Italy: Trucker blockades ramp up pressure on Meloni

Source: Politico

“Roadblocks by truckers in southern Italy are exposing the limits of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s hardline approach toward protests, as she concedes she will have to take a carrot-and-stick approach to demonstrators struggling with soaring fuel costs. The demonstrations across the south are fast spiraling into a full-blown economic crisis. Truck drivers and farmers protesting soaring diesel bills have blocked highways, ports and distribution centers this week, leaving supermarket shelves empty and petrol pumps dry. Airports in the south are also suffering from fuel shortages. After a cabinet meeting on Thursday, the right-wing Meloni vowed to use a security decree to clear the roadblocks, but also pledged to give financial relief to farmers and fishermen crippled by the price of diesel.” (10/22/260

https://www.politico.eu/article/giorgia-melonu-italy-naples-trucker-blockades-southern-italy-ramp-up-pressure/

Thomas L. Knapp

Top health adviser and MAHA ally quits Trump regime

Source: Axios

“Calley Means, the health entrepreneur who became the Trump administration’s most vocal advocate of the MAHA agenda, resigned from his senior adviser post on Thursday. Means’ departure two weeks before the midterm elections underscores the MAHA base’s discontent with the pace of change on food policy and the administration’s stances on issues like pesticide use. Means cited ‘entrenched, dark forces in DC’ in a statement on X but said he had ‘tremendous respect’ for the way President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. laid out a vision for change.” (10/22/26)

https://archive.is/qRzQs

Thomas L. Knapp

Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 10/22/26

Source: Freedom’s Phoenix

“Ray Youssef (cryptocurrency pioneer) on activism, peer-to-peer crypto solutions for the Global South; Entrepreneur, Developer, Humanitarian, and CEO of the Resistance.” (10/22/26)

https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Media/402939-2026-10-22-2026-10-22-ernest-hancock-interviews-ray-youssef-mp3-4.htm

Thomas L. Knapp

Trump can’t deliver Ukraine to Putin — and he should stop trying to

Source: The Hill
by Jonathan Sweet & Mark Toth

“Yes, President Trump wants an end to the war, but not for the sake of Ukraine or the defense of NATO; rather, to secure ‘economic opportunities’ with Russia. Putin has had Kirill Dmitriev travel to Miami, Moscow, New York and Washington to entice Team Trump to win something that his military cannot deliver — Ukraine. Trump has not been able to deliver Ukraine either. Mr. Art of the Deal cannot close the deal, and he continues using tactics unbecoming of any president before him to pressure Zelensky into making a bad deal.” (10/22/26)

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/6163050-trump-pressures-zelensky-ukraine-war/

Thomas L. Knapp

Who Will Say No to Ramaswamy?

Source: The Next Move
by Jay Nordlinger

“What can the public do about the poison, the indecency, in our politics? The answer: Not reward it. Not vote for it. If you reward something, you get more of it. If you penalize it, you get less. Something else: Decent people ought to stop backing indecent candidates, party politics be damned. The current governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, is a famously decent pol. He and his wife, Fran, are known for their many charitable works. A Republican, he has endorsed Ramaswamy to succeed him. Why? And can’t he rescind his endorsement? After 50 years in public life, he is retiring at the age of 79. What does he have to lose?” (10/22/26)

https://www.thenextmove.org/p/who-will-say-no-to-ramaswamy

Thomas L. Knapp

After a “no to secession” in Canada, the next step

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“Canada (thanks to just one of its 10 provinces, which holds 97.5% of national oil reserves) is among the world’s top five oil producers. But residents of that far western province, Alberta, have been increasingly frustrated by decades of environmental and green energy goals and regulations that, they say, have constrained the use of and benefits from the natural resource at their disposal. Still, on Monday, Albertans declared a clear ‘no’ to the notion of seceding from Canada in a referendum (on whether to hold a future binding referendum on separation). The 3-to-1 result bolsters Prime Minister Mark Carney’s stated goal of making Canada a ‘global energy superpower’ as well as the cause of national unity – for now.” (10/21/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/1021/After-a-no-to-secession-in-Canada-the-next-step

Steve Trinward