Badlands News Brief
Badlands News Brief
Middle Eastern Shenanigans & Dasting Data Dominate
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 Tuesday, April 2 …
Sullivan to meet MBS to push Saudi side of Israel mega-deal
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Thursday about a potential mega-deal that would include Saudi normalization with Israel.
Why it matters: With the war in Gaza ongoing and the U.S. presidential election just seven months away, White House officials admit there's a slim chance they can pull off the historic peace agreement. Sullivan's trip shows President Biden is still determined to pursue it.
Behind the scenes: The White House continues to work toward a draft U.S.-Saudi defense treaty and understandings related to U.S. support for a Saudi civilian nuclear program, according to four U.S. and Israeli officials.
U.S. officials hope to reach a bilateral agreement with the Saudis and then possibly present it to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose side of the deal would include committing to a path toward a two-state solution.
Netanyahu would then face a choice: If he agrees, he could broke a historic peace deal with Saudi Arabia. If he says no, he could be exposed as a rejectionist and lose whatever U.S. support he still has left.
The White House declined to comment. The Saudi embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. — Axios
Our Take: “Somehow, through the chaos and myriad obstacles from the past 7 months, we find ourselves right back at the beginning—on the eve of October 7th.
Except now, we are armed with new knowledge. We have gained new insight into the Arab people. They have proven that they are not the bloodthirsty savages that our government has long insisted them to be. They have demonstrated incredible restraint and patience, refusing to escalate in the face of provocations that plead for war.
Instead of a Caliphate, we have seen the emergence of an Ummah (community), uniting 57 nations and nearly 2 billion Muslims for the first time in a thousand years, under the leadership of the Saudi Crown Prince. Sunni and Shia Islam now work together, not to wage jihad, but to establish a real and lasting peace— the end of all forever wars.
When rogue pirates in Yemen shut down shipping to Israel, the Crown Prince organized an alternative route through Abu Dhabi and across the Arabian Desert, paying for the trucks themselves. When Israel and the United States sought to strike Yemen in retaliation, the Crown Prince prohibited them from using Arabian air space to conduct their war.
It is the Arabs who have proven to be the real peacemakers. (Surely, it was Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who brokered the meetings necessary to facilitate the Abraham Accords.) The ‘violent’ Muslims who we have been told are just looking for an excuse to kill; Yet here they stand, with their swords sheathed and their hands stayed.
Oh how things have changed.
Are we prepared to change?
The ball is now exactly where it was way back on October 6th: in Bibi Netanyahu's court.” —
Facebook let Netflix see user DMs to help them tailor content as part of a close collaboration between the two tech giants, new court documents claims
Facebook's parent company Meta allegedly allowed Netflix to peer at its user DMs 'for nearly a decade' to help the streaming giant better tailor content for its own users, an explosive lawsuit has alleged.
Court documents unsealed on March 23 that were filed last April as part of a major anti-trust lawsuit against Meta appear to have exposed the intricate relationship between two of Silicon Valley's biggest players.
The class-action lawsuit, filed by two US citizens, Maximilian Klein and Sarah Grabert, alleged Netflix and Facebook 'enjoyed a special relationship', with the social media platform giving the streaming site 'bespoke access' to user data.
The two Silicon Valley players also agreed to 'custom partnerships and integrations that helped supercharge Facebook's ad targeting and ranking models' from at least 2011, thanks to the personal relationship between Netflix's co-founder Reed Hastings and Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Lawyers alleged that 'within a month' of Hastings joining Facebook's board of directors, the two companies signed an 'Inbox API' (Application Programming Interface) agreement that 'allowed Netflix programmatic access to Facebook's user's private message inboxes.' — The Daily Mail
Our Take: “Many times on the Brief, we’ve discussed the Missouri v. Biden (Murthy v. Missouri) case, and Twitter breaking their data privacy pinky promise to users.
In yesterday’s Brief, we discussed the ‘incognito mode’ case, and Google breaking their data privacy pinky promise to users.
Today, we’re talking about selling DM access to the highest bidder (which was Netflix) and Facebook breaking their data privacy pinky promise to users.
This theme will continue as long as tech companies own the rights to our data. Our digital presence is an extension of our actual lives. Privacy is a pinky pie crust promise until data ownership becomes a reality.” —
Jeffrey Epstein’s Island Visitors Exposed by Data Broker
NEARLY 200 MOBILE devices of people who visited Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious “pedophile island” in the years prior to his death left an invisible trail of data pointing back to their own homes and offices. Maps of these visitations generated by a troubled international data broker with defense industry ties, discovered last week by WIRED, document the numerous trips of wealthy and influential individuals seemingly undeterred by Epstein’s status as a convicted sex offender.
The data amassed by Near Intelligence, a location data broker roiled by allegations of mismanagement and fraud, reveals with high precision the residences of many guests of Little Saint James, a United States Virgin Islands property where Epstein is accused of having groomed, assaulted, and trafficked countless women and girls.
Some girls, prosecutors say, were as young as 14. The former attorney general of the US Virgin Islands alleged that girls as young as 12 were trafficked to Epstein by those within his elite social circle. — Wired
Our Take: “Epsteinian headlines can be frustrating for long-time truthers, especially those who came up in the Info War during the advent of the Q Op, as it can seem like recycled headlines presenting well-known information (to us) as if it's seismic.
When you observe such deployments under the twin framing of the War of Stories and the Shark Fin Template, where key vectors of awakening resurface at auspicious times to forward the side of truth in the Mind War, things get much more comfy.
For example, it's not the fact that this headline exists that makes it important, but where it's coming from. Wired is one of the more trendy of the establishment rags, and their presentation of ‘fresh’ Epstein info is not only hitting an audience adjacent to MSM programming, but doing so with a data-driven approach.
The fact that elites were on Pedo Island isn't shocking; what COULD be shocking to normies is just how many, and just how frequent their trips.
And it comes just a week after Diddy.
Planned.” —
Baltimore Bridge Collapse: New Underwater 3D Images Show "Sheer Magnitude" Of Salvage Operation Ahead
Local, state, or federal officials have yet to offer a timeline for salvage crews to completely remove the collapsed bridge from the main shipping channel entering the Port of Baltimore.
On Tuesday morning, the Baltimore District, US Army Corps of Engineers published new 3D images of the wreckage at the bottom of the shipping channel on social media.
"These 3D images show the sheer magnitude of the very difficult and challenging salvage operation ahead," the US Army Corps of Engineers said in a Facebook post.
The post continued, "The underwater sonar imaging tool, known as CODA Octopus, is the primary survey tool used by divers, with visibility clouded to just one to two feet because of the four to five feet of mud and loose bottom of the Patapsco River."
"Divers are forced to work in virtual darkness, because when lit, their view is similar to driving through a heavy snowfall at night with high-beam headlights on. So murky is the water, divers must be guided via detailed verbal directions from operators in vessels topside who are viewing real-time CODA imagery," Army Corps of Engineers pointed out. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “Trapped ships and cargo began moving again in Baltimore this week, as an alternate channel has been opened to alleviate congestion in the port. The US Air Force fuel barge was the first allowed through.
But even ‘with a temporary channel reopened, activity at the Port of Baltimore has crashed and will remain paralyzed until the main shipping channel is reopened.’
According to the imagery in this article and the known conditions, and recognizing that there are many unknown variables, reopening the channel is going to be quite the undertaking.
I hope the reason this article doesn’t mention the fuel or underground pipeline is that those variables — and the question of fuel leaks generally — have been resolved. Hope is definitely the word, though, because it seems we’re just beginning to hear about the fuel. Climate narratives incoming.
The so-called ruler of the United States, or scrotus, announced Monday that he would visit the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Friday, likely to get a first hand look at his team’s plans to exploit the disaster for personal and political gain at Americans’ expense. That’s usually how these things go.” —
US welcomes new Palestinian government following repeated calls for political reform
The United States has welcomed the formation of a new Palestinian autonomy government, signaling it is accepting the revised Cabinet lineup as a step toward Palestinian political reform.
The Biden administration has called for “revitalizing” the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority in hopes that it can also administer the Gaza Strip once the Israel-Hamas war ends. The war erupted nearly six months ago, triggered by an Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.
In a statement late Friday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the United States looks forward to working with the new group of ministers “to deliver on credible reforms.”
“A revitalized PA is essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people in both the West Bank and Gaza and establishing the conditions for stability in the broader region,” Miller said.
The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has not faced an election in almost two decades.
The United States sees the Palestinian Authority as a key part of its preferred plans for post-war Gaza. But the authority has little popular support or legitimacy among Palestinians, with many viewing it as a subcontractor of the occupation because of its security cooperation with Israel in the West Bank. — Arab News
Our Take: “Let's focus on the signal:
President Mahmoud Abbas is a Trump guy. They have provided narrative shielding for one another—Trump called Abbas ‘a father-like figure,’ and Abbas told the Arab League that Trump is a ‘good man’ and that none of the problems they are facing with the US State Department and the Abraham Accords are Trump's fault.
Abbas's recent appointment of Mustafa as Palestinian PM has drawn the ire of Hamas, who say that they were not consulted on this appointment by the Palestinian Authority. Abbas replied by saying that they (The PA) were not consulted by Hamas before they decided to conduct ‘the October 7th Adventure.’ This marks a significant fracturing in the public optics of the Palestinian government, demonstrating a clear break between Fatah and Hamas—the two factions that make up the Palestinian Authority.
This article also brings up another point, that Hamas drove the security forces of Fatah out of Gaza back in 2007 when they came into power, further demonstrating the divide between the two factions in the Palestinian government.
The US is embracing this new cabinet formed by Abbas, leaving Hamas on the outside looking in.
While Hamas has become the symbol of defiance and resistance against the IDF, its origins of being financed by the Muslim Brotherhood and western intelligence agencies—all operating out of Qatar—cannot be denied. Hamas has succeeded in endearing itself to the Palestinian people, as it engages in kinetic conflict against Israel, but President Abbas is rightfully pointing out that it is the Hamas who has prevented the Saudi Peace Initiative from being finalized with their attack on October 7.
So the question remains, who does Hamas work for? Who ordered the attack on October 7? Who provided the resources and training?
We expect these questions to be answered at the most opportune moment for the official narrative.” —
BONUS ITEMS
Trump-proofing weapons for Ukraine: Allies consider moving arms group into NATO
The U.S. and other Western countries are considering transferring to NATO a U.S.-led multinational group that coordinates the shipment of weapons to Ukraine, one of several new proposals that could help maintain the flow of arms to Kyiv under a second Donald Trump presidency.
During the NATO foreign ministerial meeting in Brussels Wednesday and Thursday, officials are expected to discuss a range of options, including gradually moving the organization — called the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — into the alliance’s control, according to three European officials and a U.S. official with knowledge of the internal deliberations. The goal would be to finalize the move at the NATO leaders’ summit in Washington in July, one of the officials said.
A second U.S. official said that another proposal would give NATO a more formalized seat at the table within the Ukraine group, as opposed to moving it under NATO control. The idea, from the U.S. side, would be to strengthen the ties between NATO and Ukraine for long-term support, the official said.
The Ukraine group was launched in the early weeks of the war by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and then-Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley to coordinate Western support for Kyiv’s defenses. It’s credited with speeding tens of billions of dollars in equipment, weapons and other aid to Ukraine that have been critical in staving off Russian forces. — Politico
FDA's Anti-Ivermectin "You Are Not A Horse" Post Remains Up As Court Order Deadline Looms
Eleven days after a court-ordered settlement required the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove all social media and directives regarding ivermectin, a webpage and its most infamous post remains online, advising people against the use of the popular drug.
After years of controversy over using ivermectin to fight COVID-19, the FDA agreed to remove its social media posts urging people to stop using the drug, according to a settlement filed with federal court in southern Texas dated March 21.
The agency has already removed a page that said: “Should I take ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19? No.”
However, its Aug. 21, 2021, post on X (formerly Twitter)—in which the FDA wrote:
“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously y’all. Stop it”—continues to remain live on the social media platform.
At the time of publication, the post had been reposted more than 67,000 times. — The Epoch Times
Ukrainian Drones Hit Russia’s Third-Largest Oil Refinery
Ukrainian drones hit the primary refining unit of Russia’s third-largest refinery southeast of Moscow more than 800 miles from the front line, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
The Taneco refinery of Russian company Tatneft in Tatarstan, an industrialized region southeast of Moscow, was attacked by Ukrainian drones in the latest such attack from Ukraine on Russian refining infrastructure.
The refinery has a capacity to process 340,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude. Its primary refining unit, with a capacity to process about 155,000 bpd, was hit in Tuesday’s attack, according to pictures seen by Reuters.
The unit caught fire, which was swiftly extinguished, Russian media report.
They also quote Ramil Mullin, the mayor of the city of Nizhnekamsk, where the refinery is located, as saying that there have been no injured people in the attack.
“There are no injuries or serious damage,” Mullin wrote on Telegram.
“The technological process of the enterprise has not been disrupted,” the mayor added.
A source with the Ukrainian intelligence in Kyiv told Reuters that Ukraine hit a major Russian oil facility in Tatarstan to reduce Russian oil revenues. — OilPrice.com
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 the FDA is THAT stupid and ignorant about one of the safest drugs available, why should we believe anything they say about other medications??? They insist on such willful ignorance even in the face of a legal mandate to the contrary. Yet there is no consequence for their betrayal of the American public.
I will be nice to see the world return to one that values privacy. I'm pretty shocked how liberally they shared what most consider to be private data but everyone seems to have been conditioned to accept "if you're not doing anything wrong, you've got nothing to hide!" mentality. Even corporate privacy is gone with all the cloud services and literally no one seems to care. Microsoft and Google, between the two of them, probably have access to 95+% of all corporate data - customer lists, trade secrets, sales data, etc - AND NO ONE CARES. I took 10 years off and in that decade, everything changed.