Category: zerohedge

Thousands of angry farmers took to the streets and blocked roads and railways across India on Friday, in protest against new farming legislation that would halt government programs that purchase grains at fixed prices, therefore allowing big corporations to dictate market prices, reported Reuters. 

Much of the protests are centered in the states of Punjab and Haryana. The Indian government continues to reject the notion the legislation would hurt farmers; nevertheless, after Sunday (Sept. 27), farmers will no longer have the ability to sell certain grains to state-controlled markets, which would allow them to sell to private buyers. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the new farm legislation would “completely transform the agriculture sector” and empower “tens of millions of farmers” while driving much-needed investments and modernization efforts in the industry. 

Reuters notes, as soon as next week, farmers will be able to sell grains to institutional buyers and big retailers such as Walmart. The government will still buy rice and wheat at fixed prices. 

But none of the assurances from the Modi government have calmed farmers who reside in Punjab and Haryana – India’s northern farm belt. Thousands poured onto the streets Friday, blocking roads and railway tracks, shouting anti-government slogans.

Nationwide farmers protest today against #FarmBills.
(@Milan_reports)
#ITVideo #FirstUp pic.twitter.com/DqKdaH3p1T

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) September 25, 2020

More than 100 farmer unions took part in the demonstrations. However, many farmers did not socially distance themselves from others nor wear masks, comes when coronavirus cases and deaths are surging in the country. 

Bhupinder Singh Mann, the president of the All India Kisan Coordination Committee, told AFP, the “government is trying to exploit the farmers, they don’t care about us.” 

Reuters spoke with farmer Karam Singh, who accused the government of disbanding traditional wholesale markets for farm products. Other farmers, and leaders, say the nearly 7,000 regulated wholesale markets where the fixed prices are paid by the government ensure timely payments to growers. 

Singh pointed out the legislation has made India’s most impoverished farmers, those who own 5 acres or less, vulnerable to price swings. 

“The private sector will give us a good price for one or two years, but what about after that?” he asked. “The government should guarantee the private sector will give us more than the government price.”

Reuters says the protests have remained “peaceful.” Here’s what happened Friday:

Nationwide Farmer Protest Today | All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee calls for nationwide protest against the recently passed #farmbills. @Runjhunsharmas gets us a ground check from Noida pic.twitter.com/AwQRbovrPM

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) September 25, 2020

More from CNBC on the protests.  

Nationwide Farmer Protest | Farmers are staging protest across the country against recently passed farm bills. P Chengal Reddy of Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations tells @Manisha3005, MSP can be made legal like the ‘minimum wages act’ pic.twitter.com/GE2xHgiYE8

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) September 25, 2020

And while farmers are hitting the streets, India is a prolonged virus-induced economic downturn expected to roll into 2021. There’s also the public health crisis, where coronavirus is spreading faster in India than anywhere else in the world. 

“Although this might be the low point in the ongoing crisis, the rapid increase in infections this quarter provides no hope of a near-term recovery,” Prakash Sakpal, senior Asia economist at ING, told Reuters last month. 

“The macro policy has hit a snag amid stretched public finances and rising inflation. This means pretty much nothing can save the economy from continued deep declines for the rest of the year.”

India is dealing with a host of problems, including a virus pandemic, economic downturn, border issues with China, and developing social instabilities with farmers. 

Authored by Jeff Harris via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity,

Let’s face it, Americans love convenience! Big box stores like Home Depot, Walmart and Target have ridden the convenience train to untold wealth. Amazon has tapped into the love of convenience by enabling us to “shop” from our couches. No more pesky hunting for the credit card and having to type in all that info. Just one click and you’re done!

And yes I’ll admit I enjoy convenience too. But too much convenience can be a trap if we’re not careful. The American Revolutionary War was fought to throw off the shackles of tyranny in a quest for freedom and liberty. It was not very inconvenient for the American colonist to leave their homes, farms, businesses and loved ones to fight what many believed was a hopeless cause against the most powerful military in the world at that time.

And yet they were willing to gamble their lives, leave their families for long months even years, and suffer deprivation, exposure to the elements, hunger and misery for what? A chance, slim though it might be for FREEDOM!

Freedom to live life as they saw fit. Freedom to worship when and how they chose. Freedom to gather with whomever they chose. Freedom to travel wherever they chose. Freedom to speak their minds without fear of retribution. Freedom to trade and do business wherever and with whomever they chose. And most importantly, freedom to be left alone to pursue life, liberty and happiness as they saw fit.

Our Freedom hangs in the Balance

Yet today virtually all of the freedoms our forefathers fought, bled, and many died for are in grave jeopardy. So the question is do you value your freedom and liberty enough to be inconvenienced? I ask because when I go in a Walmart or the grocery store or Home Depot virtually everyone is wearing a mask, except me.

I’ve spoken with any number of people who’ve said basically the same thing, “I don’t necessarily believe the mask makes much difference but I just don’t want to be hassled, so I wear it.” In other words what they’re really saying is their right to live as free men or women isn’t worth being inconvenienced or heaven forbid, marked as a trouble maker.

Refusing to wear a mask is inconvenient for a variety of reasons but I think it’s critical to push back against the Covid tyranny as best we can. No sane, rational person seeks needless confrontation at every business they try to enter. But you have to ask yourself what price you’re willing to pay to retain some semblance of freedom and liberty?

Is it worth the bother of invoking your rights to a mask exemption that virtually every mask mandate offers? Virtually every state mask rule has a mask exemption for health reasons. And you don’t need a doctor’s note to use this exemption.

All you have to do is say, “I can’t wear a mask safely due to a medical condition.” Personally, wearing a mask makes me feel like I can’t breathe comfortably which is a legitimate medical condition. I have no illusions that a few people who invoke their mask exemption is going to magically make the Covid scam go away. But if we don’t push back, if we meekly surrender our rights to the tyrants, they will only demand more control over our private lives.

They will never be satisfied until they have total control over the public. Trying to wait it out and hope it all goes away is a fool’s game. As long as people meekly submit to tyranny they will only get more of it. Bullies only respect a punch in the nose. Taking your stand to invoke your right to a mask exemption is a very small, but not insignificant step toward retaining freedom and liberty.

Yes, it’s inconvenient, awkward and sometimes heated. But is your freedom and that of your children and grandchildren worth a little inconvenience? I will not comply!
 

In 2016, Joe Biden called US troops stationed in Southeast Asia “stupid bastards” and a “dull bunch” – and we don’t need to trust anonymous sources in the Atlantic to believe it, since he said it on a recently resurfaced recording.

“I have incredibly good judgment,” says Biden. “One, I married Jill, and two, I appointed Johnson to the academy. I just want you to know that.”

When nobody reacts, Biden adds “Clap for that, you stupid bastards.”

He then calls the soldiers a “dull bunch,” adding “It must be slow here, man.”

Watch:

Remember when Democrats spent a week pretending @realDonaldTrump had described our troops negatively and it turned out to be BS with no sources? This is why they did that. They knew this video would come out so they had to project what Joe was guilty of onto Trump.

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) September 25, 2020

From another angle:

Newly resurfaced video shows Joe Biden calling servicemembers “stupid bastards” pic.twitter.com/yOrz5Ak7bY

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 25, 2020

The video, posted in 2017, is from an appearance in front of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing on March 7, 2016 – and comes weeks after President Trump was accused of calling troops “losers” and “suckers.”

The account has been refuted by at least 21 sources – but that didn’t stop Biden from turning it into a campaign ad.

Authored by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,

Just when you think it couldn’t get more bizarre… we give you this week’s absurdity.

Mural dedicated to WWII Vets cancelled for being too white

70 years ago, a decorated Veteran from World War II painted a mural on the campus of the University of Rhode Island to honor the fallen who lost their lives in the war.

The 95 year old artist is still alive today, to see his artwork being cancelled.

Students complained that the lack of diversity in the mural made them feel uncomfortable. There were too many white people depicted, and not enough minorities.

The university quickly bowed to the mob, covered up the painting, and plans to remove it entirely.

It’s ironic that in 2020, questioning the woke mob is liable to have you labeled a Nazi.

So a man who had the balls to fight the actual Nazis will have his memorial painting destroyed to appease the snowflakes who can’t even look at a painting without an emotional fit.

Click here to read the full story.

*  *  *

Former Marine commits suicide after the mob targets him

A Nebraska bar owner, Jake Gardner, was inside his bar when the windows were shattered by “peaceful protesters.”

Gardner, a former Marine who served in Iraq, went outside to try to diffuse the situation. He saw his father (a man in his 60s) shoved violently to the ground by peaceful protestors. But still, Gardner maintained his composure.

A video then shows that Gardner tried backing away from three men when they attacked him.

Gardner ends up on the ground, with an attacker on top of him. Gardner fired his weapon, and the attacker died.

The county prosecutor reviewed the video evidence and confirmed that Gardner acted properly and in self defense. The video confirms this. And he stated that he would NOT charge Gardner.

But the mob was not willing to accept this outcome. So they surrounded the courthouse and peacefully protested… at which point the Grand Jury caved and decided to charge Gardner with manslaughter.

This sadly appeared to put Gardner over the edge. And he took his own life last week.

Click here to read the full story.

*  *  *

Escaped Prisoner in UK tried to turn himself in seven times

An British inmate incarcerated in the UK recently escaped; apparently he was worried about his mother and wanted to visit her.

But once the visit was over, he was ready to go back to prison and serve out the remainder of his sentence.

So he went down to the local police station to turn himself in. But they refused to arrest him. It appeared there was no outstanding warrant for his arrest.

It took SEVEN tries before this escaped convict was able to successfully turn himself in to police.

Perhaps the cops were too busy trying to catch people illegally watching TV without a license (seriously, that’s a thing in the UK).

Click here to read the full story.

*  *  *

Election supervisor investigates a toilet

A homeowner in Michigan put a toilet on his front lawn, along with a sign that says “place mail-in ballots here.”

For anyone familiar with the debate about whether mail-in ballots increase voter fraud, the display is an obvious joke.

However the local election supervisor thinks it’s a crime, so she called the police to investigate.

She said, “It is a felony to take illegal possession of an absentee ballot… Elections in this country are to be taken seriously and there are many people who are voting by mail for the first time this election.”

Such sensitive little authoritarians…

Let’s hope that any eligible voter would not mistake the front yard toilet for an actual official ballot depository.

And if that’s the level of intelligence among voters, we have bigger problems to worry about.

Click here to read the full story.

*  *  *

New Jersey Doubles Down on Chasing the Rich Away

About 4 years ago, billionaire David Tepper left New Jersey and moved to Florida.

New Jersey instantly lost hundreds of millions of dollars every year in tax revenue just from this one guy.

But it wasn’t only Tepper fleeing New Jersey’s 8.97% income tax rate. In 2018, for example, New Jersey lost 5,700 millionaires.

Not coincidentally, 2018 was the same year that New Jersey hiked it’s income tax rate to 10.75% for those earning more than $5 million.

And now, with a massive government budget shortfall thanks to COVID shutdowns, New Jersey will double down on its bad idea.

They didn’t learn their lesson in 2018… so now the state will increase its tax rate to 10.75% for everyone earning more than $1 million per year.

Click here to read the full story.

*  *  *

Tased and arrested for not wearing a mask

An Ohio mother sat with her family in the stands at her son’s middle school football game.

They were outside, and a good 15 feet from any other fan.

But the school resource officer confronted the woman, and asked her to put a mask on.

She refused, citing asthma. She wasn’t sitting near anyone and was properly distanced, so she clearly posed no threat.

That really should have been the end of it. But instead the woman ended up being tased and forcibly removed from the stands.

Ironically the police officer had his mask hanging around his neck the whole time (instead of covering his nose and mouth), and another officer who also responded wasn’t wearing a mask at all.

In the end, it doesn’t even appear that the school’s mask mandate was legally enforceable. So they charged the mom with ‘trespassing’… at her son’s football game.

Click here to read the full story.

*  *  *

On another note… We think gold could DOUBLE and silver could increase by up to 5 TIMES in the next few years. That’s why we published a new, 50-page long Ultimate Guide on Gold & Silver that you can download here.

Managing editor, Ed Harrison, and senior editor, Ash Bennington, come together to analyze the price action in stocks, bonds, and currencies. Ed looks forward to his interview with Leon Cooperman, and Ash interprets the latest economic data, including today’s dismal print for durable goods orders. They then consider the latest political news and discuss how the upcoming presidential election will impact markets. In the intro, Ash speaks to Real Vision editor, Jack Farley, about stocks, credit spreads, and a steepening VIX curve.

Hu Xijn, the editor of China’s English language mouthpiece publication geared toward Western audiences, Global Times, is at it again “relaying” Beijing’s threats and warnings. 

He took aim at a US Marine Corps authored editorial written in Military Review in a tweet which unleashed headlines, including in Newsweek. The American military publication called for a US ground troops deployment to Taiwan to restore the regional balance of power in Washington’s favor.

The Marine author urged this of the Pentagon “if it is committed to defending Taiwanese sovereignty.” Hu shot back, likely echoing Beijing’s view in his usual hawkish manner, that “the PLA will definitely start a just war to safeguard China’s territorial integrity” if there are US troops stationed in Taiwan.

I must warn people in the US and Taiwan who hold this kind of thinking. Once they take the step of returning US forces to Taiwan, the PLA will definitely start a just war to safeguard China’s territorial integrity. China’s Anti-Secession Law is a tiger with teeth. pic.twitter.com/2FkvAEHUqn

— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) September 24, 2020

This would also of course be seen as a severe violation and breakdown of the ‘One China’ policy status quo.

Thus the US article itself is now stirring already high tensions, as Newsweek summarizes:

The article headlined “Deterring the Dragon,” has [Marine Captain] Mills warning that the current power balance made a surprise attack on Taiwan “more likely” and believes that American leadership has to “face down” international pressure “against a deliberate and more global conflict with China.”

“If Chinese forces can prevent U.S. forces from responding reflexively or immediately to PLA (People’s Liberation Army) aggression, the United States will either accede to a quick PLA victory in a Taiwanese-mainland China conflict or be forced to wage a long, costly campaign to re-establish access to Taiwan with a far from certain outcome,” Mills wrote.

Typically Hu reflects the insider thinking of the Chinese Communist Party, but with a more hawkish tinge. 

And while a lone article by a Marine officer in a military publication might be seen in the United States as but one among many perspectives on China adding to the debate, no doubt Beijing sees it very differently – as a veiled Pentagon threat to take precisely such action. 

Meanwhile since last week China has stepped up military activity and war games in areas near Taiwan and the contested strait, including ‘de-mining’ exercises.

Trump’s likely nominees to replace RBG on The US Supreme Court – 7th Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett, 11th Circuit Judge Barbara Lagoa, and 4th Circuit Judge Allison Jones Rushing – have, according to sources who have leaked their information to The New York Times, been narrowed down to Judge Amy Coney Barrett:

President Trump has selected Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the favorite candidate of conservatives, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and will try to force Senate confirmation before Election Day in a move that would significantly alter the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court for years.

Mr. Trump plans to announce on Saturday that she is his choice, according to people close to the process who asked not to be identified disclosing the decision in advance. The president met with Judge Barrett at the White House this week and came away impressed with a jurist that leading conservatives told him would be a female Antonin Scalia, referring to the justice who died in 2016 and for whom Judge Barrett clerked.

Barrett is the most feared by liberals, some of whom concede that she has “a topnotch legal mind.”

Many have focused on Judge Barrett’s devout catholicism – and therefore the abortion debate…

“She is the perfect combination of brilliant jurist and a woman who brings the argument to the court that is potentially the contrary to the views of the sitting women justices,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion political group, who has praised Mr. Trump’s entire shortlist.

Additionally, as NYT noted earlier in the week, liberal groups have been sounding the alarm over Judge Barrett for two years because of concerns over how she might rule on abortion and the Affordable Care Act.

“Amy Coney Barrett meets Donald Trump’s two main litmus tests: She has made clear she would invalidate the A.C.A. and take health care away from millions of people and undermine a woman’s reproductive freedom,” said Nan Aron, the president of Alliance for Justice, a liberal group.

In a 2017 law review article written before she joined the appeals court, Judge Barrett was critical of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s 2012 opinion sustaining a central provision of the Affordable Care Act, saying he had betrayed the commands of textualism. “Chief Justice Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute,” she wrote.

The court will again hear arguments on the fate of the law in November, and Judge Barrett’s article suggested that she would give its challengers a sympathetic hearing.

However, in one of her most revealing opinions, Barrett took an expansive view of the Second Amendment – dissenting to the right of two colleagues who were appointed by President Ronald Reagan.

In the world of conservative judges, she has particularly strong credentials. Judge Barrett began clerking for Justice Antonin Scalia 22 years ago, and her fellow clerks are quick to say she was his favorite. She graduated summa cum laude from Notre Dame Law School and joined the faculty in 2002, earning praise from colleagues as an astute scholar and jurist even if they did not always agree on her jurisprudential premises.

But, as a reminder, Alan Dershowitz notes that when Judge Barrett came before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for her nomination to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Senator Diane Feinstein generated considerable controversy when she said to Barrett:

“The dogma lives loudly in you.”

This was a reference to Barrett’s deep Catholic faith. Under our Constitution, Senator Feinstein’s statement crossed the line. Ours was the first Constitution in history to provide that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

Although Feinstein did not explicitly impose a religious test, she suggested that personal religious views — which she called dogma — might disqualify a nominee from being confirmed.

That would clearly be unconstitutional.

But then again… when did pursuing anything ethically or legally challenged ever stop the current suite of Dem leaders from pursuing their task of ‘Never-Trump’ and ‘Never-anyone-Trump-wants’.

However, in this case, barring some unforeseen disaster, there appears little Democrats can do – despite the threats – to delay a vote on Barrett, solidifying a right-leaning shift to the court for a generation.

American Airlines has avoided pulling a 737 MAX into the liquidity abyss.

Late on Friday, the largest US carrier – which in good times spent billions of cash on stock buybacks only to now find itself on the verge of collapse due to the collapse in air travel as a result of covid…

… filed an 8K announcing it had entered a loan agreement with the US Treasury for a secured term loan facility backed by the company’s loyalty program, which permits American to borrow up to $5.48 billion, upsized from an original $4.75 billion target, after companies such as Delta Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. opted out of the funds and the remaining money was reallocated.

American also said that it has been advised by the Treasury that it intends to allocate additional loans under the “CARES Act”” in October 2020, and the airline could receive as much as $2 billion more when the funds are adjusted a second time.

American immediately borrowed $550 million under the facility “and may, at its option, borrow additional amounts in up to two subsequent borrowings until March 26, 2021.”

So what is the cost of this taxpayer-funded bailout loan to American? Why a “whopping” L+3.5%:

Borrowings under the Facility will bear interest at a variable rate per annum equal to (a)(i) the London interbank offer rate divided by (ii) one (1) minus the Eurodollar Reserve Percentage (as defined in the Loan Agreement) plus (b) 3.50%.

The applicable interest rate for the $550 million loan drawn on the Closing Date under the Facility will be 3.87% per annum for the period from the Closing Date through September 15, 2021 at which time the interest rate will reset in accordance with the foregoing formula.

Curiously, not even Uncle Sam is willing to a accept a covenant lite deal: according to the 8K, the Loan Agreement requires American “to appraise the value of the Collateral and recalculate the collateral coverage ratio. If the calculated collateral coverage ratio is less than 1.6 to 1.0, American will be required either to provide additional Collateral (which may include cash collateral) to secure its obligations under the Loan Agreement or repay the term loans under the Facility, in such amounts that the recalculated collateral coverage ratio, after giving effect to any such additional Collateral or repayment, is at least
1.6 to 1.0.” The appraised value of the Collateral is presently significantly in excess of the 2.0 to 1.0 collateral coverage ratio necessary to access the amount under the Facility, including any contemplated increase.

Separately, the Loan Agreement prohibits American to pay dividends or buyback stock. In addition, under the Loan Agreement, AAG must maintain a minimum aggregate liquidity of $2.0 billion.

As Bloomberg notes, US airlines slammed by the coronavirus pandemic have been building cash through equity sales and loans as passenger totals remain about 70% below year-ago levels. They have also parked aircraft, cut flying schedules and asked thousands of employees retire early or take leaves to further reduce spending.

Putting the $5.5 billion number in context, American’s market cap of $6.3 billion is just above the current $5.5 billion loan size, and below what the fully expanded $7.5 billion loan will be. American currently has $42 billion in debt, a number which will soon hit $50 billion.

In late August, American said it would cut more than 40,000 jobs, including 19,000 through furloughs and layoffs, in October as it struggles with a sharp downturn in travel because of the pandemic. American executives said the furloughs can only be avoided if the federal government gives airlines another $25 billion to help them cover labor costs for six more months. American began the year with about 140,000 employees but expects fewer than 100,000 to remain in October.

It is assumed that as part of the loan conditions,

The industry got $25 billion in federal payroll support earlier this year, consisting largely of grants with a portion in loans. American received $5.8 billion as part of that package. Congress is debating whether to extend the payroll aid, which expires at the end of the month, in an effort to avoid tens of thousands of industry layoffs.

American shares initially jumped more than 3% in afterhours trading, but have since faded most gains.

 

By Aaron Saunders, via CruiseCritic,

A report issued by U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner Louis E. Sola says there is an urgent need for the cruise industry to resume sailing from Florida’s cruise ports, citing staggering losses to revenue, local employment and the contributions cruise passengers make to other tourism sectors such as the airline and hospitality industries.

In its latest Fact Finding 30 report, FMC Commissioner Sola indicates that Florida has lost $3.2 billion in economic activity and 49,500 local jobs paying approximately $2.3 billion in wages as a result of the suspension of cruising following the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s No-Sail Order, in effect through September 30. The report notes that Florida is home to the top-three multiday cruise ports in the world, with 59 percent of all embarkations in the United States taking place there in 2018. Including the corporate and administrative staff of the cruise lines headquartered in Florida, the cruise industry was responsible for over 149,000 jobs in the state totalling $7.69 billion in wages. The cruise industry resulted in $8.49 billion in direct spending each year within Florida.”The interviews I have conducted with port directors, government officials and business leaders all confirm the importance of the cruise industry to Florida’s economy and the urgent need for ships to start sailing again,” Sola said. “The financial consequences of laid-up cruise ships are being seen in government coffers and the pockets of working men and women. Across Florida, people recognize the vital necessity of the cruise industry contributing to the economy again.”

Miami, Port Canaveral Hit Hard.

Losses for the 2020 cruise season have been staggering for some of Miami’s largest turnaround ports.

Losses for the 2020 cruise season have been staggering for some of Miami’s largest turnaround ports. Before the pandemic, PortMiami welcomed 6.8 million cruise passengers, a world record. As Florida’s busiest cruise port, and one of the largest and busiest ports in the world, Port Miami is responsible for over 30,000 local jobs, $5.8 billion in economic value and $188 million in local and state taxes.

Before the pandemic, PortMiami welcomed 6.8 million cruise passengers, a world record. As Florida’s busiest cruise port, and one of the largest and busiest ports in the world, Port Miami is responsible for over 30,000 local jobs, $5.8 billion in economic value and $188 million in local and state taxes. PortMiami estimates it will tally a $55-million loss this year.Losses for Port Canaveral are pegged at 79 percent of its annual passengers and 16,000 individual jobs. With no cruises sailing from the port since early March, though, the annual $1.3 billion that is contributed to the local economy by the cruise industry in Port Canaveral and its surrounding area is at high risk. Nearly 13,000 people were employed directly by the cruise industry in Port Canaveral in 2019, a number that rises to 23,745 if indirect jobs are included as well.In Key West — Florida’s only cruise port to function solely as a port of call — the cruise industry contributes over $85 million in economic benefits, provides 1,250 local jobs and makes up 15 percent of the city’s total tax revenue. Residents are trying to limit, restrict or even remove the cruise industry from Key West entirely.

Economic Impact Goes Far Beyond Cruise.

Commissioner Sola’s report points out that the suspension of the cruise industry within Florida alone has an impact on other industries within the United States. Cruise passengers contributed nearly $2 billion in fares to the airline industry in 2019. They also contributed $1.1 billion to the local economy in Miami-Dade County from related expenses like overnight hotel stays, food and beverage, shopping and transportation. “It is not just large companies that benefit from the cruise industry,” Sola said. “Cruise customers begin and end their voyages by using taxis, eating in restaurants, visiting museums, and shopping in local businesses.

“These are small- and medium-sized businesses; many are independently or family owned. The cessation of cruise operations can affect them as much, or more, as it does the companies that operate the ships or the ports where the vessels call.”

The cargo shipping industry within Florida has also been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. When combined with cruise, the total economic impact to the state of Florida from the loss of the cruise industry and reduction of the cargo shipping industry is a sobering $22 billion and the loss of 169,000 individual jobs.

The loss of the cruise industry cannot come back overnight, either. Many of the vessels that normally homeport in Florida for the winter cruise season are scattered around the world. Uncertainty surrounding the CDC’s No-Sail Order, local port restrictions and CLIA’s voluntary ban on cruises through October 31 have made it difficult for the industry to formulate solid plans to restart cruise within the United States.

“During the brief to DHS Acting Secretary Wolf on September 9, 2020, one cruise executive stressed that it was their desire that the Federal No Sail Order either expire as scheduled on September 30, 2020, or only be extended no more than 30 days,” the report said. “Another cruise executive explained that the cruise industry will not automatically restart when the CDC’s No Sail Order ends; time will be needed to reposition and resupply ships. Generally, participants agreed that the cruise industry needs to be restarted in a way that builds confidence among consumers.”

“It is hoped that the data provided will not only draw attention to the importance of this issue but also encourage and assist other authorities in doing what is necessary to relaunch the cruise industry in a responsible and timely manner. As Fact Finding Officer, Commissioner Sola is exploring options to achieve this goal.”

The report notes that the Fact Finding 30 commission will also be assessing the economic impact of the loss of the cruise industry in Alaska and the Northwestern United States next.

Wealthy actresses and financiers aren’t the only ones bending the rules of the American college admissions system – a system that has long been skewed toward preserving the status of the elite, even as these same schools help promulgate the crypto-Marxist ideology undergirding BLM and the DSA.

Richard Blum, the husband of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, has been caught up in the latest scandal over members of ‘the elite’ leveraging their ‘connections’ to grease the wheels of the admissions process for students than lower-than-average test scores for schools like UC Berkeley and other members of the California university system, according to a local TV report which cited a new report from the state.

Despite a policy barring members of the university system’s board of regents from intervening in the admissions process on behalf of friends and family, Blum reportedly wrote letters to the admissions office at Berkley and other schools – letters that often helped students get off wait lists, or otherwise secure a spot.

When confronted by the San Francisco Chronicle about the allegations, Blum stood his ground, insisting that he’s been writing letters of recommendation on behalf of friends and family for years, and that “nobody every told me it was wrong.” The policy barring members of the board from interfering in admissions has reportedly been in place since before Blum joined the board 18 years ago.

Blum was named in a report published this week by the state’s auditors office as somebody who might have abused his power to influence admissions at California’s coveted state university system.

Regents Chair John Pérez issued a statement Thursday saying the “UC Board of Regents takes these matters very seriously, and any violations will be promptly and appropriately addressed.”

He said that UC’s ethics and audit compliance office is reviewing the information “to determine whether the alleged conduct violates” the regents policy, in place since 1996.

Feinstein’s office declined to comment.

The audit examined admissions policies and practices over the six academic years from 2013-2014 to 2018-2019 at four of the UC’s nine campuses — UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.

It was requested last year by state Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner Horvath in response to the national college admissions scandal, which embroiled prestigious universities nationwide, athletic coaches and dozens of wealthy parents.

But Blum didn’t solely write letters of recommendation for “friends and family”. Blum allegedly intervened on behalf of a student whose family was friends with a member of the Board of Regents, the child of a major political donor and an applicant who babysat for a colleague of a former admissions director, according to the California State Auditor report.

The audit examined admissions policies and practices over the six academic years from 2013-2014 to 2018-2019 at four of the system’s nine campuses schools: UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.