Authored by Sam Dorman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit released an opinion on Oct. 25 stating that federal law requires mail-in ballots be counted no later than election day.

In doing so, it ruled against a Mississippi law allowing ballots to be counted if they arrived no more than five days after the election and if they were postmarked on or before the date of the election.

The opinion, which came less than two weeks before the 2024 elections, redirected the case back to the lower court while refraining from issuing an injunction that would halt Mississippi’s law.

The policy was adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state kept it after the pandemic ended.

“Because Mississippi’s statute allows ballot receipt up to five days after the federal election day, it is preempted by federal law,” Judge Andrew Oldham, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, wrote in his opinion for the court.

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley called the decision on the social media platform X a “seismic win for fair, accurate, secure, and transparent elections.”

Justifying the decision to throw the decision back to the lower court, rather than block Mississippi’s law, Oldham referenced a Supreme Court precedent that cautions against last-minute changes to election procedures.

“Today’s decision says nothing about remedies,” he said. “We decline to grant plaintiffs’ initial request for a permanent injunction. … Instead, we remand to the district court for further proceedings to fashion appropriate relief, giving due consideration to ’the value of preserving the status quo in a voting case on the eve of an election.’”

He was quoting another fifth circuit case but also referenced the Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Purcell v. Gonzalez.

Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson had told the Fifth Circuit that an election was voters’ “conclusive choice of an officeholder,” which took place on election day.

“That is so even if election officials do not receive those ballots until after election day,” his brief to the court read. “An election does not itself require ballot receipt.”

Oldham and two other Trump appointees, Judge James Ho and Judge Kyle Duncan, heard oral arguments over the issue in September. The Republican National Committee (RNC) had appealed the decision of a lower court that ruled in favor of Mississippi.

Oldham reasoned that the Constitution granted Congress authority over elections through two provisions, including one that allows Congress to alter the timing of federal elections hosted by states.

Oldham drew a distinction between the timing of ballot counting and ballot casting.

“Even if the ballots have not been counted, the result is fixed when all of the ballots are received and the proverbial ballot box is closed,” he wrote. “The selections are done and final.”

Mississippi’s “problem,” he said, “is that it thinks a ballot can be ‘cast’ before it is received.” He added that “[a] voter’s selection of a candidate differs from the public’s election of the candidate.”

Mississippi is one of several states with laws allowing mailed ballots to be counted if they are postmarked by Election Day, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The list includes swing states such as Nevada and states such as Colorado, Oregon, and Utah that rely heavily on mail voting.

In July, a federal judge dismissed a similar lawsuit in Nevada. The Republican National Committee is asking the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to revive that case.

The RNC previously told The Epoch Times that it was involved in more than 130 lawsuits across 26 states. States have also pursued their own efforts while coming up against challenges from outside parties, including the Justice Department (DOJ).

Oldham’s opinion came on the same day that a federal judge granted the DOJ’s request to halt Virginia’s program for purging non-citizens from voter rolls.

Federal Judge Patricia Giles held that the program was within a prohibited 90-day timeframe set up by the National Voter Registration Act, a federal law passed by Congress in 1993. Another federal judge in Alabama similarly blocked the state’s program to purge non-citizens from its rolls.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Army on Friday released a heavily redacted report related to an alleged altercation during former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery in August.

According to multiple reports, on Aug. 26 a cemetery staffer attempted to block the Trump campaign from taking photos and videos in Section 60, where soldiers recently killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried. A U.S. Army statement at the time said the employee was “abruptly pushed aside.”

Trump was there to mark the anniversary of the Kabul airport attack that killed 13 U.S. service members.

Seven pages of redacted material were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Washington-based nonprofit group American Oversight as part of an ongoing lawsuit.

The redacted incident report classifies the alleged offense as “simple assault.” It outlines an alleged physical altercation between a cemetery employee and Trump aides.

A brief description says that an individual engaged “with both of [redacted] hands while attempting to move past [redacted] did not require medical attention on scene and later refused when offered. [Redacted] rendered a sworn statement on a DA Form 2823 and stated [redacted] did not want to press charges. Investigation continues by JBMHH PD Investigations Branch.”

The sworn statement of the incident, made at 1:45 p.m. on Aug. 26, is fully redacted.

In response to reports detailing the incident that cited anonymous sources, the Trump campaign issued a statement accusing the cemetery employee of experiencing a “mental health episode” and attempting to “physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.”

The Army defended the employee, noting they acted “with professionalism” in enforcing regulations that prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. Officials stated that while the incident was reported to law enforcement, the employee ultimately chose not to pursue charges.

The Army confirmed that it “considers this matter closed,” concluding that the staff member’s actions were appropriate and consistent with cemetery decorum.

U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia Senior Judge Paul Friedman signed an order on Oct. 22 for the report to be released. In September, American Oversight, arguing that there was a compelling public interest in sharing information with the public as soon as possible, requested that Arlington expedite the processing of its request, noting the presidential election is drawing closer.

American Oversight was founded in 2017 in response to what it says were the “unprecedented challenges that the Trump administration posed to our nation’s democratic ideals and institutions.”

Friedman ruled on Oct. 22 that the Army must release nonexempt portions of records about the requested incident on or before Oct. 25.

“With the election just two weeks away, the American people have a clear and compelling interest in knowing how the government responded to an alleged incident involving a major presidential candidate who has a history of politicizing the military,” Chioma Chukwu, American Oversight’s interim executive director, said in a statement following Friedman’s order.

After the initial incident, an Arlington National Cemetery spokesperson told The Epoch Times that a report had been filed but provided no further details, citing laws against political campaign or election-related activities in military cemeteries.

The Trump campaign disputed reports of a “physical altercation,” asserting they were prepared to release footage to counter any “defamatory claims.” Spokesperson Steven Cheung stated that a private photographer was permitted on the grounds and that an individual, allegedly experiencing a mental health episode, tried to block Trump’s team during the ceremony.

Family members of fallen soldiers in Afghanistan also denied claims of an assault, stating no altercation took place.

The U.S. Army oversees the management of Arlington National Cemetery.

Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.

In the Middle East, Russian intelligence officials have allegedly provided Iran-backed Houthi rebels with geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) data for strategic planning and operational decision-making to attack Western vessels in the critical maritime chokepoint of the southern Red Sea. 

According to The Wall Street Journal report: 

The Houthis, which began their attacks late last year over the Gaza war, eventually began using Russian satellite data as they expanded their strikes, said a person familiar with the matter and two European defense officials. The data was passed through members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who were embedded with the Houthis in Yemen, one of the people said.

There was no mention of specifics about the GEOINT data Russia provided IRGC/Houthis for attack and reconnaissance missions in southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Besides satellite imagery, there was no word if the Russians and/or IRGC used unmanned aerial vehicles to provide Houthis with high-resolution imagery and/or real-time data streams to track commercial vessels or western warships – or use the streams for weapon guidance. 

Alleged Russian assistance may explain how the Houthis have expanded their threat coverage of missiles and drone attacks across the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Since November 2023, Houthis have hit more than 100 ships in the region, sinking two and hijacking another. 

“In the Middle East, the Russian assistance underscores a tectonic shift in its strategy. Putin has strengthened ties with Iran, while turning a cold shoulder to his longstanding relationship with Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” WSJ noted. 

Weak foreign policy emanating from the Biden-Harris administration has left the Middle East in flames. Not being tough on Houthis to ensure freedom of navigation in the critical maritime chokepoint has sparked major supply chain snarls in global shipping, as container ships diverted by the hundreds around the Cape of Good Hope, straining container supplies and thus boosting shipping costs. 

It’s interesting seeing Democrats who once warned that former President Trump would bring the world to the brink of nuclear disaster, yet under Biden and Harris, the world is closer than ever to World War III: Wars spiraling out of control in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, while China could take Taiwan at any moment. The US needs a strong leader – not weak – not Marxist woke. 

Via SchiffGold.com,

On this week’s episode, Peter covered a record setting week for gold and a stellar week for silver. With the metals nearly cresting $2800 and $35, respectively, Peter sees this price action as confirmation that the Fed’s recent rate cuts are a mistake. Politicians may love inflation, and the media is oblivious, but the metals markets know that America’s economic trajectory is unsustainable.

As Peter predicted, long-term interest rates are rising. Even though rate cuts are traditionally considered bearish for gold, gold is consistently reaching new highs and perplexing the media class:

“I said that when the Fed cuts short-term rates, that’s going to be the bottom for long-term rates, and they’re going to go up. And that’s exactly what’s happening. Long-term rates and gold prices are rising in tandem, which is the opposite of what most people think. They believe higher interest rates are bearish for gold, but gold is going up anyway. The mainstream financial media didn’t expect this. They thought when the Fed cut short-term rates, long-term rates would follow instead of going in the opposite direction.”

Why is this? The dollar is condemned to a future of continuous devaluation, and gold is the best hedge against de-dollarization. 

“We still have a weak economy. That’s not why rates are rising. Rates are rising for the same reason the gold price is rising. It’s because the Fed’s rate cuts are a mistake. The inflation genie is not back in the bottle. We’re going to have rising inflation. We’re going to have skyrocketing fiscal deficits, so bigger budget deficits. We’re going to have more supply of treasuries hitting the market, which, as I’ve said, are going to be monetized.”

Peter likens gold’s moves to the pre-2008 era, when the media and financial pundits were unaware of future inflation:

“They didn’t care about gold when it was $495 an ounce. And now that it’s $2,750 an ounce, they still don’t care about it because they have no idea what it means, or if they do, they certainly don’t want their audience to figure it out. … But when the Fed showed its hand and announced QE, gold took off. Initially, people— not just me— there was a chorus of people saying, ‘This is terrible, this is going to be massive inflation. You’ve got to buy gold.”

He reminds us that inflation is an intentional policy choice that benefits the political class at the expense of consumers:

“It’s a meltdown that’s being disguised by inflation. Again, that’s one of the reasons politicians like inflation because people feel like they’re richer. Their stock portfolios are going up. They’re getting a raise. And so they think things are good because the numbers are bigger, but it’s all an illusion. They’re actually getting poorer while they think they’re getting richer. That is what the politicians want.”

The problem with inflationary policy is that it can’t last forever, and when it fails, the government will be forced to either default or fire up the money printers. So far, politicians are opting to print away their problems:

“There’s two ways our creditors are going to lose. One is through an honest default where they get fewer dollars. The other is through inflation where they get all their dollars, but they have less purchasing power.”

Turning to the approaching election, Peter is cautiously optimistic about a Trump presidency. At best, Trump will attempt to reign in government spending, and even at his worst, he’ll be better than Kamala Harris:

“We’re going to have a crisis regardless of the outcome of this election. I would just rather have Trump’s team in office when it happens than the Harris team. Not that I’m 100% confident that the Trump team is going to do the right thing; I’m just 100% confident that the Harris team is going to do the wrong thing. So that’s basically where we are, right? And so we have to take the lesser of the evils and hope for the best with Trump.”

Authored by Richard Truesdell and Keith Lehmann via American Greatness,

Picture this scenario on November 6: the American presidential election has taken place, and Donald Trump is the winner with well over 300 Electoral College votes, legitimately and decisively beating Kamala Harris. Democrats are in an uproar, making wild claims of election interference from foreign entities like Russia just like in 2016, and threatening to block certification of the election unless their candidate of choice is installed.

By attempting to nullify the votes of over half of the country, Democrats have chosen to wage war against Americans who don’t agree with them. It is their last-ditch effort to cling to power and they don’t care what damage is done to the country in the process. The damage done, in fact, is part of the plan.

An army of lawyers from both sides is being deployed across the nation in anticipation of massive voter fraud, similar to what went on during the 2020 election. While Republicans are out there to identify and prevent the fraud, Democrats are obfuscating and concealing their efforts to count ballots multiple times, stop the rejection of invalid ballots, and keep objective observers from reporting on the mishandling of ballots by those intent on committing election fraud. Democrats are actually working to allow non-citizens to vote.

So-called fact-checkers point out that this only applies to local and state elections, not federal elections. Don’t fall for this misdirection. Why have Democrats, from Joe Biden on down, pushed so hard to allow non-citizens to vote? Once voting by non-citizens in local and state elections is legitimized, America as we have known it for more than 240 years will no longer exist.

All this will be followed by escalating the lawfare against Trump with possible prison sentencing between the election and inauguration in one or more of the criminal cases he faces.

It is especially true with the Jack Smith case in D.C., which is a blatant, partisan case of election interference. We are convinced that all of the cases against Trump will ultimately be dismissed on appeal as they have no legitimate basis; however, the Democrats will push forward anyway as they have no concern over what legal precedence they are setting, nor do they care about the damage they’re doing to the institution of Congress. It’s all about holding power.

Democrats in Congress with stage-four Trump Derangement Syndrome, especially the clown-like Jamie Raskin (D-MD), have already said the quiet part out loud. Raskin says if Trump should win, combining an Electoral College win even with a potential popular vote victory (which current polls are showing), they will immediately challenge the results under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, tying up the election results beyond January 20, 2025. These Democrats will stop at nothing to destroy America by invoking a second Civil War (Raskin’s own words) if necessary.

Can you imagine the chaos and damage a lame-duck Biden-Harris administration can inflict on the United States between Election Day and Trump’s second inauguration on January 20, 2025? With executive orders coming from an increasingly infirm and vengeful Joe Biden (with help from Dr. Jill and his puppet masters like Barack Obama and even Nancy Pelosi, who forced Biden to abandon his reelection bid under threat of invoking the 25th Amendment). These are people who will do anything to retain power, including preventing Trump from taking the oath of office.

Democrats have become everything they have accused Trump of intending to do. In his first term, Trump took no action to lock up Hillary Clinton, who is now out promoting her third memoir, Something Lost, Something Gained (a title that lacks even a basic sense of self-awareness as it heads to the $5.95 remainder racks, hopefully by Christmas). Will she ever stop relitigating the results of the 2016 election?

At some point, the Supreme Court will be forced to step in, possibly on an emergency basis, to save our democracy from Democrats and their Deep State political thugs who will refuse to participate in the peaceful transfer of power. It’s the ultimate example of projection.

It’s a sad state of affairs but one that can be remedied in the future if we reinstate integrity in our election systems. That is, making sure that the people’s votes actually count and are not manipulated by loosening rules to satisfy those who would cheat in order to attain or keep power. Every illegitimate vote cancels out a legitimate vote.

Election integrity starts with requiring photo identification. Thirty-six states require photo ID; 14 states and the District of Columbia don’t.

If we can require photo ID to buy a pack of cigarettes or a beer in a bar, or a driver’s license to operate a motor vehicle, we can require it to exercise our most sacred right to vote. It doesn’t disenfranchise anyone except those not eligible to vote, like immigrants who entered the United States illegally and lack proper identification. Requiring proof of identity does not make it harder to vote; it makes it harder to cheat.

With some degree of integrity restored to America’s election process, the people’s legitimate voices will be heard loud and clear. This will deliver the presidency back to Donald Trump with a clear mandate to “drain the swamp” that is Washington, D.C.

Once Trump returns to the White House in 2025, with no worry about a reelection bid in 2028, he can complete the house cleaning he started when he took office in 2017. It will be the best lame duck presidency in American history.

Trump can remove the unelected political appointees running the alphabet agencies (starting with the FBI, the CIA, and especially the NSA) as well as the leadership class in the military. Today we have 44 four-star generals—there are no current five-star generals or admirals since the passing of Omar Bradley in 1981—commanding 2.86 million members in the military as opposed to during World War Two when 16 million men were under arms being commanded by just four five-star generals and admirals. Including the military, those bureaucracies must be completely dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up by individuals who care about America, not an administrative state that cares only about amassing personal power.

Now is the time to make Election Day a national holiday and to require day-of and in-person voting across the nation with the results known the following day. Reasonable exceptions can be made for members serving in the military and true hardship cases.

Going forward for the next presidential election (it’s too late for this year’s presidential election), to ensure election integrity, absentee ballots will need to be submitted, along with proper identification, no later than November 1, 2028, so they can be counted in advance of Election Day in 2028.

If we can politically pander to a small segment of the population by making Juneteenth a national holiday, we can certainly benefit all citizens by having Election Day nationalized. Our democracy deserves nothing less.

As the world’s largest economy, military power, and a major cultural force, the U.S. has been the dominant global hegemon since the Berlin Wall fell in 1990.

Its foreign policy plays a key role in shaping geopolitics. Despite the complexity of international relations, we can see where the U.S. prioritizes its influence by analyzing the data.

This map, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, shows the countries U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has visited most since his term started in January 2021. Data is sourced from the State Department, last updated on September 27th, 2024.

All the Countries Secretary Blinken Has Visited At Least Five Times

Secretary Blinken has visited Israel 18 times during his term—by far the most for any one country.

Ten of those visits have taken place since October 2023, following Hamas attacks which killed nearly 1,000 Israeli civilians.

In the year since the area has devolved into a major conflict zone. Israel has repeatedly bombed the Gaza strip, leading to the death of over 43,000 Palestinians, of which more than one-fourth are children.

Retaliatory rocket launches from Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis have, in turn, led to Israeli airstrikes hitting Lebanon and Yemen.

Meanwhile, Secretary Blinken has visited both Qatar and Egypt nine times so far—two other mediators in the war. He’s also been to Saudi Arabia: part of a longer-term plan to normalize relations between the House of Saud and Israel.

Finally, Blinken has visited the West Bank four times—most recently to reiterate U.S. support for a Palestinian state.

These visits to the Middle East stand in sharp contrast to Ukraine, where Secretary Blinken has made just five trips, also in a show of American support as the country battles a Russian invasion.

The Middle East currently has a concentration of multiple rival military powers. Check out the Biggest Armies in the Middle East for a breakdown.

Authored by TJ Muscaro and Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times,

Former President Donald Trump and previous members of his administration say that claims made by former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly are “patently false.”

Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, worked for the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. He has spoken out multiple times against Trump during the election—most recently in interviews with The New York Times and The Atlantic.

In those interviews, Kelly said Trump fitted the general definition of a fascist and alleged that the former president said he wanted “German generals,” like Nazi leader Adolph Hitler had.

Several members of the Trump administration, including former Vice President Mike Pence’s former chief of staff, Mike Ayers, have sharply disputed the claims.

“I’ve avoided commenting on intra-staff leaks or rumors or even lies as it relates to my time at the White House but General Kelly’s comments regarding President Trump are too egregious to ignore,” Ayers said on X.

“I was with each of them more than most, and his commentary is *patently false.*”

Mark Paoletta, general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), also spoke out against Kelly, writing on X:

“I don’t believe a word he says. He was a terrible chief of staff who dishonestly kept information from the President to pursue his own agenda.”

Trump himself denounced the stories on Oct. 23, saying Kelly “made up a story out of pure Trump Derangement Syndrome Hatred.”

“Even though I shouldn’t be wasting my time with him, I always feel it’s necessary to hit back in pursuit of THE TRUTH,” Trump said on Truth Social and X.

Both of Kelly’s interviews came out less than two weeks before Election Day, at a time when early voting is underway across several states, and Trump is starting to take the lead in battleground state polls.

Vice President Kamala Harris followed Kelly’s two stories by stating at a CNN town hall that she believed Trump to be a fascist.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded directly to these comments on X, saying, “This is the kind of inflammatory poison that divides our nation and inspires assassins.”

The Atlantic also claimed Trump made disparaging remarks about a dead military servicemember and balked over her funeral expenses.

At a news conference in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 25, the former president also strongly denied making those claims.

“If they didn’t get the military funding, I was going to fund it myself,” Trump said about the funeral for Vanessa Guillen, 20, who was murdered in 2020 while stationed at an Army base in Texas that was then called Fort Hood.

Guillen’s slaying and dismemberment led to an outcry over sexual harassment at U.S. military bases, resulting in changes to laws and discipline of 21 Army personnel; some were faulted for allowing the prime suspect in her killing to escape and commit suicide.

On Friday, Trump thanked Guillen’s family for publicly denouncing The Atlantic’s allegations. The family came to show support for Trump as he addressed reporters at Million Air Austin, a private airplane service.

“The beautiful thing is that these people [Guillen’s relatives] were willing to come out and say it didn’t happen… they didn’t have to do this,” Trump said.

Guillen’s sister, Maya Guillen, and the family’s attorney, Natalie Khawam, made social media posts and TV appearances asserting that the article contained inaccuracies and misrepresentations.

Trump pointed out that the Atlantic’s article was timed to appear just before the Nov. 5 election, increasing the likelihood that a certain percentage of readers would believe what the magazine reported and hold it against his candidacy.

“So I talk about it because it was a terrible thing,” Trump said about the article after touching on multiple other topics, including illegal immigration and election integrity.

The Epoch Times has sought comment from The Atlantic.

From backyard barbecues to Sunday night football, beer is deeply woven in the fabric of American culture. It’s the choice alcoholic beverage for North and South Americans, according to WHO data.

This map, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, visualizes the annual per capita ethanol consumption of beer in gallons in 2022 by U.S. state. The data comes from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), which measures alcohol consumption in ethanol volume.

For reference, the average six-pack of beer has 0.025 gallons of ethanol.

Consumption figures only include residents age 14 or older, and is based on alcoholic beverage sales data collected by the Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System (AEDS), the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, and from various reports produced by beverage industry sources.

Which States Consume The Most Beer?

Below, we show each state’s annual per capita ethanol consumption of beer in gallons in 2022.

Northeastern states, particularly New Hampshire (1.66 gallons) and Vermont (1.58 gallons) have some of the highest beer consumption rates in the country.

New Hampshire doesn’t have state sales tax, making alcohol prices considerably lower than neighboring states. This likely drives higher alcohol sales rather than necessarily higher consumption.

More than half of sales at New Hampshire liquor states come from out-of-state customers, according to the New Hampshire Liquor Commission.

Many of its state-owned liquor states are also strategically located near state borders.

When comparing global per capita consumption, European countries far outdrink the U.S. when it comes to beer.

As a whole, the beer industry in America is experiencing a decline. U.S. beer shipments reached their lowest level in 25 years, according to data from the Beer Marketer’s Insights.

The small and independent brewers’ industry in the U.S. is also experiencing a decline, with overall beer production and imports down 5% in 2023, and craft brewer sales down 1%, according to the Brewers Association.

To learn more about beer consumption worldwide, check out this graphic that shows which countries drink the most beer according to Kirin Holdings.

Update(1320ET): Iranian sources are confirming some of the first known deaths from the overnight Israeli airstrikes on the Islamic Republic, which focused on missile and military sites, and not nuclear or oil facilities.

Four members of the Iranian army have been reported killed. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has also issued a fresh statement Saturday, warning there are “no limits” when it comes to defending the country. Israel too is warning against a potential Iranian counterstrike, but for now the quite limited Israeli operation is over and the situation looks contained in terms of avoiding bigger regional war.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres says he’s “deeply alarmed” by the overnight strikes, and is urging “maximum efforts to prevent an all-out regional war and return to the path of diplomacy.” And President Biden has expressed hope that “this is the end” following the Israeli strikes on Iran in a Saturday statement.

Reports emerging that the number of Army Air Defense Force troops killed by the Israeli attack has risen to four (No ranks given so far).

Their names are:

– Mohammad Mehdi Sharokhi

– Hamzeh Jahandideh

– Sajad Mansoori

– Mehdi Naghvi https://t.co/Vs3QU27D0h

— Farzan Sabet (@IranWonk) October 26, 2024

* * *

The Israeli ‘retaliation’ attack against Iran, which occurred in the overnight and early morning hours, appears to be complete, with Israel’s military (IDF) having declared the response “concluded” after locations in three provinces of the Islamic Republic were hit.

Some 100 Israeli warplanes were sent, primarily across Jordanian airspace, for the unprecedented attack which reportedly included strikes on key missile, drone, and other military sites – including air defense installations. However, Iranians are mocking it as if it didn’t even happen, and there’s an emerging consensus among Western pundits that this was remarkably limited in scale. The attack did not involve Iranian nuclear or oil sites, according to Israeli military officials.

IDF Spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said overnight – following at least two or three waves of attacks – “I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attack against Israel. We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran, thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel.”

And Hagari’s words concluded with the threat of new major escalation if Iran decides to respond militarily, “If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond. All those who threaten the State of Israel and seek to drag the region into wider escalation will pay a heavy price.”

Local reports of explosions near Tehran emerged at around 2:15 local time, with strikes later being reported also in the Karaj, Isfahan and Shiraz areas. Israel’s military said it hit around 20 sites over the several hours across the three provinces.

“If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond,” the Israeli military said.

Israeli media indicated that while the first wave of warplanes took out anti-air defense sites, follow-up waves targeted ballistic missile and drone manufacturing facilities, as well as launch sites. Israeli officials say the operation sought to degrade Iran’s capability to launch another attack such as occurred on April 14 and October 1.

Footage shows Iran’s air defence systems intercepting projectiles in the early hours of Saturday in Tehran.

Israel’s military announced that it had launched an attack on Iranian military targets as explosions were heard in the city. pic.twitter.com/KtUf0vsBZJ

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 26, 2024

The operation was declared complete within a few hours of reports of initial explosions: 

The Israeli military said at 6 a.m. that the assault had been completed, with “all goals achieved” and all aircraft returning safely home. It dubbed the campaign “Days of Repentance,” a reference to the recent Yom Kippur holiday. It said dozens of IAF aircraft, including fighter jets, refuelers and spy planes, participated in the “complex” operation some 1,600 kilometers from Israel.

Iran has only confirmed that “limited damage” resulted at some bases and asserted that its air defenses countered many of the attacks, a narrative which has been rejected by Israel.

Israel’s air force touted that it gave it pilots “wider freedom of aerial action in Iran” – and yet still the whole operation looked significantly less intense than Iran’s Oct. 1st attack on Israel.

The reality is that air-to-surface missiles, which Israel focused on in its assault, don’t tend to be as destructive or as large in impact compared to ballistic missiles. It remains that Israel’s surface-to-surface ballistic missile capabilities are not as established as its air-launched capabilities.

There are vague reports out of Syria that some locations inside the country were hit during the broader Iran assault, and possibly including sites in Iraq as well.

Some pro-Iran and pro-Syria accounts mocked the quite limited attack, calling it a “nothingburger” as it unfolded, or else saying the Israelis merely started some brush fires 1,000 miles away in Iran.

Iranian social media accounts are widely mocking the Israeli operation:

Many people mocked Israel’s failed attack on Iran by making videos or memes. You can also make some contents and share them with us in the comments to this post. We will repost 2 of the best. pic.twitter.com/wYcaSMsggE

— Iran Military (@IRIran_Military) October 26, 2024

Iranian state TV reported at one point that “The loud blasts heard around Tehran were related to the activation of the air defense system against the actions of Zionist regime which attacked three locations outside of Tehran city.”

However, an Israeli official told Ynet news that the Iranian claim of interception was “a lie. It was a total failure, [there were] zero interceptions“—as reported in Times of Israel.

While radar shows that airspace was totally cleared over the Islamic Republic, state media still tried to claim that the country’s main international airports, including in Tehran, were operating as normal.

The Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi comments as follows…

The Israeli attack is over, but the outcome remains unclear. Tehran is downplaying it – even mocking it – which may be more reflective of their desire to de-escalate than a true assessment of the damage Israel inflicted on Iran. Just as Israel kept the damage of Iran’s Oct 1 strikes secret, Iran will likely not disclose the full picture of Israel’s strike. But if Iran chooses to exercise restraint, as it did after Israel’s limited strikes in April, then this chapter may be closed, yet the conflict will remain very much alive.

A prominent pro-“resistance axis” account on X, Hadi Nasrallah, had this to say: “So, after Iran totally roasted Israel’s military bases and airports putting them on blast in front of the whole world, Israel thought it’d be badass to send some pops to Tehran, like that’s gonna distract us from their their crushing losses in Lebanon a day before.”

On Saturday, Iranian state media is full of headlines outright mocking the somewhat muted Israeli attack…

Indeed, it seems that after taking this long to telegraph its response well over three weeks since Oct.1st, Israel’s attack was more about theater than inflicting real and lasting damage on Iran. This was as many expected by design, appearing to really be all about sending a message while seeking to carefully avoid escalation. There are even reports saying that Israel notified Tehran ahead of time of the impending strikes, saying the Iranians must not hit back. The hawks are surely disappointed.

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

We have reached a moment in history that none of us will forget.  We are literally standing on the precipice of the unthinkable, and most people don’t even realize it.  Of course horrific wars have a way of erupting when most people are not expecting them.  Hardly anyone expected a global war to erupt in 1914, but then tens of millions of precious souls died over the next four years.  Hardly anyone expected a global war to erupt in 1939, but then tens of millions of precious souls died over the next six years.  This time around, what is happening should be glaringly obvious to everyone.  Personally, I have been specifically warning about what is taking place right now for more than a decade.  If we do not change course, billions of precious souls could die during the nightmarish global wars that are rapidly approaching.

At this moment, most Americans have no idea that a war between the United States and China is coming.

Just a few days ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping boldly talked about “preparation for war” as he was dressed in military fatigues…

On Thursday Chinese Communist Dictator Xi Jinping commanded troops to strengthen their preparedness for war while visiting his People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force following last week’s drills of surrounding the sovereign country of Taiwan.

“Xi said the military should ‘comprehensively strengthen training and preparation for war, (and) ensure troops have solid combat capabilities,’ CCTV reported,” according to the AFP and reported on Barrons Saturday.

Why would China need to prepare for war?

Needless to say, nobody is planning to attack China.

The truth is that the only reason that China would need to prepare for war is if it was planning to invade Taiwan.

Because the moment that China invades Taiwan, the U.S. and China will be at war.

In recent days, the Chinese have been getting very aggressive with Taiwan…

On Monday, Beijing had deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard vessels to encircle Taiwan — its fourth round of large-scale war games around the democratic island in just over two years.

China’s communist leaders have insisted they will not rule out using force to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control.

Meanwhile, western leaders continue to publicly discuss sending NATO troops to Ukraine.

The latest example of this came from the foreign minister of Lithuania…

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in a statement to Politico on Monday that European Union countries should return to the idea of putting boots-on-the-ground in Ukraine to fight Russia.

The idea comes after French President Emmanuel Macron said in February that sending Western troops to Ukraine is not ‘ruled out’ for the future plans in war against Russia, according to the AP. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shut down that plan for the time being however.

“If information about Russia’s killing squads being equipped with North Korean ammunition and military personnel is confirmed, we have to get back to ‘boots on the ground’ and other ideas proposed by [French President] Emmanuel Macron,” he said in written comments, Politico reported on Monday.

One of the reasons why this has came up again is because there are reports that soldiers from North Korea are being equipped and sent to fight for Russia on the front lines of eastern Ukraine…

North Korean soldiers have been filmed receiving uniforms and equipment at a training ground in Russia’s far east, appearing to confirm reports from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) that 1,500 soldiers have been shipped over for military training to be deployed in Ukraine.

The North Korean troops are thought to be receiving training before being sent to the front line in Ukraine, in what is thought to be a clear sign of the ever-warming relations between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Both sides just continue to escalate matters.

It appears to be just a matter of time before we find ourselves in a direct conflict with the Russians, and that is a really, really bad idea.

North Korea has been making all sorts of noise lately.  In addition to sending troops to fight in Ukraine, the North Koreans are also threatening to invade South Korea…

North Korea has said it had found the remnants of a South Korean military drone and that any further “violation” of its territory would result in a “declaration of war.”

Tensions between the two sides of the peninsula have escalated since May when the North began flying balloons carrying garbage across the border to the South, prompting Seoul to respond by restarting loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts.

This week, North Korea accused South Korea of flying drones over Pyongyang on three occasions this month and threatened to respond with force if it happened again.

The North Korean military is vastly superior to the South Korean military.

If North Korea invades, the only way that South Korea will survive is if we intervene.

But right now the U.S. military is focused on the Middle East, because that conflict could spiral completely out of control at any moment.

On Sunday night, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari warned that Israel would soon begin targeting any financial institutions that aid Hezbollah…

“In the past 24 hours, dozens of projectiles have been fired at northern Israel,” he began. “In the next minutes, we will issue an advance evacuation warning to residents of Beirut and other areas in Lebanon to evacuate locations being used to finance Hezbollah’s terror activities. I emphasize here: Anyone located near sites used to fund Hezbollah’s terror activities must move away from these locations immediately.”

“We will strike several targets in the coming hours and additional targets throughout the night.

“In the coming days, we will reveal how Iran funds Hezbollah’s terror activities by using civilian institutions, associations, and NGOs that act as fronts for terrorism.”

And it certainly did not take long for that to start happening.

Last night, branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association Bank were hit by Israeli airstrikes…

Israeli fighter jets struck dozens of targets in Beirut and other areas of southern Lebanon overnight, including branches of a bank accused of holding funds used by Hezbollah.

The military’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, had earlier in the night issued several evacuation orders for buildings throughout southern Lebanon he said were in the vicinity of facilities belonging to the U.S.-sanctioned Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association Bank.

Most people in the western world have absolutely no idea how chaotic things have become over there.

It is being reported that there is “widespread panic” in Beirut at this moment…

Jeanine Hennis, the United Nations’ special coordinator for Lebanon, said that after the IDF issued its evacuations, said there was “widespread panic” in Beirut.

“A brief window to escape to safety. Intense blasts reverberate across the night sky. With each day, Lebanon suffers more. But even amid the escalating violence, solutions remain available. If only opportunities would be seized,” she said.

Could the U.S. soon find itself involved in 4 major global wars?

Let’s hope not, because we are not even prepared to fight one…

The US Army’s outgoing top commander in the Pacific region has warned that the US can “ill afford” another war because its military is vastly overstretched.

According to Defense One, Gen. Charles Flynn said that the US’ authoritarian rivals — Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea — had been placing increasing pressure on American military resources.

Speaking at the AUSA conference in Washington DC last week, Flynn described the technology and military alliances between the authoritarian states as a “very dangerous combination.”

The U.S. military is not the overwhelming global force that it once was.

While other major powers have been feverishly preparing to fight World War III, our military has been rapidly becoming a politically correct joke.

Now a day of reckoning is upon us, and we are not ready.

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Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.