Movies Without Manipulation

Authored by Jeffrey A. Tucker via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

At some point in this century, I began to watch movies with grave trepidation. There is a good chance that somewhere in whatever film, the moment would come when the producer would send some strange political message with a barely guarded attack on some fundamental tenet of bourgeois society. They began eschewing art for hectoring.

A poster of the movie “Snow White” (2025). Walt Disney Pictures

We watch movies by choice. We pay to see them mostly. Why should we do this if the point of the movie is to sneakily attack core values and preach some strange woke creed? Stung too many times, I’m far more careful to avoid anything that seems coded with a political purpose in mind. Life is too short.

This is why I never bothered to watch the live action version of “Snow White” that came out this year. It was coded left and revisionist even in the promotion. It was met with terrible reviews, and goes down in history as one of the worst film investments ever made by Disney. It could easily have been otherwise.

The mystery to me is why Disney could not have known the result from the beginning. Why would this company spend $250 million on a sure loser? To understand, we need to explore the ways in which ideological fanaticism eats away at rationality.

Fortunately in our times, anyone can hop over to a free movie site that is ad-supported like Tubi (the third most popular service after Netflix and Amazon Prime) and have thousands of great shows and movies immediately available. It’s not all there but there are true treasures awaiting.

I vaguely recall when “On Golden Pond” came out in 1981. It was considered old-fashioned and slightly boring, an attempt to deploy two scions of Hollywood (Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn) in their late years toward box office success. The movie then won three Oscars and was a huge triumph. Apparently Fonda and Hepburn had never met before the film but they were just magic together.

The beauty of the film is indescribable. It is set at the classic New England lake of a New Hampshire summer cottage at the height of nature’s beauty, revealing the tender relationship of this aging couple. She is an ebullient lover of nature, games, and life, and he is a crabby retired professor with a crusty outer way but beautiful inner soul. The theme of death looms large throughout. I cannot think of a film that more authentically portrays the struggles of aging.

Their daughter is played by Jane Fonda at her prime. She arrives with a new boyfriend who is a single father of a boy of 13 who is already jaded and cynical. A relationship forms between the old man and the boy, based on various activities of summer like boating, fishing, and swimming.

The father reveals a secret that there is a big trout he calls Walter who has evaded capture for many years. They hunt this fish for weeks, catching many others along the way but not the one they want. As the movie closes, they finally do snag Walter but let him go out of respect for his size, might, and long life.

All of which recalls the huge drama of another great book made into several films: “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville. It’s one of the great American novels, oddly dreaded more than thoroughly read. Written in 1851, its tremendous fame is due to its detailed accounting of the whaling industry and culture in a time when whale oil was the resource most in demand for lighting before electricity came along.

Captain Ahab puts together a whaling expedition but with a fanatical desire to get the biggest whale of all, the one that caused him to lose a leg. The purpose of the trip is not profits but revenge, which the sailors on the boat knew but had underestimated the power of their captain’s obsession. The journey takes them as far as the South China Sea and ends with a grave lesson about the problem of single-minded obsessions untempered by concern for others and the larger context.

The reader or viewer is a fan of the Captain and his genius for as long as possible, truly hoping that he gets his wish. The lesson of the story only comes with the ending of doom, and only in reverse is it obvious that he allowed his obsession to cloud all his judgment.

A poster of the movie “On Golden Pond” (1981). IPC Films/Universal Pictures

The search for the fish in “On Golden Pond” is rational and sporting by comparison. Both stories are set in New England and surely the parallels here are not accidental. One shows destructive fanaticism and the other shows a tempered and loving ambition.

Both films are what my mentor Murray Rothbard called “movie movies,” meaning that they are deep, exciting, emotionally rich, wonderful and evocative to watch, and barren of hidden and manipulative attempts to browbeat or manipulate the politics of the viewer. Young people today who don’t watch older movies probably do not know the meaning of such things.

Murray did not review “On Golden Pond,” so far as I know, but I feel sure that he would have adored the film. Truly, I was taken aback by the innocence of the plot and the comfort that comes with realizing that at no point in the movie would the other shoe drop and we would be presented a lecture on the evils of normal society.

That’s true for most movies made in the 20th century before ideology came along to ruin them. We can think of identitarian politics as the equivalent of Captain Ahab’s whale, something the left has pursued with fanatical vigor even to the point of its own self-destruction. I see this operating at the New York Times, in large corporations, and in sectors of government where a single idea has swamped all rationality and even concern for the metrics of profitability.

The role of Moby Dick in this case is occupied by a malevolent vision of “white” Christian society—and the values that undergird it—as irredeemably corrupt and worthy only of being destroyed. In the past 10 years, it got so out of hand that a small but powerful coterie of writers tried to change the date of the founding of America and wage a wild war on the president who they believed to represent everything they hated.

There is truth to the observation that “Trump Derangement Syndrome” has ruined vast amounts of art, journalism, commentary, and culture. There is plenty with which to disagree in Trump’s first and second term, and nothing wrong at all making that clear. The problem comes with the single-minded obsession that pursues the whale at the expense of everything else.

The right approach is the one taken by Henry Fonda toward “Walter” the trout. There is adventure in the hunt. Politics as a normal sport is a great thing. It sharpens skills at observation, argumentation, and rhetoric. Unlike Henry who lets the fish go once it is caught, Trump’s enemies have raised the stakes to the highest-possible level, attempting to jail him and worse.

We live in changing times when woke ideology is on the ropes, banned in many sectors of society and defunded according to policy. That said, the apparatus of understanding behind the ideology will long endure in culture, deeply institutionalized in academia, professional societies, and media. It’s true for films too.

Good movies might make a comeback—and perhaps that is happening now—but if you are like me, I wait until the reviews are out and eschew anything coded left simply because I don’t want to pay to be insulted. For now, I take recourse in the beauty and luxury of the older movies without the fanaticism that has compromised so much elite culture.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/31/2025 - 10:30

Alberta Wildfires Threaten Oil Sands Output; Energy Experts Closely Monitoring Inferno

Goldman energy analysts, led by Adam Wijaya, are closely tracking wildfires in Alberta, where over half a million barrels per day of crude production are at risk. 

"Good morning and happy Friday! Coming in this morning to see Brent at $64/b and WTI at $61/b… quiet on the macro front this morning for the most part, with most of the focus on (a) monitoring progression of Alberta Wildfires (number is now above 50… 28 considered out of control from 24 prior, with 19 under control)," Wijaya told clients. 

The latest data from Bloomberg shows that 29 out-of-control fires are raging 12 miles from massive oil sands well sites that produce 459,000 barrels of oil daily. 

The fires are now spreading dangerously close to major oil sands operations:

• MEG Energy's Christina Lake site (93,000 bpd) is just 4 km from the flames; production continues, but non-essential staff have been evacuated.
• Canadian Natural Resources' Jackfish site, with 38,000 bpd within 3 km and 83,000 bpd within 10 km of fire zones, is also at risk.

Important context: Canada is the largest foreign oil supplier to the U.S., accounting for approximately 60% of total crude imports, with the vast majority of that coming from Alberta's oil sands.

According to a person familiar with prices, Canadian heavy crude's discount to WTI has narrowed to $8.70/bbl, reflecting supply concerns. The discount on Thursday was $9.70/bbl. 

Fire danger remains extreme in most of Alberta but may ease in the next few days with expected cooler weather and rain. Meanwhile, high winds in Saskatchewan and Manitoba are expected to worsen fire conditions. 

Smoke is drifting into the U.S. Upper Midwest...

Lots of smoke on satellite this evening in Canada as dozens of wildfires burn out of control, particularly in Alberta where pyrocumulus clouds can be seen. Around 17,000 people are under evacuations in Manitoba and a 30 day provincial emergency has been declared in Saskatchewan. pic.twitter.com/YGAPCkKUS4

— Collin Gross (@CollinGrossWx) May 30, 2025

Any severe disruption in Alberta's oil production will tighten North American supply, raise prices, and could force U.S. refiners to source costlier supplies elsewhere. Something to certaintly keep an eye on, as per what Goldman's Wijaya noted, mainly because the summer driving season has kicked off. 

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/31/2025 - 09:55

Falling For Socialism

Authroed by Lika Kobeshavidze via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Across college campuses, on TikTok feeds, and in everyday conversations, a familiar narrative is gaining steam: capitalism is broken.

Custom image by FEE

Rising rents and stagnant wages fuel the claim among some young people that free markets have failed an entire generation. According to a 2024 poll by the Institute of Economic Affairs, more than 60 percent of young Britons now view socialism favorably. In the United States, the trend is similar, with Generation Z increasingly skeptical of capitalism’s promises.

But much of this idealism is rooted in distance—many of the young people romanticizing socialism have never lived through the economic dysfunction or political repression it often brings. For those who experienced Soviet shortages, Venezuelan collapse, or East Germany’s surveillance, the word socialism doesn’t suggest fairness or opportunity—it suggests fear, failure, and control. There’s a reason so many fled those systems to come to freer countries. What sounds utopian in theory has too often turned dystopian in practice.

But blaming capitalism misses the mark. The real culprit is cronyism, the unholy alliance between big government and big business that twists markets, blocks competition, and rewards political connections over genuine innovation.

The Myth of Market Failure

Capitalism, in its true form, is based on voluntary exchange. It rewards businesses that meet people’s needs and wants, with consumers deciding what succeeds and what fails. Competition drives improvement, innovation, and lower prices. No one is forced to buy or sell anything; choice reigns.

Cronyism is a different beast altogether. In a crony system, businesses succeed not by serving customers but by lobbying politicians. Profits come through subsidies, bailouts, and regulations designed to crush competition.

The 2008 financial crisis, often cited as proof of capitalism’s failures, actually showcased what happens when markets are rigged. Reckless banks, instead of collapsing as they deserved, were bailed out with taxpayer money. Ordinary people lost jobs and homes, while the politically connected survived and thrived.

This wasn’t free enterprise. It was cronyism.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a grim sequel. Small businesses were forced to shut their doors under government mandates. Meanwhile, corporate giants like Amazon, able to operate under looser restrictions or pivot online, soared to record profits. Policies, written in the name of public health, often privileged the biggest players while leaving Main Street devastated.

Cronyism on Both Sides of the Atlantic

Cronyism is not limited to one country or one political party. Across the United States and Europe, the symptoms are the same.

In the U.S., Canada, and the UK, the dream of homeownership slips further away for young people. Sky-high housing prices are blamed on “market failure,” but the real cause lies in layers of government-imposed barriers: restrictive zoning laws, burdensome permitting requirements, and endless bureaucratic delays. Big developers who can afford to navigate or influence the system survive. Everyone else gets locked out.

In Europe, the pattern repeats. France’s labor laws, designed to protect workers, instead stifle opportunity. Hiring becomes risky and expensive, especially for young people. Large corporations, with the resources to manage compliance costs, consolidate their dominance. Small firms and startups never get off the ground.

There’s also a persistent myth that big business fears government intervention. In reality, the largest corporations often embrace it, because it keeps them on top. Tech giants like Facebook and Google now lobby for more regulation, knowing that complex new rules will strangle smaller competitors who can’t afford fleets of compliance officers. Green energy subsidies, meant to combat climate change, often end up showering billions on well-connected firms while locking out emerging innovators.

Cronyism doesn’t reward the best ideas. It rewards the best lobbyists.

Why Gen Z’s Frustration Is Justified

Gen Z values fairness, creativity, and freedom. The very principles cronyism undermines. When political influence matters more than merit, and when success depends on government favoritism instead of consumer satisfaction, opportunity shrinks and innovation slows. But they are wrong when they think “socialism” would be a better option, not least because of the rampant cronyism that has existed in every socialist state.

The temptation to seek salvation through government power is not new. The Soviet Union began with a promise of equality and delivered oppression and scarcity (except for the party elites). Venezuela promised 21st-century socialism and delivered hunger, economic collapse, and political repression. Meanwhile, countries that embraced market freedom—even imperfectly—created unparalleled prosperity. Free markets have lifted billions out of poverty, and unleashed innovation that reshaped the modern world.

Markets aren’t flawless. But they leave the door open for anyone to succeed, not just those born into privilege or connected to power.

Aim Your Anger at the Right Target

Gen Z’s frustration is real, and it deserves an outlet. But the answer is not to tear down capitalism; it’s to tear down cronyism. A freer, fairer future depends on separating business from political power, not binding them closer together. It means ending corporate welfare, simplifying the rules of the game, and making sure that competition, not connections, decides who wins.

The fight for fairness is worth waging. But it must be aimed in the right direction. If we rage against cronyism, not capitalism, we can build a future where innovation thrives, opportunity is real, and every member of Generation Z has a genuine chance to rise.

From the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/31/2025 - 09:20

Cicada Swarm Begins Rare Emergence In Eastern US After 17 Years Underground

A rare mass emergence of cicadas is underway across the eastern United States as Brood XIV—one of the largest 17-year periodical cicada broods—surfaces for the first time since 2008.

Found only in eastern North America, periodical cicadas are known for their long underground life cycles, synchronized mass emergences, and piercing mating calls, according to researchers at the University of Connecticut.

As Chase Smith reports for The Epoch Times, Brood XIV is considered a keystone brood because of its size and central role in cicada evolution.

Researchers say it may have given rise to nearly all other 17-year broods through rare timing shifts known as “four-year jumps.”

This year’s emergence spans a wide area, including parts of Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York state. Disjunct populations also exist in places like Cape Cod and Long Island, though scientists say those groups may be in decline.

University of Connecticut researchers are urging caution when interpreting sightings this year due to the presence of “stragglers,” cicadas that emerge early or late compared to their expected brood. These misaligned appearances, along with a phenomenon called “shadow brooding,” may confuse mapping efforts and lead to mistaken conclusions about the size or expansion of Brood XIV.

Accurate data is critical, researchers said, because Brood XIV plays a key role in understanding the distribution of other broods. Its interactions with adjacent broods, like Brood VI, X, and I, are still being studied, particularly in areas such as southwestern Ohio, northeastern Tennessee, and northern Kentucky.

The cicadas began appearing in April in Southern states and are expected to continue emerging through June in Northern regions as soil temperatures 7 to 8 inches below ground reach about 64 degrees Fahrenheit. Their emergence is typically triggered by warming weather. Once above ground, the insects climb nearby trees, molt into adults, mate, and die within several weeks.

Eggs hatch six to 10 weeks later, and the tiny nymphs fall to the ground to begin another 17-year cycle.

Periodical cicadas are not harmful. They do not bite, sting, or carry disease. While they may damage young saplings during egg-laying, they are not considered pests and do not require pesticide treatment. Most adults feed briefly on woody plants before dying.

Cicada densities can vary extraordinarily, the researchers stated. In some areas, estimates suggest up to one million insects per acre. This overwhelming presence is believed to protect the population from predators through a process called “predator satiation,” where animals eat their fill without impacting the entire population.

So far, citizen scientists using the iNaturalist platform have reported the most sightings in Townsend, Tennessee; across North Carolina; and in Clermont County and Miamiville, Ohio. According to project data, Townsend alone has logged 174 confirmed reports.

Scientists encourage residents in affected states to document sightings using platforms such as iNaturalist or the Cicada Safari app to aid researchers in real-time mapping. Since Brood XIV emerges only once every 17 years, this season offers a rare chance to witness one of nature’s most distinctive phenomena.

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/31/2025 - 08:45

The key report scheduled for this week is the May employment report.

Other key reports include the May ISM Manufacturing, Vehicle Sales and April trade balance.

----- Monday, June 2nd -----
10:00 AM: ISM Manufacturing Index for May. The consensus is for the ISM to be at 49.2, up from 48.7 in April.

10:00 AM: Construction Spending for April. The consensus is for a 0.4% increase in construction spending.

1:00 PM: Speech, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Opening Remarks, At the Federal Reserve Board’s International Finance Division 75th Anniversary Conference, Washington, D.C.

----- Tuesday, June 3rd -----
10:00 AM ET: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for April from the BLS.

This graph shows job openings (black line), hires (purple), Layoff, Discharges and other (red column), and Quits (light blue column) from the JOLTS.

Jobs openings decreased in March to 7.19 million from 7.48 million in February. The number of job openings (black) were down 11% year-over-year.
Quits were unchanged year-over-year.
Late: Light vehicle sales for May.

The consensus is for light vehicle sales to be 16.4 million SAAR in May, down from 17.3 million in April (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate).
This graph shows light vehicle sales since the BEA started keeping data in 1967. The dashed line is the sales rate for last month.

----- Wednesday, June 4th -----
7:00 AM ET: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

8:15 AM: The ADP Employment Report for May. This report is for private payrolls only (no government). The consensus is for 120,000 payroll jobs added in May, up from 62,000 in April.

10:00 AM: the ISM Services Index for May.   The consensus is for a reading of 52.0, up from 51.6.

----- Thursday, June 5th -----
8:30 AM: Trade Balance report for April from the Census Bureau.

This graph shows the U.S. trade deficit, with and without petroleum. 
The blue line is the total deficit, and the black line is the petroleum surplus, and the red line is the trade deficit ex-petroleum products.

The consensus is the trade deficit to be $117.3 billion.  The U.S. trade deficit was at $140.5 Billion in March.

8:30 AM: The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for initial claims of 230 thousand, down from 240 thousand last week.

----- Friday, June 6th -----
8:30 AM: Employment Report for May.   The consensus is for 130,000 jobs added, and for the unemployment rate to be unchanged at 4.2%.

There were 177,000 jobs added in April, and the unemployment rate was at 4.2%.

This graph shows the jobs added per month since January 2021.

How Scotch Whisky Came To Be

Authored by Gerry Bowler via The Epoch Times,

A single line in a royal financial account leads us into the fascinating history of Scotch whisky. On June 1, 1495, a secretary penned the following: “To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae, VIII bolls of malt.” This is the earliest mention we have of the manufacture of distilled spirits in Scotland—eight barrels of malt to make aqua vitae, “the water of life” (“usquebaugh” in Gaelic.)

The use of intoxicating beverages is as old as civilization itself; humans have been drinking beer and wine for thousands of years. These drinks were safer than local water supplies and provided valuable nutrients to men, women, and children on a daily basis. The average Englishman of the Middle Ages drank anywhere from 250 to 400 gallons of beer a year.

However, taking advantage of the powers of distillation to increase alcohol content and purify the liquor is much more recent. It seems to have developed, perhaps surprisingly, in medieval monasteries where monks who were the chemists and physicians of the day used their knowledge of herbs, fermentation, and alchemy to make useful medicines. Friar John Cor seems to have belonged to the Dominican Order. By the 15th century, these monks had mastered a complicated process of several steps to produce Scotch whisky.

First, barley—a hardy grain able to be grown in northern climates—is malted, that is steeped in water, allowed to germinate. and then dried. The grain is mashed in water, and yeast is added which ferments the sugars into ethanol.

Then, the liquid is poured into a still where it is heated. The alcohol evaporates before the water, and this vapour rises and condenses again into a liquid. It undergoes a second distillation which separates the “heart” (clean, desirable alcohol) from less desirable elements. Each distillation increases the percentage of alcohol to a very high level. The liquid is now diluted, poured into oak casks, and allowed to age for a number of years, taking on the flavour of the wood, changing colour, and becoming a more complex beverage.

The Protestant Reformation in Scotland and England destroyed the monastic system, leaving alcohol innovation and production in the hands of private individuals. Hundreds of stills were set up, serving a growing public taste for Scotch. But a complication arose when first the Scottish and then (after the Union of 1707 joined the Scots and English) the British government sought to tax the production of whisky. This created a steady demand for the product of illegal, unlicensed (and thus cheaper) distilleries that operated relatively free from official harassment, hidden in glens and sheltered by fog, remoteness, and tolerant locals in the Highlands.

Triple cask single malt Scotch whisky aged for 16 years from the Balvenie distillery in Dufftown, Scotland. Adilson Sochodolak/Shutterstock

The legal trade emerged triumphant, however, in the 19th century after the tragic Highland Clearances when lairds started evicting their tenants to make way for more profitable sheep farming. Coupled with easier government regulation of the trade, new techniques that produced a smoother whisky, and disastrous vine diseases on the Continent that cut back on the availability of wines, a class of prosperous Scottish distilleries emerged, many of which still exist today. By the late 1800s, whisky was rivalling brandy as the preferred drink of the wealthier classes around the globe.

In the 21st century, Scotch whisky is a carefully defined product that ensures high standards and distinguishes it from imitations and foreign rivals. Methods of production, ingredients, alcohol content (at least 80 proof), and aging (at least three years) are strictly controlled, and wise consumers can tell by the labelling just what they are buying.

Single malt Scotch is made from 100 percent malted barley in old-fashioned pot stills at a single distillery. This is the most expensive and prestigious variety, some costing many thousands of dollars a bottle. Single grain Scotch is made at one distillery but contains barley and other grains. Blended Scotch is a mixture of malts and other grains made from the product of different distilleries. This is the sort that is the most commonly encountered. Blended malt Scotch consists of malts from different distilleries (appealing to those who want the malty experience but don’t want to pay high-end prices), while blended grain Scotch is a mixture of grains from different distilleries.

Whisky connoisseurs have their own terminology and can rival wine snobs in their alleged ability to distinguish regional variations and describe tastes. Be prepared to hear talk of “smoky,” “peaty,” briny,” or “complex,” and listen to arguments over the virtues of Scotch from Islay, the Islands, or the Highlands.

Slàinte Mhath!

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/31/2025 - 08:10

The Champions League's Global Appeal Is Paying Off

When the UEFA Champions League Final between Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain kicks off at the Allianz Arena in Munich today, it will be the first final without a club from either England, Spain or Germany since Mourinho's FC Porto beat AS Monaco in 2004.

It will also be a game of European football heritage versus a new footballing power, as Inter with its rich legacy will play a PSG that has been transformed from a mid-table club to a serial league winner and global brand since the takeover by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011. Ironically, the current PSG squad, which is arguably the least star-studded in years after the likes of Neymar, Messi and Mbappé all left, is given the best chance of finally winning the Champions League, a title the club has been chasing for more than a decade now.

As the following chart shows, Inter won the Champions League (or the European Cup as it was previously called) three times already, most recently in 2010. Real Madrid is in a league of its own in terms of European triumphs, however. The outfit from the Spanish capital won 15 Champions League titles, leading AC Milan (7), Liverpool and Bayern (6) by a wide margin.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Additionally, football fans from all across the globe will be watching.

After all, it is the biggest club competition in the world, where fans get to watch star-studded teams compete for European glory and a place in the game's history books.

As Statista's Felix Richter reports, for UEFA, Europe’s football governing body, the competition’s global appeal is paying off handsomely. Over the past two decades, the media and commercial rights for the Champions League have more than quintupled in value. In the 2023/24 season, UEFA made €3.2 billion from Champions League rights, up from just €569 million in the 2003/04 season.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Looking at UEFA's lower-tier club competitions, the Europa League and the Conference League, highlights how far ahead the Champions League is in terms of its status and commercial appeal. Last season, UEFA's combined revenue from Europa League and Conference League media and commercial rights amounted to €478 million, which is just 15 percent of what the Champions League brought in.

Tyler Durden Sat, 05/31/2025 - 07:35

The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of Colombia Tolima Los Brasiles Peaberry Organic coffee, grab a seat outside, and get ready for our longer-form weekend reads:

• The Fiery Investor Restoring East Texas: Hedge fund wizard Kyle Bass made his name by predicting a housing collapse. Now he’s betting big on a growing market: nature. (Texas Monthly)

• Ukraine’s New Way of War: American weapons are important, but Ukrainian drones have changed everything. (The Atlantic) see also The terrifying new weapon changing the war in Ukraine: In an ever-evolving conflict, soldiers have had to rapidly adapt to new threats posed by changing technology. And the latest threat comes from fibre optic drones. A spool of tens of kilometres of cable is fitted to the bottom of a drone and the physical fibre optic cord is attached to the controller held by the pilot. (BBC)

• Life’s Ancient Bottleneck: Of the six chemical elements necessary for life, phosphorus is the rarest. It determines what grows and shrinks, who lives and dies. By disrupting the planet’s phosphate cycle, unchecked factory farming could have apocalyptic consequences. (Quillette)

• Is the U.S. in a “high-level equilibrium trap”? When countries start fearing the future, they stagnate. (Noahpinion)

• Building the Waffle House Index, then Getting a Cease and Desist from Waffle House: Bit of a sticky situation. (jack.bio) see also (You Tube Video)

• The Hobby Computer Culture: From 1975 through early 1977, the use of personal computers remained almost exclusively the province of hobbyists who loved to play with computers and found them inherently fascinating. (Creatures of Thought)

• Rare-Earths Plants Are Popping Up Outside China: U.S., Brazil are among countries building capacity to mine and refine metals for EVs and smartphones (Wall Street Journal) see also What the hell are rare earth elements? Commonly called “rare earths,” they encompass 17 elements on the periodic table that are found in underground ore deposits. They’re so useful that rare earths have been referred to as “21st-century gold. (The Hustle)

• Birthday Effect? You will die someday. Probably not today: Would you believe me if I told you that you’re actually more likely to die on your birthday than on other days of the year? (Pudding)

• The Quest to Prove the Existence of a New Type of Quantum Particle.‘Paraparticles’ Would Be a Third Kingdom of Quantum Particle A new proposal makes the case that paraparticles — a new category of quantum particle — could be created in exotic materials. (Quanta Magazine)

• Jan Todd May Be the Reason You’re Lifting Weights: Once known as “the world’s strongest woman,” Dr. Todd spent 50 years breaking records — and turning strength into a field of study. (New York Times)

Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Tom Barkin, Richmond Federal Reserve President & CEO and voting member of the the Federal Open Market Committee. He previously spent 30 years at McKinsey & Company , eventually becoming Chief Risk Officer and Chief Finaacial Officer.

 

New listing data is growing year over year, but now within a seasonal range that is normal.
(2023 & 2024, that wasn’t the case)

Source: Housing Wire

 

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Escobar: Trilateral Summit Raises 21st Century New Silk Road Spirit

Authored by Pepe Escobar,

The first ever ASEAN-China-GCC trilateral summit earlier this week in Malaysia is even more than a cross-regional, South-South breakthrough.

The 17 nations united on the same table in Kuala Lumpur graphically demonstrated, as evoked by Malaysian Prime Minister and current ASEAN chair Anwar Ibrahim, how “from the ancient Silk Road to the vibrant maritime networks of Southeast Asia to modern trade corridors, our peoples have long connected through commerce, culture, and the sharing of ideas.”

Call it the 21st century New Silk Road spirit. And it’s no wonder China is right at its heart, via interlocked Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects – from infrastructure to trade development. China, Southeast Asia and a large part of West Asia do conform a Golden Triangle of natural resources, manufacturing and a large consumer base.

The final declaration of the Malaysia summit of course had to celebrate these “enduring and deep historical and civilizational ties”, as well as geoeconomics, in a drive to “promote economic development in the wider Asia-Pacific [note the correct terminology] and Middle East [old terminology: the correct one is ‘West Asia’].”

So it’s natural that China proposed the possibility of including the West Asian Arab nations of the GCC in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the vast 15-member trade pact that includes China and ASEAN (but not self-excluded India).

Free trade was the key theme in Kuala Lumpur – from the recently completed China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade to the upcoming China-GCC Free Trade Agreement negotiations. In contrast to Trump 2.0, the trilateral committed to “strengthen the resilience of industrial chains and supply chains”, everything geared towards long-term, tariff and sanction-free sustainable trade.

Last year, ASEAN’s total trade with China and GCC surpassed $900 billion, almost twice the $453 billion in trade with the US. And yes, trade de-dollarization is the way to go all across Asia. Right before the summit, China and Indonesia jointly announced that from now on, trade between both powerhouses is only in yuan and rupiah.

The final declaration was explicit on exploring “local currency and cross-border payment cooperation” – in tandem with promoting “high-quality BRI cooperation and seamless connectivity, including the development of logistics corridors and digital platforms”, and advancing “sustainable infrastructure construction.” The trilateral is engaged in building a web of pan-Asia connectivity corridors – the prime geoeconomic theme of the 21st century.

The trilateral had to refer to Gaza – although not as forcefully as it should. At best, the final declaration “endorses the advisory opinion rendered by the International Court of Justice on 19 July 2024, including its finding that the United Nations, in particular the General Assembly and the Security Council, which requested the advisory opinion, should consider specific modalities and further actions to bring an end to the illegal presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as soon as possible”; and to “achieve the two-State solution based on the 1967 borders in accordance with international law.”

How East, Southeast and West Asia Connect to BRICS

East Asia, historically, is most of all a mosaic of transnational regions linked by maritime corridors. The first globalization happened – where else – in Asia, from the opening of the trans-Pacific route linking the “New World” to the Philippines in 1511 to the takeover of Malacca – the great Southeast Asian emporium – by the Portuguese in 1571.

But even before the Vasco da Gama era, East and Southeast Asia formed a relatively integrated economic zone, with ports from Malacca to Nagasaki shining as trade centers crammed with Arab, Chinese, Indian and Japanese merchants. Malacca boomed thanks to excellent infrastructure, moderate port tariffs and a sound fiscal regime: a much better deal compared to the subsequent predatory Portuguese and Dutch colonial set up, all the way to admiral Alfred Mahan conceptualizing the principles of sea power to the benefit of the thalassocratic US.

Former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo has clearly explained how China and South East Asia have been relieving – with spectacular success – their historic, culture and trade connections. This summit taking place in Malaysia, home of the historically crucial crossroads Malacca, is a touch of poetic justice.

Add to it Indonesia President Prabowo – a former Suharto general, and his son-in-law – effusively praising China’s firm anti-imperialist stance since 1949 and during the Cold War, right in front of Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. A 21stcentury parallel can be made with the legendary Spirit of Bandung in 1955, when Indonesia’s Sukarno – a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) – was side by side with Zhou EnLai.

The ASEAN-China-GCC summit may be able to advance moves that the inestimable Prof. Michael Hudson deem absolutely necessary for BRICS members – and quite a few in Kuala Lumpur will be at the table at the BRICS summit in Rio in early July.

Prof. Hudson has conclusively demonstrated how landlord classes, monopolies and residues of European colonialism will have to go for BRICS nations to “achieve the same kind of take off that made England, Germany, US industrial leaders of the world.” That means to drastically “cut back payments to foreign investors concentrated on raw material rent” and to subdue “the rentier class.”

Prof. Hudson argues that when it comes to “how to free their economies – rent, creditor payments – this is what China did. China had a revolution. After the revolution it did not have a financial class. China made money creation a public utility – an arm of the Treasury; it created money to finance tangible investments in capital formation, factories, housing – a little too much – huge public infrastructure, urban transportation, high-speed rail.”

What I previously defined as “The BRICS Lab” – all those models being constantly tested, starting last year in Russia before the Kazan summit – is indeed trying to answer questions posed by Prof. Hudson in several ways: “We need to create our money. Elites should not keep benefitting from regressive taxation. How to industrialize? No more economic rent.”

The Chinese, predictably, are already at the next level of the integration business. This is their “magic weapon” to “defeat the enemy”: “The construction of the ‘dual circulation’ of the domestic and foreign markets, uniting as many living forces as possible to form a united front to deal with unilateralism. Most of the southern countries are natural allies. The feasibility of close linkage between ‘South-South cooperation’ and ‘dual circulation’ is increasing day by day.”

Jeffrey Sachs, in Kuala Lumpur, ahead of the ASEAN-China-GCC summit, succinctly nailed the New Silk Road spirit: “If you put together Japanese skill, Korean skill, Chinese skill, ASEAN skill, oh my God: no one could possibly compete (…) Diplomacy requires a table and two chairs. The military requires $1 trillion a year. Which do you think is the better deal?”

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 23:25

Mapping Every Understaffed Air Traffic Control Tower In The US

Earlier this year, the U.S. experienced one of its deadliest air mishaps in two decades.

An American Airlines passenger plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter sending both into the Potomac River.

ℹ️ For reference: American Airlines has one of the worst track-records when it comes to crashes.

In the immediate aftermath, officials mentioned that short-staffed air traffic control towers may have played a role. This was later deemed not the cause, but air traffic control staffing shortages are plaguing 44% of all FAA regulated towers, latest data shows.

Visual Capitalist's Pallavi Rao maps out every single tower that is below the 2024-guideline staffing threshold (85%) per the latest available data current to September 2023, published by the FAA.

Ranked: All Short-Staffed Air Traffic Control Towers

128 of the 290 FAA-operated air traffic control towers across the country are short-staffed.

Rochester Tower, located in Minnesota has less than half the required controllers per 2024 requirements.

The table below lists all facilities by the percentage of staff filled.

Rank Facility Facility Code % Staffed 1 Rochester Tower RST 47.8 2 Waterloo Tower ALO 56.5 3 Morristown Tower MMU 57.9 4 Pasco Tower PSC 58.8 5 Oakland Tower OAK 60.0 6 North Las Vegas Tower VGT 60.0 7 Scottsdale Tower SDL 62.5 8 Memphis TRACON M03 63.4 9 Grand Canyon Tower GCN 64.3 10 Traverse City Tower TVC 64.3 11 Terre Haute /Hulman Tower HUF 65.5 12 Rockford Tower RFD 65.6 13 Falcon Field Tower FFZ 66.7 14 Grand Forks Tower GFK 66.7 15 Huntington Tower HTS 66.7 16 Las Vegas TRACON L30 67.9 17 Andrews Tower ADW 68.2 18 Centennial Tower APA 69.2 19 Fargo Tower FAR 69.2 20 Green Bay Tower GRB 69.2 21 Lubbock Tower LBB 69.2 22 Milwaukee Tower MKE 69.4 23 Willow Run Tower YIP 69.6 24 Austin Tower AUS 70.0 25 Rochester Tower ROC 70.3 26 Tallahassee Tower TLH 70.8 27 Charleston Tower CRW 71.0 28 Allegheny Tower AGC 71.4 29 Aspen Tower ASE 71.4 30 St Lucie Tower FPR 71.4 31 Grand Rapids Tower GRR 71.4 32 Hayward Tower HWD 71.4 33 Saginaw Tower MBS 71.4 34 Orlando Tower MCO 71.4 35 Sioux Gateway Tower SUX 71.4 36 Casper Tower CPR 72.2 37 Seattle TRACON S46 73.1 38 Hooks Tower DWH 73.7 39 Juneau Tower JNU 73.7 40 Little Rock Tower LIT 73.7 41 Boise Tower BOI 73.8 42 Meacham Tower FTW 73.9 43 Islip Tower ISP 73.9 44 Birmingham Tower BHM 74.4 45 Erie Tower ERI 75.0 46 Eugene Tower EUG 75.0 47 Helena Tower HLN 75.0 48 Poughkeepsie Tower POU 75.0 49 Fort Wayne Tower FWA 75.9 50 Duluth Tower DLH 76.0 51 Youngstown Tower YNG 76.0 52 Binghamton Tower BGM 76.2 53 Ontario Tower ONT 76.2 54 Madison Tower MSN 76.7 55 Long Beach Tower LGB 76.9 56 John Wayne Tower SNA 76.9 57 Vero Beach Tower VRB 76.9 58 El Paso Tower ELP 77.1 59 Memphis Tower MEM 77.1 60 Norfolk Tower ORF 77.1 61 Gulfport Tower GPT 77.3 62 San Juan Tower SJU 77.3 63 Tamiami Tower TMB 77.3 64 Bangor Tower BGR 77.4 65 Albuquerque Tower ABQ 77.8 66 Bismarck Tower BIS 77.8 67 Hilo Tower ITO 77.8 68 Myrtle Beach Tower MYR 77.8 69 Prescott Tower PRC 77.8 70 Pueblo Tower PUB 77.8 71 Sanford Tower SFB 77.8 72 Savannah Tower SAV 78.1 73 Nantucket Tower ACK 78.6 74 Columbia Tower CAE 78.6 75 Concord Tower CCR 78.6 76 Camarillo Tower CMA 78.6 77 Palomar Tower CRQ 78.6 78 Des Moines Tower DSM 78.6 79 Bowman Tower LOU 78.6 80 Merrill Tower MRI 78.6 81 Paine Tower PAE 78.6 82 Palo Alto Tower PAO 78.6 83 Sonoma Tower STS 78.6 84 Spirit Tower SUS 78.6 85 Twin Falls Tower TWF 78.6 86 Maui Tower OGG 78.9 87 Chattanooga Tower CHA 79.2 88 Clarksburg Tower CKB 79.2 89 Charleston Tower CHS 79.3 90 Asheville Tower AVL 80.0 91 Chino Tower CNO 80.0 92 Central Florida TRACON F11 80.0 93 Lexington Tower LEX 80.0 94 Phoenix Tower PHX 80.0 95 Corpus Christi Tower CRP 80.5 96 Northern California TRACON NCT 80.5 97 Wilkes-Barre Tower AVP 80.8 98 Bradley Tower BDL 81.0 99 Champaign Tower CMI 81.0 100 Lake Charles Tower LCH 81.0 101 Monroe Tower MLU 81.0 102 Knoxville Tower TYS 81.1 103 Dayton Tower DAY 81.3 104 Manchester Tower MHT 81.3 105 Colorado Springs Tower COS 81.5 106 Atlanta TRACON A80 81.8 107 Columbus Tower CMH 81.8 108 Sioux Falls Tower FSD 81.8 109 Jackson Tower JAN 81.8 110 Salt Lake City Tower SLC 81.8 111 Tuscon Tower TUS 81.8 112 San Diego Tower SAN 82.1 113 San Antonio Tower SAT 82.1 114 Pittsburgh Tower PIT 82.2 115 Wichita Tower ICT 82.5 116 Great Falls Tower GTF 82.6 117 Atlanta Tower ATL 82.7 118 Denver Tower DEN 82.9 119 Ann Arbor Tower ARB 83.3 120 Billings Tower BIL 83.3 121 Columbus Tower CSG 83.3 122 Monterey Tower MRY 83.3 123 Downtown Tower MKC 84.2 124 Waco Tower ACT 84.6 125 Dallas Love Tower DAL 84.6 126 Houston Intercontinental Tower IAH 84.6 127 Portland Tower PWM 84.6 128 Seattle Tower SEA 84.8

Of particular interest are the short-staffed TRACONs (Terminal Radar Approach Control); these are bigger facilities that assist with landing and departure for larger areas.

In fact, these numbers are a more optimistic view of the staffing shortage. They include fully-certified controllers, those that have transferred from a different facility and getting familiar with a new environment, and those just out of academy who are picking up on-the-job skills.

If looking at just the fully certified controllers, these rates drop even further.

For reference, it takes roughly 2–3 years for an academy graduate to become fully certified.

Why is There an ATC Staffing Shortage?

There are a few interlinked reasons.

As a mentioned earlier, it’s a difficult (and long) training process, which takes a minimum of 2-3 years. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted or paused training and now the system is playing catch-up.

The attrition rate of employees is high due to long hours and on-the-job stress. And finally, there’s a mandatory retirement age (56) which leads to a yearly employee loss.

This shortage is pushing controllers into 60-hour workweeks, in turn leading to a higher burnout rate.

Need more data related to flying? Check Out: All the Things Americans Find Unacceptable on Planes for interesting cultural insights.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 23:00

Wolves Wreak Havoc On Cattle Herds In California

Authored by Brad Jones via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Descendants of rewilded wolves are taking a heavy toll on cattle in Northern California and Oregon, killing calves and full-grown animals and putting stress on cow-calf operations and ranchers’ pocketbooks.

A gray wolf approaches a bull, caught on a game camera in June 2023. Ken Tate, Tina Saitone/UC Davis

Because wolves are listed as an endangered species under state and federal law, ranchers are hamstrung: They can’t shoot or harass these protected predators. The penalty for killing a wolf is steep; federal law carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine, unless a rancher can prove that it was in self-defense.

While animal advocacy groups say the wolves are native apex predators that belong in California and other western states, some ranchers argue that there’s nothing natural about wolves’ stalking domestic cattle because there isn’t enough natural prey.

“They’re welfare wolves,” Janna Martin Gliatto, an owner at Table Rock Ranch in northern California, said. “We have entitled wolves—multiple generations.”

One wolf pack, known as the Whaleback Pack, near her ranch doesn’t seem inclined to hunt elk or deer, she said.

Since November 2021, wolves have killed at least 44 head of cattle at the Martin family’s ranch in Siskiyou County, Gliatto told The Epoch Times. Of those confirmed wolf kills, three were adult cows, and the rest were calves.

“There’s a handful of people and ranches like us that have been hit really hard,” she said. “I’ve had so much carnage.”

The protection of wolves has been a “costly experiment” for ranchers and taxpayers who foot the bill for it, Gliatto said.

In 2021, state lawmakers voted to disburse $3 million to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to develop a pilot program to mitigate the effects of wolves on livestock producers.

The resulting Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program was started in 2022, and by March 2024, the funds were exhausted after 109 claims were paid out to livestock producers for wolf depredation in Siskiyou, Lassen, Plumas, and Tulare counties.

Gliatto received two years of partial compensation to pay a range rider to patrol the herd at night, “but the funds ran out, so now it’s out-of-pocket,” she said.

In 2024, the state appropriated another $600,000 for the CDFW to continue the Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program, but the program no longer subsidizes ranchers for the cost of deterrent efforts such as range riders and is limited to compensation for direct loss only.

CDFW spokeswoman Katie Talbot said California’s wolf population is estimated at between 50 and 70 in total. The agency has confirmed that 163 cattle and six sheep have been killed or injured by wolves since 2011, when the first collared wolf from Oregon entered California, Talbot told The Epoch Times in an email.

Debbie Bacigalupi (front) and her mother, Donna, tend to a calf at Cold Springs Ranch in Siskiyou County, Calif., in May 2024. The family shares a fence line with Table Rock Ranch and has also lost calves to suspected wolf attacks. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

She said that of the initial $3 million Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program fund, more than $2 million was paid out for direct loss and deterrence efforts to ranchers in Siskiyou County, while those in Lassen and Plumas counties received about $490,000 and $476,000, respectively. About $16,000 went to Tulare County. Since October 2024, the average compensation per head was $2,870, Talbot said.

Examining Expenses

A recently released study by University of California–Davis professor Tina Saitone, a livestock and rangeland economics specialist, found that one wolf can cause between $69,000 and $162,000 in direct and indirect cattle losses, from outright attacks, lower pregnancy rates in cows, and decreased weight gain in calves.

Saitone’s research team used motion-activated field cameras, GPS collars, wolf scat analysis, and cattle tail-hair samples to show how the expanding protected gray wolf population is affecting cattle operations, “leading to millions of dollars in losses,” according to the study.

The research showed that during the 2022 and 2023 summer seasons, 72 percent of wolf scat samples from the Lassen Pack—in western Lassen and northern Plumas counties—contained cattle DNA. It also found elevated hair cortisol levels in cattle that ranged in areas with wolves, indicating an increase in stress.

Aside from the financial effects, Gliatto said the wolf issue has been emotionally taxing on ranchers who’ve witnessed continual attacks on their herds and “hypocrisy” over what is considered humane treatment of cattle.

Ranchers are afraid to brand their cattle because some animal rights groups view the practice as inhumane, but, she said, “you can have a wolf literally tear your animals apart while they’re alive and eat them, and people just turn a blind eye.”

According to Gliatto, wolves wouldn’t be thriving in the wild without heavily supplementing their diet with cattle, which, in some cases, is their primary food source.

The wolves have created fierce competition at the top of the food chain because there aren’t enough deer and elk to feed them and other predators such as mountain lions, bears, and coyotes, she said.

“We have a huge predator bubble,” Gliatto said.

CDFW reported that there were seven documented wolf packs in California in 2024, along with evidence of other wolves in the state.

A game camera captures a gray wolf from the Lassen pack among a herd of cattle in July 2022. Return of the Wolf

The first wolves showed up at Gliatto’s ranch in 2020.

A lone male wolf, OR-85, collared in February 2020, left his natal Mount Emily pack near La Grande, Oregon, crossed into California, and found a mate from another pack from southwestern Oregon. The pair formed the Whaleback Pack and have produced 21 pups since 2021, according to CDFW.

Tracking showed cluster points of OR-85 near an elk herd on ranchland that the family leased, but the pack doesn’t feed on them, Gliatto said.

The elk herd, often spotted at Grass Lake, stopped going there, she said.

“They just moved away from the wolves, and the wolves didn’t follow them,” Gliatto said.

Instead, she said, the wolves have become habituated to preying on cattle at her family’s ranch, which typically has more than 1,500 head, including cow-calf pairs, and replacement heifers.

Table Rock Ranch borders timberland at the forest-edge of a mountain range, so when wolves descend into the valley, her cattle are the first meal they see. Hence, from a wolf’s perspective, it makes no sense to go farther down into the valley, where there are more people and less cover, Gliatto said.

Amaroq Weiss, an attorney and the senior West Coast wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said some cattle herds are hit harder than others.

“You constantly have animals that are vulnerable because they’re not being checked on,” she told The Epoch Times. “They’ve eaten poisonous weeds, they’ve gotten wounded for some reason, they’re having birthing complications. All those things are going to draw wolves in.”

Wolves aren’t targeting the closest ranch or the first cattle herd they encounter, and they will often roam through pastures filled with cattle “and just keep on going out the other end of the pasture to hunt wild prey,” Weiss said.

The Whaleback Pack, and some others in California, cover immense territories compared with most wolf packs in other western states that have more elk and deer, because “they’re looking for a food source,” she said.

Siskiyou County wolf liaison Patrick Griffin, who investigates suspected wolf kills for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the 44 confirmed kills at Table Rock Ranch “sounds accurate,” noting that it has been the hardest-hit ranch in the state.

More than 80 “confirmed” or “probable” cattle kills have been attributed to the Whaleback Pack, Griffin told The Epoch Times.

Read the rest here...

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 22:35

These Are Most Affordable US Cities To Buy A Home In 2025

WalletHub analyzed 300 U.S. cities of varying sizes across ten metrics, including real estate tax rate, cost per square foot, median home price, and median household income. Each metric was scored on a 100-point scale, with 100 indicating the most favorable conditions for home affordability. For this map, only cities with a population over 100,000 were considered.

This map, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, shows the 20 most affordable U.S. cities to buy a home in 2025, according to data from WalletHub.

Detroit Tops the List for Home Affordability

Detroit leads the list, with a median price per square foot of around $87. The city has faced significant challenges over the decades, including financial crises and the decline of the auto industry, prompting many residents to leave.

Today, more than 22% of homes in Detroit are vacant, creating a strong buyer’s market. According to WalletHub, Detroit is also one of the top cities where buying a home offers greater long-term value than renting. The city was also considered the most affordable large American city in 2025, according to another study.

Also in the Rust Belt, Pittsburgh, PA, ranks as the second-most affordable city for homebuyers, with a median home price approximately 3.8 times higher than the median household income.

Like Detroit, Memphis, TN—ranked third—has also been highlighted as one of the most affordable large cities in the country for working families.

If you enjoyed this map, check out this map on Voronoi about the income needed to buy a home in every U.S. state.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 22:10

Overlooked Chemicals In Food May Threaten Your Health

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

Scientists are sounding the alarm on what they call an overlooked threat to public health: synthetic chemicals from packaging and processing equipment contaminating the food supply—particularly ultra-processed items—and potentially fueling a rise in chronic health conditions.

Sergey Ryzhov/Shutterstock

A comprehensive review article recently published in Nature Medicine highlights some of the most prevalent types and sources of synthetic chemical contaminants in food: chemicals known as food contact chemicals (FCCs), which may contribute to chronic health conditions, including endocrine disruption, reproductive issues, and increased cancer risks.

Why Food Contact Chemical Contamination Goes Unnoticed

The widespread nature of FCC contamination may have escaped public attention because these chemicals migrate invisibly into food through routine processes we usually consider safe.

Unlike visible food safety concerns such as bacterial contamination or spoilage, FCCs transfer silently from materials that come into contact with food through four key routes, as identified by the researchers: transportation, processing, packaging, and preparation.

Transportation introduces FCCs through storage containers and tubing systems used to move food products. During this stage, chemicals from container coatings and transport equipment can leach into foods—especially when exposed to temperature changes or extended contact periods.

Food processing—the industrial transformation of raw ingredients into finished products—exposes foods to machinery, conveyor systems, and processing equipment that contain various synthetic materials. The high temperatures and mechanical processes involved in manufacturing can accelerate chemical migration from these surfaces.

Plastic food packaging represents a significant source of contamination, as it involves prolonged direct contact between synthetic materials and food products.

Food preparation, which differs from processing because it involves the final steps before consumption, often includes heating. Higher temperatures lead to increased migration, the researchers noted.

All FCCs that migrate into food or drinks are important because people will likely ingest them, the authors wrote.

The study identified how specific harmful substances migrate through these pathways. Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether—a known endocrine disruptor and potential carcinogen—transfers from coatings of metal food storage containers during transportation and storage.

Phthalates migrate from polyvinyl chloride tubing into milk during processing and transport. Even cleaning agents used to disinfect storage and transport containers can leave residues that end up in food.

Fast food products face particularly high contamination levels because they encounter multiple packaging types throughout the production and service chain, including disposable containers, wrappers, and serving material, said Bryan Quoc Le, a food scientist and principal food consultant at Mendocino Food Consulting, in an interview with The Epoch Times.

Serious Health Risks From FCC Exposure

The health implications of FCC exposure extend far beyond minor concerns, with research linking these chemicals to severe chronic conditions that affect millions of people, according to the study.

Phthalates in food packaging pose significant reproductive health risks, with certain types linked to preterm birth. This early delivery increases the risk of developing chronic conditions later in life, including kidney disease and diabetes.

Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)—a man-made chemical used as a plasticizer—demonstrates particularly concerning effects in adults, with studies associating exposure with obesity and diabetes. Some evidence shows a 40 to 69 percent probability that DEHP exposure directly causes these conditions.

Perfluorooctanoic acid—another common food contact chemical—carries even more severe risks. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified it as carcinogenic to humans, meaning it definitively causes cancer in people exposed to sufficient levels.

Bisphenols, including the well-known bisphenol A (BPA), function as endocrine disruptors, interfering with the body’s hormone systems. This disruption can affect reproductive health, metabolism, and development, particularly in children and pregnant women.

Alternatives like bio-based coatings, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-free barriers, and safer plasticizers are currently available, but they come with trade-offs in cost, performance, and shelf life, said Vineet Dubey, a Los Angeles environmental attorney who focuses on consumer safety issues, in an interview with The Epoch Times.

“As always, change will take time and requires the buy-in of food companies, which have already invested in technology, factories, and industrial farm-to-table systems that package food the ‘old’ way,” he noted.

Ultra-Processed Foods–The Highest Risk Category

Ultra-processed foods face the greatest contamination risk due to their complex manufacturing processes and extensive packaging requirements, according to the recent study.

These products include breakfast cereals and bars, ready-made frozen meals, processed meats like chicken nuggets, energy drinks with significant added sugar, packaged bread, sodas, snacks like cookies and chips, candy, and condiments like ketchup and mayonnaise, Dr. Mia Kazanjian, the co-director of Stamford Health’s Breast Center, who was not involved in the study, told The Epoch Times.

“These are the foods that are exposed to these chemicals most during the packaging, processing, and storage,” she said.

Protecting Yourself From Food Contact Chemicals

Despite the widespread nature of FCC contamination, people can take practical steps to reduce their exposure and protect their health.

Dietary Changes

Health experts recommend reducing the consumption of ultra-processed foods when possible. Instead, prioritize fresh, whole foods that require minimal processing and packaging.

When purchasing packaged foods, choose products with minimal packaging or packaging made from safer materials. Glass and stainless steel containers pose significantly lower risks than plastic alternatives because they are less likely to leach harmful chemicals into food.

Storage Solutions

Replace plastic food storage containers with glass or stainless steel alternatives. These materials resist chemical migration better.

Avoid heating food in plastic containers, as elevated temperatures accelerate chemical migration from plastic into food. Transfer food to glass or ceramic containers before microwaving or heating.

Preparation Practices

Use wooden, glass, or stainless steel utensils and cutting boards instead of plastic alternatives when possible. Plastic cutting boards can contain hundreds of chemicals.

Choose fresh ingredients over packaged alternatives when possible, and prepare meals at home rather than relying on heavily packaged convenience foods.

Call to Action

Kazanjian expressed hope that in the foreseeable future, our food system can be redesigned to minimize the use of potentially hazardous synthetic chemicals.

“It starts with more widespread awareness,” she said, adding that the more people know about this, the more advocacy there will be, and the more movement we will have toward a safer food supply—but it will take time.

“But certain things can be done in short order,” Kazanjian added. “For example, we need more advanced testing to pick up on all the chemicals in these products. Then we need food companies to avoid using them and invest in safer alternatives.”

Lead study author Jane Muncke emphasizes the need for a “holistic” approach to policymaking that integrates considerations of planetary and human health, including FCCs and their effects.

Recent regulatory action provides some hope. In 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revoked authorizations for 23 phthalates in food contact use and limited use to nine compounds. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now requires manufacturers and processors of Di-n-pentyl phthalate, a specific phthalate, to notify the agency before starting or resuming new uses.

According to Muncke, all food packaging, processing equipment, and other food contact materials require adequate safety testing regarding migrating food contact chemicals and microplastics using modern testing methods.

Quoc Le said, “The more we learn about this topic, the clearer it becomes that there is a real problem, which may explain many health problems that exist today—especially those that are severe and undiagnosed in some individuals.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 21:45

Visualizing SpaceX's Stunning Global Lead As 'Made-In America' Rockets Dominate 

SpaceX has secured a commanding lead in the global space launch industry for several years, propelled by its reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets that have drastically lowered launch costs. Barring a major technological breakthrough by a government-backed or deep-pocketed private rival, Elon Musk's rocket empire is poised to maintain dominance well into 2030—and possibly beyond.

New data from analytics and engineering firm BryceTech for 1Q25 illustrates the scale of SpaceX's dominance in the global orbital space launch race, surpassing not only domestic rivals but also major spacefaring nations like China and Russia. 

In Q1, SpaceX led all rocket launches with 36 missions, followed by China with 12, 5 with US-based Rocket Lab, and Russia with 4. 

In terms of satellite deployments, SpaceX dominated the quarter with 900, followed by China with 58 and Rocket Lab with 20. The majority of SpaceX's payloads were Starlink internet satellites.

SpaceX's ability to drive down launch costs has led it to become the leader in all upmass carried to space for the quarter. 

SpaceX powers much of America's rocket program. Without Musk's company in the equation, the data clearly shows that China would be leading the space race.

Credit where it's due—SpaceX is keeping the U.S. ahead of Chinese Communist rivals in the space domain amid a military and AI race.

Starship’s ninth flight test marked a major milestone for reuse with the first flight-proven Super Heavy booster launching from Starbase, and once more returned Starship to space → https://t.co/Gufroc2kUz pic.twitter.com/RNJkj5OobP

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 28, 2025

Where is Jeff Bezos' rocket company?  

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 21:20

Biden Unaware Of Executive Orders 'Signed' By Autopen; Report

Authored by S.A. McCarthy via The Washington Stand,

President Joe Biden issued 162 executive orders over the course of his Oval Office tenure, but according to a new report, most of them were signed by “autopen,” giving rise to concerns that unelected White House staffers may have had more say in shaping policy than the president. The report is furthering those concerns and suggesting that Biden may not have even been aware of the existence of the orders being signed in his name.

The American energy advocacy group Power the Future published the report Wednesday, examining eight Biden-era executive orders on climate change and U.S. energy policy, and found “no evidence” that Biden ever spoke about or acknowledged the existence of any of these orders. “Not in a press conference. Not in a speech. Not even a video statement,” Power the Future’s report stated. Power the Future Executive Director Daniel Turner said in a statement, “Americans deserve to know which unelected staffers or radical unnamed activists implemented sweeping change through an autopen. The Biden energy agenda destroyed the livelihoods of energy workers and fueled the record-high inflation that broke the budgets of millions of Americans.” He asked, “The question is simple, and deserves an immediate answer: what did Joe Biden know, and when did he know it?”

According to the Oversight Project, dedicated to government accountability, practically every order signed by Biden was signed via autopen, with the exception of his announcement withdrawing from the 2024 presidential election. The Oversight Project cited House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who questioned Biden on an executive order affecting liquefied natural gas (LNG) and reported that the president didn’t remember signing the order. “He looks at me, stunned, and he said, ‘I didn’t do that,’” Johnson recounted. He continued, “And I said to him, ‘Mr. President, yes you did, it was an executive order, like, you know, three weeks ago.’ And he goes, ‘No, I didn’t do that.’ … It occurred to me … he was not lying to me. He genuinely did not know what he had signed.”

“For investigators to determine whether then-President Biden actually ordered the signature of relevant legal documents, or if he even had the mental capacity to, they must first determine who controlled the autopen and what checks there were in place,” the Oversight Project wrote in a social media post. The accountability organization continued, “Given President Biden’s decision to revoke Executive Privilege for individuals advising Trump during his first Presidency, this is a knowable fact that can be determined with the correct legal process…”

The “autopen” has been the subject of significant controversy in recent years due to Biden’s excessive use of the technology. Devices have been around for centuries, allowing individuals to replicate their signature or sign multiple documents at once. Thomas Jefferson, for example, kept an early prototype, then called a “polygraph,” in the White House and another in his residence at Monticello. The device allowed a user to sign multiple documents at once but did require the signer to be present and to actively use the machine.

In the late 1930s, an automated version of the machine was developed, called the “autopen,” which would store a template of a signature that could be reproduced without the presence of the actual signer. The autopen became commercially available in the early 1940s and was quickly purchased by politicians, government officials, celebrities, and others. The first U.S. president to use an autopen was reportedly Harry Truman, although he only used the device to sign checks and answer mail. Likewise, most other presidents — such as John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, or Gerald Ford — who used an autopen relegated their use of the instrument to signing checks, correspondence, and autographs.

George W. Bush considered using the autopen to sign executive orders and legislation and even got the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) approval to do so, but still insisted on signing such documents himself, flying to Washington, D.C. to sign emergency legislation in 2005, for example. Barack Obama was the first president to use the autopen to sign legislation, giving his approval to sign Patriot Act extensions via autopen while he was visiting France in 2011, the National Defense Authorization Act while vacationing in Hawaii in 2012, and fiscal legislation in 2013.

President Donald Trump has openly refused to use autopen signatures for executive orders and other legal documents. “We may use it, as an example, to send some young person a letter because it’s nice,” Trump told reporters in March. Contrasting his limited use of the autopen against Biden’s much broader use, Trump added, “But to sign pardons and all of the things that he signed with an autopen is disgraceful.” Trump has also suggested that pardons — and, potentially, executive orders — signed by the Biden administration via autopen may be legally “void” if the president didn’t know what he was signing or didn’t authorize its signature.

The Washington Stand asked the DOJ about potential investigations and, if applicable, prosecutions of the Biden administration’s autopen use and was told, “No comment here.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 20:55

Company Gives Russian Servicemen $190K Bounty For Destroying F-16 Jets In Ukraine

Cash rewards for shooting down American F-16 fighter jets? That's a real headline out of the Ukraine war...

"A Russian company awarded a dozen servicemen a total of 15 million rubles ($190,000) for destroying U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine," the Amsterdam-based Moscow Times reports. And they are even publish photos of the 'award ceremony'.

Russian soldiers are being awarded a total of 15 million rubles (over $190,000) in a ceremony. via FORES/Telegram

"Fores, a Yekaterinburg-based fracking components supplier, said Friday that it handed out the cash prizes to troops at a location near the Russian-Ukrainian border," MT continued. "Photos shared from the ceremony showed the soldiers’ faces blurred."

Russian state sources have reported on at least three confirmed downed Western-supplied F-16s so far in the 3+years-long war, and the Kremlin has called the aircraft "sitting ducks".

In some instances, Ukraine has claimed that jets have simply crashed while operating in intense battle environs, only to have the Russian defense ministry then assert back that they were shot down.

A second US-donated F-16 went down down over Ukraine last December, after prior to that there was a reported incident last August. Another was downed more recently. Conflicting reports have at times even mentioned a 'friendly fire' incident as the potential cause of one downing.

Fores has boasted that it's the first company to ever offer huge financial payouts for the destruction of Western military equipment. It had actually paid out rewards for prior successful attacks on Leopard 2 and Abrams tanks.

According to some background via TASS:

Earlier, Fores Director General Sergey Shmotyev said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that his company would will pay a bonus of 15 million rubles for the first F-16 fighter jet that could be shot down in Ukraine. In December, the businessman confirmed his intentions to TASS.

Based in the Urals, Fores makes proppants for the oil industry. It has supported the Russian Army since the launch of the special military operation. To date, the company has donated 237.7 million rubles ($3 million) toward the purchase of hardware, communications devices, jamming systems, thermal sights, medicines, and evacuation equipment. It has also purchased more than 500 tons of healthcare products and medicinal drugs for the special military operation zone.

Raining money? Russian soldiers hope so, in a somewhat macabre patriotic game...

It was starting in early 2024, when a European and US training program for Ukrainian fighter pilots was well underway, that Fores began announcing huge cash bounties for downing Ukrainian F-16s.

As for the tank reward program, Fores paid out 5 million rubles (about $65K) for the first take destroyed, starting in 2023, and has continued issuing payouts of 500,000 rubles per vehicle. Several videos have emerged of UK, US, and French battle tanks burning and destroyed.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 20:30

Texas Ban On Social Media For Under 18s Fails To Pass Senate

Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Legislation that would have banned anyone under the age of 18 from using or creating social media accounts in Texas stalled in the Senate this week after lawmakers failed to vote on it.

A photo of a child using an Apple iPhone smartphone on Aug. 21, 2014. Peter Byrne/PA

House Bill 186, filed by state Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), would have prohibited minors from creating accounts on social media sites such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and others by requiring the platforms to verify users’ age.

The measure previously passed the GOP-controlled state House with broad bipartisan support in April, but momentum behind the bill slowed at the eleventh hour in the state Senate this week as lawmakers face a weekend deadline to send bills to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

The legislative session ends on Monday.

In a statement on the social media platform X late Thursday, Patterson said the bill’s failure to pass in the Senate was “the biggest disappointment of my career,” adding that no other bill filed this session “would have protected more kids in more ways than this one.”

The Republican lawmaker said he believed its failure to pass meant “I’ve failed these kids and their families.”

“I felt the weight of an entire generation of kids who’ve had their mental health severely handicapped as a result of the harms of social media,”  the lawmaker said. “And then there’s the others - the parents of Texas kids who’ve died as a result of a stupid social media ‘challenge’ or by suicide after being pulled down the dangerous rabbit holes social media uses to hook their users, addict them on their products, and drive them to depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.”

“Finally, there’s the perfectly happy and healthy teens in Texas today, who will find themselves slowly falling off the edge before the legislature meets again in 2027,” he stated.

Patterson suggested he would try and pass the measure again when the Texas Legislature meets in 2027.

House Bill 186 would have prohibited a child from entering into a contract with a social media platform to become an account holder and required platforms to verify that a person seeking to become an account holder is 18 years of age or older before allowing them to create an account.

The legislation would have also required social media platforms to delete accounts belonging to individuals under the age of 18 at a parent or guardian’s request.

Provisions in House Bill 186

According to the bill, the accounts would need to be removed no later than 10 days after receiving such a request, and the platforms would also be required to cease “further use or maintenance in retrievable form, or future online collection, of personal information collected from the child ’s account, on all of its platforms.”

Additionally, the measure would have required platforms to provide a “reasonable, accessible, and verifiable means by which a parent or guardian” could make a request to have their child’s account deleted.

If signed into law, the bill would have gone into effect in September 2025.

Social media companies’ failure to comply with the legislation would have been considered a deceptive trade practice, meaning they could face legal action under Texas consumer protection laws.

While the measure was widely championed by Republicans, it drew sharp condemnation from tech trade groups and critics who branded it an unconstitutional limit on free speech.

Trade association Netchoice said the bill’s core provisions were “unconstitutional,” while the age-verification stipulation “presents heightened threats to privacy and undermines the state’s interest in protecting the privacy of users.”

In addition, the association said the HB 186 “usurps parental decision making.”

The bill’s failure to make it past the state Senate comes as Abbot signed into law a separate measure this week requiring Apple and Google to verify the age of online app store users.

That legislation also requires parental consent to download apps and make in-app purchases for users under 18.

Utah passed a similar bill earlier this year. California is also set to make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent, beginning in 2027.

Florida passed a similar law last year banning social media accounts for children under the age of 14 and requiring parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 19:15

"Billion-Dollar Ghost Town" Surrounds Under Armor Headquarters

The Baltimore Peninsula—formerly known as Port Covington—is a 235-acre, large-scale mixed-use waterfront redevelopment in South Baltimore, which one YouTuber has called it a "billion-dollar ghost town." 

"This video explores Baltimore's newest and swankiest waterfront neighborhood," YouTuber "Building Tales" wrote in the description of the video, adding, "It's a beautiful Saturday, but there's just one thing missing … people." 

The video description continued, "On this particular Saturday I walked around for a half hour and could just about count all the people I saw on one hand. So what's going on here… why are there all of these beautiful new buildings but seemingly no one here to use them?" 

Major developers of the waterfront redevelopment project include:

• Sagamore Ventures (Kevin Plank, Under Armour founder)

• Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group

• MAG Partners (New York-based, led by MaryAnne Gilmartin)

• MacFarlane Partners (San Francisco-based real estate firm)

Financing on the deal included: 

• Public and private financing: Over $5.5 billion in total investment planned

• Largest TIF (Tax Increment Financing) in Baltimore history: $660 million approved in public bonds to fund infrastructure

So far, the struggling apparel brand Under Armour remains the large anchor tenant at Baltimore Peninsula, with a new global headquarters. Much of the surrounding office and retail space has been built on speculation, with hopes that additional tenants will follow.

According to one industry insider, a key challenge facing Baltimore City's commercial real estate market is the growing number of competing business districts—both completed and under development—that are attracting tenants, such as Harbor East. 

The broader issue is that Baltimore City Hall remains under the control of radical leftist activists whose decade-long social justice experiment has backfired, igniting recent violent crime waves. The population in the metro area has plunged to a 100-year low as residents and businesses flee the crime-infested area. 

Whether it's the population collapse, violent crime, mass exodus of residents, or the sight of a "ghost town" in a major new commercial development—Baltimore's decline all points back to one root cause: decades of failed progressive leadership at City Hall.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 18:50

Centralized AI Threatens A Democratic Digital Future

Authored by Manouk Termaaten (founder and CEO of Vertical Studio AI) via CoinTelegraph.com,

Major corporations control decentralized AI (DeAI) companies, leaving decentralized AI in the dust. To build a more decentralized world, the sector must actively execute upon a focused DeAI strategy, with shared standards between projects, without compromise.

In April, a UN report warned that AI’s $4.8-trillion market is dominated by a mere 100 companies, most of which are based in the US and China. Centralized AI incumbents have the money and the connections to control this massive new industry, which means significant implications for society. 

These companies, all employing centralized AI technology, have run into their fair share of headaches. For example, Microsoft’s Copilot garnered attention for creating explicit, inappropriate images, such as children in compromising scenarios. This sparked a public and regulatory backlash.

Although Microsoft created stricter moderation, it had already demonstrated that centralized AI can harbor problems in part due to its closed-source code. 

Citadel was wrapped up in an AI trading scandal in the financial sector, as algorithms allegedly manipulated stock prices via artificial volume creation.

Google’s Project Maven, a Pentagon pilot program used in military tech, has raised ethical questions.

“We believe that Google should not be in the business of war,” reads a letter penned by Google employees and addressed to Sundar Pichai, the company’s CEO. The employees requested that Google leave Project Maven.

“We ask that Project Maven be cancelled, and that Google draft, publicize and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology,” the letter states.

So much for “Don’t be evil” — the company’s old slogan.

These situations give us clear examples of the potential failures of centralized AI, including ethical lapses, opaque decision-making and monopolistic control. DeAI’s open-source ethos, community governance, audit trails and computer facilities can give more than a few massive corporations an edge in the future of AI. 

Centralized AI gains more power 

Corporations and nation-states maintain an upper hand in AI development today — not DeAI projects. Nation-states and corporations can and do outspend DeAI.

Nation-states see that the stakes are high, as Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted when he warned that the country that wins the AI race will “become the ruler of the world.” The People’s Republic of China aims to become the global leader in AI by 2030. 

AI will likely develop an authoritarian bent and feature the pervasive lack of privacy proliferating across today’s World Wide Web, all defined by a corporate state that maintains only a veneer of sharing the fundamental values of the Enlightenment.

DeAI faces an uphill battle

The chances for DeAI to carve out a considerable market share are relatively small. The incumbents are so well-resourced that the battle is one of David and Goliath. Nation-states and corporations will maintain the lead on access to AI, making it all but guaranteed that most of the world will interface with AI first on centralized systems, giving them early adopter status. 

But on a long enough timeline — decades or hundreds of years — DeAI can win market share via open-sourced models and transparent developer documentation.

To realize the vision of DeAI, the sector will have to maximize AI’s benefits with security. DeAI must execute on privacy and data control, resilience, scalability, reduced latency, access democratization and cost-efficiency. It must do this as a community and express its values to the world — regulators, consumers, investors and more. 

DeAI brings numerous advantages over centralized AI systems, like improved privacy and data control, no single point of failure, edge computing and democratized access.

Despite these advantages, AI will undoubtedly be dominated by the prominent state-enterprise apparatus characteristic of the neoliberal world. 

To create a more decentralized world, it’s time to proactively implement a clear DeAI strategy and establish common standards across projects, ensuring these are upheld without compromise.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 18:25

Trump's Tariffs Deliver Record $23 Billion Revenue In May

U.S. tariff revenues reached an all-time high in May as President Donald Trump’s trade policies started to fill government coffers.

According to the May 28 Daily Treasury Statement, revenues from “customs and certain excise taxes” climbed to a record high of $23.28 billion this month, up from $17.431 billion in April.

May was the first full month that Trump’s levies took effect. Most of the tax collections occurred on May 22, exceeding $16 billion.

Shortly after his April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement, the administration imposed 10 percent tariffs on nearly every country in the world.

Fiscal year-to-date—the federal government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30—tariff revenues total $93.85 billion.

As Andrew Moran reports for The Epoch Times, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says that it has been implementing and enforcing the president’s tariffs “using all our enforcement and revenue collection authorities.”

“CBP enforces tariffs through a combination of legal authority, advanced systems, and operational procedures designed to ensure that duties owed are paid,” the CBP said in a report earlier this month.

“We have fulfilled the demand and remain committed to facilitating legitimate trade while upholding a robust enforcement posture.”

Last month, the CBP conducted 33 audits, leading to the collection of $117 million in duties and fees owed to the U.S. government. Officials found that imported goods had been “improperly declared.”

Despite the sizable increase in tariff revenues, it still accounts for a relatively small portion of overall government receipts.

In April, Washington generated $850 billion in revenues, meaning levies represented approximately 2 percent of the total amount.

Despite the president’s estimates, tariffs are only producing less than $1 billion per day for the U.S. government.

President Donald Trump meets with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House on April 14, 2025. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

During a meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele last month, Trump stated that the United States was “taking in billions and billions of dollars” from his trade agenda.

“We were losing 2 billion a day. ... Now we’re making $3 billion a day,” he said.

The president has repeatedly threatened new or higher tariffs since the “Make America Wealthy Again” event on April 2.

“Remember, I am empowered to ‘SET A DEAL’ for Trade into the United States if we are unable to make a deal, or are treated unfairly,” Trump said in a May 27 post on social media platform Truth Social.

Looking at Revenue Projections

Senior administration officials have presented substantial revenue projections based on the president’s tariff plans.

In a March 31 interview with “Fox News Sunday,” the president’s senior trade adviser, Peter Navarro, forecast that tariffs could raise approximately $600 billion a year, or about $6 trillion over a decade.

“The message is that tariffs are tax cuts, tariffs are jobs, tariffs are national security. Tariffs are great for America. They will make America great again,” Navarro said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters during a briefing at the White House on April 29, 2025. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times

Economists have presented more conservative estimates.

The Tax Foundation, for example, anticipates Trump’s higher import duties will lead to more than $2.1 trillion in revenue over 10 years.

Officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have suggested that tariffs could be a major source of income for the federal government. Speaking to reporters at a White House press briefing, Bessent stated that tariff revenue could “give income tax relief.”

This would, however, be only temporary.

According to the senior Cabinet secretary, reliance on tariff revenue would diminish as more companies onshore and reshore manufacturing, bolstering domestic income.

“If we’re successful, tariffs would be a melting ice cube, in a way, because you’re taking in the revenues as the manufacturing facilities are built in the U.S., and there should be some level of symmetry between the taxes we begin taking in with the new industry from the payroll taxes as the tariffs decline,” Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on April 8.

The administration’s tariffs have now faced legal hurdles, which might throw a wrench in fiscal projections.

A three-judge panel at the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade blocked the president’s global tariffs. A second court also handed down an order blocking Trump’s use of emergency powers to implement tariffs.

An appeals court ruled that the president’s tariffs could stay in place.

Scores of White House officials have shrugged off the legal roadblocks.

In a May 30 interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that the president has “other tools” to implement his trade agenda.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies before the Senate Finance Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on April 8, 2025. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

“All these things are on the table,” Greer said. “The reality is, we have this enormous trade deficit. It got worse over the Biden years, and if we don’t fix the global trading system, it’s just going to get even worse going forward. We have to fix it.”

According to the Census Bureau, the U.S. goods trade deficit narrowed sharply in April, declining to $87.6 billion. This is down 46 percent from the record high of $162.3 billion registered in March.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/30/2025 - 18:00