Golf superstar and newlywed Dustin Johnson opted out of answering an awkward question about his wife Paulina Gretzky during a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/liv-golf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LIV</a> press conference.
The former PGA star took one question during the event from golf social media company &#8220;Drunk by the Turn,&#8221; and it was a deserted island question that involved his wife, <a href="https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2022/09/20/dustin-johnson-question-about-wife-paulina-gretzky-fishing-liv-golf-press-conference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sports Illustrated</a> reported.
&#8220;As an avid fisherman, I was just wondering … if you were stranded on an island for the rest of your life, would you rather take your fishing pole or Paulina [Gretzky] if you had one choice?&#8221; the reporter asked Johnson.
The golf star just laughed and simply said, &#8220;I can&#8217;t answer that question.&#8221;
Gretzky, the daughter of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, and Johnson tied the knot in April after first dating in 2013, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/dustin-johnson-responds-awkward-question-wife-paulina-gretzky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a> noted.
WATCH:
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🎥 Dustin Johnson pressed with bizarre Paulina Gretzky question at LIV Golf event <a href="https://t.co/fw3TBVW2KT">https://t.co/fw3TBVW2KT</a> <a href="https://t.co/8Mc8gZn9Lf">pic.twitter.com/8Mc8gZn9Lf</a>
&mdash; New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypostsports/status/1572584156344745984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Johnson ended up finishing in second place at the LIV event in Chicago, only three strokes behind British Open champion Cameron Smith, Fox News noted.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pga-tour-to-punish-players-jumping-to-saudi-backed-liv-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dustin</a>, the No. 13 world-ranked player who has won two majors, is by far one of the biggest professional golfers to recently leave the PGA for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
He joins the likes of other former PGA members who have decided to join LIV, including Phil Mickelson, Andy Ogletree, Branden Grace, Matt Jones, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Charl Schwartzel, Hudson Swafford, Peter Uihlein, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Talor Gooch, and Turk Petit, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-top-pga-golfers-defect-to-new-saudi-backed-league-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> previously reported.
The mass departure of golf stars led the PGA to issue a statement about those players who they said have turned their backs on the PGA Tour.
&#8220;We have followed the Tournament Regulations from start to finish in responding to those players who have decided to turn their backs on the PGA Tour by willfully violating a regulation,&#8221; a PGA release <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pga-tour-to-punish-players-jumping-to-saudi-backed-liv-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read</a>. &#8220;The players are being notified that they are suspended or otherwise no longer eligible to participate in PGA Tour tournament play, including the Presidents Cup. This also applies to all tours sanctioned by the PGA Tour: the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Champions, PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamerica.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dustin-johnson-joins-saudi-backed-tour-risks-being-banned-by-pga-tour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dustin Johnson Joins Saudi-Backed Tour, Risks Being Banned By PGA Tour</a>

Dustin Johnson-2

Golf Superstar And Newlywed Gets Asked Awkward Question About Wife Paulina Gretzky

Celebrities

LIV Golf

Saudi Arabia

Sports

Six nations in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/middle-east" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Middle East</a> are demanding that streaming service <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/netflix" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netflix</a> remove “offensive content,” especially culturally sensitive programming targeting children.
The Gulf Cooperation Council of Electronic Media — a union that includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — issued a joint statement <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/gulf-arab-countries-demand-netflix-remove-offensive-content-streaming-service-pushes-lgbt-shows-films" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declaring</a> that some content on the streaming service “violated Islamic and societal values and principles.”
“It has been noticed in the recent period that the Netflix platform has broadcast some visual materials and content that violates the media content controls in the UAE and contradicts societal values ​​in the country,” the statement explained, according to a <a href="https://www.esquireme.com/culture/film-and-tv/uae-saudi-arabia-ask-netflix-to-censor-culturally-sensitive-content-aimed-at-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Esquire Middle East. “The Netflix platform has been contacted to remove this content, especially the offending content directed at children.”
Although specific examples of inappropriate content were not mentioned in the statement, Saudi state-run news outlet Al-Ekhbariya mentioned “movies and series for children with scenes promoting homosexuality under a dramatic cover via Netflix,” according to a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/07/six-gulf-states-warn-netflix-over-content-violating-islamic-values" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Daily Mail.
The nations will apply “necessary measures” in the event that Netflix — which lost nearly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netflix-loses-nearly-1-million-subscriptions-largest-drop-in-company-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one million subscribers</a> in its second quarter — continues to broadcast material that contradicts local values or fails to comply “with the laws and regulations in force.” The admonition from the Gulf Cooperation Council occurs after several Islamic nations, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-pixars-lightyear-banned-in-saudi-arabia-over-same-sex-kiss-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned</a> the Disney movie “Lightyear” over a same-sex kiss scene.
In domestic markets, the “Toy Story” spinoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gay-kiss-included-woke-toy-story-spinoff-lightyear-struggles-at-box-office?%3Futm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=dwtwitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earned</a> a paltry $51 million during its three-day opening — despite a lack of competition from other children’s movies and significantly more robust success from past films in the hit franchise. Meanwhile, Chris Evans — the actor who voiced Buzz Lightyear — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/idiots-actor-chris-evans-slams-critics-who-dont-want-gay-kiss-in-toy-story-spinoff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lauded</a> the kiss scene in multiple interviews and labeled parents with reservations about showing the movie to their children “idiots.”
“Every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good,” Evans, who formerly played Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, remarked.
Disney+ Middle East has since decided that the platform will nix content that does not “align with local regulatory requirements” among Islamic nations, the entertainment conglomerate <a href="https://www.esquireme.com/brief/disney-middle-east-culturally-sensitive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Esquire Middle East.
Earlier this year, Disney <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-announces-plans-to-oppose-texas-order-criminalizing-sex-change-surgeries-on-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed</a> to “take action” against the state of Texas over the treatment of juvenile transgender procedures as child abuse and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-florida-bill-banning-sexuality-gender-discussions-for-little-kids-should-never-have-passed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opposed</a> parental rights legislation in Florida banning classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten to third grade.
Despite its involvement in activism, Disney appeared to be drastically out of step with the American public. In an exclusive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-poll-over-60-of-americans-back-floridas-limits-on-k-3-lessons-on-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> from The Daily Wire, 64% of Americans supported the Florida law, including 62% of Democrats and 57% of independents. Disney also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-subscriptions-at-ultra-woke-disney-slow-to-a-crawl-after-company-loses-left-wing-political-battles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">witnessed</a> a severe slowdown in new subscriptions among domestic customers in its most recent fiscal quarter.
Though many Americans want companies to advance certain causes beyond their bottom lines, another exclusive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> from The Daily Wire recently showed that most American investors would rather see companies pursue profits rather than pontificating on political matters. While 29% of respondents to the poll agreed it is a “good thing” for companies to leverage their financial power for political or social means supported by executives, 58% — twice as many — said it is a “bad thing.”
Disclosure: The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/introducing-dw-kids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced plans</a> for kids entertainment content.

Netflix To Release A Brand New Movie Every Week In 2021

6 Middle Eastern Countries Demand Netflix Remove ‘Offensive Content’ Targeting Children

6 Middle Eastern Countries Demand Netflix Remove ‘Offensive Content’ Targeting Children, Float ‘Necessary Measures’

LGBTQ

Middle East

Netflix

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

“Put a dent in the universe.”
That’s the motto of Peiter &#8220;Mudge&#8221; Zatko, the whistleblower behind an explosive Twitter complaint leaked to The Washington Post and CNN this week. There’s no question he’s living up to it.
Among the lax security standards Twitter&#8217;s ex-security chief <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-twitter-executive-blows-whistle-makes-explosive-claim-central-to-musk-acquisition-deal">details</a> in the report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is the claim that Twitter bowed to pressure from India to hire a government agent. Zatko says the platform then permitted the alleged spy to have “unsupervised access” to sensitive user data. He also says a government source specifically warned the company that at least one employee was simultaneously working as a foreign intelligence agent. It’s worth noting that only two weeks ago, a former Twitter manager was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-twitter-employee-found-guilty-acting-agent-foreign-government-and-unlawfully-sharing">found guilty</a> of being a Saudi mole and “unlawfully sharing Twitter user information.”
As if that level of foreign interference weren’t alarming enough, Zatko contends Twitter execs became dependent on Chinese money, allowing the CCP to gain information that could potentially put dissidents in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in danger. He also alleges that some of the company&#8217;s senior executives were aware that hostile nations like Russia were using the platform to run disinformation campaigns but took few steps to stop it.
The picture Zatko paints of the platform’s domestic security breaches is hardly rosier, with warnings that around half of Twitter staffers had unmonitored access to the platform&#8217;s central controls and user data and could choose at any moment to launch politically motivated sabotage against the company.
When Congress and the company’s board asked about these risks, Zatko claims Twitter’s leadership deliberately misled them. And when he brought his concerns to CEO Parag Agrawal, he says his reward for his candidness was getting fired, after less than two years on the job. All in all, Zatko charges, the company stands guilty of “extreme, egregious deficiencies,” lying to regulators, and violating its agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to uphold sound security practices.
The fallout Twitter faces now has been swift and severe. According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/08/24/twitter-whistleblower-senate-hearing/">The Washington Post</a>, Zatko has already taken several meetings on Capitol Hill, including a private meeting with staff members on the Judiciary Committee. And he’ll be testifying before Congress next month. Even Europe is taking notice, with EU agencies promising to look into potential data protection violations. Officials in France told <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/24/twitter-whistleblower-security-eu/">TechCrunch</a> that they are “currently investigating the complaint.”
And that’s to say nothing of Zatko’s claim that Twitter deliberately deceived Elon Musk about the number of bots on the platform—something that could have significant impact on the company’s $44 billion legal battle with the richest man in the world.
But just who is the man currently kicking a dent in the tech universe?
Arguably no one is in a better position than Zatko, 51, to know how vulnerable Silicon Valley is to hackers, given that he came to fame as hacker himself. Before Twitter founder Jack Dorsey hired him due, in part, for his reputation as a man willing to tell truth to power, before he led research projects for the Pentagon, before he joined Google’s advanced technology team, he was a cyberpunk legend known only as “Mudge.”
Born in Alabama to scientist parents, Mudge graduated at the top of his college class not with a degree in computer programming, but in music, his coding knowledge largely self-taught. Give his name a google and you’ll find grainy videos of him playing guitar on CNN, looking not unlike a young Ted Nugent. From there, he went on to join underground “hacktivist” collectives like Cult of the Dead Cow, a group famous in the late nineties for tossing CDs with instructions on how to hack Microsoft Windows to the crowd at cyber conferences like DefCon. A password-cracking program he wrote before he turned 30 is still in use today.
Later, Mudge turned his power to good, becoming a “white hat” hacker who used his expertise to help companies protect themselves against wunderkinds like him. His talents should have been tailor-made for Twitter, which hired him in 2020 after some punk not unlike his younger self, hacked the Twitter accounts of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Kanye West.
Zatko told The Washington Post that he took the top security job at Twitter specifically because of its role in shaping public discourse. “All news seems to be either from Twitter or goes to Twitter for the coloring and context and, as such, it not only paints public opinion, it can change governments,” he said. He revealed he felt duty bound to use his role to “improve the health&#8221; of our national conversation.
“There was no way I wasn’t going to step up to the plate and take some swings,” he said.
Twitter has tried to paint Zatko as a disgruntled former employee, saying in a statement that he was fired for poor performance and that his claims are “false, exaggerated or out of date.”
But former colleagues stand by Mudge. &#8220;He&#8217;s not doing this for fun. It doesn&#8217;t get him anything,&#8221; former NSA computer scientist Dave Aitel, told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/tech/peiter-zatko-twitter-whistleblower-profile/index.html">CNN</a>. &#8220;That&#8217;s actually what integrity looks like when you have to see it up close.&#8221;

Twitter tests several new features for its mobile app

Twitter Under Fire From A Man Named Mudge: Former ‘Hactivist’ From The Cult Of The Dead Cow

China

Hackers

Jack Dorsey

Parag Agrawal

Readers Pass

Twitter

A former Twitter employee was convicted Tuesday of spying for Saudi Arabia by turning over private user information on accounts that were criticizing the country.
Ahmad Abouammo, who is an Egyptian national, was specifically convicted of acting as foreign agent, money laundering, conspiracy to commit fraud, and falsifying records.
The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-ex-twitter-employees-charged-for-spying-for-saudi-arabia-reports-say">charged</a> Abouammo and Ali Alzabarah, a Saudi national who is wanted by the FBI, back in 2019. A third man, Ahmed Almutairi, who is also a Saudi national was charged in the scheme for allegedly acting a middle man between the Saudi government and the two Twitter employees.
Alzabarah and Almutairi are &#8220;wanted for failing to register as an agent of a foreign government as required by United States law,&#8221; the FBI said. &#8220;In 2015, [the two suspects] allegedly took part in a scheme to steal proprietary and confidential user data from a U.S. company, Twitter, for the benefit of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The stolen data included email addresses, telephone numbers and internet protocol addresses of Saudi dissidents and critics of the Saudi government, among others.&#8221;
“Abouammo acted in secret as an agent of a foreign government targeting dissenting voices,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “This verdict shows that the Justice Department will not tolerate any act of transnational repression and will hold accountable those who aid hostile regimes in extending their reach to our shores.”
“Any attempts by foreign governments to hijack free speech – in social media or any form – will not be tolerated here in the United States. This case is proof of the FBI’s commitment to defend our constitutional right,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “Authoritarian governments rely on transnational repression to shape the world in their favor and stifle dissent. We remain dedicated to protecting the United States from all threats foreign and domestic, which includes efforts by foreign governments to stalk, harass, or intimidate the people within our borders.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.

Twitter : Illustration

Twitter Employee Convicted Of Spying For Saudi Arabia

Crime

Social Media

Spying

A Canadian citizen born in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/saudi-arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his violent role working for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/isis">ISIS</a>, a role he used to personally execute two captured Syrian soldiers.
Mohammed Khalifa, 39, who was also known as Abu Ridwan Al-Kanadi and Abu Muthanna Al-Muhajir, joined the Islamic terrorist group in 2013 and was quickly given a prominent role in the Islamic State’s media arm due to his fluency in English. For his job, Khalifa translated and narrated ISIS propaganda videos that would be distributed to the English-speaking world to help radicalize and recruit fighters, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leading-isis-media-figure-and-foreign-fighter-sentenced-life-imprisonment">according</a> to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III called Khalifa “the Pied Piper who played the tune” that allowed ISIS to reach English speakers across the globe with its obscene propaganda, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/29/khalifa-life-sentence-isis-propaganda/">reported</a>.
Khalifa narrated and translated around 15 videos for ISIS that were distributed. Two of the videos were especially graphic, showing ISIS fighters killing unarmed prisoners and terrorists carrying out attacks against the U.S. In one video, Khalifa and other masked terrorists kneel on prisoners who are on the ground in front of them and then execute them.
According to prosecutors, the Saudi-born terrorist was “instrumental” during Islamic State’s war in Syria, helping ISIS recruit up to 60,000 fighters for the terrorist organization as it fought to take control of the country.
During Khalifa’s time with ISIS, the terrorists killed eight American, British, and Japanese hostages in Syria between August 2014 and February 2015, the DOJ said. Their deaths were part of a brutal ISIS hostage-taking campaign that targeted foreign journalists and humanitarian workers. Khalifa said during one broadcast that the shooter who killed 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016 was a “brother” who took out “filthy crusaders” and “sodomites,” according to prosecutors.
Khalifa was captured by Syrian Democratic Forces in 2019 after getting into a firefight, and according to prosecutors, he did not give up without trying to kill more Syrian soldiers. “When he had the opportunity to surrender to the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria in 2019, the defendant threw multiple grenades and fired his AK-47 at Syrian soldiers to continue his murderous campaign on behalf of ISIS,” the prosecution said.
Khalifa was quickly turned over to U.S. custody upon his capture. He pleaded guilty in December of supporting terrorism that led to death, and he will now live the rest of his life behind bars.

ISIS

ISIS Executioner Who Narrated Violent Propaganda Videos Sentenced To Life In Prison

Mohammed Khalifa, ISIS Propagandist, Sentenced To Life In Prison

Radical Islamic Terror

Syria

Terrorism

TEL AVIV &#8212; President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel earlier this month featured saccharine platitudes and rote pledges of friendship and fealty, but given that Biden was spurned by the Saudis, used by the Palestinians, left Israel worse than he found it, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-joe-biden-has-covid-white-house-announces">apparently got COVID</a> for his trouble, maybe he should’ve stayed home.
After landing at Ben Gurion International Airport July 13, Biden was warmly greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who called the American president “​​a great Zionist and one of the best friends Israel has ever known.&#8221; Israeli President Isaac Herzog was equally effusive, calling Biden “a visionary and a leader,” “like the biblical Joseph.”
Biden’s very words and deeds while in the Jewish State belied their charitable words, and it wasn’t just the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-biden-looks-lost-during-trip-to-israel-makes-holocaust-gaffe">shocking gaffe in which he referred to the “honor of the Holocaust</a>,” or his failure to visit the iconic Western Wall. Biden smiled to our faces, then insulted us behind our backs. His limousine sported Israeli and American flags during visits to Yad Vashem and the Maccabiah games, but the Israeli banner vanished when he headed east Jerusalem to visit the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives.
The Palestinian flag waved from the hood of the presidential limousine when Biden went on to Bethlehem to meet with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. Biden stood mute while Abbas accused Israel of “apartheid” and demanded an end to 74 years of “occupation,” an unmistakable call for the end of Israel.
Biden reiterated his support for a two-state solution, calling it “the best way to achieve an equal measure of security, prosperity, freedom, and democracy for the Palestinians as well as the Israelis.”
“The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own,” Biden said before <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israeli-news/article-712210">calling</a> for a divided Jerusalem to be the capital of that state, breaking from the Trump administration&#8217;s recognition that Jerusalem is the undivided eternal capital of the Jewish people.
“Jerusalem must be a city for all its people, its holy sites preserving the status quo &#8230; We must all be free to practice our faiths in peace, in safety, and in dignity,” said Biden.
Of course, Biden’s real mission on the Middle East trip was to beg the Saudis for more oil production. With the Kingdom interested in better relations with the Jewish State, Biden sought to position the U.S. as a facilitator – in effect using Israel to leverage oil from the Saudis.
“Biden didn’t come to Israel as a giver, rather as a beggar,” said former Likud Member of Knesset and Zehut founder Moshe Feiglin. “He came to the Middle East because of the oil prices in the United States. He needs Saudi Arabia to produce more oil, and don’t forget that it was Biden who left the Saudis alone to deal with Iranian attacks, so the Saudis are not exactly lining up to do him favors. The Saudis, due to U.S. foreign policy of abandoning them, have grown closer to Israel.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-unloads-on-biden-over-energy-crisis-hell-fist-bump-saudi-arabia-but-wont-produce-oil-here">Biden’s infamous fist bump with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman</a> angered the left, which was hoping he would take a break from begging long enough to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-claims-he-confronted-saudi-crown-prince-over-murder-top-saudi-official-pushes-back">deliver a rebuke</a> for the grisly murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Of course, the same left sought no such rebuke for Abbas, who praises terrorists who kill innocent Jews and pays their families if they are killed or imprisoned, <a href="https://youtu.be/xhpC0ySJyuA?t=2335">noted</a> Israeli journalist Amit Segal during a recent question and answer session with Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro in Tel Aviv.
“Biden’s Middle East trip was despicable, disastrous, and dangerous to the future of the Jewish state in the Middle East,” said Melissa Jane Kronfeld, a former Rutgers University lecturer and national security expert who now lives in Tel Aviv. &#8220;From the removal of the Israeli flag during his visit to Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods and his homage paid to the “honor of the Holocaust”; to his callous commitment to the long defunct two-state solution and feigned intent to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — whose sole purpose is the destruction of the State of Israel — and even his bestie fist bump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman; Biden proved that his foreign policy is careless, cowardly, and always conciliatory to those state actors who seek to undermine the stability of the region.”
Gaffes, snubs, and cynical photo ops aside, the real damage done by Biden’s visit was caused by the leftist government of Lapid. As preconditions for the visit, Israel agreed to a host of “good-will” concessions, including the approval of hundreds of existing illegal structures and the territorial expansion of Arab settlements, consisting of thousands of dunams in Area C of Judea and Samaria. Those will effectively lead to the isolation of Gush Etzion, a major Jewish area, from Jerusalem. In addition, Lapid promised Biden that his coalition will not “<a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/356514">surprise</a>” the White House with any more Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria.
Meir Deutsch, director general of Regavim, an NGO that monitors and pursues legal action against illegal Palestinian construction in Judea and Samaria, <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/356467">called</a> on the right-wing members of the coalition to reverse this “catastrophe.”
“Saar, Shaked, Kahana, Elkin, Hendel, Orbach – you were elected on right-wing votes because you promised to protect the Jewish settlement enterprise,” Deutsch said. “It is your responsibility to block this insane plan to whitewash thousands of illegal structures that will cut off Jewish settlement blocs from Jerusalem and give permanence to the criminal Palestinian takeover of Area C.”
Israeli diplomats with decades of experience engaging U.S. presidents struggled to put the bungled trip into perspective.
&#8220;It starts with the visit of a U.S. President to a Palestinian institution in east Jerusalem; it continues with the inability of Lapid to set a red line and prevent this dangerous precedent; and it ends with the removal of the Israeli flag from Biden&#8217;s entourage in the capital of the State of Israel,&#8221; said Danny Danon, head of World Likud and a former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman called the trip offensive to the people of Israel.
“President Biden wouldn&#8217;t go to the Western Wall which is the iconic symbol of the Jewish people in the land of Israel,” Friedman told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuVZhCts-YQ">Fox News</a>. “Instead, he goes to a hospital in Jerusalem, takes down the Israeli flag, and refuses to acknowledge that Jerusalem is fully the capital of Israel, even though the State of Israel has asserted its sovereignty over all of Jerusalem for more than 50 years. His actions were very clear. He denied Israeli sovereignty over parts of Jerusalem. Every Israeli prime minister, right, left, or center, would find that offensive.”
In an odd post script that would seem to indicate the White House was as confused about the purpose of the trip as Israelis, a video summarizing it in glowing terms was uploaded to the President&#8217;s Twitter account, where Biden wrote, “May Israel and the U.S. continue to prosper together for the benefit of the world.”
However, just a few hours later, without any explanation, the video was <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/356632">deleted</a>.

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-US-SAUDI-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY

View From Israel: Biden Visit ‘Despicable, Disastrous’ Flag-Waving Failure

View From Israel: Biden Visit 'Despicable, Disastrous' Flag-Waving Failure

Biden Administration

Israel

Palestinians

Yair Lapid

Twitter users drew comparisons to dystopian horror Wednesday after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/saudi-arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> shared an advertisement for a titanic megacity project it has proposed.
The project, simply referred to as &#8220;<a href="https://www.neom.com/en-us/regions/theline">The Line</a>,&#8221; is a smart megacity project being proposed in the planned city of Neom, in the northwestern part of the country. The ambitious project will be just 200 meters, or about 650 feet wide and 500 meters, or about 1,600 feet tall, but is planned to stretch for 170 kilometers, or just under 106 miles long. The project&#8217;s website claims that once it is completed, the city will be home to some 9 million residents on a total footprint of just 34 square kilometers.
&#8220;For too long, humanity has existed within dysfunctional and polluted cities that ignore nature,&#8221; a promotional video for the project says. &#8220;Now, a revolution in civilization is taking place. Imagine a traditional city, and consolidating its footprint, designing to protect and enhance nature.&#8221;
The video claims that The Line is being designed to &#8220;provide a healthier, more sustainable quality of life.&#8221;
The Line&#8217;s website promotes the futuristic megacity as operating on 100% renewable energy, and preserving 95% of the surrounding land for nature. The city will be built as a series of individual nodes connected by a high-speed rail system that can travel the length of the city in just 20 minutes. The city is divided into three layers: two layers underground for transportation and infrastructure, and the surface layer, which will be exclusively for pedestrians. There will be no cars or roads, and the website claims that all residents will be able to access their daily necessities within 5-minute walk neighborhoods.
The website also touts the city&#8217;s micro-climate, created by &#8220;natural ventilation,&#8221; creating the &#8220;ideal climate all-year-round.&#8221; The promotional video further explains that the city will be surrounded by a mirrored glass facade, and will provide &#8220;equitable views&#8221; and an &#8220;immediate access to nature.&#8221;
The city will also be driven by <a href="https://www.engadget.com/the-line-neom-smart-city-saudi-arabia-mohammed-bin-salman-113539487.html">AI technology</a>. The promotional video says that services will be autonomous, and artificial intelligence, working with data analysis and predictive models, will figure out ways to improve daily life.
Twitter users reacted to the promotional video on Twitter, with nearly all users comparing it to a work of dystopian horror fiction.
&#8220;I never seen something more dystopian,&#8221; user @adara_salim tweeted.
&#8220;Saudi Arabia figured out a way to cram all the city-dwelling libs into a giant wall that they never have to leave and convinced them it&#8217;s really cool and progressive,&#8221; The Daily Wire&#8217;s <a href="https://twitter.com/michaeljknowles/status/1552371497074835457">Michael Knowles</a> added. &#8220;If we can build it on the southern border, Mohammad bin Salman deserves a Nobel Prize.&#8221;
&#8220;This remake of Blade Runner is a little disturbing,&#8221; CBS News anchor <a href="https://twitter.com/jdickerson/status/1552271552477003778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1552271552477003778%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fjdickerson2Fstatus2F1552271552477003778widget%3DTweet">John Dickerson</a> wrote.
&#8220;How is this not a dystopian video game trailer?&#8221; games journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/Toadsanime/status/1551923560536473607?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1551923560536473607%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FToadsanime2Fstatus2F1551923560536473607widget%3DTweet">Ryan Brown</a> tweeted.
&#8220;So&#8230;..Snowpiercer&#8230;.But it doesn&#8217;t move&#8230;But guaranteed to have the same class stratification,&#8221; journalism professor and MSNBC contributor <a href="https://twitter.com/DrJasonJohnson/status/1551930090031910914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1551930090031910914%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FDrJasonJohnson2Fstatus2F1551930090031910914widget%3DTweet">Jason Johnson</a> added.
&#8220;I’d rather be dead than live in something like this,&#8221; The Daily Wire&#8217;s <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1552335811063971843?s=20&amp;t=7GKI2DCflAg9vOicMFiNgA">Matt Walsh</a> wrote.
&#8220;Is this something out of a dystopian film? Because this feels like a video you’d see in a dystopian film,&#8221; @strangeland_elf commented.
&#8220;What in the Phillip K. Dick?&#8221; user @anthony_hyphen tweeted.
According to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-31/saudi-arabia-starts-moving-earth-for-its-futuristic-linear-city">Bloomberg</a>, earthwork on the city began in October 2021, and the first residents are projected to move in by 2024.

Riyadh, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia

‘I’ve Never Seen Anything More Dystopian’: Saudi Arabia Unveils 100-Mile Long MegaCity, And The Internet Is Terrified

Saudi Arabia Unveils 100-Mile Long MegaCity, And The Internet Is Terrified

Artificial Intelligence

Climate Change

National Security Council Coordinator <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/the-stuff-of-movies-fox-news-pentagon-reporter-worked-behind-the-scenes-to-get-gravely-wounded-colleague-out-of-ukraine/">John Kirby</a> laughed off the suggestion that anyone in Saudi Arabia would have intentionally exposed President Joe Biden to COVID — which he contracted shortly after returning to the White House from his recent Middle Eastern jaunt.
New York Post reporter Steven Nelson put the question to Kirby during a Wednesday briefing, noting that the president had begun to show symptoms of the virus just a few days after returning from his trip, where he met first with Israeli officials and then with several officials in Saudi Arabia.
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REPORTER: &quot;Has the US government ruled out the possibility that the Saudi government deliberately exposed the president to the coronavirus?&quot;
KIRBY: &quot;The idea that a foreign nation state would deliberately try to infect POTUS with a virus is just ludicrous.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/eAViKxDXB5">pic.twitter.com/eAViKxDXB5</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1552388652080193539?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;President Biden may have begun to have symptoms about four days after returning from Saudi Arabia,&#8221; one reporter began. &#8220;Has the U.S. government ruled out the possibility that the Saudi government may have deliberately exposed the president to the coronavirus?&#8221;
&#8220;I think I should refer to Karine on that question, in terms of talking about the president&#8217;s medical condition, that&#8217;s out of my scope,&#8221; Kirby replied, indicating White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre.
&#8220;But — but — but — I — I don&#8217;t know where this idea is coming from,&#8221; Kirby continued. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what prompted you to ask it that way. But the idea that a foreign nation state would deliberately try to infect the President of the United States with a virus is just ludicrous. Just absolutely ludicrous, there&#8217;s nothing to it and it should be treated as the ridiculous idea that it is.&#8221;
Retired Marine Corps bomb tech and Fox News regular Joey Jones wasn&#8217;t certain he bought Kirby&#8217;s protestation, however. &#8220;No way the country that aided the 9/11 hijackers could&#8217;ve done such a thing &#8230; just no way!&#8221;
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No way the country that aided the 9/11 hijackers could’ve done such a thing… just now way! <a href="https://t.co/Ki55ZTtImL">https://t.co/Ki55ZTtImL</a>
&mdash; Joey Jones (@Johnny_Joey) <a href="https://twitter.com/Johnny_Joey/status/1552390185148719104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Marine Corps veteran Dave Ross appeared to agree.
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<a href="https://t.co/cU2zxmm4LE">https://t.co/cU2zxmm4LE</a> <a href="https://t.co/X3FVS9aR7H">pic.twitter.com/X3FVS9aR7H</a>
&mdash; Dave Ross (@drosssports) <a href="https://twitter.com/drosssports/status/1552394811050561536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Author and journalist Sophia Nelson pointed to the gruesome murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 — and noted that until that happened and United States intelligence sources revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had likely directed the murder, people might have believed something like that to be ludicrous as well.
&#8220;Hmmmmm so is the idea that they would use a bone saw to dismember a US journalist. Just sayin,&#8221; Nelson tweeted.
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Hmmmmm so is the idea that they would use a bone saw to dismember a US journalist. Just sayin. <a href="https://t.co/vzO5in7XT2">https://t.co/vzO5in7XT2</a>
&mdash; Sophia A. Nelson (@IAmSophiaNelson) <a href="https://twitter.com/IAmSophiaNelson/status/1552401172182536195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Biden, who reportedly met with Saudi officials in an effort to convince them to produce more oil and relieve some of the pain at the pump for consumers, <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/biden-claims-he-confronted-saudi-crown-prince-over-murder-top-saudi-official-pushes-back/">claimed he challenged</a> Bin Salman regarding Khashoggi&#8217;s murder — but Saudi officials have since disputed the claim.

White House Holds Press Briefing

‘Ludicrous’: John Kirby Laughs Off Suggestion That The Country Behind 9/11 Might Have Infected Biden On Purpose

John Kirby Laughs Off Suggestion That Saudi Arabia Might Have Infected Biden On Purpose

COVID

Joe Biden

John Kirby

Pentagon

Superstar Bubba Watson will pocket a cool $50 million to join the controversial Saudi-backed <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/greg-norman-disinvited-from-british-open-over-saudi-backed-liv-golf-series-controversy/">LIV Golf</a> circuit — joining a number of big names like Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Sergio Garcia — according to a report published Wednesday by The Telegraph.
Watson&#8217;s addition to the circuit may not be a huge surprise to many, since he was featured in early LIV promotional material — only to be quickly removed — and sources suggest he is likely to face a permanent PGA ban for defecting. Reports indicate that Watson, a 12-time Tour winner, is likely to captain one of four 12-man teams.
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Bubba Watson is headed to LIV Golf. 👀 <a href="https://t.co/tduhpdc22d">pic.twitter.com/tduhpdc22d</a>
&mdash; Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) <a href="https://twitter.com/GolfDigest/status/1552395459053993984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Critics of LIV Golf have complained that the circuit is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, arguing that American golfers should refuse to support it because of U.S. intelligence indicating the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was the driving force behind the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The LIV Golf League is set to officially launch in 2023 with 12 team franchises who will participate in 14 tournaments. The complete schedule has yet to be announced, but plans include expansion across several continents in the coming months. The total prize money for the tour is said to be $405 million.
&#8220;I’ll believe that when I see it… but as an adoptive parent and Christian, Bubba Watson should know that adoption is illegal in Saudi Arabia and so is practicing Christianity and that the man who could change that, but won’t, is in control of the fund that pays for LIV Golf,&#8221; Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee <a href="https://twitter.com/chambleebrandel/status/1536149305190498306">responded</a> last month when someone predicted that Watson would be among the next to join the tour.
The LIV circuit appears to be pulling out all the stops to bring over some big-name talents. Even American golf legend Tiger Woods <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/tiger-woods-rejected-mind-blowingly-enormous-offer-from-saudi-backed-league/">reported</a> that he had been approached by the league, although he rejected the offer. And LIV Golf creator Greg Norman revealed that the circuit had offered Woods a &#8220;mind-blowingly enormous&#8221; sum to make the jump.
Norman told The Washington Post that Woods&#8217; offer had reached high into nine-digit territory, but that he had turned it down. Fellow golf legend Jack Nicklaus also reportedly received — and rejected — an offer in the $100 million ballpark, while <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/saudi-golf-tour-reaches-deal-with-mickelson-after-landing-dustin-johnson-for-125m/">Phil Mickelson</a> signed with the controversial league for a whopping $200 million.

PGA Championship – Final Round

Golf Superstar Takes $50 Million Payday To Defect To Saudi-Backed LIV Circuit

Golf Superstar Bubba Watson Takes $50 Million Payday To Defect To Saudi-Backed LIV Circuit

Golf

Former President Donald Trump slammed the PGA Tour in a post on social media this week, encouraging professional golfers to leave and join Saudi Arabia&#8217;s new LIV Golf.
Trump&#8217;s post comes as the PGA Tour has struggled with players leaving and joining LIV Golf, including Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.
&#8220;All of those golfers that remain &#8216;loyal&#8217; to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big &#8216;thank you&#8217; from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were. Good luck to all, and congratulations to really talented Cam Smith on his incredible WIN!&#8221;
The PGA Tour was set to hold the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump&#8217;s Bedminster course, but reversed course on the decision after the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Jim Richerson, PGA of America President, said in a statement on January 10, 2021, “The PGA of America Board of Directors voted tonight to exercise the right to terminate the agreement to play the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster.”
“The PGA of America is [a] nearly 105-year-old association with a perpetual mission to serve its member golf professionals and to grow the game,” Richerson later added. “Fulfilling that mission for all and enabling PGA professionals to do so today and in the future is of paramount importance to the PGA board of directors and our leaders.”
“It has become clear that conducting the PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the PGA of America brand,” he continued. “It would put at risk the PGA’s ability to deliver our many programs and sustain the longevity of our mission.”
“Our board has thus made the decision to exercise our right to terminate the contract to hold the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster,” he concluded. “It was a decision made to ensure that PGA of America and the PGA professionals can continue to lead and grow our great game for decades to come. Thank you for your continued support and passion for the game we all love.”
Trump is now letting LIV Golf host a tournament at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/donald-trump-speaks-out-phil-jack">saying</a> in an interview earlier this year that they approached him and asked to use the course.
“I made a deal with them. They’re very good people,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;They’re very fine people. Greg Norman’s been a total gentleman, you know, and he’s wanted to do this for years and now he has the right backers because, you know, [the Saudi money] is unlimited. They can do the job right. I think when you put up first-place prize money for $6 or $7 million, I think a lot of people are gonna be showing up, to be honest with you.”

Former President Trump Campaigns With House Candidate Sarah Palin And Senate Candidate Kelly Tshibaka In Anchorage, Alaska

Trump Issues Warning To PGA Players, Tells Them To Jump Ship To Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf

Donald Trump

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis slammed President Joe Biden during a press conference this week over the high energy prices that are hurting American families.
DeSantis&#8217; remarks came after Biden visited Saudi Arabia last week, and failed to secure a commitment from them to produce more oil to help lower prices in the U.S. Biden and his party appear poised to get shellacked in the upcoming midterms due to the shape of the economy and high inflation rates.
“How come it’s wrong to produce our own oil and gas here, but you can go to Saudi Arabia and fist bump to try to get it from Saudi?” DeSantis asked during Monday’s press conference. “I mean, it makes no sense that we wouldn’t do it. We have opportunities here to be energy independent and not have to worry about any of these other countries. And yet they’re intentionally not doing it and you can’t run a modern economy on windmills. You just can’t do it.&#8221;
&#8220;And so now we&#8217;re in a situation where they&#8217;re bragging that gas has gone down over the last however many weeks, it’s still over four bucks! Like I had never seen it over $4 in my whole life living here,&#8221; DeSantis continued. &#8220;It’s just when you’re cranking the printing presses, you’re making energy more expensive. You know, that creates an upward pressure on all of this stuff. And so the acceleration from May to June that we saw at the end of June, not only was — they said it wouldn’t happen, then they said it was a blip, and they said it would peak soon. It still didn’t peak even after that. And so that’s really making it difficult for a lot of people, you know, to make ends meet.
DeSantis added that any gains that people may come by in their personal finances are likely &#8220;wiped out immediately with the Bidenflation.&#8221;
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&quot;How come it&#39;s wrong to produce our own oil and gas here, but you can go to Saudi Arabia and fist-bump to try to get it from Saudi? I mean, it makes no sense&#8230; We have the opportunities here to be energy independent.&quot; &#8211; <a href="https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovRonDeSantis</a> today <a href="https://t.co/lCeemGPGDt">pic.twitter.com/lCeemGPGDt</a>
&mdash; Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1549122820780736513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Biden has consistently tried to pin the blame for high gas prices on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, but gas prices were on the rise even prior to Putin&#8217;s war. Gas prices <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&amp;s=EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG&amp;f=W">hit</a> $3.53 per gallon on February 21, three days before Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine, after gradually rising by nearly $1 since February 2021.
Oil and gas executives have even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oil-experts-release-10-point-plan-for-biden-to-fix-energy-crisis-that-has-erupted-under-his-leadership">pointed</a> to specific areas in the president&#8217;s policy, such as its restrictions on federal lands, that have affected the U.S. oil supply and resulted in Americans taking a bigger hit at the pump.
When Biden took over the office from former President Donald Trump, gas prices <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&amp;s=EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG&amp;f=W">averaged</a> around $2.38 per gallon nationwide. That price more than doubled in mid-June hitting $5.00, but has since decreased slightly. Today, the national average sits at $4.50, <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">according</a> to AAA, still more than double from when Trump left office.

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis addresses attendees

DeSantis Unloads On Biden Over Energy Crisis: He’ll ‘Fist Bump’ Saudi Arabia But Won’t Produce Oil Here

Economy

Florida

Oil and Gas

Ron DeSantis

&#8220;Human rights should be at the core of our engagement with the world — not the periphery. As president, Joe Biden will hold accountable Saudi Arabia, China, and every nation that violates the human rights of their citizens.&#8221; #DemDebate, <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1197354401754734593">11/20/2019</a>
President Biden made the trip to Saudi Arabia, the world’s <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/russian-supplies-to-global-energy-markets/oil-market-and-russian-supply-2">largest exporter</a> of crude oil, to discuss among other matters the continued high price of energy — which is a leading driver of the rampant <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-soars-to-new-high-of-9-1">9.1% domestic inflation</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-worst-overall-cnn-analyst-says-biden-is-suffering-because-inflation-is-eating-his-presidency-alive">decimating</a> his approval ratings here in the U.S. as the midterms approach.
Joe Biden the president, who just returned from the Arabian desert, is a far cry from Joe Biden the candidate, who in November 2019 promised to treat the Saudi kingdom quite differently in response to the assassination of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-claims-he-confronted-saudi-crown-prince-over-murder-top-saudi-official-pushes-back">journalist Jamal Khashoggi</a> which was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/02/25/faq-jamal-khashoggi-intelligence-report/">presumably</a> on Riyadh’s orders. “I would make it very clear we were not going to in fact sell more weapons to them,” Biden <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/07/14/from-pariah-to-partner-the-healing-power-of-high-gasoline-prices/?sh=bc3c4385a764">said</a> in his debate with then-President Trump. “We were going to in fact make them pay the price, and make them in fact the pariah that they are.”
Strong words. But back in 2019, the energy landscape was quite different. In December 2018, the U.S. had for the first time since the mid-1950s become a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/us-ends-reliance-foreign-oil-first-time-75-years-joseph-curl">net exporter</a> of energy. It was a position the country maintained throughout 2019 and 2020.
But today the situation has changed dramatically. Once again, the U.S. finds itself dependent on foreign imports to fill the supply gap between demand and domestic production. And, so, we now have what Saudi Prince Turki Al-Faisal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-saudi-spy-chief-offers-brutal-appraisal-of-biden-amid-trip-to-kingdom">described</a> as a “much diminished president” touching down in Jeddah hat-in-hand. 
One could not have imagined in January 2020 a U.S. president jetting off to the volatile and duplicitous Middle East to, in effect, beg for oil while the U.S. sits atop proven reserves of <a href="https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/crudeoilreserves/">38.2 billion barrels</a> of crude oil and lease condensate. But the collapse in domestic crude during the disastrous and ineffective COVID lockdowns, as illustrated by the nearly <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-rigs-baker-hughes/u-s-oil-gas-rig-count-falls-to-record-low-for-11th-week-baker-hughes-idUSKCN24I2EU">75% reduction</a> in U.S. rig counts, followed by the rapid rebound of economic activity, and thus soaring demand after the lockdowns were lifted, have left the U.S. in a precarious position. And now the president finds himself eating his condemnation of the Saudi royals while reversing several themes of his campaign, to wit: a drive for less fossil fuels in favor of green energy, and his push for holding nations accountable for human rights violations. Machiavelli is laughing.
To add insult to injury, despite Biden’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-biden-responds-to-russia-launching-invasion-into-ukraine">lofty rhetoric</a> that “the world will hold Russia accountable” for its invasion of Ukraine through sanctions, the reality has turned out to be quite different &#8211; and also predictable to anyone who understands the nature of the realpolitik by which much of the non-Western world operates. Maybe the U.S. and its EU allies have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-announces-ban-on-russian-oil-imports-in-bid-to-hold-putin-accountable">declined</a> to import Russian oil in a move to punish Moscow’s war-making on its neighbor, but other nations, most notably <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-may-oil-imports-russia-soar-55-record-surpass-saudi-supply-2022-06-20/">China</a>, <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-s-russian-oil-imports-jump-over-50-times-since-april-official-122062301046_1.html#:~:text=Indian%20refiners%20bought%20about%2025,throughout%202021%20and%20Q1%202022.">India</a>, and, wait for it, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-saudi-arabia-doubles-q2-russian-fuel-oil-imports-power-generation-2022-07-14/">Saudi Arabia</a> have not. Sanctions only work if the flow of material is cut off severely, or even completely. Otherwise they just present glittering opportunities to those who opt to not go along with the program.
As such, the Saudis have seized upon Russia’s desperation to sell its oil and distillates to anyone who will take it. It’s currently a buyer’s market for Russian energy. And, as with other non-aligned nations in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, the Saudis are gobbling up Putin’s fuel oil at steep discounts to power their own energy infrastructure. 
They have, in fact, <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/saudi-arabia-doubles-discounted-russian-fuel-oil-imports/">doubled</a> imports in the second quarter. This has freed the kingdom to sell its excess oil at a <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/saudi-arabia-raises-oil-prices-141821575.html">premium</a>. It is a classic, and to this energy trader enviable, arbitrage. In short, the Saudis are standing in between the Russians and the U.S./NATO as de facto intermediaries, buying low from Putin and off-loading it at a premium to his enemies. Feel foolish yet? These are your tax dollars at work.
What can Biden, who promised to marginalize the Saudis just two short years ago in one of his all-too-familiar episodes of either ill-conceived or mentally debilitated spasms of irresponsible public caprice, do about it? He may have but two options, as releasing more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is of little long-term value.
One, he can beg OPEC to pump more fossil fuels, as he <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/02/opec-agrees-to-pump-more-oil-ahead-of-possible-biden-middle-east-trip-00036694">appears</a> to be doing. Two, he can step out of the way and allow for increased domestic production by returning the Bureau of Land Management’s available acreage, environmental standards, and fee structures to numbers that mirror those before the February 2022 “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/biden-administration-pausing-new-oil-and-gas-leases-amid-legal-battle-.html">pause</a>” on leasing of federal lands that was enjoined by a Louisiana court. As of now, drilling will be allowed on federal land again, but on <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-15/biden-shrinks-u-s-land-open-for-new-oil-and-gas-drilling">80% fewer acres</a> than before. And drillers will be saddled with higher environmental compliance hurdles, as well as a royalty that is <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/16/1093195479/biden-federal-oil-leases-royalties">6.25% north</a> of the pre-pause charge. 
By simply returning the lease structures to 2019 levels, the administration might incentivize increased drilling. But, of course, this would then be a slap in the face to the climate change lobby and activists who worked so hard to put him in office while imagining a carbon-free energy infrastructure — even as China, the <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/interactive-chart-shows-changes-worlds-top-10-emitters">world’s largest</a> CO2 emitter by far, and India ramp up coal plant construction.
And yet, it might already be too late for the domestic carrot route as three factors will make it difficult for oil companies to increase production to pre-pandemic levels. First, rigs take a while to return to operations; second, the number of workers to operate them has been greatly reduced, especially since COVID; and third, investors, fearful of oil tumbling from these lofty prices, might discourage overproduction.
So, the president now has little choice but to go into the belly of the oil beast if he wants his party to have any chances of holding on to power by reducing energy costs before November. <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2022/07/15/press-gaggle-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-and-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-en-route-jeddah-saudi-arabia/">Said</a> national security advisor Jake Sullivan in Israel, the first leg of Biden’s Middle East sojourn, &#8220;We believe any further action taken to ensure that there is sufficient energy to protect the health of the global economy will be done in the context of OPEC+.” He added, “We are hopeful that we will see additional actions by OPEC+ in the coming weeks.&#8221;
But there is little incentive at the moment for OPEC+ (which includes Russia) to flood the market with cheap oil. Certainly the Saudis are very well-positioned to benefit from the status quo. And in the mind’s eye one can see Biden groveling before a grinning Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud with a shaky: “Sorry about that whole ‘pariah’ thing. No hard feelings? And we’re selling you weapons again, right? So are we cool? <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-laughs-when-asked-about-fist-bumping-mbs-dismisses-remarks-from-murdered-columnists-fiancee">Fist bump</a>?” 
Ironically, the sanctions that were supposed to prostrate Putin in submission have instead ended up forcing Biden, and thus the American taxpayer, on a bended knee before the altar of the Arab nation that is printing money thanks to a classic arbitrage the sanctions created. And given the weakness of the current administration, Riyadh has little reason to change either its moral ways or its energy output. Meanwhile the war in Ukraine rages on. It’s funny how the law of unintended consequences works. Although no one filling up their tank here is laughing.
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader, columnist, and novelist. He is the <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Brad-Schaeffer/146901071">best-selling author</a> of two novels, Of Another Time And Place and The Extraordinary.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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