Oct 25

Today’s News 25th October 2023

  • What Can You Do If A Mob Of Far-Left Antifa-Style Rioters Surround Your Car?
    What Can You Do If A Mob Of Far-Left Antifa-Style Rioters Surround Your Car?

    Law-abiding citizens are wondering what to do when a mob of far-left Antifa-style rioters surround their vehicle, sort of like the incident on Sunday where pro-Palestinian protesters illegally blocked a city street in downtown Minneapolis and attacked an apparently confused elderly man in his car. 

    Washington Gun Law President William Kirk addressed the viral video showing an elderly man surrounded by a mob of angry pro-Palestinian protestors who began damaging his vehicle. This incident raises a frequent question Kirk has received in the last few days: How should one respond when an aggressive crowd besieges their vehicle?

    Here’s the video:

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    Kirk provides a legal framework around self-defense laws and when a driver can and cannot use lethal force when surrounded by far-left Antifa-style rioters: 

    Legal Standpoint:

    • Understanding of self-defense laws is crucial.
    • Key principles of self-defense:
      • Force can be used in self-defense if it is necessary, reasonable, and proportional.
      • Lethal force can only be used under specific conditions (imminent threat of death, serious injury, etc.).
      • Driving into or over individuals can be considered deadly force.
    • Defending property:
      • Cannot use lethal force solely to defend property.
      • Physical threats to individuals inside the car can justify the use of force.

    Scenarios:

    • If only the car is being damaged, lethal force is not justified.
    • If windows are being smashed, the potential threat of serious bodily injury arises.
    • If attackers are trying to pull people out of the car, it indicates an imminent threat, potentially justifying lethal force.
    • The driver in the video showed restraint and did not use lethal force despite being surrounded twice.

    Conclusion:

    • Importance of understanding local laws and ensuring responses are in line with legal requirements.
    • Washington Gun Law resources are linked for those interested.
    • Final message about the importance of being a lawful and responsible gun owner and understanding applicable laws.

    Watch Here:

    If progressive city leadership in Minneapolis had prioritized law and order, the incident would never have occurred on Sunday. We encourage readers to familiarize themselves with their state’s self-defense laws during uncertain times. To minimize potential confrontations, it might be wise to consider moving away from imploding Democrat-controlled urban centers for rural areas as disastrous ‘defund the police’ policies unleash a crime crisis like this country has never seen before. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 23:05

  • Elon Musk Warns "We Are Sleepwalking Our Way Into World War Three"
    Elon Musk Warns “We Are Sleepwalking Our Way Into World War Three”

    Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

    During a Twitter/X Spaces discussion Monday, owner Elon Musk warned that he believes the West is “sleepwalking our way into world war three,” and “putting civilization itself at stake.”

    Musk noted that America is lagging behind both China and Russia in terms of industrial output, and that Western leaders are pushing those two nations closer together “in an axis of immense power against the west, and laying the groundwork for World War Three.”

    Musk explained “Russia has the raw materials, and China has the industrial capacity,” adding “It’s frankly, a perfect match from a war standpoint. So I think we need to stop doing that. It’s unwise, and I think will lead to an immense risk to civilisation.”

    He continued, “I want to emphasise like that, there’s civilisational risk – there are tragedies on an individual level, tragedies on a community level, and then there’s civilisational risk. We just need to make sure that we’re not putting civilization itself at stake, which is World War Three.”

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    “I think we are sleepwalking our way into World War Three,” Musk further noted, adding “Really, people should be deeply self reflective. If they make their predictions have not come true. They should consider whether perhaps there are other predictions might not come true either.”

    “What is the track record here?” Musk continued, noting that there is no longer anyone alive who remembers how horrific world wars are and that everyone today is “coddled.”

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 22:45

  • Seattle Kicks Off Anti-Drug Push With Dozens Of Arrests As Portland Business Owners Beg For Help
    Seattle Kicks Off Anti-Drug Push With Dozens Of Arrests As Portland Business Owners Beg For Help

    Elected officials in Portland and Seattle are beginning to regret turning their cities into crime-ridden hellholes, after their response to Trumpism and the BLM riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death was to defund or otherwise hinder police, elect DAs who refuse to prosecute a variety of crime, and promote rampant drug use.

    Now, they’re dealing with the predictable hangover.

    Looking out at downtown Portland, Oregon from a high rise building.

    In Portland, 25 businesses have banded together for a strongly worded letter to elected officials, who they’ve demanded address their concerns over the city’s crime wave that has decimated foot traffic to businesses such as Ace Hotel, Central Office, Crafty Wonderland, Courier Coffee, Mimi’s Fresh Tees and Multnomah Whiskey Library, according to KGW8.

    The situation in Portland is so bad that residents have been told not to call the police unless their lives are at risk thanks to the city’s overwhelmed 911 system. In May, Portland officials figured out that defunding the police was pure idiocy, and attempted to reverse course after cutting the PD budget by $15 million, like idiots.

    Portland has also experienced a spate of major stores leaving the region, including REI, Walmart and Cracker Barrel.

    “Revitalizing downtown businesses necessitates a multifaceted approach that addresses various aspects of their operations and environment,” reads the letter from the 25 businesses, which includes ideas for garnering more financial support from government in general amid a shrinking customer base that’s killing foot traffic.

    Seattle, meanwhile, is making progress towards reducing crime and drug use.

    Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz speaks at a press conference Friday at police headquarters following the day’s operations. (Luke Johnson / The Seattle Times)

    Hours after the city’s new law against public drug use and possession took effect Friday, cops made around two dozen arrests, according to the Seattle Times.

    Police handed out flyers Friday morning in an effort to educate people about the controversial new law, then returned Friday afternoon to enforce the gross misdemeanor offenses, Diaz said in a news conference at the Seattle Police Department headquarters.

    The operations targeted the vicinity of 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street in the Chinatown International District’s Little Saigon neighborhood and Third Avenue and Pine Street in downtown. Both areas have seen prominent public drug use for years.

    “We are going to be compassionate in our approach to getting people connected with services while still making sure our city streets are safe,” said police Chief Adrian Diaz.

    The enforcement action stems from Seattle’s adoption last month of a law which allows the City Attorney’s Office to prosecute individuals who knowingly possess illicit drugs such as fentanyl, and for using them in public.

    Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell championed the new law, which passed by a narrow 6-3 vote. Supporters say it will improve public safety and help addicts find treatment, while opponents say the law will punish people for said addictions – calling it a new version of the failed war on drugs.

    Seattle police officers ride up South King Street to 12th Avenue South on Friday, ready to enforce the city’s new public drug use and drug possession law. (Luke Johnson / The Seattle Times)

    Leftist Seattle councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said the Friday arrests underscore her concerns.

    “Data shows the minute you’re arrested, there are cascading consequences for your stability. People are more likely to die while in jail due to withdrawal or die upon release due to overdoses,” she said. “We don’t want public consumption throughout the streets, but we do not have the treatment resources necessary to implement this policy.”

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    Read the Portland letter below:

    Dear Esteemed Elected Officials,

    We trust this message finds you in good health and high spirits. We, the downtown business owners of Portland, are reaching out as concerned stakeholders to bring attention to the pressing issues currently affecting our city center. The adverse conditions in our downtown area have a profound impact on local businesses. While we recognize the complexity of these challenges, we urge our city and state officials to collaborate in addressing these issues and reinvigorating downtown Portland without delay.

    Downtown Portland has long served as the vibrant heart of our community, offering a diverse mix of retail establishments, dining options, cultural attractions, and small enterprises. Unfortunately, recent years have witnessed a noticeable decline in the cleanliness, safety, and overall allure of this area. This deterioration has given rise to several significant concerns:

    1. Public Safety: The increased incidents of public disturbances, criminal activities, violence, and vandalism have left residents and visitors feeling unsafe in downtown Portland. This perceived lack of security significantly hampers our local businesses, discouraging potential customers and leading to reduced in-person sales.

    2. Homelessness and Unsheltered Individuals: The homeless population in downtown Portland has grown considerably, necessitating more comprehensive support and housing solutions. The presence of unsheltered individuals, drug use, and vandalism negatively impacts downtown life and disrupts business operations.

    3. Cleanliness and Maintenance: The cleanliness of our city center and parking garages have suffered due to litter, bodily waste, graffiti, and neglected public spaces. A clean and well-maintained environment is vital for attracting residents and tourists to downtown businesses.

    4. Economic Impact on Local Businesses: The deteriorating conditions in downtown Portland are directly and detrimentally affecting local businesses. Decreased foot traffic, negative perceptions, and increased security costs are imposing financial strain on entrepreneurs and jeopardizing their business viability.

    Revitalizing downtown businesses necessitates a multifaceted approach that addresses various aspects of their operations and environment. Here are several solutions that can aid in the repair and revitalization of downtown businesses:

    1. Direct Financial Support for Existing Businesses: Offer grants, low-interest loans, or tax incentives to downtown businesses to help them recover from economic downturns. Directing resources towards small businesses is essential for preserving the unique shopping experience of downtown.

    provide startups and small businesses with affordable office space, shared resources, and mentoring support.

    3. Marketing and Promotion: Increase marketing and promotional campaigns to draw customers back to downtown areas. Organize events, festivals, and local markets to boost foot traffic and sales. Create a map of small businesses to aid visitors. Provide resources directly to businesses for store marketing.

    4. Facade Improvement Programs: Implement programs that offer grants or low-interest loans to business owners for enhancing the appearance of their storefronts, thereby improving the overall aesthetic of downtown.

    5. Support Local Entrepreneurs: Provide training and resources to aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly those from underserved communities, to establish and sustain businesses in downtown areas.

    6. Digital Presence: Assist businesses in establishing and enhancing their online presence. Offer workshops on e-commerce, social media marketing, and website development to reach a broader customer base.

    7. Public Parking Incentive: Encourage more customers to park downtown by offering free parking during specific hours and ensuring parking safety through well-maintained garages, helping to generate revenue for businesses and the city.

    8. Arts and Culture: Foster local artists and cultural organizations by hosting art exhibitions, performances, and cultural events in downtown spaces.

    9. Business Networking: Facilitate networking events and organizations that allow business owners to connect, share ideas, and collaborate on projects that benefit the downtown community.

    10. Tourism Promotion: Promote downtown as a tourist destination, highlighting its unique shops, restaurants, and cultural attractions. Consider establishing a neighborhood association for businesses and residents.

    By implementing a combination of these solutions, local governments, business associations, and community members can collaborate to repair and revitalize downtown businesses, creating vibrant and economically thriving urban centers.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 22:25

  • Are The Chinese Selling Dollars To Buy Gold?
    Are The Chinese Selling Dollars To Buy Gold?

    Authored by Michael Maharrey via SchiffGold.com,

    Are the Chinese selling US dollar-denominated assets to buy gold?

    It sure looks that way.

    Chinese investors sold $21.2 billion in US assets in August alone – primarily US Treasury bonds.

    [ZH: Note that as the capital outflows soared, the price of gold also soared…]

    Meanwhile, the Chinese government has been buying gold at a steady pace.

    Writing at FXEmpire, analyst Vladimir Zernov said there are two dynamics driving the Chinese to sell US assets.

    The first is an effort to boost the yuan.

    China’s currency has struggled against the dollar of late due to softness in the Chinese economy and recently hit multi-year lows. Selling dollar-denominated assets for yuan boosts the local currency at the expense of the dollar. Zernov said, “Selling dollar-denominated assets to provide support to yuan makes perfect sense.”

    The second potential reason to sell US dollar-denominated assets is for further de-dollarization. In other words, the Chinese may be trying to minimize their exposure to the US currency for economic and geopolitical reasons.

    From an economic standpoint, the Chinese have to be keenly aware of the US government’s budget problem. The US ran a $1.7 trillion deficit in fiscal 2023 and has a national debt north of $33.5 trillion. Why would any country want to be exposed to that kind of risk?

    Furthermore, the US has a long history of using the dollar’s position as the reserve currency as a foreign policy hammer. By minimizing dependence on the greenback, countries can blunt America’s ability to control their foreign policy decisions.

    This is why many countries are trying to minimize their exposure to the dollar. Confidence in the greenback continues to erode thanks to the profligate borrowing, spending, and money creation by the US government, while America’s use of the dollar as a foreign policy weapon also makes many countries wary of relying solely on dollars.

    Zernov said that if China is trying to shift some of its money away from the US-controlled, dollar-dominated global financial system, there aren’t many options other than gold.

    Gold is one of the few markets that has sufficient liquidity to absorb billions of dollars of China’s funds.”

    The Chinese central bank has been on a gold-buying spree. As of the end of August, the People’s Bank of China had bought gold for 10 straight months and ranked as the largest central bank gold buyer this year. The Chinese central bank has increased its official reserves by 166 tons since the beginning of the year and 217 tons since it resumed official purchases last November. As of the end of August, the People’s Bank of China officially held 2,165 tons of gold, making up 4% of its total reserves.

    China has a history of adding to reserves and then going silent.

    The People’s Bank of China accumulated 1,448 tons of gold between 2002 and 2019, and then reported nothing for more than two years before resuming reporting last fall.

    Many speculate that the Chinese continued to add gold to its holdings off the books during those silent years.

    In fact, there has always been speculation that China holds far more gold than it officially reveals. As Jim Rickards pointed out on Mises Daily back in 2015, many people speculate that China keeps several thousand tons of gold “off the books” in a separate entity called the State Administration for Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

    Last year, there were large unreported increases in central bank gold holdings.  Central banks that often fail to report purchases include China and Russia. Many analysts believe China is the mystery buyer stockpiling gold to minimize exposure to the dollar.

    Zernov pointed out that the Chinese tend to move slowly and it remains to be seen if the recent selloff in dollar-denominated assets translates to even more gold demand.

    We will see whether the country decided to boost its gold holdings sometime in the first half of the next year. Any signs showing China decided to increase its gold reserves will be bullish for gold and may send its price toward new highs.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 22:05

  • Four Men Charged In Heist Of More Than $230,000 In Dimes From Big Rig
    Four Men Charged In Heist Of More Than $230,000 In Dimes From Big Rig

    Federal authorities unsealed charges on four men from Philadelphia over the heist of a truck carrying more than $230,000 in dimes that took place earlier this year in Northeast Philadelphia. 

    The four men charged are 25-year-old Rakiem Savage, 31-year-old Ronald Byrd, 30-year-old Haneef Palmer and 32-year-old Malik Palmer, according to 6ABC in Philadelphia. They face charges of conspiracy, robbery and theft of government money, among other charges the report says. 

    The suspects tried to convert “thousands of dimes” at cash machines in Maryland or at deposits in Philadelphia area banks, the report says. 

    Recall earlier this year we wrote about how the thieves made out with “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in dimes. After a discovery of the trailer was made back in April, police said at the time that roughly 2 million dimes were stolen. 

    The truck had $750,000 in dimes in it altogether, the original report said. Many were found strewn about in a Walmart parking lot where the trailer was parked. The dimes had been picked up at the Philadelphia Mint, but the driver of the truck went home to sleep before planning to drive the next day to Florida. 

    Capt. Jack Ryan of Northeast Detectives commented earlier this year: “This is common practice – to pick up a load going to Florida and go home for the night, get to sleep, and get on the road in the morning.”

    He didn’t comment on the driver’s decision to leave $750,000 in dimes in a trailer in the Walmart parking lot overnight, however.

    “They were trying to cross-load the dimes into other things. There are dimes all over the parking lot,” Ryan said of the heist. 

    One bystander astutely noted at the time: “I feel like if they try to go to the bank and cash it in, they’re going to get caught. They’ll be like, ‘Well, where did you get all of these dimes from?'”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 21:45

  • The Profitable Destruction Of Americans' Health
    The Profitable Destruction Of Americans’ Health

    Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

    Who needs a healthy populace rich in well-being when you can have trillions in annual corporate profits?

    The destruction caused by decay is just as catastrophic as the destruction wrought by calamity. The difference is we don’t notice the decay until it’s too late. When a wood-frame house is knocked down by a hurricane, earthquake or bulldozer, we are stunned and mortified by the destruction. But when termites or dry-rot eat away the framing for years until the house collapses, no single event triggers a response: we set aside evidence of the eventual negative consequences and reckon we can deal with it later.

    The collapse of Americans’ health has proceeded in much the same fashion. According to Diabetes in 1964: A World Survey, the global rate of diagnosed diabetes in 1964 was estimated to be around 1% to 2%. In the US, 1% of the populace was diagnosed with diabetes (11 diagnosed cases per 1,000 people), and an estimated 8 cases per 1,000 were as yet undiagnosed.

    Recall that “Type 1 diabetes is typically found in children and makes up roughly 5% of all diabetes cases. Its cause is unknown. Type 2 diabetes makes up approximately 95% of diabetes cases and is more common in adults.” ( source)

    In other words, the vast majority of diabetes cases are caused by lifestyle factors such as diet, fitness and sociological / cultural changes rather than solely by genetics.

    Today, 10% of the American populace has been diagnosed with diabetes and another 3-4% or estimated to be undiagnosed. This is an astounding ten-fold increase in diagnosed cases. In raw numbers, there were 2 million diabetics in the US in 1964 when the population was 194 million, and today there are over 37 million diabetics in a population of 330 million.

    Today, the global rate of diabetes is around 10%, also roughly ten-fold the 1964 rate. Statistics vary, but Diabetes Rates by Country 2023 lists both the U.S. and China at an 11% rate of diabetes. (As noted, an additional percentage may have diabetes but have not yet been diagnosed.)

    The number of adult Americans who are prediabetic, i.e. at risk of developing diabetes as a result of metabolic disorders, is estimated to be 38%. So more than half of America’s adult population is diabetic or prediabetic.

    The estimated total of diabetics in the US is between 13% and 14%:

    We all know what causes metabolic disorders, prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes: being overweight / obese due to a nutrient-poor diet and low level of fitness. Statistically, 13% of Americans were considered obese in 1964 according to this article: US obesity rates have tripled over the last 60 years.

    But if you look at TV programs and news reels from the early 60s, most Americans looked like Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore in 1964.

    The net result of lifestyle and sociological changes since 1964 is almost three-fourths of adult Americans are either overweight or obese, leaving slightly over one-fourth of the population being normal weight.

    A great many factors have been implicated in this staggering decline of health–food deserts, the need to work more hours, leaving fewer hours for meal prep, the relentless consolidation of farming, food and meat processing and distribution, and many others–but what we put in our mouths accounts for 70% of the causal factors. A study publish in Nature analyzed the varioue dietary deficiencies’ impact on the rising prevalence of diabetes: Incident type 2 diabetes attributable to suboptimal diet in 184 countries.

    “70.3% of the total, were estimated to be due to suboptimal intake of the 11 dietary factors. Excess intake of six harmful dietary factors jointly (refined rice and wheat, processed meats, unprocessed red meat, SSBs, potatoes, fruit juice) contributed a larger proportion of the total global diet-attributable burden (60.8%) than insufficient intake of five protective dietary factors (whole grains, yogurt, fruits, non-starchy vegetables, nuts and seeds) (39.2%).”

    In other words, consuming highly processed, low-nutrient, high sugar / fat / salt content junk food accounted for 60% of the negative consequences, and the other 40% were the result of inadequate consumption of healthy real (i.e. unprocessed) food. This aligns with the obvious cultural shifts that occurred from 1964 to the present:

    Most meals were prepared at home 60 years ago, fast-food was a rarity, eating out was a treat reserved for special occasions, snacks and sugary beverages were rare treats, cold cereals contained little or no added sugar, high fructose corn syrup was unknown, local grocery stores stocking real food were common and genetically modified crops were not yet in use. Dairies and meat production were still local rather than nationally centralized.

    It’s not as if people in 1964 were health fanatics. The typical diet was light on whole grains and heavy on processed meats like hot dogs and bologna, and “going to the gym” was only a thing for high school and college athletes. But food was more likely to be locally sourced, and snacks tended to be real food items such as apples or carrot sticks. The memories of the Depression were still sharp and “waste not, want not” was the zeitgeist.

    Going out to eat was a luxury generally viewed as a rare splurge, as it was obviously “a waste of money.” This value system made a brown-bag lunch for students and adults alike the common choice.

    Kids were encouraged (or ordered) to play outside. Many households limited the hours kids could watch TV, because it was obviously “a waste of time.”

    Now, children spend much of their waking hours on social media, gamimg and other screentime entertainment. Adults manage to log 7 or 8 hours in front of non-work-related screens as well. Addictions to social media, gaming, pornography, etc. are ubiquitous.

    As for food: fast food meals are now the norm for many, along with the purchase of sweet, calorie-rich drinks and salty-greasy snacks, highly processed foods that are designed to hijack the pleasure centers of the brain to the degree that they’re addictive: Study: Foods like ice cream, chips and candy are just as addictive as cigarettes or heroin.

    Eating out is widely viewed not as a luxury but as a common right. Meals prepared at home are often highly processed frozen or packaged foods loaded with salt, low-quality fat and sweeteners, and lacking fiber and other nutrients.

    Though millions of people watch elaborate cooking programs, a home-cooked meal made from scratch with real ingredients has become a relative rarity.

    Rather than eating real food, people consume highly processed junk food, starving themselves of the nutrition they need and deranging their bodies and minds. Advertising and marketing reduce the consuming of sustenance from a healthy enjoyment to an infantile obsession with salty-sugary-fatty mouthfeel: “it tastes so good!” So does real food, once we lose the addiction to highly processed junk food.

    The result is the decay of America’s health to the point of collapse.

    For this reason, in my view, “A healthy homecooked family meal is a revolutionary act.”

    Left unsaid in all the statistics and handwringing is the obvious truth: all this unhealthy junk food is immensely profitable. No competing power conquered us and forced us to destroy our health with addictive junk food and addictive tech platforms. The Martians didn’t land and enslave us. We bought the decay and reveled in it, and now look for solutions anywhere but the source of the decay: the elevation of corporate profits as the only metric of the nation’s “health” that matters.

    Making us ill is extremely profitable, and so is alleviating the symptoms of the resulting lifestyle diseases. Just watch a few hours of trash TV and count how many Big Pharma adverts you see, touting some costly medication to alleviate the chronic diseases directly attributable to the highly processed junk food that is #2 in adverts behind the Big Pharma ads.

    As the old saying put it: “They get you coming and going.” Eat this highly profitable junk food, become chronically ill, and then spend the rest of your life consuming highly profitable meds.

    Isn’t the entire point of having a Neocolonial Empire to improve the well-being of the home populace at the expense of the nations being exploited and pillaged? Instead, America’s Corporate Neocolonial Empire first pillaged the health of the home populace as a test audience, and then exported the addictive products overseas.

    Who needs a healthy populace rich in well-being when you can have trillions in annual corporate profits? Once the maximization of profits by any means available became the sole goal and measure of national prosperity, then generating illness and addiction became highly lucrative and reliable profit centers.

    This is the Neofeudalism and the Neocolonial-Financialization Model I’ve been discussing since 2012.

    Other links on obesity and diabetes:

    How do diabetes rates vary by country?
    China currently has 140.9 million people with diabetes, which is set to increase to 174.4 million by 2045. Experts estimate there are also 72.8 million people in China with undiagnosed diabetes.

    Obesity and Overweight (CDC)
    Percent of adults aged 20 and over with overweight, including obesity: 73.6% (2017-2018)

    National and State Diabetes Trends (CDC)

    Overweight & Obesity Statistics (niddk.nih.gov)

    New podcast: Leafbox Interview: Charles Hugh Smith (73 minutes, full transcript)

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 21:25

  • "Trump Has Never Let Us Down": Longtime DeSantis Ally Flips On Ron Over Jewish Issues
    “Trump Has Never Let Us Down”: Longtime DeSantis Ally Flips On Ron Over Jewish Issues

    Florida state Rep. Randy Fine (R), a longtime ally of Governor Ron DeSantis, has flipped his support to former President Donald Trump for the 2020 US election, citing Trump’s record on Israel, and slamming DeSantis for ‘doing nothing’ about Nazis who have allegedly invaded Florida, according to The Floridian.

    “Today, I am endorsing @realDonaldTrump,” Fine wrote on X. “The past 2 weeks have made me realize our choice as Jews is simple. We can vote for the Gov who says the right things, or we can vote for the President who actually does them. When it comes to action, Trump has never let us down,” he continued.

    In a Monday op-ed in the Washington Times with the headline: “Donald Trump has never let us down,” Fine writes that he was “jumped by a Nazi in Florida. On video. Two weeks ago.” 

    He goes on to say that DeSantis has “said almost nothing” after Nazis began showing up in public in Florida, assaulting a Rabbi, hanging banners which read “Gas the Jews” over freeway overpasses, and “beat up a Jew.”

    Our world changed forever on October 7. The Holocaust did not end in 1945; it just went into hibernation. Radical Islam is the spiritual successor to the Nazis.

    Words won’t save us.

    Only actions will.

    Donald Trump didn’t just talk about moving the Embassy. He did it.

    Donald Trump didn’t just talk about Israeli security. He green-lit them annexing the Golan.

    Donald Trump didn’t just talk about peace. He signed the Abraham Accords. He deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for it. -Randy Fine

    Fine also spoke with The Floridian about the Hamas attacks in Israel. He called for the expulsion of the pro-Palestinian “Squad” in Congress.

    “They are more focused on these Arabs in Gaza than they are on American hostages that are held there. That is treason,” he continued.

    Fellow Florida State Representative Joe Gruters (R), who had previously accused Gov. DeSantis of intentionally line-item vetoing Sarasota County projects for his Trump endorsement, replied to Fine’s tweet, “Great decision, welcome to the team. @realDonaldTrump is who America needs to lead us now more than ever.”

    Fine closes his op-ed with: “There is no choice – we must return Donald Trump to the Oval Office. For Israel. For Jews. For America. And for the World.”

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 21:05

  • Chinese Digital Yuan CBDC Used For First Time To Settle Cross-Border Oil Deal
    Chinese Digital Yuan CBDC Used For First Time To Settle Cross-Border Oil Deal

    Authored by Derek Andersen via CoinTelegraph.com,

    The digital yuan has been used for the first time to settle an oil transaction, the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange (SHPGX) announced. PetroChina International bought 1 million barrels of crude on Oct. 19. 

    The transaction was a response to a call by the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government to apply the Chinese central bank digital currency (CBDC), also referred to as the e-CNY, to international trade, the exchange said. It is “another major step forward” for the digital yuan, according to the state-controlled China Daily.

    The seller and the price in the transaction were not disclosed. For comparison, the price of the “OPEC basket” of oil from 13 producers was $95.72 per barrel on Oct. 19.

    The crude oil deal also marks an overall major step in the use of the yuan on the international market and in the global movement toward de-dollarization. In the first three quarters of 2023, the use of the yuan in cross-border settlements was up 35% year-on-year, reaching $1.39 trillion, China Daily reported. 

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    The yuan was first used for a liquified natural gas (LNG) purchase on SHPGX in March when the French TotalEnergies agreed to sell LNG to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). The second LNG deal in yuan occurred last week between CNOOC and French Engie. Those transactions did not involve the digital yuan.

    Also on Oct. 19, First Abu Dhabi Bank announced that it had signed an agreement on digital currency with the Bank of China, the state-owned commercial bank, at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Corporation, which had ended a day before. China and the United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is part, are participants in the mBridge platform to support cross-border transactions with CBDC. MBridge intends to launch as a minimum viable product next year.

    Abu Dhabi signed an agreement with India in August to settle oil deals in rupees.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 20:45

  • Regional Fed Surveys Show Prices Jumping As Business Outlooks Slump
    Regional Fed Surveys Show Prices Jumping As Business Outlooks Slump

    This morning’s headline October flash PMI data surprised everyone (to the upside) with both Manufacturing and Services jumping back above 50 (into expansion) despite hard data having been hammered during the month and numerous regional Fed surveys signaling quite the opposite.

    A few recent examples include:

    And now we have two more – signaling the exact opposite to S&P Global’s PMI from the Philadelphia and Richmond Feds.

    In the Richmond District, service sector firms grew more pessimistic about local business conditions as that index fell from −5 in September to −15 in October.

    The index for expected local business conditions also declined, from 4 in September to −22 in October.

    Additionally, the average growth in prices paid increased and respondents firms expect to increase spending in the next six months.

    Expectations indexes for future revenue and demand also decreased notably.

    So slower growth and higher prices – the exact opposite of S&P Global’s PMI data.

    The Philadelphia Fed Services survey was even uglier

    The prices paid index increased 5 points to 46.6 in October as almost 47% of the firms reported increases in prices paid (and worse still for margins, prices received fell4 points to 0.5)…

     New orders index declined 7 points this month to -16.1, undoing its increase from last month and registering its fifth consecutive negative reading as the sales/revenues index recorded its third consecutive decline.

    Finally, on balance, a larger share of firms expects a decrease in capital expenditures in 2024 than an increase.

    Let’s see what that all looks like…

    We’ve seen this kind of decoupling before… and it didn’t end well then.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 20:25

  • "Ominous Implications": Turley Opines After Former Trump Lawyer Pleads Guilty, Flips In Georgia Case
    “Ominous Implications”: Turley Opines After Former Trump Lawyer Pleads Guilty, Flips In Georgia Case

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    The image most of us had of former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis was a remarkably cheerful mugshot after her arrest in the RICO case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

    Ellis made a very different appearance today in state court pleaded guilty to intentionally interfering in the election process in the state of Georgia. While the impact of earlier pleas by figures like Sidney Powell is hard to judge at this stage, this plea has more ominous implications for the former president.

    Ellis offered a sobbing apology for her role in challenging the 2020 election and stated  that

    “as an attorney who is also a Christian, I take my responsibilities as a lawyer very seriously and I endeavor to be a person of sound moral and ethical character in all my dealings. … In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, I believed that challenging the results on behalf of President Trump should be pursued in a just and legal way. I endeavored to represent my client to the best of my ability…What I did not do, but I should, was make sure the facts that the other lawyers alleged to be true were in fact true. In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges to the election in several states, including Georgia, I failed to do my due diligence.”

    The law in question deals with a person who “knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or makes or uses any false writing or document, knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of state government or of the government of any county, city, or other political subdivision of” Georgia.

    According to documents entered in court, Ms. Ellis admitted that claims she made about the 2020 presidential election and Georgia were false, including allegations that 2,506 felons and 10,315 dead people voted in the election.

    The documents also said the allegation that workers at State Farm Arena ordered poll watchers and reporters to leave the tabulation area the night of the election and continued to operate after everyone left was false, even though all observers did leave and counting continued.

    As with the other former Trump counsel, Ellis will not face jail time and was charged with one charge of aiding and abetting false statements in writing.

    As part of the plea deal, Ellis will have to serve five years probation and pay $5,000 in restitution to the Georgia Secretary of State within 30 days.

    She will also have to complete 100 hours of community service, write an apology letter to voters in the state of Georgia and testify truthfully in future hearings regarding ongoing cases.

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    As a reminder, The Epoch Times‘ Zachary Stieber points out that Ms. Ellis and 18 others, including President Trump, were indicted by a grand jury in Fulton County earlier this year under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

    Defendants made false statements and committed other crimes to further their objectives, including trying to persuade Georgia lawmakers to reject the electoral votes that were for then-candidate Joe Biden, according to the indictment.

    Ms. Ellis was charged in part for participating in a meeting with Pennsylvania legislators on Nov. 25, 2020. During the meeting, she asked the legislators to appoint electors for President Trump, even though Pennsylvania’s vote count ended with President Biden on top.

    Ms. Ellis was specifically charged with violating the RICO act and soliciting a violation of oath by a public officer.

    Those charges are both felonies and carry a combined prison term of up to 23 years.

    Ms. Ellis is not the first defendant to plead guilty.

    Sidney Powell, another lawyer, pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors on Oct. 19, several days before her trial was scheduled to start and after attempts to dismiss the charges failed.

    President Trump had said he hired Ms. Powell but, following the plea, said she never actually worked for him. President Trump’s campaign also said she was not a member of its legal team.

    Kenneth Chesebro, another lawyer, pleaded guilty to one felony the following day.

    Scott Hall, a bail bondsman, was the first defendant to enter a guilty plea. He pleaded guilty in September to five misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties.

    All defendants saw charges dropped as part of their plea deals, and will avoid time in prison if they follow the parameters of the agreements.

    Others charged in the indictment include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former President Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and former Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer.

    The charges were approved by a grand jury. They were presented by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat.

    With that background in mind, Jonathan Turley reminds that Ellis’ is the type of plea that tends to concentrate the mind. 

    Powell pleaded to relatively minor charges involving unauthorized access to voting machines and areas. Those charges tend to be easy to prove. It is not clear if she would tie Trump to a conspiracy or racketeering.

    Ellis pleaded guilty to false false statements that could conceivably implicate the President if she claims that he was aware of the falsity and facilitated the crime.

    Moreover, Ellis recently broke with Trump.

    She called him a “malignant narcissist” who cannot admit mistakes – and said that she would never vote for him again.

    The question is now whether Ellis will implicate Trump in this conspiracy.

    What is clear is that her plea will hold particularly interest of Special Counsel Jack Smith in his parallel federal prosecution.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 20:05

  • Jealous? NBC Knocks 7 'Influential Accounts' On X Over Israel-Hamas Coverage
    Jealous? NBC Knocks 7 ‘Influential Accounts’ On X Over Israel-Hamas Coverage

    NBC News ‘gotcha’ reporter Brandy Zadrozny’s most recent screed can only be interpreted as sheer jealousy, after the outlet reports that just seven influential X accounts have ‘dominated the flow of news’ surrounding the Israel-Hamas war and have been ‘easily outpacing established mainstream news outlets.’

    Citing a Friday report by the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, as well as a ‘separate analysis’ by the partisan hacks at NewsGuard, Zadrozny writes that during a three-day period starting with the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the most popular posts regarding the crisis revealed that news on the platform is “faster, more disorienting, and potentially more shaped by Musk himself.”

    We should mention that the report doesn’t refute anything posted by said ‘influential’ accounts. The entire report is simply bitching over their popularity, and the alleged (yet undefined) “change for the worse” on the platform.

    The new work adds data to a swell of recent anecdotal accounts from researchers, academics and journalists who have noted a change for the worse in the way news and information moves and is incentivized on Twitter over the last year, especially since the start of the Israel-Hamas crisis. A separate analysis published Thursday by NewsGuard, a nonpartisan company that tracks false narratives online, found verified accounts were responsible for nearly three-fourths of the most viral misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war on Twitter. -NBC News

    “At its core what we’re looking at here is a different vision of what news is,” said Mike Caulfield, a research scientist at the University of Washington and lead author of the new report. “It’s fast, it’s unvetted, and it’s very often unsourced. And there’s every indication that the shift is not accidental and that it’s part of a vision of what news is going to be on X.”

    “The people who are engaged, they probably buy into this vision, but we have doubts that it serves the public well.”

    Again, zero examples.

    Caulfield and crew have branded the accounts “new elites” – who have exercised “disproportionate power and influence” over the Israel / Hamas news. Those accounts include:

    Visegrád 24, a news aggregator run by a right-wing Polish social media marketing agency; Mario Nawfal, a Twitter celebrity known for hosting live audio chats focused on cryptocurrency who was the focus of an NBC News investigation; @spectatorindex, an account self-described as “News, media and data from around the globe,” reportedly operated by an Australian-Muslim medical doctor; @CollinRugg, a co-founder of the conservative site Trending Politics; and @CensoredMen, a 10-month-old account that before pivoting to the Israel-Hamas war primarily posted in support of the misogynist internet influencer Andrew Tate. 

    Of course, here’s what it really boils down to:

    “Tweets about the Israel-Hamas war from these accounts outperformed popular news accounts belonging to CNN, The New York Times, the BBC and Reuters, despite having far fewer followers, according to the research (NBC News was not included),” Zadrozny writes, adding that researchers found that tweets about the Israel-Hamas war from ‘approved’ news sources garnered 112 million views over 298 tweets, while the seven ‘influential’ accounts drew 1.6 billion views across 1,834 tweets.

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 19:45

  • "Unconscionable": Republicans Press Pentagon Over American-Made Weapons In Hamas's Hands
    “Unconscionable”: Republicans Press Pentagon Over American-Made Weapons In Hamas’s Hands

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Citing reports that advanced U.S.-made firearms have ended up in the possession of the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza, several House Oversight Committee Republicans are demanding answers from the Pentagon about what’s being done to make sure American-made weapons don’t end up in the wrong hands.

    “The Committee has seen reports that U.S.-manufactured weapons are being redistributed and resold in secondary markets to terrorist organizations, including Hamas,” wrote House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in an Oct. 23 letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

    A young boy holds a U.S.-made M4A1 rifle during a rally of Hamas supporters, at the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza Strip, on Dec. 12, 2014. (Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images)

    Mr. Comer and Ms. Greene cited a series of media reports indicating that American-made weapons were being diverted and ending up in the hands of terrorists.

    One source of these U.S.-made weapons is reportedly the roughly $7 billion stockpile left behind in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Another is related to the arms that the United States is providing to Ukraine amid its war with Russia but that are being diverted to the Middle East by various actors, including gun-smuggling criminal groups.

    “The potential possession of U.S. weapons by terrorists is alarming in light of the terrorist group’s recent horrific attack on Israel,” the pair of lawmakers wrote, referring to the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas operatives that killed about 1,500 Israelis, mostly civilians—many of them in barbaric fashion.

    In their letter, they demanded a staff briefing from the Pentagon by the end of October on what procedures the Department of Defense (DOD) has in place “for preventing, addressing, and mitigating weapon diversion abroad.”

    The DOD didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time.

    A Ukrainian serviceman checks his U.S-made M4A1 carbine after cleaning it at a base in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 23, 2023. (Yasuyoshi Chima/AFP/Getty Images)

    ‘Arsenal of Anarchy’

    In their letter, Mr. Comer and Ms. Greene cited a number of media reports indicating that American-made weapons were ending up in the hands of those who may wish to use them to harm the United States and its allies.

    One of these is a June 15 report by Newsweek that cites a high-ranking Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commander as saying that the Israeli military was concerned that U.S.-made weapons provided to Ukraine were being diverted and ending up in the hands of Israel’s enemies in the Middle East.

    “We are very worried that some of these capabilities are going to fall to Hezbollah and Hamas’ hands,” the IDF commander told the publication.

    Since the Russia–Ukraine conflict erupted in February 2022, the United States has sent more than $46 billion in military assistance to Kyiv, sparking worries that some of that massive flow of arms was being diverted and ending up in other regions.

    While a report in March from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime found that “there is currently no substantial outflow of weapons from the Ukrainian conflict zone,” it warned of the prospect of serious proliferation.

    The report’s authors warned in a statement that when the war ends, “Ukraine’s battlefields could and will become the new arsenal of anarchy, arming everyone from insurgents in Africa to gangsters in the streets of Europe.”

    While it’s impossible to tell without further investigation where the weapons are coming from, it’s been alleged that some U.S.-made weapons are finding their way to Gaza and into the hands of Hamas.

    In their letter, the GOP lawmakers said that “recently released photos show Hamas terrorists allegedly holding what appear to be H4A1 Carbines,” a type of weapon that they point out was specially designed for U.S. Special Operations Forces.

    “This would not be the first time our military service members and allies have been targeted by terrorist organizations misappropriating American-made weapons,” the lawmakers wrote, citing the massive $7 billion arsenal that ended up in the hands of the Taliban.

    A Ukrainian serviceman checks his U.S-made M4A1 carbine after cleaning it at a base in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 23, 2023. (Yasuyoshi Chima/AFP/Getty Images)

    Taliban Seize $7 Billion Worth of US Weapons and Equipment

    After U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, they left behind billions of dollars of American-made weapons and equipment.

    A Pentagon watchdog reported in August 2022 that “U.S.-funded equipment valued at $7.12 billion was in the inventory of the former Afghan government when it collapsed, much of which has since been seized by the Taliban.”

    The report, which was confirmed by the DOD, indicated that the equipment that had fallen into Taliban hands included military aircraft, ground vehicles, weapons, and other military equipment.

    The items that ended up in Taliban hands included large equipment like Black Hawk helicopters and Humvees, as well as small but sophisticated arms like M16 assault rifles and M4 carbines.

    “We have already seen Taliban fighters armed with U.S.-made weapons they seized from the Afghan forces. This poses a significant threat to the United States and our allies,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters in an email last year.

    Lt. Col. Emron Musavi, an Indian army spokesperson, told CNBC in an email last year that weapons left behind by U.S. forces during the withdrawal from Afghanistan were making their way into other conflict zones, including in India-controlled Kashmir, which some terror groups are trying to annex for Pakistan.

    “It can be safely assumed that they have access to the weapons left behind,” he told the outlet, amid reports that operatives from Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, two Pakistan-based groups designated by the United States as terrorist organizations, had been spotted with U.S.-made arms like M4s and M16s.

    Military vehicles transferred by the U.S. to the Afghan National Army in February 2021. (Afghanistan Ministry of Defense/via Reuters)

    Taliban stand guard at an entrance gate outside the Interior Ministry in Kabul, on Aug. 17, 2021. (Javed Tanveer/AFP via Getty Images)

    Demands for Oversight

    The letter from Mr. Comer and Ms. Greene is not the first time Republicans have pressed the Pentagon on U.S.-made weapons falling into the wrong hands.

    Shortly after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, several Republican senators demanded the DOD provide full accounting over the weapons and equipment that were captured by the Taliban.

    “It is unconscionable that high-tech military equipment paid for by U.S. taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies,” the Republicans added.

    “Securing U.S. assets should have been among the top priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 19:25

  • Pentagon Belatedly Reveals Two Dozen US Personnel Were Wounded In Spate Of Drone Attacks In Iraq, Syria
    Pentagon Belatedly Reveals Two Dozen US Personnel Were Wounded In Spate Of Drone Attacks In Iraq, Syria

    Update(1910ET): The Pentagon revealed in a late Tuesday statement that in just the past week, US and coalition forces have been attacked at least ten times in Iraq, as well as three times in Syria “via a mix of one way attack drones and rockets,” according to Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, speaking to NBC.

    But the real bombshell development, which Biden’s defense officials have apparently sat on for several days, is that some 24 US personnel were wounded in the attacks. According to the NBC statement:

    Two dozen American military personnel were wounded last week in a series of drone attacks at American bases in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command told NBC News on Tuesday.

    The Pentagon confirmed the attacks last week, but the number of U.S. casualties has not been previously disclosed.

    “Twenty American personnel sustained minor injuries on Oct. 18 when at least two one-way attack drones targeted al-Tanf military base in southern Syria, CENTCOM said,” the report continues. 

    It appears all the injuries were deemed minor, given Gen. Ryder described that all personnel returned to duty after being evaluated and threated, and there was no significant damage to base installations. However, in Iraq, “The U.S. shot down the one-way attack drones, but the debris from one destroyed a hanger that contained small aircraft, CENTCOM said.”

    Illustrative: Iranian Army drone training exercise, via Reuters

    The defense official said that amid the attacks there was a contractor that suffered cardiac arrest and died while sheltering in place, but the Pentagon isn’t necessarily considering the casualty to be the direct result of the assault. 

    The Pentagon may have concealed the information until now not only to properly account for all the instances and wounded personnel, but possibly to avoid escalating tensions by releasing the news. The Biden administration has vowed to respond ‘decisively’ if Americans in the region come under attack by Iran. 

    The militias operating in Iraq and Syria, believed to be behind the uptick in attacks, are widely viewed by Washington as being supported from Tehran. 

    * * *

    Update(1550ET): It’s never a good sign when the United States says it “doesn’t want war” – at a moment a long known geopolitical flashpoint region stands on the brink. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday delivered a stern warning to Iran before a UN Security council meeting, saying the US is prepared to respond “decisively” if Tehran or its proxies launch attacks on Americans in the Middle East.

    Not only does the Pentagon still have thousands of troops and assets in Iraq, long under the domination of Shia paramilitary influence, but it has up to a thousand or so troops occupying broad oil and gas regions of eastern Syria. Missile and drone attacks on Pentagon outposts in Syria and Iraq have been rising in the last days. But the real concern is on Israel’s northern border, where Hezbollah has launched multiple guided missile and anti-tank attacks on Israel border posts, including on Tuesday. 

    “The United States does not seek conflict with Iran,” Blinken told the UNSC “We do not want this war to widen. But if Iran or its proxies attack US personnel anywhere, make no mistake: We will defend our people, we will defend our security, swiftly and decisively.” Russia’s President Putin, who since 2015 has stationed major assets in neighboring Syria, just the day prior blamed Washington for stoking “escalation” in the Middle East by moving two US carrier strike groups into the region. 

    There are building fears that Iran-backed Hezbollah would launch an all-out war on Israel if the IDF moves in full force into Gaza. The only thing which apparently has stalled these plans is the slow release (so far up to four hostages) of Israeli and American captives by Hamas. Domestic political pressure is also building against the Netanyahu government, led by families who see in Qatari mediated efforts hope that loved ones will be released. Hamas has demanded that fuel be transferred into Gaza via the Rafah border, but Israel has countered that all hostages must be freed first. 

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    “We call on all member states to send a firm, united message to any state or non-state actor that is considering opening another front in this conflict against Israel or who may target Israel’s partners, including the United States: don’t. Don’t throw fuel on the fire,” Blinken said. But the historical pattern has been that when the US moves such huge naval power into the Mediterranean and Mideast waters, it plans to do something with it.

    Jordan (and others), have at the same time warned the UN assembly that there’s “real danger” of a bigger war which draws in superpowers like Russia, or even potentially China, which also has interests and military assets in the region. 

    “We’re all doing everything we can to stop it. There’s the threat of this expanding into the West Bank, into Lebanon, into other fronts. None of us want that, we’re all working against that,” Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told the UNSC. 

    * * * 

    French President Emmanuel Macron has traveled to Israel Tuesday, the latest Western leader to do so, where he’s meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials in what’s scheduled as a two-day trip. He’s met with families of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack as well.

    He arrived in Tel Aviv just after Gaza’s health ministry announced that deaths from Israeli airstrikes have soared past 5,000 killed. Just in the last 24 hours, officials said that 704 Palestinians have been killed. Additionally the ministry has warned that hospitals and medical centers are shutting down at rapid pace, with lack of resources including fuel and electricity. 

    Macron, while meeting Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday, conveyed that the release of the over 220 hostages held in Gaza should be the “first objective” of Israel and its allies. Macron appears to be backing Biden’s appeal for Israel to stall the ground invasion in order to provide more time for negotiations. So far, four women have been released from Hamas captivity, including two Americans from Chicago. 

    The Tuesday meeting, AFP via Getty Images

    But Macron has also made headlines in proposing that France help provide a military solution. He has offered that France’s counter-ISIS forces be utilized for anti-Hamas action. He said his country stands ready “to beef up what we are doing in the coalition against ISIS. We are available to include Hamas in the coalition against ISIS depending on what Israel will ask us to deliver.”

    Macron said at a press conference alongside Netanyahu that terrorism is “our common enemy”. Referencing the Islamic State, he explained, “France is ready for the international coalition against Daesh in which we are taking part for operations in Iraq and Syria to also fight against Hamas.” 

    Shortly after Macron’s proposal grabbed international headlines, an Elysee Palace official clarified that “Not every country is fighting on the ground” and that “Much will depend on conversations we have with our allies.” The official stressed that Paris will still seek a “more crucial, more decisive peace process,” and added:

    “If you want to fight effectively and if you want to have everyone with you, you have to offer a political perspective,” the official continues. “We need to know altogether why we are fighting.”

    “The cause that Israel is fighting for is our cause as well.”

    …France wants to “consolidate the perspective of a ceasefire. I know it is very delicate to discuss. But we need again to know where we are going to have the instruments available that can bring back peace and stability.”

    Importantly he stressed that in Jerusalem, Macron asked PM Netanyahu for “clarity about the endgame, the modalities with which you operate, the conditions which you create, your political motivation.”

    France had previously confirmed losing 30 of its nationals during the Oct.7 terror assault, nine of which are still missing – presumably in captivity in Gaza.

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    The question of “clarity” regarding Israel’s goals and strategy is also high on the US administration’s agenda. A Times of Israel report this week, commenting on what US officials told The NY Times, issued the following blunt words: “The Biden administration is reportedly concerned that Israel lacks achievable military goals for its operations in Gaza, leading US officials to believe that the IDF is not yet ready for a ground incursion.”

    Macron’s visit, during which time he’s seeking “clarity” on objectives, will only heighten this pressure on Netanyahu to convey a clear plan and exit strategy. The fear also is that Israel’s military could get bogged down in a costly Gaza fight, leading to escalation and quagmire, including in the north with Hezbollah.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 19:10

  • With World Focused On Israel, WaPo Boasts CIA Is Behind Brazen Assassinations Of Russians
    With World Focused On Israel, WaPo Boasts CIA Is Behind Brazen Assassinations Of Russians

    At a moment the globe’s attention is by and large completely focused on events in Gaza, The Washington Post has this week published a bombshell report which vindicates Moscow’s worst fears. Up to now, any pundit daring to write that Putin’s accusations that the West has for years backed a covert campaign to destabilize Russia while stoking the 2014 (and after) civil war in Donbass, was smeared as a ‘pro-Kremlin propagandist’. 

    But now, the D.C. establishment’s premier newspaper is openly admitting that the CIA is actively running covert ops inside Russia, which has included the killing of journalist and geopolitical commentator Darya Dugina, the daughter of Alexaner Dugin. Another “conspiracy theory” has been belatedly admitted as conspiracy fact.

    The report stunningly documents of this “shadow war” that, “The missions have involved elite teams of Ukrainian operatives drawn from directorates that were formed, trained, and equipped in close partnership with the CIA, according to current and former Ukrainian and US officials. Since 2015, the CIA has spent tens of millions of dollars to transform Ukraine’s Soviet-formed services into potent allies against Moscow, officials said.”

    Long after independent media had asserted the deep, years-long involvement of US and allied intelligence in creating the conditions for a major Russia-Ukraine war, which was launched in Feb. of 2022 (and those same indy media voices were dismissed by the MSM for it), it seems unnamed US officials are now openly boasting about assisting with brazen assassinations to the Washington Post:

    The cluttered car carrying a mother and her 12-year-old daughter seemed barely worth the attention of Russian security officials as it approached a border checkpoint. But the least conspicuous piece of luggage — a crate for a cat — was part of an elaborate, lethal plot. Ukrainian operatives had installed a hidden compartment in the pet carrier, according to security officials with knowledge of the operation, and used it to conceal components of a bomb.

    Four weeks later, the device detonated just outside Moscow in an SUV being driven by the daughter of a Russian nationalist who had urged his country to “kill, kill, kill” Ukrainians, an explosion signaling that the heart of Russia would not be spared the carnage of war.

    The operation was orchestrated by Ukraine’s domestic security service, the SBU, according to officials who provided details, including the use of the pet crate, that have not been previously disclosed. 

    At every turn in the very revealing WaPo piece, US officials emphasize that covert CIA and allied intelligence operations aimed at Moscow have been a “reality” going back many years.

    “In reality, they represent capabilities that Ukraine’s spy agencies have developed over nearly a decade — since Russia first seized Ukrainian territory in 2014 — a period during which the services also forged deep new bonds with the CIA,” the report continues. 

    Not only did US intel officials tell the Post that the CIA has a significant presence in Ukraine, and particularly the capital, to this day – but the agency has provided Kiev with advanced surveillance systems and has even guided the formation of a new SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) unit called the “Fifth Directorate”. 

    Ukraine’s military intelligence has also received significant support. “GUR was our little baby. We gave them all new equipment and training,” a former US intelligence official told the Post.

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    Darya Dugina’s killing was one among dozens of high profile killings and sabotage bombings carried out by Ukrainian intelligence – with the supporting help of US counterparts – which has also included two large attacks on the Kerch Strait bridge. 

    However, as expected the sources speaking to the Post tried to put some distance between the CIA and direct involvement in the assassinations. The officials claim the CIA only served a support role, or what amounts to “bolstering those services’ abilities to gather intelligence on a dangerous adversary.” Of course, the Kremlin is not going to see things this way, nor would any country coming within the CIA’s crosshairs.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 19:05

  • Cornell Prof Who Called Hamas Attacks "Exhilarating" Takes Leave-Of-Absence
    Cornell Prof Who Called Hamas Attacks “Exhilarating” Takes Leave-Of-Absence

    Authored by Maggie Kelly via The College Fix,

    A Cornell University professor who spoke positively of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel has taken a leave of absence from the university.

    History Professor Russell Rickford called the group’s actions “exhilarating” on October 15 at a rally off-campus in Ithaca, N.Y., according to video obtained by The College Fix.

    According to an email acquired by the Cornell Review, another professor took over Rickford’s survey course on post-Civil War African American history.

    History Professor Tamika Nunley sent an email to the class Friday, writing that “Professor Rickford will be taking a leave of absence” and she “will assume teaching responsibilities for this course for the remainder of the semester,” the conservative campus paper reported.

    Cornell media relations confirmed Rickford “has requested and received approval to take a leave of absence from the university,” according to the Review.

    In his speech to the crowd on October 15, Rickford said that “Hamas has shifted the balance of power.”

    Rickford added that he abhors the targeting of children and civilians, yet added “but we are able to breathe — for the first time in years.”

    “It was exhilarating,” he said. “It was exhilarating, it was energizing.”

    The professor’s comments were met with cheers of “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea!”

    In a statement on October 17 signed by President Martha Pollack and Board of Trustees Chairman Kraig Kayser, Cornell condemned Rickford’s rhetoric.

    “We learned yesterday of comments that Professor Russell Rickford made over the weekend at an off-campus rally where he described the Hamas terrorist attacks as ‘exhilarating,’” Pollack and and Kayser wrote.

    “This is a reprehensible comment that demonstrates no regard whatsoever for humanity.”

    “The university is taking this incident seriously and is currently reviewing it consistent with our procedures,” they continued.

    A petition demanding Cornell fire Professor Rickford, posted to Change.org on October 16, garnered more than 11,600 signatures as of Monday.

    In a letter published in The Cornell Daily Sun on October 18, Rickford apologized for his “horrible choice of words.”

    “I recognize that some of the language I used was reprehensible and did not reflect my values,” he wrote. “As I said in the speech, I abhor violence and the violent targeting of civilians.”

    “I want to make it clear that I unequivocally oppose and denounce racism, anti-semitism, Islamophobia, militarism, fundamentalism and all systems that dehumanize, divide and oppress people,” he continued.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 18:45

  • Awkward: DC Mayor U-Turns 'Defund Police' With New Crime Bill After Murder Chaos Spreads
    Awkward: DC Mayor U-Turns ‘Defund Police’ With New Crime Bill After Murder Chaos Spreads

    How it started. 

    How it’s going? 

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    Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser will finally enforce ‘law and order’ or some variant after her disastrous progressive ‘defund the police’ policies have transformed the nation’s capital into a crime-ridden hellhole. 

    On Monday, Bowser revealed a new anti-crime bill, the Addressing Crime Trends (ACT) Now Act, which seeks to end out-of-control retail theft, open-air drug markets, surge in violent crime, and slap criminals with additional charges for wearing masks. 

    “Metropolitan Police Department continues to be a leader in fair and constitutional policing across this nation. They continue to work every day to have and keep the trust of our city. And this legislation won’t change that. It will, however, support the department in dealing with some of the negative consequences of the Comprehensive Police Adjustment and Injustice Amendment Act. Some of the changes that were made just don’t match the daily practice of safe and effective policing,” Bowser said while revealing ACT. 

    However, officials told Bloomberg that the ACT’s goal is not to entirely reverse the DC Council’s progressive priorities but to dial back some of the radical reforms. The DC Council is expected to vote on the proposed legislation soon.  

    This year, the nation’s capital has recorded a surge in violent crimes: Homicides hit the highest level in two decades in the first six months, and carjackings are out of control. Several lawmakers and staffers have been robbed. 

    DC’s U-turn on failed progressive policies is yet another metro area that is being forced to restore law and order. San Francisco had to reverse course a few months ago. 

    Meanwhile, Democrats take zero accountability for their disastrous progressive policies. And so be it. The exodus out of cities by law-abiding citizens and companies only leads to a revival of suburbia. Let the cities implode on themselves as fiscal budgets are set to be strained. NYC is learning through budget cuts. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 18:25

  • "There Could Already Be A Cell In The US Planning The Next Terrorist Attack": Fmr. Border Commissioner
    “There Could Already Be A Cell In The US Planning The Next Terrorist Attack”: Fmr. Border Commissioner

    Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Hamas’s terror attack on Israel is having ripple effects around the world, and the porous U.S. borders are again in the spotlight.

    “The same terrorists that just carried out this horrific attack in Israel—their hatred and their unwavering commitment … to do harm to the United States, is alive and well,” Mark Morgan, who served as acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the Trump administration, told The Epoch Times.

    “Nobody in their right mind can say that our border is secure.”

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

    There’s a real concern that terrorists have already crossed the U.S. border, particularly within the group of more than 1.6 million illegal immigrants who evaded Border Patrol upon entry and are unknown to officials, Mr. Morgan said.

    In the past 11 months, 151 people on the terror watchlist have been arrested by Border Patrol after crossing illegally, while tens of thousands of other “special interest aliens” have entered and been released, he said. “Special interest” means that they hail from countries with direct ties to state-sponsored terrorist groups, including Yemen, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, and Pakistan.

    Another terror attack inside the United States like the 2013 Boston bombing or the 2015 San Bernardino, California, mass shooting and attempted bombing, is imminent, Mr. Morgan warned.

    “It’s coming. It’s coming. No one can predict, but what I will say is, there could already be a cell in the United States planning the next terrorist attack, and we would have no idea,” he said. “That’s a fair statement; that’s not hyperbolic.”

    Terror concerns in the United States are escalating, especially as thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets around the country.

    FBI Director Chris Wray, in a speech to the International Association of Chiefs of Police in San Diego on Oct. 14, encouraged law enforcement officers to stay vigilant.

    “You’re often the first to see the signs that someone may be mobilizing to violence,” he said.

    “In this heightened environment, there’s no question we’re seeing an increase in reported threats, and we’ve got to be on the lookout, especially for lone actors who may take inspiration from recent events to commit violence of their own.”

    Meanwhile, the FBI issued a statement on Oct. 9, saying that it doesn’t have “specific and credible intelligence indicating a threat to the United States stemming from the Hamas attacks.”

    The lack of intelligence may not mean a lot, because the attack on Israel showed a “colossal intelligence failure,” Mr. Morgan, who also served as an FBI agent for 20 years, said.

    He said that a terror event such as Hamas’s attack that killed 1,400 Israelis, including children, on Oct. 7 can serve as a trigger event.

    “We have people in our own country that are actually supporting Hamas, supporting the actions of babies being decapitated, of being burned alive, of women being savagely raped and videotaped,” Mr. Morgan said.

    A child’s bed stained with blood is among the damage caused by Hamas terrorists after they attacked Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel, on Oct. 20, 2023. (Dima Vazinovich/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

    “When you have this deep-rooted, irrational ideology, to be inspired to move to radicalization, then action can be very quick. Generally, it takes an event—and we have that now.”

    Hamas sympathizers brandishing Palestinian flags stood outside of the White House on Oct. 14 chanting “Free Palestine.” Some demonstrators wore head and face coverings commonly associated with jihadist groups.

    National security lawyer and regional analyst Irina Tsukerman said much the same about the threat that Hamas agents pose to the United States.

    “There is significant pro-Hamas support in the United States already, both among leftist radicals and apologists in academia, and Palestinian activists and their allies, such as the crowds rallying with Hamas in various big cities around the United States in the past few days,” she told The Epoch Times.

    Ms. Tsukerman said she disagrees with the FBI’s Oct. 9 statement that suggests there’s no current specific threat to the United States.

    “The FBI is wrong. Khaled Meshaal called for his supporters to attack Western and other targets. … That could well include the United States or at least Jewish and Israeli targets in the United States,” she said.

    Mr. Meshaal is the former chief of Hamas. In a cryptic recording sent to international media outlets, initially reported by Reuters on Oct. 11, the terrorist commander said, “To all scholars who teach jihad … to all who teach and learn, this is a moment for the application [of theories].”

    A man shouts slogans while holding a Quran, the holy book of Islam, in his hand during a rally to support Palestinians in Gaza, near the White House on Oct. 14, 2023. (Ali Khaligh/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

    On Oct. 8, an Iran proxy terrorist group called Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) warned the United States against getting involved in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

    “Palestine is not Ukraine,” the terror group stated.

    “Any direct American entrance into the conflict for the crumbling entity [Israel] will make all American positions in the region legitimate targets.”

    The fanatical group is one of many through which Iran pushes its political agenda in the region. Another one of these is Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is reportedly holding an Israeli captive amid the newest conflict with Hamas.

    Like Hamas and KSS, Hezbollah is an Iranian-funded Islamic terrorist group. In 2020, the U.S. State Department stated that Iran provides $100 million in annual aid to Hamas and another $700 million to Hezbollah.

    However, while most of these organizations’ actions are limited to the Middle East, Hezbollah has terrorist cells operating in the Americas.

    Wave of Mobilization

    In Latin America, Hezbollah has quietly been putting down roots for decades, and the U.S. government is aware of it.

    “It is important to note that the relationship Hezbollah has developed with criminal and terrorist groups in Latin America has escalated from one of mutual accommodation and benefit in the spheres of money laundering, contraband, and financing to more direct and deadly forms of collaboration,” a 2012 U.S. Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence report noted.

    On Sept. 12, the U.S. Department of Treasury enacted sanctions on three people associated with Hezbollah’s illicit financial activities in Latin America.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 18:05

  • China Kicks Fiscal Stimulus Into Overdrive With Deficit-Busting 1 Trillion Yuan In New Debt
    China Kicks Fiscal Stimulus Into Overdrive With Deficit-Busting 1 Trillion Yuan In New Debt

    In a fiscal year when the US just raked up a $2 trillion deficit…

    … despite GDP “growing” at a 5.4% pace, according to the Joe Biden Department of Goalseeking Data Higher Before It Is Revised Lower Next Month Atlanta Fed GDPNow tracker, China has decided that it has enough enough of pretending that fiscal modesty and austerity are the way to go – after all there is a global superpower race going on – and despite sporting a record 300% debt to GDP…

    … today China took the first official step to a powerful fiscal stimulus when China’s legislature announced it would issue 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) of special treasury bonds during the fourth quarter, expanding budgeted fiscal deficit rates to around 3.8% for the year, well above the 3% set in March which the government has generally considered a red-line “limit” for the nation.

    “Relevant authorities should make preparations for the sovereign bond issuance and projects in an active and orderly manner to ensure every penny is managed and used appropriately,” said Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee.

    The funds raised through government bonds will all be allocated to local regions, via the mechanism of transfer payment, according to the plan approved by the country’s top legislature on Tuesday. The finance ministry said that the funds raised will be mostly used in eight areas including reconstruction after disaster, flood prevention and management projects, and natural disaster emergency response capacity improvement projects.

    The ministry also said it will timely launch the bond issuance work to ensure completion of the issuance on schedule. It will also ensure smooth transfer payment work and strengthen regulation so that the funds will be used as planned, the ministry said.

    According to Bloomberg, China has rarely adjusted the budget mid-year, having previously done so in periods including 2008, in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake and in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

    While around 500 billion yuan is planned to be utilized within the year, and the remaining half trillion yuan will be used next year, this is just the start because one you start the fiscal stimulus route, you don’t go back… especially when your youth unemployment is a record high 21%… and so high it is no longer being reported by Beijing.

    “The additional fiscal support approved today is the intervention we had been expecting and that was needed to prevent an abrupt fiscal tightening in China in the closing weeks of the year,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics Ltd.

    The budget changes came during a flurry of announcements from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the Communist Party-controlled parliament that oversees government borrowing.

    The decision to boost China’s growth comes at a time when China GDP has dipped below 5%, while the Atlanta Fed GDPNow tracker has the US economy growing at a red hot 5.4% in Q3.

    The legislature on Tuesday wrapped a days-long meeting where, as noted earlier, it also ousted Li Shangfu as defense minister two months after he disappeared from public view, and stripped former foreign minister Qin Gang of his remaining role as State Councilor. Adding to the series of high-profile reshuffles, the Standing Committee named Lan Fo’an as finance minister to replace Liu Kun, a widely expected move.

    Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that Chinese policymakers were considering raising this year’s budget deficit and issuing additional sovereign debt, part of a push to help the nation’s reach an official government growth goal of about 5% for 2023. Citigroup economists at the time said a move beyond the usual debt-to-GDP target “could show a greater sense of urgency of the policymakers” as they push to reach that growth goal.

    Since then, stronger-than-expected data for the third quarter has led authorities to say they are “very confident” in the economy’s ability to hit that target this year, although today’s developments suggest they were not all that confident. Several challenges are likely to persist into 2024 though, including problems stemming from ongoing property market turmoil and deflationary pressures. Economists expect growth to slow to 4.5% next year.

    Finally, underscoring the significance of the latest developments, on Tuesday China’s Xi, along with vice premier He Lifeng and other government officials, visited the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon, Bloomberg reported earlier citing sources. The vice premier also visited the nation’s sovereign wealth fund.

    His visit to the foreign exchange regulator is partly aimed at better understanding China’s $3 trillion of currency reserves, one of the people said. It comes as state leaders, regulators and top bankers are set to gather at a closed-door financial policy meeting early next week to set medium-term priorities for the $61 trillion industry and prevent risks.

    While details of the visits weren’t immediately clear, Xi’s movements are closely monitored by investors for potential policy signals. The most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong has never appeared at the PBOC, according to public records, and his visit would highlight recent Communist Party rhetoric on its “centralized and unified” leadership over the financial industry. Previous such inspections were often led by the nation’s premiers or their deputies.

    Therefore, Xi’s presence reinforces not only China’s willingness to kickstart the economy, but underscores the string of recent moves by the government to boost growth and stabilize markets, including purchases of stocks by the so called “National Team.”

    It could potentially help ease concerns among some investors that the president had been neglecting the economy amid a purge of senior ministers and a volatile relationship with the US; on the other hand, a burst of Chinese growth is precisely what will send oil sharply over $100, and spark a fresh round of panic in both the Fed and the White House, for which a jump in gasoline prices in the election year of 2024 is just what Biden does not want.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 17:50

  • Quinn: Watch Out, You Might Just Get What You're After
    Quinn: Watch Out, You Might Just Get What You’re After

    Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog,

    Hold tight
    Wait ’til the party’s over
    Hold tight
    We’re in for nasty weather
    There has got to be a way
    Burning down the house

    Talking Heads – Burning Down the House

    If you haven’t noticed, we’re in for nasty weather. The swirling winds of a cloudy Fall day, as darkness descends upon the world, portends the coming vicious storms approaching our shores. Winter is coming. The gathering storm in the Middle East, with sides being chosen, alliances formed, enemies provoked, military’s mobilized, and the U.S. military industrial complex arming all sides, is just one of multiple potential inflection points poised to set the world ablaze if one of the psychopathic world leaders, installed to advance the globalist reset agenda, lights the fuse and ignites a global conflagration.

    Once it ignites, no one knows how it will progress. This Israel – Hamas mini-eruption could easily lead to a Mount St. Helens level eruption at any moment. The posturing and threats by Israel, Hamas, Iran, Turkey, Syria, and other players in this global game of World War 3 chicken are growing more intense by the day. They are all consumed by hubris, overestimating their strength and understanding of the situation, while far underestimating the extreme risks and dire consequences of their actions.

    Should anyone be confident statesman like behavior or wisdom will emanate from a White House occupied by an empty dementia ridden vessel grifter with pedophile tendencies and his merry band of LGBTQ+++ fools, knaves and dimwits? Of course not. The crumbling debt sodden American Empire is being led by an outright moron and anyone expecting Biden to do anything other than make things worse, has probably been jabbed five times, has a BLM, Israel, and Ukraine flag in their Twitter profile, and still thinks Hunter Biden’s laptop is Russian disinformation.

    The U.S. provoked Ukraine conflict has drained the coffers of the U.S. and EU of hundreds of billions, while depleting their precious armaments, just as WW3 launches. With the Middle East set to explode in a ball of fire, the world’s flow of precious oil, is in danger of being cutoff abruptly. Luckily, Dementia Joe depleted our Strategic Petroleum Reserve for election purposes, leaving us with 17 days worth of supply. Maybe Biden’s green energy windmill and solar farms will fill the gap when gasoline prices soar to $6.00 a gallon and 1970s like gas lines become common again.

    Biden and his squad are burning down the house with the American people trapped inside and there are no firemen coming to save the day. His physical and mental weakness; corruption of heart, mind, and spirit; vitriolic hate for half the nation; blatant disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law; selection of weak minded diversity apparatchiks for key positions; and doing as instructed by his globalist handlers behind the curtain, have left our nation with no visible means of support. And we haven’t seen anything yet. If you think Biden has made a mess of our country thus far, wait until he provokes WW3 and Civil War 2.0 simultaneously.

    Putin and Xi are serious minded, highly intelligent, dictators for life, who will do whatever they believe is in their nation’s best interest. And that means mobilizing their armed forces to take what they believe is theirs. Putin will not back down in Ukraine, and will oppose whichever side America supports in the Middle East. Xi is biding his time waiting for the American Empire to murder itself, and will take Taiwan when the moment is most advantageous to him. Both Putin and Xi have been busy decoupling their economies from the U.S. and creating their own New World Order.

    The Global Reset psychopaths, Schwab, Gates, Soros, and the shadowy cabal of billionaires they work for, appear to think a global war will benefit their satanic agenda by furthering depopulation, increasing restrictions on the peasants, taking away more liberties and freedoms, and furthering their authoritarian surveillance measures in the name of safety and security. They are willfully ignorant regarding the possibility they could blow up the planet. They are willing to risk the lives of billions to satisfy their unquenchable thirst for wealth, power, glory, and control. They better watch out, they might get what they’re after.

    It may seem mad to those staring into their TV sets, igadgets, and laptops,  being distracted by the latest misgendering outrage, BLM violence reported as a peaceful protest, new trumped up charges against Trump, Taylor Swift’s vaxx promoting NFL boyfriend, any of the thousands of nightly sporting events, and the daily propaganda performances by the regime media, but they actually have the same enemy as Putin and Xi – the U.S. government. They just don’t know it yet.

    Our crumbling society is being held together with spit, bailing wire, lies, and money printing. Lenin nailed it when he said, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” It seems like the next several weeks could see decades of history made. And not the good kind. The time is approaching where we’ll have life and death decisions to make. We can’t let the likes of Biden and his minions sacrifice our youth in a war to benefit a globalist reset agenda.

    We can’t allow the continued unimpeded invasion of our border. We can’t allow the unhindered lawlessness of our executive, legislative, and judicial branches. We can’t allow the unconstrained astronomical increase of our national debt. We can’t allow these fools to destroy our world. It’s time to fight fire with fire. The Founding Fathers unequivocally created the 2nd Amendment for times like this. Armed conflict is a certainty, so acquiring more arms and ammo should be a high priority for all those thinking clearly at this point in history. The time for life changing courageous choices approaches. I hope we make the right choices. Good luck and Godspeed.

    No visible means of support
    And you have not seen nothin’ yet
    Everything’s stuck together
    And I don’t know what you expect
    Staring into the TV set
    Fightin’ fire with fire, ah

    Talking Heads – Burning Down the House

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 10/24/2023 – 17:30

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