Skittles Ban in California?

No, but the name stuck. [The Rude Awakening] October 11, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Skittles Ban in California? - No, Governor Gruesome hasn’t banned Skittles in Cali. - But he’s taken steps to remove the poisons from CA’s food. - This mirrors the European way of regulating foodstuffs. [NATO sends tanks to Ukraine…]( NATO sends tanks to Ukraine… Russia prepares for a winter offensive… [Is the beginning of World War III?]( [Click here to learn more]( An urgent message has just been released. But more importantly, we're offering to send you an [exact playbook]( on what we see playing out in the world and what you need to do to prepare. [Simply click here now to watch this short message and to see how to claim a copy completely free of charge.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Dear Reader, Good morning from autumnal Asti. As I was chomping on my salami panini and drinking my caffé Americano at Fabrizio’s this morning, I was once again grateful for the cuisine in this country. When I returned to my apartment to start writing this Rude, I checked Google Trends to see how hot the Palestinian situation was. Truth be told, it didn’t even register in the Top 10 of searches. But something about a “Skittles ban” did. What was Governor Gruesome up to now? As a man with extra flesh around his waist, I usually avoid writing about health. But this time, I’ve got some insight to share. Hong Kong, 2015 Pam and I moved to Tung Chung, a town on Lantau Island, just next to the airport, when we settled in Hong Kong in mid-2015. [Rude] Click [here]( for Google Maps to see it more clearly. The commute to work in Kowloon was easy, and all the amenities we needed were right in our apartment complex. Our supermarket was in the basement of our building, making it easy to get all the food upstairs. One day, while shopping, I noticed two different Heinz Ketchup bottles. From living in London for nearly a decade, I knew the US and EU had different food safety policies. But I never really looked any deeper. Here is the back of the US Heinz Ketchup container: [Rude] Credit: [reddit.com]( Here’s the UK version: [Rude] Credit: [heinz.co.uk]( Here’s Italy’s version: [Rude] Credit: [heinz.it]( It’s the same as the UK recipe. Notice the difference between the European versions and the US version? There’s no high fructose corn syrup in the European versions. I noticed that in Hong Kong and wondered to myself, “Why do Americans allow that?” I still don’t have a satisfactory answer. [America no longer a superpower because of Biden?]( [Click here to learn more]( [Ever heard of America’s “Doomsday Deal”?]( It’s a deal so vital to our country’s wealth and security… Every President for 50 years has defended it at all costs. Until Calamity Joe Biden. [Biden broke the deal](. And I now predict… The America we love is doomed. And the biggest wealth transfer in US history is now underway. [>>See the truth about Biden’s terrible mistake HERE<<]( [Click Here To Learn More]( The “Skittles Ban” From [Forbes]( SURPRISING FACT Though the law will not ban Skittles, claims California has outlawed the candy are running rampant on social media. A post on X from Daily Loud, a pop culture updates account with 2.5 million followers, falsely stated, “California will officially ban Skittles and other candies from the state starting 2027.” The misinformed post was liked more than 68,000 times and viewed more than 15 million times. Actor and television host Mario Lopez reposted a false claim that the state will ban Skittles, stating: “Crime is through the roof, worst drug epidemic ever & homelessness at an all-time high in CA… Let’s focus on Skittles.” A YouTube video by right-wing personality The Quartering, viewed 50,000 times, falsely stated Skittles was banned by California’s “woke leaders.” CRUCIAL QUOTE “There’s a zero percent chance this is actually going to result in a ban on Skittles,” California state Rep. Jesse Gabriel, who introduced the bill, said. “All we want the companies to do is switch their recipes in the same way that they've done in Europe, and Canada and the U.K. and Brazil and other countries that have banned these chemicals.” The libertarian in me wants to tell Gavin Newsome to piss off. But the pragmatist in me thinks selling ingestible poison to people should result in a prison sentence. But this is what happens when people aren't educated about the food they eat. I’d prefer American consumers to tell these companies to either change their recipes, or they’ll take their business elsewhere. Ask a kid if he wants any food with harmful ingredients, and he’d say, “Ewwww… I don’t want to die!” Children are far smarter than adults in this regard. Californian companies affected have until 2027 to change their recipes. What Else Are Americans Ingesting? Piquing my curiosity, I asked Bard, Google’s AI program, “What else, besides high fructose corn syrup, was banned in Europe but available in the US?” Here’s what it came up with: - Titanium dioxide (E171): Banned as a possible carcinogen. (This ingredient would have banned Skittles in their present form.) - Potassium bromate (E924): Banned as a possible carcinogen. - Azodicarbonamide (E927a): Banned as a possible asthma trigger. - Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT): Banned as possible endocrine disruptors. - Brominated vegetable oil (BVO): Banned as a possible carcinogen. - Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH): Banned due to concerns about its impact on animal welfare and human health. - Red dye #40 (also known as Allura Red AC): Banned as a possible carcinogen and hyperactivity trigger. - Yellow dye #5 (also known as Tartrazine): Banned as a possible carcinogen and asthma trigger. - Yellow dye #6 (Sunset Yellow FCF): Banned as a possible carcinogen and asthma trigger. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) isn’t banned in Europe but is subject to stricter regulations than in the US. For example, it isn’t allowed in baby food or infant formula in the EU. There are also concerns that HFCS may contribute to obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. One of the main concerns about HFCS is its high fructose content. The muscles do not metabolize fructose, which is more likely to be stored as fat in the liver. I’m neither a chemist nor a nutritionist, but I’m glad the EU has chosen a precautionary route. That is, they ban first and ask questions later. The US is far too trusting, especially considering it’s [the ninth most obese country in the world]( and first among developed economies. Wrap Up While there’s plenty to complain about Governor Gruesome’s tenure as Cali governor, this isn’t one of those things. I hope Americans start reading the back of their food containers and make better judgments about what they put in their bodies. Until then, the government will step in not because it loves its citizens but because it’s trying to minimize its socialized healthcare costs. Have a great day! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( In Case You Missed It… Five Rude Predictions [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning from sunny Asti. Last week at the Paradigm Shift Summit in Las Vegas, I opened the conference with “Five Rude Predictions.” My point was to extrapolate the future from what is happening right now. This weekend’s events in the Middle East muddied the waters further. But much of what I said still stands. In today’s Rude, I’ll relay the gist of the talk to you. It’s not an exact transcript, as I don’t read speeches. I just hop around the stage, chatting with the audience. Five Things I Think Will Happen by 2030 Crypto Destroys the Treaty of Westphalia First, some definitions. The Treaty of Westphalia is the foundational moment for our modern concept of the nation-state. To cut through the academic jargon, this set of peace treaties in 1648 said, "Hey, let's respect each other's boundaries and not interfere in one another's domestic issues." That might sound like common sense now, but back then, it was revolutionary. Before Westphalia, Europe was a battleground of religious wars, feudal struggles, and territorial disputes. I'm talking about the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War, which made Europe resemble something from a Tarantino movie. These conflicts weren't just about who got what chunk of land; they were also deeply rooted in religious differences. So, come 1648, European powers gathered in the Westphalian cities of Münster and Osnabrück and started hammering out these treaties. The key players included the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, France, and Spain. The result? A significant shift from a Europe dominated by religious doctrines and imperial ambitions to a Europe of sovereign states. Post-Westphalia, the state became the primary unit of political organization. That's where we get this principle of "sovereignty" crucial to international relations even today. The idea was that states have complete control over their territory and internal affairs and shouldn't mess with the affairs of others. While the treaties didn't explicitly lay out these principles, they have been interpreted as such over time, becoming part of what we now call "Westphalian sovereignty." If you were thinking, “Wasn’t that the Congress of Vienna?” you were close. The Congress of Vienna was held between September 1814 and June 1815. It was Europe's grand attempt to clean up Napoleon’s mess. You could think of it as the 19th-century equivalent of hitting the reset button on European politics. Let's set the stage. Napoleon Bonaparte had rampaged through Europe like a bull in a china shop, redrawing borders and toppling monarchies. When he was finally defeated, European leaders stared at a continental jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing, switched, or utterly destroyed. Enter the Congress of Vienna. Key players included Austria, Russia, Prussia, and the United Kingdom, represented by their top diplomats and statesmen. France was also there but in the somewhat awkward position of being both the cause of and a party to the negotiations. The main goals? First, create a balance of power so no single state could dominate the continent again. Second, restore the monarchies and conservative orders toppled because - heaven forbid! - the commoners get any crazy ideas about equality and liberty. So, what did they come up with? It's a diplomatic masterpiece or a patchwork quilt, depending on how you see it. They redrew the map of Europe, carving up territories like a Thanksgiving turkey. Poland was divided among Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Norway and Sweden were joined in a union. Belgium and the Netherlands were merged into a single kingdom. And so on. But it wasn't just about redrawing borders. The Congress of Vienna also laid down the rules for diplomatic conduct and set up a sort of early "United Nations" called the Concert of Europe. This was a framework for European powers to resolve their disputes diplomatically rather than going to war at the drop of a hat. And crypto, or some digital currency linked to gold - but not to a nation-state - will destroy this framework. The way money moves is changing and fast. Digital currencies, especially decentralized ones like Bitcoin, are already challenging traditional financial systems and central banks. Countries with fragile economies (see: El Salvador) will start using digital currencies to bypass economic sanctions or stabilize their economies. For governments, this is both a tool and a challenge. Sovereignty will be tested, and new alliances may be formed around shared digital financial infrastructure (perhaps BRICS). [TIME-SENSITIVE: A “Second Wave” Of Inflation Is Coming]( During the 1970s, inflation lasted for years and came in three separate waves. Each wave was far worse than the last. [Today, the same exact thing is happening again.]( Is the price of food, gasoline, housing and more about to skyrocket even higher? [== > Get ready for “Inflation’s Second Wave.” Click here now to see my urgent warning.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( The US Military Industrial Complex Suffers Enormous Losses Just this weekend, the US seems to have dumped Ukraine for Israel. Who knows if Taiwan is a distant memory? [Rude] Credit: [@HawleyMO]( The US is stretched far too thin as The World’s Policeman™, which will wreck the MIC. But as that old gigolo, St. Augustine, once said, “Give me chastity and constancy, but not yet.” And how did our aerospace and defense sector perform yesterday, on the dreadful news in Gaza? [Rude] It couldn’t be better! NOC was up 11.43%, LMT was up 8.93%, and GD was up 8.43%. But like butter scraped over too much bread, the US military will be Bilbo Baggins-tired soon. China’s BRI Will Reshape Global Supply Chains Blockading China’s entry into the sea seemed like a good idea at the time. [Rude] But the Chinese are too smart not to have figured out an alternative. [Rude] And that’s the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). One railroad to rule them all. From Lisbon to Vladivostok, the railroad would slash costs and obviate the US/UK’s naval power. We’ll be back in [Mackinder’s world]( soon. I’ll love Chinese logistics stocks in the future. Buy PLTR My theory goes like this: if you listened to Richard Mayberry, who, after September 11, 2001, said to buy defense stocks because we’re going to have war for a long time, your portfolio would resemble this: [Rude] If you bought HMO stocks simultaneously because you knew Americans were getting obese, your returns would look even better! [Rude] The one thriving part of the USG after this mess will be spying. Palantir, headed by authoritarian lunatic Alex Karp, is America’s excellent spy machine. Here he is, a private citizen, [talking about how he’s embarrassing competitors into helping the USG with artificial intelligence](. The man is deranged. And that’s why I love the stock so much. In short, if you pay taxes to fund the military, offset that cost with aerospace and defense stocks. If you’re going to pay for Obamacare, offset that by owning HMO stocks. If you’re going to get spied on, offset that by owning spy stocks. As of yesterday’s close, PLTR is $17.61. Fill your boots! Global Warming Frees Russia Russia’s permafrost is melting. The tundra isn’t so frozen anymore. Vladimir Putin pissed off the environMentalists by saying, “An increase of two or three degrees wouldn’t be so bad for a northern country like Russia. We could spend less on fur coats, and the grain harvest would go up.” Many true things are said in jest. Russia gets two big things when the permafrost melts: - Warm water ports, which it has always wanted. - A seat at the European table, which it will take once this Ukraine mess is finally finished. Russia’s Northern Route is ice-free for part of the year now and will hook up with the BRI to change everything about how Eurasia does business. Wrap Up If anything, I hope this was entertaining. If you're still watching, we’ll see if I was right seven years from now. Have a wonderful day ahead! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@rudeawakening.info. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, [contact us here]( or call (844)-731-0984. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. 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