Authored by Martin Jay,

What would 2024 look like with Trump back in the Oval Office for Europeans?

Should western elites and even NATO itself be afraid of Donald Trump returning to the White House in 2024? It’s an entirely valid question given that the elites’ own ‘news’ website in Brussels – Politico – penned a piece recently which argued not only should they be bothered, but they should also prepare themselves for it right now.

Trump’s return as U.S. president is looking more and more inevitable by the day, driven by the nefarious meddling of the Biden administration and its determination to put him into jail, where they, erroneously, think his bid for the White House ends.

Even the most obscure French MP which Politico wheeled out to endorse its article accepts this, so what would 2024 look like with Trump back in the Oval Office for Europeans?

The short answer is an unpleasant one.

Trump will almost certainly believe that he has learnt his lessons the first time around and that his rants about NATO and EU countries having a free ticket to defending the West against Russian aggression were profoundly on the money, given what has happened in the Ukraine. His policies towards the EU bloc are likely to be much more divisive second time around as he will not only insist on a new deal for EU-NATO countries in the Ukraine war itself, but will go further to use his natural allies in the EU – Poland and Hungary – to beat the back of the Brussels elite and wreck its plans on all its delusional pseudo hegemony. It’s unlikely that he will pull the U.S. out of NATO as John Bolton recently predicted but a new hardball regime will certainly be on the cards which may well relieve him of the task of winding down the Ukraine war directly rather than just saying to the Europeans “if you want to pay for it yourself, by my guess, but we’ve paid enough”.

This may well send the shivers down the spines of many EU leaders. And it might even get him impeached. But it’s Trump. He won’t mind that at all. The point is that the old cliché about Biden being the grown up who “restored” the transatlantic alliance is just that. A cliché. In reality Biden royally buggered the UK and EU countries by masterminding the meltdown of their economies while U.S. firms cashed in, not only with new tax breaks aimed at eco-friendly firms, but also simply by letting the Europeans oversubscribe themselves to a war which they can never possibly have the means to end. So much for Biden’s “America is back, diplomacy is back” soundbite which was quoted in the early days of his days in office. The harsh reality is that Biden’s view of old Europe was very much from a colonial perspective. They have to pay for their dreams if Uncle Sam is going to make them true.

So Trump now will come back with the mockery of Europe’s dirt cheap defence arrangement which, in reality, wasn’t cheap at all.

He will also pull out of the Paris Climate Change Accords pissing off Macron no end as well as give encouragement to the Israelis that their ideas of striking Iran are not completely bonkers (which of course they are).

But it’s really what Trump has in store for America on its own soil which EU governments should worry about more.

He will invest more in fossil fuels, undo a lot of Biden’s environmental initiatives, come down hard on wokeism and immigration and impose more tariffs on America’s competitors – both China and the EU – to help American business.

Yet his second term in office, will not only be about focussing on humiliating Biden with such score-settling, domestically or around the world.

It will also be about fighting even harder to keep America in the game both with international trade and also its waning dollar economy.

Trump will have to face a new threat to America which comes as a direct result of Biden’s war – and let’s not forget his corrupt deals – in Ukraine. The emergence of BRICS which will have five new members this year alone and is already taking full control of oil prices with its influence via OPEC Plus. Trump will, in a nutshell, be fighting a new front as a new world order has emerged to challenge U.S. hegemony – or what’s left of it – head on, which means much more than simply dumping the dollar as a reserve currency. BRICS will have its own currency, its own clearing system and at some point, probably, its own defence pact.

The Donald is going to have a lot on his plate, leaving most EU leaders wondering whether it is better for them that Trump ill-informed and belligerent is better than overwhelmed and panicky in the wake of a new relationship between America and the few partners it has left in the world.

By the end of 2023, the world economy is expected to have a gross domestic product (GDP) of $105 trillion, or $5 trillion higher than the year before, according to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections from its 2023 World Economic Outlook report.

In nominal terms, that’s a 5.3% increase in global GDP. In inflation-adjusted terms, that would be a 2.8% increase.

As Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao details below, the year started with turmoil for the global economy, with financial markets rocked by the collapse of several mid-sized U.S. banks alongside persistent inflation and tightening monetary conditions in most countries. Nevertheless, some economies have proven to be resilient, and are expected to register growth from 2022.

ℹ️ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the total value of economic output—goods and services—produced within a given time frame by both the private and public sectors. All numbers used in this article, unless otherwise specified, are nominal figures, and do not account for inflation.

Ranking Countries by Economic Size in 2023

The U.S. is expected to continue being the biggest economy in 2023 with a projected GDP of $26.9 trillion for the year. This is more than the sum of the GDPs of 174 countries ranked from Indonesia (17th) to Tuvalu (191st).

China stays steady at second place with a projected $19.4 trillion GDP in 2023. Most of the top-five economies remain in the same positions from 2022, with one notable exception.

India is expected to climb past the UK to become the fifth-largest economy with a projected 2023 GDP of $3.7 trillion.

Here’s a look at the size of every country’s economy in 2023, according to IMF’s estimates.

Note: Projections for Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Syria are missing from IMF’s database for 2023.

Here are the largest economies for each region of the world.

• Africa: Nigeria ($506.6 billion)

• Asia: China ($19.4 trillion)

• Europe: Germany ($4.3 trillion)

• Middle East: Saudi Arabia ($1.1 trillion)

• North & Central America: U.S. ($26.9 trillion)

• Oceania: Australia ($1.7 trillion)

• South America: Brazil ($2.1 trillion)

Ranked: 2023’s Shrinking Economies

In fact, 29 economies are projected to shrink from their 2022 sizes, leading to nearly $500 billion in lost output.

Russia will see the biggest decline, with a projected $150 billion contraction this year. This is equal to about one-third of total decline of all 29 countries with shrinking economies.

Egypt (-$88 billion) and Canada (-$50 billion) combined make up another one-third of lost output.

In Egypt’s case, the drop can be partly explained by the country’s currency (Egyptian pound), which has dropped in value against the U.S. dollar by about 50% since mid-2022.

Russia and Canada are some of the world’s largest oil producers and the oil price has fallen since 2022. A further complication for Russia is that the country has been forced to sell oil at a steep discount because of Western sanctions.

Here are the projected changes in GDP for all countries facing year-over-year declines:

The presence of Saudi Arabia, Norway, Kuwait, and Oman in the top 10 biggest GDP contractions further highlights the potential impact on GDP for oil-producing countries, according to the IMF’s projections.

More recently, producers have been cutting supply in an effort to boost prices, but concerns of slowing global oil demand in the wake of a subdued Chinese economy (the world’s second-largest oil consumer), have kept oil prices lower than in 2022 regardless.

The Footnote on GDP Forecasts

While organizations like the IMF have gotten fairly good at GDP forecasting, it’s still worth remembering that these are projections and assumptions made at the beginning of the year that may not hold true by the end of 2023.

For example, JP Morgan has already changed their forecast for China’s 2023 real GDP growth six times in as many months after expectations of broad-based pandemic-recovery spending did not materialize in the country.

The key takeaway from IMF’s projections for 2023 GDP growth rests on how well countries restrict inflation without stifling growth, all amidst tense liquidity conditions.

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

Is time running out for America? 

Throughout human history, great civilizations have risen and fell, and many believe that the U.S. will be no exception.  At this point, we have already drifted so far from our core values that our founders would not even be able to recognize the Republic that they once established if they were alive today. 

Of course most Americans realize that something has gone horribly wrong, but most of them also believe that sending the right people to Washington is the answer.  But is that really the solution to what ails us?

According to a brand new Rasmussen poll that was just released, 40 percent of likely U.S. voters believe that Joe Biden must win the next presidential election “or the United States is doomed”…

Per the poll, 40% of likely US voters agree with the statement, “Joe Biden must be re-elected president next year, or the United States is doomed,” which includes 25% who strongly agree. 53% are in disagreement, which includes 43% who strongly disagree.

That is nuts.

Nearly half the country literally believes that our nation is “doomed” if Joe Biden does not win in 2024.

The same poll also found that 45 percent of likely U.S. voters believe that Donald Trump must win the next presidential election “or the United States is doomed”…

45% agree with the statement, “Donald Trump must be re-elected president next year or the United States is doomed,” which includes 26% who strongly agree. 53% disagree, which includes 44% who strongly disagree.

I am assuming that there is no overlap between those two groups.

If that is true, that means that 85 percent of likely U.S. voters believe that our nation is “doomed” if the candidate that they are supporting does not win the next presidential election.

I have never seen numbers like this before.

The stakes in 2024 are incredibly high, and the side that loses is going to be absolutely devastated.

Over the next year there will be endless campaigning as the upcoming election approaches, but meanwhile our society is being ripped to shreds right in front of our eyes.

In Chicago, predators literally roam the streets in their vehicles in the middle of the day looking for someone to attack.

When a suitable target is identified, brutal violence often ensues.

Welcome to Chicago.

Mayor Brandon Johnson will claim these criminals are misunderstood youth. pic.twitter.com/1UyTdyLZ2m

— Andrew Pollack (@AndrewPollackFL) August 7, 2023

In the old days, thieves would at least wait until the cover of night to go out and do their thing.

But now there is very little fear of the police.

There are more than 1,000 identifiable gangs in the city of Chicago today, and mafia-style killings have become quite common…

Three suspects shot and killed a man whom they also reportedly hit with a car at a gas station in Chicago in a brazen daytime shooting.

A small memorial was left by family members for 31-year-old Anton Benoit after he was shot and killed in a gang-style shooting at a Shell gas station in Chatham, a neighborhood in Chicago. Chatham is located on the south side and has a population of approximately 32,000.

I don’t want to just pick on Chicago, and so let’s talk about major cities on the west coast for a bit.

This week, a video posted by a San Francisco woman named Hanna Ayla went viral, because it accurately conveyed emotions that so many other San Francisco residents are feeling right now…

“I was just getting groceries and I live in San Francisco, and I never really feel fully safe. If you live in San Francisco, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. And I just got groceries, I’m walking out of the store, and this guy is walking past me and says, ‘Move you stupid b****,’ and he spits in my face!” she said.

“Spits all over my face,” she repeats.

“And I say, ‘Excuse me, did you just spit in my face?’ And he says, ‘Move or I’ll rape you.’ There’s also people everywhere and everyone’s just walking by because they’re like, I can’t handle something else in San Francisco, it’s always something else!” Ayla continued.

“I don’t even know why I’m posting this,” she concluded. “If you live in San Francisco, do you feel this way all the time? I don’t feel safe. Ever. I literally never feel safe. It’s better when it’s daytime, but nighttime? No. Not leaving my house.”

This is what it’s like living in blue cities. And if you voted for this, you get what you vote for. pic.twitter.com/RRbxumet5N

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 7, 2023

I don’t think that anyone that lives in San Francisco truly feels safe at this point.

Crime is completely out of control, but many would argue that conditions in Oakland are even worse.

In fact, a 48-year-old woman that has lived there her entire life says that she is being forced to move because she has become “too scared” to go outside of her own home…

A lifelong Oakland resident has made the heartbreaking decision to move out of the city after soaring crime rates left her ‘too scared’ to go outside.

Kristin Cook, 48, spoke for many in Oakland as she sobbed: ‘I can’t take it anymore. I got to the point I was too scared to leave my house.’

‘The fact that I am being pushed out because I emotionally can’t take it anymore is horrible,’ she added.

Burglary rates in the city are 41 percent up on last year and robberies have increased more than 20 percent, according to police data. Rape offenses are also up 12 percent.

Our cities have degenerated into crime-ridden hellholes, and our country does not have a future if we stay on this path.

But instead of working to fix our cities, Joe Biden continues to send giant mountains of money overseas.

For example, it is being reported that Biden has actually given more than two billion dollars to the Taliban during the past two years…

A report by the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) notes that the Biden administration has given $2.35 billion to Afghanistan over the past two years, despite the fact that it is now ruled by the Taliban again following the disastrous U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

The Washington Free Beacon shared details of the findings Tuesday, noting that the funds could be propping up the Taliban’s terrorist government.

Of course two billion dollars is just a drop in the bucket compared to what Biden has given to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, our own country is in absolutely horrible shape.

I write a lot about our rapidly growing economic problems, but the moral decay that is eating away at the foundations of our culture is an even bigger crisis.

We can see this moral decay in major cities from coast to coast, and we can also see it in rural areas.  Here is just one example…

A woman in Texas has been placed under arrest after dozens of dead horses and dogs were discovered at a ranch reportedly under her control.

Animal cruelty had been suspected at a ranch in Westminster, Texas, about 50 miles northeast of Dallas, for some time. Dating back to 2019, police had received reports of alleged animal cruelty at the property at least 15 times.

Recently, police had received yet another report regarding animal maltreatment. Landscapers who had been doing work at the ranch called authorities to claim that they had seen the decaying remains of several animals.

Reading that probably made you very angry.

And it should.

If the police had taken previous reports of animal cruelty seriously, a lot of those deaths could have been prevented.

But it isn’t just a few crazed nuts like that woman that are our problem.

The truth is that our entire society is deeply sick.  It is being reported that Pornhub is visited 115 million times a day, and many of those visitors are young adults and children…

Pornhub, the YouTube of pornography, gets more global users than Amazon or Netflix. In 2019, the last year Pornhub released its data, the site was visited 42 billion times, or 115 million times each day.

To put those numbers in perspective, there are only 331 million people living in the United States.

And please keep in mind that we are just talking about one website.  There are thousands of other websites that are also preying on our young people.

I get extremely passionate about these issues, because the future of our country is literally hanging in the balance.

For decades, extreme leftists have been rapidly advancing their agenda, and that has brought us to where we are today.

Just about every form of evil that you can possibly imagine is exploding all around us, and if we don’t find a way to turn things around America really is doomed.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday suspended the top prosecutor in Orlando who refused to enforce the law against criminals which went on to commit more crimes, including murder.

“Prosecutors have a duty to faithfully enforce the law. One’s political agenda cannot trump this solemn duty. Refusing to faithfully enforce the laws of Florida puts our communities in danger and victimizes innocent Floridians,” DeSantis said.

Monique Worrell, Florida state attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit, failed to prosecute 43% of arrests – releasing 16,243 defendants without prosecution, according to state AG Ashley Moody.

“Ms. Worrell is dismissing during the same period nearly four times the number of defendants as are being dismissed or not charged in Palm Beach County,” she said, adding “It is not normal for a prosecutor to come out repeatedly after we have seen tragedy strike and insinuate, ‘It’s not my fault.’ I submit to you this was, in a way, to distract from where fault should have lay.”

Even violent felonies were only prosecuted 41% of the time, according to Moody.

DOCUMENTS: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office lists rationale for suspending Soros-backed Democratic State Attorney Monique Worrell

“The practices and policies of her office have allowed murderers, other violent offenders, and dangerous drug traffickers to receive extremely reduced… pic.twitter.com/keJzzp4AGo

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) August 9, 2023

“If she were allowed to continue in this office, her failure would continue to cause needless pain, suffering, and death,” Moody said of Worrell – speaking in tones of ‘intense but controlled anger,’ according to the Epoch Times.

#BREAKING: Gov. Ron DeSantis suspends Democratic State Attorney Monique Worrell, effective immediately, citing lack of mandatory minimum sentencings for various crimes, neglect of duty, and abusing discretion pic.twitter.com/O0Pe1UbTVH

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) August 9, 2023

In many cases, Ms. Worrell’s choice not to prosecute turned lethal, Gov. DeSantis noted.

A 17-year-old in Ms. Worrell’s circuit was arrested for criminal possession of a firearm, he said. She let him go, and he shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend.

Another criminal was arrested for sex abuse of a minor, the governor said. After getting let out on bond by Ms. Worrell, he shot and killed two police officers, he said. -Epoch Times

“I have no doubt that today’s decision is not only consistent with the Constitution and laws of Florida, that we have a right to act. We had a duty to act to protect the public from this dereliction of duty,” said DeSantis.

Responding to the removal, Florida Sheriff Grady Judd said that criminals are incentivized by their chances of success, and think “I’ll just shoot them because, heck, after all, I probably won’t go to jail.”

“When it comes to law and order, Gov. @RonDeSantis is not playing…His actions today, without question, saved the lives of citizens in Central Florida.”

— Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey praises DeSantis’ suspension of State Attorney Monique Worrell pic.twitter.com/Yn8xnF71Sw

— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) August 9, 2023

In response to her removal, Worrell defended her record by calling her approach “unconventional” and “doing things differently.” 

JUST IN: Suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell calls Gov. Ron DeSantis a “dictator”

“This is an outrage […] There used to be a very high standard for the removal of elected officials.”

“Under this tyranny, elected officials can be removed simply for political purposes.”… pic.twitter.com/SuzrbreZpu

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) August 9, 2023

Of note, Worrell received election funding from billionaire George Soros. 

Soros arbitraged politics. He figured out that spending small amounts of money in many obscure, but influential, races is far more effective than money spent on major contests.

The mistake people make is thinking that he did it for the good of humanity. He hates humanity.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), a former governor of Florida, supported DeSantis’ decision.

“This is the right move,” Scott posted to X. “Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies are eroding our communities and families’ ability to feel safe. In February, I called on SA Monique Worrell to deliver the justice and accountability needed for the families affected by shootings in her district and said her suspension would be fully justified. She failed to do her job. Families deserve better.“

Worrell is the second Soros-funded state attorney removed by DeeSantis in the past 12 months, after suspending Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren for violating his oath of office and holding himself “above the law” in what DeSantis described as a “very very troubling record.”

Authored by Eva Fu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Stepping into the van guarded by armed soldiers with five surgeons and nurses, Zheng Zhi didn’t know he was entering into a world that would haunt him for the next quarter of a century.

Dr. Zheng, then a resident doctor at one of China’s largest military hospitals, knew little more than they were on a “secret military mission” near a military prison located around the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian.

A light blue fabric covered the four sides of the vehicle, shielding it from any curious glances.

When the door opened, four burly soldiers carried in a man whose limbs were bound with thin ropes that had cut deeply into his flesh. The man was no more than 18 years old; his organs, the surgical crew had been told the day before, were “healthy, fresh.”

A doctor instructed Dr. Zheng to “step on” the man’s legs and “don’t let him move.” He pressed the man’s legs down with his hands and to his shock, they were warm to the touch. Blood was now flowing from the man’s throat.

He watched a doctor slice open the man’s stomach and two others reach in to remove a kidney each. The man’s legs twitched and his throat moved—although no sound came out.

“Cut his artery and veins, quick!” a doctor told Dr. Zheng. As he did so, so much blood gushed out that it splashed all over Dr. Zheng’s gown and gloves. That was when he got the order to extract the man’s eyes.

Dr. Zheng looked at the man’s face. Staring back at him was a pair of wide-open eyes.

“It was horrifying beyond words. He was looking right at me. His eyelids were moving. He was alive,” Dr. Zheng recounted to The Epoch Times in July, the first time he agreed to use his real name to recount his story.

But, in the van in 1994, little did he know he was party to what would soon become an industrialized killing apparatus set up to extract organs from prisoners of conscience and sell them on demand.

In the van, he told the other doctors, “I can’t do this.” He felt his brain empty out as he sat there, shaky, sweating, and paralyzed.

The doctor across from him immediately pressed the man’s head to the floor of the van. With two fingers pressed on the eyelids and a hemostat in another hand, the doctor clamped out each of the man’s eyes.

The body, now motionless, was placed in a black plastic bag and taken away by soldiers waiting outside. The van sped back to the General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, where Dr. Zheng did his residency. The nurses quickly gathered up the bloodied medical equipment.

Lights were on in two operation rooms when they reached the hospital. Another team of doctors was waiting to begin the organ transplantations.

Dr. Zheng was too sickened to be useful, even though the department director wanted him to get his hand in at the operating table. He sat watching from a few yards away as the surgery progressed. When the transplant operations were complete, the medical staff went into an upscale restaurant and feasted in silence, although Dr. Zheng said he couldn’t take a bite. After the meal, he took leave, developing a high fever at the same time.

That pair of eyes—desperate, fearful, and pained—has since tormented Dr. Zheng day and night.

“Under the light lay a young life, a fellow human being, whose organs were being harvested while he was alive,” he said.

Billion Dollar Industry

The horror Dr. Zheng witnessed in the van, and afterward at the hospital, took place in 1994, when the Chinese regime’s mass-scale, state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting was still in its infancy.

It soon ballooned into a billion-dollar industry, using prisoners of conscience, particularly adherents of the persecuted faith group Falun Gong, to fuel its rise. In the same city as the hospital was the Sujiatun concentration camp, which multiple whistleblowers revealed as a mass killing ground of imprisoned Falun Gong adherents for their organs since the persecution began in 1999. While the Sujiatun underground facility was abandoned after being exposed internationally, an untold number of other such camps exist in China.

Dr. Zheng is one of several witnesses who have come forward to The Epoch Times since 2006 to expose the regime’s grisly practice.

Since then, a multitude of independent reports have provided information on the severity and scale of the practice.

In 2019, a London-based independent tribunal concluded that China’s ruling regime killed prisoners of conscience for their organs “on a significant scale,” and that Falun Gong practitioners are the primary victims.

U.S. lawmakers have taken steps to prevent Americans from embarking on “transplant tourism” to China, and thus becoming complicit.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) is pushing for the passage of his Falun Gong Protection Act, which would sanction persecutors of Falun Gong. The bill would also ban cooperation with communist China in the organ transplantation field.

The bipartisan Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023, which seeks to punish enablers of the abuse, passed overwhelmingly in the House in March.

In June, Texas adopted the country’s first law to counter the issue, banning health insurers from financing organ transplant surgeries linked to China.

‘A Fresh One’

Fear still had a grip on Dr. Zheng as he slowly recounted his story for the first time in 2015, using an alias. During the hours-long interview, he struggled to utter a complete sentence; sometimes with his two hands held tightly to the edge of the table in front of him, other times fidgeting, standing up, and sitting down. His facial expression was contorted as he kept repeating that it was “too horrifying.” Tears filled Dr. Zheng’s eyes as he described in a trembling voice the removal of the young man’s eyes.

During his residency at the hospital, Dr. Zheng was favored by his superiors, thanks to his father’s influence in the local communist power circle. A skilled doctor in traditional Chinese medicine, his father was sought by local officials. Some of the top military leaders were frequent guests at his family’s dining table. Knowing this, doctors treated Dr. Zheng deferentially, frequently allowing him to participate in surgeries when other interns couldn’t.

Soon after the organ extraction in the back of the van, Dr. Zheng left the hospital. He became a pediatrician and internist in the city of Liaoyang, some four hours drive north of Dalian. But that sense of horror only deepened over time as he glimpsed more from behind the scenes.

In 2002, Dr. Zheng accompanied a military official for his medical checkup, at the hospital where he once interned. The doctor told the official that he needed a new kidney to live.

“[We’ll] pick a top-quality one for you,” another military officer told his superior in the hallway. “A fresh one, from Falun Gong practitioners.”

That was the first time Dr. Zheng heard that Falun Gong adherents were a specific organ source.

On the way home, the official asked Dr. Zheng whether he should get a kidney transplant.

“Don’t do it,” Dr. Zheng replied. “Isn’t that committing a murder?”

It was through that official that Dr. Zheng learned how widespread forced organ harvesting was in China.

“Armed police and officials above division ranks all know about it, and it’s pretty much known throughout the military. It’s nothing novel,” Dr. Zheng told The Epoch Times.

To make more money, he said, the military had opened many “green passages,” or fast lanes at airports, to quickly transport fresh human organs across the country. The infectious disease units at military hospitals had all become “dens” for forced organ harvesting, he said.

“In about one to two weeks—a month at the longest—a match would be found.”

The official whose kidney was failing opted not to get a transplant. He lived three more years relying on dialysis and died in 2005.

Another acquaintance, an aide to officials at the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the core of elite Chinese leadership, told Dr. Zheng something even more shocking.

In the conversation, Dr. Zheng remarked that the persecution of Falun Gong in northeastern China was quite severe.

The acquaintance made no immediate response, but before they parted, he turned and looked straight at Dr. Zheng.

“In Hubei Province’s Wuhan City, under the back garden of the Hubei Province Public Security Bureau, it’s full of detained Falun Gong practitioners. Some are underaged kids,” he said, stopping at every word.

“I’ve been there,” he added after a pause. They didn’t discuss it further, but the implication that this was a mass source of organs weighed heavily on Dr. Zheng.

Making a Choice

What the acquaintance said gave Dr. Zheng a “sense of mission” to expose the matter on the international stage, prompting his eventual escape to Thailand in 2005.

He obtained refugee status while in Thailand and moved to Canada in 2007.

In 2015, when he told his story for the first time to The Epoch Times, he said he felt so helpless that he wasn’t sure whether to lean on the reporter or the table.

“I felt that I was giving out my life and everything that I have,” he told The Epoch Times in late July, recalling the previous interview.

“There’s no way to describe how I felt at the time,” he said.

“Every word, every sentence I spoke was no different from a choice of life and death. I didn’t know what I’d be bringing to myself.”

During the eight years once he got to Canada, Dr. Zheng said he had been looking for the right media outlet to tell his story to. Should he make the wrong choice, not only would he get himself into trouble, the issue wouldn’t get the spotlight it deserved.

To say he wasn’t worried about possible retaliation from Beijing was unrealistic, “ordinary people can’t imagine how evil the CCP is,” he said—but the issue was bigger than himself.

“Slaughtering Chinese people and stealing their organs for profit, this is a crime with no bounds,” Dr. Zheng said. As someone living in a free country with a “basic conscience, I have no reason to stay silent.”

He said that he has carefully preserved his records. When the Chinese Communist Party falls and faces judgment, he will come on the witness stand, he said, adding that he has no doubt “justice will prevail over evil.”

Yi Ling contributed to this report.

Tucker Carlson released a bombshell interview with former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund on Wednesday, during which Sund explains what happened on January 6, 2021 in great detail.

Carlson and Sund had notably recorded an entire interview on Fox News, which never aired.

Perhaps most damning is Sund’s claim that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) refused to authorize the deployment of the National Guard at the Capitol despite Sund’s pleas, and that federal agencies withheld information and warning signs of potential dangers prior to the riot.

“It doesn’t seem like people really want to get to the bottom of it,” said Sund, adding “It really doesn’t. And it just gets worse. It gets worse from there.”

Sund got approval to bring in the National Guard at 2:09 p.m. Before his approval, he alleged that he begged several generals, including General Michael Flynn, to bring the National Guard. The officials told Sund they did “not like the optics of the National Guard” as he allegedly begged for their assistance to intervene in the violence. –Daily Caller

“This sounds like a set up to me,” Carlson said, adding “I’m sorry, it does.”

To which Sund replied:

“It gets better. So I beg and beg and he goes ‘well, I’m gonna walk down the hall and we’ll talk to the Secretary of Defense or whoever he’s gonna talk to. Right then I get a notification, oh, I’m still on the call, we have the shooting of Ashli Babbitt. And I said we have shots firing, I still remember yelling over the phone. We have shots firing on the U.S. Capitol, is that urgent enough for you now?“

According to Sund, the National Guard didn’t show up until 6 p.m., hours after the fatal shooting of Babbitt. He also claimed that the Pentagon deployed resources to the homes of generals, but not the Capitol.

Watch:

Ep. 15 Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund reveals what really happened on January 6th. Our Fox News interview with him never aired, so we invited him back. pic.twitter.com/opDlu4QGlp

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 10, 2023

Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Rising incidents of crime in Oakland, California, are affecting quality of life, causing some to flee, and leading to calls by some community associations for more law enforcement amid a wave of violence.

While down slightly year-over-year, homicides have jumped 40 percent since 2019, with Oakland police reporting that every other category of crime shows an increase compared to last year and since before the pandemic.

Also, compared to 2019, assaults and auto break-ins have doubled, and carjackings have tripled, according to FBI statistics.

Additionally, the city rated a 1—the lowest possible score out of 100—meaning it is safer than less than 1 percent of areas across the country, according to online real estate market data firm Neighborhood Scout.

Public protests are now routine at Oakland City Council meetings, and letters to officials are pouring in, with frightened and angry residents and organizations expressing discontent.

At a July hearing with the Alameda County District Attorney and sheriff to discuss the ongoing crime wave, audience members told officials about their recent encounters.

“While I’m driving, I’m pulled out of my car at gunpoint,” one woman said. “What are we doing to address this? How do we solve this? Nobody feels safe.”

Failed Leadership, Anti-Police Rhetoric Are to Blame: NAACP

Community safety advocates are also reaching out to administrators asking for immediate action to halt the violence.

“Oakland residents are sick and tired of our intolerable public safety crisis that overwhelmingly impacts minority communities,” the Oakland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, better known as the NAACP, said in a July 27 letter to elected officials. “We call on all elected leaders to unite and declare a state of emergency and bring together massive resources to address our public safety crisis.”

The group blames criminal justice reform and efforts to minimize policing for the recent rise in crime.

“Failed leadership, including the movement to defund the police, our District Attorney’s unwillingness to charge and prosecute people who murder and commit life threatening serious crimes, and the proliferation of anti-police rhetoric have created a heyday for Oakland criminals,” the NAACP wrote in the letter. “If there are no consequences for committing crime in Oakland, crime will continue to soar.”

Oakland’s Police Department currently employs approximately 715 officers, nearly 500 fewer than necessary to protect the city, its union said in a statement released July 29. Current budget plans call for an increase to 730 officers over the next two years.

Residents No Longer Feel Safe at Home

Many residents say they no longer feel safe leaving their homes, and home invasion robberies are making some uncomfortable in their own dwellings.

“My mom and aunt live together, and they’re both older, and they don’t feel safe anymore,” Johnny Brown, a maintenance worker who has lived in Oakland most of his life, told The Epoch Times. “I bring them groceries, and I put a camera on their house, so I can watch and make sure they’re not in trouble.”

The Brown family has called Oakland home for more than 30 years, and they said the crime has never been worse.

“This is Oakland, there’s always been an element of danger, but it’s wild out here,” Mr. Brown said. “They’re getting away with so much that others are doing it too. They don’t care who you are or how much money they can get; they’re out here robbing everybody.”

Another long-time Oakland resident agreed, telling The Epoch Times that it’s not safe at night to walk or stop for gas in certain areas.

“It’s like predator and prey out here as a young woman,” LaTasha Jackson said. “We stay in groups at night and still don’t feel safe, and forget about pumping gas alone, that’s just asking to get robbed.”

Crimes committed during daylight are also on the rise, with car break-ins at historic levels and armed robberies approaching all-time highs, according to the Oakland Police Officers Association.

A recent video showed an elderly ice cream street vendor robbed by armed men wearing masks, but in a sign of solidarity, the community came together and raised thousands of dollars for the victim.

While complaints and requests for action are numerous, city leaders say they are taking steps to address the concerns.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao recently announced a collaboration with Gov. Gavin Newsom to bring California Highway Patrol officers to the city, in addition to a $1.5 million grant to install license plate readers in high crime areas, intended to identify criminals and track down suspects.

“Strong partnerships are critical in making our city safer,” said Ms. Thao in a press release Aug. 3 announcing the deal. “Our comprehensive community safety approach includes both accountability for those who commit crime as well as prevention and deterrence efforts to stop crime before it occurs.”

While acknowledging efforts to reduce crime, Ms. Thao insisted more must be done.

“As a city, we’ve worked hard to make it safer,” she said in a statement Aug. 8. “We know we need to do more.”

Law enforcement officials recognize the dilemma facing residents and urged the community to unify and protect each other.

“In recent weeks, we’ve seen a surge in violence which has impacted our community and it’s concerning for all of us who work, live and visit the City of Oakland,” said Interim Police Chief Darren Allison in a joint statementwith the mayor in May. “Our city, like many other major cities, is facing very challenging times and it is crucial we come together to take a collaborative approach when it comes to addressing crime in Oakland.”

Police Suggest ‘Air Horns’ to Sound off Intruders

One suggestion from the Oakland Police Department was for residents to equip themselves with air horns to sound off intruders and to alert neighbors of any disturbances.

While some are following the advice, others question the efficacy of such a plan.

“An air horn won’t save you from a robber with a gun,” Ms. Jackson said. “It might get you killed, but I don’t see it saving many lives.”

Home invasions have escalated over the past year, according to Oakland police, with videos from home security cameras posted on social media showing armed intruders robbing unsuspecting homeowners.

Authorities also say elderly residents in the Oakland Hills have been targeted repeatedly over the last few months.

Police advise, when possible, people install burglar bars on windows and doors and utilize security measures to help stop break-ins.

Cameras can also help prevent attacks and provide evidence to assist law enforcement investigations, according to experts.

For now, some Oakland residents say they’re worried about the future and are considering leaving the city.

“We can’t live in fear forever,” Ms. Jackson said. “If things don’t get better, my family will leave as soon as we can.”

New York City is experiencing the worst housing crisis in a generation. The limited supply of apartments led to record high rents in July, the peak rental month of the year, just before the start of the school year.  

Data from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate showed Manhattan’s median rent topped $4,400, up 2.3% from June. Rents soared 11% in Brooklyn to $3,950 and in northwest Queens. In Astoria and Long Island City, rents rose 1.9% to $3,641. Manhattan rents reached a record high for the fourth time in five months. 

Bloomberg quoted Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, who said, “We’re arriving at the tolerance level of the market. Prices are rising, reaching new records. Leasing activity is weakening, likely due to the record rents — tenants aren’t getting relief.”

Miller said another record high could be seen in August as families and students sign leasing agreements ahead of the new school year. 

Despite Manhattan’s population plunge of 400,000 between June 2020-22 and half-empty office towers scattered across the area, there still appears to be demand for apartments amid tight supply. 

Miller pointed out that inventory is beginning to rise, and the decline of leases might indicate people have hit a breaking point: “It looks like rents are probably close to the tipping point… We’re seeing transactions slip because of affordability.”

A separate report, published in April by Fund for the City of New York & United Way of New York City, found half of the households in the city barely had enough money to ‘comfortably’ afford rent and other expenses. 

Meanwhile, the latest CPI print shows shelter costs nationwide have not only reached their peak but are now starting to decline. 

Housing inflation slowing fast:

Shelter inflation up 7.69% YoY in July vs 7.83% in June, lowest since Dec 22; also up 0.43% MoM, lowest monthly increase since Jan 22

Rent inflation up 8.03% in July vs 8.33% in June, lowest since Nov 22; also up 0.41% MoM, lowest since March 22 pic.twitter.com/yL5d0RRTx6

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 10, 2023

If Miller is correct, the rental affordability breaking point is quickly approaching. 

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

In a recent survey of large corporations, 100% of the companies made some enhancement to their political risk management. 54% increased political risk insurance.

Political Risk is Everyone’s Risk

Please consider The Year Political Risk Became Everyone’s Risk.

This is how an insurance broker typically describes political risk: “low frequency, high severity.” Political risk is, in short, a catastrophe risk, or “cat risk,” much like many types of natural disaster.

We are going to have to rethink that description: this year, more than 9 in 10 of the companies we surveyed reported a political risk loss (up from 35% only a few years ago). This year, political risk became everyone’s risk.

The annual Political Risk Survey, carried out by Oxford Analytica on behalf of WTW, combines in-depth interviews with a broader survey of a larger sample of companies. There were 50 respondents to the survey; The survey sample is representative of globalized businesses, across geographic regions, industries, and company size.

Key Points

• 86% of Western European respondents reported a net negative financial impact of the conflict, while only 33% of North American firms did so.

• The shock of war on the European continent had triggered a “paradigm shift” said one member of our business panel; it is a “watershed moment,” said another.

• 100% of the companies we surveyed had made at least some enhancement to their political risk management capabilities since February 2022.

• The proportion who reported purchasing political risk insurance nearly trebled from 25% in 2019 to 68% this year.

• The proportion who predicted deglobalization would “greatly strengthen” was 16% last year; this year it was nearly 50%.

• The proportion who predicted decoupling from China would “greatly strengthen” was 12% in 2022, but 42% in 2023.

• Each year, the study study by asks the business panel about the top risks for the year ahead. This year, complications from the Ukraine conflict led the list, followed by decoupling with China. A surprise third place was taken by the European Union, which faces an energy crisis, but is also reshaping the rules and standards of global businesses with its willingness to regulate in areas such as technology, data, supply chains and climate.

When you confiscate reserves and place massive tariffs and sanctions on Russia and China, political risk blowback is the result.

Political risk from Ukraine was felt more heavily in Europe, but the US was not immune. 33% of North American firms reported a loss from Ukraine. Interestingly 42 percent of US companies reported a gain.

Oil companies, the weapons industry, and agricultural exporters were likely the big winners from the war in Ukraine. But were there any winners with big dependence on China?

You Might Not Be Able to Get Insurance

Although the need for insurance is soaring, Your Business in China May Be Uninsurable

Underwriters stopped writing new policies in Russia months ago, and in China they appear spooked by events ranging from raids on Western consulting firms to threats against Taiwan. Two years ago, after Chinese state media declared videogames “spiritual opium,” shares in the Chinese entertainment giant Tencent swiftly plunged by more than 10%. Not even food and apparel companies, which have been considered relatively safe from political risks, can now be certain they’ll get such coverage.

Of the 60 or so insurers that offer political-risk insurance, only four or five are still offering it for China, the insurance executive noted. Policies still being offered likely wouldn’t exceed $50 million coverage, down from around $2 billion a few years ago. Most large companies with operations in China have assets far above $50 million.

Political Risk Is Just Beginning

The Biden administration has escalated sanctions and tariffs on China.

In response, China placed export restrictions on rare earth minerals used in computer chips and weapons.

China’s Limits Germanium and Gallium Exports

On July 5, Reuters reported China’s rare earths dominance in focus after it limits germanium and gallium exports

China said on Monday it will impose export restrictions on gallium and germanium products used in computer chips and other components to protect national security interests.

The decision, widely seen as retaliation for U.S. curbs on sales of technologies to China, raised concerns that China might eventually limit exports of other materials, notably rare earths, whose production China dominates.

Mining: China accounted for 70% of world mine production of rare earths in 2022, followed by the United States, Australia, Myanmar and Thailand, United States Geological Survey (USGS) data shows.

Processing: China is home to at least 85% of the world’s capacity to process rare earth ores into material manufacturers can use, according to research firm Adamas Intelligence in 2019.

The chemical properties of rare earths make them difficult to separate from surrounding materials, and processing generates toxic waste.

Lax environmental standards enabled China to build its dominance in rare earths in recent decades as Western producers left the industry.

How China Cornered Rare Earths

Good Grief Luke

How China cornered rare earths

1: China was blessed with minerals, not oil.
2: China doesn’t give a damn about wrecking its environment to process them

You seriously need to study many things and get out of your mindset that everything will crash the dollar.

— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) July 30, 2023

How Long Does it Take to Start a Mine?

Any attempt to eliminate fossil fuels by 2035, as Biden nationally, and the state of California are independently trying, will massively increase costs then fail spectacularly.

— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) April 17, 2023

The US and G-7 Allies Are Torn Over Dependence on China

Please consider my April post The US and G-7 Allies Are Torn Over Dependence on China

Three Conflicting Goals 

1. Reduce dependence on China

2. Avoid protectionism 

3. Appease the Greens 

Impossible Requirements 

1 + 2 is difficult if not impossible. 2 + 3 is difficult if not impossible. 1 + 3 is difficult if not impossible.

1 + 2 + 3 is 100% guaranteed impossible. 

 Damn the Inflation, Full Speed Ahead

Biden’s and California’s energy policy can easily be summed up in meme phrases.

• Damn the Inflation, Full Speed Ahead

• What, Me Worry?

• The world will end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.

On March 22, 2022, I commented Biden Doing Everything Possible to Drive Up the Price of Oil, Some of It’s Illegal

On November 30, 2022, I commented The EU is Very Worried About Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

On December 3, 2022, I commented Damn That Wind, It’s Not Listening to Biden or AOC

On February 7, 2023, I commented Biden Gives a Well-Delivered SOTU Speech Begging for More Inflation and Tax Hikes

On January 16, 2023, I commented “America First”, Biden and Trump Both Guilty of Sponsoring Inflation

Biden’s Energy Policy Mandates Cause Severe Shortage of Electrical Steel and Transformers

In case you missed it, please see Biden’s Energy Policy Mandates Cause Severe Shortage of Electrical Steel and Transformers

Lesson of the Day

Finally, please consider my July 20, 2023 post, Lesson of the Day: If You Weaponize the Dollar and Confiscate Assets, Expect Retaliation

Meanwhile, someone please tell me how we are going to reduce dependence on China, avoid protectionism, and appease the Greens with their untenable demands to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

You can’t because it’s impossible. So, yeah, the need for political risk insurance is soaring everywhere.

*  *  *

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Earlier this week, United Parcel Service (UPS) slashed its financial outlook after reaching an agreement with the Teamsters Union in late July. This deal ensures delivery drivers receive an annual pay of $170,000. Even part-time employees are set to earn $25.75 an hour. As a result, UPS job searches are erupting nationwide. 

Bloomberg cited data from online jobs website Indeed, which recorded a 50% jump in searches for “UPS” or “United Parcel Service” in the job title last month when the union secured $30 billion in new money for its members over the next five years. 

Google search results show “UPS driver jobs near me” soared to a record high. 

We should note the tentative agreement has yet to be accepted by the Teamsters Union, and a vote will be announced on Aug. 22. 

Unions have been pushing companies to improve on-the-job conditions amid the worst inflation in a generation and two years of negative real wage growth that decimated households. Companies that have conceded to union demands, like UPS, are emerging as the most sought-after jobs due to pay hikes.

While it’s unlikely the 340,000 union members will pass up this sweetheart deal, UPS slashed its full-year outlook this week on sliding package delivery volumes and costs associated with the union. Bloomberg explained the souring conditions for UPS means: “The company is most likely not going to hire en masse right now.” 

Meanwhile, there are other rumblings in the transportation space. Pilots at FedEx rejected a union-brokered deal that would have raised their wages by about 30% through 2028. Union members were displeased with FedEx, citing higher wages at airlines.  

“Labor groups seem to find it more appealing to reject the first offer to get a better second offer,” Helane Becker, an analyst at investment banking company TD Cowen, said. She added, “Sometimes it doesn’t get better.”

Some labor fights with unions and companies have sparked turmoil. Trucking company Yellow Corp. filed for bankruptcy this week, placing the blame on the union:

“We faced nine months of union intransigence, bullying and deliberately destructive tactics.” 

And the wave of union bosses making outsized demands at other companies could only be in the beginning innings. This will only lead to higher prices and could drive some companies out of business, such as what happened to Yellow.

Rising labor disputes and wage inflation will likely mean elevated overall inflation, signaling the Fed’s job isn’t done.