Badlands News Brief
Blinken Drones & Congress Stalls
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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 Tuesday, October 24 …
Drone attacks on American bases injured two dozen U.S. military personnel
Two dozen American military personnel were wounded last week in a series of drone attacks at American bases in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command told NBC News on Tuesday.
The Pentagon confirmed the attacks last week, but the number of U.S. casualties has not been previously disclosed.
Twenty American personnel sustained minor injuries on Oct. 18 when at least two one-way attack drones targeted al-Tanf military base in southern Syria, CENTCOM said.
One of the drones was shot down. All of the wounded personnel were returned to duty, CENTCOM said, and there was no damage to any military installations.
On that same day, another four American personnel suffered minor injuries during two separate drone attacks against U.S. and coalition forces stationed at al-Asad base in western Iraq, CENTCOM said. — NBC News
Our Take: “Just hours after Secretary of (Deep) State Antony Blinken warned of ‘decisive action’ should US troops be threatened any further by Iranian proxies operating in the region, the Pentagon is reporting that several US troops have already been wounded via drone attacks … likely emanating from those very sources, or so we are led to belief.
As always, it’s impossible for citizens to suss out much of what’s true or false when it comes to the Info War, especially when said info is being provided to us by an administration and Military Industrial Complex most of us consider to be illegitimate, so let’s look at this from a Narrative perspective.
The Biden Admin and State Department refuses to dwell on such trivial, naive concerns as ceasefires, warns of decisive action in the event of escalation, and then is greeted with said escalation.
Either we’re seeing the Hegelian Dialectic playing out in full view of the American public … or the Admin simply has no idea what to do from a Narrative level when it comes to chaos they’re finding unwieldy, resulting in contradictory statements on a near-hourly basis.” —
GOP picks Mike Johnson for fourth attempt to end Speaker stalemate
House Republicans on Tuesday evening picked Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) for their fourth nominee for Speaker, just hours after House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s (R-Minn.) bid ended.
Emmer won the nomination after five rounds of voting, but withdrew after it became clear shortly afterward that the Minnesota lawmaker would have too many opponents to reach 217 votes on the House floor.
Johnson on Tuesday night won 128 votes, but it remains to be seen if he can get to 217.
The House has been without a Speaker for three weeks. — The Hill
Our Take: “The Speaker situation was a rollercoaster Tuesday, with Tom Emmer (R-MN) winning the nomination in conference but failing to reach 217 before withdrawing. No floor vote was held Tuesday, and as of last night, the GOP caucus was voting to attempt to identify a viable candidate — but those paying attention aren’t holding their breath.
Rumor on the hill is that McCarthy is going to come back up for a vote, a prediction made by our own Canncon the day McCarthy was ousted. The House reassembles Wednesday at noon, and we will see if there is any consensus on the gavel.
The longer the House goes without a Speaker, the better off Americans will be. The gridlock favors the people. #vacatecongress” —
China Dismisses Defense Minister Amid Swirl of Speculation
Just four months ago, China’s defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, was at a forum for regional officials in Singapore, serving as the face of his country’s bold vision for reshaping Asia’s balance of power. He cast China as a force for stability and accused the United States of stirring trouble in the region, suggesting that its leaders should “mind your own business.”
Now, General Li has been dismissed after nearly two months out of public view — the latest example of the opacity of high-level politics in China under Xi Jinping, the country’s top leader.
General Li, who had been appointed defense minister in March, is the second senior official to be purged this year without explanation and under a cloud of suspicion.
The foreign minister, Qin Gang, was dismissed in July, amid speculation about a potentially compromising affair while he was an ambassador in the United States. The removal of the defense minister also followed an abrupt shake-up in August in the leadership of China’s nuclear force, the highest-level upheaval in China’s military in recent years.
The announcement on Tuesday ended some uncertainty about General Li’s professional fate but leaves open questions about whether he is being investigated over any offenses. Officials in the United States said last month that the Chinese authorities had placed him under investigation over corruption. — The New York Times
Our Take: “While sensational headlines out of the Western Globalist media posit that Xi Jinping fired his defense minister "with no explanation," you've got to dig a little deeper into the messaging to suss out what's really bothering them.
The NYT, for example, believes this move represents "the latest example of the capriciousness of high-level politics in China under Xi Jinping."
They also emphasize the internal anti-corruption purge Xi has been enacting since taking office, and that he's been ramping up once more in recent months as the international game board shifts with velocity.
Of course, the legacy media frames this anti-corruption purge as cover for Xi to remove those disloyal to him and retain those loyal to his vision for China ...
Once more, this is a case of the Hegelian illusionists allowing audience assumptions to color their version of the truth.
Just like Trump is a threat to "their Democracy," the 'purges' in China, Russia & Ukraine don't seem to be going [their] way.” —
DOD Admits It Is Returning Weapons to Israel that Had Been Dispatched to Ukraine
The Department of Defense on Monday admitted it is now having to send back to Israel some of the weapons it sent from its stocks there to Europe for Ukraine, while insisting it could supply both.
“We withdrew 155 [shells] from the stockpile in Israel for our forces in [European Command] and now we are sending that back to Israel for their use,” a senior defense official told reporters during Pentagon press conference.
In January, the Pentagon first acknowledged that in order to supply Ukraine with 155 mm artillery shells for its ground war with Russia, it dipped into its stockpile in Israel.
The stockpile is for U.S. forces in the region, but also for Israel forces in emergencies such as responding to the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. In the aftermath of those terrorist attacks, the U.S. flew more weapons to Israel.
The New York Times reported “half” of the shells in the stockpile in Israel were shipped to Europe last winter. — Breitbart
Our Take: “The US apparently keeps a stockpile of weapons in Israel — just in case — and during their Slava Ukraine! psyop, they relocated much of that stockpile to Zelenskyy and his Azov bros. Now, they are reportedly sending them back.
It’s incredible that US weapons went to the Jews, then the Nazis, and now back to the Jews. It’s almost as if the US has no standards in who they support. That said, Republicans in Congress are calling to separate additional Ukraine funding from Israel aid, to which the ever-eloquent Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) posted on X, ‘F*ck that.’
He did not elaborate.
Moving all those munitions must have a massive carbon footprint. It’s beyond time to ignore everything these people say and vacate the entire Congress. The same people pushing to reshape your lifestyle into poverty in the name of climate are pushing for war on at least two fronts. Everything the Biden Administration and 118th Congress do appears to be an escalation at this point.
What’s the carbon footprint of World War III?” —
Trust In Mass Media Craters To Record Low As Americans 'Wake-Up' From Matrix
Americans' confidence that mass media - such as newspapers, TV, and radio - will report the news fairly and balanced plummeted to historic lows not seen since 2016, according to the latest annual Gallup survey of trust in US institutions.
Gallup survey from Sept. 1-23 reveals:
29% of US adults have "not very much" trust in the media.
A record-high 39% of US adults have "none at all" trust in the media.
The current 39% with no trust is the highest on record, surpassing the previous by one percentage point. This percentage is 12 points higher than the 2016 reading.
In 2016, sharp criticism of the media came from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The current view of the media is the grimmest in Gallup's history.
In 2016, the most common sentiment among US adults was "not very much" trust at 41%.
A half-century of Gallup data shows Americans' trust in the media has rapidly declined. — ZeroHedge
Our Take: “Perhaps the only thing this heterodox community of thinkers has been able to agree on since the advent of the Israel Crisis is the fact that virtually all layers of the Collective Mind are feeling the tension, and are being provoked into emotional reaction.
While there are any number of ways to spin this negatively, it's also true that the very Hegelian tension that manifests in societal unrest can also trigger the sorts of breakthroughs that destroy cognitive dissonance walls that have remained stubbornly rooted through all manner of Actual-Narrative events in recent years.
Before we can tell the American public a new story, one buoyed by the truth and by a desire to rekindle the sovereign spirit inherent in this nation's founding, we must get them to disengage from the current story ... and the storytellers.
They are, and that's become observable.
Do you remember anything in particular that happened in 2016, the last time the public's trust in the Central Narrative was this low?” —
BONUS ITEMS
JPMorgan settlement with Epstein accusers draws objection from US states
JPMorgan Chase's (JPM.N) $290 million class-action settlement with Jeffrey Epstein's accusers has drawn an objection from many U.S. states, which say the accord could limit their ability to seek compensation for sexual abuse victims.
In a letter made public on Monday in Manhattan federal court, the attorneys general of 16 states and Washington, D.C., complained about settlement language that prevents "any sovereign or government" from seeking damages arising from sex trafficking by Epstein and the late financier's associates.
The attorneys general said including such language without their consent would deter them from seeking damages for sex trafficking victims, not just Epstein's, under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
They also said Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) similar $75 million agreement with Epstein's accusers did not contain the offending language.
"Jeffrey Epstein's surviving victims should be fully compensated for the profound harm they have suffered," New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez wrote. "However, as it now stands, the settlement agreement improperly seeks to release (the states') claims for victim-specific relief."
The attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont also signed the letter. — Reuters
UAW Hits GM's Largest Plant With 'Surprise' 5,000-Worker Strike As Labor Action Chaos Accelerates
United Auto Workers boss Shawn Fain must be infuriated with Detroit's Big Three this week. He hit General Motors' largest and most profitable SUV plant in Arlington, Virginia, with a 5,000-member strike on Tuesday, following news Monday the union hit Stellantis' RAM 1500 truck plant in Michigan with a strike.
GM's Arlington Assembly plant manufactures the Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade. UAW's 5,000-member strike announcement comes hours after GM reported quarterly profits that exceeded expectations. However, the automaker retracted its full-year forecast due to anticipated financial challenges in the fourth quarter, especially as the strike approaches its sixth week.
"Another record quarter, another record year. As we've said for months: record profits equal record contracts." said Fain, adding, "It's time GM workers, and the whole working class, get their fair share." — ZeroHedge
US Government Pays 2 More People Injured By COVID Vaccines
The U.S. government has paid two more people who were injured by COVID-19 vaccines as it faces the prospect of being forced by a court to improve a program for victims.
The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which runs the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), issued the payments to two people who suffered heart inflammation after COVID-19 vaccination.
HRSA disclosed the two payments in its most recent update, which includes data current as of Oct. 1.
Both people experienced myocarditis, or heart inflammation, after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. HRSA has declined to disclose which shots the people received.
One person received $4,183 and the other received $4,934.
HRSA did not respond to requests for more information.
Critics said the payments weren't nearly enough to satisfy moves made to improve the government response to vaccine injuries. — The Epoch Times
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.
These reports were well written, yet so disturbing.
Firstly, God bless and protect our young military men and women from this fake Biden regime of murderers.
GOP cannot allow McCarthy back. NO MORE MONEY for Obamas wars!
DOD ANNOUNCING where the hell our weapons are going and coming from is INSANE! Signaling to the enemy? What the hell? Honestly, It's a wonder we haven't been hit in the USA yet. Our weapons were pulled from here to Ukraine and now to Israel, and these clowns are telling the world we are ready to be hit. "COME HIT US WORLD"!!!!!!!
Epstein's money is CRIME MONEY and should ONLY be for his Victims! Epstein's Plane? Anyone know where it is? He owned 6 properties worth millions around the world. Any of those investigated? We know the Island wasn't. The Island crime scene should never have been sold. It was part of the crime, and no one should have profited from it. The entire coverup needs to be investigated and the list of child molesters charged and hung.
UAW are sellouts. They have never given a damn about the workers. The dues go to the DNC. Heads of the UAW work for the Company and the Laborers are stuck paying their dues every month for the right to have a job, but when they strike, there is nothing to live on, because it all went to the POLITICIANS. Union dues were never meant to be used like this.
The covid 4k payouts are disgusting. The judges that awarded these low amounts signaling to the victims, this is the most you will ever get. How much did the lawyers take of that? Paid off judges for the Big Pharma Gates Foundation, who harmed over a billion people worldwide. "Here is your 4 K, go enjoy it until a massive heart attack takes you out soon"...The Victims who accepted this small amount must be so desperate.
Wake up and smell the betrayal America!
In Hans Christian Anderson's story of the Emperor's New Clothes, it took a young child pointing out the emperor's nudity to shake the citizens to see the reality in front of them.
Exactly how obvious does it have to be for the lamestream to see the nakedness in front of them now?
- President Brandon sharting in front of the pope?
- His drool-fest speeches?
- The Communist Manifesto renamed "The Green New Deal" or "Agenda 2030"?
- My dear Senator Frankenstien's eloquent "F#@k that" speech?
- The Floyd/BLM Lie?
- C0v1d?
How much "nudity" can the mainstream continue to whitewash???