(image above represents shrinkflation — an additional burden to consumers)
Italy’s Industry Minister Adolfo Urso called for an emergency meeting to discuss the sharp uptick in food prices. Pasta alone is up nearly 20%, and this is a major problem in a country where 60% of residents report eating this item daily. Some provinces are seeing a 58% increase in this staple item. Siena, Tuscany, reported pasta rising from $1.50 a kilo to $2.37 a kilo within in a year. The European Central Bank stated that inflation reached 8.1% in March, so what is driving these food prices?
Some may point to wheat, the main ingredient, as the recent usurping of farmland and the Ukraine war had an impact on prices. However, wheat prices have actually declined in recent months. Durum wheat is down 30% since May of last year. The only other ingredient required to make pasta is water.
Coldiretti, Italy’s biggest farmers association, said that farmers are not seeing an uptick in revenue and are struggling to make ends meet. “There is no justification for the increases other than pure speculation on the part of the large food groups who also want to supplement their budgets with extra profits,” Assoutenti president Furio Truzzi told the Washington Post. Yet, food manufacturers are claiming that this spike in pasta costs in temporary and a result of pasta produced during the beginning of the Ukraine war and energy crisis.
This is not the first time that Italy has seen a rise in food prices. Italian authorities raised 26 pasta manufacturers in 2009 and fined the industry 12.5 million euros for creating what Reuters described as a “pasta cartel.”Around 90% of pasta makers in the country were in on the price gouging scheme that operated from May 2006 until May 2008, during which pasta prices rose 51.8% for retailers and 26% for consumers. Barilla, the largest pasta producer at the time, received the largest fine of 5.7 million euros.
Food inflation is a major problem across the world. In Italy, overall food prices rose 12.6% in April 2023, marking a slight decline from March’s 13.2% reading. This is unsustainably high. The overall inflation numbers put forth by government agencies are always the best-case scenario as they do not want us to see the true damage of inflation.
Those who see what is coming are beginning to resist the Great Reset. Ultimately, their plan to create a one-world government will fail but it will take firm resistance. As one reader mentioned, English residents of Oxford began protesting the 15-minute city concept in March. Thousands of people took to the streets to protest what they deemed a “Stalinist-style, closed city.”
Media agencies such as Politico are calling protestors far-right extremists. Yet thousands have joined the “Not Our Future” group to tell the global elite that they will not willingly surrender. Oxford’s city council agreed to implement these cities within the next 20 years. Reporter Mark Dolan said the “dystopian” city planning would create “”a surveillance culture that would make Pyongyang envious.” Tory MP Nick Fletcher called them an “international socialist concept” intended to “take away personal freedoms.”
Bloomberg News condemned the protestors as well, calling them “a case study in conspiracy paranoia.” They also called lockdowns a conspiracy before they happened. The plans for these cities are out in the open. Schwab clearly states his plan for the Great Reset in interviews, books, online writings, and conferences. He boasts about infiltrating cabinets across the globe. Every politician in recent years has had a big “BUILD BACK BETTER” logo on their podium. Everyone is suddenly pushing for the same non-existent issues such as creating legislation against naturally occurring weather patterns. It is in our faces, people. This is public information that the masses choose to ignore because it is upsetting.
As a reminder, here are some of the projections from the WEF for Agenda 2030:
All products will have become services
There is a global price on carbon
US dominance is over. We now have a handful of global powers
Virtual health assistants will replace human doctors
You will eat less meat
Refugees will be CEOs
The values that built the West will have been tested to the breaking point
QUESTION: Marty; There are those who say Scalia was wrong for he claimed the civil war was correct and he changed the meaning of the Second Amendment. You are the real constitutional scholar on these issues. Is there a right to secede by a state? Did Scalia really change the Second Amendment?
Thank you so much for your diverse background.
Kirk
ANSWER: As far as the question of the Civil War, Scalia answered a question for a movie and it was simply a letter and not a court decision that he rendered. Saying that question was decided by the Civil War and that the precedent was that there is no right to secede was not his opinion, but the established law of the Court. Scalia could not respond otherwise for that was in fact the law, right or wrong. The decision of the Court was not Scalia’s. The argument for secession is not nearly as clear-cut as people think. The Supreme Court in 1869 ruled that secession is illegal.
Texas v. White, 74 U.S. (7 Wall.) 700 (1869), was a case argued before the United States Supreme Court in 1869 where Texas sought to recoup its bond losses. The case involved a claim by the Reconstruction government of Texas that United States bonds owned by Texas since 1850 had been illegally sold by the Confederate state legislature during the American Civil War. Texas filed suit directly with the United States Supreme Court under the Constitutional provision giving the Court original jurisdiction.
The court ruled that Texas had remained a state of the United States ever since it first joined the Union. The fact that it joined the Confederate States and was at the time under military rule. Therefore, they decided on the merits of the bond issue. That is where the Court held that the Constitution did not permit states to unilaterally secede from the United States. Consequently, that meant that all the acts of the legislatures within the Confederate states were “absolutely null” and void. Hence, that decision was mandatory or the US would have to also honor the bonds of the Confederate States. That is why the 14th Amendment was passed stating that the Confederate states would not question the debt of the North, but there would be no compensation for the debt of the South.
Therefore, those who ridicule Scalia are just typical soap-box lawyers who pretend to know things they do not. Scalia’s response was correct for that was the precedent and we see that the same position is taken in Europe. Once you join, there is no divorce. We see the war in Ukraine is also over the secession of the Donbas. This was the difference between Lenin and Stalin. Lenin believed that the states could secede from the federation and Stalin said no way.
Scalia is correct. The power of the federal government will NEVER acknowledge any right of any state to secede. Scalia said that the Civil War decided that issue which is correct because any secession today would also have to be by force of arms – not in some court.
What people seem to wrongly think is that Justice Antonin Scalia made some ruling on this subject. Scalia was responding to a letter from a screenwriter working on a comedy dealing with secession in 2006. Scalia wrote he could not imagine such a case ever reaching the Supreme Court. Scalia wrote in 2006:
“I find it difficult to envision who the parties to this lawsuit might be. Is the State suing the United States for a declaratory judgment?
But the United States cannot be sued without its consent, and it has not consented to this sort of suit.”
Scalia said that the last attempt at secession also established a clear precedent.
“If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede.”
Scalia is correct insofar as Texas v White established that there is no right to secede. However, there is no strict construction of the Constitution to support that. Many historians and legal experts also say the Civil War clearly established there is “no right” to secede. However, that was by force of arms – not law! Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution lists acts that states cannot undertake, and secession is not on that list. That was a decision that was biased and necessary at the time to prevent having to pay the debts of the South. The real question is when the United States breaks up, I seriously doubt that it will be a legal case asking permission. I personally believe that the Constitution does NOT prohibit secession. That is simply the self-interest of Washington and thus the only real right will be by force of arms. Anyone who claims otherwise is a toss-up between an idiot and a fool.
As far as Scalia’s decision in DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA et al. v. HELLER back in 2008, his strict construction came shining through. Many people who want to eliminate gun ownership argue that bearing arms was only for a militia that has been supplanted by a standing army and therefore the Second Amendment is no longer valid.
It was Scalia who shot that argument down. He held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. Pp. 2–53.
(a) The Second Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Pp. 2–22.
(c) The Court’s interpretation is confirmed by analogous arms-bearing rights in state constitutions that preceded and immediately followed the 2nd Amendment. Pp. 28–30.
(e) Interpretation of the Second Amendment by scholars, courts, and legislators, from immediately after its ratification through the late 19th century also supports the Court’s conclusion. Pp. 32–47. That shows what I am talking about with strict construction. The liberal view would have said the right was tied to a militia exclusively. He wrote:
” We are aware of the problem of handgun violence in this country, and we take seriously the concerns raised by the many amici who believe that prohibition of handgun ownership is a solution. The Constitution leaves the District of Columbia a variety of tools for combating that problem, including some measures regulating handguns, see supra, at 54–55, and n. 26. But the enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table. These include the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home. “
So I do not see where anyone can say that Scalia somehow rewrote the Second Amendment to deny gun rights. All things, including speech, have limits and regulations. It is not free speech to yell fire in a movie theater. Judge Amy Coney Barrett has vowed to follow Scalia. It was Apprendi v New Jersey, the decision championed by Justice Scalia was based upon strict construction. Before then, it was Judges deciding facts – not juries. The denial of a right to a jury trial was common practice in the United States. It was Scalia who change the Judiciary and defended the people. No other judge would protect citizens and finally, Scalia was able to convince others that this was a violation of the Sixth Amendment. Anyone who disparages Scalia must be a leftist who loves government power. Scalia had no problem ruling against the government.
When I got to the Supreme Court, they ordered the government to explain how they were keeping me in prison on civil contempt without a trial indefinitely when the law, 28 USC 1826, said the maximum sentence was 18 months. They were rolling it every 18 months. Only when the Supreme Court ordered the government to respond, then I was released and they told the court the case was “moot” for I was suddenly released. Without Scalia, I would probably have died in prison. He at least stood up for the law and 18 months was one-term, not indefinitely, where the NY judges protect the bankers. Trump will NEVER get a fair trial in NYC. From what I saw with others, nobody gets a fair trial in the Second Circuit or State court. When my case began, my lawyer, Richard Altman, said NYC practices law differently. Boy was that an understatement. Nobody should do business with any bank domiciled in NYC.
Texas State House Representative Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, joined with Republicans to support Senate Bill 14 which would restrict gender modification in children. As a Democrat from the Houston area, Mrs. Thierry came under blistering assault from organized alphabet activists in her decision to support the House version of the Texas bill.
Facing threats, ostracization, ridicule and direct personal attacks against her, Ms. Thierry stood against the rage of the mob and voted to support the bill. Explaining her position, Representative Thierry delivered eloquent and powerful remarks on the issue to the House chamber. WATCH:
.
At times it feels like we are living in a dystopian era well beyond the prescient writing of George Orwell. Indeed, I think we can all feel the shift that has taken place as the battle between commonly accepted right and wrong has morphed into a spiritual battle between good and evil.
Joe Biden was installed as a one-term disposable Cloward-Piven opportunity for the most destructive elements of political activism. Every left-wing fantasy operation is now enveloping the United States and tearing at the fabric of the nation. In this era, any Democrat who stands up for moral values with an intent to protect the children becomes a mortal enemy to the tribe of wicked enterprise. Shawn Thierry should be appreciated for taking a stand against the raging mob.
TEXAS – Texas is one step closer to banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors who live in the state.
On Friday, the Texas House of Representatives voted to preliminarily advance Senate Bill 14, a measure that would prohibit the administration of puberty blockers and hormone therapy to people under 18 years old who are transitioning.
Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, told lawmakers from the House floor that he believes gender dysphoria should be treated with counseling rather than gender-affirming care.
“In contrast to experimental medicine and surgery, professional counseling and psychotherapy is a proven alternative that helps children overcome gender dysphoria,” he told lawmakers.
The legislation is one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priorities and has already passed the Senate.
Under the Senate version, minors currently on transition-related medical care would have to stop their treatment after the bill goes into effect in September.
The version passed Friday in the Texas House, however, would give transgender minors a period of time to wean off treatment.
Still, trangender-rights advocates say the legislation is hateful and will have a negative effect on the lives of transgender minors.
Sofia Sepulveda, the community engagement and advocacy manager with the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas, said SB 14 is just one of many measures targeting people in the LGBTQ community.
“It feels like every other day there is legislation or there’s a hearing targeting the trans community,” Sepulveda told reporters Friday morning. “We are literally fighting for our lives.” (read more)
The ideological leftists have gone totally nuts on this issue.
Their activism on the mutilation of children is evil. These are not issues that can be debated in nuance and soft pastels.
Protect the children.
The mentally ill alphabet people are filled with psychosis.
Where is the Nashville mass murderer’s “Manifesto”?
Janet Yellen has become way too partisan to be a trustworthy government official. Since Biden now says he will nominate a Latina for Fed governor regardless if they are qualified or not is precisely why SVB failed for starters. Everyone just wants to be WOKE and hire people based entirely on their race or gender preference. SVB hired risk managers to check a box. Why is Yellen still there? She would be fired being a white over-the-hill official. Or is it that she is just like Biden and says whatever the people writing cue cards instruct her to say next?
All Yellen does now is illustrated if she had any economic qualification, she is either corrupted or senile. Yellen just preached that the Biden Administration should be allowed to spend recklessly and it’s all Republican fault about a default. She said that the US will default somewhere if the debt limit isn’t raised. How about we start with ending the Ukrainian black hole? How about the $3 trillion unaccounted for in the Pentagon budget?
Janet Yellen and Biden should not wear masks, they should be gagged. Yellen only claims doom and gloom and it is all the Republican fault. She said that they will have to renege on “some obligation, whether it’s Treasuries or payments to Social Security recipients,” if Congress fails to act. You can bet that she will default on Social Security before anything else to inflict as much pain on people and then blame the Republicans for the next election.
Neither Biden nor Yellen should be in office. They are spending recklessly with no regard for the economy or the American people. What they have given Ukraine would have paid off ALL student loans. They constantly screw the American people all for the agendas of the Neocons and the Climate Change zealots. Since the FBI infiltrated the Catholic Church because of this gender nonsense, all Catholics should go light a candle and pray for the United States to be spilt soon than later. It is rapidly approaching the time to just turn out the lights on this failed experiment.
Once upon a time, this was supposed to be a country run by We the People.
Let’s take a closer look at Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) that have been proposed for 15-minute cities. These small units are typically under 1,000 sq ft and were once considered secondary structures on an existing residential lot. Think of what we once considered “in-law suites” or guest houses. There are numerous designs for ADUs, but 15-minute cities will seek to create connected units to house as many people as possible. The exact plans for ADUs within 15-minute cities are shrouded in mystery, but we can ascertain what they have planned based on other proposed policies.
“You will own nothing,” as these structures will be built upon government and/or privately owned land for the people to rent. The 15-minute city is marketed as a futuristic town where everyone will live within 15 minutes of essential services. Some may say that large cities already meet this criterion, but the difference is that people currently have the ability to own their properties. Excess will not be possible in ADUs due to size. The World Economic Forum is also proposing more “micro-housing units” or “plug-in houses” that will be no larger than 500 sq ft. Cars will be unnecessary in these sustainable cities, as reducing fossil fuels and sustainability is the top priority.
Senseable City Lab analyzed 40 million mobile devices to analyze how and where people travel. The study backed by MIT found that people tend to travel 7 miles for essentials, which is much further than what is being proposed for 15-minute cities. Hence, the ADUs proposed for the 15-minute cities will be connected, one on top of the other, for this to work logistically.
Regulations and zoning restrictions need to be altered or dismantled for these cities to work. Another issue is equity and eliminating our “unfair” capitalistic societies where some have more than others. The C40 Knowledge Hub explains this premise to “build back better” in detail throughout their writings.
“In a successful 15-minute city, everyone would have the opportunity to live in a 15-minute neighbourhood. It is vital that cities prioritise 15-minute city-style investments for lower-income neighbourhoods and those that are most underserved, informed by the baseline mapping of existing amenities in each neighbourhood. Just as critically, take steps to ensure that existing local populations in those neighbourhoods are not displaced through the process of gentrification, or feel excluded due to changes to local identity. Cities should also pursue opportunities to build affordable homes and diversify the mix of homes within neighbourhoods.”
Equality in this manner does not meet the dictionary definition, as equality is intended to “prioritize the most underserved neighbourhoods and disadvantaged groups.” Hence numerous policies are being brought forth that penalize the middle class with taxes, shrinking the group that was once the bulk of modernized societies.
Sustainability, equality, and going green are cited as the main reasons to “build back better” with these 15-minute cities. However, the real motive here is control and power. They are discussing controlling everything, including food production. They are making it increasingly harder for the average person to obtain housing, whether it be rentals or owning. These AUDs will be brought forth as perhaps the only solution for permanent housing. Yet, they are making it clear that those dwelling in these structures will have landlords who may become overlords as the people relinquish all their freedoms to exist.
Happy early Mother’s Day to the women in charge with shaping our society. The vital role of a mother, arguably the most important responsibility one can take on, has been dismissed in recent years as society changes drastically. The woke agenda feels that the word “mother” is offensive and wants to replace the term with “birthing persons.” I have not heard anyone refer to fathers as “inseminating persons,” as part of the woke agenda is to eliminate the importance of women in society. Economic conditions have made it nearly impossible for the average family to survive on one income. Yet, those who can and do choose to stay home deserve appreciation for the role they play in our society.
The Biden Administration recently took a jab at stay-at-home mothers, claiming they are hurting our economy. His administration supports sending “free” money to “hard-working families” as long as they are receiving some income tax revenue. The schools can raise our children according to their way of thinking.
The cited report from the BCG refers to parenting as “unpaid caregiving”as it lowers the number of taxable workers. Instead of staying home with your children or elderly relative, the government believes you should move into “paid caregiving.” “About 1.8 million critical-care jobs, including nursing assistants, home health aides and childcare workers, are open, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics,” the report noted. The report also noted that these jobs often have terrible pay and poor benefits. Furthermore, the study noted that 40% of caregivers have missed “more than five days of work over the last year simply because their paid-care support has fallen through.” Other countries will laugh at the US for that one. They also talk about implementing a “government-run childcare system that begins at birth.” That is sad prospect. Even dogs have an 8 to 10 week grace period before their puppies can be adopted, a luxury not provided to women living in the financial capital of the world.
Caretaking roles are only seen as essential is they benefit the government. It is almost impossible for one 40-hour salary to support a family comfortably. Preschools and childcare centers often cost more than the salary a parent would bring home. And they wonder why there is a steep decline in the birth rate. The nuclear family has no place in woke America. Whether you stay home or choose a career, a mother’s role is essential.
QUESTION: The rumor was that you were considering coming to London to hold a quick update WEC. Is there any chance of that?
WJ
ANSWER: You have good sources. Yes, I was considering that. Since the UK has insanely crossed Putin’s “red line” by sending Ukraine long-range “Storm Shadow” missiles to use in its fighting against Russia, I am not sure London is a viable place anymore. Ukraine is NOT trustworthy. Why do they need long-range missiles unless they intend to attack Moscow? Germany sunk the Lusitania because the US was secretly sending arms on passenger ships to London. Britain has made that mistake with Ukraine.
Britain has just put its own national security and its citizens at risk all for what? This war would NEVER have taken place if the West did not lie and simply honored the Minsk Agreement and let those people in the Donbas, which are Russian, not Ukrainian, decide their own future. That was OK for Kiev, but not the Russians?
Those in the Donbas had a basic human right to vote on their own future. This is a war against Russia to conquer it. Handing these missiles to Ukraine will provoke Russia and would even justify attacking Britain according to the basic rules of war. They use these to attack Moscow, and Russia would be justified to attack London. This is a BS war that was to destroy Russia from the start.
The British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told lawmakers in the House of Commons that Storm Shadow missiles “are now going into or are in” Ukraine, but he did not say how many Britain was planning to send.
I love London. I miss it very much. But the British government is out of its mind putting all of Britain at risk for Ukraine? These people making these decisions are just Neocons who love war all the time.
Wars should be fought between leaders – not the people. Put them all in a room and let them sort it out and leave the people alone. But the truth is, your children are expendable. They risk NOTHING themselves. You mean less than nothing to these people. By their decisions, they prove we do NOT live in a democracy. For Wallace to unilaterally send those long-range missiles without the people’s approval shows he is not a trustworthy individual who should be in charge of even being a meter-maid for parking tickets.
So it does not look good for a WEC in London. I would have to ask my staff how they would feel.
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
Centinel2012 