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Anti-Russian bias of Armenia-EU-US meeting raises concerns — MFA

TASS -

Maria Zakharova explained that such meetings cause concern in most countries of the region because they are aimed not at establishing peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but at "enabling the West with its extremely destructive approaches gain a firmer foothold in the South Caucasus, creating new dividing lines there"

53% of Millennial And Gen Z Consumers Are Resorting to ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Services And Racking up Enormous Debt

INFOWARS - Alex Jones -

Fear of credit card debt and its high interest rate fuels BNPL surge.

Recent data from analytics company LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that 53 percent of millennials (ages 30 to 44) and Gen Z (ages 18 to 29) consumers are now using “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services as a financial lifeline for their daily essentials to adapt to inflation.

BNPL providers like Afterpay Limited and Klarna Bank AB have witnessed a sudden shift in BNPL trends among their younger users over the past few years.

In 2021 and 2022, millennial and Gen Z consumers often used Afterpay to purchase “apparel and accessories.” However, in 2023, “apparel and accessories” fell behind the categories of “arts, travel and entertainment,” “home and garden” and “hardware.” Afterpay has also seen double- and triple-digit surges among the youngest users in spending from 2022 to 2023, including for contact lenses (465 percent), garbage bags (182 percent) and first-aid antiseptics (98 percent). 

(Related: Gen Y and Z Brits resorting to “buy now, pay later” schemes to manage finances.)

Meanwhile, young Klarna users began using its BNPL services for groceries while waiting for a paycheck to buy all essentials without sacrificing anything.

Benjamin Espinoza, a 27-year-old video editor from San Antonio, Texas, represents a growing demographic of Gen Z relying on BNPL services for their essential needs. Espinoza, who made less than $7,000 last year, recently used Klarna to spread out his $40 grocery bill.

BNPL spending, which initially started as a tool for one-time purchases, continues to fuel its popularity among consumers facing economic uncertainties. This significant increase lies beyond the convenience of splitting transactions into manageable payments. Instead, it lies in their accessibility and ease of integration into different shopping platforms.

Fear of credit card debt and its high interest rate fuels BNPL surge

Nela Richardson, the chief economist of the ADP Research Institute, cites three main reasons for the popularity of BNPL services. Firstly, the high demand due to the late stages of the pandemic. Secondly, the government relief that supported it is almost over. Lastly, credit card interest rates have gone over 20 percent with the Federal Reserve increasing rates.

In other words, the fear of spiraling deeper into credit card debt, often exacerbated by exorbitant interest rates exceeding 20 percent, has fueled a notable surge in the adoption of BNPL services among consumers.

For instance, for 27-year-old Texas mom Savannah Thrower and others like her, BNPL services present a viable alternative to traditional credit cards.  Thrower said BNPL services offer a way to manage expenses without the looming threat of hefty interest charges. She acknowledged the allure of credit cards but recognized their potential for overspending. So, she opts for BNPL services like Afterpay and PayPal to break down her purchases into manageable, interest-free installments.

The fear of falling into the same financial pitfalls witnessed during the aftermath of the 2010 financial crisis resonates strongly with the millennial generation. This  explains why there are only 35 percent of traditional credit card holders among millennial and Gen Z consumers.

Matt Gross, senior director of communications at Affirm, noted that many millennials are turning to BNPL to avoid the burden of credit card debt, given their memories of the recession’s impact on consumer bankruptcies, which peaked at 1.5 million in 2010.

“There is a whole generation of millennials like me who saw what happened in the wake of the financial crisis, and they don’t want to fall into that trap again,” he said.

Watch this video discussing the increasing popularity of BNPL loans.

Alex Jones Debates The Butt Plug Rabbi

Visualizing The Massively Varied Cost Of An EpiPen Across Major Markets

ZeroHedge -

Visualizing The Massively Varied Cost Of An EpiPen Across Major Markets

EpiPens are auto-injectors containing epinephrine, a drug that can treat or reverse severe allergic reactions, potentially preventing death.

The global epinephrine market was valued at $1.75 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $4.08 billion by 2030. North America represents over 60% of the market.

EpiPens, however, can be prohibitively expensive in some regions.

In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu presents estimated EpiPen prices in major global markets, compiled by World Population Review and converted to U.S. dollars as of August 2023.

Why are U.S. Prices so High?

The U.S. stands out as the most expensive market for EpiPens, despite over 1 million Americans having epinephrine prescriptions. After Mylan (now part of Pfizer) acquired the rights to produce EpiPens in the U.S. in 2007, the cost of a two-pack skyrocketed to $600, up from about $60.

*Per unit cost. Commonly sold as a two-pack, meaning total cost is equal to $600

Former Mylan CEO Heather Bresch defended the price hikes to Congress, citing minimal profit margins. Mylan eventually settled with the U.S. government for a nine-figure sum.

Notably, EpiPens are available at a fraction of the cost in other developed countries like Japan, Germany, and Canada.

Making EpiPens More Affordable

Efforts to improve EpiPen affordability are underway in several U.S. states. For instance, the Colorado House approved a $60 price cap on epinephrine, now under review by the state Senate.

Similar measures in Rhode Island, Delaware, Missouri, and Vermont aim to ensure insurance coverage for epinephrine, which is not currently mandatory, although most health plans cover it.

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/28/2024 - 04:15

Ukraine’s Army in ‘Stagnation’ – Zelensky’s Top Adviser

INFOWARS - Alex Jones -

Mikhail Podoliak has blamed weapons and ammo shortages for Kiev’s inability to mount major operations against Russia.

Ukrainian forces have reached a state of “stagnation” on the battlefield because the West is failing to provide Kiev with enough military equipment to make any substantial progress, President Vladimir Zelensky’s top adviser has said.

Speaking to NV Radio on Wednesday, Mikhail Podoliak complained that Kiev does not have enough resources to mount effective offensive actions that would undermine Russia.

“In general, [there is] a slow supply of resources to Ukraine, slow decision-making on appropriate tools, a certain stagnation along the front line,” he said, admitting that Kiev’s forces are completely on the defensive in Russia’s Donetsk, Lugansk and Zaporozhye regions.

This stagnation, Podoliak argued, is due to inadequate Western sanctions, which he said are not strong enough to suffocate Russia’s military industry. The other factor, he added, is insufficient arms supplies from the West. “[We are talking about] drones, munitions… and considerably ramping up investment in ammo production. We see that all this is moving slowly.”

Read more No light at end of Ukrainian tunnel – EU’s Borrell

However, he said “stagnation” does not mean “stalemate,” because that would imply that “Ukraine does not know what to do in this war,” which he said is not the case. Ukraine’s former top general Valery Zaluzhny described the situation as a stalemate in November after Kiev’s much-hyped summer counteroffensive failed to break through Russian lines, despite being reinforced by large quantities of Western equipment.

His “stalemate” remarks reinvigorated debate about whether Ukraine could ever hope to win the conflict, and were widely seen as a sign of a growing rift between Zaluzhny and Zelensky. The Ukrainian president fired the general last month, with his replacement, Aleksandr Syrsky, saying that the frontline situation was “extremely difficult.”

Ukrainian troops have been on the back foot in recent weeks after Russian forces liberated the strategic Donbass city of Avdeevka, and later pushed Kiev out of several nearby settlements.

Officials in Kiev have repeatedly linked the lack of battlefield success to a deficit of Western-supplied munitions. This comes as the US has struggled for months to approve President Joe Biden’s proposed $60 billion supplemental aid package for Ukraine due to Republican opposition in Congress, with GOP representatives demanding more efforts to increase security on the Mexican border.

Alex Jones Debates The Butt Plug Rabbi

Declaring Christ as King is “Antisemitic,” Says Jewish Daily Wire Host Andrew Klavan – Jews Are “God’s Chosen People” That Are Racially Superior to Mere Christians

INFOWARS - Alex Jones -

There's NO access to God without Christ, as laid out in John 14:6.

The Daily Wire‘s Andrew Klavan is going to bat for company founder Ben Shapiro, having recently stated on his show that people who believe “Christ is King” and declare that to Shapiro, an unbelieving Jew, are “antisemitic.”

Klavan, a Jewish man himself who says he was “baptized by a priest” and became a Christian, is taking aim in the below clip at critics of Shapiro who try to tell The Daily Wire editor-in-chief and editor emeritus that he must believe in Christ as King in order to be saved.

“I’m proud of my race,” Klavan said about how he responded to the priest who baptized him after the priest said that Christians will never accept Klavan because of his Jewish ancestry.

“It’s a great race. It’s done many great things – including write the Bible,” Klavan continues, suggesting that the Bible was written not by God-inspired men, both Jew and gentile, but by the “Jewish race.”

Jewish Daily Wire host Andrew Klavan says “Christ is King” is an anti-Semitic dogwhistle, Jews are “God’s chosen people.”
pic.twitter.com/QpTHNASnlm

— Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis (@DrLoupis) March 24, 2024

(Related: Remember last fall when Ben Shapiro had a meltdown after employee Candace Owens, a Christian, tweeted New Testament passages of scripture that defy Shapiro’s pro-Zionist viewpoints about Israel’s war on Gaza?)

There’s NO access to God without Christ

Klavan says that all Christians except for those from “the Christ is King antisemitic crowd” have accepted him “with open arms.” It is precisely those who try to tell Jews that they must be saved through Christ that Klavan apparently takes issue with, his apparent belief being that they are still “God’s chosen” even without Christ.

“Christ is the king, and one day every knee will bow and recognize this – because he’s not just my king, he’s the king of the universe,” Klavan says.

“But when you use that phrase to mean that God has abandoned his chosen people, the Jews, through whom he came into this world incarnate, and that he’s broken his promises, his covenant with the Jews, you are quoting Scripture like Satan does in the Bible,” Klavan added. “You are quoting Scripture to your purposes and that, to me, is specifically wicked.”

So far, you might be thinking that Klavan’s viewpoints are somewhat reasonable, but it is right after this in the segment that Klavan went off the rails to suggest that it is not okay to tell Shapiro, an unbelieving Jew, that he must believe in Christ because Shapiro supposedly still worships the same God.

“When you spit that phrase at Ben Shapiro, my friend Ben Shapiro … Life is not a game show where you guess the name of God and you get to go to heaven – honk, yes the name is Jesus,” Klavan mocks.

“I look at Ben’s life and I think, if Ben were to embrace Jesus Christ, it would cause devastation to his family, to the people who love him, to the people who listen to him, to his position in the world. I just have this feeling that God has put this guy where he wants him to do what he wants him to do.”

In other words, Klavan apparently believes that Shapiro has found his own way to God through something other than Christ and that this is okay because “God hasn’t abandoned his people.”

Perhaps Klavan missed John 14:6 when he “converted” to Christianity:

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'”

The latest news about Zionism can be found at Antichrist.news.

Alex Jones Debates The Butt Plug Rabbi

Ukraine Tortures Russian Prisoners of War in 2023-2024 – UN

INFOWARS - Alex Jones -

Ukrainian authorities do not sufficiently prosecute those responsible for torture, violence against civilians and prisoners of war, according to the UN body.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian prisoners of war have been tortured in Ukraine between December 2023 and February 2024, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.

The employees of the OHCHR visited 44 Russian prisoners of war in Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Lvov, Nikolayev, Sumy, Vinnitsa and Zaporozhye regions of Ukraine from December 2023 to February 2024.

“While these Russian POWs did not make any allegations of torture occurring at these facilities, they provided credible accounts of torture or ill-treatment in transit places after their immediate evacuation from the battlefield,” the OHCHR said in a report on Tuesday.

Ukrainian authorities do not sufficiently prosecute those responsible for torture, violence against civilians and prisoners of war, the OHCHR said.

“OHCHR has documented arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and the use of torture and ill treatment, including sexual violence, by Ukrainian authorities during the detention of conflict-related civilian detainees and Russian POWs, as well as the summary execution of at least 25 Russian servicemen hors de combat (all in 2022 and early 2023),” the report said, adding that “Ukrainian authorities have launched at least five criminal investigations into allegations of violations committed by their own security forces, involving 22 victims.”

These results show a lack of progress in the investigation and prosecution of such violations, the OHCHR said.

The Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine is subjected to discriminatory treatment in comparison to other linguistic minorities that speak EU languages, the OHCHR stressed.

OHCHR examined the law adopted by the Parliament of Ukraine on December 8, which amends a number of legislative acts related to the rights of national minorities.

“While the law is a significant step forward in improving the rights of national minorities, it maintains a discriminatory differential treatment between, on the one hand, national minorities speaking an official language of the EU, and on the other hand, national minorities whose languages are not official languages of the EU, such as Russian, Armenian or Romani. Although the first category of national minorities saw their rights broadened, as described above, national minorities whose language is not an EU language will not be able to enjoy the same rights,” the OHCHR highlighted.

Ukrainian authorities continued intimidating the priests and worshipers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from December 2023 to February 2024, the OHCHR pointrd out..

“Clergymen and parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) continued to experience intimidation during the reporting period. OHCHR recorded six cases across five regions where groups of people forcefully broke into UOC churches, justifying their actions with decisions from local authorities to register new religious communities of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) at the same address as existing UOC communities,” the OHCHR said.

Alex Jones Debates The Butt Plug Rabbi

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