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Guns, the medical profession, and bad history Part 2: The Wild West, the medical establishment and gun control, and Guns in peacetime

Continued fromPart 1
Continuing from where we left off, we enter the arena of crime from the Wild West to the present day. Faria points to the Wild West, as well as Kennesaw and Orlando's gun approaches as ideal while castigating (again) other countries for gun laws that enabled crime. He also lashes out at the medical community (specifically the CDC) for bias against guns, and brings back the gun-free zone tropes, among many others.
The Wild West and US Crime
Faria and his colleague Dr. Robert Young first point to the Wild West, Young stating that:
He easily debunks the myth of the Old West as territories terrorized by non-stop gunfights, when the greatest role of firearms was their use by citizens to suppress outlaw violence.
Ironically, in taking on one common misconception, the two fall into another. While the Old West certainly was not as violent as the countless John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and Clint Eastwood films would have people believe, it was not due to light gun restrictions at all. Adam Winkler, a Professor of Law at UCLA, claims that
Frontier towns — places like Tombstone, Deadwood, and Dodge — actually had the most restrictive gun control laws in the nation. In fact, many of those same cities have far less burdensome gun control today then they did back in the 1800s. ... A check? That’s right. When you entered a frontier town, you were legally required to leave your guns at the stables on the outskirts of town or drop them off with the sheriff, who would give you a token in exchange. You checked your guns then like you’d check your overcoat today at a Boston restaurant in winter. Visitors were welcome, but their guns were not.
Frontier towns like those in Arizona and Kansas actually had stricter laws then than they do today. The result? As many as two murders per year. Winkler even mentions how the first law passed in Dodge City was a gun control law, and that in many frontier towns, only law enforcement could carry weapons around. Young and Faria, however, would have their audiences believe the opposite, that every citizen carried a gun (never mind that most arrests were for illegal gun ownership) and stopped criminals.
Applying the same lessons to the modern day, the doctors mention cases on the local level. In Orlando Florida, for instance, they allege that after a gun training program for women was heavily publicized from 1966-1967, that rape dropped to near-zero levels. Another example is Kennesaw, Georgia, which saw a drastic decline in burglaries after requiring each citizen own a gun in 1982. In both these cases, however, they omit important details. For starters, in Orlando, recorded rapes reached 0 in 1963 (before the program) and declined sharply in 1965, again before the program. As for the 1967 drop, keep in mind that these are recorded rapes. There could be more that occurred. I would mention some more research done by the guys at Science Blogs, but I'm not sure how trustworthy it is, so feel free to look at it and come to your own conclusions.
Kennesaw is also used as an example of why high gun ownership deters crime. In 1982, the city passed a law requiring that every household be armed. Fast forward a few years and burglaries dropped, with an 80% decline by 1985. Of course, what some proponents of the Kennesaw approach forget to mention is that 1981, the year before the law was passed, saw a 75% spike in burglaries. The years before were far lower in burglaries. Could Kennesaw's approach have prevented a burglary increase? Perhaps. But to simply promote this approach when placed into the grand scheme of things is a tad irresponsible.
Gun restrictions and crime abroad
Faria and his fellow doctors then scorn Europe for essentially enabling gun laws. Australia and Europe have seen many mass shootings (the Norway massacre coming to mind), Dr Young stating
Rising violent crime in Great Britain and Europe tells the tale of their increasingly restrictive gun control laws, even to forbidding self-defense.
Really? Because according to the EU, police-recorded murders and robberies have declined by 30% and 34%, respectively, between 2008 and 2018. Another canard that rears it's ugly head is
Australians learned the lessons of indiscriminate, draconian gun control laws the hard way. In 1996, a criminally insane man shot to death 35 people at a Tasmanian resort. The government immediately responded by passing stringent gun control laws, banning most firearms, and ordering their confiscation. More than 640,000 guns were seized from ordinary Australian citizens. As a result, there was a sharp and dramatic increase in violent crime against the disarmed law-abiding citizens, who, in small communities and particularly in rural areas, were now unable to protect themselves from brigands and robbers. That same year in the state of Victoria, for example, there was a 300% increase in homicides committed with firearms. The following year, robberies increased by almost 60% in South Australia. By 1999, assaults had increased by almost 20% in New South Wales. 2 years following the gun ban/confiscation, armed robberies had risen by 73%, unarmed robberies by 28%, kidnappings by 38%, assaults by 17%, and manslaughter by 29%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.”
Oh yeah? Because the Harvard Injury Control Research Center found that:
In fact, this chart actually speaks for itself. The claim that Australians were assailed by crime after losing their guns is indeed bullshit. Crime did rise in the immediate aftermath for certain, yet in 2002, more restrictions were passed, and crime declined. You cannot argue that crime grew due to the gun ban when in the long run (and after more restrictions) it is lower than it was before the restrictions.
Swtizerland is used as an example of a safe country where gun ownership is legal. Yet Faria fails to mention some important details. Laws and referendums passed in 1999 and 2011 actually strengthened restrictions. From 1999-2010, Swiss gun laws were passed/amended that resembled those of their European neighbors. Since 1997, people with a "violent or dangerous attitude" are forbidden from owning firearms. Licensing is also implemented.
Another claim that pops up is that Europe has higher mass shooting rates than the US:
“In fact, America is not the worst country for mass shootings and does not even make it to the top ten, despite the record number of guns in the hands of Americans. For example France, Norway, Belgium, Finland, and the Czech Republic, all have more deaths from mass shootings than the U.S., and in fact, from 2009 to 2015, the European Union had 27 percent more casualties per mass shooting incidents than the U.S.
This would work, yet Faria likely included the Paris massacre of 2015, committed by members of a terror cell (as opposed to lone wolves). According to gun rights advocate John Lott, the countries listed had higher per capita shooting deaths, not total deaths (except for Norway and France). Of course, this methodology has come under fire. Adam Lankford argues that according to Lott:
the Northern Mariana Islands has a mass shooting rate more than 100 times greater than that of the United States, even though the Northern Mariana Islands had only one qualifying incident from 1998–2012, according to their findings (2019, 66). By Lott and Moody’s view, the smaller the population of the place where a mass shooting occurs, the larger the rate, and presumably the risk. The same logic would suggest that Sutherland Springs, Texas—which is the home of approximately 600 people but saw 26 killed in a terrible 2017 church shooting—must be one of the most dangerous places in the world, rather than the spot of a tragic aberration.
True, Norway and France did have deadlier tragedies than the US, but how often do they happen? To Norway, the very idea of such an incident was unheard of. The 2011 shooting rampage was no doubt infamous in part because of just how out-of-left-field it was.
Lott also earned criticism from Lankford for other issues. While his studies insist that the US has more mass murders, Lankford has published a study pointing out that the US produces more mass killers worldwide, criticizing Lott for placing terrorist organizations (an each member involved in an attack) in the same category as individual mass killers:
Studying attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army will not help us understand and prevent the next Virginia Tech shooting, or vice versa. If all participants in group violence were counted, that would also result in the inclusion of many people who were far less lethal than public mass shooters who personally killed four or more victims themselves. Should all 28 guardsmen who were reportedly involved in four deaths at Kent State in 1970 be labeled public mass shooters, even though they averaged killing 0.14 victims each? Should they all be put in the same category as mass shooters from Parkland, Sandy Hook, and Las Vegas who personally killed 17, 27, and 58 victims, respectively? To analyze these distinct forms of violence together would be a textbook example of comparing apples and oranges.
Overall, to compare the actions of the Virginia Tech, Parkland, Sandy Hook, and Las Vegas killers, individuals driven by mental illness, infamy, violent personalities, and other factors, to the Lord's Resistance Army, a terrorist organization lead by a religious extremist that is a party to a military conflict, is more than likely to skew the results.
The Medical Establishment and Other claims
One area where Faria, Young, and their ilk also lambast the CDC as partisan and biased. Yet while the CDC before the Dickey Amendment did have some PR issues (and perhaps some honesty troubles). Yet to throw the baby out with the bathwater would be absurd. While the CDC certainly came off as partisan in interviews (such as wanting guns to be as frowned on as smoking), the fact that these interviews in 1994 occurred when the US has a record-high homicide rate omits the context needed. They criticize Arthur Kellerman as fallacious for finding that gun ownership increases likelihood of being killed, yet neglect that scores of peer-reviewed materials that corroborate Kellerman's research. Many of these doctors have also insisted that they are not trying to ban guns, yet DRGO insists the opposite. Instead, they praise the research of Gary Kleck, who is best known for a 1995 study that projected around 2 million defensive gun uses per year. While the CDC's staff were certainly biased, Faria seems too willing to overlook the flaws in Kleck's research. Furthermore, an analysis of Kleck's 1995 study was done by David Hemenway of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, and it stated that many criminals would have to have been sent to the hospital or testify that they were shot by someone in self-defense. He also recorded multiple uses that were "socially undesirable" and even illegal escalations. If millions of Americans did in fact defend themselves, scores of criminals would be dead or injured, yet interviews found that most were harmed by other criminals.
Also attacked is the use of "children as victims of gun violence" argument. Dr. Young states that such wording is used to elicit sympathy for victims who are often 14+ in age and often involved in gang shootings. Yet from 1980-2000, 42% of juvenile firearm deaths were aged 12 or under. Furthermore, While teens had higher rates, those who were younger also had high chances of death by firearm.For example, 10-year-old victims in this period actually had a 50% chance of death by firearm.
Gun Free-Zones and defensive gun use
Faria throws around some more nonsense, like the claim that television caused a massive crime boom in Canada, South Africa, the USA, etc. However, I'm not really going to cover it here (maybe-emphasis on maybe-in another post, although I'm sure most people will agree with the outcome). Instead, I'm going to focus on Faria's claims regarding Concealed Carry and related subject matter.
I already touched on the claim of millions of Americans use guns in self-defense. As such, my focus will be on the myth of the "gun-free zone" and other defensive gun use myths. Faria points to Chicago as an example, even though the past 10 years have seen these laws loosened and concealed carry legalized, yet crime has spiked (although not without decreasing first in other years). Los Angeles and New York City have stricter laws and for the most part have had lower murder rates. He also insists that before the Civil War, states enabled "constitutional carry". This has partial basis, yet states such as Tennessee, as far back as 1821, penalized people who would "degrade themselves by carrying around a banned weapon such as a pistol". Alabama and Georgia also had gun control legislation enacted as far back as 1837 and 1839, and some have done so for even longer. As far back as colonial times, bans on conceal carry have been in various states. Constitutional carry has always been a part Vermont since it's founding, yet that was the only state, and the concept itself only really experienced a revival in the early 21st century, starting with the state of Alaska in 2003.
Faria argues in favor of the claim that gun-free zones attract killers, blaming tragedies on lack of armed intervention. He celebrates numerous figures for thwarting crimes:
In November 1990, Brian Rigsby and his friend Tom Styer left their home in Atlanta, Georgia, and went camping near...they were assaulted by two madmen, who had been taking cocaine and who fired at them using shotguns killing Styer. Rigsby returned fire with a Ruger Mini-14, a semiautomatic weapon frequently characterized as an assault weapon. It saved his life. In January 1994, Travis Dean Neel was cited as citizen of the year in Houston, Texas. He had saved a police officer and helped the police arrest three dangerous criminals in a gunfight, street shooting incident. Neel had helped stop the potential mass shooters using once again a semiautomatic, so-called assault weapon with a high capacity magazine. He provided cover for the police who otherwise were outgunned and would have been killed. What would have happened if these citizens did not have the “assault weapons” to save their lives and others from these mentally unstable assailants or outright criminals?
Faria's arguments would hold water, yet for each claim of heroism, there are also plenty of failures/overemphasized incidents:
John Parker Jr., an Umpqua student and Air Force veteran, told multiple media outlets that he was armed and on campus at the time of the attack last week. Parker and other student veterans (perhaps also armed) thought about intervening. “Luckily we made the choice not to get involved,” Parker [told MSNBC](mailto:http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/umpqua-student-talks-about-what-he-witnessed-537437763914). “We were quite a distance away from the actual building where it was happening, which could have opened us up to being potential targets ourselves.” Parker’s story changedwhen he spoke to Fox News' Sean Hannity. Instead of saying he “made the choice” not to get involved, Parker said school staff prevented him from helping.... There’s the story of Joel Myrick, an assistant principal who “stopped” a shooting at Pearl High School—but only after it was already over and the shooter was leaving. There’s the story of James Strand, the armed banquet-hall proprietor who “stopped” a shooting at a school dance he was hosting—but only after the student gunman had exhausted all of his ammunition. There’s Nick Meli, a shopper who drew his weapon in self-defense during an attack at Clackamas Mall—but Meli’s story has changed repeatedly, and local police say that his role in causing the shooter’s suicide is “inconclusive” and “speculation.” There’s Mark Kram, who shot a gunman fleeing on a bicycle from the scene of a shooting. Kram also ran down the gunman with a car. There’s Joe Zamudio, who came running to help when he heard the gunfire that injured Gabby Giffords and killed six others in Tucson. But by the time Zamudio was on the scene, unarmed civilians had already tackled and disarmed the perpetrator. Zamudio later said that, in his confusion, he was within seconds of shooting the wrong person. There’s Joseph Robert Wilcox, who drew his concealed handgun in a Las Vegas Walmart to confront gunmen who had executed police officers nearby. Wilcox was himself killed by one of the two assailants, both of whom then engaged police in a firefight. And then there are the fifth wheels—armed civilians who have confronted mass shooters simultaneously with police, such as Allen Crum, who accompanied three law enforcement officers onto the observation deck of the UT Main Building to end the 1966 sniper attack. That doesn’t mean there aren’t also instances of legitimate civilian gun use. The NRA points to phone surveys from the 1990s that suggest Americans might use their guns defensively millions of times every year, though even the most charitable efforts to actually document such incidents come up with fewer than 2,000 per year.
Overall, while there are cases of conceal carry saving lives, there are plenty of stories and anecdotes that contradict the narrative. Furthermore, many incidents also occurred after the criminal had ended their attack. Overall, the idea that there are millions of crimes stopped by gun owners when in fact there are as many as 2,000 recorded instances per year illustrates how flawed the thinking is. One model, even demonstrated that right to carry laws, as analyzed from 1970-2010, did not help stop most crimes. The As for factors that do lead to mass shootings, the FBI found that most attackers had a relationship to the area they attacked. Out of 23 workplace killers, 22 were current/former employees. School attackers yielded similar results. In fact, the study even concluded that more shootings (like the aforementioned Tucson) were stopped by unarmed civilians than by armed ones. Another study found that 36% of such incidents were often during the commission of another felony.
Another popular myth that gets parroted is that “Since 1950, 97.8 Percent of Mass Shootings have occurred in “Gun-Free Zones”. This, however, would include the aforementioned Oregon school, even though individuals with a state permit could bring them on-campus. Some criminologists disagree:
Klarevas uses three definitions: he refers to "gun-free zones" as places where civilians are not allowed to carry guns, and there aren’t armed personnel stationed on the property. He calls "gun-restricting zones" as places where civilians can’t carry guns, yet armed security is routinely present -- such as military facilities or certain college campuses. He refers to places that allow civilians to carry guns as "gun-allowing zones." Using these categories, Klarevas examined 111 shootings since 1966 in which six or more people had been killed in each incident -- regardless of whether it occurred in a public or private location or if it was in the commission of another crime. He found 13 took place in gun-free zones and five took place in gun-restricting zones. That means that the majority occurred in areas where there was no evidence that private guns were prohibited. Since Klarevas includes mass shootings in private residences or during the commission of another crime, that means that he counts several additional incidents that aren’t factored in by Lott. ... Lott says that the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon was in a gun-free zone and points to a school policy that bans possession of firearms "except as expressly authorized by law or college regulations." Umpqua Community College spokeswoman Anne Marie Levis previously told PolitiFact Floridathe school’s gun-free policy didn’t apply to students with a valid permit. "UCC was never designated as a ‘gun-free zone’ by any signage or policy," she said. "Umpqua Community College does comply with state law by allowing students with concealed carry licenses to bring firearms on campus."
Klaveras certainly is worth debating as a trustworthy source (for instance, he cites the Waco diner shooting of 2015 even though it was two gangs, not one or two people). However, his research was able to point out that the gun-free zone canard was just that: an empty canard. Klaveras points to Ft Hood and the Washington Navy Yard, both locations where armed guards were present, as examples of mass shootings where defenders carried guns. Peter Langmann, a psychologist who studies these kinds of tragedies, has pointed out that most of the perpetrators often do not care about their own well-being. As such, simply removing gun-free zone signs would not have any impact whatsoever. Indeed, as mentioned before, the FBI found that most shooters have some link with the location they attack, with most workplace or school shooters being formecurrent staff/students. In fact, for all the claims made of firearms being an "equalizer" for women, it was found that 43% of women killed in workplace shootings in 2015 were murdered by intimate partners/spouses, while men made up only 2% of the victims of such perpetrators. The study even went so far as to suggest a positive correlation between increased homicide and RTC laws.
Faria cites controversial criminologist John Lott in his claim that right-to-carry laws are responsible for crime drops. Is this the case? One study concluded that RTC laws stopping crime as calculated by Lott were discredited by a look at year-by-year crime rates. While rape certainly declined, robberies, murders, and assaults either increased or went back-and-forth. Some states saw a decline in murder, yet other crimes did not decline (some even increased after RTC was opened in several states). Another study, this time in the American Journal of Public Health, found that states with RTC had a higher rate of workplace homicides from 1992-2017 than those that did not have such laws.
Faria and Young also try to point out that other means of murder can lead to countless deaths:
Do they have any grasp on how blunt force trauma can be as or more deadly as gun and knife attacks? ... If they can’t do it with guns, they do it with explosives (Oklahoma City), trucks (Nice), airplanes (9/11), poison (Tokyo), arson (Kyoto) or any other of a thousand other ways.
First off, a look at US murders from 1965-2012 demonstrates that homicide by shooting made up 57.2-60% of all deaths. Blunt force trauma took up a fraction of all deaths for each year, not once reaching 1,000 deaths. Guns, by comparison, killed 5,000 at a minimum. Furthermore, the events Young lists lack context. Oklahoma City, Nice, 9/11, and Tokyo were all done by terrorists/cults. Aside from lone wolves (Nice and OK City), each group was organized, with a clear ideology. Furthermore, Oklahoma City and 9/11 both lead to extra security measures to prevent a repeat, and a there are plenty of other terrorists who used firearms to attack (Orlando, San Bernardino, Ft Hood). From 2002-2014, 85% of deaths in domestic terror attacks in the US were with guns. What does that say about the issue?
Terrorism
Another approach that's used is to argue that other means of murder exist. Terrorist attacks are cited:
Dr. Faria states, “Before closing on the issue of Islamic terrorism, a word should be said about the most recent incident in New York City, which underscores not only the increasing new terroristic threat to American cities but also the use of cars and trucks to plow into unsuspecting crowds with mass casualties of innocent civilians. A vehicle driven into a crowd is becoming the terrorists’ weapon of choice in Europe, and the sanguinary practice seems to be taking hold in the U.S. as well. “The Halloween truck attack on October 31, 2017, in Manhattan, a few blocks from the site of the Twin Towers [where the largest terrorist attack in the US history occurred on September 11, 2001], is the most recent egregious example. The atrocity also emphasizes the switch from mass shootings caused by deranged citizens to deliberate jihad by foreign and domestic Islamic terrorists. The courts’ disapproval of President Trump’s ban on immigration from seven countries with strong ties to terrorism has permitted dangerous individuals to continue to enter the country. “During the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, two homemade pressure cooker bombs detonated ... killing three people and injuring several hundred others, including 16 who lost limbs… Three days later, the FBI released images of two suspects who were later identified as Chechen Kyrgyzstani-American brothers… They killed an MIT policeman, kidnapped a man in his car, and had a shootout with the police in nearby Watertown, during which two officers were severely injured, one of whom died a year later. One brother terrorist died. The other brother stated that they were motivated by extremist Islamist beliefs… Will banning guns stop these crimes?
Faria's attempts to distract with the Manhattan and Boston terror attacks neglect to mention other factoids. For instance, is he seriously forgetting how many extremists used guns in attacks on the US? Did he forget about Orlando and Ft Hood? Is he seriously citing San Bernardino one moment, then forgetting about it later? And look at extremists of other ideologies, such as those in Dallas, El Paso, and Charleston. Second of all, he is literally blaming US courts for the Manhattan rampage, never mind the fact that the perpetrator in question was not from a country impacted by the travel ban? Does he realize that most Islamic extremists in this country since 9/11 (especially those who have actually killed people) are overwhelmingly from countries not on Trump's travel ban list but were born here or came as children/radicalized here? The Cato Institute has found that more terrorists in the US came from Croatia than they did from any country on Trump's travel ban list, and yet he claims that the ban would stop terrorist attacks.
Conclusion
DRGO's well-intended efforts to defend gun ownership and take on various reasons for opposing it certainly pose a mighty gauntlet, yet at the end of the day, they are superficially researched and rely on completely dismissing any opposing views. Faria, Young, and others are too absolutist in their arguments, refusing to see any gray areas. Arguing that right-to-carry laws reduce violent crime is not totally untrue, but neither is it always true. Looking through a case-by-case approach is what arguably makes more sense. Faria, Young, and others focus on details that are convenient, yet end up failing to produce an honest picture of the situation. Trends, situations, context, and certain details are all glossed over. To put it bluntly, the research is dishonest, flawed, and prone to non-sequiturs.
Sources
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/did-the-wild-west-have-mo_b_956035
FBI, A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013
Lankford, Confirmation That the United States Has Six Times Its Global Share of Public Mass Shooters, Courtesy of Lott and Moody’s Data
https://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/ridiculous-history-the-wild-wild-west-was-really-the-mild-mild-west.htm
http://www.thesandyhookproject.org/tag/orlando-rape-statistics-1966/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/more-guns-do-not-stop-more-crimes-evidence-shows/
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Crime_statistics
Hemenway, David and Mary Vriniotis, The Australian Gun Buyback Harvard Injury Control Research Center
https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/AUS/australia/crime-rate-statistics
https://www.loc.gov/law/help/firearms-control/switzerland.php#t8
https://crimeresearch.org/2015/06/comparing-death-rates-from-mass-public-shootings-in-the-us-and-europe/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1994/10/19/sick-people-with-guns/6c7f2bd2-fa57-4d69-b927-5ceb4fa43cf4/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulhsieh/2018/04/30/that-time-the-cdc-asked-about-defensive-gun-uses/#3a568254299a
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/triggetrigger1.htm
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-threats-and-self-defense-gun-use-2/
Harms, Paul D. and Howard N. Snyder Trends in the Murder of Juveniles: 1980-2000
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-chicago-gun-laws-explainer-20171006-story.html
https://www.axios.com/chicago-gun-violence-murder-rate-statistics-4addeeec-d8d8-4ce7-a26b-81d428c14836.html
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-spitzer-peruta-concealed-carry-20160619-snap-story.html
http://w3.akleg.gov/index.php
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/oregon-shooting-gun-laws-213222
Aneja et al, The Impact of Right to Carry Laws and the NRC Report: The Latest Lessons for the Empirical Evaluation of Law and Policy
Duwe et al, The Impact of Right-to-Carry Concealed Firearm Laws on Mass Public Shootings
Crifassi et al, Right-to-Carry Laws and Firearm Workplace Homicides: A Longitudinal Analysis (1992–2017)
https://www.infoplease.com/us/crime/murder-victims-weapons-used
https://web.archive.org/web/20130605150702/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/06/us/senate-votes-to-aid-tracing-of-explosives.html
https://www.pbs.org/newshouworld/911-to-now-ways-we-have-changed
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/terrorists-are-turning-to-guns-more-often-in-u-s-attacks/
https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/terrorists-immigration-status-nationality-risk-analysis-1975-2017
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A not-so-brief rundown of the letter ‘S’ in Jeffrey Epstein's 'Little Black Book'

Below is a rundown of the letter ‘S’ under Epstein's contacts. Last year, I wrote about letters A-C. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/cpis3n/a_brief_rundown_of_the_first_ten_pages_of_jeffrey/).
I also wrote about letters D-F on July 5, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/hlrba8/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_letters_df_in_jeffrey/).
I posted letters G-I on July 13, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/hqko0y/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_letters_gi_in_jeffrey/).
I posted letters J-L on July 15, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/hrq9bg/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_letters_jl_of_jeffrey/).
I posted letter M on July 20, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/huw0yt/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_the_letter_m_in_jeffrey/).
I posted letters N-Q on July 27, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/hyudbz/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_the_letters_nq_in_jeffrey/). There are some misspelled names. Epstein entered their names like this.
I posted letter R on July 29, 2020. You can check that out here (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/i0aqxd/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_the_letter_r_in_jeffrey/)
I have bolded some of the more interesting connections and information, but there could be much more that I overlooked. I hope something here strikes an interest in someone and maybe we can get more investigations out of this. Please, if you know anything more about any of these people than what is presented here, post below. I am working off of the unredacted black book found here: https://www.coreysdigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Jeffrey-Epsteins-Little-Black-Book-unredacted.pdf
S
Sacco, Amy: Nightclub mastermind behind Bungalow 8 and many other clubs. Listing her list of connections would take too long because her clubs are always hot spots for celebrities and the elite. The NY Times wrote a decent article (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/fashion/the-empress-is-in-amy-sacco-holds-court-at-another-new-york-nightspot.html) about Sacco’s clubs and clientele. Sacco has been photographed with Ghislaine, India Hicks, and Sophie Dahl, all of whom appear in Epstein’s black book (https://www.patrickmcmullan.com/photo/1563479).
Sachs, Jeffrey: Naming all of his titles would be an endeavor in itself. Sachs is a very influential figure who is best known for being an economist, an adviser to the United Nations, and a University Professor at Columbia University. Sachs serves on the Council on Foreign Relations, where Epstein served from 1995-2009. It is unclear whether he was there at the same time as Epstein, although given his popularity and influence, especially in the early 2000s, I would be surprised if he wasn’t around then.
Saffra, Edmund: Billionaire banker and alleged money launderer with tons of enemies who died under very mysterious circumstances in 1999. The official story was that one of his nurses - in an attempt to gain favor with Safra by saving him from danger - intentionally started a small fire in Safra’s home, which soon spiraled out of control, causing Safra to lock himself in the bathroom and suffocate to death. This article (https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2000/12/dunne200012) does a good job of pointing out that Safra had many enemies, was a shady character, and was absolutely obsessed with security for himself and his family. It seems odd that Safra would allow his security detail (Mossad vets) to leave his home that night. This article (https://www.theguardian.com/theobserve2000/oct/29/features.magazine47) from The Guardian includes a statement from Ted Maher’s (the nurse who was convicted of starting the fire) wife, stating that he was coerced into signing a confession. Elie Wiesel, the author of Night who is also listed in Epstein’s contacts, was a good friend of Safra’s.
Safro, Wayne: Financial advisor.
Said, Wafic: Financier and businessman. Said is the Chairman of a children’s charity called the Said Foundation, where Prince Charles’s former private secretary, Sir Michael Peat GVCO, serves on the board of trustees (https://www.saidfoundation.org/pages/33-trustees-and-staff). The charity helps underprivileged children from the Middle East. Said has also contributed a lot of money to Prince Charles’s The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund, which, among other things, is dedicated to helping children.
Sainsbury, Mr Jamie: Descendant of the founder of the Sainsbury grocery chain. Old friend of Ghislaine Maxwell (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8466853/What-girls-frolicked-Bullingdon-boys-Oxfords-brightest-young-women-rose-top.html). James’s sister, Camilla, was married to British MP, Shaun Woodward, for 28 years. Camilla and Shaun are Trustees of The Woodward Charitable Trust, which helps disadvantaged children, women, and families (http://woodwardcharitabletrust.org.uk/portfolio/about_us/).
Salama, Eric: Former CEO of Kantar consulting firm. Also served as a Trustee for the British Museum (2000-2008). Survived a carjacking after getting stabbed last year (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6618395/Government-adviser-stabbed-carjacking-reveals-fine-punctured-lung.html).
Saltzman, Elizabeth: Contributing editor to Vanity Fair and Vogue, two of the three publications (along with Tatler) that continuously show up among Epstein’s contacts. Saltzman is also a celebrity fashion stylist with clients such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Saoirse Ronan, Stella McCartney, and Uma Thurman, the ex-wife of Arpad Busson, who is possibly one of the key players in this pedophile ring (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/cl34ju/arpad_busson_billionaire_businessman_or_possible/). Andre Balazs, the hotelier who also seems to be embroiled in this whole fiasco held a party in 1995. Those in attendance included Ghislaine Maxwell, Katie Ford, and Elizabeth Saltzman (https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/taming-liz-fortensky-rumors-article-1.686445), all of whom appear in Epstein’s black book. In fact, Saltzman is a long-time friend of Ghislaine (https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Mysterious-business-of-the-queen-of-NY-Lon-1.pdf). This article also reveals that Ghislaine was introduced to Prince Andrew by the Duchess of York (Sarah Ferguson), and, even more telling, that Epstein was suspected of having Mossad ties when the article was written in 2000. In addition to all this, Saltzman is the ex-wife of hedge fund billionaire Glenn Dubin (https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/14/style/miss-saltzman-editor-is-wed-to-glenn-dubin.html), one of the most heavily implicated people in Epstein’s pedophilia and child trafficking ring. I implore you to read more about Dubin (and his wife) in my D-F black book thread (https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/hlrba8/a_notsobrief_rundown_of_letters_df_in_jeffrey/). Saltzman can also be seen here, sitting next to Prince Andrew in 2010 (https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/world/4780114-Britains-Prince-Andrew-is-stepping-back-from-public-duties-after-Epstein-controversy). The lists of celebrities and well-known figures that Saltzman has been photographed with is unending.
Samuels, Mia: Actually Maia Samuel, former Producer of ABC Primetime (1989-1994). Went on to work for NBC, Bloomberg, and CNBC in various producer roles over the years. Now works as Director, Content Studios for Reuters (https://www.linkedin.com/in/maia-samuel-92172a10). Epstein has quite a few television ties, most notably to ABC news programs.
Sandelman, Jon & Corrie: Jonathan is a hedge fund manager and former Managing Director of Bank of America Securities. Corrie is his wife.
Sangster, Guy & Fi: Son of racing tycoon Robert Sangster, Guy is Managing Director at Sangster Group, which is involved in the Horse Racing industry. He also works as an investment adviser with Hambro Perks, a venture capitalist company. Prince Andrew is a close friend of Guy and his wife, Fiona. Prince Andrew even attended Sangster’s 40th birthday party (https://www.the-sun.com/news/136709/prince-andrews-pals-claims-witness-who-saw-him-with-sex-slave-is-confused-as-he-was-in-club-3-days-late).
Sangster, Mr Ben: Guy Sangster’s brother and fellow racing heir. Long-time acquaintance/friend(?) of the Royal Family. According to this article, the Sangsters are “one of the most high profile society families in London and often hang out with the royals (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5008073/Robert-Sangster-s-son-marries-Princess-Eugenie-s-friend.html).
Santo Domingo, Julio Mario: Unsure if this is the father or the son. Either way, this is a billionaire Colombian businessman whose company has controlling stock in Bavaria Brewery and is the 2nd highest stockholder of Anheuser Busch (15%). The senior Julio Mario Santo Domingo died in 2011. His son died from cancer in 2009.
Santo, Mr & Mrs M Espirito: Likely the former owners (or high-ranking family) of the Espirito Santo banking dynasty., which was forced to shutter due to charges of fraud, money laundering, and falsifying documents (https://www.cnbc.com/2014/07/30/how-a-portuguese-banking-mess-took-down-a-dynasty.html). Banco Espirito Santo was Portugal’s second-largest bank.
Saud Prince Solman: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was a close friend of Epstein’s and met with him many times. Epstein even had a photograph of bin Salman hanging on his wall. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has been linked to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident who was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and subsequently killed. The Crown Prince, said to have ordered the murder, and those who were physically involved with the murder, ultimately went unpunished. According to this article (https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/jeffrey-epstein-what-we-know-about-paedophile-businessmans-ties-middle-east), the numbers listed likely belong to the Crown Prince’s father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. Epstein’s Austrian passport had a fake name and Saudi address. This passport was to have been given to him by “a friend.” In November 2016, one day before the election, Epstein flew to Riyadh. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos were in Riyadh at the same time, leading some to believe that the three may have met up (https://www.insider.com/epstein-riyadh-saudi-arabia-private-jet-2019-9).
Scerbo, Randall: A female (despite the name) fashion stylist and costume designer who eventually went into consulting. Randall also has credits as a producer and content creator for the Miss USA and Miss Universe beauty pageants.
Schiatti, Gianmarco: Creative director who helped several fashion companies (Gucci, Chanel, Coach, Ralph Lauren, Prada, etc.) with rebranding.
Schifter, Helen & Tim: Helen is a former arbitrage trader on Wall Street, as well as a socialite and a former editor at Hearst and Conde Nast (publisher of Tatler and Vogue), making this the 9000th Epstein-Conde Nast connection. Helen’s father is a businessman and has served as a consultant for the Du Pont Company. She runs in the same circles as Ghislaine Maxwell and has been at several of the same parties (https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/helen-lee-schifter-ghislaine-maxwell-teddy-wong-and-news-photo/1169681659). Tim is CEO of LeSportsac, the luggage and tote bag manufacturer. Tim can be seen attending a Private Screening with Ghislaine Maxwell here (https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/tim-schifter-and-ghislaine-maxwell-attend-private-screening-news-photo/590659962).
Sebag Montefiore Simon & Santa: Simon Montefiore is a British historian, television presenter, and author of history books and novels. Ghislaine attended the launch of Montefiore’s book, “The Court of the Red Tsar” (https://deepclips.com/clip/3225/exclusive-i-fear-i-saw-virginia-roberts-inside-jeffrey-epstein-s-creepy-new-mexico-ranch-contractor-claims). Santa is his wife and sister of Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, who died of an ulcer in 2017. The Palmer-Tomkinson family is so close with the Royal Family that Prince Charles was named Tara’s godfather. As such, Simon and Santa are good friends of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4721868/The-lit-girl.html). Simon’s great-great-uncle was an international financier who worked for the Rothschilds in the 1800s. Siimon and his family are still close to the Rothschilds to this day (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/01/montefiore200801).
Seitern, Christine: Architect.
Sejournet, Isabel de: Belgian arts consultant and wife of French Count Eric d’Hauteville. Isabelle was photographed at an annual charity dinner hosted by The AEM Association Children of the World for Rwanda (https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/isabelle-de-sejournet-and-caroline-sarkozy-attend-the-news-photo/157832558).
Shabtai, Benny: Israeli businessman who specializes in watches and telecommunications. Served as Chair for Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) and has helped raise millions for the charity (https://electronicintifada.net/content/manhattans-friends-israel-defense-forces/5526). Epstein toured Israeli military bases with Shabtai in 2008 after being convicted of procuring an underage girl for prostitution (https://pagesix.com/2008/04/24/just-visiting/). Shabtai also served three years in the Israeli army and is a former bodyguard for the Israeli ambassador in Paris, France.
Shad, Brenda: Lingerie model who has known Epstein since the ‘90s (https://www.reddit.com/EpsteinAndFriends/comments/hbiwye/epstein_with_lingerie_model_brenda_schad_in_1997/). Almost married Robert Hanson (listed in my Epstein G-H thread) in 1996, the billionaire financier who was accused of raping Anouska de Georgiou when she was a teenager. She first met him when he was dating Naomi Campbell. Pictured with Maxwell here in 2005 (https://www.the-sun.com/news/103520/is-jeffrey-epsteins-unholy-alliance-with-the-victorias-secret-boss-the-real-reason-the-show-was-scrapped/).
Shearer Andre & Angie: Andre is a South African wine importer through his business, Cape Classics. Angie is his wife.
Shore Chris and Maura: Chris is a bankruptcy litigator. Mara is his wife, a licensed lawyer.
Shriver, Bobby: Nephew of JFK, RFK, and Ted Kennedy. His mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded the Special Olympics. Bobby now serves on the Board of Directors for the Special Olympics (https://www.specialolympics.org/about/board-of-directors/bobby-shriver). Epstein has several phone numbers listed for Shriver’s Special Olympics office in California.
Shriver, Maria: Bobby Shriver’s sister and niece of JFK, RFK, and Ted Kennedy. TV journalist and former ex-wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Shuster, Susie: Suzy is a sportscaster who is married to long-time ESPN and NFL Network anchor, Rich Eisen.
Siegal, Peggy: Famous NYC publicist and close friend of Epstein who helped him out by continuously getting him into elite parties even after he was convicted of procuring an underage girl for prostitution in 2008 (https://nymag.com/intelligence2019/07/jeffrey-epstein-high-society-contacts.html). Her career in Hollywood has been obliterated, although many still secretly think she has been a scapegoat (https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-powea29643007/peggy-siegal-jeffrey-epstein-connection/), which once again proves the depravity of Hollywood.
Siegel, William (Bill): President of Chris-Craft Industries (1996-2001), a broadcasting company that owned several television channels across the U.S. Chris-Craft was eventually purchased by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation for $5.3 billion.
Sieghart, William: British entrepreneur and publisher. In 1986, he co-founded Forward Publishing with partner Neil Mendoza, who serves on the board of several children’s charities and is the current Provost of Oriel College. Mendoza appeared earlier in Epstein’s black book. Check out the letter ‘M’ thread for more information.
Silver, Ron: Silver (1946-2009), was a famous actor who also served on the Council on Foreign Relations. Co-founder of pro-Israeli organization, One Jerusalem, which organized a rally in 2001 to protest Palestinian sovereignty. Flipped political affiliations to vote for George W. Bush post-9/11. As a result, Bush appointed him to several posts, including one in which he worked under Scooter Libby, adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney.
Silverman, Nancy & Henry: Henry is an entrepreneur and private equity investor. Henry helped build Cendant Corporation, which specializes in car rentals, travel reservations, and real estate brokerage services. Nancy and Henry divorced in 2012 after 30 years of marriage. They literally lived around the block from Jeffrey Epstein.
Simon, Bren: Bren was the President of MBS Associates, a property management company. She and her husband (now deceased), support many children’s charities. Bren directs the Mel and Bren Simon Charitable Trust, which works closely with the Clinton Foundation (Haiti), the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Clinton School of Public Service (https://brensimon.com/our-work/). Bren is co-founder of The Family Support Center, a 24-hour child abuse care center. She also serves on the board of advisers for the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund. In 1998, Bren began working with the Mission International Rescue Foundation (MIR), which serves the children and young women of La Romana, Dominican Republic. Bren also created the Centro de Promocion Rural Max Simon, an orphanage that provides a safe environment for boys who have been abandoned, abused, or are living in extreme poverty. She also created the Bren Simon MIR Foundation Girls’ Vocational School (https://cancer.iu.edu/giving/simon/bren-bio.php). Bren Simon used to be a member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Bill Clinton read a eulogy at her husband’s funeral (https://www.ibj.com/articles/67913-simon-sisters-among-top-political-donors-nationwide).
Simpson (Caruth), Sophie: Former literary agent at William Morris Agency. Serves as a Trustee for Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance.
Sindi, Rena & Sami: Rena is a socialite and daughter of Nemar A. Kirdar, who founded Investcorp bank in the ‘80s with Arab oil money (https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/27/style/put-on-your-toga-bring-castanets-rena-sindi-is-giving-a-party.html). In 2007, Rena attended a party for Allegra Hicks at Ghislaine Maxwell’s house (https://medium.com/@the_war_economy/investigation-jeffrey-epstein-d2ad68e2e845). Her husband, Sami, is a venture capitalist.
Slayton, Bobby: Actocomedian who admits to seeing Epstein in West Palm Beach a few times over the years. Slayton says that “they weren’t friends,” although he once went to Epstein’s Manhattan mansion for coffee (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article234312632.html).
Smith Osborne: Not enough info.
Smith Peterson, Noona: Public relations officer and consultant who has worked for Tom Ford, Armani, Valentino, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, and Tod’s. She now has her own PR agency. In 2015, Forbes named her one of the 12 women who have changed Italian fashion (https://www.forbes.com/sites/declaneytan/2015/02/06/the-12-women-whove-changed-italian-fashion/#553827046f86). Noona is married to Enrico Erba, who is a client manager for Giorgio Armani.
Smith, James: Co-founder and CEO of Aegis Trust, an organization focused at stopping genocide in Rwanda. Aegis “enables students, professionals, decision-makers and a wider public to meet survivors and learn from their experiences” (https://www.aegistrust.org/what-we-do/).
Snyder, Maria: Model, designer, artist, and entrepreneur who has worked for the likes of Armani, Versace, Valentino, Calvin Klein, and Karl Lagerfield. Snyder attended a ‘Free the Slaves’ benefit in 2010 where she was photographed with hotelier Andre Balazs, who is mired in Epstein/Maxwell stink, and Brenda Schad, who appears just above (last name incorrectly spelled ‘Shad’).
Soames, Rupert & Milly: Rupert is a British businessman and CEO of Serco, a government contractor that provides health, transport, justice, immigration, defense, and citizen services. Soames and his company is heavily involved in many aspects of government (he is very close with former British Prime Minister David Cameron), and as such, has a huge impact on the public. For example, Serco has been contracted to work on a Coronavirus track-and-trace system for the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/04/nhs-track-and-trace-system-not-expected-to-be-operating-fully-until-september-coronavirus). Soames’s family is very close with the Royal Family (https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/photo-gallery/44913948/image/44914915/Camilla-Dunne-Honorable-Rupert-Soames-1988). Prince William served as a pageboy at Rupert and Camilla’s wedding in 1988. Soames is the grandson of Winston Churchill and his brother, Nicholas Soames, served as a British MP from 1983-2019. Nicholas has been accused of being sexist and making inappropriate remarks by several female MPs. Nicholas is also a very close friend of Prince Charles (https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/profile-charless-biggest-buddy-nicholas-soames-royalist-minister-for-food-1466703.html). Milly (Camilla) is Rupert’s wife and High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire. Milly is a Patron/Trustee for Pace Centre, a children’s charity dedicated to providing education for children with sensory motor disorders (https://thepacecentre.org/about-pace/mission-values-vision/), Heart of Bucks (https://heartofbucks.org/committees-patrons/), an all-purpose charity that divvies up money to many causes, several of which involve children (https://heartofbucks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/hob-annual-report-2018-2019-web.pdf), Action4Youth (https://www.action4youth.org/trustees/), which “partners with government, schools, youth clubs, businesses, trusts and foundations, and others (https://www.action4youth.org/about-action4youth/vision-mission-values/). Camilla is also the daughter of Sir Thomas Raymond Dunne, who served as a Lord Lieutenant of Hereford and Worcester, Worcestershire, and Herefordshire. Her brother, Phillip, has been a British Conservative MP since 2005.
Sobrino, Esperanza: Director of Acquavella art gallery.
Solomon, Andrew: Writer for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other publications. Member of Council on Foreign Relations where Epstein once served.
Soros Peter: Nephew of George Soros. Works as an investment banker. Soros’s name is circled in Epstein’s black book. It turns out that Epstein’s former house manager circled the names of all material witnesses before he died in 2014 (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/07/jeffrey-epstein-black-book-nick-bryant).
Soros, Peter: Same as above.
Soto, Fernando de: Real estate consultant.
Soto, Jaime & Marina de: No info found.
South, Hamilton: Founder of HL Group, a large marketing firm. Former Chief Marketing Officer for Ralph Lauren. South was a good friend of Carolyn Besette Kennedy (wife of JFK Jr) before she died. He was also a good friend of Lee Radziwill, mother-in-law of Carole Radziwill, listed earlier in Epstein’s book (check out the letter ‘R’ thread), before Lee’s passing.
Souza, Carlos: Works in public relations for Valentino.
Spacey, Kevin: Famous actor who has been accused of sexual assault by actor Anthony Rapp and 14 others (https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2017/11/07/kevin-spacey-scandal-complete-list-13-accusers/835739001/). He was on the infamous Epstein Africa flight with Clinton and Chris Tucker. Spacey also made this chilling video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZveA-NAIDI), which many think was a direct threat to the Royal Family. As a lot of you know, Spacey was close with the Royal Family and Ghislaine Maxwell. Just last month, a picture surfaced of Spacey and Ghislaine sitting on the British throne (https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/04/uk/maxwell-spacey-throne-gbr-intl/index.html).
Squire, Hugo: See Hugo Swire below.
St. Bris, Edward: International license manager at Pierre Cardin.
Stanburry, Caroline: Reality TV star from the show Ladies of London. Stanbury has also worked in public relations and as a stylist. Ex-girlfriend of Prince Andrew (after his divorce from the Duchess of York) and actor Hugh Grant.
Stark, Koo: Famous photographer who dated Prince Andrew for nearly two years in the early ‘80s. Stark eventually married (and divorced) Tim Jefferies, who was listed earlier in Epstein’s book (check the J-L thread). Stark went on to have a daughter with someone else. Prince Andrew is the godfather.
Starzewski Thomas: Famous British fashion designer whose clothes have been worn by the Royal Family.
Steenkamp, Chris: Not enough info. Possibly the artist responsible for these lovely drawings (https://www.instagram.com/christophersteenkamp.art/?hl=en), but I cannot confirm.
Steiner, Jeffrey: Not enough info. Probably the co-managing partner of MWE real estate group. I could be wrong, though.
Steinkampf, Chris & Nina: No info found.
Stengel, Andrew: Former director of acquisitions for Miramax. Former aide to Governor Mario Cuomo (father of Andrew and Chris).
Stengel, Rick & Mary: Richard is an editor, author, and government official (Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs) under Barack Obama. Richard is now a Senior Advisor at Snapchat and serves on the board of CARE, a charity that caters to women and children (https://care.org/about-us/leadership/richard-stengel/). Mary is his South African wife. Nelson Mandela was the godfather to their son, Gabriel.
Stern, Allison & Leonard: Allison (nee Maher) is a former model and TV producer. Her husband, Leonard, is a billionaire businessman involved in real estate. Leonard founded Homes for the Homeless, a charity that aims to help the financially disadvantaged. A large focus of the charity is children and youth (https://www.hfhnyc.org/). Leonard is also quite the heartless bastard. He announced that he was selling a Homes for the Homeless apartment building in midtown Manhattan, forcing its inhabitants to move out (https://thejewishvoice.com/2019/12/billionaires-nyc-homeless-facility-boots-out-elderly-tenants-before-holidays/). Just to show an example of how all these wealthy people truly do know each other, here is a link with pictures of Malcolm Forbes’s 70th birthday party in Morocco in 1989. Forbes flew out 800 guests (https://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/this-was-then-malcolm-forbes-70th-birthday-part-i/), including Leonard and Allison Stern, Robert Maxwell (Ghislaine’s father), Rupert Murdoch, Ronald Perelman, Barbara Walters, Robert and Blaine Trump, Diane von Furstenberg, King Constantine, Henry Kissinger, James Goldsmith, Hamish Bowles, Gianni Agnelli, Kay Graham, Elizabeth Taylor, Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Walter Cronkite, Ann Getty, Fran Lebowitz, and more. Not only are these people rich, famous, and powerful, but many of them also appear in Epstein’s black book.
Stevens Michael: Not enough info.
Stopford-Sackville, Charlie &: Charles works in finance and securities. Owner of Drayton House (https://www.northamptonshiresurprise.com/organisation/drayton/) in Northamptonshire, England. Married to Shona McKinney, who I am guessing is the name that got cut off in Epstein’s black book. Shona is a good friend of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/columnists/article-317052/Marks-married-maiden.html, who is a key figure in this whole Jeffrey Epstein saga.
Stracher Kate: Kate is an artist who went to Oxford with Ghislaine, but claims that she hasn’t seen her since then. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365733/How-Prince-Andrew-shared-room-Epsteins-Caribbean-hideaway-busty-blonde-claimed-brain-surgeon.html).
Sundlun, Stuart: Managing director of BMB Advisors, a private equity firm. Son of Governor Bruce Sundlun of Rhode Island (1991-1995). Stuart’s father also served as director of the National Security Education Board (NSEB) for four years under Clinton. Bruce is a great friend of Clinton right hand man (and multiple-time passenger on Epstein’s flight log), Ira Magaziner. Magaziner also appeared in Epstein’s black book (check out the ‘M’ thread for more info).
Sunley, Mr James & Amanda: James is CEO of Sunley Holdings, an investment company.
Sutherland, Harry: Likely refers to the investment banker who is Chairman of CrossInvest, an offshore corporate service company.
Svenlinson, Peter: Venture capitalist and founder of The Column Group. Served as Chairman for several pharmaceutical companies (Aragon, which was sold to Johnson & Johnson and Seragon, until it was solid to Genentech/Roche).
Swire, Sophie: English fashion entrepreneur who established a school for jewelers and gem-cutters in Afghanistan at Prince Charles’s request (https://adventurersclub.org/archives/calendanov2015.php). Co-founder of Learning for Life, an educational charity. She was a Trustee and Chairperson from 1995-2000. Learning for Life has established over 250 schools for girls in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.
Swire, Hugo: Swire is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2001-2019. Son of Roger, director of Sotheby’s.
Swire, Jenny: Former Miss South Africa. Fashion director for Wedding Magazine and TV personality. Contributing editor for Tatler, a publication which has appeared more than ten times amongst Epstein’s contacts.
Swire, Mark: Involved in real estate.
Sykes, Lucy Ewen: Entrepreneur, fashion executive, and socialite. Fashion director of Marie Claire magazine. Former consultant for Ralph Lauren, T. J. Maxx, and Tommy Hilfiger. Good friend of nightclub guru Amy Sacco, who is one of the contacts listed earlier in this thread. Lucy and her husband attended a dinner for Prince Andrew at Epstein’s house in the early 2000s (https://www.thecut.com/2019/07/ghislaine-maxwell-the-socialite-on-jeffrey-epsteins-arm.html). Lucy’s husband, Euan Rellie, has been a friend of Ghislaine Maxwell’s for years.
submitted by LearningIsListening to conspiracy [link] [comments]

Stats I Compiled Because I Was Bored: USLC Player Nationalities

Guess who's been Ultra-Instinct levels of bored? Me. Guess who skimmed every club's Wikipedia article, cross-referenced with Transfermarkt, and curated a spreadsheet of player nationalities by club? Also me.
Disclaimer: This post is really, really long. If you don't want to appreciate my hours upon hours of research, spread over a week as I slaved away over a hot keyboard, turn back now.
Methodology: Basically I used the Wiki entries for nationality, which uses FIFA international allegiance, or place of birth for those without a call-up. Derived statistics include the total number of players across the 35 clubs, the total number of clubs that employ players of that nationality, and the total number of different nationalities at each club. I did not include players at 2-teams who are under contract with the MLS parent organization. I did, however, include academy signings. (Correct as of 7/24)
The remainder of the post will highlight these 37 players who are either the only players in the USLC from their respective countries, or the only ones who play for that country, due to FIFA eligibility rules. A player could theoretically be eligible to play for 8 different national teams, if: all 4 grandparents, both parents, and the player were all born in different countries, and the player has held residency for 5 years after turning 18 in yet another country. But anyway...
Afghanistan: David Najem (New Mexico Utd.)
  • Originally from New Jersey, Najem only recently debuted for Afghanistan, so far making 3 appearances. He and his brother Adam are eligible through their father. Both David and Adam played in the USLC last season, but with the latter's move to the Polish league, David is the only Afghan international in the league.
Albania: Vangjel Zguro (FC Tulsa)
  • Hailing from the city of Pogradec, Tulsa's left wing-back (?) started at his hometown club, followed by several short stints at other domestic teams. He first moved abroad in 2019 with USL1's Chattanooga Red Wolves; he has yet to debut for his current side, or his national team.
Andorra: Joan Cervós (Colorado Springs Switchbacks)
  • Though I haven't checked exhaustively, I suspect that Colorado Springs' left-back is the first Andorran player for a professional U.S. team. Even if he's not, he's almost certainly the first Andorran goalscorer in professional American soccer. He received his first international call-up in 2018, becoming first-choice and taking part in 16 of 19 games since then for the small Iberian nation.
Austria: Daniel Fischer (Saint Louis FC)
  • The young left-back came up through the youth system of Austrian side SKN St. Polten, he played college ball for Young Harris in Georgia, spending a summer with Cincinnati Dutch Lions in the PDL. At 23 years of age, he's yet to appear for his current club.
Azerbaijan: Rufat Dadaşov (Phoenix Rising)
  • The only current player from the countries in the Caucusus, Dadaşov spent his entire career around the German lower leagues, before moving to Phoenix before this season. He made an impact immediately, netting a hat trick in their first game of the season and assisting one against OCSC. He's also played 24 matches for his country, netting 5 goals (all against red-and-white flags: Qatar, 2 vs Malta, Northern Ireland, and Bahrain).
Belgium: Chiró N'Toko (El Paso Locomotive)
  • Though born in Kinshasa, Zaire, N'Toko holds Belgian citizenship, the only such individual in the USLC. The 32-year-old moved to El Paso for the 2019 season, and has become club captain. Most of his career has been in the Netherlands, with short stints in his home Belgium, England, and Slovenia.
Bermuda: Zeiko Lewis (Charleston Battery)
  • Though not technically an independent country, Bermuda is a full member of FIFA, and Battery forward Zeiko Lewis is the only of that island currently in the USLC. A USL veteran, Lewis played for the Bermuda Hogges, Real Boston Rams, and Energy Drink Jr. before spending the 2018 season in Iceland, returning to the league with Charleston in 2019. A senior international, he has 26 caps and 9 goals to date, including a hat trick against Dutch possession Sint Maarten.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Robert Kristo (North Carolina)
  • Born in Bosnia but raised in St. Louis, Robert Kristo translated a successful collegiate career into spells in the Italian Serie C and the 3. Bundesliga. Joining the artist formerly known as the RailHawks, he's scored 12 in 30 since the start of 2019. He hasn't been called up to the national team to date.
Bulgaria: Vilyan Bijev (Sacramento Republic)
  • The Bulgarian midfielder, raised in California, has had something of a journeyman career. With youth spells at California Odyssey and Liverpool, he spent time on loan in Germany and Norway. He spent time back in Bulgaria, moving to Portland Timbers Jr., but he's spent more time at Republic than any previous team. Eligible through his residence, he's capped at youth levels for both the United States and Bulgaria, but is yet to make a senior appearance for either.
Burundi: Chancel Ndaye (Las Vegas Lights)
  • Born in Bujumbura, the 21-year-old right-sided defender moved to Las Vegas before the start of the season from the Czech Republic. Despite his age, he debuted for his nation at the Under-20 level at 17, and the senior level aged 19. His caps are in the U-20 AFCON, senior CECAFA Cup, and a friendly against Djibouti.
Cabo Verde: Steevan Dos Santos (Pittsburgh Riverhounds)
  • The Cape Verdean striker joined Pittsburgh ahead of the previous season, where he played nearly every game, scoring 10 and assisting 6 as they won their conference. The 30-year-old had a diverse career before coming stateside. Starting off at hometown club CS Mindelese, he spent a spell in Norway with Ull/Kisa before 2 seasons with Angolan side Progresso. He played briefly for Rochester Rhinos and Ottawa Fury, before becoming a key player at his current club.
Congo: Brunallergene Etou (Charlotte Independence)
  • Though born in Brazzaville, defensive midfielder Etou began his career in France, playing for lower-league sides Drancy, Le Havre Reserves, and Mont d'Or before "going pro" with Ligue 2 side Béziers. He joined Charlotte ahead of this season, and made his debut in their opening win against Sporting Kansas City Jr. Aged 26, he has yet to break into his national team.
Côte d'Ivoire: Jean-Christophe Koffi (Memphis 901)
  • The young midfielder hails from Côte d'Ivoire's capital city, Abidjan. After moving to the U.S. in childhood, he spent time in D.C. United's youth setup, before a collegiate career at University of Virginia. He joined Energy Drink Jr. for last season, starting 26 of his 27 appearances, before joining Memphis ahead of this season. He is not capped internationally at any level, but could potentially play for either his birth nation or the U.S.
Curaçao: Ayrton Statie (Reno 1868)
  • Born in the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire, the left-back plays internationally for Curaçao. I couldn't specifically find information regarding his eligibility; Bonaire is a municipality of the Netherlands, which is a constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands along with Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. Bonaire has a team, but it isn't a FIFA member. It's confusing. Nonetheless, after playing in the Dutch second division and briefly in Azerbaijan, Reno brought him in for the 2020 season. He has yet to appear for the Nevadan team.
Dominican Republic: Rafael Díaz (Sacramento Republic)
  • Backup goalkeeper for Sacramento Republic, Rafael Díaz has spent his entire career in the lower leagues of American soccer. From the PDL and NPSA, he moved to Energy Drink Jr., playing 21 times in the league across 3 seasons. Since joining Sacramento in 2018, he's played 8 times across all competitions. Uncapped internationally, he's nearly a decade younger than his nation's first two choices, so there's still hope!
French Guiana: Thomas Vancaeyezeele (Pittsburgh Riverhounds)
  • Born in Caen in France, Vancaeyezeele spent his youth career with his hometown club, having short spells at lower-league French and Spanish sides before attending the University of Charleston. He played for the now-defunct Florida Adrenaline, and Mississippi Brilla, before joining Pittsburgh following a trial spell. Internationally, he represents French Guiana, eligible through his grandparents. Though they aren't a FIFA member as a department of France, they participate in CONCACAF competitions, and he's played in the Nations League.
Grenada: Arthur Paterson (Charleston Battery)
  • A Florida native, Paterson played for Wright State in Ohio, he was passed up by NYCFC and landed at Bethlehem Steel, where he played a single match in 2018. At Charleston ever since, he was an important part of their 2019 playoff push at left-back, scoring 4 and assisting 2 in 23 matches across all competitions. Eligible through his father, Paterson has 9 caps for Grenada, with 4 goals in Nations League play. In his last match against Belize, he ran out as captain.
Italy: Daniele Proch (North Carolina)
  • Somehow, Daniele Proch is the only USLC representative from the great footballing nation of Italy. Coming up through academy systems in the north of his home country, he spent time at Serie D side Dro before playing at Catawba and Duke in the U.S. Signing with NCFC ahead of this season, it's his first fully professional contract. The forward debuted in the season opener, coming on as an 87th-minute substitute.
Lesotho: Napo Matsoso (Louisville City)
  • Originally from Maseru, capital of the small southern African enclaved nation, the 26-year-old midfielder attended and played for University of Kentucky in Lexington. Spending a few summers on loan at Derby City Rovers and Reading United, he was a draft pick for New England Revolution, though he never appeared for the senior team. Joining Lou City from Mississippi Brilla in 2018, he's since appeared 29 times in all competitions, scoring 5 in the USLC. For his nation he's played twice, though not since 2017; Lesotho mainly draws from their domestic league and their neighbor, South Africa.
Malawi: Yamikani Chester (Las Vegas Lights)
  • 25-year-old striker Yamikani Chester played for domestic clubs Tigers and Mighty Wanderers, he signed with Czech side Vyskov, immediately taking a loan spell at North Carolina FC for 2019. At the end of that campaign he signed for LV Lights. To date, he's only made one appearance for the Vegas side, an 86th minute sub in a 2-1 loss to San Diego. He has 10 caps for his national side, but he's been limited to qualification tournaments, as Malawi rarely competes outside regional cups.
Mauritius: Ashley Nazira (San Diego Loyal)
  • Starting out at domestic club Boulet Rouge, he led the league in scoring four of his five seasons. He signed with San Diego ahead of their inaugural season, uniquely becoming the first Mauritian professional in American soccer. However, he has yet to appear for Donovan's side, making the squad just once as an unused substitute. He debuted for the island nation in 2015 aged 20, and has appeared in 16 matches with 7 goals since.
Montenegro: Emrah Klimenta (San Diego Loyal)
  • Montenegrin utility defender Emrah Klimenta was born in Yugoslavia, but is eligible for the modern nation as the successor of the former federal state. Having grown up in the United States, he came through the youth systems of Slovakian side Zilina and FC Ingolstadt of Germany. His entire senior career has been in California, except a brief stint at Reno. From the now-defunct NPSL Bay Area Ambassadors, he found success at Sacramento Republic from 2014 to 2017. After a brief spell at LA Galaxy, he moved back to Sac for the rest of 2018, before helping Reno in their playoff push in 2019. After debuting in 2016, he's racked up 7 caps for his nation.
Morocco: Younes Boudadi (Reno 1868)
  • Born in Ypres, Belgium, Boudadi came up through the youth teams of Bruges before moving stateside for the college game. Spending 2 years each at Boston College and Creighton, he spent summers playing with PDL side Boston Bolts, and NPSL team Laredo Heat. Eligible through heritage (I couldn't find a good source), he's represented Morocco at Under-17 and Under-20 youth levels, most prominently in their appearance at the 2013 U-17 World Cup, helping them win their group before exiting in the round of 16.
Niger: Abdoul Kairou Amoustapha (Loudoun United)
  • Aged just 19, the Nigerien forward joined the DC United reserves earlier this year from Niamey club ASN Nigelec. I can barely find any information on this player, but he hasn't made the matchday squad in either of their games this season. He has, however, made appearances for Niger at Under-17, -20, and -23 levels. He was in the squad for their appearance at the 2017 U-17 World Cup in India. He featured as a substitute in a 4-0 group loss to Spain and started a 2-0 loss to Brazil. Advancing on third-place ranking, he was an unused sub in a round of 16 loss to Ghana.
North Macedonia: Xhelil Asani (Pittsburgh Riverhounds)
  • Though just 24 years of age, left-wingback Asani has built a diverse CV of clubs. Brief stints in lower-league Macedonian teams Napredok, Vellazerimi 77, Bylis Barish, and Metalurg Skopje preceded his first move abroad to Maltese top-flight Pembroke Athleta in 2016, and again to Torpedo Bel-AZ Zhodino in Belarus before returning to his home country with Shkendija. As if that weren't enough, he played briefly at Mash'al Mubarak in Uzbekistan, Mladost Doboj Kakanj in Bosnia, and SKA Khabarovsk in the ass-end of Russia before finally joining the Pittsburgh team before this season. He's made the bench 4 times, but has yet to debut. I'm exhausted after writing that.
Palestine: Nazmi Albadawi (North Carolina)
  • Born in Raleigh, he played for North Carolina schools Wake Tech and NC State, spending summers with the RailHawks' U-23 side. He moved up to the senior team in 2014, appearing over 100 times in all competitions before a move to FC Cincinnati ahead of their final USL season. Scoring 11 in 31 from attacking midfield, he stayed with the Ohioans in their MLS expansion, though he was loaned back to NCFC after one MLS appearance. He made his return permanent before this season, and has captained one of his two appearances this season. Eligible for Palestine through his parents, he's played for the west Asian team 9 times, scoring the winner against Pakistan on his debut.
Paraguay: Erik Lopez (Atlanta United Jr.)
  • On loan from his hometown Club Olimpia, the 18-year-old striker joined the Atlanta reserves on loan just earlier this month, and is set for a permanent move in 2021. He has yet to appear for the club, though in 2019 he appeared 16 times for Olimpia, scoring 4 in the league. He's already played for Paraguay at the Under-23 level, featuring in 2 losses during CONMEBOL Olympic qualification.
Philippines: Niko de Vera (Portland Timbers Jr.)
  • Born in Washington state, young left-back Niko de Vera spent time in the Portland Timbers youth setup before playing 60 games over 3 years at University of Akron. Playing with the Timbers' U-23 team in the PDL, after college New York Energy Drink drafted him, and he played for their USL reserve team in 2018. He returned to the Timbers organization ahead of the 2019 season, playing for the 2-team ever since. Eligible through his father, he was called up for World Cup qualification in 2019. However, he has yet to debut, making the bench just once, against China.
Poland: Dariusz Formella (Sacramento Republic)
  • Hailing from Gdynia on Poland's Baltic coast, left-winger Formella made his professional start at his hometown club, Arka Gdynia in the Ekstraklasa, in the 2012/13 season. He was then employed by Polish giants Lech Poznan from 2013-2018, but with several short loan spells back to Arka, Pogon Szczecin, and Rakow Czestochowa, where he earned valuable playing time. The last of these signed him permanently for 2018/19, but he came stateside and joined Sacramento ahead of 2019. He's played 15 times for them so far, including 2 goals against Tacoma the other week. He's progressed through the Polish national youth levels, appearing for the U-16, -17, -18, -19, -20, and -21 teams. He has yet to make his senior debut.
Russia: Valeri Saramutin (Austin Bold)
  • Born in Camden, New Jersey, he's eligible for Russia through his parents. Aged 25, he graduated Dynamo Moscow's youth academy to debut for the senior team, also playing for the reserve team. On Dynamo's books from 2012-2017, he moved to Dynamo St. Petersburg, playing in the Russian second division in 2017/18 before a brief stint with Veles Moscow in the tier below. He's been with the Texan club since their inaugural campaign, playing 30 games in midfield in their playoff push and their Cup run. For Russia, he's appeared at Under-16, -17, -18, and -19 levels.
Rwanda: Abdul Rwatubyaye (Colorado Springs Switchbacks)
  • Sandwiched between Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of he Congo, the small nation Rwanda only has one player in the USLC. Abdul Rwatubyaye, aged 23, started out in the youth system of Armee Patriotique Rwandaise, one of several major clubs in the capital, Kigali. He made his professional debut at crosstown club Isonga, before moving back to A.P.R., and eventually to Rayon Sports for a season. An MLS prospect, he joined Sporting KC early in 2018, making 2 appearances for the senior team and 1 for the reserves before moving to Colorado mid-season. Since joining the Switchbacks, he's played 25 games at center-back, scoring 4 along the way. Internationally, he's played 25 times, becoming a regular since his debut in 2015.
Serbia: Ilija Ilić (Indy Eleven)
  • Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in what's now Serbia, Ilić progressed through the youth teams in his hometown, including a brief loan to third-division side FK Sopot. After a collegiate career at Young Harris, with summer spells at PDL side Ocala Stampede, he joined Louisville City in 2015. He quickly became a regular in attack, with 91 appearances in all competitions from 2015-2018, helping them to two consecutive postseason titles. Joining Indiana's capital team ahead of 2019, he hasn't found the same success, playing just 22 times since. He has not yet been capped by Serbia.
St. Kitts and Nevis: Atiba Harris (Oklahoma City Energy)
  • The oldest player on this list, the 35-year-old defender is a veteran of MLS. After brief employment in Spain at the start of his career, he joined Real Salt Lake for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Staying in MLS, he was an important player for several teams in one or two-year spells. After a second spell with FC Dallas, playing 84 league games between 2015-2017, he spent the first half of 2018 at Mexican third-tier side Murcielagos, before joining OKC midway through the season. He's become a key player ever since, becoming club captain in 2019 and appearing in nearly every game for them since. He also captains his national team, appearing dozens (I keep seeing conflicting figures, but at least 41) times since 2003. Notably, he scored a hat-trick in the nation's joint-best-ever result, 10-0 over Saint Martin in the Nations League.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Kyle Edwards (Rio Grande Valley Toros)
  • At just 23 years old, the right-sided midfielder has already had a diverse playing career. Starting out at domestic club System 3 aged 16, he moved abroad to Antigua & Barbudan club Grenades from 2015-2017. Concurrent with his college career at Ranger College and UT-RGV in Texas, he played for PDL teams Houston Dutch Lions and Brazos Valley, before signing with RGV Toros ahead of the 2020 season. He's had just 3 of their 5 games this season, but he is a senior international, debuting in 2014, aged 17. He's earned 15 caps, mostly in friendlies, and has yet to score for his nation.
Tanzania: Ally Hamis Ng'anzi (Loudoun Utd.)
  • Born in Mwanza and raised in Dar es Salaam, the 19-year-old midfielder signed for DC United's reserves ahead of the current season. He began his career at domestic club Singida United, he signed for Czech third-tier Vyskov in 2018. His first move to American soccer was a loan spell at Minnesota United, who in turn loaned him to USL1's Forward Madison for 2019, where he played a handful of matches. He has yet to play for his current club. He's represented his nation at Under-17 and U-20 levels. He's also trained with the U-23 team, though hasn't appeared at that level yet.
Togo: Shalom Dutey (Charlotte Independence)
  • The young left-back is in his first professional contract, after playing college ball with nearby Liberty University. Born to Togolese parents and raised in Charlotte, he spent a spell with USL2 side Charlotte Eagles in the 2019 season. At just 22 years of age, I haven't found much information about him. While he hasn't yet played for his USL team, he's earned several honors in his youth career, including high school All-American, and USL2 Southern Conference Team of the Season.
Turks and Caicos Islands: Billy Forbes (Austin Bold)
  • The 29-year-old Turks and Caicos Islander has spent his entire career in the American lower leagues. Coming through Western Texas College and Lubbock Christian University, he played for PDL Mississippi Brilla for a summer after graduation, before moving to now-defunct WV King's Warriors in West Virginia, also of the PDL. He moved to NASL team San Antonio Scorpions for 2014 and 2015, their last two seasons of existence, before moving to Rayo OKC in 2016. He first came to the USL with San Antonio FC in 2017 and 2019, with a season at Phoenix in between. He signed for Austin ahead of this season, making two substitute appearances so far. He debuted for his nation in 2008, appearing 13 times, 8 as captain.
Phew. I started writing this post a week ago today, and a couple players have joined USL clubs since then, but none with unique nationalities. If there's anything to be learned here, it's that A) a lot of these players are defenders, and specifically left-backs for some reason, and B) I should have broken this up into smaller, more manageable pieces. For my next project I'm doing an overview of football in EU overseas territories. Because why not.
submitted by ghtuy to USLPRO [link] [comments]

Covid-19 update Thursday 23rd April

Good morning from the UK. It’s Thursday 23rd April.
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Virus news in depth

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North Korea was swift to close its borders at the end of January when coronavirus cases in neighboring China began to skyrocket but by the beginning of April North Korea was issuing a firm denial that it had no cases of Covid-19 with Pak Myong-su, a director at North Korea's Central Emergency Anti-epidemic headquarters, telling news agency AFP on Friday 3rd April: "Not one single person has been infected with the novel coronavirus in our country so far. We have carried out pre-emptive and scientific measures such as inspections and quarantine for all personnel entering our country and thoroughly disinfecting all goods, as well as closing borders and blocking sea and air lanes." The claims were flatly rejected by the four star US army general Robert Adams who commented "I can tell you that is an impossible claim based on all of the intel that we have seen," in a joint interview he held with news sites CNN and VOA. Fast forward three weeks and panic buying is reported to have broken out in North Korea according to a report picked up on the well regarded NK News (and consequently repeated on Bloomberg). One source in the report describes empty shelves and a sudden absence of staples like vegetables, flour, and sugar. Locals have been buying “whatever is there,” an expat said, saying that “you can hardly get in” to some stores. Both the expat and another person in Pyongyang said the surge was particularly notable on Wednesday whilst another source said large groups of locals were seen buying big amounts of mostly-imported products in some grocery stores, resulting in abrupt shortages. Demand sharply increased this week, yet another person confirmed, saying they had been told on Tuesday to purchase supplies of some key products. The range of items offered in shops aimed at diplomats has also diminished, they added, noting that in particular, “imported goods (are) running out.”
The situation in North Korea is complicated at the best of times but even more so now with persistent rumours swirling about Kim Jong Un’s health following a heart procedure (he is known to be obese, a heavy smoker and reports suggest ill health has been brought on by overwork). Should he die Kim's demise would risk unwelcome instability in North Korea and with no clear succession plan, his death or incapacitation could cause chaos in a heavily armed and secretive country. Their neighbours to the North are China who already have their hands full with Covid-19 as well as soothing diplomatic relationships with several Western countries over initially denying the outbreak and then failing to maintain quality control on the badly needed PPE exports pouring out of China. A destabilising North Korea is going to be the last thing Chinese President Xi Jinping needs. North Korea may be one to watch over the coming weeks and months.
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Over in the USA Forbes is reporting that three states with Republic governors are set to loosen Covid-19 restrictions. South Carolina will allow some retail stores, as well as flea markets, to reopen Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said the “vast majority” of his state’s businesses can reopen May 1, 2020, and Georgia will permit businesses such as gyms, barber shops and tattoo parlors to resume business on Friday. Forbes points out that common among the states, though, is a lack of strict protocols for businesses to follow, or a way to enforce a given mandate, even as health officials warn the virus could spread rapidly again if stringent restrictions on economic activity and a widespread testing system aren’t in place. On the same topic, Fox News is reporting that Oklahaoma will follow suit too and also partially reopen, in their case hair salons, spas, nail salons and pet groomers will be allowed to open their doors.
Exploring Georgia’s decision a bit further, Forbes says that Governor Brian Kemp has endorsed a free market philosophy that sees the businesses and residents—not the government—as having the ultimate power to decide how to proceed during the pandemic, though the state did order businesses to follow social distancing practices and screen employees for signs of illness; “It is not going to be government that is going to solve the problem; it is the community at large,” Kemp said earlier this month. Not everyone agrees with him; “We need to, as government leaders, step up and give people an incentive to stay home. But there’s nothing essential about going to a bowling alley in the middle of a pandemic,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Tuesday on MSNBC (Atlanta is in Georgia). Kemp responded to the criticism on Fox News saying, “If people don’t want to open the gym, they don’t have to. But when you close somebody’s business down and take their livelihoods . . . I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.”
It remains to be seen how convinced local residents will be as to how safe it would be to recommence their normal lifestyles. I flagged a Wuhan restauranteer’s story earlier this week - now their lockdown is lifted and people can come and go, he’s finding that whilst his restaurants might be open very few people are venturing out. Forbes for their part highlights a Gallup survey released last Tuesday that showed that just 20 percent of U.S. adults would resume normal activity right away once shelter-in-place orders are lifted. Lifting lockdowns is one thing, recreating the pre-outbreak circular economy quite another it seems.
But what about America’s doctor-in-chief Anthony Fauci’s opinion? Forbes helpfully has that answer: “That could be setting us back,” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the New York Times NYT on Tuesday, referring to Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina. “It certainly isn’t going to be helpful”, he added. Patrice Harris, the president of the American Medical Association, said she too was worried about a possible second wave of infections in the fall on the lines of Redfield's warning to The Washington Post. "I'm worried about a second wave to come sooner. I'm really worried about those states who are relaxing some of the stay-at-home regulations earlier. We could get a second wave even earlier than the fall. That's very concerning," she told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
As for President Trump’s stance on the matter, the president reiterated that his administration has established benchmarks that states should clear before they begin the reopening process. The rules recommend 14 days of declining new infections, as well as 14 days of decling covid-like syndromic cases and influenza-like illnesses, before moving to the reopening phase Kemp has called for. "I told the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree strongly with his decision to open certain facilities which are in violation of the Phase I guidelines for the incredible people of Georgia," Trump said. "At the same time, he must do what he thinks is right," Trump continued. "But I disagree with him on what he's doing."
Were a significant spike to come about through the fall (autumn) it could have serious implications for the upcoming elections in November 2020. As well as the election for the office of the President of the United States, all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate are being contested. Notably, the governorships for the four states mentioned above are not being contested this time around but there may be a question whether it’s safe enough to even physically hold the elections if there were a severe outbreak at the time. If interested in the situation around that scenario, try this article here.
Back to the economy to finish this bit off; the best-case scenario following aggressive reopening in Southern states, in contrast with more hard-hit epicenters in the North like New York and Michigan, is that it could create test cases of how to reignite the economy while keeping the disease at bay. That would require most warnings by medical and public health experts to be wrong. Opening up now is a huge risk. Just because the curve of infections is flattened does not mean it cannot rise again since the disease has no proven therapies and there is so far no vaccine.
If you’re American and want to know more about your own state’s position on reopening, CNN has a breakdown here.
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Virus news in brief

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Today’s sources: The Guardian, CNN, BBC (unless stated otherwise).
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Supply chain news in depth

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Failure to extend Brexit talks ‘very risky’, say UK forwarders - Aircargonews reports that UK freight forwarder association BIFA has said that the government’s refusal to extend trade deal talks with the European Union is “very risky” given the coronavirus outbreak. BIFA said that even before the pandemic, there were concerns among BIFA members that the 11-month transition wouldn’t leave enough time to prepare for a potential no deal, with talks between the UK and the EU only getting back underway this week. Robert Keen, BIFA director general, said: “In light of the huge issues involved with a sharp change in trading conditions at the start of 2021, particularly if that were to coincide with another Covid-19 outbreak, we think an extension looks increasingly likely. “There has been little meaningful consultation with UK trade regarding the policies and procedures required in order to ensure that trade with the EU can continue relatively uninterrupted post December 31st 2020. “Trade deals are typically multi-year exercises, but in this case, the UK and EU realistically have until October to agree on terms, allowing time for ratification. And while formal talks are continuing, many of the civil service resources previously assigned to support negotiations have been reallocated to deal with the coronavirus emergency response.”
(Cont’d) Keen explained: “Having had their businesses knocked sideways by the virus, many of our members have furloughed staff whilst they work out how they can keep their businesses afloat. “It is unlikely that their companies and the clients they serve will have the capacity to increase readiness for a sharp change in trading conditions in 2021. “In light of those things and with very little information from government on when restrictions on key sectors of the economy are likely to be lifted, and the as yet unknown economic damage done to the sector and wider economy, BIFA members are in no position to respond to a second massive shock if there is significant change in the terms of trade with the EU at the end of the year, because the government has stuck to its guns over the transition period.” “We believe that refusing to even consider extending the transition period is very risky and together with a growing chorus of Brexit commentators, think an extension to the transition period remains likely, and it is really only a question of ‘when’.” The Loadstar has picked up the same story here.
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Supply chain news in brief

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Good news section

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I didn’t find any, sorry...
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Donations

Several asked if they can send me $/£/€ via Patreon (in some cases because I've saved them time or money, others for no reason at all). I don't need the cash (that's lovely though) but as you may have read above, food bank charities are getting really hit hard with all this panic buying. Please consider giving whatever you'd have given me to a foodbank charity instead:
UK: https://www.trusselltrust.org/
France: https://www.banquealimentaire.org/
Germany: https://www.tafel.de/
Netherlands: https://www.voedselbankennederland.nl/steun-ons/steun-voedselbank-donatie/
Italy: https://www.bancoalimentare.it/it/node/1
Spain: https://www.fesbal.org/
Australia: https://www.foodbank.org.au/
Canada: https://www.foodbankscanada.ca/
USA: https://www.feedingamerica.org/
Thanks in advance for any donations you give. If there's foodbank charities in your country and it's not listed above, please suggest it and I will include it going forward.
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Virus stats

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I hope to publish them today, but being very honest it’s pretty unlikely and if I do get time it won’t be until late evening UK time (so around 10 hrs from now). I'd like to throw up the graphs for both infections and death rates for the four states that want to open because gut instinct tells me they haven't peaked yet so why they'd want to reopen is beyond my understanding.
submitted by Fwoggie2 to supplychain [link] [comments]

Why the future is really Grim

Hi all,
EDIT 2020: Posted this as an article here
On the canvas of this topic
10 years ago I was the guy chained up to a tree, 5 years ago I was the guy blocking the street trying to get your attention to stop eating meat. I was arrested, ridiculed and "roughed up". Now I’m just tired. I’m a Ph.D. in int.relations with a specialization in climate conflicts
Here you’ll find 30,000 scientific papers about this fu*ked situation.
For all audio lovers here you have a 30 minutes talk about why everything must collapse. "There's no infinite growth"
5 years ago there was a tv show called The Newsroom. It was mostly a serious tv show with some comedic tones about the world of media. There is a famous 5 minutes clip about climate collapse. It was "comedic" back then however now it is the reality.

Global Warming:

According to a 2018 report the have the current global temperature is above 1C the pre-industrial mean. What will happen with every 0.5? The climate action tracker shows we will reach a 3.5C with the current policies by 2050. Climate stripes- look at the jump in 1995
Graph showing Carbon emissions per continents. Look at the explosion in Asia
On this chart you have all the CO2 levels, CH4 levels, N20 levels, Temp and sea level.
The 20 worst Global Warming consequences
9 charts
1.5C - This used to be the point at which scientists thought we were OK. In 2018 the IPCC wanted to stop global warming at this temperature predicting we will hit it with a 10% chance by 2023. At this temperature, heatwaves across the globe will happen every single year, and these 'new' heatwaves will be as hot as the Sahara Desert. There will be massive crop destruction, 70% of coral in the ocean will be bleached, and drought will affect 360M people. source. Guess what according to the month-old IPCC 2019 report we are almost at 1.5C already. The number of loss events (Tsunamis, storms, flood, wildfire) between 1980-2015 has QUADRUPLED.
Historically, every climate summit missed their target of limiting GHG emissions by a lot. Another angle.

Biomass and 6th extinction

Earth appears to be undergoing a process of "biological annihilation." Up to half of the total number of animal individuals that once shared the Earth with humans are already gone. A 2017 study looked at animal populations across the planet by examining 27,600 vertebrate species — about half of the overall total that we know exist. They found that more than 30% of them are in decline. Some species are facing total collapse, while local populations of others are going extinct in specific areas. Moreover humans wiped out 60% of animal populations since 1970 Source
Roughly 40% of the world's insect species are in decline, according to one study. Insects aren't the only creatures taking a hit. In the past 50 years, more than 500 amphibian species have declined worldwide — and 90 have gone extinct — due to a deadly fungal disease that corrodes frog flesh. Source
And Plants are going extinct up to 350x faster than the historical norm
On the other side, Look at the explosion of domesticated animals between 1950 and 2000. Cattle is one of the causes of global warming. Ie. The Amazon is being cut down not for lumber but to make room for cattle SourceOur hope in her is all the Beyondmeat, Impossible burger which are not using animal protein and are way better for the environment.

Population

The steep curve of population. If our numbers grow by 228,000 on an average day, then in one week, we will have added about 1,589,000 extra persons to world population. To prepare for it Humanity must produce more food in the next four decades than we have in the last 8,000 years But we are wasting so much food and losing so much water in irrigation that taking all this into account Society will collapse by 2040 due to catastrophic food shortages.

Permafrost and Methane. Soil in the Arctic Is Now Releasing More Carbon Dioxide Than 189 Countries

At 2C level we expect 6.6 million square kilometers of permafrost to thaw. And create a feedback loop of releasing a lot of methane which means that melting ice caps and permafrost becomes a self-accelerating extinction. Already boiling with Methane But that is also terrifying because we know that there are pathogens frozen in that permafrost - pathogens like anthrax.

Illnesses

As the rest of the Earth warms, animals will be forced to migrate en masse. This means animals carrying tropical diseases (such as malaria. To give you an idea of why this should really scare you is because diseases like camel flu have a mortality rate of 36%. And the world’s hospitals are not ready for the health challenges of climate change
Nearly unbeatable and difficult to identify fungus has adapted to global warming and can now survive the warm body temperature of humans. With a 50% mortality rate in 90 days, meet Candida auris, the first pathogenic fungus caused by human-induced global warming
Report from the WHO World at risk. They listed dozens of illnesses that the experts suggested had the potential to trigger an outbreak which could spiral out of control, among them the plague, Ebola, Zika virus and Dengue. A flu-like deadly pandemic could sweep the world in hours and kill millions because NO country is fully prepared. A century ago the Spanish flu pandemic infected a third of the world's population and killed 50million people. source
Right now, air pollution in India or China is so high it goes off the chart. Without an airmask you'll get ill

Topsoil erosion

We are running out of topsoil Source, by 2055 we will have none of it video. That's the warning of "Surviving the 21st Century" author Julian Cribb to an international soil science conference in Queenstown, New Zealand on Dec 15, 2016. "10 kilos of topsoil, 800 litres of water, 1.3 litres of diesel, 0.3g of pesticide and 3.5 kilos of carbon dioxide – that's what it takes to deliver one meal, for just one person," Cribb says.. And it takes 2000 years to form 5cm of topsoil. If you don't think this will affect you...just you wait until food becomes the rarest commodity on Earth. If you think you have seen human barbarity, just wait until those same humans are starving and desperate for food. This won't mean millions starving. It will mean billions starving. Including you.

Scarcity of freshwater

India has 5 years to solve the water crisis, South Africa has the worst drought in 1000 years, Zambia has 2M of brink of starvation thanks to regional drought. According to the UN report in 10 years, 4 billion people will be short of fresh water, 2 billion will be severely short of it.

The Blue Ocean event

A Blue Ocean Event means that huge amounts of sunlight won't get reflected back into space anymore, as they previously were. Instead, the heat will have to be absorbed by the Arctic. As long as the Arctic Ocean has sea ice, most sunlight gets reflected back into space and the 'Center-of-Coldness' remains near the North Pole. A Blue Ocean Event will not only mean that additional heat will have to be absorbed in the Arctic, but also that wind patterns will change radically and even more dramatically than they are already changing now, which will also make that other tipping points will be reached earlier. This is why a Blue Ocean Event is an important tipping point and it will likely be reached abruptly and disruptively by 2022.source The arctic ice volume over the years in one chart. It is a Death spiral.

The ice sheet feedback loop

And when it comes to rising ocean levels it's becoming increasingly difficult to predict because not only are we heating the air, heat is getting trapped in the oceans too which means that ice sheets in the Arctic circle and Greenland are melting from above and below - meaning they're melting much MUCH faster than we estimated even in our most extreme estimates. Vice news video about it. This will mean that Florida and New York could be completely underwater. If you're worried about refugees from Central and Latin America or Africa, you'll want to start thinking about the tens of millions of people that will be fleeing inland to escape the inundations. Rising Seas Will Erase even More Cities by 2050. It triples our previous estimates

Wet bulb event

Extreme heatwaves that kill even healthy people within hours will strike parts of the Indian subcontinent unless global carbon emissions are cut sharply and soon, according to new research. Even outside of these hotspots, three-quarters of the 1.7bn population – particularly those farming in the Ganges and Indus valleys – will be exposed to a level of humid heat classed as posing “extreme danger” towards the end of the century. The new analysis assesses the impact of climate change on the deadly combination of heat and humidity, measured as the “wet bulb” temperature (WBT). Once this reaches 35C, the human body cannot cool itself by sweating and even fit people sitting in the shade will die within six hours. There are already part of thw world above 32-33

Ocean Acidification

Oceans are absorbing a large portion of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere—in fact, oceans are the largest single carbon sink in the world, dwarfing the absorbing abilities of the Amazon rainforest. But the more CO2 the oceans absorb, the more acidic they become on a relative scale, because some of the carbon reacts within the water to form carbonic acid. If acidification decreases marine emissions of sulfur, it could cause an increase in the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth’s surface, speeding up warming—which is exactly what the Nature Climate Change study predicts. Researchers estimate that the pH of the ocean will drop by 0.4 pH units by the end of this century if carbon emissions are not stopped, or by 0.15 units if global temperature rise is limited to 2C. source And plankton and all fishes are plunging. There is a mass extinction in the oceans right now

Why tree-loss prevention is more important than planting them.

There’s too much CO2 in the atmosphere that planting trees can no longer save us. However Scientists estimate that we need to plant 1 trillion trees to mitigate the GW. WITHOUT LOSING ONE SINGLE TREE because a burning tree is releasing all the CO2 back. The amazon is losing 3 football field’s PER MINUTE thanks to fire. If you prefer an interactive map. At the moment we are losing 13-15 million hectares per year in South America and Africa and south East Asia because it is converted from a forest to agriculture land. Source.
So, if we assume that 1M trees’ planted is one step that you make, then 20 meters is 20M trees right? 1 trillion trees are like 2.5x from where you're standing to the International Space station. Not to mention all the pollution by delivering the seeds (or small trees from tree farms), all the logistics in preparing the ground for planting and all the promotion waste etc.

Migrations

Tens, hundreds of millions of climate refugees. MIT source. By 2050 there will be 1.5B migrants. Yes, it’s in 30 years. And it will increase the potential for conflicts and violence. A study by the Pentagon confirms there will wars caused by migrants. Just an example of top of my head. India could block the river Indus and kill hundreds of millions of Pakistani source. Both countries have WMD.
There will be a rise of fascism and concentration camps. Trump already tried this with the camps south and China is doing terrible things to Uighurs my comment about the crimes against the Uighurs. We will see a rise of this over the next 30 years.

The super-rich

The rich know that it is too late and they will be the only one to survive the global warming article. They are building bunkers and buying NZ passports to fly there when SHTF happens and that’s why they are getting richer and richer exponentially. For example Canada, Norway and Brasil will flood the world with oil just to profit at the maximum Article from NYT from today "Flood of Oil Is Coming, Complicating Efforts to Fight Global Warming". And if anything happens they will just buy Visas and passports for 1M+ and bug out while migrants are put into concentration camps. Moreover The wealthy are plotting to leave us behind
The rich are against extinction rebellion movement and Greta.
Keystone Oil spill no one is talking about will be impossible to clean up
Good article on how the future will be seized by corporations. From private taxation to schools, corporate cops and judges. It’s beginning in Toronto
Great post about how the billionaires are discrediting the climate activists. Good GQ article on how the billionaires caused the climate change and in here you have 20 firms behind 1/3 of CO2
the elites have made the conscious decision to destroy the climate in order to maintain their power.

Why the current economic system is broken:

The current economic system is broken beyond belief and not only in the US but also in Europe, Australia and in Asia. I've been researching this issue for years (privately) because I was appalled by how bad it really is.
The ultra-rich are holding up to $32 trillion, excluding non-financial assets such as real estate, gold, yachts and racehorses, in offshore accounts.
Visualization of $50K, $1M and $1B. The median income in the US is $32,000. If each step on a staircase represents $100,000 of net worth then HALF of the people in the US are on the base or the very 1st step. Almost 200 million people who can't even get one step up in this system. The households on the 80th percentile are on the 5th step. That's about five seconds of walking to get up there. A billionaire is ten thousand steps up the staircase. That's enough to walk up five Empire State buildings. From these heights, they couldn't tell the difference between a millionaire and a homeless even if they wanted to. And Jeff Bezos? That's more than halfway to the space station. That's more than 24 consecutive Mt. Everest's stacked on top of each other.
If you had a job that paid you $2,000 an HOUR, and you worked full time (40 hours a week) with no vacations, and you somehow managed to save all of that money and not spend a single cent of it, you would still have to work more than 25,000 years until you had as much money as Jeff Bezos. Of course, we are talking about all his assets but don’t forget that Jeff is selling his shares from time to time. Sold $1B of stock in 2017 and Cashed out $1.8B in 2019. He reinvested the money but nevertheless, he is able to cash it out. Btw, how working in a warehouse is terrible for you but great for Bezos
Notable mentions:
Share of wealth held by the Forbes 400 more than doubled in the last 10 years
Videos:
Articles:

The future is grim (automation)

Manual automation: There are entire towns in the US build around factories or mines. If you automate the factory and close the mine plenty of people will lose their job and fail into the drugs trap. How unemployment is tied with illegal drug use. Humans need a goal, should it be work, volunteering or creating. Without one most of us feel useless and without a purpose. Additionally, a mine closing down causes extra mass layoffs in such a town. It is called the ripple effect. A mine closing down = x3 more job loss for a town. Another link What happen when a factory town closes down Least we forget, Trump won the presidency because he promised to give back the jobs' lost. Out of the 8.9M promised he created only 154k
Intellectual Automation: I also don't approve the explanation that automation is creating more jobs. The current automation is not the same as 200 years ago or 100 years ago where industrialization replaced the physical workforce. Now we see our brains replaced. And I get that, companies to stay afloat need to move with the current and need to R&D cut costing methods like automation. However, it is not a long-term solution because there's a point where the population had it enough. Most society revolt when someone is attacking their helpless or close ones. A famine, a natural disaster or shady government are toppled because the population doesn't have enough means to help their families. Why do civilizations collapse.
The 1789 revolution happened because The people of France were growing increasingly more upset with treatment they received from the upper and royal classes, mainly due to special privileges. The 1917 was similar in cause. Families lived just above the subsistence level, and around 50 percent had a member who had left the village to find other work, often in the towns. As the central Russian population boomed, land became scarce. This way of life contrasted sharply with those of rich landowners, who held 20 percent of the land in large estates and were often members of the Russian upper class. source. The great depression of 1929 had only 8% of unemployment rate
As you may see we are getting closer to the same causes as 200 years ago and 100 years ago. Rich getting richer and forcing "peons" out of work thanks to automation.
How can you retrain a 50 yo trucker? How can you tweet #learntocode to a 55 years old maid? It is a crime against humanity but this time caused by greedy corporations trying to move aside the unpredictable part of the machine - Us. No more sick leaves, no more PTO, no more maternity leaves.
"Designing ourselves out of the picture, little by little, scoffing at the idea that we’ll ever actually succeed at it. Playing a grand game of chicken, trying to push machines as close as possible to a complete set of human capabilities without getting so close that it begins to ask uncomfortable questions like “why am I working for you instead of myself”."
Please watch:
The future of work by Vice
Humans need not to apply
No you sweet summer child, automation won't create new jobs
A big debate about the future of work
800 million jobs will be taken by automation by 2030
‘Robots’ Are Not 'Coming for Your Job'—Management Is
There's an Automation Crisis Underway Right Now, It's Just Mostly Invisible
Lastweektonight - Automation
Low Skilled Humans Need Not Apply: Exponential Job Disruption
Low Skilled Humans Need Not Apply: The Growth, Quality And Polarization Of New Jobs part. 2
'Goliath Is Winning': The Biggest U.S. Banks Are Set to Automate Away 200,000 Jobs
(Another Issue is using AI to create a Surveillance state): How China Is Using Artificial Intelligence in Classrooms or Life Inside China's Total Surveillance State or in the UK or in France - RT link
And please, don't reply with the South Park "They took our jobs". It's not the same. You can't compete with Automation. You can't learn something new or something niche that will bring you money. And to be fair, it's not automation taking your job but CEOs and Managers
The percentage of jobs to be automated in the next 10 to 20 years is 70% for the low-skill jobs, 46% for the middle-skill level. And as we all know, most of the population works in these 2 categories and their wage didn't grow since 1979 . At the moment there are just in the US, 3.5M truck drivers, 3.5M cashiers 3M clerks, 2.3M customer rep (that can and will be replaced by automation). Now take these 10M to 15M and their families (x3) so 30 to 45M Americans without a salary. It's 1/6th of the country. You have a revolution.
Even if all accountants, lawyers, clerks and truck drivers go for trade you can't have 200 million plumber, electricians, and gardeners in the States... Let's be real. The ONLY one to profit from it will be Bezos and his peers. Jeff Bezos abruptly cuts health benefits for nearly 2,000 part-time Whole Foods workers. They are just waiting in the starting blocks to start firing employees.

Conclusion

Why going green is not the solution.

Costs of going green are insane and the global economy is unable to bear the brunt of this mass switch. Going 100% green energy is not possible with the current consumption. Earth lacks enough metals to produce solar panels, batteries and ways to distribute energy around the globe. Building one wind turbine requires 900 tons of steel, 2,500 tons of concrete and 45 tons of plastic. Solar power requires even more cement, steel and glass—not to mention other metals. Global silver and indium mining will jump 250% and 1,200% respectively over the next couple of decades to provide the materials necessary to build the number of solar panels, the International Energy Agency forecasts. World demand for rare-earth elements—which aren’t rare but are rarely mined in America—will rise 300% to 1,000% by 2050 to meet the Paris green goals. If electric vehicles replace conventional cars, demand for cobalt and lithium, will rise more than 20-fold. That doesn’t count batteries to back up wind and solar grids. Source A periodic table of elements that we are running out of And China controls 90% of all rare minerals source
A single electric-car battery weighs about 1,000 pounds. Fabricating one requires digging up, moving and processing more than 500,000 pounds of raw materials somewhere on the planet. The alternative? Use gasoline and extract one-tenth as much total tonnage to deliver the same number of vehicle-miles over the battery’s seven-year life.
The new green deal is not enough. The Developing World Is Increasing Emissions At Such A Rate That Any Emission Reduction By The Developed World Will Be Offset. Even if we imagined that the political will could be found in both the United States and the European Union to spend trillions on a Green New Deal, and we made the somewhat generous assumption that these plans would be successful in achieving net zero emissions by 2030, it would really have no meaningful impact on global carbon emissions thanks to China, Africa, India and South America.
Same with a meat tax. We can impose a tax on meat in the developed countries but China, India or South America are eating more and more meat by the day. According to Asia Research and Engagement's report "charting Asia's protein journey", meat and seafood consumption in Asia will rise 33% by 2030 and 78% from 2017 to 2050

Peak Copper

An international team of researchers has looked at the material demands and pollution that would result from a push to get the globe to 40 percent renewables by the middle of the century. The analysis finds that despite the increased materials and energy demands, a push like this would result in a dramatic reduction in pollution. And for the most part, the material demands could be met, with the possible exception of copper. 40% Green Energy requires 200% more copper 100% green energy requires 500% more copper. We move some 3 billion tons of earth per year to get 15 millions tons of copper. We cannot recycle it into existence. Substituting aluminum for copper takes 5X the energy and is less safe. And there is no substitutes for the metals

Why nobody talks about collapse?

Collapse doc
Why does nobody talk about collapse? Because a world without hope is a burning world. Imagine 7B people realizing they don’t have 50-70 years but 20 or 30. It’s pure chaos. Additionally, the wealthy of this world are trying promoting such work ethics that you don't have the time to read, watch or study the above. This endless cycle of working-buying stuff-sleeping is damaging our society. We are becoming more and more ostracized from each other by using technology like FB or Tinder. Moreover, some countries or politicians are trying to destabilize the world as we know, to create confusion and conflicts between us. Divide and conquer. Why do you think Russia stands behind Brexit, the Blacklivesmatter movement and the rise of fascism in Europe? Russia influenced the American elections by creating hundreds of facebook groups to vote for Trump. Russia paid facebook to run "patriotic maga" ads. If you want to read more about Russia's violations of law here is my 1.6k upvoted comment
Why do you think there are so many protests going around? Here are all the major protests happening around the globe right now. Why so many people are protesting. My 2019 deathtoll
Fight
For more: /collapse
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forbes list south africa under 30 video

It's 2019, and Forbes Africa has announced its fifth edition of the 30 Under 30 list, honouring and celebratying Africa's young entrepreneurs making positive changes in society through their different stories. The list was announced at the Houghton Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa where the annual Forbes Africa Under 30 Meet Up took place. Several South Africans feature on the 2017 30 Under 30 list. (Image: Forbes Africa) CD Anderson. In addition to emerging moguls from Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 list also features a number of rising South African business players. The fifth annual Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 list has been released in a Special Issue of the magazine and it features a total of 120 young African innovators. This is an increase from 90 people Young entrepreneurs are changing the face of Africa. I set out to produce a list of the 30 Africans under 30 years old who are making the most dramatic impact across the continent. The Forbes Africa ’30 Under 30′ list has finally been published and it pays homage to the continent’s most innovative and change-making youthful leaders. Forbes Africa 30 under 30: List is finally... Below are the Forbes Africa 30 UNDER 30 honorees in the business category for 2019: 1. Bruce Diale, 29, South Africa, Founder & Managing Director of Brucol Global Development Meet The Top Young Entrepreneurs Of The Forbes Under 30 2020 List A. wake-up call to cynics who think they have seen it all. The young, creative and bold minds on this year’s 30 Under 30 list This year marks the fifth milestone annual FORBES AFRICA 30 under 30 list, and we have introduced a new category of game-changers. Together, they are 120... Sticky Post 2 years ago. Forbes Africa #30Under30 list: Business, Technology, Creatives and Sport. THE FORBES AFRICA 30 UNDER 30 LIST IS THE most-anticipated list of game-changers on the continent and this year, we bring you 120 of Africa Celebrating six years of the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list, they are the continent’s revolutionary thinkers revitalizing ideas and industries with fresh business models and innovative leadership. Single Digital Issue: Forbes Africa April 2020 – 30 Under 30 . R 50.00. Add to cart. Forbes Africa Subscription. R 225.00 – R 800.00. Select options. Single Digital Issue: James Mwangi Cover Forbes Africa has released its fifth edition of its 30 under 30 list, honouring some of the continent's most accomplished young artists, entrepreneurs and tech stars.

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