Preparedness
The Pentagon is preparing U.S. military bases to operate for at least 90 days without outside support under a program called FORTRESS. Spokesperson Sean Parnell said reliance on civilian infrastructure constitutes an “intolerable risk.” Every major continental U.S. installation would need independent electricity, water, fuel, and communications, using portable nuclear reactors, battery storage, and microgrids. The plan also calls for strategic reserves, dual supply pathways, and identification of commercial factories that could shift to defense production. The 90-day standard for bases contrasts with typical civilian guidance of three days of household supplies.
Speaking of which, in Britain, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said households should stockpile bottled water, long-life food, and other essentials for at least three days under a new Be Ready campaign covering emergencies such as a cyber attack. Asked what he would stockpile, Burnham named beans, soup, and Twiglets. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said Britain needs to prepare for state-sponsored terrorism targeting national infrastructure. Some commentators described the campaign as scaremongering or a distraction.
Geopolitics
Turkey has begun ratifying the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed in August with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. A defense committee is to meet twice yearly with a secretariat in Saudi Arabia, and retired Pakistani Lt. Gen. Nauman Mahmood was named secretary-general. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have already completed ratification, leaving Turkey as the remaining party.
Relatedly, officials from the three Mecca Pact states are scheduled to meet Iranian leaders in Tehran today, the first high-level contact involving all three members since Saudi Arabia became more deeply involved in the Iran conflict. Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin are expected. Iranian spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said discussions would address Israel’s policies and the effects of U.S. and Israeli military action against Iran. A Saudi official described the talks as part of efforts to de-escalate the crisis and support mediation.
Privacy & Surveillance
A researcher posting as @log4j reported using zero-days to obtain a root shell on a 2025 Samsung Tizen television after observing targeted ads. The researcher claimed the set had an always-on microphone, performed audio classification, and transmitted telemetry to Samsung and roughly 400 partners. Later posts described a service that can log packets and open a remote live-viewing stream, and stated that opting out of automatic content recognition should not be assumed to halt all telemetry. There is currently no independent verification of this report or official Samsung comment.
Separately, Google updated its privacy policy on October 16 to permit ads based on Gmail, Drive, and Photos content when linked to Personal Intelligence, replacing earlier language that it does not show personalized ads from that material. The company states ads may draw on summaries, excerpts, and inferences rather than the inbox or library itself. Human reviewers may access a subset of the data, which the policy indicates may be used to train generative AI models. Disconnecting apps does not delete Search Services History. A 2025 jury ordered Google to pay $425 million for collecting data after users disabled Web and App Activity.
US Politics
The Treasury Department is preparing to hire private debt collectors, possibly as soon as November, to pursue nearly 10 million federal student-loan borrowers in default, although announcements are not expected before the midterms. More than 5 million borrowers have been in default for over six years, and another 5 million entered default in less than a year. Wages may be garnished up to 15 percent without a court order after 30 days’ notice, a practice paused earlier this year. Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated that postponing collections has cost taxpayers about $5 billion to date.
Relatedly, President Donald Trump said he might support capping federal student-loan interest at 2.5 percent. Current federal rates range from 6.52 percent to 9.07 percent. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has asked the House to consider a 2 percent rate, and Democrats have reintroduced a bill to eliminate interest entirely. In June, 42.6 million people held $1.7 trillion in federal student loans. Commentators have observed that a cap below the government’s own borrowing costs could require taxpayer subsidies.
In other news, nearly 100 Washington state voters received replacement ballots after King County Elections recovered 92 undelivered election ballots from a dumpster at Seattle’s Golden Gardens Park days before the midterms. All 92 have been replaced, the Postal Service inspector general is reviewing the incident, and officials said tracking identifiers and signature comparison are intended to prevent anyone from submitting another person’s ballot. County officials said such discoveries typically involve mail theft targeting valuables or personal information, with ballots discarded alongside other stolen correspondence.
Economy
In a recent Fringe Finance piece, Quoth the Raven wrote that gold and miners could sell off in a crash, with gold possibly falling toward $3,000 or $3,500 an ounce, before a policy response sends gold toward $7,500 or higher. Newmont Mining reported $2.48 billion in quarterly net income and $1.9 billion in free cash flow. Gold recently traded below $4,000 an ounce amid a broader market selloff.
Canadian Politics
British Columbia Conservatives won a provincial majority for the first time since 1928, taking 64 of 93 seats to the New Democratic Party’s 27 and ending nine years of New Democratic government. Leader Lorne Doerkson, who is set to become premier, pledged to double natural-gas production by 2032, more than triple it by 2035, end emissions limits, and replace the carbon-tax framework. He said the party will cut red tape. Premier David Eby resigned as NDP leader after calling a snap election two years early.
Health
A Midwestern Doctor described mold-related illness as common yet frequently missed, with symptoms including fatigue, brain fog, pain, and chemical sensitivity that rarely match a recognized diagnosis. An analysis argues that official acknowledgment would expose builders, landlords, insurers, and schools to substantial liability. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hosted a September 18 mold roundtable at HHS after his family’s farmhouse was reportedly overrun with black mold. Conventional medical sources acknowledge respiratory effects of damp buildings, and chronic inflammatory response syndrome remains largely regarded as unproven. Builders have argued that many moisture problems stem from homeowner maintenance and that related testing is inconsistent.
In other news, Dr. Ken Berry recently pointed out a 2006 study randomized 88 exclusively breastfed infants to pureed beef or iron-fortified infant cereal as the first complementary food. At 7 months, zinc intake from solids was 1.9 milligrams in the meat group versus 0.6 milligrams in the cereal group, about 25 percent of the estimated average requirement. Head circumference increased more from 7 to 12 months in the meat group, and tolerance was comparable.
Sources
Google Quietly Rewrites Privacy Policy to Target Ads With Your Gmail and Photos
Personal Intelligence reads like a concierge, then behaves like an ad broker.
Researcher Roots 2025 Samsung TV, Claims Always-On Mic and Mass Telemetry to 400 Partners
Just you, God, a $3000 TV and samsung + their 400 partners!
Source | Submitted by IrishPrince
Turkey Starts Ratifying Mecca Pact With Saudi Arabia and Nuclear Pakistan
Turkey has begun ratifying the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, a new pact signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Treasury Preps Private Collectors to Garnish Wages of Nearly 10 Million Student Loan Defaulters After Midterms
It would be politically insane to do this before the midterms
Trump Might Back 2.5% Cap on Federal Student Loan Interest
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he might support a bill capping federal student loan interest at 2.5 percent.
92 Ballots Found in Seattle Dumpster Days Before Midterms
County employees investigated and discovered two containers of discarded correspondence, including 92 election ballots that had never reached their intended recipients.
Gold Could Crash Before It Doubles
The liquidation is the part everyone fears. The response to the liquidation is the part I’m interested in.
B.C. Conservatives End 98-Year Drought, Dismantle NDP Climate Agenda
British Columbians handed the Conservatives their first provincial election victory since 1928 on Saturday, ending nine years of New Democratic rule and setting the stage to dismantle a nation-killing climate agenda that sacrificed energy development and economic competitiveness.
Pentagon’s FORTRESS Plan: Bases Must Survive 90 Days Off the Civilian Grid
We don’t want to rely on standard civilian municipal infrastructure to run our national defense. We just simply can’t. It’s an intolerable risk,
The Too-Big-to-Fail Illness Medicine Won’t Acknowledge
Mold illness is remarkably common, yet it is routinely missed, as its patients present with a bewildering array of symptoms that rarely fit a recognized diagnosis, and acknowledging it would expose builders, landlords, insurers and schools to almost unlimited liability.
Meat, Not Cereal, as Baby’s First Food: Study Shows Higher Zinc and Better Head Growth
Meat should be baby’s first food. Not infant cereal.
UK PM Tells Brits to Stockpile Beans, Soup and Twiglets for Cyber Attacks and “State-Sponsored Terrorism”
“I do like my beans, so I have plenty of those in the cupboard, and soup. I think those are the kind of things that I would recommend people to have, as well as Twiglets.”
Mecca Pact Officials Head to Tehran for First High-Level Iran Talks
Monday’s planned talks will be the first high-level contact between Iran and all members of the three-nation bloc since Saudi Arabia was drawn deeper into the conflict.
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: Ars Technica, Notebookcheck, Anadolu English, Reuters, ZeroHedge, Kitco News, CityNews Vancouver, Afshin Rattansi, and David Lawrence.
by randommike 
