This Is Perhaps The Most Dystopian Thing Ever…

France's streets burned, shops were looted and stripped bare and a historic town hall collapsed under arson. Yet the most striking images from Saturday night were not the fires. They were the people who carried on as if nothing was happening.

One woman jogged straight through thick black smoke past a burning barricade, treating the chaos like an outdoor treadmill session.

Groups of French boomers kept dancing while buildings were torched around them, and a tour guide was filmed continuing her routine for visitors, smiling and pointing out landmarks while flames literally engulfed the city right in front of tourists.

French locals prefer to keep dancing while watching their country being fully destroyed… ⬇️

meanwhile! French President Macron joins a Celine Dion concert ..

🚨FRANCE IS DONE !🚨#France #Macron #NotreDame

https://twitter.com/i/status/2111692873016258605

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/perhaps-most-dystopian-thing-ever

>>25157338

France Slaps 8PM Curfews On Cities As Interior Minister Admits Police 'Lost Control'; Macron Flees To The Gulf

France moved Monday to put riot-hit cities under curfew after Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez admitted that authorities had lost control of the streets in several major cities over the weekend. President Emmanuel Macron refused Nuñez's offer to resign and then left for a Gulf tour to secure fuel supplies.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told prefects to impose "very limited" and "localized" curfews. According to France 24's live coverage, Lecornu ruled out a full curfew for Paris. He said a state of emergency could be declared "if necessary," but that curfews seemed better suited, adding: "I am absolutely determined to restore order." Marseille's prefect banned protests and gatherings from noon to 8 p.m.

By Monday evening, Lecornu's office had named the first towns, all in the northern Nord department. Lille, Douai, Wattignies and Denain will be under curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday nights, with each mayor's agreement, according to Franceinfo. Lille is where Nuñez said rioters broke into city hall, and Wattignies is one of its suburbs. Lille's Socialist mayor, Arnaud Deslandes, had refused earlier in the day to sign a curfew order, arguing that a late-evening curfew wouldn't match the hours the trouble broke out. Denain was already under curfew: its mayor ordered a weeklong curfew from 9 p.m. starting Sunday, after what the town said were fires, mortar fireworks and paving stones thrown at police by hooded rioters on Saturday.

Macron's Gulf tour opened in Kuwait City on Monday, with the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar to follow by Wednesday. Executives from TotalEnergies and Engie are traveling with him to seek commitments on diesel and oil volumes, and the talks include moving pre-positioned kerosene and diesel from Oman to Réunion and Mayotte. Macron said the trip was needed to "secure our supplies," noting that demonstrators had raised fuel prices. Constitutional expert Benjamin Morel told AFP the tour could look like business as usual but might also seem out of touch and suggest a power vacuum. Francis Perrin of the French Institute for International and Strategic Relations does not expect it to move fuel prices, since Gulf states find firm commitments difficult while the region remains disrupted by the US-Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/france-slaps-8-pm-curfews-cities-interior-minister-admits-police-lost-control-macron

Secret Service Deputy Director Quits Amid Questions Over Ties To Drone-Defense Maker Fortem

eputy Director Matt Quinn announced his resignation from the Secret Service in an internal agency email Friday amid questions about his conflicts of interest over the agency’s counter-drone technology.

Quinn served 23 years as a Secret Service agent before retiring in 2021. He then went to work at drone-manufacturer Fortem Technologies, which sells the DroneHunter product, as a senior vice president for three years before returning to the agency last year to serve as deputy director. His last day will be Nov. 7.

As RealClearPolitics first reported, Quinn was criticized by several current and former Secret Service agents for admitting during a mostly softball Sunday CBS News “60 Minutes” interview that the Secret Service was not prepared for an attack by a drone swarm.

The piece featured a DroneHunter demonstration without mentioning several technical problems the platform has experienced. RealClearPolitics over the last 48 hours submitted detailed questions to the Secret Service about some of the statements made during the “60 Minutes” interview about the drone technology, its effectiveness, whether the DroneHunter’s purchases were competitively bid, and the agency’s track record in taking out drones.

The “60 Minutes” report did not mention Quinn’s prior work for Fortem. The Secret Service did not respond to RCP’s questions.

Even before Quinn’s announced departure, several Secret Service sources were questioning a report in a recent CBS “60 Minutes” segment that the agency used electronic jamming equipment to take down a drone at the Army-Navy game in Baltimore last December. The game was attended by the president and several members of Congress.

The sources suggest that the Secret Service is not providing the proper context about the downed drone, while raising concerns that it was most likely a friendly-fire incident.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2026/10/16/secret_service_deputy_director_resigns_amid_drone_controversy_154591.html

Biggest Ukrainian Attack On St. Petersburg Since War's Start

St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, came under heavy drone attack early Sunday - resulting in huge fires over what is also the second most important civic center after Moscow.

An oil depot and oil export facility suffered direct hits, despite President Trump multiple times making it known that he's vehemently opposed to such attacks, given the diesel supply crisis.

One person was killed and at least five more were injured in this latest long-range drone wave, Aleksandr Beglov, the governor of St. Petersburg, announced on Telegram. He also added that a dozen apartment buildings and two private residences suffered damage in the attack. A large bridge was also targeted.

Extensive blazes have been observed at the Petersburg oil terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot, and industrial warehouses in the Kolpinsky District. Some 20,000 residents in the area were also left without power after a pair of electrical substations were hit. State media later updated the number of injuries to at least ten.

The Wall Street Journal underscores the symbolism of a major Ukrainian attack on "Putin's hometown" in the following:

Ukrainian drones unleashed early Sunday the biggest attack on St. Petersburg since the start of the war, hitting a major oil terminal and other critical targets in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hometown following the collapse of a fragile energy ceasefire.

Kyiv had refrained from hitting energy targets inside Russia for days following President Trump’s announcement last week of a ceasefire on such strikes which have degraded Russia’s ability to refine fuel, turned the country into a net fuel importer and pressured an already tight global fuel market.

A data center of Russia's largest social media platform VK, formerly known as VKontakte, was also struck - though the company said its services remain operational.

https://twitter.com/i/status/2111798416523079930

Saudi Arabia Cancels In-Person 'Davos In The Desert' Event Amid Houthi Attacks

Update(11:13ET): Saudi Arabia, having come under nearly daily ballistic missile attacks from the Houthis in Yemen, will not hold its 'Davos in the Desert' flagship investor conference in-person next week. Instead it looks to merely be an online event.

"Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, a marquee showcase for foreign investment, was to gather the global financial elite in Riyadh beginning Oct. 26," The Wall Street Journal reports.

"Organizers decided Monday that if the conference goes ahead, its sessions will be held virtually rather than in person, the people said," WSJ continues. "The kingdom is expected to make a decision Tuesday or earlier whether to postpone the event, they said. Postponement is the most likely outcome, some of the people said."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/growing-list-major-events-saudi-arabia-forced-cancel-postpone

Albania on fire: who’s behind the riots?

Tirana is burning and Prime Minister Edi Rama is pointing his finger at anyone but himself

Anti-government rioters have torched Albania’s education ministry and supreme court, as protests spread across the Balkan nation. Prime Minister Edi Rama is refusing to step down and blames the unrest on Russia. What’s really going on?

As of October 19, the Albanian capital of Tirana has been rocked by seven consecutive days and nights of rioting, while protests and clashes between demonstrators and police have been reported in the cities of Lezhe, Vlore, Elbasan, and Shkoder. A large group of rioters breached the perimeter of the education ministry in Tirana on October 14, setting the building on fire.

Running battles between demonstrators and police have broken out around the ministry on several occasions since. On October 19, hundreds of demonstrators pelted rocks at riot police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. The previous night, offices of the Albanian Supreme Court were set on fire, and arson attacks on several police stations in the city were reported.

Some 500 demonstrators had been detained and 167 of them formally arrested as of October 17, according to Reuters. 295 people had been injured, including 196 police officers, as of October 19, according to Interior Minister Ervin Demo.

What do the protesters want?

The protests follow more than a year of unrest in Albania, which began when Rama banned TikTok in the runup to last March’s parliamentary elections, following similar measures inposed by the EU during every major election across the bloc since 2024. The ban was lifted in February of this year, but demonstrations broke out again in May after Rama’s government authorized the sale of protected wetlands to a development company operated by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The protesters’ core demand – that Rama resign – remains unchanged. However, the movement is now calling for a root-and-branch reform of the entire Albanian establishment, with demonstrators accusing both Rama and opposition leader Sali Berisha of corruption. Unemployment, underfunding of schools, and declining living standards have also been cited by protesters as grievances.

What did Rama say about the protests?

Despite the repeated chants of “Rama resign” heard at the protests, Rama has claimed that the demonstrators do not oppose his government, but Albania’s “mission” of joining the EU.

“I am not being challenged,” he said in a video address on October 18. “The government is not being challenged, a government majority or a winning party in the elections is not being challenged but a path is being challenged, a mission is being challenged”

“Albanians need to think ​very clearly,” he continued. “Do they want this, do they want that, or do they want the EU?”

https://rt-english.com/news/647403-albania-protests-riots-russia/

Israel prepared to attack Iran without US – Netanyahu

The Israeli prime minister has pledged to overthrow Tehran’s government and made striking first a central principle of his security doctrine

Presenting his security doctrine in a speech on Sunday, Netanyahu argued that Iran would rebuild its nuclear and military capabilities as long as its government survived and made clear that Israel was prepared to launch further attacks without waiting for American participation.

“If we need to act alone, we will act alone,” he said.

Netanyahu presented Israel’s earlier campaign against Iran as a model, recalling that he told US President Donald Trump he would attack Tehran “either way” and invited American participation in a strike on the Fordow nuclear facility.

He framed further action against Iran as unfinished business, explicitly identifying the overthrow of the country’s government as the ultimate objective. “We are working on it and we will do it,” Netanyahu said.

Despite Tehran repeatedly stressing that its nuclear program is peaceful and denying seeking nuclear weapons, Netanyahu once again claimed that the US-Israeli attacks had prevented Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb intended to destroy Israel.

Netanyahu framed the renewed strikes as part of a broader doctrine prioritizing attack over defense. He compared striking first to gaining the advantage in childhood street fights and said Israel could establish bases far beyond its borders.

“We will have to live by our sword in order to live for many years,” he said.

He also described plans to seize and destroy what he called threat centers in the occupied West Bank, listed preventing Palestinian statehood as a fundamental principle, and included disrupting military and “civilian systems” in his deterrence strategy.

https://rt-english.com/news/647401-netanyahu-attack-iran-without-us/

Screwed over as usual

Big Pharma Insider Backing RFK Jr.’s Pick To Lead FDA

Scott Gottlieb, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner turned Pfizer director and prominent critic of Robert Kennedy Jr., has been a key ally of incoming FDA Commissioner Heidi Overton, according to two former administration officials.

Kennedy’s health department once mocked Gottlieb as emblematic of the revolving door between Big Pharma and government that most Americans hate. During the COVID pandemic, Gottlieb applauded the social media censorship of Kennedy, a leading critic of the vaccine made by Pfizer, and successfully lobbied Twitter to censor several others.

These days, Gottlieb is boosting Overton, further enmeshing the drug regulator and one of the world’s largest drug companies. Gottlieb has played a role in trying to get her confirmation over the finish line, two former Trump administration officials told the Daily Caller News Foundation. They were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.

A third former Trump administration official gave a different account of Gottlieb’s role, saying the former FDA commissioner had only been incorporated into the process as a “courtesy” by Overton.

“Gottlieb was not involved in any prep sessions or murder boarding for Overton’s confirmation hearings,” another source close to Overton said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“I had the opportunity to speak with Heidi after she was nominated and believe she’ll bring valuable public health experience to the role. Her policy background and her understanding of the White House process will be an important asset to advancing the agency’s mission,” Gottlieb said in a statement to the DCNF.

Still, his endorsement of Kennedy’s choice for the nation’s top drug regulator marks a major pivot. Kennedy once described his leadership of HHS as a direct rebuke of the censorship of competing ideas and industry capture that defined the COVID era.

Ninety percent of voters of both parties want Big Pharma to have less influence in government, Trump’s go-to pollster found. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s Pollster Found Voters Were Highly Concerned About Vaccines. The Poll Never Saw Daylight)

Gottlieb’s endorsement of Overton in STAT News was coauthored by Mark McClellan, who served as FDA commissioner under former President George W. Bush.

They praised Overton as a leader likely to earn the trust of FDA staff.

“Innovation in medicine has never moved faster, providing more ways for Americans to improve their health and for the United States to advance the health of its population. But the institutions that carry that progress forward are under strain,” they wrote in STAT on Sept. 22. “Overton has a chance to help bridge that divide — and the experience to do it.”

https://dailycaller.com/2026/10/19/exclusive-scott-gottlieb-heidi-overton-key-ally-fda/

Trump’s Attorney Alina Habba Marries Turkish Billionaire Head of Miller Holding

Turhan Mildon’s Congo holdings and diplomatic role now sit beside a White House inquiry into a $17.6 million transfer from an account tied to the Congolese government.

Former Trump personal lawyer Alina Habba has married Turhan Mildon, the Turkish executive who runs Miller Holding. This places a DRC-connected energy and mining executive inside Trumpworld’s personal orbit.

Habba, 42, married Mildon, 29, at Manhattan’s Waldorf Astoria on Sept. 26. The New York Post reported that Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel attended. Miller identifies Mildon as its CEO.

The marriage arrives as a White House inquiry is examining a $17.6 million payment to a Texas defense firm from an account affiliated with the Democratic Republic of Congo government. The inquiry grew from competing accounts involving Habba Mildon and Ric Grenell.

The Times reported that Mildon serves as an adviser to President Félix Tshisekedi and holds a Congolese diplomatic passport. It said the purpose of the underlying transaction remains unclear.

Miller lists major Kinshasa projects, a gold project in Ituri Province, and a DRC quarry. That footprint collides with a Trump administration policy push for long-term American access to Congolese critical minerals. The State Department said U.S. companies would receive preferential access to designated strategic assets.

Mildon denied political motives for the marriage.

https://nationalfile.com/trump/trumps-attorney-alina-habba-marries-turkish-billionaire-head-of-miller-holding

Epstein-Linked Billionaire Reid Hoffman Drops $500K on Kentucky Democrat Zach Dembo

LinkedIn co-founder and Democrat megadonor Reid Hoffman, the same billionaire who visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, stayed at his Manhattan townhouse, and once sent the convicted pedophile ice cream “for the girls,” just poured $500,000 into a super PAC backing Kentucky Democrat Zach Dembo.

The cash went to Kentuckians Not Corruption on September 24, according to WEKU’s October 16 investigation into Federal Election Commission records

The group is running heavy television ads supporting Dembo and attacking his Republican opponent, former state Sen. Ralph Alvarado, in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District.

Advertising records show the PAC’s weekly TV buys on Lexington’s WLEX-TV exploded after the money arrived, jumping from roughly $14,650 in mid-September to nearly $110,000 the week of October 6. By mid-October the group had already spent about $1.6 million on the race.

“This is really, it’s dirty Epstein class money fueling Zach Dembo’s campaign. It’s offensive,” Alvaro told Fox News.

He added that Hoffman “was one of his best friends,” citing the island visits, townhouse stays, and the infamous Christmas Eve ice cream shipment with the note that it was “either for yourself or for the girls.”

previously reported extensively on Hoffman’s deep and longstanding ties to Epstein. In February, we covered Elon Musk publicly confronting Hoffman over the “ice cream for the girls” remark and the volume of their communications.

Earlier reporting detailed Hoffman’s island visit, his role in helping rehabilitate Epstein’s reputation through MIT fundraising, and his continued contacts years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.

Hoffman has repeatedly claimed the relationship was limited and strictly for fundraising purposes, claims that keep collapsing under the weight of the documents.

Dembo, a former federal prosecutor and Navy JAG officer who worked as an aide to Gov. Andy Beshear, has built his entire campaign around fighting “corruption” and the influence of “big business and the ultra-wealthy.”

His website declares that the ultra-wealthy “shouldn’t be able to buy influence in Washington” and calls for getting rid of dark money. He has attacked tax breaks for “billionaires and coastal elites” and promised to fight for working families instead of the donor class.

Yet when the biggest single check to the super PAC boosting him came from one of the most notorious Epstein-linked billionaires in Democratic politics, Dembo’s campaign has stayed silent. Fox News said it repeatedly sought comment and received none.

https://www.domigood.com/2026/10/epstein-linked-billionaire-reid-hoffman.html?m=1

US issues security alerts across 12 Middle East locations, warns of flight disruptions and Iran linked threats

US diplomatic missions issued security alerts dated October 18 covering Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Israel/Jerusalem, and Iran. The notices tell Americans to exercise heightened vigilance due to the complex security environment. They warn of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions. Iranian supported Houthis have attacked Saudi civilian airports and critical infrastructure, causing civilian casualties and severe disruptions. The alerts state that hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond that area. They also say Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target US interests overseas, including businesses and institutions. Americans are advised to check flight status directly with airlines and airports and prepare contingency plans. The US Virtual Embassy for Iran repeated that Americans should not travel there and should leave if present. The alerts do not confirm that any specific larger strikes on Iran have been ordered or are underway. Some reporting notes ongoing speculation about further military options amid the seven month conflict.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/us-issues-security-alerts-across-12-middle-east-locations-warns-of-flight-disruptions-and-iran-linked-threats/

This Mom has EVERY right to be outraged…

“You f’d up, CBS… this is my kid you used in your story without my permission. He does NOT have measles. This was his reaction to the MMR shot. Take it down. Now. Issue a retraction. It's much easier than having to litigate a defamation case. I'II wait.”

I still can’t believe CBSDFW ran this story when they knew it was a lie.

A local news station used a photo of a toddler’s rash, labeled it measles, and put it in a story without the parent’s permission. Mom, Dawn Neufeld, said it wasn’t measles — it was the child’s reaction to the MMR shot — and had to publicly demand they take it down and issue a retraction.

That’s not reporting. That’s using a kid’s vaccine injured face to scare people.

https://x.com/valerieanne1970/status/2111925284886994979

Childhood Vaccines…

1962 = 5 vaccines

1983 = 10 vaccines

2013 = 32 vaccines

2019 = 72 vaccines

2025 = up to 96 vaccine doses

Autism Rates…

1983 = 1 in 10,000

2000 = 1 in 150

2013 = 1 in 88

2022 = 1 in 36

2025 = 1 in 31

https://twitter.com/i/status/2112151788757663880

Israeli Forces Kill Two Children in Gaza as IDF Continues Relentless Attacks

At least five Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks on Sunday

Two children were among five Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Sunday as the IDF continues its relentless attacks across the besieged Palestinian territory.

A seven-year-old girl, identified as Misk Hazem al-Dalu, was killed when Israeli troops opened fire on tents in the al-Maghazi refugee camp. Later in the day, an unidentified child was killed by Israeli gunfire in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA

Medical sources also told WAFA that five people were killed and 11 were wounded by Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn on Sunday. Gaza’s Health Ministry said in its daily update, released about midday Gaza time, that over the past 24 hours, at least six Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks and 25 were injured.

The Health Ministry also said that since the so-called ceasefire deal was signed nearly one year ago in October 2025, the IDF has killed at least 1,517 Palestinians and wounded 5,400 as it has constantly violated the agreement. Gaza’s Government Media Office has said that it recorded more than 5,000 Israeli ceasefire violations.

Sunday’s attacks came several days after Israel said that it had halted shipments of commercial goods into Gaza, cutting off a vital supply of food and other basic goods, and there’s been no confirmation yet that the shipments have resumed. Israel claimed the decision was made on behalf of Gaza merchants who dispute a dispute with Hamas, but Palestinians involved in importing goods into Gaza denied that claim, saying it was a unilateral Israeli decision.

https://news.antiwar.com/2026/10/18/israeli-forces-kill-two-children-in-gaza-as-idf-continues-relentless-attacks/