Whether it's Iran playing chicken with US patrol boats in the Persian Gulf, Russia buzzing US ships in the Black Sea, or China demanding American ships adhere to phony claims of sovereignty over the air and water of the South China Sea, the narrative seems to follow an all-too-familiar script.

The Pentagon denounces the provocations as "unprofessional," issues a stern warning, and then there are no consequences. "It's like a mom in a grocery store, or a parent, and the kids are running amok and they say 'stop that right now or else,' but the 'or else' never comes, so the kids behave as badly as they want to," said Dakota Wood, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. "If there aren't any consequences, then the bad behavior just escalates."

The latest incident occurred Saturday, when a US EP-3 reconnaissance plane, flying off the coast of Iran in the northern Persian Gulf, received a radio threat from the Iranian military. "Leave the area, or we will shoot you down with missiles," is how one Pentagon official described the menacing communication. The US spy plane ignored the warning since it was clearly flying in international airspace, the official told the Washington Examiner. Still, emboldened by a lack of concrete response from the US, the number and seriousness of such incidents continues to rise dramatically.

According to German newspaper Die Welt, Kepel said the terror group’s aim is to incite hatred towards Muslims from the rest of the society which would eventually radicalise others to the point that Europe could enter into full-blown civil war. Kepel, who is a specialist on the Islamic and contemporary Arab world, added these ISIS fanatics not only want to destroy Europe, but to eliminate more moderate Islamic opposition.

“The terrorism is above all an expression of a war within Islam,” he explained. “The long-term goal of the Jihad Generation is to destroy Europe through civil war and then build an Islamic society from the ashes.” His comments come after French Prime Minister Manuel Valls revealed that 15,000 radicalised people are on the police watchlist in the country.

Previously authorities said about 10,000 were identified as high-risk. Valls warned: “There will be new attacks, there will be innocent victims… this is also my role to tell this truth to the French people.”

To many of you it probably isn’t a surprise that the Palestinians are not exactly thrilled with the prospect of a Trump presidency, but the truth is that they are very leery of Clinton as well. At this point the Palestinians are pretty much convinced that any action at the UN Security Council must happen while Barack Obama still holds the reigns of power, and so they are in a race against time. And that is precisely what they are pushing very hard for right now…

Up until now, the US government has always used their UN Security Council veto power to block any resolution that would formally establish the parameters for a Palestinian state and grant them East Jerusalem as the capital of that state. But earlier this year the Obama administration signaled that such a resolution was now on the table, and at this point Obama has just four months left to make a decision one way or the other.

If Obama decides to pull the trigger, such a resolution would be legally binding on the Israelis and the Palestinians, and neither Trump nor Clinton would be able to go back and change it once it is done… And instead of promoting peace, it would actually just set the stage for a major war, but Obama doesn’t really understand the dynamics of the Middle East. He just wants to “leave a legacy”, and at this point negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are completely dead.

Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, told a news conference that US Ambassador Samantha Power has already begun work with key council members including China on a new UN resolution, which is expected to strengthen sanctions on North Korea. He said it's urgent that the council unite, "show firm resolve" and commitment, and not lose time in sending a strong message to the authorities in Pyongyang that their nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches are unacceptable and must stop.

North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test last Friday and has launched more than 20 ballistic missiles this year, part of its program aimed at improving the delivery system for nuclear weapons.

The Asian country may now also look toward China and Russia in order to acquire new weapons so that it can improve its capabilities tackling insurgencies and terrorism in the country. In April, the Filipino navy began joint South China Sea naval patrols with the US to respond to China building artificial islands over disputed reefs. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been openly critical of American security policies, announced in a televised speech Tuesday, before military officers in Manila, a ‘paradigm shift’ in the country’s dealing with allies.

“We are not cutting our alliances – military (alliances) as well. But certainly, we will follow an independent posture and independent foreign policy,” Duterte said. The first step for the Philippines is to opt out of US-led patrols of the South China Sea because the country does “not want trouble,” the president said announcing that his navy “will not join any expedition of patrolling the seas… because I do not want my country to be involved in a hostile act.”

The second step that Duterte hinted at was the ending of the Phillipino reliance on US weaponry by at least partially shifting the procurement of arms to Russia and China. Duterte said that the two countries had agreed to give the Philippines a 25-year soft loan to buy military equipment.

And it isn’t just adults that we are talking about. It has been reported that the number of homeless children in this country has risen by 60 percent since the last recession, and Poverty USA says that a total of 1.6 million children slept either in a homeless shelter or in some other form of emergency housing at some point last year. Yes, the stock market may have been experiencing a temporary boom for the last couple of years, but for those on the low end of the economic scale things have just continued to deteriorate.

Tonight, countless numbers of homeless people will try to make it through another chilly night in large tent cities that have been established in the heart of major cities such as Seattle, Washington, DC and St Louis. Homelessness has gotten so bad in California that the Los Angeles City Council has formally asked Governor Jerry Brown to officially declare a state of emergency.

And in Portland the city has extended their “homeless emergency” for yet another year, and city officials are really struggling with how to deal with the booming tent cities that have sprung up… Don’t look down on those that are living in tents, because the truth is that many “middle class Americans” will ultimately end up joining them.

The law, which goes into effect in October, does not specifically mention churches or other houses of worship. However, the attorney general, along with the government commission assigned to enforce the law, have a different point of view. Attorney General Maura Healey wrote that places of public accommodation include: “auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls, houses of worship, and other places of public gathering.”

The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the commission responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination law, reinforced that interpretation in a document titled, “Gender Identity Guidance.”

“Even a church could be seen as a place of public accommodation if it holds a secular event, such as a spaghetti supper, that is open to the general public,” the document states. “All persons, regardless of gender identity, shall have the right to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any place of public accommodation.”

The Massachusetts Family Institute has launched a petition drive to repeal the law – warning that pastors and parishioners could find themselves in serious legal trouble. “The law bootstraps the idea of gender identity onto existing Civil Rights laws,” MFI president Andrew Beckwith tells me. “Even having a sign in your church that says ‘This Bathroom is for Biological Women Only’ could subject the pastor of the church to up to 30 days in jail.” Beckwith said under the law, the sign would be treated the same as if it had said, ‘Whites Only.’

Duke, a nine-year-old Great Pyrenees, was first elected mayor of Cormorant, Minnesota in 2014. The first time he won, it was by accident. The small town of just over 1,000 people held an election in which residents could pay $1 to vote. Duke won the race with twelve write-in votes and was treated to an official inauguration.

The town’s voters were evidently happy with the 2014 fluke. Duke has been re-elected twice, most recently at the end of August. Though over 1,000 people live in Cormorant, only twelve decided to elect Duke in 2014. Similarly, Anti-Media recently explained that only 9 percent of the voting public chose either Trump or Clinton in the primary elections this year.

This is an ongoing pattern: In the 2012 election, President Obama was elected with 51.1 percent of the popular vote, compared to 47.2 for Mitt Romney. But only 57.5 percent of the voting population cast their ballots, meaning President Obama still only secured the votes of 29 percent of voters.

The same staggeringly low voter turnout that plagues national politics presented itself in Cormorant. But the consequences of having a dog serve as mayor are far less severe than allowing a small segment of the national population to decide which criminal politicians will rule over the rest of the country.

Educated consumers, particularly those seeking safe, secure bank accounts and lending facilities should be moving out of Deutshe bank right now. DB is far from safe and secure, particularly in relation to other destinations. Remember, bank bail-ins are EU law now. European regulatory authorities can force these failing institutions to cancel or severely dilute shareholder equity or to cancel write-down or convert unsecured liabilities to equity. Such regulatory action is referred to as a “bail-in.”

Bank depositors (checking, savings, and demand accounts) are investors as well, in the form of unsecured creditors. Most depositors still don't realize this (despite Icelandic bank depositors getting smashed). Depositors are the largest, one of the cheapest, and currently the most stable form of bank financing.

In a sign of how the EU could radically change following Britain's departure, Germany and France have drawn up new plans for greater EU military cooperation, including the creation of a new military HQ and more integration with overseas missions. The plans, reported by German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and French daily Le Figaro, stated: "in the context of a deteriorating security environment… it is high time to reinforce our solidarity and European defense capabilities in order to more effectively protect the citizens and borders of Europe."

The issue of greater EU military integration has been a matter of huge tension within the bloc, with the UK vehemently rejecting any suggestions towards the creation of an EU army, arguing that NATO defense structures are sufficient for the bloc's defense. However given the UK is set to leave the bloc, French and German officials have sought to push their own agenda, given the UK is set to lose its say on EU policy.

"Taking into account the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU, we have to henceforth act as 27 [member states]," the French-German plans said. Another example of how the EU could radically change in the wake of Brexit is on the issue of tax and financing, with lawmakers from across the bloc discussing the matter of budget reform and the possible introduction of an EU-wide tax system. Last week members of EU national parliaments, MEPs and other EU officials met to discuss the key issues at the inter-institutional conference on the future financing of the EU — an event at which British representation was absent.

However some officials noted that with the UK — often seen as the biggest opponent to greater EU integration — set to leave the bloc, opportunities to reform the EU have become more realistic. "Ironically, Brexit has forced us to find an answer," veteran French MEP Alain Lamassoure told Euractiv, who noted the Thatcher negotiated British budget rebate "was the reason for the malfunctioning of the current system."

And three of the companies - Apple, Shell and Walmart - are richer than Russia, Belgium and Sweden. The campaign group has urged the British Government to stop supporting corporations and support its people instead. A whopping 69 of the biggest 100 economic entities are corporations and not countries, and out of the top 200 an even bigger proportion of 153 are firms. Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now, said:

“The vast wealth and power of corporations is at the heart of so many of the world’s problems…”

10 biggest companies in the world…

1. Walmart

2. State Grid

3. China National Petroleum

4. Sinopec Group

5. Royal Dutch Shell

6. Exxon Mobil

7. Volkswagen

8. Toyota Motor

9. Apple

10. BP