Container Orders Plummet
April 22nd, 2025Bessent says he expects ‘de-escalation’ in U.S.-China tariff fight in the ‘very near future’:
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told investors in a closed-door meeting Tuesday he expects “there will be a de-escalation” in President Donald Trump’s trade war with China in the “very near future,” a person in the room told CNBC.
“No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable” with tariff rates at their current levels, Bessent said at a private investor summit in Washington, D.C., hosted by JPMorgan Chase.
Via: Daniel Lacalle:
Global container booking volumes fell by 49% between the last week of March and the first week of April 2025, according to Freight Waves. Imports from China to the United States collapsed by 64%, with imports of apparel and textiles declining by a whopping 59% and 57%, respectively. The figures coming from shipping companies are worse than those seen during the Covid-19 crisis.
These alarming figures suggest that importers are unwilling to accept higher prices in the middle of a tariff war, that exporters cannot simply choose to move their products elsewhere easily, and that the excess capacity in many sectors is much larger than initially expected.
No one wants to accept the cost of tariffs, and this means that the only option for the economies with elevated productive overcapacity is to negotiate a trade deal, and quickly, or face an economic depression.
Klaus Schwab Steps Down From WEF Board
April 22nd, 2025Replaced by former Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe.
Via: ZeroHedge:
On the same day Pope Francis—known for his inclusive beliefs—passed away, another globalist fell: Klaus Schwab, the architect of the World Economic Forum’s dystopian agenda, announced he was stepping down from the WEF board. It marks the end of an era for Schwab, who championed radical wokeness, bug eating, mass vaccination campaigns, population control, and climate de-growth policies through what often resembled digital communism—social credit scores, central bank digital currencies, and many more China-like policies. Meanwhile, cultural shifts across the Americas signal a rising movement toward traditional values, sending the WEF’s ideological woke grip on governments, non-government organizations, corporations, the church, and society into disarray.
“Following my recent announcement, and as I enter my 88th year, I have decided to step down from the position of Chair and as a member of the Board of Trustees, with immediate effect,” Schwab wrote in a statement.
Ashcroft Was Part of Oklahoma City Bombing Cover-Up
April 20th, 2025Via: ZeroHedge:
While serving his prison sentence, Nichols attempted to spark an investigation into FBI involvement in the OKC bombing. He sent a letter stating that he could provide such information to the then head of the DOJ Ashcroft.
Ashcroft did not respond to the letter but immediately forbade the media from speaking to Nichols, which resulted in 60 Minutes cancelling a sit-down interview they had scheduled with Nichols, says Trentadue. Shortly thereafter, Nichols said he received a visit from a man presenting an offer from the DOJ to undo Nichols’ death sentence if he agreed to three conditions:
Take ownership of an anonymous warning the DOJ received saying the Murrah Building was bombed 30 minutes before it actually had been.
Implicate Nichols’ own brother in the bombing plot.
Reveal the location of the “Kinestick”, an explosive used in the bombing. Nichols mentioned having knowledge of an unused stache in his letter to Ashcroft. The existence of a remaining stache was not known at the time.
Page on Whitehouse.gov Acknowledges Covid-19 Gain of Function Research, EcoHealth
April 18th, 2025Great. Now do Covid vaccine truth.
In other news, FDA Grants Fast Track Designation for Potential Bird Flu Vaccine:
The FDA granted fast track designation for a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine candidate (ARCT-2304) for active immunization to protect against influenza A H5N1 subtype, also known as bird flu. The designation addresses the unmet need for prevention of H5N1, which remains a global health risk, and a phase 1 trial (NCT06602531) of the vaccine was initiated in November 2024.
“We are pleased to receive fast track designation from the FDA for ARCT-2304,” Joseph Payne, president and CEO of Arcturus Therapeutics, said in a news release. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to the US government to develop safe and effective STARR next-generation mRNA vaccines to protect US citizens from future pandemic threats. This designation from the FDA is an important step forward in our mission to provide protective solutions for global health crises.”
Via: White House:
“The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2” publication — which was used repeatedly by public health officials and the media to discredit the lab leak theory — was prompted by Dr. Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated naturally.
Replacing Boarding Passes at Airports with Facial Recognition and a “Digital Travel Credential” Stored on Passengers’ Smartphones
April 18th, 2025Hint: This isn’t just for use at airports.
Via: Fox:
Paper boarding passes and traditional airport check-in could soon become relics of the past, according to a new initiative backed by the United Nations’ aviation agency.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is supporting a plan to transform the global air travel experience through the use of facial recognition and a “digital travel credential” stored on passengers’ smartphones. The new system would allow travelers to pass through airports using only their face and a digital “journey pass,” potentially eliminating the need for physical documents.
The overhaul, first reported by The Times, could begin rolling out in the next two to three years.
AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops
April 17th, 2025Via: Wired:
American police departments near the United States-Mexico border are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for an unproven and secretive technology that uses AI-generated online personas designed to interact with and collect intelligence on “college protesters,” “radicalized” political activists, and suspected drug and human traffickers, according to internal documents, contracts, and communications that 404 Media obtained via public records requests.
Massive Blue, the New York–based company that is selling police departments this technology, calls its product Overwatch, which it markets as an “AI-powered force multiplier for public safety” that “deploys lifelike virtual agents, which infiltrate and engage criminal networks across various channels.” According to a presentation obtained by 404 Media, Massive Blue is offering cops these virtual personas that can be deployed across the internet with the express purpose of interacting with suspects over text messages and social media.
TikTok Is Harming Children at an Industrial Scale
April 17th, 2025Via: After Babel:
Our evidence comes mostly from research done by those 14 Attorneys General. Some of their briefs have been posted online for the world to see. The briefs include hundreds of quotations from internal reports, memos, Slack conversations, and public statements in which executives and employees of TikTok acknowledge and discuss the harms that their company is causing to children. We organize the evidence into five clusters of harms:
Addictive, compulsive, and problematic use
Depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, self-harm, and suicide
Porn, violence, and drugs
Sextortion, CSAM, and sexual exploitation
TikTok knows about underage use and takes little action
We show that company insiders were aware of multiple widespread and serious harms, and that they were often acting under the orders of company leadership to maximize engagement regardless of the harm to children. As one internal report put it:
“Compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety,” in addition to “interfer[ing] with essential personal responsibilities like sufficient sleep, work/school responsibilities, and connecting with loved ones.”
Related: Snapchat is Harming Children at an Industrial Scale
Remarks by Michael Kratsios, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the Endless Frontiers Retreat: “Our Technologies Permit Us to Manipulate Time and Space”
April 17th, 2025Hmm.
Transcript below.
Via: The White House:
Our technologies permit us to manipulate time and space. They leave distance annihilated, cause things to grow, and improve productivity.
CDC: Autism Rate for Children Now 1 in 31 (3.22%)
April 17th, 2025Via: The Defender:
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today criticized mainstream media for pushing the narrative that rising autism rates are just a result of better diagnosis.
“One of the things that I think we need to move away from today is this ideology that autism diagnosis, that the autism prevalence increases, are simply artifacts of better diagnosis, better recognition, or changing diagnostic criteria,” Kennedy said at his first press conference since taking office.
HHS called the press conference to share results of the latest study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on autism prevalence, published yesterday.
An estimated 1 in 31 (3.22%) 8-year-old children had an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis in 2022 — up from 1 in 36 (2.8%) in 2020, the CDC said in its latest report from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM), which is published every two years.
Overall, the prevalence of autism in U.S. children rose approximately 17% between 2020 and 2022, continuing a decades-long trend.
The mainstream media responded in lockstep to yesterday’s report by denying that autism is an epidemic and doubling down on the argument that rising rates are simply the outcome of better diagnosis. The Washington Post called the 17% increase “small,” and The Hill labeled it a “slight” increase.
Kennedy responded today, saying the rate increases “are real,” and that each year there has been “a steady, relentless increase.” Kennedy said that while some people may be genetically predisposed to autism, it takes an environmental exposure to trigger the condition.
‘Homegrowns Are Next’: Trump Suggests Imprisoning Americans to El Salvador
April 16th, 2025Is this in the same category as taking over Canada and Trump Gaza Number 1?
Via: USA Today:
President Donald Trump on Monday suggested his administration could send U.S. citizens who commit violent crimes to El Salvador, telling Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele that the “homegrowns are next” and urging him to build more prisons to house them.
…
“Homegrown criminals are next,” Trump said to Bukele. “I said homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You’ve gotta build about five more places.”
“Yeah, we’ve got space,” Bukele responded as Trump officials in the room could be heard laughing.
“It’s not big enough,” Trump said.
