Today’s News 29th October 2023

• Hamas’s October 7 Attack: Discourse In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence
  Hamas’s October 7 Attack: Discourse In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence

  Authored by Ofira Seliktar via RealClear Defense,

  Hamas’s massacre of Israeli civilians, known as ‘Black Sabbath,’ caught virtually everyone by surprise, even though the group had a long history of violence. One reason for this situation is the lack of information on several aspects of Hamas’s modus operandi. The resulting lacuna has biased the algorithms underpinning search engines that drive artificial intelligence (AI) on the subject.

  

  The AI Challenge

  The prominence of AI has profoundly and irrevocably changed the human discourse. From its inception on Google and other search engines to the most recent iteration of chatbots such as ChatGPT or Bard, complex algorithms have increasingly driven this process.

  A large literature, mostly highly specialized, has analyzed numerous possible biases of the AI discursive products. Bias is created when one idea/topic/concept is disproportionally weighted against another. Faulty algorithms can introduce bias and need to be adjusted. But other issues are also at play.

  • Choosing representative data to correct for bias is also recommended, but in cases where voluminous data is generated on a daily basis over extended periods of time, such remedies are not practical. Experts point out biases which occur when there is imbalance in available data, in the sense that certain topics are overrepresented, whereas information on others hardly exists.
  • Quality of data in the discourse varies from rigorous research appearing in respectable academic publications to conspiracy theories found in niche outlets and social media. The sheer magnitude of ideas/topics/concepts in the discursive universe makes it hard to evaluate their quality. As a rule, discerning players in the discourse shy away from outlandish conspiracy theories, but evaluation of the in-between narratives is exceedingly hard.
  • Relations and causations between variables, two distinctive concepts, are regularly confused in discursive practices, creating a host of fallacies and biases in the narrative. When correlation is mistaken for or misrepresented as causation, it generates a “reality” that does not exist.

  These three sources of bias helped to mask Hamas’s true character as a savage terror group, with many adopting the narrative of a national resistance group fighting to liberate Palestinians from “Israel’s oppression.”

  Hamas’s ‘Black Sabbath’ Attack: The Current Problem

  Israel’s standing in the discursive universe has deteriorated dramatically in the past three decades. As a result of delegitimization and vilification, the view of Israel as a colonial -apartheid state which suppresses and physically eliminates Palestinians is quite common. Much of this view is a byproduct of the neo-Marxist, critical theory paradigm which has dominated social science. The paucity of contradictory ideas has aggravated the bias. Past remedies to correct the imbalance such as creating Israel studies programs have fail to address the problem.

  Constructing Israel as an illegitimate colonial-apartheid enterprise had legitimized terrorist violence under the category of “national resistance.”  Although Hamas and its junior partner Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have been considered terror groups in many Western jurisdictions, their true goal of eliminating Israel was hidden because of the AI-driven distortions of the narratives.

  Correcting the Imbalance

  Four issues need to be addressed to correct the imbalance.

  Hamas as ISIS: Comparisons between the two groups surfaced soon after the attack but were of rhetorical-declarative nature. Only a handful of reports provided some background facts, often confusing or incorrect. In reality, the military wings of Hamas and the PIJ followed the modus operandi of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a Palestinian terrorist who split from al Qaeda and was sheltered by Iran before moving to Iraq. IRGC-QF helped al Zarqawi to found the Islamic State (later ISIS) where he implemented the techniques of two books known as the “the jihadist bibles:” Jurisprudence of Blood (Masail fi Figh al-Dima) and Management of Savagery. The writings provided an Islamic justification for inflicting extreme violence on enemies such as beheadings and burning alive. These savage spectacles were said to attract maximum international attention.

  Hamas’s strategy of embedding: the turning of civilians into human shields. Although several commentators have pointed out that the population of Gaza is used to defend the military wing of Hamas and PIJ, the discourse is not systematic and confined mostly to the description of the suffering of the civilians. The IRGC-QF doctrine of using human shields was based on Brigadier General S. K. Malik’s The Koranic Principle of War. Adopted to asymmetrical conflicts, it stipulated that embedding among non-combatants could level the playing field when engaging Western armies obligated to follow the humanitarian laws of war. The doctrine was successfully tested during the 2006 Lebanon War where Hezbollah used public and private spaces to house military assets and launch attacks. Critically, medical authorities, on order of Hezbollah and Hamas, refused to provide separate numbers of civilian and terrorist deaths.

  Because of International Humanitarian Law that strives to protect non-combatants, embedding caused Israel reputational damage, made worse by Hezbollah’s and Hamas’s staging of alleged catastrophes.

  Hamas as a parasitic organization feeding on the civilian population. It has been widely known that Hamas has diverted billions of dollars of international support to build a one-of-a-kind military complex in the Gaza Strip. In addition, equipment like water pipes were repurposed to make rockets. However, the true scope of the parasitic enterprise and the depth of its corruption has not been systematically studied. In a telling example, a journalist commenting on Israeli bombing of the Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, lamented the destruction of the “beating heart” of Gaza. In actuality, Rimal, known as the Beverly Hills of Gaza, houses the Hamas and PIJ elite and their families in extreme luxury.

  The study of the highly corrupt governance and financial system presided over by Hamas is urgently needed. Judging by the case of Hezbollah, Iran- created prototype of a parasitic organization, finding information would be challenging but absolutely essential.  

  Performative and Elimination Antisemitism: Iran is the largest producers of antisemitic content in the world. The material, translated into thirty-six languages, ranges from classic antisemitic treatises popular in Nazi Germany, the writings of Muslim Brothers Hassan al Bana and Sayyed Qutb, to assorted modern conspiracy theories. Despite considerable variety, the messaging is the same: Jews and their collective embodiment, Israel, are dangerous to the human race and must be exterminated. Calls to destroy Israel, also known as the Little Satan, occur daily; the prophetically minded Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei used verses from the Koran to calculate the exact day of Israel’s demise. A digital clock was erected in Tehran counting down the time. Iran’s proxies have propagated the same themes.

  Although scholars and lay observers have debated the meaning of this extreme manifestation of antisemitism and anti-Zionism, most argue that the phenomenon is performative, in essence, a rhetorical strategy to increase domestic legitimacy or compete with the Sunnis in the Middle East. Only a small minority holds that the Islamist theocracy (and its proxies) is eliminationist, that is, given the opportunity would annihilate the Jews and Israel. Hamas atrocities on the Gaza border communities should be reexamined within the context of eliminationist antisemitic ideology produced and disseminated by Iran.

  Summary

  Historically, the discourse on Hamas and Israel has been replete with bias. Prominent ideas, topics, and concepts have been promoted to vilify Israel, Jews, and the Zionist cause while glorifying the “legitimate” struggle and acts of savagery committed by Hamas. This discourse is reinforced by AI algorithms which, as noted, deepen the bias. What has been ignored in the past should be crucial in the construction of the current narrative, specifically, the origins of Hamas’ savage tactics, its use of human shields, its parasitic relationship to the inhabitants of Gaza, and the antisemitic attacks launched by Iran. In each instance, corrective measures are suggested to redress the imbalances to better inform the participants in the discursive community.

  ---

  Ofira Seliktar is Professor Emerita of Political Science at Gratz College, Melrose Park, PA. Previously, she was Scholar in Residence at the Middle East Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania.

  This essay is based on the author’s work:  “Slaying the Little Satan: Iran’s War against Israel,” in progress: “Iran, Revolution and Proxy Wars,” Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, co-authored with Farhad Rezaei; and “Is Iran’s Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism Eliminationist or Performative: A Question for the Nuclear Age,” Israel Affairs, 2022.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 23:20

• White House Freezes Gun Exports In New Attack On US Gun Manufacturers
  White House Freezes Gun Exports In New Attack On US Gun Manufacturers

  In an announcement seemingly timed to minimize publicity, the US Commerce Department late Friday declared a 90-day freeze in the approval of exports for most American-made firearms, along with a review of the department’s support of the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade — or “SHOT” — Show. 

  “The review will be conducted with urgency and will enable the Department to more effectively assess and mitigate risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights or fuel criminal activities,” the department said. 

  Before continuing, let’s pause to marvel at the soaring hypocrisy of the US government — which has armed murderous autocrats, Islamic extremists and Mexican drug cartels — expressing concern about American weapons being used to “promote regional instability, violate human rights or fuel criminal activities.”

  This latest federal assault on gun rights will apply to requests to export semiautomatic and non-automatic firearms sold to non-government recipients, Bloomberg reports. Naturally, it won’t apply to Ukraine or Israel, or some 40 other foreign governments that are partners to the United States in an export-control pact.  However, it will apply to some of the most important markets for the domestic firearms industry, including Brazil, Thailand and Guatemala. 

  

  For those who think a strong gun industry is essential to safeguarding the right of armed self-defense, the pause isn’t nearly as worrisome as what new policies may be installed after the review is complete.

  Bloomberg, which is owned by a gun control enthusiast and which appeared to be first to be told of the development, is taking a victory lap over the announcement, linking it to a series of articles scrutinizing the federal government’s oversight and encouragement of exports. A key milestone came in 2020, when the Trump administration moved responsibility for approving gun exports from the State Department to Commerce. 

  One of those recent articles focused on the SHOT Show, the enormous Las Vegas gun-trade show that attracts more than 50,000 gun company reps, dealers and individuals from all over the world. Specifically, Bloomberg questioned the propriety of the Commerce Department’s participation in the SHOT Show, via an “International Trade Center” space to host foreign buyers and promote US exports, a practice that began in 2013. 

  

  “In the first year of the partnership, Commerce’s Foreign Commercial Service, which operates out of US embassies and consulates, steered 370 buyers to SHOT Show,” reports Bloomberg. “By January 2023, that number had jumped to more than 3,200.” Commerce employees have also organized group trips to the show from a variety of countries. 

  Bloomberg lamented that “American-style gun culture is starting to blossom across Latin America,” and that American companies, with Commerce assistance, are pouring guns into violent and volatile Guatemala. 

  In September, Senator Elizabeth Warren and three other congressional Democrats sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo expressing alarm about Commerce serving as a “booster and concierge” to the firearms industry, with particular concern about the export of so-called “assault weapons.” The letter included 10 detailed questions about the Commerce Department’s handling of its oversight. 

  The export-approval freeze comes the same week that gun control czar Kamala Harris praised Australia for its approach to gun control, which includes mass confiscation and requiring citizens to prove to the government why they need to own a gun. 

  .@VP Harris praises Australia’s massive gun confiscation: “Let us be clear, it does not have to be this way, as our friends in Australia have demonstrated.” pic.twitter.com/3oKrlqq619

  — Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 26, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 22:45

• COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines Reduce A Major Beneficial Bacteria, Gut Biodiversity: Research
  COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines Reduce A Major Beneficial Bacteria, Gut Biodiversity: Research

  Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Research has shown that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines reduce bacteria belonging to the Bifidobacteria genus, a common and beneficial gut bacteria. COVID vaccination is also linked to reduced gut biodiversity.

  

  Works by gastroenterologist Dr. Sabine Hazan, the CEO of ProgenaBiome, a microbiome genomic research laboratory, found that after COVID-19 vaccination, people’s Bifidobacteria levels can fall by as much as 90 percent. Some of her unpublished data found that Bifidobacteria levels are negligible in vaccinated people.

  Bifidobacteria are among the first microbes to colonize a baby’s gastrointestinal tract as he or she passes through the mother’s birth canal. They are believed to exert positive health effects on their host.

  Bifidobacteria interact with the immune system, and their presence is linked with improved immunity against pathogens and cancer.

  Dr. Hazan’s prior works on hospitalized COVID-19 patients showed that patients who had severe COVID-19 tended to have no or low Bifidobacteria levels, whereas those with higher stores of Bifidobacteria tended to develop asymptomatic infection.

  In her research, she came across a pair of siblings enrolled in the COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials.

  “One sibling got placebo, and one got the vaccine. The one sibling that got the vaccine got harmed … and she has no Bifidobacteria bacteria. Her brother, who got the placebo and was not harmed, has this Bifidobacteria,” she told The Epoch Times.

  The Importance of Bifidobacteria

  The loss of Bifidobacteria was discovered by comparing microbiome diversity both before and after vaccination. Generally, the loss is transient, while it can persist for over nine months in more extreme cases.

  There are also rare cases where patients’ Bifidobacteria population increases. Dr. Hazan spoke about a patient’s Bifidobacteria population more than doubling a month after vaccination. However, at six to nine months postvaccination, the patient’s number of Bifidobacteria had fallen to zero.

  Dr. Hazan said it is unknown why some people’s Bifidobacteria levels rise after vaccination.

  Bifidobacteria are a common probiotic, and it is well-established that humans can consume them to improve gut health. In fact, products containing Bifidobacteria make up trillions of dollars in the market share of the probiotic market.

  The absence of Bifidobacteria microbes is linked to chronic diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. Some studies have shown that the administration of probiotic Bifidobacteria can help improve diabetic conditions and help fight cancer.

  Loss of Other Microbes After Vaccination

  Some patients may have other microbiomes missing after vaccination, and trying to track down what microbes the patient might have had before vaccination involves difficult forensics work, according to Dr. Hazan.

  One study by researchers from Hong Kong found that mRNA COVID-19 vaccine administration was directly linked to reduced gut biodiversity, resulting in a loss of at least 10 different microbes.

  While some vaccinated people saw an increase in certain bacteria, vaccination reduced overall microbiome diversity.

  The authors also noted that the risks of common adverse reactions like fever, headaches, pain at injection sites, and so on may also be linked to the bacteria in the gut. For example, patients with high Bifidobacteria tended to be less inclined to develop vaccine adverse reactions.

  A gut microbiome with low biodiversity is associated with poor health and aging. After birth, babies develop a highly diverse gut microbiome. As they age, they lose this diversity as they develop diseases, take antibiotics and drugs, eat unhealthily, sleep less, etc.

  Bifidobacteria can comprise up to 95 percent of the baby’s gut microbiome during infancy. This then declines and stabilizes at under 10 percent in adulthood.

  Yet Dr. Hazan has seen cases of babies breastfed by vaccinated mothers possessing no Bifidobacteria. The long-term consequences of this are unknown, especially since Bifidobacteria are involved in building a person’s immune system.

  The increasing awareness of the importance of the gut microbiome in health has led some parents to freeze their baby’s first stool for fecal transplant in the future, internal physician Dr. Yusuf Saleeby told The Epoch Times. As the baby grows and his or her microbiome depletes, the fecal sample may be transplanted to correct the gut microbiome composition.

  “If the child gets sick and there’s dysbiosis, the parents can go back to the company ... and reinoculate those microbes back into the baby, to try to bring back what the baby should have had,” he explained.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 22:10

• FBI Raids Baltimore City Taxpayer-Funded 'Safe Streets' Program For Possible Gang Infiltration
  FBI Raids Baltimore City Taxpayer-Funded ‘Safe Streets’ Program For Possible Gang Infiltration

  Democratic leadership in imploding Baltimore City has funneled city and state dollars into a super-progressive anti-violence program called “Safe Streets,” which pushes ‘non-policing’ techniques to deter violent crime. Mayor Brandon Scott has championed Safe Streets, yet many residents have complained the program is a sham. 

  In some terrible optics for the Democratic mayor, the FBI raided a Safe Streets location in northeast Baltimore on Thursday. Local media WBALTV said what the FBI was looking for during the raid remains unclear. 

  

  A spokeswoman for the FBI Baltimore Field Office told WBALTV that agents conducted “court-authorized law enforcement activity” at the Safe Streets office in Belair-Edison in northeast Baltimore. 

  Non-profit healthcare corporation LifeBridge Health, who manages the site, told the media outlet: 

  “The FBI this morning enacted a search warrant at the Belair Safe Streets site managed by LifeBridge Health. Two of our staff have indicated that federal agents showed up at their residences. We have no other information at this time. We are treating this incident seriously and complying with requests from authorities.”

  The Belair-Edison location is one of ten Safe Streets locations across the metro area where so-called “violence interrupters” are stationed and are deployed into neighborhoods (instead of police) to prevent violence from exploding. 

  “They are supposed to stop people in the community from fighting and with the drug situation in the community. I don’t know. This is definitely amazing today. I heard it all,” said A.J. Gary, a Belair-Edison resident.

  Resident Gay continued, “It doesn’t make any sense to me. What’s the use of having the program if y’all doing the same thing people in the streets are doing, but y’all supposed to be helping us?”

  Perhaps a report from Fox Baltimore sheds more light on what precisely the FBI was looking for at the Belair-Edison location:

  “The FBI is not releasing details, but sources tell FOX45 News that federal agents are looking into possible gang affiliation.” 

  

  “This is concerning to see, and I am seeking additional information. We should always expect public safety agencies and those that receive city funds to carry out important public safety initiatives to follow the law,” Mark Conway, Chair of the council’s Public Safety and Government Operations Committee, wrote in a statement. 

  Conway said, “None of this surprises us. The people who oversee (Safe Streets), MONSE [Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement], has a lot more questions now to answer,” said Schleifer.

  Republican State Del. Nino Mangione from Baltimore County stated, “I again call for a full and complete and full audit of all Safe Streets accounts.  Further, I believe the full results of these audits should be released in their entirety to any local, state or federal entity suppling funds to the Safe Streets program.” 

  MONSE responded to the raid on X: 

  Any malfeasance of anyone involved in this activity does not and should not diminish the work that Safe Streets Baltimore staff do on a daily basis — putting themselves in harm’s way to mediate conflicts before they escalate into incidents of gun violence.

  Any malfeasance of anyone involved in this activity does not & should not diminish the work that Safe Streets Baltimore staff do on a daily basis – putting themselves in harm’s way to mediate conflicts before they escalate into incidents of gun violence.

  — Baltimore MONSE – Neighborhood Safety & Engagement (@BaltimoreMONSE) October 26, 2023

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  One X user responded to MONSE’s post: “Safe streets = bunch of felons and drug dealers.” 

  Safe streets = bunch of felons and drug dealers

  — Salty Baltimore Cop (@saltybmorecop) October 27, 2023

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  Judging by the out-of-control crime in the corrupt hellhole of a city, the FBI raid suggests maybe, just maybe, the tax-payer-funded progressive experiment was doing something super illegal. 

  This is terrible optics for the young mayor pushing disastrous progressive policies as people and businesses are fleeing the collapsing metro area for safer areas.  

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 21:40

• Advice For Men From TV's 'Hercules': Bring Back Masculinity
  Advice For Men From TV’s ‘Hercules’: Bring Back Masculinity

  Authored by Randy Tatano via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  In mythology, Hercules is a hero famous for his strength and bravery. A protector. A classic man’s man who, back in the day, every little boy would admire and want to emulate. In real life, Hercules was played on television by actor Kevin Sorbo, who says it’s time for guys to start acting like real men again. So he’s producing movies and books to get that message across.

  

  Sorbo, who left woke Tinseltown behind for Florida saying, “Truth is kryptonite in Hollywood” talks about how the portrayal of men on television doesn’t exactly inspire guys to be masculine. The liberal narrative is very evident in many current television shows. “Every sitcom seems to have a fat, lazy husband.” And over the years, the media’s promotion of the sensitive “beta male” has seeped into our culture.

  But he feels that the decline of masculinity has a root cause that can be traced to the way children are raised. His own upbringing included exposure to old-fashioned hard work by his family. “I had great examples from my grandfather and father. My father was an only child on a farm in Iowa. And I didn’t have teachers telling me how to vote or how to think. Everything starts with parents. It’s important to have a dad and a mom raising children. Kids watching TV think dads are not important in a family,” he said.

  His wife, Sam, echoed that sentiment as she talked about raising their own children. “We need to empower children to be courageous. We raise them in truth, we raise them to defend the truth. When your children are grounded in truth they are strong.”

  So the Sorbos (Sam is also a veteran actress) are using media to remind people about the traditional roles of men and women, producing both movies and a children’s book. Their latest film, “Miracle in East Texas,” is a true story about a couple of flim-flam men during the Great Depression who make a living conning widows into buying shares of bogus oil drilling ventures. The men act like normal men and the women are portrayed as traditional women.

  Written by award-winning writer Dan Gordon (“Rambo: Last Blood,” “The Hurricane,” “Wyatt Earp”), this very enjoyable movie takes a twist you might not expect. When asked what he hoped people would get out of the movie, Kevin simply said he wants moviegoers to be entertained without a political or social message buried in the plot: “I hope they have fun. I like to do movies the way Hollywood used to, where the good guys win and the bad guys lose. We’ve been doing movies that have more of a positive nature.”

  Sam took things a bit farther: “We like doing movies about real people doing miraculous things … it gives people hope.” In addition, “Miracle in East Texas” is being released as a book.

  

  Kevin Sorbo is also taking a literary approach to teach boys about masculine roles. He has written a children’s book which includes traditional male values. “The Test of Lionhood” is a Christian children’s book that teaches kids about masculinity, with lessons about bravery and perseverance. “It’s pro-child. It’s a story about a little lion cub who saves his sister,” he said.

  And while Kevin Sorbo may be physically built like a mythological hero, being masculine doesn’t require a guy to look like Hercules. He said masculinity is not about physical appearance, but traditional values.

  “Being a guy who is a provider and a protector for the family, with strong moral guidelines, being a loving husband, a loving father, a good neighbor,” he said.

  Sam added that women are not immune from the liberal portrayal of men: “We tend to fool ourselves into making poor choices, thinking that we’re not giving up anything by settling for second best. It’s become very difficult for women to admit they want a manly man.”

  She said that people must be selective about media. “Support good quality films, but I caution people about allowing poor stuff into your brain, because that’s the degradation of our culture. You are what you consume with your eyes, your ears, and your heart.”

  And as far as the transgender “trend” to eliminate masculinity, Kevin Sorbo has no patience for parents who allow or encourage young children to identify as a different sex. Just because a little boy might try on his mother’s shoes doesn’t mean he wants to be a girl or should transition into one with hormones or drastic surgery.

  “What they’re doing to kids is wrong. Let kids be kids … these children can’t make up their minds at that age,” he said.

  And Sam said it’s crucial that parents monitor what their children see and hear. “Be careful of who you allow access to your child.”

  Like many conservatives who are baffled by this war on masculinity, Kevin summed things up with a simple wish: “Make being normal, normal again.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 21:10

• Warnings About Alarming Pre-Oct 7 Hamas Activity Ignored, Say Israeli Surveillance Soldiers
  Warnings About Alarming Pre-Oct 7 Hamas Activity Ignored, Say Israeli Surveillance Soldiers

  The Oct 7 Hamas military and terrorist attacks on Israel came as shock to many — but not to surveillance soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who say their warnings about their alarming observations along the Gaza border were ignored by higher-ups. 

  In interviews with Israeli media, soldiers of the IDF’s Combat Intelligence Corps say that, for at least three months before the attacks, they observed Hamas members conducting paramilitary training along the fenceline, digging holes, studying the area with maps, examining the ground surface and even placing and detonating explosives. 

  Speaking to Kan News on Wedneday, Yael Rotenberg and Maya Desiatnik expressed their anger over the IDF’s failure to heed their repeated reports of the ominous activity. Compounding their rage, the two were the only Combat Intelligence Corps soldiers who survived the Hamas attack on their base near the Nahal Oz kibbutz, less than a half-mile southeast of the Gaza border.  

  

  “It’s infuriating. We saw what was happening, we told them about it, and we were the ones who were murdered,” said Desiatnik.

  The types of activity they observed at the border was concerning enough, but, even more strikingly, the pace had steadily intensified as Oct 7 approached. Desiatnik said it proceeded from weekly, to daily, to almost nonstop. In addition to her general visual observations, she said she was able to obtain information about the substance of the training, which encompassed driving tanks to bypassing the fence via tunnels.

  She told Kan News that she’d concluded “it was just a matter of time” until Hamas unleashed an attack on Israel. 

  Two other IDF intelligence soldiers shared similar experiences with Israel’s Channel 12.

  “We sat on shifts and saw the convoy of vans. We saw the training, people shooting and rolling, practicing taking over a tank. The training went from once a week to twice a week, from every day to several times a day,” said Amit Yerushalmi. “We saw patrols along the border, people with cameras and binoculars. It happened 300 meters from the fence. There were a lot of disturbances, people went down to the fence and detonated an outrageous amount of explosives, the amount of explosives was crazy.” 

  Yerushalmi said she dutifully recorded all her observations, with no apparent impact on the command whatsoever. 

  These four IDF soldiers aren’t the only ones who say their warnings were ignored. Egyptian intelligence officials say they also attempted to alert Tel Aviv. “We have warned them an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big. But they underestimated such warnings,” an anonymous Egyptian official told the Associated Press. 

  Video footage released by Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, on Sunday shows the moment its fighters breached Gaza’s security fence and stormed the Erez Crossing pic.twitter.com/Ob2OekZRfh

  — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 8, 2023

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  According to report by Israel’s Ynet, Egypt’s intelligence minister personally phoned Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu just 10 days before the attack, warning that Hamas was poised to do “something unusual, a terrible operation.” 

  Ever since the political, militant and terror group’s founding in the late 1970s, right-wing Israeli officials have fostered the rise of Hamas to ensure there is no viable “partner for peace” on the Palestinian side — allowing Israel to forever postpone making territorial concessions while further settling the West Bank and paying diplomatic lip service to a two-state solution.  

  To an extent unprecedented in Israel’s history, the current Netanyahu government is dominated by ultra-nationalists and religious extremists representing parties such as “Religious Zionism” and “Jewish Power.” In the wake of the Oct 7 atrocities, they won’t have to worry about a negotiated peace with the Palestinians anytime soon. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 20:40

• Senator Demands Answers From FDA On Safety Signal For COVID Vaccines And Children
  Senator Demands Answers From FDA On Safety Signal For COVID Vaccines And Children

  Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The U.S. agencies that clear and recommend vaccines should disclose when they learned that COVID-19 vaccines may cause seizures and convulsions in children, a U.S. senator says.

  

  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to disclose the information after both agencies refused to do so to The Epoch Times.

  In a preprint paper published on Oct. 15, FDA researchers said they detected a safety signal for seizures/convulsions in children aged 2 to 5 following COVID-19 vaccination.

  The paper covered data from no later than April.

  About a month before the paper was released, the FDA authorized new shots from Moderna and Pfizer for children as young as 6 months of age. The CDC then announced it was recommending the shots for virtually all Americans, despite little data supporting such a recommendation. Neither agency mentioned the signal of seizures and convulsions.

  “When was FDA and CDC first made aware of the findings of the FDA-funded study eventually published as a preprint on October 15, 2023? Provide the names and titles of the individuals who were initially made aware of the study’s findings,” Mr. Johnson asked the heads of the FDA and CDC on Oct. 25.

  In their paper, the FDA researchers said that the signal should be investigated further “in a robust epidemiological study.”

  Mr. Johnson asked whether the FDA is pursuing such a study, and for any other steps the FDA and CDC have taken in response to the signal being found.

  

  Mr. Johnson said the new information could change the promoted view that the benefits of the vaccines outweigh the risks. The CDC and FDA said that was the case for nearly all Americans, but many other countries, such as Denmark, have limited COVID-19 vaccination to select groups in light of waning vaccine effectiveness and the high levels of prior infection in the population.

  The FDA has refused so far to say when its officials first learned of the signal.

  “The FDA is confident in the safety, effectiveness and quality of the COVID-19 vaccines. The available data continue to demonstrate that the benefits of these vaccines outweigh their risks,” a spokeswoman told The Epoch Times in an email, ignoring a question about when the signal was first detected.

  The CDC did not respond to a request on when it was first informed of the signal.

  Pfizer and Moderna have also not responded to queries.

  Transparency advocates said the lack of transparency undermines public trust in the health agencies.

  “Trust is lost in public health policy recommendations when health officials either refuse or are slow to make information available that can help people weigh the risks for themselves when considering their own current health and medical history,” Barbara Loe Fisher, founder and co-president of the National Vaccine Information Center, told The Epoch Times via email.

  Other Concerns

  Mr. Johnson, the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has perhaps been the member of Congress most focused on COVID-19 vaccine safety, repeatedly asking federal officials for information that has been withheld or reported in the media.

  Mr. Johnson, for instance, asked the FDA for results of data mining done on adverse event reports after The Epoch Times obtained the results from similar mining that showed federal officials detected hundreds of signals for the Pfizer and Moderna shots.

  The FDA in September refused to provide Mr. Johnson with the requested data, claiming it could not do so because of ongoing litigation over the information.

  

  Mr. Johnson has sent 60 letters to federal agencies to try to get answers, but has received little in return.

  “Federal health agencies must be transparent and provide all the information they have so that patients can benefit from informed consent. To date, they have failed to do so,” Mr. Johnson told The Epoch Times in an email. “It is well past time for them to divulge what they know.”

  Mr. Johnson told the leaders of the FDA, the CDC, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that they “have a duty to provide the American people with complete and transparent data regarding the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 ‘vaccines'” and that it is “completely unacceptable” that they’ve refused to be transparent.

  “The fact that the vast majority of my questions and information requests remain unanswered or outstanding,” he wrote, “only heightens my level of suspicion.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 20:10

• Joy Behar Reminds America She's A Moron With AR-15 Misinformation
  Joy Behar Reminds America She’s A Moron With AR-15 Misinformation

  It’s hard to say which of the covenous crones on The View is the dumbest, but co-host Joy Behar certainly took the cake this week when she told millions of wine moms that AR-15 rifles will obliterate deer, making them inedible.

  

  While discussing last week’s mass shooting, in which 40-year-old Army reservist and firearms instructor Robert Card killed 18 people before he was found dead Friday evening of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Behar and crew floated the idea of an assault weapons ban.

  “I would love to see an assault weapons ban. Like President Reagan, I don’t believe they’re a sport or hunting instrument. It’s like shooting fish in a bucket, but that’s my tea,” said co-host Sara Haines.

  To which Behar responded: “But also, if you shoot with an AR-15, let’s say you shoot a deer, you can’t eat it because you basically demolish the animal.“

  Watch:

  Joy Behar: “If you shoot with an AR-15, let’s say you shoot a deer, you can’t eat it because you basically demolish the animal.” pic.twitter.com/NflGVQtHLk

  — TheBlaze (@theblaze) October 27, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  While 10 states restrict hunting with a .223 or 5.56 round used in an AR-15, mostly because they aren’t powerful enough and could wound vs. kill larger game, a 2022 survey from the National Shooting Sports Foundation found that 40% of hunters use Modern Sporting Rifles (mostly consisting of the AR platform).

  It should also be noted that the .223 was introduced as an alternative to the .308 (7.62 NATO) due to its ability to be manufactured quickly and inexpensively, and in part because it’s less lethal, rendering an enemy incapacitated in battle vs. killing him – thus, placing a further strain on resources.

  As a reminder, Behar’s ignorance knows no bounds:

  • Joy Behar Faces Ridicule For Saying “Once Black People Get Guns In This Country, The Gun Laws Will Change”
  • The View Co-Host Joy Behar Claims Crime Is “Going Down” Under Biden
  • Peak Delusion: Joy Behar Says She’ll Break From CDC Guidance, Wear A Mask Inside “Indefinitely”

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 19:40

• House Speaker Johnson: Russia, China, & Iran Are The New Axis Of Evil
  House Speaker Johnson: Russia, China, & Iran Are The New Axis Of Evil

  Authored by Kyle Anzalone via AntiWar.com,

  Representative Mike Johnson vowed to support the wars in Ukraine and Israel in an interview after becoming House Speaker. The Congressman told Sean Hannity that China, Russia, and Iran make up an “axis of evil” that poses a huge threat to the US.

  The Speaker presented Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran as a trilateral threat to Washington. “Big priorities in this moment right now. We have Israel being attacked, we have unrest, we have the Ukraine situation we’ve got to deal with, we have China being aggressive, we have Iran with all the meddling, and China, Russia, and Iran working together. This is a dangerous time.” he said.

  

  “Hamas and Hezbollah are proxies of Iran, and they’re tied in now with Russia and China. I mean, it is a new axis of evil. That’s how we see it, “Johnson continued, the states posed a “huge [threat to the US.] It’s it’s the biggest threat since World War II.”

  On Ukraine, Johnson stated that the support for Ukraine must continue. “Now we can’t allow Vladimir Putin to Prevail in Ukraine because I don’t believe it would stop there,” he said.

  “And it would probably encourage and empower China to perhaps make a move on Taiwan. We have these concerns. We’re not going to abandon them.”

  The Speaker noted he would like to see more oversight over additional aid but did not say it was a requirement to pass a multi-billion assistance bill for Ukraine.

  Johnson explained that he does support the White House’s proposed $105 billion bill that would fund the War in Ukraine, Israel’s war on Gaza, fund Washington’s military buildup in the Pacific, and provide funds to increase security at the southern border. The Speaker said the consensus among House Republicans is to split the funding into different bills.

  Mike Johnson, the new GOP Speaker of the House, tells Sean Hannity:

  – “We can’t allow Putin to prevail in Ukraine”
  – US “boots on the ground” may be required to “stand with Israel”
  – Supports Israel directly attacking Iran
  – Russia, China, and Iran are “the new Axis of Evil” pic.twitter.com/1dQAZqpMKn

  — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) October 27, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  As well as supporting future aid for Ukraine, the Speaker is willing to send American soldiers to the Middle East in defense of Israel. “Watching it very closely, one thing that House Republicans are resolved on is that we must stand with our most important Ally in the Middle East, and that’s Israel.” He added, “I hope that it doesn’t come to boots on the ground.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 19:10

• Hamas Vows To Release 8 Russian-Israeli Hostages After Talks In Moscow
  Hamas Vows To Release 8 Russian-Israeli Hostages After Talks In Moscow

  We reported earlier that Hamas on Thursday sent a delegation to Moscow, a rarity, in order to engage with Russian diplomats on the Gaza-Israel crisis. The controversial meetings appear to have born fruit for the Kremlin side, particularly related to dual Russian citizens who are being held by Hamas, among the more than 220 Israeli captives who haven’t been heard from since Oct.7.

  According to The Moscow Times, “Hamas is trying to locate eight Russian-Israeli dual citizens among nearly 230 taken hostage during the Palestinian militants’ attack on Israel after Moscow’s request to free them, Russian news agencies reported Saturday.”

  

  So far a total of four hostages have been released after international behind-the-scenes talks involving Qatar. Two of these were Americans from Chicago, which has led to some sectors within Israel voicing criticism that the government could be too focused only on freeing dual nationals, to satisfy international partners. 

  Concerning Russia’s request to see its nationals go free, Hamas said, “From the Russian side, via the Foreign Ministry, we received a list of citizens that have dual citizenship,” according to senior Hamas representative Moussa Abu Marzook.

  “We are looking for those people… It is hard but we are looking. And when we find them, we will let them go,” he vowed. “We are very attentive to this list and will process it carefully because we consider Russia to be a closest friend.”

  “About the peaceful citizens that were taken and that are now in Gaza, we treat them as guests,” Abu Marzook claimed further. He said of the Russian-Israelis, “We will free them as soon as there will be the conditions.”

  These statements are likely genuine, given the past several years Hamas has done much to repair and grow its relations with Moscow. Importantly for Hamas, Russia is is among very few superpowers which has not designated the group a terrorist organization. Hamas wants to keep Moscow happy, given Russia’s ability to also influence Gulf countries when it comes to a potential future “solution” to the Gaza crisis. 

  The Russia-Hamas talks have angered Western officials and pundits…

  Russia has no real leverage and no serious diplomatic role to play in the Middle East right now, so it’s remarkable and telling to see Russia take a flamethrower to its relationship with Israel over what is basically a photo op with Hamas leaders https://t.co/VpDuYDAgpb

  — Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom) October 27, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Interestingly, Hamas has also lately tried to claim that Israeli civilians were taken as “a result of chaos”. Well over 1,000 Israelis were massacred in the Oct.7 raids, however. Estimates put the death toll at over 1,400 – including women and children. But Hamas’ Abu Marzook has acknowledged that “dozens of Western and regional officials came to us to demand the liberation of the detainees.”

  But again, the question of foreign nationals remains a sensitive subject within Israel, where PM Netanyahu and his top officials can’t being seen as favoring the foreign captives over Israelis.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 18:05

• EV Skeptic Toyota Chairman Says People Are 'Finally' Waking Up To Reality Of Electric Vehicles
  EV Skeptic Toyota Chairman Says People Are ‘Finally’ Waking Up To Reality Of Electric Vehicles

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

  Toyota’s chairman and former CEO, Akio Toyoda, told reporters at an auto show in Japan this week that waning demand for electric vehicles (EV) is a sign that people are waking up to the reality that EVs aren’t the silver bullet against the supposed ills of carbon emissions they’re often made out to be.

  “People are finally seeing reality” about EV technology, Mr. Toyoda told reporters ahead of the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo this week, speaking in his capacity as the head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, the organizer of the event.

  

  Mr. Toyoda, a long-time skeptic of a full-steam-ahead adoption of EVs, stepped down from his role as CEO of Toyota this year amid criticism that he wasn’t serious enough about pushing the company into a quick adoption of battery-powered cars.

  Asked by reporters at the auto show on his thoughts about falling EV demand, Mr. Toyoda’s response implied that he feels vindicated in his reluctance.

  “There are many ways to climb the mountain that is achieving carbon neutrality,” he said while suggesting that consumers are finally waking up from a dreamscape pushed by climate change alarmists that puts EVs on a pedestal and overhypes their benefits while downplaying their drawbacks.

  His remarks came as demand growth for EVs in various markets has slowed, leading some companies to dial back their electrification plans.

  

  Waning Demand

  Market research firm Canalys estimates that global sales of EVs rose 49 percent in the first half of this year, down from last year’s 63 percent pace of growth.

  Honda and General Motors announced on Wednesday that they were scrapping a $5 billion plan to develop EVs together, while GM said on Tuesday that it was slowing its electrification strategy.

  GM is “moderating the acceleration of EV production to protect our pricing, adjust to slower near-term growth in demand and implement engineering changes that will bolster profits,” GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said in an Oct. 24 earnings call with reporters in which he revealed that the weeks-long strike by unionized auto workers had already cost the company $800 million and counting.

  

  Ford said earlier this month that it would temporarily cut one of three shifts at a plant that builds its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck after slowing its EV ramp-up in July. remove

  “EV demand next year could be lower than expectations,” Lee Chang-sil, chief financial officer at South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution said on Wednesday, per Reuters.

  Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has been helping the Biden administration push EVs onto reluctant drivers, recently acknowledged some their drawbacks, saying he’s had trouble finding reliable EV charging stations. His admission came as the federal agency he helms announced $100 million in funding for EV charging stations.

  ‘Automotive Seasoning’

  Mr. Toyoda’s remarks at the auto show that people are becoming more clear-eyed about the drawbacks of EVs stood in some contrast to an EV-boosting speech given by the current Toyota CEO and President, Koji Sato.

  Mr. Sato spoke at an Oct. 25 press briefing at the Japan Mobility Show, kicking off his presentation by hyping up EVs.

  “The first story is our future life with battery EVs,” he said, according to a transcript of his remarks. “They are not only eco-friendly. Electric cars also offer their own flavor of driving fun and automotive seasoning.”

  However, in order to execute on “our vision for battery EVs,” Mr. Sato said that Toyota would be “revisiting the fundamental principles of car making” in order to overcome the known drawbacks of EVs like limited driving range.

  He talked up an apparent benefit of EVs, namely lower center of gravity and a more spacious interior, calling it “value that only battery EVs can offer.”

  “In these cars, the scenery looks completely different,” he said.

  But while lower center of gravity and more roomy interiors will likely be welcome by some drivers, unless automakers can figure out how to overcome “range anxiety,” they may find EV adoption will wane further.

  Range Anxiety

  A major worry among Americans considering the wisdom of switching to an EV is range anxiety, which is the fear of driving an EV and running out of power without being able to find a charging port—and ending up stranded on the side of the road.

  A recent study by the American Automobile Association (AAA) found that EV range can fall by up to a quarter when the vehicle is carrying heavy loads.

  “Range anxiety remains a top reason consumers are hesitant to switch from gasoline-powered vehicles to EVs,” Adrienne Woodland, spokesperson for AAA, said in a statement.

  Another recent study by consultancy Ernst & Young—in collaboration with European energy industry body Eurelectric—found that range anxiety is the second-most cited concern about switching to an EV, with a lack of public charging stations in the top spot.

  The study points to an estimated need for 68.9 million chargers across the United States and Canada by 2035 to support the pace of the EV transformation.

  President Joe Biden has set a goal of 50 percent of all new vehicles by 2030 being either EVs or plug-in hybrids.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 17:30

• Musk Prepares To Save Gaza's Internet With Starlink Deployment
  Musk Prepares To Save Gaza’s Internet With Starlink Deployment

  Over the past 24 hours, Israeli ground forces have escalated their attacks in Gaza, preparing for a potential large-scale ground operation aimed at the militant group Hamas.

  According to NetBlocks, a network analysis website, all internet and phone services in the region have been severed. Meanwhile, on the ‘free speech’ platform X, some users are urging Elon Musk to assist Gaza by providing Starlink terminals, mirroring his support in Ukraine. 

  Gaza is under bombardment and the Internet is cut off. We demand that Starlink be activated in the Gaza Strip#starlinkforgaz pic.twitter.com/SRRTik5rwo

  — دعسُوقة (@ladybug__9) October 27, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  @elonmusk activate @Starlink for #Gaza.

  We demand to see what’s happening pic.twitter.com/ceqCfKEy3X

  — Awaited Hope (@Awaited_Hope) October 27, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  #starlinkforgaza
  We demand starlink service to Gaza. The way you did for Ukraine.

  ⁦@elonmusk⁩ pic.twitter.com/HqblDrxF8o

  — Begum Hamza (@BegumHamza) October 28, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  On Friday, NetBlocks posted on X, “Live network data show a collapse in connectivity in the Gaza Strip with high impact to Paltel, amid reports of heavy bombardment; the company is the last remaining major operator to supply service as connectivity declines amid ongoing fighting with Israel.” 

  

  In response to the internet outage, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, a party that has had many members chant antisemitic slogans and displaying pro-Hamas signs in protests, criticized Israel’s bombardments in Gaza. 

  Musk responded to AOC’s X post: 

  “Starlink will support connectivity to internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza.” 

  Starlink will support connectivity to internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza.

  [ComStar]

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Musk, the owner of X, Tesla, and SpaceX, has provided a digital lifeline for soldiers and civilians in Ukraine amid the war with Russia.

  Of course, there was pushback by pro-Israel twitterati, but Musk rapidly responded to clarify…

  We are not so naive. 

  Per my post, no Starlink terminal has attempted to connect from Gaza. 

  If one does, we will take extraordinary measures to confirm that it is used *only* for purely humanitarian reasons.

  Moreover, we will do a security check with both the US and Israeli governments before turning on even a single terminal.

  Interestingly, despite some of AOC’s colleagues previously criticizing the billionaire based on a misleading report from his biographer regarding internet service disruptions in Ukraine, they now find themselves seeking his assistance. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 16:55

• Our Neofeudal, Neocolonial World
  Our Neofeudal, Neocolonial World

  Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

  Once the chasm widens a bit more, the “efficient market” cover story bridge collapses into the abyss.

  In the conventional view, Neofeudalism and Neocolonialism are mad fantasies: the world is an efficient market of buyers and sellers guided by the invisible hand of self-interest, overseen by a fair referee, the State.

  This is of course exactly what those benefiting from Neofeudalism and Neocolonialism would say: since I’m doing great, everyone’s doing great.

  The view from inside Neofeudal, Neocolonial monopolies is more realistic. Inside the Big Tech monopolies, the leaders quite rightly compare their digital empire to that of the East India Company, which ruled most of India as a private corporation so powerful that it was in many way its own State, even as the duties on its massive commerce funded the British state and expanded the British Empire by other means.

  

  Two books offer insight into corporate colonialism and by extension, into corporate neocolonialism:

  The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company by William Dalrymple

  Empire, Incorporated: The Corporations That Built British Colonialism by Philip J. Stern

  In other words, private empires extend national empires which in turn empower private empires. The Big Tech corporations operate as Network States, a new iteration of the corporation-as-empire model. The Big Tech monopolies don’t need private armies like the East India Company maintained, or a merchant fleet; they operate in the digital world as global fiefdoms.

  Those beholden to these digital empires also have a more realistic view. For example, Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of People Group, in reference to Google’s new billing system, called the company the “Digital East India Company” and its policies “neocolonialism at its worst.”

  The mad fantasy isn’t Neofeudalism / Neocolonialism, it’s the absurdly self-serving mirage of an efficient market of buyers and sellers blah-blah-blah, the cover story used by every apologist for monopoly since the late 1700s to cloak the harsh reality that markets are opportunities for monopolies and cartels and the profits and wealth generated are asymmetrically distributed not by some invisible hand but by the very visible hands on the levers of Neofeudalism / Neocolonialism.

  These hands don’t really care what currency you use to pay them; gold is fine, bitcoin is fine, gold-backed currencies are fine, it doesn’t matter what you use to pay, but pay you will.

  I’ve engaged in several illuminating discussions with well-read readers about the nature of feudalism. They’ve questioned my use of neofeudalism in ways that have helped clarify the meaning of the phrase in today’s world-structure.

  One key difference between feudalism proper and today’s corporate-state neofeudalism is the bond between the nobility and their serfs, and the role of the Church in mediating the bond. The long transition from the relationships of citizens and slaves to the centralized power of Rome in the imperial era to the feudal ties of serf to noble is explored in The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000 by Chris Wickham.

  In effect, the system of centralized benefits, coercion and redress of the Western Roman Empire slowly devolved to a decentralized structure of weak monarchies and powerful localized nobles whose serfs were bound to them by legal and practical bonds.

  The Catholic Church acted as a centralized power that enforced laborers’ days off for religious services and festivities, and rewarded nobles’ gifts of land and wealth to the Church. The nobility had the power and the rights, but there were obligations to the serfs as well, the source of the term noblesse oblige, the obligations, both inferred and in practice, of the nobility to their serfs.

  In today’s neofeudalism, the corporate fiefdoms have offloaded all the obligations to States, while maintaining the mutually beneficial ties of State and Corporate Empire of the colonial model. The only obligation the corporate fiefdoms have is to their owners (shareholders) and secondarily, the obligation to grease the palms of their lackeys within the State: the elected and appointed officials who oversee the smooth functioning of the corporate-state bond that is the foundation of both Neofeudalism and Neocolonialism.

  The problem is the State cannot afford both the bread and circuses obligations to modern-day serfs and its obligations to corporate fiefdoms to keep the profits and wealth flowing to the owners. These asymmetries have reached such extremes that now both the social and economic orders are unraveling.

  

  As the unraveling accelerates, the apologists claims that it’s all an efficient market of buyers and seller ruled by self-interest is going to look increasingly detached from reality. This cover story can be understood as a bridge over a widening chasm. Once the chasm widens a bit more, the “efficient market” cover story bridge collapses into the abyss.

  *  *  *

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

  My new book is now available at a 10% discount ($8.95 ebook, $18 print): Self-Reliance in the 21st Century. Read the first chapter for free (PDF)

  Become a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

  Subscribe to my Substack for free

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 16:30

• House Weaponization Panel Gets IRS To End 'Abusive' Surprise Visits; Taibbi Thanks Jim Jordan
  House Weaponization Panel Gets IRS To End ‘Abusive’ Surprise Visits; Taibbi Thanks Jim Jordan

  House Republicans on the GOP’s “weaponization” subcommittee said in a Friday report that the IRS has agreed to end its “abusive” policy of surprise visits to taxpayers’ homes following pressure from the panel.

  

  “The Committee’s and Select Subcommittee’s oversight revealed, and led to the swift end of, the IRS’s weaponization of unannounced field visits to harass, intimidate, and target taxpayers,” reads the report. “Taxpayers can now rest assured the IRS will not come knocking without providing prior notice—something that should have been the IRS’s practice all along.”

  The IRS announced in July that it would end most unannounced agent visits to the homes of Americans, citing security concerns.

  But it also came after the agency engaged in what appeared to be witness intimidation, after visiting the New Jersey home of journalist Matt Taibbi on the same day he appeared before Congress to testify on government abuse.

  Following the incident, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) demanded answers from the IRS, writing “In light of the hostile reaction to Mr. Taibbi’s reporting among left-wing activists, and the IRS’s history as a tool of government abuse, the IRS’s action could be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate a witness before Congress.“

  Taibbi thanked Jordan on Saturday, writing in response to the report:

  One of the cases outlined is my own. My home was visited by the IRS while I was testifying before Jordan’s Committee about the Twitter Files on March 9^th. Sincere thanks are due to Chairman Jordan, whose staff not only demanded and got answers in my case, but achieved a concrete policy change, as IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel announced in July new procedures that would “end most” home visits.

  Anticipating criticism for expressing public thanks to a Republican congressman, I’d like to ask Democratic Party partisans: to which elected Democrat should I have appealed for help in this matter? The one who called me a “so-called journalist” on the House floor? The one who told me to take off my “tinfoil hat” and put greater trust in intelligence services? The ones in leadership who threatened me with jail time? I gave votes to the party for thirty years. Which elected Democrat would have performed basic constituent services in my case? Feel free to raise a hand.

  If silence is the answer, why should I ever vote for a Democrat again? –Racket News

  Taibbi had opined earlier in the day on the disturbing IRS home visits, writing in Racket that: perhaps the most ‘unsettling revelations’ happened after his case – when on April 25, 2023 a woman was visited by an IRS agent using a fake name.

  

  On that date, a woman was visited at her home by a man identifying himself as “Bill Haus” from the IRS’s Criminal Division. He then “informed the taxpayer he was at her home to discuss issues concerning an estate for which the taxpayer was the fiduciary,” and after sharing “details about the estate that only the IRS would know,” the taxpayer “let him into her home.”

  The woman informed “Haus” that the estate issues had been resolved, and furnished documents to prove it. At this point, he informed her of his real purpose, claiming she was delinquent on several tax filings and provided “several documents to the taxpayer for her to complete.”

  Hesitating, the woman offered to put him on the phone with her accountant, but when he didn’t answer the phone, she contacted an attorney, who “repeatedly told Agent ‘Haus’ to leave the taxpayer’s home since the taxpayer had not received any prior notice from the IRS of any issue.” The agent reportedly replied that he was with the IRS and could go into anyone’s house at any time, and before leaving told the taxpayer she had “exactly one week to satisfy the remaining balance or he would freeze all her assets and put a lien on her house,” as the Committee report put it.

  Once “Haus” left, the taxpayer feared a scam and had the good sense to immediately contact the Marion, Ohio Police Department (MPD), upon whose reports this story ends up being based. (Emails published below.) The MPD ran the plate of “Bill Haus” and found it came back to a car owned by someone with a different name. The police contacted the car owner, who “attested that he was an IRS agent but admitted Bill Haus was not his real name; he was using an alias.”

  *  *  *

  Taibbi also notes that “Agent Haus” was pissed after his identity was discovered, and then filed a complaint with the Treasury Department’s Inspector General against the MPD for outing him. It was only after a senior MPD offer called the Inspector General (TIGTA) that they were able to confirm that Haus was an actual IRS agent.

  

  As Taibbi further considers:

  Pause here to consider the numerous problems already confirmed, to police, by the IRS:

  1. IRS agents make field visits using aliases;

  2. IRS agents make “pretext” visits, i.e. they announce they’re asking about one thing, when really by their own admission, they might be investigating something else;

  3. The IRS makes local, covert home visits without informing local authorities.

  Think of the problems that could arise from the last issue alone. According to the exchanges, the IRS isn’t required to inform local officials of investigative activity, but as noted by the TIGTA official in communications with the MPD, this is something they should do, to avoid mixups. Here for instance, even after a lengthy inquiry, local police were unsure “Agent Haus” really worked for the Treasury. Imagine if the taxpayer called police to come over during her visit, and think of the things could go wrong. It’s insanity that the Treasury would have investigators using aliases making Clockwork Orange-style “surprise visits” without informing local officials.

  Amazing.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 16:00

• Time To Think 'Quadrillions', As There's 'Zero Fiscal Restraint' In D.C.
  Time To Think ‘Quadrillions’, As There’s ‘Zero Fiscal Restraint’ In D.C.

  Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

  This past week I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite hedge fund managers, Lawrence Lepard.

  Last week I also released more than 30 pages from Larry outlining his take on the macroeconomy, gold, bitcoin and the state of the U.S. dollar. You can read Part 1 of his letter, which talks about the U.S. fiscal doom loop, here and Part 2 of his letter, which describes 7 reasons why the Fed must print trillions again, here.

  In our hour and a half discussion last week, we covered topics like the war in the Middle East, geopolitics, the treasury market, gold, bitcoin, a potential regional banking collapse, reasons the stock market could go up or down, and both fiscal and monetary policy.

  “Just as was with the Covid thing, [the wars in Ukraine and Israel] has been a convenient way for them to print a shitload of money,” Larry said about the conflict in the Middle East.

  “While you were speaking, I Googled the Reagan budget deficits. I remember starting out in business in ’83 and ’84, relatively early in my career,” he recalls:

  “People went crazy over how Reagan initiated deficit spending. In 1983, the federal budget deficit was $55 billion for the entire calendar year. This past year, as you’re aware, it was $2 trillion.”

  

  Larry says about our worsening financial picture in the U.S.:

  “By the way, you know, we’re gonna have to start thinking about what comes after, you know, a trillion. I mean, I think it’s a quadrillion. And, uh, because, you know, at the stage, at the rate that we’re going, it is becoming exponential. And that’s, of course, why I believe that this monetary system is doomed. It’s just— there’s— it’s absolutely doomed. I’m— I hate to say that, and I’m not trying to be a doomsayer or fearmonger. I just think it’s basic math.”

  “There appears to be zero fiscal restraint in Washington D.C. They are behaving as if there’s no consequences but the 10 year is saying ‘oh, there will be consequences, alright,’” he adds.

  Larry also talks about the bond market and treasuries. Talking about Bill Ackman covering his bond short, Larry said:

  “I think he, um, I think he sees that the bond is very overextended, and he’s playing for a bounce, assuming the economy is going to slow down. And I don’t disagree that that could happen. I mean, some of the very good technical analysts that I follow suggest that, you know, the bond— the long bond, which, you know, the interest rate almost got to 5%— in fact, it did briefly get over 5% on the ten-year, you know, that could drop back into the low fours for a little while before turning and then going much higher.”

  And ultimately Larry thinks treasury yields are going higher:

  “I think, over the longer term, interest rates are going much, much higher. And the reason I think that is, I think inflation is not subdued, and I think that people are going to lose confidence in these bonds and they’re not going to want to hold them. So, um, how long do you think that takes to play out? Uh, probably within the next six months to a year, I mean, I would expect that.”

  ---

  For those who are not yet subscribers, you can take 50% off for life by using the coupon: Get 50% off forever

  ---

  Larry believes that gold and bitcoin will be the safe havens for years to come:

  “As Luke Groman says, I mean, we’re starting to look like a third-world country, and that’s really the biggest development that’s taking place. And that’s where, and you can see it in sound money. I mean, you know, real interest rates have gone up 500 basis points in the last year, 18 months, and yet gold is still very close to its all-time high. And Bitcoin has done quite a nice job of recovering out of the hole that it dug after FTX blew up. So, um, I think people are starting to figure out that this issue.”

  “But the point is, as more and more people come to realize that they can never stop printing money, they can never stop debasing a currency,” he concludes.

  “The two obvious areas that are going to reflect this are the price of gold and the price of Bitcoin, because they’re the two sound money alternatives. So as those assets appreciate, more and more people are going to think, ‘Jesus, I’m the sucker here, right? I’m getting paid in money, and I know that it’s not going to hold its value.’ If they have any savings, they feel compelled to invest them into one of these two assets. As those assets go up, nobody is willing to save in Treasury bonds, and the cycle continues: rinse, wash, repeat.”

  Finally, Larry concludes, talking about distortions in markets from central planning:

  “We all know, and I think we all believe—even Keynesians would admit—that free markets provide the highest and best way of allocating goods and services and providing prosperity. You don’t do it with communism; you do it with free markets. By setting the rate, by having 12 policymakers and 400 PhDs at the Fed who set the interest rate, that’s not a free market. That’s the Politburo saying grain should be this price. And when they did that back in the ’60s and ’70s, they either had way too much grain or way too little grain. Right? Because the farmers figured out, well, it works or it doesn’t work. So letting a bunch of elected or appointed officials set the price of the most important good—the base-level good, which is money—in the economy is just a recipe for disaster.”

  Here is the full discussion:

  You can also find:

  • All of my podcasts on Apple Podcasts

  • All of my podcasts on Spotify

  • Additional podcast appearances from the past available at this YouTube link.

   

  

  QTR’s Disclaimer: I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. These positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 15:35

• Pence Pulls Out Of Presidential Race As Trump's Lead Widens
  Pence Pulls Out Of Presidential Race As Trump’s Lead Widens

  Who could have seen that coming?

  

  Former Vice President Mike Pence announced today that he is suspending his 2024 campaign for the White House.

  “It’s become clear to me it’s not my time,” Pence said during a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition Conference.

  “I’ve decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today.”

  “To the American people, I say: this is not my time, but it is still your time,” he added.

  He wasn’t exactly ‘killin it’.

  The Hill reports that filings show Pence raised $3.3 million during the third fundraising quarter, coupled with around $620,000 in debt. He ended September with just around $1.2 million in cash on hand.

  His poll numbers trended consistently lower from just 9.5% in July 2022 to 3.8% right before actually launched his bid in June 2023 (which saw a small pick-up in his poll numbers). But since the debates began it has been a return to the downtrend, leaving the race today at his personal low of just 3.5%…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Meanwhile, having decided to skip both debates, former President Trump continues to extend his lead in the polls with Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy – his closest rivals – trending lower since the debates.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 15:08

• Abercrombie & Epstein? Ex-CEO Sued Over Gay Sex Trafficking, Abuse Allegations
  Abercrombie & Epstein? Ex-CEO Sued Over Gay Sex Trafficking, Abuse Allegations

  Abercrombie & Fitch is being sued along with its former CEO Mike Jeffries, who has been accused of running a giant sex-trafficking ring that exploited young men who wanted to become models for the brand.

  

  Court documents depict a horror story wherein Jeffries, the once-celebrated architect of the brand’s provocative image, is accused of masterminding the despicable sex trafficking operation. Under this scheme, young men, dazzled by the glamour of modeling stardom, were allegedly subjected to sexual abuse under the guise that it would land them coveted modeling contracts, CNBC reports.

  Earlier this month, a BBC investigation revealed systematic abuse, involving Jeffries’ partner Matthew Smith and associate James Jacobson, under the pretense of offering modeling gigs.

  

  The BBC’s two-year investigation involving 12 witnesses reveals a systematic operation spanning from the 1990s through 2015, where Jeffries, aided by Smith and a conspicuous associate identified as James Jacobson, allegedly lured young men into an abusive quagmire. The promise of lucrative modeling contracts with A&F baited the trap, often leading to coercive sexual encounters at various luxury locations worldwide, from New York to Marrakesh.

  The narratives shared by these men, including David Bradberry, sketch a sinister picture. The operation, disguised behind the glamour of A&F’s brand allure, often began with meetings involving Jacobson. With his striking appearance marked by a snakeskin patch over a missing nose, Jacobson is accused of acting as the gatekeeper to A&F’s inner sanctum, demanding sexual favors as the price for entry.

  

  Systematic abuse

  Several told the BBC the middleman or other recruiters raised the possibility of modelling opportunities with A&F. All except one said they felt harmed by the experience.

  David Bradberry, then 23, said he was introduced in 2010 to Mr Jacobson by an agent who described him as the gatekeeper to “the owners” of A&F, but said there was no mention of sex. At their meeting, he said Mr Jacobson suggested Bruce Weber – then A&F’s official photographer – should take his picture.

  Then, Mr Bradberry said, “Jim made it clear to me that unless I let him perform oral sex on me, that I would not be meeting with Abercrombie & Fitch or Mike Jeffries.” -BBC

  Bradberry’s account, echoed by others, paints a scene of manipulation, where he was cornered into sexual acts under the pretense of career advancement. The exploitation extended to orchestrated events, where Jeffries and Smith would engage or direct participants in sexual acts. These gatherings, often swathed in the legitimacy offered by A&F branding and the presence of staff in company uniforms, created an environment where dissent seemed impossible.

  The largest event described to the BBC was hosted in a private villa at a five-star hotel in 2011, for which dozens of men were flown to Marrakesh. The BBC understands Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith had also invited friends. Alex – who asked for his name to be changed to protect his identity – said he was a struggling model supporting his family back home when he was recruited as a dancer for the event, where he expected he would have to strip.

  Mr Jeffries “took advantage of people in a very vulnerable point in their life, especially when they’re around these big cities, coming from small America,” Alex said. The former CEO was the “kingpin”, he said. “If it wasn’t for him none of this would have existed.”

  Alex, a straight man then in his 20s, said he was auditioned by Mr Jacobson, who praised his dancing but demanded he “finish the job” by performing oral sex on him. “I had debt, I wanted to support my family,” said Alex. “I performed the job and I was, like, disgusted.”

  Thinking “the hardest part was out of the way”, Alex flew to Marrakesh for the event a few weeks later. But moments into his dance, he said, Mr Jeffries tried to kiss him. “I was trying to be in it without offending him. I was extremely uncomfortable,” Alex said. -BBC

  It wasn’t just the attendees recounting tales of abuse. Former household staff disclosed regular weekend events at Jeffries’ properties, including his Hamptons home, which they were instructed to vacate, hinting at concealed ‘playtime’ activities. The entire setup, described as a “well-oiled machine,” included referrals, auditions, grooming rituals, non-disclosure agreements, and enveloped payments, pointing to an established, systematic exploitation process.

  

  While Jeffries’ legal team remains silent in the media, A&F has publicly distanced itself from its former executive, expressing disgust at the allegations. The company underscores its commitment to an abuse-free, discrimination-intolerant ethos under its current leadership. Despite this, questions linger about the brand’s accountability, given the alleged abuses were masked by its corporate veil.

  The inquiry by the BBC, backed by corroborating accounts and documents, not only unmasks the purported sexual exploitation ring but also challenges the fashion industry’s systemic issues, where power can distort into a tool for abuse. With calls for a full legal investigation, this unfolding scandal reaffirms the need for transparency, accountability, and robust mechanisms to protect vulnerable individuals in all sectors, signaling a period of reckoning for corporate America and global industries alike.

  “The company’s current executive leadership team and board of directors were not aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr. Jeffries,” the company told the BBC. “For close to a decade, a new executive leadership team and refreshed board of directors have successfully transformed our brands and culture into the values-driven organization we are today. We have zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 14:35

• Biden Chose Venezuela Over Canada For Oil
  Biden Chose Venezuela Over Canada For Oil

  Authored by Brian Lee Crowley via RealClear Wire,

  The United States needs more heavy oil for a whole series of reasons. President Joe Biden could have chosen to have that oil come from a close friend and ally, environmentally-conscious Canada, or from one of the world’s nastiest regimes, Nicolas Maduro’s Venezuela, which doesn’t give a toss about the environment. Which did he choose?

  Venezuela, of course.

  

  In exchange for modest concessions on electoral reform, the Biden administration just lifted sanctions on Venezuela, allowing them to export hundreds of thousands of barrels a day of vital heavy oil to the United States. The shale oil revolution has not and cannot change the fact that the US produces virtually no heavy oil, yet many of this country’s refineries, especially on the Gulf Coast, were set up to refine that kind of oil. Most of their heavy oil is from Canada, which is why that country is far and away the largest exporter of oil to America— more than twice as much as Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Russia, and Colombia combined. If America is now a net exporter of oil, it can thank Canada.

  The war in Ukraine caused unpopular price hikes at the gas pump. In response, the Biden administration has drawn down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). That drawdown focused on medium and heavy crudes. OPEC responded with supply cuts aimed at throttling the supply of these strategically important crudes.

  The drawdown of the SPR is reaching its limits but the risk of higher gas prices in an election year is rising. To OPEC and Ukraine, we must now add the heightened risk of conflict spreading in the Middle East.

  In this context, recall that one of the very first acts President Biden took on reaching office was to cancel the permit for the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline, a permit issued by his predecessor. Keystone XL was intended to provide 830,000 barrels a day of Canadian heavy crude to those Gulf Coast refineries. Pipe was already being laid.

  Had President Biden allowed KXL to proceed, the supply of heavy oil to the US industry would have been secure, risky drawdowns of the SPR unnecessary and America would have been much less vulnerable to global supply disruptions and OPEC’s manipulations. 

  Instead, the President colluded with a campaign to vilify oil from Alberta’s oilsands as “dirty oil.” Yes, producing Canada’s heavy oil emits greenhouse gases. But then all heavy oil is GHG intensive, and Venezuela is the highest emitting in the world. 

  The Canadian oil & gas sector has invested heavily and successfully in emissions reductions. The industry has a $75 billion plan to decarbonize and achieve net zero by 2050, focused on carbon capture and storage and small modular nuclear reactors.

  Venezuela has done nada in terms of real improvement in the environmental footprint of its heavy oil production. What it does have is a regime that is world-leading in terms of its human rights abuses and the damage it has inflicted on a once-prosperous economy. Every dollar America spends on Venezuelan oil will prop up one of the most violent and repressive regimes in the Americas, where Amnesty International says in 2022:

  The security forces responded with excessive force and other repressive measures to protests…to demand economic and social rights, including the right to water. Impunity for ongoing extrajudicial executions by the security forces persisted. Intelligence services and other security forces, with the acquiescence of the judicial system, continued to arbitrarily detain, torture, and otherwise ill-treat those perceived to be opponents of the government of Nicolás Maduro.

  A recent UN Fact Finding Mission to Venezuela talked about the “unremitting human rights crisis” and patterns of crimes against humanity in that country. Nearly 8 million Venezuelans are estimated to have fled the economic and humanitarian crisis there.

  Meanwhile, Canada, while not perfect, has robust human rights protections and high environmental standards. It is also a magnet for immigrants (including tens of thousands of Venezuelans), having one of the highest shares of its population born elsewhere in any country in the world.

  In 2021 President Biden was happy to offend one of America’s closest allies by blocking KXL because it was inconsistent “with my administration’s economic and climate imperatives.”  Three short years later, behind the fig leaf of Venezuelan electoral reform, he is welcoming much more environmentally damaging oil from one of Latin America’s most odious regimes, all to try and keep the price down at the pump. That’s a big win for Nicolás Maduro, but a bad deal for America and Canada.

  Brian Lee Crowley is the Managing Director of the Center for North American Prosperity and Security (www.cnaps.org).

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 14:00

• Erdogan Vows To Get Israel Branded As "War Criminal" State, Also Blames West For Gaza "Massacre"
  Erdogan Vows To Get Israel Branded As “War Criminal” State, Also Blames West For Gaza “Massacre”

  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raged against Israel in a speech given before a pro-Palestinian rally on Saturday in Istanbul. He said he is preparing to introduce Israel as a “war criminal” on a world stage, at a moment the debate over Gaza continues heating up at the United Nations. 

  Erdogan said: “Israel, we will also declare you as a war criminal to the world, we are preparing for it, and we will introduce Israel to the world as a war criminal,” according to a state broadcaster. Footage of the event shows that the turnout was huge, in the hundreds of thousands or possibly over 100,000 people gathered in the capital.

  

  He stressed that the West is busy justifying the massacre of innocent people in Gaza, as the civilian death toll soars, saying “Israel is committing war crimes” as an “occupier.” He added: the “West owes you, but Türkiye does not owe you.”

  “Those shedding crocodile tears for civilians killed in the Ukraine-Russia war are silently watching the deaths of thousands of innocent children in Gaza,” he critiqued further, highlighting the double standard.

  “I am asking West, do you want to create another Crusader War atmosphere?” Erdogan questioned, before saying provocatively: “The main culprit behind the massacre unfolding in Gaza is the West.”

  “Of course, every country has the right to defend itself, but where is justice? There is no defense but an open, and vicious massacre going on in Gaza.” He went after Western elites and their ability to dress up everything they say in human rights rhetoric but which proves shallow: 

  Everyone knows that Israel is a pawn in the region that will be sacrificed when the time comes, he added.

  “I said in Davos, you know how to kill. They know well how to kill.”

  Erdogan continues, “We are saddened for every civilian in any way, but Israel does not care.”

  This week the Palestinian Ministry of Housing issued a grim figure, saying that 20,000 buildings and homes in Gaza have been destroyed over several days of intensified Israeli airstrikes. Turkish media has tallied that in total since Oct. 7, over 200,000 homes and buildings have been leveled. 

  Istanbul, Turkey.
  Thousands rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/4LBJ2IJKHf

  — TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) October 28, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Erdogan has earlier confirmed he canceled a planned trip to Israel where he was expected to meet with his Israeli counterpart PM Netanyahu. This was part of a normalization and restoration of ties effort, but are now definitely off. 

  From Tel Aviv’s perspective too, Erdogan’s ratcheting rhetoric in denouncing Israeli war crimes will likely been seen as unforgiveable, even after this current crisis is over. Turkey and Israel have long clashed over the Palestinian issue, and these tensions have now exploded back into full force. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 10/28/2023 – 13:25

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