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Cyber Expert Warns China Could Remotely Detonate Aussie EVs In Hybrid Warfare Campaign

Cyber Expert Warns China Could Remotely Detonate Aussie EVs In Hybrid Warfare Campaign

Earlier this week, at the Australian Financial Review Cyber Summit, cybersecurity expert Alastair MacGibbon highlighted an alarming national security risk posed by millions of China-manufactured connected devices operating across Australia. He warned that particularly internet-connected electric vehicles (EVs) represent new threat vectors for hybrid warfare operations, one in which he said these vehicles could be transformed into "ticking time bombs."

On Tuesday, MacGibbon, former cybersecurity adviser to Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and now chief strategy officer at CyberCX, warned, "Those cars that we talk about, whether they're electric or not, are listening devices, and they're surveillance devices in terms of cameras."

But worse, he cautioned, "Take off the safety features of household batteries so that they overcharge. Take off those same safety features for electric vehicles. Just turn them off from the manufacturer so that those vehicles explode. Degrade their ability to drive at peak hour in select cities."

MacGibbon's comments echo warnings in a recent note we penned, citing the book China's Total War Strategy: Next-Generation Weapons of Mass Destruction - published by the CCP BioThreats Initiative and authored by Dr. Ryan Clarke, LJ Eads, Dr. Robert McCreight, and Dr. Xiaoxu Sean Lin, which outlines the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been pursuing an aggressive, multifaceted "total war" against the U.S. that leverages next-generation weapons, including synthetic narcotics (e.g., fentanyl and cannabinoids), bioweapons (e.g., Covid-19), psychological manipulation and influence (e.g., TikTok), and a broad arsenal of irregular warfare tools. 

Clarke and the other authors describe this strategy as the CCP's "assassin's mace", an indirect, hybrid warfare doctrine designed to exploit U.S. vulnerabilities and collapse the nation from within. The results are already visible in the fentanyl epidemic and the broader drug crisis. Also, remember, "rogue" devices have been found in Chinese solar panels.

Last month, four Chinese brands - BYD Auto, GWM (Great Wall Motors), MG Motor (SAIC), and Chery - broke into Australia's top ten in sales for the first time. Tens of thousands of Chinese EVs are now on Australian highways, alongside millions of other connected devices that could be weaponized in hybrid warfare. Remember when America faced the exploding Chinese scooter problem?

All it takes is one line of intentionally bad code to go boom. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 22:10

Microplastics Explained: Latest Research Findings And A Quick Routine Change

Microplastics Explained: Latest Research Findings And A Quick Routine Change

Via Raw Egg Nationalist,

Microplastics are everywhere. They've invaded the darkest corners of our planet and of our bodies too.

More than 9 billion tons of plastic are estimated to have been produced between 1950 and 2017, with half of that total produced since 2004. The vast majority of plastic ends up in the environment in one form or another, where it breaks down, through weathering, exposure to UV light and organisms of all kinds, into smaller and smaller pieces—microplastics and  then nanoplastics. These are "secondary" microplastics, because they start off big and end up small, but there's a whole class of "primary" microplastics which are small by design, like so-called "microbeads" used in cosmetics, and they're no less serious a problem. Within our homes, microplastics are mainly produced when synthetic fibres from clothes, furnishings and carpets are shed. They accumulate in large quantities in dust and float around in the air, which we then inhale. 

Here are two studies that help to illustrate the threat in its fullest dimensions as we now understand it. I'm going to use the term "microplastics" as a catch-all, unless I have to talk about nanoplastics in particular.

The first study hit the news a couple of years ago, when it was revealed that thousands of tons of microplastics fall over Switzerland each year in snow. Researchers collected samples of snow from the tip of the Hoher Sonnenblick mountain in Austria, where there has been an observatory since 1886. They then used a mass spectrometer to identify precise quantities of microplastics in the snow.

According to the researchers' calculations, 43 trillion pieces of microplastic land on Switzerland every year, or about 3,000 tons. Using meteorological data, the researchers estimated that around 30% of the microplastics identified came from mostly urban areas within a distance of 130 miles. Up to 10% of the microplastics may have come from winds and weather taking place in the Atlantic, 1,200 miles away.

The study illustrates two important points: i) that nowhere on earth, however remote, is untouched by microplastic pollution—not even the Antarctic—and ii) that microplastics circulate as a kind of "force of nature," as part of natural systems—wind, precipitation, river and sea currents—on a grand scale. Animals, from birds and fish to insects like ants, bees and mosquitoes, are also natural vehicles for microplastics to be moved, even over long distances.

The second study, a more recent one, shows that microplastics are now to be found inside people's eyeballs

Researchers from China took tissue samples from the eyes of 49 different people suffering from a range of eye conditions and subjected them to complicated analytical techniques. The results of the analysis showed that there were nearly 1800 plastic pieces, mainly of a size of 50 μm (1/20th of a millimetre) or less, in those samples. The plastic fibres were principally nylon, polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene. That's an average of 35 fibres per sample. The real quantity in each eyeball is likely to have been much higher, because samples, rather than the whole eyeball, were used, and the samples were small. 

In addition to the presence of the plastic pieces, the researchers noted a close link between the numbers of microplastics in each sample and the severity of the visual problems suffered by the patient it was taken from. The more microplastics you have in your eyes, the more likely you'll have problems with your sight. 

So how did the plastic get there in the first place?

Internally, via the blood, is the most obvious route. The eye has a massive network of blood vessels running over and through it, and we know that microplastics get into the blood, usually from the gut and lungs, and from there reach all the major organs of the body. Studies have shown that microplastics are found in human heart, liver, lung, genital and womb tissue. Animal studies have also shown that microplastics cross the blood-brain barrier, the brain's only line of defence against pathogens and harmful substances. Polystyrene microplastics fed to mice ended up in their brains within two hours. Another study showed that inhaled nanoplastics also end up in the brains of mice.

Another possibility is that plastics enter the eye from its outer surface, first by coming into contact with the front of the eye and then migrating to the sides and back of the eye as a person blinks. There are large numbers of exposed blood vessels at the back of the eye. 

In addition to floating microplastics in the air, contact lenses could also transfer significant quantities of plastic onto the surface of the eye. A pair of reusable contact lenses has been estimated to shed over 90,000 plastic particles in a year of wear.

Microplastics may be in our eyes from birth. A recent study shows that when pregnant mice are fed polystyrene nanoplastics in drinking water at "environmentally realistic concentrations," they end up in the eyes of their offspring, where they interfere with the proper development and function of the eyes. Microplastics have been shown to cross the placental barrier from mother to baby in humans, and they've also been found in the amneotic fluid in which baby floats for nine months.

The true depth of the microplastic problem, and its effects on our health, is only just starting to become apparent. New studies are appearing at a steady pace, linking microplastic exposure to virtually every disease and malady you can think of, from irritable bowel syndrome, obesity and autism, to cancer, Alzheimer's and infertility. There's a very real chance that the explosion of chronic disease we've seen over the last century in the developed world is a direct result of our growing exposure to plastic and plastic chemicals. It's worth remembering that the first fully synthetic plastic—Bakelite—was only manufactured in 1907, but plastic didn't really start to be used in massive quantities until the middle of the century.

The infertility crisis is particularly dire, with one reproductive health expert, Professor Shanna Swan, warning that as early as 2045, man could be unable to reproduce by natural means. On current trends, the median sperm count is set to reach zero in that year, which means that one half of all men will produce no sperm at all, and the other half will produce so few they might as well produce none—they certainly won't be able to get a woman pregnant, no matter how much they try. Professor Swan believes exposure to plastics is a significant cause of the crisis, as she lays out in her recent book Count Down.

These wide-ranging negative effects happen for a number of reasons. First there are the actual properties of the microplastics themselves: they can physically block narrow tissues, cause inflammation and immune response and also absorb substances, including hormones like testosterone, rendering them unusable to the body. Then there's the fact that plastics act as vectors for harmful endocrine-disrupting, obesogenic and carcinogenic chemicals, allowing them to be carried into every one of the body's tissues, where they can cause all sorts of damage.

So what can we do?

There's an old saying: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In the case of microplastics, prevention may be worth even more than a pound of cure, because it's not actually clear how you can cure microplastic exposure, at least if by "cure" you mean, "get microplastics out of your body once they're already inside it." There may be natural processes that slowly, or even quickly, rid the body's tissues of accumulated plastic, but if they exist we don't know about them yet. At present, we can only assume that whatever plastic is already in your brain or liver or eyes will stay there. We don't know of any substances that can be taken to extract microplastics either, so don't believe anybody who's trying to sell you a supplement that will do that—at least not yet.

An important thing to know is that the microplastics you consume don't necessarily stay inside your body. You may have seen the headline, "humans are swallowing a credit card's worth of plastic a week," but a lot of that credit card, if you swallow it in food or drink, will pass directly out of your body in your urine and feces. 

Even so, microplastics do get into your body via your food and drink, and they also get into your body by inhalation. Some microplastics that get into your lungs when you inhale may leave when you exhale, but otherwise they either remain in the tissues of the lungs or enter the bloodstream and migrate to other parts of the body. 

As the evidence mounts, it's becoming more and more clear i) that the home is the site of greatest exposure to microplastics, and ii) that inhalation is probably the main route of exposure there. Early estimates of microplastic exposure at home have been revised after further research suggested exposure levels may be 100 times higher than previously thought.

Microplastics in the home generally come from synthetic fibres: clothing, carpets and furnishings. They accumulate in dust and circulate in the air. Babies and very young children are particularly at risk from microplastics in the home, because they're close to the ground, where dust accumulates. They just crawl around, hoovering it up all day. Infants have ten times the numbers of microplastics in their feces than adults. The best thing you can is to reduce synthetic fibres throughout the home and also hoover more regularly. Babies are also at particular risk of plastic consumption because they're given plastic toys to chew, fed with plastic utensils (that they also chew) and also, increasingly, given food that's stored and then heated in "convenient" plastic pouches that release billions of plastic fragments into the food.

This brings us nicely on to food, and highlights the fact that food storage is probably the biggest issue when it comes to contamination of food with plastic. Food that comes into contact with plastic at any stage of its production, transport, sale or storage will be contaminated. How much depends on a variety of factors. A foundational piece of advice I give to anybody who asks me for advice is to ditch processed food. A nice working definition of processed food is "food that's prepared outside the home, contains ingredients you wouldn't typically find in a normal home kitchen"—additives like stabilisers, humectants, preservatives, colour dyes etc.—" and is sold to you pre-packaged, wrapped in plastic." Processed food is laced with seed and vegetable oils, hidden sugars, toxic additives, endocrine disruptors and microplastics. If you prepare your own fresh, locally sourced food, you will significantly reduce your consumption of plastic, as well as lots of other harmful things.

Chuck out plastic Tupperware containers and buy some glass ones. Use brown-paper or silicone bags for storage rather than plastic bags. Instead of greaseproof paper, get some muslin and wax it with beeswax. Wherever there's plastic in your kitchen, try and find an alternative: utensils, pans—especially "non-stick" coated pans—everything, or at least as much as you can. Chances are, there is at least one alternative and it's not actually expensive or an inconvenience, not really.

The same applies to drink as to food. If it's in plastic, don't buy it. Don't store liquids in plastics. If you want to take a drink to the gym, get a glass or metal bottle.

Municipal tap water isn't actually much of a worry, at least as far as microplastics are concerned, but you should be filtering your drinking water, preferably with a reverse-osmosis filter. Bottled water, on the other hand, absolutely is a worry for microplastics. In fact, bottled water is one of the worst sources of microplastic exposure for anybody who drinks it regularly. Back in 2018, we were told that a litre of bottled water might contain 325 pieces of plastic on average, but new detection techniques have revealed the number is actually more like 250,000.

My own contribution to reducing your exposure to microplastics is my company Kindred Harvest, which sells the best quality tea in bags that are guaranteed to be totally free of plastic. The microplastics in tea don't just come from the water or the kettle (if it's plastic): they also come from the teabag itself. A significant proportion of teabags are now either made of plastic—the teabag is actually plastic—or contain plastic, usually in the glue that holds it together. A study of six tea brands in the UK revealed that four included polypropylene and one was made entirely of nylon.

Food-grade plastics deteriorate significantly at temperatures above 40 degrees centigrade. Put a food-grade plastic teabag in near-boiling water, and it rapidly starts to disintegrate, and you've got a drink that's more plastic soup than tea. A 2019 study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found that a cup of tea produced by one plastic teabag contained 11.6 billion—billion—microplastic pieces and 3.1 billion nanoplastic pieces. Nanoplastics are probably even worse than microplastics, because they're smaller, which means they can get into places microplastics can't inside the body.

Kindred Harvest teabags contain no plastic whatsoever. They're also organic—no nasty pesticides—and independently tested for heavy metals, since many tea blends are heavily contaminated with lead and other toxic metals.

Kindred Harvest can be found on the ZeroHedge Store. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 21:45

Trump Repeatedly Says Putin 'Let Me Down' During UK State Visit

Trump Repeatedly Says Putin 'Let Me Down' During UK State Visit

Much of President Trump's base has long demanded that he bring real pressure to bear on the Zelensky government, by halting weapons flows and American taxpayers' billions going to Kiev's coffers, and by urging territorial concessions in the east. Washington does have immense leverage over at least one side of this conflict which could be used to achieve lasting peace, but Trump acts as if this is not the case. Do average Americans really care enough about the fate of places like Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia (regions that most would fail to locate on a map) to keep risking build-up toward WW3? 

Instead of pushing hard for compromise, we get this...

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "let me down" by failing to resolve the war in Ukraine.

"I'm very honored to tell you that we've solved seven wars, wars that were unsolvable, wars that couldn't be negotiated or done," Trump said in his opening remarks in a joint news conference with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, vowing the U.S. and U.K. "will always be friends."

Via Atlantic Council

"The US has done seven of them," he again emphasized in the comments, while also making reference to Azerbaijan and "Albania" - when he meant to say Armenia.

Though we are left wondering what the six other wars Trump is claiming to have put an end to were. It seems he's claiming Iran-Israel too, though that was by actually bombing the Islamic Republic, which posed no direct threat to America. Perhaps Syria?... did 'peace' come by installing a 'former' ISIS/AQ leader?

Trump added, "The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President Putin. But he's let me down. He's really let me down."

Trump: If oil prices come down, Putin will leave Ukraine. It's very simple.

Musing further on the issue, Trump explained, "You thought you were going to have an easy time or a hard time - and it turns out to be the reverse." And he said further, "It doesn't feel like the time to ask Putin for a ceasefire."

Again, the reality remains that he's unwilling to do what is necessary to actually solve it. There would be three easy steps:

  • Agree for all time that Ukraine can never be in NATO
  • Recognize Russia's hold over the Donbass & Crimea, essentially give up the 'annexed' terriotiries
  • Stop NATO's military infrastructure in Ukraine by cutting off the arms

For the time being, Putin knows he's winning the war, given superior firepower and manpower - though without doubt Russia is itself absorbing a high cost.

As a reminder, below is some of our coverage of Jeffrey Sachs speaking to a Ron Paul conference in August. The war could end tomorrow if the US really wanted it to...

* * *

Sachs explained the war could end rather quickly: The Ukraine war could have been avoided - by simply stating that NATO would not expand to Ukraine. Even Jake Sullivan privately told me it wouldn't happen. But when I asked him to say it publicly to avoid war, he refused.

The war can be ended tomorrow if the US declares NATO will not expand to Ukraine. That’s all. It's not about territory. Russia didn’t demand land - just neutrality. Even in Crimea, Russia sought a lease renewal, not annexation - until the U.S.-backed coup. This war is entirely provoked and entirely avoidable.

We will, as the Rand Corporation wrote in 2019 in one of the most absurd, dangerous, ridiculous exemplars of American foreign policy, we will extend you. 'Extending Russia': a document of a think tank. How to annoy Russia in 27 different ways. Is this really what we pay them for? How to provoke the other nuclear superpower with 6,000 nuclear weapons and then wonder why the hand of the doomsday clock is 89 seconds to midnight? These people are crazy. Honestly, it's very very dangerous. ...Let me just say that all the major conflicts can be ended straightforwardly. The casus belli of the Ukraine war is NATO enlargement, and US coup operations all over Ukraine. Even the New York Times reported that one a couple of months ago.

All of these conflicts - Ukraine, Gaza, potential war with China - can be resolved quickly, if we tell the truth, act with courage, and demand accountability. Our government must stop listening to the war profiteers and start listening to the people.

We need brave leaders, honest media, and informed citizens. That’s how peace begins.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 21:20

The 'Renewables' Movement Is Making Itself Wholly Unappealing

The 'Renewables' Movement Is Making Itself Wholly Unappealing

Authored by Gary Abernathy via The Empowerment Alliance,

As noted before, the “alternative energy” movement, rather than positioning itself as a partner with conventional energy, is instead devoted to the complete demise of reliable and affordable energy resources while framing itself as the only path forward. But there are three ongoing developments providing reasons to believe that its efforts are doomed to failure.

“Green” movement in retreat

“Renewables” are facing a combination of political and legal headwinds. With the election of Donald Trump as president and the pro-traditional energy Republicans now in Congress, the gravy train that was once rolling full steam ahead has come to an abrupt halt, leaving the “renewables” movement feeling stranded.

The morale is destroyed,” Ramon Cruz, a former president of the Sierra Club recently told the New York Times. “I won’t try to sugar coat it. This is a generational loss.”

“With one election and one bill (Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” domestic legislation), most of the signature climate work that organizations, advocates and movements have been working toward is largely undone,” added Ruthy Gourevitch, a policy director at the Climate and Community Institute, a progressive research organization.

The legal hurdles facing the movement are daunting as well. As the Times reported, Greenpeace is facing nearly $670 million in damages from losing a lawsuit brought by Energy Transfer Partners, which accused the group of “an unlawful and violent scheme” to incite demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Meanwhile, the Sierra Club recently fired its executive director following budget deficits and numerous layoffs. And Sierra and three other environmental groups have been hit with a defamation lawsuit by Exxon Mobil in federal court in Texas.

“Renewables” workforce in short supply

The “renewables” movement is facing a workforce crisis in both white- and blue-collar jobs. The shortage has been years in the making, leading one analyst to conclude, “It’s unclear where these employees will come from in the future. There are too few people with specialized and relevant expertise and experience, and too many of them are departing for other companies or other industries.”

The ”green” movement blames the shortage on “a lack of awareness of career paths and opportunities,” according to one energy news source. But just as possible is a lack of enthusiasm among workers, “especially as political developments may discourage would-be jobseekers from placing their bets on a career in the renewables sector,” as the site noted.

The crisis is worldwide, with some governments such as Australia’s investing millions to entice workers and ramp up training. The European Union, meanwhile, finds its arbitrary “renewables” targets meeting the reality of an inability to recruit the workers necessary to get there.

“According to industry association SolarPower Europe, solar employment in the EU increased by 30% by 2022 to over 600,000 jobs, including indirect roles in materials and transportation,” the industry website Reccessary reported. “By 2030 the EU will need more than 1 million solar workers to meet higher renewable energy targets set recently by the EU to end the region’s reliance on Russian oil and gas, SolarPower Europe said.” Good luck.

Climate claims increasingly outrageous

It’s one thing to raise climate-related alarms about melting icebergs or more fires and floods. But the inability to coach tennis? That’s a complaint of a Wisconsin teenager who is one of eight children aged 8-17 who recently sued the state through two non-profit law firms over its fossil fuel policies.

The lawsuit claims that “in 2023, a large boulder rolled into her backyard and knocked over trees,” which she blames on “freeze-thaw events” driven by fossil fuels. If those fuels weren’t causing climate change, the suit claims, “the boulder that tumbled toward her home would probably have never become dislodged,” as the Guadian reported.

But her troubles didn’t stop even after the teen moved to a different part of the state, according to the suit.

“I coached tennis during the summer, but I recently did have to give it up due to such extreme weather and extreme climate events that don’t make it safe for me to be outside anymore,” the teen said. Presumably, tennis instruction in Wisconsin has continued thanks to others bravely stepping up.

Health impacts due to heat can be serious. But that’s been the case throughout human history. Blaming “climate change” for events or conditions many Americans experience in routine daily life is a gift to the traditional energy sector, as an increasing number of rational Americans recognize just how far into the deep end the eco-alarmist movement has waded.

The doomsday environmentalists’ low morale is a result of their inflated expectations in the face of fading public support. Their workforce crisis is exacerbated by an uncertain future as conventional energy is on the ascent. Their increasingly fringe cause-and-effect theories have led to a loss of credibility among the general public.

Because of its own penchant for overreach, coupled with both economic and political blowback, the climate cult is on its heels. A movement that tried to position itself as the only acceptable choice is on the verge of making itself an option of last resort.

Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing columnist for The Empowerment Alliance, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Empowerment Alliance.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 20:55

Illinois Governor Pritzker Posed With Murder Suspect Working As "Peacekeeper" Days Before Deadly Robbery

Illinois Governor Pritzker Posed With Murder Suspect Working As "Peacekeeper" Days Before Deadly Robbery

They say a picture of destructive progressive policies is worth 1,000 pounds words. And today the world saw that picture. 

Outspoken Trump administration critic and generally useless liberal bureaucrat Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is facing backlash after proudly posing with a so-called “Peacekeeper” who days later was arrested for murder during a Louis Vuitton robbery. Because, of course. 

The man, 35-year-old Keller McMillan, was one of seven charged with murder, burglary, and retail theft after a brazen smash-and-grab at the luxury retailer, according to the Daily Mail. Or, "mostly peaceful", as Democrats would likely label it. 

Prosecutors say the crew used stolen vehicles to ram the store before fleeing at high speed. McMillan and his accomplices allegedly caused the crash that killed 40-year-old father Mark Arceta, who was on his way to his last day of work before paternity leave. His partner gave birth to their son the following day.

Shockingly, McMillan was working as a state-funded “Peacekeeper” — a program Pritzker promotes as a solution to violent crime.

McMillan even sat at a roundtable with the governor earlier this month, where Pritzker praised him and others as examples of “community violence prevention.” A smiling photo of the two was circulated in a press release but quickly scrubbed from Pritzker’s website after McMillan’s arrest.

The Daily Mail writes that McMillan’s criminal past was no secret. His rap sheet stretches back a decade with charges including domestic battery, gang activity, and multiple fugitive warrants — the most recent issued just last October. Critics are now asking how such a figure was ever placed in a taxpayer-backed program supposedly aimed at reducing violence.

Former Riverside police chief Tom Weitzel blasted the governor’s office as “incompetent,” arguing that allowing McMillan into the program and posing with him revealed a “total lack of due diligence.” He called the Peacekeepers little more than a “feel-good” scheme that enlists violent felons instead of keeping neighborhoods safe.

Pritzker, meanwhile, has defended the initiative, claiming these programs make communities safer. But the reality is clear: under his watch, a so-called “peacekeeper” turned out to be a violent criminal, and an innocent father is dead.

Or as Pritzker calls it, your tax dollars at work...

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 20:30

Builders Say Deconstructing 'Green' Building Codes Will Lower New Housing Costs

Builders Say Deconstructing 'Green' Building Codes Will Lower New Housing Costs

Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times,

Masons laid the concrete foundation from “bare dirt” in 39 days and laborers were ready to frame and roof the skeletal superstructure so carpenters, plumbers, and electricians could complete the single-family home.

All that remained was approval of an “interior remodel,” a slight variation from the permit issued months earlier by the Kansas City Planning and Development Department’s Permits Division.

But it was April 2024, and things had changed.

The previous summer, the City Council adopted the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), in part because doing so made Kansas City eligible for grants under a $1 billion program authorized by 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The standards went into effect on Oct. 1, 2023, meaning modifications from the original permit would now be evaluated under new IECC guidelines.

“Traditionally, a permit like this—covering a nonstructural basement finish—takes only a few days to process,” Patriot Homes President and owner Brian Tebbenkamp told a House panel on Tuesday. “Instead, it took 39 days.”

Tebbenkamp, speaking on behalf of the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City, was one of four witnesses to appear before the House Energy Subcommittee during a Sept. 16 hearing on eight proposed bills addressing building and appliance codes.

"During that time, the house sat with a completed foundation while our framing crew sat at home with no work,” he testified. “Our crews built that foundation from bare dirt in 39 days. Ultimately, it took a lengthy appeal to the mayor, the full City Council, and the city manager before the permit was finally approved—on the 39th day.”

The Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City and the National Home Builders Association are among trade groups calling on Congress to adopt HR 4758, the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act, which would repeal the IRA’s “high efficiency electric home” rebates and defund its grant program for state and local governments that adopt the unamended 2021 IECC.

“This program has distorted local processes, driven up costs, and discouraged investment in housing production—all while doing little to improve real-world energy performance,” Tebbenkamp said. “I urge Congress to move quickly on this legislation to restore balance and ensure housing policies support affordability rather than undermine it.”

Construction workers build a home in Hercules, Calif., on July 1, 2025. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Code Without Covenant

The Homeowner Energy Freedom Act, sponsored by Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Texas), was among six building code measures discussed during the five-hour hearing, which included Department of Energy (DOE) Acting General Counsel Jeff Novak providing testimony for more than three hours, followed by a 90-minute panel discussion sandwiched around a 45-minute pause for a House floor vote.

The other building code-related proposals include HR 3699, to prohibit state and local governments from banning natural gas; HR 5184, to eliminate “duplicative” energy standards for manufactured homes; HR 3474 and HR 4690, to terminate the “phase-out of fossil fuels” and repeal energy performance standards in federal buildings; and HR 1355, to reauthorize DOE’s weatherization program.

American Gas Association Vice President for Governmental Affairs George Lowe, in his testimony, also espoused support for the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act, as did Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers Vice President Jennifer Cleary in her testimony.

Tebbenkamp explained how “well-intentioned federal policies” adopted inside the Washington Beltway can have “very real and negative effects” on Main Street USA.

Residential and commercial buildings must comply with federal, state, and local laws and regulations implemented through building codes, performance standards, and fuel-use efficiency requirements generally developed from consensus input by the Washington-based International Code Council and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, headquartered outside Atlanta.

The code council in 2021 updated its energy standards—the IECC—to include what many builders saw as model codes favoring electric furnaces and water heaters over those fired by natural gas or coal.

Under the Biden administration, especially after the IRA’s adoption, the federal role in what is traditionally the purview of state regulators and local planners expanded dramatically in pushing “net-zero” emissions requirements.

Tebbenkamp said “model building codes in federal legislation and regulatory programs is not new” and, while they may influence standards adopted by state and local governments, they’re rarely encoded without amendments.

The difference was IRA’s grant stipulation that eligibility required unamended adoption of the 2021 IECC, he said, calling the demand to “treat stricter codes as the universal solution ... deeply concerning.”

President Joe Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act as Democratic lawmakers look on at the White House on Aug. 16, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Costly Lure

In April 2022, Kansas City introduced an ordinance to adopt the 2021 IECC, Tebbenkamp told the subcommittee, noting after months of “meetings, forums, and hearings to determine whether the model code was suitable for our community,” it appeared “consensus was forming that some localized amendments would be necessary.”

Then, in August 2022, Congress passed the IRA in a partisan vote hailed by Democrats as key to the nation’s transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. Its Section 50131 created the $1 billion grant fund for state and local governments to adopt the 2021 IECC “as written,” he said.

“From that moment on, supporters resisted all amendments—worried that even minor modifications might forfeit access to the grant program,” Tebbenkamp said.

The new code was adopted in summer 2023. Before it went into effect that October, 98 Kansas City companies pulled single-family home permits, he said. “By 2024, that number had fallen to just 22—a 78 percent reduction in builders willing or able to operate under the new code.”

Since the IRA’s adoption, a Home Builders Association of Kansas City study and National Home Builders Association analysis estimate that the additional regulations can add $31,000 to the price of a new home.

Tebbenkamp said his Patriot Homes uses the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index “to ensure our homes perform at a high level” of energy efficiency.

The home his crews were building in April 2024 would save “$2,548 a year in utilities compared to an average home,” he said. “But to comply with the 2021 IECC prescriptive path, our clients had to spend an additional $10,300. The payoff? A ... saving [of] just $2 a year in additional operating costs.”

Let builders build, state regulators regulate, and local planners plan, Tebbenkamp said, without mandating adherence to “one-size-fits-all” codes.

“The lure of federal funding effectively shut down what had been a collaborative and constructive local process,” he said. “To our knowledge, Kansas City has not received a single dollar from the Department of Energy for adopting the code, yet the impact on local housing production has been severe.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 20:05

Judge Orders Pro-Palestinian Activist To Be Deported To Syria Or Algeria

Judge Orders Pro-Palestinian Activist To Be Deported To Syria Or Algeria

Last spring the deportation case of Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil grabbed headlines in the US and around the world, after an immigration judge ruled that under a decades-old federal statute his continuing presence on American soil presents some "potentially serious foreign policy consequences."

A native of Syria and an Algerian citizen of Palestinian origin, he had long led student protests which at times spiraled into violence and clashes with police, after which his permanent residence status was spotlighted. A prior federal court ruling in New Jersey had temporarily blocked Trump admin efforts to facilitate Khalil's removal.

Screengrab via Palestine Chronicle

Now, a federal judge in Louisiana has ordered his deportation to either Syria or Algeria. The decision is reported to be based on allegations Khalil failed to disclose key information on his green card application, according to court documents. His political opponents say he 'lied' on his initial application to enter the country.

His legal team plans to appeal, but they fear he might be swiftly booted from the country before the slow-moving court process plays out. The deportation order was issued Judge Jamee Comans, despite his lawyers arguing that he's not been charged for any crime, and they argue his deportation is mere retaliation over speech the US government doesn't like.

Khalil's lawyers have 30 days to make the appeal of the deportation ruling before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

He issued a statement blasting the ruling: "It is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech." Khalil said of the administration, "Their latest attempt, through a kangaroo immigration court, exposes their true colors once again." It continued:

"When their first effort to deport me was set to fail, they resorted to fabricating baseless and ridiculous allegations in a bid to silence me for speaking out and standing firmly with Palestine, demanding an end to the ongoing (Israeli) genocide. Such fascist tactics will never deter me from continuing to advocate for my people’s liberation."

Back in March when Khalil was first arrested by the Department of Homeland Security, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin described in a statement that ICE had detained Khalil "in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism," claiming that Khalil had "led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization."

President Trump had directly weighed in at the time of raging Columbia University protests, where whole campus buildings were taken over. "Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again," he had written on Truth Social. 

The question of vandalism, violence, or the illegal occupation of buildings would present the US government with actual specifics to prosecute. According to law professor Jonathan Turley, "In the Khalil case, he was reportedly under investigation for the takeover of the Columbia building while also serving as one of the negotiators. The takeover is not protected free speech. It is unlawful conduct that can and should be punished."

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 19:40

VDH: The Murder Of Charlie Kirk Was Not A 'George Floyd Moment'

VDH: The Murder Of Charlie Kirk Was Not A 'George Floyd Moment'

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

Just days after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the left is working overtime to hide the truth and create fantasies about his death.

Specifically, leftists alleged that conservatives were going to “pounce” on the death to wage protests and boost radical agendas in the manner of what followed George Floyd’s death.

Here are some of the lies that such a ridiculous narrative entails.

One, Charlie Kirk is not conservatives’ George Floyd. There were no mass riots after his death of the sort that followed Floyd’s demise.

Floyd’s death was used by the left to justify five months of rioting, arson, murder, looting, and attacking police officers.

The postmortem respect for Kirk’s singular life was not characterized by $2 billion in property damage, the torching of a police precinct, a federal courthouse, and an iconic church, 35 deaths, and 1,500 injured law-enforcement officers.

Instead, thousands of people peacefully joined his Turning Point USA organization and promised to redirect their lives toward peaceful political engagement.

Two, after Kirk’s death, no prominent Republican or conservative is encouraging ongoing mass (and often violent) protests in the manner of high-profile leftists like Kamala Harris.

She blurted out on national television in June 2020, “But they’re not gonna stop. They’re not gonna stop, and this is a movement, I’m telling you. They’re not gonna stop, and everyone beware, because they’re not gonna stop. They’re not gonna stop before Election Day in November, and they’re not gonna stop after Election Day. Everyone should take note of that, on both levels, that they’re not going to let up—and they should not. And we should not.”

No conservatives—like the spouse of Governor Tim Walz—declared of the 2020 arsons, “I could smell the burning tires, and that was a very real thing. I kept the windows open as long as I could because I felt like that was such a touchstone of what was happening.”

Instead, Kirk’s supporters are calling on everyone to express their anger peacefully at the ballot box by registering to vote and showing up for the 2026 midterms.

Three, Charles Kirk was not George Floyd. He was a law-abiding, religiously devout, political organizer, happily married with two children. Kirk was a media figure and head of a huge 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose brand was calmly debating students who disagreed with him.

Floyd should not have died while in police custody. But Floyd’s comorbidities were many. When arrested, he was under the influence of fentanyl and methamphetamine, with a heart condition and recent Covid infection.

He was a career felon, with eight previous criminal convictions, who had in the past staged a violent home-invasion robbery and pointed a knife at the abdomen of one of the female occupants.

In contrast, when Kirk was killed, he was not on drugs. He was not resisting police officers. And he was not trying to pass counterfeit currency. Instead, he eschewed violence and tried to engage in polite dialogue with students of different views.

Four, Kirk was not, as alleged by the left, murdered by a right-wing shooter. His death was not an example of right-on-right violence. Just the opposite was true. The shooter, Tyler Robinson, was on record with his family expressing hatred for the conservative Kirk.

Robinson engraved his bullets with both Antifa-like “anti-fascist” messaging and transgender references.

He lived with his transgender partner, who was a leftist. Robinson’s aim was to end Kirk’s peaceful conservative career because he hated his politics and popularity and feared his influence.

Five, the left used the death of Floyd to promote its hard-left and otherwise unpopular agenda—defunding the police, cashless bail, decriminalization of theft, and DEI mandates.

It manipulated outrage, chaos, and months-long violence to ram through radical cultural and top-down legal changes that otherwise had little popular support.

Conservatives upset over Kirk’s murder will bolster Turning Point USA. They are determined through peaceful means to persuade more youth about the poverty and dangers of progressive thought.

Why is the left fabricating the circumstances surrounding and following Kirk’s murder?

In its signature projective style, the left is terrified that the right might follow its own example—by manipulating facts, ginning up street violence, and issuing non-negotiable demands to achieve its agenda.

But the chief difference between the Kirk assassination and the death of Floyd is that the post-Floyd agenda had no majority support and so had to be rammed through in hysterical times by implied threats of unending violence beyond five months of continued mayhem.

The post-Kirk agenda eschewed violence because it was both morally wrong and politically counterproductive—since most Americans naturally favored most of what Kirk championed.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 16:20

The Moral Decay Of Debt

The Moral Decay Of Debt

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

Debt has moral implications, and in denying this, we're choosing a rendezvous with Nemesis

Let's start with a household analogy. A married couple have four fine children, and since expenses are higher than income, they borrow money in their children's names to fund their lifestyle and investments. Once the offspring reach 18 years of age, the debt their parents borrowed is theirs to service.

The offspring didn't get a say in how much money was borrowed or how it was spent, but the debt is now theirs to service (i.e. pay the interest) for their entire lifetimes, as the debt is simply too large to pay off with conventional wages.

The economy changed, and since wages don't go as far and costs keep rising, the four offspring borrow in their own children's names to afford the basics of a middle-class life.

The parents are now comfortably retired, drawing on their investments bought with borrowed money. The two generations behind them are now debt-serfs who funded their own lifestyles by borrowing even more money. Since the kind of house their parents bought for 3-times-income is now 6-times-income, the debt required to own a house and fund what is considered the minimum middle-class entitlements is multiples of their parents' borrowing.

Is anyone willing to call this offloading of ever-expanding debt onto future generations wrong, as in morally wrong, or have we lost the vocabulary and ability to declare the offloading of debt as morally disgraceful, a line that should never have been crossed?

Debt that cannot be extinguished and that is offloaded onto future generations is a manifestation of moral decay, a decay of the moral foundations of the economy and society that is terminal.

So here we are, cheering on a big reduction in the Fed Funds Rate to encourage an expansion of debt, as more debt means more spending and that means more taxes and corporate profits. The manipulation of interest rates and the financial machinery to encourage more debt is viewed as bloodless, absolutely devoid of moral judgment: when it comes to "growth" of asset prices, spending, taxes and profits, there is no wrong, as "growth" is the only good anyone cares about.

This is the perfection of moral decay. Offloading debt onto future generations--money borrowed to prop up a self-serving status quo that focused on expediencies, not future consequences--and then telling the debt-enslaved generations, "we'll inflate away the debt, and your wages will buy less and less, but no worries, we'll just borrow more to pay the interest due"--how is this not morally repulsive?

Here is Federal debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is a better measure of consequences, for it illustrates the Federal government's ability to counter a deep recession by borrowing and spending trillions of dollars is now limited by extreme debt levels.

Those who track the history of government debt generally draw the red-line at 100% of GDP, so 120% is already deep in the danger zone. History is rather decisive: any attempt to add trillions in additional debt at these levels has zero chance of working as intended, i.e. a pain-free way to boost "growth."

Note the debt-to-GDP ratio actually declined during both the stagflationary 1970s and the 1990s Internet boom. In both eras, the economy was still largely organic, i.e. unmanipulated enough that natural forces (supply, demand, risk aversion, writedowns of bad debt, etc.) could work through excesses of speculation and debt and restore not just balance sheets but legitimacy.

The Federal Reserve no longer trusted the system's self-correcting capacity and leaped into full-blown manipulation of financial and mortgage markets in 2008-09. The debt-to-FDP ratio soared from 60% to 100% in the post-Global Financial Crisis (GFC) "save" of the Federal Reserve, which inflated the money supply and pushed ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) and QE (quantitative easing) to boost borrowing.

As a result, private-sector borrowing also skyrocketed. Now that households and enterprises have borrowed up to their capacity to service debt, their ability to "borrow their way to prosperity" is also constrained.

Here is total debt, public and private (TCMDO). In Q2 1975, total debt was $2.5 trillion. If this had tracked inflation, it would have reached $15 trillion by Q2 2025. ($1 in Q2 1975 is $6 in Q2 2025.) (BLS Inflation Calculator)

Let's say that debt can double the rate of inflation if it's being invested productively. That would put today's total debt at $30 trillion.

But total debt isn't close to $30 trillion; it's $104 trillion and climbing, suggesting 70+ trillion is "excess debt." As for all this borrowed money being invested productively--given "waste is growth" planned obsolescence and rampant asset appreciation / speculation, it seems obvious that most of this borrowed money was consumed by ephemeral products and services or squandered chasing asset bubbles.

Debt has implicit moral implications, and in denying this, we're choosing a rendezvous with Nemesis--a rendezvous with Destiny that will be arranged by Nemesis, not the Federal Reserve or the Treasury.

Yes, debt can be productive, but it can also be exploitive, and therein lies the moral implications. Debt can never be amoral or bloodless; its moral nature cannot be extinguished. We appear to be destined to discover this truth the hard way.

*  *  *

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Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 15:25

Escape From New York, 2025 Millionaire Edition

Escape From New York, 2025 Millionaire Edition

Authored by Peter C. Earle via the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER),

For decades, New York City prided itself on being the financial capital of the world. It’s a place where money, culture, and power converge. And yet, as has been seen in San Francisco, Chicago, and other locations around the United States, New York is experiencing a steady exodus of millionaires and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. While some observers dismiss this as anecdotal or exaggerated, the facts paint a different picture: one with serious implications for the city’s fiscal health, social fabric, and attractiveness.

It is easy to forget that New York’s gleaming infrastructure, vast public services, and social programs are underwritten disproportionately by a tiny number of residents. Fewer than one percent of taxpayers account for more than 40 percent of all income tax revenue collected in the state, and a similar share in the city. Without those individuals, the ability of millions of ordinary New Yorkers to enjoy subsidized transit, robust public safety services, and cultural investments would collapse. In other words, and despite endless egalitarian rhetoric, the lifestyle of the masses is silently carried on the shoulders of the few.

The scale of the loss is becoming visible. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of New Yorkers earning between $150,000 and $750,000 fell by nearly six percent, while the number of true high earners—those making over $750,000—dropped by nearly 10 percent, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office. This erosion matters because the city’s top one percent—about 41,000 filers—pay more than 40 percent of all income taxes. The top 10 percent pay about two-thirds. Which means the remaining 90 percent of taxpayers contribute only about one-third of the city’s income tax revenue. When even a small share of these high earners disappears, the impact is seismic.

Recent migration trends confirm the damage. More than 125,000 New Yorkers have fled to Florida in just the past few years, carrying nearly $14 billion worth of income with them, according to the Citizens Budget Commission. About a third of those movers—more than 41,000 people—went to Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward Counties between 2018 and 2022. Those escapes alone stripped New York City of an estimated $10 billion in adjusted gross income. When money and mobility align, no amount of political rhetoric can stop people from voting with their feet.

Into this fragile situation steps Zohran Mamdani, whose mayoral primary victory has been accompanied by a platform that includes a new “millionaire’s tax.”

His proposal would tack on an additional two-percent levy for New Yorkers earning more than $1 million a year, raising the combined city and state top rate to 16.776 percent—by far the highest in the nation.

Add federal obligations, and the total burden would rise to nearly 54 percent. That is not just taxation; it is confiscation.

Wealthy New Yorkers wouldn’t even need to flee to Florida to avoid it. A short move to Westchester, Long Island, or across the Hudson to New Jersey would suffice. As the Tax Foundation has noted, “a high earner doesn’t need to give up the convenience of the city, they just need to move outside the five boroughs.” Developers are already banding together to oppose Mamdani’s rent-control platform, while Florida realtors report a surge in inquiries from wealthy New Yorkers looking to relocate.

Rather than acknowledge this delicate balance, policymakers in Albany and City Hall continue to treat the wealthy as inexhaustible resources. Each subsequent budget cycle seems to bring fresh proposals for higher levies, justified by a reflexive invocation of “fair share.” For the city’s most mobile taxpayers, however, there is a limit. They are increasingly concluding that enough is enough.

Not to worry, though. Other U.S. states and cities are only too happy to receive them.

Florida has no state income tax and a climate that, quite literally, feels like a bonus. Texas markets itself as a business-friendly, family-friendly destination where capital is welcomed rather than penalized. The Lone Star State is even planning its own stock exchange to fight against corporate ESG/DEI mandates, among others. Even Connecticut, once derided as a commuter’s backwater, now makes a pitch as a calmer, lower-tax alternative just a train ride away.

It’s not just states.

Municipalities from Miami to Austin to Nashville are creating entire ecosystems—schools, cultural centers, financial services clusters—designed to attract, satisfy, and retain disaffected New Yorkers. And the migration data show that these efforts are paying off.

The most striking irony of this government-greed-driven exodus is that the very policies promoted as remedies for inequality are accelerating a new divide. On one side are jurisdictions with extractive tax regimes like New York, which are increasingly reliant on a shrinking base of wealthy residents. On the other side are “merely high-tax” or moderate-tax states that calibrate their revenue needs without driving out their most productive citizens. In attempting to punish the “haves” in the name of the “have-nots,” New York is in the process of creating an even sharper divide between places where the wealthy live and places they have left behind. The intended redistribution becomes a geographic one, with capital, philanthropy, and jobs following the departing millionaires.

Beyond dollars and cents, there is also a cultural cost. Wealthy New Yorkers are not just taxpayers; they are patrons of the arts, benefactors of hospitals, and funders of civic institutions. When they decamp to Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Wyoming, or elsewhere, they don’t merely take their checkbooks; they take their boards, galas, and fundraising networks. The very character of New York as a city of ambition progressively dims. A city that once attracted the world’s best and brightest risks becoming a place they leave once they have achieved the successes they sought.

The migration of millionaires is not an abstract threat. It is an early warning sign of the consequences of fiscal imbalance and political avarice. New York can continue to chase headlines with promises of soaking the rich, or it can recognize that prosperity depends on partnership, not punishment. If it chooses the former, the flight will only accelerate, and the city may wake up one day to find that its most valuable export is no longer finance or culture, but people.

Wealth, like love, does not stay long where it goes unappreciated.

*  *  * speaking of love *  *  *

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 14:45

Subprime Crisis 2.0? Red Flags Fly As Alleged Fraud Triggers Billion-Dollar Auto-Lender Bankruptcy

Subprime Crisis 2.0? Red Flags Fly As Alleged Fraud Triggers Billion-Dollar Auto-Lender Bankruptcy

Did a medium-sized canary just croak in the coalmine of consumer credit?

While the world and his pet rabbit was avidly glued to the screens, hanging on every word from Fed Chair Powell, something happened in a name that few have likely heard of that could have a much greater impact on markets.

After seeing its bonds rise week after week, seemingly amid confidence in the US consumer (especially at the lowest incomes)...

...prices for the almost $2 billion of debt behind subprime auto-lender Tricolor Holdings suddenly collapsed yesterday, leaving creditors across the US scrambling to stake their claim on the company’s remaining assets and contain their losses...

As Bloomberg reports, the details behind the collapse of Tricolor remain uncertain, with federal investigators looking into possible fraud and banks exploring whether the same collateral was pledged to multiple lenders.

In Dallas, the regional bank Triumph Financial Inc. has dispatched teams of employees to used-car lots, where they’re identifying and whisking away to safe locations the vehicles they believe are the collateral to their loans.

In midtown Manhattan, a boutique investment firm that built a position in Tricolor’s asset-backed bonds, Clear Haven Capital Management, has been calling other bondholders, urging them to band together and fight to keep the big banks away from the assets that belong to them.

Those banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Fifth Third Bancorp, have begun to forensically examine their own collateral to try to ascertain the magnitude of the losses.

This is part of what’s fueling the frantic rush - the sense that many of the details behind the collapse of Tricolor, a provider of high-interest car loans to undocumented workers, remain murky even a week after its bankruptcy filing.

Prominent among them: Was there fraud, as federal investigators are now looking into, and how prevalent was it?

“Everyone is in the dark as to how serious these allegations of fraud are, so bondholders and lenders are rushing to protect their interests,” said Boris Peresechensky, a portfolio manager at Orange Investment Advisors.

Two other big subprime auto lenders that declared bankruptcy in recent years — American Car Center and US Auto Sales — ended up costing some junior bondholders dearly, said Peresechensky.

Signs are emerging that it may have been widespread. Banks are exploring whether the same collateral was pledged to multiple lenders.

Bloomberg reports that people familiar with the probes say the suspected manipulation stretches back months, possibly longer.

Earlier this week, holders of Tricolor’s asset-backed bonds didn’t receive some scheduled payments, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

They also didn’t get a remittance report - the regular statement detailing cash collected from borrowers and how it’s distributed — the people said.

Tricolor opted to liquidate in bankruptcy rather than attempt a reorganization amid concerns over litigation risk and signs there weren’t enough assets to restructure, according to a person familiar with the decision.

The company listed more than 25,000 creditors, vendors and other affected parties in its bankruptcy filing.

The bottom line is a major (subprime) auto-lender just hit the wall in epic fashion (out of nowhere) as the Emperor's clothes narrative of the so-called "strong consumer" (spending was solid in aggregate) were suddenly exposed as more evidence of the K-shaped economy Americans are living in (haves and have-nots) and the divergence is getting wider.

If collateral-backed subprime auto-lenders are collapsing, how long before default rates on Buy-Now, Pay-Later entities start to soar?

The Bear Traps Report's Larry McDonald recently noted that BDCs and Private Credit entities are starting to creak - with some sizable names trading well off recent highs. While the driver for much of that pain appears to be AI data-center over-spend, contagion from these archaic credit assets (from subprime auto to BNPL) into the mainstream is not something anyone wants to experience again.

A Reckoning?

As The Wall Street Journal noted earlier in the week, many young people borrowed to buy cars during the pandemic when they didn’t have to make student loan payments. Now they are struggling to repay both.

Auto delinquencies and car repossessions are getting closer to 2009 recession levels.

Yet investors have continued to snap up subprime auto debt.

The Fed cut interest rates this week, even though current financial-market conditions suggest that monetary policy isn’t all that restrictive.

Companies with low credit ratings issued a record amount of debt this summer as they sought to take advantage of high investor demand and shrinking risk premiums.

There’s always a reckoning after periods of easy money, and the question is whether Tricolor is an outlier or a harbinger.

Is Tricolor Holdings the June 2007 Bear Stearns Structured-Credit Fund of 2025?

*  *  *

Up to 20% off with volume & subscription discounts Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 14:25

Welcome To Big Brother's Digital Prison, Part I: Central Bank Digital Currencies

Welcome To Big Brother's Digital Prison, Part I: Central Bank Digital Currencies

Authored by Robert Williams via The Gatestone Institute,

Globalist leaders are working at full speed to introduce central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). A CBDC is a digital currency that is issued directly by a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve in the US, the European Central Bank in the EU's eurozone, and the Bank of England in the UK.

A CBDC will be the final straw that ensures that every dream of suppression and control that the globalists nurture will come true. Several of those dreams are already a reality, including shutting down dissent and free speech, as in Europe, where people are routinely fined and arrested for saying things their governments do not like. A host of other controlling measures are already in the works, including herding people into "15-minute cities" where it is easier to monitor them, keep tabs on their use of private cars, decide what they can and cannot eat – ideally "ecologically preferable" bugs and lab-grown meat, no beef or cheese -- track their "carbon footprints", determine where and how they can travel, oversee their vaccines and so on.

The Oxford-educated, German economist Richard A. Werner said in an interview last year.

"The push for CBDCs is the final step in a multi-decade program by central planners to increase their power over the people and over countries. This is the ultimate step because the powers of CBDCs are so extraordinary that, I mean, even the worst dictators of past centuries could only have dreamt of having such enormous power over the lives of so many people.

"We are talking about a very dystopian future if we allow central banks to issue central bank digital currencies. You know, even if the original designers and heads of central banks who are launching this are super well-meaning, you know, let's give them the benefit of the doubt, we just know what human nature is like and history is the best guide...

"I think the power would be abused, if not by the original generation of launchers, then by the next generation.... It will be a completely totalitarian system of such frightening proportions, it's hard to imagine...

"The micromanaging decision [about your spending] will then be automated and... you have no right to appeal the algorithm... You just won't be able to use your money for certain things and then there is nothing that you can do... That by definition ends freedom....

"Dictators like Stalin and other dictators, they could only have dreamt of, you know, the enormous power that central bank digital currencies give to central planners... We are talking about dystopian digital prisons that will be created through central bank digital currencies, because the programmability – and this has been mentioned in the studies by the central banks – include of course geography, and there is this proposal for climate change, whatever reasons, that people... should stay within their 15-minute walking small local area... and there will be digital controls... when you walk with all your RFID chips in your cards and your CBDC anyway, of course you will be immediately recognized if you're out of the area and you will be punished. It's a digital prison."

CBDCs will indeed be "programmable": In 2021, the Bank of England asked for ministers to have the final word on whether a central bank digital currency should be "programmable", meaning that the central bank would have a veto over how people would spend their money, the Telegraph reported:

"Tom Mutton, a director at the Bank of England, said during a conference on Monday that programming could become a key feature of any future central bank digital currency, in which the money would be programmed to be released only when something happened."

According to Mutton:

"There could be some socially beneficial outcomes from that, preventing activity which is seen to be socially harmful in some way. But at the same time it could be a restriction on people's freedoms. That is a really delicate debate that needs to be had. It is not something we can settle ourselves, that is for the Government to lead on."

Programming, Mutton made it clear, would mean that the technological possibilities would lead to enabling the state or an employer "to control how the money is spent by the recipient."

Not only is such a scenario horrifying beyond words, but half the world is already hurtling towards this nightmare: A study by the Atlantic Council last year found that 134 countries – including the U.S. at the time – were pursuing central bank digital currencies, with almost half of those countries at an advanced stage in this process. The Biden administration was actively working towards an American CBDC, but in May 2024, the House of Representatives passed a bill to prevent the Federal Reserve from introducing a CBDC. Shortly after coming into office, President Donald Trump banned the establishment of a CBDC in the United States.

In Europe, the European Union is barreling ahead at full speed towards a central bank digital currency for those EU countries that are part of the eurozone, which includes the majority of EU countries.

Yet, the dangers of this euro CBDC are nowhere near being discussed in mainstream European media. Of course, EU leaders stress that Europe must have a CBDC to "adapt to the digital age" – a vapid statement evidently intended to subdue skeptics, and supposedly to protect Europe against "increasing geopolitical fragmentation," whatever that is, if it is even relevant to digital currencies.

Whatever the excuse, the impending CBDCs appear intended to give governments unlimited power: If the government does not like your speech, off to jail you go – as in the UK, where people are imprisoned for months and years for saying or writing things that the government disagrees with. Meanwhile, real crimes, such as the mass-rape of thousands of children over the past 20 years, in Rotherham and other cities, remain rampant and largely unaddressed.

Those who control CBDCs will not only be able to fine and arrest you, as they do today, but also to simply cut off your money. Are you eating beef or cheese beyond your carbon allowance? You will have to buy bugs or fake meat instead, as the state will cut off your purchasing freedom.

Unfortunately, none of this is far-fetched. In Canada, during Covid-19 when the truckers went to Ottawa peacefully to protest government pandemic restrictions, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau simply invoked the Emergencies Act, which allowed the government to force banks to freeze the truckers' bank accounts. Problem solved.

As for the rest? Carbon trackers already exist, 15-minute cities are being implemented, in the UK, for example, and the Covid-19 vaccine passports proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that governments will take harsh measures to exclude from society those who refuse to comply with whatever madness du jour the governments seek to impose on its citizens.

Agustin Carstens, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, sometimes known as the bank of all central banks, has admitted that CBDCs will give governments total control:

"[I]n cash, we don't know, for example, who is using a $100 bill today; we don't know who is using a 1000 peso bill today. A key difference with the CBDC is that central bank will have absolute control on the rules and regulations that we determine the use... and we will have the technology to enforce that."

Last year, British MP Danny Kruger asked a representative of the UK Treasury what a CBDC is good for and what problem it is meant to solve. The bureaucrat replied:

"Look. What's it for? It's to keep track with the reality of how we all purchase and save and do our work with our goods."

They are not even hiding it.

Notably, there is at least some coordination among governments across the West on this totalitarian agenda. Professor Werner noted:

"The Covid operation... many of the policies had no proper medical justification or purpose... whereas if you have the hypothesis that [it] was partly used to even. you know, lay the groundwork for CBDCs...

"[T]his vaccine passport was... a way to push digital IDs, which are a precondition for CBDCs. In order to introduce CBDCs you need digital IDs, and digital IDs were meant to be introduced with the vaccine passport or health passport, which is a form of digital ID... The Covid policies... every country in the world seemed to have the same policies, well mostly certainly in Europe and North America, and so there was an extraordinary degree of coordination that was revealed to us, and clearly that did not come from any democratic process, but somehow top-down from behind the scenes... and that's really another reason why we should be against CBDCs; they've shown us what they're going to do...

"There is already various credit and debit cards that have the functionality that your spending will be analyzed and you get a report on an ongoing basis of how much CO2 emissions are involved in your spending... Mastercard... is offering that."

CO2, however, will more than likely turn out to be just a tiny excuse for the extreme power that governments will be wielding if they get CBDCs into our hands. Your money will no longer be yours, but more like a credit or account that you will have with the government and that you will only have access to on condition that you follow the rules, whatever they might be.

In his "Manifesto of the Communist Party," published in 1848, Karl Marx actually called for a national bank, as something that would help bring about "socialism-communism": "Centralisation of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly," he wrote of the "fifth measure" necessary to bring about Communism.

Is that what we really want?

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 14:05

Vitalik Buterin Finally Pushes Back After Weeks Of ETH Stalking Queue FUD

Vitalik Buterin Finally Pushes Back After Weeks Of ETH Stalking Queue FUD

Authored by Martin Young via CoinTelegraph.com,

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has finally addressed some concerns over the lengthening Ethereum staking exit queue, which has now grown to 45 days. 

His response came after Galaxy Digital’s head of DeFi, Michael Marcantonio, called the exit queue length “troubling” on X and compared it to Solana, which only requires two days to unstake. He has since deleted the posts. 

“Unclear how a network that takes 45 days to return assets can serve as a suitable candidate to power the next era of global capital markets.”

Deleted post from Galaxy Digital’s DeFi head. Source: Etc.

However, Buterin seemingly took a more ideological stance on the subject, describing unstaking from Ethereum as “more like a soldier deciding to quit the army,” adding that staking is more about “taking on a solemn duty to defend the chain.”

“Friction in quitting is part of the deal. An army cannot hold together if any percent of it can suddenly leave at any time.”

Overall, the network remains highly secure with over a million active validators and 35.6 million ETH staked, or almost 30% of the entire supply. 

That being said, Buterin acknowledged the current staking queue design was not optimal, but reducing the constants would make the chain “much less trustworthy” for nodes that do not go online frequently. 

Ethereum exit queue surged to an all-time high last week. Source: ValidatorQueue

Galaxy Digital purchased $1.5 billion worth of Solana recently after partnering with Multicoin Capital and trading firm Jump Crypto in a Solana treasury firm. 

Galaxy Digital was also the first Nasdaq-listed company to tokenize its shares on Solana. 

Fighting the staking FUD

Marcantonio seemingly deleted the posts after pushback from others.

Former Consensys product manager Jimmy Ragosa called out Marcantonio and Galaxy Digital, stating that  from what he can gather from direct messages, the only thing the “relentless ETH FUD” has achieved is that “most entities with any vested interest in Ethereum are now reconsidering their business with Galaxy.”

Source: Jimmy Ragosa

“Apparently, Galaxy made their head of DeFi delete all of his Ethereum FUD,” said crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro, adding that “he was engaging in insanely gaslighty psyops.”  

“Frankly, I wish it had stayed up because it only made Ethereum look great both technologically and culturally, but oh well.”

“I’ll be recommending that people no longer do business with Galaxy,” said Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano, adding:

“Deleting tweets doesn’t change the fact that the guy is their 'Head of DeFi' and doesn’t understand the very basics of this industry and cares more about fudding Ethereum than the actual truth.”

Solana proponent Mike Dudas sided with Galaxy, stating, “folks with a ‘vested interest in Ethereum’ have to work with shitty bankers instead of Galaxy who has proven with Solana that they can drive significant value in transactions and bridge to a much broader group of stakeholders.”

Cointelegraph reached out to Marcantonio and Galaxy for comment.

Ethereum ecosystem remains healthy 

The Ethereum exit queue has dipped over the past few days, but remains high at 2.5 million ETH. However, a large portion of this is from Kiln Finance following an exploit. 

There are currently 512,000 ETH in the entry queue, which hit a two-year high recently amid institutional accumulation. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 13:25

There's Something Odd About Meta's New Ray-Ban AR Glasses... 

There's Something Odd About Meta's New Ray-Ban AR Glasses... 

Mark Zuckerberg introduced Meta Ray-Ban Display and Meta Neural Band on Wednesday, the tech giant's first consumer-ready smart glasses with a built-in digital display.

Oversized black-framed glasses have become a kind of status symbol within the Democratic Party - merely a contest of who can outdo whom with bigger black frames, while pushing endless streams of woke narratives. 

For everyday folks hoping for new AR glasses, Meta's new glasses instead project a sense of unhinged liberal vibes... 

Even Mark Zuckerberg's launch interview was extremely awkward...

If you're willing to spend $799 on a pair of AR glasses that give off progressive vibes, Goldman analyst Eric Sheridan has outlined the key takeaways from Meta Connect 2025 Keynote: 

AR/VR Hardware:

  • Meta Ray-Ban Display – Meta announced both the Meta Ray-Ban Display, its first generation AI glasses with smart display, and Meta Neural Band, its companion neural interface wristband. Meta Ray-Ban Display includes a high resolution augmented reality display that enables various capabilities such as messaging, video chat, image and video capture and live subtitles & language translation. Available on 9/30, starting at $799.

  • Ray-Ban Meta glasses – Meta introduced the next generation of its Ray-Ban Meta glasses, including new styles & colors, features (2x longer battery life; improved camera with 3k video) and new AI capabilities (Conversation Focus & Life AI – see below). Available now starting at $379.

  • Oakley Meta glasses – Meta also introduced the next generation of its Oakley Meta HSTN glasses & announced new Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses. For Vanguard, this includes improved performance (122 degree field of view; improved video capabilities including 3k resolution and features such as stabilization, slow motion, hyperlapse and autocapture) and 3P partnership integrations (Garmin; Strava). Vanguard available for pre-order today starting at $499.

Software & Artificial Intelligence:

  • New AI Features for glasses, including Conversation Focus (ability to amplify certain voices in your surroundings) and Live AI (path toward always-on AI assistance running in the background).

  • Meta Horizon Studio – New studio for building VR worlds/experiences using Meta's generative AI creation tools.

  • Meta Horizon Engine – Meta's new gaming engine built & optimized for the metaverse, including faster loading & rendering of VR worlds and early access to Hyperscape Capture (ability to capture real world places into immersive digital worlds via a Quest headset).

  • Horizon TV – Meta's new entertainment hub for streaming content on AR & VR headsets, including announced partnerships with Disney (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN), Universal Pictures and Blumhouse.

With Apple's Vision Pro struggling to gain traction, how will Tim Cook respond now that Meta looks like it’s racing ahead in the smart-glasses space?

ZeroHedge Pro subscribers can access the full note here.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 13:05

DOJ Sues Maine, Oregon Over Voter Registration Lists

DOJ Sues Maine, Oregon Over Voter Registration Lists

Authored by Melanie Sun via The Epoch Times,

The Department of Justice (DOJ ) said on Sept. 16 that it is suing Oregon and Maine for failing to provide information on how their election offices maintain valid voter registration rolls.

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement that both states had declined to cooperate with the department’s requests for unredacted access to voter rolls and maintenance procedures, despite having allegedly given a private organization access to “identical information.”

“States simply cannot pick and choose which federal laws they will comply with, including our voting laws, which ensure that all American citizens have equal access to the ballot in federal elections,” Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon said.

“American citizens have a right to feel confident in the integrity of our electoral process, and the refusal of certain states to protect their citizens against vote dilution will result in legal consequences.”

States are granted broad discretion over how they conduct both state and federal elections. However, there are some federal laws, such as the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), and laws setting a uniform date for federal elections, that regulate the process and that states are required to adhere to when conducting elections.

Over the past several months, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has sent requests for voter registration-related information to at least 24 states, including requesting a complete list of all registered voters from at least 22 states.

In the lawsuit, the DOJ accused the two states and their secretaries of state of violating the NVRA, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 in their refusal to share information regarding election oversight.

The department said that Oregon and its secretary of state, Tobias Read, are “refusing to produce the current unredacted electronic copy of the state’s voter registration list, to provide information on the state’s voter list maintenance program, and to disclose registration information for any ineligible voters.”

It accused Maine and its secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, of “refusing to provide data regarding the removal of ineligible individuals and to produce an unredacted, computerized state voter registration list.”

Bellows, a Democrat, criticized the legal action.

“It is absurd that the Department of Justice is targeting our state when Republican and Democratic secretaries all across the country are fighting back against this federal abuse of power just like we are,” she said in a statement. “I stand by the integrity and professionalism of Maine’s dedicated state election officials.”

She also accused the DOJ of lying with its claim that her office shared the information it was requesting with a private organization.

Read, also a Democrat, said his office is committed to protecting voter privacy from the federal attempt at oversight.

“If the President wants to use the DOJ to go after his political opponents and undermine our elections, I look forward to seeing them in court,” Read said in a statement.

“I stand by my oath to the people of Oregon, and I will protect their rights and privacy.”

Neither of the two state offices responded to a request for comment by publication time.

The lawsuit against Maine comes after the Republican National Committee filed a complaint last week with the Justice Department alleging that Bellows refused to provide adequate information about how the state maintains its voter rolls.

Earlier this month, state officials in North Carolina acknowledged in a settlement with the DOJ that they had not collected from some voters a driver’s license number or another identifying number, as required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

Officials said they would remedy this by collecting the information required under federal law from registered voters.

Trump said on Aug. 30 that he would sign an executive order that would require a voter ID to vote.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 12:45

Trump Files Emergency Request With Supreme Court To Make Lisa Cook Fired Again

Trump Files Emergency Request With Supreme Court To Make Lisa Cook Fired Again

The Trump administration filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from the central bank's board while a lawsuit plays out in lower court over Cook's ouster by President Trump last month. 

The request comes after a federal appeals court in Washington DC rejected the administration's attempt to remove an order blocking Cook's removal in a 2-1 decision the night before the Fed's meeting earlier this week.

"This application involves yet another case of improper judicial interference with the President’s removal authority — here, interference with the President’s authority to remove members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for cause," wrote  the administration’s lawyer, Solicitor General John Sauer. 

According to court filings, the Trump administration maintains that Cook committed mortgage fraud based on evidence provided by Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte - which showed that Cook claimed two properties as her primary residence within weeks of each other. 

On Aug. 25, Trump announced that he was firing Cook from the seven-member Fed Board. Cook sued in response, resulting in a federal district court on Sept. 9 barring her removal while the suit plays out - which the appeals court upheld.

Sauer says that the Supreme Court, for various reasons, should stay the district court judge's preliminary injunction reinstating Cook to the Fed, claiming that the DOJ is likely to prevail in the lawsuit "because Cook lacks a Fifth Amendment property interest in her continued service as a Governor of the Federal Reserve System," and her job is not protected by due process considerations.

Sauer also disputed the judge's alternative finding that Cook's firing "for cause" was invalid because the alleged conduct occurred before she was appointed to the Fed.

"The Federal Reserve Act’s broad ‘for cause’ provision rules out removal for no reason at all, or for policy disagreement," he wrote, adding "But so long as the President identifies a cause, the determination of ‘some cause relating to the conduct, ability, fitness, or competence of the officer’ is within the President’s unreviewable discretion."

"Cook had made contradictory representations in two mortgage agreements a short time apart, claiming that both a property in Michigan and a property in Georgia would simultaneously serve as her principal residence," Sauer continued. "Each mortgage agreement described the representation as material to the lender, reflecting the reality that lenders usually offer lower interest rates for principal-residence mortgages because they view such mortgages as less risky."

"When her apparent misconduct came to light, the President determined that Cook’s ‘deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter’ renders her unfit to continue serving on the Federal Reserve Board, and at a minimum demonstrates ‘the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question [her] competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.

Sauer also says that the district court judge "lacked authority to order reinstatement as an equitable remedy for the removal of an officer of the United States, as we have discussed in several recent stay applications."

Cook has denied wrongdoing, and has argued that unproven allegations are not sufficient grounds for removing the Biden appointee. 

Click pic. Buy beef. Receive beef next Wednesday. Rejoice and subscribe for 5% off future orders.  Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 12:25

Dead Cat Bounce Or Bottom? Novo Jumps On Ozempic Study As Goldman Weighs In

Dead Cat Bounce Or Bottom? Novo Jumps On Ozempic Study As Goldman Weighs In

Novo Nordisk shares jumped the most in 18 months in Copenhagen trading on Thursday after its diabetes wonder drug Ozempic beat Eli Lilly's older drug Trulicity in a real-world survey of 60,000 Medicare patients with diabetes and heart disease. 

The new study was revealed at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference in Vienna earlier today. It showed that Medicare patients who took Ozempic were 23% less likely to suffer heart attacks, strokes, or death compared with those on Trulicity

Shares of Novo Nordisk in Copenhagen surged 7% on the announcement of the study, but remain down 36.5% year-to-date and more than 61.5% below the June 2024 peak of DKK 1,000. For Goldman analysts like Novo superbull James Quigley, the question is whether the 37% rebound since early August marks an actual bottom, or just another dead cat bounce.

Quigley penned a note to clients about the key takeaways from the new study presented at the EASD conference:

Novo hosted an R&D investor event in conjunction with the EASD conference in Vienna.

Our key takeaways were:

  1. Amycretin is primarily an obesity drug not a diabetes drug and base case is a similar efficacy, tolerability and safety as CagriSema but with one API, with an upside case being a better profile than CagriSema,

  2. Cagrilintide monotherapy trials will not use forced titration, could test higher doses, and will generate data in more subpopulations. On the need for a potential CVOT, the company said it is too early to say.

  3. EVOKE/EVOKE+ is powered for 20% slowing in cognitive decline but can detect low teens % based on powering.

The company commented any statistically significant result would be seen as meaningful based on clinician feedback. Overall, our conversations with management as well as KOL commentary at the EASD conference further highlights to us that in order to be successful in obesity, companies will need for a broad pipeline supported by deep databases behind each asset, as obesity will not be a one size fits all market, particularly with new entrants on the horizon.

Related:

ZeroHedge Pro Subs can read the full note here, along with more details on Quigley's 12-month price target.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 09:45

As Birth Rates Decline, Here's How To Boost Fertility

As Birth Rates Decline, Here's How To Boost Fertility

Authored by Mary West via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Last year, the U.S. fertility rate reached an all-time low, according to World Bank data. For those concerned about infertility, it may be a good idea to consider interventions that improve health, as they can boost the chance of becoming pregnant.

Optimal fertility is really just an expression of optimal health, Jessica Sharratt, doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine at Heal Los Angeles, told The Epoch Times.

“When your metabolism, hormones, immune system, and mitochondria are thriving, your reproductive health benefits, too.”

In some cases, lifestyle changes alone can make a significant difference, as they not only boost fertility but also lay the foundation for a healthier pregnancy, said Drs. Abby Eblen, Carrie Bedient, and Susan Hudson, reproductive endocrinologists and co-hosts of the Fertility Docs Uncensored podcast.

“However, lifestyle changes and medical treatments often work best in conjunction with each other,” they told The Epoch Times.

Sharratt suggests lifestyle changes 3–6 months before trying to conceive, to give time for healthier eggs to develop.

1. Pursue an Optimal Weight

A review published in the International Journal of Medical Sciences suggested that modest weight loss is important for fostering fertility. Outcomes in women include improvements in reproductive hormone profiles, menstrual cycle regularity, ovulation, conception, and pregnancy. Outcomes in men include improvements in reproductive hormone profiles, sexual function, and sperm form and movement.

Dr. David Ghozland, board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology in Orange County, California, said in an email to The Epoch Times that he often sees the benefits of weight loss on fertility in his practice. One of his patients, a 28-year-old, had been trying to conceive for 18 months. Last month, after losing only 22 pounds over the course of four months, she became pregnant.

He said that the metabolic link is much more profound than most physicians realize. The mechanism is that visceral adipose tissue produces inflammatory chemicals that act directly to disrupt follicular development, which precedes egg formation. Reducing inflammation through weight loss creates conditions in which conception may again become possible naturally.

“In my clinic, [in vitro fertilization] IVF patients who enhance their metabolic health before using fertility medications experience success rates that are 65 percent higher during their initial IVF cycle,” said Ghozland.

2. Eat a Healthy Diet

Nutrition plays a big role in reproductive health, Amy Chow, a registered dietitian at BC Dietitians, said in an email to The Epoch Times.

The food we eat can influence hormone balance, egg and sperm quality, and the body’s ability to conceive. Aside from providing energy, nutrients play bioactive roles that support reproductive function, reduce inflammation, and help regulate key processes such as ovulation.

A review published in Biology found that the Mediterranean diet protects against infertility, while the Western diet increases risk.

Fatty acids are an example of a nutrient with bioactive properties, said Chow. In the Mediterranean diet, sources such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds, and fatty fish provide healthy fats that reduce inflammation and support fertility. In contrast, the Western diet’s trans fats—common in processed and fast foods—promote insulin resistance and inflammation, which can impair ovulation and lower fertility, according to cohort studies.

The type and quality of proteins eaten also affect fertility, she said.

Plant-based proteins, such as those in beans, tend to support fertility, while excessive intakes of animal proteins may be linked to a higher risk of infertility. Research suggests that animal protein is linked to a high risk of anovulation—the failure to ovulate—while replacing some animal protein with plant protein reduces the risk of anovulation infertility.

Concerning carbohydrates, Chow recommends focusing on whole, fiber-rich, and low-glycemic index options, which can help stabilize blood sugar and support the body’s natural hormonal regulation. Examples include brown rice, old-fashioned oats, and 100 percent whole-grain bread. In contrast, high-glycemic foods include cookies, crackers, cakes, white bread, and sugary beverages.

People with or without hormone-related conditions, like [polycystic ovary syndrome] PCOS or endometriosis, can benefit from dietary improvements,” Chow said.

Endometriosis causes infertility through multiple factors, including disrupted ovary function and a reduced capacity to support the implantation of a fertilized egg due to scarring.

Chow added that while fertility supplements are widely marketed, dietitians always advise a “food-first” approach. Most people can meet their nutritional needs through a balanced diet.

“An important practice that impairs fertility is undereating, which includes excessive weight loss, stress, and exercise,” Shira Sussi, a prenatal dietitian, said in an email to The Epoch Times.

When the body doesn’t get enough food for energy, this deficit can lead to low levels of estrogen, sometimes accompanied by high cortisol (stress hormone), as well as low thyroid and insulin levels, she said.

Sussi noted that severe undereating can disrupt hormones and lead to functional hypothalamic amenorrhea, a condition that stops ovulation. “I would even argue against practicing intermittent fasting when trying to conceive, given this link between undereating, ovulatory dysfunction, and hormone imbalance,” she said.

3. Manage Stress

Laurie Binder, a doctor of acupuncture with Santa Monica Acupuncture and Wellness, said that in both sexes, managing stress is vital. High cortisol levels can disrupt the delicate balance of reproductive hormones. Acupuncture does this by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, encouraging the body to shift from a “fight-or-flight” state into a “rest-and-reproduce” state.

(Stress management solution)

When the body is in a fight-or-flight state—sympathetic nervous system dominance—stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline rise. These hormones can interfere with ovulation and reduce blood flow to the reproductive organs. Essentially, the body prioritizes survival over reproduction, she said.

Substances that strain the body—whether recreational, prescription, or excessive caffeine, tobacco and alcohol—can also quietly undermine fertility. A review published in Reproduction and Fertility advises the following:

  • Refrain from using recreational drugs, which increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and infections that lead to infertility.
  • Avoid taking unnecessary prescription drugs, as many of them affect reproductive processes.
  • Limit excessive caffeine intake, which can worsen fertility problems.

Additionally, regular exercise is a powerful tool for reducing stress, offering particular benefits for women coping with infertility.

Read the rest here...

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Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 09:30

Ethereum Un-Staking Queue Goes 'Parabolic': What Does That Mean For Price?

Ethereum Un-Staking Queue Goes 'Parabolic': What Does That Mean For Price?

Authored by Nancy Lubale via CoinTelegraph.com,

The amount of Ether in the queue waiting to be unstaked has surged to its highest level, as investors may be looking to cash in on yearly profits.

Ether’s exit queue hits record $12B ETH

Ethereum’s exit queue surpassed 2.6 million ETH worth $12 billion last week, with a 44-day wait time.

This marked the largest amount of Ether ever set for withdrawal by the network’s validators, who are responsible for adding new blocks and verifying transactions in proposed blocks, playing a vital role in securing the Ethereum blockchain.

Data from ValidatorQueue noted that the number of active validators was above 1.05 million, with 29.4% of the total ETH supply staked, i.e., around 35.6 million ETH. 

“Ethereum staking exit queue goes parabolic,” macro analyst MartyPary commented on the largest validator exodus in crypto history.  

Number of Ether queued for exit. Source: Validator Queue

While this does not mean that all the validators are looking to sell their holdings, a significant portion of the over $12 billion may be offloaded to lock in profits, notably as the Ether price has risen 97% over the past 12 months.

“The Ethereum exit queue is at a record high, with huge amounts of $ETH now waiting to exit staking,” said crypto YouTuber Lark Davis in an X post, adding:

“Heavy sell pressure incoming.”

Meanwhile, the Ethereum staking entry queue reached its lowest level in four weeks, adding to fears that a surge in the exit queue could lead to a major sell-off.

More than 512,755 ETH, worth around $2.3 billion, were waiting to be staked at the time of writing, down from 959,717 ETH on Sept. 5, indicating a slowdown in demand for staking Ether.

Strong institutional demand allays ETF sell-off fears

Increasing accumulation and buying strength from Ether treasury companies and spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are absorbing much of the selling pressure. 

Data from strategicethreserve.xyz highlights that collective holdings of strategic reserves and ETFs have surged 116% since July 1, climbing to 11,762,594 ETH from 5,445,458 ETH.

The sharp increase underscores a swift influx of Ether supply into the hands of major institutional and corporate players.

Ether treasuries and ETF holdings reserve. Source: strategicethreserve.xyz

The majority of these entities have or will stake the asset for additional yields for their strategies, which may boost the entry queue in the coming weeks.

Another bullish narrative is tied to the potential launch of ETH staking ETFs. This implies that some investors may be freeing up liquidity to re-enter these products later, effectively reshuffling their exposure without exiting the ETH market.

While the SEC’s final deadline for approval is set for April 2026, popular analyst Axel Bitblaze said the green light could come much sooner, possibly as early as October 2025.

“I know we have been waiting for the ETH ETFs approval, but now it’s only a matter of time,” the analyst wrote in a Tuesday X post, adding:

“BlackRock's ETH staking approval next deadline is in October, and I think the approval will most likely happen.”

Capital continued to flow into crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) last week, with Ethereum investment products attracting $646 million in inflows, marking a return of institutional investor appetite for ETH.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 09:25

More Than 10 Russian Refineries Have Been Hit By Ukrainian Drones Since Early August

More Than 10 Russian Refineries Have Been Hit By Ukrainian Drones Since Early August

Another day, another Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian oil facility. This time a major Gazprom oil and petrochemical facility in the republic of Bashkortostan was struck on Thursday.

"Two drones attacked the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat enterprise," Bashkortostan regional head Radiy Khabirov stated on Telegram. He called it a "terrorist attack" and described that security guards opened fire on the drones while they were inbound, though there were no injuries in the attack.

Via Reuters

Videos from the scene showed thick black smoke rising above the facility, as emergency crews responded to battle the blaze and assess the damage - which is uncertain.

Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat refinery is one of the country's largest, ranked as Russia's 10th-largest and processing around 10 million metric tons of oil annually, and a huge array of petroleum and chemical products. This isn't the first time it was struck by drones in an attack, given an incident which happened in 2024.

At least ten separate Russian refineries have come under cross-border drone attack from Ukraine since only early August, which has served to reduce nation-wide refining output by nearly 20% - or roughly 1.1 million barrels per day - and wholesale oil prices in Russia have risen sharply.

Ukraine's military and media have classified Russia's refineries as essentially military targets, given they prop up funding of the armed forces as they execute Putin's 'special military operation'.

For example there was this early August statement from Ukrainian media:

According to Ukraine's General Staff, the ELOU-AVT-6 primary oil processing unit, with an estimated annual capacity of 6 million tons, was hit.

The plant, which has a capacity of 13.8 million tons per year, was previously struck by Ukrainian drones on Aug. 2, forcing two of its three main refining units to halt operations.

Ukraine's military said the facility plays a role in supporting Russia's armed forces.

This reveals a concerted effort to permanently damage the Kremlin's ability to fund the war. Newsmax has previously observed that "The impact has been felt nationwide. Motorists face fuel shortages, long lines, and record prices."

Salavat oil refinery in Bashkortostan lies more than 800 miles from the Ukrainian border...

Via X

The report noted further, "Wholesale gasoline prices have jumped 54% since January, prompting authorities to suspend exports and impose rationing in some regions."

Meanwhile, according to TASS on Thursday, "The Russian Finance Ministry is budgeting for a gradual decrease in dependence on oil and gas, with the oil cutoff price in the budget rule planned to fall to $55 per barrel by 2030, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at the Moscow Financial Forum."

Siluanov said, "In order to make finances sustainable, we propose and budget for a reduction in the budget’s dependence on various restrictions, be they price or volume, on oil and gas revenues."

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/18/2025 - 09:05

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