Month: October 2025

At a moment the Pentagon is busy rearranging its defense priorities toward readiness for a potential future conflict with China, Beijing itself is wasting no time in preparing for just such a scenario, particularly related to the Taiwan question.

“A classified US military intelligence report seen by the ABC says China is rapidly building up the country’s commercial ferry fleet to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan,” the Australian publication writes of a document said to be from earlier this year, prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

This is nothing too new or much of a huge revelation, given Western intelligence – including the so-called Five Eyes which includes Australia – has for years been monitoring a trend where the PLA upgrades commercial ferries to become troop and tank carriers, for use in prior military exercises with an eye toward Taiwan.

Back in 2022, it was understood that China had over two dozen such modified ferries, but the ABC report cites that “China is building more than 70 of the large vessels by the end of 2026” – based on US intelligence forecasts.

Taiwan’s Ambassador to Tiawan, Douglas Hsu, has described that “Civilian vessels or other dual-use facilities in the maritime domain are also part of China’s strategy” for a future potential assault on the self-ruled island.

The ‘Classified’ DIA report contains some alarming information, including that the Pentagon would consider Chinese ferries ‘fair game’ for attack given their military ‘dual use’ purpose:

Satellite intelligence of the ferries from earlier this year shows them being used alongside a series of new landing docks off China’s coastline, as well as deploying amphibious forces in military exercises.

The landing docks are a new class of vessel that allows the ferries to deploy cargo and people onto a beach.

The US Department of Defense intelligence report assessed the commercial ferries as possible military targets in a conflict scenario with China. This means the ferries could be targeted and sunk by US forces in the event of a Taiwan crisis, even with civilian crews on board.

US intelligence has voiced that it believes Chinese President Xi Jinping to be ready to be capable of a full-scale invasion of Taiwan by the year 2027 if called upon.

It remains that these type of somewhat hyped threat assessments seem to be a regular thing issued from Western intel agencies about every year or so.

However, China’s official position remains that it wants reunification of Taiwan by peaceful means – though over the last years its military has ramped up ‘encircling exercises’ around Taiwan, provoking the condemnation of Washington.

China watcher and regional analyst Professor Hu Bo told ABC, “It’s common sense that China is preparing for a Taiwan crisis. This does not mean China will do something quickly in the future. Preparation is not the same as intention.”

So both the US and Chinese sides appear to be in a phase of long-terms preparation, hopefully for a war which will never be fought. Both will also seek to develop ‘deterrence’ capabilities in the Pacific region.

* * *

The PLA continues is shows of force and strength, aimed no doubt at Taiwan’s number one backer the United States…

NEW – China’s PLA successfully conducts ICBM test, reports. pic.twitter.com/8CktmQwRQ7

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 29, 2025

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert for multiple ready-to-eat meals due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, the agency said in a Sept. 25 statement.

One of the products cited in the alert is the Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs and Marinara Sauce with “best if used by” dates of Sept. 22, 24, 25, 29, 30, and Oct. 1. Sold at Walmart, the items bear 47718 or 50784 establishment numbers.

The second item is Trader Joe’s Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Breast Fettuccine Alfredo with “best if used by” dates of Sept. 20, 24, and 27, and establishment number, P-45288.

Consuming foods contaminated with Listeria may lead to listeriosis, a “serious infection” that mostly affects people with weakened immune systems, the elderly, pregnant women, and newborns, the agency said.

*  *  *This pasta is not contaminated*  *  *

“Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn,” FSIS said.

“In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections can occur in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics.”

FSIS advised people who experience flu-like symptoms within two months of consuming the contaminated food to seek medical care.

“FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the agency said.

The Epoch Times reached out to Trader Joe’s and Walmart for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

The public health alert comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a listeria outbreak linked to prepared meals, the CDC said in a Sept. 26 update.

In its Sept. 25 statement, FSIS said that Walmart’s linguine pasta product had tested positive for listeria, with the agency conducting further testing to determine whether this is the same strain as the listeria in the outbreak.

There have so far been 20 cases of infection in the listeria outbreak across 15 states, including 19 hospitalizations and four deaths, according to the CDC update.

FreshRealm chicken fettuccine alfredo meals, the product linked to this outbreak, were sold nationwide at Kroger and Walmart under the Home Chef and Marketside brands. The affected products were recalled in June and are no longer available for sale.

Safeguarding From Infection

In another Sept. 26 statement, the CDC advised people not to eat any of the foods linked to the outbreak.

“Clean your refrigerator, containers, and surfaces that may have touched the affected foods. Listeria can survive in the refrigerator and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces,” the CDC said.

Listeria is more harmful to pregnant women, immunocompromised people, and individuals aged 65 and above because the bacteria are “more likely to spread beyond their gut to other parts of their body, resulting in a severe condition known as invasive listeriosis,” it said.

Symptoms of infection typically start two weeks after the consumption of contaminated food. In some cases, symptoms may begin early or even 10 weeks after eating the food.

Efforts are underway to strengthen food safety measures at the federal level. In February, a group of lawmakers introduced the Expanded Food Safety Investigation Act (EFSIA) to tackle food safety issues, according to a Feb. 4 statement from the office of Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

The bill aims to empower the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect microbial samples from factory farms when there is a public health need or during times of a disease outbreak, his office said at the time.

“Every year, thousands of Americans fall victim to foodborne illnesses. Currently, the FDA lacks the jurisdiction to investigate outbreaks and identify the sources of contaminated food stemming from animal agriculture,” Booker said.

“This bicameral legislation will reduce the prevalence of foodborne diseases by empowering the FDA and other public health agencies to properly respond to and investigate outbreaks when they happen and get contaminated food off our grocery shelves.”

Trump’s Industrial Economy policies just took down their latest scalp, so to speak. 

One week after Bloomberg reported that the White House was considering a 10% stake in one of the largest North American lithium mining companies, Lithium Americas, on Tuesday afternoon, the US government agreed to acquire a stake in the company, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said Tuesday on Bloomberg TV, giving a boost to the Canadian company as it develops its Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada.

The deal is the Trump administration’s latest effort to speed development of a domestic supply chain to counter China’s dominance over metals critical to defense, automaking and consumer electronics. In July, the US Defense Department announced a $400 million equity investment in MP Materials Corp. to fund a major new plant making rare-earth magnets.It was followed by a similar deal with chip giant Intel. 

Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass project in Nevada is forecast to become a major lithium source for a domestic industry that currently produces only small amounts of the battery metal.

Lithium Americas, which produces minerals used in electric-vehicle batteries, is also in talks with automaker General Motors over the terms of its $2.26 billion government loan for a large lithium mining project it is developing in Nevada.

Those discussions included debating whether the U.S. should take a stake in Lithium Americas as a condition for receiving a loan, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.

The US-listed shares of Lithium Americas have risen 92% this year and soared 32% to $7.53 in after-hours trading Tuesday. 

Authored by Conrad Black via The Epoch Times

President Trump’s address to the United Nations last week was a historic speech and a tour de force. He made the point that the United Nations is a useless talking shop, incapable even of making its escalator and teleprompter work.

He identified the twin threats to the survival of Western civilization to be the uncontrolled flood of immigration from desperate and often chronically criminal people with no interest in becoming functioning citizens of a new jurisdiction, and the drive to reduce carbon dioxide on the mistaken theory that climate change is a threat to life itself.

These waves of illegal immigration are not immigration at all but only desperate masses fleeing adversity, while sheltering substantial numbers of very violent and dangerous criminals. It is an invasion, and resembles nothing so much as the barbarians pouring into the Western Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D., ahead of the more destructive and ferocious barbarians who followed them in the fifth century and completely overthrew the Western Roman Empire.

The president even revealed that the U.N. had made substantial financial contributions to subsidize illegal immigrants into the United States, who are now, at great expense and social stress, being systematically deported.

Trump unmistakably made the point that the U.N. is effectively a force for the destruction of its principal member states that pay its bills.

He accurately described anthropogenic climate change as the greatest hoax in history, and pointed out the immense cost to people in Western Europe due to increased home heating and gasoline expenses. Europe had reduced its carbon footprint by over 30 percent, but this was completely useless to the declared objective of reducing global emissions, as the total world carbon footprint at the same time increased by nearly 60 percent.

Trump also pointed out how hideously expensive wind and solar power are, and that they can only be extracted and used for electrical generation at all when the sun is out and the wind is blowing. He made a telling point that the Chinese manufacture most of the windmills for energy generation in the world, but don’t use any of them themselves. His illustrations of the fatuity of the policy of the United Nations and many of its member states in these matters were very graphic and unanswerable.

Having rubbed the nose of the 192 other member states in the mistakes and pretensions and hypocrisy of the organization, he directly addressed the two principal wars now in progress in the world.

He assaulted the hypocrisy of forgetting the origins of the present Gaza war: an invasion of Israel by Hamas, the massacre of 1,200 people, and the taking of 250 hostages, many of whom have been murdered in captivity, which violated an existing ceasefire. The only excuse for it has been the conviction of the anti-Israel terrorists that Israel does not have the right to survive as a Jewish state, and that the survival of a Palestinian state, which has been on offer for 25 years, would be invalid and meaningless if it existed alongside Israel.

Few things could be more obvious than that it will be impossible to have any lasting peace, where Israel’s neighbors believe that they cannot coexist with the Jewish state, and therefore will continue to harass and terrorize it indefinitely. Any peace based on the continued ability of the Arab terrorist regime to return indefinitely to this activity is no recipe for peace, but merely for continued terror and war. The fact that many of the U.N.’s member states have taken complete leave of these facts is merely indicative of the ineffectuality, hypocrisy, and irrelevance of the United Nations.

Trump’s comments on the Ukraine war are even more germane. He had gone to some lengths to conciliate Russia because he recognized that defeating Russia in a manner that was gratuitously humiliating could have the effect of driving that country more thoroughly and deeply into the arms of China. This could have the effect of producing an arrangement in which China moves 30 or 40 million of its surplus population into Siberia and exploits the resources of that area—as Russia has never been able to do (except for oil and gas)—in exchange for a royalty. This would reduce Russia to the status of a vassal of China and endow China with strategic resources that it has never had before. Obviously, this is an outcome that would be extremely unfortunate for the West, as it would effectively install China as the dominant force in the Eurasian land mass.

President Trump made it clear that he has now lost patience with President Putin’s bad faith as well as with the hypocrisy of America’s European allies. The Western European members of NATO have consistently besieged the United States to do the necessary to defeat the Russians, while themselves providing arms and munitions reasonably generously to Ukraine. But they have also been buying gas from Russia on a scale that effectively finances Russia’s conduct of the war. It was not so long ago that Europe was led by political figures of the stature of Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, Charles de Gaulle, and François Mitterrand, and it is inconceivable that those leaders would have been party to such contemptible double-dealing and humbug.

Trump noted that he would soon be attempting to reach an agreement with the Western European powers for alternative sources of energy other than Russia, at which point the United States would be prepared to impose severe sanctions on Russia and secondary sanctions on countries that trade with Russia.

The Kremlin appears to be sleepwalking toward a serious reversal. Trump has got the isolationists in his own party off his back by persuading the European NATO members and Canada to raise their defense contribution to 5 percent of GDP, and using some of these funds to buy sophisticated military hardware from the United States and hand it on to Ukraine with revised rules of use and engagement. This will enable the Russian public to participate more fully in the war experience, and endure the attacks on civilian areas that the Russians have never ceased to rain down upon the Ukrainians.

The president’s description of Russia as a “paper tiger” was correct when it is not just facing the much smaller country of Ukraine, but rather all of NATO. Russia has a smaller GDP than Canada and only about 40 percent of the population of the United States, and has already taken more than a million casualties and suffered over 50,000 desertions and hundreds of thousands of conscription evasions in Ukraine.

It has been Trump’s policy to try to get a peace deal that avoided such a humiliation of Russia that it was driven permanently into the arms of China. But Putin’s conduct has been so dishonest and provoking that he has pushed himself into a corner. Unless he comes to his senses and begins negotiating in good faith on the basis of existing conditions on the ground and not wild fantasies about restoring Stalin’s USSR, he will bring down upon his country by far its greatest reversal since the disintegration of the Soviet Union 35 years ago.

President Trump’s address to the United Nations made it clear that the continuation of a terrorist entity on Israel’s border would not be tolerated, that Russian demands for the complete emasculation of Ukraine would not be accepted, and that the U.N. itself is in drastic need both of institutional reform and drastic revision of the authoritarian, anti-Western, socialistic dogma that guides the majority of its members.

The organization founded with great hopefulness by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945 has become a primal scream therapy center for the most failed and corrupt governments in the world. The serious and successful countries should sponsor profound reforms, and it may be that President Trump’s Sept. 23 address will be seen as the beginning of this long-overdue step.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Netflix has once again been caught pushing pro-transgender agenda through an animated fantasy horror comedy series aimed at young kids that reeks of grooming and brainwashing youth with wokeism.

For anyone who has ever secretly harbored a crush, this pitch perfect love song from Dead End: Paranormal Park — performed by star @ZachBarack with music by Patrick Stump and Michael Kooman — will make your heart soar! pic.twitter.com/be4lEBvHxD

— Netflix (@netflix) June 27, 2022

In a viral post on X, Libs of TikTok highlighted that Dead End: Paranormal Park, created by Hamish Steele and produced by Blink Industries in partnership with Netflix Animation, and distributed by Netflix, created woke propaganda, such as pro-transgender messaging aimed at kids as young as seven years old. 

OMG. Dead End Paranormal Park, a show on Netflix, is pushing pro-transgender on CHILDREN.

This show is advertised for 7-YEAR-OLDS

It’s being promoted on @netflix kids now.

Parents- BEWARE pic.twitter.com/gh5UZftKns

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 29, 2025

The backlash doesn’t stop at the show. Its creator, Hamish Steele, openly mocked Charlie Kirk’s political assassination and labeled him a “Nazi” on far-left social media channel BlueSky. 

You will never guess who the creator of this show is… a he/they lgbtq bluesky fan who mocked Charlie’s m*rder and called him a nazi

Is anyone surprised?? https://t.co/Ei3zEwseoJ pic.twitter.com/fZi7j3Lbwk

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 30, 2025

And this. 

A m*rder-loving groomer! Even worse

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 30, 2025

None of this woke nonsense is surprising anymore. However, what’s surprising is Netflix’s failure to grasp the reality of the Overton Window shift, where what’s considered mainstream and acceptable is no longer far-left but instead middle-right.

“Just cancelled my Netflix subscription. If you employ someone who celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk and makes content that pushes pro-trans content on my kids… …you will NEVER get a dime of my money It’s as simple as that,” Matt Van Swol wrote on X. 

Elon Musk chimed in, saying, “Same.” 

Same https://t.co/laEKx2n1Ms

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 30, 2025

“It’s interesting that Dead End Paranormal Park went ahead and appropriately added a devil sidekick for the “trans” kid,” one X user said. 

It’s interesting that Dead End Paranormal Park went ahead and appropriately added a devil sidekick for the “trans” kid. pic.twitter.com/avkuQDSwAo

— V28 (@VWood28) September 30, 2025

Let the cancellations begin. 

pic.twitter.com/IduUbtXjDW

— Kim Mayton (@KMayton41) September 30, 2025

Earlier, Musk announced plans to launch a new online encyclopedia platform called “Grokipedia,” positioned as a rival to Wikipedia, which he says has been hijacked by far-left activists.

Musk Unveils Grokipedia Plans To Counter Wikipedia’s Manipulation Of “Truth” Controlled By Leftists https://t.co/XdrDJzXlzc

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 30, 2025

Musk may be eyeing even greater control over narrative power, which has long been dominated by the far left. He’s already cracked MSM narratives with X and Grok, and now he’s planning to roll out Grokipedia. Could studios be next? If Musk’s goal is to seize narrative control, the logical next step could be  Hollywood itself – perhaps he has eyes on Angel Studios?

President Trump made clear on Tuesday that he will give Hamas “three or four days” to agree to his Gaza peace plan, “or pay in hell.” He first unveiled his 20-point plan for ceasefire and permanent peace alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.

Touting that Arab leaders have accepted the plan, Trump said that “we’re just waiting for Hamas” – and reports say that Qatari mediators had presented the plan to Hamas officials on Monday evening. Trump said there’s  “not much” room for any further negotiating over the plan’s points when asked by a reporter.

“We have one signature that we need, and that signature will pay in hell if they don’t sign. I hope they sign for their own good and create something really great,” Trump said before his big address US generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia. He signed documents with Netanyahu, who agreed to the plan, on Monday.

One official involved in diplomacy told Reuters that “The Hamas negotiators said they would review it in good faith and provide a response.”

But there’s plenty in the plan which Hamas will likely object to, such as handing over all remaining hostages alongside only a partial Israeli withdrawal. The Palestinian militant group has long demanded a full IDF exit from the Strip as a firm condition for truce.

According to more from Reuters:

Many elements of the 20 points have been included in numerous ceasefire deals proposed over the last two years, including those accepted and then subsequently rejected at various stages by both Israel and Hamas.

A source close to Hamas told Reuters the plan was “completely biased to Israel” and imposed “impossible conditions” that aimed to eliminate the group.

A Palestinian official was further cited as saying, “What Trump has proposed is the full adoption of all Israeli conditions, which do not grant the Palestinian people or the residents of the Gaza Strip any legitimate rights.”

The plan would oversee the full disarming of Hamas, and additional things the group is not likely to agree with. Trump had declared Monday on the ‘Board of Peace’ which would administer Gaza: “It would be headed by a gentleman known as President Donald J Trump of the United States. That’s what I want, some extra work to do, but it’s so important that I’m willing to do it.”

“We’ll do it right … We’ll have a board. One of the people that wants to be on the board is the UK former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Good man, very good man. And some others,” he said. There’s reported to be billionaires under consideration.

Does anyone really think Hamas is going to lay down its arms so Tony Blair can come in and rule Palestinians and decide their future?

Unless someone pulls a rabbit out of somewhere before midnight, the federal government will shut down when the clock strikes 12 tonight, after the Senate rejected two temporary funding bills (continuing resolutions), five hours before the deadline.

One resolution, sponsored by Democrats, was rejected 47-53 along party lines, while the Republican CR failed by 44-45. 

Democrats insisted on the need to reverse healthcare related spending provisions contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and make COVID-era ACA enhanced premium tax credits permanent. 

Republicans wanterd a short-term extension of current spending levels while lawmakers finalize appropriations for 2026. 

So – get ready for LOTS of fun articles detailing the machinations of this bullshit over the next 2-3 weeks, and consider supporting ZeroHedge with the purchase of a hat or shirt, or some patches, or a cool knife while you’re waiting for DC to figure out how they’re going to spend more of your money.

Related:

• JPMorgan Sees 70% Chance Of Shutdown Lasting 15 Days
• With Shutdown All But Assured, Goldman’s Full Government Shutdown Q&A
• Three-Week Shutdown Could Push Jobless Rate To 4.7%: Report

Meanwhile, the White House has ordered agenices to begin implementing government shutdown plans. 

Did the Democrats walk into a trap?

As the Epoch Times notes further, Democrats say their plan is necessary to prevent a loss of health coverage by tens of millions of people and avoid a sharp increase in health insurance premiums.

Republicans have said the Democrats’ proposal would add $1.5 trillion in spending and is an unserious starting point for discussions.

A Sept. 29 meeting of congressional leaders with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, failed to produce a resolution.

Ahead of the Senate vote, both parties doubled down on their position.

Democrats repeated their ideas that health care reform is vitally important and requires immediate action.

“Health care creates an urgency,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told The Epoch Times on Sept. 30. “Republicans are saying, ‘Agree to a clean CR and we’ll talk about this stuff later.’ But people get sick regardless of the Republican timetable.”

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) told reporters she would not trust Republicans’ word that they would negotiate over health care during the normal appropriations process.

“There’s no trust,” DeLauro said. “Remember McCarthy–Biden, they walked away from the deal,” she added, referring to a negotiated spending agreement in 2023 that was not passed into legislation.

Republicans continued to say that Democrats’ insistence on placing complex health-related negotiations on a short-term spending agreement was confusing and unnecessary.

“They’re kind of all over the map,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told The Epoch Times. “I can’t tell what they want.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Sept. 29 that he had made proposals to Republicans related to health care, but did not specify what they were.

When asked by The Epoch Times which health care issues Democrats were advancing, Blumenthal spoke instead about the urgency of addressing health care, adding, “I think it ends with some serious compromise on health care.”

During a White House press conference, Trump said the administration could do things that are “irreversible” during a shutdown, such as “cutting vast numbers” of federal workers.

“I think the record shows that he is firing people regardless of the shutdown,” Blumenthal said. “He just seems to be on that path.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) expressed optimism that the two sides could strike a deal centered on extending ACA enhanced premium tax credits.

“I just don’t think you’re going to have that much opposition on either side to giving an extension this year to the Obamacare subsidies,” Rounds told The Epoch Times.

Rounds said that could be coupled with a 45-day continuing resolution to allow further appropriations work. However, he said: “I don’t know whether Democrat leadership can actually accept not going to a shutdown. They may very well feel they have to do a shutdown just to show their far left base that they’ll do it.”