Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

China’s Wison New Energies announced in a LinkedIn post on Friday that they’re immediately stopping all their Russian projects “in view of the strategic future of the company” following the latest imposition of US sanctions against that country’s LNG industry in mid-June. Oilprice.com wrote that this will “deal a blow” to Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project after Wison was contracted to build its modules, “which are massive, prefabricated structures that facilitate the rapid construction of LNG processing plants.”

They also reminded their audience that Arctic LNG 2 “has been considered key to Russia’s efforts to boost its global LNG market share from 8% to 20% by 2030-2035.” The EU’s US-pressured “decoupling” from Russia’s pipeline gas network compelled that country to ramp up its LNG projects in order to freely export this resource in the coming future so as to make up for tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue. These plans might therefore be further delayed by Wison’s compliance with US sanctions.

RT reported in late December that two major Chinese energy companies had declared force majeure on their participation in Arctic LNG 2 after a prior round of US sanctions against that project, the significance of which was analyzed here at the time. To bring the reader up to speed for their convenience, the takeaway was that China’s complex economic interdependence with the West predisposes its national champions to complying with that bloc’s unilateral restrictions in order to not lose their market there.

China is officially opposed to all sanctions that are imposed outside of the UNSC, but it also gives its companies the choice whether to voluntarily comply with them, even those that are state-owned enterprises such as the ones from RT’s report last December. Their decision to go along with these measures is respected by the state since they’re supposed to serve China’s interests, not Russia’s or anyone else’s, and this sometimes requires them to make tough decisions for the greater national good.

Neither the Chinese state nor its companies should therefore be negatively judged for voluntarily complying with US sanctions, but the very fact that this compliance continues occurring should result in members of the Alt-Media Community (AMC) correcting their false perceptions about Russian-Chinese ties. Many top influencers adhere to the dogma that these two see eye-to-eye on everything and are jointly coordinating all their moves in order to accelerate multipolar processes, but that’s not true.

While their strategic ties are closer than ever and can nowadays even be described as them having formed a Sino–Russo Entente, they still disagree on Kashmir and the East Sea/South China Sea issues since Russia fully supports India and Vietnam’s respective positions. Nevertheless, Russia and China responsibly manage these disagreements for the greater multipolar good, the same as they’re expected to do regarding Chinese companies’ compliance with US sanctions, including those against Arctic LNG 2.

This insight is relevant with regards to the AMC since it’s important for top influencers to accurately reflect such facts in their work lest they inadvertently mislead their audience about those two’s ties.

Russia and China aren’t “against” one another, but they still prioritize their corresponding national interests. These largely overlap, in which cases they cooperate to pursue their shared goals, but they sometimes diverge and thus lead to developments like Chinese companies complying with US sanctions.

As regards this latest example, it’ll complicate Russia’s ambitious LNG plans and therefore risk slashing its future revenue flows, with the possible consequence being that it could also affect those two’s stalled talks on the Power of Siberia II pipeline. Russia might either concede to China’s reportedly requested basement-bottom prices out of financial desperation or it’ll refuse to do so out of resentment and thus leave this project in limbo indefinitely unless/until China eventually reconsiders its stance.

The second scenario of China agreeing to pay higher but nonetheless still privileged prices for Russian gas could play out if US pressure upon it increases in the coming future as is expected following the Russian-North Korean mutual defense pact. The preceding hyperlinked analysis explains these dynamics more in detail, but in brief, those two’s new agreement will likely be exploited by the US to redouble its regional military presence at the expense of China’s objective national security interests.

In that event, and if the abovementioned trend unfolds in parallel with the US applying more pressure upon China in the East Sea/South China Sea in ways that hint at a credible intent to blockade its energy shipments in case of crisis, then China might reconsider its stance and agree to Russia’s pipeline terms. The additional price would be well worth paying for receiving reliable gas from its neighbor instead of holding out for a better price and risking the US cutting off its LNG imports in the meantime.

Returning to the lede, Wison’s compliance with US sanctions against Russia should prompt the AMC to finally correct its false perceptions about the Sino-Russo Entente, and it might also play a role in determining how the Power of Siberia II pricing dilemma is resolved as was just explained. Considering that it’ll also complicate Russia’s ambitious LNG plans, from which a lot of its future revenue is expected to be derived, this makes that company’s decision much more important than many might have thought.

Authored by Richard Truesdell via American Greatness,

Once or twice in a generation, an athlete comes along who dominates and often redefines their sport. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was Muhammad Ali. In the 1980s, it was Martina Navratilova. In the 1990s, it was Michael Jordan. In the 2000s, it was Tom Brady and Michael Phelps. In the 2010s, it was Serena Williams. Clark now joins this roster as a generational talent.

Since the beginning of June, you can’t turn on any broadcast or online sports channel and not hear the name Caitlin Clark. Her presence dominates the airwaves and coverage has crossed over to the mainstream with non-sports media and even late-night comedy shows like Saturday Night Live featuring Clark. This is especially true in the wake of the decision by the USA Basketball selection committee to exclude her from the team going to the Olympics in Paris next month.

At this point, I think that even if she were selected as the first alternate, Clark should decline.

It’s clearly obvious from their public statements that the closely-knit team of veterans doesn’t want her and the attention she will bring to the team’s effort to win a seventh straight Olympic gold medal.

I think she should let her 22-year-old body heal during the Olympics, as she’s just gone from the NCAA Championship straight into the WNBA regular season.

On June 1, on an off night from beyond the three-point arc against the rival Chicago Sky, which features another highly touted rookie, Angel Reese, Clark found other ways to contribute in front of a hometown crowd—11 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and one steal—by dishing off to her teammates and rebounding. During that game, Clark took a vicious away-from-the-ball hit from Chennedy Carter.

That foul got a lot of media attention, given that, at the time, Carter received just a regular foul. After the game, it was upgraded to a flagrant foul (game highlights here). At the rematch in Indianapolis on June 16, Clark turned in a balanced, stellar performance—23 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds—helping her team to its second consecutive win over the Chicago Sky (game highlights here).

These two fouls have been cited by many as evidence that Clark is being targeted by certain WNBA players.

One thing that I’ve noticed is that Black NBA players and sports commentators have been among Clark’s most prominent supporters. On the popular Fox Sports Speak podcast, the panel brought the issue into clear focus and did not shy away from discussing racial issues. On a June 3, 2024 podcast former NFL wide receiver James Jones defended Clark, questioning why her teammates weren’t stepping up to support her on the court. If the women’s game is becoming more physical, then Clark’s teammates must rise to the occasion. That seemed a bit more apparent in the June 16th rematch.

But let’s look at the racist attitude of a well-known, so-called journalist covering this story. In a piece that ran in the far-left propaganda outlet The Atlantic, well-known race-baiter and former ESPN reporter Jemelle Hill has written one derogatory and hate-filled story after another on Clark. This one was especially egregious. Thankfully, this is just one jealous woman’s opinion. (I believe the vast majority of Black WNBA fans respect Clark’s talents and recognize that she’s a positive influence on the sport.)

Before this year’s WNBA draft, the only two WNBA players I recognized were Brittany Greiner because of her misadventure in Russia last year and Diana Taurasi, who has been a stalwart member of the US women’s basketball movement going back to her four years at the University of Connecticut when she was a member of three NCAA championship teams. Currently 42 years old, Taurasi was selected for her sixth national team to go to the Paris Olympics this summer.

It turns out that Taurasi has been another one of Clark’s most vocal critics, saying that as a WNBA rookie, she needs more experience before she’s ready for the US National Team, “playing against grown women instead of college players.” This is funny given Taurasi’s selection to the 2004 National Team after she ended her career at the University of Connecticut and went on to participate in the Games held that year and four teams that followed. Isn’t it time to give a younger player a chance to contribute and gain experience?

Caitlin Clark is the personification of everything great about women’s athletics and the character it builds in young women. Clark is respected by many of her peers but unfortunately, not all. These haters are objectively resentful of Clark’s success. It borders on reverse racism. For almost three decades, the WNBA has toiled in virtual anonymity. The composition of the players in the league is over 60 percent African-American and close to 40 percent openly identify as gay, although some surveys say it is higher. Either way, it really doesn’t matter.

Now comes Clark, with prodigious talents and an outgoing personality, who happens not to fall into either category. Because of this, many of her competitors seem to resent her. They are asking themselves, “Why isn’t it me who got multi-million dollar endorsement deals with Nike, Wilson, Gatorade, State Farm, and others?”

To answer that question, ask yourself this:. Who would you want your daughter or granddaughter to look up to, to emulate, to be inspired by? A young woman (no matter her color or sexual orientation) who has taken the country by storm with her engaging personality and who has brought attention, eyeballs, and possibly an unprecedented $250 million media rights deal to the doorstep of the WNBA?

Or someone who stupidly attempted to smuggle a known banned substance into a totalitarian state and received a nine-month vacation in a Russian gulag before, in a move designed to pander to two important voting blocs (Blacks and LBGT advocates), the Biden Administration traded this player for a known terrorist and worldwide arms merchant while leaving several more deserving Americans behind.

I think that’s a very simple question to answer. And it has very little to do with kneeling or staying behind in the locker room while the National Anthem is played.

I’ve watched Clark perform in the NCAA Championship this year and in several WNBA games this year. The mugging she’s received on the court goes way beyond the “Welcome to the WNBA girl” stuff that is dished out to newcomers in any professional sport, male or female. And I couldn’t help but notice that the dishing out was usually being administered by a certain group of players (not really a surprise statistically given that the group in question constitutes 60 percent of the players in the league but seems disproportionate to my eyes).

Need I say more? No.

The WNBA needs Caitlin Clark much more than Caitlin Clark needs the WNBA. Her endorsement deals are based not only on her skills on the court but also on the young woman that her loving and supportive parents raised her to be and her engaging personality. She is a generational superstar and the lame reasons cited by USA Today journalist Christine Brennen for USA Basketball for not selecting her to represent the United States next month in Paris have damaged them, not her. She could have a career-ending injury in the next four years and may never get the opportunity to represent her country, for reasons that seem specious at best.

If this treatment by her opponents and the WNBA continues after the Olympics, then Clark will be faced with a difficult decision. Should she continue to endure this nonsense or should she take her God-given talents and her fans to another competitive venue? Could it be Ice Cube’s BIG3 3-on-3 league (and get paid $5 million more than her $80,000 WNBA salary) and be welcomed there by the likes of women’s basketball legend Nancy Lieberman? Or should she take her talents overseas, where they will be more appreciated? Having coached competitive athletes—male and female—I think one side of her will say, “I’ll work through this; it will get better. I’ll earn their respect.” But the other inner voice will say, “I’ve had enough; I don’t need to prove myself to these petty and resentful people.”

If she chooses option one, I applaud her because that’s what elite athletes do: they rise to the occasion. But if she chooses option two, who would blame her? Then the players in the WNBA will start flying commercially again and will only have themselves to blame. This is before the NBA decides to stop subsidizing the league to the tune of $50 million a year, with the WNBA fading back into the obscurity it so richly deserves and finally disappearing.

Few sports fans will shed a tear if that happens.

In the past year we have discussed on multiple occasions that US labor market data has been repeatedly doctored to artificially appear better than it really is (see “Here Is The “Unexpected” Reason Why The Fed Will Rush To Cut Rates As Soon As Possible“, “Philadelphia Fed Admits US Payrolls Overstated By At Least 800,000” and “Here Comes The Job Shock: Philadelphia Fed Admits US Jobs “Overstated” By At Least 1.1 Million“), although thanks to a quirk of BLS data revision reporting, we won’t have definitive proof of just how ugly the real job market has been in recent years until some time in 2025, well into Trump’s second administration.

However, while the BLS will be able to maintain the facade of “strong job gains” lies into early 2025, the dismal reality has already made an appearance in America’s largest labor market.

According to the latest report published by the non-partisan California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) which is an agency of the California government, is overseen by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the California State Legislature, and performs and publishes extensive analyses of the state’s budget in addition to providing fiscal and policy advice to the California Legislature, contrary to prior reports of over substantial job gains in the deep blue state in 2023, the reality was far uglier.

In a report titled “Newest Early Jobs Revision Shows No Net Job Growth During 2023” we learn just that: the Early Revisions to state-level data flagged here previously, suggests that California actually lost jobs during the fourth quarter of last year. As the report details, “based on the most recent release of the early benchmarks, payroll jobs declined by 32,000 from September 2023 through December 2023. On the contrary, the preliminary monthly reports showed a solid increase in job growth (+117,000 jobs) at the time.”

This, according to the LAO, means that “with the fourth quarter revision, calendar year 2023 saw essentially no net job growth (+9,000 jobs overall).“

For those unfamiliar with the sequence of revisions to the jobs data, here is a quick primer from the LAO:

Monthly State Jobs Estimates Are Revised Annually. Each month our office publishes the most recent state employment figures from the the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey. State employment figures come from this monthly survey, which is based on a small sample of businesses in the state.  As a result, once per year the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does a benchmark revision, updating the monthly CES estimates to match more reliable administrative data from states’ Unemployment Insurance programs.

Federal Researchers Now Publishing Quarterly Revisions. Although the BLS only revises the state-level CES once per year, the underlying data used to revise the CES survey is collected quarterly. Taking advantage of this asynchrony, in 2021, researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia began publishing state-level “early revisions” based on the same underlying data but revised more frequently.

In any event, the huge delta between the previously reported, CES survey-based fake Q4 numbers and the actual, post revision numbers is shown in the gray highlight in the chart below.

The data since January 2024 has not yet been rebenched, which means that the figure includes the Early Benchmark Revision for these recent months are growing at the same rate as the official CES estimates. But one can be absolutely certain that once the next set of revisions come in, California will not have generated any actual job growth for the second year in a row. In fact, make that all of America.

Of course, the shocking ‘realization’ that inflation-sparking Bidenomics was a complete disaster for the US labor market won’t be disclosed until well into Trump’s second (technically third) term. By then Biden, and his catastrophic economic policies, will be long forgotten.

Source: Legislative Analyst’s Office

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have announced that for the first time Gaza’s sole border crossing with Egypt has been completely destroyed to the point that it can no longer be used.

Israeli Army Radio issued the following statement days ago: “This is how Rafah crossing looks today, completely destroyed and no longer usable, after being taken over by Brigade 401 in one night.” The statement added that “Due to its relative proximity to the border, the Israeli army used the crossing as a stopping point and resting area.”

Throughout most of the conflict which goes back to Oct.7, Palestinian officials operated on one side and Egyptian border troops on the other. The government of Egypt has long been bracing for a possible flood of refugees especially after Israel’s ground offensive in Rafah kicked off.

That Rafah crossing is now effectively closed and guarded by the IDF, which will only add to the unfolding humanitarian disaster as civilians are trapped with nowhere to go amid the Israel-Hamas battles raging on streets across southern Gaza.

As for the physical state of the crossing itself, war correspondents have confirmed that the exterior of the structure was incinerated: “Occupation forces damaged Rafah crossing’s halls that were used by locals to exit the Strip,” according to an earlier report by Middle East Eye.

Below is a statement by China’s CGTN:

On June 19, a journalist filmed the scene from the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing after the Israeli army began its ground military operation in May. The crossing, located on the southern border with Egypt, is the main route for international humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces have razed an umber of buildings here besides blocking humanitarian aid and personnel from entering Gaza. June 20 marks the World Refugee Day. However, many people displaced in the Gaza Strip and the living environment has been destroyed by the war.

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa Director, has directed angry words against Israel, saying last week that the government “claimed weeks ago that it would provide full humanitarian support and medical assistance to civilians it had told to move.”

Video showing the status of the crossing now:

المراسل العسكري لـ إذاعة جيش الاحتلال ينشر مشاهد من معبر رفح الحدودي ويقول أنه تم تدمير المعبر بشكل كامل ولم يعد يصلح للعمل مرة أخرى. pic.twitter.com/T3bv5RMDym

— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) June 19, 2024

She added, “Not only is this not happening, its ongoing impunity, bombardment, and deliberate obstruction have created unprecedented and impossibly dangerous conditions for humanitarian agencies to operate.”

Meanwhile, the US-built pier is not doing well either. It has been out of commission longer than it has been operational, due largely to choppy seas in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

Dozens of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. supporters protested outside CNN’s western U.S. bureau in Burbank, California, June 21 after the news network announced that the independent candidate failed to meet the entry criteria for the upcoming presidential debate.

“Let Bobby speak!” the group chanted outside the main office of Warner Bros. Discovery, the company that owns CNN.

CNN announced Thursday that Mr. Kennedy fell short of benchmarks for state ballot qualification and necessary polling. The news network set criteria to include candidates only if they secured enough spots on state ballots to be eligible for at least 270 Electoral College votes, the minimum needed to win the presidency.

Candidates also needed to get at least 15 percent of voters in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters to meet CNN’s standards.

The decision means presumptive nominees Republican former President Donald Trump and Democrat President Joe Biden will duel on the debate stage on June 27 in Atlanta.

The major party candidates have cleared CNN’s threshold but won’t be certified for the ballot until they are formally nominated by their party conventions later this summer.

Mr. Kennedy, who lives in Malibu with his actress wife Cheryl Hines, thanked his supporters for rallying behind him at locations across the country and in California, including Burbank, San Francisco, and Sacramento.

“Americans nationwide are protesting the channel’s undemocratic decision to exclude me from the first presidential debate next week,” Mr. Kennedy wrote on X. “Thank you to everyone who has come out or plans to come out today!”

One campaign volunteer called the Kennedy exclusion “an insult to democracy.” Above, supporters rally in Burbank, Calif., on June 21, 2024. (Jill McLaughlin/The Epoch Times)

Mr. Kennedy, who chose California attorney and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, said June 20 the major party candidates didn’t want him on the debate stage.

“Americans want an independent leader who will break apart the two-party duopoly. They want a President who will heal the divide, restore the middle class, unwind the war machine, and end the chronic disease epidemic,” he posted on X.

Mr. Kennedy’s son Bobby Kennedy III, a writer and director who lives in the Los Angeles area, came out to support Friday’s rally in Burbank, saying the debate decision won’t affect the campaign. Mr. Kennedy planned to join the debate on X, instead.

“We’re going to have our own debate,” his son told The Epoch Times. “Thanks to social media, and thanks to the internet, I wouldn’t be surprised if our version gets significantly more viewers … We have an army that backs us on the internet.”

Several volunteers at the Burbank rally were disappointed by CNN’s decision, including campaign volunteer Ronnie Kroell, who held up a campaign sign and waved at cars passing by on South California Street.

“It’s an insult to democracy. It’s an insult to the American people,” Mr. Kroell told The Epoch Times. “We need to take back our country. It’s the only way we’re going to solve any of our problems is to put the power back into the people.”

Mr. Kennedy filed an election complaint May 28 with the Federal Election Commission, claiming the news network collaborated with the major party candidates to exclude him from the debate. He also claimed the network’s requirements were designed to ensure only President Biden and former President Trump were included.

CNN released a statement saying that “the law in virtually every state provides that the nominee of a state-recognized political party will be allowed ballot access without petition.”

“As the presumptive nominees of their parties, both Biden and Trump will satisfy this requirement,” the network added.

“As an independent candidate, under applicable laws, RFK Jr. does not. The mere application for ballot access does not guarantee that he will appear on the ballot in any state. In addition, RFK Jr. does not currently meet our polling criteria, which, like other objective criteria, were set before issuing invitations to the debate.”

Warner Bros. Discovery did not return a request for comment about Friday’s protests.

Rancho Santa Fe resident Suzanne Finder came to the Burbank rally Friday, saying Mr. Kennedy’s background in environmental law and his record of fighting to solve chronic disease issues is what brought her there.

The country needs clean air, clean water, clean soil, clean food, and clean medicine, she told The Epoch Times.

The group planned to deliver a petition to CNN asserting Mr. Kennedy should be allowed to debate. Above, supporters rally in Burbank, Calif., on June 21, 2024. (Jill McLaughlin/The Epoch Times)

“Mr. Kennedy has spent 40 years in his role as an environmental attorney to achieving those goals, and Americans deserve to hear his message,” she said. “I don’t know a single parent who doesn’t want their child to be healthy and well, and that’s what he stands for, for me.”

Campaign volunteer Laura Jones was thrilled by the support of the Southern California residents who protested.

“We’re absolutely thrilled that everyone has shown up to say to CNN, we want more voices, more choices in this election and in the debates,” Ms. Jones told The Epoch Times.

Unknown terrorists went on a rampage using automatic weapons against religious sited in Dagestan, Russia on Sunday night. Authorities in the southern Russian republic situated in the Caucuses say that police officers were killed and wounded as the gunman targeted a synagogue and an Orthodox church.

At least nine are dead, and 25 injured. An Orthodox priest was also slain. A fire also resulted at the synagogue, with emergency response crews subsequently battling the blaze. Some reports say that two Orthodox churches were hit in the assault, and that a priest was killed.

According to Russia’s state-run TASS: “At approximately 18:00 [Moscow time] in Derbent, unknown persons fired at a synagogue and a church with automatic weapons. According to preliminary information, one police officer was killed and one was wounded.”

“The car in which the suspects fled was identified as a white Volkswagen Polo, license plate 921 The circumstances are being clarified. Information about the dead and wounded police officers is being clarified.”

And a Russian Internal Affairs Ministry statement indicated: “In Makhachkala, unknown persons fired at a traffic police post on Ermoshkin Street.  The ‘Interception’ plan was announced. The identities of the attackers are being established.”

BREAKING: Heavy gunfire reported at 2 locations in Russia’s Dagestan region.

Synagogue on fire. pic.twitter.com/Vk6yvjsmor

— The General (@GeneralMCNews) June 23, 2024

It appears that at least some of the attackers may have gotten away, with RT reporting the following statement:

The suspects drove away in a white Volkswagen Polo, the police said, adding that they are currently searching for the vehicle.

The below includes more details via state-backed RT:

The assailants in Derbent reportedly broke into the Orthodox church and killed a local priest by slitting his throat, said Shamil Khadulaev, the head of the regional public oversight committee which monitors the observance of human rights in prisons. Other regional authorities have not commented on this information.

The synagogue was reportedly set on fire. Videos and photos have surfaced on social media purporting to show the building engulfed in flames.

BREAKING:

The priest who had his throat slit by the Islamist terrorists in the terror attack today in Dagestan, Russia has been identified.

Fr. Nikolai Kotelnikov was murdered in the Derbent Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary pic.twitter.com/B5gCfWQADv

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 23, 2024

Judging from some of the details to have emerged thus far, this appears to have been an Islamist terror attack, possibly by ISIS or an affiliated group.

The situation including efforts to apprehend the gunmen may have occurred over a period of hours.

BREAKING:

A terrorist attack on a Jewish synagogue and a church in Russia’s Dagestan.

Five police officers were killed, and nine more were injured. pic.twitter.com/NnowMks4pR

— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) June 23, 2024

Videos show large fires over the city of the attack and a heavy police response, with running street battles…

BREAKING:

Coordinated Islamist terror attacks in Dagestan, Russia.

Bearded gunmen dressed in black have attacked a synagogue and a church.

At least 6 people k*lled pic.twitter.com/iE6chKbBfh

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 23, 2024

Potential Jewish casualties from the synagogue attack remain uncertain in the immediate aftermath, and as more details emerge.

Russia has been on edge ever since the March 22, 2024 Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow, which killed at least 145 and wounded hundreds more after heavily armed gunmen stormed the mall and concert venue. ISIS-K took responsibility for the large-scall killings in the aftermath. This new Dagestan attack could be a copy-cat incident.

Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

Financial writer and precious metals broker Bill Holter has been documenting all the unpayable debt that has been building up in the financial system like cancer. 

The latest black hole of default is coming from a big bank in Japan.  Norinchukin Bank is selling $63 billion in Treasuries and other sovereign bonds to stay afloat.  Then there is recent news announced by the FDIC that 63 US banks (the names are being kept secret) have more than $500 billion in losses, and let’s not forget about the trillions in losses sitting on the books of European banks ready to suck the world into a black debt hole.  This is just a few of many on a long list of destabilizing problems that can tank the entire over-indebted financial system. 

Holter warns, “The list is so long…”

“it could be a banking problem.  It could be a derivatives problem.  It could be a derivatives problem in the stock market, the bond market and you could see a failure to deliver in silver.  Some type of warfare could crash the system.  You could see warfare in Ukraine, Israel or Tiawan. 

The system is so unstable, at this point, it could be anything that could bring it down. 

Unpayable debt is not just a US problem.  This is all over the world.  Central banks are having to issue huge amounts of debt because we are in the exponential decay phase.  We are exactly where Richard Russell said we would be 20 years ago.  It’s inflate or die, and the only way to inflate is to create more money supply.”

Add to that the $10 trillion in debt the US Government has to roll over by the end of the year.  Meanwhile, the US government piles on $1 trillion in new debt every 100 days.  What could go wrong?

Holter said the last time he was on USAW that there was a little less than a 50% chance we would even have an election.  Now, he predicts it is more likely there will be no 2024 Presidential Election.  Holter says:

“There is no way the system, as it is now, survives.  It’s mathematically impossible.  So, if it is mathematically impossible, are they going to blow smoke . . . up until the day it blows up?  Or are they going to do something to blow it up and then say our programs and policies were working except for XYZ this or whatever. 

They have to kick the table over.  They cannot allow the table to fall over on its own because then there is going to be finger pointing.  To avoid the finger pointing, they have got to kick the table over.”

Holter also thinks gold is going to exponential numbers to back all the debt the USA has. 

If you go with the 8,030 tons of gold the government claims is in Fort Knox, you will need a dollar price of gold at “$125,000 per ounce for 100% gold backing of the dollar.”

Holter also says, “The dollar is being pushed out of the global financial system…”

“Demand for dollars is shrinking at a time when borrowing demand is rising.”  This is a going to be a disaster for America and anyone holding dollars in the future.

In closing, Holter says, “The financial collapse that is coming will be worse than anything we have ever experienced…”

“This is going to be far worse than the Great Depression simply because society itself is far worse. . . . Back in the Great Depression, you had neighbors helping neighbors.  Today you will have neighbors picking on other neighbors like vultures.”

There is much more in the 51-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with financial writer and precious metals expert Bill Holter for 6.22.24.

*  *  *

To Donate to USAWatchdog.com Click Here

Bill Holter’s website just keep getting more and more viewers, and it’s still free.  It’s called BillHolter.com.

Authored by Edward Carver via Common Dreams,

Toxic chemicals released during fires following the Norfolk Southern train derailment in Ohio last year spread to 16 states and likely Canada, according to a study released Wednesday.

The pollution, some of which came from the burning of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen, spread over 540,000 square miles, showing clearly that “the impacts of the fire were larger in scale and scope than the initial predictions,” the authors of the study, published in Environmental Research Letters, found.

Lead author David Gay, coordinator of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program, said that he was very surprised by the way the chemicals had spread. “I didn’t expect to see an impact this far out,” he told The Washington Post.

Gay said the results did not mean “death and destruction,” as concentrations were low on an absolute scale—”not melting steel or eating paint off buildings”—but that they were still “very extreme” compared to normal, with measurements higher than recorded in the previous ten years.

“I think we should be concerned,” Juliane Beier, an expert on vinyl chloride effects who didn’t take part in the study, told the Post, citing the possibility of long-term environmental impacts on communities.

A Norfolk Southern train crashed in East Palestine, Ohio, a village near the Pennsylvania border and the Appalachian foothills, on February 3, 2023. Dozens of train cars derailed, at least 11 of which were carrying hazardous materials, some of which caught fire after the accident and burned for days. Fearing a large-scale explosion, authorities drained the vinyl chloride from five cars into a trench and set it alight in a controlled burn.

A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official later said that the controlled burn went against EPA rules; the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said the deliberate burning was unnecessary.

The local impact of the fires was felt acutely in the month after the accident—a “potent chemical odor hung in the air for weeks,” according toThe Guardian, and people reported nausea, rashes, and headaches.

The new study helps explain the wider environmental impact. The researchers looked at inorganic compound samples in rain and snow at 260 sites. The highest levels of chloride were found in northern Pennsylvania and near the Canada-New York border, which was downwind from the accident.

The authors also found “exceptionally high” pH levels in rain as far away as northern Maine. They did not look at organic compounds such as dioxin or PFAS, which likely also spread following the accident, The Guardian reported. The elevated inorganic chemical levels dropped two to three weeks after the accident.

Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay nearly $1 billion in damages following two settlements reached in recent months. In April, the company reached a $600 million deal with class action plaintiffs living within 20 miles of the derailment site. That deal won’t be finalized until the residents officially agree. In May, the company reached a separate $310 million settlement with the federal government. The company has said that it has already spent $107 million on community support and removed the impacted soil.

Fire & thick black smoke billowing 16 hours later after a train derailment in East Palestine, OH. A mandatory evacuation order remains in effect for people who live within a 1-mile radius of the derailment. Amazingly, no injuries. @KDKA pic.twitter.com/LEWmrPzKTb

— Jennifer Borrasso (@JenBorrasso) February 4, 2023

Norfolk Southern makes billions in profits every year, and the company gave its CEO a 37% pay hike last year, drawing widespread criticism. The company also spent $2.3 million on federal lobbying last year, according to OpenSecrets data reported by Roll Call.

Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news,

The Biden Administration pressured Amazon to hide books for sale on its platform that were critical of vaccines during the pandemic, it has been revealed.

The findings were presented by the House Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government in documents that show Amazon reduced the visibility of titles that the government deemed overly critical of big pharma shots.

The documents show that some books were simply generally critical of vaccines, with several written by medical professionals. Some were even just reviews of scientific studies.

The Federal government compiled a “Do Not Promote” list, to which more than 40 titles were added.

In a series of X posts, Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan explained how internal emails from Amazon contain employees revealed that “the impetus for this request is criticism from the Biden Administration.”

In response to a subpoena from @JudiciaryGOP, @Amazon revealed the 43 book titles it censored because of the Biden White House’s pressure.

Whether you love or hate the books on this list, no bookstore should be censoring books because of government pressure. pic.twitter.com/64PGF1fxJU

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) June 21, 2024

They even targeted a children’s book that they deemed to be too friendly toward the unvaccinated.

The children’s book said the vaccinated & unvaccinated can be friends.

Instead of censoring it, Amazon should have sent the book to Fauci, @GavinNewsom, and @JoeBiden. Remember when they said everyone had to comply with their made-up rules and vax mandates or lose their jobs? pic.twitter.com/32rkxBaqnm

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) June 21, 2024

And if these efforts weren’t enough to effectively deamplify opposing viewpoints, Amazon also censored books reviewing scientific papers.

The book also had the audacity to address whether Big Pharma’s funding of research has the potential to create conflicts of interest. pic.twitter.com/U1UiJYwpLP

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) June 21, 2024

“Don’t let the Biden Admin tell you that their censorship campaign was about concerns of misinformation going viral on social media,” Jordan wrote. 

He further urged “They were going after BOOKS too. This is–and always has been–about suppressing difavored views, not purported challenges of new technologies.”

This is unconstitutional government censorship, full stop.

Whether you agree with this speech or not, free speech is free speech and the Biden Admin pressured private companies to censor constitutionally protected speech.

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) June 21, 2024

There is a deep irony attached to this story in that the Biden Administration has repeatedly accused Republicans of trying to ‘ban’ books nationwide.

While in almost all of these cases, the likes of Florida governor Ron DeSantis were expressing opposition to school libraries carrying sexually explicit books aimed at children, it turns out the Biden Administration was actively working to censor books for adults.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

One of the more common lies peddled by top Democrats, including of course President Joe Biden, is that former President Donald Trump called neo-Nazis ‘very fine people’ during his press conference following the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally in 2017.

Except, anyone who watched the full clip knows it’s bullshit, which is why anyone peddling the hoax has been operating in bad faith.

August 15, 2017: Trump called neo-Nazis very fine people after Charlottesville.

Right? Wrong.

The media deceptively cut the context of his remarks where specifically said he was NOT referring to neo-Nazis.

Instead, he was referring to the people who oppose tearing down… pic.twitter.com/83PVDdTBWd

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 17, 2024

Remember Charlottesville when Trump called neo-Nazis very fine people?

I only saw the full clip for the first time today

It’s a must watch — he literally CONDEMNS the Neo Nazis and white nationalists https://t.co/62G0UC5DPL

— Shaun Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) June 16, 2024

Now, after seven years, and days before the Trump-Biden debate in Atlanta, Snopes has finally admitted that Trump never called neo-Nazis ‘very fine people.’ 

No, then-President Donald Trump did not call neo-Nazis and white supremacists “very fine people” in 2017. Speaking about a deadly protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, he said those groups should be “condemned totally.” https://t.co/AHjw0mwl3i pic.twitter.com/TtCH1BzZja

— snopes.com (@snopes) June 20, 2024

“While Trump did say that there were ‘very fine people on both sides,’ he also specifically noted that he was not talking about neo-Nazis and White supremacists and said they should be ‘condemned totally.’ Therefore, we have rated this claim ‘False,” wrote Snopes.

Kind of amazing that this would pop up now, from @snopes https://t.co/B2GB40ZIvG pic.twitter.com/6UQXUcNAVD

— Byron York (@ByronYork) June 23, 2024

Agreed. Until I watched this video I thought @realDonaldTrump was referring to the neo-nazis based on the press that I had read and other media. https://t.co/RBfKJrHAac

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) June 17, 2024

Of note, Biden launched his his 2020 campaign based on this lie.

“The president of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it,” Biden claimed in his campaign announcement video. “And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I’d ever seen in my lifetime.“

Amazing…