Bill Cara

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jimg

Moss Landing:
It’s the worlds largest battery storage facility & the 4th MAJOR fire in less than 4 years. 
There was a mandatory evacuation of an area of 7600 acres surrounding the facility (about 12 square miles)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tyCV5RpLIY

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hundreds-ordered-evacuate-fire-erupts-huge-california-battery-storage-rcna188101

Prior battery storage fires in California:
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-10-12/battery-storage-is-a-key-piece-of-californias-clean-energy-transition-but-theres-a-problem-with-fires

Between May and July 2023, New York had had three large fires at the grid battery storage facilities built up to that time:
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/batteries/new-york-is-reeling-from-its-hot-battery-summer

A large grid-scale battery storage facility is moving toward construction on the East bank of the East River right across from Midtown Manhattan

What would a 12 square mile evacuation look like?
https://edc.nyc/press-release/nycedc-supports-major-battery-energy-storage

jimg

New US Rule Aims to Block China’s Access to AI Chips and Models by Restricting the World
The US government has announced a radical plan to control exports of cutting-edge AI technology to most nations.

https://www.wired.com/story/new-us-rule-aims-to-block-chinas-access-to-ai-chips-and-models-by-restricting-the-world/

jimg911

Darius Dale, founder & CEO of 42 Macro:

Projecting a market drop very similar to the summer of 1998 when the market dropped 19.5 percent

“S&P 500 every single time we’ve had a significant draw down the S&P 500 since the start of the global financial crisis it’s come either in a global refinancing air pocket or a draw down in global liquidity or both”

Some comments about Treasury nominee Scott Bessent who was a client of his until recently.
Since Dale speaks at such a rapid pace, I went to settings and reduced the playback speed to .75. I also utilized the CC and the transcript.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoTgT5_3_Ng

jimg911

Anecdotally a cause for concern:

Bari Weiss in conversation with Speaker Mike Johnson regarding President Biden:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVTb-9xnAN0&t=1764s

goldbug58

I’m just an old gun now and I don’t expect to survive what’s coming. Not talking about electricity either.

jimg

Why now?
Claiming they were duped?
How Biden’s Inner Circle Protected a Faltering President

“Your biggest issue is the perception of age,” Mike Donilon, the president’s longtime strategist, told him in 2022, according to people who heard him.

NYT: No paywall

https://www-nytimes-com.translate.goog/2025/01/17/us/politics/biden-age.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US

jimg

HHS Suspends Funding and Proposes Formal Debarment of EcoHealth Alliance, Cites Evidence from COVID Select Report

https://oversight.house.gov/release/breaking-hhs-suspends-funding-and-proposes-formal-debarment-of-ecohealth-alliance-cites-evidence-from-covid-select-report/

jimg

It has reached the point of absurdity….how can they even prove it was “Chinese” hackers

Chinese Hackers Accessed Yellen’s Computer in US Treasury Breach

The Chinese operatives breached the top Treasury officials’ computers along with more than 400 laptop and desktop machines, accessing employee usernames and passwords as well as more than 3,000 files on unclassified personal devices, the report states. The intruders also accessed “law enforcement sensitive” data and material on investigations run by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which reviews the national security implications of some foreign financing, according to the Treasury report.

Bloomberg:
https://archive.is/PF02b#selection-1721.0-1721.508

They were not aware or prepared?

In June 2015, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that hackers had stolen the personal information of millions of federal employees and contractors. This was one of the largest data breaches in U.S. history.

https://oversight.house.gov/report/opm-data-breach-government-jeopardized-national-security-generation/

jimg

We will all pay….

Insurers’ Rule Change Puts California Homeowners on the Hook for L.A. FireThe spiraling cost to rebuild could overwhelm the California Fair Plan, the decades-old, government-created insurance safety net

WSJ:

https://archive.is/pRq8l#selection-2333.0-2341.128

jimg

Jim Haslam: Covid Origins and Coronavirus Genetic Engineering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d-eqdRSx7Y

c2ski

Ditto for what Bill said about this snake.

Mark Carney: The Ultimate Insider Masquerading as an Outsider

Alright, let’s get into it—no sugarcoating, no fluff. Mark Carney’s so-called “outsider” bid for Liberal leadership is an absolute joke. The man isn’t just tied to the establishment; he’s practically its mascot. Let’s not mince words here, folks—Mark Carney isn’t just an insider; he’s the ultimate insider. He’s been embedded in Justin Trudeau’s inner circle for the past year, working as the prime minister’s economic adviser and chairing some task force on so-called economic growth. This man is so entrenched in the Liberal Party’s machinery that he’s practically part of the furniture. Yet here he is, trying to sell himself as an “outsider,” the guy who’s going to swoop in and shake things up. It’s laughable.

But Carney’s little act doesn’t stop there. He went on The Daily Show—yes, The Daily Show, the safe space for liberal elites who want to avoid real scrutiny—and had the audacity to pitch himself as a champion for the average Canadian. This, from a guy who spent years rubbing elbows with global financiers and jetting off to Davos to discuss how to further enrich the world’s elites. He’s been pushing these destructive “Net-Zero” policies that are killing Canada’s energy sector while simultaneously investing in industries abroad that don’t even follow those same rules. Hypocrisy? Thy name is Mark Carney.

Think about this: Carney has been touted as Justin Trudeau’s go-to economic guru since 2024. That’s right—while Trudeau’s Liberals were tanking the economy, crushing the middle class with soaring costs and carbon taxes, Carney was right there in the room, helping to steer the ship straight into the iceberg. He’s not an outsider. He’s the architect of the very policies that have made life unaffordable for millions of Canadians. And now he wants you to believe he’s some kind of reformer? Please.

But it gets better—or worse, depending on how much stomach you have for hypocrisy. Carney’s campaign is being orchestrated by none other than Gerald Butts and Katie Telford, Trudeau’s top lieutenants. Yes, you heard me right. These aren’t just Trudeau’s closest allies; they’re the architects of the Trudeau era—every failed policy, every embarrassing scandal, every tax and restriction that’s crippled Canadian families and businesses. And now they’re propping up Mark Carney like he’s the second coming.

Let’s start with Gerald Butts. This is the guy who was Trudeau’s right-hand man, the brains behind the Liberal government’s disastrous energy and environmental policies. Remember the SNC-Lavalin scandal? That was Butts, front and center, accused of orchestrating the pressure campaign to shield a corrupt corporation from prosecution. He was forced to resign in disgrace, but like all good swamp creatures, he didn’t go far. Now, he’s back in the shadows, running Carney’s campaign, because of course he is. This is what these people do—they fail upwards.

Then there’s Katie Telford, Trudeau’s chief of staff and one of the most powerful unelected figures in Canadian politics. Telford’s name has been tied to some of the most damaging controversies of Trudeau’s tenure. From the WE Charity scandal to the mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations in the military, her fingerprints are all over this government’s failures. And now, she’s reportedly making calls to rally support for Carney, all while the Liberal spin machine denies her involvement. Right. Because nothing says “outsider” like having Trudeau’s closest ally work the phones on your behalf.

But let’s not stop there. These two aren’t just loyal to Trudeau—they’re loyal to an ideology, a worldview that prioritizes global elites over everyday Canadians. Gerald Butts? He’s a regular at the World Economic Forum, the globalist playground where unelected bureaucrats and billionaires dream up schemes like “Net-Zero” that gut Canada’s energy industry while letting countries like China pollute unchecked. Katie Telford? She’s the gatekeeper for Trudeau’s “post-national” agenda, the one that views Canada not as a proud, sovereign country but as a blank slate for woke experiments and international virtue signaling.

Let me spell it out for you: Mark Carney isn’t an outsider. He’s a Trojan horse for the same deep-state operators who’ve been running Canada into the ground for years. Butts and Telford are the Canadian equivalent of the deep state—unelected, unaccountable, and completely entrenched in the halls of power. Their job isn’t to serve Canadians; it’s to protect their own interests and the interests of the global elite. And now they want to hand the keys to Mark Carney, a man who spent years rubbing shoulders with those same elites while Canada’s middle class struggled under the weight of Liberal policies.

And here’s the kicker: they think you’re too stupid to notice. They think they can slap a fresh face on the same old agenda and you’ll fall for it. But the truth is obvious. Carney’s campaign is being orchestrated by Trudeau’s insiders because he’s not here to fix the system—he’s here to preserve it. He’s here to make sure the same people stay in charge, the same policies stay in place, and the same Canadians get left behind.

So when Carney calls himself an outsider, remember who’s standing behind him. Gerald Butts, the scandal-plagued strategist who’s never met a pipeline he didn’t want to kill. Katie Telford, the power broker who’s been the gatekeeper for Trudeau’s worst decisions. These aren’t outsiders—they’re the deep state. And they’re betting you won’t see through their little game. But here’s the thing: Canadians are smarter than that. They’re tired of being lied to. They’re tired of being used. And they’re ready to say enough is enough.

https://x.com/DanKnightMMA/status/1879278107330494760

goldbug58

He’s a foot soldier, an O4, a Major. Not to demean anyone’s rank but this guy will have senior 4-star generals reporting to him. It’s like taking any random SGT and making the person Chief of Staff of the Army.

goldbug58

Just watched the Pete Hegseth confirmation hearing with the Senate. Very evasive and clings to his “smear campaign” defense. Chose to not give direct answers on some important questions. I don’t see how they can confirm this guy for SecDef.

Bill Cara

Apparently Hegseth has the votes to be confirmed. The world finds this unbelievable but it’s a sign of the chaos to come. That Senators believe Hegseth is qualified to oversee the US military is proof they are not independent thinkers, but blind disciples of Donald Trump. That’s not democracy.

jimg

China starving commodity firms of capital

9 year backlog of military orders from the U.S. due to lack of production capacity

Leland Miller joins Michael Green and Harley Bassman to discuss what the China Beige Book reveals about the investment universe.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keeping-it-simple-ep-44-cosmic-latte/id1528197006?i=1000683826587

jimg

“I have met a lot of entrepreneurs in my life, I mean a lot. I have been to more factories than you can care to think about. And none of these people are concerned with financial markets. None.”

– Tony Deden

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/212-tony-deden-master-value-investor/id1301360737?i=1000683503357

jimg

December MBS mortgage delinquencies continue their K shape
“Unemployment as the stated reason for delinquency is approaching double the pre-covid norms. This stands in contrast to the recent jobs numbers and steady growth in social security directed payroll tax receipts.”

“Whatever your macro take might be if it isnt accounting for the growing distress in FHA and to a lesser degree VA mortgages right now (but barely if really at all happening to GSE mortgages), then it probably ought to be.”

https://johncomiskey.substack.com/p/december-mbs-mortgage-delinquencies

jimg

CES: 6th Gen WAYMO DRIVER on Zeekr and Hyundai EVs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg2NELoT8S0

jimg

U.S. government to Zuckerberg: ‘said anything that says vaccines have side effects, you need to take down.’

In Friday’s episode, Zuckerberg said a turning point for his approach to censorship under Biden came when the president publicly said social media memes combatting his pandemic narrative were ‘killing people.’ 
‘All these different agencies and branches of government just started investigating and coming after our company,’ he said. 
‘It was brutal, brutal.’ 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14271935/mark-zuckerberg-joe-rogan-podcast-joe-biden-censor-memes-episode.html

Last edited 11 days ago by jimg
jimg

What better way to fight disease…who will need big pharma?
Heritable polygenic editing: the next frontier in genomic medicine?

 “For example, editing a relatively small number of genomic variants could make a substantial difference to an individual’s risk of developing coronary artery disease, Alzheimer’s disease, major depressive disorder, diabetes and schizophrenia. Similarly, large changes in risk factors, such as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood pressure, could, in theory, be achieved by polygenic editing.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39779842/

jimg

What will happen to the legacy automakers

BYD escalates Australia’s EV price war with $19,000 USD BYD Dolphin EV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjbnbRJTAYs

jimg

Banks face growing risk as double defaults on commercial loans mount
A bank practice known as ‘extend and pretend’ has delayed a write-off reckoning but may hide a growing systemic risk

https://archive.is/3QrWz#selection-1741.0-1745.116

Karlo

An important read. Does this account for the bounce in today’s gold price?

jimg

For me Gold is a protective asset right now and an inflation hedge. As to the bounces, Bill is a much better guide. I’m terrible at trading  😿 

Last edited 11 days ago by jimg
jimg

Project Agora:

More than 40 private sector financial firms, convened by the Institute of International Finance, will join the Bank for International Settlements and a group of leading central banks in Project Agorá to explore how tokenisation can enhance wholesale cross-border payments.

https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm

NYUGrad

I am saddened by all the stories I am hearing from my friends who are impacted by the fires. My heart breaks for them. Just devastation. Friends have lost their primary residence and or their investment properties.

Now I am hearing about looters during this desperate time. I cannot understand how society tolerates this. LA DA is simply saying we will arrest you and it will be a felony. That is it? Wake up. Consequences must be high enough to prevent the crime in the 1st place. Not entice crime by some idiot doing an ROI analysis and saying duh ok let me go loot.

PS Check out this mansion that rents for $25k per month. Burned down.

https://www.realtor.com/rentals/details/1366-Lachman-Ln_Pacific-Palisades_CA_90272_M29755-88984

Screenshot-2025-01-09-at-1.07.33-PM