Badlands News Brief
Panic in DC ... And Israel ... Pretty Much Everywhere, Actually
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.
Many items feature original (and subjective) commentary. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see our writers’ Substack accounts and check out their other work.
Now, onto the news from the Weekend That Was …
Gallows Humor and Talk of Escape: Trump’s Possible Return Rattles Capital
It has become the topic of the season at Washington dinner parties and receptions. Where would you go if it really happens?
Portugal, says a former member of Congress. Australia, says a former agency director. Canada, says a Biden administration official. France, says a liberal columnist. Poland, says a former investigator.
They’re joking. Sort of. At least in most cases. It’s a gallows humor with a dark edge. Much of official Washington is bracing for the possibility that former President Donald J. Trump really could return — this time with “retribution” as his avowed mission, the discussion is where people might go into a sort of self-imposed exile.
Whether they mean it or not, the buzz is a telling indicator of the grim mood among many in the nation’s capital these days. The “what if” goes beyond the normal prospect of a side unhappy about a lost election. It speaks to the nervousness about a would-be president who talks of being a dictator for a day, who vows to “root out” enemies he called “vermin,” who threatens to prosecute adversaries, who suggests a general he deems disloyal deserves “DEATH,” whose lawyers say he may have immunity even if he orders the assassination of political rivals.
“I feel like in the past two weeks that conversation for whatever reason has just surged,” said Miles Taylor, a former Trump administration official who became a vocal critic of the former president. “People are feeling that it’s very obvious if a second Trump terms happens, it’s going to be slash and burn.” — The New York Times
Our Take: ““‘Where will elites flee to avoid accountability for their treason?’ Just kidding, The NY Times chuckles nervously.
This article is peak projection, as the NYT talks about a dictator, prosecution of political adversaries, and dehumanization of large swaths of the population. In other words, they’re afraid that Trump is gonna act like Biden. They might just be realizing all the norms they’ve blown up over the past eight plus years. All precedents they’ve set. Yikes.
It’s important to remember that Trump doesn’t elect himself. The underlying truth in this piece is not that they’re afraid Trump will hold them accountable. They’re afraid you will.” —
Another Take: “We're witnessing significant Narrative Acceleration along the Trump 2.0 plot rail.
Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore famously predicted Trump 1.0, ending one of the most unwitting Trump campaign ads with the now-infamous, ‘And it'll feel good,’ in reference to the transcendent ‘Fu*k You’ the American middle class was about to send to the establishment in the voting booth.
This was circa 2016. Where do you think that sentiment is now?
The Elites aren't panicking because they fear Trump's policies. They're panicking because, if and when Trump returns, it will codify the idea that their "victory" in 2020 was already accounted for ... and allowed.
It'll be confirmation of 'The Plan.'
And no matter how long you've considered yourself a part of the Truth Community, you likely know enough to know 'The Plan' isn't good for [them.]
‘These people won't be able to walk down the street’ wasn't a saying.
It was a promise.
What's worse for said Elites?
The awakening will spread worldwide.” —
Despite Oct. 7, Netanyahu is determined to run for reelection, and certain he can win
In recent weeks, it’s become clear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to once again run for prime minister in the next elections.
Although he hadn’t been definitive on this issue since the war in Gaza broke out, we’re now beginning to hear clear statements from him about the dramatic need for him to continue leading the country even after the next general elections, despite — and perhaps because of — the terrible national tragedy and disgraceful failures of October 7.
Netanyahu believes that Israel is in the midst of a war that will last for many years to come and that only he is fit to lead this challenge. More than that though, he is convinced that he will win an election — perhaps in the coming months — if a proposal for a hostage deal comes to a vote and wins the expected majority it needs to pass. — Times of Israel
And …
There's 'Widespread' Belief Among US Officials Israel Can't Eradicate Hamas
There is a "widespread belief" among US officials that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of "eradicating" Hamas in Gaza is unattainable, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
Throughout the past seven months, there have been multiple signs that the US doesn’t believe Israel could achieve its goals in Gaza, yet the Biden administration has continued to support the slaughter of Palestinians in the Strip.
In March, the US intelligence agencies released their annual "threat assessment," and it said Israel will face "lingering armed resistance" for "years to come" and that the Israeli military would struggle to destroy Hamas’s underground infrastructure.
The Washington Post also reported in March that the US didn’t think Israel had clear or attainable goals as far back as October. "We never had a clear sense that the Israelis had a definable and achievable military objective," a source familiar with an October 27 Biden administration meeting on the situation in Gaza told the Post.
"From the very beginning, there’s been a sense of us not knowing how the Israelis were going to do what they said they were going to do." — AntiWar.com
And …
Netanyahu: If Israel is forced to stand alone against the enemy, we will stand alone
Addressing the official state Yom Hashoah memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts that Israel will not halt fighting in Gaza until it defeats Hamas no matter how much pressure is brought to bear to stop the war.
Responding to reports that the International Criminal Court in The Hague could issue arrest warrants for some of Israel’s top officials — including him — Netanyahu says that such actions “undermine” Israelis’ “most basic right” to defend themselves and places “a grave stain on the mere concept of international justice.”
“From here in Jerusalem, I am sending a very clear-cut message: you will not chain our hands and even if Israel has to stand alone, it will stand alone and will continue to fight our enemies until victory,” he declares.
Switching to English, the prime minister says that during the Holocaust the Jewish people were “totally defenseless against those who sought our destruction.” — Times of Israel
Our Take: “When you zoom out far enough, you can see the big picture.
In December 2016, Israeli Police opened three separate cases against Benjamin Netanyahu, investigating allegations of fraud, bribery, and breach of trust during his fourth and fifth terms as Israeli PM.
By September 2017, protests formed over the public perception that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit was interfering in the investigations, after he had announced a series of delays in the process.
In December 2018, recommendations were issued by a state prosecutor to AG Mandelblit that Netanyahu be indicted.
In 2019, Netanyahu filed requests to the Israeli Supreme Court to stall the publication of these recommendations. The requests were denied, and the recommendations published that day, revealing to the public that Netanyahu was likely to be indicted, which happened later that year in October. As a result, he was legally forced to resign from all posts except Prime Minister, which included: Health Minister, Agriculture Minister, Social Affairs Minister, and Diaspora Affairs Minister. (Demonstrative of the power he had accrued.)
After the rigged election against Trump succeeded in 2020, Netanyahu was the first world leader to call and congratulate Joe Biden, consummating the coup.
The COVID pandemic delayed the preliminary proceedings, dragging it into 2023. By then, Netanyahu had appointed a new Justice Minister, Yariv Levin, who announced a plan to overhaul the country's judicial system. The crux of this plan would reform the nine-member judicial selection committee so it would exclude the opposition party, effectively granting total control of the courts to the ruling regime—which was and still is Netanyahu's Likud Party.
It is often overlooked that in May 2020, just months before the Abraham Accords were scheduled for signing, Netanyahu hinted in his public commentary that he intended to annex portions of the West Bank in Palestine, which has been under military occupation by the IDF since 1967. His comments were so incendiary, that they provoked UAE Ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, to author an op-ed for Israeli newspapers, where he warned the Israeli people that normalization with the Arab World would not be possible if any annexation of Palestine occurred.
Jared Kushner and Al Otaiba spent the summer of 2020 negotiating with Netanyahu to step off the ledge, and sign the Accords.
How can one not recognize the parallels to September 2023, when the impending peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel—which included Palestinian statehood—was the talk of the world? Netanyahu claimed to support it, but has since revealed his lifelong contempt for the Two-State Solution, dismissing it all as folly.
Netanyahu implied back in the fall that he would step down as PM once Hamas has been eradicated, but now says that the war will take years, and he intends to remain in power in order to see it through—while the US says that goal will never be achieved; But perhaps that is the idea?
Looking at the recent behavior of Congress, who really controls the United States government?
Do we understand why Donald Trump had to organize a counterinsurgency against Benjamin Netanyahu?” —
LAPD Unmasks UCLA Agitators
As the LAPD stormed onto the campus of UCLA Thursday night to end illegal encampments by agitators, they unmasked some of those they arrested and exposed their faces to the cameras.
The COVID face mask has been adopted wholesale by the rabid wannabe Marxists, purely as a way of hiding their identity while virtue signalling their politics to each other.
The police were having none of it and removed masks, prompting some of those they arrested to desperately try to hide their faces.
The first agitator in the footage there was part of a group complaining the day before about not being protected enough by police, despite the fact that they want the police abolished:
In a bizarre word salad , she claimed that UCLA is “founded on colonialism,” and complained about it somehow being involved with foreign wars and Zionism and police brutality against black and brown people… or something. — Modernity News
Our Take: “Apparently the way to end genocide in Gaza is to make America resemble Gaza. Notably, this was also the approach to ending systemic racism in 2020… to make America resemble Gaza.
The most privileged young people in our nation are LARPing as freedom fighters, likely under the direction of paid professional protestors (that is, not students). That’s ostensibly why they fought so hard to hide their faces. Cowards and criminals always hide their faces.
To be clear, I’m not jumping up and down for the frat boys either. I appreciate American young people standing up for Old Glory, but I question the newly-accepted frat worship and the hundreds of thousands of dollars raised overnight... for a kegger…
The whole situation feels suspiciously inorganic to me, like narrative seeding and/or a diversion. I keep wondering whether they’re going to leave the campuses and occupy the cities again during the summer. Signs point to yes. Long live CHAZ!” —
Russian troops enter base housing US military in Niger, US official says
Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting U.S. troops, a senior U.S. defense official told Reuters, a move that follows a decision by Niger's junta to expel U.S. forces.
The military officers ruling the West African nation have told the U.S. to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country, which until a coup last year had been a key partner for Washington's fight against insurgents who have killed thousands of people and displaced millions more.
A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces were not mingling with U.S. troops but were using a separate hangar at Airbase 101, which is next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger's capital.
The move by Russia's military, which Reuters was the first to report, puts U.S. and Russian troops in close proximity at a time when the nations' military and diplomatic rivalry is increasingly acrimonious over the conflict in Ukraine.
It also raises questions about the fate of U.S. installations in the country following a withdrawal. — Reuters
Our Take: “Does everybody remember on November 11, 2017, when President Trump and President Putin met on the sidelines at the APEC conference in Vietnam, and issued a joint statement about fighting ISIS together?
Considering that ISIS was 100% created by the CIA—under the stewardship of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—the way I see the conflict in the Middle East is the US Military vs CIA proxy militias.
I think this framing can be extended to nearly every theater in the world where the US Military is operating against ‘rebel factions,’ including Africa.
So while this idea of the Russian Military and US Military co-habituating a base may give Joe Scarborough heart palpitations, I think it actually makes a lot of sense—especially when you consider that it was ISIS (The CIA) who allegedly attacked Moscow in the most recent high-profile terror event.
When Trump says that ‘The media is the enemy of The People,’ what he really means is the CIA, which we pretty much know for certain controls the corporate media, thanks to Adam Riva's documentary, Time of Deceit.’“ —
Once Unthinkable Nuclear Plant Revival Is a Reality in US Shift
A month after the US offered $1.5 billion to restart one shuttered nuclear power plant, there’s a growing sense among officials in the industry and government that it may not be the last.
“There are a couple of nuclear power plants that we probably should, and can, turn back on,” said Jigar Shah, director of the US Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office.
Shah’s office in March approved a loan to Holtec International Corp. to reopen the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. The company bought the facility when it closed in 2022, planning to decommission it. But officials including Governor Gretchen Whitmer almost immediately began calling for it to reopen, and Holtec has now shifted gears, planning for it to start producing power again in late 2025. That may spur other companies to follow suit. — Bloomberg
And …
New Discovered Uranium Deposit In Poland Could Fuel Future Polish Nuclear Power Plant
The Świętokrzyska Industrial Group Industria (ŚGP Industria) has confirmed the presence of uranium in a deposit within the Świętokrzyskie Region in southern Poland. The company now plans to undertake further exploratory work to determine the deposit’s size and potential extraction methods. This finding was made during exploratory activities, though the company has chosen not to disclose the exact location at this time. In the coming months, detailed work will be carried out to establish the deposit’s size and potential exploitation methods.
The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that Poland has approximately 100,000 tons of natural uranium, although only 7,000 tons have been confirmed so far. ŚGP Industria received an exploratory concession from the Ministry of Climate and Environment for a polymetallic deposit containing uranium in the region.
Following the company’s efforts, the presence of uranium in the deposit was verified. Continued exploration over the next few months will aim to precisely determine the content of various elements in the deposit, its size, and potential extraction methods. — ReMix News
Our Take: “One of my unifying Macro Economic theories is something I refer to as 'The Switch.'
In a nutshell, it posits that, while the Narratives regarding the US and world economy & energy transition are catastrophic for the current establishment, there are signs that many of the Actuals being implemented during this Disclosure period are already paving the way toward a MUCH brighter future.
This past week, we've had a flurry of headlines concerning a 'restart' of global nuclear energy programs, with funding being diverted to the renewal of US-based plants that were shut down in the midst of climate and doom-mongering under the communist regime.
If and when these plants restart, not only will the US & world be flush with a surge of new energy jobs, but the push toward inefficient and damaging solar and wind projects will be curtailed.
Nuclear energy as an existential threat has always been a PsyOp.
Between a Nuclear revival and the CHIPS Act, the future is bright.” —
CIA chief heads to Qatar, Israel to salvage Gaza hostage deal
CIA Director William Burns traveled to Doha Sunday night for an emergency meeting to salvage the hostage deal as the IDF prepared for a military operation in Rafah, and Hamas fired rockets at the Kerem Shalom Crossing, injuring ten people.
Burns’ emergency meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani in Doha is “aimed at exerting maximum pressure on Israel and Hamas to continue negotiating,” an official briefed on the talks said.
Prospects for a Gaza ceasefire appeared slim as Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for the freeing of hostages, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly ruled that out, insisting that the IDF must be free to destroy the terrorist group, including in Rafah.
One official briefed on the talks told Reuters: “The latest round of mediation in Cairo is near to collapse.”
A Hamas delegation also left Cairo after a day of talks with Burns as well as with Egyptian and Qatari officials who were there but were expected to return on Tuesday. — The Jerusalem Post
Our Take: “Since when does the CIA take point in leading peace talks?
Many of you may recall the ‘secret meeting’ reported by the CIA's favorite mouthpiece (The Washington Post) in January 2023 between CIA Director Burns and Ukraine. That meeting, of course, did not result in a negotiated cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. In fact, the statement that came out of the meeting was: ‘Russia will only negotiate if it feels threatened,’ leading to the corporate media's bloviated pep rally for a ‘Spring Offensive’ that never really materialized, and just led to thousands of Ukrainians dying for no real reason.
None of this is a surprise, especially for those who understand that the CIA specializes in destabilization and mass murder. But it is at least a little satisfying watching such a despicable organization fail so spectacularly on the biggest stage in front of the whole world. The real takeaway, however, is the elucidation from the Deep State that the CIA and the State Department are, in fact, synonymous, to the extent that the CIA will do the State Department's job: Diplomacy.
From the article:
’Israel had refused to send a delegation until such time as Hamas officially responded to a complex three-phased proposal that would, in its first leg, see the release of 33 out of 132 remaining hostages in exchange for a 40-day pause to the war.
The US had hoped to begin with phase one without dealing with the issue of a permanent ceasefire, but Netanyahu’s repeated statements rejecting a permanent ceasefire without entering Rafah made such a move difficult.’
Subversion by Netanyahu? Par for the course. I'm sure Burns will complement his efforts with constipated diplomacy.” —
BONUS ITEMS
Trump Whodunnit: Prosecutors admit key evidence in document case has been tampered with
In a stunning admission, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team is admitting that key evidence in former President Donald Trump’s classified documents criminal case was altered or manipulated since it was seized by the FBI, and that prosecutors misled the court about it for a period of time.
Legal experts told Just the News the revelation could prove to be a serious problem for prosecutors and a violation of court rules to preserve evidence in the state it was seized.
In a new filing Friday, Smith’s team said that the order of documents in some of the boxes of memos that were seized by the FBI from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was altered or jumbled, leaving two different chronologies: one that was digitally scanned and another the physical order in the boxes.
“Since the boxes were seized and stored, appropriate personnel have had access to the boxes for several reasons, including to comply with orders issued by this Court in the civil proceedings noted above, for investigative purposes, and to facilitate the defendants' review of the boxes,” Smith’s team wrote in a new court filing to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon.
“There are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans,” the prosecutors wrote. — Just the News
Macron Says He'd Send Troops To Ukraine If Russians Advance & If Zelensky Asks
French President Emmanuel Macron has once again brought the possibility of Western 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine back into international headlines, after first controversially floating that the idea can't be ruled out months ago.
In a fresh interview with The Economist, Macron said the possibility of injecting NATO troops into the conflict would "legitimately" arise in the scenario the Russia broke through the front lines and if the Zelensky government specifically made such a request.
Macron explained to the magazine that "if Russia decided to go further, we will in any case all have to ask ourselves this question" of sending troops. He called his prior words before NATO-member defense ministers in Paris urging them to not rule out troops a "strategic wake-up call for my counterparts."
Days ago in a speech he dramatically declared that Europe is "mortal" and could "die" if Russia wins in Ukraine and continues on an expansionist, destructive path (an assumption that many knowledgeable analysts have rejected as a real aim of Putin's).
Speaking to the The Economist, Macron further called Russia "a power of regional destabilization" and "a threat to Europeans' security".
"I have a clear strategic objective: Russia cannot win in Ukraine," Macron continued. "If Russia wins in Ukraine, there will be no security in Europe." — ZeroHedge
Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and wife indicted on bribery and foreign influence charges
The Justice Department on Friday released an indictment against longtime Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and his wife, Imelda, charging the pair with bribery and money laundering related to their ties with a bank in Mexico and an oil and gas company controlled by Azerbaijan.
NBC News was first to report that the charges were coming. The congressman and his wife were each released on a $100,000 bond after a first appearance in federal court in Houston, a DOJ spokesperson said Friday afternoon.
According to the indictment, from 2014 to 2021, the Cuellars allegedly accepted roughly $600,000 in bribes from the two foreign entities in exchange for the congressman performing official acts.
“The bribe payments were allegedly laundered, pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, who performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts,” the DOJ said in a statement. — NBC 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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Jenny Hatch
Nailed it Ashe: "It’s important to remember that Trump doesn’t elect himself. The underlying truth in this piece is not that they’re afraid Trump will hold them accountable. They’re afraid you will.” — Ashe in America"
The fact that We the People no longer believe anything the DS Rat Bastard MSM puts out and that we now ARE THE NEWS scares the living shit out of the scumbags. They have known for all of eternity that we are the vast majority but so long as we fought each other and bought all their bullshit they had nothing to fear. We were guarding our own prison cells.
NOT NO MORE BITCHES! They can run but they cannot hide... GLORIOUS!
God Wins!
God Bless!!!