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Tom Homan: ICE, Border Patrol are targets for left-wing extremists. Where’s the outrage from Dems?

As the former acting director of ICE, I know firsthand what it’s like when federal law enforcement officers are targeted with threats of violence by the far left.

Tom Homan: Trump’s ability to protect America strengthened by Supreme Court ruling on border wall

The president’s decision to defend our border with Defense Department funds makes sense and is clearly within his authority.

Tom Homan: ICE detention facilities — The left is working hard to keep critical information from you

Federal officials are doing their utmost to hold detainees in facilities that meet high standards, to keep them detainees healthy, and to prevent deaths of detainees.

Tom Homan: Democrats are lying to the American people about ICE and immigration — here’s why that’s dangerous

What is going on in this country right now, especially on Capitol Hill, is nothing short of deceitful behavior which intentionally distorts the truth in order to win a political battle.

Tom Homan Accuses Acting DHS Sec. McAleenan of ‘Resisting’ ICE Raids

Appearing Saturday on “Fox & Friends,” former Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Thomas Homan accused Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kevin McAleenan of “resisting” the agency’s planned …

Tom Homan: Trump is right to order illegal immigrants deported – Dems didn’t complain when Obama did it

I’ve been pushing for months for ICE to conduct a nationwide deportation operation of illegal immigrants like the one the president has announced, to include family units that have been given their due process rights at great taxpayer expense and have …

Tom Homan: I Haven’t Accepted ‘Border Czar’ Post

Appearing Saturday on the Fox News Channel with host Neil Cavuto, former Acting Director of ICE Tom Homan said he has not accepted the White House’s offer to serve as “border czar,” despite President Donald Trump announcing the day prior that he had do…

Donald Trump Announces Tom Homan as ‘Border Czar’

President Donald Trump announced Friday that former Acting Director of ICE Tom Homan would be the new immigration czar for his administration.

Places With The Most And Least Traffic Fatalities In America

13 December 2019

Places With The Most And Least Traffic Fatalities In America

Submitted by Priceonomics,

Each year, tens of thousands of people tragically die in traffic accidents. By latest count almost 37,000 people died last year in automotive accidents. Many of those people were pedestrians who were hit by cars. Others were passengers or drivers. Among children age 8 and older, motor vehicles accidents are the leading cause of death.

Still, some strides have been made to reduce vehicle deaths. Because of airbags, seat belts, and improved automotive technology, cars are generally safer today than in prior decades. Moreover, some municipalities are redesigning their roads to make them safer for both drivers and pedestrians.

So where are the roads most dangerous in America? Along with Priceonomics customer PersonalInjurySanDiego.org, we decided to analyze the latest data available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the rate of traffic fatalities in states and cities across America.

Among states, we found that Mississippi has the highest rate of traffic fatalities in the country, while New York has the lowest. Montana has the highest rate of alcohol-related traffic fatalities in the country. When it comes to wearing seat belts, Hawaii leads the nation with a 97.8% compliance rate. New Hampshire is last in the nation when it comes to seat belt safety as only 76.4% buckle up in the “live free or die” state.

***

The NHTSA is a governmental organization tasked with creating and enforcing automobile standards. As part of its mission to “Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes” the agency releases traffic fatality data on an annual basis. On a state level, the most recent data available is from 2018, which we have analyzed in this report.

To begin, let’s look at the states that are most dangerous when it comes to motor vehicle-related deaths. The chart below shows the number of traffic fatalities per 100,000 living in each state.

By a considerable margin, Mississippi is the most dangerous state when it comes to automotive fatalities. In Mississippi there are 22.1 auto-related deaths per every 100,000 people living there. In Mississippi, the probability of dying in a motor vehicle accident is nearly 5 times as high as in New York, the state with the lowest death rate.

According to the CDC, rural roads tend to be much more dangerous which helps explain why states like Mississippi and South Carolina top the rankings. On the other hand, states where a lot of the population live in an urban center like New York tend to have safer streets on average.

However, the rural-urban divide only explains part of the divide when it comes to deaths in car crashes. Another factor is that there is considerable variation in how likely the population is to embrace life-saving safety measures like wearing a seatbelt.

Part of the reason a place like Mississippi have high traffic fatality rates is non-compliance with wearing seatbelts. In Hawaii, the state with the highest seat belt rate, 97.8% of people wear their seatbelts. In contrast, Mississippi has the 4th lowest seat belt rate at just 80.2%. Of note, New Hampshire is the only state in the country that does not require wearing seatbelts and therefore ranks last on this metric.

Seatbelts is just one safety measure that can be embraced or rejected by the population. Another measure to consider is the prence of drunk driving. The following chart shows the rate of motor vehicle deaths that involved a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) by state:

When it comes to drunk driving deaths, Montana has the highest rate in the country, followed by Wyoming and South Carolina. On the other hand, drunk driving deaths are much more rare in New Jersey, New York and Minnesota.

***

Automobiles can be lethal. They are extremely heavy and are capable of moving at extraordinary speeds. A moment of distraction from a driver or a poorly designed intersection can easily result in death. In the United States, traffic fatalities are much more common than in others. Mississippi, South Carolina and Alabama lead with the highest fatality rates. These states also tend to have lower rates of seat belt wearing and higher rates of drunk driving, indicating that many of these deaths are completely preventable.

Tyler Durden Thu, 12/12/2019 - 22:45 Tags Disaster Accident

Chinese Internet 'Influencers' Helped Sell More Than $4 Billion In Goods Last Year

13 December 2019

Chinese Internet 'Influencers' Helped Sell More Than $4 Billion In Goods Last Year

Internet influencers are quickly becoming the new preferred type of advertising in China, mirroring a trend that has taken place in the U.S.

And the influencers run the gamut: from livestreaming moms, to farmers - and even dogs, according to the Wall Street Journal. These "key opinion leaders" sold more than $4 billion in goods in China in 2018, according to China's largest influencer company, Ruhnn Holding.

While that is still a small fraction of the $2 trillion in e-commerce sales that are expected out of China this year, it's still an area that companies are paying attention too. 67% of advertisers this year said that internet celebrities and influencers have becoming their preferred method of advertising in China. Supporting the influencers is a new industry of producers and talent agencies, which has doubled in size over the last two years.

There are an estimated 21 million influencers in China and they have embraced livestreaming on platforms like Alibaba's Taobao and Douyin, a version of TikTok. Although Amazon has started to look into livestreaming and influencer channels, livestreaming is still relatively new in the U.S. compared to China. In the U.S., most influencers use posts and short videos on YouTube and Instagram.

Consumers in China were the most susceptible to brand recommendations by influencers than any other country surveyed - partly because Chinese consumers have a long history of being cheated by counterfeit products. Many consumers say they trust online celebrities, who largely portray themselves as regular people, instead of websites or brands.

Mark Tanner, managing director of marketing-research firm China Skinny said: "It comes down to the inherent lack of trust by Chinese consumers. For many, Chinese KOLs are the most trustworthy and authentic source of information, particularly as there are relatively few other ways to get information with the state controlling the media.”

Brands like using online influencers because they are effective: roughly one in five consumers watching online infomercials will buy a product, compared to less than 1% of consumers viewing conventional e-commerce advertising.

Alibaba has invested heavily into influencers, broadcasting the shows of about 100,000 livestream hosts per day on its shopping app. Even leaders of China's communist party have started to talk about ways to use influencers to reach out to the public.

But there are some downsides, too. Because customers feel close to the influencers they buy from, there can be swift outrage when a customer feels betrayed. For instance, one of China’s most famous influencers, Li Jiaqi, went viral for the wrong reason when he tried to fry an egg on a non-stick pan earlier this year and the egg stuck to the pan. He also went viral after claiming to sell "big meaty crabs" from Suzhou. When customers received the crabs, they found them to not be big, meaty or from Suzhou.

Searches for Li Jiaqi's "misleading advertising" totaled 700 million hits after the incidents.

Deng Xuerui, who received 10 undersized crabs earlier this month said: "He betrayed my trust". She said she used to watch his show daily but is now no longer a fan. State newspapers also piled on Jiaqi, suggesting that he was an example of why government regulation was necessary for influencers.

The work can be grueling for influencers, many of whom host shows live six or seven days a week. Regardless, pay can be good, as well. A key opinion leader can earn has much as $50,000 with one pre-recorded post on a social media site. In the U.S., big name stars can bring in as much as $100,000, as we noted in our recent writeup about the influencer trend in the U.S.

Tyler Durden Thu, 12/12/2019 - 22:25 Tags Entertainment Culture Technology Internet

The Race To Construct The First Solar Space Station

13 December 2019

The Race To Construct The First Solar Space Station

Authored Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

China aims to turn the dream of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov into reality by building a solar power station in space by 2035, according to Chinese researchers.

Scientists at the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) plan to build a solar power station in space that would capture solar energy from the Sun and beam it wirelessly to the Earth via lasers or microwaves, China’s news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.

“We hope to strengthen international cooperation and make scientific and technological breakthroughs so that humankind can achieve the dream of limitless clean energy at an early date,” Xinahua quoted CAST research fellow with the space solar station program, Wang Li, as saying at a Chinese-Russian engineering event in China last week.

According to the Chinese scientist, solar energy in the space will be more efficient and sustainable than fossil fuels in powering satellites and isolated or disaster-hit regions on earth.

The idea of a solar power station in space was first proposed in a short story Asimov published in the 1940s, and despite decades of research, the challenges of installing solar panels in space and developing efficient wireless energy transmission technology have hindered major breakthroughs.

China has invested US$28.4 million (200 million Chinese yuan) in the construction of a test base in Chongqing in the southwest to test its developments.

Earlier this year, Chinese scientists revealed plans to build and launch in orbit a space solar station that could capture the Sun’s rays 24/7.

China has already started to build an early experimental space power plant in the city of Chongqing.

China is not the only country studying the potential of harnessing the power of the Sun in space.

Caltech, for example, has its Space Solar Power Project, which has researched the use of ultralight, foldable, 2D integrated elements. Caltech has developed a prototype which collects sunlight, converts it to RF electrical power, and wirelessly transmits that power in a steerable beam.

Tyler Durden Thu, 12/12/2019 - 22:05 Tags Environment Technology Internet

Visualized: Ranking The Most Traded Goods Between The U.S. And China

13 December 2019

Visualized: Ranking The Most Traded Goods Between The U.S. And China

From a young age, many of us were taught that sharing is caring. In fact, as Ashley Viens of Visual Capitalist notes, many countries have also followed this simple principle, in the interest of growth and prosperity, when doing business on a global scale.

Today’s infographic from HowMuch.net charts the top imports and exports between the U.S. and China, pulled from the Observatory of Economic Complexity’s (OEC) global market data for 2017.

Which items do you find most surprising?

Give and Take: The Trade Relationship of the U.S. and China

Two of the world’s largest superpowers today, the U.S. and China have typically had a long-standing trade relationship going back decades. The table below shows the top 10 exports the U.S. sent to China in 2017, along with the proportion of each item in the total export value of $132 billion. The top 10 items account for 39% of total exports to China.

The Top 10 Exports from the U.S. to China (2017)

While the majority of these are highly specialized, manufactured products─such as airplanes, integrated circuits, and semiconductors─the U.S. still relies on exporting many basic commodities such as gold, copper, and soya beans.

Below is the list of the top 10 imported products from China, and the percent that each product accounts of the total $444 billion in 2017. These top 10 items make up 30% of all products imported from China.

China is best known for its electronics and technology-focused products─with electronics products accounting for two-thirds of the top 10 Chinese imports. In 2017, China also dominated all electronics imports into the U.S., claiming over 60% of the market. But how has the recent trade war impacted the imports and exports between the U.S. and China?

The U.S.-China Trade War Continues

At one point, China was the United States’ top trading partner in terms of the total value of imports and exports. Since the trade war began in 2018, China has fallen to third place. For example, soybean exports to China in 2019 are predicted to only reach a third of numbers seen in 2018, and the price of this commodity has been nearly cut in half.

In the first nine months of 2019 alone, the U.S. saw a 13.5% drop in imported products from China, due to actual and threatened increased tariffs. In addition, U.S. exports to China dropped by 15.5%─a significant loss of $53 billion.

The Future of U.S.-China Trade

To date, the U.S. has enacted tariffs on over $550 billion worth of imported products from China. In response to the U.S. tariffs, China has added tariffs to $185 billion worth of exported goods from the United States.

With the 2020 U.S. presidential election looming on the horizon, threats of increased tariffs seem to dominate headlines internationally. If these trends continue, many U.S. businesses—both at home and abroad in China—could find their bottom lines threatened by rising trade costs.

Tyler Durden Thu, 12/12/2019 - 21:45 Tags Business Finance

Virginia Lawmakers Threaten 2nd Amendment Sanctuaries With National Guard

13 December 2019

Virginia Lawmakers Threaten 2nd Amendment Sanctuaries With National Guard

Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper blog,

Virginia is the new battleground of the Second Amendment. After the most recent election, the state’s House and Senate are both Democrat majorities and they haven’t wasted a moment in attempting to gut the gun laws in what has historically been a permissive state.

What are these new gun laws?

The so-called “assault weapon ban” is SB16 and has that perilously vague wording we all know to be incredibly dangerous. In some interpretations, this law, if it passes, could make illegal the ownership or transportation of any semi-automatic gun because extendable magazines are available for it – and you don’t even have to have the extendable mags.

The Virginia Mercury reports:

The new Democratic majorities are expected to pass a variety of gun restrictions, including universal background checks, red flag laws that would allow authorities to take guns from people deemed dangerous and reinstatement of a one-handgun-a-month law…

…But the proposed ban on particular types of firearms — and the prospect of criminal charges for gun owners who didn’t give them up — seemed to stoke the strongest outrage in the 40-plus rural localities that have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries within the past few weeks. Of the dozens of bills already filed for the session that begins in January, Saslaw’s assault weapon bill was the most-read, according to the state’s online legislative system. (source)

Since the above article was written, it should be noted that 2nd Amendment Sanctuary Counties are at 80 and counting. One sheriff has even vowed to deputize citizens should these unconstitutional laws pass.

After the public outcry, Governor Northam has said a provision will be added for current gun owners.

“In this case, the governor’s assault weapons ban will include a grandfather clause for individuals who already own assault weapons, with the requirement they register their weapons before the end of a designated grace period,” Northam spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky said in a statement Monday evening. (source)

Good try, but no cigar.

Gun owners aren’t going to take this lying down.

We’ve written before about Second Amendment sanctuaries popping up across the nation, and now Virginia is joining the fight. According to Gun Rights Watch, practically the entire state is saying NO.

Check out this map.

Map from Gun Rights Watch as of 12/11/19

Watch this article which is being updated regularly with the sanctuary movement.

These counties have passed resolutions vowing not to enforce unconstitutional gun laws. USA Today’s report refers to them as “publicity stunts” and “political statements.”

Richard Schragger, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, who focuses on the intersection of the Constitution and local law, told USA Today:

Rather than challenging an existing statute, the resolutions are “mostly expressive and symbolic” declarations, he said.

“In Virginia, state law supersedes local law. Citizens and local officials have to comply with state law even if a county declares itself to be a Second Amendment sanctuary,” Schragger added. (source)

It seems they may be underestimating the force of thousands of clearly well-armed and outraged Virginians if they think it’s just a publicity stunt. I’m pretty sure that the Virginians I know mean business.

Now the state legislature is threatening the sanctuary counties and officials.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says that the gun owners are “being ginned up by the gun lobby” and had a few words to say about the rebellion.

“The resolutions that are being passed are being ginned up by the gun lobby to try to scare people. What we’re talking about here are laws that will make our communities and our streets safer. We’re talking about universal background checks, finally, maybe, Virginia will pass universal background checks to make sure that people who are dangerous, who are criminals and who aren’t permitted to buy guns, won’t be able to buy guns,” said Herring. “So, when Virginia passes these gun safety laws that they will be followed, they will be enforced.” (source)

How exactly do they plan to enforce those laws?

One representative hopes that the law enforcement officers will just resign.

“I would hope they either resign in good conscience, because they cannot uphold the law which they are sworn to uphold, or they’re prosecuted for failure to fulfill their oath,” Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly told the Washington Examiner of local county police who may refuse to enforce future gun control measures. “The law is the law. If that becomes the law, you don’t have a choice, not if you’re a sworn officer of the law.” (source)

I’m 99.9% sure that any sheriff who has supported such a motion is not going to say, “Oh, it’s the law. My bad, Gerry.”

Rep. Donald McEachin believes cutting off state funds would do the trick, and if that doesn’t work he has another suggestion that is far more drastic.

McEachin also noted that Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam could call the National Guard, if necessary.

“And ultimately, I’m not the governor, but the governor may have to nationalize the National Guard to enforce the law,” he said. “That’s his call, because I don’t know how serious these counties are and how severe the violations of law will be. But that’s obviously an option he has.” (source)

Bringing in the National Guard to confiscate guns or override sanctuaries could only end one way: in bloodshed. Although, one must wonder whether the National Guard members would comply with the governor over their friends, families, and neighbors.

It’s going to get ugly fast. As serious as these legislators are about “getting guns off the street,” Virginians are equally serious about defending their right to bear arms.

It’s the ultimate game of chicken. It looks like we really have reached the point of “out of my cold, dead hands.”

Virginia gun owners, myself included, have no intention whatsoever of complying with this gun grab, and no conciliatory “you can keep them but you have to register them” gesture is going to suffice.

The only question remaining is, who’s ready to die on this hill?

Tyler Durden Thu, 12/12/2019 - 21:25 Tags Law Crime

Jo Swinson LOSES her own seat after Lib Dems' anti-Brexit campaign flops

13 December 2019

The party's leader lost East Dunbartonshire to the SNP's Amy Callaghan by just 149 votes in a devastating end to a much-criticised campaign.

Labour loses traditional northern heartlands to Tories

13 December 2019

The first sign of cracks came at Blyth Valley, outside Newcastle, which fell at 11.30pm, before age-old powerbases Darlington, Wrexham and Wolverhampton all smashed out of the party.

What happens to Brexit now? Nigel Farage claims victory

13 December 2019

Brexit has dominated this year's election with the phrase 'Let's get Brexit Done' becoming Boris Johnson's mantra and the exit poll confirms the Tory's are set for a large majority.

Marathon impeachment hearing ends abruptly, vote scheduled for Friday morning

13 December 2019

The House Judiciary Committee's second consecutive day of impeachment hearings abruptly ended Thursday night and will resume 10am Friday morning.

Nicola Sturgeon claims mandate for new independence referendum

13 December 2019

The Liberal Democrats lost the East Dunbartonshire seat to the SNP's Amy Callaghan by just 149 votes. Nicola Sturgeon was filmed shaking her fists with joy at the news of her party's gain.