By Ted SNIDER

The Ukrainian leader faces escalating crises.

Like the man in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky may be crying, "I'm not dead." It is too early to perform a postmortem on Zelensky's political career. But it may not be premature to attempt an analysis of his deteriorating condition and struggle to survive.

Zelensky's strength is being undermined on four fronts: overall domestic support, support from his party, financial support from Europe, and a collapsing relationship with President Donald Trump.

Lorenzo Maria Pacini

An incident that took place in Italy deserves careful consideration, because it demonstrates the close relationship between Israel and the political institutions of European countries.

The unexpected

An incident that took place in Italy deserves careful consideration, because it demonstrates the close relationship between Israel and the political institutions of European countries-in a Europe that is becoming a destination for many Israeli citizens seeking to recreate their communities in small territorial enclaves on the Old Continent.

By Philip GIRALDI

How many more innocent people will die?

If one were seeking to create something like a modern-day folk tale based on current realities and having the theme of "good versus evil" there are any number of real-life narratives available that could be exploited to invite speculation on actual environments that might have served as models for the fiction. I have found much of the bizarre and blood-soaked evil relationship between the United States and Israel, which serves no US interest at all, to be one such arrangement in which two countries have through their own behavior become the most hated in the world.

By Charles Hugh Smith
OfTwoMinds.com  

October 23, 2026

That The Hidden Looting by the Rich leads to the Physical Looting by Those Who've Been Looted is so obvious that it is strictly taboo in the polite circles of those tasked with protecting The Hidden Looting by the Rich behind the cliches of "market forces" and the many carefully obscured mechanisms of state subsidies, tax giveaways, insider trading, market manipulation, and so on.

By Doug Casey
International Man  

October 23, 2026

International Man: The SEC just approved a new generation of funds that offer three times the daily performance of commodities like gold, silver, and oil. Wall Street is making it easier than ever for ordinary investors to take leveraged bets on volatile markets. What do you make of these products?

Doug Casey: Leverage is great-when you guess right.

By Karen Kwiatkowski  

October 23, 2026

Iran is correct to prepare for imminent attacks by the US and Israel. Netanyahu's Defense Minister Israel Katz nervously warned last week:

jpost.com

By Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge  

October 23, 2026

French soldiers will take over guard duty so that police and gendarmes can be moved onto the streets for Saturday's expected protests, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told parliament on Tuesday.

Nuñez said troops from Operation Sentinelle, the anti-terror deployment, would replace internal security forces mainly on static guarding duties. Prime Mini

Moon of Alabama  

October 23, 2026

There was some grumbling in Congress when the Trump administration installed Stephen Feinberg, a billionaire from New York, as the second man in the Pentagon. Feinberg had previously led Cerberus Capital Management which has various financial interests in Pentagon purveyors. He had also been chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board from 2018 to 2021, during the first Trump administration.

By Paul Craig Roberts
PaulCraigRoberts.org  

October 23, 2026

In 13 days Americans will vote on the midterm Congressional elections. The outcome will determine whether the Democrats control Congress, or enough of it, that Trump's presidency is at an end.

Even some MAGA Americans are indifferent, because Trump, rather than end money-draining wars, expanded them by attacking "at Israel's request" Iran, which has proven to be a strategic disaster for the United States, with its bases in the Persian Gulf destroyed and oil flows restricted by victorious Iran.

By Aysar Yousef
Gaze At This  

October 23, 2026

The Ottoman Empire's downfall was shaped by more than war. England expanded its power by establishing a bank in the heart of Istanbul, using foreign loans and financial influence to gain control over Ottoman finances.

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The Ottoman Empire offers a case study in sovereign debt risk. During the nineteenth century, military spending and fiscal pressures pushed the government toward foreign borrowing.

By Murray Sabrin
Murray's Newsletter  

October 23, 2026

Dedication

To the memory of my parents and the millions who suffered under the tyranny of totalitarian governments, and to all Americans who deserve to live in a country where individual liberty, personal responsibility, sound money, peace, voluntary cooperation, and constitutional government are not forgotten ideals, but living principles.

Komla YAWO

Le Cameroun a été auditionné jeudi 22 octobre à Genève par le Comité des droits de l'homme des Nations unies sur l'application du Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques. Corruption, violences dans les régions anglophones et l'Extrême-Nord, détentions arbitraires, justice militaire et droits des personnes homosexuelles; les préoccupations soulevées mettent en lumière les défis persistants du pays en matière de libertés fondamentales.