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The Hurricane spins around hotspots of tension and conflict. Feel free to suggest your stories, opinions and ideas: UIHEN@protonmail.com
The AI–robotics combo: Will all employees be replaced?
By Anders Corr via The Epoch Times
On April 14, a local government
administrator in the United States sent my relative a letter that she suspected of including AI content. Sure enough, an AI detector found 83% generated by AI GPT.
She said it was the best letter she had ever received from a politician—and she writes to her representatives frequently. She praised the letter for responding to every single point she raised in her own letter, something no unaided politician had ever done.
We toyed with the idea of confronting the administrator publicly. If AI wrote a better letter than the administrator himself, perhaps he could be replaced with the technology, and his salary redeployed for more substantive taxpayer benefits. It was a tongue-in-cheek idea. But the logic is nevertheless disturbing.
If artificial intelligence is now better than one politician for one task, according to one constituent, is it plausible that in 10 or 20 years, AI could be better than all politicians for all their tasks, according to most constituents?
At that point, voters might just vote for an AI politician rather than a human one. Human politicians are, after all, time-constrained by their need to sleep, eat, and hobnob with their elite donors and other benefactors.
Full story
#AI #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Dr. Daniel Pompa tells us what vegetables are actually sprayed with in American grocery stores:
"Are your fruits and vegetables being sprayed with something that looks like pure water? Or maybe they aren't. Many grocery stores are now adding chemicals to fruit and vegetable sprayers. Know this - it's called sodium hypochloride*.
Do you know what that is? It's bleach.
This stuff is not only toxic, you can't even breathe it. Stay away from supermarkets that use aerosols in the vegetable departments."
* the active ingredient in chlorine bleach. Used to sanitize laboratories. Kills plant bacteria and fungi. Forms dangerous by-products and toxic gases when mixed with other chemicals.
#USA #Food #Health #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Data reveal drop in US imports from China amid tariff showdown
Container vessel traffic traveling to U.S. ports in Southern California has plunged. According to Port Optimizer, a daily ship tracking system, the number of freight vessels leaving China and heading to Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, for the week ending on May 3 declined by 29%.
In addition, scheduled vessels from China to the United States tumbled by about 33 percent year over year for the week ending on May 10.
Logistics firm Vizion noted on April 11 that for the week ending on April 8, U.S. imports from China fell by 64 percent from the previous week.
Companies have confirmed that shipments to the United States from China are falling. Hapag-Lloyd, a German container shipping firm, reported that 30% of shipments have been canceled. At the same time, the company noted, there has been sizable demand for consignments from Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Industry numbers show a divergence between imports from China and shipments from elsewhere.
#USA #China #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
European arms suppliers set to miss out on EU defense budget surge
Foreign weapons and defence technology makers seem poised to cash in on Europe’s defence boom, side-lining the continent’s own industry despite soaring military budgets.
A sharp rise in European Union defence spending, spurred by global tensions and a new €1.5 billion initiative by the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP), may largely bypass European manufacturers as foreign firms could capture a significant share of upcoming contracts.
Despite calls from MEPs on April 24 to channel more funds into the EU’s homegrown military industry through the EDIP, analysts warned that the bloc’s member states’ entrenched reliance on non-European suppliers threatened to undermine its strategic autonomy goals.
The European Parliament’s proposal for EDIP sets a minimum threshold of 60% EU content in defence products eligible for funding.
Procurement officials cited by Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel though suggested a lack of strict enforcement mechanisms risked diluting the policy’s impact, as urgent operational needs pushed governments toward faster, off-the-shelf imports from outside the bloc.
#EU #Military #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Belgian auditor trashes new defense agreement with France: lack of vision and competence
A confidential audit has disclosed that Belgium paid 10 times the correct price for new French armoured vehicles.
Instead of €1.5 billion for 382 new Griffon and 60 Jaguar combat armoured vehicles, Belgium will end up paying €14.4 billion, the Court of Audit reported.
A lot of related costs were carelessly calculated or unforeseen, the source said, but conscious decisions from France also caused significant trouble and led to tensions between the countries.
France has failed to honour its initial commitments, it was claimed. Identical armoured vehicles for France and Belgium were promised, with FN Herstal supplying the machine gun turrets.
Instead, France opted for a different model for its own fleet. Belgium was also denied access to French secure communications, once a cornerstone of the partnership.
#EU #Belgium #France #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
US, China in hot race to put nuclear reactors on the moon
Imagine streaming your favorite show or scrolling through your phone, all from the comfort of a home base on the moon. Within the next decade, that sci-fi dream will edge closer to reality – the question is, will an American, Chinese or Russian get there first?
For humans to settle and reside on the moon, scientists must solve two big problems: finding water and generating power. Now, the United States and China, with the help of Russia, are in a high-stakes race to crack the latter by building lunar nuclear reactors.
Both superpowers are now pushing ahead with plans to install fission power plants on the moon’s surface. America’s NASA is aiming to launch its Fission Surface Power system by the early 2030s, while China and Russia plan to build a lunar reactor between 2033 and 2035.
But this is more than a race for power in space. It’s a contest over who will shape the rules — and reap the benefits — of the new frontier. On April 23, a top Chinese space official publicly discussed the country’s lunar nuclear ambitions for the first time.
Wu Weiren, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, claimed he hopes China and Russia will jointly build a reactor to power the International Lunar Research Station, citing Russia’s global leadership in nuclear space tech.
#USA #China #Moon #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The US water war with Mexico is just starting
Of the many open fronts Mexico has with Donald Trump, water is the least conspicuous one — but with the biggest potential for immediate damage.
The conflict has an historic background: Under a treaty signed in 1944, Mexico needs to send 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the US over five-year cycles, or an average of 350,000 acre-feet per year, from its tributaries into the Rio Grande. At the same time, it expects to receive 1.5 million acre-feet per year from the US through the Colorado River. The pact, hailed as a showpiece of transnational cooperation, provides a diplomatic mechanism to resolve disputes affecting local communities and has safeguarded the hydrological resources across the Mexico-US border since its signing.
Yet since the early 1990s, Mexico has been struggling to fulfill its obligations, angering US farmers and other businesses in Texas that depend on the Rio Grande for irrigation. As droughts and water shortages have worsened, so have Mexico’s breaches of the pact and the tensions at the border. In the current five-year period, the country has so far delivered slightly more than a third of the stipulated water. It’s unlikely to make up the difference before the cycle ends in October.
Full story
#USA #Mexico #Trump #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
German industry is collapsing - one in five companies plan to leave the country
▪️German industry is bleeding to death - faster than many realize. One in five companies wants to leave the country, investors are leaving and factories are empty," states the Austrian EXXpress
▪️The main reasons were high energy costs and pointless bureaucracy. Deindustrialization is no longer theoretical - it is actually gaining momentum
▪️60% of industrial companies in Germany consider themselves uncompetitive and more than half of them consider the situation to be critical or extremely critical.
#Germany #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Workplace stress epidemic killing 10,000 people a year in Europe
Europe’s workplace stress epidemic is killing around 10,000 people a year, according to a new analysis which shows the urgent need for an EU directive on psychosocial risks at work.
There are 6,190 deaths annually through coronary heart disease which are attributable to psychosocial risks at work across the EU 27 and the UK. Another 4,843 people lose their lives through suicide caused by work-related depression. That means psychosocial risks are a greater danger to workers than physical accidents, which killed 3,286 people in the EU in 2022.
Women workers are disproportionately affected by psychosocial risks, such as long working hours, job insecurity and workplace bullying. There is also a geographic imbalance, with deaths linked to workplace stress more prevalent in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.
#EU #UK #Health #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
AI as a sitting duck
The development of deepfakes has systematically reached its highest level - the technical possibility of creating a virtual personality filled with all the traits of an existing person.
New York-based company Massive Blue sells AI bots to the police - not for automating paperwork, but for deployment in social networks, chat rooms and even Telegram, where these bots pretend to be humans. Teenagers, political activists, migrants. The goal is to communicate with suspects and gather “information”. Formally, it's a fight against human trafficking, drugs and predators. In fact - it's a covert AI that plays roles. Against you.
What these bots do:
- create hyper-realistic profiles, including appearance, biography and communication style
- conduct conversations in Discord, messengers, social networks
- collect digital “leads” - from chat rooms to geodata and cryptocurrency wallets
- generate “scouting reports” on cities with thousands of labeled accounts
Among the AI characters active right now:
- “student protester” from the U.S. interested in body positivity
- “teen gamer” hiding Discord from parents
- “AI pimp” supporting female workers
- “AI escort,” “AI recruiter,” “AI illegal alien” - a whole clan of digital roles
Some Americans (who are understandable) are concerned that the system works without clear criteria: who is targeted, why, at what point are you considered a suspect? So far, there have been no arrests from these bots. But data collection is well underway.
AI has long since gone beyond just drawing pictures and writing texts. It's playing an increasingly important role on behalf of the state, in the guise of you. And while this tool is being “honed” on the bad guys, the lines of who is considered bad are getting blurrier and blurrier.
#AI #Spy #Deepfakes #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Has international trade really killed American manufacturing? 🤔
Trump has promised to revitalize American industry with tariffs to bring manufacturing back to the country. His message appeals to nostalgia for a time when workers earned decent wages in factories. However, the decline in manufacturing jobs is a long-term trend due to productivity growth and the economy's shift to the service sector.
Although Trump blames international trade for the decline, most economists believe that technology is the main cause: 88% of the job decline between 2000 and 2010 is due to productivity growth, while only 13% is due to trade.
Changes in consumption are also important: in rich countries, people spend more on services rather than goods.
Deindustrialization is not a sign of U.S. economic decline, but part of economic development. Going back to the old days is a dead end, especially with the growth of services and technology.
#USA #Trump #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
'A noble heart'. CIA deputy director's son died fighting for Russia in the NWO
Michael Gloss, son of CIA Deputy Director Gallina Gloss, died fighting in the ranks of the Russian army, writes the NBC News. The American's father said that the young man had a noble heart and a warrior spirit. The parents claim that they did not know about their son's decision to go to the frontlines.
#USA #CIA #WarInUkraine #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Nearly 70% of young Germans are NOT ready to defend Germany with arms in their hands
Zoomers don't want to die for Germany in battle, they say it's minus the wyb, according to a new study by the Institute for Generational Research.
“For young people, compulsory military service is an absurdity completely beyond their perceptions,” complains Rüdiger Maas, director of the institute.
India and Pakistan are gearing up for war ...
#India #Pakistan #Military #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Historic divergence between Democrat Despair and Republican confidence
Consumer sentiment improved slightly in late April compared with the preliminary reading earlier in the month. But in a far more important development, sentiment remains deeply depressed—and the division between Democrats and Republicans has reached historic, almost unimaginable levels.
According to the University of Michigan’s latest survey, the final reading of the Consumer Sentiment Index stood at 52.2 in April, up modestly from the mid-month figure but still the lowest since July 2022. Beneath the headline, the political breakdown tells the real story: sentiment among Democrats collapsed to 34.4, the lowest level ever recorded for any partisan group in the survey’s decades-long history.
The Expectations Index for Democrats—how they feel about the future—dropped to an astonishing 22.7. Independents also saw a sharp decline, falling to 46.2. Meanwhile, sentiment among Republicans soared to 90.2, the highest since the final months of Donald Trump’s first term.
In short, Democrats have never been this pessimistic about the economy, and Republicans are more confident than they’ve been in years.
#USA #Democrats #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Mission Street San Francisco, California
Drug addicts mixed with dealers of stolen goods and American grandmothers selling their small belongings on the pavement.
#USA #California #Migrants #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The ‘best small town in the South’ is luring new residents with low-cost living perks — and it’s not in Florida
Once defined by the spirited pulse of Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi has emerged as a multifaceted destination, recently named the top small Southern town by USA Today for the second consecutive year.
With a population exceeding 25,000, this community blends affordability, economic vitality and cultural richness, attracting a diverse mix of residents from young professionals to retirees.
The town’s economic appeal is rooted in its low cost of living. Starkville’s economy thrives on the university, the state’s largest, which anchors a robust job market alongside growing healthcare and technology sectors. The downtown area, particularly University Avenue, balances youthful energy with sophisticated offerings.
Education is another draw, with local schools forging strong ties to the university. The town’s cultural and recreational offerings are equally compelling. History enthusiasts visit the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, while the Starkville Community Theater and Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra enrich the arts scene.
Outdoor activities abound, with the Starkville Wildlife Refuge offering hiking, hunting, and birdwatching.
#USA #Starkville #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
International institutions must abandon “Wokeism”
By Daniel Lacalle
The scandal over the alleged corruption of the founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos would be just an anecdote were it not another example of what has happened recently with many international institutions. The Financial Times reveals that the WEF founder faces accusations of manipulating the organization’s analysis to gain favour with governments.
For years, many of us have watched with sadness as an important forum like Davos shifted from being a centre for debate and confrontation of ideas in defence of free enterprise to becoming a loudspeaker for the most interventionist ideas, the most damaging statism, and a whitewasher of authoritarian governments, spreading the destructive ideas of inflationism, socialism, and wokeism— which, in reality, are all the same.
It is time to abandon propaganda, excuses, and cosmetics. It is time to stop whitewashing interventionism and recover the essential role these institutions play in preserving and strengthening growth. It is time to stop justifying wasteful governments and return to defending businesses and wealth creators.
#WEF #Wokeism #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
ECHR orders Poland to recognize same-sex partnerships
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Poland must provide legal recognition and protection for same-sex unions to meet the country’s obligation as a European Union member to ensure equal rights for all couples.
Issuing the verdict on April 24, the ECHR noted that the absence of legal recognition of same sex couples who married abroad was a denial of individual rights. It added Poland was obliged to legislate for those rights to be respected.
The case brought before the ECHR referred to a single-sex marriage in the UK involving individuals who were living in Poland. One of them was a Polish citizen who brought the case alleging discrimination against his rights by the Polish State.
#Poland #ECHR #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
China. When you don't waste money on another war no one wants.
The US spent 200 million dollars every day for 10 years in Afghanistan and what did they get? ....
#China #USA #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Is anything real anymore? AI making Americans suspicious of everything online
Americans’ confidence in online content has hit rock bottom. Most people now believe the majority of what they see on the internet isn’t trustworthy, according to a nationwide poll.
The survey of 2,000 adults by Talker Research paints a concerning picture. Americans believe only 41% of online content is accurate, factual, and made by humans. They think 23% is completely false and purposely inaccurate or misleading, while 36% falls somewhere in between. Three-quarters of respondents say they trust the internet less today than ever before.
About 78% of respondents agree that the internet has “never been worse” when it comes to differentiating between what’s real and what’s artificial. This skepticism has grown as AI-generated material becomes increasingly prevalent.
The average American encounters information they know or suspect was generated by AI about five times per week, with 15% indicating it’s more than 10 times.
When asked where they most commonly notice artificial content, respondents identified:
🔹 Social media posts (48%)
🔹 News articles (34%)
🔹 Chatbot interactions (32%)
#USA #AI #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The U.S. Ministry of Finance increases the volume of borrowings by 4.2 times
▪️514 billion dollars - the volume of borrowings, which the U.S. Ministry of Finance intends to attract from the private sector in the second quarter of this year. The previous plan was at 123 billion
▪️The increase is due to a lower cash balance at the beginning of the quarter and an expected decrease in net cash flows.
#USA #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
US–China trade war could benefit India
As the Trump administration’s unprecedented reciprocal tariffs reshape global trade, India is seizing the moment, engaging in talks with the United States over trade and positioning itself as a manufacturing alternative to a tariff-battered China.
With a resilient service-led economy and cooperative trade stance, India is gaining ground while China grapples with economic imbalances. Data from the World Bank, China’s National Bureau of Statistics, and the Press Information Bureau of India indicate that India has consistently outpaced China in GDP growth from 2021 to 2024. In 2021, India’s economy grew by 9.1%, compared with China’s growth of 8.1%. The gap widened in 2022, with India expanding by 7.2% while China experienced a slowdown to 3%. In 2023 and 2024, India continued to lead, recording growth rates of 8.2% and 6.5%, respectively, compared with China’s 5.2% and 5%.
India’s economic momentum has strengthened over the past four years. In response to U.S. tariffs, New Delhi’s cooperative approach stands in stark contrast to Beijing’s aggressive stance, further solidifying India’s competitive position.
#USA #China #India #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Realities of German political life
According to the latest citizen polls, the opposition party “Alternative for Germany” is in first place in popularity with 26% approval. The CDU/CSU alliance, which forms the government and nominates a candidate for chancellor, is second with 24%, losing votes from its voters on a weekly basis.
The Bundestag is expected to soon confirm a new chancellor, Friedrich Merz (CDU), who before the snap election promised voters to deal with domestic issues, but after his victory changed his rhetoric to prioritize preparations for war with Russia and endless aid to Ukraine
#Germany #Politics #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The White House accused Amazon of a hostile political act: the company had previously announced special price tags that would show how much goods from China had gone up in price after the duties that Trump imposed.
#USA #Amazon #Trump #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
North Korean IT workers under Chinese cover secretly rule the Western digital world
Fortune: Minh Phuong Ngoc Wong, an ethnic Chinese resident of the United States, has pleaded guilty to conspiring with North Korean IT workers who were hired to work for U.S. companies under his name.
Wong “rented” his identity to developers in China with ties to the DPRK. Under his name, they got at least 13 remote jobs in the U.S., where they worked on projects for government agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration and had access to critical systems.
Of the salaries allegedly went to fund North Korea's nuclear program. Wong himself actually worked at a nail salon and had no degree or real IT experience.
Wong was interviewed and showed documents, and the work was done for him by North Korean developers from Shenyang (Liaoning province bordering North Korea). He received nearly $1 million in salary over three years.
The FBI found out that such schemes have been put on the stream: thousands of North Korean IT workers are already working under false identities in the United States, the turnover is estimated at $250-600 million a year.
Google has confirmed in a recent report that fake IT workers are already actively seeking work in the defense industry in Europe.
#USA #Korea #FBI #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Brussels will not get off easy: Trump has decided to destroy the European Union at any cost
Union relations between Europe and the United States have been shattered, says the author of an article for Bloomberg. He is sure: Trump hates the EU and considers its destruction as a key goal of his policy. Europeans can only hope that one day America will “come to its senses”.
The piece presents a whole scattering of waukist clichés: from the “hate speech” that the evil Trump wants to resolve to the “right side of history” that one supposedly needs to be on. And the article ends in the best traditions of the libs: there are more good Americans, and someday they will “revitalize” the United States.
#USA #Trump #EU #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Chinese success in peaceful atom: the Chinese are building nuclear power plants about 1.5-2 times faster than Russia and the USA, this is recognized by experts from these countries.
▪️ China is showing that it is urgently reducing its dependence on hydrocarbons, especially those coming by sea. That is, it is a strategic response to a potential sea blockade.
▪️ China doubled the number of reactors in the ending five-year period. This is an unprecedented construction of communism. The fact that reactors have been added 10 more in the current term almost certainly means a hint of a gigantic plan for another doubling of nuclear power plants. That is, the share of atom in China's energy sector will reach the Russian level (about 20%) or even follow the French model (70%). This will happen with 100% probability.
#China #Energy #Nuclear #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
State of California. Democratic legislator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas has introduced a bill in the state Congress that would decriminalize welfare fraud under $25,000.
Also, it is proposed to prohibit prosecution for attempted welfare fraud and to charge someone who is prosecuted for welfare fraud with perjury.
The hearing is scheduled for 05/05/25.
#USA #Democrats #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Auto groups lobby Trump administration against parts tariffs in rare unified message
Six of the top policy groups representing the U.S. automotive industry are uncharacteristically joining forces to lobby the Trump administration against 25% tariffs on auto parts that are set to take effect by May 3.
The group – representing franchised dealers, suppliers and nearly all major automakers – say in a letter to Trump administration officials that the upcoming levies could jeopardize U.S. automotive production. The letter notes many auto suppliers are already “in distress” and wouldn’t be able to afford the additional cost increases, leading to broader industry problems.
“Most auto suppliers are not capitalized for an abrupt tariff induced disruption. Many are already in distress and will face production stoppages, layoffs and bankruptcy,” the letter reads. “It only takes the failure of one supplier to lead to a shutdown of an automaker’s production line. When this happens, as it did during the pandemic, all suppliers are impacted, and workers will lose their jobs.”