Barbarian Mindset: How Leftists And Third-World Invaders Think Alike Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us The fall of the Roman Empire is often presented as symbolic of the slow but steady decline of the western world today, and it’s true, this comparison might be more accurate than many people realize. The disastrous collapse which escalated over the course of the 5 th century was driven b...
Barbarian Mindset: How Leftists And Third-World Invaders Think Alike Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us The fall of the Roman Empire is often presented as symbolic of the slow but steady decline of the western world today, and it’s true, this comparison might be more accurate than many people realize. The disastrous collapse which escalated over the course of the 5 th century was driven by economic crisis, a split of the empire into eastern and western halves, government reliance on foreign mercenaries for security, uncontrolled mass immigration, and ultimately, barbarian invasion. When the western empire failed, Rome was plundered and centuries of human innovation and progress were lost in the flames. It’s an element that modern historians often gloss over – Each time the west has fallen, incredible knowledge that took generations to discover was dispersed into the ether. Each time, the human species was set back for centuries. Many lives were sacrificed and ancient cities were destroyed, but the loss of time is perhaps the greatest tragedy of all. It took another 400 years for the western world to reconstitute under Christian rule, but barbarians attacked again in the form of Muslim hordes in the 9 th century. It’s almost as if the grasping, predatory hands of useless ravagers are always lurking in the shadows, waiting for the west to rise from the ashes. History is, of course, nuanced and complex, but some patterns are patently obvious and the attempts to sack Rome, Europe and greater Christendom repeated regularly over the course of a thousand years. Western civilization endures, succeeds, creates wonders, creates wealth and advances human invention. Then, the third world invades in an effort to strip whatever wealth was amassed. There have been other civilizations, or attempts at civilizations beyond the west which suffered similar fates. The fall of the Bronze Age empires is a perfect example; a calamity of human history very similar to the fall of Ro...
People watch as the Doris Ocean container ship departs from the Port of Los Angeles on May 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama | Getty Images The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has proposed additional tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies over their failure to ban goods made with forced labor, in a sweeping action that would hurt most trading partners including C...
People watch as the Doris Ocean container ship departs from the Port of Los Angeles on May 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama | Getty Images The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has proposed additional tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies over their failure to ban goods made with forced labor, in a sweeping action that would hurt most trading partners including China, the European Union and Japan. The determination, made under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, found that all 60 countries have failed to impose or effectively enforce a prohibition on forced labor-related imports, creating what it called an "unlevel playing field" for American workers. USTR has proposed a 10% duty rate for economies that have adopted a full or partial prohibition on forced labor trade, and 12.5% for all other economies. The trade authority also proposed a separate textile mechanism that would allow for a certain volume of apparel and textile imports from some economies to enter the U.S. at reduced rates. "The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field," said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. "We will no longer tolerate this disparity. Some trading partners have taken initial steps to prevent the importation of forced labor goods, including through USMCA and commitments in Agreements on Reciprocal Trade. However, each of our trading partners must do more to ensure that trade does not perversely encourage and entrench forced labor globally." This is a developing story. Please refresh for updates. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
Sign up for the daily India Edition newsletter by Menaka Doshi – an insider's guide to the emerging economic powerhouse, and the billionaires and businesses behind its rise. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani ’s streaming platform is preparing to fully embrace AI-generated content, after its first experiment — a machine-made retelling of a 2,500-year-old war epic — convinced executives there’s real ...
Sign up for the daily India Edition newsletter by Menaka Doshi – an insider's guide to the emerging economic powerhouse, and the billionaires and businesses behind its rise. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani ’s streaming platform is preparing to fully embrace AI-generated content, after its first experiment — a machine-made retelling of a 2,500-year-old war epic — convinced executives there’s real money in the idea. JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd. and Walt Disney Co. , is planning a slate of series that would be written, animated, voiced and edited entirely by artificial intelligence for its JioHotstar platform, according to people familiar with the matter. The media and entertainment group sees it as a way to dramatically reduce production costs, and is planning to hire 80 AI specialists and engineers for the push, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. A representative for JioStar confirmed the plans for hiring and producing more AI-generated content. Production houses in India and China are moving quickly to use AI in the creation of content to satisfy their hundreds of millions of viewers who lap up short-form videos on mobile phones. That stands in contrast with Hollywood , where there’s been significant resistance from actors, animators and directors to the use of AI. Their worry is that AI-generated movies and shows could devalue their original work and affect their livelihoods. AI Will Only Further Complicate Hollywood in 2026 China’s Netflix Expects AI to Create Bulk of Shows in Five Years JioStar Eyes India Streaming Market Slice With Thrifty Offerings Jiostar’s move follows the company’s unexpectedly successful dip into the format, via an AI-generated adaptation of Indian epic Mahabharat, which garnered 6.5 million views on its debut day in October — more than double the streaming platform’s average. The 100-episode series, Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh , retold the Kurukshetra War, a dynast...
Get up to speed with key market intelligence, news and insight before trading starts each day in this fast-growing economy with the Markets Daily India newsletter. Sign up here . India’s oil demand growth this year could tumble to its lowest level since the pandemic as the fallout from the Middle East conflict saps fuel consumption in the world’s third-biggest crude importer. Oil demand growth is ...
Get up to speed with key market intelligence, news and insight before trading starts each day in this fast-growing economy with the Markets Daily India newsletter. Sign up here . India’s oil demand growth this year could tumble to its lowest level since the pandemic as the fallout from the Middle East conflict saps fuel consumption in the world’s third-biggest crude importer. Oil demand growth is forecast at 78,000 barrels a day, according to Kpler Ltd., which has slashed its pre-war estimate by almost 40%. Beyond the Covid-19-hit 2020, that would be the lowest in a decade. Another consultant, Rystad Energy, projects diesel demand growth will plummet to a trickle. India is heavily reliant on imported crude and fuels, and the Iran war has led to surging energy prices that are squeezing state-run refiners and weighing on the broader economy. A weaker currency is compounding the pressure, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to save fuel by working from home, using public transport, and avoiding non-essential overseas travel. State-owned oil refiners have made modest fuel-price increases to cushion the blow, but they pale in comparison to the surge in international crude since the war started at the end of February. Processors have been losing 6 billion rupees ($63 million) a day selling diesel , gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas below market rates, according to oil ministry estimates. The state refiners are logging higher sales because their prices are lower than those offered by private operators, but a key industry group representing truck operators says elevated fuel costs have idled a big portion of the fleet. “The cost of transportation has increased and customers aren’t willing to pay for that,” said Rajendra Kapoor, the president of All India Motor and Goods Transport Association, which represents trucking and logistics firms that move agriculture, industrial raw materials, and retail products. He estimated that there’s been a “15%-20% reduction...