90 Miles From Tyranny

Saturday, July 24, 2021

Meltdown in Maricopa: The #AZAudit

'Shrinkflation' strikes shoppers across the country: Companies faced with rising costs are downsizing packages without reducing prices in stealthy move to hit consumers in the wallet

General Mills' Cinnamon Toast Crunch has shrunk from a 19.3 oz package (left) to an 18.8 oz box (right) in an example of shrinkflation that is infuriating consumers

Many brands are reducing package sizes in a stealthy move to cut costs
From paper towels to breakfast cereal, consumers are getting less for their dollar
It is a counterpart to inflation known as 'shrinkflation' or downsizing
Consumers pay more in the end as they buy more often, but may not realize it

As companies face higher costs for raw materials, some are jacking up prices for consumers, but others are resorting to a stealthier measure by shrinking the package sizes for everyday items such as paper towels and breakfast cereal.

That's contributing to the 5'.4 percent rise in prices consumers are facing for everyday goods - the sharpest annualized price increase since the 1990s.

Also known as downsizing, 'shrinkflation' is the notorious ploy of selling less of an item for the same price, infuriating consumers who wind up getting less for their dollar.

From the cereal maker General Mills to the store brands of Costco and Walmart, many basic goods have shrunk in recent months, as spotted by eagle-eyed consumers.

Though manufacturers have always sought to cut costs and the trend is nothing new, it seems to have accelerated in recent months, as companies face higher prices for raw materials and seek creative ways to cut costs.

Some companies would surely argue that shrinkflation is a consumer-friendly alternative to simply raising prices, helping to prevent weekly grocery bills from ballooning wildly.

But many furious consumers don't appreciate the stealthy tactic, pointing out that they will end up paying more in the end for staple goods, which they now have to buy more often.

'Consumers are price conscious -- they'll spot that price increase -- but they're not net-weight conscious,' Edgar Dworsky, a watchdog at consumerworld.org, told Good Morning America last month.

'If you ask someone how many ounces is in this jar of mayonnaise, or in the cereal box you buy, they're going to shrug their shoulders,' he said.

'That's kind of how manufacturers take advantage because you don't have those sizes memorized,' he added. 'So what consumers can do is they have to become...

White House Communications Director Admits They’re Trying to Censor Conservative News Sites

During an interview with CNN this week, White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield admitted the Biden administration's censorship efforts are specifically targeting conservative news sites for publishing "misinformation."

"You've heard the president speak very aggressively about this. He understands this is an important piece of the ecosystem but its also the other thing, the president has pointed out and spoke to when he was asked about this yesterday, it is also the responsibility of the people creating the content and again I would go back to, there are conservative news outlets who are creating irresponsible content that's sharing misinformation about the virus," Bedingfield said.

Bedingfield's comments come after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last week the administration is working directly with Facebook to "flag" posts they believe contain misinformation.

"We're flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation," Psaki told reporters.

The White House isn't interested in combatting "misinformation." If that were true, they'd ban themselves. They're interested in shutting down...

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Hunter Biden’s Art Dealer Sued for Fraud and Breach of Contract

Hunter Biden’s art dealer, Georges Bergès, was reportedly sued for fraud and breach of contract in 2016 by an investor in his gallery.

“The lawsuit alleged that [Ingrid] Arneberg, an artist herself, had invested $500,000 for the purpose of gallery expansion and that Berges deposited it in his personal bank account to cover expenses,” CBS News reported Wednesday. “Berges countersued for $4.5 million, claiming, among other things, defamation and breach of fiduciary duty. The two settled in 2018 and terms were not disclosed.”

But that is not the only incident in which Hunter Biden’s art dealer has been involved.

Bergès filed for personal bankruptcy in 1998, and “his creditors included credit card companies, a bank, a jeweler and furniture retailer Pier One Imports, according to federal court records. Bankruptcy proceedings ended three months later,” according to the report.

Also, Bergès was arrested in California months before filing for bankruptcy and was “charged with assault with a deadly weapon and ‘terrorist threats,’ according to public records from the Santa Cruz Police Department.”

The police department provided a report to CBS News in which is described police officers responding “to a report of a fight inside the residence involving one suspect with a knife. No injuries reported.”

Georges Bergès Gallery spokeswoman Robin Davis told CBS News Bergès “got into an altercation with a roommate.”

“Court records indicate Berges was sentenced to three years’ probation, but Davis said the felony charges were knocked down to misdemeanors and eventually dismissed,” CBS News reported. “Santa Cruz County officials declined to clarify the outcome of the case. Berges never served probation, Davis said, downplaying the incident.”

The incidents of Hunter Biden’s art dealer are relevant because the two art shows that Berges will throw for Hunter in New York City and Los Angeles rely on Bergès’ character.

The Washington Post reported Bergès “agreed to reject any offer” for Hunter’s “artwork” from anonymous buyers “that he deems suspicious or that comes in over the asking price, according to people familiar with the agreement.”

Also according to the article, Bergès will set the prices for the artwork and withhold “all records, including...

Pfizer Jab Found To Be Only 39% Effective At Stopping Delta Variant

Over the past month, Israel, the world's most heavily vaccinated country (with leading mRNA jabs, no less) has seen the number of positive COVID tests has risen by more than 30x as the number of active infections in the country has surpassed 10K.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Health Ministry, which has previously estimated the true efficacy of the Pfizer jab against the delta variant at only 64% (while still more than 90% effective at preventing serious illness and death), just released new data purporting to show that while the Pfizer jab is still 88% effective at preventing serious illness, it's only 39% effective at preventing infection with delta.

Alex Berenson, a former NYT journalist who has often reported on scientific findings that don't support the official narrative on masks and vaccines, shared the findings in a tweet, and speculated that the true efficacy in offering protection against the Delta variant might be even lower - perhaps as low as 30%.

Even Bloomberg acknowledged that the Israeli data "could be skewed because of different ways of testing vaccinated groups of people versus those who hadn't been innoculated, according to the report.

"The heavily skewed exposure patterns in the recent outbreak in Israel, which are limited to specific population sectors and localities," means the analysis may not be able to take all factors into account, said Ran Balicer, chairman of Israel’s national expert advisory team on Covid-19 response. "We are trying to complement this research approach with additional ones, taking additional personal characteristics into account. But this takes time and larger case numbers."

BBG also acknowledged that the data "are likely to fuel debate over whether booster shots should be given to people who've already been vaccinated - something Pfizer has said it plans to...