Skip to main content

Author: Author1

How did Tel Aviv become the costliest city in the world?

Written on . Posted in PT Global Economy.

Assessment: The city jumped from fifth to first place in the Economist’s ranking within a year, overtaking other expensive cities like New York and Paris, but what’s behind the soaring cost of living?

There are titles that one should not boast about. One of them is “the most expensive city in the world.” Yes, this title was given to Tel Aviv yesterday by the prestigious Economist magazine. 

The city in the heart of Israel’s largest metropolitan area soared from fifth place last year to first place this year without looking back, thus surpassing not-really-cheap cities like Paris in second place and even New York. 

חוף הים בתל אביב

To understand what this means, one only needs to read into years of warnings by travel agents around the world, along the lines of “you know, Israel is very beautiful, but also very expensive.” 

And it turns out that Tel Aviv is more expensive than the rest of Israel. So why did Tel Aviv win the dubious title in the midst of the coronavirus crisis? 

There’s a reason the city is also called the “State of Tel Aviv” around other parts of Israel because it is cut off from other cities and towns in the country. After all, where else will you find NIS 40 for an hour’s parking? 

Where else will you travel through terrible traffic jams in a taxi for two miles in 50 minutes and pay NIS 100, which is more than $30? 

Where else will you pay a maid 150 shekels per hour (yes, I’ve heard of such a price)? Because in Tel Aviv, as in Tel Aviv, everything goes. And if you do not have a parking space and you need to get to the court or the doctor urgently, you will also pay NIS 40 per hour. 

Why? Very simple: because Tel Aviv was not planned to be the heart of a metropolis, numbering almost five million people, from Netanya to Gedera. Because Tel Aviv itself is actually a small city, with only 400,000 inhabitants, whose land reserves are running out. 

 Read More @ YNet News HERE

Europeans express dismay as Iran walks back compromises at Vienna nuke talks

Written on . Posted in PT Middle East.

Assessment: Negotiators say 2 proposals submitted by Tehran undo months of work at previous rounds of talks, ‘time is running out’ for diplomacy; Macron: Renewal of talks could be delayed …

European diplomats expressed “disappointment and concern” on Friday after five days of international negotiations in Vienna on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, as Iran submitted two draft proposals that appeared to undo months of dialogue.

Senior diplomats from the E3 group of Britain, France and Germany expressed “disappointment and concern after thoroughly and carefully analyzing Iranian proposed changes to the text negotiated during the previous six rounds,” which took place earlier this year.

“On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals.: Ezekiel 39:4 NIV

“Tehran is walking back almost all of the difficult compromises crafted after many months of hard work,” they said, adding that the Iranian delegation had demanded “major changes.”

Diplomats were aiming to revive the 2015 deal, which began unraveling in 2018 when then-US president Donald Trump pulled out of the deal and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to start exceeding limits on its nuclear program the following year.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1466757650742403072

Read More @ Times of Israel HERE

 

Disaster: U.S. Economy Added Just 210,000 Jobs in November

Written on . Posted in PT Global Economy.

Assessment: The US economy added just 210,000 jobs in November missing expectations by 300,000+ …

The U.S. economy unemployment rate sank to 4.2 percent.

This was a far weaker jobs report than expected. Economists had forecast 545,000 positions added to payrolls and an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent, according to Econoday.

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” Col. 3:23

The unemployment rates for adult men and adult women declined to 4.0 percent. The white unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent and the black unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent. The Hispanic unemployment rate declined to 5.2 percent. There was little change in the unemployment rates for Asians, at 3.8 percent, or teenagers, at 11.2 percent.

The labor force participation rate inched up to 61.8 percent in November but remains 1.5 percentage points lower than in February 2020. The employment-population ratio rose by 0.4 percentage point to 59.2 percent in November. This measure is up from its low of 51.3 percent in April 2020 but remains below the figure of 61.1 percent in February 2020.

Surprisingly, employment in retail trade declined by 20,000 in November. General merchandise stores shed 20,000 jobs, clothing stores shrank employment by 18,000, and sporting goods, hobby, book, and music store employment declined by 9,000. That raises questions about the strength of retail going into the holiday season.

‘Chinafication of Europe’: EU President Hints at Bloc-Wide Vaccine Mandate

Written on . Posted in PT World Order.

Assessment: We are witnessing the Chinafication of Europe with identity cards or mandatory digital certificates and it is becoming very dangerous indeed …

European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen has called for discussions regarding the implementation of forced vaccination throughout the entire EU, in a move that has been described as the “Chinafication of Europe”.

Just hours after the incoming chancellor of Germany said he was in favour of imposing mandatory vaccinations, Angela Merkel protegé-turned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to follow suit, hinting on Wednesday that the entire bloc may seek to impose vaccine mandates.

“and that no one may buy or sell except one who has [g]the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Rev. 13:17

“Not each and every one can be vaccinated – children, for example, or people with special medical conditions – but the vast majority could and therefore, I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now,” the Commission president told reporters in Brussels, according to The Guardian.

“How we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union, this needs discussion,” the president continued. “This needs a common approach, but it is a discussion that I think has to be met.”

Responding to the EU chief, the President of the Irish Freedom Party Hermann Kelly — who was also Nigel Farage’s comms Tsar in the European Union before Britain left the European Union — told Breitbart London that “state coercion” and the “lockdown of dissenters” should be resisted.

When individuals were at the point of even having lost the right to choose what was taken inside their own body in the face of government diktats, it becomes questionably exactly what liberties an individual has at all, the veteran Eurosceptic said.

Read More @ Breitbart HERE

‘Nuclear Blackmail’: Israel Calls for End of Iran Talks in Vienna After IAEA Revelations

Written on . Posted in PT Middle East.

Assessment: With Israel watching from afar the talks in Vienna, which resumed on Monday, Blinken updated Bennett on the seventh round of negotiations between Iran and parties to the 2015 nuclear deal …

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged the United States to “immediately” halt ongoing indirect talks in Vienna between Iran and world powers, following fresh revelations of Tehran’s uranium enrichment violations.

“Iran is carrying out ‘nuclear blackmail’ as a negotiation tactic and this must be met with an immediate cessation of negotiations and by concrete steps taken by the major powers,” Bennett told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a phone conversation.

“ After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate” Ez. 38:8

Iran Talks Resume, Gingerly, After Attack on Nuclear Site - The New York Times

During the call, Bennett cited the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report released on Wednesday, which stated that Iran has begun the process of enriching uranium to the level of 20 percent purity with advanced centrifuges at its Fordow underground facility.

In reaction to Israel’s demand, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh tweeted: “As Vienna talks advance, the Israeli regime shows its true colors again, calling for immediate halt of negotiations. Not surprising. Dialogue is always despised by the regime whose genesis is based on war, tension & terror.”

Read More @ Algemeiner HERE

Austria: Unvaccinated Could Face Prison as Country Locks Down and Announces Vaccine Mandate

Written on . Posted in PT World Order.

Assessment:: While Austria is the first major country to attempt to impose mandatory vaccination on all citizens, other countries have expressed openness to the idea …

The Austrian government has announced it will be forcing all residents to take a Wuhan virus vaccine. Those who refuse will face heavy fines and possible prison sentences starting in February.

“and that no one may buy or sell except one who has [the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Rev. 13:17

Austria will be the first major country in Europe to force its citizens to take the vaccine or face fines or potential prison sentences for not doing so. The move comes as the government has also placed the entire country under a strict 20-day lockdown, just days after it locked down the unvaccinated nationwide.

The new lockdown measures will begin on Monday, November 22nd, according to a report from the newspaper Kronen Zeitung and will see Austrians largely confined to their homes and only allowed to travel for essential purposes such as purchasing food or outdoor exercise, although schools and kindergartens will remain open.

Although the general lockdown is scheduled to end on December 12th, it will remain in place for those who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus indefinitely and, as mentioned previously, from February 2022 all Austrian residents will be mandated by law to take the vaccine.

Read More @ Breitbart HERE

Bennett calls on world powers to halt Iran nuclear talks

Written on . Posted in PT Middle East.

Assessment: The conversation with Blinken was long and difficult, and was about 90% about Iran, an Israeli official said …

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke with Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the nuclear talks being conducted between Iran and world powers in Vienna on Thursday, calling for world powers to immediately halt the talks.

Bennett stressed that Iran is conducting “nuclear blackmail” as a negotiation tactic and called on world powers to immediately halt the talks and take strict steps against Iran.

In response to Bennett’s call to halt negotiations, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that “the negotiating teams for nuclear talks in Vienna will not receive instructions from Balfour.

“You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.” Ezekiel 38:9 NIV

RALLYING AGAINST the Iran nuclear deal on Capitol Hill in Washington, 2015. (credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)

“As the nuclear talks in Vienna progress, the Israeli regime is showing its true face again and calling for an immediate cessation of negotiations. This is not surprising,” the spokesman continued.
Read More @ JPost HERE

Fauci: Testing Border Crossers for Coronavirus ‘Different Issue’ than Testing Int’l Travelers

Written on . Posted in PT World Order.

Assessment: In September, White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended allowing migrants to enter the United States without proving their vaccination status, while tourists were required to do so …

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday border crossers were “a different issue” after confirming he advised President Joe Biden to implement testing requirements for individuals traveling to the United States.

Dr. Fauci was asked by Fox News reporter Peter Doocy during the White House daily press briefing if he believed that everyone should be tested when coming into the United States.

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

“The answer is yes,” Fauci replied. “Because you know that the new regulation, if you want to call it that, is that anybody and everybody that is coming into the country needs to get a test within 24 hours of getting on the plane to come here.”

When Doocy asked if migrants and border crossers should be held to the same standard, Fauci tried to clarify.

“That’s a different issue,” Fauci replied, arguing there was less of a capability for the government to enforce testing protocols for people crossing the border.

Fauci claimed there was some coronavirus testing at the border — even though the Biden administration has not required universal testing or vaccine mandates for border crossers before they are released into the United States.

Read More @ Breitbart HERE

EU envoys to nuclear talks warn of possible breakdown as Iran strikes a hard line

Written on . Posted in PT Middle East.

Assessment: Diplomats say if Tehran does not show seriousness, ‘we’ll have a problem’; Iran says all previous agreements up for negotiation …

European negotiators on Tuesday said they will assess the “seriousness” of the Iranian position over the next few days to decide whether to continue with recently resumed talks about reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.

Without wanting to set “an artificial deadline,” “we don’t have the luxury to spend time on niceties,” one of the European diplomats at the talks said, declining to be identified.

“Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you. Ez. 38:6 NIV

“If they don’t show that they are serious about this work, then we’ll have a problem,” diplomats from the E3 nations of Britain, France and Germany said. “The next 48 hours will be very important.”

After Monday’s formal meeting, groups of experts began work on Tuesday on the sensitive issue of US sanctions, before tackling Tehran’s nuclear commitments on Wednesday.

Read More @ Times of Israel HERE

Omicron Could Cause Supply Chain Crunch And Inflation To Worsen, OECD Warns

Written on . Posted in PT Global Economy.

Assessment: The warning was issued alongside the OECD’s routine release of projections for member states’ economies, the organization believes inflationary pressures are expected to peak next year, not this year …

Before the US follows Europe by ordering more lockdowns as a preventative measure to stop the omicron variant from taking hold (although as many have pointed out, that horse appears to have already left the barn), the president’s economic advisers should consider this latest warning from – who else? – the OECD.

The NGO currently responsible for sheparding the most significant change in global corporate tax policy in a century is now warning that omicron could cause inflationary pressures – already at their highest level in 30 years – and the supply chain crunch that is helping to drive them higher, to intensify.

“When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand” Rev 6:5

OECD’s Laurence Boone

As some two dozen countries tighten border restrictions and impose new lockdowns, the OECD fears the new variant could delay the world’s return to “normality”, and warned that monetary policy-makers must be “cautious”. The organization’s chief economist added that central banks should try and focus their policy on providing the most vaccines to the most people, something the central bank is constitutionally ill-equipped to do. Maybe they should ask Bill Gates.

The warning was issued alongside the OECD’s routine release of projections for member states’ economies, the organization believes inflationary pressures are expected to peak next year, not this year. 

Source: FT

The OECD left its growth forecasts unchanged from three months ago, but it hiked its inflation projections for the G-20 substantially. Inflation forecasts for 2022 were raised from 3.9% in its September predictions to 4.4% now. The largest per-country increases were in the US and UK, where inflation forecasts for next year rose in both countries from 3.1% to 4.4%.

Read More @ Zero Hedge HERE