https://www.sott.net/best-of-web 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, 18 Apr 2026 21:00:50 +0000 https://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net https://www.sott.net https://www.sott.net/article/505808-The-EUs-digital-gulag-is-apparently-ready-to-roll "It is for parents to raise their children, and not the platforms." Those were the words of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday as she announced the readiness of the EU's online age verification, ahem, platform. As we've been warning since November 2024, these platforms are ultimately a Trojan Horse for digital identity systems, which are in turn intended to serve as the cornerstone for the digital gulags being quickly assembled around the world. What gets rarely mentioned in the public debate, including in Von der Leyen's 11-minute speech below, is the fact that online age verification inevitably traps everyone, not just minors, in its web. "Protecting the children", however, is always a seductive pretext for launching otherwise socially unpalatable policies. And there are few more socially unpalatable policies than the controlled death of online privacy and anonymity. https://www.sott.net/article/505808-The-EUs-digital-gulag-is-apparently-ready-to-roll Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:58:09 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505712-Palisades-Tahoe-California-snow-report-22-inches-in-24-hours-and-43-inch-3-day-storm-total The latest Palisades Tahoe, California, snow report tells a story of remarkable late-season resurgence. A sustained storm cycle has transformed conditions on the upper mountain, logging a foot of new snow overnight and driving the three-day storm total to 43 inches. The resort is now among the last Tahoe areas still operating. Most ski areas across the western U.S. have endured one of their worst seasons in recent memory, with dry and mild conditions since November, leaving many resorts struggling to open meaningful terrain. Palisades has been an exception to that late-season trend this week. Sunny breaks are emerging across the mountain on Monday, though forecasters have not ruled out additional snow showers that could add another inch to the upper elevations before conditions settle. Long-range models continue to show troughing over the region through the third week of April, with additional storm systems possible and a cooler-than-normal pattern expected to persist. The weekend... https://www.sott.net/article/505712-Palisades-Tahoe-California-snow-report-22-inches-in-24-hours-and-43-inch-3-day-storm-total Mon, 13 Apr 2026 20:53:48 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505658-Army-survivors-of-deadly-attack-in-Kuwait-dispute-Pentagons-account-say-unit-was-unprepared-to-defend-itself Survivors of the deadliest Iranian attack on U.S. forces since the war began have disputed the Pentagon's description of events and said their unit in Kuwait was left dangerously exposed when six service members were killed and more than 20 wounded. Speaking publicly for the first time, members of the targeted unit offered CBS News a detailed account of the attack and its harrowing aftermath from the perspective of those on the ground. The members CBS News spoke to disputed the description of events from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who described the drone as a "squirter" — in that it squirted through the defenses of a fortified unit inside Kuwait. "Painting a picture that 'one squeaked through' is a falsehood," one of the injured soldiers told CBS News. "I want people to know the unit ... was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position." https://www.sott.net/article/505658-Army-survivors-of-deadly-attack-in-Kuwait-dispute-Pentagons-account-say-unit-was-unprepared-to-defend-itself Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:50:11 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505596-Whos-behind-the-mysterious-Iran-backed-terror-cell-haunting-Europe Claims that an Iran-backed group is carrying out attacks in European cities raise questions about why they're not targeting countries directly involved in the US-Israeli war, and why they appear to communicate like Israelis. Strangely, suspects arrested in the attacks have been released on bail. A specter is haunting Europe - the specter of Ashab al-Yamin. Officially known as "Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI)," or the "Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right," the group mysteriously appeared in early March, and, according to mainstream media, it's taking the continent by storm. But a closer look at the supposedly Iran-backed terror organization suggests that it does not exist in any concrete form, and may be a confection of Israeli intelligence. Though the nebulous HAYI claimed credit for torching ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organization in London on March 23, two suspects in the attack have been released on bail, and are not charged with any... https://www.sott.net/article/505596-Whos-behind-the-mysterious-Iran-backed-terror-cell-haunting-Europe Tue, 07 Apr 2026 15:06:04 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505593-Right-as-Artemis-II-astronauts-passed-behind-Moon-multiple-meteoroids-hit-it Artemis II were giddy (their words!) on the evening of April 6th when they witnessed explosions on the lunar surface. Meteoroids were hitting the Moon. "We saw at least five," reported mission commander Reid Wiseman. The meteors appeared in middle of a solar eclipse. About an hour after the crew made their closest approach to the farside of the Moon, the sun disappeared behind the lunar disk, giving the astronauts a chance to view the first solar eclipse ever seen by humans from behind the Moon. https://www.sott.net/article/505593-Right-as-Artemis-II-astronauts-passed-behind-Moon-multiple-meteoroids-hit-it Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:46:52 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505587-Why-Iran-is-becoming-Trumps-forever-war As long as attacks and demands continue unabated, reasonable voices for peace will never be heard More than a month into the war with Iran, Washington is confronting the strategic nightmare it tried to avoid. What began as a campaign that many in the US and Israel appear to have imagined as short, punishing, and politically manageable has instead become prolonged, expensive, globally destabilizing, and increasingly difficult to define as success. The battlefield logic is now inseparable from the political logic, and on both fronts the pressure is mounting on Donald Trump's administration. Reuters reports that the conflict, launched on February 28, has disrupted global energy flows, driven oil sharply higher, pushed US gasoline prices above four dollars a gallon, and dragged US President Donald Trump's approval rating down to 36%, the lowest level since his return to office. How to sell a war A domestic audience can be persuaded to see a short war as an act of decisive leadership,... https://www.sott.net/article/505587-Why-Iran-is-becoming-Trumps-forever-war Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:35:32 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505530-Early-data-from-Vera-C-Rubin-Observatory-reveals-over-11000-new-asteroids Using preliminary data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, scientists have discovered over 11,000 new asteroids. The data were confirmed by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (MPC), making this the largest single batch of asteroid discoveries submitted in the past year. The discoveries were made using data from Rubin's early optimization surveys and offer a powerful preview of the observatory's transformative impact on solar system science. The submission to MPC comprises approximately one million observations, taken over the span of a month and a half, of over 11,000 new asteroids and more than 80,000 already-known asteroids, including some that had previously been observed but were later "lost" because their orbits were too uncertain to predict their future locations. You can interact with all of Rubin's asteroid discoveries in the Rubin Orbitviewer, which uses real data to provide an intuitive way to explore the structure of our cosmic backyard in three... https://www.sott.net/article/505530-Early-data-from-Vera-C-Rubin-Observatory-reveals-over-11000-new-asteroids Fri, 03 Apr 2026 19:25:18 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505525-Casualty-Cover-Up-The-Pentagon-Is-Hiding-US-Losses-Under-Trump-in-the-Middle-East Almost 750 U.S. troops have been wounded or killed in the Middle East since October 2023, an analysis by The Intercept has found. But the Pentagon won't acknowledge it. U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, appears to be engaged in what a defense official called a "casualty cover-up," offering The Intercept low-ball and outdated figures and failing to provide clarifications on military deaths and injuries. At least 15 U.S. troops were wounded Friday in an Iranian attack on a Saudi air base that hosts American troops, according to two government officials who spoke with The Intercept. Hundreds of U.S. personnel have been killed or injured in the region since the U.S. launched a war on Iran just over a month ago. President Donald Trump — who wore a blue suit, red tie, and a ball cap to the dignified transfer of the first Americans killed in the war — said casualties were inevitable. "When you have conflicts like this, you always have... https://www.sott.net/article/505525-Casualty-Cover-Up-The-Pentagon-Is-Hiding-US-Losses-Under-Trump-in-the-Middle-East Fri, 03 Apr 2026 19:20:07 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505524-GOP-Rep-Says-America-Would-Become-Unglued-If-Alien-Files-Get-Released Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) alleged that America would become "unglued" if the government released details about the alien briefings he's been involved in. Speaking with Newsmax's Rob Finnerty on Wednesday, the GOP lawmaker said that the public would be "up at night worrying" if they knew what he knows about extraterrestrials. "I've been briefed by just about every alphabet agency there is, and I'll just tell you this, if they would release the things that I've seen, you would stay up at — you'd be up at night worrying about or — thinking about this stuff," Burchett said. The topic came up after Finnerty mentioned that former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz claimed late last month that he was briefed about a secret breeding program between aliens and humans. https://www.sott.net/article/505524-GOP-Rep-Says-America-Would-Become-Unglued-If-Alien-Files-Get-Released Fri, 03 Apr 2026 15:49:30 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505484-The-Larak-Corridor-Irans-Rial-Gate-with-no-US-no-Israel-and-no-way-around While MOW Secretary Pete Hegseth was telling other nations to "step up" in the Strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump was already backing away, insisting its security was "not for us." In between those contradictions, Washington dumped a fog of conflicting slogans on the public — slogans that never looked like strategy so much as panicked improvisation. That confusion is not a sideshow to the war, but the political static masking a brutal reality. While the White House and its zionist neocon war camp lurch between bluff and retreat, Iran has been moving with cold discipline, quietly building what Iranian reporting calls the Larak Corridor and what maritime trackers have identified as a tightly managed lane through the Qeshm-Larak gap inside Iranian waters. Around Larak, Tehran is no longer just reacting to an illegal war launched against it. It is turning battlefield pressure into procedure, selective access, and proposed law, using a controlled corridor and a wider Hormuz management plan... https://www.sott.net/article/505484-The-Larak-Corridor-Irans-Rial-Gate-with-no-US-no-Israel-and-no-way-around Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:04:36 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505394-Massive-late-March-snowstorm-buries-Europes-eastern-Alps-with-up-to-1-5-meter-nearly-5-feet-of-snow A powerful late-season storm cycle has delivered a major refresh across the eastern Alps, with Switzerland leading the charge after several days of sustained snowfall. The standout has been Engelberg, where snowfall totals have been exceptional even by mid-winter standards. According to OpenSnow data, the resort received 84 cm (33 inches) in the past 24 hours and 132 cm (52 inches) over the past five days, catapulting conditions back into peak-season form. The storm has been driven by a moist northwesterly flow, favoring northern Alpine regions and creating classic "Nordstau" conditions—where precipitation intensifies as air is forced over the mountains. The storm didn't stop at Switzerland. Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak, was also hammered, with around 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) of fresh snow reported in recent days. But that much snow comes with complications. In a post on social media, the resort cautioned: "A lot of snow does not automatically mean a lot of skiing. 1.5... https://www.sott.net/article/505394-Massive-late-March-snowstorm-buries-Europes-eastern-Alps-with-up-to-1-5-meter-nearly-5-feet-of-snow Sat, 28 Mar 2026 16:22:07 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/495542-Revealed-The-Israeli-Spies-Writing-Americas-News One year after Oct. 7 attacks, Netanyahu is on a winning streak." So reads the title of a recent Axios article describing the Israeli prime minister riding on an unbeatable wave of triumphs. These stunning military "successes," its author Barak Ravid notes, include the bombing of Yemen, the assassinations of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and the pager attack against Lebanon. The same author recently went viral for an article that claimed that Israeli attacks against Hezbollah are "not intended to lead to war but are an attempt to reach 'de-escalation through escalation.'" Users on social media mocked Ravid for this bizarre, Orwellian reasoning. But what almost everybody missed is that Barak Ravid is an Israeli spy - or at least he was until recently. Ravid is a former analyst with Israeli spying agency Unit 8200, and as recently as last year, was still a reservist with the Israeli Defense Forces group. Unit 8200 is Israel's largest and perhaps... https://www.sott.net/article/495542-Revealed-The-Israeli-Spies-Writing-Americas-News Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:14:35 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505295-Heatwave-in-most-of-US-brings-record-shattering-high-temperatures-for-March An astoundingly strong heat wave is not just setting records across the western U.S. — it's pulverizing them Editor's note (3/21/26): Four stations (two in Arizona and two in California) recorded temperatures of 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4 degrees Celsius) on Friday, March 20, besting the all-time U.S. March record set just the day before. That is 1 degree F (0.56 degree C) below the all-time April U.S. record. Eight states have set all-time high temperature records for March during this heat wave. On Wednesday in North Shore, Calif., the temperature soared to a stunning 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius) — matching the hottest March temperature on record for the state. And then, on Thursday, Phoenix, Ariz., hit 105 degrees F (41 degrees C) — the earliest such recording by more than a month. And that same day, the temperature just outside Martinez Lake, Ariz., reached 110 degrees F (43 degrees C) — the highest March temperature ever recorded in the U.S. The heat wave that... https://www.sott.net/article/505295-Heatwave-in-most-of-US-brings-record-shattering-high-temperatures-for-March Mon, 23 Mar 2026 22:45:13 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505270-Meteorite-slams-into-Texas-womans-home-after-fireball-explodes-over-Houston-area Comment: They're coming down thick and fast now, especially over the US, it seems... A meteorite crashed straight through the roof of a home near Houston, Texas, on Saturday, sending shockwaves through the local neighborhood. Local officials say the incident happened at around 4:45 p.m. in northwest Harris County. The space rock punched a hole through the roof of a two-story house, slammed into a bedroom floor, then ricocheted and struck the ceiling again. Miraculously, no one was injured. Fire Chief Fred Windisch of the Ponderosa Fire Department said he had never seen anything like it in decades of service. The homeowner, Sherrie James, described hearing a loud explosion from inside the house. Her grandson went to investigate and found a hole in the ceiling and the rock sitting on the floor below. https://www.sott.net/article/505270-Meteorite-slams-into-Texas-womans-home-after-fireball-explodes-over-Houston-area Sun, 22 Mar 2026 11:42:57 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505268-3-shallow-earthquakes-of-magnitudes-6-2-6-3-and-6-2-in-24-hours-South-Pacific-Ocean-off-Samoa-on-March-22 A very strong magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurred in the South Pacific Ocean 184 km (114 mi) from Samoa in the late afternoon of Sunday, Mar 22, 2026 at 7.15 pm local time (GMT +13). The depth of the quake could not be determined, but is assumed to be shallow. The quake was reported felt by some people near the epicenter. Earthquake details Date & time Mar 22, 2026 06:15:36 UTC Local time at epicenter Sunday, Mar 22, 2026, at 07:15 pm (GMT +13) Status confirmed (manually revised) Magnitude 6.2 Depth 10 km Epicenter latitude / longitude 15.3824°S / 173.0468°W Samoa Seismic antipode 15.3824°N / 6.9532°E Niger Quality 42 seismic stations Shaking intensity VII Very strong shaking near epicenter Felt 2 reports Primary data source USGS (United States Geological Survey) https://www.sott.net/article/505268-3-shallow-earthquakes-of-magnitudes-6-2-6-3-and-6-2-in-24-hours-South-Pacific-Ocean-off-Samoa-on-March-22 Sun, 22 Mar 2026 10:20:59 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505253-Trumps-last-gleaming-The-twilight-of-the-decomposition-of-reality I've written through enough upheaval to know when the ground has actually shifted beneath us. Today's chaos isn't the usual turbulence we've learned to absorb — the predictable cycles of crisis and recovery, or the familiar rhythms of things getting worse before they get better. Something structural has given way. We all feel it, even if we can't quite name it, even if we're still performing the motions of normalcy while the framework quietly collapses around us. I didn't think I'd be writing this kind of story either. But here we are, staring at presidents and prime ministers who have created a gap that wasn't supposed to open. So let's dispense with the throat-clearing and the false reassurances. What follows isn't speculation about whether things might get strange; they already are. The question now is what has actually happened and what it means that we're all standing here watching the most incorrect leadership ever force an unimaginable reality into being, unfolding in real... https://www.sott.net/article/505253-Trumps-last-gleaming-The-twilight-of-the-decomposition-of-reality Fri, 20 Mar 2026 21:08:25 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505237-Beware-the-weapons-of-mass-distraction How cognitive and influence warfare is being waged against you We have all experienced it, you're scrolling through social media and a post catches your eye, it makes a claim or shows you something that makes you say to yourself, "there is no way that's true," or it invokes an immediate emotional response and before you know it, you have begun typing a comment laced with vitriolic outrage. But pause there for a moment. Before your fingers hit the keys, before you share it, before you screenshot it and send it to three friends who you know will be just as furious as you are. Ask yourself: Why that post? Why right now? Why you? Here is what most people don't realize in that moment, that reaction you just had? That flash of anger, that spike of fear, the intoxicating certainty that you have just witnessed something outrageous and undeniable? That may not have happened to you by accident, it may have been engineered. https://www.sott.net/article/505237-Beware-the-weapons-of-mass-distraction Fri, 20 Mar 2026 02:30:25 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505148-Hawaii-Storm-100000-without-power-amid-flash-floods-15-inches-of-rain-in-24-hours-46-inches-in-5-days-heavy-snow-on-summits-UPDATED Over 100,000 people are without power in Hawaii as a rare storm pummels the entire state with dangerous thunderstorms, high elevation snow, and several inches of rain. The storm stretch comes as the Kona low weather system drags tropical moisture over the islands, raising the threat for at least a foot of rainfall in the hardest‑hit areas. Governor Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation on Monday. "A Kona low weather system is expected to produce prolonged heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding statewide, with the highest likelihood of flooding impacts across the smaller islands and urban areas," a news release from Green's office said. Now, the website Power Outages is reporting on the failures impacting customers across the state. As of reporting on Saturday morning, there were more than 120,000 customers without power in Honolulu. Honolulu was the hardest hit area. The East of Honolulu is reliant on power lines bringing electricity to the area from Windward Oahu.... https://www.sott.net/article/505148-Hawaii-Storm-100000-without-power-amid-flash-floods-15-inches-of-rain-in-24-hours-46-inches-in-5-days-heavy-snow-on-summits-UPDATED Wed, 18 Mar 2026 19:35:33 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505204-Northeast-Ohios-frightening-meteor-fireball-boom-felt-across-3-states-on-March-17 Residents across Northeast Ohio woke up to something far louder than a St. Patrick's Day celebration this morning. Just before 9 a.m., tens of thousands of people across Northeast Ohio, as well as parts of Pennsylvania and New York, heard and felt what many described as a massive explosion. No one knew immediately what had caused it. Within hours, the National Weather Service office in Cleveland provided an answer. What the National Weather Service confirmed The NWS Cleveland posted on social media that the latest Geostationary Lightning Mapper imagery pointed to a meteor as the source of the boom. The agency shared the imagery alongside its assessment, making clear that the event was natural in origin rather than the result of any industrial or structural incident. https://www.sott.net/article/505204-Northeast-Ohios-frightening-meteor-fireball-boom-felt-across-3-states-on-March-17 Tue, 17 Mar 2026 19:04:40 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505192-Long-duration-fireball-streaks-across-western-Turkey-skies-possibly-an-Earth-grazing-meteor-on-March-15 A bright fireball was observed over western Turkey on the evening of March 15, with residents across Uşak Province reporting a slow-moving luminous object crossing the night sky for more than 20 seconds. Videos recorded by witnesses show a bright white to bluish-green object with a compact head and a narrow glowing tail moving across the sky at a shallow angle before fading from view. The long visible duration and smooth motion distinguish the event from typical meteors, which usually last only a few seconds. Preliminary analysis suggests the object may have been an Earth-grazing meteor, a rare type of fireball that skims the upper atmosphere at very shallow angles. Earth-grazing meteors enter the atmosphere at a shallow trajectory and travel hundreds of kilometers through the upper atmosphere before exiting again into space or continuing along a long atmospheric path. Because they remain at high altitude, they can remain visible for 10 to 40 seconds, significantly longer than most... https://www.sott.net/article/505192-Long-duration-fireball-streaks-across-western-Turkey-skies-possibly-an-Earth-grazing-meteor-on-March-15 Tue, 17 Mar 2026 14:07:45 +0000