Via National Interest, This article by Dilip Hiro originally appeared at War is Boring in 2016. Undoubtedly, for nearly two decades the most dangerous place on Earth has been the Indian-Pakistani border in Kashmir. It’s possible that a small spark from artillery and rocket exchanges across that border might  –  given the known military doctrines of the […]

The Economic Innovation Group’s (EIG) Distressed Communities Index (DCI) shows a significant economic transformation (from two distinct periods: 2007-2011 and 2012-2016) that occurred since the financial crisis. The shift of human capital, job creation, and business formation to metropolitan areas reveals that rural America is teetering on the edge of collapse. Since the crisis, the […]

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com, The question of whether or not “democracy” works is always being studied, by proponents of freedom as well as by proponents of authoritarianism. The founding fathers of the sovereign American experiment were far more intelligent than some critics today give them credit for – they knew full well that […]

Reality may not be The Onion (yet), but it’s encroaching dangerously close on Curb your Enthusiasm. An increasing number of drivers are illegally using HOV carpool lanes by stuffing mannequins, skeletons, even blowup sex dolls and various other items into their cars to try and fool police into thinking that they have a passenger when they don’t. […]

Authored by Matthew Ehret via The Strategic Culture Foundation, For the first time in over half a century, an American President has actually come out attacking the Military Industrial Complex. Of course, everyone knows of President Dwight D. Eisenhauer’s famous outgoing 1961 speech warning the world (and the incoming President Kennedy) what sort of monster had arisen at […]

CNN has published a shocking image of crowds of climbers stuck in a queue leading up to the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, after it was reported that an American climber died this week. At least eight have died during the spring climbing season thus far amid reports that hundreds of climbers have faced “traffic […]

Authored by MN Gordon via EconomicPrism.com, The dawn of war is a time of simple clarity and purpose.  Good guys vs. bad guys.  Cowboys vs. Indians.  Confederates vs. Yankees.  Coppers vs. robbers.  It’s a time when lines are drawn, songs are sang, and drums are beaten with gaiety and confidence. Indeed, calls for ‘a jolly […]

Two Chicago high schools are going to be spending $54,000 to reprint yearbooks after discovering several photos of students making an “OK” hand gesture that had been joked to be associated with racism on sites like 4chan, according to CBS. The symbol was thrust into the spotlight after users on 4chan began to joke that it […]

Authored by Kenn Orphan via Counterpunch.org, “Capitalism’s gratuitous wars and sanctioned greed have jeopardized the planet and filled it with refugees. Much of the blame for this rests squarely on the shoulders of the government of the United States. Seventeen years after invading Afghanistan, after bombing it into the ‘stone age’ with the sole aim […]

Deloitte recently published its Global Millennial Survey of 13,416 millennials from 42 countries and 3,009 Gen Z respondents from ten countries. The survey found that both generations are experiencing economic disruptions that have translated into stress and pessimism about their careers, their social lives, and the entire world around them. Economic optimism dropped to a […]

Authored by Marie Huillet via CoinTelegraph.com, Social media giant Facebook plans to launch its own payments-focused cryptocurrency “Globalcoin” in 2020, according to a BBC news report published on May 24. image courtesy of CoinTelegraph The BBC reports that tests for the forthcoming digital currency are planned to take place by the end of 2019. While Globalcoin is ostensibly the […]

It’s tempting to believe President Trump’s insistence that Chinese companies will bear the costs of US tariffs, but as a chorus of emergent trade experts have pointed out, this simply isn’t true. American consumers will bear at least some of the costs of the new tariffs, though the extent will depend on how companies react […]

Maybe he’s tired from signing all of those subpoenas. One day after Nancy Pelosi publicly questioned President Trump’s mental health and suggested that his family should consider an ‘intervention’, Jerry Nadler – the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and point man for various Congressional investigations involving the president, staff from his 2016 campaign, and members […]

Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com, Persistent pressure on profit margins has forced Asian refiners to start considering a reduction in their run rates, Reuters reports, citing unnamed sources from the industry. According to the sources, higher international oil prices are behind the unfavorable development, which has seen refiners’ margins drop to the lowest since the […]

Since the aviation authorities around the world grounded the 737 MAX 8 following a second suspicious crash, the scrutiny facing Boeing has been intensifying. Over the past two months, the DoJ has opened a criminal probe, the FAA is looking into whether Boeing mislead regulators during the certification process, and a smattering of Congressional investigations […]

Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com, An increasing number of younger Americans are blaming climate change for not putting away money for their own retirement.  They say that because the world won’t exist when they retire (because of climate change) there’s no need to save any money. But if we apply that logic to everything, […]

After confidently denying for months that there is a chance of an aggressive escalation in the US-China trade war, Goldman finally moved toward joining what has now become a virtual sellside consensus call that the feud between China and the US will become worse before its get better, when on Monday the bank said that […]

Yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured his interviewers on Fox News that the threat from Iran is totally “real” and “credible” – though he once again refused to get into specifics. But whatever the threat might be, American troops in the region will soon be able to sleep a little easier, because the White […]

A former CIA analyst-turned-whistleblower says that an extradited Julian Assange would have no chance of a fair trial in front of a federal judge who “reserves every national security case for herself.”  Judge Leonie Brinkema, Julian Assange John Kiriakou, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison by Eastern District of Virginia Judge Leonie Brinkema for […]

It’s only 9 am in New York but Friday’s session has already featured a frantic flurry of trade-war-related headlines that have – at least in the market’s view – overshadowed Theresa May’s tearful announcement that she will be stepping down as PM. Beijing repudiated President Trump’s Thursday claim about a ‘speedy’ trade deal, saying there […]

Starting in September, residents of Xi’an, located in China’s northwest Shaanxi Province, will receive negative social credit points if they refuse to observe local garbage sorting regulations, according to the CCP-friendly Global Times.  The Xi’an government requires its residents to sort their waste into at least four categories – recyclable, hazardous waste, kitchen and other waste. Those who […]

via South Front, The Impending Crisis At one time, specifically during the post-World War 2 Bretton Woods era, it looked like as if the capitalist model could be indefinitely sustainable and avoid plunging the world into major world conflicts. That era began to come to an end during the stagflation crisis of the 1970s, and […]

Employees at social media giant Snap have been abusing internal tools for accessing user data in order to spy on Snapchat users, according to an investigative report by Motherboard, which interviewed multiple current and former employees and viewed internal Snap communications.  “employees have used data access processes for illegitimate reasons to spy on users, according to two former employees.” –Motherboard […]

Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com, The co-founder of Skype, Jaan Tallinn, is on a desperate mission to save the human race from the destruction of artificial intelligence.  Since 2007, Tallinn’s dedicated more than $1 million toward preventing super-smart AIs from replacing humans as Earth’s dominant species and from destroying humanity in the process. According […]

As homes in the US become increasingly unaffordable, those who can afford to buy probably chafe at the insanely high commissions paid to agents and brokers, which can amount to 6% of the sales price. And as more buyers balk at these fees, turning instead to ‘iBuyers’ like Open Door and Zillow (which will buy […]

Authored by Joshua Philipp via The Epoch Times, In the information age, propaganda has become one of the most powerful forces in the world. And political factions, legacy news outlets, and special interest groups looking to manipulate societies to their wills use propaganda’s various tactics to advance their goals. Yet, if we can manage to […]

One of the major barriers that keeps the Mississippi River on its course could be opened for only the third time in its history. The opening would be the result of rising river levels and could also flood parts of Louisiana, which would affect businesses in the region, according to Bloomberg. The Army Corps of […]

Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com, An entirely decentralized network of self-defense rights advocates have taken to the internet to provide plans for 3D-printed guns.  It looks like the 3D guns are unregulatable and unstoppable. They’re anonymously sharing the blueprints and advice while simultaneously building an unstoppable community. Unlike previous attempts to popularize 3D-printed guns, […]

Outspoken Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered that containers carrying trash from Canada should be shipped back to the country. It is the latest chapter in a disagreement over more than 100 containers of trash that were shipped to the Philippines between 2013 and 2014, illegally, by a Canadian company.  Canada had previously agreed to take […]

Authored (satirically) by CJ Hopkins via The Unz Review, Back in January 2018, I wrote this piece about The War on Dissent, which, in case you haven’t noticed, is going gangbusters. As predicted, the global capitalist ruling classes have been using every weapon in their arsenal to marginalize, stigmatize, delegitimize, and otherwise eliminate any and all […]

WTI just hit a $57 handle for the first time in over two months, with the biggest drop of the year, as extreme positioning is accelerating anxiety over both the demand and supply side of the energy markets. But, with oil production plunging in Venezuela and Iran, tension in the Middle East at its highest […]

The White House is set to mull a Pentagon plan for deployment of 10,000 new troops to the Middle East on Thursday following heightened tension with Iran, the AP reported Wednesday.  It’s as yet unclear whether President Trump will sign off on the full number, but the White House is expected to send at least […]

Authored by Jesse Colombo via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, Since the Great Recession, there has been an explosion of interest and activity in the tech startup arena. Tens of thousands of tech startups have been founded in recent years and there are now over three hundred new “unicorn” startups that have valuations of $1 billion or more. The […]

Authored by Jennifer Kabbany via The College Fix, The recent decision by the Scholastic Aptitude Test to add a so-called adversity score to test takers’ results for college admissions’ officials to weigh has been almost universally panned. Few think it’s a good idea to give students an “overall disadvantage level” ranking. First, conservative scholar Heather Mac Donald laid […]

Something finally snapped in market sentiment… The Dow is back below its 200DMA (down over 400 points)… The Dollar is collapsing back to recent support once again… And Bond yields are getting battered lower (lows With 30Y back to its lowest since Dec 2017…

As US equity markets head for yet another week of losses, the hope that President Trump and President Xi will arrive at a breakthrough during the G-20 Summit in Osaka next month is one of the few sources of optimism holding the S&P 500 above 2,800 (need more evidence showing just how central the trade […]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told her Democratic colleagues that President Trump “wants to be impeached” in order to be vindicated by the Senate, according to ABC News.  Pelosi made the suggestion during a Thursday morning meeting according to two Democratic aides, who said that Pelosi also called Trump’s actions “villainous.”  The aide said that Pelosi […]

One day after we asked the question on every trader’s mind, namely “Why Stocks Stubbornly Refuse To Sell Off Despite The Escalating Trade War“, we got the answer on Thursday, and with sentiment turning dire overnight as increasingly more capitulate on the “extended trade war reality”, Charlie McElligott writes this morning that the now traditional […]

Watching Deutsche Bank shares crash to new all-time lows (around €6.35 $7.07) just as the troubled German lender’s annual shareholder meeting was getting underway in Frankfurt on Thursday, we could hardly imagine anything more appropriate. Actually, that’s not true – there is one thing: The revelation, just hours before the meeting’s start, that a ‘software […]

Authored by Karen Yeung via The South China Morning Post, As American pundits and polls dismiss the idea that China would dump its massive holdings of US Treasury debt as retaliation against US tariffs, a contrarian view is emerging in Beijing that the government may use the securities as a “weapon of last resort”. China’s […]

India has successfully launched a new satellite, capable of radar imaging, that will be used by the country’s military, according to RT. The “Earth observation satellite” will use imaging that is capable of penetrating dense cloud cover and it is believed that the country will be using the technology primarily for border control.  The satellite is called […]

Authored by Manlio Dinucci via VoltaireNet.org, The conclusions of the latest confidential report by the Rand Corporation were recently made public in a « Brief ». They explain how to wage a new Cold War against Russia. Certain recommendations have already been implemented, but this systemic exposure enables us to understand their true objective. Force […]

It used to be bad enough that the SEC wouldn’t show up to “regulate” until schemes like Madoff and Enron had already collapsed on their own. Now, the inefficiency at the agency looks to have gone one step further, as we are finding out the SEC “never collects” much of the money that it seeks in fines […]

Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com, The United States Navy wants to archive 350 billion social media posts in order to conduct “research.” What exactly does the military want to study? “Modes of collective expression.” The Department of the Navy has posted a solicitation asking contractors to bid on a project that would amass a staggering 350 […]

The US Postal Service (USPS) has awarded TuSimple, a global self-driving truck company, a contract to haul mail across the country with self-driving trucks, a move that could save the money-losing government agency millions of dollars per year if implemented, reported a TuSimple press release. The two-week pilot started Tuesday will haul USPS trailers about […]

Authored by Tom Luongo, It’s a headline so funny I literally ruined a keyboard spitting out my coffee yesterday. Working off a stub from Bloomberg, Sputnik took a lot of joy in amping up the irony. The market needs to be fed. And refiners will buy whoever has the best cargo at the best price. It is only […]

The Pentagon has admitted that they have been investigating UFOs through a secret government initiative known as the “Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP),” which the Defense department told the New York Post “did pursue research and investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena.“ image: ‘Project Blue Book’ The DoD says that it shut down AATIP in 2012, however spokesman […]

Via InternationalMan.com, Bloated governments around the world are faced with worsening fiscal conditions. Strapped for cash, they continue to squeeze every drop of wealth that’s within their reach through money printing and higher taxes. Today, we ask Jeff Thomas to weigh in on how to ensure you don’t become collateral damage in the next crisis. […]

The very embattled Huawei Technologies has accused a former employee of poaching workers and stealing their proprietary intellectual property in order to launch a competing firm backed by Microsoft and Dell. In a December 2017 lawsuit, Huawei alleged in 2017 that Yiren “Ronnie” Huang stole technology and recruited 14 of its employees. Huang was hired […]

Of all the major US multinationals that do business in China, Apple is in a particularly precarious position: iPhones sold in the US will be subject to the new tariffs, since Apple builds most of them in China, while Chinese consumers – whom the company has come to depend on for sales growth – could […]