Month: July 2024

“We Rise Together, Or Fall Apart” – ‘New’ Trump Blows Lid Off RNC With Unity Speech

“We Rise Together, Or Fall Apart” – ‘New’ Trump Blows Lid Off RNC With Unity Speech

Authored by Kevin Downey Jr via PJMedia.com,

Just days after a smelly, pimply-faced incel tried to put a bullet in his head, President Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president.

He was surrounded by family and faithful Republicans, eager to help him make America great again.

Tucker Carlson delivered a rousing, joyful unscripted speech about Trump’s actions following the assassination attempt in Bradford, Pennsylvania, exemplified the essence of leadership.

“A leader is the bravest man,” Mr. Carlson said to applause.

“That is true in all human organizations. This is a law of nature,” he added, crediting the president’s bravery with preventing a chaotic situation from spiraling further out of control and recognizing that “a leader’s duty is to his people.”

Hulk Hogan‘s speech made me want to take a hot-tub time machine back to April 19, 1775, and unload muskets at lobsterbacks at Lexington and Concord.

Eric Trump‘s speech dropped truth bombs all over the joint. But President Trump transcended everything with a speech he reportedly wrote himself, days after a narcissistic animal tried to upend American history.

I am told Trump had an edgy speech full of facts that Biden wouldn’t like but instead went with something more “unifying.”

I had no idea fellow Detroit hometown homeslice Kid Rock was going to be Trump’s hype-man.

Rock killed with a pro-Trump rap song that set the house on fire.

Kid Rock isn’t the first musician/rapper to back Trump. Amber Rose gave a speech at the convention earlier in the week. Then there are all these rappers in this article who have come out loud and proud for Trump:

Dana White had the pleasure and privilege of introducing President Trump, who took the microphone as Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the U.S.A.” and the conventioneers chanted “U.S.A., U.S.A.!”

We Rise Together, or We Fall Apart

Trump took to the stage with a bandage covering the wound left by the would-be assassin’s bullet. He kicked off his mesmerizing speech by thanking the GOP for the nomination and promising to stand for all Americans, stating: “We rise together or we fall apart.”

Trump’s speech was unlike any of his others. It lacked the bombast and sarcasm of earlier speeches, which I find entertaining. Instead, it focused on unity.

Trump discussed the attempt on his life in Butler, Pa., on July 13, which Catherine wrote about here in more detail.

I’m not supposed to be here tonight. Not supposed to be here. Thank you, but I’m not, and I’ll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God watching.

He pensively described the attack that could have ended his life and altered American history forever.

Trump stated, “I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” and the crowd responded with, “Yes, you are. Yes, you are!” I can’t lie; I got a little weepy at that point. I can remain calm at funerals and Hallmark commercials, but for some reason patriotism makes me misty.

Trump commended his Bulter audience for not stampeding out in panic and praised their bravery under fire.

He paid homage to the patriotic firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the rally while shielding his family from the miscreant’s bullets, calling for a moment of silence for the slain husband and father of two daughters.

In the case of Corey and the other two, by the way, they were very, very seriously injured, but now they’re doing very well. They’re going to be okay. They’re warriors. So now I ask that we observe a moment of silence in honor of our friend, Corey.

Trump spent much of his time thanking his followers, the Secret Service, and his family, who have been dragged through a mud pile throughout Trump’s numerous Stalin-like trials.

Trump promised to secure the borders and return patriotism to our schools after we “rescue the nation.” 

Trump declared he would close the border and make America prosperous again. He took minor jabs at the Biden administration while only naming him once. 

If Democrats want to unify our country, they should drop these parties and witch hunts, which I have been going through for approximately eight years, and they should do that without delay and allow an election to proceed on this journey.

He gave hope to a nation that just saw him take a bullet and then stand up and pump his fist while yelling, “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!”

Trump gave what some would call a kinder, gentler speech while invigorating We the People to take our nation back on Election Day. He seemed to embrace humility. I imagine being millimeters away from an assassin’s bullet has that kind of an effect on a person.

Trump declared that illegal immigrants were stealing jobs from black and Hispanic communities. Someone yelled, “Blacks for Trump!” Trump responded with, “I like you too!”

Trump briefly mentioned the 2020 election and stated it would not happen again, an obvious reference to what some believe was a rigged election.

As Trump was winding down, he managed to score a few laughs, especially when joking about MS-13 and the chart that he “never really got to see,” referring to the moment the domestic terrorist tried to kill him as he looked at the now famous statistical chart displayed at the rally. He also killed with what is likely an ad-lib line about Hannibal Lecter.

In his closing moments, Trump promised to “drill baby, drill, and close the border.”

He vowed not to let killers into our country, referring to the growing list of rapists and murderers crossing the southern border, which Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas claims is secure. 

My favorite part was when Trump reminded the world how he scared a terrorist, allegedly by showing him a picture of his house and threatening to kill him if he hurt even one American.

Afghanistan, I spoke to the head of the Taliban.

You’ve heard this story. Abdul, still there.

Still the press got on me. “Why would you speak to him?”

I said, “because that’s who the killing is. I don’t have to speak to somebody that has nothing to do with it.”

And I told them, “Don’t ever do that. Don’t ever do that again. Don’t ever do that again,” because during the Obama administration, many great people and soldiers, a lot of soldiers, are being killed from long distance. I said, “if you keep doing that, you’re gonna be hit harder than anybody’s ever been hit by a country before.”

And he said, “I understand, your excellency.”..

I wonder if he calls the other guy “your excellency”?

Most inspiringly, Trump declared he would never let us down. 

As expected, he ended his inspiring speech with, “We will make America great again” before thanking Wisconsin and various others.

I mentioned that President Trump can’t save America alone.

All real Americans must unite to fight the pinko toilet-dwellers until communism is nothing more than a stain on our boots.

As Lawrence Wilson concluded at The Epoch Times, The Grand Old Party was made new at this year’s national convention. It is no longer the party that Ronald Reagan energized with his Morning in America optimism, which reestablished America on the world stage after the war in Vietnam.

After eight years of a growing populist impulse, the Republican party is now definitively the party of Donald Trump, united around his vision of America First.

For four nights, a parade of current and former elected officials, ranchers, cops, and Gold Star moms have ascended the platform to laud the former president as the one person capable of uniting the country, defending the interests of ordinary Americans, and restoring America to greatness at home and abroad.

Notable former critics of former President Trump one by one pledged their support, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State in the Trump administration.

Once-prominent GOP leaders who symbolized the pre-Trump party were conspicuously absent, including former Vice President Mike Pence, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, and former House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsinite.

Tyler Durden
Fri, 07/19/2024 – 08:55

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/YzZJ8j1 Tyler Durden

Russian Court Hands WSJ’s Gershkovich 16 Years On Espionage Conviction

Russian Court Hands WSJ’s Gershkovich 16 Years On Espionage Conviction

Russian prosecutors initially sought a very significant 18-year prison sentence in the espionage case of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. A verdict has been handed down by a court in Yekaterinburg on Friday in the late afternoon (local time), after the regional court’s press service said that proceedings reached the final stage for the American journalist who has been behind bars since is March 2023 arrest.

Russian authorities claim he was spying for the CIA while investigating a major Russian defense company in Yekaterinburg, a city which lies east of the Ural Mountains. The court has convicted him, with a judge delivering a steep 16-year sentence.

Via Reuters

A prior Russian state media statement asserted he was “attempting to obtain military secrets for the CIA”. It described: “Investigators claimed in a statement that they have evidence proving the US citizen was acting on behalf of the foreign intelligence agency when he tried to collect classified information about Uralvagonzavod, a major Russian producer of tanks and armored vehicles, in Ekaterinburg in March 2023.”

This has made him the first American journalist to be imprisoned and convicted in Russia on such an allegation since the Cold War.

Friday witnessed closing arguments in the court, which allowed Gershkovich the opportunity to deliver close remarks, but it was done behind closed doors.

He along with the WSJ and the US government have decried the charges against him as a ‘sham’ and as trumped-up and politically motivated. Washington very quickly declared Gershkovich “wrongfully detained” which allows for the Biden administration to pursue hostage negotiations to gain his release.

The WSJ previously reported in a Friday update:

The Yekaterinburg court is widely expected to convict Gershkovich, as acquittals in Russian espionage cases are exceedingly rare. Gershkovich was tried in a secret proceeding over three days in which he received few of the protections accorded to defendants in the U.S. and other Western countries.

Russian authorities have produced no public evidence to support their allegations. Gershkovich is expected to be sentenced soon.

It is widely believed that Russia is using the case as a bargaining chip, in order to free high level Russian detainees in the West, just like the prisoner swap involving Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout played out. Likely this process will only intensify now that he has been sentenced.

Tyler Durden
Fri, 07/19/2024 – 08:35

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/ljxRc8q Tyler Durden

‘The Whole Building Shook’: Houthis’ Tel Aviv Drone Strike Kills 1, Hospitalizes 8

‘The Whole Building Shook’: Houthis’ Tel Aviv Drone Strike Kills 1, Hospitalizes 8

In what could spark spiraling escalation of warfare between Yemen’s Houthis, Hezbollah and the State of Israel, a large drone struck a high-rise building in central Tel Aviv overnight, killing 1 and wounding 8 more. Using social media, a Houthi spokesman indicated the group had launched a “military operation” that “targeted ‘Tel Aviv’ in occupied Palestine’.”

Saudi-headquartered Al Arabiya reported that the Houthis fired four drones and a ballistic missile. The missile and three of the drones were said to have been shot down by US forces in the region. Witnesses say the 3:15 am blast was so loud, it was audible for miles. In video circulating on social media that purportedly captured the strike, a telltale buzzing sound is heard followed by a blinding flash and the sound of an explosion: 

“The whole building shook,” Alon, a local resident, told Haaretz. “My neighbours’ windows shattered so I was sure something had hit the building. It was only when I went outside that I realized that several buildings had been damaged.” According to one report, eight victims were hospitalized; four were wounded, while the others were receiving treatment “for anxiety.” 

On a nearby sidewalk, a policeman stands next to what may be a wing from the drone (via Twitter)

No alarms were sounded. This latest Israel Defense Forces (IDF) failure promises to heighten Israelis’ sense of vulnerability that persists nine months after the stunning Oct. 7 Hamas invasion of southern Israel. Following the attack, the IDF said it had elevated air patrols to bolster defenses. While it wasn’t struck, a branch office of the US embassy was described as just 100 meters away from the blast. (For perspective, that’s even closer than the distance between former President Trump and the sniper perched on a gently-sloping but mostly-dangerous roof in Butler, Pennsylvania.)  

While ZeroHedge can’t confirm their authenticity, these videos circulating on social media are said to show an aerial view of an enormous fireball, and the ensuing smokey chaos in the streets:

A paramedic who was among the first to respond to the attack told Haaretz that he treated two wounded people in the street, and two more who were in their residences in the building. “Shortly [after that], we found the fatality on one of the top floors of an adjacent building. He was in bed and there was shrapnel damage everywhere in his apartment.” 

Hours after the attack, a Houthi spokesman used a televised speech to declare that Tel Aviv would continue to be a principal target “within the range of our weapons.” He touted a new drone called “Yafa” — presumably named after the Jaffa region of Israel where Tel Aviv is located. “It is capable of bypassing interception systems and radars cannot detect it,” the Houthis claimed in an accompanying tweet. Tel Aviv is some 1,200 miles from Yemen. 

Along with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, Yemen’s Houthis have been waging war on Israel and Israel-linked cargo ships, in solidarity with millions of Palestinians suffering under the effects of the IDF’s devastating military attacks and blockade on Gaza that began after the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion. 

Friday morning’s attack on Tel Aviv came hours after the IDF claimed it had killed a senior commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which has been increasingly aggressive in striking targets across northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. That commander, Ali Jaafar Maatouk, was said to have died when an IDF fighter-jet strike obliterated the three-story house he was in: 

Watch for a significant IDF retaliation for the Tel Aviv strike, which could, in turn, invite even more ambitious aggression by the forces arrayed against the State of Israel.  

We must add Houthis did warn about expanding their threat coverage to the Mediterranean area in May (read: here). 

“Between hitting a tanker carrying Russian oil and their latest attack inside Israel, the Houthis are overextending themselves and will soon feel the pain of real firepower as Israel looks beyond Gaza and Lebanon and the US, potentially under Trump, gets tougher on Iran and its proxies,” said Scott Modell, who heads Rapidan Energy Group. 

Tyler Durden
Fri, 07/19/2024 – 07:20

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/ul6QUKW Tyler Durden

“Largest IT Outage In History” Sparks Disruptions Worldwide

“Largest IT Outage In History” Sparks Disruptions Worldwide

Early Friday, a global IT outage caused by an issue with cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike disrupted flights, banks, retailers, stock exchanges, 911 call centers, and media outlets. Experts say this could be one of the largest IT outages in modern history.

Bloomberg reported that CrowdStrike warned customers that its Falcon Sensor threat-monitoring product was the source of the chaos, causing Microsoft’s Windows operating system to crash. There was no mention of what triggered the issue, and there were reports of disruptions in Microsoft’s Azure cloud and 365 Office software. 

“We’re aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform,” Microsoft said in a statement, adding, “We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming.” 

Alan Woodward, professor of cybersecurity at Surrey University, told Bloomberg this global outage is “unprecedented” and warned “the economic impact will be huge.” 

Australian web security consultant Troy Hunt wrote on X, “I don’t think it’s too early to call it: this will be the largest IT outage in history.” 

Following the news, Microsoft shares slid 2% in premarket trading. Meanwhile, Crowdstrike tumbled as much as 14%. 

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz posted on X that the company is “actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted.” 

“This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” Kurtz said. 

He added, “We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.” 

The first disruptions were reported in the overnight hours and have since become global.

Major disruptions are listed below:

More specifically, in the US, the FAA said the airlines United, American, Delta, and Allegiant had all been grounded. 

Whoops. 

Bloomberg provides more color on the individual companies suffering from the global IT outage: 

On Friday, McDonald’s Corp., United Airlines Holdings Inc., and the LSE Group were among the major companies to disclose a variety of issues with communications to customer service. KLM said it was suspending most flights because of a global computer outage. They were among the more prominent global corporations to report issues with their operations.

On the disruption, Musk comments with “…” 

Adding. 

Sigh.

She has a point.

Bitcoin still worked during disruption. 

*Developing.. 

Tyler Durden
Fri, 07/19/2024 – 06:34

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/cyXHRzi Tyler Durden

How Much Do Different Countries Trust Institutions?

How Much Do Different Countries Trust Institutions?

In today’s world, factors such as polarization, misinformation, scandals, economic instability, and inequality have all contributed to a deterioration in people’s trust in institutions like government and media. But for some countries, trust is slowly returning.

During the pandemic, trust in politicians was particularly shaky, with 63% of respondents of an Ipsos survey finding politicians untrustworthy.

This infographic, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, shows the 2024 Edelman Trust Index scores of 28 countries and their change from 2023.

The Trust Index is meant to represent the average percent trust in NGOs, businesses, government, and media, based on a survey of over 32,000 respondents from 28 different countries conducted by Edelman Trust Institute.

Asian Countries are Becoming More Trusting

Globally, trust in institutions increased by one percentage point from 55 to 56 since last year. With an average Trust Index of 63, developing countries are far more trusting of institutions than developed countries, who have an average of 49.

Most of the Asian countries included in the survey saw increases to their Trust Index scores, including South Korea, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan. China and Indonesia were the only Asian nations whose populations became less trusting in 2024.

South Korea saw the biggest jump among all 28 countries surveyed, with their Trust Index increasing by 7 from 2023.

When comparing each country’s low income (bottom 25%) and high income (top 25%) earners’ Trust Index scores, Thailand had the greatest income-based trust inequality, with wealthy Thai citizens having a trust index of 82 while low income Thai citizens only having 55.

In general, the Edelman Trust Institute’s survey found that governments are seen as far less ethical and competent compared to businesses.

Tyler Durden
Fri, 07/19/2024 – 05:45

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2ocRnXC Tyler Durden

Globalist “Guru” Claims Trump’s Re-Election Will Mean ‘The Death Of Global Order’

Globalist “Guru” Claims Trump’s Re-Election Will Mean ‘The Death Of Global Order’

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

Yuval Harari is best known as a globalist “philosopher” or “guru” closely tied to the World Economic Forum.  He is infamous for his Ted Talks and summit speeches declaring the coming abandonment of personal individualism and independence while elevating AI as the harbinger of a new technological religion.  He joyously preaches about the fusion of AI technology with the human body to give certain elitist groups the power of “gods.” His notions of the supposedly infinite abilities of algorithms to influence culture and politics are so overblown they enter into the realm of children’s fantasy.

I mention Harari often in my work because I believe he is a kind of litmus test for the true intentions of globalists.  He’s a lot like Henry Kissinger in his New World Order zealotry – He has a hard time keeping his mouth shut about the greater agenda and this works to our advantage.  If you really want to know what the elites plans are, look up past discussions by true believers like Harari.  When they start preaching their dark gospel they can barely control themselves.

Harari’s writings are replete with calls for digital authoritarianism and global government. I examined his power-obsessed philosphy and his moral relativism last year in my article ‘Governance By Artificial Intelligence: The Ultimate Unaccountable Tyranny.’

It’s important to understand that Harari’s ideology is common among the globalists and the only thing I can accurately describe it as is “Luciferianism” – A narcissistic belief system that claims CERTAIN human beings can become gods and should be worshiped as gods. Harari and many globalists seem to think AI is their ticket to godhood.  I would compare them to the corrupt high priests of ancient cultures like the Aztecs who used their secret knowledge of mathematics and the movements of the planets to predict solar eclipses and terrify the peasants into compliance.  AI is the new solar eclipse; the great serpent eating the sun.

Combine this corruption with elitist desires for a one-world government and you can see the incredible danger here. 

In his book ‘From Animals into Gods: A Brief History of Humankind’ in a passage that has recently been removed from newer additions, Harari says this:

“As the twenty-first century unfolds, nationalism is fast losing ground. More and more people believe that all of humankind is the legitimate source of political authority, rather than the members of a particular nationality, and that safeguarding human rights and protecting the interests of the entire human species should be the guiding light of politics. If so, having close to 200 independent states is a hindrance rather than a help. Since Swedes, Indonesians and Nigerians deserve the same human rights, wouldn’t it be simpler for a single global government to safeguard them?”

(From Animals into Gods: A Brief History of Humankind (2012), p. 244

Keep in mind that when Harari talks about “human rights” he is referring to human desires.  He has stated on numerous occasions that he believes freedom and individuality are fantasies, constructs of the mind with no importance in the real world.  For globalists, “human rights” are special privileges used as leverage to buy popular compliance.  They are a gift from government, not a gift from God.

In the past couple of years Harari has suddenly shifted his rhetoric and argues that global government is not the ideal.  He also talks about AI as a danger that needs to be contained by bureaucracy rather than a deity that needs to be worshiped.  I suspect this is because there has been a sea change in public awareness since 2012 and now he has to be more careful about how he talks in the media.  I have been working within the Liberty Movement since 2006 and I can say with some authority that many MILLIONS more people are aware of the threats posed by globalism today compared to 2012.  This puts the globalist agenda in peril.

With the failure of the pandemic lockdowns I think the power brokers have been left stunned. This was clearly their big play to get the global governance they have long lusted after and it fell apart. Attempting to induce mass fear over a virus that 99.8% of the population would easily survive did not work out well for them.

Everything was riding on medical tyranny: They thought they were going to get vaccine passports which would have given them total economic control of the populace. They thought they were going to introduce CBDCs (digital currencies) and create a cashless society. They thought they were going to leverage the covid lockdowns into perpetual “climate lockdowns.” They got nothing and their agenda was fully exposed. The patriot movement in the US has exploded in popularity in response and now they have millions more rebels to contend with in the future.

In response to their failure, many of the prominent names during the lockdowns have faded into the background.

  • Klaus Schwab from the WEF was EVERYWHERE during covid; now he is gone.

  • Anthony Fauci has slipped into obscurity.

  • Authoritarian leaders like New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern have stepped out of the political limelight. Where did they go?

I think they know what’s coming. I think they fear a populist backlash, a rising of torches and pitchforks, and they are going into hiding.

This is where we must address the issue of Donald Trump and how he is viewed by the globalists…

In light of the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump I think it’s important to revisit the long running globalist narrative on the “world order” and Trump’s position as scapegoat for any and all calamities that befall it. 

Their primary assertion is that any movement that values national interests over global centralization is an evil movement that must be suppressed or destroyed.  This very rhetoric has permeated leftist political organizations (including Joe Biden’s administration) and the corporate media; it is being used as a justification for subterfuge and extreme violence against conservatives.

In an interview earlier this year, Harari suggested that the return of Donald Trump would mean the “death of the global order.” He then gaslights, claiming that there is no fight between nationalism and globalism and that the idea of a “globalist conspiracy” is entirely a fabrication of populist movements. These people truly expect us to forget the censorship and oppression they attempted during covid.

What I find most interesting is Harari’s take on the next few years, in which he offers what I would interpret as a thinly veiled threat. He argues that war is coming on an expansive scale unless nationalists (defenders of sovereignty) end their rebellion and return to “order” (the centralized control of the globalists). He ties this threat directly to Donald Trump.

The thing is, Trump is just a reflection of a larger movement against the globalist regime. Getting rid of Trump would change nothing. In fact, getting rid of Trump might make the populace commit to full bore revolution even faster. And, if it ultimately turns out that Trump doesn’t benefit the cause of freedom from the elites, that same revolution will eventually happen without him.

I have my own concerns about Trump, primarily what kinds of people he will place in his cabinet. But I have long said that above all else Trump is the most likely scapegoat for an international collapse that the GLOBALISTS CREATED. They set the stage for these crisis events by encouraging economic instability and geopolitical conflicts (Ukraine being one of many). I don’t see any globalists vying for legitimate peace. I do see them pushing to escalate various conflicts into WWIII.

The trick is, by blaming Trump they think that all conservatives and “nationalists” will be blamed by extension. It’s an obvious but somewhat clever ploy; by making conservatives into the villains behind a planetary catasrophe the elites can deflect suspicion while operating with impunity in the future.

Anyone who questions them can simply be labeled as “nationalist terrorists” as history is rewritten.

But is the “death of the global order” really a bad thing? I would say that it is only a negative if the globalists are left alive to continue to manipulate the chaos that follows. The real culprits behind war and economic collapse should be punished. They should be removed from power, imprisoned or done away with forever. Bottom line? The globalists need to go if real peace and order is ever to be established.

*  *  *

If you would like to support the work that Alt-Market does while also receiving content on advanced tactics for defeating the globalist agenda, subscribe to our exclusive newsletter The Wild Bunch Dispatch.  Learn more about it HERE.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 07/18/2024 – 23:10

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/WQEYd79 Tyler Durden

Is The Golden Age Of TV Series Over?

Is The Golden Age Of TV Series Over?

Despite the fact that the “traditional” TV model (i.e. live TV, broadcast and cable) has been under severe pressure from streaming services and changing media consumption habits in recent years, many people would argue that the past decade has in fact been the golden age of TV.

That is, the golden age of scripted TV series, which have enjoyed a level of attention, critical acclaim and appreciation as never before.

Not more than a decade ago, you would have been hard-pressed to find an established, successful actor in Hollywood willing to play a major role in a TV series.

TV actor was used as a derogatory term for those who had failed to make an impression on the big screen.

These days, elaborate productions such as HBO’s smash hit “Game of Thrones” or Netflix’s “Stranger Things” arguably grab more attention than most Hollywood blockbusters, and not only has TV acting lost its stigma, it is now a prestigious gig that many Hollywood stars are striving for.

The risen esteem of TV drama, a seemingly insatiable consumer appetite for new content to devour and of course the entrance of deep-pocketed streaming-only players such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple have led to a steep increase in the production of original scripted TV content over the past decade.

As Statista’s Felkix Richter reports, according to estimates by FX Networks Research, the number of original scripted TV series (excl. re-runs) aired in the United States climbed from 216 in 2010 to 600 by 2022 – a moment now widely seen as “peak TV”.

Last year, due in part to the Hollywood writers’ strike and in part by focus shifting from growth at all costs to profitability, the number of shows on TV declined 14 percent to 516.

Infographic: The Golden Age of TV Series: Is It Over? | Statista

You will find more infographics at Statista

FX chairman John Landgraf, a major voice within the TV industry, predicted this trend in 2022, saying that the year would mark “the peak of the peak TV era”, even before the writers’s strike disrupted production for large parts of 2023.

“I don’t see new major purveyors of programming entering the scene as they have been continuously over the past decade or more,” Landgraf explained in August 2022. “And in fact, there are some prior purveyors of television programming that are kind of exiting the scenes. So, in other words, you’re at the point now where you’re not really adding new suppliers, but you are, to some extent, subtracting suppliers.”

Tyler Durden
Thu, 07/18/2024 – 22:45

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/jB3xF4y Tyler Durden

Some States Embrace CO2 Cap-And-Trade Schemes, Others Reject Them

Some States Embrace CO2 Cap-And-Trade Schemes, Others Reject Them

Authored by Kevin Stocklin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The United States is following Europe’s lead in instituting cap-and-trade regimes to reduce CO2 emissions, but America’s journey is split between two paths—Democrat-run states that have passed cap-and-trade mandates, and Republican-run states that appear to have no intention of doing so.

(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

In the middle are several swing states that have entered, then exited, cap-and-trade pacts, depending on which party gains the upper hand.

As global demand for oil, gas, and coal hits record levels and shows no signs of slowing, cap-and-trade has been hailed as an alternative way to reduce the use of fossil fuels by setting caps on how much CO2 companies can emit, and then allowing those that exceed the cap to purchase credits from companies that emit less, or to invest in projects, such as preserving forests, that purport to offset emissions.

The financial currency of the cap-and-trade market is called an “allowance,” which gives companies the right to emit greenhouse gasses. Each allowance is valued in terms of tons of emitted CO2, currently priced at less than $10 per ton, though organizations such as the World Bank have said that pricing in the range of $50–$100 per ton is needed to meet the net-zero goals of the Paris Climate Accords.

Advocates of cap-and-trade hail it as a “market-based” solution.

“Cap and trade harnesses the power of the market to fight global warming,” a report by the Environmental Defense Fund states.

“The cap on emissions guarantees the environmental results we need,” the report states. “Trading gets it done in the cheapest way possible.”

But some critics are skeptical, arguing that it is essentially a tax on energy that gets passed on to consumers and commuters, and that insiders may benefit more than the environment from the enormous sums of cash paid into the system.

“Cap-and-trade is a very interesting theoretical model to try to solve a policy problem, but it’s one that ultimately ends up just moving the costs around,” Ryan Yonk, an energy economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, told The Epoch Times.

“Ultimately, the people that pay are the end consumers. The people that benefit are the market creators, and that’s really one of the major concerns,” Mr. Yonk said.

“If you’re going to have a cap-and-trade system, those that are facilitating the transactions, the middlemen that are involved, will ultimately be those that benefit most directly.”

And indeed, an industry has sprung up around carbon pricing regimes, with stock exchanges vying to become financial centers for carbon trading and financial firms looking to profit from making markets in this new currency.

In addition, accountants and consultants earn fees to develop investable carbon-offset projects and to quantify the environmental benefits. Companies that develop wind and solar production or carbon-capture technology are also often recipients of carbon-offset payments under these regimes.

European deputies take part in a meeting on EU emissions at the European Union Parliament in Brussels on June 22, 2022. (John Thys/AFP via Getty Images)

Following Europe’s Lead

Europe led the way in mandating cap-and-trade, establishing the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in 2005, which regulates approximately 10,000 manufacturing and energy facilities, as well as air and maritime transport. According to the EU, this system has reduced industrial emissions by 37 percent since its founding.

The Obama administration attempted to implement a nationwide cap-and-trade system, but noted that Americans would end up paying more.

President Barack Obama stated in 2008: “Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.”

He said coal powered plants or the natural gas industry, for example, “would have to retrofit their operations—that will cost money [and] they will pass that money on to consumers.”

According to a report by the Heritage Foundation, enabling legislation in Congress “failed to reach President Barack Obama’s desk because constituents gave their members an earful that cap and trade would amount to a massive energy tax.”

Since then, Democrats have been successful in implementing these mandates only at the state level.

According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, more than one-fourth of Americans now reside in a state with a cap-and-trade program, which together comprise one-third of U.S. GDP.

In 2009, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maryland officially launched the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade pact that ultimately expanded to include a dozen states throughout the northeast and Mid-Atlantic region.

California enacted its own cap-and-trade regime in 2012, and advocates say it has generated significant results.

A May report by California’s Air Resources Board stated that the state’s cap-and-trade program has funded $28 billion in climate-related investments over the past decade. Of the money spent, $11 billion financed various projects to “fight climate change and cut pollution.”

The remaining $17 billion was designated for projects such as putting affordable housing near job centers, building high-speed rail, and “adding zero-emission transportation options in underserved communities.”

In 2021, Washington State established a similar program, calling it “cap-and-invest,” through its Climate Commitment Act (CCA). The state now conducts quarterly auctions of CO2 allowances that emitters must purchase if they exceed emissions caps. The caps will be progressively reduced so that the state can get to net-zero emissions by 2050.

“These 2030, 2040, and 2050 limits were set into state law before the CCA was passed, and they’re based on the latest climate science,” Caroline Halter, communications manager for Washington’s Department of Ecology Climate Pollution Reduction Program, told The Epoch Times.

“In other words, they’re what scientists have said all governments need to do in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.”

Read more here…

Tyler Durden
Thu, 07/18/2024 – 22:20

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/vpFr1Ys Tyler Durden

BlueAnon Watch: One-Third Of Democrats Believe Trump Faked Assassination Attempt As Conspiracy Theory Goes Mainstream

BlueAnon Watch: One-Third Of Democrats Believe Trump Faked Assassination Attempt As Conspiracy Theory Goes Mainstream

At the height of the “QAnon” fervor in 2021 – roughly 23% of Republicans said they believed the theory that Donald Trump is fighting a cabal of satanic, sex-trafficking pedophiles.

On Monday, a Morning Consult poll found that 34% of Democrats think Trump faked his own assassination attempt last Saturday. Such left-wing conspiracy theorists have been referred to as “BlueAnon,” and as the Washington Free Beacon reports, this particular notion – that Trump faked the assassination attempt – originated with Democratic powerbroker Dmitri Mehlhorn, who has made at least 10 visits to the Biden White House.

Hours after the shooting on Saturday, Mehlhorn – and adviser to LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman (who joked about assassinating Trump the week before the attempt) – sent a memo to reports suggesting they portray the shooting as a false-flag operation directly from Vladimir Putin’s playbook, designed to give Trump an iconic photo-op.

“This is a classic Russian tactic, such as when Putin killed 300 civilians in 1999 and blamed it on terrorists to ride the backlash to winning power,” wrote Melhorn, who failed to address numerous photos – such as the one showing a bullet whizzing past Trump’s head, the obvious bullet wound across Trump’s right ear, or the death of a rally attendee – Corey Comperatore, who was shot while shielding his family from bullets.

Oh?

As the Free Beacon reports, the conspiracy theory is spreading like wildfire:

Jeff Tiedrich, a liberal social media influencer with 1.1 million followers who attended an Oct. 2022 White House influencer summit to coordinate midterm election messaging with the Biden administration, on Monday posted a Substack screed “connecting some weird dots” surrounding the shooting.

“Did the extreme right want this to happen?” Tiedrich wrote, speculating the shooting could have been connected to a plot to replace Trump atop the GOP ticket with former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Tiedrich, who did not return a request for comment, on Thursday mocked the Washington Post for describing the shooting as “Trump’s near-death experience” and said there was no hard evidence that a bullet grazed the former president’s ear.

“What the fuck is going on under that bandage?” Tiedrich asked. “And why is the press so disinterested in finding out?”

Liberal MSNBC commentators have adopted a subtler approach to fanning the conspiratorial flames, suggesting in recent days that Trump could not have been shot in the ear by a high-caliber rifle bullet and that the former president is hiding something by not releasing detailed medical records about his wound.

“If he was shot by a high-caliber bullet, there should probably be very little ear there,” MSNBC host Michael Steele told viewers on Tuesday.

Steele’s fellow MSNBC host Joy Reid on Wednesday joined him in asking questions about Trump’s injuries.

“I have many questions!” Reid wrote on Threads. “Like where are the medical reports? What caused Trump’s injury and what was the injury? Sheapnel? [sic] Glass? A bullet?”

Reid doubled down on her baseless conjecture Thursday morning, posting a video to TikTok in which she said that “we still don’t know for sure whether Donald Trump was hit by a bullet,” glass fragments, or something else. She then suggested something nefarious was behind the Secret Service’s having “allowed” Trump to pump his fist as agents led him off the rally stage.

Meanwhile, former CNN reporter John Harwood, who admitted he’s “not familiar with ballistics at all,” suggested that Trump’s ear shouldn’t exist if an AR-15 bullet grazed it.

So… those spreading conspiracy theories should be deplatformed and debanked, correct? What playbook are we on.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 07/18/2024 – 21:55

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/4VhK0JW Tyler Durden

Providence And President Trump: Gingrich

Providence And President Trump: Gingrich

Authored by Newt Gingrich via RealClearPolitics,

I have known President Donald Trump for 30 years. Callista and I consider him a dear friend. Watching him get shot at his rally in Butler, Pa. was stunning and horrifying.

President Trump’s reaction to being shot was immediately iconic. He stood up with blood running down his face, raised his fist, and said “fight, fight, fight,” and then “USA.” It was a tremendous vision of courage and power. It struck home all around the world. Within minutes images began to circulate on the internet tying President Trump’s courage to the courage of other historic figures and moments. There is even a Japanese anime about President Trump’s heroic reaction.

When it was clear the President was going to be alright, Callista and I were deeply relieved. For me, that emotion was then immediately replaced by fury. This assassination attempt was the result of the left’s nine-year effort to demonize our friend, President Trump. I had to take some time to get my emotions under control before going on Fox with Sean Hannity to talk about the event.

During that cooling off period, my old friend Ambassador Randy Evans called to say that his Pastor, Michael Youssef, had told him it was a providential event. President Trump had turned to look up at a big sign behind him. The shooter took aim at his head while he was looking to one side. When the President turned back to look at the audience the bullet missed his head by less than an inch and hit his ear.

If President Trump had not turned at exactly the right moment, he would have almost certainly been killed.

When I told Hannity that I really believed President Trump’s survival was providential, that term went around the world.

The concepts of divine intervention and providence have a long record in American history.

When young George Washington went west with Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock’s British army in the French and Indian War, they were ambushed on July 9, 1755. Braddock was wounded when the battle began. The Army began to panic and fall apart. Washington, then-23 years old, took control and rallied the British troops saving them from annihilation.

Washington wrote his brother, “by the All-powerful Dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four Bullets through my Coat, and two Horses shot under me; yet escaped unhurt, altho[ugh] Death was leveling my Companions on every side of me.”

Washington’s belief in providence was further expressed in his farewell address to the troops after the success of the Revolutionary War: “The singular interpositions of Providence in our feeble condition were such, as could scarcely escape the attention of the most unobserving.”

When President Ronald Reagan met with Pope John Paul II to determine how to defeat the spread of communism, one of the unifying facts was that both had been shot in assassination attempts. Coming to grips with why God had spared them – and finding a common mission in defeating the Soviet Empire – were inextricably intertwined. Callista and I talked about this our documentaries “Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny” and “Nine Days that Changed the World.”

President Trump now joins the list of historic figures who have been saved from almost certain death.

When President Trump came to the Republican National Convention, I could tell that he was already calmer, more deliberative, and grateful to be alive. There was a humility and gratitude in his attitude that showed the act of having been spared had a deep impact.

Virtually anyone who had been within a half-inch of being killed would have a deep and sobering reaction. “But for God, I would have been dead,” is a legitimate sentiment.

President Trump’s courage and determination after having been shot has created new level of affection – and a new intensity of support – among those who believe in him. He was always the champion of a movement rather than a traditional candidate. Now he has become a symbol of courage, defiance, and determination.

Neither America – nor President Trump – will ever be the same after Saturday’s nights assassination attempt.

We are on the edge of a new stage in American history.

The combined sense of gratitude, awe, and historic challenge make this convention different from any of the nine others I have attended.

The next few days will be remarkable.

For more commentary from Newt Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com. Also, subscribe to the Newt’s World podcast.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 07/18/2024 – 21:30

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/aegBLOh Tyler Durden