https://www.sott.net/best-of-web Signs of the Times: The World for People who Think. Featuring independent, unbiased, alternative news and commentary on world events. en-us Original content Copyright 2025 by Signs of the Times/Sott.net. For other content, see our Fair Use Policy at www.sott.net. Wed, 22 Jan 2025 12:55:01 +0000 https://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net https://www.sott.net https://www.sott.net/article/497390-Rare-snowstorm-hits-US-south-with-4-deaths-reported-10-5-inches-of-snow-recorded-in-Louisiana A rare winter storm is bringing snow and freezing rain to parts of the US deep south, closing highways and airports in Texas and prompting a first-ever blizzard warning in southwest Louisiana. Four people are thought to have died from cold exposure so far - two cases are being investigated as cold-related by Austin authorities in Texas, while two deaths from hypothermia were reported in Georgia and Milwaukee. Up in the country's north, parts of New York state are being hit by another storm, blanketed by up to 18 inches of snow. More than 2,200 flights within the US were cancelled on Tuesday, and 3,000 more were delayed, according to online tracker Flight Aware. https://www.sott.net/article/497390-Rare-snowstorm-hits-US-south-with-4-deaths-reported-10-5-inches-of-snow-recorded-in-Louisiana Wed, 22 Jan 2025 12:22:16 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497348-I-Believe-In-The-Rule-Of-Law-But-Biden-Pardons-Fauci-Schiff-Cheney-Milley-Family-Members-For-Crimes-Against-America President Joe Biden on Monday pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours to guard against potential "revenge" by the incoming Trump administration. The decision by Biden comes after Donald Trump warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has selected Cabinet nominees who backed his election lies and who have pledged to punish those involved in efforts to investigate him. "The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense," Biden said in a statement. "Our nation owes these public servants a... https://www.sott.net/article/497348-I-Believe-In-The-Rule-Of-Law-But-Biden-Pardons-Fauci-Schiff-Cheney-Milley-Family-Members-For-Crimes-Against-America Mon, 20 Jan 2025 13:23:15 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497270-Sound-of-meteorite-striking-Earth-caught-on-doorbell-camera-on-Prince-Edward-Island-Canada-on-July-25th-2024 A doorbell camera has captured the remarkable moment a meteorite struck the ground outside a home, scattering dust and producing audible impact sounds—a historic first, according to University of Alberta scientist Chris Herd. In July 2024, Laura Kelly and her partner Joe discovered the rock outside their home on Prince Edward Island, Canada, marking the province's first recorded meteorite fall. The meteorite left a small dent in the walkway and the rock was confirmed to be ordinary chondrite, the most common type of space rock to strike Earth. https://www.sott.net/article/497270-Sound-of-meteorite-striking-Earth-caught-on-doorbell-camera-on-Prince-Edward-Island-Canada-on-July-25th-2024 Wed, 15 Jan 2025 22:36:26 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497255-Car-windscreen-smashed-by-a-piece-of-space-rock-in-Stratford-upon-Avon-UK-on-December-26-2024 The festive holidays brought an out-of-this-world experience for one Stratford family. The Butlers, who live on Birmingham Road, heard a strange bang at 10.30pm on Boxing Day. Next morning when they went outside, Paul Butler was baffled to find his mum and dad's car, left safely on his drive within a secure courtyard and well away from the road, had a cracked windscreen. Events took an even weirder turn when Paul's youngest son Nathan found a strange-looking rock on the ground near the car. About two centimetres long, it's jet black with shiny bits and doesn't look like any other rocks they've ever seen. https://www.sott.net/article/497255-Car-windscreen-smashed-by-a-piece-of-space-rock-in-Stratford-upon-Avon-UK-on-December-26-2024 Wed, 15 Jan 2025 13:39:51 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497251-Black-Death-The-next-global-pandemic-or-manufactured-tool-for-depopulation-and-control-in-the-West More than 700 years since the Black Death pandemic, scientists are developing a bubonic plague jab - but why? And should we be worried? Back in 2020, the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the world. Entire countries were plunged into lockdowns and millions were impacted in innumerable ways. Scientists raced to find a vaccine, heralded to help - and it did, protecting those who took it from increased risks of becoming seriously ill from the virus, and helping to halt its overwhelming spread on a global scale. Comment: The sentence above tells us just how clueless the author of this article really is. Now, almost half a decade on since a vaccine was created for COVID-19, scientists behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab are busy developing another vaccine, this time for a disease whose pandemic last devastated the world more than 700 years ago: the bubonic plague. Comment: So the same "scientists" who gave us the useless and dangerous jab for Covid-19 are supposedly... https://www.sott.net/article/497251-Black-Death-The-next-global-pandemic-or-manufactured-tool-for-depopulation-and-control-in-the-West Tue, 14 Jan 2025 22:30:29 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497225-Stabbed-in-the-head-and-dumped-in-a-canal-The-true-horror-of-the-Rotherham-grooming-scandal-and-the-shameful-failure-to-stop-it The Rotherham story is simple. It's a story about cowardice and evil. For decades, organised gangs of abusers preyed on children in their homes and in local institutions with impunity, while authorities turned a blind eye. An inquiry led by the academic Alexis Jay, published in 2014, found evidence that reports had been submitted to authorities in the 1990s. The police certainly had evidence as far back as 2003 and 2006. Little was done to stop the crimes. Between 1997 and 2013, the National Crime Agency now believes, at least 1,500 girls were abused in the town. Such mass abuse was the result of an instinct to look away and cover-up. In some cases, this appears to have been motivated by fear; fear of being called racist, or fear of what might happen if the majority community were to realise its children were viewed as easy targets by many members of a minority. In other cases, inaction is harder to explain away. https://www.sott.net/article/497225-Stabbed-in-the-head-and-dumped-in-a-canal-The-true-horror-of-the-Rotherham-grooming-scandal-and-the-shameful-failure-to-stop-it Tue, 14 Jan 2025 00:14:14 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497186-Meta-and-Amazon-roll-back-diversity-programs Comment: Very telling that they're all doing this all at once, like some word was sent out... The companies are reportedly dropping commitments to consider race and gender in their hiring process. Meta and Amazon have ended their diversity, equity, and inclusions (DEI) programs, citing political considerations and perceptions of preferential treatment, multiple news outlets reported on Friday, citing internal documents. Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Reuters cited a December memo from Amazon saying that the retail giant was "winding down outdated programs and materials" related to representation and inclusion, with the goal of completing the process by the end of 2024. https://www.sott.net/article/497186-Meta-and-Amazon-roll-back-diversity-programs Sun, 12 Jan 2025 18:09:44 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497184-Former-Labour-MP-arrested-during-pedophile-sting-months-after-being-suspended-from-the-party Comment: The best part is, this guy was on British MSM last week berating Musk for 'politicizing the grooming gangs'... A social media video reveals a man who identifies himself to be the ex-Labour MP Ivor Caplin being handcuffed by police. Sussex Police have confirmed they have arrested a 66-year-old man on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication with a child. In May last year, Caplin was suspended because of undisclosed "serious allegations", which he denies. Video footage of the arrest has been posted online and a man wearing a black trench coat and a red cap can be seen, being held by police officers. Police then appear to take the arrested man's phone and put it inside an evidence bag. https://www.sott.net/article/497184-Former-Labour-MP-arrested-during-pedophile-sting-months-after-being-suspended-from-the-party Sun, 12 Jan 2025 17:49:38 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497170-Meloni-Soros-is-interfering-in-democracies-not-Musk "This is not the first time that famous and wealthy people have expressed their opinions. I have seen many such cases, often against me, and no one was offended then" At a press conference in Rome earlier this year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that Elon Musk's political posts on X do not pose a threat to democracy; while oligarch George Soros, however, continuously interferes in the politics of other nations, according to Italy's leader. "The problem is when wealthy people use their resources to finance parties, associations and political exponents all over the world to influence the political choices of nation states", Meloni told reporters at an annual press conference. "That's not what Musk is doing," she added. https://www.sott.net/article/497170-Meloni-Soros-is-interfering-in-democracies-not-Musk Sat, 11 Jan 2025 22:12:25 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497144-Fiery-plane-crash-kills-179-in-worst-airline-disaster-in-South-Korea-2-black-boxes-stopped-recording-4-minutes-before-the-accident-UPDATE Comment: This latest development in the investigation is highly suspicious... The deadliest air accident ever in South Korea killed 179 people on Sunday, when an airliner belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at Muan International Airport. Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board, was trying to land shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) at the airport in the south of the country, South Korea's transport ministry said. Two crew members survived and were being treated for injuries. The deadliest air accident on South Korean soil was also the worst involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades, the transport ministry said. The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 was seen in local media video skidding down the runway with no visible landing gear before crashing into navigation equipment and a wall in an explosion of flames and debris. https://www.sott.net/article/497144-Fiery-plane-crash-kills-179-in-worst-airline-disaster-in-South-Korea-2-black-boxes-stopped-recording-4-minutes-before-the-accident-UPDATE Sat, 11 Jan 2025 19:10:51 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497155-Pepe-Escobar-Empire-of-Chaos-Reloaded All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Sun Tzu, The Art of War The Empire of Chaos is relentless. Lawfare, destabilizations, sanctions, kidnappings, color revolutions, false flags, annexations: 2025 will be the year of BRICS - plus BRICS partners - as choice targets under fire. Inestimable Prof. Michael Hudson coined "chaos" as official US policy. That's bipartisan - and it runs across all silos of the Deep State. In the absence of long-term strategic vision, and amidst the progressive imperial expulsion from Eurasia, all that's left for the Hegemon is to unleash chaos from West Asia to Europe and parts of Latin America - a concerted attempt to Divide and Rule BRICS and thwart their collective drive affirming sovereignty and the primacy of national interests. US Think Tank... https://www.sott.net/article/497155-Pepe-Escobar-Empire-of-Chaos-Reloaded Sat, 11 Jan 2025 17:22:07 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497150-UK-Muslim-grooming-gang-survivor-They-are-committing-racially-and-religiously-aggravated-rape Shedding pretentious nuances surrounding discussions related to race and religion, Dr. Elisa Hill emphasised, "A lot of it has to do with race and religion. A lot of people don't like talking about it or they don't like to hear about it." In a shocking interview with the Triggernometry, rape survivor Dr. Ella Hill has revealed that at least half a million non-Muslim (Kaffir) girls have been raped by grooming gangs, operated by Muslim men in the United Kingdom, in the past 40 years. The interview was conducted by two comedians, Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster. https://www.sott.net/article/497150-UK-Muslim-grooming-gang-survivor-They-are-committing-racially-and-religiously-aggravated-rape Sat, 11 Jan 2025 02:05:59 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497077-At-least-126-people-killed-in-China-as-7-1-magnitude-earthquake-hits-near-Tibet-holy-city-of-Shigatse-UPDATE At least 95 people have died and many are feared trapped after a strong earthquake in China, according to state media. It struck in the autonomous Tibet region, in the west of the country, shortly after 9.05am (1.05am GMT), according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said it was 7.1 magnitude. State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) put the epicentre in Tingri county, about 240 miles from Tibet's capital Lhasa and about 14 miles from its second-largest city of Shigatse - also known as Xigaze. At least 130 people have also reportedly been injured. https://www.sott.net/article/497077-At-least-126-people-killed-in-China-as-7-1-magnitude-earthquake-hits-near-Tibet-holy-city-of-Shigatse-UPDATE Fri, 10 Jan 2025 10:50:43 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497114-EXPOSED-What-They-re-NOT-Telling-You-About-the-RAPE-GANGS-Neil-Oliver Neil Oliver exposes the shocking truth about UK immigrant grooming gangs and the years of government cover-ups. As Keir Starmer and Labour claim to address the scandal, Oliver reveals how it's more about political convenience than real action. With Elon Musk drawing global attention to the issue on X, the pressure is mounting. Are we seeing genuine justice or just a cynical PR move? https://www.sott.net/article/497114-EXPOSED-What-They-re-NOT-Telling-You-About-the-RAPE-GANGS-Neil-Oliver Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:20:28 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497071-The-January-6-insurrection-that-wasn-t Typically, coup attempts do not wrap up in time for dinner. But over the next few days, with the anniversary of the 2021 January 6 Capitol riot having become a progressive political holiday worthy of obsessive memorialization, the nation will be deluged with tales of attempted government overthrow, Trumpian lunacy, and the FBI desperately trying to explain why it has yet to catch a person who — on video — placed two pipe bombs in DC that day but has somehow gloriously managed to track down and prosecute 1,000 trespassers. Despite what the endless and tedious and inaccurate anniversary media coverage — all delivered with a joyously smirking "kid in a candy store/evil Republicans" tenor — will be claiming, the January 6 riot had all (maybe really only some) of the hallmarks of, well, a riot, and none of the indicators of an actual "insurrection," let alone an attempted coup d'état. For an actual and successful coup, one need look no further than the inglorious defenestration of Joe... https://www.sott.net/article/497071-The-January-6-insurrection-that-wasn-t Mon, 06 Jan 2025 17:35:14 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497060-Fatal-landslides-in-2024-exceptional-correlated-with-very-high-intensity-rainfall-events The extraordinary landslide year of 2024 is now complete, so I'm able to provide my initial analysis of the fatal events that have occurred. Remember that this is an analysis only of fatal events- there have been literally hundreds of thousands of non-fatal landslides too, but at present we have no mechanism to collate these reliably. I will seek to publish this data in a journal in the coming months, so the analysis presented here is provisional. The methodology and background analysis is outlined in Froude and Petley (2018), which is an open access paper. There are also reflections on these analyses in Fidan et al. (2024), which is also open access. As I have been describing through the year, 2024 was exceptional in every way in terms of fatal landslides. In total, I recorded 708 fatal landslides (excluding those triggered by an earthquake), costing 4,492 lives. In terms of the number of fatal landslides, this is the highest annual total that I have ever recorded, breaking the... https://www.sott.net/article/497060-Fatal-landslides-in-2024-exceptional-correlated-with-very-high-intensity-rainfall-events Mon, 06 Jan 2025 12:43:39 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497059-Emergency-in-7-US-states-63-million-at-risk-from-winter-storm-Blair In the US, winter storm Blair is bringing the "heaviest snowfall" and coldest temperatures in over a decade. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued alerts for more than 30 US states, spanning from Kansas to the East Coast, warning of "whiteout conditions" and roads becoming impassable. Up to 250 million people across states are in the storm's path, facing dangerously low temperatures and hazardous travel conditions. Around 63 million people in the US are under some kind of winter weather advisory. This disruptive storm has covered roads with snow and also brought snowfall —even thundersnow — to several cities such as Kansas and Kentucky that typically don't see much at all, prompting the National Guard to come to the aid of stranded motorists. School closures, flight disruptions and trees falling over are only to be expected. On Sunday, Virginia state police alone reported at least 135 crashes, thankfully without any fatalities. Winter storm Blair is the result of an 'Arctic... https://www.sott.net/article/497059-Emergency-in-7-US-states-63-million-at-risk-from-winter-storm-Blair Mon, 06 Jan 2025 11:27:37 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497021-The-H-1B-visa-war-exposes-a-deeply-American-problem The Musk-Bannon bust-up shows US elites are still far from even understanding their country's real problems. To paraphrase the American film classic, 'The Big Lebowski', say what you will about Trumpism but at least it's neither united nor dull. US uber-oligarch Elon Musk, recently promoted to President-elect Donald Trump's "first buddy," has used his very own X platform to tell other Trump supporters to "take a big step back and F**K YOURSELF in the face" (fully spelled out in the original). The designated co-leader of a new Department of Government Efficiency, Musk also threatened to "go to war" with a ferocity beyond what we, mere mortals, can comprehend. Using a rival social media platform, American far-right nationalist guru as well as former Trump first buddy Stephen Bannon reacted by calling Musk a "man-child" and "toddler" in need of "child services." For good measure, he also denounced him as, in effect, a coward who "punches down" instead of fighting guys his own size or... https://www.sott.net/article/497021-The-H-1B-visa-war-exposes-a-deeply-American-problem Fri, 03 Jan 2025 20:28:08 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497009-Lunatic-accused-of-shoving-random-commuter-into-path-of-NYC-subway-is-charged-with-attempted-murder The maniac accused of randomly pushing a Big Apple straphanger onto Manhattan subway tracks Tuesday afternoon was charged with attempted murder, cops said. Kamel Hawkins, 23, was also charged with second-degree assault after he allegedly shoved a complete stranger onto the tracks at the 18th Street station shortly after 1:30 p.m., according to police. The terrifying ordeal, which was captured on chilling video footage obtained by The Post, showed the hooded brute roaming the edge of the platform while the victim appeared to be looking at his phone as the train pulled into the station. Without warning, the suspect pushed the man onto the tracks, with the unsuspecting straphanger disappearing under the train. https://www.sott.net/article/497009-Lunatic-accused-of-shoving-random-commuter-into-path-of-NYC-subway-is-charged-with-attempted-murder Fri, 03 Jan 2025 16:57:08 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497006-20-establishment-figures-in-elite-paedophile-ring-abused-children-for-decades-while-actions-were-covered-up Judges, peers and MPs are among 20 prominent public figures who abused children for decades, a former child protection manager has said. Peter McKelvie, who worked on the conviction of paedophile Peter Righton, said there was a "powerful elite" of paedophiles who carried out "the worst form" of abuse. There is evidence linking the former politicians to an alleged paedophile network, he said. Lord Warner, the former health minister, said the allegations were credible. Mr McKelvie triggered a police investigation in 2012 when he revealed there were seven boxes of potential evidence of a powerful paedophile network, including letters between Righton and other paedophiles, being stored by West Mercia Police. https://www.sott.net/article/497006-20-establishment-figures-in-elite-paedophile-ring-abused-children-for-decades-while-actions-were-covered-up Fri, 03 Jan 2025 15:26:18 +0000