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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.
Some items feature original commentary from members of our growing team of citizen journalists. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see their other work.
Now, onto the news from Monday, July 17 …
After Suffering Heavy Losses, Ukrainians Paused to Rethink Strategy
In the first two weeks of Ukraine’s grueling counteroffensive, as much as 20 percent of the weaponry it sent to the battlefield was damaged or destroyed, according to American and European officials. The toll includes some of the formidable Western fighting machines — tanks and armored personnel carriers — the Ukrainians were counting on to beat back the Russians.
The startling rate of losses dropped to about 10 percent in the ensuing weeks, the officials said, preserving more of the troops and machines needed for the major offensive push that the Ukrainians say is still to come.
Some of the improvement came because Ukraine changed tactics, focusing more on wearing down the Russian forces with artillery and long-range missiles than charging into enemy minefields and fire.
But that good news obscures some grim realities. The losses have also slowed because the counteroffensive itself has slowed — and even halted in places — as Ukrainian soldiers struggle against Russia’s formidable defenses. And despite the losses, the Ukrainians have so far taken just five of the 60 miles they hope to cover to reach the sea in the south and split the Russian forces in two. — The New York Times
Our Take: “Consider the NYT headline above the Shot … and read the headline and take below for the Chaser …”
Russia Terminates Black Sea Grain Deal, Wheat Prices Spike, As Extent Of Crimea Bridge Terrorist Attack Revealed
Wheat prices jumped as news broke Monday that Russia let the UN-brokered grain deal lapse at midnight, Istanbul time, marking the end of the Turkey-administered humanitarian corridor which let Ukrainian grains get exported to global markets. Russia since confirmed the deal has been "terminated". According to the latest from Moscow, as well as the US reaction:
[…]
Currently there's speculation that the fresh attack on the Crimean Bridge (also known as the Kerch Strait Bridge) was a last straw, but Moscow is downplaying the connection. The Washington Post writes Monday morning:
Ukraine’s military and security services were responsible for the attack on a key bridge that connects the Crimean peninsula to the Russian region of Krasnodar, a Ukrainian official said Monday. Ukraine used sea surface drones to attack the bridge — an important supply artery for Russia’s war in Ukraine — the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of military operations. On Monday, the Kremlin said the grain deal, which allowed Ukrainian grain to be shipped from Black Sea ports despite wartime hostilities, is "being terminated" until Russia’s demands are met.
However, Peskov noted that Russia's willingness to pull out of the grain deal initiative was communicated prior to the attack, which reportedly killed two civilians and suspended bridge traffic. Russia has denounced the "terrorist attack". — ZeroHedge
Our Take, Continued: “The Prussian Proxy State of Ukraine and the Western Globalist Proxy War against Russia is beginning to unravel, with the Collective Mind being treated to a cascading series of losses for Ukraine in both the Narrative & reported Actuals on the ground, all while Ukraine and its leadership continue to escalate rhetoric and—if reports about the Crimean bridge attack and other recent explosions are to be believed—on Russian civilians.
Of course, it’s virtually impossible to suss out where the truth lies in a way that’s being waged as much in the Fifth-Gen PsyWar style—over the internet airwaves—as it is on the battlefields in and around the Donbas, if not more, but the reason I examine the Media Industrial Complex in the Collectivist West is to see when they cede Narrative ground in much the same way Ukraine is ceding physical territory.
The winning side in a PsyWar is not the side that cedes Narrative ground. By that accounting alone, and by the Kremlin’s increasing projection of stalwart confidence and certitude, not to mention no meaningful changes in outward Russian strategy or objectives, things don’t seem to be going well for the Deep State’s latest attempt at a Forever War. This one is spinning out too quickly for sustained profits, though the endgame may be quite dramatic.
And for some other tidbits on this fascinating theater:
US Defense Intel Agency says war is "at a bit of a stalemate."
Ukraine reportedly deploying US-supplied cluster munitions, something the US and NATO consider a war crime.
Ukraine has been denied NATO membership and EU funding, further isolating them.
Zelensky is escalating rhetoric, seeding WW3 as an inevitability.
Putin & Prigozhin have already 'made up,' proving Wagner MILDEC.
But don’t believe your lying eyes, people. NATO’s truly got Putin on the ropes this time … we’re certain.” —
Trump To Young Americans: ‘Choose Fascism Or Freedom’
In a rousing Speech Saturday at the Turning Point Action conference in West Palm Beach, Donald Trump told young American voters that the upcoming election will be their opportunity to choose whether or not they continue to live in a free country.
“This election will decide whether your generation inherits a fascist country or a free country—whether you will have the rule of tyrants or the rule of law,” Trump told those gathered, adding “whether Marxist radicals burn our civilization to the ground, which they’re looking to do, or young patriots like you propel America to glorious new heights like never before.”
Vowing to oust “Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump asserted that “Under Biden, hope and opportunity for young people are being utterly extinguished.”
[…]
“The American dream is dead under Biden, we will have it back very soon,” Trump promised. — Summit News
Our Take: “‘The election will decide whether your generation inherits a fascist country or a free country, whether you will have a rule of tyrants or the rule of law.’
Trump is beating the anti-globalist propaganda drum. Propaganda is ‘used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view,’ often associated with what can be misinformation, but not always.
In a grander sense, propaganda is needed in a civilized society wherein some portion of that society is functionally illiterate in the arenas of politics, law, and the management of civilization itself.
As a Badlands content creator aptly describes, the war of narratives is undoubtedly the battlefield where the war will ultimately be won. In fact, war of any kind always includes a narrative component.
For Trump and the patriots, unlike prior regime changes, the goal is not to shift power from one elite class to another. The goal is to end the era of extrinsic power once and for all—the end of the age of false politicians, priests, popes, tyrants, dictators, and every other variety of dim-witted and sleazy false steward.
Out of all the tools in the war chest of the parasitic elite, the weaponization of the false rule of law is the most powerful.
The false rule of law is the belief that a society can allow some measure of its politically active (voting) population to engage in the political process while being incompetent in law and politics. This, of course, is insanity. How can a people govern themselves and at the same time lack key knowledge of how to govern themselves?
A child who cannot drive and knows nothing about cars should not have their vote count when the child’s parents are deciding what car to purchase for their needs. The child is unqualified. This might sound harsh, but it drives the point home.
In a civilization, politics is the place where decisions are made that influence how people within that civilization operate—the rules, legal policies, codes of conduct, and even cultural mores fall into this category.
For hundreds of years, the parasitic elite has maintained their power by intentionally reducing the population to ineffectual political incompetency.
Socialism, Fascism, Communism, and any other ism that we’ve come to know in modern times is a house of cards built on a foundation of citizen incompetence.
So when Trump says: ‘The election will decide whether your generation inherits a fascist country or a free country, whether you will have a rule of tyrants or the rule of law,’ he’s not being poetic. He’s describing exactly what the problem is.
The choice he’s talking about is not another election—although that is a part of it, I argue. The choice is what WE THE PEOPLE will do with the newly liberated country and world we inherit after the great awakening.
The task ahead is far bigger than just 2024. Trump, I argue, knows that the real mission is a much longer and more lasting solution. Trump wants us to take up our true position as stewards of the rule of law, in and through our choice to learn, master, and defend our rights and the law as a sword and shield.
This is the only way, I argue, we can keep whatever freedoms we gain from all that we have been through and will go through.
I hope we have the mettle to do what needs be done. If Trump thinks we can do it, then I wager we can, and we should.” —
Hollywood plunges into all-out war on the heels of pandemic and a streaming revolution
To get a sense of just how much animosity is flying around Hollywood these days, watch how Ron Perlman responded to a report that the studios aimed to prolong a strike long enough for writers to lose their homes.
Perlman, the hulking, gravel-voiced actor of “Hellboy,” leaned into the camera in a since-deleted Instagram live video to vent his anger. “Listen to me, mother-(expletive),” Perlman said. “There’s a lot of ways to lose your house.”
Three years after the pandemic brought Hollywood to a standstill, the film and TV industry has again ground to a halt. This time, though, the industry is engaged in a bitter battle over how streaming — after advancing rapidly during the pandemic — has upended the economics of entertainment.
Having weathered plague, Hollywood is now fully at war in its own “Apocalypse Now” double feature. When tens of thousands Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists hit the picket lines last week, joining 11,000 Writers Guild of America screenwriters who have been on strike since May, a smaller clash went nuclear just in time for the release of “Oppenheimer.” As striking actors and writers mobilized to mob studio lots and streamer headquarters, Puck’s Matthew Belloni wrote, “The town is burning to the ground.”
“You cannot change the business model as much as it has changed and not expect the contract to change, too,” said Fran Drescher, SAG-AFTRA president, in a fiery press conference announcing the strike. “We’re not going to keep doing incremental changes on a contract that no longer honors what is happening right now with this business model that was foisted upon us.
“What are we doing?” she added. “Moving around furniture on the Titanic?” — AP News
Our Take: “Many have accurately pointed out that the Left devours itself.
Communism is a self-immolating philosophy that relies on taking from others and tearing down rather than building anew, the key difference Donald Trump presented to American voters that was such a refreshing change of pace from both 'Left' and 'Right' we were subjected to for decades before him.
Watching the self-inflicted demolition of the Entertainment Industrial Complex goes far beyond metaphor.
It represents a complete and Actual, literal loss of narrative control.
Additionally, one of the tantalizing trends to come out of the actor's strike is the emergence of returned Disney CEO (and former Dem darling) Bob Iger as the villain of the narrative as it concerns collective bargaining.
Iger was widely rumored as being primed for a Democrat Presidential run as recently as 2020. Beloved by Leftists and industry Globalists, his 9-figure salary-bonus structure & derogatory comments on the Hollywood slave class are causing the useful idiots to turn on their communist masters.” —
Findings of Investigation Into Collapsed Bank to Remain Confidential for 50 Years
The world will get a glimpse into the inner happenings of Credit Suisse’s collapse — but not anytime soon.
And that lack of immediate transparency is concerning some, according to a new report from Reuters.
The outlet reports that a parliamentary investigation into the collapse of Credit Suisse, the Swiss investment bank, will keep its files closed for 50 years.
Reuters described the decision as “a level of secrecy that has triggered concern among Swiss historians.”
This 50-year period was noted in a parliamentary committee document, and is a stark two decades longer than the standard 30 years of secrecy maintained in cases like these.
The moratorium on discoveries is meant to “ensure high levels of confidentiality apply to the investigation.” — The Western Journal
Our Take: “Trust. It’s the foundation of nearly every aspect of life and civilization.
Trust requires vetting to be real and effective.
Whatever trust we place in people, governments, leaders, institutions, and so on, has to be evaluated. We have to look to see if what we entrusted was honored. The only way to do that is to review what happened and compare it against what was agreed to and/or what is normally needed and proven valid insofar as trustworthiness.
Banks are in the business of trust, fundamentally.
So what happens when a bank fails, which is itself a breach of trust, and then they tell us we can’t review what happened for 50 years?
What if you let your son take the family car for a few hours and when he brought it back it had clearly been in an auto accident? If, upon questioning your son, he says, ‘I’ll tell you in 50 years,’ would that instill a deep sense of qualified trust in your son?
If he asked for the car again, would you be the fool for giving it to him or would he be the fool for asking?
If you gave your son the car again, wouldn’t that communicate to your son you don’t care about your rights and car? That you clearly must endorse his behavior since you give him another chance to do it again?
Unchecked criminal behavior by law-abiding people is an invitation to criminals to engage in more crime. Think about that.
If you’re a globalist con artist, who uses blind faith and unvetted trust to push your schemes through, what would you think if you pulled off yet another banking collapse and the people were perfectly fine with a 50-year delay in reviewing what happened?
I can tell you what most criminals think; it’s the same thing nearly every criminal who got away with it thinks: ‘I can do it again, and I can go bigger this time because I know for sure no one will come after me.’
This, my friends, is a very important facet of the top-down propaganda and social engineering the globalist bankers use on the general public.
They push through a scheme, and they wait to see how we react. If we demand answers, actively change the system to stop future occurrences, and otherwise take an active role in stopping it from happening again, they slow their push. If we do nothing, they know we’re ready for more, bigger, and more sweeping operations that further their globalist agenda.
Given all this, what do you think at least part of the objective of the banking collapse was about? And based on our reaction, how emboldened do you think the globalists are?
I’ll wait for your answer in the comments….” —
JPMorgan Should Pay $190 Million Over Epstein Ties, US Virgin Islands Says
The US Virgin Islands said it was seeking at least $190 million from JPMorgan Chase & Co. in its lawsuit accusing the bank of enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking.
The territory stated its minimum damages in a Friday filing in Manhattan federal court. In addition to money, the USVI also said it wants JPMorgan to commit to reforms to protect against human trafficking. Epstein had a private retreat in the USVI and brought many of his victims there before his death in 2019.
“I am gratified that the victims have received some measure of compensation from the bank, but more needs to be done to hold JPMorgan Chase accountable and to ensure this does not happen to another generation of women and girls,” USVI Attorney General Ariel Smith said in a statement on Friday.
The USVI suit was one of two filed against JPMorgan late last year over its ties to Epstein, who was a bank client from 1998 to 2013. The bank last month agreed to settle the other suit, a class action on behalf of Epstein victims, for $290 million. The bank did not admit liability. — Bloomberg
Our Take: “It's always bubbling just beneath the surface, but some updates on the ongoing case between the US Virgin Islands and JP Morgan re: Jeffrey Epstein are seismic:
USVI Attorney General directly accuses JP Morgan of facilitating sex-trafficking operations. This is a US territory AG.
Former USVI First Lady Cecile de Jongh is accused of covering for Epstein in a quid pro quo scheme.
This comes on the heels of JPM settling with Epstein victims for $290 million last month.
Drip. Drip. Flood.” —
Endgame: US Federal Debt Interest Payments About To Hit $1 Trillion
There was a shocking number in today's latest monthly US Budget Deficit report. No, it wasn't that US government outlays unexpectedly soared 15% to $646 billion in June, up almost $100 billion from a year ago...
... while tax receipts slumped 9.2% from $461 billion to $418 billion, resulting in a TTM government receipt drop of over 7.3%, the biggest since June 2020 when the US was reeling from the covid lockdown recession; in fact never have before tax receipts suffered such a big drop without the US entering a recession.
Needless to say, surging government outlays coupled with shrinking tax revenues meant that in June, the US budget deficit nearly tripled from $89 billion a year ago to $228 billion, far greater than the consensus estimate of $175 billion. One can only imagine which Ukrainian billionaire oligarch's money laundering bank account is currently enjoying the benefits of that unexpected incremental $50 billion US deficit hole: we know for a fact that the FBI will never get to the bottom of that one, since they can't even figure out who dumped a bunch of blow inside the White House - the most protected and surveilled structure in the entire world.
And with the monthly deficits coming in higher than expected and also far higher than a year ago, it is also not at all surprising that the cumulative deficit 9 months into the fiscal year is already the 3rd highest on record, surpassed only by the crisis years of 2020 and 2021: at $1.393 trillion, the fiscal 2022 YTD deficit is already up 170% compared to the same period last year. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “The globalists use decade-long plans and timelines to push through their agenda. The one we’re living through now, the globalist 15-minute cities, Agenda 21/2030, and so on, is a plan that has been in the works for at least 150 years, if not longer. The minutia wasn’t clear back then, but the overall design and objective were in place, I’d wager.
Part of the latest epoch, from mid-1990 to today, was to expand the influence, power, and scope of globalist corporate and government power.
In the 18th century, the revolutionary period saw a heretofore undreamed level of autonomy and self-governance. People and communities provided for nearly every need, which placed a lot of power in the hands of the people. But with the birth of the industrial and technological age, fueled by the new secular religion of science, the erosion of autonomy so as to be supplanted by dependence on the globalist's facilities was within reach.
In the ’90s, the Fed began a campaign of low-cost credit expansion, which, due to the incredible power of the centralized banking system, all but guaranteed that the way businesses and people do business, budget, and otherwise managed how money could change.
Gone are the days of saving up money and working hard before a major purchase or business expansion. Now you can just run it up on a credit card or business line of credit. Now you can speculate in the stock market, artificially inflate the value of a business, and in doing so, accelerate the pace at which corporate expansion could take place.
Now that both citizens and corporations are nearly totally dependent on credit to engage in life and business, the time is ripe to begin the dark harvest.
Raising interest rates triggered the latest banking collapse, which I argue was designed to act as a PSYOP to destroy confidence in the venture capital sector of the economy. With this accomplished, they can now all the better sell that sector on the ‘savior’ that is the new financial system—the CBDC, own nothing and be happy system.
Next up, the bankruptcy of governments, and by extension the people later down the line.
To do this, all they needed to do was raise the Fed funds rate—which is now 5.25%, up 200% from last year’s 1.75% rate. It doesn’t sound like much, but what just happened was that the cost of money doubled.
I don’t know about you, but if the cost of money itself doubled it would have a major impact in how I budget my money. Businesses and governments, who are often way over-leveraged, have the same problem.
Now the interest payment to the federal government, which was $476 billion in 2022 could double this year, to over $1 trillion.
What happens when we can’t pay for it? Will big daddy globalists bail us out? If so, I’m sure the price won’t be that bad (sarcasm).” —
Two senior DeSantis advisers are leaving to help run outside effort
Two senior advisers on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign are departing this week to help a pro-DeSantis outside effort — a move that comes as he struggles to gain traction against former President Donald Trump.
Dave Abrams, the campaign’s communications adviser and media director, and Tucker Obenshain, who led external affairs, are leaving to help an outside political no-profit group that will be bolstering the governor, the campaign confirmed in a statement. Obenshain will lead the group that is expected to host events, as part of what the campaign is describing as a “DeSantis is everywhere strategy,” as he looks to compete in early nominating states, including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“The more people hear and see Gov. DeSantis and his forward-thinking vision to fix Joe Biden’s failures, the better our path to victory,” Andrew Romeo, a DeSantis campaign spokesman, said in a statement. “Gov. DeSantis will be appearing at events with dozens of organizations celebrating his policy and leadership. The ‘DeSantis is everywhere’ tour has begun.”
The news comes amid broader questions about the strength of DeSantis’ campaign. DeSantis and his allied super PAC, Never Back Down, have self-reported large fundraising hauls. The campaign said it raised $20 million in the second quarter of this year. — Politico
Our Take: “Rats are fleeing a sinking ship, with MSM reports suggesting the DeSantis campaign is a farcical operation covered by a thin veneer of False Trumpism.
DeSantis donors claim they're utterly shocked he hasn't been able to chip into Donald Trump’s massive lead among the GOP base.
The smartest among the Con Inc. crowd has already realized this, but previous financial & reputational capital has already been spent by Trump's UniParty enemies.
All missions forward.
MAGA is the Captain, now.” —
Yellen: China Has Failed To Address Unfair Trade Practices That Triggered Tariffs
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says that China has failed to address unfair trade practices which triggered US tariff hikes, and that the "underlying concerns" remain. When asked if the US is prepared to "de-escalate" tensions with China, Yellen indicated that tariff reductions aren't on the table.
"I would emphasize that really the underlying concerns we have have not yet been addressed, and we need to work on that going forward," Yellen told Bloomberg television on Monday, just hours after a raft of Chinese economic data came in weaker than expected.
"We put tariffs in place on China because we had underlying concerns about unfair trade practices, particularly those affecting intellectual property and technology transfer."
Yellen added that any moves by the United States to curb outbound US investments to China would be narrowly targeted and based solely on national security considerations. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “What's going on between the Biden & Xi Admins when it comes to the public Narrative of the US-China Trade War is pretty fascinating.
Yellen and the Biden Admin are taking credit for the tariffs that Donald Trump implemented, which means the short-term economic damages that are resulting in decoupling from China fall squarely on them, while the longer-term benefits of such a move to US (and Chinese) wage growth and production will greet the incoming Trump Admin in 2024.
Operation Warp Speed.” —
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.
Trump To Young Americans: ‘Choose Fascism Or Freedom’ I really don't have much hope for the current generation or for the future generations either, if what we are seeing now with transgenderism, men wanting to be women, women wanting to be men, men having periods, giving birth and nursing babies, gays and trans dancing in the streets naked in front of children and their PARENTS!!! OMG!!! I think I have lived way too long!!!
I've read alot about the Bob Iger fiasco because Nelson Peltz has tried to intervene to restore Disney. What I have read in different accounts is that during flush times, Iger funneled huge $ to Jeffrey Katzenberg and George Lucas, among others. There are hints of huge money laundering going on. Then with Disney taking on ESPN and other ventures, they spread themselves too thin. There is a hint that they were involved with the FTX scam. It seems they used the lure of Disney parks, which commanded premium prices, to funnel money around. Now the Parks are priced out of reach of the stressed public. And all the pedophilia is emerging. So now we see a convergence of factors that may lead to a downfall. We see hotel construction stopped, rides not being maintained, empty parks.