Authored by Patti Johnson via The Burning Platform blog,

For those unclear on what a Black Pill Moment means, I’ll share my take on the definition:

Black Pill Moment: A “Black Pill Moment” is when someone grasps a harsh, pessimistic truth about the world, leading to despair or hopelessness if they let it sink in. It’s a grim realization that things may be beyond repair, hitting like a gut punch.

Red Pill Moment: A “Red Pill Moment” is when someone sees a tough truth about the world, shattering old beliefs but leaving hope that change is possible if enough people act. It’s like waking up to a challenging reality with resolve to fight for better.

Blue Pill Moment: A “blue pill moment” is when someone avoids a harsh truth, choosing the comfort of denial or ignorance, like believing “ignorance is bliss.” Some psychiatrists call SSRIs like Prozac “blue pills” for creating an “I don’t care” mindset, numbing people to reality.

In the 1999 movie, The Matrix, Neo is offered a red pill or a blue pill by Morpheus. The red pill means waking up to the harsh truth of reality, rejecting illusions (like the Matrix’s simulated world), while the blue pill means staying in comfortable ignorance, unaware of the truth.

I usually see myself as red-pilled, believing in tough truths/reality, but holding onto hope for change.

If we are not careful a black pill can can be so earth shattering that it may lead to taking a blue pill!

After reading editorials about Texas’s mandated digital ID for apps, supposedly to protect children, I researched how many states and countries have mandatory or voluntary digital ID systems. (Voluntary is the trojan horse for future mandatory)  What I found opened my eyes to what could be labelled a “black pill moment”—the global push for digital IDs is far advanced, likely past the point of no return, aligning with the UN’s 2030 goal of universal legal identity and enabling a globalist digital currency system that could control access to everything.

In September 2015, all 193 UN Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.9  aims to provide legal identity, including birth registration, for everyone by 2030. This goal supports a global push for universal digital identity. The World Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative, a key partner, consolidates civil registries and promotes digital ID services. ID2020, tasked with implementing SDG 16.9, works to ensure everyone has a digital identity by 2030. The World Bank, World Economic Forum, and companies like Palantir, have created a global partnership to build a unified digital identity system.

Currently there are approximately 8,300,000,000 people in the world.  According to the World Bank’s ID4D initiative the number of actual people without any “official” proof of identity is only 850 million.  Only 10% of the world’s population do not have a personal digital ID.

Based on the latest global reports, only 12 countries (out of 198 worldwide) still lack any foundational national digital ID system – such as electronic credentials, biometric verification, or programs that could eventually link to the World Bank’s ID4D framework for universal legal identity. In stark contrast, 186 countries already have at least basic digital ID elements in place, paving the way for interoperability with global systems.

I began my research by manually checking each country’s government website, but after the first 30 – all of which had ID4D digital ID systems – I realized the scale of adoption was overwhelming. Not wanting to waste time on the remaining 168, I did something I never imagined- I enlisted Grok to handle the nitty-gritty and time consuming work of scanning those government websites country by  country. Grok confirmed the relentless global march toward total coverage revealing that 186 countries out of 198 have digital ID systems already in place.

The holdouts are often in regions with limited infrastructure or political instability. For example, North Korea is one of the holdouts because they have their own internal digital tracking system that is not set up to be “linked” (“interoperability”) to the ID4D digital ID Globalist World Bank system.

The countries not yet set up with digital ID’s that can be linked to the digital ID World Bank system in the future are: Somalia, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Yemen, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Chad, Eritrea, Tuvalu, Nauru and Oceania. [2] According to the World Bank ID4D website, adoption is accelerating and they expect this list to shrink by 2026.

But what about the United States, “land of the free and home of the brave?” Are we protected against the digital ID world beast system? In three of my prior Burning Platform guest opinions:

The Digital Noose to Track, Trace and Database Every Citizen of the United States is Accelerating with Breakneck Speed 

The Digital Noose Extends Across the Pond and Around the World, and

Dining with the Devils  

I cover in more detail how the very same globalist technocrats who are developing and implementing digital ID systems and AI data banks in the United States are also developing digital ID systems and AI data banks around the world. Built into all these massive data collection systems is “interoperability” to eventually connect to the World Bank beast tracking ID system

 Peter Thiel’s company Palantir is among the technology companies involved with digital ID initiatives linked to international development efforts, including those supported by the World Bank and aligned with UN SDG 16.9. Peter Thiel is a technology advisor to President Trump.

Another illustration of the close connections between U.S. systems and global ID initiatives is Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI and a key AI advisor to President Trump. Altman has called for “international partnerships” on AI regulation, proposing a global body comparable to the International Atomic Energy Agency (AP News, June 6, 2023,). This aligns with Agenda 2030 Goal 17 which emphasizes global partnerships. Why should the system that is supposed to protect our country be regulated by an international organization as Altman suggests? In 2023 Sam Altman started “World Coin” to give people a digital ID by scanning their eyes.

The recent legislation in Texas is just one part of the massive system being put in place here in the “land of the free.”  Even though the United States does not have a national identity card, we have state-issued driver’s licenses which are quickly being transformed to biometric digital ID’s.  As of October 17, 2025, at least 18 U.S. states have fully implemented or are actively issuing biometric-enabled digital driver’s licenses (also known as mobile driver’s licenses or mDLs), where biometrics (such as facial recognition or fingerprint scanning) are used for secure access and authentication on mobile devices.

This app for biometric digital ID was advertised next to an article about Texas mandating digital identity for age verification.

Even if all 50 states do not go biometric on their licenses, multiple systems of womb-to-tomb data collection on every citizen are in the works through several of President Trump’s initiatives. One of those is an electronic health tracking system called “Making Health Technology Great Again.” Apple, Google, Samsung, Amazon, OpenAI, Anthropic, Epic, Oracle, Athena Health and Noom are a few of the big tech companies that will be involved in setting up a centralized national health record database in the United States. Making Health technology Great Again/MHTGA will make medical record sharing possible nationwide. If leadership changes in the future this very system can be linked to the World Bank digital ID beast system.

Is there a way to stop this “Black Pill” train wreck?

Has it gone to the point of no return? Can we pull the plug?  That is for you to decide.

Will you take the Red, Blue or Black pill?

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

Inflation remains one of the most pressing global economic issues, and this monthly G20 inflation tracker, via Visual Capitalist’s Aneesh Anand, highlights the wide disparities in price growth across the world’s largest economies.

Data comes from the national statistics offices of G20 countries. This August 2025 snapshot captures a continued divergence, with some countries still facing surging consumer prices while others battle deflation.

Here’s the full data set comparing annual inflation rates (CPI, YoY %) in each G20 nation:

At a glance, Argentina (33.6%) and Türkiye (33%) remain the top two inflation hotspots, while China is the only G20 member in deflationary territory at -0.4%.

Argentina: High Inflation Persists, But Shows Signs of Easing

Despite topping the G20 list, Argentina’s inflation trajectory may be turning a corner. Monthly inflation in August came in flat at 1.9%, a notable slowdown compared to earlier in the year. This is the lowest monthly increase since 2022.

However, years of economic mismanagement, currency controls, and a weakening peso have left a lasting impact. Recent U.S. financial support could stabilize Argentina’s economy temporarily—but may introduce new structural challenges if reforms don’t follow.

Türkiye: Interest Rate Policy and Lira Depreciation Fuel Price Growth

Türkiye continues to experience elevated inflation at 33%, with food, energy, and housing costs soaring. The central bank’s decision to cut interest rates despite ongoing inflation has drawn criticism. Consumer prices rose more than expected in August, testing the credibility of monetary policy.

The weak Turkish lira has further exacerbated inflation by raising the cost of imports. Without a decisive shift in economic policy, inflationary pressures are likely to persist.

China’s Slide into Deflation Signals Deeper Economic Concerns

While many nations are still battling inflation, China stands out for the opposite reason: deflation. Consumer prices declined by 0.4% year-over-year in August, suggesting weakening domestic demand.

This trend is part of broader economic issues facing China, including a shrinking working-age population, falling birth rates, and a rapidly aging society. These demographic shifts are expected to reduce productivity and consumer spending over the long term. Meanwhile, the country’s once-booming real estate sector, estimated to account for up to 30% of GDP, continues to face a protracted slowdown, with falling home prices and developer defaults contributing to weak investor and household confidence.

China’s deflation may be symptomatic of deeper structural changes. These include an overreliance on investment-led growth, rising local government debt, and the challenges of transitioning to a more consumption-driven economy. Without robust domestic demand or significant policy shifts, deflationary pressures could linger, posing risks to both China’s long-term growth and global trade dynamics.

Global Inflation Outlook Remains Uneven

Inflation in the U.S. reached 2.9% (its highest since January), while countries like Japan (2.7%) and the Euro Zone (2.0%) hovered near central bank targets. Canada (1.9%) and South Korea (1.7%) remain among the lowest.

For a longer-term perspective, explore our previous coverage on global inflation projections through 2026.

Via Remix News,

Much of the German national media is in an uproar after Chancellor Friedrich Merz connected problems with Germany’s “cityscape” and immigration.

At a press conference in Potsdam, Merz spoke about migration policy and his party’s strategy against the Alternative for Germany (AfD), stating they are “very far along” in confronting the AfD on the issue.

However, then the remark came that has the left attacking him.

“But of course we still have this problem in the cityscape and that is why the Federal Minister of the Interior is now making deportations possible on a very large scale,” said Merz.

The pro-migration left jumped on the comment, calling him a racist.

Green Party leader Felix Banaszak considers Friedrich Merz to be “dangerous“ and “unworthy of a chancellor.”

The Green Party MEP Erik Marquardt stated that “the chancellor should apologize for this racist derailment.”

He added that “calling people of different skin colors a ‘problem in the cityscape’ is simply racism. The fact that such a statement simply slips out of his mouth makes it clear.“

Former Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt, also with the Greens, only wrote on X: “Cityscape. I just can’t believe it.“

Green Party politician Andreas Audretsch wrote on X: “Friedrich Merz didn’t understand anything.” In a video, he stated that “Mr. Merz, you got stuck in another time.“

The Alternative for Germany (AfD), also a bitter rival of the CDU, comes at the issue from the totally opposite angle, blaming Merz for failing to fix the issues his party is largely responsible for. AfD politician Jörg Baumann stated, “Did Merz mean ‘this problem in the cityscape’”?

Meinte Merz etwa “dieses Problem im Stadtbild”?#Merz #DeshalbAfD #Remigration pic.twitter.com/JAjDtBPzRz

— Jörg Baumann MdL (@BaumannMdL) October 15, 2025

In a subsequent post, he said he was not writing to support Merz, and that he was in fact working to actively remove Merz from power.

Merz’s statement is being defended by some in his party as well as the news outlet Welt, which is considered close to the CDU.

“Anyone who considers this sentence from the chancellor to be an inadmissible exaggeration should take a walk through Duisburg, where the post office in the White Giant’s high-rise development temporarily stopped delivering parcels – for security reasons. Because the authorities do too little to combat crime and violence between different ethnic groups, some residents have decided to arm themselves. The Green Party leader Banaszak, who himself comes from Duisburg, apparently has the talent to close his eyes to these undesirable developments,” wrote Welt columnist Jan Philipp Burgard.

He continued, writing that “public order is not as eroded everywhere as in Duisburg, but all over Germany people are discussing changing the image of their city at the dining table, conference table or regulars’ table. Some seasoned men avoid walking home from the pub. Some women no longer go jogging in the park. According to the opinion research institute Ipsos, concerns about immigration will arise for the twelfth time in a row in September 2025 at the top of the ‘worry barometer.’”

The Ipsos poll not only shows that immigration is Germany’s top concern, but a large majority of Germans view Islam as a security threat. In another poll, a strong majority said there are too many Middle Eastern migrants in Germany. In that same poll, nearly half of respondents agreed with the statement: “I believe that Europeans are gradually being replaced by immigrants from Africa and the Middle East.”

PM Viktor Orbán: 🇭🇺🇩🇪 “Now, Germany is no longer Germany. It’s a colorful, changed multicultural world, where migrants coming in are no longer guests in this country… They are not here as guests of the native Germans, but in their own right. It is now their country, too.” pic.twitter.com/yjjArFvYNA

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 25, 2024

Already in 2023, 64 percent of respondents said they want the country to take fewer migrants. The same poll showed that the same number, 64 percent, said that Germany faces more disadvantages than advantages when it comes to immigration.

A poll from last year found that 72 percent of respondents say it is right to carry out asylum procedures outside the EU’s external borders, while only 16 percent say the measure is wrong. The poll also showed that Germans are not only against illegal immigration, but want lower levels of all immigration, including legal immigrants. The poll shows 69 percent of respondents would like (rather) less migration to Germany, while only 11 percent would like (rather) more migration.

In other words, Merz’s “cityscape” comments are not far off the mark from what a majority of Germans think on the issue.

As Remix News reported, foreigners made up a record share of violent criminal offenders last year, according to crime data. Germans are feeling less and less safe.

Jan Philipp Burgard writes for Welt: “There are still around 220,000 people who live illegally in Germany and would have to be deported – the result of a historic loss of control that began 10 years ago and whose collateral damage is obvious. Foreigners in Germany are more than twice as involved in violent crime as Germans. Perpetrators from Muslim countries from Algeria to Afghanistan are particularly well represented in crime statistics.”

However, even deporting 220,000 illegal migrants is not necessarily going to seriously change the ongoing demographic transformation of Germany at a time when schools are in shambles, the German economy continues to teeter, and crime continues to soar. In addition, German citizens with a migration background are often the very children in classes causing serious problems, and they are often the suspects in serious crime case. This group cannot just be “deported away,” yet finding solutions to these difficult problems remains no easy task.

Merz, like Macron, may be throwing “red meat” to the right with such proclamations. His CDU is now losing out to the AfD in all major polls, which means he has to present a tough face on the issue of immigration — an issue that is not going away, regardless of how much the left screams “racism.”

Read more here…

Authored by Antonio Graceffo via The Epoch Times,

After 12 years, Beijing’s four major defenses against the Belt and Road “debt trap” argument are dispelled.

The 12th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (also called One Belt, One Road) was last month. Amid ongoing accusations that it is a debt trap, the Lowy Institute think tank reported that 75 developing nations now face severe debt crises driven by massive repayments to China. Developing countries are expected to pay Beijing a record $35 billion this year, $22 billion of which will come from the world’s poorest nations, forcing deep cuts to health, education, and essential services.

Launched in 2013, the BRI financed large-scale infrastructure projects across Asia, Africa, and Latin America through state-backed loans, making China the world’s largest bilateral creditor. Over the program’s first decade, roughly 80 percent of lending from the Chinese regime went to nations already in or near default. As these debts mature, repayment pressures are straining public finances and reinforcing the charge that Beijing deliberately created a global debt trap.

In its defense, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) advances four flawed arguments to deny that the BRI is a debt trap: first, that many developing countries owe more to Western lenders; second, that U.S. interest rate hikes caused their debt problems; third, that currency depreciation and a slowing global economy are to blame; and fourth, that China rarely seizes assets from countries unable to repay. Each of these claims collapses under scrutiny.

The CCP’s first defense—that many Belt and Road countries owe more to Western or international lenders than to China—is mathematically true in some cases but deeply misleading. While Chinese loans may represent less than half of a country’s total debt, these nations already had extremely low credit ratings and were considered too risky for traditional lenders. Western institutions stopped lending to avoid pushing them into default. China, however, stepped in and issued the very loans that tipped them over the edge. In many cases, Beijing became the lender of last resort because responsible lenders had walked away.

The second argument—that rising U.S. interest rates caused the debt crisis—is equally flawed. Fluctuating rates are a well-known risk built into every sovereign credit assessment. Countries that continue to borrow heavily despite poor ratings do so knowing refinancing will become more expensive when global rates rise. Responsible lenders account for that risk and withdraw when borrowers approach unsustainable levels of debt. China ignores those warnings, continuing to lend, ensuring that default becomes inevitable.

The third claim—blaming the crisis on currency depreciation and a slowing global economy—also collapses under scrutiny. Economic downturns and exchange-rate fluctuations are foreseeable risks that must be weighed before taking on debt. Many Belt and Road countries have weak, partially convertible currencies, but must repay their loans in U.S. dollars. As the dollar strengthens, debt service costs rise, draining national reserves and deepening economic distress. This is not the fault of the West, nor the result of U.S. monetary policy designed to harm others. The CCP’s reasoning is illogical, especially since most Belt and Road loans are themselves denominated in dollars.

The fourth argument used by the CCP against the “debt trap” accusation is that it rarely seizes assets from countries that cannot repay; instead, it claims to provide “debt relief” through refinancing or extending loans. In practice, this approach only deepens dependency. Beijing typically grants short-term restructuring, such as maturity extensions or grace periods, to low-income nations without reducing principal or easing interest rates.

It also relies on “rescue lending” mechanisms, including bridge loans from state banks, currency swap drawdowns through the People’s Bank of China, and commodity prepayment arrangements. These measures do not solve underlying solvency problems but merely postpone default, keeping borrowers afloat long enough to protect China’s own financial system.

A major study by AidData, the World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School, and the Kiel Institute found that by the end of 2021, China had carried out 128 bailout operations totaling $240 billion across 22 countries, marking a clear shift from infrastructure financing to emergency rescue loans. In 2010, less than 5 percent of China’s overseas lending went to distressed borrowers; by 2022, that figure had soared to 60 percent.

These bailouts also expose Beijing’s hypocrisy: while the CCP accuses the West of predatory interest rates, the average Chinese rescue loan carries an interest rate of about 5 percent, more than double the IMF’s standard 2 percent. As of Oct. 1, 2025, despite higher U.S. interest rates, the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights lending rate stands at only 3.41 percent, still significantly lower than what China charges struggling nations for so-called relief.

The true scale of Belt and Road debt may be far worse than official data suggest. To shield its own banking system, the Chinese regime increasingly uses the People’s Bank of China’s global swap-line network, which has provided more than $170 billion in short-term liquidity to foreign central banks. These loans, often labeled as “temporary,” are routinely rolled over for years, allowing governments to conceal their true debt exposure since international reporting rules exclude short-term liabilities.

This practice has created vast “hidden debts,” estimated at roughly $385 billion by AidData in 2021, and the figure is likely far higher today, as more loans come due and few have been repaid in the intervening years.

The CCP’s opaque bailout strategy—designed to protect its lenders rather than assist struggling nations—ensures that the full weight of Belt and Road debt remains concealed from public view.

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

Cars are one of the most significant purchases people make, but unlike real estate, their value drops quickly.

To help you protect your investment, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu created this ranking highlighting the 13 cars with the best resale value in America, as of 2025.

This means that all of the models shown in this graphic are from the 2022 model year.

The data in this graphic was compiled by U.S. News, which analyzed pricing and resale trends across 2022 model-year vehicles. It measures the average value these cars lost from MSRP after three years, both as a percentage and in dollar terms.

Toyota is #1 in Value Retention

Toyota’s reputation for reliability and affordability continues to pay off in resale value.

The Corolla Cross leads the list, depreciating just 2.63% (-$662) after three years. Other Toyota models such as the 4Runner, C-HR, and Tacoma also perform exceptionally well in this regard.

Earlier this year, Toyota was ranked the fourth most reliable car brand in America, explaining its consistent demand in both the new and used markets.

Japanese Cars Generally Depreciate Slower

Beyond Toyota, other Japanese brands also fare well. Subaru’s Crosstrek comes in fourth with a depreciation rate of just 4.90%, perhaps due to its all-wheel-drive versatility.

Compact cars like the Honda Civic and Nissan Versa also appear in the top 10, offering a compelling mix of efficiency, practicality, and reliability.

The Mustang Endures

Among a sea of Japanese cars, the Ford Mustang stands out as the only American vehicle in this ranking.

With an average depreciation of 5.41%, the Mustang’s enduring design and heritage help it resist the sharp value declines typical of many U.S. models.

Another factor could be that the Mustang is the only gasoline-powered pony car still on sale today, with the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger both recently ending production.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The Best Used EVs in 2025 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

We’ve not seen days like these for gold and silver since the late 1970s. It is nothing short of spectacular for investors and hoarders of the tried and true metals. People who have kept the faith in the real are being rewarded. For everyone else, these are scary signs concerning what might be coming our way.

For thousands of years, these two metals have been the most valued in human experience. That’s why they became money, which is the good we acquire to buy other goods. Money becomes that because the market selects the good in question. It’s the most marketable commodity.

Gold and silver have always fit the description because they have uniform quality, have a high value per unit of weight, they are durable, and are highly divisible. So they became money in most places in the industrializing world.

I recently bought some old U.S. quarters and dimes, which were made of silver. The price is far above the stated value because the money was devalued, while the specie value kept rising. They are really wonderful to hold and own because they serve as a reminder of what sound money means. They also symbolize economic and financial independence.

It’s been half a century since the age of fiat money dawned. The United States has tried an experiment to make due with a currency that has no underlying integrity. It’s just paper or just digits. This was supposed to be more modern. We turned our backs on the “barbarous relic,” as J.M. Keynes called gold.

The prediction made early in the fiat age was that these metals would fall in value to reflect their industrial uses.

The monetary premium would disappear because they would no longer be money. The intellectuals, not the relics, would be in charge now.

The very opposite happened.

Throughout the 1970s, both gold and silver boomed. It was a massive vote of confidence in the real and an insult to the new elites who promised a better system. It humiliated them.

We seemed to have embarked on another wave of the same. They are both soaring.

Source: Bloomberg

For all the world, this feels like a flight to the real. Central banks want gold and silver. Large investors. Heavily leveraged brokers. Huge institutions. Regular consumers. Everyone is grabbing as much of the stuff as possible right now.

Will there be a correction? Maybe. But this is truly worrisome. It reveals a lack of confidence in our fiat world.

The data right now seems to back up a genuine cause for worry. Inflation nearly disappeared completely once Trump took office. It happened without explanation. Maybe it was a reflection of optimism by business that they could eat more of the increased wholesale costs because big profits were headed their way.

While dramatic things are happening under Trump in many areas—immigration, trade, cuts in the power and reach of the civil service, the end of DEI, new liberties in speech, truth in public health—other realms have not been so great. Spending is out of control, still. The Fed has accelerated quantitative easing yet again. And the Trump administration is pushing for lower interest rates.

Meanwhile, inflation is no longer declining. It is increasing.

This is not a good trend. It is ominous for the Trump administration.

If there is one force in the world capable of wiping out all the good that has happened since January 2025, it is inflation. If people cannot pay their bills, all of politics becomes theater. People will blame Trump, rightly or wrongly. This will be on his watch.

There is this long history of governments being unaware of the inflation problem until it is too late. The Weimar central bank of 1920 had no idea that the complete destruction of the German currency was three years into the future. This is because central bankers always and everywhere are convinced that they have matters under control.

They do have things under control until they do not. This is the worry. The Fed right now needs to defy the Trump administration and keep rates high and money tight. They could in fact prompt a recession but this can be mitigated with deregulation and a lower tax burden.

What is not easily fixed is a second wave of inflation. This is precisely what the increase in precious metals prices portends. It is sending a grave signal that markets are unconvinced that the Trump administration has the fiscal and monetary situation under control. Truth is that it does not. The debt problem is getting worse, not better. The red ink seems to flow regardless of whatever DOGE has done and regardless of all the cuts in bureaucracy and agency costs.

Here is the root cause of the gold and silver boom. It represents a flight to safety in anticipation of some possible crisis in the future. But there are other matters too, such as an emerging regional bank crisis. There are lingering issues concerning commercial real estate yet resolved. No one knows for sure how firm or shaky the fiat financial system truly is.

A serious financial crisis could in fact be around the corner. Housing is out of control. Financial markets have gone absolutely bonkers over AI. The leverage in every sector is without precedent. It’s all rooted in a belief that a fiat world is practicable and possible. But is it really? Many people are starting to doubt it.

When you hold physical gold and silver, you feel it and know it. It is the real deal. No permissions. No governments. No authorities. No brokers. It’s secure value and nothing more. It represents independence and freedom.

Remember that we live in a time when trust is lost in nearly everything. It makes sense that this would extend to financial intermediaries too. No one is putting 100 percent of their net wealth into precious metals. Investing is all about hedging risk in many directions, involving many scenarios.

Apparently one of those scenarios that is being entertained among people with big money is the possibility of complete financial and monetary breakdown. The Trump administration needs to pay close attention to this and the signal it is sending. There are ways to fix this problem but it is going to require some very hard decisions.

The markets never tell the perfect truth but they are sending a message that deserves close attention. Gold and silver were supposed to be gone by now but here we are. They are back again and with ferocity.

Authored by Eva Fu via The Epoch Times,

The world has now woken up to the consequences of China dominating global supply chains, said White House trade adviser Peter Navarro.

“That’s kind of the state of play,” he said at an Oct. 17 event at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“The world has fundamentally changed based on what we’ve observed, and the world will not go back to sleep on this.”

The comments note a contrast in global attitude to when he served at the White House during the first Trump administration.

In 2017, Navarro was a key driver directing the administration to conduct a nine-month review of the U.S. defense industrial base. The resulting 146-page report, released in the following October, identified China as “a significant and growing risk to the supply of materials and technologies deemed strategic and critical to U.S. national security.”

When it comes to critical energetic materials for munitions and missiles, the report noted, there’s often “no other source or drop-in replacement material.” And in cases where that option exists, it added, the time and cost can be prohibitive—sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars each.

“My job, literally every day, is to worry about whether we have enough magnets or pharmaceuticals or ball bearings or whatever it is that we need,” Navarro said, citing an old proverb: “The war was lost through a horseshoe.”

“You cannot project power if you surrender production; you cannot deter aggression when your supply chains run through your opponent’s ports; you can’t lead the free world if you can’t make what the free world needs.”

Now, the Chinese regime’s economic aggression is getting harder to overlook.

“My job is a lot easier, because I don’t have to convince anybody anymore.

“And what’s extraordinary to me is that it’s not just in this magnet issue, it’s not just us—it’s the whole world.”

President Donald Trump a week ago unveiled an additional 100 percent tariff on imports from China, citing Beijing’s “aggressive” restrictions on rare earth elements, which are used in virtually all electronic devices, and the regime has a near-monopoly on.

Trump on Friday acknowledged that the high levy is not sustainable but suggested he saw no other option.

“They forced me to do that,” the president said in a Fox Business Network segment aired on Friday, adding that the United States is still seeking a “fair deal.”

“China has ripped us off from day one,” he said.

President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, on Oct. 17, 2025. Tom Brenner/AFP via Getty Images

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday confirmed he will meet with a Chinese delegation in Malaysia a week from now to prepare for an expected U.S.–China summit in South Korea.

“We hope that China will show the respect that we have shown them, and I am confident that President Trump, because of his relationship with President Xi [Jinping], will be able to get things back on a good course,” he told reporters during a bilateral meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump, speaking alongside Bessent, said the tariffs have put the United States in a strong position and that he anticipates “a deal that will be good for both” countries from the summit.

“But you have to understand, we never got anything from China. It was a one-way street for many years.”

If Beijing refuses to be a reliable trading partner, the United States and allies may have to decouple, Bessent warned earlier.

The European Union has signaled its readiness to coordinate with the United States in countering China’s rare earth stranglehold.

“This is actually an area of common interest with our friends in the U.S. If we stick together we can much better pressure China to act in a fair way,” said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen.

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Almost 70 percent of American adults are considered obese under a revamped definition of obesity, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the JAMA Network Open and conducted by researchers affiliated with the Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Traditionally, obesity was defined as having an elevated body mass index (BMI), calculated by dividing a person’s weight by their height. Earlier this year, the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology published a new definition of obesity, which incorporated anthropometrics, which include body measurements such as waist circumference, waist to height ratio, and waist to hip ratio, in addition to BMI, the study said.

An individual is now classified as obese under three conditions—if they have an elevated BMI plus at least one elevated anthropometric measure or a BMI greater than 40; or at least two elevated anthropometric measures irrespective of BMI; or excess body fat, according to the study.

Researchers analyzed the U.S.-based All of Us database to determine the prevalence of obesity under the new definition.

Of the 301,026 participants aged 18–80 years included in the analysis, 128,992 individuals (42.9 percent) were deemed to be obese under the traditional BMI-based criteria. But under the new definition, 206,361 individuals, or 68.6 percent, were considered obese. Obesity was found to be more prevalent with older age.

“We already thought we had an obesity epidemic, but this is astounding,” said co-first author Lindsay Fourman, according to an Oct. 15 report by The Harvard Gazette, the official news website for Harvard University.

“With potentially 70 percent of the adult population now considered to have excess fat, we need to better understand what treatment approaches to prioritize.”

According to the study, 78,047 participants (25.9 percent) who were not classified as obese under the traditional definition were reclassified as having obesity under the anthropometrics-only criteria. Among these individuals, 22.3 percent had a BMI traditionally classified as underweight or normal, with the remaining in the overweight category.

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology guideline also introduced the concept of clinical and preclinical obesity. Clinical obesity refers to people who have obesity-associated organ dysfunction and/or physical limitation, while preclinical obesity pertains to individuals without such obesity-related issues.

Under the new definition, 36.1 percent of overall participants had clinical obesity, researchers found. Individuals with BMI plus anthropometric obesity were found to have a higher proportion of clinical obesity.

“We found that approximately half of participants classified as having obesity under the new definition also exhibited organ dysfunction and/or physical limitation consistent with clinical obesity,” said the study.

“Our analyses suggest that the new definition of clinical obesity appropriately designates individuals with obesity who are at the highest long-term risk of incident diabetes, cardiovascular events, and mortality.”

The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association–Harold Amos Medical Research Faculty Development Program, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials Award Program from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation.

One of the researchers revealed conflicts of interest, having received grant support and personal fees from pharma company Chiesi Farmaceutici. Another researcher received fees from Exavir Therapeutics and Marathon Asset Management, as well as grant support from Kowa Pharmaceuticals America Inc., Gilead Sciences Inc., and Viiv Healthcare.

“We have always recognized the limitations of BMI as a single marker for obesity because it doesn’t take into account body fat distribution,” said senior author of the study Steven Grinspoon.

“Seeing an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in this new group of people with obesity, who were not considered to have obesity before, brings up interesting questions about obesity medications and other therapeutics.”

Obesity in United States

According to a January 2024 post by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is a “common, serious, and costly chronic disease” in the United States. The agency estimated that one in five children and two in five adults in the country are obese.

Obesity can be particularly harsh for children, as it can lead to numerous health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. As for adults, people with obesity have a higher risk of developing several diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.

The CDC attributed the prevalence of obesity to factors such as fewer than one in 10 people eating the recommended daily amount of vegetables, only one in four adults fully meeting their physical activity requirements, and less than one in four youths getting sufficient aerobic physical activity.

According to the agency’s 2023 Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps for 48 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories, all locations had an obesity prevalence of higher than 20 percent.

The highest obesity prevalence was in the Midwest at 36 percent, closely followed by the South at 34.7 percent, the CDC said.

“Three states (Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia) had an obesity prevalence of 40 percent or greater.”