Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda: ‘Silent Majority’ Of Automakers Not Fully Sold On Electric Vehicles

The head of the world’s largest automaker said this week that he remains skeptical of trying to move to only producing electric vehicles and that the majority of people who work in the auto industry agree with him.

Toyota Motor chief Akio Toyoda made the remarks while speaking to reporters during a visit to Thailand.

“People involved in the auto industry are largely a silent majority,” Toyoda said. “That silent majority is wondering whether EVs are really OK to have as a single option. But they think it’s the trend so they can’t speak out loudly.”

“Because the right answer is still unclear, we shouldn’t limit ourselves to just one option,” he added.

The remarks come as supply chain issues that were sparked by the coronavirus pandemic have continued to make it difficult for manufacturers to get the raw materials needed to make new cars, especially electric vehicles.

The Wall Street Journal reported that while some of Toyota’s rivals have jumped fully on board with electric vehicles — setting future dates at which point their companies would only produce electric vehicles — Toyota has diversified its future product offerings and is focused on making traditional gas cars, hybrids, and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Jack Hollis, Executive Vice President of Sales at Toyota Motor North America, said earlier this year that the company does not believe that the demand for electric vehicles is as high as people think it is.

“I don’t think the market is ready. I don’t think the infrastructure is ready,” he said. “And even if you were ready to purchase one, and if you could afford it … (the price is) still too high … It took 25 years to get to less than 10% (market share) for hybrid … The consumer isn’t demanding (EVs) at that level. The consumer is not screaming, ‘30% or 40% by tomorrow.’”

With looming negative economic conditions in the U.S. on the horizon, combined with lowered gas prices, increasing interest rates, and high inflation rates, the market for electric vehicles could take even longer to expand.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also warned that the transition away from oil and gas is not as easy as people think and that society would be devastated overnight if it tried to stop using fossil fuels.

“At this time, we actually need more oil and gas, not less,” Musk said. “Realistically I think we need to use oil and gas in the short term, because otherwise civilization will crumble. One of the biggest challenges the world has ever faced is the transition to sustainable energy and to a sustainable economy. That will take some decades to complete.”

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2022/12/toyota-ceo-akio-toyoda-silent-majority.html

The sooner conflict in Ukraine ends, the better, Putin says

The Russian leader specified that an intensification in hostilities might lead to unnecessary losses

Moscow will strive to make sure that the conflict in Ukraine ends as soon as possible, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference on Thursday.

The head of state noted that "the Defense Ministry holds briefings [on the special military operation] every day, reporting to the public and the nation about the current developments." "So we will seek to make sure that it all ends, and the sooner, the better, of course" the head of state said with regard to the conflict in Ukraine.

He specified that an intensification in hostilities might lead to unnecessary losses.

https://tass.com/politics/1554763

New government to invest 1.4 billion shekel in olim from France and the US

Sofer insisted on this budget since his party, the Religious Zionist Party (RZP) seeks to promote more aliyah from Western countries.

According to coalition agreement details obtained by The Jerusalem Post, incoming Aliyah and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer will have a budget of up to NIS 350 million per year that “will be allocated for the purpose of programs to encourage the aliyah of young Jews from the US and France.”

This adds up to NIS 1.4 billion during the assumed four-year term of prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Sofer insisted on this budget since his party, the Religious Zionist Party (RZP), is focused on promoting more aliyah from Western countries. A majority of the olim coming from these countries are Jewish and trained in professions that are useful for the Israeli economy. The RZP sees olim from these communities in Israel as natural constituents for their party: A large percentage of olim from France and the US are orthodox and politically conservative.

Differences between olim from different countries

According to the agreement, the government will also try to equalize the conditions of the olim of Bnei Menashe in India with those of olim from Ethiopia and other third-world countries.

Descendants of Bnei Menashe tribes are required to convert after they arrive in Israel, as are Ethiopian olim, but are not entitled to budgets and conditions like they are.

Ethiopian olim also receive financial support and extra funding for a variety of activities. Bnei Menashe immigrants, most of whom have a difficult time integrating into Israeli society, currently have a high unemployment rate.

The government is also expected to “promote the vision of Ethiopian Jews in Israel,” and will seek to “empower rabbis and leaders who grew up in religious Zionist circles within the Beta Israel community throughout the country and will assist in the continued absorptions of [Ethiopian] immigrants in Israel.” The agreement doesn’t specify the funds that will be invested.

The agreement also states that the government will “adjust the budget of the various relevant programs in the ‘flexible budget’ to the scope of the immigrants in 2022.”

This flexible budget is about NIS 500 million. Since the rates of aliyah have more than doubled in 2022, the new minister wishes to alter the budget in order to be able to offer these new olim the services they’re entitled to, but also have their needs fit into the regular budget that will need to be expanded because of the large wave of aliyah.

In addition, in the years 2023-2026, an amount of no less than NIS 350 million per year will be allocated, for the purpose of promoting programs to encourage young immigrants from the US and France.

The RZP has also demanded to have the government promote a religious Zionist candidate to be chief rabbi. They will also promote a new Kashrut Law, that will be different and more strict than the one of the outgoing government.

https://www.jpost.com/aliyah/financial-services/article-725566

Expert in Kari Lake election suit: 'No doubt' she would have won without Maricopa Election Day chaos

The trial is set to conclude Thursday.

Election modeling expert Richard Baris said Thursday in the Kari Lake election lawsuit that his projections showed as many as 40,000 voters were disenfranchised over Election Day chaos in Maricopa County, causing him to "have no doubt" that Lake would've won the gubernatorial election.

Pollster Baris is the final witness for Lake in the scheduled two-day trial for her election lawsuit.

Baris testified that between 25,000 and 40,000 voters were disenfranchised in Maricopa County on Election Day as a result of the issues at vote centers. The vote margin between Lake and Hobbs is 17,117 votes.

He added that the net gain Lake would've received in the votes that weren't cast on Election Day would have made her the winner of the Arizona gubernatorial election.

Baris also testified that in the exit polling his firm Big Data Poll did, 93% of voters who voted early responded to the survey, compared to 72% of Election Day voters. That has "never happened to me before," Baris said regarding the 20-percentage-point gap between the Election Day voters' responses compared to early voters.

Lake, the 2022 Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee, is suing her Democratic opponent, Governor-elect and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs; Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer; the county Board of Supervisors; and county Director of Elections Scott Jarrett.

Lake's case alleges the "number of illegal votes cast in Arizona's general election … far exceeds the 17,117 vote margin" between Lake and Hobbs.

The trial began Wednesday with the testimony of Richer, Jarrett, cybersecurity expert Clay Parikh, county temporary technician Bradley Benticort, and Republican National Committee attorney Mark Sonnenklar.

Following Baris' testimony, the defendants' legal team will call four witnesses to the stand, then each side will give closing arguments.

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/kari-lake-lawsuit-last-witness-lakes-case-testifies

https://twitter.com/RaheemKassam/status/1605945044145295360

What kind of influence does McKinsey, an American strategic consulting firm, have within the Canadian government?

During the pandemic, McKinsey was the central company providing advice to various governments around the world. But McKinsey is a consulting firm, not a scientific firm, so why entrust such important files as 'pandemic management' to this company?

Alexa Lavoie for Rebel News and today I present to you an Order paper question about The McKinsey firm that Tako Van Popta, Conservative MP for Langley—Aldergrove posed to the government.

What is really the influence that McKinsey has within the Canadian government?

McKinsey is an American strategic consulting firm, created in 1926.

We know that during the pandemic, McKinsey was the central company providing advice to various governments around the world. On their website it says that “Around the world, McKinsey quickly shifts to remote and hybrid working and focuses on supporting our people, our clients, and our communities through the pandemic.”

McKinsey is a consulting firm, not a scientific firm, so why entrust such important files as 'pandemic management' to this company?

Van Popta asked the government to provide details about any contracts it may have with McKinsey, including the value of those contracts and the services provided by the firm.

A total of more than $86 million was paid out to McKinsey, excluding amounts that were not disclosed to the public, the non-calculated amount of contracts, taxes not included in certain amounts, etc.

First, the National Defence spent $18,356,565 on contracts. And you won’t believe what we paid this company to do. They made the military more woke.

Of this amount, approximately $7.5 millions has been injected to advance Culture Evolution through stakeholder analysis and to progress Culture evolution through the development of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

But seriously, to advance the WOKE culture within our defence system against a probable war or other critical situations? But where is the urgency of diversity and equity among those who must be trained to be resilient, tolerant and rigid in case of national problems? Do we have fighters or woke activists? What will other countries think of us! In short, McKinsey is paying millions to advance a woke agenda in the military and I bet the world’s tyrants are laughing at us.

Over $5 million used to improve their complaints system, too?

Here are some departments that offered McKinsey contracts:

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) offered $857,282.34 plus $5,742,857.53 not contracted.

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC): $857,282.34.

Export Development Canada (EDC): $7,316,000.00.

Destination Canada (DC): $2,795,000 (excluding taxes).

Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC): $8,852,091 (before tax).

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA): $1,975,270.50.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL): $540,000.00, to look at the potential use of nuclear energy in the fight against climate change, and opportunities for CANDU technology in particular.

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA): $1,975,270.50.

With respect to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) as a Common Service Provider, it offers $ 45,662,321 under contract, all untendered.

So the government just gave McKinsey the contract without competition or bids.

What is more shocking to see is that there's no detail on the intended purpose or whether everything has been achieved or not. It is still more than $45 million, from taxpayers, offered to a multinational company, and we do not have access to the goal for the contract?

The information was given for the year 2021, but it would be interesting if the request was also made for the year 2020 to know more about the role of McKinsey within the government. We will continue to dig deeper.

https://www.rebelnews.com/what_kind_of_influence_does_mckinsey_an_american_strategic_consulting_firm_have_within_the_canadian_government

Ex-FIFA Executive Jack Warner Financed “Election Engineering” Campaign in Trinidad

Disgraced former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner personally funded an ethnically divisive disinformation campaign in Trinidad and Tobago designed by an election engineering firm to discourage black Trinidadians from voting.

Warner is currently fighting extradition to the U.S. on charges of corruption, including that he accepted $5 million in bribes to vote for Russia to be awarded the 2018 World Cup.

However, his involvement with the “Do So!” campaign led by SCL, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, has never before been revealed. The campaign, which may have swayed Trinidad’s 2010 election in favor of his United National Congress party, used graffiti, billboards, and music videos to suggest to black Trinidadian youth that they shouldn’t vote.

At the time of “Do So!”, which ran during the 2010 Trinidad primaries, Warner’s career in international football was sputtering to an end amid accusations that he had traded favors for money. But he was laying the groundwork for a second act as a Trinidadian politician, having been elected to represent the United National Congress party in parliament in 2007.

The 2010 vote was a critical juncture in Trinidadian politics, with the incumbent prime minister looking vulnerable after three terms in power. Given the stakes, one expert called the role played by SCL “really disturbing.” Emma Briant, a fellow at Bard College who studies information warfare and propaganda, said the revelations underscore the need for better oversight of influence firms.

“It’s very contextual what can do damage in a particular society,” she said. “In Trinidad … there is this racial divide in politics, and you can either play to that or try to find something that doesn’t.”

Plans Hatched

SCL was formed in the 1990s by British businessman Nigel Oakes, and invested $20 million into developing what Oakes called an “advanced persuasion methodology.”

The company later rebranded and launched a political section focusing on “election management” and other campaigns, mostly in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. On its website — taken offline after the company went into administration in 2019 — it boasted of influencing political outcomes from Indonesia to South Africa.

Alexander Nix

Credit: Web Summit, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alexander Nix, CEO, Cambridge Analytica, during the 2017 Web Summit in Lisbon.

The firm also brought on Alexander Nix, who took over its electioneering work and eventually started a new venture, Cambridge Analytica. This was the infamous election engineering agency that assisted Donald Trump’s rise to the U.S. presidency in 2016.

Long before Cambridge Analytica would enter Trump’s orbit, Nix was busy working in the Caribbean under the SCL banner.

Sven Hughes, the former head of elections for SCL, said the firm had worked in Trinidad before under the leadership of Nigel Oakes, who already had established contacts with an opposition party. At the time, a lot of contractors worked on campaigns in the region, he recalled: “It was just ‘which election is next?’ and you get passed around.”

SCL spotted an opportunity to put an opposition party in power in Trinidad, which they saw as more advantageous. A fresh breath in government meant fresh deals, he noted.

Hughes said that one night in April 2010, he and Nix waited in a run-down hotel room in Port of Spain until they received a 3 a.m. phone call from Warner’s lawyer, Om Lalla, telling them they could head over for a secret meeting. The four convened in Warner’s FIFA-regalia-clad office, and made a plan.

“Warner gave us a tour of his various FIFA medals, photos, posters, and then … we got down to business,” Hughes recalled in an interview with OCCRP/Oštro.

They agreed that SCL would run what it called a “groundswell” guerilla marketing campaign ahead of the 2010 Trinidad primaries, to show the United National Congress what SCL could do, and that Warner would pay for it. Later, Warner would use his influence to get party leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to meet with the electioneering firm, Hughes said. The hope was that SCL would be given a much larger contract, worth $4 or $5 million, to devise a campaign for the upcoming general election.

https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/ex-fifa-executive-jack-warner-financed-election-engineering-campaign-in-trinidad

West Africa: 56 minors rescued from exploitation

15 suspects arrested in operation against human trafficking and child exploitation

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire – An INTERPOL-led operation targeting the criminal groups behind human trafficking and child exploitation across Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo has seen 90 victims rescued and 15 suspected traffickers arrested.

Of those rescued during Operation Priscas (5-12 December), 56 were underage victims of sexual exploitation and forced labour in gold mines, open-air markets and domestic settings.

To ensure appropriate follow-up, social services and non-governmental organizations were identified and integrated into each country’s operational plan. Victims were then taken into care for post-operation interviews and support.

Operational highlights

In Côte d’Ivoire, authorities carried out several raids and vehicle checks on major routes. In a significant bust, one of those checks led to the identification of a group of 35 victims, including eight minors, who were accompanied by a known human trafficking suspect and his accomplice.

Long suspected of running a business-like sexual exploitation ring, the pair had been wanted at national level for two years. Hoping to blend among the victims, they were caught when officers cross-checked their identity documents against INTERPOL’s West African Police Information System (WAPIS).

In Burkina Faso, thanks to vehicle profiling, 10 minors were identified as they travelled to an illegal gold mine, where they had been promised work. The children, who did not have any identity documents on them, were taken into care and their ‘employer’ arrested. Investigations are ongoing.

In Benin, authorities concentrated their efforts on the Dantokpa market in Cotonou, the largest open-air market in West Africa, where four children were rescued from situations of forced labour.

In Togo, a Nigerian national was intercepted en route to Mali in the company of five women, including three minors. Her phone revealed that although they had officially been recruited to work in a hair salon, they were going to work in clubs for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The case has been referred to the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ) for investigation.

https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2022/West-Africa-56-minors-rescued-from-exploitation

United States Attorney Announces Extradition Of FTX Founder Samuel Bankman-Fried To The United States And Guilty Pleas Of Former CEO Of Alameda Research And Former Chief Technology Officer Of FTX

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/united-states-attorney-announces-extradition-ftx-founder-samuel-bankman-fried-united

Former Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Emergency Dispatcher Sentenced To 60 Years In Federal Prison For Producing And Distributing Photos And A Video Of Himself Sexually Abusing Two Young Children

https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/former-jacksonville-sheriff-s-office-emergency-dispatcher-sentenced-60-years-federal

Warren, Jacobs Accuse Pentagon of Vastly Undercounting Civilians Killed by US Military

"This vast difference between independent reporting and the DOD investigation raises concerns and undermines DOD credibility on civilian casualty reporting," the lawmakers wrote.

As U.S. military forces continue to kill and wound civilians in multiple countries during the ongoing 21-year War on Terror while chronically undercounting such casualties, a pair of Democratic lawmakers on Monday asked the Pentagon to explain discrepancies in noncombatant casualty reporting and detail steps being taken to address the issue.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—who have both led calls to hold the military accountable for harming noncombatants—said they are “troubled” that the Pentagon’s annual civilian casualty report, which was released in September as required by an amendment Warren attached to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), again undercounts noncombatants killed by U.S. forces.

“In this year’s report, the department reported that approximately 12 civilians were killed and five were injured in Afghanistan and Somalia as a result of U.S. military operations during 2021,” the lawmakers wrote. “However, the report did not admit to any civilian deaths in Syria, despite credible civilian casualty monitors documenting at least 15 civilian deaths and 17 civilian injuries in Syria in 2021.”

The U.K.-based monitor group Airwars counted between 12 and 25 civilians likely killed by U.S. forces, sometimes operating with coalition allies, in Syria alone last year, with another two to four people killed in Somalia and one to four killed in Yemen.

Airwars does not track civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan, where all of last year’s casualties acknowledged by the Department of Defense (DOD) occurred. These incidents include an errant August 29 drone strike that killed 10 people—most of them members of one family—including seven children.

“The report also appeared to undercount additional civilian casualties from Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) that occurred prior to 2021,” the lawmakers’ letter continues, referring to the anti-Islamic State campaign launched during the Obama administration and ramped up under then-President Donald Trump—who infamously vowed to “bomb the shit out of” ISIS militants and “take out their families.”

“For example, the report… only disclosed four civilians killed and 15 civilians injured as a result of the March 18, 2019 strike in Baghuz, Syria,” the lawmakers noted. “But The New York Times investigated this strike in 2021, finding evidence that the military concealed the extent of the civilian casualties, and according to Airwars, local sources alleged that the strike resulted in at least 160 civilian deaths, including up to 45 children.”

“This vast difference between independent reporting and the DOD investigation raises concerns and undermines DOD credibility on civilian casualty reporting,” Warren and Jacobs stressed.

“One reason for this underreporting appears to be that DOD is not giving appropriate weight to outside sources when investigating casualty reports,” the letter contends. “The significant discrepancies between DOD and outside reporting suggests outside sources are still not being sufficiently incorporated into DOD assessments.”

https://www.globalresearch.ca/warren-jacobs-accuse-pentagon-vastly-undercounting-civilians-killed-us-military/5802910

50 Italian priests declare their homosexuality in scandalous open letter

The letter raises concerns about the extent of the so-called Lavender Mafia in the Church.

The letter was first circulated amongst Italian priests in a clandestine fashion but was eventually picked up by the Italian publication Domani and published on November 30.

The letter is called “Con tutto il mio cuore,” which translates to “With all my heart,” and was initially presented by the priests in September in Bologna as part of the Synod on Synodality.

The 50 priests criticize the teachings on the Church in the letter and say that “silence appears as the only way of survival” for homosexual clergy.

The priests also claim that they cannot be accepted in the Church because they “cannot speak openly about [their] homosexual orientation.”

“The Church is not a context in which to find immediate acceptance, especially for us,” they claim.

The letter also bluntly states that “there are homophobic homosexual priests, who push to the outside the conflict they carry within.”

In addition, the letter states that closeted priests are “smothering their own being with clericalism.”

The Italian letter scandalously attempts to blame the suicidal ideation of some priests on the Church’s perennial moral teachings on sexuality.

The fact there are so many identifiable homosexual priests were ordained in Italy is in contradiction to the norms laid out under Pope Benedict XVI and reaffirmed under Pope Francis that “persons with homosexual tendencies” cannot be admitted to Catholic seminaries.

A 2016 document called “The Gift of the Priestly Vocation” that was released with Pope Francis’ approval drew heavily from a 2005 document which banned men who identify as homosexual from entering the priesthood.

The teaching of the Church specifically bans from the priesthood men “who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture.’”

The revelation of rampant homosexuality in the Italian clergy raises questions of the extent of the so-called Lavender Mafia in the Church, which Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò said has had a significant sway over the goings-on in Rome.

The Italian Archbishop wondered if Pope Francis was “being blackmailed” by the homosexual lobby in the Vatican.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/50-italian-priests-declare-their-homosexuality-in-scandalous-open-letter/

>>17998459

Notable

Totally expected

I expect this to be covered up as with Lake lawsuit

In 2019 40 Democrats Signed a Letter Condemning Azov Nazi Battalion in Ukraine – Now They’re Funding the Nazis with Over $100 Billion in US Taxpayer Dollars

On October 16, 2019, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee’s counterterrorism subpanel, Rep. Max Rose (NY), led a letter signed by forty Democrats asking the State Department why they had not placed Ukraine’s Azov Battalion on the U.S. list of “foreign terrorist organizations” (FTOs).

In the letter, the lawmakers compared the Azov Battalion to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and discussed how, Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch, New Zealand mosque shooter, who massacred fifty-one people in 2019, had been radicalized by the “ultranationalist militia organization” which “openly welcomes neo-Nazis into its ranks”.

“For Example, the Azov Battalion is a well-known ultranationalist militia organization in Ukraine that openly welcomes neo-Nazis into its ranks. The group is so well-known, in fact, that the 115th Congress of the United States stated in its 2018 omnibus spending bill that ‘none of the funds made available by this act may be used to provide arms, training or other assistance to the Azov Battalion.’ The United Nations has chronicled human rights abuses and incidents of torture in this group’s relatively short history. Despite these facts, Azov has been recruiting, radicalizing, and training American citizens for years according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Christchurch, New Zealand massacre was a turning point for counterterrorism efforts. In his manifesto, the shooter claimed he had trained with the Azov Battalion in Ukraine, and he routinely wore a neo-Nazi symbol associated with them. Both the Poway, CA and El Paso, TX shooters said they were directly influenced by the terrorism committed at Christchurch. The link between Azov and acts of terror in America is clear.”

The letter was signed by prominent Democrats such as Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Rep. Eliot L. Engel, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, Rep. Jim Cooper, Rep. Gregory Meeks, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. Ro Khanna, and Rep. Al Green.

https://kanekoa.substack.com/p/forty-democrats-labeled-ukraines