This episode is brought to you by Patriot Gold Group. Protect your retirement assets and save your retirement assets. Safeguard your future. Speak with the experts at Patriot Gold. Now, they've been the top-rated gold IRA dealer, forget this, seven years in a row. That is a lot of years in a row. Go to patriotgoldgroup. Com or call 1-888-621-3856 for a free investor guide. It's Tuesday, 3 September. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, we'll examine the turmoil in Israel, where the nation wasn't ground to a halt yesterday following a general strike called by the country's largest Trade Union. This upheaval comes with renewed demands for a ceasefire after the tragic killing of six hostages by Hamas terrorists. Later in the brief, more news related to Israel as the British Foreign Minister, announces that his country would immediately suspend some arms exports over fears that weapons could be used to breach international law. Well, how very self-righteous of them. Plus, another blow to the international community's credibility as Vladimir Putin visits Mongolia. Mongolia is a member of the International Criminal Court, the ICC, and they are technically required to arrest the Russian President if he steps on their soil.

Now, the chances that the Mongolian authorities would arrest Putin are on par with the chances that Putin will apologize for his invasion of Ukraine and to resign. So I guess what I'm saying is it's not going to happen. And in today's Back of the Brief, Elon Musk remains defiant, refusing to comply with a Brazilian court order to block access to a social media platform X through his satellite Internet service, Starlink. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. The proverbial knives are out for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. In the aftermath of Hamas's massacre of six hostages late last week, including an American, with critics blaming his government for allegedly failing to secure a hostage deal in Gaza. I don't know. How about you blame Hamas, the terrorist organization? That would seem simple enough. Schools, offices, airports, and other sectors of Israeli society came to a grinding halt on Monday as Israel's largest Trade Union organized the first nationwide strike seen inside the country since the brutal seventh of October attacks. The The strike followed massive demonstrations in Tel Aviv and some other cities on Sunday evening. They were the largest since the start of the war, decrying Netanyahu's stance on a potential ceasefire.

According to a report in the Financial Times, tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets for a second day on Monday as the strike kicked off, blocking roadways as they demanded Netanyahu to agree a deal with Hamas for the return of the hostages. I'm sure they're aware that Hamas has not been playing a role in the negotiations for a ceasefire for some time now. The protesters blame the government for being too hard-line and accused Netanyahu of preventing a deal to free the remaining 101 or so hostages for political purposes. Now, As we've reported, Netanyahu and the ruling Israeli government have agreed to implement a bridging ceasefire framework that was proposed by the US and mediators in Qatar and Egypt. But Hamas, who has refused to directly participate in any further negotiations, will they continue to sabotage the efforts, repeatedly accusing the US of colluding with Israel to undermine the terrorist group's position, undermine their position? Seriously? Hamas's position It's the same as the position of their puppet masters in the Iranian regime, and that is they want to see Israel removed from the face of the Earth. That's their position. Sorry for pointing out the obvious.

Now, while larger are reportedly being planned, the Tel Aviv Labor Court officially ordered an end to the strike on Monday, just eight hours into the demonstrations, declaring that it was politically motivated and unrelated to economic concerns. We should note Netanyahu still does have strong support. While the strikes, relatively speaking, completely shut down Tel Aviv, well, Jerusalem and other municipalities more supportive of Netanyahu were largely unaffected. At a cabinet meeting Monday, Netanyahu Netanyahu called the strikes a, quote, disgrace, saying such open discord only serve to strengthen the hand of Hamas. He added, quote, Weakness will not bring back the hostages. Well, he's not wrong. Later Monday, Netanyahu addressed the country in a televised speech where he struck a conciliatory tone, acknowledging the tragedy, of course, regarding the six hostages who were summarily executed by the terrorists in cold blood as the terrorists fled just before the arrival of Israeli troops. Their bodies were recovered on Sunday. Netanyahu recounted speaking to the families of the hostages, saying, I told the families, and I repeat it here tonight, I ask for your forgiveness that we did not succeed in bringing them back alive. We were close, but we didn't succeed.

He reiterated that Israel is in an existential war for their existence against Iran and its proxies, and that in order to prevail against such barbarity, Israel must present a united front. The Prime Minister remarked, We must stand united as one person against a cruel enemy that wants to destroy all of us, all of us without any exceptions. Israel will not let this massacre simply pass on by. Hamas will pay a very heavy price for it. Netanyahu has reportedly ordered his security forces to present plans to respond to Hamas within the next 48 hours. Meanwhile, international pressure is mounting on Netanyahu to make further concessions to Hamas in order to secure a ceasefire deal. Netanyahu has vow to maintain control of the strategic Philadelphia Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border, which functions essentially as Hamas's pipeline or lifeline, allowing them to smuggle weapons into the enclave. This issue has reportedly caused disagreements between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yov Galant, who reportedly favors foregoing border concerns to secure a deal. Hamas, for their part, continues to demand that any deal must require Israel to withdraw their troops from the border region, along with the rest of Gaza, and include promises that Israel will formally end the war.

President Biden, remember him? Well, he waded into the situation on Monday, ahead of a meeting with the US negotiating team, accusing Netanyahu of not doing enough to secure a ceasefire deal. Biden claimed negotiators were very close to a deal, remarking, Hope springs eternal. Well, that was worth coming out of hiding for. Netanyahu defiantly said Monday, No one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me, but No one will preach to me. All right. Now, before we go to break, a quick reminder. If you're enjoying the show and perhaps Jones in to listen without commercial interruptions, well, it's easy. Sign up for a premium membership at pdbpremium. Com com. Along with an ad-free experience, you'll receive our weekly newsletter, and that's the PDB Intelligence Checklist, and have access to our monthly Ask Me Anything sessions. Again, you can check that all out at pdbpremium. Com. Coming up next, Israel faces new challenges as the UK halts arms exports, and Putin's visit to Mongolia raises questions about the International Criminal Court's authority. I'm sorry. Did somebody think that the ICC had any authority? No. How charming. We'll have those stories when we come back. Does it feel like the world is getting darker every day?

It's easy to get caught up in the negativity, but let's take a moment to remember what we're really fighting for: our families, our values, our future. These are the things that matter most. On my new podcast, Love What Matters, we share stories that inspire and uplift. Stories of real people overcoming challenges with hope, compassion, and kindness. Subscribe to the Love What Matters podcast, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the BDB. Sticking with the international pressure mounting against Israel, leaders in the UK appear to be wavering in their support. Now, breaking with their tightly coordinated policy on military support for Israel with the Biden administration, the UK's Foreign Office announced Monday that they were suspending the sale of certain arms to Israel. They said there a clear risk that their weapons could be used by Israel to commit, a serious violation of international humanitarian law. That's according to a report from The Guardian. Officials with the Foreign Office said that a two-month internal review of Israel's conduct during their operations in Gaza, raised serious questions about the IDF's treatment of Palestinians. Now, while no definitive conclusions have been reached about whether UK-supplied arms have contributed to the destruction in Gaza, they said the scale of civilian deaths have given them pause and prompted them to indefinitely suspend some arms export licenses.

The suspension, which applies to military aircraft, helicopters, drones, and targeting equipment, is likely to cause friction with the Biden administration, which has rejected claims that Israel is using Western weapons to violate the conventions of international law. Uk Foreign Secretary David Lammey said the crackdown applies to 30 of the 350 existing arms licenses that they have with Israel but would exempt UK components for the F-35 fighter jet program. Lamme stressed that the decision was reached with deep regret and appeared anxious to queal fears that it could destabilize Anglo-Israeli relations. Now, in reality, this will not have much of a material effect on Israel's operations as UK arm sales make up just 1% of Israel's arms imports. If you're thinking that the UK government might be doing this just to placate those opposed to Israel in support of a Hamas within their party, well, yeah, you could be right. It does smell of self-righteous performative art. Still, the move is being seen as a symbolic rebuke of Israel's ongoing operations against Hamas from an ally that has long chided Israel's strategy. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz expressed disappointment at the decision, saying it, quote, sends a very problematic message to Hamas.

Katz linked the latest decision with the UK's move in July to restart funding for the UN's Palestinian relief agency, UNRA, despite their infiltration by Hamas, and the UK's failure also to challenge arrest warrants issued by the ICC against Israeli leaders. Israeli Defense Minister Yov Galant also slam the decision, saying in a fiery statement, quote, This comes at a time when we fight a war on seven different fronts, a war that was launched by a savage terrorist organization, Unprovoked. We should note, the UK government has faced intensifying pressure from the progressive wing, of course, of their labor party to curtail support to Israel. Conservative lawmakers in Britain accused the ruling party of caving to the demands of anti-Israeli protesters and warned the government that they would regret playing into the hands of Hamas. Frankly, you have to admit that bending the pressure from anti-Semites isn't a particularly good look for the labor party. Okay, turning our attention now to Mongolia. Frankly, we don't often turn our attention to Mongolia here on the PDP. Russian President Putin made an official visit on Monday, marking his first trip to a member country of the International Criminal Court, the ICC.

Since the court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, nearly 18 months ago, in March of 2023, the ICC, established by the Rome Statute, indicted Putin for war crimes, citing, reasonable grounds to believe that he's responsible for the unlawful deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia. Now, under the Rome Statute, signatory countries are obligated to arrest individuals like Putin with the ICC-issued warrants. Putin had previously canceled a trip to South Africa back in August of 2023 for a BRICS summit, not due to international resolve, but because a South African court made it clear that they would have to act on the ICC warrant, and that was something, clearly, that the South African government was reluctant to do. But then there's Mongolia, another signatory to the Rome Statute, and yet showing zero intention of executing the arrest warrant, reflecting its close economic and political relationship with Russia. It's worth pointing out the ICC lacks takes any enforcement mechanism to compel Mongolia to act on the warrant. In other words, the ICC is just about as feckless as the United Nations. In other words, it issues warrants, but it can't enforce them. Despite this, Ukraine has called on Mongolia to arrest Putin, good luck with that, and hand him over to the ICC in The Hague.

The Kremlin, knowing, well, frankly, full well, that these demands are a little more than background noise, has shrugged off any concerns about the visit. International Justice Senior Counsel at Human Rights Watch, Maria Helena Vignoli, criticized the government of Mongolia, stating, Mongolia would be defying its international obligations as an ICC member if it allows Russian President Putin to visit without arresting him. At the invitation of the Mongolian President, Putin's visit to Mongolia commemorates the 85th anniversary of the Mongolian and Soviet victory over Japanese forces at the Calcongole River. That was in the late 1930s. This event is of a great historical significance in Russia and Mongolia, symbolizing a period of close military cooperation between the two nations. Now, Putin's visit to Mongolia is seen as a calculated move, testing the limits of ICC enforcement and the willingness of member states to act on international warrants. The visit coincides with Putin's increase in isolation on the international stage due to the, of course, ongoing war in Ukraine. The Despite this, Putin has continued to engage in diplomacy with a small, select group of countries. His posse is, frankly small. It's primarily made up of China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and India.

They're the primary crew members. They're like the backup dancers, and they have been able to alleviate sanctions concerns and keep his war machine ticking along. In the past month, Putin has visited North Korea and Vietnam, solidifying Russia's relationship with those nations. Additionally, Putin traveled to China twice in the past year, underscoring the importance of the Kremlin's alliance and end reliance on Beijing in the face of Western sanctions. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, Elon Musk stands firm defying a Brazilian court order to block access to social media platform X via his Starlink satellite service. I'll be right back. In today's back of the Brief, continued legal drama for Elon Musk in Brazil as his satellite internet provider, Starlink, has taken a stand against a court order demanding the shutdown of his social media platform X. The company reports that they will not comply with the court order until its bank accounts in the country are unfrozen. Now, the dispute occurred when Brazil's Supreme Court Justice, Alexander Demourais, issued an order requiring all telecom providers in the country to block access to X, and we reported on that on the PDB. The order was based on the platform's failure to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, and that's a requirement under Brazilian law to ensure companies can be held accountable.

Starlink, which serves some 200,000 customers in Brazil, informed Brazil's telecom regulator, ANATEL, of its decision not to comply with the court order until its accounts are unfrozen. The message was passed on to Brazil's top court as a direct challenge to the judicial order. The issue of the frozen accounts is further complicated by a separate legal matter involving X. The platform has been imbroiled in a legal dispute over its failure to turn over certain documents required by the court. This failure led to the imposition of fines, which X has yet to pay, further straining the already fraught relationship between Musk's enterprises and Brazilian authorities. A five-member court panel is scheduled to review Justice Moraish's ruling. Now, legal experts that's consulted by Reuters, suggests that the panel will likely uphold the original decision and potentially intensifying the standoff between Musk's companies and the Brazilian authorities. Now, if you're wondering why the Brazil Musk scrap is newsworthy, in part, well, in part, there's a much bigger issue at play here, and that is the ability of a government and its judiciary to shut down an open free speech platform under the guise of protecting its citizens from disinformation and what they deem to be harmful content.

I suppose if you're comfortable with your government telling you what you can and can't read or see, then perhaps the story isn't newsworthy from your perspective. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, 3 September. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@thefirsttv. Com. And don't forget, the PDB is available on all podcast platforms, and of course, The Behemoth, that is our YouTube channel. Please check this out. And that is at President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, well, hopefully you know the drill. Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.