Category Archives: Business

Why Smart Meters Are Good for Utility Companies, Bad for Consumers by Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D.

Posted on February 3, 2023 | 1 comment

The usual suspects are pushing smart meters, which means heavy skepticism is in order. From Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., at childrenshealthdefense.org:

Proponents of smart meters say the devices promote energy conservation by providing detailed feedback to consumers about their habits, but critics say the technology can be harmful to health and it poses real privacy concerns.

Smart meters — or “advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) installations” — are wireless devices that use radiofrequency (RF) radiation to transmit information about how much water, gas and electricity consumers use to utility companies.

The U.S. rolled out its first smart meters in 2009 when Congress introduced the Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

According to the SGIG website, the program “aimed to accelerate the modernization of the nation’s electric transmission and distribution systems.”

In 2015, smart meters got a big push from the Obama administration, which funded the rollout of about 18 million smart meters.

In 2021, U.S. electric utility companies installed more than 111 million smart meters — roughly 88% of the meters were installed in personal residences.

Promoters of the technology argue the meters promote energy conservation because they measure and record electricity usage frequently and provide the data to the utility company and consumer at least once a day, allowing the consumer to get detailed feedback on their energy habits.

However, critics say the technology can be harmful to health, especially for those who experience electromagnetic sensitivity — and especially for children.

They also cite privacy and personal liberty concerns about how utility companies use the data collected by smart meters — and who they share that data with.

‘People unwittingly sleep … on the other side of the wall and get very, very ill’

“Smart meters are a bad idea because they use two-way radiofrequency microwave radiation to send your usage data for electric, gas, water, solar and propane energy,” said Cecelia Doucette, a technology safety educator and the director of Massachusetts for Safe Technology.

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How One Ukrainian Billionaire Funded Hunter Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, And The Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, by Kenekoa the Great

Posted on February 3, 2023 | 1 comment

This guy sounds like a true philanthropist, giving to all sorts of worthy causes. From Kenekoa the Great at kenekoa.substack.com:

Is this why Hunter Biden’s laptop talks about “Children Burned Alive” in Ukraine?

Kolomoysky Owns Burisma Holdings

The real person who was the benefactor to, and the boss of, Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, at the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings, was not the CEO of Burisma Holdings, Mykola Zlochevsky, but it was instead Ihor Kolomoysky, who was part of the newly installed Ukrainian Government, which the Obama Administration itself had actually just installed in Ukraine, in what the head of the “private CIA” firm Stratfor correctly called “the most blatant coup in history.”

Shortly after the Obama Administration’s Ukrainian coup, on March 2, 2014, Kolomoysky, who supported Yanukovych’s overthrow, was appointed the governor of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. Hunter Biden, with no experience in the industry or region, would join Kolomoysky’s Burisma Holdings two months later, on May 12, 2014.

A 2012 study of Burisma Holdings done in Ukraine by the AntiCorruption Action Centre (ANTAC), an investigative nonprofit co-funded by American billionaire George Soros and the U.S. State Department, found that the true owner of Burisma Holdings was none other than Ukrainian billionaire-oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky.

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Posted in Business, Cronyism, Governments, Morality, Politics

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Third Dr. J. T. Walker/Pfizer-Project Veritas Video, by Robert W. Malone, MD, MS

Posted on February 2, 2023 | 1 comment

Dr. J.T. Walker just can’t keep his mouth shut. From Robert W. Malone at rwmalonemd.substack.com:

The mRNA vaccines must be pulled from the market, for the sake of humanity

Today is 02 February, 2023, and this has gone on much longer than it should. The content and implications of the two previous videos involving Dr. Jordon Trishton Walker were stunning, as far as I am concerned, but mostly involved future (potential) risks associated with what Dr. Walker asserted were both planned and ongoing Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 research studies. With today’s disclosure from the undercover investigations, we now learn more about current vaccine reproductive risk findings, Pfizer’s lack of comprehension of the basis for those risks, and (according to Dr. Walker) Pfizer’s leading hypothesis concerning the patho-physiologic basis for those risks. Once again, the implications are stunning and broad ranging, consistent with what many physicians are beginning to suspect, and once again Dr. Walker (Pfizer Global Director of Research and Development- Strategic Operations and mRNA Scientific Planning at the time of the interview) appears to not fully comprehend those implications.

The transcript of the above video is appended below.

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The Brave New World Of Artificial Intelligence, by Frank Miele

Posted on February 2, 2023 | Leave a comment

Will ChatGPT replace writers? This writer hopes not. From Frank Miele at realclearwire.com:

As a journalist and commentator, I have closely followed the development of OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research lab founded by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and other prominent figures in the tech industry. While I am excited about the potential of AI to revolutionize various industries and improve our lives in countless ways, I also have serious concerns about the implications of this powerful technology.

One of the main concerns is the potential for AI to be used for nefarious purposes. Powerful AI systems could be used to create deepfakes, conduct cyberattacks, or even develop autonomous weapons. These are not just hypothetical scenarios – they are already happening. We’ve seen instances of deepfakes being used to create fake news and propaganda, and the use of AI-powered cyberattacks has been on the rise in recent years.

Another concern is the impact of AI on the job market. As AI-powered systems become more sophisticated, they will be able to automate more and more tasks that were previously done by humans. This could lead to widespread job loss, particularly in industries such as manufacturing, transportation, and customer service. While some argue that new jobs will be created as a result of the AI revolution, it’s unclear whether these jobs will be sufficient to offset the losses.

If you aren’t worried yet, I’ll let you in on a little secret: The first three paragraphs of this column were written by ChatGPT, the chatbot created by OpenAI. You can add “columnist” to the list of jobs threatened by this new technology, and if you think there is anything human that isn’t threatened with irrelevance in the next five to 10 years, I suggest you talk to Mr. Neanderthal about how relevant he feels 40,000 years after the arrival of Cro-Magnon man.

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moving the goalposts on “safe” (part 1), by el gato malo

Posted on February 2, 2023 | 1 comment

Twenty years ago there is no way that vaccines with the documented adverse effects of the Covid vaccines wouldn’t have been pulled from the market. From el gato malo at boriquagato.substack.com:

ignoring the standards, ignoring the signals

over generations, the standard of safety applied to widespread vaccine use has been extremely stringent. this is as it should be. drugs to be given near universally to healthy people are a VERY different proposition than drugs given to people who are already sick. the tolerance for adverse effects must be much lower, especially for those for whom actual risk from disease is low. 1 in a million for a severe outcome like death was generally around the limit of tolerance. 1 in 100k was deemed impossibly dangerous to consider.

the h1n1 vaccine released in the EU was pulled after ~30 million doses being administered due to 45 fatalities and a ~1 in 55,000 rate of permanent narcolepsy perhaps as high as 1 in 18,000 in adolescents.

there was not even a question about pulling it off the market, this was an obvious and clear cut case that was not even debated.

boom. done.

a 1.5/million death rate and a 1 in 18-55,000 debilitation rate were WAY outside anything acceptable.

and folks had some pointy questions on motivation…

note the similarity in dramatis personae…

in 1976, the infamous “swine flu vaccine” was pulled in the US over ill effects including 362 cases of the severe paralytic disease guillain-barre in ~45 million vaccinees (8 per million).

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Posted in Business, Government, Medicine, Morality

How to Memory-Hole a PSYOP, by CJ Hopkins

Posted on February 1, 2023 | Leave a comment

Time for the PSYOPers to shift to damage control. From CJ Hopkins at cjhopkins.substack.com:

There comes a time near the end of every PSYOP when the PSYOP has achieved its objective, or as much of its objective as it is going to achieve, and is becoming increasingly recognizable as a PSYOP, and so the focus shifts to damage control, and erasing the PSYOP from official history.

This is a crucial stage of the PSYOP, because, at this point, a significant percentage of the public have realized that they’ve been thoroughly mindfucked, and many of them are none too happy about it. Some of them are starting to ask awkward questions, like “why were we deceived and coerced by our governments, global health authorities, and the state and corporate media into submitting to a series of experimental ‘vaccinations’ that appear to be killing and injuring a lot of people?” Or “why are we occupying and torturing the residents of a Middle-Eastern country that never attacked us, and never had any intention to attack us, and which posed no threat to us whatsoever?”

At this point, it is way too late for those engaged in conducting the PSYOP to continue to deny the facts and gaslight the masses. That won’t work anymore. So, it is time to do some limited hangouts, and some whitewashing, and a little sleight-of-hand, and just generally confuse and distract the public, and send them off on various wild goose chases, while the official history of the PSYOP is written.

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Posted in Business, Government, Media, Propaganda, Psychology

Paying People to Not Buy What Sells, by Eric Peters

Posted on February 1, 2023 | Leave a comment

Nowadays, car company executives figure out what’s selling and what’s not and then make fewer of the former and more of the latter. From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com:

There is so much buyer interest in the Ford Bronco – which isn’t electric – that Ford can’t build enough to meet demand and is actually offering people who ordered one $2,500 store credit to cancel their order in favor of something else.

Some have been waiting more than a year for a Bronco – which Ford revived for the 2021 model year (my review can be found here). It has been a hugely successful vehicle for Ford. It is – clearly – the kind of vehicle lots of people want to buy.

No subsidies – or mandates – needed.

In the old normal, Ford would build more Broncos to meet the market demand for them. The whole point of being in the car business once-upon-a-time being to sell as many vehicles as people wanted to buy. But we live in the New Abnormal. It is characterized by – among other things – the building of vehicles for which there isn’t market demand, because government requires them to be built.

Irrespective of whether they can be sold at a profit.

We all know which vehicles these are.

Two figures will make the point.

The first one is 39,458. This is the number of Mach-e “Mustangs” (my review of this one can be found here) that Ford sold last year (2022). The second number is 94,031. That is the number of Broncos Ford sold during the same time period. In other words, Ford sold more than twice as many Broncos as Mach-e “Mustangs” – and could have sold many more had there been more Broncos to sell.

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Posted in Business, Energy, Environment, Government, Technology

EV Competition Finally Produces Results: Ford Cuts Prices on Mustang Mach-E, after Tesla, Kia, Hyundai, Chevrolet, Nissan Cut Prices on their EVs, by Wolf Richter

Posted on January 31, 2023 | 1 comment

Now the question is: will anyone make money on their EVs. From Wolf Richter at wolfstreet.com:

EVs now start at $27,000, about $20,000 below the average new-vehicle transaction price. That’s a good thing all around. Except for stock prices.

Ford announced today that it cut the MSRP of its 2023-model-year Mustang Mach-E, depending on model, by a range from $600 to $5,900, and its extended-battery option by $1,600. This brings the low end of the Mach-E to $45,995, which is just below the average transaction price for all new vehicles of $46,400.

Ford is not cutting prices, and thereby its profit margins, out of the goodness of its heart, but because it’s forced to by competition – and it’s lagging behind. Ford admitted as much: It said the price cuts are designed to keep the Mach-E “competitive in the marketplace.” It said, “We are not going to cede ground to anyone.” The Mach-E was the third-best-selling EV in the US in 2022, after Tesla’s Model Y, and Tesla’s Model 3.

Tesla has gone on a big round of price cuts in January in the US, including for its Model Y, a crossover SUV that competes directly with the Mach-E. Chevrolet cut the prices of its mass-produced EVs, the BOLT and the BOLT EUV. Kia and Hyundai also cut prices on their electric crossover models. Nissan cut the price of its EV.

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Posted in Business, Technology

The War Against Us, by James Howard Kunstler

Posted on January 31, 2023 | Leave a comment

We know they’re corrupt; they know we know they’re corrupt; we know they know we know they’re corrupt. Is anyone ever going to stand trial? From James Howard Kunstler at kunstler.com:

“We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the press destroys information, religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy our economy ” – Chris Hedges

The question you might ask these days: how did we weaponize everything in American life against ourselves? Can you name an institution that is not at war with the people of this land? The exact mechanisms for all that bad faith stand in plain sight these days, and persons responsible can be easily identified. What’s missing are discernible motives. For now, it just looks like the greatest collective act of ass-covering in history.

It’s pretty clear, for instance, that all the criminal misconduct in the FBI / DOJ — continuing to this moment — emanates from the years-long effort to cover up the seditious campaign to nullify Donald Trump starting well before Nov. 8, 2016. All the players in the agencies, and their news media accomplices, stand to lose at least their reputations, if the public cared about how dishonestly they acted. Many of those still working would lose their jobs and their livelihoods too, and quite a few would lose their freedom in prison. So, their motive to keep up the skullduggery is simple self-preservation.

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Posted in Business, Collapse, Crime, Economy, Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Government, Politics, Propaganda, War

Anarchy, American-Style, by Victor Davis Hanson

Posted on January 31, 2023 | Leave a comment

The left has become the establishment it once supposedly despised. From Victor Davis Hanson at amgreatness.com:

The Left runs Oceania, and we work for their various bureaus.

The 1960s revolution was both anarchic and nihilist. But it was waged against—not from—the establishment. Hippies and the Left either attacked institutions or, in Timothy Leary fashion, chose to “turn on, tune in, drop out” from them.

The current revolution is much different—and far more dangerous—for at least three reasons.

The Establishment Is the Revolution

The current Left has no intention of “dropping out.” Why would it?

It now controls the very institutions of America that it once mocked and attacked—corporate boardrooms, Wall Street, state and local prosecuting attorneys, most big-city governments, the media, the Pentagon, network and most of cable news, professional sports, Hollywood, music, television, K-12 education, and academia.

In other words, the greatest levers of influence and power—money, education, entertainment, government, the news, and popular culture—are in the hands of the Left. They have transformed legitimate debate over gay marriage into a hate crime. Transgenderism went from a modern manifestation of ancient transvestism or gender dysphoria to a veritable litmus test of whether one was good or evil.

Students have no need to jam administrators’ offices because the latter, themselves, are as radical as the protestors and often lead them on in a top-down fashion. Had they not long ago demonstrated they were perfectly willing to subvert meritocracy, free expression, and equality under the law, they would not be occupying their present positions.

Apple, Google, Facebook, and other tech companies are not 1980s and 1990s “alternative” media geeks and hipsters creating neat gadgets for the people. They are not Steve Jobs and his pugnacious Apple battling the evil Microsoft or IBM, or the Macintosh commercial of 1984 depicting a maverick throwing a hammer into Big Brother’s screen. They are the Orwellian screen.

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Posted in Academia, Business, Civil Liberties, Entertainment, Government, Intelligence, Military, Politics