badlands.substack.com Badlands News Brief Burning Bright 8–10 minutes Discover more from Badlands Media Honesty and integrity from citizen journalists. Hundreds of paid subscribers The News Cycle is almost impossible to track these days. At least, to do so fully. That’s where we come in. In the Badlands News Brief, the Badlands Media team hand picks news items of interest from the previous days to give you an overview of the biggest goings-on relevant to the Truth Community. Some items feature original commentary from members of our growing team of citizen journalists. Feel free to follow the corresponding link to see their other work. Now, onto the news from the Wednesday, March 29 … JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon will be deposed under oath in connection with the bank's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender and a former client, a lawyer involved in the case said. Reuters reports the interview is expected to happen in early May, according to Brad Edwards, a lawyer representing women who claim to have been sexually abused by Epstein. The women are suing the largest U.S. bank for allegedly enabling the financier's sex trafficking. — FOX Business Our Take: “The Actual of the Deutsche Bank/JP Morgan Chase-Epstein lawsuits are scintillating. But when you zoom out and take in the Macro, you understand why the Epstein 'Suicide' is the biggest and most effective redpill of all time. Normies don't need to know the Actual of Big Banks being at the heart of Epstein lawsuits. All they need to see is said Banks featured in headlines alongside the words, 'Epstein Victims.' And all in the midst of a financial crisis. Tell me there's no 'Plan' again ...” — Burning Bright Saudi Arabia is strengthening its commercial and security ties with China, as U.S. influence wanes in the Middle East region. The Saudi government approved partial membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a political and security bloc that includes China, Russia and India, the Saudi state news agency reported Wednesday. The decision comes ahead of a May meeting of foreign ministers from the regional grouping, where Iran recently gained full member status. The move is part of a broad effort in Saudi Arabia and some neighboring Persian Gulf countries to expand diplomatic partnerships beyond traditional Western allies in a marked pivot to the east, analysts say. It comes amid uncertainty about Washington’s long-term commitment to ensure security in the strategic, energy-rich region, where the U.S. has been a dominant force for decades but is increasingly focused on a rising China and a belligerent Russia. In a sign of the geopolitical realignment under way in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia re-established diplomatic relations with rival Iran this month in a deal brokered by China that burnished Beijing’s credentials as a new power broker in the region. The Saudi kingdom is also nearing an agreement to restore ties with Syria following negotiations mediated by Russia. — Wall Street Journal Our Take: Image Chinese national oil company CNOOC 0883.HK, 600938.SS and France's TotalEnergies TTEF.PA have completed China's first yuan-settled LNG trade through the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange, the exchange said on Tuesday. Approximately 65,000 tonnes of LNG imported from the UAE changed hands in the trade, it said in a statement. TotalEnergies confirmed to Reuters that the transaction involved LNG imported from the UAE but did not comment further. CNOOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has placed an emphasis on settling oil and gas trades in yuan in recent years in a bid to establish its currency internationally and to weaken the dollar's grip on world trade. Russia has increasingly embraced the yuan amid Western sanctions. — Reuters Our Take: “Sovereign Alliance Tidbits: - Saudi Arabia joins China-led Security Bloc in show of solidarity against Western Globalists, preceding a potential summer move to BRICS. - China and France trading in natural gas using Yuan. France breaking ranks with US Deep State hegemony? (h/t @patelpatriot) - Color Revolution attempt in Israel, endorsed by WEF heir Harari. - Domestic False Flags Accelerating. = The Beast is afraid.” — Burning Bright The Bank of Indonesia is getting ready to transition away from Visa and Mastercard while developing its indigenous payment platform, as reported by the Antara news agency on Monday. Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia, pushed local agencies and authorities last week to switch from using international payment systems to employing cards that are authorised by local banks. He made the case that Indonesia needs to protect itself against geopolitical and international upheavals by mentioning the financial sector sanctions imposed on Russia by the US, EU, and their allies over Moscow's war against Ukraine, as reported by RT. — RepublicWorld.com Badlands Sponsor & Financial Analyst Dr. Kirk Elliott Weighs in: For generations, the American financial system was consolidating its network effect, but the brazen move by the US to push Russia out of the system has set a series of dominos to fall. The domino that fell today was that a country of 278 million people will no longer use the American system. If you have your savings in US dollar denominated assets, as most Americans do, this is clearly becoming riskier. Consider the asset that central banks around the world are buying ... precious metals. A reporter with CTV Ottawa noted some players in the league want nothing to do with “Pride Night” and asked the commissioner, “Was it a mistake to let each team dictate how to handle it?” Bettman signaled the entire sideshow might disappear. “I think it’s something that we’re going to have to evaluate in the offseason,” he said. “This is one issue where players for a variety of reasons may not feel comfortable wearing the uniform as a form of endorsement.” — The Western Journal Our Take: “The NHL is leaning towards doing away with Pride Night. As I’ve said on Sports Talk, perhaps targeting a sport containing mostly Christians with their trans agenda was a bad idea. From the get go this whole concept within the NHL has been a headache for the league, and those pushing the agenda. From Provorov, to Reimer, to the Staal Brothers and the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild, the NHL took a stand against this agenda like few others we have seen.” — AbsoluteTruth1776 After so much media hype (including Trump himself) about the imminent arrest of the former President, it appears things are not going so well for the "we got him this time" crowd as the New York grand jury hearing evidence in the hush money probe is not scheduled to meet about the case until late April. Politico reports, according to a person familiar with the proceedings, the break would push any indictment of the former president to late April at the earliest. Politico claims this is due to a "previously scheduled hiatus", but that seems an odd admission now - why wouldn't that have been brought up when the world was praying for the perp-walk of the former president? Interestingly, as The Epoch Times' Jack Phillips reports, this month-long delays comes as an attorney in former President Donald Trump’s orbit who testified in front of a Manhattan grand jury earlier this month believes that there has been a shift in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against the 45th president. — ZeroHedge Our Take: We hope you enjoyed this brief look back at the major news items you might have missed in this ever-escalating and ever-accelerating news cycle as the Information War continues to rage on around us. The Badlands Media team will continue to combine our cognitive powers in order to slow things down and find the signal amidst the noise as this series expands. As always, if you have any thoughts on these news items or the MANY others swirling in the digital ether, drop into the comments below to share them with your fellow Badlanders. 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