https://www.sott.net Signs of the Times: The World for People who Think. Featuring independent, unbiased, alternative news and commentary on world events. en-us Original content Copyright 2026 by Signs of the Times/Sott.net. For other content, see our Fair Use Policy at www.sott.net. Sat, 19 Sep 2026 12:18:29 +0000 https://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net https://www.sott.net https://www.sott.net/article/508466-Heavy-rainfall-hits-Trabzon-and-Rize-Turkiye-Vehicles-submerged-houses-evacuated-7-4-inches-of-rain-overnight Heavy rainfall, which began in the Eastern Black Sea Region yesterday evening, affected the coastal districts of Rize. The districts of İyidere and Pazar were the hardest hit. İyidere Mayor Saffet Mete stated, "As of now, there is significant damage in 9 neighborhoods and 7 villages." Rize Governor Baydaş announced that there were no casualties in the heavy rain that fell overnight, but that more rain was expected in the afternoon. Meanwhile, a desperate struggle for survival unfolded in Karakaya village of Ürgüp district in Nevşehir due to the flooding. Heavy rainfall, which started in the region last evening, hit Rize after Trabzon. The Black Sea Coastal Road, which passes through the İyidere and Pazar districts of Rize, turned into a lake due to the fact that the stream waters coming from the mountains could not reach the sea, and also due to the effect of the heavy rainfall. Long queues of vehicles formed in both directions, and traffic on the coastal road came to a near... https://www.sott.net/article/508466-Heavy-rainfall-hits-Trabzon-and-Rize-Turkiye-Vehicles-submerged-houses-evacuated-7-4-inches-of-rain-overnight Sat, 19 Sep 2026 12:17:53 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508465-Torrential-rain-turns-streets-into-rivers-across-Rome-Italy Rome floods after torrential rain and powerful thunderstorms battered Italy's capital on September 18, turning several roads into rivers and leaving cars stranded in rapidly rising floodwater. The intense storm began around 11:40 a.m., affecting parts of northern Rome before spreading across other areas. Ponte Milvio, Corso Francia and Tor di Quinto were among the areas affected, with flooding, hail, strong winds and fallen branches reported. Local authorities carried out around 100 interventions, while flooding also disrupted transport and affected several roads and underpasses. Lazio remained under a yellow weather warning for rain and thunderstorms. https://www.sott.net/article/508465-Torrential-rain-turns-streets-into-rivers-across-Rome-Italy Sat, 19 Sep 2026 11:09:45 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508464-Breaking-ranks-South-Korean-president-announces-no-military-support-for-US-Hormuz-mission South Korea has belatedly made a big decision after starting months ago it found itself among key Washington allies directly called upon by President Trump to provide urgent security help for Strait of Hormuz energy transit, amid the war with Iran. President Lee Jae Myung has on Friday announced he will ⁠not deploy the military to the ⁠Middle East, though his statement also suggested troops could play a role on the peripheries of the conflict. Resisting direct calls from Trump to support the campaign against Iran, Lee made clear to a news conference: "There won't be deployment that would involve or enter war. I can tell you that very clearly. We won't deploy military assets in any form to that end." https://www.sott.net/article/508464-Breaking-ranks-South-Korean-president-announces-no-military-support-for-US-Hormuz-mission Fri, 18 Sep 2026 21:11:07 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508463-Unconditional-friendship-with-US-is-over-Merz The era of unconditional friendship with the US is coming to an end, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said, blaming the Trump administration for the deterioration in relations. Merz, once seen as one of Germany's most pro-American politicians, has repeatedly clashed with US President Donald Trump over issues ranging from the Iran war to German domestic policy. "The era of unconditional transatlantic friendship is probably over for the foreseeable future," the chancellor told fellow members of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Thursday at a campaign event in Berlin ahead of this weekend's regional parliamentary election. "We are seeing a change in political attitudes on the other side of the Atlantic, as well as a shift in how the transatlantic alliance is viewed, which we perhaps did not think possible," he added. https://www.sott.net/article/508463-Unconditional-friendship-with-US-is-over-Merz Fri, 18 Sep 2026 21:09:29 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508462-NASAs-new-4-billion-space-telescope-has-shown-us-starlight-for-the-first-time Roman joins Hubble and Webb as humanity's eyes in space. The road to launch was long and arduous, but NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Telescope finally got to space in late August. While Roman is still on its way to its final destination, it reached a major milestone on Thursday: first light. In a blog post, NASA reported that Roman's technical team successfully activated the telescope's Wide Field Instrument, the 300-megapixel infrared camera slated to take wide, high-res images of the deep cosmos. As a treat to the public, the team shared the first several test images taken by the camera, which show the first photons of starlight to reach Roman's extremely sensitive sensor. In addition, the team was able to confirm that the telescope's thermal control was operating as expected. The researchers will continue to monitor Roman's condition for the next 30 days, but the message is clear. Roman is operational! https://www.sott.net/article/508462-NASAs-new-4-billion-space-telescope-has-shown-us-starlight-for-the-first-time Fri, 18 Sep 2026 21:01:15 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508461-Sources-say-Putin-envoy-and-AfD-prepare-talks-to-get-Russian-gas-back-for-Germany Russian President Vladimir Putin's top economic envoy and Germany's far-right AfD leadership have begun preparations to meet next year to discuss restarting gas supplies to Europe's biggest economy, two people familiar with the plan ​said. The discussions for a meeting as early as March underline the close relations between Moscow and the AfD, which, although blocked from power by a coalition of its rivals, is Germany's most popular party with voters. The meeting would be attended by Kirill Dmitriev, who is a close adviser to Putin and who heads Russia's sovereign wealth fund, as well as AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, one of the people said. A spokesperson for the AfD and a representative for Dmitriev declined to comment. https://www.sott.net/article/508461-Sources-say-Putin-envoy-and-AfD-prepare-talks-to-get-Russian-gas-back-for-Germany Fri, 18 Sep 2026 20:44:36 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508460-Blue-states-with-strong-teachers-unions-are-terrible-at-literacy-reforms A 2026 analysis from the Progressive Policy Institute found a strong negative correlation between the political power of state teachers' unions and states' adoption of evidence-based early literacy policies. PPI Director of Education Policy Rachel Canter conducted the analysis, comparing union-strength rankings from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute against literacy-policy data from the ExcelinEd education advocacy group. At least eight of the ten states with the worst student literacy scores lean Democratic and have politically powerful teachers' unions. Only five of the worst ten are Republican, and one is a swing state. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Canter explained that PPI sorts states by which party holds the legislature and the governor's mansion, and that the gap tracks union power more closely than it tracks party. https://www.sott.net/article/508460-Blue-states-with-strong-teachers-unions-are-terrible-at-literacy-reforms Fri, 18 Sep 2026 20:08:56 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508459-Putin-explains-the-rise-of-Germanys-AfD-as-the-consequence-of-the-EUs-systemic-errors Had former Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successors remained true to Helmut Kohl's vision, then the AfD might never have become Germany's most popular party, so its astronomical rise is entirely their fault. Putin was asked about the AfD's recent landslide victory in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the sidelines of this year's BRICS Summit in Delhi. While politely declining to address the topic directly, he nevertheless said that "all that is now happening across Europe as a whole is the consequence of systemic errors committed by the so‑called West, or, to be more precise, by the globalist circles of the West, in the political, security and economic spheres." The rest of his answer elaborated on this. He described the political errors as a combination of anti-Russian fearmongering and the current German authorities dishonestly invoking the legacy of Helmut Kohl to justify their policies. Putin reminded everyone that Kohl was one of his close friends with whom he often... https://www.sott.net/article/508459-Putin-explains-the-rise-of-Germanys-AfD-as-the-consequence-of-the-EUs-systemic-errors Fri, 18 Sep 2026 19:56:39 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508458-Purge-complete-Princeton-faculty-reaches-perfect-zero-in-support-for-Republicans We recently discussed how Yale faculty reached academic nirvana after years of purging departments of conservatives and Republicans. The university finally showed zero political donations to Republicans. Now Princeton can claim that it has succeeded in a similar cleansing, according to a new study by Princetonians for Free Speech (PFS). The study shows that 98% of political donations went to Democrats or Democrat-affiliated groups and 0% went to Republicans or affiliated groups. Political contributions are one measure that helps gauge the degree of ideological orthodoxy and intolerance in higher education. While some academics simply do not make contributions and may still hold conservative views, the study still offers another insight into the political preferences of those who do make such contributions. The study does not mean that we can assume that the number of academics with conservative or libertarian values is zero. (There are obvious outliers such as Robby George).... https://www.sott.net/article/508458-Purge-complete-Princeton-faculty-reaches-perfect-zero-in-support-for-Republicans Fri, 18 Sep 2026 19:47:08 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508457-Lindsay-Clancy-jury-filled-with-liberal-activists-lone-holdout-juror The lone juror who blocked Lindsay Clancy's acquittal has spoken out for the first time after being doxxed and subjected to an intense public backlash, saying he believes he was targeted in part because he is a black Republican and devout Christian surrounded by jurors he described as liberal activists. Clancy admitted strangling her children, five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan, in their Massachusetts home in 2023 before attempting suicide. She has argued that severe postpartum mental illness left her legally insane. Her trial ended in a mistrial earlier this month after 11 jurors backed acquittal on insanity grounds and Michael Desronvil alone refused. His identity was subsequently exposed online, his relatives were pursued for information and his personal history - including dismissed domestic-violence allegations - was dragged through the media. Desronvil has since had to leave his home and is currently staying at an undisclosed location. https://www.sott.net/article/508457-Lindsay-Clancy-jury-filled-with-liberal-activists-lone-holdout-juror Fri, 18 Sep 2026 19:30:15 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508456-NATO-member-warns-the-bloc-is-searching-for-a-pretext-for-war-with-Russia Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico says he does not want his country to be dragged into a conflict Europe is moving dangerously close to a direct clash between NATO and Russia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has warned, accusing the West of seeking a "pretext" for a major conflict between the two sides. Fico made the comment in a Facebook post on Thursday, which accompanied the remarks he delivered before traveling to Ukraine for a meeting with Vladimir Zelensky and several European leaders. "I am deeply concerned that they are merely looking for a pretext for a major conflict between NATO and Russia," he wrote. Reflecting on the Ukraine conflict, Fico said that the hostilities had "gotten out of control," while accusing European nations of engaging in increasingly bellicose rhetoric which he said risked dragging the continent into a broader war. "The situation has never been as serious and tense regarding the possibility of a pan-European war conflict as it is now," he said. https://www.sott.net/article/508456-NATO-member-warns-the-bloc-is-searching-for-a-pretext-for-war-with-Russia Fri, 18 Sep 2026 19:26:58 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508455-The-Wests-faux-outrage-wont-save-Palestinians A ban on Israeli settlement goods is meaningless in stopping the ethnic cleansing of Palestine On September 2, without warning, Israeli bulldozers destroyed the homes of 12 Palestinian families in Khirbet al-Tabban, a herding community in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, leaving 70 people homeless, nearly half of them children. RT's Charlotte Dubenskij visited the community soon after, interviewing the families and the head of Masafer Yatta council, Nidal Younis. Younis described the demolition as the erasure of this village. He said that in addition to the destroyed homes, "water sources were also targeted, including rainwater collection wells and the families' small water tanks." They also destroyed the ten pens housing their 600 animals. Terrain in the South Hebron Hills is desert-like, dry and hot, and the families' livelihoods mainly depend on the sheep, goats and chickens they raise and the vegetables they grow - all of which requires water. https://www.sott.net/article/508455-The-Wests-faux-outrage-wont-save-Palestinians Fri, 18 Sep 2026 19:15:06 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508454-Why-is-Trump-shifting-millions-in-military-aid-to-South-America The funding will reportedly subsidize purchases of American weapons by four governments on the continent. The US has decided to redirect $52 million in foreign military financing to four countries in South America, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. The funds, which subsidize purchases of American military equipment, are being reallocated from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia, and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, the news agency said, citing a State Department notification to Congress. The shift comes as US President Donald Trump has placed greater emphasis on the Western Hemisphere under what he has called the 'Donroe Doctrine', his version of the 19th-century hegemonic Monroe Doctrine. The Trump administration has said it intends to strengthen US influence in the Americas while preventing rival powers from gaining strategic positions in the region. Comment: Such as Israel? The State Department said the previous distribution of foreign military financing did... https://www.sott.net/article/508454-Why-is-Trump-shifting-millions-in-military-aid-to-South-America Fri, 18 Sep 2026 18:56:26 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508453-Israels-three-headed-spy-machine The Israeli security establishment did not emerge as the orderly machine it later claimed to be. Much like the army itself, it was assembled through rivalry, improvisation, and a struggle over who would control the new state's intelligence arms. Only in the early 1950s did something resembling a settled institutional structure begin to take shape. Under Israel's founder and first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, authority was divided among the premier's office, the foreign minister, the army chief of staff, and several influential ambassadors. Each fought to extend his control over the agencies taking shape around them. In "Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad," Gordon Thomas describes the first dispute. One camp wanted to concentrate on economic and political intelligence, another on the military power of Israel's enemies, while others pressed for operations against former Nazis and fascists. Thomas writes that Ben Gurion summoned the intelligence chiefs to his office... https://www.sott.net/article/508453-Israels-three-headed-spy-machine Fri, 18 Sep 2026 18:55:42 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508452-The-EU-is-militarizing-the-Arctic-Heres-how-it-plans-to-do-it The EU's Arctic policy is becoming increasingly important amidst global competition driven by both climate change and the region's strategic significance. Melting Arctic ice is opening new maritime transport routes, facilitating access to abundant natural resources, and creating conditions for expanded economic activity. Consequently, the Arctic is becoming an arena for rivalry among the leading global powers. For Brussels, the Arctic holds not only regional significance but is also a tool for achieving foreign policy and geopolitical objectives. Adopted in October 2021, the EU's current Arctic policy is titled 'A stronger EU engagement for a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous Arctic'. It focuses on three 'soft' priorities: climate and environmental protection, sustainable development, and peace and cooperation. Essentially, in this document, the Arctic is viewed as a low-tension zone, and the primary focus is on the environment and scientific exchange. https://www.sott.net/article/508452-The-EU-is-militarizing-the-Arctic-Heres-how-it-plans-to-do-it Fri, 18 Sep 2026 18:54:56 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508451-Kremlin-blasts-US-move-to-militarize-space Moscow believes Washington's deployment of an orbital weapons system is taking the world in the wrong direction. Weapons should not be deployed in space, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, responding to the Pentagon's announcement that the US has placed a weapons system in orbit. US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink disclosed the deployment on Monday, saying the US Space Force "now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action," without providing details about the system. Media reports have suggested that it is intended to disable or destroy hostile satellites. Peskov told journalists on Tuesday during a regular briefing: "We believe that space should be free from any weapons. And certainly we count on broad international consolidation... to continue efforts for the full demilitarization of space." https://www.sott.net/article/508451-Kremlin-blasts-US-move-to-militarize-space Fri, 18 Sep 2026 18:54:29 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508450-I-like-them-Trump-weighs-in-on-flock-surveillance-cameras You know those Flock surveillance cameras everyone hates? Trump just came out in favor of them. Speaking with reporters on Sunday on Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Trump endorsed the AI-powered mass surveillance tool. A reporter asked Trump: "Speaking of [AI], Flock cameras. You haven't talked a lot about these Flock cameras. A lot of law enforcement say they really help them. Would you be willing to back that?" Trump replied: "No, I sort of like them because of that, because of law enforcement. But some people don't. They think it's an infringement, I like them. You have pros and cons, right? It's being studied right now." Trump previously said in August that he would make up his mind regarding Flock cameras "over the next couple of weeks." https://www.sott.net/article/508450-I-like-them-Trump-weighs-in-on-flock-surveillance-cameras Fri, 18 Sep 2026 18:54:05 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508449-NATO-3-0-marches-into-Copenhagen The military bloc's European members are now footing the bill and taking all of the risk against Russia At NATO's first high-level summit since Ankara, the bloc's new, Europe-centric incarnation is taking shape. But it's ordinary Europeans who stand to lose their future, and potentially their lives. NATO's Military Committee is meeting in Copenhagen on Friday and Saturday. Chaired by Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the Military Committee, which is NATO's highest military authority, is tasked with turning the bloc's strategic goals into executable plans. When NATO orders a battlegroup to Lithuania, for example, the Military Committee ensures its tanks will be able to get there across multiple countries' rail networks, its troops will be supplied and housed, and the deployment will not leave another sector of the bloc's so-called 'eastern flank' unmanned. Accordingly, NATO is keeping the meeting's agenda under wraps. The organization's website simply states that the defense... https://www.sott.net/article/508449-NATO-3-0-marches-into-Copenhagen Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:52:59 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508448-Tunisia-floods-disrupt-capital-Tunis-as-heavy-rain-traps-motorists-and-residents Heavy rain brought parts of Tunisia's capital to a standstill on Thursday, flooding roads and homes, trapping people in cars and disrupting electricity and internet services. Home to nearly three million people, the Greater Tunis region has faced repeated flooding in recent years. Thursday's flooding came only months after severe January rains caused widespread disruption across the capital and other parts of the country, leaving several people dead and causing significant damage. Weather warnings had been issued in advance, but the decision to suspend classes in Tunis was announced only shortly before it took effect. Parents rushed to schools to collect their children as the rain intensified and traffic backed up across the capital. Videos shared online showed flooded streets, cars stranded in rising water and what appeared to be power lines catching fire. Residents also reported power and internet cuts and water entering homes. https://www.sott.net/article/508448-Tunisia-floods-disrupt-capital-Tunis-as-heavy-rain-traps-motorists-and-residents Fri, 18 Sep 2026 12:32:33 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508447-6-month-old-baby-mauled-by-pit-bull-in-Haryana-India-CCTV-captures-horror A six-month-old baby was seriously injured after being attacked by a pet Pit Bull in Haryana's Sonipat. The incident took place in Sikka Colony and was captured on CCTV. According to the reports, the baby was being taken out for a walk by her aunt when the dog suddenly ran towards them and lunged at the infant. The impact caused the woman and the baby to fall to the ground. The CCTV footage shows the Pit Bull grabbing the baby and refusing to let go. The dog dragged the infant along the road as the woman's attempts to rescue the child continued. The aunt was also injured while trying to fight off the dog. (Warning graphic content) https://www.sott.net/article/508447-6-month-old-baby-mauled-by-pit-bull-in-Haryana-India-CCTV-captures-horror Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:47:24 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508446-Man-dies-in-shark-attack-at-Sorrento-Beach-north-of-Perth-Western-Australia-5th-fatal-attack-for-the-country-this-year A swimmer has been killed in a shark attack at a beach in Perth's northern suburbs. Police confirmed the male swimmer died as a result of the attack, but provided no further details. Earlier, a witness described seeing blood in the water after a shark attack at Sorrento Beach. This is the second shark attack in WA so far this week, and has triggered the closure of almost 12 kilometres of beach from Marmion to Iluka until at least noon on Saturday. St John WA had received reports of the attack at 10:15am local time. WA police have been patrolling the beach since, with officers earlier seen standing along the shoreline next to a red surfboard. https://www.sott.net/article/508446-Man-dies-in-shark-attack-at-Sorrento-Beach-north-of-Perth-Western-Australia-5th-fatal-attack-for-the-country-this-year Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:34:21 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508445-Powerful-magnitude-6-5-earthquake-strikes-offshore-of-southwest-Alaska-along-the-Pacific-Ring-of-Fire A strong magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck near a remote stretch of the Aleutian Islands early Monday morning, along the volatile stretch of the Pacific Ring of Fire. The U.S. Geological Survey said that the earthquake struck at 5:19 a.m. local time, about 101 miles west-southwest of Nikolski, Alaska, at a depth of about 71 miles. So far, the USGS has noted that only three individuals reported feeling the faint shaking, which could be largely due to the depth of the quake along with the remoteness of the location. Typically, deeper depths mean the seismic energy weakens significantly by the time it travels up to the surface, resulting in much less intense shaking on land. Additionally, there is no tsunami threat to Alaska or the surrounding Pacific region. This earthquake adds to a busy stretch of seismic activity across the Pacific Ring of Fire following other recent quakes in the region. The Ring of Fire is a 25,000-mile belt of volcanoes and earthquake zones surrounding much of... https://www.sott.net/article/508445-Powerful-magnitude-6-5-earthquake-strikes-offshore-of-southwest-Alaska-along-the-Pacific-Ring-of-Fire Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:49:29 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508444-British-pop-star-Ed-Sheerans-opening-acts-all-walk-after-rapper-Macklemore-sidelined-over-Gaza-remarks Ed Sheeran's openers quit after rapper Macklemore was dropped over "Free Palestine" remarks at a New Jersey show British pop star Ed Sheeran has lost all of the musicians booked to open his upcoming concerts after rapper Macklemore was dropped from the lineup over pro-Palestine remarks. Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Beoga and Lukas Graham have all pulled out in protest. The dispute erupted after Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, joined Sheeran's Loop tour at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month. He told the crowd "Free Palestine" before performing Hind's Hall, his protest song about the Gaza war, and later said he had been removed from the remaining dates after several venues objected to his participation. https://www.sott.net/article/508444-British-pop-star-Ed-Sheerans-opening-acts-all-walk-after-rapper-Macklemore-sidelined-over-Gaza-remarks Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:57:54 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508443-The-lie-of-September-11-2001-still-determines-all-of-our-lives The events of September 11, 2001, are not a thing of the past. They have direct repercussions in the wars in Ukraine, Palestine, and Iran. It is possible to mistake the enemy and remain fixed, admiring, on a power that sows chaos and misery. But ignoring the truth only leads to being plunged, in turn, into chaos and misery oneself. The 25th commemoration of the events of September 11, 2001, gave rise, in Europe, to the tireless repetition of the inconsistencies that Atlanticist propaganda has been pouring out since these attacks. If we persist in lying, always lying, and lying again, even 25 years later, it's because the stakes remain the same: massacres continue in Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran. And we cannot understand them without connecting them to what happened that day. Today, hundreds of millions of people are convinced that the three towers of the World Trade Center did not collapse under the impact of two airliners and that no planes struck the... https://www.sott.net/article/508443-The-lie-of-September-11-2001-still-determines-all-of-our-lives Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:41:29 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508442-The-US-Burden-Sharing-Network-takes-shape In 2025, the US National Security Strategy paper would be broadly misinterpreted as a US plan to break with its historical pursuit of global primacy and instead retreat to the Western Hemisphere while somehow reconciling or coexisting with traditional targets of US aggression. Many analysts even claimed there was an absence of any direct mention of Russia or China as part of long-standing "great power competition." Yet, even throughout the document itself, terms like "hostile and subversive influences" simply stood in for "Russia" and "China," reaffirming continuity of US foreign policy objectives rather than upsetting or breaking from them. Included within the 33-page document was a detailed explanation of exactly how the United States would continue pursuing "great power competition" against not only Russia and China but all other nations obstructing US primacy. https://www.sott.net/article/508442-The-US-Burden-Sharing-Network-takes-shape Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:37:35 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508441-Zelenskys-political-endgame-has-begun With rivals mobilizing and peace talks returning, the battle for Ukraine's next presidency is breaking into the open. Although Ukrainian authorities have rejected any idea of unity between the peoples of Russia and Ukraine, the best metaphor for their country's modern political system is a traditional Slavic winter game called 'King of the Mountain'. In this game, any player who manages to reach the so-called 'mountain' (dominating height) must defend it at all costs against rivals. When another player knocks off the 'king of the mountain', he takes his place until the next 'king' topples him, and so on. Much like in this children's game, leaders have quickly succeeded one another in modern-day Ukraine - in fact, former President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma (the first to promote the state concept "Ukraine is not Russia") was the only Ukrainian leader to serve two consecutive presidential terms. Today, there is no democratically elected head of state: Vladimir Zelensky's term ended in... https://www.sott.net/article/508441-Zelenskys-political-endgame-has-begun Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:36:10 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508440-Pentagons-Iran-war-costs-hit-38-billion-in-five-months-budget-office Costs could rise by $2-3 billion a month or higher if the fighting escalates, the Congressional Budget Office has cautioned. The US war with Iran cost the Pentagon approximately $38 billion in its first five months, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill could rise by another $2 billion to $3 billion for every additional month of fighting - and by more if hostilities intensify. In a report released on Tuesday, the CBO estimated Defense Department expenses from the start of US combat operations on February 28 through August 1. The figure includes the estimated cost of replacing expended munitions and equipment lost in battle, as well as additional flying hours, military operations, and higher fuel costs. The office said its estimate was "subject to considerable uncertainty" because the Pentagon did not provide the requested information, forcing analysts to rely on government databases and publicly available reports. The estimate also excludes the cost of... https://www.sott.net/article/508440-Pentagons-Iran-war-costs-hit-38-billion-in-five-months-budget-office Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:34:57 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508439-Key-Saudi-pipeline-to-be-shut-down-for-weeks-as-diesel-prices-hit-record-highs New satellite photos show extensive damage to the East-West Pipeline, which was hit last week in a drone strike. Fears of a global energy shortage are rising amid new revelations about damage inflicted last week on a key oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia. According to a Monday report in The Associated Press, Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, which is used to transport oil to the Red Sea, will be shut down for weeks after being hit last Thursday by a drone strike. Anonymous officials in the region told the AP that repairing damage from the attacks, which the Saudi government has blamed on Iran-backed militias based in Iraq, "could take three to five weeks, including at a major pumping facility." The Guardian reported Monday: Saudi Arabia will run out of oil ⁠stocks for export if the pipeline isn't repaired within days, which could lead to the loss of up to 4% of global supply." Satellite photos published on Sunday showed extensive fire damage suffered by a pumping station connected to... https://www.sott.net/article/508439-Key-Saudi-pipeline-to-be-shut-down-for-weeks-as-diesel-prices-hit-record-highs Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:33:12 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508438-Lefties-continue-ditching-California-Paramount-hunts-Nashville-office-space "Insane Communist wackos" are ruining the state Paramount Skydance Chairman and CEO David Ellison is exploring a potential California exit as the studio battles a multistate challenge to its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Politico reported late Wednesday that the studio is seeking roughly 400,000 square feet of office space in Nashville, signaling that its relocation is in the works. We have reported in the last few days and last month of Paramount's plan to exit the left-wing state (read here & here). The studio could move at least some operations to the Tennessee capital within two to three years, according to the report. No relocation has been announced, but the search raises the risk that California could lose a major Hollywood studio headquarters. Such a loss would deepen concerns about the state's ability to retain businesses as its entertainment industry struggles and the exodus of businesses and residents shows no signs of stopping. https://www.sott.net/article/508438-Lefties-continue-ditching-California-Paramount-hunts-Nashville-office-space Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:20:26 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508437-Letter-COVID-Vaccines-and-Mandates-Are-Illegal Dear Honourable Member of Parliament Mr. Dean Allison, COVID vaccine injured people who testified at the Allison inquiry on September 8-11, 2026 (see this and this) should have their evidence used in a lawsuit or many lawsuits against Health Canada (90% of their funding comes from the drug companies according to BC family doctor Charles Hoffe) among other people like former Prime Minister Justin Castro (I meant Trudeau), every Premier of every province and every Chief Medical examiner of every province. Comment: Aside from the quip regarding Castro, he means this Mr. Hoffe: Canadian government plans 'totalitarian show trial' of heroic doctor. Legal trickery would silence Dr. Charles Hoffe Many present and former experts in the field signed that the COVID vaccines be halted (see this). Also I e-mailed McMaster University a year ago with three different e-mails showing them the overwhelming evidence that these so called vaccines were designed and implement to cause harm and death:... https://www.sott.net/article/508437-Letter-COVID-Vaccines-and-Mandates-Are-Illegal Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:10:14 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508436-Britains-speech-police-How-the-state-learned-to-fear-its-people With 62,000 people arrested for speech crimes in five years, the UK can no longer claim to be a free society, says Paul Birch. The state has learned to fear its people and will no longer tolerate them speaking freely. Many of us in Britain still flatter ourselves that we live in a free country. Although the UK isn't quite a police state (not yet anyway), neither is it a country in which the individual can any longer speak without glancing over his or her shoulder. The old compact of a liberal society was simple - the state punished genuine criminality, while opinion was left to the rough justice of argument, satire and public disagreement. That compact has now been comprehensively torn up. Across Britain, speech that would once have been answered by rebuttal or humour is now treated as a matter for police, regulators and secretive Whitehall machinery. A report published this week by civil liberties and privacy campaigning organisation Big Brother Watch states that more than 62,000... https://www.sott.net/article/508436-Britains-speech-police-How-the-state-learned-to-fear-its-people Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:09:51 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508435-NASA-craft-discovers-a-huge-new-crater-on-the-moon Scientists have discovered a crater on the moon that's bigger than the Roman Colosseum and is the result of a powerful impact two years ago that initially went undetected. The steep-sided hole — about 728 feet (222 meters) across and up to 141 feet (43 meters) deep — is the solar system's biggest known impact crater carved out in recent times. Such a large-scale event is estimated to occur only once every 132 years, researchers said, making this a treasure trove of information as NASA prepares to build a base for astronauts on the moon. "This event constitutes a statistically rare, effectively once-in-a-lifetime observation," the scientists wrote in one of two studies appearing on the subject Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. https://www.sott.net/article/508435-NASA-craft-discovers-a-huge-new-crater-on-the-moon Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:46:47 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508434-The-REAL-reason-why-the-AI-CEOs-want-to-be-regulated Calls to regulate the artificial intelligence (AI) sector have reached a fever pitch over the last week. Fearmongering about the prospects of a totally unregulated AI industry has been around as long as the industry itself. But the current storm began last Tuesday when an engineer at Anthropic — the firm best known for its chatbot Claude — resigned, citing safety concerns. The engineer claimed that many people at top AI firms earnestly believe the technology could wipe out humanity by the end of the 2020s. Those claims got a boost on Saturday when Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, published an essay calling for an across-the-board slowdown of AI development. Other prominent CEOs like Sam Altman and Elon Musk then said they agreed with Amodei. The media, which is always on the lookout for a new mass extinction scare, jumped on what could appear to anyone who didn't actually read Amodei's essay as confirmation from the top AI companies that those warning of an AI apocalypse are... https://www.sott.net/article/508434-The-REAL-reason-why-the-AI-CEOs-want-to-be-regulated Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:27:29 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508433-RT-interviews-John-Mearsheimer-Theres-no-diplomatic-way-out-of-the-Ukraine-war John Mearsheimer discusses the Ukraine war, Trump's diplomacy, the legacy of 9/11 and the global shift from unipolarity to a multipolar order American political scientist John Mearsheimer has claimed that the Ukraine conflict can't be resolved diplomatically because the two sides' goals remain irreconcilable and it will ultimately be settled on the battlefield. Mearsheimer made the remarks during a visit to Moscow in an interview with Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy and editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs. Fyodor Lukyanov: John, if a time machine brought great diplomats like Metternich and Talleyrand into the present day, what would they do to stem the bloodshed and bring today's conflicts to an end? Would they succeed? John Mearsheimer: Well, they were definitely skilled diplomats. And if we talk about the Ukraine-Russia war, they would go to great lengths to try to solve that. But I think that they'd be unable to do... https://www.sott.net/article/508433-RT-interviews-John-Mearsheimer-Theres-no-diplomatic-way-out-of-the-Ukraine-war Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:07:16 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508432-Heavy-rain-and-floods-in-northern-Vietnam-submerge-homes-and-disrupt-economy-6-inches-of-rain-falls-overnight-at-least-4-killed-UPDATE Heavy rain caused flooding across parts of northern Vietnam on Thursday, disrupting travel, inundating homes and pushing several rivers above dangerous levels, authorities and state media said. Rain has fallen across northern and north-central Vietnam this week, with some areas receiving more than 50 centimeters (19.7 inches), according to the disaster prevention department said. More than 2,000 homes have been submerged, many key transportation routes blocked and more than 1,000 households isolated. Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces, which include lowland and hilly areas south of the capital Hanoi, have been among the hardest hit. Vietnam is among the world's most climate-vulnerable countries and prone to flooding. A series of severe storms last year spurred the country to find new ways to prepare for and manage floods. In Thanh Hoa province, authorities told students to stay home because flooding had made travel to school dangerous, state media said. https://www.sott.net/article/508432-Heavy-rain-and-floods-in-northern-Vietnam-submerge-homes-and-disrupt-economy-6-inches-of-rain-falls-overnight-at-least-4-killed-UPDATE Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:18:02 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508431-Flash-flooding-kills-3-in-New-Mexico-as-prolific-storms-soak-the-Southwest-3-inches-of-rain-in-3-hours-for-the-region Unusually potent storms triggered flash floods across the normally arid Southwest that killed at least three people and forced water rescues. The storms dropped more than a month's worth of rain in just a few hours north of Phoenix on Wednesday afternoon and caused flash flooding that killed three people in New Mexico. Officers responded at around 12:30 a.m. local time to a report of three people washed away by flooding near Newcomb, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation. Police discovered two adults and one juvenile on scene, the Navajo Police Department said in a statement. All three were pronounced dead. The department declined to provide further details about the deaths when contacted by CNN, citing concern for the family's privacy. https://www.sott.net/article/508431-Flash-flooding-kills-3-in-New-Mexico-as-prolific-storms-soak-the-Southwest-3-inches-of-rain-in-3-hours-for-the-region Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:07:02 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508430-Heavy-overnight-rain-floods-parts-of-Mogadishu-Somalia Heavy overnight rain floods parts of Mogadishu, including Bakaaro Market, stalling vehicles and disrupting trade. Banadir Regional Administration deploys water tankers and drainage teams; new drainage channels help ease impact. Normalcy has now returned. https://www.sott.net/article/508430-Heavy-overnight-rain-floods-parts-of-Mogadishu-Somalia Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:52:30 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508429-Five-new-vents-open-at-Kilauea-volcano-summit-in-Hawaii There have been some changes in the current eruption at Kilauea volcano. New vents opened Monday night, north of the established vent complex in the summit caldera. The vents opened without significant seismicity, although there was a short-lived swarm of shallow earthquakes in the same region on the night of September 13th. The new vents are at a lower elevation than the main eruptive vent complex. On Tuesday, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported a total of five new vents have formed, and provided an annotated image showing the exact locations. https://www.sott.net/article/508429-Five-new-vents-open-at-Kilauea-volcano-summit-in-Hawaii Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:39:18 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508428-Early-evacuation-heads-off-casualties-from-huge-landslide-in-Chinas-Sichuan-province A landslide struck Shidaguan village in Diexi Town, Mao County, in China's southwestern province of Sichuan on Wednesday, but no casualties were reported. An unstable slope was identified ahead of the incident and 161 residents in harm's way were evacuated by late last month. https://www.sott.net/article/508428-Early-evacuation-heads-off-casualties-from-huge-landslide-in-Chinas-Sichuan-province Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:22:19 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508427-Heavy-rain-floods-streets-after-weather-alert-in-Valencia-Spain-2-7-inches-of-rainfall-in-JUST-30-minutes Flooding has hit the city of Valencia in Spain with torrential rain triggering rescues and major travel disruptions. Pictures from the Reuters news agency showed vehicles partially submerged and surrounded by flood waters during the rain. It's just two years a major tragedy in which catastrophic floods killed more than 220 people in Valencia province. https://www.sott.net/article/508427-Heavy-rain-floods-streets-after-weather-alert-in-Valencia-Spain-2-7-inches-of-rainfall-in-JUST-30-minutes Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:09:55 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508426-Bear-kills-2-berry-pickers-in-Irkutsk-region-of-Russia-14-killed-in-the-country-since-start-of-the-year A bear killed two men who were gathering wild berries in Siberia's Irkutsk region, police said Thursday, coming amid a reported rise in deadly encounters between humans and bears since the spring. Law enforcement said the bear attacked three people who were foraging in the Taiga, killing a 55-year-old and a 65-year-old on Wednesday in a remote forest on the banks of the Lena River, located around 4,200 kilometers (2,610 miles) east of Moscow. "One person managed to escape and report the incident," the regional branch of Russia's Interior Ministry said. A search team of police officers and hunters located the bodies of the two men in the forest and opened fire after the bear was said to have appeared and behaved aggressively. The bear fled the area, and authorities are trying to track it down. https://www.sott.net/article/508426-Bear-kills-2-berry-pickers-in-Irkutsk-region-of-Russia-14-killed-in-the-country-since-start-of-the-year Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:17:15 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508425-Woman-killed-by-bear-in-Krasnoyarsk-Russia-amid-rise-in-attacks A bear killed a 66-year-old woman in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk, law enforcement authorities said Wednesday, marking the latest fatal encounter amid a reported rise in bear attacks across Russia this year. The Investigative Committee, Russia's top investigative body, said the woman was found dead in the remote village of Verkhny Kebezh, around 3,400 kilometers (2,100 miles) east of Moscow. Investigators released images showing a rural wooden house and its yard, which appeared to be the woman's home. News of the deadly attack came after officials on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East said they shot and killed a bear that wandered onto the grounds of a school in the village of Palana. https://www.sott.net/article/508425-Woman-killed-by-bear-in-Krasnoyarsk-Russia-amid-rise-in-attacks Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:17:08 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508423-High-time-Vacationing-Israeli-soldiers-face-mounting-hostility-across-Asian-tourist-hubs Locals in Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and Thailand object to their countries playing host to troops from an army carrying out a genocide Residents across South and Southeast Asian countries are pushing back against Israeli soldiers and veterans vacationing in their countries, using confrontations, street protests, and legal complaints to object to hosting members of an army carrying out Israel's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported on 16 September. The backlash stretches across Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and Thailand, which are all favored destinations for Israeli troops who take their army discharge payments and head abroad on extended tours as part of a post-service travel ritual known in Hebrew as Tiul Gadol. In Thailand, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul this month ordered the expulsion of an Israeli man found guilty of making threats against a zoo owner after the zoo put a Palestinian flag on show. https://www.sott.net/article/508423-High-time-Vacationing-Israeli-soldiers-face-mounting-hostility-across-Asian-tourist-hubs Wed, 16 Sep 2026 22:15:53 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508422-Oh-Canada-PM-Mark-Carney-reportedly-pushing-for-associate-membership-with-European-Union Prime Minister Mark Carney has reportedly been pushing European leaders in private conversations and meetings to allow Canada to join the European Union as an unprecedented "associate member." Prime Minister Mark Carney has been pushing for more than just deeper ties and improved trade deals with the European Union, as reports from the Wall Street Journal claim he and his government have been pushing for pseudo-membership with the multinational political and economic union. According to the Wall Street Journal, officials in both the European Union's (EU) member states and Canada suggest that the EU is open to allowing Canada to join the EU, a move that Carney has reportedly been pushing on world leaders behind the scenes. The Prime Minister's Office, Global Affairs Canada, and Canada's International Trade Minister, Maninder Sidhu, did not immediately respond to Juno News' requests for comment or confirmation; however, Sidhu's press secretary told Juno he would provide further... https://www.sott.net/article/508422-Oh-Canada-PM-Mark-Carney-reportedly-pushing-for-associate-membership-with-European-Union Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:35:55 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508421-Tucker-Carlson-sounds-alarm-over-Trumps-planned-largest-transfer-of-ordinance-in-modern-history After the US was essentially forced to conduct a major and rapid draw down of forces from the Gulf and Mideast region in the wake of Iran's 'unexpectedly' large retaliation for Operation Epic Fury, it seems all that Washington is left to do is arm regional allies to the teeth and wish them the best. Early this month the US approved two potential Saudi defense packages valued at a whopping $5.75 billion. The forthcoming deals will reportedly focus on transferring extended-range precision bombs and bolstering Abrams tanks in the kingdom. Ironically this comes at a moment that Saudi-backed coalition forces in Yemen - with all its military tech - are getting rolled back by Ansar Allah fighters in sandals. Naturally, next on the list comes Israel. https://www.sott.net/article/508421-Tucker-Carlson-sounds-alarm-over-Trumps-planned-largest-transfer-of-ordinance-in-modern-history Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:16:29 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508420-Soros-backed-Philadelphia-DA-referred-for-criminal-investigation Testimony showed that Larry Krasner repeatedly complained about having his case taken over by 'Nazis.' Pointing to evidence of "false statements, false declarations made under oath, perjury, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy," a federal judge has issued a memorandum asking the Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation into Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and a top deputy in his office, Matthew Stiegler. It's familiar stuff. Krasner, a spectacularly woke prosecutor who won the office with lavish backing from George Soros, has a long history of scandal and crisis, and has been accused of misleading courts in several high-profile cases. This is an old headline from June, covering the same ground in a different matter: The current controversy involves an effort by a convicted murderer, Dennis Johnson, to be freed from prison, turning to the federal courts with a repeated request for a writ of habeas corpus after state courts denied his several petitions... https://www.sott.net/article/508420-Soros-backed-Philadelphia-DA-referred-for-criminal-investigation Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:01:08 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508419-The-worlds-great-powers-are-thinking-about-empire-again From Britain and the USSR to Trump's America, the cost of imperial expansion raises a lasting question: Can great nations be secure without it? An empire is perhaps the most expensive indulgence that even the most powerful nations can afford only for a limited time. Arguments that empires are profitable are largely unconvincing and while they may enrich a narrow section of the elite, and perhaps do so spectacularly, it's rarely for very long, and for everyone else, empire eventually means costs. Consider the lives of ordinary people in 19th-century Britain, the colonial veteran portrayed by Rudyard Kipling, or the Russian village during the period of the Soviet Union's greatest geopolitical power, as depicted by Russia's remarkable "village prose" writers. Imperial grandeur didn't necessarily translate into prosperity for those expected to sustain it, and eventually, the costs become impossible to ignore. https://www.sott.net/article/508419-The-worlds-great-powers-are-thinking-about-empire-again Wed, 16 Sep 2026 20:38:00 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508418-Trump-EPA-moves-to-permanently-eliminate-greenhouse-gas-emissions-rules-for-power-plants-gutting-Bidens-signature-environmental-policies The agency is also axing Biden-era rules that would have forced coal-fired plants to shutter and gas-fired plants to complete costly environmental upgrades The Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to propose the permanent repeal of federal regulations of power plants' greenhouse gas emissions, asserting that such rules have "virtually no benefit," the Washington Free Beacon has learned. In tandem with that proposal, the agency is finalizing plans to gut other Biden-era climate rules that forced existing coal-fired plants to close down and stymied future gas plant development. Together, the moves represent a historic action that the EPA says is the largest power sector deregulatory action in U.S. history. According to the agency's data, the move axing the Biden-era regulations will save Americans $310 billion. The other action — eliminating every remaining greenhouse gas-related power plant regulation — will save companies $370 million in direct compliance costs... https://www.sott.net/article/508418-Trump-EPA-moves-to-permanently-eliminate-greenhouse-gas-emissions-rules-for-power-plants-gutting-Bidens-signature-environmental-policies Wed, 16 Sep 2026 20:32:56 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508417-John-Brennan-subpoenaed-as-part-of-DOJ-investigation An attorney for John Brennan on Sept. 14 said the former CIA director was subpoenaed to testify next month before a grand jury as part of a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into whether former intelligence and law enforcement officials illegally conspired against President Donald Trump. In a court filing submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein confirmed that Brennan was asked by a federal prosecutor this past week to testify before a federal grand jury in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Oct. 15. Wainstein said in a declaration to the court that he and other Brennan attorneys participated in a conference call with several prosecutors to discuss the grand jury subpoena for Brennan. DOJ senior attorney Kurt Olsen indicated to the defense team that there are several "viable" investigations into Brennan, Wainstein said. That includes the one in Fort Pierce that includes "issues at Mar-a-Lago and beyond" regarding whether Trump... https://www.sott.net/article/508417-John-Brennan-subpoenaed-as-part-of-DOJ-investigation Wed, 16 Sep 2026 20:31:36 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/508416-A-speech-for-the-ages-Bobby-Kennedy-lays-waste-to-Democrats No one who lived through it will ever forget Nov. 22, 1963, that day of infamy when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. It was the story of the century. Few will remember that, on that same day, legendary author and theologian C.S. Lewis also died; a story that would have ordinarily attracted front-page attention was relegated to a footnote on the back pages. The point is that timing is everything, and so it was with a speech for the ages delivered by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Republican Midterm Convention on Sept. 10. As he delivered the address, the nation was preparing for the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and conservatives were mourning the assassination of Charlie Kirk one year earlier. There was little room for other news to rise to the top. But now that the dust has cleared from a highly emotional weekend, it is time to give this speech the attention it deserves. Any Republican can blister the Democratic Party with criticism from dawn to dusk. After all, that's part... https://www.sott.net/article/508416-A-speech-for-the-ages-Bobby-Kennedy-lays-waste-to-Democrats Wed, 16 Sep 2026 20:30:44 +0000