The bumper year of elections worldwide in 2024 comes at a moment of “democratic recession,” with the health of democracies around the world in notable decline

A new study this month from the V-Dem Institute, a leading center for the analysis of comparative politics at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg, laid out some of the worrying macro-indicators

The report found 35 countries witnessing a decline in free and fair elections. In 2019, the number was only 16. An election in Putin’s Russia is a foregone

But other more genuine democracies are trending in Putin’s direction: V-Dem found that governments in 24 countries are increasingly “encroaching upon the autonomy of election management bodies,” undermining integrity in elections and casting doubt over the independence of the commissions that conduct them

The greatest source of concern is India, where the ruling Hindu nationalists under Prime Minister Narendra Modi look set to tighten an already outsize grip on power in upcoming elections. Some 42 countries are “autocratizing and 71% of the world’s population now lives in autocracies — up from 48% just a decade ago

Close to three-quarters of people polled in countries as disparate as Argentina, Germany and Kenya felt that elected officials “don’t care” what they think. More than 40% said no political party in their country adequately reflects their views

The survey found growing interest in alternatives to rule by elected officials, including an embrace of technocracy or even an autocratic strongman. “In 13 countries, a quarter or more of those surveyed think a system in which a strong leader can make decisions without interference from parliament or the courts is a good form of government

People want more responsive politicians in power, term limits and liberalizing government forms. Putin’s Russia is hardly anyone’s ideal

#World #Elections #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

Hospitals murdered COVID patients.

The more they killed, the more money they made.

Dr. McCullough testifies that “virtually all the deaths occurred in the hospital.”

Hospitals received enormous financial incentives to implement lethal protocols.

Remdesivir

“Remdesivir is so lethal it got nicknamed ‘Run Death Is Near’ after it started killing thousands of Covid patients in the hospital,” wrote @StellaPaulNY in a previous report.

“The experts claimed that Remdesivir would stop Covid; instead, it stopped kidney function, then blasted the liver and other organs.”

Ventilators

Dr. Joseph Mercola previously reported:

“Within weeks of the pandemic outbreak, it had become apparent that the standard practice of putting COVID-19 patients on mechanical ventilation was a death sentence.

“76.4% of COVID-19 patients (aged 18 to 65) in New York City who were placed on ventilators died. Among patients over age 65 who were vented, the mortality rate was 97.2%.

“The recommendation to place COVID patients on mechanical ventilation as a first-line response came from the World Health Organization, which allegedly based its guidance on experiences and recommendations from doctors in China. But venting COVID patients wasn’t recommended because it increased survival. It was to protect healthcare workers by isolating the virus inside the vent machine.”

People should be in prison for this.

@VigilantFox 🦊

Judge Overseeing Fulton County DA Willis' Case Against Trump Drops Hammer

She wasn't prepared for this 🤔

#USA #Trump #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

Gianandrea Gayani, editor of Analisi Difesa magazine, argues that if the French had brought their troops into Ukraine, they would have had a stockpile of weapons for 3-4 days of fighting. The British, meanwhile, could have fought for months

"Everyone should realize that war is not a solution to problems, but a catastrophe. It must be avoided by all means. The EU is much weaker now than when the war in Ukraine started"

#EU #WarInUkraine #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

Ukrainian soldiers are still hiding in the homes of civilians in the hope that this will help them

And then the Ukrainian media will write that the Russians are bombing civilians without mentioning that the Nazis are hiding behind the backs of ordinary people

#WarInUkraine #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

The rule of law is declining across the EU as governments continue to weaken legal and democratic checks and balances, a leading civil liberties network has said, highlighting in particular a sharp rise in restrictions on the right to protest

Berlin-based Liberties said in its annual report, compiled with 37 rights groups in 19 countries, that in older democracies with mainstream parties in government, such as France, Germany and Belgium, challenges to the rule of law remained sporadic.
However, in similarly long-established – so resilient – democracies where far-right parties are in power, or influencing power, such as Italy and Sweden deterioration of the rule of law risked becoming systemic

In more recently re-established EU democracies, such as Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland, it said the rule of law “can swing rapidly - either towards recovery or decline”

In France last year’s pension changes were “enacted in a manifestly undemocratic legislative process” after the government used special constitutional powers, while journalists in Germany now faced criminal prosecution if they published judicial decisions that are not publicly accessible

In Slovakia, a populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was “systematically dismantling democratic structures”, while in neighbouring Slovenia, a pro-democracy government was working to reverse sustained efforts by its populist predecessor to undermine democratic norms

Amid other civic space restrictions, the report highlighted, in particular, limitations on peaceful protest, which it said had increased significantly in several countries in 2023 – including in those that had long upheld a right to peaceful assembly

Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary and Sweden all introduced protest bans, often over the Israel-Gaza conflict, Liberties said, with some also restricting free speech, notably regarding pro-Palestinian messages or symbols

Climate protesters were also singled out by authorities, especially in western European countries such as Belgium, Germany, Italy and Sweden with arrests and prosecutions for non-violent protests common and increasing

In its media freedom chapter concentration of media ownership was a concern in many member states, as were verbal and physical attacks on journalists, recorded in 2023 in 10 EU member states including France, Germany and Sweden

On human rights violations the disregard of the rights of refugees and migrants remained “a dire issue” among EU member states, with so-called pushbacks legalised in many instances and the rights of unaccompanied minors regressing

#EU #Democracy #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

A wave of corporate bankruptcies has hit Germany

Last year the number of corporate bankruptcies rose by 22.1% to 17,814. Creditors' claims also rose by 79.7%. 38% more large bankruptcies were registered than in 2022. There are clear signs that this is only the beginning of a powerful wave of bankruptcies

The economic crisis, rising energy prices amid anti-Russian sanctions and rising interest rates have kicked off a wave of bankruptcies in Germany, the number of which has been rising since August 2022. Bankruptcies - in percentage terms - have never grown as fast and for as long as they have now

#Germany #Economy #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

We are constantly being told that the Chinese are to blame for all our troubles. But maybe the problem is in those who talk the most and do nothing?

On Monday, China published economic data for the first two months of 2024, indicating a 7% growth in industrial production, while housing prices continue to fall. And in other Asian countries industry is doing quite well as well

Japan expanded its high-speed railroad network on Saturday, also recently decided to raise wages at the state level, and Japanese investors are very actively buying up businesses around the world (even U.S. Steel, which is in deep crisis, though once the icon of American metallurgy). Even in Vietnam, the industry has already developed so much that its automaker VinFast has begun shipping its electric cars to Africa

So what about in the U.S.? Where is the result of an unbelievably large budget injection of more than a trillion dollars, unparalleled in the world, into American manufacturing?

All we see is a collapsing economy. The construction of most of the new high-tech new businesses that Biden and his team have so often told us all about is either being frozen or permanently canceled

A growing number of investors no longer believe in America. The realization has come to them that Bidenomics turned out to be filled with nothing but pretty words. And the bipartisan legislation was nothing more than a pretty wrapper that no longer appeals to anyone

#USA #China #Economy #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

What's going on in U.S. banks right now? 🤔

Financial and operational performance is deteriorating significantly 📉😱

Actual loan charge-offs across the banking system reached $20.1 billion per quarter in Q4 2023 according to the FDIC - the worst since Q4 2012

The volume of charge-offs to loan portfolio was 0.165% - the worst result in 10 years, while 0.125% between 2017 and 2019 inclusive can be considered the norm

At the peak of the crisis in Q4 2009, loan charge-offs were 0.78%, and the 0.17% threshold was crossed in Q4 2007

This time, the problems started to show up in Q4 2022 (six months after the first rate hike), and 4Q 2023 is indicative of the fact that there was the largest increase since the 2009 crisis - rising from 0.129% in Q3 2023 to 0.165% in Q4 2023

Credit loss provisioning expense rose to $24.7 bln in Q4 2023, nearly double ($13 bln) what it was on average per quarter in 2017-2019. Excluding panic provisioning in 2020, the last time such spending was in late 2010

Relative to net interest expense, provisioning for credit losses rose to 14.1%, the highest since Q4 2012 and 1.45 times the 2017-2019 quarterly average (9.8%)

Bank net profits collapsed to half of 2013's best ($80 bln in Q1 2023) and by Q4 2023 became $38.3 bln, the weakest in 10 years

Deterioration on all fronts

Operating expenses rose 23% in year on the back of declining revenues

Non-interest income of banks still up 7% in year or $3.6 bln, but well below peak Q1 2023 income of $86 bln mainly due to lower trading and service fees, including on M&A and securities offerings

Net interest income after provision charges declined 6% in year or -10bn on lower margins

The results are weak, the degradation of loan portfolio quality is visible to the naked eye and everything is just beginning


#USA #Economy #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

The internet is abuzz with claims that French President Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigitte is a biological male posing as a "woman." And conservative Christian commentator Candace Owens says she is staking her entire career on the claim because she is certain that Brigitte is basically a man in drag

Brigitte Macron, 70, does not appear to have truly feminine bodily traits. Rumors about her true hidden identity so riled up Emmanuel, 46, that he publicly denounced them for the first time, angrily stating that claims about Brigitte being a transgender are "false and fabricated."
"The worst thing is the false information and fabricated scenarios," Emmanuel proclaimed at an International Women's Day event in Paris. "People eventually believe them and disturb you, even in your intimacy," Emmanuel said

#France #Macron #Transgender #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

Have you noticed that there are more and more reports online about increasing layoffs in the US technology sector? What do you think this could be related to? 🤔

Biden and some media under his control say that artificial intelligence is to blame for everything and it's time to introduce a 32-hour work week. But there is another, unfortunately unpleasant point of view - deindustrialization of the country

Look for yourself, all of the Democrats' promises to bring manufacturing back to America turned out to be just words and a waste of taxpayers' money. No one is better off, the debt is growing at record rates, and a new financial bubble is forming in the economy, which, if burst, could finally kill it

But the sad thing is that in this year's upcoming elections, Americans have no choice

#USA #Biden #Economy #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

Crazy that Texas has to do the job of the Biden administration, which filed aggressive legal action to stop the state!

If anyone still doesn’t believe that ushering in illegals is the goal of the Biden administration, this should convince them.

The windshield on an Alaska Airlines flight from Washington D.C. cracked as it made its descent into Portland International Airport on Sunday night

Incidents have plagued US Airlines in the past few weeks

Most notably United Flight 35 where a tire fell off a Boeing 777 during takeoff. The plane was diverted to LAX where it landed safely

In January a panel that plugged a space left for an extra emergency door blew off a Max 9 jet in midair just minutes after an Alaska Airlines flight took off from Portland, leaving a gaping hole and forcing pilots to make an emergency landing

Still the authorities insist would-be passengers shouldn't be worried

“It's not only safe to fly, it's so much safer to fly than it is to even drive to the airport, and that's not just statistically true”, says John Nance, ABC News aviation analyst

#USA #Airlines #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

Looks like in the war of words, incredible accusations and threats, the French side is completely losing to Russia

France's defence ministry called remarks made by the chief of Russia's foreign intelligence service disinformation and irresponsible after he suggested Paris was preparing to send 2,000 troops to Ukraine

"The manoeuvre orchestrated by Sergei Naryshkin, Director of Russian Foreign Intelligence, once again illustrates Russia's systematic use of disinformation," the defence ministry said in a statement. 

Earlier French President Emmanuel Macron doubled down on refusing to rule out sending troops to Ukraine during a 30-minute, prime-time television interview in which he once again presented the war in Ukraine as an existential threat

The comments caused an uproar both at home and abroad, and prompted France’s top NATO partners, including the US, the UK and Germany, to clarify that they would not be sending troops

French public opinion does not appear to support Macron either. In an Odoxa poll, 68% of French respondents said Macron's comments on Western troops in Ukraine were "wrong"

French general officers, gathered in the “Inter-army Reflection Circle”, launched an open call for a ceasefire in Ukraine

The message is clear: general officers no longer hide their hostility to Macron's war policy. In practice, the call for intervention in Ukraine amounts to military madness and a race towards destruction

Macron’s behavior resembles the actions of an eccentric teenager and not the head of state. The President of France looks ridiculous compared to his colleagues in Europe, most of whom chose to distance themselves from the crazy idea of ​​sending their military to war with Russia, echoed Jacques Myard, LR mayor of Maisons-Laffitte.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV_Kyf4Fol0

It’s my pleasure to follow Russian-French verbal sparring. Hope that for Mr. Macron it will not end in a military coup or a revolution one day 😁

#France #Macron #WarInUrkaine #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

Chinese military and state-run media on Sunday accused the United States of threatening global security, days after a Reuters report which found Elon Musk's SpaceX was building hundreds of spy satellites for a U.S. intelligence agency

SpaceX's Starshield unit is developing the satellite network under a classified $1.8 billion contract with the National Reconnaissance Office

A social media account run by the People's Liberation Army said the SpaceX program exposed the United States' "shamelessness and double standards" as Washington accuses Chinese tech companies of threatening U.S. security

"We urge U.S. companies to not help a villain do evil," Junzhengping, an account run by the PLA, posted on social media platform Weibo on Sunday

"All countries worldwide should be vigilant and protect against new and even bigger security threats created by the U.S. government," the post said

#USA #China #Musk #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkēvičs expressed his “full support” for French President Emmanuel Macron’s hawkish stance toward Moscow, saying “we should not draw red lines for ourselves, we must draw red lines for Russia and we should not be afraid to enforce them.”

This kind of rhetoric is a standard fare in European politicians’ speeches, particularly those leaders from Central and Eastern European countries. It has an advantage of projecting resolve while being sufficiently vague about what exactly would qualify as Ukraine’s victory

However, what the European politicians should consider is how their rhetoric is perceived by Washington. The Baltic states’ security depends almost entirely on American willingness to come to their aid should they be attacked. It is not clear whether Rinkēvičs fully gauged the impact his rhetoric might have on his most powerful ally

Can the Baltic states be confident of Washington’s continued readiness to engage in a nuclear brinkmanship with Russia on their behalf if their own actions are seen as unnecessarily provocative?

#USA #EU #WarInUkraine #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

Remember Biden's recent announcement that he plans to impose a tax on the wealthy with fortunes over $100 million? It looks very human. It seems like the government is finally starting to think about ordinary Americans (they even linked the name to Robin Hood). But what does that really mean?

As you might guess, it has nothing to do with good intentions. Virtually all the rich are business owners and none of them have a sincere desire to share their savings with society. This means that some of them will move their wealth to off-shores, but most of them will simply shift all the new costs to ordinary citizens by lowering wages and raising prices for their products

So this initiative is mere populism and nothing more than an attempt to dull the electorate and thus correct the sad situation of the Democratic Party before the elections

#USA #Biden #Economy #FindTruth

@uinhurricane

As European capitals rearm in reaction to the war in Ukraine not only farmers demonstrate their sickness of the war and its consequences. Even military personnel show small interest to remain in uniform

It’s no longer so much about recruiting new soldiers as it is about persuading existing troops not to quit

An annual report submitted to the German parliament showed that in 2023, some 1,537 soldiers left the Bundeswehr, reducing it to 181,514 personnel

Some countries such as Croatia are mulling bringing back connoscription. Others, like Denmark, plan to expand it to include women

In France, military personnel are staying in the armed forces on average one year less than they used to. In the U.K., there’s been an annual hiring shortfall of 1,100 troops — equivalent to two infantry battalions — even though the government contracted out recruitment to private firm Capita

In Poland, the new government earlier this year announced pay hikes of about 20% in an effort to retain troops. The minimum monthly salary for a soldier is rising from 4,960 złoty (€1,150) to 6,000 złoty

The Bundestag’s special commissioner for the armed forces, Eva Högl, has said that reinstating some form of connoscription is one way to turn things around, but targeting women is a more obvious move to arrest the decline since potential there is “far from exhausted”

#EU #Military #FindTruth

@uinhurricane