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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 picks news items of interest from the previous days to give you an overview of the biggest goings-on relevant to the Truth Community.
Items feature original commentary from members of our growing team of citizen journalists, whose stated opinions are their own. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see their other work.
Now, onto the news from Tuesday, October 17 …
Arab Leaders Refuse To Meet Biden As Protests Rage Around The World After Gaza Hospital Strike
Wednesday is shaping up as quite a global day of rage as the following series of clips from major cities around the world demonstrates.
As expected, the fallout from the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital bombing has been swift, with a domino effect of negative consequences both for diplomacy and on the 'Arab street'. The situation outside the US Embassy in Beirut is deteriorating tonight, with reports of riot police and tear gas being deployed against large crowds waving Hezbollah flags.
But more importantly, and just as Air Force One is departing Washington for Israel, the White House has canceled the entire leg of Biden's trip to Jordan. The confirmation was issued within the same hour that Arab leaders announced they were unwilling to meet with Biden, given the US is Israel's biggest funder and supporter.
Biden issued a statement "deepest condolences" to victims of Gaza "hospital explosion," according to the White House official statement:
After consulting with Jordan King Abdullah II & in light of the days of mourning announced by Palestinian Authority President Abbas, President Biden will postpone his travel to Jordan and the planned meeting with these two leaders and Egypt President Sisi.
The President sent his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza, and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded.
So even before arriving in Israel, the Tuesday massacre - which Israel is actually blaming on Palestinian militants (specifically PIJ) - has effectively served to box-in Biden. France's Macron has just issued a condemnation to boot, saying "nothing can justify targeting civilians" in a statement which appears to place blame squarely on the Israelis. Biden will now also face the pressure to join the chorus of international condemnation. "International humanitarian law is binding on all and must enable the protection of civilian populations. Humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip must be opened up without delay," the French foreign ministry said in the statement. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “The Kobayashi Maru is a training exercise in the Star Trek franchise designed to test the character of Starfleet Academy cadets in a no-win scenario.
From where I'm sitting, wittingly or unwittingly, Joe Biden has been placed into just such a scenario where it concerns the Israel chaos, both Actual (mileage varies,) and Narrative (my focus.)
This might even begin to give us hints as to why Donald Trump is taking the public stances he is, casting doubt on Netanyahu's leadership toward the start of the deployment(s) while defending Israel and strongly condemning the terror strikes throughout the week, all while reminding Americans that none of this would be happening were he still in office.
He's also saying he'll totally fix everything ... in 2025, which has 'The Plan' written all over it, to me.
This is the sociopolitical terrain Biden must navigate, a 'leader' in name only who's being increasingly framed as feckless and incompetent by a bipartisan electorate.
Sucks to be him.” —
The public is not sold on Biden’s support for Israel
Voters aren’t buying President Joe Biden’s newfound appreciation of Israel, a setback just hours before he boards Air Force One for the Middle East.
Apparently more influenced by Biden’s past cold shoulder to the Jewish state and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than his statements of support in the past week after it was brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists, voters by more than 2-to-1 believe U.S.-Israel relations have turned sour under the president.
In a timely Rasmussen Reports survey shared with Secrets, 43% said relations have gotten “worse,” 17% said “better,” and 29% said they have remained the “same” since Biden took office.
During the Obama-Biden administration and Biden’s first months in office, relations were standoffish, especially with Netanyahu.
Now, however, the two have formed a wartime alliance that Biden plans to cement in his Wednesday trip to Tel Aviv.
Since the attack by Hamas, the United States and Israel have become very close, and that is expected to last during the war, according to diplomats and experts.
According to the Rasmussen survey, that would make the public happy. The poll found that 63% view Israel as an ally, 7% as an enemy, and 20% “somewhere in between.” — The Washington Examiner
Our Take: “In another example of the current popular awakening, voters think Biden’s newfound appreciation for Israel is—as the old stumbly wumbly would say—‘Malarkey.’ He’s full of it, his administration is full of it, and everyone knows it.
It’s obvious that Biden’s term is the third Obama administration — it’s all the same people — and that’s three terms of deteriorating US-Israeli relations. We had a moment of reprieve when Trump was at the helm, and 45 proved that peace is possible — but has to be genuinely pursued. The relocation of the US Embassy and the Abraham Accords are examples of what can be done when leaders engage in good faith pursuits of peace, rather than self-interested machinations of war.
The polling on this latest conflict confirms that the American people are waking up to the operation. We don’t want war, and we don’t trust the current ‘leaders’ to keep us out of it. We must restore free and fair elections so we can restore the will of the people and bring back Trump.” —
China and Russia criticize Israel as divisions with the West sharpen
Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing on Tuesday for the start of a visit expected to underscore the two leaders’ shared vision for a new international order no longer dominated by the United States and its democratic allies.
The meeting between the world’s two most powerful autocrats comes as geopolitical fault lines harden globally – first following Russia’s grinding invasion of Ukraine, launched just three weeks after the leaders’ last meeting in the Chinese capital in 2022 – and now as Israel’s war against Palestinian militant group Hamas threatens to spiral into a broader conflict that could shatter stability in the Middle East.
Both Beijing and Moscow have criticized Israel’s actions and called for a ceasefire, in the latest showing of the two powers’ efforts to step up their alternative leadership to that of the US, which affirms Israel’s on-going right to retaliate. — CNN
Our Take: “Putin & Xi are meeting this week in what is largely a Narrative Deployment meant to bring focus onto their proposed solutions to the ongoing Israel Crisis, that being a two-state solution that recognizes Palestine.
While this is a 'solution' that draws heavy criticism from some circles, it should be noted that, as @patelpatriot pointed out last week, it was also a proposal made by Donald Trump during his time in office.
What's even more fascinating and entertaining about this particular meeting is the fact that it occurs against the backdrop of Joe Biden stumbling his way into the sociopolitical and even religious minefield of the Gaza Strip on the same day.
You don't have to subscribe to the War of Stories refrain or even believe in the Sovereign Alliance to recognize that the US is caught in a Narrative Pincer right now, with the Collective Mind watching with rapt attention as their own government refuses to deescalate, while the 'Big Bads' on the game board call for peace.” —
Republican Jim Jordan loses first US House speaker vote, plays for time
Combative right-wing Republican Jim Jordan on Tuesday sought more time to build support for his bid for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives after coming up short in a first vote, raising questions about his prospects for winning the job.
Lacking the 217 votes he needs to claim the speaker's gavel, Jordan postponed further action until 11 a.m. ET (1500 GMT) on Wednesday, while he scrambled to pressure the 20 fellow Republicans who voted against him on Tuesday afternoon.
Democrats seized on the prolonged Republican infighting to make the case for a compromise candidate that would enjoy the backing of both parties - a sharp departure from how Congress typically functions after the unprecedented ouster of speaker Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3.
"There's only two paths: either you're going to continue to bend the knee to the most extreme members of your conference, who are not interested in governing; or you can partner with Democrats to do the business of the American people," Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
Tuesday's failed vote meant that the House remains leaderless, as it has been since a handful of Republican insurgents engineered McCarthy's removal. That has left Congress unable to respond to wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, with just a month to go before the U.S. government faces another partial shutdown deadline.
It was not clear whether Jordan, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, would pick up more support or see his opposition grow in a second vote on Wednesday. Jordan got 200 votes in the first round - the lowest tally McCarthy ever saw during 15 rounds of voting over four days in January. — Reuters
Our Take: “During the first Speaker Saga of the 118th Congress, the establishment jeered and mocked the Freedom Caucus holdouts for making a mockery of the process. Now that the second Speaker Saga is underway, we see the dynamic inverted, as establishment Republicans prolong the process and vote for anyone but the Party's nominee.
Jim Jordan needs 217 votes for the gavel, and the first and only round of voting on Tuesday gave him 200. Steve Scalise received 7 votes, Kevin McCarthy received 6, and Lee Zeldin — who is not a sitting Congressman — received 3. Four other candidates received a single vote each making a total of 20 defections.
The House recessed after the vote, reconvened briefly again in the evening and then adjourned until 11am Wednesday. No doubt the horse trading is happening behind the scenes tonight, and we will see what happens tomorrow morning. If the uncertainty gives you anxiety, just remember that, as long as they are engaged in the Speaker Saga, they aren't escalating the wars or further bankrupting our children.” —
Germany: AfD reaches new record high, gains unprecedented 8-point lead over ruling SPD
At the same time the governing left-liberal coalition crashes in the polls, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is surging ahead, reaching a new record high in a major state-run poll.
According to the most recent ARD Deutschlandtrend poll, all parties of the ruling traffic light coalition only have 33 percent of the vote, while the AfD is now stronger than the SPD and the Free Democrats (FDP) combined, reaching 23 percent of the vote.
According to Infratest dimap, the three-party ruling coalition has reached a new low among Germans. Only 15 percent back the SPD, while 13 percent would vote for the Greens and 5 percent for the FDP. Given that 5 percent is needed to enter parliament, the FDP is under threat of being removed entirely, which is putting the coalition on increasingly shaky ground.
AfD party co-leader Alice Weidel celebrated the new record high, writing: “New record also in the ARD Germany trend: The AfD is now at 23% here too! In addition, 50% of citizens would like the AfD to be in government where it has performed strongly. A great confirmation of our work!” — Remix News
Our Take: “Major polling out of Germany has the Establishment scrambling for a rebrand in the midst of an identity crisis, as the relatively new party they deem 'alt Right' has surged to 23% after barely clearing 5% in recent years.
The German AfD (Alternative for Germany) party is essentially a 2-platform party at present: no illegal immigration and no sanctions on foreign nations, specifically Russia.
Leaving aside the delicious panic of EU Establishment blocs, however, there's another fascinating and encouraging nugget buried in the polling that provides a tantalizing WHY as to the Global Exposure Op we're witnessing and the War of Stories as a whole:
In the most recent national polls, only 1% of Germans consider Climate Change to be a pressing issue, with net migration being cited as the #1 issue among Germans.
This demonstrates what so many of us have argued: even the 'true believers' of the 'current thing' are believers on social media, only.
'The Party' is exposed, and it's crumbling.” —
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.
The Badlands Media team will continue to combine our cognitive powers in order to slow things down and find the signal amidst the noise as this series expands.
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.
People are waking up all over the world and the cabal’s massive wealth is on the road to collapse!
My husband says the lack of a speaker is just another way of shutting down the government; at the very least, the purse strings, and, as noted, is a good thing, too. Congress only exists in our time to do the will of the puppet masters and transfer our earned assets to their coffers via their (soon to be failed) proxy states. Of course, Obama’s lackeys are doing what they can, but they don’t have the power of the purse.
It’s become obvious, again according to my husband, the US citizens do not want to send their children to fight (be sacrificed) in another forever war. Period. The aren’t as interested in the speaker debacle (or maybe a purposeful delay), but they should be. According to the Constitution, only Congress can declare war.
The world is on fire and the bumbling idiot is wondering around in the middle of it. Good to know that God’s timing is perfect, albeit not as easy for His creation to see.
God bless our gifted truther journalists and the patriots that come to Badlands for the real truth (as it can be determined) at any given moment.
Red October, indeed..... and this might not yet be the referenced one...🙏🙏
Republican Jim Jordan loses first US House speaker vote, plays for time. Maybe #17 will be the lucky number for Jordan?? As long as this drags out and " as Ashe states... "they aren't escalating the wars or further bankrupting our children.” That's all we can pray for!