Badlands News Brief
The Old Guard Braces for Impact as Panic Spreads
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 the Weekend that Was …
Behind the Curtain: Biden oligarchy will decide fate
Forget the pundits. Ignore New York Times editorials and columnists. Tune out people popping off on X.
The only way President Biden steps aside, despite his debate debacle, is if the same small group of lifelong loyalists who enabled his run suddenly — and shockingly — decides it's time for him to call it quits.
Why it matters: Dr. Jill Biden; his younger sister, Valerie Biden; and 85-year-old Ted Kaufman, the president's longtime friend and constant adviser — plus a small band of White House advisers — are the only Biden deciders.
This decades-long kitchen cabinet operates as an extended family, council of elders and governing oligarchy. These allies alone hold sway over decisions big and small in Biden's life and presidency.
The president engaged in no organized process outside his family in deciding to run for a second term, the N.Y. Times' Peter Baker reports.
Then Biden alone made the decision, people close to him tell us.
Behind the scenes: If Biden stays in, it's for the same reason he decided to run again: He and the oligarchy believe he has a much better chance of beating former President Trump than Vice President Harris does. — Axios
And …
Two Joe Bidens: The night America saw the other one
The past 36 hours showcased two Joe Bidens: the veteran president rallying voters in a swing state, and an 81-year-old man struggling to string thoughts together in a debate.
Why it matters: The public split screen isn't new to many inside the White House, where top aides have meticulously stage-managed minutiae such as Biden's sleep schedule, his orthopedic shoes, his walks to Marine One and his climb aboard Air Force One to try to blunt concerns about his age.
Internally, many aides have seen flashes of an absent-minded Biden, but typically brush them off as ordinary brain farts because they usually see him engaged, eight current and former Biden officials told Axios.
But Thursday's debate has shattered the White House's efforts to show Biden at his best: a president capable of serving until 2029, when he'd be 86.
Driving the news: In his debate against Donald Trump, Biden often looked lost or slack-jawed, and delivered meandering answers in a hoarse voice. — Axios
Our Take: During the Badlands Media live debate coverage Thursday, we briefly discussed the growing divide between die hard Biden insiders (who are arguably running the country for scrotus) and the broader ecosystem of Democrat leadership and the party apparatus.
From their weekend reporting, it would appear Axios is not a Biden insider.
The first article employs ‘oligarchy’ — in the headline! — to refer to the decision-making authority on the Democrat candidate for President of the United States. That sounds like a threat to democracy.
‘This decades-long kitchen cabinet operates as an extended family, council of elders and governing oligarchy. These allies alone hold sway over decisions big and small in Biden's life and presidency.’
So, it’s not the voters that decide. Got it.
Axios uses the word ‘oligarchy’ five times in this analysis.
And if that isn’t enough for an outlet that spent years covering up and distracting from Biden’s decline, they go even further in the second article.
‘The time of day is important as to which of the two Bidens will appear. From 10am to 4pm, Biden is dependably engaged — and many of his public events in front of cameras are held within those hours. Outside of that time range or while traveling abroad, Biden is more likely to have verbal miscues and become fatigued, aides told Axios.’
Axios just confirmed, granted via anonymous Biden aides, that Joe Biden actively sundowns, and that it’s a well known, accepted and mitigated inside the Biden White House.
Of course, we have all been able to see this for years, but for those just paying attention in the election year, that’s astounding — especially because they’re running him again.
Axios is publishing this obvious truth now — when a greater number of Americans are asking the question than ever — with the same journalistic rigor (political bias and anonymous sources) that they apply to President Trump.
Just to drive this point home, on Saturday morning — peak for editorial consumption — these were the top two political stories on the site. Axios editorial leadership is on Team Replacement.
As a result, the inner circle appears to be shrinking. It’s almost as if the walls are closing in… on the oligarchy. —
NY Times Editorial Board Urges Biden To Quit Race - Did Trump Administer Premature Kill Shot?
Thursday night's presidential debate mortally wounded President Biden's political career, and now the New York Times has hammered a significant nail in the coffin -- publishing an editorial bluntly declaring that "the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election."
With this development, Biden's departure from November ballots is taking on an air of inevitability. At the same time, Team Trump is reckoning with what may have been a strategic error -- enabling a premature kill shot that could leave Trump facing a worse matchup.
Repeatedly emphasizing President Trump's supposed "enormous...danger" to the country, the Times editorial board wrote that Biden is "engaged in a reckless gamble" with America's future, saying "it’s too big a bet to simply hope Americans will overlook or discount Mr. Biden’s age and infirmity that they see with their own eyes."
You don't have to respect the Times to appreciate the enormity of a cornerstone liberal media institution declaring an incumbent Democratic president mentally incapable of running for re-election. This move by a "newspaper of record" will embolden other leftist entities and elected officials to do the same, and the momentum is likely to only grow stronger as the snowball effect gathers force. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: New Con Inc. deployment just dropped, with the cynical brainlets at ZeroHedge leading the charge:
"Team Trump is reckoning with what may have been a strategic error, enabling a premature kill shot that could leave Trump facing a worse matchup."
Pay attention to these absolute cretins.
To those who "know better," it doesn't matter what Trump does.
It doesn't matter that he represents the only sane ideology and sociopolitical-cultural perspective in the west.
It doesn't matter that the 2020 election was stolen.
It doesn't matter that the polls are fake, and that the machine can and will spin up the same interference efforts in 2024 that they did in 2020, no matter who the Dem candidate is.
They. Know. Better.
And Trump does not, despite being the most popular president in generations, and the first since arguably JFK to stand up to the Deep State's System of Systems without succumbing.
These faux intellectuals masquerading as America First are not your friend. Remember them. —
Iran warns Israel of ‘obliterating war’ if it attacks Lebanon
Iran has warned Israel against “full-scale military aggression” in Lebanon and said it would lead to an “obliterating war”, the Islamic republic’s United Nations mission said.
“All options, [including] the full involvement of all Resistance Fronts, are on the table,” the mission wrote in a post on X late on Friday, referring to Iran-aligned armed groups across the region.
It called Israel’s threats to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon “psychological warfare” and “propaganda”.
The border between the two countries has witnessed daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah since the current conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7. Fears of a full-blown war grew this month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was preparing for “a very tense operation” on the border with Lebanon.
Israeli forces conducted a series of attacks on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, an Israeli army spokesperson said early on Saturday. — Al Jazeera
And …
FM Katz responds to Iranian threat: ‘Regime that threatens destruction deserves to be destroyed’
Foreign Minister Israel Katz responds to Iran’s threat of an “obliterating war” if Israel launches a full-scale offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah.
“My response to Iran is clear: 1. If Hezbollah does not cease its fire and withdraw from southern Lebanon, we will act against it with full force until security is restored and residents can return to their homes,” Katz writes on X. “2. A regime that threatens destruction deserves to be destroyed.” — Times of Israel
Our Take: Boy, that escalated quickly.
We went from the cusp of a historic peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel last September to Israel and Iran vowing to destroy one another in less than nine short months. If this situation was a gestating baby, the Democrats would be preparing to kill it. (No need, this baby looks ready to nuke itself.)
I've been cautious to take sides in the Iran presidential election situation—they had an election this past weekend, by the way; it's going to a run-off election this weekend between the top two contenders—because it's such an enigma of a country, it's hard to make heads or tails of anything there. But now the picture is beginning to come into focus.
Are there any "good guys" in Iran's ruling regime? A regime established by the CIA in 1979, where they overthrew their own puppet—the Shah—after he got a little too mouthy about Zionism and criticizing Israel in the wake of the 1973 Oil Crisis. Oddly enough, We are seeing a similar situation play out right now in Bolivia, where the ruling regime has been accused of staging a military coup against itself in order to psyop the Bolivian people into sympathizing with them, to build support.
Optics are important, and nobody understands that better than the CIA.
It seems to me that the late Iranian President Raisi—whatever character flaws and past sins he may possess—was not assuming the role that Iran was likely expected to assume after Israel bombed an Iranian embassy in Syria several months back. Seems like Raisi had been wooed by President Putin and President Xi to defect from the Unipolar Hegemony, perhaps offering him an alternative path in the form of BRICS and the Multipolar [Sovereign] Alliance.
Perhaps that's the reason that Raisi had to die, along with his Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who had established positive relationships with the Saudi Foreign Ministry, in spite of the two countries being long-time enemies. In fact, Amir-Abdollahian was calling Riyadh regularly, especially during that odd missile exchange between Iran and Israel, where neither side appeared that eager to escalate the situation. (Those regular phone calls are still occurring, by the way.)
So are we actually going to do this, guys? The Battle of Armageddon? At the very least, please get Kim Jong Un and the NorKs involved. Love those guys. —
Barack Obama's Debate Post Raises Eyebrows: 'Not Really Helpful'
Several commentators were critical of former President Barack Obama's reaction to the first 2024 presidential debate, where his former running mate's performance raised alarm bells in Democrats ahead of November.
In a post to X, formerly Twitter, Friday afternoon, Obama offered support for President Joe Biden's reelection run, whose demeanor Thursday night renewed concerns over the 81-year-old's age and ability to serve another four years. A Biden aide told Newsweek that the president was suffering from a cold.
"Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself," read Obama's statement.
"Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit," the former president continued. "Last night didn't change that, and it's why so much is at stake in November."
[…]
Biden's performance has sparked concern from some close to the Democratic Party, and commentators have suggested that the president should be replaced with a different candidate before November. Obama's comments of support were received by several as being untimely coming off such a poor debate performance, including political commentator Chris Cillizza, who addressed Obama's point about having a "bad" debate night.
"Just to be clear: What Obama had in 2012 in the first debate against [Utah Senator Mitt] Romney was a 'bad debate night.' He was rusty and it showed," Cillizza wrote, referring to the former president's debate appearance in October 2012 where he stumbled through many answers. — Newsweek
Our Take: If the theories are true, then Barack Obama and his people are running things — including the campaign and debate prep. Let’s consider their strategic choices for the first debate.
The Biden campaign spent 7+ days prepping Joe at Camp David. Based on Biden’s performance, they made an unforgivable miscalculation.
Those responsible for preparing the stumbly wumbly in chief expected 2016-2020 debate Trump — a sarcastic (and hilarious) attack dog, going hard after Biden’s feebleness and myriad scandals.
They prepped that old prop, for more than a week, to play the role of victim. They would explain away his sundowning by making him appear sympathetic when compared to a mean and nasty Trump.
It was obvious they built their debate plan, as well as the post debate coverage and talking points, to capitalize on horrible Donald Trump, attacking grandpa Joe. Consider the post debate analysis. The planned talking points were: (1) Trump is a convicted felon, (2) Trump is mean and nasty, and (3) Trump lies.
Biden spent 7 days prepping for the mainstream narrative version of Trump. That is why, for the non-demented people who prepped scrotus, this miscalculation is unforgivable.
The mainstream narrative of Trump has always been a fabrication.
They believed their own press and, thus, made fatal errors in preparing for a debate that was, structurally, set up for them to win. Trump obviously anticipated this, and so Team Biden prepared their fragile and feeble puppet for an event that wouldn’t be.
President Trump was restrained and respectful. He followed the rules, which were set up to favor Biden — they were his demands. Ironically, the only candidate shouting while the mic was off was Biden.
More importantly, Trump allowed Biden to speak. They didn’t expect that. They didn’t appropriately prep for that.
The chaos and fallout have been hilarious, but more people need to be mocking the 7+ day prep team for their strategic failures, pointing out how devastatingly out-maneuvered they were on debate night.
How embarrassing. —
I was CIA chief who took down Bin Laden – here’s why ISIS will make a comeback… we must act NOW or face another 9/11
THE West could face a repeat of 9/11 if leaders don't act now to fight an ISIS resurgence, the former head of the CIA has warned.
Michael Morell, former director of the intelligence agency, believes the world feels the same now as it did before the devastating terror attacks of September 11, 2001.
Morell briefed President George Bush on the morning of 9/11 and stood with President Barack Obama 10 years later in the White House situation room as US forces killed Osama Bin Laden.
When asked if he fears the possibility another attack like the Twin Towers horror, Morell told The Sun: "Yes. Absolutely. 100 per cent."
He said: "The feeling in the Bush White House and in the CIA after 9/11 is that we can never let this happen again.
"We need to do everything we can to protect America. We need to get back some of that feeling now to protect ourselves."
Following the catastrophic events of 9/11, when 3,000 people lost their lives, President Bush declared the beginning of the War on Terror.
Ten years ago today, on June 29, 2014, ISIS seized huge swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria and announced the establishment of a caliphate.
Its leader, infamous terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was declared as the caliph and "leader for Muslims everywhere".
That same year marked the beginning of Operation Inherent Resolve - a US-led mission in the Middle East to destroy the Islamic State death-cult. — The Sun
Our Take: ISIS will make a comeback? Is that a threat, or a promise?
Bold words coming from a former CIA Director; ya know, since it was the CIA that created ISIS?
Michael Morrell is an old character from this movie. It was Morrell who broke tradition and endorsed Hillary Clinton for President in 2016, despite being a veteran CIA analyst. In fact, it was Morrell who first accused Trump of being an "unwitting agent" recruited by Putin to infiltrate the White House on behalf of the Kremlin, in an op-ed for Politico in August 2016.
That's right: It was this loser who started the Russia, Russia, Russia, hoax.
So Michael, tell us more about your deep and intimate knowledge of ISIS, their operations, and their targets.
How could you possibly know all of these things about the terrorist organization that has been attacking Russia for months, most recently murdering Jewish and Christian leaders in Dagestan? The terrorist organization that President Trump and President Putin dismantled in a joint effort in 2019?
How dare you invoke the name of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; the "austere religious scholar" who became a dog's chew-toy in a cave before blowing himself up like a coward. As President Trump said: "He died like a dog. Like a coward."
(Isn't he the best?)
Everybody remembers that good boy, Conan, and the world-class memes that came of it. (Conan died last November. RIP Legend.)
Am I implying that Michael Morrell, who served as both deputy and acting director of the CIA between 2010-2013, is somehow partially responsible for creating and arming ISIS … ? —
Supreme Court overturns Chevron decision, curtailing federal agencies' power in major shift
The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a landmark 40-year-old decision that gave federal agencies broad regulatory power, upending their authority to issue regulations unless Congress has spoken clearly.
The court split along ideological lines in the dispute, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the conservative majority. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson were in dissent. Kagan read portions of her dissent from the bench.
The court's ruling in a pair of related cases is a significant victory for the conservative legal movement, which has long aimed to unwind or weaken the 1984 decision in Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council. Critics of that landmark ruling, which involved a challenge to a regulation enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act, have said the so-called Chevron doctrine gives unelected federal bureaucrats too much power in crafting regulations that touch on major areas of American life, such as the workplace, the environment and health care. — CBS News
Our Take: When the entirety of the Info War is talking debates but you're still bathing in the tears of the Administrative State in the wake of the dissolution of the "Chevron deference" doctrine ...
Communists are having a REALLY bad week.
First up, from Axios on Thursday:
"In a potentially groundbreaking decision, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that defendants accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission have the right to a jury trial."
Next up, from CBS on Friday:
"The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a landmark 40-year-old decision that gave federal agencies broad regulatory power, upending their authority to issue regulations unless Congress has spoken clearly."
Essentially, while the Collective Mind was sleeping, we were absolutely kicking ass on the Actual layers of the Info War, with the administrative state getting neutered to close out the week. —
US Rapper Kanye West Visits Moscow: Russian Media
U.S. rapper Kanye West has arrived in Moscow for the birthday celebrations of fashion designer Gosha Rubchinsky.
The news followed rumors last month that West will perform a concert in Moscow.
Western artists have mostly stopped performing in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which led to massive U.S. and European sanctions on Moscow, as well as travel restrictions to the country.
Kanye West, who has stirred controversy with his political statements in the United States and was recently accused of praising Adolf Hitler, has expressed admiration for President Vladimir Putin in the past.
"Kanye West is already in Moscow! This is great news, he is staying in the heart of the capital," the state TASS news agency quoted Russian television presenter Yana Rudkovskaya as saying on social media.
But Luzhniki Stadium, where he was rumored to perform, told state media it does not have information on possible concerts by the famous rapper. — The Moscow Times
Our Take: Okay, this one is a little bizarre, but the connections are beyond weird, so stay with me on this.
Kanye has landed in Moscow to celebrate the birthday of artist Gosha Rubchinskiy. Back on December 13, Kanye announced in an X post that Gosha was the new lead designer for Ye’s brand, Yeezy.
Two days later, December 15, a video was posted to X of Kanye speaking to a room of people, where he said he had been meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The next day, December 16, Kanye performed a surprise concert in Saudi Arabia to promote his forthcoming album, Vultures.
The next day, December 17, Kanye reactivated his Instagram account after an 8 month hiatus and posted an apology letter to Jewish people for his rhetoric over the prior year. The letter was written in Hebrew.
It was later revealed by DJ Camper in an interview that he had spent three months living in Saudi Arabia with Kanye and rapper Ty$—a Christian who helped Kanye make his famous Jesus is King gospel album— producing Ye’s new album, Vultures. (Likely September to December 2023.) Camper said he had no idea why they were in Saudi Arabia, but that it was very important to Kanye, and they were not allowed to drink or smoke the entire time they were there. He describes looking at the stars at night as almost a spiritual experience.
Jon invited me to come on Liberty Den that week to explain why Kanye was in Saudi Arabia, and my research revealed that he was living in a tent at a luxury desert resort in Al Ula, that was owned and developed by MBS. In fact, MBS had been simultaneously living in Al Ula, just a few miles from the resort, at his winter camp, where he was hosting world leaders including Lindsey Graham. (Lindsey looked like a fish out of water in that Bedouin tent.)
So yes, the facts align to support Kanye’s claim that he had been hanging out with MBS. They were next door neighbors in Al Ula for months.
Now, let’s look at Russian artist Gosha Rubchinskiy.
According to Wikipedia, “referencing Ronald Reagan’s Cold War-description of the USSR, Rubchinskiy's first collection, Empire of Evil was presented at the end of 2008 for SS/09. His second collection, Growing and Expanding, was shown in a disused Orthodox church-turned-gym in Moscow's suburbs.”
Dasting. Sounds similar to the musings of Putin, concerning the west’s view of Russia.
Gosha and Kanye first met in Moscow on November 15, 2016. Two days later, during a concert in San Jose, Kanye stopped the show and broke into a rant where he called out Hillary Clinton and Obama for being corrupt, and expressed his support for Donald Trump. Ye also called out Jay-Z, and implied that he is a murderer, asking him not to “send killers at my head.” (It’s an amazing rabbit hole, which you can read here.)
That same day, November 15, Gosha announced that Kaliningrad would be the site of his highly anticipated Fall 2017 show.
Kaliningrad is a Russian city built in 1946 on the ruins of Koningsberg— the capital of the Old Prussia Duchy that was established in 1255 and was the home of the Order of Teutonic Knights, which was an occult group that we have discussed on Breaking History. The city later became the seat of power for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which we also recently covered on BH as part of our discussion of the Pale of Settlement, until it was destroyed during WW2.
Kanye’s new album, Vultures, features the black eagle from the Prussian coat of arms, as well as a landscape painting from Casper David Friedrich, one of Hitler’s favorite artist. The album’s typography appears to be inspired by Norwegian black metal band Burzum— associated with the neo-Nazi movement.
Having attended art school, and trained to analyze these decisions, I can say with a fair degree of confidence that Kanye is trolling. None of these choices are random or a coincidence, especially when you overlay the dates.
And given the obsessive nature of Kanye when it comes to his work, it’s not a coincidence that his new album is called Vultures with Prussian aristocrat iconography.
Now we have TASS— an outlet with friendly ties to Putin, who randomly asked the Kremlin in 2022 if Putin was a fan of Kanye, when Kanye visited Moscow in the wake of the Ukraine invasion—reporting that Kanye is in Moscow? Again?
Yevolution is real. —
BONUS ITEMS
French election projections show voters punishing Macron’s centrists, boosting far right
French voters appeared to have boosted the prospects of the far right while potentially shattering the centrist alliance of President Emmanuel Macron, according to projections released after polls closed in the first round of French legislative elections on Sunday.
Projections by France’s public broadcaster showed the far-right National Rally, guided by Marine Le Pen and her protégé, Jordan Bardella, comfortably securing the top spot with 33 percent of the national vote. An alliance of leftist parties, the New Popular Front, was in second, projected to garner 28 percent. Macron’s Together alliance lagged behind, with 21 percent.
The projections showed National Rally narrowly falling short of a majority of seats. If it can expand its lead in the second round of voting on July 7, it could form the country’s first far-right government since World War II, with 28-year-old Bardella as prime minister, and replace Macron’s pro-Europe, pro-business agenda with its populist, euroskeptic and anti-immigration platform.
Alternatively, a second-round result that doesn’t produce a clear majority could paralyze French politics. — Washington Post
Bolivia’s president accused of plotting coup against himself to boost popularity
It was the armoured vehicles circling the Plaza Murillo - the normally tranquil central square in historic downtown La Paz – that initially set Bolivians on edge on Wednesday afternoon. By the time a phalanx of troops had marched on the presidential palace, the sense of collective confusion and shock was at fever pitch.
By 2.30pm, a small tank was repeatedly ramming the gates of the neoclassical building known as Palacio Quemado until troops forced their way in and, in an extraordinary scene, the coup leader – disgruntled former army chief Juan José Zúñiga – faced off against the president, Luis Arce.
Flanked by cabinet ministers and clasping a ceremonial baton, a symbol of his rank as head of state, Arce, 60, ordered Zúñiga to back down, telling him: “I am your captain … withdraw all of your troops right now, general.”
The heated exchange was filmed and lasted several minutes. It ended when Zúñiga turned and left via the same broken door through which he had entered, disappearing into a bulletproof army vehicle that sped away. — The Guardian
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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France "far right" equals normal people.
Regarding Isis: “we must act now or face another 911”. Does he mean face another CIA psy-op? Where the three letter agencies work together to destroy a city and lie to a nation. Where the regime running our country steals more money from the American people and funnels it back into their pockets via their buddies in the military industrial complex? C’mon, Mike. We ain’t blind!