Zero Hedge

The Global Safe Haven Is Slowly Breaking: Why Central Banks Are Turning To Gold

The Global Safe Haven Is Slowly Breaking: Why Central Banks Are Turning To Gold

Authored by Alex Deluce via GoldTelegraph.com,

The global financial system is not just shifting, it is starting to breakdown.

On April 1st, I wrote: “The erosion of trust: the times are changing.”

That warning has since become a headline.

What was once dismissed as contrarian commentary by many is now being echoed by mainstream media across the world: the dollar’s role as the global reserve currency is no longer unquestioned.

For years, I’ve documented the growing dangers of the West’s overreliance on financial warfare:

  • Sanctions

  • Reserve freezes

  • The weaponization of SWIFT

These weren’t strategic tools of diplomacy. They were early signs of something deeper: desperation, fragility, and a crumbling world order.

In just the past year, the U.S. dollar has lost over 35% of its purchasing power against gold, driven by record central bank gold buying. This isn’t a trend, it’s a signal.

Meanwhile, the BRICS nations are growing more coordinated, even as fractures widen among traditional Western allies.

Across Europe and Asia, leaders are reassessing their exposure to a system that no longer feels stable.

Increasingly, nations are recognizing that true sovereignty begins with one principle: zero counterparty risk. That path leads directly to gold.

These developments aren’t isolated, they are symptoms of a deeper monetary fracture.

With trust evaporating, gold is no longer just a hedge. It’s becoming the foundation of a new system.

That’s why my recent conversation with Matthew Piepenburg, Partner at VON GREYERZ, couldn’t have come at a more important time.

His perspective on gold, debt, the BRICS realignment, and the unravelling confidence in U.S. Treasuries offered rare clarity in a world clouded by confusion and revealed what many are only just beginning to understand.

Let’s break it down.  

The Treasury Market’s Safe Haven Status is Eroding and Gold is the Refuge

For decades, U.S. Treasuries have functioned as the cornerstone of global finance, seen by investors and institutions as the ultimate safe haven. That narrative is now fraying.

“There is a liquidity crisis,” Piepenburg told me. “There’s simply not enough grease to keep this system going.”

Rather than providing stability during periods of volatility, U.S. government bonds have started to behave more like risk assets. In recent market turmoil, yields rose when they typically would have declined, highlighting the growing fragility of the system.  

“Yields have actually been going up, not down, in times of stress,” he explained. “Why isn’t the U.S. Treasury acting like a safe haven anymore?”

The answer, he says, lies in debt, which has buried the American economy.

With over $37 trillion in federal debt and more than $100 trillion when household, corporate, and long-term entitlement obligations are included, the system is buckling under the sheer weight of its own promises.  

“Santa Claus can’t solve a liquidity crisis when you’re buried under this much debt,” Piepenburg warned. “There’s not enough grease to keep those debt wheels spinning without bazooka money, without debasing the currency.”

That’s why, he added, gold is being quietly re-monetized by central banks around the world, not as a hedge, but as a foundational reserve asset.

“Gold is now a Tier 1 asset. Central banks are net settling in it. They’re moving away from Treasuries,” he said. “This isn’t about getting rich. It’s about not getting poor.”

The Rise of BRICS and the Global Move Away from the Dollar

The de-dollarization trend, long discussed in policy circles, has become an observable reality in the wake of U.S. sanctions against Russia. What began as an assertion of geopolitical power has accelerated a multipolar financial realignment.

“Since the weaponization of the U.S. dollar in 2022, 45 countries are now trading outside of it,” Piepenburg told me. “Thirty countries have repatriated their physical gold. That’s not a coincidence, it’s a reaction.”

He pointed to the critical shift that occurred when the U.S. froze Russian central bank assets. For many governments, that action shattered the illusion of the dollar as a neutral global reserve. “When you weaponize the world reserve currency,” he said, “you undermine the very trust it depends on.”

Nowhere is this shift more evident than among the BRICS nations, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

While rumors of a BRICS currency circulate around the world, Piepenburg clarified the group’s actual intention: “They don’t trust each other’s fiat currencies either but they trust gold.”

The BRICS plan, he noted, isn’t to launch a single currency, but rather to use a settlement system backed 40% by gold and 60% by local currencies kept in escrow.

“This isn’t about replacing the dollar overnight,” he said. “But it is a definitive move away from it.”

Fort Knox: The Taboo That Exposes the System

No discussion of gold’s resurgence would be complete without addressing America’s own reserves.

The United States claims to hold over 8,100 tonnes of gold largely stored at Fort Knox.

Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at Fort Knox in 2017

Yet, a full, independent audit hasn’t been conducted in over six decades. Now, calls for transparency are gaining momentum. The President of the United States Donald Trump and Elon Musk have floated the idea of a livestreamed audit of Fort Knox.

But according to Piepenburg, transparency carries risks. “Be careful what you ask for,” he said. “I wouldn’t go into combat unless I knew how many bullets I had. And I wouldn’t want to show my hand unless I knew what was there.”

He believes the U.S. may not be as dominant in gold holdings as it claims and he suspects that China’s reserves are vastly underreported.

“I’m fairly confident China has at least ten times more gold than the World Gold Council says it does,” he said. “And probably more than the United States unless we’ve been hiding a best-kept secret.”

What’s at stake is more than optics. “Gold is the ultimate BS detector,” Piepenburg told me. “It’s a mirror held up to the system and that’s why they don’t want to talk about it. Because it holds its value while everything else melts.”

A Moment of Reckoning

We are not witnessing the end of the U.S. dollar but we are witnessing the end of its unchallenged supremacy.

The petrodollar framework is fracturing. Gold is being quietly repurposed as a strategic reserve asset. And U.S. Treasuries the once untouchable cornerstone of global markets are being reassessed by the very institutions that once depended on them.

The implications are profound. Central banks are no longer being quiet about what they doing… they are moving quickly and deliberately toward gold.

The real question isn’t whether gold will rise, but whether the public will grasp what’s driving the move.

WATCH THE FULL CONVERSATION:

Tyler Durden Sun, 04/20/2025 - 09:20

Americans Are Searching "USA Products" Like Never Before

Americans Are Searching "USA Products" Like Never Before

Tariffs are designed to shift consumer demand toward domestically produced goods. As foreign products become increasingly expensive, driven by levies such as the Trump administration's 145% effective tariff rate on Chinese imports, consumers are starting to take notice.

Faced with rising prices for foreign goods, some consumers have turned to the internet to determine which products are still made in the United States. 

Google Trends data shows "What products are made in the USA?" reached record highs by mid-April, with data going all the way back to 2004.  

These related search queries are in "breakout" territory:

With an effective tariff rate of 145% on all Chinese goods, Beijing signaled on Wednesday that it is open to trade talks in the near term. In the tit-for-tat tariff war, China has imposed 125% duties on U.S. goods.

In recent weeks, President Trump has paused reciprocal tariffs for countries that chose not to retaliate following "Liberation Day" in early April. The White House announced this week that the administration is in talks with 75 countries to secure new trade deals. Trump held discussions with Japan overnight, calling the talks "big progress."

Even as trade deals are expected in the coming weeks and months, the broader objective of the tariff strategy is to reshore critical supply chains essential to national security and to position the United States for dominance in the 2030s. Early internet search trend signs suggest that the tariffs are already influencing consumer behavior - this is a great start. 

 

 

Tyler Durden Sun, 04/20/2025 - 08:45

Europe, You Can't Sit On The Sidelines Anymore

Europe, You Can't Sit On The Sidelines Anymore

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via The Daily Signal,

I’d like to talk today about the role of China, the United States, and the European Union, or just Europe in general, in the context of these tariffs and the so-called trade wars.

Right now, President Donald Trump has given a 90-day reprieve from high tariffs. I think that 10% tariffs are still in existence. And they are negotiating with a number of European countries and particularly, Asian dynamic economies, such as South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. In addition to that, they are targeting China with tit-for-tat tariffs. And we are maybe on the brink—nobody wants it, but we might be on the brink of a trade war, which we’ve addressed in earlier videos.

But here’s my point.

What is the attitude of Europe? 

Roughly, China has a $1 trillion deficit with the world. We have about a $1 trillion deficit in trade with the world. But here’s the ratios. About a third of our deficit is with China, which makes up a third of their surplus. In addition to that, Europe makes up about a third of their surplus.

So, China has called on Europe to join forces with it to prevent all of the retaliatory tariffs that the United States has threatened Europe, which has a $200 billion surplus with us, and China, which has a nearly high $300 billion, maybe even $400 billion, who knows?

It’s kind of crazy, isn’t it, that these illiberal apparatchiks in China would think that a Western democracy would want to join them against the United States?

I don’t think that’s gonna happen. 

But the European Left is very angry at the Trump administration.

So, Choice One might be, “Well, we don’t like the Chinese and we are an ally of the Americans, who subsidize our defense, but we detest the Trump administration. So maybe, (wink and nod) we’ll either be quiet or hope China wins that trade war and the United States, under the Trump administration, backs off all tariffs.”

That would be a big mistake given their vulnerabilities they have with the United States vis-a-vis security.

The second attitude might be the Europeans will just say, “We’ll lay low. We won’t say much at all. We’ll kind of drag out our tariff negotiations with the Trump administration. And we’ll let the Chinese and the United States battle it out. And if Trump should win and he lowers the amount of trade with China, maybe that will be an opening for us to replace China as the United States chief importer.”

That is something that I don’t think will happen.

The third scenario is what I would suggest for the Europeans. They should say the following: “Despite our disagreements with the Trump administration, the United States is an ally. And we know that we have been as victimized by Chinese mercantilism, high tariffs, cheating on patents, copyrights, dumping, financial money manipulation—all the things the United States complains about, we do too. In fact, we as Europeans in a whole have about the same deficit with China as the United States does. So, we are kindred spirits. So, what we will do is, even though we have disagreements on our surplus with the United States and their efforts to reduce it, we will ally with the United States.”

And that would represent about two-thirds of China’s total trade action or monetary value. And especially, if Japan and our allies in South Korea, Taiwan would join, then China would find out that about 85% of its trade is in a block. That is, they are united. And they have common complaints against China. And China would not be able to say to the United States, “We’re going to cut deals with Vietnam and Japan and Taiwan and South Korea and the EU and leave you out in the cold.”

Instead, the Europeans and, to a lesser extent, the Asian powerhouses would join the United States and say, “You know what? We’ve been quiet. We’re afraid of China. They’re bullies. But now that you’ve stood up, we’re embolden ourselves to air the same complaints as you are and hope that you win. And maybe a byproduct of reduced trade with China from the United States will open a door. So, even though we might have to lower our tariffs, there will be more opportunity in the American market with a less prominent Chinese trade profile that we can then be welcomed in as a kindred ally.”

So, Europe has two or three choices in this proposed Chinese-American trade standoff. Nobody wants a trade war with anybody. No one wants it with China. But this is long overdue. And Europe has to decide what course they’re going to take. And for everybody’s sake, let’s hope they choose wisely.

Tyler Durden Sun, 04/20/2025 - 08:10

Cocoa: The Global Trade Of "Brown Gold"

Cocoa: The Global Trade Of "Brown Gold"

Last year, a cocoa shortage drove up prices for European chocolate makers and consumers. 

This was largely due to an exceptionally wet rainy season as well as a viral cocoa disease that severely impacted the 2023/2024 harvest in West Africa. However, the situation is expected to improve this year, according to industry experts.

In a note published at the end of February, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) estimated that the 2024/2025 harvest is expected to show a surplus, after three consecutive years of deficit.

As Statista's Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, the global cocoa market relies heavily on harvests in the Gulf of Guinea for its supply. 

Nearly 65 percent ​​of the world's cocoa is harvested in just four West African countries: Côte d'Ivoire (38 percent), Ghana (12 percent), Nigeria (7 percent), and Cameroon (7 percent). 

The Global Trade of “Brown Gold” | Statista 

You will find more infographics at Statista

South America comes in a distant second place for volume, with Ecuador and Brazil as the main producing countries, accounting for 10 percent and 4 percent of global production, respectively.

The vast majority of the world's cocoa is then exported to Europe and North America, where it is processed into chocolate and primarily consumed. 

The Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium, for example, together import approximately 25 percent of the world's cocoa beans. This makes the European Union the world's largest importer of cocoa, accounting for 60 percent of global imports. 

The United States and Canada, for their part, together import the equivalent of approximately seven percent of global production.

Tyler Durden Sun, 04/20/2025 - 07:35

Germany Deploys Troops To Lithuania In First Permanent Foreign Deployment Since World War II

Germany Deploys Troops To Lithuania In First Permanent Foreign Deployment Since World War II

Authored by Sarah Kuehberger and Wilson Beaver via The Daily Signal, a publication of The Heritage Foundation,

Germany has activated its first permanent foreign troop deployment since World War II, establishing a 5,000-strong armored brigade in Lithuania. This decision follows Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’ announcement in 2023 to bolster troop presence on NATO‘s eastern flank in response to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian War.

The deployment demonstrates Germany’s willingness to take a leading role in the conventional defense of Europe with Brig. Gen. Christoph Huber emphasizing, “We’re not only moving toward operational readiness; we’re taking responsibility.”

According to the Bundeswehr, the brigade will consist of three major combat units—including a mechanized infantry battalion, a tank battalion, and the multinational enhanced Foreign Presence Battle Group Lithuania—and will be complemented by combat and support elements. The brigade aims to be at full operating capability by 2027.

Addressing a NATO Vulnerability

The need for additional NATO forces in Lithuania is largely due to its geographical location between Russian-allied Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Kaliningrad, an isolated port city, was once part of Prussia and was ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II under the Potsdam Agreement. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region was incorporated into the Russian Federation and now hosts the country’s Baltic Fleet, as well as troops, fighter jets, and nuclear-capable Iskander missiles.

The narrow corridor between Lithuania and Belarus, known as the Suwalki Gap, is widely regarded as NATO’s most vulnerable point. Should Russian forces launch an attack on Lithuania, Latvia, or Estonia, which are all NATO member states, they could potentially sever their supply lines from Poland by linking Belarus and Kaliningrad through an offensive. Stationing permanent NATO troops in the three Baltic states serves as a long-term security guarantee.

Germany’s New Policy of ‘Zeitenwende’

Due to its historical responsibility following World War II, Germany has traditionally maintained a cautious and restrained military stance. Massive defense cuts in the 1990s and 2000s further weakened its defense capabilities. In response to new geopolitical challenges, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz introduced in 2022 the Zeitenwende—a “turning point”—in German security policy. This new strategy aims to strengthen defense capabilities, increase military spending to meet NATO targets—which Germany achieved for the first time in 2024 by reaching the 2 percent mark—and enhance European security cooperation. The recent deployment to Lithuania serves as its flagship project.

Germany has made meaningful progress, and a clear shift in thinking within the German defense establishment is evident, particularly through initiatives like the creation of a special fund for defense spending to kick-start military investment.

Europe Needs to Step Up So US Can Shift Focus to Indo-Pacific

In times when European politicians express concerns that the U.S. is indifferent to Europe’s fate, it’s important to remember that the current administration is encouraging allies to step up and ensure they are able to deter potential dangers on their own terms. This is a task that all sovereign nations must undertake.

The United States needs to shift strategic focus to the Indo-Pacific to deter China, and steps like this one taken by Berlin are critical if Germany and other European NATO members are to take primary responsibility for their own conventional defense. Washington should applaud the new German base in Lithuania and encourage other wealthy Western European nations to follow suit with bases in Latvia and Estonia.

*  *  *

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Sun, 04/20/2025 - 07:00

China's Workers, Companies Fear Economic Crisis As Beijing Vows To 'Fight To The End' On US Tariffs

China's Workers, Companies Fear Economic Crisis As Beijing Vows To 'Fight To The End' On US Tariffs

Authored by Leo Timm via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

People and businesses across China are feeling the pressure as the Chinese authorities vow staunch resistance to the United States and the Trump administration’s tough approach to trade and bilateral relations.

Workers check machines at a factory that produces silk cloth in Fuyang, in eastern Anhui Province, China, on April 16, 2025. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese companies, workers, and industry insiders have reported being caught in a bind by the escalating U.S. tariffs, as usual orders are not coming in, and some companies are being compelled to take extreme measures.

While Chinese social media is flooded with anti-U.S. propaganda and nationalist content, posts and videos warning of mass layoffs and prolonged “vacations” offer some indication of the unease spreading throughout an export-driven economy already struggling with high unemployment, shrinking profits, and declining foreign investment.

On April 11, U.S. President Donald Trump hiked the blanket tariff on most Chinese products to 145 percent in response to the Chinese regime slapping its own 125 percent retaliatory duty on American goods the same day.

In addition, Beijing on April 14 restricted the export of seven types of rare earth products critical for high-tech and military manufacturing in the United States and other countries.

According to a White House fact sheet published on April 15, some Chinese products may now face U.S. tariffs of up to 245 percent.

Trump has cited unfair trade practices and illegal drug trafficking as reasons for imposing the levies on Chinese goods.

Washington, particularly starting with the first Trump administration, has long called out the Chinese regime for decades of distortionary and protectionist economic policies, as well as rampant industrial espionage.

Trump also criticized Beijing for failing to curb the production and export of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl, which often entered the United States through Mexico.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in a December 2024 press release that more than 107,000 people died from drug overdose in 2023, with nearly 70 percent of those deaths linked to opioids such as fentanyl.

Chinese Companies Feel the Crunch

Li Meng-chü, a Taiwanese businessman, told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times that the heightened U.S. tariffs will force a significant number of export-oriented factories in China to scale back their businesses or close entirely.

The owner of a factory that makes flashlights in the city of Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, told The Epoch Times that while export companies used to place three or four bulk orders with the factory a month, business has completely dried up as of late. Many workers who used to work six days a week now take three or four days off.

Li, the Taiwanese businessman, said that to his knowledge, factories in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong that produce electronics, garments, and lighting that had U.S. orders placed through to the end of the year, have now seen those orders abruptly canceled. Much stock has been left sitting in the factories.

The South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English-language outlet, reported on April 10 that some Chinese exporters have opted to surrender their cargo to the shipping companies mid-voyage rather than deal with the new tariffs.

“No one will buy them after the tariffs are imposed,” the publication quoted one client as saying to a Chinese exporter.

Mainland Chinese outlet Caixin reported that the port of Shanghai—normally bustling with ships—was virtually empty on the day after the United States imposed its 145 percent tariff. The outlet expects U.S.–China shipping to fall by half in the near future.

In the wake of the tariff hikes, Chinese fashion giant Shein attempted to shift some of its production out of China, but was barred from doing so by the Chinese authorities.

The logo of fast fashion e-commerce company Shein outside its office in Guangzhou, China, on June 11, 2024. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images

Shein and Temu, another Chinese online retailer, will see price hikes following the cancellation of the de minimis shipping exemption, which allows packages containing goods worth $800 or less to be imported duty-free to the United States.

The restriction is set to apply to mainland China and Hong Kong starting on May 2, affecting about 11 percent of current U.S.–China trade.

Beijing Doubles Down

On April 8, a day before the Trump administration put a 90-day pause on tariff hikes targeting scores of countries worldwide, Beijing’s commerce ministry said it would “fight to the end” with the United States on trade.

The Chinese commerce ministry said China’s retaliatory actions were a “completely legitimate” means of protecting national interests and “maintaining the normal international trade order.”

Introducing a 28,000-word white paper on U.S.–China trade, a commerce ministry official said on April 9 that Beijing “possesses resolute determination and a wide range of measures” to counter American tariffs and other economic and trade restrictions.

In a regular press conference held April 10, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that Beijing “is not scared” of fighting a trade war.

Tough Times Ahead

Meanwhile, Chinese businessmen and bloggers have questioned where the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) obstinacy and propaganda will lead them.

According to an early April report by a mainland Chinese blog called “Logistics and Supply Chain Management,” a furniture factory owner in Jiangsu Province, eastern China, calculated that with all the additional fees, a tariff of just 20 percent would consume the factory’s entire profit.

Liu Ming, director of an electronics factory in the Jiangsu city of Suzhou, who used a pseudonym, told the blog that while the company had a profit margin of 16 percent in 2024, “now that the tariffs have been applied, we are operating at a loss.”

Posting on social media platform X, a Chinese exporter who works with American clients said that when the tariff was still 34 percent, it was still possible to work with the raised rate, but the 125 percent tariff “amounts to wiping out Chinese workers’ jobs.”

“As far as I know, nearly all U.S. importers have stopped shipments from China,” he said.

Employees work at a toy factory specialising in solar-powered plastic gadgets in Yiwu, eastern Zhejiang Province, China, on April 11, 2025. Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images

A worker in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, said in an April 9 video posted to Chinese social media that with tariffs eliminating all profit margins from those exporting to the United States, factories and suppliers will be compelled to compete with each other in the domestic Chinese market.

“It’s going to be a race to the bottom,” he said. While not directly criticizing how the CCP handled the trade disputes, he called out Chinese netizens who “spend all day on the internet talking about fighting [the trade war] ‘at all costs.’”

“I bet you’ll soon find yourselves among those ‘costs,’” he added.

A vlogger in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, said earlier this month on social media that the Chinese market’s ability to absorb the country’s consumer products would not be enough for a significant number of workers to keep their jobs.

“Many companies engaged in foreign trade are sure to cut production,” the vlogger said.

A finance worker in Xiamen, a coastal Chinese city in Fujian Province, warned on April 9 that the export business coming to a standstill would have far-reaching effects beyond manufacturing and logistics. “Don’t quit your job, keep it if you can,” she said in a social media post.

‘A Series of Traps’

China expert and current affairs commentator Wang He told The Epoch Times that the CCP may not have anticipated Trump’s move to pause the raft of global reciprocal tariffs he announced on April 2.

“The CCP wanted to take the opportunity to form an anti-U.S. united front” with countries around the world affected by the U.S. tariffs, only to be the odd one out in refusing to negotiate, he said. “As a result, communist China walked into a series of traps that Trump set for it.”

Earlier, on April 9, while at a White House event, Trump had expressed confidence that “China wants to make a deal.” However, he added, “It’s one of those things they don’t know quite—they’re proud people.”

Speaking on April 15 at a press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “the ball is in China’s court” as far as talks go.

“China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them,” Leavitt said, noting that she was quoting the president.

On April 17, Trump told reporters at the White House that China had contacted his administration.

“I believe we’re going to have a deal with China, and if we don’t, we’re going to have a deal anyway, because we will set a certain target, and that’s going to be it,” the president said.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 23:20

Satellite Images Expose China's Secretive Nuclear Submarine Force

Satellite Images Expose China's Secretive Nuclear Submarine Force

Newly published satellite imagery shows the latest developments at a Chinese naval base, which serves as the hub for China's nuclear-powered submarine fleet.

Naval analyst Alex Luck noted that Google Earth recently updated satellite imagery of China's Qingdao First Submarine Base on the eastern coast. The images reveal at least six submarines docked near a pier, with one additional submarine visible in a drydock, per Luck's observations.

The analyst observed that five of the nuclear-powered submarines captured in the imagery were equipped with conventional armaments.

According to Newsweek:

The sole Chinese Type 092 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine also appeared in the image. The experimental Type 092 is now inoperable and is replaced by its more advanced successor, the Type 094, the Federation of American Scientists wrote in a report in March. With regard to the unidentified submarine in the drydock, Luck suggested that it could be a boat undergoing scrapping, given maintenance is regularly also performed at another site. -Newsweek

The latest research by Department of Defense says it believes that China will expand its submarine fleet from 60 to 65 by the end of 2025. China’s submarine fleet could reach 80 in the next ten years, according to the Pentagon.

As China continues to expand its military might, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, is sounding the alarm of the U.S.’s ability to confront China. “The U.S. does not have the throughput, responsiveness, or agility needed to deter our adversaries,” Gen. Caine told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

 The U.S. military is bracing for possible confrontation with China over the Taiwan Strait. Adm. Sam Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, warned that China is actively preparing for major military actions targeting Taiwan, according to the Washington Times.

China is said to be building a novel type of amphibious vessel called Shuiqiao, or “water bridges,” to bolster a possible Taiwan invasion, the India Defense Review reports. These adaptable barges are engineered to swiftly transport heavy equipment across challenging coastal terrain, the report said.

*  *  *

 Try IQ Biologix Astaxanthin - a super potent antioxidant (read more here).

Satisfaction guaranteed. Simply ask for a refund...

Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, has vowed to boost the island nation’s defense spending to 3 percent of its gross domestic product. The increase would bring its military spending to up approximately one-fifth of its total spending budget.

 “Of course, there is the possibility that Xi Jinping would decide that this is the right time for the Chinese Communist Party to take aggressive action,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said of China’s dictator. “I think it’s exactly the wrong thing for them to do,” Coons added. “I think they would find a forceful and united response.”

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 22:45

Biden Judge Blocks Trump's Order Ending 'X' Gender Marker On Passports

Biden Judge Blocks Trump's Order Ending 'X' Gender Marker On Passports

Authored by T.J. Muscaro via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration’s executive order banning the use of an “X” on passports marked by people self-identifying as neither male nor female.

AliaksaB/Shutterstock

U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick of the District Court of Massachusetts - who in 2017 was part of a legal team that sued the Trump administration over an ACA provision and has been a judge less than 18 months, awarded the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) a preliminary injunction on April 18, staying the president’s executive action requiring sex, instead of gender identity, to be used as an identifier on government-issued identification documents.

The executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” was one of several signed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office.

“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the order stated. ”These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”

The order stated that gender identity “reflects a fully internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality and sex and existing on an infinite continuum, that does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex.”

U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick

It ordered the secretaries of State and Homeland Security, and the director of the Office of Personnel Management to “implement changes to require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex.”

It also ordered the rescinding of prior federal guidance documents, including “The White House Toolkit on Transgender Equality.”

The ACLU took legal action against the order on behalf of five plaintiffs who identify as transgender and two who identify as nonbinary, seeking to preserve the pro-LGBT policies put in place under President Joe Biden, allowing a third option on identification documents.

“We all have a right to accurate identity documents, and this policy invites harassment, discrimination, and violence against transgender Americans who can no longer obtain or renew a passport that matches who they are,” ACLU lawyer Sruti Swaminathan said in a statement.

The Trump administration argued that the president had broad discretion in setting the passport policy, and those policy changes did not “violate the equal protection guarantees of the Constitution.” The federal government also denied any harm befalling the plaintiffs due to the policy, since they were still free to travel abroad.

The judge said the administration didn’t demonstrate substantial government interests in changing the rule.

“The Executive Order and the Passport Policy on their face classify passport applicants on the basis of sex and thus must be reviewed under intermediate judicial scrutiny,” Kobick wrote. “That standard requires the government to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest. The government has failed to meet this standard.”

Stacy Robinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 22:10

A Visual Breakdown Of Who Owns America's Wealth

A Visual Breakdown Of Who Owns America's Wealth

There are two types of households in the U.S.: the rich half and the poorer half.

And the data is quite striking in this regard.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Pallavi Rao, breaks down America’s wealth (the total net worth of all U.S. households) by wealth percentile, and lists the number of households in each percentile.

Data for this chart is sourced from the Federal Reserve as of Q3, 2024.

U.S. Wealth Distribution is Top Heavy

For reference, the total net worth of all U.S. households is close to $160 trillion.

The rich half own about $156 trillion (or about 98% of it). The poorer half only own about $4 trillion.

Breaking down that top half even further, the top 1% (1.3 million families) owns about $49 trillion (or about one-third of the total share) by themselves.

And going even further, about half of that $49 trillion is owned by the top 0.1%. That’s only around 136,000 households and includes all of America’s wealthiest people.

Demographics of Wealth Bands

The Federal Reserve also has some insight of how much one needs to own in each wealth band.

From their last analysis in 2022, households with less than $192,000 were the bottom 50% of the country. This band also had a higher concentration Black or Hispanic families without a bachelor’s degree.

On the other hand, to be in the top 10% (not pictured in this graphic), a household needed at least $1.92 million in 2022. Asian and White families with at least a bachelor’s degree were overrepresented here.

To find out the threshold for the top 1%, a different source, DQYDJ, estimated $13.7 million as the minimum household wealth. It takes $62 million for a household’s net worth to be in the top 0.1%.

The rich are, in fact, growing richer. Check out: The 1%’s Share of U.S. Wealth Over Time to see the gains made.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 21:35

Trump's Counter-Revolution Strategy: Flood The Zone, Drain The Swamp

Trump's Counter-Revolution Strategy: Flood The Zone, Drain The Swamp

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via The Daily Signal,

We’re getting close to 90 days and even coming up close, in a week, 10 days, to the first 100 days of the Trump administration and this counterrevolution that he’s waging.

I thought it might be wise just to see where we are as far as the political landscape and the dynamics of the progress of this counterrevolution. 

What is President Donald Trump trying to do? 

I think I would sum it up as flooding the zone. And that is, he’s going to try to propose and enact so many radical corrections or revolutions or reforms or recalibrations that his opposition doesn’t know where to start.

So, abroad, he is looking at the Iran deal and he got rid of it. He put sanctions. 

He’s got maximum pressure. And now, the Iranian economy is about defunct. And they want to negotiate about this nuclear weapon. I don’t think they’re going to negotiate it away, but we’ll see.

And then, he’s dealing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin and trying to get a ceasefire. 

He’s basically dealt with the Houthis.

On the domestic front, there is no more illegal immigration. 

He’s basically stopped it. Now, the task is what to do with the 12 million illegal aliens that came under former President Joe Biden. And what do you do with the 20 million-plus, maybe 30 million that were here already illegally but for a longer period of time?

At the same time, he’s had a blanket mandate that in every Cabinet they will eliminate diversity, equity, inclusion and, by association, things like transsexual, biological males competing in women’s sports.

Women—lowering the physical standards so women could compete and pass these very rigorous endurance physical tests so that they would be in combat units on an equal level. No problem that they can’t. But they have to have the same physical requirements as men.

I could go on, but you see what he is doing. 

He’s doing so many radical corrections in a way that a Romney or a McCain or the Bushes, even Ronald Reagan would not have dreamed of that he feels the opposition will say, “Well, what do we do? Should we reply here? Do we put our interest here? Should we do this?”

And so, what is the strategy that the Left is using? 

They’re flooding the zone, too. But they’re doing it not with counterproposals. They don’t say, “This is what’s wrong with closing the border and we wanna reopen it. This is what’s wrong with the Houthis policy. This is what’s wrong with the trade deficit. This is what’s wrong”—no specific proposal.

They’re just flooding it with hysteria, the Spartacus talk, late-night comedy trashing him, another person arrested saying that he wants to kill Donald Trump, keying Teslas, firebombing Tesla agencies, outrageous things from Hollywood stars, videos from Congress. All of a sudden—we didn’t even know who Rep. Jasmine Crockett was. She’s filled that void.

But what I’m saying is they want to be so rambunctious, so crazy, so 360 degrees unhinged that they’ll create an image or a malu—where everybody wants to get almost in a fetal position: “Please, please make it all go away. I don’t know what Trump is doing but it’s so disturbing. Everybody’s so angry.” That is their strategy.

Now, what is Trump’s counterstrategy? 

His counterstrategy is to actually get people on the other side of the aisle in Congress or in the country at large or in the popular culture and try to at least be friendly to them so then they can say, “I don’t agree with Trump but what he’s doing might be needed.”

So, we have Bill Maher going to Mar-a-Lago and actually saying very nice things about Donald Trump.

On the one hand, we have Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fighting with a bulwark of the Left at one time, fighting with left-wing people who were calling him all sorts of names and saying that he is illiberal.

We had Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan. She was in the White House. Can you believe it? She was so embarrassed about a photo-op. She had to almost cover her face.

But you can see what Trump is doing. He’s trying to get people from all sides of the Democratic and liberal progressive movement and not compromise them, but get in the picture, so then the Left will say, “Well, how can we appeal to the public and get them all angry and frenzy and hysterical when some of our major celebrities, our political figures are in Mar-a-Lago?”

Who’s gonna win? We’ll see.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 21:00

Bush-Era Swamp Creature Revealed To Be Key Figure In OKC Bombing Coverup

Bush-Era Swamp Creature Revealed To Be Key Figure In OKC Bombing Coverup

“As I have always said:  The only difference between the KGB and the FBI is that the KGB has never claimed to be a legitimate law enforcement agency.” ~ Jesse Trentadue

Readers may know the name John Ashcroft, attorney general under George W. Bush.

Well, good old Ashcroft was at the heart of a high profile cover-up: the Oklahoma City bombing, according to attorney Jesse Trentadue. The following comes from a court filing provided to ZeroHedge by Trentadue, attorney to OKC bombing accomplice Terry Nichols.

For context (per Jesse from kennethtrentadue.com): Jesse is the brother of Kenneth Michael Trentadue who died in August 1995, while incarcerated at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Following the death, the Department of Justice (DOJ) immediately deemed it a suicide, denied the medical examiner access to the cell where Kenneth Trentadue was killed, ordered the cell cleaned and painted, and repeatedly asked both the medical examiner and Kenneth Trentadue’s family to authorize the cremation of his body. The medical examiner could not legally authorize cremation and the family refused, demanding that Kenneth's body be returned to them. When Trentadue's body was returned to the family, they removed heavy makeup and discovered bruises all over his body, from head to foot. The bruises, cuts, and other wounds depicted an obvious beating and murder.

Now for the story…

While serving his prison sentence, Nichols attempted to spark an investigation into FBI involvement in the OKC bombing. He sent a letter stating that he could provide such information to the then head of the DOJ Ashcroft.

Ashcroft did not respond to the letter but immediately forbade the media from speaking to Nichols, which resulted in 60 Minutes cancelling a sit-down interview they had scheduled with Nichols, says Trentadue. Shortly thereafter, Nichols said he received a visit from a man presenting an offer from the DOJ to undo Nichols’ death sentence if he agreed to three conditions:

  • Take ownership of an anonymous warning the DOJ received saying the Murrah Building was bombed 30 minutes before it actually had been.
  • Implicate Nichols’ own brother in the bombing plot.
  • Reveal the location of the “Kinestick”, an explosive used in the bombing. Nichols mentioned having knowledge of an unused stache in his letter to Ashcroft. The existence of a remaining stache was not known at the time.

The existence of the mysterious call was independently corroborated in Stephen Jones’ book Others Unknown and even covered by ABC News:

It was discovered that the DOJ proxy (Michael Selby) who visited Nichols previously worked in Ashcroft’s private security detail. Trentadue helped to further corroborate that this meeting took place by telling ZH:

After the declaration was filed, Selby called me upset as hell.  Said that I had just got him “fucking killed.”  The attorney who brought Selby into meet Nichols is Rodney Uphoff.  A law professor at the University of Missouri.  I called Uphoff and he confirmed the event.

It is strange that such an offer – giving leniency to an accomplice to one of the most horrific domestic terrorist attacks in U.S. history – would be presented by someone who does not work at the DOJ and stipulate that Nichol take credit for an anonymous tip which he did not make. 

Nichols ultimately did not accept the deal because he did not want to throw his brother under the bus.

The story, now part of official record thanks to Trentadue, serves as an interesting look into the true conspiracies that Ashcroft may have had a hand in.

To see the full spectrum of official documents that Jesse Trentadue has fought hard to force the government to release, follow his website named in honor of his brother who he believes was murdered by the FBI: http://www.kennethtrentadue.com/

And for a great interview where Trentadue discusses the contents of this article and more, listen to friend-of-ZeroHedge Scott Horton interview Jesse just last month.

As for Ashcroft, after 'retiring' he started a private lobbying firm that quickly secured the Israeli government as its first client.


 

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 20:25

'Made-In-America' Entrepreneurs See Opportunities In Global Tariffs

'Made-In-America' Entrepreneurs See Opportunities In Global Tariffs

Authored by Allan Stein via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

It’s more than just a label. “Made in America” represents pride and the national spirit, says John Roy, CEO of Dawson Knives in Prescott, Arizona.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

The company he heads is a prime example of that spirit. Founded more than 50 years ago by a Vietnam vet with machinery made from parts found in a local landfill, the knife company boasts that it’s “three generations strong.”

Roy believes domestic companies will thrive under the import tariffs enacted by the Trump administration.

With consumption accounting for nearly 70 percent of the U.S. economy, Roy believes there is a strong market for products made in America.

In 2023, nearly half of the goods purchased by Americans were “made in America,” according to the Department of Commerce. That figure comes with the caveat that “made in America” sometimes means “assembled in America,” with products containing imported components.

The total gross domestic purchases in the country reached $3.7 trillion, with $1.9 trillion of that amount attributable to U.S. industries.

“When you keep it domestic and your dollars here [in America], it pays off,” Roy says proudly, wearing a T-shirt and cap emblazoned with his company logo.

“We rode out a pandemic, and we’re going to ride through these tariffs,” he told The Epoch Times.

That’s not just a bold statement, Roy said.

After President Donald Trump announced a sweeping array of tariffs on April 2, Roy reported that Dawson’s knife sales increased from $11,000 to $15,000 per day.

He said the company expects orders to double from 4,000 to 8,000 for 2025. It produces 40 different models of knives, including hunting, survival, culinary, and heirloom varieties.

Roy is convinced that many American companies can withstand a global trade war by sourcing materials domestically and maximizing production efficiency.

“In order to have that efficiency, we have to really invest in computers … everything to help us down the line to make better models, better manufacturing, and reduce steps,” he said.

The company currently employs 15 people and operates within 12,000 square feet of industrial space.

Roy said many consumers prefer goods that are “completely American-made.”

John Roy, CEO of Dawson Knives, displays a part of the complex knife-making process, in Prescott, Ariz., on April 14, 2025. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

He does not foresee any problems sourcing materials as long as his domestic supply remains steady within a global tariff environment.

Government policies that impact his suppliers have also been a challenge.

Roy said that a longtime steel producer and supplier in New York recently went out of business due to restrictions on coal—a key ingredient in steel production.

Dawson Knives had maintained a working relationship with the steel producer since the company started in 1973.

However, another U.S.-based company has stepped in to smelt the needed steel, Roy said.

Despite potentially higher costs for some raw materials in the United States, Roy expects that using domestic suppliers will mean fewer “headaches” related to shipping and no import duties.

He views this as a distinct advantage.

With the materials he currently has in stock, and absent any unforeseen circumstances, he expects to weather a global trade upheaval for at least a year and a half. 

Roy based his timeline on his supplier’s steel inventory for the next year and a half.

“After that, we would have to pay tariffs on steel because one component of the steel we use can only be found in Switzerland,” he said. 

“The tariffs will not affect us unless they go on for a long time.” 

Sweet Success

Jay Levine owns San Francisco Chocolate Factory, a Phoenix-based company with more than 28 years of experience.

His company currently employs four full-time staff members, who produce gourmet chocolates, fudge, and treats for special events and walk-in customers.

The chocolatier sources his ingredients domestically, making his business largely immune to tariffs.

“Everything I buy is local [or it] comes from the United States,” Levine, a Montreal native, told The Epoch Times.

Jay Levine, owner of San Francisco Choclate Factory, stands behind the counter of his new facility in Phoenix on April 10, 2025. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

He buys his apples from Washington, strawberries and nuts from other domestic suppliers. The American-grown items are not subject to import restrictions and are readily available.

The one exception is high quality Callebaut chocolate from Belgium, an ingredient that is now subject to a 10 percent import duty.

As he completes a new facility on Van Buren Street in Phoenix, Levine said his business has continued to do well despite the imposition of new tariffs.

“Quality really has no rights on it,” he said, “so you want to do top quality chocolates. All of our food products come from the United States.”

If tariffs continue, Levine said he “would switch to good [domestic] chocolate, which is locally grown here.” However, even that local supplier gets its cocoa beans from Ivory Coast.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, an international trade data platform, the Ivory Coast’s main imports to the United States in January included cocoa beans valued at $161 million and cocoa paste valued at $41.7 million, followed by rubber valued at $19.1 million.

The U.S. government imposed a 21 percent tariff on goods from the tiny West African country, although it was paused for 90 days to facilitate negotiations. However, all U.S. trading partners are still subject to a baseline tariff of 10 percent.

Tariffs aren’t driving the current high prices though.

“I know that chocolate has doubled [in price] in the past year—and the reason for that was just price inflation,” Levine said. “I’ve never seen chocolate so high—ever.”

Levine expressed confidence that his company can endure the current tariffs, due to a steady demand for chocolate in America.

“This is an indulgence,” he said. “People will pay extra for it.”

That being said, “they won’t be buying as much chocolate“ under the tariffs, he predicted. ”Price is a factor.”

An employee wraps confectionaries at San Francisco Chocolate Factory in Phoenix on April 10, 2025. The company currently employs four full-time staff members producing gourmet chocolates, fudge, and treats for special events and walk-in customers. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times Treading Confidently

Don’t Tread On Me was founded in 2004 and American-made shirts and hoodies are the foundation of its clothing product line.

The exception are the company’s hats, which feature American motifs with the company’s signature coiled rattlesnake emblem.

“Right now, all of the hats and beanies are [produced] overseas, but I’ve been looking into domestic options,” company president Tyler Windes told The Epoch Times.

“There aren’t very many USA hat manufacturers, so it does make it difficult sourcing those.”

Windes said that even before the recent tariff changes, the company was considering moving its hat production to the United States.

“These new policies have simply reinforced our commitment and accelerated that timeline,” Windes said.

Sourcing his hats from a domestic manufacturer has been challenging, nonetheless Windes remains hopeful that the tariffs will lead to increased investment in American textile and apparel production.

This development would make it easier for companies like his to manufacture their products fully within the United States, he said.

Read the rest here...

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 19:50

Trump Versus The Meteor

Trump Versus The Meteor

Authored by J. Peder Zane via RealClearPolitics,

A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.

The quote attributed to Joseph Stalin has become the modus operandi for attacks on President Trump.

Each day brings horror stories of specific victims allegedly caught in Trump’s dastardly web: the wrongfully deported migrant, the African child whose life-saving medicine is threatened, the promising young bureaucrat felled by Elon Musk’s axe.

Even accounting for the hyperbole that casts each illegal immigrant as an angel and every government program and federal employee as doing God’s work, these anecdotes do fall somewhere between unfortunate and tragic. Would you want to trade places with these people? Their stories pull on the heartstrings of Americans, a generous and compassionate people who recoil at suffering.

But their stories are also a cynical strategy deployed by those who seek to derail Trump’s reforms by trumpeting the ”tragedy” of isolated individuals. The same crocodile tears crowd that dismissed struggling Americans’ concerns about crushing inflation, the victims of sexual violence and human trafficking of children brought about by Joe Biden’s border policies, and massive job losses as mere “statistics.”

We do not know how President Trump’s reforms will shake out. Only his most devoted acolytes could have 100% faith in his unpredictable governing style. Still, there is a strong moral case for the spirit of Trump’s actions, which has been tendentiously ignored in coverage of his first 100 days.

A million deaths is not a statistic, but a million tragedies. Trump’s reform efforts hinge on the blindingly obvious premise that tomorrow’s pain will be far worse and more widespread if we do not act today. He is a doctor addressing a sick patient; his opponents seem happy to let the grave illness metastasize. Irony doesn’t quite capture the commitment of those who see existential threats around every corner and then ignore the clear and present dangers to our country.

A fiscal meteor is heading our way; everybody knows it. But our deeply secular ruling class seems to be banking on divine intervention to save the day. That speeding rock everyone can see is, of course, our national debt, which now stands at almost $37 trillion. We added $1.3 trillion to that total in the first half of the 2025 fiscal year. Since the Reagan administration, fiscal Cassandras have warned that our spending path is unsustainable. And yet, here we are. At some point, this looming threat will become a wrecking ball, forcing huge cuts in the programs hundreds of millions of Americans count on. Those who decry the knife Trump is bringing to government jobs and services are only setting us up for the chainsaw tomorrow.

Pay me now, or pay me later – but pay me you will. This isn’t politics, it’s math.

Everybody knows this, but only Trump seems willing to do something about it.

Thanks to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the waste, fraud, and abuse that infects so much government spending has become front-page news. These revelations should be a rousing call to action for everyone who believes in the necessity of government to improve people’s lives. They should be thanking Trump for trying to rescue their sinking ship.

Instead, they attack him. In an ideal world, Trump and Musk would be more measured in their assault on spending. They would have studied every program and job, delivering a detailed blueprint for reform. The political reality, of course, is that they had to move quickly. Our recent history has been filled with blue ribbon panels and special commissions on the deficit and debt that accomplished little. Act now, or never.

In a further irony, Trump’s progressive opponents are taking a page from the reactionary playbook, which years ago argued that, yes, slavery was wrong and integration was necessary, but change? Not just yet. In time.

The time is now because of the urgency of our crisis and because we finally have a leader who is willing to suffer slings and arrows to save us. Will Trump succeed? Ultimately, this will depend far more on the will of the people than on his vocal detractors in politics and the press. The cuts and reforms he has initiated are just the beginning. Getting our fiscal house in order will almost certainly require real, painful sacrifice from taxpayers and beneficiaries of government programs. It is still not clear if he has the will to do all that is necessary. If he does, history suggests that he will be punished instead of rewarded for this courage.

That doesn’t change the choice before us: some tragedies now or millions later.

J. Peder Zane is a RealClearInvestigations editor and columnist. He previously worked as a book review editor and book columnist for the News & Observer (Raleigh), where his writing won several national honors. Zane has also worked at the New York Times and taught writing at Duke University and Saint Augustine’s University.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 18:40

Socialist AoC & Bernie Sanders Caught Using Private Jets On "Fighting Oligarchy" Tour

Socialist AoC & Bernie Sanders Caught Using Private Jets On "Fighting Oligarchy" Tour

Socialists Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been spotted flying around the country on private jets—costing upwards of $15,000 per hour—while making stops on their "Fighting Oligarchy" tour to rile up deranged leftists against Elon Musk, who also enjoys the luxury of private jet travel. Ironically, AOC, Bernie, and Musk seem to have more in common than they'd like to admit.

Fox News provided new details about the so-called "champagne socialists"... 

Sanders boarded the luxury Bombardier Challenger private jet at the Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, California, on Tuesday afternoon, according to a photo captured by a source on the ground and shared exclusively with Fox News Digital. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, whom the source also spotted boarding the private jet, spoke at their "Fighting Oligarchy" event in Bakersfield just hours earlier.

Flight records reveal the jet landed at Sacramento Mather Airport on Tuesday evening, which is about a 20-minute drive to Folsom, California, where the self-identified Democratic socialists hosted their second rally of the day. After publication Thursday, Fox News Digital obtained new footage of Sanders and AOC exiting the private jet in Sacramento Tuesday evening from California resident Matvei Levchenko.

The jet Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez were seen boarding and deplaning made stops in Salt Lake City and Boise prior to landing in Bakersfield, according to flight records. The arrival dates match the duo's "Fighting Oligarchy" events in Salt Lake City and Nampa, which is about a 25-minute drive from Boise Airport.

Also, let's not forget: when AOC and Sanders aren't trying to destroy Elon Musk's US companies - some of which are critical to national security - the leftists are telling Americans to give up their Cummins-powered Dodge Rams, two-stroke weedwhackers, air conditioning, gas stoves, meat, and more.

Footage:

Sanders is a three-decade broken socialist record. 

While pretending to be anti-corporation and anti-establishment, Sanders has fallen into the Big Pharma honeytrap. 

People demand genuineness from Democrats - something the socialist cannot do as their polling data has plummeted to record lows... 

Whoops!

Meanwhile, on tour, AoC developed a new accent. 

Socialist Democrats are clowns. They've become history's big joke as the clown show has been exposed to the masses, yet these radical politicians continue doubling down on insanity. 

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 18:05

US And Iran Conclude Second Round Of Nuclear Talks, Agree To Third

US And Iran Conclude Second Round Of Nuclear Talks, Agree To Third

Authored by Andrew Thornebrooke via The Epoch Times,

Iran and the United States have ended their second round of talks aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear weapons development and agreed to hold a third next week.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff held the second round of talks in Rome on April 19.

As with the first round of talks, which were held in the Omani capital of Muscat last week, the pair negotiated indirectly through an Omani official who shuttled messages between the two sides.

Witkoff and Araghchi interacted with one another briefly at the end of the first round of talks, but officials from the two countries have not held direct negotiations since 2015 under President Barack Obama.

The pair agreed on Saturday to meet again in Oman on April 26. Additional experts from both sides will also meet between now and that time, suggesting that there has been some movement in the second round of talks between the two countries.

The experts will discuss details of a possible deal on a technical level, according to Iran.

“The talks were held in a constructive environment and I can say that is moving forward,” Araghchi told Iranian state television. “I hope that we will be in a better position after the technical talks.”

The high-stakes talks largely hinge on Witkoff and Araghchi’s ability to find common ground on Iran’s nuclear program and regional security issues.

Araghchi said ahead of the talks that Tehran was committed to diplomacy and called on “all parties involved in the talks to seize the opportunity to reach a reasonable and logical nuclear deal.”

“Such an agreement should respect Iran’s legitimate rights and lead to the lifting of unjust sanctions on the country while addressing any doubts about its nuclear work,” Araghchi said, according to Iranian state media.

Tehran has sought to tamp down expectations of a quick deal, however, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said this week he was “neither overly optimistic nor pessimistic” that a deal would be reached.

Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Capability in Focus

It is unclear what the current contours of negotiations hinge on. Iranian officials last week said the initial rounds of talks would be focused on laying out each party’s position and any red lines.

To that end, U.S. President Donald Trump has made preventing Tehran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon a priority of his foreign policy platform. He appears willing to allow the Middle Eastern country to maintain its nuclear power facilities, provided its uranium enrichment is brought to lower thresholds.

“I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday. “They can’t have a nuclear weapon. [But] I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”

Trump first sent a letter to Khamenei in March, suggesting a new deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran refused at the time.

Since then, Trump has doubled down on his stance that the United States “can’t let [Iran] have a nuclear weapon” and has threatened to use military action against Iran if a deal is not reached.

“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing, and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” Trump wrote in a March 30 social media post.

Trump also restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran in February, reimposing sanctions on Tehran as part of the wider effort to push Iran to the negotiating table.

Tehran does not have nuclear weapons and has continued to enrich uranium at near weapons-grade levels since Trump unilaterally terminated a bilateral nuclear agreement in 2018 that had placed limits on such activities. At the time, Trump criticized the deal as “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into” and said it “gave the Iranian regime too much in exchange for too little.”

A report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog released early in the year suggested that Iran had accelerated its production of near-weapons-grade uranium to such an extent that Tehran could likely produce about a half dozen warheads if it so chose.

Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful and that it is willing to negotiate some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions, but wants watertight guarantees that Washington will not renege again.

46 Years of Enmity

Overcoming the historical enmity between Washington and Tehran is no easy feat. Relations between the two powers have been antagonistic for nearly half a century.

Iran was once one of the United States’ top allies in the Middle East. The Iranian monarchy purchased American-made weapons and was seen by U.S. leaders as an authoritarian but modernizing force that provided a bulwark against the spread of communism.

That relationship came to an end in 1979, when Iran’s last ruling monarch fled the nation amid popular uprisings, and power was seized by Islamist forces. Since that time, the Islamic Republic of Iran has opposed the secular modernism associated with the United States and called for the destruction of the nation of Israel.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have reached a near breaking point in recent years, however, owing in part to Iran’s financial and military support of terror groups including Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen.

Tehran has also signed extensive military technology agreements with Russia in recent years and conducted oil-for-services deals with China that skirt international sanctions. Though it is unclear to what extent, if any, those issues will weigh on current talks.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 17:30

Is Risk-Off Positioning Signaling A Market Low?

Is Risk-Off Positioning Signaling A Market Low?

Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Last week, we discussed the “tariff reprieve” that sent stocks ripping higher in the 3rd largest one-day advance on record.

“As we said last week, any good news would cause the market to rally sharply. On Wednesday, President Trump announced a 90-day pause on the full effect of new tariffs. Interestingly, the same headline sent stocks surging on Monday but was quickly deemed “fake news” by the White House. I suspect that Monday was a “leak” by the White House to test the market response, and President Trump kept that announcement handy to stave off a further decline in the markets. Whatever the reason, the markets needed the break.”

However, this week, the market was hit following a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in which he stated that the administration’s tariffs could spark “higher inflation and lower growth.” If that sounds familiar, it should. In 2021, Powell noted that inflation would be transitory as the money supply exploded by 42%. He was wrong then and is likely wrong again by fixating on hypothetical tariff shocks while ignoring the deflationary “red flags” from falling oil prices, slowing consumption, declining savings rates, and rising delinquencies.

Unsurprisingly, President Trump responded to Powell’s comments very quickly, reminiscent of the feud between the two during 2018. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote:

Trump is correct in his statement. The ECB’s decision to cut rates for the seventh time was unanimous. Regardless of Powell’s reason for his position, the stress on the financial system is increasing. As we noted last week, credit spreads are rising, and there is clear evidence that the economy is weakening as consumer demand softens. The Federal Reserve remains overly concerned about missing the inflation push in 2021 by not recognizing the impact of shuttering economic production and sending checks to households. As such, the Fed will likely be late once again in identifying the deflationary pressure of tariffs on economic growth. Of course, just as in 2018, the Fed began cutting rates quickly during 2019 to stem the “repo crisis”. The Fed may be wrong again.

Technical Update

While the markets await the next Federal Reserve meeting, the uncertainty over monetary policy weighs on markets as much as the uncertainty about tariffs. This past week, the market reversed some of its gains from the massive “tariff reprieve” surge. With the MACD back on a buy signal and money flows turning positive, buyers are tepidly stepping back into the market. The 20-DMA continues to act as overhead resistance, defining the current downtrend. While there is undoubtedly a risk of another test of recent lows, which should be expected and why caution remains advisable, a break above the 20-DMA would lead to a rally to the 50-DMA. (Monday’s article will address the “Death Cross” and what it means for investors.)

As is always the case, the market prices in current events and looks forward with more optimistic expectations. While there are many media headline-driven narratives, the tariffs are now a well-known factor, and markets have priced most of the impact into current prices and valuations. Furthermore, the bond market appears to have started resolving the recent “basis trade” blow-up, with bond yields and volatility declining.

Does that mean that the market is now devoid of risk? No. But, as we will discuss further in today’s commentary, we may be closing in on a near-term market low.

Let’s focus on a primary question: Is the market close to a bottom?

The Art Of Contrarianism

You have likely heard the media stat that “bears are like a ‘broken clock,’ they are right twice a day.” While it may seem true during a rising bull market, the statement exposes the ignorance of those making such a claim. If you invert the logic, such things become more evident.

“If ‘bears’ are right twice a day, then ‘bulls’ must be wrong twice a day.”

The biggest problem for investors, and the “broken clock syndrome,” is the emotional biases of being either “bullish” or “bearish.” Effectively, when individuals pick a side, they become oblivious to the risks. One of the most significant factors is “confirmation bias,” where individuals seek confirmation and ignore non-confirming data.

As investors, we should be open to all the data, weigh incoming data accordingly, and assess the risk inherent in our portfolios. That risk assessment should be an open analysis of our current positioning relative to the market environment. Being underweight equities in a rising bull market can be as harmful as being overweight in a bear market.

We believe you should not be “bullish” or “bearish.” While being “right” during the first half of the cycle is essential, it is far more critical not to be “wrong” during the second half.

Howard Marks once stated that being a “contrarian” is tough, lonely, and generally right. To wit:

“Resisting – and thereby achieving success as a contrarian – isn’t easy. Things combine to make it difficult; including natural herd tendencies and the pain imposed by being out of step, particularly when momentum invariably makes pro-cyclical actions look correct for a while. (That’s why it’s essential to remember that ‘being too far ahead of your time is indistinguishable from being wrong.’)

Given the uncertain nature of the future, and thus the difficulty of being confident your position is the right one – especially as price moves against you – it’s challenging to be a lonely contrarian.”

Emotions and volatility make us want to avoid the risk of loss. The increased price volatility and subsequent price decline created a substantially higher level of instability. That instability creates “fear” and drives investors to the behavioral bias of “loss aversion,” ultimately leading to poor outcomes.

The fundamentally bearish arguments of valuations, earnings, a Fed policy mistake, and a recession are certainly viable outcomes. However, if “everyone” already expects those outcomes, what happens if something else occurs?

As Bob Farrell’s Rule Number 9 states:

“When all the experts and forecasts agree – something else is going to happen.

Here is some food for thought.

“The most fundamental premise of investing is to ‘buy when everyone is fearful.’ If excesses are built when everyone is on the same side of the trade, what should you do now?”

Risk Off Positioning Hits Extremes

We must evaluate the prevailing sentiment in the overall market to answer that question. Currently, market sentiment is extremely negative based on various measures, from investment positioning (what investors are doing in the market) to overall investor sentiment (how they feel about the market.}

For example, net bullish sentiment among retail and institutional investors is at some of the lowest levels on record, including during the “Financial Crisis.” The extreme negativity is interesting because the recent decline was orderly and mild compared to the chaos during the financial crisis. Yet, investors are as bearish on the current market as they were then. However, it is worth noting that during previous instances when sentiment was as negative as it is currently, such readings were near market bottoms.

Furthermore, the sharp spike in the volatility index, which is considered a “market fear gauge,” spiked to the highest levels seen since the COVID pandemic. If we combine the sentiment measures with the volatility index, we again see more extreme negative readings that often coincide with market lows rather than the beginning of larger reversions.

Other Measures Of Extremes

However, while our measures of fear and greed suggest that negative sentiment is reaching more extreme levels, other measures confirm the same. For example, the BofA survey of global investors intending to cut U.S. equities has been at its highest since the turn of the century. Such previous levels of negative sentiment on U.S. stocks have been a strong contrarian indicator for investors.

The same is shown by the rapid rotation out of U.S. stocks into foreign stocks. While many headlines are being written about that rotation, those duplicate headlines were written almost annually over the last 15 years. Due to strong economic and earnings forecasts, that rotation reverted into U.S. equities each time. In other words, the extremes in “sentiment” away from the U.S. were close to periods when investors should have been buying domestic equities.

However, the current levels are generally consistent with market lows, even when we return our focus to just U.S. equity positioning.

We see the same issue with professional funds that employ trading algorithms to manage equity exposure, which has also been reduced to levels more consistent with market lows rather than continued corrections.

Lastly, institutional funds based on volatility control have also cut exposures sharply.

With equity exposures very low, if there is any “good news” forthcoming, either economically, politically, or earnings-wise, the chase by these fund managers to increase equity exposure will fuel a significant rise in the market. For most investors, by the time they realize the correction is over, it will be far too late to take advantage of the opportunity.

Risk-Off Technical Indicators Also Suggest A Potential Low

When overall risk-off sentiment and positioning are at levels normally coincident with market bottoming processes, the technical indicators have also become so risk-off that they signal risk-on behavior. As we discussed earlier this week, Sentimentrader.com had a great breakdown of various technical indicators, all hitting extremely low levels. Those indicators run the relative strength, breadth, and market momentum gamut.

Sentimentrader tracks 21 indicators in total, which are then combined into a single indicator, giving readings of when markets are trading at more extreme bullish or bearish levels. As shown, the market is currently trading at more extreme risk-off levels. While this does not mean the market is about to rise, historically, such extreme readings have been close to market bottoms.

As Sentimentrader.com notes:

“Declines in the Risk On/Risk Off indicator below 35 have been associated with volatile periods in the market involving significant declines. “Playing defense” during these periods can, at times, help investors avoid some of the financial and psychological pain of riding significant drawdowns to the bottom fully invested. However, this indicator has gone so far to the unfavorable extreme that it might be “so bad that it’s good.”

Historically, when indicators reach such extreme levels, most previous advances or declines are likely complete. However, it does not mean that markets can not go even further into extremes before reaching a bottom. As Sentimentrader.com concluded:

“The good news is that – on a standalone basis – the signal and performance highlighted above make a compelling favorable case for stocks. The bad news is that we would never advise basing portfolio decisions on any one indicator or indicator signal. The proper message from the results above is NOT “All clear for stocks, and happy days are here again.” The proper message is “Ignore the bearish noise, manage risk, and keep an open mind to the potential for better results moving forward – but especially manage risk.”

We agree. Investors usually make psychological investment decisions during market declines to avoid further losses. That is entirely understandable, but as discussed previously, it is one of the leading causes of long-term underperformance.

We Are The Enemy, And The Enemy Is Me

The lesson is that headlines drive sentiment, and rallies can form when sentiment becomes too negative, as may be the case today. Does this mean the next major bull market rally is set to begin? No. But it does suggest that there are such high levels of negative sentiment that selling today will likely be a mistake.

The most significant problems for individuals are the “herding effect” and “loss aversion.” Notably, “loss aversion” is one of the leading factors influencing investment decisions, according to a survey from the CFA Institute.

“Loss aversion is a tendency in behavioral finance where investors are so fearful of losses that they focus on trying to avoid a loss more so than on making gains. The more one experiences losses, the more likely they are to become prone to loss aversion.” – Corporate Finance Institute

Unsurprisingly, investor psychology is one of the most significant reasons individuals consistently fail to achieve their investment goals. Our behavioral traits plague our investment decision-making.

Here is one last example. Price volatility, particularly when prices are declining rapidly, elicits our emotional response of panic. However, while rising volatility from low levels is a risk-off warning, high levels of volatility have often been a risk-on indicator. When the VIX closes above 45, which signals extreme investor fear, it has historically marked strong long-term buying opportunities. Following such spikes, the S&P 500 has more than doubled on average over five years, significantly outperforming periods of lower volatility. Opportunistic rebalancing during these dislocations can enhance long-term portfolio resilience.

George Dvorsky once wrote that:

“The human brain is capable of 1016 processes per second, which makes it far more powerful than any computer currently in existence. But that doesn’t mean our brains don’t have major limitations. The lowly calculator can do math thousands of times better than we can, and our memories are often less than useless — plus, we’re subject to cognitive biases, those annoying glitches in our thinking that cause us to make questionable decisions and reach erroneous conclusions.“

In other words:

“The most dangerous element to our success as investors…is ourselves.”

As a contrarian investor, excesses get built when everyone is on the same side of the trade.

From that basis, while it is easy to be very negative about the market currently, everyone is so bearish that the markets could respond in a manner no one expects.

We are not saying it will be the case, but we should be very open to the possibility.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 16:20

US Tariffs Rate Return To FDR-Era Levels, But Goldman Says Economy Far Stronger Than In 1930s

US Tariffs Rate Return To FDR-Era Levels, But Goldman Says Economy Far Stronger Than In 1930s

The last time the U.S. faced an average tariff rate this high was in March 1933, during the first inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. At the time, the country was in the depths of the Great Depression, and the Dust Bowl was devastating agricultural lands.

Fast forward 80 years, and Goldman analysts don't see history repeating itself (yet)—despite Democrats hoping for "Great Depression 2.0." As the analysts told clients:

Around about the last time the U.S. had import tariff rates as high as we have today, the President then declared that "the only fear we have is fear itself."

A bold statement from FDR who remained in office until the tail end of World War II, suggesting perhaps that we actually had a lot of fear back then.

Fast forward 80 years or so, and the U.S. economy is in far better shape than it was back in the 1930s. The post-pandemic echo-boom has ushered in a string of years with above-trend growth, much of which has been driven by the U.S. consumer.

Goldman analysts Chris Hussey and Sarah Herr provided clients with more color on tariffs:

Patrick Creuset sizes the potential impact of tariffs and de-globalization on trade volumes in an Apr-15 note, "Global Transportation: De-globalization: Trade Recession Roadmap." If the effective U.S. tariff rate were to return to levels seen in the 1930s, we could see a significant drop in U.S. trade volumes. However, our economists, including Elsie Peng, Alec Phillips, and David Mericle, do note that shifts in trade flows are likely to substantially reduce the increase in the effective tariff rate in an Apr-15 US Economics Analyst, "How Much Will the Effective Tariff Rate Rise?" However, if U.S. import demand shifts away from China toward countries with higher production costs but lower U.S. tariff rates, the impact on prices of imported goods will be larger than implied by the increase in the effective tariff rate.

The U.S. average tariff rate based on recent announcements would be the highest since the 1930s

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act contributed to a c.60% drop in U.S. trade in 1931/32

Separately, the Atlanta Fed GDPNow forecast adjusted away from US GDP Q1 in 'Great Depression' mode last week.

Democrats have been mounting an info war with their MSM cheerleaders in their attempt to convince consumers that economic armageddon is imminent.

The analysts' takeaway is that today's U.S. economy is on far stronger footing than it was eight decades ago. However, what could derail the party is what Trump said last week: Jerome Powell is "playing politics" with interest rates.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 15:45

Tesla-Terror Freak-Show Grows: Trans-Looking Collegian, MN Govt Employee Busted

Tesla-Terror Freak-Show Grows: Trans-Looking Collegian, MN Govt Employee Busted

Police have made two more arrests after a wave of vandalism and all-out destruction directed against Tesla facilities and private Tesla owners by leftist lunatics whipped into an anti-Elon Musk frenzy. With each arrest, police flip over a new rock and let us gaze at the latest strange creature that lies beneath -- and this week's arrests will not disappoint the morbidly curious. 

Under the first rock, we find 19-year-old UMass Boston student Owen McIntire, who is universally described by police and journalists as a man, but who presents a decidedly feminine appearance -- seemingly extending the disproportionate representation of gender-bending criminals in the Tesla-Terror Freak Show.

While there's no confirmation of trans status, Owen McIntire is said to be a man, but projects a decidedly feminine appearance (US Dept of Justice)

McIntire, whose parents are both musicians, was arrested in Boston on Friday and faces federal charges of malicious destruction of property and unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm or destructive device. Police say McIntire, while home on spring break, firebombed a Kansas City Tesla dealership with Molotov cocktails at 11:15pm on March 17. The blaze destroyed two Cybertrucks with a combined retail price of more than $212,000, and damaged two charging stations priced at $550 each. 

Patrolling police spotted the initial smoke and, while they were unable to extinguish the fire, they managed to isolate one of the Molotov cocktails, which failed to break and fully ignite, and "preserve its evidentiary value," authorities said. The bottle originally held Braggs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar -- had to be organic, right?  

Police were able to preserve this Molotov cocktail bottle which failed to break and fully ignite (US District Court - Western Missouri) 

The purportedly male McIntire appears to have opted for a girly look on the night of the crime: The police affidavit describes the perpetrator recorded on security video as exiting a vehicle "wearing dark flowy clothing and a large, white-colored hat.” ( FABULOUS! )

The New York Post reports that, in March 2023, a post on a social media account believed to be McIntire's overflowed with angst and pent-up rage over various leftist hot buttons (hyperlinks ours): 

“I am having a panic attack right now and have a painful urge to scream at the world right now and I love it all. I don’t know how to think I can’t think about it every time I look at the news it’s something new and awful and this goddammed school bill has broken me and the labor laws and the cop city and project willow and roe v wade and I just need to spill out here so I don’t go insane with rage and fear I need to know someone sees this everything that is happening,” 

Given the timing, "goddammed school bill" appears to refer to Florida's legislation that curtailed instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity; the bill was labelled by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" law. McIntire's outcry about the law "breaking" him may serve as another possible indicator of a trans identity. If that's the case, McIntire would be the latest in a string of gender-benders charged with Tesla attacks. Previous such arrestees include Lucy Grace Nelson, aka Justin Thomas Nelson, whom police accuse of firebombing a Loveland Colorado dealership, and Adam Matthew Lansky, charged with throwing Molotov cocktails at a car dealership in Salem, Oregon and -- a month later -- shooting up the same facility. 

The freak parade grows longer: McIntire joins previous Tesla-terror arrestee Adam Lansky, likewise charged with firebombing a Tesla facility 

Under this week's second rock, we find 33-year-old Dylan Bryan Adams, a fiscal policy analyst employed by the state of Minnesota's Department of Human Services. He allegedly caused $20,000 in damages as he keyed several privately-owned Teslas innocently parked on Minneapolis streets and parking lots, according to a Friday report by the X account CrimeWatchMpls. Arrested of suspicion of damaging the vehicles, his formal charges are still pending.

After Gov Tim Walz wallowed in Tesla's falling stock price, Minnesota government employee Dylan Adams was recorded vandalizing privately-owned Tesla cars, police say (Crime Watch Mpls via NY Post)

While he's not quite as "exotic" as McIntire and similar specimens, Adams is weird in his own way -- a white color employee so insanely obsessed with Elon Musk that he would repeatedly victimize innocent people, some of whom surely share his leftist world view, and risk derailing his entire life in the process. According to the X account CrimeWatchMpls, Adams 2024 state government salary was $85,883, and his job title was Human Services Program Consultant. Minnesota's Department of Human Services manages an array of welfare-state programs, spanning food, housing, income, health care, child care and mental wellness. A member of a government employee union, Adams' leftist worldview is confirmed by his reposting of social media commentary by Joe Biden, Occupy Democrats and Kamala Harris husband Doug Emhoff. 

Again and again, Adams' alleged acts of vandalism were recorded by the Teslas' onboard video monitoring system, which show him casually vandalizing vehicles with a key as he's in the midst of walking his dog or out shopping:  

As the CrimeWatchMpls points out, Adams' vandalism spree came just a few weeks after failed Democratic vice presidential candidate and Gov. Tim Walz spoke of the glee he felt as Tesla stock dropped amid the leftist backlash against the company owned by the godfather of the Department Of Government Efficiency. The same account also said Minnesota taxpayers "have a right to know" if Adams was "working from home" at the time of his multiple crimes. 

According to a LinkedIn profile that appears to be Adams, he's a 2014 graduate of Johns Hopkins, where he studied international and global studies. He later received a masters in public policy from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Service. The profile says he's currently engaged in "tutoring and mentoring elementary school students twice a week."  

We wouldn't want this guy around our kids -- but we're sure there are plenty of leftist freaks who would.

*  *  *

Anza Knives are made in the USA! They're selling like hotcakes.

Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back, lifetime guarantee. And if you're looking for a great daily carry, check this one out.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 14:35

Idaho Governor Signs Bill For Ivermectin To Be Sold Over The Counter

Idaho Governor Signs Bill For Ivermectin To Be Sold Over The Counter

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

Idaho has become the latest of a handful of states to legalize over-the-counter sales of the anti-parasite drug ivermectin following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, did not offer any comments on the bill, which was among many measures he signed on April 14. The bill had been passed with little resistance in the Idaho Legislature and took effect immediately.

In March, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill legalizing over-the-counter sales of the drug, as did Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in 2022.

A readout of the bill introduced in the Idaho House of Representatives says, in part, that ivermectin would be able to be used “without restriction or consultation” with a “health care professional,” and that it could also be sold over the counter, or “legally sold and purchased without a prescription.”

During the pandemic, some researchers touted ivermectin as a means to treat COVID-19, although federal health officials have said that the drug is not effective in treating the virus.

State Sen. Tammy Nichols, a Republican, presented the bill before the state Senate floor on April 3 and told local media outlets that it would eliminate a hurdle for consumers.

“We’re not mandating use, we’re not prescribing treatment, and we are not mandating that it be sold,” Nichols told KTVB-7.

“What we’re doing with this bill is simple. We’re removing a barrier.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Kelly Anthon, a Republican who helped co-sponsor the bill, said ivermectin has a broad range of uses.

“This is a drug that has had really immeasurable impacts on improving the lives of billions and billions of people throughout the world since it was discovered. It’s been called, in many places, a wonder drug,” Anthon told lawmakers in an Idaho Senate committee hearing in early April.

“It’s been able to serve in treating and in many ways curing human diseases—treating parasites, worms in humans. And in most countries, it is legal over the counter.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not cleared ivermectin to be used for COVID-19, while advising against people using forms of ivermectin intended for animals.

“The FDA has not determined that ivermectin is safe or effective for these indications,” the agency’s website says.

The National Library of Medicine says that authorities are also “concerned about the health of consumers who may self-medicate by taking ivermectin products intended for animals, thinking they can be a substitute for ivermectin intended for humans.” It also advises against people taking the medication without a health care provider and that it should be “obtained through a legitimate source.”

Officials note that ivermectin is generally prescribed for a type of roundworm known as threadworm as well as river blindness caused by a type of roundworm, head lice infestations, scabies, and other conditions.

A study released in June 2021 found that ivermectin was linked to “large reductions” in COVID-19 deaths. Among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the risk of death was found to be 2.3 percent among those treated with the drug, compared to 7.8 percent for those who weren’t.

A March 2022 study found that the drug was associated with decreased mortality as compared with remdesivir by analyzing a national federated database of adults aged 18 and older with a confirmed COVID-19 infection from January 2020 to July 2021.

The drug’s possible side effects include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, loss of appetite, constipation, weakness, body shaking, chest discomfort, and more serious problems including rash, hives, itching, blistering or peeling skin, confusion, sleepiness, disorientation, and coma.

According to a drug database website, there are more than 100 known interactions with ivermectin, including relatively commonly prescribed drugs such as warfarin, clarithromycin, mifepristone, and more. It also has a moderate interaction with Paxlovid, the Pfizer-made drug to treat COVID-19.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 11:40

Here's How Gas Pipelines & Seized Russian Assets Could Give The US Lots Of Leverage Over The EU

Here's How Gas Pipelines & Seized Russian Assets Could Give The US Lots Of Leverage Over The EU

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

US control over the trans-Ukrainian and Nord Stream pipelines could incentivize the EU into concessions on their trade war while whatever seized Russian assets that the US obtains legal ownership of from Moscow could serve to justify ramping up pressure on the bloc in this context.

Reuters reported earlier in the month that the latest version of Trump’s resource deal with Ukraine includes an “Easter egg” giving the US’ International Development Finance Corporation control over its international gas pipeline between Russia and the EU. 

This prompted another report from Reuters alleging that French and German firms are open to the possibility of resuming imports via that route. 

These reports collectively suggest that the US wants to control Russia’s pipeline gas exports to Europe.

The triple rationale behind doing so would be to obtain further leverage over the EU amidst their trade war, buoy its struggling economy if a deal is reached so that it’s a more stable market for American exports, and incentivize Russia into agreeing to a ceasefire by restoring some of this lost revenue. 

In furtherance of this goal, the US might also try to obtain control over the four Nord Stream pipelines, the scenario of which was analyzed here and here.

While control over the Kiev-owned Ukrainian pipeline could be obtained via Trump’s resource deal with Ukraine, which might require forcing Zelensky to form a government of national unity if he doesn’t agree to this on his own, different means would have to be employed for the Russian-owned Nord Streams. Hypothetically returning the estimated $5 billion of seized Russian assets under American jurisdiction wouldn’t suffice for replacing the nearly $20 billion that Nord Stream 1 and 2 cost in total.

The additional $15 billion (or more if Russia demands such and the US agrees) could be obtained by pressuring the EU into releasing that amount of seized Russian assets under its jurisdiction. If the EU refuses, then Russia and the US could agree to a creative financial arrangement whereby Russia transfers legal ownership of this sum to the US, the US transfers this same amount to Russia, then Trump weaponizes the $15 billion of newly US-owned assets under EU jurisdiction as a chip in their trade war.

This formula could also be utilized by them for facilitating Russia’s reportedly requested purchase of Boeing jets that Bloomberg recently claimed that it suggested buying with some of those seized assets. Taken to its extreme, the estimated $300 billion worth of total assets that the West seized from Russia could be transferred to the US via these means for large-scale purchases across a slew of industries that would solidify the strategic economic partnership that they want to forge in the post-conflict era.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently said that “There is an incentive for Russia to end this war and perhaps that could be economic partnerships with the United States” so this could be the means to that end. Russia has also made do without those assets and doesn’t expect them to be returned in full, perhaps not even at all despite official rhetoric to the contrary, which is why this would be the most mutually beneficial use of them in the context of the nascent Russian-US “New Détente”.

The creative energy diplomacy and financial arrangements that were proposed in this analysis would give the US lots of leverage over the EU. They’d correspondingly result in control over most Russian pipeline gas imports for incentivizing the EU into concessions on their trade war while whatever seized Russian assets that the US obtains legal ownership of from Moscow could serve to justify ramping up pressure on the bloc in this context. The Trump Administration should therefore seriously consider this.

Tyler Durden Sat, 04/19/2025 - 10:30

Pages