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 2026 by Signs of the Times/Sott.net. For other content, see our Fair Use Policy at www.sott.net. Mon, 27 Apr 2026 21:05:31 +0000 https://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net https://www.sott.net https://www.sott.net/article/505980-Hayek-Orwell-and-the-end-of-truth Even in free societies, "the most intelligent and independent people cannot entirely escape [the] influence" of state propaganda. In 1942, after fighting in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1937), a disillusioned writer returned to London to write about his experience. It wasn't just that the fascists in Spain had won and his side — a small, anti-Stalinist Marxist group — had lost. What frightened him was the ease with which truth itself had been erased and replaced by propaganda. I saw great battles reported where there had been no fighting, and complete silence where hundreds of men had been killed. I saw troops who had fought bravely denounced as cowards and traitors, and others who had never seen a shot fired hailed as the heroes of imaginary victories...and I saw newspapers in London retailing these lies and eager intellectuals building emotional superstructures over events that had never happened. The writer was George Orwell, and the quote appears in his book Looking Back on the... https://www.sott.net/article/505980-Hayek-Orwell-and-the-end-of-truth Mon, 27 Apr 2026 21:05:24 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505966-Spring-freeze-tightens-grip-on-eastern-Europe Cold air has settled over the eastern half of Europe. Forecasts keep temperatures well below average through the coming week, with another cold front deepening anomalies. Frost is still biting far into spring, even in France where low-lying regions such as Mourmelon-le-Grand dropped to -2.3C (27.9F) on Sunday morning — another hit to early-season crops. The cold intensifies as we look east. Arctic air surged into Belarus on April 26, flipping rain to snow across large parts of the country. Cities such as Grodno, Nesvizh, and Slutsk reported scenes more typical of January than late April. https://www.sott.net/article/505966-Spring-freeze-tightens-grip-on-eastern-Europe Mon, 27 Apr 2026 11:37:35 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505940-Poland-struck-by-meteorite-after-fireball-lights-up-skies-on-April-17-impact-crater-and-rock-found-on-April-22 Scientists in central Poland have recovered a rare iron meteorite believed to be the remnant of a spectacular fireball that streaked across the sky on April 17. The 2.9-kilogram meteorite was discovered near Łódź in the village of Zadzim on Wednesday, just five days after it flew over Poland. The rapid recovery makes it the first iron meteorite in Poland to be found so quickly after an observed fall, and one of only a handful worldwide with a precisely reconstructed orbit, the Skytinel meteor research network said on Friday. https://www.sott.net/article/505940-Poland-struck-by-meteorite-after-fireball-lights-up-skies-on-April-17-impact-crater-and-rock-found-on-April-22 Sat, 25 Apr 2026 20:10:56 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505895-Israels-ethnic-cleansing-of-Area-C-and-the-slow-erasure-of-West-Bank-Palestine-through-sexual-violence-and-humiliation Palestinians are not leaving their villages in the West Bank because of "tensions" or "clashes." They are being driven out through a calculated campaign that weaponises sexual terror, military impunity, and land bureaucracy to make life unlivable. This article lays bare an illegal project of forcible transfer, enabled by the Israeli state and met with open international complicity through inaction. A Palestinian family does not abandon its home in darkness because life has become merely difficult. A mother does not send her daughter away because conditions are unpleasant. A shepherd does not give up the land that fed his family for generations because he has suddenly changed his mind about where he belongs. These are decisions made after something far more sinister has taken hold, when the home is no longer safe, when the road to school is charged with dread, when a woman fears the walk to a latrine, when a family sleeps listening for footsteps outside the shelter, and when armed... https://www.sott.net/article/505895-Israels-ethnic-cleansing-of-Area-C-and-the-slow-erasure-of-West-Bank-Palestine-through-sexual-violence-and-humiliation Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:02:13 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505843-Germanys-energy-minister-admits-commitment-to-renewable-energy-is-ruining-the-country When Simon Wakter, Political Adviser to Sweden's Minister for Energy, posted on X last Wednesday with a simple "Wow, incredible article" and a clapping emoji, he captured the shock rippling through Europe's energy commentariat. The target of his applause was not some fringe sceptic but Germany's own Economy and Energy Minister, Katherina Reiche. In a guest column for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Reiche delivered a verdict that would have been career-ending heresy only a year ago: "One fact has been concealed for too long: an energy transition that ignores system costs will ruin the country it claims to save." To anyone who has watched Germany's Energiewende — that totemic experiment in decarbonisation-by-decree — unfold like a slow-motion train wreck, Reiche's words land like a thunderclap from the Establishment itself. Here is a senior CDU Minister in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Government openly admitting that two decades of Green-inspired fantasy have saddled the... https://www.sott.net/article/505843-Germanys-energy-minister-admits-commitment-to-renewable-energy-is-ruining-the-country Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:34:59 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505839-The-British-Ruling-Elite-As-A-Subject-Of-Cultural-And-International-Terrorism This article examines the ingrained greed and historical ruthlessness of the Anglo-Saxon elites toward other nations and peoples, and substantiates, explicates, and introduces into scholarly usage the new authorial concepts of "British cultural terrorism", "cultural decolonization", and "historical anti-Russianism". It analyzes British involvement in numerous Ukrainian terrorist attacks and acts of sabotage on Russian territory outside the zone of the special military operation (SMO), as well as the specific features, criminal plans, and international unlawfulness of the British-Ukrainian terrorist alliance that has taken shape to date. Britain's complicity in such unlawful Ukrainian activity on Russian territory is classified as international terrorism carried out through the sponsorship and organization of the killing of Russian citizens, as well as acts of sabotage and terrorist attacks against military and civilian infrastructure. Relevant practical recommendations and... https://www.sott.net/article/505839-The-British-Ruling-Elite-As-A-Subject-Of-Cultural-And-International-Terrorism Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:24:16 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505808-The-EUs-digital-gulag-is-apparently-ready-to-roll "It is for parents to raise their children, and not the platforms." Those were the words of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday as she announced the readiness of the EU's online age verification, ahem, platform. As we've been warning since November 2024, these platforms are ultimately a Trojan Horse for digital identity systems, which are in turn intended to serve as the cornerstone for the digital gulags being quickly assembled around the world. What gets rarely mentioned in the public debate, including in Von der Leyen's 11-minute speech below, is the fact that online age verification inevitably traps everyone, not just minors, in its web. "Protecting the children", however, is always a seductive pretext for launching otherwise socially unpalatable policies. And there are few more socially unpalatable policies than the controlled death of online privacy and anonymity. https://www.sott.net/article/505808-The-EUs-digital-gulag-is-apparently-ready-to-roll Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:58:09 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505712-Palisades-Tahoe-California-snow-report-22-inches-in-24-hours-and-43-inch-3-day-storm-total The latest Palisades Tahoe, California, snow report tells a story of remarkable late-season resurgence. A sustained storm cycle has transformed conditions on the upper mountain, logging a foot of new snow overnight and driving the three-day storm total to 43 inches. The resort is now among the last Tahoe areas still operating. Most ski areas across the western U.S. have endured one of their worst seasons in recent memory, with dry and mild conditions since November, leaving many resorts struggling to open meaningful terrain. Palisades has been an exception to that late-season trend this week. Sunny breaks are emerging across the mountain on Monday, though forecasters have not ruled out additional snow showers that could add another inch to the upper elevations before conditions settle. Long-range models continue to show troughing over the region through the third week of April, with additional storm systems possible and a cooler-than-normal pattern expected to persist. The weekend... https://www.sott.net/article/505712-Palisades-Tahoe-California-snow-report-22-inches-in-24-hours-and-43-inch-3-day-storm-total Mon, 13 Apr 2026 20:53:48 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505658-Army-survivors-of-deadly-attack-in-Kuwait-dispute-Pentagons-account-say-unit-was-unprepared-to-defend-itself Survivors of the deadliest Iranian attack on U.S. forces since the war began have disputed the Pentagon's description of events and said their unit in Kuwait was left dangerously exposed when six service members were killed and more than 20 wounded. Speaking publicly for the first time, members of the targeted unit offered CBS News a detailed account of the attack and its harrowing aftermath from the perspective of those on the ground. The members CBS News spoke to disputed the description of events from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who described the drone as a "squirter" — in that it squirted through the defenses of a fortified unit inside Kuwait. "Painting a picture that 'one squeaked through' is a falsehood," one of the injured soldiers told CBS News. "I want people to know the unit ... was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position." https://www.sott.net/article/505658-Army-survivors-of-deadly-attack-in-Kuwait-dispute-Pentagons-account-say-unit-was-unprepared-to-defend-itself Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:50:11 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505596-Whos-behind-the-mysterious-Iran-backed-terror-cell-haunting-Europe Claims that an Iran-backed group is carrying out attacks in European cities raise questions about why they're not targeting countries directly involved in the US-Israeli war, and why they appear to communicate like Israelis. Strangely, suspects arrested in the attacks have been released on bail. A specter is haunting Europe - the specter of Ashab al-Yamin. Officially known as "Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI)," or the "Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right," the group mysteriously appeared in early March, and, according to mainstream media, it's taking the continent by storm. But a closer look at the supposedly Iran-backed terror organization suggests that it does not exist in any concrete form, and may be a confection of Israeli intelligence. Though the nebulous HAYI claimed credit for torching ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organization in London on March 23, two suspects in the attack have been released on bail, and are not charged with any... https://www.sott.net/article/505596-Whos-behind-the-mysterious-Iran-backed-terror-cell-haunting-Europe Tue, 07 Apr 2026 15:06:04 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505593-Right-as-Artemis-II-astronauts-passed-behind-Moon-multiple-meteoroids-hit-it Artemis II were giddy (their words!) on the evening of April 6th when they witnessed explosions on the lunar surface. Meteoroids were hitting the Moon. "We saw at least five," reported mission commander Reid Wiseman. The meteors appeared in middle of a solar eclipse. About an hour after the crew made their closest approach to the farside of the Moon, the sun disappeared behind the lunar disk, giving the astronauts a chance to view the first solar eclipse ever seen by humans from behind the Moon. https://www.sott.net/article/505593-Right-as-Artemis-II-astronauts-passed-behind-Moon-multiple-meteoroids-hit-it Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:46:52 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505587-Why-Iran-is-becoming-Trumps-forever-war As long as attacks and demands continue unabated, reasonable voices for peace will never be heard More than a month into the war with Iran, Washington is confronting the strategic nightmare it tried to avoid. What began as a campaign that many in the US and Israel appear to have imagined as short, punishing, and politically manageable has instead become prolonged, expensive, globally destabilizing, and increasingly difficult to define as success. The battlefield logic is now inseparable from the political logic, and on both fronts the pressure is mounting on Donald Trump's administration. Reuters reports that the conflict, launched on February 28, has disrupted global energy flows, driven oil sharply higher, pushed US gasoline prices above four dollars a gallon, and dragged US President Donald Trump's approval rating down to 36%, the lowest level since his return to office. How to sell a war A domestic audience can be persuaded to see a short war as an act of decisive leadership,... https://www.sott.net/article/505587-Why-Iran-is-becoming-Trumps-forever-war Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:35:32 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505530-Early-data-from-Vera-C-Rubin-Observatory-reveals-over-11000-new-asteroids Using preliminary data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, scientists have discovered over 11,000 new asteroids. The data were confirmed by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (MPC), making this the largest single batch of asteroid discoveries submitted in the past year. The discoveries were made using data from Rubin's early optimization surveys and offer a powerful preview of the observatory's transformative impact on solar system science. The submission to MPC comprises approximately one million observations, taken over the span of a month and a half, of over 11,000 new asteroids and more than 80,000 already-known asteroids, including some that had previously been observed but were later "lost" because their orbits were too uncertain to predict their future locations. You can interact with all of Rubin's asteroid discoveries in the Rubin Orbitviewer, which uses real data to provide an intuitive way to explore the structure of our cosmic backyard in three... https://www.sott.net/article/505530-Early-data-from-Vera-C-Rubin-Observatory-reveals-over-11000-new-asteroids Fri, 03 Apr 2026 19:25:18 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505525-Casualty-Cover-Up-The-Pentagon-Is-Hiding-US-Losses-Under-Trump-in-the-Middle-East Almost 750 U.S. troops have been wounded or killed in the Middle East since October 2023, an analysis by The Intercept has found. But the Pentagon won't acknowledge it. U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, appears to be engaged in what a defense official called a "casualty cover-up," offering The Intercept low-ball and outdated figures and failing to provide clarifications on military deaths and injuries. At least 15 U.S. troops were wounded Friday in an Iranian attack on a Saudi air base that hosts American troops, according to two government officials who spoke with The Intercept. Hundreds of U.S. personnel have been killed or injured in the region since the U.S. launched a war on Iran just over a month ago. President Donald Trump — who wore a blue suit, red tie, and a ball cap to the dignified transfer of the first Americans killed in the war — said casualties were inevitable. "When you have conflicts like this, you always have... https://www.sott.net/article/505525-Casualty-Cover-Up-The-Pentagon-Is-Hiding-US-Losses-Under-Trump-in-the-Middle-East Fri, 03 Apr 2026 19:20:07 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505524-GOP-Rep-Says-America-Would-Become-Unglued-If-Alien-Files-Get-Released Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) alleged that America would become "unglued" if the government released details about the alien briefings he's been involved in. Speaking with Newsmax's Rob Finnerty on Wednesday, the GOP lawmaker said that the public would be "up at night worrying" if they knew what he knows about extraterrestrials. "I've been briefed by just about every alphabet agency there is, and I'll just tell you this, if they would release the things that I've seen, you would stay up at — you'd be up at night worrying about or — thinking about this stuff," Burchett said. The topic came up after Finnerty mentioned that former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz claimed late last month that he was briefed about a secret breeding program between aliens and humans. https://www.sott.net/article/505524-GOP-Rep-Says-America-Would-Become-Unglued-If-Alien-Files-Get-Released Fri, 03 Apr 2026 15:49:30 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505484-The-Larak-Corridor-Irans-Rial-Gate-with-no-US-no-Israel-and-no-way-around While MOW Secretary Pete Hegseth was telling other nations to "step up" in the Strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump was already backing away, insisting its security was "not for us." In between those contradictions, Washington dumped a fog of conflicting slogans on the public — slogans that never looked like strategy so much as panicked improvisation. That confusion is not a sideshow to the war, but the political static masking a brutal reality. While the White House and its zionist neocon war camp lurch between bluff and retreat, Iran has been moving with cold discipline, quietly building what Iranian reporting calls the Larak Corridor and what maritime trackers have identified as a tightly managed lane through the Qeshm-Larak gap inside Iranian waters. Around Larak, Tehran is no longer just reacting to an illegal war launched against it. It is turning battlefield pressure into procedure, selective access, and proposed law, using a controlled corridor and a wider Hormuz management plan... https://www.sott.net/article/505484-The-Larak-Corridor-Irans-Rial-Gate-with-no-US-no-Israel-and-no-way-around Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:04:36 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505394-Massive-late-March-snowstorm-buries-Europes-eastern-Alps-with-up-to-1-5-meter-nearly-5-feet-of-snow A powerful late-season storm cycle has delivered a major refresh across the eastern Alps, with Switzerland leading the charge after several days of sustained snowfall. The standout has been Engelberg, where snowfall totals have been exceptional even by mid-winter standards. According to OpenSnow data, the resort received 84 cm (33 inches) in the past 24 hours and 132 cm (52 inches) over the past five days, catapulting conditions back into peak-season form. The storm has been driven by a moist northwesterly flow, favoring northern Alpine regions and creating classic "Nordstau" conditions—where precipitation intensifies as air is forced over the mountains. The storm didn't stop at Switzerland. Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak, was also hammered, with around 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) of fresh snow reported in recent days. But that much snow comes with complications. In a post on social media, the resort cautioned: "A lot of snow does not automatically mean a lot of skiing. 1.5... https://www.sott.net/article/505394-Massive-late-March-snowstorm-buries-Europes-eastern-Alps-with-up-to-1-5-meter-nearly-5-feet-of-snow Sat, 28 Mar 2026 16:22:07 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/495542-Revealed-The-Israeli-Spies-Writing-Americas-News One year after Oct. 7 attacks, Netanyahu is on a winning streak." So reads the title of a recent Axios article describing the Israeli prime minister riding on an unbeatable wave of triumphs. These stunning military "successes," its author Barak Ravid notes, include the bombing of Yemen, the assassinations of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and the pager attack against Lebanon. The same author recently went viral for an article that claimed that Israeli attacks against Hezbollah are "not intended to lead to war but are an attempt to reach 'de-escalation through escalation.'" Users on social media mocked Ravid for this bizarre, Orwellian reasoning. But what almost everybody missed is that Barak Ravid is an Israeli spy - or at least he was until recently. Ravid is a former analyst with Israeli spying agency Unit 8200, and as recently as last year, was still a reservist with the Israeli Defense Forces group. Unit 8200 is Israel's largest and perhaps... https://www.sott.net/article/495542-Revealed-The-Israeli-Spies-Writing-Americas-News Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:14:35 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505295-Heatwave-in-most-of-US-brings-record-shattering-high-temperatures-for-March An astoundingly strong heat wave is not just setting records across the western U.S. — it's pulverizing them Editor's note (3/21/26): Four stations (two in Arizona and two in California) recorded temperatures of 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4 degrees Celsius) on Friday, March 20, besting the all-time U.S. March record set just the day before. That is 1 degree F (0.56 degree C) below the all-time April U.S. record. Eight states have set all-time high temperature records for March during this heat wave. On Wednesday in North Shore, Calif., the temperature soared to a stunning 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius) — matching the hottest March temperature on record for the state. And then, on Thursday, Phoenix, Ariz., hit 105 degrees F (41 degrees C) — the earliest such recording by more than a month. And that same day, the temperature just outside Martinez Lake, Ariz., reached 110 degrees F (43 degrees C) — the highest March temperature ever recorded in the U.S. The heat wave that... https://www.sott.net/article/505295-Heatwave-in-most-of-US-brings-record-shattering-high-temperatures-for-March Mon, 23 Mar 2026 22:45:13 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505270-Meteorite-slams-into-Texas-womans-home-after-fireball-explodes-over-Houston-area Comment: They're coming down thick and fast now, especially over the US, it seems... A meteorite crashed straight through the roof of a home near Houston, Texas, on Saturday, sending shockwaves through the local neighborhood. Local officials say the incident happened at around 4:45 p.m. in northwest Harris County. The space rock punched a hole through the roof of a two-story house, slammed into a bedroom floor, then ricocheted and struck the ceiling again. Miraculously, no one was injured. Fire Chief Fred Windisch of the Ponderosa Fire Department said he had never seen anything like it in decades of service. The homeowner, Sherrie James, described hearing a loud explosion from inside the house. Her grandson went to investigate and found a hole in the ceiling and the rock sitting on the floor below. https://www.sott.net/article/505270-Meteorite-slams-into-Texas-womans-home-after-fireball-explodes-over-Houston-area Sun, 22 Mar 2026 11:42:57 +0000