Badlands News Brief
Badlands News Brief
TrumpaMania Reigns ... with a Russian Twist
The News Cycle is almost impossible to track these days. At least, to do so fully.
That’s where we come in.
In the Badlands News Brief, the Badlands Media team hand pick news items of interest from the previous days to give you an overview of the biggest goings-on relevant to the Truth Community with some Badlands flavoring to help wash it down.
Now, onto the news from Monday, November 18 …
(Editor’s Note: This is a repeat item, but remained a biggie on Monday, so
wanted to add her two cents.)Biden authorizes Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike inside Russia
President Biden has authorized Ukraine's military to use U.S.-provided long-range missiles on targets inside Russian territory, senior U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News on Sunday.
The senior U.S. official said the weapons will mostly focus on the Kursk region of Western Russia. The decision was first reported by The New York Times.
According to the official, Biden's decision was spurred by the Russian decision to invite 10,000 North Korean soldiers into the fight against Ukraine in Kursk. A second official told Fox that it is unclear if Biden plans to approve the use of the missiles outside the Kursk region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said the U.S.'s approval of such missile strikes would constitute an act of war. He has yet to react to Biden's announcement Sunday. — FOX News
Our Take: Joe Biden is a lame duck president, but that doesn’t render him entirely obsolete. Lame duck presidents can, and have, done lasting damage before they leave office.
There are numerous accounts of scandalous pardons and political clean-up jobs during the lame duck period, but there are also damn near treasonous acts conducted by bitter election losers.
Consider Benjamin Harrison and the panic of 1893.
Harrison decided to torpedo the economy to harm his successor, he used friendly media to run doomsday editorials and scare off foreign investment, and he directed the US Treasury to spend the surplus. As a result, the stock market crashed with only eight days left before Harrison left office, and Grover Cleveland was inaugurated. The Panic of 1893 resulted in a severe economic depression that continued through 1897. Cleveland was blamed — an historic injustice considering his predecessor tanked the economy to punish Americans for voting in his opponent.
Notably, Cleveland, like Trump, served two terms with a “pause” in the middle.
Fast forward to 2024, and lame duck Joe Biden is green-lighting attacks on Russia, further provoking a world wide conflict.
Consider:
“It has also been suggested that Kyiv should agree not to pursue NATO membership for 20 years, a stipulation that critics of this plan argue kowtows to Putin.”
Note the framing of the writer here, suggesting that delaying Ukraine’s ability to seek NATO membership is “kowtowing” to Putin. Ukraine joining NATO puts NATO on Russia’s border. This will be unacceptable to Russia, whether in 20 years or 120 years. This is escalation of a massive geopolitical conflict by a lame duck president.
They want war and, just as in Harrison’s day, it appears they want to punish Americans for voting in Trump.
Harming Americans because you lost an election, while holding the most powerful office in the world, is treason.
What’s the statute of limitations on treason? —
Moscow Issues Warning of Retaliation if Ukraine Uses Western Long-Range Missiles Against Russian Territory
Moscow has cautioned of an “appropriate response” should Ukraine deploy Western-supplied long-range missiles against Russian territory. This warning came hours after Biden authorized Kyiv to conduct such strikes.
Russia’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Monday, declaring:
“Kyiv’s use of long-range missiles to attack our territory would represent the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in hostilities against Russia, as well as a radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict … Russia’s response in such a case will be appropriate and palpable.”
According to briefings provided to U.S. media, the missile usage by Ukraine is reportedly restricted to targeting areas such as the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces staged an incursion into Russian territory over the summer. — Badlands News
Our Take: So Putin has come out and reaffirmed that if the US sends these long-range missiles to Ukraine, he will erase Kiev from existence, and likely also nuke London and DC, among other places.
It must be stressed that Vladimir Putin is not the unreasonable actor here. It is the sociopaths in DC who are the unhinged actors, desperate to kill as many people as they possibly can before Trump returns to office.
Meanwhile, other NATO nations—such as Germany—are not endorsing this move.
It's worth noting that Russia has sanctioned President Trump's forthcoming Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and has no plans of lifting those sanctions until the US sanctions against Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, are lifted.
China also imposed sanctions on Rubio back in 2019 for criticizing its handling of Hong Kong protesters. Rubio will be the first Secretary of State to face sanctions by China, undermining the argument that it is the CCP that controls the US government. (It must be another transnational crime syndicate...)
On top of it all, CNN is now openly advocating for the appointment of Hulk Hogan to Rubio's soon-to-be-empty Senate seat.
Please take a moment to absorb that information, and understand that if this happens, TrumpaMania is heading to DC, and will be running wild, brother!
LET TRUMPAMANIA RULE AGAIN! LET TRUMPAMANIA MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! —
Net-Zero Rollback: How Trump Might Achieve De-regulation Goals
President-elect Donald Trump won the election on, among other things, pledges to roll back the regulations that were put in place under the Biden administration, particularly those intended to meet net-zero emissions goals in America’s energy industry.
In many cases, however, that will be easier said than done, and may not be something Trump can achieve on day one, according to analysts.
According to the American Action Forum, the Biden administration has finalized 1,114 new regulations to date, adding $1.8 trillion in costs to American businesses and consumers and an estimated 346 million hours of paperwork. And depending on how the regulations were put in place, the incoming Trump administration will likely face challenges in unwinding them.
“It will be on a regulation-by-regulation basis,” Dan Kish, senior vice president of policy at the American Energy Alliance, told The Epoch Times. “There’s actually three categories: executive orders, action from Congress, and those things that have to be done through regulation.
“In other words, there’s a process that’s been set up for changing regulations,” he said. “But all of those things are available to [Trump] depending on what happens with the final Congressional outcome.” — The Epoch Times
Our Take: I wrote a long thread on this article over on X, which you can read here.
But, in summation, taking a hammer to the Administrative State is going to follow a three-step process:
Set direction via Presidential appointment and D.O.G.E. review to toss out unconstitutional rules that did not follow the proper process via Executive Order.
Mark unconstitutional rules that DID follow the proper rule-making process for Congressional Review, cutting them from the legal record.
Form a final backstop of the above process by ensuring any Administrative appeals wind up in front of a 6-3 (for now) majority Supreme Court with a proven and growing mandate to uphold and defend the constitution.
Sounds good to me. —
The Hidden Truth Linking the Broken Border to Your Online Shopping Cart
During the depths of the pandemic, sales at Alo Yoga surged as its popularity exploded on social media. Kendall Jenner appeared on Instagram wearing the brand’s high-waist leggings. Alessandra Ambrosio and Jennifer Lopez were seen in Alo gear, too. In just one year, business reportedly almost doubled, surpassing $1 billion.
Alo’s sister company, Bella+Canvas, a wholesaler of basic apparel, also reached a milestone, selling directly to consumers through its website. To keep up, the two companies turned to a vast new distribution warehouse in Nevada.
Finding workers for such facilities is no small task, but corporate America often looks to a time-tested strategy: contracting with staffing agencies that temporarily employ migrants, including some who enter the country illegally and are desperate for jobs.
This year, America’s southern border was once again a flashpoint in a presidential election, with President-elect Donald J. Trump pledging to deport millions of people who he said were “poisoning the blood” of the country. Within days of his re-election, he announced his intention to appoint hard-liners on immigration.
But despite the tough talk, the broken border has been a lifeline for America’s on-demand economy under both Democratic and Republican administrations, including Mr. Trump’s first term, an investigation by The New York Times found. Thousands of companies have exploited its porousness by plucking workers from the ranks of unauthorized migrants, sometimes with impunity. — NYT
Our Take: After years of calling Trump and his supporters xenophobic racists on the topic of migration, The NY Times is now, apparently, discovering exploitative and abusive businesses that rely on illegal migration.
“Several former corporate employees of BaronHR said the firm targeted undocumented immigrants because they were less likely to quit or speak up if mistreated.”
The article outlines heinous working conditions, regular injuries on the job, bouncing paychecks, and more.
As we’ve been discussing for years at this point, the biggest victims of unchecked illegal migration are migrants. They are bullied, trafficked, raped, enslaved, and worse. “But who will pick our crops?” ask Democrats who seek to have forgotten that Americans rejected that trade off in the 1860s.
The writers try hard to tie in President Trump on this narrative, but they’re forced to admit deep in the text that Trump’s administration was, solely, attempting to crack down on this exploitation, which led these companies to engage in criminal coverup behavior.
“In 2017, when the Trump administration ratcheted up work-site inspections for undocumented workers, staffing agencies across the country received notices that federal agents would visit.
Around that time, a BaronHR branch manager in Chula Vista ordered employees to throw away hundreds of employment verification documents known as I-9s…”
No such inspections or crack downs by Biden, Obama, or Bush are mentioned. Also of note is the tie in of these businesses to Hollywood and celebrities.
“Another worker was once stationed in a V.I.P. section, packing Alo Yoga items for celebrities and social media influencers.”
The exploitation economy must come to an end, and non-violent illegal migrants must be treated with dignity and respect as they are removed from our country and returned to their homelands. The violent ones as well as the exploitative businesses must be severely and swiftly dealt with.
That the NYT is shifting on this issue and calling out the exploitation of migrants, particularly by those engaged in Hollywood-enabling businesses, is interesting and raises new questions.
Accelerate. —
Saudi and Iranian deputy FMs discuss regional developments in Riyadh
Saudi Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Eng. Walid Al-Kheraiji received Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Dr. Majid Takht-Ravanchi at the ministry's headquarters in Riyadh on Monday.
During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and ways to further enhance and develop them in various fields. The latest developments on the regional and international arenas were also figured in their talks.
The reception was attended by Saudi Ambassador to Iran Abdullah Al-Anzi, Iran's Ambassador to the Kingdom Ali Reza Enayati, and Director General of the Asian General Administration Nasser Al-Ghannoum. — Saudi Gazette
And …
Elon Musk recently met with Iran's ambassador to U.N.
Elon Musk recently met with Iran's ambassador to the U.N., Amir Saeid Iravani, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.
The meeting took place at the ambassador's residence in New York. There's no indication that President-elect Donald Trump's national security transition team was aware of the meeting. Nor is it clear that his newly assembled team of advisers, including Iran hawks Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz, Trump's picks for secretary of state and national security adviser, respectively, knew of the meeting. It is also not clear if Trump himself was aware of the meeting.
The New York Times, which was first to report on the meeting, said two Iranian officials described it as a discussion on how to defuse tensions between the two countries. — CBS News
Our Take: So now we have concurrent meetings occurring between Iran and the Sovereign Alliance, notably the Saudis and Elon—who has become the poster boy of Donald Trump's second administration.
Iran has already rushed to deny the reports of this meeting, but that is to be expected. The narrative is that Elon is meeting with Iran, so that is the story as far as the public is concerned.
Last week, the Kremlin said that Putin and Saudi Crown Prince MBS had a phone call, stating:
"The President and the Prime Minister discussed the complicated situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and noted that the principled approaches of Russia and Saudi Arabia with regard to the Middle East settlement are essentially identical."
Hear that? Putin and MBS are BFF's—as if we didn't already know it.
Oh, and Colonel Macgregor also affirmed the very thing that I have been saying for months: Israel is on the path to war with Russia.
I think it's safe to say that Iran is firmly in the camp of the Sovereign Alliance. —
Mountain collapses in DR Congo revealing tonnes of copper
A mountain collapse in Katanga, DRC, unveiled large copper reserves. While the region is vital for copper mining, concerns arise over forced evictions and human rights abuses linked to mining expansion.
A video capturing the dramatic fall of the mountain emerged on X. In it, people can be seen running as the mountain collapses.
The Katanga region of DR Congo is known for its rich mineral resources. It lies in the copper belt of Africa, a 450km stretch that extends from northwest Luanshya, Zambia, to Katanga in Congo.
The region has been known for large-scale copper mining for more than a century. In the 1950s, it was the world's largest copper-producing area.
The people of the DRC experienced significant exploitation and abuse during the colonial and post-colonial era, and their rights are still being sacrificed as the wealth around them is stripped away.
Copper and cobalt resources are majorly extracted to recharge batteries as the world moves towards clean energy. The rising demand for clean energy technologies has raised the demand for metals such as copper and cobalt needed for lithium-ion batteries, used for electric vehicles.
Despite all this wealth in natural resources, Congo (DRC) still remains one of the poorest nations on the continent riddled by internal conflicts sponsored by external players from the West with alot of refugees currently residing in neighboring Uganda. — Commentary by
Our Take: You may recall the name Dan Gertler—the Israeli oligarch and scion to the Israel Diamond Cartel—who was famously targeted by President Trump's Executive Order 13818 for using child slaves to work his mines in Africa, most notably in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Gertler's company, Katanga Mining, possessed the exclusive mining rights for the region for which the company is named. After experiencing financial trouble in 2007, Gertler sought a $45 million investment from Glencore to stay solvent. If that name sounds familiar, it is because Glencore has been getting sued by a number of its investors as well as a number of African nations for engaging in bribery and corruption in mining and oil operations.
As far as I can tell, the genesis of this lawfare came from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was given a "laptop from hell" in March 2017 by the scorned ex-wife of one of his oil officials. The laptop revealed that his officials were engaged in corruption with Glencore executives (among other companies). Lawsuits filed by Maduro were ultimately dismissed, but did seem to yield materials that have led to the prosecution of Glencore officials—including former CEO Alex Beard, who is currently facing corruption charges alongside five of his former colleagues.
After Gertler's assets were frozen by President Trump in 2017, Glencore was forced to buy out his shares of Katanga Mining, and are now the sole owner. However, Glencore has since faced a number of judgements from lawfare cases, including a high-profile case in 2022 that resulted in a multi-billion dollar judgement to be paid to five different African countries, including the DRC. Earlier this year it reached a $50 million settlement with Nigeria, and while it is still operating and reporting record profits, it is also still being sued by a growing list of nations and facing a revolving door of executives as they are targeted in corruption probes.
As part of the 2022 settlement deal, the UAE acquired Mopani Mining from Glencore in a forced sale, which operates in the Zambia region directly adjacent to Katanga. It seems that Glencore will likely face similar judgements for its other subsidiaries in the future, given its record for nefarious business dealings. In the meantime, major discoveries like the one in the video above are being made, and the future of Africa continues to look bright as the African people—aided by the Russian military and Wagner Group—drive out the imperial oligarchs that have long controlled the continent.
Russia just signed yet another military agreement with the Congo that focuses on the "naval sphere," so don't be surprised if we soon hear about a Russian naval base being constructed on the coast in southwest Africa. Back in September, a Russian pipeline project in the Congo was announced. —
BONUS ITEMS
Trump says media is 'vital' to making America 'great again,' vows to work with 'free, fair and open' press
President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that in order to "Make America Great Again," it is "vital" to have a "free, fair and open media," telling Fox News Digital that he feels he has "an obligation" to the American people to work with the press, even those who had treated him "badly beyond comprehension."
In an exclusive interview Monday morning, the president-elect said he is in the process of transforming America into "the greatest and most powerful country in the world."
Trump discussed his relationship with the media, and how he plans to interact with the press in his second term.
"In order to Make America Great Again, it is very important, if not vital, to have a free, fair and open media or press," Trump said. — FOX News
Trump Appoints FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr As Agency Chair
President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday night made another appointment for his incoming administration, this time naming Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr as agency chair.
As one of the agency’s five Senate-confirmed commissioners who serve staggered five-year terms, Carr is currently the senior Republican at the FCC.
The position of FCC chair is designated by the president from among the pool of confirmed commissioners, and does not require another Senate confirmation.
Carr was nominated as FCC commissioner by both Trump and President Joe Biden, serving across both administrations.
“I first nominated Commissioner Carr to the FCC in 2017, and he has been confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate three times,” Trump said in a statement posted on his Truth Social platform. “His current term runs through 2029 and, because of his great work, I will now be designating him as permanent Chairman.”
“Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans’ Freedoms, and held back our Economy,” the president-elect said. “He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America. — The Epoch Times
Jay Bhattacharya Emerges As Top Contender For NIH Chief
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of health policy at Stanford University, is a top contender to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the next Trump administration, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Bhattacharya was a key figure who spoke out against COVID-19 lockdowns and mandates during the pandemic.
The consideration, first reported by The Washington Post, comes after President-elect Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH.
If Bhattacharya is ultimately nominated and confirmed to lead the agency, he would be responsible for 27 institutes and centers on issues ranging from cancer and aging to drug abuse. Those include the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which was formerly chaired by Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The agency’s $48 billion budget funds medical research on cancers, vaccines, and other diseases through competitive grants to researchers at institutions across the nation. The agency also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at NIH labs in Bethesda, Maryland.
In October 2020, Bhattacharya was a lead author of the Great Barrington Declaration alongside Harvard University’s Martin Kulldorff and Oxford University’s Sunetra Gupta. That document, which garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures, called for an end to the COVID-19 lockdowns, which had been in effect for most of 2020.
“As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies,” the letter reads. — The Epoch Times
We hope you enjoyed this brief look back at the major news items you might have missed in this ever-escalating and ever-accelerating news cycle as the Information War continues to rage on around us.
As always, if you have any thoughts on these news items or the MANY others swirling in the digital ether, drop into the comments below to share them with your fellow Badlanders.
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Excellent Briefs and Takes today!
Praying that saner heads prevail as tensions escalate between the criminal DeepState and Russia…and between the DS and the Middle East. Let us hold to a vision of a peaceful world and pray it doesn’t actually take a nuclear bomb to bring all global leaders and their citizens to their senses!
We knew this would be a dangerous time. Trust the Plan 🙏❤️
***
Great piece on the horrible exploitation of the illegals…”the biggest victims of unchecked illegal migration are migrants”
🙏❤️🇺🇸🦅🕊🌎💫
Regulations smegulations! Roll them back, of course, while also rolling back or completely eliminating many city, county, state, and federal agencies. Less government is good for the body politic and soul. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya at the NIH? A Voice of Reason in The Swamp? Only if his goal is to reduce the bloated bureaucracy by at least 75 percent.