Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Conservatives Call For House Hearing On Google Gemini Ahead Of 2024 Election

 

at 4/18/24 7:40pm

Conservatives Call For House Hearing On Google Gemini Ahead Of 2024 Election Authored by Eric Lundrum via American Greatness, Conservative activists have been calling for the House GOP to hold congressional hearings regarding the threat of Google Gemini, Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) program, and its left-wing biases ahead of the 2024 election. As reported by Just The News, a letter signed by multiple conservative groups was sent to Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, this week demanding that Congress take action to investigate possible collusion between Big Tech platforms such as Google and the Biden White House. “With President Trump the decisive favorite to win in November, it’s clear that Big Tech giants will try to pull the same tricks as last time to throw the election to the Democrats,” the letter reads in part. “Unfortunately, as tech giants ramp up their crusade against Trump ahead of the 2024 election, 15 new technologies like generative AI will give them even more powerful tools to boost Democrats’ electoral prospects than four years prior,” the letter continues. “[I]t’s more important than ever for Republicans in Congress to scrutinize Google’s monopolistic AI efforts, particularly given the threat it could pose to election integrity in 2024 and beyond.” The letter was signed by the leaders of six conservative groups: The New York Young Republican Club, the Bull Moose Project, the American Principles Project, Citizens for Renewing America, American Accountability Foundation Action, and the National Constitutional Law Union. Jordan has previously ordered Big Tech companies to hand over documents regarding their communication with the Biden Administration, as well as any influence the White House may have had over Google’s development of Gemini. In addition, the Biden Administration has been hit with multiple lawsuits over its efforts to coerce social media companies into censoring conservative viewpoints, particularly regarding the Chinese Coronavirus and widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 21:40

— Futures Tumble, Oil And Gold Soar On Reports Of "Huge Explosions" In Central Iran, Israeli Airstrikes In Iraq And Syria

 

at 4/18/24 7:25pm

Futures Tumble, Oil And Gold Soar On Reports Of "Huge Explosions" In Central Iran, Israeli Airstrikes In Iraq And Syria And just like that, Israel - having once again ignored Biden's pleadings not to escalate the already tense situation - is retaliating against Iran's weekend strike, which was itself a retaliation against Israel bombing Iran's embassy in Syria on April 1. Moments ago futures dumped, oil prices spiked, and treasury yields slumped amid social media reports and Reuters headlines that there have been three "huge explosions" near the central Iran cities of Natanz (location of an Iranian nuclear power plant) and Isfahan (location of the Iranian Nuclear Technology Center which is suspected of being the center of Iran's nuclear weapons program), as well as simultaneous explosions in Iraq and Syria, where the Israel air force appears to be targeting pro-Iranian militias. IRANIAN MEDIA: 3 HUGE EXPLOSIONS WERE HEARD IN ISFAHAN, SOUTH OF TEHRAN JERUSALEM POST: SIMULTANEOUS EXPLOSIONS REPORTED IN IRAN, SYRIA, AND IRAQ ACCORDING TO INITIAL REPORTS IRAN'S FARS NEWS AGENCY SAYS EXPLOSIONS HEARD IN CENTRAL ISFAHAN AIRPORT, REASON UNKNOWN ISRAELI MISSILES HIT IRAN SITE, US OFFICIAL SAYS: ABC Some more reports: Iraqi Sources are reporting that the Airstrikes on the Capital of Baghdad have Targeted a Building in which a High-Ranking Meeting was taking place involving several Iranian-Backed Groups and Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 19, 2024 Explosions so far have been reported in the last few minutes near the Cities of Isfahan and Natanz in Central Iran, which both contain Significant Facilities for the Iranian Nuclear Program. — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 19, 2024 The Natanz nuclear facility is located in Isfahan! https://t.co/OSSqWRCR2b — EndGameWW3 ?? (@EndGameWW3) April 19, 2024 ⚡️Iranian Outlet Fars: An explosion was heard in the city of Qahjavaristan, Isfahan Some local sources report that an explosion was heard in the city of Qahjavaristan in the northwest of Isfahan. The cause of these noises is still unknown, and Fars reporter's follow-up… — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) April 19, 2024 ????? https://t.co/OpKd5MNdz4 — Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) April 19, 2024 Here is Marco Rubio telling us more or less what happened" Israel has the ability to conduct strikes against targets inside Iran without entering Iranian air space from aircraft over Syrian and Iraqi airspace — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 19, 2024 A video of the explosions in Iran: ?#BREAKING : ????Explosions so far have been reported in the last few minutes near the Cities of Isfahan and Natanz in ⛳️ Central Iran, which both contain Significant Facilities for the Iranian Nuclear Program.pic.twitter.com/xBPteeYA64 — SHORT NEWS (@BuonJose11019) April 19, 2024 There have also been reports of drone activity over Iraq: Unconfirmed reports of drone activity over Baghdad, Iraq. pic.twitter.com/Dp9E1i28pv — Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) April 19, 2024 Flights above central Iran are diverting from their designations: Two FlyDubai flights in central #Iran are diverting from their designated flight plans. Unclear why. pic.twitter.com/8Arh1zDaiC — The Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) April 19, 2024 ... as the airspace over the region is rapidly clearing: Aerial space is rapidly clearing and being diverted. pic.twitter.com/ScWfOwsZtV — DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) April 19, 2024 ⚡️#BREAKING NOTAM over parts of Iran pic.twitter.com/aupFwGL2oy — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) April 19, 2024 Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Israeli airstrikes are targeting a building where a high level meeting was being held among groups supported by Iran and the IRGC: UNCONFIRMED: Iraqi sources report that airstrikes in the capital city of Baghdad have targeted a building where a high-level meeting was being held with the presence of several groups supported by Iran and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.— Aleph א (@no_itsmyturn) April 19, 2024 The market reaction has been immediate, with S&P futures dumping... ...testing key CTA liquidation levels... ... oil jumping... ... and gold surging back above $2400... ...and Treasuries are aggressively bid... And Bitcoin repricing WW3 again... ...as traders brace for the worst, because even if Israel hopes to present a "measured" retaliation, now it's a question of what Iran will do next. More as we get it, until then, fear not: he is watching everything... closely. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 21:25

— Democrats Believe This Is Their Winning Strategy In 2024 Election

 

at 4/18/24 7:00pm

Democrats Believe This Is Their Winning Strategy In 2024 Election Authored by Lawrence Wilson and Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The Florida Supreme Court issued a long-awaited ruling on April 1, upholding a 15-week abortion ban that was signed into law in 2022. The ruling paved the way for a six-week abortion ban to take effect on May 1. (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock) A second ruling on the same day allowed an initiative to amend the state constitution to guarantee abortion access to be placed before voters. An abortion advocacy group had already secured the required signatures, so a constitutional question on abortion will be on the Florida ballot in November. Barely a week later, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law banning nearly all abortions in the state. Three days later, the Biden campaign initiated a seven-figure ad buy in the Grand Canyon State, including a billboard that reads, “Abortion is banned in Arizona thanks to Donald Trump. He won’t stop until it’s banned nationwide. #TrumpsAbortionBan.” Democrats are leveraging abortion as a central issue in the 2024 election, and they are waging that campaign through ballot initiatives in key battleground states. The theory is simple, according to political analyst Keith Nahigian. “Ballot questions help to get more independent expenditures for ‘get out the vote’ campaigns,” he told The Epoch Times. In Arizona, a campaign is underway for a ballot measure amending the state constitution to provide the “fundamental right” to abortion up to the point a baby could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks. It also would allow later abortions to save the mother’s life or to protect her physical or mental health. In Nevada, a petition drive is in the works to include an amendment on abortion access. In Colorado and Maryland, voters will decide on abortion-related  amendments in November. “The Democrats’ strategy heading into this election cycle was to put these measures on the ballot in every big swing state,” Phoenix-based Republican strategist Marcus Dell'Artino told The Epoch Times. Republicans are using the same tactic with election integrity—placing related measures on the ballot in nine states, including in Arizona, Florida, and Wisconsin. Both sides appear to believe their efforts will aid them in the fall and ballot measures themselves are a successful way to further a cause. In the 2022 election, voters in 38 states decided on 140 statewide ballot measures, according to Ballotpedia. Voters approved 69 percent of the measures and rejected 31 percent. The movement to amend state constitutions to guarantee abortion access is a calculated strategy by the Democratic Party to rally voters to the November election. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee laid out the strategy in an April 5 memo. The committee attributed a ballot measure to add abortion to the state constitution in Ohio for the “historic” turnout during an off-year election in November 2023. Voters in the state passed the measure 57 percent to 43 percent—a margin of 14 percent. President Trump won Ohio by 8 percentage points in both 2016 and 2020. (L–R) Arizona Supreme Court Justices William G. Montgomery, John R. Lopez IV, Ann A. Scott Timmer, Chief Justice Robert M. Brutinel, Clint Bolick, and James Beene listen to oral arguments in Phoenix on April 20, 2021. (Matt York/AP Photo, File) “When abortion is on the ballot, voters turn out to defend their rights,” the memo states. “Seven battleground states are on track to have abortion measures on the ballot in 2024 … this further guarantees that reproductive freedom will remain a driving issue for voters this November.” Capitalizing on Momentum Momentum around the issue of access to abortion has been building since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, the seminal decision that, for decades, limited restrictions states can impose on the procedure. Within 18 months of the Dobbs decision, seven states put abortion-related ballot questions before the public. In red and blue states alike, voters came down on the side of access to abortion. Voters in Kansas voted to stick with the status quo, which provides the right to abortion in the state constitution, while Kentucky voted to reject an amendment that said there was no constitutional right to an abortion. Montana voters rejected a measure that would have declared a child born alive at any stage of pregnancy to be a legal person and required medical care for that child. The measure also included criminal penalties for health care providers who violated the “born alive” portion of the law, by establishing a maximum of a $50,000 fine and/or 20 years in prison. Meanwhile, voters in California, Michigan, Vermont, and Ohio amended their state constitutions to include a right to “reproductive freedom,” defined to include abortion and contraception. Democrats have hammered the issue for over two years while Republicans have been slow to admit that many of their own voters don’t favor a near-complete abortion ban. In Virginia, Democrats took advantage of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s interest in a 15-week abortion ban to campaign on abortion access in 2023. They retook control of the state’s General Assembly, prompting prominent Democrats to make abortion a centerpiece of the 2024 campaign. “The prospect of a national abortion ban is real,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in December 2023. Ms. Whitmer launched the Fight Like Hell PAC in June 2023 to raise campaign funds for Democratic candidates who are “unapologetic in their fight for working people and their basic freedoms.” The Biden campaign released an emotionally charged ad on April 8 featuring a Texas woman who was denied an abortion after being told her baby would not survive birth. Over the woman’s tearful sobs, text appears on the screen:“Donald Trump did this.” Read more here... Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 21:00

— 'China Is Xenophobic & Cheating': Biden Ramps Up Anti-Beijing Rhetoric On Campaign Trail

 

at 4/18/24 6:40pm

'China Is Xenophobic & Cheating': Biden Ramps Up Anti-Beijing Rhetoric On Campaign Trail President Biden has ramped up his anti-China rhetoric on the campaign trail ahead of November, looking to grab headlines away from Trump while touring northern industrial states, and he has just called for major increases to some tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products. "These are strategic and targeted actions that are going to protect American workers and ensure fair competition," Biden told a small crowd of members at the United Steelworkers. "Meanwhile, my predecessor and the MAGA Republicans want across-the-board tariffs on all imports, from all countries, that could badly hurt American consumers." Getty Images According to more from Biden's speech via the NY Times, he said he would tell US trade representative Katherine Tai to increase tariffs "to what White House officials said would be 25 percent on certain Chinese products that now face tariffs of 7.5 percent, or none at all, pending the outcome of an administration review of the China tariffs initially imposed under Mr. Trump." But as fully expected, Biden's words once again inflamed tensions with Beijing, given that in the remarks he slammed China as "xenophobic" while commenting on the Asian powerhouse's current economic struggles.  "They’ve got a population that is more people in retirement than working. They’re not importing anything. They’re xenophobic—nobody else coming in. They’ve got real problems" Biden said further on Wednesday. He had also accused China of cheating and policies that do harm against fair competition. The president said according to the White House readout: Because Chinese steel companies produce a lot more steel than China needs, it ends up dumping the extra steel into the global markets at unfairly low prices.  And the prices are unfairly low because Chinese steel companies don’t need to worry about making a profit, because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily.  They’re not competing. They’re cheating. They’re cheating. And we’ve seen the damage here in America. You know, back in the early 2000s, the Chinese steel began floating the mar- — flooding the market wi- — in steel towns all across Pennsylvania and Ohio, who were hit very hard. The accusation of xenophobia and cheating marks the most aggressive rebuke of China thus far on the campaign.  China's foreign ministry was quick to respond Thursday by once again highlighting US 'hypocrisy' - with spokesman Lin Jian lashing out sarcastically, "China wants to ask the U.S. whether it is referring to China, or the U.S. itself." Biden on his Pennsylvania tour also pledged to continue seeking to deny China advanced technology like computer chips. "They can’t be sent to China because it would undermine our national security," Biden said. "When I spoke with Xi Jinping he said ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘Because you’d use it for all the wrong reasons, so you’re not gonna get those advanced computer chips.’" US-China relations have someone stabilized of late, also amid the Biden-Xi phone call of two weeks ago. Also, this week Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to his Chinese counterpart for the first time in two years, as the two sides work to restore regular military-to-military communications. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 20:40

— Top Military Official Lied About Jan. 6: Whistleblowers

 

at 4/18/24 6:20pm

Top Military Official Lied About Jan. 6: Whistleblowers Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The secretary of the Army on Jan. 6, 2021, lied about multiple details regarding what unfolded as the U.S. Capitol was breached, National Guard whistleblowers said during a congressional hearing on April 17. Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy testifies to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill on Dec. 3, 2019. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) Then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy made multiple false claims, including that he spoke to the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard on two separate occasions after officials requested that the Guard be deployed to the Capitol, the whistleblowers said. After Maj. Gen. William Walker conveyed a request from the U.S. Capitol Police for Guard personnel, Mr. McCarthy called Maj. Gen. Walker at 2:14 p.m. and instructed the Guard to stand by, according to a Guard timeline of Jan. 6, 2021. But that call and others that Mr. McCarthy or one of his top advisers were said to have made later authorizing the Guard for mobilization and deployment did not happen, according to the Guard officials. “At no time did Gen. Walker take any calls, nor did we ever hear from the secretary on any of the ongoing conference calls or the secure video teleconferencing throughout the day,” Capt. Timothy Nick, who served as Maj. Gen. Walker’s personal assistant on Jan. 6, 2021, said during the hearing. “This I know because I was with the command general the entire time recording the events.” National Guard Captain Blows Up J6 Narrative, Accuses U.S. Govt of Lying to the American People "I'm here today to aid the subcommittee in resolving factual errors in the official record of what happened on January 6th, 2021, specifically regarding the alleged District of… pic.twitter.com/1hJAarFgdx — Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) April 18, 2024 Capt. Nick has not previously discussed publicly what transpired on Jan. 6, 2021, and neither has Brig. Gen. Aaron Dean, who was the National Guard’s adjutant general on the day that the Capitol was breached. The Department of Defense (DOD) inspector general report on Jan. 6, 2021, which relied heavily on Mr. McCarthy and other military officials, was rife with “inaccuracies,” Brig. Gen. Dean said. “I believe it is my duty and moral obligation to stand before you today and illuminate the truth,” he told the hearing, which was held by the House Administration Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight. Despite Mr. Walker conveying the request for assistance at about 1:50 p.m., the Guard was not deployed to the Capitol until about 5:10 p.m. “This was a dereliction of duty by the secretary of the Army,” Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), one of the members of the committee, said. Mr. McCarthy refused to appear before the panel, Dr. Murphy said. Christopher Miller, the acting secretary of defense at the time, authorized Guard deployment at 3:11 p.m., but Mr. McCarthy took the order and decided to draw up a plan before ordering the deployment, according to military timelines and testimony from Mr. McCarthy and others. “You never would employ our personnel, whether it’s on an American street or a foreign street, without putting together a [plan],” Mr. McCarthy told the now-disbanded House Jan. 6 committee. Mr. McCarthy could not be reached for comment. The Army declined to comment. “We stand by our January 6th Report and have no further comment at this time,” a DOD inspector general spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email. From left to right, Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Brooks, Col. Earl Matthews, Brig. Gen. Aaron Dean, and Capt. Timothy Nick, all of the District of Columbia National Guard, are sworn in during a hearing in Washington on April 17, 2024. (House Administration Committee via The Epoch Times) Other Leaders The whistleblowers also testified that Army officials Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt and Gen. Charles Flynn, during a 2:30 p.m. conference call on Jan. 6, 2021, expressed concern about the optics of having the Guard at the Capitol. “I did hear the word optics. And they did use it. Specifically, Gen. Piatt said ‘optics.’ And his concern was that he did not want soldiers or airmen on Capitol grounds, with the Capitol in the background,” Brig. Gen. Dean said. “They were giving every other reason why we should be around the Capitol, away from the Capitol, and not responding to the Capitol.” The officials lacked familiarity with the Guard and the Guard’s capabilities, Brig. Gen. Dean said. Lt. Gen. Piatt has been quoted by Maj. Gen. Walker and others as saying during the call: “I don’t like the visual of the National Guard standing a line with the Capitol in the background. I would much rather relieve USCP [U.S. Capitol Police] officers from other posts so they can handle the protestors.” Lt. Gen. Piatt has told lawmakers that he did not recall using the words optics, visuals, or image during the call or in any other conversations on Jan. 6, 2021. But he later said, “I may have said that,” citing people who took notes during the call. Gen. Flynn told the House Oversight Committee in 2021 that he “never expressed a concern about the visuals, image, or public perception of sending the D.C. National Guard to the U.S. Capitol.” Col. Earl Matthews, a lawyer who was with Maj. Gen. Walker on Jan. 6, 2021, and who has challenged the Pentagon Jan. 6 narrative, and District of Columbia National Guard Command Sgt. Michael Brooks, a senior officer with the Guard until he retired in 2022, also testified during the hearing in Washington. None of the Guard officials who testified were formally interviewed by the House Jan. 6 committee, which was primarily run by Democrats and disbanded at the end of the previous Congress. The officials said the Guard was ready to act and could have made a difference if not for the delay. “I know if we were able to deploy immediately when Gen. Walker made the request, the National Guard could have helped end civil disturbance and restore order quickly,” Capt. Nick said. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 20:20

— Watch: Chasing Trump

 

at 4/18/24 6:00pm

Watch: Chasing Trump With an ominous soundtrack throughout, Chasing Trump is the very first documentary produced by American Greatness. The documentary does a deep dive into the backgrounds of the four prosecutors handling former President Trump's various legal cases, making the case that they are all "politically corrupt", and accusing them of trying to "get Trump" because they fear he will win the November 2024 US presidential elections. With the former President facing increasingly restrictive gag orders, Donald Trump Jr said "'Chasing Trump' is an important documentary that exposes the leftwing prosecutors weaponizing the government to target my father," adding that: "It's the first documentary to do a deep dive into the backgrounds of the prosecutors behind the four cases against him and is a must watch for anyone who cares about preserving the rule of law and protecting our constitutional rights." "Four corrupt, politically motivated prosecutors. One target: Donald Trump," the narrator begins... "They say they're upholding the law. But a close examination reveals politics of the very worst kind meant to influence the 2024 election." Specifically, the mini-documentary makes the case that Trump is being punished for taking on the status quo and reinforces the narrative that he is subject to a witch hunt. Curt Mercadenta, managing editor of American Greatness, said it would shock anyone who believed the legal system was free from partisan political considerations. "With the 2024 election starting to heat up, it's imperative that Americans have the opportunity to learn more about the truth behind the prosecutions targeting President Trump, along with the partisan prosecutors behind the cases." Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project, which was set up to press for conservative judicial nominees and now campaigns against what it sees as liberal activism in the courts, said: "These four prosecutions against President Trump are nothing more than partisan political activism masquerading as the rule of law." "'Chasing Trump' exposes the leftwing prosecutors behind these cases as nothing more than puppets for Joe Biden and his political machine." Watch the full documentary free here... WATCH: Chasing Trump is the very first documentary produced by American Greatness. We do a deep dive into the backgrounds of the four leftwing prosecutors targeting President Trump. You can watch the whole documentary right here for free! pic.twitter.com/97UUpGdlP2 — American Greatness (@theamgreatness) April 15, 2024   Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 20:00

— Watch: Biden Falsely Claims That WWII Uncle Eaten By Cannibals, Twice

 

at 4/18/24 5:55pm

Watch: Biden Falsely Claims That WWII Uncle Eaten By Cannibals, Twice Joe Biden has always been a prolific liar and plagiarist, but on Wednesday he took things to another level. While attempting to disparage former President Donald Trump for 'skipping out' on a 2018 visit to a military cemetery outside Paris (when in fact the Navy made a 'bad-weather' call), Biden claimed that his uncle, 2nd Lt. Ambrose J. "Bozey" Finnegan Jr., was shot down in World War II and eaten by cannibals. "He was a hell of an athlete, they tell me, when he was a kid. He flew those single-engine planes as reconnaissance over war zones, and he got shot down in New Guinea. They never found the body because there used to be, there were a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea," Biden said during a Wednesday stop in Pittsburgh - an account which appears in the official transcript of his remarks. "They never recovered his body, but the government went back when I went down there and they checked and found some parts of the plane," Biden continued. Except that's total bullshit of course As Jonathan Turley points out, there was a survivor who gave a detailed account of how Finnegan and another man remained in the plane as it sank. What's more, Bozey's plane was not shot down - it was a Douglas A-20 Havoc with two Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior 9-cylinder radial engines. The plane had mechanical problems when it crashed near New Guinea and simply sank into the ocean. “On May 14, 1944, an A-20 havoc (serial number 42-86768), with a crew of three and one passenger, departed Momote Airfield, Los Negros Island, for a courier flight to Nadzab Airfield, New Guinea. For unknown reasons, this plane was forced to ditch in the ocean off the north coast of New Guinea. Both engines failed at low altitude, and the aircraft’s nose hit the water hard. Three men failed to emerge from the sinking wreck and were lost in the crash. One crew member survived and was rescued by a passing barge. An aerial search the next day found no trace of the missing aircraft or the lost crew members.” D Day was June 6, 1944... and he says his uncles joined the military on D Day. Ambrose died on May 14, 1944. Ambrose was not a pilot, & he was not shot down. He was a courier - a passenger on an A-20 bomber that ditched at sea with engine troubles.https://t.co/MwYZejvQXg — Charles R. Smith? (@softwarnet) April 17, 2024 What's more, Biden repeated it more than once! Watch: Biden has a new story: Uncle Bosey got shot down in a plane and was possibly eaten by African cannibals. pic.twitter.com/9cSP29GSxx — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) April 17, 2024 OMFG. Biden just repeated the story that his Uncle Bosey was shot down and then likely eaten by cannibals during WWII. This is the 2nd time he said this today. pic.twitter.com/PyLkeRiMoJ — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) April 17, 2024 So for those keeping track: - Not shot down - Not a single engine plane - Not eaten by cannibals All of which was has been in the public domain for decades. And not one reporter following him around pushed back on what could have been googled within seconds. From the military records related to Ambrose Biden's death: "Subject plane became lost and was forced to make a crash landing due to lack of fuel." "2nd Lt. Ambrose was a passenger on an A-20 ... on a courier mission." pic.twitter.com/FKmoN8UcAP — Zach Parkinson (@AZachParkinson) April 17, 2024 And according to AP - Biden was simply "off on details." He said his uncle was *EATEN BY CANNIBALS* and the best AP can muster is "Biden is off on details..." ????? https://t.co/HVIh7eRWnK — ⚡David Angelo⚡ (@MrDavidAngelo) April 18, 2024 Look at them go. pic.twitter.com/5XJ9E5eZ6n — Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 18, 2024 Meanwhile, Biden has falsely claimed at least 13 times that his uncle Frank won the Purple Heart, and said that he (Biden) was picked twice to attend the Naval Academy, when no supporting evidence exists. In 2021, Biden told Jewish leaders that he remembered "spending time at" and "going to" Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 after 11 people were murdered in a mass shooting - which also never happened. The White House covered by later claiming he was thinking about a 2019 phone call with the synagogue's rabbi. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 19:55

— Biden Wins Endorsement Of Kennedy Family Members

 

at 4/18/24 5:40pm

Biden Wins Endorsement Of Kennedy Family Members Authored by Emel Akan and Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), President Joe Biden on April 18 traveled to Philadelphia, the final stop of his three-day tour of the crucial battleground state, where he received the Kennedy family’s endorsement for his reelection campaign. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Martin Luther King Recreation Center in Philadelphia, Penn., on April 18, 2024. (Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) More than 15 members of the Kennedy family, who had previously criticized Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent bid for the White House, endorsed President Biden at a campaign event in Philadelphia. Speaking at the event, Kerry Kennedy, the sister of RFK Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy’s seventh child, praised President Biden, stating that reelecting him is the best way forward for the country. “President has been a champion for all the rights and freedoms that my father and uncle stood for. That’s why nearly every single grandchild of Joe and Rose Kennedy supports Joe Biden,” Ms. Kennedy said. “In 2024, there are only two candidates with any chance of winning the presidency,” she added. Speaking at the event, President Biden thanked the family members for the endorsement. Six of RFK Jr.’s siblings stood alongside President Biden on stage at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center in Philadelphia. “I don’t want to become emotional. What an incredible honor to have the support of the Kennedy family,“ President Biden said. ”Most meaningful introduction I’ve ever gotten in my life.” RFK, Jr. entered the presidential race in April last year, challenging President Biden for the Democratic Party nomination. After encountering multiple hurdles by the DNC and accusing the organization of “rigging the primary” and not allowing any candidate to compete against President Biden, Mr. Kennedy announced he would run as an independent in October 2023. Many believe Mr. Kennedy’s third-party challenge threatens President Biden more than former President Trump. In the RealClearPolitics average of polls as of April 17, President Trump leads with 41 percent, followed by President Biden (35.7 percent), and Mr. Kennedy (11.7 percent). Multiple times on the campaign trail, Mr. Kennedy has pointed out that he has more than 100 family members and said that many of them are working on his campaign. Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, his daughter-in-law, is his campaign manager. RFK Jr. responded in a social media post to his family members’ endorsement of President Biden. “I hear some of my family will be endorsing President Biden today. I am pleased they are politically active—it’s a family tradition,” Mr. Kennedy wrote on X on April 18. “We are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other.” During a recent interview with CNN, Mr. Kennedy criticized President Biden, saying he is a bigger threat to democracy than President Trump. “I can make the argument that President Biden is the much worse threat to democracy, and the reason for that is President Biden is the first candidate in history—the first president in history that has used the federal agencies to censor political speech, so to censor his opponent,” Mr. Kennedy said. In March, the DNC announced the creation of a team to counter third-party and independent presidential candidates. It hired Lis Smith, a veteran Democrat strategist who managed Pete Buttigieg’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, to spearhead an aggressive communication plan to combat Mr. Kennedy, independent Cornel West, and Green Party nominee Jill Stein. In October 2023, Mr. Kennedy’s sister, Rory Kennedy, called her brother’s campaign “dangerous” in a post on X. “I feel strongly that this is the most important election of our lifetime, and there’s so much at stake. And I do think it’s going to come down to a handful of votes in a handful of states. “And I do worry that Bobby just taking some percentage of votes from Biden could shift the election and lead to Trump’s election,” she told CNN in March when asked about her comment. Campaign Events in Pennsylvania President Biden traveled to Pennsylvania this week for a three-day tour of the battleground state, starting with a campaign event in his hometown of Scranton on April 16. In Scranton, the president highlighted a contrast between his economic agenda and that of his 2024 presidential rival and predecessor, former President Trump. He also reiterated his push to raise taxes on the rich and big corporations. “Folks, where we come from matters. When I look at the economy, I don’t see it through the eyes of Mar-a-Lago; I see through the eyes of Scranton,” President Biden said. On April 17, President Biden traveled to Pittsburgh, where he announced dramatically higher tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China, a move likely aimed at pleasing blue-collar voters in the battleground state. With 19 crucial electoral votes, the state is a key focus for the Biden campaign. The campaign says it believes it has a clear advantage in Pennsylvania for the 2024 election, and is making significant investments in key voter groups, including black and Latino communities in the state. Last month, for example, the campaign opened 14 offices in a single week, enlisted 1,700 volunteers, and formed key coalitions around the state to reach out to various demographics. The campaign has seven offices in Philadelphia to mobilize voters and ensure a high turnout in November. “In contrast, the Trump campaign still has no public presence—and across Pennsylvania, local media have reported there are no signs of the Trump campaign. “The RNC was even forced to scrap plans to open a minority outreach office in Allentown, Pennsylvania,” the Biden campaign said in a statement. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 19:40

— America's Confused Commander-In-Chief Warns Israel Against Attacking Israel

 

at 4/18/24 5:20pm

America's Confused Commander-In-Chief Warns Israel Against Attacking Israel While Democratic strategists have long tried to downplay and dismiss President Biden's obvious age and cognitive issues—which have been on continual display of late—he has just made fresh comments which illustrate the dangers of these persistent issues for the Commander-in-Chief and for the nation at a moment the Middle East stands on the brink of major war. The 81-year-old president said in an interview with Nexstar Media’s Reshad Hudson that he is urgently trying to de-escalate tensions centering on Gaza and Iran, following Iran's Saturday night unprecedented attack on the Jewish state. That's when he explained that he urged Israel to exercise restraint, and in his words he "made it clear to the Israelis: don’t move on Haifa." Watch below: According to Biden, he is pressuring the Israelis not to attack “Haifa”. Leader of the free world, ladies and gents pic.twitter.com/SeZJPfaJAS — Jake Wallis Simons (@JakeWSimons) April 18, 2024 He then began immediately mumbling: "It’s Just Not, I Mean, Anyway..." - and trailed off, apparently losing his train of thought before moving on to speak about the Saturday Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on Israel. Biden was apparently intending to refer to Rafah in the comments, which is the Palestinian city in the far southern Gaza Strip, and not the third largest city in Israel. The Netanyahu government has for weeks said it is preparing to move militarily on the refugee-packed enclave.  The US is worried that an IDF ground offensive will trigger further regional escalation, including the potential for attacks on American bases from Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria. But the obvious question is: will Israeli leaders really taking Washington's stance seriously when they hear the American president, or "leader of the free world," warning Israel not to attack a city in Israel? If Biden can't distinguish Gaza's Rafah from Israel's Haifa, then certainly we can expect to see many more of these consequential gaffes if he gets into office another four years. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 19:20

— Soros Nonprofit Gives 8-Figure Sum To Far-Left Super PAC

 

at 4/18/24 5:00pm

Soros Nonprofit Gives 8-Figure Sum To Far-Left Super PAC Authored by Eric Lundrum via American Greatness, One of the many nonprofits run by far-left billionaire George Soros donated tens of millions of dollars to a major super PAC that funds multiple left-wing groups. According to Fox News, Federal Elections Commission (FEC) records posted Monday reveal that the Fund for Policy Reform gave $60 million to the Democracy PAC in the first quarter of 2024; the Democracy PAC subsequently sent $21 million to Democratic committees in support of various congressional candidates in both the House and the Senate. The $21 million was dispersed among a dozen left-wing groups, with $8 million being split two ways between top outside groups in support of House and Senate Democrats. Additionally, $2.5 million was donated to Planned Parenthood, as well as another $2.5 million to BlackPAC, and $1.8 million to American Bridge, a Democratic opposition research firm. Other donations included $1 million to the ColorOfChange PAC and $500,000 to Americans for Contraception Victory. ColorOfChange is one of the most radical groups when it comes to the far-left “defund the police” agenda. “We know that policing doesn’t keep us safe, communities do,” the group said in a petition demanding that supporters harass politicians to get them to support the defunding movement. “Policing doesn’t lead to thriving communities, investment does.” The massive $60 million dump was the second-largest donation in the 2024 election cycle thus far, only surpassed by the $82.6 million that was donated by a state super PAC to Never Back Down, the super PAC that backed the doomed presidential campaign of Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.). The 93-year-old George Soros recently handed full control of his political empire to his son, Alex, and Alex’s subsequent moves have been watched closely. The younger Soros shows no signs of slowing down his family’s influence over left-wing politics both in America and globally, continuing to pour millions into far-left causes that undermine the security of the United States of America, including pro-amnesty and pro-open borders groups, as well as backing progressive district attorneys who refuse to enforce basic laws. In response, Musk is gathering signatures... Given the relentless attacks on free speech, I am going to fund a national signature campaign in support of the First Amendment — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2024 Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 19:00

— Biden Pushing Pipe-Dream Of Israel-Saudi Mega Deal Based On Palestinian State Recognition

 

at 4/18/24 4:40pm

Biden Pushing Pipe-Dream Of Israel-Saudi Mega Deal Based On Palestinian State Recognition The Biden administration is keeping its dream of seeing Saudi-Israeli diplomatic normalization achieved (or rather, what is in fact originally Trump's dream set in motion via the Abraham Accords). But Biden is dangling something before Netanyahu that the Israeli leader is unlikely to be very attracted by. "The Biden administration is pushing for a long-shot diplomatic deal in coming months that presses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a new commitment to Palestinian statehood in exchange for diplomatic recognition by Riyadh, U.S. and Saudi officials said," writes The Wall Street Journal Thursday. This is not the first time the plan has been floated or was leaked to the media. Last year, for example, Saudi Arabia asked the US for help with developing a "civilian nuclear program" and for fewer restrictions on arms purchases in exchange for normalizing ties with Israel, as the New York Times previously reported. The only thing that has changed is there are even bigger hurdles at this moment of a post-Oct.7 Middle East, including a still impending Israeli ground offensive on Rafah, and the specter of a major Iran-Israel war in the wake of the Saturday Iranian drone and ballistic missile attack on Israel. "As inducements to recognize Israel, the White House is offering Riyadh a more formal defense relationship with Washington, assistance in acquiring civil nuclear power and a renewed push for a Palestinian state—a package that U.S. officials say they are in the final stages of negotiating," continues the WSJ. Admin officials speaking to the Journal also claimed that the major weekend attack out of Iran could hasten broader Arab Gulf and Israeli rapprochement: U.S. officials say the successful multicountry effort to shoot down Iranian missiles and drones on Saturday should make it clear to Israel that its security against threats from Tehran can be enhanced through closer integration with Saudi Arabia. However, as we underscored in featuring this Wednesday analysis: US Push For A 'Middle East NATO' Failed To Emerge During Iran Strikes, the reality is that in the end, the oil-rich Gulf states downplayed any involvement and left the heavy lifting of fighting off Iran’s attack to the US and its western allies and Jordan, the resource-poor Hashemite Kingdom dependent on US financial assistance. On Friday the UN Security Council is expected to vote on an Algerian-proposed draft resolution to recognize a Palestinian state, which would give the Palestinian representatives full membership status at the United Nations. The US position has long been that a Palestinian state must be born out direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, and not accomplished superficially within an external forum like the UN. The US has already said, via a State Department statement, that it will vote down the measure. Israel for its part has clearly rejected that it will allow for a Palestinian state so long as Hamas still exists, and PM Netanyahu has even linked the more secular-leaning Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to 'terrorism'. He has also rejected a prior US call to allow the PA to take over and administer the Gaza Strip. The reality is that the current Gaza war makes the prospect of achieving a Palestinian state more distant than ever. And the prospect of Palestinian statehood resulting from some kind of Israel-Saudi normalization agreement - which US media reports previously dubbed the 'deal of the century' - also seems a pipe dream at this point. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 18:40

— World Bank Report Highlights Advantage Of Central Bank Gold Revaluation Accounts

 

at 4/18/24 4:20pm

World Bank Report Highlights Advantage Of Central Bank Gold Revaluation Accounts By Jan Nieuwenhuijs of Gainesville Coins Recently the World Bank released a handbook for asset managers on why to invest in gold. At Gainesville Coins I have written numerous articles on gold revaluation accounts and how these can be deployed by central banks to absorb losses in case of emergency. The World Bank has taken notice of my research as they allude to this practice in a chapter on reserve accounting and reference to my work. The World Bank publication underlines the fact that gold is the only financial asset without counterparty risk, and due to its scarcity relative to fiat currencies its price in the long run always increases. Central banks that own gold for an extended period can reap the benefits of their gold revaluation account without having to sell any gold. Introduction The Gold Investing Handbook for Asset Managers document published earlier this year by the World Bank Treasury is an interesting read for investors. It covers the gold market structure, optimal portfolio assessments, geopolitical aspects, a trading and liquidity guide, and a discussion on gold accounting, among other subjects. The World Bank Treasury is tasked to manage the World Bank’s finances and contribute to the Bank’s twin goals of “ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity.” As such it acts as a trusted advisor to its member countries to support financial stability and provide “thought leadership in the broader treasury and financial management arena.” With this mission in mind the Bank’s Treasury writes that: Throughout history, gold has played a vital role as a financial asset in the global financial system. ... In the modern era, gold continues to play a critical role in the global financial system, serving as a hedge against inflation, a safe haven asset, and a reserve asset for central banks. … The role of gold in the global financial system has evolved over time, with changes in monetary policy, economic conditions, and technological advancements influencing demand and supply dynamics. Despite these changes, gold remains a crucial component of the global financial system and is likely to continue to play an essential role in the future. … The market disruptions brought about by the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the US and China trade war, Brexit, and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a prolonged period of negative real interest rates and geopolitical uncertainties caused by financial sanctions imposed on Russia to freeze its foreign reserves, reinforced the strategic importance of gold as a buffer against financial instability. Central Bank Gold Revaluation Accounts After the central banks of advanced economies such as the Netherlands and Germany stated their gold revaluation accounts (GRAs) guarantee their solvency in 2013, the World Bank now joins the discussion on GRAs. On page 57 of its report there is a summary of my article on how the central bank of Curaçao and Saint Martin utilized its GRA to cover losses in 2021. Courtesy of the World Bank. On page 67 of the document a reference is made to my research regarding the central bank of Curaçao and Saint Martin in 2021. The one thing blocking central banks from using their GRAs are their self-imposed rules. Simplified, a GRA is an accounting entry on the liability side of a central bank’s balance sheet that records unrealized gains in gold. Because central banks are the root of the modern money tree, they can use these entries to pay for expenses. A GRA, if sufficient, can prevent a central bank from going into negative capital in times of financial stress without having to sell gold (for more details read my article here). Stylized balance sheet of central bank X. All in all, the World Bank’s reporting of GRAs is bullish for gold as it once again confirms gold’s position front and center in the monetary system. Gold—as per International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank’s sister institute—is the only universally accepted financial asset that is not someone else’s liability. From the IMF (BPM6): Financial assets are economic assets that are financial instruments. Financial assets include financial claims and, by convention, monetary gold held in the form of gold bullion … A financial claim is a financial instrument that has a counterpart liability. Gold bullion is not a claim and does not have a corresponding liability. It is treated as a financial asset, however, because of its special role as a means of financial exchange in international payments by monetary authorities and as a reserve asset held by monetary authorities. Gold has no counterparty risk and can’t be arbitrarily devalued. Hence, the IMF lists gold at the very top of reserve assets, which makes gold the hardest asset for central banks to own and creates significant unrealized gains over time through the debasement of the currency they issue. And as I have explained previously these unrealized gains can be turned into realized gains to pay for expenses. Source: Balance of Payments Manual 6. Conclusion In the past years more and more central banks from both the global South and North—and international financial institutions like the World Bank—are pitching gold as an imperative asset with multiple functions. Gold is a safe haven asset, inflation hedge, backup currency, its revaluation accounts can be used, etcetera. If one looks at the order of the IMF’s list of reserve assets the similarities with Exter’s inverse pyramid is easily seen. Gold truly underpins the global financial system. In my view, though, the value of all financial assets resting on gold has grown too large in the past decades. For stabilizing the pyramid (financial system), the value of the gold needs to increase accordingly. But we will explore these imbalances more in depth in my next article. Further Reading German Central Bank Doesn’t Rule Out Gold Revaluation Governor Dutch Central Bank States Gold Revaluation Account Is Solvency Backstop How a Central Bank in the Caribbean Recently Used Its Gold Revaluation Account to Cover Losses German Central Bank: Gold Revaluation Account Underlines Soundness of Balance Sheet How Central Banks Can Use Gold Revaluation Accounts in Times of Financial Stress Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 18:20

— Russia, Russia, Russia!: Watch As Democrats Go Full Russia-Tard During Hearing Over China's "Political Warfare"

 

at 4/18/24 4:00pm

Russia, Russia, Russia!: Watch As Democrats Go Full Russia-Tard During Hearing Over China's "Political Warfare" While China has spent decades conducting deep espionage throughout US institutions - mostly in the form of plucky PhD candidates handling sensitive projects at American universities, and places like Los Alamos National Laboratory, Congressional Democrats simply can't shake their fixation with Russia. Point in case, during a Wednesday House Oversight hearing on defending America from China's political warfare, Democrats - who take tons of money from China (and bang their spies on occasion), couldn't seem to remain on topic. Watch: Yesterday, we held a critical hearing on defending America from China’s political warfare. This is what our Democrat colleagues had to say on this important topic ? pic.twitter.com/CJSHqfG9kv — Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) April 18, 2024 Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-MS) got into it at one point: Since Lil’ Jamie Raskin(s) is in this clip, I thought I’d share his trigger point. ? “It’s @RepRaskin(s) - Damn it!!” ? pic.twitter.com/haAmdMuP0w — Patriot?AU (@TruePatriotAU) April 18, 2024 Quick, send money to Ukraine! Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 18:00

— Inside The Disinformation Industry

 

at 4/18/24 3:40pm

Inside The Disinformation Industry Authored by Freddie Sayers via UnHerd.com, “Our team re-reviewed the domain, the rating will not change as it continues to have anti-LGBTQI+ narratives… The site authors have been called out for being anti-trans. Kathleen Stock is acknowledged as a ‘prominent gender-critical’ feminist.” This was part of an email sent to UnHerd at the start of January from an organisation called the Global Disinformation Index. It was their justification, handed down after a series of requests, for placing UnHerd on a so-called “dynamic exclusion list” of publications that supposedly promote “disinformation” and should therefore be boycotted by all advertisers. They provided examples of the offending content: Kathleen Stock, whose columns are up for a National Press Award this week, Julie Bindel, a lifelong campaigner against violence against women, and Debbie Hayton, who is transgender. Apparently the GDI equates “gender-critical” beliefs, or maintaining that biological sex differences exist, with “disinformation” — despite the fact that those beliefs are specifically protected in British law and held by the majority of the population. The verdicts of “ratings agencies” such as the GDI, within the complex machinery that serves online ads, are a little-understood mechanism for controlling the media conversation. In UnHerd’s case, the GDI verdict means that we only received between 2% and 6% of the ad revenue normally expected for an audience of our size. Meanwhile, neatly demonstrating the arbitrariness and subjectivity of these judgements, Newsguard, a rival ratings agency, gives UnHerd a 92.5% trust rating, just ahead of the New York Times at 87.5%. So, what are these “ratings agencies” that could be the difference between life and death for a media company? How does their influence work? And who funds them? The answers are concerning and raise serious questions about the freedom of the press and the viability of a functioning democracy in the internet age. Disinformation only really became a discussion point in response to the Trump victory in 2016, and was then supercharged during the Covid era: Google Trends data shows that worldwide searches for the term quadrupled between June and December 2016, and had increased by more than 30 times by 2022. In response to the supposed crisis, corporations, technology companies and governments all had to show they were taking some form of action. This created a marketplace for enterprising start-ups and not-for-profits to claim a specialism in detecting disinformation. Today, there are hundreds of organisations who make this claim, providing all sorts of “fact-checking” services, including powerful ratings agencies such as GDI and Newsguard. These companies act as invisible gatekeepers within the vast machinery of online advertising. How this works is relatively straightforward: in UnHerd’s case, we contract with an advertising agency, which relies on a popular tech platform called “Grapeshot”, founded in the UK and since acquired by Larry Ellison’s Oracle, to automatically select appropriate websites for particular campaigns. Grapeshot in turn automatically uses the “Global Disinformation Index” to provide a feed of data about “brand safety” — and if GDI gives a website a poor score, very few ads will be served. The Global Disinformation Index was founded in the UK in 2018, with the stated objective of disrupting the business model of online disinformation by starving offending publications of funding. Alongside George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, the GDI receives money from the UK government (via the FCDO), the European Union, the German Foreign Office and a body called Disinfo Cloud, which was created and funded by the US State Department. Perhaps unsurprisingly, its two founders emerged from the upper echelons of “respectable” society. First, there is Clare Melford, whose biography published by the World Economic Forum states that she had previously “led the transition of the European Council on Foreign Relations from being part of George Soros’s Open Society Foundation to independent status”. She set up the GDI with Daniel Rogers, who worked “in the US intelligence community”, before founding a company called “Terbium Labs” that used AI and machine learning to scour the internet for illicit use of sensitive data and then sold it handsomely to Deloitte. Together, they have spearheaded a carefully intellectualised definitional creep as to what counts as “disinformation”. Back when it was first set up in 2018, they defined the term on their website as “deliberately false content, designed to deceive”. Within these strict parameters, you can see how it might have appeared useful to have dedicated fact-checkers identifying the most egregious offenders and calling them out. But they have since broadened the definition to encompass anything that deploys an “adversarial narrative” — stories that may be factually true, but pit people against each other by attacking an individual, an institution or “the science”. GDI founder Clare Melford explained in an interview at the LSE in 2021 how this expanded definition was more “useful”, as it allowed them to go beyond fact-checking to targeting anything on the internet that they deem “harmful” or “divisive”: “A lot of disinformation is not just whether something is true or false — it escapes from the limits of fact-checking. Something can be factually accurate but still extremely harmful… [GDI] leads you to a more useful definition of disinformation… It’s not saying something is or is not disinformation, but it is saying that content on this site or this particular article is content that is anti-immigrant, content that is anti-women, content that is antisemitic…” Larger traffic websites are rated using humans, she explains, but most are rated using automated AI. “We actually instantiate our definition of disinformation — the adversarial narrative topics — within the technology,” explains Melford. “Each adversarial narrative is given its own machine-learning classifier, which then allows us to search for content that matches that narrative at scale… misogyny, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-black content, climate change denial, etc.” Melford’s team and algorithm are essentially trained to identify and defund any content she finds offensive, not disinformation. Her personal bugbears are somewhat predictable: content supporting the January 6 “insurrections”, the pernicious influence of “white men in Silicon Valley”, and anything that might undermine the global response to the “existential challenge of climate change”. The difficulty, however, is that most of these issues are highly contentious and require robust, uncensored discussion to find solutions. Challenges to scientific orthodoxy are particularly important, as the multiple failures of the official response to Covid-19 amply demonstrated. Indeed, one of the examples of GDI’s good work that Melford highlighted in her LSE talk was an article on a Spanish website in June 2021 about the Delta variant of Covid-19. “Official data: a third of deaths from the Delta variant in the United Kingdom were among the vaccinated,” reads the headline, next to an advertisement for Chipotle Mexican Grill. “This is clearly untrue,” she said breezily, “and Chipotle has been caught next to this ad unwittingly, and unfortunately for them have funded this highly dangerous disinformation about vaccines”. This was, however, far from an accurate description. The statistic being reported comes from a June 2021 Public Health England report into Covid variants that sets out the 42 known deaths from the Delta variant from January to June: 23 were unvaccinated, 7 vaccinated with one shot and 12 fully vaccinated. In other words, 29% were fully vaccinated — around a third — and 17% partially vaccinated, making a total of 45% vaccinated. The headline claiming a third were vaccinated, it turns out, was not spreading “dangerous disinformation” at all — if anything, it underplayed the story. Examples like this are far from rare. The GDI still hosts an uncorrected 2020 blog about the “evolution of the Wuhan lab conspiracy theory” surrounding Covid-19’s origins, which concludes that “cutting off ads to these fringe sites and their outer networks is the first action needed”. This is despite the fact that Facebook and other tech companies long ago corrected similar policies and conceded that it was a legitimate hypothesis that should never have been censored. In the US, a number of media organisations have started to take action against GDI’s partisan activism, prompted by a GDI report in 2022 that listed the 10 most dangerous sites in America. To many, it looked simply like a list of the country’s most-read conservative websites. It even included RealClearPolitics, a well-respected news aggregator whose polling numbers are among the most quoted in the country. The “least risk of disinformation” list was, predictably enough, populated by sites with a liberal inclination. In recent months, a number of American websites have launched legal challenges against GDI’s labelling system, which they claim infringes upon their First Amendment rights. In December, The Daily Wire and The Federalist teamed up with the attorney general of Texas to sue the state department for funding GDI and Newsguard. A separate initiative to prevent the Defense Department from using any advertiser that uses Newsguard, GDI or similar entities has been successful, and is now part of federal law. But GDI is a British company and, on this side of the Atlantic, the Conservative Government continues to fund it. A written question from MP Philip Davies last year revealed that £2.6 million was given in the period up to last year, and that there is still “frequent contact” between the GDI and the FCDO “Counter Disinformation and Media Development” unit. Yesterday, I was invited to give evidence to the House of Lords Communication and Digital Committee during which I outlined the extent of the threat to the free media of self-appointed ratings agencies such as the Global Disinformation Index. The reality, as I told Parliament, is that GDI is merely the tip of the iceberg. At a time when the news media is so distrusted and faces a near-broken business model, the role of government should be to prevent, not encourage, and most certainly not fund, consolidations of monopoly power around certain ideological viewpoints. But this isn’t simply a matter for the media. Both companies and those in the advertising sector also need to act: it cannot be good marketing for brands to target only half the population. Last year, Oracle announced it was cutting ties with GDI on free speech grounds, but as we discovered, it seems they are still collaborating via the Grapeshot plaform: is Larry Ellison aware of this? At its heart, the disinformation panic is becoming a textbook example of how a “solution” can do more harm than the problem it is designed to address. Educated campaigners such as Clare Melford may think they are doing the world a service, but in fact they are acting as intensifying agents, lending legitimacy to a conspiratorial world view in which governments and corporations are in cahoots to censor political expression. Unless something is done to stop them, they will continue to sow paranoia and distrust — and hasten us towards an increasingly radicalised and divided society. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 17:40

— Musk Funds National Signature Campaign In Support Of First Amendment 

 

at 4/18/24 3:20pm

Musk Funds National Signature Campaign In Support Of First Amendment  Since acquiring the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk has been on a 'free speech' crusade against leftist corporate media, dark money propping up progressive fact-checkers, taxpayer-funded non-governmental organizations working under the guise of defending free speech, woke corporations, the censorship-complex blob, and rogue elites and progressive lawmakers who push dystopic agendas to undermine the First Amendment.  We've been living through a civil war over the existence of freedom of speech. If you haven't been paying attention, here's a brief summary: US intelligence agencies and the FBI pressured social media platforms, including X, to censor and suppress protected free speech, opponents of the Democratic party, and non-approved government narratives, such as the Covid lab leak, which by the way is not a theory.  When Musk purchased X, he exposed the government's censorship blob and the big tech companies' collaboration to censor the opposition. This effectively kicked off the 1A movement.  The movement could go into hyperdrive, as Musk posted on X, "Given the relentless attacks on free speech, I am going to fund a national signature campaign in support of the First Amendment."  Given the relentless attacks on free speech, I am going to fund a national signature campaign in support of the First Amendment — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2024 Democrats and Republicans on the X platform responded to Musk's posts, eagerly waiting to sign the signature campaign. The goal is to collect enough signatures in support of 1A. These signatures will likely be presented to government officials, organizations, or other decision-makers as a form of advocacy or as a way to initiate change and ensure that the censorship blob, woke corporations, progressive lawmakers, and radical leftist think tanks stop undermining 1A.  Here's what X users are saying: You’re going to go down in the history books. Not just for Tesla and SpaceX. But for saving free speech. — Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) April 18, 2024 Thanks you ? pic.twitter.com/ZwEslwHXl6 — Satoshi Club (@esatoshiclub) April 18, 2024 It’s insane that we have to do this given what this country was founded on. — Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) April 18, 2024 But that hurts the mainstream media's narrative. pic.twitter.com/CHd61iNnK8 — Planet Of Memes (@PlanetOfMemes) April 18, 2024 Elon stands for free speech pic.twitter.com/dFiRRlvbHZ — Dividend Hero (@HeroDividend) April 18, 2024 However, what could signatures do in an election year while 1A has been under routine assault by far-left billionaire George Soros' dark money funding leftist groups? Maybe Musk should form or fund nonprofits that promote 1A to combat far-left causes that undermine the Constitution.   Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 17:20

— "We Have Our Jury": All 12 Jurors Seated For Trump Trial

 

at 4/18/24 3:05pm

"We Have Our Jury": All 12 Jurors Seated For Trump Trial Update (1705ET): All 12 jurors have been selected for Trump's NY hush money trial following the dismissal of two people earlier in the day. Former President Donald Trump gestures as he returns from a recess in his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 18, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) As part of the process, dozens of jurors were almost immediately excused after admitting they couldn't be fair or impartial during the trial (and the rest lied, of course). "We have our jury," said Judge Juan Merchan, after the 12th juror was selected. As The Hill notes: One primary juror is originally from Lebanon and retired. Another lives on the Upper East Side and said while she does “have opinions,” she does “firmly believe I can be fair and impartial.” A third was born in Ohio and works in e-commerce. The fourth is from California and just watches “late night news.” And the fifth is a physical therapist who listens to podcasts related to sports and faith. The first of six alternate jurors was also selected. She is a woman who grew up in England and Hong Kong. There are five alternates left to select. Let the games begin! *  *  * Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A second juror who was seated on the jury for former President Donald Trump in the Manhattan ‘Hush-Money’ Trial earlier this week was excused on Thursday, after prosecutors said that someone with the same name was arrested in the 90s for “tearing down political advertisements.” The Associated Press also reported that this juror, an IT consultant who previously described President Trump as “fascinating and mysterious,” failed to disclose his wife was allegedly a previous participant in a corruption inquiry by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Earlier in the day, a juror was dismissed after saying she had concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial and had concerns about her identity being made public. The two were sworn in earlier in the week with five others, including one alternate, on the second day of the trial. The two dismissals by New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan reduce the number of seated jurors to five. A total of 18 jurors need to be seated before the trial begins, six of which will be alternates. AP described the scene in the Manhattan courtroom on Thursday morning as “frenetic,” as prosecutors also asked the judge to hold President Trump in contempt of court over social media posts they claim violated a gag order by Judge Merchan. Second Dismissal The second dismissal Thursday came when prosecutors raised concerns the juror may have not been forthcoming during jury selection when a question was asked whether he had ever been accused of or convicted of a crime, AP reported. The juror was summoned to the court to answer questions after an article was found regarding a person with the same name being arrested in the 1990s for tearing down political campaign signs supporting conservative candidates in Westchester County, a suburban county of New York. The prosecution also disclosed the man’s wife may have been involved in a deferred prosecution agreement with their office, also in the 1990s. AP reported that the questions by Judge Merchan were “off-microphone” and thus his responses to the judge’s questions were not fully known, along with whether or not he confirmed or denied the allegations were indeed connected to him. Thursday’s events bring a roadblock to an already difficult task of finding enough jurors to seat in the largely liberal Manhattan jury pool who are found to be able to decide President Trump’s fate fairly and impartially. Inside the court, there’s broad acknowledgment of the futility in trying to find jurors without knowledge of Trump. A prosecutor this week said that lawyers were not looking for people who had been “living under a rock for the past eight years.” But Thursday’s events laid bare the inherent challenges of selecting a jury for such a landmark, high-publicity case. More than half the members of a group of 96 prospective jurors brought into the courtroom were dismissed Thursday, most after saying they doubted their ability to be fair and impartial. Earlier Dismissal Early in the morning, Judge Merchan reported that the woman also known as “Juror 2” had slept on the decision to sit on the jury overnight and informed the court she wished to be dismissed. She was brought into the room and said after thinking about it, she has friends, colleagues, and family that “push things” and outside influences that would likely affect her impartiality. She added that she had been identified as a juror from news reports. The juror, an oncology nurse, said her family and friends had questioned her about whether or not she was a juror based on media reports. The judge in turn ordered journalists to refrain from publishing information about the juror’s current and prior jobs. Justice Merchan said, “As evidenced by what’s happened already, it’s become a problem,” according to AP. The answers also will be redacted from court transcripts. Prosecutors additionally asked for the employer question to be removed from the questionnaire for jurors, while the judge disagreed with the argument and said it was necessary information. Other Developments Also in court on Thursday, prosecutors asked for the 45th president to be held in contempt for what they said were social media posts that violated a gag order that bars him from attacking witnesses. Those posts, prosecutors argued, included an article referring to witness and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen as a serial perjurer and another by a Fox News personality that liberals were disguising their true motives to be seated on the jury. Mr. Trump’s attorney said that Mr. Cohen had attacked his former boss in public and the president was replying to those attacks. On Monday, when Justice Merchan asked 96 prospective jurors if they couldn’t be fair and impartial in the trial, more than half of them raised their hands. They were then dismissed. The Case The legal case against President Trump involves an alleged $130,000 payment made by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult performer Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, to keep her claims of having an affair with the president from becoming public. President Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, asserting that it’s part of a longstanding and widespread effort to prevent him from being reelected. Earlier this week, President Trump wrote on Truth Social and told reporters that being in court every day will hamper his campaign, noting that he won’t be able to visit potential battleground states with just months to go before the November election. The trial is expected to last upwards of eight weeks. Of that, the jury selection process could last as long as two weeks, analysts speculate. The New York case is one of four criminal prosecutions the former president faces. The other cases stem from his alleged mishandling of classified information and activity in challenging the results of the 2020 election. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges, too, although it’s not clear whether the three cases will make it to trial before November. The federal election case was placed on hold by a Washington-based judge as the appeals process plays out. In the documents case in Florida, the federal judge has yet to reschedule a new trial date. In Georgia, the former president has appealed state election-related charges in Fulton County, putting that case on hold. It came amid allegations that the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, engaged in inappropriate behavior that the defendants say should have led to her dismissal. Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this article. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 17:05

— The Great Freight Recession Has Now Lasted Longer Than The COVID Bull Market

 

at 4/18/24 3:00pm

The Great Freight Recession Has Now Lasted Longer Than The COVID Bull Market By Greg Fuller, CEO of FreightWaves On March 31, 2022, FreightWaves declared that a freight recession was imminent. More than two years later, the freight market remains in one of its deepest and longest recessions in history. The trucking industry is asking, “How much longer is the market going to remain in a recession?” (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves) Our original conclusion was derived from signals from FreightWaves SONAR. Its high-frequency datasets, which track freight supply and demand in real-time, indicated an imminent collapse. When FreightWaves first published the article, many were not only skeptical of the conclusion, they derided FreightWaves for the call. Even after the recession took hold, few would have guessed that the freight downturn would be as deep or as long as it has been. As we enter the third year of the Great Freight Recession, the trucking industry asks, “How much longer is the market going to remain in a recession?” We believe that we are now at the bottom of the market. SONAR’s Outbound Tender Rejection Index, or OTRI, measures the percentage of truckload transactions rejected by carriers. OTRI indicates that conditions are better than they were a year ago, albeit not by much. Tender rejections are a highly reliable indicator of the balance of supply and demand. The higher the rejection rate, the more load options a carrier has. The lower the rate, the fewer load options a carrier has. While some will look at the absolute value of tender rejections, we also look at them in the context of where they have been. Tender rejections are currently at 3.95%, up from the 2024 low of 3.39 on March 26 and up substantially from 2.88% a year ago. The Outbound Tender Rejection Index. To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here We believe that tender rejections bottomed out in late March and have steadily increased throughout April, which is historically a soft month in freight. This indicates that the 2024 low is in the rearview mirror. Contracted load accepted volumes, another SONAR index measuring contracted load demand, tell us that the market has grown since January 2023. As of April 15, 2024, year-over-year contracted volumes are up 9%. Contract accepted volumes are currently down 6% compared to April 2021, the peak of the COVID bull run. Contract Load Accepted Volume. To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here While a gap certainly exists between peak volumes and current volumes, the gap is narrowing. In the past year, contracted load accepted volumes have increased by 9%. Contract Load Accepted Volume. To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here. The Atlanta Federal Reserve now forecasts that year-over-year GDP growth is up by 3%. In a normal growing economy, freight demand grows faster than economic growth. If the economy grows above 2% for the year, we expect that contracted load accepted volumes in 2025 will surpass the 2021 peaks. Capacity will continue to decline The growth in contracted load accepted volumes will occur at the same time that capacity continues to bleed out of the market. Another of the many indices in the SONAR platform is the Carrier Details Net Revocation Data, which shows the increase or decline in the number of trucking companies in the market. In the chart below, anything above zero (green) shows an expansion in the number of trucking authorities, while anything below zero (red) shows a decline. To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here. The index has been in negative territory since the fourth quarter of 2022. Capacity continues to leave the market, allowing the market to return to balance. During the two years of the freight market’s COVID bull run, fleets built up substantial operating surpluses and were able to build strong balance sheets. This has enabled them to hang on for a long time. For much of the Great Freight Recession, trucking fleets have been running many of their miles at losses. This has forced them to tap into the financial reserves they built up during the COVID bull run. The Great Freight Recession has gone on longer than the COVID bull run, meaning that since the first days of the COVID lockdowns, truckers have operated primarily in recessionary territory. For those who remain in the market, their reserves are likely exhausted, as is their stamina. However, for those who can continue, the tough times may be ending. The data suggests that a recovery in the balance of supply and demand will come as soon as fall 2024, but almost certainly by spring 2025. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 17:00

— Money-Market Fund Assets See Largest Outflows Since 'Lehman'

 

at 4/18/24 2:44pm

Money-Market Fund Assets See Largest Outflows Since 'Lehman' Total money-market fund assets plunged by $112BN in the last week as Tax-Day demands took the total assets below $6 Trillion for the first time sine January (to $5.97 Trillion)... Source: Bloomberg Corporate taxes collected from April 11 through April 17 totaled $100.7 billion, Treasury data show. While Tax-Day's impact matters obviously, we note that this is the largest weekly drop in money-market fund assets since Lehman (Sept 2008) and the biggest two-week drop (-$143BN) on record... Source: Bloomberg Much of the decline in money-market fund assets was led by institutional outflows that totaled $96.6BN in the week ended April 17 - the largest drawdown since an extended tax-filing deadline in mid-October. Retail investors pulled about $15.5 billion out of money-market funds../. Source: Bloomberg In a breakdown for the week to April 17, government funds - which invest primarily in securities like Treasury bills, repurchase agreements and agency debt - saw assets fall to $4.8 trillion, a $99 billion decline.  Prime funds, which tend to invest in higher-risk assets such as commercial paper, meanwhile, saw assets fall to $1.01 trillion, a $12 billion decline. Still, cash is expected to continue piling into money funds as long as the Federal Reserve keeps rates on hold - and this week has seen rate-cut expectations tumble further... Source: Bloomberg The Fed's balance sheet shrank to its smallest since February 2021... Source: Bloomberg As The Fed starts discussing tapering QT and usage of The Fed's bank bailout facility (now expired but these are 12 month term loans) fell by $4.1BN more to basically erase all the late-period arb-driven inflows, leaving a huge $126BN hole in bank balance sheets still being filled by this... Source: Bloomberg Finally, we note that bank reserve at The Fed slipped last week as it appears the reality for US equity market cap is starting to dawn... Source: Bloomberg While there may be no rate-cuts anytime soon... will The Fed taper QT in a big enough manner to avoid that recoupling? Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 16:44

— Netflix Reports Blowout Q1 Results & Sub Adds, But Warns Gains Will Slow, Will End Reporting Of Quarterly Subs; Stock Slides

 

at 4/18/24 2:36pm

Netflix Reports Blowout Q1 Results & Sub Adds, But Warns Gains Will Slow, Will End Reporting Of Quarterly Subs; Stock Slides After suffering a historic collapse at the end of 2021, when in the span of five months Netflix lost 75% of its value, and when Ackman first bought then immediately dump the stock just around the generational bottom, the company has enjoyed a stellar recovery over the past two year when it rose by nearly 300%, from a low of $166 to a recent high of price of $636, just shy of the record hit in late 2021. It is therefore not surprising that after this tremendous ascent and nearly 3x return, that both Goldman and UBS agree that Netflix remains a very crowded long with investors very bullish. According to UBS, "the bull thesis continues to revolve around the residual impact of password sharing and they are just scratching the surface on the scale of the ads business" while "the rationalization of content spend and direct-to-consumer efforts from competitors will also be a tailwind for Netflix." Goldman chimes in that positioning and sentiment skew more long - as NFLX’s multiple is approaching multi-year highs - with stock up ~28% YTD and short interest back at 10 year lows. That said, UBS cautions that stretched positioning and the stock near $620 cause some to pause, but given they are the first one out of the gate, the stock could benefit from investors using it as a safety play. On the earnings print, investors will be focused on: magnitude of upside to sub net adds pricing updates as estimates are underpinned by price increases eventually hitting; tailwinds from paid sharing and if there are legs left versus already in run rate; updates on scaling in ad business progress into 2H/2025, and consistent message on revenue re-acceleration; updates to margin expectations (~2-3pts y/y annual OM expansion) and spending plans given pullback at peers; and updates on live content/sports strategy. And here are the main bogeys: Q1 Subscriber Adds: 8MM (heard a wide range of estimate - some higher, up to 10MM, some lower, 7-8MM, Goldman expects +7MM) Q1 Revenue Growth adjusted for FX: +16-17% Q1 Reported Revenue Growth: +14% Q1 EBIT: $2.4B, +40% y/y Q2 Subscriber Adds: 4M Q2 Revenue Growth adjusted for FX: +17% Q2 Reported Revenue Growth: +16% Q2 EBIT: $2.4BN FY24 Operating Margin: reiterate guide at 24% FY24 FCF Guide: $6BN With that in mind, and considering that options are pricing in a roughly 7% swing after hours today, here is what NFLX reported for its first quarter: EPS $5.28, beating the estimate $4.52, and more than double the $2.88 Revenue $9.37 billion, up a whopping 15% y/y, and beating the estimate $9.26 billion Revenue was above the company's guidance as paid net additions (9.3M vs. 1.8M in Q1’23) were higher than we forecast. Streaming paid net change +9.33 million smashed estimates of 4.84 million, were just shy of the highest whisper number of 10 million and were far above the +1.75 million subs added a year ago. This was the best start of the year since 2020! UCAN streaming paid net change +2.53 million vs. +100,000 y/y, beating estimates of +988,580 EMEA streaming paid net change +2.92 million vs. +640,000 y/y, beating estimates of +1.58 million LATAM streaming paid net change +1.72 million vs. -450,000 y/y, beating estimates of +837,467 APAC streaming paid net change +2.16 million, +48% y/y, beating estimates of +1.48 million Operating margin 28.1% vs. 21% y/y, estimate 25.7% Operating income $2.63 billion, a whopping +54% increase y/y, and beat estimates of $2.43 billion Free cash flow $2.14 billion, +0.9% y/y, and also beat estimate $1.87 billion Bottom line: Q1 subscriber adds smashed estimates in what was the best Q1 for NFLX since 2020 when the pandemic led to an unprecedented growth surge. Netflix ended Q1 with total streaming paid memberships of 269.6 million, up 16% y/y, and well above the estimate of 264.52 million. The subs are in line with what it guided last quarter when it said that "paid net additions to be down sequentially but to be up versus Q1’23 paid net adds of 1.8M." About 40% of Netflix’s new customers are selecting the advertising option in markets where it’s available, the company said. The advertising tier is still minuscule relative to online video giants like YouTube. Netflix has successfully rebounded from a post-covid slowdown in 2021 and 2022 to grow at its fastest rate since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. That is due largely to its crackdown on people who were using someone else’s account. The company estimated more than 100 million people were using an account for which they didn’t pay. While executives at Netflix feared a backlash from customers, the company has been able to convince millions of moochers to pay for access. Looking ahead, for Q2 Netflix sees the following: Revenue $9.49 billion, missing the estimate $9.51 billion EPS $4.68, beating the estimate $4.54 Operating margin 26.6%, beating estimate 25.4% Drilling down into the Q2 forecast reveals: revenue growth of 16% which equates to 21% growth on a F/X neutral basis due primarily to price changes in Argentina and the devaluation of the local currency relative to the US dollar. paid net additions should be lower in Q2’24 vs. Q1’24 due to typical seasonality the company also forecasts global ARM to be up year-over-year on a F/X neutral basis in Q2. This is what the quarterly subs look like historically and vs WS estimates: For the full year, NFLX sees revenue growth between 13% and 15%, boosted its operating margin outlook to 25%, beating the estimate of 24.1%, and above the 24% expected previously; the company still sees free cash flow about $6 billion, estimate $6.49 billion And here are the results and projections summarized: And here is the regional detail: for the third consecutive quarter, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) accounted for the largest share of Netflix’s growth in the quarter. The company added almost 3 million customers in that region, following the 5 million added last quarter. The average amount Netflix makes per customer has increased only modestly in the past year, at $16.64, and rising 3%. Yet despite the blowout numbers this quarter, something bad may be on deck because NFLX reported that starting next year with 1Q 2025 earnings, the company will stop reporting quarterly membership numbers and ARM; to counter that, the company will also start providing annual revenue outlook. Here is the explanation, straight from the quarterly report: As we’ve noted in previous letters, we’re focused on revenue and operating margin as our primary financial metrics — and engagement (i.e. time spent) as our best proxy for customer satisfaction. In our early days, when we had little revenue or profit, membership growth was a strong indicator of our future potential. But now we’re generating very substantial profit and free cash flow (FCF). We are also developing new revenue streams like advertising and our extra member feature, so memberships are just one component of our growth. In addition, as we’ve evolved our pricing and plans from a single to multiple tiers with different price points depending on the country, each incremental paid membership has a very different business impact. It’s why we stopped providing quarterly paid membership guidance in 2023 and, starting next year with our Q1'25 earnings, we will stop reporting quarterly membership numbers and ARM. We’ll continue to provide a breakout of revenue by region each quarter and the F/X impact to complement our financials. For guidance, we’ll add annual revenue guidance on top of what we already provide today: our annual operating margin and free cash flow forecast and forecasts for quarterly revenue, operating income, net income, and EPS. We’ll also announce major subscriber milestones as we cross them. Instead of subs, NFLX - like Musk - plans on providing more details on overall engagement: "we’ve been providing progressively more information on engagement, starting with our Top 10 weekly and most popular lists and more recently our bi-annual report into viewing on Netflix (which covers ~99% of all video watch time on our service). This is more information than any of our competitors provide, and we expect to provide even more over time." Netflix finished the quarter with gross debt of $14B and cash and cash equivalents of $7B; curiously, it boosted the revolving credit facility to $3 billion from $1 billion. NFLX expects to refinance its upcoming debt maturities and we don’t currently have plans to lever up to buy back stock as we value balance sheet flexibility Expectations for Netflix’s first quarter had soared in recent days, as one analyst after another published rosy forecasts. Pouring some cold water on expectations, NFLX said subscriber gains will be lower this period, even as revenue will increase 16%, or more than expected. Netflix also said it will stop reporting paid quarterly membership and revenue per subscriber, starting with the first quarter of 2025. Those metrics have long been the primary way Wall Street evaluated the company’s performance, but Netflix has tried to shift the focus to traditional measures like sales and profit. Management will continue to report major subscriber milestones. “The movement to no longer disclose quarterly subscriptions from next year will not go down well,” Paolo Pescatore, founder and analyst at PP Foresight, said in an email. “More so given the subscriber growth that the streaming king has seen over the last year.” To be sure, new customers have had plenty to watch. Netflix has delivered a new hit every couple weeks so far this year, including limited series such as Fool Me Once and Griselda, the dramas The Gentleman and 3 Body Problem and the reality show Love Is Blind. The streaming service accounts for 8.1% of TV viewing in the US,  and is a leading TV network in most of the world’s major media markets. “With more than two people per household on average, we have an audience of over half a billion people,” the company said in its letter. “No entertainment company has ever programmed at this scale and with this ambition before.” Yet even skeptical analysts have been impressed with the company’s recent performance, lifting their price targets for investors. To sustain its growth going forward, Netflix has also introduced a cheaper, advertising-supported version of its service targeting cost-conscious customers. It’s also begun to invest in live programming, including stand-up specials, wrestling and an upcoming boxing match. Turning to the once-problematic cash flow statement, the company generated cash from operating activities of $2.2B in Q1, and free cash flow of $2.1B (both flat with Q1’23). During the quarter, NFLX paid down $400M of senior notes with cash on hand and repurchased 3.6M shares for $2B. The company finished the quarter with gross debt of $14B and cash and cash equivalents of $7B. NFLX is still forecasting full year 2024 free cash flow of approximately $6B and cash content spend of up to $17B. Finally, here is the explanation for why NFLX is boosting its revolver: We’re modestly evolving our capital allocation strategy to better reflect our investment grade status. Going forward, rather than anchoring to $10-$15B of gross debt and minimum cash equivalent to two months of revenue, we’ll maintain financial policies consistent with a solid investment grade credit rating. In particular, we’ll continue to prioritize profitable growth by reinvesting in our business, maintain a healthy balance sheet and ample liquidity, and return excess cash (beyond several billion dollars of minimum cash and any used for selective M&A) to shareholders through share repurchases. As part of this evolution, we’ve upsized our revolving credit facility from $1B to $3B. This will bolster our access to liquidity, and enable us to improve our cash efficiency, over time. We also expect to refinance our upcoming debt maturities and we don’t currently have plans to lever up to buy back stock as we value balance sheet flexibility The recent growth lifted Netflix shares back toward record highs, giving the company a market value of more than $260 billion. It set an all-time closing high of $691.69 in November 2021, although today's earnings will likely slow down the recent gains: while the result were solid, and the beat was across the board, the stock initially spiked then, and at last check NFLX was down about $20 from its closing price of $610, and about $100 below its record high from Nov 2021. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 16:36

— 2nd Trump Juror Dismissed After Concerns Over Arrest Record

 

at 4/18/24 2:10pm

2nd Trump Juror Dismissed After Concerns Over Arrest Record Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A second juror who was seated on the jury for former President Donald Trump in the Manhattan ‘Hush-Money’ Trial earlier this week was excused on Thursday, after prosecutors said that someone with the same name was arrested in the 90s for “tearing down political advertisements.” Former President Donald Trump gestures as he returns from a recess in his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 18, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) The Associated Press also reported that this juror, an IT consultant who previously described President Trump as “fascinating and mysterious,” failed to disclose his wife was allegedly a previous participant in a corruption inquiry by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Earlier in the day, a juror was dismissed after saying she had concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial and had concerns about her identity being made public. The two were sworn in earlier in the week with five others, including one alternate, on the second day of the trial. The two dismissals by New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan reduce the number of seated jurors to five. A total of 18 jurors need to be seated before the trial begins, six of which will be alternates. AP described the scene in the Manhattan courtroom on Thursday morning as “frenetic,” as prosecutors also asked the judge to hold President Trump in contempt of court over social media posts they claim violated a gag order by Judge Merchan. Second Dismissal The second dismissal Thursday came when prosecutors raised concerns the juror may have not been forthcoming during jury selection when a question was asked whether he had ever been accused of or convicted of a crime, AP reported. The juror was summoned to the court to answer questions after an article was found regarding a person with the same name being arrested in the 1990s for tearing down political campaign signs supporting conservative candidates in Westchester County, a suburban county of New York. The prosecution also disclosed the man’s wife may have been involved in a deferred prosecution agreement with their office, also in the 1990s. AP reported that the questions by Judge Merchan were “off-microphone” and thus his responses to the judge’s questions were not fully known, along with whether or not he confirmed or denied the allegations were indeed connected to him. Thursday’s events bring a roadblock to an already difficult task of finding enough jurors to seat in the largely liberal Manhattan jury pool who are found to be able to decide President Trump’s fate fairly and impartially. Inside the court, there’s broad acknowledgment of the futility in trying to find jurors without knowledge of Trump. A prosecutor this week said that lawyers were not looking for people who had been “living under a rock for the past eight years.” But Thursday’s events laid bare the inherent challenges of selecting a jury for such a landmark, high-publicity case. More than half the members of a group of 96 prospective jurors brought into the courtroom were dismissed Thursday, most after saying they doubted their ability to be fair and impartial. Earlier Dismissal Early in the morning, Judge Merchan reported that the woman also known as “Juror 2” had slept on the decision to sit on the jury overnight and informed the court she wished to be dismissed. She was brought into the room and said after thinking about it, she has friends, colleagues, and family that “push things” and outside influences that would likely affect her impartiality. She added that she had been identified as a juror from news reports. The juror, an oncology nurse, said her family and friends had questioned her about whether or not she was a juror based on media reports. The judge in turn ordered journalists to refrain from publishing information about the juror’s current and prior jobs. Justice Merchan said, “As evidenced by what’s happened already, it’s become a problem,” according to AP. The answers also will be redacted from court transcripts. Prosecutors additionally asked for the employer question to be removed from the questionnaire for jurors, while the judge disagreed with the argument and said it was necessary information. Other Developments Also in court on Thursday, prosecutors asked for the 45th president to be held in contempt for what they said were social media posts that violated a gag order that bars him from attacking witnesses. Those posts, prosecutors argued, included an article referring to witness and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen as a serial perjurer and another by a Fox News personality that liberals were disguising their true motives to be seated on the jury. Mr. Trump’s attorney said that Mr. Cohen had attacked his former boss in public and the president was replying to those attacks. On Monday, when Justice Merchan asked 96 prospective jurors if they couldn’t be fair and impartial in the trial, more than half of them raised their hands. They were then dismissed. The Case The legal case against President Trump involves an alleged $130,000 payment made by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult performer Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, to keep her claims of having an affair with the president from becoming public. President Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, asserting that it’s part of a longstanding and widespread effort to prevent him from being reelected. Earlier this week, President Trump wrote on Truth Social and told reporters that being in court every day will hamper his campaign, noting that he won’t be able to visit potential battleground states with just months to go before the November election. The trial is expected to last upwards of eight weeks. Of that, the jury selection process could last as long as two weeks, analysts speculate. The New York case is one of four criminal prosecutions the former president faces. The other cases stem from his alleged mishandling of classified information and activity in challenging the results of the 2020 election. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges, too, although it’s not clear whether the three cases will make it to trial before November. The federal election case was placed on hold by a Washington-based judge as the appeals process plays out. In the documents case in Florida, the federal judge has yet to reschedule a new trial date. In Georgia, the former president has appealed state election-related charges in Fulton County, putting that case on hold. It came amid allegations that the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, engaged in inappropriate behavior that the defendants say should have led to her dismissal. Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this article. Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 16:10

— Bitcoin & Bullion Bid As Hawkish FedSpeak Hammers Stocks & Bonds

 

at 4/18/24 2:00pm

Bitcoin & Bullion Bid As Hawkish FedSpeak Hammers Stocks & Bonds Stocks had limped higher all night after four straight days lower but into the cash open, Fed's Williams ruined the party by admitting that while rate-hikes are not 'his baseline' they are possible if the data warrants. But that dip was bought aggressively after the open. Stocks were spooked a little by the 'no landing' narrative screaming from Philly Fed's data (showing HL improvement but soaring prices-paid, and despite the weakest workweek since COVID lockdowns, expectations for prices are at multi-year highs...), boringly (and mysteriously) solid jobless claims, and benign home sales... Source: Bloomberg But then more hawkish FedSpeak wrecked the ramp-fest as Bostic warned The Fed "won't be in a position to cut rates until the end of the year." That leg pushed Nasdaq down to break its MT CTA 'sell' threshold (17,569) and things got interesting. A late-day bid put some lipstick on an otherwise pig of a day, but it couldn't hold. The Dow closed green, Nasdaq was the biggest loser, with S&P and Small Caps red... S&P down for five straight days hasn't happened since October 2023 (just ahead of The Fed 'Pivot')... Source: Bloomberg Albeit much smaller, we once again saw a pump-n-dump around 1400ET... Source: Bloomberg Additionally, as @Ryan Detrick noted on X: Since 1990, I found 20 other times the S&P 500 opened green, but eventually closed red three consecutive days. It just happened today. Negative returns on avg a month later and up only 55% of the time. Could this be a subtle clue the bulls are losing control? Having broken down through the ST CTA 'sell' threshold earlier in the week, today saw Nasdaq lose the MT CTA 'sell' threshold (17,569) and chop (support at 17462 (100DMA))... As Goldman's trading desk confirmed " a combo of continued hawkish fed and strong macro data....testing some key levels too, with 2y notes right around 5%, and would think as we approach the weekend, there's likely gonna be a push/pull between geopolitical weekend risk premium vs supply next week." “As a strategist, it is an uncomfortable place to be to have a target below the market, but our work continues to lead us in the same direction,” Evercore ISI’s Julian Emanuel said in an interview. “Valuations are very, very taxing and the forward returns at these valuations tend to be subpar.” The average pullback in a non-recession year is 13%, Emanuel added, pointing to stickier cost pressures and monetary policy that is “more of a question mark” as catalysts for further declines. “Part of the story that got us — particularly in the momentum stocks — as overextended as we were at peaks in March, was that the public was an incredibly enthusiastic player in equity markets who saw some record flows,” Emanuel said. “We now think this is an environment where people are going to temper their optimism and do a little bit of reset.” Indeed, the US majors are suffering their biggest drawdowns since Sept 2023 (right before the Fed Pivot)... Source: Bloomberg VIX is now near its 6m high as markets continue to grapple with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and credit markets have started to crack... Source: Bloomberg But, while equities were not pretty, bonds were just as ugly with yields up 6bps across the short-end and belly with the long-end modestly outperforming (30Y +4bps)... Source: Bloomberg ...with 2Y yields pushing back up to 5.00%... Source: Bloomberg For some brief moments today, May rate HIKES were more likely than CUTS... Source: Bloomberg ...and 2024 rate-cut expectations closed at a new low with just 38bps priced-in... Source: Bloomberg After a couple of hard days, Bitcoin extended yesterday's bounce off $60,000 ahead of what is expected to be the 'halving' tomorrow... Source: Bloomberg Gold also gained on the day, back above $2390 intraday... Source: Bloomberg ...even as the dollar rallied... Source: Bloomberg Oil prices ended unchanged on the day, recovering from an early puke to an $81 handle (WTI)... Source: Bloomberg Finally, the "no landing" narrative is winning... Source: Bloomberg ...and as Nomura's Charlie McElligott pointed out "'no landings' lead to 'hard landings'". Tyler Durden Thu, 04/18/2024 - 16:00

As of 4/18/24 8:20pm. Last new 4/18/24 8:20pm.