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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.
Items feature original commentary from members of our growing team of citizen journalists, whose stated opinions are their own. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see their other work.
Now, onto the news from Thursday, October 19 …
Biden makes the case for wartime aid to Israel and Ukraine in primetime address
President Joe Biden tied the wars in Ukraine and Israel together during a primetime Oval Office address Thursday, making an impassioned appeal to the American people to support two fellow democracies that he says are facing existential threats.
The president has often cast this moment in history as an “inflection point” – a battle between the world’s democracies and autocracies. On Thursday, he argued that “this is one of those moments,” making a direct appeal to the American people as he sought to build support for US funding for wars abroad that could face a challenging path in Congress, where the House of Representatives remains unable to pass legislation in its second week without a speaker.
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy, completely annihilate it,” Biden said.
“We can’t let petty partisan, angry politics get in the way of our responsibilities as a great nation. We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win. I refuse to let that happen,” he added.”
He laid out the stakes for the American people, calling the wars a national security imperative and a critical moment for the future of American leadership and democracies worldwide.
“American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliances are what keep us in America safe. American values are what make us a partner nation you want to work with,” he said. “To put all that at risk – we walk away from Ukraine, we turn our backs on Israel – it’s just not worth it.”
The president said support for both wars is “vital for America’s national security.” — CNN
Our Take: “Make no mistake, the key quote from this MSM fluff piece about the Potato-in-Chief is the following:
The president said support for both wars is ‘vital for America’s national security.’
Don’t miss the forest for the trees, here.
There are a LOT of Narratives flying around the Game Theory Game Board when it comes to the Middle East chaos, and how the Biden Regime is or is NOT handling things appropriately, but what has been oddly encouraging this week is that the idea that the U.S. should STAY OUT of the war zone has become a bipartisan unification point, which means the regime is nearing an inflection point.
Biden may not have committed to sending US troops to Israel (not that he can, in light of Continuity of Government plans that may or may not have been instituted ala
’s research,) but he HAS committed to sending billions more in financing … taxpayer financing.And this all occurs against the backdrop of the worst US economic situation in decades.
In the words of the inimitable and fictional Tony Stark, ‘Not a great plan.’” —
US Lawmakers Demand Biden Declassify Intelligence On Gaza Hospital Disaster
During his Tel Aviv visit on Wednesday, President Biden had been pressed by reporters as to what convinced him to side with Israel's denial that it didn't strike Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, killing up to 200-300 people, according to local health officials. Biden had said that data from his Defense Department showed the explosion was unlikely to have been an Israeli airstrike. But it's not just journalists that want more, US lawmakers are also demanding clearer answers.
A group of Progressive Democrats in Congress are now pushing the Biden White House to publicly declassify the intelligence that the US has on the hospital bombing.
According to Haaretz, "Administration officials provided senators with a classified briefing on Wednesday, shortly after the ranking bipartisan members of both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees said they reviewed information and reached the same conclusion."
Thirteen Democrats have brought the two-page resolution which additionally presses Biden to "immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a ceasefire to urgently end the current violence" as well as to "promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza." The US voted down a UN Security Council resolution this week which called for a humanitarian ceasefire.
The drive has been sparked in large part by angry Democratic progressives who have been vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause:
The calls are only growing louder as tensions within the Democratic Party are brewing over Rep. Rashida Tlaib's repeated allegation that Israel was responsible — even after U.S. President Joe Biden indicated an Islamic Jihad rocket launch caused the blast. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “I definitely did not expect to agree with Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in this lifetime, but here we are. I’m just going to shred my bingo card at this point. The world is bananas.
Even the progressives don’t trust Biden’s word, and I agree that the intelligence should be declassified if we’re expected to believe these claims. While the Biden administration is being forced to declassify intelligence to appease their radicals, let’s also get the info on the 40 beheaded babies, which Biden claimed to have seen when that story was breaking.
Truth matters, even — especially — in times of war.” —
British Energy Secretary Warns Of UK Dependence On Foreign Regimes
UK Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho warned on Wednesday that Britain will see North Sea oil and gas production halve by 2030, placing the UK at the mercy of external forces should the Labour Party government come to power and refuse to allow new offshore drilling.
Coutinho said the UK would be forced to import up to 80% of its oil and gas by 2030, rendering it “subservient to foreign regimes” and “decimating the same people and communities that we need to come with us on this green transition journey”, as reported by the Telegraph.
Speaking at the annual Energy UK conference, Coutinho cited new data from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) indicating that the number of offshore UK oil and gas wells dropped by 83 in 2022, with a total of 1,629 current wells, compared to 2,052 in 2019.
Extracting from NSTA data, the Energy Secretary claimed that UK production fell to a record low of 38 million tonnes in 2022, and would fall to 22 million tonnes in 2030 without any new drilling.
That pending energy supply gap would require a significant increase in expensive exports, Coutinho said.
The UK’s Labour government has vowed to stop any new offshore drilling in an effort to meet its 2050 climate goals if it wins in the next elections.
In late September, citing energy security needs, Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walked back net zero emissions targets and green-lighted Equinor’s North Sea Rosebank field, which would represent one of the UK’s biggest new oil and gas projects in recent times. — Oilprice.com
Our Take: “There's a difference between Exposure and Disclosure, with the latter signifying documentary 'evidence' being revealed through court filings, leaks, primary sources and direct statements made by high-leverage individuals.
Exposure, however, is what truly defines the current era of global politics, as the Crisis Cascade (from Kabul to Ukraine to Israel,) has ratcheted the tension within the Collective Mind.
This has resulted in the exposure of not just corrupt and inept political leaders, but more importantly, the core philosophies that underline their propaganda, with everything from the 'green movement' to open borders being highlighted as not just frivolous, but outright dangerous and destabilizing to would-be independent nation states.
And now they're being forced to walk back all of their Hegelian deployments one-by-one as the Collective Mind awakens.
Of course, this paves the way for the resurgence of populism and nationalism ... also known as sovereignty worldwide.” —
IDF threatens Hezbollah as US says it is in talks with Israel for Gaza ‘safe zones’
The Hamas-controlled interior ministry says several displaced people who had taken shelter at a church compound in the Gaza Strip have been killed and injured in an Israeli strike.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF, which tells AFP it is looking into the potential strike.
The strike left a “large number of martyrs and injured” at the compound of a Greek Orthodox church, the ministry says.
Witnesses tell AFP the strike appears to have been aimed at a target close to the place of worship where many Gaza residents have taken refuge. — The Times of Israel
Our Take: “Did we declare war despite not having a Speaker?
Sure seems like we are at war with two carrier groups in the region and, now that Israel is heading into Gaza and Iran is retaliating, we’re engaging in kinetic conflict in the region.
But it’s not war, right?
The war of stories has comprised a Cold War for so long, would we even recognize an escalation to actual war at this point?
Judging by the fact that nearly every engaged eye in the nation is focused on the Speaker vote — and ignoring the US engaging in military conflict with Iran — I think not.” —
BONUS ITEMS
Just Kidding! Jim Jordan To Seek Third Speaker Vote After Chaos Ensues
Earlier Thursday, Jim Jordan said he wouldn't hold a third ballot for speaker, and would instead let interim speaker Patrick McHenry (R-NC) hold the gavel until January - with Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) drafting legislation to give McHenry the full powers that come with the job.
This rubbed many Republicans the wrong way, as McHenry is backed by Democrats.
"As I have made very clear over the last few days, we should never allow a Democrat-backed coalition government. Ever. The only coalition we should be looking to build is a Republican coalition uniting all of our conference," said Rep. Tom Emmer.
Steve Scalise, Jordan's previous opponent for speaker who pulled out, as well as Elise Stefanik (R-NY) arealso opposed to a Dem-friendly speakership going into January.
And now, Jordan appears to be open to a 3rd vote, and says he wants to talk to the 20 holdouts who blocked his first two attempts. — ZeroHedge
Ukraine's parliament advances bill seen as targeting Orthodox church with historic ties to Moscow
Ukraine's parliament voted overwhelmingly Thursday to advance legislation seen as effectively banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its ties to Moscow, despite the church's insistence that it is fully independent and supportive of Ukraine's fight against Russian invaders.
The Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, voted 267-15 on the measure, which requires further voting before it gets finalized and reaches the desk of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The legislation would prohibit the activities of religious organizations "that are affiliated with the centers of influence of a religious organization, the management center of which is located outside of Ukraine in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine.”
That is seen as directly targeting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, one of two rival Orthodox bodies in the country, where a majority of citizens identify as Orthodox.
The UOC has historically been affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate. It declared its full independence from Moscow in May 2022, three months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and has repeatedly declared its loyalty and called on members to fight for Ukraine. Its leader, Metropolitan Onufry, said earlier this month that it's the “sacred duty” of every believer to defend Ukraine.
But many Ukrainians remain suspicious of the church and whether it has fully cut ties with Moscow Patriarch Kirill, who has strongly supported the war as a metaphysical battle against Western liberalism. — ABC 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.
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.
The hospital is still standing and the parking lot was hit by “something”. Idk if it was a rocket or part of a rocket. The fact that you can see the hospital is still standing and the fact that even Hamas has continually downgraded the casualty numbers leads me to believe Israel. And the last time Congress ever formally declared “war” was WW2. So yeah. America does a lot of fighting without a formal war declaration from congress.
Burning Bright,
CNN is pushing a worn out, to those who understand the real definition of governments, narrative.
A "democracy" has never been, and never will be about freedom for all people living in one!
Democracy is "rule by the majority with no minority rights." It was crucially defined in the 1929 edition of the US Army soldiers Manual as "mobocracy" or the rule by the majority against the minority.
At this stage in the game, with the red pilling of America and other nations, "democracy" appears to be "on the ropes" and the supporters of it are becoming desperate to revive the idea that it is a desirable form of government.
America was founded to be a "Republic" which by definition protects the rights of all people, even minorities, from the tyranny of the majority. See the Constitution Article IV Section 4. For those who do not have immediate access to a copy of the Constitution, merely recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
It is time the lie of democracy being a form of government that protects all people be put to rest, forever!