Tag: finance

“Boring!!!!” Post-Mortem Of Predictable, Pandering Platitudes At First Dem Debate

Perhaps President Trump said it best, but aside from an awkward hot-mic moment, the first Democratic Party primary debate was “boring!“

As Liberty Nation’s Graham Noble details below, the debate was an exercise in bland posturing with practically no substance.

Perhaps expectations for the first Democratic Party primary debate were too high. That may have been entirely natural among those who are politically aware as well as among those who pontificate about politics for a living. Many of these people hoped for at least a couple of bold soundbites, a clear policy statement or two, or a heated exchange. The June 26 event in Florida – part one of a two-part debate – was almost entirely devoid of any of those things.

The first quarter of the two-hour debate was focused on healthcare. There was little diversity of opinion and no detailed policy proposal, though the debate moderators were fairly rigid on limiting each candidate’s time and so none of the 2020 hopefuls could have really been expected to lay out specific legislative goals. That being said, the debate did absolutely nothing to more fully inform the American people about any candidate’s position.

Platitudes Over Policy

Everyone on the stage expressed the usual platitudes about providing universal access to healthcare. In true Democratic Party fashion, all ten candidates based their ideas on the assumption that government alone can provide the most efficient and cost-effective healthcare system the United States will ever have. This, of course, is entirely at odds with the entire history of human civilization, which teaches us that government is incapable of providing efficient, cost-effective services.

Interestingly, when the ten contenders were asked to raise their hands if they would abolish private health insurance, only New York Mayor Bill DeBlazio and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren did so.

Former Maryland Representative John Delaney was perhaps the most rational person on the stage and also the most ignored – with the exception of Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). On the subject of healthcare reform, Delaney suggested the best way forward was to “keep what’s working and fix what’s broken.” Though it will not be well-received by most Democratic politicians or their media lapdogs, Delaney may have uttered the most sensible line of the night when he later said his party should offer “Real solutions, not impossible promises.”

The Favored Ones

Warren, who was literally center stage, was given the most time to speak during that first section of the debate. Indeed, there was a definite bias – throughout the event – toward Warren, former Texas congressman Robert O’Rourke, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro. The other candidates had to fight for the opportunity to speak, on many occasions.

Other issues covered included immigration, Iran, gun control, and climate change. No specific policies were offered up by any of the candidates. Gun control was obviously a subject that made all of them uncomfortable. Clearly, not one of these Democrats had the courage to go on the record, in front of a national audience, with their plans for gun confiscation. To their credit, though, none of them professed support for the 2nd Amendment, which so many Democrats do – disingenuously – when pressed on the issue of gun rights.

All but one of the contenders agreed that the United States should sign on, once again, to the Iran nuclear deal. Sen. Booker declined but then, ironically, channeled President Donald Trump by asserting that a better deal should be negotiated.

The Also-Rans

All in all – for almost all ten candidates – it was, at best, a cautious performance and, at worst, a cowardly one. Castro made the biggest impact as one of the lesser-known 2020 contenders. Cory Booker perhaps comes out of the event with a slight boost and Warren, while not especially captivating, certainly retained her position as one of the front-runners.

Robert “Beto” O’Rourke

Robert O’Rourke continued to flail and did nothing, on the stage, to dispel the feeling that he is entirely out of his depth in a presidential race. He was scolded by Castro for his immigration ideas and falsely assumed that his command of the Spanish language would, perhaps, earn him some street cred, but that did not appear to work either.

Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard had a moment to shine when she schooled Washington Governor Jay Inslee on the futility of the Afghan war but was not one of the chosen few who were allowed to hog the limelight. Inslee himself has a very limited future in this race.

Ohio Representative Tim Ryan made little impact, though he was one of only two candidates who acknowledged that his party has lost its way – becoming disconnected from blue-collar America and evolving into the party of the elites. The other candidate who made the same assertion was DeBlazio, who may have an equally limited lifespan in the 2020 race.

The debate may have had some effect on how Democratic voters view the respective candidates but probably did nothing to excite the base: Inslee, Klobuchar (who was the most lackluster figure of the night), Delaney, and Ryan were unable to capture that one, big moment they each needed to give their campaigns some steam. DeBlazio was the most aggressive but continues to be one of the least likable people in America. Castro, Warren and, perhaps, Booker were the winners of the night.

Gabbard and DeBlazio may have done enough to keep their hopes alive a little longer and, if Democratic voters are truly interested in moderation and something more rational, then Delaney may survive for a while longer. The other four are probably as good as done.

In the final analysis, this debate was an exercise in bland posturing with practically no substance. Trump, who tweeted “BORING!” during the debate, has little to worry about if this is the best the Democrats have to offer for 2020.

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

Boeing Shares Tumble After Report New “Glitch” Can Send 737 MAX In “Uncontrollable Nosedive”

Late on Wednesday we reported that Boeing’s woes had escalated dramatically, when the FAA announced that tests on grounded Boeing 737 MAX planes revealed a new, and unrelated safety risk in the computer system for the Boeing 737 Max that could push the plane in an uncontrolled nosedive the FAA announced; the discovery could lead to further lengthy delays before the aircraft is allowed return to service.

As CNN reported, in simulator tests, government pilots discovered that a microprocessor failure could push the nose of the plane toward the ground. While the original crashes remain under investigation, preliminary reports showed that “a new stabilization system pushed both planes into steep nosedives from which the pilots could not recover.” The issue is known in aviation circles as runaway stabilizer trim.

“The FAA recently found a potential risk that Boeing must mitigate,” the agency said in an emailed statement on Wednesday, without providing any specifics.

As we said last night, “the good news for Boeing is that despite the disastrous track record of flawed executive decisions and cut corners, its stocks has so far managed to recover every single time, if a little longer than “seconds.” Even so, it remains well below the level it hit after its second plane went down, following the infamous MCAS failure.”

Well, on Thursday morning the signs were ominous, and the market was clearly unhappy with the latest revelation, sending Boeing shares tumbling more than $20 in the premarket, before stabilizing in the mid-$350s.

And with regulators finally doing their job – one wonders why none of these discoveries were made years ago when the MAX was initially being rolled out – one wonders how long until an activist emerges and demands that Boeing spin off its commercial airline group from the core of the company, the part that makes weapons of death and destruction, and whose profitability is assured for decades to come.

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2X2wMC1 Tyler Durden

Futures Tumble After Beijing Reveals Demands To Agree To Trade War “Truce”

The big news overnight came from the South China Morning Post, which echoed what Bloomberg reported earlier this week, namely that the US and China have “tentatively” agreed to another truce in their trade war in order to resume talks aimed at resolving the dispute, with details of the agreement being laid out in press releases in advance of the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at the G-20 leaders summit in Osaka.

According to the report, such an agreement would avert the next round of tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese imports, which if applied would extend punitive tariffs to virtually all the country’s shipments to the United States.

Citing a source, the SCMP reported that Xi’s price for holding the meeting in Osaka was that Trump delay additional tariffs, which of course is a risk: “The reality, though, is President Trump could always have a change of heart,” the source said. “But the truce cake seems to have been baked.”

A senior Trump administration official told POLITICO earlier this week that it is possible that tariffs could be delayed but cautioned that “nothing is certain. Absolutely nothing.” A Washington-based source familiar with the talks said that there were “ongoing attempts to coordinate press messaging”, but added that there was no specificity yet regarding decisions on tariffs or timing within that messaging.

But while the original SCMP report helped boost risk sentiment overnight, sending futures to session highs, a subsequent report by the WSJ in turn slammed sentiment, after it detailed that the ceasefire is not unconditional but instead Chinese President Xi Jinping will present Trump with a set of terms the U.S. should meet before Beijing is ready to settle a market-rattling trade confrontation, raising fresh questions whether a ceasefire will even be implemented and the two leaders will agree to relaunch talks.

Among the preconditions noted by the WSJ, Beijing is insisting that the U.S. remove its ban on the sale of U.S. technology to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. Beijing also wants the U.S. to lift all punitive tariffs and drop efforts to get China to buy even more U.S. exports than Beijing said it would when the two leaders last met in December.

In short, simply to agree to a ceasefire, Beijing demands that Trump concede to many of the currently implemented steps in the ongoing trade war in return for, well, nothing.

How or why Trump will agree to any of this is unclear and is why futures stumbled immediately after the WSJ report hit.

As the WSJ further adds, despite his preconditions, “Xi isn’t expected to take a confrontational tone with Mr. Trump, according to the Chinese officials.”

Rather, they say, he will sketch out what he envisions as an optimal bilateral relationship, which includes China’s help on security issues vexing to the U.S., especially Iran and North Korea.

It is unclear whether Trump will give any sort of deadline for the talks to reach an agreement, as he had before. Two SCMP sources suggested a deadline of six months, which would put the deadline at the end of the year. Since the trade war started nearly a year ago, Trump has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Of course, if the WSJ is right and Beijing has such high-threshold conditions to even agree to a truce, it may well be that absolutely nothing is announced after the meeting between the two presidents concludes, and the market is starting to price it in.

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2LhI5nQ Tyler Durden

In Major “Blow” To Bolsonaro, 39 Kilos Of Coke Seized On Brazil’s Presidential Plane

A Brazilian Air Force pilot, who was one of the crew members on their way to serve as the advance guard for Brazil president Bolsonaro during the forthcoming G20 summit in Osaka, was arrested during a stopover in Seville en route to Japan after Spanish customs officers discovered enough cocaine on him in to fuel a small Wall Street bank’s party for a month in what has become an international embarrassment for Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s “Trump” and also the country’s self-professed law-and-order president.

The 38-year-old airman appeared in court on Wednesday on charges of drug trafficking after Spanish officials discovered 37 packets of cocaine weighing a total of 39 kilos in baggage and officers from Spain’s Guardia Civil took the crew member into custody, a police spokesman in Seville said, adding that “the whole bag was filled with drugs” according to the FT.

The airman had arrived in Spain on Tuesday afternoon in the airplane coming from Brazil, which later in the day departed for Japan with the rest of the crew on board.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain hoping to preempt a major scandal, said on social media late on Tuesday that he “immediately ordered the defence minister to co-operate with the Spanish police to establish the facts and co-operate with every stage of the investigation”.

He added: “There are around 300,000 men and women in the armed forces who are trained to uphold the highest principles of ethics and morality. If the airman is found to have committed a crime, he will be tried and convicted according to the law.” Brazil’s defense ministry echoed the president in a statement, saying that the “facts are being assessed”.

The arrest is, no pun intended, a major blow for the rightwing Bolsonaro, whose government is trying to toughen drug laws amid a major crackdown on illegal activity, and who frequently praises Brazil’s armed forces.  The drug bust also comes as the president’s son, Eduardo, who heads the foreign affairs committee in Brazil’s congress, has criticized the “narco-dictatorship” of Nicolás Maduro in neighbouring Venezuela for allegedly trafficking drugs in its own air force planes.

And, as BuzzFeed likes to say, you will never guess what happened next…

The embarrassing arrest also occurred on the day that embattled Brazilian justice minister and former judge Sérgio Moro was in the US visiting the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Brazil has become a key transit route for cocaine produced in Andean countries and smuggled to west Africa and Europe, and security forces are embroiled in a violent struggle against drugs gangs in Rio de Janeiro and several other coastal cities.

Meanwhile, as the FT notes, Spain has long been one of Europe’s main entry point for drugs. In February, the Guardia Civil stopped a ship carrying 3,300kg of cocaine in a police operation against drug trafficking by sea from South America.

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

Brexit: Please, Let’s Discuss 10 Pertinent Facts

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MIshTalk,

With Brexit emotions running high, let’s step back and calmly discuss the pertinent facts…

Ten Brexit Facts

  1. In the referendum, a majority of UK citizens voted to leave the EU.

  2. The default legal position, subject to change, is that the UK will leave the EU on October 31, 2019.

  3. It is not within the power of the UK parliament to change point number 1.

  4. It is not within the power of the Queen to change point number 1.

  5. The not the legal right of the EU to grant an extension request from UK parliament, by the Queen, or on its own behalf.

  6. The October 31 date is subject to change, but only at the request of the UK prime minister, and then only if all 27 nations in the EU agree.

  7. The window of opportunity for the UK parliament to force elections is September 3 through September 11 at maximum.

  8. It is an option of the next prime minister to prorogue (suspend) parliament long enough to rule out new elections

  9. The prediction that the UK would collapse immediately following the referendum was spectacularly wrong. Predictions of UK demise should there be no a No Deal Brexit are predictions, often purposely biased, not facts.

  10. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, admitted on film that the Irish backstop was used as a “tactical and strategic means to apply permanent pressure on the UK.”

Facts vs Politics

Like it or not, those are the pertinent facts.

With those facts out of the way, lets turn our attention to the politics of the day as reported by the Guardian Live Blog.

Hunt: Addressing the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, Hunt says that, while it’s not his preferred option, he would take it if he didn’t think a deal was possible by 31 October – even though he acknowledges it’d destroy people’s livelihoods. “I think there is a deal that can unite all wings of the Conservative party and our friends in the DUP. But it’s got to be different to Theresa May’s deal.”

Johnson: Boris Johnson has pledged that the UK will leave the European Union on 31 October “do or die”, as he promised to push for a no-deal Brexit if this was needed to meet the departure deadline. “But I’m not going to do that if there’s a prospect of a better deal.”

Nearly Identical Positions

The amusing thing here is they are saying the same thing.

Hunt is not remotely believable.

Johnson is certainly more believable. Today he issued a challenge to Hunt.

WTO Article 24 Legal Authority

Article 24 pertains to the right of countries to abolish WTO tariffs on condition that both counties agree and both countries set a timeline for reaching a deal. They have 10 years to finalize the deal.

Johnson stated today: “Gatt article 24 paragraph males it perfectly clear that two countries that are in the process of beginning a free trade agreement may protract their existing arrangements until such time as they have completed any free trade agreement. And that’s a very hopeful prospect. That is the way forward.”

Please add that to the fact list.

Germany Running Scared

This is my opinion, but Germany is running scared, very scared.

Please consider the Guardian report Germany ‘will talk to the last hour’ to avoid no-deal Brexit.

Germany will fight to the last hour to prevent the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal and is willing to hear any fresh ideas for the Irish border backstop, the country’s ambassador to the UK has said.

Speaking at a car manufacturers’ summit in London, Peter Wittig said Germany cherished its relationship with the UK and was ready to talk about solutions the new prime minister might have for the Irish border problem.

“My country is ready to talk and the chancellor [Angela Merkel] once said she would be willing to talk to the last hour not to have a no-deal scenario,” he said.

“It’s a mindset. We are not giving up in achieving an orderly Brexit. Germany has been a very pragmatic voice in this whole tortuous Brexit process and we will continue to be that.

“Even if we have a short window while the new prime minister is in place, we will welcome any idea how to solve that famous backstop issue and we will be willing to work towards a negotiated deal which is long term the only viable and sensible option for Europe,” he added.

“Our mindset is to explore all pathways to come to a negotiated deal.”

Mindset

Is that believable?

Of course it is. Germany is scared to death its vaunted export machine is about to collapse.

I wrote about that earlier today in Rise of the Greens = Deindustrialization of Germany.

Five Events

  1. Merkel foolishly did in nuclear to appease the Greens

  2. The German Car industry lied about diesel. The Greens stepped in and killed it.

  3. The Greens will kill coal.

  4. Brexit will hurt German exports no matter what happens now.

  5. Trump tariffs on German cars are likely to be the topper.

Point number four is in serious play. The German trade surplus with the UK and the rest of the world is huge.

Permanent Pressure

Let’s return to point 10 at the top: Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, admitted on film that the Irish backstop was used as a “tactical and strategic means to apply permanent pressure on the UK.”

Please see Let’s Discuss Brexit (and How the EU Bragged, on Film, About Screwing the UK) for proof, not allegations.

Credibility in Play

Theresa May repeated many times “No deal is better than a bad deal”. It was a lie the UK never believed.

Johnson, unlike Hunt, appears to be serious.

The EU will play as a patsy anyone who is not serious about leaving.

Power is Johnson’s

The power is in Johnson’s hands.

If he really is willing to leave the EU, there is enormous pressure on the EU to bend.

Lies Revisited

Think about all the lies the EU made and Remainers made about instant collapse of the UK if the vote was leave.

It didn’t happen.

What If?

What if, as I suspect, there is far greater damage to the EU than the UK because of an EU collapse in exports on a hard Brexit.

This has to be on their minds.

Worst EU Fear

The EU’s worst fear has to be that if the UK walks, that it is the EU, not the UK that takes the bigger hit.

Pressure? You bet.

All Johnson needs to do is stand his ground.

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

Facebook To Unmask ‘Hate Speech’ Suspects In France

In an unprecedented move, Facebook will hand over the identities of French users who are suspected of hate speech, according to Reuters, Citing French digital affairs minister Cedric O. 

The decision by the world’s biggest social media network comes after successive meetings between Zuckerberg and Macron, who wants to take a leading role globally on the regulation of hate speech and the spread of false information online. –Reuters

The company, which regularly hands authorities the IP addresses of suspected terrorists or other criminals, has never done so in the case of hate speech – and has been hesitant in the past over concerns that countries without an independent judiciary could misuse such information. 

Facebook head of global affairs Nick Clegg and France’s O met last week, where the social media company agreed to extend its cooperation with French authorities to hate speech. Of note, there are approximately 33 million users in France. 

Cedric O

“This is huge news, it means that the judicial process will be able to run normally,” O told Reuters, adding “It’s really very important, they’re only doing it for France.” 

O, who said he had been in close contact with Clegg over the last few days on the issue, said Facebook’s decision was the result of an ongoing conversation between the internet giant and the French administration.

Since his nomination as minister in March, O has made the fight against hate speech online a key priority through regular contacts with Facebook’s top executives, including founder Mark Zuckerberg. –Reuters

WTF?

While Forbes reports that Facebook will identify ‘hate speech’ suspects if requested by French Judges, it is unclear if, say, a broad request for hate speech identified by Facebook falls within the scope of the new agreement. If so, it would be particularly alarming in light of a report earlier this month that the company monitors its users’ offline behavior as part of how they determine whether a person should be classified as a “Hate Agent.”

Facebook may even condemn users for “statements made in private but later made public,” according to the report by Breitbart‘s Allum Bokhari. 

Also concerning is that Facebook’s “hate speech” police are largely far-left organizations such as the SPLC, while moderators are relying on an outdated, inaccurate and biased “maze of PowerPoint slides” to police global political speech, according to a trove of 1,400 internal documents obtained by the New York Times last December.

The guidelines – which are reportedly reviewed every other Tuesday morning by “several dozen Facebook employees who gather over breakfast,” are filled with “numerous gaps, baises and outright errors,” according to the Times. 

Moderators were once told, for example, to remove fund-raising appeals for volcano victims in Indonesia because a co-sponsor of the drive was on Facebook’s internal list of banned groups. In Myanmar, a paperwork error allowed a prominent extremist group, accused of fomenting genocide, to stay on the platform for months. In India, moderators were mistakenly told to flag for possible removal comments critical of religion. –NYT

“Hate speech is no longer considered part of freedom of speech, it’s now on the same level as terrorism,” said lawyer Sonia Cisse with Linklaters. “It is a strong signal in terms of regulation.” 

The move may be connected to a new law currently under discussion that would see tech companies fined up to four per cent of their global revenues if they fail to remove hate speech from their platforms. Germany already has a similar law, with fines of up to €50 million if fake news or hate speech isn’t removed within 24 hours.

France’s current hate speech laws cover ethnicity, nationality and race, along with religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability; it’s illegal to  incite discrimination against, hatred of, or harm to any of these groups.

“Racism, anti-Semitism, racial hatred and justification are not opinions. They are offences,” official literature explains. “All speeches, cries or threats made publicly, that is to say by any public means of communication, are punishable. Including on the internet.” –Forbes

Discussions between Zuckerberg and Macron began last year, after the social media giant was given a $160,000 slap on the wrist for collecting data on users without their knowledge. 

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2NfUAD1 Tyler Durden

Why Indian-Turkish Embrace Of Russia’s S-400 Is So Important For Global Affairs

Authored by Matthew Ehret via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

India and Turkey’s recent embrace of Russia’s advanced S-400 defense system represents a major turning point in the international battle now underway between two opposing paradigms of global affairs.

Both nations are standing up to immense pressure by an Anglo American empire which has been working desperately since 2007 to build a vast military infrastructure around Russia under the utopian doctrine of “Full Spectrum Dominance” (aka: the belief that a nuclear war can be won with a first strike monopoly). This missile shield began to target China and Russia’s South Pacific flank in 2011 when Obama unveiled the military branch of the anti-Chinese “Pivot to Asia”.

The S400 Solution to Full Spectrum Dominance

However if nations like India, and Turkey who were meant to be participants of the encirclement of Russia and China were to adopt next generation defensive radar/missile systems like Russia’s S400, then the entire formula for unipolar dominance breaks down. Already, China has adopted the S400 as of 2015 which features short to long range supersonic interception of missiles, aircraft and bombs at altitudes of 38 km and at distances of 400 km. Other nations which have expressed interest in the S400 include Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Vietnam.

The rise of the S400 and the new security architecture which comes with it has come to be known as “Full Spectrum Defense” and is one of the most important transformations of the world order. When considered in tandem with the globally extended Belt and Road Initiative (which is tightly integrated with the Eurasian Economic Union and Shanghai Cooperation Organization), represents the greatest hope for mankind currently available.

Some particularly nutty personalities within NATO and the Military Industrial Complex would sadly rather burn in hell than serve in heaven and still adhere to the outdated script written in the early days of 2007 when the drum beat for war with Iran pounded at a feverish pitch. These figures, represented by the likes of US Defense Secretary Patrick O’Shanahan, Mike Pompeo and John Bolton are convinced that a nuclear war with Russia and China is still somehow winnable… if only “renegade” nations like Turkey and India would get back into line and follow the script!

Up until Russia’s entry into a beleaguered Syria in September 2015, it appeared that these neocon utopians may have had a winning hand. The Anglo-American alliance appeared to many to be the only game in town. With no serious opposition to the military might of NATO combined with the economic might of the City of London-Wall Street banking system, what else could any middle power like Turkey or India do but “go along to get along”?

 Turkey’s 2nd Chance at Life

Turkey was quick to get burned by its decision to reject the Russia/China-led new paradigm when it was first offered an entry position to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in 2011 where it then signed on as a “Dialogue Partner” (one step below observer status). Just as ink was drying on the 2011 Turkey-EEU Memorandum of Understanding, several other nations were preparing to join the Russia-led initiative including Ukraine, Armenia, Moldova, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan (the latter being now a full member). The onslaught on Libya followed by the attempt to duplicate that disaster in Syria put an end to Turkey’s decision to join the EEU at that time. A Nazi-driven coup launched in November 2013 ended Ukraine’s membership prospects as well.

Turkey was given a simple ultimatum: Go along with the anti-Russia/anti-China war plan for Full Spectrum Dominance as a loyal member of NATO and certain rewards will be guaranteed.

Turkey was to be granted full entry into the “prestigious” alliance of the European Union which its membership in NATO was always premised upon. Some of the grandeur of the Ottoman Empire would be recovered as managerial status would be granted Turkey over vast swaths of the Middle East now liberated from pesky Arab nationalist leaders. Signing over to this policy was supposed to be easy. All Erdogan had to do was provide covert support for the spread of the ISIS in Syria and keep an aggressive posture towards Russia. Anglo-American and Saudi Intelligence would do all of the heavy lifting.

Not so.

With Russia’s intrepid entry into Syria in September 2019, everything changed. Within two months, Turkey was horrified to find itself in the cross hairs of a nuclear war between NATO and Russia after it shot down a Russian fighter jet killing its pilot and lied to the British (who then chaired the UN Security Council) that Russia invaded Turkey’s sovereign airspace. The tension caused by this military confrontation not only brought the world extremely close to a nuclear war, but resulted in a sobering slap of reality for Erdogen who began his long road towards repentance by writing a public letter of apology for Russia on June 27, 2016. This letter was too much for certain war-mongers in the west.

By July 15, 2016 the time had come for Erdogan’s punishment.

Anglo-American networks controlling the Turkish Deep State activated every asset at their disposal within the military and government bureaucracy to overthrow Erdogan and everyone loyal to him. The form of this operation was shaped by the vast networks of CIA-asset Fethullah Gulen, a strange billionaire cult leader of ‘Hizmet’ based out of the USA whose followers and money had penetrated deeply through every branch of Turkey’s public and private sectors. During this coup attempt, Turkish fighter jets fired on their own parliament building, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Hulusi Akar was kidnapped by his own security detail and thousands of military personnel took to the streets leaving 241 dead and 2194 injured. Due to last minute intelligence provided by sources which many believe to be tied to Russia, Erdogan escaped his fate and regained control in time to purge the leading Gulen zombies from government.

Since that time, Turkey has found its original deal with the devil much less attractive than it had been in 2013.

The Collapse of the West and the Rise of a New Paradigm

Abraham Lincoln once said “a house divided cannot long stand” and no political body is more divided these days than the European Union. Every day, EU member states are seen fighting amongst themselves and against the technocratic sociopaths in Brussel’s who can do little more than ragefully sanction “climate and fiscal offenders” for trying to defend their own populations from unemployment, austerity and speculative finance run amok. This breakdown has driven forward thinking EU nations to prepare their escape from the Titanic and by joining the only viable game in town: China and the New Silk Road. Most recently, Italy joined the New Silk Road with an MOU in April 2019 and Greece joined the 17+1 pro-BRI Central and Eastern European nations weeks later. The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which has unified closely with the New Silk Road is currently welcoming new members with open arms with Uzbekistan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Mongolia and even Syria expressing clear intentions to join in the near term future. Both the SCO and EEU which are integral parts of this new paradigm are open for all to join- including Turkey.

With the re-election of Narendra Modi in May 2019 and the positive meetings between Modi, Xi Jinping and Putin during the SCO summit of June 13-14, the tension being artificially created across Asia appears to finally be receding. Pakistan and India (now full members of the SCO) have infinite points of mutual interest to work with the Belt and Road Initiative and with the peaceful integration of North Korea into a cooperative economic plan with China and South Korea, the US-Asia Pivot (which justified itself entirely because North Korea was so dangerous) has collapsed.

The battle between nationalist forces in America vs Deep State/NATO-ideologues is a fight which is hardly won, but which will be shaped in large part by Trump’s bilateral meetings between Modi, Erdogan, Xi and Putin on June 27-28 G20 Summit in Japan (if they are not sabotaged).

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

Demographic Doom? Germany, Italy, Korea, & Japan Face Workforce Collapse By 2050

Forget the trade war, debt, deflation, automation, and artificial intelligence: one of the most significant threats to the global economy and the future of the world as we know it is demographics.

A new OECD report, published by International Business Times, said Korea, Japan, Germany, and Italy could see their working-age populations decline to dangerously low levels by 2050.

The report took each OECD country’s population between the ages of 20 and 64 in the year 2000 as a base and was able to project the 2050 population. What they discovered was the working class population by 2050 would be 80% of its base year in Korea and Italy. In Japan, the workforce population would be much worse, approximately 60% of its original size.

For the OECD as a whole, there are about 34 countries from around the world, the size of the working age population is expected to increase by 111% of its original size by 2050. Much of the growth will be driven by stable birth rates and growing populations, like Australia and Turkey.

The OECD noted that Japan’s working-age population has been in collapse for nearly three decades. Korea’s working-age population was expanding until just recently but is expected to begin contracting this year.

For countries experiencing a decline in the working-age population, there will be widespread consequences across all aspects of the global economy: as households shrink, so does discretionary spending, and ultimately will impact living space. In developed markets, large cities will see increased pressure on real estate and rent prices for apartments.

In a separate report, we showed how countries around the world are set to experience a decline in the number of children per household in the 2000 – 2030 period. More specifically, looking from 2015 out to 2030, Euromonitor expects developed markets to have a ~20% decline in the number of children per household and developing markets a ~15% decline. In fact, as RBC points out, it was as recently as 2012 when the number of couples without children globally surpassed the number of those with children.

While this demographic trend is troubling, it’s only set to worsen in the coming decades. Many developed countries will have a severe demographic imbalance where the older generation is disproportionately larger than, the younger generations. In other words, many parts of the world are marching straight towards Japanification.

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2Xzs6YB Tyler Durden

South African Leaders Clueless As Multipolar New World Order Looms

Authored by Prince Mashele via Sowetan Live,

We South Africans are so consumed by the mess of our politics that we rarely take time to make sense of what is going on around the world.

In a nutshell, the world has gone through two historic periods:

  • a period of crude empire, which lasted until the mid-20th century, and

  • a very short period of subtle empire, which lasted until 2008.

During the centuries-long period of crude empire, rulers of kingdoms, principalities or states derived a sense of greatness from either invading, destroying or subjugating other societies.

Kingdoms or states that had a reputation for greatness were those that mastered the craftiest military strategy, typically under the leadership of a feared commander-tyrant.

Names such as Hannibal of Carthage, Julius Caesar of the Roman Empire, Alexander the Great of the Greek kingdom of Macedonia, or Shaka Zulu of the Zulu kingdom, are emblematic of the ancient world of the crude empire.

Modern imperialism up to the 20th century was also a form of imperial crudity, driven by a modernized Westphalian state. The instinct of imperial crudity was sustained by the crudity of ancient warfare.

The tyrants and military strategists of yore harbored the belief they could destroy the society next door without being destroyed in turn. It was always a bloody gamble.

In the era of the Westphalian state, the same urge to destroy or subjugate a neighbor, with the hope not to be destroyed, drove modern rulers into wars of crude imperialism. This is how the first and the second world wars came about.

The frightening scale of human destruction that took place, especially in the World War Two, facilitated by a more sophisticated modern weaponry and awakened humankind to the suicidal folly of the hope to destroy without being destroyed.

Thus, the last European lords of crude empire – Great Britain and France – realized the need to entrust their global security and interests to the new leader of an emerging period of subtle empire, the US.

In the new era of weapons of mass destruction, the US knew it enjoyed no luxury to destroy a neighbor without being destroyed.

Banking on its economic strength in the mid-20th century, the US sponsored the erection of a novel institutional architecture that would buttress that country’s leadership in the new era of subtle imperialism. That’s how the UN, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation came about.

Although there were times when the US applied crudity in its imperial engagement, particularly during the Cold War, internal democracy and the protection of human freedoms were used to project the cultural and ideational supremacy of the US in the world.

Over time, ordinary people across the world, even in countries that professed to pursue an alternative social order, such as Russia, envied American culture and its way of life.

It all collapsed in 2008, when America’s financial system proved to be the cancerous cells infecting the economic blood of the rest of the world. Suddenly all American-linked or -sponsored institutions became suspect in the eyes of the people of the world.

By the time America’s subtle empire collapsed, China had sufficient economic resources to signal its readiness to take over the global leadership.

But the US does not want the locus of global power to shift from the West to the East. This is precisely what the trade war between China and the US is about.

But where does SA stand in all this? Unfortunately, there is no evidence that either our intellectually bland president or our tired international relations minister has a clue.

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

China Tests World’s Largest Transport Drone With Airdrop Exercise

Last October, we were one of the first to report that China tested the world’s largest transport drone. Now it appears the drone has undergone several more tests, this time with a heavy cargo delivery exercise.

The aerial delivery exercise was conducted by the National Defense University of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation in Zhangye, Northwest China’s Gansu Province, at an unspecified time, reported The Global Times.

The exercise featured a Feihong-98, the world’s largest transport drone, with a maximum payload of 1.5 tons. It’s a modified single-engine biplane, called the Shifei Y5B, a China-developed transport plane from the 1950s.

The Feihong-98 carried military supplies and successfully airdropped it at an unspecified area on a plateau with difficult terrain.

“The exercise met our expected objective. It is very significant for our unmanned logistics chain in future warfare,” said Bi Guangyuan, executive director of the exercise, CCTV reported.

This was China’s first airdrop of cargo from a transport drone weighing more than 1,100 pounds and traveling at a distance of about 310 miles, Li Ruixing, the president of the PLA National Defense University’s joint logistics academy, told CCTV.

“We … explored a new model of military cargo delivery in joint combat as well as in strategic and tactical logistics support,” Ruixing said.

A military expert who asked to remain anonymous told The Global Times on Sunday that the plane is expected to haul even heavier cargo loads in upcoming tests.

With a takeoff and landing distance of roughly 500 ft., the transport drone could be the most affordable means of resupplying Chinese militarized islands in the South China Sea.

In the last twenty years, China has emerged as one of Washington’s top competitors in the global drone market. China is offering affordable drone technology, that has been rapidly gaining global market share.

China manufactures several types of drones. The Caihong 5 (CH-5) Rainbow, its newest multi-role capable drone, has seen increased activity in the Middle East — especially the Yemeni Civil War. The CH-5 competes with the American Reaper and Israeli Heron TP.

China is a major exporter of multi-role strike capable drones. Between 2008 and 2017, China exported a total of 88 drones to eleven different countries.

China, the rising power in the Eastern Hemisphere, has challenged the US, the status quo power in the South China Sea. China is rapidly developing and deploying armed and transport drones as a sign that military conflict between both powers is inevitable.  

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2J6Et5k Tyler Durden