In Major Antitrust Case, Judge Finds Google’s Search And Ads Monopolies Illegal

The judge ruled that Google's anticompetitive practices illegally ‘puts rivals in no position to compete' with their ad revenue scheme.

China's hundred-year marathon slows to a crawl amid economic woes and record-low birth rate



China's aspirations of seeing its hundred-year marathon through to displacing the U.S. and becoming global hegemon by 2049 are growing increasingly fantastical. The economic and social problems the Asian nation faced in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic have not gone away. Rather, things have continued to deteriorate.

Fallout of the one-child policy

China faces a worsening demographic crisis, due in part to the Chinese Communist Party's one-child policy as well as to other correlated factors such as a decrease in the number of women of childbearing age, higher suicide rates in women than in men, sex-selective abortion, and declining fertility.

The birth rate was over 20 births per 1,000 people in 1990, one decade after the implementation of the one-child policy. Over the next 25 years, the country saw a precipitous decline in the birth rate, which a two-child policy in 2016 was unable to arrest. The rate hit a record low of 7.5 births per 1,000 people in 2021.

Data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics Wednesday indicated the birth rate reached a new low in 2023 of 6.39 per 1,000 people, reported the BBC.

The country's annual population has in turn fallen for a second consecutive year, this time by an estimated 2.08 million people.

"It's not a surprise. They've got one of the lowest fertility rates in the world so this is just what happens - the population stops growing and starts to decline," Stuart Gietel-Basten, a population policy expert at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, told the BBC.

The country's fertility rate in 1950, the year after communists formally took power, was 5.29. The rate dropped to a record low of 1.16 in 2022. Blaze News previously noted that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development regards 2.1 as the standard for a stable population.

Demographic stability has been further undermined by a sex-ratio imbalance. As of 2021, there were over 34.9 million more men than women in the country, reported Newsweek.

"It's kind of locked in now… this is just the next year in this new era of population stagnation or decline for China," added Gietel-Basten.

The demographic problem has been compounded by economic stress as many of those in China who want and can physically have children reportedly cannot afford to do so.

Economic woes

Data released this week revealed the Chinese economy had allegedly grown at one of the slowest rates in over 30 years. Reuters reported that China's GDP allegedly grew by 5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023, disappointing many investors and analysts.

"Although the government met its 2023 GDP growth target of 'around 5.0%', achieving the same pace of expansion in 2024 will prove a lot more challenging," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China Economics at Capital Economics.

The China Beige Book International's latest survey suggested, "Any true acceleration (this year) will require either a major global upside surprise or more active government policy."

Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the non-partisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Newsweek that the regime's latest claims about the country's GDP growth "are just not credible."

"Focusing on China's false GDP figures risks missing the forest for the tree," said Singleton. "The days of China's sky-high growth are over."

"There is no getting around the fact that China is in damage control mode, attempting to project a sense of stability to the international community while grappling with myriad domestic challenges. If ever the cliché 'investor beware' applied, it's now," added Singleton.

The country is struggling with high debt, a stock market in free fall, and a real estate crisis that continues to ravage the sector.

Reuters indicated that amid China's disputed recovery and in the face of concerns about renewed lockdowns, the jobless rate nationwide increased to 5.1% last month and unemployment among Chinese youths ages 16 to 24 also remains high.

The youth unemployment rate skyrocketed to 21.3% in June 2023, prompting the regime to suspend the release of monthly data. The rate allegedly sank to 14.1% in December, but is still high enough to create trouble for the regime, which has promised progressive increases in living standards in exchange for acceptance of its authoritarian rule.

In addition to a potentially restive, largely male youth population, China has to contend with its massive elderly population. The BBC indicated that the retiree population, placing increasing pressure on the health care and pension systems, is projected to increase by 60% to 400 million over the next 10 years.

The Guardian noted that 14% of China's population is over the age of 65 and is on track to have more geriatrics than the entire population of the United States.

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Museum removes female powerlifter from exhibit for criticizing middling males' participation in women's sports



Female competitive powerlifter April Hutchinson was briefly featured in a Canadian museum exhibit entitled, "Resilient London: Meet Your Neighbours." The point of the exhibit was to detail how various locals had surmounted obstacles and found joy in achievement.

Hutchinson was a natural choice for the exhibit. After all, she successfully overcame addiction, excelled as a female powerlifter, and refused to back down despite an onslaught of attacks from radical activists.

However, upon realizing that Hutchinson was critical of the invasion of women's sports by middling male athletes, Museum London in London, Ontario, wrote the female athlete out of its history.

Although upset by the removal of her feature and the museum's accompanying denunciation, Hutchinson told Reduxx she is not backing down in the fight over the integrity of her sport.

"I will not lie to myself," said Hutchinson. "I will not play charades and I will not give in to delusional thinking."

What's the background?

Blaze News previously reported that Hutchinson has been critical of transvestites leveraging their biological advantages to take trophies and award money away from real women.

One of the more egregious cases that prompted Hutchinson to speak out involved male competitor Anne Andres, whodestroyed all of his female competitors at the Canadian Powerlifting Union's 2023 Western Canadian Championship with a combined score of 1,317 pounds — 450 pounds more than the female runner-up.

Andres, who has only been identifying as a female powerlifter since 2020, has placed first in eight out of the 10 competitions he has participated in since January 2020.

Hutchinson called Andres' denigration of women and participation in women's powerlifting "disheartening." She noted in a Daily Mail op-ed that her "boyfriend could basically walk in tomorrow, identify as female, compete, and then the next day, go back to being a man again. No proof, no ID required, just basically going on how you feel that day or whatever gender you want to it."

Hutchinson figured her union might "com[e] to its senses"; however, the Canadian Powerlifting Union, acting on a complaint from Andres, recently dashed those hopes, seeking instead to shut her up.

In early October, Hutchinson appeared on "Piers Morgan Uncensored," telling the titular host the Canadian Powerlifting Union was threatening her with suspension for pointing out a transvestite was indeed a man.

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Weeks later, Hutchinson indicated on X that she received notice from the CPU indicating she faces a two-year ban for speaking out against "the unfairness of biological males being allowed to taunt female competitors & loot their winnings."

"Apparently, I have failed in my gender-role duties as 'supporting actress' in the horror show that is my sport right now," wrote Hutchinson. "Naturally, the CPU deemed MY written (private) complaint of the male bullying to be 'frivolous and vexatious.'"

Hutchinson has indicated she's appealing the suspension.

First canceled, then erased

Days after learning she was facing a multiyear ban from the CPU, Hutchinson received a letter from the executive director of the London Museum, Julie Bevan, indicating her feature was being removed from the months-long exhibit, reported Reduxx.

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The Nov. 10 letter, signed by the museum's executives, reportedly indicated the removal was prompted by Hutchinson's media appearances — where she spoke against transvestites competing in women's sports. Bevan's letter further accused Hutchinson of "denying" the existence of "transgender women" and issuing comments harmful to the "2SLGBTQI community."

The letter reportedly insinuated that Hutchinson had violated the Ontario Human Rights code, noting, "Misgendering someone intentionally is a form of discrimination."

Hutchinson told Canadian state media, "I'm highly disappointed and very hurt. My exhibit was me telling the whole world my personal struggle with alcoholism and how I beat that and I became a Team Canada powerlifter. … It had nothing to do at all with transgenders."

"The museum is basically telling women they don't care about us. Our safety or our sports. It's absolutely wrong," Hutchinson explained to Reduxx. "I am standing for truth and saying the things that 99% of society thinks. I will not lie to myself. I will not play charades and I will not give in to delusional thinking."

Stevie Bees, a female transvestite featured in the exhibit, celebrated the museum's decision on Meta, writing, "I am EXTREMELY proud to be on that wall and I also want everyone to know that Trans Women ARE Women! April Hutchinson SHOULD be deplatformed for spouting garbage like this."

Museum London's head of marketing, Linda O'Connor, told Canadian state media, "We have no further comment on this. We take seriously our responsibility to uphold our values, promote inclusion and ensure dignity for our team, our contributors, and our audiences."

The leftist efforts to cancel Hutchinson do not appear to have shaken her resolve.

"Women need and deserve their own sports. The female category has always been protected," she said. "Women are fighting back and we will send a strong message: Bodies play sports, not identities."

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Poor American citizens forced to compete with illegal aliens for Thanksgiving meals: 'There simply is just not enough'



Poor American citizens have once again found themselves in direct competition with illegal aliens for critical resources.

In years past, low-income New York City Housing Authority tenants could look forward to a free meal around Thanksgiving. However, on account of the recent influx of over 142,000 foreign nationals into the sanctuary city, there appears to be fewer meals to go around.

WNYW-TV reported that Tammy Waters, a resident of the Queensbridge public housing development, was one among roughly 6,000 NYCHA residents who had to compete with 8,000 illegal aliens for meals inside the Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement.

Waters counted her blessings as she was ultimately able to obtain food, noting, "I'm very thankful."

"Everyone looks out for each other, which I love," said Waters. "I don't know about [the] immigrants too much. I don't know."

Extra to competition over Thanksgiving meals, there is similarly a glut of demand on the mobile food pantries that come by weekly. Fights have already begun to break out between citizens and immigrants in the food lines.

WNYW noted New York City Councilmember Julie Won, who organized the Thanksgiving meal giveaway, had to intervene when a vicious battle unfolded at a food pantry last month, sending one individual to the hospital.

"Right here, you have the largest population of public housing in a single unit of the whole country who are living 200% below the poverty line," said Won. "People are going hungry right now. People are frustrated with not having enough to eat."

"Why do we have to take the butt of everything?" asked Georgia Butler, a resident of Queensbridge Houses. "This community is already suffering."

Won indicated much of her city council office's funding goes toward addressing food insecurity remedies. Food assistance once designated for those who can't work, specifically senior citizens in the area, now also extends to the multitudes of foreign nationals who have stolen into the country.

"We would never turn anyone away for a meal, but there simply is just not enough for the NYCHA residents and the migrant shelter residents," said Won.

NYC's beleaguerment by immigrants has not only taken food out of the mouths of poor citizens and filled homeless shelters but has depleted resources and threatened the efficacy of essential services across the board.

Blaze News recently reported that Democratic NYC Mayor Eric Adams has announced immediate deep budget cuts to the NYPD, education, libraries, and various other services.

The police force is being cut down by 3,000 officers, which former NYC police union president Patrick Hendry suggested was "truly a disaster for every New Yorker who cares about safe streets."

The New York Fire Department was similarly impacted, having its overtime limited.

According to the city, the migrant crisis is set to cost nearly $11 billion over two fiscal years and has already cost NYC $1.45 billion this fiscal year.

Adams, desperate for support from the Biden administration, said in a statement, "No city should be left to handle a national humanitarian crisis largely on its own, and without the significant and timely support we need from Washington, D.C., today’s budget will be only the beginning."

Won indicated these budget cuts could exacerbate the issue of feeding both NYCHA residents and foreign nationals.

"People are going hungry right now. ... People are frustrated with not having enough to eat, not having heat and hot water in their shelters or in their houses in NYCHA," said Won. "People want to make sure they just have their basic needs met like any human would anywhere, and that's what's causing the tension."

Growing tensions between migrants, NYCHA residentsyoutu.be

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EPA runs competition offering prizes​ as high as $3,000 for videos promoting EVs



In an apparent bid to promote electric vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency is offering people the chance to win money by submitting a video about their positive experiences utilizing EVs.

"Help us showcase the benefits of electric transportation! Send us your short (one- to two-minute) personal videos that convey your positive experiences using electric transportation in everyday life. Choose from one of the following categories, then get creative!" a webpage about the competition reads.

There are three categories in the competition: a category on electric buses; a category on electric vehicles like cars, trucks, and SUVs; and a category that covers "personal mobility" items such as electric scooters and bikes. In each category, the first-place prize is $3,000, the second-place prize is $1,000, and the third-place prize is $500.

"Learning about the benefits of electrified transportation and sharing this first-hand knowledge can play a critical part in getting us on the path to a sustainable future. This is your opportunity to share your experiences and your enthusiasm for electric vehicles with others who are curious," the page about the competition states.

"This continues to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen," Matt Whitlock tweeted in response to a tweet in which the EPAair X account promoted the video competition. "If you have to pay people to share stories about electric vehicles working well to justify your big government 'green transition' it might not be going that well."

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