American Thought Leaders - The Epoch Times

It’s hard for people around the world to fathom how brutal life can be in North Korea. Grace Jo escaped at 6 years old.  She shared with me what happened to the family members she left behind. “My oldest sister… promised to us and said, ‘Mom and sister, I will be back with the food.’” “But that promise was never fulfilled, and it’s been almost 26 years, and we don’t know what happened to her.” “She was probably sold into human trafficking, and she was not able to escape.” Her youngest brother died from starvation and malnutrition at only a few months old. Her 4 year old brother was left searching their village for his mother and sisters.  After being given a bowl of porridge, “he never woke up.” “We already lost a father, grandmother, my oldest sister went missing, my youngest brother died of starvation, and my only other brother also died.” WATCH NOW👉https://ept.ms/462Mm6C

“At the end of 1998, my grandmother passed away from starvation.” “Her last wish was to eat one baked potato, but my family at the time, we were not able to provide that.” Grace Jo escaped North Korea at just 6 years old. She shared a harrowing memory of what day to day survival looked like for her family under the regime. “For almost 10 days straight, we were just starving and drinking cold water only.” “Our daily food was relying on the wild vegetables, tree barks… whatever we could consume from nature, we tried to collect everything.” “My father… passed away while he was looking for food.” “With that heartbreaking news, my mother decided to leave our home.” https://rumble.com/v7e4wx0-she-survived-north-korea-starvation-and-10-years-in-hiding.html

Grace Jo was only six when she crossed the Tumen River to escape starvation in North Korea. Her family had already been devastated by the 1990s famine. Her father had crossed into China looking for food—then was caught, tortured, and died after returning to North Korea with a bag of rice. Her two younger brothers starved to death. So did her grandmother. Her dying wish was to eat a baked potato. Grace crossed into China with her mother and sister, only to live in hiding—constantly afraid of being caught and forcibly sent back. 🔴 PREMIERE 9PM ET on @EpochTV: https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/she-escaped-north-korea-3-times-half-of-her-family-didnt-survive-grace-jo-6074346?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=SocialM&utm_content=AmericanThoughtLeaders&utm_term=GraceJo

We are constantly told AI is coming for our jobs. But what if repeatedly predicting that future actually helps create it? Carissa Véliz explains why predictions can become “veiled commands” and why tech executives benefit when people accept them as inevitable. “Very often predictions have a veiled command.” “If I tell you, ‘Jan, tomorrow an AI is going to replace you,’ and you quit your job because it’s no longer worth it, then you’re obeying.” “If you take my prediction at face value and just act as if that was true, then you’re obeying.” “And if I’m a tech executive who’s selling this product, then you’re doing me a favor.” @CarissaVeliz new book, “Prophecy,” challenges how much power we give predictions about AI and our future. We discussed self-fulfilling prophecies, the growing influence of tech executives, privacy, and why blindly accepting predictions can help make them reality. Watch the full conversation here:

We’ve been told one in five jobs could be replaced by AI. But when we treat this prediction as fact, are we seeing the future—or manifesting it? Carissa Véliz argues that such claims of inevitability are a red flag. Someone who says a future is inevitable is trying to get you to do something and benefit from your belief, says the Oxford professor and author of “Prophecy.” She urges people to defy these narratives by asking: Who is predicting this future? Who benefits? What data supports it—and what missing data might contradict it? “If we hear predictions as if they were facts… what we’re actually doing is obeying in advance, because very often predictions have a veiled command,” she said. 🔴 PREMIERE 9PM ET on @EpochTV: https://ept.ms/4xBe861

FBI Director Kash Patel told me that Google and Meta are two of the FBI’s “best partners.” “We have to balance civil liberties and constitutional rights with proactively defending America.” “They have a different set of authorities, as a private sector company, than we do in terms of providing us information.” “We have to, of course, and rightfully so, meet the requirements to get search warrants based upon probable cause.” “They’re providing us, proactively, information… so that we can put that into our enterprise investigation and shut it down.” “Because these adversaries are using these platforms to find victims, to perpetrate their frauds and their schemes, and steal American dollars.” “We’re asking them to be more proactive.” https://rumble.com/v7dzn14-google-and-meta-are-two-of-the-fbis-best-partners.html

FBI Director Kash Patel just revealed the behind-the-scenes work that led to President Trump’s announcement on CCP election interference in 2020. “It was only possible because the President directed us to declassify and divulge this information to the American public and the world.” “I think the President was right to go to the nation and the world and put forth this information.” “Our part is smaller in this, ours being the FBI.” “We work with our partners at DHS and ODNI who have the technical capabilities, and also their remit is more on the sort of what happened overseas on these election infrastructure systems.” “We share our information.” “And then we’ll take referrals from them on matters that rise to the level of criminality… and bring charges when we can.” https://rumble.com/v7dyefw-kash-patel-the-fbis-war-on-scam-empires.html

“We are arresting people nearly every week on espionage matters.” FBI Director Kash Patel just told me he has overseen a “55% increase in espionage arrests.” “55% from the last 16 months… compared to the prior two years of the Biden administration.” “That’s a massive uptick.” “Our adversaries are always looking to steal our secrets, to co-opt our citizens, and have them steal our secrets and send them back to places like Russia, China, DPRK, Iran, just to name a few.” https://rumble.com/v7dxe52-15-billion-seized-how-the-fbi-hit-four-largest-fraud-ops.-in-the-world-kash.html

The FBI just seized $15 BILLION in crypto stolen from Americans by scammers. Scam losses in America have more than tripled since 2020. And investment/crypto fraud, sometimes known as pig-butchering scams, now account for half of it. Kash Patel told me the FBI has taken out four of the world’s largest scamming compounds, arrested 300+ people, and freed thousands of trafficked workers under Operation Blackout, working with international partners. 🔴 PREMIERE 5PM ET on @EpochTV: https://ept.ms/45b2KSj

Many Americans believe the United States has become too involved in conflicts and commitments around the world. Armenia’s ambassador to the United States, Narek Mkrtchyan, says America’s relationship with countries like his benefits the U.S. too, especially in AI and advanced technology. “When you look into the ecosystem of Armenia’s tech industry, you can notice interesting names.” “NVIDIA, Synopsys, National Instruments, Broadcom, Cisco, Microchip, and now GlobalFoundries.” “All of these big companies are in Armenia.” “They are doing chip design.” “They are doing software development.” “Because of Armenia’s highly educated workforce and highly developed AI and ICT ecosystem.” Full interview below: https://ept.ms/4hQ5Imz

FBI Director Kash Patel says America just saw a massive 20% drop in opioid deaths. He says President Trump created the leverage that helped push China to cut off key fentanyl precursors. “Last year, we saw a 20% reduction in opioid deaths in America.” “That’s a huge reduction, and that’s not by accident.” “When I went there 10 months ago, I said, ‘The fentanyl precursors are a big problem.’” “I said, ‘You guys, the folks in China, need to list them, essentially making them an illegal item to ship overseas.’” “And they did that.” “They went out and listed 17 of them, and this summer they’re gonna list, I think, 24 more.” “That’s a lot of progress, and that’s a lot of American lives saved.” “I think any leverage we have, honestly, is due to the president’s leadership.” “He went there and met with President Xi.” “That opened a lot of doors for us.” “There's more work to do.” https://rumble.com/v7dw2hy-kash-patel-inside-the-fbis-war-on-global-scam-compounds.html

“We basically had 78 Super Bowls in 39 days.” “We had zero major security incidents.” FBI Director Kash Patel breaks down the massive security operation behind the World Cup. He says the FBI protected millions of fans across the country while stopping hundreds of potential drone threats. “We had 6.8 million people visit and attend the games during that time span.” “It was really the largest sporting event the world has ever seen.” “It was double FIFA’s prior World Cup record.” “We interdicted with our partners at DHS and the state and locals 740-some drone interdictions flying over venue spaces.” “We made sure they didn’t pose a threat.” https://rumble.com/v7dv9de-kash-patel-inside-the-fbis-war-on-global-scam-compounds.html

President Trump brokered a historic peace deal last year to end three decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Most Americans never even heard about it. Armenia’s ambassador to the United States, Narek Mkrtchyan, breaks down why the deal matters far beyond the region. “President Trump brokered a peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan after three decades of conflict.” “This peace deal became historic not only for Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also for the entire region.” “It created a lot of opportunities for interregional cooperation.” “It opened a new chapter of bilateral relations between the U.S. and Armenia.” “It changed the geo-economics of the region.” “The Washington Peace Declaration created new platforms for cooperation.” https://rumble.com/v7dtf8q-the-agreement-changing-a-fragile-region.html

It’s been almost a year since a U.S.-brokered peace agreement rewired the relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The former war zone in the South Caucasus is now a “crossroads of peace” at the intersection of Central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, says Armenia’s ambassador to the United States Narek Mkrtchyan. But what does it really mean to turn a hard-won peace into strategy? The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is a 42km infrastructure corridor that seeks to turn Armenia’s geography into an asset, diversify its partnerships, and anchor its future in concrete ties for development. 🔴 PREMIERE 9PM ET on @EpochTV: https://ept.ms/4hQ5Imz

Timothy Blackwood just uncovered a massive human trafficking operation that no one is talking about. Now, he’s sounding the alarm about “scamming centers.” This is a “huge operation” that enslaves people and forces them to scam Americans and steal their money. “What my film does, ‘Scam Slave: From Hell to Home,’ is it follows the journey of a young Ugandan man named Gideon.” “He’s from a small village outside of Kampala.” “He’s running an internet cafe… to support his family.” “A client comes in and says, ‘You’re good at English, you’re great at computers, I can get you a job for $1,200 a month doing data entry… in Bangkok.’” “So he gets his tourist visa, he goes over to Thailand, has to sell his internet cafe… to get this data entry job.” “A driver picks him up, and instead of driving him to the company, he’s effectively abducted and driven across into Myanmar and to… a scamming center, where he’s enslaved to scam Americans.” Watch our interview below: https://ept.ms/4yZ1Zta

Almost every American has received a scam call. What most people don’t realize is that the person on the other end may be a trafficking victim being forced to try to scam them. Timothy Blackwood breaks down the horrifying reality behind these operations. “Many Americans have either had a family member or a friend scammed in some type of online scam operation.” “They don’t know what is behind these scams.” “The people on the other end of the line have actually been trafficked and enslaved to do this in many cases.” https://rumble.com/v7dqijq-the-multi-billion-dollar-industry-using-trafficked-slaves-to-scam-americans.html

Have you received random texts from strangers who seemed a little too friendly? You may have encountered a pig-butchering scam. Step 1: They befriend you — romantic messages, photos, maybe even deepfake videos, until you trust them. Step 2: They "fatten" you up. They start bragging about their crypto gains, then offer to help you invest too. You put in a little, and — surprise — you actually make money. So you put in more. Step 3: They "butcher" you. Once you've invested everything you can, they vanish — and so does your money. But here's what most people don't know — the person texting you might be a slave. “If you refuse to scam, they’ll torture you,” says Timothy Blackwood, an award-winning filmmaker. His new film “Scam Slave: From Hell to Home” reveals how these scam centers operate. Many are run by Chinese crime syndicates. “In most cases, the scammers are actually trafficked slaves across Southeast Asia” 🔴 PREMIERE 9PM ET on @EpochTV: https://ept.ms/4yZ1Zta

“Studies of children created through donor sperm… over 80% of them want to meet or know the person that gave them life.” Katy Faust argues that Big Fertility and IVF are disrupting something deeply rooted in human nature. The connection between a child and their biological mother and father. “The sperm is not a person.” “The person that results from that sperm has rights.” “There’s something that the two people who made the child give to the child that even sweet, loving, social parents can’t give them.” “No contract is going to be able to fill that gap.” “Even a social father will not be able to provide everything to the child that they may want to know from their biological father.” “This is a natural right.” “It’s non-substitutable.” “It’s inflexible, and the problem is that's a wrecking ball for pretty much everybody. Single, married, gay, straight, fertile, and infertile.” “Everybody's going to have to conform to that fundamental child right.” WATCH NOW https://youtu.be/z4u8a764wF4

Katy Faust believes the legalization of same-sex marriage and the rise of same-sex parenting has had detrimental consequences for children. She explains why she views the issue not through hate, but as a conflict between adult desires and children’s natural rights. “You don’t have a right to marry somebody else if it means that a child loses their fundamental, natural, God-given, self-evident right to be known and loved by both their mother and father.” “The pseudo-adult rights of gay marriage have always come at the expense of children’s fundamental natural right to be known and loved by their mom and dad.” “These adult rights always genuinely infringe on child rights.” “In the United States, over the last 11 years since Obergefell, we have seen the systematic stripping of children’s right to the two people responsible for their existence.” “We see the scrubbing of gendered terms, mother and father, from our parentage statutes.” “We see a direct connection between gay marriage and child commodification in the world of Big Fertility and the reproductive technology market.” “Just because you really want something, it doesn’t make it a natural right.” https://rumble.com/v7dkzeg-the-hidden-realities-of-buying-eggs-sperm-or-a-womb-in-america-katy-faust.html

Since the sexual revolution and the introduction of no-fault divorce in 1969, the institution of marriage in America has undergone a profound transformation. Katy Faust, founder of children’s rights organization Them Before Us and co-author of a book by the same name, argues that marriage has changed from a permanent, child-centered union, to a vehicle for adult fulfillment. And now new reproductive technologies—from IVF to surrogacy—are making parenthood possible in ways never seen before. For many, this is progress. But at what cost? 🔴 PREMIERE 5PM ET on @EpochTV: https://ept.ms/4pXvCXS