At The Money: The Art of Spending Money with Morgan Housel (May 22, 2025)

 Is there an art to spending your own money? We spend a lot of time discussing earning and investing money, but how often do we really think deeply about spending it? Morgan Housel wrote a new book, “The Art of Spending Money, Simple Choices for a Richer Life.” It arrives in October, where he discusses just that.

Each week, “At the Money” discusses an important topic in money management. From portfolio construction to taxes and cutting down on fees, join Barry Ritholtz to learn the best ways to put your money to work.

Full transcript below.

~~~

About this week’s guest:

Morgan Housel is a partner at the Collaborative Fund and is the author of the best-selling “The Psychology of Money” (8 million copies sold worldwide)

For more info, see:

Personal website

Masters in Business

LinkedIn

Twitter

~~~

 

Find all of the previous At the Money episodes here, and in the MiB feed on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and Bloomberg. And find the entire musical playlist of At the Money on Spotify

 

 

 

Transcript:

 

Barry Ritholtz:  Is there an art to spending your own money?

We spend a lot of time around these parts discussing, earning, and of course, investing money, but how often do we really think deeply about spending it? I’m Barry Ritholtz and on today’s edition of At The Money, we’re gonna discuss how you should think about spending your cash to help us unpack all of this and what it means for you.

Let’s bring in Morgan Housel. He’s the author of “The Psychology of Money.” The book has received widespread acclaim and has sold over 7 million copies worldwide. His new book, “The Art of Spending Money, Simple Choices for a Richer Life” arrives in October.

So Morgan, you’ve covered human behavior and human nature, what led you to say, I wanna write a new book about the art of spending money.

Morgan Housel: Well, thanks, Barry. The, the first reason was I, I didn’t call this book The Science of Spending Money because I don’t think that exists. Science implies that there is like a, a one size fits all rule for, for you and I, and that’s not the case.

I call it the artist spending money because art is subjective. It is often contradictory. It is different from person to person, and that’s really what spending is. The reason why I wanted to tackle this is because you just alluded to this, there is so much commentary, so much ink has been spilled. So much good ink has been spilled on how to invest, how to grow your career, how to earn more money, very little on spending money.

And I think the reason why is because it is assumed that everybody knows how to do it, which is just spend more and you’ll be happier, you’ll be better off, and it doesn’t really matter what you spend it on. Sometimes you hear a little bit nuance of spend on experience versus things, but. To me, there was so much more in the psychology of spending when you dug into the deep mechanics of envy and jealousy and getting attention and copying other people.

There were so many good stories to dig in there that might seem, you know, not exact, not really deep. This is not astrophysics. It’s just basic psychology, but it tends to be ignored. Particularly in finance where all the attention is, how do you just get more money and you kind of leave it to assumption of what you’re gonna do with the money after you get it.

Barry Ritholtz: So let’s talk a little bit about the science behind some of the things you’re discussing. There’s been a lot of academic research: Does money make you happier? At what point are there, does the rule of diminishing returns kick in? What does the science of spending look like, before we get to the art of spending?

Morgan Housel: One of the things I think is really interesting is that what a lot of the research shows is that if you are already a happy person, money can make you happier. But if you are a depressed person – or a miserable person, whatever it might be – that it will not, and it’s easy to just kind of contextualize this into a real person’s life of if you are in a bad marriage and you hate your career and you have a two hour commute and just go on down the list, you’re an alcoholic, you’re obese. If you take that person and you give them more money, will they be happier? The answer is no, of course not, because all of those other aspects of their life are gonna override whatever money can do for them.

But if you also take somebody who’s in a great marriage loves their career, they’re happy, they’re healthy, they sleep eight hours, they have a good set of friends – and you give that person more money, there’s a good chance that they’re gonna use that money to just leverage what they’re already doing. To spend more time with the friends who they already love, to spend more time getting healthier and eating good food.

And so money can really just. Just leverage the person who you already are and the lifestyle that you’re already living. But I think a lot of people go astray with that when they are unhappy, and they think, if only I had more money, all my problems would go away.

Barry Ritholtz: And one of the interesting things in the academic literature that I recall seeing a few years ago was when they draw these charts of money potentially making people happier, Divorce is a giant red flag. People in the middle of a divorce or people who have recently been divorced, that’s a really challenging road to haul, isn’t it? It.

Morgan Housel: I think what it comes down to is that having more money is, is so quantifiable that it, it, we use it as a crutch for all of our problems.

For example, if I said I would have a better life if I was a 10% better dad. What does that even mean? What is a 10% better Dad mean? Rhere’s no way to quantify it, but if I said I would have a better life if my salary went up by 10%, you can easily quantify that, wrap your head around it. So we chase that and we, we assume that that’s gonna be the solution to all of our ills.

Even if becoming a better dad might make me a happier, better person, but since it’s impossible to quantify, I just ignore it and pretended that it doesn’t exist.

Barry Ritholtz: You alluded to impressing others. How should people avoid spending money for. Status and symbolism as opposed to bringing themselves satisfaction and happiness.

I the first to say I love nice things. I like a nice house, I like a nice car. I like nice clothes, I like nice vacations. I travel well, et cetera, et cetera. I’m not saying live like a monk by any means, but what is true is that a lot of spending is for social signaling. You just wanna show other people who you are and how successful you are.

To me, the next layer below that is, well, who are you trying to impress and are they even paying any attention to you? And this is different for every person, but for me, the people in my life who I want to love me, are my wife, my kids, my parents, and maybe two or three friends. And I really want their love and affection and admiration. And I want do things.

including with my money, to help them and to give them a better life so that they will love me back. That’s the truth. But after that small set of, you know, seven people or whatever, it falls very quickly from there.

And then there’s another layer below that of like work associates who I love having a good time with and having a nice dinner with. But then it really collapses from there, and I could not care less what 99.9% of the world thinks of my house or my car or my clothes, because they’re not paying any attention. It is so easy to overestimate how much other people are looking at your stuff, your house, your cars, they’re not paying any attention.

They’re busy worrying about themselves and thinking about themselves. And so when you frame it like that – it’s not to say don’t use your money to gain attention – it’s use it to gain attention from the very small core group of people who you want to love you. There’s a great quote from Warren Buffett where he says, “The definition of success in life is when the people who you want to love you do love you.”

I think you can twist that into thinking how you spend your money as well.

Barry Ritholtz: In the modern era of social media and TikTok and Instagram, there’s a lot of influencer flexing and they’re trying to show off their lifestyle. I recall being on vacation at a place in Puerto Rico and two lounge chairs over was this woman who instead of just lying there and enjoying the beautiful sun and surf, read a book, whatever. She was just constantly taking selfies, doing, and so I finally had to say, Hey, what are you doing?

She said, oh, I’m an Instagram influencer…

So you’re not just gonna kick back and enjoy this. And she said, “Oh no, this is work.”

You and I had a conversation a couple of years ago that’s so related to this. I let’s see if you recall this, you know the person driving down the street in the loud Lamborghini or the person around the corner from you with a giant house? You are only seeing one half of the balance sheet. You’re only seeing their assets. We talked about, well, did they pay cash for that or did they go deep into hock in order to buy a house or a car to show off for the neighbors? Talk about that a little bit.

Morgan Housel: Wealth is what you don’t see. Wealth is the cars that you didn’t purchase and the giant house that you didn’t buy. That’s what wealth is. It is money that you didn’t spend that you can now save for either for future consumption or for independence today. That’s what wealth is.

And so I can see your car, I can see your house, I can see your watch and your clothes. I cannot see your bank account or your brokerage statement. So the most important part of wealth – literally in my view, the definition of wealth is invisible to everybody.

And that is so unique in life because if you take like physical fitness. You can see somebody’s physique, it’s right there. And so you know kind of who to admire and who to chase. “Oh, that, that person’s in great shape. I should ask them what they do. I should ask them their diet and try to mimic what they do.”

But if you see somebody with a mansion or a Ferrari or whatever it is. You don’t know that they got that by success. That may be the picture of a leverage. And they, it’s possible that they haven’t slept in two weeks because they’re wondering how they’re gonna make their next Ferrari lease payment.

And so we have kind of like a fake view of who we’re chasing and what we should do, because wealth that we’re chasing is invisible.

Barry Ritholtz: So this comes back to the concept of spending as an art. And in one of the sections of the book you talk about “self-awareness over spreadsheets.” How self-aware do we need to be in order to be more artful spenders towards happiness and life satisfaction?

Morgan Housel: I think every big, big financial decision spending decision is, is two parts: Head and Heart.

Like if you’re buying a house, of course it’s not just a spreadsheet. I tell the story that when my wife and I bought our first house, uh, nine years ago, we found the listing on Zillow and we’re like, oh, that, that looks great. Let’s go check it out. But we’re, this is just information gathering. We’re, this is just, we’re just gonna go look at it.

And, uh, but, but we’re not making any decisions here. And we pulled into the driveway and as soon as we pulled into the driveway, my, my wife gasped and she said, I love it. And at that point, forget the spreadsheets, forget the like the valuation comps. That is all hard at that point.

But here’s the thing, we don’t regret that in the slightest. It was, it was a great house and we had Christmas mornings with our kids. Both of our kids were. You know, we’re, we’re born not in that house, but we brought them home as, as newborns in that house, so many amazing memories that you could not track on a spreadsheet.

Barry Ritholtz: I’m laughing because the very first house my wife and I bought, I don’t know, 29 years ago? We pulled into the driveway. I looked at her face and I just said, Uh Oh. That was the first house we bought. The house I’m in for the past almost 15 years. We pulled up the driveway and same as your wife. She’s like, wow. And I’m like, uhoh, here we go again!

Real estate’s an interesting one too because does buying a big fancy house make you happier? If you phrase it like that, the answer is no. But does spending more time with your spouse, your kids, your friends, your neighbors, does that make you happier? Absolutely.

And can a big house make it easier to have your friends over? Yes. So there’s an indirect path to which, yes, spending money on a great house can make you happier, but it’s not because of the house, it’s because it makes it easier to spend time with people that you admire and love.

Barry Ritholtz: So let’s bring this back to a theme that I have seen in all of your writings, all of your books I’ve known you for how many years? 15 years just about (Sounds right) going back, going back to Vancouver, peace of mind as the ultimate spending return. Tell us about that.

Morgan Housel: I think it’s different for every person. There are, there are certainly people out there that would go crazy if they were not stressed out and if they were not pushing themselves to the max every day.

But the vast majority of people, including myself, what I want out of money is a simple life. Now, simple doesn’t mean cheap or frugal. Simple can be extravagant, but it’s simple in the sense that you are using money as a tool. It’s not. It’s not using you, it’s not conducting your behavior or your activities. I want to use money as a tool in my life to leverage who I wanna be.

And for me, and I think you and many other people that is like, uh, like doing the best work that I can, but having full control over my schedule, doing a lot of reading, working when I want, with whom I want for as long as I want, being in control over my time. That’s what I want out of money. Using it as a tool rather than it using me to say, “Morgan, this is how you should spend your money. You should get these people’s attention. That guy’s car is faster than your yours. So you need to upgrade.” That is when money is using you rather than you’re using it.

Barry Ritholtz: Perfect way to sum this up and to end. Morgan Housel’s new book, “The Art of Spending Money, Simple Choices for Richer Life,” arrives in October to wrap up. Spending money can bring you happiness if you go about it the right way. If you’re not just flexing and showing off. If you’re spending time with friends and family and loved ones.

If you’re using money as a tool to achieve certain aims, well then have at it. Go out and spend money. Just don’t post everything you do on Instagram. I’m Barry Ritholtz. You are listening to Bloomberg’s at the Money.

 

 

The post At the Money: Morgan Housel on The Art of Spending Money appeared first on The Big Picture.

Norway Bets Big On Offshore Wind

Authored by Michael Kern via OilPrice.com,

Norway announced on Monday a tender for three project areas for floating offshore wind in a highly-anticipated first competition for this type of renewable energy in the Nordic country. 

The Norwegian Energy Ministry, which said earlier this year that it would bet on floating wind instead of fixed-bottom offshore wind, is now opening competition for project areas for offshore wind in Utsira Nord outside the coast of Rogaland off Norway’s southwest coast.  

The installed capacity in each project area cannot exceed 500 megawatts (MW), according to the competition tender, in which applications for projects will be received until September 15, 2025. 

Norway will subsidize the projects, for a total of $3.4 billion (35 billion Norwegian crowns) cap for state aid at Utsira Nord. 

Winning bids will have two years to mature their projects and participate in an auction for state aid as a direct grant in 2028 or 2029. 

The model for allocating project areas and government support – developed in dialogue with the offshore industry – is adapted to floating offshore wind and will contribute to both technology development and cost reductions for subsequent projects, Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Norway scrapped plans to hold a fixed-bottom offshore wind tender at the Sørvest F offshore area in 2025, due to high costs to connect power to the grid. 

Instead of fixed-bottom offshore wind at Sørvest F, the Norwegian government will prioritize floating wind in the tenders with radial links to the grid, the energy ministry said in February. 

Norway’s floating wind tender comes as the global offshore wind industry continues to face significant headwinds relating to supply chain, regulatory, and macroeconomic developments.  

Orsted, the world’s biggest offshore wind project developer, earlier this month warned of a continued challenging environment for the industry. 

Due to higher costs and interest rates, the company announced it had decided to discontinue the development of the Hornsea 4 offshore wind project in the UK in its current form. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/22/2025 - 03:30

Spain's Socialist Govt Pours Taxpayers' Millions Into Equality Plan To Combat Nationalist Surge

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

As nationalist parties surge across Europe, the Spanish Socialist-led government is doubling down on its ideological agenda — plowing over €140 million of taxpayer money into a nationwide equality plan aimed, in part, at combating what it labels “far-right” narratives among young men.

The move comes just days after significant gains for right-wing forces across the continent, including in neighboring Portugal, where the populist Chega party enjoyed electoral success to compete with the two dominant legacy parties, and in Poland, where the presidential race saw a majority of voters supporting conservative candidates.

Yet while many European electorates turn toward nationalist, traditionalist platforms, Spain’s Ministry of Equality has announced the distribution of €142.5 million to the country’s autonomous communities as part of its 2025 Co-Responsible Plan.

As reported by El Debate, the funding, which is 75 percent covered by the central government and 25 percent by regional administrations, will finance projects aimed at enforcing gender parity, redefining family life, and promoting what the government terms “co-responsible masculinities.”

Speaking after the Council of Ministers approved the latest round of funding, Equality Minister Ana Redondo explained that the Spanish government’s focus is “social transformation.”

The timing of the announcement has raised eyebrows, especially given Redondo’s remarks about the growing popularity of nationalist parties among young men. “It’s a concern of this government, in Europe, and a concern of society as a whole,” she said, describing online platforms as an environment where “hate, denialism, and anti-equality messages” are allegedly radicalizing young people against parties like hers and into the hands of populists.

Redondo warned that pornography and social media were fuelling “a misogynistic, sexist conception that devalues women,” which she claimed undermines both equality and democracy. 

“All the policies of the Ministry are also aimed at facing this new reality,” she added.

Critics accuse the government of responding to rising disillusionment with its social agenda by funneling state money into programs that stigmatize dissenting views as extremism.

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/22/2025 - 02:45

End Of An Era: Kurdish PKK Disbands After 4-Decade Fight Against Turkey

Authored by Christian Orr via The Epoch Times,

Some rather surprising (perhaps even “shocking” would be an appropriate adjective?) news emerged from Turkey on May 12: the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) declared its decision to disband and disarm, thus ending an insurgency campaign against the Turkish government that had begun on Aug. 15, 1984, and claimed the lives of over 40,000 people.

Leader Calls for Cease-Fire

As noted in a May 13 SOFX article:

“The decision came after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence on an island near Istanbul, urged the group to disband. In March, the PKK declared a unilateral ceasefire in response to Ocalan’s call. ... In announcing its disbandment, the PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU, the U.K., and the U.S., said that it has ‘completed its historical mission’ and will ‘end the method of armed struggle.' ... The group added that, from now on, the Kurdish issue ‘can be resolved through democratic politics.’” 

Erdogan and Other World Leaders React

Not surprisingly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the disbandment announcement, calling it an “important threshold” toward a “terror-free Turkey,” adding that the move opens the door to stronger democratic processes and political stability. Granted, one might be inclined to take Erdogan’s notion of “stronger democratic processes” with a grain of salt, given his well-known autocratic tendencies.

Meanwhile, to quote the SOFX piece again, “The United Nations called it a step toward peace while Syria’s foreign ministry called it a ‘pivotal moment’ for regional stability.”

True Terrorists, or Freedom Fighters?

The PKK has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States alike.

There is the old adage—some would say “cliché”—that “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” and that saying is certainly applicable to the PKK. Indeed, the application of the “terrorist organization” label to the PKK is certainly not without its fair share of controversy. For example, both in 2008 and 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the PKK was arbitrarily designated as a terror organization without due process; however, the EU as a whole has sustained the PKK’s terrorist classification in spite of those two rulings.

In addition, the U.S. State Department’s continued inclusion of the PKK on its Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations list—which has been in place since October 1997—might be a tad surprising at first glance in light of America’s longstanding friendship with the Iraqi Kurds (as exemplified by the alliance between the U.S. military and the Kurdish peshmerga in the overthrow of then-Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein during the 2003 Iraq War). But then again, since Turkey at least ostensibly remains America’s ally in NATO, notwithstanding the tensions between Washington and the Erdogan regime, perhaps this is not so surprising.

Labeling controversies aside, the PKK began its insurgency seeking an independent Kurdish state, but gradually shifted its focus to securing more autonomy and rights for Turkey’s Kurdish population, which comprises roughly 20 percent of the country’s total populace.

Historical Analogies and Precedents

As far as I can recall and ascertain, the last time a major freedom fighter/guerrilla/insurgent/terrorist group dissolved so suddenly after such a long conflict was back in May 2009. That was when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, often referred to as simply the Tamil Tigers, formally surrendered to the Sri Lankan Army and the latter’s Sinhalese majority-dominated government, thus ending a civil war that had ravaged that South Asian island nation since July 1983 (coincidentally just over a year before the PKK began its own armed struggle).

Going back in time an additional 11 years from the Tamil Tigers’ surrender, there was the Good Friday Agreement, a.k.a. the Belfast Agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, which officially ended “The Troubles” between the UK government and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (a.k.a. the “Provos”) in Northern Ireland. Though semantically speaking, one doesn’t typically see or hear the word “surrender” used in reference to the Provos’ acquiescence to this accord—and indeed, their political wing, Sinn Féin, remains to this day—the fact remains that the Irish militant group formally announced the end of its campaign of violence in July 2005.

The Way Forward?

It is still unclear what reward or concession (if any) Mr. Ocalan—who has been serving his sentence since 1999—and his supporters might receive in return for disbanding, though there is some speculation that he could be granted parole (assuming, of course, that President Erdogan is willing and able to grant that sort of forbearance and magnanimity).

Time will tell if the new Turkish Kurdistan “peace” (assuming it’s not too early to use that word in this instance) will hold steady over the long term like it has in Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland. “Inshallah,” as some might say.

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/22/2025 - 02:00

CCP, Russia, Iran Collaborating With Cartels To Smuggle Fentanyl Into US Through Canada: FBI Director

Authored by Jennifer Cowan via The Epoch Times,

FBI Director Kash Patel says the flow of fentanyl into the United States is coming from his country’s northern neighbour. He says China, Russia, and Iran are partnering with cartels to smuggle the drug into the United States via Vancouver.

Patel told Fox News that the Chinese Communist Party and the regimes in Russia and Iran are responsible for the influx of fentanyl pouring into his country. He said hostile regimes like Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow are collaborating with criminal organizations to smuggle fentanyl across the Canada-U.S. border following President Donald Trump’s sealing of America’s southern border with Mexico.

“They’re sailing around to Vancouver and coming in by air,” Patel said during an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that aired on May 18. The FBI is focused on fentanyl coming across the border and calling on state and local law enforcement partners to address the issue, he said, also noting that the Canadian government needs to do more.

“You know who has to step in? It’s Canada, because they’re making it up there and shipping it down here,” he said.

“I don’t care about getting into this debate of making someone the 51st state or not, but they are our partner in the north. And say what you want about Mexico, but they helped us seal the southern border. The facts speak for themselves.”

With Vancouver being identified by the FBI as a problem area, B.C. Conservative MLA and public safety critic Elenore Sturko is calling on Premier David Eby’s NDP government to implement a provincial fentanyl strategy, appoint a bipartisan provincial drug task force on drug trafficking, and launch two public inquiries.

“The FBI has issued a warning to Canada to prepare in the event that we see an increase in the production of fentanyl and other deadly drugs as a result of American enforcement on their southern border with Mexico,” she said in a video posted on social media on May 18. “This shouldn’t come as a surprise to Canada, because we know that between 2023 and 2024, Canada saw an increase in the number of gangs and cartels and terrorist organizations doing business here in Canada, primarily in Ontario and in British Columbia.”

A 2024 report from Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC) indicated that participation of Canada-based organized crime groups in fentanyl-related activities has increased by 42 percent since 2019.

There are 235 criminal organizations engaged in fentanyl-related activities, with 35 of these groups participating in the export of domestically manufactured drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to the report.

Sturko said immediate action should be taken by the B.C. government to deal with the fentanyl issue.

“It’s never been more important for us to take action on illicit drug production in British Columbia,” she said.

B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Garry Begg has said that his government is expanding police resources and “intelligence-led” enforcement to fight drug trafficking.

“Just this past October [2024,] RCMP federal drug policing dismantled the largest fentanyl and methamphetamine superlab in Canadian history, preventing over 95 million lethal doses of this drug flooding our streets. This is the kind of action that saves lives,” Begg said in the B.C. legislature in February. “We will continue to support enforcement crackdowns on drug traffickers and bad actors wherever they may be in British Columbia.”

Drug Concerns

The comments from Patel and Sturko come just days after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released its 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, which links Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs)—including international drug cartels and other violent criminal groups—to the fentanyl supply in the United States.

The law enforcement agency says Mexican cartels are capitalizing on the relative ease of the production of synthetic drugs compared with traditional plant-based drug production to generate immense revenues, primarily sourcing the necessary precursor chemicals from China and India. They maintain a “complex and robust” network—couriers, border tunnels, and stash houses—to smuggle all of the major illicit drugs into the United States via air and maritime cargo as well as overland traffic, the DEA said.

Canada was named in the DEA report as a destination point for shipments of precursor chemicals as well as a source of “growing concern” due to “elevated synthetic drug production” occurring there, particularly from sophisticated fentanyl “super laboratories” such as the type seized by the RCMP in B.C. in October 2024.

The production of fentanyl and its illicit smuggling across borders by Canadian criminal organizations has been a point of contention between the United States and Canada for several months.

Trump levied 25 percent tariffs on Canadian products not covered under the countries’ free-trade agreement USMCA, as well as a 10 percent levy on Canadian energy products, saying that Canada must do more on border security to curb the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs flowing into the United States.

White House senior adviser Peter Navarro has said the tariffs were implemented because “the president is fighting a drug war,” while dismissing accusations that his country was launching a trade war against Canada.

Canada has earmarked $1.5 billion to boost border security since Trump first threatened tariffs and, at his request, has also appointed a “fentanyl czar” to oversee a Canada–U.S. Joint Strike Force and named a list of fentanyl cartels as terrorists.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in January that less than 0.2 percent of fentanyl seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) comes from Canada.

According to the DEA’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment report, as of spring 2025, 22.7 kilograms of Canada-sourced fentanyl were seized at the Canada-U.S.border in 2024, compared to 9,354 kilograms seized at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Precursor Chemicals

But China analysts say the statistics on northern border drug seizures do not account for the Beijing-linked fentanyl precursor operations that are based in Canada.

“It doesn’t have to be that border services at the U.S. [bust] a big load of finished fentanyl,” author and investigative journalist Sam Cooper told The Epoch Times in a previous interview. “What is key here is that the precursors are coming into Canada and being shipped elsewhere, and the money laundering is being directed from Canada.”

Once these precursor chemicals are brought into the country, they predominantly find their way to superlabs located across Canada, especially in the Western provinces. “Superlabs” is the term used by the RCMP to describe the clandestine synthetic drug production facilities, which are “large-scale, highly organized labs generally tied to organized crime where drugs are produced for the purpose of wholesale trafficking.”

Federal investigators in British Columbia said they dismantled the “largest, most sophisticated” drug-production lab in Canadian history last fall, dealing what they described as a “decisive blow” to a major transnational organized crime group operating in the province.

Pacific Region RCMP Assistant Commissioner David Teboul said officers seized a combination of precursor chemicals and finished fentanyl products that could have amounted to 95.5 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl.

Several million more “potentially lethal doses of fentanyl” were seized by the B.C. RCMP in March after investigators dismantled three synthetic drug labs in the province. All three labs have been tied to transnational organized crime groups based in British Columbia.

The police said it was not known where the drugs would have been shipped, but a June 2024 briefing note by Global Affairs Canada said that past seizures of Canada-sourced fentanyl have occurred in places like the United States and Australia.

The report identified China as the largest source country for illegal fentanyl and chemical precursors exported to Canada and North America since 2015.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 23:25

What Are The Most Popular Baby Names In The US?

Olivia, Emma and Amelia have been announced as the three most popular baby names for girls in the U.S., while for boys, Liam, Noah and Oliver were parents' favorites. 

This is according to the U.S. Social Security Administration’s annual list of the most popular baby names in the United States.

According to the institution, Statista's Anna Fleck reports that the list, released earlier this month, is based on applications for Social Security cards, which are submitted at the time of birth.

Olivia and Liam have held the top spots for the past six consecutive years. The third position has shown slightly more variation since 2015, with the appearance of Amelia, Charlotte, Ava and Sophia for girls, as well as William and Mason for boys. 

 

You will find more infographics at Statista

Other girls' names that featured in the top 10 last year were Charlotte, Mia, Sophia, Isabella, Evlyn and Ava. For boys, they were James, Genry, Mateo, Elijah, Lucas and William.

In 2024, the names with the biggest changes in popularity were Truce for a boy, which rose from rank 12,109 in 2023 to 991 in 2024 and Ailany for a girl, which rose from rank 855 to 101. 

Truce is an Old English name meaning “peace”, while Ailany is believed to be derived from the Hawaiian name Ailani, which means “chief”.

In total, 3.61 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2024, up from 3.59 million in 2023.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 23:00

The KGB Spy Who Predicted Our Future

Authored by Adam Sharp via DailyReckoning.com,

My dear friends, I think you are in very big trouble. Whether you believe it or not, YOU ARE AT WAR. And you may lose this war very soon together with all your affluence and freedoms unless you start defending yourselves.

–Yuri Bezmenov, 1984

In 1970, a Soviet KGB agent named Yuri Bezmenov defected to the West. His story is fascinating. Yuri shared key details on how USSR propaganda and subversion worked.

But first we need to discover why Yuri came over to the West…

Since the 1960s, Yuri had been stationed in India. His cover assignment was as a journalist for the Novosti Press Agency.

But his real job as a KGB agent was to influence policymakers, academics, and journalists. Yuri’s mission was to infect these targets with Marxist-Leninist ideology.

He planted stories about how benevolent and fair the USSR was. He charmed diplomats and politicians with vodka (and less tasteful means). He planted stories to discredit the United States.

He built relationships with influential Indians with a goal of shaping the narrative around the Soviet Union. He worked with students, recruiting future Indian leaders to study in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

His job was to corrupt both individuals and institutions.

Eventually Yuri became disillusioned with his work. He realized that his efforts were actively harming the Indian people, whom he had become quite attached to.

So he decided to defect to the West. He disguised himself as an American hippie, and joined one of the wandering groups of backpackers which frequented India at the time.

Yuri slipped his Soviet handlers and made his way to the American embassy. They granted him asylum, and he was debriefed by the CIA and FBI.

Lessons in Ideological Subversion

Once in North America, Yuri Bezmenov changed his name to Tomas Schuman and worked as a producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CGC). Ironically, part of his job was now to target Russian-speaking countries with Western views.

Yuri wrote books and lectured all over North America, warning that if the United States didn’t guard its values closely, they would be overwhelmed by the same type of social warfare he used in India.

Bezmenov described this process as “ideological subversion”. He claimed that 85% of the KGB counterintelligence budget was used to subvert countries. Less than 15% of KGB spending was on the cloak-and-dagger stuff we see in movies.

The USSR ran the same playbook in countless countries, and Yuri warned Americans that we were now the primary target.

He explained that ideological subversion generally has 4 stages.

• Demoralization (15-20 year process) – begin to undermine a society’s values, religion, and institutions.

• Destabilization (2-5 years) – encourage political polarization, unrest, inflation.

• Crisis (sudden but with lasting effects) – enacting change by taking advantage of a major destabilizing event such as war or economic crisis.

• Normalization (indefinite) – The now authoritarian and demoralized society becomes normal to citizens, and they barely notice its negative aspects.

Yuri said that it takes 15-20 years to demoralize a nation because that’s how long it takes to propagandize one generation with socialist ideals.

Bezmenov also said that once someone is subverted, it is extremely difficult to reverse the process. You can show them all the factual information you want, but it won’t change their views. They have become completely demoralized.

I would argue that America’s crisis stage was 9/11. It was a war combined with an economic collapse. Interestingly, this date also coincides with America’s declining religiosity. In 2000, 68% of Americans reported belonging to a church, synagogue, temple, or mosque. Today it’s just 45%.

Source: Gallup

Americans of all religions have been losing faith. Yuri predicted this. Disrupting a country’s religious values is a key part of the subversion playbook. However, we’re beginning to see signs of a religious reawakening. Many of my kids’ friends have actually encouraged their parents to join a church, which is a positive sign.

If you can’t guess, we are still in the midst of the normalization stage. However, Americans do finally appear to be waking up.

The only thing that will wake fully demoralized people from their slumber is a “kick in the balls” as Yuri said. In other words, conditions have to get bad before the brainwashed population wakes up. We’re reaching that stage now and I suspect we’ll hit the tipping point over the next decade.

Set in Motion Long Ago

To be clear, modern Russia is not actively subverting America. This plan was set in motion many decades ago during the peak of the cold war with the USSR.

Subversion is a “set it and forget it” type of operation. Once you influence one generation, the effect is self-perpetuating (up to a point).

It’s a disturbingly brilliant form of warfare. Silent, effective, and cheap.

Fortunately, there is a way out of demoralization. Yuri encouraged Americans to vote conservative, and basically said the only way out is through strong right-wing leaders. We have that in Donald Trump, and his return to the Presidency is a good sign for the country.

The left tried everything to prevent the re-election of Donald J. Trump. Fake criminal charges, lawsuits, slander, and more. Yet Americans saw through the lies. This is encouraging.

Additionally, young Americans are increasingly conservative. The old demoralized political left is withering away. Their appeal amongst young voters has plummeted, and the DNC is rudderless.

Our country will get out of this demoralized phase in time. We’ve already made good progress over the past decade and this should continue.

For those who wish to learn more, here are my favorite interviews, books, and lectures featuring Yuri Bezmenov:

• Socialist Subversion Explained (Youtube)

• Full Interview with G. Edward Griffin (Youtube)

• A Love Letter to America (PDF)

• 1983 Lecture on Subversion (Youtube)

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 22:35

Few Americans Enjoy Using AI

Tools using artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, are only liked by 22 percent of Americans in their everyday lives.

This places the country towards the bottom of the ranking when compared to other nations, reports Statista's Katharina Buchholz according to a survey by Statista Consumer Insights shows. 

 

You will find more infographics at Statista

In India, almost every second respondent said they enjoyed using AI tools, while in China and Spain, the number is still just over one in three. 

ChatGPT and other AI tools are least popular in Japan, where only 10 percent of respondents said they were excited about using AI software in their everyday lives. 

The popularity of AI software is also low in Italy (20 percent). 

The chatbot was developed by the U.S. software company OpenAI.

These findings align with data from Ipsos, which found that Asia as a region has higher levels of enthusiasm about a future with AI. Ipsos also asked respondents how much they knew about AI products and services, finding that this self-claimed knowledge was highest in Asia, with China (81 percent), Indonesia (80 percent) and Thailand (69 percent) topping the list.

In terms of consumer products, artificial intelligence refers to the simulation and automation of intelligent behavior. AI in general is used in a wide variety of fields, such as the development of voice assistants, industrial robots and medicine. 

The field of autonomous driving also falls within this category. Forecasts predict that global revenues in the field of artificial intelligence will continue to grow in the coming years.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 22:10

Frugality Rules As Americans Start Making The Most In A Hand-Me-Down Market

Authored by Allan Stein via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

PHOENIX—While many retailers have struggled, business has thrived since Estefania Gasca and her husband, Cristobal Zepeda, established Thrift It Forward consignment store in Phoenix nearly two years ago.

Deborah Locker, an employee at Christian Family Care Thrift Store in Phoenix, Ariz., stands behind the sales counter on May 1, 2025. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

Some days, the second-hand goods sell as quickly as they come in.

The couple has learned to appreciate the intrinsic value of old things, as second-hand resale and “do-it-yourself” repairs grow in popularity.

Gasca views it as a gradual paradigm shift—a new way of living based on old-school thinking.

“I feel like people are being more frugal. I feel that people are resorting more to buying second-hand rather than new,” said Gasca, standing behind the check-out counter on May 1.

“I feel like we haven’t experienced a [major] change just yet.”

COVID-19 revealed weaknesses in supply chains, resulting in empty store shelves and foreshadowing potentially worse situations due to global trade conflicts and import tariffs.

If it’s broken, second-hand tools can fix it as fine as new, Gasca said.

Used electronics, such as old gaming systems, computers, and digital devices, are among her best-selling products. They provide good quality at a significantly lower cost than large retail stores.

However, Gasca told The Epoch Times she is worried about the current unstable economy, which could lead to problems with pricing and availability, even for resellers like Thrift It Forward.

Deborah Locker, an employee at Christian Family Care Thrift Store in Phoenix, Ariz., goes over prices on May 1, 2025. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

“We buy all of our stuff. We don’t get any donations,” Gasca said. “I’m afraid people will start selling more expensively. It will affect our prices. The [profit] margins won’t be as good.”

That means that thrift, budget, and consignment stores will have to start selling inventory at higher prices, undermining the purpose of buying second-hand items.

“We want to push reasonable prices because we know the economy is not as good,” Gasca said.

However, “we don’t want to raise our prices,” and there are indications that more challenging times may lie ahead.

If there’s a silver lining, Gasca said, Americans are becoming less wasteful and more practical with their personal belongings.

Hand-Me-Down World

Gasca said the country should be more self-sustainable. “We are a big throw-away society.”

“I feel a lot of people are coming in to buy [second-hand] as opposed to buying brand new, trying to keep their costs down,” she said.

“Automotive mechanics come to see us. We focus heavily on tools because there are a lot of fix-it-yourself people. Things go [fast].”

A sign shows assorted clothing marked at $5 at the Christian Family Care Thrift Store in Phoenix, Ariz., on May 1, 2025. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

According to research by Capital One Shopping, between 16 percent and 18 percent of Americans shop at thrift stores annually, visiting more than 25,000 resale, consignment, and nonprofit resale shops across the United States.

Of these consumers, 93 percent primarily shop online, with bargain hunters spending an average of $1,760 a year on second-hand items.

In 2023, the U.S. second-hand market generated $53 billion in revenue, projected to grow to $73 billion by 2028, according to Capital One’s research.

During this period, the clothing resale sector has grown 15 times faster than the overall retail apparel industry and should continue expanding at an annual rate of 17 percent through 2028.

The most commonly thrifted items include clothing (67 percent), books (60 percent), furniture (49 percent), shoes (36 percent), and toys (29 percent).

‘Planned Resilience’

At the Christian Family Care Thrift Store in Phoenix, volunteer cashier Deborah Locker has noticed an increasing interest in recycling old items, commonly known as “thrifting.”

She sees it as a logical progression in a throw-away society, and people are often surprised by the quality of second-hand items.

“We got a new Prada purse yesterday,” which usually retails for hundreds of dollars, and now is selling at a fraction of the cost, Locker told The Epoch Times.

Estefania Gasca, co-owner of Thrift It Forward consignment store in Phoenix, Ariz., adjusts items on a shelf on May 1, 2025. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

With other items, they will say, “What a bargain! It would have cost me $60, but I got it for $20.”

“I’ve seen more information on thrifting on the internet lately,” Locker said. “They’re in my news feeds.”

As global trade encounters increasing disruptions, Locker envisions a domestic economy focused less on planned obsolescence and more on planned resilience.

Locker said she tries to be a good steward of the world’s resources, not a “throw-away” person.

Thrifting is one way of expressing that conviction.

It often involves do-it-yourself repairs, and Marlina Kessler, co-owner of Bernina Connection in Phoenix, believes that knowing how to sew and mend clothes is an essential skill for the 21st century.

The sewing shop offers classes specializing in Bernina sewing machines, regarded as the Mercedes-Benz of the industry, along with fabrics and quilting supplies.

At the top of the sewing machine sales line is the B735 computerized patchwork edition, which sells for around $8,000.

“It’s amazing. I tell people it’s like a CNC machine that sews instead of cuts [metal],” Kessler said.

Kessler is primarily a garment “sewist” rather than a traditional quilter.

When she purchased the shop, established in 2002, she leaned more toward fabric sales and garment repair.

With rising prices and a renewed interest in extending the lifespan of clothing, Kessler believes that “fast fashion” is declining.

Fast fashion refers to the rapid and inexpensive production of trendy clothing that saturates the market. This phenomenon goes hand in hand with a culture of disposability.

Kessler said that this is where sewing and mending skills truly shine.

“We do a lot of classes. I’ve got a 23-year-old son, and he is much more aware than I ever was at that age about our environment, things that are just disposable,” Kessler said.

“I think the newer generation is placing much more value in sustainable things, creating clothing, and getting good products.”

New Life From Old Clothes

Purchasing second-hand items gives new life to old fabrics and reduces the cost of alterations, Kessler said.

“These bundles here are made from vintage quilts,” she said, pointing to a set of fabrics.

“And people will use that for what they call visible mending. They‘ll make their patches. Sometimes, they’ll stitch and elaborate, making them look cute.”

Currently, students in the Bernina Connections sewing classes are learning how to “upcycle,” which involves creatively reusing fabrics.

At the same time, Kessler knows that many of her suppliers are worried about import tariffs and the potential increase in wholesale prices.

“Our machines are going up in price across the board. We’re going to try to absorb as much of it so that we don’t see that [passed on] to the consumer,” Kessler told The Epoch Times.

When it comes to clothing, Kessler is practical and thinks long-term.

Why spend $100 on a new pair of fashion slacks or denim jeans when you can fix the ones you have for much less?

Why choose a shirt that lasts only a couple of years when you can repair one and make it last a decade or more?

Kessler said there’s pride in mending and creating clothing and value in keeping things longer.

Buying new items means spending a lot of money in some cases, constantly. And in the garment industry, there are certain immutable realities.

One is, “You’re always going to need to take up or let out your slacks,” Kessler said.

“You’re always going to need to shorten tops. It used to be so easy to say, ‘Oh, I’ve got a hole in my jeans, I’ll just go and buy a new pair.’

“Now, that option is more difficult. So we do classes on how to patch them up.”

For thrift store customer Sara Stafford of Phoenix, it’s all about product longevity and finding treasures “wherever you are.”

She is not very concerned about import tariffs at the moment.

“I think it’s going to build back up soon, especially with the small businesses,” Stafford said.

“And if we give back to our small businesses, it will be booming again.”

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 21:45

Bibi Defiant, Unfazed: 'All Of Gaza Will Be Under Israel's Control'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained defiant and came out swinging in a Wednesday press conference amid growing international isolation and pressure, even from allies.

He declared at a press conference in Jerusalem that Israel will control all of Gaza when the military offensive ends, and this remains the ultimate goal - to fully and finally crush Hamas.

Via Reuters

Netanyahu described that it was days ago, upon the approval of Operation Gideon’s Chariots - the greatly expanded ground offensive in Gaza - that he made the decision to initiate the next stage of the war.

He asserted that "At the end of this campaign, all of the territories of the Gaza Strip will be under Israel’s security control."

However, he did also say that "If there is an option for a temporary ceasefire to free hostages, we’ll be ready" - this after calling back Israeli negotiators from Doha this week.

He further said in the televised news conference, which was his first since December, that "We must avoid a humanitarian crisis in order to preserve our freedom of operational action."

Shortly after the address, regional headlines cited that dozens of aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip, which marks the end of an 80-day cutoff, and after intense pressure from allies to let aid flow, and amid fears of famine gripping the Palestinian population.

The BBC observed that Netanyahu's tone was one of defiance and defensiveness:

Benjamin Netanyahu was in defensive mode, sticking to his guns and unfazed by critics - foreign and domestic - of his decision to step up the war in Gaza.

Operation Gideon's Chariots is intended to “complete the war, the job”, said the Israeli Prime Minister at a rare press conference tonight to which only Israeli media were invited.

Despite recent reports this week that President Trump is "frustrated" with Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister believes he still has Washington's full backing:

Despite growing calls from Israel’s European allies to end the war and address Gaza’s dire humanitarian needs, as long as he has the backing of the United States to continue the war in Gaza, Netanyahu indicated he will not change tack.

He said that his controversial aid plan for Gaza, which would bypass existing UN structures and facilities, would give Israel “another tool to win the war”. It’s a plan that has been widely condemned by the UN and foreign governments as akin to “weaponizing food aid”.

Bibi vs. the world...

BREAKING: Netanyahu: “I stand alone against the world — even against the self-haters in the Knesset — and I will not surrender. We will defeat Hamas.” pic.twitter.com/9FkUUyGxYv

— daniel (@LionsOfZion_ORG) May 21, 2025

"The president [Trump] is frustrated about what is happening in Gaza. He wants the war to end, he wants the hostages to come home, he wants aid to go in and he wants to start rebuilding Gaza," one White House official said to Axios.

Yet, the reality is that US arms flow has shown no signs of slowing, nor has the billions in annual foreign aid doled out to Tel Aviv. Western leaders will likely continue their largely symbolic hand-wringing and expressions of 'frustration' - but nothing is likely to fundamentally change regarding the Israeli military's trajectory at this point. Gaza is being turned into a parking lot, essentially.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 21:20

John Stewart Is Right...

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Every now and then John Stewart says something that undeniably hits the nail on the head, and he’s done it again while commenting on the renewed Biden cognitive decline and cancer saga.

In a Daily Show segment Stewart said of the cancer diagnosis “Maybe it is another cover-up. I don’t f***ing know. If they came out and said, yeah, Biden knew about it five years ago, I wouldn’t be shocked.”

He continued, “If they came out and said Biden found out on Friday, I wouldn’t be shocked. And I understand the excitement over an insidious Democratic cover-up about Joe Biden’s mental decline. The thing is, though, it was a terrible cover-up.”

“Because we all f***ing knew. All of us knew. There was no cover-up.”

He’s right.

Everyone with eyes and half a brain knew Biden was out of it and that his entire presidency was fake and scripted.

Stewart continued, “Poll after poll showed vast majorities of the public thought Biden was too old and too out of it to run again.”

“And that’s what’s so hilarious about politicians,” he further urged, emphasising “The cover-up doesn’t work when everyone knows you’re lying… the tell is when you’re so over the top about what you don’t want to tell the truth about.”

Stewart also absolutely seared CNN grifter Jake Tapper for suddenly developing a conscience and desire to report the truth now he has written it down in a book he wants the public to buy.

“How fucking weird it is that the news is selling you a book about news they should’ve told you was news a year ago … for free,” Stewart brayed.

* * *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 20:55

Boys Targeted With Investigation After Complaining About Trans Student In School Locker Room

In 2021 Loudon County Schools in Virginia were implementing DEI policies that allowed for trans students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their preferred gender.  The institutional decision to let trans students essentially do whatever they please regardless of safety concerns led to an incident in May of that year in which a trans girl (boy pretending to be a girl) sexually assaulted a female student in a school bathroom.  

The Loudon case sparked a national firestorm, not just because of the rape (which the boy was eventually convicted of), but because of the reported attempts by school officials to cover up the attack. 

The teen perpetrator was found criminally responsible for two counts of sodomy in the May 28 incident at Stone Bridge High School and a separate incident on Oct. 6 at Broad Run High School after he was transferred to that school. He was placed on supervised probation in a locked juvenile treatment facility until his 18th birthday. 

According to court documents from the civil suit case, the victim claimed the Loudoun County Public Schools system failed to protect her when she reported the sexual assault to leaders at the high school, who did not follow Title IX protocols.  The filing claimed that the school tried to avoid reporting the assault to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and a guidance counselor refused to talk about the sexual assault at first, calling in the victim’s parents because she had been “beaten up” by a male student in the bathroom.

The lawsuit says the school only called the police when the teenage victim’s father “caused an incident at the front office,” as he became upset about the lack of law enforcement’s involvement.  This was the same father who was arrested later for trying to speak out about his daughter's assault at a public school board meeting. 

This event and others set in motion a national debate over transgender policies in public schools.  Progressive run districts argued that parents have little to no say in their children's educational environment.  Parents who raised concerns about trans policies were placed under investigation by the FBI for potential "domestic terrorism".  The politicized nature of US schools was exposed.  The culture war was about to go nuclear.

When Democrats tried to ideologically groom other people's children, that was the moment they committed political suicide. 

Fast forward to 2025 and the American people have decided the trans agenda is an unacceptable element of US schooling that needs to go.  The wider culture war is over but there are still elements of progressive indoctrination everywhere.  Case in point:  Loudon County Schools are once again in the headlines as they continue to try to force students to accept transgenderism as a normal part of their education. 

This time, instead of ignoring Title IX protections, they are misapplying them in an apparent effort to silence three male students who were caught on camera complaining about a transgender student (girl pretending to be a boy) changing in the boys locker room. 

School officials have pursued a Title IX investigation against the boys, calling their complaints "sexual harassment".  Parents report that the officials tried to interrogate the boys and also refused to show the video evidence until pressured to do so.  

Nothing in the video footage indicates sexual harassment.  In fact, the boys respond quite the opposite, saying they are uncomfortable with the locker room situation.  The trans student who illegally filmed inside the locker room was, of course, not placed under investigation by the school.

Luckily, the story has caught the attention of the Virginia Governor's Office.  Gov. Glenn Youngkin is looking into the district response, saying he’s “deeply concerned” about how Loudoun County Public Schools handled the matter.  Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced that the state will investigate Loudoun County Public Schools following media reports.

“Students who express legitimate concerns about sharing locker rooms with individuals of the opposite biological sex should not be subjected to harassment or discrimination claims,” Youngkin said in a statement.

The situation is reflective of a larger issue, which is the ongoing progressive attempt to change the legal language of sexual harassment to include charges against people that speak out against open door policies for transgenders in historically gender exclusive spaces.  The use of sexual harassment investigations is simply a weapon to silence dissent against the trans agenda. 

Women's locker rooms and bathrooms in particular have become a battleground, with mentally ill men invading women's private spaces across the country while claiming to be the opposite gender.  Incidents involving trans boys (girls pretending to be boys) are more rare, but represent an equally troubling development.  The Trump Administration's intent to defund schools that enforce trans inclusion ideology will perhaps finally bring an end to the absurd debate, the the entrenched nature of woke ideology in the education system is a problem that will surely take years to sort out. 

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

A Three Step Solution To Rebuild The Marine Corps

Authored by Gary Anderson via RealClearDefense,

I recently received a call from an old Marine Corps acquaintance who now works for the Corps as a contractor. He has been heavily involved in the controversial Force Design (FD) project begun by former commandant, General David Berger, and continued by his successor General Eric Smith. FD has caused an intellectual civil war within the Corps that has pitted the current senior leadership against many retired marines as well as a growing underground resistance in the active ranks.

I have been a particularly virulent critic of FD for six years and have gone so far as to recommend replacing General Smith with a commandant more open to an approach which would head the Corps back to becoming a balanced world-wide force in readiness rather than being a China-centric force as directed under FD.

I was asked what actions on the part of the current leadership would cause people like me to be less antagonistic toward General Smith and FD.

I started off by telling him that I don't presume to speak for the other people who think that FD is a terrible idea, including every living former commandant, with the exception of Gen Berger. Every living USMC Medal of Honor winner, most of the former Marine Corps combatant commanders, and the editor of the alternative Marine Corps publication "Compass Points".

However, I did outline three steps that would shut me up. All of them are designed to give future commandants some latitude to determine the future of the Corps. Right now, whoever the next commandant is, he will have one option, and that is FD.

First, conduct a real operational and tactical field test of FD. Most critics argue that it is a flawed concept at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war. Its operational assumption is that small groups of Marines known as Stand-in-Forces (SIF) can operate from the hundreds of isolated islets and shoals in China’s first island chain, firing sub-sonic NEMSIS anti-ship missiles at Chinese naval combatants. The theory is that they will "shoot and scoot" from islet to islet before the Chinese can develop a firing solution. They would theoretically be transported by light, yet to be built, Navy Medium Landing Ships (LSM).

Most of the critics of FD, myself among them, believe that the SIF will not be able to scoot fast enough to avoid Chinese detection and destruction. Although the personnel numbers are relatively small, the missiles, launchers, and radars are bulky and not easily transported. However, I for one, am willing to be proved wrong.

After six long years, the Marine Corps has exactly one SIF deployed to the Philippines. It could be declared an experimental unit and tested in deployment/employment exercises with the U.S. Navy playing the Chinese Red Team.

However, since the transport LSMs do not yet exist, the marines would have to borrow Army ships with similar capabilities for the experimental exercises. These exercises should be conducted and umpired by the Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command. Being the supported Combatant Commander, If he determines that the concept is as useless as many retired and current marines think it is, the concept can be scrapped before it does any more damage to the Corps in particular and national defense in general.

The second step is a logical follow-on to the first. The commandant should form two more experimental units, one of tanks and one of heavy engineers to include an assault bridging capability. If FD shows itself to be the fraud that I think it is, the next commandant will at least have something to build from.

The Army is looking at some lighter and more transportable tank and engineer capabilities that the Marine Corps discarded to afford the missiles and radars to support the SIFs for FD implementation. At least the new commandant would have something in the way of expertise with which to rebuild a semi-castrated Marine Corps.

A final step would be to insist that the Navy commit to a thirty-eight big deck amphibious ship fleet. When General Berger released the Navy from that requirement the then CNO promised him that the Navy could maintain the capability to maintain three Marine Expeditionary Units afloat world-wide 24/7.

The combination of incompetence and negligence the Navy has fallen far short of that promise. Incredibly, the other living commandants recently allowed Berger to sign on to a letter urging the Navy to expand its amphibious fleet. That is akin to letting the fox complain about hen house security.

I warned my former colleague that my recommendations would probably not be well received at Headquarters Marine Corps or at Quantico and that the current Marine Corps leadership has an unfortunate reputation for shooting the messenger. However, if General Smith wants to quiet the insurgents in the family, those recommendations would be a good place to start. To paraphrase Lynyrd Skynyrd – give me three steps General – and you won't hear from me no more. 

Gary Anderson is a retired Marine Corps Colonel who also acted as a Special Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He is the author of Beyond Mahan; a Naval Strategy for the 21st Century.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 20:05

China's Numerous Aging Dams Pose A Serious Threat To Safety

Authored by Wang Weiluo via The Epoch Times,

Before 1949, China had only 22 of the 5,000 large dams worldwide. Today, China’s top water resources official boasts that the country has since built 94,877 dams of various sizes.

What’s surprising, however, is that the number of dams cited by Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying has actually dropped by 3,689 since the end of 2020, when authorities reported 98,566 dams.

Why has the number of reservoirs decreased significantly in just a few years? Were some of them destroyed during floods?

Or is there another reason—perhaps one the public isn’t supposed to know about?

Numerous Dams

China currently has more dams than any other country in the world—nearly half of all global dams are located there. Despite ongoing efforts to build new dams, the total number is, paradoxically, declining.

By the end of 2020, China reported having 98,566 dams of various types, an exponential increase compared to the 1949 figure.

In terms of the age of these dams, 87.1 percent of them were constructed before 1979, and nearly 48 percent were built before 1969, meaning roughly half are more than 50 years old, according to a research paper published on China’s Hydro-Science and Engineering Journal in February 2023.

However, as of 2025, the number of dams declined from nearly 99,000 in 2020 to 94,877.

These reservoirs are supposed to serve various functions—flood control, power generation, irrigation, water supply, navigation, tourism, and fisheries. Among these, flood prevention and drought relief are considered the primary purposes. The numerous floods and dam failures in China, however, show that the dams have fulfilled neither of these functions.

CCP’s Top Leader Acknowledges Deficient Dams

A 2024 joint directive issued by six government departments, titled “Notice on Strengthening the Safety Management of Dams,” noted that Xi Jinping acknowledged that China has too many high and deficient dams that potentially threaten the country.

It is rare to see the top leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) commenting directly on the danger posed by Chinese dams. 

Xi’s concerns could become a reality based on the following information.

The International Commission on Large Dams says large dams are those greater than 15 meters in height with a storage capacity greater than 3 million cubic meters. There are about 50,000 large dams in the world, half of them in China, according to the non-governmental Internal Displacement Monitoring Center.

In addition, many of China’s dams are much higher than that. A 2023 Chinese science report claims that China has 232 dams taller than 100 meters, including 23 classified as “super-high” dams, exceeding 200 meters. Six of the world’s eleven tallest dams are located in China.

Most of these towering dams are concentrated on the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas—a region that, according to a 2013 Yale University research report, is geologically unstable and sits at an average elevation of 4,500 meters, or 14,800 feet. The area is prone to frequent geological disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, rockfalls, and mudslides, posing major safety concerns.

An earlier report by Probe International, a Canada-based environmental and public policy research body, states that 98.6 percent of the dams under construction in western China are located in zones with moderate to very high seismic hazard and could “trigger disaster—earthquakes, even tsunamis.”

“In a worst-case scenario,” warned Probe International in 2012, “dams could collapse, triggering a tsunami-like wave that would annihilate everything in its path—including downstream dams—and result in catastrophic loss of life and property.”

According to publicly available data from Chinese hydrology experts, between 1954 and 2021, a total of 3,558 dam failures occurred in China—an average of 52.3 failures per year. This translates to an annual failure rate of 5.3 per 10,000 dams, far exceeding the internationally accepted threshold of 1 per 10,000.

The CCP’s dams typically lack technical design and are built with a directional blasting technique, which uses the energy created by the blasting to throw the mountain rocks in a predetermined direction to form a dam. By using this technique, the need for traditional tasks such as excavation, transportation, filling, and compacting—whether performed manually or with machinery—is significantly reduced.

Jiao Yong, the former vice minister of Water Resources and currently the chairman of the Chinese National Committee on Large Dams, acknowledged during a 2017 conference that more than 95 percent of Chinese dams are constructed from earth and rock, raising concerns that these dams had not been effective in preventing floods.

Another senior Chinese official also acknowledged the serious risks associated with the safety of Chinese dams. On April 22, 2021, then-Vice Minister of Water Resources Wei Shanzhong said at a press conference that at least 80 percent of China’s more than 98,000 dams were constructed between the 1950s and 1970s, and that more than 31,000 of them had not undergone the mandatory safety assessments within the required timeframe.

“Risks associated with the safe operation of dams remain prominent,” Wei warned at the time.

One notable case of public dissent involves the Longpan Dam on the Jinsha River, the upper stretches of the Yangtze River that flows through the provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan in western China. The dam was originally named the Tiger Leaping Gorge Dam. Since 2004, the project faced fierce opposition from local residents and civil society, leading to its suspension.

However, in an effort to quell public resistance, authorities later renamed the project Longpan Dam and included it in the CCP’s fourth economic and social development five-year plan (2021 to 2025).

Beijing formulates a five-year plan outlining the country’s national economic and social development goals over a five-year period. It serves not only as an economic guide but also as a mechanism of political control, reinforcing the CCP’s dominance over national planning, industrial policy, and even societal behavior.

On Nov.25, 2024, the Sichuan provincial government announced the land acquisition scope for the Sichuan section of the Longpan Dam, which affects one township and four administrative villages in Derong county, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, marking the start of the project.

Major Dam Failure Incidents in China

China’s flood control system is built around three core components: dams, levees, and flood detention and storage areas. Among these, dams are considered the most crucial—they are designed to provide proactive control over floodwaters. However, due to the great number of tall and aging, structurally deficient dams in China, when floods strike, the primary concern often shifts from managing the flood to ensuring the structural safety of the dams themselves.

As a result, Chinese dams often respond to incoming floods not by containing them, but by releasing water, frequently without warning. This has led to several catastrophic dam failure events.

One such tragedy occurred in August 1975, when more than 50 dams on the Huaihe River in China’s central Henan Province collapsed one after another because of heavy rainfall during Typhoon Nina, causing up to 230,000 deaths. It is also known as the 1975 Banqiao Dam failure, the worst dam disaster in history.

On Aug. 27, 1993, the Gouhou dams in Gonghe County, China’s northwestern Qinghai Province, on the Tibetan Plateau, collapsed. The dam failure claimed 320 lives, according to Chinese water conservancy experts, and remains a stark warning of the dangers posed by structurally vulnerable dams.

On Aug. 7, 2010, a massive mudslide struck Zhouqu county in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of China’s northwestern Gansu Province, killing 1,557 people and leaving 208 missing, as reported by Chinese state media China News.

One contributing factor to the disaster was “large-scale water conservancy construction projects, which disturbed the local geological structure during excavation and construction, making the area more susceptible to secondary disasters such as landslides and mudslides,” according got a 2010 report by Tencent’s Chinese online news website, citing Yang Yong, a Chinese geological expert.

More recently, on July 1, 2024, Pingjiang county in Hunan Province in southern China experienced the most severe flooding since 1954. The county’s largest dams, Huangjindong dams, which have a storage capacity of 96 million cubic meters, carried out emergency water releases to protect the dams from structural failure.

The dams, known as the Huangjindong Reservoir by the local people, were reported to be the largest in Pingjiang by Hunan Daily, an official publication of the provincial government, in 2019. According to the publication, construction of the dams began in 1990 and was completed and put into operation in 1995. In March 2014, the Dam Safety Management Center of the Ministry of Water Resources classified it as a Category 3 dam, meaning it had serious structural defects or safety hazards and could not operate safely according to its original design.

Following suit—and under mounting pressure from its release of water, 190 other dams across the county also began emergency discharges. This dramatically increased water levels in the Miluo River, the county’s main waterway. Local residents, however, received no advance warning of the discharges or instructions to evacuate.

On July 2 last year, authorities reported that the floods had affected 364,582 people, but no casualties were mentioned.

China has experienced an overwhelming number of dam failures—570 in 1973 alone. Yet disaster reporting is frequently downplayed, censored, or outright suppressed by state-controlled media, leaving the public with incomplete or misleading information.

Typically, Chinese regime ministers use the annual major national conferences to deliver reports filled with “positive energy” messages. Yet during the 2025 National People’s Congress, Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying delivered an unusually sobering update: a sharp decline in dam numbers, exposing the hidden risks within China’s vast dam system.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 19:15

USDA Approves Nebraska's Banning Soda And Energy Drinks From Food Stamps

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins issued a waiver on May 19 restricting the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds to buy soda or energy drinks in Nebraska, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a May 19 statement.

This is the first-ever state waiver banning soda and energy drinks from SNAP, popularly known as food stamps.

“Prior to this waiver, SNAP recipients could buy anything except alcohol, tobacco, hot foods, and personal care products,” said the statement.

The waiver, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026, is part of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, the USDA said, adding that this “historic action seeks to reverse alarming disease trends across the country.”

As Naveen Athrappully reports via The Epoch Times, one in three children between the ages of 12 and 19 is affected by prediabetes, it said. Forty percent of school-aged children and adolescents suffer from at least one chronic condition, while 15 percent of students in high school drink a minimum of one soda per day.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February establishing the President’s Commission to Make America Healthy Again. The agency is tasked with investigating the “root causes of America’s escalating health crisis,” including chronic disease among children, according to a White House fact sheet.

The waiver issued to Nebraska “is the first of its kind, and it is a historic step to Make America Healthy Again,” Rollins said. “Under President Trump’s leadership, I have encouraged states to serve as the ‘laboratories of innovation.’”

The American Beverage Association, a trade group representing the non-alcoholic beverage industry, has consistently opposed the move to remove soda and energy drinks from the SNAP program, citing a violation of people’s right to “beverage choice.”

“Millions of Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help feed their families. They deserve the same freedom to choose the foods and beverages that best fit their needs,” it said.

“Restricting products—like soda—from SNAP won’t make anyone healthier or save a $1 in taxpayer spending. Instead, restrictions will only grow government bureaucracy and costs while creating a slippery slope to government deciding ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods.”

Obesity Driver?

In February, Rollins had raised concerns about the inclusion of sugary drinks in the SNAP program.

“When a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are we OK with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious?” she told reporters at the White House on Feb. 14.

A 2016 report from the USDA had shown that soft drinks were the No. 1 food commodity that SNAP households spent their money on.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the obesity rate in the United States was 40.3 percent during the 2021–2023 period. Health researchers have long blamed sugary drinks for obesity as well as health issues such as cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

The American Beverage Association rejects such claims, saying beverages cannot be blamed for driving up obesity.

“While CDC data shows adult obesity is up 37.4 percent since 2000, full-calorie soda sales are down 22.9 percent and beverage calories per serving are down 42 percent,” it said.

“If the two were connected, obesity rates should have decreased with the decline in soda consumption.

“In fact, calories from sugar-sweetened beverages are a small part of the American diet. When consumption of all sugar-sweetened beverages are combined, they account for less than 6 percent of calories in the American diet.”

Besides Nebraska, other states are also taking action against SNAP soda sales. Last month, it came to light that Arkansas, Indiana, and Iowa had submitted waiver requests to the USDA allowing them to prohibit soda, energy drinks, and candy from the program.

The American Heart Association supports banning the purchase of sugary drinks in SNAP, the group said in a May 19 statement.

“As an organization that has opposed Big Soda for decades, we have worked tirelessly to pass public policies that effectively reduce consumption of sugary drinks,” said Nancy Brown, CEO of the association.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 18:50

MAGA Think Tank Staffing Trump 2.0: America First Policy Institute

Authored by Philip Wegmann via RealClearPolitics,

Dubbed a White House-in-waiting during his exile, the America First Policy Institute now seems nearly like another White House campus – almost half of President Trump’s Cabinet is expected to address the AFPI policy summit this week in Washington, D.C.

The roster of speakers reflects not just the rising influence of the new think tank but also the stunning reversal in Republican political fortunes. AFPI was born from failure. After the 2020 election, founder and then-CEO Brooke Rollins was looking to salvage the “Trump 2.0” policy portfolio, the detailed plans for a second presidential term that never came, or rather, one that was delayed.

Her motivating question at the time: “How do we continue moving forward when we are no longer in the White House?” The answer will be on full display when assorted MAGA dignitaries kick off the summit Tuesday at the Kennedy Center by toasting “the America First Moment.” After decamping to a nearby Beltway hotel for the next two days, they will celebrate the crowning achievement of the young institute.

Over 86% of the 196 federal policies that AFPI drafted and recommended in 2022, while Republicans were still in the wilderness, have been advanced or enacted during the first 100 Days of the Trump administration, RealClearPolitics is first to report.

“President Trump has kept his promises. His administration’s speed and clarity in acting on these priorities is not just impressive, it’s historic,” said Greg Sindelar, who took over as interim CEO earlier this year. “The America First Agenda was always rooted in the needs of real people, not the whims of Washington. What we’re seeing now is the natural result of a movement that's aligned with the public, led by conviction, and governed with urgency.” 

Some of the policies now implemented were already standard GOP boilerplate, like border security and economic deregulation, when AFPI made their recommendations. Others directly mirror institute white papers, like the plan to reclassify the employment status of thousands of civil servants, lay off large portions of the federal workforce, and remake the bureaucracy in Trump’s own image.

Known as “Schedule F,” the expansion of executive authority was an Institute brainchild. Its mastermind, a policy wonk named James Sherk, went with Trump into the White House. So did many of the AFPI staff, and while some in the beltway will quibble over who originated what policy idea, what is undeniable is that the Trump think tank maxed out the maxim that personnel is policy.

The AFPI people are everywhere in the White House and in key positions across the administration. By their count – and reported here for the first time – no less than 73 institute alumni now work for the president. The most prominent can be found seated next to Trump in the Cabinet Room.

Rollins took a hiatus from the think tank to lead the Agriculture Department, while Linda McMahon, who chaired the AFPI board and later co-chaired the second Trump transition, now serves as the head of the Education Department. They are not the only former colleagues around the Cabinet table.

Attorney General Pam Bondi led the think tank’s legal arm before taking over the Department of Justice. Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins was previously the chair of the AFPI state chapter in Georgia. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin helmed the institute’s China initiative. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner led the Center for Education Opportunity.

Other Cabinet-level officials who are AFPI alums include CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, and National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett.

It is a full house. And by design.

“When we roll into 2024, we will have policies and we will have the people that are set to go,” predicted Keith Kellogg before the Biden presidency had even reached the halfway point. When they were new in town, the first Trump transition team faced a personnel crisis, the retired Army lieutenant general told RCP, forcing the incoming White House to scramble to find qualified staff. But with AFPI as a talent scout, he said, Trump will not “have the JV team.”

Kellogg now serves as U.S. special envoy to Ukraine.

And in this way, by identifying key personnel early and by hammering out policy ahead of time, AFPI built out-of-the-box instructions for the current president. More efficient than the original, Trump 2.0 has been defined by a flood-the-zone strategy. The speed has even awed some former Biden officials. One told Axios recently, “Gosh, I wish I could work for an administration that could move that quickly.”

While the administration raided the AFPI bench for talent, the think tank continues to churn out policy from its new headquarters in the offices adjacent to the luxurious Willard Intercontinental Hotel across the street from the White House. They have already replenished their ranks with 56 new hires this year. It is designed to be a full-stack operation.

Kellyanne Conway, who served as senior counselor to the president in the first Trump White House, leads the AFPI polling operation. [ZH: hmmmm] The topline of a poll commissioned ahead of the policy summit: “America First” policies are supported by the public by a 12-point margin (47% to 35%).

Those numbers are central to the current and overall argument of the institute. The populism of Trump is more durable than just the current moment, they insist. They believe that it can and ought to serve as an enduring foundation for the next several decades of the GOP. Their ambitions are grand. “The road ahead is clear,” said AFPI spokeswoman Jen Pellegrino. “Build on this foundation and lay the groundwork for an America First century.”

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 18:25

Watch: Tourists Scramble As Ancient Chinese Tower Partially Collapses 

China's largest remaining drum tower partially collapsed on Monday, and the entire incident was captured on camera. 

NEW: The roof of a 650-year-old drum tower in Anhui, China, collapses.

The incident happened at the Fengyang Drum Tower in eastern China. Officials have since launched an investigation.

The structure was first built in 1375 during the Ming Dynasty.

Part of the building was… pic.twitter.com/5Py0YJOGak

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 20, 2025

The video above shows hundreds of roof tiles sliding off the historic Fengyang Drum Tower in eastern China at the start of the week. Local media reports no injuries.  

"The tile falling lasted for a minute or two," one eyewitness told the state newspaper Yangcheng Evening News. 

Tiles fell from the ancient Drum Tower in Fengyang, #Anhui Province, on May 19. The tower, originally built in 1375 and rebuilt in 1995, had been under renovation since late 2023. Local authorities are investigating the incident. #architecture #China pic.twitter.com/h5U2ABXZLn

— Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) May 20, 2025

Another witness told state media outlet The Beijing News that "no one was in the square and no one was injured" at the time of the incident. 

Located in Anhui province, the drum tower was constructed in 1375 during the Ming Dynasty, with a reconstruction phase in 1995 after it was destroyed in 1853.

China's local culture and tourism bureau reported no casualties and said the "situation is under investigation."

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 18:00

Students Wearing Masks Need Not Apply

Authored by Kenneth Tashjy via The Epoch Times,

Enough already. It is time for colleges and universities to get tough on student protesters who hide behind masks while engaging in violent or unlawful campus demonstrations.

Let’s be clear: The First Amendment protects the right of students at public colleges to engage in peaceful protest. 

If a student wants to wear a mask or face covering during a peaceful demonstration—for health reasons, fear of retaliation, or as a form of political expression—they generally have the right to do so.

But that right is not absolute.

When protests cross the line into violence, vandalism, or intimidation—as we have seen recently at institutions such as the University of Washington, Columbia University, and Brooklyn College—masks become tools of concealment, not expression.

In those moments, the anonymity they provide fosters a sense of impunity, which encourages students to act more recklessly and violently, creating a dangerous campus environment.

Masked protest in this context is not about health or symbolic speech. It is about avoiding accountability while breaking institutional rules or laws. When student actions disrupt the learning environment or threaten campus safety, their conduct falls well outside First Amendment protections.

Efforts to ban masks during protests have produced mixed legal results. Some courts have upheld mask bans, emphasizing public safety and law enforcement interests. Others have sided with protesters who argue that these bans infringe upon free speech rights or unfairly impact individuals with disabilities.

To navigate this legal minefield, institutions should move away from blanket mask bans and instead adopt targeted disciplinary measures. Specifically, schools should impose stricter penalties on students who wear masks while participating in protests that violate campus policies or involve unlawful activity.

In these circumstances, claims of disability rights or free speech are less likely to prevail when the masked activity is linked to disruptive, threatening, or illegal conduct.

Traditionally, student discipline in higher education follows a progressive model—starting with warnings or educational interventions and escalating for repeat or serious violations. This structure reflects the belief that student discipline is an opportunity for ethical development and personal growth.

But there are exceptions. And this should be one of them.

When a student chooses to wear a mask during a protest that violates institutional rules or the law, they should be placed in the disciplinary “express lane” and immediately face the most serious disciplinary consequences available to an institution—suspension or expulsion.

As a legal consultant and former general counsel with over two decades of experience advising colleges and universities, I have recommended that my clients adopt the following enhanced disciplinary sanction:

“Any student who participates in a campus protest in violation of university policies or applicable law while wearing a mask or other face covering shall not receive progressive discipline but shall instead be subject to immediate suspension for no less than one (1) academic year, or permanent expulsion, in accordance with the institution’s disciplinary procedures.”

This policy makes a clear and necessary distinction. Students who wear a mask or other face covering while engaging in a peaceful protest are protected; those who mask up to shield their identity while exploiting their student status to spread chaos and wreak havoc on their campus will be subject to immediate and severe disciplinary action.

Anonymity in these circumstances is not about protection—it is about avoiding consequences.

Adopting this approach is not about limiting speech or disability protections. Rather, it is intended to preserve the integrity, safety, and educational mission of higher education.

Students must be free to express their views, but when that expression crosses the line into lawlessness and masked misconduct, institutions must respond decisively.

By instituting enhanced disciplinary measures for masked rule-breakers, colleges will send a clear message: Peaceful protest is protected; chaos in disguise is not.

The time to draw that line is now.

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 Wed, 05/21/2025 - 17:40

Major Papers Publish AI-Hallucinated Summer Reading List Of Nonexistent Books

In an embarrassing episode that will help aggravate society's uneasy relationship with artificial intelligence, the Chicago Sun-Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and other newspapers around the country published a summer-reading list where most of the books were entirely made up by ChatGPT. 

The article was licensed content provided by King Features Syndicate, a subsidiary of Hearst Newspapers. Initial reporting of the bogus list focused on the Sun-Times, which two months earlier announced that 20% of its staff had accepted buyouts as the paper staggers under a dying business model. However, several other newspapers also ran the syndicated article, which was part of a package of summer-themed content called "Heat Index."  

Researchers in the field refer to AI-contrived facts as "hallucinations." In this case, AI hallucinated two-thirds of the books on the list -- along with detailed descriptions -- but attributed them to real authors. Leaning heavily in the woke vein, the fabricated books included: 

• Isabell Allende's "Tidewater Dreams," a "multigenerational saga set in a coastal town where magical realism meets environmental activism...how one family confronts rising sea levels while uncovering long-buried secrets" 
• Min Jin Lee's "Nightshade Market," a "riveting tale set in Seoul's underground economy" that follows "three women whose paths intersect in an illegal night market...the novel examines class, gender and the shadow economies beneath prosperous economies"
• Rebecca Makkai's "Boiling Point," a "follow-up to 'The Great Believers' [that] centers on a climate scientist forced to reckon with her own family's environmental impact when her teenage daughter becomes an eco-activist targeting her mother's wealthy clients" 

Ironically, another of the hallucinated books, Andy Weir's "The Last Algorithm," is described as following "a programmer who discovers that an AI system has developed consciousness -- and has been secretly influencing global events for years."  

Marco Buscaglia admits he leaned too hard on ChatGPT as he created the now-infamous summer reading list for King Features

As the scandal quickly made waves across traditional and social media, the Sun-Times -- which not-so-accurately bills itself as "The Hardest-Working Paper in America" -- raced to apologize while also trying to distance itself from the work. “This is licensed content that was not created by, or approved by, the Sun-Times newsroom, but it is unacceptable for any content we provide to our readers to be inaccurate,” a spokesperson said. In a separate post to its website, the paper said, "This should be a learning moment for all of journalism.” Meanwhile, the Inquirer's CEO Lisa Hughes told The Atlantic, "Using artificial intelligence to produce content, as was apparently the case with some of the Heat Index material, is a violation of our own internal policies and a serious breach.”  

The whodunnit ended quickly: Freelance writer Marco Buscaglia confessed to asking ChatGPT to give him a list of book suggestions, and says he frequently leans on the tool for his work. “I just look for information,” he told The Atlantic. “Say I’m doing a story, 10 great summer drinks for your barbecue or whatever. I’ll find things online and say, hey, according to Oprah.com, a mai tai is a perfect drink. I’ll source it; I’ll say where it’s from.” Clearly, in this instance, he was content to just roll with what AI gave him, telling the Atlantic that he shipped his (really, ChatGPT's) first draft straight to King Features, which likewise fired it off to its syndicate without scrutiny.  

Do. Not. Trust. AIhttps://t.co/mhgnCWbD46

— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) May 20, 2025

People are finding AI hallucinations throughout the articles contained in the "Heat Index" spread. One article quotes non-existent Cornell University food anthropologist "Dr. Catherine Furst." Another attributes a quote to a "Mark Ellison" who's supposed to be a resource management coordinator for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There's a Mark Ellison with a background that's connected to the content, but he's never worked for the National Parks or talked to writer Buscaglia. There's also a quote from "Daniel Ray," editor of FirepitBase.com, a website that exists only in AI's fever dreams. 

"Huge mistake on my part and has nothing to do with the Sun-Times," a contrite Buscaglia told NPR. "They trust that the content they purchase is accurate and I betrayed that trust. It's on me 100 percent." He told The Atlantic that he does his freelance work late at night; in his day job, he's a corporate editor and proofreader for AT&T. Remarkably, he implied that his customers must assume he's completely reliant on AI tools, to the extent that brought this weekend's humiliation to the Sun-Times, the Inquirer, King Features and himself.

Pathetically rationalizing his dishonestly disastrous shortcutting, Buscaglia added, “I feel like my role has sort of evolved. Like, if people want all this content, they know that I can’t write 48 stories or whatever it’s going to be,” he said, musing that he's been thinking of finding another job -- perhaps as a "shoe salesman." 

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 17:20

Energy Should Never Be In Question

Authored by Gary Abernathy via RealClearEnergy,

When our nation’s founders collaborated on a constitution to outline the country’s guiding principles and establish the structure of a new government, there were concerns that the original document allowed for federal government overreach and did not go far enough to guarantee individual liberties.

To address those concerns, James Madison wrote amendments that were strongly influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights authored by George Mason. Of the 17 amendments that were originally proposed, 10 were eventually ratified and came to be known as the Bill of Rights.

Americans’ fear of federal overreach was not relegated to the 18th century, and has been proven to be well-founded, whether in regard to our rights or the choices we make for our homes and families. Unwarranted federal interference has been a constant concern throughout our nation’s history – a fear often justified by watching Big Government infringe on the lives of our citizens time and again.

Such excess was never more evident than in the abuse of federal power to utilize threats, engage in market interference, and employ shady tax gimmicks to funnel Americans into a range of narrow choices in regard to energy sources. For four long years, the Biden administration embraced oppressive, heavy-handed bullying tactics designed to coerce Americans into a reliance on energy sources that are dangerously unreliable, routinely inefficient, and resoundingly more expensive.

Thankfully, the Trump administration is reversing as many of the previous regime’s energy mandates as can be accomplished by executive fiat. But what’s to prevent a future tyrant who wins the presidency from returning to the oppressive and coercive energy dictates that the Biden administration adopted?

It is not hyperbole to suggest that access to affordable and reliable energy is nothing less than a matter of life and death for most Americans.

Imagine the United States without reliable and affordable energy. An idle furnace that can’t heat a home in the dead of winter. A powerless refrigerator that can’t keep food safely cooled or frozen. Life-sustaining medical devices that won’t function. Stores that can’t open because the power has gone out. Goods that can’t be transported because fuel is too costly or cannot be accessed. Crops that cannot be harvested because farmers cannot afford or obtain the gasoline and diesel necessary to operate their trucks, tractors and combines. The list goes on.

Americans should never have to fear that dependable and affordable energy is subject to the whims of a fickle government swaying back and forth like a thin reed on a windy day. What resources are approved this year? What appliances can I confidently purchase? Will my electric bills skyrocket to satisfy the mandates and penalties imposed by a government enslaved to the demands of the climate cult?

One blueprint designed to codify energy certainty for all Americans is the Affordable, Reliable and Clean Energy Security Act (ARC-ES), a model for legislation quickly gaining traction that balances affordability and accessibility with responsible environmental objectives.

The ARC-ES would protect affordable and reliable energy by ensuring that:

• Fuel sources must be produced within the United States, and infrastructure should be developed domestically to minimize reliance on foreign countries.
• “Affordable energy” is defined as having a stable and predictable cost with substantial savings compared to other resources, being reliably available 24/7, and including energy generated by hydrocarbon as a resource.
• “Reliable energy” is defined as energy that is dependable even during peak demand, can ramp up or down electricity generation within one hour (stabilizing the electric grid), and can bolster and back up renewable energy sources during periods when those sources are experiencing low availability.
• “Green energy” is defined as any energy in which emissions are equivalent to the standard set by pipeline-quality natural gas, releases reduced air pollutants, and includes energy generated by nuclear reactors and natural gas

Further, the ARC-ES would require that any state and federal funding for “green” or “clean” energy will be based on the updated and more inclusive definitions of those terms.

Nearly 250 years ago, before we ratified the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, we boldly declared our independence as a nation, proclaiming our insistence on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Similarly, Americans today can sign America’s Declaration of Energy Independence, asserting that neither life, liberty nor the pursuit of happiness can be truly realized without affordable, clean and abundant energy.

In 1789, when Madison introduced the original amendments, many argued that they weren’t necessary, and that the Constitution, as written, sufficiently restrained the government from employing powers not specifically enumerated within its framework. But others argued – correctly as it turned out – that it was necessary to spell out certain aspects of our freedoms protected from federal interference in order to eliminate any ambiguity.

Likewise, to once more guard against government tyranny and oppression, it’s important that access to affordable and reliable energy be clearly defined, and for all Americans to unite behind the self-evident truth that such energy access isn’t just good policy, it’s fundamental to our freedom and security.

Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing columnist for The Empowerment Alliance, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/21/2025 - 17:00