One of the things that I enjoy is a nice soft and juicy brownie, hot out of the oven, covered with pudding and ice cream. Goes great with black coffee.
It’s perfect on a rainy Spring day.
It’s one of those wonderful combos, like a grilled cheese sandwich with a elbow-noodle tomato soup. Or an icy-glass of milk with some Oreo cookies.
What special events are you going to enjoy today?
Any plans?
California bill would create missing persons alert ONLY for black women, children
The Amber Alert system is not race-segregated like the Ebony Alert would be.
A new bill proposed in California would create an “Ebony Alert” system to specifically notifiy the public when black women and children go missing. While the state already has a missing persons alert system, this one would only be for black women and children.
The state currently has an Amber Alert for missing children, a Silver Alert for missing elderly persons, and a Feather Alert for missing indigenous persons. The Amber Alert system is not race-segregated like the Ebony Alert would be.
In a release on the race-based crime bill, state senator Steven Bradford said that the bill would “address the often ignored or lack of attention given to Black children and young Black women that are missing in California.”
His reasoning is that black children, which comprised 38 percent of those reported missing in the US, are often classified as runaways, meaning that their disappearance does not trigger the Amber Alert system.
The bill does not change the requirements for determining if a missing person is a runaway, but will encourage law enforcement to use the Ebony Alert “if that agency determines that it would be an effective tool in the investigation of a missing Black youth or young Black women between the ages of 12 – 25 years.”
It would also encourage media outlets to cover these disappearances.
Amber Alert’s are specifically for those who are known to have been abducted. It does not have a racial component, but Bradford’s take is that it is discriminatory and contains within it some kind of implicit bias.
“In order for an AMBER Alert to be activated, the following criteria must be met,” California’s Amber Alert system states, “Confirmation that an abduction has occurred or a child was taken by anyone, including, but not limited to, a custodial parent or guardian.
“The victim is 17 years of age or younger, or an individual with a proven mental or physical disability. The victim is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death. There is information available that, if disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the victim.”
“The Ebony Alert would ensure that resources and attention are given so we can bring home missing Black women and Black children in the same way we would search for any missing child and missing person,” said Bradford.
“When someone who is missing is incorrectly listed as a runaway, they basically vanish a second time. They vanish from the police detectives’ workload. They vanish from the headlines. In many ways, no one even knows they are missing. How can we find someone and bring them home safely when no one is really looking for them,” he said.
Found Computers & Gear in Abandoned Power Plant
Rufus
Back to work today, forgot my pass so locked bike outside Cannon Street station. Left work at 6pm to find just the cut lock and no bike, resigned to never seeing my trusty stead again asked the station if they have cameras. A guy appeared waving at me, asked me to put the code into my cut lock. He replied ‘I have your bike’ with a smile I will never forget!! His name is Abdul Muneeb and he works for South Eastern Railways, he was on a break and saw a guy bolt cut the lock and challenged him to give it back, he then took it inside and waited 4 hours after his shift finished to personally make sure I got my bike back. The world needs more Abdul’s, he is a legend of a man and a credit to his employer.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
The potatoes are not peeled in this version of the old classic. The skins give an attractive color and flavor to the dish, but feel free to peel them if you wish.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup water
- 4 pounds red potatoes, quartered
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk, warmed
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place trivet in bottom of a 4 quart or larger Duromatic pressure cooker. Add water, garlic and potatoes. Close lid and bring pressure to second red ring over high heat. Adjust heat to stabilize at the second red ring. Cook for 6 to 10 minutes, depending on the size and age of the potatoes.
- Remove from heat and use Natural Release Method (remove from heat and allow pressure to subside naturally).
- Drain potatoes and garlic and let stand a minute to drain excess moisture. Put potatoes and garlic through a potato ricer or mash with a potato masher and transfer to a warmed serving dish.
- Add milk, 1/4 cup at a time while beating, until the potatoes are creamy. Beat until blended.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Jack Teixeira Is An Innocent Scapecoat
List of CIA Operatives in Ukraine and in Russia, Published on Internet
In another blow to the Intel Community the names of CIA Operatives in Ukraine and Russia have been unmasked on a well known Internet message board.
Russian FSB Agents are effectuating arrests as you read this.
This is an unmitigated disaster for the Intelligence Community.
What does the U.S. do better than China?
Different countries / nations have different laws and codes of behavior depending on their societies. To compare two different societies is rather meaningless, as you are comparing apples with chestnuts.
But let’s give it a go, shall we.
Force Projection
No one causes war, arms wars, promotes wars, and destroying homes and people during wars better than America. America is the best at war. If not overly, covert wars are an American expertise. It’s like a gourmet chef who is an expert in stews. The United States has it’s hands and fingers everywhere, ready to twitch and pinch to get other nations to obey it’s dictates or else.
The United States is the big bully that is always looking for a fight…
Meanwhile, China is this puny little nerd, sitting on his porch minding his own business. He studies. He trains. But he doesn’t really want to fight. he just wants to live life.
Spend Money
No one can spend money better than the United States Congress. Money for this. Money for that. Not enough money? Make more! And throw it away. Money. Money. Money. Money is a religion. It is a God. It is something to be worshiped and discarded as needed.
China doesn’t think like that. Money is transactional. You use it when needed, and set it aside when not.
LGBQ+
The United States is the leader in “alternative lifestyles”. Sex with dogs, cats, hamsters, clay figurines, and railroad locomotives isn’t a problem. Not only is it legal, but in some regions, it’s expected. Want to be a transsexual unicorn that specializes in poetry about fairy dust basket weaving? Go for it. The United States will probably fund your “uniqueness”.
China is a traditional nation, and their tolerance line is soft, but cannot be crossed.
Clown Show
No other nation leads the United States in incompetence, silliness, and stupidity of leadership. Sure, there are some upstarts like Zelenskyy, and some good comic relief with some of the jokers in Canada and France, but the United States is the leader in moronic idiocracity.
China is boring and bland in comparison. Just merit driven leadership that have a real sincere desire to help their people.
Ah, you wanted more. Sorry. Posting this about my home nation really saddens me. Because it never used to be like this.
There was a time, not too long ago, when the United States looked like this…
Intelligence show that the US has been considering of conducting a democratic coup to overthrow the US so-called Brazil president dictator Lula to reinstate the US style of democracy in Brazil. Why?
Been considering? No. US already conducted a regime change coup 3 months ago and it is still ongoing today. A common playbook. This is the storming of the Brazil’s Congress :
Why? All because of BRICS and SCO expansionist moves getting closer to the USA aka NATO expansionist move towards Russia. The number of states that are planning to join BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) increased significantly last year, about 20 countries want to join. The countries wishing to become part of BRICS and the SCO have an important role to play in their regions. Among them are Turkey, Mexico, Indonesia, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and a number of other African countries.
Argentina and Mexico are next. Mexico is already threatened – US Congress already contemplating of an US military invasion using the drug warlords in Mexico as their primary reason and we know it is more to it.
China and Brazil have reached a deal to trade in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar as an intermediary,
Link HERE
Ouch! That’s painful… and it is not new. Everyone in BRICS with the new incoming members are heading towards this path to ditch the dollar on bilateral trades. The USD is now under tremendous pressure as Gold prices have gone up substantially above $2000 indicating countries are buying them up to hedge against the impending weakness of the USD. Most of these countries have accumulated plenty of USD assets and treasury bonds due to trade surpluses with the USA – they need to hedge with Gold and gradually get out safely of these USD holdings.
USA has plenty of their own natural resources. They just don’t want to mine them. They rather deplete others using freely printed fiat USD currency which has not been backed by Gold since 1971. They over consumed each year resulting in mounting bilateral trade deficits while others toiled to provide to their greedy needs and wants. They hire the best overseas talents to study and work in USA with attractive scholarships and compensation, capture industrial and technology markets with strong R&D, fund regime changes, wars and conflicts via their CIA (Intelligence), NED (Democracy), and MIC (Military Industrial Complex) clandestine operations.
With the decline and fall of USD, the destruction of this evil superpower USA has begun – it is long overdue as the USD intrinsically is worth ZERO today. When countries stop accepting USD and downgrade its valuation, a new world order will come about.
Australian TV ACCIDENTALLY Shows The U.S. War Menace
Secret Life of The American Teenagers in Urban Paintings by Mark Tennant
Prepare to be amazed, the paintings of New York-based artist Mark Tennant are some of the most captivating works of contemporary art today. Each work almost feels like a photograph taken at just the right moment, as if someone is walking around with a camera snapping photos of the nightlife. However, these works of art are not photos they are paintings.
Somehow even with his simplistic style and use of wide brush strokes and obscure figures. Tennant is still able to create such a realistic appearance to his works. Mark’s paintings also echo a heavy influence from the 1950s-1970s from its style of fashion and interior design. Considering he was born in 1950 this works could possibly be from photos of life in his young adulthood or even distance memories. Guess that is a question we would have to ask the artist himself someday.
«Discomfort is the only state in which to remain unpredictable and fresh.»
More: Mark Tennant, Instagram, purpleartforall h/t: myartisrealmagazine
Scott Ritter: “China IS ENDING THE WAR ONCE AND FOR ALL, THIS IS IT” in Exclusive Interview
https://youtu.be/ugKxVsxVxt4
China’s Coronavirus – A Shocking Update. Did The Virus Originate in the US?
Japan, China and Taiwan Reports on the Origin of the Virus
Global Research, March 04, 2020
The Western media quickly took the stage and laid out the official narrative for the outbreak of the new coronavirus which appeared to have begun in China, claiming it to have originated with animals at a wet market in Wuhan.
In fact the origin was for a long time unknown but it appears likely now, according to Chinese and Japanese reports, that the virus originated elsewhere, from multiple locations, but began to spread widely only after being introduced to the market.
More to the point, it appears that the virus did not originate in China and, according to reports in Japanese and other media, may have originated in the US.
Chinese Researchers Conclude the Virus Originated Outside of China
After collecting samples of the genome in China, medical researchers first conclusively demonstrated that the virus did not originate at the seafood market but had multiple unidentified sources, after which it was exposed to the seafood market from where it spread everywhere. (1) (2) (3)
According to the Global Times:
A new study by Chinese researchers indicates the novel coronavirus may have begun human-to-human transmission in late November from a place other than the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan.
The study published on ChinaXiv, a Chinese open repository for scientific researchers, reveals the new coronavirus was introduced to the seafood market from another location(s), and then spread rapidly from the market due to the large number of close contacts. The findings were the result of analyses of the genome data, sources of infection, and the route of spread of variations of the novel coronavirus collected throughout China.
The study believes that patient(s) zero transmitted the virus to workers or sellers at the Huanan seafood market, the crowded market easily facilitating further transmission of the virus to buyers, which caused a wider spread in early December 2019. (Global Times, February 22, 2020, emphasis added (2)
Chinese medical authorities – and “intelligence agencies” – then conducted a rapid and wide-ranging search for the origin of the virus, collecting nearly 100 samples of the genome from 12 different countries on 4 continents, identifying all the varieties and mutations. During this research, they determined the virus outbreak had begun much earlier, probably in November, shortly after the Wuhan Military Games.
They then came to the same independent conclusions as the Japanese researchers – that the virus did not begin in China but was introduced there from the outside.
China’s top respiratory specialist Zhong Nanshan said on January 27
“Though the COVID-19 was first discovered in China, it does not mean that it originated from China”
“But that is Chinese for “it originated someplace else, in another country”. (4)
This of course raises questions as to the actual location of origin. If the authorities pursued their analysis through 100 genome samples from 12 countries, they must have had a compelling reason to be searching for the original source outside China. This would explain why there was such difficulty in locating and identifying a ‘patient zero’.
Japan’s Media: The Coronavirus May Have Originated in the US
In February of 2020, the Japanese Asahi news report (print and TV) claimed the coronavirus originated in the US, not in China, and that some (or many) of the 14,000 American deaths attributed to influenza may have in fact have resulted from the coronavirus. (5)
A report from a Japanese TV station disclosing a suspicion that some of those Americans may have unknowningly contracted the coronavirus has gone viral on Chinese social media, stoking fears and speculations in China that the novel coronavirus may have originated in the US.
The report, by TV Asahi Corporation of Japan, suggested that the US government may have failed to grasp how rampant the virus has gone on US soil.
However, it is unknown whether Americans who have already died of the influenza had contracted the coronavirus, as reported by TV Asahi. (People’s Daily, English, February 23, 2020, emphasis added)
On February 14, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said they will begin to test individuals with influenza-like-illness for the novel coronavirus at public health labs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, and New York City.
The TV Asahi network presented scientific documentation for their claims, raising the issue that no one would know the cause of death because the US either neglected to test or failed to release the results. Japan avoided the questions of natural vs. man-made and accidental vs. deliberate, simply stating that the virus outbreak may first have occurred in the US. The Western Internet appears to have been scrubbed of this information, but the Chinese media still reference it.
These claims stirred up a hornet’s nest not only in Japan but in China, immediately going viral on Chinese social media, especially since the Military World Games were held in Wuhan in October, and it had already been widely discussed that the virus could have been transmitted at that time – from a foreign source.
“Perhaps the US delegates brought the coronavirus to Wuhan, and some mutation occurred to the virus, making it more deadly and contagious, and causing a widespread outbreak this year.” (People’s Daily, February 23, 2020) (1)
Shen Yi, an international relations professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, stated that global virologists “including the intelligence agencies” were tracking the origin of the virus. Also of interest, the Chinese government did not shut the door on this. The news report stated:
“Netizens are encouraged to actively partake in discussions, but preferably in a rational fashion.”
In China, that is meaningful. If the reports were rubbish, the government would clearly state that, and tell people to not spread false rumors.
Taiwan Virologist Suggests the Coronavirus Originated in the US
Then, Taiwan ran a TV news program on February,27,(click here to access video (Chinese), that presented diagrams and flow charts suggesting the coronavirus originated in the US. (6)
Below is a rough translation, summary and analysis of selected content of that newscast. (see map below)
The man in the video is a top virologist and pharmacologist who performed a long and detailed search for the source of the virus. He spends the first part of the video explaining the various haplotypes (varieties, if you will), and explains how they are related to each other, how one must have come before another, and how one type derived from another. He explains this is merely elementary science and nothing to do with geopolitical issues, describing how, just as with numbers in order, 3 must always follow 2.
One of his main points is that the type infecting Taiwan exists only in Australia and the US and, since Taiwan was not infected by Australians, the infection in Taiwan could have come only from the US.
The basic logic is that the geographical location with the greatest diversity of virus strains must be the original source because a single strain cannot emerge from nothing. He demonstrated that only the US has all the five known strains of the virus (while Wuhan and most of China have only one, as do Taiwan and South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, Singapore, and England, Belgium and Germany), constituting a thesis that the haplotypes in other nations may have originated in the US.
Korea and Taiwan have a different haplotype of the virus than China, perhaps more infective but much less deadly, which would account for a death rate only 1/3 that of China.
Neither Iran nor Italy were included in the above tests, but both countries have now deciphered the locally prevalent genome and have declared them of different varieties from those in China, which means they did not originate in China but were of necessity introduced from another source. It is worth noting that the variety in Italy has approximately the same fatality rate as that of China, three times as great as other nations, while the haplotype in Iran appears to be the deadliest with a fatality rate of between 10% and 25%. (7) (8) (9)
Due to the enormous amount of Western media coverage focused on China, much of the world believes the coronavirus spread to all other nations from China, but this now appears to have been proven wrong. With about 50 nations scattered throughout the world having identified at least one case at the time of writing, it would be very interesting to examine virus samples from each of those nations to determine their location of origin and the worldwide sources and patterns of spread.
The Virologist further stated that the US has recently had more than 200 “pulmonary fibrosis” cases that resulted in death due to patients’ inability to breathe, but whose conditions and symptoms could not be explained by pulmonary fibrosis. He said he wrote articles informing the US health authorities to consider seriously those deaths as resulting from the coronavirus, but they responded by blaming the deaths on e-cigarettes, then silenced further discussion. …
The Taiwanese doctor then stated the virus outbreak began earlier than assumed, saying, “We must look to September of 2019”.
He stated the case in September of 2019 where some Japanese traveled to Hawaii and returned home infected, people who had never been to China. This was two months prior to the infections in China and just after the CDC suddenly and totally shut down the Fort Detrick bio-weapons lab claiming the facilities were insufficient to prevent loss of pathogens. (10) (11)
He said he personally investigated those cases very carefully (as did the Japanese virologists who came to the same conclusion).. This might indicate the coronavirus had already spread in the US but where the symptoms were being officially attributed to other diseases, and thus possibly masked.
The prominent Chinese news website Huanqiu related one case in the US where a woman’s relative was told by physicians he died of the flu, but where the death certificate listed the coronavirus as the cause of death. On February 26, ABC News affiliate KJCT8 News Network reported that a woman recently told the media that her sister died on from coronavirus infection. Montrose, Colorado resident Almeta Stone said, “They (the medical staff) kept us informed that it was the flu, and when I got the death certificate, there was a coronavirus in the cause of death.” (12)
We cannot ascertain the number of such cases in the US but since the CDC apparently has no reliable test kits and is conducting little or no testing for the virus, there may be others.
***
Just for information
In the past two years (during the trade war) China has suffered several pandemics:
- February 15, 2018: H7N4 bird flu. Sickened at least 1,600 people in China and killed more than 600. Many chickens killed. China needs to purchase US poultry products.
- June, 2018: H7N9 bird flu. Many chickens killed. China needs to purchase US poultry products.
- August, 2018: outbreak of African swine flu. Same strain as Russia, from Georgia. Millions of pigs killed. China needs to purchase US pork products.
- May 24, 2019: massive infestation of armyworms in 14 province-level regions in China, which destroy most food crops. Quickly spread to more than 8,500 hectares of China’s grain production. They produce astonishing numbers of eggs. China needs to purchase US agricultural products – corn, soybeans.
- December, 2019: Coronavirus appearance puts China’s economy on hold.
- January, 2020: China is hit by a “highly pathogenic” strain of bird flu in Hunan province. Many chickens died, many others killed. China needs to purchase US poultry products.
The standard adage is that bad luck happens in threes, not sixes.
***
Be the Rufus
“Y’all. This gentleman right here is Barry. He paid for my groceries when I realized I left my wallet in Emmy’s diaper bag. The cashier had finished ringing everything up and gave me my total.
After I couldn’t find my wallet, the cashier and bagger graciously offered to suspend my order and put all my perishable items in a cooler so I could run home to get my wallet.
I explained I live 20+ minutes away and by the time my kids and I would make it back an hour will have passed. It was already 7:00 and we still needed to eat dinner.
I succumbed to the fact I would have to put an order in online and pick it up the following day.
Trust me, I realize there are people with actual problems in this world, but at that moment, I felt completely defeated. My husband had just left for Texas and would be gone for two weeks and there was still so much to do at home.
My son, who just got done helping me put everything on the conveyor belt kept asking what was wrong. In my frustration and anger (toward myself) I said through clenched teeth ‘I don’t have my wallet; we have to leave’.
Now comes the good part. In steps Barry asking, ‘How much is it?’ I profusely refuse, but Barry’s persistent so I tell him my total. He hands his card to the cashier and looks at me and says ‘I’ve been there before.
He said…
I understand. My wife recently died and if she were here, she'd want me to help you. So, I'm doing it for her, too.’ It might have been weird asking to take a picture, but he was my saving grace this evening. He's a reminder that there's plenty of good out there.”
Hiding China’s Growth
Lies, damn lies and statistics
How much did China’s economy really grow last year?
Our media insist it ‘slowed dramatically,’ to 3%, but that percentage hides the truth rather than revealing it, because 3% is a ratio, not an amount.
If I told you my 15-year-old son grew 3% last year, you’d rightly think me odd, even evasive, wouldn’t you?
But unless you can remember the previous year’s GDP and calculate the percentage mentally, you don’t know how much it grew – and you’re not intended to.
Journalists use percentages to mislead us..
Let us count the ways..
In 2007, media reported breathlessly that China’s GDP grew 14.7%, ‘the fastest economic growth ever recorded’. If we subtract 2006 GDP from 2007 GDP we learn that the economy was $900 billion bigger in 2007 than in 2006. Almost $1 trillion.
China’s GDP only ‘grew’ 3% in 2022, ‘the slowest growth in decades,’ we were told, but this is nonsense.
3% of China’s 2021 ($30 trillion) economy is almost $900 billion – the same as 2007, and – since the population is unchanged – enough to double wages and pensions in that interval.
The economy is not slowing down. It’s accelerating.
China could have its first $2 trillion growth year in 2023. You heard it here first.
Pot Roast
Yield: 10 servings
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 4 pounds boneless beef roast
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 1/2 cups beef stock
- 6 tablespoons flour
Instructions
- Brown the beef and onion in oil in the open pressure cooker.
- Add salt and pepper, 1/2 cup wine, seal cooker and cook at 10 pounds pressure for 15 minutes per pound.
- Reduce pressure, open cooker and remove meat.
- To make gravy, remove all but 2 tablespoons fat from the cooker, add the flour and stir for 1 minute, then slowly add the wine and stock and simmer for a few minutes until thickened.
- Season gravy with salt and pepper to taste.
EU chief von der Leyen to came along to visit China in April 2023. She was ignorant but arrogant. She was “lectured” by Xi Jinping. What has she said?
Ursula came as Macrons Guard Dog to watch over Macron and see that he didn’t waver in his message
It didn’t work
Ursula made four points
- She first said she asked Xi Jingping not to try to unilaterally change the Taiwan Straits equation
Xi Jingping was incredulous. I mean this is somebody who holds no recognized Global leadership, a woman who lectures everyone about democracy but didn’t get elected to her post and who threatens anyone who doesn’t follow her agenda (US Agenda)
Nonetheless a Consumate Professional, Xi replied
- China can do whatever it wants in the Straits Equation. Taiwan IS CHINA. After all you have just said you support the One China Policy. What do you think it means?
Ursula was bested
Round one to XJP
Next she began on Ukraine. She asked XJP to not involve in the Ukraine conflict and called Russia an Aggressor in so many words
Once again Xi was puzzled at her rudeness. He sighed and once again decided to respond
- US is the one who is fuelling the continuous war in Ukraine, NOT CHINA. China is always for Peace and Global Peace.
Meanwhile Macron was deeply uncomfortable and tried to reduce Ursulas stupidity by talking about how “De Coupling” with China was an impossibility
Immediately the Paid Lapdog Von Der Leyen jumped in using the word “De Risking” saying how EU could potentially reduce their risk exposure with China
The fact is Xi Jingping was incredibly polite.
Yet he was finally weary of all this talk of Ukraine, Democracy and Freedom
Macron once free of Ursula, repaired things and made some statements that pleased Xi but infuriated the European Neocons including the million dollar statement that
EU cannot be always under the Shadow of the United States
That single statement wiped out all of Ursulas bad behavior and pleased Xi Jingping immensely
Thismade Macrons trip a big success
Meanwhile Ursula
The Chinese ensured that she stood in LINE with ordinary passengers and forced her to show her Covid results
When she said she didn’t have them with her and showed her phone, they said they wanted documentary evidence and she waited until the Embassy Staff in Beijing got her the documents as she sat fuming with the Ordinary Passengers who were grinning and enjoying themselves at her discomfort
They demanded her passport
She said she was a diplomat and the Chinese said “No you’re not. We didn’t invite you to China, so you are now not a Diplomat but an ordinary visitor. PASSPORT PLEASE”
So for the first time in many years, she handed over her Passport and got a stamp and walked to her plane UTTERLY HUMILIATED AND FURIOUS
The Subtle yet Brutal Chinese Treatment
Throw Junk Fees in the Trash
States are following the Biden administration’s lead in going after unfair and deceptive fees.
If you’ve tried to buy a concert ticket anytime within recent memory, you’re almost certainly familiar with the slew of fees that get tacked onto the price at the end. There are so many fees on live music tickets that this internet joke about Ticketmaster charging a “fee fee” and a “fee fi fo fum fee” is actually barely a joke at all.
Those charges lumped on at the end, which don’t actually pay for any additional services, are a result of Ticketmaster’s market power. It cornered the market on live events ticketing, and charges fees because it can. If you want to buy tickets to most shows, you have to go through Ticketmaster. The only other option is to pound sand.
But these so-called “junk fees” — again, which describe fees hidden from the customers that don’t correspond to any additional service — are everywhere. Rental cars, rental homes, hotels, banking, airlines, you name it: If corporations have power, it’s a safe bet they’re using it to extract junk fees. Junk fees cost Americans, by some estimates, billions or even tens of billions of dollars every year.
In his State of the Union address this year, President Joe Biden announced a push against junk fees. “Junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but they matter to most other folks in homes like the one I grew up in, like many of you did. They add up to hundreds of dollars a month,” he said. Federal agencies have also gotten in on the act where they have jurisdiction, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Communications Commission.
Interestingly, while there is some movement toward a mish-mosh of federal bills dealing with these fees, the White House is also pushing state legislatures to tackles them. It held a webinar of sorts with state legislators from New York, California, and Vermont who each carry junk fee-related bills, and recently sent out guidance for state legislators who want to work on the issue.
Which brings us to Pennsylvania! There will be a hearing there in the House Consumer Affairs Committee on Thursday to examine HB 636, the “Pay the Price You See” bill, sponsored by Rep. Nick Pisciottano, one of the great anti-monopoly champions working at the state level. The bill would require full price disclosure on all purchases, at the front end, making any sort of junk fee illegal under Pennsylvania’s state Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
“Hidden or ‘junk’ fees are inherently deceptive and should not exist in a free and fair market,” Pisciottano said. “For too long, companies like Ticketmaster have taken advantage of American consumers through these arbitrary fees. I applaud the steps being taken at the federal level to address junk fees and look forward to supplementing consumer protections here in Pennsylvania by mandating fee transparency in advertised prices.”
As my colleague Katie Van Dyck will explain to the Pennsylvania committee, there are two main tactics that corporations use to impose these fees, which are known as “drip pricing” and “partitioned pricing.” The first is what Ticketmaster does, adding more fees as the buyer moves through the process, inflating the final cost beyond what was advertised as the beginning. The second involves advertising a price like “$35+fees,” so disclosing that there is some extra cost, but making it unclear how much or what that extra cost actually buys — because usually the answer is nothing.
These costs aren’t just bad for consumers, though they are certainly that. They also make it more difficult for competitors to the large corporations to well, compete, because they make it hard for consumers to deduce which prices in the market are actually lower. By the time a buyer gets to the end of the transaction and sees all the junk fees lumped on, they tend to not give up and go shop somewhere else due to the sunk time cost of having already gone through the process once.
Junk fees also, as Van Dyck explains, can lead to tacit collusion, with corporations essentially giving a wink and a nod to each other to make certain fees a permanent part of the market, inflating prices across the board.
I like Pisciottano’s bill because it is clear, simple, and eliminates junk fees across industries. A similar effort exists in California, SB 748, sponsored by Senators Bill Dodd and Nancy Skinner, with the backing of State Attorney General Rob Bonta. It would add a junk fee prohibition to the Golden State’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law.
Contrary to those two bills, there’s been a tendency on this issue to divvy it up, industry by industry, tackling one fee at a time. For example, there have been a bunch of bills across the country during this year’s legislative sessions on ticket fees, specifically, due to the political salience of that issue. California also has a slew of bills touching on various fees. You will probably not be shocked to read that eliminating junk fees polls very, very well, so everyone wants to grab their own bill and get a piece of the action.
But cleaning them all out at once like Pisciottano proposes is cleaner, fairer, and gets right at the competition concerns I outlined above. If junk fees are unfair to consumers and other businesses in one sector, they’re unfair in all of them. It’s the tactic that needs to be eliminated, not picking and choosing which fees politicians are fine with versus those they are not.
Of course, as always, eliminating junk fees is the beginning, not the end. A lot of the power corporations have to impose fees stems from their wider market power and lack of competition to keep the fees in check. So eliminating junk fees gets at one symptom, not the disease of corporate concentration. Getting rid of Ticketmaster’s power to levy fees is one thing, but it’s no substitute for breaking it up and reinvigorating competition in the live events space. Ditto across the board, in all the sectors where junk fees plague purchasers.
But throwing those fees in the trash is certainly a good start.
“We Can’t Win A War With China” Says Military Expert
China is ‘ghosting’ the US because normal diplomacy has proven useless
A recent Politico article, citing unnamed US officials, claims that China is “ghosting” the US, ignoring American attempts to re-establish diplomatic communications after they broke down in February. If you aren’t familiar with the term, ‘to ghost’ someone is social media-era slang that means to leave a conversation hanging by suddenly ceasing to reply. This, according to officials cited by Politico, is what’s going on between the US and China, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken attempting to reschedule his Beijing visit, which he canceled after the recent ‘spy balloon’ incident, and the Chinese giving him the diplomatic cold shoulder. The way the article frames it, Washington is making attempts to “stabilize an increasingly volatile relationship,” but “thin-skinned” Beijing is avoiding engagement because it, among other things, resents US arms sales to Taiwan and US officials’ contacts with Taiwan’s pro-independence politicians. Thin-skinned’ is a baffling description for China’s approach to dealing with the US if one takes a sober look at how things have been developing. Beijing has likely arrived at the conclusion that it is a waste of time to pursue dialogue with Washington, which has failed to demonstrate any good faith whatsoever. Instead, the administration of President Joe Biden has shown itself to be easily susceptible to outbreaks of anti-China hysteria on the domestic political arena, which makes normal diplomacy impossible. Despite the fact that US officials such as Blinken continually talk of the need for so-called ‘guardrails’ in the relationship with Beijing, it is quite clear that the US has little interest in cooperating maturely with China, and there is nothing to be gained from such contact from Beijing’s perspective. China has demonstrated immense diplomatic patience towards the US over the past few years, even as Washington has been venting relentless hostility towards Beijing, including, but not limited to:
- accusations of genocide;
- blacklisting numerous technology companies;
- attempting to crush China’s technological development;
- backtracking on its commitment to the One-China policy;
- spreading conspiracy theories over the Covid-19 pandemic’s origins;
- building new military alliances such as AUKUS, with the intention of containing China;
- coercing third-party countries into blocking and rejecting key Chinese investments;
- forcing other countries to take sides in an attempt to create a Cold-War-like climate;
- whipping up anti-Chinese paranoia and vilification of China in US domestic politics.
The list is not exhaustive, yet once upon a time, China genuinely believed that these hostile policies were a ‘glitch’ of the Trump administration, and sought to engage Biden positively to try and establish a course correction.
It was wrong, it was very wrong.
The Biden administration has not only embraced the foreign policy consensus which former President Donald Trump created, but has doubled down on it uncritically and made things even worse.
This has empowered hawks in Beijing, including President Xi Jinping himself, who has now directly called out the US, to arrive at the conclusion that the relationship with the US is beyond saving.
The domestic political climate within the US is so toxic that is questionable the Biden administration even controls its foreign policy at all.
When a major anti-China ‘idea’ gains political traction within the US, irrespective of the consequences it may have pertaining to US national interests, or on its relationship with China, the Biden administration’s attitude is to ‘bandwagon’ on it, as opposed to resisting it or setting a sensible course.
This has allowed the hawks to drive the agenda.
Take, for example, the issue of TikTok, which the Biden administration sought to ignore for a long time, but once a Republican-led push to ban it gained traction, the White House embraced it.
Biden also did not originally want to shoot down the alleged spy balloon, but did so as the paranoia around it grew.
Similarly, the administration has learned that using China as a political scapegoat allows it to ‘shunt away’, to an extent, the right wing’s attacks, as has been most evident with how it re-embraced the Covid-19 laboratory leak conspiracy theory.
These divisive and polarized political circumstances inside the US ultimately make diplomacy impossible, and it is very much noted that even when China has conducted diplomacy with US officials, they have shown a condescending tactic of announcing new sanctions either before or after such meetings, in order to appear ‘tough’.
In conclusion, why bother at all? The US is clearly not a reliable actor or partner. China will continue to ghost the US until it deems that it can attain some acceptable concessions, and thus dictate the flow of dialogue in order to maintain an equal say in the relationship.
Until that time, diplomatic efforts and resources are clearly better spent elsewhere.
Why put so much commitment into talking with someone who irrationally hates you, brands you as their biggest enemy and threat, and clearly has nothing but hostile intentions towards you?
One Pot Spaghetti
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic, mashed
- 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 1 cup water
- 1 pound spaghetti, uncooked
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat pressure cooker and add oil.
- Lightly brown ground beef, onion and garlic, stirring occasionally to separate meat.
- Add all remaining ingredients except cheese.
- Toss uncooked pasta in liquid so it separates (if spaghetti is to long break strands in half before adding). Close cover securely.
- Place pressure regulator on vent pipe and cook 7 minutes for well-done spaghetti, 6 minutes for al dente.
- Cool cooker immediately.
- Stir cheese into mixture before serving.
Why are Americans so emotionally invested in Taiwan?
Emotionally Invested?
They wouldn’t care if Taiwan burnt to the ground
They care about nobody, not even their own Citizens.
All they care about is their Hegemony at all costs.
US developed this sudden “love” for Taiwan only after China became stronger and stronger and more stronger
The US Economy is propped up mainly by Capital Markets today and is hugely bloated and Artificial.
Military Industries, Big Banks and Big Tech and Big Pharma and Financial Services form 91% of these Capital Markets
The Average American this invested 18% of his wealth into the Military Industry
The Average US Politician has likely invested at least 70% of his wealth in these industries
The Average Senator Or Congressman thus has likely invested and holds millions in the Military Industries and Big Tech like Meta or Google
SO THEY NEED WAR ALL THE TIME
SO THEY NEED TO THROTTLE ALL TECH THAT ISN’T AMERICAN
Otherwise Americans lose money and Senators too
It’s why they target Huawei, Tiktok which are capable of denting Meta and other Big Tech entities massively
It’s why they always want war and poke their nose everywhere and supply weapons to one side for unilateral share value rise
A Military Entity like Raytheon can supply $ 150 Million of Weapons free to someone because such an order can rise it’s share price and enhance its value by $ 1–3 Billion
It’s full of Corruption and Evil – The United States of America is
The Middle East was single handedly destroyed by the Americans from 1979 to 2015 who supplied weapons to separatists, invaded nations, funded color revolutionaries amd supplied more weapons
Now with a peace likely, they will have to cause trouble because otherwise their weapons will not have a demand anymore
So it’s not any emotional investment
It’s just a fear of losing hegemony and a desire to keep propping up an Industry that is dying due to economic forces
How the U.S. “Buys” its “Allies”
The U.S. is the only country that can print “unlimited” money and exchange it for real goods from other nations. This is due to the US Dollar’s reserve status.
But do you know the U.S. can also extend this exorbitant privilege to an ally? Here’s how the scam works…
If you want to understand how the U.S. defrauds the world, you need to know how reserve currency works and how the US Dollar (USD) gained that status.
The tool that allows the U.S. to extend its exorbitant monetary privileges to an ally is called ‘swap lines.’ ‘Swap lines’ are agreements that enable one country to exchange its currency with the currency of another. This is done through their respective central banks.
Let’s use the example of ‘swap lines’ between the U.S. & UK to illustrate how the scam works:
Countries are free to print their own currencies.
But only the U.S. can print “unlimited” amount of dollars without suffering hyperinflation due to the USD’s reserve status.
That means the U.S. can generate “unlimited” amount of dollars out of thin air & exchange them for:
– tangible goods from China
– resources from Africa
– oil from the Middle East
That’s “magic.”
No other country can do that… unless the U.S. grants them a ‘swap line.’
What if the UK wants a share of that “magic money”? The U.S. Fed can help. Here’s how:
The Bank of England prints 1 trillion GBP. It then swaps that with the Fed for 1.25 trillion USD (the current exchange rate).
The UK has just indirectly printed 1.25 trillion USD!
Did you see the “magic” that just happened?
Unlike America, the UK cannot print GBP with impunity and allow all that excess “money” to enter the market. That would devalue the GBP & cause hyperinflation.
So it prints the GBP & swaps them for USD with the Fed instead.
In short, the U.S. defrauds the world with its USD, then uses ‘swap lines’ to share the spoils with its staunchest allies.
The U.S. can grant ‘swap lines’ to any country it wants.
Now do you understand why some countries are diehard supporters of the U.S. Empire?
Being a staunch US ally means they get to create money out of thin air thanks to the U.S.A.