It can be difficult to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. But with the Substack Daily Dose, you will have easy access to important news and happenings from the day, as well as what was covered during our shows, all in one place.
The Daily Dose:
Morning Qoffee:
Manipulated Health Perceptions - News & Brews
Visit our site to find all of our sponsors as well as other ways that you can help support the Redpill Project:
Key Events In This Extremely Busy Week: Fed, SNB, BOE, CPI, Retail Sales, Treasury Auctions, China Data Dump
Usually the week after US payrolls is pretty quiet on the news and events front, but not this one, because as DB's Jim Reid writes it's hard to see how the week could be much busier given we have the following highlights.
Today we get a 3yr and 10yr US Treasury auction plus the NY Fed’s Survey of Consumer Expectations.
Tomorrow sees the all-important US CPI and a 30yr Treasury auction (after a very bad one last month).
Wednesday sees a fascinating FOMC meeting and US PPI.
Thursday sees US Retail Sales and policy meetings from the ECB, SNB and BoE.
Finally, Friday brings the latest global flash PMIs and China's main monthly data dump.
There are plenty of other releases but these are likely to be the primary market moving events. For a full list, see the day-by-day calendar of events at the end as usual.
As Reid adds, it's a toss up as to whether the FOMC or the US CPI will be the most important event of the week. Given that CPI tomorrow could shape the FOMC, let’s start there. For headline, the consensus thinks we'll be flat MoM, the same as last month, helped by gas prices being down -8% since October. For core, the consensus is at +0.3% MoM (last month +0.23%). All these estimates would lead YoY to be 3.1% (-0.1pp) for the headline and 4.0% (unch) for core. For core, that would push the 3m and 6m annualized rate down one-tenth and three-tenths respectively to 3.3% and 2.8%. If accurate, this would be the first time that the 6m measure has been below 3% for since March 2021 .
That will then set up the FOMC the following day and it will be interesting to see how Powell and the committee play it. Markets have got way ahead of the Fed in terms of pricing cuts for next year, so do they try to rein them in or acknowledge the direction of travel? The Fed is still likely to be more of a slow oil tanker than a speedboat but will probably acknowledge that barring a unexpected surprise, the hiking cycle is over but will conclude that it’s premature to talk about cuts at the moment. The dot plot will likely show 50bps of cuts by YE 24, which would leave the end-2024 dot 25bps lower than it was in September. In its revised Fed preview published late on Sunday, Goldman notes that it too expects the FOMC’s median projection to likewise show two cuts next year, as it did in September, and to show the same 125bp of cuts in 2025 and another 100bp of cuts in 2026 (full note available to pro subs in the usual place).
Central banks will stay in focus on Thursday, since the ECB will be making their latest policy decision that day. DB economists expect them to hold rates, but their preview highlights several factors that might tilt the ECB in a more dovish direction going forward. They now see the central bank cutting rates from April, with a risk of an earlier cut in March. They currently expect 150bps of cuts in 2024. The BoE are also expected to hold on Thursday; ahead of the decision, there will be the labor market data (tomorrow) and the monthly UK GDP report (Wednesday). Finally, DB sees the SNB shifting to a dovish policy bias and expect the first rate cut in March.
-Tyler Durden, Zerohedge
Regulators caught Wells Fargo, other banks in probe over mortgage pricing discrimination
Wells Fargo was snared in an industrywide probe into mortgage bankers’ use of loan discounts last year, CNBC has learned.
The discounts, known as pricing exceptions, are used by mortgage personnel to help secure deals in competitive markets. At Wells Fargo, for instance, bankers could request pricing exceptions that typically lowered a customer’s APR by between 25 abd 75 basis points.
The practice, used for decades across the home loan industry, has triggered regulators’ interest in recent years over possible violations of U.S. fair lending laws. Black and female borrowers got fewer pricing exceptions than other customers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has found.
“As long as pricing exceptions exist, pricing disparities exist,” said Ken Perry, founder of a Washington-based compliance firm for the mortgage industry. “They’re the easiest way to discriminate against a client.”
Wells Fargo received an official notice from the CFPB called an MRA, or Matter Requiring Attention, on problems with its discounts, said people with knowledge of the situation. It’s unclear if regulators accused the bank of discrimination or sloppy oversight. The bank’s internal investigation on the matter extended into late this year, said the people.
Wells Fargo, until recently the biggest player in U.S. mortgages, has repeatedly felt regulators’ wrath over missteps involving home loans. In 2012, it paid more than $184 million to settle federal claims that it charged minorities higher fees and unjustly put them into subprime loans. It was fined $250 million in 2021 for failing to address problems in its mortgage business, and more recently paid $3.7 billion for consumer abuses on products including home loans.
The behind-the-scenes actions by regulators at Wells Fargo, which hadn’t been reported before, happened in the months before the company announced it was reining in its mortgage business. One reason for that move was the heightened scrutiny on lenders since the 2008 financial crisis.
Wells Fargo later hired law firm Winston & Strawn to grill mortgage bankers whose sales included high levels of the discounts, said the people, who declined to be identified speaking about confidential matters.
-Hugh Son, CNBC
Watch:
Boeing deepens strategy cuts as operations take center-stage -sources
Dec 12 (Reuters) - Boeing Co has embarked on deeper-than-expected cuts in its strategy ranks, halving the number of planners working within key divisions as it refocuses energies on tackling industrial pressures, people familiar with the matter said.
The move is the latest evidence of renewed industrial priorities after Boeing on Monday named Stephanie Pope to the new role of chief operating officer, putting the 51-year-old Global Services head in line to succeed Dave Calhoun as CEO.
Boeing has been grappling with supply disruption at a time when it is saddled with almost $40 billion of debt stemming from the COVID-19 travel slump and an earlier 737 MAX safety crisis.
But some critics worry the increased operational focus is diverting attention from Boeing's long-term future at a crucial stage for the industry, with redundancy notices due to go out to affected strategists this week, according to the sources.
In November, Boeing said Marc Allen, who had once been seen as a future CEO, would step down as chief strategy officer with part of his planning team redeployed to divisions.
In a Nov. 16 memo, Calhoun said this involved "enabling and empowering our business units," with strategists "directly joining the business units they support."
However, sources said those units were facing cuts of at least 50% in the number of strategists who work day to day inside Boeing Global Services and Stan Deal's Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The total number of employees affected was unknown.
In a sign of the speed of the shake-up, some strategists are being told not to go back to work when the 60-day notices land, though they will receive job search advice, the sources said.
At Defense, plans are evolving more slowly as it first combines the division's strategy and business development, but cuts of 50% or more are also expected there, the sources said.
Boeing confirmed the internal Defense combination but declined to comment on the number of job cuts across the company. Sources say it has some 200 strategists in total.
"We are directly aligning our strategy teams to the business units they support," a spokesperson said, adding this was part of broader steps taken over several years to simplify corporate structure and focus resources on the business.
Boeing shares rose 1.4% on Monday.
-Market Screener
Watch:
Watch:
Exxon Mobil and Other US Oil Majors Defy Venezuelan Dictator Maduro’s Orders To Withdraw From Guyana’s Essequibo Area – Companies Move ‘Aggressively’ With Production Plans
Big Oil is doubling down on Essequibo.
While Latin America braces itself for the possibility of war between Venezuela and Guyana over the oil-rich Essequibo region, the major US companies operating in Guyana’s waters are “moving ahead aggressively” with production.
The plans are being followed despite Venezuela’s threats to take over the region, in an escalating border conflict.
Bloomberg reported:
“Speaking from Georgetown, Ali said Guyana’s troops are prepared to defend the nation’s territory after Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro revived a long-dormant dispute over the Essequibo, a swath roughly the size of Florida where major oil discoveries have been made in recent years. Companies operating there were not intimidated by orders from the Venezuelan leader to leave the region, he added.
‘There’s absolutely no slowing down’ in production plans, Ali said in a video interview on Monday. ‘We are on the right side of international law, on the right side of ethics, and on the right side of history’.”
Maduro publicly ordered Exxon Mobil Corp. and others to withdraw from the area within three months.
Exxon leads a joint venture that includes Hess Corp. on Guyana’s Stabroek Block, exploring the world’s largest crude discovery of the past decade.
“Ali and Maduro are set to meet on Thursday on the island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in a bid to de-escalate tension. The dispute intensified in recent years as the massive oil discoveries off the coast of Guyana led the small English-speaking nation to become the world’s fastest-growing economy. Estimates that Guyana’s economy will grow 25%-30% a year in the medium-term are “very conservative,” said Ali, who is targeting more than 1.2 million barrels of daily production in the coming years.
‘We are continuing to ensure that we are in a position with our international partners to defend what is ours’, Ali said. ‘But make no mistake, our troops are going to ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Guyana is respected’.”
Many see the dispute over the Essequibo as an attempt by Maduro to boost his popularity.
-Paul Serran, The Gateway Pundit
UN fears risk of ‘confrontation’ between DRCongo, Rwanda
Image Credit: Pixabay
The head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo voiced concern Monday about the escalating risk of “direct military confrontation” between DRC and Rwanda, as Kinshasa calls for a speedier withdrawal of peacekeepers.
In recent weeks, the situation in DRC’s North Kivu province on the border with Rwanda has “further deteriorated,” United Nations envoy Bintou Keita told the Security Council.
“Regional tensions between the DRC and Rwanda have further escalated, heightening the risk of a direct military confrontation that could also draw in Burundi,” she said.
Relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, still tense since the major wars of the 1990s and 2000s, have soured in the last two years with the resurgence of M23 rebels in North Kivu.
DRC has accused Rwanda of supporting the Tutsi-led fighters, who have seized swathes of land in the east of the country since launching an offensive in late 2021.
The heightening of regional tensions comes as Kinshasa has asked the world body for the “accelerated” departure of some 14,000 peacekeepers starting this month, amid public perceptions that the Blue Helmets are ineffective.
Late last month, the UN mission (MONUSCO) and the government signed a withdrawal plan that was not made public.
France has drafted a resolution that would explain how the withdrawal will work, which must be adopted before the mission’s mandate expires on December 20, Paris’s UN envoy Nicolas de Riviere said Monday.
The text maps out a first phase in which peacekeepers would leave South Kivu province by April 30, he said.
The Security Council in October insisted on a retreat that is “gradual and responsible.”
“We are now at an important turning point in relations between the United Nations and DRC, but also at an important moment for the country itself,” Keita said, with just days to go before the country votes in presidential and legislative elections on December 20.
She noted “progress” in terms of the election process despite “significant logistical, financial and security challenges,” as well as issues raised by the opposition about the integrity of voter rolls and a lack of communication about voting procedures.
“I am also alarmed by the proliferation of mis- and disinformation as well as hate speech, online and offline, in the context of the electoral campaign,” she said, as well as a rise in misogynistic attacks targeting woman candidates.
More generally, she decried a “totally unacceptable” spike in gender-based violence and sexual exploitation nationwide, with 90,000 cases reported since the start of the year, 39,000 of them in North Kivu.
-Insider Paper
US ‘deeply concerned’ by reports Navalny missing
The United States is concerned after allies of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said they had received no news of him or his whereabouts recently, the White House said Monday.
“We’re deeply concerned by these reports that he’s now been gone for allegedly a week and neither his representatives or his family know where he is,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
“He should be released immediately, he should never have been jailed in the first place,” Kirby told journalists traveling with US President Joe Biden aboard Air Force One on a trip to Philadelphia.
Kirby added: “We’re going to work with our embassy in Moscow to see how much more we can find out.”
Navalny’s allies said on Monday they had been unable to locate him for six days, and that he had likely been transferred from the prison where he was serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges.
A court this summer ordered to have him moved to a harsher “special regime” prison colony.
“We still do not know where Alexei is,” his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media.
-Insider Paper
The UN General Assembly “Uniting for Peace” Resolution Has Been Invoked.
Egypt & Mauritania have invoked United Nations General Assembly Resolution 377 (UNGA Res 377) the “Uniting for Peace” resolution to address the attacks in Gaza. Resolution 377 states that if UN Security Council, due to lack of unanimity of the permanent 5 members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility to act to maintain international peace & security, the General Assembly can promptly address the issue. The emergency session is set for Tuesday the 12th December.
The UN General Assembly President received a letter on Friday night from H.E. Osama Abdel Khalek. Permanent Representative of Egypt to the UN in New York. and The Permanent Mission of Mauritania to the United Nations-New York (Arab Group/OIC) requesting resumption after the U.S. Mission to the UN vetoed Gaza ceasefire draft resolution on Nov 15.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) (by a vote of 12-0) passed a binding resolution for extended humanitarian pauses, Israel immediately condemned it and declared it was not going to abide and since, no actions have been taken to compel Israel to abide, just like no actions have been taken to compel Israel to abide by the many UNSC resolutions that it stands in violation of.
The Palestine UN Ambassador Mansour had said following veto that his mission would “continue resorting to every legitimate avenue to stop these abhorrent atrocities including resuming ESS.” The aim is to adopt same draft reso which was vetoed, with some adjustments and updates.
Letters to and From the President of the General Assembly
United Nations Resolution 377
UNGA Resolution 377 was initially introduced on 3rd of November 1950, when it was adopted by the General Assembly and given the title “Uniting for Peace”. It came as a response to the strategy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to block any determination by the Security Council on measures to be taken in order to protect the Republic of Korea against the aggression launched against it by military forces from North Korea. Source
At the initial stage of this armed conflict, in June 1950, the Security Council had been able to recommend to the Members of the United Nations to “furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and to restore international peace and security in the area” (resolution 83 (1950) of 27 June 1950). Source
The US can vote against this resolution, but cannot veto it as no country has veto power in the General Assembly.
-Patricia Harrity, The Expose
Zelensky arrives in US to plead for continued Ukraine war aid
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was set Monday to make a last-ditch plea for US aid before it runs out this year, with Republicans arguing that the United States should no longer provide open-ended backing to Ukraine’s battle against Russian invasion.
Zelensky, who was in Argentina over the weekend, was due to deliver a 12:00 pm (1700 GMT) address to the National Defense University in Washington, following an introduction by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon said.
On Tuesday, Zelensky was scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House and also with congressional leaders — including the recently elected Republican leader of the House of Representatives, where the mood on the far-right of the party has turned sharply against Ukraine.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Zelensky’s visit would “underscore the United States’ unshakeable commitment” to Ukraine, which in February will enter its third year of battling an all-out invasion attempt by Russia.
Throughout the bloody conflict, which has seen swaths of Ukraine destroyed and millions driven from their homes, Ukrainian forces have depended heavily on a US-led coalition of countries delivering tens of billions of dollars in ammunition, weaponry, and economic and social aid.
Now the flow of US aid — described by Biden as part of an existential fight between the democratic world and President Vladimir Putin’s aggressive autocracy — is on the verge of drying up.
Republican senators last week blocked a White House request for $106 billion in emergency aid primarily for Ukraine and Israel.
Conservatives said they would refuse the package for the close foreign allies if Democrats and the White House didn’t also agree to far-ranging immigration reforms targeting security on the politically sensitive US-Mexican border.
More broadly, the Republican right-wing, led by 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump, has dramatically soured against Ukraine’s cause.
“What’s in America’s best interest is to accept Ukraine is going to have to cede some territory to the Russians and we need to bring the war to a close,” Senator JD Vance, a close Trump ally, said Sunday.
He called White House warnings that allowing Russia to win in Ukraine would put other eastern European countries, including NATO countries, “preposterous.”
There should be no “blank check” for Ukraine, Vance said. “You need to articulate what the ambition is. What is $61 billion going to accomplish that $100 billion hasn’t?”
In addition to meeting Biden, Zelensky is due to address senators and also meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson.
-Insider Paper
Watch:
Elon Musk’s X is encouraging users to follow conspiracy theorist Alex Jones after reinstating his account
A day after Elon Musk restored the X accounts of notorious right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his website, Infowars, the platform is actively promoting Jones’ account to other users, giving the fringe figure a major platform to air his deceptive and dangerous views.
Conspiratorial posts from Jones’ account appeared Monday in the “For You” feed of some users who do not follow him on X; his account was promoted in some users’ “Who to Follow” recommendations; and his name was promoted in X’s top trending topics section.
Musk on Sunday also elevated Jones’ newly restored profile, which had 1.6 million followers as of Monday, by engaging with him in a live streamed interview on X. They were joined by Andrew Tate, the self-proclaimed misogynistic internet personality who earlier this year was indicted on human trafficking and rape charges in Romania although he denies the claims, far-right conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, “proud Islamophobe” Laura Loomer and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Musk’s promotion of Jones is just the latest example of how the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and its billionaire owner are increasingly elevating fringe, extreme and potentially harmful viewpoints. Since Musk took over the platform last year, he has also restored the accounts of other controversial figures, including prominent election deniers and far-right and neo-Nazi figures.
Jones is perhaps best known for spreading false conspiracy theories about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in which 20 children and six adults died nearly 11 years ago. After Jones’ continuous airing of false claims about Sandy Hook, victims’ families said they were threatened and harassed by people who followed Jones. A jury last year decided Jones should pay nearly $1 billion in damages to victims’ families in a defamation case brought against him for his lies about the shooting.
-Clare Duffy, CNN
Watch:
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey Launches Official Investigation Into Media Matters
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has launched an investigation into Media Matters for America (“Media Matters”), a pro-censorship media monitoring organization, citing allegations of potentially unlawful business practices. The focus of the probe revolves around Media Matters’ strategies in targeting advertisers on social media platforms and their approach to content aimed at impacting various businesses and organizations.
Key areas of the investigation include the preservation of internal communications related to strategies for targeting advertisers on X (formerly known as Twitter), interactions with major corporations like IBM, Lionsgate Entertainment, Apple, Disney, Warner Brothers Discovery, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Comcast, Sony, Ubisoft, and Walmart, and communications with third parties about these subjects. The Attorney General’s office is also scrutinizing Media Matters’ internal policies and operations concerning the generation of content intended to “cancel,” “deplatform,” “demonetize,” or interfere with Missouri-based businesses or those utilized by Missouri residents.
The letter states: “As you are no doubt aware, a federal lawsuit has been filed against Media Matters, raising serious allegations that your firm falsely and deceptively manipulated the algorithm on X (formerly known as Twitter) through coordinated, inauthentic behavior and that you did so in an attempt to defame the organization and cause advertisers to pull their support from the platform, thus harming free speech.”
Read the full letter here.
-Cindy Harper, Reclaim the Net
Watch:
Watch:
Watch:
BREAKING: Chinese Cyberattack Hitting Critical U.S. Systems!
Rumble has been down almost all day today.
But it’s not just Rumble.
A serious Cyberattack has been crippling vital U.S. systems all day long.
Watch this breaking news alert from Fox News:
BREAKING NEWS:
MAJOR CYBERATTACK FROM CHINA!
They attack us because they do not FEAR US!!!
— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) December 11, 2023
There have been reports of a significant cyberattack targeting critical infrastructure in the United States, allegedly carried out by Chinese state-sponsored hackers. The hacking group, code-named “Volt Typhoon,” has been active since 2021 and is believed to be part of a larger effort by the Chinese government to infiltrate key industries and sectors in the U.S.
The attack has affected numerous industries, including government, communications, and transportation, with a particular focus on gathering intelligence. The hackers have used sophisticated techniques to evade detection, such as exploiting vulnerabilities in popular cybersecurity suites and using built-in network tools to infiltrate systems.
This cyberattack has raised concerns about the potential for future disruption or sabotage of critical infrastructure, especially in light of recent warnings about Chinese hackers targeting power grids in the U.S. and Guam. The U.S. government has urged organizations to take steps to protect their systems and prevent further infiltration by these state-sponsored hackers.
This is a pretty incredible depiction of the attack from Kaspersky:
BREAKING: Unprecedented cyberattack probably by China on the United States rapidly escalating! Experts express astonishment, labeling it as a magnitude never seen before.#CyberSecurity #China #UnitedStates https://t.co/uhwTKEG3Qg pic.twitter.com/JHHGkYmtI5
— 𝕏 (@AlertChannel) December 11, 2023
Here’s more from Whitney Webb:
Whitney Webb on How a Cyberattack Could Help Manufacture Consent for Digital ID
“What this public-private partnership at the WEF is pushing for is for every person’s access to the Internet to be tied to a Digital ID…And the goal of that, of course, is if your ID is linked… pic.twitter.com/wmahGWPBmy
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) December 11, 2023
Is anyone buying that this is just a “coincidence” that it comes on the heels of Barack & Michelle Obama’s new movie called “Leave The World Behind”….which is about, you guessed it, a crippling cyberattack on the United States.
Predictive programming much?
-Noah, 100 Percent Fed Up
Watch:
Watch:
U.K. government warns Brits to stock up on battery-powered radios and flashlights to prepare for coming catastrophes
The U.K. government has warned Brits to prepare for a potential catastrophe by stocking up on battery-powered radios, candles and other supplies.
This is according to U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, who said that Brits need to be more “personally resilient” and less reliant on electronic devices and those that are connected to the internet. The message came during his first annual statement on “risk and resilience,” in which he emphasized that risks are “evolving faster than ever,” citing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, extreme weather conditions like flooding, misuse of technologies like artificial intelligence, and the growing sophistication of cyber attacks.
The senior Tory cabinet minister is currently setting up a resilience website and academy that will aid individuals and businesses in better preparing for future catastrophes such as cyber attacks, natural disasters and pandemics.
The site, which should be available next year, will offer people guidance on how they can prepare for a range of emergencies, especially those that leave them without power to run the devices they depend on for communications. It will also provide tips on protecting against risks such as email scams and phishing.
The academy, which is being formed with £10 million in funds, will train professionals who work in certain roles to provide them with crisis management and emergency planning skills.
One item Dowden believes that all households need is a radio that does not rely on electricity to be run, such as the battery-operated and hand-cranked varieties. He said that the public has become too dependent on the internet. This means that if a disaster strikes and we are unable to get online, those without access to a radio could find themselves in an information vacuum.
“It always used to be the case that everyone would be able to access a battery-operated radio,” he noted.
“How many people have a communication device that isn’t reliant on digital and electric? We shouldn’t assume that the resilience we had as individuals when we were growing up is the same now because society has digitized,” he added before emphasizing the importance of having the means to get news in the event of an emergency.
While many households kept candles and flashlights on hand in the past, this has become less common in modern times as people use the flashlight feature on their smartphone.
He cautioned that a catastrophe could strike without warning and people will need to be prepared. He also said that the government’s new resilience website will have a function allowing members of the public to sign up as volunteers to help out in the event of a crisis.
He also warned about the dangers of AI, which he says poses a “chronic risk” and could well make it easier for criminals to carry out cyber-attacks.
He said: “The proverbial teenage kid in their bedroom with the application of AI is going to be a much better hacker than they were previously. The ability of lone, malign individuals to have greater capabilities to develop biological threats increases with AI. Likewise with chemical risks.”
Stock up on batteries, flashlights, food and other supplies
In addition to having a good stock of batteries, flashlights and a radio, the U.K.’s National Grid recommends keeping items such as ready-to-eat food, water, blankets and thick clothes on hand to get through an extended power cut. Any medical equipment you rely on, like a stair lift, should have battery backup.
“The world has changed unrecognisably and our society is highly reliant on our digital infrastructure,” Dowden said. “Government needs to ensure that we are resilient in this digital age, ensuring that our structures take this into account, including considering those analogue capabilities that it makes sense to retain.”
-Cassie B., Survival News
China’s cyber army invading critical U.S. services like power grids, water utilities – report
Image Credit: Pixabay
China’s cyber army is invading critical U.S. services like the power grid, ports, pipelines, and water utilities, according to U.S. officials and security experts in the industry, The Washington Post reported.
China’s cyber army invading U.S. services has hacked two dozen entities in the past year
Hackers linked to China’s People’s Liberation Army have infiltrated the computer systems of around two dozen crucial entities in the past year, according to these industry experts.
These cyber intrusions are part of a broader plan to find ways to create panic, chaos, or disrupt logistics in case of a conflict between the U.S. and China in the Pacific, as per their statements.
Among the targets are a water utility in Hawaii, a major West Coast port, and at least one oil and gas pipeline, according to individuals familiar with the incidents, as reported by The Washington Post. The hackers also tried to hack into the operator of Texas’s power grid, which operates independently from the electrical systems in the rest of the country.
Hackers have targeted several entities outside the United States, including electric utilities, according to individuals who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter.
🚨AMERICA UNDER ATTACK: China Hackers infiltrate key U.S Services, power grids pic.twitter.com/47H1hhTkK6
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 11, 2023
“It is very clear that Chinese attempts to compromise critical infrastructure are in part to pre-position themselves to be able to disrupt or destroy that critical infrastructure in the event of a conflict, to either prevent the United States from being able to project power into Asia or to cause societal chaos inside the United States — to affect our decision-making around a crisis,” said Brandon Wales, executive director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
“That is a significant change from Chinese cyber activity from seven to 10 years ago that was focused primarily on political and economic espionage.”
Cyber intrusions and strategic implications amidst U.S.-China tensions
U.S. officials clarified that none of the cyber intrusions impacted industrial control systems responsible for critical functions like pumps or pistons, and they did not cause any disruptions.
However, the focus on Hawaii, which houses the Pacific Fleet, and at least one port along with logistics centers, indicates that the Chinese military aims to complicate U.S. efforts to transport troops and equipment to the region in case of a conflict over Taiwan.
These newly revealed details contribute to a better understanding of a cyber campaign known as the Volt Typhoon, initially identified about a year ago by the U.S. government. This revelation comes at a time when the relationship between the United States and China is more strained than it has been in decades.
Chinese military commanders refrained from communicating with their American counterparts for over a year, even as encounters between Chinese fighter jets and U.S. spy planes in the western Pacific increased significantly. It was only last month that President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to reinstate those communication channels.
-Brendan Taylor, Insider Paper
NHS Whistleblower Claims Patients Were Unjustly Euthanized to Falsely Inflate COVID Deaths For Pandemic Agenda
A NHS whistleblower has come out and claimed that NHS hospitals were not swamped during the Covid-19 epidemic, as claimed by authorities and the mainstream media.
The whistleblower also confirmed that the lack of care provided throughout the pandemic amounted to negligence and that the government and NHS bosses essentially instructed staff to let people die, or in some cases kill them, through the ‘End of Life Care’ program while falsely labeling the deaths as Covid-19-related.
This individual referred to as Dr. John, has worked in minor injuries and illness centres as well as in a primary care role throughout the pandemic.
Dr. John claims that he has “seen this mess evolve from the very beginning of the pandemic” and that hospitals were actually extremely quiet and almost empty during the first lockdown.
“I used to see an average of 20 patients per day, that dropped to 1 – 2 patients during the first lockdown. I have even witnessed an elderly lady with horrific broken bones come into the hospital three weeks after her accident as she was too scared of catching coronavirus to visit the hospital sooner. In the end, the pain overcame the fear.
“I have also assessed people with chest pains in their homes who would not go for further assessment as they were so scared of ‘the virus’ they would rather chance a heart attack than the infection or the loneliness of going to the hospital alone.”
NHS statistics certainly back up Dr John’s claims.
We examined the data for A&E attendance in the months of April (Lockdown 1) and November (Lockdown 2) for 2020 and compared this with April and November in 2018 and 2019 which showed A&E attendance during the first lockdown was 57% down on the previous year, and A&E attendance during lockdown 2 was 31% down on the previous year.
2018 – April – 1,984,369 attended A&E / November – 2,036,847 attended A&E
2019 – April – 2,112,165 attended A&E / November – 2,143,505 attended A&E
2020 – April – 916,581 attended A&E / November – 1,485,132 attended A&E
This significant drop in attendance suggests that people were too scared to visit the hospital due to the fear propaganda perpetuated in the mainstream media.
Furthermore, Dr. John also describes how changes in care policies have led to patients not receiving proper follow-up care, resulting in negative outcomes for patients and their families.
He states that usual follow-up visits were not done and parents were removing casts from their children’s broken limbs, “I dread to think the state of some of their limbs,”.
He also mentioned that a change in care policies led to one 80+–year-old woman being permanently disabled.
-Leading Report
15 U.S. States See “High” or “Very High” Rates Of Respiratory Infections
Fifteen states across the United States are now seeing “high” or “very high” rates of respiratory infections. The mainstream media has panicked the masses enough that people all over the country are going to the doctor for the mildest of cold symptoms.
People tend to be panicking about all respiratory diseases including flu, COVID, RSV, and the common cold. COVID-19 and flu hospitalizations appear to be trending upward while RSV hospitalizations appear to be to be stable, the data shows.
Weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations have reached levels not seen since the end of February with 22,513 recorded the week ending December 2nd. However, they remain lower than rates seen at the same time last year.
COVID-19 hospitalization rates are elevated for infants and young children and highest among senior citizens, meaning serious illness is mainly affecting the oldest and youngest Americans. COVID-19 deaths are currently stable, but experts have previously warned that because deaths are a lagging indicator, the number of fatalities due to the virus could rise over the next few weeks. -ABC News
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is actively tracking a rising COVID variant known as JN.1, a descendant of the BA.2.86 omicron subvariant, according to an update posted by the federal agency on Friday.
CDC projects that the variant JN.1 comprises an estimated 15–29% of in the United States as of December 8, 2023. More information about these projections, including why JN.1 is appearing on the Nowcast separately for the first time, is available in the section below.
CDC projects that JN.1 will continue to increase as a proportion of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences. It is currently the fastest-growing variant in the United States. –CDC.gov
The CDC ADMITS: PCR Tests CANNOT Differentiate Between Coronaviruses!
Variant JN.1 makes up an estimated 21% of COVID cases. While some scientists believe it may be more transmissible due to its continued growth, there is currently no evidence it is more severe than previous variants.
-Mac Slavo, SHTFplan
Watch:
Watch:
Watch: