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Newsom Pleads With Dems To Be More "Culturally Normal"

Zero Hedge -

Newsom Pleads With Dems To Be More "Culturally Normal"

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

California Governor Gavin Newsom is dishing out advice to his fellow Democrats: pretend to be normal while he plots a White House run.

Newsom, who’s been eyeing a 2028 presidential bid after loser Kamala Harris’ electoral wipeout, took to the stage at The New York Times DealBook Summit in New York City, urging his party to ditch the judgmental elitism that’s alienated everyday Americans.

“I think there’s a broader narrative that [Democrats] ought to address, that is, we have to be more culturally normal,” Newsom said, adding “We have to be a little less judgmental.”

He went on to stress the need for Democrats to grasp “the importance and power of the border, substantively and politically,” acknowledging how open borders and lax enforcement have fueled voter backlash.

In the same breath, Newsom unleashed on Fox News, comparing it to Soviet-era propaganda, saying “You got Pravda, the primetime lineup at Fox, just going on and on [in defense of Trump].”

He then slammed Trump as a “man-child,” declaring that the the President “called someone the ‘R word’ or piggy, and somehow it’s just ‘Trump being Trump.’ Nothing normal about this… It’s unbecoming to the president of the United States.”

Newsom then explained his own Trump-mimicking social media account antics were “approved” by him to “wake everybody up” to the “normalization of deviancy.” He accused Fox of criticizing his posts but never uttering a “damn word” about Trump’s rants.

The comments come as Newsom warns that Trump is “trying to wreck this country,” a claim that rings hollow given California’s ongoing crises under his watch, from rampant homelessness and crime to devastating wildfires that have scorched communities like the Pacific Palisades.

A Berkeley poll earlier this year found 54% of registered voters believe Newsom prioritizes his presidential ambitions over fixing the state’s problems, with only 26% saying he’s focused on governance.

X users mocked Newsom’s call for Democrats to feign “normalcy,” highlighting the irony of a governor whose policies have driven businesses and residents out of California in droves.

This isn’t the first time Newsom’s slimy posturing has drawn fire. Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna recently blasted the governor for his online antics during an appearance on the PBD Podcast.

Host Patrick Bet-David noted, “You’re either a great troll or you’re trying to be. Like Newsom is dying to be Trump, but he’s not. Newsom is trying to be Trump. Newsom’s not Trump, right? Nowhere near him. But everything he does, he’s trying to be — the Trump of the left.”

Luna recounted a joke she made on a Comedy Central show: “I was on a show recently. I think it was on Comedy Central, it was like an evening talk show. And they’re talking about the ‘No Kings’ protests and I made a joke and I was like, ‘Well if you’re talking about Gavin Newsom it would be the ‘No Queens’ protest.’”

When asked if it was homophobic, she replied, “No he [Newsom] just has feminine tendencies, and it’s totally true. I don’t know, like — he bitches on the internet all the time. It’s like what are you doing, Gavin? You know, you have fires in the Palisades — what’s going on?”

Bet-David agreed, calling Newsom’s vibe “metro.”

Adding fuel to the fire, actress Halle Berry stunned the DealBook crowd earlier that day by slamming Newsom for vetoing a menopause care bill twice, questioning his fitness for higher office.

“Back in my great state of California, my very own governor, Gavin Newsom, has vetoed our menopause bill, not one, but 2 years in a row! But that’s OK, because he’s not GOING to be governor forever!” Berry urged.

She continued, “With the way he’s overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be our next president either! Just saying!”

Berry rallied the audience, stressing “I need every woman in this country to fight with me. But the truth is, the fight isn’t just for us women. We need men too. We need all of the leaders, every single one of you in this room. This fight needs you.”

The Menopause Care Equity Act aimed to boost research and education on women’s health, but Newsom vetoed it citing potential cost hikes for working women. Berry’s raw callout drew gasps, underscoring how even Hollywood elites are turning on him amid whispers of his 2028 aspirations.

Newsom’s “normalcy” sermon exposes the Democrats’ desperation after years of pushing radical agendas on gender ideology, unchecked immigration, and climate hysteria that have alienated the heartland. 

If this is their comeback strategy—masking extremism while California burns—good luck selling that to voters who’ve had enough of the chaos. Trump’s policies are winning because they’re grounded in reality, not performative tweaks.

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 Sat, 12/06/2025 - 16:20

Ken Griffin Dumps Last Penthouse In Crime-Ridden Chicago

Zero Hedge -

Ken Griffin Dumps Last Penthouse In Crime-Ridden Chicago

Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin is on the verge of dumping his final piece of real estate in crime-ridden, far-left–controlled Chicago, and he hasn't looked back since moving Citadel's global headquarters to Miami.

Bloomberg reports that Griffin's penthouse at 800 N. Michigan Avenue, located in Park Tower, one of the premier luxury residential buildings along Chicago's Magnificent Mile, is under contract for $12.5 million. The price reflects a $3.25 million cut from July, yet remains well above the $6.9 million he paid during the Dot-Com bubble.

The sale of the penthouse marks the end of Griffin's holdings in a city plagued by crime, failed progressive policies, high taxes, and a political environment unfriendly to thriving businesses.

BBG added more color:

At another building, Griffin sold two condos to his longtime political rival, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who bought them for a combined $19 million in late 2024. Griffin has a net worth of more than $48 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Citadel maintains a downsized office in Chicago after moving from its namesake tower at 131 S. Dearborn that once served as the firm's headquarters.

"We've gone from probably 1,300 people in Chicago to a few hundred. From being the primary tenant of one of the largest skyscrapers to I think we'll be down to 2 floors in a year," Griffin recently said.

In 2021, Griffin compared Chicago to Afghanistan "on a good day."

Meanwhile, Citadel is thriving in South Florida and is set to build a $2.5 billion tower for its Miami headquarters.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 15:45

Texas Law Allowing Ivermectin To Be Sold Over The Counter Goes Into Effect

Zero Hedge -

Texas Law Allowing Ivermectin To Be Sold Over The Counter Goes Into Effect

Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times,

A Texas law allowing ivermectin to be sold over the counter went into effect Dec. 4, but rollout appears slow as pharmacies wrestle with how to proceed.

House Bill 25, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in August, allows pharmacies to sell the antiviral drug without a prescription.

Ivermectin gained popularity for off-label use during the COVID-19 pandemic, which influenced support and criticism of the measure. The drug was discovered in the 1970s and developed to treat parasites in humans and animals, and has been studied for its cancer-fighting properties.

Medical freedom advocates supported the bill, but others, such as the Texas Medical Association, worried about health risks to patients.

“Removing clinical involvement is a risk to patient safety,” the group said on its website.

The law indicates a pharmacy may dispense the drug “in accordance with any written standardized procedures or protocols issued by the Texas State Board of Pharmacy, including, if required, providing the person with instructions on the proper use of ivermectin.”

Tyler RX Pharmacy indicated it would eventually dispense ivermectin without a prescription, but said the protocols for doing so haven’t been finalized yet.

“The law states to follow the state Board of Pharmacy guidelines, but there are no guidelines in place yet,” the store’s pharmacist, Katelin Nuon, told The Epoch Times.

At Cody Pharmacy in Sulfur Springs, Texas, the store manager said they didn’t have ivermectin available yet because the law just went into effect, but advised checking back next week.

However, Republican state Sen. Bob Hall, who sponsored a companion bill in the Texas Senate, told The Epoch Times that pharmacies could sell ivermectin even if the pharmacy guidelines were not in place.

“There is nothing in the bill that requires the pharmacy board to do anything,” he said. “We’re checking with the pharmacy board to see if there is something buried in their rules that preempts this changeover.”

The Texas State Board of Pharmacy did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.

Hall said he has received calls from constituents complaining that their local pharmacies claim they can’t sell ivermectin.

Despite this, Hall believes that independent pharmacies will take the lead in offering the drug to the public. He noted that some outlets have told him they intend to mail it to consumers if needed.

Hall said he has not received information that large retail pharmacies intend to sell the drug over the counter.

Texas is one of five states to legalize the sale of the drug without a prescription. The others are Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 15:10

Real Estate Newsletter Articles this Week:

Calculated Risk -

At the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter this week:

Real House PricesClick on graph for larger image.

• Inflation Adjusted House Prices 3.0% Below 2022 Peak

• Q3 Update: Delinquencies, Foreclosures and REO

• Final Look at Housing Markets in October and a Look Ahead to November Sales

• Asking Rents Soft Year-over-year

This is usually published 4 to 6 times a week and provides more in-depth analysis of the housing market.

The GRANITE Act: How Congress Can Strike Back Against Foreign Censors

Zero Hedge -

The GRANITE Act: How Congress Can Strike Back Against Foreign Censors

Authored by Preston Byrne,

Please find below the draft text of the GRANITE Act, a bill I have offered to New Hampshire legislators for consideration for enactment in that state. It could serve as a template for a U.S. fightback against global censorship, if adapted for federal use.

It doesn’t really require a ton of explanation.

The gist is simple: the only real defense a foreign censor has from injunctive relief in a U.S. court, as we saw with Ofcom’s recent fine letter to 4chan and the strategy employed by Trump Media and Technology Group’s attorneys in their case against Alexandre de Moraes in the Middle District of Florida, is sovereign immunity.

Foreign countries can bully the shit out of American citizens and companies because they know that U.S. law potentially protects them from consequences for doing so.

We should take that immunity away from them. Such a move would have teeth because these foreign countries’ economies would break down if they didn’t have access to the U.S. banking system. The UK, for example, has £47 billion custodied in North American banks in order to support its currency.

The GRANITE Act makes foreign censorship inbound to the U.S. a very simple cost/benefit exercise for these countries: you can try to censor an American citizen or corporation, but if you do, they can sue you, and you, Mr. Foreign Censor, are not judgment proof because your country needs access to the U.S. financial system to survive.

This also means that trial lawyers will be responsible for protecting Americans’ rights rather than the State Department/the Executive Branch. This will mean that instead of having to deal with nuisance demands from foreign bureaucrats, President Trump can move on to other, more important matters he has proven so very adept at, like bringing the peoples and nations of the world together in peace and harmony, and blame Congress and aggressive American trial lawyers if any foreigner complains about American rules.

I add: the statutory damages are set at a minimum of $10 million because the UK is threatening Americans with fines of $25 million or 10% of global turnover, whichever is greater. That is the scale of the abuse that American citizens currently have to tolerate from these foreign countries.

I have a feeling, if we create consequences for foreign censorship, inbound foreign censorship will stop.

So, I ask Congress: adapt this for federal use. Enact it. If you do this, you will end the foreign censorship problem in a day.

Model Bill – the GRANITE Act

Section 1. Short Title

This Act may be cited as the Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny & Extortion Act (the “GRANITE Act” or the “Act”).

Section 2. Legislative Purpose

The purpose of this Act is to safeguard the constitutional rights of New Hampshire residents against the extraterritorial application of foreign Internet censorship laws that would restrict speech or compel disclosure of information in violation of the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State of New Hampshire.

Section 3. Jurisdiction and Venue

  1. The courts of this state shall have subject-matter jurisdiction over any action brought by a resident or domiciliary of New Hampshire, a New Hampshire corporation, or a person within the State of New Hampshire alleging that a foreign government, or any officer, employee, or instrumentality thereof, has:
    • (a) issued or attempted to enforce any law, judgment, subpoena, or order purporting to regulate speech or conduct protected by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State of New Hampshire, in each case occurring wholly within the United States; or
    • (b) sought to compel a New Hampshire resident or entity to comply with such foreign law, judgment, subpoena, or order purporting to regulate speech or conduct protected by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State of New Hampshire.
  2. Personal jurisdiction shall be deemed established whenever the foreign actor directs or transmits any demand, notice, threat, or other communication into the state or to a resident of this state, whether by electronic means or otherwise.

Section 4. Cause of Action and Remedies

  1. Any resident or domiciliary of New Hampshire who has been, or any person who is physically present in New Hampshire at the time they were, or any New Hampshire corporation who has been victimized by, conduct described in Section 3 may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction against any person or entity responsible for that conduct or any foreign state authorizing that conduct. Such persons or entities responsible for the conduct described in Section 3 shall be jointly and severally liable for that conduct.
  2. Upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the foreign government or its instrumentality acted to chill, restrict, or penalize constitutionally protected expression or association, or otherwise infringe on any right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State of New Hampshire, the plaintiff shall be entitled to:
    • (a) the greater of:
      1. Treble actual damages; or
      2. statutory damages of not less than $10,000,000 (ten million U.S. dollars) or the equivalent dollar amount of the threatened fine on the date on which the fine was threatened, whichever is greater;

(b) Reasonable attorney’s fees and costs; and

(c) Injunctive and declaratory relief as necessary to prevent further violations of the plaintiff’s constitutional rights.

Section 5. Waiver of Sovereign Immunity

  1. A foreign state, foreign agency, or foreign instrumentality, or any person employed by such foreign state, foreign agency, or foreign instrumentality, that engages in conduct described in Section 3 shall not be immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of this state.
  2. The doctrine of sovereign immunity shall be deemed waived for any act undertaken to enforce or threaten enforcement of a foreign law that is contrary to the public policy or constitutional guarantees of the United States or the State of New Hampshire.

Section 6. Non-Recognition of Foreign Judgments

No court of this state shall recognize, enforce, or give any effect to a foreign judgment, order, or administrative action that infringes rights protected by the United States or New Hampshire Constitutions.

Section 7. Construction

This Act shall be liberally construed to provide maximum protection for New Hampshire residents against the extraterritorial enforcement of foreign censorship laws. Nothing in this Act shall limit any other cause of action or remedy available under federal or state law.

*  *  *

Update 1: Since the initial draft of this blog post, it has been converted into an actual bill and been filed in the State of Wyoming. New Hampshire to follow soon.

Update 2: The United States Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Sarah Rogers, has told GB News that UK censorship of Americans has crossed a “red line” and that a version of the GRANITE Act, presumably derived from the Wyoming bill, is on the verge of introduction in the U.S. House of Representatives. I can also personally confirm a derivative of the Wyoming GRANITE Act continues to move forward in New Hampshire and filing is expected in weeks.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 14:00

Nearly Two-Thirds Of Americans Say College Degree Isn't Worth The Cost: Poll

Zero Hedge -

Nearly Two-Thirds Of Americans Say College Degree Isn't Worth The Cost: Poll

Authored by Gabrielle Temaat via The College Fix,

Nearly two-thirds of Americans don’t believe that a college degree is worth its price tag, according to a recent NBC News survey.  

Sixty-three percent of registered voters said a four-year degree is “not worth the cost because people often graduate without specific job skills and with a large amount of debt to pay off,” according to the poll. 

Meanwhile, only 33 percent said a degree is “worth the cost because people have a better chance to get a good job and earn more money over their lifetime.” 

The survey included 1,000 registered voters, with 655 interviewed by cellphone and 300 reached through an online questionnaire sent via text message.

Responses varied significantly depending on the respondents’ political party affiliation.

Only 22 percent of Republicans said college is worth the cost while 47 percent of Democrats said a degree is worth pursuing. 

Asked about the primary factor eroding their confidence in the value of a college education, respondents overwhelmingly cited escalating tuition costs.

Further, respondents were much more evenly split on the question eight years ago. In 2017, 49 percent felt a college degree was worth the price, while 47 percent disagreed, NBC News reported. 

Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates conducted the survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies.

“It’s just remarkable to see attitudes on any issue shift this dramatically, and particularly on a central tenet of the American dream, which is a college degree. Americans used to view a college degree as aspirational — it provided an opportunity for a better life. And now that promise is really in doubt,” Horwitt said. 

He also said he was surprised by how widespread the shift has been. Attitudes have changed across all groups, not just among those without college degrees.

“This is a political problem. It’s also a real problem for higher education. Colleges and universities have lost that connection they’ve had with a large swath of the American people based on affordability,” Horwitt said. “They’re now seen as out of touch and not accessible to many Americans.”

College tuition has surged, roughly doubling in the past 20 years, and doubling again from two decades before, The New York Post reported. 

At some universities, including the University of Chicago, Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, and Columbia, annual costs to attend the school are nearing $100,000, The College Fix previously reported. 

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 12:50

Journal Retracts 'Ghost Written' Monsanto Study Claiming Glyphosate Is Safe

Zero Hedge -

Journal Retracts 'Ghost Written' Monsanto Study Claiming Glyphosate Is Safe

Over the past year massive scandals involving academic research have come under the microscope, after dedicated researchers uncovered rigged studies that made it through peer-review with flying colors, and are now being retracted. 

On Friday, the Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology journal announced that it has retracted a review, safety evaluation, and risk assessment of the herbicide Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, after it emerged that Monsanto was heavily involved in its production. 

"This decision has been made after careful consideration of the COPE guidelines and thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the authorship and content of this article and in light of no response having been provided to address the findings," the journal said in a statement. 

"Litigation in the United States revealed correspondence from Monsanto suggesting that the authors of the article were not solely responsible for writing its content," and contributions by Monsanto employees were not disclosed, including in the acknowledgements section of the review. 

The journal also said that the authors may have been paid by Monsanto - which was also not disclosed. 

The Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology had been frequently cited in defending glyphosate, an ingredient in Roundup, including citations on Wikipedia, researchers said in a paper published in September. Since 2017, multiple juries have concluded that Roundup exposure has resulted in non-Hodgkin lymphoma in people. Bayer took over legal cases involving the matter after it purchased Monsanto in 2018, including a case that may be adjudicated by the Supreme Court. -Epoch Times

Meanwhile the study's lead author, Gary Williams - a former pathologist at New York Medical College, is MIA, according to an Epoch Times inquiry. 

An internal email from February 2015 presented as evidence in a 2017 court case revealed that Monsanto employees worked with the authors of the review, with one employee writing that it would be expensive to involve experts from all major areas in a review - and would be cheaper to simply involve certain experts and "we ghost-write" other sections. 

"We would be keeping the cost down by us doing the writing and they would just edit & sign their names so to speak. Recall that is how we handled Williams Kroes & Munro, 2000," the employee wrote. 

So of course, the journal retracts the dodgy study almost 10 years later - even as other journals - including Critical Reviews in Toxicology, attached expressions of concern co-authored by Williams because they said they authors didn't disclose the involvement of Monsanto employees and contractors in authoring their research. 

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 12:15

Impeachment Mania Returns In Time For The Midterm Elections

Zero Hedge -

Impeachment Mania Returns In Time For The Midterm Elections

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

The military has long had a saying that “when you only have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” When it comes to impeachment power, Democrats have long acted as if every problem is a high crime and misdemeanor.

After two impeachments against President Donald Trump (including what I labeled as an infamous “snap impeachment“), Democratic politicians and pundits are back calling for the impeachment of President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) was the latest to prepare articles of impeachment. He is demanding the removal of Hegseth over his use of the encrypted messaging app Signal to convey battle plans and the “double tap” order on a disabled drug boat.

The Signal app controversy was a legitimate objection raised by critics. The Pentagon inspector general recently found that such use can endanger both missions and personnel, even though it did not appear to have resulted in damage in this case. Nevertheless, the Pentagon is claiming that the report is a “TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth.”  That is hardly convincing. It is akin to Harris claiming that Gov. Josh Shapiro’s description of her book as “utter bulls**t” is a glowing review.

However, such a controversy does not even come close to meeting the constitutional standard for impeachment. Democrats did not call for the removal of Democratic presidents or cabinet members for such past controversies, including the use of social media and private email accounts.

The inclusion of the boat strike ignores how the war crimes story has collapsed this week. Even the New York Times and ABC News (and some Democratic members) now admit that it is not true that Hegseth gave an order to kill any survivors of these attacks or that such an order was issued by military commanders.

A finishing shot on a still floating vessel is not uncommon in war. There is a legitimate debate over the policy of striking these boats. However, in terms of the president’s inherent constitutional powers, he has the authority to strike such vessels outside the United States. Other presidents have asserted such authority. This includes President Barack Obama, who claimed in his “kill list” policy to have the right to kill even American citizens anywhere and at any time based on his unilateral decision that they represent an imminent threat to national security.

With respect to the laws of war, if the military had the authority to sink the boat, the commander could order a finishing shot or shots to complete the mission. It has long been common in war to deliver such finishing shots even when there are survivors on board or in the area of the vessel. The commander must not re-engage for the sole purpose of killing survivors. There is no evidence of any such order in this strike. The Washington Post based its sensational claim on a single anonymous source.

Throughout history (including the famed sinking of the Bismarck in World War II), there have been finishing shots delivered in sea engagements to destroy vessels.

The same is true with aerial attacks. It is common for the military to deliver multiple hits on a target if it is not completely destroyed despite the presence of wounded or survivors in the area. Once again, this does not mean the decision was correct or commendable in any given circumstance. Still, it falls within the discretion historically afforded to military commanders in achieving mission objectives.

In the end, the laws of war reflect the fluidity and uncertainty of military engagement. The “fog of war” is a reality of military conflicts, even with the added technological advances that we have today.

We still have not seen the full video and have not yet confirmed the timeline of orders. That will help establish if the successive strikes were plausibly tied to the mission objective of destroying the still floating vessel and stopping the salvaging of the drugs. It will also help establish that the boat and the drugs were indeed still viable targets. The latter recovery of survivors by the military would indicate that there was no “kill them all” policy with regard to survivors.

What is clear is that this is not even close to an impeachable offense.

Thanedar is not the only one reviving calls for impeachment.

Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta is calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump over his “hateful comments” about the Minnesota Somali community, which he claims are grounds for impeachment:

“What needs to be said that isn’t being said enough in our press over the last 24 hours is that the President of the United States said a blatantly, obviously racist thing in the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday when he said what he said about Somali immigrants in this country. That they don’t contribute anything, that they’re not of value. In no normal world should the President of the United States of America ever, ever say something like that to the American people or even say it privately… I mean, if the President of the United States says it privately, it means he’s a bad person, and we should get rid of him.”

But to me, that was an impeachable moment. There have been so many impeachable moments since Donald Trump has come back to the White House, but to blatantly say something as racist and as hateful and as nasty and cruel and mean-spirited as what he said yesterday. The impeachment proceedings should begin right now. But of course, they won’t.”

There is a reason why they won’t . . . because this is ridiculous. Many of us have objected to the President’s comments about whole groups in this country. It is wrong to attack all Somalis in this country. I have previously written about how many of these immigrants from authoritarian nations embrace the essence of our country in seeking a free and better life.

However, past presidents have also used offensive or objectionable terms to refer to groups in the United States from Hillary Clinton’s reference to black men as “super predators” to Joe Biden’s referring to school desegregation as forcing white students to study in a “racial jungle” or claiming that any blacks who do not support him “ain’t black.”

I also do not remember these critics denouncing the attacks on figures like Elon Musk over his nationality.

The suggestion that these comments by Trump are an impeachable offense is absurd.

There is little danger that such impeachments will move forward.

However, if Democrats retake the House, the impeachment impulse will be overwhelming.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 11:40

Is A Backdoor Gold Standard Coming?

Zero Hedge -

Is A Backdoor Gold Standard Coming?

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

For decades, I’ve been vexed over a monetary issue. How can we transition from the present fiat money system to a sound-money standard like we once had in the United States and the world?

Clearly the gold standard was superior whereas we now have a fiat standard that has mired the world in debt and big government. A central-bank digital currency with programmable debt-based money and omnipresent surveillance is the dystopian nightmare of which many dream.

But this would pile calamity on top of disaster.

What we really need is the gold standard back. But how could it happen? There has never been a viable transition plan.

Rather, I’ve seen many such plans but they all have their limits. A clean redefinition of the dollar as a title for physical gold has huge transition problems and probable pricing chaos. We don’t even know for sure how much gold the federal government owns now. President Trump had spoken of auditing Fort Knox but that hasn’t happened.

Many other plans for a new Bretton Woods falter on grounds that they depend on sound management by the central bank. Such a system does not allow for domestic convertibility and will therefore lack a mechanism of discipline and a proof of credibility. It would also plunge us back to the very problem that ruined that system in its first try: gold flows break when governments overextend.

A purely pricing model—whereby the Fed targets the gold price—requires a level of precision, judgment, and knowledge that the Fed lacks. If it cannot manage the system now, why should we think it could manage a gold-price standard well?

There is a political problem that afflicts even the best reform plan. Any transition to a sound system requires the cooperation of many parties that benefit from the status quo: government, industry, finance, and banks. They are all nuts for the fiat system despite how it has eroded the standard of living for the middle class and fueled endless rounds of booms and busts.

We are relying on government to reform itself. This problem is intractable.

Keep in mind that the 19th-century gold standard was itself codified in the form of legislation. The Coinage Act of 1873 recognized that gold was money. This was not so much an imposition but a bow to reality. Forty years later, the central bank came along and that began the long process of destroying sound money.

It’s hard to shake the idea that a new gold standard would be a wonderful idea. How do we get from here to there?

Recent trends in gold and silver prices provide a strong hint that we could be slouching our way toward hard money in any case, with or without official planning.

Both gold and silver are experiencing a stunning renaissance. You would have to be naive not to observe the significance of these moves. These trends amount to a vote of confidence in the real over the financial fictions of the fiat world.

Source: Bloomberg

Over 10 years, the price of gold has moved from $1.1K per ounce to $4.2K, a 256 percent increase. The price of silver has moved from $13 to $57 per ounce, a 315 percent increase.

This beats both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500. This is an outstanding investment, one that beats dollar depreciation.

To be sure, the silver demand is driven by industrial interest. Gold is being pushed by investors. Still, to see the two move together suggests tremendous insecurity in the financial system. It could portend some significant moves in the future.

Demand has also increased based on new purchases from central banks and the new stablecoins (with a $308 billion market cap, up 50 percent in a year). Stable coins are trying to balance out their debt-dominated portfolios with some hard-money backing. This alone is remarkable, especially since intellectuals have been calling gold a “barbarous relic” for nearly one hundred years. Still to this day, these metals are considered to be safe havens.

The Basel III rules that took full effect in 2022 explicitly reclassified allocated gold as a zero-risk-weight asset again.

This is the first time since the 1970s. The timing is significant because this took place when the world economy was locked down and suffering from pandemic-related attacks.

Another crucial fact: more banks are today accepting gold and silver as collateral for dollar-based loans. This is a form of backdoor monetization. It is a small step for a liquid and portable metal to serve as money, with on and off ramps being provided by the banks themselves. Gold is already allowed to be used this way, and silver is on the way toward this status.

This path is consistent with F.A. Hayek’s speculations on the denationalization of money. He was an economist who had been writing for sound money since the 1930s. His plans were continually foiled by governments and the trends of his time. For his work on this topic, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974.

After this, he decided it was time to say the unthinkable. He wrote that governments would never reform the money in a good way because governments love bad money. He said that the best path forward would be for the banks to shepherd the change themselves. He posited that banks could create a new currency based on their own assets or on a commodity basket of real goods.

Hayek speculated that when the money fails, the banks’ own hard money could serve as the monetary safe haven.

To some extent, his vision for choice in currency is being realized within the crypto sector. It was designed to be a non-state money. Bitcoin itself took a different direction when the core developers refused to allow it to scale, as Roger Ver explains.

This led to forks of new tokens. Now there are thousands of them, many with privacy protection that far exceeds Bitcoin. They are the go-to choice for people who actually use crypto for transactions.

But now we are seeing the advent of hybrid models, such as stablecoins backed by physical gold, thus uniting the soundness of gold with the speed and low cost of blockchain exchange of ownership titles.

If the money fails this time, and even if government defaults on its debt, these monetary instruments could immediately swing into action.

If the dollar actually degrades to the point that it is not useful, new pricing structures could emerge rooted in crypto and/or hard money like gold and silver.

Would that not be fascinating if we eventually end up with a gold standard as fact even without legislation?

As in 1873, Congress can come along later and recognize reality after the fact.

Such a path would be consistent with the long history of money. It was never a creation of the state but rather emerged from markets. A new and better path to sound money in our times might travel the same trajectory.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 10:30

Anti-Free-Speech War Escalates As EU Unleashes DSA On Musk's X

Zero Hedge -

Anti-Free-Speech War Escalates As EU Unleashes DSA On Musk's X

For years, many in the free speech community (most vehemently, Jonathan Turley) have warned about the threat of the European Union to free speech, particularly in the enactment of the infamous Digital Services Act (DSA).

The EU has virtually declared war on free speech and is targeting American companies.

That war just began with the first DSA fine.

Not surprisingly, X was the chosen target - a company blamed by many in the EU and the U.S. for rolling back free-speech protections.

In essence, it’s punishment for not bending the knee to the EU’s iron-fisted control over online content.

As Modernity.news' Steve Watson points out, the fine reeks of the same vindictive playbook the EU has used since Musk took over Twitter in 2022. It’s no coincidence; Brussels has been gunning for him precisely because he’s turned the platform into a haven for unfiltered discourse, refusing to censor at the whim of unelected technocrats.

This isn’t a one-off slap; it’s the culmination of years of threats and harassment. Back in January 2023, EU Commission Vice-President Vera Jourová openly warned Musk that his “freedom of speech absolutism” wouldn’t fly, declaring the “time of the Wild West is over” and threatening sanctions if Twitter didn’t comply with DSA rules. She conflated illegal content with anything the elites deem offensive, setting the stage for today’s fine.

In October 2023, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton fired off a letter demanding X address “illegal content and disinformation” related to the Gaza conflict. Musk fired back, demanding a specific list of violations so the public could judge for themselves.

Breton’s vague accusations—citing repurposed images and unverified claims—highlighted the EU’s preference for opacity over accountability. Musk called it out: “List the violations you allude to on X, so that the public can see them.” The EU’s response was not forthcoming, but the threats continued.

Further, Musk brings receipts showing the European Union sent him a formal letter demanding that he censor Donald Trump during the 2024 US presidential election.

Since Musk’s acquisition, X has become a battleground for free expression, reinstating accounts banned under the old regime and prioritizing user-driven content over algorithmic suppression. But for the EU, that’s the problem.

Their DSA empowers regulators to dictate what platforms promote or demote, under the guise of fighting “hate speech” and “misinformation.” In reality, it’s a tool to silence dissent against open borders, climate hysteria, or any narrative challenging the globalist agenda.

This fine doesn’t exist in a vacuum - it’s part of a chilling pattern of EU overreach that threatens privacy and free speech across the continent.

Take the proposed Chat Control law, which would mandate backdoors into encrypted messages on apps like WhatsApp and Signal.

Sold as a child protection measure, it would scan billions of private conversations, exposing users to hacking, fraud, and government spying. Signal’s CEO Meredith Whittaker slammed it as a “catastrophic about-face” that betrays Europe’s privacy commitments, while experts warn of mass false positives and geopolitical abuse.

Then there’s Brussels’ aggressive enforcement tactics. In May of this year, the European Commission sued Czechia, Spain, Cyprus, Poland, and Portugal for dragging their feet on DSA implementation—specifically for not appointing national coordinators or setting penalties. Critics see this as forcing member states into a surveillance straitjacket, where platforms must over-censor to avoid fines, stifling smaller voices and user privacy.

At the heart of it all is the EU’s obsession with controlling information flows. In a January 2024 speech at Davos, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared disinformation the “top concern” for the coming years, calling for a “new global framework” where governments and Big Tech collaborate to police AI and online content.

She praised the DSA for defining platform responsibilities, but the subtext was clear: crush platforms like X that don’t toe the line. Jourová echoed this, meeting with Meta and YouTube execs to ensure compliance while targeting Musk’s “absolutism.”

These moves expose the hypocrisy: the EU claims to champion democracy but builds an Orwellian apparatus that monitors, scans, and punishes speech. It’s not about safety—it’s about power.

This latest EU assault on X has infuriated US Vice President JD Vance, who yesterday, as rumors of the impending penalty circulated, took to X and posted:

“The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.”

Vance’s previously blistering critiques of European tyranny sent shockwaves through Brussels. In a February 2025 speech at the Munich Security Conference, Vance tore into EU leaders for preaching democracy while arresting citizens for silent prayer, canceling elections, and ignoring voters on mass migration.

“No voter on this continent went to the ballot box to open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants,” he declared, labeling Europeans as more than “interchangeable cogs in a global economy.”

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called Vance’s opinions “unacceptable,” proving Vance’s point about normalized authoritarianism.

Vance’s words were prescient—today’s fine on X exemplifies how the EU weaponizes laws to crush free speech platforms, treating them as threats to their controlled narrative. With Trump back in the White House and Vance as a key ally, expect pushback: America won’t stand idly by as allies erode the very freedoms that define the West.

The $140 million hit on X isn’t just a fine—it’s a declaration of war on uncensored dialogue.

Musk’s platform remains one of the last major outposts where ideas flow freely, unhampered by globalist filters. As the EU tightens its grip, the message is clear: comply or be crushed.

As Jonathan Turley concludes, this is the first fine under the DSA and the EU officials acknowledged that it will lay the foundation for additional penalties to come to force companies to comply with EU “values” on free speech.

Specifically, the European Commission has imposed a €120 million ($140 million) fine on X after finding that it misled users with its paid-for blue checkmark verification symbol, failed to provide researchers with access to data, and did not properly set up an advertising repository. 

X has 60 days to develop solutions to address the issues and 90 days to implement the changes, or it may face additional fines.

Under the DSA, the EU can impose fines of up to 6% of an online platform’s annual global revenue for failing to address illegal content, disinformation, or transparency requirements.

It is still investigating X as well as several other major US tech firms, including Apple, Google, and Meta, under the DSA and the Digital Markets Act.

This includes investigations for failing to carry out demands for censorship, including of American citizens.

This is just the first salvo in a war that some of us have warned is coming. We cannot be passive at this moment. The EU is threatening the very indispensable right that has long defined us as a people. Many in the United States are rooting for the Europeans to roll back free-speech protections at X and Meta. Some have appeared before the EU to call for this type of action. They could use the EU to achieve abroad what they have failed to accomplish in the United States. The results will be the same for Americans, who will find themselves subject to European censors and “values.”

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 09:55

Germany Scales Back Offshore Wind Auctions After Latest Flop

Zero Hedge -

Germany Scales Back Offshore Wind Auctions After Latest Flop

By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

Germany moved to reduce the capacity it will auction in its offshore wind tender in 2026, following the flop in the latest auction without a single bid made.  

The German Parliament approved legislation narrowing the capacity in the 2026 tender to just 2.5 gigawatts (GW) to 5 GW, compared with an earlier plan of auctioning off 6 GW of offshore wind capacity and with as much as 10 GW offered in the auction in August. 

The August offshore wind auction without government subsidies failed to attract a single bid, alarming the local offshore wind sector, which is calling for a fundamental redesign of Germany’s renewable energy auctions. 

The Federal Network Agency’s auction for 10.1 GW offshore wind farms in the German part of the North Sea ended with no investor submitting a bid for any of the two proposed sites, the Federal Association for Offshore Wind Energy, BWO, said.  

The auction flop signals that offshore wind power developers are wary of taking on riskier, zero-subsidy projects amid rising costs and supply chain issues. 

In response to the failure in the August auction, Germany’s ruling coalition proposed reduced capacity up for grabs, and the proposal was approved by Parliament in a package also aimed at speeding up permitting and other approvals for offshore wind projects and power grid upgrades. 

“Offshore wind is facing a difficult market environment, both internationally and in Germany,” the Economy Ministry said in a statement carried by Bloomberg. Surging costs and tight supply chains deter offshore wind expansion, the ministry noted.   

Germany is expanding onshore wind installations but offshore wind capacity additions are nowhere near its targets. 

Days before the flop in the August auction, German industry associations said that offshore wind power installations had stagnated in the first half of 2025. For offshore wind to reach the ambitious government targets of boosting capacity to 70 GW by 2045, policy makers need to fundamentally revise the tenders and ensure additional revenue and planning security, the German wind energy association, Bundesverband WindEnergie (BWE), and several other sector groups said.  

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 09:20

MiB: Paul Zummo, Chief Investment Officer of J.P. Morgan Alternative Asset Management

The Big Picture -



 

This week, I speak with Paul Zummo, Chief Investment Officer of J.P. Morgan Alternative Asset Management. They discuss the state of alternatives and Paul’s “30 Pearls of Investment Wisdom.” They also discuss the early days of hedge funds, investing in the 90’s and building a hedge fund division.

We discuss how his career evolved, and the ways the industry has changed.

A list of his current reading is here; A transcript of our conversation is available here Tuesday.

You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.

Be sure to check out our Masters in Business next week with Stephen Cohen, BlackRock Chief Product Officer and Head of Global Product Solutions. He is a member of BlackRock’s Global Executive Committee. Previously, he was Global Head of Fixed Income Indexing (iShares); and Chief Investment Strategist for International Fixed Income and iShares. Blackrock manages $13.5 trillion in AUM; its iShares division is over$5 trillion.

 

 

 

Favorite Books

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post MiB: Paul Zummo, Chief Investment Officer of J.P. Morgan Alternative Asset Management appeared first on The Big Picture.

French Soldiers 'Open Fire' On Drones Threatening High-Secure Nuclear Submarine Base

Zero Hedge -

French Soldiers 'Open Fire' On Drones Threatening High-Secure Nuclear Submarine Base

A major security breach of French military airspace has been revealed Friday at a moment European officials have been hyping the 'hybrid warfare' threat from Russia, which has of late centered on many dozens of 'mystery' drone breaches in EU airspace especially near sensitive locations like airports.

French Marines opened fire on five unidentified drones that breached restricted airspace above a key nuclear submarine base Thursday evening, military officials said, according to EuroNews. But one official has said a "jammer" was hot and not necessarily live ammunition. 

via Telegram

At around 7:30pm local at the Île Longue naval base in Brittany, which importantly is the command center for France's fleet of nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines, radar detected incoming unauthorized UAVs at the high-secure facility.

The marine infantry battalion responsible for protecting the site immediately deployed anti-drone procedures, which included firing several shots at the aircraft in an effort to disable and bring them down.

As it wasn't confirmed whether the drones were actually hit, the security forces initiated a large-scale search operation. Authorities still haven't confirmed that any drones were brought down or recovered.

The drones may have been electronically thwarted or intercepted, based on vague references from French military officials, but not much in the way of details have been offered: 

Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin confirmed that troops at the base intercepted an overflight, without detailing whether they fired shots, used electronic jamming or other means against the aerial intruders. It wasn’t clear who was responsible.

“Any overflight of a military site is prohibited in our country,” Vautrin said. “I want to commend the interception carried out by our military personnel at the Île Longue base.”

The installation is located near Brest in western France, and is guarded by more than 120 maritime forces alongside naval security forces, according to French media.

It hosts four ballistic missile submarines — Le Triomphant, Le Téméraire, Le Vigilant, and Le Terrible — and provides maintenance for the vessels which support the nation's nuclear deterrent. According to official policy, at least one nuclear submarine is deployed on patrol at all times.

"No link with foreign interference has been established," Frédéric Teillet, the public prosecutor in Rennes, was quoted in AFP as saying. He also indicated that no operators behind the drones have been apprehended or identified.

European officials have of late and without firm evidence been pointing the finger at Russian intelligence for a series of drone incidents near commercial and military airports and installations in northern Europe.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 08:45

Schedule for Week of December 7, 2025

Calculated Risk -

Special Note: There is still uncertainty on when some economic reports will be released. The employment report for November will NOT be released this week.
This will be a light week for economic data.  The FOMC meets this week and is expected to cut rates by 25bp.

----- Monday, December 8th -----
No major economic releases scheduled.

----- Tuesday, December 9th -----
6:00 AM: NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for November.

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey10:00 AM: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for October from the BLS.

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

obs openings increased in August to 7.23 million from 7.21million in July.

The number of job openings (black) were down 6% year-over-year. Quits were down 3% year-over-year.

----- Wednesday, December 10th -----
7:00 AM ET: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

2:00 PM: FOMC Meeting Announcement. The Fed is expected to cut rates 25bp at this meeting.

2:00 PM: FOMC Forecasts This will include the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) participants' projections of the appropriate target federal funds rate along with the quarterly economic projections.

2:30 PM: Fed Chair Jerome Powell holds a press briefing following the FOMC announcement.

----- Thursday, December 11th -----
8:30 AM: The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released.  There were 191,000 initial claims last week.

U.S. Trade Deficit8:30 AM: Trade Balance report for September from the Census Bureau.

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

The consensus is the trade deficit to be $65.5 billion.  The U.S. trade deficit was at $59.6 billion in August.

10:00 AM: the Q3 2025 Housing Vacancies and Homeownership from the Census Bureau.

10:00 AM: State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) for September 2025

----- Friday, December 12th -----
No major economic releases scheduled.

UK Sanctions Russia After Inquiry Holds Putin Responsible For 2018 Novichok Poisonings

Zero Hedge -

UK Sanctions Russia After Inquiry Holds Putin Responsible For 2018 Novichok Poisonings

Authored by Guy Birchall via The Epoch Times,

The UK issued new sanctions on Russia on Dec. 4, after a public inquiry into the death of a woman poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok in the UK in 2018 held Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for her demise.

London also summoned the Kremlin’s ambassador for a response to the inquiry’s findings and over what it called an “ongoing campaign of hostile activity” against the UK.

The public inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess concluded that Putin had ordered the 2018 Novichok attack by GRU agents on Sergei Skripal, a Russian defector and former GRU colonel, in Salisbury, Wiltshire, which eventually resulted in the death of Sturgess, who had no connection to Skripal or Russia.

“The Salisbury poisonings shocked the nation and today’s findings are a grave reminder of the Kremlin’s disregard for innocent lives,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement. “Dawn’s needless death was a tragedy and will forever be a reminder of Russia’s reckless aggression. My thoughts are with her family and loved ones.”

He said the UK “will always stand up to Putin’s brutal regime” and “call out his murderous machine for what it is.”

“Today’s sanctions are the latest step in our unwavering defense of European security, as we continue to squeeze Russia’s finances and strengthen Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table,” he added.

Along with the GRU in its entirety, London specifically sanctioned eight cyber military intelligence officers, as well as three other GRU officers, it said were responsible for orchestrating hostile activity in Ukraine and across Europe, including plotting an attack on Ukrainian supermarkets.

The latest sanctions build on a string of packages that have been issued by the UK against Moscow in support of its ally, Ukraine.

Russia has always denied any involvement in the Salisbury incident and dismissed the latest move by the UK.

“The Russian side does not recognize illegitimate sanctions imposed under far-fetched pretexts in circumvention of the UN Security Council, and reserves the right to retaliatory measures,” Moscow’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

“The British can be confident in the inevitability of such measures.”

Zakharova criticized British allegations that the phone of Skripal’s daughter, Yulia, was allegedly hacked by GRU agents.

“Britain announced that Yulia Skripal’s ‘electronic device was hacked.’ Why won’t Yulia Skripal herself speak out about what’s going on? How has she been living all these years? What’s happened to her father? Why is hacking ‘Yulia Skripal’s electronic device’ equated to ‘undermining the integrity of the state?’” she wrote on Telegram.

“I’m tired of these tasteless tales from the English crypt.”

Sturgess, 44, died after being exposed to Novichok, which had been left in a discarded perfume bottle in Amesbury, Wiltshire, in July 2018.

Her death followed the attempted murder of the Skripals and then-police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in nearby Salisbury in March of that year.

According to the public inquiry, they were harmed when members of a Russian GRU military intelligence squad smeared the nerve agent on Sergei Skripal’s door handle.

In the inquiry’s final report, published on Dec. 4, Judge Lord Hughes concluded that the attempted assassination of Skripal “must have been authorized at the highest level, by President Putin.”

Hughes said GRU agents Alexander Petrov, Ruslan Boshirov, and Sergey Fedotov were “acting on instructions” when they carried out the attack.

Following the report’s publication, Lord Hughes said: “The conduct of Petrov and Boshirov, their GRU superiors and those who authorized the mission up to and including, as I have found, President Putin, was astonishingly reckless.

“They, and only they, bear moral responsibility for Dawn’s death.”

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/06/2025 - 08:10

10 Weekend Reads

The Big Picture -

The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of Danish Blend coffee, grab a seat outside, and get ready for our longer-form weekend reads:

• In the Shadow of Jane Street and Citadel Securities, Hudson River Mints Billions: The quiet flash boy has morphed into a powerhouse among non-bank market makers. (Bloomberg free)

• In every corner of the country, the middle class struggles with affordability. The nation’s affordability crisis has not spared middle-class families, one-third of which struggle to afford basic necessities such as food, housing, and child care. Across the 160 U.S. metro areas studied, at least 20% of middle-class earners cannot afford to live in that place, after adjusting for local income ranges and price variations. The share of struggling middle-class families varies by race: 27% of white families, 39% of Black families, 41% Asian, 46% Native American, and 50% of Latino are unable to afford basic necessities. (Brookings) see also ‘The New Price of Eggs.’ The Political Shocks of Data Centers and Electric Bills: Democrats zeroed in on utilities and affordability to win Republican support in upset elections in Georgia and Virginia. Can the same playbook work in 2026? (New York Times)

• When Donald Trump Fired David Rubenstein: The private-equity billionaire spent decades building influence in the capital. Then his philanthropy collided with the president. (The Atlantic)

• The Airport-Lounge Wars: When you’re waiting for a flight, what’s the difference between out there and in here? (New Yorker)

• Is Gen X Actually the Greatest Generation? (no): How one era changed everything about the culture — and why we’re so nostalgic for its creations. (New York Times Magazine)

• Ozempic is changing how we spend money and time, plus what we eat: In just over a year, the percentage of U.S. adults taking drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound more than doubled to 12.4 percent, according to Gallup. The survey also reported that the obesity rate fell from almost 40 percent in 2022 to 37 percent in 2025. Some companies are already responding by acquiring health food brands, renovating hotel gyms and changing lunch menus. But that’s only scratching the surface, said Diana Melencio, a partner at XRC Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm. (Washington Post) see also Ozempic and Other GLP-1s Are Now Being Marketed to People Who Aren’t Obese: “You don’t need to be obese to start a GLP-1,” reads an ad from a telehealth startup, the words scrawled in icing on a cake. Another one features a slender woman excited to lose a little weight before her wedding. Yet another says patients can drop 17 pounds in two months by microdosing copycat Ozempic. (Bloomberg) see also Calories In, Calories Out is Preventing You From Understanding Ozempic. People are more likely to talk about GLP-1s as appetite suppressants that happen to have a lot of mysterious, incomprehensible side effects. Why, they ask, do the brain, the heart, the reproductive system, and other organs seem to respond to GLP-1s, sometimes in the absence of significant weight loss? (Eurydice Lives)

• The New German War Machine: After World War II, Germany embraced pacifism as a form of atonement. Now the country is arming itself again. (The Atlantic)

• The Oceans Are Going to Rise—but When? The uniquely vulnerable West Antarctic Ice Sheet holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 5 meters. But when that will happen—and how fast—is anything but settled. (Wired)

• A Mechanistic Framework for Targeted Intervention in Single-Gene Mental Illness: The statistical signatures are unambiguous: individuals carrying GRIN2A: loss-of-function variants face an 87-fold increased hazard ratio for psychotic disorders, 11.8-fold for anxiety disorders, and 5.84-fold for depressive disorders relative to the general population.  The GRIN2A Paradigm: Monogenic Psychiatry and the Precision Phytochemical Revolution. (Shanaka Anslem Perera)

• Why One Man Is Fighting for Our Right to Control Our Garage Door Openers: If companies can modify internet-connected products and charge subscriptions after people have already purchased them, what does it mean to own anything anymore? (New York Times)

Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Paul Zummo, Chief Investment Officer and Co-founder of JPMorgan Alternative Asset Management. The JPM group manages $35 billion in external hedge fund solutions for institutional and high-net worth investors. He also heads the Portfolio Management Group, and is a member of the JPMAAM Investment Committee.

 

How much equity are founders selling to VCs per round

Source: @PeterJ_Walker

 

Sign up for our reads-only mailing list here.

~~~

To learn how these reads are assembled each day, please see this.

 

The post 10 Weekend Reads appeared first on The Big Picture.

Escobar: How The BRICS+ 'Unit' Can Save Global Trade

Zero Hedge -

Escobar: How The BRICS+ 'Unit' Can Save Global Trade

Authored by Pepe Escobar,

The Unit project, first revealed by Sputnik in 2024, is emerging as the most viable option for breaking the US dollar’s stranglehold on global trade and investment.

In his book co-written with top economist Sergey Bodrunov, Regulations of the Noonomy (international edition published this year by Sandro Teti Editore in Rome), leading Russian economist Sergey Glazyev stresses the need to “ensure a full-fledged switch to national currencies in mutual trade and investment within the EAEU and the CIS, and further – within the BRICS and SCO, the withdrawal of joint development institutions from the dollar zone, the development of their own independent payment systems and interbank information exchange systems.”

When it comes to financial innovation – compared to the current structure of the international financial system – The Unit is in a class of its own.

The Unit is essentially a benchmark token – or an index token; a post-stablecoin, digital monetary tool; totally decentralized; and with intrinsic value anchored in real assets: gold and sovereign currencies.

The Unit can be used either as part of a new digital infrastructure – what most of the Global South is striving for; or as part of a traditional banking setup.

When it comes to fulfilling traditional money functions, The Unit is – pardon the pun – right on the money. It’s meant to be used as a quite convenient medium of exchange in cross-border trade and investments – a key plank of the diversification actively pursued by BRICS+.

It should also be seen as an independent, reliable measure for value and pricing, as well as a better store of value than fiat money.

The Unit is academically validated – including by Glazyev himself – and properly governed by IRIAS (International Research Institute for Advanced Systems), set up in 1976 in accordance with the UN statute.

And crucial at this next step, The Unit is to be launched early next year on the Cardano blockchain, which uses the digital currency Ada.

Ada has a fascinating background – named after Ada Lovelace, a 19th-century mathematician, daughter of none other than Lord Byron, and recognized as the first computer programmer in History.

Anyone, anywhere can use Ada as a secure exchange of value; and very important, without the need to ask a third party to mediate the exchange.

That means every Ada transaction is permanently secured and recorded on the Cardano blockchain. That also means that every Ada holder also holds a stake in the Cardano network.

Cardano has been around for 10 years now – and is a quite popular blockchain. It’s backed by some quite big venture capital firms such as IOHK, Emurgo and the Cardano Foundation. Essentially, Cardano is an excellent option for regular payments because transactions are cheap and fast.

Neither a crypto nor a stablecoin

Enter The Unit.

The Unit is neither a cryptocurrency nor a stablecoin – as it’s shown here.

A concise definition of The Unit would be a resilient reserve of value – backed by a structure of 60% gold and 40% diversified BRICS+ currencies.

The major appeal for the Global South is that such a unique mix provides stability and protection against inflation, especially under the current global financial landscape of wobbly macroeconomics and widespread uncertainty.

Using Cardano, The Unit is bound to become accessible to everyone, via a combination of centralized and decentralized exchanges.

So to enter this new market, individuals and companies will be able to acquire The Unit directly with fiat through regulated banking partners. That means a bridge between traditional finance and emerging decentralized ecosystems – in favor of liquidity, accessibility and reliability, opening the door to full adoption by the Global South.

The Unit can even evolve into a new form of digital cash for emerging economies.

Following exactly the path delineated by BRICS even before the ground-breaking annual summit in Kazan in 2024, The Unit may be the best solution currently available for cross-border payments: a new form of international currency, issued in a de-centralized way, and then recognized and regulated at a national level.

And that brings us to the top conceptual strength of The Unit: it removes a direct dependency on the currency of other nations, and offers the Global South/Global Majority a new form of non-censored, apolitical money.

Better yet: apolitical money featuring an enormous potential for anchoring fair trade and multiple investments.

What the Global South really needs

A good next step for The Unit would also be to set up an Advisory Board, uniting world standard stars such as Prof. Michael Hudson, Jeffrey Sachs, Yannis Varoufakis and the co-founder of the NDB Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr. (here at the Global South Academic Forum in Shanghai) .

When it comes to BRICs-emphasized de-dollarization – done with a hefty degree of sophistication, without having to spell it out – The Unit will be key. It’s also key that The Unit is not a cryptocurrency.

Wall Street behemoths – especially BlackRock – are big on cryptocurrencies, an enormously unstable set up which eschewed individual holders to the profit of massive institutional players. For example, it’s BlackRock that essentially shapes Bitcoin’s market.

US stablecoins essentially perpetuate US dollar dominance – aiming their firepower directly against possible, future digital currencies offered by BRICS+.

The Unit is the stark opposite, offering a reliable digital monetary tool for the fast advancing Multipolar World. It’s an evolution in itself, bridging the fiat and the crypto worlds; and last but not least, it is a solid foundation for the emerging post-Bretton Woods economy.

Of course the challenges ahead are huge – and The Unit will be fought tooth and nail by the usual suspects as a new concept offering borderless financial resilience for the Global South/Global Majority.

And here may lie the key takeaway: the only way BRICS+ as well as the Global Majority may be strengthened is by developing closer and closer geoeconomic, financial ties. For that, the toxic power of Western speculative capital must be contained – to the benefit of more intra-Global South commodity trading, and more investable capital for productive, sustainable development.

The potential is limitless. The Unit may well be able to unlock it. Even JP Morgan admitted The Unit is “perhaps the most thoroughly fleshed-out of de-dollarization proposals that exist in the cross-border transactions space for BRICS+.”

And there’s no other similarly effective plan anywhere in the world.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/05/2025 - 23:25

NY Times Sues Department Of War Over New Media Rules

Zero Hedge -

NY Times Sues Department Of War Over New Media Rules

The New York Times on Friday sued the Department of War over new rules for media outlets which restrict reporters' movements around the Pentagon, require ID badges, and restrict the solicitation of "criminal acts" (encouraging someone to leak). 

The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, on March 3, 2022. Joshua Roberts/Reuters

"The policy, in violation of the First Amendment, seeks to restrict journalists’ ability to do what journalists have always done—ask questions of government employees and gather information to report stories that take the public beyond official pronouncements," the NYT wrote in its lawsuit which was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. 

The new rules state that soliciting nonpublic information from department personnel or encouraging employees to break the law "falls outside the scope of protected newsgathering activities." 

Journalists will also be denied press passes if they pose a safety or security risk. 

The Times and several other outlets took issue with a request from the Department of War to sign papers acknowledging that they had received, read and understood the rules - and that while they may not agree with the policies, signing the paper did not waive any legal rights.

After some outlets declined to sign the acknowledgement, the Pentagon required them to hand over their press passes, resulting in some reporters ceasing to report from the DoW. 

Meanwhile, several in the media were later granted passes who had not had them before, including National Pulse EIC Raheem Kassam. 

"Legacy media chose to self-deport from this building," said Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson during a Wednesday press briefing, adding 'we’re welcoming new media outlets that actually reach Americans, ask real questions, and don’t pursue a biased agenda."

According to the NY Times complaint, "These developments place the purpose and effect of the Policy in stark relief: to fundamentally restrict coverage of the Pentagon by independent journalists and news organizations, either by limiting what kind of information they can obtain and publish without incurring punishment, or by driving them out of the Pentagon with an unconstitutional Policy.

The new Department of War logo inside the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Sept. 8, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

"While Plaintiffs’ enterprising reporting on the military will continue, the Pentagon’s Policy ensures the suppression of certain newsworthy information—information, for instance, gathered by directly questioning officials at press conferences or through routine unplanned interactions between journalists and Pentagon personnel on Pentagon grounds," the outlet continued. 

Pentagon chief spox Sean Parnell told the Epoch Times; "We are aware of the New York Times lawsuit and look forward to addressing these arguments in court." 

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/05/2025 - 23:00

Health Department Investigating School That Vaccinated Child Without Parental Consent

Zero Hedge -

Health Department Investigating School That Vaccinated Child Without Parental Consent

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Dec. 3 that it has launched an investigation into a school that officials said illegally vaccinated a child without parental consent.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Washington on Dec. 2, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

HHS did not name the school. The department said it is in the Midwest and acted illegally in part because it ignored a religious exemption for the vaccination that had been filed pursuant to state law.

The HHS Office for Civil Rights will be looking into the matter to ascertain whether the school failed to comply with a requirement under the federal Vaccines for Children Program. The program, which provides vaccines to various institutions, mandates that immunization providers comply with state law surrounding exemptions from mandated vaccines.

“To protect the integrity of the investigation, HHS cannot share additional details at this time,” an HHS spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

Officials also released a letter on Dec. 3 to doctors and others, informing them that they must generally provide parents access to the medical records of children, with limited exceptions. The letter warned that HHS was making access to minor records a priority and that the agency will use tools it has at its disposal, including fines, to ensure compliance.

“Today, we are putting pediatric medical professionals on notice: you cannot sideline parents,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “When providers ignore parental consent, violate exemptions to vaccine mandates, or keep parents in the dark about their children’s care, we will act decisively. We will use every tool at our disposal to protect families and restore accountability.”

Jim O'Neill, deputy HHS secretary and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the Vaccines for Children Program “should never circumvent parents’ rights.”

The program, which began operations in 1994, sends vaccines to providers to administer to children at no cost. The program “reduces disparities in child vaccination rates, ensuring that any child can access recommended vaccines regardless of income or geography,” the CDC states on its website.

Schools across the country mandate multiple vaccines for school attendance, based on the CDC’s immunization schedule.

Exemptions are granted in all 50 states on medical grounds. Most states also allow exemptions for religious reasons.

HHS officials also said on Dec. 3 that they directed the Health Resources and Services Administration, which is part of the department, to start requiring that grant recipients adhere to both federal and state parental consent laws for any health care services at health centers supported by the administration. That includes obtaining parental consent before a minor receives medical or dental work.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/05/2025 - 22:35

China's Teapot Refiners Boost Crude Buying After New Import Quotas

Zero Hedge -

China's Teapot Refiners Boost Crude Buying After New Import Quotas

By Michael Kern of Oilprice.com

Helped by the newly-issued crude import quotas, China’s independent refiners are buying sanctioned Iranian crude again and raising their processing rates, making room for Iran’s oil to move out of floating and bonded storage and potentially easing the year-end glut on the market. 

Chinese teapot refiner

The independent refiners in China’s Shandong province, the so-called teapots, have been buying cheap Iranian oil from onshore storage in China, including bonded storage, since the Chinese authorities issued a fresh batch of import quotas last week. 

These quotas are important for China’s purchases and storage of crude as all refiners except the five big state-owned giants need to be allocated quotas in order to import crude. 

The teapots are now using their quotas to buy Iranian crude from bonded storage and boost processing rates, traders and analysts told Reuters on Friday. 

The independent refiners exhausted their previous quotas as early as in October and were waiting for a new issuance at the end of the year. Authorities issued quotas of a total volume that was higher compared to last year’s last batch. 

“As for the effect on sanctioned flows, the new quotas will sustain — rather than lift — China’s sanctioned crude inflows,” Emma Li, Lead Market Analyst at Vortexa, said on Thursday. 

Despite tightening sanctions against Iran and Russia, and the U.S. now targeting China’s hubs for Iranian oil imports, shipments into the Shandong province have remained robust this year, Li noted. 

Part of the volumes have been accumulating in onshore storage, including in bonded storage, instead of going into processing immediately. 

“This means new quotas will partly be used to draw down inventories rather than drive incremental seaborne imports,” Li said. 

The new quotas have already spurred higher processing rates, with utilization rates estimated to have jumped to over 60% compared with about 50% of the past few months when the teapots were out of quotas. 

Due to the more active independent refiners, analysts at Energy Aspects have raised their estimate of China’s crude processing volumes in December by about 150,000 barrels per day (bpd), senior analyst Sun Jianan told Reuters.   

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/05/2025 - 21:45

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