Noncombatants,
Ellen Brown, All Wars Are Bankers’ Wars: Iran and the Bankers’ Endgame
“The powers of financial capitalism had another far reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole.” —Prof. Caroll Quigley, Georgetown University, Tragedy and Hope (1966) In February 2026, the United States and Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Iran. The officially proffered reasons — preventing Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon and forestalling its aggression — have not held up under scrutiny. As James Corbett documented in recent Corbett Report episodes, the nuclear pretext appears to be recycled propaganda, and the scale and timing of the strikes raise deeper questions about motive.
The thesis that “All Wars Are Bankers’ Wars” was popularized by Michael Rivero in a 2013 documentary by that name. His accompanying article begins with a quote from Aristotle (384-322 BCE):
"The most hated sort [of moneymaking], and with the greatest reason, is usury, which makes a gain out of money itself, and not from the natural use of it. For money was intended to be used in exchange, but not to increase at interest."
Rivero then traces how private banking interests have financed and profited from conflicts on both sides for centuries — from the founding of the Bank of England in 1694 to fund William III’s wars to modern regime-change wars...
..“The Great Taking” — the Legal Trap Granting Derivatives Super-Priority in Bankruptcy
In The Great Taking, David Rogers Webb lays bare the final piece in this financial control grid: virtually every security today is dematerialized (digitized) and pooled in central depositories. Quiet changes to the Uniform Commercial Code and equivalent E.U. rules have turned ordinary investors into mere “entitlement holders” holding only a legal claim against their brokerages.
As for bank depositors, they have for centuries been categorized as mere “creditors” of their banks. Once the money is deposited, legal title passes to the bank. The depositor holds only a contractual claim (a demand liability) that ranks as an unsecured creditor position in the event of insolvency.
In any insolvency, stocks, bonds, and deposits are legally collateral for the derivatives complex — collateral that has been rehypothecated multiple times over. And when the derivative collateral fails, the rehypothecated house of cards that has been built on it collapses. Margin calls cascade, super-priority is triggered, and the Great Taking begins. (For more on this quite complicated subject, see Webb’s book and my earlier article here.)
Iran’s Interest-Free Islamic Banking: The Structural Obstacle
So what did it matter if Iran and a handful of other countries declined to join in this lucrative bankers’ game? The risk was that when depositors and shareholders realized that they did not actually own their funds, they would move their assets to those safe zones. The holdout countries were also safe from the sort of sanctions imposed by Western governments (and enforced by Western banks and clearing houses) on Russian central bank assets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Leading this band of holdouts was Iran, which since its 1983 Law for Usury-Free Banking Operations has run the world’s only fully interest-free (riba-free) banking regime. Its banks use Sharia-compliant contracts — profit-sharing (musharakah), cost-plus financing (murabaha), and leasing (ijara) — instead of charging or paying interest. This banking model stands in direct contrast to the conventional Western model, which relies on interest as its primary revenue stream and underpins the global derivatives complex with collateralized, rehypothecated debt.
Iran’s system was designed to eliminate usury and align finance with real economic activity and risk-sharing rather than speculative debt. It has long been viewed as structurally incompatible with the interest-based, collateral-heavy architecture of City of London and Wall Street finance — an architecture that requires perpetual debt servicing and easily rehypothecated assets to feed the derivatives machine.
By rejecting interest at the national level, Iran has thus insulated itself and its financial partners from the control grid that has made the global “Great Taking” possible...
..Conclusions and Resolutions In The Great Taking, David Rogers Webb lays bare the final piece in this financial control grid: virtually every security today is dematerialized (digitized) and pooled in central depositories. Quiet changes to the Uniform Commercial Code and equivalent E.U. rules have turned ordinary investors into mere “entitlement holders” holding only a legal claim against their brokerages.
As for bank depositors, they have for centuries been categorized as mere “creditors” of their banks. Once the money is deposited, legal title passes to the bank. The depositor holds only a contractual claim (a demand liability) that ranks as an unsecured creditor position in the event of insolvency.
In any insolvency, stocks, bonds, and deposits are legally collateral for the derivatives complex — collateral that has been rehypothecated multiple times over. And when the derivative collateral fails, the rehypothecated house of cards that has been built on it collapses. Margin calls cascade, super-priority is triggered, and the Great Taking begins. (For more on this quite complicated subject, see Webb’s book and my earlier article here.)
Iran’s Interest-Free Islamic Banking: The Structural Obstacle
So what did it matter if Iran and a handful of other countries declined to join in this lucrative bankers’ game? The risk was that when depositors and shareholders realized that they did not actually own their funds, they would move their assets to those safe zones. The holdout countries were also safe from the sort of sanctions imposed by Western governments (and enforced by Western banks and clearing houses) on Russian central bank assets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Leading this band of holdouts was Iran, which since its 1983 Law for Usury-Free Banking Operations has run the world’s only fully interest-free (riba-free) banking regime. Its banks use Sharia-compliant contracts — profit-sharing (musharakah), cost-plus financing (murabaha), and leasing (ijara) — instead of charging or paying interest. This banking model stands in direct contrast to the conventional Western model, which relies on interest as its primary revenue stream and underpins the global derivatives complex with collateralized, rehypothecated debt.
Iran’s system was designed to eliminate usury and align finance with real economic activity and risk-sharing rather than speculative debt. It has long been viewed as structurally incompatible with the interest-based, collateral-heavy architecture of City of London and Wall Street finance — an architecture that requires perpetual debt servicing and easily rehypothecated assets to feed the derivatives machine.
By rejecting interest at the national level, Iran has thus insulated itself and its financial partners from the control grid that has made the global “Great Taking” possible...
The 2007-08 Global Financial Crisis (GFC) is now widely regarded as having been triggered by the unchecked explosion of unregulated derivatives — especially credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations — which turned subprime mortgages into a systemic time bomb. The damage was not confined to the United States: developing countries suffered heavily as well.
Today the risk of a crash is even greater than during the GFC. The global OTC derivatives market has officially ballooned to a notional value of $846 trillion, more than seven times the size of the entire world economy.
Long-range political solutions are possible. Congress could restore Glass-Steagall and impose a financial transaction tax. State governments could withdraw their approval of relevant portions of the UCC and form public banks that can protect against local bank bankruptcies. https://www.globalresearch.ca/all-wars-bankers-wars-iran/5922072
Surplus Energy Economics, The policy bias of flawed statistics - DEBUNKING THE GROWTH CREDENTIALS OF NEOLIBERALISM
Far from quantifying the amounts of material goods and services produced in any given period, gross domestic product is a tally of transactional activity, which is a very different thing. It’s perfectly possible, indeed commonplace, for money to change hands without any material economic value being added...
..As we shall see, much of the “growth” delivered by the neoliberal policy revolution most closely associated with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan was the purely cosmetic effect of statistical distortion.
What really happened in the years after 1980 was that the West was de-industrialised, and simultaneously loaded with ultimately unsustainable debt, processes that were falsely validated by the vagaries of GDP... ..To put this in context, we need to recall that global population numbers increased by 25% between 2005 and 2025. On the basis of reported GDP, the World’s average person was 56% better off last year than he or she had been twenty years previously. On the C-GDP basis, however, this average person’s betterment falls from 56% to just 6%, leaving him or her woefully ill-equipped to carry his or her greatly expanded share of debts and quasi-debts... ..A point necessarily arrives at which the very idea that debts and quasi-debts can ever be honoured “for value” loses all of its remaining credibility. That’s the moment at which the authorities, for want of any alternative course of action, start pouring huge amounts of newly-created money into the system in a desperate effort – which fails – to prop up the existing financial system... ..The super-inflated rise in asset prices has created the lethal illusion that we have more than enough value acting as collateral to support our gargantuan debts and quasi-debts. In reality, though, these aggregate asset values exist purely in paper form, and will evaporate as soon as the inevitable GFC II crisis arrives. Essentially, it’s wholly erroneous to value asset aggregates on the basis of marginal transaction prices. This implies that we could somehow monetise the entirety of stock market or real estate value at their current prices, even though the only people who could buy these assets in their aggregates are the same people to whom they already belong... ..With market capitalist principles abandoned in all but name, the Neoliberal Ascendancy was replaced by a Post-Capitalist Expediency (PCE), whose aim is the maintenance of the status quo, including its greatly widened inequalities, by all available means.
But the fundamental trajectory of the neoliberal era, far from changing, has been reinforced under the auspices of the PCE, with debts and quasi-debts rapidly out-growing reported economic “output”, even though the latter has become an ever more misleading, artificially-inflated metric.
Since the end of 2007, whilst reported global GDP has grown by $90 trillion PPP (at constant values), debts have increased by $270tn, and broader financial liabilities by not less than $670tn.
These distortions would look even more acute were we to include, within broad liabilities, the “gap” between pensions promises and the resources actually set aside to honour them... ..All of this, of course, is exactly what we’d expect of a Post-Capitalist Expediency dedicated to the continuation, not just of the status quo, but of the inequalities embedded within it. https://surplusenergyeconomics.wordpress.com/2026/10/16/329-the-policy-bias-of-flawed-statistics/
Private asset-management corporation, BlackRock's Record Asset Holdings Are Half The Size Of US Economy https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/blackrocks-record-asset-holdings-are-half-size-us-economy
Le Pen And AfD Join Forces: Heavy Headwinds For Von Der Leyen's EU Mega-Budget On Monday, an AfD strategy paper was circulating. In this pamphlet, the party’s European policy experts had apparently agreed on a strategic shift in their approach to the EU and monetary policy. There was no longer any talk of leaving the euro system or even of a Dexit, Germany’s departure from the European Union.
Quite the opposite: The EU is to be transformed into a federation of sovereign nations, with a focus on the internal market, effective protection of the external borders, and coordination among member states on security matters. In general, the goal should be to return political powers to the nation-states — all sensible measures to consolidate the EU’s completely out-of-control expansionism...
..Important for opponents of fiat money: According to the AfD, the European Central Bank should have its operational scope significantly restricted. Specifically, the paper calls for an end to “indirect ECB financing of governments,” the settlement of Target balances, and an insolvency regime for member states. A ban on financing government debt with the central bank’s money printer would be a revolution in monetary policy. It would be the end of ideological experiments. Politics would have to abandon vehicles such as the Green Deal, since its economic stillbirths can only be kept alive with the help of manipulated borrowing costs...
..All of this points in the right direction, but avoids a break with existing power structures. After all, nothing frightens the markets more than uncertainty. A clear horizon is what they are looking for, which is why the news from Germany likely contributed to a collective sigh of relief in the bond market.
France’s opposition leader Marine Le Pen of the Rassemblement National sounded similarly tame. On Tuesday morning, Le Pen presented her plans to consolidate France’s ailing public finances.
A partial return to the Maastricht criteria, with annual new borrowing below three percent of GDP, is what she is seeking, Le Pen said. That, however, would require a revival of economic activity, in an economy that, much like Germany’s, is bloodless and starved of innovation under Brussels’ climate diktat. The country is heading toward sovereign bankruptcy, the politician said, and by 2032, hard spending cuts are supposed to generate savings of €140 billion.
After just 15 months in office, Le Pen plans to achieve a balanced primary budget, meaning a surplus before interest payments. As in Germany, Le Pen plans to enshrine a debt brake, her “golden rule,” in the constitution by referendum. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/le-pen-and-afd-join-forces-heavy-headwinds-von-der-leyens-eu-mega-budget
France’s opposition leader Marine Le Pen of the Rassemblement National sounded similarly tame. On Tuesday morning, Le Pen presented her plans to consolidate France’s ailing public finances.
A partial return to the Maastricht criteria, with annual new borrowing below three percent of GDP, is what she is seeking, Le Pen said. That, however, would require a revival of economic activity, in an economy that, much like Germany’s, is bloodless and starved of innovation under Brussels’ climate diktat. The country is heading toward sovereign bankruptcy, the politician said, and by 2032, hard spending cuts are supposed to generate savings of €140 billion.
After just 15 months in office, Le Pen plans to achieve a balanced primary budget, meaning a surplus before interest payments. As in Germany, Le Pen plans to enshrine a debt brake, her “golden rule,” in the constitution by referendum. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/le-pen-and-afd-join-forces-heavy-headwinds-von-der-leyens-eu-mega-budget
Four in five new UK jobs taken by foreigners – report
Successive governments have turned to migrant labor while millions of Britons are on welfare, a think tank finds
Successive governments have turned to migrant labor while millions of Britons are on welfare, a think tank finds
Foreign nationals have filled 80% of new UK jobs over the past decade, while millions of Britons have remained on out-of-work benefits, according to a new report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
The UK think tank said on Tuesday that British nationals accounted for just 734,000 of the 3.7 million jobs added to payrolls between 2014 and the end of 2025. EU nationals accounted for 408,000 new jobs, while migrants from the rest of the world filled around 2.5 million. https://web.archive.org/web/20261015170149/https://rt-english.com/business/647204-uk-migrants-job-gains/
The UK think tank said on Tuesday that British nationals accounted for just 734,000 of the 3.7 million jobs added to payrolls between 2014 and the end of 2025. EU nationals accounted for 408,000 new jobs, while migrants from the rest of the world filled around 2.5 million. https://web.archive.org/web/20261015170149/https://rt-english.com/business/647204-uk-migrants-job-gains/
"Replacing Europe": Undercover Film Follows The Money Behind Europe's Taxpayer-Funded Mass Migration Pipeline
A UN migration worker admits Spain won't stop the boats because the EU money is too good. A Catholic NGO pulling in €225 million a year moves arrivals to the mainland and pays them to stay. Activists paint a trail to the French border. And the journalists who filmed it were attacked and nearly arrested.
Investigative outlet Muckraker spent two months following the West African migration route from start to finish: from the smuggling hub of Nouadhibou, Mauritania, to Spain's Canary Islands, across mainland Spain and France, and finally to the English Channel and the United Kingdom. The result is a new documentary, REPLACING EUROPE.
The film's central finding is that the movement of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants into Europe is not chaos. It is a managed system, run by smugglers, publicly funded NGOs, activist networks and governments, several of which admit on camera that they profit from it. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/migration-game-undercover-film-follows-money-behind-europes-taxpayer-funded-mass
Investigative outlet Muckraker spent two months following the West African migration route from start to finish: from the smuggling hub of Nouadhibou, Mauritania, to Spain's Canary Islands, across mainland Spain and France, and finally to the English Channel and the United Kingdom. The result is a new documentary, REPLACING EUROPE.
The film's central finding is that the movement of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants into Europe is not chaos. It is a managed system, run by smugglers, publicly funded NGOs, activist networks and governments, several of which admit on camera that they profit from it. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/migration-game-undercover-film-follows-money-behind-europes-taxpayer-funded-mass
"Would consider..." Nearly half of Muslims and Jews would consider leaving France if Le Pen wins 2027 presidential election: poll
46% of Muslims and 44% of Jews say they would consider leaving France if Le Pen wins https://rmx.news/article/nearly-half-of-muslims-and-jews-would-consider-leaving-france-if-le-pen-wins-2027-presidential-election-poll/
46% of Muslims and 44% of Jews say they would consider leaving France if Le Pen wins https://rmx.news/article/nearly-half-of-muslims-and-jews-would-consider-leaving-france-if-le-pen-wins-2027-presidential-election-poll/
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-10-18
The Saudi-Houthi war drew in Egypt and the UAE as Riyadh admitted its first aircraft loss, and Hormuz attacks reached a tug off Khor Fakkan.
France's 17 October protests burned Limoges town hall, CFB Wainwright had a mass-casualty blast, and the AI credit unwind continued with Oracle CDS at a record 300bp.
Ukraine's biggest drone night: St Petersburg oil terminal and VK data centre on fire Russia's MoD claims 1,015 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones were shot down between 20:00 Oct 17 and 08:00 Oct 18. The intercepts came over 13 regions plus Moscow region, Krasnodar, Crimea and the Black Sea (MilitarySummary). The previous day's report claimed 654 (MilitarySummary).
Leningrad region alone: 144 downed per Governor Drozdenko, "one of the most massive raids on the city of the whole war" (sashakots). An earlier count of 126 also circulated (JayinKyiv).
Damage: Targets hit: a VK data centre, a nearby substation (~20,000 people without power), an Ozon warehouse and an oil depot.
12 apartment blocks and 2 houses damaged; 1 killed, 5 injured (MilitarySummary).
JayinKyiv adds the St Petersburg oil terminal, the Vostochnaya substation and a Pulkovo airport shutdown (JayinKyiv).
Route:Ukrainian channel Supernova+ says drones crossed Estonian and Latvian airspace; Lithuania and Latvia issued air-raid alerts (AMK_Mapping_).
Pro-Russian reaction: "NATO has entered the war" (vick55top) and "A solution to the BQ can only be a matter of time now" (RWApodcast).
Timing: this came after Trump called Ukraine's refinery strikes a "disgrace" (zerohedge). A burning oil terminal makes an awkward backdrop for a diesel deal...
..US-Russia-Europe: NYT says Washington pitched more Russian gas for Europe as part of a peace deal; Rubio says Starshield is "not at this moment available" to Ukraine... Zelensky says Ukraine's interceptor drones can't function because Starlink speeds are limited (via GEROMAN).
Rubio: Starshield "is not at this moment available to Ukraine" (simpatico771). He also says nobody at the White House ordered the Starlink slowdown (MilitarySummary). So the throttling happened, but per Rubio nobody ordered it...
Rubio: Starshield "is not at this moment available to Ukraine" (simpatico771). He also says nobody at the White House ordered the Starlink slowdown (MilitarySummary). So the throttling happened, but per Rubio nobody ordered it...
..Money and frozen assets: Zelensky asks the EU for €155B (via GEROMAN). The EU summit offered "support" but no 2027 funding, per DW (OlgaBazova).
Euroclear: An FT column flags Belgium's $360B restoration risk if Russia regains rights to its frozen assets.
Kathleen Tyson, a former Euroclear supervisor, counters that treating its $44T in custody as seizable is what would actually destabilise it (Kathleen_Tyson_)...
Israeli DM Threatens to Seize More Lebanese Territory, Annihilate Shi’ite Community ‘Completely’ Euroclear: An FT column flags Belgium's $360B restoration risk if Russia regains rights to its frozen assets.
Kathleen Tyson, a former Euroclear supervisor, counters that treating its $44T in custody as seizable is what would actually destabilise it (Kathleen_Tyson_)...
..Yemen: Ansarallah pushes into western Taiz on day 17 of its offensive; Saudi strike kills 9 in Maqbana; Riyadh airport misses its reopening...
..Hormuz & oil: IRGC claims two VLCCs mined, UKMTO logs attacks from Al Jubail to Al Mukalla; Tehran pitches a seven-day reopening via Qatar. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-10-18
Officials say service is restored (zerohedge). Zelensky says speed is improving but "not yet fully restored" (zerohedge).
Ukraine still hit Russian energy sites on Oct 15, two days after the throttling (BrianJBerletic).
Trump on Zelensky:"Not a good guy" (zerohedge). "Destroying Ukraine" and harder to deal with than Putin (Telegraph via AngelikiRoka_GR).
Kyiv's resumed refinery strikes are "a disgrace" (nypost)...
Houthi strikes mark the end of Saudi Arabia's Yemen 'containment strategy'
The Houthis are better equipped for war than they were a decade ago, while Saudi Arabia now has more to lose from escalation https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/houthi-strikes-mark-end-saudi-arabias-yemen-containment-strategy
Ex-Shin Bet chief files defamation suit against Netanyahu, details warnings months before Oct. 7
Ronen Bar says Netanyahu disregarded an ‘extraordinary series of warnings of impending disaster’; lawsuit comes in response to PM’s claim of ‘criminal’ acts by Bar for failing to wake him before Hamas attack https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-shin-bet-chief-files-defamation-suit-against-netanyahu-details-warnings-months-before-oct-7/
‘Not Residents’: Netanyahu Opposes Palestinians’ Return to Refugee Camps
Israel’s New – and Terrifying – Security Doctrine, by Trita Parsi
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay: Israeli violations in Palestinian territories amount to genocide https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/10/14/371969/
19 UN experts criticize UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) after dismissal of official who opposed starvation in Gaza https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/10/14/372001/
Rights group: 9,300 Palestinian prisoners face torture, starvation and medical neglect https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/10/14/371967/
60 Minutes won’t tell the full truth about Israeli settler violence
South Lebanon under Israeli Artillery Fire as US-Led Talks Continue https://www.palestinechronicle.com/south-lebanon-under-israeli-artillery-fire-as-us-led-talks-continue/
Israel Has Demolished Majority of Villages in Southern Lebanon—Mostly After the Ceasefire
Defense Minister Israel Katz has bragged that Israel was destroying “not one house at a time,” but “the entirety of those villages.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-lebanon-villages-destroyed
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-10-17
Three real changes. Trump waived most of the Graham Act's Russia sanctions at 9 PM on Friday. The tanker war spread from Hormuz to ~70 NM off Saudi Arabia's Jubail, where one VLCC was hit by an RPG fired from a small boat, while Brent cleared $110 on a Yanbu pipeline scare. And Indonesia had its worst session since 1998. The rest is continuation with sharper edges: the AI unwind is now a credit story (CoreWeave -25% on the week), and India widened its gold/silver fund restrictions while its silver vaults keep draining.
..Trump waives most Graham Act sanctions on Russia, days before they would have taken effect...
..Starshield: Trump: "I don't think it was me and I don't think it was Elon" (TheApeOfGoldST, Bloomberg via BankerWeimar).Officials say service is restored (zerohedge). Zelensky says speed is improving but "not yet fully restored" (zerohedge).
Ukraine still hit Russian energy sites on Oct 15, two days after the throttling (BrianJBerletic).
Trump on Zelensky:"Not a good guy" (zerohedge). "Destroying Ukraine" and harder to deal with than Putin (Telegraph via AngelikiRoka_GR).
Kyiv's resumed refinery strikes are "a disgrace" (nypost)...
Brussels gets the bill: Zelensky puts 2027 war costs at €155B and asks Europe for €70B more (IuliiaMendel, MarioNawfal).
Denmark's Frederiksen: "Ukraine is running out of money now... we have an acute problem finding financing here for '26" (M_Simonyan)...
Denmark's Frederiksen: "Ukraine is running out of money now... we have an acute problem finding financing here for '26" (M_Simonyan)...
..Hormuz & oil: at least four tankers hit Friday; physical North Sea grades price far above Brent futures; SPR at a 1982 low ...
..Iran: 72-hour alert as Trump rules out nukes and ground troops; ~1,800 Patriots fired in seven months - Trump's position:
He told Newsmax the US "doesn't have to" use nuclear weapons and that he doesn't foresee ground troops. He would not rule out the MOAB after the midterms (zerohedge).
CNN sources inside military planning doubt the MOAB would change the course of the war (KevorkAlmassian).
Iran's position: Its forces are on highest alert for 72 hours (HormuzLetter).
Its armed forces spokesman says US warships sit 500+ km offshore and will be pushed further out (MenchOsint, TheWorldWar12).
Unverified strike timing: A journalist at Iranian state broadcaster IRIB claims Washington asked Tehran to absorb a strike on Pickaxe Mountain without retaliating, with war possible within 24 hours (HormuzReport). This is a single Iranian state-media source; "More kayfabe?" asks simpatico771...
He told Newsmax the US "doesn't have to" use nuclear weapons and that he doesn't foresee ground troops. He would not rule out the MOAB after the midterms (zerohedge).
CNN sources inside military planning doubt the MOAB would change the course of the war (KevorkAlmassian).
Iran's position: Its forces are on highest alert for 72 hours (HormuzLetter).
Its armed forces spokesman says US warships sit 500+ km offshore and will be pushed further out (MenchOsint, TheWorldWar12).
Unverified strike timing: A journalist at Iranian state broadcaster IRIB claims Washington asked Tehran to absorb a strike on Pickaxe Mountain without retaliating, with war possible within 24 hours (HormuzReport). This is a single Iranian state-media source; "More kayfabe?" asks simpatico771...
..Political mood: Germany's foreign minister: "Europe is in Iran's sights" (TheApeOfGoldST).
Trump, the same day: "We used to go in, bomb people, and then leave... What are we doing?" (via GeromanAT).
US men under 40 blame the US (39%) and Israel (29%) for the conflict before Iran (18%) (honestpollco)...
Trump, the same day: "We used to go in, bomb people, and then leave... What are we doing?" (via GeromanAT).
US men under 40 blame the US (39%) and Israel (29%) for the conflict before Iran (18%) (honestpollco)...
..The AI unwind becomes a credit event: CoreWeave -25% on the week, SOX down 8 straight days - CoreWeave fell 12% on Friday, -25% for the week (zerohedge). Its bonds are below 80 cents with yields approaching 15% (GlobalMktObserv).
The SOX semiconductor index fell an 8th straight day. That matches the longest losing streak since 2006 per zerohedge; Hedgeye calls it the longest since 2008 (Hedgeye). https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-10-17
CNN reports the MOAB plans would target energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, including Pickaxe Mountain (Clash Report via imetatronink)
Officials quoted by CNN doubt the bomb can destroy buried facilities. They describe it as a psychological weapon that lets Trump claim a symbolic win and withdraw - Doubts about the weapon:
The GBU-43/B is an airburst bomb, not a bunker-buster, and must be dropped from a slow MC-130 close to the target. ~15 were built, maybe a dozen remain (imetatronink)...
The SOX semiconductor index fell an 8th straight day. That matches the longest losing streak since 2006 per zerohedge; Hedgeye calls it the longest since 2008 (Hedgeye). https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-10-17
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-10-16
The AI unwind spread to Asia. Korea hit its circuit breakers, Taiwan saw a record ~$9.3B of foreign selling and Indonesia had its worst day since the late-1990s crisis. In the US, Anthropic's Q3 run-rate looked flat, and IPO valuation talk dropped from $2T to $1.5T. September PPI goods prices posted their biggest jump on record, but Treasuries rallied anyway.
Iran reportedly began aiming at UAE port anchorages, and Reuters traced the Starshield slowdown to the White House. The rest continues from yesterday at a higher pitch: Houthi missiles hit Aden's presidential palace and Aramco HQ, and Ukraine is out of Patriot interceptors.
Asia's AI crash: Korea circuit breakers, record Taiwan exit, Indonesia's worst day since the late 1990s ...
..AI credit: CoreWeave priced for ~60% default odds as its bonds fall a third straight day...
..Iran: MOAB-on-Pickaxe-Mountain plans leak; Hezbollah told to raise readiness; Roosevelt carrier group not in theatre before end-October CNN reports the MOAB plans would target energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, including Pickaxe Mountain (Clash Report via imetatronink)
Officials quoted by CNN doubt the bomb can destroy buried facilities. They describe it as a psychological weapon that lets Trump claim a symbolic win and withdraw - Doubts about the weapon:
The GBU-43/B is an airburst bomb, not a bunker-buster, and must be dropped from a slow MC-130 close to the target. ~15 were built, maybe a dozen remain (imetatronink)...
..Trump: He "wouldn't use nuclear bomb" (zerohedge) Iran will be "defeated very quickly", and oil and diesel will "fall like a rock" (Nostra)
Israel: Channel 12 says Western intelligence sees "extreme" new Iranian moves, and Netanyahu has briefed Trump. Israeli officials favour hitting energy, missile and nuclear targets but see no immediate urgency (barnes_law)...
Israel: Channel 12 says Western intelligence sees "extreme" new Iranian moves, and Netanyahu has briefed Trump. Israeli officials favour hitting energy, missile and nuclear targets but see no immediate urgency (barnes_law)...
..Saudi-Houthi: missiles hit Aden's presidential palace and Aramco HQ; EU-Gulf summit postponed; Taiz assault begins... Saudi Arabia's own list confirms at least 4 airport hits but leaves out Oct 5 (MenchOsint)
Houthi demands: Abdulmalik al-Houthi wants oil and gas revenue, war compensation, salaries and open ports. He also says Yemenis should guard Mecca (MarioNawfal)
The Saudi Typhoon jet: Footage shows a missile detonating near the jet and its left wing on fire; it was probably recoverable (OSINTWarfare)
Ansarallah's tally since Sept 6: 1 F-15SA, 1 Akinci, 3 CH-4, 7 Wing Loong-2, 2 Karayel (MenchOsint)...
The Saudi Typhoon jet: Footage shows a missile detonating near the jet and its left wing on fire; it was probably recoverable (OSINTWarfare)
Ansarallah's tally since Sept 6: 1 F-15SA, 1 Akinci, 3 CH-4, 7 Wing Loong-2, 2 Karayel (MenchOsint)...
..Russia-Ukraine: Starshield order traced to the White House; Ukrainian missiles hit Su-34s at Borisoglebsk; drone strike in Romanian waters leaves 8 missing...
..Diplomacy: The UK is resupplying Storm Shadow missiles (MilitarySummary)
Europe reportedly rejected a Witkoff-Kushner plan to move frozen Russian assets into a Washington-run fund (OlegTsarov)
Lavrov: no ceasefire that lets Kyiv rearm (a_lambardi)
A Rating Group poll finds 57% of Ukrainians back an immediate negotiated peace with territorial concessions (MaxBlumenthal) https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-10-16
Europe reportedly rejected a Witkoff-Kushner plan to move frozen Russian assets into a Washington-run fund (OlegTsarov)
Lavrov: no ceasefire that lets Kyiv rearm (a_lambardi)
A Rating Group poll finds 57% of Ukrainians back an immediate negotiated peace with territorial concessions (MaxBlumenthal) https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-10-16
The Houthis are better equipped for war than they were a decade ago, while Saudi Arabia now has more to lose from escalation https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/houthi-strikes-mark-end-saudi-arabias-yemen-containment-strategy
It is a really huge desert with some big plum-targets. Why have Saudi air defences failed to intercept Houthi missiles?
Geography, interceptor shortages and evolving attack tactics may help explain why Saudi Arabia's advanced systems have struggled to stop repeated strikes https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/why-have-saudi-air-defences-failed-intercept-houthi-missilesRonen Bar says Netanyahu disregarded an ‘extraordinary series of warnings of impending disaster’; lawsuit comes in response to PM’s claim of ‘criminal’ acts by Bar for failing to wake him before Hamas attack https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-shin-bet-chief-files-defamation-suit-against-netanyahu-details-warnings-months-before-oct-7/
Netanyahu rejected the return of displaced Palestinians, declaring: “These are not residents, these are terrorists.”
Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the government to provide a timetable for measures enabling return to Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/not-residents-netanyahu-opposes-palestinians-return-to-refugee-camps/
Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the government to provide a timetable for measures enabling return to Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/not-residents-netanyahu-opposes-palestinians-return-to-refugee-camps/
In a stunning piece published by the head of one of Israel’s most prominent think tanks, Maj. Gen. Tamir Hayman describes the reality of Israel’s new security doctrine:
A few crucial principles he describes:
1. The United States is a “declining power” and, given its ongoing social and political shifts, will soon abandon Israel in any event. This is compelling Israel to move toward greater self-reliance in order to avoid “excessive dependence” on the US since it “exposes Israel to the influence of a progressive American value system that is incompatible with Israel’s Jewish character.”
Then he concludes: “Severing ties with the United States is therefore not only inevitable, but essential to Israel’s independence and the resilience of its Jewish national identity.”
2. Primacy of Jewish Identity over Democracy: The state’s Jewish identity takes precedence over its democratic system of government.
3. Peace as a Means Rather Than an End: “A meaningful peace agreement is unattainable in the Middle East, as peace agreements are merely technical and temporary arrangements requiring constant reassessment. According to this view, peace is not an intrinsic value that generates security, but a means of achieving other policy objectives.”
4. “Rejection of the Independent Existence of Arab States: The underlying premise is that most Arab states are not genuine nation-states, but collections of tribes and ethnic groups lacking a shared history and a foundational national vision. Consequently, undermining their stability is viewed as a natural process, one that Israel can manage more effectively than it can contend with strong nation-states, and one that it should even encourage.”
5. “War as a Foundational State: War is essential to national security and cannot be replaced by a state of peace, which, as noted, is merely a means rather than an end…. War is necessary, and preventive war is preferable because it secures a significant achievement at the outset.”
6. “Absolute Priority for Initiative and Offense over Defense: Preemptive, surprise strikes are viewed as the only way to achieve victory, giving offense precedence over defense.”
And there’s more. Important to note that Hayman does not advocate for this. Rather, he contends that this already is the new security doctrine of Israel. https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2026/10/13/israels-new-and-terrifying-security-doctrine/
1. The United States is a “declining power” and, given its ongoing social and political shifts, will soon abandon Israel in any event. This is compelling Israel to move toward greater self-reliance in order to avoid “excessive dependence” on the US since it “exposes Israel to the influence of a progressive American value system that is incompatible with Israel’s Jewish character.”
Then he concludes: “Severing ties with the United States is therefore not only inevitable, but essential to Israel’s independence and the resilience of its Jewish national identity.”
2. Primacy of Jewish Identity over Democracy: The state’s Jewish identity takes precedence over its democratic system of government.
3. Peace as a Means Rather Than an End: “A meaningful peace agreement is unattainable in the Middle East, as peace agreements are merely technical and temporary arrangements requiring constant reassessment. According to this view, peace is not an intrinsic value that generates security, but a means of achieving other policy objectives.”
4. “Rejection of the Independent Existence of Arab States: The underlying premise is that most Arab states are not genuine nation-states, but collections of tribes and ethnic groups lacking a shared history and a foundational national vision. Consequently, undermining their stability is viewed as a natural process, one that Israel can manage more effectively than it can contend with strong nation-states, and one that it should even encourage.”
5. “War as a Foundational State: War is essential to national security and cannot be replaced by a state of peace, which, as noted, is merely a means rather than an end…. War is necessary, and preventive war is preferable because it secures a significant achievement at the outset.”
6. “Absolute Priority for Initiative and Offense over Defense: Preemptive, surprise strikes are viewed as the only way to achieve victory, giving offense precedence over defense.”
And there’s more. Important to note that Hayman does not advocate for this. Rather, he contends that this already is the new security doctrine of Israel. https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2026/10/13/israels-new-and-terrifying-security-doctrine/
Returning to Israeli abuse and torture: Activists Abused By Israel Return to New Freedom Flotilla Mission https://israelpalestinenews.org/activists-abused-by-israel-return-to-new-freedom-flotilla-mission/
60 Minutes cut Leslie Stahl’s interview with a a Palestinian American recently beaten by Israeli settlers and ignored by the U.S. Embassy; the segment barely mentioned Palestinians killed by settlers, and said nothing about US citizens killed.
Editor’s note: In 2025, Israel partisan David Ellison bought CBS In order to make its coverage pro-Israel. He then put another Israel partisan, Bari Weiss, in charge of CBS and its program 60 Minutes. https://israelpalestinenews.org/60-minutes-wont-tell-the-full-truth-about-israeli-settler-violence/
Editor’s note: In 2025, Israel partisan David Ellison bought CBS In order to make its coverage pro-Israel. He then put another Israel partisan, Bari Weiss, in charge of CBS and its program 60 Minutes. https://israelpalestinenews.org/60-minutes-wont-tell-the-full-truth-about-israeli-settler-violence/
Defense Minister Israel Katz has bragged that Israel was destroying “not one house at a time,” but “the entirety of those villages.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-lebanon-villages-destroyed
Says Hezbollah action will expand Israel’s occupation zone https://news.antiwar.com/2026/10/14/israeli-dm-threatens-to-seize-more-lebanese-territory-annihilate-shiite-community-completely/
Ukrainian officials said military-grade Starlink receivers stopped functioning when mounted on fast-moving objects, disrupting drones that rely on satellite connectivity for onboard guidance while operating over Ukrainian territory.
A person in Ukraine's Defense Ministry told Reuters on Thursday that the receivers had begun working again while moving, but only at speeds of up to 100 mph (160 kph).
Ukrainian officials said the restrictions complicated strike missions against Russian forces and logistics in Russian-occupied territory.
They also slowed interceptor drones used by Ukraine to shoot down incoming Russian Shahed drones. https://www.turkiyetoday.com/world/order-to-limit-ukraines-starshield-service-came-from-white-house-report-3230440?s=1
A person in Ukraine's Defense Ministry told Reuters on Thursday that the receivers had begun working again while moving, but only at speeds of up to 100 mph (160 kph).
Ukrainian officials said the restrictions complicated strike missions against Russian forces and logistics in Russian-occupied territory.
They also slowed interceptor drones used by Ukraine to shoot down incoming Russian Shahed drones. https://www.turkiyetoday.com/world/order-to-limit-ukraines-starshield-service-came-from-white-house-report-3230440?s=1
Simplicius, Starlink Fiasco Heats Up as Zelensky Begs for Billions From Politically Pooped Europe
..The order to limit a satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter.
The officials said leaders at the Defense Department received a message that the SpaceX Starshield service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed.
The Telegraph dropped their own “bombshell” that it was actually Musk who came to Trump with the idea to turn off Starlink... Elon Musk approached Donald Trump with the idea of slowing down Starlink in Ukraine, The Telegraph can reveal.
The billionaire tech entrepreneur approached the US president with the proposal to introduce speed limits on the system, which hampered Ukraine’s drone defences, according to four sources familiar with the discussions.
One of the sources said Mr Trump “agreed” with Mr Musk’s suggestion, paving the way for the Pentagon to execute the slowdown on Starshield, the military-grade version of the satellite communications system. A high-ranking European official and two well-placed Ukrainian sources confirmed this version of events.
This version makes the most sense as it accords with both the “coincidental” fact that Musk made strong statements of repudiation against Zelensky with Trump’s well-known suggestibility...
..EU leaders are set to urge Volodymyr Zelenskyy to tone down his public criticism of Donald Trump, amid concerns that the Ukrainian president’s increasingly blunt remarks risk further damaging already strained relations between Washington and Kyiv. The officials said leaders at the Defense Department received a message that the SpaceX Starshield service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed.
The Telegraph dropped their own “bombshell” that it was actually Musk who came to Trump with the idea to turn off Starlink... Elon Musk approached Donald Trump with the idea of slowing down Starlink in Ukraine, The Telegraph can reveal.
The billionaire tech entrepreneur approached the US president with the proposal to introduce speed limits on the system, which hampered Ukraine’s drone defences, according to four sources familiar with the discussions.
One of the sources said Mr Trump “agreed” with Mr Musk’s suggestion, paving the way for the Pentagon to execute the slowdown on Starshield, the military-grade version of the satellite communications system. A high-ranking European official and two well-placed Ukrainian sources confirmed this version of events.
This version makes the most sense as it accords with both the “coincidental” fact that Musk made strong statements of repudiation against Zelensky with Trump’s well-known suggestibility...
Now amidst all the latest scandal between the US and Ukraine, Zelensky has revealed the budgetary black hole for Ukraine has gotten ever deeper, announcing that he needs partners to cough up an additional mind-warping €155 billion dollars... A “European leader” told the outlet that Zelensky’s attempts to win back attention from a crisis-ridden Europe is now a “tall order”. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/starlink-fiasco-heats-up-as-zelensky
It has already begun again: Zelensky Warns That 20 Million Ukrainians Would Pour Into EU If Russia Wins https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zelensky-warns-20-million-ukrainians-would-pout-eu-if-russia-wins
He means "black-market, doesn't he? US missiles supplied to Ukraine sold on ‘open market’ – Trump
The US president has accused Kiev of failing to account for billions of dollars in American military and financial aid https://web.archive.org/web/20261016040149/https://rt-english.com/news/647267-trump-blasts-zelensky-ukraine/European finance is unprepared for this: Trump Admin Floats Unfreezing Russian Assets In Big Move To Restart Talks https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-admin-floats-unfreezing-russian-assets-big-move-restart-talks
Gilbert Doctorow makes the case that Russia, with US technical (Starshield limits) help can force Ukrainian capitulation this winter by making cities uninhabitable. Europeans have a lot of current political and financial problems, which would be helped by cheap Russian oil and gas to improve their starved economies. They can't discuss Ukraine's 2027 war bills quite yet. The end of the Kievan regime and of the EU warlords is nigh
AfD's Alice Weidel explains in this Economist interview that German law stipulates that the asylum granted is contingent upon the reason for asylum persisting, so that Syrian and Afghan refugees should return to Syria and Afghanistan, now that wars have ended. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/a5bQgsaao-M
Radio-frequency electromagnetic distortion and noise is generated by data centers and spreads on electrical service lines, radiating into homes, workplaces, towns and farms. A Midwestern Doctor, What Is Making People Near Data Centers Sick (and What Could Fix It)
The noise, infrasound, and dirty electricity pouring out of data centers explain the backlash against them, and the same money driving the buildout could finally bring cheap, clean power to market https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/what-is-making-people-near-data-centers Nicolas Hulscher, Big Tech Has Officially Turned Data Centers Into Human–Silicon Hybrid Monstrosities
A biological data center containing 16 million living human neurons is now operational in Singapore, while Cortical Labs commercially sells biological computers worldwide. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/big-tech-has-officially-turned-data John Klar, Hoping to Stop MAHA, Big Food Is Spreading Disinformation About the Movement
An explosive article in The Guardian found that Big Food-funded social media influencers are being paid to discredit MAHA and persuade Americans to keep eating processed food https://www.themahareport.com/p/hoping-to-stop-maha-big-food-is-spreading Elizabeth Kucinich, “MAHA Scorecard” Underscores Broken Election Promises & Why MAHA Must Reclaim Its Independence
MAHA scorecard released last week reveals the Trump Administration has broken the majority of 42 election promises made to the American people on health, food and agriculture https://kucinichreport.substack.com/p/the-trump-administration-maha-scorecard Peter McCullough MD, Will the NIH Vaccine Injury Clinic Confront the Wuhan Spike Protein as Root Cause?
Past NIH research suggests the agency will ignore the cause and continue to frustrate patients with vague and aimless approaches to the problem. With long-COVID, the NIH approach was a disaster because more Spike protein was loaded into the body with their projects causing adverse events and making long-COVID worse. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/will-the-nih-vaccine-injury-clinic
The qualified advanced nurse practitioner and NHS England's network manager for high-consequence infectious diseases, lost the use of her hands, became numb from collarbone to thigh, and still carries permanent spinal cord damage visible on MRI. The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme acknowledged the vaccine caused her condition yet refused the £120,000 one-off payment because her disability improved below the rigid 60% lifelong threshold. https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/nurse-deemed-not-disabled-enough-payout-after-covid-jab-paralysis
Unintentional Aspirin overdose could have contributed to a lot of 1918-1919 Flu deaths: Aspirin, Rasputin, Tsarevich Alexei & Spanish Flu
How overdosing of Bayer’s wonder product probably aggravated major historical events of the early 20th century. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/aspirin-rasputin-tsarevich-alexeiPaul Marik MD clearly lays out what you may already know. How to Stay Healthy https://paulmarik.substack.com/p/how-to-stay-healthy
Morning sunlight and exercise, plus real food and avoiding sugars and white-starches, all help: Metabolic Syndrome and Depression
Epidemiology, mechanisms, glycemia, metabolic interventions, and circadian biology https://paulmarik.substack.com/p/metabolic-syndrome-and-depression Nicolas Hulscher, NEW STUDY: Enoki Mushroom Extract Suppressed Tumor Growth by 99.8% in Mice
Tumors completely regressed in 67% of mice following just 10 days of oral treatment, alongside a 166% increase in immune-system macrophages. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/new-study-enoki-mushroom-extractEating Naturally (pictured in the morning with cerial rye planted for late spring harvest)
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