Month: March 2023

Two Decades Later, US Senate Votes To Abolish Iraq War Authorization

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– Two Decades Later, US Senate Votes To Abolish Iraq War Authorization:

The US Senate voted 66-30 on 29 March to repeal the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) that allowed former president George W. Bush to launch a military invasion of Iraq under false claims that the country possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The bill is now headed to the Republican-led House of Representatives, where it remains unclear if lawmakers will put it on the floor for a vote.

“Congress has abdicated its powers to the executive for too long,” said Senator Tim Kaine, who over the past several years has authored the Senate’s efforts to repeal the Iraq AUMF. “Presidents can do mischief if there are outdated authorizations on the books,” he added.

If the bill passes a vote on the House of floor — and is signed by President Joe Biden — it will be the first repeal of a war authorization since 1974.

Nonetheless, just last week, the US Senate overwhelmingly voted against repealing the original AUMF, which was signed into law on 18 September, 2001 by George W. Bush in response to the 11 September attacks.

Read moreTwo Decades Later, US Senate Votes To Abolish Iraq War Authorization

Pozsar’s Warning Of Dollar’s Waning Sway Comes True

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In a quick succession this week, Beijing unveiled ground-breaking deals to further its efforts to promote the yuan and ditch the US dollar. It’s the kind of thing money-market guru Zoltan Pozsar had in mind when he warned that the dollar’s centrality in the world financial system is slowly being whittled away.  

What occurred in Beijing this week was easy to overlook, but it could just as easily have a place in future history books. On Wednesday, Banco BOCOM BBM became the first Latin American bank to sign up as a direct participant in CIPS, a Chinese alternative to the US-dominated global payment system. The two countries also agreed to settle trade in their own currencies.

Read morePozsar’s Warning Of Dollar’s Waning Sway Comes True

Mish Shedlock: More Biden Madness: Asking Black Americans On Census if They Are Slave Descendants

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– More Biden Madness: Asking Black Americans On Census if They Are Slave Descendants:

The Biden administration is proposing a new census question. It’s more ultra-Left woke madness with a goal of slave reparations.

Please note another ultra-Left mad proposal is underway: U.S. Considers Asking Black Americans on Census if They Are Slave Descendants

In a proposed update to how the government tracks Americans’ race and ethnicity, the Biden administration is asking the public for input on how it might go about differentiating Black people who are descendants of slaves in America from those whose families arrived more recently as immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean or other countries.

Read moreMish Shedlock: More Biden Madness: Asking Black Americans On Census if They Are Slave Descendants

EU Planning To Invest Frozen Russian Assets, Give Returns To Ukraine

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– EU Planning To Invest Frozen Russian Assets, Give Returns To Ukraine:

The European Union is developing proposals on what to do with assets of the Russian central bank that were seized by member states. According to European officials, the bloc may invest the money and give the returns to Ukraine.

Anders Ahnlid, a Swedish diplomat who leads the commission exploring what to do with the Kremlin’s money, told Politico that whatever decision is made will be without precedent. “There is a consensus among [EU] member states that it’s important to examine very, very carefully, what can be done under the instructions that we’ve been given, including that what is going to be done will have to be in compliance with EU and international law,” she said. “We are in an exceptional situation and probably any solution that we will come up with will be of a nature that hasn’t been there before.”

The diplomats believe the bloc will be able to legally invest the funds because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an “exceptional and gross violation” of international and humanitarian law.

However, the commission admits it will have to change sanctions regulations to carry out the plan. The current statutes say once funds are unfrozen, then the target will get access to their capital as well as any returns that accrued during the sanctions period.

The bloc hopes other Western nations will join in on the scheme. The EU said taking steps in coordination with the Group of 7 (G7) was vital to not spooking investors. The commission estimates that EU and G7 countries have frozen about $300 billion in Russian central bank assets. It believes if the money is invested, it can earn about a 2.6% return.

Read moreEU Planning To Invest Frozen Russian Assets, Give Returns To Ukraine

Damascus Rocked By Israeli Attack On Heels Of Saudi-Iran Rapprochement

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– Damascus Rocked By Israeli Attack On Heels Of Saudi-Iran Rapprochement:

More Israeli airstrikes rocked Damascus early Thursday morning, wounding two Syrian soldiers, according to national SANA news agency and international reports.

State sources say Syrian air defenses were “confronting hostile targets” over the capital at around 1:20am, during the aerial attack which came from the direction of the Golan Heights. This marks the fourth major Israeli attack on Syria this month, which included two prior air assaults which temporarily shut down Aleppo International Airport.

Read moreDamascus Rocked By Israeli Attack On Heels Of Saudi-Iran Rapprochement

John Kerry Says New Climate Change Executive Orders Are Coming

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– John Kerry Says New Climate Change Executive Orders Are Coming

ZH: We’re guessing they won’t include private jets…

Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

President Joe Biden is preparing a series of new executive orders to address climate change, according to recent comments by his special envoy on climate-related issues, John Kerry.

Kerry discussed the Biden administration’s plans for reducing U.S. emissions during an interview with Yahoo News Senior Climate Editor Ben Adler on Friday.

Adler noted that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) championed by the Biden administration is projected to bring down U.S. emissions by about 40 percent, despite a goal set by the administration to bring about a 50 percent reduction in U.S. emissions by the end of the decade.

“We’re doing a lot more than just the IRA,” Kerry responded. “The IRA is a package that in and of itself can get the 40 percent. But in addition to that, the president is issuing executive orders. There’ll be changes on automobile, on light truck, heavy truck, heavy duty—a number of initiatives that are being taken by states, subnational, cities. They really kept us in the game, frankly, during the Trump administration when he pulled out of the [Paris Climate Agreement].”

Read moreJohn Kerry Says New Climate Change Executive Orders Are Coming

US Air Force Abandons Lockheed Hypersonic Weapon Program After Test Failure

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– US Air Force Abandons Lockheed Hypersonic Weapon Program After Test Failure:

The US Air Force has announced plans to end the Lockheed Martin hypersonic weapons program.

Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Andrew Hunter confirmed the major development in testimony given to a House Armed Services subcommittee on Wednesday. He said the Air Force doesn’t “currently intend to pursue follow-on procurement” of the weapon known as the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW).

Breaking Defense reported earlier that the Lockheed Martin-made ARRW might be in jeopardy, citing Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee during testimony on the service’s fiscal 2024 budget request this week that the March 13 test was “not a success.”

Read moreUS Air Force Abandons Lockheed Hypersonic Weapon Program After Test Failure

The Great Food Reset Has Begun

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– The Great Food Reset Has Begun:

We all lose from the global war on farmers…

France is in flames. Israel is erupting. America is facing a second January 6.

In the Netherlands, however, the political establishment is reeling from an entirely different type of protest — one that, perhaps more than any other raging today, threatens to destabilise the global order.

The victory of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) in the recent provincial elections represents an extraordinary result for an anti-establishment party that was formed just over three years ago. But then again, these are not ordinary times.

The BBB grew out of the mass demonstrations against the Dutch government’s proposal to cut nitrogen emissions by 50% in the country’s farming sector by 2030 — a target designed to comply with the European Union’s emission-reduction rules. While large farming companies have the means to meet these goals — by using less nitrogen fertiliser and reducing the number of their livestock — smaller, often family-owned farms would be forced to sell or shutter. Indeed, according to a heavily redacted European Commission document, this is precisely the strategy’s goal: “extensifying agriculture, notably through buying out or terminating farms, with the aim of reducing livestock”; this would “first be on a voluntary basis, but mandatory buyout is not excluded if necessary”.

It is no surprise, then, that the plans sparked massive protests by farmers, who see it as a direct attack on their livelihoods, or that the BBB’s slogan — “No Farms, No Food” — clearly resonated with voters. But aside from concerns about the impact of the measure on the country’s food security, and on a centuries-old rural way of life integral to Dutch national identity, the rationale behind this drastic measure is also questionable. Agriculture currently accounts for almost half of the country’s output of carbon dioxide, yet the Netherlands is responsible for less than 0.4% of the world’s emissions. No wonder many Dutch fail to see how such negligible returns justify the complete overhaul of the country’s farming sector, which is already considered one of the most sustainable in the world: over the past two decades, water dependence for key crops has been reduced by as much as 90%, and the use of chemical pesticides in greenhouses has been almost completely eliminated.

Read moreThe Great Food Reset Has Begun

Levi’s To Use AI-Generated Models To Promote ‘Diversity And Sustainability’

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– Levi’s To Use AI-Generated Models To Promote ‘Diversity And Sustainability’:

Levi’s is undergoing a word salad of what they characterized as a “digital transformation journey” of diversity, equity, inclusion and sustainability, by partnering with an AI company to use computer-generated fashion models which they will use to “supplement human models,” Engadget reports.

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Risk Of Cardiac Death Tripled For Young Women Following AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccination: Study

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– Risk Of Cardiac Death Tripled For Young Women Following AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccination: Study:

Authored by Lily Zhou via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The risk of sudden cardiac death in young women more than tripled following an AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot, according to a study using England’s official data published on Monday.

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RESTRICT Act Is Orwellian Censorship Grab Disguised As Anti-TikTok Legislation

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– RESTRICT Act Is Orwellian Censorship Grab Disguised As Anti-TikTok Legislation:

The RESTRICT Act, introduced by Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tom Thune (R-SD), is aimed at blocking or disrupting transactions and financial holdings linked to foreign adversaries that pose a risk to national security, however the language of the bill could be used to give the US government enormous power to punish free speech.

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