Zerohedge

Authored by Matt Taibbi via Racket News,

The press watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, or FAIR.org, which I read regularly as a young reporter, weighed in on the NPR debate:

One could look at this threat as part of Trump’s general distrust of major media and desire to seek revenge against outlets he believes have been unfair to him… Going after public broadcasters is also a part of the neo-fascist playbook authoritarian leaders around the world are using to clamp down on dissent and keep the public in the dark, all in the name of protecting the people from partisan reporting. That’s largely because strong public media systems and open democracy go hand in hand.

Titled “Cuts to PBS, NPR Part of Authoritarian Playbook,” the above is either satire or written by someone consciously ignoring the history of state media. Yes, Car Talk and the MacNeil/Lehrer report were cool, but outlets like Neues Deustchland, Télé Zaïre, and Tung Padewat more often went “hand in hand” with fingernail factories or firing squads than democracy. It’s bizarre to see Americans trying to whitewash this.

The office of my first full-time reporting job with the Moscow Times was in the Pravda building. I used to spend lunch hours walking through the doors shown in the photo above, beering up in a cafeteria with writers from the sports section of Komsomolskaya Pravda, at the time the Guinness Book record-holder for world’s largest circulation. With over 21 million readers, “Komsomolka” sure as hell qualified as “strong public media,” but hardly went “hand in hand” with democracy. Like the rest of ex-Soviet media, its owed its circulation to decades of forcing insane lies on readers, like cheery dispatches about the “Doctor’s Plot” purges of 1953:

The Russian muckrakers of the 1990s threw themselves into the job like superheroes once they got a whiff of freedom, which in their case usually meant being disentangled from the state. That period, like the lives of many of those folks, didn’t last long. Vladimir Putin sent masked police into the last independent TV station on May 11, 2000, capping less than ten years of quasi-free speech. “Strong state media” remained, but actual journalism vanished.

People who grew up reading the BBC or AFP may imagine a correlation between a state media and democracy, but a more dependable indicator of a free society is whether or not obnoxious private journalism (like the Russian Top Secret, whose editor Artyom Borovik died in a mysterious plane crash) is allowed to proliferate. As for those once-storied European networks, most have now become parodies, operating in concert with multiple official review operations like BBC Verify or the “Trusted Flaggers” of the EU’s Digital Services Act. This layered messaging system essentially guarantees favorable coverage of public policy and is more dangerous than asking the listeners of stations like NPR to pay for media they like.

As anyone who’s read Hate Inc. knows, I was until recently a proponent of public incentives for journalism, which is necessary but hard to fund. The Post Office Act of 1792 charged publishers fractions of normal postage rates. Western expansion was aided by gratis rides on the Pony Express for “newspaper slips,” and the Communications Act of 1934 helped birth broadcast news by requiring licensees of public airwaves to operate in the “public interest, convenience, and necessity.” After the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 passed, we enjoyed an imperfect system that left room for public and private innovations, from Sesame Street to Radical Chic. Which was great, but how nuts do you have to be to think “strong state media” doesn’t have a dark side? Is the history of this stuff just not being taught?

The Trump administration has unveiled an early discretionary spending request ahead of its formal FY2026 budget submission. The proposal aims to cut discretionary funding by $140 billion – roughly 0.5% of GDP, and significantly shift the balance between defense and non-defense spending.

According to Goldman Sachs’ Alec Phillips, the proposal would reallocate $119 billion (0.4% of GDP) from non-defense agencies to defense and border-security-related activities. This includes a $163 billion allocation for FY2026 as part of a broader $325 billion funding assumption for defense and border security within a forthcoming budget reconciliation package. Non-defense agencies – excluding departments such as Homeland Security and Justice – would face an average cut of 23%.

Yet, these headline figures may exaggerate the near-term fiscal impact, as Congress is likely to authorize higher spending than the White House proposes, resulting in only a modest 1% decline in discretionary spending in real terms for FY2026.

Proposed Shift from Non-Defense to Defense Spending

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing a $140 billion reduction in discretionary funding, equivalent to 0.5% of GDP, for FY2026. Of this, $119 billion (0.4% of GDP) would be shifted from non-defense to defense spending, with civilian agencies outside of Homeland Security and Justice facing average cuts of 23%.

This marks a sharp shift in tone from previous administrations, including the first Trump term, which often signaled concern about the deficit but ultimately supported expansive spending. As Academy Securities notes:

“Unlike in Trump 1.0 (and pretty much in every other administration which all claimed to be somewhat cautious on the deficit but then spent on everything), there is austerity here.”

The proposal assumes Congress will provide $325 billion in funding for defense and border security in the upcoming reconciliation package, with $163 billion allocated for FY2026.

Realized Spending Cuts Will Likely Be Smaller

Despite the headline cuts, Phillips anticipates only a modest decline in actual spending from this segment in FY2026 for several reasons:

• Delayed outlays: Agencies typically spend appropriated funds over multiple years. Historically, just over half of fiscal year appropriations are spent in the same year.

• Expiration of emergency funds: Most of the proposed net reduction reflects the non-renewal of $118 billion in emergency spending passed in late 2024. Goldman had not expected that amount to be renewed, while the Congressional Budget Office projects the spending out of those funds to be even slower than usual.

• Slow disbursement of past emergency funds: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that only half of the 2024 emergency funds would be spent in 2025–2026.

These points suggest that the actual decline in spending will be far smaller than top-line figures imply.

From Academy Securities’ vantage point, that could help assuage markets:

“That should help interest rates if it looks like the budget can progress without the austerity measures being dramatically reduced (always a possibility in D.C.).”

Legislative Timing Likely to Delay Final Budget

Phillips projects that Congress is unlikely to settle spending totals for this segment of the budget until much later in 2025. A reconciliation bill that includes supplemental funds for defense and border security is not expected before early August, while standard appropriations bills could take even longer.

This raises the risk of a government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on October 1, though analysts expect the government to operate under continuing resolutions (CRs) that keep funding flat in nominal terms – possibly well into 2026.

As Academy notes, these delays may begin to have market effects:

“Negotiations will start to move markets in the coming weeks.”

Budget Deficit Expected to Hold Steady Despite Spending Cuts

Even with slightly lower discretionary outlays, Goldman forecasts a 1% real decline in the portion of federal spending that contributes to GDP. However, this is outweighed by rising mandatory spending, which continues to grow due to entitlements and interest obligations.

On the revenue side, Goldman expects:

• Modestly higher tariff revenue, but

• Offsetting declines in income and payroll taxes, due to both a downgraded growth outlook and the likely extension of Trump-era tax cuts.

Academy Securities adds a key nuance:

“Only additional or new tax cuts will really be stimulative. The extension of existing cuts… won’t be a boost to the economy since virtually no one is adjusting their spending on the assumption that those won’t be extended.”

In other words, extending the current tax cuts may prevent a drag on consumption, but will not provide meaningful new stimulus. Conversely, failure to extend them could cause a sharp pullback.

Ultimately, Goldman projects:

• FY2026 deficit: $1.95 trillion, or 6.2% of GDP

• FY2027 deficit: $2.15 trillion, or 6.6% of GDP

Bottom Line

The 2026 budget proposal introduces a rhetorical commitment to austerity that differentiates it from past White House strategies. But procedural hurdles, slow disbursement of prior-year funds, and political resistance in Congress suggest that the real-world impact on fiscal aggregates may be modest—at least in the near term.

Markets are likely to begin reacting as budget negotiations progress, particularly as the fate of tax policy and defense spending becomes clearer.

Authored by Helen Partz via CoinTelegraph.com,

Tether AI, the forthcoming artificial intelligence platform from stablecoin giant Tether, will feature payments in major cryptocurrencies, including USDt and Bitcoin.

Tether CEO Paolo Adroino took to X on May 5 to tease the imminent launch of Tether AI, the company’s new AI platform designed to offer “personal infinite intelligence.”

According to Ardoino, Tether’s AI platform will be integrated with USDt and Bitcoin payments, allowing users to make transactions directly through a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.

Source: Paolo Ardoino

The initiative builds on Tether’s December 2024 announcement that it was developing a website for the AI tool, targeting a launch by the end of the first quarter of 2025.

Support of “any hardware and device”

Ardoino emphasized that Tether AI will not use application programming interface (API) keys and will not depend on centralized control points.

Instead, Tether AI will offer a “fully open-source AI runtime” that will run on an “unstoppable peer-to-peer network,” and be “fully modular and composable.”

Additionally, Tether AI will be capable of adapting and evolving on “any hardware and device,” he said.

P2P crypto payments enabled with WDK

The announcement also said Tether AI’s P2P crypto payments will be “infused” with its open-source wallet development kit (WDK), launched in November 2024.

Tether’s WDK is a toolkit that enables developers to build mobile, desktop and web wallet applications, enabling self-custodial, or non-custodial, holding of USDt and Bitcoin.

An excerpt from Tether’s WDK announcement in November 2024. Source: Tether

Unlike custodial wallets, self-custodial wallet solutions allow users to control assets completely, eliminating reliance on third-party custody solutions for completing transactions.

Tether doubles down on AI

Tether AI is part of a broader strategy to expand the company’s footprint in artificial intelligence.

In April 2024, Tether announced company restructuring to introduce new divisions beyond stablecoin development, launching Tether Data, a dedicated unit focused on AI and P2P development.

In February, Ardoino announced that its AI division was working on a series of AI apps, including AI Translate, AI Voice Assistant and AI Bitcoin Wallet Assistant.

Source: Paolo Ardoino (X post translated by Google)

According to Ardoino, Tether AI has one key goal of providing the “ideal technological foundation” to achieve the vision of AI described by Isaac Asimov, one of the most influential science fiction authors about AI, known for works such as I, Robot, The Robot Series and more.

“AI will, in the coming decades, become part of the very fabric of the universe,” Ardoino said in another X post, written in Italian.

Update (0825ET): Romania’s prime minister will resign on Monday after a conservative opposition leader who aligned himself with Donald Trump scored a resounding first-round victory in the Black Sea nation’s presidential election.

Bloomberg reports, that Marcel Ciolacu informed coalition partners of the decision to submit his resignation in a meeting Monday in Bucharest, according to people familiar with the decision who spoke on condition of anonymity. The government will be led by an interim premier until coalition parties choose Ciolacu’s successor. There are no current plans for an early election.

The prime minister’s decision was a response to the electoral defeat of the coalition’s preferred candidate in Sunday’s first-round contest, in which George Simion of the ultranationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians secured more than 40%.

He’ll face off against Nicusor Dan, the centrist mayor of Bucharest.

As Goldman notes, as a result of his outperformance relative to opinion polls in the first round, the probability of Simion winning the second round has risen sharply in betting markets, from 30% probability prior to the vote to 69%, with Dan at 31%.

As a reminder, the contest was the second attempt to choose a president after the shock victory of another far-right fringe candidate last year prompted accusations of Kremlin interference and the top court’s cancellation of the ballot. The unexpected first-round victory in November of Calin Georgescu, who has been banned from running in Sunday’s race, triggered Romania’s biggest political crisis since the fall of communism.

*  *  *

In the latest chapter in the country’s months-long political drama that has seen an election thrown out and the winner charged with political crimes, 38-year-old conservative nationalist George Simion decisively won the first round of balloting in Romania’s “do-over” presidential election, sending him to a May 18 runoff where he’ll face centrist Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan. 

Simion has likened his political philosophy to Donald Trump’s, saying his Alliance for the Union of Romanians party is “a Trumpist party,” and promising to “Make Romania Great Again.” The win is a buzzkill for Western leftists who’ve been enjoying the afterglow of comeback victories in Canada and Australia. 

 

Though his first-round win was expected, Simion far outperformed the polling, taking 41% of the vote, versus the 30% projected by a recent poll of polls. Dan took 21%, edging Crin Antonescu, a candidate from the current governing coalition, who took 20%. Simion clearly has the inside track for the runoff, as observers say he’s likely to gain quite a few votes from members of other parties whose beliefs align more closely with Simion than Dan. “Simion has a bigger pool of votes than Dan at the moment,” political scientist Cristian Pirvulescu told Reuters.

Simion called the election a “victory for Romanian dignity…Despite the obstacles, despite the manipulation, despite a press paid to demean us day after day, Romanians have stood up.” The election has been closely watched by Western powers, as it could reshape Romania’s relationships with the European Union and NATO. 

However, while he’s criticized both entities, don’t expect Simion to usher Romania out of either of them. In various comments leading up to the election, he discounted the idea of Romania exiting NATO or the EU, sounded alarms over the supposed Russian menace, advocated continued sanctions against Moscow, and embraced increased European military spending.  Consider these Simion quotes from an interview with the Financial Times: 

Simion has promised, if elected, to help secure a position in Romanian government for Calin Georgescu — perhaps as prime minister. In a huge, poll-defying upset in November, nationalist Georgescu won the first round of balloting in Romania’s first go at this presidential election. Then, just two days before the runoff, the country’s Constitutional Court threw out the election and ordered it to be started anew — based on shaky allegations that his victory was the result of Russian interference. 

Georgescu was barred from running again. In February, Georgescu was arrested and questioned as he faced Orwellian allegations of disseminating “false information” and “incitement to actions against the constitutional order.” Upon his release from custody, he was forbidden from appearing on mass media or creating social media accounts. Huge protests followed each move by the government to banish Georgescu from politics and discourse. In addition to charges of illegal campaign tactics, he’s also been charged with helping to establish an organization “with a fascist, racist or xenophobic character.”

Campaigning last fall, Georgescu pledged to restore Romanian sovereignty and put an end to what he characterizes as subservience to NATO and the EU. He took a hard line against the presence of NATO’s missile defense system that’s based in Deveselu, southern Romania, calling it a “shame of diplomacy” that is more confrontational than peace-promoting. He has also pushed for Romania to pursue a non-interventionist policy in the Ukraine war, and said US arms-makers were manipulating the conflict.

Whatever his degree of nationalism, Simion is poised to become the third nationalist leading an eastern European country, alongside Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico — that is, unless the leftists once again find a way to bar a popular right-wing candidate from victory.  

Parts of Oregon are experiencing pollution levels deemed “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” according to an AirNow map from agencies including the EPA and NOAA.

Affected areas include Baker City and the Wood River Valley, northeast of Medford, according to Newsweek.

The Newsweek report says cites health officials who say that children, seniors, and people with respiratory conditions face increased risks.

A South Coast AQMD spokesperson previously told Newsweek that exposure to particle pollution “can cause premature death in people with heart or lung disease, cause heart attacks, aggravate asthma, decrease lung function, and cause respiratory symptoms like coughing and difficulty breathing.”

The Air Quality Index (AQI) categorizes pollution on a 0–500 scale. Levels from 101–150 (orange) indicate air that is “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”

Scores from 0–50 (green) indicate good air quality, while 51–100 (yellow) is moderate, with possible risks for sensitive people. Levels of 101–150 (orange) are unhealthy for sensitive groups like children and those with heart or lung conditions. Readings from 151–200 (red) are unhealthy for everyone, 201–300 (purple) are very unhealthy with emergency health warnings, and 301–500 (maroon) are hazardous, posing serious risks to the entire population.

Jonathan Grigg, professor of pediatric respiratory and environmental medicine, noted: “There are vulnerable groups and classically they are children because they’ve got an extra issue to do with their lungs developing.” He added, “There are also very clear links between inhaling particles and earlier death from both respiratory and cardiovascular diseases,” and that air pollution worsens conditions like asthma.

Air quality levels remain under close watch and are subject to change with the weather.

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Pennsylvania-based Aurora Innovation, Inc. has launched commercial self-driving trucking service in the state of Texas, conducting customer deliveries between Dallas and Houston starting this week, the company said in a May 1 statement.

The driverless trucking service will use Aurora’s flagship product “Aurora Driver,” a self-driving system that can “see over 450 meters ahead,” according to the company. Aurora says the truck is capable of spotting and reacting to pedestrians “up to 11 seconds sooner than human drivers at highway speeds at night.”

“To date, the Aurora Driver has completed over 1,200 miles without a driver,” said the statement. “The milestone makes Aurora the first company to operate a commercial self-driving service with heavy-duty trucks on public roads.”

“Aurora plans to expand its driverless service to El Paso, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, by the end of 2025.”

Aurora’s launch customers are logistics companies Uber Freight and Hirschbach Motor Lines, both of which have had “long-standing supervised commercial pilots with Aurora.”

Aurora Driver is reportedly an SAE L4 self-driving system that is being deployed for long-haul trucking for the first time.

SAE L4 refers to Level 4 of the nonprofit SAE International’s measure of driving automation that runs from Level 0 to 5.

At the L4 level, the features of the driverless system can “drive the vehicle under limited conditions and will not operate unless all required conditions are met,” according to the SAE website.

Pedals and steering wheels may or may not be installed in SAE L4 vehicles. The automated features of the system won’t require a person sitting inside the vehicle to take over driving.

“We founded Aurora to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly,” said Chris Urmson, CEO and co-founder of Aurora. “Riding in the back seat for our inaugural trip was an honor of a lifetime—the Aurora Driver performed perfectly.”

Meanwhile, autonomous trucks pose a critical employment issue for truck drivers.

In an April 8 statement, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the largest labor unions in the United States, said they testified at the Nevada state capitol, asking lawmakers to support Senate Bill 395.

The bill requires that all commercial vehicles weighing over 26,000 pounds have a trained human safety operator behind the wheel.

“For Big Tech companies to think they can come into any state and replace the jobs of hardworking union members with this dangerous and inferior technology is an insult to professional drivers everywhere,” said Peter Finn, president of Teamsters Joint Council 7.

“SB 395 is critical to protecting the middle class. That is why we are demanding that Nevada lawmakers vote in favor of this legislation.”

The bill passed the Nevada Senate on April 16 and is currently under consideration in the Assembly, where it was recently referred to the Committee on Growth and Infrastructure.

Aurora Safety, DOT Relaxes Rules

Aurora said its flagship truck is fitted with a powerful computer and sensors that enable it to operate safely on highways.

“In over four years of supervised pilot hauls, the Aurora Driver has delivered over 10,000 customer loads across three million autonomous miles,” the company said.

“It has also demonstrated extraordinary capabilities, including predicting red light runners, avoiding collisions, and detecting pedestrians in the dark hundreds of meters away.”

Before beginning operations, Aurora had completed a “safety case” for its vehicles. A safety case is a documented assurance of the vehicle maintaining safety.

The company said it had briefed several government entities about Aurora Driver’s readiness for driverless operations, including the National Transportation Safety Board, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Texas Department of Transportation.

Aurora’s driverless truck service launch comes as the Department of Transportation (DOT) said on April 4 that it would ease some of the safety regulations involved in the development of self-driving vehicles.

Specifically, the agency will expand the Automated Vehicle Exemption Program to domestically-produced automated vehicles (AVs) as well. The program currently only applies to imported AVs.

“This Administration understands that we’re in a race with China to out-innovate, and the stakes couldn’t be higher,” said Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy in a April 24 statement. “As part of DOT’s innovation agenda, our new framework will slash red tape and move us closer to a single national standard that spurs innovation and prioritizes safety.”

Advocacy group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety criticized the decision, saying that “troubling incidents” involving automated vehicles have already occurred in multiple cities.

If proper safety regulations, safeguards, transparency, and accountability are not maintained regarding the issue, the deployment of AVs could result in “deadly consequences,” it said.

John Bozzella, CEO of Alliance for Automotive Innovation, welcomed the DOT move, calling it “Unequivocally good—and overdue—news,” the group said in an April 24 statement.

“Yes, we’ve got to move smartly and safely. But this announcement shows the administration is also proceeding with a sense of urgency, so we don’t cede AV leadership to China and other countries. Time is of the essence,” he added.

In the latest chapter in the country’s months-long political drama that has seen an election thrown out and the winner charged with political crimes, 38-year-old conservative nationalist George Simion decisively won the first round of balloting in Romania’s “do-over” presidential election, sending him to a May 18 runoff where he’ll face centrist Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan. 

Simion has likened his political philosophy to Donald Trump’s, saying his Alliance for the Union of Romanians party is “a Trumpist party,” and promising to “Make Romania Great Again.” The win is a buzzkill for Western leftists who’ve been enjoying the afterglow of comeback victories in Canada and Australia. 

Though his first-round win was expected, Simion far outperformed the polling, taking 41% of the vote, versus the 30% projected by a recent poll of polls. Dan took 21%, edging Crin Antonescu, a candidate from the current governing coalition, who took 20%. Simion clearly has the inside track for the runoff, as observers say he’s likely to gain quite a few votes from members of other parties whose beliefs align more closely with Simion than Dan. “Simion has a bigger pool of votes than Dan at the moment,” political scientist Cristian Pirvulescu told Reuters.

Simion called the election a “victory for Romanian dignity…Despite the obstacles, despite the manipulation, despite a press paid to demean us day after day, Romanians have stood up.” The election has been closely watched by Western powers, as it could reshape Romania’s relationships with the European Union and NATO. 

However, while he’s criticized both entities, don’t expect Simion to usher Romania out of either of them. In various comments leading up to the election, he discounted the idea of Romania exiting NATO or the EU, sounded alarms over the supposed Russian menace, advocated continued sanctions against Moscow, and embraced increased European military spending.  Consider these Simion quotes from an interview with the Financial Times: 

Simion has promised, if elected, to help secure a position in Romanian government for Calin Georgescu — perhaps as prime minister. In a huge, poll-defying upset in November, nationalist Georgescu won the first round of balloting in Romania’s first go at this presidential election. Then, just two days before the runoff, the country’s Constitutional Court threw out the election and ordered it to be started anew — based on shaky allegations that his victory was the result of Russian interference. 

Georgescu was barred from running again. In February, Georgescu was arrested and questioned as he faced Orwellian allegations of disseminating “false information” and “incitement to actions against the constitutional order.” Upon his release from custody, he was forbidden from appearing on mass media or creating social media accounts. Huge protests followed each move by the government to banish Georgescu from politics and discourse. In addition to charges of illegal campaign tactics, he’s also been charged with helping to establish an organization “with a fascist, racist or xenophobic character.”

Campaigning last fall, Georgescu pledged to restore Romanian sovereignty and put an end to what he characterizes as subservience to NATO and the EU. He took a hard line against the presence of NATO’s missile defense system that’s based in Deveselu, southern Romania, calling it a “shame of diplomacy” that is more confrontational than peace-promoting. He has also pushed for Romania to pursue a non-interventionist policy in the Ukraine war, and said US arms-makers were manipulating the conflict.

Whatever his degree of nationalism, Simion is poised to become the third nationalist leading an eastern European country, alongside Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico — that is, unless the leftists once again find a way to bar a popular right-wing candidate from victory.  

Millions of Americans, including those among the lowest income brackets, truly have no idea how good life is for them.  The grass is always greener somewhere else in the world until people actually take the plunge and move to the neighbor’s house only to discover it’s crack den.  

The self hatred that progressives feel over being American and living in the US is a first-world luxury that few others can afford.  Most of humanity doesn’t have time to dwell obsessively on their nation’s global image; they are too busy barely surviving.  The argument often regurgitated by over-privileged activists on Reddit forums and in college classrooms is that American “exceptionalism” is problematic because there’s nothing exceptional about America.

This claim is debunked by the fact that most of the rest of the world wants to come to the US and very few people want to leave.  Those that do leave are usually among the wealthiest, or, they are gullible and think they can find something better overseas.  It usually doesn’t go well for them.

One black leftist recently figured this out after moving to Africa.  She assumed she would fit right in, but now says she actually prefers dealing with American “racism” over the scammers, grifters and of course, the lack of snacks.  Her complaints have gone viral because they expose the common leftist delusion that the US is somehow one of the worst places on Earth.  They simply don’t understand how lucky they are until they step outside of their echo chamber.

People seriously don’t realize how good they have it in America.

Look what this woman has to say after she moved to Africa. 👇 pic.twitter.com/9SYmQs9sLe

— Declaration of Memes (@LibertyCappy) May 4, 2025

A minimal amount of research will drudge up numerous accounts similar to this one – Most black Americans simply cannot assimilate after relocating to Africa and most Americans don’t do well in regions devoid of western culture.  The ultra-rich are fine wherever they go, but middle class expatriats have difficult experiences.  Black comedians and celebrities have been trying to warn their community for decades about this.  The venerable Patrice O’Neil didn’t mince words on the idea of “going back to Africa”.

Comedian Patrice ‘O Neal spitting facts on the kakhole that is Africa pic.twitter.com/53sFaKEcil

— Kgomotso #MaAfrikaBorwaPele (@SA1st_PSAF) May 2, 2023

When confronting the issue of racism in America, it should be noted that most of the world treats Black Americans differently.  Not necessarily because of skin color but because of their cultural habits and behaviors.

Charlestone White explains why no one likes Black Americans 😳

“We are disrespectful, arrogant and loud” pic.twitter.com/r5As8OEkGH

— Charging… (@RedPillSayian) December 12, 2024

Perhaps what black leftists in America interpret as “racism” is actually cultural burnout; a national or even global acknowledgment by other groups that they are tired of dealing with all the baggage that the black American community tends to bring with them?  And if this is the case, then it’s unlikely that there are many other places in the world that will give them the time of day the way American society does. 

Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong is back with an avalanche of problems coming to the world starting in 2025.  

Depressions, defaults, debt crises and wars are going to sweep the globe, according to Armstrong and his “Socrates” predictive computer program.  Armstrong has called every big economic turn in the past three decades.  He predicted Trump would win the 2024 Presidential Election in a landslide many months ahead of November.  Armstrong called the huge stock crash of 1987 to the day.  He predicted the dot com boom and bust in 2000.  He was spot on calling for the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, and now, we are headed for more big turns.  Armstrong says,

“The last one turned on May 7th of last year.  That was the same day Putin had his inauguration, and it was the same day a couple of Ukrainian colonels tried to assassinate Zelensky.  From there, we are turning down into a global recession, which won’t bottom until about 2028.  Central banks started cutting rates right after that, and I think Canada was the first.  It’s going to be more of a depression in Europe, a very sharp recession in China, and it won’t be as bad in the United States. . . . When you create a debt crisis, that’s what causes a depression.  The stock market going down is the least damage to an economy.”

Europe has trillions of dollars of unpayable debt, and Armstrong says, “The leadership knows if they don’t have war, the people will come after them.”

What will be the next big turn?  Spoiler alert, it has to do with war in Ukraine and Russia.  Armstrong says,

“Europe does not want peace.  Look at things the EU has said: that Russia is too big and has to be broken up.  I have very good contacts very high up, and they really do think they can conquer Russia.  It has $75 trillion in natural resource assets.  They will then control that . . . Once they get their hands on that . . . they will rise to the top of countries of the world,  like the Roman Empire will be resurrected or something.”

But instead of the EU winning a war against Russia, Armstrong predicts, 

“They will lose bigtime.  The third time is not going to be the charm. . . . The euro will disappear, not the dollar.”

The timing of the next big turn for war?  Armstrong says,

“After May 15, war is turning up (in Ukraine) and it will be turning up into 2026.  If I am Putin, there is no way I am signing a peace deal.  Putin signed a peace deal (in 2015) and what did they do?  They built an army while Russia didn’t.”

Armstrong predicts China will come in on the side of Russia, and there could be as many as “one billion dead and wounded” as a result.  

What should the US do?  Armstrong says, 

“I have been talking to people in Washington, and I have told them to ‘Get the hell out of NATO.’  There are plenty of people warming up to that idea.”

Armstrong predicts if that happens, capital will leave Europe and flow into the US as a safe haven.

Armstrong also thinks gold will hit $5,000 per ounce at the next target, but it will not hit that price until war takes off in Europe and Ukraine.  

Armstrong also thinks the Democrat party will split in two, and they will not retake the House of Representatives in 2026.

Does the conflict between Pakistan and India blow up or blow over?  Armstrong says, “My computer (Socrates) says it blows up.”

There is much more in the 64-minute in-depth interview.

Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with Martin Armstrong as he gives his analysis on war, default, depression and unpayable debt that will make a huge mess for the world for 5.3.25.

*  *  *

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There is free information, analysis and articles on ArmstrongEconomics.com.

We think it’s time we can officially present the ESG grift – which we have spoken out against and called a scam for the better part of the last decade – dead.

The latest casualty? BP’s top sustainability executive, Giulia Chierchia, will leave the company on June 1, marking another high-profile exit and an obvious signpost in the oil giant’s sharp pivot away from green energy and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, according to The Guardian.

Chierchia, who joined BP in 2020 to help steer it toward a “net zero” future, was hired by then-CEO Bernard Looney and became the architect of the company’s now-defunct sustainability strategy.

Her departure will not trigger a replacement; instead, her team will be folded into other business units to “simplify our structure” and enable “quicker decision-making and clearer accountabilities,” BP said.

Chierchia’s exit follows closely on the heels of BP Chairman Helge Lund’s announcement that he too would step down next year. Both executives had come under growing scrutiny after BP formally abandoned its green energy transition in favor of doubling down on oil and gas, a shift driven by falling profits and pressure from shareholders.

“In February, we announced a fundamental reset of our strategy – to grow the upstream, focus the downstream and invest with discipline in the transition – and we have already made significant progress,” said CEO Murray Auchincloss.

The Guardian writes that at BP’s latest annual general meeting, Lund faced a shareholder revolt over his role in the collapse of the green strategy. Meanwhile, activist hedge fund Elliott Management has taken a 5% stake in the company and reportedly demanded a full reversal of its low-carbon investments and an overhaul of its board.

BP’s financial performance has deteriorated, with first-quarter 2025 profits nearly halved to $1.4 billion from $2.7 billion a year prior. Its full-year 2024 profits fell by a third to $8.9 billion. Shares dropped over 2% on the news, continuing a trend of underperformance relative to competitors since Looney first charted a net-zero course.

In response, the company has pledged to slash spending, particularly in renewable ventures, and accelerate asset sales. It plans to cut 2025 capital spending by $500 million to $14.5 billion and raise divestments to as much as $4 billion this year. The goal is to offload $20 billion in assets by the end of 2027.

BP’s ESG era—once held up as a model for oil industry transformation—is now officially over, buried under investor discontent, falling returns, and an unmistakable return to fossil fuel fundamentals.