Zero Rss

Truancy Is Now A Mental Health Condition In Britain

Authored by Mary Gilleece via The Daily Sceptic,

Bunking off school used to be called truancy, but now 'Emotional Based School Avoidance', or EBSA, has joined the ever-growing list of supposed mental health conditions afflicting the nation's youth...

What used to be known as 'truancy' has had a smart rebrand to EBSA. Pronounced ebbsah, EBSA stands for Emotional Based School Avoidance. It is the latest woolly mental health acronym to proliferate amongst education-dodgers and those seeking to profit from them.

As nearly nine million children return to school in September there are over 200,000 children who remain at home, generally in their bedrooms scrolling on their phone or gaming. In 2025, 2.12% of pupils were severely absent, missing 50% or more of school. It's a troubling figure that continues to climb.

What was introduced as a term by West Sussex Educational Psychology Service (WSEPS) in 2018, has mushroomed across the education and mental health sectors. WSEPS defined Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) as: "A broad umbrella term used to describe a group of children and young people who have severe difficulty in attending school due to emotional factors, often resulting in prolonged absences from school."

Professionals, GPs, parents and social workers now authoritatively state that so-and-so 'has EBSA' even though it is not an officially diagnosable medical condition. Though it does not appear in any medically approved diagnostic manual, EBSA has somehow gained the imprimatur of respectability.

Parents of school-avoidant children have enthusiastically embraced this new 'condition'. Google searches for Emotional Based School Avoidance have increased by a breakout 5,000% in the past five years. The BBC has a parenting tips page dealing with the issue.

The theory around the pseudo-diagnosis of EBSA is that a child is anxious and upset about going to school; attending school is detrimental to his or her mental health; therefore he or she does not attend.

The local authority, however, is still legally obliged to provide education for that child. A wrap-around service of Alternative Provision, Non-School Education Providers or home tutors is arranged. The majority of Alternative Provision providers servicing the needs of so-called EBSA are privately owned, and their employment by county councils has escalated sharply, costing councils billions of pounds.

I work for one such operation. However, the figures for such children attending even these gentle alternatives are even worse than school attendance. Official figures report that overall absence rose in Alternative Provision to 41.35%, up from 40.94% in autumn 2024-25, with both persistent and severe absence continuing to climb.

This tallies with my experience. Every morning I will look at my timetable and see I am set to visit three children that day, but invariably I will receive such messages from parents as: "No session today, she's feeling overwhelmed." "He's still sleeping so won't be awake for session." "Not feeling it today."

The tragedy about the whole non-medical confection around EBSA is that there are indeed a great number of children who are anxious and do not enjoy going to school. They generally have a collection of conditions around them: ADHD (attention deficit and hyperactive disorder), PDA (pathological demand avoidance), ASD (autism spectrum disorder), anxiety and of course EBSA. The children that I work with live very narrow, limited lives within the terrifying space of the internet and their own minds. Their suffering is real even if the description of it is not.

The EBSA enthusiasts have it the wrong way round. The way to improve mental health is to attend rather than avoid school.

A widely ignored study conducted by Loughborough University and the Office for National Statistics revealed that absence from school causes deteriorating mental health. Based on a sample of 1.1 million children, the study reports:

The probability of presenting at hospital with mental health issues more than doubles (increases from 1.82% to 3.77%) when absences increase from 0% to 20%, and nearly triples (increases to 5.27%) at 30% absence.

Rather than saddling children with yet more spurious medical terms, it would be refreshing if educators, GPs, teachers, social workers and parents addressed the real issues that are enabling over 200,000 children to avoid school. Significantly: lack of sleep caused by phones and gaming kit in bedrooms, and insufficient exercise and nourishing food. Most importantly: lack of meaningful connections with real-life human beings. In other words: friends. These can be found at school.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2026 - 07:20

IRGC Announces Attack On Another Tanker In Hormuz, As Trump Mulls 'Annihilate Them Or Not' Decision

Update(1755ET): While the White House has signaled it wishes to see 'quiet' in the Strait of Hormuz and de-escalation when it comes to Iran, it doesn't seem heavily sanctioned-Tehran is yet willing to see it that way. Another foreign vessel has reportedly been hit, via Sepha News:

IRGC says Togolese-flagged tanker 'Trend' was hit and stopped after a fire, while it stated the tanker violated Hormuz rules and that the US instigated the transit.

Below is a machine translation of the IRGC statement that was released on Telegram:

Last night, the offending tanker Trend, flying the flag of Togo, attempted an illegal passage through the Strait of Hormuz under the instigation and deception of the child-killing U.S. military; it was struck and came to a halt after a fire broke out on board.

The IRGC Navy warns once again that illegal passage through the Strait of Hormuz will result in nothing other than the destruction of the offending vessel.

President Trump has still insisted the US can negotiate with the Iranians at any time, and that they are "begging" for it.

BREAKING: Just moments ago, Iran struck a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz attempting to cross via the Omani Route.

From Iran’s perspective, it is absolutely CRITICAL that they prove their ability to keep striking vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz given the shutdown of the… pic.twitter.com/oZpxq3ZmIU

— Brett Erickson (@BrettErickson28) September 17, 2026

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Update(1325ET): Some key lines of President Trump given to Axios on Thursday...

He told the outlet he is at a "critical juncture" regarding the war in Iran, weighing whether to launch massive new attacks or pursue a different path to end the conflict.

He has previously indicated his belief that war will continue through the November midterm elections. Trump has newly said:

"I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me."

The war is increasingly unpopular among Americans, and Trump's rhetoric has appeared a bit more honest on this of late. What's the end game? After six months of conflict, Epic Fury has looked like a bombing campaign in search of a strategy. According to more of Trump's talk with Axios:

• Trump declined to say whether he'll decide on the path forward before or after the midterms.
• Trump and Hegseth have ordered the military to maintain its level of forces in the Middle East until the end of the year, to remain ready for a potential return to full-scale combat.
• The officials say Trump needs to decide soon on the way forward, partly because the US military can't stay in its current holding pattern much longer. "At some point you have to decide what is the end game"

The situation of global energy transit has over the past week become much more complicated with the Houthis advance across Yemen's Red Sea coastline, and drone damage to Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline. The US looks to be staying on the sidelines of Yemen fighting, for the time being. New via Al Jazeera:

A senior US official told Al Jazeera: We are focused on ensuring navigation in the Red Sea and allowing our partners to manage security challenges.

And yet "partners" like the Saudis and its government in Sanaa are clearly not doing so well.

BREAKING: Yemen's Houthis have dug roughly 20 km of trenches in the mountains above the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, visible on Sentinel-2 imagery, with positions overlooking the strait's narrowest point near Dhubab and Perim.

The Houthi fighter filmed on the Murad coast last week said… pic.twitter.com/0kgmg3FiPE

— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) September 17, 2026

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Oil prices are falling on Thursday on some headlines signaling potential de-escalation moves out of the Saudi-Yemen conflict, both via Reuters:

• China reportedly presses Iran to help rein in the Houthis after Saudi appeal, according to Retuers citing sources
• Oil prices fell on Wednesday after reports that Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude cargoes through Oman eased some concerns about Middle East supply disruptions, while a smaller-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories added further downward pressure. 

US crude futures have extended their drop to fall back below $100/bbl. This also comes amid continued reports of better-than-expected recovery in Gulf infrastructure, as Saudi Arabia is claiming it is able to restore half the capacity of its East-West pipeline within merely days. The optimism could prove just wishful thinking, however - and the coming week will tell.

Starting last week, when the Houthis made their lightning-fast advance along the Red Sea coast, fragmenting the positions of the Saudi-backed coalition government, Riyadh turned to Beijing for help, the Thursday Reuters report indicates.

"Chinese officials did not issue any explicit threats ​or indicate that Beijing would seek to pressure Tehran economically if it failed to use its influence over the Houthis, the three Iranian sources said," the report adds.

The Chinese foreign ministry has responded to knowledge of the diplomatic maneuvering getting out that "China does not wish to see regional tensions further spill over into Yemen and the Red Sea. Escalating regional instability is not in the interests of ​any party".

"The sovereignty and security of all countries should be respected, and facilities vital to people's livelihoods must not be targeted. China calls for an end to actions that further complicate the situation and urges resolving issues through dialogue ​and negotiation," it said.

A senior Western diplomat in the region was separately quoted as saying "Beijing is one of the few capitals that can still ​press Iran to rein in the Houthis."

Given that the Iran-aligned Shia group has often shown a willingness to cooperate and coordinate action to Tehran's benefit, Ansar Allah leadership may listen if it gets a signal to de-escalate from Iran.

🇾🇪🇺🇸 Ansar Allah fighters put American anti-tank missiles on display after seizing them in recent fighting.​ pic.twitter.com/DKs3QpjeUq

— The Saviour (@TheSaviour) September 16, 2026

According to to some Thursday and latest developments via Al Jazeera:

• Yemeni government forces are trying to prevent Houthi advances on several fronts, including the strategic Kahbub mountains near Bab al-Mandeb and Taiz, with Saudi Arabia providing support with air strikes in areas around the city.
• President Donald Trump has told reporters that the US is “hopefully toward the end” of its war on Iran and notes that he has spoken with Iranians “directly”.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges de-escalation and diplomacy in the Middle East as fighting intensifies in Yemen and between the Houthi group and Saudi Arabia.
• Iran’s national security chief Mohsen Rezaei says the US must take practical steps to earn Tehran’s confidence, stressing that the country harbours zero trust in Washington.
• A UN fact-finding mission has found “reasonable grounds” to believe the US was behind two attacks, including the strike against a school in Minab in February, which it says constituted war ⁠crimes. ​

On the Yemen front, Al Jazeera writes, "The fighting is continuing and government forces are claiming that the Ansarullah Houthis have suffered a lot of casualties in the clashes that are occurring on a number of fronts, mainly in western Taiz and also in Kahbub, which is a mountainous area with strategic importance as it overlooks Bab al-Mandeb."

Throughout the conflict, both the Iranians and the Houthis have at various times said they are willing to grant China and other "friendly" countries like Russia "special considerations" when it comes to water transit and paying "fees" - the latter case related to the Strait of Hormuz.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2026 - 06:45

The Great Diesel Crisis - How Policy Choices Made The West Vulnerable

Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

How taxes, regulation, refinery closures, sanctions and declining domestic production turned a geopolitical shock into a diesel-price crisis

Do not blame diesel prices on the Iran war or the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz. The geopolitical risk premium attached to oil prices is relevant, but the market was already weakened by policy choices.

Europe has taxed motor fuels heavily, imposed escalating regulatory and carbon costs across the supply chain, closed refining capacity, sanctioned major sources of refined-product supply, and discouraged investment in domestic oil and gas production. Today's refined product system is smaller, less flexible and more import-dependent, and, as such, every geopolitical disruption produces a larger price shock.

Diesel prices rise faster than crude because diesel suffers its own supply constraints, and these are politically imposed, not due to a war.

In the United States, retail diesel reached an all-time high of $5.85 per gallon on 4 September 2026. At the same time, the U.S. Gulf Coast diesel crack spread, the benchmark measure of diesel relative to crude, surged to multi-year highs. Therefore, the problem was more the availability of middle distillates rather than crude alone. U.S. refineries were operating at about 98% utilisation, leaving little spare capacity to offset another outage.

Globally, the impact is significant. Current supply losses include refinery disruption in the Middle East linked to the Iran war and reduced Russian diesel availability following Ukrainian attacks on refining infrastructure and export restrictions. All these elements add to the geopolitical risk premium, but they are magnified by the absence of spare refining capacity and the limits to regional supply.

Middle Eastern refinery disruptions have risen to almost 3.0 million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia's Jizan refinery, with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day, was one of the facilities where exports slumped. Additionally, Russian exports have plummeted. Russia was one of the world's largest diesel exporters, but its seaborne diesel exports in June 2026 fell to 426,000 barrels per day from 827,000 barrels per day a year earlier. Refinery damage, domestic-supply priorities and export restrictions all affected the stability of an already fragile market.

However, these disruptions explain the timing of the latest surge, but they do not explain why importing economies entered the shock with so little capacity to absorb it. That is where interventionist policies have created the biggest damage.

European motorists do not pay diesel prices driven by crude, refining and logistics costs. The biggest driver is a tax-and-regulation-heavy final price. Direct taxes alone represented an average of 52.1% of the final price of Euro-super 95 petrol in the European Union, with several countries above 55%. Consumers pay more in fuel taxation than for the crude oil, refining and logistical components combined.

Diesel taxation varies by country, but the same structural tax burden remains. When we add excise duties and VAT, governments have created a large, rigid fiscal floor to fuel prices. When crude rises, the tax-inclusive base increases the final bill. However, when crude falls, large fixed tax components mean that the price paid by households and businesses does not fall proportionately.

The real policy burden is wider than the excise duty displayed at the service station. Costs are accumulated throughout the chain. From royalties and taxes on production; environmental compliance; energy costs and carbon charges at refineries; corporate and local taxes; regulated fees for storage and infrastructure; labour levies; financing costs created by regulatory uncertainty; and compliance costs for distribution and retail, the energy chain is a massive cash machine for governments. Many of these costs are not always shown as "fuel tax," but they are passed through to the final price. Furthermore, the effect is cumulative.

Europe has not merely taxed fuels at the point of sale, it has piled fiscal and quasi-fiscal costs from exploration and importation through refining, storage, transport and retail distribution. That makes the retail price structurally less responsive to lower crude prices and more vulnerable to supply shocks.

The second structural problem is the loss of refining capacity.

The United States did not lose refining flexibility because of one executive order or one EPA rule. It was a cumulative policy tsunami. Obama's air-quality regulations and renewable-fuel mandates added compliance and capital costs, while Biden retained and expanded renewable-fuel obligations, restricted small-refinery relief and reinforced a policy environment in which long-lived petroleum investments faced greater regulatory risk and higher costs. The clearest consequence has appeared in California, where stringent state regulation, expensive compliance and mandated energy-transition policies have coincided with the closure of major refineries. The result is not lower dependence on fuels in the short term, but less domestic capacity to produce them, and greater vulnerability when global diesel supply is disrupted. Fortunately, the United States is not suffering an enormous diesel shortage problem as Europe's, because total U.S. crude-oil refining capacity did not fall between 2008 and 2026, standing at 18.16 million barrels per day.

In Europe, on comparable tax-inclusive retail prices, the EU average is about $8.90 per U.S. gallon, versus $5.97 per gallon in the United States, or 49% higher. Several European markets were close to $10.70-$10.90 per gallon as of September 11th, 2026.

Between 2020 and 2024, European refining capacity fell from about 15.3 million barrels per day to 14.7 million barrels per day, a reduction of nearly 600,000 barrels per day. Europe has lost more than 20% of its refining capacity since 2009. Refineries have been shut, converted to import terminals or biorefineries, reducing conventional crude-processing capacity just when global diesel supply has become more problematic.

A refinery may appear unnecessary during periods of large imports and open trade routes. However, it becomes strategic when imported diesel is disrupted. Closing a refinery does not eliminate domestic demand for diesel. It converts domestic production capacity into an additional need for imported product and foreign refining capacity.

The EU's decision to restrict Russian petroleum products did not eliminate Europe's demand for transport, agricultural and industrial fuel. Now diesel must be delivered from more distant suppliers, with longer routes, high freight costs and more exposure to congestion in the Red Sea or the Strait of Hormuz. Sanctions may have created an indirect boomerang effect, making Europe more dependent. In January 2026, the EU also banned imports of petroleum products refined from Russian crude in third countries, closing the so-called refining loophole. That restricted available supply even more.

Sanctions are justified as a geopolitical tool. But they became very expensive, especially when the EU's policy framework disincentivizes refining investment at home. Restricting a key supplier while shrinking local refining capacity is a dangerous combination, and governments cannot expect consumers and businesses to be shielded from a global refined-products shock. Thus, the EU has created a suicidal combination instead of a security of supply strategy.

Another important aspect is the limits to North Sea production. The North Sea is a mature basin, and its production decline is a reality. UK North Sea oil and gas production fell by 72% between 1999 and 2025. However, natural decline does not make policy irrelevant. High windfall taxation, uncertainty over fiscal terms, restrictions on new licensing and the broader political message that hydrocarbon investment is not desirable reduce incentives to maintain infrastructure, pursue incremental projects, explore and develop viable resources. Such policies may not change next month's global diesel price by themselves, but they have an important impact on supply, investment and infrastructure available.

UK government policy confirmed a ban on new licences for new North Sea oil and gas fields, while allowing some exceptions linked to existing fields and infrastructure. The strategic impact is still clear. A country facing declining production and shrinking refining capacity becomes more dependent on imported oil and refined products at the time when global trade routes are closing.

Domestic crude is not the same as domestic diesel. However, domestic output is essential, as it reduces import needs, supports regional infrastructure and refining optionality, improves the balance of supply during disruption and limits exposure to external suppliers. Thus, abandoning this capacity without a truly scalable substitute is a policy decision with massive security-of-supply consequences.

Europe's policy framework adds more restrictions. Refining is capital-intensive, energy-intensive and emissions-intensive. Carbon taxes, environmental mandates, compliance obligations, high electricity and gas costs, and regulatory risk make investment unviable and closures more likely.

Can it get worse? The next step of the EU framework could add another direct challenge. The ETS2 emissions-trading system is scheduled to apply to fuels used in buildings and road transport from 2027, subject to its implementation rules and safeguards. It is designed to place a carbon price on suppliers of those fuels. This makes a market already burdened by high excise duties, VAT and supply constraints will face another structural cost layer.

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism does not directly tax diesel at the forecourt, but it will raise costs for carbon-intensive inputs such as steel, cement, aluminium, fertilisers, hydrogen and imported electricity. Those costs are essential for refinery maintenance, tanks, pipelines, and transport infrastructure. All these political decisions raise the cost of keeping Europe's energy system functioning.

Diesel is not a discretionary consumer good. It is the engine of the real economy. Without affordable diesel, freight transport, farming equipment, construction machinery, industrial logistics, emergency services, parts of mining and maritime activity, and parts of distribution are going to add more inflationary pressures.

The diesel shock does not end at the service station. Higher diesel costs will raise the cost of moving food from farms to warehouses and supermarkets; carrying inputs to factories; delivering medicines and manufactured goods; and operating machinery at construction sites. Businesses already suffering weak margins will pass those costs into final prices. Policy-created diesel inflation creates an economically disastrous second-round effect. This will hit transport, food, goods and services even after the war ends.

A logical energy policy should be focused on affordability, availability, and security of supply. Dismantling the physical capacity that keeps the economy supplied during an energy transition just demolishes the economy and achieves the opposite of what politicians want. The West becomes more dependent and poorer.

Europe cannot tax, regulate and limit the energy system across every stage of the value chain, close the industrial assets needed to process fuels, limit investment in production and then act surprised when diesel becomes scarce and expensive. Developed economies should preserve and modernize strategic refining capacity rather than treating it as a disposable legacy asset, eliminate the cumulative tax, carbon and regulatory burdens that destroy energy competitiveness, and support domestic energy production.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2026 - 06:30

GM Delivers Patriot Missile Parts To Lockheed As Rearmament Supercycle Nears

A congressional report recently found that the US has "probably used" one-half to two-thirds of its missile-defense interceptors during its Iran conflict so far, intensifying new concerns about readiness for another major conflict.

The US industrial response is already taking shape to ramp up missile and bomb production to replenish depleted stockpiles as the West enters the early innings of a massive rearmament supercycle.

A Wall Street Journal report said Thursday that General Motors has begun supplying components for Lockheed Martin's Patriot interceptors. This suggests that unused civilian production lines can be retooled for wartime, as they were during World War II, and shows why preserving the auto industrial base is critical in times like these.

Lockheed told the outlet that GM delivered its first batch of missile-housing components for PAC-3 MSE interceptors in August. The automaker produced the parts in three weeks, compared with the months major defense firms would have taken.

At the start of this year, the Department of War directed Lockheed to triple annual Patriot production to over 2,000 missiles by the end of 2030. Meeting that target requires additional output, including, as in this case, tapping automakers like GM.

For GM, retooling production lines for weapons offers another revenue stream during a difficult period for the global auto industry. The CEO told Wall Street analysts earlier this summer that she expected the company's defense unit to generate $700 million in revenue this year with double-digit margins.

Meanwhile, the rearmament supercyclerearmament supercycle is colliding with a critical materials squeeze supercharged by Chinese export supply restrictions and resource nationalism. Missiles, data centers, and broader reindustrialization depend on many of the same constrained metals. Securing conflict-free and reliable supplies will be paramount for the West.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2026 - 05:45

Putin Explains The Rise Of The AfD As The Consequence Of The EU's Systemic Errors

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

Putin was asked about the AfD's recent landslide victory in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the sidelines of this year's BRICS Summit in Delhi. While politely declining to address the topic directly, he nevertheless said that "all that is now happening across Europe as a whole is the consequence of systemic errors committed by the so-called West, or, to be more precise, by the globalist circles of the West, in the political, security and economic spheres." The rest of his answer elaborated on this.

He described the political errors as a combination of anti-Russian fearmongering and the current German authorities dishonestly invoking the legacy of Helmut Kohl to justify their policies. Putin reminded everyone that Kohl was one of his close friends with whom he often spoke about bilateral ties. According to him, Kohl envisaged the exact opposite of what today's Germany is doing, namely allying with Russia due to their complementarities in order to preserve Europe's civilization and sovereignty.

As for the security errors, these concern the continued eastward expansion of NATO, prior backing for terrorism and separatism in the Caucasus, and current support for Neo-Nazis in Ukraine. Putin also warned that the European elites' plan to deploy troops to Ukraine "would mean war with Russia. And I presume that European citizens understand what is unfolding." The subtext is that this aggressive, reckless, and possibly apocalyptic policy isn't supported by average European voters.

Finally, the economic errors concern the EU's sanctions on Russian energy, which led to the bloc replacing inexpensive long-term gas contracts with Russia with expensive market-priced imports from elsewhere. Prices are now nearly ten times higher than before and "may well rise even further." Putin also criticized the EU's gas storage policies for being "unconcerned with the technical condition of these storage facilities and the physical volumes involved." All of this adversely affects the EU's economy.

All in all, Putin is arguing that the AfD's rise is an electoral revolt against these policies, all of which center on Russia. This doesn't mean that the party or its supporters are "pro-Russian", let alone "Russian puppets", just that they understand the importance of pragmatic ties with Russia for their country's political interests, security, and economic development. Obsessive anti-Russian fearmongering, risking World War III over Ukraine, and dumping inexpensive Russian energy haven't helped Germany at all.

To the contrary, they respectively serve as a false excuse for why the authorities haven't prioritized adequately addressing the problems posed by mass migration, could once again lead to Germany's total destruction, and are raising costs across the board to the detriment of everyone but the economic elite. Simply put, these policies are incredibly unpopular, and the AfD is the largest political force in Germany that's advocating to change them in line with their sincere understanding of German national interests.

A growing number of Germans agree with them as proven by the party's rising popularity, which is the direct result of their authorities' systemic errors over the 4.5 years since the Ukrainian Conflict entered its large-scale phase, but it can also be said that such errors were already being made even before then. Had former Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successors remained true to Kohl's vision, then the AfD might never have become Germany's most popular party, so its astronomical rise is entirely their fault.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2026 - 05:00

Village Votes To Separate From UK To Fight Government Planned Migrant Invasion

Is the tide finally turning against the mass immigration agenda in Europe?  Events surrounding the tiny village of Piddington have spread like wildfire concerning UK government plans to relocate and house over 1200 third world migrants.  The golden horde will be dropped in the middle of the county of Oxfordshire at an old military base less than a mile from Piddington.  The total native population of Piddington is only 350 people.

The immigration action would completely overwhelm the community with foreigners, and, as in most cases where large numbers of migrants are transplanted, the risk of crime will skyrocket. In particular, women fear the constant threat of sexual assault if migrant men greatly outnumber the locals.   

Far-left politicians (and fake conservative politicians) in the UK have been pursuing an rapid program of cultural replacement over the past decade.  Leftists have consistently complained about the overt "whiteness" of rural communities and have sought to remedy this "problem" by erecting migrant hotels and other facilities right in the middle of quiet villages across the country. 

Once these migrant camps are finished, there's no getting rid of them.  In most cases migrants roam freely away from their primary housing and often terrorize the surrounding communities.  One need only look at what's happening in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta to see what happens when smaller towns are overwhelmed by third world groups.       

The people of Piddington say no more.  Out of the 312 resident voters, 285 (91%) have voted in favor of separating from the UK and becoming a principality.  Their goal is to block the establishment of any migrant facilities.  The vote, while mostly symbolic, signals a dramatic change in the often passive nature of common citizens. 

Not all the residents in Piddington are happy about the vote and the decision to fight back against the migrant invasion.  Liberals within these communities complain about "rising racism" while ignoring the numerous examples of crime that commonly follow third worlders as they flood into western countries.  UK officials and the media often work to undermine efforts to prevent migrant housing. 

In the past, left-wing NGOs have bused in mobs of activists from outside these villages to intimidate them into submission.  Public opinion, however, seems to be shifting substantially against the multicultural agenda.  England is for the English.  Ireland is for the Irish.  Scotland is for the Scottish.  No foreigner is entitled to access these lands and none of the native people are responsible for taking in the dregs of the third world.  

It is clear, though, that UK officials plan to ignore the wishes of these communities and charge forward with their plans.  The question is, how far are the people of the UK willing to go to stop this from happening?  

Villager Herbert Owen, 76, said after voting this week that the independence referendum “isn’t just about Piddington,” adding: “It means everything our grandparents, our parents fought for. Today is the Battle of Britain.”

Earlier this month, masked demonstrators blocked the port of Dover, in southeast England, and tried to stop a boatload of migrants being taken ashore in Portsmouth on the country’s south coast.

In the UK, as opposed to the US, the vast majority of immigration is "legal" and coordinated by the government.  It is an invasion, but an invasion being aided from within.  The assumption by leftists is that once the migrants are rooted in the UK there is nothing anyone can do.  Efforts of groups like the Restore Party aim to change this by promoting a remigration platform; the position is currently exploding in popularity. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2026 - 04:15

Iconic British Children's Character Used To Push Net Zero Propaganda

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

Bob the Builder, the stop-motion tradesman who once built houses, has been hauled out of retirement to install solar panels, home batteries and "low carbon heating" for German-owned energy giant E.ON. The catchphrase is the same. The product is Net Zero.

The much loved kids' character is back on screen for the first time in 15 years in a 90-second stop-motion advert for E.ON Next. He no longer spends the day on a construction yard. He enrols at a "Net Zero Training Academy," swaps his yellow hard hat for an E.ON-branded one, and learns to fit the kit the government says Britain needs for a decarbonised electricity system by 2030.

In the film he explains the gap in his CV. "I downed tools for a while. I got into yoga. Took up bird-watching. Then I packed my bags and went to Australia, where I saw some amazing sights." Holding a newspaper headlined "UK needs more green skills for clean energy future," he adds: "When I arrived back home, I saw this in the news and thought: 'Can we fix it?'"

Then comes the sales pitch. "Now I'm helping with the switch to clean power by using my great new skills so people can take control of their energy and save money too." A fellow trainee asks the inevitable question. "So, Bob, can we fix it?" He replies: "Yes we can."

Toby Young flagged the campaign as Net Zero propaganda dressed up as nostalgia.

Bob the Builder has been accused of spreading "Net Zero propaganda" after ditching his construction yard for installing solar panels and "low carbon heating" in a woke new advert. https://t.co/dsrO04g4DJ

— Toby Young (@toadmeister) September 16, 2026

Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson told The Telegraph the character had been conscripted. "Bob the Builder has been turned into a woke commissar of climate, flogging the same net zero propaganda that's sent energy bills through the roof in the homes he used to build. This country doesn't need another army of Net Zero specialists. It needs builders, plumbers and sparkies who can actually keep the lights on. Send Bob back to his proper trade."

Deputy leader Richard Tice piled on: "Go woke, go broke: Bob the Builder has been missing for years. Did his firm go bust, or has he abandoned Britain by going to China and buying their solar panels?"

Shadow transport minister Greg Smith asked: "Whatever happened to innocent children's TV, telling fun stories rather than cramming in eco-zealotry and political messaging? Hey, Bob, leave our kids alone."

E.ON insists the campaign is about skills. Helen Bradbury, the firm's chief people officer, said: "Bob the Builder has always inspired people to solve problems and build things that matter. Today, those same qualities are needed to help deliver the UK's transition to clean power."

A company spokesman added that "simply combining a home battery and time-of-use tariff can save the average household £255 a year."

Britain already has some of the highest domestic electricity prices in Europe. Net Zero taxes, subsidies and system costs have been estimated at around £22 billion a year. The 2030 clean-power target is the political backdrop. The advert is the soft sell.

This is the same method, applied to a different franchise. Netflix is developing a live-action reboot of Captain Planet, the 1990s cartoon created by Ted Turner that preached environmental panic, multicultural planeteers and population control to children. Leonardo DiCaprio is among the executive producers.

The original treated humanity as the problem requiring global management. The Club of Rome put the strategy in writing in The First Global Revolution: "In searching for a common enemy against whom we can unite, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like, would fit the bill... The real enemy then is humanity itself."

Adults are not spared from the propaganda. BBC naturalist Chris Packham has lobbied for a cameo on soap EastEnders so a flood can hit the fictional Albert Square and he can march through with a placard. He told Radio Times the role "would give me the capacity to communicate to an audience which I don't talk to in my sphere of work."

He wants the message "integrated into broader output, so properly into news obviously, properly into weather... but also into dramas." He said it was "really scary" that some people still "deny" the "gravity of that crisis."

The emotional payload of this alarmism has been measured. The Times reported the largest study then available of 16- to 25-year-olds: four in ten were so anxious about climate change they hesitated about having children, and 45 percent said it was affecting daily life.

Four in ten young people are so anxious about climate change that they are hesitant about having children

The largest scientific study to date of climate anxiety in 16 to 25-year-olds found that it was affecting the daily lives of 45% of them https://t.co/Q2Xyee2UHM

— The Times and Sunday Times (@thetimes) September 14, 2021

Naomi Oreskes circulated the underlying Lancet Planetary Health survey under the heading that children and young people are "sad, worried, anxious and angry."

Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey.
Plain language summary: children and young people are sad, worried, anxious and angry. https://t.co/AmSP1H8YRs @ProtectWinters

— NaomiOreskes (@NaomiOreskes) December 10, 2021

RTÉ put teenagers in front of a camera to discuss "climate anxiety" for a programme titled The End of the World With Beanz.

.@martinbeanz meets a group of teenagers to discuss climate anxiety.#TheEndOfTheWorldWithBeanz | Tonight at 7pm | @rteplayer pic.twitter.com/l2Rgk3ZunE

— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 26, 2024

Why are major media outlets encouraging parents to make their children anxious about climate change?@tilakdoshi examines the rise of climate activism in journalism and its impact on young people. ?https://t.co/fnG8tsJGLe

— CLINTEL FOUNDATION (@ClintelOrg) June 15, 2026

The Financial Times has urged parents to cultivate anxiety in their children in the name of "moral clarity," while skipping scientists who reject the catastrophe script.

??? ?? ??? ????????? ????? ??????????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ??????? ????? ??????? ???????
The Financial Times is telling parents to make their kids anxious about climate change for... pic.twitter.com/WRqCgt3Dxu

— Watts Up With That (@wattsupwiththat) June 14, 2026

Richard Dawkins has long said that teaching kids they'll burn in hell is a form of psychological child abuse, that the mental terror can do more lasting damage than some physical abuse.
He calls it indoctrination.

Yet a lot of the same people who nod along to that have zero... pic.twitter.com/mkI0hKCscs

— Rothmus ? (@Rothmus) June 21, 2026

Is it any wonder young people are acting like this?

This endless parade of madness and meltdown behaviour is what unfolds when you indoctrinate kids from kindergarten age and convince them that the world is about to end at any second.??? pic.twitter.com/6rOdbGNpvb

— m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) December 9, 2023

The policy Bob the Builder is now hired to normalise still rests on a tight causal story: CO2 up, temperature up, therefore Net Zero. Research recently published in Nature found atmospheric CO2 and methane broadly stable over three million years of Antarctic ice-core data, while temperatures swung through long cooling and interglacial spikes without a matching greenhouse-gas plot.

One reading of the wider geological record is that no obvious continuous link between CO2 and temperature runs back across hundreds of millions of years.

Establishment voices rushed to save the narrative. Study lead Julia Marks-Peterson said her team was "a bit surprised" and that if the findings hold, "even small changes in greenhouse gas levels could trigger major shifts."

Carrie Lear of Cardiff University said the work does not "rewrite the role of CO2" and that "today's rapid CO2 rise is so alarming." Tim Naish called it "way too early to throw the baby out with the bathwater." The activism did not pause for the ice.

A generation already primed to treat climate as original sin now watches the builder of their childhood recast as a recruitment officer for the 2030 target.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2026 - 03:30

UK Proposes New Laws Giving Unmarried Women Access To Men's Assets

Men born in the 21st Century have an incredibly difficult uphill battle in front of them in face of a liberal establishment that has declared outright war.  One of the key components of this war is the use of feminism as a tool to steal hard earned assets away from men so they can be redistributed to women (and to the government).  This has been an ongoing scheme for decades under divorce law, which has led to a steep and dangerous decline in marriages and nuclear families.

In the past five years, men's movements have quietly but effectively begun opting out of the current paradigm.  What some groups call the "red pill" or the "manosphere" is really just an effort to rebalance the scales to counter a system designed to neuter them.  The rise of feminist narcissism among modern women has created a cancer within western society, and every aspect of social and political reform has been adjusted to cater to these radical women.

Yet another example of this trend is brewing in the UK, where lawmakers are proposing the most dramatic reforms to family law in decades.  Liberal Democrats want the enforcement of "cohabitation laws" which would essentially treat any couple living together for more than three years as if they are married.  

At present, unmarried people who live together don't have many specific rights around finances, property or their children if their relationship breaks down. This could soon change.  In England and Wales, there are around 3.5 million couples who are not married or in a civil partnership but live together long-term, known as cohabiting. 

These couples could soon fall under similar laws as those who are married as part of a government consultation that has divided opinions.  Under the new plans, unmarried couples could gain rights to bring financial claims if they separate.

The problem is, the UK has a 42% divorce rate and 65% of those separations are initiated by women.  Furthermore, in 89% of all divorces, men are required to pay alimony, child support and give up a large portion of their pre-existing assets.  There is little doubt that the same rules will apply to unmarried couples who break up.  

Critics argue that the laws are yet another weapon to squeeze men, stealing their livelihood and labor.  And, another tool for giving women more political power and dominance in relationships.  If women have all the financial leverage, then men can never truly fulfill their role as head of the household.  Instead, they become pay-pigs and slave labor, ever fearful that their homes, their children and their savings will be taken away from them.

Long term live-in relationships have acted as a viable alternative for many men seeking to avoid marriage contracts and the risk of divorce.  However, if cohabitation laws are put in place, men will have to avoid allowing women to live with them at all.  It is as if leftists are attempting to close one of the few remaining loopholes benefiting men.  

Women used to rely on their husbands to protect and provide, but feminism has replaced husbands with governments and corporations.  Through DEI hiring practices, divorce law, unfair college admissions and scholarships, etc., these entities take from men to artificially elevate women, making marriage increasingly obsolete. 

Men have responded with brutal efficiency.  In the span of only a few years, women are discovering the well of available suitors has gone dry.  Ladies looking for "high value" partners willing to get married are hitting a brick wall. Surveys now project that 45% of all women ages 25 - 44 in the US will be single and childless by 2030.  The female loneliness epidemic has already started.    

The reason?  Political divides are one cause, but the behavior of feminists in general has led to their downfall.  That is to say, for men the juice is no longer worth the squeeze. Over 50 years ago, getting married had benefits; women used to be homemakers and nurturers of family.  Today, many women believe that they don't need to bring anything to the table; simply allowing men to toil in their presence is treated as a privilege.  

This attitude has ripped a hole in modern relationships and men are walking away en masse. 

With 50% of marriages ending in divorce, marriage has become a get rich quick scheme rather than a lifelong partnership built on mutual respect.  Cohabitation would expand this poisonous habit to the extreme.  Men will be targeted relentlessly.  More and more of them are pushing for prenup agreements, and it is unlikely that many will accept the idea of paying out of pocket every time a woman wants to cut ties.   

The laws would also, ostensibly, apply to same sex couples and in some cases women may have to pay, but these cases will be rare.  As usual, the goal is to stifle and control men through their bank accounts.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2026 - 02:45

Germany Weighs Market Incentives To Boost Record Low Gas Storage Level

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

Germany is considering expanding a key market incentive to encourage traders to raise gas storage levels ahead of the winter, a government source told Reuters on Wednesday as German gas sites are barely half full at present.

Europe's biggest economy has the world's fourth-largest natural gas storage capacity, but this capacity has been only 56% full as of the middle of September, according to data by Gas Infrastructure Europe.

That's a historically low level, the lowest in at least a decade and a half, as soaring natural gas prices amid the Middle East crisis have deepened the backwardation structure and discouraged holding supply for later deliveries. Backwardation is the market structure in which prompt contracts trade higher than those further out in time, signaling concerns about immediate supply.

As a result of the low storage levels, Germany is risking gas shortages this winter if it turns out to be colder than previous years, the country's gas storage association, INES, warned last week.

Therefore, the German government is looking to use the existing market tool, the autumn tender for Long Term Options, or LTOs, on a larger scale.

The tender is set to be increased by a yet-to-be-determined volume of gas, according to Reuters' source.

Germany would rather avoid direct state purchases of gas as it did in 2022, but has agreed with state-held energy firms Uniper and SEFE they would inject more gas into their storage facilities.

Last week, industry association INES warned that refilling has "fallen significantly short of the required pace so far this year" and that "the window for sufficient refill is closing."

"While it is still technically possible to reach a storage level of around 77%, simply having storage capacities booked is not enough," INES Managing Director Sebastian Heinermann said.

"Filling storage facilities must be economically viable if market participants are to actually carry it out."

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/18/2026 - 02:00

Netanyahu Calls To Strip Citizenship Of Those Who 'Defame' Israeli Army

Via Middle East Eye

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the stripping of citizenship from those who "defame" the Israeli army.

His comments reflect anger from the Israeli government over the documentary NAZA, which featured soldiers testifying to the commission of war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu said he would introduce two bills to Israel's parliament in a video posted on social media.

"NAZA" Directors Rachel Szor, left, and Yuval Abraham, via Associated Press

"The first would revoke the citizenship of anyone who defames [Israeli army] soldiers, and the second would hit them in the pocket by increasing twentyfold the amount in damages for which they can be sued for defamation," Netanyahu said.

"We will hit them both in the pocket and in citizenship, because they have no place among us."

Israeli ministers have already called for NAZA directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor to lose their citizenship over the film.

On Monday, Culture Minister Miki Zohar called the film “despicable” and said its winning of the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on Saturday was “shocking”.

“The creators’ burning self-hatred, and their willingness to harm their homeland in order to receive applause from antisemites around the world, is beyond comprehension and constitutes a betrayal of the state,” Zohar said on X.

“I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators on the grounds of treason against the state."

Segment from the film:

“There was once approval to kill 500 people for one human target,” an ex-Israeli soldier says in the Gaza documentary NAZA, which features testimony alleging AI-assisted targeting and “mass killing on an industrial scale”. pic.twitter.com/ZcbwGkWjiz

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) September 11, 2026

The film features interviews with 24 anonymized Israeli military and intelligence insiders who describe using AI-powered systems to identify targets and carry out remote bombings, often knowing that large numbers of civilians would be killed.

One military insider interviewed for the film said that, in one incident, the killing of up to 500 civilians was approved to kill a single high-value Hamas member.

The Israeli army rejected the allegations made in the film. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 23:25

China's "Dogfighting" Satellites Come Into Focus As US Confirms Space Weapons

The United States has publicly acknowledged that it already has weapons in orbit, adding a new dimension to a military competition increasingly defined by highly maneuverable satellites - and what they could be used for. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed the space weapons in a Monday disclosure at the Air & Space Forces Association's annual conference. 

Among other threats, China's 'dogfighting' satellites have caught the attention of US officials. 

In March of last year, Gen. Michael Guetlein, then the Space Force's vice chief of space operations, described five Chinese objects conducting coordinated maneuvers in low Earth orbit. The service subsequently identified three Shiyan-24C satellites and two Shijian-6 05A/B objects. He said they were "Dogfighting" (not that they had exchanged fire). 

More recent activity includes a Chinese spaceplane releasing a small satellite in June. The object looped around another Chinese satellite before moving back toward the spaceplane, according to LeoLabs tracking data reported by Reuters on September 2. That investigation also examined Chinese research into spacecraft pursuit and capture, while noting that the United States operates its own secretive uncrewed spaceplane. 

What changed this week was Washington's willingness to explicitly acknowledge an orbital arsenal. According to Meink, the United States possesses "on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action." He declined to identify the weapons or describe their technical characteristics, testing or employment.

In a subsequent statement to The War Zone, a Space Force spokesperson said the broader space-control mission includes kinetic and non-kinetic methods of disrupting, degrading or, when necessary, destroying an adversary's capabilities. The spokesperson said those capabilities can serve offensive or defensive purposes, but would not specify which particular systems are currently deployed.

What we don't know is whether the deployed weapons are physical interceptors, electronic warfare systems or something else. Nor does a description of the service's overall mission prove that every type of capability mentioned is already operational in orbit.

This goes way beyond satellites too. Space infrastructure supports communications, intelligence collection, missile warning and weapons guidance, while disruption can also affect civilian and commercial activity. The War Zone's reporting highlighted those dependencies alongside the service's acknowledgment.

China has opposed the U.S. announcement, reiterating its position against the weaponization of space. American officials describe their capabilities as necessary to deter attacks and protect forces. Experts interviewed by Reuters warned that secrecy and uncertainty can encourage competing governments to make worst-case assumptions about one another's intentions.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty is not a blanket prohibition on conventional weapons in Earth orbit. Its central orbital weapons restriction concerns nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Separate provisions prohibit military installations, weapons testing and military maneuvers on the moon and other celestial bodies. An acknowledgment of conventional orbital weapons therefore does not, on its own, establish a treaty violation.

Now for a 'complicator' - how do governments distinguish routine operations, surveillance, deterrent signaling and preparations for an attack when much of the relevant hardware and doctrine remains classified?

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 23:00

NASA Chief Says Critical For US To Win Space Race With China

Authored by T.J. Muscaro via The Epoch Times,

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told members of the Air Force and Space Force that communist China will land on the moon, and it's imperative that the United States return to the lunar surface first.

"You are witnessing a very energized NASA, and we will need to be, as we are in the midst of a very real second space race," he said during his keynote address to the Air and Space Forces Association's annual conference on Sept. 15. "China will accomplish what the Soviets never could."

He told the Airmen and Guardians that communist China has demonstrated rocket reusability and developed a plan to land their astronauts - called taikonauts - with just two rocket launches, while NASA will need at least four to do the same. China also seeks to build a nuclear-powered moon base on the lunar south pole with the Russians.

"History has shown they could even be early, and we could easily be late," he said.

"Success in this endeavor will be measured in months, not years."

The China National Space Administration has announced plans to land taikonauts on the moon by 2030, while NASA aims to return its astronauts to the lunar surface before the end of 2028.

But Isaacman made it clear that this race is about far more than just bragging rights.

"Our allies and adversaries are watching," he said. "So is every nation deciding whose technology to buy, whose standards to adopt, whose security relationships to deepen, and whose vision of the future to follow, and, perhaps most importantly, our children will be watching, and the hopes and dreams of a generation inspired by these kinds of Apollo 11-like moments [are] really on the line."

One advantage he said that the United States did have over its communist adversaries was the booming commercial space industry pioneering reusable heavy-lift capabilities. But he added that NASA was not on a path to win this new space race until recently.

"I'm thankful for the reality that the Chinese have a plan to potentially, you know, to likely deny that critical area on the lunar south pole because it's given us the latitude to fix what is broken, to stop all the external impositions, the self-inflicted wounds that we had in our strategy, and bring extreme focus and mission," he said.

Some of those self-inflicted wounds included an inefficient launch cadence of both the Space Launch System moon rocket and robotic missions to the lunar surface, the decision to prioritize a lunar space station over a surface base, and a general lack of sufficient focus on winning the race.

Now, thanks to President Donald Trump's space policy, Isaacman said that moon rocket production was becoming standardized to increase launch capabilities, robotic missions will be flying to the moon at a cadence of almost once a month starting in 2027, and an unapologetic focus was put back on establishing a permanent human presence on the surface.

"Fortunately, we have a president who understands that great nations remain great by continuously undertaking and achieving the kind of big, bold endeavors that define American exceptionalism," he said. "These are no longer just stories in history books. This is what you've been waiting for, and this is our time.

"This is the golden age. We are going back. We are going back to stay, to build the base. We are doing it together to show the world once again what America is capable of achieving and inspire the next generation to pick up the fire of exploration and carry it farther than we ever could."

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 22:35

Stanford Scientists Create Mice With Half-Human Brains

Scientists at Stanford University have created mice whose brains are largely built from human cells, a shocking, first-of-its-kind experiment that is raising serious questions about how far researchers should be allowed to go.

In a study published Wednesday in Nature, Stanford neuroscientist Sergiu Pașca said the development represents the most extensive integration of human neural tissue into an animal ever achieved.

The researchers started by genetically engineering mice so that most of the cells meant to form the cortex and hippocampus died off early in development. Those regions normally account for roughly half of a mouse's brain. The animals survived as other parts of the brain picked up the slack, though they were more forgetful and slightly clumsy.

Then scientists filled the empty space with human brain organoids, tiny clusters of neurons grown from reprogrammed human skin cells. Newborn mice received several injections totaling a few hundred thousand human cells.

Within two to three months, the human tissue had grown nearly fivefold, filling more than 90% of the vacant cortex and reaching about four million human neurons. The grafts hooked into the mouse's blood supply, fired electrical signals, and extended fibers all the way down to the spinal cord.

Researchers also spotted rare human cell types that have been difficult to grow in a lab, including neurons resembling von Economo cells, which are linked to social behavior.

Still, the researchers were quick to stress that these are merely mice, not "thinking like humans." The animals retain mouse senses, mouse bodies and the deeper structures of a mouse brain. In behavioral testing, they appeared largely like ordinary mice. In fact, the study claimed that the human tissue appeared to improve the mice's performance during maze tests than those left without most of their cortex.

"We've been trying really hard as a community to find therapeutic solutions for these conditions, but the reality is that in psychiatry and neurology we've been left behind [by] every single branch of medicine and we have fewer therapeutics than, again, every single branch of medicine," said Pașca in a statement obtained by The Guardian. "That could be because the human brain is very complex, but it's also because the human brain is inaccessible. To a large extent, our goal has been to make aspects of human brain development and function accessible for investigation."

* * *

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 22:10

Task Force Arrests 12 In $10 Million Daycare Fraud Scheme In San Diego

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

A dozen operators of allegedly fake daycare sites in Southern California were arrested last week on suspicion of stealing an estimated $10 million in funding, Justice Department officials announced on Sept. 15.

On Sept. 10, federal agents swarmed the San Diego-area homes listed as daycares by the operators and arrested the suspects, six males and six females.

Nine of the defendants entered the United States as refugees or asylum seekers from Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, according to court records. Eleven have since become naturalized citizens, according to Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division.

"There were no children. There were no daycares. These daycares were fake and the taxpayers were paying for all of it," McDonald said during a news conference.

Each defendant was charged with one federal count of wire fraud in Operation Cradle to Grift. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine.

Some defendants are also charged with money laundering, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), which carries the same maximum prison term and fine.

"Fraud against these programs is an attack on vulnerable families, and law enforcement will continue to dismantle schemes that exploit them," McDonald said.

Criminal investigators followed a money train, uncovering more than $10 million in fraudulent billing, according to Chief Jarod Koopman of the IRS's criminal investigations division.

"This is not a victimless crime," Koopman said. "It deprived working parents of critical support and eroded trust in programs meant to protect the most vulnerable in our communities."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sends federal funds to California to help low-income families pay for childcare. In San Diego County, childcare subsidy programs are administered by the county, the nonprofit Child Development Associates, and the YMCA.

When a family qualifies for funding, the childcare providers are paid directly after the provider submits monthly attendance records. The records are signed by the provider and the parents.

California laws prevent schools and childcare centers from collecting or sharing immigration information, allowing all parents to apply for the state's subsidized and free daycare assistance, which is paid in part by federal grant funding.

State law requires licensed childcare providers to be on site and ensure that children are supervised at all times. The 12 cases investigated in the San Diego area are unrelated, but they allegedly used the same formula, according to the DOJ.

The defendants allegedly were granted a childcare operating license by a California state agency and registered with the local programs.

Investigators accused the defendants of submitting fake attendance records and signing affidavits saying that they were accurate. Using the false records, the programs paid the operators with government funds, according to the allegations.

In one case, Abdulrahman Ayman Alawad, 25, a Syrian who lives in El Cajon, allegedly claimed that he provided childcare to 23 kids in March and 25 in April. He eventually received more than $300,000 in payments from San Diego County, the nonprofit Child Development Associates, and the YMCA in 2025, according to court records.

Alawad allegedly said he provided childcare every day of those two months. Investigators claimed that surveillance footage showed children entering or exiting the facility on just one day during those two months, which was the day a state inspector showed up for an unannounced visit.

Prosecutors also accused Alawad and several other defendants of submitting records claiming to have provided childcare at their homes when border crossing records showed that they were not in the United States.

Each defendant earned $538,000 to $1.2 million during their alleged schemes, which lasted from months to years, prosecutors said.

"Today is a bad day for home daycare fraud," said Adam Gordon, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California.

Besides Alawad, the defendants are Fosiya Mohamoud, 50, of El Cajon, from Somalia; Zetun Abdi, 43, of San Diego, from Somalia; Ikramullah Mohmmand, 25, of El Cajon, from Afghanistan; Khetam Haouash, 37, of El Cajon, from Syria; Khatera Hashimi, 39, of El Cajon, from Afghanistan; Mariam Khamis, 42, of San Diego, from Sudan; Mohamad Alawad, 29, of San Diego, from Syria; Mazin Alawad, 22, of San Diego, from Syria; Turkiya Alawad, 63, of San Diego, from Syria; Zaryab Daudzai, 25, of El Cajon, from Afghanistan; and Cezar Yaqoob, 36, of El Cajon, from Iraq.

The operation was the work of the DOJ's National Fraud Enforcement Division, a task force to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in federal benefit programs chaired by Vice President JD Vance.

It was unclear whether the defendants had legal representation. They could not be contacted for comment.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 21:45

Waste Of The Day: Medicare Paid For Wrong Organs

Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations,

Medicare spent an estimated $380 million acquiring human organs that were either transplanted into patients without Medicare or never transplanted at all, according to a new Department of Health and Human Services inspector general audit.

Key facts: Medicare reimburses hospitals for removing kidneys, hearts, lungs and other organs from donors after they die. Federal law says Medicare should only bear those costs when the organ is used in a Medicare-covered transplant.

But decades-old Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services guidance tells hospitals to assume that any organ they send to a transplant center will eventually go to a Medicare patient - without checking whether that actually happens.

Auditors sampled 180 cases of organs that hospitals reported as Medicare-eligible from 2017 to 2022. Fifty-five were not used in Medicare-covered transplants, even though Medicare paid $2.8 million for them.

Of those, 43 went to patients whose transplants were not covered by Medicare. Another 11 were discarded or used for research. One supposed organ donor was still alive.

Based on the sample, the inspector general estimated Medicare spent $379.9 million on organs not used for Medicare patients during the six-year period.

CMS already identified the loophole in 2021 and proposed changing its rules. It abandoned the change after hospitals warned they could lose revenue.

Auditors are not recommending that Medicare recover the $380 million because hospitals generally followed CMS guidance. They did recommend recovering another $154,210 from two hospitals that could not document five organs they claimed were Medicare-eligible.

Background: Medicare's organ-acquisition costs increased 160% over 12 years, from $1.3 billion in 2011 to $3.3 billion in 2023. The number of organs rose only 77%.

Summary: Medicare knew its rules were making taxpayers subsidize transplants for other patients. Five years later, the costly loophole is still on life support.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 20:55

Lockheed Fast-Tracks Secretive AIM-260 Missile As Pentagon Pushes To Expand Production

Lockheed Martin has signed a framework agreement with the Pentagon to accelerate production and delivery of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, bringing a closely guarded air-to-air weapons program further into public view. The announcement Thursday sets the foundation for a multiyear procurement contract, which remains subject to congressional approval.

The company says the missile offers greater range and effectiveness than existing air-to-air weapons and is compatible with aircraft including the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. It did not disclose a production target, delivery schedule, contract value or precise performance specifications. The announcement establishes a commitment to expand production, not a publicly measurable timetable for doing so.

Reuters reported that the program is intended to address increasingly capable Chinese long-range air threats, including those associated with the J-20 fighter. Although the weapon has spent years under tight secrecy, Thursday was not its first public appearance: images emerged in May. The production push also comes amid broader pressure on American and allied missile inventories following the Iran conflict.

That context makes two separate questions important: what the missile can do, and how many can actually reach operational units. A performance advantage has limited practical value if manufacturers cannot supply enough weapons, replace expended stocks or support additional customers.

Australia is already preparing to become one of those customers.

Canberra announced on August 6 that it would invest almost A$736 million to acquire the AIM-260 through the U.S. government's foreign military sales system. The planned integration sequence starts with Australia's F/A-18F Super Hornets, followed by its F-35A fighters and EA-18G Growlers. Australia's government says it will become the first country outside the United States to operate the weapon.

The Australian announcement describes the acquisition as a way to extend engagement range and improve interoperability with American forces. It does not specify a missile quantity or delivery date, although Marles has said the weapon will not be available before 2033, and a December 2025 U.S. approval covered up to 450 missiles in a package valued at about $3.16 billion.

Lockheed's industrial expansion extends beyond the AIM-260.

In a separate announcement Thursday, the company said GM Defense had delivered an initial batch of housing components for the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptor just 22 days after the companies signed a formal contract. That agreement was signed August 6, with the first components delivered August 28. These were components for a different missile program, not completed interceptors or AIM-260 deliveries.

Lockheed says it is investing between $8 billion and $9 billion to expand munitions production across more than 20 American sites. Planned construction and expansion would increase its munitions production and warehousing space by almost 50%, according to the company. The GM partnership uses commercial casting and machining capabilities to supplement the defense supply chain.

Taken together, the announcements point to an effort to address both weapons performance and manufacturing throughput. Bringing commercial suppliers into missile production could widen the industrial base, although a fast initial component delivery does not establish the sustained output of an entire weapons program.

The funding line is already moving: the administration's fiscal 2027 request seeks $2.9 billion for the missile, up from $894 million this year, Bloomberg reported in April.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 20:30

USC, UCLA Study: 2028 Olympics Could Uproot 1000s Of 'Unhoused' People

Authored by College Fix Staff via The College Fix,

Even if they're relocated it 'can still carry serious consequences'...

According to a recent study by researchers at USC and UCLA, Los Angeles' hosting of the 2028 Summer Olympics could result in the "displacement" of thousands of "unhoused" individuals.

As reported by the Daily Trojan, Los Angeles county estimates that security perimeters established by the U.S. Secret Service will lead to approximately 1,600 "unsheltered" people not having access to where they currently reside.

The study from the two southern California universities puts the figure closer to almost four times that number.

Benjamin Henwood, a USC social policy and health professor and director of its Center for Homelessness, Housing and Health Equity Research, said "It's closer to 6,000 people. I don't know how [county officials] came up with their numbers, so they might be looking at something a little different or more specific."

Henwood also is a curator at Home 2028, an "independent research hub" which studies how the homeless will be affected by the Olympics, according to the Trojan.

During the last Summer Olympics held in the city (1984), law enforcement utilized "large-scale and aggressive sweeps" to get the homeless away from "highly visible tourist areas."

From the article:

LA28, the independent nonprofit organization responsible for planning and delivering the Games, is deferring to city officials for managing the relocation. Under an agreement with the city council, LA28 is expected to fund game-related services that go above "normal and customary."

County officials said they intend to offer at least temporary housing for the unhoused population and have applied for nearly $93 million from the state to support the process. A portion of these funds would also be directed toward the county's Pathway Home model, which moves people into interim housing.

Beyond the final headcount, a critical question lies in exactly how these individuals will be cleared from the secured areas.

Henwood said even if the homeless are relocated it "can still carry serious consequences" such as "poor health outcomes."

USC Public Policy and Management professor David Brady, who researches poverty, social policy, racial inequality, and immigration according to his faculty page, said the upcoming Olympics "should not be the only reason the city invests in and provides housing for unhoused residents."

"If we can [provide housing] during COVID, or we [are hoping to] do it during the Olympics, why can't we do it otherwise?" Brady said. "We have the resources to do it otherwise. And so I would argue we should."

Henwood added "We all know that there's a homelessness crisis [...] it's like, well, what is the plan in general?"

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 20:05

Blue States With Strong Teachers' Unions Are Terrible At Literacy Reforms

A 2026 analysis from the Progressive Policy Institute found a strong negative correlation between the political power of state teachers' unions and states' adoption of evidence-based early literacy policies. PPI Director of Education Policy Rachel Canter conducted the analysis, comparing union-strength rankings from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute against literacy-policy data from the ExcelinEd education advocacy group. At least eight of the ten states with the worst student literacy scores lean Democratic and have politically powerful teachers' unions. Only five of the worst ten are Republican, and one is a swing state.

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Canter explained that PPI sorts states by which party holds the legislature and the governor's mansion, and that the gap tracks union power more closely than it tracks party.

The stronger the teachers unions, the fewer early literacy reforms states have adopted.

Blue states average just 9 of 18 key literacy policies, compared with 13.5 in red and purple states.

Children’s ability to read should come BEFORE union power. pic.twitter.com/mSLhEahRrY

— Stephen Moore (@StephenMoore) September 14, 2026

Fordham's June ranking put California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey among the strongest union states in the country, while Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Arkansas ended up near the bottom. When you cross-reference this list with ExcelinEd's literacy tracker, the negative correlation becomes clear.

Partisanship alone cannot account for this situation; Wyoming and South Dakota, led by the Republican Party and with weak unions, still score poorly on literacy policy. Of the about half of states controlled by Republicans, only Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee developed comprehensive literacy policies and stayed committed long enough to see results.

Canter spent years in Mississippi, a state that ranked among the nation's worst performers for middle and elementary test scores in 2013 and by 2024 had climbed to a tie for seventh in fourth-grade reading and 13th in math. "We found a strong, negative correlation between the two - the more powerful the unions, the fewer literacy policy principles the state had adopted," Canter said.

Mississippi turned things around by enacting the Literacy Based Promotion Act in 2013. This piece of legislation required third graders scoring at the lowest reading level to repeat the grade. The law mandated extra training and coaching for teachers at the state's lowest-performing elementary schools, required every school to screen kindergartners through third graders for reading difficulty three times a year, and required immediate parent notification when a child fell below benchmark.

The approach is based on the science of reading. This instructional framework centers on phonics, systematic letter-sound instruction, background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension, and traces back to the National Reading Panel's 2000 report.

Mississippi fourth-graders posted the country's largest gains since 2013, tying for seventh in reading and landing 13th in math among all states by 2024. That happened even as national literacy trends moved in the opposite direction. Fourth-grade reading scores fell back to roughly their 2000 level. Math scores recovered only partially from a 2022 low and remain below the highs the country set more than a decade earlier. Middle and high school reading and math results in 2024 either matched or fell below their lowest marks of the century, and the most recent PISA results showed American 15-year-olds still well under pre-pandemic highs, tied at their record low.

Despite the negative correlation between powerful teachers' unions and literacy, there is hope to turn things around nationwide. In New Mexico, for example, lawmakers passed literacy legislation unanimously over the objections of teachers' unions, moving state policy closer to Mississippi's model. The reforms addressed teacher licensure, instructional coaching, and curriculum. New Mexico's unions eventually withdrew their opposition.

Maryland followed suit in 2024, adopting a policy mirroring Mississippi's. The state board did, however, carve out a compromise after pushback from its teachers' association, allowing parents to opt a child out of repeating third grade if the child completes a state-approved reading-intervention program, an alternative that takes effect next year with results still unknown.

Even the deep blue state of Massachusetts, which has the nation's third-strongest teachers' union, is following Mississippi's footsteps. In June, Gov. Maura Healey signed legislation strengthening teacher training, K-3 curriculum requirements, screening, and parent notification, handing the state education department real enforcement authority. The bill passed both chambers unanimously, despite opposition and pressure from teachers' unions.

Mary Tamer of Mass Potential, who led the Mass Reads Coalition, credited a coalition of parents and researchers, weak post-pandemic reading scores, and mounting skepticism of union arguments for unrestricted classroom autonomy. Three former Massachusetts Teachers of the Year backed the bill over their own union's objections. "They were incredibly brave to speak up against union leadership on this issue," Tamer said.

Massachusetts, Maryland, and New Mexico prove that Mississippi's turnaround travels wherever the political will exists to put students first. "The question is whether policymakers, regardless of party alignment, have the courage to risk taking heat on behalf of our children's future," Canter wrote.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 19:40

USDA Says Crackdown On SNAP Fraud Prevented $5.8 Billion In Taxpayer Losses

Authored by Savannah Hulsey Pointer via The Epoch Times,

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced nearly $6 billion in total savings tied to efforts to eliminate fraud in the government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

A 'We Accept Food Stamps' sign hangs in the window of a grocery store in Miami, Fla., on October 31, 2025. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Rollins outlined the wins in a Sept. 15 post to X, saying that $5.8 billion in taxpayer losses have been prevented by the anti-fraud initiatives implemented during President Donald Trump's second term.

This was done through the shutdown of nearly 1,840 illegal SNAP devices that processed Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards and the disqualification of 5,335 fraudulent retailers.

"Those who defraud SNAP are stealing from taxpayers and taking resources away from Americans who genuinely need assistance," Rollins said. "We have zero tolerance for this abuse, and we will continue pursuing bad actors and protecting the integrity of the program."

There are several ways an ineligible person can be counted in SNAP, including illegal immigrants being certified in error or by fraud, and deceased household members continuing to receive benefits.

This comes just over three months after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report in early June about their discovery that 185,986 deceased people in 29 states were receiving food stamps.

Trump issued an executive order in March 2025 directing federal agencies to obtain lawful and "unfettered access" to data from federally-funded programs such as SNAP to facilitate an audit of government spending.

The SNAP integrity team was created in May 2025 to review state SNAP data against federal databases to identify potential fraud.

The maximum monthly food assistance offered through SNAP is set for its annual increase in line with the cost-of-living adjustment in October.

The benefit ceiling for a family of four will reach $1,023 for most of the nation, which is an increase from the current maximum of $994. Total benefits vary based on family size and income. In May 2026, the average monthly benefit received by U.S. households was $344.51.

The overall cost of the monthly SNAP benefits have fallen in recent years, from $13.4 billion in October 2022 to $6.8 billion in May 2026, largely because pandemic emergency allotments largely ended in 2023 and fewer people on the program.

Separate state cost-sharing penalties for high payment-error rates, enacted by the Republican-led Congress in the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, are scheduled to begin in October 2027. More than 40 states and territories recorded SNAP payment-error rates above 6 percent in fiscal year 2025, the level that triggers the penalty.

Tom Gantert contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 19:15

An Eerily Quiet Summer Of No Riots. Is Bessent's NGO Crackdown Working?

As summer enters its final days, attention turns to why early-year anti-ICE protests and riots in Minneapolis did not develop into a sustained nationwide wave of unrest comparable to the 2020 BLM riots. Those demonstrations created a potential flashpoint, but protests failed to spread like wildfire across left-wing-controlled cities - in what could have only been a 2020 redux of the "Summer of Love" Marxist revolution.

Operation Metro Surge deployed thousands of ICE/CBP and federal officers to the Twin Cities starting in late 2025. Confrontation began as left-wing groups used activists to mount pressure campaigns against federal officers pursuing illegal-alien criminals. This resulted in two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens: Renee Nicole Macklin Good on 7 January and Alex Pretti on 24 January. 

What immediately followed were protests/riots, and left-wing groups certainly had their "George Floyd" catalyst for full mobilization, with protest infrastructure moved into the region. But by spring and into summer, whatever spark that movement had completely faded into the abyss. 

Not even Neville Roy Singham, the Shanghai-based Marxist tech financier who funds U.S. NGOs and works with left-wing activists such as CodePink and the ANSWER Coalition, could fire up any meaningful protests against President Trump's foreign-policy decisions that directly impact Beijing, whether on Venezuela, Cuba, and/or the Strait of Hormuz.

What we do know is that a multi-agency federal task force, with the State Department and Treasury at the core, has launched investigations into the nonprofit world and could very soon strip tax-exempt status from George Soros' far-left Open Society Foundations, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, some of which are responsible for funding protests and riots, or, as in SPLC's case, funding the opposition.

The New York Post recently reported that Treasury officials are drafting a framework to audit NGOs suspected of exploiting their 501(c)(3) status for political activity, illegal conduct, or support of radical groups, which has only put left-wing billionaire foundations and donor-advised funds on notice. 

The question is whether the federal government's war on the radical left and foreign subversion network that seeks to sow chaos has shaken that protest-industrial complex to its core. A source told the NYPost that officials were "like a dog with a bone" and reckoned that many NGOs and their donor bases could be "on borrowed time."

The absence of summer riots by the radical left is more concerning because these groups are certainly retooling their attachments to popular movements. Just wait - the next one could be right around the corner.

Let's also add that the lack of USAID funding could certainly be another driver. 

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 18:50