Canada #52 >>20278091

Ford Slashes Production of Electric F-150s, Focuses Resources on Popular Gas Models

by Johnathan Jones, The Western Journal Jan. 20, 2024

Ford has announced that it is cutting production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup trucks as the demand for electric vehicles continues to plummet.

The latest knock to the EV industry came Friday, when Ford announced it would move about 1,400 of the 2,100 employees from its Lightning plant in Dearborn, Michigan, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The employees will be shuffled around to other Ford factories to ramp up production of existing popular gasoline-power vehicles.

Morningstar reported some of the workers will take advantage of their union’s recently-negotiated retirement incentive program.

Another 700 will be moved to the company’s Michigan Assembly Plant, where a third crew will be added to boost production of gas-powered Bronco sports utility vehicles and Ranger pickups.

In total, the company said its decision to cut production on the F-150 Lighting is expected to create 900 jobs.

Ford’s stock price saw a jump of more than half a percent Friday morning after the news was announced.

Consumers have shown an increasing preference for traditional vehicles in recent months and throughout the last year.

Batteries for even the most basic Tesla models can run anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 — or higher, Business Insider previously noted.

Those same batteries are prone to spontaneously catching fire, putting structures at risk, while also taking firefighters tens of thousands of gallons of water to put out.

Even then, the cars must be isolated, as the batteries are prone to reigniting — in some cases, days later.

Many new electric vehicle drivers have also expressed frustration over how they perform in extreme temperatures.

Charging the vehicles in frigid temperatures can slow the process — costing customers at charging stations extra dollars.

Meanwhile, the driving range of the vehicles tends to dramatically decrease during winter weather.

These and other issues have dominated news as of late, and have without a doubt contributed to Ford’s decision to cut production on the F-150 Lightning.

When the vehicle was first announced in 2021, Ford touted it as the “truck of the future.”

“For both Ford and the American auto industry, F-150 Lightning represents a defining moment as we progress toward a zero-emissions, digitally connected future,” company executive chair Bill Ford said in May 2021.

Less than three years later, the trucks have failed to win over consumers.

Public sentiment regarding electric vehicles is apparently so low at the moment that many Americans do not want to rent them.

Hertz announced earlier this month it would begin to eliminate many of the 20,000 electric vehicles from its rental fleet.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/01/ford-slashes-production-electric-f-150s-focuses-resources/

Canada #52 >>20278120

==E-Bikes Caused Record Fires, Injuries, & Deaths Last Year In NYC

by Tyler Durden Sunday, Jan 21, 2024 - 11:05 AM

Electric bicycles were responsible for a record number of fires, injuries and deaths in New York City last year.

In total, e-bikes caused 267 fires, causing 18 deaths and 150 injuries in the city, the New York Fire Department (FDNY) told Fox News, which notes that the figures represent the highest levels of each statistic - with deaths jumping 200% and fires increasing 21% over last year.

"As we rely more and more on micromobility vehicles to earn a living in our daily lives, we increase the risk of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries. And as mentioned, we had over 100 deaths in this city alone on these batteries," said Mayor Eric Adams (D) during an e-bike safety event last year.

When we tell you unregulated, illegal lithium-ion batteries are a hazard, WE MEAN IT. FDNY Fire Inspectors continue to check e-bike & e-scooter shops to ensure compliance, but many of devices & batteries are in private homes. They’re ticking time bombs, just watch our new PSA. pic.twitter.com/Y4Pl2grR80

— FDNY (@FDNY) January 16, 2024

"And one of the problems that we've noticed, when you look at those taped-up batteries, you see that they are refurbished," he continued. "These shops are going inside attempting to refurbish the batteries and do it their own way. This is a safety issue."

Amid the uptick in e-bike fires and deaths, New York City leaders led by Adams and FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh — who said last year that e-bikes are "incredibly dangerous devices" and called for additional regulation — have spearheaded a public education campaign about the dangers of the device and pushed policies to ensure safety.

In March 2023, Adams unveiled the city's Charge Safe, Ride Safe plan to prevent further harmful e-bike incidents. Then, months later, he announced the city had been awarded $25 million in federal funding to install 173 outdoor e-bike charging stations. In December, Adams said his administration would soon launch a battery-charging pilot program for delivery workers. -Fox News

"We know these fires can cause serious injury, and even death. We are grateful to our partners in city government for their out-of-the-box thinking on how we can embrace this new technology while also protecting lives," said Kavanaugh.

Earlier this month, an e-bike battery exploded in a Queens bike store, resulting in a two-alarm fire. The incident came just days after another e-bike battery fire caused an explosion in a public housing complex in the Bronx, resulting in one death and injuring six others

More:

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/e-bikes-caused-record-fires-injuries-and-deaths-last-year-nyc

>>20279210

I know, I hang my head in shame

The Oil Market Is Making Plans For Red Sea Chaos To Last Weeks

By Alex Longley, Sherry Su and Bill Lehane January 20, 2024

Jan 20, 2024 (Bloomberg) –The oil market is bracing for a weeks-long disruption to shipping in the southern Red Sea, where Houthi militants have for months been attacking merchant vessels in response to Israel’s war in Gaza.

Charters of tankers to haul crude and fuels — which for some vessels are arranged up to a month in advance — reveal growing numbers of the vessels are being hired for routes that will avoid the danger zone, according to shipowners, brokers and traders.

Airstrikes in Yemen on Jan. 12 by the US and UK have heightened a sense of chaos for ships in the area, especially after western navies subsequently warned vessels to stay away. With the Houthis pledging to strike back against both nations’ commercial fleets, numerous owners elected to stay away from a route that normally handles about 12% of global seaborne trade.

“More and more owners are avoiding the area,” said Alexander Saverys, Chief Executive Officer of Euronav NV, whose own fleet can transport more than 50 million barrels of oil. “What looked like something that could be solved within weeks, now could indeed have consequences for many months.”

Tankers to move fuel cargoes are instead being hired to sail to Asia instead of Europe, sparking a surge in earnings. At the same time, several Iraqi crude shipments have been booked on tankers that will take a thousands-of-miles detour around Africa.

Earnings Rising

Danish tanker owner Torm said in a statement that there’s been an increase in voyages to Asia for transporting refined fuels.

That has helped pushed earnings on the so-called relatively large tankers that ship oil products from $35,000 a day to $60,000 a day over the past week.

In addition, there’s also been a significant volume of Iraqi crude cargoes booked to sail from the Persian Gulf to Europe around Africa, according to people involved in the market.

Some are jointly loading smaller cargoes onto bigger ships to make the journey more cost-effective, one of the people said.

Although crude flows from the Persian Gulf to Europe are less common than ones to Asia, the shipments nevertheless reveal owners’ attitudes to transiting the Red Sea.

More Detours

Container shipping, where many Houthi attacks had initially been concentrated, had already largely diverted before the US and UK airstrikes. Increasing numbers of tankers and bulk commodity carriers followed suit.

Some crude tanker rates have been climbing too in recent weeks too.

Aframax ships that haul about 700,000 barrels more than doubled to hit almost $80,000 a day since the middle of December.

Suezmax ships — so-called for their ability to sail full through the canal that links Asia and Europe — are up about 50% to almost $70,000 a day.

https://gcaptain.com/the-oil-market-is-making-plans-for-red-sea-chaos-to-last-weeks/

Johns Hopkins Says Gun-Control Will Prevent Second Civil War

by Tyler Durden Saturday, Jan 20, 2024 - 10:10 PM

Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

A new study published by Johns Hopkins own Bloomberg School for Public Health outlines the action items on the billionaire-funded gun control lobby's wish list and makes the claim that those specific gun control provisions are crucial to stopping an armed insurrection in the United States.

The policy recommendations made by the study include regulating the public carry of firearms, prohibiting "paramilitary" activity, enacting unconstitutional red flag laws that remove due process, and finally (and maybe most sinisterly) repealing state-level preemption laws.

The study's authors are all gun control lobby veterans. A quick glance at their LinkedIn pages revealed a work history within gun control groups before starting at Johns Hopkins.

In the study, the authors reference a study titled "Views of American Democracy and Society and Support for Political Violence." Conducted in 2022, the study features a statistic that half (50.1%) of survey participants agreed that "in the next few years there will a be a civil war in the United States." This statistic is featured prominently within the Johns Hopkins study.

Only tyrants should be worried.👀 https://t.co/QR58g5E1iF

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) January 19, 2024

The solutions proposed by the study are currently gun control priorities from the anti-gun lobby, particularly the repeal of state-level preemption laws. For those unfamiliar, state preemption laws say that local governments cannot impose regulations on firearms tighter than State law. This helps to stop a web of inconsistent laws in States where some counties may disagree with State law.

For example, take this recent case in Maryland, in Maryland Shall Issue Inc, et al v. Montgomery County, where the court threw out a local gun restriction because of Maryland's preemption law.

But because local laws are easier to change than State law, gun control groups like Giffords and Everytown have sought out State lawmakers to convince them to overturn their preemption laws.

In 2021, Giffords convinced Colorado to overturn its state preemption law, which allowed the city of Boulder to pass its own assault weapons ban later.

In an article from governing.com about the overturn of the preemption law, Allison Anderman, senior counsel for the Giffords Law Center, was reported to have spoken with other states about overturning their laws and that the discussions were still "in the early stages."

It seems as though gun control groups are so frustrated at not being able to pass laws through Congress that they've started looking to local jurisdictions to pass their legislative priorities. Interestingly, this strategy mirrors the Soros district-attorney campaigns.

Johns Hopkins' study looks to increase the legitimacy of these preemption overturn policies and, therefore, make them more appealing to state lawmakers to pass.

Gun Owners of America stands ready to fight the anti-gun lobby, whether on the federal, state, or local level.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/johns-hopkins-says-gun-control-will-prevent-second-civil-war

>>20279277

>>20279303

hello Special Agent

Props on the new graphic

>>20279312

Last time I looked, China didn't care about U.S. laws much

>>20279325

It's carrying on with the assignment. The upper management promised it would be a Field Agent one day if it did well. It has yet to realize the disbandment of the entire Bureau will happen

>>20279375

Canada #52 >>20278567

LGBT ‘resource center’ official arrested for trying to solicit sex with teenagers online

Gerad Slayton was the recently-appointed executive director of the Modesto-based Rainbow Resource Center, a provider of LGBT 'health' services.

By Calvin Freiburger Sat Jan 20, 2024 - 2:57 pm EST

MODESTO, California (LifeSiteNews) – The former executive director of a California LGBT organization was among more than a dozen men arrested in a recent sting operation for trying to solicit sex with children.

On January 8, the Modesto Bee reported the arrest of seventeen men, mostly from Stanislaus and Merced counties, as the result of a months-long, multi-agency operation headed by the Turlock Police Department to apprehend people trying to use internet chat rooms to “meet with underage children for the purpose of sexual activity.” The suspects were speaking online to undercover police officers they believed to be children as young as thirteen.

“I am proud of Detective Gina Giovacchini and our team for their efforts to intercept those looking to harm children in our community,” said Turlock Police Chief Jason Hedden.

Among the suspects was 42-year-old Gerad Slayton of Modesto, who is revealed in a follow-up Bee report to have been the recently-appointed executive director of the Modesto-based Rainbow Resource Center (RRC), a provider of LGBT “health” services that describes itself as a “Non-Profit Queer Resource Center serving Stanislaus County. Not Your Typical Pride Center!”

On January 9, RRC released a statement stating that Slayton’s alleged crimes occurred “outside working hours and off premises,” that it “take[s] these allegations with the utmost seriousness,” that they “do not represent our organization’s values or mission,” and that “we are addressing the issue within” the center.

On January 17, the group issued a follow-up statement revealing that Slayton “is no longer employed with the Rainbow Resource Center.”

Slayton’s interim replacement as executive director, Alex Gutierrez, told the Bee that Slayton had been in the role for just six weeks before the arrest, and had not been a subject of complaints up to that point.

“We’re obviously ready for, for whatever happens, but, you know, this was a personal decision made by one of our employees and it’s unfortunate,” Gutierrez said. “So, it is, you know, very impactful for us. We are trying to get through it.”

“He was new in that position and was working mostly with kind of staff roles,” he continued. “So I can’t say that he didn’t have, you know, any contact with people, with peers in general, you know, not to say zero contact, but we have definitely other layers of [contact] when you first come in, you don’t obviously meet the executive director.”

While the Rainbow Resource Center disavows Slayton’s “personal decision,” it has no similar ambivalence toward legally-permitted means of sexualizing children.

More:

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/lgbt-resource-center-official-arrested-for-trying-to-solicit-sex-with-teenagers-online/

Canada #52 >>20279417

Maria Bartiromo: Klaus Schwab Got Up and Walked Out of Room During Argentina President Milei’s Speech at Davos Attacking Globalist Power-Hungry Elites

by Jim Hoft Jan. 21, 2024

President Javier Milei of Argentina took the World Economic Forum by storm with a provocative keynote speech on Wednesday.

The libertarian leader delivered a blistering critique of socialism and a fervent endorsement of capitalist principles before a crowd of the world’s most influential political and economic figures.

Milei, having been introduced by Klaus Schwab himself, then proceeded to confront the elites with his fiery speech.

The 53-year-old president did not hold back in his rebuke of the West’s slide toward collectivism — a political theory associated with communism.

“I am here today to tell you that the West is in danger,” warned Milei.

As Americans Scramble to Protect Retirement Accounts With Physical Gold and Silver, A Faith-Based Company Shows Them How

“It is in danger because those who are supposed to defend the values of the West have been co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism and, consequently, to poverty,” he added.

He lambasted Western leaders for abandoning the principles of freedom and succumbing to various forms of collectivism, including state interventionism, radical feminism, abortion, social justice movements, and population control.

“The leaders of the Western world have abandoned the model of freedom for different versions of what we call collectivism. Collectivist experiments are never the solution to the problems that afflict the citizens of the world rather they are the root cause.”

This weekend, FOX Business host Maria Bartiromo was back from Davos and reported on the annual event.

Bartiromo told Rachel Campos-Duffy that Klaus Schwab walked out of President Milei’s speech. Klaus was not interested in being lectured to by a national leader.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/01/maria-bartiromo-klaus-schwab-got-up-walked-room/

>>20279456

>>20279424

>>20279428

Your projection is amusing

>>20279553

Of the 55 species of true sea snakes, most adults are 1–1.5 metres (3.3–5 feet) long, though some individuals may attain 2.7 metres (8.9 feet). They are restricted to coastal areas of the Indian and western Pacific oceans, except for the yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platurus), found in open ocean from Africa eastward across the Pacific to the west coast of the Americas. All other species live mainly in waters less than 30 metres (about 100 feet) deep, as they must dive to the seafloor to obtain their food among coral reefs, among mangroves, or on the ocean bottom.

https://www.britannica.com/animal/sea-snake

>>20279582

Why is Richard Branson worried about Yemen?

>>20279607

Those who manufacture toilets or dig latrines are underappreciated and should get two votes in worldwide elections since they keep the world from being buried in shit

>>20279609

Not sure how to break it to you but neither the fraudulent democracy nor the murdered republic care about you in the slightest

Just caught this one

USS Theodore Roosevelt quietly departs San Diego for Western Pacific patrol, report says

By Alex Wilson Stars and Stripes • January 16, 2024

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to add comment from the U.S. 3rd Fleet. The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt steamed out of San Diego last week with little fanfare and headed toward the Western Pacific, according to a media report. Local ship spotters witnessed the carrier depart its berth at Naval Air Station North Island on Thursday and leave San Diego Bay, according to a USNI News report Friday citing an unnamed defense official. The deployment was not initially publicized by the Navy. A spokesman for the U.S. 3rd Fleet, Lt. Mohammad Issa, told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday that Carrier Strike Group 9, led by the Theodore Roosevelt, “is currently underway conducting routine operations in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations.” No other details about the patrol were provided. The Theodore Roosevelt completed an 18-month maintenance and upgrade period in March at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., including a retrofit to its flight deck to handle F-35C Lightning II fighter jets. In December, the carrier completed another maintenance period and an exercise described by the Department of Defense as a “final workup phase and certification event before a scheduled deployment.” The deployment comes amid an operational stand-down of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft for the Air Force, Navy and Marines following the Nov. 29 crash of an Air Force CV-22 Osprey off Japan’s southwestern coast. The crash, which killed all eight crewmembers on board, sparked an investigation into the tiltrotor. The stand-down is expected to continue pending the results of the investigation. There were no updates on the stand-down as of Saturday, Air Force Special Operations Command told Stars and Stripes by email that day.

The Theodore Roosevelt will be the second carrier strike group operating in the Western Pacific. The USS Carl Vinson was just east of Taiwan on Jan. 11, according to USNI’s Fleet and Marine Tracker. The carrier visited Manila on Jan. 5. The USS Ronald Reagan has been at its homeport, Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, since wrapping up its annual deployment in November.

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2024-01-15/navy-deploys-theodoore-roosevelt-carrier-12686966.html

Source - Stars and Stripes