EU Won't Retaliate To Trump's 30% Tariff, Countermeasures On Hold Until August

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times,

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on July 13 that the European Union will extend a suspension on its countermeasures to U.S. tariffs until next month while trade negotiations continue with the Trump administration.

On July 12, U.S. President Donald Trump said he will impose a 30 percent tariff on all imports from the EU absent a trade deal with his administration.

The tariffs would be separate from any sector-specific levies. He accused the EU of imposing various tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers on the United States and said he would increase the tariff level if Europe retaliates.

Trump had initially given U.S. trading partners until July 9 to negotiate trade deals with his administration or face the tariffs he announced in early April. Trump recently said he would begin sending letters to countries informing them of their tariff levels if they do not negotiate deals with his team.

He has sent letters to more than 20 U.S. trading partners, including Mexico, which received a letter on July 12 informing the nation that it would also have 30 percent tariffs imposed on its imports into the United States.

After Trump announced the EU’s new tariff level, von der Leyen said on July 12 that the EU, the United States’ largest trading partner, would take all necessary steps to safeguard its interests, including “the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”

German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche called for a “pragmatic outcome to the negotiations” between the EU and the United States.

EU ambassadors met on July 13, one day ahead of the trade ministers’ meeting in Brussels, to decide whether to retaliate against Trump’s new tariffs or extend a suspension on countermeasures that was set to expire on July 14.

The EU opted to take the second route.

While speaking with reporters, von der Leyen said the suspension would extend until early August while the EU continues to “prepare further countermeasures” so it is “fully prepared.”

When Trump delayed the imposition of his reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners until July 9, the EU also suspended an initial package of countermeasures to U.S. sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminum that would affect $24.6 billion in U.S. imports into Europe.

The EU was also preparing a second package of countermeasures since May that would target roughly $84.2 billion of U.S. goods, but the final list requires approval by all EU member states and has not yet been made public.

The bloc’s Anti-Coercion Instrument, which allows it to retaliate against nations outside of the EU that put economic pressure on member states to alter their policies, was not yet on the table, von der Leyen said.

“The [anti-coercion] instrument is created for extraordinary situations, we are not there yet,” she said.

Among the possible retaliatory steps the EU could take are restricting its market access to goods and services and other economic measures that include export controls, financial markets, and foreign direct investment.

On July 13, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said the EU must take action against the United States if trade negotiations fail.

“If a fair negotiated solution does not succeed, then we must take decisive countermeasures to protect jobs and companies in Europe,” Klingbeil, who is also vice chancellor in his nation’s ruling coalition, told German media. “Our hand remains outstretched, but we will not go along with everything.”

Because the United States is its largest export market, Germany could face significant challenges from higher U.S. tariffs, particularly as it exports automobiles, automobile components, machinery, and pharmaceuticals into the United States.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/14/2025 - 03:30

EU Won't Retaliate To Trump's 30% Tariff, Countermeasures On Hold Until August

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times,

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on July 13 that the European Union will extend a suspension on its countermeasures to U.S. tariffs until next month while trade negotiations continue with the Trump administration.

On July 12, U.S. President Donald Trump said he will impose a 30 percent tariff on all imports from the EU absent a trade deal with his administration.

The tariffs would be separate from any sector-specific levies. He accused the EU of imposing various tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers on the United States and said he would increase the tariff level if Europe retaliates.

Trump had initially given U.S. trading partners until July 9 to negotiate trade deals with his administration or face the tariffs he announced in early April. Trump recently said he would begin sending letters to countries informing them of their tariff levels if they do not negotiate deals with his team.

He has sent letters to more than 20 U.S. trading partners, including Mexico, which received a letter on July 12 informing the nation that it would also have 30 percent tariffs imposed on its imports into the United States.

After Trump announced the EU’s new tariff level, von der Leyen said on July 12 that the EU, the United States’ largest trading partner, would take all necessary steps to safeguard its interests, including “the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”

German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche called for a “pragmatic outcome to the negotiations” between the EU and the United States.

EU ambassadors met on July 13, one day ahead of the trade ministers’ meeting in Brussels, to decide whether to retaliate against Trump’s new tariffs or extend a suspension on countermeasures that was set to expire on July 14.

The EU opted to take the second route.

While speaking with reporters, von der Leyen said the suspension would extend until early August while the EU continues to “prepare further countermeasures” so it is “fully prepared.”

When Trump delayed the imposition of his reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners until July 9, the EU also suspended an initial package of countermeasures to U.S. sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminum that would affect $24.6 billion in U.S. imports into Europe.

The EU was also preparing a second package of countermeasures since May that would target roughly $84.2 billion of U.S. goods, but the final list requires approval by all EU member states and has not yet been made public.

The bloc’s Anti-Coercion Instrument, which allows it to retaliate against nations outside of the EU that put economic pressure on member states to alter their policies, was not yet on the table, von der Leyen said.

“The [anti-coercion] instrument is created for extraordinary situations, we are not there yet,” she said.

Among the possible retaliatory steps the EU could take are restricting its market access to goods and services and other economic measures that include export controls, financial markets, and foreign direct investment.

On July 13, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said the EU must take action against the United States if trade negotiations fail.

“If a fair negotiated solution does not succeed, then we must take decisive countermeasures to protect jobs and companies in Europe,” Klingbeil, who is also vice chancellor in his nation’s ruling coalition, told German media. “Our hand remains outstretched, but we will not go along with everything.”

Because the United States is its largest export market, Germany could face significant challenges from higher U.S. tariffs, particularly as it exports automobiles, automobile components, machinery, and pharmaceuticals into the United States.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/14/2025 - 03:30

These Are The World's Biggest Tourism Economies

Tourism is a major economic driver for many nations, powering jobs, infrastructure, and global connections.

This chart, via Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu, highlights the top 10 countries by the size of their tourism economies, encompassing everything from hotel stays and flights, to attractions and services.

Data & Discussion

The data for this visualization comes from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). It shows the total economic contribution of each country’s tourism sector in 2024, measured in U.S. dollars.

America Leads the Pack

The United States has retained its title as the world’s most dominant tourism economy, generating $2.36 trillion of economic contribution in 2024.

The U.S. benefits from strong domestic travel, mature infrastructure, and iconic global destinations such as New York (the eighth most-visited city in the world), Las Vegas, and its vast national parks.

China’s Rapid Climb

China’s tourism sector contributed $1.3 trillion, underscoring its role as a major hub for both international and domestic travel.

While currently second, the WTTC projects China will take the top spot within the next decade. Rising middle-class income and a focus on tourism development continue to propel its growth.

This includes several policies, including easing visa restrictions and introducing new tax-refund shopping policies.

Europe’s Tourism Staples

Europe remains a major player, with Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain all ranking in the top 10.

All of these countries benefit from rich cultural heritage, as well as strong rail and air links.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The Top Countries Sending Tourists to the U.S. on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/14/2025 - 02:45

These Are The World's Biggest Tourism Economies

Tourism is a major economic driver for many nations, powering jobs, infrastructure, and global connections.

This chart, via Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu, highlights the top 10 countries by the size of their tourism economies, encompassing everything from hotel stays and flights, to attractions and services.

Data & Discussion

The data for this visualization comes from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). It shows the total economic contribution of each country’s tourism sector in 2024, measured in U.S. dollars.

America Leads the Pack

The United States has retained its title as the world’s most dominant tourism economy, generating $2.36 trillion of economic contribution in 2024.

The U.S. benefits from strong domestic travel, mature infrastructure, and iconic global destinations such as New York (the eighth most-visited city in the world), Las Vegas, and its vast national parks.

China’s Rapid Climb

China’s tourism sector contributed $1.3 trillion, underscoring its role as a major hub for both international and domestic travel.

While currently second, the WTTC projects China will take the top spot within the next decade. Rising middle-class income and a focus on tourism development continue to propel its growth.

This includes several policies, including easing visa restrictions and introducing new tax-refund shopping policies.

Europe’s Tourism Staples

Europe remains a major player, with Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain all ranking in the top 10.

All of these countries benefit from rich cultural heritage, as well as strong rail and air links.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The Top Countries Sending Tourists to the U.S. on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/14/2025 - 02:45

Germany's $325 Billion Investment Blitz: Real Revival Or PR Smoke

Submitted By Thomas Kolbe

Germany’s Handelsblatt reports a major new investment initiative launched by top domestic corporations. Under the label Made for Germany, the campaign is being hailed as a fresh economic start. But is this the dawn of a real revival — or just another well-choreographed PR show?

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing a credibility crisis. His economic policies haven’t sparked much enthusiasm — quite the opposite. Broken campaign promises, such as walking back the planned electricity tax cut, dominate the headlines. What has materialized instead is a government plan to plunge Germany into hundreds of billions in new debt. So far, there’s little sign of sound economic policy or the long-promised “Aufbruch” — that much-needed new beginning.

A PR Lifeline for Merz?

Merz could use a favorable headline or two — and now it seems big business might hand him one. According to Handelsblatt, over 30 major German corporations are joining forces in a €300 billion investment campaign set to run through 2028. The project, dubbed Made for Germany, is reportedly led by giants like Siemens CEO Roland Busch, FGS Global CEO Alexander Geiser and Deutsche Bank head Christian Sewing.

Alexander Geiser, Christian Sewing and Roland Busch 

To kick off the initiative, Merz and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil are preparing an industry summit with the CEOs on July 21st in Berlin. Reuters reports that companies like RWE, Volkswagen, Rheinmetall, and SAP may also join the effort.

The announcement coincides with the government’s newly approved €46 billion corporate tax relief package, stretched over four years. While that’s barely a drop in the bucket, it serves as a symbolic gesture toward an overtaxed and overregulated business sector.

Germany’s Bleeding Edge

That Germany suffers from chronic underinvestment is beyond doubt. Since 2017, productivity has stagnated. This is especially troubling given that AI and robotics should be boosting output across the board. But instead of attracting capital, Germany is hemorrhaging it. More money is leaving than entering.

According to the Bundesbank, €60 billion in net direct investment flowed out of Germany in 2023 alone. And this isn’t speculative hedge fund capital — it’s real, long-term business investment, now being redirected to more promising locations.

In that context, it’s at least symbolically encouraging to see corporate flagships like Siemens or RWE reasserting commitment to their home market.

But Let’s Be Realistic

Still, not all is as it seems. As impressive as the headline figure may be, no one knows how much of that €300 billion was already planned before this rebranding exercise. Is this really a fresh initiative — or just a coordinated PR strategy between Germany’s boardrooms and the Merz administration?

Officials talk about “turning around the mood” in the country, as if all that’s needed is better storytelling. But the bad mood is real — and justified. Germany is now in its third year of recession. Hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs. Energy-intensive industries are being pushed out by radical climate policies under the Green Deal.

A genuine revival plan would address Germany’s actual pain points — starting with a climate policy that has spiraled out of control. Instead of driving a “green transformation,” it’s driving the country out of economic relevance.

No Free Lunch

The only way this corporate initiative would truly mark a turning point is if it involved new private capital — free of political conditions, subsidies, or backroom guarantees. But history tells another story. Germany’s green economy sector doesn’t function without massive state support. These projects don’t pay for themselves — the market simply doesn’t want what they’re selling.

The latest failure of “green steel” projects — such as the heavily subsidized initiative at ArcelorMittal — is just one example of how artificially engineered green industries crumble in real-world markets.

Until concrete investment details emerge, we have to treat Made for Germany as yet another PR game. This time, however, it’s corporate Germany that’s staging the show — possibly to boost its own sagging image abroad and to help Chancellor Merz avoid being labeled a “lame duck” just weeks into his term.

* * * 

About the author: Thomas Kolbe is a graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/14/2025 - 02:00

Germany's $325 Billion Investment Blitz: Real Revival Or PR Smoke

Submitted By Thomas Kolbe

Germany’s Handelsblatt reports a major new investment initiative launched by top domestic corporations. Under the label Made for Germany, the campaign is being hailed as a fresh economic start. But is this the dawn of a real revival — or just another well-choreographed PR show?

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing a credibility crisis. His economic policies haven’t sparked much enthusiasm — quite the opposite. Broken campaign promises, such as walking back the planned electricity tax cut, dominate the headlines. What has materialized instead is a government plan to plunge Germany into hundreds of billions in new debt. So far, there’s little sign of sound economic policy or the long-promised “Aufbruch” — that much-needed new beginning.

A PR Lifeline for Merz?

Merz could use a favorable headline or two — and now it seems big business might hand him one. According to Handelsblatt, over 30 major German corporations are joining forces in a €300 billion investment campaign set to run through 2028. The project, dubbed Made for Germany, is reportedly led by giants like Siemens CEO Roland Busch, FGS Global CEO Alexander Geiser and Deutsche Bank head Christian Sewing.

Alexander Geiser, Christian Sewing and Roland Busch 

To kick off the initiative, Merz and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil are preparing an industry summit with the CEOs on July 21st in Berlin. Reuters reports that companies like RWE, Volkswagen, Rheinmetall, and SAP may also join the effort.

The announcement coincides with the government’s newly approved €46 billion corporate tax relief package, stretched over four years. While that’s barely a drop in the bucket, it serves as a symbolic gesture toward an overtaxed and overregulated business sector.

Germany’s Bleeding Edge

That Germany suffers from chronic underinvestment is beyond doubt. Since 2017, productivity has stagnated. This is especially troubling given that AI and robotics should be boosting output across the board. But instead of attracting capital, Germany is hemorrhaging it. More money is leaving than entering.

According to the Bundesbank, €60 billion in net direct investment flowed out of Germany in 2023 alone. And this isn’t speculative hedge fund capital — it’s real, long-term business investment, now being redirected to more promising locations.

In that context, it’s at least symbolically encouraging to see corporate flagships like Siemens or RWE reasserting commitment to their home market.

But Let’s Be Realistic

Still, not all is as it seems. As impressive as the headline figure may be, no one knows how much of that €300 billion was already planned before this rebranding exercise. Is this really a fresh initiative — or just a coordinated PR strategy between Germany’s boardrooms and the Merz administration?

Officials talk about “turning around the mood” in the country, as if all that’s needed is better storytelling. But the bad mood is real — and justified. Germany is now in its third year of recession. Hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs. Energy-intensive industries are being pushed out by radical climate policies under the Green Deal.

A genuine revival plan would address Germany’s actual pain points — starting with a climate policy that has spiraled out of control. Instead of driving a “green transformation,” it’s driving the country out of economic relevance.

No Free Lunch

The only way this corporate initiative would truly mark a turning point is if it involved new private capital — free of political conditions, subsidies, or backroom guarantees. But history tells another story. Germany’s green economy sector doesn’t function without massive state support. These projects don’t pay for themselves — the market simply doesn’t want what they’re selling.

The latest failure of “green steel” projects — such as the heavily subsidized initiative at ArcelorMittal — is just one example of how artificially engineered green industries crumble in real-world markets.

Until concrete investment details emerge, we have to treat Made for Germany as yet another PR game. This time, however, it’s corporate Germany that’s staging the show — possibly to boost its own sagging image abroad and to help Chancellor Merz avoid being labeled a “lame duck” just weeks into his term.

* * * 

About the author: Thomas Kolbe is a graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.

Tyler Durden Mon, 07/14/2025 - 02:00

Neo-Terminator

Authored by Todd Hayen via Off-Guardoan.org,

John was a shrew. He knew that ten years ago, when the Covid insanity started and everyone wanted him to get jabbed. But he just felt odd about it. It just didn’t seem right. So, he didn’t do it, and wow, did he get hell for that.

Everyone treated him so cruelly that he just couldn’t figure it out. It was about at that time he started doing some serious research. What started out as only an uncomfortable feeling about everyone scrambling to get some strange flu shot, began to pan out as a serious situation. More serious than he could imagine.

But John didn’t like being a victim, so he rolled with it.

He learned to keep his mouth shut when around the people who treated him cruelly. At first, he tried to inform them about what he had learned, but that caused these people to explode. So forget that. He didn’t have to change the world. So he stopped trying. He did worry about the people he loved who were jabbed, but they didn’t want to listen to him, and what is done is done—no point in shutting the barn door once the horse got away.

The years went by and John went about living his life. But things out there got worse. It wasn’t just Covid and the vaccine that were brought about by some weird incompetence or hysteria, it was deeper than that. John began to realize the problem came from an intentional effort to control the masses.

Covid and the vaccine were linked to authority gone mad—censoring of speech, the degradation of science and medicine, forcing people to wear masks, refusing medical treatment to the unvaxxed, bringing out digital IDs, restricting travel, the introduction of CBDCs, the list was endless.

Then he started to hear about intentional genocide—that all of this was a conscious effort to reduce the world population.

John wasn’t sure what to do about any of this. He knew from past experience that running around like Chicken Little, screaming “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!” was not only hopeless but probably wouldn’t end well for him (it didn’t for Chicken Little). He eventually found refuge and a sense of purpose, joining groups of people who saw things the same way he saw them.

This was not only comforting for him, but it also gave him an outlet to speak out and express his thoughts and viewpoints.

John had never been one to feel a need to speak out. As mentioned earlier, he backed off right away when the vaccines came out, when no one would listen to him. But he felt that things were really getting out of hand now, and although he never thought that speaking out would fix anything, he did believe a person had to stand up for what they believed.

John became rather well-known as a rebel and freedom fighter in his newfound circles of community. Although he never felt “normal” like he used to feel when the world was not as crazy, he at least felt like he was doing what he was meant to do.

Then it started to happen.

At first, it was very subtle, and John didn’t associate it with any sort of conscious wrongdoing.

The first thing he noticed that he thought was rather odd was that his email stopped working like it used to. Emails he sent out didn’t make it to their destination, he would be told by friends that they sent him stuff he never got. Of course, at first, he just figured there was some technical glitch.

Then it became so common he got worried that the glitch had turned into a major electronic snafu. He created new email addresses through other third-party sources, and that worked for a while, but then the same thing started to happen with the new email accounts.

Then there were the phone calls, many times when he would place a service call to larger concerns—government, phone services, internet services—he would get the run around, which almost always ended in an abrupt hang-up. This happened so often he couldn’t make heads or tails of it. He started asking friends, “Does this happen to you, too?” Most said no, but a few said they were noticing the same sort of things.

He really got worried when his bank accounts started to get gummed up. One day $1,000 disappeared from his checking account. When he inquired about it at the bank, they told him he must have transferred the money somewhere without being aware of it. So he had to go through the frustration of being blamed for something he definitely did not do. Finally, they figured it out (or so it seemed) and said the money was fraudulently removed. Yet they never identified a specific person who committed the fraud. John also noticed strange credit card charges. Most of those he could take care of, but his efforts to deal with it started to drive him crazy. He felt he was becoming increasingly paranoid. Finally, he realized he was being targeted, or at least thought he was. But that made him feel even crazier.

This all went on for quite a while. Eventually about ten years had gone by since the first mention of Covid, which started it all. Most of the weird stuff he encountered was in the form of minor annoyances. But the fact these strange things were occurring with more frequency started to cause John to lose sleep. He felt like a man being continuously bitten by fleas, eventually the constant biting would cause him to jump off a bridge or something. Or maybe he would just get used to it, and slip into a dull form of living where nothing mattered to him anymore, bite after bite after bite.

One day, he started thinking about AI and robots.

He thought it was interesting that everyone in his circles were talking about the takeover of AI and the fear of Terminator-style robot machines taking over the world. He wondered if maybe all of that was a distraction. If the agenda was going to take over humanity with robots, why would it create them to look like humans—with a head, arms, and legs? Even AI art and AI writing were obvious. These were human endeavours that computers were “taking over.” It was very clear it was happening; the enemy, if one thought of it as such, was clear and obvious.

But what about the application of AI in places that were not so obvious?

Essentially, everything and anything could be “run” by AI systems programmed to do all this work in a very specific way. What about phone answering systems, what about banking, what about even doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies?

Speaking of pharmacies and hospitals, this story has a sad ending. John, unfortunately, did not fare too well. In fact, he died. He didn’t jump off a bridge because of excessive flea bites, driving him to suicide. He actually died rather mysteriously. After getting a routine prescription filled at his local pharmacy, he became very ill and was rushed to the hospital. Through routine examination, he was put on an IV and put into the intensive care unit. After a few days, he expired. “Death by unexplained circumstances,” read his death certificate, along with a plethora of medical jargon explaining what organs mysteriously failed and why he eventually succumbed.

Pharmaceutical dosing, manufacture, implementation to patients, as well as IV bags of saline (or whatever), drug administration in the hospital, life support, ventilators, etc., will eventually (if not already) be controlled by AI systems. As well as nearly everything else—banks, government access to social security, Medicare, car registration, gas stations (and of course electric cars), phones, ATMs, grocery store checkouts, digital ID stations, airports, etc. There will be nothing we can do that will not be monitored, and most importantly, controlled by AI systems. If you are a subversive (and the definition of that word will be all encompassing, and impossible to define), you will be at the mercy of your shackles and those people who put you in them.

Was John targeted by the agenda for elimination? If he was, the agenda did not send Arnold Schwarzenegger to take him out. They did it subtly at first, slowly driving him crazy with thousands of flea bites (possibly hoping he would sign up for some state assisted suicide). Then, when he was properly prepared, they took him out through the AI-controlled medical system. No human had to do a thing. No human even had to know what was happening, other than the puppet masters themselves, and we can’t even be sure they are human.

Is any of this true? No, not yet. Is it overly paranoid? Maybe.

John’s story takes place in the future, maybe the distant future. But those of us on the freedom-fighting front should never think it is possible to stay under the radar. We can get put on a list very easily. Maybe not a list for elimination, but possibly a list for annoyance.

Maybe I am being overly paranoid. With the advent of AI, I really don’t think we have to wait for humanoid robots ala Terminator to be developed and deployed, it will be a lot easier for them than that.

Todd’s new book The View of the Shrew is now available from Amazon and other online outlets.

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 23:20

Neo-Terminator

Authored by Todd Hayen via Off-Guardoan.org,

John was a shrew. He knew that ten years ago, when the Covid insanity started and everyone wanted him to get jabbed. But he just felt odd about it. It just didn’t seem right. So, he didn’t do it, and wow, did he get hell for that.

Everyone treated him so cruelly that he just couldn’t figure it out. It was about at that time he started doing some serious research. What started out as only an uncomfortable feeling about everyone scrambling to get some strange flu shot, began to pan out as a serious situation. More serious than he could imagine.

But John didn’t like being a victim, so he rolled with it.

He learned to keep his mouth shut when around the people who treated him cruelly. At first, he tried to inform them about what he had learned, but that caused these people to explode. So forget that. He didn’t have to change the world. So he stopped trying. He did worry about the people he loved who were jabbed, but they didn’t want to listen to him, and what is done is done—no point in shutting the barn door once the horse got away.

The years went by and John went about living his life. But things out there got worse. It wasn’t just Covid and the vaccine that were brought about by some weird incompetence or hysteria, it was deeper than that. John began to realize the problem came from an intentional effort to control the masses.

Covid and the vaccine were linked to authority gone mad—censoring of speech, the degradation of science and medicine, forcing people to wear masks, refusing medical treatment to the unvaxxed, bringing out digital IDs, restricting travel, the introduction of CBDCs, the list was endless.

Then he started to hear about intentional genocide—that all of this was a conscious effort to reduce the world population.

John wasn’t sure what to do about any of this. He knew from past experience that running around like Chicken Little, screaming “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!” was not only hopeless but probably wouldn’t end well for him (it didn’t for Chicken Little). He eventually found refuge and a sense of purpose, joining groups of people who saw things the same way he saw them.

This was not only comforting for him, but it also gave him an outlet to speak out and express his thoughts and viewpoints.

John had never been one to feel a need to speak out. As mentioned earlier, he backed off right away when the vaccines came out, when no one would listen to him. But he felt that things were really getting out of hand now, and although he never thought that speaking out would fix anything, he did believe a person had to stand up for what they believed.

John became rather well-known as a rebel and freedom fighter in his newfound circles of community. Although he never felt “normal” like he used to feel when the world was not as crazy, he at least felt like he was doing what he was meant to do.

Then it started to happen.

At first, it was very subtle, and John didn’t associate it with any sort of conscious wrongdoing.

The first thing he noticed that he thought was rather odd was that his email stopped working like it used to. Emails he sent out didn’t make it to their destination, he would be told by friends that they sent him stuff he never got. Of course, at first, he just figured there was some technical glitch.

Then it became so common he got worried that the glitch had turned into a major electronic snafu. He created new email addresses through other third-party sources, and that worked for a while, but then the same thing started to happen with the new email accounts.

Then there were the phone calls, many times when he would place a service call to larger concerns—government, phone services, internet services—he would get the run around, which almost always ended in an abrupt hang-up. This happened so often he couldn’t make heads or tails of it. He started asking friends, “Does this happen to you, too?” Most said no, but a few said they were noticing the same sort of things.

He really got worried when his bank accounts started to get gummed up. One day $1,000 disappeared from his checking account. When he inquired about it at the bank, they told him he must have transferred the money somewhere without being aware of it. So he had to go through the frustration of being blamed for something he definitely did not do. Finally, they figured it out (or so it seemed) and said the money was fraudulently removed. Yet they never identified a specific person who committed the fraud. John also noticed strange credit card charges. Most of those he could take care of, but his efforts to deal with it started to drive him crazy. He felt he was becoming increasingly paranoid. Finally, he realized he was being targeted, or at least thought he was. But that made him feel even crazier.

This all went on for quite a while. Eventually about ten years had gone by since the first mention of Covid, which started it all. Most of the weird stuff he encountered was in the form of minor annoyances. But the fact these strange things were occurring with more frequency started to cause John to lose sleep. He felt like a man being continuously bitten by fleas, eventually the constant biting would cause him to jump off a bridge or something. Or maybe he would just get used to it, and slip into a dull form of living where nothing mattered to him anymore, bite after bite after bite.

One day, he started thinking about AI and robots.

He thought it was interesting that everyone in his circles were talking about the takeover of AI and the fear of Terminator-style robot machines taking over the world. He wondered if maybe all of that was a distraction. If the agenda was going to take over humanity with robots, why would it create them to look like humans—with a head, arms, and legs? Even AI art and AI writing were obvious. These were human endeavours that computers were “taking over.” It was very clear it was happening; the enemy, if one thought of it as such, was clear and obvious.

But what about the application of AI in places that were not so obvious?

Essentially, everything and anything could be “run” by AI systems programmed to do all this work in a very specific way. What about phone answering systems, what about banking, what about even doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies?

Speaking of pharmacies and hospitals, this story has a sad ending. John, unfortunately, did not fare too well. In fact, he died. He didn’t jump off a bridge because of excessive flea bites, driving him to suicide. He actually died rather mysteriously. After getting a routine prescription filled at his local pharmacy, he became very ill and was rushed to the hospital. Through routine examination, he was put on an IV and put into the intensive care unit. After a few days, he expired. “Death by unexplained circumstances,” read his death certificate, along with a plethora of medical jargon explaining what organs mysteriously failed and why he eventually succumbed.

Pharmaceutical dosing, manufacture, implementation to patients, as well as IV bags of saline (or whatever), drug administration in the hospital, life support, ventilators, etc., will eventually (if not already) be controlled by AI systems. As well as nearly everything else—banks, government access to social security, Medicare, car registration, gas stations (and of course electric cars), phones, ATMs, grocery store checkouts, digital ID stations, airports, etc. There will be nothing we can do that will not be monitored, and most importantly, controlled by AI systems. If you are a subversive (and the definition of that word will be all encompassing, and impossible to define), you will be at the mercy of your shackles and those people who put you in them.

Was John targeted by the agenda for elimination? If he was, the agenda did not send Arnold Schwarzenegger to take him out. They did it subtly at first, slowly driving him crazy with thousands of flea bites (possibly hoping he would sign up for some state assisted suicide). Then, when he was properly prepared, they took him out through the AI-controlled medical system. No human had to do a thing. No human even had to know what was happening, other than the puppet masters themselves, and we can’t even be sure they are human.

Is any of this true? No, not yet. Is it overly paranoid? Maybe.

John’s story takes place in the future, maybe the distant future. But those of us on the freedom-fighting front should never think it is possible to stay under the radar. We can get put on a list very easily. Maybe not a list for elimination, but possibly a list for annoyance.

Maybe I am being overly paranoid. With the advent of AI, I really don’t think we have to wait for humanoid robots ala Terminator to be developed and deployed, it will be a lot easier for them than that.

Todd’s new book The View of the Shrew is now available from Amazon and other online outlets.

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 23:20

China And India Drive Global Demand For Air Conditioning

Driven by population growth (and climate change apparently), global demand for air conditioning is set to explode in the coming decades. 

Statista's Katharina Buchholz reports that, according to the latest available estimates from the International Energy Agency, more than 2.4 billion air conditioners are in use worldwide this year.

This number is expected to increase to 5.6 billion by 2050, with two markets driving the majority of the world's demand: China and India.

You will find more infographics at Statista

The number of air conditioners in service is also expected to increase eleven-fold in Indonesia and six-fold in Mexico between 2020 and 2050.

Yet, the number of units remains relatively small in those countries compared to those expected to be added in the two major Asian growth markets.

It is estimated that the world's air conditioners and fans together account for about 10 percent of global electricity consumption.

By contrast, electric vehicles will account for 13 percent of global growing electricity needs, while heating will account for seven percent.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Unless air conditioning technology becomes significantly more efficient, the rising energy demand associated with cooling poses a huge environmental challenge before the middle of the century.

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 22:45

China And India Drive Global Demand For Air Conditioning

Driven by population growth (and climate change apparently), global demand for air conditioning is set to explode in the coming decades. 

Statista's Katharina Buchholz reports that, according to the latest available estimates from the International Energy Agency, more than 2.4 billion air conditioners are in use worldwide this year.

This number is expected to increase to 5.6 billion by 2050, with two markets driving the majority of the world's demand: China and India.

You will find more infographics at Statista

The number of air conditioners in service is also expected to increase eleven-fold in Indonesia and six-fold in Mexico between 2020 and 2050.

Yet, the number of units remains relatively small in those countries compared to those expected to be added in the two major Asian growth markets.

It is estimated that the world's air conditioners and fans together account for about 10 percent of global electricity consumption.

By contrast, electric vehicles will account for 13 percent of global growing electricity needs, while heating will account for seven percent.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Unless air conditioning technology becomes significantly more efficient, the rising energy demand associated with cooling poses a huge environmental challenge before the middle of the century.

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 22:45

Peter Jackson Invests In Genetic Project To Bring Giant Bird Back From Extinction

The announcement in April that genetic company Colossal Biosciences has successfully created a litter of previously extinct "Dire Wolf" puppies using revolutionary genetic editing technology sent shockwaves through the media. 

Now the company is back in the spotlight with film director and investor Peter Jackson (Lord Of The Rings); this time promoting a new effort to bring back the Moa Bird, a truly giant 12 foot flightless bird that roamed the island of New Zealand until it was hunted to extinction by Maori settlers 600 years ago. 

Jackson says the project to de-extinct the moa is a dream more important than any work he has done in movies.  He has joined a number of international investors and celebrity investors including George R.R. Martin, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, and Paris Hilton to make the next Colossal experiment possible.

The reintroduction of the moa would be a step above the return of the dire wolves - DNA testing shows that the much smaller South American tinamou bird is the moa's closest living relative, not a more obvious species like the kiwi or emu.  To go from a 17 inch tall tinamou to a 12 foot behemoth like the moa would be an impressive success.  

Geneticists are still quibbling to this day over the dire wolf project and whether or not the wolves represent true dire wolves or mere facsimiles.  Colossal is the first organization to use new CRISPR tech (short for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats”) to edit DNA with precision and create a new animal from an existing genetic cousin (the grey wolf).  The method circumvents traditional cloning and it leaves scientists questioning how to categorize animals born through the process.  

Some critics question the ethics of reintroducing lost species.  However, there is also a large contingent of scientists and journalists within elitist circles that are clearly indignant over Colossal's "tech bro" background.  In other words, they doth protest too much and it may be because they don't think people outside of their academic clubs should be allowed to break new scientific ground. 

The animosity is similar to that shown by critics of Elon Musk's Space X (like leftist astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson).  Regardless of how one feels about Musk politically, it is a fact that he has advanced rocket technology far beyond anything NASA has done in decades and for less money.  Yet, traditional government funded scientific groups dismiss Space X's work as "negligible", revealing their ego and deep bias.

Is genetic editing a false form of de-extinction when compared to cloning?  Could cloning ever actually be used to successfully bring back extinct animals like the moa?  Only time will tell.  Professional egos need to removed from the room before any objective discussion on the issue can be had.

The fact of the matter is, genetic editing has captured the public imagination and it's at the forefront of bio-tech.  It's going to become a mainstay for generations to come.  Reintroducing recently extinct species is a less concerning matter compared to what the method could ultimately be used for.  Careful consideration is needed and ethical limitations required.  Completely new chimeras should be avoided and, of course, modifications to humans should remain prohibited.  

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 21:35

Peter Jackson Invests In Genetic Project To Bring Giant Bird Back From Extinction

The announcement in April that genetic company Colossal Biosciences has successfully created a litter of previously extinct "Dire Wolf" puppies using revolutionary genetic editing technology sent shockwaves through the media. 

Now the company is back in the spotlight with film director and investor Peter Jackson (Lord Of The Rings); this time promoting a new effort to bring back the Moa Bird, a truly giant 12 foot flightless bird that roamed the island of New Zealand until it was hunted to extinction by Maori settlers 600 years ago. 

Jackson says the project to de-extinct the moa is a dream more important than any work he has done in movies.  He has joined a number of international investors and celebrity investors including George R.R. Martin, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, and Paris Hilton to make the next Colossal experiment possible.

The reintroduction of the moa would be a step above the return of the dire wolves - DNA testing shows that the much smaller South American tinamou bird is the moa's closest living relative, not a more obvious species like the kiwi or emu.  To go from a 17 inch tall tinamou to a 12 foot behemoth like the moa would be an impressive success.  

Geneticists are still quibbling to this day over the dire wolf project and whether or not the wolves represent true dire wolves or mere facsimiles.  Colossal is the first organization to use new CRISPR tech (short for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats”) to edit DNA with precision and create a new animal from an existing genetic cousin (the grey wolf).  The method circumvents traditional cloning and it leaves scientists questioning how to categorize animals born through the process.  

Some critics question the ethics of reintroducing lost species.  However, there is also a large contingent of scientists and journalists within elitist circles that are clearly indignant over Colossal's "tech bro" background.  In other words, they doth protest too much and it may be because they don't think people outside of their academic clubs should be allowed to break new scientific ground. 

The animosity is similar to that shown by critics of Elon Musk's Space X (like leftist astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson).  Regardless of how one feels about Musk politically, it is a fact that he has advanced rocket technology far beyond anything NASA has done in decades and for less money.  Yet, traditional government funded scientific groups dismiss Space X's work as "negligible", revealing their ego and deep bias.

Is genetic editing a false form of de-extinction when compared to cloning?  Could cloning ever actually be used to successfully bring back extinct animals like the moa?  Only time will tell.  Professional egos need to removed from the room before any objective discussion on the issue can be had.

The fact of the matter is, genetic editing has captured the public imagination and it's at the forefront of bio-tech.  It's going to become a mainstay for generations to come.  Reintroducing recently extinct species is a less concerning matter compared to what the method could ultimately be used for.  Careful consideration is needed and ethical limitations required.  Completely new chimeras should be avoided and, of course, modifications to humans should remain prohibited.  

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 21:35

5 GOP-Led States Discussing Plans To Build Prisons Like 'Alligator Alcatraz': Noem

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times,

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on July 12 that five Republican-led states were discussing plans to build detention sites within their borders similar to Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Noem hosted a press conference in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday to discuss some of the illegal immigrants the Department of Homeland Security had recently arrested and deported via the Sunshine State. She took several questions on Florida’s new Alligator Alcatraz and praised the temporary detention facility.

“We’ve had several other states that are actually using Alligator Alcatraz as a model for how they can partner with us as well,” Noem said. “I’m having ongoing conversations with five other governors about facilities that they may have.”

Noem said she had not asked the governors if she could share their names publicly. She said the plans to build similar facilities in other states were spurred by capacity limitations.

“We need to double our capacity in detention beds because we need to facilitate getting people out of this country as fast as possible and to sustain our operations,” Noem said.

Florida opened Alligator Alcatraz earlier this month in Ochopee, which is situated within the Everglades more than 50 miles west of downtown Miami. The facility, intended to be temporary, was constructed primarily with tents and metal fencing and can accommodate up to 3,000 prisoners.

Kevin Guthrie, the head of Florida’s emergency management, said the facility can withstand high-end Category 2 hurricane winds. Critics have raised concerns about the impacts the facility and its prisoners could face if a major hurricane hit the site, particularly after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an “above normal” hurricane season this year, with at least three to five Category 3 or higher storms.

Noem said at Saturday’s press conference, and that there are protocols in place to “sustain any hurricane,” but did not mention if prisoners would need to be evacuated if a Category 3 or higher storm hit the area.

The homeland security secretary took several questions about Alligator Alcatraz and disputed some media reports that claim conditions at the detention facility have “deteriorated.”

“Alligator Alcatraz is held to the same standards that all federal facilities are. And in most states and in other jurisdictions, federal facilities are upheld to higher quality of standards than what some state and local jurisdictions have,” Noem said. “So any issues that were there have been addressed.”

Several Democratic lawmakers visited the site on Saturday after being previously blocked from arranging a tour, and alleged it is filled with bugs and has crowded and unsanitary conditions.

“There are really disturbing, vile conditions, and this place needs to be shut the [expletive] down,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) told reporters after visiting Alligator Alcatraz. “This place is a stunt, and they’re abusing human beings here.”

She claimed the facility featured cage-style cells with 32 men sharing three combination toilet-sink units, and that she measured 83-degree temperatures in an entranceway to the housing area and 85 degrees in a medical intake area.

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said one detainee yelled out that he was an American citizen.

Florida state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican, however, said he found the facility to be clean and suggested the air conditioning was working well.

“The rhetoric coming out of the Democrats does not match the reality,” he said, after touring in the same group as Wasserman-Schultz.

Florida state Sen. Jay Collins, a Republican, also said there was “no squalor” at the facility, although he said the sanitation devices were basic.

“Would I want that toilet-and-sink combination at my bathroom at the house? Probably not, but this is a transitional holding facility,” Collins said.

Lawmakers were told not to bring any phones or cameras into the facility during the tour, and no journalists were allowed to join them.

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 21:00

5 GOP-Led States Discussing Plans To Build Prisons Like 'Alligator Alcatraz': Noem

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times,

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on July 12 that five Republican-led states were discussing plans to build detention sites within their borders similar to Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Noem hosted a press conference in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday to discuss some of the illegal immigrants the Department of Homeland Security had recently arrested and deported via the Sunshine State. She took several questions on Florida’s new Alligator Alcatraz and praised the temporary detention facility.

“We’ve had several other states that are actually using Alligator Alcatraz as a model for how they can partner with us as well,” Noem said. “I’m having ongoing conversations with five other governors about facilities that they may have.”

Noem said she had not asked the governors if she could share their names publicly. She said the plans to build similar facilities in other states were spurred by capacity limitations.

“We need to double our capacity in detention beds because we need to facilitate getting people out of this country as fast as possible and to sustain our operations,” Noem said.

Florida opened Alligator Alcatraz earlier this month in Ochopee, which is situated within the Everglades more than 50 miles west of downtown Miami. The facility, intended to be temporary, was constructed primarily with tents and metal fencing and can accommodate up to 3,000 prisoners.

Kevin Guthrie, the head of Florida’s emergency management, said the facility can withstand high-end Category 2 hurricane winds. Critics have raised concerns about the impacts the facility and its prisoners could face if a major hurricane hit the site, particularly after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an “above normal” hurricane season this year, with at least three to five Category 3 or higher storms.

Noem said at Saturday’s press conference, and that there are protocols in place to “sustain any hurricane,” but did not mention if prisoners would need to be evacuated if a Category 3 or higher storm hit the area.

The homeland security secretary took several questions about Alligator Alcatraz and disputed some media reports that claim conditions at the detention facility have “deteriorated.”

“Alligator Alcatraz is held to the same standards that all federal facilities are. And in most states and in other jurisdictions, federal facilities are upheld to higher quality of standards than what some state and local jurisdictions have,” Noem said. “So any issues that were there have been addressed.”

Several Democratic lawmakers visited the site on Saturday after being previously blocked from arranging a tour, and alleged it is filled with bugs and has crowded and unsanitary conditions.

“There are really disturbing, vile conditions, and this place needs to be shut the [expletive] down,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) told reporters after visiting Alligator Alcatraz. “This place is a stunt, and they’re abusing human beings here.”

She claimed the facility featured cage-style cells with 32 men sharing three combination toilet-sink units, and that she measured 83-degree temperatures in an entranceway to the housing area and 85 degrees in a medical intake area.

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said one detainee yelled out that he was an American citizen.

Florida state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican, however, said he found the facility to be clean and suggested the air conditioning was working well.

“The rhetoric coming out of the Democrats does not match the reality,” he said, after touring in the same group as Wasserman-Schultz.

Florida state Sen. Jay Collins, a Republican, also said there was “no squalor” at the facility, although he said the sanitation devices were basic.

“Would I want that toilet-and-sink combination at my bathroom at the house? Probably not, but this is a transitional holding facility,” Collins said.

Lawmakers were told not to bring any phones or cameras into the facility during the tour, and no journalists were allowed to join them.

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 21:00

Military Aircraft's Mysterious Crash Sparks UFO Speculation In U.S. Airspace

An unexplained collision between a U.S. military aircraft and an unidentified flying object, detailed in declassified documents, has sparked renewed questions about whether aliens have entered American airspace.

The incident occurred in January 2023, when an unidentified object struck the left side of an F-16 Viper fighter jet during a training exercise near Gila Bend, Arizona.

Fox News reports:

The flying object impacted the clear "canopy" at the top of the aircraft and was first seen by an instructor pilot seated in the rear of the plane, officials said. An initial investigation found no damage to the nearly $70 million jet, and officials ruled out a possible bird strike. Authorities ultimately concluded that the aircraft had been hit by a drone. However, the drone’s origin and operator remain unknown, a spokesperson said.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) documents obtained by The War Zone, the crash marked the first of four encounters with unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) reported the following day.

The unusual incident was confirmed to Fox News by an Air Force spokesperson.

"According to military personnel I’ve personally met with, there were objects 200 miles off the East Coast that were extensively loitering and had no visible means of propulsion,” UFO expert James Fox said in an interview with Fox News. “So a report from 2023 about an actual impact with a UAP doesn’t really surprise me.”

Previously declassified documents from the Department of Defense reveal that between May 1, 2023, and June 1, 2024, there were 757 reported incidents involving unidentified flying objects. Of those, only 49 have been deemed “case closed” by the Pentagon.

While the presence of unidentified flying objects may raise alarms, James Fox says the phenomenon is far from new.

"There are reports dating back to the 1930s and 1940s,” the UFO researcher said. “Where you had mysterious, glowing, and orb-like objects that emitted very bright light that could just fly rings around the military planes from World War II."

"This has been well-documented for decades,” he added. “So either we’ve managed to track the same thing it’s been, [possibly] non-human intelligence, since the 1940s. Or someone has managed to replicate the technology, reverse engineer it and they’re flying it around.”

In 2020, President Donald Trump hinted at intriguing knowledge about the infamous Roswell incident during an interview with his son, Donald Trump Jr.

“I won’t talk to you about what I know about it, but it’s very interesting,” Trump said.

Not everyone is convinced. Elon Musk remains skeptical that aliens have ever visited Earth.

"I've not seen any evidence of aliens," Musk told the Milken Institute Global Conference last year. "And SpaceX, with the Starlink constellation, has roughly 6,000 satellites, and not once have we had to maneuver around a UFO. [...] Never. So I'm like, okay, I don't see any evidence of aliens."

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 20:25

Military Aircraft's Mysterious Crash Sparks UFO Speculation In U.S. Airspace

An unexplained collision between a U.S. military aircraft and an unidentified flying object, detailed in declassified documents, has sparked renewed questions about whether aliens have entered American airspace.

The incident occurred in January 2023, when an unidentified object struck the left side of an F-16 Viper fighter jet during a training exercise near Gila Bend, Arizona.

Fox News reports:

The flying object impacted the clear "canopy" at the top of the aircraft and was first seen by an instructor pilot seated in the rear of the plane, officials said. An initial investigation found no damage to the nearly $70 million jet, and officials ruled out a possible bird strike. Authorities ultimately concluded that the aircraft had been hit by a drone. However, the drone’s origin and operator remain unknown, a spokesperson said.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) documents obtained by The War Zone, the crash marked the first of four encounters with unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) reported the following day.

The unusual incident was confirmed to Fox News by an Air Force spokesperson.

"According to military personnel I’ve personally met with, there were objects 200 miles off the East Coast that were extensively loitering and had no visible means of propulsion,” UFO expert James Fox said in an interview with Fox News. “So a report from 2023 about an actual impact with a UAP doesn’t really surprise me.”

Previously declassified documents from the Department of Defense reveal that between May 1, 2023, and June 1, 2024, there were 757 reported incidents involving unidentified flying objects. Of those, only 49 have been deemed “case closed” by the Pentagon.

While the presence of unidentified flying objects may raise alarms, James Fox says the phenomenon is far from new.

"There are reports dating back to the 1930s and 1940s,” the UFO researcher said. “Where you had mysterious, glowing, and orb-like objects that emitted very bright light that could just fly rings around the military planes from World War II."

"This has been well-documented for decades,” he added. “So either we’ve managed to track the same thing it’s been, [possibly] non-human intelligence, since the 1940s. Or someone has managed to replicate the technology, reverse engineer it and they’re flying it around.”

In 2020, President Donald Trump hinted at intriguing knowledge about the infamous Roswell incident during an interview with his son, Donald Trump Jr.

“I won’t talk to you about what I know about it, but it’s very interesting,” Trump said.

Not everyone is convinced. Elon Musk remains skeptical that aliens have ever visited Earth.

"I've not seen any evidence of aliens," Musk told the Milken Institute Global Conference last year. "And SpaceX, with the Starlink constellation, has roughly 6,000 satellites, and not once have we had to maneuver around a UFO. [...] Never. So I'm like, okay, I don't see any evidence of aliens."

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 20:25

Federal Judge Reverses Biden-Era Rule That Barred Medical Debt From Credit Reports

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

A federal judge in Texas has struck down a Biden-era rule that would have barred medical debt from appearing on credit reports.

In a July 11 order, U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) overstepped its authority when in finalized the rule in January, two weeks before President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit reporting agencies are allowed to include medical debt information in credit reports, provided the data is coded to conceal details such as the medical provider’s identity or the nature of the treatment. Creditors are permitted to consider this coded medical debt information when making lending decisions.

However, during the Biden administration, the CFPB issued a rule banning credit reporting agencies from reporting any medical debt information to creditors for credit determinations. The agency argued that medical debt is a poor indicator of a borrower’s creditworthiness and should not influence lending decisions.

Two trade associations—the Cornerstone Credit Union League and the Consumer Data Industry Association—sued the CFPB, contending that the medical debt rule exceeded the agency’s statutory authority and conflicted with the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s explicit allowance for the use of coded medical debt data.

After Trump took office, the CFPB under new leadership agreed with the plaintiffs that the medical debt rule was unlawful. Both sides proposed a consent judgment to vacate the rule entirely and send the matter back to the CFPB for further review.

Yet the proposed agreement faced opposition from several intervenors, including two individuals carrying medical debt and two advocacy groups. The individuals—a Texas truck driver with medical debt stemming from cancer treatment and a Washington, D.C., resident with debt incurred from his child’s medical care—argued that eliminating the rule would strip them of important protections. The advocacy organizations—the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and Tzedek DC—said repealing the rule would force them to divert scarce resources toward assisting clients with medical debt issues instead of other legal matters.

The judge, however, concluded that the proposed consent decree imposed no legal obligations on the intervenors and that they held no enforceable legal right to the rule itself. He ruled that the Fair Credit Reporting Act expressly allows credit reporting agencies to report coded medical debt information and that the CFBP’s rule had effectively rewritten federal law, exceeding the agency’s statutory authority.

“After full consideration of the parties’ arguments, Defendant-Intervenors’ objections, and the relevant law, the Court finds that the proposed consent judgment is fair, adequate, and reasonable,” the judge wrote in his opinion.

The Epoch Times has reached out to counsel for the intervenors for comment.

Under the Biden administration, the CFBP maintained that medical debt carries little predictive value regarding a borrower’s ability to repay other debts. The agency also cited concerns that medical debt listed on credit reports contributed to thousands of denied mortgage applications, even for borrowers otherwise capable of repayment.

“People who get sick shouldn’t have their financial future upended,” then-CFPB director Rohit Chopra said in a Jan. 7 statement. “The CFPB’s final rule will close a special carveout that has allowed debt collectors to abuse the credit reporting system to coerce people into paying medical bills they may not even owe.”

In a 2022 report, the CFPB highlighted what it described as the “complicated and burdensome nature” of the U.S. medical billing system. The agency found that medical bills frequently stem from emergencies or unexpected events, are subject to opaque pricing, and involve complex insurance rules. Patients often do not learn the full costs until after receiving treatment and, particularly those with chronic illnesses or urgent health issues, may feel compelled to accept any charges to secure necessary care.

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 19:50

Federal Judge Reverses Biden-Era Rule That Barred Medical Debt From Credit Reports

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

A federal judge in Texas has struck down a Biden-era rule that would have barred medical debt from appearing on credit reports.

In a July 11 order, U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) overstepped its authority when in finalized the rule in January, two weeks before President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit reporting agencies are allowed to include medical debt information in credit reports, provided the data is coded to conceal details such as the medical provider’s identity or the nature of the treatment. Creditors are permitted to consider this coded medical debt information when making lending decisions.

However, during the Biden administration, the CFPB issued a rule banning credit reporting agencies from reporting any medical debt information to creditors for credit determinations. The agency argued that medical debt is a poor indicator of a borrower’s creditworthiness and should not influence lending decisions.

Two trade associations—the Cornerstone Credit Union League and the Consumer Data Industry Association—sued the CFPB, contending that the medical debt rule exceeded the agency’s statutory authority and conflicted with the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s explicit allowance for the use of coded medical debt data.

After Trump took office, the CFPB under new leadership agreed with the plaintiffs that the medical debt rule was unlawful. Both sides proposed a consent judgment to vacate the rule entirely and send the matter back to the CFPB for further review.

Yet the proposed agreement faced opposition from several intervenors, including two individuals carrying medical debt and two advocacy groups. The individuals—a Texas truck driver with medical debt stemming from cancer treatment and a Washington, D.C., resident with debt incurred from his child’s medical care—argued that eliminating the rule would strip them of important protections. The advocacy organizations—the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and Tzedek DC—said repealing the rule would force them to divert scarce resources toward assisting clients with medical debt issues instead of other legal matters.

The judge, however, concluded that the proposed consent decree imposed no legal obligations on the intervenors and that they held no enforceable legal right to the rule itself. He ruled that the Fair Credit Reporting Act expressly allows credit reporting agencies to report coded medical debt information and that the CFBP’s rule had effectively rewritten federal law, exceeding the agency’s statutory authority.

“After full consideration of the parties’ arguments, Defendant-Intervenors’ objections, and the relevant law, the Court finds that the proposed consent judgment is fair, adequate, and reasonable,” the judge wrote in his opinion.

The Epoch Times has reached out to counsel for the intervenors for comment.

Under the Biden administration, the CFBP maintained that medical debt carries little predictive value regarding a borrower’s ability to repay other debts. The agency also cited concerns that medical debt listed on credit reports contributed to thousands of denied mortgage applications, even for borrowers otherwise capable of repayment.

“People who get sick shouldn’t have their financial future upended,” then-CFPB director Rohit Chopra said in a Jan. 7 statement. “The CFPB’s final rule will close a special carveout that has allowed debt collectors to abuse the credit reporting system to coerce people into paying medical bills they may not even owe.”

In a 2022 report, the CFPB highlighted what it described as the “complicated and burdensome nature” of the U.S. medical billing system. The agency found that medical bills frequently stem from emergencies or unexpected events, are subject to opaque pricing, and involve complex insurance rules. Patients often do not learn the full costs until after receiving treatment and, particularly those with chronic illnesses or urgent health issues, may feel compelled to accept any charges to secure necessary care.

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 19:50

China Warns of Rogue Robot Troops Unleashing Terminator-Style "Indiscriminate Killings"

Concerns are mounting in China as the Communist superpower advances humanoid robot development to replace human soldiers on the battlefield, prompting calls for “ethical and legal research” into this Terminator-like technology to “avoid moral pitfalls.”

An op-ed published by Yuan Yi, Ma Ye and Yue Shiguang in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily warned that faulty robots could lead to "indiscriminate killings and accidental death,” which would "inevitably result in legal charges and moral condemnation."

The South China Morning Post reports:

The authors cited American science fiction writer Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, a set of principles that have influenced discussions about the ethics of real-world applications in the field.

The authors said that militarised humanoid robots “clearly violate” the first of Asimov’s laws, which states that a robot “may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm”. They added that Asimov’s laws needed to be overhauled in the light of these developments.

They also highlighted legal implications, saying that humanoid robots in military scenarios should comply with the main principles of the laws of war by “obeying humans”, “respecting humans” and “protecting humans”.

The authors emphasized that robots must be designed with constraints to “suspend and limit excessive use of force in a timely manner and not indiscriminately kill people.” Additionally, the trio cautioned against hastily replacing humans with robots, noting that robots still lack essential capabilities such as speed, dexterity, and the ability to navigate complex terrains.

“Even if humanoid robots become mature and widely used in the future, they will not completely replace other unmanned systems,” the article said.

Concurrently, the U.S. Army is intensifying efforts to integrate robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems, aiming to enhance human-machine collaboration between soldiers and advanced robots on the battlefield, according to Interesting Engineering.

Scientists at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL) are pioneering advancements in ground and aerial autonomous systems, as well as energy solutions, to bolster the mobility and maneuverability of these technologies, the technology website reports.

“We are bridging the gap between humans and robots, making them more intuitive, responsive, and, ultimately, more useful for the Soldier,” said a lead researcher for the Artificial Intelligence for Maneuver and Mobility program. “ARL researchers have demonstrated an interactive bi-directional communication system that enables real-time exchanges between humans and robots.”

And of course (CGI): 

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 19:15

China Warns of Rogue Robot Troops Unleashing Terminator-Style "Indiscriminate Killings"

Concerns are mounting in China as the Communist superpower advances humanoid robot development to replace human soldiers on the battlefield, prompting calls for “ethical and legal research” into this Terminator-like technology to “avoid moral pitfalls.”

An op-ed published by Yuan Yi, Ma Ye and Yue Shiguang in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily warned that faulty robots could lead to "indiscriminate killings and accidental death,” which would "inevitably result in legal charges and moral condemnation."

The South China Morning Post reports:

The authors cited American science fiction writer Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, a set of principles that have influenced discussions about the ethics of real-world applications in the field.

The authors said that militarised humanoid robots “clearly violate” the first of Asimov’s laws, which states that a robot “may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm”. They added that Asimov’s laws needed to be overhauled in the light of these developments.

They also highlighted legal implications, saying that humanoid robots in military scenarios should comply with the main principles of the laws of war by “obeying humans”, “respecting humans” and “protecting humans”.

The authors emphasized that robots must be designed with constraints to “suspend and limit excessive use of force in a timely manner and not indiscriminately kill people.” Additionally, the trio cautioned against hastily replacing humans with robots, noting that robots still lack essential capabilities such as speed, dexterity, and the ability to navigate complex terrains.

“Even if humanoid robots become mature and widely used in the future, they will not completely replace other unmanned systems,” the article said.

Concurrently, the U.S. Army is intensifying efforts to integrate robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems, aiming to enhance human-machine collaboration between soldiers and advanced robots on the battlefield, according to Interesting Engineering.

Scientists at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL) are pioneering advancements in ground and aerial autonomous systems, as well as energy solutions, to bolster the mobility and maneuverability of these technologies, the technology website reports.

“We are bridging the gap between humans and robots, making them more intuitive, responsive, and, ultimately, more useful for the Soldier,” said a lead researcher for the Artificial Intelligence for Maneuver and Mobility program. “ARL researchers have demonstrated an interactive bi-directional communication system that enables real-time exchanges between humans and robots.”

And of course (CGI): 

Tyler Durden Sun, 07/13/2025 - 19:15