Merry Surveillance And A Happy New World

Merry Surveillance And A Happy New World

Via Off-Guardian,

Welcome to our third Christmas edition of This Week, where we pull out just the most seasonal, tinseliest headlines we can find, take a step back, and laugh at just what a clown world we’re all suddenly living in.

1. Wood Burning Stoves Cause Cancer

Anyone following British news or social media for the last two weeks has probably already seen this story – we mentioned it in our story on the Great Reset:

Terrifying cancer risk of trendy wood burning stoves – as experts warn they are UK’s biggest source of dangerous air pollution

Wood-burning stoves are “more polluting than cars” now, they cause cancer. And birth deformities. And asthma. And make “long covid” worse.

We need rules. And bans. And more rules. And more bans. Yes, OK, we already have regulations on wood burning, but they don’t enforce them enough, and “these people will only stop when they are made to”:

I just can’t believe we’ve lived to see a time where “these people” is being used to venomously describe people who…*checks notes*…burn wood to keep warm.

This is all about clean air, you understand, and not even slightly about the fact wood burning stoves offer energy and fuel independence. That’s just paranoia.

2. …and so do scented candles

Now, maybe you’re thinking, “OK, so maybe my woodburner is illegal now, at least my cinnamon candles make it feel like Christmas”. No such luck, because here comes the Conversation with their mood-killing candle-snuffer:

Scented candles and holiday fragrances may actually harm your home’s air quality

The research is one of those pieces of research which abandons logic in pursuit of some higher truth, and includes this gem of a sentence:

If equal weights of cigarette and incense sticks are burned, the incense sticks produce around four times as much particulate matter as the cigarettes

Wonderful exemplar of the madness of “The Science”, the juxtaposition of technical truth with complete abandonment of reason. Totally disregarding a) that equal weights of incense and cigarettes are not burned, b) the differing nature and composition of their “particulate” or c) the fact people don’t put incense sticks in their mouths.

Anyway, don’t even think about staying warm or smelling nice. You’ll get cancer. And die.

Look out for “improving our air quality” to be a major talking point in 2025. More bans coming.

3. Merry Surveillance and a Happy New World

In the spirit of giving this Holiday Season, the British government has decided to gift us all the long-term comfort of security by promoting their digital ID platform!

From their press release:

Christmas celebrations are set to get a digital upgrade next year, as the UK government plans to roll out a new law allowing pub and bar-goers, as well as shoppers, to use their phones to prove their age when buying alcohol, should they wish to do so. People can continue to use physical forms of ID if they prefer.

See how it’s going to work?

It’s just like the smoking ban, where each year the minimum age to buy cigarettes increases, except in reverse.

If digital ID is the easiest way for young people to prove their age and get drunk, they’ll never need to make it mandatory. Each year the next crop of 18-year-olds will volunteer to be cattle tagged so they can go out drinking with their friends.

Meanwhile, the physical ID that “people can continue to use if they prefer” will be increasingly expensive, subject to longer and longer waiting times to acquire, and probably expire more quickly. Not to mention how bad for the environment the Guardian will tell everyone it is.

4. A Very Climate Christmas

Speaking of the Guardian, did you know “average Briton produces 23 times more CO2 on Christmas Day”?

Of course you didn’t. That’s because the Guardian just paid some people to make it up. Sorry, they “commissioned researchers to write a report” which is totally different.

However it happened, the math exists and is vaguely described. It doesn’t really make any sense if you think about it for five minutes, but we don’t have five minutes. The author quickly rushes us past the numbers and into the opinions.

The Graun has rounded up a few people to talk about how bad Christmas is for the planet. That includes the appropriately named Melanie Nazareth, who warns that people are conditioned into mass consumerism at Christmas time:

“We have been deliberately sold a vision of Christmas that is based on material consumption. We are constantly bombarded by advertising and media that tells us that if we aren’t spending money on things, we are not doing Christmas properly…

Which, to be fair, is a more than reasonable point, if only she didn’t add:

…This is destroying the whole meaning of Christmas as well as destroying the planet.”

I just can’t shake the image of Klaus Schwab, the Ghost of Resets Past, hanging in the air, rattling his chains and wailing “yooouuuu will ooooown nothing and beeee happyyyyy!”

Makes it an uncomfortable read.

BONUS: Scary Turkey Germs

Just when you thought, maybe, you could have a meal or even an entire day without having to be frightened – here comes the Daily Mail to scream:

How your Christmas turkey leaves the kitchen smeared with food poisoning bugs: Grim photos reveal exactly where bacteria spreads – and will make you think twice about scoffing mince pies

The article itself is a joke. They smear blue stuff on someone’s hands, have them use the kitchen, then show the pictures of blue stuff everywhere and say “Imagine this was bacteria! It got everywhere!” like that means something.

*  *  *

All told a pretty hectic Holiday Season for our New Normal World, and we didn’t even mention the Christmas tree being burned in newly liberated Syria or racist dangers of confederate Christmas decorations.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/26/2024 – 09:05

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

Azerbaijan Airlines Flight Reportedly Hit By Russian Missile On Christmas Day

Azerbaijan Airlines Flight Reportedly Hit By Russian Missile On Christmas Day

Azerbaijani government sources told Euronews on Thursday that a Russian surface-to-air missile hit Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J28243, ultimately causing the plane to crash during an emergency landing attempt in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau shortly thereafter.

A Russian SAM was fired at the Embraer ERJ-190 during a drone swarm above Grozny, the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The SAM detonated near the commercial jet and unleashed a spray formation of shrapnel that damaged the plane’s rear fuselage and flight controls. 

Here’s more from the media outlet:

Government sources have told Euronews that the damaged aircraft was not allowed to land at any Russian airports despite the pilots’ requests for an emergency landing, and it was ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau in Kazakhstan.

According to data, the plane’s GPS navigation systems were jammed throughout the flight path above the sea.

Shortly after the Embraer ERJ-190 crashed in Aktau on Christmas Day, footage of the wreckage emerged on X, and that’s when internet sleuths began to notice “traces of shrapnel on the rear fuselage section of the aircraft.” 

The flight-tracking website Flightradar24 posted altitude and vertical speed data indicating the plane “struggled to maintain altitude for more than an hour.

It is suspected that the SAM’s shrapnel spray pattern damaged the Embraer ERJ-190’s vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer, and elevators—possibly explaining why the normal landing configuration might not have been achieved.

This resulted in an aggressive landing approach, contributing to a steep glide slope that led to the hard landing and eventual crash.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/26/2024 – 08:40

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/DP942yA Tyler Durden

Continuing Jobless Claims Hit 3-Year-Highs As Initial Claims Hold Near 7-Month-Lows

Continuing Jobless Claims Hit 3-Year-Highs As Initial Claims Hold Near 7-Month-Lows

Initial jobless claims for the week ending 12/21 were flat on the prior week at 219k, holding near 8 month lows…

Source: Bloomberg

But, continuing job less claims keep rising, this week topping 1.9mm once again at the highest since Nov 2021…

Source: Bloomberg

So once again America – is the labor market naughty or nice?

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/26/2024 – 08:35

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/graP10T Tyler Durden

Finland-Estonia Undersea Power Cable Goes Dark As Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker Investigated

Finland-Estonia Undersea Power Cable Goes Dark As Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker Investigated

Update (0828ET): 

Bloomberg reports that Finnish authorities boarded the crude oil tanker named Eagle S. after a 658-megawatt Estlink 2 power interconnector and several data cables were disrupted. 

*   *   * 

The Estlink 2 electricity cable connecting Finland and Estonia was disrupted on Christmas Day, sparking concerns of another potential undersea cable sabotage incident in the Baltic region.

The Financial Times reports that Finnish authorities are investigating a crude oil tanker named Eagle S. The tanker flies the Cook Islands flag and is reportedly part of Russia’s so-called “dark fleet.” 

Data from the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic shows the vessel slowed down at the time the 658 megawatt (MW) Estlink 2 power interconnector was disrupted. The tanker was transiting the Baltics on its way from St. Petersburg to Egypt. 

The sources also indicated that Eagle S is under investigation for its possible role in severing three communications cables in the Gulf of Finland.

MarineTraffic data also shows the Finnish Border Guard’s patrol vessel Turva escorted the tanker to waters off Porkkalaniemi, a peninsula on the Gulf of Finland, on Wednesday night. 

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo wrote on X that authorities were investigating the incident.

Orpo noted, “The interruption of the transmission connection will not affect the electricity supply of Finns.” 

Estonian public broadcaster ERR noted no power losses to citizens in either Estonia or Finland. The outlet cited local power officials who said enough spare capacity was on the grid to meet demand and avoid blackouts. 

The Baltic Sea area has been on high alert for potential sabotage. Last month, a Chinese vessel was suspected of sabotaging the C-Lion 1 submarine cable connecting Helsinki and the German port of Rostock. 

Other headlines…

On Wednseday, Russian news agency RIA said the owners of the Russian cargo ship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea said the explosions in the vessel’s engine room were an “act of terrorism.” 

Also, Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243 crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau on Christmas Day. There’s speculation the Embraer ERJ-190’s vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer, and elevators were possibly damaged by “shrapnel” before the crash. 

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/26/2024 – 08:28

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/MPmS0xq Tyler Durden

Futures Slide As Bond Yields Jump To 6 Month High

Futures Slide As Bond Yields Jump To 6 Month High

US stock futures and Treasuries dropped as muted trading resumed after the Christmas holiday, with investors looking to initial jobless claims data and a government bond auction later on Thursday. At 8:00am, S&P futures fell 0.3%; the index closed 1.1% higher on Tuesday, extending this year’s advance to 27%, and on pace for the best full-year return this century. Nasdaq futures slipped 0.4% after adding 1.4% on Tuesday, as a bout of selling started after the Europe open. Most major markets in Europe are still shut for holidays. Treasuries extended their selloff, pushing 10Y yields to a fresh 6 month high of 4.63%, a level which will start denting the Christmas rally meltup. The dollar also gained as the Bloomberg Dollar Index hit a new two year high. The only even on today’s calendar is jobless claims at 8:30am.

In premarket trading, cryptocurrency-tied stocks like MicroStrategy Inc. and Riot Platforms Inc. declined, tracking a drop in Bitcoin. Here are some other notable premarket movers:

  • Alibaba Group Holding agreed to merge its South Korean operations with E-Mart Inc.’s e-commerce platform to better compete in the country’s fast-paced online retail sector.
  • Rapt Therapeutics shares are up 0.6% in premarket trading, after HC Wainwright & Co. LLC upgraded the biotech company to buy from neutral.
  • Apple’s price target is being raised to a Street-high of $325 from $300 at Wedbush, which writes that the company is “heading into a multi-year AI-driven iPhone upgrade cycle.”
  • Progressive is upgraded to outperform from market perform at Raymond James, which writes that the company’s “long-term record of growth and value creation makes it a core holding for large cap growth investors.”

With US stocks on pace for another blowout year, bulls are pinning their hopes on the “Santa Claus rally” in which stocks rise during the final five trading sessions of a year and the first two of the new one. Separately, with Trump’s inauguration slated for Jan. 20, investors are awaiting insights on his proposed policies, including tax cuts and tariffs which is set to keep the rally going. Driven by optimism about the strength of the US economy and developments in artificial intelligence, the S&P 500 is set for its largest jump relative to the rest of the world since 1997.

European markets were mostly closed while in Asia, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed for a fourth day, the longest winning streak since September, led by Japan and Taiwan. Japanese shares also rose after central bank governor Kazuo Ueda on Wednesday avoided giving any clues about a possible interest-rate hike. Japanese retail shares also gained after the country agreed with China to introduce more measures to promote tourist visits. The two nations also agreed that Beijing’s top diplomat should visit Japan in 2025, adding to signs the two nations are repairing ties that have been strained in recent years.  Shares of Chinese computing-equipment makers advanced after the nation said it planned to include the sector into the investment scope of local government special bonds. Kingsignal Technology surged as much as 20% as did Broadex Technologies.

The dollar was broadly steady against its Group-of-10 peers, while the yen extended its losses after BOJ head Ueda refused to offer any hawkish hints about an imminent rate hike. “Weakness in the yen on the back of recent Fed-BOJ policy divergence has offered some support for Japanese equities in today’s session, coupled with the year-end positive seasonality around the Santa Claus rally,” said Jun Rong Yeap, a market strategist at IG Asia Pte in Singapore.

In rates, treasuries are under pressure as US trading gets under way following Wednesday’s US holiday. 10-year yields climbed four basis points to 4.63% before the US auctions $44 billion of seven-year notes on Thursday.  The year’s final coupon auction at 1pm New York time, a $44 billion 7-year note sale.  Demand was firm for 2- and 5-year note auctions Monday and during Tuesday’s holiday-shortened session, halting a selloff in which 5- to 30-year yields reached highest levels in months.

In commodities, oil held gains after an advance before the Christmas break, with China’s stimulus measures and the outlook for US stockpiles in focus.

Looking at today’s calendar, US economic data calendar includes only weekly jobless claims at 8:30am. The Fed speaker slate is blank for the rest of the week.

Market Snapshot

  • S&P 500 futures down 0.2% to 6,083.50
  • MXAP up 0.3% to 182.31
  • MXAPJ down 0.1% to 574.63
  • Nikkei up 1.1% to 39,568.06
  • Topix up 1.2% to 2,766.78
  • Hang Seng Index up 1.1% to 20,098.29
  • Shanghai Composite up 0.1% to 3,398.08
  • Sensex little changed at 78,460.42
  • Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.2% to 8,220.86
  • Kospi down 0.4% to 2,429.67
  • Brent Futures up 0.5% to $73.96/bbl
  • Gold spot up 0.4% to $2,626.75
  • US Dollar Index little changed at 108.20

Top Overnight News

  • China is allowing local officials to invest in more areas with a key government bond while also simplifying its approval process in a bid to make better use of an important source of public funding to drive the economy
  • Japan’s auction of two-year government notes Thursday showed solid demand as expectations recede for an interest-rate hike by the BOJ soon. The bid-to-cover ratio rose to 3.95 from 3.63 at last month’s sale
  • Bitcoin rose on Thursday after the digital asset’s stockpiler MicroStrategy announced a plan to issue more shares, a move that would allow it to buy even more tokens.
  • China abruptly ousted two military lawmakers from its national parliament without explanation, as a purge of key personnel in the upper echelons of the nation’s defense establishment shows no sign of easing
  • Market players widely expect Japan’s benchmark 10-year government bond yield to continue to gradually rise next year, but the extent of the increase will depend on whether the central bank is able to lift interest rates smoothly
  • Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s cabinet is expected to approve a record initial budget Friday for the next fiscal year that will ramp up spending on defense and support for local economies

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/26/2024 – 08:14

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

The Fed Is Cutting… So, Why Are Mortgage Rates Going Up?

The Fed Is Cutting… So, Why Are Mortgage Rates Going Up?

Via SchiffGold.com,

Powell is admitting that inflation is still too high, but the Fed still plans to cut interest rates by .25%. So why are mortgage rates going up?

The Fed has turned hawkish relative to its recent rhetoric, resisting to slash interest rates as low as it had envisioned. Although it’s continuing to cut, the Fed’s actions primarily influence short-term interest rates, such as the federal funds rate. This is the rate at which banks lend to one another overnight. These short-term rates affect a wide range of borrowing costs including those on credit cards, car loans, and adjustable-rate mortgages. 

However, most mortgage rates, particularly those for fixed-rate loans, are more closely tied to long-term bond yields such as the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds. And right now, 10-year Treasury yields are soaring.

While both short-term rates and long-term bond yields are influenced by the broader economic climate, they don’t move in lockstep. When the Fed cuts interest rates, it doesn’t directly control long-term bond yields, so mortgage rates can behave differently from the federal funds rate. This disconnect can lead to situations where mortgage rates rise, even though the Fed is trying to lower borrowing costs for the broader economy.

Mortgage rates are sensitive to inflation expectations. If investors believe that the Fed’s rate cut signals future inflationary pressure, they may demand higher yields on long-term bonds to compensate for the eroding value of money over time. When inflation expectations rise, long-term bond yields go up, which can push mortgage rates higher along with them. 

And now the Fed itself has admitted that it hasn’t been able to control inflation. But even as Powell admits defeat and says it could be two years before inflation is back down to Fed targets, he still paints a picture much rosier than the reality.

As Peter Schiff said recently on Fox Business:

“Inflation won’t be anywhere near 2% in two years, it’s going to be higher than it is right now. Powell is still wrong about inflation and the economy…I think it’s stagflation that we have, and I think it’s going to get worse.”

If bond investors see the rate cut as a sign of weakening economic conditions, they might sell off bonds, driving yields higher. As bond yields rise, mortgage rates tend to follow suit, even if the Fed’s action aims to make borrowing cheaper. If investors believe that economic conditions are deteriorating, they might demand higher premiums for taking on long-term risk. This can lead to rising mortgage rates as lenders pass that risk onto borrowers. Anticipating higher inflation, they’ll demand higher and higher yields.

People hoping to buy homes are delaying their plans as mortgages become more expensive, along with home insurance premiums, materials for home improvement projects, and plenty of other costs that are part of the collective burden of home ownership. Commercial real estate is on the brink as well. With borrowing costs for properties continuing to creep upward, and other costs moving up as well, the Fed is trapped by its simultaneous need to lower borrowing costs and ease inflationary pressures at the same time.

It can’t do both. With a stagnant economy and high inflation, expect mortgage rates to rise further as the 10-year yield keeps surging closer back toward 5%. At that point, the Fed would be forced to take drastic action to push borrowing costs lower and prevent an all-out meltdown, possibly being forced into a round of QE which will ultimately solve nothing, ripping the inflation wound open even wider.

10-Year Bond Yields

The Fed may have no choice. Just as 2024 was a fitting demonstration of their hubris, declaring victory over inflation only to later admit defeat, 2025 may be the year that some of those chickens come home to roost. While the Fed and the government have an extraordinary ability to keep pumping bubbles bigger and kicking cans down the road, all bubbles are bound to pop eventually. 

And the Fed is trapped in a prison of a deteriorating economy, high deficits, soaring debt, and high inflation that it has no way to escape.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/26/2024 – 08:00

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/0T2BKUR Tyler Durden

Visualizing Big Tech Company Spending On AI Data Centers

Visualizing Big Tech Company Spending On AI Data Centers

Big tech companies are aggressively investing billions of dollars in AI data centers to meet the escalating demand for computational power and infrastructure necessary for advanced AI workloads.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, visualizes the total AI capital expenditures and data center operating costs for Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon from January to August 2024.

AI capital expenditures are one-time or infrequent investments in long-term AI assets and infrastructure.

Data center operating costs are ongoing expenses for running and maintaining AI data centers on a day-to-day basis

The data comes from New Street Research via JP Morgan and is updated as of August 2024. Figures are in billions. Operating costs include cash operating expenses, software, depreciation, and electricity.

Training AI Models Is Eating Up Costs

Below, we show the total AI capital expenditures and data center operating costs for Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon.

Microsoft currently leads the pack in total AI data center costs, spending a total of $46 billion on capital expenditures and operating costs as of August 2024.

Microsoft also currently has the highest number of data centers at 300, followed by Amazon at about 215. However, variations in size and capacity mean the number of facilities doesn’t always reflect total computing power.

In September, Microsoft and BlackRock unveiled a $100 billion plan through the Global Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) to develop AI-focused data centers and the energy infrastructure to support them.

Notably, both Google and Amazon currently spend more than twice as much training their models as they do running them for their end-use customers (inference).

The training cost for a major AI model is getting increasingly expensive, as it requires large data sets, complex calculations, and substantial computational resources, often involving powerful GPUs and significant energy consumption.

However, as the frequency and scale of AI model deployments continue to grow, the cumulative cost of inference is likely to surpass these initial training costs, which is already the case for OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

To learn more about data center distribution in the U.S., check out this graphic that shows the percentage of U.S. states’ electricity that data centers consumed.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/26/2024 – 06:55

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

US Launches New Trade Probe Into Chinese Legacy Chips

US Launches New Trade Probe Into Chinese Legacy Chips

Authored by Lily Zhou via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Biden administration announced an 11th-hour probe on Monday into China’s trade practice regarding “legacy” chips that power everything from smart appliances and phones to the electric grid and weapons systems.

A worker producing semiconductor chips at a workshop in Suqian, China, on Feb. 28, 2023. STR/AFP via Getty Images

The administration has already imposed 50 percent tariffs on semiconductors from China, which are set to take effect on Jan. 1. The new Section 301 probe could pave the way for the incoming Trump administration to add more tariffs on legacy chips or take other measures.

The probe was launched because evidence indicates that the Chinese regime’s attempts to dominate domestic and global chip markets “appear to have and to threaten detrimental impacts on the United States and other economies, undermining the competitiveness of American industry and workers, critical U.S. supply chains, and U.S. economic security,” the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Chinese regime’s Ministry of Commerce accused the United States of “disrupting and distorting the global chip production and supply chains” and “harming the interests of American companies and consumers,” and vowed to “take all necessary measures to firmly defend its interests.”

The Biden administration will begin accepting public comments on Jan. 6. The probe will then be handed over to the incoming Trump administration for completion, officials said.

According to the Federal Register notice, the deadline for submitting comments will be set on Feb. 5, and a public hearing will be held on March 11 and March 12. It is unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead USTR, Jamieson Greer, a trade lawyer and former USTR chief during Trump’s first administration, will be confirmed by the U.S. Senate by then.

The investigation will initially focus on China’s legacy chip production, downstream products that contain legacy chips, and wafers that are used to make the chips, including silicon carbide substrates.

According to USTR, China is projected to reach around half of the world’s capacity to build foundational logic chips by 2029, and to lead in production capacity for other types of legacy chips. Evidence indicates Beijing has been using unfair trade practices to achieve the goals, such as subsidies, state-backed hacking, forced technology transfer, wage suppression, market gate-keeping, and opaque regulatory preferences and discrimination.

This is enabling its companies to rapidly expand capacity and to offer artificially lower priced chips that threaten to significantly harm and potentially eliminate their market-oriented competition,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told reporters on a conference call.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said her department’s research shows two-thirds of U.S. products using chips had Chinese legacy chips in them, and half of U.S. companies did not know the origin of their chips including some in the defense industry, findings that were “fairly alarming.”

After the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the supply of semiconductors and temporarily halted production of autos and medical equipment, the United States has sought to build its own semiconductor supply chain with $52.7 billion in new subsidies for chip production, research, and workforce development.

Raimondo said China’s plans to build more than 60 percent of the world’s new legacy chip capacity over the next decade were discouraging investment elsewhere and constituted unfair competition.

It “undercuts our companies and makes the U.S. dependent on China for the chips that we use every day in so many things,” she told reporters.

The probe is being conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the same unfair trade practices statute that Trump invoked during his first term to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on some $370 billion worth of Chinese imports in 2018 and 2019, triggering a nearly three-year trade war with Beijing.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration kept all the Trump-era tariffs and added more after a four-year review of the 301 tariffs found that Beijing had continued to use unfair trade practices.

Since September, tariffs on electric vehicles from China quadrupled to 100 percent. Also, 25 percent tariffs on natural graphite, permanent magnets, and non-EV batteries will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Trump’s transition team did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment by the time of publishing.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/26/2024 – 06:20

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/UxR7LwA Tyler Durden

Milei Unveils Ambitious Nuclear Plan To Position Argentina As Global Energy Player

Milei Unveils Ambitious Nuclear Plan To Position Argentina As Global Energy Player

In a bold move to transform Argentina into a global energy powerhouse, President Javier Milei introduced the “Argentine Nuclear Plan” on Friday, with the goal of harnessing nuclear energy as a core component of the nation’s future. The plan outlines the construction of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), compact nuclear units designed to provide power to commercial sectors and other large-scale operations.

Javier Milei, Argentina’s president, speaks at the Atreju convention in Rome, Italy, on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. Photo by Alessia Pierdomenico /Photographer: Alessia Pierdomeni

After years of stagnation, nuclear energy is making a powerful comeback, and we are determined to lead, not follow,” Milei declared confidently, emphasizing the country’s abundant natural resources, skilled workforce, and Patagonia’s cold climate, which he described as ideal for housing energy-intensive technologies like AI. “Nuclear energy is the only source that is sufficiently efficient, abundant and rapidly scalable to cope with the development of our civilization,” he added. 

The project will have the backing of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi joining Milei and his key advisor, Demian Reidel, during the plan’s official launch. Reidel stressed that the increasing demand for energy, particularly from AI advancements, makes nuclear power crucial to Argentina’s energy strategy, jpost.com reports.

The first phase of the plan will focus on the construction of a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) at the Atucha Nuclear Power Plant. The reactor is expected to help meet rising energy demands and alleviate power shortages throughout Argentina.

Reidel emphasized the significant contribution of Argentine nuclear engineers to the initiative. “We will do so with 100% Argentine technology, developed by our nuclear engineers, who are recognized among the best in the world,” he stated, according to Rosario3. He added that the plan “will give us energy sovereignty, will allow us to export this technology to the world,” and assured that “blackouts will be just a bad memory,” according to La Nación.

In the second phase of the initiative, Argentina aims to capitalize on its untapped uranium reserves to meet domestic needs and establish itself as a leading exporter of nuclear fuel. The government envisions positioning Argentina as a global leader in the peaceful use of atomic energy, while also advancing its aspirations to become an international hub for AI innovation.

Currently, Argentina operates three nuclear power facilities—Atucha I, Atucha II, and Embalse—which together supply around 9% of the nation’s electricity consumption, according to government data from July 2023.

The announcement comes as Argentina has officially emerged from a severe recession, a milestone that marks a major success for Milei and his bold economic reforms. According to data from Argentina’s statistics agency, GDP grew 3.9% in the July-to-September quarter compared to the previous three months. This growth was driven by robust performances in agriculture, mining, and consumer spending, signaling a recovery in key sectors of the economy, the Financial Post reports.

On Monday, Milei eliminated a 30% “inclusive” surcharge tax on foreign currency debit and credit card purchases imposed by the previous socialist government. The now-repealed “Tax for an Inclusive and Solidary Argentina,” or “PAIS” for short, was a temporary surcharge introduced by former socialist President Alberto Fernández. He enacted it in December 2019 during the early days of his administration.

“I have more good news, and that is that the lowering of taxes will continue, as is our irrevocable commitment, to return the surplus in the form of relief to the taxpayer, because less taxes is more competitiveness,” the president said in a statement announcing the move. 

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/26/2024 – 05:45

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

The Progressive Left’s Glossary Of Terms, 2024 Edition

The Progressive Left’s Glossary Of Terms, 2024 Edition

Authored by Richard Truesdell and Keith Lehmann via American Greatness,

Listen to any speech given by Democrats in 2024, and you’ll be bombarded by buzzwords, sloganeering, euphemisms, and phrases that provide a constant diversion from answering truthfully.

During this election cycle, the language is changing so fast that we need this updated glossary of terms to understand exactly what they’re talking about.

Affordable Housing: Housing that is government subsidized to below-market value, ruining the value of compatible unsubsidized housing in the nearby area. So what? Ownership is oppressive and harmful to those who don’t have it. From each according to his abilities to each according to his needs. Marxism is so cool!

Anything-phobic: A tactical label given to someone who is winning an argument with a leftist. Don’t like the idea of underage children getting “gender-affirming” surgeries? You’re “transphobic.” In favor of Israel defending itself from Hamas? You’re “Islamophobic.” Concerned about the illegal mass importation of third-world peasants into the country? You’re “xenophobic.” See also “racist” below.

Bipartisan: Republicans give the Democrats everything they want so the Republicans don’t get criticized for “creating gridlock” in Congress or “shutting down” the government. Any legislation passed as being “bipartisan” has likely been drafted by Democrats and has support from a group of establishment Republicans typically in favor of the Democrats’ agenda. This indicates the presence of a “uniparty” that supports big government—and your interests don’t matter.

Brat: See “joy” below.

Climate Change: An all-inclusive label given to the Earth’s climate, which has been changing for 3.4 billion years. The theory of human-caused climate change has yet to be proven in any scientific manner, but humans are nonetheless expected to abandon their quality of life on the odd chance that our existence is killing the planet. We can’t have that, so let’s throw soup on the Mona Lisa and glue ourselves to the highway during rush hour to show how serious we are.

“Common Sense” Gun Control: Gun confiscation. There is nothing “sensible” about violating a citizen’s Second Amendment rights. It is like confiscating a person’s car because someone else used their car in the commission of a crime. This is a ploy by the government to disarm citizens as a way to exert maximum control over their lives. Don’t think it can’t happen here.

Corporate Greed: An accusation leveled at any company that turns a profit for the benefit of its shareholders. The same accusation is made toward any company raising prices due to inflation caused by destructive government economic policies. This is yet another sign that the government will not assume any accountability for its incompetence or malice.

Deincarceration: Setting convicted criminals free with the intention of closing prisons. In the eyes of the left, no human being, even the most violent and depraved, should be imprisoned and separated from the public. The chaos, destruction, and loss of life are a feature, not a bug.

Disinformation: See “misinformation” below.

Diversity: Dividing people by their immutable qualities, such as race and gender, to create conflict within a society or system for the benefit of those in power. You see, “diversity” is our strength. Just ask those who are in charge.

Equity: Equal outcome of life’s experiences, no matter how much effort or ambition is applied. A chain is as strong as its weakest link; thus a society is as strong as the most incompetent, lazy, psychopathic weirdo among us.

Existential Threat to Democracy: A person or movement that will interrupt the looting of the U.S. Treasury, the kickbacks from U.S. foreign aid to Ukraine, and massive corruption at the federal level in which elected and unelected bureaucrats emerge from “public service” fabulously wealthy for doing virtually nothing of value. See “‘our’ democracy” below.

Fair Share: The amount of taxes that “rich” people and corporations must pay as determined by the politician demanding it. The actual amount varies depending on how much influence that person or company has with the politician.

Food Desert: The lack of access to groceries due to the consistent looting of goods by neighborhood residents, with the store owner threatened with jail if he intervenes and the police instructed to stand down. Eventually, the grocery store closes due to lost profitability and the inability to obtain business insurance. Or maybe it’s just corporate greed? Yeah, that sounds better (see “corporate greed” above).

Gaslighting: The practice of leftists and progressives deluding themselves that fantasy is reality as practiced by Democrats and their handmaidens in the mainstream media. In 2024 this was especially true as practiced by CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. To “gaslight” is to manipulate viewers and readers into questioning their perception of reality.

Harm Reduction: Providing clean drug paraphernalia for junkies and a safe area for them to shoot up or smoke up, making drug addiction almost consequence-free. That is, until the junkie ODs and winds up dead in a ditch somewhere. See, there is a cure for addiction after all.

Hate Speech: Any speech the left disagrees with.

Inclusion: The exclusion of heterosexual, white males from employment, opportunities for advancement, and participation in American society.

Investment: Spending excessive taxpayer monies on already bloated programs without any expectation of being held accountable for failure. A lot of “investments” have been made in the last four years, right?

Joy: Also “brat.” Nobody has a f*cking clue what this means.

Justice: Payback for all grievances, real or imagined. Social justice, climate justice, racial justice, and even distributive justice. Revenge for thinking or being different. This takes the place of “criminal justice,” as criminals are now considered a key voting bloc among Democrats. Why else would they want to give incarcerated felons voting rights?

Justice reform: Refusal to enforce laws that deter crime, creating societal chaos to urge citizens to give up their freedoms and allow others to control their lives in exchange for security (see “Security” below).

Malinformation: See “misinformation” below.

Marginalized communities: People who compete for benefits within the government spoils structure but don’t want to work for it, expecting social workers to guide them through the system, creating dependency. This dependency keeps them “marginalized,” and the welfare-industrial complex chugs on into perpetuity.

Minimum wage: Sometimes referred to as “living wage,” this is the mandated wage paid to entry-level workers that is above and beyond the market value those workers actually deliver, which eliminates the number of available entry-level jobs and reduces the hours (and salaries) of those who ultimately will need multiple jobs to offset their losses. At any rate, the real minimum wage is ZERO once you’ve lost your job, all good intentions notwithstanding.

Misinformation: Any statement or narrative that exposes the truth about an event or intention. Also known as “disinformation” and “malinformation.”

MSDNC: Another name for the far-left cable news outlet, MSNBC. Led by its best-known propagandist, Rachel “RussiaGate” Maddow, and supported by a cast of Democrat operatives, including Jen Psaki, Joy Reid, Mika Brzezinski, Stephanie Ruhle, Chris Hayes, Alex Wagner, and Lawrence O’Donnell, along with long-standing RINO (Republicans In Name Only) neocons like Nicole Wallace and Joe Scarborough, who gaslighted themselves. In the aftermath of the 2024 election, MSDNC proceeded to lose approximately 50 percent of its audience. DNC in MSDNC refers to the Democrat National Committee.

Newcomer: One of the over 15 million people from all over the world that have illegally descended on our nation over the past four years. Each “newcomer” immediately receives prepaid credit cards, cell phones, EBT cards, transportation, and hotel vouchers that are not available to U.S. citizens (“see Undocumented Migrant” below). The “newcomer” is to be welcomed, fast-tracked to citizenship, registered to vote, and fully supported by your tax dollars without any exception or limit.

Non-binary: A person who can’t decide if they’re straight or gay. Spoiler: If you’re a guy and you like guys, or if you’re a gal and you like gals, gay it is. You’re welcome.

Opportunity Economy: A campaign platitude that has no meaning and cannot be explained by anyone claiming this as a policy platform. Also known as a “dream economy,” in which economic recovery under Democrats exists only in a dream.

“Our” Democracy: “Our” government spoils system that we control, allowing us to reign over the population by choosing economic winners and losers, buying votes through wealth transfers, paying people to be dependent on us so we can control them, and having the ability to punish our political enemies, which, as it so happens, is about half of the country. Let’s get one thing straight: It is not “your” democracy we are saving.

Palestinian People: Mostly Jordanians who were kicked out of Jordan for attempting to overthrow the country continuously since the 1940s. The “Palestinian people” exist only as a suicide squad against Israel. One must realize that a vast majority of “Palestinians” are actually incorrigible barbarians still living under 7th-century religious and social doctrines that even the surrounding Arab nations cannot control and thus refuse to take into their countries.

Path to Citizenship: Blanket amnesty.

Privilege: Something for White people to “check.” We keep “checking,” but we can’t find it.

Progressive: A weasel word for a communist-curious, poorly educated radical with no impulse control and only a slight relationship with reality. When in power, the progressive wants to preserve the status quo. Out of power, the progressive tries to overthrow the opposition by any means necessary. The label has nothing to do with “progress,” but word games are fun, and they hate themselves anyway, so let them run with that label.

Public servant: A noble, dedicated government figure who tirelessly works on behalf of the people. A person who also, under any circumstance, cannot be terminated in most cases, who will walk off the job in a New York minute if the union says so, has every single federal and local holiday off with pay and has a government pension that will continue to pay out a nearly full annual salary with benefits upon retirement for the rest of the “public servant’s” life. It’s a career path for those who otherwise would be unemployable.

Racist: A label slapped on any action or statement that a leftist cannot handle or answer honestly. It’s a coping mechanism for the left, rendering the genuine meaning of “racist” useless.

Reproductive freedom: The position that a woman should have complete and total freedom to kill her unborn child, even in the delivery room. It’s her body and her choice, you sexist pig.

Security: A prohibition of self-defense where citizens defending themselves or others will be punished while non-citizens and the “marginalized” will be set free and rewarded with taxpayer benefits. All in the name of “social justice” (see “justice” above).

Transgender: Formally known as “gender dysphoria,” which elevates a person to near the top of the victim pyramid, and everyone must play along with the person’s break from reality and call that person by their preferred pronoun, or you will lose your job and everything you own. Our pronouns are Screw/You.

Underrepresented: An ethnic group that, in the opinion of politicians, doesn’t have enough power over other people.

Undocumented immigrant: A brave, admirable new member of society offering cultural enrichment, doing the jobs Americans won’t do, and living in the U.S. as a net-positive influence on our society. Documents should not matter, because no human being should be considered “illegal.” We’re pleased to have you, just not living in our neighborhood.

Word Salad: A stunningly absurd response to a straight-up inquiry, consisting of conjoined sentences and non-sequiturs containing zero substance. Words are repeated to indicate seriousness, yet it only reinforces the notion that the speaker has no idea what they are talking about. If it were a cuisine, it would be a popular item at the Democrat Diner.

Workers’ Rights: A label given to the activity of a union’s coercion of workers to organize, pay union dues, and vote the way the union bosses want them to vote. The only “workers’ rights” the union cares about are the ability to strike at the direction of the union and to authorize massive pay packages for the union leadership. The workers are otherwise expendable.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/26/2024 – 05:10

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/Ci0DJj5 Tyler Durden