Month: November 2024

Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times,

A U.S. District Court Judge has permanently enjoined the state of Illinois from enforcing its “Protecting Illinois Communities Act” (PICA), a ban on certain types of semiautomatic rifles and so-called “high capacity” magazines.

In a 168-page ruling, Judge Stephen McGlynn of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois wrote that PICA was “unconstitutional under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution as applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment.” The order is stayed for 30 days.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office said it plans to appeal the ruling.

“Although this decision is disappointing, the Protect Illinois Communities Act remains in effect for the next 30 days. The law is an important part of the state’s comprehensive efforts to make communities safe from gun violence,” Raoul’s spokesperson Annie Thompson wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.

“We will continue to defend the law’s constitutionality, as we have in courtrooms throughout Illinois, and plan to appeal the court’s decision.”

Gun rights advocates hailed the ruling as a victory in their fight to preserve the Second Amendment.

“We are gratified that the Court properly found that these bans violate the constitutionally protected rights of Illinois residents and visitors,” Brandon Combs, president of the Firearms Policy Coalition, wrote in a post on X.

“As we clearly showed at trial, PICA fails even under the Seventh Circuit’s misguided test that conflicts with binding Supreme Court precedent.”

The ruling was issued for four lawsuits that had been combined because they covered the same issues. Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation, and plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits, issued statements celebrating the injunction as a step forward.

“We are thrilled with the victory and for the citizens of Illinois. We the People deserve the right to decide how best to protect ourselves and our loved ones,” Erich Pratt, GOA’s senior vice president, said in a statement on the group’s website.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed PICA into law in January 2023. It outlawed AK-47 and AR-15 style rifles, as well as rifle magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and pistol magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

The only exceptions to the ban were for “trained professionals,” such as law enforcement officers, and people who owned such guns before January 2024. The law also expanded licensing and permitting regulations.

McGlynn ruled that the Illinois law did not meet the standard set under the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. In that case, the high court ruled that gun laws must be in accordance with the plain text of the Constitution and comparable to the law in effect at the time the Second Amendment was ratified.

While the state referenced firearms regulations found in English Common law in its argument, McGlynn said it failed to meet the Bruen standard.

“Sadly, there are those who seek to usher in a sort of post-Constitution era where the citizens’ individual rights are only as important as they are convenient to a ruling class,” McGlynn’s decision states.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives a COVID-19 update in the Blue Room at the Thompson Center in Chicago on Feb. 9, 2022. Tyler LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP

“Seeking ancient laws that may partner well with a present-day infringement on a right proclaimed in the Bill of Rights without reading it in conjunction with the aforementioned history is nonsense.”

The plaintiffs hope the U.S. Supreme Court will agree to hear a similar case from Maryland and settle the question of so-called “assault weapons.”

Plaintiffs in that case, Snope v. Brown, filed a petition for certiorari—a request to be heard—with the high court on Aug. 21. The plaintiffs claim that, like PICA, Maryland’s law unconstitutionally prohibits firearms that are “in common use for lawful purposes.”

In 2013, Maryland adopted the Firearms Safety Act, which bans 45 types of guns, including AR15 and AK47-style rifles and various shotguns “or their copies, regardless of which company produced and manufactured that assault weapon.”

The plaintiffs originally sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Dec. 1, 2020.

Snope v. Brown is the third iteration of the 2020 lawsuit. It is commonly known by its most recent title, Bianchi v. Brown.

“Certiorari is required in this case,” said Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation at the time the petition to the Supreme Court was filed, “to correct an increasingly widespread misunderstanding of the Supreme Court precedent, and the Second Amendment, itself. The specific type of firearm in question is commonly owned across the country, placing it well within the scope of the Second Amendment.”

The Saturday overnight hours witnessed another Israeli attack on Syria, which marks at least the third such air raid this week, as part of a stepped up campaign to wage war on the ‘pro-Iran’ axis which includes Damascus and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The new strikes occurred in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib, wounding several soldiers and resulting in destruction of military infrastructure. “At around 00:45 after midnight, the Israeli army launched an air aggression from the direction of southeast Aleppo, targeting a number of sites in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib,” SANA news agency cited a military source as saying.

The UK-based anti-Assad opposition outlet Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the strikes had targeted military installations where units and members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Tehran-backed factions are based.

Israel has been attacking Syria with increased frequency over the last several weeks in connection with the Hezbollah war in south Lebanon, despite widespread acknowledgement that Syria is staying out of events related to the Gaza war.

Many have asked why Assad has stayed relatively quiet in the context of the Gaza war, Hezbollah war, and the Israeli standoff with Iran. One anti-Assad pundit whose name is Hassan Hassan writes the following:

The regime has used the war to restore an older perception, established first by former President Hafez al-Assad, that it alone has the ability to keep Syria’s border with Israel quiet and secure. Rather than emerging as a new front for the Iranian axis, as many have long feared since the country descended into conflict in 2011, Syria is attempting to settle into its old role, while taking steps to gradually return to the regional fold through significant diplomatic and political overtures aimed at once more normalizing its position.

He continues by explaining that Syria is willing do endure smaller hits on infrastructure, without responding, if this ensures Assad government survival:

For Syria, the risks could be substantial and catastrophic if Israel escalates its attacks to include targeting Syria’s top leadership, rather than focusing solely on logistical hubs tied to Iran’s military buildup in the country. The rebels in the north could also take advantage in such a scenario, attacking regime areas after years of near quiet on the front lines, apart from frequent strikes in rebel areas.

It remains that the biggest al-Qaeda stronghold in the world today is centered in Idlib province in northwest Syria, on the border with Turkey – which has played a major part along with other NATO powers like the United States in propping up the hardline Islamic stronghold.

These latest Syria strikes happened alongside other offensives elsewhere in the region. The National reports Saturday that “Dozens were killed in separate overnight air strikes launched by the Israeli military on Lebanon, Syria and Gaza as it intensifies its attack on what it claims to be Hamas and Hezbollah positions.”

“Israel launched 14 air strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs late on Friday, shortly after Israel’s military warned residents to leave parts of the area,” the report added, noting that there were an unknown number of casualties.

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that the island received its first batch of US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which it first ordered in 2020.

The HIMARS is a truck-mounted mobile rocket launch system that can fire a variety of munitions, including the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which Taiwan has purchased. The ATACMS have a range of about 186 miles.

The US approval of a sale to Taiwan for HIMARS and ATACMS in 2020 was significant since it marked the first time the US offered weapons that could reach mainland China. The sale also included AGM-84H cruise missiles, which have a range of 168 miles and can be fired by Taiwan’s F-16 fighter jets.

Taiwan ordered 11 of the HIMARS systems in 2020 and ordered another 18 in 2022. The island’s Defense Ministry said the first 11 have arrived, and Taiwanese troops are reportedly undergoing training to use them. 

The US has deployed troops to Taiwan for training in recent years, including on the outer islands of Kinmen, which are just a few miles off mainland China’s coast.

Taiwanese troops were recently in the US training on HIMARS at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that at least 17 soldiers from Taiwan completed training on the HIMARS in August, and Fort Sill’s Facebook page shared a photo of the Taiwanese troops.

The US has continued to increase military support for Taiwan despite constant warnings from China that the island is the “first red line” in US-China relations that must not be crossed.

The US has always sold weapons to Taiwan since Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 as part of a normalization deal with China. Last year, the US started providing US-funded military aid, marking a significant escalation in US support for the island.

In September, President Biden approved a $567 million arms package for Taiwan using the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows him to ship weapons straight from US military stockpiles.

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

To reverse the damage wrought by financialization, we must reverse financialization.

The post-election hope that festering problems can now be solved doesn’t seem to extend to unaffordable housing and homeless encampments, two blights on the socio-economic landscape. Perhaps this reflects a sense that these blights aren’t readily fixable, or an unsure grasp of the causes of these blights.

Let’s focus on the primary cause that led to unaffordable housing and homeless encampments. There are many contributing factors, of course, such as the NIMBY (not in my back yard) restrictions on new housing, the soaring cost of construction permits, materials and labor, and so on, but all these factors are subservient to one: financialization, which enriched the wealthy and incentivized them to pursue housing not as shelter for their family but as a low-risk investment that generates income and capital appreciation.

As the wealth to be parked in assets exploded to unprecedented heights, those seeking housing as an investment outbid those seeking housing as shelter. As demand generated by financialized investment pushed housing valuations higher, the wealthy gained more capital to be sunk into housing, creating a virtuous cycle of increasing demand and higher valuations.

Those without substantial portfolios of stocks and housing could no longer afford a home as shelter.

Lest you think this is an exaggeration, consider An estimated 26% of Fort Worth’s single family homes are owned by companies, city says. That is a non-trivial percentage of homes owned by corporations, and this doesn’t include homes owned as rentals / short-term rentals (AirBNBs) by wealthy individuals, households, trusts, etc. So up to one-third of all single family homes being owned by investors of one type or another in desirable regions is not unreasonable.

Note that this is 26% of single-family homes, not rental apartments. For context, the U.S. has about 145 million housing units, 15 million of which are unoccupied (second homes, available for rent, rarely occupied, left empty, etc.) 82 million single-family homes of which 68 million are owner-occupied, and about 45 million rental households.

The flood of capital seeking housing created a wave of gentrification that wiped out remaining pockets of low-cost housing. Cheap housing was available in undesirable neighborhoods until financialization created trillions of dollars seeking assets that could be snapped up, renovated and sold or rented at a profit.

Once small landlords learned that studio apartments in the newly renovated flophouse were now renting for $2,000 a month, they naturally raised their rents to “market.” Gentrification–driven by financialization–pushed rents higher, too.

With all the cheap rental housing gentrified, those on the margins ended up on the street. This includes addicts and those suffering from mental illness, but it also includes people who fell on hard times who were now priced out of any shelter other than an underpass or sidewalk.

Let’s tell the story in charts. Here is the Case-Shiller housing index, which shows the 2007-8 housing bubble as a modest blip compared to the current financialization-driven Everything Bubble which has pushed housing valuations out of reach in desirable (i.e. places with plenty of jobs) regions.

Measured by per capita–how many housing units are there per person in the U.S.–there is no housing shortage, as the number of housing units per capita has never been higher.

Wealth and income equality in the U.S. tracks the global asymmetries shown here: the top 10% collect half the income and own 76% of the wealth / assets. (In the U.S., the top 10% own 90% of all stocks.)

Non-bank financial assets are a proxy for financialization, which rose by roughly $50 trillion since the 2009 financial crisis.

The wealth held by the top 0.01% soared by $7 trillion just since 2019, topping $20 trillion. If this elite’s wealth had only risen with inflation. it would be around $4.3 trillion rather than $20 trillion. The increase far above inflation was generated by financialization.

All the monetary and fiscal stimulus, the super-low interest rates and massive appreciation of assets didn’t do much for America’s bottom 50% of households, who saw their share of the nation’s financial wealth fall from 3% in 2010 to 2.6% as tens of trillions of wealth were added to the swollen portfolios of the top 10%–wealth that sought a safe haven in housing.

Financialization has widened the gap between the top 10% and the bottom 50% to the kind of extreme asymmetry that typically presages social upheaval.

To reverse the damage wrought by financialization, we must reverse financialization. Doing anything other than this will have little effect, for no matter how many new homes are built, the wealth of the top 10% will have increased such that they will easily outbid mere wage-earners for the new housing. Building more homes for the wealthy to snap up with their ballooning wealth won’t address the root cause of unaffordable housing and homeless encampments: financialization.

Gordon Long and I discuss The Slow Death of the Single Family Home (30:57 min) in this new podcast.

To further the discussion of the opportunities and limits of state power, I’m making my 2018 book Pathfinding Our Destiny free (Kindle ebook) from November 7 to November 9. Yes, the book is now in the “free box” out on the sidewalk until Saturday, 11/9/24.

I was invited to discuss the upsides and downsides of central planning on two recent podcasts:

Charles Hugh Smith on the China Real Estate Bubble (29:28 min) Host Richard B. of the Financial Repression Authority

Charles Hugh Smith on The failure(s) of central planning across the globe (42:56 min) Host Rob S. of the Contrarian Capitalist (Substack)

*  *  *

Become a $3/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

Subscribe to my Substack for free

Liberal elites in Brussels talked a big game when former President Trump was out of office, yet as soon as he won the historic election earlier this week, these elites are now, quite literally, kissing his ass to avoid a trade war. 

At a press conference on Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU still purchases significant amounts of energy from Russia.

She then asked: “Why not replace it by American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices? It’s something where we can get into a discussion, also [where] our trade deficit is concerned.”

NEW: President of the European Union commission says they want to start buying oil from the United States and not Russia.

Trump wins the election and the world falls in line. Remarkable.

“We still get a lot of [liquified natural gas] from Russia, and why not replace it by… pic.twitter.com/E6OwSN6UrR

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 8, 2024

Von der Leyen’s comment about the ability to ramp up American LNG purchases was in response to a comment about how the EU can avoid trade war disputes when Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20. 

Here’s more color from Politico on von der Leyen’s kind gesture to Trump to avoid a tit-for-tat trade war…

It is likely that von der Leyen is taking her inspiration for a potential deal from her predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker, who engineered a highly cosmetic truce with Trump in 2018.

During the first Trump term, Juncker avoided more tariffs by assuring the US president that Europe would facilitate more imports of liquefied natural gas (and more American soybeans.) In fact, the European Commission has no real power in determining European companies’ purchases of LNG and soybeans, but Trump was happy to accept the political theater of parading data that European purchases were going up.

The latest data from IEEFA’s European LNG Tracker shows that for the first half of the year, the US has been responsible for about 48% of the EU’s LNG imports, compared to Russia’s 16%.

According to Aurora Energy Research, an increase in EU imports of US LNG under a Trump administration would cause EU NatGas prices to slide and create a “Trump-driven LNG overbuild on global gas markets” that would lower prices. 

Under Trump’s administration, LNG export capacity expansion could be swift if a Republican-led government decides to expedite LNG terminal approvals and ‘unleash’ American energy, starting with the removal of Biden’s LNG pause, potentially increasing LNG exports by up to 15% by 2030. The European gas benchmark TTF could decrease by up to 9% compared to Aurora’s Central scenario if this were to happen, while Asian gas prices could also decrease by up to 6%. To meet this demand for additional exports, US gas production is projected to grow by 4% by 2030, according to Aurora. However, international LNG exports could still decline, largely due to reduced demand from China if Trump also introduces his proposed universal tariffs.

“The Trump administration would have no direct influence in directing LNG flows away or to the EU, but his administration is likely to remove barriers to LNG terminal buildout capacity that would increase exports, which would suppress European gas prices, as shown in our recent insight report,” Sophie Parsons, Senior Analyst for US Gas at Aurora Energy, noted. 

Trump hasn’t even stepped into the White House. All sorts of moves are happening behind the scenes and then being revealed in the public domain, such as a potential resolution to the war in Eastern Europe and Iran-backed Houthis allegedly declaring a ceasefire. 

Authored by Pepe Escobar,

On the political Richter scale, that was a killer – literally. What was supposed to be a Liberal Totalitarian Show was brutally, unceremoniously, swept out of the park – any park. Even before Election Day, critical thinking was aware of the stakes. With fraud, Kamala wins.

With no fraud, Trump wins.

There were, at best, (failed) attempts at fraud.

The key question still remains: what does the U.S. Deep State really want?

My inbox is infested with loads of weepy reports from U.S. Think Tankland wondering, in disbelief, why Kamala could possibly lose.

It’s quite straightforward – apart from her sheer incompetence cum utter mediocrity literally cackling out loud – the legacy of the administration she was part of is ghastly – all the way from Crash Test Dummy to Little Butcher Blinkie.

Instead of bothering to care about the abysmal state of affairs, at every level, concerning that mythical entity, “the American people”, they chose to invest everything on a neocon-manufactured proxy war to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia – stealing Russian assets, unleashing a tsunami of sanctions, shipping an array of wunderwaffen. The weaponization of Ukraine led to countless Ukrainian dead and the inevitable, fast-approaching cosmic humiliation of NATO in the black soil of Novorossiya.

They invested everything to support a genocide in Gaza conducted with a huge arsenal of American weapons: a lebensraum-coded ethnic cleansing cum extermination op directed by a bunch of Talmudic psychos – and marketed under the “rules-based international order” spewed out by Butcher Blinkie in every bilateral or multilateral gathering.

It’s no wonder that West Asia and the wider Global South soon got the message of what may happen to anyone daring to go against the Hegemon’s “interests”. Thus the counterpunch: the strengthening of BRICS and BRICS+, celebrated for all the world to see two weeks ago in Kazan.

At least this administration had a merit, strengthening the bonds between all major “existential threats” to the Hegemon: three BRICS (Russia, China, Iran), plus the indomitable DPRK. All that in contrast with a meager tactical victory – which may not last long: the absolute vassalization of Europe.

Hanging Ukraine on Europe’s neck

Of course, foreign policy does not win U.S. elections. Americans themselves will have to solve their dilemmas, or plunge into civil war. As for the bulk of the Global Majority, it harbors no illusions. Trumpquake’s coded message is that the Zionist lobby wins – again. Perhaps not so unanimously when we consider all strands of neo-cons and Zio-cons. Wall Street wins again (BlackRock’s Larry Fink said so even before Election Day). And prominent silos across the Deep State also win again.

That begs a modified question; what if Trump feels emboldened enough after January 25 to launch a Stalinist purge of the Deep State?

Election Day proceeded nearly simultaneously with the Valdai Club annual meeting in Sochi, where the superstar, not surprisingly, was eminent geopolitician Sergey Karaganov. Of course he directly referred to the Empire’s Forever Wars: “We are living in biblical times.”

And even before Trumpquake, Karaganov stressed, calmly, “We will defeat the West in Ukraine – without resorting to ultimate means.” And that “will provide for a peaceful withdrawal of the U.S. – which will become a normal superpower.” Europe, meanwhile, “will move to the sidelines of History.”

All of that spot on. But then Karaganov introduced a startling concept: “The war in Ukraine is a replacement of WWIII. Afterwards, we can agree on some kind of order in Eurasia.”

That would be the “indivisibility of security” proposed by Putin to Washington – and rejected – on December 2021, part of the “Greater Eurasia Partnership” that was conceptualized by Karaganov himself.

The problem though is his conclusion: “Let’s make the Ukrainian war the last major war in the 21st century.”

Ay, there’s the rub: the real major war is actually Eretz Israel v. the Axis of Resistance in West Asia.

Let’s have a quick pit stop in Europe before getting to the meat of this matter. Trumpquake is all set to hang Ukraine on Europe’s neck like a larger-than-life albatross. The shorthand: Exit American money financing the born-to-lose Project Ukraine. Enter German money filling the coffers of the weapons lobby inside the Ray McGovern-coined MICIMATT (military-industrial-congressional-intelligence-media-academia-think tank complex).

The U.S. Treasury has issued an internal memorandum valid until April 30, 2025 – when Trump will be already three months in power – allowing transactions with Russian banks on anything related to oil, natural gas, timber and any form of uranium.

As for the gullible, Brussels-run EU, they will pay the heavy load on weaponizing rump Ukraine while accepting wave after wave of new refugees and saying goodbye to any of their funds already invested in that humongous black hole.

Beware of that Tony Soprano wannabe

Trumpquake – if taken at face value – is bound to further weaponize the U.S. dollar; Trump has threatened, on the record, to blacklist any nation that uses other currencies for international trade. BRICS and BRICS+ partners have registered it; and that will accelerate the testing of all models in the BRICS lab leading towards a multi-layered alternative trade settlement system.

BRICS and the Global Majority also know that Trump in fact signed off on Nordstream sanctions – when he referred recently to “killing” Nord Steam. And they also know he did less than zero during Trump 1.0 to find a solution for the proxy war in Ukraine.

Now we come to the clincher.

Trump personally destroyed the JCPOA – the Iran nuclear deal – brokered by the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany). Moscow – and Beijing – know perfectly well how this led to further destabilization of the whole of West Asia, in conjunction to the Trump-ordered assassination of Gen Soleimani, which started what I termed the Raging Twenties.

Last but not least, Trump brokered the bombastically-named “Deal of the Century”: the Abraham Accords, which if implemented will forever bury any possibility of an Israel/Palestine two-state solution.

The deal – which may be considered as nefarious as the 1917 Balfour declaration – may be in a coma. But MbS’s Whatsapp pal Jared Kushner is back, and will certainly renew the pressure. MbS still has not made up his mind when it comes to BRICS. Trump will go bonkers if MbS increasingly starts to navigate the petroyuan way.

All that brings us to a supremely nefarious character, Tony Soprano wannabe Mike Pompeo, who is a serious candidate to become head of the Pentagon. That would spell major trouble ahead. Pompeo was CIA director and Secretary of State under Trump 1.0. He is an uber-hawk on Russia, China and especially Iran.

Arguably the pressing question from now on is whether Trump – whose life was spared by God, in his own interpretation – does what is expected of him by his uber-wealthy donors, appoints Pompeo and similar gangsters for key posts, and invests on Israel’s war against Iran and the Axis of Resistance.

If that’s the case, he won’t have to worry about another failed sniper. But if he really tries to run his own independent game, there’s no question he will be a dead man walking.

So the whole Global Majority waits with bated breath. How will Trumpquake translate in the geopolitical MAGA sphere? Sure bets focus on extensive use of private military companies (PMCs) for foreign policy “missions” and selected, targeted military “interventions”. Targets could include any Global South player from Mexico (to “secure the border”) to Venezuela (the Monroe doctrine “securing the oil”), Yemen (to “secure the Red Sea”) and of course Iran (a massive bombing campaign to “secure Israel”).

In a nutshell: no new wars (as Trump promised), just a few targeted incursions. Plus Hybrid War on maximum overdrive. Brazil, watch out: Trumpquake will not tolerate a truly sovereign BRICS member increasing its Global South influence in the “Western Hemisphere”.

Fasten your seatbelts: whatever happens, Trumpquake is bound to be a bumpy ride.

Natural resources are the backbone of modern manufacturing, necessary to produce everything around us.

According to 2021 data from Statista, 10 countries dominate the global natural resource landscape, each holding vast reserves critical for various industries.

Russia’s $75 Trillion in Natural Resources

Russia leads the pack with natural resources valued at $75 trillion, largely consisting of coal, natural gas, oil, and rare earth metals. At the end of 2018, Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment valued the country’s mineral reserves at approximately $1.44 trillion.

In terms of global share, Russia is unmatched in natural gas, holding the world’s largest proven reserves at 1.32 quadrillion cubic feet as of 2020—nearly 20% of the global total. Russia also ranks as a gold powerhouse.

Other Resource Giants

The United States ranks second, with an estimated $45 trillion in natural resources, including coal, timber, natural gas, and valuable metals like gold.

 

In Saudi Arabia and Canada, oil wealth drives natural resources, placing these countries third and fourth on the list. Saudi Arabia, with its vast oil fields, has been a leader in global energy markets. Canada, on the other hand, also benefits from substantial uranium deposits and is home to some of the world’s largest lumber companies.

Further down the list, China has vast coal reserves, positioning it as the top producer of the fuel.

Mineral-rich Brazil and Australia are leading producers of metals like iron ore, while Australia is also a top exporter of coal.

If you enjoyed this graphic, make sure to check out this graphic that shows how global coal consumption is still rising.

Authored by Antonio Graceffo via The Epoch Times,

The White House has released the first-ever U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, developed to counter China’s ambitions to lead AI development globally and leverage it across military and civilian sectors for strategic dominance.

On Oct. 24, the White House issued the National Security Memorandum (NSM) on Artificial Intelligence (AI), underscoring the urgent need for the United States to lead in AI governance and set global standards for security, transparency, and ethical use. This initiative seeks to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) efforts to dominate the AI field.

Through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and aggressive tactics within organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the CCP has shown its intent to reshape international rules in ways that favor Beijing’s interests, often disregarding established global norms. Allowing China to dictate AI standards could have far-reaching and severe consequences globally.

The AI threat from the Chinese regime to U.S. national security is substantial and complex, involving China’s integration of AI across both civilian and military sectors as part of its long-term strategy. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has voiced concerns over China’s use of AI for internal surveillance and misinformation campaigns, which are now being exported and pose threats to U.S. and allied security.

A key component of Beijing’s AI strategy is the “intelligentization“ of its military, aiming to use AI for advanced decision-making and autonomous systems, which could give the regime a strategic military advantage in ways that the United States may struggle to counter.

China’s AI-powered military advancements include deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and uncrewed surface vessels (unmanned naval drones), as well as enhancing command and control operations. These capabilities could disrupt U.S. intelligence operations or destabilize military power balances in sensitive regions like the Taiwan Strait. Such risks highlight the urgency for the United States to monitor and counter these developments, as China’s rapid AI integration could make predicting and countering its moves increasingly difficult.

Some analysts believe that AI will be so crucial in future wars that, without it, the U.S. military might be unable to defeat the Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army. The recent U.S. memorandum directs defense and national security agencies to incorporate AI in defense, intelligence, and counterintelligence operations. The White House emphasizes integrating AI into national security while protecting AI resources from foreign threats, with a particular focus on mitigating risks like technology transfer and espionage in the AI supply chain. The NSM further prioritizes intelligence gathering on competitor activities in the U.S. AI sector to counter economic and technological espionage targeting American AI leadership.

China’s national AI strategy prioritizes advancements in AI technology and active participation in global AI governance. Central to this strategy is military-civil fusion, where civilian AI advancements are rapidly applied to military technology, giving China a strategic advantage in innovation and resource use. While the U.S. government is also funding AI development, and the recent memorandum aims to integrate AI into intelligence and defense to maintain competitiveness and prevent AI-based operational advantages for China, especially in cyber and autonomous warfare, China may still be outpacing the United States in certain critical areas.

“The 2023 National Security Scorecard: Critical Technologies Edition” report from Govini offers an in-depth look at the U.S.–China rivalry in key technologies essential to national security. It highlights vulnerabilities in U.S. defense due to a heavy reliance on Chinese suppliers, especially in AI. The report indicates that China now leads the United States in AI innovation, as evidenced by its high patent output and robust development of machine learning applications that impact both military and civilian sectors. This growing gap underscores the need for the United States to strengthen its AI research and development, secure its supply chains, and lessen its dependence on technology from adversarial sources, such as communist China, to maintain a strategic edge in national security.

Alongside enhancing its AI capabilities, the United States must encourage its allies to strengthen their own. Speaking at the National Defense University on Oct. 24, Sullivan stressed the importance of international partnerships to provide secure alternatives to China’s AI-powered digital infrastructure, which poses risks of data compromise, surveillance, and censorship. He cautioned that reversing course can be difficult and costly once nations adopt China’s technology.

The White House asserts that achieving U.S. dominance in AI requires both public and private collaboration to drive innovation, secure AI talent, and maintain computational advantages. Key initiatives include strengthening domestic AI research, enhancing cybersecurity, and ensuring a secure AI ecosystem. The CHIPS Act boosts U.S. capacity in advanced chip production critical for AI, while recent policies restrict China’s access to AI-enabling semiconductor technology to slow its military advancements.

Although non-defense research funding has decreased in recent years, the Biden administration is coordinating with Congress to secure resources to improve AI capabilities, such as government supercomputers and supply chain security for semiconductor production. Without these measures, experts warn that China’s rapid AI adoption could shift military power in its favor, especially in contested regions like Taiwan.

To counter the CCP’s AI threat, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) advises that the U.S. bolster its military AI capabilities, establish norms for responsible AI use in defense, and work closely with allies on these issues. CNAS recommends negotiating risk reduction and confidence-building measures with China specifically for military AI while simultaneously pursuing broader crisis management frameworks.

Additionally, CNAS suggests integrating military AI into diplomatic efforts on nuclear and strategic stability with China, addressing risks from AI’s rapid, unpredictable nature, and prioritizing intelligence on China’s military AI advancements.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Weddings have always been monumental milestones. However, pulling off the perfect celebration can come with a hefty price tag.

In this graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti visualizes the average wedding costs in the U.S. by state (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), according to data compiled by The Knot as of December 2023, which surveyed 9,318 couples across the country.

Most Expensive Locations to Host a Wedding

According to the study conducted by The Knot, the national average cost of a wedding in 2023 reached $35,000, compared to the $30,000 average recorded the previous year.

Cities like New York, San Francisco, and Chicago are among the most expensive locations to host a wedding, while states with smaller populations, such as Idaho, West Virginia, and Wyoming, offer more affordable alternatives.

State	Cost
New Jersey	$55,000
New York	$49,000
Connecticut	$44,000
Maine	$44,000
New Hampshire	$44,000
Rhode Island	$44,000
Vermont	$44,000
DC	$42,000
Massachusetts	$42,000
California	$41,000
Delaware	$39,000
Illinois	$39,000
Maryland	$39,000
South Carolina	$39,000
Pennsylvania	$38,000
Virginia	$38,000
Louisiana	$37,000
West Virginia	$36,000
Alabama	$34,000
Colorado	$34,000
Florida	$34,000
Mississippi	$33,000
Arizona	$32,000
Texas	$32,000
Minnesota	$31,000
North Carolina	$31,000
Georgia	$30,000
Ohio	$30,000
Oregon	$30,000
Washington	$30,000
Michigan	$29,000
Wisconsin	$29,000
Tennessee	$28,000
Missouri	$27,000
Indiana	$26,000
New Mexico	$26,000
Wyoming	$26,000
Arkansas	$25,000
Kansas	$25,000
Oklahoma	$25,000
Iowa	$24,000
South Dakota	$23,000
Nebraska	$22,000
North Dakota	$22,000
Nevada	$21,000
Idaho	$20,000
Kentucky	$20,000
Montana	$20,000
Utah	$17,000

What Drives Wedding Costs?

Several factors contribute to the rise in wedding costs.

On average, couples hire 14 vendors to execute their big day. The wedding reception venue, live band, and photographer are typically the priciest of these.

Furthermore, the demand for wedding planners has seen a notable increase, with 37% of couples in 2023 opting for professional planning services, up from 30% in 2019. These experts help orchestrate everything from catering to decor, ensuring that each detail aligns with the couple’s vision.

The costs on this map do not include another big-ticket item—the engagement ring, which averages over $5,000.

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this graphic, which shows what you need to earn to own a home in 50 American cities.

Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

Trump’s return to the White House is seen by India as an opportunity to repair the damage that Biden dealt to bilateral ties. Summer 2023’s alleged attempted assassination scandal, which readers can learn more about here, toxified their relations and was followed by American meddling in the latest Indian general elections. Bangladesh’s US-backed regime change several months ago was regarded by many Indians as a betrayal of their regional security interests. The US has also pressured India to dump Russia.  

All of that might soon be water under the bridge if Trump brings Indian Americans and Indian-friendly officials with him back to Washington.

This would be especially so if Kashyap Patel is confirmed as the next CIA chief like some have speculated that Trump is planning to propose.

If the stars align, then the first order of business that India would want to have happen is for the US to crack down on Delhi-designated terrorists-separatists to the maximum extent that American law allows.

The state protection that Khalistani leaders like Gurpatwant Singh Pannun enjoy while they openly imply threats to bomb Indian airliners and assassinate its diplomats among other crimes has convinced many Indians that these figures and their movement are being wielded as Hybrid War weapons against India. Trump campaigned on a law-and-order platform whose principles are incompatible with these provocations so there are hopes that he’ll put a stop to them as the first step to repairing ties.

Next on India’s wish list is for the US to stop meddling in its domestic affairs. Criticism of its socio-political situation is seen as unfriendly, while the efforts of various NGOs to cultivate anti-state sentiment – especially in the Christian-populated Northeastern States – is considered absolutely unacceptable. Relations can never truly return to normal until these activities are ended. For that to happen, however, Trump must successfully rein in liberal-globalist elements of his “deep state”, which will be a challenge.

Moving along, India also wants the US to pressure the new Bangladeshi government into respecting the rights of the country’s Hindu minority, who’ve been victimized by pogroms and other forms of violence since summer’s regime change. Truly free and fair elections should also be held as soon as possible. Speculative plans for a US military facility there are also troubling due to how much this could disrupt the balance of power in the region. The US should therefore keep India’s legitimate concerns in mind.

Elsewhere on the regional front, India would appreciate the US once again treating it as its top partner instead of continuing to balance between it and Pakistan. The Biden Administration departed from the first Trump Administration’s Indo-centric regional policy partially due to its liberal-globalist ideological agenda that set it at odds with Modi’s conservative-nationalist government. His team also flirted with improving ties with China, and distancing the US from India to a degree was seen as a means to that end.

American pressure on India to dump Russia should also stop if Trump wants to improve bilateral ties. He recently pledged to “un-unite” Russia and China, who he claims had been forced together by Biden, so India could argue that letting Indo-Russo trade blossom helps achieve this goal by preemptively averting Russia’s potentially disproportionate dependence on China. Trump’s team is expected to follow a Kissingerian Great Power balancing strategy so this appeal to its global role might resonate with them.  

And finally, although India entered into a rapprochement with China just several weeks ago that the US was inadvertently responsible for as explained here, it wouldn’t mind if Trump took a tougher stance on China than Biden and privileged India as a counterbalance to the People’s Republic. In pursuit of that, the US could continue exporting high-tech military equipment to India and ideally make progress on negotiating a free trade deal. The latter is easier said than done but should still figure on the agenda.

Altogether, the future looks bright for Indo-US ties so long as Indian Americans, Indian-friendly officials, and geopolitical pragmatists follow Trump into the White House, all of which is expected judging by the latest reports. In that case, the challenge will then be reining in liberal-globalist elements of the “deep state” in order to prevent them from subverting the Indo-US rapprochement, which would be greatly facilitated if the Guajarati-descended Trump loyalist Patel becomes the next CIA chief.