The White House shared this Washington Post oped written by an Abu Shabab gang member from multiple accounts. Post then replied with a gift link. The oped was pitched by a pro-Israel PR firm. Israel backed these gangs. The rot is so deep

On October 17th, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), a Designated Terrorist Organization, that was operating in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was traveling along a known narco-trafficking route, and was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics. There were three male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel during the strike—which was conducted in international waters. All three terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike. These cartels are the Al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere, using violence, murder and terrorism to impose their will, threaten our national security and poison our people. The United States military will treat these organizations like the terrorists they are—they will be hunted, and killed, just like Al Qaeda.

FULL REPORT: Colombian public media reports that a U.S. military strike on a boat on September 15—the second attack on a vessel by the U.S. in the Caribbean that we’re aware of—was a Colombian boat and was in Colombian territorial waters. At least one of the three victims extrajudicially killed in the strike was Colombian lifelong fisherman Alejandro Carranza. Alejandro’s identity is confirmed by his cousin. The Colombian boat was adrift and had its distress signal up due to an engine failure.

This evening, Vice Premier He Lifeng and I engaged in frank and detailed discussions regarding trade between the United States and China. We will meet in-person next week to continue our discussions.

Here's a question I know many are wondering about: why did China wait until now to use rare earths as leverage against the US? Why not in the first Trump administration when the US started the trade hostilities? Or when the Biden administration unleashed the chips export controls 3 years ago? I just watched a fascinating explanation by a Chinese analyst and, unexpectedly, a big part of the explanation is... helium. I had no idea but as he explains (source here: xiaohongshu.com/discovery/it…), all the way until 2022 China imported 95% of its helium and most of it was controlled by the US. Of the world's ten largest helium producers, four were American companies, and the remaining six all used American technology. Helium isn't just a party balloons gas: it has plenty of industrial applications for things such as quantum computing, rocket technology, MRI machines, as a coolant for chip lithography equipment, etc. In a nutshell what he's explaining is that with helium the US had an even stronger card to play if China ever used the rare earths card. This raised huge alarm bells inside China. In an article published in late 2022 in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science (frontiersin.org/journals/env…), several researchers from PetroChina’s Beijing-based Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development stressed that China would be greatly affected if the US imposed a “stranglehold” blockade on helium exports. So over the past few years there were gigantic efforts in China to break the "helium shackles," with seven helium extraction facilities going into production, and China also switching imports from the US in favor of imports from friendly countries like Russia. China's research ecosystem also went into overdrive to find solutions to the helium dependency issues, with China's Academy of Sciences awarding its annual 2024 "Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Prize" to a new helium extraction technology project (english.casad.cas.cn/newsroo…) because "these scientific and engineering achievements broke the long-standing monopoly of the US and ensured the security of China's helium resources" (guancha.cn/internation/2024_…) The result: by the end of 2024 China had cut its helium dependence on the US to less than 5% (scmp.com/news/china/science/…). The "helium shackles" were broken. That's what most people don't realize: power isn't about intentions or rhetoric - it's about what you can actually do. Many wonder why countries almost never retaliate when the US imposes sanctions or export controls. The answer is simple: they can't. They lack the alternatives, the technology, the supply chains. China is the first country that systematically worked to eliminate every single pressure point, with humongous efforts. It's not just helium: it's chips, energy, telecommunication, pharmaceuticals, etc. That's why the rare earth card can finally be played now. Not because China suddenly became aggressive, but because they have developed the capabilities to say "no." Last word: as a European, this is both depressing and inspiring. Depressing because it highlights the immense magnitude of the task at hand to become genuinely sovereign and develop our own capabilities to say "no." Inspiring because China demonstrated that it can actually be done, and relatively fast if we execute competently. Although with the current crop of folks at the helm in Europe, that last part is admittedly a very, very big "if"...

We need to know why @ATT and @Verizon did not challenge the subpoena for the phone records of 8 United States Senators when the Biden FBI spied on us during an anti-Trump probe. There needs to be a reckoning for this.

I met with Syrian President al-Sharaa about our shared goals for a stable and sovereign Syria and ongoing efforts to bring security and prosperity to all Syrians. We also discussed implementing President Trump’s historic announcement on sanctions relief and the importance of Israel-Syria relations.

Ahmed Al-Sharaa aka Mohammed al-Jolani's New York trip is "the first visit by a sitting Syrian president in nearly six decades." That's one way to look at it. Another is that it's the first visit by the founding leader of Al Qaeda in Syria since the US dropped a $10 million bounty for his arrest last December. BTW, that former Al Qaeda leader's government is set to announce a border deal with Israel in the coming days. This comes as the US won't even allow the Palestinian Authority to visit for a symbolic UN meeting on Palestinian statehood. Syria dirty war cheerleaders, this is what you cheered for:

Who, in your view, should have the power to draw the line between a “lie” and “free speech”? Government officials that want to stay in political power or the people that can hold them accountable ?