The Alternative Media: A Cause for Optimism

The Alt Media is bringing down the “Woke” Economy. [The Rude Awakening] September 14, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( The Alternative Media: A Cause for Optimism - ESG is a dead duck. - Stakeholder capitalism has been exposed for what it is… - … an attempt to get a board seat without paying for shares. [Warning: Could Massive Civil Unrest Come To U.S. Cities In 2023?]( [Click here to learn more]( The streets are mayhem… Everyday supplies at the grocery store are cleaned out… In the parking lot outside, you see a large guy yelling at an elderly man… The big guy has something in his hand, and rage in his eyes... Things look like they could get out of hand at any moment. Is this disturbing scenario set to play out in U.S. cities across the country? [Click here now for an urgent warning from a former advisor to the CIA and Pentagon](. [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning from sunny, cool Il Piemonte! Have you ever wondered why the grape that produces such great wines like Barolo and Barbaresco is called Nebbiolo? Nebbia is Italian for “fog.” So Nebbiolo grapes are those that grow in valleys that become shrouded in fog. [The Rude] Credit: [Consiglio Regionale del Piemonte]( “It’s a real peasouper, Watson,” Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes once said to Edward Hardwicke’s Watson. Today, I’ve got my first sign of the upcoming autumn thanks to the thin film of fog in Asti this morning. And yet, things are clearing up. The stock market may still be in trouble, and our credit troubles are going nowhere. But one incredibly positive trend is happening: the “woke” economy is getting exposed as the ridiculous imposter it is. Living in Europe, I’m particularly pleased about this. Europe’s economy is in the toilet thanks to the German government’s suicidal choice to embrace deindustrialization. The knock-on effects are being felt all over Europe. Luckily for America, its economy is flexible enough to shake off this nonsense. And yet, one can argue American companies suffered the most, twisting themselves into knots to appease The Woke. But let’s not argue who’s suffered the most today. Instead, let’s look at how the environMENTALS and other woke fanatics are losing the arguments, thanks to the alternative media. [[Revealed!] New AI Opportunity Bigger Than The PC?]( [James Altucher]( Just imagine being able to turn back the clock to the 1980s – right as a new technology known as the PC was getting its start… Seeing the promise of the PC – and captivated by Microsoft’s technology – an early investor decides to put in $500 during the company’s IPO in 1986. As of today, that $500 investment would have turned into a fortune worth over $1.6 MILLION. I bring this up because we are at the dawn of a new innovation which could be even BIGGER than the PC. [I’m talking about artificial intelligence, or AI](. According to Yahoo Finance, “we are on the cusp of a technological revolution that will fundamentally change how we live our lives.” And you have the chance to invest on the ground floor… [Click here now to see the 3 tiny AI stocks best positioned to profit](. [Click Here To Learn More]( Methanol Ships Today, I happened upon this tweet from Ursula “Broomsticks” von der Leyen: [The Rude] Credit: [@vonderleyen]( I admit, I thought, “Wow, I wonder how they managed to do that…” Luckily, I clicked on the tweet and scrolled down. I saw this article posted: [The Rude] Credit: [CleanTechnica.com]( In the article, Michael Barnard writes (bolds mine): The methanol industry likes to assert that manufacturing methanol is relatively low carbon, at 20 grams CO2e per MJ or 400 grams CO2e per kg, but independent modern assessments put it at 110 grams CO2e per MJ and about 1.4 kg CO2e per kg methanol. So that’s problem one with methanol as a shipping fuel, or even as an industrial feedstock. It’s not nearly as bad as pure hydrogen, but still, more CO2e to manufacture than is created of useful product. And, of course, when you burn it, CO2 is released into the atmosphere. It only creates about 43% of the CO2 that diesel does when equivalent masses are burned, so that seems good. And as an alcohol, it burns much more cleanly than diesel with a lot fewer pollutants, so that seems good too. And it’s a liquid at room temperature, and in fact, at any temperature range that it’s likely to be used as a fuel on earth or sea, which is also a useful characteristic. But there’s a catch there, as well. The energy density by mass is lower as well, with about 45% of the energy density of diesel. So, when you burn it, you have to burn over twice as much to get the same energy. And that means that burning it results in virtually the same CO2 as diesel, about 97%. Doesn’t seem so good after all, does it? And methanol is about the same price as diesel per gallon or liter in normal times, about $1.80 per US gallon or $0.48 per liter, although spiking recently with the energy crisis. At 45% of the energy density, you need more of it, so the actual cost for the equivalent of diesel is about $4.00 for the equivalent of a gallon and about $1.07 for the equivalent of a liter. More than doubling the price of fuel seems a bit problematic, and that’s for the cheapest form of methanol, stuff that’s produced from natural gas with the atmosphere used as an open sewer. Everything lower carbon costs more, sometimes a lot more. We should consider ourselves lucky that someone is crunching the numbers. Articles like this are turning the ESG narrative on its head. Stakeholder Capitalism is Dying First, let’s define “stakeholder capitalism.” The term refers to an economic model in which businesses prioritize the needs of their employees, customers, suppliers, local communities, and the environment. Long-term value creation for all stakeholders, not just shareholders, is the focus. Or, as I like to put it, stakeholder capitalism gives non-shareholders a seat on the board. Stakeholder capitalism is based on the following core beliefs: - Companies should care about more than just their bottom line. - Decision-makers owe it to all those with a vested interest in an organization's success to consider their concerns. - Value development over the long run is prioritized over earnings in the short term. - Long-term prosperity requires a focus on sustainability. Though I don’t buy them, here are the main arguments in favor of stakeholder capitalism: - Allegedly, it has the potential to improve one's judgment. Businesses can better make decisions that benefit the company and the community at large when they consider the views of all relevant parties. - It has the potential to raise morale and output in the workplace. If workers believe their efforts are helping others, they are more likely to care about their jobs and perform well. - Customer and public confidence can be bolstered in this way. Businesses that demonstrate social responsibility and long-term viability are more likely to succeed financially and earn public approval. - It can aid in the formation of a more long-lasting future. Businesses may do their part to protect the earth by reducing pollution by considering the effects of their actions on the environment. There are, however, counterarguments to the proponents of stakeholder capitalism. - Striking a middle ground between competing priorities is challenging. There may be occasions when one stakeholder group's interests are at odds with those of another. - Stakeholder capitalism is expensive to execute. To satisfy the needs of all parties involved, businesses may need to make investments in new technology or processes. - Stakeholder capitalism's effects aren’t always easy to quantify. The positive effects of stakeholder capitalism, such as increased employee morale and consumer loyalty, are challenging to measure. Here’s what Brandon Smith of Alt-Market.us[wrote about its failure]( ESG [Environmental, Social, and Governance] was intended to be the tool that globalists and governments would use to force companies into the stakeholder capitalism model. It is much like the Chinese communist social credit system, but for businesses rather than individuals. The higher a company’s ESG score, the more access lending and government funding they would have (easy money). It started out in 2005 focused on climate controls (influencing corporations to accept carbon credits and taxation). But, by 2016 it became something else; ESG widely adopted woke politics including Critical Race Theory, feminism, trans ideology, various elements of Marxism, etc. This was the modern ESG that all of us are aware of today. The goal was to incentivize corporations into bombarding the public with woke messaging 24/7. Every movie, every TV show, every book, every comic, every children’s cartoon, every commercial, every product, every major social media site, every employee handbook, every social interaction would be tainted with the poison of woke propaganda. There would be nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape the messaging. And it worked, for a little while… The exposure of ESG is perhaps one of the greatest triumphs of the alternative media. It was proof that the “wokification” of our economy and society was not the result of some grassroots activist movement or the natural evolution of civilization. No, everything woke was a rigged agenda, an astroturf movement forced into existence by corporations and globalists using ESG as the vehicle. And not a moment too soon for cash-strapped consumers and failing private businesses. Wrap Up I’m thrilled that the alternative media is bringing down stakeholder capitalism, ESG, and its newly Christened Frankenstein’s Monster, known as “inclusive capitalism.” No one asked for this nonsense, and it’s running the world economy into the ground. I’m all for using technology to create cleaner businesses. But it mustn’t come at the cost of people starving or freezing to death. Let plain old capitalism take care of the problems. It always comes through. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( In Case You Missed It… The Mugshot Seen Around the World [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Happy Hump Day from overcast Asti! Once again, my friend and colleague Byron King wrote a wonderful piece on how the next presidential election might be conducted. The world’s most famous mugshot may turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing for Trump’s persecutors… I mean… prosecutors! Over to Byron! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( [Biden’s 2024 Presidential Run Doomed To Fail — Thanks To New Inflation Surge?]( [Click here to learn more]( Biden has given America its worst inflation crisis in over 43 years. But if you think the worst of inflation is over, think again… [A deadly new “Second Wave” of inflation is coming – one which could send the price of food, gasoline, housing and more skyrocketing much higher than they are today.]( Will this new crisis mean Biden’s 2024 Presidential run is doomed to fail? [Click here now to see my urgent warning.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( [Byron King] BYRON KING You’ve seen the mugshot. Now comes the courthouse campaign. [Rude] Mugshot from Fulton County, Georgia: former President Donald Trump.[NBC News](. Today, we’ll discuss politics. But don’t click away. I promise you; this will NOT be more of that blow-dried, talking head blah-blah you see on network or cable TV. Nor will I spout insipid, sanctimonious, law school/barstool drivel like you see in mass-opinion media. Because this is Paradigm Press, and we’re different. We dissect events to discern what they mean to your wealth, investments, and long-term financial security. And seriously, with what’s coming next year, you can either make a lot of money or lose a bunch. It’s up to you, so let’s dig in… What’s Wrong with This Picture? First, look again at that mugshot. It’s not what one usually sees from the booking room down at the county jail, right? Does Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States, come across like he thinks he’s “guilty” of anything? That he committed a crime? That he’s under arrest pursuant to a proper bust? Ha! To ask the question is to answer it. Clearly, Trump is defiant. In the photo, his eyes burn. He stares right through the lens of the camera operator as if to (slowly) say… “4Q,” if you get my drift. Immediately after its release, this image exploded into a worldwide host of Trump [memes](. And as an aside, the jailhouse photographer just redefined his career with this iconic shot. Indeed, the camera guy is the next Ansel Adams. Then again, Trump is sui generis and fits no standard molds. The show's star arrived in Atlanta in his personal Boeing-757, accompanied to the spectacle by a retinue of local, county, state, and federal law enforcement, including the U.S. Secret Service. The sound and fury were broadcast live to the world while crowds lined the streets. You can like Donald Trump or not; love him or despise him. Sure, go ahead and believe that Trump’s arrest, booking, and mugshot made a great day for the country and that the bum is finally going down. Or you can believe that this entire Trump affair is raw, ugly politics, a demented lawfare stunt by America’s homegrown Bolshevik class, and a precursor to the End Days. Indeed, some might think that America's Deep State has well and truly crossed a modern Rubicon by weaponizing the courts against a former president and ignominiously dragging him inside the walls of some dirty, shithole Georgia jail. Because there’s no coming back from that, no forgive-and-forget. No, we’re now living through the nadir phase of the Republic, soon to break up like the Soviet Union of 1991. (Hey, got any gold?) And yet? Well, we’re far past opinion, yours, mine, or anybody else’s. Trump’s odyssey has now settled into a vast arc of its own. History unfolds as we watch a tsunami come right at us, if not a giant asteroid. Pandora’s Populist Box Looking back, it’s fair to say that Trump has long held massive political momentum since he glided down the escalator at his eponymous building at 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, in June 2015. Crisply and efficiently, he mopped the floor with Republican competitors in the primaries and then took on the entitled (“My Turn”) Hillary. In 2016, Trump campaigned hard, talked the talk, and said what many people wanted to hear: basic things like building a wall, stopping shipping jobs away, ending the long wars, and making NATO pay. To America’s long-suffering working class – aka “deplorables” (thank you, Hillary) – nobody else talked like Trump. And obviously, the billionaire real estate mogul and TV star appealed to enough voters to get elected. Then? Well, America’s ruling class went nuts. College-educated women wore pink hats, and college dropout Antifa goons staged four years of street riots. The federal bureaucracy slow-walked Trump policies between these extremes, while federal judges stymied the administration at every opportunity. Eventually, Trump exited the White House, and feel free to think of that want you wish. But now, with this one photo, Trump’s opponents have gone over-the-top insane with their deranged hatred. And they have inadvertently (well, I suspect it’s inadvertently) created a new force of nature. As in, there was no camera in the Georgia jail; it was a populist’s Pandora’s Box. Step back for a moment and consider how, in general, Americans have a cultural fascination with crime and criminal justice. Rich and poor, mighty and humble, Americans love lawyer and courtroom TV dramas. Think back to the long-ago days of Perry Mason, Matlock, and LA Law. Or recall public fascination with the OJ Trial, Elizabeth Holmes, Johnny Depp, and many more. And then along comes Trump and that image, the mugshot seen ‘round the world. That single photo has measurably strengthened the man’s appeal. [Trump’s numbers are up](. His [merchandise is selling]( like beer on a troop ship. Meanwhile, now and in the future, with every indictment, every “criminal” count, every press conference by every partisan-hack prosecutor – ah, but on that point, I repeat myself – Trump grows in strength like a Gulf of Mexico hurricane. In federal and state courts, lawyers sue Trump. Prosecutors file charges. Judges somberly set dates for motions, hearings, and trials; there’s even a televised trial in the Georgia case! (OMG, what was that judge thinking?) And through it all, there’s the Orange Man, sucking up political energy and spinning whirlwinds inside a growing cyclonic storm above the warm waters offshore Mar a Lago, Florida. Heck, you can probably see it all developing from space. As it unfolds, Trump is once again about to come ashore as a Category 5 disruptor of American politics. Yes, he’s done that before, but now he will make landfall with even more strength than in 2016 and 2020. Indeed, Trump in 2024 will shake things up in ways we can barely discern. And on that point, let’s recall some history. America’s Old Fashioned “Front Porch” Campaigns In the 19th century, U.S. presidential campaigns were constrained by available methods. For the first century of the country’s existence, Americans moved about by horse and wagon. Sure, over time, America built a rail system. But it was never easy – and usually hard – to get from one part of the nation to another. With travel slow and difficult on the best of days, early U.S. presidential candidates tended not to move around much. In this sense, many early elections unfolded via what people called “front porch” campaigns. Candidates remained at home and did not crisscross the country. In this early campaign model, supporters, reporters, and other chroniclers would call on the candidate in person and visit face to face. The candidate would speak, standing on the front porch of his abode. And then the message would be relayed out to newspapers across the land. Well-known front porch campaigns include the election of James Garfield in 1880, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and William McKinley in 1896. They remained at home, campaigned in their easygoing manner, and eventually became president. But now, in 2023 – 24, we see something old yet new, and there’s no telling how this will play out. The Looming Courthouse Campaign Trump’s prosecutors in Florida, Georgia, Washington, D.C., and New York (the list so far) want to take their man to court in 2024, during primary season, campaign season, and even in the weeks leading up to Election Day in 2024. Of course, it’s obvious why… Because they want to serve the interests of justice, right? And because “No one is above the law,” as the saying goes, yes? No, just kidding. Actually, the prosecutors (and apparently, the judges) want Trump to sit in a criminal courtroom throughout the 2024 election cycle. They’ll hammer him with every charge they can hurl: He retained folders filled with presidential-level records! He solicited election-skeptical legal briefs from his lawyers! And he definitely made telephone calls about vote counts! Indeed, per those last points, an entirely new form of crime has been charged against numerous of Trump’s alleged accomplices, namely that they committed felonies via what’s known as “the practice of law.” Yes, federal and state prosecutors have actually charged Trump’s past attorneys with felony counts for writing legal memos about election issues. I won’t belabor any arcane legal points of the charging documents. As promised at the outset, we’ll have no law review articles here. Read up on everything somewhere else at your leisure. For you and me, dear reader, the takeaway from this is not so much the foundation or nature of the charges against Trump as it is the strange, new campaign forum that his opponents and enemies have created. Because now, instead of campaigning from his Boeing, flying across the landscape and giving talks in football stadiums and NASCAR raceways, the previous president will be forced to campaign from the steps of a string of courthouses up and down the East Coast, from Miami to New York. And what a campaign this will be: Trump’s Courthouse Campaign! With Trump in the dock(s), an entire world of Ahabs now have their massive Orange Whale. And what comes from it will be epic. No doubt, U.S. and international media will scrupulously cover every step of every case against Trump in every courtroom. Media will flood the zone with micro-analysis of every document filed. Breathless reporters will detail every motion in limine, every hearing, every procedural ruling. We’ll hear about every request for every interlocutory appeal. How about picking juries? I suspect becoming a Trump juror will be more competitive and selective than gaining admission to Harvard, with the same screening procedures to ensure left-wing bias. And all of this will happen just in the early phases, the next several months, and before the star of the show even walks onto the stage. Because when Trump finally makes his appearance? Whoa… The. Show. Must. Go. On. And the courthouse will be a mob scene that rivals a Taylor Swift concert. Protesters will appear outside. Street theater will be Broadway quality. All this while media trucks stretch up and down the main drags; indeed, birds in the sky will be fried into crispy chicken nuggets by the Trumpian microwave signals blasting upwards from the satellite dishes. Do you want a spectacle? Oh, yes, just strap in because a spectacle it will be, and it won’t end, not for a year. All day, every day, after every courthouse scene, reporters will vie with each other to scoop the results. We’ll see details of documents suppressed (or not), analysis of restrictions on witness testimony, and broad gag orders from judges who look in the mirror and see themselves as historic figures because, to be sure, these worthies would NEVER want trial-related publicity to taint the jury or outcome, correct? Again,… just kidding. Legal gladiators on the courthouse steps – certainly those carrying shields marked with the Trump emblem – will approach the maze of microphones and cameras and explain their points, defending their client. While prosecutors will belly up to the reporters and state, declaratively, that “We don’t want to try this case in the media!” (No, of course not…) Occasionally, at one opportunity or another, the man himself – one Donald J. Trump, former U.S. President – might even say a few words, as he is known sometimes to do. Yes, seriously. He might. And all of this will happen not once, not twice, or thrice, but… in four trials in the next year, and who knows, maybe more. Those Trump cases and courtroom dramas will suck every molecule of oxygen out of the political and media system throughout the upcoming election cycle. War in Ukraine? Tensions with China? Inflation? Energy? Looming recession? Open borders? Crime? Hey, don’t worry; Trump is on trial. Getting back to the beginning of this note, you can think whatever you want about Trump, good or bad. But we all still have an economy to deal with out there. Lives to live. Investments to make. All in the context of a country where politics has gone toxic. We live in bizarre times. Do Trump’s enemies really understand what a broad and powerful platform they have just handed to their nemesis? Or let’s phrase that question in another way: Every fall in America, the National Football League pretty much owns Sunday. But with Trump and his courthouse platforms, his enemies have given him control over every day of next year. See you in court, Mr. President. [Rude] Trump and Churchill flash “V” for victory signs.[UK Daily Mail](. That’s all for now… Thank you for subscribing and reading. Best wishes… [Byron King] Byron W. King [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@rudeawakening.info. This address is for feedback only. 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