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It feels like the Jets get killed every year by the schedule-makers with a tough slate to open the season.

Britain Is Pricing Its Factories Into Oblivion

Authored by Ted Newson via CapX,

At its peak, Britain was known as the workshop of the world. Sheffield produced high-quality steel, Manchester still had a strong textiles sector and the West Midlands was world-renowned for its cars. Glasgow, Sunderland and Newcastle were shipbuilding hubs, Stoke-on-Trent produced ceramics.

Cities around Britain provided steady employment for skilled tradespeople, keeping communities together and wealth distributed around the country. In the 1980s and ’90s, this was underpinned by looser employment regulations and strong energy security through North Sea oil and gas. Businesses could hire who they wanted, for a wage they were comfortable paying and without soaring energy bills to worry about. Just ten years ago, electricity prices were around £31/MWh, today they have almost tripled to around £90/MWh. When competitors such as the United States don’t have a nationwide carbon tax while Britain has had a carbon price floor since 2013, it is easy to see how business can quickly become uncompetitive.

Britain’s industrial sector was promised lower energy bills through renewables; instead, it is paying higher prices and additional taxes to subsidise green policies. The Climate Change Committee recently forecast offshore wind electricity prices of £35/MWh by 2040, the reality suggests that this is unlikely. Using intermittent renewables to power energy-intensive industries brings with it its own problems, creating high energy prices in wind and solar droughts when domestic firm power isn’t readily available.

Even by 1990, around one-sixth of Britain’s GDP came from the manufacturing industry. The country was still in the top five global manufacturing powers and possessed competitive steel, car, and chemical industries. At this time, our industrial energy prices were reasonably similar to the rest of Europe, with allies like Germany and Italy paying more than the UK. Today, the UK’s industrial energy prices have risen by 669 percent—dwarfing increases of 389 percent in Germany and 544 percent in Italy. A driving force behind this is underinvestment in reliable electricity generation and the idealistic belief that intermittent renewables, backed up by government subsidies, can replace firm sources of power such as coal and gas.

In the pursuit of lowering carbon emissions, Britain has abandoned its manufacturing sector. As we have artificially inflated energy prices through policy costs and made employing people harder, our industries have shifted to countries with more business-friendly environments. While rising comparative wage rates naturally encourage industry to shift overseas, the British government has further pushed industry away through deliberate choices. This has created job losses and regional decline as former manufacturing towns lose historic businesses.

Energy-intensive industry such as steel manufacture cannot survive when industrial energy prices are four times that of the United States. In fact, Britain has the fewest steel plants left in the G7, with plummeting production capabilities, especially for virgin steel. No matter how low other input costs are, such high energy costs will repel investment. A recent example of this is the collapse of the long-established pottery firm Denby. While Britain remains gifted with abundant, high-quality clay, energy prices and the transition to electric kilns have rendered the sector unsustainable.

This problem is much the same across the rest of Britain’s manufacturing sector. Energy prices drive up unit costs, before government legislation further entrenches high wage bills and punitive taxes. From every direction, the business sector is attacked—and manufacturers, as the most energy-intensive type of industry, are most exposed. Britain’s deindustrialisation has many causes, but shortcomings in energy and workforce policy go a long way toward explaining why many once-prosperous enterprises are now shutting down. Britain has already lost a significant share of the manufacturing capacity that once formed the bedrock of its economy and national security, and the decline continues.

That does not mean more government is the answer. A laissez-faire approach to workforce policy was a key reason behind the prosperity of Britain’s manufacturing sector as late as the 1990s. Industrial towns created reliable paths into work for young people without the need for state intervention, strengthening communities and keeping regional employment rates across Britain healthy.

It is government policy that keeps getting in the way. A rising minimum wage has pushed businesses to cut back on hiring, while post-1990s legislation has made it easier to unionise, harder to fire staff, and capped working times. This has increased staff costs and has made turnover harder, slowing the jobs market.

An advanced economy can typically rely on productivity gains to offset higher energy prices and wage rates. However, Britain’s dismal productivity growth in recent years, compounded by chronic underinvestment, has made that much harder to achieve—and the scale of recent energy price increases has rendered those traditional offsets inadequate. Even advanced industries such as pharmaceuticals and chemicals are now considering moving abroad. This risks losing jobs and undermining strategic domestic production.

Bringing back manufacturing to Britain is by no means an easy task. But prioritising low energy prices, on-the-job training and less heavyhanded labour regulation would allow sustainable businesses a fighting chance. Only by significantly improving our industrial competitiveness can we have any hope of bringing back Britain’s great industries of the past.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/13/2026 - 06:30

The Giants’ draft board — the way every player is graded and stacked — is a one-of-a-kind creation.

"We have protocols, trust me. Not ones I can discuss, but we have protocols," Gorka told The Post's Miranda Devine for "Pod Force One."

"Money is tight," an insider told Page Six — as another revealed that Markle and Prince Harry need at least $6 million a year for operating expenses in the billionaire enclave of Montecito, California.

"Money is tight," an insider told Page Six — as another revealed that Markle and Prince Harry need at least $6 million a year for operating expenses in the billionaire enclave of Montecito, California.

President Trump's White House counterterrorism director Sebastian Gorka told "Pod Force One" that he believes China intentionally flooded the United States with fentanyl in a present-day "Opium War" designed to weaken America through the "targeted killing" of its citizens.

Iran threatened to teach the US a lesson if it attacks – while President Trump revealed he’s “thinking about” the red line which will end the cease-fire he said is on “life support.”

Ukraine, U.S. Draft Defense Deal To Supercharge America's Kamikaze Drone Production

U.S. and Ukrainian officials have drafted a memorandum that could open a formal channel for Kiev to export battle-tested war technology to the U.S., while also easing the path for U.S. defense firms to form joint ventures with Ukrainian "war unicorns" to mass-produce low-cost, one-way attack drones.

The report comes from CBS News, citing three sources familiar with the matter, who say U.S. State Department officials and Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olha Stefanishyna, are working on a new defense deal that would capitalize on innovations forged during the four-year grinding war in Ukraine, such as FPVs, AI kill chains, ground robots, drones, and other low-cost technologies that are now proliferating around the world.

Two weeks ago, we pointed out that it was inevitable that Ukrainian drone and counter-drone technologies would soon be exported to the U.S. We tracked U.S.-based Axon's investment deal flow with Ukrainian firms, which suggested this technology was inbound for the U.S. market. Axon's angle is selling to police forces nationwide.

We also noted that the passive acoustics early-warning counter-drone sector is going to heat up (read here), especially in the era of data centers. There are Ukrainian firms with battle-tested counter-UAS systems that the U.S. badly needs.

Also, last month, we joked that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went full "Lord of War" and could become the world's top dealer of low-cost drone interceptors.

To our amazement, the U.S.-Iran conflict appears to have accelerated this:

• Zelensky Touts That 20 Countries Seek Ukraine Drone Deals

We noted last month:

Ukraine's capital markets have been frozen by war, leaving many of the country's battlefield-proven "war unicorns" starved of traditional funding. However, the Middle East conflict has accelerated a new export pathway, as drone warfare and AI-enabled kill chains reshape how militaries think about defense.

This is exactly what the CBS report said:

Drone collaboration with the U.S., Ukrainian officials told CBS News, would be mutually beneficial, as American financing would help both countries expand their defense production output.

Our view is that a flood of Ukrainian defense firms will transfer battlefield-proven technologies into the U.S. market, tap into deep pools of capital, and leverage underused industrial capacity to scale production of low-cost attack drones and interceptors - this is exactly what the Department of War wants.

This comes as Russia, China, and a growing list of countries race to stockpile drones and interceptors before the next major conflict.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/13/2026 - 05:45

"Mr. Margarsa was found with the key to that door in his dead hand. Not a weapon — a key."

Campaign records show Robin Mui also donated to the campaign of disgraced Southern California Mayor Eileen Wang, who has admitted in court to being a Chinese asset.

In the new iteration of the show, Nader portrays Selene, one of the captains of the Zuma Beach Lifeguards.

In the new iteration of the show, Nader portrays Selene, one of the captains of the Zuma Beach Lifeguards.

The museum said the vehicle — a black 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am replica — has not left its display in Illinois and has been parked there for years.

Report Exposes Shocking Explosion In EU Sex Crimes

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

A horror report has laid bare the EU’s staggering rise in sex crimes over the last decade. Sexual violence offences have nearly doubled since 2014, while recorded rapes have surged 150 per cent. 

Around 1.9 million sexual offences were logged between 2015 and 2024 alone, with 256,302 occurring in 2024. Between 2015 and 2024, EU authorities recorded 664,293 rapes. The vast majority of victims were women.

The findings, compiled by The Campaign for an Independent Britain, Stand for Our Sovereignty, and think tank Facts4EU, tie directly into the migration crisis that began in 2015 under Angela Merkel. 

Horror report lays bare the EU's staggering rise in sex crimes as fears soar over PM opening the floodgates https://t.co/7HmFYG6JCr

— GB News (@GBNEWS) May 11, 2026

Critics warn that restoring any form of freedom of movement could import the same wave of violent crime the continent is now battling.

The report’s authors note the sharpest increases coincide with the 2015 migration surge, though they caution that definitions and reporting practices vary by country. 

Trends, however, do not lie. Sexual violence offences jumped 94 per cent between 2014 and 2024. Rapes rose 150 per cent in the same period.

This latest report matches what we have already documented. Rape reports in Spain have surged by a whopping 322 per cent over the last decade.

The pattern repeats in Germany, where foreigners are vastly overrepresented in violent crimes and rape cases have risen 72 per cent since 2018.

This data comes as Keir Starmer faces fresh pressure not to fling open Britain’s borders through any EU “reset.”

Starmer’s government lost control of more than 30 councils and around 1,500 councillors last week. Rather than double down on secure borders and British sovereignty, he is eyeing a Brussels reset that could expose the UK to the very crime wave now engulfing the EU.

Britain has struggled with rising sexual offences linked to illegal migration and certain communities, but re-entering EU free-movement schemes would only make the problem worse. 

Starmer’s talk of “a new direction for Britain” at the upcoming EU summit has sovereignty campaigners on high alert. After Labour’s heavy local election losses, opponents fear he will trade Brexit red lines for single-market access – and that price could include renewed freedom of movement.

The message from this latest batch of stats is clear. Unchecked migration from cultures that do not share Western values on women’s safety leads to more rapes, more sexual violence, and more shattered lives. 

Sovereignty, secure borders, and putting your own citizens first are not optional extras – they are the bare minimum required to protect women and children.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/13/2026 - 05:00

A potential hantavirus case not linked to the outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship has been reported in Illinois, according to the state’s health agency. 

They were finally declared innocent by a judge in February after investigators determined the crime was committed by a suspect who died in 1999.

The treasurer of Harris County, Texas, allegedly told cops she thought she was “in heaven” before she was arrested on a DWI charge. 

A Michigan fugitive who allegedly murdered his best friend and rock singer roommate was arrested as authorities discovered he'd been hiding in Central America as a "ghost" for over three decades.

Germany's Nuclear Confession Is A Crack In Net‑Zero Pretense

Authored by Vijay Jayaraj via PJMedia.com,

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called the nuclear phaseout a “serious strategic mistake” that left Germany short of firm power that turned the Energiewende into the most expensive energy transition on the planet. This is an early marker for a developing worldwide retreat from policies that sidelined nuclear power and demonized coal, oil, and natural gas.

German and Japanese Nuclear Embarrassment

Germany stubbornly closed its last three functioning nuclear reactors in April 2023 right in the middle of a crippling energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine. As pragmatists predicted, German citizens now suffer under punishingly high electricity prices and remain heavily dependent on imported energy.

The green dream was sold as a route to “cheap” renewables, yet the reality for German households and factories has been record‑high electricity prices, complex subsidies for favored businesses and individuals who conform to the climate narrative, and a grid that struggles on windless days or under gray skies. 

Japan made a remarkably similar error but is finally correcting course. After the Fukushima disaster, the government panicked and shut down all 54 of its nuclear reactors. Today, Japan is slowly restarting those idle units.

The pattern is plain to see. Countries abandon dependable power sources under political pressure, then spend years rebuilding what they had demonized and dismantled.

Regret Over Abandoning Fossil Fuels

This is why I anticipate a cascade of similar reversals by national leaders who participated in a destructive campaign that stripped grids of dependable, affordable, and abundant coal, oil, and natural gas.

Politicians are already quietly hitting the brakes on their aggressive fossil fuel phaseouts when reality bites. The massive Groningen gas field was scheduled for permanent closure due to localized earthquake risks. Yet in 2024, the Dutch Senate delayed the final shutdown vote when lawmakers demanded guarantees that abandoning the domestic resource would not jeopardize energy security.

Within a week of the German chancellor’s admission of a nuclear energy fiasco, the country’s energy minister lamented at an oil and gas conference the push of net zero policies, indirectly referencing the abandonment of fossil fuels.

In the United States, President Donald Trump took executive actions aimed at preventing some coal plants from closing, including orders that kept aging facilities like the J.H. Campbell plant in Michigan running to “avoid summer blackouts.”

South Africa’s Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe consistently fights international pressure to quickly abandon coal. “You don’t destroy what you have on the basis of hope that something better is coming,” he says. Mantashe rightly insists that protecting the ability of the state to supply energy must remain a priority.

India offers the most powerful example of this energy pragmatism. The country has signaled that coal will remain the backbone of the economy for decades, even as its diplomats make empty promises about reaching net-zero by 2070. Deputy Power Minister Shripad Naik recently revealed that India had added a massive 7.2 gigawatts of new coal capacity in the 2025–26 fiscal year alone and would add 307 gigawatts of total coal capacity by 2035.

A majority of Western countries, especially in Europe, utterly lack this basic foresight on energy security. Many countries have locked in policies that tear down coal, oil, gas, and nuclear plants before they have built credible alternatives. They chase targets for emissions reductions. They downplay the costs to their citizens.

Energy security has become more prominent in the news because of turmoil in the Middle East. Yet a war may not be needed to launch the next generation of energy crises. When the next prolonged cold spell, drought, or demand surge hits, the weakness of the anti-fossil fuel approach will show up in higher bills, rolling blackouts, and public anger.

Tyler Durden Wed, 05/13/2026 - 03:30