Bipartisan Congressional Report Finds CCP Manipulates Global Mineral Prices

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A bipartisan congressional report published on Nov. 12 revealed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) manipulates critical minerals markets to further its global ambitions.

A worker at a factory for Xinwangda Electric Vehicle Battery Co. Ltd, which makes lithium batteries for electric cars and other uses, in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province on March 12, 2021. STR/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. House Select Committee on the CCP released the “Predatory Pricing” report following an investigation into market manipulation.

“From cell phones to fighter jets, every American is dependent on minerals that China manipulates for its own selfish reasons,” Committee Chair Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) said in a statement. “As we saw last month with its rule on rare earths, China has a loaded gun that is pointed at our economy, and we must act quickly.”

Moolenaar accused China of predatory practices that have caused Americans to lose their jobs, driven American miners out of business, and jeopardized national security.

The investigation revealed several findings, including that the Chinese communist regime subsidizes its state mining companies with tens of billions of dollars and gives zero-interest loans to support its global acquisition of mining assets.

The regime engaged in a decades-long strategy to dominate the rare-earth element supply chain, according to the investigation. The strategy involved luring in mostly Western companies to collaborate with Chinese companies, then selling products significantly below existing market prices to put competition out of business.

“Finally, after establishing its dominance, the PRC wielded this market clout as a geopolitical weapon,” the investigation found.

Beijing has also established a legal framework governing mineral price reporting, giving it the ability to raise and lower prices to favor its national security interests, the report said.

China intentionally kept rare-earth element prices low to ensure that Western participants did not enter the market, according to the investigation.

The regime also pushed down the price of critical minerals, including lithium, an important element used in rechargeable batteries and electric vehicle batteries, the report said.

Chinese miners are expected to continue dominating lithium production through 2030, the investigation found.

When prices were low, the regime subsidized its firms to aggressively acquire mining assets and cement its control over the global supply chain, according to the report.

A man drives a front loader to shift soil containing rare earth minerals for export to Japan at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, on Sept. 5, 2010. Edited by The Epoch Times, STR/AFP via Getty Images

“The PRC government, under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has engaged in a coordinated, decades-long scheme to control different critical minerals and bend the global market to their will,” the investigation states.

On Oct. 9, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a global export licensing regime for rare-earth items, but that was a culmination of policies, investments, and other moves made over decades, according to the investigation.

The congressional report gives several policy recommendations, including aligning critical mineral financing and industrial-base programs under a single authority, such as a “critical minerals czar.”

The report also suggested bolstering U.S. mining and recovery efforts and discussed how to expedite permits while keeping important safeguards.

In this July 6, 2010, file photo, workers use machinery to dig at a rare earth mine in the Baiyunebo mining district of Baotou in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. AP Photo, File

They also suggested preventing unfairly priced imports from undermining U.S. industries, developing federal tools for price discovery and costs, and strengthening coordination among allies on critical minerals.

The report also suggested creating a Strategic Resources Reserve, similar to the federal reserve for oil.

The committee also encouraged creating a critical minerals tax credit, supporting low-cost loans for critical minerals projects, and developing an American rare earths workforce.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 20:55

RFK Jr. May Revive Food Pyramid Focused On Whole Foods

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, will be releasing new dietary guidelines in December to reset America's food supply chain away from toxic seed oils and highly processed foods toward real food, the kind our grandparents and parents ate many decades ago.

Ahead of next month's release, a new Bloomberg report on Thursday night says the administration may roll out a revamped food pyramid centered on protein and whole foods. Sorry, Bill Gates, fake food and insects are not on the menu.

The food pyramid was retired in 2011 and replaced with MyPlate, but RFK Jr., according to the report, could make the food pyramid great again. 

America's top health official has long criticized previous nutrition advice, arguing that saturated fat was wrongly vilified. 

Health and agriculture officials say the forthcoming 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines will be rooted in better "science," focus on reducing chronic disease, and support the administration's "Make America Healthy Again" theme, which will be supercharged in the midterm election cycle. 

The only major hurdle to eating real food that isn't grown on massive commercial farms drenched in chemicals is cost. That's why the Trump administration rolled out Operation Affordability this week, an effort to cut tariffs and strengthen trade deals to boost imports of staple foods and drive grocery prices lower next year.

The administration should also place more emphasis on rebuilding local food supply chains by strengthening small farms and ranches.

Americans are long overdue to push back against the globalist food giants on the food system (see here), a system saturated with chemicals and additives that have left the nation in a health crisis.

One of the simplest acts of rebellion is to plant your own "MAHA Garden" during the Northern Hemisphere's next growing season. Also, purchase chickens and other farm animals ... time to know where your food comes from. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 20:30

New Heart-Kidney Syndrome Affects 90% Of Americans... And You've Probably Never Heard Of It

Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Nearly every American adult has a health condition that could lead to heart failure, yet nine out of 10 have never even heard of it. Now, the American Heart Association (AHA) is sounding the alarm on cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a newly defined cluster of interconnected diseases that doctors have been treating separately for decades.

The condition encompasses a cluster of interconnected conditions—including heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity—that often occur together, significantly increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. It was first defined in a 2023 AHA Presidential Advisory. Despite affecting roughly 90 percent of U.S. adults, few people have heard of it, according to a recent AHA survey.

In early 2026, the AHA will release its first-ever clinical guidelines on the syndrome to help health care providers better identify and treat this widespread condition.

Study Reveals Widespread Prevalence of CKM Syndrome in U.S. Adults

“It’s really common to have risk factors for heart, kidney, and metabolic disease [like diabetes] at the same time, and they’re interconnected,” Dr. Stacey E. Rosen, national volunteer president of the American Heart Association, told The Epoch Times.

The problem, Rosen noted, is that care for people with multiple conditions is often fractured, with various specialists and primary care clinicians working in silos. Through the AHA’s CKM Health Initiative, the association aims to help doctors work together and treat cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic risk factors together, because that’s how patients experience them, she said.

The Numbers Behind the Problem

A comprehensive analysis of U.S. adults based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey spanning 2011 to 2020 showed that nearly 90 percent of adults had signs indicating early stages of CKM syndrome. They carried risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, or problems controlling blood sugar.

About 15 percent of adults were classified as having advanced stages, which include having blood vessel damage or kidney disease. Older adults—particularly those aged 65 and older—were most affected, with more than 55 percent classified as having advanced stages.

The study found that the prevalence of CKM syndrome remained steady over the decade, with no significant improvements in reducing the overall burden of disease. Even younger adults aged 20 to 44 showed notable risk, especially among black adults and men, who were more likely to be in higher stages of CKM syndrome.

The condition stems from overweight and obesity in its initial stage and progresses to multiple risk factors and advanced disease, warranting early recognition, Dr. Eugenia Gianos, director of cardiovascular prevention at Northwell Health and director of women’s heart health at Lenox Hill Hospital, told The Epoch Times.

How Heart, Kidney, and Metabolic Systems Are Connected

CKM health involves three critical systems: the heart, kidneys, and metabolic system.

The heart pumps blood to supply oxygen and nutrients; the kidneys filter waste, regulate fluids, and help control blood pressure; and the metabolic system turns food into energy and manages blood glucose levels.

When one system functions poorly, it can create a domino effect, worsening the others. For example, reduced heart function can lower blood flow to the kidneys, impairing their ability to filter waste and regulate blood pressure. Conversely, kidney dysfunction can lead to high blood pressure and fluid overload, which increases strain on the heart.

Additionally, metabolic issues such as high blood sugar and excess weight contribute to inflammation and damage across these systems.

This interconnected cycle can escalate silently, often without obvious symptoms, until significant damage occurs.

Current guidelines emphasize cardiovascular screening beginning at age 40. “Yet the early drift in blood pressure, glucose, and lipids often begins much earlier, especially among young adults with sedentary lifestyles,” Akshaya Bhagavathula, associate professor of epidemiology at North Dakota State University, told The Epoch Times.

While metabolic syndrome has gained attention as a warning stage, he noted, chronic kidney disease can go unnoticed. “Nearly nine in 10 adults with kidney impairment are unaware of it until significant damage has occurred,” Bhagavathula said. The CKM model encourages integrating prevention, screening, and treatment of the metabolic, renal, and cardiovascular systems together, rather than waiting for the disease to declare itself.

Warning Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore

Many people expect heart disease to appear with dramatic chest pain, but early warning signs are far subtler, Bhagavathula said.

Less obvious symptoms include unusual fatigue or weakness that isn’t proportional to activity level and mood changes—such as depression or brain fog—which might also be early indicators. Other symptoms that may indicate trouble include swelling in uncommon areas such as the abdomen or the back of the ankles, which may be caused by fluid retention related to heart or kidney issues.

Something else to watch for is changes in urination patterns, including foamy urine indicating protein loss, dark urine, or decreased urine output, which can be signs of kidney problems.

Toxin buildup from impaired kidney function may cause a metallic taste or bad breath, and difficulty sleeping can stem from fluid overload or breathing difficulties.

Elevated blood pressure that develops gradually without noticeable symptoms is another warning sign.

“Women may present with jaw pain, nausea, or extreme tiredness rather than classic pressure pain,” he added.

“Even small rises in resting heart rate, post-meal glucose, or inflammatory markers predict future cardiac events years in advance,” Bhagavathula said. “These patterns reflect the systemic nature of CKM syndrome; the heart rarely fails in isolation.”

How to Improve Heart and Kidney Health

Most people with CKM syndrome can reverse or slow down the disease process with lifestyle changes and appropriate medications to reduce their risk for heart attack, stroke, or heart failure, Rosen said.

These lifestyle changes include:

• Adopt a Heart-Healthy Diet: Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, while limiting salt intake to help control blood pressure.
• Stay Physically Active: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly to significantly improve overall health.
• Monitor Health Regularly: Track blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, weight, and kidney function through routine checkups to catch potential issues early.
• Avoid Tobacco and Limit Alcohol: Both habits significantly increase risk across all three systems.
• Manage Stress Effectively: Use mindfulness or relaxation techniques and ensure adequate sleep.
• Follow Medical Advice: Take prescribed medications and attend routine checkups.

People should also be cautious with over-the-counter medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which can harm kidney health if used excessively.

The AHA offers educational resources and tools through its CKM Health Initiative website to help people understand these connections and take early action to prevent serious complications such as heart attacks or strokes.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 20:05

China Warns Citizens Against Travel To Japan Amid Serious Taiwan-Related Dust Up

It's no secret that Japan and China have had a long history of animosity, which at times appears to cool but at others flares up to intensity again. The past week has seen historic tensions explode to the forefront once again, resulting in China summoning the Japanese ambassador in Beijing to vehemently denounce some recent statements by Tokyo leadership.

The spat started when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made comments in a parliamentary meeting which made clear Japan could possibly intervene militarily in the scenario of China invading Taiwan.

Sanae Takaichi, via Japan Forward

This represents a public first, and potential initial move abandoning the US ally's longstanding 'strategic ambiguity' on the Taiwan issue.

China's foreign ministry had been quick to blast the comments as "egregious" - related in the following:

The current tensions were sparked at a parliamentary meeting in Japan last Friday, when an opposition lawmaker asked Takaichi what circumstances surrounding Taiwan would count as a survival-threatening situation for Japan.

"If there are battleships and the use of force, no matter how you think about it, it could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi responded.

A "survival-threatening situation" is a legal term under Japan's 2015 security law, referring to when an armed attack on its allies poses an existential threat to Japan. In such a situation, Japan's self-defense forces can be activated to respond to the threat.

Now, a week after the initial provocative remarks, and China has further escalated the spat by formally advising its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near future over 'safety concerns'.

The foreign ministry specifically invoked PM Takaichi's incendiary Taiwan-related comments, going so far as to say her words created "major risks" to the safety of Chinese nationals in Japan. The ministry further cited "a surge in crimes against Chinese citizens and numerous attacks against them." 

The NY Times reviews how this could set off deteriorating relations less than a month in to Takaichi taking office:

The abuse abruptly ended a honeymoon between Ms. Takaichi, in office for less than a month, and China. She had met China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, just last month in South Korea, with the two leaders warmly shaking hands and smiling.

It also ended China’s turn away from so-called wolf warrior diplomacy, an aggressive, in-your-face approach to foreign relations that took shape after Mr. Xi rose to power in Beijing in 2012 but had largely faded in recent years.

Relations between China and Japan have for decades been prone to intemperate feuds fueled largely by bitter Chinese memories of World War II, when the Japanese army committed multiple atrocities, including the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, crimes for which Beijing believes Tokyo has never sufficiently apologized.

The drastic move further followed a Thursday social media posting by China's foreign ministry - issued in Japanese and English - which warned Tokyo must "stop playing with fire" and that it would be "act of aggression" if Japan "dares to meddles in the cross-Strait situation."

Our message to Japan is clear: Japan must fully repent for its war crimes, immediately stop its wrong and provocative statements and moves that interfere in China’s internal affairs, and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan question. Those who play with fire will perish by it! pic.twitter.com/F0G6FvU6qD

— CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) November 13, 2025

As for Japan, it has been most angered at a social media post issued last Saturday by China's consul general in the Japanese city of Osaka, Xue Jian. He had shared article about Takaichi's parliamentary remarks on X with his own words, "the dirty head that sticks itself in must be cut off." Tokyo quickly lodged its own diplomatic protest over the "high inappropriate" commentary.

But China has still maintained all of this ultimately stems from the "extremely wrong and dangerous" words of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi related to defending Taiwan.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 19:40

The Swamp Got Bigger, Better Paid & More Secretive Since 2020

Via Open The Books,

If you were told a business increased their staff headcount by 5% over four years but its payroll rose 24% over that time, all the while withholding the names of 39% of their staff, would you invest in that company?

Unlikely. But that’s just what the United State government does, funded by taxpayer dollars and operating as if accountable to no one.

Open the Books analyzed the FY 2024 payroll records of executive agencies and found that 2.9 million federal employees were paid $270 billion, compared to 2.8 million employees paid $217 billion in FY 2020. While the civilian employee ranks grew 5%, pay grew nearly 5 times as much, 24%.

The Office of Personnel Management provided the pay for over 1.5 million executive agency bureaucrats; Department of Defense provided pay for its 761,624 civilian employees; and United States Postal Service gave its 638,007 employees’ payroll, via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

Not included are pay for judicial branch employees; the 535 members of Congress and their staff; the 1.3 million active-duty military members; the Office of the Vice President (which claims itself entirely exempt from FOIA); nor the staff of several intelligence agencies.

While payroll records don’t include benefits, adding an estimated 30% to the $270 billion payroll brings total costs to $351 billion.

That means the disclosed federal workforce costs the American taxpayer $673,000 per minute, $40.4 million per hour, and just under $1 billion per day.

Meanwhile, more than a million civilian names were redacted from payroll productions produced by Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense.

The Trump administration has a historic opportunity to bring much-needed transparency to the administrative state. While federal employees don’t add as much to the debt as safety net programs, defense, and overall agency spending, they are an indicator of government growth.

A New Minimum Wage? $100,000 Earners

These employees are now being paid more than ever before.

The average pay exceeded $100,000 in 117 of 127 executive agencies and the White House.

In FY 2024, there were 31,452 federal employees who out-earned every governor of the 50 states. That includes the highest paid, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who collects a $250,000 salary.

Even worse, there were 956 federal employees who outearned the president himself.

The vast majority — 939 people — are medical officers at the Veterans Health Administration, while another 15 doctors at the National Institutes of Health earning more than $400,000.

Two more people outearned the president: Micah Nix, an emergency room doctor with the Indian Health Service, part of Department of Health and Human Services and one other redacted employee working at Bureau of Prisons, part of Department of Justice.

The highest paid federal employee is cardiologist Gary H. Gibbons, Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. He earned $519,246 last year.

Lest one think these highly paid doctors are the only ones raking in big checks, the payroll is top-heavy across the board.

Of the 2.1 million non-DOD employees in FY 2024, 793,537 people made $100,000 or more, a 49% increase from 532,784 people in FY 2020.

There were 68,445 employees who earned $200,000 or more – an 82% increase from 37,631 in FY 2020.

Those making $300,000 or more numbered at 14,144 – an 84% increase from 7,692 in FY 2020.

At least 20 federal agencies have an average pay above $150,000. Topping the list is Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where the 721 staffers make an average of $236,006.

The obscure Public Buildings Reform Board and Arctic Research Commission each pay their staff an average of $192,000, while the 1,851 employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earn an average pay of $187,120.

Boards for Civil Rights Cold Case Review, Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight, and Surface Transportation have average pay between $166,091 and $181,903.

The Swamp Gets Larger

In the largest federal agencies, there’s little correlation between employee headcounts and increased pay.

In most cases, even a decrease in headcount still led to an increase in total pay for that agency.

For instance, the Post Office lost 6% of its staff between FY 2020 and FY 2024, yet payroll increased 11% during that time.

At Department of Justice, headcount decreased less than 1% but its payroll nonetheless increased 16%.

Social Security Administration and Department of Commerce both lost staff in those years, 4% and 8%, respectively, but their payrolls still increased 11% and 13%.

At the agencies where headcount increased, payroll soared past them. Department of Homeland Security increased its staff by 6% but its payroll went up 26%. Department of Transportation saw its staff grow by 3% but its payroll by 19%.

Those that grew headcount significantly saw their payroll skyrocket, including a 19% staff increase at both Department of Health and Human Services and Department of State, with 39% and 35% increased payrolls, respectively.

A 20% increase in Department of Energy headcount led to a 37% increase in paychecks.

Top 20 Departments and Agencies by Employee Count

FY 2024 Compared to FY 2020

“Name Withheld” for 39% of Staff

The secrecy of the federal bureaucracy has worsened.

It’s bad enough that Department of Defense redacted all 761,624 civilian employee names from their payroll, and that records production excludes pay for 1.3 million active-duty military members.

When Open the Books requested the FY 2022 federal payroll, the Biden administration had redacted the names of 350,860 rank-and-file employees.

In the most recent FY 2024 production a record-breaking 383,000 names were redacted in 58 federal agencies. Back in FY 2016, a mere 2,300 names were redacted. What gives?

Many of those include investigative and law enforcement roles in agencies including Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Treasury and Veterans’ Affairs — which account for 97% of the redactions.

But still, dozens of additional agencies redacted names, from two each at U.S. Agency for Global Media, Office of National Drug Control Policy and Armed Forces Retirement Home, to over 1,000 each in Departments of Labor, Agriculture, Transportation and Health and Human Services. At Department of Interior, 2,331 identities were redacted.

The payroll report also contains no information about staff in the Office of the Vice President.

That’s because the Office of the Vice President claims not to be subject to FOIA and is not listed on the FOIA website.

Open the Books has tried unsuccessfully in the past to obtain the salaries through open records requests, and has accessed limited payroll information in the semi-annual Report of the Secretary of the Senate.

In the most recent report covering Oct. 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025, we can see that Kamala Harris ended her stay in the office with 43 staffers, while J.D. Vance began his vice presidential term with 23 staffers.

As the federal headcount and payroll grow, there are far too many redactions and blind spots that DOGE should have identified and fixed. We can’t have accountability for the federal workforce without better transparency.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 19:15