Tag: corporations

Boeing, Money Printing, & The Military-Industrial Complex

Boeing’s commercial jets struggle, but its military machines thrive, all fueled by endless fiat money…

Not-so-mysteriously, none of the problems now associated with Boeing passenger planes seem to be affecting the weapons of annihilation they produce for the Military-Industrial Complex’s borderless global war machine, which is fueled by infinite fiat money.

Myriad problems with Boeing passenger jets have put the company into the news just about every day for months, but the company makes much more than just planes for commercial passenger airlines. Boeing is also a major aerospace contractor that produces fighter jets, attack helicopters, predator drones, missiles, and even the president’s airplane, Air Force One. 

To be fair, Boeing’s record as of late beyond commercial jets is far from perfect — its Starliner, a crewed craft designed to bring astronauts to the ISS, was plagued with issues on the way to the space station that are now being investigated by its astronauts. And Boeing’s main rival in the space industry, SpaceX, has had its own problems with similar craft.

But when was the last time you heard about an Apache helicopter breaking down on its way to deliver a payload of highly-combustible “democracy” to a country unfortunate enough to be on the ever-expanding list of nation-states roped into unnecessary wars waged by the US or one of its global proxies?

Somehow, the systemic quality control issues at Boeing appear much more likely to get a handful of hapless air travelers injured than to cause problems with a military operation that has the “righteous” cause of protecting the petrodollar hegemon. The printing of fiat money fuels both phenomena in different ways.

Boeing’s corner-cutting and quality control issues are just one symptom of living in a fiat money system. As the dollar is debased, the incentive and ability to create solid, long-lasting products is degraded in kind. Manufacturing costs rocket upward as supplies, materials, logistics, storage, maintenance, insurance, wage demands, and every other production factor all increase, leading to a degradation in quality across the process as the irresistible temptation intensifies to prioritize minimizing costs over producing reliable, well-made, quality goods such as safe airplanes. 

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Congress Must Reject Monsanto-Bayer Plan to Avoid Liability for Poisoning Humans, Environment

Millions of American users of glyphosate-based Roundup have likely assumed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would never have approved the pesticide unless it was safe.

But the science-based truth has never been as cut and dried as the EPA and Bayer, which bought Roundup maker Monsanto in 2018, have made it sound.

In a series of trials across the country, juries — and the public –— have learned that despite the safety claims by Bayer and the EPA, hundreds of studies by independent scientists link glyphosate herbicides to serious health harms, including cancer.

Even though Bayer maintains that its glyphosate products are safe and not carcinogenic, the company has thus far agreed to pay out more than $10 billion in settlement costs to tens of thousands of glyphosate users suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma and thousands of lawsuits remain.

In an effort to block further litigation, the chemical giant has turned its focus to getting federal and state legislation passed to block Roundup users from suing the company for damages.

According to a recent Washington Post article, Bayer helped draft language for a legislative measure that would limit the types of lawsuits brought by Roundup users.

That measure is included in the U.S. House of Representatives version of the 2024 Farm Bill, which is slated to be finalized later this year. The company has also been pushing lawmakers in several states to pass similar measures.

Key to Bayer’s messaging to legislators is that, because glyphosate is EPA-approved, research showing its harms should be rejected. But the process by which the EPA approved glyphosate decades ago has never been reassuring to independent scientists such as myself.

EPA scientists conducting initial assessments of glyphosate in the 1980s discovered several mice dosed with the pesticide developed rare kidney tumors, prompting the scientists to confirm the pesticide’s link to cancer.

Then the EPA’s pesticides office did what it often does: It ignored the troubling research and the recommendation of its own scientists and approved the pesticide without acknowledging its documented link to cancer.

Even the EPA’s subsequent assessments and reapprovals of the pesticide, required every 15 years, have been plagued by questionable science. In 2022 a federal appeals court ruled that the agency’s finding that glyphosate has no link to cancer violated its own cancer guidelines and “was not supported by substantial evidence.”

Now it’s these problematic EPA endorsements that Bayer insists should be the basis for putting limits on the lawsuits glyphosate users can file.

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PA Trump Rally Shooter Building Reportedly Owned by BlackRock, Managed by Executives from Pfizer

At the Trump Rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last Saturday, a sniper took aim at President Trump, wounding him, killing retired firefighter Corey Comperatore, and seriously wounding two others MAGA patriots.

The building that the sniper was on, part of a complex that also included other snipers working for federal authorities who have not yet been disclosed, is owned by a company called “American Glass Research.” The building is at 615 Whitestown Road in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The location is currently being guarded by the Pennsylvania State Police, and as of Tuesday they had FBI Agents still on the ground. Which is odd, considering that there wasn’t much evidence to be collected on-site according to the official narrative.

American Glass Research has now been identified as partially-owned by BlackRock investments, and whose Executives are formerly with Pfizer. The company bills itself as “a full service independent research and testing laboratory with expertise in testing, design analysis, analytical testing, consulting, training, inspection, product liability and auditing for the glass container industry.”

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DeSantis Anti-Marijuana Legalization Campaign Gets $100K Donation From Cannabis Exec As Hemp Businesses Pledge $5M To State GOP

Amid new reporting that Florida-based hemp businesses are rallying behind Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) campaign to defeat a marijuana legalization initiative—with an apparent pledge from hemp executives to donate $5 million to the Republican party as it works to oppose the effort—one particular cannabis-affiliated company has come under the spotlight after contributing a $100,000 boost to the governor’s so-called “Florida Freedom Fund” after its initially tepid fundraising start.

This comes weeks after the governor vetoed a bill to ban most consumable hemp products in a move that some suspect was at least partly meant to garner the industry’s favor in his anti-marijuana crusade.

DeSantis launched the political action committee—which is targeting both the legalization measure and a separate abortion rights initiative that will appear on the November ballot—last month. It has about $121,000 on hand, the bulk of which comes from POB Ventures, which is linked to a medical cannabis worker training institution and a chain of hemp businesses.

In an exclusive interview with Marijuana Moment, the CEO of POB Ventures, Patrick O’Brien, said he’s not against adult-use cannabis legalization in principle—but is instead troubled by the specific language of the ballot initiative because it provides an option, rather than a mandate, for regulators to approve additional licenses. He suggested the framework could create a monopolized cannabis economy that primarily benefits the state’s existing medical marijuana companies, including the multi-state operators such as Trulieve that have primarily financed the legalization campaign.

“If you look very closely at the writing, they just messed up—and it was with full intent to mess this up,” O’Brien, who also runs the education platform Sativa University and the cannabis product company Chronic Guru, argued. “All they had to do was make a simple change from ‘may’ issue more licenses to ‘must’ issue more licenses, and we would have had a recreational market.”

By giving regulators that licensing discretion, the measure could effectively kneecap prospective businesses outside of the existing medical cannabis space, he claims.

But there’s been criticism of the major contribution to the DeSantis PAC, which O’Brien says he will continue to support beyond the initial donation.

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Democrats Downplay Influence of Major Advertising Alliance’s Demonetization Blacklists

During a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing, several Democrats characterized scrutiny of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) (a World Economic Forum-affiliated pro-censorship advertising alliance that blacklists brands, creators, and content from advertising if they’re deemed to violate its “brand safety” rules) as “dangerous” and a “sham.”

GARM has faced growing scrutiny over the way its practices have resulted in certain viewpoints being demonetized. Before this July 10 hearing, House Republicans released a report showing that GARM and its members had “carefully” monitored a number of conservative outlets, placed conservative media outlet The Daily Wire on an advertising exclusion list, and pushed for advertising restrictions on the popular “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.

And the intention of this hearing was to respond to these allegations and examine “whether existing civil and criminal penalties and current antitrust law enforcement efforts are sufficient to deter anticompetitive collusion in online advertising.”

But, as has often been the case during hearings related to huge corporations and alliances targeting smaller businesses and entities, Democrats downplayed, dismissed, or outright denied the concerns that were raised.

“This hearing has nothing to do with antitrust laws, since the majority’s allegations wither under even the most basic antitrust analysis,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said during his opening statement. “This is instead another dangerous effort by the majority to bully companies into promoting and supporting far-right extremist views, views that brands understandably do…not want to be associated with. In this case, the majority seeks to undermine companies’ First Amendment rights and to make it harder for them to avoid monetizing online and offline harm through advertising.”

He continued by suggesting that those who have shone a light on GARM’s practices are engaging in a “made-up scheme,” accused Republicans of pushing a “conspiracy theory that conservative content is being censored,” and claimed that there’s “no evidence” to support allegations of wrongdoing.

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Green terrorists are stealing property in America’s heartland to build massive CO2 pipeline terraforming machines for destruction of photosynthesis on Earth

Summit Carbon Solutions is back at it in Iowa trying to steal private farmland for use in its massive “carbon capture” scam.

The Iowa Utility Board (IUB) reportedly approved a proposal by Summit to build a carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline that stretches across five Midwestern states: Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The pipeline is slated to cover 2,500 miles – the portion in Iowa is supposed to be 680 miles long – and connect with 57 ethanol plants, a spokeswoman from the company revealed.

The IUB decision will allow Summit to use eminent domain to steal 859 land parcels from private landowners, the vast majority of whom are opposed to the “green” project, which aims to bury CO2 underground so it cannot “pollute” the environment.

“After weighing numerous factors for and against Summit Carbon’s petition, the Board found that the service to be provided by Summit Carbon will promote the public convenience and necessity,” UIB said in its decision.

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House Report Reveals GARM’s Role in Stifling Online Discourse

A new report from the House Judiciary Committee released on Wednesday, and confirming our previous reporting, casts the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) under scrutiny, suggesting potential violations of federal antitrust laws due to its outsized influence in the advertising sector.

We obtained a copy of the report for you here.

Established in 2019 by Rob Rakowitz and the World Federation of Advertisers, GARM has been accused of leveraging this influence to systematically restrict certain viewpoints online and sideline platforms advocating divergent views.

The organization, initially conceived to manage the surge of free speech online, is reported to coordinate with major industry players including Proctor & Gamble, Mars, Unilever, Diageo, GroupM, and others. The collaboration appears to stretch across the largest ad agency holding companies worldwide, known collectively as the Big Six. Such collaboration raises concerns about a concerted effort to police content, especially content that challenges mainstream narratives.

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“Kind Of Like Communist Housing Meets Corporate Housing”: Lennar Showcases New Texas Home-Builds

Lennar, one of the largest homebuilders in the US, showcases beautifully rendered images online of its new single-family homes in the Fort Worth, Texas, area. To prospective homeowners, the neighborhood appears picture-perfect for raising a family. 

However, Lance Lambert, the founder of the research firm ResiClub, pointed out on X that these tiny homes in the Risinger Court community are not as they appear online. 

Lambert shares a rendered image of one of the 763 sq ft homes, featuring two bedrooms and two bathrooms, side by side with an image of the same house in real life. 

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Boeing Pleads Guilty To Fraud As Effort To Bring Manufacturing In-House Proceeds With Acquisition Of Spirit Aerosystems

The story behind Boeing guilty plea today is the effort to bring its manufacturing futher ‘in-house’ after a disastrous focus on financial profitability, and not its core-competency – building airplanes.

The acquisition of ‘Spirit Aerosystems’, which made the door which failed during an Alaskan Airlines flight, and a major subcontractor for Boeing, continues.

Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy fraud charge tied to the 737 Max crashes.

Under the deal, Boeing agreed to pay a $243.6 million fine and for an third-party monitor to be installed to monitor the company’s compliance, reported CNBC.

The deal spares Boeing from a trial just as the plane maker is trying to turn a corner in its safety and manufacturing crises.

The guilty plea would brand the planemaker a felon and could complicate its ability to sell products to the U.S. government. About 32% of Boeing’s nearly $78 billion in revenue last year came from its defense, space and security unit.

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OnlyFans Contains Child Sexual Abuse Material Of Toddlers And Teens, According To Reports

Porn-driven website OnlyFans has been found to contain explicit content of minors despite its claims to build the “safest digital media platform in the world,” according to a new investigative report.

Reuters has exposed OnlyFans’ involvement in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) after documenting 30 complaints from U.S. police and court records of CSAM from December 2019 and June 2024. According to the news agency, they “cited more than 200 explicit videos and images of kids, including some adults having oral sex with toddlers.” In another case, a minor stayed on OnlyFans for over a year.

After 16-year-old girl from Florida went missing in 2023, her parents found nude photos and videos of herself to 22-year-old Ethan Diaz, who appeared to have abducted her. Police found that Diaz posted explicit content of the girl on OnlyFans. One video showed the teen penetrating herself and was advertised for $20. The caption read, “Watch me get super wild.” Diaz was charged with human trafficking and other offenses.

In the 30 cases reviewed by Reuters, over half resulted in an arrest and criminal convictions. Most of the adults involved in CSAM were accused of preying on and exploiting minors to create pornographic material and profit from it. In other cases, minors somehow bypassed OnlyFans vetting to sell their own explicit content. And “in the case involving toddlers, a man used the site to send another man more than 100 files featuring the abuse of children of all ages,” Reuters added.

Despite these findings, OnlyFans asserts that it is strictly for adults, with measures to monitor users, vet content, and remove and report CSAM. “We know the age and identity of everyone on our platform,” said CEO Keily Blair in a 2023 speech. “No children allowed, nobody under 18 on the platform.”

Is it possible that OnlyFans has more CSAM than we think? Due to its paywall model, the site makes it more difficult for police to detect CSAM. In fact, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) only received access to OnlyFans in late 2023. And, per ArsTechnica, the organization seemingly can’t scan the entire platform at once, telling Reuters that its access was “limited” exclusively “to OnlyFans accounts reported to its CyberTipline or connected to a missing child case.”

In 2023, OnlyFans made 347 CyberTipline reports “out of hundreds of millions of posts,” a “testament to the rigorous safety controls OnlyFans has in place,” their spokesperson said. They explained that most of the suspected material “does not turn out to be CSAM” or “are duplicate images or videos.” Still, specialists in CSAM informed Reuters the actual amount of CSAM is difficult to verify due to the individual paywalls, with OnlyFans currently boasting over 3 million creators. Trey Amick, director of forensic consultants at Magnet Forensics Inc., told Reuters, “It’s not just one paywall. It’s a paywall for each and every contributor.”

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