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Friday, January 3, 2025

In The Twilight Of A Twilight Presidency

 by James Howard Kunstler,

“Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, in 2024, agreed to play out their roles as uncontactable zombies, baying for the blood of Americans at the altar of a dying Moloch.”

- Celia Farber

I hope that the first lesson of the Bourbon Street massacre is not lost on you: There is no end of opportunity now for Jihadis and other maniacs to attack soft targets across the land.

Americans are sitting ducks. And there is no shortage of jihadis and maniacs at large in our land, thanks to “Joe Biden” and Alejandro Mayorkas.

Do you have any idea how much carnage can be created with what are called small arms, meaning, light weapons, guns, rifles, grenades, and improvised explosives used tactically in public places by enemies of our country? It looks like we are going to find out. And just regular motor vehicles, too, as in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Among the millions of foreign vagabonds ushered across the border illegally are perhaps tens of thousands fanatically avid for mayhem, many of them surely organized into cadres trained to carry out atrocities, just hanging back with their US government-issued debit cards, enjoying DoorDash deliveries in their government supplied hotel rooms, waiting for the signal to activate themselves.

Do you think we can harden the millions of targets out there, make them secure? Forget about it. Many of these are plain old streets in the cities, countless bridges and tunnels, endless runs of railroad track and highway, hundreds of airports, not to mention malls, schools, big box stores, office buildings, restaurants, sports venues, cruise ships, skating rinks, theaters, churches. It would only take a couple-three more episodes like the New Orleans incident to paralyze public life in America just as badly as the Covid-19 op did. Are tourists rushing back to Bourbon Street now? Will they return for Mardi Gras on March 4?

And now, of course, the matter of drones has been brought to your attention. How many thousands (millions?) of these ingenious toys have been sold over recent years. You can walk into Best Buy today and get one, ranging from a couple of hundred bucks to models with advanced guidance electronics at several thousand bucks. Timers are cheap. C-4 and Semtex plastic explosives are easy to purloin from military bases, or just traded on black markets. Drones can be launched from anywhere, including out of windows anywhere. They can be launched in swarms.

You must also imagine that these Jihadis and other maniacs are primed to let loose on the imminently incoming Trump admin. The “Joe Biden” regime years were just the set-up period. Why open up with terror ops and show your hand prematurely while “JB” offered so much free and easy assistance in preparing the battlefield? And anyway, since so much of what “Joe Biden” was up to on his own initiative was obviously damaging to the USA in three dimensions — economically, strategically, and psychologically — then why interrupt all that serendipitous mishchief?

In the twilight of his twilight presidency, “Joe Biden” makes his final moves - that is, the people in the shadows behind “Joe Biden” make their moves - to fortify the progress he made working to destroy his own country, really anything that might hamper Mr. Trump’s ability to correct the deliberate desecration of our national life.

And, of course, to shelter any of those persons responsible from a legal reckoning in the future.

In a most garish example, “JB” awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to former Rep. Liz Cheney for her role on Congress’s J-6 committee. This, you understand, was done in defiance of what is already known and alleged about the treasonous misconduct of that body — withholding and destruction of evidence, tampering with evidence, coaching witnesses, lying to the media about testimony received, and obstruction of justice. You might lay a conspiracy charge over all those misdeeds, since they involved the formal agreement, discussion, and knowledge of it all among committee members. That is, it was done clearly in concert. This is how The New York Times put it:

The plea there is transparently and obviously mendacious, yet The Times, being the mouthpiece of the nervous DC blob, can’t resist laying out the game: how can you prosecute somebody for acts they’ve been given a presidential award for committing? Of course, a pardon will signal that Liz Cheney is, ipso facto, a criminal. And would “Joe Biden” then have to pardon every member of the J-6 Committee — since, being a conspiracy, are they not all culpable for the same crimes? But then, the J-6 Committee crimes against the people of America comprise only a small portion, a side dish, to the many other crimes committed by the officials working under “Joe Biden.” If he pardons Liz Cheney, won’t this president also have to pardon hundreds of other officials from Mayorkas, Wray, Garland, Fauci, Walensky, Austin, Blinken, Sullivan on down?

“Joe Biden” will no doubt wait until the morning of January 20 to issue those pardons, if he dares to, and he might well include himself in the package as having committed bribery and treason. Since his dementia is not total, he probably has enough brain left to reason fallaciously that the country will be too distracted by the Trump inaugural to notice what he did. He will think that he has acquired magic powers of invisibility. Not to history, of course.

And history will resume at noon on January 20. From that moment on, “Joe Biden” is certified as the most odious villain in our nation’s history.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/twilight-twilight-presidency

Cencora raises EPS outlook after acquiring retina specialist

 Cencora, Inc. (NYSE: COR), a global pharmaceutical solutions organization with a market capitalization of $43.4 billion, has completed the acquisition of Retina Consultants of America (RCA), a management services organization of retina specialists. With the closure of this deal, Cencora has revised its fiscal year 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance upwards.

The transaction, which was finalized for a cash outlay of $4.4 billion after adjustments, sees Cencora acquiring an 85% stake in RCA, with the remaining equity held by certain RCA physicians and management members. This strategic move aims to enhance Cencora's position in specialty medical services and to extend its management services organization (MSO) solutions, thereby delivering increased value to stakeholders including physicians and patients.

In light of the acquisition, Cencora's financial guidance for the fiscal year 2025 has been updated to reflect RCA's expected contribution and continued momentum within Cencora's U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment. The company now anticipates an adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $15.15 to $15.45, up from the previously estimated range of $14.80 to $15.10. According to InvestingPro analysis, Cencora appears undervalued at its current trading price of $224.74, with 14 additional exclusive insights available to subscribers.

https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/cencora-raises-eps-outlook-after-acquiring-retina-specialist-grou-93CH-3794606

California targets ultra-processed foods in new health initiative

 California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered a crackdown on food additives linked to health risks, reflecting the growing bipartisan concern over the toll that highly processed diets are taking on public health.

The executive order directs the state health department to explore measures such as warning labels on products, expanded research into synthetic food dyes and stricter nutritional standards for school meals. It builds on a recent state law banning schools from serving food and drinks containing six synthetic dyes by the start of 2028, citing links to behavioral problems and cancer.

“The food we eat shouldn’t make us sick with disease or lead to lifelong consequences,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re going to work with the industry, consumers and experts to crack down on ultra-processed foods.”

Newsom unveiled the initiative amid speculation over potential shifts in federal health policy under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, which has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy has been an outspoken critic of food dyes and other additives, along with the role of highly processed foods and added sugar in fueling obesity. He has also faced criticism for advocating scientifically disputed ideas, including the removal of fluoride from public water supplies and the discredited assertion that vaccines cause autism.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/newsom-targets-highly-processed-foods-140000232.html

US to award $306 mln for bird flu monitoring and preparedness

 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday it will award $306 million in additional funding to monitor H5N1 bird flu and for regional, state and local preparedness programs.

HHS said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's risk assessment of bird flu remains low for the general public. But HHS and the USDA will continue close collaboration with industry and other stakeholders to protect human and animal health as well as food safety.

"Preparedness is the key to keeping Americans healthy and our country safe," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "We will continue to ensure our response is strong, well equipped, and ready for whatever is needed."

Regional, state and local preparedness programs will get a total of approximately $183 million.

Hospital preparedness programs will get $90 million of that, and $43 million will go to the Special Pathogen Treatment Centers bird flu preparedness and response activities.

So-called "Regional Emerging Special Pathogen treatment centers" will receive $26 million; $14 million will help replenish equipment and supplies for the National Disaster Medical System; and $10 million is going to the National Emerging Special Pathogens training and Education Center.

The CDC will give approximately $111 million for added enhancements to H5N1 flu monitoring at national, state and local levels.

Of that amount, $101 million will be sent to jurisdictions for increased monitoring of people exposed to infected animals, for testing and for outreach to high-risk populations like livestock workers.

About $11 million will be awarded by the National Institutes for Health for contracts in the Centers for Excellence for Influenza Research and Response.

California declared a public health emergency Dec. 19 as bird flu spread in cows.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the declaration was made to make sure government agencies have the needed resources they would need to respond quickly to the bird flu outbreak

Earlier in December the USDA issued a new milk testing order for H5N1 that requires raw unpasteurized milk samples nationwide to be collected and shared with USDA for testing.

In November the CDC confirmed the first child in the United States to be infected with bird flu. The Alameda County California child tested positive with no known contact with infected animals.

The CDC investigated the cause of the positive test and follow-up testing was negative for bird flu but positive for other common respiratory viruses.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/hhs-award-306-million-bird-191603725.html

Moldovan PM warns of security crisis after cut-off of Russian gas

 Moldova faces a security crisis after its breakaway enclave of Transdniestria was cut off from supplies of Russian gas, Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Friday.

Flows of Russian gas via Ukraine to central and eastern Europe were halted on New Year's Day after a transit agreement between the warring countries expired, and Kyiv rejected doing further business with Moscow.

Recean said Moldova would cover its own energy needs with domestic production and imports but noted the separatist Transdniestria region had suffered a painful hit despite its ties with Moscow. Residents there have lost hot water and central heating, and all factories except food producers have been forced to stop production.

"By jeopardising the future of the protectorate it has backed for three decades in an effort to destabilise Moldova, Russia is revealing the inevitable outcome for all its allies – betrayal and isolation,” Recean said in a statement.

"We treat this as a security crisis aimed at enabling the return of pro-Russian forces to power in Moldova and weaponising our territory against Ukraine, with whom we share a 1,200 km border."

The self-styled president of the pro-Russian enclave, Vadim Krasnoselsky, said rolling power cuts were now inevitable in view of the gas cut-off and increases in demand for electricity.

"The load on the grid will increase," Krasnoselsky wrote on Telegram. "We will not get by without rolling power shutdowns. This is vital to maintain the system."

Krasnoselsky previously said that the region had gas reserves to cover 10 days of limited usage in the north and twice as long in the south.

Russia denies using gas as a weapon to coerce Moldova, and blames Kyiv for refusing to renew the gas transit deal.

DISPUTE OVER ARREARS

Russian gas giant Gazprom had separately said on Dec. 28 that it would suspend exports to Moldova on Jan. 1 because of what Russia says are unpaid Moldovan debts of $709 million. Moldova disputes that, and has put the figure at $8.6 million.

The southeast European nation of about 2.5 million people has been in the spotlight since Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine at a time of mounting tensions between Moscow and the West.

Its pro-European President Maia Sandu won a second term in an election last year and has pledged to accelerate reform and consolidate democratisation.

Moldova plans to hold a parliamentary election this summer.

The mainly Russian-speaking territory of Transdniestria, which split from Moldova in the 1990s, received Russian gas via Ukraine.

In turn, Moldova used to receive the bulk of its electricity from Transdniestria. But, with Kyiv making clear it would stop gas transit from Russia, the Chisinau government prepared alternative arrangements, with a mixture of domestic production and electricity imports from Romania, Recean said.

He said the Moldovan government remained committed to helping the enclave.

"Alternative energy solutions, such as biomass systems, generators, humanitarian aid, and essential medical supplies, are ready for delivery should the breakaway leadership accept the support," the government said in a statement.

The head of Moldova's national gas company Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, said Transdniestrian authorities had turned down a offer of help purchasing gas from European countries because the enclave believes Russian gas supplies could still be resumed.

Such purchases would be more costly. Gazprom has long supplied gas to the region without demanding payment.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/moldova-pm-warns-security-crisis-132251579.html

TikTok knew its livestreams exploit children, Utah lawsuit claims

 New information released as part of Utah's ongoing lawsuit alleges TikTok LIVE targets minors and is used to launder money. (Thicha Satapitanon/Getty Images)

Hundreds of thousands of children have bypassed TikTok’s minimum age restrictions to use the social media platform’s LIVE feature, which incentivizes sexual content, sometimes viewed by predatory adults. And an internal TikTok investigation suggested the platform’s virtual currency was being used in “major money laundering criminal patterns.”

That’s according to previously redacted documents that were released Friday as part of Utah’s ongoing lawsuit against TikTok, claiming the social media company is violating the state’s deceptive acts or practices law and consumer sales practices act.

The lawsuit, filed in June 2024, accuses TikTok of using a monetization feature to incentivize minors to perform sexually explicit acts on its LIVE feature — TikTok then takes a “significant cut” from those virtual transactions, Utah alleges.

But 28 of the complaint’s 176 paragraphs were largely redacted, with TikTok classifying the content as confidential business records or trade secrets under Utah law. The company fought to keep the redactions but on Dec. 20, Utah’s 3rd District Court Judge Coral Sanchez ruled that most of the content should be released to the public. In his ruling, Sanchez wrote that just 10 paragraphs should remain redacted, mostly because they include the money content creators have netted on TikTok.

Detailed in the unredacted complaint is Project Meramec, an internal investigation launched by TikTok that found 112,000 children between 13 and 15 years old were able to use TikTok LIVE during January 2022 alone. Per TikTok’s guidelines, users must be at least 18 years old to access LIVE.

TikTok’s footprint in Utah

Also released Friday was data detailing how many Utahns are using TikTok. Consider this:

There are 3,171,209 registered TikTok accounts in Utah.There are 278,506 TikTok accounts associated with Utahns under 18 years old, although attorneys for the state claim the company “likely significantly undercounts the number of minors using the app.”There are 1,540,957 TikTok content creators in Utah, defined in court documents as “users who share and post content on the app.” Those Utah-based content creators have 919,171,787 cumulative followers on TikTok. Their profits are still redacted.

TikTok LIVE was introduced in 2019 and has since become “extraordinarily popular,” the complaint states. It includes a monetization feature where viewers can purchase virtual currency and gifts, which can then be exchanged for real money. According to attorneys for Utah, creators are promised more money by TikTok based on how popular their content becomes.

TikTok’s own study concluded that LIVE enabled the “‘exploitation of live hosts’ and that TikTok profited significantly from ‘transactional gifting’ involving nudity and sexual activity, all facilitated by TikTok’s virtual currency system,” according to the complaint.

And some of the underage users who bypassed the age verification for TikTok LIVE would receive messages from adult users, Utah claims in the lawsuit, “raising red flags to TikTok that these minors were likely being groomed by adults.” Project Meramec found that adults would sometimes pay users performing on TikTok LIVE “to strip, pose, and dance provocatively for ‘diamonds,’ which can be cashed out for real money,” according to the state.

But the company chose to look the other way, according to attorneys for Utah — transactional sexual content “hits most of (TikTok’s) business’ metrics of success,” the newly unredacted complaint states. The company received “significant revenue … in large part generated through transactions for sexual content.”

Utah’s complaint also accused the company of not regulating LIVE’s virtual currency exchanges, which it claims enables criminal activity like money laundering and drug sales. The state even accused the virtual currency of being used to “fund terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).”

The unredacted information also refers to another internal study, Project Jupiter, launched in 2021 to investigate suspicions that TikTok LIVE was being used to launder money.

“As recently as 2023, TikTok compliance teams reported, ‘we have identified major money laundering criminal patterns on TikTok live platform,’” the complaint reads, claiming the company refuses to establish “accurate bookkeeping, real-time suspicious payment monitoring for fraud and money laundering, timely reporting processes to law enforcement of suspicious transaction reports, (Know Your Customer) verification for all users, or even processes to keep banned users off the platform.”

In a statement, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the unredacted information “evidence of a deliberate choice to prioritize profit over the safety and well-being of our children.”

“TikTok knew the harm its platform was causing, yet chose to look the other way, allowing predators to exploit minors in unconscionable ways,” Cox said.

And the state’s outgoing attorney general, Sean Reyes, said online exploitation of minors can lead to depression, isolation and “other tragedies such as suicide, addiction, and trafficking.”

“It would be outrageous enough to endanger our kids the way TikTok has — even if it was unintended. But the fact that it serves up minors on ‘TikTokLive,’ knowing the danger, understanding the damage, and still monetizing the exploitation of our kids is unconscionable,” said Reyes.

This case is Utah’s second lawsuit against TikTok, both brought by the Utah Department of Commerce. The first suit, filed in October 2023, takes aim at TikTok’s “endless scrolling” feature, which the state claims is intentionally designed to hook young people and keep them on the app longer.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/court-records-claim-tiktok-knew-195512936.html

Trump must be sentenced in criminal case, but does not face jail

 In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case for Jan. 10 — little over a week before he’s due to return to the White House — but promised not to jail him.

Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, signaled in a written decision that he’d sentence the former and future president to what’s known as a conditional discharge, in which a case gets dismissed if a defendant avoids rearrest.

The development marks yet another twist in the singular case.

Trump was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records. They involved an alleged scheme to hide a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in the last weeks of Trump’s first campaign in 2016. The payout was made to keep her from publicizing claims she’d had sex with the married Trump years earlier. He says that her story is false and that he did nothing wrong.

After Trump’s Nov. 5 election, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.

Trump’s lawyers urged Merchan to toss it. They said it would otherwise pose unconstitutional “disruptions” to the incoming president’s ability to run the country.

Prosecutors acknowledged there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insisted the conviction should stand.

They suggested various options, such as freezing the case during his term or guaranteeing him a no-jail sentence. They also proposed closing the case while formally noting both his conviction and his undecided appeal — a novel idea drawn from what some state courts do when criminal defendants die while appealing their cases.

Trump takes office Jan. 20.

https://www.wsaz.com/2025/01/03/judge-sets-trumps-sentencing-hush-money-case-jan-10-signals-no-jail-time/