Cartels Have Operational Control Of US Border, Are "Terrorizing" The US, Says Rep. Chip Roy

Submitted by Charlotte Cuthbertson and Steve Lance of The Epoch Times

Mexican cartels are making billions of dollars from drug trafficking, human smuggling, and exploiting the U.S. border, said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on September 22, 2021.

Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 1.3 million illegal immigrants crossing into Texas from Mexico in 2021. Hundreds of thousands more weren’t captured. Seizures of the deadly synthetic opioid, fentanyl, have sharply increased, as have overdose deaths in the United States.

“We have 100,000 Americans die from opioid poisonings. They’re not really overdoses—they’re poisonings,” Roy told NTD’s Capitol Report on Jan. 28.

“China is moving it through Mexico, cartels are making money, China is getting empowered, America’s getting hammered—all because this administration refuses to do its job of securing the border.”

The chemicals to make fentanyl are produced in China and shipped to Mexico, where counterfeit pills are manufactured, heroin is spiked, and other products are laced before being sent across the southern border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a 1,066 percent increase in fentanyl seized at south Texas ports of entry during fiscal year 2021.

Heroin and fentanyl pressed into pill form. (DEA)

The cartels, which fight over the lucrative territory that abuts the United States, have expanded their reach, profits, and power through a massive increase in human smuggling and trafficking over the past year.

They often send large groups through in one area of the border to tie up Border Patrol resources, which leaves nearby areas unpatrolled and open for illicit transport, said Rodney Scott, former U.S. Border Patrol Chief.

“They simply overwhelm agents with those massive numbers, and that creates other areas where there’s no law enforcement at all,” Scott told Capitol Report on Dec. 16.

“That’s where they’re bringing the narcotics, the criminal aliens, the people that want to avoid arrest, for whatever reason, and they’re just pouring across at will. This is a crisis and it is real.”

Border Patrol agents apprehend and transport illegal immigrants who have just crossed the river into La Joya, Texas, on Nov. 17, 2021.

Illegal immigrants have to pay a cartel to cross into the United States, and the amount varies on the country of origin and the destination in the United States. Often, the illegal immigrant doesn’t have the money and will enter the United States indebted to the cartel.

“These are human beings. They are put into the labor or sex trafficking trade and they’re basically held as slaves to enrich the worst elements of our society—cartels, but also just illegal illicit organizations that are perfectly happy to use the cartel network to get the people that they’re going to abuse. It’s absolutely horrific,” Roy said.

“One boy thought he was paying $4,000 to go pick grapes in California. Instead he was going to be held for ransom in a stash house in Houston.”

Recently, eight illegal immigrants were discovered in a vehicle in Boerne, Texas, just north of San Antonio.

“The driver of the car was an American citizen employee of one of those cartels, moving those eight people—two of whom were bound in the trunk—heading to a stash house in Houston,” Roy said.

“How is the most powerful nation in the history of the world allowing our borders to be operationally controlled by cartels, while Democrats pat themselves on the back for compassion, using asylum as an excuse for wide open borders that do nothing good for the American people?”

A Border Patrol agent picks up three illegal aliens after Texas state troopers arrested two U.S. citizen smugglers who were transporting them to San Antonio, in Kinney County, Texas, on Oct. 20, 2021.

Roy has introduced a bill that seeks to designate two cartels as terrorist organizations in the last two congressional legislative sessions.

The bill directs the State Department to designate the Reynosa/Los Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel and the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas as foreign terrorist organizations. It also requires the state department to produce a report on those cartels, as well as any others that meet the criteria.

The bill has the support of 45 co-sponsors, all Republicans. But he’s not confident it will get passed during Biden’s administration.

“They don’t give a rat’s rear end about securing the border or trying to go after cartels,” Roy said. But the bill also faces opposition from some Republicans.

“You have some Republicans who hand-wring and go, ‘Well, you can’t call them cartels, because you elevate them to something that’s the same as the Taliban, or Al-Qaeda, or ISIS,” Roy said.

“But to me, they are terrorizing the United States, they’re terrorizing people in Mexico. They’re doing it purposely, they’re doing it for political power, they’re doing it to enrich themselves.

“They hang people, they bury people alive. They kill people and send videos to their families, so that they can terrorize people.”

Roy said the United States needs to go after the cartels and reclaim operational control of the southern border.

Meanwhile, he’s preparing to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for dereliction of duty.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/31/2022 - 17:40
https://ift.tt/Ctk7JixyT
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/Ctk7JixyT
via IFTTT

Cartels Have Operational Control Of US Border, Are "Terrorizing" The US, Says Rep. Chip Roy

Arctic Blast Puts Texas' Power Grid At Risk

U.S. natural gas futures have risen for the seventh day on prospects of another winter storm and colder weather for the U.S. There are emerging concerns Texas' power grid could be tested again amid a cold snap. 

Futures for March delivery were up at 4.5%, or about .21 cents to $4.87/MMBtu (as of Monday morning). Prices have advanced for the seventh consecutive day, retracing 61.8% of the down move from early October high to the low in late December. The squeeze in natgas comes as weather models have recently shifted to colder outlooks.

Average temperatures across the U.S. have been hovering below a 30-year mean for the second half of January are expected to remain below normal through the first half of February. 

Cold weather for the U.S. has boosted heating demand, as shown in heating degree days well above a 30-year average. 

Shifting our attention to the south, average temperatures are expected to dive below freezing in Texas this week. In the Permian Basin, the largest shale-producing region in the U.S., temperatures will plunge to 15 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday. The cold snap will spread across the eastern half of Texas, with temperatures diving well below 32 degrees in Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston this week. 

"There is going to be a pretty solid push of Arctic air into the southern high plains," said Rich Otto, a forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center.

The problem we see is the primary grid operator for Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), could run into trouble as bitterly cold weather may disrupt natgas to power plants.  

BloombergNEF data based on pipeline flows show there have already been two instances where pipeline flows dipped due to cold weather this month. 

Gas wells are particularly susceptible to freeze-off, though Otto said this week's cold spell wouldn't be as severe as the one in February 2021 that nearly collapsed the state's entire power grid. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/31/2022 - 17:20
https://ift.tt/MSgsf6Ywh
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/MSgsf6Ywh
via IFTTT

Arctic Blast Puts Texas' Power Grid At Risk

Unmasked Students Face Immediate Suspension From Loudoun County Public Schools

Submitted By Terri Wu of The Epoch Times,

Refusal to wear a mask in school will result in immediate suspension, effective Feb. 2, a school principal in the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) district in Virginia told unmasked students last week.

Unmasked students were kept in the auditorium at Woodgrove High School in Purcellville, Va., on Jan. 24, 2022.

William Shipp, principal of Woodgrove High School, spoke at about 3:45 p.m. local time on Jan. 28 to unmasked students assembled in the school’s auxiliary gym.

“You have all chosen not to wear a mask this week. Essentially, that is just defiant of the rules Loudoun County Public Schools have put up,” Shipp said in a video reviewed by The Epoch Times.

He told the students that they would face immediate suspension starting from the next school day on Feb. 2 if they walked into the school without wearing a mask; the suspension wouldn’t end until the students started wearing masks, he added.

In response to a student’s question whether the suspension was legal, Shipp referred to Loudoun County school board policy and affirmed, “At this point, there is suspension.” He also said there was an appeal process to follow. During the suspension, students can still use Schoology, the virtual learning platform, to continue their studies, according to Shipp.

Caroline and Laura Thomas’s letters from Woodgrove High School were identical except for student ID and other personal information. Any students “who willfully continue to refuse to follow COVID mitigation measures as required by Loudoun County Public Schools will be suspended from school” for “disobedience” and “defiance,” according to the letters.

Clint Thomas, the students’ father, questioned the “double standard.” While the school district cited the Virginia Department of Health’s (VDH) interim Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in Pre-K–12 Schools under Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, it has declined to follow VDH’s updated guidance under Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who was inaugurated on Jan. 15.

VDH’s updated guidance for Pre-K–12 schools states the roles and responsibilities among parents, schools, and public health institutions. The decision of masking and vaccinating lies with parents.

Clint Thomas told The Epoch Times that the reason for the suspension was “not masking” but “defiance.”

“[Principal Shipp] is pushing them to wear a mask so he doesn’t have to suspend them,” he said.

LCPS is one of the districts in the state that have decided to keep the mask mandate, despite Youngkin’s executive order that gave the masking decision to parents. Virginia has more than 130 school districts, with about 50 following the same course as Loudoun County.

Unmasked students taking lunch in the auxiliary gym at Woodgrove High School in Purcellville, Va., from Jan. 25 to Jan. 28, 2022. A “no mask area” check-in sheet with a QR code is on the table

‘Every Day Felt Like a Prison’

Madison Dunbar, a sophomore at Woodgrove who also was unmasked in school last week, told The Epoch Times that it’s ridiculous for LCPS to force students to choose between masking and in-person learning.

Her younger siblings Hailey and Zack attend Harmony Middle School. The letter from Harmony states: “A student who is suspended because of non-compliance with COVID-mitigation measures may return to school only when they agree to follow COVID-mitigation measures throughout the entire school day and at all indoor school-related events. Suspension will continue if COVID-mitigation measures are not followed.”

Kayla, an 11th-grader at Woodgrove, also didn’t wear a mask to school. During the week, she repeatedly asked teachers and administrators, “Where is my in-person learning?” She said the educators simply referred to Schoology, LCPS’s virtual learning platform.

Kayla, as well as Caroline and Laura Thomas, said that starting on Jan. 25, unmasked students had to use a back door to exit the school several minutes earlier than masked students. In addition, the unmasked students were made to enter the school through the main entrance and walk past masked students in the morning to go to their separate location.

She said that she felt that the unmasked students were being shamed. For example, the auxiliary gym they were sent to from Jan. 25 to Jan. 28 had an uncovered window.

“The masked kids would just sit there and take pictures of us, and laugh at us, every day,” she told The Epoch Times.

Caroline Thomas, who has compiled a daily journal of her experience, also wrote about the separate exit. She noted that she didn’t get an answer when asked why she had to leave the school from a different exit than masked students.

“I’m sure it’s because they didn’t want us to ‘infect’ the rest of the school,” she wrote.

“Every day felt like a prison. Each day gets crazier and crazier.”

Caroline Thomas is on the Woodgrove High School soccer team and the captain of her travel soccer team. (Courtesy of Clint Thomas)

Emma, Kayla’s younger sister and a 9th-grader at Woodgrove, told The Epoch Times: “Teachers really didn’t care about our education. They just brushed it under the rug like we didn’t need to learn.”

Kayla’s mother, Joy, who prefers not to disclose the family name, said: “Kayla was having trouble sleeping. She was having trouble eating. The entire week, [they were] more stressed out than I have ever seen either of my girls.

“They were trying to do the right thing but kind of caught in the middle. They want to follow what they’re told to do but want to hold their ground because they know their freedoms.”

All of the Woodgrove girls who were interviewed noted that on Jan. 28, the number of unmasked students was more than 50, the highest number for the week. According to Erin Dunbar, Hailey, and Zack’s mother, the number of unmasked students in Harmony Middle School topped 20 on the last day of the week.

LCPS spokesperson Wayde Byard said that he had no comment when contacted by The Epoch Times about the suspension plan and VDH’s updated guidance.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/31/2022 - 17:00
https://ift.tt/F3Wh86Cqr
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/F3Wh86Cqr
via IFTTT

Unmasked Students Face Immediate Suspension From Loudoun County Public Schools

US Charged With Trying To Provoke Russian Military Action At UN: "You Want It To Happen"

At a rare UN Security Council debate Monday, which was urged by the US but slammed by Russia as a publicity stunt - in order for Moscow to "explain itself" over what Washington has for weeks asserted are "imminent" plans to "invade" Ukraine - Russia's ambassador charged the US with seeking to provoke Russian action. 

"They themselves are whipping up tensions and rhetoric and are provoking escalation," Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said of US and NATO motives. "The discussions about a threat of war is provocative in and of itself. You are almost calling for this. You want it to happen. You're waiting for it to happen."

Russia's ambassador to the UN, via Atlantic Council

Just prior to the meeting at UN headquarters in New York, the Kremlin once again charged the US and and some allies, especially Britain, of stoking "hysteria": "To our dismay, American media have lately been publishing a very large amount of unverified, distorted and deliberately deceitful information about what's happening in Ukraine and around it," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Hysteria hyped up by Washington is causing hysteria in Ukraine, almost to the point that people are packing their bags for the front. It's a fact," he added. Last week Ukrainian leaders surprisingly made similar statements, seeking to calm their own population amid reports of people raiding grocery stores and taking out all their cash from banks. There have also been reports that average Ukrainians are stockpiling weapons in preparation for a Russian onslaught and occupation.

During the UN back-and-forth, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of not just building up forces near the Ukrainian border, but of a massive force build-up in Belarus. She said Russia aims to send at least 30,000 troops to its closest former Soviet satellite state ally:

After placing some 5,000 troops in Belarus, "we've seen evidence that Russia intends to expand that presence to more than 30,000 troops near the Belarus border" with Ukraine by early February, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council, noting the forces would be "less than two hours north of Kyiv."

Her words had echoes of recent admin officials who bizarrely claimed (without evidence) that Russia is looking to invade and take over the Ukraine capital. During the remarks, Thomas-Greenfield decried what she described as "the largest... mobilization of troops in Europe in decades."

"You heard from our Russian colleagues that we're calling for this meeting to make you all feel uncomfortable. Imagine how uncomfortable you would be if you had 100,000 troops sitting on your border in the way that these troops are sitting on the border with Ukraine," she said. "This is not about antics. It's not about rhetoric. It's not about 'U.S. and Russia.' What this is about is the peace and security of one of our member states."

Lavrov: "There is still a small group of people who stand to benefit" from war in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/fQzCbutPGc

— Clint Ehrlich (@ClintEhrlich) January 31, 2022

Addressing the specific Russian charge that it's actually the US seeking to provoke, she responded, "I cannot let the false equivalency go unchecked, so I feel I must respond. ... The threats of aggression on the border of Ukraine - yes on its border - is provocative. Our recognition of the facts on the ground is not provocative."

Notably backing Russia was its powerful neighbor to the south, China:

In a sign of their increasing alignment, China was the only country to back Russia's effort to squash the public meeting. Its ambassador Zhang Jun said they oppose "microphone diplomacy of public confrontation" and believed the open discussion of the issue would add "fuel to the tension."

#China @ChinaAmbUN does not support an open meeting on #Ukraine. 🇺🇦 “This is the time for quiet diplomacy.” pic.twitter.com/az8CAl3EeS

— Lenka White (@white_lenka) January 31, 2022

Monday's UNSC meeting didn't result in any specific action or even a joint statement, but appeared geared toward making each side's allegations official before the global body.

Separately on Monday, President Biden addressed the ongoing crisis, saying, "We continue to urge diplomacy as the best way forward, but with Russia continuing its buildup of its forces around Ukraine, we are ready no matter what happens."

 "I had a productive talk last week with President Zelenskyy, and we continue engage in non-stop diplomacy," he added, but stressed the US would remain "ready" to act.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/31/2022 - 16:40
https://ift.tt/EyarAKqcl
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/EyarAKqcl
via IFTTT

US Charged With Trying To Provoke Russian Military Action At UN: "You Want It To Happen"

Nancy Pelosi's Son Becomes Subject Of Sixth FBI Investigation

 Submitted by 'Blueapples'.

Although she's most recently announced her intent to run for re-election of the congressional seat that she holds as Speak of the House, perhaps Nancy Pelosi has a 2024 presidential run on her mind. While there's no indication of that directly from her camp, there may be reason to presume she is given that her son Paul is doing his best Hunter Biden impersonation. Already amidst controversy, Paul Pelosi Jr. became the subject of a sixth FBI investigation following news that he was previously involved in five different companies suspect of fraud and associated with convicted criminals.

The sixth of these investigations places the speaker's son at the core of a fraud investigation against Rodrigo Santos, the former President of the San Francisco Building Inspection Commission who now holds the role of a city permit expediter. Santos and another commission official named Bernard Curran were indicted in November in a case that has been rumored to include Paul Pelosi. Details emerging from the FBI fraud probe of Santos and Curran include details regarding a client of theirs involved in the alleged bribery scheme who many suspect to be Paul Pelosi Jr himself.

Details about Santos' scheme have emerged from the United States Department of Justice in a press release that gives context to the investigation that Pelosi became ensnared by. This indictment follows an earlier criminal complaint filed against Santos on May 11, 2020. Then, the San Francisco public official was alleged to have committed bank fraud as the principal and co-founder of Urrutia Structual Engineers, Inc. Santos was initially appointed to the San Francisco Building Inspection Committee in 2000 by then-mayor Willie Brown before being promoted to the office of its president by Brown's successor, current California Governor and Pelosi family member Gavin Newsome.

The scope of the 2020 indictment against Santos was broadened in July 2021 before the subsequent November case brough against he and Curran to include ten additional charges of bank fraud during a period between November 2012 and March 2019. Additional charges in the latest indictment against him include two counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation with the intent to obstruct justice. The DoJ announcement conveys that Santos' is the subject of an on-going investigation while his current case is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecution Section of the US Attorney's Office.

While Pelosi has not been mentioned by name as a conspirator in the previous indictments made by the federal government, FBI records of the five-year investigation they conducted on Santos disclose that Pelosi was interviewed as the federal government built its case. At the core of the bribery scheme uncovered by the FBI is a property owned by Pelosi Jr.'s girlfriend and a non-profit organization alleged to have been a vehicle that used "donations" as ad hoc bribes to Santos in exchange for city building permits.

The property in question is infamously referred to as "The Pit" by residents of San Francisco. For years, the flop house has been allowed to operate despite numerous violations. The FBI investigation alleges that a those violations were removed as part of the bribery scheme that has brought charges against Santos. Prosecutors claim that Santos used a local rugby club and hockey association for their non-profit status in order to receive payments through them which led to the removal of building violations. Pelosi's connections to The Pit go back years to a period that federal prosecutors claim was rife with fraud. In the past, building inspectors in the city have also revealed that Pelosi himself asked them to "take care" of violations at the nefarious Utah St. property. Those revelations present a potential connection between Pelosi and "Client 9" in mentioned in federal charges against Santos.

Client 9 was referred to as "an individual working on behalf of the owners of the property" which is located at 1312 Utah Street. Leaked documents from my own sources show that Pelosi filed the necessary paperwork to submit building permit applications on behalf of the owners of an adjacent property at 1314 Utah Street back in 2017 during the same period in which Santos is alleged to have committed the fraud that charges made against him by the Department of Justice are based upon.

San Francisco building permit records for the 1314 Utah Street address that Pelosi is associated with also include pending and completed permits for the adjacent 1312 Utah Street location that is at the core of the controversy enveloping Santos. Pelosi himself admitted that he was engaged in an effort to help remove citations made by the Building Inspection Committee against the 1312 Utah Street property. In the years that Pelosi has been associated with The Pit, the property has received 248 reports against it via local 311 public assistance resources offered by the city.

Pelosi responded to local media investigations into his affiliation with the owners of The Pit by saying he had frequented the location a decade earlier when it was leased to Feng's Holistic Healing Center so that he could receive frequent foot massages. The massage parlor of sorts was owned by Edward Feng, who was caught selling pills containing hallucinogenics from poisonous toads and arsenic in an undercover sting by federal agents back in 2011. Pelosi himself downplayed Feng's trouble following the sting, conveying that the business wasn't focused on selling suspect herbal supplements and that its real focus was on the foot massages he apparently become so fond of.

The latest revelations concerning public corruption allegations involving Paul Pelosi Jr. are nothing new for the family. Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul Sr. have drawn the ire of political detractors for their record of suspicious investments. On at least two separate occasions, Paul Sr. and Nancy Pelosi have purchased securities ahead of the announcement of government contracts given to Amazon and Microsoft spawning suspicion of insider trading based on his wife's political standing.

Based on Paul Jr.'s conduct, it appears that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. As Rodrigo Santos' federal prosecution continues to develop, it's only a matter of time before the scope of Paul the younger's involvement in the sordid political affairs of a criminal underbelly that has come to be associated with his family come to light.

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/31/2022 - 16:20
https://ift.tt/jFhvlbVud
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/jFhvlbVud
via IFTTT

Nancy Pelosi's Son Becomes Subject Of Sixth FBI Investigation

Daily Briefing: Equity, Bond Prices Suffer Ahead of Fed Tightening Cycle

Stocks surged on the last trading day of the month, but it was still the worst January for the Nasdaq since 2008. According to Mark Ritchie, managing partner and chief investment officer of RTM Capital Advisors, we’re probably not going to see the type of V-shaped recovery that we saw in March 2020. Although last Monday marked a potential momentum low, “per my work,” notes Ritchie, “we are already in a cyclical bear market.” Earnings have been mixed so far, and investors are still focused on the Federal Reserve and other central banks as they prepare to fight inflation. Ritchie joins Maggie Lake to talk about financial markets and what’s changed early 2022. And Weston Nakamura joins to talk about the impact of China going silent ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Want to submit questions? Drop them right here on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/3GtgoS5

Tyler Durden Mon, 01/31/2022 - 14:33
https://ift.tt/5O73yf6VT
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/5O73yf6VT
via IFTTT

Daily Briefing: Equity, Bond Prices Suffer Ahead of Fed Tightening Cycle

Spotify Says Rogan Interview Did Not Violate Policies; Will Add "Content Advisory" Warnings

Spotify has responded to growing cries from the left to censor medical information which challenges or refutes official government bodies regarding Covid-19. Last week, artists Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removed their music from the platform to protest Joe Rogan over an interview with mRNA inventor and early treatment advocate Dr. Robert Malone, while others have been threatening to follow suit.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek (photo: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

In a Sunday public letter, Founder and CEO Daniel Ek tried to strike a compromise between free speech advocates and those who want to eliminate wrongthink from public discourse under the guise of protecting the public from 'dangerous concepts.'

"We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users," wrote Ek - who made no specific mention of Rogan. "In that role, it is important to me that we don’t take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them."

There’s been a lot of conversation about information regarding COVID-19 on Spotify. We’ve heard the criticism and we’re implementing changes to help combat misinformation. https://t.co/ic8jfR1RNR

— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) January 30, 2022

Ek also said that Spotify would add a "content advisory" to any podcast episode which includes any mention of Covid-19, and will direct listeners to a "Covid-19 hub" where they can consume mainstream information regarding the virus.

Where does this leave Rogan?

A company spokesperson told Bloomberg that none of Rogan's episodes currently on the platform (which includes the Malone interview) violate Spotify's policies - a decision which risks fueling further outrage on the left, who may accuse the company of circling wagons around one of the most powerful voices in media to protect their bottom line.

Rogan has presented a public relations conundrum for Spotify ever since the company paid more than $100 million for the exclusive rights to his show. He offers a hospitable environment for guests with controversial points of view about the pandemic, politics and just about every other topic. 

The criticism and controversy has thus far been worth it to the company’s leadership: Spotify’s stock price jumped the day they announced the deal, and Rogan hosts the single most popular podcast on its service. Spotify moved into podcasting hoping it would turn its popular but unprofitable music service into a more lucrative business. Investors cheered the efforts, though they have cooled on the company in recent months. Its stock has fallen 48% in the past 12 months, closing at $172.98 on Jan. 28 with a stock-market value of $33 billion. -Bloomberg

A cadre of aging leftist musicians vs...

Joe Rogan has completely disrupted the legacy media. pic.twitter.com/rBLCYweag0

— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) January 3, 2022

Spotify has also made public its rules governing acceptable content on the platform, but only made them available to employees.

Their 'medical misinformation' section pertains to "content that promotes dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medical information that may cause offline harm or poses a direct threat to public health.' Examples include:

• asserting that AIDS, COVID-19, cancer or other serious life threatening diseases are a hoax or not real
• encouraging the consumption of bleach products to cure various illnesses and diseases
• promoting or suggesting that vaccines approved by local health authorities are designed to cause death
• encouraging people to purposely get infected with COVID-19 in order to build immunity to it (e.g. promoting or hosting “coronavirus parties”)

Read the entire policy below:

Dangerous Content

Spotify is home to communities where people can create, express themselves, listen, share, learn, and be inspired. Don’t promote violence, incite hatred, harass or engage in any other behavior that may place people at risk of serious physical harm or death. What to avoid:

Content that advocates or glorifies serious physical harm towards an individual or group includes, but may not be limited to:

• • encouraging, promoting, or glorifying suicide and self-harm (if you or someone you know is struggling or thinking about self-harm, please see here for ways to get help)
  • inciting or threatening serious physical harm or acts of violence against a specific target or specific group
  • content that promotes or supports violent extremist organizations

Content that targets an individual or identifiable group for harassment or related abuse includes, but may not be limited to:

• • repeatedly targeting specific individuals with sexual advances
  • sharing, threatening to share, or encouraging others to share someone’s private information, including credit card or banking information, National Identity numbers, etc.

Content that incites violence or hatred towards a person or group of people based on race, religion, gender identity or expression, sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, veteran status, age, disability or other characteristics associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization includes, but may not be limited to:

• • praising, supporting, or calling for violence against a person or group of people based on the characteristics listed above
  • dehumanizing statements about a person or group based on the protected characteristics listed above
  • promoting or glorifying hate groups and their associated images, and/or symbols

Content that promotes dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medical information that may cause offline harm or poses a direct threat to public health includes, but may not be limited to:

• • asserting that AIDS, COVID-19, cancer or other serious life threatening diseases are a hoax or not real
  • encouraging the consumption of bleach products to cure various illnesses and diseases
  • promoting or suggesting that vaccines approved by local health authorities are designed to cause death 
  • encouraging people to purposely get infected with COVID-19 in order to build immunity to it (e.g. promoting or hosting “coronavirus parties”)

Content that illicitly promotes the sale of regulated or illegal goods includes, but may not be limited to: 

• • selling illegal firearms or firearm parts
  • selling illegal drugs
  • selling endangered species or products derived from endangered species

Content that promotes, solicits, or facilitates child sexual abuse or exploitation includes, but may not be limited to:

• • visual depictions of a minor engaged in a sexual act or lascivious depictions of a nude minor
  • promoting acts of sexual abuse against a child in exchange for money
  • encouraging or promoting sexual attraction by adults towards minors
  • promoting, normalizing, or glorifying child grooming behaviors

Deceptive Content

Creating great experiences on Spotify requires trust that people are who they say they are, that they won’t be scammed, and that no one is trying to manipulate our platform. Don’t use malicious practices to deceive others. What to avoid:

Content that impersonates others in order to deceive includes, but may not be limited to:

• • replicating the same name, image, and/or description as another existing creator
  • posing as another person, brand, or organization in a misleading manner

Content that promotes manipulated and synthetic media as authentic in ways that pose the risk of harm includes, but may not be limited to:

• • audio or video recording that comes from a real and valid source that has been altered in a way that changes the meaning or context of the original media and is purported to be true, thus posing a risk of harm to the speaker or other individuals
  • audio or visual media artificially created through the use of technology that’s purported to be true, such as digitally manufactured sexual audio and video content or content falsely suggesting that someone committed a crime

Content that attempts to manipulate or interfere with election-related processes includes, but may not be limited to:

• • misrepresentation of procedures in a civic process that could discourage or prevent participation
  • misleading content promoted to intimidate or suppress voters from participating in an election

Content that attempts to take advantage of the Spotify community includes, but may not be limited to:

• • posting, sharing, or providing instructions on implementing malware or related malicious practices that seek to harm or gain unauthorized access to computers, networks, systems, or other technologies
  • phishing or related attempts to deceptively solicit or collect sensitive information
  • promoting investment and financial scams like “get rich quick” and pyramid schemes, or otherwise encouraging others to part with money under false pretenses

Sensitive Content

We have tons of amazing content on Spotify, but there are certain things that we don’t allow on our platform. Don’t post excessively violent or graphic content, and don’t post sexually explicit content. What to avoid:

Content that promotes graphic or gratuitous depictions of violence, gore, or other shocking imagery includes, but may not be limited to:

• • severely mutilated or dismembered bodies 
  • promoting animal cruelty or torture 

Content that contains sexually explicit material includes, but may not be limited to:

• • pornography or visual depictions of genitalia or nudity presented for the purpose of sexual gratification
  • advocating or glorifying sexual themes related to rape, incest, or beastiality

Illegal Content

The law is the law. No matter who you are, it is your responsibility to comply with applicable laws and regulations. What to avoid:

Content that violates applicable laws and regulations includes, but may not be limited to:

• • content that does not comply with applicable sanctions and export regulations
  • content that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act of any kind

Content that infringes the intellectual property rights of others includes, but may not be limited to:

• • content provided to Spotify without obtaining necessary permissions
  • content that infringes third-party copyrights or trademarks

Tyler Durden Sun, 01/30/2022 - 19:11
https://ift.tt/wQE4Sdnur
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/wQE4Sdnur
via IFTTT

Spotify Says Rogan Interview Did Not Violate Policies; Will Add "Content Advisory" Warnings

Los Angeles Tackles Zombies Ahead Of Super Bowl

Authored by MN Gordon via EconomicPrism.com,

“What the hell is going on?” California Governor, Gavin Newsom

Gender X?

The sun always shines bright over the Golden State.  Even in January.  But, beneath the sunshine, darkness rages in the land of fruits and nuts.

For example, State Senator Scott Wiener – a monster – recently introduced a bill that would permit children 12 and older to be vaccinated against COVID-19 without their parent’s knowledge or consent.  According to Wiener, this bill is consistent with current state law that allows teens to have abortions and obtain birth control without telling their parents.

Yet Wiener’s bill may be finished.  Because his cohort, State Senator Dick Pan, has introduced a bill that would require all children to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend K-12 schools regardless of personal beliefs.  Not vaccination?  Then no school.

Perhaps, this is for the best.  Getting kicked out of school at this late stage in the decline and fall of western civilization is a major blessing.  What kid deserves an institutional education from freaks and rejects?

Before we pulled our son out of the local Long Beach public high school, he was learning history from someone that went by Mx.  Apparently, the teacher – a dude with a green beard – was uncertain if he was male or female.  So he used Mx. instead of Mr. or Ms.

This all may seem a little ridiculous, we know.  However, in California, many people are confused about what gender they are.  It’s a real problem.

Several years ago the state Department of Motor Vehicles attempted to simplify things by adding a nonbinary gender designation (X, as opposed to M or F) to driver licenses and identification cards.  But, alas, this further complicated things…

Because if you’re gender X, what locker room do you use when changing into your swimsuit?

All logic was lost to absurdity.

To solve the matter, at least in our local hamlet, the Long Beach Unified School District is using school repair and safety bond measure funds to build high school aquatic centers with all-gender locker rooms.  That way, if you’re confused about your biology, you can don your swimsuit without having to decide what sex you are.

And even if you’re in full agreement with how God made you, you’ll still have to use an all-gender locker room…because that’s the only option.

What could possibly go wrong?

Zombie Apocalypse

California, no doubt, has been in a worsening state of decay for decades.  Public displays of gender confusion are but one of many signs of degeneration.

The recent rash of flash mob smash and grab robberies and freight train plunderings has garnered what local public officials consider to be unwanted national attention.  Quite frankly, for many Americans across the nation, this offers a preview of what tomorrow will bring.

Zombies may be coming to a city or town near you, eventually.  But in California’s urban centers, the zombie apocalypse is already here.  In fact, it’s been here for many years.

As of 2020, according to something called the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, there’s a homeless population in Los Angeles County of precisely 66,463.  For perspective, SoFi Stadium, the posh new home of the Los Angeles Rams, which was constructed in Inglewood several years ago at a price tag of $5 billion, has a capacity of 70,000.

So if you tune in to watch the Rams play the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, or to watch the Super Bowl in a few weeks, the number of zombies roaming around LA County represents 95 percent capacity of SoFi Stadium.  What’s more, the homeless count was not conducted in 2021 because of COVID-19.  By now, the number of zombies is easily over 70,000.

They’re everywhere.  Haphazard urban campsites litter the bank tops of the colossal, concrete Los Angeles River Channel between Downtown Los Angeles and Downtown Long Beach.  Bidenvilles extend along sidewalks and beneath highway bridge abutments.  When you spare a zombie a dollar, they gripe, “that’s all?!”…confirming that price inflation is totally out of control.

The massive army of zombies roaming about the LA LA land paradise – screaming at the air and defecating on residential driveways – has become a significant embarrassment for local leaders.  The massive collection of tents and makeshift shelters has become too much for public officials to ignore.

What to do…

Los Angeles Tackles Zombies Ahead of Super Bowl

Dirty jobs require trained professionals.  Planet Green, from what we gather, is a company that specializes in emergency disaster and biohazard waste cleanup.  Early Monday morning, Planet Green workers donned hazmat suits and cleared away several homeless encampments near SoFi Stadium.

Is this because the Super Bowl is just a few weeks away or merely a coincidence?

The Mayor of Inglewood, James Butts, said the clearing of Bidenvilles had to do with safety and is part of regular cleanups around the city.  Jass Singh, a local business owner, offered another perspective:

“Finally it’s cleared, they should have done it five, ten years ago.”

Clearing out LA zombie camps before primetime affairs has been a classic playbook for local leaders since at least the 1980s.  One local advocacy group, “Services Not Sweeps”, provided a statement, saying in part:

“This is the same strategy politicians use any time a major event comes to LA, whether it’s the Super Bowl or the Oscars or the Olympics.  They use cops and criminalization to sweep away evidence of their failure to address Los Angeles’ affordable housing crisis.”

Services Not Sweeps has compassionate sentiments.  And while politics certainly caused this manmade disaster, there’s no way politics can fix it.  The fact is, LA’s zombie apocalypse is too great to reverse.  Once a city’s slipped into decay and disrepair, it keeps on sliding.

We don’t like it.  We can’t change it.  Still, there’s an immediate challenge at hand.  Here’s the situation:

Super Bowl Sunday is February 13.  Century Boulevard, between LAX and SoFi Stadium, is roughly 4 miles.  Will Planet Green clear all the zombie camps from this corridor in time?

Consider it a Hail Mary.

*  *  *

Silver is an industrial metal with many different applications.  Most important of all, however, is that silver can be stacked.  By this, silver stacking is an important way to subvert government policies of extreme dollar debasement.  If you enjoy stacking silver, and if you’re interested in discovering other means to protect your wealth and profit during the zombie apocalypse, then consider giving the Wealth Prism Letter a try.  Take a look, and join our burgeoning club of silver stacking subscribers today!

Tyler Durden Sun, 01/30/2022 - 18:30
https://ift.tt/k0Q5jocE2
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/k0Q5jocE2
via IFTTT

Los Angeles Tackles Zombies Ahead Of Super Bowl

Atlanta Fed President Pours Gasoline On Fire With 50Bps Hike Comment, But There Are Reasons To Fade It

Here we go again.

After we saw a veritable rollercoaster in market last week, after Powell's shockingly hawkish FOMC presser which spooked Wall Street into predicting that 5 (as JPM and Goldman now expect), six or even seven rate hikes (as per the latest Bank of America forecast) are on deck in 2022 alone, tensions have also remained elevated after Powell refused to refute speculation of a 50bps rate hike this year.

Of course, tensions eased on Friday after the latest set of dismal economic data, which led the Atlanta Fed to come out with a 0.1% Q1 GDP estimate which will turn negative in the coming days after just a few more incrementally negative datapoints...

... suggested that inflation will fade far sooner and the US economy will slide into contraction long before the Fed can hike even a handful of times, let along go the way to 2.50% or 3.00% or whatever strategists believe the neutral rate is these days. This, together with tens of billions in month end mutual fund rebalancing, sent futures soaring on Friday in the latest violent intraday reversal.

But with futures set to open in just a few hours, we may get another sharp drop at 6pm ET when traders punt risk after yet another Fed official - we would say hawk but that's meaningless now that even the uber-doves have turned hawkish to appease Biden and his imploding approval rating...

Monetary policy 4 parts pic.twitter.com/eibcu5nNKo

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 28, 2022

... hinted at a 50bps rate hike in March.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Raphael Bostic, president of the Fed’s Atlanta branch, said the Fed could "supersize a rate increase to half a percentage point if inflation remains stubbornly high."

Curiously, while not jumping on the latest Wall Street bandwagon calling for 5 or more hikes in 2022, Bostic instead stuck to his call for only three quarter-point interest rate increases in 2022, with the first coming in March, but he said a more aggressive approach was possible if warranted by the economic data.

That, the FT notes, could mean rate rises at each of the seven remaining policy meetings in 2022, or even the possibility of the Fed increasing the federal funds rate by half a percentage point, double its typical amount and a tool it has not used in roughly two decades.

“Every option is on the table for every meeting,” Bostic said on Friday. “If the data say that things have evolved in a way that a 50 basis point move is required or [would] be appropriate, then I’m going to lean into that . . . If moving in successive meetings makes sense, I’ll be comfortable with that."

“I do think that a view has emerged that we have some meetings that we really just dial it in and that there’s no ability of action at, and that’s just never been my mindset.

Bostic added that he would be watching closely for a deceleration in monthly consumer price gains and further evidence that rising wages are not feeding meaningfully into higher inflation when thinking about his forecast for interest rates. Which means that the next CPI print will be especially important.

And, as we noted on Friday, the Atlanta Fed president said he was encouraged by the latest employment cost index (ECI) report, which was published on Friday and which showed a sequential decline, which prompted Bostic to expect a moderation in wage growth going forward.

That said, Bostic expressed little concern about the recent market gyrations, and said it was a natural response to a Fed that was beginning to withdraw its support.

“The reduction of accommodation should translate into tighter financial markets,” Bostic said. “The developments that we’ve seen on that front are comforting in the sense that markets are still functioning the way they’re supposed to, and they are responding to conditions in ways that are rational and appropriate.”

He said, however, that he was closely monitoring overnight borrowing markets, in particular, for signs of stress akin to the episode in 2018 when financial markets seized up as the Fed tightened monetary policy further despite fears of a growth slowdown.

Bostic, who also supports the Fed reducing its $9tn balance sheet “as quickly as” possible without impairing market functioning, said he was “optimistic” about how the economy was going to perform in the coming months, despite elevated inflation.

Throwing a bone to the market bulls, Bostic rejected claims that the Fed would raise interest rates far too aggressively and in a manner that would prove damaging.

“Our policy path is not a constriction path. It’s a less accommodative path,” he said. “If we do the three [interest rate increases] that I have in mind, that’ll still leave our policy in a very accommodative space. I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of constraint on growth as we remove these emergency actions.”

Of course, while the kneejerk response to Bostic is that this is another telegraphing of a 50bps hike, the reality is that all the Fed president is saying is what Powell said earlier, namely that the Fed will now have to be much more reactive to continued price pressures. And yes, while that could include faster rate hikes, it could also lead to a slowdown or even reversal if we hit a recession in the second half, something which BofA's CIO Michael Hartnett has been pounding the table on in recent weeks...

Hartnett: "Fed won’t end up tightening many times as just few rates hikes & QT are enough to unwind excesses and threaten H2 recession"

He is usually 3-6 months ahead of the herd

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 28, 2022

... although the bigger danger, as Hartnett also revealed, is that the Fed will hike until the market breaks. Of course, if his own Atlanta Fed shows GDP has turned negative, we expect Bostic to be among the first to push back on aggressive tightening as the last thing the Fed will do is hike into a clear and present recession.

Meanwhile, even the sellside is starting to turn, with BofA writing on Friday that based on recent data trends, the "risk of a negative growth quarter" is "significant", and the bank slashed its Q1 GDP forecast from 4.0% to just 1.0%.

Economic conditions aside, there are at least two more fundamental reasons to ignore what Bostic has to say: first, he has always been among the Fed's more outspoken hawks.

Secondly, even if Bostic is dead set on hiking into a recession (which he isn't) he won't have the opportunity to do so for years: as a reminder, he is a non-voter until 2024, by which point not only will the Republican part control Congress...

... but the US will likely already long be in a recession.

Finally, even if the Fed is using Bostic's FT interview as a way to telegraph what is coming, there are almost two months until the March FOMC, and a lot can change by then, not least the next CPI print which if it comes (well) below expectations, will be viewed as a key dovish reversal by the market, especially if the current downbeat economic trends fail to reverse, pushing the economy straight into a contraction.

Tyler Durden Sun, 01/30/2022 - 18:00
https://ift.tt/pjqICvl3G
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/pjqICvl3G
via IFTTT

Atlanta Fed President Pours Gasoline On Fire With 50Bps Hike Comment, But There Are Reasons To Fade It

Hedge Fund CIO: An Asset With Finite Supply, But No Intrinsic Value, Can Become Priceless

By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management

“The Fed bought $130bln of bonds so far this year. And global central banks bought $300bln already,” said Biggie Too, global chief strategist for one of Wall Street’s too-big-to-fail affairs.

“We have a rate shock, yet they’re still doing QE,” bellowed Biggie. “There really are just two camps now: sheepish equity longs and stubborn equity longs,” he barked.

“So you gonna buy 30yr treasuries with 7% inflation? Or buy gold when the dollar is going up? Who wants to buy emerging markets when the Fed is about to tighten?” asked Biggie, working himself up, bouncing.

“Maybe that’s why equities have gone from being this thoroughbred, racing beautifully around the track, to a bucking bronco – and yet no one can get off.”

* * *

Infrared tests of the ancient artwork reveal that Botticelli initially started painting Christ as a young child, hugged by his mother. But for reasons long since lost, during the year 1500 AD, the 55yr old artist entered his studio, turned the canvas upside down, started over, and produced The Man of Sorrows.

From a few ounces of unremarkable paint, emerged a masterpiece, a haunting work. His earlier paintings were mainly mythological, The Birth of Venus, his most famous. Later, his work turned more Gothic, perhaps a reflection of the darkness that briefly descended on Florence. Dictatorship. Botticelli lived in a time resembling ours, rhyming, the Renaissance -- a period of breathtaking creativity, expressed with the tools of time, brushes, chisels, pens.

But even in periods that favor the uninhibited expression of human creativity, we wrestle with our eternal demons. Political conflict, rivalry, false pride, greed, stupidity. We see it manifest today in Russia/Europe, US/China, Republicans/Democrats, climate-change, crushing inequality. The Man of Sorrows changed hands over five centuries, watching our triumphs, defeats, in silence.

An anonymous buyer purchased the painting in 1963. It re-emerged this week, selling for 45,400,000 dollars; a currency invented 282yrs after Botticelli died.

The Sotheby’s auction price is +1,621-times the 28,000 dollars paid in 1963. Such a return is almost inconceivable.

The S&P 500 in those 59yrs is +68-times. Gold +51-times. The US consumer price index is +9-times. But high art is unlike other assets, connecting us to genius, the sublime. And it reveals this truth: an asset with finite supply, but no intrinsic value, can become priceless, if only we imagine it so.

Which leads back to our present Renaissance. We live in a period of utterly stunning human advance, expressed with the technological tools of our time. Today’s greatest creations will barely resemble those of the past. Yet all this is obscured from most by the distractions streaming across the newsfeeds. And our highest calling, of course, is to navigate the rising volatility, while quietly creating and investing in the treasures of tomorrow. 

Tyler Durden Sun, 01/30/2022 - 17:30
https://ift.tt/Ic6OnU5Tg
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/Ic6OnU5Tg
via IFTTT

Hedge Fund CIO: An Asset With Finite Supply, But No Intrinsic Value, Can Become Priceless

Meet The 29 Year Old Woman Teaming Up With Cathie Wood To Launch A Bitcoin ETF In The US

A 29 year old crypto "expert" that already manages $2.5 billion is coming to an ARK near you.

Ophelia Snyder, whose firm 21Shares manages $2.5 billion from her office in Switzerland's "Crypto Valley", is teaming up with ARK Invest's Cathie Wood to try and launch a bitcoin ETF in the United States, according to Bloomberg. 

She has already opened an office in New York, where crypto-friendly Mayor Eric Adams has publicly proclaimed his support for the asset class. She's now going to be tasked with the difficult proposition of getting regulators to look favorably upon the idea of a bitcoin ETF. It's an idea the SEC hasn't seemed to warm up to just yet. 

But that hasn't stopped her. She told Bloomberg: “We really want to make people feel confident when they enter the space. That’s the whole game for us — lowering the barriers to entry and making people feel excited about what we feel is revolutionary technology.”

Wood and Snyder first met at a conference, the report says, where they "bonded over their mutual interest in crypto". Now, Wood sits on the board of Amun, another of Snyder's crypto-related companies. 

Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF and mutual fund research at CFRA Research, told Bloomberg that risks of these ETFs “are elevated relative to traditional equity or fixed income products, so it’s easy to see how investors could lose money faster.”

Snyder's current company tries to minimize risk of crypto "by purchasing the actual coins that underlie its funds and storing them in an offline wallet, known as cold storage", the report says. While this adds to fees, it adds a layer of security. However, it doesn't do much to protect investors from the volatile swings in crypto pricing. 

She has also been a critic of bitcoin futures ETFs: “The futures products are much more financially complex outside of the Bitcoin exposure. My worst nightmare is people start buying these products not understanding these nuances.”

21Shares charges between 1.49% and 2.5%. 

Snyder has “an enormous amount” of her own money in crypto, Bloomberg writes. 

She concluded about the asset class: “This is my life. This is the thing I think is going to change the entire world.”

Tyler Durden Sun, 01/30/2022 - 17:05
https://ift.tt/xLvlb7rZw
from ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/xLvlb7rZw
via IFTTT

Meet The 29 Year Old Woman Teaming Up With Cathie Wood To Launch A Bitcoin ETF In The US