Authored by Pepe Escobar,

There was a whiff of Thomas Mann’s ‘The Magic Mountain’ at the 20th Valdai annual meeting this week at a hotel over the gorgeous heights of the Krasnaya Polyana. north-west of the picturesque resort Sochi.

But instead of a deep dive into the lure and degeneracy of ideas in an introverted community in the Swiss Alps on the eve of the First World War, we immersed ourselves in powerful new ideas expressed by a community of Global Majority intellectuals on the possible eve of a psycho neocon-intended WWIII.

And then, of course, President Putin intervened, striking the plenary session like lightning.

This is an unofficial Top Ten of his address, before the Q&A which was characteristically engaging:

“I even suggested joining NATO for Russia. But no, NATO does not need such a country (…) Apparently, the problem is geopolitical interests and an arrogant attitude towards others.”

“We never started the so-called war in Ukraine. We are trying to end it.”

“In the international system, lawlessness reigns supreme.”

“This is not a territorial war. The issue is much broader and more fundamental: it is about the principles on which a new world order will be built.”

“The history of the West is a chronicle of endless expansion, and a huge financial pyramid.”

“A certain part of the West always needs an enemy. To preserve the internal control of their system.”

“Perhaps [the West] should check its hubris.”

“That era [of Western domination] is long gone. It’s never coming back.”

“Russia is a distinct civilization-state”.

“Our understanding of civilization is quite different. First, there are many civilizations. And none of them is better or worse than the other. They are equal, as expressions of the aspirations of their cultures, their traditions, their peoples. For each of us it is different.”

On The Road to “Asynchronous Multipolarity”

The theme of Valdai 2023 was, most appropriately, ‘Fair Multipolarity’. The key axes of discussion were presented in this provocative, detailed report. It’s as if the report had prepared the stage for Putin’s address and his carefully crafted answers to the questions from the plenary.

The concept of multipolarity in the Russian space was first articulated by the late, great Yevgeny Primakov in the mid-Nineties. Now, the road to multipolarity is based on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s concept of “strategic patience”.

In a crisscrossed cornucopia of nation-states, larger blocs, security blocs and ideological historic blocs, we’re now deep into mega-alignments – even as the political West cultivates its universalist ambitions. The Eurasian “non-bloc” is in fact a mega-alignment, as much as the revitalized Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which finds its expression in the G77 (actually formed by 134 nations).

The ideal path to follow might be horizontalism – in a Deleuze-Guattari sense – where we would have 200 equal nation-states. Of course the collective West won’t allow it. Andrey Shushentov, Dean of the School of International Relations at MGIMO University, proposes the notion of “asynchronous multipolarity”. Radhika Desai of Manitoba University proposes “pluripolarity” – borrowing from Hugo Chavez.

The risk, as expressed by Turkish political scientist Ilter Turan, is that by trying to build a replica of the present system via, for instance, BRICS 11, we may be racing towards a parallel system that simply cannot organize itself as the leader of a new order. So, a clearly possible outcome is a bipolar system – considering the impossible convergence of common values.

At the same time, a South-east Asian perspective, expressed by the President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Pham Lan Dung, points to what is really relevant for middle and small countries: everything should proceed on the basis of South-South friendships.

The BRICS Bank: It’s Complicated

In one of the key panels on BRICS as a prototype of a new international architecture, the star of the show was Brazilian economist Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr, who drew on his vast former experience at the IMF and as Vice-President of the NDB – the BRICS bank – for a realist presentation.

The key problem of the NDB is how to maintain unity while navigating power politics and reaching the upcoming stages of de-dollarization.

Batista outlined how a new international financial architecture may imply a future common currency. He stressed the success of implementing two practical experiments: a BRICS monetary fund (called the Contingent Reserve Agreement, CRA) and a multilateral development bank, the NDB.

Progress though “has been slow”. The monetary fund “has been frozen by the five Central Banks”, and must be expanded. Links with the IMF “must be severed”, but that incurs “fierce resistance” by the five Central Banks of BRICS members (and soon there will be 11).

Turning the NDB around will be a Sisyphean task. Disbursement of loans as well as project implementation have been “slow”. The US dollar “is the unit of account for the bank” – which in itself is counter-productive. The NDB is far from being a global bank: only three countries so far have joined. Current NDB President Dilma Rousseff has only two years to turn it around.

Batista remarked how the common currency idea first came from Russia, and was instantly embraced by Lula when he was Brazil’s President in the 2000s. The R5 concept – the currencies of all current five BRICS members start with a “R” – may endure; but now that will have to expand to R11.

The first substantial step ahead, after revamping the NDB, should be a currency from an issuing bank backed by bonds guaranteed by member countries, freely convertible, with currency swaps denominated in R5.

A healthy prospect is that Russia will appoint the next bank President starting in 2025. So the way forward substantially depends on Russia and Brazil, Batista emphasized. At the BRICS 11 summit in Kazan in south-west Russia next year, “a key decision should be made”. And during the Brazilian BRICS presidency in 2025, “the first practical steps should be announced”.

Looking For a New Universality

Almost all panels at Valdai focused on how to develop an alternative system, but the two main themes were inevitably the lack of democracy in current international institutions and the weaponization of the US dollar. Batista correctly observed how the US itself is the main enemy of the US dollar when using it as a weapon.

At the Q&A, Putin addressed the key issue of economic corridors. He noted how BRI and the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) might have different interests: “Not true. They are harmonious and complement each other”. This is reflected in how they are geared to “ensure new logistic routes and industrial chains”, and all that “complemented by the real productive sector”.

Going forward, there’s a pressing need to coin a new terminology for this emerging new “universality” – even as nations continue to behave most often by following national interests.

What’s clear is that the collective West’s “universality” is not valid anymore. A remarkable panel on ‘Russian Civilization Through the Centuries’ showed how the notion of “universality” actually entered Western civilization through St Paul – after his Damascus moment – whereas the Indian notion of equilibrium inbuilt in the Upanishads would be way more appropriate.

Still, we are now in hot debate over the notion of the “civilization-state”, as configured mostly by India and China, Russia and Iran.

Pierre de Gaulle, grandson of the iconic General, expanded on the French notion of universality, embodied in the much-quoted slogan “liberté, egalité, fraternité” – not exactly upheld by Macronism. He made a point to stress he was the “sole representative of France” at Valdai (only a handful of European academics came to Sochi, and no diplomats).

De Gaulle reminded everyone how Saint Simon was a Russophile and how Voltaire corresponded with Catherine the Great. He alluded to the deep Franco-Russian cultural ties; a “shared community of interests”; and “the bond of Christianity”.

In contrast, crucially, “the US never accepted that Russia could develop under a different model”. And now that is illustrated by “how little today’s intellectual elites in the West know about Eurasia.”

De Gaulle emphasized the “tragic mistake is to see Russia through Western eyes”. He invoked Dostoevsky as he lamented the current “destruction of family values” and “existential void” inbuilt in the process of manufacturing consent. He pledged to “fight for independence”, just like his grandfather, under the seal of “faith, family and honor”, and stressed “we must rethink Europe”, inviting “war profiteers to come to Russia”.

Top of The Hill: a Cathedral or a Fortress?

Beyond Valdai, and especially throughout the crucial year of 2024 – while Russia holds the presidency of BRICS – there will be much further discussion about “poles” of ancient civilizations. A broad coalition of states that support multipolarity actually do not support the “civilization” concept; instead, they support the notion of people sovereignty.

It was up to Dayan Jayatilleka, former Sri Lankan plenipotentiary ambassador to Russia, to come up with a brilliant formulation.

He showed how Vietnam faced a proxy war against the hegemon successfully – “using 5,000 years of Vietnamese civilization”. That was “an internationalist phenomenon”. Ho Chi Minh took his ideas from Lenin – while enjoying full support from students in the US and Europe.

Russia might therefore learn from the Vietnamese experience how to conquer young hearts and minds across the West for its quest towards multipolarity.

It was clear to the overwhelming majority of analysts at Valdai that the concept of Russian civilization is an “existential challenge” to the collective West. Especially because it includes, historically, the radical universality of the Soviet Union. Now is time for Russian thinkers to work hard on refining the internationalist aspect.

Alexander Prokhanov came up with another startling formulation. He compared the Russian dream with a cathedral on the top of a hill, whereas the Anglo-Saxon dream is a fortress on the top of the hill, engaged in constant surveillance. And if you misbehave, you “will receive some Tomahawks”.

The conclusion: “We will always be in conflict with the West”. So what? The future, as I discussed off the record with Grandmaster Sergey Karaganov, one of the founders of Valdai, is in the East.

And it was Karaganov who arguably posed the most challenging question to Putin. He stressed how nuclear deterrence does not work anymore. So should we lower the nuclear threshold?”

Putin replied, “I am well aware of your position. Let me remind you the Russian military doctrine has two reasons for the possible use of nuclear weapons. The first is if nuclear weapons are used against us – as retaliation. The response is absolutely unacceptable for any potential aggressor. Because from the moment a missile launch is detected, no matter where it comes from – anywhere in the world’s oceans or from any territory – in a retaliatory strike, so many, so many hundreds of our missiles appear in the air that no enemy will have a chance of survival, and in several directions at once.”

The second reason is “a threat to the existence of the Russian state even if only conventional weapons are used.”

And then came the clincher – actually a veiled message to the characters whose dream is “victory” via a first strike: “Do we need to change that? Why? I see no point. There’s no situation when something can threaten the existence of the Russian state. No sane person would consider the use of nuclear weapons against Russia.”

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

The ongoing legal battle over “ghost guns” has returned to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the Biden administration aims to regain authority over these “untraceable firearms,” following a recent victory for Second Amendment advocates.

On Thursday, roughly two months after it last brought this case to the Supreme Court, the Biden administration once again asked the justices to reinstate Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regulations on “ghost guns.”

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the justices that on Sept. 14 a lower court, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, effectively undermined an Aug. 28 order by the nation’s highest court.

“This is the rare application where this Court has already applied the relevant legal standard in the very same case and determined the government should obtain emergency relief,” wrote Mr. Prelogar in her petition.

“The Court’s answer should be the same as it was two months ago,” she added, having argued that without the Supreme Court’s relief, “untraceable ghost guns will remain widely available.”

The prior Aug. 28 high court order in question was an administrative stay issued by Justice Samuel Alito that allowed the enforcement of an ATF rule designed to regulate “ghost guns” by defining them as firearms.

“Ghost guns” is a pejorative term for partially completed frames and kits that can be purchased and assembled into functional firearms. The Biden administration wants to impose a rule that makers of these “ghost guns” must obtain licenses, mark their products with serial numbers, maintain transaction records, and conduct background checks.

This rule was first blocked nationwide by Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, on July 5. This ruling was then challenged in the Supreme Court, where Justice Alito intervened, issuing a temporary administrative stay.

Judge O’Connor granted this extraordinary relief on Sept. 14. Furthermore, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently partially upheld the district court’s ruling.

“[C]ourts should be able to review ATF’s 98-page rule, and the decades of precedent it attempts to change, without the Government putting people in jail or shutting down businesses,” the Firth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stated.

This ruling effectively allowed the two plaintiff companies, Defense Distributed and 80 Percent Arms, to hold a monopoly as the only businesses allowed to sell firearm frames and kits to make “ghost guns” while appeals proceedings play out—a fact they touted in gloating statements following the ruling.

“The Biden admin is now in the worst place they could be: The true believer fanatics in this industry have achieved [a] commercial monopoly. Oops,” Defense Distributed stated in a blog post on Sept. 14.

In an Oct. 2 statement, 80 Percent Arms said they remain unwaveringly dedicated to “champion[ing] the right of every law-abiding citizen to privately craft firearms.”

In appealing the district court’s decision, Ms. Prelogar told the justices in her filing that Judge O’Connor relied on the same facts that had been considered by the Supreme Court, “yet reached diametrically opposing conclusions.”

“The district court insisted that the government is unlikely to succeed in reversing the court’s vacatur, that barring the government from enforcing the Rule would impose no irreparable harm, and that the balance of the equities favors respondents,” she wrote in her filing.

“The Fifth Circuit then relied on substantially similar reasoning to deny the government’s motion to vacate the injunction, dismissing the argument that the injunction violates principles of vertical stare decisis,” Ms. Prelogar continued.

The solicitor general acknowledged that the district court’s injunction “is narrower” than the prior July 5 ruling. However, she argued that it should be vacated because it “imposes essentially the same harms on the government and public” because the two companies continue to sell their products online “without background checks.”

The ATF’s updated rules, which went into effect in August 2022, redefined terms like “firearm,” “frame,” and “receiver” under the Gun Control Act of 1968 to address the proliferation of “ghost guns” assembled from kits.

The government argues that having no requirements for background checks, serial numbers, and other factors makes them attractive to criminals. On April 11, 2022, President Joe Biden vowed to crack down on “ghost guns.”

“These guns are weapons of choice for many criminals,” he said in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 11, 2022. “We’re going to do everything we can to deprive them of that choice and, when we find them, put them in jail for a long, long time.”

The FBI has denied a Newsweek report from veteran journalist William Arkin claiming that the agency has created a special category of extremists to target Trump supporters ahead of the 2024 election.

According to Newsweek, the FBI created a category to evaluate threats for anti-government and/or anti-authority violent extremism for those who don’t fall under an anarchist, militia or sovereign citizen groups. The report cited more than a dozen current and former officials who say that the program targets Trump supporters.

In a statement to the Epoch Times, however, the FBI denied the allegations.

“Any allegation that the FBI targets individuals solely for their political beliefs is categorically false,” said the agency.

‘Solely,’ eh?

“The FBI investigates those who commit acts of violence or threaten violence, and we do not take action based on political belief or any First Amendment protected activity,” the statement continues.

According to the spokesperson, the “threat posed by domestic violent extremists is persistent, evolving, and deadly,” adding that “The FBI’s goal is to detect and stop terrorist attacks, and our focus is on potential criminal violations, violence, and threats of violence.”

“Anti-government or anti-authority violent extremism [AGAAVE] is one category of domestic terrorism, as well as one of the FBI’s top threat priorities,” the statement continues. “This threat includes anarchist violent extremists, militia violent extremists, sovereign citizen violent extremists, and other violent extremists—some of whom are motivated by a desire to harm those with a real or perceived association with a political party or faction.”

Those so-called extremists “have targeted both Republican and Democratic members of Congress,” the spokesperson said, without elaborating. “We are committed to protecting the safety and constitutional rights of all Americans and will never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity, including a person’s political beliefs or affiliations,” the statement said.

In the Newsweek report, neither President Trump nor his Make America Great Again (MAGA) slogan were assigned to the aforementioned threat category. The article, however, claimed that unnamed “insiders” said that it applies to alleged “political violence ascribed to the former president’s supporters.” -Epoch Times

That said, one anonymous FBI official told Arkin that Trump supporters are the “greatest threat of violence domestically …politically … that’s the reality and the problem set.”

“But whether Trump and his supporters are a threat to national security, to the country, whether they represent a threat of civil war? That’s a trickier question. And that’s for the country to deal with, not the FBI,” the official continued.

According to the FBI’s data leaked to Arkin, the number of domestic extremism cases has dropped since Jan 6, but that “Sociopolitical developments—such as narratives of fraud in the recent general election, the emboldening impact of the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol, conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and conspiracy theories promoting violence—will almost certainly spur some domestic terrorists to try to engage in violence.”

So – while the threat that the FBI has encouraged agents to inflate may have fallen, they’re on the lookout!

Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

The 2024 election cycle is likely to be the most chaotic election cycle that we have ever seen. 

So will this create an opportunity for a new third party to try to pull off a historic upset? 

Unless something really dramatic happens, Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee and Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee in 2024.  But I don’t think that they will be the only two choices. 

There are rumors that one or two prominent third party candidates could soon enter the race, and it appears that large numbers of Americans may be willing to embrace such a candidate.  In fact, a Gallup survey that was just released discovered that a whopping 63 percent of U.S. adults believe that “a third major party is needed”…

Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults currently agree with the statement that the Republican and Democratic parties do “such a poor job” of representing the American people that “a third major party is needed.” This represents a seven-percentage-point increase from a year ago and is the highest since Gallup first asked the question in 2003.

This certainly does not mean that 63 percent of U.S. adults would actually vote for a third party candidate.

But what this does mean is that conditions have never been more favorable for such a candidate to emerge.

If you go back 20 years ago, only 40 percent of U.S. adults felt that a third party was needed…

In 2003, a record-low 40% called for a third party when 56% thought the parties were doing “an adequate job of representing the American people.”

Times have clearly changed.

And it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that independents are more interested in a “third major party” than anyone else…

Typically, political independents are most likely to favor a third party, and that is the case this year, with 75% expressing this view. No less than 70% of independents have said a third U.S. party is needed since 2013.

But who could run as a third party candidate and actually win?

In recent days, there have been rumors that RFK Jr. is considering launching an independent bid as a third party candidate.

And if he did go that direction, polls show that he would have quite a bit of support…

An American Values Poll conducted Zogby Strategies of likely general election voters shows that in a three-way race between Kennedy, Trump, and Biden, RFK Jr. enters the contest at 19% with Biden and Trump at 38% each. Kennedy would be the highest-polling independent or 3rd party candidate to enter a presidential election in the modern era, starting off where Ross Perot finished—after spending an enormous amount of money.

“If this Poll shows anything,” said Tony Lyons, Co-Chairman of American Values 2024, “it’s that Kennedy can win as an independent candidate in 2024.”

In a three-way race, RFK Jr. would probably take more votes away from Trump than he would from Biden.

There are also rumors that No Labels is preparing to “mount a third party bid for the White House”…

Political organization No Labels, which has been pushing for a bipartisan ticket to mount a third party bid for the White House, is urging state Democratic Party officials not to interfere with its efforts after President Biden said its leaders had a “democratic right” to do what they’re doing.

Following Biden’s remarks, former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman (I), former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) and former head of the NAACP Benjamin Chavis Jr. called for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to end what they characterized as an “anti-democracy” campaign against the group.

I think that No Labels does intend to make such a move, and it is likely that Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia will be their candidate.

If that is the case, Manchin would definitely take more votes away from Biden than he would from Trump.

We shall see what happens.

In my opinion, I think that this will be the first election cycle in ages when there is at least one viable third party alternative.

And that will almost certainly greatly impact the outcome of the election.

Of course we don’t have to wait until next year for high stakes political drama.

Kevin McCarthy just lost his spot as Speaker of the House in a stunning turn of events, and some Republicans are suggesting that Donald Trump should replace him.

When asked about this, Trump didn’t completely dismiss the idea…

“Lot of people have been calling me about speaker, all I can say is we’ll do whatever is best for the country and for the Republican Party,” Trump said Wednesday while at a Manhattan courthouse for the third day of his civil fraud trial. Trump, his adult sons and his businesses are being sued for up to $250 million in penalties stemming from what New York authorities describe as persistent business fraud.

Despite the trial, Trump took a minute to answer reporters’ questions about the possibility of a speakership bid.

“My focus is totally on [the presidency]. If I can help them during the process, I’ll do it. But we have some great people in the Republican Party that could do a great job as speaker,” Trump said.

But it is not likely to happen.

Instead, either Steve Scalise or Jim Jordan will almost certainly get the job.

For the moment, Patrick McHenry temporarily has the gavel, and one of his first acts was to order Nancy Pelosi “to vacate her Capitol hideaway office”…

Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) ordered Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to vacate her Capitol hideaway office so he could take it over, just hours after becoming acting Speaker, Pelosi’s office said Tuesday.

McHenry became acting Speaker after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted from the role Tuesday, the first time a Speaker has been voted out of the job.

McHenry’s office requested that Pelosi vacate her Capitol hideaway office by Wednesday because it was being reallocated “for speaker office use,” the message, first reported by Politico, reads. A small number of senior representatives have “hideaway offices” inside the Capitol Building.

Needless to say, Nancy Pelosi did not like this at all.

I expect animosity between the two major parties to continue to rise throughout the next year.

And adding a prominent third party candidate or two to the mix will certainly make things more interesting.

Our nation is more divided today than ever before, and the coming election will only deepen those divisions.

If you are concerned about where all of this is ultimately heading, you are definitely not alone.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

Hunter Biden raided his daughter’s college fund to the tune of $20,000 after his bankers said he had just 44 cents left in his account amid a months-long drug and hooker binge.

On Dec. 17, 2018, Hunter’s money managers warned of his extremely low balance, according to records obtained by the Daily Mail. That’s exactly when, according to Hunter’s Memoir, he was in his “penultimate odyssey through full blown addiction,” when he was dropping thousands of dollars on prostitutes and crack cocaine.

In response to the warning, Hunter ordered the bankers to transfer $20,000 from his daughter Maisy’s educational savings account, early withdrawal  consequences be damned.

“liquidate what you can’ and ‘Live [love] you both,” Hunter wrote.

At the time, Maisy, now 22, was in her final year of high school. She and her two older sisters, along with Joe Biden and First Lady Jill, had tried to stage an intervention just weeks earlier at the President’s Delaware home to get Hunter to go back to rehab.

He promised to go, but instead ended up smoking crack in a hotel, he confessed in his 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things.

Emails and messages from his laptop show money he took from Maisy’s educational savings account went in part to paying various suspected prostitutes who visited him at hotels in the following days, his Porsche 911 car loan, sex webcam subscription fees, and other personal expenses. 

Hunter’s assistant Katie Dodge plaintively emailed him on December 28 that year that he had University of Pennsylvania tuition bills of $27,945 due (likely for his eldest daughter, Naomi), a $1,700 payment for his Porsche, $4,244.70 for Maisy’s high school Sidwell Friends, her $3,000 paycheck and $1,000 for another employee.

Hunter tersely told Dodge to pay for the Porsche and his health insurance, but that she would only be getting half her paycheck – and that he would ‘deal with tuitions when time comes.’ -Daily Mail

“If you haven’t noticed Katie my business partner is now a prisoner on death row in China,” Hunter barked at Dodge, referring to CEFC chairman Ye Jinanmang, his Chinese partner who had been arrested on corruption charges in Beijing that year.

According to IRS Criminal Investigation agent Joseph Ziegler, an investigation into Hunter’s financial dealings was stonewalled before he blew the whistle to Congress – where he revealed that Hunter ended up looting Maisy’s entire college savings account – and never paid taxes on it.

Ziegler testified that Hunter “failed to report the income related to a distribution he had taken from one his children’s 529 [educational savings] Plan in 2019, additional income of approximately $39,820,” adding “He also had personal distributions he had claimed as business deductions totaling approximately $12,791.

“As of today’s date, this alleged additional income of approximately $52,611 has not been reported to the IRS and the alleged additional taxes of approximately $22,860 has not been paid to the IRS,” Ziegler said in an August 2, 2023 affidavit.

Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The San Francisco City Council voted Oct. 3 to approve a plan extending the lease on a safe parking site at Candlestick Point, south of downtown, for 35 vehicles and those living in them at a cost of nearly $13 million over two years, with residents receiving access to meals, wi-fi, and laundry services.

Legislative analysts, in a report, recommended the extension, but suggested the council explore cheaper options next year.

“We have a responsibility to keep communities clean and safe,” and this provides us an opportunity to do both,” Shamann Walton, San Francisco supervisor said Sept. 29 in the Homelessness and Behavioral Health Select Committee meeting, which voted unanimously to approve the proposal. “This is an expensive endeavor, but we cannot afford the alternative.”

At issue is the Bayview Vehicle Triage Center, established in January 2022 to provide a safe parking space with amenities for some homeless individuals living in their vehicles.

Officials say they hope, in time, up to 69 vehicles and their owners can use the space, once fire suppression methods and power—only diesel generators, thus far, have been available for limited use—are installed.

Space at the triage center is assigned by invitation only, with the city’s Healthy Streets Operation Center and the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team managing the process.

Statistics from the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing—the city agency overseeing the site—indicate that 96 individuals from 73 households stayed at the site in the fiscal year 2022–23, with an average stay of 218 days.

The department contracts services with two San Francisco-based nonprofits, the Bayview Hunters Point Foundation—focused on homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health services—and Urban Alchemy, founded to address homeless and transform distressed communities, and is the recipient of several multi-million dollar city contracts for a variety of projects. The groups operate the facility, coordinate referrals, and support groups and activities to facilitate exit strategies for those living there.

The former provides two daily meals—prepared fresh and delivered to the site because the lack of power prevents people from cooking—and offers case management, engagement, and exit planning.

Also noted in the analyst’s report were several findings last year that brought into question the role of the foundation. It is one of two contracted nonprofits in the city listed as a cause for “elevated concern” by the city controller, though the report concluded that steps are being taken to address issues raised—including high turnover, lack of compliance with grant agreements, and invoicing for costs not yet incurred.

Urban Alchemy receives the bulk of the funding, with nearly $8 million slated between January 2024 and January 2026. The group is responsible for site maintenance, laundry services, storage, and entry and exit processes.

A representative of the nonprofit spoke at the committee hearing of the need to keep the facility operating, for the benefit of those living and working there.

“This program really, really works. They need this. We need this. Because we all bond together,” Otis Hughes said. “I could be homeless in a situation just like them, but fortunately, I’m not. They help me be a better human being.”

The agreement with the San Francisco-based organization, which was founded in 2018, includes $312,000 in annual rent and approximately $12.2 million in operating costs. Another $900,000 is anticipated for law and parking enforcement costs.

Funding is provided by Proposition C, a gross receipts tax on businesses with revenues of more than $50 million in annual revenue passed by San Francisco voters in 2018.

$400 per Car per Night

Calling the proposal “by far the most expensive homeless response intervention,” the analysts’ report described the cost per vehicle as approximately $140,000 per year, or $400 per night.

Analysts noted the city paid $105 a night in 2021 for a similar site in a different location on San Jose Avenue. However, they said the site—which is now closed—did not have on-site case management, which they estimate at an additional $117 per night.

Critics point out the disparity between paying nearly $12,000 per space as compared to market rent prices in San Francisco—with a median cost of less than $3,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, according to online real estate listing company Zillow.

While the report recommended supervisors explore options to lower costs next year, analysts ultimately decided to recommend the proposed resolution because it supported established city guidelines.

The triage center in question was developed from a 2019 ordinance passed by supervisors directing the homelessness department to establish what they called a Safe Overnight Parking Pilot Program.

Following through, the city identified the parking lot at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area. Approximately $4.6 million in grant funds were spent to prepare the site, including installing perimeter fencing, solar lighting, potable water, portable toilets, and a guard shack, among other things.

“There’s a lot that goes into making it a safe, dignified location,” said Emily Cohen, deputy director for the homelessness department, at the committee meeting.

More than a dozen individuals spoke in support of extending the lease, in person and on the phone, with several telling supervisors that the site has been life-changing for them.

“It makes me feel safe,” one man said. “For me, it works, and we need more of these.”

Several supporters talked of reducing costs when capacity is expanded to allow more vehicles, though one caller questioned the logic of such an assumption.

“It’s not working, folks. When has that ever happened in San Francisco?” Bay Area native Russel Marine said. “It costs more per site than my mortgage in San Francisco. The cost is going to go up.”

He also said the spot the city chose is detrimental to public safety, as it is near a park where children play.

Of concern to some opposing the extension of the safe site is the lack of an environmental review for it. The California Environmental Quality Act requires that all projects that could impact the environment undertake a rigorous review process, and none was ever conducted for the site before it was developed—though no comment was made during the committee meeting about such.

One Bayview resident said that things are no better now than before the triage center opened, with inhabited vehicles still parked, though no longer in the same locations.

“All of the things we experienced before are still there,” she said. “They’re just spread across the Bayview.”

Point-in-time count statistics from 2022 revealed 4,400 unsheltered homeless in the city, with 24 percent sleeping in vehicles. A July 2023 count found 1,058 inhabited vehicles.

It’s very puzzling that the Central Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, also known as Mossad, one of the world’s most advanced intelligence agencies, had no advance warning about the biggest Hamas assault on Israel in decades.

Hamas’ attack unleashed thousands of rockets on Israel. Then, Palestinian terrorists demolished parts of the Gaza-Israel border fence and flooded the country. Terrorists were seen seizing military outposts, tanks, and settlements while killing anyone in their path. 

“We are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared earlier on Saturday. He said, “The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” adding Israel would “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.”

Typically, in the event of a conflict, airlines reroute or entirely halt flights to the affected region to prevent the potential downing of a passenger aircraft. This is currently the situation, as reported by CNN:

US airlines are diverting and canceling flights bound for Israel’s main international airport as fighting rages between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.

United Airlines Flight 954 left San Francisco International Airport Friday night and diverted over Greenland about seven hours into the more than 13-hour-long journey, according to data from flight tracking site FlightAware. The flight is due to land back in San Francisco around 2 p.m. ET.

FlightAware shows that United has canceled a flight on the same original schedule for Saturday.

Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have canceled Saturday and Sunday Israel-bound flights scheduled to depart from New York’s JFK, according to FlightAware. -CNN 

According to FlightAware data, about 14% of flights inbound for Tel Aviv have been canceled Saturday. X users are reporting airlines worldwide are beginning to cancel Tel Aviv flights: 

U.S. carriers issuing advisories for travel to/from Tel Aviv due to the current situation in #Israel.

Most flights have been cancelled over the next few days. UA954 from SFO turned back just over seven hours into the flight. pic.twitter.com/ai96n7121M

— Ryan Ewing (@FlyingHighRyan) October 7, 2023

Hamas terrorists’ attack on Israel | An Air India Flight from Delhi to Tel Aviv on 07 October 2023 and the return flight AI140 from Tel Aviv to Delhi has been cancelled in the interests and safety of our guests and crew. Passengers are being extended all support, as per their… pic.twitter.com/VdynXz0M6F

— ANI (@ANI) October 7, 2023

Lufthansa cuts flights to Israel pic.twitter.com/eqPmvmrKnE

— Russian Market (@runews) October 7, 2023

A 14.5 hour flight to nowhere. On the way to #Israel, turned back near Greenland // cc @garyleff @OneMileataTime pic.twitter.com/ak2BIx6YMZ

— Ivan (@istrakhov) October 7, 2023

Due to the current situation in Israel , this @united airlines flight #UA954 from San Francisco has turned around while over Greenland and is returning to California pic.twitter.com/45S3eQH3N7

— Michael Kelly (@Michaelkelly707) October 7, 2023

Flights delayed in TLV following the recent rocket attack at 20:00 local (1700Z) #Israel 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/tdTQAmCU7n

— Aleph א (@no_itsmyturn) October 7, 2023

“Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza: We continue to closely monitor the security situation. Ben Gurion Airport remains open, but the security situation and staff availability could affect flights. Check with the airlines on the availability of flights and flight status,” the US State Department wrote in a post on X. 

Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza: We continue to closely monitor the security situation. Ben Gurion Airport remains open, but the security situation and staff availability could affect flights. Check with the airlines on the availability of flights and flight status. U.S. citizens… pic.twitter.com/niMhyezuRg

— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) October 7, 2023

Current scenes at Tel Aviv Airport:

Thirty seconds after landing at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv this evening. pic.twitter.com/g9QRcduiIB

— Natalie Wright (@Nflwright) October 7, 2023

People taking shelter in Tel-aviv airport..

Meanwhile, crocodile tears from the girl at 00:37 and taking pic/selfies.

Right.. pic.twitter.com/JXPIeuMhfV

— CatEmporor (@CatEmporor) October 7, 2023

*Developing… 

Authored by Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

After a hearing on Friday, an appeals court granted a stay, or pause, on a judge’s order that former President Donald Trump’s businesses be dissolved.

This was only a partial victory for President Trump, as the appeals court said the trial that began this week could continue.

The prosecutors had opposed the request for a delay, accusing the defense attorneys of attempting “to sow chaos” and disruption.

The Trump Organization issued a statement after the pause, calling the judge’s order to cancel the Trumps’ business certificates “overzealous.”

“Judge Engoron’s order erroneously sought to adjudicate the rights of non-party business entities that employ nearly 1,000 hard-working New Yorkers, have never been accused of any wrongdoing and, were never given their day in court – in clear violation of their fundamental Constitutional rights and Due Process.  We will continue to vigorously defend our company and our incredible employees from this politically-motivated persecution,” the statement reads.

Appeal

President Trump’s attorneys appealed the civil fraud case against him on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5, filing a 1,154-page document in a bid to pause the currently ongoing trial.

“[New York] Supreme Court’s Sept. 26 and Oct. 5, 2023 decision impose unauthorized, undemanded, overbroad relief without proper factual or legal predicate, which will result in significant, irreparable harm,” states the reason for requesting a stay on the case.

President Trump had already previously sought to delay the trial, and the appeal had been denied just days before the trial began.

New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron’s Sept. 26 decision not only found President Trump liable for fraud, but ordered the dissolution of the Trump Organization and related LLCs, which means the 45th president will lose his entire real estate empire in a matter of days unless the appeal is granted. Furthermore, attorneys argue, hundreds of employees will be affected.

“Supreme Court clearly does not comprehend the scope of the chaos its decision has wrought,” the filing reads, describing the summary judgment as a “miscarriage of justice.”

Case and Penalties

President Trump’s business certificates have already been canceled, and the judge’s Oct. 5 order requires him to notify the court before applying for a new one, even outside New York. His sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., executive vice presidents in the Trump Organization, face similar penalties.

The buildings they stand to lose include Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, the Seven Springs family estate upstate, and private residences belonging to Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

The case began when President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen made claims that his boss inflated his net worth. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who declared that she would sue the former president for fraud when she was campaigning for her position, brought forth a civil lawsuit in September 2022 accusing him of defrauding the state by artificially inflating his net worth to get more favorable terms from insurers and banks.

The lawsuit included seven claims, one of which Justice Engoron ruled on about a week before trial, finding President Trump liable for fraud.

The trial began on Oct. 2, during which President Trump made a surprise appearance and spoke with the press at length. He attended again the second day, and stayed part way through the third. The trial will deal with the amount in penalties President Trump owes, as well as proving out the remaining six claims of fraud in the prosecutor’s lawsuit.

The appeal itself runs over 30 pages, the remaining 1,000-plus pages being case precedents cited.

Hundreds of Employees Face Job Loss

The latest appeal argues that the court exceeded its jurisdiction and “abused its discretion” in the penalties ordered, pointing out that the prosecutors never sought the dissolution of Trump Organization in its petition.

Ms. James had instead asked for $250 million in penalties, and to bar President Trump and his sons from holding executive business posts in the state for five years. She also did not cite the law that would have enabled the judge to order dissolution as relief, the attorneys argue.

“The consequences of enforcing the MSJ Decision [summary judgment on Sept. 26] are dire, and once done, cannot be undone,” the attorneys wrote.

They pointed out that “innocent nonparties and employees who depend on the affected entities for their livelihoods” are being swept up in the “overbroad” ruling. The decision was without process, statutory authority, or trial, and “renders impossible the lawful operation of multiple businesses and threatens termination of hundreds of New York employees without any jurisdiction or due process.”

“These non-parties are impacted without finding of any wrongdoing on the part of businesses,” they wrote. “Perhaps worst of all, it seeks to impose the corporate death penalty with no statutory authority for such remedy.”

When Justice Engoron made the decision, he admitted he did not know what the scope of repercussions would be when attorneys asked what it meant for certain properties like Trump Tower, or Eric Trump’s home.

But the Sept. 26 order will take place imminently, the attorneys argue, and the judge’s Oct. 5 order did not address any of the questions attorneys had raised. The attorneys also argue they had no opportunity to present their case before the Sept. 26 order.

Statute of Limitations

The attorneys also made additional arguments about the judge extending the statute of limitations during the trial.

A June appeals court decision had defined the statute of limitations to allegations from 2014 onwards. The prosecutors’ original lawsuit covered the decade from 2011 to 2021.

During the trial, the judge acknowledged the statute of limitations, but said he would allow evidence from before 2014 if the prosecutors could connect it to later crimes. The prosecutors had argued for bringing in this evidence under the “continuing wrongs doctrine.”

In the appeal, President Trump’s attorneys argue that the doctrine does not delay or extend the period allowed, citing other court rulings. Furthermore, the court is now treating the individual financial statements as “separately actionable claims,” rather than “continuing wrongs,” they argued.

If the statute of limitations is applied correctly, the majority of the prosecutor’s claims are “subject to dismissal as untimely,” the

Last month Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly warned that if Chicago slaps the financial industry with transaction taxes, amid a crime wave that has employees afraid to come in to work.

“We don’t want to leave… But we cannot be disadvantaged in the world’s most competitive markets,” Tilly said in light of an $800 million tax proposal from Mayor Brandon Johnson aimed at plugging a $538 million budget deficit projected for next year, and increasing costs driven by a cocktail of inflation and rising numbers of destitute asylum seekers.

Now, CME Group, Inc. – which has over a century of history rooted in Chicago, is warning much the same. According to CEO Terry Duffy, they’ll cut bait and drop Chicago like a hot stone – and in fact, have begun the process of uncoupling from the dysfunctional city.

“I liquidated every piece of real estate in the state,” Duffy said in an interview last week, according to Bloomberg. “I have leases where I am in an advantageous position, because now I can renegotiate. They’re all coming due. We like Chicago. There’s no reason for us to want to leave. But at the same time, if the atmosphere gets to the point where it’s intolerable, we have no choice.“

His commitment to Chicago is being tested as stubbornly high crime rates and a slew of taxes — including a financial-transaction levy proposed by Mayor Brandon Johnson — have him considering his options. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has already said he opposes the tax proposal, but he won’t be at the helm forever, Duffy said.

As for the mayor, Duffy said he’s met with Johnson once since he was elected in April and is willing to throw his arms around him to help him succeed. But “we don’t agree on anything,” Duffy said.

Below is a summary of an interview Duffy gave on the subject:

Challenges in Chicago:

• Duffy underscores the difficulties in Chicago, highlighting the absence of commerce and the potential financial pitfalls of vacant buildings.
• He emphasizes the crucial need to strategize bringing people back into cities and reviving societal norms and operations.

“You can’t walk outside and not have commerce in one of the largest cities in the world. Who’s going to pay the taxes on these large buildings that are now vacant? You need to figure out ways to get people back into the cities.“

Tax Perspective:

• Duffy expresses his inclination to alter tax approaches, proposing the elimination of sales tax in physical stores to better compete with online platforms.

“Let people not pay a sales tax and compete with online. If you want to sell it online then you pay a tax, and in the store where you’re employing people, you don’t pay a tax.”

Potential Move to Texas?

• Despite Texas Governor Greg Abbott extolling the benefits of firms moving to Texas, Duffy remains non-committal, acknowledging the pros without indicating any solid intent to relocate.

“I have a lot of clients in Texas. I like working with my clients that come out of Texas. That was the end of my conversation. He didn’t offer me anything. I didn’t ask for anything either.”

Acquisition Strategies:

• Duffy sheds light on CME’s sound financial standing and its strategic approach to acquisitions, emphasizing safeguarding shareholders’ interests.

“I am a triple A-rated institution with very little debt. I get shopped a lot of deals. We have the capacity if we thought it was right to do it. We run the firm for the benefit of the long-term. So when it comes to acquisitions, I would never do anything that I didn’t think was in the best interest of my shareholders.“

Dismay over FTX’s Collapse:

• Contrary to feeling vindicated by FTX’s collapse, Duffy expresses disappointment, acknowledging the potential of cryptocurrencies to eliminate or reduce friction in the financial system.

“I feel depressed by it. We’ve got to evolve and change, and crypto could be a vehicle to help eliminate friction. Whether it will or not, I don’t know. I don’t want to see anything be eliminated from the possibilities of making the world a better place tomorrow.”

FTX’s Proposals and Regulatory Vision:

• He maintains that FTX’s proposals held merit and insists on the establishment of comprehensive regulatory frameworks around such innovative concepts.

“I never said any of the proposals did not have merit. I just said let’s write some rules around it. And I believe that today.

“I still see potential that it could be another way to eliminate friction. Right now, I think the best system is the Futures Commission Merchants, but I don’t know if that’s going to be there forever.”

Cautious Technological Deployment:

• Adopting a cautious perspective on technological implementations, Duffy is particularly reserved about deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in market operations.

“You don’t want to be last and you don’t want to be first. You’ve got to be really careful how you roll this stuff out.”

Duffy’s Future at CME:

• With a contract that expires in a year and a half, Duffy’s future at CME is yet to be decided, with deliberations with the board planned for the upcoming year.

“I have another year and a half left in my contract. I will discuss with my board what they want to do sometime early next year and go from there.”

Let’s see where CME is a year from now…

Update (1835ET): Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned residents of Gaza to “leave now, because we will operate forcefully everywhere.”

We will be victorious in this war despite an unbearable price. This is a very difficult day for all of us.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 7, 2023

Continued…

Hamas wants to murder us all. This is an enemy that murders children and mothers in their homes, in their beds, an enemy that abducts the elderly, children and young women, that slaughters and massacres our citizens, including children, who simply went out to enjoy the holiday.

What happened today is unprecedented in Israel – and I will see to it that it does not happen again. The entire government is behind this decision.

The IDF will immediately use all its strength to destroy Hamas’s capabilities. We will destroy them and will forcefully avenge this dark day that they have forced on Israel and its citizens. As Bialik wrote: ‘Revenge for the blood of a little child has yet been devised by Satan’.

All of the places which Hamas is deployed, hiding and operating in, that wicked city, we will turn them into rubble.

I say to the residents of Gaza: Leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere.

At this hour, the IDF is clearing the terrorists out of the last communities. They are going community by community, house by house, and are restoring our control.

I embrace and send heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families whose loved ones were murdered today in cold blood and endless brutality.

We are all praying for the well-being of the wounded and all those who are being held hostage. I say to Hamas: You are responsible for their well-being. Israel will settle accounts with anyone who harms one hair on their heads.

I appeal to the residents of the south: We all stand alongside you. We are all proud of your heroism and your fighting.

To our beloved IDF soldiers, police officers and security forces personnel, remember that you are the continuation of the heroes of the Jewish people, of Joshua, Judah Maccabee and the heroes of 1948 and of all of Israel’s wars.

You are now fighting for the home and future of us all. We are all with you. We all love you. We all salute you.

To the medical and rescue teams, and the many volunteers in a long list of places, the people of Israel salute you. With your spirit, we will overcome our enemies.

*  *  *

Update(1430ET): Former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) international spokesperson Jonathan Conricus has summed up what this day means for Israel, calling in the country’s “Pearl Harbor” moment.

“The entire system failed. It’s not just one component. It’s the entire defense architecture that evidently failed to provide the necessary defense for Israeli civilians,” he told CNN of the surprise invasion from Gaza militants. “This is a Pearl Harbor type of moment for Israel, where there was reality up until today, and then there will be reality after today.”

Town-by-town and farm-by-farm fighting is still underway given Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) reportedly control swathes of southern territory and even military outposts in Israel.

Netanyahu and his cabinet now must be contemplating what will surely be a high-risk rescue operation and potential ground incursion.

⚡️More hostages being taken into Gaza pic.twitter.com/G612nStiQt

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) October 7, 2023

Every hour results in even more incredible, shocking footage being released of dead Israeli soldiers and civilians. The Times of Israel is reporting that over 200 Israelis have been killed, and at least 1,000 injured. The death toll is also mounting into the hundreds on the Gaza side as Israel retaliates.

In some instances, there are what look like Israeli soccer moms and their families being escorted barefoot across the border.

Video footage suggests at least dozens of Israelis have been taken captive, possibly even hundreds.

Grandmothers, men, women, children – the young and old – are being paraded in front of Hamas and PIJ cameras…

One of the POW’s captured by the PIJ in Gaza pic.twitter.com/vzLOWF4gT9

— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) October 7, 2023

At the same time, the expected Israeli aerial assault has begun. In some instances entire apartment housing blocks have been leveled. 

Breaking: Many hundreds of Israeli civilians are being captured by #Hamas terrorists and are seen being taken back to #Gaza and attacked by #Palastinians#IsraelUnderAttack #Israel #IsraelPalestinewar pic.twitter.com/gx9YlyrBE4

— Jim Ferguson (@JimFergusonUK) October 7, 2023

There are reports saying that the IDF has taken back some of the bases seized by small teams of Palestinian militants earlier in the day.

…all of this after what was clearly a well-coordinated attack long in planning:

🔴🙏Alors que ce soir le sud de la #TerreSainte s’endort à feu et à sang, le ministère de la Santé israélien fait état d’au moins 100 morts et 1 000 blessés évacués vers les hôpitaux israéliens. De son côté, le ministère de la Santé du Hamas dénombre au moins 198 morts et 1600… pic.twitter.com/8pAtfTqgNV

— SOS Chrétiens d’Orient (@SOSCdOrient) October 7, 2023

Israeli woman in the hands of Hamas bleeding and beaten.
This is the Israeli woman from my previous video.
This is horrifying!#Israel #Hamas #Palestine #Palestinian #IronDome #Gaza #TelAviv

pic.twitter.com/jhDzDvGXDu

— Ashlea Simon (@AshleaSimonBF) October 7, 2023

But what the world woke up to at the start of Saturday were unprecedented scenes of Israelis in retreat…

Israeli Defence forces are now evacuating Air Bases near Gaza as thousands of terrorists flood into Israel.
This situation is just escalating.#Israel #Hamas #Palestine #Palestinian #IronDome #Gaza #TelAviv

pic.twitter.com/mcI9WyWSt8

— Ashlea Simon (@AshleaSimonBF) October 7, 2023

Rockets have continued to reach Tel Aviv from Gaza, and air raid sirens are active across many parts of the country.

⚡️View from Tel Aviv now pic.twitter.com/gf23ZTyrgJ

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) October 7, 2023

The first minutes of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The militants can be seen blowing up the wire fences and getting inside on motorcycles. Afterwards, they pull out the still living crew from the tank that was shot down by the drone.… pic.twitter.com/nqDyij5P3T

— — GEROMAN — time will tell – 👀 — (@GeromanAT) October 7, 2023

Gaza apartments flattened by Israeli strikes…

Residential building in Gaza City flattened by Israeli airstrike. pic.twitter.com/BgdLcS4Mgf

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) October 7, 2023

* * * 

Palestinian militants on Saturday morning launched an “unprecedented” infultration attack on Israel, the biggest in years, sending fighters over the border from Gaza, firing thousands of rockets and killing dozens of Israelis. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a call-up of reservists and said “we are at war.” 

“We are in a war and we will win it.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Israel “at war” after Gaza Strip militants fired over 2,000 missiles and infiltrated southern parts of the country in a surprise attack on Saturday https://t.co/SWTOsHjySu pic.twitter.com/PQRSfL20jY

— Bloomberg (@business) October 7, 2023

Here are the latest highlights from the rapidly changing situation:

• Militant group Hamas launched a sustained barrage of more than 5,000 rockets in a coordinated attack by land, sea and air. According to the NYT, the Hamas assault from Gaza on southern Israel has had few precedents in its complexity and scale, invading several Israeli towns and firing thousands of rockets toward cities as far away as Jerusalem.
• The Israeli military said that at least 2,200 rockets had been fired into Israel by 11 a.m. on Saturday and that armed gunmen had crossed the border fence in several locations along Israel’s perimeter with Gaza, a poor coastal enclave that has been under blockade by Israel and neighboring Egypt for 16 years.
• In addition to land, the militants also crossed into Israel by sea and air, according to the Israeli military. By late morning, at least 22 Israelis had been killed in the surprise attacks from Gaza and hundred more injured according to Israel’s main ambulance service, and Israel had retaliated with massive strikes on Gazan cities, killing at least one Palestinian, according to local reports.
• Palestinian militants infiltrated at least seven Israeli communities and army bases this morning, according to the Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht. He said militants had reached the city of Sderot; the small towns of Kfar Azza, Nahal Oz, Magen, Beeri; the military bases of Reim and Zikim, which are close to towns of the same name; and the militarized border checkpoint at Erez. Fighting was ongoing at or near the at least three of those places, he said.
• Israel’s emergency services said 22 people have been killed in the surprise attacks from Gaza and hundred more injured.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was now “at war” and that he had convened the heads of the security forces and instructed them to first clear all Israeli villages of Palestinian militants who had entered from Gaza.
• Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said that there was a military operation “in defense of the Aqsa mosque,” the hotly contested holy site in Jerusalem that thousands of Jews have visited in recent weeks, and against the Israeli blockade.
• Israeli hospitals said they had received hundreds of wounded. Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Beersheba had admitted more than 80 people, with some “in very difficult condition,” a hospital spokeswoman said. The ambulance service, Magen David Adom, issued an urgent call for blood.
• Israel Defense Forces said they were carrying out strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza in response to the attacks on Israel.
• Air-raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem, while explosions were heard in Tel Aviv

Hamas releases a (Hezbollah-style) video showing how they penetrated the border. pic.twitter.com/tTGVIed7IM

— Dalia Hatuqa🪬🤌 (@DaliaHatuqa) October 7, 2023

More details:

The ruling Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land and sea, catching the country off guard on a major holiday.

Several hours after the invasion began, Hamas militants were still fighting gunbattles inside several Israeli communities in a surprising show of strength that shook the country. Israel’s national rescue service said at least 22 people have been killed, dozens of Israelis taken hostage, and hundreds wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in years. 

⚡️Palestinians seizing tanks and other vehicles at an IDF military site east of Gaza pic.twitter.com/0ylRKiReP3

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) October 7, 2023

At least 561 wounded people were being treated in Israeli hospitals, including at least 77 who were in critical condition, according to an Associated Press count based on public statements and calls to hospitals.

There was no official comment on casualties in Gaza, but Associated Press reporters said they witnessed the funerals of 15 people who were killed and saw another eight bodies arrive at a local hospital. It was not immediately clear if they were fighters or civilians.

As the AP also reports, social media was replete with videos of Hamas fighters parading what appeared to be stolen Israeli military vehicles through the streets and at least one dead Israeli soldier within Gaza being dragged and trampled by an angry crowd of Palestinians shouting “Allahu Akbar.”

Hamas has invaded towns in southern Israel and is shooting people (warning: disturbing)…

Hamas terrorists continue to engage any Israeli resident in their vicinity.

It seems most that infiltrated are part of their specialized commando unit. pic.twitter.com/AqGcXuQRA6

— Global: Military-Info (@Global_Mil_Info) October 7, 2023

Videos released by Hamas appeared to show at least three Israelis captured alive. The military declined to give details about casualties or kidnappings as it continued to battle the infiltrators.

“We are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address, declaring a mass army mobilization. “Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.” “The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he added, promising that Israel would “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.”

Apocalyptic scenes right now in southern Israel. pic.twitter.com/uuseUdcytV

— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) October 7, 2023

At a meeting of top security officials later on Saturday, Netanyahu said the first priority was to “cleanse the area” of enemy infiltrators, then to “exact a huge price from the enemy,” and to fortify other areas so that no other militant groups join the war.

The serious invasion on Simchat Torah, a normally joyous day when Jews complete the annual cycle of reading the Torah scroll, revived painful memories of the 1973 Mideast war practically 50 years to the day, in which Israel’s enemies launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Comparisons to one of the most traumatic moments in Israeli history sharpened criticism of Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who had campaigned on more aggressive action against threats from Gaza. Political commentators lambasted the government over its failure to anticipate what appeared to be a Hamas attack unseen in its level of planning and coordination.

The Israeli military struck targets in Gaza in response for some 2,500 rockets that sent air raid sirens wailing constantly as far north as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) away. It said its forces were engaged in gunfights with Hamas militants who had infiltrated Israel in at least seven locations. The fighters had sneaked across the separation fence and even invaded Israel through the air with paragliders, the army said.

Israeli TV broadcast footage of explosions tearing through the Gaza-Israel border fence, followed by what appeared to be Palestinian gunmen riding into Israel on motorcycles. Gunmen also reportedly entered on pickup trucks.

It was not immediately clear what prompted Hamas to launch the attacks, which would have likely required months of planning. But over the past year Israel’s far-right government has ramped up settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settler violence has displaced hundreds of Palestinians there, and tensions have flared around a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site.

The shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, announced the start of what he called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.” The Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam, and is located on the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.

“Enough is enough,” Deif, who does not appear in public, said in the recorded message, as he called on Palestinians from east Jerusalem to northern Israel to join the fight. “Today the people are regaining their revolution.”

In a televised address, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Hamas had made “a grave mistake” and promised that “the state of Israel will win this war.”

The infiltration of fighters into southern Israel marked a major escalation by Hamas that forced millions of Israelis to hunker down in safe rooms. Cities and towns emptied as the military closed roads near Gaza. Israel’s rescue service and the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza appealed to the public to donate blood.

“We understand that this is something big,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli army spokesman, told reporters. He said the Israeli military had called up the army reserves.

Hecht declined to comment on how Hamas had managed to catch the army off guard. “That’s a good question,” he said.

Ismail Haniyeh, the exiled leader of Hamas, said that Palestinian fighters were “engaged in these historic moments in a heroic operation” to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Israel has built a massive fence along the Gaza border meant to prevent infiltrations. It goes deep underground and is equipped with cameras, high-tech sensors and sensitive listening technology. Israel has maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. The bitter enemies have fought four wars since then. There have also been numerous rounds of smaller fighting between Israel and Hamas and other smaller militant groups based in Gaza.

The blockade, which restricts the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza, has devastated the territory’s economy. Israel says the blockade is needed to keep militant groups from building up their arsenals. The Palestinians say the closure amounts to collective punishment.

The escalation comes after weeks of heightened tensions along Israel’s volatile border with Gaza, and heavy fighting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Saturday’s wide-ranging assault threatened to undermine Netanyahu’s reputation as a security expert who would do anything to protect Israel. It also raised questions about the cohesion of a security apparatus crucial to the stability of a country locked in low-intensity conflicts on multiple fronts and facing threats from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah congratulated Hamas on Friday, praising the attack as a response to “Israeli crimes” and saying the militants had “divine backing.” The group said its command in Lebanon was in contact with Hamas about the operation.

⚡️Damage in Netivot after an arrival of a rocket from Gaza pic.twitter.com/hxvNv2SYO1

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) October 7, 2023

* * *

The timing of the assault was striking, hitting Israel at one of the lowest moments in its history. It followed months of profound anxiety about the cohesion of Israeli society and the readiness of its military, a crisis set off by the government’s efforts to reduce the power of the judiciary. And the violence came 50 years and a day after the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when Israel was also surprised by a complex Arab attack, leading to huge Israeli losses and soul-searching about the state of the country.

Muhammad Deif, the leader of the military wing of Hamas, the Islamic militant organization that controls Gaza, said in a recorded message that the group had decided to launch an “operation” so that “the enemy will understand that the time of their rampaging without accountability has ended.”

In response to the Hamas attack, the Israeli military said it launched strikes against 17 military compounds and locations connected to Hamas’s leadership in Gaza. The army released videos of strikes on cars, Palestinian militants and other targets. Dozens of air force jet fighters launched the attacks, the Israeli military said.

The Israel Defense Force has 169,000 active-duty troops and 465,000 reservists and remains the Middle East’s most formidable force, supplied with some of the most advanced drones and other weapons from Israel’s technology sector and from the U.S., which provides Israel with $3.8 billion in annual military assistance.

The Israeli military has conducted frequent raids in Palestinian cities and refugee camps, with bloody confrontations ensuing with well-armed militants. The army also flooded southern Israel with ground troops to manage the incursion, it said.

The IDF said it had named the counter offensive against Hamas operation swords of iron.

Footage of a hamas infiltrator using a motorized hang glider to get into Israel.

This is insane. pic.twitter.com/pUbmSEseUZ

— Global: Military-Info (@Global_Mil_Info) October 7, 2023

Meanwhile, as the WSJ details, the declaration of war by Israel against Hamas comes at a time of turmoil in Israeli politics.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced a backlash against legislation introduced to limit the power of the Supreme Court. His coalition passed the first part of the law in July, prompting mass protests and raising fears about Israel’s national security.

Thousands of military reservists said at the time they would quit as a result of the change to the law, and union leaders and medical professionals threatened mass work stoppages. Military officials have warned that the legislation was undermining unity within the military.

The law takes away the Supreme Court’s ability to nullify government decisions it finds “unreasonable in the extreme”—a concept that lawmakers in Netanyahu’s coalition said was nebulous and allowed liberal judges to overturn the will of an increasingly right-wing electorate.

The effort to overhaul the judiciary has been the governing coalition’s priority since Netanyahu was re-elected last year. Coalition members have said the government plans to move ahead with the next part of the overhaul, which would aim to change the way judges are appointed, after the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, reconvenes in mid-October. The law is being challenged in Israel’s Supreme Court.

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Western nations condemned the incursion and reiterated their support for Israel, while others called for restraint on both sides.

“The U.S. unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians,” said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the U.S. National Security Council. “We stand firmly with the government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks.”

Watson said Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, has spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi.

Saudi Arabia, which has been in talks with the U.S. about normalizing relations with Israel, released a statement calling on both sides to exercise restraint. The kingdom said it had repeatedly warned about “ the dangers of the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation (and) the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights.”

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Finally, there is some speculation that Iran may get dragged into what is rapidly emerging as the worst Middle-Eastern crisis in years, with various pro-Israeli hawks claiming that the Hamas attack would have only occurred with explicit Iranian backing. If Israel does indeed attack Iran, as it has hinted it would do for years, may we suggest you fill up your gas tank.