Europe's Recipe For Disaster: The Von Der Leyen Program

 by Drieu Godefridi via The Gatestone Institute,

In a speech to the European Parliament on July 18, 2024, the President of the European Commission, Germany's Ursula von der Leyen, an outspoken environmentalist, set out her program for its next five years.

Here are some of the salient aspects of her proposal, strictly in line with her previous term of office.

1. The objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions -- 90% reduction by 2040, 100% by 2050 - is maintained. By definition, this reduction structures and determines the whole of the Commission's program, because all human activity -- industrial, commercial and private -- emits greenhouse gases. In fact, in a program document published by the Commission in February 2024, already under the aegis of von der Leyen, are plans to invest 1.5 trillion euros per year in decarbonizing the European Union, and to this end take authoritarian measures in all areas of human activity. The amount is equivalent to 10% of Europe's GDP -- every year. Apparently this policy is the uncompromising model found in every party in Germany, but apart from a war effort, there is no objective of any kind that has ever required the diversion of 10% of a continent's GDP by political decree.

2. European funds, which are distributed to EU member states in various ways, will henceforth be "conditional on respect for the rule of law". By the rule of law, the EU means a very specific and at the same time vague notion, enabling it to disqualify regimes and personalities with which it disagrees, principally but not exclusively, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Hungary.

   In other words, any deviation from the EU's ideological line, in any area, will be subject to financial sanctions - as is already happening with Hungary. This new direction for the EU will lead to the ideology of Western Europe being imposed on Eastern Europe: "open borders", environmentalism, the fight against "hate" -- but only "hate" from the right of the political spectrum. For example, far-left MEP Rima Hassan frequently issues direct threats against colleagues who don't share her hatred of Israel, without any consequences. The countries of Eastern Europe are the main beneficiaries of EU funds. It remains to be seen whether Eastern Europe will be taken in.

3. "We will start by focusing on the implementation and enforcement of the digital laws adopted during the last mandate. Tech giants must assume responsibility for their enormous systemic power in our society and economy. We have begun the active enforcement of the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. We will ramp up and intensify our enforcement in the coming mandate", explains von der Leyen. In particular, the aim is apparently to penalize social media networks that refuse to censor their users or, more precisely, that refuse to penalize their users in the way the EU wants. The first to be targeted is X, formerly known as Twitter, as Commissioner Thierry Breton has made no secret: either X submits to the EU's ideology and censorship, or X will have a part of its global revenue confiscated.

4. As has been stated for the last 80 years, a plan has been announced to construct a genuine "Europe of defence". Again and again, the suggestion is set forth to build a European army, essentially supported by states such as Germany and Belgium, which devote a royal 1% of GDP to their military defenses and which would already be incapable of defending their own borders without American assistance.

5. Von der Leyen also announced the tripling of the FRONTEX border guards to 30,000 staffers. The problem is that, under EU law and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), these border guards, whatever their numbers, are essentially providing a free ferry service between Africa and Europe. Indeed, in accordance with the ECHR's case law, any illegal immigrants intercepted in the Mediterranean, even within sight of the African coast, must be brought to the European Union to exercise their "rights." A tenfold increase in the number of border guards would do nothing to change the law in force; as long as the law is not reformed, unlimited and unvetted migration in Europe will continue. As von der Leyen points out: "We will always respect human rights and will ensure that those who have a right to stay can do so, and can receive essential support to integrate into communities."

6. Finally, a whole series of new regulations with global ambitions are announced, confirming the EU's claim to legislate not just for Europe, but for the world. For instance, a "European Oceans Pact" -- note the "s" in Oceans – is declared: evidently the EU claims to regulate all the world's oceans, whereas it only dips its toes in one.

Calculated in terms of purchasing power parity – meaning disregarding the strength of the dollar -- the average GDP per capita in the EU as of 2022 is 72% of the average GDP per American. Given that economic growth is higher every year in the United States than in the EU, this gap will only widen. This backwardness is confirmed by the innovation vitality of the American economy. In just one example, compare artificial intelligence, essentially an American innovation, to the lack of creativity in the European economy. NVIDIA's success is unthinkable in Europe.

Three factors might help to explain Europe's economic backwardness compared to the United States:

1. the cost of energy, which is five to ten times higher in Europe than in the US;

2. the greater difficulty in Europe of concentrating private capital to invest in R&D;

3. and finally, the pull of the "mad legislator", which is even worse in Europe than in the US. For example, Apple recently settled an EU investigation regarding its restriction on third-party developers accessing its payment technology, which could have led to a fine of 10% of its annual revenue for non-compliance. Apple's total net sales in 2023 were $383.3 billion, so a 10% fine would amount to $38.3 billion. Given Apple's operating income in Europe is $36.1 billion, non-compliance with EU regulations could result in fines exceeding its regional earnings.

How is it, when all these facts are known, that von der Leyen was reappointed to her post, while the Greens lost the European Parliament elections, and the right-wing parties of all persuasions won them by a wide margin? Perhaps this seeming paradox can be explained by the fact that the center-right, the largest party bloc in the European Parliament, is ideologically subservient to the left, on two levels: 1) by adhering to most of the dogmas of the left, starting with environmentalism, and 2) by refusing on principle any coalition with real right-wing parties such as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy or, in France, Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN).

This ensures that, while losing elections, the left can stay in power. The new von der Leyen majority consists of four parliamentary groups: the center-right, the socialists, the left-wing liberals and the far-left environmentalists. Of these groups, the center-right is by far the largest. It would therefore be logical for them to dominate von der Leyen's program. But that is not what takes place. It is the demands of the smallest group — environmentalists — that dominate: continuation of the Green Deal, total decarbonization by 2050.

European power is a mirror image of its two driving forces -- France and Germany -- where the center-right parties behave in the same way: ideological submission to the left and a ban on the right governing. In Germany, the right-wing political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), finds itself in a position to govern several regions with the center-right. But everywhere in Germany, the center-right prefers to ally with the left, the environmentalists, sometimes even the communists, than to govern with the AfD. In France, Le Pen's RN clearly won the European elections, then the first round of legislative elections. The center-right immediately announced that it preferred a victory for the far left and the communists to a victory for Le Pen.

The post-war European citizen has never voted so far to the right. He is harvesting a program that has never been so extremely left-wing. The von der Leyen program owes more to the Greens (53 MEPs) than to the center-right (188 MEPs).

By refusing on principle ever to govern with real right-wing parties, the center-right guarantees that the left remains forever in power. When voting no longer serves any purpose, democracy dies.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/europes-recipe-disaster-von-der-leyen-program

What Type Of Society Will We Become?

 by Ken Williams via The Epoch Times,

“Each teacher shall endeavor to impress upon the minds of the pupils the principles of morality, truth, justice, patriotism, and a true comprehension of the rights, duties, and dignity of American citizenship, and the meaning of equality and human dignity, including the promotion of harmonious relations ... to teach them to avoid idleness, profanity, and falsehood, and to instruct them in manners and morals and the principles of a free government,” according to California Education Code 233.5.

California’s Education Codes were adopted in 1943. Over the last half century, they have varied in content and meaning as the laws of the United States, cultural attitudes, and our western civilization’s ethos have changed. As historical events direct and influence our future, however, each generation examines quintessential questions that defines our common purpose as Americans, and how we should live according to the laws created by our constitutional republic.

In March 2024, Sacramento politicians originally introduced a sensible legislative bill to help students with mental health related issues. This bill in its original language authorized the California Department of Education to support school districts to increase mental health screenings and support school districts to boost mental health programs for children in public K-12 schools.

On May 22, the bill’s language was converted to a new bill with an entirely different purpose and consequences. The new legislation was entitled the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act and signed into law on July 15.

This new law, AB 1955, will have a widespread impact on families, children, and public education. It overrides parental notification policies enacted by local schools boards that require school employees to inform parents about the wellbeing and emotional and mental health of their students.

In practice, this law prohibits all public schools from disclosing to a student’s parents’ critical gender and mental health related information. It forbids school officials in public and charter schools from disclosing information to a student’s mother and father that is related to a child’s perception of their gender identity, gender expression, or related mental health issues.

The original intent of parental notification policies were to strengthen family interpersonal dynamics and support the rights of parents. With an observed increase in child and adolescent mental illnesses, including gender dysphoria and its new subcategory Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria, our society is in a mental health watershed moment, and parents need support and help. Not surprisingly, many researchers have connected these epidemiological observations to the impact of social media and social contagion. This acute mental health crisis adversely impacts family dynamics and strains interpersonal relationships in the family unit.

Unfortunately, with the new law, parental notification policies are now illegal, with school staff, teachers, administrators, and principals required to exclude from parents knowledge of their child’s serious mental health condition.

Undermining parents even more, a narrative has emerged that children with gender dysphoria are under attack by their parents and school boards. Allowing parents to be involved in their child’s gender identification, gender incongruence, and mental health concerns has been said to put these students’ lives at risk.

Californians and parents on both sides of the political spectrum disagree with this assessment. They argue that AB 1955 undermines and removes the right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children and is in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal laws.

In 2000, in the Troxel v. Granville case, one of many cases involving the U.S. Supreme Court that guarantees parental rights, the court pronounced, “the custodial parent has a constitutional right to determine, without undue interference by the state, how best to raise, nurture, and educate the child. The parental right stems from the liberty protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

In 1979, the U.S. Supreme court decision in Parham v. J.R., concluded “jurisprudence historically has reflected Western civilization concepts of the family as a unit with broad parental authority over minor children.” Numerous other United States Supreme Court opinions consistently support the inalienable rights to parents and the parental-rights doctrine.

In a more recent 2023 legal case (Mirabelli v. Olson) filed in the U.S. Federal District Court by two public school teachers, the court opined against a school district’s policy that restricted school staff and teachers from contacting parents about information believed to be critical to the welfare of students. The court issued a preliminary injunction and stated, “The United States Supreme Court has historically and repeatedly declared that parents have a right, grounded in the Constitution, to direct the education, health, and upbringing, and to maintain the well-being of their children.”

Thus, AB 1955 is in violation of California’s own Education Code 233.5, and historical legal precedence. Western culture and civilizations since the earliest societies have recognized that parents and not government are the final arbitrators and ultimate authorities of their children’s lives. Children require their parents’ presence in their interpersonal struggles and family challenges.

On July 16, one day after this controversial bill became law, litigation was filed, and a battle line was drawn in the Golden State over the question of who has the ultimate authority over children: parents or government agents?

The courts will decide the legal status, but I pray the American people will support and defend time-proven truths that make families strong and define our family values.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/what-type-society-will-we-become

Orban's Insight Into The Global Systemic Transition & Hungarian Grand Strategy

 by Andrew Korybko via substack,

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban elaborated on the global systemic transition and his country’s grand strategy within it during a lengthy speech at the Balvanyos Free Summer University and Student Camp over the weekend. The over 11,000-word English transcript was published on Monday, which the present piece will summarize for the reader’s convenience. It began with him reaffirming that it’s his Christian duty to promote peace and mocking the EU for its Orwellian “war is peace” mantra.

He then said that the Ukrainian Conflict was a “red pill” for him and proceeded to elaborate on the ten ways in which it opened his eyes to reality.

First, there have been enormous casualties on both sides, but each will continue fighting unless external stakeholders diplomatically intervene since they’re convinced that they’ll win.

Second, the US went from containing China to waging a proxy war on Russia, which pushed those two together and prompted questions about why the US would do this.  

Third, Ukraine’s resilience in spite of its objective economic and demographic weaknesses can be explained by its sense of mission that fills it with a higher purpose, which is to become the West’s eastern military frontier.

Fourth, Russia has also proven itself to be impressively resilient, and it’s nowhere near collapsing like Western leaders hubristically predicted.

Fifth, the EU has undergone fundamental changes since the latest phase of the Ukrainian Conflict began two and half years ago.

It now follows the US Democrats’ lead instead of retaining its strategic autonomy, and the traditional Franco-German axis is now challenged like never before by Poland, which has allied with the UK, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Scandinavia to create a new center of power in Europe. This is actually an old Polish plan (Pilsudski’s “Intermarium” from the interwar period) adapted to contemporary conditions brought about by the Ukrainian Conflict and fully assisted by the US.

Sixth, the West’s standards are no longer universal and it’s experiencing “spiritual solitude” after the entire non-West refused to follow its lead in isolating Russia.

Seventh, the biggest problem in the world is the weakness and disintegration of the West caused by its lack of leadership and seemingly irrational policies, which is accelerating China’s rise as its global systemic challenger.

Eighth, Western Europe’s worldview is now post-national while Central Europe still believes in the sanctity of the nation-state.

This dichotomy explains the West’s seemingly irrational policies since each half of Europe is operating according to a completely different philosophy. The US is also experiencing a similar division between those like Trump who want it to remain a nation-state and his opponents who want it to become a post-national state. According to Orban, this division owes its origins to the sexual revolution and student rebellions from over half a century ago, which sought to free people from any form of collective identity.

Ninth, the West’s post-national trends are convulsing democracy and leading to friction between the elite/elitism and the people/populism.

And finally, the tenth red pill is that Western soft power/values aren’t universal but are actually counterproductive since Russia’s strongest international attraction nowadays is its resistance to LGBTQ. Orban then said that these trends are leading to the rise of the non-West, which he believes first began with China’s admission to the WTO in 2001 and might be irreversible.

Trump’s priority is to rebuild and strengthen North America, to which end he’ll squeeze the US’ European and Asian allies while negotiating better deals with China. His end game is to make the US self-sufficient in energy and raw materials so that it can stand a better chance at retaining its declining position in global affairs. The EU has two options: it can either become an “open-air museum” (passive international actor) absorbed by the US or pursue strategic autonomy in order improve its standing in the world.

What’s needed is more connectivity, a European military alliance with its own defense industry (albeit without federalization), energy self-sufficiency, reconciliation with Russia, and admitting that Ukraine won’t join the EU or NATO. It’ll return to its prior role as a buffer zone and will be lucky if it gets security guarantees in a US-Russian agreement. Poland’s power play will fail because it lacks the resources to replace Germany so Orban expects that his “Polish brothers and sisters” will return to Central Europe.  

He also considers all of these changes to be an opportunity. Developments in the US favor Hungary, but it must be careful about any deals it might offer due to the Polish precedent. Warsaw bet everything on Washington and received support for its strategic goals, but now it’s “subject to the imposition of a policy of democracy export, LGBTQ, migration and internal social transformation.” Orban ominously notes that this combination risks of the loss of Polish national identity if these trends continue unabated.

Hungary will remain in the EU, but the bloc’s East-West divisions between those that correspondingly respect the nation-state and those that are moving beyond it will widen. The EU must also accept that it’s the loser in the Ukrainian Conflict, the US will abandon this proxy war, and the EU can’t realistically pick up the tab. All the while, Hungary will rely on China for modernizing its economy and boosting its exports, which will lead to mutually beneficial outcomes.

A Hungarian grand strategy is required in order to maximally take advantage of the opportunities brought about by the ten previously described red pills and their abovementioned consequences. What’s already been decided upon since his government began work on this after the 2022 elections isn’t yet digestible and widely comprehensible by the public, and he said that it’ll take around six months for everything to become clearer for them, but he still shared the gist of what this grand strategy entails.

The first part is what he describes as connectivity, which he explained as being plugged in to both the Eastern and Western halves of the global economy. The second is sovereignty, with a focus on the economic dimension by promoting national companies on the world market, reducing debt, becoming a regional creditor, and boosting domestic production. The final part is bolstering his society’s resilience by halting demographic decline, preserving villages, and maintaining Hungary’s distinct culture.

Orban ended by explaining that all Hungarians across the world must help advance this grand strategy. The global systemic transition is expected to last another 20-25 years so the next generation will be tasked with completing its implementation. Their liberal opponents will try to offset this, but such efforts can be counteracted by recruiting young nationalists to the cause. The impression that one gets after reading through his speech in full is that Orban is this generation’s most visionary European leader.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/orbans-insight-global-systemic-transition-hungarian-grand-strategy-worth-reading

Buffett raises Berkshire cash level to record $277 billion after slashing stock holdings

Berkshire Hathaway’s cash pile swelled to a record $276.9 billion last quarter as Warren Buffett sold big chunks in stock holdings including Apple.

The Omaha-based conglomerate’s cash hoard jumped significantly higher from the previous record of $189 billion, set in the first quarter of 2024. The increase came after the Oracle of Omaha sold nearly half of his stake in Tim Cook-led tech giant in the second quarter.

Berkshire has been a seller of stocks for seven quarters straight, but that selling accelerated in the last period with Buffett shedding more than $75 billion in equities in the second quarter. That brings the total of stocks sold in the first half of 2024 to more than $90 billion. The selling by Buffett has continued in the third quarter in some areas with Berkshire trimming its second biggest stake, Bank of America, for 12 consecutive days, filing this week showed.

For the second quarter, Berkshire’s operating earnings, which encompass profits from the conglomerate’s fully-owned businesses, enjoyed a jump thanks to the strength in auto insurer Geico. Operating earnings totaled $11.6 billion in the second quarter, up about 15% from $10 billion a year prior.

Buffett, who turns 94 at the end of the month, confessed at Berkshire’s annual meeting in May that he is willing to deploy capital, but high prices give him pause.

“We’d love to spend it, but we won’t spend it unless we think [a business is] doing something that has very little risk and can make us a lot of money,” the investment icon said at the time. “It isn’t like I’ve got a hunger strike or something like that going on. It’s just that … things aren’t attractive.”

The S&P 500 has surged the last two years to record levels as investors bet the Federal Reserve would lower inflation with higher interest rates, while avoiding an economic recession. So far, that has played out with the S&P 500 up 12% in 2024. However, concerns about a slowing economy have been awakened recently by some weak data, including Friday’s disappointing July jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 600 points on Friday. Investors have also recently grown concerned about the valuations in the technology sector, which has led the bull market because of optimism surrounding artificial intelligence innovation.

Geico boosts earnings

Geico, the company Buffett once called his “favorite child,” registered nearly $1.8 billion in underwriting earnings before taxes in the second quarter, more than tripling the level of $514 million from a year ago.

Profit from BNSF Railway came in at $1.6 billion, in line with last year’s number. Berkshire Hathaway Energy utility business saw earnings fall to $326 million, nearly half of the $624 million from the same quarter a year ago. BHE continues to face pressure for possible wildfire liability.

Berkshire’s net earnings, which includes short-term investment gains or losses, declined to $30.3 billion in the second quarter from $35.9 billion in the same period a year ago. Buffett cautions investors to not pay attention to quarterly fluctuations in unrealized gains on investments, which can be “extremely misleading.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/03/berkshire-hathaway-earnings-2024-q2.html

"Millions" Wasted On Electric School Busses As Maryland Pivots Back To Diesel

 A school district in Maryland is finding out just how costly virtue signaling can wind up being. 

Maryland’s largest school district in Montgomery County found out via an Inspector General's report that implementing electric busses “led to millions of dollars in wasteful spending”, according to WTOP.

The wasteful spending was caused in part by late deliveries and maintenance issues, according to the IG report. 

The report said that at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October 2022, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced that its 326 new electric buses would save 6,500 gallons of fuel daily and cut costs by 50%.

And then reality set in. Since entering into a $168 million contract for the buses, MCPS has faced significant delays, WTOP reports.

The county’s Office of the Inspector General reported that the buses were consistently delivered late. Dozens of buses scheduled for fiscal year 2022 arrived only after Christmas, instead of at the start of the school year as required.

“MCPS’s failure to hold the contractor accountable to the terms of the contract and their decision not to include provisions to offset incurred expenses has led to millions of dollars in wasteful spending,” the IG report said. 

A similar issue occurred in fiscal year 2024. Of the 120 buses slated for delivery, only 37 arrived by the end of September, 69 between October and December, and 14 more between January and April.

The report also highlighted mechanical and charging failures, which rendered many buses inoperable for extended periods. From February 2022 to March 2024, buses failed to complete routes 280 times, with repairs taking an average of 13 days, and more than half exceeding five working days, according to WTOP. 

Consequently, in October 2023, the school board approved the purchase of 90 diesel buses for over $14.7 million to address the shortfall.

Who says government isn't an efficient allocator of your tax dollars?

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/millions-wasted-electric-school-busses-maryland-pivots-back-diesel

Potential Harris VP pick raising eyebrows for creepily similar cadence to Obama

 Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — the leading contender for Democratic vice presidential candidate— is raising eyebrows for a cadence that bears an uncanny resemblance to President Obama.

The impression — already being mocked on late-night talk shows — is especially curious given the former president cut his teeth as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, while Shapiro is a white Jew from Kansas City, Mo., who went to Hebrew day school and served as a volunteer in the Israeli Defense Force.

3

Many have pointed out that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sounds a lot like former President Obama.Getty Images

Obama fans have taken notice, with at least one member of the X peanut gallery labeling the governor “Baruch Obama.” Daily Show host Ronny Chieng quipped that he sounded like “Josh Hussein Shapiro.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama asked him for his birth certificate,” Chieng added.

One Dem operative lamented “I wish you didn’t point that out. It’s creepy.”

During an Obama-esque performance at a Kamala Harris rally last week, Shapiro said: “You could not have a clearer contrast in this race, you could not have a clearer contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. And let me tell you something, he’s pretty afraid, ya’ll see, he’s backing out of the debate now. He’s afraid to stand toe-to-toe with our vice president.”

Other stump lines have included references to Maya Angelou — an Obama favorite.

3

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Shapiro was liking TIVOing Obama speechesGetty Images

“I hear it,” said disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who came up politically with Obama in The Prairie State in the early 2000s. “He’s probably . . . TIVOing Obama speeches and trying to get all the mannerisms down. It seems to me like an intentional impersonation.

“It reminds a lot of how I copy Elvis when I sing ‘Jailhouse Rock,’ which I did in prison in my band G-Rod and the Jailhouse Rockers,” Blago told The Post, referencing the prison sentence her served after he was convicted of trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat.

Professor Rita Singh, an expert in human voice profiling at Carnegie Mellon University, said she believed Shapiro was not consciously imitating Obama.

3

Gov. Shapiro is the odds on favorite to be named Vice President Harris’ 2024 running mate.AP

“It is likely that the voices of Josh Shapiro and former President Obama sound similar . . . specifically because of multiple similarities between the two gentlemen’s physical and vocal tract characteristics,” she offered.

On Friday, Shapiro addressed the issue when a reporter asked him to respond to GOP veep nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance, who said “if I really tried to do a bad impression of Barack Obama, that’s what it would sound like.”

“Barack Obama was probably our most gifted orator of my time, so that’s kind of a weird insult,” Shapiro sniffed.

American politics has a long tradition of garden-variety politicos looking to latch on to more popular or iconic figures in their party. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio famously attempted to ape President Trump’s trash talking during the 2016 presidential primaries. While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has notably mimicked Trump’s recognizable hand gestures while on the stump.

In the 1984 Democratic primary, Gary Hart was called out by commentators over his supposed cosplaying of former President John F. Kennedy.

‘Why do you imitate John Kennedy so much?” NBC stalwart Roger Mudd asked Hart in March of that year. ”All the motions with the necktie, and the chopping of the air, and the hand in the pocket … all those people, people all over the country say, all he’s doing is imitating John Kennedy.”

Team Shapiro declined to comment.

https://nypost.com/2024/08/03/us-news/potential-harris-vp-pick-josh-shapiro-raising-eyebrows-for-shockingly-similar-cadence-to-obama/