World War III (Another WW3) | Future | Fandom

In the early 21st century, territorial tensions were rising between many countries, particularly in the Middle East and other parts of Asia. Also, for many parts of the world, economic collapse was imminent.

Islamic conservative countries such as Iran began breaking off diplomatic ties with more Westernized counterparts such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Syria was undergoing a deadly civil war between the government and democratic forces and asks help from Russia and China, but the USA says that if Russia and its allies openly support Syria, theUSA will take actions.

During the 2000s, China, Russia and other countries with particular anti-West ideologies found a new military economic block called Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Its main purpose was to confront and compete with NATO.

In response, NATO friendly states of Southeast Asia launch campaigns to improve its military. In North America, Mexico receives support from SCO in Mexican Drug War and this effort makes Mexico a SCO-friendly state. Meanwhile, Turkey is undergoing border clashes against Syria.

All these tensions and disputes between pro-West and anti-West forces leads to a great expansion of SCO, which many anti-West nations joining the block. By the late 2020s, SCO becomes extensively hostile against NATO and a global conflict becomes imminent.

Although peace efforts have been made, economic and military strength of SCO have managed to divide the world again in "first" and "second" worlds, this time in a dispute between two coalitions.

On September 1, 2029, North Korea, a SCO member, invades South Korea in an attempt to unify the two Koreas again. The United States declares war on North Korea hours later. And all of NATO declares war on North Korea 2 weeks later. China stays neutral at first, but is eventually forced to assist North Korea, or else all of the Korean peninsula, a common launching point for invasions into China, will fall under Western control. Because of this, SCO and NATO treaties are activated against each other. North Korea launches a blitzkrieg against South Korea and captures key points quickly. A few days pass and war breaks out in the Middle East when Iran declares war on Saudi Arabia, hoping to bolster its failing economy through the capture of oil reserves. Turkey begins the invasion of Syria supported by Iraq. Iran invades Iraq as a gateway to help Syria. Israel declares war on Iran to prevent a possible attack on their borders through Iraq and Syria, but in the confusion, Palestine is able to secede.

In Asia, economic ties between China and it's regional neighbors (ASEAN, Japan, India, Taiwan, and the Stans) prevent war between any of them. Heavy industry that once developed in China is in the process of moving away to India and Indochina, increasing living standards in China and its neighbors. China, despite economic troubles, is able to rehabilitate its economy in the great Xin Zhong Guo Di Chiu movement. As a result, war is not prominent in East Asia. Peaceful reforms forced by economic and environmental impetuses in China cause the government, although still communist and authoritarian, to allow small political parties to form and provincial democracies to spring up, greatly improving China's regional stability. Overall, the Oriental area of influence is relatively well off in the war.

Because of Venezuela's collapse, Chile and Argentina invaded Peru, Bolivia, Brazil in a hope to reestablish a Venezuelan state, but led to a continent-wide guerrilla war that has not shown signs of stopping. Iran has successfully invaded southern Saudi Arabia but failed to conquer Iraq successfully because of Turkish intervention. Russia and its allies are invading the northern part of the Middle East to gain access to Iran and to invade Europe from 2 directions. In eastern Europe heavy fighting occurs between NATO and the SCO. In South East Asia, India had invaded eastern Myanmar so Myanmar surrendered, but then Thailand was losing fast so Indonesia, Malaysian, Chinese, and Singaporean troops came in to help. The Philippines is quickly becoming a key player in West Pacific Stability, and in Korea a stalemate occurred and a ceasefire is declared. In North America, a naval battle occurred between Russia and United States but because the US navy is stretched thin and is nearly wiped out by China, Russia wins. China has invaded and conquer Hawaii and is planning to distract American troops to the west coast so Russia can invade Alaska. China's regional partners are angered by this but can do nothing to stop it.

Russia had invaded Alaska and is advancing deeper into North America. Egypt had invaded and conquered Libya and Sudan, setting up puppet governments in their place and establishing a North African Egyptian Empire. Iran had been advancing deeper into Saudi Arabia but was soon blocked by Saudi Arabian and Israeli troops and is undergoing heavy fighting against Iraq at its borders. North Korea and South Korea merged into a single political unit after much insistence from both the SCO and NATO, who wish to redirect energy elsewhere.

A stalemate occurred in the fight in western Russia. Saudi Arabia has regained its original borders and is preparing the invasion of southern Iran. The Russian advancement in North America is halted and a stalemate is declared. Australia and NATO friendly states in southeast Asia is halting Pakistani-Chinese advance in the Indian Ocean, where they have been preparing an assault on US-led South Africa.Russian and other SCO forces were advancing slowly in the Middle East. The SCO economy was running down and riots were becoming more common and harder to control.

Iraq and Saudi Arabia invaded Iran and is making progresses fast. After heavy battles and a lots of casualties, the USA had finally retaken Alaska with the help from Canada and is now preparing an invasion of eastern Russia, NATO forcesare now advancingeven deeper into Russia from the west. The Russian-dependent portion of the SCO was then on the brink of defeat and Russia was retreating from the Middle East. The capital of Russia was moved from Moscow to an unknown location. NATO friendly states invaded China from southeast Asia but was met with heavy resistance, as China employed Sun Tzu Art of war and Guerrilla tactics to tremendous effect, like in the Vietnam War. Russia causes

With help India had gotten back to its original territories and Pakistan immediately surrendered, causing a seismic shift in priorities within the Oriental-Chinese bloc of the SCO. Saudi Arabia and Iraq had almost captured Iran but Iran has sworn that they will never surrender, deploying its nuclear arsenal across much of the Middle East and obliterating millions of lives and cities, and turning the Middle East into a giant fallout zone. Central Asia is invaded by NATO friendly states, but is halted when it reaches the Western Chinese border by the "Second Great Wall of China," a giant Maginot-Line of heavy artillery and military resistance. Meanwhile, the USA and Canada invades eastern Russia, and Russia is about to collapse. In fact, it's near-death imminence is becoming a hot-topic within the SCO, as Chinese and other Asian states are quickly cutting ties with Russia. NATO was getting ever deeper into western Russia and had captured Moscow. The Turkish government invaded Russia from the South and penetrated deep. The turning point comes in December 1st of 2035, as Chinese troops cut a tactical betrayal and invade Russia as well, seizing its Siberian mineral and oil-rich fields. They also send a simultaneous message to NATO stating that after Russia is divided up, they are willing to discuss peace.

Russia fights a desperate war until June. As all historians know, it is impossible to conquer Russia in the winter, and this was proven as Russian forces reclaimed ALL of their territories during the Winter, causing the NATO and Chinese-led SCO to suffer immensely heavy losses. However, despite the casualties, when Spring came, a renewed assault was led on Russia, spearheaded by the Chinese and Indians because of their massive population advantage, but with weapons and money of NATO. Despite this cooperative anti-Russian war, NATO-Oriental war is still ongoing, and China loses its western territories after the second Great Wall is overwhelmed by European forces. Four clear blocs have developed: The Oriental Bloc (of the Chinese-dependent SCO that split from Russia when it was obvious Russia would lose, and betrayed them), the Russian Bloc (of the Russian-dependent portion of the SCO), the European Bloc (Of the EU, who suffered extremely heavy losses in the war and is becoming angry at the US for "using them" as nothing more than a military deployment point) and the US Bloc (which also consists of Britain and US key allies). By August, Russia finally surrenders, and is divided up between American, Chinese, and European territories. From then on, the Oriental - NATO war commences. However, it is half-hearted: public support is at almost 0% in the West and riots are increasing across East Asia: in China, to stop the war and form better government, and in its neighbors, to break ties with China and declare war on them (the leaders of those nations don't want this because it would spell national disaster in terms of economy and military: even all joined together, their military barely matches China's). By December 25th, the Christmas Pact establishes peace between the two sides.

After the war was over, NATO nations had installed democratic governments in all of the conquered territories, and global peace had finally been achieved. China succumbs to revolution for the next year and a half, but a partnership between the disillusioned people and the nation's tired military forms a new Aristarchy of China quickly: a Singaporean-type, forward-looking, and powerful economically and militarily nation which its regional allies and neighbors have nothing to complain against. NATO intervention has given India back Pakistan, in which the Muslims and Hindus live mostly peacefully side-by-side, and China's more backward allies are eventually developed following the same guidelines as China: economic industrialization, political reform, and peace.Afterwards United Nations was reinstated and the world entered a great era of rebuild, peace and democracy.

The regions of the world generally consist of, after the war:

The Oriental Order, a massive, technologically advanced, democratic union of East Asian and Central Asian states with the sole purpose of creating a self-sufficient, powerful, and democratic union in East Asia to serve all of its citizens faithfully,

The American Order, a similarly massive order of US-eccentric or dependent states that help maintain order in the post WW3 world.

The European Order, which split from the American Order due to populism and growing disillusionment. Europe wishes to reconstruct the colonial world of Eurocentrism through peaceful means, but obstacles such as massive casualties in the last three world wars, failing and aging infrastructure, and a US-dependent military prevents this from happening.

The Non-aligned Order, which consists of various African, Pacific, and other nations that normally tend to align with one alliance or another, but never definitively or formally (such as South America's postwar integration with America, or Africa's postwar integration with the Orient).

The Fallout Zone, which consists of large swathes of Middle Eastern territory irradiated by Iran's nuclear strikes, and which are uninhabitable except by insurgencies and small organizations to this day. This is the only place where nuclear weapons have been used to such deadly effect, and serves as a grim warning to humanity of the dangers of war.

On Top: Allies and Political Factions after the War

WIKIA FUTURE WWIII 2029 & 2030 1

On Bottom: Allies and Political Factions before the War.

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WW3 fears: Xi vows he will never renounce use of force over Taiwan jets just a warning – Daily Express

After Mr Bidens administration reaffirmed its defence of Taiwan, close to 30 Chinese jets entered into its airspace on Saturday and Sunday. The Chinese government has now accused Taiwan forces of deliberately provoking China to seek secession. Speaking this week, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson, Zhu Fenglian said: We will not renounce the use of force and reserve all options.

This will never change at any time.

Despite the Chinese military conducting drills often in the Taiwan Strait, it has maintained any actions are required to maintain peace in the region.

The Communist Party has also issued stern warnings to any state, namely the US, which has allegedly interfered in the South and East China Seas.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt was deployed to the South China Sea just days after Mr Bidens inauguration.

It was this deployment which caused China to dispatch a raft of military aircraft across the strait.

State Department spokesman, Ned Price said the US would continue to maintain its ties with Taiwan.

He said: The United States notes with concern the pattern of ongoing PRC attempts to intimidate its neighbours, including Taiwan.

"We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan's democratically elected representatives."

JUST IN:World War 3: Israel orders plan to attack Iran Biden given ultimatum

Although the administrations have switched in Washington, new Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken voiced his approval over Donald Trumps handling of China.

Speaking to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he said: Let me just say that I also believe that President Trump was right in taking a tougher approach to China.

"I disagree very much with the way that he went about it in a number of areas, but the basic principle was the right one, and I think that's actually helpful to our foreign policy.

Mr Blinken, who served as a deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy Secretary of State under Mr Obama, has also revealed the US must return as a global leader to the world and called for a unified approach to tackling Beijing.

He told staff today: Americas leadership is needed around the world, and we will provide it, because the world is far more likely to solve problems and meet challenges when the United States is there.

America at its best still has a greater capacity than any other country on earth to mobilise others for the greater good.

The US has already increased its naval presence in the region and has even strengthened ties with Australia, India and Japan.

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WW3 fears: Xi vows he will never renounce use of force over Taiwan jets just a warning - Daily Express

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Mystic who predicted Donald Trump’s presidency claims …

A MYSTIC who says he foresaw Donald Trump's presidency has now predicted the EXACT date World War 3 will start.

The self-proclaimed "messenger of God",Horacio Villegas, thinks nuclear warfare will erupt later this year - on the 100th anniversary of thevisitation of Our Lady of Fatima.

2

Catholic Horacio, from Texas, USA, predicted Trump's election win as far back as 2015, he told the Daily Star.

He also labelled the US President the "Illuminati king" who would "bring the world into WW3".

Chillingly, one of his prophecies - that Trump would attack Syria - has already come true.

The billionaire businessman launched a huge air strike on an airbase in Homs earlier this year.

The clairvoyant said that this move would bring Russia, North Korea and China into the conflict.

His latest vision came to him in the form of a dream, in April, in which Horacio says he "saw balls of fire falling from the sky and hitting the Earth".

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People everywhere were running around trying to hide from this destruction, he added.

Horacio claims D-Day will fall on the 100th anniversary of the visitation of Our Lady of Fatima, the Virgin Mary, which started on May 13, 1917.

It was on that day, according to Catholic belief, Jesus' mother visited a village in Portugal and warned that if they did not convert Russia to the faith, God would wreak havoc on the world.

Her sixth and final visit was said to be on October 13, 1917 - and the 100th anniversary of this date is approaching in just two months time.

Horacio told the Daily Star:The main message that people need to know in order be prepared is that between May 13 and October 13 2017, this war will occur and be over with much devastation, shock and death.

The warning comes after Trump reportedlylaunched supersonic B-1B bombers from Guam airbase and warned America would respond to threats with fire and fury as North Korea warned of plans to attack the US naval outpost.

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The best Men of War: Assault Squad 2 mods – PCGamesN

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 was released in 2014 but it still stands as an excellent tactical RTS game and war game, offering a layer of depththatsmore granular than its common rival Company of Heroes. Its not that the damage system is more realistic, but the games design is a bit more open-ended. You can summon in pre-set squads, or individual units to make and match your own fireteams.

There are also no bases you earn points at a steady rate throughout a match, and simply summon the units you want from a list. These new recruits will then appear at your friendly edge of the map. If youre looking for a more frantic and in depth WW2 tactical war game, there are few better and its inspired a great mod community around it.

From Star Wars and 40k, WW1 to modern warfare, theres a creative and diverse selection of Men of War: Assault Squad 2 mods to give you something new to play around with. Many of them are focused on multiplayer, but theres a surprising amount of decent single-player or skirmish content around now as well.

These are the best Men of War: Assault Squad 2 mods:

Games focusing so much on conflict can often be good candidates for realism mods, and Assault Squad 2 is no different. Robz Realism mod is actually a balance of more realistic mechanics and balancing, and is best played in multiplayer using 1944-45 units and settings.

The changes it implements are quite spread, and cover everything from a brand new accuracy and bullet drop model, to changing how units take damage. Instead of it being based on weapon power, its instead based on where a unit gets hit, and what they get hit by. There are also new maps, a new tank damage system, and weapon jamming.

Inspired by Robzs mod above, the Great War Realism mod shifts the action to the first world war that attempts to provide the same attention to detail and realistic gameplay as its WW2 cousin. It currently has 11 fleshed out nations from the period, although the basic mod is aimed at multiplayer.

There is however a collection of mods you can check out that provide missions, as well as tailor gameplay to specific theatres during specific years, which will limit the types of units you can use.

Previously known as the Ultimate Mod Warhammer 40K, this is a complete reskin of Assault Squad 2 for the Warhammer 40K universe. It features most factions, although notable missing ones include the Necrons and the Tyranids. Theres no timetable for when theyll be included at the moment.

Still, thats a lot of 40K goodness to mess around with, and theres content for solo and co-op missions as well. About the only truly weird thing is that, despite teleporting you to the grim darkness of the far future, youre still battling in mid 20th century Europe. Still, itll do!

Despite its title, Born in Fire: America actually covers warfare across the 18th and 19th centuries, in both American and Europe. The American War of Independence is a main inspiration, but British colonial conquests also seem to feature.

This mod has over 50 multiplayer factions, with 1000+ land units, accurate city maps and historical battles. Theres three core missions for the American continental army, as well as bonus missions covering everything from the Alamo, to the Zulu War. You can find the Moddb linkhere.

No strategy game mod list would be complete without the obligatory Star Wars mod, and Men of Wars community doesnt disappoint. Galaxy at War aims to offer an experience that covers material from the Clone Wars right through to the end of Return of the Jedi.

There are only a handful of missions, and there is some limited multiplayer support but it only includes infantry units and speeders for the moment. Four factions are currently supported, namely the CIS, the Empire, Rebels and then Republic forces split across a number of sub-factions.

The cold war, and a future WW3 style setting are excellent fodder for a game like Men of War. I dont think Id ever have predicted that someone would actually port the missions from the popular Call of Duty games into a real-time tactical game like this, though.

Call of Duty WW3 takes the mission dialogue from games like Modern Warfare 1 & 2, and recreates the missions they are from but as Assault Squad 2 maps. There are 15 missions, with co-op support for up to eight players, as well as an impressive set of additional changes associated with this mod. You should check it out.

Mods that cover other eras or offer gameplay tweaks arent the only options though. The Men of War series is a bit fragmented, but theres been some semi-decent solo content released across various standalone spin-offs that have come out over the years.

Various modders havedone some great work porting those missions into Assault Squad 2, so you have all of the narrative content in one place:

There is also a mod that attempts to recreate the WW2 Call of Duty games missions in Men of War, using dialogue from original two games.

Thankfully, Assault Squad 2 has had Steam Workshop integration for a long while now, which makes intalling mods easy.Many of the major mods seem to maintain Steam versions as the primary one. That said, there are mods on ModDB that arent on Steam, and one or two mods that use the repository as the main source.

More like this:The best WW2 games on PC

If you do grab a mod via Moddb, make sure you follow the instructions specific to the mod you want. As a general rule, youll be unzipping the mod files to your mod folder, which you may need to create in themain install directory if one doesnt exist already. You then activate them via the in-game menu.

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World War 3 MAPPED: The SIX places where WW3 could break out in 2021 – Express.co.uk

World War 3 concerns were triggered around the globe following the death of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike in January 2020. Now as a killer infection spreads across the globe and riots over police brutality have sparked across the world, leading to World War 3 concerns again. Given the tense relations between countries around the world, Express.co.uk has compiled a guide for the flashpoints where World War 3 is most likely to erupt in 2020.

On Friday, January 3, the USA undertook a drone airstrike following a series of orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the past few months and attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad, all of which was done on the orders of General Soleimani.

US President Donald Trump approved of the assault on General Soleimani claiming the action was undertaken to make the world a safer place.

In a statement, the Pentagon said: At the direction of the President, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qassem Soleimani.

It added: This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.

The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world.

Now Iran has sworn harsh revenge and promised to turn day into night.

This assassination has been dubbed by many high-ranking Iranians a declaration of war.

Donald Trump has warned the US could act disproportionately if Iran targets any American person or target in revenge for the killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani.

Since that time, Iran "unintentionally" shot down a Ukranian passenger jet which saw 176 people killed.

This week an Iranian prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant against Mr Trump and has asked for Interpol's support, however, the policing authority has refused to back the arrest warrant.

READ MORE:Iran attack: Ukranian plane shot down accidentally, says US

Tensions between the US and Turkey has heightened over the past year, initially as a result of the US providing authorisation to Turkey to clear the Syrian border of US-supported Kurds.

However, immediately afterwards, the US threatened Ankara with sanctions, causing tensions to rise.

Additionally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested he has aspirations for Turkey which could involve nuclear weapons.

As a result, the state of the US-Turkey relationship has worsened, causing fear about the subsequent impact on the NATO alliance.

President Erdogan is known for being passionate about his plan which could force Washington and Ankara to the very edge and have a result on Russia who is a neighbouring nation.

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Fundamental tensions at the heart of the US-North Korea relationship could result in combative action.

Tensions between the two countries now stand as high as at any time since 2017, and the impending US election could imperil relations further.

President Trumps administration appears to hold out hope a deal with North Korea could improve its electoral prospects in November.

But North Korea has little to no interest in Mr Trumps offering.

Recently, North Korea promised a Christmas present that many in the United States worried would be a nuclear or ballistic missile test.

However, this was not the case, but if the country did undertake a nuclear test, the US might be forced to intervene.

Last Thursday, the Hai Yang Di Zhi 8 left the port of Sanya, on China's Hainan Island and was joined by the CCG vessels this week.

These vessels were 92 nautical miles off the coast of Vietnams Binh Dinh province as of yesterday morning, deep into the 200-nautical mile EEZ, and were further accompanied two Chinese maritime militia ships, the Dongtongxiao00235 and the Min Xia Yu 00013, Radio Free Asia reported.

Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative in Washington, told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines in an online news conference: What is pretty obvious is Chinas not going to stop.

"If a global pandemic doesnt cause China to calm things down in the South China Sea, theres not much that will.

The number one thing that we should think to look into is international economic sanctions.

We have never had a discussion about sanctioning the actors behind the Chinese maritime militia."

"China admits it has a maritime militia, and its a clear violation of international law.

They are operating on the same policy framework which is to go out, assert rights, harass neighbours, do whatever you want."

The US-China relationship has been particularly tense in recent years.

A trade deal between the two countries would seem to alleviate some tensions but implementation remains in question.

Currently, the worlds two largest economies are locked in a bitter trade battle.

The dispute, which has simmered for nearly 18 months, has seen the US and China impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of one anothers goods.

President Trump has long accused China of unfair trading practices and intellectual property theft, while in China, there is a perception that the US is endeavouring to curb its rise as a global economic power.

At the same time, China has worked defiantly to assure its relations with Russia, while the US has sparked controversies with both South Korea and Japan, its two closest allies in the region.

Donald Trump and President Xi have staked much of their political reputations on the trade situations in each country and therefore both have incentives for diplomatic and economic escalation.

If the situation were to escalate, it could lead to military confrontation in areas such as the South or East China Seas.

The tension has escalated amid the coronavirus pandemic, with Mr Trump accusing the country of engineering the fatal infection in a laboratory.

He claims to have seen evidence corroborating the development of coronavirus from a Chinese lab.

Mr Trumpannounced on Tuesday that the United States was devising a strict response to China's proposed national security legislation for Hong Kong and that the plans would be revealed by the end of the week.

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Nootropic Products Market Share, Historical Growth, Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2027 KSU | The Sentinel Newspaper – KSU | The Sentinel…

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Nootropic Products Market 2021-2027:The forecast period 2021-2027 is expected to show significant growth in Global Nootropic Products Market. There will be a new resurgence in the sales and utilization of Nootropic Products product. Are you ready to cope up with growing market? No, then have a look at our report overview and send your query to us.

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Letter: The Second Amendment allows for reasonable gun control – Deseret News

Webster defines regulate as such: to control, direct or govern according to a rule, principle or system.

The Second Amendment states, A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. I assume well-regulated authorizes the governments ability to wisely determine the best way to control and direct said right.

On April 3, 2018, in a fit of rage, Nasim Aghdam used a handgun to shoot innocent victims at the YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California. Compare that to the massive carnage inflicted by numerous shooters, also consumed in fits of rage, who brandished military- style assault weapons to gun down their prey.

Although injured, no one was killed by Aghdam. Compare that to the dozens instantly annihilated by those using military, high-capacity-style weapons.

Dont be misled by the National Rifle Association. The Second Amendment allows for regulating the possession of high-powered weapons originally intended for use in times of war. Additional regulation wouldnt be anything new. For example, machine guns and short-barreled shotguns are already prohibited.

Raymond Hult

Bountiful

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Letter: The Second Amendment allows for reasonable gun control - Deseret News

Second Amendment Sports sued for $2.5 million over alleged failure to pay minimum and overtime wages – KGET 17

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Second Amendment Sports is being sued for $2.5 million for allegedly failing to pay minimum and overtime wages as well as not allowing rest or meal breaks as provided for under state law.

The gun shop that operated in Bakersfield until its sale in December had the financial ability to pay such compensation, but willfully, knowingly, recklessly, and/or intentionally failed to do so, according to the lawsuit. It says the shop violated state Labor Code by not allowing a meal break of at least 30 minutes for a work period in excess of five hours, or a 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked.

Additionally, the lawsuit says Second Amendment Sports didnt pay compensation owed to employees who resigned, and provided inaccurate wage statements.

Employers in the state of California violate employment and labor laws every day, says the suit filed on behalf of former employees by the Lex Opus firm in Santa Ana. Current employees are often afraid to assert their rights out of fear of direct or indirect retaliation.

Former employees are fearful of bringing actions because they believe their former employers may damage their future endeavors through negative references and/or other means. The nature of this action allows for the protection of current and former employees rights without fear for retaliation or damage.

The suit seeks a trial by jury and at least $2.5 million in damages.

Attorneys with Belden Blaine Raytis, LLP, representing Second Amendment Sports, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The next hearing in the suit, filed nearly a year ago, is scheduled Feb. 17.

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Second Amendment Sports sued for $2.5 million over alleged failure to pay minimum and overtime wages - KGET 17

Letter to the editor: Second Amendment preservation resolution is unecessary – La Crosse Tribune

On Monday, Feb. 1 there will be a public hearing, on Tuesday, Feb. 2 the Vernon County Board of Supervisors will vote on a resolution masquerading as something allegedly designed to preserve the Second Amendment of the United States.

This partisan resolution will preserve nothing. The Second Amendment like all the others is well protected by the U.S. Constitution. To make any change to a Constitutional Amendment requires a vote to pass by a minimum of three-quarters of the 50 states.

The Second Amendment is not in danger of being nullified or modified. No evidence has been presented to show the Second Amendment to be in danger.

The Second Amendment consists of just one comprehensive, concise sentence that needs no expansion or modification by Vernon County nor anyone else. There is nothing in the resolution that is new other than semantics intended to provide a solution for a problem that does not exist.

Rather than predicting future problems why not work on solving Vernon County's real problems and concerns rather than inventing one.

If this passes we can be assured that it will become precedent for more of the same in the future. We in Vernon County do not need this resolution. Represent the citizens of the county not some partisan idealism.

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Letter to the editor: Second Amendment preservation resolution is unecessary - La Crosse Tribune

Letter to the Editor: We must resist any attempt to weaken 2nd Amendment – williamsonherald.com

To the editor,

In recent times, gun regulations have been spoken of quite frequently.

I see the point of gun regulation proponents quite frequently, and I empathize with their stories. However much I understand, I disagree with their idea. In my opinion, the most important thing in America is our right to bear arms.

Some people say that the Second Amendment was created exclusively to uphold militias. They argue that the police force is this militia. When you break it down, that is a foolish understanding of the amendment.

The Bill of Rights was established to give rights to the people and to limit the government. The question is would it really make sense for the government to give itself the right to have guns. Ultimately that makes no sense.

So, we have now established that the Second Amendment is established for the people to bear arms. Once we get to this point, many people say that it is only for hunting and self-defense. Once again, upon further examination, this can be concluded as false.

The Second Amendment was established swiftly after the American Revolution. The thought of a revolution was fresh on everyones mind. It is entirely reasonable then that they would plant the tools for independence should the event arise again.

So, it can be clearly stated that our right to bear arms in the U.S. has been infringed far past its extended existence. My end point is that we should not stand for gun control any longer.

There is a saying that says give them an inch and they will take a mile. This applies especially to the government. We must not give them an inch, or they will take a mile.

Therefore, we must resist so that we may have a more-free future.

Duncan Lamb

Franklin

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Letter to the Editor: We must resist any attempt to weaken 2nd Amendment - williamsonherald.com

Vernon County residents weigh in on Second Amendment resolution; Board to vote Feb. 2 – La Crosse Tribune

Anne Orso of rural Viola said she was adamantly against the resolution. Its divisive; please focus on issues that unite the community.

Supervisor Mary Henry, who represents District 17, said most of the correspondence she received was opposing the proposed referendum. Henry said she strongly opposed the referendum, and the Board needs to spend time bringing the community together.

Dodie Whitaker of Viroqua said that as a woman of color, she and her friends and family see the area as a safe haven. Whitaker said shes a pacifist, but she supports the right of gun owners to have guns. She said she opposed the resolution for safety reasons, adding that she would like to see efforts focused on mental health and economic issues.

Paul Buhr of rural Viroqua also opposed the resolution. I see no reason to further divide us with this un-Constitutional measure, he said.

Cori Wilson of Ontario said she supported the proposed county resolution. She said she owns a gun and respects and appreciates the gun laws as they are currently written. Wilson said she encouraged people to look at H.R.127 thats now before Congress. She said the resolution is restrictive. Im surprised no one is concerned about restrictions to our rights.

Jared Lasky of rural Westby also spoke in favor of the resolution, saying the right to bear arms is not a suggestion but a directive.

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Vernon County residents weigh in on Second Amendment resolution; Board to vote Feb. 2 - La Crosse Tribune

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reveals emergency items – The Texas Tribune

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday unveiled a legislative agenda centered on the states recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and a series of more politically charged issues such as police funding and "election integrity."

In his biennial State of the State speech, Abbott declared Texas is brimming with promise as it emerges from the pandemic and seeks to return to economic dominance. He pledged hard-working Texans are at the forefront of our agenda this legislative session as we build a healthier, safer, freer and more prosperous state.

Abbott designated five emergency items, or items that the Legislature can vote on within the first 60 day of the session, which began Jan. 12. Those items were expanding broadband internet access, punishing local governments that defund the police as he defines it, changing the bail system, ensuring what he described as election integrity and providing civil liability protections for businesses that were open during the pandemic.

Abbott also asked lawmakers to pass laws that would strengthen civics education in Texas classrooms, further restrict abortion and make Texas a Second Amendment sanctuary state. On issues stemming from the pandemic, Abbott called for legislation to permanently expand telemedicine and to prevent any government entity from shutting down religious activities in Texas.

Abbott gave the address from Visionary Fiber Technologies in Lockhart, eschewing the traditional setting of a joint legislative session inside the House chamber as lawmakers continue to worry about gathering en masse during the pandemic.

Democrats pushed back on Abbotts speech by accusing him of giving an overly rosy view of the states coronavirus response. Calling Abbott the worst Governor in modern Texas history, the state Democratic Party chairman, Gilberto Hinojosa, said in a statement that Abbott buries his head in the sand and pretends like nothing is happening.

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reveals emergency items - The Texas Tribune

BC has better tools than universal basic income to create a more just society, report finds – UBC News

B.C. Legislature in Victoria.

Jan 28, 2021 |For more information, contact Corey Allen

A basic income for all is not the best policy option to effectively tackle poverty and other justice-related issues in B.C., according to an expert panel of economists whose report on the idea of a basic income guarantee was released today.

The report, Covering All the Basics: Reforms For a More Just Society, found that a more successful strategy for creating a more just society would prioritize expansive reforms to current systems, administration, policies, and programs. The goals would be to improve social supports to vulnerable groups, deliver benefits to underserved single working-age adults and low-income renters, and provide targeted basic incomes to people with disabilities and youth aging out of care, among dozens of other recommendations.

Our evidence suggests that a mixed, tailored system is the best approach for positive change, said Dr. David Green, professor at the Vancouver School of Economics at UBC, and the panels chair. British Columbians would stand to benefit the most with different approaches in different circumstances.

The panels co-members are Dr. Jonathan Rhys Kesselman at SFUs school of public policy and Dr. Lindsay Tedds at the University of Calgarys school of public policy.

The report is the culmination of more than two years of study, and is based on more than 40 research papers commissioned by the panel.

The panel made 65 recommendations to the government, including:

For the full report and all of its recommendations, click here.

For the executive summary, click here.

For more about the panel and the research papers, visit bcbasicincomepanel.ca

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BC has better tools than universal basic income to create a more just society, report finds - UBC News

Republicans in Washington warn Wall Street: The GameStop populists are more powerful than you think – CNBC

WASHINGTON Josh Holmes spent much of Wednesday in Washington watching the populist uprising over GameStop in the stock market with fascination and a growing sense of familiarity.

He has seen this movie before.

Holmes, president of the issue management firm Cavalry, is best known as the former chief of staff to former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Holmes has spent his career among the Republican establishment, which has spent the past five years getting steamrolled by the populist force of Trumpism a grassroots movement that stormed the ramparts of the GOP, ousted the establishment and remade the party in its image.

Almost no one in the party saw it coming. When it did, few of the establishment players understood just how vast the force was that suddenly lined up against them.

On Wednesday morning, as GameStop shares continued to surge, Holmes took to Twitter and typed out a simple message: "Wall Street, welcome to our world."

I called him to ask what he meant by that. "This is an event," he explained. "This is a social and economic moment in our society. There are a few times when you can definitely point to a moment and say society has changed, and this is one of them."

There are a few times when you can definitely point to a moment and say society has changed, and this is one of them.

Josh Holmes

former chief of staff to Sen. Mitch McConnell

There are scores of similarities between former President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement and the GameStop surge. There is a sense of fighting back against disrespect of the elites, belief that systemic rules have been written to benefit insiders at the expense of regular people, and new internet technologies that widely distribute power that was once held exclusively by a small group.

There's a healthy dose of skepticism of the media, and a belief in fake news. And both movements are inspired by viral memes funny, angry and engaging images depicting the movement as engaged in a heroic struggle.

Before the bell Thursday, GameStop shares briefly eclipsed a previously unthinkable $500, more than the share prices of Apple, Goldman Sachs and General Motors. After trading opened, the stock jumped more than 6% to about $370 a share. GameStop shares were worth about $40 a week ago.

The Reddit forum WallStreetBets on a smartphone arranged in Sydney, Australia, on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021.

Brent Lewin | Bloomberg | Getty Images

But the most important similarity is the bravado of the members of the movement. On a Reddit forum Wednesday, users cheered each other on, urging "Hold the line, boys!" and "buy and hold!"

One user, named "ishabwa," wrote "THE OLD GUARD IS HORRIFIED. BACKS AGAINST THE WALL. PAINTED INTO A CORNER. ITS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU." Another described this moment as the GameStop "revolution" and wrote: "This is our chance to stick it to those who never took us seriously. Either we forge economic history or loose it all, I'm willing to take this risk."

Scouring those same Reddit message boards, entrepreneur William LeGate felt like he had seen this happen before, too.

But he uses a different touchstone: Occupy Wall Street, the left-leaning anti-establishment movement that blossomed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

"This is Occupy Wall Street Part 2, but this time it is on their turf, and there are real financial consequences," he said. LeGate, who received a $100,000 Thiel fellowship to drop out of college and start a company when he was 18 years old in 2013, has been watching the WallStreetBets Reddit discussion for several years.

He said he is seeing increasing frustration and anger, which is exploding in the Covid pandemic era and it is bringing together the traditional political left and right.

"People were willing to take a risk on Trump and now they're willing to take a risk in the markets," he said. "A lot of people just want to see the world burn right now, and they're enjoying watching it happen."

He said he's already seeing people on the WallStreetBets Reddit page looking for new targets and there are two themes. First, they're looking for highly shorted stocks where big hedge funds might have a lot of leverage. And second, they're looking for nostalgia plays to bring back the companies from their youth. That's why Nokia, Blackberry and Blockbuster are all getting attention.

Wall Street investors are going to have to factor in a new set of risks. "The risk assessment that they're going to have to make is this: is this a meme-able stock that a bunch of kids on Reddit could hit and blow up the price?" LeGate said.

But what explains that nostalgic impulse in the midst of a revolution? It is the same emotion that animated the MAGA movement which, after all, stood for make America great, again. It is a desire to return to an earlier time that the members of the movement remember as better than today.

"There's a feeling I sense across society that people want to go back to a simpler time," LeGate said. "No one likes Covid. People don't feel the economy is fair. Everything looks better in hindsight."

And he argues that efforts to regulate trading will feel to Reddit traders more like suppression, and could fuel more anger.

"If someone on Main Street loses half their portfolio in a day, nothing's going to happen. But if a hedge fund does, they literally stop the trading," he said. "I myself question whether this is really about protecting the individual investor or protecting the hedge fund."

Holmes believes the key to understanding the power of this new movement is the gamification of investing melded with an anti-elite fervor. Sticking it to hedge funds and potentially making a lot of money is, simply, fun. And if you believe its also the right thing to do, and thrive on the engagement of a community of like-minded traders, so much the better.

Josh Holmes, chief of staff for presumptive Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., attends a rally at the airport in Bowling Green, Ky., November 3, 2014.

Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

"When things really get going is when the fun meets the purpose," Holmes said. "This is the perfect storm of those two."

His warning to Wall Street is: understand this. Be willing to scrutinize yourself. This not going away, and it is probably bigger than you think.

"People need to take the time to understand the social dynamics of this. What are the problems that have created this class of retail investor who seek to completely destroy your industry, and how do you remedy that?" Holmes said.

Holmes said he has spent the past decade watching American politics turned inside out. An earlier generation of politicians spent their time raising money at country club ballrooms from hundreds of donors writing $500 or $1,000 checks.

But now they spend their time on the internet raising money from millions of donors making $5 and $20 contributions. In politics, the retail money turned out to be bigger much bigger -- than the institutional money. And that's driven massive political spending inflation: the big Senate campaigns that once cost $15 million now cost $100 million.

"The pool is unlimited," Holmes said. "And that's the problem. The volume of potential participants is a hell of a lot bigger than people think it is, and it is certainly a lot bigger than the number of people who participated in this."

Other establishment Republican veterans agree.

"Don't underestimate the very real anger and sense of grievance and the very justified sense of grievance among the American people," said Michael Steel, a partner at Hamilton Place Strategies who was a senior advisor to the Jeb Bush presidential campaign in 2016. Understanding that, he said, can help investors understand who the next targets of Reddit rage might be, and how extensive the new movement is.

Kevin Madden, a former advisor to Mitt Romney, said, "anger can oftentimes be a more potent force than ideas. Those who felt they belonged to a political party of ideas found that grassroots anger, which can be very intoxicating, took over the political marketplace. It can also take over a financial marketplace."

Madden recalled the way populism overtook the Republican presidential primary in 2016.

Kevin Madden, then senior advisor and spokesman for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, talks with reporters aboard the campaign plane on October 23, 2012 en route to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

"One of the mistakes an establishment can make at the beginning is thinking this is someone else's fight. Marco Rubio says this is a Jeb Bush problem, and Jeb Bush says this is a Rick Perry problem," he said. "They all believed this was someone else's fight, and they all paid a huge price. That force redefined the party in its image for potentially the next decade."

Together these Republican strategists see Melvin Capital's decision to close out its GameStop position and take an enormous loss this week as something akin to the victory of populist Republicans in driving the establishment Republican House leader Eric Cantor from office in Virginia in 2014. It was an early demonstration of power. And it was a precursor to the much more dramatic events to come in 2016 and in 2021.

LeGate, the WallStreetBets watcher, agrees.

"It's a really powerful message," he said. "I think this is the first wave of what's going to happen."

But LeGate said he didn't buy any GameStop stock himself, for fear of an SEC investigation into his viral tweets about the movement.

Instead, he said, he is 100% invested in cryptocurrencies.

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Republicans in Washington warn Wall Street: The GameStop populists are more powerful than you think - CNBC

The Problems With Populism Go Well Beyond Donald Trump – The Dispatch

For those who flirted with parts of the ex-presidents populist message, there is a straightforward line of defense: While Trump obviously failed, real Trumpism was never tried.

The problem was the deeply flawed, unhinged and amoral champion of the populist cause, but not the cause itself, which continues to be relevant. As my AEI colleague Michael Brendan Dougherty writes, political conditions will continue to call for a Trumpist response for some time.

Trumps idiosyncrasies surely go a long way toward accounting for the wholesale failure of his policy agenda, as well as for his disgraceful departure from office. But conservatives have to confront the possibility that populism itself was an important component of the failureand indeed that any populist politics carries the seeds of policy failure.

The proposition will not sit easily with those who, in the wake of the Trump disaster, are seeking to rehabilitate the term. According to the American Compass Oren Cass, for example, theres a way in which populism also means taking seriously the concerns that people have, understanding that they will not all express them in the same terms a Beltway debate might.

But populism has a commonly agreed-upon definition: Namely, it is a type of politics that pits good and pure-hearted ordinary people against a self-serving, out-of-touch elite. As such, populism is inherently divisive as it singles out specific groups as distinct from the people (elites, immigrants, bankers, journalists). It is anti-pluralist as it treats the people as a homogenous entity. Finally, it has a penchant for authoritarianism: If one takes Trumps I am your voice seriously, why should there be any limits to the power of the presidency?

Moreover, through its Manichean nature, populism introduces passions into politicsas opposed to an interplay between interests and abstract principles. And passions are only rarely useful for threading the needle on public policy. In fact, if stirring passions becomes the aim of politics, policy outcomes take a back seat. Neither the border wall, nor the Muslim ban, nor any other of the ex-presidents signature policy ideas were instrumental to achieving any real-world objectives, such as helping those who helped to elect him. Instead, their sole purpose was to keep the audience engaged and emotionally invested in the populist spectacle.

Furthermore, the debate on the future role of populism within the Republican party ought not to be limited to lessons from the Trump era. The bigger picture is not an encouraging one. For every Israel under Benjamin Netanyahus leadership, there is a Hungary under Viktor Orbn, suffering from brain drain and dismantling its democratic institutionsor an India under Narendra Modi, gripped by social unrest and economic dysfunction.

In the GOP alone, recent manifestations go from Pat Buchanan through Sarah Palin and the Tea Party to Trump. Instead of yielding a governing strategy, the partys attempts to embrace populism were akin to efforts to ride a tigerbefore being eaten by it, like Eric Cantor or Lindsey Graham. Perhaps the tiger could be tamed, as the former U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May hoped with her efforts to reshape the Tories as a party of responsible nationalismonly to see herself be overrun by ever more extreme fringes.

It should not be too much to ask those who wish to keep populism as a lasting hallmark of conservative and Republican politics to address populisms real-world record, instead of retreating to a purely abstract defense of politics that would supposedly take the concerns of working-class Americans more seriously than the Beltway elites. Yet, much like Soviet elites of the 1970s and the 1980s, who were not keen to defend the track record of real socialism, the high priests of populism today are keen to sell us a promise of an idealized populism to come, instead of accepting accountability for any of the mess that real populism of the past decade helped create.

There are important policy conversations to be had on the political rightand the leftabout subjects such as immigration or industrial policy. But with its appeal to passions and grievance, populism is the worst possible vehicle for policy change.

In Denmark, the left-of-center government of Mette Frederiksen is seeking without much ado to drive the number of asylum claims to zero, following years of restrictive immigration policy by Social Democrats. Any number of conservative, right-wing, or free-market-friendly governmentsnot least the Reagan administration in the United States or Margaret Thatchers government in the U.K.have provided assistance to specific industries or protected them from foreign competition. Whatever one thinks of the merits of such policies, populism and the pursuit of the substantive agenda advocated by those who want the GOP to be a party of the working class are perfectly separable.

If anything, populism makes thoughtful conversations on immigration, industrial policy, or social safety nets essentially impossible. On both sides of the Atlantic, the combination of the divisive us-versus-them rhetoric of populism on the political right with demands to curb immigration has been a surefire way to attract racists. And combining populism with an expansive view of the states role in the economy has been a one-way ticket to irresponsible, short-sighted economic policy mixesas the legacy of economic populism in Latin America demonstrates.

By all means, let us judge each policy idea on its merits and leave no stone unturned. Yet insofar as insanity consists of doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result, to seek to perpetuate the GOPs populism in the wake of the Trump disaster would be positively insane.

Dalibor Rohac is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C. Follow him on Twitter @DaliborRohac.

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The Problems With Populism Go Well Beyond Donald Trump - The Dispatch

Why both parties pushed their populist messaging around GameStop and Robinhood – Business Insider – Business Insider

The GameStop short squeeze has become a quintessentially American story. But the David vs. Goliath narrative of the multi-billion dollar saga overshadows what it's shown about the role class plays in American politics.

As bizarre as the whole thing has been Reddit users pitted against wealthy hedge fund investors, online memes jolting the market, financial pundits losing their minds Democrats and Republicans have approached it in a largely predictable manner, at least from a messaging standpoint. For all of its very online and very 2021 quirks, the response to GameStop-gate from Democrats and Republicans is indicative of their longer standing battle for credibility among middle class voters.

The bipartisan call for Wall Street accountability is about curating the appearance of being the party of working Americans and avoiding any perception of coziness with wealthy investors.

Once the trading app Robinhood halted its users from buying the surging GameStop stock amid reported credit issues, a bipartisan chorus of federal lawmakers called for hearings and a reckoning for the finance industry.

This rare flourish of bipartisanship was cemented in a widely shared agreement between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

(Ocasio-Cortez AOC quickly rejected Cruz's overture, telling him "You almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago" in a tweet referencing the Capitol Siege.)

The opportunity politicians on both sides of the aisle saw in the GameStop-Robinhood fiasco demonstrated how the Democrats and GOP operate in an era of growing economic inequality.

Both parties try to present themselves as allies of the working class. Both decry the greed of Wall Street and emphasize they're on the side of the proverbial Main Street, yet they cannot agree on basic components of the next stimulus package.

Republicans vehemently oppose the notion of wealth distribution, while Democrats are in favor of increased taxes on the rich and frequently campaign against GOP candidates as out of touch wealthy elites, as they did during their sweep of the Georgia Senate runoffs.

How we define "working class," "middle class," and other commonly used terms varies widely, especially when compared to the economic data.

Pew Research has an ongoing social and demographic trends study on middle class Americans, and their January 2020 report chronicled how this coveted voting block has lost its overall share of earnings in the American economy over the decades and that was before the pandemic began accelerating economic inequality in the US, particularly by gender.

Around 70% of Americans identify as middle class, but only 52% lived in a middle income household in 2018 based on tax data analyzed by Pew.

Pew Research

Despite the shrinking influence of the middle class economically, they are still the primary broad messaging target for both parties.

As Democrats and Republicans duel over which party is the true champion of the middle class, notable shifts have happened over the past few election cycles with income and party affiliation.

A Pew study found that in many states, those earning $100,000 or more vote overwhelmingly for Democrats. In states like Massachusetts and Maryland, that number is as high as 60%. But states like Indiana and Tennessee have the reverse dynamic, with more than 60% of their six figure earners identifying as Republicans.

Surveys on perceptions of the parties show Americans still view Republicans as wealthier than Democrats.

A landmark 2016 study by Douglas Ahler and Gaurav Sood found respondents believed 38% of Republicans earn more than $250,000 per year, when in reality that income bracket only accounts for 2.2% of registered Republicans.

In the 2020 election, counties that voted for Democrats accounted for 70% of GDP. While that does not mean that only wealthier Americans voted for Democrats, it does show that President Joe Biden significantly outperformed Donald Trump in affluent parts of the country. It also marks a continued shift from 2016, where Hillary Clinton's counties made up 64% of GDP.

Well before the votes were in for the 2020 election, Fox News host Tucker Carlson began work shopping new messaging on the "Republican Party becoming the party of wage earners."

The GameStop fiasco shows that amid mounting income inequality, being seen as on the side of Wall Street is politically toxic for both parties, and they will do almost anything to avoid such a perception.

Passing a stimulus package with broad bipartisan support, however, remains beyond the pale, despite whatever glimmer of hope the anti-Robinhood bonhomie may provide otherwise.

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Why both parties pushed their populist messaging around GameStop and Robinhood - Business Insider - Business Insider

Europe’s Populists Ready to Seize on COVID Vaccination Bungle – Voice of America

Europe's populists have seen their polling numbers dip since the coronavirus emerged on the continent, but as the economic impact of lockdowns and restrictions starts to be felt in earnest, widening income disparity, they could see a revival, some analysts forecast.

Others argue that won't happen, if incumbent governments and establishment parties can restore public faith in their competence, cushion lower-income and rural populations from economic misery, and get their countries back on track working again soon.

The populist challenge is dimming, they say, pointing to former U.S. President Donald Trump's November election loss on the other side of the Atlantic. "One reason is their trademark scorn for expertise, which enthuses a minority of voters but unsettles many more who are worried about their health and livelihoods," according to Tony Barber, Europe editor of the Financial Times.

While acknowledging that the populists have not had a "good" pandemic, Matthew Goodwin, a political scientist and visiting fellow at Britain's Chatham House research group, believes political turbulence generally lies downstream of crises and the Great Lockdown will have seismic effects that are hard to foresee.

"Emerging evidence shows it looks fairly certain the Great Lockdown will actually exacerbate divides in our society that began to sharpen a few decades ago, and were then worsened by the Great Recession," he said.

The European Union isn't helping to head off a possible revival in political populism on the continent, which recruits partly on the basis of euro-skepticism. Logistical missteps and hidebound bureaucracy have marred the EU's vaccine rollout, prompting rising public frustration with the pace of inoculations and adding to anxiety about a grim northern hemisphere winter ahead. Some commentators see this as a gift for populists with the low-paid, the unskilled and those in insecure jobs hit the hardest by prolonged lockdowns.

The EU's struggle to secure enough early doses to make headway in the inoculation of the bloc's 446 million people has put the bloc front and center of widespread anger. Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was framing prematurely the bloc's vaccine procurement strategy as a "European success story."

The 62-year-old German, French President Emmanuel Macron's pick for the top job at the EC, had maintained that Brussels should take the lead in negotiating and procuring vaccine supplies for all 27 member states. She had the support of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who called a halt to negotiations already under way between vaccine developer AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish firm, and Germany's health minister, along with his counterparts in France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Von der Leyen, supported by Merkel, argued a collective approach would work better as it would avoid vaccine nationalism and competition among member states. Negotiating as a bloc would provide more leverage to haggle over pricing with the pharmaceutical giants.

But an overriding motivation was to show how well the EU could do. That would overshadow the bloc's lack of solidarity at the start of the pandemic, when calls for help from Italy, the first country to suffer the full force of the virus, were rebuffed, and member states competed for supplies of personal protective equipment and shut borders without consulting each other.

Some of the problems in the rollout have been country-specific but there are mounting doubts about the EU's collective approach to procurement and distribution. Go-it-alone Britain has vaccinated more than 13% of its adults so far while the EU average is barely nudging 2%, with the gap growing.

British regulatory authorities were quicker to approve vaccines and signed contracts with manufacturers three months before the EU. As a result, Britain has not been impacted as much as the EU by production delays and difficulties. On January 22, the EU reacted with fury when AstraZeneca disclosed it would have to reduce by around two-thirds doses expected over the next two months because of production difficulties.

"There are no signs that the vaccination rate in the EU is accelerating, unlike in the U.K. and U.S., where daily vaccination rates have increased substantially in the past few weeks," according to Guntram Wolff, director of Bruegel, a Brussels-based research group. "Part of the explanation is that the EU ordered too few vaccines too late. It was slow to order the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, even when it became the front-runner and its efficacy had been documented."

The Bruegel director has also faulted the EU for not thinking ahead and crafting a strategy to increase vaccine production by mobilizing other manufacturers to help to do so. He cautioned it is "impossible to say how things would have gone if there had not been joint EU action."

Nonetheless, the EU's logistical missteps are drawing fire.

Markus Soeder, the premier of the German state of Bavaria, and a contender to succeed Merkel when she quits in September, said the "operational responsibility" for the "more than unsatisfactory" situation rests with Brussels. "The decision was made in what I think is a typical, normal, bureaucratic EU procedure," he added.

Von der Leyen was the subject of a scathing article Sunday by Germany's leading magazine Der Spiegel, which said the vaccine rollout "might ultimately turn out to be the greatest disaster of her political career."

With lockdown frustration building the Netherlands experienced three days of riots last week after the government introduced a nighttime curfew and with anger building over the snail-like pace of inoculation, populists see a political opening. Some had aligned themselves with anti-vaccine skeptics but are moving away from that position and focusing now on the issue of EU competence.

France's Marine Le Pen, the euro-skeptic far-right leader, has seen her popularity surge. A poll last week showed her trailing Macron by just 52% to 48%. Macron faces a tough reelection bid next year.

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Europe's Populists Ready to Seize on COVID Vaccination Bungle - Voice of America

The other contagion: Why the US Capitol attack is a warning to populists – European Council on Foreign Relations

Just as the disastrous digestion process of the Brexit referendum has become the best vaccine against anti-EU populism, so could the assault on the US Capitol become the mirror in which populists in Europe and other parts of the world see their reflections from now on, each time they try to impose their discourse of delegitimising institutions.

Such an American impact would be nothing new. With all its problems and limitations, US democracy has always stood as a beacon for all people around the world who wished to live in freedom and equality under the rule of law. When the French people gave the American people the Statue of Liberty in 1886, marking the first centenary of US independence, it was not just a gesture of recognition, but also a conscious transferral of the flame of freedom for preservation in a safe place while the old continent waited for better times.

As its designer, sculptor Frdric Auguste Bartholdi, said to the promoter of the initiative, French jurist and politician douard Laboulaye, I will endeavour to glorify the Republic over there, until the day we rediscover it among ourselves. But, far from being glorified, the Republic came close to being lost.

Democracy is contagious, as is populism. Until now, the US populist contagion reaching Europe has run along two lines: an indirect one, based on imitation; and a direct one, stemming from cooperation, with support from the US, especially via the activism of Steve Bannon and the financing of Brexit and European far-right parties (see, for example, the establishment of US far-right movement QAnon in Germany, and the Trumpism of Spains Vox on George Soros).

These two types of influence have come together in the use of social media and alternative media, with the result that the followers of populist movements reinforce their sense of grievance with the system and immunise themselves against the facts.

The Washington riots will have a significant impact on the worst of the populists in our midst.

But, now we have seen a mob assaulting the US Congress, this could change. From now on, each time someone attempts to set themselves up as the sole spokesperson of the people, urges protesters to occupy institutions, undermines the role of the courts as supreme arbiters of the law, or conceals their defeats behind baseless claims of electoral fraud, everyone will know how the story ends: your country out of the European Union, a clown in disguise at the parliamentary platform, violence in the streets, institutions in disrepute, and an illiberal democracy with reduced rights.

From now on, citizens will understand much more clearly why it is said that democracies die bit by bit, until they suddenly succumb and it is too late; understand that they must take a stand against each small violation of institutional independence, demagogical outburst by their leaders, incendiary and hate-filled speeches by political representatives, imposter journalists, fake media outlets, and disinformation campaigns that nurture and encourage populists.

Undoubtedly, these effects will be felt on both sides of the political spectrum. Even though the Trump phenomenon can be likened to the nationalist populism of the far right, left-wing populisms are also populisms. And, in all likelihood, the population will sharpen its eyes and recognise that, though the issues are different (religion, immigration, or the economy), the methods for gaining power are the same.

Beyond empowering European democrats and weakening forces that aspire to take power by assault, the Washington riots, added to Trumps exit, will have a significant impact on the worst of the populists in our midst those who have already reached power in Poland and Hungary, bolstered by Trumps United States both as an example and in policy terms.

For other EU member states and their institutions, the events in Washington are an important reminder that, from the dawn of time, the heavens have been breached first by assaulting public institutions and undermining the rule of law. After all, the Statue of Liberty holds a torch in her right hand, and a tablet of laws in her left. There is no liberty outside the law, only within be it in Washington, Paris, or Warsaw.

The European Council on Foreign Relations does not take collective positions. ECFR publications only represent the views of its individual authors.

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The other contagion: Why the US Capitol attack is a warning to populists - European Council on Foreign Relations

Budget expectations: Will fiscal discipline trump populist demands? – Mint

Many are touting Union Budget, 2021 as a seminal one that will hold the key to several of the problems that Indias economy currently faces. But, a more discerning perspective of the nations present economic state suggests that the government is more likely to adopt a balanced approach that marries fiscal discipline with some measures to boost consumption. In fact, one shouldnt be too surprised if the government tilts in favour of fiscal discipline given that this has been an equally difficult year for the government too.

The aam admi expects tax sops on the personal income tax front to increase liquidity. To this end, while there may not be further changes to tax slabs, measures such as increasing threshold of deductions under section 80C, investment in national pension schemes under section 80CCD, and health insurance premium under section 80D could encourage savings and wider insurance protection. With the increasing treatment costs, raising the deduction for preventive health check-ups, tests and treatment from a meagre INR 5000 should also be considered. Additional relief in the form of special deductions for COVID related health expenses would be a welcome step too. Employers and employees expect tax-exempt perquisites to cover additional expenses related to work from home, vaccination of employees and their family, etc.

Further, the reduction of TDS rates by 25% was a good move to increase liquidity in the hands of individuals and small businesses and should be continued for at least another fiscal year.

The Industry, especially MSMEs have borne major brunt of economic slowdown due to nationwide lockdowns with many small businesses finding it difficult to survive. In this regard, allowing losses to be set-off for an additional period beyond 8 years could help in reviving businesses. Indian start-up space has been the harbinger of innovation and has boosted employment, raising the INR 100 crore threshold for claiming tax benefits and easing up on the much debated angel tax provisions could help raise funds from resident investors and boost growth.

While the earlier budgets have seen an overall reduction is sectoral reforms, this Budget could see a comeback of weighted deductions, especially in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector, which has become increasingly important for R&D and capacity building to fight against the current pandemic and prepare for handling future outbreaks. Tax deductions for capital expenditure incurred towards developing infrastructure and supply chain for storage, dissemination, and application of vaccines and other essential medical products will be welcome. The current deduction for capital expenditure incurred towards building and operating a hospital with at least 100 beds should be allowed to smaller facilities as well, to help build medical infrastructure.

To address the growing rate of unemployment due to loss of jobs during the economic slowdown, the Government could consider increasing the current deductions for hiring new employees under section 80JJA from 30% to 50% along with raising the threshold of total emoluments of such additional employees. Further, special deductions for expenditure incurred towards training and hiring skilled healthcare professionals would be a welcome step.

Amit Singhania, Partner and Suyash Sinha, Senior Associate, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.

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Budget expectations: Will fiscal discipline trump populist demands? - Mint

Reddit fever may open a new populist front that the elites can’t stop – Telegraph.co.uk

Four weeks after the storming of the US Capitol, by now you will have heard of the latest act of American insurrection: The attempts to storm Wall Street by an intrepid horde of faceless individual traders, sallying forth from the bowels of the internet to wreak havoc across the plains of the US financial landscape.

The denizens of the Reddit forum WallStreetBets have caused quite the ruckus in pumping the price of US electronic retailer, GameStop, to dizzying heights, pushing established, billion dollar hedge funds to the brink in an orgy of meme stocks and loss porn. Other stocks, previously considered toxic, have followed GameStop: Nokia, Blackberry, and even the bankrupt movie rental company Blockbuster have seen remarkable rallies off the back of the snowball effect the Reddit legions have had in a wild few days of trading.

For a more comprehensive picture of what mad events had occurred up to yesterday, Robin Pagnamentas piece for this paper sets things out very clearly. But what comes next has the potential to define the future of finance and the internet, too.

Every economic commentator warned that a backlash was coming, and reprisals were indeed swift. Thinly veiled threats were issued that social media was being monitored; trading was restricted on stocks including GameStop and cinema group AMC, Wells Fargo said it would stop recommending the stocks affected, and the CEO of Nasdaq said that trading could be halted altogether to allow big investors to recalibrate.

That Wall Street might try to rein in the marauding barbarians was one thing, but late last night, the WallStreetBets server itself was kicked off communications platform Discord, ostensibly on grounds of violating its hate speech policy and nothing at all to do with what was happening in the markets. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was also asked about the forum and its impact, and confirmed that the Biden administrations treasury secretary, Janet Yellin, was monitoring events.

As night follows day with Americas elites, then came the claims that these upstarts must be part of the alt-right. There are, in fact, some similarities between the alt-right and the new wave of online traders but they arent rooted in white supremacy or racism.

What we are witnessing are movements of people deeply dissatisfied with the country, the direction it is headed in, and their role within it, who see no reason why it cant and shouldnt be upended. They share a yearning for a different direction. In many ways a more equitable one than the Biden administration is pushing for where Americas elites are made to bend and cede more control to the demos. The elites angry reaction to them is, in their mind, justification. It isnt confined to whatever passes for the right, now, either its what drives the likes of Antifa and Black Lives Matter, too.

This, specifically, is a new front money is, after all, the lifeblood of America after four years of slugging in the political arena. Here, we see issues of financial control and censorship collide with the emergence of new platforms and indeed, new systems.

The erasure of scores of social media accounts in the wake of Donald Trumps Twitter ban showed that online spaces would not be left alone and with the point-blank destruction of the Parler platform, that the reach of elites is longer than many had imagined. Now, having witnessed the initial sally, we see the backlash happening in market spaces, too.

All it will lead to is people switching where they engage with others and how. Parlers destruction proved that things arent as simple as just making your own platform, but that it was possible to start off down the hazardous road. The migration of people away from WhatsApp to Telegram is another example that the internet evolves as fast as people want it to, and in whatever direction enough of them lean in.

But the GameStop incident, having shown the little people that it is possible to take on financial institutions at their own game and win, has also shown that the system, from governments to Wall Street, is every bit as ruthless and vindictive as they believed. As the world lurches from the fallout of the coronavirus-induced financial crisis, jobs dry up and values are inflated or evaporate overnight, it seems natural that this generation of online traders will look to other outlets to forge and preserve their economic futures.

That, surely, means decentralised finance will be the big winner in all this, as people look to engage in a financial world they feel they have more control over (the very nature of how the Redditors took hold of GameStop et al suggests it is a community already very familiar with this brave new world). Sure, it can be fun, and invigorating, to mete out some punishment to Wall Street suits. But if they keep rejigging the rules of the game to shut you out, it surely makes more sense to set up something your foes will find it harder to get their hands on.

Donald Trump may be gone, but what he unleashed emboldening people occupying alternative sections of reality, long there but never seen, to cross over from one to the other caused more than enough friction in politics, allowing paths to veer wildly off course from the directions they were meant to. A similar effect is now being felt in other spheres too. It is the beginning of the Trump Century: not a drained swamp, but new ones founded elsewhere, instead.

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Reddit fever may open a new populist front that the elites can't stop - Telegraph.co.uk