bill even more craven:https://t.co/HUMAvKmJaW — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 21, 2021 Tyler Durden Sat, 05/22/2021 - 16:00
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China Rebuffs Pentagon Chief's Attempts To Hold Military-To-Military Talks

China Rebuffs Pentagon Chief's Attempts To Hold Military-To-Military Talks Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, According to a report from Reuters, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has been unable to speak with China’s top military official despite multiple attempts to set up talks. Tensions have been high between the militaries of the two nations due to the increased US military activity in sensitive areas like the South China Sea. US warships are regularly patrolling the disputed waters and frequently shadow Chinese ships. US spy planes are also constantly buzzing near China’s coast. Via USNI News/PLAN An unnamed US official told Reuters that there was a debate within the Biden administration about whether Austin should speak with Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe or the vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, Xu Qiliang. Xu is a member of China’s politburo and is said to have more influence with Chinese President Xi Jinping. US officials told the Financial Times that Austin had made three requests to speak with Xu, but China has decided not to engage. While a high-level military meeting has not happened between the two countries during the Biden administration, there has been communication between the armed forces at lower levels. Beijing certainly has reasons to be hesitant to engage with Austin. In March, Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a high-level meeting with China’s top diplomats in Alaska. Blinken opened the talks by accusing China of threatening the "rules-based order," and things quickly fell apart from there. The rhetoric out of the Biden administration has been harsh when it comes to Beijing, and the Pentagon has identified China as the top "pacing threat" facing the US military. In his first address to Congress, President Biden said the US was in a competition with China to "win the 21st century." He also said that he told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the US will militarize the Indo-Pacific "just as we do with NATO in Europe." Tyler Durden Sat, 05/22/2021 - 15:30
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Nobel Prize Virologist Explains How COVID-19 Vaccines Are The Ones Creating Variants

from Humans Are Free: Nobel Prize winner French Virologist Prof. Luc Montagnier in an interview has made a starting claim that the COVID-19 vaccines itself are creating variants. He said that epidemiologists know but are “silent” about the phenomenon, known as “Antibody-Dependent Enhancement” (ADE). While it is understood that viruses mutate, causing variants, Luc Montagnier contends that […]
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WATCH anti-lockdown protesters clash with police in Berlin at rally banned by authorities

from RT: Riot police have been deployed in Berlin to forcefully disperse hundreds of protesters. Demonstrators have taken to the streets of the German capital denouncing the Covid-19 lockdown measures. Coronavirus skeptics gathered and marched through the streets in central Berlin on Saturday. The rally has been banned by authorities, but despite that, hundreds took […]
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Cryptos Crushed, Commodities Crumbled, But 'Crappy' Stocks Soared This Week

Cryptos Crushed, Commodities Crumbled, But 'Crappy' Stocks Soared This Week Some notable headlines catalyzed weakness in stocks during today's US session but Small Caps (Russell) and Big Caps (Dow) outperformed as Big-Tech (Nasdaq) lagged and the S&P went nowhere (weak close as post-opex week looms)... 1015ET *CHINA REITERATES CALL FOR CRACKDOWN ON BITCOIN MINING, TRADING (slamming crypto and pushed the entire stock market lower too) A crackdown on miners in China would radically reduce the carbon footprint of Bitcoin mining, increase the profitability of all the remaining #Bitcoin miners, reduce nagging China FUD, support progress toward our ESG goals, & drive up the value of $BTC. We should be so lucky... https://t.co/78ELDF9sku — Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) May 21, 2021 1205ET *HARKER: SHOULD SPEAK ABOUT REDUCING BOND BUYS SOONER THAN LATER (pushed S&P down to unchanged) 1220ET *BOSTIC: MONITORING ECONOMY TO ASSESS TRANSITORY VS OTHERWISE (thanks Captain Obvious) 1225ET *KAPLAN: SHOULD DISCUSS UNINTENDED EFFECTS OF EMERGENCY TOOLS (little late for that now?) 1225ET *BARKIN: WHEN WE MAKE SUBSTANTIAL FURTHER PROGRESS WE'LL TAPER (yada yada yada) 1250ET *KAPLAN: RATHER GENTLY TAKE FOOT OFF ACCELERATOR THAN BRAKE LATER (so tapering then?) 1345ET *KAPLAN DECLINES TO PUT DATE ON WHEN FED SHOULD START TAPER TALK 1430ET *WHITE HOUSE SAYS INFRASTRUCTURE COUNTEROFFER REDUCES PRICE TAG TO $1.7T (spooked stocks a little) That's a lot of marginally hawkish speak considering "officially" they're not evening thinking about thinking about tapering. Which makes sense given that overnight RRPs are literally exploding... Source: Bloomberg Translation - banks are begging The Fed to taper!! Nasdaq 100 was down 4 straight weeks going into Monday and avoided a 5th straight weekly loss - which would have been the worst streak since 2012. The rest of the majors whipsawed back from big midweek losses to end the week unch to marginally lower... Unprofitable tech stocks rallied hard this week... Source: Bloomberg Tesla suffered its 5th weekly loss in a row - the longest losing streak in 3 years... And before we leave equity-land, is the great rotation accelerating? Source: Bloomberg Cryptos were clubbed like a baby seal this week thanks to a double whammy of repeated news from China... Source: Bloomberg Worst week for ETH since March 2020... Source: Bloomberg Bitcoin was ugly too, but fell less than the previous week... Source: Bloomberg The Bitcoin Proxy stocks were mixed with Coinbase and MicroStrategy the worst hit on the week... Source: Bloomberg And everyone's favorite - DOGE - dumped over 20% this week... Source: Bloomberg The alternate currency to crypto... the dollar - ended the week marginally lower amid lots of vol... Source: Bloomberg Commodities fell for the 2nd straight week... Source: Bloomberg Copper was down for the 2nd straight week - its biggest weekly loss since September... And the short-end term structure for copper has plunged negative (3m forward prices below spot) for the first time in a year suggesting buyers are finally taking a break... Source: Bloomberg Thanks to three limit-up moves from Wednesday's limit-down lows, Lumber managed gains on the week after last week's plunge... Source: Bloomberg Amid all this turmoil, Treasuries ended the week practically unchanged (long-end modestly outperforming -1bps vs the belly +1bps)... Source: Bloomberg Breakevens were all lower on the week... Source: Bloomberg Gold rallied for the 3rd week in a row (up 6 of the last 7 weeks) to its highest weekly close since January 1st (decoupling a little from real yields this week)... Source: Bloomberg Gold is also now up 7 days in a row (and up 12 of the last 13 days), closing above its 50DMA for the first time since January... Source: Bloomberg Oil suffered it first losing week in the last month... And finally, we note that the US Macro Surprise Index went red for the first time since June 2020... Source: Bloomberg The big question is - will 'inflation' become the mindset (and what's cheap if it does)? Source: Bloomberg Tyler Durden Fri, 05/21/2021 - 16:01
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Arizona's Top Elections Official Claims Machines Being Audited May Have Been "Compromised"... By Auditors

Arizona's Top Elections Official Claims Machines Being Audited May Have Been "Compromised"... By Auditors Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Arizona’s secretary of state on Thursday warned the state’s largest county not to try to use election machines that are being audited or she would decertify the equipment. “I have grave concerns regarding the security and integrity of these machines, given that the chain of custody, a critical security tenet, has been compromised and election officials do not know what was done to the machines while under Cyber Ninjas’ control,” Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, wrote in a letter to Maricopa County officials. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs removes a mask as she speaks to members of Arizona's Electoral College prior to them casting their votes in Phoenix, Ariz., on Dec. 14, 2020. (Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo) Auditors hired by the Arizona Senate, including Cyber Ninjas, have been reviewing over 2 million ballots cast and 385 tabulators used in the 2020 election, along with other materials. Auditors have said they’re following strict forensics protocols. “We don’t turn on a system if it’s delivered to us in a powered-off state. We remove the hard drives, we perform forensics imaging with write blocks to prevent any changes to those hard drives, and we produce a bit for bit forensics copy of that particular drive,” Ben Cotton, founder of CyFIR, the company leading the technology component of the audit, told Arizona senators in a meeting this week. Ken Bennett, the former Republican Arizona secretary of state who is serving as the liaison for the state Senate for the audit, added that immediately upon receiving the machines on April 21, the equipment and ballots were placed into locked cages and have been under armed guard the entire time since. “We have not had any breaches of the cages where the ballots or the machines have been kept,” he said. But Hobbs alleged that it is unclear what security procedures, if any, were put into place to secure the machines. “Indeed, our expert observers, as well as multiple news reports, have noted troubling security lapses. And Cyber Ninjas has failed to provide full transparency into what they did with the equipment,” she wrote to Maricopa County officials. “The lack of physical security and transparency means we cannot be certain who accessed the voting equipment and what might have been done to them,” she added. There are no comprehensive methods to fully rehabilitate compromised equipment, meaning the county “should acquire new machines to ensure secure and accurate elections” moving forward, Hobbs said. If the county chooses to re-deploy the subpoenaed equipment for use in future elections, Hobbs’ office may consider moving to decertify it. Maricopa County ballots cast in the 2020 general election are examined and recounted by contractors working for Florida-based company, Cyber Ninjas, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Ariz., on May 6, 2021. (Matt York/AP Photo/Pool) Before the audit started, Arizona Republican Senate President Karen Fann signed a document that provided indemnification to Maricopa County against third-party claims of any damages occurring to materials the county gave over to auditors. Representatives for the audit team, Arizona Senate Republicans, and Maricopa County did not immediately return overnight requests for comment. A county Elections Department spokesperson told news outlets that the department was “working with our attorneys on next steps, costs and what will be needed to ensure only certified equipment is used in Maricopa County.” “We will not use any of the returned tabulation equipment unless the county, state and vendor are confident that there is no malicious hardware or software installed on the devices,” the county added. The county is reviewing Hobbs’ letter, a county spokesperson also said. Maricopa County’s Board of Supervisors in June of 2019 approved a three-year contract to lease election equipment from Dominion Voting Systems through July 2022. The contract was worth $6.1 million. According to Hobbs, her concerns don’t involve the Dominion voting system, which remains certified for use in Arizona, nor any election equipment that was not turned over to auditors. Follow Zachary on Twitter: @zackstieber   Follow Zachary on Parler: @zackstieber Tyler Durden Fri, 05/21/2021 - 15:39
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