Chinese Communist Party General Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xi-jinping" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xi Jinping</a> praised American billionaire and Microsoft co-founder <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-gates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Gates</a>, calling the businessman a “friend.”
Gates met with Xi this week, alongside Chinese Foreign Secretary Qin Gang and chief Chinese diplomat Wang Yi. Xi and Gates discussed pandemic prevention and technological development, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-16/gates-foundation-city-of-beijing-team-up-to-battle-diseases?srnd=premium-asia&amp;sref=PFCuwcPr&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_content=business&amp;cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Bloomberg. 
“You are the first American friend I’ve met in Beijing this year,” Xi told Gates, in a discussion that was broadcast on China Central Television, a state-backed broadcaster. 
“I’ve always said that the foundation of China-U.S. ties lies among the people,” Xi said. “We always pin our hopes on [the] American people and hope the two peoples can continue to be friendly.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Xi and Bill Gates meet in Beijing. 
Xi: &quot;You are the first American friend I’ve met in Beijing this year.&quot; 
Gates: &quot;I&#39;m very excited to be back.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/UQoV40XKbF">pic.twitter.com/UQoV40XKbF</a>
&mdash; Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) <a href="https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1669696849568235523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The two also <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-xi-tells-bill-gates-he-welcomes-us-ai-tech-china-2023-06-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> discussed artificial intelligence, though what was exactly said has not yet been disclosed. 
Gates <a href="https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1668978644897923073" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Twitter that he was in China to meet with partners working on “global health and development challenges.” 
“I’ve just landed in Beijing for the first time since 2019, where I’m excited to visit with partners who have been working on global health and development challenges with [the Gates Foundation] for more than 15 years,” he said. 
Gates went on to say that much could be learned from China on issues of poverty and health. 
“Solving problems like climate change, health inequity and food insecurity requires innovation. From developing malaria drugs to investing in climate adaptation, China has a lot of experience in that. We need to unlock that kind of progress for more people around the world,” he said. 
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-36700">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Gates, who has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-gates-praises-china-theyve-done-a-very-good-job" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praised</a> China before, has come under fire after Microsoft was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-bill-gates-secretly-partnered-with-china-and-sold-out-the-american-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> of aiding in the censorship of Chinese dissidents. In 2005, Microsoft banned Chinese journalist Zhao Jing after a request from the CCP, according to Amnesty International. Gates has also downplayed the scope of Chinese censorship. 
The meeting between Xi and Gates comes before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel to China. A previous trip from Blinken to China was canceled after a Chinese spy balloon floated over the U.S. 
“While in Beijing, Secretary Blinken will meet with senior PRC officials where he will discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the U.S.-PRC relationship. He will also raise bilateral issues of concern, global and regional matters, and potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges,” the State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary-blinkens-trip-to-the-peoples-republic-of-china-and-the-united-kingdom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. 
Blinken’s visit follows the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cia-director-took-secret-visit-to-china-to-meet-with-intelligence-officials-reports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secret trip</a> made by CIA Director William Burns in May.

CHINA-ASIA-POLITICS-FORUM

CCP Leader Praises Bill Gates At China Meeting: ‘First American Friend I’ve Met In Beijing This Year’

Antony Blinken

Artificial Intelligence

Bill Gates

China

Pandemic

World

Xi Jinping

A trespassing charge against a conservative activist investor who was arrested at <a href="https://nlpc.org/featured-news/nlpc-chairman-peter-flaherty-is-arrested-during-berkshire-shareholder-proposal-presentation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Berkshire Hathaway&#8217;s recent shareholder meeting</a> after bringing up dead pedophile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeffrey Epstein</a> has been dropped.
The Daily Wire has learned that a prosecutor in Omaha, Nebraska, informed Peter Flaherty, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), last week that he reviewed the case and declined prosecution.
While the prosecutor could not immediately be reached for comment, Flaherty said in a phone call on Tuesday that it was &#8220;the weakest case imaginable&#8221; and is &#8220;glad&#8221; the charge is no more.
At the annual meeting in Omaha earlier this month, Flaherty had been recognized to speak in support of a proposal to require the roles of CEO and chairman be held by two different people. Both of those titles are held by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/warren-buffett-talks-with-biden-officials-about-possible-bank-investment-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Warren Buffett</a>, and Flaherty argued the Omaha-based company would be less identified with Buffett&#8217;s political activities if the chair was independent.
After getting into how Buffett <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/warren-buffett-resigns-gates-foundation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donated</a> billions of dollars to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates&#8217; foundation, as well as efforts supporting Critical Race Theory and gender ideology, Flaherty said a Berkshire official approached to tell him to stay on topic. Buffett gave him the go-ahead to continue, and that&#8217;s when Flaherty mentioned Gates&#8217; ties to Epstein.
&#8220;We know how much Bill Gates cares about children,&#8221; Flaherty said. &#8220;He met and traveled with Jeffrey Epstein many times after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes.&#8221; Video posted to social media shows the audience <a href="https://twitter.com/0xTykoo/status/1654989132416835584" target="_blank" rel="noopener">erupted in boos and some whistling</a> when Flaherty brought up Epstein.
Flaherty continued to speak about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation when he says two security officials removed him from the venue and Omaha police arrested him. Arrest documents show Flaherty had been charged with refusing to comply with a request to leave. He was released on a $250 bond and was expected back in court on May 22 until the case was dropped.
The Daily Wire left a voicemail with Berkshire Hathaway seeking comment, but never got a reply.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-11618">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Flaherty said on Tuesday he was subjected to a &#8220;false arrest&#8221; that sets a &#8220;terrible precedent&#8221; when it comes to shareholder rights. Flaherty, who believes he &#8220;touched the third rail of billionaire relations: Jeffrey Epstein,” said the issue is even more prevalent now following a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeffrey-epstein-bill-gates-affair-russian-bridge-player-8b2022ff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report by The Wall Street Journal</a> over the weekend that said Epstein learned Gates <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-threatened-bill-gates-with-sexual-blackmail-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allegedly had an affair</a> with a young Russian woman and later appeared to threaten to expose the tryst if the billionaire refused to do business with him.
Gates has acknowledged only having engagements with Epstein for what he says were philanthropic reasons. &#8220;Having failed repeatedly to draw Mr. Gates beyond these matters, Epstein tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates,&#8221; a spokesperson for Gates told the publication. Melinda French Gates cited her now-ex-husband&#8217;s meetings with Epstein, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/melinda-french-gates-says-jeffrey-epstein-helped-break-up-marriage-to-bill-gate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whom she called &#8220;abhorrent,&#8221;</a> while telling CBS last year about the various factors that led to her divorce from Bill Gates.
In 2008, after Epstein was accused of sexually abusing female minors in Florida, he reached a deal with federal prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to state-level prostitution charges, registered as a sex offender, and served roughly 13 months in jail and in a work-release program. Epstein died at the age of 66 in his New York City jail cell in August 2019 after being arrested on sex trafficking charges involving young girls and pleading not guilty.
Although the proposal sponsored by NLPC was defeated, Flaherty says it garnered enough support to be raised again next year. Pressed on how he might now respond to Berkshire Hathaway following the arrest, Flaherty said his team is &#8220;evaluating legal options.&#8221;

Jeffrey Epstein

Charge Dropped Against Shareholder Activist Detained After Invoking Epstein

General

Nebraska

U.S.

Jeffrey Epstein reportedly learned that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had an affair with a young Russian woman and later appeared to threaten to expose the tryst if Gates refused to do business with him.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeffrey-epstein-bill-gates-affair-russian-bridge-player-8b2022ff">reported</a> that Gates met Russian bridge player Mila Antonova in 2010 when she was in her 20s and he was in his mid-50s.
Epstein met Antonova in 2013 and paid for her to attend software coding school. After she graduated, and while Epstein was trying to get Gates to join a project he was working on, Epstein reportedly sent Gates an email asking to be reimbursed for her schooling.
The amount of money the schooling cost was trivial for people as wealthy as Epstein or Gates, the report said.
Sources told the publication that the email implied that Epstein could expose the affair if Gates cut off his ties to Epstein.
&#8220;Mr. Gates met with Epstein solely for philanthropic purposes,&#8221; a spokesperson for Gates said. &#8220;Having failed repeatedly to draw Mr. Gates beyond these matters, Epstein tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates.&#8221;
The spokesperson said that Gates did not make the payment.
Epstein reportedly sent the message after Gates declined to join a multibillion-dollar charitable fund that he was trying to create with JPMorgan Chase that would have paid Epstein millions of dollars in fees and would help to rehabilitate his image after he pled guilty to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008.
Gates had over a half dozen meetings scheduled with Epstein beginning in 2011 that included trips to Epstein’s private residence in New York, according to the report.
This is a breaking news story; refresh the page for updates.

Jeffrey Epstein Threatened Bill Gates With Sexual Blackmail: Report

Celebrities

Love Affair

Wall Street Journal

The head of a conservative group was booted from <a href="https://nlpc.org/featured-news/nlpc-chairman-peter-flaherty-is-arrested-during-berkshire-shareholder-proposal-presentation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Berkshire Hathaway&#8217;s annual shareholder meeting</a> and arrested Saturday after questioning founder Warren Buffett&#8217;s politics and bringing up dead pedophile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeffrey Epstein</a>.
Peter Flaherty, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), had been recognized to speak in support of a proposal to require the roles of CEO and chairman be held by two different people. Both of those titles are currently held by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/warren-buffett-talks-with-biden-officials-about-possible-bank-investment-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buffett</a>, and Flaherty argued the Omaha-based company would be less identified with Buffett&#8217;s political activities if the chair was independent.
After getting into how Buffett <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/warren-buffett-resigns-gates-foundation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donated</a> billions of dollars to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates&#8217; foundation, as well as efforts supporting Critical Race Theory and gender ideology, Flaherty said a Berkshire official approached to tell him to stay on topic. Buffett gave him the go-ahead to continue, and that&#8217;s when Flaherty mentioned Gates&#8217; ties to Epstein.
&#8220;We know how much Bill Gates cares about children,&#8221; Flaherty said. &#8220;He met and traveled with Jeffrey Epstein many times after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes.&#8221;
Video posted to social media shows the audience <a href="https://twitter.com/0xTykoo/status/1654989132416835584" target="_blank" rel="noopener">erupt in boos and some whistling</a> when Flaherty brought up Epstein. Flaherty told The Daily Wire that at some point he realized his microphone had been cut as he continued to speak about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation before two security officials removed him from the venue and Omaha police arrested him. Arrest documents show Flaherty was charged with refusing to comply with a request to leave. He was released on a $250 bond and is expected back in court on May 22.
&#8220;I believe I touched the third rail of billionaire relations: Jeffrey Epstein,&#8221; Flaherty told The Daily Wire on Monday. With more than a decade of shareholder activism under his belt, Flaherty decried what he said was an &#8220;unprecedented&#8221; arrest and said Berkshire Hathaway had &#8220;no right to silence me.&#8221;
Video appears to show Buffett, who was on stage, responding to Flaherty, saying &#8220;you crossed the boundary&#8221; before explaining that his donations came from his money and not funds from Berkshire Hathaway. Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-08/berkshire-hathaway-meeting-bid-to-strip-buffett-as-chair-rejected?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_content=business&amp;cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&amp;leadSource=uverify%20wall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the proposal sponsored by NLPC was defeated by a wide margin, though Flaherty told The Daily Wire that he counts defeated proposals as victories when they garner a certain amount of support.
The Daily Wire left a voicemail with Berkshire Hathaway seeking comment.
In 2008, after Epstein was accused of sexually abusing female minors in Florida, he reached a deal with federal prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to state-level prostitution charges, registered as a sex offender, and served roughly 13 months in jail and in a work-release program. Epstein died at the age of 66 in his New York City jail cell in August 2019 after being arrested on sex trafficking charges involving young girls and pleading not guilty.
Gates has acknowledged having dinners with Epstein for what he says were philanthropic reasons, and has <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/bill-gates-several-dinners-jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called those meetings a &#8220;mistake.&#8221;</a> Melinda French Gates cited her now-ex-husband&#8217;s meetings with Epstein, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/melinda-french-gates-says-jeffrey-epstein-helped-break-up-marriage-to-bill-gate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whom she called &#8220;abhorrent,&#8221;</a> while telling CBS last year about the various factors that led to her divorce from Bill Gates.

2019 New York Times Dealbook

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Activist Arrested After Mentioning Bill Gates’ Ties To Jeffrey Epstein

Shareholder Activist Arrested After Mentioning Bill Gates' Ties To Jeffrey Epstein

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Technology</a> entrepreneur <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/bill-gates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Gates</a> predicted on Tuesday that <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">artificial intelligence</a> will play an integral role in the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">education</a> system within the next 18 months.
Business leaders and officials have reeled in the weeks since the advent of ChatGPT, a mass-market AI system that can draft emails or write code in a matter of seconds, with particular controversy emerging in the education sector as some students use the tool to complete essays and cheat on their assignments. Gates contended in a fireside chat at a <a href="https://www.gatesnotes.com/ASU-and-GSV?WT.mc_id=20230419100000_ASU-GSV-2023_BG-EM_&amp;amp;WT.tsrc=BGEM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conference</a> in San Diego that AI solutions will commonly assist teachers with improving reading comprehension and writing abilities among their students by the end of next year.
“What a good teacher does is take your essay and mark it up and say, ‘Oh, this isn’t clear, and the summary should have included this.’ That is a high cognitive exercise, and software, except at the really trivial kind of grammar level, has had essentially zero,” the multibillionaire noted. “Particularly once you get out of a very templated writing exercise, the amount of feedback to help me improve my writing is very low and these AIs actually are good at that.”
Gates, who spends much of his fortune bankrolling education initiatives and supporting progressive social policies across the world, noted that the accessibility of AI language tools will quickly rise as hardware and software improves, potentially diminishing the effective cost of educational advancement for underprivileged students. “Having access to a tutor is too expensive for most students,” he continued, “especially having that tutor adapt and remember everything that you’ve done and look across your entire body of work.”
Microsoft, the software behemoth Gates helped launch and which maintains Gates as its largest individual stockholder, poured billions of dollars into OpenAI, the company which produced ChatGPT. Many educators already leverage the system for purposes such as lesson plans and drafting curriculum, while 73% of teachers and 68% of students concur that the system can aid with learning, according to a <a href="https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/chatgpt-used-by-teachers-more-than-students-new-survey-from-walton-family-foundation-finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> from the Walton Family Foundation.
Essays produced by ChatGPT, on the other hand, can circumvent conventional plagiarism detection software because the system never writes the same essay twice and does not access the internet for published content. Some developers, however, have produced software that can determine whether an essay was written by ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence tools.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1681913061093000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1nSUp7X_GMxrPR-OuaxTA7">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Gates compared the current <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/amazon-jumps-into-commercial-ai-race-with-multiple-competitors-to-chatgpt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rush</a> to develop mass-market AI solutions and use them for consumer products to the dot-com boom more than two decades ago, in which many firms failed and only a handful emerged as bulwarks. “Now, there may be a few that completely surprise everybody and rise to be the next Google or Microsoft based on their AI advances,” he remarked. “But I guarantee you, it won’t be more than two out of a thousand. And it could be zero, honestly, in terms of the base technology.”
Gates added that companies involved in AI development are “super interested” in witnessing the use of their applications in the education sector. Khan Academy, a prominent nonprofit which creates free online tools to assist students with college entrance exams and advanced coursework, meanwhile <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/khan-labs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the creation of Khanmigo, an AI system which offers one-on-one tutoring solutions to students.

Bill Gates Predicts AI Will Teach Reading And Writing Within 18 Months

Bill Gates Predicts AI Will Be Teaching Kids How To Read By The End Of Next Year

Education

Microsoft

Technology

The U.S. Agency For International Development (USAID) is partnering with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-gates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation</a> to promote “digital gender equality” in Africa and around the world by providing millions in taxpayer and private funds for the project. 
The money will <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/apr-17-2023-usaid-and-bill-melinda-gates-foundation-announce-call-partners-newly-launched-women-digital-economy-fund" target="_blank" rel="noopener">come from</a> the newly inaugurated Women in Digital Economy Fund announced by Vice President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kamala-harris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kamala Harris</a>, and will go toward organizations that provide women with phones, “media literacy,” and do research on responding to “social norms” in the technological world, among other initiatives. 
“Working with Congress, USAID plans to commit up to $50 million in Gender Equity and Equality Action (GEEA) fund resources toward this effort over the next four years, subject to the availability of funds, and the Gates Foundation will commit $10 million, with at least half of each of these commitments focused on Africa,” USAID announced on Monday. 
USAID said the initiative was a good opportunity for public and private sector collaboration. The fund will “support, wherever possible, women-led solutions, products, and tools,” according to the development agency. 
The “digital gender equality” push comes as USAID released a new “gender equality and women&#8217;s empowerment” <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/2023_Gender%20Policy_508.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">framework</a> last month that suggested ensuring access to abortion as a policy goal to support around the world. 
According to the policy, one goal of USAID was helping to bring “improved access, quality, and use of health care for all individuals across the life course — including gender-diverse and LGBTQI+ individuals — with a particular focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights.&#8221;
“USAID affirms that the promotion of the rights of gender-diverse individuals — those with a gender identity beyond the binary categories of man or woman — is integral to the advancement of gender equality,” the new framework added.  
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1681578241169000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2O6CQMJ1EkvwFjcmc37XJc">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
This tied into another goal of USAID described in the framework of strengthening “health services to provide integrated, client-centered, respectful, gender-affirming, and high-quality care.” 
USAID has <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/india/press-release/usaid-and-johns-hopkins-university-celebrate-success-indias-first-transgender-clinic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously supported</a> the launch of “India’s first transgender clinic,” which provides “guidance and medication on hormone therapy and gender affirmation procedures.”
Other entities in the Biden administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trans-evangelism-how-the-state-department-is-pushing-the-lefts-gender-ideology-around-the-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have also pushed</a> gender ideology abroad, which has included pushing other countries to expand legal identifications from male and female to promoting transgender health clinics. 
For example, the U.S. Consulate General Kolkata aided in the opening of “the first transgender clinic in eastern India,” in February 2020, <a href="https://share.america.gov/us-supports-transgender-clinics-india/">according to</a> Share America, the State Department’s news platform.
Elsewhere in India, the U.S. Consulate Chennai <a href="https://in.usembassy.gov/u-s-consulate-general-chennai-unfurls-rainbow-pride-flag-to-commemorate-pride-month/">has promoted</a> “pride” and hosted events about “pride in American literature.”

U.S. And Bill Gates Partner To Provide Millions For ‘Digital Gender Equality’ In Africa

U.S. And Bill Gates Partner To Provide Millions For 'Digital Gender Equality' In Africa

Africa

Melinda Gates

Social Issues

No. No, he is not. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, is not causing an egg shortage to sell you fake eggs.
But that&#8217;s one of the online conspiracy theories about the soaring price of eggs and, more, the sudden drop in production.
&#8220;Bill Gates Invested In Artificial Eggs a Decade Before Egg Shortage,&#8221; one website <a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/bill-gates-invested-artificial-eggs-decade-egg-shortage/">reported</a> last month. Ah, playing the long game by waiting 10 years. He&#8217;s smart, that Gates.
<a href="https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/jan/25/instagram-posts/the-bill-gates-egg-shortage-conspiracy-isnt-all-it/">Politifact</a> looked into the claim, noting that in the last 10 years, Gates has invested in multiple faux food companies, including Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. And since 2020, Gates has &#8220;held the title of the nation’s largest private farmland owner,&#8221; owning nearly 250,000 acres of farmland across more than a dozen states.
&#8220;There is no evidence these investments are linked to a nationwide shortage in chicken and egg products,&#8221; Politifact wrote.
But remember, Politifact leans left, as noted by <a href="https://www.allsides.com/news-source/politifact">All Sides</a>, which rates the bias of outlets. And also, remember that when President Barack Obama said in 2009, &#8220;If you like your health care plan, you can keep it,” Politifact said, &#8220;his description of his plan is accurate, and we rate his statement True.”
In 2013, the fact-checking group finally admitted what we all knew, deeming Obama&#8217;s statement it&#8217;s &#8220;Lie Of The Year,&#8221; Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/12/27/in-2008-politifacts-2013-lie-of-the-year-that-you-could-keep-your-health-plan-under-obamacare-it-rated-true/?sh=2d0aa7387c14">reported</a>. So, shakerful of salt, people.
There are other claims about lower egg production, including posts on social media from backyard chicken owners who say their hens are laying fewer eggs &#8212; or none at all.
After a previous piece I wrote about eggs, Belinda Woodruff of Makin Magic Ranch in Weatherford, Texas, dropped me a line.
&#8220;I raise chickens and for quite a few months they haven&#8217;t been laying. They usually slow down in winter, but I have a couple of breeds that lay pretty much all year and even they stopped,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I watched a video recently of someone else whose chickens stopped laying. Then I find out there&#8217;s hundreds of videos from all over on TikTok whose chickens have also stopped laying.&#8221;
&#8220;Also there&#8217;s a shortage of eggs in the stores. Why doesn&#8217;t some lab test the chicken feed to see what&#8217;s going on? I believe it&#8217;s all on purpose. The only chickens I have laying right now are the few that I let run around loose in three fenced yard around my house. I have a 10 acre ranch,&#8221; Woodruff wrote.
Well, Politifact looked into this, too.
&#8220;There is no evidence that commercial feed is being sabotaged to negatively impact the number of eggs that backyard hens are laying, multiple experts said.&#8221;
The fact-checking site also <a href="https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/feb/07/facebook-posts/chicken-feed-being-sabotaged-elaborate-plot-no-the/">said,</a> &#8220;Tractor Supply and other major feed suppliers targeted by these claims confirmed that they haven’t changed their formulas. &#8230; We rate this False.&#8221;
Still, Woodruff&#8217;s story is intriguing. She&#8217;s seen firsthand that chickens are producing fewer eggs. So, how to explain that? &#8220;Experts we spoke with cited a variety of factors that may hinder backyard hens from laying eggs, including improper nutrition, infection and stress,&#8221; Politifact wrote.
Yes, life in 2023 is pretty stressful, but are all the chickens really stressed out? Doesn&#8217;t seem all that plausible.
Here&#8217;s a fact that doesn&#8217;t need to be checked. The average price for large Grade A eggs was $4.25 a dozen in December, up from $1.79 exactly a year earlier, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. By the way, a dozen eggs cost just $1.33 in August 2020.
Megan McArdle, a Washington Post columnist and the author of &#8220;The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success,&#8221; worked some magic mathematics of her own. Unlike President Joe Biden, she did not blame &#8220;Putin&#8217;s price hike&#8221; but explained that chickens have gotten sick, and that&#8217;s leading to the higher price.
&#8220;The truth is that U.S. egg production is still recovering from a bout of avian flu that has devastated flocks in the United States and Europe,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/07/egg-prices-history-relative-economics/">wrote</a>. &#8220;And while activists and senators are puzzled by how a 29 percent decline in egg production can lead to a much larger increase in the price of eggs, agricultural economist Jayson Lusk says that’s exactly what you would expect with a product for which demand is relatively insensitive to price changes.&#8221;
But Farm Action, a farmer advocacy group, has a whole different theory for the price hike. The group says the &#8220;real culprit&#8221; behind sky-high prices is a &#8220;collusive scheme&#8221; among top U.S. egg producers to fix prices to gouge consumers.
In a <a href="https://farmaction.us/2023/01/19/farm-action-calls-for-ftc-to-investigate-record-high-egg-prices/?utm_source=substack&amp;amp;amp;amp;utm_medium=email">letter</a> to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last month, Farm Action said the alleged collusion has helped egg producers to &#8220;extract egregious profits reaching as high as 40%.&#8221;
And the letter said avian flu is not to blame.
&#8220;Examining publicly-available financial data from the egg industry, the letter determines that the supply disruption caused by the avian flu outbreak had an &#8216;apparently mild impact on the industry,’” the group said in a press release.
Plus, the group said egg producers like Cal-Maine are making money hand over fist.
&#8220;For the 26-week period ending on November 26, 2022, Cal-Maine reported a ten-fold year-over-year increase in gross profits — from $50.392 million to $535.339 million — and a five-fold increase in its gross margins,&#8221; the letter said.
And the group says, &#8220;the real culprit behind this 138 percent hike in the price of a carton of eggs appears to be a collusive scheme among industry leaders to turn inflationary conditions and an avian flu outbreak into an opportunity to extract egregious profits reaching as high as 40 percent.&#8221;
“In the end, what Cal-Maine Foods and the other large egg producers did last year — and seem to be intent on doing again this year — is extort billions of dollars from the pockets of ordinary Americans through what amounts to a tax on a staple we all need: eggs,” the letter said. “They did so without any legitimate business justification. They did so because there is no &#8216;reasonable substitute&#8217; for a carton of eggs. They did so because they had power and weren’t afraid to use it.”
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

Is Bill Gates Causing An Egg Shortage In Order To Sell You Fake Eggs?

Is Bill Gates Causing An Egg Shortage To Sell You Fake Eggs?

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate</a> advocate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-gates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Gates</a> recently attempted to justify using private jets by noting his investments in various green technology initiatives.
The Microsoft co-founder spurned accusations of hypocrisy during an <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001hsl1/amol-rajan-interviews-bill-gates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with the BBC in Kenya broadcast on Friday, claiming that his decision to “spend billions of dollars” on climate innovations such as carbon capture systems more than accounts for his personal carbon footprint.
“Should I stay at home and not come to Kenya and learn about farming and malaria?” he asked reporter Amol Rajan. “I’m comfortable with the idea that not only am I not part of the problem by paying for the offsets, but also through the billions that my Breakthrough Energy Group is spending, that I’m part of the solution.”
Gates flew more than 213,000 miles on 59 private jet flights in 2017, according to a <a href="https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S016073831930132X?token=124B2ADC718F08DFDDD2C2248A19B7EF4A079AA29328DE2AC4A4F77319B75768C110EEA4113D9EA2EB913FFA1700B9AD&amp;originRegion=us-east-1&amp;originCreation=20230207142459" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from Linnaeus University economics professor Stefan Gössling. The flight activity created some 1,760 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which is nearly 109 times higher than the emissions per capita in the United States, according to <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?locations=US" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the World Bank.
As of 2021, Gates had four private jets: two Gulfstream G650ERs that each cost about $70 million and two Bombardier Challenger 350s that each cost $27 million, according to an <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/inside-bill-gates-controversial-194-million-private-jet-/?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> from Skyluxe Aviation. The combined value of the vehicles is $194 million.
Business leaders and government officials who call attention to the purported dangers of climate change have frequently garnered backlash for traveling on private jets, which produce an estimated 40 times more carbon per passenger than commercial flights. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry has similarly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/climate-czar-john-kerry-on-private-jet-travel-its-the-only-choice-for-somebody-like-me" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touted</a> his work to solve climate change when questioned about his use of a luxury aircraft.
“If you offset your carbon, it’s the only choice for somebody like me who is traveling the world to win this battle,” he contended two years ago. “The time it takes me to get somewhere, I can’t sail across the ocean. I have to fly, meet with people and get things done.”
Attendees of the most recent World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland, likewise received criticism for using private jets to reach the resort village. An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/distasteful-masterclass-in-hypocrisy-climate-group-shreds-world-economic-forum-attendees-for-flying-in-on-hundreds-of-private-jets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> commissioned by Greenpeace found that 1,040 private planes flew in and out of airports servicing Davos during last year’s conference; the vast majority of the jets were embarking on short-haul flights of less than 500 miles that “could have easily been train or car trips,” while one plane carried its passengers a mere 13 miles to attend the event.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leftist-civil-war-greta-thunberg-airs-grievances-against-world-economic-forum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> the bureaucrats and corporate leaders assembled at the conference of hypocrisy regarding their climate commitments.
“We are right now in Davos where basically the people who are mostly fueling the destruction of the planet, the people who are at the very core of the climate crisis, the people who are investing in fossil fuels, and yet somehow these are the people that we seem to rely on solving our problems,” she said. “They have proven time and time again that they are not prioritizing that. They are prioritizing self-greed, corporate greed and short-term economic profits above people and above planet.”

Climate Crusader Bill Gates Tries To Justify His Use Of Private Jets

Why Climate Advocate Bill Gates Uses Private Jets

Climate Change

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mcdonalds">McDonald&#8217;s</a> announced that customers who use their app in December will have a chance to win the storied McDonald’s Gold Card, plus three more for friends, which entitles users to free food for life.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/restaurant">fast food</a> giant announced the “SZN of Sharing” event will run between December 5 and 25. Anyone who takes advantage of various app promos throughout the month will be entered to win the main prize, Parade <a href="https://parade.com/food/mcdonalds-offers-chance-win-mysterious-gold-card-free-food-for-life-2022?fbclid=IwAR1yt11Jfz0Iiguw7Wdk1__1aBAXkNqHm2I1OOUPavievqM50e4PbtKs_ns">reported</a>. 
“Our fans have been fascinated by the lore of the McDonald’s Card and if it really exists. And now, we’ll make this McDonald’s legend a reality for our fans by giving them the ultimate holiday gift – a chance to win a card and then share access to it with three of their family or friends,” McDonald’s USA Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Tariq Hassan said in a statement. 
“Just by using the McDonald’s App, everyone can experience the joy that comes with sharing McDonald’s this holiday season.”
The card entitled recipients to the equivalent of two meals per week for 50 years, which means the potential for chowing down on a total of 5,200 McDonald’s meals for free.
These famous cards have been discussed for years, but no one was sure they existed for a while. Eventually, it was revealed that celebrities and other people who were deemed “heroes,” including Warren Buffet, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-gates">Bill Gates</a>, and Mitt Romney’s father George Romney did have these fabled cards. Rob Lowe also has one and bragged about it during a late show appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in 2016.
Most McDonald’s Gold Cards are franchise or state-specific — Lowe’s card is only valid at franchises in Santa Barbara or Goleta, California, Insider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/story-behind-mcdonalds-gold-card-2016-11">reported</a>. People who are deemed “local heroes” can be awarded cards by franchise owners as they see fit.
The publication noted that only two people have confirmed cards that work in any McDonald’s location: Romney, who received his from restaurant owner Ray Kroc himself, and Bill Gates. 
Recently, McDonald’s debuted “adult Happy Meals” that come with a toy. The “Cactus Plant Flea Market Box” was a limited-time collaboration with the fashion brand Cactus Plant and came with retro toys including Grimace, the Hamburglar, Birdie, plus a new character named Cactus Buddy. 
The popular items sold out quickly, and the collectible toys popped up on resale sites for inflated prices.

McDonald’s Same Store Sales Up 7.1 Percent In January

McDonald’s Teases Free Food For Life With Legendary ‘Gold Card’ Promo In December

Food

McDonald’s

Restaurant

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-gates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Gates</a> said on Tuesday that the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">energy</a> crisis stemming from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russian invasion</a> of Ukraine will be “good for the long run” as nations pivot toward <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">renewable energy</a> solutions.
The billionaire and Microsoft co-founder explained during an <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1582437722006093825?s=43&amp;t=ajsFevAUZYZzfyePcW80gg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with CNBC that although global economies cannot immediately discard oil and gas, current shortages in the European energy market will prompt a faster transition away from fossil fuels.
“Now, without the Russian natural gas being available in Europe, it’s a setback. We need to find non-Russian hydrocarbon sources to substitute for those,” Gates explained. “Keeping those economies in decent shape is a priority. Now on the other hand, it’s good for the long run, because people won’t want to be dependent on Russian natural gas, so they’ll move to these new approaches more rapidly.”
Natural gas shipments from Russia, which had already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/let-the-wolfs-tail-freeze-putin-doubles-down-on-halting-natural-gas-flow-to-western-europe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paused exports</a> to Germany through Nord Stream 1 before the pipeline system <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/danish-police-reveal-cause-of-nord-stream-pipeline-damage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">witnessed</a> massive damage, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-union-social-market-economy-might-redistribute-fossil-fuel-profits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provided</a> 40% of the continent’s natural gas supply last year. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged that low hydropower generation, which emerged from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-union-intends-to-flatten-the-curve-for-electricity-use" target="_blank" rel="noopener">low river capacity</a>, is partially responsible for soaring energy prices, although she said the “effects of climate change” were responsible for the low water levels.
Gates is the founder of Breakthrough Energy, which aims to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-gates-raises-1-billion-from-corporate-america-to-fight-climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">catalyze</a> technological development to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. The organization raised funds from several corporate partners last year, including BlackRock, Boston Consulting Group, General Motors, and American Airlines.
In the United States, where <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-how-much-power-bills-could-rise-this-winter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">winter power bills</a> are slated to rise 28% or more, members of the Biden administration have similarly claimed that high energy prices will facilitate a shift toward renewable sources. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, for instance, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/buttigieg-explains-to-texans-why-they-should-buy-electric-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that the “pain we are all experiencing from the high price of gas” would cause more Americans to seek benefits from electric vehicles.
Gates also commented on environmental, social, and governance investing, also known as ESG, and responded to criticism from those who argue that the movement blends nonpartisan business operations with progressive social causes. He called BlackRock CEO Larry Fink a “great example of private-sector leadership” for his work in promoting renewable energy.
“Anyone who says that climate shouldn’t be a factor in how you evaluate the future of a company, that’s not capitalism, because companies that have emissions are going to be subject to border adjustment tariffs or taxes. If you’re dealing with severe weather events, that’s got to be factored in,” Gates remarked. “The attacks are kind of illogical, because climate does affect the economy, which does affect investments.”
Fink has indeed claimed on numerous occasions that “climate risk is investment risk.” BlackRock said in a recent <a href="https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/literature/press-release/blackrock-response-attorneys-general.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to conservative state attorneys general that ESG does not constitute a departure from the maximization of profits and claimed that entities adopting a “forward-looking position with respect to climate risk and its implications for the energy transition will generate better long-term financial outcomes.”
Multiple conservative states, including Missouri, South Carolina, and Louisiana, have since pulled more than $1 billion from BlackRock, which often presses portfolio companies to deprioritize fossil fuels. Texas concluded that BlackRock and nine other firms had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-cuts-ties-with-blackrock-other-woke-firms-over-their-hatred-for-fossil-fuels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">violated</a> state law by “refusing to deal with” or “terminating business activities with” companies involved in the production of oil and gas “without an ordinary business purpose.”

FRANCE-HEALTH-FUNDING

Bill Gates On Energy Crisis: ‘It’s Good For The Long Run’

Bill Gates Offers Thoughts On European Energy Crisis, ESG Investing

Energy

Europe

Ukraine-Russia War

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/microsoft">Microsoft</a> co-founder Bill Gates took a surprising shot at left-wing climate alarmists during an interview that aired last week, saying their attempts to radically change people&#8217;s behavior for the sake of the environment were not realistic.
Gates made the remarks while speaking to Bloomberg’s Zero podcast with host Akshat Rathi when he was asked by Rathi if a &#8220;revolution&#8221; was needed to address so-called &#8220;climate change.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s realistic to say that people are utterly going to change their lifestyle because of concerns about climate,&#8221; Gates <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/09/29/bill-gates-youll-never-solve-climate-change-with-degrowth.html">said</a>. &#8220;You can have a cultural revolution where you&#8217;re trying to throw everything up, you can create a North Korean-type situation where the state&#8217;s in control. Other than immense central authority to have people just obey, I think the collective action problem is just completely not solvable.&#8221;
&#8220;Anyone who says that we will tell people to stop eating meat, or stop wanting to have a nice house, and we&#8217;ll just basically change human desires, I think that that&#8217;s too difficult,&#8221; Gates said. &#8220;You can make a case for it. But I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s realistic for that to play an absolutely central role.&#8221;
&#8220;But just having a few rich countries, a few rich companies and a few rich individuals buy their way out so they can say they&#8217;re not part of the problem, that has nothing to do with solving the problem,&#8221; Gates added. &#8220;Those [remaining] two-thirds of emissions are pretty basic in terms of the calories and shelter and transport and goods being used. So, the excesses of the rich countries … even curbing those completely out of existence is not a solution to this problem.&#8221;
Gates later added that in order to combat &#8220;climate change&#8221; that people needed to not use the issue &#8220;as a moral crusade.&#8221;
&#8220;People who are in the climate space may not realize how many things are competing for the modest amount of increased resources that society has,&#8221; Gates said. &#8220;And that not that many people are prepared to be worse off because of climate requirements.&#8221;
Gates spoke to the Podcast back in August before the Democrats&#8217; climate legislation, which was billed as a plan to fight inflation, was signed into law.
The release of the podcast episode comes as Florida just endured last week one of the most powerful Category 4 hurricanes to ever hit the United States — which has left dozens dead and caused many billions of dollars in damage.

Bill Gates Takes Surprising Shot At Left-Wing Climate Alarmists: ‘Just Completely Not Solvable’

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the world’s <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-29/india-s-adani-is-first-asian-to-become-world-s-third-richest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fifth-richest man</a>, thinks that Communist China should be praised for the way it has handled poverty.
New York Times Magazine columnist David Wallace-Wells, the author of “The Uninhabitable Earth,” opined that progress on poverty around the globe “has been really remarkable.” Asserting that said progress reflected “progress in China,” he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/opinion/environment/bill-gates-climate-change-report.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> Gates if the trend toward eradicating poverty would continue since China has “sort of finished eradicating real poverty.”
“If you’re allowed to say the truth about things in China, they’ve done a very good job,” Gates responded. “They’re now a middle-income country, in fact, one of the wealthier middle-income countries.”
In 2018, an <a href="https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2019/07/23/could-chinas-financial-repression-be-good-for-growth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> written by a professor of economics at Peking University, Beijing and a then PhD scholar at Peking University surmised that China had initially used a repressive financial policy in order to stimulate the economy.
The article stated that the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) was still guiding commercial banks’ settings of deposit and lending rates, adding that “repressive financial policies have not stopped China from achieving rapid economic growth,” but that “economic growth has decelerated and systemic financial risks have escalated sharply.”
In March 2021, NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/05/974173482/what-chinas-total-victory-over-extreme-poverty-looks-like-in-actuality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that extreme poverty was defined by China as making less than $2.30 per day in contrast to the World Bank&#8217;s suggested poverty line of making less $5.50 per day for China&#8217;s upper middle-income category.
“China still has around 13% of its population falling below that line, or close to 200 million people,&#8221; the World Bank&#8217;s Martin Raiser pointed out.
NPR correspondent John Ruwitch, who covers Chinese affairs, added, “But for Xi Jinping, proclaiming victory over extreme poverty is propaganda gold.”
In February 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-56194622" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that China had eliminated extreme poverty the previous year.
“According to the current criteria, all 98.99 million poor rural population have been taken out of poverty, and 832 poverty-stricken counties as well as 128,000 villages have been removed from the poverty list,” he stated.
Some critics of China have pointed out that China’s campaign to eliminate poverty ignored a root cause of rural poverty: poor rural education. Some research has shown a school drop rate of up to 63% for rural students before the end of high school, <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/09/how-successful-was-chinas-poverty-alleviation-drive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Diplomat.

Bill Gates Praises China: ‘They’ve Done A Very Good Job’

Bill Gates Praises China on how they've dealt with poverty

Communist China

Poverty

Menu