Month: March 2024

Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

The freedom to say whatever we want is one of the most fundamental rights in a free society.  If we are not free to speak up, it is is just a matter of time before all of our other rights are taken away as well.  So it should deeply alarm all of us that free speech is under attack like never before.  Much of the population has become convinced that “hate speech” is a special class of speech that does not deserve protection.  Of course in practice “hate speech” ends up being whatever forms of expression that the leftist elite hate.  That is why “hate speech” laws are always written so vaguely.  That way they can be used to go after whoever the leftist elite feel like going after at the time.

It is not always easy to have a society where people are allowed to say whatever they want.  People say things all the time that deeply, deeply offend me.  And there are some that have said things about me that are tremendously hateful and untrue.

But if we are going to have a free society, people have got to be free to say whatever they want.  So we should never support freedom of speech being taken away from anyone, because once we start going down that slippery slope it is just a matter of time before they come after our freedom to say what we want.

That is why what is happening in the state of Washington is so alarming.  A new law would allow private individuals to collect up to $2,000 every time they report someone to the new “hate crimes and bias incidents hotline”…

Senate Bill 5427, after it is signed into law, would allow private individuals (note: this is not limited to American citizens) to report “bias incidents*” (see definition below) to the State Attorney General’s Office, with the possibility of receiving up to $2,000 of taxpayers money for this noncriminal incident. The bill was very clear: this is a non-crime which they will then forward to local law enforcement to investigate. What’s to investigate? No crime, no investigation.

The Progressives & Marxists who sponsored this bill say it is intended to help “victims of hate crimes” before a crime even happens. Say what? In reality, SB 5427 would create a “tattletale hotline,” undermine legitimate criminal investigations, and freeze, not just chill, speech & the press in Washington State. People will stop talking to others and writing to others except very close friends & relatives, for fear a greedy “Karen” will report them to Washington’s version of the Gestapo.

This is crazy.

Do we live in East Germany now?

It has been pointed out that those that use social media could make a fortune reporting their fellow citizens to the new “tattletale hotline”…

“Spend five minutes on Twitter on any given day and I assure someone would say something offensive under this law that we could call a ‘hate crime’ and collect $2,000 from the attorney general,” Conservative Ladies of Washington Founder and President Julie Barrett told the Senate Ways and Means Committee at a Feb. 20 public hearing. “It potentially target[s] people for actions they don’t like, but are not actually hate crimes. In collaboration with bills like HB 1333, this would create sort of a ‘tattletale hotline’ to report people one doesn’t agree with or doesn’t like.”

Of course we have seen similar efforts in other states.

In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul intends to massively expand the hate crime laws in her state…

Governor Kathy Hochul today highlighted her groundbreaking State of the State proposal to expand the list of charges eligible to be prosecuted as hate crimes and announced grant funding to strengthen safety and security measures at nonprofit, community-based organizations at risk of hate crimes or attacks because of their ideology, beliefs, or mission.

“The rising tide of hate is abhorrent and unacceptable – and I’m committed to doing everything in my power to keep New Yorkers safe,” Governor Hochul said. “Since the despicable Hamas attacks of October 7, there has been a disturbing rise in hate crimes against Jewish and Muslim New Yorkers. In recent years we’ve seen hate-fueled violence targeting Black residents of Buffalo and disturbing harassment of AAPI and LGBTQ+ individuals on the streets of New York City. We will never rest until all New Yorkers feel safe, regardless of who they are, who they love, or how they worship.”

And in Michigan, last year a bill was introduced that would have made it a felony if someone felt “terrorized, frightened, or threatened” by your words…

Last month, the Michigan House passed Bill 4474—legislation that would expand the state’s existing Ethnic Intimidation Act beyond current protections for religion, ethnicity and race, to categories including sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. HB 4474 would make it a felony hate crime offense to cause someone to “feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened” with words—deliberately misgendering someone, for example—subject to a potential penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The Left has been pushing its “words are violence” premise for some time. But Michigan’s willingness to go the extra mile and criminalize gender-related speech has summoned a ghoul from some dystopian fever dream.

I certainly do not like hate speech.

Every day, people say things that are horribly offensive to me.

But I support their right to say those things, because I don’t want my freedom of speech to be taken away.

And the leftist elite will never be satisfied until they take things as far as they possibly can.

For example, a new law in Canada allows courts to put people in prison for the rest of their lives for “hate crime offenses”…

It also amends the Criminal Code to create a new standalone hate crime offence that would allow penalties up to life imprisonment to deter hateful conduct, as well as raise the maximum punishments for hate propaganda offences from five years to life imprisonment for advocating genocide.

“I’m the father of two youngsters and, like parents and grandparents around Canada, I’m terrified by the dangers that lurk on the internet for our children,” said Justice Minister Arif Virani Monday, as the Liberals unveiled the bill.

“I’m also a Muslim. The hatred that festers online is radicalizing people and that radicalization has real world impacts for my community, and for so many other communities,” added Virani.

So what constitutes a “hate crime” in Canada?

Well, over the years the rules have been written so vaguely that they could be used to go after just about anything.

As a result, many Canadians are now deeply afraid to say anything that is even remotely “offensive”.

Now this new law which is being pushed by Justin Trudeau will make things even worse.  If you can believe it, this new law would actually allow authorities to take certain kinds of actions even before a hate crime has been committed…

Trudeau’s bill is called Bill C-63, and it’s a “hate crime bill” that primarily affects “social media” and essentially “criminalizes a human emotion.”

“If you have quote ‘fear of hate’ … you can get a judge to issue a kind of restraining order against your enemy before he does anything, before he says anything, and that restraining order can include house arrest, giving up any lawful firearms, limiting who he can talk to directly or indirectly, limiting the places he can go, and requiring him to to take urine and blood tests – just because you are quote ‘afraid’ he might in the future say some hate speech,” he explains, adding that the so-called perpetrator “doesn’t have to have done anything in the past” to be required to go through the process, making it “a pre-crime bill.”

What in the world has happened to Canada?

Once upon a time, it was such a nice place to visit.

The laws that seek to restrict how we express ourselves are never enforced uniformly.

Instead, we have seen example after example where conservatives are specifically targeted.

Here in the United States, the left believes in being very soft on violent criminals, but they will go after pro-life activists with all the fury they can muster.

Right now, a 59-year-old grandmother is probably going to spend the rest of her life in prison because she was attempting to convince women not to go into an abortion clinic…

In prison, every move an inmate makes is controlled. Ms. Idoni, 59, is getting used to that. She must, because she is facing more than 41 years in prison—the rest of her natural life.

Her sentence is expected to be the longest in the United States for someone charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a 1994 law that prohibits interfering with anyone obtaining or providing “reproductive health services.” It was seldom used until the Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reversed Roe v. Wade in June 2022, which returned abortion regulation to the states.

Her crime: sitting near or in front of the doors of abortion clinics to give sidewalk counselors a few moments to talk to women before their abortion appointments and potentially change their minds. Nine women out of 10 give them the middle finger and keep walking, Ms. Idoni said. But some women do change their minds, and sidewalk counselors say the life of every baby saved is worth the risk.

More than 60 million babies have been killed in the United States since 1973, but those responsible for the killing are not being held accountable.

Instead, those that are trying to do something about the relentless slaughter are being viciously targeted by authorities.

We really do live in an upside down society.

Good is being called evil, and evil is being called good.

And if you try to speak out about what is happening, you could find yourself in an enormous amount of trouble.

They intend to completely crush all dissent, and they will never stop until they have achieved their goal.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

Religion has played a pivotal role in shaping the beliefs, values, and cultures of societies around the world.

While estimating the exact number of followers for each faith poses a considerable challenge, Visual Capitalist’s Jeff Desjardins notes that figures from reputable sources like Britannica and Pew Research provide valuable insights into the global religious landscape.

The Religions With the Most Followers

Below are the seven most popular religions, based on Britannica’s analysis and estimates:

Note: These estimates provide a broad perspective on the distribution of followers for each religion, recognizing the inherent difficulty in accurately counting global adherents.

There are three major religions with over 1 billion followers: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.

Buddhism is also a big player, with 500 million followers worldwide. After this, there’s a significant dropoff, with the next three largest religions (Shintō, Sikhism, and Judaism) adding up to fewer than 150 million followers between them.

It’s also worth mentioning that practically speaking, many of these popular religions have various sects, denominations, branches, or interpretations that they can be further grouped into.

For example, Christianity itself can be further categorized into denominations such as Catholic (50.1%), Protestant (36.7%), Eastern Orthodox (9.4%), Oriental Orthodox (2.5%), and other smaller Christian denominations (1.3%).

What Religions Missed the Cut?

Not captured in the above visual are many smaller organized religions, as well as folk and traditional religions, that are distributed all around the world.

Examples of notable religions that did not make the top seven list include: Taoism, Muism, Cao Dai, Baháʼí Faith, Jainism, Tenrikyo, Wicca, and Zoroastrianism.

Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of people also practice African traditional religions, Chinese folk religions, Native American religions, and Australian aboriginal religions.

Authored by Tsvetana Parskova via OilPrice.com,

A Turkish oil terminal on the Mediterranean will stop importing Russian oil amid intensified U.S. sanctions pressure on Moscow’s exports, the terminal’s operator told Reuters on Tuesday.

Global Terminal Services (GTS) operates the mid-sized Dortyol terminal on the Mediterranean and it has decided to stop accepting Russia-origin volumes to avoid possible connections to Russian oil.

“GTS decided to cut all possible connections to Russian oil and declared accordingly to its customers in late February 2024 that even if there is no breach of any laws, regulations or sanctions, it would not accept any product of Russian origin or any products loaded from Russian ports as an additional measure to the sanction rules in effect,” the company told Reuters.

All previous imports of Russian oil have been in compliance with the applicable sanctions, including the G7 price cap on Russian crude and petroleum products, GTS added. 

After the EU banned imports of Russian crude and products last year, Turkey has become one of the biggest importers of Russian oil.

However, a recent U.S. sanctions threat to impose secondary sanctions on financial firms and other intermediaries doing business with Russia has already resulted in lower Turkish-Russian trade, including in oil.

Trade between Russia and Turkey has suffered a setback since late December with some payments for imported Russian oil cargoes delayed, as banks are boosting compliance checks following a U.S. threat to sanction financial institutions for facilitating business with Russia.

In December, U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order, which authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to potentially impose sanctions on a foreign financial institution if it is found to have “conducted or facilitated any significant transaction or transactions for or on behalf of any person designated” in the sanctions against Russia.      

As a result of this new sanctions threat, payments have been disrupted with some delays seen in payments for oil cargoes that Turkey imports from Russia, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters last month.  

Netflix, the renowned streaming giant, has transformed the way we consume entertainment, providing a vast library of movies, TV shows, and documentaries at the touch of a button.

However, the cost of accessing this digital haven varies significantly from country to country, reflecting economic disparities and market dynamics.

This graphic from Preyash Shah, via Visual Capitalist, maps Netflix price by country, using standard (basic) package subscription monthly rates from Netflix.com and converting to USD as of December 10, 2023.

What is the Netflix Price by Country?

Across 244 countries and territories that had Netflix available in December of 2023, Switzerland was the most expensive at $21.48 per month. That was $5 more than the second-most-expensive country on the list.

Countries	Netflix Cost (USD)
🇦🇫 Afghanistan	$7.99
🇦🇽 Åland Islands	$12.92
🇦🇱 Albania	$8.61
🇩🇿 Algeria	$7.99
🇦🇸 American Samoa	$15.49
🇦🇩 Andorra	$14.00
🇦🇴 Angola	$7.99
🇦🇮 Anguilla	$12.99
🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda	$12.99
🇦🇷 Argentina	$3.57
🇦🇲 Armenia	$10.76
🇦🇼 Aruba	$12.99
🇦🇺 Australia	$11.19
🇦🇹 Austria	$14.00
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	$10.76
🇧🇸 Bahamas	$12.99
🇧🇭 Bahrain	$10.49
🇧🇩 Bangladesh	$7.99
🇧🇧 Barbados	$15.29
🇧🇾 Belarus	$10.76
🇧🇪 Belgium	$14.54
🇧🇿 Belize	$5.99
🇧🇯 Benin	$9.99
🇧🇲 Bermuda	$12.99
🇧🇹 Bhutan	$7.99
🇧🇴 Bolivia	$5.99
🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina	$8.61
🇧🇼 Botswana	$7.99
🇧🇻 Bouvet Island	$9.99
🇧🇷 Brazil	$8.10
🇮🇴 British Indian Ocean Territory	$7.99
🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands	$12.99
🇧🇳 Brunei	$11.99
🇧🇬 Bulgaria	$8.61
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	$7.99
🇧🇮 Burundi	$7.99
🇰🇭 Cambodia	$7.99
🇨🇲 Cameroon	$7.99
🇨🇦 Canada	$12.13
🇨🇻 Cape Verde	$7.99
🇨🇰 Caribbean Netherlands	$12.99
🇰🇾 Cayman Islands	$12.99
🇨🇫 Central African Republic	$7.99
🇹🇩 Chad	$7.99
🇨🇱 Chile	$9.58
🇨🇽 Christmas Island	$7.99
🇨🇨 Cocos (Keeling) Islands	$11.19
🇨🇴 Colombia	$6.75
🇰🇲 Comoros	$7.99
🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo	$7.99
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	$7.99
🇨🇰 Cook Islands	$11.32
🇨🇷 Costa Rica	$12.99
🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire	$7.99
🇭🇷 Croatia	$8.61
🇨🇺 Cuba	$5.99
🇨🇼 Curaçao	$12.99
🇨🇾 Cyprus	$11.84
🇨🇿 Czechia	$11.42
🇩🇰 Denmark	$16.46
🇩🇯 Djibouti	$7.99
🇩🇲 Dominica	$5.99
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	$7.99
🇪🇨 Ecuador	$7.99
🇪🇬 Egypt	$3.88
🇸🇻 El Salvador	$7.99
🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	$7.99
🇪🇷 Eritrea	$7.99
🇪🇪 Estonia	$10.76
🇸🇿 Eswatini	$7.99
🇪🇹 Ethiopia	$7.99
🇫🇰 Falkland Islands	$12.99
🇫🇴 Faroe Islands	$16.46
🇫🇯 Fiji	$7.99
🇫🇮 Finland	$12.92
🇫🇷 France	$14.54
🇬🇫 French Guiana	$13.46
🇵🇫 French Polynesia	$11.99
🇹🇫 French Southern Territories	$12.92
🇬🇦 Gabon	$7.99
🇬🇲 Gambia	$7.99
🇬🇪 Georgia	$12.70
🇩🇪 Germany	$14.00
🇬🇭 Ghana	$7.99
🇬🇮 Gibraltar	$14.00
🇬🇷 Greece	$11.84
🇬🇱 Greenland	$16.46
🇬🇩 Grenada	$5.99
🇬🇵 Guadeloupe	$13.46
🇬🇺 Guam	$15.49
🇬🇹 Guatemala	$7.99
🇬🇬 Guernsey	$13.79
🇬🇳 Guinea	$7.99
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	$7.99
🇬🇾 Guyana	$5.99
🇭🇹 Haiti	$5.99
🇭🇲 Heard & McDonald Islands	$9.99
🇭🇳 Honduras	$7.99
🇭🇰 Hong Kong	$9.99
🇭🇺 Hungary	$9.85
🇮🇸 Iceland	$14.00
🇮🇳 India	$5.98
🇮🇩 Indonesia	$7.72
🇮🇷 Iran	$9.99
🇮🇶 Iraq	$7.99
🇮🇪 Ireland	$16.15
🇮🇲 Isle of Man	$13.79
🇮🇱 Israel	$12.67
🇮🇹 Italy	$14.00
🇯🇲 Jamaica	$5.99
🇯🇵 Japan	$10.28
🇯🇪 Jersey	$13.79
🇯🇴 Jordan	$7.99
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	$10.76
🇰🇪 Kenya	$4.52
🇰🇮 Kiribati	$7.99
🇰🇼 Kuwait	$9.99
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	$10.76
🇱🇦 Laos	$7.99
🇱🇻 Latvia	$10.76
🇱🇧 Lebanon	$7.99
🇱🇸 Lesotho	$7.99
🇱🇷 Liberia	$7.99
🇱🇾 Libya	$7.99
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	$21.48
🇱🇹 Lithuania	$10.76
🇱🇺 Luxembourg	$14.54
🇲🇴 Macau	$9.99
🇲🇬 Madagascar	$7.99
🇲🇼 Malawi	$7.99
🇲🇾 Malaysia	$9.65
🇲🇻 Maldives	$11.99
🇲🇱 Mali	$7.99
🇲🇹 Malta	$14.00
🇲🇭 Marshall Islands	$15.49
🇲🇶 Martinique	$13.46
🇲🇷 Mauritania	$7.99
🇲🇺 Mauritius	$7.99
🇾🇹 Mayotte	$13.46
🇲🇽 Mexico	$12.62
🇫🇲 Micronesia	$15.49
🇲🇩 Moldova	$10.76
🇲🇨 Monaco	$14.54
🇲🇳 Mongolia	$7.99
🇲🇪 Montenegro	$8.61
🇲🇸 Montserrat	$12.99
🇲🇦 Morocco	$6.41
🇲🇿 Mozambique	$7.99
🇲🇲 Myanmar (Burma)	$7.99
🇳🇦 Namibia	$7.99
🇳🇷 Nauru	$11.99
🇳🇵 Nepal	$7.99
🇳🇱 Netherlands	$12.92
🇳🇨 New Caledonia	$11.99
🇳🇿 New Zealand	$11.32
🇳🇮 Nicaragua	$5.99
🇳🇪 Niger	$7.99
🇳🇬 Nigeria	$4.48
🇳🇺 Niue	$11.32
🇳🇫 Norfolk Island	$11.19
🇲🇰 North Macedonia	$8.61
🇲🇵 Northern Mariana Islands	$15.49
🇳🇴 Norway	$9.99
🇴🇲 Oman	$10.49
🇵🇰 Pakistan	$2.82
🇵🇼 Palau	$15.49
🇵🇸 Palestine	$7.99
🇵🇦 Panama	$8.99
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	$7.99
🇵🇾 Paraguay	$5.99
🇵🇪 Peru	$9.28
🇵🇭 Philippines	$7.19
🇵🇳 Pitcairn Islands	$7.99
🇵🇱 Poland	$10.68
🇵🇹 Portugal	$12.92
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico	$15.49
🇶🇦 Qatar	$9.99
🇷🇪 Réunion	$12.49
🇷🇴 Romania	$10.76
🇷🇼 Rwanda	$7.99
🇼🇸 Samoa	$7.99
🇸🇲 San Marino	$14.00
🇸🇹 São Tomé & Príncipe	$7.99
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	$11.47
🇸🇳 Senegal	$7.99
🇷🇸 Serbia	$8.61
🇸🇨 Seychelles	$7.99
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	$7.99
🇸🇬 Singapore	$13.02
🇸🇽 Sint Maarten	$12.99
🇸🇰 Slovakia	$10.76
🇸🇮 Slovenia	$8.61
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	$7.99
🇸🇴 Somalia	$7.99
🇿🇦 South Africa	$8.41
🇬🇸 South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands	$9.99
🇰🇷 South Korea	$10.25
🇸🇸 South Sudan	$7.99
🇪🇸 Spain	$14.00
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	$7.99
🇧🇱 St. Barthélemy	$5.99
🇸🇭 St. Helena	$7.99
🇰🇳 St. Kitts & Nevis	$12.99
🇱🇨 St. Lucia	$5.99
🇲🇫 St. Martin	$5.99
🇵🇲 St. Pierre & Miquelon	$14.54
🇻🇨 St. Vincent & Grenadines	$5.99
🇸🇩 Sudan	$7.99
🇸🇷 Suriname	$5.99
🇸🇯 Svalbard & Jan Mayen	$9.99
🇸🇪 Sweden	$12.32
🇨🇭 Switzerland	$21.48
🇹🇼 Taiwan	$10.49
🇹🇯 Tajikistan	$12.70
🇹🇿 Tanzania	$7.99
🇹🇭 Thailand	$9.90
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	$7.99
🇹🇬 Togo	$7.99
🇹🇰 Tokelau	$11.32
🇹🇴 Tonga	$7.99
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	$12.99
🇹🇳 Tunisia	$7.99
🇹🇷 Türkiye	$3.38
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	$10.76
🇹🇨 Turks & Caicos Islands	$12.99
🇹🇻 Tuvalu	$7.99
🇺🇸 U.S. Outlying Islands	$9.99
🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands	$15.49
🇺🇬 Uganda	$7.99
🇺🇦 Ukraine	$8.07
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	$10.62
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	$13.79
🇺🇸 United States	$15.49
🇺🇾 Uruguay	$12.99
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	$10.76
🇻🇺 Vanuatu	$7.99
🇻🇦 Vatican City	$14.00
🇻🇪 Venezuela	$5.99
🇻🇳 Vietnam	$9.08
🇼🇫 Wallis & Futuna	$7.99
🇪🇭 Western Sahara	$9.99
🇾🇪 Yemen	$7.99
🇿🇲 Zambia	$7.99
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	$7.99

Other wealthy countries like Denmark, Ireland, and the U.S. were in the top five most expensive countries for Netflix subscriptions, ranging from $16.46 to $15.49.

On the opposite side of the pendulum, Pakistan had the lowest Netflix subscription cost at $2.82 per month. It was followed by Türkiye at $3.38 and Argentina at $3.57.

Several factors influence the flux in pricing of Netflix subscriptions across different nations. These include:

• Economic Factors: Netflix tailors its prices to align with the purchasing power of consumers in each market. Countries with higher average incomes typically bear higher subscription costs.

• Market Competition: The presence of strong local streaming services can exert downward pressure on Netflix prices, forcing it to adjust its offerings to remain competitive.

• Content Licensing: The cost of acquiring content rights varies across regions, influencing the overall pricing structure. Countries with higher licensing fees may experience higher subscription costs.

• Currency Fluctuations: Currency exchange rates can impact Netflix’s pricing model, leading to occasional adjustments or fluctuations in subscription costs.

While affordability remains a primary concern for consumers, Netflix’s pricing strategy also aims to balance accessibility with content acquisition and profitability.

As the streaming industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to observe how Netflix adapts its pricing model to maintain its global dominance while catering to the diverse needs and preferences of its audience.

 

Authored by Charles Kennedy via OilPrice.com,

Oil and gas companies could be a source of additional funding for a UN climate financing to help developing economies cope with the consequences of climate change, according to a draft EU document seen by Reuters.

After failing so far to establish a clear-cut framework of how much wealthy developed nations should contribute to a fund to help developing economies, the next COP summit in Azerbaijan at the end of this year is seen as the deadline for reaching some kind of a deal.   

The COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, is expected to decide in November if the climate finance goal should include only public funding, or raise funds from the private sector and international institutions, too.  

The EU, which aims for carbon neutrality by 2050, is looking at the fossil fuels sector for potential additional contributions to these funds. 

“Recognising that public finance alone cannot provide the quantum necessary for the new goal, additional, new and innovative sources of finance from a wide variety of sources, including from the fossil fuel sector, should be identified and utilised,” according to the draft EU statement which Reuters has seen and which has been prepared for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the bloc later in March.  

Developed economies need to provide at least $1 trillion per year to climate finance for developing countries to meet the national and global climate targets, one of the biggest developing economies and a major carbon polluter, India, said in a proposal to the United Nations last month.

Developed countries have pledged to support developing economies with funding to address climate change and reduce emissions. Developing countries have been arguing for years that they cannot meet climate goals without substantial international mobilization of finance. In addition, the worst effects of climate change are being felt in many developing and very poor countries that don’t have the financial means to recover and build resilience amid extreme weather events and natural disasters.

Governments of the European Union are engaged in wargames which simulate and foresee a global food crisis. A mix of major factors including the Russia-Ukraine war and impact on grain supplies there, as well as weather events like El Niño and La Niña and their impact on Latin American soy output, and the anti-EU farmers’ protests which have disrupted supermarket supply chains, have been cause for alarm, European officials say. Of course there’s also the example of how drastically a pandemic can interfere with supply chains. Panic buying was a trend and constant fear within the early months of the coronavirus crisis.

Bloomberg details of a conference held in Brussels last month that envisioned a 2024 to 2025 food shortage in Europe: “…over two days in central Brussels last month, some 60 European Union and government officials, food security experts, industry representatives and a few journalists gathered to confront the possibility of something barely on the radar a few years ago: a full-blown food crisis.”

Piotr Magnuszewski, a systems modeler and game designer who helped put the conference gaming scenario together told participants to “Expect a level of chaos” and cautioned, “You may be confused at times and not have enough information.”

As the report underscores, what’s remarkable about this is the fact that a continent which stands out as among the best-fed regions in the world is now busy stress testing its food system.

Below are some of the scenarios put before participants in the wargaming event last month:

* * * 

Harvest failures:

“And so, it’s 2025 and there are more harvest failures. They impact animal feed prices, which curbs livestock and fish production. Some ships carrying crops turn away from Europe to cater to higher bidders elsewhere.”

Palm oil exports cut:

“Asia’s palm oil export limits are now reducing supplies of daily staples from margarine to bread. Allegations of corporate greed, disinformation and conspiracy theories are spreading.”

Fertilizer crisis:

“The cost of fertilizers and energy needed to grow crops and keep glasshouses running soared in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Unrest in the street as shortages hit locally:

“Things unravel further later in 2025. Thieves are looting supermarkets. Police struggle to contain riots spreading in cities. People in Germany can’t find fish and meat at grocery stores. Livestock farmers are going bankrupt.”

Popular anger targets elites & corporations

“Meanwhile, the public’s focus shifts to profiteering by commodity traders. Small farms fall like dominos, while attacks on immigrants begin to become more widespread. Is the EU a sinking ship, someone asks in the video?”

As for “solutions” – interestingly conference participants were told (or rather took it as an assumption) that populations would have to be weaned off meat. Let them eat bugs?  

“Day two started with a mindfulness session before focusing on policy proposals and any conclusions,” the Bloomberg journalist in attendance wrote. “There was little objection to the idea that diets need to shift toward healthier options and away from meat. Questions loomed over how best to manage food reserves and monitor the level of stockpiles.”

Just who it is that will “manage” food reserves is an interesting, and possibly scary, scenario to imagine as well. Read the rest of the full report “Europe is Wargaming a Food Crisis” here.

Authored by Denes Albert via ReMix News,

Rutte once said that Hungary “no longer has a place in the EU” and that he wanted to bring the country “to its knees”…

Mark Rutte and Viktor Orbán at the European Council roundtable in Brussels, June 30, 2023. (Credit: European Union/ European Council)

Hungary does not support Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s candidacy for NATO secretary-general, said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó. Given his history of threats against Hungary, there is little surprise from analysts about Hungary’s stance.

Commenting on the possible election of Rutte as the new head of NATO, Szijjártó said that the government could certainly not support the election of someone who “wanted to bring Hungary to its knees in the past.”

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte pose for a photo after signing documents in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 1, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

“It would be very strange if the Hungarian government were to support the candidacy of such a person,” he said.

Current NATO head Jens Stoltenberg’s second mandate — extended twice by one year due to the war in Ukraine — will expire in October, and most NATO member states want to have a new person in the position before the EU elections. To be elected, a candidate needs the vote of all member states.

🇭🇺🔥 Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s past catches up with him as Hungary vows to torpedo any bid to install him as the next secretary general of NATO. pic.twitter.com/9V9IcC1VdE

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) March 6, 2024

German magazine Der Spiegel wrote in a recent opinion piece that “Rutte has strong opponents, especially in the eastern part of NATO territory, above all (Hungarian Prime Minister) Viktor Orbán.”

That is why Spiegel columnist Marlus Becker wrote that the military alliance is threatened by a nasty row over the next secretary-general. Last week, NATO’s four major member states backed Rutte in a coordinated action. According to several diplomats, Rutte has the backing of about two-thirds of the 31 NATO members, but the eastern members are resisting, according to the German magazine.

The magazine claims that the unanimous election of the new secretary-general could be a problem for “Hungary’s autocratic prime minister” Viktor Orbán, among others. However, Rutte is not innocent either, the article adds, as in 2021, Rutte said that Hungary “no longer has a place in the EU.”

Rutte also said, “We want to bring Hungary to its knees.” Now, Becker writes that Rutte has to fear “Orbán’s revenge,” and this time Orbán is not isolated. Becker argues that other states in the eastern part of NATO feel they have been deceived by the West.

Orbán has commented on Rutte’s offensive comments in the past, saying in 2020: “I don’t know what’s the personal reason for the Dutch prime minister to hate me or Hungary, but he is attacking us so harshly and making very clear that because Hungary, in his opinion, does not respect the rule of law, it must be punished financially. That’s his position. Which is not acceptable, because there is no decision about what is the rule of law situation in Hungary.”

Read more here…

Authored by Pepe Escobar,

Here’s the key takeaway of these frantic days in Moscow: Normal-o-philes of the world, unite.

These have been frantic multipolar days at the capital of the multipolar world. I had the honor to personally tell Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that virtually the whole Global South seemed to be represented in an auditorium of the Lomonosov innovation cluster on a Monday afternoon – a sort of informal UN and in several aspects way more effective when it comes to respecting the UN charter. His eyes gleamed. Lavrov, more than most, understands the true power of the Global Majority.

Moscow hosted a back-to-back multipolar conference plus the second meeting of the International Russophiles Movement (MIR, in its French acronym, which means “world” in Russian). Taken together, the discussions and networking have offered auspicious hints on the building of a truly representative international order – away from the agenda-imposed doom and gloom of single unipolar culture and Forever Wars.

The opening plenary session in the first day fell under the star power of Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova – whose main message was crystal clear: “There can’t be freedom without free will”, which could easily become the new collective Global South motto. “Civilization-states” set the tone of the overall discussion – as they are meticulously designing the blueprints of economic, technological and cultural development in the post-Western hegemonic world.

Professor of International Relations Zhang Weiwei at Fudan University’s China Institute in Shanghai summarized the four crucial points when it comes to Beijing propelling its role as a “new independent pole.” That reads like a concise marker of where we are now:

1. 1.Under the unipolar order, everything from dollars to computer chips can be weaponized. Wars and color revolutions are the norm.

2. China has become the largest economy in the world by PPP; the largest trade and industrial economy; and it is currently at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

3. China proposes a model of “Unite and Prosper” instead of a Western model of “Divide and Rule”.

4. The West tried to isolate Russia, but the Global Majority sympathizes with Russia. Thus, the Collective West has been isolated by the Global Rest.

Fighting the “theo-political war”

“Global Rest”, incidentally, is a misnomer: Global Majority is the name of the game. The same applies to “golden billion”; those that profit from the unipolar moment, mostly across the collective West and as comprador elites in the satraps, are at best 200 million or so.

Monday afternoon in Moscow featured three parallel sessions: on China and the multipolar world, where the star was Professor Weiwei; on the post-hegemony West, under the title “Is it possible to save the European civilization?” – attended by several dissident Europeans, academics, think tankers, activists; and the main treat – featuring the frontline actors of multipolarity.

I had the honor to moderate the awesome Global South session, which ran for over three hours – it could have been the whole day, actually – and featured several stunning presentations by a stellar cast of Africans, Latin Americans and Asians, from Palestine to Venezuela, including Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla.

That was the multipolar Global South in full flight – as my imperative was to open the floor to as many people as possible. Were the organizers to release a Greatest Hits of the presentations, that could easily become a global hit.

Mandla Mandela emphasized how it’s about time to move away from the unipolar system dominated by the Hegemon, “which continues to support Israel”.

That complemented Benin’s charismatic activist Kemi Seba – who brilliantly personifies the African leadership of the future. In the plenary session, Seba introduced a key concept – which begs to be developed around the world: we are living under a “theo-political war”.

That neatly summarizes the Western simultaneous Hybrid War on Islam, Shi’ism, Christian Orthodoxy, in fact every religion, apart from the Woke Cult.

The next day, the second congress of the International Russophiles movement offered three debate sessions: the most relevant was on – what else – “Informational and Hybrid Warfare”.

I had the honor to share the stage with Maria Zakharova – and after my free jazz-style presentation, focused on over 40 years of practicing journalism across the planet and watching first-hand the utter degradation of the industry, we carried a hopefully useful dialogue on media and soft power.

My suggestion not only to the Russian Foreign Ministry but to everyone all across the Global South was straightforward: forget about oligarchy-controlled legacy/mainstream media, it is already dead. They have nothing relevant to say. The present and the future rely on social media; “alternative” – which is not alternative anymore, on the contrary; and citizen media, to all of which, of course, the highest standards of journalism should be applied.

In the evening, before everyone got down to party hard, a few of us were invited for an open, frank and enlightening working dinner with Foreign Minister Lavrov in one of the magnificent frescoed rooms of the Metropol Hotel, one the grand hotels of Europe since 1905.

A legend with a wicked sense of humor

Lavrov was relaxed, among friends; after an initial, stunning diplomatic tour de force which covered quite a few highlights of the recent decades all the way to the current gloom and doom, he opened the table to our questions, taking notes and answering each one of them in detail.

What’s so striking when you are face to face with the most legendary diplomat in the world for quite some time, in a relaxed setting, is his genuine sadness when faced with the rage, intolerance and total absence of critical thought exhibited especially by the Europeans. That was much more relevant throughout our conversation than the fact that U.S.-Russia relations are at an all-time low.

Lavrov though remains highly driven because of the Global South/Global Majority – and the Russian presidency of the BRICS this year. He hugely praised Indian FM Jaishankar, and the comprehensive relations with China. He suggested the Russophiles Movement should take a global role, playfully suggesting we should all be part of a “Normal-o-philes” movement.

Well, Lavrov The Legend is also known for his wicked sense of humor. And humor is most effective when it is deadly serious. So here’s the key takeaway of these frantic days in Moscow: Normal-o-philes of the world, unite.

Last weekend, newly-based, former Democrat darling pollster Nate Silver (who recently vanquished a lying leftist academic for spreading misinformation) penned a Saturday blog post in which he noted that President Biden has a huge problem with swing voters.

While Silver acknowledges that there are “relatively few swing voters” in the US, there are some – “and with the country divided roughly 50/50, they usually determine who wins.”

What’s more, the composition of the electorate has shifted – with a dropoff in those IDing as Democrats loosely corresponding to a rise in those claiming to be independent voters, according to Gallup.

Silver’s point? “something has changed over the past decade or so. The Democratic Party brand no longer has an edge on the Republican brand; voters don’t like either one very much.”

Biden loses 10%

Silver then brings our attention to a tweet from pundit Matt Yglesias – who highlights a NY Times poll that reveals 10% of 2020 Biden voters are now saying they back Trump.

While Yglesias frames it as “insanely banal swing voter stuff,” Silver sees it as far more serious for Democrats.

Via natesilver.net:

I’m a big Yglesias fan, but I’m not sure this take is so boring or so obvious. Here’s a slightly spicy argument, in fact: I suspect that some of the reason that pundits don’t like this take is because the media has become considerably more partisan. In contrast a couple of decades ago, punditry was dominated by newspaper columnists who were milquetoast centrists and TV panelists who were scrupulously nonpartisan. Now, people who comment about politics on blogs and social media tend to be loyal, reliable partisans, aligning with either Democrats or Republicans on nearly every issue. That sort of consistent partisanship is much less common among the broader electorate, although it’s becoming more so.

My theory is that this more partisan species of pundit often implicitly or explicitly advocates for focusing on base turnout because it suits their ideological interests.. These pundits tend to be strong progressives (or conservatives) themselves, and the base-turnout theory implies there’s no trade-off between ideologically-charged policy goals and electoral ones. Read progressive media, for instance, and you’ll often hear that Biden was wise to cancel student loan repayments1 because it would excite young voters, even though student loan relief polls questionably with the electorate overall. I’m not sure I want to get too far into the weeds on Biden’s stance toward the Middle East, but you’ll often hear this argument on Gaza, too. It’s often just assumed (despite poor results for the “uncommitted” protest vote in the Michigan primary on Tuesday) that it would be electorally advantageous for Biden to move to the left by becoming more hawkish toward Bibi Netanyahu, even though Americans overall are still more sympathetic to Israel than Palestine.

The Times/Siena poll that Yglesias alluded to speaks to the potential dangers for Democrats of the base-turnout focus. The poll asked voters who they voted for in 2020 as well as who they plan to vote for in November. This produced a big gap; Biden actually led by 12 points in the recalled 2020 vote, but he trails Trump by 5 points in 2024 voter preferences:

• 2020 recalled vote (excluding nonvoters): Biden 53%, Trump 41%

• 2024 vote (including learners): Trump 48%, Biden 43%

Now, this is a weird result – Biden actually won in 2020 by 4.5 percentage points, not 12. It may reflect the fact that voters sometimes incorrectly recall their previous votes and there can be a bias toward the candidate who won the prior election (in this case, Biden). Nevertheless, this is a bad data point for White House. In the poll, only 83 percent of voters who say they chose Biden in 2020 plan to vote for him this year, whereas 97 percent who voted for Trump plan to vote for Trump again.

These are swing voters, in other words — people who are explicitly stating to pollsters that they are switching their vote from 2020. There are a substantial number of them.

*  *  *

Not everyone, including Fast Company contributor James Surowiecki, can accept reality:

Yes, 10% of Biden 2020 voters now say they’re going to vote for Trump in 2024, as compared to <1% of Trump 2020 voters who now say they're going to vote for Biden. They are switching their votes and not just undecided. https://t.co/13BB64wx7c

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 4, 2024

Of course, the 2024 election will ultimately come down to whether Trump voters can overcome “the Democrats fraudulent voting scheme,” according to the former president.

The upcoming election in November has got to be TOO BIG TO RIG.

It’s the only way to overcome the Democrats fraudulent voting scheme.

This is the only way for Trump in November to be elected. pic.twitter.com/87jtuVcuT4

— 🇺🇲 Silent Silas 🇺🇲 (@RagingKuJo1222) March 2, 2024

Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

How much more are you spending on food each month compared to two or three years ago?  In recent years, our leaders have been flooding the system with money at the same time that global supplies of food have been getting tighter and tighter.  On the other side of the world, hundreds of millions of people do not have enough food to eat on a regular basis and children are literally dropping dead from starvation.  Here in the United States, nobody is dropping dead from starvation, but demand at food banks is absolutely exploding as U.S. households struggle to deal with how oppressively expensive groceries have become.  Unfortunately, things are about to get even worse.

Right now, the largest fire in the entire history of Texas continues to rage out of control…

The biggest inferno in Texas history is being fueled by winds and high temperatures as it rages Sunday, threatening to incinerate more buildings, cattle and livelihoods across the Texas Panhandle while residents sift through ashes of what used to be homes.

Critical fire weather conditions were expected to continue Sunday in the area, with strengthening winds gusting to 50 mph and dry conditions combining to set the stage for rapid wildfire spread, the National Weather Service warned.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire has been burning for nearly a week and has torched more than 1 million acres in Texas alone, making it the largest fire on record in the state – and it is only 15% contained.

With each passing hour, even more cattle are being engulfed by the fires.

Nobody knows for sure how many have been killed so far.

Most news reports that I have seen say that it is “thousands”…

The largest wildfire in Texas history has devastated the state’s agriculture, blazing through more than 1 million acres of land in the Panhandle, killing thousands of livestock, destroying crops and gutting infrastructure.

The agriculture industry, a big driver of the state’s economy, was already facing pressures from prolonged and widespread drought that forced ranchers to manage smaller herds, contributing to a decrease in beef production nationally. The series of wildfires in the Panhandle this week is another blow as many ranchers tried to rebuild their herds and operations during the cooler months of the year.

What will the final death toll be?

According to Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, there are more than 10 million head of livestock in the region…

State Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told The New York Times that the Panhandle is home to roughly 85% of Texas’s cattle herds.

The region supports over 10 million head of livestock. Most of the cattle are kept in feedlots and dairy farms as farmers and ranchers attempt to shield their herds from the wildfires, Miller said.

“There are millions of cattle out there, with some towns comprising more cattle than people,” Miller told The Wall Street Journal.

Even before this disaster erupted, supplies of beef were really tight.

At this point, the size of the U.S. cattle herd is the smallest since 1951, and the size of the Canadian cattle herd is the smallest in 30 years…

Canada is the next nation to report a multi-decade low cattle herd.

At the beginning of the year, the USDA reported the lowest total U.S. head since 1951 at a little more than 87 million.

Now, Statistics Canada is reporting the Canadian cattle herd is at its lowest level in more than 30 years, totaling just 11 million cattle and calves on farms.

And even without the tragedy in Texas, we were already being warned that the U.S. cattle herd would get even smaller this year because we are looking at the “smallest beef calf crop since 1948”…

But that supply of feeder cattle will likely tighten during the rest of this year. The smallest beef calf crop since 1948, brought on by drought and high feed prices and the contraction of the beef cow herd, along with a significant decrease in replacement beef heifers, means that there won’t be as many cattle to put in feedlots to replace those going out.

Beef is now considered to be a “luxury meat”, and prices are only going to go higher throughout the remainder of 2024.

So if you enjoy beef, I would stock up now.

Of course it isn’t just beef that is going to become more expensive.

All over the western world, “green policies” are making things extremely challenging for farmers and ranchers.

During a recent appearance on Fox News, one industry insider warned that more U.S. farmers are going out of business “every day”…

While nationwide organizations like the FFA are going strong and statewide affairs like the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show and Iowa State Fair continue to draw exhibitors and guests alike, beneath the surface are troubling signs, two guests on “The Ingraham Angle” warned this week.

Globalist “green” policies as well as inflation and rising costs have led to thinner herds, and in some instances, foreclosure or shuttering of farms altogether, bringing with them a potential domestic food crisis, they said.

“Farmers are going out of business every day,” said John Boyd Jr., founder of the Black Farmers of America.

We have already seen farmers engage in wild protests all over Europe, and it is probably just a matter of time before we see similar protests here in the United States.

But even if government control freaks left our farmers alone, they would still have to deal with weather patterns that have gone completely nuts.

For example, this weekend an absolutely massive blizzard dumped up to 12 feet of snow on some parts of California, and wind gusts in some areas actually reached 190 miles per hour…

Hundreds of miles of California highways remained shut down Sunday as a powerful blizzard pounded parts of the Golden State and Mountain West with snow totals that could reach 12 feet amid howling winds with gusts that hit 190 mph − well above the 157 mph threshold for a Category 5 hurricane.

National Weather Service meteorologist William Churchill warned of “life-threatening concern” for residents near Lake Tahoe, calling the storm, now in its third day, an “extreme blizzard.” Areas of Nevada, Utah and Colorado were also affected.

“Moderate to heavy snow has persisted overnight across the northern Sierra Nevada,” the National Weather Service in Sacramento said in a social media post Sunday. “Wind gusts … are continuing to result in blizzard conditions.”

As I sit here, I am having a hard time even imagining what a blizzard with 190 mph winds would look like.

I cannot remember anything like this ever happening before.

But the truth is that weird storms like this will be the new normal.

Weather patterns all over the globe are breaking records, and that is making it really difficult for farmers and ranchers to do their jobs.

We have entered a time when a confluence of factors is creating a “perfect storm” for global food production, and global hunger has been steadily on the rise since 2015.

Sadly, the outlook for the years ahead is exceedingly bleak.  The amount of food that will be produced won’t even be close to what is needed to feed everyone on the planet, and so there will be a mad scramble for whatever is available.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.