Badlands News Brief
Badlands News Brief
Epstein Resurfaces ... And the ‘Elites’ Don’t Like It
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.
Some items feature original (and subjective) commentary. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see our writers’ corresponding Substack accounts and check out their other work.
Now, onto the news from Wednesday, January 3 …
Jeffrey Epstein documents unsealed, naming Prince Andrew and former President Clinton
Hundreds of pages of unsealed documents from a lawsuit connected to accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein were publicly released on Wednesday. This is the first set of documents to be unsealed under a December 18 court order, with more expected in the coming weeks.
The documents in total, including material yet to be unsealed, are expected to include nearly 200 names, including some of Epstein’s accusers, prominent businesspeople, politicians and potentially more.
The first batch of documents didn’t appear to contain any bombshell revelations. Much of the information in them has already been released through media reports and other court proceedings. But this is the first time these documents, filed with a court, have been released through the legal system.
Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell said in a statement on Wednesday: “She has consistently and vehemently maintained her innocence.”
The documents contain excerpts of depositions taken of Maxwell and Virginia Roberts Giuffre. There is also a deposition from Johanna Sjoberg, who in the document described Prince Andrew touching her breast in a joking manner while taking photos.
Sjoberg’s story has been public, but this is the first time her deposition has been unsealed. She worked sometimes for Epstein, and she has said that he pressured her to go beyond her comfort level at times in giving sexualized massages.
Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre previously reached an out-of-court settlement in her sexual abuse lawsuit against him, according to a court document filed by her attorneys Tuesday. Andrew has denied the allegations against him.
The deposition transcripts include references to several prominent names, as has been previously reported, including Andrew as well as Bill Clinton, the former US president.
Sjoberg recalled in her 2016 deposition that Epstein spoke to her about Bill Clinton.
“He said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls,” she said. — CNN
Our Take: “We've known. They've known that we've known.
But now, everyone else knows that they've known that we've known.
2024 is off to quite a start.
Opinions in the Truth Community vary on the level of Patriot control in all theaters of the Strange War, but some of the strongest disagreements revolve around the Narrative theater of the Info War, which I refer to as the War of Stories.
Some of us believe there are patriot Ghosts in the Machine who wield either direct or indirect control over the various Narratives assailing and red-pilling the Collective Mind, and while the mechanisms behind this control or influence can be debated, sometimes you need to just take a step back and look at the lay of the land.
Normies might show a frustrating (for us) lack of discernment and cognitive intentionality when it comes to the preeminent conspiracy facts of our time, but when they see one of the most famous athletes in the world publicly accusing one of the most famous Establishment mouthpieces in the world of Epsteinian connections, followed by said mouthpiece threatening legal action ... they perk up and pay attention.
What timing.” —
High-end sex ring in Boston and D.C. areas was 'honeypot' scheme by Russia, China, South Korea or even Israel - to ensnare US officials, intelligence experts believe
Intelligence experts are becoming increasingly convinced that six high end brothels in the suburbs of Boston and Washington, D.C. were set up by a foreign nation as an espionage 'honeytrap'.
They believe the brothels – allegedly masterminded by a 41-year-old South Korean woman – targeted politicians, high ranking government officials and defense contractors.
But the mystery is which country was behind the scheme. Russia, China, Korea itself, or even Israel are al seen as possibly being behind the scheme.
'Having the Koreans out front could have been a false flag to give China or another country plausible deniability if the plot unraveled,' a one-time CIA senior operations officer told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.
The brothels were raided in November and prosecutors said they were looking to charge 28 people in Massachusetts alone. — The Daily Mail
Our Take: “Hey, remember when intelligence officials said the laptop was Russian disinformation because it revealed massive evidence of criminal racketeering and influence operations that implicated… intelligence agencies?
Intelligence experts are now saying their, I mean, this sex-crime-and-blackmail-ring is a foreign operation. To be fair, it probably is.
This announcement from intelligence ‘experts’ is the entire point of FVEY. Plausible deniability. Plus, in the post-COVID dystopia, everything is global. Including politician ownership and access. Including blackmail, bribery and extortion. Including crimes against children and humanity. All global. And local.
The Epstein reveals continue to dominate the news — it’s dominating the front page of The Daily Mail as I write this — with flight log reruns on a marathon. The sex-crime-and-blackmail-ring story coming into focus at the same time as the Epstein marathon doesn’t feel coincidental.
It feels like piling disclosures upon disclosures about the true nature of reality — and the media is saying it out loud. What a time to be alive!” —
'Nothing' Left In UK's Military Stockpiles After Arming Ukraine: Times Of London
In part of a continuing trend of major Western publications belatedly admitting that all is not well with Ukraine policy and the state the war, The Times of London reported Sunday that the UK has "nothing" left it its own military stockpiles after being among Ukraine's biggest weapons suppliers for nearly two years of conflict.
British defense officials and European leaders are now busy "cranking through the gears" to ramp up weapons production, the report says, citing an unnamed staffer from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office.
The report also relied on an unnamed Ukrainian source. The dwindled UK stockpile is being reported on at a time that "Britain’s military intelligence chiefs believe Ukraine cannot win the war against Russia in 2024 because it does not have the manpower or the weapons for a big battlefield breakthrough," The Times wrote.
An internal UK government debate and divide has emerged over the future course of London's policy, with some arguing that the Western allies simply need more "time" to ramp up arms production.
But one big uncertainty at a moment the West is generally feeling "war fatigue" - according to most public polling among various countries' citizenry - is the question of who will be in the White House in 2025. European officials are nervous that a Trump victory would spell the end of efforts to fuel the proxy war against President Vladimir Putin.
At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelensky is clearly becoming more and more unpopular, even on an international stage. A former Ukrainian official told the Times that he's losing support because of the immense death toll, but with no end-game or plans for negotiations in sight. The source described there's growing anger and pushback at the spectacle of men and women being "sent to the front line to die."
A British source additionally explained to the Times that if the US is forced to take a backseat due to its domestic politics (and with Republicans still holding up Biden's billions more in defense aid for Kiev), then Europe will have to step up and keep aid flowing. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “Early on in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Elon Musk famously described the Globalist Western armament campaign as a 'recycling program.'
At the time, this was taken as a dig at the fact that Western powers were sending WW2-era MIL equipment to embattled Ukraine, arming their proxy with just enough to escalate the conflict with Russia, without significantly altering their prospects overall.
But some of us believe there might have been more to the statement.
With recent reports that EU powers are running low on MIL stockpiles as a direct result of the Ukraine quagmire, it's fair to take the following, Bicameral approach to the Proxy War:
A) The Globalist West was desperate when it came to giving Ukraine EVERYTHING they had ... which turned out not to be all that much.
B) We've been witnessing a de facto disarmament campaign meant to strip said Globalists of their kinetic power projection capabilities.
Starting to see how important the US MIL has been to [their] Globalist Agenda?” —
Conservative Group Wins Legal Victory Over 2020 Voting Challenges in Georgia
A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that a conservative group’s efforts to challenge the eligibility of hundreds of thousands of voters in the Senate runoff elections in Georgia in early 2021 did not violate the Voting Rights Act under a clause outlawing voter suppression.
In a 145-page opinion, the judge, Steve C. Jones of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, wrote that the court “maintains its prior concerns” regarding how the group, True the Vote, sought to challenge voters’ eligibility. But he said that Fair Fight, the liberal voting rights group that brought the lawsuit against True the Vote, had failed to show that the efforts were illegal.
The decision was relatively narrow, applying only to Judge Jones’s district in northern Georgia, and will do little to change the status quo: Right-wing election groups have already tried to help bring thousands of challenges to voter registrations in states across the country.
But the opinion is likely to encourage conservative activists hunting for voter fraud during the 2024 presidential election. Election officials and voting rights groups have expressed worries about these efforts, warning that an expanded campaign to challenge voters en masse could intimidate people away from the ballot box. True the Vote and similar groups, taking a cue from former President Donald J. Trump, have often spread false theories about election fraud. — The NY Times
Our Take: “This 145-page ruling, issued Tuesday, is a win for the First Amendment and ‘our democracy’ — from an Obama appointed judge in Georgia.
Dare to believe in justice!
True the Vote’s lawful activities have been completely vindicated as:
‘The Court specifically finds that these were two distinct efforts, aimed at the same purpose (i.e., reduce voter fraud and pursue election integrity) with the same general avenue of achieving that purpose (i.e., Section 230
challenges).’
The court did appear to enjoy ruling in Catherine Engelbrecht’s favor:
‘The Court concludes by acknowledging Engelbrecht was impeached a
number of times at trial…
Even in the instances where the Court does not find Engelbrecht’s prior
testimony to be blatantly inconsistent with her trial testimony, the Court cannot ignore that many of Engelbrecht’s skillful answers were obviously
self-serving—and to the detriment of her overall candor.’
While the court appears to dislike Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips, the rights of individuals in this country are clear and their behavior is lawful. Thus, the First Amendment survives another attack.
‘The Court finds that there has not been any violation of Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act by any of the named Defendants in this case. Accordingly, the Court DIRECTS the Clerk to enter judgment in favor of Defendants and against Plaintiffs.’
Brian and I will go through the details of this case and the victorious ruling on Why We Vote this week at our new Election Year time: Friday at 7:30pET.
Don’t miss it!” —
FBI calls bomb threats that led to brief lockdowns and evacuations of some state capitols a hoax
A bomb threat emailed to officials in several states early Wednesday briefly disrupted government affairs and prompted some state capitol evacuations, but no explosives were found and federal officials quickly dismissed the threats as a hoax.
The threats follow a spate of false reports of shootings at the homes of public officials in recent days.
Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi and Montana were among the states that evacuated statehouse offices or buildings.
The FBI said it was aware of numerous hoax bomb threats at state Capitol buildings, but had “no information to indicate a specific and credible threat.” The bureau said it was working with state, local and federal law enforcement to gather, share and act on information. — AP News
Our Take: “Following the Christmas season swattings, apparently State Capitols are getting a bunch of bomb threats. This is an obvious attempt to ratchet up the tension and spirit of fear (terror?) as the Presidential Election Year circus gets underway.
Consider the tactics and technology used by law enforcement to round up J6ers for walking through the Capitol. The US law enforcement apparatus has everything they need to know who is making bomb threats and making false reports to terrorize public officials. These are crimes, and pretty solvable ones for our powerful crime fighters.
But this recent wave of criminal behavior is being framed more like the J6 bomb threats, the ongoing MTG swattings, and the many other inexplicably unsolvable mysteries in modern America.
The all knowing, all powerful government can’t quite solve this one. When that happens, if history is our guide, it usually means the event is stage setting and narrative seeding — and it’s only day four of the circus. Clearly, the commies are bringing all three rings.” —
BONUS ITEMS
At Least 95 Dead in Blasts at Memorial for Iranian Commander Soleimani
At least 95 people were killed in explosions in Iran near a public ceremony commemorating the death of a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer killed in 2020 by an American airstrike, the country’s state media reported. Iranian officials said the blasts were the work of terrorists.
Some 211 others were wounded by the blasts, which took place as crowds gathered near the tomb of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, according to Iran’s government-run Islamic Republic News Agency. Iran said it was investigating the cause of the explosions. Officials revised the death toll down after reporting earlier in the day that 103 people had been killed in the blasts.
The blasts come at a moment of heightened tensions across the Middle East, with war raging between Israel and Hamas, an Islamist militant group that has moved closer to Iran in recent years. A senior Hamas leader, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed on Tuesday in Beirut in what Lebanese officials described as a suspected Israeli attack. The Israeli military declined to comment on whether it was responsible for the attack in Beirut. — The Wall Street Journal
Mark Meadows asks appeals court to reconsider his failed bid to move Georgia election subversion case to federal court
Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision rejecting his bid to move his Georgia election interference criminal case to federal court.
A three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled last month that Meadows could not move his case to federal court because the conduct at issue in the indictment against him was unrelated to his official duties as chief of staff.
Now Meadows is asking the appeals court to rehear the case en banc, meaning the case would be heard by the full court. Should the court decline to rehear the case, Meadows could appeal last month’s decision to the US Supreme Court.
“The panel’s decision is profoundly wrong – it defies text, precedent, and common sense – and profoundly consequential,” attorneys for Meadows wrote in a filing Tuesday evening. — CNN
House committee to formally begin impeachment proceedings against Biden Homeland Security chief over border policies
House Republicans will forge ahead with steps to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis, a GOP source tells CNN.
In a statement provided to CNN, a committee spokesperson said “the House Committee on Homeland Security has conducted a comprehensive investigation into Secretary Mayorkas’ handling of, and role in, the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border” for nearly a year.
“Following the bipartisan vote in the House to refer articles of impeachment against the secretary to our Committee, we will be conducting hearings and taking up those articles in the coming weeks,” the statement said.
The announcement of the impeachment proceedings comes as immigration is shaping up to be a top issue in the 2024 presidential election, with Republicans slamming President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, along with some of his Republican colleagues, will visit one of the busiest sections of the US-Mexico border, where only a few days ago border authorities wrestled with a fresh surge of migrants.
In response to Johnson’s visit, a senior administration official accused the House Speaker of “playing games” and said he should “stop playing politics” instead of working to pass meaningful reforms. — CNN
Women's Rights Groups Protest UN Appointment Of Transgender Activist As "Women's Champion"
The United Nations has appointed a transgender activist as a “women’s champion,” prompting women’s rights groups to express their “dismay and disappointment.”
The Times reports “Seventeen women’s rights groups have signed a letter to the charity UN Women UK expressing concern about its choice of a transgender woman as its “UK champion”.
UN Women bills itself as the “Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women,” that works “for gender equality and the empowerment of women.”
Yet they’ve appointed a biological man as the UK’s representative for women.
It seems like a direct exercise in trolling women at this point.
The person in question is Munroe Bergdorf, a model, broadcaster and transgender activist.
Campaign Group Fair Play For Women issued a statement noting “In December the UN Women’s UK committee appointed a male who presents in a highly sexualised stereotype of womanhood as an ambassador for women.”
It continues, “UN Women has made a point of demonstrating that it considers males can become women. It’s disappointing to see the UK committee go so far as to select a male to represent women. Their credibility is in tatters.” — Modernity News
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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If I may: Sound of Freedom is now on Amazon Prime - #2 on their featured movie list. I waited to watch it in the privacy of my home because - well, we have 25 grandchildren and the world is a dangerous place for God's children and... I cry when I get angry. Anyway, (and the only way) to wake some people up is to answer the question : "So? What is that to me?" (technically two questions I guess)
We live in an insulated society where a power outage or tornado or child abduction or foreign blackmail operation in DC that doesn't punch me directly in the gut is just another story...JUST ANOTHER STORY!
If this is the year of Convergence, BB, and we hope to avoid another Big Steal, then the convergence will have to touch our hearts, not just our minds. And so, I think, it is time to pray!
Thank you all for your hard work.
Always an intelligent collection of opinion. Highly recommend.