Month: March 2024

Via SchiffGold.com,

It’s no surprise to readers of this site that metals are often worth more than fiat currency. Gold, silver, and other precious metals are known for their value. But sometimes fiat currency can’t even compete with zinc.

The US penny, which is primarily made of zinc, costs roughly three cents to produce and is only worth one cent according to the federal government. This is the opposite of what has happened historically. Generally, governments produce currency that is worth far more than the cost of producing it. Imagine printing a one hundred dollar bill which costs far less than a hundred dollars in materials and printing costs. The profit from this is called seigniorage. With pennies, the US government is practicing reverse seigniorage.

This loss of money from producing pennies is one of the arguments for abolishing the US penny. There are other arguments against the penny such as the claim that it’s worth so little compared to the typical American wage that it makes no sense to denominate prices in pennies, would anyone argue that the United States needs a coin worth half a penny?

In fact, the United States used to have a half-cent coin which was abolished in 1857 for being worth too little. A half-cent in 1857 would be worth approximately 18 cents today. That of course is more valuable than not only the penny but the nickel and dime as well.

Of course, there are arguments in favor of retaining the penny. Perhaps the penny is worthwhile as it supports the zinc mining industry and its American employees. Perhaps we should be suspicious of moves by the government to phase out the penny as it might be the first step towards a cashless economy. Or perhaps ditching the penny would cause businesses to round prices up, hurting consumers.

Arguably more interesting than the debate about whether the penny should exist, is considering the political and cultural implications of abolishing the penny.

What would it say if the US government scrapped the penny now? What would it say if it followed the past practice of abolishing the half-cent coin and scrapped the nickel and the dime as well?

It would be an admission by the government that its monetary policies and the Federal Reserve have so devalued currency, that the majority of coins created by the federal government are worth so little they might as well not exist!

The rampant inflation since the start of the Biden inflation is so extreme that it’s impossible to ignore the toll it has inflicted on the American people. But many years when inflation is lower, it’s harder to notice. Coins are part of American culture from slot machines dishing out coins to elementary school students learning to add and subtract with pennies, nickels, and quarters.

When stores stop accepting coins, when banks stop stocking coin rolls, or when the federal government throws in the towel of pennies, will more Americans realize that the rest of fiat currency is following the same path of constant devaluation? People would only have to look through their spare change, their couches, and their pockets to get a visceral reminder of the reality of inflation.

Customers who purchase Tesla’s long-awaited Cybertruck are bound by a buyer’s agreement that they cannot sell the futuristic vehicle in the first year – or risk a severe penalty. 

The contract states, “You agree that you will not sell or otherwise attempt to sell the Vehicle within the first year following your Vehicle’s delivery date,” and further specifies that violating this agreement allows Tesla to pursue “injunctive” legal action or seek “liquidated damages from you in the amount of $50,000.” Moreover, should the resale value exceed $50,000, Tesla reserves the right to claim the entirety of those proceeds as well.

Currently, no Cybertruck owner has yet to own the vehicle long enough to bypass the buyer’s agreement. However, one owner has managed to sell their truck to a dealership, and it was listed on the Manheim car auction website on Wednesday (to note: this is the first Cybertruck to hit Manheim). 

X user Matthew Donegan-Ryan hosted a live feed of the auction this afternoon. He said, “Whoever sold this [Cybertruck] to a dealer is likely to receive some negative feedback from Tesla – or possibly get sued.”

The dealer auction only lasted a few minutes. It opened at $200k, more than double the price of the Cyberbeast version of the truck listed on Tesla’s website for $96,390. 

The winning bid was Porsche South Orlando for $244,500. 

Watch here: 

First Cybertruck Dealer Auction LIVE at Manheim https://t.co/Aqb09mZMFZ

— Matthew Donegan-Ryan (@MatthewDR) February 28, 2024

After the auction, Donegan-Ryan said, “I imagine Tesla is going to sue the owner.” 

Authored by Thomas Brooke via ReMix News,

The controversial plans were recommended by educational experts and included in a draft new education program for the city…

The local government in the German capital of Berlin has ruled out introducing “sex rooms” for toddlers in state-run daycare facilities despite the recommendation having been included in an unpublished draft of the city’s new educational program.

The U-turn was announced by State Secretary for Youth and Family Falko Liecke in a statement to Junge Freiheit on Monday.

“In Berlin daycare centers, there will expressly be no separate rooms for educational sexual explorations for children among themselves, nor any guided or free other sexual-educational concepts,” he told the news outlet.

“We are aware that the recommendations for action given to us from the scientific field represent a different perspective. However, we expressly do not share these views and will not include these recommendations in the Berlin educational program for daycare centers and daycare,” Liecke added.

In the draft of the new program, educational experts advising the local government had called for the establishment of sex rooms for three to six-year-olds to experience “feelings of pleasure” in privacy.

Several other states, including daycare centers in North Rhine-Westphalia, have already adopted the policy with at least two nurseries in the state entertaining the idea of safe spaces where young children can retreat to masturbate, or as one daycare center in Kerpen put it, “discover and satisfy themselves physically.”

The idea was to allow children to learn that “masturbation is something normal” and that sexual self-gratification is “of great importance.”

However, Berlin will not follow suit, at least for now, Liecke insisted.

“This concept was passed on at the specialist levels as part of a work process that had not yet been completed and has now been withdrawn.

“This does not correspond at all to our ideas about a child-friendly educational mandate,” he added.

Berlin’s Department for Education insisted it had not been informed about the publication of the draft program with the controversial plans included.

However, Junge Freiheit noted that the paper bears the department’s logo.

Read more here…

The world’s largest maker of bulk chocolate is planning to cut about 19% of its workforce, totaling 2,500 jobs, as part of a cost-reduction strategy in response to a worsening cocoa shortage in West Africa, which has driven prices to record highs. 

“It’s about reducing complexity and eliminating duplication and inefficient structures,” Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut CEO Peter Feld said in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt on Monday. 

Feld continued: “It’s about reducing complexity and eliminating duplication and inefficient structures.” 

Handelsblatt said the job cuts will be implemented across Barry Callebaut’s operations worldwide over the coming 18 months. 

The move signifies Barry Callebaut is likely preparing for future demand woes as cocoa output in top grower Ivory Coast collapses, sending prices in London to record highs. 

According to trader Ecom Agroindustrial Corp., Ivory Coast’s cocoa output is expected to plunge by as much as 20% this growing season. 

In a report viewed by Bloomberg, Ecom Agroindustrial forecasts 1.75 million tons of cocoa from the region in the season that ends in September. Based on International Cocoa Organization data, that would be the lowest total in eight years. 

Cocoa’s price surge has been absolutely stunning to spectate over the last 15 months. Futures have soared to record highs, overtaking the highs last seen in 1977. Citigroup has warned prices could hit as high as $10,000 a ton. 

And the chocolate maker US Hershey Company warned in recent weeks: “Historic cocoa prices are expected to limit earnings growth this year.”

It’s only a matter of time before consumers are battered by candy inflation. Who will Biden’s PR team blame for soaring candy prices? 

Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Dr. Clarice Saba, an otorhinolaryngologist in Brazil, developed sudden hearing loss in her right ear a week after receiving her first dose of the COVID-19 adenovirus vaccine.

“I did all the exams and could not find any other reason other than because of the shots,” she told The Epoch Times.

Several studies have linked sudden hearing loss to the vaccine, with the most comprehensive study coming from France. Four hundred cases of post-vaccine sudden sensorineural hearing loss were evaluated, with 345 medical reports assessed by two audiology experts for potential causality.

“[Sudden sensorineural hearing loss] after COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are very rare adverse events,” the French authors concluded, adding that these rare adverse events “do not call into question the benefits of mRNA vaccines but deserve to be known given the potentially disabling impact of sudden deafness.”

Accumulated Damage

While the cause of hearing loss is unknown, it is usually assumed to be induced by damage to the cochlear, a fluid-filled, spiral cavity in the inner ear that helps process sounds into electrical signals in the brain.

This assumption is based on the fact that cochlear implants, which mimic the work of a natural cochlear, are highly successful in treating hearing loss.

The cochlear is a highly sensitive part of the ear and can accumulate damage from aging, loud sounds, viral infections, and certain chemicals and medications.

These exposures may restrict oxygen to the blood supply of the cochlear, reduce blood flow, increase oxidative damage, or form lesions in the cochlear tissue.

It is not known how COVID-19 and its vaccines may cause hearing loss. Some studies have proposed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may replicate in the ears and cause damage to the blood vessels and nerves there. Case studies evaluating hearing problems in COVID-19 patients found inflammation of the inner ears, inflamed cochlear and vestibular nerves, and bleeding of the ears.

The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines induce the body to make COVID-19 spike proteins. Research in animal cochlear cells has shown that the spike protein damages the cochlear. Spike proteins also share structural similarities with over 28 human proteins. Therefore, some studies on hearing loss speculate that proteins in the ears, including within the cochlea, may be structurally similar to spike proteins, leading to autoimmune damage when the body mounts its immune response.

The spike proteins in the COVID-19 vaccines are also prone to causing microclotting, where the blood becomes more viscous and “sludge-like,” according to internal medicine physician Dr. Jordan Vaughn. Viscous blood moves more slowly, reducing oxygen exchange in the blood and leading to stress on the nerves and cells in the ears.

Tinnitus and Hearing Loss

Since the pandemic, Dr. Saba has seen a rise in hearing loss and tinnitus.

Tinnitus is a much more common and acknowledged adverse effect of the COVID-19 vaccine than some. A well-known case of vaccine-related tinnitus was reported by vaccinologist Dr. Gregory Poland, who developed the condition after getting his second Pfizer dose.

Tinnitus is also strongly linked to hearing loss.

While most patients with tinnitus may not realize signs of hearing loss, around 80 percent to 90 percent have the issue.

Dr. Saba said that many patients with tinnitus may get a normal hearing result when they undergo an automatic hearing test. However, tests for hearing at high frequencies or audiometric hearing tests would reveal that the person has some degree of hearing loss. Studies have shown that the cochlear is also involved in chronic tinnitus.

Due to the link between tinnitus and hearing loss, she sometimes prescribes the same treatment for both conditions.

Treatments for Hearing Loss and Tinnitus

There is currently no known cure for hearing loss or tinnitus. Internal medicine physician Dr. Keith Berkowitz said that tinnitus arising post-vaccination has been challenging to treat. This observation has been echoed by other clinicians, including Dr. Pierre Kory and nurse practitioner Scott Marsland of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC).

Still, some patients have reported benefits or hearing recovery in response to certain therapeutics.

“Sudden hearing loss is an emergency,” Dr. Saba said. Treatment must be deployed as early as possible to recover hearing.

Dr. Saba’s treatment for sudden hearing loss involves a combination of oral vasodilator drugs and injected steroids.

Vasodilators increase blood flow to the cochlear and are believed to help with its function, though studies have shown conflicting evidence on the benefits of vasodilators in hearing loss.

Steroids reduce inflammation and swelling of the inner ears and have been shown to be helpful if prescribed immediately following hearing loss or the onset of tinnitus.

Dr. Joseph Varon, a pulmonary critical care specialist and professor of medicine at the University of Houston, said that many of his patients found success with tinnitus by wearing red-light therapy earplugs.

Mr. Marsland said that he has been trialing transcranial brain stimulation. This treatment, however, is inaccessible for many patients with insurance, as the stimulation device is currently only approved for depression.

He became interested in the device when one of his patients, with both hearing loss and depression, saw an improvement in hearing while receiving mental health treatment.

Mr. Marsland has also seen mild tinnitus improvement in patients who have been dripping two drops of glutathione and one drop of caster oil in their ears.

Animal studies have shown glutathione to be protective against hearing loss.

China has the most diplomatic posts abroad out of any country in the world, according to the Lowy Institute’s 2024 Global Diplomacy Index, published Sunday. Close on its heels comes rival global superpower, the United States.

As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, China and the U.S. are the world heavyweights when it comes to diplomatic efforts, with a total of 274 and 271 posts abroad, respectively. China overtook the U.S. as the world’s leading diplomatic nation back in 2019 and has maintained the position ever since.

You will find more infographics at Statista

According to the institute, Beijing has a higher number of diplomatic postings than Washington in Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, as well as Central Asia, following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is ahead diplomatically in Europe, North and Central America and South Asia. Both nations are now matched for posts in the Middle East and South America.

A number of so-called middle powers are also strengthening their networks though. Türkiye rose to rank three this year (up from rank 5 in 2023), while India is now in position 11 (up from rank 12 in 2023). These two countries have the fastest growing networks of the Index. Of India’s 11 new posts since 2021, eight of them have been in Africa.

The 2024 Global Diplomacy Index reveals the diplomatic networks of 66 countries and territories in Asia, the Group of 20 (G20) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Authored by Pepe Escobar,

February 24, 2022 was the day that changed 21st century geopolitics forever…

Exactly two years ago this Saturday, on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced the launching – and described the objectives – of a Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine. That was the inevitable follow-up to what happened three days before, on February 21 – exactly 8 years after Maidan 2014 in Kiev – when Putin officially recognized the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

During this – pregnant with meaning – short space of only three days, everyone expected that the Russian Armed Forces would intervene, militarily, to end the massive bombing and shelling that had been going on for three weeks across the frontline – which even forced the Kremlin to evacuate populations at risk to Russia. Russian intel had conclusive proof that the NATO-backed Kiev forces were ready to execute an ethnic cleansing of Russophone Donbass.

February 24, 2022 was the day that changed 21st century geopolitics forever, in several complex ways. Above all, it marked the beginning of a vicious, all-out confrontation, “military-technical” as the Russians call it, between the Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder, its easily pliable NATOstan vassals, and Russia – with Ukraine as the battleground.

There is hardly any question Putin had calculated, before and during these three fateful days, that his decisions would unleash the unbounded fury of the collective West – complete with a tsunami of sanctions.

Ay, there’s the rub; it’s all about Sovereignty. And a true sovereign power simply cannot live under permanent threats. It’s even feasible that Putin had wanted (italics mine) Russia to get sanctioned to death. After all, Russia is so naturally wealthy that without a serious challenge from abroad, the temptation is enormous to live off its rents while importing what it could easily produce.

Exceptionalists always gloated that Russia is “a gas station with nuclear weapons”. That’s ridiculous. Oil and gas, in Russia, account for roughly 15% of GDP, 30% of the government budget, and 45% of exports. Oil and gas add power to the Russian economy – not a drag. Putin shaking Russia’s complacency generated a gas station producing everything it needs, complete with unrivalled nuclear and hypersonic weapons. Beat that.

Ukraine has “never been less than a nation”

Xavier Moreau is a French politico-strategic analyst based in Russia for 24 years now. Graduated from the prestigious Saint-Cyr military academy and with a Sorbonne diploma, he hosts two shows on RT France.

His latest book, Ukraine: Pourquoi La Russie a Gagné (“Ukraine: Why Russia has Won”), just out, is an essential manual for European audiences on the realities of the war, not those childish fantasies concocted across the NATOstan sphere by instant “experts” with less than zero combined arms military experience.

Moreau makes it very clear what every impartial, realist analyst was aware of from the beginning: the devastating Russian military superiority, which would condition the endgame. The problem, still, is how this endgame – “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine, as established by Moscow – will be achieved.

What is already clear is that “demilitarization”, of Ukraine and NATO, is a howling success that no new wunderwaffen – like F-16s – will be able to change.

Moreau perfectly understands how Ukraine, nearly 10 years after Maidan, is not a nation; “and has never been less than a nation”. It’s a territory where populations that everything separates are jumbled up. Moreover, it has been a – “grotesque” – failed state ever since its independence. Moreau spends several highly entertaining pages going through the corruption grotesquerie in Ukraine, under a regime that “gets its ideological references simultaneously via admirers of Stepan Bandera and Lady Gaga.”

None of the above, of course, is reported by oligarch-controlled European mainstream media.

Watch out for Deng Xiao Putin

The book offers an extremely helpful analysis of those deranged Polish elites who bear “a heavy responsibility in the strategic catastrophe that awaits Washington and Brussels in Ukraine”. The Poles actually believed that Russia would crumble from the inside, complete with a color revolution against Putin. That barely qualifies as Brzezinski on crack.

Moreau shows how 2022 was the year when NATOstan, especially the Anglo-Saxons – historically racist Russophobes –   were self-convinced thar Russia would fold because it is a “poor power”. Obviously, none of these luminaries understood how Putin strengthened the Russian economy very much like Deng Xiaoping on the Chinese economy. This “self-intoxication”, as Moreau qualifies it, did wonders for the Kremlin.

By now it’s clear even for the deaf, dumb, and blind that the destruction of the European economy has been a massive tactic, historic victory for the Hegemon – as much as the blitzkrieg against the Russian economy has been an abysmal failure.

All of the above brings us to the meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers this week in Rio. That was not exactly a breakthrough. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made it very clear that the collective West at the G20 tried by all means to “Ukrainize” the agenda – with less than zero success. They were outnumbered and counterpunched by BRICS and Global South members.

At his press conference, Lavrov could not be more stark on the prospects of the war of the collective West against Russia. These are the highlights:

• Western countries categorically do not want serious dialogue on Ukraine.

• There were no serious proposals from the United States to begin contacts with the Russian Federation on strategic stability; trust cannot be restored now while Russia is declared an enemy.

• There were no contacts on the sidelines of the G20 with either Blinken or the British Foreign Secretary.

• The Russian Federation will respond to new Western sanctions with practical actions that relate to the self-sufficient development of the Russian economy.

• If Europe tries to restore ties with the Russian Federation, making it dependent on their whims, then such contacts are not needed.

In a nutshell – diplomatically: you are irrelevant, and we don’t care.

That was complementing Lavrov’s intervention during the summit, which defined once again a clear, auspicious path towards multipolarity. Here are the highlights:

• The forming of a fair multipolar world order without a definite center and periphery has become much more intensive in the past few years. Asian, African and Latin American countries are becoming important parts of the global economy. Not infrequently, they are setting the tone and the dynamics.

• Many Western economies, especially in Europe, are actually stagnating against this background. These statistics are from Western-supervised institutions – the IMF, the World Bank and the OECD.

• These institutions are becoming relics from the past. Western domination is already affecting their ability to meet the requirements of the times. Meanwhile, it is perfectly obvious today that the current problems of humanity can only be resolved through a concerted effort and with due consideration for the interests of the Global South and, generally, all global economic realities.

• Institutions like the IMF, the World Bank, the EBRD, and the EIB are prioritizing Kiev’s military and other needs. The West allocated over $250 billion to tide over its underling thus creating funding shortages in other parts of the world. Ukraine is taking up the bulk of the funds, relegating Africa and other regions of the Global South to rationing.

• Countries that have discredited themselves by using unlawful acts ranging from unilateral sanctions and the seizure of sovereign assets and private property to blockades, embargoes, and discrimination against economic operators based on nationality to settle scores with their geopolitical opponents cannot be considered guarantors of financial stability.

• Without a doubt, new institutions that focus on consensus and mutual benefit are needed to democratize the global economic governance system. Today, we are seeing positive dynamics for strengthening various alliances, including BRICS, the SCO, ASEAN, the African Union, LAS, CELAC, and the EAEU.

• This year, Russia chairs BRICS, which saw several new members join it. We will do our best to reinforce the potential of this association and its ties with the G20.

• Considering that 6 out of 15 UN Security Council members represent the Western bloc, we will support the expansion of this body solely through the accession of countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Call it the real state of things, geopolitically, two years after the start of the SMO.

Authored by Robert Chernin via RealClear Wire,

The revelation that the U.S. intelligence community, under the Obama administration, sought the assistance of the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance to surveil Donald Trump’s associates before the 2016 election is a chilling reminder of the lengths to which the Deep State will go to protect its interests and challenge its adversaries. (The Five Eyes countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.) This bombshell, reported by a team of independent journalists, exposes a dark chapter in American political history, where foreign intelligence services were reportedly mobilized against a presidential candidate.

The alleged operation against Trump and his associates, which predates the official start of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation, is a stark example of political weaponization of intelligence. The involvement of foreign allies in surveilling American citizens under the pretext of national security raises serious questions about the integrity of our democratic processes and the autonomy of our nation’s intelligence operations.

The narrative that has been pushed for years, that the investigation into Trump’s campaign began with an Australian tip about a boastful Trump aide, now appears to be a cover for a more extensive and coordinated effort to undermine Trump. If reports are accurate, British intelligence began targeting Trump on behalf of American intelligence agencies as early as 2015, long before the official narrative claims.

The implications of this are profound. It suggests an unprecedented level of collusion between U.S. intelligence agencies and their foreign counterparts to influence the outcome of an American presidential election. The use of foreign intelligence to circumvent American laws and surveillance limitations represents a grave threat to our nation’s sovereignty and the principles of democracy.

The fact that this operation was reportedly initiated at the behest of high-ranking officials within the Obama administration, including CIA Director John Brennan, only adds to the severity of the situation. Brennan’s alleged identification of Trump associates for surveillance by the Five Eyes alliance, and the directive to “bump” or make contact with them, illustrates a deliberate strategy to entangle the Trump campaign in a web of suspicion and intrigue.

Moreover, the reported involvement of foreign intelligence in crafting the Russia collusion narrative not only delegitimizes the subsequent investigation but also highlights the willingness of certain elements within the U.S. government to exploit international partnerships for domestic political gain. This revelation demands a thorough and transparent examination to ensure that such abuses of power are brought to light and severely punished to discourage them from being repeated.

As more details emerge, it is imperative that the American public demand accountability from those who orchestrated and executed this operation. The sanctity of our electoral process and the trust in our intelligence agencies are at stake. We must not allow the politicization of intelligence to go unchecked, nor can we tolerate the involvement of foreign powers in our democratic processes.

Robert Chernin is chairman of the American Center for Education and Knowledge. He is a longtime entrepreneur, business leader, fundraiser, and political confidant, and has consulted on federal and statewide campaigns at the gubernatorial, congressional, senatorial, and presidential levels.

While it has gone largely underreported in western media, in the past week China launched a war against both quant funds and High Frequency Traders, claiming they were responsible for the market crash observed at the start of February. But maybe Beijing does have a point, after all long-term readers will recall that one of our first crusades was against none other than US HFT funds, which first we and then others (Michael Lewis) exposed for manipulating markets.

So what exactly happened, and what caused China’s quant quake?

As SocGen strategist Puneet Singh explains, China did indeed go through a quant quake but this hiccup was mostly concentrated in the small- and mid-cap space. Indeed, while the CSI 1000 the CSI 2000 were down ~30% and ~34% respectively, the large cap heavy CSI 300 only lost 7.3%. The chart below left below shows that small- and mid-caps exacerbated price movements in Chinese equities.

Looking at factor correlations (chart above right) clearly underscores the moves in Reversals and Risk factors (which includes vol and size). SocGen’s charts plot 5d moving average rank correlations between daily factor performance. As Singh explains, “stable correlations are inevitably required for quant strategies to work, but changes like what we saw destabilised quant models, and added to the underperformance.”

Factor performance for reversals and size in the small-mid and large cap spaces underscored the thesis: we saw small caps severely underperform large caps over the beginning of the year, with the reversal factor getting affected as well.

Just as was observed in the US during the August 2007 quant quake, moves of the magnitude discussed here inevitably result in spikes in volatility. Instead of using a close-to-close estimator, Socgen uses its preferred proprietary high frequency OHLC estimator (chart below left). This clearly shows how sudden the volatility pickup was in the small- and mid-cap space. This volatility spike becomes even more stark when compared to the large cap benchmarks.

Rising risks also lead to limits being triggered and risk-based unwinding of positions. In a market which is then working on a fear motive rather than profit, liquidity dries up leading to larger jumps in prices even from small trades. This is what the bank’s proxy illiquidity indicator captures (chart right below). Once again, the spike in illiquidity in the small- and mid-cap space, versus the relative calm in the large cap space potentially added to this quant quake.

As Singh concludes, even as this illiquidity measure remains elevated in the CSI1000, it appears to have ticked up over the last couple of days in the CSI2000, suggesting lingering risks and perhaps more pain to come.

Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has described reports that he was confronted by congressional leaders during an “intense” meeting over government funding and aid to Ukraine at the White House on Feb. 27 as “pretty accurate.”

Speaking to Fox News on Feb. 28, Mr. Johnson was asked by anchor Sean Hannity if there was any truth to the reports. The Republican lawmaker explained that he was definitely at odds with congressional leaders over the crisis at the southern border, among other issues, during the meeting.

“Well, their reports are pretty accurate. They said that I was on an island by myself, and it was me versus everyone else in the room,” Mr. Johnson said.

“What the liberal media doesn’t understand Sean, is that if you’re here in Washington and you’re described as a leader that’s on an island by themselves, it probably means you’re standing with the American people,” he continued.

“And that’s what I did yesterday, I reminded the president, and all involved, that the number one issue in America is that open border. The catastrophe that we have, that President Biden himself designed, that he caused and created and I told him, just as I have many times before, he must address it with executive authority. We can’t wait any longer,” Mr. Johnson added.

Mr. Johnson was joined by congressional leaders including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) during the Feb. 27 meeting with President Biden and Vice President Harris at the White House, ahead of a looming government shut down.

Officials also discussed potential funding for Ukraine during the meeting, with the White House having repeatedly urged Congress in recent weeks to pass a $95 billion foreign aid package, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, and around $9.2 billion for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

While the package was approved by the Senate earlier this month, it has been stalled in the House by Republicans who are at odds over its lack of U.S. border security provisions and the additional funding for Ukraine.

Lawmakers who attended the White House meeting, including Mr. Jeffries, later described it as “intense” while Mr. Schumer told reporters that he and all other attendees, had repeatedly pressed Mr. Johnson on Ukraine aid.

“The meeting on Ukraine was one of the most intense I’ve ever encountered in my many meetings in the Oval Office,” Mr. Schumer told reporters.

Ultimately, lawmakers were able to strike a deal in principle and avert a partial government shutdown set to take place at the end of this week, although another continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels will need to be passed under the deal announced on Feb. 28.

Parts of the government would be funded through March 8 while the remaining would be funded through March 22, according to congressional leaders. A final text is widely expected to be available by the weekend.

Congress Must ‘Break the Cycle’

Meanwhile, a deal on extra aid to Ukraine and other nations remains at a stalemate.

Mr. Johnson told Fox News it is essential that Congress “breaks the cycle” in the way Washington works and “reform budgeting and spending” going forward.

The House Speaker also stressed that Republicans will not give up the fight to ensure President Biden secures America’s borders.

“The president has the executive authority to fix it right now, I told him at the White House yesterday one-on-one and in the group, I told him ‘Mr President, if you just issue an executive order that reinstates the Remain in Mexico [policy] … the agents, your own border patrol agents, told us it would reduce the flow by 70 percent, almost overnight,’” Mr. Johnson said.

The House Speaker stressed the border crisis is a key issue for lawmakers, citing a rise in violent crime and murders, including the recent killing of university nursing student Laken Riley, allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra.

“There’s no question about it, this is a very dangerous time … America can’t stand for this any longer,” Mr. Johnson said.

Jackson Richman contributed to this report.