GERMANY - Bad Memories: Berlin is flexing its military muscles, and a shiver runs through Europe’s spine. Badly trailing the conservative opposition in the polls, Olaf Scholz and his merry band of Liberal Globalists have come with a great new plan to turn things around: WAR. So now it arises that Germany will make its military ‘the backbone of European deterrence’ with sweeping changes and modernization. And that’s not all: to try and make up for the expected loss in foreign military aid for Ukraine, Scholz will double the amount of resources previously allocated.

EUROPE - Eleven countries - from France to Slovakia, Sweden to Germany - are rebelling against EU free movement in the face of terrorism and out-of-control immigration. Day by day, the face of Europe is dramatically changing as terrorist threats and out-of-control immigration destroy the EU's idyll of passport-free travel between its member states. Border checks are springing up across the bloc in a scramble by governments to restore their sovereignty and bolster national security to safeguard citizens. The border clampdowns fly in the face of the Schengen treaty introduced nearly 40 years ago to allow free movement of travellers between France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

GERMANY - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has indicated that he is ready for fresh talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine conflict, while stressing his position that Moscow must make serious concessions to Kiev to convince it to come to the negotiating table. Speaking to the German daily Heilbronner Stimme on Sunday, Scholz claimed that Russia’s campaign against Ukraine “is the return of imperialism in Europe,” saying that Berlin intends to support Kiev with arms and other forms of assistance “as long as necessary.” However, he left the door open to diplomatic engagement with Russia, explaining that he had held discussions with Putin in the past and is ready to do so in the future.

USA - The top US power grid watchdog warns that more than half of North America and about two-thirds of the United States could face blackouts this winter as a result of growing reliance on renewable sources, the retirement of coal-fired generation plants, and inadequate investment in fuel supply and weatherizing for natural gas-fired electricity generation. The report is the latest in a string of reports from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) over the past year that find the changing mix of electricity generation sources on the North American grid is making it harder for electricity supply to keep up during high demand periods.

NATO - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in Berlin on Friday (10 November 2023). Mr Stoltenberg thanked Defence Minister Pistorius for his leadership in transforming the German Bundeswehr and for Germany’s major part in strengthening NATO’s defences. The Secretary General stressed that Germany’s new Defence Policy Guidelines demonstrate its commitment to increased defence spending. “We need a strong Bundeswehr, which is ready to fight at the heart of the Alliance,” he said, welcoming Germany’s clear commitment to invest 2 percent of GDP on defence by next year. “This reflects Germany’s responsibility and Germany’s leadership,” he added.

GAZA - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet/Shabak) announced Saturday that Ahmed Siam, a Hamas terrorist who held 1,000 Palestinians hostage at a local hospital, had been killed by the IDF in an airstrike in Gaza. In a statement, the IDF said: Based on precise IDF and ISA intelligence, and with the direction of IDF ground troops, IDF aircraft struck Ahmed Siam, a company commander of the Naser Radwan Company of the Hamas terrorist organization. Two days ago, the IDF spokesperson exposed that Siam held hostage approximately 1,000 Gazan residents at the Rantisi Hospital and prevented them from evacuating southwards for their safety.

USA - Credit rating agency Moody’s hits the panic button as the US debt outlook takes a dive to ‘negative’. As the closing bell rang on Friday, triggering the usual exodus of bankers and traders to their watering holes, a bombshell dropped: Moody’s Investors Service has shifted its outlook on the Government of the United States from stable to negative, citing heightened risks to fiscal strength. This adjustment comes amid the looming threat of a government shutdown, with funding secured until November 17, and newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson revealing a Republican government funding plan. Can the US really afford two wars, especially with an extensive global network of 800 military bases? The exorbitant spending isn’t exactly bolstering the real economy; it’s merely a distraction from the genuine issues festering within the US. Welcome to the tumultuous world of economic brinkmanship.

AFRICA - With a population of 120 million, Ethiopia is the second most populated country in Africa and the most militarized. The USA’s influence on Africa is the lowest ever. The BRICS bloc met for its annual leader’s summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 22–24, 2023. The highlight of the fifteenth summit was the agreement to admit six new member countries: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

ISRAEL - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Western leaders not to bow to pressure from those calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying that French President Emmanuel Macron “made a mistake” by calling for the IDF to stop bombing civilians in the Palestinian enclave. On Friday, Macron told the BBC that he “clearly condemns” the Hamas attack on Israel. However, he also said that “de facto – today – civilians are bombed,” pointing out that “there is no reason for that and no legitimacy,” urging Israel to stop. He added that a humanitarian ceasefire was the only solution to protect all civilians in Gaza. Commenting on Macron’s remarks, Netanyahu said that “he made a serious mistake, factually and morally. It is Hamas preventing the evacuation of civilians, not Israel.”

FRANCE - French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said there was “no justification” for Israel’s bombing of “these babies, these ladies, these old people” in the war against Hamas and reiterated his call for a ceasefire in Gaza. “So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop,” Macron told the BBC, expressing hope that other Western leaders will join his call. France voted in support of a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution on October 27 that urged an immediate ceasefire and made no mention of Hamas.

FRANCE - French President Emmanuel Macron, on Sunday, called President Isaac Herzog to clarify comments he made during an interview with the BBC on Friday in which he called on Israel to "stop killing Gazan women and children." President Macron made clear that he does not and did not intend to accuse Israel of intentionally harming innocent civilians in the campaign against the terrorist organization Hamas. President Macron also emphasized that he unequivocally supports Israel's right and duty to self-defense and expressed his support for Israel's war against Hamas.

ISRAEL - Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has warned the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group that it is on the verge of making a costly mistake should it continue carrying out attacks close to Israel’s northern border, adding that it would be the Lebanese citizens who would pay the price in an escalation of conflict. On Friday, Israel killed seven Hezbollah fighters close to its Lebanese border, bringing to 78 the number who have died since the Hamas cross-border attack in southern Israel last month.

USA - The primary reason for Moody’s downgrade of US credit to negative? The absolutely insane ramp-up of Federal spending starting with the Covid outbreak in early 2020. And the subsequent economic shutdowns and the closure of public schools. But even as Covid faded to diminished status, Bidem demanded an increase in Federal spending. Of course, Biden/Congress love to spend money, but raising personal taxes to pay for it is political suicide. A private sector firm would cut spending to balance its budget, government simply doubles down on spending. Never let a crisis go to waste! Remember, annual interest payments of the $33.8 TRILLION debt load is now over $1 TRILLION. Yes - rampant Federal spending begat inflation which begat Fed rate hikes.

USA - IPCC models rooted in assumptions that we humans can and do control the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation with our daily-activity CO2 emissions have been wrong since the mid-1980s. Why should we still believe in them? The latest IPCC report continues to say it is “very likely” the Atlantic Meridional Ocean Circulation (AMOC), a fundamental climate parameter, will weaken (and unleash cooling, catastrophic storms, drought, floods) in the 21st century.

GERMANY - Germany will strengthen its military to make it the backbone of deterrence and collective defence in Europe, its defence minister pledged on Thursday as Berlin issued new defence policy guidelines for the first time in over a decade. The 19-page document details what the "Zeitenwende" - the major shift of policy German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - means for the workings of the Bundeswehr. As a first step to bring the military back up to scratch after decades of attrition following the Cold War, Germany last year set up a 100 billion-euro special fund to purchase modern weapons and pledged to reach NATO's target of spending at least 2% of the national GDP on defence from 2024.