Today’s News: February 29, 2024

And here we are, every 4 years … and it’s Leap Year!

EVENTS & PROMOTIONS Leap Year Myths and Legends

Apart from being the year of the Olympics, the leap year in Australia has very little meaning historically or culturally. Leap years exist because it takes the Earth 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds to orbit the sun. That’s almost an extra quarter of a day per year. If you count the quarter of a day up for each year, you get an extra day added every fourth year.

If we didn’t use leap years, our calendars would be off by approximately 25 days after 100 years. Even with all that complexity, the method isn’t perfect. Leap years are skipped on century years that are evenly divided by 100 (like 1900 and 2100). They’re not, however, skipped on century years that are evenly divided by 400 (like 2000 and 2400). Clear as mud, right?

Around the world, however, there are plenty of special and somewhat strange myths surrounding leap year day – the 29th of February. We’ve done a bit of research; here are the highlights!

The Scottish believed that if you’re born on the Leap Day, your life will have an everlasting stream of suffering. According to an old Scottish aphorism, “leap year was ne’er a good sheep year.” The superstition that Leap Days are particularly lucky or unlucky has been debated through history and across cultures, and there’s still no clear winner. For one thing, it’s bad luck if you’re a prisoner on a one-year sentence that spans a Leap Day. Also, bad news if you work on a fixed annual salary; no extra pay for that extra day.Depending on who you ask. The odds of being born on February 29th are 1 in 1,461, or .068 per cent. Being born on Leap Day is actually rarer than being born with 11 fingers and toes (odds are 1 in 500). Surely beating out those tiny odds has got to be a little bit lucky!

On a leap day, a man can’t refuse a woman’s plea to get married?

Yup, that’s right! Women, get ready to pop the question, NOW!

According to an old Irish legend, St Brigid struck a deal with St Patrick to allow women to propose to men and not just the other way around every four years. This was probably their way of “maintaining equality”.

This deal came about after Pope Gregory XIII instituted the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the idea of adding February 29th every four years seemed so ridiculous that a British play joked it was a day when ‘women should trade their dresses for “breeches” and act like men’. The play was meant as satire, but some early feminists must have been inspired; by the 1700s, women were using Leap Day to propose to the men in their lives.

The tradition—now called Bachelor’s Day or Sadie Hawkins Day—peaked in popularity in the early 1900s and continues today in the UK, where some retailers even offer discount packages to women popping the question.

There was even a time when the unmarried Queen Margaret ordered to impose a fine for men who would deny a woman her dream marriage. We definitely wouldn’t object if that fine still applied today! The European tradition dictates that any man who refuses a woman’s proposal on February 29 has to buy her 12 pairs of gloves. The intention is that the woman can wear the gloves to hide the embarrassment of not having an engagement ring. During the middle ages there were laws governing this ‘tradition’.

In Greece, generally couples choose not to get married during a leap year. That makes this year a really difficult one for those working in the wedding industry. There’s also a superstition that divorced couples who are separated during a leap year will never find happiness again. Now, that’s heavy! Which brings us to the really important news…

And it’s called…the Leap Day Cocktail! This colorful version of the martini was invented by pioneering bartender Harry Craddock at London’s Savoy Hotel in 1928. According to the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, “It is said to have been responsible for more proposals than any other cocktail ever mixed”… Not sure if it’s the cocktail, or the day! Whether or not you’re in the market for a wedding, you can make your own Leap Day cocktail with this delicious recipe.

WORLD NEWS

Egypt building camps to host Palestinians expelled from Gaza as Israel prepares for Rafah onslaught

Confirming the genocidal statements issued over recent months by Israel’s far-right government, reports released Thursday revealed that Egypt is constructing a massive walled enclosure in northern Sinai to host Palestinians forcibly expelled from Gaza. The news comes as Israel makes the final preparations for a bloody ground offensive into Rafah, where some 1.5 million people are crammed together and being denied the basic necessities for human life.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the eight-square-mile compound is a “contingency plan” in the event Palestinians succeed in breaching the reinforced border. Egypt has constructed a concrete wall along the border and deployed additional troops and tanks over recent weeks as Israel’s brutal onslaught has moved further south.

The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, a London-based organization monitoring developments in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, noted Wednesday that construction of the camp began on Monday and is expected to take 10 days. The goal of the construction project, which is being overseen by military intelligence officials, is to “build a gated area, surrounded by 7-meter-high walls.”

EU Seeks Rule To Ban Repairs On Cars Older Than 15 Years

With the internal combustion engine to be consigned to history in the not-too-distant future, recent information has emerged regarding the European Union’s plan to restrict repairs on older vehicles, reports EuroWeekly.

The proposal, originating from the European Commission and yet to be ratified, aims to phase out older, more polluting vehicles in favour of environmentally friendly options.
This prospective regulation, awaiting approval from the European Parliament and the Council, introduces the notion of a ‘residual vehicle’.

Cars experiencing failures in major components such as engines, transmissions, brakes, or steering, and deemed old (potentially around 15 years), will fall under this category. Once labelled as residual, these vehicles would be barred from undergoing significant repairs and would likely be scrapped.

The EU’s ambitious ‘Fit for 55’ program seeks to eliminate direct transport emissions by 2050, with interim goals including a 55 per cent reduction by 2030 from 1990 levels.
A significant step in this journey is the 2035 ban on new combustion engine cars, excluding vehicles operating on potential future synthetic fuels. However, the reality presents challenges, as the uptake of low or zero-emission vehicles in the EU lags behind expectations, varying significantly across member states.

The regulation specifies conditions under which a vehicle is deemed technically irreparable or residual. These include extensive damage, such as being cut, welded, burnt, submerged, or exhibiting irreversible technical defects.

Argentina: Milei Bans Government from Using Woke ‘Inclusive’ Language

Argentina announced on Tuesday that President Javier Milei ordered a ban on the use of

leftist “inclusive” language across all public administration offices and documents.

The announcement was made on Tuesday during presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni’s press conference. Adorni added that “everything related to the gender-based perspective” will also be banned throughout the national public administration.

“They are going to proceed, to initiate, the proceedings to ban inclusive language and everything related to gender-based perspective throughout the national public administration,” Adorni said. “Of course, you already know all the details. You are not going to be able to use the letter ‘e’, the ‘@ symbol’, the ‘x’ and avoid the unnecessary use of the feminine in all documents of the public administration.”

Argentina’s official language is Spanish, a romance language that is gendered by nature, where nouns, pronouns, articles, adjectives, and even objects have a defined masculine or feminine gender. Masculine words tend to end in -o, while feminine words tend to end in -a. Leftist movements have attempted to replace the o and a with “inclusive” replacements such as -e or -x – for example, saying “Latine” or “Latinx” instead of “Latino” or “Latina” – which render the language incoherent.

In the United States, the most widespread known case of “inclusive” language is “Latinx,” a word that is not just unpronounceable in Spanish’s language rules, but is widely rejected and reviled by Hispanics. The “@” symbol, which is not a letter, has also been used by leftists to replace the letters “o” and “a” as well to denote “gender neutrality,” even if the word itself is rendered not pronounceable in Spanish as a result.

In December, shortly after Milei began his presidential term, Defense Minister Luis Petri announced that the use of “inclusive” language was banned across Argentina’s military. The measure was officially formalized on Monday in a ministry decree that makes “the use of the Spanish language mandatory, in accordance with the rules of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) and the regulations and manuals in force in the Armed Forces.”

“The objective is to eliminate incorrect forms of language that can generate an erroneous interpretation of what is desired, affecting the execution of orders and the development of military operations,” the ministry said on a social media post.

Ghana passes bill making identifying as LGBTQ+ illegal 

Ghana’s parliament has passed a tough new bill that imposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+.

It also imposes a maximum five-year jail term for forming or funding LGBTQ+ groups.

Lawmakers heckled down attempts to replace prison sentences with community service and counselling.

It is the latest sign of growing opposition to LGBTQ+ rights in the conservative West African nation.

The bill, which had the backing of Ghana’s two major political parties, will come into effect only if President Nana Akufo-Addo signs it into law.

Country Considers Requests to Address Environmental Harm Caused by EMF Pollution (aka “Electrosmog”)

Decades of research have already proven that Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) from wireless “Wi-Fi” radiation (including Bluetooth and 5G) and other sources of “Electrosmog” are biologically and environmentally harmful.  Kudos to Canadians who are fighting for that to be taken seriously.

From Environmental Health Trust:

Canada National Biodiversity Strategy Milestone Draft Includes Requests to Address EMF Pollution

The interim draft of the “Government of Canada’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy on  Halting and reversing biodiversity loss” now specifically highlights Canadian people’s call for the need to reduce EMF pollution!

Go to Canada’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy Milestone document Figure 6A on results from the online survey on the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy and go to the 4th down on RHS  where it states “Reduce pollution (e.g., from fossil fuels, plastics, EMF, forest fires, GHG)”Figure 5b “Identifying key features for a successful 2030 Biodiversity Strategy” notes how 2% of submissions included as a key feature of the framework “recognizing and mitigating the adverse effects of artificially generated electromagnetic fields”

In Canada, Prevent Cancer Now and Canadians for Safe Technology worked on raising awareness of the environmental impacts of EMF via a campaign developed in collaboration with Environmental Health Trust. See the website at wirelessenviroimpacts.science/

“We applaud Canada in this transparent public process regarding the nation’s National Biodiversity Strategy. The United States does not currently have a National Biodiversity Strategy and we need to follow suit,  ” stated Theodora Scarato Executive Director of Environmental Health Trust pointing out that wireless companies define wireless as a pollution in their own policies.

Wireless and non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation is defined as a type of “pollution” by the wireless companies themselves. The product protection plans offered by AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile exclude coverage for such pollutants. And “Pollution” is defined as “The discharge, dispersal, seepage, migration or escape of pollutants. Pollutants means any solid, liquid, gaseous, or thermal irritant or contaminant including smoke, vapor, soot, fumes, acid, alkalis, chemicals, artificially produced electric fields, magnetic field, electromagnetic field, sound waves, microwaves, and all artificially produced ionizing or nonionizing radiation and/or waste.”

Several organizations submitted expert comments to this important interim draft including Environmental Health Trust and  Prevent Cancer Now.

U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

 Illinois Judge Rules Trump Disqualified From Ballot

Ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on whether former President Donald Trump can be disqualified as a candidate by individual states under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, an Illinois judge ruled President Trump ineligible for the ballot.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Tracie Porter, following other jurisdictions, stayed her order to remove the former president pending an appeal.

The ruling came a week after the judge heard arguments regarding Illinois statutes.

“This Order is stayed until March 1, 2024 in anticipation of an appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, or the Illinois Supreme Court. This Order is further stayed if the United States Supreme Court in Anderson v. Griswold enters a decision inconsistent with this Order,” the ruling reads.

On Feb. 8, the day the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding Colorado’s disqualification of President Trump, mail-in ballots were sent out in Illinois with President Trump’s name on them. This puts the state in a position to potentially have to not count votes cast for him.

If the order is not stayed and reversed, the state elections board will be tasked with removing “Donald J. Trump from the ballot for the General Primary Election on March 19, 2024, or cause any votes cast for him to be suppressed, according to the procedures within their administrative authority.”

Supreme Court Will Hear Trump’s Presidential Immunity Appeal, Further Delaying Trial

The Supreme Court granted certiorari of former President Donald Trump’s presidential immunity claim in the federal criminal case charging him for actions on Jan. 6, 2021.  The presidential immunity defense has stalled the case for nearly three months and will miss the originally scheduled March 4 trial date.

The high court’s decision automatically stays lower courts from moving forward in the case. The court also granted special counsel Jack Smith’s request that President Trump’s petition for a stay be treated as a petition for review.

“The case will be set for oral argument during the week of April 22,” the order reads.

The parties have been instructed to limit arguments to the question: “Whether and if so to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.”

The Supreme Court’s framing combines the various questions the former president and special counsel had presented to the court. Prosecutors argued that presidents enjoy no immunity from criminal prosecution, while defense attorneys argued that official acts of a president during his tenure are protected by presidential immunity. President Trump’s briefs and any amicus curiae briefs need to be filed by March 19, and prosecutors have until April 8 to respond. President Trump can then file a reply brief by April 15, and arguments will be heard the week of April 22. A specific date for the hearing was not set.  This is the second case President Trump has brought before the Supreme Court this year. The high court is also set to rule on whether President Trump is eligible to appear on the ballot after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled he was disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, finding the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol breach an “insurrection.”

Judge Who Oversaw Trump Civil Fraud Trial Received White Powder, Cops Say: REPORT

Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, reportedly received an envelope containing white powder on Wednesday.

Two court officers were exposed to the substance addressed to the judge when it arrived at the operations office of the courthouse in downtown Manhattan, ABC News reported. The powder is reportedly not believed to be harmful, but sparked an immediate response from law enforcement and fire officials. Engoron previously received a bomb threat at his Long Island home, along with several other threats, according to ABC.

Appeals Court Approves Partial Stay for Trump, Requiring $464 Million to Appeal

An appeals court stayed some penalties of former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud judgment but denied his request to delay enforcement of the monetary penalties.

The court ordered arguments to be filed by March 18, granting in the interim a stay of the judgment that would prohibit the defendants from serving as officers or directors of any New York business or legal entity, from being in a position of financial control at any such entity, or from applying for loans, depending on the defendant.

“The interim stay is denied as to the enforcement of monetary judgment and the installation of an Independent Director of Compliance,” the order reads.

In court filings yesterday, the defense offered to post a $100 million bond as they appeal, which the attorney general’s office opposed, demanding the full amount.

“The urgency of this application is evident in light of the punitive and exorbitant disgorgement awarded against Appellants, the impact of the injunctive relief upon lawful businesses, the uncertainty created by the vague and overbroad directives Supreme Court issued, and the Attorney General’s public threats that she will seize Appellants’ real property forthwith to satisfy the Judgment,” the new filing reads.

After receiving a swift rejection from the trial court judge for a stay of judgment last week, attorneys for the defense filed a notice of appeal in the contentious case.

The fraud case against the former president and other Trump Organization executives and entities was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, whom the defense has criticized as politically motivated, accusing her of campaigning on a platform to “get Trump.”

McConnell to Step Down as Senate GOP Leader

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will step down as Senate GOP leader in November, ending a record 17-year tenure at the helm.  Mr. McConnell has been Senate GOP leader since 2007. He was majority leader of the Senate between 2015 and 2017 and minority leader between 2007 and 2015 and again in 2021.

Mr. McConnell reiterated that he is not leaving the Senate, though he said he will be in “a different seat in the chamber” as opposed to the seat in the front row where he currently sits.

Texas Panhandle Wildfire Spreads to 800 Square Miles

The Smokehouse Creek Wildfire in the Texas Panhandle spread to cover more than 500,000 acres on Wednesday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Officials report the fire is zero percent contained at this point.

Emergency management officials ordered the evacuation on Tuesday for residents of Canadian, Glazier, and Higgins, Texas, as the fires spread, KVII ABC7 in Amarillo, Texas, reported. Officials also closed U.S. Highways 60/83 due to dangerous conditions.

Texas A&M Forest Service officials report the Smokehouse Creek incident is the second-largest wildfire in the state’s history. The largest fire also took place in the Texas Panhandle region in what was called the East Amarillo Complex fire which consumed more than 900,000 acres in 2006.

A satellite video posted on X by NOAA Satellite Reacher Bill Line shows the vast area covered by the series of fires and the impact of a cold front that moved through the area on Tuesday.

The wildfire began on Monday in Hutchinson County, Texas, and quickly spread through Hutchison, Roberts, and Hemphill Counties.

Biden Undergoes Health Exam at Walter Reed as Mental Fitness Questioned

President Joe Biden departed the White House on Wednesday, heading to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a medical check-up amid public doubts about his age and mental fitness.

“I’m going to Walter Reed to get my physical,” President Biden told members of the press before boarding the Marine One presidential helicopter, just after 9 a.m. on Wednesday. The president’s routinely updated daily schedule made no mention of the Wednesday medical check-up before his departure, and his helicopter ride came as a surprise to the White House press pool.

Minutes after the president’s helicopter departed, the White House published a formal notice that the president was off for his “routine annual physical,” a summary of which the White House said would be released later on Wednesday. The findings from this medical examination are likely to be closely watched as the 81-year-old president heads into an election year seeking another four-year term.

The medical check-up comes three weeks after Special Counsel Robert Hur closed his investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified documents. Mr. Hur concluded that there was evidence President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified information earlier in his political career. However, he declined to press any charges, stating that the president’s advanced age and “poor memory” could create reasonable doubt among jurors tasked with assessing the intentionality behind the president’s handling of the documents.

Illegal Alien Charged with Child Rape, Violent Armed Robbery in Louisiana

An illegal alien is accused of raping a 14-year-old girl before carrying out a violent armed robbery in Kenner, Louisiana.

Angel Matias Castellanos-Orellana, a 19-year-old illegal alien from Honduras, was arrested on February 25 by the Kenner Police Department after he allegedly committed an armed robbery and stabbed the victim, who is recovering at a nearby hospital.

Along with armed robbery and aggravated battery, Castellanos-Orellana has been charged with first-degree rape and aggravated assault after police allege he raped and assaulted a 14-year-old girl in the area.

Castellanos-Orellana remains in local custody, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has issued a detainer requesting custody of him.

Kamala Harris: Government Will Pay College Students to Register Voters

Vice President Kamala Harris revealed on Tuesday that the government could pay college

students to register voters.  Harris said that students could receive the funds from the work-study federal program that pays a student’s wages while employed at a part-time job.

“We have been doing work to promote voter participation for students,” Harris said. “For example, we have, under the Federal Work-Study program, now allow students to get paid through Federal Work- Study to register people and to be non-partisan poll workers.”

“As we know, this is important for a number of reasons. One, to engage our young leaders in this process and activate them in terms of their ability to strengthen our communities,” she added.

The vice president’s proposal attracted more than a few detractors, believing it would be a use of taxpayer funds for political purposes.

“Biden signed EO14019 ordering federal govt to use taxpayer $ to mobilize (his) voters,” said Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) on X. “@StephenM has FOIA’ed details, and I’ve sought them in Congress, but Biden is hiding them. Sounds like the election-year plan is underway.”

As noted by MyNBC, young voters have been virtually split between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, according to various polls.

“Were the election to be held now between the two candidates, 52% would vote for Biden compared to 48% who would choose the presumed GOP nominee, former President Trump,” it added. “Gen Z and millennial voters could prove to be a key demographic in the election.”

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

Biden’s $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill Unconstitutional, Federal Court Rules

President Joe Biden’s massive $1.7 trillion spending bill passed by Democrats at the end of 2022 is unconstitutional, a federal judge in Texas ruled on Tuesday, potentially halting some of Biden’s immigrations programs and opening the door to stopping the spending of many billions of dollars of taxpayer money in follow-up lawsuits.

Congress passed its 2023 omnibus appropriations bill (translation – kitchen sink fiscal trainwreck) on December 29, 2022. But in doing so, House Democrats continued their Covid-era policy of allowing members to vote from whatever remote location they were in – even vacation spots – instead of being present in the House chamber to cast their votes in person.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued, arguing that some of the federal programs being funded by that spending package were causing problems for Texas, specifically some immigration problems administered by Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Paxton sued over the Quorum Clause in Article I of the Constitution, which requires a majority of the House’s 435 members to be present in order for the House to do business.

Judge Wesley Hendrix from the Lubbock Division of the Northern District of Texas ruled in favor of Texas. For over 235 years, Congress understood the Constitution’s Quorum Clause to require a majority of members of the House or Senate to be physically present to constitute the necessary quorum to pass legislation. This rule prevents a minority of members from passing legislation that affects the entire nation. But despite the Constitution’s text and centuries of consistent practice, the House in 2020 created a rule that permitted non-present members to be included in the quorum count and vote by proxy. Pursuant to that novel rule, the House passed a new law included within the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, and that particular provision affects Texas.

“The Court concludes that, by including members who were indisputably absent in the quorum count, the Act at issue passed in violation of the Constitution’s Quorum Clause,” Hendrix declared. The judge’s 120-page opinion walked through each of the Justice Department’s arguments trying to legally justify the spending, rejecting each in turn.

Trump Stands to Make Billions in Truth Social Merger Deal

A potential merger involving former President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social can take the company public and will give him access to $3.5 billion in funds—a deal which his political rivals are looking to thwart.

On Feb. 14, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the merger between Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) and Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). TMTG is the owner of social media platform Truth Social. Once DWAC merges with TMTG, it can go public, with President Trump holding 78.75 million shares in the combined entity. DWAC shares were trading at around $45 as of 1:45 p.m. EST on Feb. 27, indicating that President Trump’s stake in the new entity could be worth $3.5 billion.

The amount can be a substantial cash infusion for the former president who has been charged with a $355 million fine two weeks ago by a New York judge in a civil fraud ruling. Adding in interest, the final amount comes to $464 million.

With the SEC nod, all that is left for the merger to be completed is shareholder approval. DWAC has scheduled a shareholder vote on the merger for March 22. A SPAC merger usually closes within a few days after getting the approval.

However, the merger is facing Trump-related risks. DWAC said in a Feb. 16 filing that the merger may be delayed by third parties. Political opponents of President Trump could seek to block the merger to prevent his “potential financial gain,” DWAC said.

President Trump cannot cash out his stake as soon as the merger is completed. All shareholders of the new entity, including the former president, will be subject to a lockup period of six months, during which time they are prohibited from selling shares.

The only way out of the lockup period is if DWAC gives a waiver. The lockup period exists to prevent major shareholders from cashing out immediately after merging, which will crash stock prices. Shareholders will also be prohibited from offering shares as collateral to raise loans during the lockup period.

Bumble laying off 350 workers, 30% of dating app’s workforce

Bumble announced plans to lay off 350 employers on Tuesday, reducing its headcount by 30% as part of a larger restructuring plan.

Job cuts across dating app — whose defining feature is that only women can initiate chats with male suitors — is the first big move by CEO Lidiane Jones, who took over in January after serving in the chief executive position at Slack Technologies. (For users looking for a same-sex match, either person can reach out first.)

Bumble said expects to incur about $20 million to $25 million in one-time charges related to the job cuts, the majority of which will be recognized in the first two quarters of 2024.

Why Are Billionaires Selling Off Stocks And Building Massive Survival Bunkers?

If you want to determine what people believe, don’t listen to what they say.  Rather, closely watch what they actually do.  In recent days, the stock market has been hovering near all-time record highs and business leaders have been assuring us that good days are ahead.  But meanwhile, many of our most famous billionaires have been doing things that indicate that they are extremely concerned about what is coming in the future.  For example, during the first two months of this year Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon, and Mark Zuckerberg “have all sold big chunks of shares in their own companies”…

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg have all sold big chunks of shares in their own companies. How come?

Bezos is way out in front after offloading 50 million shares of Amazon in just nine trading days this month, pocketing an estimated $8.5 billion.

Zuckerberg cashed in almost 1.8 million shares of his social-media empire for more than $400 million in the last two months of 2023.

JPMorgan’s Dimon joined the club this month, jettisoning about 822,000 shares of the bank he leads for about $150 million.

If these men believe that the U.S. economy is going to thrive and their companies will continue to grow, it would make sense to just sit back and let their portfolios increase in value.

But instead, they have all determined that this is a perfect time to sell.

And I can definitely understand that.  Over the past year, the stocks of all three companies have soared to unprecedented heights…

Meta stock has soared by 186% over the past year, JPMorgan is up nearly 30%, and Amazon has surged close to 90%. All three companies are trading close to record highs.

These men didn’t become filthy rich by being stupid, and selling at the peak of the bubble certainly wouldn’t be stupid.

But is that the only reason why these billionaires are feverishly liquidating shares?

In recent weeks, much has been made of the fact that Zuckerberg and his wife are constructing an absolutely massive survivalist compound in Hawaii.  The following comes from Time Magazine…

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, co-founder and co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, plan to build a 5,000-square-foot underground shelter on their Hawaii ranch with its own energy and food supplies, according to a Wired investigation published earlier this month.

The plan is that the shelter’s door will be made of metal and filled in with concrete—common in bunkers and bomb shelters, the news outlet reported in its extensive article citing planning documents and interviews.

So why is Zuckerberg going to such effort?

Does he know something that the rest of us do not?

Yes, it is true that Zuckerberg has always been more than a little bit eccentric.

But many other ultra-wealthy individuals are also preparing for doom.  In fact, Sam Altman and Peter Thiel both seem to be extremely alarmed about the times that are approaching…

To keep himself safe, Altman keeps a stash of the usual Doomsday prepper fare including antibiotics and water as well as some more unusual goods. He told the founders of the startup Shypmate, per the New Yorker: “I try not to think about it too much. But I have guns, gold, potassium iodide, antibiotics, batteries, water, gas masks from the Israeli Defence Force, and a big patch of land in Big Sur I can fly to.”

He also said he and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel have an “arrangement” to flee to one of Thiel’s luxury properties in New Zealand in the event the End of the World comes about.

Why would Sam Altman need guns and gas masks?

And why would he need potassium iodide?

Exactly what does he expect to happen?

Other billionaires are going to even greater extremes.

Al Corbi, the founder, and president of Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments, says that he is currently working on an “island fortress” for one client that will have a very deep moat around it filled with highly flammable liquid…

Corbi — who worked on the palatial 27-floor, $4.8 billion Mumbai residence of business mogul Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries — reveals to THR that his most spectacular project, due to be completed in 2025, is an island fortress created on a 200-acre property in the U.S., with cutting-edge tactical systems.

“The shelter can withstand a blast one mile from ground zero,” says Corbi. “But that was almost incidental. The client [a business mogul] was saying, ‘I want to make sure that no one can get to my family,’ so we wound up literally building a 30-foot-deep lake [around the compound] skimmed with a lighter-than-water flammable liquid that can transform into a ring of fire. The only access to the island is a swing bridge.”

I have to admit, that sounds pretty cool.

I just hope that they have figured out how to keep the fire from escaping the moat.

The property will also have “water cannons that can take down parachuters”…

Also at Corbi’s project, “there are water cannons that can take down parachuters, Apache helicopters, whatever’s coming your way 500 feet in the air,” he says. “Then we took all the dirt removed for the lake to literally build a mountain as natural fortification around the property. And we cut a tunnel through with flame-throwers, gassing systems, a steel wall that closes midway that could stop a 16-wheeler going 80 miles an hour, and bollards at both ends.”

Okay, so I have a question.

Why go to so much trouble?

If life is going to continue more or less like it has for the past few decades, why waste so much money?

Obviously, the client that is paying for this island fortress is envisioning that the world is going to go mad.

HEALTH

How Magnesium Can Protect You From Liver Damage

The mineral magnesium may interact with bacteria in your gut to offer protection from acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity.

• Acetaminophen overdose is one of the leading causes of liver injury in the U.S. and some parts of Europe, but magnesium may offer some protection
• The enzyme cytochrome p450 2E1 (CYP2E1) is involved, as it breaks down acetaminophen into toxic byproducts that can harm the liver in high concentrations
• In a study on mice, oral magnesium stimulated metabolism of gut bacteria called Bifidobacterium, which increased indole-3-carboxylic acid (I3C) levels; I3C inactivates CYP2E1
• Every 100-milligram increase in magnesium intake is linked with a 49% decrease in mortality risk from liver disease
• N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a precursor for glutathione biosynthesis, also protects against liver damage in cases of acetaminophen overdose

Power Mall Product of Interest: PurelyMin Magnesium Complex – Discover our cutting edge PurelyMin, meticulously formulated to transform your health. Magnesium is a crucial mineral that can be difficult to obtain in our standard diet.  The NIH recommends an amount of 300 to 400 mg daily. According to their estimates, 50% or more of the population is deficient in this essential nutrient.

Grapefruit – Citrus packed benefits

As part of the citrus family, grapefruit ranks high amongst others in its list of health benefits. Some describe the taste as sweet, while others might call it tart. The typical, medium-sized grapefruit has only 52 calories and 13 carbohydrates which is low compared to other fruits. For example, a medium-sized banana has 30 carbohydrates. Plus, grapefruit contains fiber, Vitamins A and C, folate, potassium, and magnesium. This information alone makes grapefruit a good choice to incorporate into a balanced diet. Grapefruit is so easy to snack on, can replace sweets/desserts, can be blended, or juiced, goes good in a salad or with yogurt, and can be eaten just as regular slices like an apple.

Because grapefruit has 2 grams of fiber per serving, this amount of fiber helps you feel fuller. Its high-water content contributes to having a low number of calories. Between feeling fuller and eating a low-calorie food, grapefruit is said to be a weight loss friendly food. All this water content (4oz in a medium sized grapefruit) helps with hydration too.  Another powerful benefit of grapefruit is that it can help prevent diabetes by regulating insulin levels. Studies have shown that people who eat grapefruit before meals had a reduction in insulin levels and resistance.

The list of nutritional benefits continues because grapefruit is full of antioxidants. These include flavonoids which help reduce inflammation, lower the risk of heart disease, and lower cholesterol. Vitamin C is another big health helper because of its protective ability when it comes to cellular damage. Grapefruit has 64% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) we should have of Vitamin C. It also has lycopene which has cancer fighting properties and beta-carotene which helps prevent eye-related problems and can also ward off cancer. Vitamin C is also great for skin because of its ability to boost collagen production. Many serums have vitamin C because it can help with skin discolorations like age-spots and reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

Another great benefit of grapefruit is its ability to help reduce the risk of kidney stones. It contains citric acid that can bind with calcium that builds up on the kidney, and then can help flush this out. Calcium oxalate stones cause kidney stones so grapefruit helps break these down, so you excrete them.

Grapefruit can be a delicious part of your diet. The benefits are plenty and they might just solve your sweet tooth problem. Whole foods are always the best choices and as we eat a variety of fruits

Ultra-processed food linked to 32 harmful effects to health, review finds

World’s largest review finds direct associations with higher risks of cancer, heart disease and early deathUltra-processed food (UPF) is directly linked to 32 harmful effects to health, including a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, adverse mental health and early death, according to the world’s largest review of its kind.

The findings from the first comprehensive umbrella review of evidence come amid rapidly rising global consumption of UPF such as cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks, ready meals and fast food.

In the UK and US, more than half the average diet now consists of ultra-processed food. For some, especially people who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPF is typical.

The findings published in the BMJ suggest diets high in UPF may be harmful to many elements of health. The results of the review involving almost 10 million people underscored a need for measures to target and reduce exposure to UPF, the researchers said.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

In Their Own Words: Hear How CCP Propagandists Are Using TikTok to Indoctrinate America’s Youth

TikTok is run by the company ByteDance, which is “wedded to the Chinese Communist Party military-intelligence-industrial complex.” While the app has “penetrated the heart of America’s culture, becoming a central part of the lives of our children and young adults,” the Chinese government does not permit the app for its own population, he writes. Instead, the CCP harnesses the app’s addictive quality to target and shape the minds of young Americans for its own purposes, all while designating TikTok’s powerful algorithm as a top secret “national security asset.”

In one of the restricted journals, Colonel Dai Xu, a professor at China’s top military academy, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) National Defense University (PLA-NDU), wrote that the real battle between the United States and China is “information-driven mental warfare” and compared apps such as TikTok and social media platforms to a “modern day Trojan Horse.”

Another leading Chinese PLA strategist, Zeng Huafeng of the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), wrote of a cognitive, or mind, war on the United States and proposed how to defeat the U.S. without firing a shot.

Zeng defines the “cognitive space” as “the area in which feelings, perception, understanding, beliefs, and values exist” and argues that this is where the battle can be won. To that end, he said, Beijing must use “information and popular spiritual and cultural products as weapons to influence people’s psychology, will, attitude, behavior and even change the ideology, values, cultural traditions and social systems.” According to Zeng, these cultural tools, including apps, video games, and films, should be used to “target individuals, groups, countries, and even people around the world.”

Zeng further argued that Beijing can win “mind superiority” through several means, including:

“Perception manipulation” via propaganda, by changing how people look at the present “Cutting off historical memory” by warping their views of their own country’s past so people will be open to changing their values
“Changing the paradigm of thinking” by targeting people to change the way they view problems and thereby changing their beliefs
“Deconstructing symbols,” by getting people to reject certain traditional symbols and thereby modifying a nation’s identity

“The ultimate goal is to manipulate a country’s values and achieve strategic goals without an actual overt military battle,” Zeng added.

Report: Google Is Paying Publishers to Post AI-Generated Articles

According to a recent report, Google is quietly testing controversial new artificial intelligence tools for automating news production with a select group of publishers. The Masters of the Universe are reportedly paying publishers to post articles generated by its AI.

AdWeek reports that tech giant Google is quietly working with a small group of news publishers to test unreleased artificial intelligence tools aimed at automating certain aspects of the news production process. According to documents seen by Adweek, Google is paying select publishers to participate in a 12-month pilot program providing early access to the new AI platform.

In exchange, publishers must use the tools to generate a minimum volume of content — reportedly three articles per day, one newsletter per week, and one marketing campaign per month. The AI tools allow publishers to summarize and repurpose content from other sources, such as government agencies and news outlets, to create aggregated news stories with limited human editing.

While Google claims the goal is to aid small, resource-constrained publishers in producing original local journalism, some industry experts view the program skeptically. “It’s hard to argue that stealing people’s work supports the mission of the news,” said Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next, who believes the tools could negatively impact outlets whose work is scraped without permission.

The AI software indexes and monitors outside websites identified by the publisher as regular sources of relevant news. When new articles appear, the system auto-generates rewritten versions in different “accuracy” levels based on how closely the AI text matches the original. Editors review the AI copy before publication but are not required to label articles as AI-assisted.

Google states the tools cannot gather new facts, limiting value for premium publishers. But some warn the technology threatens to divert traffic from originating sources and enables low-cost content duplication versus investment in original reporting.

The publisher initiative is part of Google’s News Initiative launched in 2018, which has faced criticism despite its professed goal of supporting journalism through technology and training. “Instead of giving up some of that revenue, it’s attacking the cost side for its long-tail members with the least bargaining power,” said Kint.

SURVEILLANCE STATE 

The Government Really Is Spying On You — And It’s Legal

Consumer data has become a lucrative commodity, and the US government is buying.

The freakout moment that set journalist Byron Tau on a five-year quest to expose the sprawling U.S. data surveillance state occurred over a “wine-soaked dinner” back in 2018 with a source he cannot name.

The tipster told Tau the government was buying up reams of consumer data — information scraped from cellphones, social media profiles, internet ad exchanges and other open sources — and deploying it for often-clandestine purposes like law enforcement and national security in the U.S. and abroad. The places you go, the websites you visit, the opinions you post — all collected and legally sold to federal agencies.

An AI license plate surveillance startup installed hundreds of cameras without permission

Flock installed its surveillance cameras without permits, and has now been banned from operating in two states

Flock, a startup which promotes a surveillance state, has installed car tracking cameras in 4,000 cities among 42 states. The company makes its money and shareholder value by delivering AI-based tracking hardware and software to local police departments, which are more than happy to pay Flock’s $3,000 annual fee. The Atlanta-based company has grown nearly 2,700 percent since 2020, and at least some of that growth, according to a new report from Forbes, has come from a willingness to bend the rules to get their cameras installed and tracking your every movement.

Flock uses fallible artificial intelligence software to “fingerprint” a car, matching its make, model, and appearance to a license plate number in the DOT database. Cops love Flock because they say it is less expensive than competitive systems from Motorola, while allegedly providing more accurate tracking of potential suspects.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Greens press court to allow EIA crypto energy use survey

“Cryptocurrency facilities are now significant actors in the power grid — but it’s unclear exactly how large their impact is,” the Sierra Club said.

An environmental group is calling on a federal court in Texas to allow the U.S. Energy Information Administration to continue to collect data on how much energy cryptocurrency mining is pulling out of the electric grid.

Crypto mining companies are challenging a provisional EIA survey of the industry over concerns that the White House improperly authorized the agency to speed up its data collection process. Industry opponents say the agency, an independent arm of the Department of Energy, bypassed input from crypto mining companies and potentially jeopardized their proprietary information.

A judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas issued a temporary restraining order against EIA on Friday, pausing data collection from 82 companies for at least two weeks.

GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING

Video: A Mushroom Hunting Guide for Beginners

10 Good Reasons Why Hens Stop Laying Eggs

If you’re keeping chickens for eggs, naturally you want them to keep right on laying them so you have a steady supply. Whether you and your family are eating them, you are selling them, or using them for a breeding program, maintaining output is important.

2ND AMENDMENT

US Supreme Court Hears ‘Bump Stocks’ Gun Case

A divided US Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday on the legality of “bump stocks,” simple devices that can allow rapid fire from otherwise semi-automatic guns.

The case stems from the worst mass shooting in US history, in October 2017, when a man fired on a crowd attending an outdoor music concert in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and wounding around 500.

Most of his 22 guns were equipped with bump stocks, allowing them to fire as many as nine bullets a second.

Even by US standards, where gun violence is common and there are more firearms than citizens, the Las Vegas massacre sparked shock.

In February 2018, following a mass shooting at a Florida high school which left 17 people dead, the Justice Department under Republican president Donald Trump moved to declare the detachable devices illegal.

In December of that year, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) revised its regulations on bump stocks, declaring that they fall under an existing 1934 law passed by Congress banning machine guns.

Lawyers for Michael Cargill, a gun seller from Texas, challenged the move claiming the ATF had overstepped its bounds in classifying bump stocks with machine guns.

In court on Wednesday, Brian Fletcher, deputy solicitor general in President Joe Biden’s Justice Department, said bump stocks allow a user to “empty a 100-round magazine like the ones used in the Las Vegas shooting in about 10 seconds.”

“Those weapons do exactly what Congress meant to prohibit when it enacted the prohibition on machine guns,” Fletcher said.

Oral arguments, which lasted some two hours, focused on the technical definition of a machine gun in the 1934 law, which was passed during the Prohibition era, well before the invention of the bump stock.

“It’s a very old statute, and it was designed for an obvious problem in the 1930s and Al Capone,” said Justice Neil Gorsuch.

The Supreme Court previously expanded gun rights in a 2022 ruling that said Americans have a fundamental right to carry a handgun in public, though certain regulations still exist around the practice.

A conservative federal appeals court ruled in March 2023 that a law barring people under domestic violence court orders from owning a gun was unconstitutional.

That case will also be decided by the Supreme Court this year. The justices seemed likely to uphold the domestic violence law when they heard arguments in November.

Polls show a majority of Americans favor stricter gun regulations, but the powerful firearms lobby and mobilized voters supporting the country’s strong firearms culture have made congressional action difficult.

Biden Pushes ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban After Laken Riley Allegedly Killed by Illegal Immigrant

Less than a week after Laken Riley was reportedly killed via blunt force trauma by a non-U.S. citizen, President Joe Biden spoke to reporters about his efforts to fight crime and pushed more gun control.

Biden said, “I’ve taken more executive actions to stop the flow of illegal guns than any other administration in history. And we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years.”

He continued, “We’re going to finish the job. We’re going to ban ‘assault weapons’ and ‘high-capacity’ magazines’ next time around because it has to be done.”

Nursing student Laken Riley was found dead on the University of Georgia campus last Thursday, and Breitbart News reported that the man suspected of killing her is a non-U.S. citizen. People magazine pointed out that Riley “died from blunt force trauma to the head.”

But Biden pushed for gun control, and he told reporters, “My administration is going to choose progress over politics, and communities across the country are safer as a result of that policy. There is no greater responsibility than to ensure the safety of families, children, communities, and our nation.”

CANCEL CULTURE

Donald Trump Says if He’s Re-Elected, Prince Harry Is ‘On His Own’ with Visa Drug Controversy

Former President Donald Trump said that if he is given another term in the White House, Britain’s wayward-woke Prince Harry will be “on his own”, in reference to the controversy surrounding the Duke of Sussex potentially having lied about drug use on his visa to the United States.

Prince Harry, who relocated to Hollywood with his actress wife Meghan Markle in 2020 to seek money- making ventures in the entertainment industry and to distance themselves from the Royal Family, is facing questions about whether he lied on his visa application to gain residency in America.

On visa application forms, prospective immigrants are typically asked if they have ever consumed illegal drugs. Although admitting to having a history of prior drug use is not grounds for an automatic rejection, it can have an impact on the eligibility of an applicant. However, lying on a visa form can have serious repercussions, including potential deportation and being prohibited from applying for U.S. citizenship.

Questions arose as to whether Prince Harry lied on his immigration forms following the publication of his 2023 memoir Spare in which he admitted to not only doing cocaine and smoking cannabis as a young man at Eton College in England but also having consumed magic mushrooms at a 2016 party in California hosted by Friends actress Courtney Cox. The Biden administration has faced criticism for refusing Freedom of Information requests to unseal the Prince’s visa application.

Commenting on the scandal, Donald Trump told Britain’s Express newspaper that the Biden White House has been “too gracious” with Harry.

“I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me,” Trump said, adding: “I think they [the Biden administration] have been too gracious to him after what he has done.”

The American conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, has launched a series of legal challenges trying to unseal Prince Harry’s visa application, but they have so far been rebuffed by the Biden White House.

Last week, Heritage argued in court that the American people have a right to know whether the Prince lied on his immigration forms. A lawyer for the White House argued in turn that the Prince may have embellished his accounts of taking drugs in order to “sell book” and that “saying something in a book doesn’t necessarily make it true”, The Telegraph reported.

The Heritage Foundation has accused the Biden administration of “stonewalling” to not only protect the woke Royals but also to cover up the “willingness of the Biden Administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to violate the law.”

“There is a clear public interest in knowing whether or not the Department of Homeland Security is enforcing the law fairly – without fear or favour—or is granting preferential treatment to celebrities,” Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, commented last year.

Gardiner said that Heritage is “determined to win” the fight to have the documents unsealed to “ensure full transparency and accountability from the United States Department of Homeland Security and its agencies.”

Feds ‘selectively prosecuted’ ‘far-right’ agitators while letting Antifa walk: California judge

A California judge dismissed a case against two alleged white supremacists after agreeing that the pair had been “selectively prosecuted” under a “once-rarely-used” federal statute that was not similarly applied to “far-left” groups like Antifa and By Any Means Necessary.

The statute at the center of the case is the Anti-Riot Act of 1968. According to federal prosecutors, two members of the “far-right” group the Rise Above Movement — Robert Boman and Robert Rundo — violated the act in 2017 by coordinating to bring like-minded agitators from across the country to engage in violence during right-wing and/or MAGA rallies in Huntington Beach, Berkeley, and San Bernardino, California.

In 2019, Judge Cormac J. Carney of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the case against the two RAM members, concluding that the Anti- Riot Act violated the First Amendment. But an appeals court overruled his decision, allowing prosecutors to re-charge Boman and Rundo.

As in the 2019 case, the defendants motioned to dismiss the charges, this time on the grounds that they had been selectively prosecuted. And once again, Judge Carney agreed.

“There is no doubt that the government did not prosecute similarly situated individuals,” Carney wrote in a decision released February 21.

“Despite the involvement of both the far left and far right, the federal government never charged far-left activists under the Anti-Riot Act for their violence at these political rallies,” the decision continued, despite the fact that members of Antifa and BAMN “engaged in worse conduct and in fact instigated much of the violence that broke out at these otherwise constitutionally protected rallies.”

While Carney admitted that the defendants harbor “reprehensible” views and likely “committed violence for which they deserve to be prosecuted,” he likewise cautioned that “all,” regardless of ideology, are entitled to the same freedom and protections under the Constitution.

As a result, Rundo was allowed to walk out of court a free man — temporarily. After the decision, federal prosecutors quickly filed an emergency motion with a panel of judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, requesting that Rundo be rearrested and detained without bail since he allegedly posed a flight risk. Rundo did flee to Romania after the first case against him and had to be extradited to the U.S. last August.

That request was granted. Rundo will now “remain in custody pending resolution of appellant’s motion to stay release pending appeal,” the appeals court ruled. “No lower court may order his release absent further order of this Court.”

Boman, on the other hand, had already bonded out by the time Carney rendered his decision. He also expressed remorse for his “old antics.”

PET NEWS

This Game Meat Offers an Impressive Nutrient Profile

If you’re looking for an alternative to the usual types of meat you use in your pet’s treats and meals, consider this wildly healthy novel protein source. Discover more about its benefits to your pet’s health here.

• Bison can be a nutritious treat for pets or component of a homemade diet, in conjunction with other ingredients that comprise a nutritionally complete meal
• This meat is described as “lighter, coarser, and tastes slightly sweeter,” compared to beef, without any gamey flavor or an aftertaste. Nutrient wise, it’s slightly superior to beef too
• Bison is an ideal protein to try for pets with food sensitivities

ICYMI

From a Power Hour listener:

You may have heard, a couple weeks ago a demon possessed man shot dead 3 and wounded a 4th first responder up here in Burnsville. Today the Memorial for our Fallen Lawmen took place at John and Greta’s, Grace Church, in Eden Prairie. Our Pastor, who’s also the chaplain for the Burnsville Police, led the service. M & I opted to watch it on TV after hearing that so many from both Law enforcement and Firefighters would be there. Every detail was thoughtfully planned by an outfit called MN LEMA. The Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association. I learned things I didn’t know, glad I do know now. When it was over, I hustled down to Eden Prairie to stand on the side of the road, got a good spot (naturally) in the fridgid temps, standing with a man my age who had Parkinsons. I windbraked him as he sat on his walker with a blanket wrapped around him. We leaned forward and waved said a silent thank you into each of the family limos and the emergency vehicles; into the eyes of the men and women who are our first responders. And they waved and nodded back! The procession continued for an hour and 50 minutes! I choked back tears (they’d have frozen to my cheeks) many times as I saw the expressions in the vehicles, realizing how much they need us at this time. If you ever get the sense that you should rush in to help relieve suffering pain, by all means do it, cause as they say, I got more than I gave.